Category: English

I was three months pregnant, suffering from severe Morning Sickness. My husband proposed at this time to bring his daughter with his ex-wife over. “She has depression and needs fatherly love.” I nodded calmly: “Okay.” While he was overjoyed, I pointed to the door: “Bring her mother along too. Your family of three can stay in the guest room, I’ll take the master bedroom.” His face turned pale, and his ex-wife’s call had already come in. … Chapter 1 The phone ringtone sharply pierced the silence of the living room. Three words flashed on the screen —— Giselle. My husband Julian Vance’s ex-wife, his daughter Lila’s biological mother. That familiar nausea surged in my stomach, mixed with suffocating sourness. Julian’s face was even uglier than mine, a pregnant woman’s, pale white, eyes dodging, daring not to meet mine. He pinched the phone, like pinching a burning iron. “Answer it.” I leaned on the sofa, voice very light, but carrying undeniable coldness. His Adam’s apple rolled, stiffly swiped the answer button. One second before pressing speaker, he mouthed to me begging: Don’t. I ignored him, just looked at him coldly. From the other end immediately came a female voice gentle to near guilt, every word seemed carefully polished, carrying just the right amount of fragility. “Julian… did you tell Serena? All blame me, all blame me useless, can’t take care of Lila well…” Voice not loud, but clearly transmitted to my ears, piercing into my nerves. I ignored her performance, gaze still locked on Julian’s pale face, word by word repeated what I just said. “Pick up, let her bring daughter, live in guest room.” “You are crazy!” Julian finally couldn’t help it, lowered voice roared at me, eyes full of horror and anger, “Serena! Don’t make trouble! Giselle just let Lila come to live!” His reaction, fiercely stabbed into my heart. I suddenly smiled, but this smile didn’t reach heart. I reached out, fingertip heavily pressed the speaker button. That weak female voice stopped abruptly. I faced the cold phone receiver, word by word, clearly said: “Miss Giselle, hello.” “Child depressed, most need is complete family, is biological parents’ company.” “Me this stepmother, won’t be an eyesore here.” “I fulfill your family reunion, you and Julian take child live in guest room, good good cultivate feelings.” “This house, down payment was paid by my parents, pre-marital property, I live in master bedroom, no problem right?” Other end of phone, was death-like silence. I could imagine on Giselle’s gentle face, what kind of wonderful expression would be at this moment. “Serena!” Julian finally exploded, he snatched the phone from my hand, whole face twisted because of anger, glared at me, “Must you be so mean? Lila is my daughter! She is sick!” His voice was trembling, not because of guilt, but because his “White Moonlight” was publicly humiliated by me. He ran to the balcony, back to me, voice instantly switched to soothing mode, pressed extremely low, but fragments still drifted into my ears. “Giselle you don’t listen to her nonsense… she pregnant, emotions unstable…” “Don’t think too much, I know what I’m doing…” “Wronged you…” Every word, like a heavy hammer, fiercely smashed on my heart. Stomach churned a while, no longer could suppress, I fiercely sprang up from sofa, rushed into bathroom. “Vomit——” Acid water, bile, mixed with few mouthfuls of plain porridge barely swallowed at noon, all surged out. I lay by the cold toilet, vomited dark heaven dark earth, felt internal organs all displaced, physiological tears flowed out. Bathroom door was pulled open a crack. I thought he finally still had conscience, knew to come in check on me. But Julian just stood at the door, looking at my embarrassed appearance, brows tight locked, eyes had half cent concern none, instead all blame and impatience. “You scared Giselle.” “She a woman bringing a child, not easy.” My heart instantly fell into ice cave. I lifted head, through blurred teary eyes, looked at this man I loved for three years, married for two years. His face was still that familiar face, refined, handsome, but I felt so strange, strange enough to make me cold all over. Turns out, my pain, my morning sickness, his biological flesh and blood in my belly, all couldn’t compare to his ex-wife’s one sentence “not easy”. I had no strength to argue with him anymore, just supported wall, swaying stood up, rinsed mouth, wiped tears on face. I said nothing, passed him, walked into master bedroom. “Click” a sound. I locked the door. Shut him and his “not easy”, shut that hypocritical “family of three”, all outside the door. At night, I lay in bed, could clearly hear tossing and turning sounds from living room. Finally, was muffled sound of pillow thrown on sofa. He used this silent way, to accuse my “unreasonable trouble”, declare his protection for ex-wife. Very good. I closed eyes, hand gently placed on flat lower abdomen. Julian Vance, this is what you chose. From this moment, my defense, has been built. Chapter 2 Silent Treatment, is Julian’s best weapon. Next day, when I woke up, he had already made breakfast. On dining table placed golden oily fried dough sticks, sizzling fried eggs, and a bowl of beef noodles floating thick red oil. All food I loved before pregnancy, now smell make me sick. That heavy greasy smell, like an invisible hand, choked my throat. I covered mouth, face green, rushed into bathroom again. Behind, came his slow chewing sound, and his complete ignore to me. Whole day, I almost lived on warm water. He turned a blind eye. Off work home, he no longer hugged me asking baby good today not like before, but first time picked up phone, video call with Lila. “Did Lila eat obediently today?” “Miss Dad not? Dad bought you new Lego.” “Listen to Mom’s words, Dad will go see you soon.” His voice gentle enough to drip water, doting between brows and eyes, was what I never seen. As if other end of video, was his real family, real wife and daughter. And I, just a parasitic under this roof, eyesore tenant. Night, after another burst of severe vomiting, I whole body exhausted, lips cracked. I leaned on sofa, voice weak said to him: “Julian, help me pour cup warm water.” He was holding phone, screen was Lila giggling sound. He didn’t even lift head, eyes dead glued on screen, tone full of impatience. “Didn’t see I busy? Lila refuses eat today again, I have to coax her.” I looked at that careful pleasing on his face, heart inch by inch cold down. I no longer begged him. I supported wall, slowly walked to kitchen myself. Maybe dehydrated too long, my eyes went black, foot slipped, whole person uncontrollably fell forward. “Bang” a sound, my arm heavily hit on wall corner, pain made me gasp. He finally heard movement, but just swept me a glance from phone screen, full of impatience. “So big person, walk can’t even walk steady.” That tone, as if I was such an unsensible trouble. My heart, at that moment, thoroughly cool through. Last bit expectation, also crushed by his sentence. I didn’t cry, didn’t make noise, just silently walked to water dispenser, poured water for myself, then returned to room, closed door. I took out phone, sent a message to my best friend Fiona, also a very excellent lawyer. “Fiona, help me check, during marriage one party continuous funding ex, in divorce property division, count as property transfer not?” Fiona’s call immediately came, voice full of shock and worry: “Serena, what happened? Julian he…” “Nothing,” I interrupted her, voice calm scary, “I just, want for myself and child, prepare a bit in advance.” Julian seeing silent treatment ineffective to me, then started his second step chess —— family affection offensive. Next afternoon, I received mother-in-law’s call. Phone connected, before I open mouth greet, mother-in-law that sharp mean voice just split head cover face smashed over. “Serena! I really didn’t expect you so unsensible! How can you be so vicious!” “Lila is Julian’s own flesh and blood, is Vance family blood! She sick, miss dad, come home stay few days what wrong?” “You a stepmother, we not ask you treat her as biological pain, but you can’t be so intolerant of her right!” “You doing this, is poking Julian’s heart nest ah!” Her every sentence, like a knife, sentence sentence stab my heart. My hands and feet cold, even child in belly, seemed felt this coldness, gently moved a bit. I steadied mind, used all strength let my voice keep steady. “Mom, do you know I pregnant?” Voice on other end choked a bit, obviously, Julian simply didn’t tell her. But just one second pause after, she exploded more righteous anger. “Pregnant amazing? Which woman hasn’t been pregnant? I see you just too delicate!” “You now precious, even a child can’t tolerate, later how be mom? Julian married you back is let you be virtuous wife good mother, not let you be ancestor offered!” “I tell you Serena, Lila must take back! If you dare make noise again, don’t blame me not recognize you this daughter-in-law!” I didn’t speak again. I just silently, pressed call recording save button. Then, I calmly hung up phone, and pulled her into block list. Immediately, I flipped out Julian these days all call records, and his chat records with Giselle, one by one screenshot, backed up to cloud. Done all this, I looked at gray sky outside window, heart a piece dead silence. Julian, mother-in-law, Giselle… They are one family. And I, from beginning to end, am just an outsider. A provider of uterus and free residence, tool person. Since so, then don’t blame me, not talk feelings. Chapter 3 I booked this Friday’s prenatal checkup. I told Julian in advance, let him free up time accompany me. He full mouth agreed, tone carried long lost gentleness, seemed want borrow this ease our stiff relationship. I believed. Or say, my heart still held pathetic fantasy. However, Friday morning, just when I changed clothes ready go out, he called. “Wifey, sorry ah, company temporary has urgent meeting, special important, I really can’t leave.” His voice sounded full of apology. “Checkup how about you go yourself first? Or change day I accompany you again?” I held phone, stood at entrance, looking at mirror self pale haggard face, only felt ridiculous. “Good.” I said. Then hung up phone. I went hospital alone. Weekend obstetrics and gynecology department, crowded. Corridor, waiting area, everywhere pairs of couples. Husbands carefully supporting wives, serve tea pour water, soft voice comforting. And I, only myself. I queued alone, paid alone, holding ultrasound slip alone, waiting number call in cold corridor. Watching other pregnant women held in palm by husbands care, my heart sour and astringent. Loneliness and helplessness drowned me. My turn. Lying on examination bed, cold coupling agent smeared on my lower abdomen. When doctor put probe up, I pinched palm tight. On screen, appeared a small image, like a beating small bean. “Look, baby very healthy, heartbeat also powerful.” Doctor said gently. My tears, at that moment, without warning surged out. This is my child. Is in this world, only relative blood connected with me, completely belong to me. I held that precious ultrasound slip, looking at that small life on it, said to myself in heart: Serena, for him, you must be strong. From today, you are not alone. Back home, already afternoon. I dragged exhausted body, took out key open door. Door opened, I froze in place. On entrance floor, impressively placed a pair not belong to me lady high heels, and a pair pink child sneakers. In living room, came Julian and woman talking laughing sound. My home, when I didn’t know, already occupied by turtledove (usurper). I walked in, saw Giselle wearing my home slippers, directing Julian: “Julian, move that pot of pothos to balcony, doctor said Lila bit allergic to pollen.” And her daughter, that so-called “Depression” patient Lila, was holding my cat “Mochi”, two hands forcefully pulling Mochi’s tail. Mochi let out painful whimper, desperate struggle. “Stop!” A string in my brain “Snap” broke, almost roared rushed over, from Lila arms snatched back my cat. Mochi scared bad, broke free from my arms, lightning like drilled under sofa. Lila scared by my action a jump, stunned two seconds after, “Wah” a sound, sky breaking earth shattering cried loud. Giselle immediately like cat stepped on tail, a dash rushed over, hugged Lila tight in arms, face but towards me, revealed a look of about to cry apology expression. “Serena, don’t angry, Lila she… she just too like small animals, no malicious intention.” Voice not fallen, Julian already rushed over. He didn’t even look at me, fierce pushed me away, my lower back heavily hit on shoe cabinet sharp corner, a burst severe pain hit. He nervously squatted down, holding Lila’s hand, flip come flip go check. “You calculate what with a child! Scratched by cat not? Lila, quick let Dad look!” His voice full of anxiety and heartache, as if Lila was the one suffered sky big grievance. I leaned on cold shoe cabinet, looking at this blinding scene in front, only felt incomparable irony. That girl needing father love because “Depression”, this moment cry loud, qi full, where has half bit depression look? And I this wife carrying his biological flesh blood, pushed down by him, he didn’t even spare a glance. My gaze, slowly moved from their “Father Kind Daughter Filial” picture, landed on living room display cabinet. There, originally placed a celadon vase. That was my deceased mother left me, only thought. But now, there empty. On floor, is a pile blue white porcelain fragments. My blood, instant rushed to top of head, whole body start shaking. Lila hid in Giselle arms, while sobbing, while from behind her mom’s arm, cast me a proud, provocative look. That instant, I understood everything. “Allergy” is fake, like small animals is fake, so-called “Accidental”, more is fake. They are intentional. They are using this way, declare war to me, declare their sovereignty over this home. Giselle still hypocritically performing. “Aiya, Serena, really sorry, all blame me not watch good Lila, she accidental knocked vase… don’t angry, how much money, I compensate you is fine…” Compensate? She thought money can buy back my mother’s relic? Can buy back my only thought? I feel myself like a balloon blown to limit, about to explode. All grievance, anger, disappointment, heart cold, at this moment, all burst. I slowly stood up from ground, lower back pain let every move like needle stick. I didn’t care Giselle, also didn’t look that still crying child. My eyes, dead staring Julian. That man I once deeply loved, that man now using back facing me, concentrate comforting other’s daughter, my husband. I pointed door, used all body strength, word by word, voice hoarse and cold. “Julian Vance.” “Take your people.” “Now, immediately, right now.” “Get the hell out for me!” Chapter 4 My roar, like a bomb, exploded in living room. Julian holding Lila, fierce turned around. His face no longer had any disguised warmth, only left offended rage. “Serena Sterling are you f*cking crazy! For a broken vase, you want drive away my daughter?!” “Broken vase?” I angry whole body tremble, tears spin in eyes, “Julian Vance, you forgot that is my mom left me ma? You forgot ma!” Giselle see situation, immediately holding daughter stand up, walk to Julian side, put on a “Virtuous Persuade Fight” posture. “Julian, say few words less, Serena pregnant hard, emotion excited also unavoidable…” She turned to me, eyes carrying fake sympathy, “Serena, I know that vase very important to you, all our fault. You calm down, want how much money we all pay, million don’t angry bad body, hurt baby in belly ah.” Her every sentence, all seem persuade peace, but sentence sentence all add oil on fire. Remind Julian I “Emotion Excited”, imply I take child as chip. Good a prosper world white lotus. Good a top tea artist. I angry almost speak not out words, only feel chest block severe, breath become difficult. Just then, my lower abdomen suddenly came a burst sharp, unbearable cramp. That feeling, like countless needles poking lower abdomen. I pain muffled hum, body uncontrollably bent down, forehead instant pop out a layer fine cold sweat. A ominous premonition grabbed me. I felt, have a stream wet hot warm flow, slowly gushing out from between my legs. I scared bad, face pale as paper, trembling reach out hand, grabbed Julian clothes corner. “Julian… I… my stomach pain…” My voice shake not shape, carrying cry tone. “Bleeding… I seem bleeding…” This moment Julian, right surrounded by daughter tear heart crack lung cry and Giselle “Considerate Gentle” comfort. He grabbed by me clothes corner, like touched what dirty thing, disgusted frown. He didn’t even lower head look me, impatient roared at me: “Serena, can you stop acting?!” “Every time use this trick interesting ma? Isn’t just want drive away Lila? As to ma?” “To achieve goal, you even curse own child can do out? Your heart exactly what made of!” His words, like a burning iron, fierce burn on my heart. Acting? Curse child? In his eyes, my pain, my child danger, actually just a clumsy drama for jealous. Beside Giselle, holding still fake crying daughter, ghostly float a sentence, gave me fatal blow. “Some people, to gain sympathy, is what all can do out.” “Julian, you also don’t blame Serena, she maybe just too no security. Just pitiful Lila, she originally afraid stranger, this time, more want be scared bad.” I leaned on cold wall, lower abdomen cramp one burst compare one burst severe. I lift head, look front this “Happy Harmonious” family of three. Man holding crying daughter, woman gentle stroke man back. They are so harmony, so inseparable. And me, a pregnant woman painful almost die, but like a clown break into their happy life, a madman. Every sentence they said to me, like most vicious curse, punish heart pierce bone. Heart as if by an invisible big hand tight grab, pain to unable breath. Turns out, my pain, my child, in his eyes, really count nothing. That instant, all love, all unwilling, all anger, all retreat like tide. Remaining, only boundless ice cold and dead silence. Nothing greater than heart death. I finally understood this sentence meaning. I used last strength, support cold wall, slowly stood straight body. Lower back dull pain, lower abdomen cramp, between legs wet hot, all become not important. I didn’t look them again. I from door bag, touched out my car key, and that Hospital Bag I early prepared, in case of emergency. I step by step, walk unusual difficult, but also unusual firm, walk towards door. Julian and Giselle both stunned, they probably didn’t expect, under this situation, I actually didn’t continue cry make noise, but chose leave. Under their astonished gaze, I opened apartment big door. Door outside cold wind pour in, let me instant sober. I turned head, face is dead water like calm. My gaze cross Giselle and child in her arms, straight fall on Julian face. I look him, word by word, pronounce clear, voice not loud, but enough let him hear clear every word. “Julian Vance.” “I wish you guys family of three.” “In my house.” “Hundred years good union.” Finished, I pull open door, head not back walked out. Door behind me heavy close, isolated that place once called “Home”, also isolated my pathetic past. From today, Julian Vance, you and me, grace cut justice break. Chapter 5 In elevator mirror, reflect my pale like ghost face. I press first floor, body lean cold elevator wall, then not slip on ground. Lower abdomen pain more and more dense, I can clearly feel life force follow that stream heat bit by bit lost. I can’t fall. I tell myself, Serena, you can’t fall, your baby still waiting you. I endure severe pain, start car, use whole body strength step gas, drive to nearest hospital. All way, I run good few red lights, brain only one thought: Save child. Arrived hospital emergency, I almost roll off car. “Doctor! Save life! I pregnant, I bleeding!” My voice hoarse, carry despair cry tone. Nurses see situation, immediately push come flat cart, I emergency sent into rescue room. Pass a series tense check, doctor face heavy walked over. “Are you patient family?” He see me alone, stunned a bit. “I am.” I lie on sickbed, voice weak but sober. “Diagnose result is stress threatened miscarriage, progesterone low, have bleeding. Mainly due to patient suffered severe mental stimulation and violent emotion fluctuation cause.” “Must immediately hospitalize protect fetus, and next period time, absolutely cannot suffer any stimulation again.” I listen doctor words, tears silent slide. Mental stimulation, emotion fluctuation. How precise summary. I lie on pure white sickbed, snow white wall, disinfectant smell, let me feel a kind unprecedented peace. Also good. Leave that suffocating place, to me and baby, both a relief. I take out phone, unlock screen, find that familiar number, dial. Phone almost second answer. “Hello? Serena?” Fiona voice as always capable. My tears no longer hold, surge out, voice but unusual calm, carry hoarse. “Fiona, help me.” “I want divorce.” Half hour later, Fiona wind wind fire fire rush to ward. She see me hand back stick needle, lie on sickbed that look no life anger, always calm self-control her, eye circle instant red. “Julian that bastard! Where is he?!” She angry whole body tremble. “Maybe… still accompany his ex-wife and daughter ba.” I bitter smile, uglier than cry. Fiona angry a punch smash on wall, bite teeth cut tooth: “I f*cking now go tear that pair dog man woman!” “Don’t go.” I pull her, “Useless, noise solve no any problem.” “Fiona, I now nothing want, I just want keep my child, then, clean clean leave him.” “I want him, and that pair mother daughter, for everything they did, pay price.” My voice very light, but resolve in eyes, let Fiona calm down. She nodded: “Good, I understood.” “You care nothing, peace mind raise fetus, remaining things, all hand to me.” She immediately start arrange everything, help me handle hospitalize procedure, change single ward, hire best nurse. Under her arrangement, I turn off phone, shield outside all info. This world, finally quiet. Meanwhile, that place called “Home” by me. Julian wait wait at home, always not see me return. He call my phone, find already turn off. He then feel not right, start some panic. He call my parents far in another city, I early advance sent message to them, only say quarrel with Julian, go out relax, let them no need worry, also don’t care Julian. So, my parents both express to Julian, know nothing. Can’t find me, also afraid I really have what matter make big, Julian start anxious uneasy. Giselle aside, holding daughter, face “Worry” say: “Julian, is it I did too much? Serena she… won’t think not open ba? She still pregnant ne…” More she say so, Julian more irritable. He start regret, but regret not harm cause to me, but matter out of his control, might affect his reputation and stable life. Fiona through police station friend, secret check Julian track. She tell me, Julian called police, say I “Angry leave home”, but didn’t find me. And that pair mother daughter, still grandly live in my pre-marital property house. I lie on sickbed, stroke belly, feel baby steady heartbeat. My eyes, unprecedented firm. Julian Vance, Giselle. This war, just start. For my child, I must win, and want win beautiful.

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On the way to pick me up from Foster Care, Mom and Dad got into a car accident and became Vegetative State. Brother also broke both legs and became disabled. Family went bankrupt overnight, I bore the name of “Jinx”, dropped out of school to work, carrying the burden of supporting the family. For three years, I was beaten by creditors, forced to kneel and bark like a dog, but Brother said I deserved it. I worked dozen jobs a day until vomiting blood, he said this is what I owe the whole family. To redeem myself, I used all money to pay debts, treat family’s illness, reluctant to even eat a decent meal. Until on New Year’s Eve, I saw Mom and Dad who should be in hospital, celebrating birthday for the Fake Heiress in a luxury restaurant. Brother who hated me to the bone stood up from the wheelchair, giving the Fake Heiress a card. “Luna, the $1 Million in this card is earned by Scarlett working for three years, treat it as her apology gift to you.” Mom and Dad asked him: “Sebastian, these three years Scarlett earned money for us without complaint, shows she is not coveting property, how about forgiving her?” Brother frowned, “Who let her hire people to kidnap Luna back then, causing Luna almost humiliated to suicide, had to go abroad for psychological counseling.” “This three years punishment is what she deserves, unless she passes Luna’s test, guarantee can live peacefully with Luna then say.” “What test? These three years Scarlett became skinny like a skeleton for us, I’m afraid she can’t stand it…” Mom was somewhat worried. “Rest assured, just see if she will make things difficult for Luna again, if she has the awareness of being a sister.” “Wait she passes the test, we then compensate her, future whole family live happily together isn’t it good?” I bent down in pain, tears mixed with nosebleed falling. Brother, can I still have a future? … Chapter 1 Separated by the glass of the banquet hall, watching their family happy and harmonious. My heart felt like gouged a big hole, painful to unable breathe. Through misty tears, I saw Dad’s business partner—Big Tony who chased debt for three years, raised glass stepped forward unbearably said: “Mr. Vanderbilt, this debt chasing drama should stop right? Miss Vanderbilt these three years beaten by us to vomit blood still grit teeth endure, for paying money she ate too much bitter, youth age hard boiled into that weak look, enough prove she is really filial!” Mom and Dad just about to nod, Brother coldly interrupted. “These not enough, what she owes Luna hasn’t paid yet.” “Boss Tony, still have to trouble you accompany us act another play.” Fake Heiress Luna hooked Brother’s arm acting spoiled. “Back then sister almost caused me suicide, this time I want her personally kneel down kowtow to me apologize can I?” “Okay, originally is she sorry you first, this is what she as sister owes you!” Big Tony somewhat surprised, seemed didn’t expect she would humiliate her own biological sister for an adopted sister. “These years she suffered enough, how about forget it…” Luna eyes instantly泛 (flooded) tears. “Can’t forget! Luna’s depression till now not healed completely, I must be sure Scarlett won’t hurt her again then can.” “Mom Dad, didn’t just agree? As long as she passes Luna’s test we forgive her.” “That time I tell her, your friends abroad said have special medicine can cure you guys, my legs also can recover through exercise, we whole family then good good compensate her isn’t it fine?” Brother’s rhetoric made originally wavering Mom and Dad harden heart. “Okay!” “As long as Luna’s heart knot can be untied, anything is fine!” Watching whole family doting her appearance, I heart discouraged cold. Turns out three years my risking life giving, just a punishment. My biological brother believed Fake Heiress groundless lies, pretended disabled to torture me. My biological parents afraid I covet their property, also cooperate them act, forced me like a lost home dog. Three years painful memories like tide surge, I then realized among them have not few loopholes. Only blame I was grinded to exhausted, simply no time to think. Try hard suppress heart bottom severe pain, I got up messy wiped face blood tears. Want break into banquet hall question them, why treat me like this? If not like not trust me, back then don’t pick me home fine. Why want act such a big play harm me became clown, lose freedom,搭 (bet) on everything. My dignity, my health, even my life, All can’t compare their property, and adopted daughter made up groundless grievance! Door guarding bodyguard see me full face blood tears, eyes red look, a grab stopped me. “Where come beggar trespass banquet hall, roll out!” I low voice explain own identity, they boom laugh. “Just you this beggar still want pretend Vanderbilt Group Miss? Lost mind crazy right!” “Quick roll! Otherwise don’t blame us not polite!” A hand strong drag me turn, exactly is restaurant manager. He recognized changed work uniform, whole body shabby me. “Scarlett you have sick ma! Off work not go back here make what noise?” Heard bodyguard words after, his face color drastic change push shove me walk out. “What rank dare come here touch porcelain, don’t think you also surname Vanderbilt then can climb high branch, give me roll out!” I was held up by two bodyguards drag out, struggle between knocked over pushed come cake. “Holy sh*t, you this bitch know this cake how expensive ma? Sell you all can’t compensate!” Manager a slap fan me down, banquet hall crowd scream. Mom Dad and Brother black face walked over. “What happen?!” Manager instant make decision, in my ear low voice said: “Vanderbilt family not people we afford offend, this pot you self carry ba!” He dead press my head, bury into dirty cake. “Sorry Chairman Vanderbilt, this beggar destroyed cake, she should be long time not eat things so went crazy…” Sticky thick cream pasted my full face, I want open mouth argue but throat itch vomit out blood. Turns out my illness already this serious ma? Stomach severe pain like burning red iron tong sudden tight, I curl on ground no longer can speak. This moment me full face dirty, Mom Dad and Brother all didn’t recognize me. Dad brows tight frown: “You restaurant how do things? Can let a crazy beggar rush in!” Mom pinch nose disgust said: “Hurry handle clean, don’t dirty my daughter birthday banquet.” Brother comfort scared Luna impatient said: “Still not quick go! Let kitchen urgent remake a cake send come, want better than this!” “Sister, don’t sad, for such a crazy beggar bad mood not worth. Brother guarantee, later cake compare this pretty hundred times!” Mom Dad also comfort her, “That bitch not worthy eat your cake, so suffer retribution spit out.” “Why not spit die you this bitch, bad luck!” I whole body powerless, like a ball trash dragged out restaurant threw in back alley. Manager bend waist pat my face. “You should rejoice Vanderbilt family didn’t let you compensate money. Tomorrow start no need come, we don’t need not follow rule waiter!” Sky started snow, fall on my face instant melted into tears. Beggar. Bitch. Mom Dad scold my words like knife insert heart, actually covered stomach pain. If not for them, I again how as to here? I from pocket difficult take out a painkiller swallow. Then try hard get up stumble walk towards home. Chapter 2 In dark I turned on light, Brother sure enough haven’t come back. This home, just a dangerous house modified shabby small room. Hard for him three years for acting, want accompany me here eat bitter. Snow water from roof leak down, wall skin peel off growing mold spots. Small square table side trash can inside, is I morning not bear eat leave for Brother half piece steamed bun. Also right, he this kind eat used mountain delicacies sea flavors person how will look up hard half piece steamed bun? I poured cup hot water, soak it in bowl whole chew. Doctor said, my illness also can only eat these. Bang! Door was fiercely lifted open. Brother full face gloomy drive wheelchair come in, behind follow Luna. “You today actually didn’t go earn money? Know I want go pick Luna so lazy right!” I press down heart tip stab pain, lift eyes look him. “No, today work time accidental fell on people cake was fired.” His eye bottom cross nervous, aside Luna hurry said: “Sister, I know today also is your birthday, specially packed cake back give you!” Inside box, exactly that piece by me knocked over on ground cake. Crooked chocolate on write “Princess” English. “No need, I already ate full.” I point bowl ironic smile, Brother see clear I body changed clothes after sigh relief. “Not know good bad! Luna, take cake go throw away, she not worthy!” He angry call Luna accompany him go hospital. Haven’t go out, was Big Tony bring debt chasing people blocked back. “Yo, Second Miss also came back?” “Big New Year some debt is it should clear a clear?” Brother sit on wheelchair low voice low air smile: “Uncle Liu, look on my Dad face can not can more extend few days…” Big Tony furious, lift foot kick his wheelchair fierce flip on ground. “Your Dad that old undying all became useless person, have a fart face!” “No money right? Then take these two little girls to night club pay debt!” He big hand wave, behind people step forward just to me and Luna start move hand. “No, Brother save me!” Luna horror scream, few people obscene smile said: “This small one look thin skin tender meat also pretty, big one dry no blood color like a ghost, better just catch small one fine…” I look they perform no reaction. Brother veins burst, support crawl to Big Tony front grabbed his leg. “Beg you let go my sister, money matter I definitely think way…” “Go yours!” Big Tony false lift a foot, he whole person roll on ground embarrassed unbearable. Behind yellow hair take out firecracker stuff into Brother mouth, take out lighter sinister smile. “Again dare much mouth block us just blow rotten your mouth!” If is before, I early heart ache kneel down beg them let go Brother. But know truth after, then realize their acting is so clumsy. Only thunder, no rain. Laughable I past three years for protect Brother, suffered them countless times poison beat, kneel learn dog bark. “Sister you quick save us ah!” Big Tony grab Luna look me, skin smile meat not smile. “Today why not kneel down beg me?” “Could it be you really as rumor say, not like this adopted sister ma?” Ground Brother eyes instant flash dark. “Scarlett, Luna she depression haven’t heal good, you quick kneel down beg them ah!” See me tight grip double fists no move, Big Tony laughed, “Like this ba, as long as you willing kneel down kowtow beg me, I just again extend you guys few days. Big New Year, this girl just from abroad come back also not easy.” I sneer out sound, “Don’t act, you guys want catch just catch ba, I won’t beg you guys!” “Scarlett! You this white eye wolf just so treat us ma?!” Brother on ground roar out sound. Eyes as if want poke me few holes. “Sister, you sure enough still hate me right?” “Then let me go sell body pay debt fine, this is also I owe you!” Luna cry tragic, crowd hear words drag her just want leave. Next second, she suddenly face color swell purple cover chest fell down. “Sister!” Brother eyes split pounce over, Big Tony few people panicked. “She wouldn’t really stress reaction ba? Damn really bad luck, quick send hospital!” They lift Luna go, Brother also carried on wheelchair follow. I slowly loosen fist, Stomach burning pain feeling again like tide hit. Two eyes black thorough faint pass. Chapter 3 Hospital in, Mom Dad heard my behavior after angry scold. “Didn’t expect this smelly girl still can’t tolerate Luna!” “I want see see, she can have how stubborn!” Early morning, I was wake by phone ring. Difficult crawl up from ground, then realize is Brother calling. This time he didn’t like before to me bad words face, but crying beg me: “Scarlett, those people in hospital noise want pull Mom Dad tube, you quick come save us ah!” “You really cruel to even Mom Dad also ignore ma?” I heart bottom muffled pain, realize this is their new test. Want refuse, but say not out half no word. Dad Mom, for you guys I walked to sick enter fat (critical) situation. If you guys still not satisfied, then I just take this life return you guys. “Good, I now just go over.” Hang up phone, I taxi went hospital. Mom Dad face pale lie on sickbed, Big Tony they right yelling want pull tube. Brother and Luna crying block in front, two people face both have clear slap mark. “Cheap girl dare pretend sick, today father must want you family bleed not can!” Yellow hair grab Luna press her on Mom sickbed. “No!” Brother stern voice beg, Big Tony smile playful point me: “I said, as long as she willing kneel down kowtow beg me, I maybe still can tolerate you guys few days.” “Otherwise, you family today just give me roll out hospital!” “Scarlett, you just treat as for Mom Dad, quick kneel down admit mistake ah!” Brother urge, I turn head look sickbed Mom. Find her tight closed eyelid under, is slight tremble eyeball. Beside sickbed Dad, hand on bed edge also like urge general, lightly tap bed sheet. I bite teeth slowly towards sickbed knelt down. “Not enough, want kowtow!” Big Tony dissatisfy, Brother pounce over fierce press my head knock on ice cold floor. One after another, warm liquid follow forehead flow to floor. Luna drop head look me, full eyes hide not住 (can’t hide) pride. In angle everyone can’t see, she use mouth shape slowly said: “Bitch, you fight not win me.” I get up want slap her, but by Brother force hug. “Scarlett, Brother just knew you won’t really ignore us.” “Before is I wrong blame you, from today I will to you and Luna treat same, you guys both are my good sisters!” I know, this is I passed test. Big Tony etc timely out sound, “Holy sh*t, he actually stood up!” Doctor rush in help check after, surprise said: “Mr. Vanderbilt, your legs actually because suffer accident stimulation appeared improve!” “As long as later cooperate rehab exercise can completely good up!” Brother face gloomy look few people, “Boss Tony, I since can stand up, later just definitely can revive Vanderbilt Group.” “That time not only can pay back money, interest also calculate by highest. Advise you leave a line don’t do thing too absolute!” “Fine, look on your sister kneel part, I just speak count talk again extend few days!” Few people go after, Brother joy weep, hug me and Luna loud cry. “Sister, heard not, I can get better!” “Later I never again let you guys eat bitter, I want good good protect you guys!” This is three years he first time hug me. This hug I small thirst and fantasy countless times. But now only feel ice cold. Brother, I don’t need deceive and distrust me you to protect. As you wish, just let Luna alone be your good sister, Be Mom Dad most filial good daughter ba. I excuse want work, leave ward after listen inside movement. Sure enough, just now still pretend vegetable Mom Dad instant sat up. “How about it? Like this count she passed test ba?” “Mn! Tomorrow I just tell sister, you guys illness also have save, let her no need again hard work!” “Mom Dad, I just now hug sister found she thin a lot, later we must good good compensate her!” I lean on ice cold wall bitter smile. Compensate? I really can wait to that day ma? Chapter 4 Down elevator I turn into a department. “Miss Scarlett, your Stomach Cancer although is mid-late stage, but not completely no hope.” “If can stop all tired and emotion pressure, go abroad accept top treatment is possible recover health!” I heart bottom loose, if tell Mom Dad, will they help me treat? If Brother know my illness is this few years torture and tired cause, will he have a trace repentance? Walk out hospital, I right thinking how tell them time. Phone lit. Is Luna sent message. [Scarlett, last night family at banquet words you all heard right?] [They most love person only me, also only trust my words, for me tortured you three years hahaha…] [Don’t think you swallow anger can do back Vanderbilt Miss, this position only can be mine! I have plenty ways deal you, you fight not win me!] I silent screenshot, just want send Brother time. A van speed come, I kidnapped on car use wet handkerchief cover mouth nose. Wake again, find myself tied on chair, head wear black cloth cover. Ear side come Luna voice. “A while follow I say do, after event I extra give you guys five million reward!” “Rest assured Miss Luna, today pass Vanderbilt family only will have you one Miss, hehe…” I heart bottom sink, head cover taken off. Slap slap! Cheek come burning pain, Luna face pride look me. “Bitch, want go home? No door! I today just let you look clear they more care who!” Wear mask kidnapper boss dialed Brother phone, He aim phone at me and side tied Luna. See us kidnapped after, pretend vegetable Mom Dad no longer hold sit up from sickbed tremble said: “This is how matter? You guys quick let go my daughters!” “Chairman Vanderbilt, three years we always concern your two kids. One abroad chic cozy enjoy life, other one domestic drop school work face like vegetable color, you guys really enough bias ah!” “Like this ba, $5 Million only can save one, you guys choose ba.” “We can not can two both let go?” Mom Dad face pale tremble open mouth, kidnapper however shake head. “No! Within half hour send five million come, not allow call police, otherwise she two both have to die!” “Don’t… don’t tear ticket, we agree just is!” Phone that end, Mom Dad and Brother start difficult. “Group cash flow not much, at most only can take out five million.” “How about first save Scarlett ba? After all she three years for us eat so much bitter, also is our biological child… as for Luna, big deal we promise double price, guess they also won’t tear ticket!” Mom words let my heart surge a trace hope. Luna but aside crying beg: “Mom Dad Brother, beg you guys first save me okay? I once by sister find people kidnap one time, come again one time I really will die…” Brother instant suspicion look me, “Mom Dad, this time won’t again be Scarlett scheme ba?” “Luna she originally has psychological shadow, bear not such scene, we first save her okay?” Kidnapper boss already lost patience, start countdown. “Three!” “Two!” I desire look Mom Dad, fantasy they will insist choose me this biological daughter. But didn’t expect, two people same voice: “We choose Luna!” I instant like hit by thunder, kidnapper light laugh: “Good, quick go gather ransom, exchange half hour later!” “Can or not let us with Scarlett say two sentences?” Mom Dad beg she, kidnapper boss thought thought agreed. Screen aim my face, Mom Dad anxious and guilty said: “Scarlett you don’t afraid, wait we pay money redeem your sister, then with them discuss double price save you, you definitely can safe.” “Past three years is we sorry you, but this time is you owe sister, so yield her okay?” I look their face, heart weep blood. Didn’t expect I for them ate three years bitter, pay everything, Critical moment they however still choose Luna, let me use life bet kidnapper dare not tear ticket. I heart like dead ash said: “No, I don’t want owe you guys anymore. After all in your eyes, property and adopted daughter both more important.” “So then use this three years test me, isn’t it?” Mom Dad panic ten thousand, thorough panic. “Not! You are our biological, we definitely will raise money save you…” Not wait them finish, I beg kidnapper take phone away. He looked me one eye, somewhat sympathy sigh breath. Half hour later, they sent ransom, kidnapper put Luna cover head push on van sent back. Whole family pull her confirm safe after, just want ask kidnapper can or not put me also let go time, Phone inside come a sound deafening gun shot. Few people whole body tremble, Brother panic look phone but find opposite already hang up.

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It was the week before New Year’s Eve when Denise, a fellow teacher, suddenly appeared at my desk with a bouquet of flowers, insisting they were for me. The card contained only a few sparse words: “Wishing Shirley a happy New Year.” The signature was a simple, single English letter: “B.” One look was all it took. I recognized his handwriting instantly, and the ghost of his face flashed in my mind. Against my will, the memories—those wretched, deeply buried things—began to claw their way back up. My fingers, gripping the small card, tightened into a white-knuckled fist. Moments later, with Denise watching, I walked the expensive arrangement straight over to the office trash can and dumped it in. That man. We were days away from walking down the aisle. But from the moment my brother’s name was etched onto a marble headstone, he and I ceased to have any connection at all. 01 My colleague, Denise, must have guessed the truth from my actions. After a long pause, she finally asked, “Was it him?” I didn’t answer, my focus fixed on the lesson plans I was writing. Denise sighed softly. “I heard he’s arranging a transfer back from out of state. Are you really going to keep this up when he gets here?” “You’ll be colleagues, Shirley. Besides, he was your brother’s closest—” “Denise.” I cut her off. “Beckett lost the right to that title five years ago. He was not a brother in the twenty-seven years of Logan’s short life.” She looked at me intently. “Shirley, it’s been so many years. Do you still hate him?” “Yes.” My reply was swift and cold, clipped with finality. Denise’s expression was startled. After a moment, she just shook her head and walked away. Leaving the school that afternoon, I ran into Mr. Henderson, the principal, who had been a professor to both my brother and Beckett. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, his tone shifted, becoming measured and complex. “I got a call this afternoon. Beckett is coming back.” I offered a noncommittal “Mhm.” The principal was silent for a moment, then offered his counsel. “Your brother was a very forgiving person. If he were alive, he wouldn’t want to see you two this way.” This way? As enemies? I didn’t understand why everyone kept telling me to let it go. Did they truly believe that once a tragedy occurred, the victim was somehow obligated to accept it? I had every right to my anger, to the moral high ground, yet they were constantly pressuring me. Colleagues, my boss, even my family friends. Why were they all speaking up for Beckett? I couldn’t fathom it, and I didn’t want to try. On the walk home, the evening wind was sharp, making my cheeks sting. I smoothed the anger from my face and walked slowly up the stairs to my apartment. I pushed the door open to the comforting sight of my parents and my husband, Ben, gathered around the kitchen island, making homemade meatballs for the sauce. Three-year-old Rosie, our daughter, sat on the sofa, happily poking at a small piece of dough she held in her hand. “Mommy!” Rosie’s eyes immediately spotted me. She dropped the dough and toddled over on her short, chubby legs. I bent down and scooped her up, kissing her soft cheek. She held up the oddly shaped piece of dough she’d been mangling and said sweetly, “Look, Mommy! This is the meatball I made for Uncle Logan.” I had to clench my jaw, fighting the sudden, fierce sting of tears. “That’s wonderful, Rosie-girl.” The steaming sauce and meatballs were eventually brought to the table. I placed a bowl of sauce and a few pieces of bread at the empty setting—my brother’s spot. It had been five years, but his place was always set, as if he might just walk in and join us. Rosie tugged on my sleeve, confused. “Mommy, why does Uncle Logan always stay in the square box?” She was pointing to the large framed photo on the credenza. “Why doesn’t he come out and eat the meatballs?” “Why won’t he ever play with me?” I looked at Logan’s photograph. He was forever twenty-four, frozen in the prime of his life. The air went still. My parents paused their movements, then resumed them, their grief a familiar, quiet hum. Ben squeezed my hand under the table, offering a silent anchor. I looked down at my daughter’s innocent, searching eyes, stroked her hair, and said nothing. If Logan were here, I thought, he would be the best son, the best brother, and the best uncle. But there was no if. For five years, I thought I had buried the wretched past, and the man connected to it, deep in the darkest corner of my heart. But the slightest movement, a mere breath of wind, was enough to make the scabs bleed again. 02 I ran into Beckett the very next day, right as I entered the school gate. Five years had passed, and the contours of his face hadn’t changed, but the boyishness was gone. His eyes were sharper, his expression more mature and intense, surrounded by an impenetrable, chilly air. Students passing by greeted me, but I barely registered them. My gaze was locked onto Beckett’s face, and my chest felt squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain so acute it stole my breath. A brutal thought flashed: If it had been him five years ago, and Logan was standing here instead, how much better everything would be. “How have you been all these years?” Beckett spoke first, his voice devoid of discernible emotion. I didn’t reply, turning on my heel to walk away, but his hand shot out, gripping my wrist with sudden force. He frowned, his voice taking on a desperate, almost pleading edge I hadn’t expected. “Shirley, I know what happened back then was my fault, but no matter what, I’m not ungrateful. I have never forgotten the kindness your family, the Samuel family, showed me. Can we just… let the past stay in the past?” I spun around fiercely, staring into his eyes, a tide of pure hatred rushing up and turning my eyes red-rimmed. “Beckett, who are you to decide when everything ‘moves on’?” His brows furrowed tighter. “Shirley, I know you’re still blaming me, but so much time has passed…” I cut him off. “Time doesn’t change what happened!” He was silenced, his throat bobbing. “I know that Gena and I wronged you and your brother back then,” he admitted, looking at me with a strained sincerity. “I came back this time because I want to apologize to you all face-to-face.” That sentence was a fuse. It instantly ignited the fury I had suppressed for five years. I yanked my hand free with such force that he stumbled back a step. “You don’t deserve to say his name!” I screamed, the tears finally bursting free and streaming down my face. I couldn’t bear to look at him for another second. I turned and fled. As I entered the office, a whirlwind of energy rushed toward me. It was my best friend, Tessa, who had just returned from a professional exchange program—and who had been Logan’s peer in their grad program. She grabbed my arm, her voice frantic. “I heard Beckett was transferring back and I drove straight through the night to get here.” She noticed my red eyes. “You saw him, didn’t you?” I nodded. Tessa immediately rolled up her sleeves, ready to storm out and find him. “That monster! How dare he come back! I’m going to tear him to pieces!” I quickly pulled her back, shaking my head. She stopped, looking at my pale face, her own eyes filling with sympathetic tears. “If it wasn’t for your parents and Logan helping him, he wouldn’t have even finished college,” she hissed, her voice full of scorn. “And he just turned around and got involved with your brother’s girlfriend. An ungrateful snake like that deserves every bit of karma that comes his way!” A familiar, throbbing ache spread through my heart. Yes, I thought. Beckett deserves every consequence. Back then, Beckett was Logan’s best friend and college roommate. He came from a poor background; his father had died young, and his mother was chronically ill. In their sophomore year, his mother passed away, and he couldn’t even afford the funeral costs. Logan came home and begged our parents for help. My parents, soft-hearted as they were, not only paid for the burial but continued to help him with living expenses. Later, he worked tirelessly, paying back every penny within a year. He even volunteered to tutor me for free for two years. Logan treated him like a brother; my father treated him like a second son. My whole family thought we had taken in a good, grateful young man. Who could have predicted that the person we treated as family would ultimately betray my brother and me in the most heinous way, shattering our lives? 03 The woman who was supposed to be my sister-in-law, but instead became the wedge in my relationship with Beckett, was named Gena. She was outwardly sweet and compliant, and my parents adored her. My wedding to Beckett was only weeks away; the invitations were already printed. But at every get-together, I would catch Gena looking at Beckett. That look was all wrong. It was too soft, too intimate, filled with undisguised longing, like a still, clear spring. She never looked at Logan that way. I tried to subtly warn Beckett a few times, but he always laughed, ruffling my hair and saying I was imagining things. “That’s going to be your sister-in-law, Scar. I know the code—a brother’s fiancée is off-limits.” He’d tease, “If Logan knew you were this jealous, he’d never let you live it down.” Seeing his seemingly open demeanor, I forced down the anxiety and pushed my suspicions aside. But it didn’t take long for their behavior to become overtly intimate. Joking and laughing together in front of me became routine. Once, Gena offered Beckett the half-finished coffee she’d been drinking. He took it without a second thought, finishing the cup in a single gulp. My heart seized up. I tore into Beckett when we were alone, arguing until my tears stained the carpet. “How can you do that? How can you do this to Logan? To me?” He fell silent, his head bowed. When he finally looked up, his face was calm, and he promised he would avoid any unnecessary interaction with Gena from then on. For a while, he did keep his distance. But I also keenly noticed his attitude toward me had grown cold, palpably distant. No fighting, no obvious conflict—just the warmth and affection vanished into thin air. My anxiety returned, sharper than ever. Three days before our wedding, I went to our new home to place the delicate, hand-painted porcelain vase I’d bought for the living room display shelf. I entered the code, twisted the handle, and pushed the door open. The scene before me instantly froze the blood in my veins. The bedroom door was ajar. On our festive, scarlet-red wedding bed, two figures were tangled together. Discarded clothes littered the floor, a sight that burned into my eyes. The porcelain vase in my hand crashed to the ground. The brittle shards scattered with a jarring, high-pitched smash. The noise startled the figures. Beckett wrenched his head around. Seeing me standing in the doorway, his face went instantly ashen. He practically shrieked, spitting out three words: “Get the hell out!” I was shaking violently, beyond the capacity to cry. I stumbled back, turning and blindly running out of the new house. My phone buzzed. It was a text from Gena. The single line of text was a poisoned dagger, stabbing straight into my heart. Sorry, sis. Some people you’re just not strong enough to keep. Tears burst forth. I collapsed on the curb, sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn’t understand how they could do something so vile. How could they betray me? How could they betray Logan? I had to tell him. He couldn’t stay in the dark. I fumbled for my phone, my fingers trembling, to call my brother. But before I could tell him anything, the accident happened. Logan crashed his car. Boom. My world disintegrated. 04 Logan was in a coma for a long time after the surgery. The doctor said his consciousness was intact, but his injuries were severe. They urged us—his closest relatives—to talk to him. If his will to live was strong enough, he might wake up soon. The police determined my brother had caused the accident by excessive speeding. They recovered his phone at the scene. It was battered but functional. I hesitated, then entered a few digits. It unlocked. The password was Gena’s birthday. I scrolled to his texts. The most recent message was a voice note from Gena. The date was the very day I had discovered Beckett and Gena cheating. My finger trembled as I pressed play. Her sickening moans and Beckett’s heavy gasps poured out of the speaker. I lunged for the trash can, violently vomiting. Tears streamed down my face, mixing with the bile. He was rushing, speeding, because they had sent him that. Because they had deliberately broken him. They had killed my brother. I hid the truth, not even telling my parents. They couldn’t handle the shock, not now. I went to the hospital every day to talk to Logan. I talked about our childhood, our growing up, every tiny, irrelevant memory. But whenever I neared the subject of Beckett or Gena, I deliberately circled around it, refusing to speak their names. A week later, Logan’s finger twitched. Before I could even register the relief, Gena arrived to visit. Through the glass of the ICU, I saw her leaning over Logan’s bed, murmuring something to him. When she saw me, she smiled—a sickeningly sweet curve of her lips. “Shirley, you’re here. I was just catching Logan up. We were talking about your wedding to Beckett, actually.” “He needs to hurry up and get better so we can all attend your ceremony together.” Her condescension and provocation were too obvious. I was shaking with suppressed rage. I hadn’t confronted her yet. That didn’t mean I had forgotten her betrayal, her sleeping with my fiancé, her breaking my brother. It certainly didn’t mean she could stand there, preening over his sickbed. Rage flooded my body. Ignoring the hospital rules, I burst through the doors, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her out. I kicked her hard in the lower abdomen. Gena hadn’t reacted fast enough. I slammed her against the wall. That was the moment Beckett arrived. He shoved me with brutal force. My head cracked against the wall with a dull thud. The pain stole my breath. He bellowed at me: “Shirley! What the hell is wrong with you?” Before I could speak, Gena cried out from the floor. “Beckett, my stomach! It hurts so much.” “The baby… our baby…” Her words froze me to the core. A baby? They had a child together? Beckett glared at me, then gently comforted Gena, “Don’t worry.” He swept her up in his arms and rushed her off to find a doctor. I remained on the floor, stunned, unable to move for a long time. Gena’s baby was fine, but I was utterly shattered. I forced myself to hide the pain and keep the truth buried. I returned to the ICU after dropping my parents home. As I approached, I saw a scene that made me nauseous. Gena was nestled in Beckett’s embrace. They were kissing passionately, heedless of their surroundings, right next to Logan’s bed. Gena’s voice was soft and sickly sweet. “Logan would bless us once he wakes up.” Beckett pulled her tighter, his voice low. “As soon as he gets better, we’ll tell him.” Just then, the monitoring equipment let out a deafening, continuous shriek. Logan’s fingers suddenly curled, and the steady rhythm of his heart on the monitor instantly flatlined, becoming a cold, straight line. “Doctor! Nurse!” I screamed like a madwoman, my voice raw and shaking. Nurses and doctors rushed in, and the room dissolved into chaos. The sound of the defibrillator whined relentlessly, the doctor’s frantic instructions hammering against my crumbling sanity. I rushed in, violently pushing Beckett and Gena out. “Get out! Both of you get the hell out of here!” Beckett’s face cycled through pale and white. He tried to speak, but the sheer, raw madness in my eyes drove him back. He pulled Gena away from the room. I sank down against the hallway wall, watching the frantic figures in the trauma bay, tears pouring down my face. The monitor’s scream continued, each beat hammering my fragile heart. I prayed desperately, over and over: Hold on, Logan. You have to hold on. But heaven didn’t hear my prayer. It took my brother away. I watched the tall, protective figure who had shielded me my whole life pushed into the cremation chamber. In a fleeting moment, he was reduced to a handful of ashes. … Sharing a city, let alone a workplace, with Beckett was simply too much. I shook myself back to the present, planning to go home and take a day off. Suddenly, the elevator stopped on my floor. Beckett rushed out, practically running, and clamped his hands onto my shoulders. His voice was trembling as he asked, “Why are they all saying your brother is dead?”

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1 The day the new intern started, a cascade of comments began to scroll across my vision. “She’s here, she’s here! The female lead has arrived!” “Get ready, the male lead is about to fall hopelessly in love with her. As for that CEO rival, she’ll get insanely jealous and start tormenting the heroine.” “And in the end, the male lead will step in, crush the rival’s company for the sake of his true love, and leave her bankrupt!” “He and the heroine are true soulmates. That rival is just pure evil!” I watched the words shimmer in the air, a frown creasing my brow. The evil rival they were talking about… was me. And the male lead? My boyfriend, Vincent. According to the comments, the moment Sophie walked through our doors, Vincent was a goner. He, the Vice President of the company, would start orbiting her like a moon, neglecting his duties and ultimately losing us a major client. I would reprimand them both, and in retaliation for that minor offense, Vincent would orchestrate my downfall. He would cook up fraudulent contracts, trick me into signing them, and systematically sabotage my business deals, drowning me in lawsuits from angry clients. All the while, he and Sophie would be secretly diverting shipments and profits, getting rich while my company bled out. I stared at the ghostly text, my mind reeling in disbelief. Vincent and I had been together since college. He’d pursued me relentlessly. I’d finally said yes after graduation, and we’d been inseparable ever since. Everyone at the company called us the golden couple. I had truly believed he would love me forever. But the relentless stream of comments chipped away at my certainty. Just as I was about to assign Sophie to a simple front-desk position, Vincent suddenly announced he needed a new personal assistant. He wanted Sophie for the job. I looked at him, genuinely shocked. I’d offered to hire an assistant for him months ago, and he’d insisted he didn’t need one. Now, for this girl, he was changing his tune. “Haha, the male lead recognizes her! She was his childhood neighbor!” “The rival was just a stand-in for the female lead all along!” “Now that the real heroine is back, the stand-in can just go die!” “Exactly! He and Sophie are meant to be. The other one was just a placeholder!” A bitter sting pricked my eyes as I read the words. A stand-in. All this time, I was just a substitute for Sophie. Looking at her now, I could see it—a faint, uncanny resemblance in the set of her eyes, the shape of her brow. In that moment, I believed every word the comments told me. “Vincent,” I said, my voice carefully neutral, “Sophie has no experience. Let me find you a professional assistant, someone properly trained.” He just shook his head. “Katherine, I think Sophie will be perfect. Besides, it would take you time to recruit someone new. It’s better if she just starts with me now.” He was so… eager. The comments exploded. One side jeered at me, the “evil rival,” for trying to break up the main couple on their first day. The other side swooned over Vincent’s devotion, how he’d defy me just to keep Sophie by his side. “LOL, the rival has no idea. Tomorrow, the heroine is going to ‘accidentally’ mix up some files and leak a huge company secret!” “And then she’ll be on the hook for a massive compensation payment!” I read the spoilers and let out a quiet sigh. If Vincent wanted to be with Sophie so badly, who was I to stand in his way? 2 Back in my office, I instructed my assistant to compile a list of all the projects currently under Vincent’s purview. My company was still in a critical growth phase. We couldn’t afford a single misstep, a single loss. The stakes were too high for me to let my personal life sink the ship. As I gave my instructions, the comments continued to flicker in my mind’s eye. They revealed Sophie’s next move: she was going to intentionally misquote the price on a major bid proposal. If that document went out, we’d be locked into a contract that would lose us a fortune. The comments made it clear this wasn’t an accident. It was a calculated move to put herself in a vulnerable position so Vincent could swoop in and play the hero. Rage, cold and sharp, pierced through me. Sophie didn’t just want my boyfriend; she wanted to destroy everything I had built. I immediately sent my assistant to the client’s office. She waited until after Sophie had dropped off the proposal, then, using my authority, she retrieved it and swapped it with the correct version. When she placed the sabotaged document on my desk, I saw the proof with my own eyes. The price was disastrously wrong. Winning the bid at that number would have been catastrophic. But breaking the contract after winning would have cost even more in penalties. The comments had been right about everything. Just then, a new batch of text erupted. “OMG, the hero and heroine are kissing!” “They are SO sweet together!” I shot up from my chair and strode toward Vincent’s office. Peeking through the blinds on his glass wall, I saw them. Vincent and Sophie, locked in a passionate embrace, kissing deeply. The comments went into a frenzy. “AHHHH! They’ve finally recognized each other as soulmates!” “I love them so much! They’re adorable!” “Someone get them to a chapel, STAT! They need to get married right now!” “That rival is such a villain. The male lead obviously doesn’t love her, but she just won’t let him go!” Their words made my stomach turn, but I also noticed something crucial. They were a Greek chorus, commentating only on the actions of their “hero” and “heroine.” They had no idea what I was doing. They hadn’t seen me switch the proposal. Their world revolved entirely around Vincent and Sophie. A slow, cold smile spread across my face. I turned away from the window and walked back to my office. I called my assistant back in. From now on, Vincent was to be assigned only our most trivial, unimportant accounts. I also handed her a stack of files. “Take these to him.” A few minutes later, she returned, closing the door softly behind her. “Ma’am,” she whispered, her expression hesitant. “You’ll never guess what I just saw.” “What did you see?” I asked, feigning curiosity. “Mr. Cole… he and Sophie were sitting very, very close. It looked… intimate.” She looked nervous, knowing how devoted I had been to Vincent. She’d never have dared say such a thing before, but her loyalty was to me. I offered her a calm smile. “Whatever is happening between Vincent and Sophie has nothing to do with me.” 3 My assistant looked confused but knew better than to ask more questions. I simply told her that, moving forward, certain company matters were no longer to be shared with the Vice President. She seemed to understand, gave a sharp nod, and left. With that, I went back to work, keeping one eye on my business and the other on the stream of comments. They continued to spill secrets. They told me how Sophie was now whispering in Vincent’s ear, feeding him ideas, convincing him to help her plot against me. Her goal, from the very beginning, was to take me down. My company was thriving, a ripe fruit ready for the picking. If they could bankrupt me, they could seize it all. The most crushing blow was that Vincent had agreed. I stared at the words, a wave of profound disappointment washing over me. I had thought that after all our years together, he would never actively seek to harm me. But the moment Sophie appeared, all his supposed love for me had vanished. All that was left now was the cold burn of betrayal. The comments helpfully informed me that in a few days, Vincent would bring me a contract to sign. A contract that, once signed, would instantly bankrupt my company. Now that I knew, there was no way I would let that happen. And Vincent, in his love-struck haze, had no idea that I had already spent the last several days quietly sidelining him. Ever since Sophie’s arrival, he had been so consumed with her that he hadn’t even noticed his access being revoked, his authority systematically stripped away and rerouted back to me. He was too busy playing the lovestruck hero to pay attention to his actual job. Just as predicted, Vincent showed up at my office. He held out a file. “Katherine, I landed a huge deal. Once we complete this contract, the company will make a fortune. You should sign it now.” I looked at him, and then at the comments flashing before my eyes. “Here it is! The male lead is making his move! The rival has no idea that the second she signs this, the company will belong to him!” “Soon he’ll have all her money and her company, and he and the heroine can live happily ever after!” “Hurry up and advance the plot! I want to see the romance!” I smiled sweetly. “Vincent, just leave it here. I’ll take a look at it tonight.” His face tightened. “Katherine, I worked really hard to get this,” he pressed. “I know things have been tough for the company lately, and I had to pull a lot of strings to make this happen. Just sign it.” “I will, Vincent, don’t worry,” I said, my smile never wavering. “As long as the contract is legitimate, I’ll sign it. But I don’t have time to review it right this second. Just leave it with me.” His expression soured. He clearly hadn’t expected me to ask to read it first. A flicker of anger sparked in his eyes.

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When I was rich, I trained the proud but poor school hunk into an obedient puppy. One hundred dollars for calling me “sister,” two hundred for calling me “wifey.” Amidst these endearments, he got into Harvard, while I ended up in a community college. Years later, Caleb Pierce is a new tycoon in the business world, while my family went bankrupt, and I’m ridden with illness, working as a salesgirl in a club. Still needing a large sum for surgery, I summoned the courage to ask Caleb, “Can we play that game again? This time we switch roles. I call you hubby, and you give me money?” Caleb frowned and fell silent. Embarrassed, I turned to run, but a whisper came from behind. “Why run? I didn’t say no.” 1 I never expected the guest in the VIP room to be Caleb Pierce. After graduation, he ruthlessly cut ties with me, saying on the phone that he hated me, that every time he called me “wifey” was for money. Now that he graduated and could earn money, he wanted no contact with me ever again. After that, he angrily deleted all my contact information and never attended class reunions, deliberately avoiding me. I thought we would never see each other again in this life. Unexpectedly, we met when I was at my lowest. Caleb’s gaze lingered on me; he must have recognized me. Afraid of awkwardness, I didn’t initiate a conversation but kept smiling, reciting the trained lines, “Boss, opening a bottle? The $8,888 package comes with a premium fruit platter, and the $18,888 package comes with an extra $888 bottle of wine.” After speaking, Caleb’s eyes became obscure and deep. The big-bellied man beside him spoke first, “If little sister is willing to drink two glasses with me, I’ll open the most expensive package.” I tried hard to stay polite and replied to the fat man, “Sorry boss, I have kidney failure and am taking medication, so I can’t drink.” Saying this, I subconsciously looked at Caleb, wanting to see his reaction. His face was calm, even a bit disdainful. Can’t blame him for lacking sympathy. One day in high school, I cried and told Caleb I had a terminal illness, and my biggest wish before dying was to kiss him. Caleb asked over and over what disease it was, what the mortality rate was, if it could be cured. He even took out a crumpled 5-dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to me, saying it was for medical expenses. Finally, with red eyes, Caleb obediently bent down to let me kiss him. I kissed him until he blushed before stopping, then told him the truth. That was the first time I saw Caleb so angry. He didn’t speak to me for half a month. From then on, even if I was really sick, he didn’t care. The fat man looked unbelieving. “Little sister, I’ve heard this excuse for dodging drinks. You’re still a bit green to trick me.” I took out the medical record from my pocket and handed it to him. Went to the hospital just today, the paper was still fresh. The doctor suggested hospitalization, but I haven’t gathered enough money yet, dare not stay, afraid of spending everything. The fat man looked at the medical record, then at me, “Hannah Reed? Kidney failure! The record looks quite real.” Seeing the fat man’s tone soften, I took the opportunity to push the sale, “Boss, opening a bottle? Doing good deeds brings wealth.” The fat man reached out to my face, and I stepped back two steps to dodge. His face darkened immediately, “Giving you another chance and you’re useless, sister. Want to make money but don’t want to make me happy. Where in the world is there such a good deal?” I tried hard to keep smiling, looking around at everyone, “What about other bosses, opening a bottle?” No one answered. Just as I was about to leave, Caleb’s voice came to my ear. “Open two sets of the $18,888 ones.” “Boss Caleb is generous,” praises rang incessantly. I started calculating asking him for help. Although shameful, if he’s willing to throw me some scraps, dignity isn’t important. I opened the wine, poured a glass for Caleb, summoned up courage, and said to him, “Boss Caleb, can we play a game? I call you hubby, you give me money.” Caleb fell silent, didn’t speak. Then came the ridicule and mockery of the men. “Miss, I think you’re crazy for money. Knowing Boss Caleb is kind, you’re clinging to him, right? Unfortunately, Boss Caleb has a girlfriend, and his future brother-in-law is also here. If you shout nonsense again and anger Young Master Lucas, you won’t be able to survive here.” Mockery came, and my brain started buzzing. Caleb actually has a girlfriend. Then I shouldn’t pester him anymore. I bowed and said, “Drink well, boss.” Fleeing in panic, a whisper came from behind. “Why run? I didn’t say no.” 2 Caleb looked serious, not like he was joking. I was reluctant to give up the money, but I couldn’t call a married man “hubby.” After weighing it over, I suggested. “Calling you hubby isn’t appropriate. How about I call you something else, like… Uncle, Sir, or Auntie, even Ancestor is fine?” Caleb looked at me like I was mentally challenged. Suddenly his gaze became sharp, “Seems you don’t want to live that much, or this medical record is forged. Anyway, you’re best at lying.” The questioning left me unable to refute. My mouth felt sewn shut, couldn’t say anything. Caleb gradually became impatient. “If you don’t want money, leave!” My kidney ached faintly, reminding me the countdown of life was still ticking. I closed my eyes and shouted, took a deep breath, and shouted, “Hubby.” After one shout, I shouted faster and faster. “Hubby.” “Hubby.” … Since I already shouted, earning enough for medical expenses would be worth it, but I was interrupted. “Enough!” The extremely fierce voice didn’t belong to Caleb, but came from the corner of the sofa, a handsome face exuding the aura of a rich second generation, looking unhappy. He got up and walked to Caleb, looking down scrutinizingly, “Caleb Pierce, you probably forgot how you got to this position today. Slapping my face in public, slapping my sister’s face, you’re really tired of living.” Caleb calmly picked up the wine I poured and took a sip, thin lips slightly parting, “Lucas, go back and tell your sister, I won’t marry her. From beginning to end, it was just her wishful thinking!” Wishful thinking, these words were extremely piercing. Hard not to substitute myself in. For so many years, my feelings for Caleb were also wishful thinking. “Why! Because of this Hannah Reed! You like her, don’t you?” Lucas pointed the spearhead at me. If looks could kill, I would have been sliced to pieces by him. Fearlessly meeting those bright eyes, I spoke, “What’s the difference between your words and spreading rumors about a widow? Caleb asked me to call him ‘hubby’ purely because of past grudges. Now he wants to humiliate me in public for revenge, don’t overthink it.” Lucas’s gaze changed from disgust to doubt. “Really?” “Ask Caleb if you don’t believe me.” Caleb didn’t speak, defaulting. My heart twitched violently. Took a deep breath, tried hard to calm down, took out the payment QR code, “Boss Caleb, please settle the bill.” I didn’t shout as many as 25 times, but Caleb transferred five thousand to me. He probably pitied me. I gripped my phone tightly, lowered my head and left the Shura field (scene of intense conflict), going to the front desk to find the club manager for commission. When the manager settled the money, he kept praising me for being capable. But after the phone message tone rang, he heartlessly notified me not to come tomorrow. I knew it in my heart, but still unwilling to give up, asked the manager, “Is it Lucas or Caleb?” “Of course it’s Boss Caleb. Boss Caleb doesn’t want to see you here, you should understand.” Of course I understand. Deleting contacts right after graduation, deliberately avoiding me for almost ten years, how much Caleb doesn’t want to see me, I understand. I wasn’t sad, because selling alcohol was the highest paid among my four jobs. Now my saving plan is disrupted, I must quickly find a job to make up for it. 3 Leaving the club, I walked as usual to the bus stop two kilometers away to take the direct bus. Snowflakes hit me, bone marrow freezing hurt. The icy road made me slip several times. Suddenly the road under my feet brightened. But in a moment, the car behind passed me, the road fell into darkness again. The car stopped not far away. Passing by, I looked curiously at the car, meeting Caleb’s eyes. I was puzzled, “What are you doing here?” “Lucas sent the driver away. I drank and can’t drive. The designated driver will take an hour. You drive me home, I’ll give you five hundred.” Ruining my job, karma is swift, serves Caleb right. “No, I have things to do at home.” I continued walking forward. Any later and the last bus would be gone. But Caleb called out to me. “Two thousand, take me back.” Caleb looked really urgent. I raised the price on the spot, “Three thousand?” Caleb nodded. I continued to add, “Four thousand isn’t impossible either, right, Boss Caleb?” Caleb paused for a moment, a flash of displeasure in his eyes, but finally relented, “Okay.” I opened my mouth, wanting to shout five thousand. But was interrupted by Caleb first, “If you dare shout five thousand, I’ll wait here for the designated driver.” “Deal.” Five hundred became four thousand, I earned big. Following the address Caleb gave, I drove towards the high-end community. At a red light, my WeChat call rang. It was the boss ordering gaming services. Already lost the most profitable job, I can’t lose this one. Taking advantage of the red light, I answered the call. The boss’s voice came immediately, “Sister, when are you coming online?” I pinched my voice and whispered back, “Soon, about half an hour. Delayed by something today, wait a moment for me, brother.” “So noisy, shut up!” Caleb’s voice came from behind. In the rearview mirror, his hostility was fully revealed. My voice was already very low, trying not to disturb him, but he was still dissatisfied. Then he was deliberately picking a fight. Questioning voice came from the phone. “Sister, is there a man beside you?” Afraid of losing the financial backer, I immediately appeased: “Mm, in the car, the carpool guy is a bit grumpy. Not talking to you anymore, hanging up.” Hung up the phone, green light on, I stepped on the gas. Caleb’s eccentric voice came from behind: “Carpool guy? Hehe! Hannah Reed, you are as good at lying as ever.” Another business almost ruined by Caleb, plus the eccentric words were not pleasant, the anger in my heart was somewhat suppressed. “Caleb Pierce, who I deceive has nothing to do with you. Called you hubby, really treat yourself as hubby!” Caleb’s heavy breathing came from the back seat, like a crazy puppy. Really wanted to send him to dog training. Until the community parking lot, he and I didn’t speak again. Parked the car, I handed the QR code to Caleb. “Pay.” Caleb transferred 2000 to me. Looking at the incorrect number, I frowned, “Caleb Pierce, the price we agreed on was four thousand.” Caleb had a kind of shamelessness disregarding others’ lives, “I know, you help me upstairs, then pay you the balance.” “Skinflint, evil capitalist!” Cursing while sending Caleb to his door, the order boss’s messages were already 99+. I pinched my throat to reply, appeasing him, “Boss don’t worry, I’ll give you two extra games later.” Only then did he ease up a bit, sending an OK emoji. Overhead gaze burning. The moment of eye contact, I saw killing intent in Caleb’s eyes, exactly the same as when disturbed in the car. I don’t like being looked at like this. So opened mouth to Caleb, “Give money, I’ll leave right away, disappear from your eyes forever.” The ruthlessness in Caleb’s eyes dispersed instantly. He leaned against the wall, pointed at the door, “I drank too much to see the numbers, you enter the password for me, 169121.” Caleb said the password smoothly. I couldn’t help asking, “Just told me like this, aren’t you afraid I’ll enter your house to steal things.” He suddenly reached out both hands to cup my face. The touch of his palms was a bit strange. While I reached out to remove his hands, he shook my head, asking, “Hear the water sound?” “Your brain has water (you’re crazy)!” Seeing a raised scar on Caleb’s palm cutting across, shocking like being slashed by a knife, I frowned. “What is this?” Caleb withdrew his hands, bending down to eye level with me, “Nothing, accidentally cut while chopping vegetables.” “Chopping vegetables can do this, you really think my brain has water?” Caleb’s mouth curled up, “If no water, then tell me, what is the password?” I opened my mouth, forgot. Something without any pattern plus interrupted by Caleb’s gag, only a ghost could remember. Caleb’s smiling eyes were a bit blurry, already out of focus, looked like he really drank a lot. He repeated the password again. Door opened, he dragged me into the room. Then started taking off clothes without warning. “What do you want to do?” 04 “The heating is too hot, aren’t you hot?” Hearing this answer, I breathed a sigh of relief, but felt inexplicably blocked in my heart. I’m going back to the cold world. No matter how warm Caleb’s house is, it has nothing to do with me. “Pay quickly, I have things to do, don’t do these useless things.” Caleb ignored my words, speaking on his own. “Headache is severe, you take care of me for a night, I’ll pay you the balance tomorrow morning, round it up to ten thousand total, how about it?” Saying this, Caleb rubbed his temples, proving he really had a headache. “Serious care?” I asked seriously, after all, 10,000 is a bit much. Caleb chuckled, suddenly approached. At this moment, two buttons of his shirt were open. With his moving steps, I could see looming abs. “Do you want unserious care? Hannah Reed, do you still have wicked designs on me?” To be honest, liking Caleb for so many years, hard to have no wicked designs at all. But he doesn’t like me. I’m afraid he’ll scold me for wishful thinking, better not rush to humiliate myself. “No, just afraid you have wicked designs, that would be another price.” Original joke provoked Caleb to stick closer. Breath smelling of alcohol sprayed on my face, tone teasing. “Hannah Reed, how much do you think you are worth?” “About a million.” I think I’m worth hundreds of millions, but Caleb doesn’t have hundreds of millions. Might as well say something he can pay from savings. “Is Boss Caleb willing to pay for his own wicked designs?” Before Caleb answered, the phone rang suddenly. I took out my phone, just saw it was the call from the financial backer, phone was snatched by Caleb. “Okay.” Caleb said very decisively, eyes sobered up a lot, but he confused me. “What okay?” “A million, okay.”

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I had a secret crush on Julian Thorne for ten years but never dared to confess, until I was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. I tied him up and slept with him again and again. His eyes red, he struggled: “Chloe Miller! Let me go if you have the guts.” I thought he would strangle me in a rage once released. But he fiercely occupied every inch of my body, day and night without stopping: “Chloe, do I look weak to you? You actually drugged me?” 1 I had a secret crush on Julian Thorne for ten years. From adolescence to adulthood. He lived in the villa next to mine. I watched him grow from a green youth into a mature man. I was completely captivated by his mature charm, but I dared not say it. I was afraid if I said it, he would reject me, and then we would be over. Until ten days ago, I fainted at work and was sent to the hospital. The doctor looked at me with regret: “Terminal brain cancer. It’s too late, there’s no value in treatment anymore.” I couldn’t just die like this. I hadn’t traveled the world yet, I hadn’t slept with Julian yet… Novels I recently read popped into my mind, all about possessive, forced love. I’m dying anyway, doing something crazy isn’t too much, right? I called Julian and invited him to my house for dinner. Julian is the big boss of the Thorne Group, very busy. But he agreed to come over later. When Julian arrived, he looked travel-worn, wearing a black trench coat. Carrying a chill around him. Only then did I know he was abroad when I called. Flew for a day, came back straight into my trap. I felt a little soft-hearted. I wanted to find an excuse to drive him away, but he walked straight to the dining table and sat down. Without waiting for me to speak, he started serving himself. I watched him drink the Tom Yum soup I had spiked heavily. While drinking, he raised an eyebrow at me. “Haven’t seen you for a while, your cooking has improved.” Of course, it improved. Because that was takeout from the number one Thai restaurant in the city. Why takeout? The reason is simple: I was afraid my cooking would be too terrible, and he wouldn’t eat enough for the effect to kick in. By the time I went to the kitchen to get a bowl, his eyes were already starting to cloud over as he sat at the table. I bit my lip: “Are you tired? Want to rest?” He nodded: “A bit dizzy.” “Then go rest for a bit.” We’ve known each other for years, having long lost our guard against each other. He obediently followed me to the guest bedroom. 2 Julian fell asleep. I struggled to take off his coat, then stared at his looming body under the white shirt, lost in thought. I pursed my lips, a bit flustered, mouth dry. But I never had the courage to strip him completely. I dug out a pile of ties from the closet that I wanted to give him over the years but was too shy to send. Today, they came in handy. I tied his hands and feet directly to the bed with ties. Exhausted after doing everything, I slumped by the bed. Looking up, I saw his sleeping handsome face. Very peaceful right now. But I could imagine how furious he would be when he woke up. Just like the last time his mother suggested we just get married. I stared at his face, reluctant to blink. Thinking I wouldn’t see it anymore in a few days, I wanted to look enough at once. I’ve been a kind and selfless person for over twenty years. At the end, I insist on being selfish once. It doesn’t matter even if he hates me. That way, he won’t be sad at all when I die. The phone in his coat rang non-stop. It was his assistant, Liam. Without much hesitation, and afraid of waking him, I picked it up. “Julian is too tired, fell asleep after eating.” Liam hung up tactfully. Gradually, my eyelids grew heavier. I simply climbed onto the bed, hugged Julian’s waist, and fell into a deep sleep. I was woken up by Julian’s roar in the middle of the night. “Chloe!” I sat up abruptly. The sudden movement made me dizzy, vision blacking out, and I fell heavily back into Julian’s arms. “Chloe! What on earth are you doing?” Doing what? I propped myself up with my elbows, looking at him with confused eyes. “Guess.” Julian’s face darkened further. I knelt on the bed looking at him: “Since you’re awake, let’s get down to business.” Julian frowned deeply, his arms trying to break free from the restraints. I panicked a little, afraid if he really escaped, my efforts would be wasted. I closed my eyes and threw myself onto him. “Don’t move! Listen to me!” Julian gritted his teeth in hatred. “Are you crazy?” I looked up slightly, my face less than four inches from his. “I’m not crazy.” “Then what are you doing?” “I got you onto the bed, what do you think I want to do?” Julian’s pupils contracted sharply, the disgust on his face unhidden. “Chloe! I’m Julian!” “Do you have any shame left as a girl!” I didn’t want to hear him scold me, so I grabbed a soft object from the nightstand and stuffed it into his mouth. Ignoring his eyes that were about to spew fire, I looked at him fiercely. “Shut up!” Julian wanted to break free, but found it useless. My heart pounded in my chest. “I’m going to kiss you, don’t interrupt me.” With that, I pulled the thing out of his mouth, and without waiting for him to speak, I closed my eyes and kissed him fiercely. I clumsily tore at his shirt, buttons rolling onto the floor one by one. Like someone escaping the apocalypse, unwilling to stop, just wanting to find an exit. I had a chest full of emotions, released bit by bit all over Julian’s body amidst his low grunts. I heard my friend Luna say once, men in bed only think with their lower half. Sure enough, amidst my somewhat fierce actions, Julian didn’t open his mouth to scold me. Just constant grunts. After it was over, Julian’s face was flushed, as if he had suffered great humiliation. I didn’t like looking at it, put on clothes and wanted to go to the bathroom to shower. Seeing me leave, Julian stopped me. “Chloe!” I turned to look at him: “What?” His eyes were red with anger. “Let me go if you have the guts.” I froze for a second hearing this, then smiled indifferently. “I will let you go, but not now.” 3 After showering, I wanted to go back to my room. But I remembered Julian’s eight-pack abs, so firm. So I went back to the guest room. Julian hadn’t slept yet, staring at the ceiling. Like a frog about to be experimented on. Seeing me enter, he cursed through gritted teeth: “Let me go!” I shook my head: “No.” “Do you have any shame!” “What good does doing this do you?” “Didn’t your mother teach you self-respect and self-love?” He poked my heart. On purpose. I pursed my lips and didn’t speak, just walked up silently. I kicked off my slippers and got directly onto the bed, straddling him. He frowned and wanted to scold me again. I reached out and covered his mouth. “Shut up, listen to me.” “I’ve known you for eleven years, liked you for ten. I thought about giving up, but I wasn’t resigned.” “I know you don’t like me. People say those who love take initiative, so I took the initiative.” “I just want to have you, struggling is useless!” With that, I lowered my head and kissed him with red eyes. Julian’s lips were thin and cool, as if mint-flavored. I was already tired, but I clearly felt a change somewhere in him. I looked up at his face and laughed. “Still pretending to be a pure CEO, not so tough after all!” The sounds Julian made during the whole process made me blush and… very satisfied. Opening my eyes again, Julian was already awake. But fortunately, his expression didn’t show he “suffered humiliation.” Seeing me awake, he called me with a hoarse voice. “Let me go.” “No.” He was somewhat helpless and started changing tactics. “Chloe, what is wrong with you? How long do you plan to tie me up?” I stretched out my fingers to count, then gestured a number to him. “7 days.” Julian was completely speechless: “Why on earth?” “No reason,” I calmly put on my robe and got out of bed, “I insist on staying with you for fully seven days.” I thought Julian would be angry, but he laughed. “This is illegal detention. You know how many things I have every day, how many people look for me. If I disappear like this, do you think you can keep me until the seventh day?” I stood by the bed, unable to move a step. Right, he’s a big man. As long as he doesn’t cooperate, how long can I keep him? “Chloe, let me go, I promise not to leave.” I froze for two seconds, then shook my head stubbornly. “I don’t believe you.” “Chloe, I have very important things to do. You can follow me, but you have to let me out.” Julian thought I would definitely agree since he made a concession. But I refused without thinking. I told him very stubbornly: “Before the police bring people to find my house, you can only stay here.” Julian knew there was no solution. A pair of black eyes looked me up and down several times. Finally, he compromised unexpectedly. “If you tie me up like this for seven days, my hands and feet will be ruined. Is this what you want?” “No.” “But I have no other way. I can’t beat you, can’t stop you, can only wrong you like this.” “Chloe, I swear on my grandmother’s name, I won’t leave within seven days.” Grandma Thorne. I knew her importance to Julian. I also knew she was sincerely good to me. When she passed away, Julian and I hid in a corner and cried together. That was the first time I saw Julian cry. “You need me to cooperate with you, otherwise your door might be forcibly breached this afternoon.” Julian’s attitude was sincere. I also knew he was telling the truth. The CEO of the Thorne Group is missing, how could it not be a big deal? I wanted to keep him, but I didn’t want to leave a bad reputation when I died. I could imagine how ugly and outrageous the media would write about this. I compromised. I threw his clothes to him, then released his hands and feet one by one. He gritted his teeth moving his stiff hands, scolding mercilessly: “Why didn’t I discover you were a crazy woman before.” I was expressionless: “There’s a lot you haven’t discovered.” He stared at the messy ties I threw on the ground, turned to look at me in disbelief: “Where did you get so many ties?” “I saw them and thought they suited you, so I bought them. Unknowingly saved so many.” Good thing I didn’t buy them in vain, finally used them on him. “Why didn’t you give them to me?” I sneered: “Don’t have the habit of pressing my hot face against your cold butt.” Julian’s face turned slightly cold. “So you just forced it?” I blushed from face to toe. Regardless of consequences when going crazy, calming down and hearing him say this, suddenly felt very shameful. Wanting to get a man, actually used tying. But I quickly got over it. I told myself, doing such a thing in this life was worth it. 4 Julian kept his word. After being released by me, he didn’t mean to leave forcefully. Just asked me for my laptop. “You want to email Liam for help?” Julian looked at me like I was an idiot. “Is your brain not working well? If I wanted to leave, would I need to find someone?” It wasn’t that my brain wasn’t working well; it was clearly broken. I gave him the computer. Anyway, I resigned, keeping the computer is useless. Julian sat on the balcony handling work, while I curled up on the living room sofa watching him quietly. The angle of the sunlight seemed calculated, giving me an illusion of “peaceful years.” Only this “peace” was kidnapped by my shamelessness. The afternoon sun was dazzling. Watching him, I felt sleepy. I tried hard to control myself not to sleep, but eventually lost consciousness. Opening my eyes again, Julian’s shadow was gone from sight. I jumped up, looking around in panic barefoot. Until I pushed open the bathroom door abruptly. My heart fell back into my chest from my throat, but my reason left home from the moment I saw him. I pounced on him. I had no experience, so I bit randomly without method, just wanting to leave marks. It felt like a lost deer crashing around in my chest. I clung to him like an octopus with all my might, afraid he would throw me off. In a trance, I heard Julian’s helpless sigh, then a strong arm dragged me up. “Truly a lunatic, but I like it.” Like what? Before I could react, he bit my neck, and then the tables turned. I believed Luna’s words more and more. In men’s eyes, love and not love, doing it and not doing it, are indeed two different things. Afterwards, the thick lust faded, and Julian leaned against the bed examining me. “Chloe, I really suspect you are possessed by some evil ghost.” Knowing each other for so many years, it’s not strange for Julian to have doubts. After all, I was too different from before. “Yes,” I nodded solemnly, “A lust ghost.” Julian narrowed his eyes: “Why doesn’t the lust ghost find someone else?” I tilted my head and thought: “Probably because you are the only one around easy to hook.” I took my phone to order takeout, but was stopped by Julian. “What? Tricked me here with your cooking, now dismissing me with takeout after eating me dry?” I couldn’t be bothered with him. Half an hour later, takeout knocked on my door. Julian watched the yellow paper bag in my hand, pupils contracting violently. Until he saw me take out a small box of pills from it, he completely broke down. He rushed over and grabbed my chin. “Chloe! What are you doing? You take this kind of stuff too?” I spoke with difficulty: “You want me to birth a Thorne heir for you?” Anger covered Julian’s face, even his eyebrows expressing his rage. His fingertips pressed harder. “You dare to do such things, yet fear having a baby?” “You’re hurting me!” I struggled to break free from his fingers, but I knew he was really angry. So I made up a reason that sounded reasonable. “Of course I want to birth a Thorne heir, but I suddenly remembered I took a lot of antibiotics for a cold a couple of days ago.” I frowned at him: “What? You hope I birth a child to blackmail you?” Julian looked away, voice slightly cold. “Keep dreaming, greedy woman.” “Julian, you aren’t usually like this to me either! I forced you, but if you weren’t willing, I couldn’t have forced it!” Julian was angry. I thought he would turn and leave. But he just slammed the guest room door shut with a “bang.” Heh, quite trustworthy. Made me embarrassed.

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I time-traveled three years into the past with my new husband. Back then, my boyfriend was his best friend. He looked at me, his expression cold as stone. “Break up with him. I won’t be the other man.” I just laughed, a little recklessly. “You’re being optimistic. The other man? Please, you wouldn’t even make the top five.” 1. It happened without any warning. I time-traveled with my new husband, Alexander. The timing, however, couldn’t have been worse. We landed at the exact moment my then-boyfriend was introducing me to his circle of friends. The second the door to the private booth swung open, my boyfriend, Noah, had his arm draped over my shoulder, and my new husband, Alexander, was sitting on the sofa, his eyes cold as ice, staring at us. “…” One look was all it took. I knew, with absolute certainty, that he had traveled back with me. After all, the Alexander of the past would never have looked at me like that. His default setting was a cool, detached arrogance. An arrogance so profound he could ignore everything and everyone around him, including me, his best friend’s girlfriend at the time. If it weren’t for his ironclad friendship with Noah, he wouldn’t have even shown up to this gathering. But this new situation was… complicated. On the surface, I was Noah’s girlfriend. In reality, I was Alexander’s wife from three years in the future. What was I supposed to do? Before I could come up with a plan, the booth erupted in cheers and jeers. Someone excitedly clapped Noah on the shoulder. “You sly dog, you finally brought her out!” “No wonder you kept her hidden away! Your girlfriend is gorgeous.” “Nope, you’re buying drinks tonight! From now on, you’re always buying. A single guy like me can’t stand seeing you two so disgustingly happy.” Noah just grinned, taking all the teasing in stride. The hand on my shoulder tightened in a comforting squeeze. “Don’t mind them, they’re just idiots. Come on, I want you to meet my best friend—” My feet felt like they were encased in lead. I was dragged in front of Alexander. Noah’s face was beaming. “Alex, I told you about her. This is my girlfriend, Stella.” I was so mortified I couldn’t even look at Alexander. I just stared at the floor and mumbled, extending a hand. “Hi.” For a long, agonizing moment, there was nothing. Then, his hand finally closed around mine. It was a light squeeze. It was over in a second, but the pressure of it, the weight of it, felt immense. Noah settled me onto the sofa right next to Alexander, leaning in to whisper, “You sit here. I’ve gotta go say hi to the others. Don’t worry, if you need anything, just ask Alex. He’ll take care of you for me.” With a final, “Thanks, man,” thrown over his shoulder, Noah was gone. Suddenly, the long sofa felt very empty, occupied by just the two of us. The air turned frigid. I tried to give myself a mental pep talk. There’s no need to be scared. He probably doesn’t know I traveled back too. Just act normal, go with the flow. Right now, I’m Noah’s girlfriend. My marriage to Alexander is three years away. There’s no reason to… “That silk tie you used to blindfold me last night,” Alexander’s low voice cut through my thoughts. “Where did you put it? I couldn’t find it this morning.” I froze, then answered on instinct. “On the sofa, I think.” A low, humorless chuckle escaped him. “Got it.” “…” It dawned on me, a second too late, that I had just been played. 2. The situation just got infinitely more complicated. Now that we both knew we’d been in bed together just last night, how was I supposed to keep pretending to be Noah’s loving girlfriend? Alexander’s suggestion was simple: “Break up with him.” I protested in a whisper, “We’re in the honeymoon phase! He’d never accept me breaking up with him out of the blue!” If I remembered correctly, this party was about six months into my relationship with Noah. His birthday had been just a few weeks ago. That day, he’d held me close and whispered, “Babe, will you come meet my friends? Everyone knows I have a girlfriend, but no one knows who she is, not even my best friend. I want to show you off. Will you do that for me?” I’d been charmed, and I’d finally agreed. “You’ll have to break up with him eventually anyway,” Alexander stated flatly. He was right. My relationship with Noah did end in a breakup. But does a bad ending mean you can’t enjoy the journey? I shook my head. “Not yet.” “Then what about me?” he asked. Honestly, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. If Alexander and I were a deeply in love, inseparable newlywed couple, then dropping Noah for him would be the obvious choice. The problem was, we weren’t. Ours was a marriage of convenience. Each of us got something out of it. Surely, I wasn’t responsible for him now, three years in the past, when we had no official relationship, right? A cold smirk touched Alexander’s lips. “Stella. You’re really something else.” “Wait, wait!” I instinctively grabbed his arm, my voice pleading. “Just give me some time to think.” The me of three years ago owed Alexander nothing. But what if we traveled back to the future? If we could jump back in time without warning, we could just as easily jump forward… and I’d have to face my brand-new husband, Alexander. I’d be toast. I thought for a long moment, then made my decision. “I will break up with him. But you have to give me some time.” Alexander just scoffed. Just then, the man of the hour, Noah, returned. He didn’t squeeze in between us. Instead, he leaned over me, his arm resting on my shoulder, to talk to Alexander. The posture, however, pulled me even closer to him. And Noah couldn’t keep still, occasionally winking at me, his face lit up with a ridiculously happy smile. Alexander’s gaze flickered over to us several times. Clearly annoyed, he finally stood up, his voice clipped. “Let’s switch seats.” So we rearranged ourselves. Now Alexander was in the middle. Noah didn’t seem to mind, immediately launching into some juicy gossip he’d just heard about a rival family. I was bored out of my mind, so I started peeling the lychees from the fruit platter. One after another. The flesh was plump and sweet, and I couldn’t stop. Suddenly, I felt a light touch on the skin of my outer thigh. My dress was on the shorter side. The cool touch of his fingertips sent a slow, tingling sensation all the way to my heart. I looked up and met Alexander’s gaze. While Noah was taking a sip of his drink, Alexander mouthed silently, Eating so many? Forgotten who was crying with a stomach ache last time? I froze. I finished peeling the one in my hand but didn’t dare eat it. Noah, who had appeared out of nowhere, leaned in and bit the lychee right from my fingertips, then plopped down beside me. “Anything my girl peels is sweeter!” he mumbled, his mouth full. The air solidified. For some reason, I didn’t dare look at Alexander. …Why did this feel like I was cheating on two people at once? This whole situation was a nightmare. I wracked my brain, desperate for a way out. Before I could think of anything, Alexander spoke first, his voice dangerously cold. “Who’s your girl?” 3. Noah froze, a dumbfounded look on his face. He swallowed the lychee whole and opened his mouth as if to explain, but nothing came out. I quickly jumped in to do damage control. “Me! I’m his girl, he was talking about me!” Both Alexander and Noah looked at me. Alexander’s gaze, in particular, was so glacial it could have skinned me alive. I clenched my fists, meeting his stare head-on. “Is there a problem?” Noah chuckled. “No problem at all, babe.” He even had the mind to explain to me, “Alex is a bit old-fashioned. He probably thinks it’s inappropriate for me to call you that before we’re married. He doesn’t mean anything by it.” Then, he shot a teasing look at Alexander. “Alright, man, calm down. Since when are you the relationship police?” Alexander’s expression darkened even further. Fearing he was about to say something truly catastrophic, I shot to my feet. “Something just came up. I think I have to go.” Noah grabbed my hand. “What is it?” I tried to recall what my life was like three years ago and blurted out the first excuse I could think of. “My professor said there’s a problem with my thesis!” “I’ll take you,” Noah said, standing up immediately. Panic seized me. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.” “Silly,” Noah pinched my cheek affectionately. “Your laptop is still at my apartment. Of course I have to.” Now I was the one who was truly dumbfounded. I had absolutely no memory of today’s events from three years ago, let alone my laptop being at his place. I had no choice but to play along. “Haha, look at me, my brain is total mush, hahaha…” “You goofball.” Noah said his goodbyes, paid the bill, and led me by the hand to the parking garage. My phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number. It was short and to the point: 【?】 A wave of guilt washed over me. It was obviously from Alexander. As I was trying to figure out how to respond, Noah handed me a bottle of water he’d just opened. “You okay? Are you tired?” Physically, I wasn’t. Mentally, I was exhausted. Just thinking about the last hour gave me a headache. I forced a smile. “I’m fine.” “Well, I guess we’ll have to postpone you meeting my parents then,” Noah said with a smile. “They’ve been asking to meet you for a while. I’ve already put them off a few times.” I looked at Noah’s profile and was suddenly reminded of the real reason we broke up. That meeting with his parents had been the catalyst. His parents were perfectly nice. There was no awkwardness or intentional grilling at the dinner table. But they had told Noah he needed to spend a few years abroad after graduation—partly for a master’s degree, partly to help expand his family’s company into the European market. They wanted me to go with him. They offered to pay for my tuition, my living expenses, everything. The only condition was that I had to go with Noah. Even back then, I suspected Noah had made some kind of deal with them. He had probably told them he didn’t want to go abroad because of me, and this was their compromise: he could take his girlfriend with him. But I didn’t want to go. Especially not as someone’s accessory. I had just received an offer from a top firm in the country. My career was about to take off, my future looked bright, and I wasn’t about to throw it all away. So I refused. And that’s when the cracks in our relationship started to show. We never fought. Noah wasn’t the type to argue with me. He just begged, pleaded, hoped I would change my mind for him, for our relationship. When he finally realized I wouldn’t budge, he relented, claiming a long-distance relationship would be fine, that he’d fly back to see me all the time. But by then, the magic was gone. After some rational thought, I realized I probably didn’t love him as much as I thought I did. I broke up with him before he left the country. Noah’s finger suddenly poked my cheek. “What are you thinking about? I called your name and you didn’t even hear me.” I snapped out of it and said the first thing that came to mind. “I was thinking about meeting your parents.” A look of pure joy exploded in his eyes. “Really? Babe, you really want to meet them? Oh my god, this is the best news!” He pulled me into a fierce hug, stroking my hair. “You’re the best, you know that?” No, I’m really not, I thought. I was about to push him away when someone knocked sharply on the car window. Alexander’s handsome, elegant face appeared outside. He smiled, a perfect picture of politeness. “Sorry to interrupt. Mind if I catch a ride?” “…” 4. Alexander claimed he’d left something at Noah’s apartment, so he needed to come with us. Noah, completely unsuspecting, immediately let him in. In the car, the two of them chatted away amicably. Meanwhile, my phone was blowing up with a constant stream of messages from Alexander. 【So you’re hugging now?】 【If I hadn’t shown up, what else were you planning on doing?】 【Did I interrupt something?】 【Stella, this is cheating!】 【How could you cheat on me right in front of my face?】 【ANSWER ME!】 A new message arrived every few minutes, like a scheduled attack. I ignored them. The tense silence on my end continued all the way to Noah’s apartment. My laptop was, indeed, there. It was only then that I remembered: my computer had been acting up, and I was going to take it to a repair shop, but Noah had insisted he could fix it himself. Alexander, however, had clearly jumped to a different conclusion. He was now staring at his phone, typing another snide message: 【How sweet!】 I couldn’t take it anymore and typed back: 【:)】 Alexander went silent. Once I had my laptop, there was no reason to stay. Besides, I couldn’t handle another minute of this chaos. I stood up to say goodbye. Noah immediately said, “I’ll drive you back to campus.” “I can take her,” Alexander interjected. “I’m heading to my place on the West Side, it’s on the way.” I was so annoyed with Alexander at this point that I snapped, “You hitched a ride here. How are you going to drive me anywhere?” Alexander smiled. “My driver has been following us the whole time.” “…” Noah seemed to have absolute trust in Alexander because he didn’t object at all. Only as he was seeing us out the door did he seem to remember something. “Hey, you said you left something here. What was it?” Alexander casually picked up a crystal figurine from the entryway table. “You said you were going to give this to me, remember? I came to pick it up.” It wasn’t until I was in Alexander’s car that my frayed nerves finally started to settle. But his behavior had been so outrageous that I couldn’t help but scold him. “Could you not exercise a little self-control? What if he finds out?” “Finds out what? That you’re my wife?” Alexander scoffed. “I’ve only ever heard of the other man having to sneak around. This is the first time I’ve heard of the actual husband having to hide in the shadows.” “But this is three years in the past!” I couldn’t help but repeat myself. “Right now, in this relationship, you’re the other man.” “Then break up with him,” Alexander said coolly. “I won’t be the other man.” “It’s not about what you want,” I muttered under my breath. “I want to travel back to the future. I want to be the only one who traveled back. Do you think what I want matters?” Alexander shot me a sideways glance. I shut up. We lapsed into silence. I tried to pinpoint what triggered the time travel. It had been completely random. I was at the supermarket when I unexpectedly ran into Noah, who had just returned from abroad. It was an awkward reunion. I managed a weak, “What a coincidence.” He stared intently at me. “You married Alexander?” It wasn’t a secret, so I nodded. His face instantly darkened. He grabbed my wrist and started pulling me toward the exit. “Do you have any idea what kind of person Alexander is? How could you marry him? You don’t know him at all! He’s not the polite, gentle person you think he is. He’s—” I struggled, focusing all my energy on freeing my arm. I didn’t register what he was saying, nor did I notice that the scene around us had changed. It was no longer a crowded supermarket but the empty hallway of a lounge. Noah wasn’t angry anymore. He was smiling and coaxing me. “Babe, you’re about to meet my friends. Are you nervous? Don’t worry, they’re all great guys, especially Alex. He’s always looked out for me. You’ll love him.” I stared at my surroundings in disbelief, completely forgetting to pull my hand away. It wasn’t until the door to the booth swung open, and the cold, distant Alexander came into view, that it hit me. I had time-traveled. “Do you have a way to get us back?” “Can you please keep your distance from Noah?” Our voices overlapped. I replayed what Alexander had just said in my head and felt a wave of despair. Seriously? At a time like this, my supposed teammate was still obsessed with that? I said, exasperated, “If we don’t get back soon, I swear I will cheat on you for real!”

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I am the beautiful but airheaded villainess. The system told me to break up the male and female leads. So, I knocked on the principal’s door: “Mr. Principal, I want to report someone. There are students dating.” The principal was furious: “Chloe Vance! This is the eight-hundredth time you’ve reported them! “The valedictorian and salutatorian are dating, what does that have to do with you, the girl ranked last in the whole school?” I looked at him calmly. Took out my phone. Pressed play on a recording: “Come on, Mr. Principal, say that again.” 1 “I’ll say it! Chloe Vance, you dared to bring your phone to school! Phone confiscated!” Mission failed. Phone -1. Damn it. 2 I returned to the classroom and saw Lily Summer, the heroine of this book. I never understood why villainous supporting characters always hated innocent, pure-hearted heroines. Now I finally know. She clearly did nothing, yet she effortlessly caused me to lose my phone. I must take revenge on her. “What are you doing?” “I’m solving this Math Olympiad problem, it’s so hard. I can’t figure out a third solution no matter what. Do you know it?” See, there’s a reason I hate her. First, she’s doing Math Olympiad problems. Second, she’s thinking about a third solution. Finally, she asked if I knew it? This dead green tea bitch. I snatched the workbook from her hands and flipped several pages back. “What are you pretending for? Aren’t the answer keys right here in the back? Some valedictorian you are.” Third solution my ass. I’ll just read out the answers for you, let’s see how you keep pretending then? Dead green tea bitch. I am just too evil. Let me see the answer. “Omitted.” … Omitted my ass! Such a hard problem, and you omit the answer? Such easy money to earn, and I want to earn it too! Lily propped her chin on her hand, pursed her lips, and looked at me: “Say it then, why aren’t you saying it?” The whole class looked over. As the saying goes, anger rises from the heart, and evil grows from the gall. I didn’t stop at one thing, I tore up the answer key right then and there. I am too vicious. Without the answer key, she could only do the problems herself. When she encountered difficult problems she didn’t understand, she would be sad and upset, but couldn’t find the solution, and would then doubt her own abilities. Over time, she would contract the bad habit of plagiarism, and might even drop out of school! “Since you like to pretend so much, don’t ever look at it again!” I casually threw the workbook out the door. Lily was indeed shocked by me, and even stuttered when she spoke: “Wait, that’s my desk mate’s…” A sound of annoyance came from behind. I turned around. It was the male lead, Caleb Thorne. Backlit. Youthful. High school vibes. 3 【For all the pain obsessed with love. 【For all the wounds obsessed with hate. 【I can no longer distinguish whether love and hate are just like this…】 Caleb interrupted my BGM: “Wait, who threw my workbook out?” The primary quality of a villainous supporting female character is, of course, perfect framing and blaming. “I saw Lily throw it! It was her! It was definitely her!” The thirty-something students in the class all looked at me in unison. Caleb frowned slightly, holding his workbook, and walked towards me. Closer and closer. He was standing right in front of me. He actually, leaned over slightly, wanting to hold my hand. It’s over. It’s over. I’m about to have a high school romance. The dragon slayer eventually becomes the evil dragon. Sure enough, as long as I can successfully frame the heroine, the male lead will turn to choose me. This is the world of female competition. “Chloe Vance, you’re still holding my answer key.” Caleb dug the crumpled answer key out of my hand. “…” The whole class burst into laughter. I was a little flustered. I didn’t stop at one thing, I squatted on the ground, hugged his leg, and began to cry and shout: “You don’t know, she threw your workbook, I only managed to snatch the answer key, believe me! Why don’t you believe me?” Caleb looked down at me, a little at a loss: “It’s just a workbook, if you threw it, you threw it, no need to be like this…” I wiped my tears and stood up: “Oh, I threw it.” A villainous supporting female character is able to retract and release freely. And being seen through my clumsy tricks by the wise male lead is simply a common occurrence, okay? Never say defeat. 4 In the hallway after class. I compensated Caleb with a brand new workbook. He was too embarrassed to take it. “You didn’t have to buy a new one specially…” I insisted on stuffing it into his hand: “Please, you must accept it.” Anyway, I didn’t write a single word in it. Caleb saw me pressing his hand, was silent for a moment: “I don’t think it’s appropriate.” “There’s nothing inappropriate about it, just consider it as me lending it to you to write in. When the semester ends, you can return it to me.” Caleb opened the title page and held it in front of me. Written on it were three big words, Chloe Vance. “This is your workbook, right?” He flipped through several pages, all of which were blank, and looked at me incredulously: “You didn’t write a single word, you want me to do your homework for you?” Oops, I’ve been seen through. I was dumbfounded for a while, stubbornly looked up at him who was six feet tall: “Then, then, then, didn’t you also learn the knowledge? Who actually took advantage of whom between us? That must be, you took advantage of me.” Caleb stared at me for a moment, suddenly blushed a little, lowered his head and smiled. “Do your own homework.” He patted the workbook onto my chest and went into the classroom. I was stunned in the hallway for a while. Caleb, is there something wrong with him? What is he smiling for, what’s so funny about me? Is this still the virtuous and artistic old artist? Suddenly someone bumped my shoulder from behind. I turned back, and the workbook was snatched away. “It’s due next week, let me see how you wrote… Holy cow, you just bought it?” The workbook slowly moved down, revealing Evan James’s eyebrows and eyes. 5 A villainous supporting female character always needs an idle friend by her side. This friend of mine is Evan, my desk mate, and also my neighbor. “It’s okay, I’ll put it on the black market, guaranteed to get it written for you on time.” “There’s a black market?” “Yeah. I wrote half of it, paid two hundred bucks to get someone to write the rest for me. In your case, I estimate it will cost five hundred.” As a villainous supporting female character, I naturally am not short of money. “Then I’ll leave it to you.” I rolled the workbook into a tube, handed it to Evan’s palm, but followed this direction, and met eyes with Caleb who was erasing the blackboard. Seeing that I saw him, he threw the eraser onto the podium, snorted coldly, and returned to his seat. I was thinking, this kid is moody, suddenly the class bell rang, and I was bumped by someone. “Excuse me.” Cold voice. Lily passed between me and Evan holding a whole stack of test papers. Evan was dissatisfied: “Did I excuse you? You just passed!” Lily looked back and glanced at him. “Then I’ll return it to you.” Lily retreated from between us and walked past again from the side. I was bumped again: “…” Evan was momentarily stunned, his gaze followed that back figure: “I’ve grown so big, I’ve never seen such a drag girl.” “You didn’t fall for her, did you?” Evan lowered his head and coughed: “How could that be? The type I like is very clear, sweet girls! Like you.” Huh? I’m a sweet girl? “What kind of look is that? I’m your daddy.” 6 Before destroying the relationship between Caleb and Lily, I have a more important thing to do. That is to steal the phone back. After the last class in the afternoon, I made an appointment with Evan and hovered at the door of the office. When the teachers went to dinner, we pretended to go in to get the test papers. “Your workbook, I already got it done.” Evan showed me the phone screen, on it was the chat record between him and the black market teacher: 【This one? Didn’t you already write it?】 【It’s my friend’s. Last time half a book was two hundred, this time the whole book is five hundred, okay?】 The other side didn’t pay attention to him. Evan also sent a super cute kitten kowtow emoji package: 【Pretty please.】 【Okay, then put it in the old place.】 “You don’t meet? Still put it in the old place?” “Ghostwriting homework, of course we can’t meet, this is safer.” I returned the phone to him. “Then does the other side know it’s you?” “Knows.” Evan turned his head to look at me, pulling the corner of his lips into a bad smile, “It doesn’t matter to me, my reputation is out there.” While we chatted, our peripheral vision locked onto the office, the teachers had almost all left, only one young teacher remained. Evan and I walked in openly. “Hello teacher, the principal asked us to come get the test papers.” The teacher ignored us. But the principal hid the phone too deeply. Evan and I rummaged through the desk, didn’t see the shadow of the phone, except for the inner office drawer. Just as I was reaching out to open the drawer, a voice suddenly sounded. “What are you doing?” Lily, who appeared at the door, was the person who really came to get the test papers. Evan lowered his voice and said fiercely: “You, mind your own business.” Lily raised her neck and looked at him with a fixed smile: “I’m going to tell the principal that you and Chloe are stealing things.” Evan stared at her, backed up two steps, lowered his head and leaned to my ear: “How did you offend her?” I lowered my voice: “Just last time her model essay, wasn’t it called ‘Chasing Dreams’? I added three words behind her title, Show Business.” “…That’s very bad.” Evan walked to her side, coughed affectedly: “Give me some face.” Lily looked at him disapprovingly, curled the corner of her lips sarcastically, bumped his shoulder, and was about to walk in: “Speak nicely, you don’t listen, do you?” Evan gently patted his forehead with his palm, took a deep breath, grabbed her wrist from behind, and forcibly pulled the person away. I finished watching the drama and continued to open the drawer. Unfortunately, it was locked. “Chloe Vance?” A devil’s low moan came from behind. I stood straight, turned around, voice clear and bright: “Hello teacher!”

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On my daughter’s first day of kindergarten, the teacher kicked us out. “Mr. Thorne’s son has been attending this school for a year. Where did this daughter come from?” I was confused. My husband and I have a daughter who just reached school age. How could she have been here for a year? I investigated and found out that the new executive assistant at my husband’s company enrolled her own child a year ago, posing as Mrs. Thorne. When I confronted her, she showed me a marriage certificate with my husband’s name on it. “I know who you are. You’ve been pestering my husband for years, haven’t you?” The seal and photos on the certificate looked authentic. The date was five years ago. But Caleb Thorne and I have only been married for three years! 1 “Mommy, am I really a bastard child?” On the drive home, my daughter Mia looked at me, holding back tears. I gripped the steering wheel tight. “Of course not. Mia is Mommy and Daddy’s only treasure.” The tears pooled in her eyes finally fell. Her voice trembled with grievance. “Then why did Auntie Evelyn’s son say he’s Daddy’s real treasure? The kids at kindergarten said it too. They hit me and called me a bastard…” Looking at Mia’s slightly swollen cheek, my heart ached. It was her first day of school, and she had to go through this. When I contacted Evelyn Harper, she sent me a photo of a marriage certificate. In the photo, the man standing next to her was the one I’ve held countless times. The official seal was clear. The date was five years ago! But Caleb and I have only been married for three years. Come to think of it, this assistant appeared out of nowhere and immediately became Caleb’s EA. Could it be… I didn’t dare think further. I called Caleb’s phone. His male assistant answered. “Mr. Thorne is in a very important negotiation. No electronics allowed inside. If it’s urgent, I can relay a message.” “Was Caleb married before me?” The assistant paused, then hurriedly reassured me after hearing the context. “The certificate must be Photoshop. Don’t worry, Mrs. Thorne. The CEO wouldn’t dare!” Hanging up, I calmed down a bit. Caleb indeed didn’t have the guts. But I still needed to ask him face-to-face. For now, I had to wait for him to finish. To make Mia’s schooling easier, Caleb and I bought a manor near the school. Today was supposed to be move-in day. But when I pulled up to the manor, instead of an empty house waiting for me, I saw people moving luggage in and out. A banner hung over the gate: [Congratulations Mrs. Thorne on Your New Home] Reporters swarmed the entrance, cameras pointed at a glamorous woman. When I saw her face, my pupils shrank— Evelyn Harper? What is she doing here?! 2 Reporters excitedly pointed their mics at Evelyn. “Ms. Harper, is the marriage certificate you posted online real? Did you retire from Hollywood because you found true love?” I quickly checked my phone. Twitter was exploding— #EvelynHarperCalebThorne #EvelynHarperMarriageCertificate #CalebThorne: My Hidden Love of Five Years Finally Revealed I clicked. The top post was the photo Evelyn sent me. Caption: [Yes, we’ve been married for five years.] The comments were wild: [OMG I knew the Goddess didn’t retire to avoid that bitch Ava!] [Ava is a D-list celeb. It’s been three years and she’s still irrelevant.] [I’m a kindergarten teacher. Ava brought a kid today claiming it was Mr. Thorne’s. LMAO!] [Wow, what level of delusional is this?] [Back then, Ava was all over Mr. Thorne. Turns out he was already married to the Goddess! Karma!] [So her five-year hiatus was actually a secret happy marriage. 😭 Goddess deserves it!] “Throw this junk out. Caleb won’t like seeing it when he gets home.” Evelyn, wrapped in a shawl, covered her nose as she pointed at a pile of brand new collectibles. Workers immediately tossed my things onto the trash heap. My antiques and paintings collected from around the world lay among filth. “Stop!” I grabbed a worker’s hand and glared at Evelyn. “Who are you? What are you doing in my house?” “Oh my god, Ava the Bitch dares to show up?” “Hey, can’t you read the banner? Congrats Mrs. Thorne. Who do you think you are? Mrs. Thorne? LOL.” “Delusional fans are claiming houses now? Scary.” “This estate is worth nine figures. She’s just here for clout. Typical.” Slap! I slapped the reporter who was gossiping. “Who do you think you are? Did I give you permission to enter?” I knocked the camera away and shoved the reporter. “Get out!” “Stop!” A delicate hand blocked me. Evelyn frowned, looking dignified. “Ms. Ava, I’m generally easygoing, but that doesn’t give you the right to make a scene on my property!” 3 “Crazy! Ava is actually acting wild on the Goddess’s turf! Does she really think she owns the place?” “Heh, probably thinks she’s Mrs. Thorne. Hilarious.” I glared at Evelyn. “Move. My home doesn’t welcome outsiders. That includes you.” Evelyn stood in front of the reporter, frowning deeper. “Ms. Ava, I know you’ve had issues with me because of my husband. I don’t mind.” “If you’re here to congratulate me on my move, you’re a guest.” “But if you continue this obsession, making a scene and hitting people in my home, don’t blame me for kicking you out!” She wore a black qipao with bamboo prints and a white shawl, standing tall in heels. Her voice was crisp, instantly winning over the crowd. Cameras flashed like crazy. “Ahhh is this the Goddess? I’m dying, her charisma is overwhelming!” “Where can you find a Goddess so polite and principled? I’ll be her dog forever!” “If I were her, seeing a bitch impersonate me and crash my housewarming, I’d have the bodyguards beat her up and throw her out!” Evelyn didn’t show much reaction, but the corner of her mouth ticked up in smugness. She lifted her chin at me. “For the sake of our past working relationship, Ms. Ava, don’t cause trouble.” Slap! My hand connected with her face, leaving a red mark. I slammed the property deed onto her chest and grabbed her collar. “Look closely! This is my property, not yours! I haven’t settled the score about you stealing Mia’s school spot, and now you’re trying to steal my house?” “You’re just my husband’s assistant. Who gave you permission to act like the owner?!” “Ah!” She covered her face and bent over, acting like she was about to faint. “Help me~” “Do you have no shame?!” Someone suddenly shoved me hard. I almost broke a nail. “Crashing someone’s home for clout? I’ve had enough of you! If I didn’t want to ruin the Goddess’s day, I would’ve hit you already!” “Saying the Goddess is your husband’s assistant? Do you think we won’t touch you?” I steadied myself, gripping my phone, and sneered. “Fine. I already called the police. Come at me if you dare!” Evelyn’s face changed slightly. But the reporters cut in. “Ha! You’re the trespasser! The police will arrest you! Get out now! The Goddess’s home doesn’t need trash like you!” People grabbed my arms, dragging me out. I stumbled, about to fall hard. “What is going on here?” A clear voice rang out. I looked up sharply. 4 “Oh! It’s the estate’s new manager!” “I remember her! The media reported on her—the girl from the mountains who became a top exec!” Seeing Sarah, I finally felt a glimmer of hope. “Sarah! Come here! Tell them the truth!” Sarah was a college student I had sponsored. Because of her outstanding ability, I hired her as the estate manager right after graduation with a high salary. She could clear my name. “Sarah…” Evelyn’s face paled. I glared at her and grabbed Sarah’s hand. “Sarah, tell them whose house this is.” “Ma’am…” She struggled against my grip, pulling her hand away forcefully. She smiled awkwardly at me. “Sorry, I don’t remember inviting you.” “Sarah?” I froze. Sarah walked over to Evelyn, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Evelyn’s ear, asking with concern: “Madam, are you alright?” “Madam…” I thought I misheard. I grabbed Sarah’s arm, forcing her to look at me. “You don’t recognize me? I’m Ava! I sponsored you!” Sarah looked terrified, her smile turning into a grimace of grievance. “S-sorry, but the one who sponsored me has always been Mrs. Thorne…” I was furious. “I am Mrs. Thorne! I attended your graduation last month! You knew me then!” “I… I didn’t… what are you talking about…” Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes, her voice breaking. “Enough!” Evelyn slapped my hand away, shielding Sarah behind her, frowning at me. “I know you hate me for taking Caleb. This is between us. Why are you attacking a child?”

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My mother, Deborah, always preferred for me to run her errands, especially when it came to buying expensive items. She would inevitably claim her eyesight was bad and that she’d missed a digit when transferring the money. For years, I didn’t make a fuss. I simply covered the difference myself, silently transferring my own funds to complete the purchase. Until my sister, Cassidy, decided to air her grievances in front of me with that patented, sickly-sweet snark. “Mom always sends you the money for those big-ticket items she needs,” Cass said, not quite looking at me. “Funny how we never see the actual price of the goods. I wonder how much of a margin you’re skimming off the top, Audra.” Mom just smiled, a small, knowing little twist of the lips, and didn’t bother to deny it. She seemed to be endorsing Cass’s accusation. A deep, chilling resentment settled in my gut. Over the years, the difference I’d silently covered—the “mistake” she’d later dismiss with a light, airy, “Oops, my eyes are so bad, I hit the wrong button”—had easily totaled over forty thousand dollars. Now, I was being labeled a thief for my own sacrifice. So, when Mom texted me again, asking me to book the annual New Year’s Eve feast, which she specified should cost four thousand dollars, I didn’t hesitate. I accepted the transfer. Then, I booked a dinner for four hundred dollars. … The table was set, but no one was touching the food. A dozen faces, all wearing varying shades of confusion, stared at the pathetic spread before them. “Don’t just sit there, everyone,” I said, attempting a cheerful, if strained, tone. “Dig in.” Mom’s face was a study in controlled rage, the kind that promised a torrential downpour later. She couldn’t explode in front of the whole family, not yet. “Audra, are you sure they’ve brought out all the courses?” she asked, her voice tight. “Go find the server and hurry them along.” “This is it,” I replied, my voice perfectly level. I gestured to the table again. “Seriously, before it all gets cold.” Clack. Mom slammed her fork down. Her chest heaved. “We have thirteen people here! This is all you ordered?” My Aunt Carol chimed in from the side. “Sweetheart, is there a mistake? We’re used to a different standard, you know.” In previous years, the table would be drowning in food: King Crab, premium Surf-and-Turf, endless shrimp. This year? Six dishes, making the large table look utterly barren. The only thing remotely “seafood” was a pathetic little plate of popcorn shrimp. No wonder they were surprised. “No mistake, Aunt Carol,” I said, shaking my head. Mom’s eyes were red with fury. “I gave you the money to arrange this feast! And this is what you’re serving the family?” I glanced at the minimal dishes, letting out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, but our funds were limited. This is all I could manage.” Cassidy slammed her hand on the table, standing up so abruptly her chair scraped back. She pointed a finger right at me. “Don’t play coy! Mom transferred you four thousand dollars for this dinner. This pathetic spread doesn’t even top five hundred! Did you pocket the rest, Audra?” “I know you love to help Mom with her shopping so she has an excuse to send you money, but this is a new low. It’s the holiday feast! You’ve gone too far!” The immediate change in my relatives’ eyes was palpable. The suspicion turned to outright disdain. Mom layered it on. “Audra, I usually don’t comment on your little habits, but tonight? On New Year’s Eve, with the whole family here? This is completely inappropriate.” My Uncle Gary’s son, Little Ben, started to wail. “Daddy! I want King Crab! You said we were having King Crab!” Aunt Carol, trying to look virtuous, shook her head at me. “Audra, I always thought you were a good girl. How could you pull a stunt like this?” The accusations started to fly from all sides. Mom saw her opening. “Enough! Go find the server right now and order the rest of the dishes. We’ll just forget this ever happened.” The relatives immediately played peacemaker, urging me to quickly order the usual upscale meal. But I stood my ground, my voice dropping to an icy tone. “I can’t add anything.” “Why not?” Mom snapped, unable to keep her voice down any longer. I turned my full attention to her. “Mom, did you forget?” “You only transferred me four hundred dollars. I used up every cent on these dishes. I even chipped in a few dollars of my own.” A flash of panic crossed Mom’s face, clearly unprepared for me to call her out so directly. But she masked it instantly. She cleared her throat, signaling me urgently with her eyes. “What nonsense are you talking about? I distinctly sent you four thousand.” Cassidy sneered at me. “You’re still lying? I was right there when Mom called you! She said four thousand! Trying to flip a four thousand dollar dinner into a four hundred dollar one to cover your tracks? That’s not how skimming works, Audra.” With Cass as her witness, the relatives’ contempt for me solidified. Uncle Gary glowered. “Audra, exploiting your own mother for cash? Do you have any conscience?” Seeing their disbelief, I reached for my phone. “See for yourselves. The transfer from Mom was exactly four hundred.” Mom had said four thousand on the phone. But the notification showed four hundred. It was her go-to strategy. If I didn’t mention it, she’d pretend ignorance. If I did, it would be the “bad eyesight” excuse, followed immediately by an emotional attack: “It was just a few hundred dollars! Do you have to remind me? I raised you! You can’t spare a dime for your own mother? You are nothing like your sister. You’re an absolute viper!” Aunt Carol, sitting closest, leaned over to look. She raised an eyebrow. “Debra, honey, it does say four hundred.” Mom’s veneer of control cracked. She let out a strained, nervous laugh. “Well, I’m getting older. My eyes are failing. I must have missed a zero.” She shot me a glare. “Why didn’t you tell me right away that I’d made a mistake?” She begrudgingly sent the rest of the money, her voice stiff with annoyance. “Fine. The money’s there. Now, hurry up and order the dinner we agreed on, before you ruin the evening for everyone.” Before I could respond, Cassidy cut in. “Mom, why are you giving her the money?” She looked at me with a cold laugh. “You’ve probably made tens of thousands off Mom over the years!” “She accidentally missed one zero one time. Can’t you just cover the damn difference yourself?” Cass shouted. “Did you deliberately pull this stunt just to humiliate Mom in front of the whole family because you couldn’t make a profit this time?” Mom gave Cass a faux-scolding look. “Cassidy, stop talking nonsense in front of the relatives.” She was clearly pretending to chastise her, but the subtext—yes, Audra is skimming money—was loud and clear. My hand froze over my phone. Then, I tapped Refund. My voice was flat. “Since you all seem to believe I’m here to make a profit, I’m returning the money. Order the meal yourselves. That way, no one can accuse me of skimming.” Mom’s expression went rigid. She knew. The “usual standard” meant a tab easily over ten thousand dollars. Mom was utterly obsessed with maintaining an image in front of the family. Since her marriage was unhappy, she compensated by hosting this yearly feast, a performance to prove her life was perfect and she was financially flush. Before, I was the one silently subsidizing her pride. But I was done. Cassidy rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Oh, now you’re going to play the saint? If you’re refunding this money, you need to refund all of it. Everything you’ve pocketed from Mom over the years!” “We have the whole family here,” she announced dramatically. “Let’s settle the books right now. How much have you actually stolen?” Mom’s face paled. She quickly grabbed Cass’s arm. “What are you doing? It’s the holiday! We can talk about this later, at home.” “No! I’m talking about it now!” Cass ripped her arm free. Her eyes were blazing with resentment. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed. You use the shopping excuse to secretly slip Audra cash and subsidize her life!” “We’re both your daughters! How can you be so blatantly unfair?” she screamed. “We have to figure out right now, in front of everyone, how much you’ve given her. And you need to transfer the exact same amount to me!” Seeing the venomous look on my sister’s face, I finally understood. This was never about Mom’s honor. It was about Cass’s perceived shortage. She thought Mom was secretly favoring me, and she was throwing a public tantrum to get her equal share of the “compensation.” Uncle Gary immediately backed Cass. “Debra, you always claim to treat your girls equally. How can you play favorites with Audra?” “Cassidy, your Uncle Gary supports you! You have to fight for what’s yours!” The other relatives eagerly took Cass’s side, though I knew they were really just enjoying the spectacle. Mom’s complexion went from pale to ashen. She forced a weak smile. “Stop encouraging the children! You all know I treat my daughters the same,” she stammered. “I’ll just go order the dinner…” She tried to stand up. Cassidy threw her arms out, blocking her path. “Mom, are you running away because you’re guilty?” Mom let out a nervous chuckle. “My phone broke the other day. I lost all my texts. I couldn’t settle the account even if I wanted to!” “How about this? I’ll send you twenty thousand…” My sister cut her off with a cold laugh. “You think twenty thousand dollars is enough to shut me up? You’ve subsidized Audra way more than that over the years!” “Besides, it’s not about the money! It’s about fairness!” Her words rang out with manufactured conviction, and Aunt Bethany, the social media junkie, was the first to clap. “Well done, Cass!” “You need to speak up when you’re wronged! We’ve got your back.” Aunt Bethany’s face was alight with excitement. She raised her phone and pointed it right at our table. She was a micro-vlogger with a few thousand followers. I immediately understood her plan. I quickly pulled up her channel on my spare phone. Sure enough, she was live, though only a handful of people were watching. Dissatisfied with the viewer count, Aunt Bethany started speaking louder, hyping up the crowd and encouraging the other relatives to egg on the confrontation. Seeing the family on her side, Cassidy stood taller, her confidence soaring. “You always talk about treating us equally, but you’ve been blatantly favoring Audra behind my back. Do you think I’m stupid?” she yelled. “Today, I’m getting justice!” Mom looked at me, her eyes pleading for help. She wanted me to intervene. I sighed internally. Despite my anger at her behavior, this was our private family mess. I could handle the relatives knowing. But with Aunt Bethany live-streaming, the nature of the crisis had changed. The voyeuristic excitement generated by the relatives was already drawing in more viewers. I didn’t want our family breakdown to be Aunt Bethany’s viral clickbait, or to have a mob of strangers weigh in on our dysfunction. I interrupted Cass. “Let’s just take this home. We need to eat.” I gave her a meaningful look, but Cass clearly didn’t get it. She sneered. “The beneficiary has no right to speak here! I’m the one being treated unfairly. Am I wrong to demand an explanation?” “If we go home, you and Mom will never admit to the favoritism. This has to be settled now!” Cass was relentless, and Mom’s face grew darker. Then, a sudden calm descended over Mom’s features. She looked up at me. “Audra, you’re right. Using the shopping excuse to secretly subsidize you was unfair to Cassidy.” I froze. I was about to demand when she had ever subsidized me, when she continued: “All the text records are gone, and years of small transactions are impossible to calculate.” “But I’d estimate that the total is around two hundred thousand dollars.” “How about this: you transfer Cassidy one hundred thousand dollars, and we can all move past this.” She turned to Cass, ignoring my stunned silence. Cassidy hesitated for a moment, then gave a reluctant nod. “Fine, I guess that works.” So, her objection to the twenty thousand dollar offer was just that the number was too low. Mom looked back at me, silently urging me to make the transfer. To save face, she was forcing me to admit to a non-existent crime and then forcing me to pay my sister for it. I couldn’t help but laugh, a sharp, bitter sound. Cassidy rolled her eyes at me. “What are you waiting for? Transfer the money.” I locked eyes with Mom. “You say I skimmed over two hundred thousand dollars over the years. Show me the proof.” Mom looked away. “I told you, all the texts are gone. How could I possibly show you?” She leaned in and whispered to me. “Just transfer the money to Cass. It’s a holiday. You’re making a scene. We’ll get the money back from her when we get home.” She assumed I would fall back into my role—the quiet, accommodating daughter—just like I had when she’d made the “wrong” transfer amount. But this time, I was completely resolute. I wouldn’t concede. If I did, the relatives and the growing audience online would forever believe I was a thief who exploited my own mother. I’d be labeled a thief and I’d lose ten thousand dollars for real. I raised an eyebrow. “No proof? Then on what basis are you saying I skimmed anything?” The viewers on the live stream were confused. Aunt Bethany quickly typed out a summary, explaining the situation. As expected, the comments immediately started piling on, assuming I was the selfish daughter who stole from her mother. Cassidy pounded the table. “Mom just admitted it! And you’re still denying it?” “You’re just counting on the fact that Mom lost her texts, so you don’t have to admit anything, are you?” The relatives joined in, urging me to just pay up. “Audra, you’re sisters. Don’t ruin the family over a little money.” I said, simply and coldly, “I didn’t do it. I won’t transfer the money.” Cassidy’s eyes welled up instantly. The next second, a stinging slap landed across my cheek. My face was instantly numb. Mom pointed at me, feigning righteous indignation. “You are so selfish! Your sister is willing to overlook the specific amount and accept just one hundred thousand to settle this, and you value money more than your own family!” My heart turned to stone. “Fine,” I said, rubbing my throbbing cheek. “Cassidy wants to calculate the profit I made off you? Let’s calculate. If I actually made a profit, I will transfer every cent of it back.” Cassidy scoffed. “Easy to say when there are no records. How are we supposed to audit the transactions?” I held up my shattered phone. “Don’t worry. Mom’s records might be gone, but mine aren’t.” At that, Mom’s face went white. Before I could open my text messages, Mom lunged, snatching the phone from my hand and slamming it against the floor with all her strength. “I didn’t want to show the transfers because I didn’t want my daughters fighting over money!” she said, her voice shaking with fake nobility. “You’ve clearly benefited more than your sister, yet you’re still too greedy to share even a fraction of your gain. You disappoint me deeply!” If I didn’t know the truth, I might have been fooled by her masterful performance. I picked up the phone. The screen was spider-webbed, the phone totally dead. Mom subtly let out a sigh of relief. She thought she had won. Without the phone, there could be no audit. Calmly, I reached into my bag and pulled out a thick stack of printed papers. When Mom saw what they were, her face completely changed.

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