Category: English

1 My husband, Mike, was an Ivy League prodigy. The moment he graduated, he was flooded with offers from Fortune 500 companies, each one a golden ticket to a brilliant career. But for me, he traded it all in to become a stay-at-home dad. To everyone else, I was the woman who had it all, the one they all envied. In the dead of night, lying beside him in the quiet dark after we’d made love, he fell asleep. On a sudden, reckless impulse, I picked up his phone. My face smiled back at me from the lock screen. But pinned to the top of his chat history was a woman named “Leo’s Mom.” She was the mother of our daughter Lily’s friend from preschool. A new message from her popped up: “Mike, it’s getting cold tomorrow. Don’t forget to bundle up.” Mike had replied with a GIF of a nodding kitten. “You too,” he’d written. I scrolled up, my thumb flying across the screen, page after page, hundreds of them. On all those countless nights I was stuck at the office working late, they had been here, trading these small, intimate words of care. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d sent me a GIF, or even asked if I was tired after a long day. I didn’t sleep a wink. I read their entire chat history, from the very beginning to the very end. Thousands of pages. Mike never said he liked her, never said he loved her. But he would brag to her about a new recipe he’d perfected. He’d send her a goofy, teary-eyed dragon meme asking for sympathy. When the temperature plunged, he’d ask her if she’d switched to a warmer blanket… “Huge storm tonight, there might be thunder. Is your Leo scared of it?” “Not at all! He’s a brave little guy. It’s me, his mom, who gets so scared I can’t sleep.” “Don’t worry. If you’re scared, I’ll stay up and chat with you until you fall asleep.” He followed it with a GIF of a cat flexing its muscles. “Okay!” she replied, with a GIF of a cat throwing confetti. He hadn’t sent me a GIF in years. That was the night of the storm of the century, when thunder cracked over the city all night long. I was trapped at the office, unable to get a cab, and ended up huddled in my desk chair, terrified, snatching bits of restless sleep. He’d sent me one text confirming I wasn’t coming home, and then… silence. All his comfort, all his care, had been funneled to another woman. As dawn broke, he stirred. His eyes fluttered open and landed on me, sitting up in bed, his phone in my hand. He froze for a fraction of a second before casually wrapping an arm around me, smoothly plucking the phone from my grasp. “You’re up early. It’s your day off, isn’t it? Come back to sleep with me.” He nuzzled my neck, not a trace of panic in his voice. I snatched the phone back, opened the chat with “Leo’s Mom,” and shoved the screen in his face. “Don’t you have something you want to explain to me?” I asked, my voice a carefully constructed wall of calm. “Oh. Lily’s good friend at preschool is named Leo. That’s his mom. I just ask her for parenting tips sometimes.” “If it makes you unhappy, I’ll delete her.” And just like that, he tapped the red delete button. It was done. He looked me straight in the eye, his gaze clear and open. Suddenly, my all-night anguish felt absurd, like a fit of baseless jealousy. He made it seem like I was the one making a big deal out of nothing. I said nothing. He tightened his arm around my waist and started tickling me. “Come on, my beautiful wife, it’s the weekend. Give that brilliant brain of yours a rest. She’s nobody important. You’re the only one I love, always.” He teased and tickled until I was breathless with laughter, and for a moment, the dark thoughts were pushed aside. And just like that, it was over. After all, we had been in love for eight years. We had our daughter. 2 After he deleted “Leo’s Mom,” my old habit of never touching his phone vanished. I started checking it from time to time. He never stopped me. And I never again found any suspicious chats with other women. Our life slid back onto its comfortable tracks. As usual, he would drop Lily off at preschool after I left for work. One day, my company organized a family day event. I was on my way back from a client meeting and passed right by the preschool, so I decided to pick Lily up myself. From a distance, I saw them sitting on a bench in the little park next to the school. A delicate-looking woman with long hair and a gentle air was speaking to Mike. “She found out, didn’t she, Mike? She’s the one who deleted me.” I froze. “Yeah, she wasn’t happy,” he said. “But I got a new phone. If you need anything, you can call me on this number.” He handed her a brand-new phone. “You should use this to call me from now on,” she said, her voice soft. “Your old one is so slow. Think of this as a thank you gift for making Lily breakfast all those times.” And the phone he was holding, his own phone, was clearly the matching pair to the one he’d just given her. My hand tightened around my own phone, its paint peeling at the edges. The cold metal dug into my palm. It was one of the matching family phones he’d bought when I was pregnant with Lily. One for him, one for me, and one for our baby. I remember him holding me close, his cheek pressed to my belly, whispering, “Sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy and you will all have the same phone. By the time you’re five, it will be filled with all our happy memories.” “And if they get old,” he’d promised, “we’ll get a new set together. A new family of phones for our family of three.” Lily was four now. Not quite five. But he couldn’t wait. A wave of hollow pain, carried on the autumn wind, crawled up my legs and seized my heart. But I had Lily. We had been through so much together. My parents and my brother died in a car crash when I was in college. I lost my entire family in a single night. He was the one who stayed by my side, day and night, a steady anchor in the crushing darkness. He held me together when I was falling apart. Without him, I might have just faded away in that house filled with the ghosts of their laughter and love. And after Lily was born, he was the one who encouraged me to chase my dreams. He voluntarily gave up his high-paying job to stay home and take care of her. The memories of his love were countless, undeniable… He had loved me so, so much. I stared at my husband, bathed in the gentle sunlight, speaking so softly to another woman, and my world began to feel unreal. They hadn’t really done anything, had they? Not really. Maybe I’d mistaken the phones. It was just a phone, a thank you gift for making breakfast… I tried to crush the ache in my chest. Mike stood up and saw me. I forced a smile and walked over, linking my arm through his. “Still here? Who’s this?” “When did you get here?” Mike asked, sidestepping my question. I could feel his body tense up. “Just now,” I said, leaning in to give him a cheerful kiss. He visibly relaxed, the warm, smiling Mike returning. “This is Leo’s mom. I wasn’t great at making breakfast, so she used to bring some for Lily.” “We were just talking about picky eaters,” he added. Leo’s mom, Sophia, glanced at Mike and then laughed, covering her mouth. “You two are so sweet together. No wonder Lily is so adorable.” “Well, I won’t keep you. I should get going,” she said. She held up the new phone Mike had given her, wiggling it in a little wave. The screen caught the sun, flashing a sharp glare directly into my eyes. It stung. My grip on Mike’s arm tightened, harder and harder, until he winced and murmured, “Elara, what’s wrong? You’re hurting me.” I snapped back to reality, leaning my head on his shoulder coquettishly. “Mike, can you blow in my eye? I think I got something in it.” He bent down, his hands gently on my shoulders, and carefully blew into my eye. The air from his lips was cool against my skin, and my eyes began to water. The tears welled up, spilling over, a silent, unstoppable stream. Through the shimmering blur, his face grew indistinct. What am I going to do? I still love you so much. 3 The weather turned colder, and Lily’s preschool was about to break for the winter holidays. Maybe my breakdown in the park had shaken him, because the new phone he’d bought never lit up. But I couldn’t shake the unease coiling in my gut. One evening after dinner, while Lily was playing in the living room, I brought it up. “Mike, I’m up for a promotion. After the New Year, I might be transferred to the head office in Bridgewater to be a department director. I was thinking we could all move there together.” “My parents are in Bridgewater anyway,” I continued, rambling on. “We wouldn’t have to come back. We can just put the house here on the market.” “The schools are better there, too. It would be a better environment for Lily to grow up in…” He was unusually quiet for a long time. But in the end, he agreed. That night, the new phone disappeared from his drawer. He took Lily out for a walk that lasted an hour. Watching him from the window, carrying our daughter back towards the building, I told myself that once they had no more excuses, no more opportunities to see each other, everything would be fine. Mike would be my Mike again. Due to work commitments, I took Lily to Bridgewater ahead of schedule. I left her with my parents while I sorted out her school enrollment. Mike stayed behind to handle the sale of our house, planning to join us in a couple of days. Two days later, he called. “I’ve found a buyer,” he said, “but they’re being difficult about a few things. I’m trying to negotiate. I’ll be there the day after tomorrow.” I could hear the supposed buyer in the background, loudly picking apart our home. I didn’t doubt him. I just told him to take care of himself and to dress warmly. The next day was Mike’s birthday. That afternoon, Lily and I video-called him to sing “Happy Birthday.” But later that night, after working late, I came home to an empty apartment, and the loneliness hit me like a tidal wave. I missed him so much it was a physical ache. We hadn’t been apart this long in years, and especially not on his birthday. I booked a flight for that same night, took a few days off work, and decided to fly back to surprise him. I’d help him finish up with the house, and we’d come back together. My heart hammered in my chest, a frantic drumbeat of longing. I landed, grabbed a taxi, and even stopped to buy a birthday cake. I practically ran the whole way back to our building. Standing downstairs, I saw the warm, yellow glow of light in our apartment window. It was late. Normally, he’d be in bed by now, holding me. I pressed the elevator button several times, but one of the cars was stuck on the 16th floor—our floor. With no time to think, I bolted for the stairs, taking them two at a time, my lungs burning by the time I reached the top. Our front door was slightly ajar. The apartment was a mess, probably from the packing. I smiled to myself, tiptoeing toward the bedroom, planning my surprise. But my next step never landed. I was frozen in place.

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I sold my grandfather’s only legacy—our ancestral home. The five million was anonymously wired to my fiancée Isabella’s company, Aetherion Dynamics. It saved a three-billion-dollar drone contract, keeping the business afloat. Isabella promised to repay me once her project bonus came, so I could buy the house back. But on payday, the bonus went to a new intern, Ryan Croft. I confronted her. “Did you give my money to Ryan?” Isabella rubbed her temples, her eyes weary. “Noah, I know about your gambling debts. That money would vanish in a week. Ryan is talented and hardworking—he deserves it. This is for your own good.” Her words pierced me like ice. “Gambling debts? Who told you that?” “It doesn’t matter! You promised to change, and now you’re lying and trying to steal company funds!” I looked at her angry face, silent. Picking up the resignation letter on her desk, I signed my name. 1 Isabella didn’t even glance at the letter I signed. She simply tossed it into a drawer. There wasn’t a trace of regret or sadness on her face, only the quiet relief of having disposed of a problem. As I walked out of her office, I saw Ryan handing her a cup of coffee. “Bella, don’t waste your energy being angry at people who aren’t worth it. Your health is more important,” Ryan’s voice was a smooth, soothing balm. Isabella took the coffee, her furrowed brow relaxing into a faint, appreciative smile. “You’re always so thoughtful.” That smile was a dagger in my eye. The hushed whispers of my colleagues followed me as I walked away. The words were quiet, but they sliced through the air with perfect clarity. “A gambler? I knew he was a lost cause.” “Ms. Byers really did everything she could for him. She tried to save him.” “Serves him right. Five million dollars? Who in their right mind would give that to a degenerate gambler?” My face was a stone mask as I walked to my desk and began to pack. On the corner of my desk sat a framed photo from the early days of the company. In it, Isabella and I were crammed into a tiny office, slurping instant noodles. She was grinning at the camera, her smile so bright and pure. I picked up the frame, hesitated for a single heartbeat, then swept it, along with stacks of my design schematics, into the cardboard box. Nine years of my life’s work, traded for a slanderous lie. Clutching the box like a shield, I walked out of the building I had watched rise from the ground, a failure in the eyes of the world I had helped create. When I got back to my small apartment building, I froze. Piled by the entrance were several cardboard boxes, soaked through by the rain. They were the things I’d moved from my ancestral home—all of my grandfather’s old books and belongings. I had asked Isabella to store them at her villa, since my rented place was too small. A note from her, stuck to one of the boxes, was dissolving in the rain, the ink bleeding into the soggy cardboard. “No room for this. Get rid of this trash.” Trash… I knelt, my hands trembling as I touched the waterlogged spines of the antique books. The pages were fused together, my grandfather’s handwritten notes bleeding into illegible gray smudges. They were his life’s work, the last remaining root of my family. A cold, bottomless rage I had never known before surged through me. My heart felt like it had been encased in ice. I pulled out my phone to call her, to demand an explanation for this cruelty. The screen lit up, displaying the smiling face of my grandfather—my chosen wallpaper, a reminder of the man I wanted to be. His expression was so kind. My thumb hovered over the call button, unable to press it. Just then, a text message from a real estate agent popped up. “Mr. Kane, the ownership of the ancestral property was officially transferred at 3 p.m. today. As per your instructions, the funds have been anonymously deposited into the Aetherion Dynamics corporate account.” The last thread of hope snapped. I opened my banking app. Checking Account xxxx Balance: $86.52. The leftover change from selling my heritage. A bitter, self-mocking laugh escaped my lips. For her company, for our supposed future, I had sold my grandfather’s home, and now I was penniless, branded a degenerate gambler. Another notification popped up. It was from the company’s internal group chat. An announcement for a celebratory party, posted by Isabella herself. The theme: “Celebrating the brilliant success of our genius new talent, Ryan Croft, in securing the military contract!” My project, my triumph, the contract I had saved by selling my soul, had become the centerpiece of their celebration. The pain was so deep it had turned to a numb, cold fury. I tried calling Isabella one last time. The only reply was the robotic voice of the automated system: “The person you are calling is unavailable. Please try again later.” She was busy, no doubt, celebrating with her “genius.” I blocked her number, and with it, the entire absurd chapter of my life. I didn’t go home. I dragged the soaked boxes to a cheap motel nearby. The next morning, I went to the bank. I had one other savings account with a little over a hundred thousand dollars in it—my life savings, my last emergency fund. “Sir, I’m sorry, but all accounts under your name have been frozen,” the teller said, her voice flat and impersonal. I stared at her. “Frozen? Why?” “The request was made by your fiancée, Ms. Isabella Byers. The reason cited is a request from family to cooperate with a police investigation into your ‘illegal gambling activities.’” Isabella. Again. She didn’t just refuse to believe me; she was determined to cut me off at the knees, to destroy any chance I had of starting over. An icy dread snaked its way up my spine. I walked out of the bank and called her from my secondary phone, the one she hadn’t blocked. It rang for a long time before she picked up. “Who is this?” Her voice was hoarse, thick with a hangover. “It’s me.” A few seconds of silence, then her tone became frigid. “Noah. Why are you calling? Have you finally come to your senses? Are you ready to admit you were wrong?” “Why did you freeze my bank accounts?” I asked, my voice tight with suppressed rage. “For your own good,” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “When you finally kick your addiction and show some real remorse, I’ll unfreeze them. Until then, I’ll manage your money for you.” “What gives you the right—” “The right of being your fiancée! I will not stand by and watch you destroy yourself!” she snapped, cutting me off. “I have a meeting. I’m hanging up.” The line went dead. At that exact moment, a call came in from an unknown number. “Is this Noah Kane?” a rough voice growled. “You owe Titan Financial three hundred grand. When are you planning on paying up?” “I’ve never borrowed money from you.” “Oh yeah? Social Security number ending in xxxx, sound familiar?” He recited my entire SSN. “We’ve got your picture, too. Don’t try to weasel out of this. You’ve got three days. Pay up, or you’re going to find out what happens when you don’t.” He hung up. I understood instantly. Ryan’s setup was more than just a few photoshopped pictures. He had woven an entire web of fabricated debt around me. Before I could even process the shock, my landlord called. “Noah? Have you gotten yourself into some kind of trouble?” he asked, his voice wary. “Ms. Byers’s assistant paid me a visit today. Said you’ve got a bad gambling problem, told me to be careful. I can’t have that kind of thing in my building. The apartment’s no longer yours. I need you out in three days.” My career, my savings, my home. In a single day, I had been wiped clean, thrown out onto the street. I sent my resume to a few other tech firms, but the responses were all the same. “Mr. Kane, we’re sorry, but there are some concerns about your professional reputation. We cannot offer you a position at this time.” Every road was blocked. Desperate for cash, I took the high-performance computer I had built myself—a machine with the power of a server—to a second-hand electronics market. As the dealer stuffed a few crumpled bills into my hand, I felt the last piece of my spirit being stripped away. I found myself walking aimlessly, my feet eventually leading me back to my grandfather’s house. I just wanted to see it one last time. The iron gate swung open, and a group of people emerged, centered around one man. Leading them was Ryan Croft. He was dressed in a tailored suit, beaming like he owned the world—and this house. “Well, well, if it isn’t Noah,” he said, patting the grand, red-lacquered door behind him. “This place has great energy. My girlfriend rented it for me. A little reward for single-handedly landing the military project. It’s going to be my new studio.” He deliberately walked over and bumped my shoulder, whispering in a voice only I could hear. “Your house, your woman, your achievements… they’re all mine now.” I stared at him, my fists clenched at my sides. Just then, my phone rang. It was Isabella. I answered on instinct. “Noah, where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you. If you’re out of money, just tell me. Don’t do anything stupid. I’ll take care of your finances for you, and I’ve asked Ryan to keep an eye on the old house for you, so don’t worry, okay?” Her perfectly timed “concern” was the final, twisted joke. Keeping an eye on it for me meant giving it to her new lover. I hung up without a word, a dead silence filling my soul. Looking at their triumphant faces, the last shred of my love for Isabella withered and died. I turned and walked into the drizzling rain. I had no destination, and I needed none. I pulled out my phone and made one more call. “Hello? Is this the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office?” The next day, Aetherion Dynamics published a long article on their official company blog. In it, Isabella wrote in the first person, a heart-wrenching account of how she had “accidentally discovered” my crippling gambling addiction, which had driven me to financial ruin. She detailed her desperate, failed attempts to reason with me, and her ultimate, painful decision to “do what was necessary” to pull me back from the brink, even if it meant public shame. The article was accompanied by a series of expertly photoshopped images, courtesy of Ryan. There were pictures of me entering and exiting casinos in Macau, the backgrounds blurry but my face perfectly clear. There were even forged IOUs for massive sums, with a sloppy imitation of my signature at the bottom. The narrative painted Ryan as the heroic young talent who had stepped up in a moment of crisis to save the company. And I was cast as the ungrateful degenerate who had nearly destroyed it all. The story exploded online. It was picked up by major news outlets. My name became a trending topic, tagged with “gambling,” “traitor,” and “scumbag.” My parents, back in my hometown, obviously saw the news. The moment I answered their call, my father’s rage-choked voice roared through the phone. “You worthless son! If your grandfather knew you sold his house to gamble, he’d be rolling in his grave!” I opened my mouth to explain. “How could you do this to his memory! How could you!” His shouting grew louder, and in the background, I could hear a commotion, other voices yelling. “How could the Kane family produce such a disgrace!” “You should be ashamed to be alive!” I heard strangers’ voices cursing me. “Get out of our town!” “The family of a gambler is just as bad!” It hit me like a ton of bricks. The online mob, using the information Isabella had so conveniently provided, had found my parents’ home. “Dad, listen to me—” “Don’t you dare call me Dad!” he bellowed. “Do you have any idea what just happened? Those people, they came to the house!” “They broke our windows!” “Your mother was so scared, she had a heart attack!” My world went silent. The phone nearly slipped from my hand. “I didn’t gamble, Dad, you have to believe me…” “Still lying!” My father’s voice was cracking now, turning into a sob. “The pictures, the IOUs online, it’s all right there in black and white! Are you saying it’s all fake?” “That nice girl Isabella even spoke out about it! Who are you trying to fool?” My mother must have snatched the phone, because all I could hear was her muffled, desperate crying. “Son, please, it’s not too late! Isabella is a good girl, she’s still waiting for you to come back to your senses. You can’t disappoint her again. Just go back, apologize to her… our family needs you…” “A good girl?” The words were like knives in my heart. She hadn’t just ruined me; she had manipulated my own family into becoming her accomplices. I was defenseless. I stood there in silence, listening to the agonizing sting of being condemned by the people I loved most, until my heart was completely numb. After I hung up, a text from Isabella arrived, as if on cue. “See how much your family is hurting for you, Noah? Does it feel bad?” “Just admit it, and come back. If you’re willing to confess, I can find it in my heart to forgive you this one time.” Her condescending offer of charity, her nauseating hypocrisy, made my stomach turn. I finally understood the exquisite pleasure one could derive from grinding a person into the dirt, then magnanimously offering them a hand up. I didn’t reply. I walked into a nearby internet cafe and sent one last email. “Due to personal reasons, I, the sole patent holder, am hereby freezing all commercial use of said patent, effective immediately.” You wanted to play dirty? Fine. My turn.

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At 3:00 AM, I sent a text to my boss. “Do you want a baby?” Ten minutes later, my phone lit up. “Meeting at 8:30 AM. Have the pitch deck ready.” I stared at the cold, unfeeling command from my capitalist overlord, then looked over at the little boy fast asleep in my bed. It was hard to imagine that my boss and I could ever create something so cute. 1 I became a mother at twenty-eight, and the stork didn’t bring the baby. Mrs. Higgins, the building superintendent, did. When Mrs. Higgins knocked on my door holding the hand of a little boy, I was bewildered. The kid looked about five or six. He had bright, dark eyes and deep dimples. He was wearing a t-shirt, overalls, and a little yellow duck backpack. He looked clean and well-cared-for. Definitely a kid who belonged to a good family. He was also a kid who was very easy to like. That is, until he opened his mouth. Upon seeing me, the boy’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights. He wrenched his hand free from Mrs. Higgins, barreled into my living room, and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Mommy!” he shouted. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Before I could speak, I saw Mrs. Higgins muttering something about a pot roast in the oven and fleeing the scene. The boy rubbed his face against my stomach and looked up at me with sparkling eyes. “Mommy, where’s Daddy?” Daddy? Mommy? I am a single woman. I haven’t even dated in two years. Where would I get a five-year-old? I crouched down, placed a finger on his forehead, and gently pushed him back. “I’m not your mommy, and your daddy isn’t here.” “You are! You are!” The kid’s eyes turned red, and his cheeks puffed up. “Mommy is Willow Evans, and Daddy is Spencer Sterling. I wouldn’t recognize the wrong people!” My heart skipped a beat. My eyelid twitched. I am Willow Evans. That part is true. But Spencer Sterling? That’s my CEO. To prove he wasn’t crazy, the kid rattled off my phone number, Spencer’s private number, and even our social security numbers without missing a beat. Then he puffed out his little chest, looking proud, waiting for praise. Am I awesome or what? his face seemed to say. I face-palmed. I had no choice but to bring him inside. I handed him a pair of guest slippers. Surprisingly, he took off his shoes and lined them up perfectly by the door. Impeccable manners. But he was clearly unhappy with my reaction. He sat on the sofa, pouting, arms crossed. I found it funny, so I grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry’s from the freezer and handed it to him. His mood flipped instantly. He dug in happily. “Since you’re sharing, I won’t tell on you.” I raised an eyebrow. “Tell on me for what?” He grinned, holding up a spoon full of Half Baked. “This. You always get a stomach ache when you eat ice cream, so Daddy banned you from having it.” I froze. I do have a sensitive stomach. I do lack self-control. But how would this kid know that? We chatted. I learned his nickname was “Bean.” He said he was five. He claimed he lived at 28 Riverside Estates on Oak Avenue. He said he got lost walking home from school, met Mrs. Higgins, and she brought him here. I pulled out my phone and checked Google Maps. Oak Avenue existed, but it was currently a construction site for a future luxury development. No houses yet. A weird feeling settled in my stomach. “Bean,” I asked cautiously. “What year is it?” Bean wobbled his head. “I know this one! Teacher said it’s the Year of the Ox.” Ox? I looked at the calendar on my desk. It was the Year of the Tiger. Holy cow. Bean traveled back from the future. Eight years, to be exact. I looked at the kid devouring ice cream. He did look familiar. Wait. Who did he say his father was again? Spencer Sterling. 2 At 3:00 AM, after finally getting the time-traveling toddler to sleep, I was tossing and turning. I looked at Bean, sleeping soundly, smacking his lips in a dream. Like possessed by a ghost, I opened WeChat and found my boss’s contact. Our chat history was a wall of business. Files, meeting minutes, schedules. I typed the message. “Do you want a baby?” Ten minutes later. “Meeting at 8:30 AM. Have the pitch deck ready.” I looked at the text. I looked at the time. I gritted my teeth and got up to work for the capitalist machine. Serves him right for being single at thirty! Go marry your spreadsheets! 3 I pulled an all-nighter, handed the files to a colleague, and then asked the Boss for time off to drop Bean at a daycare near my apartment. I couldn’t leave a five-year-old alone all day. When I finally got to the office, it was 10:30. Liam, a colleague, walked over. “Boss wants to see you.” I nodded and walked to the CEO’s office, clutching two binders. The door was closed. I could hear a woman’s voice inside. It sounded like an argument. I didn’t knock. I just waited. Ten minutes later, the door swung open. Vanessa, the daughter of one of our board members, stormed out. She looked gorgeous but furious. “Miss Vanessa,” I nodded. She glared at me like I was trash and stomped away. I waited two minutes, then walked in. Spencer Sterling was sitting behind his mahogany desk. Gold-rimmed glasses, black fountain pen, lips pressed into a thin line. He was reading a contract as if a beautiful woman hadn’t just screamed at him. Stoic. Terrifying. He signed his name, looked up, and scanned me. “Are you free tomorrow night, Willow?” I ran a mental check of my schedule. “No plans.” “Accompany me to a gala. Starts at 6:30, ends around 8:00.” I nodded. I could pick Bean up, drop him home, and then go. He could handle two hours alone with an iPad. Spencer waved a hand, dismissing me. As I reached the door, I looked back. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sharp brows, clean jawline, slightly upturned eyes. When he looked down, his eyelashes were long and thick. Except for the cold expression… he looked exactly like Bean. Back at my desk, Lily, the office gossip, slid her chair over. “Did you hear? Vanessa came to beg him to take her to the gala.” Spencer Sterling. Heir to the Sterling empire. Ivy League grad. Took over the company sophomore year. Stock price tripled. Handsome. Rich. Clean record. Every heiress in the city wanted a piece of him. But Spencer was an iceberg. Most girls gave up. But Vanessa was like a cockroach; she kept coming back. Since Spencer wouldn’t crack, she took it out on us assistants. Specifically me. She was convinced I was the gatekeeper preventing her true love. 4 The next morning, I dropped Bean at daycare and swung by a clinic to drop off a DNA sample. I decided that if the results backed Bean’s story, I’d tell Spencer. Two heads are better than one, and his head is worth a billion dollars. He has a stake in this kid too. I left work early to pick up Bean, set him up with dinner, and got ready. The dress was from Spencer. Emerald green velvet, spaghetti straps. It made my skin look porcelain white. He even sent jewelry. A purple diamond necklace. The man had taste. When I walked out, Bean gasped. “Mommy! Are you going on a date with Daddy again?” He patted his chest. “You guys always try to ditch me for romance.” He squinted at me. “Daddy picked that dress, didn’t he? He always makes you look like a princess.” My heart did a weird flip. I went downstairs. The company car was waiting. I opened the back door and froze. Spencer was already inside. “Get in,” his cool voice commanded. I gathered my skirt and slid in. As I bent over, I felt his gaze. The neckline was draped. From his angle… he could see everything. I sat down and immediately covered my chest, my face burning. I wasn’t wearing a bra, just adhesive covers. Spencer didn’t react. He was typing on his laptop. But the atmosphere was thick. I noticed his PowerPoint slide hadn’t changed in ten minutes. It was the title slide for a project I managed. I leaned over. “Is there an issue with the—AH!” A shadow darted across the road. The driver slammed the brakes and swerved. I was thrown sideways, straight toward Spencer. To avoid face-planting into his lap, I twisted my body. A strong hand grabbed my arm, yanking me back. I crashed into his chest. One of his hands gripped my arm; the other wrapped firmly around my waist. The scent of sandalwood and expensive cologne filled my nose. I looked up. His jawline was inches away. “Stray cat,” the driver announced, checking the mirror. “We didn’t hit it.” Spencer let go. I scrambled back to my side of the car, staring out the window at the dark trees, trying to ignore my heart hammering against my ribs. “You okay?” he asked. “Fine.”

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It was the day my husband, Addison Wright, was promoted to Full Professor. For a man who considered our own wedding to be a simple matter of signing a certificate, he insisted on hosting a grand dinner party at our home to celebrate. During the meal, he brought out a bouquet of flowers given to him by a female student, and was about to place them in a vase. Without warning, I slapped the flowers from his hand. They scattered across the floor as I knocked the vase over. Amidst the stunned silence of our entire family, I spoke calmly. “Let’s get a divorce.” Addison stared at me for a long moment, his shock curdling into rage. “Evelyn, what the hell is wrong with you? All I did was put some flowers in a vase. Are you serious?” His mother chimed in, her voice shrill. “Addison just made Full Professor! It’s a day of celebration! What’s wrong with a student bringing him flowers? Is your jealousy that pathological?” I glanced at the fallen petals on the floor and said, enunciating every word, “Yes. It’s because of these flowers that I want a divorce.” 1. The atmosphere at the table went cold. My father-in-law’s face darkened. My mother-in-law’s hand, holding her chopsticks, froze mid-air. My own parents were the most shocked, staring at me with utter confusion. My mother was the first to react, grabbing my hand. “Evelyn, stop this. This is Addison’s big day.” Addison’s expression shifted from disbelief to pure fury. The fire in his eyes could have burned me to ash. “Say that again.” I repeated myself. My voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear. “I said, I want a divorce.” Clatter. My mother-in-law slammed her utensils on the table. She pointed a finger at my nose, spittle flying. “Evelyn Reed, are you insane? Do you have any idea what day this is?” “This is a momentous occasion for our family! And you’re here causing trouble, trying to ruin everything. What are your intentions?” “My son works himself to the bone with his research to earn this promotion, and he can’t even accept a simple bouquet of flowers?” I didn’t look at her. My eyes were locked on Addison. His handsome face was a mask of indignant anger. “Over a bouquet of flowers?” “Evelyn, has your jealousy twisted you this much? All I did was put them in a vase. Do you have to be so dramatic?” My father slammed his hand on the table, his gaze firm on Addison. “Watch your tone.” Addison glanced at my father, took a deep breath, and swiftly wiped the anger from his face, replacing it with an expression of pained disappointment. He first patted his mother’s hand soothingly, then turned to my parents and bowed. “Mom, Dad, I’m so sorry.” “Evelyn must be under a lot of stress at work lately. She’s not herself. Please don’t blame her.” “I’ll have a good talk with her.” He tried to reach for my hand, but I sidestepped his touch. Addison’s face was a picture of earnest apology. “I’m sorry, Evelyn. I’ve been so focused on the promotion review lately, I’ve neglected you. That’s my fault.” “But this is just a normal bouquet of roses. Don’t you think you’re overreacting? She’s just an innocent student.” Addison’s older brother, Leo, couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to smooth things over. “Evelyn, are you sure you’re not misunderstanding something? Addison didn’t mean any harm. It was a gift from a student, he couldn’t just throw it away in front of her, could he?” “That’s right, Evelyn,” his wife, Laura, added. “I’ve met that girl, Chloe. She’s sweet and sensible. She wouldn’t do anything intentionally. Don’t overthink it. Just apologize to Addison, and we can all move on.” My gaze swept over everyone at the table. My father and father-in-law were frowning, silent. My mother’s expression had shifted from confusion to dawning comprehension, and now she looked at me with reproach. Addison. Truly a professor. With just a few words, he had transformed my demand into a childish tantrum. I ignored his hypocritical performance and pointed to the roses on the floor, their fragrance growing stronger by the second. “You’re saying these are just ordinary flowers, right?” I stared into his eyes. “Then I dare you to close every door and window in this living room.” “And then stay in here with me, right here, with these flowers, for one hour.” 2. At my words, the color drained from Addison’s face. He took an instinctive half-step back, his left thumb unconsciously rubbing against his index finger. It was his tell, the thing he always did when he was hiding something. His voice held a barely perceptible tremble, his eyes darting around the room. “What… What nonsense are you talking about? What’s the point of that?” I smiled, bent down, picked up a single petal, and held it out to him. “You said they were just ordinary roses, didn’t you?” Addison turned his head away, his lips pressed into a thin, hard line. Seeing his discomfort, his mother shot up from her chair and grabbed a broom to clean up the mess. “This is bad luck! Such bad luck! Ruining the peace in our home. I’ll sweep it all up, then maybe certain people won’t have a reason to be so jealous and critical.” My own mother, shaking with anger at the insult, shot back, “What is that supposed to mean?” I patted my mom’s back reassuringly, then snapped at my mother-in-law, “Don’t touch them!” She flinched, startled by my sharp tone. I snatched the broom from her hand and threw it aside. Then I stepped forward, cornering Addison between myself and the floral wreckage. “What’s wrong? Feeling guilty?” “You said there was nothing wrong with the flowers. So what are you afraid of?” My questions made his eyes shift away, completely unable to meet my gaze. My father-in-law threw down his chopsticks, his face a mottled canvas of red and white. He slammed his fist on the table. “Enough! All of you! What is this nonsense? This was supposed to be a celebration! Look at what you’ve turned it into!” “Now sit down and eat. Anyone who causes more trouble can get out!” He shot a meaningful look in my direction. I knew that last part was meant for me. Just then, the doorbell rang. Addison practically lunged for the door, his haste looking almost desperate. He yanked it open. Standing on the doorstep was the very student he had just described as innocent and sensible: Chloe Bennett. She was wearing a white sundress and carrying a box of expensive tea and supplements, gifts for my in-laws. When she saw the scene inside, her face went pale, her eyes instantly welling with tears. Her voice caught in a sob. “Professor Wright… Mrs. Wright… What’s happened?” “Is it… Is it because of the flowers I sent? Did I upset you?” “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have sent roses. I didn’t mean to cause a misunderstanding. The florist just said this bouquet was a bestseller and recommended it.” “I’m so sorry to intrude. I’ll just go.” With that, she stepped into the living room, placed the gifts on the coffee table, and turned to leave. It was a sequence of actions that should have taken three seconds, but she managed to stretch it into a three-minute performance. “Wait.” My mother-in-law couldn’t hold back any longer. She rushed forward, shooting Addison a blaming look. She grabbed Chloe’s hand, sat her down on the sofa, then shot me a venomous glare. “You sweet child, this has nothing to do with you! It’s just that some people are petty and can’t stand to see others happy!” In the brief moment her back was turned, I saw it clearly: Chloe shot me a look that was a potent cocktail of provocation and triumph. I ignored her and said calmly to the room at large, “Get out.” My words made Addison stare at me in disbelief. His fists clenched, veins popping on the back of his hands. “Evelyn, that’s enough!” he ground out. “What did she do wrong?” “She already apologized for the misunderstanding! She’s just a twenty-year-old kid, she’s naive! The florist recommended them! Why are you taking it out on her?” “I’m warning you, don’t project your own filthy thoughts onto an innocent child.” His mother stood protectively in front of Chloe. “I’d like to see anyone try to make you leave!” She turned on me like a cannon. “Evelyn Reed, you’ve been married into our family for five years and haven’t even given us a child, and now you treat our guest like this?” “All you do is lock yourself in that lab of yours, making yourself less and less like a woman! You can’t even perform the most basic function of a wife! Marrying you was the worst luck our family has ever had!” “I said it from the beginning! A barren woman like you has a black heart! Since you can’t be a mother yourself, you can’t stand to see a young, vibrant girl!” 3. “Who are you calling barren?” My father finally snapped. He shot up from his chair and stood in front of me, glaring at my mother-in-law. “It was your son who got on his knees and begged me for my daughter’s hand in marriage. Is this how your family treats her now?” My father-in-law slowly set down his teacup. “Now, now, let’s not get excited. What she said was harsh, but she’s just angry. This is women’s business. We men shouldn’t get involved.” With one sentence, he dismissed his wife’s vicious tirade as “women’s business.” My father was so enraged he was gasping for air. I put a hand on his arm and looked at Chloe. “You’re the one who sent the flowers. Are you telling me you don’t know what’s in them?” She stared back with wide, innocent eyes, the picture of a wounded doe. “Mrs. Wright, what are you talking about? I bought them from a flower shop. If you think there’s a problem, I can call the shop right now and ask.” She made a show of pulling out her phone. I watched her performance with cold eyes. With one move, she had absolved herself of all responsibility, implied I was paranoid and jealous, and reinforced her own innocence. A true master. As expected, Addison stopped her. He shot me a dirty look. “She’s the one being paranoid. You don’t need to prove anything.” He strode over to me, grabbed my shoulders, and shook me hard. “Evelyn, have you had enough? You’ve completely humiliated our family!” “Humiliated?” I shoved his hands off. “And you staying up all night with your female student to ‘edit her thesis,’ that wasn’t humiliating?” “That was work!” he roared, utterly self-righteous. Just as we were facing off, my mother slapped me hard across the face. Her eyes were red and filled with disappointment. “Evelyn, is this how I raised you? Have you no shame? Apologize to Chloe right now!” My cheek stung, but a chill spread through my entire body. My own mother, without even asking for an explanation, had believed a stranger over me and struck me. Through a blur of tears, I saw the triumphant smirk on Addison’s face. He even gave me a slight, mocking arch of his eyebrow. Behind him, Chloe, still sheltered by his mother, covered her mouth with her hand, her “innocent” eyes wide. But deep within them, there was no mistaking the glint of victory and scorn. He thought he had won. In his perfect plan, I was isolated, defeated, abandoned by everyone. Addison stood before me, a cold sneer on his lips. “See? You know you’re wrong now.” He gestured towards Chloe. “Get on your knees and apologize to her. Admit that you’re mentally unstable and paranoid. Do that, and I’ll pretend this whole thing never happened.” “Who dares make her kneel!” my father roared, pulling me behind him once more. But my mother clung to his arm, crying, “Isn’t this chaotic enough for you? What’s wrong with her just apologizing? Do you want her to get a divorce over something so stupid and make our whole family a laughingstock?” I looked at my father, his eyes red with the effort of defending me. I looked at that smug, victorious pair. I gently moved my father’s hand away, took a deep breath, and nodded. “Fine.” I paused, then gave them the words they wanted to hear. “I’ll kneel. I’ll apologize.” The living room fell into a dead silence. Addison’s expression froze, as if he hadn’t expected me to cave so easily. He softened his tone, coaxing me. “Evelyn, let’s stop this. Let’s just go back to how things were, okay?” 4. “No.” I looked at him, my face blank. I pulled out my phone and waved it, looking at Addison and Chloe with pure derision. “Apologize? Sure. But before I do, I think we’re all entitled to know what, exactly, is in this bouquet.” Addison’s patience snapped. “They’re just flowers! How long are you going to keep this up?” “Is that so?” I found the number for my lab and dialed. “Hello? This is Evelyn Reed. Halt all ongoing tests. I need you to run an analysis on a bouquet of flowers for me. I’m bringing the materials over right now.” I hung up and stared directly at the suddenly constricted pupils of Addison and Chloe. “If the results prove that these are just ordinary flowers and that I’m insane,” I announced, “I will not only get on my knees and beg for Miss Bennett’s forgiveness, but I will also sign over my 30% stake in my pharmaceutical company, along with all my properties and savings, to you, Addison.” “I will walk away with nothing.” An undisguised, manic joy erupted in my mother-in-law’s eyes. She shoved Addison forward, her voice high and strained. “Addison, she said it herself! Did you hear her?” “Everyone heard her! She’s the one who said it!” The last vestiges of reason in Addison’s eyes were consumed by greed. Fearing I would back out, he made the decision, announcing loudly to everyone, “Fine! We’ll go right now! Evelyn Reed, you’d better keep your word!” “Dad, Mom, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, let’s all go and witness just how she has slandered an innocent person!” My mother’s face was a mask of regret and panic. She tried to stop me, but my father held her back. He looked at me, and in his eyes, there was more trust than worry. On the way to the lab, my mother cried the entire time. “Evelyn, how could you be so foolish… How could you gamble your entire life away out of spite…” My father said nothing, but he kept looking at me in the rearview mirror. Addison, in the driver’s seat, would occasionally meet my gaze in the mirror as well. His eyes were filled with contempt, mockery, and a hungry anticipation for the massive fortune he was about to acquire. The lab technicians I had called ahead were already waiting for us at the entrance, dressed in white coats. “Dr. Reed, what do you need analyzed?” The lab director, Dr. Marcus Thorne, greeted me. I held out my arm. “First, a sample of my blood.”

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My new roommate, Becky, asked me for a thousand bucks the moment we met. She pointed at my bed and said, “It took me three hours to clean that. A grand should cover it.” I was dumbfounded. “I didn’t ask you to clean it. Why should I pay you?” She put her hands on her hips, her voice rising. “Doesn’t matter if you asked or not. I put in the labor, you pay the cash! If you don’t, you’re exploiting the poor!” I refused. So she bullied me. She isolated me. She turned the whole dorm against me. I fell into a deep depression and, in the end, took my own life. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on move-in day. Becky was standing there, hand out, asking for money. Chapter 1 “You must be Lily.” As soon as I rolled my suitcase into the dorm room, a girl came up to greet me. It was just the two of us. Only one bed had sheets on it. I glanced at the nametag on that bed: Becky Wilson. “Hi, I’m Lily.” Becky gestured around the room. “Pretty clean, right?” I looked around. It was spotless. Top to bottom, inside and out. It looked freshly scrubbed. “Yeah, it’s really clean.” She grinned. “Of course it is. I just finished cleaning. You have no idea how much dust was in here when I arrived! Especially on your bed.” My heart skipped a beat. “You cleaned my bed too?” She nodded. “Duh. We’re roommates. No big deal. You don’t have to give me much, just a thousand dollars.” Before I could process that, she shoved a QR code in my face. I froze. “What? A thousand?” She squinted at me. “From your tone, sounds like you don’t want to pay.” I was caught between a rock and a hard place. “My family isn’t well-off. Every cent my parents gave me is budgeted. I really can’t spare a thousand dollars for a cleaning fee. Besides, I didn’t ask you to clean. I could have done it myself.” Before I could finish, she started yelling. “Are you serious? You’re really not going to pay? What kind of person are you? Exploiting my labor like that!” Her voice was so loud it attracted students from the hallway. Just then, our other two roommates walked in. She grabbed them, playing the victim. “Guys, come look at this! Someone’s trying to scam me out of my hard work! I spent three hours scrubbing this place so she could walk into a nice, clean room. And now? She flips out and won’t even give me a little tip for my effort.” I was frantic. “You’re twisting everything! I never asked you to clean for me. If you’re so mad, put the dust back! I’ll clean it myself. Or next time it’s your turn for chores, I’ll do it for you.” Becky sneered. “Next time? You just don’t want to pay!” The tension was thick. Then, one of the new roommates spoke up. “Alright, chill out. I thought it was something serious. It’s just money? I’ll pay.” She dropped her designer bag onto the bed labeled “Sophie”. She pulled out her phone and scanned Becky’s QR code. “Honestly, people should get paid for their work. It’s basic decency.” She was dressed head-to-toe in luxury brands I’d only seen on TV. The fourth roommate, Chloe, followed suit. “It is pretty clean. Thanks, Becky.” “A thousand isn’t much. My family pays our cleaning lady three grand a visit.” “Here, I’ll send you two thousand. Consider the extra a welcome gift.” “Oh my god, thank you guys! You are so sweet. I’m so lucky to meet you!” Becky gushed. The three of them exchanged smiles. Then, they all turned to look at me. Their eyes were full of silent pressure. Waiting for me to pay up. Chapter 2 Staring into those familiar, judging eyes, the fog in my brain finally cleared. I realized I was living this nightmare for the second time. In my past life, I caved under the pressure and sent Becky 150 bucks. She didn’t accept it. Instead, she went around telling everyone I was a cheapskate who exploited her labor. Sophie and Chloe were rich kids; money meant nothing to them. They couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t just cough up a thousand dollars. They decided I was ruining the dorm vibe and started freezing me out. The other students followed their lead. If the rich girls didn’t like me, there must be something wrong with me. I was excluded from group projects, leading to failed classes. No one wanted to room with me on trips. I finally snapped and applied to move off-campus. The counselor called me in. Her opening line was brutal. “Becky comes from a similar background as you, yet she’s helpful and optimistic. Look at yourself—antisocial, selfish, running away at the first sign of trouble.” “The world doesn’t revolve around you! If you keep acting like this, maybe you should just drop out.” Those words haunted me. I spiraled into self-doubt and severe depression. I became a ghost in my own dorm room. The final push came from Becky. She found my diagnosis papers. She laughed. “A parasitic leech getting depressed? How dramatic. What kind of parents raise such a disgusting person?” At that moment, all I could see were my parents’ faces as they sent me off to college. Their hair graying from overwork just to pay my tuition. And I was failing them. In a moment of heat, I jumped from the seventh floor. I regretted it before I hit the ground. Seeing this scene again, my heart pounded. This time, I was going to give Becky back everything she gave me, with interest. Chapter 3 I whipped out my phone and scanned Becky’s code. I sent her three thousand dollars—every cent my parents gave me for the semester. “I just came from the countryside, I didn’t know the rules. Don’t take what I said to heart. Thanks to Sophie and Chloe for showing me the way!” “This is all the money my parents gave me. Take it all. I realized money isn’t important, our friendship is. I can always earn more money, but I can’t let your hard work go unrewarded.” Becky was stunned. Sophie smirked, satisfied. She liked being the leader. Becky was overjoyed, her finger hovering over the “Accept” button. Then Sophie spoke up. “Wait, you’re actually going to take it?” Becky paused. “Huh? Well, she sent it to me.” Sophie laughed, a weird, high-pitched sound. “Wow. Some people really have no shame. Taking a poor farmer’s blood money.” Chloe, Sophie’s loyal sidekick, chimed in. “Even my maid donates 800 a month to charity.” Becky’s face turned red. “Fine, I’ll send back two thousand then.” Sophie cut her off. “Are you that desperate for cash? We gave you four grand already. Isn’t that enough? You think I don’t know the dorms are professionally cleaned before we move in?” Becky turned purple. Her face darkened. “Fine! I’ll send it all back! Why are you yelling at me?” The money bounced back to my account. I asked innocently, “Are you sure? But you cleaned my bed.” Becky rolled her eyes at me and went to unpack her stuff without a word. Sophie wasn’t done. “Don’t be so petty. Giving us attitude just because we called you out? I hate people who hold grudges. If you don’t want to live here, move out.” Becky snapped. “Why should I move? You move! I was here first!” Maybe she got too worked up, but she suddenly collapsed to the floor. She laid there for a few seconds, eyes fluttering, then snapped them open. She looked around, confused. Finally, her gaze landed on me. She smirked. Then she climbed up, put on her headphones, and started crying loudly. “I even prepared gifts for you guys! My kindness is wasted!” Sophie loved being the center of attention. Hearing about gifts piqued her interest. “Really? You got us gifts? What are they?” Becky sobbed. “Nothing! You guys don’t see me as a friend, so I won’t bother you!” It sounded like she was cutting ties, but her tone was soft, inviting comfort. Sophie walked over. She didn’t apologize, but she tossed Becky a tissue. “Stop being dramatic. Show me the gifts.” Becky sniffled. “My family are farmers too, so it’s nothing expensive. Just some clay figurines I made over the summer.” “Oh, handmade? That’s cool,” Sophie said, eyes lighting up. She had a thing for “authentic” crafts. Becky quickly steered the conversation toward me. “My little gift is nothing compared to Lily’s. She said she was going to treat us all to a meal at the biggest restaurant near campus.” Becky shot me a challenging look. If I guessed right, she was reborn too. She used this trick in my past life. I immediately denied it and argued with her. It saved my wallet, but it deepened the misunderstanding. Sophie and Chloe thought I was a liar and a flake. She was trying to do it again. If I refused, I’d repeat the past. If I agreed, she’d order the most expensive items on the menu and stick me with the bill. I’d be broke and humiliated. But she forgot option three. Facing Sophie’s skeptical look, I denied half of it. “You must have misheard. I’m a farm girl, I can’t afford a fancy restaurant. I said I’m a pretty good cook. If we had a kitchen, I’d make you guys a home-cooked meal. Too bad I can’t afford to rent a place with a kitchen.” Sophie and Chloe exchanged smiles. The doubt vanished, replaced by their natural, breezy arrogance. They believed me over Becky. “A kitchen? That’s easy. My parents bought me a condo in the complex next door. I’m sick of takeout anyway. Let’s do it tonight.” Chloe nodded enthusiastically. Becky bit her lip, forcing a sinister smile. “That’s great! I can’t wait.” I knew she was plotting something. Buying expensive ingredients behind my back and making me pay. Or tampering with the food. She wanted to drive a wedge between me and the others. Sure enough, she “accidentally” sent me a text, deleting it two seconds later. But I saw it. [You think you can win just because you came back? I’ll make everyone hate you again! You’re too stupid to beat me. Kneel and apologize, and maybe I’ll go easy on you. Heehee!] I mentally gave her the finger. This time, I’m not losing. Chapter 4 After unpacking, we all went our separate ways. At 5 PM, Becky tagged me in the group chat. [@Lily, babe, where are you? Everyone’s here! We’re just waiting for the chef!] [So sorry, the guys from the class next door heard you were treating us and insisted on coming. I tried to say no, but they just wanted to join the fun. They said they won’t eat if there’s not enough food.] [Don’t worry, I bought them some snacks. They won’t touch your cooking.] She spammed a few photos. Sophie’s luxurious apartment was packed with people. Our entire department seemed to be there. And on the counter sat piles of premium seafood. [The seafood you asked me to order arrived! Come prep it before it goes bad!] Jesus. That was at least seven or eight grand worth of food. She claimed the extra guests wouldn’t eat, but could we really let them stand there watching us feast? She was setting me up to fail. I didn’t panic. I sent a “shocked rabbit” emoji and went silent. Because my Chopped Chili Fish Head was ready. I walked out of the kitchen with the dish. I heard Sophie screaming into her phone. “Becky! Why did you bring a crowd to my apartment? Did I say you could?” “Do you know how many germs that many people carry? I am speechless!” “And Lily changed the location at 2 PM! Why are you still at my place?” “The food is on the table, we’re not waiting for you. Don’t come! Since you brought everyone there, you host them. Don’t make me look cheap!” “You and Lily are both farm girls, you must know how to cook. Make them something! Don’t let them starve!” “What? You can order it but you can’t pay for it? You took four grand from us! Stop acting poor.” I placed the last dish on the table. Sophie hung up, following the scent to the table. Her eyes lit up. “It smells amazing! Is that wild mushroom soup?”

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Julian Sterling drove over to pick me up. The man was usually an iceberg—cold, ascetic, untouchable. But there he was, letting his brand-new secretary sit in his passenger seat. That was the moment I knew: this marriage was dead in the water. 1 That day, Julian pulled up to the curb. When I opened the passenger door, I froze. A young, pretty girl was already occupying the seat, flashing a sugary sweet smile at me. “Hi, Mrs. Sterling!” She greeted me politely enough. But she made zero move to get her ass out of the seat. My eyes narrowed, shifting to Julian. He was looking down, finishing a call, completely oblivious to the silent warfare happening two feet away from him. We had plans to go to an exclusive auction tonight. I had been looking forward to this date. I’d spent hours getting ready, hair done, dress perfect. I didn’t expect to find a squatter in the front seat. “Hi, Mrs. Sterling. I’m Lola. I’m Mr. Sterling’s new Executive Assistant.” Her smile widened, revealing two cute little dimples. “I heard you guys were going to a private auction tonight, so I begged Mr. Sterling to let me tag along. Just to broaden my horizons, you know? Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you two at all.” My heart instantly dropped into the basement. I knew this man. He was distant. He had boundaries made of steel. He didn’t just let people into his personal space. We got together through a merger—a strategic union. We weighed the pros and cons and chose each other. Outsiders joked that I was marrying a monk. But after we made it official, Julian would hold me with a gentle look in his eyes. In our most intimate moments, the corners of his eyes would turn a flushed red. He once told me, “You are my wife. We are one entity. You are different from everyone else.” Today, it felt like the fine print on that contract had changed. 2 But I wasn’t some shrinking violet trained to swallow insults. I was Summer Vance. I didn’t cater to anyone’s mood but my own. “Get out.” I ordered her out cold. Zero mercy. The girl froze. She clearly didn’t expect me to slap her down so publicly on our first meeting. Maybe my tone was too harsh, because Lola looked completely lost. “I… I’m sorry, Mrs. Sterling.” Her voice trembled with unshed tears as she scrambled into the back seat, looking like a kicked puppy. Julian finished his call and finally looked over. He realized I was pissed. A look of helpless indulgence crossed his face. He leaned over to buckle my seatbelt. Feeling that the seat position had been changed, I adjusted it back with aggressive, impatient jerks. The whole ordeal made my blood boil. “Annoying as hell. Who gave anyone the nerve to mess with my seat settings?” The air in the car turned to ice. The girl in the back didn’t dare make a sound. Julian frowned slightly. His tone was calm, reasonable. “If you’re in a bad mood, we can just go home.” In the rearview mirror, I saw the woman silently wiping away tears. I was over it. “Lola, was it? I’m not in the mood anymore. Call yourself an Uber. Julian and I are going home.” Her face went pale. She looked weakly at Julian. He made no move to save her. She got out of the car, looking like her soul had been crushed. 3 Julian would never embarrass me in front of outsiders. He knew how to control the room. That’s why he suggested going home. Issues get solved behind closed doors. That was our unspoken rule. “She’s just a college grad fresh out of school. Why are you lowering yourself to bicker with her?” Back home, Julian pulled me into his arms. “First time.” Julian looked confused. “What?” “In all these years, this is the first time you’ve let another woman sit in your passenger seat.” He didn’t expect that to be the trigger. Everyone in our circle knew how exceptional Julian Sterling was. Countless women threw themselves at him. But he was clean. He walked through a garden of flowers and never let a single leaf stick to him. Julian chuckled softly, rubbing my hair. “I can’t believe I actually made you jealous.” He leaned down to kiss me, his nose grazing my cheek. “She is my subordinate. That’s it. “There will never be anything else between her and me.” Julian cupped my face, staring deep into my eyes. His voice was low, heavy with a promise. 4 A woman’s intuition is basically a sniper rifle. Even though I’d only met Lola once, my gut screamed that this girl had designs on Julian. I thought my little power move at the car would be enough. I was wrong. The diamond necklace from the auction—the one meant for me—was around her neck the very next day. Harper, Julian’s Chief of Staff, sent me a photo and a screenshot of a social media post. In the photo, the crescent moon diamond necklace sat on Lola’s pale neck, making her look delicate and precious. Her eyes were red and puffy, but the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile. Presumably, she cried all night and received a consolation prize from a certain someone. The screenshot was from Lola’s timeline: [The Big Boss said girls need to be strong even when they’re wronged! Wiping my tears. Yes, sir, my Captain!] xoxo Followed by a few “fighting” emojis and a picture of the necklace in its velvet box. My blood turned to slush. I hate to admit it, but she got to me. It felt like finding a squashed mosquito on my favorite white silk scarf. It was a strange feeling. I wanted to drive my yellow Ferrari 180 mph straight to the office and slap her twice across the face. But looking at my manicured hands, I realized that engaging with a low-tier “Pick Me” girl was beneath my tax bracket. I called my SA at Hermès. Her voice practically vibrated with joy. “Mrs. Sterling, don’t worry! I will empty out Shanghai if I have to. I’ll get the stock allocated and delivered immediately!” That afternoon. Before the workday ended. Every female assistant and employee in the CEO’s office—forty-six people in total—received a gift from the President’s wife. Everyone except Lola. A Hermès necklace worth about $15,000. Sure, the unit price didn’t match the $300,000 auction piece, but I won on volume. Harper handled it beautifully. The condition for receiving the gift was a mandatory social media post with specific copy: [The Boss’s Wife says every girl deserves the best! Clenched fist emoji. Yes, ma’am, my Queen!] The girls were more than happy to cooperate. As assistants in the CEO’s office, they were the hub of all corporate gossip. Receiving a five-figure gift from the Lady of the House? They posted that sh*t instantly. Some smart ones even added their own flair: [Mrs. Sterling plays chess, not checkers!] These executive assistants might not have executive power, but their influence on the company grapevine was terrifying. In less than thirty minutes, the entire company knew the CEO’s wife had dropped a bomb of generosity. And everyone knew why. Lola’s face went white. She felt the humiliation burn. Red-eyed, she hid in the bathroom to take off the diamond necklace. Two colleagues came in to touch up their makeup, saw her, and let out a meaningful snicker. Lola wished the ground would swallow her. She put the necklace back in the box and marched it back to Julian’s office. 5 Julian had just finished a video conference with a partner. He saw the girl, obviously crying again, clutching the velvet box and staring at her shoes. “What’s wrong?” he asked, puzzled. Lola’s tears fell before she even spoke. “Mr. Sterling, please take this back. I don’t dare to keep it.” A frown creased Julian’s cold face. He knew something had happened. He didn’t ask directly. He just waited. Lola bit her lip, hesitated, and then poured out the whole story of what happened in the office. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m always causing trouble. I just posted to encourage myself… I didn’t know Mrs. Sterling would see it.” She sobbed quietly. “I didn’t think she would be so angry.” She looked as pitiful as a wet rabbit. “Mr. Sterling, I want to apologize to her. I can explain everything to her face.” Julian never looked at social media. His life was consumed by work. But as a CEO, he knew how toxic office politics could be. His expression turned frosty. “I understand,” he said, his voice deep.

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1 Everyone said my husband, Rovan, and his childhood sweetheart, Selina, were sworn enemies. On our wedding day, she was the one person he pointedly didn’t invite. That all changed the night I went into labor. Rovan gently placed a pill in my mouth, whispering that it was for the pain. As my senses blurred, a sob broke through the door. “Rovan, the puppy you gave me… she’s not going to make it.” Rovan’s voice, softer and more tender than I had ever heard it, flowed like honey. “Don’t worry, Selina.” “I gave her something. She’ll be able to nurse soon. Bring your puppy in.” Selina’s voice was laced with worry. “But she hasn’t even had the baby yet. Forcing it with medication… it could be dangerous for her and the child.” Rovan’s tone turned to ice. “Then she shouldn’t have taken so long to give birth, leaving our puppy without milk. This is her own fault.” “As for the baby,” he added with chilling finality, “if he can save our dog’s life, it will be his greatest honor.” Every word was a needle piercing my heart. When I woke again, the searing pain in my chest confirmed the nightmare was real. I wiped the tears from my face and dialed the encrypted number. “Dad,” I choked out, “I’ve changed my mind. I’m ready to leave him and keep the baby.” … The next day, I was jolted awake by a fresh wave of agony. My eyes flew open to the garish splash of crimson staining the sheets beneath me, a brutal confirmation that this was no dream. I dragged myself to the door, my hand hovering over the handle when the voices outside froze me in place. “Offering a bounty for your own son’s heart’s blood… you’re really something else, Rovan,” Selina’s voice purred. Rovan let out a contemptuous laugh. “What choice do I have?” “After last night’s medication, the thing in her belly is probably defective. The Sterling family can’t have a stain like that on its name. I’m just cutting my losses.” Selina playfully punched his chest. “Just because I was going abroad, you had to marry someone else? And get her pregnant? What am I to you, really?” Rovan caught her hand, pulling her into his arms. “Are you jealous?” he murmured, kissing her forehead. “She’s just a placeholder. Besides, the kid isn’t even mine. On our wedding night, I paid some homeless guy off the street.” My body, pressed against the door, went rigid. My blood turned to ice. “Two hundred bucks, and she got knocked up with some stray’s kid,” he added, his voice dripping with the kind of disdain you’d reserve for trash. The sharp cramps in my belly were nothing compared to the agony ripping through my heart. The conversation outside continued. “I even recorded it.” “The way she acted… if she ever dares to disobey me, I’ll make sure the whole world gets a look.” “Send it to me! I have to see what the prim and proper Mrs. Sterling looks like behind closed doors,” Selina said, her voice giddy with excitement. “What’s the rush? Good things are meant to be shared. The guys are all waiting for a copy.” “All seven of them? You’re that generous?” “She’s just a toy. I never thought of her as my wife. Selina, the only one I’ve ever loved is you.” Each word was a poisoned blade, hacking my heart to pieces. I slid down the door, a warm, slick feeling spreading between my legs. The sounds of their grotesque panting filled the air; they couldn’t even wait to find a room. A violent pain tore through my abdomen. I tried to stand, but my limbs were useless. I don’t know how much time passed before the door was thrown open. Rovan saw me in the pool of blood, his pupils shrinking. “Eleanor!” he yelled, scooping me into his arms. In the last moment before darkness consumed me, I saw the panic etched on his face. I managed to twist my lips into a silent, bitter sneer. Rovan, who are you still performing for? When I woke again, the world was a blinding, sterile white. Rovan immediately grabbed my hand, his voice thick with fake concern. “Eleanor, how are you feeling?” The sight of his face made my stomach churn. I yanked my hand away. My other hand flew to my belly, a desperate, searching motion. I didn’t care who the father was; this was my child. Rovan misunderstood my panic. “The baby’s fine,” he rushed to assure me. “The doctor said you were just overwhelmed by stress.” I stared at him, my gaze as cold as a tombstone. “My due date is today. Why haven’t I delivered?” A flash of panic crossed his face. “Maybe… maybe the baby wants to stay with mommy a little longer.” I let out a hollow, mocking laugh. Just then, the hospital room door opened. Selina walked in, cradling a tiny puppy, her eyes fixed on Rovan with a look of pure distress. “Rovan, our puppy… she’s not doing well again.” He instantly took the dog from her and turned to me. “Eleanor, this dog means the world to Selina. Can you… can you please help her?” A cold smirk touched my lips. “How? By taking another one of your lactation pills like last night?” Rovan’s face paled. “You know?” I didn’t answer, just kept my eyes locked on him, a silent accusation. Suddenly, Selina fell to her knees in front of me, banging her head on the floor. “Eleanor, please don’t blame Rovan for last night! It was my fault, all my fault!” she wailed. “This puppy was his coming-of-age gift to me. I can’t just watch her die! Please, help me, I’m begging you!” Her forehead was already starting to bleed. Rovan, his face twisted with pain, pulled her up and glared at me. “I never knew you could be so cruel, just watching her beg you like this,” he snarled. “It’s just a little milk. It won’t cost you anything.” I clenched my jaw, refusing to let them see me break. “Never.” Selina’s eyes welled up with fresh tears. Suddenly, Rovan’s hand shot out, clamping around my neck as he forced another white pill into my mouth. It dissolved instantly, impossible to spit out no matter how much I gagged and struggled. A wave of unnatural heat washed over me. He approached with the puppy, ripped open my hospital gown, and exposed my chest. “Rovan, you can’t do this to me! You can’t treat me like some animal!” I screamed. His hand trembled for a second, but he still brought the whimpering puppy to my breast. When I thrashed wildly, he actually produced a pair of handcuffs and locked my wrist to the bed frame. I was completely powerless. I looked down in horror as the tiny animal latched on, its sharp teeth tearing at my sensitive skin. A searing pain ripped through me. I shrieked, my cries echoing in the sterile room, but Rovan just watched, his expression cold and unmoved. When it was finally over, I stared blankly at the ceiling, my spirit shattered. Rovan started to speak, but Selina suddenly went pale, swaying on her feet. “Rovan, my head… it hurts so much.” Without a second’s hesitation, he spun around, caught her as she fell, and rushed out of the room, carrying her in his arms. He never gave me a single backward glance. My heart plunged into an icy abyss. The drugs forced my due date back, day by day. With every check-up, the doctor’s eyes were filled with a pity I couldn’t bear. When I was finally discharged and returned home, I found Selina lounging on the living room sofa as if she owned the place. Rovan wasn’t surprised to see me. “Selina was injured and needs someone to look after her. She’ll be staying here from now on.” His words were a final, decisive blade, severing the last thread of hope I had left. “Fine,” I said, my voice utterly devoid of emotion. Arguing was pointless. He wouldn’t listen anyway. Why waste my breath? I ate my dinner in silence and went upstairs. That night, Rovan came into the room, reeking of Selina’s cloyingly sweet perfume. He cleared his throat and held out a bracelet. “I know you’ve had a rough few days. I bought this especially for you.” He tried for a softer tone. “I’ve always seen Selina as a sister. That dog is just… so important to her. I couldn’t let it die.” I took the bracelet without a word. He immediately pulled me into an embrace, his lips finding mine. “I knew you’d understand, honey. You’re the best.” I stared at a dark corner of the room, a glacial smile forming on my lips. The next morning, Selina blocked my path at the top of the stairs. She was holding that wretched dog, her hand outstretched. “The bracelet Rovan gave you last night. Give it back.” I took a step back. “My husband gave that to me. Why should I give it to you?” She let out a derisive snort. “It was a free gift that came with the necklace he bought me. They’re a set. I thought the bracelet was ugly, so he gave it to you. Now I’ve changed my mind. Hand it over.” Her voice was triumphant, completely certain I would bend to her will. Even though I thought I was prepared for anything, her words felt like a thousand tiny needles piercing my heart. The warmth he’d offered was nothing more than someone else’s discarded trash. “He gave it to me,” I said, my voice hoarse. “It’s mine now. If you want it back, have him ask me for it himself.” Before the words were even out of my mouth, she did the unthinkable. She hurled the puppy down the marble staircase. A sickening thud, and the yelping stopped. “Baby!” Selina shrieked, stumbling down the stairs. She collapsed beside the dog’s lifeless body, cradling it in her arms. Rovan rushed out, drawn by the commotion. The moment she saw him, Selina scrambled to her feet, clutching the dead dog, and started for the door. “I’m going home,” she whimpered. Sensing something was wrong, Rovan grabbed her arm. “Selina, what is it? What happened?” That was all it took. She collapsed into his chest, sobbing hysterically. “Rovan… our baby… our dog… I know she hates me, but she should have taken it out on me! Why… why did she have to do this to my puppy? He was my life!” Her grief was a spectacular performance. Rovan froze for a second, then his gaze shot to me, instantly turning venomous. He lunged, grabbing a handful of my hair and dragging me in front of Selina. My scalp screamed in protest. “Apologize to her!” he roared. I hung my head, my silence a defiant refusal. His patience snapped. “You brought this on yourself,” he hissed, his eyes flashing with a brutal light. He kicked the back of my knee, hard. I collapsed, my kneecaps slamming against the cold floor with a dull crack. The next moment, his leather shoe was grinding into my spine, forcing me to my knees. Selina’s sobs grew louder. “Baby was my child! She killed my child! Even if she apologizes, I’ll never forgive her!” “Then what do you want, Selina?” Her voice was pure poison. “A life for a life. She killed my child, so she’ll pay with hers!” My pupils contracted. A raw scream tore from my throat. “Rovan, this is my baby!” A flicker of something—doubt? regret?—crossed his face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. “A life for a life, Eleanor. This is all your fault.” He yanked me to my feet. In a moment of pure, desperate rage, I lunged forward and bit down on his hand, hard. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. He roared in pain, his face contorting, and backhanded me across the face. I fell to the floor, stunned. Then his foot came up, slamming into my chest. Pain exploded through me. I curled into a ball, unable to move, unable even to draw a breath without a tearing sensation. Selina calmly handed him a thick wooden rod. “Rovan, she dared to attack you. Use this. Get rid of the bastard in her stomach.” Rovan gripped the rod, his knuckles white. For a heartbeat, he hesitated. “Selina, maybe we should just… let it go. This isn’t easy for her.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Rovan, do you love her now?” she whispered brokenly. “Have you forgotten? This was your gift to me. This was our baby.” His resolve hardened. “Fine. Then just let her apologize.” Selina smiled, a slow, cruel curve of her lips. She lifted her foot, showing me the dirt on her expensive shoe. “If you want me to forgive her, fine. Let her kneel down and lick my shoe clean. Then I might consider letting her and that thing in her belly live.” The thought of my baby, who hadn’t even had a chance to see the world, spurred me into action. I pushed through the agony, my body screaming in protest, and began to crawl towards her. A sharp, twisting pain shot through my abdomen, as if my child was silently begging me to stop. But this was my baby. And I had failed to protect him. I closed my eyes, squeezed them shut against the humiliation, and lowered my head. I licked her shoe clean. When I was done, she nodded with satisfaction. “You’re certainly good with your mouth. No wonder you got pregnant with a bastard on the first try.” She laughed, a sharp, ugly sound, tugging on Rovan’s arm. “Rovan, darling, we can let her live, but she has to pay. She’ll stay here all night and pray for my little baby’s soul.” Rovan didn’t object. He simply turned and left with her. I collapsed onto the floor, every ounce of strength gone. The pain in my stomach intensified, and the bleeding grew worse. “Don’t be afraid, little one,” I whispered, fumbling for my phone. “Mommy’s going to get us help.” My fingers trembled as I tried to dial, but the screen was dead. No signal. The next second, a flicker of orange caught my eye. Flames were leaping up from a corner of the room, and thick, acrid smoke began to fill the air. I bit my tongue, the sharp pain clearing my head for a moment. I crawled towards the main door, banging on it with what little strength I had left, but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked from the outside. The heat was becoming unbearable, sweat pouring down my face. The fire crept closer, a hungry, roaring beast. The door remained sealed. I slumped against it, my hand resting on my belly. I’m so sorry, baby. Mommy couldn’t protect you. My vision blurred, the world dissolving into smoke and shadows. I couldn’t hold on any longer. I passed out. As Rovan was led away by Selina, a profound unease settled over him. He turned his head and saw a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

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The day I left the Lu mansion, Logan Lu leaned against the doorframe. Watching me pack my bags, he gave a mocking half-smile: “What’s wrong?” “Did you realize that even giving birth to my kid couldn’t force me to marry you?” “So you decided he’s useless now, and you’re not taking him with you?” Before I could speak, Leo Lu, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, walked in. He carefully poured the money from his piggy bank into my hand. “Mom, you need to take good care of yourself.” “And, can you please promise me that you are never coming back?” “Aunt Stella said she’ll only agree to be Leo’s mom if you leave for good.” Chapter 1 Leo finished his plea. His dark, round eyes blinked up at me, practically bursting with hope. Logan lowered his voice, the tone laced with warning. “Leo Lu.” “Is that how your school taught you to speak to your mother?” Leo hung his head, pouting. “But last time, Aunt Stella asked Dad if he was falling for Mom, and you said you weren’t.” “And I don’t really like her either…” “So if Mom wants to leave, just let her go, okay…” His words no longer hurt me. A week ago, on his sixth birthday, he insisted on celebrating with Logan and Stella Song. I realized I was suddenly free of my anxiety and attachment. I didn’t try to stop him at all. Even when I passed that restaurant in the evening. And heard him introduce Stella to the violinist as his mother, my heart remained calm. Chapter 2 Because I was packing, I was squatting. My eyes were level with the small figure of Leo. I accepted his piggy bank money and gave a slight nod. “Okay, I promise you.” I didn’t refer to myself as “Mom” anymore, quietly stating: “I won’t ever come back to this house.” “And I am no longer your mother. Leo, you’re free.” He seemed surprised that I agreed so easily. He stared at me blankly for two seconds. Then he burst into a smile. “Yay!” “Aunt Stella will be my mom now!” He ran out, shouting that he was going to call Stella with the good news. I packed my last item of clothing. I closed the suitcase and stood up. Logan had been silent the whole time. But as I walked past him, he grabbed my arm. His eyes were half-closed, unreadable. “Ava Tang, ‘not loving you’ doesn’t mean ‘hating you.’” “I’m used to you after all these years.” “What’s the point of this dramatic exit?” By the end, his voice was tinged with irritation. I wanted to explain, but it felt pointless and overly sentimental. So I simply pulled my arm back and instructed him: “Take care of Leo.” I dragged my suitcase out of the Lu mansion. It was a long walk out of the gated community. The weather was poor. A cold wind swirled the fallen leaves onto me. It felt easy to let myself look pathetic. But I didn’t look back, not even once. Chapter 3 I had rented an apartment in advance and quickly found a job. Based on my old major, I applied to be an art teacher for an after-school kids’ program. On my first day of work. I walked into the office and saw several female teachers huddled around a little girl. “Chloe, darling, does your Uncle Ace like desserts?” “And, tell me, what kind of girls does he go for?” “Oh, Chloe sweetie, is he picking you up tonight?” The girl was expressionless. “Teachers, you asked me to come here to discuss issues with my painting style, didn’t you?” The teachers exchanged embarrassed glances. “If there are no issues, I’ll head back to class.” The girl turned, saw me. She gave a brief greeting, “Hello, Teacher.” And then walked straight out. Chapter 4 The teachers were very friendly to the new arrival. After showing me the ropes, they brought up the girl again. “You wouldn’t know it, but that kid’s uncle is Ace Harrington.” “He and Logan Lu are known as the city’s most eligible bachelors.” “Oh, wait, I heard Logan Lu is already with his girlfriend, Stella Song, who just got back from overseas.” “So now, it’s just Ace Harrington left.” Hearing Logan’s name again, I felt calm, as if he were a stranger. But Ace Harrington… I sighed silently. He was Logan’s business rival. He always disliked me, and every time we met, I was guaranteed to be the target of his sarcasm. “Pathetic, aren’t you? Logan and Stella’s kissing photo is trending, and you don’t even dare to speak up.” “What did you get from being with Logan? A title? Status?” “Ava, why the hell don’t you look around at other people?” I’d better stay away from the girl named Chloe. If Ace found out I worked here, he might use his connections to get me fired. Chapter 5 Logan called while I was packed into a subway train on my way home. “Hello?” The noise on my end made him pause. After a few seconds, he asked, “Where are you?” “On the subway.” He gave a barely audible laugh. “Riding the subway?” “Ava Tang, this is what you get for being stubborn.” I gripped the overhead bar and only asked, “Do you need something?” The sound of his footsteps, even distorted by the poor connection, was slow and measured. Just like him. I could almost picture him walking from his desk to the floor-to-ceiling window. “Leo has a fever.” He said, “Tell me your address. I’ll come pick you up and bring you home.” “No need.” I looked down. “The Lu family will take good care of him.” “He doesn’t need me.” Logan’s voice deepened slightly. “Are you really going to abandon him?” “Ava Tang.” He sounded incredulous. “Just because he said he prefers Stella?” Logan never seemed to understand my feelings for Leo. Even though I explained countless times. I took the morning-after pill after the accident, but he never believed me. Because I had been in love with him for years. So he was convinced I deliberately got pregnant with Leo to force him to marry me. In his mind, my feelings for Leo weren’t deep. He was just a tool, a bargaining chip. He couldn’t know that my fear of Leo growing to prefer Stella had driven me to countless nights of heartbreak and anxiety. The subway reached the transfer station. The carriage suddenly emptied. “That’s not it, Logan.” I found a seat, my aching legs finally getting a rest. I said softly: “It’s because he genuinely prefers Stella.” “And I don’t want to force myself anymore to try and win him over.” Logan tried to say something else. The next second, Leo’s voice came through the phone, confirming my words. “Dad! Leo’s fever is gone!” “Can we go see Aunt Stella tomorrow?!” Logan cleared his throat. “Ava Tang, listen to me…” I hung up the phone. And got off at the next stop. Shaking off the phone call.

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The young couple next door had a massive fight. In a fit of rage, the woman dumped their cat on my doorstep. Seeing the poor thing, looking like it hadn’t eaten all day, I took it in. It wasn’t friendly with me, but it wouldn’t leave my husband alone, constantly rubbing against him and meowing. That’s when I started to get suspicious. One night, when my husband claimed to be working late, I knocked on my neighbor’s door. She answered, one hand resting on her slightly rounded belly. “Mrs. Hammond? What can I do for you this late?” The challenge and triumph in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. When my husband, Liam, tiptoed home in the dead of night, he found both our parents sitting in the living room. And a set of divorce papers on the coffee table. 1. “Divorce?” Liam didn’t even look at the papers. He snatched them up and threw them at the Ragdoll cat that was currently purring at his feet. “Catherine, are you seriously throwing away seven years of marriage over a stupid cat?” “If you don’t sign, we’ll see each other in court.” I said it calmly, then turned to go back to our room. Our parents stared, stunned. They couldn’t understand how a couple that had seemed so deeply in love just last month could suddenly be on the brink of divorce. Liam looked down, hiding the panic in his eyes, his fists clenched and trembling. His parents rushed to block my path. “Catherine, you can’t just accuse Liam of cheating because of a cat! Some cats are just naturally friendlier with men. What does that prove?” “We’ve all seen how good he is to you. When you had that terrible flu, he stayed by your hospital bed for 48 hours straight. When you fell from that cliff, he sold his company shares, spent a fortune to get you the best medical team in the country.” “Does all of that mean less to you than a cat?” My own parents chimed in, their voices pleading. “Where are you going to find another husband as good as Liam?” “After your accident, you can’t have children. Liam doesn’t hold that against you. You should be grateful. Don’t you see how lucky you are?” Suddenly, Liam grabbed my hand, his eyes red-rimmed and full of a desperate, all-consuming love. “Honey, we dated for two years, we’ve been married for five. We faced death together and never let go. How can you let a cat come between us?” “Is it because I’ve been so busy with the company lately? Do you feel neglected?” “I swear, I’ll come home on time every night to be with you, no matter how busy I am…” Everyone in the room, it seemed, loved me. My in-laws were kind and educated, and had always treated me well. My own parents were more practical; they just wanted me to have a comfortable life with Liam. But the cold resolve in my eyes didn’t waver. I pulled my hand from his grasp. “I’ll say it again. If you don’t sign tonight, we’re going to court.” “This is the last shred of dignity I’m offering you.” Liam’s eyes were bloodshot. “Catherine, how can you be so cruel?” “It’s simple. Because I don’t care about you anymore.” With that, I pushed past them and walked out the door, not wanting to get dragged into any more drama. I heard sighs of disappointment from our parents, but I didn’t slow down. The Ragdoll cat seized the opportunity and slipped out with me. I was sitting on a park bench, staring into space, when I saw the cat chasing after its former owner, who was taking out the trash. The woman, Maya, kicked at its head in disgust, but the cat wouldn’t leave. I couldn’t just watch. I went over to intervene, but the cat arched its back and hissed at me. Maya started to laugh. “You know, Mrs. Hammond, people are a lot like cats.” “If they don’t like you, they don’t like you. You can’t force it.” I looked at the smug challenge in her eyes, then at her swollen belly, and I understood. “You’re right.” “You can’t keep a stray, whether it’s a cat or a person.” Just then, Liam came running over, his face a mask of anxiety. But it wasn’t for me. “Catherine, can you just be reasonable for once? I told you, it’s a misunderstanding! The cat likes me, so what? It has nothing to do with our neighbor! It’s one thing to make a scene at home, but how can you come out here and harass her? Can’t you see she’s pregnant?” He didn’t know what had happened. He just saw me with Maya and instinctively jumped to her defense, casting me as the jealous, irrational wife. A bitter smile touched my lips. Even if Liam did still love me, it was clear that his love for me couldn’t compete with his feelings for Maya. 2. Fearing I would cause more trouble for Maya, Liam dragged me back to our apartment. His parents looked furious. They had read the terms of the divorce agreement and had thrown it in the trash. “Catherine, what is the meaning of this? We’ve treated you like a daughter. It’s bad enough you’re divorcing Liam over a cat, but you want to take everything from him?” “Have we been too good to you? Do you think you can just walk all over us?” My own parents were flushed with shame. “You’ve gone too far. We can’t support you in this.” I didn’t bother explaining. “If you don’t agree, then we’ll see you in court.” A cheater deserves to lose everything. Liam’s voice trembled with desperation. “Catherine, are you doing this for the money? You have the passwords to all my accounts. You can spend whatever you want. Isn’t that enough?” Not all his accounts. He used to give me access to everything, but recently he’d opened a few new cards. I had no idea how much he’d spent on Maya. I was about to point that out when there was a knock on the door. Maya stood there, looking innocent and sweet. “I’m so sorry to bother you all this late.” “I saw Mr. Hammond and Mrs. Hammond arguing downstairs, and I felt terrible, thinking it was my fault.” “Mrs. Hammond wasn’t really harassing me. She was just upset with the cat, and I tried to intervene. It was my fault for getting involved. She has every right to be angry with me.” My in-laws’ faces turned thunderous. “Catherine, you were abusing a cat and bullying our neighbor?” My parents just shook their heads in disappointment. “Catherine, what has gotten into you?” They all missed one crucial detail. “Mr. Hammond?” “Maya, I didn’t realize you knew my husband. All those times we saw each other and you never said hello… it must have been so hard for you to pretend.” Maya immediately looked down, like a startled fawn, peeking up at Liam with a look of innocent panic, silently begging for help. Her right hand, adorned with a sparkling diamond ring, moved to rest on her belly. A flash of panic and affection crossed Liam’s face before he masked it. “I do know Maya. She’s a junior employee at my company. I’ve seen her around.” “I didn’t think it was important, and I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea, so I just treated her like a stranger. Catherine, honey, please don’t overthink things.” I almost laughed. If he had nothing to hide, why was he so worried about me “overthinking things”? And how could a junior employee afford a luxury apartment in the city center? Seeing my silence, Liam’s father stood up, his voice booming. “Catherine, if you have proof, I won’t say a word about the divorce. But if you’re trying to ruin my son based on suspicion alone, I’m warning you, you’re dreaming!” Before I could reply, Maya spoke up, her eyes wide. “Take everything? Mrs. Hammond, isn’t that a bit extreme?” “You may not have been to the office, but everyone there knows how much Mr. Hammond dotes on you, how much he loves you. Mrs. Hammond, could it be that you have another man, and you’re using me as an excuse to take Mr. Hammond’s money?” At that, I raised my hand and slapped her, hard, across the face. “Watch your mouth.” “Liam may put up with your nonsense, but I won’t.” 3. In that instant, I saw Liam’s hands clench into fists, his eyes burning with a rage I had never seen directed at me. But he quickly composed himself and turned to Maya with concern. “Are you okay?” Her eyes were already red with tears. “I’m fine. I misspoke. Mrs. Hammond was right to hit me. Please, don’t be angry because of me.” After seven years together, it was the first time Liam had ever gritted his teeth at me. “Apologize to her. Now.” I sneered. “Why should I?” “She deserved it.” Suddenly, Liam raised his hand and slapped himself across the face with all his might. Half his face immediately swelled up, red and angry. “I’ll take that for you.” “Catherine, I’m begging you. Please, stop this.” “After your accident, I took care of you, you’ve been at home all this time… maybe it’s gotten to you? Maybe you’re not well? I promise, no matter what, I will never abandon you.” “I’ll give you anything you want. Just please, don’t talk about divorce anymore.” “No,” I said, without a moment’s hesitation. “Liam, every second I spend with you makes my skin crawl.” His pleading, my stubbornness. It was the last straw for our parents. Liam’s parents stood up, their faces grim. “If you insist on a divorce, fine! But you won’t get a single penny from our family. We’ll fight you with everything we have to make sure you walk away with nothing!” My parents just sighed. “Catherine, you’re the one in the wrong here. When you have nothing left, you’ll regret this.” But was I really the one in the wrong? No. The person I had paid off at Liam’s company quickly sent me a surveillance video. I was watching it in the guest room when Liam knocked. Fearing he would see it and destroy the evidence, I quickly put in my wireless earbuds and tucked my phone away. “Catherine, what’s the point of this divorce?” “You can’t have children. No family with my kind of status would ever accept you.” I laughed coldly. “And why can’t I have children, Liam?” Because of the accident, in the second year of our marriage. Liam loved thrills, extreme sports. He always wanted me to join him. One time, we were rock climbing. He slipped. I took a risk to save him, grabbing his hand. He managed to find a foothold, but I was exhausted and fell. Everyone said Liam was a hero, that he’d risked his life for me. Now, he just looked down, guilty and silent. Through my earbuds, I could hear his voice, intertwined with Maya’s flirtatious laughter. “Liam, that was so amazing! Skydiving is the best. But you know, just taking me out for fun once in a while is enough. Making me move in next door to you… isn’t that a little risky?” After the sound of a long kiss, Liam’s voice, husky. “That’s what makes it exciting.” “Catherine has gotten so boring these last few years. You’re the only one who makes me feel alive…” 4. After gathering enough evidence, I went to Liam’s office to check on the company’s financials, to make sure he wasn’t hiding or transferring assets. The senior partners knew who I was and cooperated fully. Only Maya, emboldened by Liam’s favor, tried to cause trouble, luring me to an outdoor smoking area. We were alone. She dropped the act. “Catherine, why can’t you just be a good little housecat?” “A useless woman like you who can’t even have children… Liam keeping you around is a kindness. Why do you have to make things so ugly for yourself?” I laughed. “Fine. I won’t divorce him.” Maya looked stunned. “What?” I laughed harder. “You’re not just a homewrecker, you’re an idiot. You’re trying to provoke me, to push me into divorcing him so you can take my place, right?” “But after you marry him, you’ll get nothing but a mountain of debt.” “Remember that Ragdoll cat? Your fate will be worse than hers.” Maya must have seen the cat. It had come back to our apartment, starving, and I had shut the door in its face. It had to fight with strays for scraps of food and was now covered in infected bites, a truly pathetic sight. The comparison must have struck a nerve. With a snarl, she lunged at me. “You’re the one who’s about to be thrown out! How dare you curse me?” I sidestepped her, disgusted. She lost her balance and fell, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain. The commotion attracted others. Liam rushed back as soon as he heard, grabbing my arm and trying to force me to apologize to her. I refused. “She fell on her own. The security camera will prove it.” Liam gritted his teeth. “What are you talking about? There’s no camera in the smoking area.” I was about to tell him there was, but Maya started sobbing. “Mr. Hammond, it’s not her fault. It’s my fault for living next door, for causing a misunderstanding.” “Please, ask her to forgive me. She can do whatever she wants to me, but she can’t hurt my baby!” Liam’s eyes widened. “Catherine, you would attack an unborn child? The baby is innocent!” “Innocent?” I sneered. “We don’t even know whose bastard it is—” Before I could finish, his hand cracked across my face. “You’re incorrigible!” “Catherine, you brought this on yourself! You want to sue? Fine. I’ll have my lawyer arrange a court date for tomorrow.” “My family doesn’t need a twisted, inhuman monster like you!” In that moment, we weren’t just a couple on the verge of divorce. We were enemies. And everyone, including my own parents, was on his side. Before the hearing, they were still trying to reason with me. “Catherine, are you sure you’re not the one who’s been cheating?” “The internet is full of stories about you, saying you’re a gold-digging adulteress. Your reputation is ruined.” “Please, come to your senses before it’s too late.” Liam’s parents wouldn’t even look at me. “A snake is a snake. You can’t change its nature.” “Liam, when she’s left with nothing and comes crawling back, don’t you dare take her back!” Liam himself looked down on me with an air of finality. “Apologize now, and we can pretend this never happened.” “Otherwise, you’ll end up homeless and alone.” I said nothing, just looked at the judge, waiting for the proceedings to begin. And with a single sentence, the judge wiped the confident smirk off Liam’s face and sent a shockwave of disbelief through the courtroom. “What… how is that possible?” “Liam, what have you been hiding from us?”

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Just because my six-year-old son, Leo, stumbled while walking through the garden and accidentally crushed a single rose, Liam Kingston flew into a rage. He ordered Leo locked in the garden and demanded he plant 999 roses to replace it. Liam didn’t notice Leo was stung by a bee, collapsing on the lawn, convulsing and struggling. I screamed and cried, knocking my head against the iron gate like a madwoman: “Liam, open your eyes and look! Leo was stung by a bee, he’s allergic to bees! Open the gate now, or he’ll go into shock and die!” Liam put his arm around his childhood sweetheart, Holly Chen, and looked down at me dismissively: “Clara, I told you before, this is a private garden I specifically made for Holly. No unauthorized person is allowed inside.” “You’ve indulged Leo time and time again. Now he gets stung a few times and can’t handle it? Stop with this ‘allergic’ nonsense—it’s all your fault for spoiling him!” Holly Chen rolled her eyes in disgust. “Look, sis, a loving mother often spoils her son. Your son has ruined so many of my flowers already. He deserves a lesson.” With that, they embraced and walked away. I could only swing the rusty iron shovel, continuously smashing the gate, but it was too late. I watched helplessly as the red, swollen rash on my son’s body spread, his struggling movements grew weaker, and finally, he went silent. I collapsed to my knees, desperately begging my son to wake up and call me ‘Mom’ one more time, but he never responded. An hour later, I finally smashed the gate open. At the same moment, Liam posted a picture of an ultrasound on social media. [One more precious life for me to protect in this world. Thanks for your hard work, @HollyChen] My heart was dead. I placed the signed divorce papers in the study and made arrangements with the funeral home. Then I liked his post and commented: [Wishing your little love child a safe journey to adulthood.] 1 The next second, Liam called. His furious voice instantly exploded in the solemn, silent funeral home: “Clara Vance, what is that comment supposed to mean!” “Holly and I are childhood sweethearts! It’s only right for me to take care of her when she accidentally gets pregnant with my child!” “And what the hell happened to the garden! You smashed the gate and took Leo—fine—but did you deliberately stomp up the lawn and leave those holes? You and your son are trying to destroy things on purpose, aren’t you?” “Don’t think I’ll let you get away with it this time! You and Leo get your butts back here and plant all 999 roses, or don’t bother coming back into my Kingston house!” I lowered my eyes. My hands were red and swollen from smashing the gate with all my might, and my heart ached sympathetically. Not far away, the mortician was carefully removing the bee stinger that had taken my son’s life: “Liam, Leo is dead. And I will never step inside your house again.” The person on the other end paused, then seemed to laugh out of anger. “Clara Vance, you’re incredible. Got addicted to fighting for attention, did you? Now you’re even cursing your son to death?” Then, a woman’s soft gasp came through the line, instantly halting all my words. Remembering the ultrasound photo I had just seen—Liam and his mistress had a new baby coming—he truly didn’t care if my son lived or died. I sighed deeply. “Liam, I signed the divorce papers and left them in the study. Sign them, and you can live happily ever after with your sweetheart.” The moment I finished speaking, two frail, stooped elderly people entered, leaning on canes. “Where’s my little Leo? How did something happen to him for no reason?” Seeing the two elders who genuinely loved my son, the tears I had been fighting back finally fell. I collapsed, sobbing, into Grandma Kingston’s arms: “Grandpa, Grandma, it’s my fault as a mother. I didn’t watch Leo properly, and he had to suffer so much when he left.” Grandma Kingston and I cried together. Grandpa Kingston forced himself to step forward to look, and two lines of clear tears finally ran down his face: “Didn’t I order all the beehives near the villa cleared? And arranged for dedicated patrols! Where did the bee come from that bit my Leo and caused his reaction!” “It must be that bastard’s private garden, isn’t it!” I managed a bitter smile. Liam wasn’t unaware of Leo’s bee allergy. He had even leveled the villa garden and poured cement on it once, just to prevent accidents. He became a different person after Holly Chen came back. Not only did he allow Holly to replant flowers and plants, but he also indulged her in keeping bees in the garden, calling it “returning to nature and coexisting.” When I tearfully confronted Liam, holding my son after he had another allergic reaction, Liam just lazily lifted an eyelid. “Oh, then I’ll have someone install a fence. Leo won’t be able to get in, so there’s no danger.” An iron fence might keep people out, but how could it stop flying bees? In an instant, the image of my son struggling in pain before he died reappeared in my mind. I couldn’t smash that cursed iron gate open, only watch helplessly as my son convulsed wildly on the lawn until he stopped moving. When he died, his whole body was rigid, covered in red rashes and marks, and his large eyes were filled with lingering attachment to the world. Unwilling to accept it, I carried him to the mortician, begging him to conceal those awful scars. As if doing so could bring back the sweet boy who called me ‘Mom’ in his baby voice. As if he had never experienced such great pain. As if, the next second, he would wake up. But it was just wishful thinking. The mortician covered the last patch of red rash, put down his brush, and walked towards me with a look of sorrow: “Ma’am, the young master is ready. He can be on his way now.” It was then I realized the phone call hadn’t ended. Liam’s mocking voice rang out: “Clara Vance, are you addicted to playing the tragedy queen? Fine, rope my grandparents into your act, but now you’re getting people to say your son is ‘on his way?’ What, are you guys still at the funeral home?” Exhausted, I didn’t want to waste another word on him. “Yes, Leo is at the funeral home. If you come now, you can see him one last time.” To my surprise, he sneered: “Clara Vance! Have some shame! He just got a bee sting! If he was really allergic, a trip to the hospital would fix it. You think I’m that easy to fool?” “Seriously, like mother, like son. No wonder Leo has been so whiny and prone to lying lately!” Unable to listen any longer, Grandpa Kingston snatched the phone and burst into curses. “You bastard! Are you still sticking with that fox right now? Get your butt over here immediately!” As soon as he finished, he clutched his chest and violently threw the phone. Grandma rushed over to help him, but Grandpa pushed her away, crying helplessly: “The family is cursed! Your grandson says even if Leo really died, it doesn’t matter, because that fox has another one in her belly, and that one will surely be better behaved! You monster!” Grandma froze too, her cloudy eyes brimming with tears. She turned and pleaded with me sorrowfully: “Clara, please don’t listen to his nonsense. We only recognize the child you bore.” “Don’t worry. Your grandpa and I are going home right now to kick that fox out and make that bastard grovel and apologize to you!” A lump rose in my throat, and I shook my head. “Grandma, it’s alright. Since Liam’s heart has already strayed, I’ll just take Leo and leave.” “I’m tired after all these years. It’s time for me to go.” The two elders stared at me blankly, but in the end, said nothing more. The three of us stood mournfully before the crematorium oven all night until the staff handed me a small jar of ashes. I settled the urn and drove straight home. My son’s belongings were still in that cold house. I wouldn’t leave them for Liam, who didn’t love him at all. But as soon as I opened the door, a festive party atmosphere hit me: “Wow, Holly is amazing! She’s carrying a little princess for our big brother, Liam!” 2 The whole house was covered in pink. Liam and Holly’s friends were holding up wine glasses. One person disdainfully waved the divorce papers I had left. “Liam, your pathetic wife is quite gutsy, divorcing you and saying she’s leaving with nothing.” “She’s clearly crazy. A poor woman taking a child and leaving? Doesn’t she know her place?” “Honestly, if she wants to go, let her. What kind of brat did she give birth to? He reeks of poverty. It’s embarrassing for our Liam to take him anywhere!” “Exactly! Let’s encourage Holly to have a second one—a real Kingston young master!” The group burst into laughter. I pushed the door open and walked in, and everyone immediately went silent. Liam glanced at me casually, tightening his embrace around Holly Chen, acting as if he didn’t see me: “No need for ‘young master, young master.’ My daughter can be brilliant and talented too.” “Holly and I started training her even before she was born.” With that, he placed a small model airplane on Holly Chen’s slightly bulging belly. I instantly recognized it as the toy my son loved most—the first model Liam had helped him assemble. Even though I bought him many more expensive and better-looking toys afterward, Leo stubbornly insisted on sleeping with this small plane, simply because it smelled like his dad. Now, his dearest dad was going to give it to another woman’s child. I could no longer suppress my emotions and rushed forward, crying out: “Liam, your son’s body isn’t even cold yet! How can you do this to him!” The temperature around Liam instantly dropped. He slapped me across the face. “Clara Vance, what’s this ‘body not even cold’ nonsense? Are you addicted to acting now?” I couldn’t dodge in time. The back of my head struck the corner of the table, and warm liquid began to trickle down. And my son’s most treasured toy plane was cruelly thrown to the floor and smashed under Liam’s foot: “It’s just a toy! What’s wrong with giving it to his little sister? Is this how you teach a child?” “You didn’t even plant one rose and left a bunch of holes. Now you and your son dare to challenge me, huh?” Seeing his face, the image of my son’s painful death flashed through my mind. I wanted nothing more than to drag him to my son’s ashes and make him apologize. But my son’s comforting words, spoken that afternoon while he was holding the rose sapling, echoed in my ears: “Mom, don’t cry, don’t blame Dad. It’s Leo who should be punished. Leo can do it!” “But Dad was a little mean. He didn’t comfort me when I fell, and he scolded me. Next time, I won’t talk to him!” “Mom, let’s both ignore Dad next time, okay?” I closed my eyes, struggling to suppress the surging grief, and spoke slowly: “Yes, I don’t deserve to be a mother. And I don’t deserve to be your Kingston daughter-in-law. Sign the divorce papers, and from now on, we have no connection.” Liam looked at me, a cruel smile playing on his lips: “You want me to sign the divorce papers? Fine. You kneel over here, beg Holly Chen’s forgiveness, and apologize for spoiling your child and ruining her garden, and for interrupting today’s celebration party!” “The moment she’s satisfied, I’ll sign.” Hearing this, Holly Chen straightened her back and looked at me mockingly. The others also became interested, their eyes fixed on me. Some even started betting: “I bet a hundred bucks she won’t kneel. She really thought she could make Holly leave, and now she looks like a fool.” “She’ll probably end up sobbing and begging Liam to forgive her. That ‘dead’ son will probably come crawling back, and the mother and son will accept the punishment together.” The next moment, I pushed myself up and hit the ground with a loud thud. “I’m sorry! I was wrong!” A fragment of the toy plane plunged into my forehead, and blood streamed down. I seemed not to feel the pain, moving one knee, one step, one bow at a time, yet never reaching the end. Because every step I knelt forward, Holly Chen giggled and took one step back, leading me around the room like a dog on a leash. The surrounding voices slowly changed from spectacle to concern: “Liam, Holly, maybe that’s enough. Look how much blood she’s losing. Someone might actually get hurt.” “Yeah, look how pale her lips are. Is she actually in danger?” “She wants to leave anyway, so it works out. It’s about time you gave Holly a proper title, Liam.” I paused and looked back. The fluid flowing from my head had left a long, shocking trail of blood. I had no intention of stopping. As I prepared to knock my head again, Liam kicked me down. He flung the signed divorce papers in my face: “That’s enough! I signed it! Stop playing the victim here and fishing for sympathy! Don’t think I wouldn’t dare to divorce you!” “Take your child and get out! But you better remember, if you walk out that door today, your son won’t inherit a single cent!” “Don’t you dare try to make me acknowledge you or your son ever again!” 3 Having lost too much blood, I couldn’t stand steadily. I barely picked up the agreement and got to my feet. Liam stared hard at me. I simply flipped to the last page, confirmed the signature, and smiled: “Fine. I’m going to pack Leo’s things and leave.” With that, I turned and entered my son’s room. When the door closed, all the noise outside instantly stopped. I leaned against the door, my eyes blurring with tears. My son’s small blanket wasn’t folded, and the fairy tale book he hadn’t finished last night was still on his bedside table. It was as if, any second, he would jump out of the closet in a ghost costume to scare me. I wiped my tears, dragged the suitcase out of the closet, and began packing my son’s things. Clothes, toys, books, little crafts he made at preschool—I cried and laughed as I carefully packed them one by one, until I found a palm-sized message in a bottle. Inside were yellowed slips of paper. I opened one in a daze, and it turned out to be IOUs written between him and his father. When Leo was three and wouldn’t leave my side, he constantly threw tantrums about sleeping with me. It annoyed Liam so much that he would sneak into the room every midnight and carry me back to our bedroom: “This is ridiculous! I gave birth to an inconsiderate love rival!” “Honey, I miss you too. Can you spend more time with me?” Before he could reach the room, the small ball of awakened flesh would chase after him, hitting and cursing Liam, calling him the thief who stole his mom. Left with no choice, the father and son agreed to alternate nights. Whoever wanted an extra night had to write an IOU to the other. Liam had a lot of tricks for coaxing his son, and slowly, he racked up a huge stack of IOUs. When Leo asked him to repay them, Liam would use some crooked logic to appease him. However, after Holly Chen returned to the country, I spent more and more nights sleeping with my son. I thought he would be happy, but he became gloomier every day. “Mom, did you and Dad fight? Dad hasn’t come to see Leo for a long time.” He pulled me to the master bedroom, knocked on the door, and said he would write an IOU for Dad so Mom could sleep with Dad. Holly Chen was sprawled on the bed, her face flushed. The image of that breakdown rushed back. My heart gave a sudden, painful lurch. Not wanting to recall it, I trembling opened my son’s last note. It was written in wobbly, childish handwriting: [I want Mom and Dad to take me to Disneyland to see the fireworks!] My son had been asking for this wish since the beginning of the year, but Liam always canceled because of Holly Chen, and they never went. Now, he was gone, and he would never go. Suppressing the rising tide of regret, I booked a flight for the next afternoon and closed the suitcase. My body instinctively lay down on my son’s small bed, trying to capture his last scent. My exhausted mind involuntarily relaxed. I fell asleep, only to be awakened in the middle of the night by an abnormal shaking. I opened my eyes groggily. Right before me were Liam and Holly Chen, kissing! “Liam, didn’t we come here to see how to convert this room into a princess room? Why are you fooling around again?” I sat up abruptly. Liam glanced at me provocatively and didn’t stop what he was doing. Holly Chen looked at me with seductive eyes. “Sis, don’t be mad. We just wanted Leo to get used to his little sister’s presence early. After all, they’ll be growing up together.” “After this, can’t the five of us just live together happily?” They were openly making love on my son’s bed. My stomach lurched violently, and a wave of nausea rushed to my head. Liam saw me shaking with rage. Instead of feeling guilty, he adopted an accusatory tone: “Clara, I looked into it. Leo didn’t go to the hospital for an allergic reaction that day. Where did you hide him?” “Enough is enough. If you keep making trouble, I really won’t want you or your son anymore.” I couldn’t take it anymore. I suddenly vomited all over both of them. Liam froze for a moment. Holly Chen’s face changed drastically. She suddenly clutched her stomach, looking distressed: “Liam, my tummy hurts so much… so much…” Liam anxiously picked up Holly Chen, knocking me over in the process. “If anything happens to the baby in Holly’s belly, I’ll make your son pay for it!” I was left alone in the room again. I quietly got up, pulled the suitcase, and staggered out. It was still dark outside, the streets were empty, and the cool night wind whistled into my collar, making me shiver. Dizzy from blood loss, I didn’t stop walking. Finally, at dawn, I reached the cemetery. The plot I bought for my son this morning held an empty coffin. I knelt beside it, opened the suitcase, and placed his favorite things inside one by one. I left only an empty space for the urn. I looked at the urn in my hand, feeling as if my son were in my arms: “Mommy will take you to see the world, and then we’ll come back to rest, okay?” 4 Liam took Holly Chen to the hospital for a full night of checks. Only after confirming the fetus was safe did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. He sat wearily in the waiting area outside the examination room, rubbing his temples. The vomit on his clothes had dried, but the foul odor lingered. Normally, he would have blown up and forced Clara to clean up, but at that moment, he was inexplicably afraid. He realized all of Leo’s things were packed up, and Clara’s expression had been so sorrowful. Just then, Butler Dong, who specifically cared for his grandparents, rushed over. Liam irritably waved him off. “Dong, if you’re also here to lie to me that my son is dead, just shut up. I won’t believe it.” Butler Dong’s eyes showed a look of complex distress, but he bowed respectfully. “Young Master, this time it’s not Young Master Leo. Your grandparents have been hospitalized with a heart attack. If you have time, please visit them.” Liam rushed to the intensive care unit. As soon as he pushed open the door, a glass cup instantly smashed against the doorframe, shattering. Grandpa, wearing an oxygen mask, looked like he wanted to tear Liam apart: “You monster who killed his own son! You have the audacity to come see me? Get out!” The monitoring equipment emitted a piercing alarm. Butler Dong quickly stepped forward to calm Grandpa. “Mister, the dead cannot be brought back. Please take care of yourself.” Liam was still confused, and the pent-up frustration of the past two days finally burst out: “Are you all sick? I already checked the hospital records! My son was never here, and there are no medical records for him!” “He was only in the garden for a few hours! How could he possibly be dead? Did he really die from a bee sting?” Grandpa’s suddenly widened eyes were filled with disappointment. He then fell back onto the hospital bed, weakly ordering the butler: “Dong, you tell him.” The butler sighed. “Young Master Leo was indeed stung to death by a bee. But when the private doctor and the ambulance arrived, it was too late. So the Madam took him directly to the funeral home.” As if afraid Liam still wouldn’t believe it, the butler turned on the TV, playing the surveillance footage from two days ago. Liam finally saw Leo struggle to dig the first hole, then get stung on the calf by a bee. Strangely, Leo, who usually feared bees the most, didn’t cry or fuss this time. After glancing at the wound with teary eyes, he gritted his teeth and continued digging the hole, planting the rose sapling crookedly, trying to bury the stinging pain. Liam remembered that was why he hadn’t believed Clara’s story—Leo didn’t cry or fuss. He thought Clara was just making a scene because she felt sorry for the child. Grandpa spoke heartbreakingly, “Leo didn’t even dare to cry to make you happy! Look at what kind of father you are!” Liam stumbled, leaning against the wall, his eyes glued to the screen. He saw the red rash on his son’s body spread wider, the allergic reaction worsening, until Leo suddenly collapsed and convulsed. He knew what that was—anaphylactic shock. The first time his son had a reaction, he was so scared he prayed all night in the ancestral hall for his son’s safety. And this time… Liam had been deaf to it all, embracing the aunt his son hated most, buying princess dresses for another unborn child. Only Clara was left, frantically smashing the iron gate. The surveillance video ended with Clara agonizingly holding her son’s body and weeping. Liam’s heart was also instantly clenched, tears streaming down his face helplessly: “What have I done? What have I done!” Grandpa was trembling with anger. “You monster! Even if Leo did something wrong, couldn’t you have just punished him simply? Why force him to plant 999 roses?” “He’s only six! Could he even plant them all?” “You destroyed your own family for a fox! Was it worth it?” Another glass cup was thrown, hitting Liam right on the nose. The pain forced him to bend over, but he still tried to defend Holly Chen: “Grandpa, Holly Chen did nothing wrong! And she’s pregnant with my child now! If you have to blame someone, blame me!” To his surprise, Grandpa got even angrier. “She did nothing wrong? She is the culprit who caused your son’s death!” The butler continued, “We investigated. Holly Chen kept her bees near the villa, and almost every window frame was smeared with honey.” “And Young Master Leo has already had to have the private doctor come over more than ten times in the last three months because of bee stings.” “I suspect Young Master Leo’s death was not an accident. We have already contacted the police to get involved.” Liam felt as if he had been struck by lightning, unable to believe what he was hearing. The door of the intensive care unit was suddenly pushed open. Several bodyguards dragged a fiercely struggling Holly Chen inside. Seeing Liam, she cried out as if he were her lifeline: “Liam! You have to help me! These people dragged me into the operating room without a word and poked my baby with a needle as long as my arm!” “What if something happens to the baby? I don’t want to live anymore!” Butler Dong looked down at her and sneered, “Holly Chen, we just invited you to cooperate with a paternity test to see if the child in your belly is a Kingston.” “The results? See for yourself!” A document was flung in front of Holly Chen. She panicked instantly. “I won’t look! I won’t look! It’s fake! Liam, don’t believe them! They are deliberately trying to break us up!” But Liam, who always listened to her, seemed like a different person. He bent down and picked up the report. The words were clearly printed on the paper: [Based on the results of this DNA test, there is no biological relationship between Liam Kingston and the sample.] Liam’s face turned deathly pale. Holly Chen broke free of her restraints, scrambled up to look, and saw the same line. She immediately dropped to her knees with a thud: “Liam, I swear I didn’t know this child wasn’t yours! It must have been the drink I had before I came back home!” “I’ll abort it right now, okay? Once I abort it, I’ll try again to have yours! Please, don’t leave me!” Holly Chen hugged his leg, crying hysterically, but Liam didn’t hear anything. All sorts of noises flooded his mind. After a long while, Liam finally spoke in a hoarse voice: “What about Leo? Where is he buried now?” “And Clara? Is she gone? Where did she go?”

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