Category: English

When I came to, I was floating near the ceiling, and there was a woman in my house. She looked so innocent. Wearing a perfectly fitted white cashmere cardigan, she stood by the window. On the stove, water bubbled noisily in a pot. The woman skillfully dropped in some pasta, drained it when it was perfectly al dente, and poured a simple sauce over it. Just like that, dinner was ready. Her name was Emily, my husband’s star student. What was she doing in my house? Emily had a gentle smile, a picture of quiet grace. As I tried to process, she moved without pause, setting the table with a familiarity that suggested she’d done this a thousand times. Then, she looked up, a blush rising on her cheeks, and called out shyly in my general direction, “Come and get it.” Before the words fully left her mouth, a tall figure walked towards her. The man strode quickly, almost eagerly. He pulled Emily into a tight hug, holding her with a carefulness that made it seem like he was embracing the most precious thing in the world. Held like that, Emily looked like… well, like she belonged there. She tilted her head back shyly, stood on her tiptoes, and brushed a soft kiss against the man’s cheek. He bent down, capturing her lips with his own. A moment later, they pulled apart, both slightly breathless. “Okay, stop fooling around, the pasta’s getting cold,” Emily scolded playfully, though her voice brimmed with happiness. The man stroked Emily’s hair, his touch full of affection. I couldn’t move my feet. The man’s back looked so familiar. As he turned, my heart hammered against my ribs. A horrifying suspicion took root, making my fingertips tremble. The instant I saw his face, my eyes flew wide open. My whole body shook. The man looking down at Emily with such tenderness in his eyes was my husband, Ethan. I almost collapsed, a sharp, choked sob escaping me. I doubled over, the veins on my forehead throbbing. My trembling hand reached out towards my husband. But it passed right through his face. Oh god. I was dead. All I could do was watch them, loving and intimate, right in front of me. Before… before this, my husband had called me, asking what I wanted for our third anniversary. I’d thought of so many possibilities. Never this. Ethan, is this your third-anniversary gift to me? How fucking special. But… when did this even start? When did they get together? 2 Emily. I’d met her before, quite a while ago. I was there the day she was assigned to Ethan’s team. Back then, Ethan didn’t like her. He even found her annoying. But the department insisted he take on a trainee, and Emily was pushed onto him. She was, well, a bit timid for the job. Couldn’t handle decomposed bodies, wasn’t strong enough to move corpses easily. She created a lot of extra headaches for him. For a long time after that, whenever I visited the medical examiner’s office, I’d hear him complain. “I’m not here to be a teacher. Dealing with the dead is busy enough without them forcing someone on me who just makes more work! She’s not strong enough, what good is she?” I found it almost funny at the time, how much this young intern got under his skin. “Hey, I’m a woman and I became a cop, remember? Got a problem with me too?” I’d retorted. “How can she compare to you? My wife is the star of the precinct!” he’d said proudly. But gradually, I heard Emily’s name less and less. I eventually almost forgot she existed. Until a few major cases hit the city. Ethan started working late constantly, sometimes staying out all night. One day, I made some beef stew and brought it to his office. Emily was there that day, too. They were eating lunch together. “The liver from the cafeteria is actually really good!” Emily was saying cheerfully as she ate. “Know why medical examiners don’t eat organ meat?” Ethan asked, his eyes lowered, his voice deep. “Wh-why?” Emily asked, curious and a little nervous. “Because it tastes a lot like human flesh.” “Whoa!” Emily looked like she was about to cry from fright and turned to me to complain. Ethan just sat there, leaning back casually, a hint of a smile playing on his lips as he watched. At the time, I naively thought it was a sweet moment. But thinking back now, Ethan was never one to joke around much. Especially not with people he didn’t like. A loud “Crash!” pulled me from my memories. Emily stood amidst a pile of shattered glass, looking helpless and pitiful. Ethan rushed out of the bathroom, water droplets still clinging to his hair, dripping down his jawline. “I just wanted to look at it, I didn’t mean to,” Emily stammered. Ethan glanced briefly at the shards on the floor, then turned his concerned gaze entirely on Emily. “It’s okay,” he soothed her. “Are you hurt?” I didn’t have the energy to watch them. I just stared numbly at the broken pieces on the floor. What Emily had shattered was the only thing my dad left me. 3 Before I met Ethan, my dad was the only person in the world who was truly good to me. My mom didn’t like me. She’d dropped out of school early herself to work for my uncle, suffering all kinds of hardships. She couldn’t stand seeing me have it easier; she wanted me to taste the bitterness she had. When I was in middle school, she wanted me to quit and save the money for my brother’s after-school activities. My dad wouldn’t allow it. He thought it was about money, so he worked extra jobs tirelessly. Later, exhausted, he died in the line of duty during a mission. After Dad passed away, Mom finally had her excuse. She blamed his death on me. My life got even harder. One day, I came home and saw her rummaging through Dad’s belongings. Anything valuable had long been sold off, except for a few certificates and his service award trophy. “Marrying you was the worst luck ever! Dead and still broke! And I gave you kids… you just couldn’t wait to check out, leaving me with this mess!” After venting, she spotted the yellow metal base of the trophy and her face lit up with a sudden grin. She thought it was gold. She wanted to sell it. I immediately snatched it away. “No! You can’t touch this!” Seeing me grab it, she flew into a rage and kicked at me. “You brat! Your brother’s starving, and you’re hoarding this piece of junk? You ungrateful little bitch, worthless girl!” Her fists rained down on me like hail. She clawed and scratched, her nails leaving bloody trails on my skin. I hadn’t eaten properly in ages. I couldn’t fight back. All I could do was cry out, hoping someone outside would help. Soon, my cries attracted a crowd. Ethan was among them. Ethan was different from me. He came from a well-educated, respected family of doctors and academics. His parents were loving; he grew up surrounded by affection. He never lacked money. I, on the other hand, was always covered in bruises, constantly hungry. Besides my school uniform, all I owned were ill-fitting, worn-out clothes. But him? Always clean sneakers, always neat, well-fitting clothes. The crowd criticized my mother, but no one paid attention to me. Except Ethan. He gently took my hand. “I have medicine at my place. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” I still remember how carefully he avoided my wounds. His touch was so light, it felt like the cuts didn’t even hurt anymore. Yet, it also felt incredibly strong, heavy enough to effortlessly pull me up from the ground. Seeing me about to leave, Mom started screaming curses. “You worthless thing, put that trophy down! I must have done something terrible in a past life to birth such a heartless creature!” With that, she lunged at me, claws out, trying to grab the trophy. I stumbled back. Ethan stepped in front of me. He spoke coldly, “You want to mess with a hero’s award? What, you want to go to jail? Don’t you know you can’t touch national honors medals?” Just a teenager, but radiating confidence. My mother, hearing him, got scared. She hadn’t had much schooling and didn’t know if he was telling the truth, but she instinctively believed him. Still, her mouth didn’t stop spewing insults at me. “Jenna! Already learned how to hook up with boys and turn against your own mother, huh?! You cheap trash, worse than a streetwalker!” It wasn’t the first time she’d cursed me, but it was the first time it had been that vile. But I didn’t care. I had saved Dad’s medal. Ethan frowned. I felt ashamed, unable to look at him. The next second, he covered my ears with his hands. The world went silent. Only my own heartbeat echoed, loud as a drum. This was my most humiliating memory. Ethan knew it better than anyone. He knew I valued that trophy more than my own life! I watched him step over the shards, carefully lifting Emily’s hand like it was a treasure, inspecting the cut on her finger. In the dim light, I saw him frown, saw the pain in his expression – for her. Even knowing he’d changed, that he didn’t love me anymore, my heart ached fiercely at that moment. Emily sniffled quietly. “What do we do? I didn’t mean it, I just wanted to see…” “It’s okay,” Ethan comforted her. “Is this thing important?” “No, it’s not important.” Emily’s tears turned to smiles, and she nestled happily into Ethan’s arms. To console this woman he’d known for only a few months, he ruthlessly discarded our ten years together. Ultimately, I was just a poor judge of character. This was the only memento my dad left me, and he said it wasn’t important? Not important! I told him once, this was more important than my life. 4 After sweeping the scattered fragments into a dustpan and then into a trash bag, Ethan paused, staring at the bag thoughtfully. Finally, he placed the trash bag containing the pieces in a corner, separate from the rest of the garbage. He sat down on the sofa, his gaze fixed on that corner, lost in thought. When Emily came out after her shower, she noticed the bag by the wall. “Should we take that out when we leave?” she asked Ethan, who was still on the couch. “No need. Leave it; I’ll handle it.” For some reason, Ethan didn’t throw the pieces away immediately. He kept them. But soon enough, the two of them were wrapped tightly in each other’s arms again. I stood beside the trash bag, wanting desperately to tear open the black plastic, to touch the fragments of the trophy, the pieces that held my father’s name. But my hand passed through the bag, through the shards, over and over. Utterly futile. At that moment, a wave of helplessness and despair washed over me. And those two cheating dogs were right there, whispering and cuddling. I wanted to kill them. Any way possible. I lunged towards them in fury, wanting to claw their faces. They remained completely undisturbed. I hated it. I felt sick to my stomach. Looking at their ugly faces, I couldn’t stand being near them for another second. I desperately tried to flee the room. But when I reached the doorway, I hit an invisible barrier and bounced back. Frustrated, I tried again and again, only to end up like a dead fish, sprawled on the floor. I understood then. I couldn’t get too far away from Ethan. I was trapped near him. How ironic. Watching the couple on the sofa behind me, utterly powerless. The man who once swore eternal love to me was now holding another woman. It was laughable. Jenna, oh Jenna, you were so blind. I watched Ethan’s hand on Emily’s waist, watched him kiss the small cut on her fingertip, his eyes full of devotion. “Does it still hurt?” His voice was low, magnetic – the voice I knew so well. Whenever I got hurt, he would comfort me softly just like that. Except my injuries were knife wounds, sprains, torn muscles… Emily’s was just a tiny scratch. The scene unfolding before me made my stomach churn. I felt like throwing up again. “Ethan…” Emily began, her eyes misty, but Ethan silenced her unfinished words with his mouth. “Didn’t we talk about this? Call me by my name when no one else is around. I don’t want to be just your mentor, Emily. Not only your mentor.” Responding to him, Emily tilted her neck back, returning his kiss passionately. A shrill ringing suddenly pierced the air. Startled, as if caught doing something illicit, both looked annoyed. Ethan moved to answer the phone, but Emily clung to him, protesting. The ringing, however, showed no sign of stopping. Reluctantly, Ethan stood up and checked the caller ID. “It’s the office. Probably a new case.” He put the call on speaker, so I could hear too. “This one’s bad, Ethan. Get back here, quick!” The voice on the other end sounded urgent. 5 I was forced to follow Ethan to the medical examiner’s office. Emily trailed close behind him. The office was chaotic, everyone rushing around. No one seemed to notice anything unusual between Ethan and Emily. An emergency meeting was called to handle the body parts forensics had sent over, to assign the autopsy. The remains were partial limbs, recently pulled from the lake. As the most brilliant forensic pathologist of his generation, Ethan was unsurprisingly assigned the autopsy. Emily would assist, documenting the findings. The moment I followed Ethan into the autopsy room, my heart clenched violently. Staring at the limb on the stainless steel table, I had a sickening feeling I knew who it belonged to. Ethan changed into blue scrubs and approached the table, beginning the examination methodically. The partial limb on the table was just a forearm, bloated and bleached white from the lake water. The skin tissue was severely damaged. Due to the recent heatwave, decay had already set in around the cut edge. The room reeked of decomposition. Emily took one look, turned pale, and averted her gaze, waving a hand in front of her face. “So gross.” It was just the two of them in the room. Seeing Emily tremble, Ethan dropped all pretense of professionalism. He pulled her into a hug. “It’s just a limb, don’t be scared. Aren’t I right here with you?” He gently patted her back, his tone indulgent. “You’re so easily spooked. How can I trust you to handle cases on your own someday?” “Then just keep me with you always, okay?” Emily’s eyes were full of dependence. Ethan frowned slightly but nodded anyway. Unexpectedly, as the scalpel made its first incision on the arm, a sharp pain shot through my own forearm. It made my scalp tingle, an agony I couldn’t suppress or lessen. Ethan’s deep voice boomed like thunder in my ears. “Right ulna length 24 centimeters. Based on ulna-to-height calculation, estimated height of deceased is around 5’5″. Significant outward curvature of the arm… deceased is female, bone age approximately 25 to 28 years old.” It felt like being plunged into ice-cold water. I snapped to awareness, yet felt frozen to the bone, my blood turned to ice, my mind blank. Of course. This was my body. Even though I had suspected, seeing the mutilated limb on the table still sent a wave of profound shock through me. I never imagined I would die like this, so brutally. 6 Even the brightest lights cast shadows. Aside from the faint sounds from the autopsy table, the room was silent. The examination was nearing its end. Ethan was patiently reviewing the autopsy report details with Emily, explaining everything meticulously, point by point. I stumbled towards the unrecognizable limb. An old scar on it, reopened and uglier than ever due to the prolonged immersion in water, gaped open. That scar… I got it a year ago, slashed by a criminal while on duty. I remember sweating from the pain, bleeding heavily. It took ten stitches to close. I hadn’t made a sound then, just gritted my teeth, my sweat-soaked hair plastered to my face. Ethan had burst into the emergency room then. He was frantic, hadn’t even changed out of his work clothes, beads of sweat on his nose as he ran in. The moment he saw me, his face went whiter than mine. The moment I saw him, the throbbing pain in my arm seemed to lessen. But his eyes reddened. He looked at my arm, wanting to touch it but afraid to. After a long moment, he managed to choke out two words. “Does it hurt?” I hadn’t felt sorry for myself, hadn’t really felt the pain until then. But his careful, quiet question unleashed a flood of tears. Suddenly, it hurt terribly. “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here,” he’d stammered, clumsily wiping my tears, holding me close, whispering comfort. In that moment, I felt like I had the whole world. My eyes saw only him. Later, the wound healed, but it left an ugly scar on my forearm forever. Even though I have a tough personality, dealing with criminals all day, and don’t usually fuss over my appearance, I’m still a woman. Looking at that hideous scar, I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Ethan noticed my discomfort. He took my arm, cradled it gently in his palm, kissed the scar softly, then looked me straight in the eyes and said, word by word: “This is a badge of honor, Jenna. Like your father’s medal. It’s the most beautiful mark in the world to me.” His words were so beautiful then, like young love, passionate and pure. But things change. No matter how beautiful the memory, it couldn’t withstand the brutal reality. Right now, I truly wished Ethan could recognize my body. We were once the closest people in the world, holding each other through countless nights, leaning on each other through disappointment and sadness. Nobody knew my body better than him. This scar, you kissed it once. Ethan, don’t you remember? I closed my eyes, letting go of that last shred of futile hope. Nearby, the two of them had somehow ended up in another embrace. Ethan, usually so meticulous about his work, was now tangled up with Emily right next to the autopsy table. He didn’t recognize me. They expertly cleaned the autopsy table, pushed aside the instruments that were in the way, and became intimate, oblivious to their surroundings. And my body was right there beside them. That’s my body. I wanted to get away. I felt nauseated. The initial despair slowly morphed into a venomous thought. He will recognize me eventually. Sooner or later, that day will come. He will realize he was fooling around with another woman right next to the body of his murdered wife. I looked forward to that day. I don’t know how much time passed. Emily was sitting again, Ethan hugging her tightly from behind, guiding her through her questions with that same protective, doting manner. Such a familiar scene, so much like how we used to be. Emily pointed to the scar tissue. “Here, the wound on the arm… how did you determine the time frame?” she asked, puzzled. “You can tell from the color of the granulation tissue. It indicates about a year ago…” Ethan ruffled her hair, looking satisfied. As he said this, a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes, disappearing as quickly as it came. A year ago, same spot, same wound. He had called it… the most beautiful mark. After a moment, pulled back from his distraction by Emily’s soft call, he resumed explaining as if nothing happened. Suddenly, the door to the autopsy room banged open. Ethan opened it. It was my old mentor, Captain Miller. He was bringing in more remains. It was my torso. 7 Unlike the arm, the torso hadn’t been thrown into the lake. Aside from the crushed skull and several patches of livor mortis, the body was relatively intact. Because of this, the crescent-shaped birthmark near my ribs was starkly visible. Ethan approached the autopsy table, then froze abruptly. His eyes locked onto my torso.

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The night we got married, I passed out drunk, and my husband snuck off to spend the night in his childhood friend’s room. When I found out the next day, he brushed it off. “She just wanted to feel what it’s like to be a bride for a night, it’s not a big deal!” We had a massive fight about it. He stormed out, slamming the door. The next time I saw him, he was gently helping his childhood friend—already heavily pregnant—shop for baby supplies at the hospital gift shop. I confronted him, furious and loud. He shot back, completely self-righteous, “She just wants a child with me to keep her company in her lonely years! It doesn’t threaten your position as Mrs. Cole. What’s the problem!” Hearing that, I demanded a divorce right then and there. He looked completely unfazed. “Fine. Just don’t come crawling back!” 1 When Ethan Cole returned three months later, I handed him the divorce papers I’d already printed out. “Sign them.” Ethan took them, flipped through a few pages casually, and snorted. “Claire, are you serious?” “Jessica and I grew up together. She lost her family young, she’s had it rough.” “She asked me to give her a child, something to keep her company through the lonely years ahead. What’s so wrong with that?” “Claire, seriously, don’t be so petty!” I remained expressionless. “On this, I can’t compromise my principles.” “You should find a wife who’s okay with her husband having a baby with another woman.” I grabbed my single suitcase, packed with my few personal belongings, ready to leave. Ethan stepped quickly in front of me. “Claire, stop making a scene, okay?” “Even if Jessica has the baby, it won’t affect your standing as Mrs. Cole.” “If it bothers you that much, once the baby’s born, I can bring him here for you to raise. Problem solved.” His tone was insistent, his face etched with irritation as he tried to force this ‘solution’ on me. The old me would have seen that look and immediately agreed to anything, just to keep him happy. But not anymore. Forcing myself to ignore how I really felt was torture. My voice was cold. “Sorry, if I want a child, I’ll have my own.” Seeing I wouldn’t budge, Ethan kicked over a display stand nearby. The crystal rose sculpture sitting on it shattered instantly as it hit the floor. I stared at the scattered fragments, feeling suffocated. That crystal rose… Ethan had specially commissioned it from an artisan overseas to celebrate our fifth anniversary. Now, it was just broken pieces. Like us. Irreparable. When exactly did the man who swore he loved only me turn into someone who would father a child with another woman? Were all those promises of spending a lifetime together just empty words, forgotten so quickly? Ethan froze for a second, looking at the crystal petal near his foot. He pressed his lips together, seemingly forcing himself to calm down. “Claire, we’ve been together for so many years. Are you really going to throw it all away this easily?” “I know Jessica’s always had feelings for me, but she never meant to upset you.” “Even wanting to be my bride… she just begged me to let her experience it for one night, our wedding night.” Hearing him say that, so matter-of-factly, I almost laughed out loud from sheer bitterness. What bride on earth would be okay with her husband spending their wedding night with someone else? It was the ultimate humiliation, like being trampled on! I regretted so badly not slapping that bitch that day. My voice dripped with sarcasm. “Oh, right, right. Poor little Jessica, the most pitiful girl in the world!” “After we divorce, you can just bring her right here to take care of her. Wouldn’t want the baby born without a dad, making poor Jessica’s tragic life even worse.” “You can show off your boundless compassion then.” Hearing my words, Ethan’s face darkened instantly. “Claire, don’t push it!” “You need to understand something. If you divorce me, you lose all of this – the money, the status, everything!” “Even if you get on your knees and beg me to take you back, I won’t.” “Besides, who would want to marry a divorced woman with a back full of scars!” 2 Those few simple words from Ethan felt like a knife twisting in my heart. It’s true. The people closest to you always know exactly where to strike to cause the most pain. Ethan was right. Most men wouldn’t want a wife whose back was covered in scars. But Ethan Cole was the last person on earth who had the right to say that. In high school, some criminals targeted the Cole family’s immense wealth. They ambushed Ethan after school, trying to bundle him into an unmarked car as he walked home alone. I saw him struggling. I grabbed his arm, trying desperately to pull him out of the sedan. Instead, they dragged me in too, taking us both to an abandoned warehouse. Even after they got the ransom money, they didn’t let us go. They set the warehouse on fire and fled. Ethan was unconscious. While trying to drag him out, a burning beam fell, hitting me squarely on the back. That incident sparked something different between Ethan and me. Even though it was just me and my grandma, barely scraping by, I refused the Cole family’s help after getting into college. I worked my ass off to pay my own tuition. I wanted to marry him without anyone whispering that I was just after his money. But now I realized Ethan wasn’t worth my effort. Not one bit. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably as I dragged my suitcase out of the Cole mansion. It was strange. I’d already decided I didn’t love him anymore. So why did it still hurt so damn much? I took my few belongings and went back to the old house in the small town where I grew up. The town isn’t big, not many people live here. But every single one of them watched me grow up. When Grandma saw me, she instinctively looked behind me. I knew she was looking for Ethan. My lips trembled. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I was getting divorced right after getting married. But Grandma saw something was wrong anyway. Her eyes reddened as she took my hand. “It’s okay, child. It’s okay. You’re home now.” That night, lying on the creaky old wooden bed, I picked up my phone and saw a notification from Jessica. It was four wedding photos of her and Ethan. Then, within three minutes, she unsent them. Followed by a text: “Oops, sorry Claire! Meant to send these wedding pics with Ethan to him, accidentally sent them to you.” “You’re not mad, are you? 😉” The fake sweetness, the ‘oopsie’ vibe… it made me sick to my stomach. Lying there, a thought clicked in my mind. So, after Ethan stormed out from our fight, he and Jessica clearly did everything they shouldn’t have. Less than a minute later. Jessica posted those same photos to her social media feed. The main picture showed Ethan, smiling down tenderly, holding a heavily pregnant Jessica in his arms. Her caption read: 【Thank you, Ethan, for making my dream of a happy family come true! 】 I let out a cold laugh, immediately liked the post, and commented: 【Congrats on your happy family reunion! 】 Just as I was about to turn off my phone, it rang. Ethan. “Claire, what the hell was that comment on Jessica’s post?” “We just took a few pictures, that’s all! Did you have to leave such a nasty comment?” “Jessica saw it and got totally hysterical, now her stomach hurts!” “She’s right here next to me. You need to apologize to her, right now! If something happens to the baby because of this, you can’t afford to take responsibility!” My voice was sharp. “Who the hell does she think she is? Why should I apologize to her?” “The second I left, she threw herself at you, sleeping with a man who isn’t even divorced yet.” “Ethan, my advice? Finalize this divorce ASAP. That way, when people see you together, you can flaunt your love openly.” “It’ll be much better for the precious Cole Industries reputation too.” Ethan laughed coldly. “Claire, I already ripped up those divorce papers. I’m giving you one last chance to come back to me.” “Wait until I really don’t want you anymore. Then it’ll be too late for regrets!” I replied calmly, “Wow, thanks so much for the chance. Too bad I’m the one who doesn’t want you anymore!” “Right now, all I want is to get this divorce over with!” With that, I hung up. Ethan, Ethan, Ethan. How can you be so damn confident I’d actually want you back after you cheated? 3 Unfortunately, Ethan seemed completely incapable of understanding reality. First thing in the morning, I was jolted awake by my phone ringing. His name flashed on the screen. I immediately hit decline. But then he called the old landline in the house. Grandma, already up, reached for the phone, but I snatched the receiver faster. “Grandma, I’m hungry. Could you make me something to eat?” “When I was away, I missed your cooking every single day!” Once Grandma was safely dispatched to the kitchen, I hissed into the phone, “Ethan, will you just give it a rest!” “Can you please stop bothering my grandmother!” “Well, if you hadn’t hung up on my cell, I wouldn’t have had to call here,” Ethan shot back. “Where’s my breakfast? My stomach hurts, I’m starving.” Hearing him harassing me over breakfast, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. When I didn’t respond, Ethan’s voice grew agitated. “Get back here right now and make me breakfast! Do you want me to get an ulcer or something?” “Whether your stomach hurts or not has absolutely nothing to do with me!” “Isn’t Jessica there at the house? Let her make you something.” Ethan exploded. “Jessica is pregnant! How could I possibly let her cook!” Those words, coming through the phone line, felt like another stab to the heart. He couldn’t bear to let her cook, but I was supposed to be at his beck and call? I’ll never forget the year I was drowning in my thesis work. He called, saying he craved my homemade chili. So, I rode my bike through a torrential downpour to deliver it to his office. When I arrived, soaked to the bone, his colleagues stared at me with pity and curiosity. I knocked on his CEO office door, and who opened it? Jessica, wearing a slinky little dress. She took the insulated container from me, her voice dripping with faux surprise. “Oh, Claire, you really shouldn’t have! Coming all this way in this storm with chili!” “I told Ethan not to bother you, but he was just so worried about me, he insisted on calling you to make it for me!” Jessica’s words hit me like a bucket of ice water, freezing me from head to toe. I just stood there, motionless. It wasn’t until Ethan came out from inside that I finally found my voice. “Were you planning to give the food I made… to her?” Ethan looked completely nonchalant. “It’s just food, Claire. No big deal.” “You haven’t found a job yet anyway, making Jessica some food isn’t exactly hard work.” “Besides, I’ve always seen her as a little sister. Once we’re married, she’ll basically be your sister-in-law. Think of it as getting to know each other early.” Back then, naive and trusting, I completely bought his explanation. There was even a period when I genuinely tried to bond with Jessica. Thinking back now, I want to shake my past self awake. Claire, how could you have been so easily fooled! I gripped the phone tighter, my voice cold. “Ethan, we are getting divorced.” “If you want food, figure it out yourself. Stop harassing me with this nonsense!” “You have more than enough money, hire someone! Anyone would be willing to cook for you!” “And I assume you don’t want the scandal of your affair with Jessica splashed all over the gossip sites, right?” Before he could start yelling, I slammed the phone down. Strange. I clearly won that exchange, yet my heart still ached with a dull throb. I rubbed my tired eyes and saw Grandma standing in the doorway, holding a bowl of hot oatmeal. “Was that your husband on the phone, dear?” I managed a weak smile. “Grandma, he won’t be your grandson-in-law anymore. We’re getting divorced.” 4 After finishing the oatmeal, I rode my bike into town and printed out another copy of the divorce agreement. Just as I handed the new envelope to the courier, my phone rang again. Ethan. The frequency of his calls made me momentarily think he’d somehow already received the papers I just sent. I snapped into the phone, “We are about to be divorced! Please stop calling me!” There was a pause on the other end, then a sickly sweet voice purred, “Claire, honey, it’s me, Jessica.” “Tomorrow, Ethan and I are having our gender reveal party! You have to come, okay?” The triumph in her voice was unmistakable, even over the phone. “Jessica, you’re the mistress, the secret on the side. Who gave you the audacity to provoke the actual wife?” Jessica’s sugary-sweet voice came back, laced with venom. “Oh, Claire. The one who isn’t loved is the real third wheel.” “In Ethan’s heart, I’m the one who matters most.” “From now on, his heart only has room for me and our baby!” “Hope you can make it tomorrow. Be there!” After hanging up, a decision formed in my mind. Not only would I attend tomorrow’s party, but I’d also bring a little surprise for her and Ethan. Something truly unforgettable. The next day, when I arrived at the party venue, it was already filled with familiar faces. There were Cole family relatives, along with business partners who worked with Cole Industries. I recognized most of them from my time dating Ethan. Seeing me arrive, several people approached immediately, offering congratulations. “Congratulations, Mrs. Cole, to you and Mr. Cole on the wonderful news!” A few businesswomen chimed in with compliments, “Mrs. Cole, you’re several months along and barely showing! What’s your secret to staying so slim?” I smiled serenely. “That’s because the one who’s pregnant isn’t me.” I honestly couldn’t understand how Ethan could allow his mistress to be presented so formally in front of all these people. Wasn’t he afraid of becoming the laughingstock of their entire social circle? He must have been completely blinded by Jessica’s manipulation! Just as I finished speaking, music swelled, and Jessica walked out, arm-in-arm with Ethan. Seeing her obviously pregnant belly, everyone in the room instantly understood what I meant. The looks on the faces of all the women present shifted dramatically as they stared at the couple on the small stage. Jessica, seemingly oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere, shot me a defiant look. Putting on a frail, delicate act, she stepped forward and took the microphone. “I have to thank Claire for me being pregnant with Ethan’s baby.” “If she hadn’t fought with Ethan, I never would have had the chance to go away with him on that three-month trip!” “That’s when our baby was conceived.” This blatant airing of their dirty laundry actually made me see her in a new, albeit disgusting, light. Now I finally understood why she insisted I had to be here. She wanted to force my hand, pressure me into a quick divorce so she could marry Ethan, using the baby as leverage. And Ethan? He didn’t seem worried at all about becoming gossip fodder. So much for Ethan’s “innocent little sister.” What a calculating bitch! Jessica then picked up a champagne flute and walked towards me, smiling. “Claire, I really, truly have you to thank!” I returned her smile, unfazed. “Since you’re so grateful, let me give you a big gift in return.” I snatched the microphone from her hand. “Excuse me, servers? Could you please open the doors? Let’s welcome the baby’s biological father, Mr. Rick Johnson!” Under the confused stares of the crowd, a rough-looking man dressed in cheap clothes stormed in, fury radiating off him. He looked like a gorilla, built and angry. He saw Jessica, standing there pregnant and glammed up, and slapped her hard across the face. The force of the blow sent Jessica sprawling to the ground. He grabbed her by the hair, yelling, “You rotten bitch! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” “Took me long enough, but I finally found you!” Jessica scrambled, panicked. “No, no, no! You’ve got the wrong person!” The man sneered. “Even if you were ashes, I’d still recognize you!”

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At the wedding everyone was talking about, two grooms showed up. Me, the actual groom-to-be, was forgotten. My bride, Ava, face flushed and shy, reached out her hand to Caleb, her supposed savior, who was down on one knee proposing. He was wearing the expensive custom suit Ava had commissioned for me, holding the ring that was meant for me. When I questioned her, her face filled with disgust, her tone dripping with impatience. “A wedding is just some meaningless ceremony. The person I legally marry will still be you.” Well, if they were so madly in love, I should naturally step aside and let them be happy. Turning my back on the wedding scene, I made an overseas call. I said softly, “Pull the funding. I’ll be leaving the country as soon as possible.” 1. At the incredibly lavish wedding venue, I, the groom-to-be, was left standing alone. An endless firestorm of rage burned through my chest. My eyes were bloodshot, fists clenched tight. My fiancée, Ava, wearing her wedding dress, looked down with a surprised smile at Caleb, who was on one knee, proposing to her. The sight stabbed at my eyes, turning them red. The tightly wound thread in my mind finally snapped. This wedding was the last chance I was giving her. Before the wedding, she had sworn to me, promising to cut ties with Caleb completely and focus on being my bride. The agony flooding my eyes met Caleb’s blatant smugness and provocation. All my sincere feelings became a joke in that moment. I laughed bitterly to myself. It felt like someone had ripped a gaping hole in my chest, letting an icy wind howl through it. “Ethan, buddy, I’m sorry. I accidentally put on your suit. How could you be late on such an important day like the wedding?” Caleb’s attempts to smear me were still so pathetic. But the willfully blind Ava couldn’t see through him. Seeing my cold expression, Caleb feigned fear and hid behind Ava. She shielded him, looking at me defensively. Her voice laced with anger, the eyes that once looked at me with tenderness now held no trace of love, only irritation. “Have you caused enough trouble?” “You show up late to your own wedding and have the nerve to question Caleb? Thank God he got here in time to save the day.” I let out a cold laugh and turned around, revealing the back of my shirt, stained dark and damp with blood. Ava froze, her eyes widening slightly, a touch of red creeping into them. She stared incredulously at my back, her voice filled with confusion, “What happened?” Seeing my gaze fixed directly on Caleb, who was desperately trying to look calm, Ava’s brow furrowed slightly. She blurted out, “Impossible.” Caleb, full of dirty tricks, seized the opportunity, putting on an innocent face to defend himself. “Maybe he was just late and splashed some fake blood on himself on purpose.” “Oh really? I get mysteriously knocked out from behind, making me late. You think the real culprit might get scared if I called the cops?” Caleb’s face instantly paled, his eyes darting around, unable to meet mine. “Enough! I already agreed Caleb could handle this mess for you. I believe he’s innocent.” As soon as she finished speaking, Ava publicly took Caleb’s hand. She signaled for the ceremony to continue. And I, the real groom, became a mere spectator at my own wedding. Because Caleb had supposedly saved her life once, she was always at his beck and call, acting like his devoted wife. Fine. I’d let them have each other. 2. This time, I couldn’t even be bothered to question her. My heart had gone completely cold. Since she didn’t cherish this seven-year relationship, why should I cling to it? The back of my head throbbed where I’d been hit. I had risked my life to get to this wedding. And she agreed to let another man marry her in my place, not worried at all about my disappearance. It was always just me being foolishly devoted. Just as I was about to leave, rows of bodyguards blocked my path. “Hold him down. Make him watch and see what happens when he defies me.” Struggling was useless. The bodyguards forced me to my knees at the feet of Ava and Caleb. Forming a grotesque human triangle. The guests below, enjoying the spectacle, erupted into mocking laughter. “Hilarious! Even a kept man has a temper?” “If Ava hadn’t been supporting him all these years, he’d probably be begging on the streets. Maybe some rich old lady would pick him up as a pet she could beat whenever she wanted.” “Ava gave him plenty of respect, and he still dared to ditch the wedding? He needs to be taught a harsh lesson.” Hearing this, Ava flashed a satisfied smile. She bent down slightly, grabbing my chin, her tone dripping with contempt. “Behave yourself. You should be thanking Caleb for saving the day for you.” How could she humiliate me like this? Tears streamed down my face, but then I started to laugh, my whole body shaking. Seeing me like this, seemingly losing my mind, Ava casually looked away. She deliberately made me watch as she and Caleb exchanged wedding rings, then embraced and kissed deeply amidst waves of applause. Accompanied by my own enraged screams. The kiss ended, their lips slightly red and glistening. Caleb’s eyes were full of lust. Seeing the anguish in my eyes, he pulled Ava even tighter. His gaze towards me was pure provocation. Ava waved her hand, signaling the bodyguards to release me. She ordered me coldly, “Behave yourself later. Run interference with the drinks for us. I won’t hold being late against you anymore.” I suppressed the fury inside me, just wanting to get out of there quickly. My heart, already riddled with holes, felt so tired. I tried to walk away, but Ava blocked my path again. “Are you deaf?” My ice-cold gaze fell on their intertwined hands. A sarcastic sneer appeared on my lips. “The illegitimate daughter and the homewrecker – a perfect match. You two deserve each other. Just stay locked down and don’t ruin anyone else’s life.” The mockery in my words made both their faces change instantly. Ava, furious, pointed her finger at my nose, scolding, “Can’t you stop being so petty? The wedding is just a meaningless ceremony! The man who will legally marry me, my lawful husband, will only be you, Ethan.” Seeing me flustered, Caleb’s triumphant gaze filled his eyes. He eagerly added fuel to the fire, “Ava’s right. The wedding is just for show, for outsiders.” “If you’re still mad, you can hit me to blow off steam.” Saying this, Caleb leaned his handsome, pretty-boy face closer. I smirked slightly and rewarded him with a loud, sharp slap across the face. Caleb looked up, stunned, his cheek already swelling where I’d hit him. A flash of malice crossed his eyes. His face gradually turned red. Clenching his teeth, he managed to force a smile. Seeing him get hit, Ava flew into a rage and swung a slap at me. After this, I finally saw through her cold, heartless nature. With no lingering affection left, why would I just stand there and take a slap? I dodged it, meeting her surprised gaze. I tugged at the corner of my mouth and turned to leave the wedding venue. Threatening words followed me from behind. “If you dare take one step out of here, we’re breaking up, effective immediately!” She used to always use breaking up to control me, banking on my love for her. But now I was planning to leave her world. The leverage built on love was useless against me now. 3. I had given up my family, staying alone in this city, willingly devoted to Ava for seven years. Only to be mocked by her friends and family as a kept man, a loser, leeching off a woman to survive. This time, I was really leaving. I dialed that familiar number. Forcing down the surging, bitter emotions, I pretended to be casual, saying lightly, “Cut the funding. I’ll be leaving the country ASAP.” In three days, I would completely disappear from Ava’s world, never to meet again for the rest of our lives. After getting my head wound treated at the hospital, I returned to the home I had personally decorated for us. Forcing myself to stay awake, I threw away everything that belonged to me, just like myself – alone. From now on, there would be no trace of me left in Ava’s world. Late at night, I curled up on the sofa, burning with fever, feeling miserable. I was about to get up and turn on the lights, planning to go to the hospital. In the darkness, the firmly shut front door opened. Two voices, panting with arousal, intertwined. Even though I had warned myself internally, seeing the scene unfold before me still sent a shameful pang of pain through my heart. Ava and Caleb were tangled together, their kissing sounds like claps of thunder striking deep into my soul. I silently watched the passionate scene playing out. “Baby, I can’t wait anymore. Give yourself to me, please? I’ll be good to you.” Caleb chuckled lewdly, eagerly trying to pull off Ava’s clothes. Ava made a show of protesting playfully, hitting him lightly a few times. Clearly playing hard to get. We dated for seven years, lived together for five. I had always cherished her too much to touch her. I wanted to save that respect and value for our wedding night. But her? She couldn’t wait to bring someone back to our home, fooling around right there in the entryway. How pathetic. Just as they were about to cross the line, I abruptly flipped on the lights. It startled Caleb so much he almost went limp from fright. I chuckled nonchalantly, clapping my hands in front of them. “Quite the show tonight. Caught you red-handed, cheating.” My words stung Ava, her face paling slightly. Being caught in such a private act, even her thick skin couldn’t handle it. Her lips trembled, her face turning from white to red. Caleb pulled her into his arms, comforting her softly, then looked up at me, his eyes filled with hatred. “Ava already broke up with you. This is her house. Get the hell out.” I had seen everything just now. My stomach churned violently. Ava’s nose was red from crying, but the words she spoke sent a chill down my spine. “You’ve loved me for so many years. Can’t you even tolerate this little thing?” “Where else can you go if you leave me?” “Just be good and listen. We’ll go get legally married in a while.” ‘Be good and listen’ again. She always wanted to control my thoughts, my soul, make me live like a puppet on a string. I wasn’t her pet. I clenched my fists in anger, my body trembling uncontrollably. A coldness escaped my lips. I stared intently at the face I had loved day and night. Hating myself for being so blind, for falling in love with such a faithless woman. Sorrow wrapped around my heart like dense wires, suffocating me. I felt sick. My voice turned icy, “I agree to the breakup. From now on, we are strangers.” As soon as I said it, Ava’s expression darkened instantly. Caleb, however, looked thrilled, thinking he could finally latch onto the wealthy CEO. Endless riches would soon be his. “Ethan, I’m not discussing this with you. I’m informing you.” My head felt increasingly heavy and sick. I couldn’t be bothered wasting my breath on her. Ignoring her words, I turned to leave. But they blocked the door. Ava’s face darkened as she snapped at me. “Listen to me! Go back to your room and stay there. What’s the big deal? Everyone plays around sometimes. Just turn a blind eye.” Her brows furrowed, her eyes glaring at me with hostility. Knowing I was weak, running a high fever in the middle of the night. She ordered Caleb to drag me into the room and lock the door, only letting me out when I was ready to admit I was wrong. Even my phone, my only connection to the outside world, was confiscated. My forehead was covered in cold sweat. I curled up, feeling incredibly sick. From the next room came sounds of moaning, like relentless raindrops, washing over my already shattered heart again and again. 4. I drifted in and out of consciousness. I don’t know how much time passed before the door finally opened. Caleb kicked my head aggressively, his voice unable to hide his excitement. “Well, look who’s still alive. Be smart and get out of the way. Ava can only be mine. Even her first time was with me.” “You protected her for seven years, didn’t even dare touch her, yet she willingly let me. As another man, I even feel sorry for you.” Finished speaking, Caleb leaned close to my ear, his laughter seeming to seep in from everywhere, constantly reminding me of this humiliation. Not long after, Ava, clearly exhausted from her night’s activities, walked awkwardly out of the room. Burning with fever all night, plus the wound on the back of my head splitting open again… I opened my mouth, my voice hoarse, calling to her, “Give me my phone. I need to go to the hospital.” Hearing my voice, Ava raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking down at me. A satisfied smile appeared on her face again as she asked, “Learned your lesson?” “I’m tired of this faking-sickness act. Get up and make us breakfast.” A wave of desolation washed over me. My cheeks were flushed red from the fever; anyone who wasn’t blind could see it. Consciousness faded again. The last thing I saw was Ava’s enraged face as her hand came flying towards me in a slap. It wasn’t until the next day that I slowly regained consciousness. I was lying on the cold floor. There was a patch of white dampness on my chest, smelling faintly of bitter medicine. She hadn’t even bothered to take me to the hospital, just poured some medicine down my throat and left me lying on the floor, not caring if I lived or died. When I moved my jaw, a sharp pain shot through my face. I pushed myself up from the floor and walked to the mirror. My face was swollen like a balloon. Clear finger marks were imprinted on it. I instinctively clenched my fists. Seven long years, I gave everything, yet I didn’t even deserve basic respect. My phone, tossed on the floor, vibrated a few times. I picked it up. Caleb had sent several pictures and videos of him and Ava kissing, every message dripping with bragging. They had gone on their honeymoon. The honeymoon I had looked forward to for seven years, she casually gave it to another man. The three days were up. This reunion, seven years overdue, had finally arrived. I threw away the SIM card. The last moment before deleting my messaging app, my blurred vision focused on the pinned chat. Seven years of love. Let it have a proper end. [Goodbye!] After sending the farewell message, I boarded the plane without looking back. From now on, I was free as a bird. I would no longer be her caged pet. 5. During the time I was unreachable, Ava received the farewell message and panicked, as if she had lost the most important person in her life. She became obsessed, dropping everything to search for any trace of me. Tears of regret streamed down her face. Completely unaware of this, after a flight of over ten hours, I landed in a completely unfamiliar country.

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My wife, Olivia, lost her memory unexpectedly. She forgot all about me and our daughter, Lily, and now all she wants is to get back together with her college boyfriend and marry him. She calls me a freeloader, someone living off her success. But the truth is, I took a step back in my own career, settling for a less demanding job, specifically so I could support her ambitions and take care of our family. She insists on a divorce. My friends tell me to wait, that she’ll come back once her memory returns. But they don’t know. They don’t know that my time is running out, every single day. 1. Olivia went to Chicago for a business trip. She was supposed to be back today. She works incredibly hard. She’s always wanted to be a powerhouse in her field, so I made the sacrifice. I chose a stable but quiet job that gave me more time to manage the household and be there for everything. She didn’t really need to push herself so hard, though. Her family is wealthy; she could have walked into the family business right after graduation and had an easy life. But she went against her parents’ wishes, insisting on marrying me – just a regular guy from a modest background, nothing special to look at. They haven’t spoken since. We met in grad school. It’s been eight years since our first year. Olivia climbed the ladder from an entry-level position to a top executive. Meanwhile, I work a steady job with predictable hours, focusing on raising our daughter, Lily. Lately, I haven’t been feeling well. I managed to get to the doctor for some tests. The results came back today. I held the report, my hand shaking uncontrollably. Late-stage lymphoma. It’s spread throughout my body. There’s no cure, especially since the tumors have likely already metastasized. I don’t have much time left. I just can’t believe it. Why me? The doctor tried to comfort me. “Mr. Hayes,” he said gently, “what about your family? It would be best to have them come in so we can discuss the next steps, the treatment options. Don’t worry, medical science has come a long way. There are always options.” I looked up, forcing a smile. “Thank you, Doctor. My wife is out of town on business. I’ll check into the hospital as soon as she gets back.” 2: The Attack Nine o’clock at night. Olivia wasn’t home. I called her phone. Three times. No answer. Knowing how she usually is – affectionate, a little clingy, calling me three times a day even when she travels – a terrible feeling started creeping into my gut. I immediately tried calling her assistant, Alex. Alex picked up right away. “Hey, Ethan,” he said. “Uh, we ran into Olivia’s parents here in Chicago. She told me to head back first. Didn’t she tell you?” My stomach dropped. Olivia’s parents were in Chicago too? Why hadn’t she mentioned it? But I kept my voice calm. “Oh, right. I forgot. Sorry about that, Alex.” “No worries, Ethan.” After hanging up, I thought for a moment and sent Olivia a text: “Hey honey, did you run into your parents? Is that why you can’t talk? It’s okay, no worries. Just waiting for you to come home.” The message went unanswered, like dropping a stone into the ocean. But I trusted her. Putting my phone down, I got Lily ready for bed, washed up, and tucked her in. Lily looked up at me with her big, round eyes, so soft and sweet. “Daddy, where’s Mommy?” I tried to soothe my little princess. “Mommy’s still busy with work, sweetie. You go to sleep now, and you’ll see Mommy tomorrow, okay?” I reached down to pick her up, but the next second, it felt like someone smashed the back of my head with a hammer. An explosion of pain wiped out everything else. My vision went black. “Daddy! Daddy…” Lily kept calling me, her little voice shaky, on the verge of tears. I struggled to open my eyes. The back of my head still throbbed with a dull ache, like someone was tapping it with a small chisel. “…Daddy’s okay.” I forced myself to carry Lily to her bedroom and lay her down, then went to get some painkillers for myself. 3: She’s Back Olivia was gone for a whole week. No, not exactly gone. Alex could reach her; her work continued without interruption. She was just… gone from my life. That week, I was busy researching my condition, getting prescriptions filled, taking care of Lily. I didn’t have the energy to dig into the real reason for her “disappearance.” Until the day she came back. And she wasn’t alone. A man was with her – handsome, well-dressed, with an air of effortless charm. “Liv, this is your husband?” the man asked, looking me up and down with disdain. “So ordinary. How did you put up with him for eight years?” I clenched my jaw, ignoring him, my eyes fixed on Olivia. “Liv, what’s going on?” Then my gaze fell to their hands, fingers tightly intertwined. That grip, seeing them like that, felt more suffocating than the sharpest pang of my illness. Olivia shot him a playful, scolding look before finally turning to me. “Ethan, let’s get a divorce. Name your terms.” She still looked so sweet, so lovely. Her career had only made her sharper, more polished. But her eyes… they were completely different, terrifyingly unfamiliar, especially when she looked at me. My throat felt tight and sore. “Honey, you want to divorce me… to be with him?” I stared at them, standing there like a couple. It took me a moment to place the man. Brandon. Olivia’s first love from college, the source of four years of campus romance stories. When Olivia and I got together, she and Brandon had only been broken up for less than six months. Later, Brandon tried to get back together with her. I didn’t interfere. I calmly told her that when she figured things out with Brandon, she could come find me. I don’t know how she handled it, but after that, Brandon never appeared in our lives again. Until now? Olivia had always been devoted to our family, clean-cut in her professional life. I couldn’t believe my wife would do something like this. I stared hard at her. “What happened to you these past few days?” Olivia scoffed. “What happened to me? What business is it of yours?” I stepped forward, reaching for her hand. “Liv…” “Don’t touch me!” She recoiled as if I were something disgusting, pulling her hand away sharply. She even glared at me, her eyes fierce. “Ethan, I’ve worked my ass off for eight years, bought you this house, this car. You’ve been living off me for eight years. You should be grateful. Don’t make this split uglier than it needs to be!” “Liv, what are you talking about?” I was the one who shifted my focus to our family, who supported and encouraged her career. How did that turn into me living off her? Haven’t I contributed just as much to our home, to our daughter? What happened to her during those seven days? I fought to control my emotions, trying to ask calmly, “Liv, really… what happened?” But she couldn’t be bothered to explain. She took Brandon’s hand, turned to leave, and tossed over her shoulder, “If you won’t agree to the divorce, I’ll have my lawyer contact you.” I wanted to chase after her, but a sudden, violent pain ripped through my stomach. It felt like my insides were being tied into knots and then torn apart. My legs buckled, and I collapsed to my knees. Olivia was already out the door. If she had just turned around, she would have seen me, pale as a ghost, barely conscious. But she didn’t. Just then, Lily came out of her bedroom. Seeing Olivia, her face lit up. She ran towards her, smiling, calling out sweetly, “Mommy!” But Olivia just pushed Lily away. 4: The Check My health was getting worse by the day, the pain flaring up more often. I hired a nanny to help take care of Lily. My original plan was simple: when Olivia came back, I’d take her and Lily to the coast to watch the sunrise one last time. We were always so busy – busy with studies when we were students, busy with careers after graduation. We never made time for trips. She used to always say, “Ethan, remember, you owe me a sunrise by the ocean.” I also wanted to give her a proper wedding. We basically eloped when we got married. Her parents had cut her off. On the day we got our marriage license, we just wore new clothes, celebrated with takeout from our favorite Thai place, and didn’t even invite any friends. She put on a brave face that day, but when she talked about her parents, her eyes welled up with tears. I held her close back then and swore, “I’m sorry, Liv. I promise I’ll work hard, I’ll make your parents see, I’ll make them accept me.” But now… I had to break that promise. The next day, Brandon showed up. He asked to meet me. He slid a blank check across the table. I kept my face neutral. “What’s this supposed to mean?” Brandon smiled confidently. “Agree to the divorce, stop bothering Olivia, and this check is yours.” I laughed, a bitter, mocking sound. “Liv and I are legally married. You’re the one bothering her.” “Think what you want,” he said, crossing his arms, adopting the smug posture of a winner looking down on me. “But she’s chosen me now. Even if you’re legal, that’s about to change.” Suddenly, I grabbed his arm. I squeezed so hard the veins in my neck bulged. My eyes must have looked terrifying. Brandon flinched, startled. “Ethan! What are you doing?” I ground out through clenched teeth, “What the hell happened to Olivia? Tell me everything!” A tickle started in my throat. I couldn’t stop a violent cough that wracked my body. A wave of hot, metallic fluid surged up from my chest, and I sprayed a mouthful of blood onto Brandon’s shirt. “What the—!” His face turned whiter than mine. He looked terrified, trying to pull away, but I held him fast. All my remaining strength flowed into my hand, gripping his arm like a vise. I growled, “Talk!” Brandon yelled, “Olivia lost her memory! She doesn’t even remember you!” 5: I Agree “Even if you tell her everything now, she won’t believe you,” Brandon spat out as he was leaving, dusting himself off. “A woman never forgets her first love. Why else would she remember me and forget eight years with you? Ethan, Olivia doesn’t love you anymore. Just let it go with some dignity!” He left the check behind. “Looks like you’re not doing too well yourself,” he added. “You probably need the money. Take the check, get yourself treated.” I gave a cold smile and ripped the check into tiny pieces. … I went back to the hospital for another check-up. The doctor’s expression was grim. “The tumors have spread everywhere. Your condition is critical. You need to be admitted immediately!” I managed a weak smile. “Will staying in the hospital save my life, Doctor?” “…It can at least help manage the pain. Where are your family members? Call them in. I need to speak with them.” I shook my head. “I don’t have any family.” My parents died when I was young, which forced me to become independent and strong. I learned early on that you can only rely on yourself. My only real family is Lily, and she’s just five years old. My poor daughter. Her mother doesn’t remember her, and her father… her father is about to die. I refused hospitalization again and went home with more painkillers. Truthfully, when the pain wasn’t actively flaring up, I felt okay, just incredibly weak. But the tumors were everywhere, ready to attack at any moment… And when they did, the pain was like a saw blade cutting through my organs, each wave agonizing enough to make me pass out. I was sleeping maybe two hours a night, tops. Even with the painkillers, the pain would wake me in the middle of the night, soaking the sheets in cold sweat. I’d find bruises and nail marks on myself later, unaware I’d been clutching at my own body in agony. Until one night, I surfaced from a haze of pain to find my bedroom door open. Lily was standing by my bed, her eyes red. Her small hand was trying to wipe the sweat from my forehead. “Daddy, let me rub it better…” I was too weak to do much more than gently take her tiny hand. I whispered, trying to reassure her, “Daddy doesn’t hurt.” Her face was full of worry. She stubbornly refused to go back to her own room and eventually curled up beside me, falling asleep. Sleep was impossible for me now. I lay there, staring at the ceiling. They say real men don’t cry easily. But tears slipped from the corners of my eyes, soaking into the already damp pillow. What would happen to Lily after I’m gone? My daughter is only five. She’s so small, so sweet. Without her father, how will she navigate the rest of her life? An overwhelming wave of sorrow washed over me. When I finally calmed down a bit, my hand was already on my phone. The contact name “Olivia” burned my eyes. I dialed her number anyway. It rang for a long time before she finally answered. She must have been asleep. Her voice was quiet, but I could instantly detect the underlying irritation. “Ethan?” My voice was thin. “Honey, I’m not feeling well…” She cut me off impatiently. “If you’re not feeling well, call a doctor. Why are you calling me? Do you know what time it is?” It felt like a needle piercing my heart. Even breathing hurt. “Liv, you’re my wife…” She paused, a hint of weariness in her voice. “I wish I weren’t. Unless this is about the divorce, please don’t bother me.” She hung up. My voice was so weak, but she couldn’t even tell. I let out a long, bitter laugh, then dialed her number again. As soon as she picked up, I said, “I agree to the divorce. Let’s get the papers drawn up tomorrow.” Our eighth anniversary was just around the corner. Looks like I wouldn’t make it.

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Reborn on my wedding day. That’s how it felt. I watched my wife-to-be, Sarah, slip away, saying she needed to touch up her makeup. But I saw her get into a sedan parked just around the corner from the hotel. A few moments later, she came back, eyes red-rimmed, her lipstick smudged, tears glistening. I knew who was in that car. Mark. Her ex-boyfriend she could never quite let go of. I also knew… in five minutes, a car would lose control and speed toward us. In my previous life—the one that felt like it just ended—she pushed me. Right into the path of that speeding car. I died with my eyes wide open. 1. The moment I was hit, everything seemed to shift into slow motion. The piercing screech of brakes, the acrid smell of rubber burning against asphalt, the driver’s terrified face reflected in the windshield as it spiderwebbed, the brutal impact tearing at my body— Then, screams from bystanders, the sickening crunch of bone, and the heavy thud as I hit the ground. My mind fogged over. Blood poured out of me like water from a burst pipe, staining the concrete sidewalk red, staining… the velvet ring box clutched in my hand. I blinked, slow, sluggish. Through blurry vision, I saw Sarah. Her back was to me. She was frantically checking Mark, her voice tight with panic, “Are you okay? Did any glass hit you? That car just came out of nowhere—” She stopped mid-sentence, as if finally registering something else. She froze. Slowly, stiffly, she turned. Her eyes scanned the shattered glass on the ground, the spreading pool of blood, and finally landed on me, drenched in it. Her lips trembled. Her perfectly made-up face went blank. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. I stared at that face, a mixture of grief and shock, and hated myself for the flicker of familiar pity, the instinct to comfort her. “Hey, don’t cry…” The whisper died in my blood-filled throat. The next second, Mark pulled her firmly into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Shh, don’t look.” And Sarah wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him with an intimacy that felt like a physical blow. Her choked sobs came muffled against his shoulder, “What do we do? What do we do… I didn’t mean to…” He just held her tighter, murmuring reassurances. Like they were the couple. The ones meant to be. —If only Sarah wasn’t wearing the custom wedding dress we’d picked out together. —If only I wasn’t the groom waiting for her. The whole scene felt absurd. A sick joke. Amidst the growing chaos of sirens and shouting people, my world faded to black. Silence. My unfinished wedding day. My very complete death day. 2. The flashback hit me like a physical blow, snapping me back to the present. I blinked, seeing Sarah’s sweet, pretty face right in front of me. My bones and muscles ached with phantom pain. I pressed my fingers to my temples, fighting a wave of dizziness. It slowly dawned on me… I was back. Reborn. Reliving it. Right now, Sarah and I were standing at the entrance of the hotel lobby, greeting wedding guests. She was radiant, smiling, the perfect bride. She noticed me staring, lost in thought. Her cheeks puffed out slightly, a faint pink blush rising on her ears. “What are you looking at me like that for? You goofball, spacing out again!” I forced down the panic churning inside me and managed a shaky smile. “Nothing.” But… Sarah’s mind was already elsewhere. She glanced down at a new message on her phone, her expression shifting, becoming restless. I watched her eyes dart towards the street outside, saw her fingers tighten almost imperceptibly. Suddenly, I felt ice-cold calm. Her fidgeting lasted only three minutes. Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she looked up at me, forcing a casual tone. “My face feels a little oily. I’m just gonna pop over and have the makeup artist touch it up.” Before I could reply, she hitched up her wedding dress and started walking quickly towards the exit. Instinctively, I grabbed her wrist. “Don’t rush off. I’ll come with you.” Her hurried expression froze. She bit her lip, then tried for a playful pout. “Silly, I’m getting my makeup fixed. What would you come for? Are we ditching the guests? Forgetting about greeting our relatives?” I took a breath, my grip tightening slightly without meaning to. “Your makeup looks perfect, honey. You don’t need a touch-up.” “Our parents and aunts and uncles will be here soon. And aren’t we changing outfits and getting a whole new look after the receiving line anyway? You can get touched up then.” Sarah stomped her foot lightly in frustration, but her attention was immediately snagged by her phone vibrating in her hand. She shot a quick glance at the screen, her face paling. Wrenching her arm free from my grasp, she bolted outside. Without even a word of explanation. I stared down at the polished marble floor of the five-star hotel, silent for a long moment. I knew. That text was from him. Mark. The ex she couldn’t forget. Right now, that struggling musician was sitting in a beat-up sedan around the corner, waiting for her. Struggling or not… it didn’t matter. One short text message, and the woman I’d cherished, spoiled, and loved with everything I had for three years, would drop me without a second thought and run to him. I also knew that in about ten minutes, a car would lose control and crash towards the three of us. And Sarah, desperate to protect the man behind her, wouldn’t hesitate to shove me under its wheels. 3. It took me a year to win Sarah over. We first met at the convenience store where she worked the late shift. The first time I saw her, she had her hair up in a messy bun, her face clean of makeup, naturally pretty with a soft pink glow. She was adorable. Right then, though, she was being yelled at by an older woman pointing a finger right in her face. “Which one of your eyes saw me open this drink? You expect me to pay? Just some broke kid working here, trying to scam people out of money?” Sarah’s round, almond eyes filled with tears, her face flushed bright red. Her voice was small but firm. “I saw… you opened that bottle of coffee…” The older woman glanced towards a corner, clearly a blind spot for the security cameras, and her voice got louder, more confident. “You little liar! Slandering people has consequences, you know that?! I’m going to report you to your manager!” Just as her finger was about to poke Sarah’s nose, I stepped in front of the trembling girl. I held up my phone towards the woman. “Ma’am, I was just testing out the new video features on my phone. Happened to catch you feeling thirsty, twisting the cap off, and drinking half that bottle.” “You must have forgotten after you took that phone call, right? Easy mistake to make.” The woman’s face went through shades of red and white before she finally threw five bucks on the counter and stormed out, embarrassed. The girl wiped her eyes and gave me a small smile, revealing cute dimples. “Thank you so much. My name’s Sarah. Let me buy you a drink.” “Uh, I’m Ethan,” I stammered, caught off guard by her sweet, genuine smile. It felt like a feather had brushed against my heart. Growing up, I wasn’t exactly starved for female attention. I’d gotten my share of crushes and notes. But Sarah… Sarah was the first girl in years who actually made my heart skip a beat. Still, Sarah turned me down when I first asked her out. She explained her situation. An irresponsible younger brother, a father with a gambling problem. Her family wasn’t well-off. That’s why she was working two jobs, day and night, trying to make ends meet. It had even forced her to break up with her boyfriend. She didn’t want to be a burden to anyone. While I wasn’t some trust-fund kid, my parents were both university professors. We were comfortable. I’d recently started a company with a few buddies from college, and we’d just secured our first round of angel investment. We were from different worlds. But I was stubborn. Possessed by this need to see it through. Every night, I waited outside the convenience store until her shift ended, insisting on walking her home. After a year, she finally gave in. She agreed to go out with me. 4. As we got closer, I realized that despite her independent streak, Sarah was actually quite hesitant and unsure when it came to emotional decisions. Maybe because she got so little warmth from her own family, she valued relationships intensely. She willingly sacrificed so much for her family, just trying to hold onto that thin thread of connection. But I never imagined that this same trait—this deep sense of loyalty—would also make it so hard for her… to completely break away from her past relationship. Sarah was honest with me. She told me about her ex, Mark. They were high school classmates who went to the same local college. After graduation, Mark decided to try and make it in the city. Sarah, pressured by her parents, stayed in our hometown to work and help support her family. The distance, her parents’ disapproval of Mark’s financial situation, and her own fear of holding him back led to their breakup. Her past didn’t bother me. If anything, it made me care about her more. During our relationship, I poured all my patience, tenderness, and attention into her. Over three years, I watched the smiles on her face become more frequent, the shadows in her eyes replaced by a playful light and a growing reliance on me. I felt deeply satisfied. People are only reserved when they don’t feel cherished. With me, she could be impulsive, moody, even a little spoiled. I’d handle it. I wanted to be the one who loved her unconditionally. My business partners joked that I was raising a daughter, not dating a girlfriend. But only I knew how much I wanted this girl, the one with the sweet dimples, to have a life that was sweeter, just a little bit sweeter. Until this moment. Thirty minutes before our wedding, watching her run off without a backward glance, rushing towards the hotel exit. She didn’t even notice her veil slip off and fall to the floor behind her. I looked down at the engagement photo displayed near the entrance – us, smiling, happy. My heart settled into a cold, hard decision. 5. I calmly watched Sarah get into the sedan parked down the street. She seemed completely absorbed by Mark inside the car, totally oblivious to me standing just thirty feet away at the corner. I thought I could hear faint sobs carried on the wind. Even though I’d made my decision, my heart still sank, inch by inch, in the cold breeze. Had I ever realized… that marrying me made her feel this trapped? This miserable? Their silhouettes seemed to merge in a tight embrace. I didn’t go closer. I just turned quietly and walked away. Twenty minutes later, Sarah found me back in the lobby, her nose slightly red. “Okay, I’m back. Makeup’s fixed.” I looked deeply into her eyes, noting the faint redness at the corners, and nodded noncommittally. She seemed nervous, weaving her fingers through mine, holding our joined hands in front of her. She looked earnestly at me. “Ethan, I really do want to marry you. Spend my life with you.” Her clear, almond eyes held the familiar look of dependence I knew so well. Except… it didn’t stir anything in me anymore. I lowered my gaze, smiling faintly. Using the excuse of greeting an arriving guest, I gently pulled my hand free. “Is that so.” She seemed to sense the shift but didn’t know how to ask. She just stuck close to my side like a shadow, pouting slightly. “Ethan, what’s wrong? You’re acting kind of weird. Are you keeping something from me?” My gaze drifted away. “I got you a surprise gift,” I said distractedly. “You’ll find out during the ceremony.” She seemed slightly reassured, her eyes curving into a sweet smile. Ten minutes later. The wedding ceremony. The officiant asked, “Mr. Ethan Miller, do you take Ms. Sarah Jenkins to be your lawfully wedded wife, to respect her, to love and protect her, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, forsaking all others, ’til death do you part?” Under Sarah’s pleading gaze, I lowered my eyes slightly, smiled faintly, and answered, slowly and clearly, gently but firmly, “I don’t.” I watched calmly as the happy smile on her face froze, the color draining away, leaving her almost translucent and swaying under the spotlight. 6. The entire room erupted in shocked whispers and gasps. Sarah’s father, Gary, and her brother, Danny, jumped up from their seats, furious, but a couple of my friends, whom I’d briefed beforehand, quickly and firmly held them back. Meanwhile, my groomsmen escorted Mark onto the stage, gripping his shoulders tightly as he tried to struggle. Under Sarah’s terrified gaze, I gave her a small smile. “Sarah, honey, your groom… is someone else.” Amidst the rising murmur of confusion, I took the microphone from the officiant. “My apologies to everyone for this… unexpected turn of events.” “This gentleman,” I gestured towards Mark, “is the bride’s ex-boyfriend. Though… judging by their recent tearful reunion, perhaps I’m the one who should be leaving.” “Sarah, you don’t have to sneak off to see him before the wedding anymore. You don’t have to put on that heartbroken, can’t-let-go act for him.” “You know, over the last three years, whatever you wanted, I always found a way to give it to you.” “This wedding reception, this venue… consider it my gift to you.” “I always just wanted you to be happy.” “But from here on out, I can’t walk that path with you anymore.” “I wish you happiness.” Sarah was trembling violently, barely able to stand. She reached for my hand, tears streaming down her face. “Ethan, it’s not what you think…” “I just… I just had a moment of weakness, I wanted to say goodbye properly… You’re the one I care about! I really wanted to marry you, spend my life with you!” “You were always the one who forgave me everything, right? You said I could be myself with you, act out, test boundaries, do whatever I wanted, and you’d always accept me!” “I know I messed up this time! Please, forgive me, okay?” I looked at her face, etched with grief and desperation, and felt a strange calm, almost surprising myself. The old me… I could never bear to see Sarah shed a single tear. Even just the slightest hint of redness in her eyes would send me into a panic, ready to offer her my heart on a platter. So… this is what she looked like when she cried. It wasn’t… that big a deal, after all. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mark’s face flushed red, his jaw clenched tight. I smiled faintly and gently wiped the tears from Sarah’s cheek. A flicker of hope ignited in her eyes. She looked at me through her tears. She always knew how to soften me up. After three years together, I knew her better than she knew herself sometimes. She was genuinely scared, genuinely regretting it now. I believed that when she got into that car, she hadn’t actually intended to leave me for good. I even believed that in the previous timeline, when she instinctively pushed me, she hadn’t fully grasped the consequences. But… so what? Instincts reveal the truth. I’d already died once because of it. I had to have learned something from that. You can’t un-spill milk. And my love, Ethan Miller’s love… it wasn’t that cheap.

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We’d planned a camping trip with friends. We’d barely gotten the tents up when my girlfriend vanished. Suddenly, I saw her on a distant hillside, waving at me. Excited, I started towards her, but then I saw— In the firelight, her body was mangled, reeking of blood and a sickening stench. 1. After college graduation, my dorm mates and I decided to celebrate with a camping trip up in the mountains. But as we hiked up with our packs, we kept catching whiffs of this faint, disgusting smell. Sam, our resident animal expert, said it was probably just scat from animals marking territory. I wasn’t so sure. It didn’t smell quite right, and the odor seemed to follow us. Still, Sam knew more than I did, so I kept my mouth shut. For safety, we ditched the tents and rented a cabin deep in the woods instead. We reached the cabin just before sunset and checked the place out. I gave the doors and windows a good shove – solid. It would take serious force to break them open. Telling Chloe this seemed to ease her nerves a bit. Night fell fast. We built a bonfire out front. The roaring flames pushed back the pitch-black forest night, and we all started to relax. The three girls – Chloe, Sarah (Mike’s girlfriend), and Jessica (Dan’s girlfriend) – started taking pictures nearby. Us four guys – me, Mike, Sam, and Dan – checked out the cabin layout and started prepping dinner. After messing around for a while, we gathered back around the fire. I did a quick headcount, and my blood ran cold. I jumped up, yelling, “Where’s Chloe?! Where did she go?!” Sarah and Jessica looked at each other, panic flashing in their eyes. “I don’t know,” Sarah stammered. “She wandered off to take pictures somewhere else, away from us. Maybe she’s just nearby?” “Yeah, yeah, let’s go look for her,” Jessica added quickly. “Where was she taking pictures?” I demanded. They both pointed towards a dense thicket not far off. I looked where they pointed. It was completely dark over there, but I could faintly hear the sound of running water. Chloe was careful. She wouldn’t go near a dark, dense thicket deep in the mountains, especially when you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Unless… Unless something drew her over there. 2 We fanned out, waving our flashlights, yelling Chloe’s name. The powerful beams that cut through city darkness were practically useless out here in the woods. Beyond the bonfire’s glow was just suffocating blackness. Dan suggested, “Maybe she went inside to use the bathroom?” I bolted back into the cabin, searched everywhere, then stumbled back out, red-eyed and weak-kneed. I shook my head at the others. Chloe wasn’t inside. The mood plummeted. Everyone else drifted back towards the fire, defeated, except me. Suddenly, I spotted her. On a hillside, far off, stood Chloe, waving at me. She looked frantic, maybe stuck up there, unable to get down. The wind whipped her dress around her legs. She looked so fragile, so helpless. My head swam. I lurched forward, ready to run to her, but then the bonfire behind me suddenly flared violently. I heard panicked shouts and scrambling. Sam had accidentally knocked over the lighter fluid onto the flames. Mike cursed, “Are you stupid?! You start a forest fire, we’re all getting hauled off by the cops!” Jessica yelled, “Quick! Get a bucket of water! Knock the flames down, but don’t put it out completely!” … The chaos behind me faded into background noise. I felt hollow, cold, my body frozen stiff. Because I watched, horrified, as the “Chloe” on the distant hill, startled by the sudden burst of fire, dropped onto all fours and scrambled away into the deep woods. 3 I stumbled back to the bonfire, numb, trying to force myself to accept that Chloe was gone. Weird stories my grandpa used to tell me surfaced in my mind, suddenly feeling chillingly real. When the fire had flared up, it lit the whole area like daylight for a split second. In that instant, I’d gotten a clear look at the thing on the hill. Pitch black, long limbs, standing almost like a human. When it turned its head, its eyes met mine – there was a glint of something disturbingly intelligent, almost human, in them, and fresh blood smeared around its muzzle. Bears mimicking human behavior to lure people closer. Chloe… had she seen something like that? Been tricked, just like I almost was? Chloe… My Chloe… The others saw me finally returning and rushed over, asking what happened. Shaken to my core, I choked out the words, “Chloe… she might be dead.” Mike grabbed my shoulder. “Whoa, man, are you crazy? Don’t say stuff like that about your own girlfriend! Are you in shock? Just calm down, maybe she’s okay?” The others chimed in, trying to reassure me, murmuring that Chloe was fine. But seeing me trembling uncontrollably, hearing the choked, guttural sounds escaping my throat, their voices trailed off. I collapsed to my knees, sobbing. “She’s dead! There’s a bear in these woods! That bear… it killed her! It was wearing her clothes just now, waving from the hill, trying to get me to go over there…” Overwhelming terror washed over me, but I forced myself back to my feet and staggered towards the thicket where Chloe must have been attacked. The others were too scared to follow. They huddled near the cabin and the fire, ready to bolt if anything happened. I pushed aside the dense bushes. The ground was dark and wet with patches of blood. A long, gruesome drag mark led from the thicket deep into the forest. And right there, in the middle of the disturbed undergrowth, lay a severed hand, clutching my cellphone. My vision went black. I could picture it all too clearly. Chloe noticed a rustling in the bushes next to where she was taking pictures. She looked closer and saw my phone lying just inside the thicket. Knowing I never went anywhere without it, she must have assumed I was just behind the bushes, maybe playing a prank. So she pushed aside the branches and stepped in… She probably never imagined that what waited for her wasn’t her boyfriend, but the snarling face of a bear. 4 Reeling from the shock, we all scrambled back inside the cabin, shoving the sofa and cabinets against the door to barricade ourselves in. We huddled in the living room, trying to figure out what to do. Mike suggested calling the cops or park rangers. But everyone shot that down immediately. Cell service was practically non-existent out here. We wouldn’t be able to contact anyone until daylight tomorrow, if then. And none of us really knew anything about bear behavior. We had no idea if it hunted during the day too. “That smell,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “The one we smelled on the hike up… it’s the same smell I caught back there in the thicket. It means this bear has been following us the whole time.” Sarah whispered, horrified, “It saw us as prey from the very beginning.” Mike slammed his fist on the table. “Damn it! Who the hell said this place was safe?!” Something else chilled me to the bone. How did the bear get my phone without me knowing? The only time I’d left it unattended was when I put it in the car earlier… unless it could open car doors… Unless it could open car doors! I sat bolt upright, my eyes fixed on the cabin’s doorknob. Slowly, deliberately, the knob began to turn, pushed down from the outside… Like something out there was methodically trying the handle, attempting to open the door. 5 Everyone’s eyes followed mine to the doorknob. The cabin fell deathly silent. The knob jiggled and turned for a while, but the door didn’t open. Sam let out a shaky breath. “I remember now… I put the deadbolt on earlier. Added an extra lock.” The tension eased slightly, but then— THUD! THUD! THUD! The sound of a massive body slamming against the wooden door echoed terrifyingly in the silent forest night, mingling with the frantic pounding of our hearts in our ears. The air in the cabin froze. No one dared to breathe. Thankfully, the door was sturdy. After a few more heavy impacts, the bear seemed to give up and move away. The sounds faded. I cautiously spoke up. “Let’s all go back to our rooms. Get some rest. We’ll figure out how to get down the mountain tomorrow.” Reluctantly, they all shuffled upstairs. Up in my room, the empty space beside me on the double bed felt like a physical ache. I couldn’t even bring Chloe home whole. A flicker of movement caught my eye outside. My body went rigid. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, I turned my head. Through the clear windowpane, illuminated only by the faint moonlight filtering through the trees, a pair of eerie green eyes stared back at me from the branches of a large tree directly opposite my window. The black bear had climbed the tree, positioning itself perfectly to watch me in my room. It was scouting the place. Then, in a gesture that felt both mocking and menacing, it lifted a paw and waved, exactly like it had on the hillside. Rage surged through me. I moved to throw open the window, grab something heavy to hurl at it. But as my hand touched the window frame, I caught the calculating glint in its eyes. It started swaying back and forth on the branch, gathering momentum, as if planning to leap across. I froze, my hand dropping from the window. I locked eyes with it, my expression cold. Realizing I wasn’t going to open the window, the bear gradually slowed its swaying and stopped. I lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if it ever left its perch throughout the long night. 6 The next morning, we all gathered in the living room and cautiously moved the furniture away from the door. Armed with kitchen knives, we slowly stepped outside. It seemed the bear wasn’t around in the daylight; it wasn’t lying in wait for us. Mike did a quick sweep around the cabin, then shook his head, signaling it was clear for now. We decided to take the two cars and get the hell out of there. Mike and Sam went to get the cars while the rest of us started gathering our stuff. Less than half an hour later, we saw Mike and Sam sprinting back towards the cabin, looking utterly terrified, practically tripping over themselves. They screamed at us, voices raw with panic, “Run! Get back inside!” Before their words even fully registered, a massive black shape burst out from behind the cabin, charging straight for us. All hell broke loose. Everyone scrambled, shoving and tripping in a desperate surge towards the narrow doorway. Seeing most of us were inside and the bear was closing in fast, Dan panicked and slammed the door shut. Immediately, a woman’s bloodcurdling scream erupted from outside, followed by agonizing cries of pain. We heard the sickening crack of bones, the wet, tearing sounds of flesh being ripped and chewed, the spatter of blood. Mike, who had been bringing up the rear, closest to the bear, was locked outside. Sarah flew at Dan, shaking him violently. “He was almost inside! Just another second! Why did you shut him out?! Why?!” she shrieked, hysterical. Jessica pulled her off Dan. “And let the bear follow him right in to kill us all?! Is that what you wanted?!” she yelled back. “If Dan hadn’t shut the door, someone else would have!” “Mike was fast! He could have made it! He could have squeezed in and slammed the door himself! He could have! You murderers are just making excuses!” … Their shouting grated on my nerves. The image of the bear on the hill wearing Chloe’s dress flashed through my mind, then the severed hand clutching my phone… the drag marks leading into the woods… “Enough!” I roared, silencing them. “Fighting like this won’t help! Stop it!” Everyone fell silent. I turned to Sam. “Tell us exactly what happened. How did you two run into the bear? Where did it come from?” Sam’s face was ghost-white. He struggled to speak, clearly traumatized. After a moment, his trembling voice, barely audible over the horrific sounds still echoing from outside, reached us. “The bear… it was in the car! The whole damn thing was hiding in the driver’s seat.” From Sam’s terrified account, we pieced it together. They’d walked up to the car, guard down, opened the driver’s side door, and came face-to-face with the black bear coiled up inside. They had no idea how it got in there. Startled by the door opening, it had whipped its head around to face them. The massive bear head stared right at them. Then, all three reacted instantly. What followed was the nightmare scene we had just witnessed. 7 The sounds outside finally stopped, replaced by a heavy, deathly silence. No one in the cabin spoke. “So,” I asked, my voice low, “the car the bear was in… it’s wrecked, right?” Sam nodded numbly. “Okay,” I said, thinking aloud. “That leaves us with only one working car. Not enough to get everyone down the mountain. We need a different plan.” Everyone looked at me, waiting. “One of us needs to go out there and get the other car,” I stated clearly. “The doors on that one were locked, so we know the bear can’t be hiding inside it. That person drives down, gets help, and comes back.” The obvious questions hung in the air: How do we get out the door past the bear, assuming it’s still nearby? And who would be the one to go? I looked around at the remaining group. Everyone avoided my gaze, staring at the floor. Sam was shaken and physically smaller. Dan had Jessica to worry about. “I’ll go,” I said. “I’ll get the car, call the sheriff from down the road, get help. You guys stay inside, keep the door barricaded, and don’t do anything stupid.” The metallic tang of blood hung heavy in the air near the door. I could almost smell the bear’s unique, foul odor again. It had quieted its movements, holding its breath, lurking right outside the door. It hadn’t left. 8 Sarah spoke up, her voice tight. “Is anyone here a good throw?” I stepped forward. “Me. I go to the shooting range sometimes in my spare time. Just a hobby, but my aim’s decent.” Sarah nodded, her eyes glinting with a cold fury that made us all shiver. She could smell the bear outside too. “Okay. You,” she pointed at me, “go upstairs. Take a kitchen knife. When we give the signal, throw it at the bear to scare it off. Sam, you watch from the main living room window. Dan, take the kitchen window. Jessica, the west-facing bedroom. I’ll take the study on the east side. We cover all angles. Watch the blind spots. Keep track of where it goes. We keep watching until we’re damn sure it’s gone.” We moved to our assigned positions. I went upstairs. Hearing the shouts from downstairs, I knew it was time. The bear was crouched right in the door’s blind spot. It probably thought we could only see outside through the door itself. It looked relaxed, almost resting, but the slight twitch of its ears gave away its alertness. I took the smaller, sharper knife and aimed for its nose. I remembered seeing vets lightly tap stray cats on the nose to get their attention – I knew it was a sensitive spot. Worth a shot. Sure enough, a furious roar erupted from below. I saw the bear – it looked like a grizzly now I saw it closer, or maybe a large black bear, hard to tell in the shadows – slam itself against the cabin wall in a rage. The whole structure shuddered; I felt the vibration through the floorboards. Then I saw it bolt into the woods to the right – the same side where our remaining car was parked. I wasn’t convinced it wasn’t just faking a retreat, hiding in the trees, waiting for someone to make a run for the car. So I waited. Patiently. The others waited with me, watching their assigned sectors. And sure enough, about two hours later, we heard rustling from the woods on the right. The movement in the underbrush slowly receded deeper into the forest. I called Dan up to take my place watching from the second-floor window, while I went down to make a break for the car. Outside, the air felt suddenly colder. I scanned the surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place. Taking a deep breath, I started walking slowly, then broke into an all-out sprint towards the car. Fumbling with the keys, unlocking and yanking the door open took maybe three seconds flat. Just as I slammed the door shut and hit the locks, I saw movement in the nearby bushes. I jammed the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. I stared hard at the bushes, bracing myself for an attack, ready to ram it if I had to. But only a rabbit darted out. Slowly, I turned the car around and headed back down the path we’d driven up. It was already around 5 PM, and darkness was creeping in again. Even with the high beams on, the headlights barely cut through the dense forest night. About halfway down the mountain, I saw someone in the middle of the road up ahead, frantically waving, like they were trying to hitch a ride. It looked like something was chasing them from behind. But the way they were waving… it looked chillingly, sickeningly familiar.

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On my wedding day, my fiancé got a call from his old flame. “If you don’t come right now, I’ll jump off this roof!” He replied coldly, “Oh? Then go ahead and jump!” But I saw it clearly. As he said those words, his face went deathly pale, and his hands were shaking. In the end, he still bolted out the door. I lifted my veil. “Sorry, everyone. The wedding’s canceled.” 1 Wedding day. I clutched my bouquet tightly, my smile frozen as I watched my fiancé, Ethan Cole. He was staring at his phone, brow furrowed. The video call ringtone on the screen chimed over and over again. But he didn’t answer, nor did he hang up. The initial laughter and cheers from the guests below had died down, replaced by whispers and murmurs. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I reached over and swiped the screen, answering the call for him. When the video connected, the face that appeared was his ex-girlfriend of seven years, Jessica Bell. In the video, Jessica wore a white, gauzy dress. She was standing on the rooftop terrace, looking like a flower about to wilt at any moment. I recognized it as the rooftop of our wedding hotel. For a second, my mind spun. What was she trying to do? “Ethan, congratulations on your wedding day. I know I shouldn’t bother you, but before I leave this world, I wanted to see you one last time.” Ethan’s hand holding the phone trembled slightly, but his face maintained a mask of indifference. “Jessica, you and I are over! Don’t think this stunt will make me give in!” On the other end of the video, Jessica’s face was ghostly white. “Ethan, how can you be so cruel to me? If you don’t come, I’ll jump from here right now!” Ethan was clearly panicked, his face drained of color, his eyes frantic, yet he forced himself to sound cold. “Oh? Then go ahead and jump!” I stared at Ethan in shock. What the hell was he saying?! Seeing Jessica about to take that step, I panicked! Ignoring the shocked faces of the guests, I ripped off my veil and kicked him hard. “Get up there and talk her down! I don’t want to be blamed for someone’s death!” As I spoke, I pulled out my own phone and dialed 911 and the fire department. “Hello? Someone’s threatening to jump from the roof of the Grand Astoria Hotel! Please send help immediately!” 2 The police and firefighters arrived quickly. The crowds around the hotel were dispersed, and an inflatable air cushion was set up below. Dragging the heavy skirt of my wedding dress, I followed the police up to the roof. Ethan rushed ahead frantically, leaving me behind. Firefighters were on the floor below, ready to climb up and grab Jessica. Jessica sat on the edge of the rooftop, her thin figure looking like it could be blown away by the wind at any moment. “Jessica, what trick are you playing now?” “Ethan, you finally came to see me!” Hearing Ethan’s voice, Jessica turned her head, her face lighting up with surprise. “I knew it! You still care about me!” Ethan glanced at me, then turned back to Jessica. “Jessica, get down from there. We broke up. I don’t love you anymore. Stop threatening me with your life!” His tone was cold, but as he spoke, his hands, clenched into fists at his sides, were subtly trembling. The look in his eyes as he gazed at Jessica was filled with restrained, agonizing pity. But that very look provoked Jessica. “Liar! You obviously still love me!” Jessica became agitated, her eyes suddenly fixing on me standing nearby. “Is it you? Did you force him? Otherwise, how could he possibly ignore me!” Watching her teetering on the edge, emotionally distraught, my heart leaped into my throat. “Jessica, don’t get upset! Please, come down first! We can talk about anything, just talk calmly.” I tried my best to soothe her, but Jessica, consumed by her breakdown, couldn’t hear anything. “You shut up! Let Ethan talk to me!” “Ethan, you’re married now. You must be happy, right?” Ethan didn’t speak, just stared intently at her. “Ethan, I met you first. I’ve loved you for ten years.” “Back in school, you were the one who chased away the bullies. You asked me to be your desk partner. You were the one who asked me out.” “To keep up with you, I changed my college major choice to go to the same city as you.” “To be worthy of you, I accepted your mom’s help and went to study abroad.” “You promised me we’d get married when I came back.” “So why did you get together with Vivian?” “Is it just because Vivian is prettier than me? Her family is better off?” Jessica looked at Ethan, her eyes blurry with tears. “Ethan, I’m asking you one last time, do you love me or not!” I looked at Ethan beside me. His eyes were filled with panic and worry, but even so, he still hesitated, refusing to answer. Jessica, having waited in vain for Ethan’s response, was utterly disappointed. She gave a bitter smile, her white dress whipping in the wind. “So, it was just me fooling myself all along! Ethan Cole, I want you to never forget me!” With that, she fell downwards like a broken butterfly. “No!” Ethan’s face changed drastically, and he scrambled forward! 3 In the nick of time, Ethan grabbed Jessica’s arm. Simultaneously, a firefighter who had been waiting nearby leaped forward and caught Jessica as she fell. Through their combined efforts, Jessica was pulled back to safety. Ethan held Jessica tightly, his face etched with fear and heartache. “How could you be so foolish? It’s so high up, imagine how much it would hurt if you fell…” And Jessica, in Ethan’s arms, cried tears of joy mixed with relief. “I knew it, you still love me…” They clung to each other, filled with the relief and affection of surviving a near-tragedy. I couldn’t even process the sight of them embracing so openly, ignoring everyone else. The breath I had been holding rushed out, and I felt all strength leave my body, collapsing onto the ground… Thank God, she was saved. If Jessica had died in front of me, I would have carried that guilt for the rest of my life! My mind was filled only with relief that Jessica was safe. I didn’t even notice the pitying looks the police officers and firefighters were giving me… 4 Amidst the chaos, Ethan took Jessica to the hospital. I returned alone to the reception hall where our wedding was supposed to happen. The guests hadn’t left yet. They were clustered together, buzzing with gossip about what had just happened. “Can this wedding even go on?” “Probably not, right? His ex-girlfriend called threatening suicide…” “What a disaster for a wedding. How could he just leave the bride here alone…” The room was noisy, with my name and Ethan’s popping up frequently. I reapplied my makeup, took a deep breath, gathered my skirt, and walked onto the stage, picking up the microphone. Amidst my parents’ pained expressions and Ethan’s parents’ grim faces, I looked out at the friends and family below. Composing myself, I said, “I sincerely apologize for taking up your valuable time. Due to an emergency involving the groom, this wedding is canceled. Any wedding gifts received will be returned shortly…” After speaking, I felt drained, a dull, pulling ache starting in my chest. I fought hard to keep the tears from falling. The Sterling family couldn’t become a laughingstock. Vivian Sterling couldn’t become a laughingstock. My parents came up to the stage, looking heartbroken, and escorted me away. The wedding finally ended amidst sighs and whispers from the crowd. 5 After seeing off the guests, I took out the wedding ring and the engagement gifts Ethan had given me and handed them all back to his parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Cole, it seems Ethan and I weren’t meant to be. Please take these back. I hope Ethan finds a girl he truly loves in the future.” Once I calmed down, my main feeling was relief that things had been so hectic I hadn’t gotten around to signing the marriage license. No property division issues to deal with. Ethan’s parents refused to take the items back. Mrs. Cole tried to apologize on his behalf. “Vivian, dear, what Ethan did was wrong. But from another perspective, Ethan is innocent too. He had no idea that girl would threaten to jump!” “I apologize to you on his behalf. Our family has wronged you. Can you please forgive him just this once?” I shook my head. Jessica had escalated to using her own life to threaten Ethan. If there was a first time, who could say there wouldn’t be a second, a third… As long as Ethan and I were together, Jessica would always be a ticking time bomb between us. Ethan would just exhaust himself caught in this toxic dynamic. I didn’t want to play this twisted game of drama and heartache anymore. 6 News of the canceled wedding spread like wildfire. It blew up online. #ColeIndustriesCEOWeddingDisruptedByExSuicideAttempt# #VivianSterlingJilted# #PowerOfTheOldFlame# I looked at these trending hashtags, sighed deeply, and made calls to get them taken down. It wasn’t until evening, after dealing with everything, that I finally got a call from Ethan. “Vivian, why did you cancel the wedding!” I didn’t answer. He knew the answer better than anyone. Seeing my silence, Ethan softened his tone slightly. “Vivian, please don’t be mad, okay? You saw the situation. Jessica was threatening to jump. Besides, you were the one who told me to go talk her down.” “It was a life at stake, after all. I just took her to the hospital. Why couldn’t you wait for me? How could you just announce the wedding was canceled on your own?” Ethan said this with such self-righteousness, as if canceling the wedding was entirely my fault. “Vivian, since the wedding’s canceled, I won’t blame you. Let’s reschedule, okay? I really do love you.” Ethan said he loved me? But not once, all day long, had Ethan asked how I was doing! I was the one who dealt with the trending topics online. My parents and I were the ones explaining things to all the relatives and friends. This huge mess, and Cole Industries hadn’t issued a single statement! Suddenly, my mind filled with images of Ethan abandoning me for Jessica before. Of Jessica in her white dress falling in front of me. Of Ethan’s face, trying so hard to hide his obvious concern and pain. And the picture of the two of them clinging together in relief after she was saved. A delayed, dull ache gripped my heart fiercely. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Yet I had almost become the person responsible for Jessica’s death. “Stop talking.” My voice was cold. “Ethan, I’m sorry. We’re not right for each other.” Ethan’s breath hitched. His tone became stiff. “Vivian, you can’t just sentence me like this. It’s not fair to me.” I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Ethan, I can’t bear the weight of a human life.” On the other end of the line, Ethan fell silent. Only his faint breathing could be heard. The air instantly grew quiet. My heart, which had been in turmoil since the wedding started, slowly began to calm down. After a long moment, Ethan’s hoarse voice spoke again. “Vivian, I didn’t handle my relationship with her properly. Believe me, I will handle it this time. She will never bother us again!” “I really love you. Please, please don’t leave me, okay?” “We were so close, just one step away, and you would have been my wife!” By the end, his voice actually held a trace of a sob. My heart jolted violently. Memories of Ethan’s kindness during our honeymoon phase flooded my mind. And today, Ethan hadn’t wanted to deal with Jessica. It was me, afraid someone would die, who pushed him to go. Had I made a mistake? For a moment, my mind was a tangled mess. But then, from the other end of the phone, a soft, feminine voice suddenly drifted through. “Ethan, who are you talking to?” “No… nobody… Jessie, are you feeling better?” Ethan sounded flustered, quickly hanging up the phone. In an instant, all the bitterness, doubt, and sadness I had just felt turned into a cruel joke. 7 That night, I dreamed about the day Ethan proposed to me. Ethan was in a sea of roses, holding a vibrant bouquet in one hand and a ring in the other, kneeling on one knee. “Vivian, will you marry me?” Ethan’s eyes were brimming with love. Around us, our friends were cheering. “Say yes! Say yes!” Shyly, I accepted the ring and his proposal. We kissed amidst the flowers, surrounded by happiness… But then the scene abruptly changed. It became Jessica’s face. She was still so beautiful. Wearing that white dress, she gave a tragic smile towards something behind me. Then, before my horrified eyes, she resolutely jumped from the rooftop. She fell like a broken butterfly, tumbling unsteadily to the ground. Dark red blood spread out from her body, blooming like vivid roses… “No!” I desperately reached out, trying to grab her. But my foot missed its step, and I fell into endless darkness. The intense feeling of falling jolted me awake. Sunlight streamed through the window, stinging my eyes. Cold sweat had soaked through my clothes. It took a long while for my frantically beating heart to slowly calm down. 8 I stared blankly at the man who had somehow appeared in my room, my fingers slowly clenching into fists. “Vivian, had a nightmare?” Ethan came over to my side, gently wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me into his embrace. “It’s my fault. I promise, Jessica Bell will never appear in our lives to bother us again!” “Vivian, just forgive me one more time, okay?” His voice was naturally deep, and when he was coaxing someone, it always carried a hint of pleading. Back when we were deeply in love, whenever he coaxed me like this, it always worked. But right now, I just felt so tired. Slowly, deliberately, I pried his hand off my waist. “Ethan, admit it. You can’t let Jessica go. We’re not suitable for each other.” “Vivian, this is between the two of us. You can’t just condemn me at the drop of a hat. That’s not fair to me!” “Jessica and I are ancient history. The person I love now is you. The person I want to spend the rest of my life with is you…” I took a soft breath. “Ethan, I’m really scared.” “My nightmares are filled with Jessica falling from that rooftop right in front of me.” “I’m terrified that if I hadn’t called 911 that day, if you hadn’t caught her, she would have died right there.” “I would have lived with regret and guilt for the rest of my life.” “I really can’t handle the weight of a human life.” “Ethan, this isn’t the first time you’ve chosen her over me. It won’t be the last, right?” “You still care about her, your heart still aches for her, doesn’t it?” “Let me go, Ethan. You can’t be so cruel to me. That’s not fair to me either!” As I spoke, tears streamed down my face uncontrollably, until I was sobbing. Ethan’s lips moved, but he said nothing, silently wiping away my tears. I looked at him silently, not throwing a tantrum like I usually would have. This quiet version of me seemed to make him even more unsure of what to do. In the silence, his phone vibrated. It was a text from Jessica. “Ethan, where are you? I woke up and didn’t see you. I’m scared.” He glanced at it, then looked at me, his expression conflicted. I closed my eyes and said fiercely, “Get lost, Ethan!” “I’m sorry, Vivian. Wait for me to handle this!” He grabbed his jacket from nearby and left in a hurry. Clack. The door slowly shut… I felt like my heart had shut just like that door. 9 During the three years Ethan and I dated, we had sweet times too. He used to cherish me, hold me in the palm of his hand. He’d prepare little surprises for every special occasion. He’d drop work to take care of me when I was sick. He’d patiently soothe me when I threw tantrums. He’d warm my cold hands and feet in the winter. He’d even ditch his busy schedule to drive thirty miles across town just to buy those roasted chestnuts from that street vendor I loved. After delivering the chestnuts, he’d sit beside me, peeling them one by one. Peel one, pop it in my mouth. My best friend once teased me, “Don’t tell me you fell for the great Ethan Cole just because he peeled a few chestnuts for you!” When someone grows up wealthy, never worrying about money, they can be surprisingly moved by small, everyday gestures. Simply put: lots of people gave me jewelry, but only Ethan gave me jewelry and peeled chestnuts for me. In his day-to-day attention to detail, I was captured by these small tokens of his affection. We were like any other couple. We hugged in crowded places. We kissed under fireworks. I fell into his overwhelming love, lost in the beautiful dream he wove for me. Until Jessica Bell showed up. At first, Ethan told me Jessica was just an old friend. Then came the first time he ditched me for her. After he came back that night, I threw a massive fit. It was Valentine’s Day. We were having dinner when Ethan got a call from a bar saying Jessica was drinking alone and completely wasted. Ignoring the stares of people around us, he left me alone in the restaurant and drove to the bar to pick Jessica up. When Ethan got home, I immediately told him we were breaking up. It was only after his endless apologies and promises that it would never happen again that I forgave him. At the time, I thought, Jessica is the past. I’m his girlfriend now. Why should I let her have Ethan? So I forgave him. But I never expected that a first time would lead to a second, a third… That initial unwillingness to give up led me to endure endless hurt in the relationship that followed. Ethan started ditching me for Jessica frequently. Jessica was sick. Jessica was upset. Jessica was in danger. Jessica’s power went out and she was afraid of the dark. In this twisted relationship, Jessica tested Ethan’s feelings for her through his compromises, while Ethan, relying on my feelings for him, pushed me to compromise again and again. Jessica kept pushing Ethan’s boundaries, and Ethan kept pushing mine. My final breaking point came during the New Year. That day, Ethan and I were returning from a business trip together. On the road, he got news that Jessica had been in a car accident. Ethan immediately turned the car around, leaving me stranded alone on the highway overpass. That day, I waited in the freezing snow until my best friend finally arrived to pick me up. Meanwhile, on Jessica’s social media, there was a picture of her and Ethan holding hands. The caption read: “I knew you’d always be by my side, no matter what.” I hid out at my parents’ house through the New Year. When I finally went back, I told Ethan we were done. I grabbed a golf club and went berserk, smashing everything I could in his apartment. My reflection in the shattered mirrors showed a distorted, furious face, completely unlike the bright, cheerful girl I used to be. Ethan knelt before me, letting me hit him. Until I was exhausted. He begged me desperately for forgiveness, transferred 5% of Cole Industries stock to me on the spot, and quickly arranged for Jessica to be sent abroad. Do you know about the sunk cost fallacy? I had invested too much in my relationship with Ethan. I held onto my pride, refusing to give up easily. I was like a desperate gambler, always thinking I could win it all back on the last hand. So, I forgave Ethan once again. In the following months, Jessica really didn’t bother us anymore. So when Ethan proposed, I said yes. Ethan was overjoyed. He handled everything for the wedding. From the big things like the hotel decor and my dress, down to the small details like the invitations and guest favors. We decided to have the wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day, and then sign the marriage license on the anniversary of when we got together. We planned our honeymoon trip to Finland – skiing, seeing the Northern Lights, enjoying snowy sunsets and starry skies just for us. Right up until the wedding day, I was still dreaming that my gamble had paid off. Until Jessica appeared, delivering a stunning blow, making me realize that gamblers are destined to lose in the end. 10 When I finally composed myself and left my room, my parents were waiting for me at the dining table. It was spread with all my favorite breakfast foods. My father looked at my dejected face and spoke earnestly. “Vivian, you are a Sterling. You never have to compromise yourself for any man. We will always be your strongest support.” My parents’ aging faces were full of concern for me. My mother didn’t speak, just came forward and hugged me tightly, just like when I was little. Feeling the warmth of my mother’s embrace, a wave of warmth flowed through me. “Mom, Dad, don’t worry. I’m not planning on going back.”

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When I was eighteen, I was in a horrible car crash on my way to take my college entrance exams. They saved my life, but I couldn’t hear a thing afterward. Three years after the official diagnosis of deafness, my hearing suddenly came back. I was just about to share the incredible news with my family. My stepmom, Susan, came home and gave me a hug like always. She smiled and signed “I love you,” But then she turned away, and I heard her clear as day, whispering to my stepbrother, “Why isn’t this deaf girl dead yet?” 1. “Dinner’s ready!” Susan, her housedress a bit messy, hurried past me carrying plates of food. The TV was blaring some loud daytime talk show nearby. Kevin, my stepbrother, sprawled at the dining table and immediately pulled the steaming plate of buffalo wings right in front of himself. He licked his fork, poked through the pile a few times, and finally picked out the biggest ones for his plate with satisfaction. “Mom, you forgot again. She’s deaf, she can’t hear you,” he said. Then, sharp, mocking laughter from both of them filled my ears. I quietly walked over and sat down, forcing the same harmless smile I always wore for them, but I couldn’t stop trembling slightly. Susan turned to me, beaming. She put a piece of still-warm beef in my bowl and signed for me to eat it while it was hot. Kevin poked at his rice, pouting. “Mom, how come you gave her such a big piece of meat? You didn’t even give me any yet.” “That piece fell on the floor earlier,” Susan said loudly, not caring that I was sitting right there. “Waste not, want not, might as well feed it to the deaf girl. Mom will find you a better piece.” I managed a bitter smile. Right, why would she care? I was just a deaf girl who couldn’t hear anything. If my hearing hadn’t come back, I would have actually believed she loved me, just like I’d always imagined. After the accident, I was stuck in a hospital room for two solid months. My dad isn’t some CEO, but he’s high up in his company and always busy, traveling constantly. It was Susan who stayed by my side 24/7, taking care of everything. That’s why I recovered so quickly. In my heart, I’d started thinking of her as my real mom. I never imagined such an ugly personality hiding behind that kind, friendly face. It was all a lie. Staring at the greasy piece of beef in my bowl, which looked like it might still have floor dust on it, made me feel sick. My appetite vanished. I put down my fork and went back to my room to lie down. A little while later, Kevin barged straight into my room without knocking. He yelled back towards the door while completely ransacking my closet, “Mom, did you accidentally put my black t-shirt in the deaf girl’s closet again?” My personal clothes were just tossed onto the floor, some even got stepped on by Kevin. Maybe the old me, the quiet me, could have tolerated it. But now, having heard what they said at the dinner table, a fire ignited inside me. I rushed over and shoved him hard, making him stumble back. He seemed shocked that quiet little me would actually get angry. He stared for a moment before snapping, “What the hell is wrong with you?” I glared at him fiercely and signed, asking why he came in without knocking. He reacted like I’d told the world’s funniest joke, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. “Yeah, right, like knocking would make a difference for you? It’s not like a deaf girl can hear. You putting on airs now or something?” He went right back to rummaging through my closet. He was right. I almost forgot I was deaf before. Knocking meant nothing to me then. But I was still furious. I lunged at him, and we started grappling. Predictably, given the difference in strength, I was quickly losing. He even managed to slap me across the face a couple of times. Susan rushed in from outside, her heeled slippers clicking. One of those heels landed right on my hand. I sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, but she acted like she hadn’t felt a thing, just helping Kevin up without even glancing at me. The back of my hand throbbed, almost numb, and a little blood seeped out. Just as anger made my scalp tingle, Kevin scrambled up from the floor. He grabbed a wad of clothing to wipe his greasy hands – he hadn’t washed up after dinner. When he unfolded it, he realized it was my underwear. With disgust, he threw it right in my face. Susan pushed Kevin out of my room. “Go wash your hands, son. Touching the deaf girl’s stuff is bad luck.” 2 After shutting the door, I curled up on my bed. Pale moonlight streamed in through the window. My memories of my real mother stopped around when I was five. I remember she had long, shiny black hair. Whenever I fell, she’d pull a piece of candy from her pocket and pop it into my mouth with a smile. She died from an illness later. Less than six months after that, Dad brought Susan and a very young Kevin home. He told me, “From now on, this is your mom and your brother.” I remember Susan kneeling down, stroking my head, and saying, “Your mommy doesn’t want you anymore. Let me be your mommy now.” Then she took my hand and swore to Dad she’d treat me just like her own child. Susan, is this how you treat me like your own? Even though my hearing was back, I figured after years of not speaking, it would take time to talk fluently like a normal person. I had wanted to share the joy of my recovery with them, but now I realized it probably wouldn’t be good news for them. So, I decided to keep it a secret for now. Late that night, I got thirsty and wanted to get a glass of water from the kitchen. As I reached for my door, I saw through the crack that Susan and Kevin were sitting in the living room, talking. Even the dim light couldn’t hide the nastiness on Susan’s face. “That useless burden,” she spat. “All she does is lie around the house costing money. Her mother died young, and she’s a deaf girl. It’s a real shame that car crash didn’t kill her.” “Why don’t we just marry her off?” Kevin suggested. “That guy Danny from down the street seems like a good fit. They can look after each other.” “My brilliant boy, always full of ideas! A dummy and a deaf girl, a match made in heaven, right?” They both burst out laughing, practically spitting with glee. The Danny Kevin mentioned was the neighborhood character, known for being… slow. Apparently, he’d had a high fever as a kid that left him impaired. He spent his days shuffling around, picking through trash cans downstairs. You could smell him from ten feet away. I just didn’t expect Susan to move so fast. The very next day, she invited Danny over to our house. Facing Danny, who had drool staining the front of his shirt, I couldn’t understand how Susan managed such a fake, kind smile. She kept piling food onto his plate, telling him to eat up. Then she turned to me, signing that Danny was actually quite handsome, just a bit immature, but clearly the type who would take good care of someone. My dear stepmother, where exactly do you see caring potential? In his matted hair that hadn’t seen shampoo in days, or the grimy collar of his shirt crusted with who-knows-what? I pretended not to understand her implication, forced a smile, nodded, and kept my head down, shoveling rice into my mouth. 3 Just sitting through one meal with Danny made my skin crawl, like invisible bugs were crawling all over me. I quickly grabbed clean clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower. Wouldn’t you know it, just then, the power went out – a breaker tripped. I poked my head out, wrapped in a towel, about to ask Susan what was going on. She immediately pulled me out of the bathroom – me, without my clothes properly on – spun around, went into the bathroom herself, and locked the door from the inside. Suddenly, in the dark, silent house, a pair of clammy hands touched my back. I jumped, spinning around to see Danny grinning, showing his yellow teeth, staring at me. “S-so white,” he stammered. Terrified, I stumbled backward and fell to the floor. He pulled a tiny flashlight from his pocket – probably salvaged from some trash can – and shone it all over my naked body. He reached out, trying to touch my chest. In a panic, I kicked him hard right between the legs. He doubled over, howling, and collapsed onto the floor, making such a racket it sounded like he was about to die. Hearing the commotion, Susan finally decided to emerge from the bathroom. She signed an explanation, saying she suddenly had terrible stomach cramps and absolutely had to use the toilet, and she never expected something like this to happen. But I clearly saw the smirk playing on her lips. Dad was often away on business trips all over the country. When he finally came home for a break, before he could even sit down properly, I ran to him crying, signing frantically about everything Susan had done to me lately. But before I could finish explaining, Susan’s eyes welled up. She clutched Dad’s sleeve and sat beside him, sobbing. “Chloe, how could you accuse me like this? I know I’m not your birth mother, but I truly think of you as my daughter!” Seeing her tear-streaked face, Dad melted. He asked her what was really going on. Looking utterly wronged, she lifted her teary eyes. “Honey, when Chloe was in the hospital, I took care of her every need. She is my child. How could I possibly mistreat her?” She continued, “Ever since the accident, Chloe’s mental state seems to have gotten worse. I read online that these might be symptoms of persecutory delusions. Maybe we should take her to a hospital for a proper check-up?” She was banking on me being unable to speak or hear her blatant lies to Dad, wasn’t she? I lunged at her, grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling. Dad saw me acting “crazy” and quickly pulled me back. It was true, Susan had been incredibly devoted when I was in the hospital. Not just outsiders, even I had been completely fooled. Looking back now, it was probably all an act, a performance put on specifically for my dad. “Chloe, you need to rest properly lately,” Dad signed, his face weary. “Your stepmom works hard managing the house. Don’t be disrespectful, and don’t cause trouble.” He finished signing and then led Susan into their bedroom. My dad had always been protective. But this time, I realized, the person he was protecting wasn’t me anymore. I ran back to my room and slammed the door, shutting out all the chaos behind me. Persecutory delusions? Susan might as well have just called me clinically insane. Fine. Since you’re so eager to push me and Danny together, maybe I should arrange for you to end up in Danny’s bed. Let’s see how you like the experience firsthand.

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Giving birth to a daughter sent my life spiraling. My husband, Mike, cursed me, hit me, and I sank into a pit of despair, crying myself sick every day. Then, when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, I suddenly found myself transported to a Reversed World. And I got to bring my husband along for the ride. 01 It happened by chance – I won a one-year trip to the Reversed World. This place was flipped: women were the breadwinners, the ones in charge. Men stayed home, did chores, and had the babies. When I crossed over, I got a bonus – I could bring one person with me. Without a second thought, I chose Mike. I came to, finding Mike kneeling beside me. My own mom, who usually tiptoed around Mike back in our world, was now standing over him, yelling, “You useless piece of trash! Can’t even get pregnant! What good are you to us? “All these years, and you can’t manage to have one kid! “Tell me, is that belly of yours just for show?” Mom wasn’t done. After the yelling, she slapped him hard across the face. The sharp crack echoed in the room. Just hearing it sent a jolt of dark satisfaction through me. After all these years, Mike, you finally got yours. That slap seemed to jolt Mike awake, the Mike who’d traveled here with me. He blinked, confused, glanced my way, then exploded, “What the hell is wrong with you people?!” Mom went ballistic. “What? Say that again!” Mike didn’t even look at her. He stood up and came straight for me. Maybe it was years of ingrained fear, but I instinctively flinched back. Before he could take another step, Mom swung her hand again, aiming for his face. Mike caught her arm, snarling, “Crazy old hag! Are you trying to start something?” That pushed Mom over the edge. She lifted her foot to kick him square in the stomach. I saw a smirk flicker on Mike’s face. Pure contempt. He was a boxing coach back home; what could Mom’s little kick do to him? He didn’t even try to dodge. He just let her foot connect with his gut. !!! What happened next blew my mind all over again. Mike flew backward like he’d been shot out of a cannon, his head cracking hard against the corner of the table behind him. In this Reversed World, women were way stronger than men. Mike might be big and muscular, but here, he was easily overpowered. Back in our world, Mike had hit me plenty. As I felt a little urge to join in myself, Mom grabbed Mike by the collar and smacked him hard. “Useless waste! Can’t have kids, can’t earn decent money, just sit around eating all day!” Mike glared at Mom, his eyes burning with rage. He’d never been humiliated like this, especially not by my mother. He tried to fight back, but realized with shock that he was completely powerless against her. He could only lie there, pinned. 2 Just then, the door opened, and our neighbor, Nancy, walked in. Seeing Mom laying into Mike, a knowing smile spread across Nancy’s face. She said, “Your man’s always been trouble. I told you, you need to discipline him properly, but you never listen!” Mike stared at Nancy, bewildered. Before he could say anything, Mom slapped him again. “Who told you to look! Pathetic!” If looks could kill, Mom would have been dead a thousand times over from Mike’s glare. He ground out through clenched teeth, “You just wait. I’ll kill you!” “Ooh! Hear that? Thinking of rebelling, are we?” Before Mom could react, I rushed over to Mike. I looked him up and down with mock concern, grabbed a handful of his hair with one hand, and slapped him hard across the face with the other. Five times. Beating up a defenseless Mike? I felt zero guilt. In fact, deep down, there was a thrill, a dark pleasure of revenge. Because for years, this was exactly how he had treated me. I expected him to spit out threats, but instead, he threw up. Violently, uncontrollably. The sight of the mess on the floor made my own stomach churn. Mom, who’d been on the verge of exploding again, now looked at Mike with confusion. She glanced at me meaningfully and asked, “Is your man pregnant?” “Pregnant?” The word was so familiar. I’d carried our daughter for ten months myself. But hearing it applied to Mike… It was… novel. Tentatively, I asked Mom, “He’s pregnant?” Mom rolled her eyes at me and tapped my head. “Your own man is pregnant, and you don’t even know?” I rubbed my head, feeling a bit sheepish. Before I could reply, Nancy chimed in, “Well, it’s Megan’s first time marrying a man. It’s normal she doesn’t have experience. “If this one keeps acting up, just divorce him and marry again. You’ll know better next time.” This Reversed World? I was starting to seriously dig it. Before I could even process my excitement, Mom was urging me, “What are you standing there gawking for? Get your man to the clinic for a check-up! He’s been freeloading off us for years; it’s about time he gave us a daughter!” Mom finished, then smiled at Nancy. “When you have time later, maybe you can introduce Megan to a good man!” Nancy just grinned, nodded, and patted her chest like it was already done. 3 After Nancy and Mom left, it was just Mike and me. I looked at him, a mocking smile playing on my lips. “Pissed?” Mike had just caught his breath. He spat through gritted teeth, “Megan King, you just wait! I swear to god, I’ll fucking kill you!” He’d crossed over with me into this upside-down world. The shock must be massive; he probably needed time to process. So, I didn’t get angry. Instead, I smiled sweetly. “Come on, let’s go to the clinic and get you checked out. See if you really are pregnant. “Tsk, tsk. A pregnant man! Just thinking about it is… exciting!” Hearing my taunt, Mike didn’t answer. He just sat there on the floor, refusing to move. Seeing this, I simply grabbed his ankles and started dragging him towards the door. Mike yelled, “Megan, let me go! Megan, I’m not going, do you hear me!” I acted like I couldn’t hear him, dragged him outside, and shoved him into the car. I used the seatbelts to strap his arms and legs down. Done, I dusted off my hands, feeling surprisingly satisfied. I couldn’t believe I’d just manhandled my over-six-foot, muscular husband like he weighed nothing. A grin spread across my face. Yeah, I was definitely starting to like this world. Under my duress, Mike “willingly” underwent an ultrasound and a urine test. The doctor confirmed it: Mike was pregnant. Having just arrived here, Mike couldn’t accept it. He grabbed the doctor’s hands desperately. “Doctor, you must be mistaken! I’m not even from this world! How could I possibly be pregnant?!” The doctor, a woman, pulled her hands free and shot me a disgusted look. “Control your man. Doesn’t he have any manners? Haven’t you trained him properly yet?” “Stupid bitch! What the hell did you just say! Say that again if you dare!” The doctor’s words set Mike off immediately. He started rolling up his sleeves like he was about to clock her one. The doctor’s eyebrows furrowed, her knuckles cracking as she clenched her fist. Before she could react, I yanked Mike back, slapped him across the face again, and clamped my hand over his mouth. “I’m so sorry, Doctor. It must be his first pregnancy; he’s not quite himself. Please don’t mind him. Really, I’m so sorry.” With that, I dragged Mike out of the examination room as fast as I could. On the drive home, Mike, stuck in the back seat, kept yelling at me, “Megan, tell me how to get back to the real world! Now!” I ignored him, a secret smile playing on my lips. Go back? Not a chance! Now that I finally got you here to experience what I went through, you think I’m just going to let you go back easily? When I didn’t answer, Mike kept ranting, “Megan, you take me to get rid of this kid right now! If you don’t take me to get an abortion, I’ll kill you first, and then I’ll kill this… this thing!” Hearing that, something inside me snapped. Back in our world, he was always threatening to kill me. Now that he was in my power, he was still acting this arrogant? He was really asking for it. I slammed on the brakes, pulled over, yanked open the back door, and dragged Mike out of the car. He didn’t get it, thought maybe I was letting him go or taking him for the abortion. He yelled frantically, “Hurry the fuck up! Get rid of the kid and let me go back, or else—” I slapped him hard across the face, cutting him off mid-sentence. I grabbed his hair with one hand and used the other to hit his face again and again. As I hit him, I threw his own words back at him, “Son of a bitch! You ungrateful piece of shit! Give you an inch and you take a fucking mile! You goddamn bastard…” The more I hit, the better I felt. The more I cursed, the more satisfying it was. After more than ten slaps, I finally stopped. I looked at his slightly swollen cheek. I felt no guilt. I needed to beat some sense into him! Make him understand just how monstrous his actions were back in our world! “Mike Miller! What do you mean, ‘let you go back’? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t think being pregnant gives you a free pass to act crazy, understand? Or else, I’ll fucking kill you!” I even patted his swollen cheek as I said it. I noticed his body tremble slightly when my palm touched his face. Just like I used to tremble. Was he finally scared of me? The thought popped into my head. So, he was afraid of being hit…

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The girl next door is dead – jumped from her balcony. Suicide. It wasn’t until later that I learned the real reason— Her own parents pushed her to it, on her birthday, no less. Twenty-two years old. … I lived right next door to her. We were around the same age, both just trying to make it in the city, working whatever jobs we could find. Over time, we got to know each other. She’d sometimes share stories about her messed-up family back home. Every time, she’d end up crying, but then she’d try to pull herself together, saying, “My name’s Willow. You know, like the tree? They bend, but they don’t break easy. I’m gonna be like that. Tough it out, keep moving forward.” Today… that girl who wanted to be like a willow tree, on her twenty-second birthday… she died. I just finished giving my statement down at the police station. Found a random bench outside, just sat down. I still can’t wrap my head around it. That girl… Willow… gone. Just a few days ago, she told me she wanted us to celebrate her birthday together. I never thought… on her actual birthday… I let out a long sigh, couldn’t help remembering the first time I met her. It was my day off. Got back from my evening jog around midnight. The elevator doors opened, and I heard quiet sobbing. Stepped out, confused, and saw a girl huddled by her door, hair all wild, a bruise already forming on her lip. Her head was buried between her knees, and there was a small tear in her shirt. My heart went out to her. I walked over carefully. “Hey, what happened? Are you okay?” She looked up, startled, quickly wiping away tears. “I… I forgot my keys. Can’t get in,” she mumbled, looking embarrassed. I could tell she wasn’t telling me everything, her eyes darting away. But I just smiled gently. “Hey, don’t cry. I can call a locksmith for you.” She hesitated, like she wanted to say something else, then finally managed, “Um, sis… I don’t have any money right now. Haven’t gotten paid yet…” She said it so quietly, but I heard her. I reached out, smoothed her hair back a bit. “We all hit rough patches. It’s okay, things will get better. Let me call the locksmith first.” A grateful smile flickered across her face. “Thanks, sis. I promise, as soon as I get paid in a couple of days, I’ll pay you back.” “Sounds good,” I said, pointing to my door. “We’re neighbors. Maybe we can hang out sometime.” I always figured, if you can help someone out, especially a neighbor, you should. You know, like they say, sometimes good neighbors are better than family far away. I waited with her until the locksmith came and got her door open, then I headed back to my place. The next day, she brought over a small casserole she’d made. She smiled shyly, telling me not to judge her cooking. I joked, “For a lazy cook like me, free food is the best food. No complaints here!” Maybe it was the joke, but she seemed to relax, and we started chatting about everything and nothing. Honestly, I’ve always been a good listener. I know when to ask the right questions. We ended up having a really nice talk. The next few days flew by. My company sent me overseas for a work trip. Willow and I only texted a bit. Then things got crazy busy, plus the time difference was huge, so we barely talked. When I finally got back from the trip, I’d just finished unpacking when there was this violent banging on my door… 2 I frowned. That knocking was jarring, setting my teeth on edge. I opened the door to find two older strangers, a man and a woman. The woman was holding a small child. Behind them stood a younger guy. He looked like trouble – messy clothes, maybe mid-twenties, hair sticking up, leaning against the doorframe trying to look cool, maybe puffing on a vape. He saw me and gave this sleazy whistle. I felt instantly grossed out. “Can I help you?” I asked, confused. The older woman spoke first. “Honey, don’t you worry. I’m Willow’s mother-in-law, from next door. This here’s her father-in-law, her little boy, and that’s her husband back there.” My jaw almost dropped. Willow was married? I tried to keep my face neutral. “Oh. Uh, is there something I can do for you?” The older woman seemed a bit hesitant, then finally said, “We came by to see our daughter-in-law, but she’s not here. We were just wondering… do you happen to have a way to reach her?” Just as I was about to answer, the elevator dinged open down the hall. The old woman’s head snapped around, and suddenly her face was all smiles. “Well, look who it is! Our busy little bee is finally home. Must be so tired!” It sounded like concern, but the sarcasm dripped off every word. I tightened my grip on the doorknob without realizing it. Something felt off. This didn’t feel like a mother-in-law; it felt more like… a debt collector. I had a bad feeling Willow could be in danger anytime with these people around. Willow seemed used to it. She just mumbled a quiet “Yeah,” then looked over at me, managing a small, tired smile. “Hey, sis. You’re back from your trip.” I nodded. Just then, the old woman started in on Willow, her voice sharp and demanding. “You think you can just run off? Let me tell you, you married into our family, you’re stuck with us! Where’s the money?” I stood there in my doorway, listening to that harsh voice. Willow’s back was turned to me, but I could almost feel the wave of helplessness and loneliness wash over her. … I have a habit of going for a run at night. This one evening, I got back and saw Willow pacing back and forth in the hallway. Her eyes were red and puffy, like she’d been crying. I walked closer, concerned. “Willow? Still up? It’s late.” She forced a smile, pulling her thin cardigan tighter around herself. “Oh, just… looking at the moon.” I glanced towards the windows at the end of the hall. “It’s totally overcast. No moon tonight. It’s getting cold out here, you should go inside.” I figured she must have had a fight with the in-laws, so I just said it casually. Willow just mumbled, “Yeah.” As I closed my door, I heard her sneeze. I took a shower, and when I came out, I heard shouting from the hallway— It was the old woman’s voice, shrill and angry. “You married into our family, you owe us! You’ve got thousands saved up, why should your family get it all? You give us that money, now!” Then Willow’s voice, cold and defiant. “Why should I support all of you? You should be grateful I even let you in today. Tomorrow, pack your bags and get out of my apartment.” “Ha! Try and make me leave! You either give us the money, or you support us. Your choice.” 3 Their shouting got louder and louder. I started to worry about Willow. I pulled out my phone and typed 9-1-1, ready to hit send. I’d never met an old woman like Willow’s supposed mother-in-law— Mean, unreasonable… you could throw almost any negative word at her, and it would stick. It’s the 21st century! How do people like this still exist? I peeked through my peephole. Just then, the guy who’d whistled at me earlier – Cody, I guess – stormed out of Willow’s apartment. He was holding a wooden rolling pin. He raised his hand and slapped Willow hard across the face. Then he swung the rolling pin, bringing it down hard on her back and shoulders! Willow cried out, trying to shield her face, but she couldn’t block the blows to her body. I couldn’t just stand there. I threw open my door and rushed out. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing!” Willow saw me, and a flash of panic crossed her face. “Sis, just go back inside, please.” But I wasn’t backing down. I looked straight at the hateful mother-son duo and pointed up towards the security camera near the ceiling. “You see that camera? It recorded everything you just did. I can call the cops right now!” It was the first time I’d ever really threatened anyone like that. My heart was pounding, and my hand holding my phone was shaking slightly. The guy, Cody, seemed stunned that I’d actually stand up to him. He clenched his fists, his face dark with anger, and started walking towards me. “Looks like you got a death wish today, lady.” My mind went blank for a second, then I found my voice. “You touch me, and that’s assault on top of everything else.” The old woman didn’t want her son getting arrested out here. She pointed a trembling finger at me, furious. “I thought you were a nice girl! Turns out you’re just vicious, trying to get my boy thrown in jail!” With that, she grabbed her son’s arm and pulled him back towards Willow’s apartment. I watched them slam the door shut. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, but my heart was still racing. I quickly helped Willow, who had slumped against the wall, into my apartment. I got her onto my couch, then went to find my first-aid kit. As I sorted through bandages and antiseptic wipes, I looked over at her. “Are you okay? If anything really hurts bad, we need to get you to a hospital.” “No,” she said quietly, her voice flat. “I’m just… used to getting hit, I guess. Doesn’t even hurt that much anymore.” Hearing her say that so calmly broke my heart. Willow tried to joke, though it sounded hollow. “Sis, didn’t expect you to catch the live show tonight.” Talking seemed to pull at the cut on her lip. She winced, then her voice turned cold, laced with self-mockery. “I thought I was done with them. I thought I got away. But they just won’t leave me alone. It’s driving me crazy!” I had her lie face down on the couch so I could put some ointment on the bruises on her back. When I lifted the edge of her shirt, I saw the angry red and purple marks – fresh ones layered over older, faded ones. My stomach clenched. No doubt about it, her so-called family-in-law did this. I tried to be as gentle as possible, afraid of hurting her more. Willow was just staring blankly at the wall. Suddenly, I felt like she desperately needed someone to talk to. “Willow,” I said softly, “if you want to talk about it, I’m here to listen.” Keeping things bottled up like that… it’ll destroy you. Willow looked at me, a bitter smile touching her lips. “Sis, I bet you were shocked, huh? Finding out I was ‘married’.” I admitted it. “You’re so young.” Willow’s lip trembled slightly. “I grew up in a small town back country. Real traditional, you know? My parents always favored my brother. When he needed money for something, they pulled me out of school and arranged for me to marry someone.” I saw the disgust flicker in her eyes. She continued, “The guy’s family… the son, Cody… he’s a total lowlife. Bully, womanizer, basically ruled the roost back home. He’d been married before, when he was just a teenager. His wife died in childbirth, left him with a son. I was supposed to marry him and be the kid’s stepmom…” “That sounds awful,” I murmured. Willow lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper. “Awful doesn’t even cover it. I’d actually gone to school for a bit, I had dreams. I didn’t want to marry him. On the day of the wedding… I ran away.” I finished cleaning her cuts. “So what happened? How did they find you here?” “My mom,” she said, her voice flat but certain. “I guess she told them where I was.” Even though it sounded like a question, the certainty in her tone was chilling. I had a feeling there was more to the story…

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