Category: English

I was carrying my father’s best friend’s baby. Not Victor’s — at least, that’s what I thought then. It started two months ago. My name is Ella Whitley. On a rainy night, Anthony — my boyfriend of three years — threw all my things out of the apartment. His new girlfriend Vivian stood in the doorway wearing my Jimmy Choos. “Stop bothering me, We’re done. You’re nothing to me.” I didn’t cry.”When did you fall for someone else?” He laughed. “Go ask your daddy for money.” I’d spent everything on Anthony. The apartment was mine. The wool rug, the Dyson — all mine. But he and Vivian didn’t hesitate. One suitcase. A few clothes. That was it. The rain was cold. I had no umbrella. I was soaked and shaking. I called my father, Alexander. It took several tries. When he finally picked up, I heard music, women laughing — some party. His voice was drunk. “Baby? What’s wrong?” “Anthony threw me out.” He said something. Probably flirting with whoever was beside him. Then: “Sweetheart, find a hotel. Use my card. I can’t get away right now.” Since Mom died, there had been a parade of women. I never kept track. I waited, hoping he’d help. He said “I’m busy” and hung up. Three men came out of the alley. Hoodies. Hats pulled low. One blocked my path. “Hey, got a light?” “I didn’t smoke.” “Then give us something else.” They came up behind me and snatched my bag. My phone was inside. I screamed. A hand clamped over my mouth. They dug through my bag — wallet, phone. The screen lit up. He jabbed at it a few times. I don’t know what he pressed. The phone let out a sharp, piercing alarm. An emergency signal. He flinched, threw it — it skidded across the wet pavement. Across the city. Lower Manhattan. An abandoned warehouse. Victor Moretti was holding a man’s head underwater in a bucket of ice. His boots stood in a puddle of blood on the concrete floor. Water torture. Old mob tradition. Victor had just led his crew to victory. His men watched him in silence. He was expressionless. Covered in blood. His shirt clung to his body, sleeves rolled up, soaked dark red. Then his phone buzzed. He nodded to one of his men, released his grip, and pulled out the phone. An auto-sent emergency text. One new message. Sender: Ellie. He stared at it for three seconds. Then he turned and walked out. “Sir — what do we do with him?” someone called after him. No answer. He was already at the door. He got into the black Pagani parked in the alley. The engine roared like something alive. He’d never driven this fast. He called the number — Ellie — as he drove. Straight to voicemail. He tried Alexander. No answer. Damn it. He said it quietly. He knew. Alexander was busy. Too busy to notice his daughter’s SOS. Victor floored it. The car cut through the rain. He made it in time. He found me being dragged into an alley by all three of them. The black Pagani came roaring around the corner and jumped the curb. The headlights hit us. Blinding. The men let go and squinted at the light. The door opened. Victor stepped out. Rain soaked through him. Dark shirt, sleeves rolled up, bare forearms wet. He walked toward us. His face was stone. He looked at me. Then at the three men. The leader said, “Hey, brother — we were here first.” Victor didn’t look at him. He said my name: “Ellie.”

Only Victor called me that. My father called me Ella — like a stranger’s name. Victor said it differently. “Ellie” came from somewhere deep in his throat. Low. Short. One of the men decided to push back. “Who the hell do you think you—” Victor turned. The headlights caught his face. Rain dripped from his jaw. The man’s hand froze in midair. His eyes went wide. “M-Moretti… Mr. Moretti…” The man’s voice collapsed from threat to trembling. “I’m sorry, sir, we didn’t do anything, please—” Victor wasn’t listening. He was looking at me. “Get in the car.” I got in. The man kept apologizing behind us, one word after another. Victor shut the door. The engine swallowed everything else. Silence inside the car. The heat was on full. I was still cold. My wet dress clung to my skin. Water ran from my hair down my neck and into my collar. I held Victor’s coat. It smelled of blood — iron and rain. “Did my father send you?” I asked. No answer. “Where is he? Still at the party?” Victor reached into the side pocket and tossed a pack of tissues onto my lap. Casual. Almost rough. “Dry off,” he said. “You’ll get sick.” Not concern. A command. I pulled out a tissue and started on my face. It soaked through immediately, falling apart in my fingers. Then I saw his arm. His right sleeve had been sliced open — wrist to elbow. The edges of the tear were dark red. Blood ran down his forearm and dripped onto the steering wheel. Onto his trousers. “You’re bleeding,” I said. He didn’t look. Just kept his eyes on the road. The wipers swept back and forth. “Yeah.” “Shouldn’t you do something?” “Help me clean it,” he said. Simple as that. I hesitated. Then I pulled a few clean tissues and leaned across to press them against his arm. The moment the tissue touched his skin, his muscle tensed. He didn’t pull away. I started at the elbow. The blood was warm, thinned by rain, dripping from his fingers. I worked upward. The tissues soaked through fast. Then my fingers touched skin. His sleeve was torn all the way up. The tissue slipped. My fingertips pressed against his arm — bare skin, hard and burning hot, like heated stone. His wet shirt was still plastered to his shoulder. The fabric was thin. The lines of his body were very clear. My face went warm. My heart rate jumped. Not from the heat. I kept going — across his upper arm, down the inner side. The muscle there was sharper. A vein traced faintly beneath the surface. My fingers slipped lower, further in— “Ellie.” His hand covered mine. “It’s dry there.” I stopped. Two seconds passed before I understood. My fingers were on the inside of his arm, inches from his chest. The tissue was gone. Just my hand — bare, cold — against his skin.

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Lucius said. “You’re still the one I love.” Those words were all it took. I zipped the dress back up. I decided to give him one last chance. What I got instead was a phone call. “I’m sorry, Miss Ashford. Mr. Hayes said the wedding is canceled. Miss Chase had a heart attack. She’s in the emergency room.” The bouquet slipped from my hands. Something inside me cracked clean in half. I ran out of the hotel. All I saw was the taillights of his car disappearing into the distance. I called him, my voice breaking. “Lucius! If you go to her today, I swear I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow and make sure you never see your child again.” He was silent for a moment. Then he hung up. The dial tone droned in my ear. I stood at the hotel entrance in my wedding dress. Guests whispered around me. The emcee stood frozen on the stage, microphone in hand, not knowing what to say. Lucius’s mother hurried over and grabbed my hand. “Nora, come inside. You’re making a scene.” I looked at her. “The wedding is over, Madam Hayes.” “Don’t be ridiculous.” Her voice dropped. “Vivian could’ve died, for God’s sake. He didn’t have a choice and you know it.” “So he could go to her, but not to me?” “You’re the woman he’s marrying. You need to be understanding.” I smiled. I pulled my hand from hers. “Then I won’t be Mrs. Hayes.” I turned and walked toward the back, lifting my skirt so I wouldn’t trip. “Nora Ashford!” she called after me. “If you walk out that door today, I’ll make sure my son doesn’t marry you!” I didn’t look back. In the dressing room, I took off the wedding dress and put on my own clothes. The makeup artist carefully removed my hair accessories. “Miss Ashford, your makeup…” “Leave it.” I picked up my bag and left. Outside, the sky was gray. I hailed a taxi. “Graystone General Hospital, please.” My phone buzzed in my bag. Jensen. Lucius’s assistant. I didn’t answer. I knew what he would say. *Mr. Hayes is dealing with an emergency. It’s not his fault. He’ll explain later.* Ten years of the same damn excuses. I could’ve recited them in my sleep. Vivian Chase was Lucius’s responsibility. Her brother, Leo, had died saving Lucius five years ago. I used to think it was right—that he should look after her. That it was the kind of man he was, and part of why I loved him. It took me until today to understand. Some debts never get paid. They just turn into a leash — you can’t tell who’s holding the other end. The taxi stopped at the hospital. I paid and walked into the emergency building. Lucius sat on a bench outside the resuscitation room. Head bowed. Elbows on his knees. Hands buried in his hair. His suit jacket crumpled on the seat beside him. I walked toward him. He heard the footsteps. Looked up. When he saw me, he stood. His eyes were bloodshot. “Nora. You came. I’m sorry about today—” “How is she?” I cut him off, my eyes cutting to the closed ER doors. “The doctor said acute heart failure. She’s still being resuscitated. It’s not good.” I nodded. “I see.” I turned to leave. He grabbed my arm. “Nora, don’t be like this. Leo died because of me. I can’t not take care of Vivian. She has no one left in this world.” I pulled my arm free. “Lucius. I’m not being anything. I just realized our wedding seems to matter less than a sister you’ve known for five years.” “That’s not true! You’re the most important person to me, Nora. But she could have died.” “The doctor didn’t say she would die,” I said quietly. His lips moved, but no words came. The doors of the ER swung open. A doctor stepped out. “Family of Vivian Chase?” Lucius stood immediately. “That’s me.” “Patient’s heart rate spiked due to acute emotional distress. We’ve stabilized her. No immediate danger. We’ll move her to a regular ward for observation. Two days, just to be safe.” Lucius exhaled in relief. He turned to me, his eyes carrying a trace of reproach. “See how fragile she is? Can’t you be more understanding?” I said nothing. The bed was wheeled out. Vivian lay there, pale, eyes closed. As the gurney passed me, her eyes opened just enough to find my face, tears welled up immediately. Lucius hurried to her side and took her hand. “Vivian, don’t be scared. I’m here.” I turned and walked out of the hospital. The cold wind hit my face. It was only then that I realized my heart was pounding— Not from grief, not from rage, but from something I hadn’t felt in ten years of loving Lucius Hayes. It was the cold, clean feeling of finally seeing him for what he was.

The next morning, Lucius didn’t come home. The wedding suite sat exactly as it had been prepared. Champagne on ice, now flat. Rose petals scattered across the bed, now wilting. The air still faintly sweet with gardenias. I called a real estate agent before noon. “I need it sold quickly,” I said. “Are you sure, Miss Ashford? This property just closed escrow three months ago—” “I’m sure.” I hung up and started packing. He showed up around four. Still in yesterday’s suit, tie loosened, shadows carved beneath his eyes. “Nora, I’m sorry. Vivian asked me to apologize for her. She didn’t mean to cause trouble yesterday.” “Can’t she apologize herself?” He hesitated. “She’s still weak…” “Lucius. About us. About the wedding.” I set down the dress I was folding. “How do you plan to explain this to three hundred guests?” He rubbed the back of his neck. Quiet for a moment. “Let some time pass. When things calm down, we’ll hold another ceremony.” Reschedule. I repeated the word in my head like it tasted strange. “You think this is something you reschedule?” I said. “Like a dentist appointment?” “Then what the hell do you want from me, Nora?” His voice sharpened. “It’s done. I can’t undo it. Vivian almost flatlined on a table—and you’re standing here making it about a damn party?” “That’s not fair.” “No,” I said quietly. “It’s not.” I stood up. Walked into the bedroom. Pulled a suitcase from the closet and started packing my things. Lucius followed. “What are you doing?” “I sold the house.” His face darkened. “You what?” “You heard me.” “Nora Ashford, you’re being irrational.” “I’m thinking clearly. And speaking clearly.” I folded a sweater. Placed it in the suitcase. “This isn’t our home anymore.” He grabbed my wrist. “You can’t sell it. This is our home.” “It stopped being a home the second you walked out on it for her.” Rage flared in his eyes. “You’re impossible.” His phone rang. He answered, and his voice softened immediately. “What’s wrong? Another nightmare? Don’t be scared. I’ll be right there.” He hung up. He looked at me with a flicker of impatience he didn’t bother to hide. “Nora, I have to go. Vivian’s still fragile—her emotions are unstable. We’ll finish this when I get back.” He reached for his keys. “If you walk out that door,” I said, “don’t bother coming back.” He paused. Hand on the doorknob. He turned. Looked at me. And for a moment, I thought I saw something—hesitation. Or guilt. Then his expression hardened. “My patience has limits, Nora.” The door closed behind him. I stood in the hallway, listening to his footsteps fade down the corridor. I put the last piece of clothing into the suitcase and zipped it shut. And I left. I went back to my studio—a small converted loft downtown. Design workspace below, a narrow bedroom above. I’d kept the lease even after moving in with Lucius. Now I was grateful for it. The first three days were quiet. Lucius didn’t call. I didn’t call him. The silence between us stretched like a wire pulled taut—vibrating with everything unsaid. On the fourth day, Madam Hayes called and asked to meet. She chose an upscale café near the Hayes estate. When I arrived, she was already seated. Posture perfect. Pearl earrings. A cup of tea she hadn’t touched. She slid an envelope across the table the moment I sat down. “What’s this?” “Open it.” Inside was a check. Six figures. More zeros than I’d ever seen on a single piece of paper. “Leave Lucius,” she said. “Take the money and move on.” I looked at the check. Then at her. “Madam Hayes. This isn’t about money.” “I know.” She picked up her cup. Took a sip. Her expression was perfectly calm. “You and my son have ten years of history. But Nora, you need to understand something.” She set the cup down. “The Hayes family needs a wife who knows her role. A wife who supports her husband. Who steadies him. Who manages the demands of his position with grace.” She paused. “Not a wife who makes scenes.” “So Vivian Chase manages those demands?” “Vivian is simple. Kind. Her brother gave his life for Lucius—we owe her a debt that can never be repaid. Lucius protecting her is the right thing to do. As his wife, you should support that. Not fight him on it.” I understood then. Perfectly. In their eyes, every ounce of my pain was an inconvenience. A disruption to the smooth machinery of the Hayes family image. I pushed the check back across the table. “Keep your money. I don’t want it. And I don’t want Lucius, either.” I stood up. “They deserve each other.” I walked out without looking back. That evening, I blocked every Hayes family number in my phone. The world fell quiet. Like stepping out of a storm into still air. That night, I slept ten hours straight for the first time in a decade. I didn’t dream of him. I didn’t dream of anything at all.

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On the night of the Blood Moon Ritual,my older brother Kael and my fated mate Damian dressed me up like prey,all to amuse my stepsister Selena. Selena cackled as she tore my clothes to shreds. She daubed runes across my face with blood and paint,then kicked me straight down into the rot pit filled with decaying corpses. When I was hauled back out,clan members held up their phones,filming every humiliating detail of my state. Kael waved his hand in open disgust. Selena grinned.“Happy Blood Moon Ritual,Ilara.” Damian shrugged it off carelessly.“It was nothing but a game.” Overnight,the footage of me naked and ruined spread all across the werewolf clan. Kael blamed me for disgracing the Silvermoon Wolf Clan and drove me out of the cabin. Damian ripped up our fated mate bond contract without a second thought. I simply nodded once,not a single word of argument slipping past my lips. They had no idea the vengeance pact I’d sealed with my ancestral spirits only had three days left to run. … In the courtyard,my father,the pack’s Alpha—Alistair—whipped me with a silver-laced whip. “Shameless!Filthy trash!” I didn’t explain.I just bit my lip. In a wolf pack,arguing only leads to harsher“discipline.” Just a few days after being found and returned to the pack,Selena accused me of stealing her“Tear of the Moon God”necklace. My parents ordered a search of my den,and my brother Kyle tore my clothes off in front of everyone for a humiliating inspection. They found nothing. I thought I might get an apology. Instead,Kyle slapped me so hard one of my canines came loose. “You must have sold Selena’s necklace to another pack!Where are the goods you traded it for?” My den was tiny.I had nothing on me to trade. I tried to explain,but he just hit me harder,yelling that I was unrepentant. I cowered in the corner as he kicked me with his giant wolf paws until I spat up blood. Suddenly,Selena gasped,“I found it.” The gem necklace sparkled in her hand.The sight of it was blinding. I looked at Kyle.There was no guilt on his face.He just said flatly, “It was a small misunderstanding.Forget about it.” “I’m Selena’s brother.I trust her completely.”

Kyle remembered he was Selena’s brother,but he forgot that I was the one who shared his blood. In the courtyard,my father’s silver whip kept falling.My skin burned from the silver. Kyle stood nearby,watching coldly. He was the one who let Selena humiliate me,but now he blamed me for damaging the pack’s reputation and threw my few clothes out of my room. He told me to get out.I agreed. But my father roared,“You want to run away?Haven’t you caused enough shame?” He ordered the harshest pack discipline for me. After two hours of whipping,my mother,the Luna—Morgana—stopped him. “That’s enough.Make her kneel on the Repentance Stone and bow her head ninety-nine times,then carve a repentance rune with her blood.We’ll consider it done.” My father threw down the whip.“You’re too soft on her!” Soft?The idea was laughable. My mother’s“bowing”meant smashing my head on the rough Repentance Stone until it made a loud sound. The repentance rune had to be carved on a stone tablet with my own claws and blood. Less than ten thousand characters was not considered sincere,and I’d have to do it all over again. But I didn’t say a word.I slammed my head against the stone,passed out,was woken with ice water,and continued. My bloody claws carved twenty thousand characters,each one filled with humility. I thought that would be enough. But Selena covered her nose and stepped back. “Brother,it’s not that I don’t want Ilara in the house,it’s just…she smells awful.”

Kyle stroked her hair fondly and shot me a look.“You don’t deserve to live with the servants.Go live with Big Baby.” “Big Baby”was the basilisk Selena kept as a pet,and I have an extreme,natural fear of reptiles. I remembered the day the pack brought me back from the human world.Selena had the same look of disgust on her face. But back then,Kyle didn’t make me go to the basilisk’s den.He just threw me in an abandoned wolf cage. The cage was cold,but at least it wasn’t deadly.I could sleep there. The basilisk’s den?I would never go in there. I fell to my knees before my parents.“Alpha,Luna,if you think I’m dirty,I can leave the pack.I can live in the wolf cage.Please,don’t make me go to the basilisk’s den.” For a moment,my father’s face softened.But before he could speak,Kyle grabbed me by the collar. “Ilara,stop acting pathetic!” “If it weren’t for you,would the Silver Moon pack be the laughingstock of all the other packs?You should be grateful we’re giving you a place to stay at all!” He started dragging me toward the basilisk’s den.I looked back at my father. He looked away. The stench from the den almost made me pass out.The basilisk’s cold tongue flicked against my face. Just as I closed my eyes in despair,the cold voice of the Ancestral Spirit echoed in my mind: “Two days remain until the bloodline pact is complete.”

I suddenly calmed down and slowed my breathing. Two days left.I couldn’t give up. Three years ago,at a banquet,Selena suddenly clutched her stomach in pain.Crying,she asked me why I had poisoned her food. Before I could even react,Kyle had pried my mouth open and forced a whole bottle of“Wolfsbane”down my throat,a poison deadly to werewolves. I writhed on the floor in agony and passed out. No one cared about me.The whole pack was gathered around Selena,comforting her. As I was dying,an ancient voice sounded in my head: “Contractor’s life force has reached zero.Forcibly binding the Ancestral Revenge Pact.” “Current mission:Survive in the pack for three years as an Omega.” “Mission success:All pain inflicted upon you will be returned to the abusers a hundredfold.You will be granted one chance at rebirth and will inherit the Ancestral Vault.” “Mission failure:Your soul will be scattered,never to be reincarnated.” At the time,I thought it was just a hallucination before death. But when I woke up,fully healed,I believed. The Ancestral Spirit had given me a chance for revenge. I was eighteen then.To survive,I became silent and obedient. Now,I recalled what I had read in old books about coexisting with dangerous creatures.I suppressed my fear and stood perfectly still. The giant basilisk slithered around me,its touch ice-cold. Outside the crystal wall,Selena held Damian’s hand,smiling sweetly. “Damian,your destined mate smells so bad she got thrown into the basilisk’s den.” “Do you feel sorry for her?”

Damian glanced at me.“Don’t be ridiculous.I don’t have a mate.That contract should have been torn up long ago.” Even now,my heart ached as if gripped by an icy claw. Damian was different from the others in the pack.He had been my companion when I was a stray in the human world. An enemy pack had broken his leg,and he was barely surviving in a human city as a lone wolf. I pretended to be human and took care of him. He couldn’t walk,so I stole food for him and fought off the bums who bullied him. One winter,a few thugs stole his only crutch to use as firewood. I shielded him with my body,and they hung me from a tree and threw rocks at me. My head was bleeding,and my blood was everywhere. Damian held my freezing body and cried all night. He said,“Ilara,when I get my strength back,I’ll become the strongest Alpha and protect you.” I smiled,half-conscious,and I believed him. Later,when my pack found me,the first thing I did was ask them to accept Damian. To let an outsider stay,I guaranteed it with my own pure bloodline and proposed we become destined mates. Kyle called me a slut for wanting a lone wolf right after returning. I knelt at the altar for seven days and nights without food or water,my knees bleeding on the sharp stones,just to get that mate contract. It wasn’t that my parents and brother disliked Damian.It was that they thought his bloodline was weak and unworthy of me,their“tool.”They wanted me to marry into a more powerful pack to be a stepping stone for Selena. The day I went to get Damian,his eyes were red.He held me tight and swore to the moon goddess: “Ilara,once I have a place in the Silver Moon pack,I will hold the grandest ceremony for you!” But he never did.

He personally tore up our contract and pushed me to Selena for her to humiliate. When did he change? Maybe it was the first time Selena called him“Lord Damian”in her sweet voice. She knew how to use a fragile appearance to charm males better than I did.She knew how to please people. She linked her arm with his and said,“Lord Damian,your contract with Ilara is just to repay a debt,right?” Damian didn’t deny it. Maybe it was during a pack hunt,when I took a fatal blow from a giant bear for him.My organs were damaged,and I lay on the ground,unable to move. Damian just frowned and said,“Ilara,you’re so pathetic.” I mentioned the ceremony,the tokens,the future. He got impatient and just picked a poisonous wolfsbane flower from the roadside,wrapping it around my finger. But then he went and bought the“Tears of the Stars”for Selena at the All-Races Auction and designed the setting for it himself. I asked him,“Damian,do you remember what you said in the human world?” He laughed,a mocking laugh I had never seen before. “Ilara,are you ever going to stop bringing up the past?It’s so annoying.” “Yes,you helped me.But you’ve also used that to tie me to you for years.Isn’t that enough?” I tied him down? I knelt until my knees were broken,I starved myself,I risked my status as a pure-blood descendant to secure his future. He said,“Ilara,stop pretending.You only wanted to bind with me because you’re the pack’s most unloved Omega,right?” “Nobody wants you,so you had to latch onto me?” “Are you that desperate for a mate?Are you crazy?” In that moment,something inside me shattered. Selena’s laugh pulled me back from my memories. “Lord Damian,don’t be so cruel.Ilara was your mate for years,after all.” Damian sneered.“Mate?A desperate Omega who threw herself at me?Is she worthy?” I took a deep breath and silently asked the Ancestral Spirit,“Will betrayal be punished too?”

“Of course.Any suffering the contractor endures will be returned manifold in the curse.” “Assuming you survive the last day.” Selena stood on her toes,peering at me through the crystal wall,looking displeased. “This is no fun.She’s not moving.She’s like a corpse.” “My Big Baby doesn’t like dead things.” She shook Damian’s arm.“Lord Damian,get her out of there.I want to see her cry.” Damian hesitated for a second,but then agreed. He dragged me out roughly.The sunlight was blinding. “Selena wants you to cry.” His voice came from above,devoid of any warmth. I didn’t move. Selena picked up a sharp piece of obsidian and scraped it across my face,smiling her innocent smile. “Will you cry if it hurts,sister?” My face was bleeding,but my tears had long since dried up.I couldn’t produce a single drop. Damian lost his patience and kicked me in the shoulder. I fell backward,my head hitting a rock hard.Everything went black for a moment. “Cry!”he commanded,looking down at me. When I didn’t react,he kicked me again,harder. The force of it made me want to vomit. I didn’t want to die,but I couldn’t cry. I slowly got up and knelt properly. Then,I touched my forehead to the ground in the most subservient bow. “I’m sorry.”

Selena blinked,then laughed.“What is she pretending for?What is she apologizing for?” “That’s just Ilara.”A voice came from the side.It was my brother,Kyle. He had appeared at some point,standing a few feet away,his face wearing that familiar look of disgust. “This is how she survives in the pack.” “She kneels when you hit her,and she bows when you scold her.Like a spineless dog.” Selena tilted her head and sneered.“Really?Then let’s hear her howl like a wolf.” Kyle looked at me,his expression blank.“Did you hear that?Selena wants you to howl.” I knelt on the ground.In the sunlight,the three of them seemed to glow,while I was a stinking mess in the shadows. I opened my mouth,but no sound came out. Seeing Selena’s smile fade,Kyle’s face darkened. He grabbed my hair and yanked me to my feet.“Howl!” My scalp screamed in pain.I had to stand on my toes to lessen it. I looked at him.My own brother. Years ago,when the Shadow Wolf pack attacked,I had shielded him.I wrapped my body around the enemy’s legs and told him to run. The enemy,furious,threw me high into the air and slammed me back down. I lay in the bushes for two months,nearly dead. “Awoo…” My voice was small,like a pup’s whimper. Selena wasn’t satisfied.“That doesn’t sound like a wolf at all.She’s not getting into character.” She had Damian bring her a chain. Kyle understood.He fastened one end around my neck and gave the other to Selena. “Crawl!You crawl wherever Selena leads you.”

I didn’t move. He kicked me in the knee,and the pain sent me sprawling to the ground. I pushed myself up and began to crawl across the gravel-strewn yard. The sharp stones dug into my knees,and sweat beaded on my forehead. “Slow down,”Damian said from behind.“Don’t let Selena fall.” Selena smiled sweetly,pulling me through mud puddles and up stone steps. Cold sweat ran down my face.My knees wouldn’t stop shaking. When we were some distance from Damian and Kyle,Selena suddenly leaned in and whispered in my ear: “Ilara,I hate you.I wish you were dead.” “Years ago,you escaped from my family and reported us to the Wolf Council.You got my father judged and exiled to the Frozen Lands,never to return.” My world stopped. That trafficker…Selena’s father was a traitor from the Shadow Wolf pack.He captured and sold cubs from all packs. I saw him murder a cub who resisted,just for crying at night. Afterward,he smiled at the rest of us and said,“Anyone else cries,you’ll go join him.” The day I escaped,he found me and chased me across two mountain ranges. I jumped into a frozen river,and he stood on the bank throwing giant rocks at me until I was bleeding and half-dead. And my parents adopted his daughter. My brother cherished her.My fiancébetrayed our vows for her. Selena was still talking.“I’m not afraid of you telling anyone.No one will believe you.I’m just telling you this to make you sick.” She laughed wildly. I snapped.I lunged up,grabbed the chain from her hand,and wrapped it around her neck. “Your father murdered cubs!” My eyes burned.“That cub was only a month old!”

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My mom had been blind for three years. My father, who supposedly loved our family more than life itself, brought his abused ex-lover, Scarlett, and her daughter, Violet, into our home. The moment they walked through the door, Scarlett’s toy poodle went wild and lunged at my mom. Scout, my mom’s guide dog, let out a fierce bark and scared the poodle back. Scarlett clutched her trembling poodle, her eyes welling up with tears. And my dad, pointing at the very guide dog he had personally trained, roared: “You filthy beast! Bark again and I’ll pull every single one of your teeth out!” I rushed home the moment I saw the security feed on my phone. By the time I arrived, Scout was lying on the floor, his mouth drenched in blood. His shattered teeth were scattered all over the ground. My dad looked at my mom and said: “Scarlett has suffered so much over the years. Now that I’m successful, I won’t let her and Violet suffer another second of misery!” When he spoke of Scarlett, his eyes were filled with an unshakeable tenderness. But he didn’t know that the “success” he was so proud of was entirely built on my back.

I pushed open the front door and saw Scout tied up on the scorching, sun-drenched balcony. A few bloody teeth lay on the concrete. Blood was gushing from the empty sockets in Scout’s mouth. My mom was holding Scout helplessly, her palms covered in raw scrapes. My heart instantly tightened into a knot. “Mom, what happened?” “Georgina, please help Scout. He got into a fight with Scarlett’s dog, and your dad…” I looked at the bloody pliers lying on the floor, and everything clicked. I stared dead at my dad. A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes. A guide dog is incredibly hard to train. My dad had spent over two years personally training Scout just to protect my mom. Scarlett noticed his momentary guilt. She set down her coffee cup, slowly stood up from the lounger, and carried herself with the smug air of the new lady of the house. “Back where I come from, a dog this poorly behaved would have been put down. Pulling a few teeth is getting off easy.” Violet stroked her poodle’s head, chiming in: “Exactly. My mom cherishes this poodle your dad gave her. She can’t bear to see it get hurt at all.” I glared at them. “No one asked for your opinion.” Scarlett bit her lower lip, grabbed her suitcase, and made a show of leaving. “Christian, I told you your family wouldn’t welcome me. Why did I even bother coming here!” “Violet, pack your things. We’re leaving.” The guilt in my dad’s eyes vanished instantly. He rushed forward, snatched her suitcase, and pointed at the bruises on her arm, his voice thick with heartache: “Wyatt treated you like garbage, and you want to go back there to suffer?” “As long as I am breathing, I will never let you or Violet suffer again!” I let out a cold laugh, looking at this “saint” of a father. “Dad, Scout is Mom’s eyes. He is family.” “Did you forget? You were the one who said that.” He looked at me with a stern, cold face. “From now on, Scarlett and Violet are also our family!” “And as the man of this house, let me tell you this: I don’t care how spoiled you and your mother were before. From now on, you will respect them.” The midday sun was brutal. Scout’s mouth was still bleeding, and my mom’s clothes were soaked in sweat from the heat. I quickly untied Scout, preparing to rush him to the veterinary hospital. “Uncle Christian, what are these clothes?” Violet walked out of my room, holding a few of my lace designer dresses. Those were custom pieces gifted to me by a student I sponsored, who had won a prestigious fashion competition in Paris. Scarlett tutted, turning to my mom. “Betty, I don’t mean to criticize, but even if you’re blind, you can feel how expensive this fabric is.” “Georgina is a young girl. Wearing clothes like this…” “If word gets out, it just shows how much you’ve failed as a mother.” “Christian is a respected CEO now. She’s completely ruining his reputation.” With that, she handed a pair of scissors to my dad. He hesitated for a second, but took them anyway. He threw both the scissors and the dresses right in front of my mom. “Cut them up. Otherwise, neither of you is leaving this house today.” My mom’s hands trembled as she clutched her shirt, trying to explain for me: “Christian, it’s not what you think. These were a gift from a student Georgina helped…” “I don’t care what they are! You live under my roof and eat my food. Do I not even have a say in this house anymore?” My mom looked lost and helpless. Scout lay on the ground, whimpering in pain. Without another word, I picked up the scissors.

With a heavy heart, I shredded my student’s hard work into pieces and threw them at my dad’s feet. “Are you satisfied now?” My mom and I rushed Scout to the vet. After some treatment, the bleeding finally stopped. Though his life wasn’t in danger, Scout lay at our feet, his ears drooping sadly. Guide dogs are highly intelligent. They have dignity, and they feel emotional trauma too. My mom sighed softly. “Your dad is a good man. But whenever Scarlett is involved, he completely loses his mind.” From what I knew, Scarlett and my dad were childhood sweethearts. But Scarlett’s father, greedy for money, forced her to marry a wealthy man’s son. Back then, my dad was dirt poor. Heartbroken, he left his hometown to build a life from scratch. Now that he was a successful businessman and Scarlett was being abused by her alcoholic husband, Wyatt, my dad saw this as his golden opportunity to play the savior. When we got back home, I found Violet sitting at my laptop. She was downloading games while deleting my raw thesis files. That was three months of hard work and experimental data. I hadn’t even backed it up yet. I snatched the laptop away, my voice rising in anger. “That’s my thesis data! Don’t touch it!” Violet whimpered like a victim. “I’m sorry… I’ve never had a computer at home. I was just curious. I didn’t mean to…” Hearing the noise, my dad walked into the study and saw Violet tearing up. “Georgina, I was the one who let Violet use the computer.” “Violet’s father treated her terribly growing up. Who do you think you are, flexing your attitude on her?” Violet started crying even harder. My dad’s anger flared. He snatched my laptop and threw it straight into the fish tank. The screen went black instantly as water flooded the keyboard. One hundred days of grueling, sleepless work—gone in a flash. Even the three goldfish in the tank were struck by the heavy laptop and sank lifelessly to the bottom. Those goldfish were my mom’s prized possessions before she lost her sight. For three years, my dad had meticulously cared for them, feeding them and changing their water right on schedule. Now, he stared coldly at the dead fish, his tone filled with utter impatience. “Your mother is blind, but are you blind too? Didn’t you see how happy Violet was?” I helped my mom back to her room, feeling strangely grateful she couldn’t see the ugly, venomous sneer on my dad’s face. After pulling the ruined laptop out of the fish tank, I looked at him and asked, “Do you even remember why Mom went blind in the first place?” Three years ago was the most critical year of Christian’s career. On a night with torrential rain, my mom went out to deliver a crucial folder he had forgotten. A truck carrying steel rebar skidded on the wet road and plowed into her while she was waiting at a red light. The rebar pierced directly through her eyes. When the doctor declared her permanently blind, my dad knelt by her hospital bed and wept all night. He kept sobbing, “God, why couldn’t it have been me? Betty, I’m so sorry…” He promised her: “Betty, from now on, Georgina and I will be your eyes.” “As long as I have you and Georgina, I have everything I need.” Christian’s face went pale. His eyes drifted to the dead goldfish. He frowned and muttered, “I’ll just buy some new ones.” “Ah!” Suddenly, a sharp scream came from the guest room, followed by the rich aroma of chicken soup. We ran in to find Scarlett sprawled on the floor by my mom’s bed, hot soup spilled everywhere. She clutched her leg, her voice dripping with artificial sincerity. “Betty, if you didn’t want the soup, I could have made you something else. But how could you push me like that…” My dad rushed over, grabbing the medical kit to bandage Scarlett. Her leg was slightly pink, but upon closer inspection, there wasn’t a single blister. Scout barked twice, trying to draw my dad’s attention to my mom’s foot. He was pacing around anxiously, and his tail accidentally brushed against Scarlett. She immediately shrank into my dad’s arms, shrieking, “Christian, it’s going to bite me!” “Wyatt used to set his dogs on me like this… I’m terrified!” My dad kicked Scout hard in the ribs. The poor dog collapsed, struggling several times before he could stand back up. I couldn’t take it anymore. I violently yanked up my mom’s pant leg. “Scarlett, look at my mom’s foot! It’s covered in severe burns! Stop putting on a goddamn show!” Scarlett froze, then began to sob dramatically in my dad’s arms. “Christian, I didn’t mean to… I swear…” My dad flew into a rage and slapped me hard across the face. “Is this how I raised you? How dare you speak to Scarlett with such disrespect!” My mom started crying in panic. Being blind, she was completely helpless. She frantically reached out, grabbing my dad’s hand, taking all the blame: “Christian, it was my fault! I accidentally spilled the soup! It’s all on me!” “Don’t blame Georgina! Please don’t hit her…” When I was a kid, my mom fell off her bicycle while carrying me. We both scraped our limbs—I hurt my knee, and she hurt her elbow. Back then, my dad tenderly disinfected our wounds, looking a hundred times more pained than we were. Now, feeling the burning sting on my cheek and the ringing in my ears, I finally saw reality for what it was. I calmly looked at my mom and said: “Mom, don’t apologize.” “We don’t need him. We can live perfectly fine on our own.” Suddenly, a strong burning smell filled the air, and the deafening screech of the building’s fire alarm began to wail. Someone screamed in the hallway: “Fire! Run!”

Amidst the frantic wailing of the fire alarm, Scarlett clung to my dad, whimpering: “Christian, I’m so scared. We just found each other again… I don’t want to die…” My dad was deeply moved. “Scarlett, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He hoisted Scarlett onto his back and started rushing out, not forgetting to grab Violet and her toy poodle. We lived on the tenth floor. My mom was blind, and her foot was covered in agonizing blisters from the boiling soup. There was no way I could get her down ten flights of stairs by myself. “Dad!” In that moment of sheer terror, a tiny sliver of hope still lingered in my heart. Christian glanced back at me, his guilty eyes saying everything. Desperate, I yelled again, “Dad! What about us?” “Georgina, the fire is spreading fast. I have to get Scarlett and Violet down first!” With that, he turned around and fled without looking back. My mom stared blankly in the direction he had gone, her tears flowing endlessly. I had no time to cry. I grabbed Scout’s leash and put my mom’s arm over my shoulder. The stairwell was thick with choking smoke. People were pushing past us in a panic. From the tenth floor down to the eighth, my mom tripped and fell three times. By the fourth time she fell, I decided to carry her on my back. She refused vehemently. “Georgina, listen to me. You are young. You have so much ahead of you.” “You can’t escape if you’re carrying me. You surviving is my only wish…” My voice was steel. “Mom, we leave together. If you won’t go, Scout and I will die right here with you.” Scout seemed to understand. He let out two sharp, encouraging barks and nudged my mom with his snout. After a moment of hesitation, she finally relented. I hoisted her onto my back, realizing she was far lighter than I had ever imagined. Thick smoke swirled around us. Everyone else had already sprinted past. By the time we stumbled down to the second floor, our path was blocked. The ceiling had collapsed, sealing the exit door with heavy debris. I leaned out of a small hallway window and screamed, “Help! Somebody help us!” Through the window, I could see Christian sitting safely on the lawn below, gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind Scarlett’s ear. The temperature in the stairwell skyrocketed. The black smoke grew suffocating. My mom coughed violently, and my eyes burned so badly I could barely keep them open. She slipped off my back again. Suddenly, Scout ripped his leash out of my hand. He threw his body repeatedly against the blocked exit door. Once, twice, three times… Just before my mom and I lost consciousness, the door gave way under Scout’s relentless weight. We stumbled out into the fresh, cool air. On the grass, Christian was busy feeding Scarlett water while carefully applying ointment to a tiny blister on Violet’s finger. He was so absorbed in his touching reunion with his first love that he had completely forgotten his wife and daughter were trapped in a burning building. I stared at the “happy little family.” Then, I pulled out my phone and sent a text. [Spread the word. Cancel all of Christian’s business privileges and patents.] In the midst of surviving the ordeal, my phone rang. It was the hospital. “Is this Betty’s family? A matching cornea donor has just passed away.” “Time is of the essence. Please bring Betty to the hospital immediately for surgery.”

I had never believed in miracles, but in that moment, I wept with gratitude. I grabbed my mom’s hand. “Mom, we got a cornea! You’re going to see again!” Scout wagged his tail furiously, as if he understood every word. But I had underestimated the chaos of the fire. Half the city’s traffic was paralyzed. No cars could get in or out of our block. After begging a firefighter, I finally secured two seats in an emergency vehicle. Before we could get in, Christian blocked us. “Georgina, let Violet and Scarlett take those seats. They’re hurt.” I looked at the mother-daughter duo. Their cheeks were flushed and healthy. The only “injury” they had was a tiny blister on Violet’s pinky. I refused flatly. “Absolutely not. My mom needs to get to the hospital right now for a cornea transplant!” He threw a dismissive, cynical glance at my mom. “Are you still this naive? Last time you rushed to the hospital, the donor’s family backed out at the last second.” “People aren’t that selfless. Stop dreaming.” I stood firmly in front of my mom. “This time is different.” “It’s no different! The smoke is bad here. Let Scarlett and Violet go first!” The paramedic intervened. “There are only two seats left. Whoever needs emergency surgery goes first.” “Wait!” Christian pulled out his phone and showed the paramedic a digital copy of my therapy records. A while ago, I had struggled with insomnia because I was so stressed about my mom’s blindness. Christian had set up an appointment with a therapist, telling me I just needed to vent to a professional. “This is my daughter. She’s a pathological liar. There is no surgery. Her therapist says she has severe delusion issues!” The paramedic looked at the psychiatric record, frowned, and ushered Scarlett and Violet into the vehicle. My phone rang again. It was the hospital. “You must arrive within the hour.” “Otherwise, the cornea will go to the next patient on the waiting list.” “We’ll make it! We will be there!” I cried. Hanging up, I fell to my knees in front of Christian. “Dad, I beg you. Just let us go first. I’ll do anything.” “I’ll sign over the patent rights your company has been begging for.” Violet scoffed. “Aren’t you just a broke lab assistant? Since when do you own patents?” “Uncle Christian hates liars, you know.” Scarlett clutched her forehead, whimpering, “Christian, my head hurts so bad… Am I going to die…” Scout seemed to realize what was happening. He dragged his battered body forward and used his remaining teeth to gently tug on Christian’s trousers, pleading. “Get lost!” Christian kicked Scout away with brutal force. The dog’s head slammed directly into a wooden plank with a rusty, exposed nail. With a soft, pained whimper, Scout took his last breath. Christian guided Scarlett and Violet into the emergency vehicle and drove off. My mom cradled Scout’s lifeless body, weeping uncontrollably. She grabbed my hand, her voice filled with absolute despair. “Georgina, don’t beg him… I don’t want the surgery anymore.” “Mom, don’t say that!” A cornea donor is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The emergency vehicle drove right past us. No matter how much I screamed, it didn’t stop. The crowd around us stared at me as if I were a lunatic. Just as I was about to spiral into total despair, the deafening roar of a helicopter filled the air. A private chopper landed right in the middle of the grass. An elegant, middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to my mom stepped out. He rushed over and grabbed our hands. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry I’m late…” Behind him, several police officers jumped out, immediately intercepting the ambulance and handcuffing Scarlett. “Scarlett Vance, you are under arrest for the murder of your husband, Wyatt Vance. Please come with us.”

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My husband, Cole, and I had been together for seven years. He was a penniless orphan, and I was the sole heiress to the Franklin empire. I fought my entire family to marry him, and today, I finally did. The wedding was grand and perfect. He looked at me with the same deep, adoring eyes he always had. But late that night, in our brand-new bridal suite, I found a leather-bound journal he had accidentally left behind. Inside, he had documented everything. From our very first day in college, he had meticulously planned every single encounter, every conversation, and every milestone of our relationship. It was a perfectly calculated trap. The very last entry was dated yesterday. “Antoinette finally took the bait. Once the wedding is over tomorrow, everything the Franklins own will be mine.” Our wedding was incredibly lavish. My father spared no expense. Cole, the man I had loved for seven years, was now my husband. He grew up as an orphan, so my family covered every single wedding expense. My father didn’t mind at all. He just wanted me to be happy. Throughout the ceremony, Cole was incredibly attentive. The way he looked at me was filled with pure adoration. I believed his love was real. Seven years of history couldn’t possibly be a lie. All the guests were whispering about how lucky we were, calling us a match made in heaven. And I believed them. Until late that night, after the last guest had left. I sat on our bed, which was covered in red rose petals, anxiously waiting for Cole to return. He had gone to see off our last few friends and told me to head up and rest first. Our master bedroom was huge, decorated in warm, romantic lights. That was when I noticed a black, hardbound journal lying on the carpet near the nightstand. I recognized it instantly. It was Cole’s diary. He had always mentioned his habit of journaling, but I had never read it. He told me it was just boring, day-to-day stuff. I wanted to respect his privacy, so I never pried. But tonight, for some inexplicable reason, I picked it up. It wasn’t locked. I opened it easily. The first page was dated seven years ago—September 1st, our very first day of college. The handwriting was definitely Cole’s. But the words felt like they belonged to a total stranger. “Antoinette Franklin. The sole heiress to the Franklin Group.” “My target starts today. I will make her fall in love with me.” My heart instantly dropped. Refusing to believe it, I kept flipping the pages. September 15: “Bumped into her at the library today. A perfect accident. She is exactly like the files said—sweet, innocent, and a little naive.” “Step one: success.” October 3: “She agreed to be my girlfriend. Everything is going exactly according to plan.” “She has these pure, doe-like eyes. Sometimes when she looks at me, I almost fool myself into thinking this is real love.” December 24: “Christmas Eve. She told me she loves me.” “Phase two: complete. Up next: long-term companionship and deep integration into her life.” I flipped through page after page. It felt like I was reading a horror story about my own life. Cole and I were the main characters, but the tone was as cold and calculated as a corporate takeover. Every date, every fight, every makeup session was listed as a milestone, followed by a post-event analysis and the next step of his strategy. My hands began to shake violently. Our seven-year romance was nothing but a highly engineered scam. I was the idiot playing her part in his script. I reached the very last page. The entry was from yesterday. “Seven years. This show is finally coming to an end.” “Antoinette finally took the bait. Once the wedding is over tomorrow, everything the Franklins own will be mine.” “Father, your vengeance is at hand. I am about to reclaim what is ours.” My brain went entirely numb. Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t feel sad. I just felt cold—an icy, bone-chilling numbness that spread from my chest to my fingertips. Right then, the bedroom door clicked open. Cole walked in with his signature warm, gentle smile. When he saw me sitting on the floor with his journal in my hands, his smile froze for a fraction of a second. But he recovered almost instantly. He walked over, kneeling beside me, and reached out to pull me up. “Why are you sitting on the floor, sweetheart? It’s cold.” His voice was still so soft, so familiar. I looked up at him. This face, which I had loved for seven years, now looked completely foreign and terrifying. I held up the journal right in front of his face. “What is this?” My voice was so raspy I barely recognized it. Cole’s eyes changed. The warmth and tenderness vanished. In their place was a cold, calculating gaze, mixed with a hint of annoyance at being caught. He stood up, looking down at me coldly. “Well, since you’ve read it, I guess there’s no point in playing pretend anymore.” He admitted it. Just like that, without a single shred of hesitation. My entire world shattered into pieces. “Why?” I squeezed out the question with every ounce of strength I had left. “Why?” He let out a harsh, mocking laugh. “You should ask your dear father. Ask him what he did to the Miller family twenty years ago.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Through the rising smoke, his face looked incredibly cruel. “Toni, I wanted to give you some dignity.” “If you had just played the part of a happy housewife and handed the company over to me, I would have made sure you were taken care of for the rest of your life.” “But you had to be stupid and dig this up.” He pointed his cigarette at the journal in my hands. “Now, the game is over.”

I don’t even know how I survived that night. Cole didn’t touch me. He slept in the guest room. I lay alone on the cold bridal bed, staring at the ceiling until dawn. Every single word from that journal was burned into my brain. My youth, my love, my entire life—all of it was a massive joke. But I couldn’t just give up. Not for myself, and definitely not for my family. The next morning, Cole sat at the dining table, eating breakfast as if nothing had happened. When he saw me walk downstairs, he even offered a small smile. “You’re awake. Come have some breakfast.” I forced down the wave of nausea hitting my throat and sat opposite him. I told myself: Toni, you cannot panic. Do not let him see you break. From this moment on, you are the one who has to act. “Cole, are we still going on our honeymoon?” I did my best to make my voice sound normal. He looked at me, slightly surprised. “Of course. The tickets are already booked, aren’t they?” “Great.” I forced a smile. “I really want to go to Paris. You promised you’d take me there.” He nodded, a hint of suspicion lingering in his eyes. “Sure. Whatever you want.” After breakfast, I made an excuse to pack my bags and locked myself in the bedroom. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. Julian Vance. He was our family’s legal counsel, and the man my father trusted most. The phone rang for a long time before someone picked up. “Hello?” Julian’s voice was professional but carried a hint of morning tiredness. “Julian, it’s me. Toni.” There was a brief silence on the other end. “Toni? Happy wedding day. Is everything okay? It’s pretty early.” I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. “Julian, I need some legal advice.” “If… hypothetically, a friend of mine found out that her new husband only married her to steal her family’s wealth… what should she do?” Julian let out a soft chuckle. “Toni, you should really stop watching those lifetime dramas.” “Without concrete evidence, accusations don’t mean anything in court.” His tone was detached, purely professional. I knew he wouldn’t believe something so wild without proof. “Evidence… I’ll find it.” After hanging up, my heart sank. If even Julian thought I was being paranoid, how was I going to find proof? Then, I remembered the last line of Cole’s diary. “Father, your vengeance is at hand.” Cole’s father? I thought Cole was an orphan? Also, the diary mentioned a few other details—meetings with friends, and some unusual bank transfers. I opened my phone and started checking our joint bank accounts. Most transactions were normal living expenses. But one stood out. Three months ago, there was a fifty-thousand-dollar wire transfer to a completely unfamiliar name. The memo read: “Personal loan.” Cole never lacked money. My father had given him a black card with a massive limit. Why would he need to borrow fifty thousand dollars from a stranger? I quickly took a screenshot of the transfer and sent it to Julian. Then, I texted him: “Julian, please run a background check on this account owner. I will cover the fees.” As soon as the message sent, I deleted all call logs and texts. I walked out of the room. Cole was leaning against the living room couch, scrolling through his phone. Seeing me, he looked up. “All packed?” “Yeah.” “Great. Let’s head to the airport.” He stood up and naturally reached for my hand. I flinched, pulling away instinctively. The air in the room instantly froze. Cole’s eyes darkened. “Toni, don’t play games with me.” I forced myself to meet his cold gaze and smiled. “I’m just… still adjusting. We’re actually married now.” He stared at me for a few agonizing seconds before letting it go. But I knew. He was starting to doubt me. This game was getting incredibly dangerous.

On the flight to Paris, Cole and I barely spoke. I kept my eye mask on, pretending to sleep, while my mind raced to find a way out of this. I had to get enough evidence to ruin him before he realized I was on to him. Once we landed, Cole checked us into a luxury hotel. He played the role of the doting husband perfectly, arranging everything. But it only made my skin crawl. That night, he claimed he had to meet a “French business partner.” I knew it was a lie. He was meeting his accomplice. Right after he left, my phone buzzed. It was an encrypted text from Julian. It was an image of the bank account holder’s details. The account belonged to a man named Douglas, registered in a remote town. But it was Julian’s note below that made my heart race: “This man owns a shell company. It was registered six months ago. No actual business operations.” My heart hammered against my ribs. Douglas… shell company… I immediately connected it to a name in Cole’s journal. He had mentioned needing “Douglas” to move some funds. It was him! Julian sent another message right after. “Toni, this is much bigger than you think. Where are you? We need to meet.” His tone had completely changed. He was no longer the detached lawyer. He believed me. I sent him my hotel address in Paris. He said he would get there as fast as he could. Waiting for Julian was agonizing. I was terrified Cole would walk in at any moment. I wiped my chat history with Julian, muted my phone, and hid it under my pillow. About two hours later, there was a knock at the door. I peered through the peephole. It was Julian. He was wearing a sharp, tailored suit, looking slightly exhausted from the travel, but his eyes were incredibly sharp. I opened the door and let him in. “Toni,” he greeted, nodding. “Julian, thank you for coming.” “Don’t worry about it. It’s my job.” He sat down on the sofa, getting straight to business. “Now, tell me everything. No more ‘hypothetical friend’ stories.” I didn’t hold back. I told him about finding the journal, the revenge entries, and everything Cole had admitted. I tried to stay strong, but my voice cracked when I spoke about our seven years being a lie. Julian listened quietly, never interrupting. When I finished, he remained silent for a long moment. “Toni, I am so sorry you have to go through this,” he said, his tone softening. “But from this moment on, you cannot let your emotions guide you. You need to stay calm, and you need to trust me completely.” I nodded. “Cole’s target is the Franklin Group,” Julian explained, his expression grave. “Based on what you’ve shown me, he’s likely planning a hostile takeover or trying to siphon the company’s core assets.” “We have to stop him before he makes his move.” “How?” I asked. “Step one: keep him calm. He can’t know that you’re onto him. You have to keep acting like the happy bride for the rest of this honeymoon.” “Step two: we need more concrete evidence. A journal entry and one wire transfer aren’t enough to hold up in court. We need proof of corporate embezzlement or insider trading.” “Step three: I will dig into Cole’s real family background. We need to find out what this ‘vengeance’ is actually about.” Julian’s logic was flawless. It brought a sense of calm to my chaotic mind. “I understand.” “And one more thing,” Julian said, looking into my eyes. “From now on, only contact me through this secure, encrypted app. I’ll show you how to use it.” We talked late into the night. Shortly after Julian left, Cole came back. He smelled of alcohol, but his eyes were completely sober. “How was your meeting?” I asked casually, pretending to read. “Good. Just talked some business.” He shrugged out of his coat, his eyes scanning the room as if checking for anything out of place. Finally, his gaze landed on my face. “You seem… different tonight.” My heart leaped into my throat.

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On the day of our college graduation, my parents held up their cameras, taking photo after photo of my boyfriend and my best friend. Through the lens, Ethan smiled and kissed Chloe on the cheek. He even dropped to one knee, pulling out a ring to fake a proposal. My parents stood by, watching with warm, indulgent smiles. Yet, I was their actual daughter. And Ethan was the guy I had been dating for four years. Dressed in my graduation gown, I stood alone in the corner. I waited for a long time, but my mom never once called my name. Once Chloe finished her photoshoot, she sighed and complained about not finding a good job yet. Naturally, Ethan forgot all about me, immediately leaning down to comfort her. “Come work at my company. Be my personal assistant. What do you say?” My brother, Marcus, walked over with a cold bottle of water. He only handed it to Chloe, then wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders, giving Ethan a sharp glare. “Chloe, come to my company instead. Be my personal assistant!” Two men, fighting over my best friend. My parents laughed, saying we were all just one big family anyway. I stood to the side, my fingers tightening into fists. It felt as though Chloe was their real daughter, and Ethan was her boyfriend. Since that was the case, I would sign the job contract for the place furthest away from home, and never come back.

An email notification popped up on my phone. It was from the company Chloe had interviewed with. They rejected her. Chloe’s eyes welled with tears instantly. “Am I really that useless? I can’t even get a basic job.” My mom immediately pulled her into a comforting hug. “What nonsense are you talking about? Maybe Natalie is useless enough to not find a job, but not you.” “You’ve been perfect in everything since you were a kid, Chloe. How could you not find a job?” After saying that, she glanced back at me. “That company just lacks vision. Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll take our time finding a better one.” I stood there, having done absolutely nothing, yet once again being used as the foil to prove Chloe’s superiority. Growing up, I had doubted countless times whether I was the one who was adopted, and if Chloe was their biological child. But unfortunately, the DNA test I secretly took showed no issues. Later, I thought it was because of my personality. Maybe I wasn’t smart or charming enough. So, I worked myself to the bone to prove my worth. Yet, by the time I finally achieved things that should have made them proud, I realized their favoritism toward Chloe had already become a deep-rooted habit. Just like now, they were used to ignoring me. They knew I’d always find my own way home anyway. I stood there, watching Ethan whisper sweet nothings to comfort Chloe. Meanwhile, my dad was on the phone, calling the HR manager of Aegis Group on the spot. After hanging up, he made a confident promise. “I’ve sorted it out for you. Your first job is crucial. You can’t just settle. A major corporation like Aegis is the bare minimum.” There was always a safety net beneath Chloe’s feet. The moment she slipped, everyone rushed to catch her. During our freshman year, she failed a core course. My mom pulled strings to find a senior tutor, paying three hundred dollars per session and booking twenty sessions in advance. That same semester, I scored a ninety-five on my final exam. Full of anticipation, I showed my grade to my mom, hoping for a single word of praise. But all I got was criticism. “I thought you said you worked hard? Why did you lose five points?” After that, I stopped sending my grades home. During our junior year, I had a sudden bout of acute gastritis. The pain was so intense I collapsed at the entrance of the lab building, unable to stand. I called Ethan, begging him for the first time to take me to the hospital. But the other end of the line was quiet for a moment. “Chloe has a big presentation tomorrow. She’s really nervous right now and needs me to help her practice.” “Natalie, you’ve always been independent. You can call an Uber yourself, right?” That day, the Uber driver saw how pale I was and personally helped me walk into the ER. A complete stranger knew I needed a hand. Yet Ethan thought I was perfectly fine on my own. Maybe it was because I had been too sensible for too long. When you never complain, people assume you don’t feel pain. It was only much later that my mom casually asked about my job hunt. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could answer, my dad waved his hand dismissively. “With her major, what kind of good job can she get? Just find some random desk job and call it a day.” Marcus glanced at me, frowning. “Yeah, just get a job. Don’t think you’re going to live rent-free at home after graduation.” Ethan even chime in, “If you really can’t find anything, I can ask if our company’s front desk is hiring.” He said it so naturally, as if he was genuinely doing me a favor. I looked down and unlocked my phone, opening the acceptance email. The Cairo Institute of Deep Space Materials. Excellent benefits, highly prestigious, but located over five thousand miles away. For the past seven days, I hadn’t confirmed the offer. I was waiting. Waiting for my mom to ask me where I wanted to stay. Waiting for my dad to make a call for me too. Or waiting for Ethan to remember our promise to stay in the same city after graduation. But with only six hours left on the confirmation countdown, not a single person asked. I tapped “Confirm.” A message popped up on the screen. Welcome to the Cairo Institute of Deep Space Materials, Natalie Sinclair! At that moment, the first sincere welcome I received came from five thousand miles away.

The next morning, my mom dragged us all to the mall. She said since Chloe was joining a big company, she needed a brand-new wardrobe. A six-thousand-dollar designer suit, a fifteen-thousand-dollar work bag, and five-thousand-dollar high heels. Every time Chloe looked at a price tag in hesitation, my mom would smile and tell her not to worry about the cost. “You’re going to be working at a top firm. You need to look the part.” My dad happily handed over his credit card at the register. Marcus, his hands full of shopping bags, asked Chloe if she wanted some designer perfume too. Ethan knelt down, gently feeling the back of Chloe’s new heels. “The leather here is a bit stiff. Let’s try another pair. I don’t want you getting blisters on your first day.” I stood a few paces away, watching his gentle profile. During our four years of college, I had walked miles in ill-fitting shoes just to keep him company. When my heels bled, he only laughed and said I was being dramatic. It turned out he knew shoes could hurt. It was just that when those shoes were on my feet, it wasn’t worth his concern. Passing by a luggage store, I stopped. My suitcase was ten years old, and the corners were cracked. I had wrapped layers of duct tape around it, and the wheels were completely uneven. I picked the cheapest one in the store. One hundred and twenty-nine dollars. Instead of taking it straight to the counter, I walked over to my dad. “Can I get this?” Perhaps, even now, I still held onto a stupid shred of hope. They had just spent over thirty thousand dollars buying luxury clothes, shoes, and bags for Chloe. A hundred-dollar suitcase shouldn’t be too much to ask for, right? Maybe I just wanted to prove that I still held some tiny fraction of a place in their hearts. But my dad only frowned. “Don’t we have suitcases at home?” “That one is ten years old, Dad. It’s broken.” “Just because it’s broken doesn’t mean it’s unusable. Do you think your parents’ hard-earned money is for you to throw away like this?” My mom walked over, scoffing. “Chloe got a prestigious job, so of course she needs nice things.” She glanced at the suitcase in my hand, her tone filled with annoyance. “What kind of job are you going to get that warrants a fancy suitcase like this?” “You’ll probably end up as a receptionist somewhere. Nobody cares what bag you bring. Just make do with the old one.” Marcus chuckled from the side. “She’s just jealous. She saw Chloe buying things, so now she wants to compete.” My hand froze on the handle. Slowly, I put the suitcase back. Chloe stood outside the store, her fifteen-thousand-dollar bag on her shoulder, surrounded by shopping bags. “Natalie, aren’t you buying anything?” “No.” I looked down at my worn-out canvas tote bag. It wasn’t that the family was broke. And it wasn’t that appearance didn’t matter. It was just that whenever it came to me, everything became “unnecessary” and “wasteful.” That evening, my mom booked a private room at a nice restaurant to celebrate our graduation. A massive cake sat in the center of the table. The moment I walked in, the icing caught my eye. Congratulations on Graduation, Chloe! Wishing you a brilliant future! Chloe looked slightly embarrassed. “Helen, did you forget to write Natalie’s name?” My mom didn’t even look up. “She doesn’t like cake anyway. It doesn’t matter.” Actually, I loved cake. She had just never bought one for me. During dinner, my dad handed a recommendation letter to Chloe. “I’ve already spoken to my contact. You can report to Aegis Group next week. The office is close to home, and the pay is great.” Chloe’s eyes turned red. “You guys are too good to me. I don’t know how to repay you.” My mom squeezed her hand. “Oh, sweetie, don’t talk about repaying us. We already think of you as our own daughter.” Watching them hold hands, I suddenly felt like an intruder sitting at the wrong table. The warm, family scene was so blindingly bright that my presence felt like a stain on their perfect picture. When the bill came, my mom paid for Chloe’s share. But a second later, a Snapchat split-bill request of $136.50 popped up on my phone. Sent by my mom. Only I was asked to pay. “Natalie, you’ve graduated now. You can’t keep relying on your parents’ money.” “From now on, you’ll need to pay your share for dinners, rent for your room, and utilities.” I stared at the split-bill request down to the cents. I didn’t say a word. I just quietly clicked pay.

When we got home, my mom stopped me just as I was about to go to my room. “Pack up your things. Chloe is moving in tomorrow.” “She starts at Aegis next week. Her family’s place is too far from the office, so she’ll be living with us.” I followed her gaze. In the hallway sat brand-new bedding and a vanity table that had just been delivered. All in Chloe’s favorite baby pink. “Where is she staying?” “Your room, of course. We don’t have any other spare rooms.” I froze. “Then where do I sleep?” My mom paused, pointing toward the storage closet near the entrance. “Clean out the storage room. A folding bed can fit in there. Chloe is our guest, so you’ll just have to deal with it.” The storage room was piled high with old furniture. The window was half-blocked by a cabinet, and there was mold on the walls. When we were kids and Chloe stayed over, I used to give up my bed and sleep there too. Back then, my mom would stroke my hair and say, “Our Natalie is the most sensible girl.” I had always thought being sensible would earn me a little bit of her love. Only later did I realize that the reward for being sensible was being expected to give up everything forever. “No, I won’t do it.” It was the first time I had ever said no. My mom’s face darkened instantly. “Chloe is going to be busy with her new job. She needs proper rest!” “You don’t even have a job lined up. What difference does it make where you sleep?” I whispered, “It’s my room.” My mom laughed as if she’d heard a joke. “Your room? Everything in this house was given to you by us. What’s wrong with you giving up a room for a bit?” I stared at her and suddenly asked, “What if the job I got is better than Chloe’s?” My mom frowned. “Natalie, it’s one thing to have no talent, but don’t lie just because you’re jealous.” I had wanted to tell her that I was accepted by the Cairo Institute. But the words died in my throat. My dad finally snapped in irritation, “If you don’t want to sleep in the storage room, then pack your bags and get out. Nobody is stopping you.” I looked at them and nodded. “Okay.” They thought I was just throwing a tantrum. My mom didn’t even try to stop me. She only warned me to clear my things out completely so I wouldn’t delay Chloe’s move-in tomorrow. I found a cheap hostel nearby. A six-bed dorm, top bunk, thirty dollars a night. Every time the person next to me tossed and turned, the entire metal frame shook. But the moment I lay down, I felt more at peace than I ever had at home. At least this bed was truly mine, paid for with my own money. The next day, I went back to pack the rest of my things. When I opened my jewelry box, I realized the sapphire cross necklace left by my grandma was gone. Grandma Eleanor was the only person in that family who had ever truly loved me. When I had a high fever as a kid, my mom was away at Chloe’s dance recital. It was Grandma who carried me to the hospital on her back. She told me, “Our Natalie isn’t fearless. She’s just too scared to cry because there’s no one to comfort her.” After Grandma passed away, that cross necklace became my only comfort. I marched into the living room, clutching the empty box. “Mom, where is my necklace?” My mom paused her hands while stripping the bedsheets. “It’s just an old cross. How should I know where you put it?” The moment she finished speaking, a photo popped up in the family Snapchat group. My dad had set up a dinner with his friends to introduce Chloe to the executives of Aegis Group. In the photo, Chloe was wearing the new designer dress we bought yesterday. And around her neck was my sapphire cross necklace. I shoved the photo in front of my mom’s face. Seeing she couldn’t lie her way out, she doubled down, completely shameless. “Chloe was meeting executives today. Her neck looked too bare, so I gave it to her.” “You never wear it anyway. Why let it gather dust?” “That was Grandma’s!” My mom’s expression went cold. “I’m your mother. Do I need your permission to take something from this house?” “Besides, your grandma adored Chloe too when she was alive. If she knew you were throwing a fit over a piece of jewelry, she’d think you were incredibly petty.” “Grandma wouldn’t.” Tears fell without warning, and my voice began to tremble. “Grandma was the only person in this family who never forced me to give up my things to Chloe.” I turned to head to the restaurant, but my mom blocked the door immediately. “The executives are still there! If you go now, are you trying to ruin Chloe’s career?!” While we were arguing, the front door swung open. Chloe was back. She touched the sapphire cross on her chest. “Natalie, are you looking for this?” She unclasped the chain and held it out in her palm. “I didn’t know this was from your grandma. Helen told me it was a graduation gift.” I walked over and reached out my hand. “Give it back.” I was still two paces away from her when she suddenly let go. The necklace crashed heavily onto the tiled floor. The blue sapphire in the center of the cross shattered into pieces. Chloe took a step back, tears streaming down her face first. “I’m so sorry… you rushed at me so fast, I got scared…”

I knelt down, gathering the shattered pieces into my palm. The sharp edges of the broken metal cut into my finger, blood seeping into the cracks. On my eighteenth birthday, Grandma Eleanor had placed this necklace around my neck. Her hands had been weak, taking several attempts to secure the clasp. “Our Natalie always gives in to everyone else.” “When Grandma is gone, make sure you keep the things you love. Don’t let yourself suffer anymore.” I had hugged her back then, giggling and saying that as long as I had her, I’d never suffer. But then Grandma passed away. And in this house, there was no longer anyone who saw me as a girl who felt pain, got sad, or deserved to be loved. I couldn’t even protect the last thing she left me. The only love I had left was taken by them to please Chloe, only to be smashed to pieces right in front of my eyes. “Natalie, I really didn’t mean to.” Chloe covered her face and sobbed. My mom immediately shielded her in her arms. “Don’t cry, sweetie. It’s not your fault.” She glared at me. “If she hadn’t rushed at you like a maniac, why would your hands shake?” But I hadn’t even touched Chloe. Marcus sighed in annoyance. “Just take it to a jeweler and get it fixed. It’s not like it’s worth that much anyway.” Ethan pulled out a tissue, gently wiping the tears from Chloe’s face. Nobody noticed my hand was bleeding. Or maybe they did. It was just that compared to Chloe’s tears, it didn’t matter. I tightly clenched my fist around the broken cross. In the past, whenever I was wronged, I would scream and explain myself. I used to believe that if I just explained clearly, they would understand. But at this moment, I didn’t even have the energy to speak. I slipped the broken necklace into my pocket and walked out. My mom screamed after me, “If you walk out that door, don’t you dare come back! You’re an adult and you still have such an attitude! Who would ever put up with you?!” I didn’t look back. She didn’t know that I had no intention of ever returning. I went back to the hostel. My flight to the Cairo Institute was the day after tomorrow. I packed my remaining clothes. At one in the morning, a message from Ethan came through. Chloe cried the entire night. Are you happy now? I stared at the screen for a long time. I wanted to explain, but halfway through typing, I deleted everything. He didn’t care. Just like he never cared why I left. Chloe’s tears required everyone to comfort her all night. My pain only earned me a complaint about my “bad attitude.” I blocked every single one of them. Then, I dragged my broken suitcase to the train station to head to the airport. At the security check, the wheel of my suitcase got stuck. A kind older woman helped me lift it. “Traveling alone, dear? No family to send you off?” I smiled, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. “They have someone more important to take care of.” As the train pulled away from the platform, I looked at the broken necklace in my hand and finally let my tears fall in the silence of the cabin. I wasn’t crying because I missed them. I was crying for my younger self—the girl who had stupidly believed that if she was just a little more sensible, someone would finally love her back. Before turning off my phone, I saw a few incoming texts. They were still demanding that I “be sensible” and come back to apologize to Chloe. But they didn’t know. The Natalie Sinclair who was always sensible, who always waited for their approval, was gone. And she was never coming back.

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My dad is the most feared mafia boss in New York. My mom is an elite heiress from one of the city’s oldest billionaire families. And then there’s Julian—my genius older brother who used to spoil me to death. When I was five, my dad’s enemies kidnapped me. They wanted to trade my life for his. To save him, I found a chance to escape. But I ended up falling off a cliff, losing all my memories, and growing up as an unadoptable orphan in a foster home. The kidnapper, wanting to torture my dad, lied and told him he’d thrown me to the sharks. From that day on, my name—Seraphina King—became a forbidden word in New York. Twenty years later. My boyfriend’s side chick ran me over with her car, sending me straight to the ER. Standing by my hospital bed, she threw a black credit card at my face. “My adoptive dad is a mafia legend. My adoptive mom is a New York socialite. My adoptive brother is a world-class scientist.” “Who do you think you are to compete with me?” And my boyfriend, the guy who swore he’d love me forever, stood there with cold, indifferent eyes. “Mia, you can’t give me anything. Just let me go, okay?” I clutched the card and whispered, “Okay.” Every cloud has a silver lining. That car crash actually brought my memories back.

“Glad you know your place. Otherwise, if my family stepped in, you wouldn’t just be dealing with three broken ribs.” Chloe stood there in a custom Chanel tweed suit, a matching handbag dangling from her arm, and diamond-encrusted heels. She looked every bit the spoiled, pampered princess she was. She tilted her chin up, her voice dripping with arrogance. “Leave New York within three days. I don’t want to live in the same city as my boyfriend’s pathetic ex. It ruins my mood.” I kept my eyes down. She was just as ruthless and unreasonable as the rumors said. I had three broken ribs. I couldn’t even leave the hospital in three days, and she wanted me out of the city? I looked at Ethan, who was standing nearby, hoping he would tell this brainless brat to give me some time. But when Chloe saw me looking at him, she flew into a jealous rage. She swung her expensive Chanel bag and slammed it right into my face. “You bitch! You took my money and you’re still drooling over my man!” Blood started seeping through my head bandages. I clutched my forehead, my face turning pale from the agonizing pain. Chloe wasn’t done. A cruel smirk played on her lips as she walked toward me on her stilettos. Ethan instinctively reached out to stop her, but after a moment of hesitation, his hand dropped back to his side. “Chloe, don’t take it too far. The hospital has too many eyes. It’s bad for your reputation.” “Reputation? Who cares?” Chloe grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling so hard I felt like my scalp was ripping off. “I am Chloe King! No one in New York dares to cross me!” “Even if my reputation is trash, people will still beg to be my dogs.” With that, she slapped me hard across the face. Just when I thought I was going to die right there in that bed… A tall, incredibly handsome man appeared at the door. “Chloe!” Chloe froze. She immediately let go of my hair, her vicious snarl instantly turning into a sweet, innocent smile. She ran over and wrapped her arms around his. “Julian! What are you doing here?”

Julian affectionately ruffled Chloe’s hair. “Are you bullying people again?” He sighed, looking helpless. “When are you going to grow up?” The arrogant brat was gone, replaced by a sweet, pouty little girl. “I don’t want to grow up. With you, Mom, and Dad protecting me, I want to be your little princess forever.” The moment I heard Chloe call him “Julian,” my heart stopped. I struggled to turn my head to look at him. But Chloe’s rough handling had aggravated my broken ribs. The pain was so intense I started blacking out, cold sweat dripping down my back. I couldn’t even make a sound. If it weren’t for the burning desire to reunite with my brother, I would have passed out right then. But… my brother, whom I hadn’t seen in twenty years, was standing just feet away. Yet, I couldn’t reach him. I had to watch him shower Chloe with all the warmth, gentleness, and protection in the world. He wasn’t Chloe’s brother. He was mine. He was five years older than me. He used to spoil me rotten, giving me all the best food and toys. When we were kids, he loved to ruffle my hair too. He would smile gently and say, “You will always be happy, Seraphina. I’ll be your knight forever.” But now, all that tenderness belonged to someone else. A wave of bitter resentment washed over me. Why did they adopt Chloe? Why did they give all the love that belonged to me to another girl? Was that fair to me? I struggled on the bed, letting out muffled whimpers, desperately trying to get his attention. And I did. Through my blurry vision, I saw him slowly walk over to my bed. He stopped right beside me. “Miss, I apologize on Chloe’s behalf.” “She’s young and spoiled by our family, so she can be reckless. But she doesn’t mean any real harm.” He pulled a black card from his pocket and placed it on my pillow. “There’s two million dollars in here. I hope this covers your trouble.” Looking at Julian—his face expressionless, his voice cold and detached—my heart shattered alongside my body. “Julian, I already gave her two hundred thousand! Why give her more? A charity case like her isn’t worth that much if she sold her soul!” “Chloe.” Julian scolded her, but his voice was filled with indulgence, completely different from the icy tone he used with me. Chloe stuck her tongue out playfully and sneered at me. “Stop playing dead. I barely touched you. At most, you have a couple of scratches.” Julian looked at my pale face and the cold sweat on my forehead. He seemed to realize something was off. Maybe… I wasn’t faking it. But so what? To him, I was just a stranger. And Julian King never cared about the lives of strangers. He turned and took Chloe’s hand. “Let’s go. Today is Seraphina’s memorial day. We need to visit the cemetery.” Chloe gasped, hitting her forehead. “Oh my god, I almost forgot! Seraphina won’t be mad at me in heaven, right?” “I’m sure she won’t. You’re sweet and kind. Besides, she was the one who sent you to us. Why would she be mad?” Julian smiled warmly, pinching her cheek. “Exactly. You’re the little princess Seraphina sent us.” “Eighteen years ago today, we went to her grave and found you, a three-year-old, sleeping right by her tombstone.” “The moment we saw you, we thought Seraphina had come back to us.” “Especially your eyes. They look just like hers.” Julian’s eyes went distant, as if he were looking through Chloe at the little sister he missed so desperately. After a long moment, he pulled himself back and sighed. “Let’s go.”

Just a second before Julian turned to leave, I forced myself through the agonizing pain and grabbed his sleeve. “Julian…” “What did you call me?” Julian froze. His eyes locked onto my face. Then, his pupils shrunk. “Your eyes…” Suddenly, his gaze turned ice-cold, and he violently shook my hand off. “Your eyes do look like Chloe’s, and they look like my late sister Seraphina’s. But not everyone with those eyes is allowed to call me Julian.” He pushed my hand away so hard that my wounds ripped. I shook violently from the pain, helplessly watching him lead Chloe out of the room without looking back. The massive room fell dead silent, leaving only me and Ethan. Ethan looked down at me as I writhed in pain, condescendingly reaching out to press the call button. “People move up, Mia. Don’t blame me for being heartless.” “But that baby in your womb… you really can’t keep it.” My heart stopped. I looked at Ethan in absolute disbelief. I thought he didn’t know I was pregnant. I thought that was why he let Chloe run me over. Ethan looked down, slowly adjusting his cuffs, avoiding my eyes. “I found the ultrasound report in your drawer weeks ago. You wanted to surprise me, didn’t you?” “If it weren’t for Chloe, maybe I would have been happy.” “But a man has to prioritize his career. Chloe can give me everything I’ve ever dreamed of.” “You and that unborn kid can’t give me anything!” It felt like my chest was being ripped open. A suffocating pain engulfed me. The sweet, loving boy from college—when did he become this monster? Or maybe he was always this selfish and cold. I was just too blind to see it. Vaguely, I heard a nurse’s furious voice. “The patient has broken ribs and is going through a miscarriage! Any movement causes agonizing pain! Are you her family? Do you even know how to look after her?” “I have nothing to do with her. I just saw the accident and brought her in out of pity. I’m leaving now.” My heart was sliced open again. Seven years of love, and to him, I was just a stranger he helped out of pity. Tears fell silently. He abandoned me and our child for Chloe to climb the social ladder, right? Fine. I’d wait for him to reach the top. And when he’s at his proudest, I will stand before him. I’ll show him that the one standing at the very top—the one who can crush him and Chloe like bugs—is the “orphan” they threw away and humiliated.

To avoid any more trouble from Chloe, I used the money she and Julian gave me to hire two private nurses. On the third night, I booked a private medical transport and had myself transferred to a top private hospital in Boston. It took six months for my body to fully recover. A week ago, I finally contacted my dad. Even though he was a feared mafia boss, reaching him wasn’t hard. He had a private number known only to the four of us in our family. When I was a kid, he made me memorize it. He knew he had too many enemies and feared we might get separated. He told me that as long as we were alive, we could always reach him through this number. Stepping out of the JFK airport back in New York, the warm sunlight hit my face. I finally felt alive again. My dad’s men were on their way to pick me up. I was no longer a helpless orphan. I was going to take back everything Chloe took from me, piece by piece, and become the one person in New York no one dared to touch. “Mia? Why are you back in New York?” A familiar, annoying voice broke my thoughts. It was Ethan. His face twisted with annoyance. “We are over. Can you stop stalking me?” Without warning, Ethan shoved me. “Get out of here before Chloe sees you. She’ll get jealous and start a fight.” “What is going on here?” A sharp female voice shrieked. It was Chloe. She marched over and shoved me hard, sending me sprawling to the ground. “You cheap whore, trying to steal my man again…” Chloe stopped mid-insult, squinting at my face. Then, she let out a loud sneer. “Oh, it’s you. You took my money and you dare to come back to New York to harass my boyfriend? Do you think I’m soft?” She raised her hand to slap me, but paused, looking at the crowd gathering around us. She immediately put on her elegant heiress mask. A wicked grin spread across her face. “Throw her into my van. I want to catch up with my old friend!” Her two burly bodyguards immediately stepped forward, grabbing my arms to drag me toward her black Mercedes van. But right before they could force me inside… A fleet of dozens of luxury black SUVs pulled up in a perfect, intimidating line right at the airport curb. Dozens of men in sharp black suits stepped out, marching straight toward us.

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At seven years old, I got lost in the city. That was when I met Vivian, who was starving on the streets. I lied to my mom, telling her I wanted a sister. Because of that lie, my mother adopted her. Eighteen years later, Vivian graduated from an Ivy League school, became the darling of high society, and had countless suitors. But she never dated. She always told everyone that love was a distraction for the weak. Until I accompanied her on a business trip, and our plane hit once-in-a-century severe turbulence. Thinking my life was ending, my hands shook as I dialed my fiancé, Julian Vance. I wanted to tell him that if I survived this, I wanted to marry him as soon as possible. I called him one hundred and thirty-two times. Not a single call went through. Just as I was about to record my final voicemail in despair, Vivian started sobbing hysterically from the row in front of me. “Julian, I regret it… I regret rejecting your confession back then just because I didn’t want to hurt Clara!” Julian’s voice came through her phone. It was filled with a panicked, desperate worry I had never heard before. “Don’t be scared, baby. The moment you land, we’re going public. Nobody is going to stop me from marrying you.” At that moment, my blood ran cold. The two people I loved most in the world had been screwing around behind my back all along.

The plane shook violently. Screams echoed through the cabin. Luggage tumbled from the overhead bins, mirroring the collapse of my entire world. I clutched my phone so hard my knuckles turned white. The screen still showed the call log of my unanswered dials. In the row ahead, Vivian’s loud crying gradually died down into soft whimpers. “But what about Clara? She’s my best friend…” Just then, the PA system crackled to life. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have successfully cleared the turbulence. We expect to land at JFK in twenty minutes.” The cabin erupted into cheers of relief. Some people hugged and cried. Others folded their hands in prayer, thanking God. Vivian instinctively turned around. The moment our eyes met, she panicked and tried to cover her phone screen. “Clara… how much of that did you hear?” I pressed my lips together. “Every single word.” Even without the speakerphone on, I could hear Julian’s frantic voice bleeding through the receiver. “Vivian? Don’t be scared! I’m already contacting emergency services—” I snatched the phone from her hand and spoke into it, my voice icy. “The plane is stable, Julian. Nobody is dying.” “But since you’re both so lively, tell me—when did this start?” The other end fell into a long, heavy silence. When he finally spoke, his first instinct was still to protect Vivian. “I fell for Vivian first. If you want to blame someone, blame me.” “The wedding in three months is off. I’ll pay whatever compensation you want.” Yet just yesterday, when I excitedly told him I was coming to see him, Julian had counted the days on his fingers. He had whined like a lost puppy, saying he hadn’t seen me in a month and three days. Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind. During our last FaceTime call, Vivian had been sitting on the edge of my bed, drying her hair. Julian’s gaze had seemed so intense, but it had never actually focused on my face. At the time, I thought he was just busy with work while talking to me. But now I realized that deep, passionate look staring through the screen was actually focused on the blurry silhouette behind me. Vivian snapped out of her shock and stumbled over, throwing herself at me. “Clara, please don’t misunderstand!” “I was just so terrified… my hands were shaking and I dialed the wrong number!” “Julian and I… there’s nothing between us!” Julian must have heard the commotion over the line. His voice raised defensively. “Clara Miller! Don’t you dare take this out on Vivian. This was all my doing.” “If you want to scream, scream at me. Don’t hurt her!” I hadn’t even raised my voice, yet Julian was already convinced I was going to abuse Vivian. With a cold laugh, I shoved the phone back into her hands. I went back to my seat, pulled the blanket over my head, and let my tears fall in the dark. The year my mom adopted Vivian, she held me and cried, saying she finally had a real family. A year ago, when Julian and I got engaged, his eyes had welled up as he swore I was the only woman he would ever marry. But three people in a relationship is just too crowded. The two people who only met because of me had now locked me out of my own life.

Twenty minutes later, the plane taxied smoothly onto the runway. As we slowed down, Vivian poked my shoulder through the blanket. “Clara, are you still mad at me?” “Take the blanket off, you’re going to suffocate.” Her voice was soft, carrying her usual submissive, apologetic tone. I didn’t answer. The moment the seatbelt sign dinged, I grabbed my carry-on and was the first to walk out of the cabin. Through the massive glass windows of the airport, I spotted Julian standing by the arrivals gate immediately. Usually the picture of aristocratic composure, he was now anxiously pacing, checking his watch every five seconds. As if sensing my gaze, he looked up. When his eyes met mine, a flash of disappointment crossed his face. It was quick, but I caught it. Then, he saw Vivian walking out behind me. In an instant, his anxiety melted into pure, unadulterated tenderness. “Vivian!” Julian pushed right past me, rushing to wrap a sobbing Vivian into his arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? You must have been so scared!” I had just survived the same near-death experience. Yet Julian didn’t even spare me a glance. “Julian Vance,” I called out, my voice flat. Julian stiffened, finally remembering I existed. “I admit I did you wrong, Clara. But now that it’s out in the open, I’m not marrying you.” “Besides, when our families arranged this merger alliance, they never specified it had to be you.” “Vivian is also a daughter of the Miller family. Swapping brides won’t affect the business deal.” Swapping brides? So he and Vivian could live happily ever after in the light. And what about me? Was I just supposed to quietly accept being betrayed by both my fiancé and my sister? Was I supposed to become the laughingstock of New York high society? A fire raged in my chest, burning my throat. I raised my hand and slapped Julian across the face, hard. He froze, utterly shocked that I had dared to lay a hand on him. Vivian shrieked, instantly dropping to her knees in front of me. “Clara, hit me instead!” “It’s all my fault! I’m the shameless one. I fell for someone I shouldn’t have!” Julian quickly hauled Vivian up from the floor, shielding her behind his back. “Clara Miller! Have you lost your mind?” “Do you have any idea that six months ago, Vivian aborted our baby just to spare your feelings?!” I froze. A loud ringing filled my ears. Six months ago, Vivian had come to me crying, saying she was pregnant. I asked her who the father was. She said they had no future and that she wanted to get rid of it. I had cried tears of sympathy for her. I scolded her for not using protection while simultaneously booking her the best private OB-GYN in the city. To protect her reputation, I had signed the abortion paperwork under my own name. After the surgery, I was the one who stayed by her bedside, nursing her back to health for a solid month. I even went to church every Sunday for a month to light candles for her unborn child. And now, Julian was telling me that the baby was his. I had literally nursed my fiancé’s mistress back to health after her abortion, and prayed for their dead bastard. My hand flew up again. But Julian grabbed my wrist, throwing me to the side with utter disgust. “I took the first slap because I owed you that.” “But do you know how much I wished you would just find out about us sooner?” “I would rather you hit me and curse at me than force Vivian to keep living as my secret lover in the shadows!” My elbow slammed violently into the hard marble floor. The skin scraped open, and blood began to seep out. But that pain was nothing compared to the feeling of my heart being ripped to shreds. I should have seen the signs. Whenever Julian came to visit me, he always “accidentally” went to Vivian’s room first. Whenever our dates became outings for three, they would talk about things I didn’t understand. Whenever he bought me a gift, he always brought a duplicate for Vivian… But I had been blinded by trust. I had mistaken Julian’s kindness to Vivian as him loving me enough to love my family.

I didn’t go to the hotel we had booked. Instead, I sat in the airport lounge and booked the earliest flight back home. My phone vibrated. It was my dad. “Clara, did you meet up with Julian?” I choked back a sob. “I’m calling off the wedding.” My dad asked cautiously, “Did you two have a fight?” I wiped my nose. “He’s cheating on me. With Vivian.” The line went dead silent for so long I thought the call had dropped. “Clara, don’t take it too hard,” When my dad’s voice returned, he sounded almost… relieved. “You can’t force these things.” “You know how Vivian is. She’s had a hard life since she was a kid, and she’s always had a strong personality.” “If they fell for each other, it just means they were meant to be.” I froze. My fingers tightened around the phone. “Dad, what are you talking about?” I shook with rage, my voice turning sharp. “Meant to be? Vivian seduced my fiancé! That’s called being a shameless home-wrecker!” My dad’s tone turned accusatory, as if I were the one in the wrong. “Clara, don’t be so selfish. Since they love each other, why can’t you just bless them and step aside?” My temples throbbed violently. I couldn’t believe these words were coming from the father who had spoiled me my entire life. “She stole my fiancé, and I’m the selfish one for not giving him to her?” “Dad! I’m your biological daughter! Vivian is just an outsider we adopted!” My dad sighed, his voice dripping with forced helplessness. “Silly girl. How could Vivian be an outsider?” “She’s your older half-sister.” The noisy chatter of the airport seemed to fade into absolute silence. But my dad kept twisting the knife. “Vivian’s mother was my first love. After we broke up, she kept the pregnancy a secret and raised Vivian alone.” “The year you ‘accidentally’ got lost at seven years old? I planned that. I needed you to find Vivian and beg your mother to adopt her.” “She suffered so much in her childhood. Just let her have this one.” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. So that was it. No wonder Vivian was my dad’s favorite the moment she stepped into our house. No wonder every time we argued, I was always the one who got scolded. No wonder after my mom passed away, my dad treated Vivian like she was his entire world. “Clara? Are you listening? Just let this go. Don’t make a scene and make our family look bad.” I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my mouth before finding my voice. “You and Vivian… you really are father and daughter.” “One is a cheating bastard, and the other is a husband-stealing whore!” I slammed the phone down and canceled my flight home. While waiting for an Uber, my phone chimed with an Instagram notification. Vivian had just posted. It was a photo of a man cutting a steak for her. The caption read: [It feels so good to finally love each other out in the open.] The likes below the photo included my dad, Julian, and all of our mutual friends from our social circle. They were all leaving comments, wishing the “happy couple” the best. So, everyone knew about their affair. Only I, the stupid fool, had been celebrating my “perfect” life of friendship and love. I turned off my phone, completely unable to sleep. The moment I closed my eyes, memories of Julian’s “love” filled my head. Last month, when I had a fever, he ran out in the pouring rain at midnight to buy me stomach medicine. He had come back soaked to the skin, but the medicine was kept dry in his jacket. But as I replayed the scene in my mind, I remembered the bag didn’t just have stomach medicine. It was mostly filled with Ibuprofen for menstrual cramps. Vivian had laughed when she saw it. “Clara, Julian is so sweet. He bought every medicine you could possibly need.” Back then, my heart had melted, and I had handed the Ibuprofen to her. “Here, you can use these too!” Vivian had taken them and fallen silent. I thought she was just jealous of my attentive boyfriend, so I told her that when she found a boyfriend, he would treat her like a princess too. Vivian had just stroked my hair with a bitter smile. “Clara, even if I love someone, we can never be together in this lifetime.” I asked her why. She just clutched the box of Ibuprofen and refused to answer. I didn’t get it then. I just thought she was being dramatic. But now I understood. The man Vivian loved was Julian. And the “casual hookups” she always talked about had only ever been one person.

A wave of intense nausea hit me. I rushed to the bathroom, but I could only dry heave. My phone buzzed again. It was a Snapchat from Vivian. It was a photo of her and Julian’s fingers intertwined. During our five years together, Julian had always refused to hold my hand or kiss me. Whenever I tried to initiate intimacy, he would gently push me away, saying he wanted to respect me and save it for marriage. But in reality, he was saving all his intimacy for Vivian. Then came a voice message, her tone dripping with smugness. “Oh, Clara, I’m so sorry! I meant to send that to someone else. My hand slipped.” “It’s been over a minute, so Snapchat won’t let me unsend it. Sorry!” I recorded a sixty-second voice reply. Using every vile curse word I knew, I wished those two disgusting pigs a painful death. Less than a minute after I sent it, a loud, angry pounding shook my door. I opened it to find Julian, his face dark with fury. “Do you have any idea how hurtful your words are?!” “Vivian only has you as a friend. Can’t you be a little kinder to her?!” Hearing his self-righteous accusations, I lost all my sanity. “Did I lie? Her mother was a home-wrecking mistress, so of course her daughter is—” Before I could finish, Julian’s palm crashed against my face. “Clara Miller! Shut up!” “Vivian’s mother met your dad first! Vivian was born before you!” “If we’re talking about who came first, your mother was the mistress, and you are the bastard!” The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but it paled in comparison to the agony in my chest. I held my burning cheek, staring in absolute disbelief at the man I had loved for seven years. Julian took a step closer, his eyes cold and mocking. “So, what are you crying about? Go apologize to Vivian right now!” I bit my tongue, my voice hoarse. “You want me to apologize to the woman who stole my fiancé and sent me photos to mock me?” “Go to hell, Julian. In your dreams!” Julian let out a cold sneer. “Don’t regret this.” By midnight, a massive scandal erupted on social media. Rumors flew that I had a wild sex life and had secretly undergone an abortion six months ago. The medical records I had signed to protect Vivian became the “indisputable proof” of my loose morals. The entire internet was screaming abuse at me. Before I could even draft a response, my door was kicked open by men in dark suits. My dad stormed in, grabbed my phone, saw my draft statement, and smashed it to pieces. “Julian was right. You won’t behave.” “Since you want to ruin our family’s reputation, you can spend some time reflecting on your actions!” I fought back frantically, my fingernails scratching deep marks into the floorboards, but I was no match for the professional bodyguards. In the end, they dragged me back to our estate in the Hamptons and locked me in a room. Fearing I would do something drastic, my dad forced me to swallow pills that left my limbs weak and useless. I stared at the framed portrait of my late mother, tears streaming down my face. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so useless.” On the eighth day of my confinement, Vivian walked in, holding a designer bridesmaid dress. “Clara, we promised each other when we were kids. Whoever got married first, the other would be the maid of honor.” “So, you’ll do this for me, right?” My instinct was to scream at her. But looking at my dad and Julian standing right behind her, I forced a fake smile. “Of course. I wish you both the best.” The wedding venue was lavish, drowning in the scent of fresh roses. It was exactly the grand wedding I had always dreamed of. My dad stood at the altar, smiling from ear to ear. He leaned in and whispered to me, “Clara, make sure you give your sister a beautiful toast later. Let’s put this whole drama behind us.” I nodded submissively. “I will. I actually prepared a very special wedding gift for her.” My dad waved his hand, dismissing me to go get it. Taking advantage of the distraction, I slipped away and climbed up to the high balcony overlooking the outdoor venue. After being betrayed by love, friendship, and family, I didn’t want to live anymore. But if I was going down, I was going to leave them a gift they would never forget. Below me, the officiant’s voice boomed through the speakers: “You may now kiss the bride.” At that exact, spotlighted moment, I whispered into the empty air. “Mom, I’m coming to see you.” I closed my eyes and jumped. Amidst the collective, blood-curdling screams of the guests, I crashed violently onto the center of the stage.

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My name is Haley Sterling. When I was seven years old, Julian Sterling brought me home from the orphanage. He saved me. He gave me a home. But when I fell hopelessly in love with him and kissed him, he coldly turned his head away. “Haley, you disgust me.” After waking up from a car crash, I lost my memories. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. But in the dead of night, Julian broke into my room. He bit my earlobe and whispered, “Haley, you’re just sick. That’s why you forgot about us.” I pushed him away. “Julian, I’m cured. Even my sickness of loving you is gone.” It hurt. My head throbbed so badly… Just before I opened my eyes and fully regained consciousness, I heard a polite, gentle voice. “Mr. Sterling, your daughter has minor head trauma. We can’t rule out the possibility of amnesia.” I froze. Amnesia? Images flashed through my mind. My parents’ disappointed eyes, a man’s cold indifference. And in the mirror, my own twisted, frantic face, filled with resentment and hatred. Then let it be amnesia. Forget everything, just like everyone wanted. I opened my eyes. A second later, several anxious figures rushed to my bedside. My mom held my hand, her eyes rimmed with red, her face full of worry. “Haley, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” I stared at her, my eyes blank and confused. “Who are you?” Shock flashed across her face. She frowned, panicked. “Haley, it’s me. I’m your mother.” I repeated the word softly. “Mother?” Then I shook my head, looking at her helplessly. “Mom, my head hurts so much. I’ve forgotten so many things. I can’t remember anything.” I leaned my cheek against her hand, rubbing against it like a stray kitten. “It’s okay, sweetheart. If you can’t remember, don’t force it. Mom is right here,” she soothed. I nodded obediently, then turned my gaze to scan the other people in the room. Looking at the man standing beside her, his powerful aura intact but his face softened with pity, I whispered, “Dad?” He wasn’t used to showing affection, but he still gave me a gentle nod. Suppressing the sting in my nose, I looked at the last man. His face was an icy mask, his brow slightly furrowed. His dark eyes were like a black hole, ready to swallow any emotion. “And you are?” The hospital room fell dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone’s expressions shifted, thick with tension. “It’s… it’s Julian, Haley,” my mom spoke up, breaking the suffocating silence. I let out a relaxed smile and called out obediently, “Julian.” My parents looked shocked. Tears of relief actually welled in my mother’s eyes. For some reason, I thought I saw a flash of emptiness on his cold face. My eyes, however, were completely calm. A peaceful surrender. Julian, in this life, I will be exactly what you want. I will be your sister. A sister who will never, ever cross the line.

My mom whispered a few more soothing words, but her eyes kept darting toward the door. Finally, she spoke softly. “Haley, Seraphina is outside. Do you want to see her?” I froze. My head started throbbing again, like someone was slicing it with a dull knife. In my mind, the screeching of tires and the violent crash echoed. All I could see was a blinding flash of red. But I still forced a sweet, obedient smile. “If you want me to see her, Mom, I will.” A relieved smile appeared on my mom’s face. Seraphina Vance walked in. She stopped at the foot of my bed, clutching her designer bag tightly, her face stained with tears. She started crying the moment she opened her mouth. “Haley, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you with my car, I swear! Please don’t hate me, and please don’t come between Julian and me. I love him so much. I’ll get down on my knees and beg you if I have to!” My heart felt ice-cold, but my face remained blank and innocent. She made a show of lowering herself to the ground, but her eyes kept darting to me. Her half-bent knees froze, making her look incredibly foolish. Eventually, Julian grabbed her hand and pulled her back up. Seraphina leaned into his chest, sobbing softly. His arm wrapped around her waist, but his sharp, piercing eyes were locked onto me. “You can’t entirely blame Seraphina for this. Haley ran out out of nowhere. Seraphina didn’t have time to brake.” Was that really what happened? When I ran into the street, your car was moving slowly. We were at least twenty feet apart. Through the windshield, I saw Seraphina’s face clearly. She was smiling. A cruel, triumphant smile. And what about you, Julian, sitting in the passenger seat? You looked at me with nothing but coldness and disgust. What were you thinking back then? Were you thinking that I would get out of the way out of fear? Or did you want this disgusting sister—the one who dared to love you and tried to stop your engagement—to just die? If Julian hadn’t grabbed the steering wheel at the last second and slammed on the brakes, I really would have died under those tires. I averted my eyes first, looking at the weeping, delicate Seraphina in his arms. “Seraphina, even though I’ve forgotten some things, Julian is right. I must have been at fault too. Why would I want to break you two up? We’re going to be family soon anyway.” Seraphina was so shocked she stopped crying. Pure joy flashed in her eyes. Julian still stood like a statue by my bed. He was tall, his expression dark. When those cold eyes looked down at me, it was like he was looking at something worthless. And he was right. My life was cheap. It was only because of the scraps of charity Julian had thrown my way that I became the heiress of the Sterling family. How could someone as lowly as me ever dare to crave someone so far out of reach?

Before I became the pampered Haley Sterling, I was just an orphan girl in a run-down shelter in this city. On the day the Sterling family came to adopt, the director gathered all the girls in the courtyard, lined up like products for inspection. I was small and malnourished. I was easily pushed into the very back by the bigger, healthier kids. Every child there knew that being chosen meant escaping hunger and cold. It meant a ticket to heaven. Gradually, I found it hard to breathe. Survival instinct kicked in, and I started waving my arms frantically, trying to be seen. After what felt like forever, the suffocating crowd suddenly parted. I opened my eyes, and Julian was standing right in front of me. I remember that day clearly. The old oak tree in the courtyard had just sprouted its first green leaves of spring. A gentle breeze swept across my face, carrying the scent of damp earth and fresh grass. The young boy looked down at me, placing a pale, slender hand on my head. “Her. I’ll take her.” Those simple words, like a divine decree, changed my life forever. I went from an ugly duckling stuck in the mud to the high-society daughter of the Sterling family. Only later did I find out why Julian chose me. The Sterlings’ biological daughter, Angelica, had drowned. Before she went under, she had waved her arms helplessly, just like I did. My adoptive parents were always busy, and Julian didn’t really have any feelings for me. I was basically raised by the nannies. But while the nannies could provide gourmet meals and a warm, luxurious bed, they couldn’t stop the bullying at school. Back then, my classmates called me a charity case, a parasite, and a thief who stole someone else’s life. I kept my head down and let them drag me through the dirt. I knew protesting was useless; no one would stand up for me. Until the day Julian was sent by our mother to attend my parent-teacher conference. He saw them throwing trash and broken pencils at my head. He heard the vulgar insults they hurled at me. Only then was I rescued from that never-ending nightmare. The kids who bullied me were forced to kneel in a row, apologizing to me. They cried, slapping their own faces. But I knew they weren’t kneeling to me. They were kneeling to the terrifying, cold-faced teenager standing beside me. Julian had saved my life once again. When did I start developing those forbidden feelings? Was it when he shielded me from the bullies, holding my shoulders? Was it when his hand covered mine, teaching me my first piano piece? Or was it during my first extravagant birthday party, when he looked at me with such tenderness amid the crowded room? I wasn’t greedy or shameless. I never intended to expose this dirty, secret crush. If only that accidental, intoxicating kiss had never happened. That day, I thought I saw a glimmer of hope. Like a drowning person, I reached out, thinking he would save me again. But instead, I got his freezing words: “Haley, you’re sick. You disgust me.” Julian, you saved me, only to drag me down to hell with your own hands. You made me, and you destroyed me.

Except for my fake amnesia, my physical injuries weren’t severe. At my request, my mom handled the discharge papers and took me home. Up until the day I left the hospital, I never saw Julian again. It was an unspoken agreement. No one mentioned him in front of me. My forgetting him was a blessing the entire Sterling family was incredibly grateful for. After all, the elite Sterling family couldn’t afford a scandal about a twisted girl who fell in love with her own brother. On the day I got home, my mom and the chef prepared a massive feast. Julian showed up too. At the dinner table, Julian was a carbon copy of our stern, silent father. He kept his head down, acting mature and composed, not saying a single unnecessary word. Only my mom kept talking, trying to make me feel comfortable. But every time my eyes accidentally drifted toward Julian, she would tense up. I suppose the trauma of her adopted daughter falling in love with her biological son had left a deep scar. I felt a pang of guilt, which only solidified my decision. “Mom, Dad, I want to go to grad school in London.” The moment those words left my mouth, all clinking of silverware stopped. In my peripheral vision, I felt Julian’s pitch-black eyes locking onto me. My body stiffened, but I didn’t look at him. My mom put down her fork, looking puzzled. “Why the sudden decision to study abroad?” “I just want to further my education.” Honestly, when I graduated high school, my parents wanted to send me abroad. But back then, I only wanted to stay by Julian’s side. “Well, if that’s what you want, I…” Before my mom could finish, a deep voice cut her off. “No.” Everyone looked at Julian. His face was expressionless, but his throat bobbed with difficulty. “Mom, Haley just got out of the hospital. She hasn’t fully recovered, and her memory is still hazy. Are you really comfortable sending her across the world right now?” My mom nodded, turning to persuade me. I offered a reassuring smile. “I’m not leaving tomorrow. It’s only July. I wouldn’t leave until September at the earliest. Mom, please let me go.” My mom had always spoiled me. But that affection was never pure. Every time she looked at me, I felt like she was looking at someone else through me. Probably her poor, deceased child. She hesitated, glancing at Julian, but eventually, she sighed. “Alright, sweetheart.” She told me to pick a university soon so she could make the arrangements. “Are you really that desperate to leave?” Julian spoke, his eyes dark and unreadable. Julian, you wanted to get rid of me so badly. Now that I’m leaving, shouldn’t you be thrilled? I smiled. “Don’t worry, Julian. I’ll make sure to fly back for your wedding.” He froze. His grip on his fork tightened until his knuckles turned white. A flash of pure fury crossed his eyes before vanishing. “Do whatever you want.”

“Haley, did you really lose your memory?” In my bedroom, my best friend, Chloe Montgomery, was circling me, inspecting my head with deep concern. I blinked innocently. “Really.” She looked skeptical, tapping my forehead. “Then do you remember me?” I smiled. “Of course. You’re Chloe.” She looked even more confused. “Then what did you forget?” My smile faded. “Just some meaningless things. Things that only brought me pain.” She went quiet, understanding the unspoken implication. After a long pause, she asked cautiously, “So, are you going to Julian’s birthday party the day after tomorrow?” Julian’s birthday. In the past, I cared about his birthday more than he did. I would make his gifts by hand, never repeating a concept. I would design every detail of his party. He never cared, but I minded every little thing. I always felt Julian’s birthday held a sacred meaning for me. Because of him, my life had been saved. But this year, I had almost forgotten it. I guess no pain is too deep to be erased after a clean slate. Humans are wired to avoid pain, after all. “What are you planning to get him this year?” I thought about it. “I’ll just buy a watch from your family’s brand.” Chloe stunned, clearly not expecting this. For his birthday last year, I had literally flown to France to learn his favorite French recipes, and I even hand-designed a custom watch strap, hiring a master craftsman to make it. The contrast in effort was staggering. “What? Don’t want my money?” I teased. Chloe snapped out of it and laughed. “Are you kidding? I’d love nothing more than for a Sterling heiress to boost my family’s sales.” Julian, I hope you like this year’s gift. The birthday party was just a glorified networking event for the city’s elite youth. Julian was surrounded by a crowd, wearing his trademark polite but distant smile. He held his champagne glass high, looking like an undefeated general. He was always so powerful, so invincible. He navigated the room with effortless grace. The flashing lights were giving me a headache, so I put down my glass and slipped away toward the second-floor balcony for some fresh air. “Seraphina, I heard Julian’s adopted sister is a real piece of work. You won’t let her bully you once you marry into the family, right?” Behind the heavy green velvet curtains, I froze. “I heard about her too. Apparently, she’s obsessed with Julian. Is that true? He’s literally her brother. That’s so disgusting.” “She’s adopted, though. They aren’t blood-related.” “Still gross. Crushing on her own brother? She’s a freak.” Then came a malicious laugh. “She’s just a street rat playing dress-up. She actually thinks she’s a real Sterling. Imagine trying to seduce Julian. She should look in the mirror and see if she’s even worthy.” It was Seraphina’s mocking voice. “Shh, keep it down. If someone hears us… no matter what, she’s still a Sterling. We can’t afford to mess with them.” “What heiress? The Sterlings don’t care about her. I literally hit her with my car, and they didn’t do anything to me. Julian even defended me. That proves she has zero status in that house.” Even through the thick curtains, I could picture the smug sneer on Seraphina’s face. After a brief silence, a timid voice asked, “Wait… you mean you hit Haley on purpose?” “I only regret not hitting her harder. A freak like her who lusts after her own brother…” Before she could finish, I ripped the curtains open. I grabbed Seraphina by her hair and slammed her face straight into the brick wall. Thud. Her forehead split open, and blood began to trickle down her face. The balcony erupted into high-pitched screams. Someone tried to drag me off her, but I violently shook them off. I leaned down, whispering right into Seraphina’s ear, “Not hard enough, you say? Want to see if I have the guts to throw you off this balcony?”

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“I’m sorry,Ava,”Coach Grayson said.”The roster is final.The Silver Ridge Pack Athletic Council has stamped it.” I stood in front of the bulletin board and stared at that list for five minutes. My name was gone. Under the youth figure-skating scholarship,the place where Ava Stone should have been was now Nora Vale. At first,I thought it was a mistake.Later,I understood.Kaiden had done it. My fated mate had given my place to his new girl. I went to the parking lot to find him. He was leaning against his car,scrolling through his phone.When he saw me,he only lifted his eyes. “Nora’s Pack is barely holding on,”he said before I could speak.”If she doesn’t get this scholarship,she’s finished.” “You’re strong.Even without a wolf,you can still make it into the Regional Qualifier.” “That is a full spot at the North Ridge Olympic Training Center,”I said.”You know what that means.” “You’ll figure it out.” I looked at him.He looked away. He sighed,pulled out a black card,and held it out as if he were offering a tip. “I’ll pay.Coaches,ice time,equipment,Pack medical coverage,all of it.I bought the spot.” Rain began to fall,and the cold seeped into my clothes. I looked at the card,then at him. He once told me training would get me out of that rotten home,tear off the label of”wolfless trash,”and let me make my skating dream real. So I trained like my life depended on it,and worked at Silver Ridge Ice Center whenever I had time. But now,the person putting a price on my dream was him. I turned and walked away. His voice came through the rain,colder than the rain itself. “You grind your hands raw in that dump of a shop,spend your whole life chasing money,and now you’re pretending you’re above it?” “There’s more money on this card than you’ve ever seen in your life.” I stopped and looked back at him through the rain. I had thought promises did not rot,that a mate bond did not break.In that moment,it all rotted from the inside out. I smiled at him. “Of course,Kaiden.Think whatever you want.” When I got back to Silver Ridge Ice Center,my phone buzzed. It was Rina. “Ava.Tell me I saw it wrong.I saw Nora take your place.” “You didn’t see it wrong.” “It was Kaiden.It had to be Kaiden.Did you talk to him?” “I just came back from him.” I leaned against the back counter and looked at the row of skates waiting to be sharpened. “He said he’d pay for all my training.Said he bought my spot.” The other end of the call went silent for a long time. “That bastard,”Rina said.”Tell me you threw the card in his face.” “I left.” “Ava,that was your scholarship.Do you know how many nights you stayed up for it?And your dad-” “It won’t help.” “What?” “Kaiden and the Hawthorne Pack funded the scholarship and built the rink.If they can take me off once,they can do it again.” She went quiet. “I saw Nora’s Instagram.Kaiden booked a restaurant to celebrate for her.” “Good for her.” “Good for her?That’s it?” “I have to go.A customer just came in.” I hung up before she could say anything else.

The next day,I went to North Ridge Training Center to register.The air smelled of cedar and ice wax. I saw Kaiden with his arm around Nora. Nora saw me first.She shrank back at once and hid behind Kaiden. “Kaiden,I’m scared.” He stood in front of her like a wall. “Ava,don’t make a scene.” I tried to walk around him.He grabbed my wrist. “What is wrong with you?Nora didn’t do anything.Do you have to make it this ugly?” I yanked my hand free. “Let go of me.” People in the hallway turned to look. Nora’s tears came right on cue.She stepped out from behind Kaiden. “Ava,I’m sorry.If you want to blame someone,blame me.I never meant to hurt you…This is all my fault.” She took another step forward.Kaiden pulled her back into his arms. “Look at her.”Kaiden’s Alpha tone pressed down on me.”Look what you’ve done to her.Ava,I never thought you could be this cruel.” Whispers rose around us. “That’s her,right?The girl who works at Silver Ridge Ice Center.” “Wait,isn’t she the one who lost the scholarship?” “Yeah,she lost to Nora.Honestly,look at her.No wonder the Alpha heir got tired of her.” “Nora looks like an angel.I’d choose her as future Luna too.” I stared at Kaiden. “I said,let go of me.” He did not let go.Instead,he shoved me. I slammed into the lockers,my shoulder blade hitting metal with a dull thud. I looked up at him. He looked back.There was not a trace of hesitation on his face. We grew up together.When he was ten,he was sent here to learn the Hawthorne Pack’s ice business in the north. During his first week,before he knew how life on the icefields worked,a few young wolves cornered him behind the rink.I raised a sharpened skate blade and scared them off. From then on,he followed me everywhere. When someone bullied me,he would pin them to the ground,his eyes so black it looked as if he might tear out their throat. “Ava,I will always be here.” “We’ll leave this place together.North Ridge Training Center,the International Pack Ice League,the world beyond the Pack.I’ll be with you the whole way.” Now he was protecting another girl and shoving me against a wall with his own hands. Nora cried harder. “Kaiden,don’t…let’s go.This is all my fault.” Kaiden lowered his head and kissed her hair. “It’s not your fault.Not one bit.” He gave me a warning look,then left with his arm around her. I leaned against the lockers,struggling to breathe. The office was at the end of the hall.I passed the wall of outstanding athletes. Nora’s picture hung in the center,larger than everyone else’s. A rising star who overcame hardship.The brave story of a future Luna. I looked at it for one second and laughed. I remembered a late night after training,when I came back to the skate shop. My father was waiting in the parking lot.I could smell the sour rot on him from ten feet away. “Where’s the money?” I did not answer.I tried to get past him and unlock the door. He grabbed my hair and slammed my face into the outside wall. “I’m talking to you.Are both your ears deaf?” “I don’t have any money.” “The Hawthorne Pack’s Alpha heir is that rich,and you follow him around every day.You can’t get a few hundred dollars out of him?” He slapped me across the face. “You hiding it from me?Where is it?Huh?” He searched my pockets roughly.I pushed him away. That was a mistake. The next second,he kicked me in the stomach.I hit the asphalt and curled up in pain. “You ungrateful bitch.You’re just like your mother.Trash,both of you.” He turned to look for something heavier.A tire iron,maybe a metal pipe.I could not see clearly. That was when Kaiden’s car pulled into the parking lot. He was out before the engine shut off.With an Alpha’s strength,he had my father pinned down in two moves,then pulled me up from the asphalt. He checked my face,my arms,and my ribs again and again. “Where did he hit you,Ava?Tell me where you’re hurt.” I could not answer.He took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. “It’s all right.I’m here.” That night,he did not go home.He stayed with me on the broken couch behind the shop until dawn. The next day,he went with me to the police station and watched my father get locked in a holding cell. He held me tight and said, “I’ll take care of you from now on.When I become Alpha of the Hawthorne Pack,you’ll be my Luna.” Back then,I actually believed him.

One week before the Regional Qualifier,the club held its final mock competition.Judges,scores,procedure,everything followed official competition rules. I came in first,nearly twelve points ahead of second place. Nora came in last. She tore down the score sheet,crumpled it up,and threw it into the trash. “Whatever.I already got the training scholarship.” Kaiden was waiting for her with two coffees. When she saw him,her eyes lit up at once,as if she were not the girl who had just fallen apart on the ice. “You were beautiful.” She rose onto her toe picks and kissed his cheek. I passed them on my way to the locker room. “Ava.” I did not stop. “Ava.Hey.” He moved in front of me and blocked my path. “Are you still angry about the training scholarship?” I did not answer. “Is that really necessary?I told you,she needed it more.You could go to the Regional Qualifier and win with your eyes closed.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “The black card is still yours.Coaches,training camp,Pack doctor.If you want it,I’ll cover all of it.” He thought money could glue broken things back together. “I don’t need it.” “There you go again.How much can you make in a month?What I’m offering you is more than you’ll earn in a lifetime.” Nora skated over from behind him and put her gloved hand on his arm. “Kaiden,don’t.She’s just not used to it yet.” She gave me a careful,sad,practiced smile. “Ava,I had nowhere else to go.My dad lost everything,my stepmother keeps tormenting me,and the Pack doesn’t want me anymore.”Tears welled in her eyes again. I had watched this performance for a year. In every conversation,she was the victim.In every look,I was the one who made her cry. “Kaiden and I will take care of you,”she said.”Whatever you need,just tell us.” I tugged at the corner of my mouth. Kaiden frowned.”What’s so funny?” “You two are perfect for each other.I hope she becomes your Luna soon.” His face changed. “Ava-” I walked past him and went into the locker room. “Ava,come back here.” I ignored him. That night,Rina sent me a screenshot from Nora’s Instagram. Nora was leaning against Kaiden’s leg.He was holding a bottle of wolfsbane beer. In the background,a group of friends lifted their glasses and shouted,”Congratulations,Nora!” Rina:Don’t let it hurt you.She doesn’t deserve to affect your mood. I tossed my phone aside. I picked up my training notes and started writing my program plan for the Regional Qualifier. As long as I kept training,I did not have to think about anything else.

The week before the Regional Qualifier,the club shortened training hours so everyone could adjust. Most of my teammates used the time to rest.I picked up extra shifts at the Silver Ridge Ice Center shop. On Wednesday afternoon,Kaiden’s car stopped outside. Kaiden got out and leaned against the door,his sunglasses pushed into his hair. “Ava,come here.” I kept working and pretended I had not heard him. “I’m talking to you.”He frowned and walked over. He reached as if to grab me,then saw the grime on my hands and pulled back. “Go wash up.You’re coming with us.” “Where?” “The mountain cabin.Nora needs to rest.You’re coming too.” “I’m not going.” He sighed.”Don’t start this again.Nora wants to make peace.Stop being difficult.” “There is nothing between her and me that needs making peace.” “Ava.” “I have to train.” He let out a short,ugly laugh. “You don’t even need to.Come on.Leave this dump for the weekend.Nora really wants to fix things.” “I’m not going.” His patience ran out.He laughed again,and this time there was no warmth in it. “Suit yourself.” He pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills and threw it at my feet. “Your wages for the month.I paid your boss for you.Take the money,keep your dignity,and stop showing up in front of me and Nora.” I did not move. “Not enough?”He threw down another stack.”How about now?” Coach Grayson came out of the back office.When he saw the cash on the floor,he hurried over. “Mr.Hawthorne.What is this?We don’t need this.” Kaiden did not even look at him.His eyes were fixed on me. “Pick it up.” I still did not move. Nora got out of the car and ran over with wide,innocent eyes. “Kaiden,please,don’t do this.You’re scaring her.”Nora crouched to pick up the money.”Ava,don’t be angry with him.He’s only doing this for me.He didn’t mean it that way.” She held the stack of cash out to me with both hands,her eyes wet. “Come with us.I don’t want to be the reason you two fight.” I looked at her,then at Kaiden. He felt no regret at all.He thought I should kneel and thank him. I walked past both of them,went into the back room of the shop,and shut the door. Through the wall,I heard him say, “See?You try to help her,and this is how she repays you.” The car started.Music faded down the street. A minute later,Coach Grayson put the money in front of me. “Take it,kid.” “No.” “Ava.”He pushed the money toward me.”Your father,your situation…you need this.” The bills smelled like Kaiden’s cedar,a scent that used to make me feel safe. I walked to the sink in the corner and turned the hot water all the way up. Soap,scrub,rinse.Again and again,until my skin turned red and hurt. That night,my father came again. He was drunker than before,and he saw the cash. He took the money and smashed up the shop. When the police arrived,he was swinging a hockey stick at the lights,with display cases knocked across the floor. It took two officers to cuff him.He spat bloody foam at me. “You called the cops on your own father.People like you should rot in hell.” I watched the police car drive out of the parking lot. So this was what it felt like to have no one at your back.

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