Category: English

I came back from a week-long business trip to find a jade “Fertility Buddha” sitting in my husband’s home office. He lied and said a client gifted it for “good fortune.” I immediately pulled up his new intern’s Instagram. There it was—a post from three days ago, geo-tagged at a famous spiritual temple known for fertility blessings. The caption read: “Prayed for a son. Hoping Mr. J gets his heart’s desire.” I realized instantly: My husband, Julian, wasn’t just cheating; he was trying to secure an heir via a surrogate. Before I could screenshot it, the post was deleted. Julian immediately texted me, claiming the intern was his “distant, slow-witted cousin” and told me not to overthink it. I stared at his lies, full of holes like Swiss cheese. I replied with a simple “Okay.” Then, I forwarded the screenshots directly to our angel investor. “Mr. Sterling, would you be interested in hearing about how Julian is embezzling company funds to pay for his ‘cousin’s’ surrogacy plan?” 1 “Oh?” Mr. Sterling’s reply came instantly. I put away my phone and walked into the study, staring at that jade statue. I’d been married to Julian for five years. We went from having nothing to listing our company on the stock exchange. He used to value his reputation above everything. Now, this statue was a monument to his greed, a god invited into our home to bless his betrayal. At 10 PM, Julian came home. He tossed his suit jacket onto the sofa. His collar was loose, and he reeked of alcohol and a perfume that definitely wasn’t mine. “I’m back,” he said flatly, heading straight for the wet bar. “Mmhmm,” I responded, my eyes landing on his wrist. It was bare. The Patek Philippe I bought him was gone. I had bought that watch for his 30th birthday with the first big check we ever earned. He swore it was a witness to our struggle and that he’d wear it forever. “Where’s your watch?” I asked. He paused mid-pour, keeping his back to me. “Sent it in for maintenance.” “Which shop? I’ll pick it up tomorrow.” Julian turned around, brows furrowed, impatience written all over his face. “Chloe, can you stop being so aggressive? I’ve been working all day. I’m exhausted.” He always did this. Whenever his lies were on the verge of collapsing, he used fatigue and gaslighting to shut me up. I didn’t argue. I just went to the bedroom. Once the door was closed, I sent Mr. Sterling a second message. “That watch on his wrist is worth seven figures. It’s currently on Mia’s wrist.” “Also, I audited the company’s accounts for the last six months. There are several ‘procurement’ payments that lead to nowhere.” This time, Sterling replied even faster. “Send me the address.” The next day, I didn’t go to my office. I went straight to Julian’s department. Mia’s cubicle was easy to find. It was in the prime spot, with a bouquet of fresh white roses on the desk. She looked exactly like her name—innocent and harmless. She was wearing a white dress, organizing files. And there, dangling loosely on her slender wrist, was a massive men’s luxury watch. Julian’s Patek Philippe. I walked over and tapped on her desk. She looked up, saw me, and immediately stood up. “Mrs. Zhou? I mean… Chloe? Why are you here?” Colleagues started to look over, curious. “Looking for Julian,” I smiled, staring pointedly at her wrist. “That’s a unique watch.” Mia instinctively tried to hide her hand behind her back, but it was too late. Her face flushed crimson. “Oh… this… it belongs to my cousin. He… he was afraid he’d lose it at home, so he asked me to safeguard it.” “Cousin?” I feigned shock. “Since when does Julian have a sister? Why didn’t I know?” She bit her lip, tears instantly welling up in her eyes. “Chloe, I… I’m Julian’s distant cousin. He probably didn’t think it was worth mentioning such a small thing to you.” “A small thing?” I stopped smiling. “When it comes to Julian, nothing is a small thing to me.” Mia’s face went from red to pale. She looked like she was about to faint. Just then, Julian stormed out of his office. He rushed over, shielding Mia behind him, and glared at me. “Chloe! What kind of scene are you causing here?” He didn’t ask what happened. He just convicted me on the spot. Watching him protect another woman like that felt like swallowing broken glass. “I’m causing a scene?” I laughed coldly, pointing at Mia. “Why don’t you ask her to explain why your watch is on her wrist?” Julian’s expression turned ugly. He clearly didn’t expect me to storm the office over a watch. He glanced at the gathering crowd and lowered his voice. “This is a place of business. Let’s talk at home.” “Home?” I repeated the word. “Which home? The one with me, or the one you bought for her?” 2 Julian was speechless. He grabbed my arm and practically dragged me into his office. The moment the door clicked shut, he exploded. “What is wrong with you?! Do you have to air our dirty laundry in public?” “I just want the truth,” I said calmly. “The truth is she is my cousin! I let her wear the watch for a few days to show off to her friends! Is that a crime?” I looked at him and suddenly felt nothing but pity. When did our marriage become nothing but cheap lies? Just then, my phone rang. It was my mother-in-law. I put it on speaker. Her shrill voice filled the room. “Chloe! Are you harassing Julian at work again? Do you have no shame? A woman running around in public like that… people will think the Zhou family relies on you to eat!” She paused to take a breath. “And let me tell you, don’t think you can hide it forever. If you can’t get pregnant, stop hogging the position! The Zhou bloodline cannot end with you!” Julian’s face went white. He tried to snatch the phone, but I dodged him. “Mom, what do you mean by that?” I asked. “What do I mean? Julian told me everything! Five years and your stomach has been flat as a board. The doctor said you’re the problem! You can’t carry a child!” Her voice got louder. “Now that his cousin is finally willing to help out as a surrogate, you have the nerve to cause trouble? Do you want the whole world to know you’re a hen that can’t lay eggs?” So that was it. He had scripted the whole thing. He pushed all the blame onto me. I hung up and looked at Julian. He looked away, terrified to meet my gaze. “Julian.” I enunciated every word. “Is that what you told her?” He was silent for a long time before squeezing a sentence through his teeth. “I just… didn’t want her to worry.” “Didn’t want her to worry? Or were you paving the way to bring your illegitimate child home?” He snapped his head up. “Chloe, since you know, I won’t hide it.” “I need a son. I need an heir for everything we’ve built.” “And you can’t give me one.” Finally. The mask was off. “So, the baby in Mia’s belly is yours?” I stared into his eyes, looking for a shred of guilt. I found none. Only entitlement. “We haven’t… yet. But soon,” he looked away. “Mia is a good girl. She’s willing to bear my child without asking for a title.” “Without asking for a title?” I laughed out loud. “So the Patek Philippe, the luxury apartment she just leased, and the cash transfers you’ve been making… those just fell from the sky?” Julian’s expression shifted rapidly. “That’s just compensation!” “Compensation?” I stepped closer. “Are you compensating your mistress with company funds?” He was cornered. Shame turned into rage. “Enough! Chloe! This doesn’t concern you! Just stay in your lane as Mrs. Zhou and I won’t mistreat you!” “Mrs. Zhou?” I looked at him. “You know what? I really don’t want that title anymore.” I turned to leave. He grabbed me from behind. “Where are you going?” 3 “Somewhere without you.” I shook off his hand and walked out of the office without looking back. Julian didn’t come home that night. I sat alone in the empty living room, reviewing the files Mr. Sterling had sent me. One was a medical report. Mia’s. It clearly stated she was already six weeks pregnant. So even his “soon” was a lie. He had already done the deed. I flipped through the pages. The man who claimed he loved me, who said I was the only one, had created a new life with another woman weeks ago. The most disgusting part? The payment record for the prenatal checkup came from the corporate account. He was expensing his mistress’s ultrasound to the company. Julian, you truly have no bottom line. My phone buzzed. A text from Julian. “My mom’s heart is acting up. I’m staying at the hospital with her. Go to sleep.” Another lie. I clicked on the live location tracker Mr. Sterling had provided. He and Mia were currently at the city’s most expensive French restaurant, enjoying a candlelight dinner. In the attached photo, Mia was cradling her belly, and Julian was looking at her with pure adoration. Champagne, red wine, and 99 red roses on the table. How ironic. In five years of marriage, he never looked at me like that. Even on my birthdays, he used “busy work” as an excuse to buy a generic cake. But for a pregnant mistress, money was no object. I closed the app and called my mother-in-law. “Mom, Julian said your heart is acting up. Are you okay?” On the other end, the old woman scoffed. “I’m fine! At least he has a conscience and cares about me. Unlike some people who only know how to make me angry.” I smiled. “That’s good. Mom, since you’re so healthy, you’ll definitely live to see your grandson.” “What grandson?” “Oh, right. I wanted to tell you.” “Julian told me Mia is pregnant. Six weeks along. It’s your biological grandson.” “What did you say?” “I said, Mia is pregnant. Six weeks,” I repeated calmly. “You’ll be holding a baby soon.” Heavy breathing came from the other end. After a long pause. “Really? You aren’t lying?” “I have no reason to lie,” I paused for effect. “However, Julian doesn’t seem to want to bring her into the family. He said Mia doesn’t want a title, she just wants to have the baby quietly.” “That won’t do!” The old lady exploded. “The Zhou bloodline cannot be illegitimate! No, I have to make him give Mia a proper status!” “But I’m his legal wife,” I reminded her softly. Silence. I knew that in her heart, my feelings were nothing compared to a hypothetical grandson. “Chloe,” her tone softened, dripping with fake sincerity. “Look, how about this? You divorce Julian for now. Let Mia have the baby. Then you two can remarry. The child will be registered under your name, you’ll still be the lady of the house, and no one can threaten your position.” She really thought she was a genius. Make me move aside, let the mistress birth the heir, then bring me back to raise it and pay the bills? Dream on. “Mom,” I chuckled. “Do you really think that’s possible?” I hung up. The next day, Julian called, furious. “Chloe! What nonsense did you feed my mother? She’s forcing me to divorce you and marry Mia!” “I just told her the facts.” “What facts? I never said I was going to marry her!” Julian sounded panicked. I listened to his impotent rage with total calm. “Julian, did you ever consider that maybe… this is exactly what Mia wants?” He froze. I didn’t give him time to recover. I hung up. Then, I texted Mr. Sterling. “Let’s begin.” 4 The next morning, the company was in chaos. Mr. Sterling, as the majority shareholder, demanded a complete audit of the last year’s financials and froze the funds for several projects. Julian, as the project lead, was immediately suspended pending investigation. He called me, his voice shaking with rage. “Chloe, you did this, didn’t you?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Don’t play dumb! Why would Sterling suddenly audit us? You told him something!” I walked into the study, picked up the jade fertility statue, and weighed it in my hand. “Julian, when you embezzled public funds, you should have seen this coming.” “I didn’t embezzle anything! Those were necessary expenses for business development!” Still lying. “Is that so? Renting a luxury apartment for Mia, buying Patek Philippes, taking trips to spiritual temples… that’s business development?” Dead silence on the other end. Finally, he gritted his teeth. “What do you want?” “Divorce.” Two words. “Impossible!” He refused instantly. “Chloe, I admit I messed up, but we don’t need to go nuclear. Give me time. I’ll handle Mia.” “Handle?” I laughed. “You mean wait until she births your ‘dragon heir,’ then kick me to the curb?” “No!” He denied it frantically. “I just… I just wanted a child. The Zhou family line hangs on a single thread…” “So you hired a womb and pinned the infertility on me?” I cut him off. “Julian, you disgust me.” I hung up and blocked him. Moments later, his mother called. “Chloe, dear, Mom was wrong. I was confused yesterday, that’s why I said those awful things.” “Don’t hold it against Julian. He was just confused for a moment.” “You’ve been together so long, there’s no hurdle we can’t cross. You can’t divorce him!” “If you leave him, what happens to the company? How will our family live?” I listened quietly. They weren’t afraid of hurting me. They were afraid of losing the money I brought in. “Mom.” I spoke. “When you were forcing me to divorce him yesterday, did you think about how we’d live?” “I… I didn’t…” “You said, ‘If a hen can’t lay eggs, she shouldn’t hog the nest.’” I repeated her words back to her. “Well, the nest is empty now. Go find your golden phoenix.” I hung up and blocked her too. 5 Julian was suspended. At the emergency board meeting, Mr. Sterling sat at the head of the table, looking grim. Julian stood in the center like a criminal, sweating under the shareholders’ glares. He tried to argue, blaming the accounting department for “negligence.” “I admit my management was lax, but I never pocketed a dime!” He spoke with such passion, acting like the victim. I pushed the door open right as he hit his crescendo. Every eye in the room turned to me. Julian saw me, his pupils shrinking. “Chloe? What are you doing here?” “I’m a shareholder. Why wouldn’t I be here?” I walked to my seat, sat down, and slapped a stack of documents onto the table. “Mr. Zhou just said he never pocketed a dime, correct?” He stiffened his neck. “Correct!” “Then please explain these transfers to Ms. Mia Lin’s personal account.” I projected the bank statements onto the big screen. Every amount, every date, clear as day. “And this apartment under her name. Rent is $5,000 a month, paid via the company petty cash fund.” “And this Patek Philippe watch. Seven figures. Marked as ‘Client Entertainment Expenses’.” Faced with hard evidence, Julian’s face drained of blood. He stared at me, eyes filled with hatred. “Chloe, you investigated me… just to ruin me?” “I’m not ruining you,” I said calmly. “I’m exterminating a pest in the company.” The room erupted. An older shareholder pointed a shaking finger at him. “Julian! We trusted you! You used company money to keep a mistress?! Do you have no conscience?” Julian had no defense. Suddenly, he turned on me. “It’s you! You forced me to do this!” He screamed like a maniac. “You’re domineering! You’re bossy! You control everything! I have no dignity in my own home! That’s why I made a mistake!” “You think you’re a saint? If it wasn’t for your dad back then…” Bang! Mr. Sterling slammed his hand on the table and stood up. “Enough! Julian, this is a boardroom, not a street corner! Security!” “Get him out of here!” Two guards dragged Julian away as he kicked and screamed. “Chloe! You’ll die screaming! Just you wait!” The heavy doors slammed shut, cutting off his curse. I sat in my chair, feeling cold all over. His last words stabbed precisely into the oldest wound in my heart.

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My husband’s “best female friend” went into premature labor and specifically asked for me to deliver the baby. When she needed a blood transfusion and required a family member’s signature, Logan gripped my shoulders, his nails digging into my skin. He screamed: “You must save my wife and child! Or I’ll tear this hospital apart!” I am his wife. Yet he was calling another woman his wife. “Mr. Rhodes, calm down! Dr. Miller is doing her best!” the midwife yelled. “And… isn’t Dr. Miller your wife?” Logan froze for a split second. But only a second. Immediately, he reverted to his frantic state, his grip tightening until I thought my bones would snap. “Lexi means everything to me. If anything happens to her or the kid, I swear I won’t let you off the hook!” he threatened. The midwife tried to defend me. “Mr. Rhodes, how can you treat your actual wife like this for a friend?” Logan’s eyes were bloodshot as he roared, “A wife is worthless to me! I can replace a wife any day, but Lexi is my partner, my soulmate! She is more important than my life!” A sharp, stinging pain spread across my chest. We were married. We had the ceremony, the prenup, and lived together for over a year. But we never signed the official marriage license. He said we’d do it after a two-year “trial period.” I waited patiently for over four hundred days, only for it to boil down to “I can replace a wife any day.” I took a deep breath and slapped him across the face. Hard. His handsome, cold face swelled instantly. His bodyguards rushed forward, but Logan stopped them, glaring at me with red eyes. “You’re a doctor, Susan. Don’t forget your duty.” 1 Logan threatened the hospital’s reputation, so the Chief of Staff forced me back into surgery. In the end, Lexi delivered a baby boy. Logan and Lexi’s actual husband were ecstatic. When I did my rounds wearing a mask, Logan’s younger sister, Lola, was holding the baby, smiling at me. “Thank you for saving Lexi for my brother. You don’t know how much she means to him.” Logan never told his family about my job, so Lola didn’t recognize me behind the surgical mask. She innocently told me the story of Logan and Lexi. She talked about how they’d known each other since they were thirteen, how Lexi was his right hand in business. She even mentioned how depressed Logan was when Lexi got married, and how he “gave up” and married some random woman just to fill the slot. That random woman was me. For the first time, I realized that in everyone’s eyes, Lexi was the indispensable light of his life. I was just the consolation prize he settled for. I let out a low, uncontrolled sob, interrupting Lola. As everyone in the ward turned to look, I pulled off my mask. “Susan? Why are you so loud? Don’t you know Lexi needs rest?” Logan didn’t explain himself. Instead, he stared at me coldly, his voice dripping with disgust. “With that attitude, how are you even a doctor? Come here and apologize to Lexi!” I didn’t respond. I clenched my trembling fingers and turned around. It wasn’t that I was afraid to face him. I just suddenly didn’t want this anymore. Trying to sustain a relationship alone is exhausting. Watching me walk away seemed to anger him further. He turned to his assistant. “Tell the Director to suspend Susan. She can come back to work when she learns how to apologize.” Then, his voice softened as he looked at Lexi. “Did she scare you? Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one can bully you.” 2 Luo’s call reached the Director’s office before I did. But I had already printed my resignation letter. The Director frowned, sighing. “Susan, just apologize to Mr. Rhodes. You’re our most promising OB/GYN. A suspension will hurt your record.” I placed my resignation letter on his desk. “Director, I’m resigning. I’m going abroad for my fellowship.” He paused, then nodded. “You should have gone years ago. Logan held you back.” I met Logan at an alumni mixer. He needed a wife to secure a contract; I needed a marriage to give my terminally ill mother peace of mind. We hit it off. I asked to make it legal immediately. He said his company was unstable and didn’t want his potential debts to affect me. I believed him. I signed the agreement and gave him my heart. Later, I found out his company was massive. After he used me to secure that project, he never mentioned our relationship publicly again. To the world, Lexi, who was always by his side, was his partner. I used to fight with him about it. He never comforted me. Instead, he’d grab my face, eyes full of disdain. “You only know how to hold a scalpel. You can’t help me in business. Lexi is different; she has vision. She doesn’t care about titles. While you’re being petty, she’s helping me build an empire. Instead of being jealous, go read a book.” I had angrily shown him my acceptance letter for a PhD program at Harvard Medical School. He had hugged me tight, dominantly declaring, “You’re not going. I forbid it.” I missed my first chance to go because I thought his possessiveness meant he loved me. But in the end? I was just a disposable object. 3 I was finishing my handover. As I saw my last patient out, I ran into Logan picking up Lexi. I looked at them indifferently and didn’t say a word. But Lexi dragged Logan over to me, speaking in that soft, sugary voice. “Susan, thank you so much. Without you, my son and I would have been in danger. I heard Logan lost his temper with you. He’s just like that—he loses control whenever it concerns me. Don’t be mad at him, I apologize on his behalf.” Then, her gaze dropped to my stomach. She adopted the tone of a wise elder. “But really, a woman needs a child to stabilize a family. You should stop working and go home to focus on getting pregnant. Logan, you love kids. Let Susan give you one.” Logan pinched her nose affectionately, smiling teasingly. “She doesn’t have your good fortune.” I knew Lexi baited him into saying that. In the past, I would have fought back. Now, watching their PDA, I just felt tired. I waved my hand dismissively. “I can’t afford that kind of fortune. Mr. Rhodes, please save it all for Miss Lexi.” I walked into the elevator without looking back. Maybe the cold “Mr. Rhodes” triggered him. As I walked out of the hospital, he grabbed my wrist. He tried to drag me into his car, but I slammed my hand against the door, refusing. “Susan, haven’t you made enough of a scene?” “I’m not making a scene.” He frowned at my blank expression. “Lexi’s husband was there. What you said could cause a misunderstanding.” I laughed, disgusted. I pushed him away. “If you were actually afraid of her husband misunderstanding, you wouldn’t have acted like the father in the delivery room, and you wouldn’t be holding her waist right now.” “She’s my best friend. Physical contact is normal,” Logan insisted, arrogant as always. “Is asking her to have your baby normal too?” I scoffed. Logan lost his patience. “If you want to think that way, I can’t stop you.” He got into the car. “You’re emotional. I won’t come home for a few days. We’ll talk when you calm down.” He rolled up the window and drove off. The black sedan disappeared from my sight, just as he completely disappeared from my heart. 4 My visa was processed quickly. The day I booked my flight, Lola found me. Lola was different from her brother. She was innocent and rarely interacted with me, which is why she had praised Lexi that day in the hospital. Once she found out the truth, she stopped associating with Lexi. When I told her I was leaving, she looked sad. “You were with my brother for so long. Can you really let go?” I nodded. “I can.” When you give everything and get nothing but coldness in return, even the strongest heart eventually shatters beyond repair. Seeing I was serious, Lola started crying. She was pregnant by accident. She wanted to tell Logan, but Logan, taking Lexi’s advice, was planning to marry her off to some business partner she hated. She wanted to keep the baby and escape the arranged marriage. She asked if she could come with me. I was surprised. Logan was willing to sacrifice his innocent sister just because Lexi suggested it? It turned out, Lexi really was the only person he wouldn’t sacrifice. Lola cried pitifully, and I agreed. I used my connections to get her into a auditing program at Harvard and used my ID to get her prenatal checkups done. Once the baby was cleared, we flew out. As soon as we landed in Boston, we found our bank accounts were frozen. It was Logan’s classic move. Starve us until we crawl back. He underestimated us. Lola sold her designer bags and watches. I had already secured a waitressing gig at a restaurant near campus. The neighborhood wasn’t the safest at night. One evening after my shift, I noticed a shadow following me. I gripped the pepper spray in my pocket, walking faster toward the main street taxi stand. Just as I reached the curb, a hand grabbed my shoulder. My heart sank. I spun around, aimed the can, and sprayed. “Hiss—!” A man covered his eyes with one hand. In the other, he held up a wallet with a Kuromi sticker on it. In fluent Mandarin, he gasped, “Student… is this your wallet?” 5 The man was Julian Grey, an actor. He was filming on campus, found my wallet, and followed me to return it. I treated him like a stalker. My pepper spray was the heavy-duty kind. His eyes were swollen shut instantly. He held my hand, looking pitiful. “Sister… is all medical student pepper spray this spicy?” I turned beet red. Out of guilt, I brought him back to the small townhouse I rented. Lola was asleep. As I washed his eyes out, I told him not to hyperventilate. His eyes were like a galaxy—deep and starry—now overflowing with tears and saline. “Sister, if I don’t breathe, I’ll die.” Feeling terrible, I worked faster. When I finished, I noticed his face was flushed, his lips turning blue. I touched his forehead. “Julian? What’s wrong? Answer me.” Julian gasped for air like a drowning puppy. “Sister… can I breathe now?” Pfft. He had actually held his breath the entire time because I told him not to hyperventilate. I couldn’t help but laugh, patting his shoulder. “Are you stupid?” Julian shook his head, looking at me seriously. “Sister, you finally smiled. Do you know you look beautiful when you smile?” I froze. It was the first time anyone cared if I smiled. 6 After my parents divorced, I lived with my mother, who had severe OCD and was a perfectionist. She was rigorous in life and work, and she demanded the same of me. I never dared to laugh freely like other girls. When she got cancer, she forced me to date. I chose the calm, mature Logan to please her. On her deathbed, she held my hand and said maybe Logan was different from her—that I should try to be myself. But in the year I lived with Logan, he was just as strict as my mother. He compared me to Lexi constantly. If I relaxed even a little, he’d scold me: “Susan, you’re a married woman and a medical professional. Can you be more mature? If you’re going to laugh like a schoolgirl, don’t come home!” I didn’t want to fight, so I became the person he wanted: serious, cautious, unsmiling.

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1 At a critical international conference, my phone blew up. It was Cole, a childhood friend I hadn’t spoken to in years. When I finally called back, his tone was sharp. “Too important now? I’m getting engaged and you can’t even come help.” My work was classified. I gave a vague excuse. He grew more arrogant. “Fine. But if you want forgiveness, send a gift—a car with four rings.” Thinking he meant money, I offered ten grand. “Ten grand?” he spat. “My fiancée is Sierra Sterling, from Silveridge’s most powerful family. Don’t push your luck.” A digital invitation arrived. I opened it—and froze. There was my wife, Sierra, wrapped around Cole in a fiery kiss. “Four rings?” I whispered, my voice low. “I’ll send two.” Wreaths have rings, too. Hearing me agree, Cole was ecstatic. “Hell yeah! I knew I could count on you, brother! And hey, I’m looking out for you. Two of the new Audi R8s will be perfect. If you’re a little tight on cash, I know a guy who gives out loans. Super reliable.” Two R8s? At over a quarter-million each? Did he think I was his personal bank? A cold smirk touched my lips. I decided to test the waters. “So, you’re marrying Miss Sterling. Does her husband approve?” There was a pause on the other end, followed by the wet sound of someone swallowing. “Stop nibbling, you little vixen,” Cole’s voice came through, thick with lust. “My buddy here says you’re already married. You care to explain that?” Sierra let out a discontented moan, her words muffled. “My only husband… is you, Cole. That loser… he’s still treasuring a fake marriage certificate like it’s gold.” Aroused beyond control, Cole tossed his phone aside and I could hear the sounds of him pulling her into a rough embrace. The line was filled with a sickening symphony of moans, curses, and cries of pleasure. Each sound was a needle, stitching a pattern of agony directly onto my heart. “Oh Cole, please… I’m going to die!” I killed the call. Reaching under my bed, I pulled out the marriage certificate and immediately dialed the City Registrar. A quick search confirmed it. The certificate was a forgery. The rage was a physical thing, a black tide rising in my chest. I summoned my assistant. “Contact the District Attorney and the Police Commissioner in Silveridge. I want a full, top-to-bottom investigation of the Sterling family. Every asset, every transaction. If you find anything illegal, I want them crushed. No mercy.” “And one more thing,” I added, my voice deathly calm. “Call a florist. Order forty funeral wreaths.” After giving my orders, I stared at the cold, beautiful face on the worthless certificate and crumpled it into a tight ball. She seemed to have forgotten a simple fact. The Sterling family only existed because I allowed it to. To think she would dare humiliate a man of my standing… I would bury her entire family for this. I notified my superiors and drove straight to the Sterling mansion. I was getting my daughter. But she was nowhere to be found. I searched every room, and when I questioned the maids, they averted their eyes and mumbled excuses. My roar of fury finally broke one of them. Trembling, she led me to the backyard, to a crude, brick doghouse. I stared, confused, until she tapped on the dog bowl. A small, shivering girl in rags crawled out. It was my daughter. In that instant, the blood in my veins turned to ice. I couldn’t process what I was seeing. “Nora!” I cried out, rushing forward to sweep her into my arms. But she flinched violently, shaking from head to toe, her voice a tiny, pleading whimper. “Don’t hit me… I won’t eat anymore… I’ll go back to my kennel, I promise…” Her words were a knife twisting in my gut. I’d only been gone for a few months. What had happened here? That vile creature, Sierra… how dare she! Once Nora had calmed down, the whole horrifying story came out. In my absence, Sierra had brought Cole into our home. They carried on day and night, and to keep her out of the way, they locked my daughter in the doghouse. Whenever I was scheduled to return, they would clean her up, dress her in nice clothes, and threaten her into silence. Her small body was a canvas of horrifying bruises. Patches of her skin were scarred with cigarette burns. Cole’s handiwork. Looking at her tiny, malnourished limbs, I felt the last of my control snap. This engagement party would be their funeral. I ordered the maid to throw every last one of Sierra’s belongings in the trash, called a realtor to put the mansion on the market, and then, with my daughter safely with me, I drove toward the party. On the way, Sierra called. “Honey, the DA’s office is at the company. Can you go down there and smooth things over?” “I’m a little busy right now,” I said, my voice dripping with ice. “Stop making trouble for me.” Busy putting horns on my head? I laughed coldly and blocked her number. When I arrived at the hotel Cole had mentioned, the entrance was lined with luxury cars. I told Nora to wait in the car, locked the doors, and walked inside alone. It was just an engagement party, but it was decorated with obscene extravagance. Cole was preening near the entrance in a tailored suit, greeting guests. Behind him, a series of large displays showcased photo after photo of him and Sierra. The revealing clothes, the lewd expressions… each image was a fresh wave of disgust. My fists clenched. I wanted to tear them all to shreds. In five years of marriage, she had always played the part of the untouchable goddess. The number of times she’d even allowed me to touch her could be counted on one hand. But here, in Cole’s arms, she was like a bitch in heat, desperate to please her master. Maybe five years ago, I never should have stepped in front of that loan shark’s knife for her. I never should have paid off her family’s debts and elevated her to a status she never deserved. “Well, well, if it isn’t my old pal Liam! What are you doing just standing there? Never seen a place this fancy? Cat got your tongue?” A jeering voice broke my thoughts. It was Cole, surrounded by a posse of our old childhood friends, strutting toward me like a king. “Hey man, I didn’t see you call my guy for a loan. So, what’s the story with the cars? I’ve been bragging to everyone. Don’t make me look bad, okay?” As soon as Cole finished, a sycophant named Leo flashed a high-end knockoff Rolex on his wrist and chimed in. “Come on, Cole, you’re putting our boy genius in a tough spot. He’s just a damn tutor at some prep school. He probably took the bus here. A car? The guy couldn’t afford a single tire if he saved for the rest of his life!” The group erupted in laughter. “Hey, Liam’s a brain, right? Maybe he can write a poem for the happy couple! He can keep the couple hundred bucks he was gonna give as a gift to pay for his taxi home!” “Liam, listen. Eat all you want, but don’t you dare try to sneak food out in a plastic bag. Cole’s marrying a Sterling, the top family in Silveridge. Don’t embarrass him.” Looking at their smug, bootlicking faces, a chilling coldness settled deep within me. “Liam, they’re just joking around, don’t take it seriously,” Cole said, clapping me on the shoulder, but his eyes were gleaming with triumph. “But let me give you some brotherly advice. In this world, money is king. What’s the use of being book-smart? If it wasn’t for my engagement, you wouldn’t even be allowed through the doors of this hotel.” He leaned in closer. “Remember all those girls you used to look down on? Now you couldn’t even lick their boots. See, that’s where I’ve got you beat. I married well. Now I run this city. But hey, don’t feel too bad. When you meet my wife later, I’ll see if I can get you a job as a security guard at Sterling Corp…” I stared at him, my expression unreadable. The higher he climbed, the harder he would fall. Just then, my phone buzzed. The wreaths had arrived. I gave the order. A moment later, a bizarre procession appeared at the end of the red carpet. A team of people, dressed for a funeral, carrying enormous wreaths, began to wail and chant, throwing the entire event into chaos. Cole’s face turned the color of week-old garbage. He screamed for security to throw them out. The florist, a cheerful man, bustled over to me. “Sir! All the wreaths you ordered have been delivered. I even threw in the full package, procession and all, free of charge. Are you satisfied?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “You did a great job. My brother gets married again, you’re the first person I’m calling.” The florist looked utterly bewildered, but Cole, finally realizing who was behind it, started shaking with rage. “Liam, you son of a bitch! I’m going to kill you!” He lunged, his fist aimed at my face. I caught his wrist, used his momentum to pivot, and sent him flying over my shoulder. He landed flat on his face with a pathetic grunt. Seeing his master down, Leo the lapdog grabbed a chair and swung it at my head. I ducked, spun, and planted a foot square on his ass, sending him tumbling headfirst into a pile of funeral wreaths. Cole scrambled up, his face a twisted mask of fury. “Liam, you have a death wish! Don’t you know who the Sterlings are in this city? You could have ten lives and it wouldn’t be enough!” I just shrugged. There weren’t many people in this world who could threaten my life. Within minutes, Cole had summoned a dozen security guards. “Get him! If he dies, it’s on me!” Emboldened by his promise, they charged. I took down the first two with quick, precise strikes, then used the chaotic environment to my advantage, weaving between tables and guests. In moments, half of them were on the floor. Cole was screaming like a madman. “You idiots! Use your batons! The first person to take him down gets a hundred grand!” The money lit a fire in their eyes. They drew their batons and came at me with renewed ferocity. I misjudged a step, and a heavy blow landed on my leg. I stumbled, and they were on me, a flurry of fists and feet. They dragged me before Cole. Without a word, he drove his fist into my stomach, twice. The pain was so intense my vision swam with black spots. “Liam! You were so tough a minute ago. What happened?” he sneered, grabbing a handful of my hair and slapping my face repeatedly, a sick, ecstatic light in his eyes. Leo handed him a wine bottle. Cole didn’t hesitate. He shattered it over my head. Blood and alcohol poured down my face, blinding me. He spat on me in disgust and pulled out his phone. “Baby, where are you? Some jealous asshole crashed our party and tried to hurt me. You have to come make him pay!” Sierra’s cold voice came through the speaker almost immediately. “Who has the nerve to touch my husband? Have the guards hold him. Cripple him, kill him, I don’t care. I’m on my way.” After he hung up, the sycophants started in again. “Damn, Cole, you’ve got the great Sierra Sterling wrapped around your little finger!” “Sierra Sterling is nothing! Back when Cole was a loan shark, he’d take any woman he wanted. Now those were the days!” Cole puffed up his chest, basking in the praise. He picked up a heavy, steel serving fork from a nearby table and, with a vicious grin, stabbed it straight through the palm of my hand. The agony was blinding. A scream ripped from my throat as cold sweat drenched my body. Nora, worried that I’d been gone so long, had slipped out of the car and into the hotel. She ran in just in time to see the fork impale my hand. She let out a terrified cry and threw herself at me. “Leave my daddy alone! Stop hurting my daddy!” she sobbed, spreading her tiny arms to shield me. Cole froze, stunned by her sudden appearance, then his face hardened into a cruel mask. “You little mongrel. Who let you out of your kennel? Get back there right now before I whip you!” Seeing the terror in my daughter’s eyes, remembering the scars that littered her small body, the hate inside me detonated. I ripped the fork from my palm and, with every ounce of strength I had left, lunged at Cole, plunging the steel tines into his chest. It only went in an inch before he kicked me away. “You piece of shit! You and the mutt you spawned aren’t leaving here alive today!” After a guard crudely bandaged his wound, Cole took out his rage on me, kicking and punching until he was out of breath. He leaned down, his hot, foul breath in my ear. “You know, Liam, I have to thank you. You raised a fine wife for me.” He chuckled. “She is so, so wet.” My blood ran cold. I stared at him. “You knew.” Cole threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Of course I knew, you idiot! Why do you think I set you up with her? For the thrill of it! You were married for five years, and I was fucking her for five years. She was so used up by me, she wouldn’t even let a loser like you touch her.” A red haze descended over my vision. I flailed at him, but he easily dodged my clumsy attacks. “Why?” I choked out. “I treated you like a brother. Why would you do this to me?” There was no remorse in his eyes, only a deep, festering hatred. “Because I hate you! I hate the way you always looked at me with pity, like you were tossing me scraps! So I decided I’d take everything from you. Everything. I’ll even make your daughter my dog!” “You animal!” I struggled to my feet, but before I could move, a sharp slap sent my head spinning. “What bastard dares—” My words died in my throat when I saw her. Sierra. For a split second, I saw panic in her eyes. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “You have the nerve to ask me that? You filthy, degenerate whore!” My words erased her panic, replacing it with cold fury. She slapped me again, so hard I nearly fell. By the time I looked up, she was draped over Cole, looking down at me with utter contempt. “You want to know why?” she hissed. “Because you make my skin crawl. You disgust me.” Her revulsion was a blade, carving me up from the inside out. Nora, trembling behind me, tugged on my hand, trying to pull me away. But Sierra’s sharp eyes noticed her. She wrinkled her nose. “What’s that smell? Oh, the little mongrel is here too. You didn’t really think this pathetic loser of a father could protect you, did you?” Cole laughed, sliding his hand up Sierra’s dress and squeezing her. He brought his fingers to his nose and inhaled deeply. “Let’s just take out the trash. Get rid of these two pieces of filth today.” He waved his hand, and the guards pinned me to the floor again. “Sierra, you will regret this!” I roared. “Regret it? I think you’re the one who’s going to have regrets,” she sneered. She ground her heel into my wounded hand and snatched a bottle of vodka from a table. She poured it directly onto the open wound. The pain was beyond anything I had ever felt. It was like being torn apart. The veins in my neck bulged as I thrashed against the hands holding me down. Nora’s screams were heart-wrenching. She tried to push Sierra’s foot off my hand, but Sierra kicked her away. Nora crawled back, sobbing, and started banging her small head on the floor at Sierra’s feet. “Mommy, please… please don’t hurt Daddy…” This only enraged Sierra further. “Who’s your mommy, you little bitch? I’ll kick your teeth in!” She raised her pointed high-heel and stomped it down on my daughter’s mouth. Blood gushed from Nora’s lips. My vision went red. I was helpless, pinned, able to do nothing but scream curses. “Are you even human?! That’s your own daughter! I never should have saved you—” Cole kicked me hard in the ribs, cutting me off. “Since you two are so keen on sharing everything, I’ll be happy to oblige. Hold that little bitch down and pour the rest of that vodka down her throat!” As Leo pried open my daughter’s mouth, I let out a desperate, primal scream. “You can’t touch her! I am a National Scholar of the Research Institute!” The room went silent for a beat, then exploded with derisive laughter. “A National Scholar? You look more like a national embarrassment! Yeah, and I’m the Archmage!” “Dude’s been reading too many fantasy novels!” “Touch her, and you are all dead men!” I bellowed, my eyes bloodshot with rage. The only answer I got was another hail of kicks and punches. “The man who can touch me hasn’t been born yet!” Cole snarled, grabbing the bottle himself and forcing it into my daughter’s mouth. The next second, the entire glass front of the hotel shattered inward as several military jeeps plowed into the lobby, followed by a dozen police cruisers, sirens screaming. The hall was instantly flooded with armed officers, surrounding everything.

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I was the villain’s gold-digger ex-girlfriend. When the villain went bankrupt, I slapped a bank card in his face. “The money on this card… is enough to buy you for three years.” That night, after our daughter fell asleep, I pinned down the struggling villain. “I paid good money. I get to be on top.” “Some people need to learn their place.” Later, when the heroine regretted her choice and came back for him, he was wearing an apron, cooking for our child. “Coco, this isn’t your ‘sister.’ This is one of Daddy’s former subordinates. She’s older than your mom. Call her ‘Auntie’.” 1 I only realized I was the villain’s gold-digger ex-girlfriend when the bullet comments (danmu) started scrolling across my vision. And right now, he had been betrayed by the heroine and was ready to end it all. I wiped the dishwater from my hands, grabbed my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and headed to the roof of the Chu Corporation building. “Caleb Chu,” I threatened coolly, “if you don’t get your ass down from there, I’m going to make your daughter call your nemesis ‘Daddy’.” Hearing my voice, Caleb turned stiffly. Seeing the little face that bore a striking resemblance to his own, the corners of his eyes flushed red with emotion. [The villain is about to die, why is she interrupting?] [The villain and his ex… one is bad, one is ruthless. A match made in hell.] [Speaking of which, the villain only loved the heroine because she looked like the ex who abandoned him. He saw her as his salvation.] [That little girl is the villain’s daughter. Cute, but with parents like that, she’s doomed to be twisted.] [Isn’t this the finale? No ending?] I ignored the floating text and smirked mockingly. “What? Bold enough to do the deed, but not brave enough to claim the kid?” “Daddy.” My daughter looked up at Caleb with wet, puppy-dog eyes and called out pitifully. The wind on the roof was fierce. My daughter coughed. Caleb immediately scrambled down from the ledge, stumbling in his haste. “My… my clothes are thick. Maybe… take them off for the kid.” Watching Caleb looking completely lost, I picked up my daughter and shoved her into his arms. “Hold her tight. Don’t drop her.” [Hahahaha, is this the ruthless villain? He can’t even walk straight holding a kid?] [You have to admit, the villain’s daughter looks exactly like him. The mom had zero participation in the genetics.] [When this woman left, the villain chased her in the rain and got into a car accident. She was heartless then. Why come back now? To fight for the inheritance because he’s dying?] [Joke’s on her. The villain is bankrupt. Even his own mother ran away. She’s inheriting nothing but debt.] The Chu family villa… The furniture had long been seized by creditors. Only a bedroll remained on the floor, looking utterly desolate. I sighed. “How much do you still owe?” “Thirty million.” Caleb held Coco, his eyelashes trembling almost imperceptibly. I took the child’s hand and turned to leave. [See? The ex-girlfriend left for money before. Hearing he owes so much, she’s dumping him again.] [Poor villain. No one loves him.] [Back in the day, thirty million was just the price of a necklace for the heroine. Now it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.] Caleb lowered his eyes, looking like a puppy waiting to be abandoned. I turned my head slightly. “Well? Keep up.” Something seemed to light up in Caleb’s eyes. 2 In my one-bedroom rental, I put Coco to sleep in the bedroom. Caleb sat on the sofa, looking around, visibly tense. I threw the bank card at him. So this was how Caleb’s mother felt when she threw that twenty-million-dollar check at me years ago. Being rich feels good. “There’s nineteen million on this card.” “It buys you for three years.” I sat sideways on Caleb’s lap, draping my arms loosely around his neck. “So, Caleb… are you single?” “I don’t need a male nanny. I don’t waste money like that.” I whispered in his ear. Caleb knew exactly what I meant. The small mole on his neck bobbed as he swallowed. Caleb seemed ashamed of his reaction, turning his head away to avoid my gaze. “Mmh.” We were so close I could feel the vibration in his chest. [The leads are still fighting over there, and the villain is already holding the baby? You guys are tight-lipped! The villain is eating good, why didn’t you tell us? Trying to keep it all to yourselves?] [Caleb locked the heroine up just for show. The ex-wife comes back and he instantly turns into a pure puppy. Turns out he really just treated the heroine as a substitute.] [Sister, hurry! Bully him!] I looked at Caleb’s flushed neck and the veins popping out, feeling very satisfied. I cupped his face, ignoring his resistance, and kissed him. Caleb pushed at my shoulders but instinctively responded, a tantalizing mix of rejection and welcome. Between breaths, he pushed me away slightly, a look of stubbornness on his face. Our breakup had been ugly. He probably felt that being “bought” so easily was beneath his dignity. “And you? Are you single?” His breathing was ragged, hot breath spraying on my face, raising my own body temperature. “What do you think? Carrying a child and cheating with an ex?” I retorted, panting as I started stripping Caleb’s clothes. I paid for this! As soon as the words left my mouth, Caleb’s eyes lit up like a fire, scorching hot. He grabbed my hand, trying to flip us over, but I pinned him down firmly. “I paid the money. I’m on top.” “Some people need to remember their place.” [Where’s the rest?! Show us the rest! Hey! We need to have a conscience here!] [What can’t I see as a VIP member?!] [I’ll pay! I’ll pay money, okay?!] [Why can’t I see it even if I pay?!] [I’m suing! I’m taking this to the Supreme Court!] 3 When I opened my eyes in the morning, the sunlight was blinding. Rushing out of the bedroom, I found breakfast on the table and a note. Caleb had already taken Coco to school and went to check out nearby real estate agencies to list the house. [Caleb is almost thirty, how does he still have so much stamina?] [All night! The screen was black all night! Better than some eighteen-year-olds!] [Damn girl, you’re lucky. Let me in for two episodes.] Looking at the comments, I sipped my soy milk calmly on the surface, but behind my phone, my face was burning red. By the time I leisurely got ready, it was afternoon. Time to check on the shop. I opened a café in a quiet alley in the south of the city. It unexpectedly went viral on social media, with people coming to check in every day. I hired someone to manage it later, just popping in occasionally. “Boss Lola.” The staff greeted me with smiles. I arranged the flowers I bought in a vase and sent Caleb the location. He was done with his errands and coming to find me. The shop was almost full. I scanned the room, took off my coat, and started trimming the plants. Little Joe, a staff member, ran up to me, whispering mysteriously, “Boss, the customer in the corner looks just like you. When I served her earlier, I almost mistook her.” Text flashed before my eyes. [Holy sht, why is the heroine here?]* [Because of the villain, the heroine fought with the male lead all day and ran away from home. Didn’t expect her to end up in the ex’s shop.] [She’s been crying all morning. Honestly, the male lead is trash for using women.] [Omg, the substitute meets the original. What a soap opera scene.] I finally noticed the girl in the baseball cap sitting in the corner, constantly blowing her nose. “Get her some tissues and send over a dessert on the house,” I whispered, lowering my head. Once she entered the shop, she was a customer. Taking care of customers’ moods was our job. About an hour later, the shop door was slammed open. A group of bodyguards in black rushed in, checking customers one by one, finally stopping in front of the girl in the cap. Most customers were scared off, leaving a few bold ones watching the drama. The bodyguards formed two lines, and a man in a suit walked out from behind them. “Sir, this is my shop. If you have issues, please resolve them privately. Don’t scare my customers.” I secretly signaled Little Joe to call the police and walked up to the man, raising my voice to remind him of some manners. The man paused slightly upon seeing my face. Recovering, he pulled out a check, indicating he would compensate for all losses today. “Ethan Zhou! What are you doing here! Take your people and leave! Stop embarrassing yourself!” The girl in the cap looked mortified, dragging the man named Ethan Zhou towards the shop. [Fck, the male lead is here?]* [This tiny shop is turning into a chaotic pot of porridge.] [I really don’t want to watch them fight anymore. My brain hurts.] So this was the culprit behind Caleb’s bankruptcy. I raised an eyebrow at the check in my hand and walked up to him. “Sir, this amount…” “Is not enough.” Ethan Zhou froze, looking at the check filled with zeros, confused. Just then, the door was pushed open. It was Caleb. Carrying a cake box, he looked wary seeing the crowd. Oops, forgot to text him not to come. [The villain is here too. Now we have a full table for Mahjong.] [Chaos. Chaos is good. Porridge is best served hot.] [This scene… I dare you to broadcast it, I dare not watch.] “Caleb…” The girl in the cap spoke, her voice tearful. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t know the document he asked me to steal was so important. If I knew, I would never…” Caleb looked at the pair through the crowd, stunned for a moment. Ethan Zhou reacted like a cat whose tail was stepped on, stomping around and smashing things on the table. I looked down at the check. Well, now it’s definitely not enough. “You ran away just to see him, didn’t you!” “I looked for you all day, and you’re here meeting your old lover!” Ethan Zhou’s eyes were red, acting like a madman. I pulled Caleb back a step to avoid collateral damage. “Sir, you might be mistaken. Ah-Jing came to see me.” I took Caleb’s hand, took the cake from him, and chided, “Why buy this? The shop sells cakes.” Caleb stared at our joined hands, swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. We were together for six years. Countless days and nights. He was the type to ignite at a touch. I knew exactly what he was thinking without even trying. In this situation, and he’s still thinking about that. I threw his hand off, glared at him viciously, and found a seat. My legs were tired from standing. Caleb knew he was busted. Feeling guilty, he scrambled to find my hand again. “When I dropped off Coco, she said she wanted to see Daddy pick her up with a small cake after school. I bought it. Didn’t know your shop had them.” The girl in the cap watched us, moving her gaze to my face, inch by inch, as if memorizing every pore. She seemed to realize something, eyes widening in disbelief. “Caleb, you’ve fallen this low,” Ethan Zhou sneered, mocking Caleb to the extreme. He had worked hard to bring Caleb down; of course, he had to trample him a bit. “What?” Caleb’s face showed no embarrassment. Instead, he leaned his head on my shoulder naturally, raising an eyebrow at Ethan. “No woman wants you?” “Jealous again?” Caleb’s mouth. I always said he’d get beaten up one day because of it. Sure enough, as soon as the words left his mouth, Ethan’s rage spiked visibly. He strode forward, grabbing Caleb’s collar. I rushed to pull his hand away. In the struggle, someone elbowed me. I stumbled back, hitting my head on the corner of the wall. I felt liquid sliding down my forehead. The arguing turned into a sharp ringing in my ears, then the wail of sirens. I clutched the check tightly. The last thought before losing consciousness was: If I don’t make him pay until he loses his pants, my name isn’t Lola Gu. 4 The moment I opened my eyes and saw the person in front of me, I grabbed Caleb’s hand, trying to lift my head. But the dizziness was severe, so I lay back down helplessly. He knew me well. Immediately he said, “Already settled the compensation with Ethan Zhou. Don’t worry, I didn’t ask for little.” Hearing Caleb’s words, I let out a long breath and released his hand. Dense text floated before my eyes. [Not just ‘not little,’ it was a lion’s mouth opening wide! You asked for half his company right off the bat, could he agree?] [Finally, after back and forth, with the heroine’s persuasion, Ethan agreed to pay thirty million. Now not only is the villain’s debt cleared, they have twenty million left over.] [This gold-digger ex is really true to her character. Just woke up, doesn’t care if she’s okay, cares how much money he got.] [Am I the only one shipping them? The ex makes one move, and the villain knows exactly what she means.] [My elbow feels cold just watching. Gotta protect my funny bone; I don’t have thirty million.] I fingered the check Caleb handed me, trying to focus on the string of zeros. I know my own body. If not for extorting more money, I wouldn’t have bothered staying unconscious this long. But my heart felt empty, like I forgot something. Caleb went to pay the fees and came back with medicine. Seeing me like this, he chuckled. “Stop looking, the money won’t run away.” “Three stitches, mild concussion.” “Doctor said you can be discharged once you wake up. Keep the wound dry, avoid strenuous exercise and stimulation for a few days.” Three stitches? Concussion? Psychological or not, the wound started throbbing. Was Ethan’s elbow that strong? I looked at the check again, sighed, and squeezed the plush charm on my bag. “Hard. Life is hard.” Caleb was packing. I recovered a bit, fished my phone from under the pillow, and lit up the screen. Seeing the photo of Coco and me, maternal love returned, and I finally remembered what I forgot. My phone was on silent. During this time, Coco’s teacher had messaged and called countless times. By the time Caleb and I rushed to the kindergarten, it was dark. Only one yellow light remained in the hallway. The teacher held Coco’s hand, a hint of forced overtime resentment on her face. I shivered, explaining quickly, “Sorry, Teacher. I fell on the way and went to the hospital.” No need for kids to know adult grudges, so I lied. I handed the teacher the snacks I bought on the way, apologizing again. “Sorry, Teacher, haven’t eaten yet? Just some snacks, nothing expensive.” Seeing the gauze on my forehead, the teacher’s resentment faded. She refused the snacks. I forced them into her hand, claimed dizziness, and had Caleb help me away. Back home, my head was spinning. Caleb was busy making dinner. I leaned on the sofa, eyes closed, enduring the vertigo. Coco sat obediently beside me, massaging my hand. [Daughter is indeed mom’s little cotton jacket. The state really tries everything to boost birth rates.] [Baby, you are a fragrant, soft little cookie, born to be eaten by Auntie in one bite.] [Look, the villain is actually smiling?] [So warm. Next door the leads are arguing non-stop, heroine stormed out again. Two psychos.] [It’s over, the heroine took a taxi heading this way!] Sure enough, shortly after the comment, there was a knock. Caleb wiped his hands and opened the door. The heroine stood outside, tears falling like broken beads. Even I felt bad looking at her. Caleb froze for a second. The heroine seized the moment to throw herself into his arms. “Caleb, I regret it.” “I was wrong before. Will you forgive me?” “I’ll do whatever you say.” “Even if you lock me up, I won’t run anymore.” Coco tilted her head, blinking curiously. “Daddy, who is this sister? Why does she want you to lock her up?” Caleb’s eternally calm face finally cracked. He quickly bent down, holding Coco’s hand. “Coco, this isn’t a sister. This is one of Daddy’s former subordinates. She’s older than your mom. You should call her Auntie.” “Daddy locked her up because…” “Daddy paid her wages. She was locked up to work.” “Oh, so working means being locked up. Coco doesn’t want to work then.” Coco shrank back, looking wary. [Only those who have worked know the weight of that sentence.] [Dude, the kid asks and you actually answer? Speaking of which, the villain and heroine really seem like boss and subordinate, he never gave her a good face.] [Did you see the ex glare at Caleb? Hahahaha, I’m dying. Ex: I don’t even want to mention the sht you did.]* [I’m done. Villain is a straight male. Heroine’s face changed color.] [Godly ‘Not sister, Auntie’.] [Heroine cried all day, now tears frozen on her face due to that sentence. Speechless, hahahaha.] “Do you want to come in and sit?” I turned to look at the tiny living room. The only sofa was occupied by Coco and me. The heroine could only sit at the dining table. Caleb looked awkward. He pointed at me. “This is my Sugar Mommy, Lola Gu.” “This is my subordinate, Sarah Zhou.” “What is a Sugar Mommy, Daddy?” Coco pouted. The vocabulary today was all new to her. I sneered at Caleb, pulling Coco into my arms, describing in the healthiest language possible: “Sugar Mommy means Daddy owed money, Mommy gave Daddy money, so Mommy is called Sugar Mommy.” Coco thought for a moment, seeming to understand. “Then I want to be a Sugar Mommy too, give Daddy money.” Caleb was happy, showing his teeth in a grin. [Don’t corrupt the child! Coco, your dad is old and worthless. Come find Auntie, Auntie is still young!] [Upstairs, your abacus beads are hitting my face.] [Villain, what are you laughing at? Is this glorious?] “Do you have anything else? If not, our family is ready to eat.” Caleb stopped smiling, face tightening as he looked at Sarah Zhou. The speed of his face change was astounding. Before Sarah could speak, Caleb slammed the door shut. Bang. “Caleb, have some manners!” I glared at him. Caleb seemed unhappy that I scolded him. He ate dinner with a long face. Even washing dishes was loud. My head hurt too much to deal with him. He’s always been a dramatic young master. I wasn’t feeling well, so I told Caleb to stay with Coco while I slept on the sofa. My head was spinning at night, couldn’t sleep. Tossing and turning on the sofa was uncomfortable. Suddenly the bedroom door creaked. A tall figure tiptoed out and stopped in front of the sofa. Moonlight outlined him clearly. Caleb. He took off his shoes, squeezed onto the sofa, and pulled me into his arms. Two people squeezed on a tiny sofa. He pressed tight, I could almost feel his skin temperature. My thoughts drifted back to the day I brought him home… We… were on the sofa… So many years… He hasn’t lost his touch. I swallowed, feeling my body heat up. A chuckle sounded by my ear. His magnetic voice whispered, “You’re not well yet, don’t think about nonsense.” The heat rushed to my face. Humiliated at being exposed, I snapped, “What am I thinking?! You’re sticking to me, it’s hot!” Caleb hummed lightly, hugging me tighter. I pressed against his chest, rising and falling with his breath. “I thought wrong, Sugar Mommy.” “Punish me when you’re better.” Punish? My gulp was louder this time. [Let me in for two episodes!] [Quick, someone, lock me in a dark room.] [Done for. I feel like I prefer the villain over the male lead now.]

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In my daughter’s class group chat, a mother named Karen suddenly tagged me: “I heard you signed Lily up for a $10,000 summer camp?” “Are you crazy? Wasting my son’s money like that? That’s enough for my family’s living expenses for a whole year!” I was baffled. I replied directly: “Who are you? What business is it of yours?” She immediately sent a voice message: “I’m your daughter’s future mother-in-law. She’s going to marry my son.” “If you spend so recklessly on her now, how will they live in the future? You’re ruining my son’s life!” “Transfer all your family’s money to me for safekeeping right now! Immediately!” What a psycho. I gripped my phone and fired back: “I don’t even know you. My daughter is 5! If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll rip that mouth off your face.” 1 Seeing that I wasn’t giving her any face, Karen cursed even harder: “You cheap b*tch, I’m reminding you out of kindness and you curse at me?” “Unbelievable! Just thinking about being in-laws with someone like you makes me sick.” “I’m telling you, if you don’t teach Lily correct spending habits now, my son will dump her later.” Is she insane? What is she even talking about? I didn’t know her, but I knew her son, Kevin. He was the class bully. Every day, someone complained about him hitting or cursing at other kids. He even tried to pull girls’ pants down. Lily told me once he hugged her and kissed her face. I told her to stay away from him immediately. I thought only Kevin was weird, but it turns out his mother is even worse. She kept ranting in the group chat: “I’m warning you, all your family’s money belongs to my son in the future. You have no right to waste it!” “Cancel that $10,000 camp right now! Spending that much on a little girl is insane.” “Don’t you know my family doesn’t even turn on the AC to save money?” Idiot! I dismissed her as a lunatic and ignored her. But she kept DMing me: “I’m your in-law, accept my request!” I rejected it without hesitation. She tried again: “You can’t raise a child properly, I’ll help you. Accept!” I rejected again and blocked her. Left with no choice, she tagged me in the group again: “Why are you so stubborn? Send me your address right now. I’m coming over to discipline my daughter-in-law.” Before I could speak, other parents jumped in: “Kevin’s mom, what are you doing? The kids are in kindergarten. What’s this about in-laws and daughters-in-law?” “Exactly, it’s bizarre. They need you to educate their kid? Manage your own little devil first. Stop being a nuisance in the class!” “Seriously, how many complaints has he gotten? As a mother, you should reflect on yourself.” Seeing everyone against her, Karen exploded: “What do you idiots know? Last month my son kissed Lily’s face. She belongs to him now.” “What’s wrong with me disciplining and nurturing her in advance?” 2 Damn it! She was getting more ridiculous by the second. I privately messaged the teacher to kick her out. But it was summer break, and the teacher was busy. Karen went even crazier, constantly tagging me: “Location! Send me your location! I’m coming over right now to teach you a lesson.” “I’ll teach you how to save and spend money properly!” Other parents lined up to curse her: “Psycho, did you eat too many magic mushrooms?” “With your attitude, your son is destined to be single forever.” She ignored them and kept demanding my address: “Send the location now! I’m coming over to teach you correct values!” Fine! Since this crazy woman insists on provoking me, I won’t let her off easy. I have a huge German Shepherd at home. Why should I be afraid of her? She arrived fast. And she brought her son, Kevin. Through the surveillance camera, I saw the shock in their eyes as they stood at my gate. Karen excitedly told Kevin: “Son, you have great taste! You picked a super rich daughter-in-law for me!” “Look at this huge villa and garden. Must cost millions!” “Hahaha, good job, son! Mommy’s going to be a rich lady thanks to you!” What an idiot. Rich lady? She’s not even fit to be a rich family’s servant! The next second, she muttered to herself: “Wait, Lily goes to a public kindergarten with you. She can’t be the young miss here.” “Her mom must be a maid here. Damn, a maid’s daughter going on a $10,000 camp? So wasteful!” “I must teach her a lesson.” She shouted at the gate: “Lily! Come open the door for your boyfriend and mother-in-law!” “No manners at all! When your mother-in-law arrives, you should be kneeling to welcome her! Don’t you know?” “So rude! I’ll tell your boss and get your mom fired!” No one answered. I wanted to see how long they could stand in the 104°F heat. Sure enough, within two minutes, they were sweating buckets. Kevin whined for ice cream. Karen told him: “Don’t rush. Once we find your wife, you can have all the ice cream you want.” 3 She kept banging on the door, screaming: “Lily! Are you trying to kill us with heat?” “Let me tell you, my son is frail. If he gets heatstroke, you’ll be a widow forever!” I still ignored her. I signaled the bodyguard to bring out the German Shepherd. The dog panted, tongue lolling, staring at them like they were snacks. Kevin got scared: “Mom, let’s go! That dog is scary!” Karen was scared too, trembling, but she feigned courage and yelled at the bodyguard: “We are Lily’s in-laws, your maid’s family! Open the gate immediately! I need to go in and educate Lily!” The bodyguard, stone-faced, brought the dog closer. Karen stumbled back several steps: “Are you deaf? If you don’t let me in, call Lily and her maid mother out here!” The dog’s tongue was almost touching Karen’s face. Kevin screamed and ran away. Karen had no choice but to chase after him. Finally, peace. I thought she just had a moment of madness and it was over. Unexpectedly, half an hour later, she tagged me in the group again: “You b*tch, my son has a high fever from your boss’s dog! Bring Lily over to apologize immediately, and take my son to the villa to recover!” What kind of drugs is she on? Hilarious. I dismissed her as a psycho and put it out of my mind to avoid ruining my mood. But just as I was happily packing with my daughter for the camp, the teacher called: “Lily’s mom, are you cancelling Lily’s enrollment?” “Huh?” I was confused. “No, we didn’t cancel. We’re packing right now.” She sounded puzzled: “Oh, we got a call from Lily’s mother-in-law saying to cancel and refund the money.” “We thought since you paid, the refund should go to you, not the grandmother, so we called to confirm.” I laughed in anger. This “mother-in-law” must be Karen. The teachers didn’t know; they thought “mother-in-law” meant grandmother. She’s really something. Not only canceling but wanting the refund for herself? Is her brain filled with pig manure? 4 The camp went ahead as planned. Early in the morning, I took my daughter and luggage to the airport. Surprisingly, Karen and Kevin were there too. Karen looked at me and Lily unkindly. She spoke coldly to my daughter: “Lily, I’m your mother-in-law. When you see me, you should kneel and kowtow. Understand? That’s manners.” “If your mom won’t teach you, I will. Otherwise, you’re not qualified to marry my son.” Absolutely insane. I stepped in front of my daughter and slapped her hard: “If you can’t speak human, shut your mouth and be mute! Get lost!” Slapped by me, she widened her eyes: “You… you dare hit me? Who do you think you are?” One slap wasn’t enough. I gave her another one: “So what if I hit a psycho like you?” This enraged her. She lunged at me, claws out. But before she could reach me, the camp teacher pulled her away. The teacher said patiently: “Parent, let’s talk nicely. No violence please.” Karen exploded: “Talk nicely? No violence?” “Are you blind? Didn’t you see her hit me first? Didn’t you see her slap me twice?” “You biased b*tch! You’re garbage too!” She finished by slapping the teacher. The young teacher had never seen such a shrew. She covered her face, eyes red, tears falling. Karen put her hands on her hips and lectured her: “This is our family matter. Who asked you to interfere?” “You deserved it! Learn a lesson. Mind your own business!” The teacher, furious, called the police. Things just got more interesting!

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War broke out in the Republic of Yaran, but my fiancé threw a fit at the airport, refusing to let the evacuation flight take off. All to wait for his precious Jennie, the woman who’d taken advantage of the chaos to go loot a designer makeup counter. The roar of explosions crept closer and closer. With the entire plane in mortal danger, I had no choice but to knock him unconscious and drag him aboard. Back home, far from the war, we lived a quiet, happy life. I thought he had finally forgotten her. But on our wedding day, he tied me up, got in his car, and ran me down. As I lay dying, I heard his venomous laughter. “Lynn, this is all your fault. You killed my Jennie, left her to be blown to pieces by a missile! “She was just a girl who loved beautiful things! What was so wrong with that? “You owe her this. I’m going to make your death a thousand times more gruesome than hers!” When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that moment, with him blocking the jet bridge. This time, I would give him exactly what he wanted. I would let him and his beloved Jennie stay together… forever. 1 “The rebels are almost at the airport! If we don’t take off now, we’ll be trapped!” The sounds of gunfire and explosions were drawing nearer, punctuated by the terrified screams of the crowd. Inside the cabin, people were praying, begging. A few frantic men rushed toward my fiancé, Ethan, trying to reason with him. He kicked them away with a savage boot. He glared at anyone who dared approach. “Jennie is on her way! What’s the big deal about waiting for her?” A man with glasses, clutching his chest where Ethan had kicked him, scrambled back to his feet. “So we can all die with her? Is that the plan?!” he spat, his voice shaking with fury. “The evacuation window is closing! The rebels are coming! How long are we supposed to wait? Don’t you realize we have Dr. Finch on this plane?” He pointed toward a pale, white-haired old man sitting quietly nearby. Dr. Finch was a titan in the medical field, the core of this entire rescue mission. He’d come to Yaran on a humanitarian mission, and if anything happened to him, countless patients back home would lose their only hope. “So what? Your lives matter, but Jennie’s doesn’t?” Ethan shot back, his face a mask of cold fury. “We’re all fellow countrymen. We should stick together.” His words left everyone seething but speechless. My co-pilot, just as furious, turned to me. “Captain Miller, you have to talk to your fiancé! This evacuation involves every citizen in Yaran!” “They’re about to lock down the whole country! This is our only chance out!” “And Dr. Finch’s health can’t take any more risks!” In an instant, every eye in the cabin was on me. I was the captain of this flight, one of the leaders of the evacuation. They were all looking to me to restore order. Ethan’s head snapped toward me, a familiar, predatory glint in his eyes. He was afraid I would give the order to leave Jennie behind. For a split second, I saw a flash of pure murder in his gaze. I took a deep breath and made a decision completely different from my past life. “Ethan is right. We can’t abandon any of our own.” A wave of groans and frustrated hisses swept through the cabin. Ethan, however, visibly relaxed, a triumphant smirk spreading across his face. “Crazy! You’re all fucking crazy!” the man in glasses cursed, struggling to stand up again. Ethan’s expression twisted into a snarl. He lunged forward, decking the man with a single punch, then pulled a heavy hammer from an overhead maintenance locker. As the plane’s mechanic, he knew every inch of this aircraft. He slammed the hammer against the cabin wall for emphasis, his eyes sweeping over the passengers. “Anyone else have something to say? Don’t tempt me.” 2 The cabin fell silent. Only the escalating explosions outside served as a grim reminder of the approaching danger. Ethan scanned the cabin, satisfied by the fear in everyone’s eyes. He shot me a softer, almost gentle look. “Lynn, thank you for standing up for Jennie. I knew my fiancée was the kindest, most reasonable woman in the world.” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “For being so good, I promise, the moment we get home, we’ll get married. From now on, I’ll only ever be good to you.” How familiar that promise sounded. He’d used the exact same words to fool me in our last life. I fought back a wave of nausea and forced a shy nod. He placed a soft kiss on my forehead. I lowered my eyes, hiding the icy contempt within. Outside, the chaos intensified. Plumes of black smoke billowed in the distance, and the silhouettes of rebel armored vehicles were becoming visible. Yet Ethan remained planted at the cabin door, his gaze fixed on the tarmac as if awaiting his messiah. But I knew the truth. Even if Jennie made it, we would never reach home. When he’d struck the wall with that hammer, I’d heard a faint but distinct click from the wing’s assembly. I’d seen a case like it in a maintenance manual once. A screw, loosened by metal fatigue. At thirty thousand feet, the stress would be enough to tear the plane apart. And now, that screw was gone. Even if we took off this very second, this plane wouldn’t survive the climb. The atmosphere in the cabin grew thick with despair. Some passengers wept softly, while others gripped their armrests, their knuckles white. A few younger men glared at Ethan, held back only by the hammer in his hand. “Damn it, we’re all going to die if we keep waiting!” one man finally roared. Ethan sneered, slamming the hammer against the bulkhead again. “Then get off the plane if you don’t want to wait!” Just then, the sharp click-clack of high heels echoed from the tarmac. “Ethan! I’m here!” Jennie ran toward us, her cheeks flushed and her long hair flying behind her. She was laden with bulging designer shopping bags, her lips painted with fresh Chanel lipstick, her makeup as flawless as if she were heading to a gala. Ethan’s face lit up. He dropped the hammer and rushed to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Jennie! You made it!” Jennie playfully tapped his chest. “Phew, I almost didn’t! Good thing I’m a fast runner.” She proudly showed off her haul, her eyes scanning the cabin until they landed on me. A provocative smile touched her lips. Ethan followed her gaze. His expression tightened for a moment before softening again. “Lynn, Jennie’s here. We can take off now.” But the man in glasses exploded. “Are you kidding me? What the hell is with all those bags of designer makeup?” he yelled. “You made us risk our lives so she could steal more cosmetics?!” His accusation drew a chorus of angry glares. Ethan snatched the hammer from the floor and pointed it menacingly at him. “Say one more word, and I swear I’ll crack your skull open.” The cabin fell silent again, the only sound the ragged, furious breathing of the man in glasses. Jennie hid behind Ethan, flashing a triumphant smirk at the passengers and deliberately shaking her shopping bags. As they passed me, she leaned in close to Ethan’s chest and whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, “Thanks for waiting for me, Lynn.” I said nothing. I just watched the armed figures sprinting toward us from across the airfield. The moment the cabin door sealed shut, a burst of automatic gunfire erupted outside. “The rebels are here!” someone screamed. 3 A torrent of furious curses exploded through the cabin. “Are you happy now, Ethan?!” the man in glasses roared, pointing at the rebels swarming the runway outside the window. “We’re all going to die here because we had to wait for her!” A mother clutching her child began to sob. “My baby is only three… and for what? So she could loot some makeup…” Jennie’s eyes immediately filled with tears. She shrank into Ethan’s arms, her voice trembling. “It’s not my fault… I was just getting some things to donate to the orphans back home…” Ethan hugged her protectively. “Exactly. Jennie is the kindest person I know. How dare you blame her?” Chaos reigned. Some people were crying hysterically into their hands, others frantically texting loved ones. The shouts of the rebels and the sporadic crack of gunfire were now terrifyingly close. I looked at the panicked faces around me and lowered my voice. “The plane is too big a target. We have to move to the nearby bomb shelter.” The man in glasses asked desperately, “But how do we get out there? It’s swarming with rebels!” I pointed to the maintenance access hatch below the main ramp. “This leads directly to a service tunnel. It’s our way to the shelter.” I quickly unlatched the hatch. “Everyone, follow me. And stay quiet.” The passengers scrambled out, one by one. Only Jennie remained, looking at the dark opening with disgust. “It’s so dirty down there… My new dress…” Ethan immediately soothed her. “Don’t worry, Jennie. I’ll carry you.” I gave the pair a cold look before turning and leading the others into the tunnel. Behind me, I heard Dr. Finch’s weak cough. “Lynn, my old bones might not make it…” “Don’t worry, Doctor,” I said, helping him steady himself. “Your research is vital to our country. I will get you home safely.” The tunnel was damp and dark, the distant shouts of rebels echoing ominously. We moved in silence, holding our breath, until we finally reached the bomb shelter. “Wait here,” I whispered. “I’ve already contacted the military. They’ll be here within two hours.” A collective sigh of relief filled the room as people found places to sit. But just then, a thick, cloying cloud of perfume filled the enclosed space. “What’s that smell?” the man in glasses asked, his head snapping up. Jennie was spritzing herself liberally with a bottle of Chanel No. 5. “It stinks in here,” she whined. “What’s wrong with a little perfume?” Suddenly, Dr. Finch began to cough violently, his face turning deathly pale. “Stop… please, stop… I’m allergic…” I lunged forward and snatched the bottle from her, but it was too late. Dr. Finch was struggling to breathe, his lips already turning blue. “You idiot!” the man in glasses screamed. “If anything happens to Dr. Finch, you’ll be a traitor to the nation!” 4 Jennie cowered behind Ethan. “I didn’t know… Why is everyone always picking on me?” Ethan shielded her, roaring at the others, “She didn’t do it on purpose! Why are you all bullying her like this?” He ignored the crowd’s fury and guided Jennie to a corner. I had no time for them. I ordered everyone to help me search for allergy medication for the doctor. Just as I found the auto-injector in the first-aid kit and was about to hand it to Dr. Finch, I heard Jennie’s delicate voice. “Achoo… Ethan, I think… I think I’m having an allergic reaction too.” My head whipped around. Jennie was clutching her chest, her face pale, leaning against Ethan as if she were about to faint. “Jennie! What’s wrong?” Ethan cried, catching her in his arms. He turned and yelled at me, “Get the medicine over here! Jennie can’t breathe!” Dr. Finch was now on the verge of collapse, his fingers clawing at his chest. “No!” I refused sharply, moving toward the doctor. “This is Dr. Finch’s life-saving medication!” But Ethan lunged, snatching the injector from my hand. The force of his shove sent me staggering back against the wall. I stared at him in disbelief. “He’s going into anaphylactic shock! You know he’s the primary objective of this evacuation!” Ethan hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shoved the injector into Jennie’s hand. “He’s an old man, he was going to die soon anyway,” he sneered. “Is his life more precious than Jennie’s?” The shelter erupted in shocked gasps. The man in glasses was the first to react. “Ethan! Dr. Finch is a national treasure! You’re sacrificing him for some makeup-stealing whore—” “Shut up!” Ethan swung the hammer, knocking the man to the ground. He glared at the horrified onlookers. “Anyone else comes near, and I’ll kill them!” Leaning weakly against the wall, Jennie shot me a triumphant smirk. She took the injector and, with Ethan holding a water bottle for her, calmly administered the dose. By now, Dr. Finch had collapsed, his face a ghastly shade of purple, a terrible wheezing sound rattling in his throat. The man in glasses scrambled to his side, shouting at me, “Captain! Do something!” I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. It was just like my past life. Ethan always put Jennie first, no matter who else had to die. My phone vibrated softly in my pocket. I glanced at the screen, and the tension in my face eased slightly. I leaned toward the man in glasses and whispered, “Don’t worry. Help is on the way.” The very first thing I did after being reborn was send an emergency distress signal to the military. As if on cue, the sound of heavy footsteps and metallic clanking echoed from outside the shelter door. “It’s the army!” the man in glasses exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. “We’re saved!” Blinding beams of light cut through the darkness as fully armed special forces soldiers secured the entrance. The lead officer removed his night-vision goggles, his sharp eyes scanning the room. “Where is Dr. Finch? My orders are to prioritize his evacuation.” Every head turned toward the corner where the old man lay, barely breathing. The officer’s face contorted in fury. He was at Dr. Finch’s side in an instant. “Doctor!” he roared, his voice echoing in the silent shelter. “Who did this?!”

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On my first day of school, I accidentally crossed the Queen Bee of the sophomore class. She threatened to sick her “bad boy” boyfriend on me. Sure enough, the school’s notorious delinquent strutted over with a walk that screamed “I own this place.” But when he saw me, he froze and shouted in disbelief: “Sis?” I smirked coldly and proceeded to give him a lesson filled with “love and care.” The Queen Bee watched, trembling, and stuttered: “Sis, since you hit him, you can’t hit me too, right?” 1 “Which class are you in?” The girl blocking my path wasn’t wearing her uniform properly. She had streaks of red dyed into her hair and radiated “Queen Bee” energy. Her tone was arrogant. “Do you know who I am?” I shook my head honestly. “You don’t know who I am, and you dare block me? Haven’t you heard of Bella from the high school division?” I shook my head again. “I’m new.” “Oh, a transfer student,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Then my skipping class is none of your business. Get lost, or I’ll make you regret it!” Five minutes ago, I was walking by the school fence when I saw a student trying to climb over. I called her down. “According to school rules, truancy is prohibited,” I said calmly. “I suggest you go back to your classroom.” Bella, as she called herself, sneered at me. “Fine, want to play hero? You might not know me, but you’ve heard of my boyfriend, right? Carter. He’s famous even outside of school. Want me to call him over to deal with you?” Boyfriend. Puppy love? I crossed my arms. “Go ahead. Call him.” Provoked by the challenge in my eyes, she pulled out her phone and dialed. “Babe…” I didn’t hear what was said on the other end, but she hung up quickly, looking even more smug. “You just wait!” I checked the time. I could wait. A few minutes later, a group of boys marched aggressively toward us. I squinted. The leader wasn’t wearing a uniform, and his build looked familiar. Bella sneered. “It’s not too late to apologize. My boyfriend isn’t as nice as I am.” “Really?” I replied coolly. “I’d love to see how ‘not nice’ he is.” As the group got closer, I finally saw the leader’s face clearly. The corner of my mouth twitched uncontrollably. The leader, oozing “Big Brother” energy, strutted toward his girlfriend without glancing at anyone else. He barked dominantly, “You okay? Who’s the blind idiot messing with my girl at North High…” He looked up at the “blind idiot”—me. His voice cracked mid-sentence. “Sis?” That single syllable stunned his entire entourage. I smiled—a smile that promised pain. “Carter, you’ve really made something of yourself. Boss of the school now, huh?” The school bully took a sharp step back. Too late. I threw the uniform jacket I’d brought for him right into his face. In two steps, I grabbed his ear and slapped his forehead. Not hard enough to cause brain damage, but enough to rattle his brain cells. “Who taught you to act like a king at school?” “Carter? Bullying classmates now, are we?” “And ‘your girl’? Not even eighteen and playing house? I ought to beat you…” “…” I gave Carter a thorough education filled with “love and care.” He scurried around like a rat, covering his head. “Sis! Sis! It’s school! Give me some face!” 2 As the eldest child, I have a natural bloodline suppression over Carter. When he was a toddler causing trouble, my parents were too soft to discipline him. I wasn’t. Won’t eat dinner? Smack. Disrespecting Mom and Dad? Smack. Stealing my stuff? Smack. Causing trouble outside? Smack. Addicted to video games? Smack. My parents realized my “gentle taps” were effective and let me handle it. I molded him into a good kid. Carter has always been simple-minded and not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. A beating followed by a piece of candy usually set him straight. He holds no grudges as long as he gets fed. Such a good kid. How did he turn into this? Carter couldn’t escape. Since I realized my little brother would eventually outgrow me, I started taking martial arts classes. Cornered, he looked to his minions and girlfriend for help. However, the girl who was just playing the tough Queen Bee now had eyes clear of any rebellion. I looked at Carter’s little girlfriend. She shuddered visibly. “Sis,” she stammered, “since you hit him, you can’t hit me too, right?” “…” The warning bell rang, saving Carter’s life. He screamed, “Sis! Class is starting! I need to go to class!” The desperation in his voice suggested a newfound, intense passion for education. I smiled gently. “Didn’t you want to skip class just now?” From Bella’s phone call, I knew they were planning to skip together. “No, no! Sis, I’m going back to class!” I let him go and nodded. “Fine. Go back to class, all of you.” Carter and the others looked like they’d been granted amnesty and sprinted toward the academic building. However, after a few steps, they realized I was following them. “Sis, why are you following us?” Carter whispered. “I promise I’m going back to class.” I smiled. “It’s fine. It’s on my way. I’ll walk you to your classroom.” Carter didn’t think too deeply about my words. He just muttered for me to go home. I hadn’t been home in a while, so Carter clearly didn’t care enough about his sister’s life updates. He probably thought Mom sent me just to deliver his jacket. The group of students, who looked like a teacher’s nightmare, walked ahead like obedient little ducklings. Finally, under my gaze, they walked into the classroom marked Sophomore Class 9. The bell had rung, but the room was chaotic because the teacher hadn’t arrived yet. I raised an eyebrow at the sign on the doorframe. “Sis, I’m here. You can go back now,” my dear brother whispered, eager to escape my clutches. I tilted my chin. “You go in first.” Carter went in. I waited outside for another ten seconds, then, under the gaze of everyone, walked into the noisy classroom. And stepped onto the podium. The class went quiet for a second. The students who had just seen me outside stared with wide eyes. “Hello everyone, let me introduce myself,” I said, my voice steady and projecting without a microphone. “I am your homeroom teacher for this year, Ms. Shen. I’ll also be teaching you Physics. Nice to meet you all.” As my words fell, I met the despairing eyes of my brother and his little girlfriend. 3 I am nine years older than Carter. Because of the bloodline suppression, when I went to college, my third-grade brother was still a well-behaved baby in my eyes. After I graduated and went to grad school, I visited home less. Carter finished elementary school and started middle school. I heard my parents complain about his rebellious phase over the phone. I thought it was just normal teenage angst. Who knew I’d come back to find a full-blown delinquent? Where did my sweet, soft cupcake of a brother go? The first period was basically homeroom. I got to know everyone’s names. To them, I was just reading a list. When the bell rang, I walked slowly to Carter and Bella’s desks. Bella, the girl I stopped from climbing the wall, and my brother’s puppy love interest. They sat across the aisle from each other. I tapped their desks. “Phones. Out.” North High rules: No electronics on campus without special permission. They both looked devastated as they pulled their phones from their desks. “Come to my office during the long break.” The next period was also mine. Physics. It had been a while since I taught basic physics. Class 9 wasn’t the top tier, nor the bottom. Just average. The first lesson was foundational and simple. Most of them listened, especially my brother, who was terrified I’d catch him spacing out. After class, I went straight to the office with the confiscated phones. When the long break finally arrived, Carter and Bella appeared at the office door, dragging their feet. “Sis, why are you teaching at our school? Why didn’t I know?” Carter finally burst out. Of course he didn’t know. I only told our parents I was moving back to town. Last night when I visited, I mentioned getting a job at my alma mater, but Carter was gaming with headphones on. This morning, Mom noticed he left without his jacket and asked me to bring it. She didn’t mention his class, just told me to text him. I kept my face neutral. “Call me Ms. Shen at school.” “Oh. Ms. Shen.” Carter hung his head obediently. “Truancy, dating, phones, forming cliques…” I listed their crimes, then looked at my brother. “Carter, what else don’t I know?” “And you, Bella. You two are a pair. You think Carter is reliable? At your age, you should be focused on grades and dreams, not romance and gang loyalty.” My brother: “…” “Sis… Teacher, I was wrong. Please let us off this once. I promise it won’t happen again.” Carter tugged at my sleeve, begging quietly. I’ve only been working for two years and haven’t dealt with students like this much, but I know a student’s promise is worth less than sand in the wind. “I’m calling your parents tonight.” Both of their faces changed. “Teacher, aren’t you… my parent?” 4 I didn’t look up. “Call your Mom and Dad.” “Bella, is the contact in your file your father or mother?” I asked the silent girl. She didn’t look as arrogant as this morning, but there was still a stubborn set to her jaw. “It’s my dad’s secretary.” I didn’t overthink it. “Give me your father or mother’s direct number. I’ll talk to them.” She went silent. Cosplaying a mute. “…” I rubbed my temples. I knew I wasn’t cut out to be a homeroom teacher. Carter whispered helpfully, “Teacher, Bella’s mom died two years ago. Her dad remarried and ignores her now.” I paused. Family issues weren’t something a teacher could solve easily. “Bella, give me your father’s number first.” As a homeroom teacher, I had to try communicating. She finally spoke. “I don’t have it. We fought, I blocked him, didn’t memorize it.” “…” Compared to my brother, the prick, this girl had way more issues to unpack. A twenty-minute break wasn’t enough to solve this. I sent them back to class. I tried contacting the secretary Bella mentioned. The secretary politely informed me that Mr. Cheng was in a meeting and would get back to me. I waited two hours. The secretary called back, saying Mr. Cheng didn’t have time to come to the school, but provided his direct line. I called. A middle-aged man answered, sounding annoyed. “What trouble did that ungrateful girl cause now?” “Not trouble exactly. If you’re free, could you come to the school? I’d like to discuss Bella’s situation.” Before I finished, a baby started crying in the background. A woman’s voice cooed, “Honey, the baby is crying again, is he sick…” Chaos ensued on the other end. Then the man said, “If she caused trouble, punish her according to school rules. I don’t have time for her.” Click. He hung up. “…” I regretted taking this job. I grabbed my textbook and headed to another building. There were only about twenty students in the room. I stood at the podium. “Welcome, freshmen, to the Physics Olympiad Class.” Physics Olympiad Coach. That was my real job. A few days before school started, the original homeroom teacher for Class 9 (who also taught physics) had a medical emergency regarding her pregnancy. She took a long leave. The school scrambled to find a replacement. Her other class was covered by a senior teacher, but Class 9 was left hanging. The administration asked if I could cover it. Since the freshmen Olympiad team wasn’t competing this year, I had the time, so I took it. I didn’t know Carter was in that class. Looking at the fresh faces in the Olympiad class, I felt nostalgic. Ten years ago, I was sitting there, listening to my coach ramble. Throughout the year, some would drop out, some would join. The road to the Olympiad is long and hard.

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During our summer vacation, my little sister sneaked into a beat-up cargo van. I pretended I didn’t see a thing and turned my back. In my past life, I stopped her. And for that, she hated me for decades. On my daughter’s first birthday, she laced her formula with a lethal dose of rat poison. Watching my baby cough up blood, she laughed like a maniac. “Remember this? You caused this!” she screamed. “You ruined my life, so I’m going to make sure you suffer for the rest of yours!” “Why did you stop me from getting in that van?!” I tried to fight her, but she stabbed me until I was paralyzed. I spent years rotting in a hospital bed, a vegetable, until I finally flatlined. When I opened my eyes again, I was back there. The parking lot. The heat. And my sister, sneaking toward the van. 1 I opened my eyes and stared right at Chloe’s back as she nervously looked around. I squinted, a tidal wave of hatred crashing over me. A black panel van rolled up to the curb. She knocked on the door three times—a signal. Two men slid the door open and yanked her inside. In my last life, I thought she was being kidnapped. I screamed, rallied a crowd, and dragged her back from the edge of hell. I was too frantic back then to notice the look on her face. It wasn’t fear. It was annoyance. Chloe hated me for forty years. Not only did she murder my daughter, but she also spent years poisoning my food, wrecking my body before she finally put me in that coma. While I lay paralyzed, she would come to my bedside daily to curse me out. She’d brag about her wealthy husband, her perfect life, her adorable daughter. Every year, she’d bring her kid to celebrate her birthday right in front of my dying body. Five years of torture later, I died of sheer rage. It wasn’t until the bitter end that I realized why Chloe was so desperate to get in that van. It was her “Main Character Ascension Plan.” Since she was a toddler, Chloe believed she was special. The “Chosen One.” She was convinced she didn’t belong in our middle-class family, that she was a lost princess switched at birth. As she grew older and started looking exactly like Dad, she had to accept biology. But she hatched a new plan. If you’re born in the wrong house, you can just switch houses, right? The men in the van were traffickers. Chloe had contacted them herself. She volunteered to be kidnapped. Her only condition? “Sell me to a billionaire’s family.” The traffickers, obviously, said yes. Today was the execution day. In her twisted mind, I destroyed her destiny. I blocked her path to becoming a heiress. Watching the taillights of the van fade into the distance, I smirked and melted back into the crowd of tourists. This time, sister dear, go chase the life you think you deserve. I can’t wait to see where they actually take you. 2 Ten minutes later, Chloe still hadn’t come back from the “bathroom.” Mom and Dad started getting antsy. They checked the restrooms. Empty. Their faces went pale. Twenty minutes later, we’d scoured the entire tourist trap. No Chloe. Mom nearly fainted. Dad called the cops. Thirty years ago, security cameras were trash. They only saw Chloe walk toward the bathrooms and never come out. Only I knew she’d climbed out the bathroom window, circled back to the blind spot by the service exit, and hopped into the van. We searched until sunset. Nothing. Mom passed out twice. Dad chain-smoked a whole pack, his hands shaking. “It’s my fault! Why didn’t I watch her?!” Dad sobbed, face buried in his hands. “Summer, Daddy lost your sister.” We stayed in that town for half a month. My parents were eating themselves alive with guilt. They both ended up hospitalized from stress. I watched them wither away and broke into a cold sweat. This wasn’t part of the plan. I couldn’t let that monster ruin us from afar. That night, I walked up to my parents’ hospital beds, tears streaming down my face. “Mom, Dad…” I choked out. Mom pulled me into a hug, wiping my tears. “Baby, do you miss Chloe? Are you blaming Mommy for losing her?” I shook my head violently and buried my face in her chest. “I lost my sister. I can’t lose you guys too.” “I’m so scared. Please don’t leave me alone. Mom, Dad, you have to get better!” It was like a bucket of ice water hit them. They realized they didn’t just have Chloe. They still had me, their eight-year-old daughter who needed them. The next day, they pulled themselves together. Three days later, we went home. They stopped blaming themselves in front of me. To make up for the loss, they poured double the love into me. Dad threw himself into his work to distract from the pain. He caught the wave of the tech boom. His small factory became a massive corporation. We moved from a cramped apartment to a sprawling estate in the hills. I became the sole heiress of the Joestar family. I was thirteen. Lying in my king-sized bed, I laughed out loud. I wondered what kind of “billionaire life” Chloe was living. If she knew we were filthy rich now, what kind of face would she make? The family she tried to escape was the very “wealthy dynasty” she dreamed of. In the last life, because she came back, my parents stayed middle-class workers. We lived ordinary lives. I smoothed the silk of my designer dress. Turns out, Chloe was the curse on this family. Without her, we soared. Because of how weak I was in my last life, I started training. Kickboxing, swimming, Pilates. I studied nutrition and medicine. I also hit the books hard. My parents, seeing me work so hard, were heartbroken. “Summer, we have enough money. You don’t need to push yourself. We just want you happy.” I flashed a sharp, toothy grin. “Mom, I am happy.” 3 Dad never stopped looking for Chloe, even while building his empire. He spent a fortune on missing person ads and offered a massive bounty. $5,000 for a lead. $2 million for finding her. Scammers lined up around the block. Dad didn’t care. He was practically giving money away, earning the nickname “The ATM.” Two years passed. Nothing. Mom was getting frustrated. “It’s all fake! Just people trying to swindle us!” Just as they were about to give up, a bald man showed up. I recognized him instantly. He was the driver of the van. Ten years hadn’t changed his sketchy, rat-like face. He licked his lips. “Mr. Joestar, I think I know where your girl is.” Dad waved him on. He’d heard it all before. “I saw a girl looking like her in B-City. But she was taken so young, I ain’t sure.” “I can go check. If I find her, I’ll let you know. But about the cash…” Dad sighed, barely listening. “Like I said. You find her, you get the two million.” Baldy rubbed his hands together, took the five grand “finder’s fee,” and left. My parents didn’t have much hope. B-City was 2,000 miles away. But I knew. Baldy wasn’t lying. He knew exactly where she was because he sold her there. But did he think he was getting that two million? In his dreams. I hired a private investigator immediately. “Find a girl named Chloe in B-City. You have one week.” Three days later, I got the photos. I laughed until my sides hurt. Oh, Chloe. Is this the high life you sold your soul for? 4 In the photos, Chloe was scrubbing toilets in a greasy diner, wearing rags. In another, she was sitting at a dinner table, eating watery porridge while a little boy across from her devoured a whole roast chicken. The PI told me the details: The couple who bought her couldn’t conceive. They wanted a son but couldn’t afford one, so they bought a girl cheap. Two years later, they miraculously had a biological son. Chloe became the live-in maid. She dropped out of school years ago. The “parents”—the Millers—forced her to work. Then the PI hesitated. “Miss Summer, there’s… something else.” “Spit it out.” “The second daughter… she has a boyfriend.” A boyfriend? Normal for an 18-year-old. But then I saw the photo. It was a wrinkly, toothless man in his sixties. The PI explained they often hooked up in the back of the diner after hours. The old guy, Gary, had a bit of money and bought her things. I paid the PI double to keep his mouth shut. Baldy was already on his way to B-City. The reunion was inevitable. That night, I put in eye drops to make my eyes red and puffy. Mom saw me and panicked. “Summer! Baby, who hurt you?” I bit my lip and slid the photos across the marble table. “Mom, Dad… I found her. I found Chloe. She’s… she’s suffering so much.” I withheld the photos of her and Old Man Gary. My parents took one look at Chloe scrubbing toilets and broke down. Mom wailed. “It’s our fault! We failed her!” They decided to drive to B-City immediately. As I stood up, I “accidentally” knocked the photo of Chloe and Gary onto the floor. “Oh no!” I scrambled to grab it, making sure they saw it clearly. “Mom, Dad, wait—Chloe must have a reason! Life is hard, maybe she had no choice!” My dad’s face turned purple. In the photo, Chloe was hanging off the old man, laughing with genuine delight. Mom pursed her lips. I hid the photo behind my back. “Don’t judge her! Maybe… maybe he’s a nice grandpa figure?” Dad slammed his chopsticks down. “We leave at dawn!” The guilt was still there, but now, it was mixed with shame. I went back to my room and smirked at the photo. Showtime.

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A year after my breakup with Nathan, we ran into each other at a maternity shop. He was standing in the formula aisle. When he looked up and saw me, a flash of panic crossed his eyes. “I’m buying formula for my son,” he said, his voice a little strained. “He’s six months old.” “Congratulations,” I replied softly. He seemed taken aback. “You don’t hate me?” How could I not? But in that moment, as I felt the flutter of life in my own womb, the absurdity of my past self became painfully clear. A year ago, he had left me for another woman’s pregnancy test, and I had pathetically prayed that I, too, could get pregnant just to keep him. All that soul-crushing desperation, the feeling that he was the only one for me, now seemed like nothing more than a self-indulgent obsession. “It’s all in the past.” 01 After I spoke, I turned to leave. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. “Thea, wait…” I glanced down at his hand, then gently pulled mine free. “Is there something you need?” “It’s been a long time. Do you want to grab a coffee?” He pointed to the corner café just outside the shop, his tone tentative. “It’s right there. Still the same one you used to love.” He remembered. I could spend an entire afternoon sipping cappuccinos at that café, watching the shadows of the sycamore trees from the window seat. We had spent countless weekends there—me reading, him working, occasionally looking up to share a smile that would last for ages. But that was a long time ago. So long it felt like another lifetime. “No, thank you.” I said it quietly and turned toward the checkout counter. Nathan quickly fell into step beside me, a note of urgency in his voice. “Thea, you’re still mad at me, aren’t you?” “No.” He stopped. “Then why…” “There’s just no need.” I cut him off, enunciating each word with calm precision. “Nathan, there’s nothing left for us to say.” His expression shifted, his lips parting as if to argue, but I didn’t give him the chance. I walked past him to the register. The cashier smiled as she took my basket and began scanning the items with practiced efficiency. Prenatal vitamins, maternity formula… Nathan stood a short distance away, his gaze fixed on the pregnancy products piling up on the counter, his brow furrowing deeper with each item. By the time I left the shop, the sky had darkened. The clouds hung low and heavy, the air thick with the oppressive heat that comes before a storm. I pulled out my phone to call a car, but the screen lit up before I could. “Honey, it’s about to rain. Where are you? I’ll come get you.” His voice was full of warmth and concern, an undisguised affection that made the corners of my mouth lift into a smile. “I’m at the maternity shop on South Street.” “Stay put. Don’t wander off. I’ll be there in five.” “Okay.” Just as I hung up, a black Mercedes pulled up to the curb. Nathan got out and walked over to me. “Let me give you a ride.” I shook my head. “That’s okay. My husband is coming to pick me up.” The moment the word “husband” left my lips, Nathan’s pupils contracted. He stared at me for a few seconds before forcing a complicated smile. “You’re still trying to get back at me.” His voice was filled with absolute certainty. He thought I was using a fictional “husband” to make him jealous. He thought I couldn’t let him go. He thought… I didn’t bother to explain. I just looked at him calmly. “You’re overthinking it, Nathan.” He acted as if he hadn’t heard me, continuing his own monologue. “Thea, there shouldn’t be this much distance between us.” Distance? I almost laughed out loud. Who was it that threw a fake marriage certificate in my face and told me coldly, “We were never legally married”? Who was it that signed the papers to have me committed to a psychiatric hospital when I was at my breaking point? And who was it that, when I needed him most, chose Ava and the child in her womb? And now he was saying there shouldn’t be distance? “Nathan.” I looked at him, my voice soft but every word sharp. “Do you know what creates distance?” He stared at me, confused. “Distance is for people who still have feelings left to protect.” I offered a small, empty smile. “But between you and me, there are no feelings left.” “So it isn’t about distance, and it isn’t about forgiveness.” “We’re just strangers.” 02 A year ago, I cut a business trip short to surprise Nathan. Instead, I walked into a scene that would haunt my nightmares. In the living room, Nathan’s hand rested gently on the swollen belly of another woman. It was Ava. My sister. Both sets of our parents were there. “Ava is already five months along,” Nathan’s mother said, her tone laced with reproach. “When are you going to give her and the baby the legitimacy they deserve?” Ava quickly shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. “Please, Mrs. Cole, don’t pressure Nate…” She bit her lip, her voice catching in a sob. “I just wanted to give him a child. He still loves Thea the most.” Nathan’s mother sighed, patting her hand. “You’re too kind, dear.” My own mother echoed the sigh. “But a child needs a proper name, a proper family.” She looked at Nathan’s father. “What do you think we should do?” He was silent for a moment before turning to Nathan. “What are your plans for Thea?” I held my breath, waiting for his answer. “We’ll keep it from her for now.” “We’ll tell her after the baby is born.” In that instant, the keys slipped from my hand and clattered onto the floor. Every head in the room snapped toward the doorway. Toward me. The color drained from Nathan’s face. “Thea? What are you… You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.” Ava stood up, starting toward me. “Sister, let me explain…” “Explain what?” My eyes were glued to her stomach, the prominent, taunting curve of it. “Explain that you’re carrying his child?” Tears streamed down Ava’s face. “Sister, I’m so sorry, I never wanted this, but…” I walked over to her and slapped her, hard. The sound echoed in the silent room. Ava cupped her cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief. Nathan’s mother shot to her feet, shielding Ava. “Thea! Have you lost your mind?” “She’s pregnant! What if you hurt the baby?” I started to laugh. A broken, hysterical laugh that brought tears to my eyes. “I’ve lost my mind?” I pointed at myself, then at them. “Yes, I must be crazy to have let all of you fool me for so long!” Nathan reached for me. “Thea, calm down, let me explain…” “Don’t touch me!” I shoved his hand away with a strength that surprised even me. “Nathan, what right do you have to touch me?” He froze, his hand suspended in mid-air. I looked at him, the tears finally breaking free. “How long were you going to hide it? Until she gave birth? Until the baby had his name on the birth certificate?” Nathan’s lips moved, but no words came out. His mother stepped forward, her face a mask of disapproval. “Thea, have you made enough of a scene?” “You can’t have children. Is the Cole family line supposed to end with you?” “Ava was kind enough to help you, and this is how you repay her?” But I was the one who couldn’t have children because I had saved his life. 03 The day Nathan got his driver’s license, he was as giddy as a child. “Thea, I’m taking you for a drive!” He grabbed my hand, his eyes shining with excitement. I laughed and agreed. The entire drive, he talked about our future. Then, a truck lost control and came hurtling toward us. It was loaded with steel rebar. I saw it getting closer and closer. There was no time to think. On pure instinct, I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw myself in front of Nathan, shielding him with my body. The rebar pierced through me. Pain. So much pain I couldn’t even breathe. Nathan’s face was covered in blood. My blood. His mouth was moving, shouting something, but I couldn’t hear him. I could only see his tears, falling one by one. All I could think was, Thank god. Thank god Nathan is okay. The surgery was a success. But the doctor’s face was grim as he looked at my chart. “Her uterus is severely damaged. The chances of a natural conception are less than five percent.” In that moment, I saw the expression on his mother’s face change. She quickly pulled Nathan out of the room. Lying in my hospital bed, I could hear their argument in the hallway. “What are we going to do…” “The Cole family can’t be without an heir…” His father’s voice was calm. “Ava is the family’s biological daughter. She and Nathan are a much better match, really.” “Enough!” Nathan’s voice cut them off. He burst back into the room and came to my bedside, taking my hand. “I told you, I’m only marrying Thea.” His hand was warm, almost feverish, his eyes red-rimmed. His mother followed him in. “Nathan! You can’t…” He cut her off, his voice resolute. “Mom, Thea took that hit for me.” “Without her, I’d be the one lying in this bed.” “I won’t marry anyone else.” He looked at me, his eyes full of conviction. “Thea, as soon as you’re better, we’ll get married, okay?” I nodded, tears streaming down my face. Back then, I thought he truly loved me. I didn’t know it was all just part of a long deception. I should have seen the signs. The day I was discharged from the hospital, Ava moved into their house under the pretext of taking care of me. She learned to cook Nathan’s favorite dishes better than I could. She learned to brew his father’s favorite tea more skillfully than I could. She even learned to play mahjong with his mother, a game I didn’t even know the rules to. His mother was always praising her. “Ava is such a wonderful girl.” And my own parents would always say, “Thank goodness we found Ava again. What would this family do without her?” In that house, I was the outsider. 04 My eyes were red as I screamed, my voice raw. “I will never acknowledge that child!” “I will make sure that child is forever known as a bastard!” Nathan stood there, his eyes fixed on me. “Thea, he’s not a bastard.” I froze. “What do you mean?” “We have a marriage certificate. Ava is the mistress, which makes the child a bastard…” “The ceremony three years ago was a sham,” Nathan interrupted. “The officiant was an actor I hired.” “Our marriage certificate… it’s fake.” My mind went blank. The photos, the official-looking seal, the signatures… All fake? “That’s impossible.” I whispered, “We were… we…” Nathan looked at me, his expression unreadable. “You won’t find our names in any official registry.” His mother approached, her voice dripping with false sympathy. “Thea, don’t blame us.” “This is for the good of both families.” “Look, now Ava is having a baby. The Cole family has an heir. Isn’t that wonderful?” Ava hid behind Nathan, whispering, “Sister, I know you’re hurting.” “But Nate needs a child.” “I didn’t have a choice.” As she spoke, fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, making her look like the victim whose happiness I was trying to destroy. My parents stood to the side, silent. I could see a flicker of guilt in their eyes. But in the end, they chose silence. Because Ava was their biological daughter. And I was just the one they had adopted. “Fake.” I mumbled the word, my voice growing louder. “It was all fake, all of it…” Nathan reached out to steady me, and I shrieked. “Don’t touch me!” Like a madwoman, I started grabbing anything I could find and hurling it at him. Vases, picture frames, teacups… Anything within reach became a projectile. Ava cowered behind him, watching me with terror in her eyes. His mother frowned in disgust. “Has she gone completely insane?” Insane? Maybe. Maybe I really was insane. How else could I have been foolish enough to believe him for three years? How else could I have believed I actually had a family? Nathan lunged forward and wrapped his arms around me. The next day, I was admitted to Spring Mountain Psychiatric Hospital. At first, he would visit. Then, his visits became less and less frequent. During that time, I even started to hallucinate. I kept thinking I had a child. Maybe if I had a child, I could pathetically hold on to Nathan. My phone buzzed, pulling me from the memory. A message from my doctor with my latest ultrasound report. 8 weeks gestation, fetal development is normal. I smiled and saved the report. It reminded me of how I once carefully saved a marriage certificate. A certificate that turned out to be a lie. But this report was real. My marriage is real. And the baby in my womb is real. The doctor’s “less than 5% chance” had become a reality. It wasn’t a miracle. It was Wyatt. He found the best traditional medicine specialists in the country, and for a year, they painstakingly helped me heal. It was Wyatt who spent a whole year convincing me that I could still have a complete life. “Thea.” Nathan opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a black Maybach glided to a stop beside us. The door opened, and Wyatt stepped out. He walked straight to me, pulling me behind him and shielding me from Nathan’s gaze with his own body. “Mr. Cole,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “Please stay away from my wife.”

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The fresh grad I’d been mentoring for three months suddenly looked up from her phone and asked, “Sarah, is the company withholding your paycheck or something?” “What do you mean?” I asked, pausing my typing. “I just saw my pay stub. I’m making $140k base, but the internal sheet says you’re at $110k. That has to be a payroll glitch, right?” She looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, completely unaware that she had just committed a murder. Starting that day, I began quietly messaging every veteran employee in my department. One month later, when twenty-three of us handed in our resignation letters simultaneously… The CEO finally realized who was actually keeping his ship afloat. Chapter 1 “Sarah, you must be pulling in, what, like $160k? My $140k barely covers rent in the Bay Area these days.” The straw in my iced oat milk latte froze halfway to my mouth. The boba pearls clinked softly against the plastic cup. Across from me, Brittany, the new hire, blinked her doe eyes, waiting for validation. $140k? My salary was $110k. I had been grinding at this “Internet Giant” for three years. $110k. “You… how much did you say?” I tried to keep my voice steady. “140,” Brittany said, nodding matter-of-factly as she chewed on a pearl. “HR told me that for someone with an overseas Master’s, that’s just the starting market rate.” She sighed, a humble-brag dripping from her lips. “Ugh, but San Francisco is so expensive. My studio apartment in SoMa alone eats up nearly four grand a month.” I set my drink down. Suddenly, the sugar rush felt like acid reflux. Three years ago, I graduated from a top state university with honors and fought tooth and nail to get into this company. Starting salary: $85k. I was the first one in, the last one out. I put out fires. I trained newbies. My direct supervisor, Director Miller, always praised me as “reliable” and “the backbone of the team.” Whenever colleagues hit a wall, their first instinct was always: “Ask Sarah.” Three years of blood, sweat, and tears for a $25k bump. And sitting across from me was Brittany. She’d been here a week. She barely knew how to log into the VPN. And she was making $30k more than me. “Sarah, you okay?” Brittany asked, feigning concern. “Is the latte bad? We can try that viral spot next time.” I shook my head, forcing a smile. “No, it’s fine. I just remembered I have a sync meeting later.” “Oh, you work too hard,” Brittany waved her hand dismissively. “It’s just a job. With our degrees, we could go anywhere. No need to burn out.” Degrees. I thought about Brittany’s resume. A one-year Master’s program in the UK. Her practical skills were non-existent. Yesterday, I asked her to organize a user research report. She literally Googled an article, changed the title, and emailed it to me. Chapter 2 Meanwhile, I had three years of frontline product experience and held half the department’s core user data in my head. And I was the discount labor. “By the way,” Brittany leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. “I heard comp reviews are next month. With your experience, you’ll probably bump up to $180k, right?” I almost choked. Last year, my raise was $5k. The year before? $8k. The excuse was always: “Sarah, you’re young. Look at the long game. The company takes care of its own.” “Actually,” Brittany continued, oblivious to my internal screaming, “I don’t think $180k is even that high. My friend just started at a competitor for $175k base.” I took a deep breath and stood up. “Brittany, let’s head back. I need to prep for the afternoon meeting.” “Aww, but my croissant isn’t here yet,” she whined. “Get it to go,” I said, pulling out my phone to pay the bill. I didn’t tell her that this “afternoon tea” cost me two days of my grocery budget. Shutterstock Back at the office, I walked straight to the HR Director’s glass office. Linda was sipping her artisanal pour-over coffee. Seeing me enter, she put on her corporate mask. “Sarah! What can I do for you?” I cut the small talk. “Linda, I want to review my compensation package. And I’d like to understand the pay bands for the new graduate hires.” Linda’s smile faltered for a microsecond before resetting. She pulled a file from her drawer. “Sarah, your compensation is aligned with company standards for your current level.” She paused, her voice taking on that patronizing, ‘HR-splaining’ tone. “Regarding the new hires… the market is volatile. Top-tier talent commands a premium right now. It’s just supply and demand.” “We veterans need to look at the big picture. Don’t fixate on the number. The company offers a platform for growth and comprehensive benefits. Those are ‘hidden paychecks.’” I flipped open the file on her desk. It was right there. Brittany, Product Specialist, $140,000/yr. Kevin (another new grad), $135,000/yr. And next to my name? That stinging $110,000. Even the intern next door who just converted to full-time was rumored to be at $115k. I closed the folder and looked Linda in the eye. “I understand, Linda.” My voice was calm. Too calm. Linda exhaled, clearly relieved. “I knew you were sensible, Sarah. Don’t sweat the short-term stuff. We value your loyalty and dedication. Future looks bright.” I nodded and walked out. Loyalty? Dedication? I was done eating the pie in the sky. I sat at my desk and opened a new, password-protected document. Filename: Project_Exodus.docx. I documented everything. Brittany’s salary confession, Linda’s gaslighting, the pay bands. Then, I opened the internal directory. I found the veterans. The ones like me, who had been grinding for years while inflation ate their paychecks. I sent a blind message to their personal numbers: Do you feel like your paycheck matches your output? Then I updated my LinkedIn and started teaching Brittany everything I knew. I was going to train her to replace me. I wanted to see if she was worth that $140k price tag. Chapter 3 Linda’s “loyalty” speech didn’t pacify me; it radicalized me. I started watching Brittany like a hawk. Monday morning. Weekly sync to discuss the Q4 product launch. I was presenting my strategy—a plan I’d spent three all-nighters perfecting, backed by hard data. Mid-sentence, a hand shot up. “Sarah, sorry to interrupt,” Brittany said, adjusting her designer glasses. “But isn’t this approach a little… dated?” The room went silent. “When I was studying in London,” she continued, voice dripping with unearned confidence, “we used a ‘Viral Loop Growth Model.’ It’s way more effective than this traditional funnel stuff.” Before I could respond, Director Miller’s eyes lit up. “Oh? Tell us more, Brittany! We need fresh blood and bold ideas!” He actually waved me off. “Sarah, hold on. Let Brittany speak.” I shut my laptop. Brittany strutted to the screen. Her slide deck was pretty—full of buzzwords and flashy graphics. She talked about a viral marketing case study from a dating app in Europe. It sounded impressive to the ignorant. But anyone who actually knew our user base knew this was suicide. The demographics were completely different. Her data was three years old. “Brilliant! Innovative!” Miller clapped like a seal. He beamed at Brittany like she was Elon Musk. “This is the global vision we need!” He turned to me, his face stern. “Sarah, scrap your plan. We’re going with Brittany’s strategy. Learn from the younger generation. Don’t be a dinosaur.” I looked at Miller’s excited face and felt nothing but cold detachment. He didn’t care if it worked. He just wanted to put “AI-driven Viral Loop” on his quarterly report to the VP. Chapter 4 After the meeting, Brittany stopped by my desk. “Sarah, don’t take it personally,” she smiled, a shark baring teeth. “I just think if you learn new things abroad, you should share them. Your experience is cute, but you need to update your database.” She handed me a flash drive. “Here are some case studies and papers from my professor. You should read them.” The audacity. It was breathtaking. I took the drive. “Thanks, Brittany. I’ll study hard.” I plugged it in. Garbage. It was a folder of blog posts and generic white papers she’d likely pirated or downloaded from LinkedIn influencers. I saved everything. Folder name: Brittany’s_Sources. Then, I opened her “Viral Loop” proposal. I began to “refine” it. Where her logic was flawed, I made the flaw bigger. Where her data was shaky, I leaned into it. I crafted a perfect disaster. A plan so beautiful and so fundamentally broken that it would implode on launch day. My phone buzzed. Kelly, a headhunter I’d known for years. Kelly: Sarah, two companies bit. An EdTech unicorn needs a Product Lead. $180k + equity. And an E-commerce giant wants a Growth Manager. $190k base. I stared at the numbers. Me: Set up the interviews. ASAP. Kelly: Fast! You finally ready to jump ship? Me: Oh, I’m already packing my bags. Chapter 5 Brittany’s project became the department’s golden child. I was assigned to “assist” her. Which meant I did the work, and she took the credit. I watched her present my sabotaged plan in meetings, Miller nodding along like a bobblehead. December rolled around. Bonus season. The email hit everyone’s inbox. Bonus Structure Update: 1. “Rising Star Award”: New hires (<1 year) with excellent performance get an extra 1-2 months salary bonus. 2. "Future Leader Award": New hires who contribute to key projects get 2-3 months bonus and fast-track promotion. I read it three times. Nothing for veterans. Just the standard "N-multiplier," based on our already stagnant salaries. Next to me, Mike, a senior dev who’d been here six years, slammed his laptop shut. "Are they actually joking?" Brittany popped her head up like a gopher. "Guys! Did you see? I think I qualify for the Rising Star and the Future Leader! That’s like... an extra $30k! Yay!" Mike looked like he was about to flip a table. "That's great," he deadpanned. That night, the department dinner. "Pre-Holiday Celebration." Director Miller raised a glass of wine. "This year was tough, but we made it! Especially thanks to..." He pointed at Brittany and the other fresh grads. "...Our new blood! The future is in your hands!" "To the youth!" Brittany and her crew stood up, beaming. We, the "Old Guard," sat there holding our water glasses, smiling stiffly. Miller turned to us. "And to our veterans... keep being the ladder. Support the youth. Your sacrifice paves the road for their success!" Mike kicked me under the table. I took a sip of orange juice. Be the ladder? You want to step on our faces to climb up? Fine. But ladders can collapse.

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