Category: English

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!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390374”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

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!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390390”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

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?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390406”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

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.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390422”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

After my parents died, our family went bankrupt, leaving my sister and me with over a million in debt. To pay it back, she became a haunted house tester, and I took jobs playing corpses on film sets. For five grueling years, we worked without a single day of rest, but the debt lingered. As the year drew to a close, with the final thirteen thousand looming over us, I gritted my teeth and signed up for a clinical drug trial. When it was over, I clutched the thirteen thousand in cash and raced to find my sister, my heart soaring. But I walked in to the sound of her on the phone. “Mom, Dad, Jay is doing great. You guys have fun abroad.” “He’s not a big spender anymore. The punishment can probably end next year.” My parents weren’t dead. Our family wasn’t bankrupt. The five years of hardship, of grinding poverty and relentless toil, were all just a punishment because they thought I liked to spend money. The smile froze on my face. My stomach churned violently, and a mouthful of blood spilled from my lips. … “You need to be sure about this. Once you sign the contract, we’re not responsible for whatever happens.” That’s what the staffer at the pharmaceutical company had told me during the trial. He’d stressed it over and over: the contract was legally binding. I drank the medicine and they observed me for five hours. If there were no immediate problems, I couldn’t hold them liable, even if I dropped dead later. Back then, my mind was filled with one single thought: giving my sister and myself a decent holiday, free from worry. So I signed without a second thought. But now… Staring at the cash in my hand, the irony was a physical blow. I raised a hand and wiped the blood from my mouth with my sleeve. I pushed open the door and walked in. My sister, Sophia, hung up the phone in a hurry. When she turned and saw the stain on my shirt, her face changed. “What is that?” Her expression tightened as she rushed to my side, her hands gripping my shoulders, searching for an injury. I brushed her hands away, my voice unnaturally calm. “It’s prop blood from the set.” “Oh, thank God. I thought you were hurt.” She let out a breath of relief. Then her eyes fell on the money in my hand, and her gaze sharpened. “Where did this come from?” “Jay, you didn’t… steal it, did you?” My heart sank. In that moment, I felt like I didn’t know her at all. Steal it. Is that really what she thought of me? I clenched my fists, and it was a long moment before I could speak. “It was a bonus from the director. For the holidays.” She frowned, still skeptical. “A cash bonus? Just like that?” “Look, do you want it or not?” I shot her an irritated glance. “You said we only had thirteen thousand left on the debt, right? This covers it.” “If you don’t want it, I can always give it back.” She was quiet for a moment before finally taking the money from my hand. “I’ll pay off the last of it tomorrow.” Changing the subject, she said, “What do you want for dinner tonight? I’ll cook.” I looked around our tiny apartment. A thirty-square-meter shoebox, you could see it all in one glance. A single wardrobe, a bed, a tiny bathroom. We didn’t have a kitchen; cooking meant chopping vegetables on the coffee table. We used a fifty-dollar electric skillet we’d bought five years ago. The cord had burned out twice, both times patched up by Sophia with black electrical tape. A question suddenly surfaced. “Sis, aren’t you tired?” She turned back with a smile. “Not at all. My job’s pretty easy, really. All I do is lie down.” “I’m more worried about you. You must be exhausted after all these years.” What I really wanted to ask was, Aren’t you tired of pretending? With billions in the bank, you could be living a life of unimaginable luxury. But you choose to live like this, in this hovel, just to punish me. Aren’t you tired of the lie? But she didn’t understand. So I decided to be more direct. I looked her straight in the eye. “Sophia, do you really think I’m a spendthrift?” I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. Where had they gotten that idea? Yes, our family was wealthy, but I never cared for luxury brands. I never owned anything that cost more than a few thousand dollars. In the rich-kid scene of West Harbor, I was practically a freak. Sophia’s face stiffened. “Why are you asking that? You’re much better now.” “What do you mean, ‘now’? What about before?” I pressed her. Her brow furrowed. “When Mom and Dad were still around, you really didn’t know the value of money.” “They were self-made, Jay. They started as farmers. They, and I, always had to think before we spent anything.” “But for your birthday, you’d pester them for gifts that cost thousands. Don’t you think that was a problem?” My temper flared, and I took a step forward. “Our family is worth billions! I couldn’t even buy a phone for a little over a thousand dollars?” “What’s the point of making all that money then?” Her face hardened. “Listen to yourself. It’s just a phone. Any phone would have worked.” “You were just vain, always trying to keep up with those other trust-fund kids. That’s why you always wanted this and that.” “You’ve had nothing for the past five years, and you’ve gotten by just fine, haven’t you?” I stared at her in disbelief, the blood roaring in my ears. Just fine? Is that how she saw my life for the past five years? Every day, I played a dead body. I’d beg the director for more screen time, just to earn an extra two hundred dollars. Sometimes I’d be lying in mud, other times in a stinking gutter. Motionless for more than ten hours at a time. My old rival, Rick, saw my downfall as his personal entertainment. He was always there, finding new ways to humiliate me, and I was too powerless to fight back. And just to give my sister one good holiday, I sold my body to a drug trial, and I still have no idea what it did to me. Was that life really “just fine”? A sharp pain twisted in my gut. I suddenly remembered Rick’s words, spat at me on set one day. “You idiot. You brought all this on yourself.” “I’m going to follow you everywhere. Whatever set you’re on, I’ll be there. My family has money. We can just invest a little, and boom, I’m in.” “For the next five years, you’re going to suffer under my thumb!” A violent shiver ran down my spine, the hairs on my arms standing on end. Five years. Why that exact number? Could it be that Rick knew something too? My intuition screamed that there was more to this story, more they were hiding from me. I clenched my fists, forcing down the urge to scream at her. “Okay,” I said, my voice tight. “I’ll change.” Sophia put down the vegetables she was holding and reached out to pat my head, a look of satisfaction on her face. “That’s my brother. I have to go to work now, so you’ll have to eat dinner by yourself.” I nodded. After a quick meal, Sophia left for “work.” I threw on a mask and a hat and quietly followed her. Once she was out of our rundown neighborhood, she stood by the side of the road and made a call. Less than five minutes later, a black Maybach pulled up in front of her. I watched her get in. I quickly hailed a taxi. “Follow that car.” Half an hour later, the Maybach stopped in front of a high-end steakhouse. She went inside. I waited five minutes before following, taking a table just behind hers. My nerves were shot. I kept my head down, too afraid to see who she was meeting. But then I heard his voice, and my entire body went rigid. “Sophia, I’ve been giving Jay a really hard time, just like you asked. Been doing a great job, if I do say so myself!” It was Rick. “Good,” Sophia’s voice was cool, detached, as if she were discussing the weather. “He needs to suffer a little. It’s the only way Jay will learn that money doesn’t grow on trees.” “As a reward, I’ll make sure to steer some business your family’s way.” “Jay can’t find out about this yet. But after the New Year, when my parents are back, I’ll tell them what a help you’ve been.” The air was punched from my lungs. My heart hammered against my ribs, threatening to stop altogether. A waiter came to my table, asking for my order. I couldn’t speak. My hand trembling, I just pointed at a random item on the menu, then waved him away, terrified he would draw Sophia’s attention. Rick’s voice was slick with false concern. “Sophia, you tell Jay you’re a haunted house tester, but you’re really going back to your own place every night. All that sneaking around, aren’t you exhausted?” “Why didn’t you just go abroad with your parents in the first place?” Another wave of shock crashed over me. So the haunted house story was a lie, too. All this time, while I was rotting in that tiny apartment, she was going home. So for the last five years, was I the only one who had truly been suffering? Sophia sighed. “Jay is my brother. I couldn’t leave him here all by himself.” “Besides, even though the company moved its main operations abroad, we’ll be moving back eventually.” Her tone became wistful. “The five-year punishment we set… it’s passed in the blink of an eye. Time flies, doesn’t it?” Flies? A bitter laugh formed in my throat. For me, every single day of these five years has been torture. Playing a corpse isn’t as easy as it sounds. On Rick’s orders, I was always assigned to the most grueling, filthiest scenes. I had to lie perfectly still, no matter if it was pouring rain or blistering hot. After a while, the constant exposure to the cold left me with a permanent chill in my bones. My back and legs ache constantly. And to them, all of that was just a ‘punishment.’ What a joke. “Rick, you’ve worked hard these past five years, too. This is a little something for you.” The conversation continued. Sophia slid an elegant gift box across the table to Rick. He opened it, and his gasp was audible. “Whoa, this watch is sick!” My heart didn’t just sink. It plunged into an abyss. It was the watch. The one I’d asked my parents for, five years ago.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390438”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My brother’s esports Captain hated the cutesy aesthetic. The first time he ever spoke to me, the guy glared at my strawberry-pink satin chemise. “Just speak normally,” he growled. “Stop with the baby voice.” That was until the day I walked in on him, voice deliberately pitched high, frantically cooing “Baby” and begging for “kissy-face” with his online girlfriend. 1 After a massive blow-up with my parents, I packed a bag and fled to my older brother’s esports training house. Jake Carl, my brother, looked thoroughly defeated as he led me into the team’s massive base. A few of the guys who’d been mid-game immediately stopped and crowded around. “Jake, man, seriously?” one whistled. “Pulling girls this young? That’s cold.” Jake kicked the guy in the shin. “Get your head out of the gutter. This is my little sister, Daisy. Say hi, Dee.” My brother gently ruffled my hair. “Hello, everyone,” I said softly, instinctively straightening the bangs Jake had messed up. I didn’t let my voice go too high, but I couldn’t help the naturally gentle tone. The boys instantly devolved into Neanderthals, jumping around, clutching their chests dramatically. “Oh my God,” one exaggeratedly gasped, “her voice is too sweet! I’m melting.” Jake pushed them away with an expression of sheer disgust, shielding me like a protective hen. “Go melt somewhere else. Her voice is natural, okay? Don’t flatter yourselves.” The training room door slid open. Someone muttered, “Captain’s here.” The joking, clamoring boys instantly snapped back to their stations, headphones on, silence returning with terrifying speed. Jake’s face tightened when he saw the man. Aaron Stone scanned the room, his gaze snagging on my pink outfit for a few tense seconds. His voice, like his impossibly handsome face, was entirely devoid of warmth. “Everyone’s adding three hours of drill time.” No one dared to move. The air thickened into a concrete slab. Aaron Stone. Captain of the FLY team. A superstar, a reigning esports legend whose skill was only rivaled by his supermodel looks. And yet, his personality was notoriously cold, arrogant, and terrifying. Sensing his gaze still on me, I took a small breath and stepped forward, offering a perfectly polite greeting. “Hello, Captain.” Aaron lowered his eyes. His voice was flat. “Just speak normally. Don’t use that fake high-pitched voice.” I froze, stunned, my cheeks burning. When Aaron had gone, Jake gave my shoulder a consoling pat, his voice lowered. “Dee, don’t take it personally. Aaron isn’t a bad guy, he just… naturally dislikes girls who lean into the cutesy, saccharine aesthetic.” The other guys chimed in. “Don’t worry, Daisy. He hates baby voices and frilly skirts, but we love it, haha.” Jake immediately reverted to defensive mode. “Last warning. My sister just started college, she’s pure as snow. Don’t even think about it.” He turned back to me, adopting a weary, older-brother voice. “Don’t bother with these creeps. Anyone who hangs out with me can’t be good people.” Miles, the loudest one, rolled his eyes. “Chill, Jake. She probably has a boyfriend already. Just hasn’t told you.” My heart stuttered. I clenched the phone in my hand, hiding the constant stream of messages popping up from my internet boyfriend. Jake scoffed with immediate confidence. “Impossible. My sister is the best-behaved kid I know.” 2 That night, stubbornly refusing to go home, I finally convinced Jake to let me stay. Worried about me checking into a hotel alone, he found a spare bedroom at the base and threw a few necessities in. “I’m right next door, Dee. Shout if you need anything.” “I will. Thanks, big brother.” Only after closing the door did I feel safe enough to open my phone. The unread messages from my pinned contact hit 99+. “Baby~ We haven’t duo-queued yet today.” “Baby, did you go out for dinner? It’s okay, I’ll wait for you.” “Baby, it’s been two hours… I, I kinda miss you.” “HAHAHA, Baby, someone on the forums just said if your girlfriend doesn’t text back for three hours, she’s cheating. How ridiculous! I don’t believe that at all.” I was just about to feel relieved, when I tapped the next message—a voice note. It was a deliberately husky, low whisper. “Baby, is that guy better than me? Will he buy you every single skin? Will he remember your cycle? Does he have an eight-pack?” “Transfer: $131.40.” “Transfer: $520.00.” “…Baby, do you… do you still want me?” I quickly typed an explanation to soothe his anxiety: Don’t worry. I’m visiting my brother and haven’t had a Carlce to look at my phone. He texted back, too excited to spell correctly. “Hehe, I knew my Baby still loved me. Baby, you sound a little sad, though.” I had no idea how he gathered my mood from a seven-word text, but I told him the truth anyway. I had a fight with my parents. And my brother’s friend seems to really dislike me. His response was immediate and righteous indignation. Dislike you? Who does he think he is? How can anyone have such terrible taste. He needs to go look in a mirror. If he ever says anything to you again, I’ll roast him alive. My online boyfriend’s trash-talking skills were genuinely the best I had ever seen. The summer after graduation, I’d been hiding away, binge-playing games. After a fifteen-game winning streak, I was matched with a group who were chatting loudly but playing terribly. We lost. The group immediately ganged up on me and one other guy, blaming us for the loss. I was never good at arguing, and every attempt at an explanation was brutally interrupted. Just as I was about to give up, the previously silent guy spoke in a low, flat voice. “I’ve seen toilets in bathrooms, but never in someone’s mouth.” The group got defensive. “Hey! Don’t curse!” He chuckled softly. “I didn’t curse.” When the group caught the implication, they turned snarky. “Why are you defending her? You simping?” “You’re so good at passing the blame—are you all chefs?” The guy took on three people and didn’t falter, spraying them with verbal fire until they were beaten, apologetic, and gone. I realized then that despite his sharp tongue, the man was actually a very sweet ‘online puppy’ who knew how to cheer people up… Sensing my distraction, he suddenly got clingy. Baby, I want to see you. I tried to divert the topic. On a strange impulse, I typed: You said you have an eight-pack. Is that true? He sent a shy emoji. If I do, can we meet? I hesitated. What if you meet me and don’t like me? How could that happen? Am I crazy? He quickly added, a little anxiously. Baby, no matter what you look like, I will instantly fall in love with you. I realized he was worried I was avoiding meeting him because of my appearance. I couldn’t blame him. He’d asked to meet at least a dozen times, and I’d deflected every single one. Undecided on what to reply, and noticing my battery was low, I prepared to go borrow a charger from Jake. The moment I opened the door, I walked straight into a human wall. I looked up and met Aaron Stone’s cold gaze. The close proximity was jarring. His face was stunningly chiseled—thin eyelids, dense, dark lashes, a high nose, and a small, striking mole on the bridge. Bold and provocative. “J-Jake… Captain Stone, hi.” I quickly corrected myself, feeling intensely awkward as I realized I was in a strawberry-pink satin chemise with a matching bow clip in my hair. His most hated, textbook ‘cutesy girl’ ensemble. 3 Aaron Stone’s brow furrowed, a nearly imperceptible tic. “Daisy Carl?” I blinked, surprised he even knew my full name. “You can stay here,” he said, his voice flat. “But we need ground rules.” “Okay.” “First, don’t try to buddy-up. I have zero interest in befriending college kids.” I nodded. “Second, minimal interaction. Try to avoid crossing paths if you can.” “Got it.” “Third, no cooing or batting your lashes. Keep the syrupy act out of my sight.” “Right.” I watched Aaron walk away toward the bathroom. Jake, who had heard the door, poked his head out and handed me the charging cable. “Did Aaron yell at you again?” I shook my head. Jake yawned. “ Aaron just doesn’t know how to speak kindly. Tons of girls who confessed to him ended up crying. Be a good girl, ignore him, and go to bed.” Back in my room, my online boyfriend sent a picture. Long, lean fingers lifting the hem of a t-shirt, knuckles pale. Under dim light, the eight-pack abs looked sculpted and defined. The shot moved lower, where the light faded, hinting at a powerful, impressive shape. Having been raised by my very traditional grandparents in the village, I was a sheltered good girl who barely spoke to boys. I’d certainly never seen this kind of visual provocation. My face felt like it was on fire. I buried my head in a pillow. After a long pause, I managed to type a compliment. That’s big. Jake had been obsessed with bodybuilding lately, constantly asking me to feel his bicep. Praising a guy’s muscle size couldn’t be wrong, right? It’s decent. Only about 18. I was baffled. Wait, I thought you were 21? Had he lied about his age? The Typing… bubble flashed endlessly. Baby, you really care about that number? Actually, I was talking about the dormant state. 21 isn’t impossible if I put in the work, though~ You can inspect the merchandise when we meet up. I’d never be able to show my face if I lied… not the one up top… Staring at the completely disjointed conversation, my face flushed again. I was belatedly processing the implication. You dirty old man, I thought. I typed a frantic: Good night. I didn’t sleep well that night. In my dream, after weeks of persuasion, I finally agreed to meet my online boyfriend at a private movie theater. But he wasn’t there. As my anxiety grew, someone tapped my shoulder. I spun around, excited. Instead of my clingy online puppy, I was met with Aaron Stone’s stern, handsome face. I tried to run, but he pulled me back, caging me between his arms. He slowly leaned down, his intimidating presence fully eclipsing me. “Daisy Carl,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “Ready for that inspection?” I woke up with a gasp. Later, while washing up, I couldn’t shake the feeling—whether it was the nightmare or not—that the base’s bathroom tiles looked exactly like the background in the ab picture my internet boyfriend had sent. 4 During my Calculus class, my phone buzzed. Jake’s voice note came through: My battery’s dying. Stay put at the gate, I’ll be there in two secs. I had to rush to the campus entrance. Moments later, a white Ferrari pulled up, drawing envious stares from every student walking by. I wasn’t interested in the car, searching instead for Jake’s beat-up scooter. The driver rolled down the window. “Daisy Carl. Your brother got pulled over for not wearing a helmet.” Even with the dark sunglasses, Aaron was instantly recognized. A few students nearby screamed his name and rushed over. “Captain Stone! It’s Aaron! I’m your biggest fan!” “Get in,” Aaron commanded curtly. I reached for the passenger door, but he stopped me. “The back.” Once I was settled, Aaron tapped the gas, giving the frantic crowd an apologetic wave. “The passenger seat is reserved for my wife.” It sounded like an explanation, but also like a boast. “Oh,” I squeezed the ribbon on my skirt, desperately trying to keep the conversation going. “She must be very beautiful.” Aaron was silent for a moment. His voice was husky. “She’s pretty shy. We haven’t met in person yet. But no matter what she looks like, she’s the most beautiful woman in the world to me.” Jake had mentioned that Aaron came from an immensely wealthy family; he did esports purely for fun. A guy like this being in an online-only relationship must mean it was an arranged, commercial marriage, right? There was no way he was online dating like me… Noticing his slightly downcast expression, I clumsily offered comfort. “Maybe you’ve met, but just didn’t recognize each other.” “Impossible. People who are in love have a connection. I would know her instantly.” Talking about his girlfriend, Aaron’s lips quirked into a rare, faint smile. It was stunning. But when his gaze fell back on me, it chilled instantly. “Jake said you were my fan?” Why did my brother have to run his mouth about everything! “Find a new gamer to crush on,” Aaron said dismissively. “Hope you understand—my girlfriend wouldn’t want a female fan staring at me for more than ten seconds, every time.” “My apologies.” I quickly looked out the window, embarrassed. The drive to the restaurant was silent. Once we were inside, the other boys swarmed me. Without Jake to fend them off, their attention felt overwhelming. I recognized Miles, the one who’d been the most welcoming. The others laughed knowingly. “Captain, report: we have a toad trying to flirt with the sister.” I instinctively looked to Aaron for help. “We don’t forbid dating in the team,” Aaron said, not even looking up. His clear, sculpted fingers were tapping away on his phone. “Baby, you forgot your morning kiss today.” [Kiss emoji] [By the way, Baby, I ran into a girl recently whose voice was a little like yours. But don’t worry, I never even gave her the time of day. She was clearly faking the whole sweet thing. Yours is the real deal.] [Baby, aren’t I the best? Can your loyal puppy get a hug for a reward? Still dreaming of the day we meet…] 5 During the lull before the food arrived, Miles suggested a game and invited me to join. I couldn’t decline, so I quickly paused my chat with my online boyfriend. I’m out with friends right now. I’ll message you later. He instantly transformed into a worried wreck. Baby, honey, how many friends? Boys or girls? It’s fine, I’m not jealous. Just asking. Five or six. All guys… The next second, Aaron Stone shot up from his seat, startling me. One of the teammates asked, “Aaron, want to add the sister and play a fun round?” I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation. As a secret fan of his skills, I wanted the Carlce to play with my idol. Aaron replied flatly. “I don’t play casual games.” I showed him my game screen, trying to prove myself. “Actually, my skill level is pretty decent. I won’t drag you down. See?” “Sorry. I don’t add girls. And don’t forget the ground rules.” Aaron didn’t spare my phone a glance. He stood up and walked out, clearly demonstrating his personal boundaries and fidelity. The teammates took the rejection in stride. “Don’t be sad, Daisy. We can still carry you, even without the Captain.” Miles, seeing my disappointment, leaned in and murmured a consolation into my ear. I instinctively pulled away. I didn’t like physical closeness with strangers. “Sister, Jake said you never play games, so let’s start with something easy…” Miles cut himself off abruptly, staring at my screen in disbelief. “Wait, Daisy, your online time is higher than mine!” “I play secretly,” I whispered, “Don’t tell my brother.” Miles’ mouth twitched. He let out a strained chuckle. “You’re a pretty unique kind of good girl, aren’t you?” After the round finished, the boys looked at me with stunned excitement. “Whoa, the real-life version of the velvet glove wielding a claymore! Sister, with that innocent face, how is your gameplay so brutal? You’ve got a little of Captain Stone’s style.” “Too bad the Captain didn’t join. He would have Carlged his mind about you.” Jake finally arrived, holding a traffic ticket and a brand-new green helmet. The guys, being good sports, quickly Carlged the subject, not mentioning my secret gaming habit. Full and slightly tipsy, we headed back to the base. Everyone was laughing and chatting, except for Aaron, whose personal weather system was oppressive. He was glaring at his phone, looking ready to burn a hole through the screen. Jake was confused. “Who pissed off our boss?” Miles shrugged. “No idea. But whoever can make Aaron Stone look this miserable is a serious threat. I bow to her!” “Let’s all be careful not to poke the bear,” Jake warned. “Especially you, Dee. Stay clear of the Captain.” “I will.” “By the way, Dee, you’ve been out for a few days. When are you planning on making up with Mom and Dad and going home?” I dropped my head, silent. Jake sighed. “You’ve always been the most obedient one, Dee. Why are you so stubborn about this?” “I’m tired, big brother.” I forced a sweet smile for Jake and walked straight to my bedroom. In the time it took to eat dinner, my online boyfriend had sent over a dozen messages. I started patiently replying to each one. He sent a crying emoji. [Baby, Wife, I lied. I’m jealous. I really care, and I’m super duper spiral-level unhappy.] [Those wild boys out there are all bad news. Don’t give them your contact info.] My internet boyfriend was so agitated he was making typos. [Why didn’t anyone step in to stop the harassment!!! If I were there, I wouldn’t let them get away with it!]

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390124”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

The words slipped out of Declan Shaw’s mouth, casual and almost bored, as he adjusted the lace on my mermaid gown. “That fishnet skirt—Tiffany the secretary, she looked quite good in it.” He smoothed the exquisite French lace I’d flown to Paris to have fitted, the same lace he was now admitting had been tailored to another woman. “The girl doesn’t have a single fine line around her eyes yet, and her body is still elastic, you know?” he continued, his tone matter-of-fact. “She’s cute when she pouts, so I let her try it on.” The delicate fabric of the wedding dress, still warm from the steamer, suddenly felt cold and foreign against my skin. I stared at him, my breath catching in my throat. “What are you talking about?” He glanced dismissively at the corner of my eye. “Nothing, really. I just suddenly realized a younger woman wore this cut better than you do.” He paused, his eyes holding mine for a beat too long. “If you object to wearing a used dress, you can skip the wedding. And if you object to a man who’s been used by others…” His shoulders lifted in a shrug that spoke volumes. “You can walk away. Whatever makes you happy, Stella.” I stood paralyzed. The impossibly light, floating bridal gown suddenly weighed a ton, suffocating me. Declan’s kiss landed lightly on my shoulder. “The time you had that high fever… I’m actually kind of sorry about that.” His voice was low, discussing a devastating injury as if it were a misplaced accessory. “The night it poured rain and I had you deliver those documents? That was just Tiffany wanting to play a little game. She made up the excuse to send you out.” All the blood in my body turned to ice. A month ago, during a massive Nor’easter, he’d claimed a client was urgently waiting. I, desperate not to delay his business, had sprinted into the torrential rain without securing my umbrella. I was drenched to the bone, and by that evening, I was burning up. If his assistant hadn’t called, concerned, I might have suffered permanent damage. Delirious with fever, I’d still managed to grip the poor assistant’s hand, pleading with him not to bother Declan, because my fiancé was so busy and I didn’t want to burden him with such a small thing. A low, humorless chuckle escaped Declan’s lips. “The assistant did call me, actually. But Tiffany had a new trick she wanted to try out, and honestly, I was right in the middle of it.” The foundation of my world shattered. A deep, penetrating chill crept from my bones to my skin. “Why? Did you fall in love with someone else?” He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, the sharp smell cutting through the floral air of the salon. “One morning, when you told me ‘Good morning,’ I noticed a new fine line at the corner of your eye. It was weird. After that, I couldn’t get excited about you anymore. Didn’t you notice? We haven’t slept together in months.” He took a sharp drag. “‘Love’ is too strong a word. But when that many young, soft girls are throwing themselves at me—I’m a man, Stella, not a saint. Honestly, I enjoyed the freedom.” He exhaled a plume of smoke, watching it curl toward the ceiling. “I probably could have kept this from you forever.” He took another puff. “But watching you try on this dress, seeing the waist was a little tight… I just blurted it out.” Tears, huge and hot, began to splash onto the hardwood floor. Declan reached out to brush one away. “Stella, when you buy a dozen roses, don’t you always pick the freshest, newest bloom?” I began to shake uncontrollably. It didn’t make sense. Thirty minutes ago, wearing the million-dollar dress he’d commissioned, I was looking in the mirror, certain I held the entire world’s happiness in my hands. Just as I felt I was choking, his phone vibrated. Tiffany Lowe flashed across the screen. He ignored it, looking at me, unhurried. “Have you decided? The kid is young; she’s hard to mollify if she has to wait too long.” I slapped his hand away, a guttural sound escaping my throat, and grabbed the nearest heavy water pitcher, hurling it at the wall just inches from his head. “Get out! Get out, both of you!” He didn’t flinch. A shard of the ceramic caught his temple, and blood began to seep out. He pressed his jaw tight, his expression hardening. “Fine. I’m leaving first. Whether you want to end this or go through with it is up to you. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of financially.” The slam of the door vibrated in my eardrums. I was alone in the fitting room. I tore the dress from my body, pulling and ripping at the exquisite lace until it lay in shredded pieces on the floor. Fifteen years of shared history, undone by a few naturally formed wrinkles? I looked at my reflection and, in a blind rage, grabbed the nearest object and smashed the mirror. In the sheer, agonizing pain, I saw the past flash before my eyes. The two of us, kids, kidnapped by that horrible couple. Not knowing where we came from. I couldn’t steal and I wasn’t a good beggar. “Dad” decided to break my legs so I’d be more effective. Ten-year-old Declan had rushed in, a rusty fruit knife in his hand, ready to fight. As the police took him away, he smiled at me. “Don’t be scared, Stella. I promised I’d protect you.” When he got out of juvie, he had no education and a record. To ensure I had a good life, he took any job—the dirty, the dangerous, the ones no one wanted. He threw his face and his dignity onto the ground for me. The worst time, he was hauling contraband and got two ribs shattered. Lying in the hospital, barely breathing, I cried and asked: “Was it worth it? Doing this for me?” He squeezed my hand, sweat dripping from his forehead. “How could it not be worth it? You are the best thing in the world, Stella.” The cold was absolute. A kind boutique assistant, seeing my breakdown, quietly offered me a room at a nearby hotel. I wrapped myself in the duvet and swallowed a handful of pills. If this is a nightmare, I’ll sleep it off. But when I woke up, my phone was ringing incessantly. Reporters were calling, bidding for my story. The scandalous photos of Declan and his secretary—Tiffany—getting intimate in his SUV had gone viral. Declan’s call came next, his voice lazily dismissive. “Stella, go talk to the media, hash out a price. My face can’t be shown. If you don’t know how to negotiate, ask Mrs. Cole for advice, she’s been through it. This kind of thing will happen again, anyway.” “You know how much I hate the media circus.” I gripped the phone until my knuckles turned white. I did know he hated interviews. The one and only time he’d ever agreed to a press conference was three years ago, when the media had photographed me and published stories calling me unworthy of him. Declan had gathered dozens of news outlets, looked straight into the camera, and smiled so gently. “My partner is the best person in the world. Being worthy of even a fraction of her is my life’s greatest honor.” He had even, completely losing his temper, physically attacked a reporter who insulted me. From that day on, everyone knew I was the one person in Manhattan you didn’t cross. Just three years later, the same reporters were waiting to watch me burn. I couldn’t take it anymore. But when I got back to our apartment, a trail of scattered silk tops and dress shirts led from the foyer, across the living room carpet, and into the master suite. The sound of laughter and intimacy came from the marriage bed I had personally selected. The door was ajar. The girl—Tiffany—threw her head back in ecstasy, and her eyes suddenly locked with mine. A violent, crushing emotion tore through my mind. I had to brace myself against the wall to keep from collapsing. Declan’s voice came from behind her. “Go home now.” She didn’t move, looking at me with undisguised curiosity. “Is that your wife? She does look kind of old. No wonder you’re bored.” Declan gave her a cold, level stare. “I said, get out first.” She didn’t dare argue, pouting dramatically. “Fine. But I’ll be waiting tonight.” She stood up, bouncing, and intimately stroked his chest. “But you have to promise me you won’t touch this old woman! I want you all to myself.” Declan gave her a quick pat on the backside. “Okay. You get everything.” Declan watched her retreating figure and actually chuckled. “She’s cute, isn’t she?” My nails dug into my palms. Maybe it was sheer stubbornness. Maybe it was because I had no family, no friends—Declan had been my entire universe. I wanted to hold onto something. Anything. “Declan Shaw, you want a divorce? Dream on.” I stormed into the company, using my founder’s equity to easily blacklist Tiffany Lowe, ensuring she’d never work in this sector again. But I never expected to return from a business trip only to find my personal assistant was the same girl I’d rescued from traffickers seven years ago—the girl I’d put through school and treated like a younger sister. She’d once knelt before me, crying and promising to pay me back for life. Yet, when I cornered her in Declan’s office, her expression was pure provocation. “Stella, we couldn’t help ourselves. It was electric.” I flipped Declan’s desk, screaming at him like a lunatic. “Why are you doing this to me?!” Declan only watched me, unbothered. “So many people want to climb into my bed. As long as it’s a young, desirable body, I’ll accept.” I couldn’t tolerate it. I used every resource I had to oppose him, caused scenes at the girl’s university, and employed every trick to make his life hell. Declan just smiled, watching my desperate struggle, even with a hint of indulgence. “Stella’s little temper tantrum is actually kind of endearing.” But his counter-attack was swift. He donated an entire wing to an international university and sent the girl—Lila Cross—abroad. He then banded together with the other partners to vote me off the board. The day I was evicted from my own company, looking like a stray dog as reporters swarmed me, Declan was ostentatiously seen escorting Lila through the airport. He made sure everyone knew his attention had shifted. The passionate, intimate photos of them abroad flooded my phone. I became the laughingstock of the Tri-State Area. In those pictures, I spotted a necklace. Declan had given his first gift to me—a few thousand dollar silver chain—to her. It wasn’t expensive. But back when we were living in a leaky basement, sharing a single bagel for dinner, he had been broke. On my eighteenth birthday, he had exhausted himself working extra shifts just to buy me that gift. “Other people’s girls get gifts, and so should mine, Stella.” “Trust me, Stella. I will always love you, and I promise to give you a good life.” I called him, begging through tears, demanding he give me back the necklace. This time, he finally answered. In the receiver, he sighed, sounding mildly annoyed. “Stella, it’s just a cheap piece of junk. My new flame liked it, so I used it to placate her. You didn’t want to be pliable, so there you go.” He was doing this on purpose. He knew exactly how to inflict the deepest pain. The final wire in my brain snapped. I grabbed a utility knife and dragged the blade across my forearm. Declan had no choice but to fly home. “Stella, you have options. Why are you making such a scene?” “If you’re this miserable, let’s just separate.” I lay on the hospital bed, lost in a fog, remembering the time I was misdiagnosed with cancer. Declan had walked on his knees up three thousand steps, three steps per prayer, to beg for my life. His shins had been raw and bruised, nearly crippled. But when he found out it was a misdiagnosis, that’s when he cried. “I thought I was going to lose you. I don’t know how I’d keep going without you.” My mental state was fragile, and Declan stayed by my side for a while. But he couldn’t resist the fatal pull of youth and novelty. He started up again: influencers, minor celebrities—each new flame younger and more vibrant than the last. But the final woman photographed with him was different. Her name was Camille Foster. Average build, unremarkable features, and yes, fine lines around her eyes, perhaps even a little older than me, mid-thirties. I flung the photo onto his chest. “I thought you only liked young girls! Explain this!” He picked up the picture and gently brushed a smudge of dust from her face. “She’s different. She gives me peace.” He said Camille was gentle. She made him congee when his stomach hurt. She gave him massages when he was stressed. My head spun. I asked, incredulous: “Did I not do those things for you?!” In the past, I’d prepared his hangover remedy every morning and night. I’d spent two years learning massage techniques because he often had stress headaches. I broke down, screaming, but Declan only looked at me, cold and indifferent. “She’s a very gentle woman. Don’t use your typical methods on her, Stella. Or else…” He treated Camille differently than the others. Declan, who barely finished high school, began reading obscure philosophy books for her. The man who got sick from spicy food hired a famous Southern chef. Slowly, Declan stopped coming home entirely. I know how pathetic this sounds. I started waiting outside his known haunts, just hoping he would come home. But Declan, fearing I would hurt Camille, applied for a restraining order against me. He had me barred from coming near them. He then spent a fortune, securing an absurdly expensive diamond ring for Camille. I threw the television across the room, my heart wrapped in a tight tar knot, suffocating me with pain. He had proposed to me the moment I turned eighteen. But we were drowning in debt, living in an apartment where rats scurried across the floor in the middle of the night. I’d picked out a plain silver band—three hundred dollars—and happily let him put it on my finger. He clutched that cheap ring, his eyes red for a long time. He promised that once we were comfortable, he would buy me the best things in the world. Now he was comfortable, able to buy the finest diamonds. And he put it on another woman’s hand. What finally crushed me was the news that Declan, the man who “enjoyed freedom,” had cut off all his other women. He proposed to Camille with that diamond ring. “She’s older. She wants stability. Enjoying freedom isn’t that important anymore.” I was utterly annihilated. I breached the restraining order, running toward them. Police officers grabbed me, but I screamed hysterically at Declan. “Tell me, Declan! Why does she get to have it?!” Declan shielded Camille, glancing at me with utter contempt. “What are the cops doing? Get her out of here.” The last dregs of my pride ignited. I pulled out my utility knife and pressed it to my throat, threatening to kill myself if he didn’t come with me. Declan actually laughed. “You didn’t die last time, did you? Still using that same cheap knife?” My fragile peace shattered again. I broke free from the officers. Declan shoved me away, annoyed. “Stop making a scene. If you’re going to be dramatic, go home to do it.” I lost my footing and tumbled down the mansion’s sweeping spiral staircase. Before I even knew I was pregnant, the child was gone. Declan sat by my hospital bed, reaching for a cigarette, then stopping himself. “No one wanted to lose the baby, but you shouldn’t have been so hysterical…” I lay there, white as a sheet, unable to speak or think, a mere puppet. Declan was likely wracked with guilt and stayed by my side for a while. Until the day Camille came. I glanced at her, then blankly pulled my eyes away. Camille asked me a question. “Do you remember how you lost your first child?” I froze. A year ago, I had lost a baby. At the time, Declan’s funds were running dry, and he was working himself to the bone. I hadn’t known I was pregnant. To secure an investor for him, I’d endured the client’s cruel demands—drinking an entire bottle of ice-cold, high-proof vodka in the dead of winter. That’s how I lost the first one. Both Declan and I were orphans; we had always desperately wanted a child. Back then, Declan’s eyes were bloodshot as he apologized, swearing he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to me. Camille smiled gently. “Declan had already secured the funding. He just wanted to celebrate with a mistress at home and deliberately had his clients stall you.” My numb sanity finally snapped. Declan rushed into the room just as I slapped Camille across the face. He gripped my wrist with crushing force. “The baby’s gone, it’s gone, and frankly, the timing wasn’t right anyway. Why are you hurting other people?” I hysterically demanded if he remembered the first baby. His face darkened. “Why are you bringing up old dirt? Don’t act like a psycho. It’s exhausting for everyone.” A psycho? I started crying, a desperate, gasping, wretched sound. Declan watched me, calm as a stone. When I was finally too breathless to continue, he spoke, his voice chillingly composed. “Done crying? We have things to do, so we’re leaving now.” I was trembling, watching his back as he nearly disappeared through the doorway. I finally spoke. “I agree to the separation.” He stopped, stunned. “You’ve made your choice?” I nodded mechanically. Declan grabbed my arm, his brow furrowed. “You won’t regret this?” I jerked my hand away as if burned. “No. I won’t.” Declan stared at me, then slowly released me. “Fine. Just don’t regret it.” I checked out of the hospital and moved out with frantic speed, terrified that any delay would make me change my mind. When I was with Declan, I had nothing. Leaving him, I was empty again. He wasn’t there the day I left. I didn’t try to say goodbye. The car sped away, the massive villa shrinking in the rearview mirror. Declan, hiding behind a marble column, watched the car disappear. It was a long time before he moved. He and Camille bought a new villa and started their domestic life. But within months, the young women were back, flocking to him. Declan resisted for a while, but soon started accepting their advances again. The novelty wore off quickly. After seeing so much youth, it all felt the same. Camille started fighting with him constantly. Annoyed by her nagging, he instinctively snapped back. “Who do you think you are, Stella Hawthorne? I was going to marry her.” They both froze.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390144”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Sunny and I are twins. Mom always says she wants to be fair, so she buys two identical copies of everything. But during New Year’s Eve, my sparklers were damp and wouldn’t light no matter what. I secretly swapped two of Sunny’s. The moment I lit them, sparks illuminated the joy in my eyes. And also printed Mom’s ugly face. “Who told you to steal from your sister? I gave you yours and you’re still not satisfied?” “You like fireworks, right? Go then—” She roughly pushed me out the door, forcing little me to go to the field to light the big fireworks. The firework exploded with a bang. When the crackling fire jumped onto the stunned me. I suddenly remembered the so-called fairness over these years. Identical apples, Sunny’s was crisp and sweet, but mine was rotten and yellow at the core. Identical clothes, mine were always mocked by classmates as fakes, tearing after a month. Severe pain invaded my whole body, and I closed my eyes. Mom, I’m dying now. No need to buy two copies of things in the future. Chapter 1 The moment the fuse was lit, the firework tube tipped over towards me due to poor placement. The huge impact knocked me to the ground. At the same time, the firework exploded in the ink-black sky with a bang. Brilliant streamers spread out overwhelmingly, scattering into my eyes. Like bigger, prettier sparklers. The ones stolen from Sunny didn’t burn for long before Mom snatched them away. Sunny cried with red eyes, accusing me of robbing hers. I clutched my handful of damp, soft sparklers. Accumulated grievances surged. I finally looked up, asking the confusion of many years: “Mom, didn’t you say everything is the same? Then why can’t mine light up? Why can Sunny’s?” “Since they are the same, why can’t we swap?” Responding to me was Mom’s slap. Embarrassment and awkwardness of being exposed flashed across her face, raising her voice to scold: “You are so young, why so greedy?” “I’m already so fair, it’s your own bad luck, and you blame me and your sister?” Glancing at the crying Sunny, her anger grew. Pulling the corner of her mouth, she sneered at me: “Don’t you like setting off fireworks? Go light them then, don’t come back if you don’t light them.” Am I really too greedy? I thought. Sky full of fireworks illuminated a twisted, blackened body on the ground. Only then did I realize, that was me. I am already dead. Soul drifting, I went back home again. On the second-floor balcony, Sunny clapped her hands laughing: “Mommy Mommy, look quickly!” Sunny and I grew up in the city, rarely seeing such clear and beautiful big fireworks without obstruction. “Alright, go to sleep after watching, it’s late.” “I’ll go warm up milk for you.” Mom smiled dotingly at Sunny, turning into the kitchen. She habitually took two cups. One poured with imported fresh milk. The other, poured with the cheapest bagged milk from the supermarket, marked ‘near expiry’. Mom frowned, as if smoked by the cheap milk smell. “Sunny, come.” I watched Mom hurriedly make Sunny drink the milk. I’m already dead. Mom, you don’t need to prepare two portions anymore. “Luna, where is Luna?” Grandma Rose in the bedroom called my name. Recently her health got worse, sometimes couldn’t get out of bed. When we came back, Grandma gave me a red envelope, thicker than Sunny’s. Mom questioned dissatisfiedly: “Mom, what do you mean? I give children red envelopes of identical thickness, you are biased right?” The little old lady hummed, touching my head: “I just gave Luna a bit more.” “Should I learn from you? Ten one-dollar bills and ten hundred-dollar bills, that’s not biased?” Grandma gave me a big hug. Unlike Mom, every time I stretched out my arms, she would frown and retreat. “No Luna, Mom’s hug must be double, one for you one for sister.” “If sister isn’t here, giving only you, that’s unfair.” I didn’t understand then. Why when Sunny demanded kisses and hugs from Mom. There was no talk of fairness. “Where is Luna? Luna was muttering about watching fireworks, why isn’t she here?” Grandma sat up anxiously. “She went back to her room long ago, Mom, no need to worry, she’s shrewd.” Mom sneered, eyebrows mixed with deep disgust. “Just stole Sunny’s sparklers just now. I treat her so fairly, she’s still not satisfied?” “Indeed just like her dad, a greedy and cheap ungrateful wolf.” Chapter 2 Pain flashed in Grandma’s eyes. She clutched her chest, throat hoarse: “You can’t just blame the child for everything because Luna looks like him.” Floating in the air, my heart skipped a beat. Remembering these years, Mom took us out. There would be grandmas looking at us in identical princess dresses, praising with a smile: “You really balance the bowl of water well, raising both children so beautifully.” “Sister is like you, then this older one is like dad, right?” Mom’s smile from the second before vanished instantly. The look she gave me was like poison. Later because of my grades, Mom was called to the office. Homeroom teacher saw Mom, mouth corner hooked up an ambiguous smile: “I guessed she was your daughter, this face is exactly the same as her dad.” “Academic performance is also bad.” “But indeed has a pretty face, no wonder you dropped out of school to run away with a man back then, beauty misleads people.” Her teasing gaze fell on Mom. Mom squeezed out a smile, veins on forehead throbbing. She roughly pulled me out of the school gate. A slap made my ears buzz. “I always treated you and your sister fairly, what did I lack you?” “You show me these grades?” She pinched my shoulder, nails almost embedding into flesh. I bit my lower lip daring not speak. Compared to the smart, generous, sweet-talking Sunny. I had nothing to show off except being praised for being prettier, cowardly and cramped in doing everything. “Dirty blood flowing in bones, no wonder I can’t raise well.” Mom left a cold sentence that day. Young me vaguely sensed something wrong with the role of “Dad”. And gradually understood, Mom’s occasional vague targeting and disgust were not my illusion. “Scarlett, your dad and I stopped you back then.” “You said you were willing, willing to not study and go work, willing to give birth to two children.” I looked at Mom ignorantly. She clenched her fists, face iron green. Just like when we just returned to the countryside, Mom took boxes of gifts out of the car. Auntie at the village entrance rolled eyes, smile hidden thorns: “Old Chen’s girl is quite capable, cheated of body and money by a man, now still magnificent.” Mom’s back she tried to keep straight still bent down. She fled awkwardly under their teasing gazes. “I know you regret it, you hate him, but the child is innocent.” Grandma coughed twice violently, eyes full of heavy grief. “If you don’t like Luna, then leave her with me, no need to torture the child.” “How do I not like her!” My mom couldn’t suppress emotions anymore, eyes staring round. Screamed, “What Sunny has, what does she not have?” “What does she have to be aggrieved about, even learned to steal sister’s things.” “I found out before, every time distributing things, her eyes always stare at sister’s, greedy enough.” Mom seemed to grab my braid, scolding mercilessly. “Really an ungrateful wolf, same disgusting look as her dad.” “She is still a child!” Grandma slapped the bedside table hard. “Don’t think I don’t know, you buy Sunny brand name goods worth thousands, buy Luna broken clothes worth dozens.” “The inside of her padded jacket had a big hole, pasted with transparent tape.” Grandma’s voice choked, as if couldn’t bear it. “I wanted to mend it for the child, result cotton taken out inside, all smelly black broken feather pieces.” I froze. So clothes always breaking, not because I was careless, not cherishing. Clothes itchy, smelly, not because I was unhygienic. I secretly touched Sunny’s down jacket. Light and soft, like clouds. Identical appearance things, turned out to be really different. Not my illusion, not my bad luck. Even less Mom being careless. Chapter 3 Mom didn’t want to talk more with Grandma, turned and left directly. She went downstairs to lock the door, as if finally remembering I was still outside not back. Called impatiently towards the yard: “Gu Niannian, not rolling back yet?” Sunny leaned over curiously, pouting: “Is sister angry? Didn’t let her light fireworks, even bigger fireworks.” “Let her make a scene, don’t come back.” Mom mocked lightly, locked the door neatly. “Isn’t there a doghouse in the yard, she is deadly shrewd, can’t die outside.” “Let’s go Sunny, we go up to sleep, ignore her.” She hugged Sunny to bed. I also secretly floated to Mom’s side. Mom flipping fairy tale book, telling story to Sunny. Warm dim light at bedside plated on her face, making her eyebrows and eyes soft as water. I felt a bit unfair. Why can Sunny lie on Mom’s chest listening to stories. And I can only nest in the utility room, sleeping on a small bed made of iron frames. In winter, have to rely on hugging dolls, curling into a ball to keep warm to fall asleep. Now I understand. Mom just doesn’t like me. Fairness, just for show, for me to see, for others to see. Facing Sunny, she has her own standards and privileges for Sunny. But I still stuck to Mom’s back. Almost greedily feeling Mom’s temperature. Mom’s bed so soft, Mom smells so good… Clearly I am already a soul. Why still tears flowing out of eyes. Next morning, Mom prepared breakfast calling Sunny to eat. “Where is Luna? Not up yet?” Grandma propped herself up walking out of room, tone a bit anxious. “Mom you don’t lie down well, get out of bed for what?” Mom seemed to just remember my existence. Froze, brows dyed with familiar impatience again. “Where can she go, hiding in corner sulking.” “She steals things and still reasonable, seems I was too good to her usually.” Grandma’s figure trembled: “Early morning, where can Luna go…” “Not in room either, the bed I made for her is still clean.” Grandma muttered to herself. Raising eyes suddenly sensed a trace of unnaturalness in Mom. She tapped cane, face extremely ugly: “Scarlett, tell truth, where is the child? “Did she… come back last night…” Grandma asked the second half carefully. Mom looked away guiltily, saying rather carelessly: “How do I know, she’s in elementary school, not a small child anymore.” Chapter 4 Grandma was choked with anger. Breathing rapidly, clutching chest panting violently. Mom just said two words to make up, Sunny’s cry cut in. “No! This doll is not mine!” Sunny rummaging through her suitcase. Holding a Disney rabbit crying. “Look its face is crooked, fur messy too, simply a fake.” “Must be sister swapped it.” She red-eyed, crying to Mom. Doll in hand fabric greyish, face crooked mouth slanted, threads opening. Sunny threw on ground with disgust. I waved hand wanting to say no, it was Sunny took wrong when packing. But Mom kicked away the doll, hurriedly squatting to wipe Sunny’s tears. Look, they can totally distinguish, my things and Sunny’s. That doll, was when we went to Disney, Sunny clamored to buy. Price tag 499. When Mom paid, didn’t blink an eye. Until seeing me holding the corner of her clothes. Mom smiled weirdly, said to me: “Sorry Luna, Mom didn’t bring enough money today, buy you same online in a few days okay?” My eyes burst with light immediately. Crisply shouting “Okay”. For many years, I foolishly guarded Mom’s so-called “Fairness” smiling satisfied. “Mom you saw, Gu Niannian same disgusting look as her dad.” “Did I wrong her saying she steals?” Mom gritted teeth cursing, looking at other dirty dolls in suitcase, face darker: “How come these all dirty, is it Gu Niannian doing it too.” Sunny froze, nodded immediately. Actually dolls were dirtied by Sunny. Not first time she framed me, whenever she made mistake, would shout it was me. Mom wouldn’t care about my explanation. She only saw Sunny’s tears. “Cheap thing, she is just jealous of Sunny, I treat her so well, still not satisfied?” “Why gave birth to one more back then, giving birth to this disaster thing too.” Mom scolded harshly. Grandma heard pupils dilated, chest heaving violently. As if unbelievable, such ugly words came from a mother’s mouth. “Good good good, you don’t want Luna, I want.” Grandma walked towards door trembling with cane. Mom frowned wanting to stop, but Sunny cried “Wah”, tripping Mom’s steps again. “Alright alright, Mom buy you a few more okay.” “Anyway your sister isn’t here, buy as many as you want.” Mom comforted Sunny gently. This warm scene, I didn’t want to watch anymore. I followed Grandma to the yard. Wind big outside, blowing Grandma’s thin body swaying more. “Luna, my good Luna—” She shouted my name, but except dog barking in yard, no other response. She stood blankly in yard, old eyes surfacing water light. “Mom, stop looking, let her make trouble, die outside if not wanting back—” Mom’s scolding came from inside. Before I was locked in storage room by sister several times, Mom only thought I was throwing tantrum. “Must have done bad thing dare not come out.” Mom always speculated me with greatest malice. But now Grandma, was sad for me: “This child, must have suffered how much grievance…” Ignoring Mom’s obstruction, insisted walking out of yard alone. Ground frosted, Grandma stumbled every step, but dared not slow down. “Luna, Luna where are you, come to Grandma quick—” She shouted tirelessly, voice choking, “Don’t be afraid child, Grandma protects you.” I floated in air, anxious and panicked. Watching helplessly as Grandma walked towards the empty ground where I set off fireworks. Suddenly, she screamed, collapsed on ground. In front, clearly my unrecognizable corpse.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390167”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Eight years ago, Mom and River were diagnosed with leukemia at the same time. As the only one in the family with a matching blood type, I became their only hope. At first, my blood was enough. But eight years is too long. By the third year, the doctor told me I needed to find other ways. Sometimes, money can’t solve everything… I was humiliated by men lurking outside the hospital, taken advantage of by those matching my blood type. Even taken to an underground bar in the suburbs to perform “vulgar” shows. But every time I thought about bags of fresh blood flowing into Mom and River’s bodies, making them feel a bit better, I felt everything was worth it. Until I went to the Director’s office, begging him to let me pay the medical bills two days late. I saw Mom and River chatting and laughing inside… Dr. Young’s familiar voice came out: “That’s enough! It’s been eight years. How long do you want to fake this illness? Just because of that small incident eight years ago, torturing Luna like this is too much!” “How can it be a small incident!” River’s voice came out. “Stella has severe anemia, and Luna was so careless to scratch her hand! That was life-threatening!” “A scratch?! Not even the size of a fingernail!” “Alright, Dr. Young, I know what I’m doing. After all, it has been eight years. I see Stella’s mood has improved a lot recently. I will end this soon…” “In the days to come, as her brother, I will spoil Luna desperately to make it up to her…” I stuffed my bony fist into my mouth, forcing myself not to make a sound. Make it up? I’m afraid there’s no chance… Chapter 1 “Make it up?!” Dr. Young suddenly raised his voice. “Do you know what Luna has gone through in these eight years?!” “Her small body has to support two adults like you. At first, you still had some humanity, asking for surgery once a month. She at least had time to recover. But later, you demanded it once a week! Didn’t you think she couldn’t take it?!” “Dr. Young, your words are too harsh…” Mom, who had been silent, finally couldn’t stand it. “We did our homework. Human blood can regenerate. It’s just Luna suffering a few needle pricks. But eight years ago, Stella faced life-threatening danger. This punishment is already very light…” “Enough, Dr. Young.” Mom’s lips curled into a smile. “I know you medical people are rigorous and like to exaggerate things. But I know my child. I raised Luna with love. She is very healthy. Unlike Stella, who grew up in foster care, her body is extremely weak and can’t stand any harm…” “Healthy?! In the third year, Luna didn’t have enough blood. Do you know what those men squatting outside the hospital do?!” “How many times, when Luna was pushed into the operating room, her chest, her abdomen, were covered with marks of being… abused! She is a beautiful girl, didn’t you ever think…” “Dr. Young.” River interrupted Dr. Young. Handed him a cigarette. “Of course I know what those people do. But eight years ago, I instructed the family’s subordinates to protect Luna. They report to me every day. Those lowlifes outside won’t do anything to her.” I pulled my cap lower, curling up into a ball outside the office. The scars from being bitten last night began to throb with pain. Eight years. Can’t remember how many times I was tied up and thrown into a room. But I never saw any of the people River said were protecting me… In those nauseating moments, I screamed desperately for help. Except for suffering more excessive treatment, only boundless despair remained… “Dr. Young, what’s wrong with you today? Why so emotional?” River’s words pulled me out of the memories filled with humiliation and fear. Dr. Young suddenly lost his temper. Extinguished the cigarette in his hand, slamming his fist on the desk. “Of course I’m emotional! Because if this game happens again, Luna’s body…” “Whose body?!” Dr. Young was only halfway through when a figure with a strong perfume scent ran past me. Pushed the door open and rushed into Dr. Young’s office. Stella held River’s arm, looking at the heaving Dr. Young, speaking coquettishly. “Uncle Young, what made you so angry? I heard you talking about Sister? What’s wrong with Sister’s body?” “Yes, I’m talking about your sister. Her body…” “Dr. Young!” River stood up abruptly, interrupting Dr. Young sternly. “Don’t mention that bad luck charm in front of Stella!” Then turned around, hugging Stella, comforting her gently. “Didn’t mention her. We were talking about you. Dr. Young said your health is much better…” In their mouths, I am a bad luck charm… I, who endure severe pain and humiliation every day to extend their lives, am a bad luck charm… Dr. Young slammed the door and left in anger. The huge sound of the door closing made my head dizzy. Couldn’t hold it back, bleugh, vomited all over the floor… Chapter 2 To ensure the health of my blood, I swallow a handful of pills and high-protein food every day. These things make the smell of my vomit exceptionally pungent. Waves of sour rot spread out, and I vomited uncontrollably again. “Oh my god, what smells so disgusting!” The pungent smell made Stella scream inside the office. She rushed out. Seeing me curled up on the floor wearing a baseball cap, she instantly raised her voice. “Hey! Who are you! Why vomit outside the Director’s office! So disgusting, clean it up quickly!” Stella’s screeching attracted passersby. “Hey! Isn’t that the girl who hangs out with those lowlife men at the hospital gate all day?” “Yes! That’s her! I just saw her get off that man’s van with my own eyes. Before getting off, that man even grabbed her ass. How did such a little slut come to the Director’s office?” “Let’s go, let’s go. Looking at such a shameless bitch makes me sick…” Hearing their discussion, Stella immediately pinched her nose. Shouting towards the office. “Brother, come look! How does Uncle Young manage the hospital? Letting any dirty thing in? Look at her, she vomited in front of me, so disgusting!” “Clean it up!” River’s suppressed roar came from above. I was about to look up, get up… Stella stepped forward and pressed my head, pushing me directly onto that pile of vomit. “What are you looking at!” “Clean up this filth! Are you deaf?!” I was pressed firmly onto the filth. In the narrow space, every deep breath I took sucked the filth back into my nose and mouth. “You’re eating it?! Disgusting to death! If you like it, eat it all!” Stella pressed my head harder. While pressing me, she looked up at River, making retching sounds. Seeing this, River quickly pulled Stella into his arms. Then stepped on my head, his tone losing all patience. “Hurry up!” I had no strength to lift my head anymore… Yeah, what was I thinking just now? Deluding myself that they would feel guilty seeing me and love me as before? But eight years. If they had any regret, today wouldn’t have happened, right? Tears mixed with filth were swallowed into my mouth. So bitter… That large pile of filth was “cleaned up” by me. Above my head came Stella’s crying voice. “Brother, so annoying. I was in a good mood today, but met such a dirty thing. Her stubborn look really resembles my annoying sister…” Before Stella finished, I felt a scrutinizing gaze on me. River, who had intended to walk away. Suddenly stopped and looked back at me. He seemed to want to turn back and look carefully. But Stella cried out. “Brother, why did Sister refuse to apologize to me eight years ago? Clearly she hurt me. Does she dislike me? Was I always superfluous? Brother, every time I think of this, I feel so sad…” The head that just turned back turned away again. Stopped steps moved forward again. “Don’t talk nonsense. You are Mom and Brother’s most beloved treasure. How could you be superfluous? If anyone is superfluous, it’s her!” “Stella don’t be angry, Brother will teach her a lesson right now!” With that, River took out his phone to call me. Mom, who hadn’t spoken, blocked him. “River, maybe don’t call? I just heard Dr. Young imply Luna suffered a lot these years…” “Mom! Why are you becoming as nagging as Dr. Young? Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing!” River interrupted Mom. Dialed my number. They had already turned downstairs, not hearing the ringtone in my pocket as I lay on the filth… I answered with trembling hands. River’s usual weak voice sounded on the other end. “Luna, come to the hospital quickly, save… save Brother…” Chapter 3 When the flustered nurses brought me to the operating room after I cleaned myself up in the bathroom. I saw Dr. Young who had slammed the door and left… “Luna, blood donation is voluntary. You can refuse. If you…” “Dr. Young, your wife just called. Said your group of friends went to your house again.” The nurse’s words froze Dr. Young in place. For eight years, every time before my surgery. Dr. Young’s house would be visited by such a group of “guests.” I grew up in the Gu family, I understood too well what these “guests” do. “Luna…” Guilt and heartache flowed in the eyes of this elderly man. I forced a smile and lay on the operating bed myself. “It’s okay, Dr. Young. Let’s start.” “Luna, your body really can’t take it anymore. One more time, I’m afraid…” “Dr. Young, hurry up. Auntie is waiting for you for dinner at home.” How could I not know the state of my own body? Really don’t want innocent people involved anymore. Let me bear this sin alone… Minutes later, I saw the extremely weak River inside the operating room. River, pale-faced, tremblingly stepped forward and held my hand. “Sorry, Luna. Blame Brother’s useless body. Sometimes Brother really wants to smash his head and die here…” Scalding tears fell from River’s eyes. But when they hit the back of my hand, I could only feel coldness… I broke free from the wrist held by those withered hands. Looking at this brother who was chatting and laughing just now but looks haggard at this moment. Must be that punishing me, the bad luck charm, cost him a lot of effort these years too. Clearly such a robust person. At this moment, thin as a skeleton… “Luna, ultimately Mom and Brother failed you…” Mom’s trembling cry brought back my thoughts. She rushed in disheveled, wearing a large hospital gown. Seeing me, she hugged me tightly. Mom used too much force, pressing on the wounds from being tortured last night, causing piercing pain. “Mrs. Gu, is your health bad again?! Both of you again?!” Dr. Young looked at Mom with bloodshot eyes, questioning in disbelief. Through the mirror, I clearly saw Mom winking at Dr. Young non-stop. Sure enough, Dr. Young stopped talking the next second. Perhaps to cover up Dr. Young’s emotion just now. Mom cried even harder. “Luna, why don’t you go live your own life? Mom really doesn’t want to delay you anymore…” I broke free from her embrace, staring into her red eyes, rasping. “Is that really okay?” Instantly, the huge operating room became deathly silent… Mom’s expression changed awkwardly and quickly like a clown. Finally, River broke the terrible silence. “Mom, look at you, why say this! Eight years, if Luna wanted to leave, she would have left long ago. She is my flesh and blood, meat from your belly. Can she watch us die?” “Yes, Mom, Brother is right. I am meat from your belly, his flesh and blood. Even if I exchange my life for yours, I am willing…” An unknown emotion flashed in River’s eyes. Looked like guilt, or maybe heartache. But it has nothing to do with me anymore… Urged by the nurse, the three of us lay back on the operating beds… Chapter 4 Eight years. This surgery took an exceptionally long time. I even saw Grandma, who passed away long ago, in my dream. She called my name over and over in the dream. She said if I felt no one loved me, go find her… I want to find her so much. I almost touched Grandma’s warm rough hands… “Luna? Wake up!” Woke up in a daze, finding myself in a ward. The person calling me was Dr. Young. “You’ve been asleep for three days…” Dr. Young tucked me in. “Luna, after eight years of treatment, your brother and mom’s condition has improved a lot. You won’t need to enter the operating room with them anymore. Your body has been ruined in these eight years. Rest well for the remaining days…” Finished, before I could reply. Dr. Young shook his head sighing and left. Clearly good news. But why did Dr. Young look so bad… I looked around and saw tubes all over my body. Turns out this isn’t a ward, this is the ICU. Looks like that day is really coming… I wanted to sleep a bit more, talk to Grandma in my dream. But just closed my eyes, the ward door was kicked open from outside. Stella rushed in and slapped my face. “Gu Nanyue (Luna), what are you pretending for?! Think lying here will make Mom and Brother care about you?! Dream on!” “Gu Nanxing (Stella), some things, even if you snatch them, aren’t yours…” I summoned my last strength, enduring the stinging pain all over my body to say this. Before I finished, I was interrupted by Stella gritting her teeth. “Who says so! I’ll show you today, what I snatch is mine forever!” Voice just fell, Stella took out a dagger from her pocket, slicing straight at her own forearm. Then screamed towards outside. “Brother, Mom, help! Sister wants to kill me…” Before voice fell, River kicked open the door and rushed in. Seeing blood flowing from Stella’s forearm, River hugged her. Looking at me with eyes full of hatred. “Luna! What are you doing! Just now Dr. Young told us you were sick, we were worried! Didn’t expect you were faking it!” “Never seen a patient who can get up and hurt people with a knife! Who are you putting on this act for!” Mom bandaged Stella’s wound in panic while glaring at me. “You evil creature, shouldn’t have pitied you! Don’t think just because you gave blood for eight years, you can do whatever you want in this house. Dream on!” “Mom, Brother, I’m scared. Why did Sister fake illness to harm me? Maybe I should leave our home, go back to foster care…” Stella’s words completely ignited the anger in River’s eyes. He lunged at me. “Let you pretend!” “Let you harm Stella with evil intentions!” He cursed while tearing off all the tubes on my body. Then dragged Mom and Stella away without looking back. Ignoring the red lights lighting up everywhere and the ear-piercing beeping of those devices… Don’t remember how long passed. Dr. Young rushed in with a group of people. He frantically plugged those tubes back into me. But I knew, it was useless… “Dr… Young, stop busy…” “Child, tell Uncle Young any request, Uncle fulfills it…” “Call Brother and Mom, let them come back…” Consciousness fading, I seemed to really see Grandma. White cloth slowly covered me. Just as it covered my head. I saw River and Mom rushing in recklessly…

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390184”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

The first time our parents met. We were all seated at a long restaurant table, and I was making polite small talk with my boyfriend’s parents when his sister-in-law had a moment of what looked like sudden realization. “Beth, you look so familiar! Oh my god, I know where from,” she exclaimed, her voice a little too loud. “I was the doctor for your abortion procedure!” She clapped a hand over her mouth in mock horror, but the words were already out, hanging in the air like poison. The table erupted. Just moments ago, Mark’s parents had been showering me with warmth. Now, their eyes were filled with judgment. “Well, young people these days certainly know how to live, don’t they…” “No wonder she was in such a hurry to meet the family. Now it all makes sense…” A tide of crimson shame washed over my parents’ faces. Beside me, Mark stared at me, his eyes blazing with fury. As for me, I slowly set down my fork, my movements calm and deliberate. “It’s perfectly normal that you’d find me familiar, Sophia,” I said, my voice even. “After all, I manage the security system at The Azure Heights. I see you coming and going from Building 6 every day.” 1 It was the first time our parents were meeting. To make sure the occasion felt significant and to avoid any awkward silences, my parents had invited my talkative aunt and my godmother to join us. Mark’s family, however, had shown up in force. Besides his parents, his grandparents and his older brother, Henry, with his wife, Sophia, were there. They’d also brought a whole clan of relatives who spilled into the private dining room, forcing the staff to squeeze in four extra chairs just to fit everyone. The food arrived, and the first round of wine was poured. I did my best to keep the conversation flowing, chatting with Mark’s parents. Mark sat beside me, occasionally placing a piece of food on my plate. The atmosphere was a bit strained, but stable. Then, Mark’s aunt turned the spotlight on me. “Beth, you’re just stunning. And so stylish! You have to teach my daughter your ways. She’s so plain, she can’t find a date to save her life!” My own aunt jumped in smoothly. “And Mark is so handsome! With such a great job, too. They make a perfect couple.” The relatives exchanged pleasantries, a volley of polite, meaningless words. I was about to offer a modest reply when Sophia, sitting across from me, fixed me with an intense stare. “Beth, even though this is our first time meeting, I just can’t shake the feeling that I know you from somewhere.” I gave her a polite smile. “I guess I just have one of those faces.” But Sophia shook her head, her eyes scanning my features. Suddenly, she gasped, her voice piercing the low hum of conversation. “I remember now! I was the doctor on your abortion procedure, wasn’t I!” The words landed, and the air in the room instantly turned to ice. Sophia feigned a sudden grasp of her mistake. “Oh, this mouth of mine… I really shouldn’t have said that in front of everyone…” She pressed her hand to her lips, her face a perfect mask of someone who had just let a terrible secret slip. My mind went blank. I couldn’t believe she would fabricate such a lie on the spot. “What are you talking about?” I said, my voice barely a whisper. She immediately adopted a wounded, apologetic expression. “Oh, Beth, I’m so sorry. I’m just too blunt for my own good! I didn’t think… I really didn’t mean to!” But the damage was done. The smile vanished from Mark’s mother’s face. His father’s brow furrowed. The aunt who had just complimented me now looked away, her expression curdled. A chorus of whispers started to ripple across the table. “These young women, a pretty face is all it takes for them to run wild…” “So that’s why she was rushing to meet the parents. There was a reason, after all.” “Tsk, tsk. She looks so quiet and innocent, who would have thought…” My parents’ faces were beet-red, but they stammered, unable to form a single sentence to defend their daughter’s honor. Mark’s aunt didn’t hold back. “You can forget what I said earlier. I don’t want my daughter associating with that kind of person!” My own aunt and godmother, however, were furious, slapping their hands on the table. “Beth would never do something like that! You watch what you say, or you’ll have to deal with us!” And Mark… he whipped his head towards me, his eyes a storm of shock and rising rage. “Beth, is what my sister-in-law said true? Did you go behind my back and…” “No!” I cut him off, my voice sharp and certain. “I have never had that kind of procedure.” But a seed of doubt, once planted, grows with venomous speed. Mark’s mother spoke, her voice cold as steel. “People don’t just make these things up, do they.” 2 I stared at the woman who had just assassinated my character, a knot of fury tightening in my chest. This was the first time we’d ever met. I had done nothing to her, yet she had manufactured this lie out of thin air. I fought to keep my voice steady. “Sophia, you can’t just say things like that. Slander is illegal, you know.” My sharp tone seemed to wound her. Her eyes welled up. “Beth, I really didn’t mean any harm… I’m just a straightforward person, I say what I think without any filters.” Her words were a masterclass in manipulation—vague, defensive, and full of insinuation. She could have cleared it all up with a simple sentence, but she chose to dance around the truth, leaving a trail of suspicion. I had no idea what I’d done to earn her malice. But for Mark’s sake, I tried to keep my cool. “Sophia, you must be mistaken. It wasn’t me. It couldn’t have been.” I was offering her an easy way out, a chance to gracefully retract her statement. But she took it as an attack. Her voice broke into a sob. “Beth, don’t be so harsh… I just said you looked familiar, it was just a thought. How can you accuse me of slander?” She kept repeating the same lines, each one subtly reinforcing the idea that I was hiding a shameful secret. I finally lost my patience. “Sophia,” I snarled, “I have no quarrel with you. Why are you targeting me like this?” My outburst brought on a flood of tears. She shrank back, hiding behind Mark’s brother, Henry, as if I were a monster. Even then, she didn’t stop her performance. “Please, don’t misunderstand, I’m not targeting Beth… Mark, please don’t let this come between you.” Henry immediately wrapped an arm around her, his tone disapproving as he looked at me. “Sophia made an honest mistake. Beth, don’t you think your reaction is a little extreme?” Mark was even worse. He turned on me completely. “Beth Finch! Do you have to be so damn aggressive? If you had a clear conscience, why would she make something like this up out of nowhere? Don’t you know what you’ve done?!” The questions hit me like a barrage of stones, with no regard for my feelings. Three years together, and our relationship was so fragile it could be shattered by a few ambiguous words from a stranger. He didn’t even bother to seek the truth; he just immediately took their side against me. Mark’s relatives chimed in, eager to pile on. “Well, the truth always comes out!” “Sophia is such a sensible person, and she’s a doctor. She has professional ethics. She wouldn’t just say something like that for no reason!” “Exactly, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. No one would target you without a reason!” Mark slammed his hand on the table, pointing a finger at my face. “Beth, I want a straight answer! Did you or did you not do something disgraceful behind my back?” I took a deep breath and repeated myself. “I did not.” Then I turned to Sophia, my voice low and dangerous. “You said you performed my surgery. Fine. Tell me which hospital, and on what date. Because making false accusations has serious legal consequences.” A flicker of panic crossed Sophia’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a look of profound hurt. “Beth, why are you pushing me like this… I didn’t want to say anything.” Her voice was thick with false sorrow. “I was trying to protect you, trying to keep it from Mark. But when you accuse me like this, it just… it breaks my heart.” “To prove I’m not lying,” she declared, her voice ringing with phony righteousness, “I’ll get the procedure records from the nurse in my department right now!” She pulled out her phone, her fingers flying across the screen, pulling up a chat history she had clearly prepared. She paraded the phone around the table for everyone to see, finally shoving it in my face. The triumph in her voice was unmistakable. “See for yourself, Beth. I’m not making it up. The name on the patient form is yours!” 3 I would never admit to something I didn’t do. Not in a million years. The way Sophia had so quickly produced the “evidence” on her phone already felt staged. “A picture of a screen proves nothing,” I said, my voice cold. “With modern AI, you can fake anything.” I saw a flash of panic in her eyes, but she held her ground. She put on her pitiful act again, her voice choked with emotion. “Beth, you can’t just tarnish my name to save your own! You’re supposed to be my future sister-in-law! Why would I make this up? I wish I’d never come today! None of this would have happened if it weren’t for me!” Her performance was so convincing that the room turned against me again. For Mark, it was the final nail in the coffin. A vein throbbed on his temple, and his eyes burned with disgust. “Beth Finch, what more do you have to say for yourself? No wonder you were always claiming to ‘work late’ on weekends… So this is the kind of filth you were dealing with!” Filth? After three years together, this was how he saw me. His mother’s voice, sharp and shrill, cut through the air. “If a woman like that marries into our family, what will happen to our reputation? We’ll be a laughingstock!” The others joined the chorus, their words growing uglier by the second. “Shameless! All that education wasted!” “If she were my daughter, I’d have slapped the life out of her by now!” “What a disgrace to her family, raising such a degenerate!” My own mother, after seeing the so-called evidence, felt her last shred of hope collapse. She pointed a trembling finger at me, her face contorted with rage. “Beth! Did you do it or not?! If you did something this disgraceful, I’ll pretend I never gave birth to you!” “I didn’t!” I shouted back, my body shaking uncontrollably. My aunt and godmother opened their mouths to speak, but faced with “proof,” they fell silent. Every eye in the room was a needle, pricking my skin. Contempt, mockery, morbid curiosity… And the people who were supposed to be closest to me—my family, my partner—not a single one believed me. Just then, Sophia spoke again, her tone now condescendingly gentle, urging me to confess and repent. “Beth, it’s okay to admit your mistakes. What matters is that you learn from them. A sullied body doesn’t mean a sullied soul. Don’t worry, we’ll keep this between us.” Her words were so absurd, so sanctimonious, that a laugh escaped my lips. It was a cold, bitter sound. “Sophia, you and I both know whose name is really on that form,” I said, my voice dangerously low. “And as for being sullied… you’re the filthiest person in this room.” I locked my eyes on hers, wanting to see just how deep her depravity went. The venom in my gaze startled her. She flinched, her voice trembling. “You… you’re lying! How dare you! You’re the one who had the abortion, not me!” Mark looked like he was about to explode. He lunged forward, his face inches from mine, spitting words laced with pure hatred. “My sister-in-law exposed you for what you are, and you have the audacity to attack her? I don’t have a shameless tramp for a girlfriend. We’re done. You disgust me!” Looking at his twisted face, the whole situation felt utterly surreal. And in that moment, I saw everything with perfect clarity. “We’re not even engaged yet,” I sneered. “Only an idiot like you would be so easily manipulated by her. You trust her over the woman you’ve been with for three years.” My words hit their mark. He completely lost control. With a roar of fury, he grabbed a ceramic bowl from the table and hurled it at my head. “Shut your mouth!” he screamed. “It’s not your place to lecture me, you cheap tramp! Go crawl back to whatever gutter you came from!” I didn’t have time to react. The bowl crashed against my temple, and a warm trickle of blood immediately ran down my face. The room fell silent. Everyone just stared. I raised a hand to my head and brought it away, slick with red. I looked at Mark, then let my gaze sweep slowly across the stunned faces of his family, and finally, to my own parents, who were frozen in shock but had made no move to help me. Suddenly, the whole thing seemed like a sick joke. “Well done, Mark,” I said softly. A flicker of panic crossed his face, quickly swallowed by a wave of defensive anger. “You brought this on yourself!” he spat. Sophia, ever the actress, rushed to his side, gently pulling on his arm. “Don’t be angry, Mark. It’s all my fault. I never should have brought it up.” She bit her lip, looking every bit the noble peacemaker. “This is our first time meeting, and I’ve caused such a scene… I… I should just go. Please don’t let me ruin things between you.” With that, she made a show of grabbing her purse to leave. Henry quickly stopped her, cooing gentle reassurances. The others, snapping out of their stupor, begged her to stay. Then, as one, they all turned to me, their expressions demanding. They wanted me to apologize to Sophia. Mark raised his chin, his voice dripping with venom. “Beth Finch! Look what you’ve done to Sophia! And she’s still trying to defend you! You will apologize to her. Right now. You won’t get up until she forgives you!” My parents, seeing this as their chance to salvage the situation, eagerly chimed in. “Beth! Just do it! Listen to Mark! It was your fault to begin with, what’s so hard about saying sorry? Do you want to ruin this engagement and humiliate us all?!” I stared at them in disbelief. My parents. My partner. My heart felt like it had been plunged into a bucket of ice. “She slanders me, and you want me to apologize to her?” “You’re still being stubborn!” my father’s face was flush with anger. “The proof is right there! The doctor and nurses can prove it! If it weren’t for your kind sister-in-law exposing you, we would have all been deceived! How could we show our faces in public? You should be grateful to her for saving you, not arguing! Apologize!” The relatives all agreed, chanting that I owed Sophia an apology. They spoke with such conviction, as if I were the villain in a play they were all watching. And I was. A dark, twisted comedy. “Me, apologize to her? Not in this lifetime.” Seeing my defiance, my parents became enraged. My father picked up a pair of chopsticks and threw them at me, screaming about how he had raised such a shameless creature. Sophia, now the cherished victim at the center of everyone’s concern, glanced at me over their shoulders. Deep in her eyes, I saw it: pure, unadulterated triumph and provocation. But her words were soft as silk. “Beth, please don’t be like this. I’m your elder, I would never truly demand an apology like that. As long as you admit you were wrong and promise to be a better person, I’ll forgive you. The most important thing is that you can change for the better, isn’t it?” Hearing this, everyone praised her for being so “magnanimous” and “understanding.” Their contempt for me only deepened, and the pressure to confess intensified. I, however, slowly set down my own chopsticks. I looked at Sophia’s hypocritical face and smiled. “It’s perfectly normal that you’d find me familiar, Sophia. After all, I manage the security system at The Azure Heights residential complex. I see you coming and going from Building 6 all the time.” “And if I remember correctly,” I added, my voice cutting through the stunned silence, “the name on the title for that apartment isn’t your husband, Henry, is it?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “390200”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel