Category: English

My in-laws were in a horrific car accident. They were rushing them into surgery. I raced to the hospital like a man possessed, but the real shock wasn’t the sirens or the blood; it was seeing my wife, Savannah. My brilliant, celebrated surgeon wife stood at the observation window, arms casually folded, coaching her star intern, Troy. She was letting an intern perform my parents’ life-or-death surgery! I lunged toward her, demanding an explanation. She merely shrugged, her voice a flat line. “Troy needs to grow. People like your small-town parents should be honored to serve as his practice run.” Troy’s hand slipped. The monitor screamed. The aorta was nicked. They didn’t make it. When I sought justice, she cornered me in her office and slapped a divorce agreement onto the desk. “Ethan, I’m through with you. And I’m through with your poor, pathetic parents.” “Drop the complaint right now. Don’t ruin Troy’s future.” “Otherwise, you won’t get a single cent.” I looked at her face—beautiful, yet twisted with such pure, raw disgust—and felt a strange urge to laugh. Slowly, deliberately, I asked her the question. “Savannah, if it were your own parents lying on that table, treated like guinea pigs for your student, would you still say that?” She didn’t know the truth. To try and talk her out of a divorce, the two people who had driven five hundred miles overnight, only to be struck by a drunk driver and rushed into the ICU, were not my parents. They were hers. 1 By the time I frantically reached the Emergency Room, the corridor was already a maelstrom of fear and noise. Yet, I spotted Savannah instantly. She wasn’t in scrubs. She had her white coat draped loosely over her shoulders, hands jammed into her pockets, her expression utterly detached as two blood-soaked bodies were wheeled toward the operating theater. “Savannah!” I ran to her, grabbing her arm, my voice trembling uncontrollably. “How are Mom and Dad?” Her brow furrowed. She recoiled and sharply pulled her arm away, as if I’d contaminated her. “Multiple rib fractures, punctured lungs suspected, severe cranial bleeding. It’s bad.” Her tone was as flat and emotionless as a weather report. “I’ve already arranged it. Troy is leading the procedure. I’ll observe.” Troy was her hand-picked intern, her star apprentice, the one she constantly spoke about grooming as her successor. My mind went blank. I couldn’t process the words. “You’re letting Troy operate?” “Savannah, have you lost your mind?!” “These are two lives, not a goddamn training opportunity for your student!” “Ethan, stop shouting!” Savannah’s face instantly went cold, her eyes fixed on me with that familiar look of high-minded arrogance and contempt. “Troy has been with me for three years. He can handle a minor trauma case like this.” “What do you know about surgery, House Husband?” Her words stole my breath. My whole body seized up, and a dull ache started to throb in my chest. Yes, I was a stay-at-home husband now. But she had conveniently forgotten something. Seven years ago, I had stood beside her, a fellow surgical resident. My hands were steadier, my talent perhaps even greater than hers; I was the one our mentor had singled out. Yet, for love, I had deliberately put down the scalpel and picked up the kitchen knife instead. The light above the Operating Room door flickered red. That harsh glow stung my eyes. My throat constricted, choking off the air, making it impossible to breathe. I rushed to the observation window, staring desperately into the room. Troy was visibly nervous, his forehead slick with sweat, the hand holding the scalpel shaking ever so slightly. Savannah stood just behind him. She offered an occasional instruction but mostly remained motionless, arms crossed, the picture of a disinterested bystander. I watched Troy’s hand slip. He failed to accurately navigate around a major artery. In a flash, the heart rate on the monitor became a flat line. The piercing, relentless shriek of the alarm broke the silence, shredding my eardrums. Two agonizing hours later, the OR light went dark. Troy walked out, utterly distraught, his face a ghostly white. “Ethan… I’m so sorry… I couldn’t save them…” Savannah followed him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Her voice was gentle, filled with reassurance. “It’s alright, Troy. It wasn’t your fault. Their injuries were too severe.” “It was just one mistake, sweetheart. Don’t dwell on it. Every doctor has to go through this.” She didn’t spare me a glance. All her sympathy, all her careful soothing, was reserved for the intern who had just destroyed my parents’ lives. I stood there, my hands and feet freezing cold. All sound around me faded into a distant hum. 2 The deaths of my in-laws were officially categorized as “Death due to failed resuscitation.” Savannah used every connection she had within the hospital to suppress the incident. The reports filed with the oversight committees were seamless and airtight. Troy’s surgical error was perfectly obscured by the severity of my in-laws’ existing injuries. I locked myself in the guest room for three days, refusing to eat or drink. On the fourth day, I finally emerged. I needed a conclusion. Savannah was sitting on the living room sofa, leisurely flipping through a medical journal while wearing a sheet mask. She showed no sign of grief. On the coffee table lay a divorce agreement, already signed by her. She didn’t even lift her eyelids when I entered. “Finally came to your senses?” “If you have, sign it. The house is yours, the car is yours, plus a five million settlement…” “Just don’t bother me again.” Her tone was that of someone swatting away a persistent, bothersome beggar. I ignored the agreement. Instead, I tossed a thick file onto the table in front of her. “I’m filing a lawsuit against Troy and the hospital for gross medical negligence.” Every word tore from my throat with a metallic, blood-raw edge. My voice was hoarse, but my resolve was absolute. My in-laws would not die in vain. Troy would pay the price. At that, Savannah finally looked up from her magazine. She glanced at the file’s title, then looked at me as if I were a particularly poor joke. “Ethan, have you gone completely insane?” She ripped the sheet mask off her face and casually flung the wet, cold thing onto the legal documents. She sprang to her feet, looming over me. “I told you, their death has nothing to do with Troy. They were too far gone to begin with!” “Why can’t you just listen?” “I saw it with my own eyes,” I said calmly, meeting her gaze. I was no longer the docile, eager-to-please husband she knew. “He lacerated the aorta. He missed the critical window.” “He needs to face consequences.” “And what good is your testimony? Do you have proof?” Savannah sneered, crossing her arms. “That entire OR team is my team. Who do you think is going to testify for you?” “I’m warning you, Ethan. Don’t be an idiot. Put this trash away!” Savannah snatched the file off the table and hurled it at my face. The sharp corner of the folder sliced my cheek, leaving a thin, burning red line. “I don’t need a witness,” I said, ignoring the sting. “I’ll subpoena the OR surveillance footage.” “The cameras were broken,” she replied without hesitation. In that moment, staring into her icy eyes, the last flickering candle of hope in my heart was extinguished. I looked at the woman I had loved for ten years and felt an utter, chilling foreignness. Her face was a mask of cold calculation and indifference. To protect her golden boy, she was willing to twist the truth and sacrifice human lives. “Savannah…” I looked at her, slowly articulating each word. “Those were two lives. They were our parents.” “So what?” Her impatience was clear, her voice laced with extreme contempt. “They were just useless small-town trash. It’s an honor for them to add a line to Troy’s resume!” Trash! Honor! Those two words struck me like a pair of bullets, piercing my skull. I was cold all over, from my head to my toes. In her eyes, my parents were nothing more than sacrificial dogs. I forced a smile. I slowly bent down, picked up the divorce agreement, and reached for the pen. A look of smug victory flashed across Savannah’s face. “That’s more like it.” “Ethan, you can’t win against me. Take the money and quietly go back to whatever hole you crawled out of…” 3 Hearing Savannah’s voice, my heart gave a painful, involuntary lurch. I paused the pen just above the signature line. “I can sign. But I have one condition.” “Spit it out.” She folded her arms, radiating an air of complete superiority. “I want you to personally go to the funeral home and prepare their bodies for burial.” I lifted my head, meeting her eyes, my chest heavy with complex emotions. “Let’s call it… the last thing you do for us, as my wife. See them off.” Savannah’s eyebrows knitted tightly together, her face a map of undisguised aversion and disgust. “Are you insane? I’m not going to that morbid, stinking, filthy place!” “It’s my only condition.” I pushed the blank agreement back toward her. “You agree, and I sign immediately. This divorce is finalized.” “You don’t agree, and we go to court. And even if I can’t convict you, I will make enough noise to ensure you and your precious student…” “Are completely ruined.” My voice was calm, but Savannah knew I wasn’t bluffing. She glared at me, her chest heaving, her lips trembling with suppressed rage. After a long silence, she let out a slow, strained breath and bit out two words through clenched teeth. “Fine. I’ll go.” “But once it’s done, you sign and get lost!” Savannah believed this was nothing more than my final, meaningless act of spite. She was wrong. This wasn’t the end. Everything was just beginning. The air in the funeral home hung thick with a sickly sweet mix of antiseptic and burnt incense. The moment Savannah stepped inside, she clapped a hand over her nose, her face contorted with revulsion. She was dressed in an expensive Chanel suit and ten-centimeter heels, profoundly out of place. “Ethan, what the hell is this supposed to achieve?” She hissed, her voice low and furious. “Dragging me to this awful place? Does it make you feel better?” I ignored her and walked directly toward the viewing room. A worker slid open two sterile metal drawers, pulling out two white-shrouded bodies. “Dr. Chen, you’re a physician. You can handle this, right?” I turned back to her, gesturing with my hand. “Get started. Mom and Dad are waiting for you.” Savannah’s face was chalk white, but she gritted her teeth and reluctantly approached the table. She snapped on a pair of plastic gloves and roughly pulled back the first sheet. When the face, horribly mangled by the crash, was exposed, she couldn’t help a small, gagging sound. She quickly averted her eyes. “Hurry up,” I urged. Fighting back the nausea, she grabbed a wet cloth and haphazardly wiped the face, treating the dead like a filthy kitchen counter. She repeated the perfunctory gesture for the second body, never once bothering to truly look at either face. “Done,” she announced, peeling off the gloves. She backed away as if fleeing a plague. “My part of the deal is complete. The divorce agreement—” “Not so fast,” I interrupted, pointing to a cardboard box nearby. “Their personal effects. You should inventory those too.” Savannah’s patience was clearly exhausted, but she managed to suppress her fury long enough to open the box. Inside was a collection of blood-soaked, torn clothing, a cracked old flip phone, and a severely scuffed leather wallet. She pawed through the items with the disdain of handling trash. Then, her hand froze. Why did this stuff look so familiar? 4 From the pile of tattered clothing, she picked up a half-finished sweater. It was a men’s sweater, grey, and an old-fashioned style, but the stitches were tiny and intricate, showing the effort and care of the knitter. “This sweater…” she mumbled, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. “My mother was knitting it,” I said calmly. “She said it was getting colder and she worried I’d be cold. Shame she didn’t get to finish it.” Savannah’s fingers tightened on the yarn, but she said nothing. She then picked up the worn leather wallet and opened it. Tucked into the plastic window was a faded, sepia-toned black and white photo. It showed a young couple, both beaming, holding a newborn baby. She didn’t recognize the couple. But the baby… the baby felt unsettlingly familiar. “Who is…?” “A picture of me when I was a baby,” I said flatly. Savannah’s brow furrowed deeper. She looked like she wanted to ask something, but in the end, she merely tossed the wallet back into the box. “Fine. I’ve seen everything.” She stood up, brushing imaginary dust off her suit. “Ethan, our transaction is finished. We are done.” With that, she didn’t look back, click-clacking on her heels as she fled the place that had suffocated her. I watched her go, then slowly knelt down. I gently gathered the unfinished sweater and the black and white photo, tucking them away safely. Savannah… did you truly not recognize anything? Could you really not recognize the sweater your own mother spent half her life knitting for you? Could you not recognize your father’s twenty-year-old wallet? Did you not recognize the eyes of the baby in the photograph—the eyes you see every morning in the mirror?

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My husband was broken. And at his own birthday party, he didn’t even bother to hide it. “You’re a therapist,” he sneered. “Why don’t you psychoanalyze yourself before you make a scene?” He was right. I am a therapist. And I know exactly how to make a faithless man repent. 1 The sight of Charlie, my husband, his arms wrapped tightly around another woman, their lips locked in a passionate kiss, made my world shrink to a single, sharp point. I strode forward, my voice tight. “Charlie, what the hell are you doing?” The woman flinched, burrowing deeper into his arms like a frightened animal. Charlie’s face hardened, his tone dripping with annoyance. “Isn’t it obvious? Do I really need to spell it out for you?” He then softened his voice, cooing at the woman in his embrace. “It’s okay, baby. Don’t be scared.” My eyes burned. “This is how you treat me?” I choked out, the words thick with unshed tears. “You swore to me. You said it would only ever be me.” Charlie’s hand, which had been stroking the woman’s back, paused. He looked up at me, his eyes cold with scorn. “Those were just words. I’m bored of you now. I wanted to try something new. Is that a crime?” He added, as if tossing me a scrap of charity, “You can keep the title of Mrs. Tinkcom. But only if you don’t make a scene.” The words were like daggers to my heart. He once whispered, “My Dahlia, you should always shine this brightly. I swear, I’ll never let you down.” “You’re a treasure,” he’d said. “You’ll always be my Mrs. Tinkcom.” A tear finally escaped, tracing a cold path down my cheek. Charlie’s face twisted in disgust. “You never used to be so melodramatic. All you do now is cry. It’s my birthday, for God’s sake. You’re ruining it.” I lunged forward, grabbing the front of his shirt. “You forgot your promise! You said you would love me for the rest of your life!” That seemed to be the final straw. He seized my wrist, his grip like iron, and flung me away from him. “What promise?” he snarled, his voice low and menacing. “Are you done yet? Don’t force me to humiliate you in front of everyone.” “Besides,” he added with a cruel smirk, “so what if I found someone else? You’re a therapist, aren’t you, Clara? Can’t even fix your own broken heart?” I collapsed to the floor, the world blurring around me. I watched their backs as they walked away, my mouth open but no words coming out. It was Charlie’s birthday. I couldn’t let him lose face in front of his guests. 2 I staggered to my feet, my soul feeling as battered as my body, and brushed the dust from my dress. A sharp sting made me look down at my palm. I’d scraped it open, and tiny beads of blood were welling to the surface. My gorgeous evening gown was now streaked with dirt, its elegance ruined. Just like my marriage. Once beautiful, now utterly stained. A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I fought back a fresh wave of tears. “I’m a therapist,” I whispered to myself. “Does that mean I’m supposed to calmly accept my husband’s betrayal?” Before I could sink further into my despair, the house manager found me. His eyes were filled with pity as he took in my disheveled state. “Ma’am, you should go change. You’re expected back at the party soon. Don’t let them have the satisfaction of gossiping about you.” Dressed in a fresh gown, I made my way to the backyard patio where the party was in full swing. The chatter and laughter died down as I appeared, a wave of silence rippling through the crowd. A sweet, cloying voice broke the tension. “Oh, Mrs. Tinkcom, you’re here! Perfect timing! Charlie was just about to cut the cake. He almost asked me to do it with him, he thought you weren’t coming back.” She pouted playfully at Charlie, a gesture that was less of a complaint and more of a flirtation. “It’s all your fault, Charlie. I almost overstepped. People might have thought I have no manners.” I recognized her. It was the woman from before, the one in Charlie’s arms. Scarlett Vance, a rising starlet his company was promoting. I stared at her, my face a mask of indifference, and mimicked her saccharine tone. “Oh, I think your manners are perfectly clear. In fact, anyone would be forgiven for thinking you were Mrs. Tinkcom.” Scarlett’s eyes instantly filled with tears. Before she could let out a single sob, Charlie leaped to her defense. He stepped in front of her, his gaze burning with fury. “Clara, have you not caused enough trouble for one night? Was that sarcasm really necessary? When did you become so vicious?” “Maybe you need a little shock to clear your head.” With that, he grabbed my arm and started dragging me towards the swimming pool, ignoring the cumbersome weight of my gown. I struggled, I screamed, but not a single person moved to stop him. “Charlie, I’m afraid of the water! Let me go!” I thought that would make him stop. I was wrong. A cruel smile touched his lips as he released his grip. “How else am I supposed to know if you’re telling the truth, Mrs. Tinkcom?” My heart turned to ash. I closed my eyes, bracing for the icy plunge. But instead of cold water, I fell into a pair of strong, warm arms. My eyes flew open to see a handsome face looming over mine. He looked familiar, but my mind was too scrambled to place him. He gently set me down in a nearby lounge chair before turning to Charlie with a mocking eyebrow raise. “My dear nephew,” he drawled, the words dripping with sarcasm. “The first thing I see upon my return is you manhandling your own wife. Does your grandfather know about this?” Charlie’s face darkened. “Uncle Ethan,” he bit out, his jaw tight. “It’s good to see you. But this is a private family matter. If you’re here for the party, you’re welcome. Otherwise, stay out of it.” Ethan let out a sharp laugh, as if Charlie had just told the funniest joke in the world. “You know what they used to call men like you? Weak. Unfit to lead. Choosing your mistress over your wife.” I watched as Charlie’s face turned a blotchy red, as if Ethan had struck a nerve. He finally exploded. “All you ever do is use Grandpa to put me down! You call me unfit? What about you? You’re a damn psycho! If it weren’t for—” He cut himself off, his voice fading as if he remembered who he was talking to. The party ended abruptly. The cake was never cut. Charlie sent everyone home, including his uncle, Ethan. I knew Charlie despised his younger uncle. He’d once told me, hissing the words, that Ethan was a genuine, certifiable lunatic. As the last guest departed, a profound sadness washed over me. A near-stranger had defended me more fiercely than the man who had sworn to protect me—the very man who was the source of all my pain. I didn’t offer Charlie my usual comfort. I simply turned to leave. I’d only taken two steps when his voice, low and laced with anger, stopped me. “The way that psycho Ethan was staring at you… his eyes were practically glued to you. Are you planning on cheating?” I summoned the last of my patience. “I have never once thought about cheating. You’re the one parading your starlet around. And for the record, I wasn’t even looking at him.” Charlie’s brow relaxed slightly. “Parading her around? Don’t be so dramatic. I already told you, you’ll always be Mrs. Tinkcom. What more do you want?” I couldn’t talk to him anymore. It was like speaking to a brick wall. “Happy birthday,” I said, and walked away. Maybe I was a glutton for punishment, still offering him that small kindness after everything. 3 The next morning, I escaped to my sanctuary: the therapy studio I had built from the ground up. Only here, immersed in my work, could I forget the wounds Charlie had inflicted. Here, I felt valued. Here, I felt needed. But today, my sanctuary was invaded by two unwelcome visitors. My husband, and his employee. Or more accurately, the woman who had shattered our marriage, Scarlett Vance. They walked in holding hands, Charlie playing the part of the doting partner. He shooed away my scheduled client and stood over my desk, looking down at me with an air of command. “Clara. Scarlett needs a session. She’s been dealing with a lot of online harassment.” Even at my lowest, I had my limits. I would not treat my husband’s mistress as a patient. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice cold. “This clinic is too small for a ‘goddess’ like her. You should try a major hospital.” Charlie’s face turned to thunder. “What did you just say? You’ll see her, right now. Or I’ll make sure this place loses its license.” Scarlett immediately clutched his arm, her voice a tremulous plea. “Charlie, don’t be angry. I’m sure Mrs. Tinkcom is just afraid she won’t be able to help me. That’s why she’s refusing.” “It’s all my fault,” she whimpered, tears already glistening in her eyes. “I never should have suggested coming here. Please, don’t fight because of me.” As a tear rolled down her perfectly sculpted cheek, Charlie melted. He pulled her into his arms right in front of me, stroking her hair and murmuring reassurances. “Shh, don’t cry, don’t cry. My Scarlett is the most beautiful. Don’t let someone like her upset you. The company needs you.” His voice was so gentle it felt like a physical blow. I drifted for a moment, remembering all the times I had cried to him. “Clara, you’re Charlie Tinkcom’s wife,” he would say, his tone impatient. “You need to be strong. Crying doesn’t solve anything.” I used to think he was just emotionally distant. But now I knew the truth. I just wasn’t the right person. I wasn’t worthy of his comfort. It had all been in my head. Because of his words, I had stopped crying in front of him long ago. I learned to soothe my own wounds, to be my own counselor. My silence seemed to infuriate Charlie further. He snatched a potted plant from my desk and smashed it on the floor. “See her now!” he roared. “Or I’ll tear this place apart. I paid for it, after all.” I looked up at him, my own tears threatening to spill. “You promised,” I whispered. “You promised you would never interfere with my work. That you would always support me.” “I…” For a split second, a flicker of unease crossed his face. He looked almost… panicked. But before he could process it, Scarlett’s voice cut through the tension. “Charlie, I don’t feel well. If Mrs. Tinkcom doesn’t want to, we shouldn’t force her. Let’s just go.” “No. You’re getting your session today.” He knelt beside her, all his attention focused on her distress. “It’s okay, Scarlett. I’ll make sure you get the help you need.” He stood up, his mouth opening to threaten me again. But I beat him to it, turning my gaze to Scarlett. “I’ll see you.” 4 I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and forced myself to see Scarlett as just another patient. After running a series of diagnostic tests, I stared at the results, a deep frown creasing my forehead. Charlie burst into the room without knocking. “Clara, how is she? What’s the verdict?” I didn’t answer. The data on the report was too clean, too perfect. The scores were so extreme they looked deliberately fabricated. Charlie snatched the papers from my hand. His eyes scanned the page and landed on the conclusion: Preliminary diagnosis: Severe Major Depressive Disorder, compounded by severe affection deprivation. “Charlie, these results are questionable,” I said, trying to remain professional. “We need to run more tests. And Miss Vance,” I added, turning a skeptical eye on her, “were you completely honest in your responses?” She flinched as if I’d struck her, letting out a series of soft whimpers. She swayed, looking as if she might faint at any moment. Charlie’s hand cracked across my face. The sting was sharp, shocking. “What kind of therapist are you?” he raged. “You screw up the diagnosis, and then you have the nerve to accuse Scarlett of lying!” I stood there, stunned. He had never, ever laid a hand on me before. But for this woman, he would cross any line, humiliate me in any way. From the safety of Charlie’s arms, Scarlett peeked at me. A triumphant, vicious smile played on her lips as she mouthed two silent words: You lose. Something inside me snapped. With a guttural scream, I shoved them both out of my office, out of my sanctuary. Charlie, startled by my feral rage, simply stared for a moment, his eyes wide with shock, before scooping Scarlett into his arms and leaving. I looked at the wreckage of my office—the shattered pot, the scattered soil. And then, a laugh escaped my lips. A wild, unhinged sound. “Hah… haha… hahaha…” It was the kind of laughter that comes when sorrow becomes so immense, it can only curdle into madness. 5 When I got home, Charlie was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed over his chest. I tried to ignore his intense gaze and head upstairs. In a flash, he was on his feet, pulling me into his arms. He nuzzled my neck, his voice a placating murmur. “Clara, baby, I’m sorry. I was just so worried about Scarlett today, that’s why I hit you. It was a mistake.” “Her situation could really hurt the company,” he continued, as if that explained everything. “I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time, I promise. Forgive me? Look, I even made you dinner.” The casual way he tried to erase the day’s events made me want to laugh and scream at the same time. I was about to speak when his phone rang. He answered, and a woman’s frantic voice came through the speaker. “Mr. Tinkcom, you have to come quick! Scarlett’s having an episode! She’s locked herself in her room, she’s hurting herself, and we can’t get the door open!” Charlie’s hand, which had been holding mine, dropped away. He grabbed his car keys and was gone in a blur. I looked at the cold bowl of noodles on the table. Of course. I should have known. Charlie had drained me of so much energy, so much love. I didn’t know how much longer I could sustain this marriage. One last chance. I would give him one last chance. If he failed again, I was done. I knew I had a tendency to love too much, to let my heart rule my head. Falling for him had been my own foolish mistake, but who can control matters of the heart? Later that night, as I lay in our empty bed, my phone buzzed. It was a picture. A naked picture of Scarlett and Charlie, tangled together in bed. A text followed immediately. Mrs. Tinkcom, Charlie won’t be coming home tonight. We just finished, and we’re both a little tired. He’s so gentle, you know? Wouldn’t want me to feel a second of pain. He even cleaned me up afterwards. He says it’s a shame you could never give him a child. Do you think I’ll get pregnant with his baby? My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise, then shattered into a million pieces. Charlie was never gentle with me. After sex, he would simply roll over and fall asleep, leaving me to deal with the aftermath alone. He never once showed me such tenderness. When I asked him to be softer, he’d just say he wasn’t good at it and tell me to bear with it. The irony was so cruel it was physically painful. As a professional, I knew the name for this feeling: broken heart syndrome, a real condition where intense emotional stress causes the heart to malfunction. This time, Charlie had extinguished the very last spark of love I had for him. The healer cannot heal herself. What a pathetic joke. This title, Mrs. Tinkcom… I didn’t want it anymore. To hell with it. I typed out a reply. Then I wish you two a long and happy life together. Try not to ruin anyone else’s. My training, my very instinct for self-preservation, was screaming at me. I had to get out of this marriage, or I would become one of my own patients. My mind made up, I drafted the divorce papers, ready to send them as soon as I had all my documents in order. But before I could make my move, a tidal wave of filth came crashing down on me. 6 The internet exploded with the news: beloved starlet Scarlett Vance’s depression had worsened significantly. The cause? A botched diagnosis from a “black-hearted” therapist. And that therapist, of course, was me. I wasn’t surprised. Overnight, I became the villain of a national witch hunt. Scarlett’s fans descended like a pack of rabid dogs, tearing me to shreds online. “What kind of quack clinic worsens a patient’s condition?” “BOYCOTT THIS PLACE! I’m posting this therapist’s info everywhere, go see for yourselves!” “And she’s the CEO’s wife? So she just bullies a regular person like our Scarlett? Despicable.” The comments were endless, each one more venomous than the last. Even for a seasoned therapist like me, the sheer volume of hatred was overwhelming. I told myself to hold on, to wait for the right moment to strike back. The online firestorm brought Charlie home. But there was no concern in his eyes, no questions about my side of the story. Only pure, unadulterated rage. “Clara, do you think having red eyes is going to fix this? Do you have any idea how much money you’ve lost the company?” he yelled. “We’re holding a press conference tomorrow. You will be there, and you will apologize to Scarlett.” “She said if you apologize, she’ll let the whole thing go.” By now, my heart was numb. I no longer felt pain, only a cold, clear calm. “How generous of her,” I said, my voice flat. “But I have news for you, Charlie. Scarlett is faking it. And I am not apologizing for something I didn’t do.” Charlie, who was pacing in front of the sofa, went rigid with fury. He swept a glass off the coffee table, and it shattered against the floor. “The evidence is overwhelming, and you’re still lying! Don’t push your luck, Clara. The Tinkcom family will not tolerate a wife who brings shame to our name. One more stunt like this, and we’re done. Divorce.” A shard of porcelain flew through the air, slicing into my calf. He froze, his eyes fixed on the trickle of blood. For a moment, he looked like he was about to rush over to me. I clutched my leg and instinctively recoiled. I didn’t want his touch. Divorce. He had the gall to threaten me with divorce. This was it. This was my chance. “I’ll apologize,” I said, my voice steady. “But on one condition.” The anger on his face was replaced by a flicker of triumphant relief. “Name it.” “Give me a divorce.”

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After the college entrance exams, the most popular guy in school, Seth, decided to throw a qipao party to help everyone relax. When I saw the dangerously low necklines and thigh-high slits on the dresses, I tried to stop the entire class from going. My girlfriend, Sandra, just raised an eyebrow. “Jealous that Seth is hotter than you?” The whole class laughed and walked away. Only my childhood friend, Riley, listened to me. That night, everyone at the party was arrested for indecency. They were all detained. Riley looked at our classmates behind bars and shook her head. “Thank God you warned me. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it to college either.” After graduation, Sandra and Seth were released from prison. The first thing they did was get engaged. Riley, who had been waiting outside the prison gates with me, turned and plunged a knife into my stomach. Again and again. “Why did you stop me? Don’t you know how much I love him? If I had been there with him that night, if I had gone to prison with him, the person he’s marrying now wouldn’t be someone else!” Only then did I realize she had been in love with Seth all along. When I opened my eyes again, I gave Riley and Sandra a gentle push forward. “No problem. Go ahead.” 1 “Hayden, I’m throwing this qipao party for everyone’s sake. You think this is easy for me? Are you trying to slander me and say I have some ulterior motive with the girls?” I had just opened my eyes to find Seth, the most popular guy in school, with his arm draped over my girlfriend’s shoulder, looking at me with disdain. The other students nodded in agreement, especially the girls. “Yeah, Hayden. Qipaos are a cultural treasure. Are you just upset because Seth has better looks and a better body than you? Worried you won’t get any attention if you go?” “Hahaha, don’t worry, class president. We were never interested in you anyway. You could be naked and we still wouldn’t look twice.” My girlfriend, Sandra, let out an ill-timed chuckle. But this time, I didn’t look at her. I turned to my silent childhood friend, Riley, who stood beside me. In my past life, everyone thought I was just jealous of Seth. Even my girlfriend teased me about it. Only Riley, after my desperate pleading, stayed behind. Later, she even went to the same university as me, and we were in the same research group until we finished our master’s degrees. I thought she was the only one who saw clearly. But I never imagined that all those years of studying, she was just waiting for Seth to get out of prison. Her love for him was so perfectly hidden that even I, her closest friend, never noticed. “I get it,” I said, nodding. I grabbed my backpack and took a couple of steps back. “I’m going home.” “Hayden.” Riley suddenly grabbed my hand. I froze. Her gaze was complicated. “You should take your girlfriend with you.” In that instant, it felt like an electric current shot through me. Riley… she was reborn too? There was a hint of defensiveness in her eyes as she looked at Sandra. Of course. In our past life, she and Sandra were the two girls closest to Seth. If Sandra went to the party this time, Riley couldn’t be sure that Seth would still choose her in the end. “Mind your own business,” Sandra said, shooting me a disgusted look. “I haven’t had a chance to relax since I started studying for the exams. It’s just a qipao exhibit. Don’t be so dirty-minded.” “Did I say it was dirty?” I seized on the flaw in her logic. “I just said it wasn’t a good idea. Why would you assume I meant that? So you already know there’s something wrong with this party?” The girls’ and Seth’s expressions instantly turned cold. Sandra’s face stiffened. It was Riley who came to my defense. “Sandra, you’re Hayden’s girlfriend. A party like this isn’t really appropriate for someone who’s in a relationship.” Sandra was unfazed. “It’s just a party. Besides, if Hayden really can’t handle it, we can just break up for a day, right?” She shot me a challenging look. 2 I was always sensitive to her jokes. Every time she mentioned breaking up, I would force her to take it back. But now, I just smiled. “Sure.” And then I really did turn and walk away. Sandra’s smile froze on her face. Before she could say anything, Seth stopped me. “Alright, alright, don’t make it seem like I stole your girlfriend. Hey, you guys, bring the class president along.” A few guys came over and grabbed me by the arms. I struggled frantically. “I’m not going! Let me go!” “Come on, class president, stop playing hard to get. You were just waiting for us to invite you, weren’t you?” “You’ll see for yourself whether it’s a decent party or not when you get there.” Sandra and Riley tried to say something to Seth, but he just looked at them smugly. “If I don’t make you go, who knows what kind of rumors you’ll spread about me stealing your girlfriend. I can’t be bothered with people like you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you slander me.” Sandra and Riley hesitated, then slowly lowered their hands. “Alright, Hayden, you’ll see Seth’s good intentions once you’re there. Stop making a scene,” someone said. Others chimed in. “Yeah, and with you there to watch your girlfriend, I’m sure Sandra won’t do anything out of line.” “We broke up! I’m not going!” I thrashed, but Sandra just laughed. “It’s just for a day. Don’t be dramatic.” With that, everyone eagerly started heading toward Seth’s house. I struggled violently, but more students held me down, forcing me into the car. In desperation, I grabbed onto Riley’s clothes. “Riley! If we go, we won’t be able to come back! You know this isn’t just a qipao party! The police will come and we won’t even be able to apply for college!” “You’re being ridiculous again!” Riley frowned. My breath caught in my throat. Wait, wasn’t she reborn too? Why was she so calm about her fate? “I know what’s going to happen,” she whispered, her voice low enough for only the two of us to hear. “But Seth isn’t that kind of person. Someone must be trying to frame him. I have to find out who.” “No one is framing him! He’s doing this on purpose—mmph!” A rag was stuffed into my mouth. The arts committee member looked annoyed. “You’re interrupting the music. Be quiet!” My hands and feet were tied to the seat. I stared at Riley, hoping my eyes could convey my meaning. But she stood up and moved to a seat in front of me where she could see Seth, and she didn’t look back. When we arrived at Seth’s house and everyone saw the qipaos, they couldn’t help but gasp. 3 The dresses had impossibly low necklines and dangerously high slits. The boys’ eyes were practically popping out of their heads. The girls’ faces were flushed with a mix of excitement and embarrassment. Only Riley frowned. She hadn’t expected the photos she’d seen in her past life—the dresses that looked more like lingerie—to have actually been prepared by Seth. Seth locked the door and tossed the key to Riley. “Beautiful, right? I searched for a long time. There’s one for every girl! Who wants to go first?” The girls exchanged glances. One of them tentatively raised her hand. “Me!” That was all it took. Soon, other hands shot up. Many of the girls had crushes in the class and were eager to show off. I broke free from my restraints and grabbed Riley’s arm. “Do you see now?” She turned to look at me. I tried to convey the wrongness of it all with my eyes. “Give me the key. We can still leave. Before the police—” “He must have his reasons,” Riley said, pushing me away and tucking the key into her pocket. “If you’re not going to participate, then don’t slander him.” The incense burning in the room had a strange scent. I felt my heart start to race. I rushed forward and kicked over a dozen mannequins dressed in qipaos. “Can’t you smell that there’s something wrong with the incense? Someone is going to call the cops, and when they get here, none of us will be going to college!” Someone sniffed the air and seemed to notice something was off. But then Seth pulled back the curtain of the dressing room. A purple, high-slit, form-fitting qipao clung to Sandra’s curves. She leaned against the wall, perfectly showcasing her impressive figure. “Hayden, you’ll say anything to go after Seth, won’t you? He just wanted to throw a party to help everyone relax. Why can’t you just let it go?” The moment she appeared in that purple dress, the few boys who had seemed wary a moment ago were now staring, mesmerized. One of them turned on me, furious. “Will you just shut up? All you ever do is make malicious assumptions about Seth!” “You’re just jealous because he’s better looking than you! It’s a fact! Even your girlfriend thinks so!” The scent of the incense was making my vision blur. Looking at the girls’ figures made my face flush inexplicably. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if I stayed here any longer. I gritted my teeth, lunged for the door, and started kicking at the lock. Seth jumped back in alarm. A few of the guys dragged me away. Sandra stepped in front of Seth. “He’s lost his mind! Lock him in the storage room! Don’t let him ruin Seth’s party!” Seth subtly put his arm around Sandra’s shoulders and gave me a condescending smirk. Sandra stiffened. Seeing the desperation in my eyes, she gently pushed Seth’s hand away and touched my face. “Be good. Everyone is tired from the exams. It’s just an art exhibit. When it’s over, I’ll come get you myself.” “No!” I shook my head frantically, kicking and thrashing, but the boys, their eyes already glazed over, dragged me into the storage room and locked the door from the outside. “No! Let me out! You’re ruining your own lives!” I pounded on the door until my hands were raw. But the deafening music from outside drowned out my cries. Soon, I could hear other, unspeakable sounds from outside. The incense had taken effect, and along with the music, there were other, more disturbing rhythms. “What are you doing?!” A sudden shout cut through the music. I froze. The police? 4 “You sluts! What are you doing?!” By the time my parents got me out of there, the scene was beyond words. All the girls were in qipaos, entwined with different boys. My mom grabbed Seth by the hair. “You’re the one who organized this party and dragged my son here?” “I was wondering why he wasn’t home yet! So this is what you’re all doing!” My dad slapped Riley across the face. “You’re his childhood friend! Not only did you not stop him, you let him get locked up and didn’t even send us a message! What is wrong with you?” “I…” Riley was speechless. Her appearance at that moment was anything but respectable. She had thought she was above it all, that she could listen to Seth’s reasons for throwing the party. But when the incense filled her lungs and Seth wrapped his arms around her waist, she had completely given in. She let her clothes be torn to shreds and joined the orgy. My mom slapped Sandra too. “You’re Hayden’s girlfriend, and you’re fooling around with other guys like this? Have you no shame?” They both looked embarrassed, but seeing Seth being held by the hair, they instinctively pulled him behind them, protectively. “Uncle, Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. It’s not what you think.” “The police will find out what we think!” Just then, sirens wailed outside. The students scrambled to get dressed, but the police had already broken down the door, taking control of the scene. “Nobody move!”

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My mother, it seemed, was incapable of understanding human language. I had pulled an all-nighter preparing a project proposal, telling her I had a critical meeting in the morning. In response, she slipped sleeping pills into my milk and secretly turned off my phone. By the time I jolted awake, it was 10:30 AM. “A mother knows what’s best for her own daughter. I just wanted you to get some more sleep.” There was no time to argue. I frantically turned my phone on, only to be flooded with over a hundred missed calls and frantic texts from my boss and colleagues. Thankfully, the office wasn’t far. I grabbed my laptop bag and bolted downstairs, only to find the tires on my scooter were flat. My mom called down from the balcony. “You were complaining the other day about the tires being low. I tried to be helpful and add some air, but I must have forgotten to put the valve caps back on.” Again, no time to argue. I sprinted to the office, my lungs burning, and forced a smile as I opened my laptop. But the screen was dark. The whole machine was damp, water seeping from the seams. It wouldn’t turn on. I was fired. When I got home, my mother had the nerve to look hurt. “You said last night you needed to clean the dust out of your computer. I figured, it’s just dust, right? A little water should wash it right off. So I took it to the sink for you.” The rage and despair were so overwhelming that I fainted on the spot. When I woke up, a strange, one-eyed old man was grunting and thrusting on top of me. My mother stood by the bed. “You’re over thirty with no job. I was just trying to be helpful and find you a husband. Why are you so ungrateful?” I grabbed a knife, ready to kill her, to kill myself, to end it all. But my father, my brother, and the neighbors swarmed in, wrestling the knife from my hand. They called me a monster, an ungrateful brat who didn’t appreciate her mother’s love. In the chaos, someone wrenched the knife from my grasp and plunged it into my chest. I collapsed in a spreading pool of my own blood. When I opened my eyes again, I was back. Back on the night I was finishing the project proposal. The dense text of the proposal glowed on my screen. I pinched my arm, hard. A sharp jolt of pain shot through me, and tears of pure, unadulterated joy streamed down my face. I was really back! Back to the night that had completely destroyed my life! The horrors of my past life flashed before my eyes. This time, I wouldn’t be a passive victim. This time, all the people who called me an ungrateful brat would get a full, undiluted taste of my mother’s “kindness.” As I sat there, weeping silently at the screen, my mother walked in with a glass of milk. “Lily, sweetie, look at you. Working so hard your eyes are watering.” “It breaks my heart to see you like this. Come on, drink some warm milk and get some rest.” As she spoke, she reached for the power cord to my laptop. My fingers flew across the keyboard, hitting save. I snapped the laptop shut just before her hand reached the plug. “Can’t. There’s a problem with the data for the presentation. The boss just called, wants everyone back at the office to work on it overnight.” “I probably won’t be back tonight. I’ll just crash at the office.” I couldn’t stand to be in this house a second longer. I had to escape. But as I grabbed my jacket, my mother darted in front of me, blocking the door. “You’re my precious girl. You’ve already been working overtime for two weeks. I can’t let you go back there.” “Give me your phone. I’ll call your boss and tell him you’re not going. You’re staying home to sleep!” She lunged for my phone. It had been like this since my very first job. Anytime she disapproved of my work hours or duties, she’d snatch my phone and call my boss to complain. I’d been reprimanded, humiliated, and forced to switch jobs more times than I could count because of her. I cherished my current job, especially this project. If it went well, I wouldn’t just get a promotion and a raise; I could get transferred to the headquarters in New York. I could finally leave this family behind. The thought gave me strength. I clutched my phone to my chest and shoved her away. “Enough! I’m an adult, not a child!” “This is my job, my responsibility! You have no right to harass my boss!” I hadn’t pushed her hard, but she crumpled to the floor as if she had no bones. Just then, my father and brother emerged from their rooms. My mother immediately started wailing, wiping away crocodile tears. “Lily, I’m your mother! Would I ever do anything to hurt you? How could you treat me like this?” Before I could even get a word out, my father’s hand cracked across my face. “You heartless thing! Your mother treasures you more than her own eyes, and this is how you repay her!” My brother followed up with a sharp kick to my leg. “Ungrateful brat,” he snarled, before turning to help our mother to her feet. “Don’t blame Lily,” my mother sobbed, leaning on him. “It’s all my fault. I just worry about her too much.” She let out a long, theatrical sigh. “I know she thinks I’m just a useless old woman. She doesn’t listen to me anymore. She probably thinks I’m trying to ruin her life on purpose!” Watching her performance, I felt nothing but a dark, bitter amusement. I’d always worked so hard, but at every major turning point in my life, my mother was there, ready to sabotage me with her “good intentions.” For my high school entrance exams, she “helpfully” made me a huge seafood feast. I spent the next three days with violent food poisoning and missed my chance to get into the state’s top school. For my college entrance exams, she “helpfully” booked me a hotel on the opposite side of the city from the testing center, claiming it would be quieter. The morning of the exam, I was late because of traffic and missed my shot at my dream university. When I was job hunting, she “helpfully” edited my resume, inflating my qualifications and sending it out to dozens of companies. I was blacklisted by half the HR departments in the city for being a fraud. Every time I confronted her, she would dissolve into tears, apologizing profusely for her “good intentions” gone wrong. I used to believe her. Like my father and brother, I was brainwashed into thinking this suffocating interference was love. No matter how angry I got, I never truly fought back or tried to leave. But now, having been literally murdered by her “kindness,” I would not make the same mistake again. While my father and brother were busy comforting the matriarch of misery, I snatched my laptop and phone and bolted out the door. Downstairs, the tires on my scooter were still full. In my previous life, she must have snuck down to flatten them after I was unconscious. I heard the frantic thud of footsteps echoing in the stairwell above. Not wasting a second, I twisted the throttle and sped out of the complex, leaving the sounds of my family behind in the dust. At the office, I slipped the security guard a fifty, begging him not to let my family inside under any circumstances. But even with that precaution, my presentation was derailed. First, a colleague’s phone started buzzing incessantly. Then my boss’s. Finally, even the client’s phone began to ring nonstop. The client, a portly man with little patience, answered with a scowl. “Who is this? Why do you keep calling me?” My mother’s shrill voice erupted from the speakerphone. “I’m Lily’s mother! My daughter pulled an all-nighter for you heartless capitalists!” “I bet you vultures didn’t even let her eat breakfast! You tell her to come downstairs right now! I’m waiting outside with coffee and donuts!” The boardroom was dead silent. Everyone stared at me. I snatched the phone from the client’s hand. “If you ever interfere with my work again,” I hissed into the receiver, “you can consider yourself without a daughter.” I hung up and blocked her number before she could reply. Whether the threat worked or she had simply run out of numbers to call, the rest of the presentation went smoothly. The boss and the client loved my proposal. But when the meeting concluded, my boss still docked my pay by eight hundred dollars for “disrupting a client meeting.” He looked at me, his expression a mix of pity and frustration. “The project was a success, Lily. The transfer to the New York headquarters is practically a sure thing.” A jolt of joy went through me. It was the opportunity I had dreamed of—a new life, far away from this toxic mess. But then his tone shifted. “You have to get your family situation under control,” he said sternly. “I’m not really fining you. That eight hundred dollars is to shut up the people gunning for your position. But if your family keeps pulling stunts like this, it affects your work, and next time, I won’t be able to protect you.” I understood completely. I nodded, my jaw tight. “I understand, sir. I’ll take care of it.” Leaving the office, I took a deep breath. The successful project was my ticket out, but the thought of returning to that house felt like a lead weight in my stomach. The moment I stepped through the door, I was greeted by the sound of my mother’s theatrical sobbing in the living room. My brother sat beside her, rubbing her back. “Don’t cry, Mom. Lily’s just immature.” “She’s still young. Once she gets married and has kids of her own, she’ll understand all you do for her.” My father sat on the couch, chain-smoking, his face a thundercloud. Seeing me, he stubbed out his cigarette and shot to his feet, his voice booming. “So, you’re too important to answer your phone now? Your wings have really grown, haven’t they?” “Do you have any idea how many times your mother called? She was so worried she couldn’t eat or sleep!” My mother lifted her head, her eyes red and puffy. “Lily must be tired of me,” she whimpered. “I know, I just worry too much. I want to be involved in her life, but I guess I just…” She trailed off, dabbing at her eyes. My brother stood up, pointing a finger at me. “Lily, what are you waiting for? Apologize to Mom, right now! Look at the state you’ve put her in!” I looked at the three of them, a familiar sense of hopelessness washing over me. This was my family. They would always side with her, no matter what she did. The fault would always be mine. But I couldn’t fight them now. Not when my escape was so close. I just needed to get through the next few weeks until the transfer to New York was finalized. Then they would be nothing more than a bad memory. I bowed my head and delivered the lines they wanted to hear. “Mom, I’m sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have ignored your calls. I promise it won’t happen again.” My mother’s sobs immediately subsided. “Lily, honey, I only do it because I love you. It’s a dangerous world for a girl all alone.” My brother snorted. “About time you learned your lesson.” My father sank back onto the couch, his expression softening slightly. “Alright, as long as she knows she was wrong. We’ll let it go this time. Don’t let it happen again.” I nodded meekly, and with that, the performance was over. They were satisfied. Back in my room, I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. The next few days, I locked myself away, focusing entirely on preparing for the headquarters’ assessment and online interviews. This was my one shot to break free, and I couldn’t afford any mistakes. But my mother was relentless. Tap, tap, tap on my door. “Lily, sweetie, let me in to mop the floor. How can you prepare for an interview in such a messy room?” I refused. A few minutes later, tap, tap, tap again. “Lily, I made you some soup to help your brain. You must be exhausted from all that studying.” I opened the door, frowning. “Mom, I can’t be disturbed right now. Can’t this wait until after my interview?” Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. “Lily, I’m just trying to take care of you. I woke up at four this morning to make this soup for you. Look, I even burned my hand.” She thrust her hand in my face. A small red blister stood out against her skin. My father heard the commotion from the living room and stormed over. “Lily! Your mother works herself to the bone for you, and this is how you treat her? Apologize and drink the soup!” I looked at the soup, spotting the glistening sea cucumbers floating in the broth. A wave of exhaustion hit me. “I can’t eat this. I’ve been allergic to seafood since I was a kid.” My mother waved her hand dismissively. “That was only because we were poor back then and you didn’t eat it enough. If you eat more now, you’ll get used to it. I’m doing this for your own good.” My father’s face grew darker. “Your mother got up before dawn to make this for you, and you’re being picky? Drink it and stop being so ungrateful!” I saw the fury in his eyes and knew it was pointless to argue. “You’re right. Thank you, Mom. I’m sorry.” My mother’s tears vanished, replaced by a triumphant smile. “That’s my good girl. Hurry and drink it before it gets cold.” I took the bowl back to my room, closed the door, and quietly opened the window. I poured the soup into a spare dish and set it on the ledge. A stray cat, drawn by the smell, appeared moments later and lapped it up greedily. A few days later, my project was officially launched to great success. My performance secured me the official recommendation letter from my company for the New York transfer. That afternoon, I aced the final online interview. I felt confident, relieved. The finish line was in sight. But when I walked out of my room, I found my mother sitting on the living room couch, wearing her reading glasses. In her hands was my recommendation letter, the seal broken, the contents spread open for her to read. I froze. No wonder she’d been so quiet during my interview. She’d found a new target. “Mom! That’s a sealed, official document! Once the seal is broken, it’s invalid!” I shrieked, my voice cracking. “I might not be able to report to the headquarters now!” She looked up, completely unfazed. “I was just doing it for your own good, Lily. I was worried your boss might have written something bad about you in there, to sabotage you.” “Besides,” she added, “what’s the big deal? I can just glue it shut again.” I was so frustrated I could have screamed. “It doesn’t work that way! It’s a legal document! Once it’s been opened, it’s useless! Years of my work could be for nothing because of this!” But she wasn’t listening. Her face began to crumple again. “I was only trying to help you,” she mumbled, tears welling up. “Why is it always my fault?” The sound of her crying was like a dinner bell for my father. He shot out of his study. “Lily! Your mother was just looking out for you! And what kind of company is that anyway? If they won’t accept you without one stupid letter, they’re not worth working for! All these rules and regulations, it’s just a way to bully people!” He snatched the letter from my hands and, in a fit of rage, tore it to shreds.

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The day I learned I was pregnant, my husband Peter announced he was moving his late comrade’s widow onto the military base, leaving me to care for his aging mother. He insisted it was perfect—I, a former nurse’s aide, could quit my job and tend to his mother. Once the baby came, we’d join him. But two months later, his paychecks stopped. I told myself he was sacrificing for our future, so I stayed silent even as we starved. Four years later, I returned home after selling a kidney in the city, only to learn the truth from a neighbor: his mother had been killed by a wild boar while foraging, and my son died of fever without medicine I couldn’t afford. At the funerals, Peter didn’t mourn—he blamed me, called me useless, and demanded a divorce. Soon after, he married the widow. She managed his money now, living comfortably off-base while eating pork chops and rice. My life ended the night she had a healthy son. But when I opened my eyes, I was back—three days before my son and his grandmother were fated to die. This time, I wouldn’t sell a kidney. This time, I’d take them straight to Peter and reclaim everything that was stolen. 1 “Mom, I have to find Peter. Only the army has the medicine. Only he can save Leo.” My mother-in-law’s eyes were hollowed out by hunger, her gaze sweeping over the barren walls of our crumbling, dirt-floor cottage. Tears welled. “Alright,” she whispered. “I’ll do whatever you say.” I took the last of Peter’s things—his old army canteen and the one sturdy stool we had left—to the market. I traded them for ten pounds of sweet potatoes and a small bag of cornmeal. Back home, I cooked a thick, warm porridge. It was the most filling meal we’d had since the food ran out. After we ate, I settled my mother-in-law and my son onto a rickety handcart and started pushing them toward Peter’s base. We asked for directions to Fort Sterling as we went. I was stunned to learn it was barely thirty miles away. Closer than the city I’d been planning to travel to. And still, in all these years, he hadn’t come home to see us even once. When we finally arrived, the guard at the gate handed me a pen and a visitor log. As I prepared to write “Wife” in the relationship column, Peter himself appeared in the doorway. His features were sharper, more defined than I remembered. He was more handsome, more imposing in his uniform. His eyes swept over our ragged forms, and his expression shifted from shock to pure, unadulterated embarrassment. “Elara… What are you doing here?” He quickly pulled us aside, out of the main thoroughfare, before muttering a quiet, “Mom.” His gaze fell on our son. “Is this… my boy?” I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat and nodded sharply. “Leo, say ‘Daddy.’” My son’s cheeks were flushed with fever, his body weak and frail. But seeing his father for the first time, his eyes lit up. He stretched out his tiny arms. “Da…” Before the second syllable could escape his lips, Peter clamped a hand over his mouth, his voice a harsh whisper. “Don’t you dare call me Dad here. Do you understand?” Leo flinched, terrified. His little lip trembled, and he burrowed his face into my side. My mother-in-law looked at Peter, her face a mask of confusion and hurt. I bit my lip, my fists clenching at my sides. A sharp pain lanced through my heart. “Peter, Leo is sick. I have no money for his medicine. You have to help him!” He looked baffled. “What do you mean, no money? Didn’t I send you—” Just then, a vintage-style army jeep pulled up. Peter snapped to attention, his back ramrod straight as he delivered a sharp salute. “Good afternoon, General!” The window rolled down, revealing the kind, weathered face of an older man. “Captain,” the General said, his eyes landing on us. “And who are these folks?” Peter hesitated for a fraction of a second before his voice boomed with false confidence. “Report, sir! This is just my housekeeper’s family. They’re visiting for a few days.” The General smiled, told him to be a good host, and drove on. Peter let out a quiet breath of relief and hurried us through the gate. A flicker of guilt crossed his face, but his tone was devoid of any real sympathy. “Elara, this is reckless. You can’t just show up like this without any warning, dragging Mom and the boy all this way.” He lowered his voice. “I’m up for a promotion. I’m this close to making Major. You can’t cause trouble for me now.” My mother-in-law weakly smacked his arm with the walking stick she leaned on. Tears streamed down her face. “Son, you could be a general, and you’d still be Elara’s husband. She has suffered so much taking care of me and this child all these years, and you never even came home to see her.” Her voice broke. “How could you call her a housekeeper? How could you forbid your own son from calling you ‘Daddy’?” Sensing he’d gone too far, Peter softened his tone. “Mom, it hasn’t been easy for me, either, getting to where I am. Everything I do is for this family, isn’t it?” I didn’t want to argue. I just wanted the medicine for Leo. Soon we arrived at his quarters. He knocked on the door, a sudden, cheerful lilt in his voice. “Scarlett, open up! I’m home.” “Coming, coming!” a light, musical voice replied, followed by the sound of quick footsteps. The door swung open. The moment the woman—Scarlett—saw me, her bright smile vanished, replaced by a thunderous scowl. 2 Scarlett was wearing a well-tailored floral dress. Her makeup was perfect, her hair styled, and a light, pleasant fragrance drifted from her. And then there was me. My own dress was a patchwork of faded fabric and mended holes. My face was a constellation of sunspots from years of laboring under the sun. Scarlett feigned surprise. “Peter, is this… Elara?” The disgust in her voice was a physical thing, thick and suffocating. I locked eyes with Peter, my voice ice. “Why is she living with you?” Seeing someone walking down the hall, Peter’s eyes darted nervously. He shoved us inside the room, his movements clumsy with panic. Scarlett rushed to explain, her voice a placating coo. “Elara, please don’t misunderstand. Peter and I are living together, but it’s completely innocent. He was just taking pity on me and my daughter, a widow and her fatherless child. We’re just looking out for each other.” A fatherless child? Just then, a little girl, about Leo’s age, ran out and threw her arms around Peter’s legs, whining playfully. “Daddy, you’re so late! Molly is hungry. Mommy made pork ribs today, and they smell so good!” Seeing the thunderstruck expressions on my face and my mother-in-law’s, Peter quickly tried to explain. “Mom, Elara, don’t get the wrong idea. Molly isn’t my child with Scarlett. Scarlett was already pregnant when she came to the base. Molly is my fallen comrade’s daughter.” He sighed. “She’s just a little girl, she doesn’t understand. She sees all the other kids have fathers, so she started calling me ‘Daddy.’” So that was it. He wouldn’t let his own son call him ‘Daddy’ because he was too busy playing that role for another man’s child. He was raising someone else’s daughter to be healthy and bright, feeding her rice and pork ribs every day, while his own son, who hadn’t tasted meat in his life, was wasting away, on the brink of death. A white-hot rage surged through me. Noticing my stare fixed on the girl, Peter instinctively scooped her up, positioning himself in front of Scarlett as if to shield them both. “Elara, if you’re angry, take it out on me. Leave the child out of it.” The sight of him protecting Scarlett, protecting her child, sent a chill down my spine. The scene suddenly overlapped with a memory from my past life. In that life, he had brought a black-clad Scarlett home, announcing she would be moving to the base with him. Her husband, he’d explained, had died saving his life on a mission. His dying wish was for Peter to look after his new bride. He’d told me that since I was pregnant, the long journey would be too hard. He wanted me to stay behind with his mother. He swore on his life that he would come for us as soon as the baby was born. I believed him. I never imagined that wait would end in ruin and death for my family. And for him? He got the girl, the career, and a life of success built on our graves. And here he was now, holding another man’s daughter, refusing to even touch his own flesh and blood. “Alright, you’re here now,” Peter said, breaking the tense silence. “Let’s just eat. Scarlett, set three more places.” On the table was a platter of fragrant, steaming pork ribs and a large bowl of fluffy white rice—luxuries my son had never known. The aroma made my mouth water. Even my mother-in-law couldn’t help but swallow hard, her eyes glued to the food. Scarlett didn’t say a word, but the contempt pouring from her was unmistakable. She sullenly placed three bowls of rice on the table for us, then one for Peter. For herself and Molly, she set out empty bowls filled only with water. She then invited everyone to eat, her voice dripping with false sweetness. It had taken us a full day to find Peter. We hadn’t had a drop of water or a crumb of food. We were starving. We shoveled the rice into our mouths. My son, Leo, gave up on his chopsticks and grabbed two ribs with his bare hands. Peter watched us, a look of revulsion on his face. “Slow down. No one’s going to take it from you.” We were country folk, and our table manners were rough when we were hungry. But I had always taught my family to be considerate, to only take food from the part of the dish closest to them. Every dish, we only touched one side. Suddenly, Scarlett’s daughter, Molly, started banging her empty bowl with her chopsticks, wailing loudly. “I want to eat! I want pork ribs! Molly’s hungry!” Only then did Peter seem to notice their empty bowls. His brow furrowed. “Why aren’t you two eating?” Scarlett’s face paled. She forced a smile. “There wasn’t any rice left after I served you all. You eat. Molly and I can just have some water.” Peter looked heartbroken. He started to push his own bowl toward them. Scarlett stopped him. “No, you work so hard. You need your strength. I’m just sitting around all day, I can miss a meal. It’s just… Molly…” Her voice trailed off. She put on a brave face and picked up her daughter. “I’ll take Molly to the field to see the outdoor movie. That’ll distract her. You finish your dinner, don’t worry about us.” After finishing his two ribs, my son dutifully stopped himself from taking another. He looked up at me, his eyes wide with curiosity. “Mommy, what’s an outdoor movie? Can Leo see it too?” Scarlett’s body went rigid. Peter’s face flushed with shame. Scarlett turned and walked away, stopping at the door to spray Molly with bug repellent. Peter was silent for a long moment. Finally, he looked at me, his expression strained. “Elara,” he said, his voice tight. “When… when are you planning on heading back?” 3 I met his gaze head-on. “We’re not. We’re moving in.” “What? Not leaving?” Peter’s eyes shot toward the door. Just outside, Scarlett, holding Molly, had already started walking away. She let the door slam shut with a loud bang. He instinctively called out, “Scarlett!” When he turned back to me, his face was a dark mask. “Elara, don’t be ridiculous. I’m about to be promoted. I can’t have a single thing go wrong.” “You need to take Mom and Leo back home. Once I—” I slammed my chopsticks down, cutting him off. “Wait, wait, wait… Peter, have you forgotten every single promise you ever made?” My voice rose, shaking with fury. “You said you’d send for us after the baby was born! It’s been four years! We haven’t gotten so much as a letter. I thought you were dead!” He bristled, his own anger flaring. “Why are you talking like this now? So coarse. What happened to the educated woman I married?” I was already holding back. How could a few harsh words even begin to cover four years of misery and betrayal? “Peter, do you have any idea what our lives have been like for the past four years?” My voice trembled. “The first year, I was pregnant, managing everything inside and out. I was harvesting crops with a giant belly, and I nearly died giving birth!” “The second year, the drought hit. The crops failed. Your mother and I climbed the mountains every day, foraging for wild greens just to have something to eat. She got sick, and we couldn’t even afford a doctor!” “The third year, she got worse. I had to sell my blood to pay for her medicine.” “And now my son is sick. I can’t buy the medicine he needs. And the first thing you do when we get here is try to kick us out? Are you trying to kill us?” With every word I spoke, the color drained further from Peter’s face. “Wild greens? Selling blood? What happened to the money I sent every month?” I stared at him, incredulous. “What money? When did you ever send us money?” At that exact moment, Scarlett returned, holding Molly. She was drenched, her clothes clinging to her, making her look fragile and pitiful. She forced a weak smile. “It started raining. I hope you all finished eating. I’ll do the dishes.” Peter looked as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head. He grabbed her wrist. “Scarlett, what about the money I gave you every month to send to Elara? Why didn’t she receive it?” Tears instantly welled in Scarlett’s eyes. “Peter, I am so sorry,” she sobbed. “I failed Elara. I was pregnant then, and it was so hard to move… I kept meaning to send it, I was just going to wait a day or two.” “But then you got hurt during training, and you needed better food to recover, so I… I spent the money on that. And then I just… I forgot.” “It’s all my fault. I’m a terrible person. I’ll take Molly and leave right now. I won’t disturb your family reunion anymore.” The more I listened, the hotter my anger burned. I couldn’t hold back any longer. “Was it to help Peter recover, or to stuff your own face? Did you forget to send the money, or did you never intend to send it? Scarlett, you know the truth better than anyone!” Peter couldn’t stand hearing me speak to her like that. “Elara! Why can’t you just speak normally? Why do you have to be so aggressive?” “You’ve suffered, I get it, but has it been easy for Scarlett? She’s taken perfect care of me for years!” My head was buzzing, my entire body shaking with rage. “You bastard, Peter!” I screamed. “In what capacity has she been ‘taking care of you’? Don’t you dare tell me you’ve been living under the same roof for years and nothing has happened!” “You’ve kept her and her daughter plump and rosy while your own family starved! Open your damn eyes and look at your son! Look at your mother! Look at what they’ve become! This is all because of her!” Scarlett’s face crumpled. She swayed, looking like she was about to faint. Peter immediately caught her, pulling her into his arms. But she pushed him away dramatically, her voice a careful whisper. “Don’t touch me. I’m soaked. You’ll catch a chill.” She coughed delicately. “Molly is cold, too. I’ll give her some medicine and then we’ll go. Please, don’t fight because of me.” Her gentle, considerate act only made me look more like a hysterical, unreasonable shrew. Peter shot me a look of pure disgust before following Scarlett into her room. A moment later, they emerged. Peter was holding a first-aid box. As Scarlett opened it, my eyes locked on a small vial inside. In my past life, it was the very medicine I sold my kidney for and still couldn’t afford… 4 I snatched the vial from the box, my hands trembling with a desperate excitement. “Mom, this is it!” I cried. “This is the medicine that can save Leo!” The next second, Scarlett ripped it from my grasp. “No, you can’t have this!” she said, her voice sharp. She quickly softened it, blushing and lowering her gaze. “There’s a bad children’s virus going around. This is for Molly. They only issue one vial per family.” She caught herself, realizing her slip of the tongue. After the agony of losing my son in my past life, I would do anything to save him this time. “So you do know who the real family is,” I snarled. “Give me the medicine!” Scarlett looked at Peter, her eyes shimmering with tears. He turned on me, his voice a low growl. “That’s enough, Elara. It’s just one vial of medicine. I can request another one for you, can’t I?” “How long does a request take?” “Three days, tops.” Leo didn’t have three days. “No! My son is gravely ill. He can’t wait that long!” Peter’s face darkened. “Elara, are you just trying to pick a fight with me? It’s only three days. Why can’t he wait?” The cure was right there, in my hands. I couldn’t give up. If I had to fight for it, I would. I was done arguing. While Scarlett was distracted, I lunged forward and grabbed the vial. I twisted off the cap, ready to pour the life-saving liquid into my son’s mouth. But before a single drop could touch his lips, Peter seized my arm, yanking me back so hard I stumbled. He wrenched the vial from my hand, his eyes blazing with fury and disgust. “Elara! Have you no shame? Stealing what isn’t yours? Do you have any idea what a breach of discipline this is?” “I don’t know about discipline! I only know that if you won’t save our son, I will!” Peter’s face contorted with rage. “You’re putting on quite a show just to get back at me, aren’t you? I really underestimated you, Elara. You are a massive disappointment!” I ignored him, clawing at his hand, trying to get the medicine back. Leo, terrified, hid behind his grandmother, his small body wracked with silent sobs. My mother-in-law began hitting Peter with her wooden stick. “You ungrateful boy! Your grandson is truly sick! Give Elara the medicine!” But Peter was unmoved. “Mom, are you in on this act with her?” he spat. “She can’t stand that I’m good to Scarlett and Molly. She sees this medicine has the fanciest label and decides it’s some miracle cure she has to have. Is she a thief now?” “Elara, if you don’t stop this nonsense, don’t blame me for what happens next!” I was nearly mad with grief and rage, scratching and clawing at him wildly. “Peter, you monster, give me the medicine! Are you really going to let our son die? You call yourself a soldier, a protector of this country?” “ENOUGH!” Peter exploded. With a roar of fury, he hurled the vial to the ground. It shattered, sending shards of glass and precious medicine flying across the floor. “Get out,” he seethed. “Get out of my house right now!” “We have no place for a lunatic like you here!” Staring at the glittering fragments on the floor, my heart shattered with them. I don’t know where the strength came from, but a primal scream tore from my throat as I launched myself at him, hitting and kicking. I truly became the lunatic he called me. I shrieked curses I didn’t know I knew. I swept the television and radio—things I had only ever dreamed of seeing—off their shelves. I turned their cozy little home into a wasteland of broken things. The commotion was so loud it finally brought the base commander and neighbors from upstairs and downstairs running. A sharp knock sounded at the door. Panic flared in Peter’s eyes. He grabbed me, pinning my flailing arms, his voice suddenly dropping to a desperate, pleading whisper. “Elara, Elara, please, calm down. Don’t let everyone see this. I’m up for promotion, I can’t have a scandal.” “I’m sorry, okay? Can we just stop this?” But I shoved him away. And under his horrified gaze, I wrenched the door open.

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I went home for Christmas with a split lip. My childhood friend, who always looked down on me, sneered: “Did a dog bite you again?” In front of a room full of relatives, I said: “My boyfriend bit me.” My childhood friend’s face turned black instantly. Chapter 1 Under my mom’s ultimatum to come home early for the holidays or else, I rushed back on the very last day of the deadline, arriving at night. The moment I stepped through the door, I saw my childhood friend, Julian, and his parents. We locked eyes for a moment. Julian put on a mocking expression: “Chloe, did a dog bite you again?” When I was five, I insisted on kissing a dog and got bitten, resulting in three rabies shots. Julian was the one who accompanied me to get the shots, albeit reluctantly. But this became his go-to joke to mock me. Probably recalling the past, the adults in the room all laughed. I touched my lip. The wound had scabbed over, standing out starkly against my pale lips. Amidst their laughter, I said: “No, my boyfriend bit me this morning.” The laughter stopped abruptly. Everyone looked shocked, except for Julian, whose face turned dark. Because we used to have a “baby engagement.” Chapter 2 In the pin-drop silence, Julian’s mom spoke up: “Chloe has a boyfriend?” I responded politely: “Yes, a senior from my college.” Under Julian’s almost furious gaze, I continued: “He didn’t have time to come this trip. I’ll find a time after New Year’s to bring him over for dinner.” Julian finally exploded, shouting: “Dinner my ass!” Then he turned and stormed out to the balcony. Julian’s mom gave me a panicked look and followed him to the balcony. I shrugged, used to this, and wheeled my luggage into my room under the awkward gazes of the remaining adults. I could still hear snippets of the argument from the balcony. “You were the one who said you’d rather die than marry Chloe! Now she has a boyfriend, what are you freaking out for?” Julian’s mom finished, and after a long silence, I heard Julian say: “Anyway, I don’t agree!” I lowered my eyes and smiled. Three years ago, at a gathering of our two families, Julian’s mom joked again, calling me “daughter-in-law.” Unexpectedly, Julian snapped on the spot, accusing his mother of not knowing boundaries with jokes, then turning to accuse me of being shameless and following him around, telling me not to bother him anymore. Julian’s dad slapped him right there. And he blamed me for it all. We parted on bad terms. I even chose a university in the Southwest, far away from Julian. I thought Julian and I would just be childhood acquaintances from then on. So what is he doing now? Chapter 3 By the time I changed into loungewear, Julian was already sitting at the dining table. I don’t know how his mom coaxed him, but he seemed less angry than before. During the meal, everyone deliberately avoided the topic from earlier, only asking about my studies. Just as the atmosphere relaxed a bit, my phone suddenly rang. Glancing at the caller ID, I pursed my lips in a smile. “Taking a call. Auntie, please continue eating.” I got up and walked out the door. It was my boyfriend Ethan calling, just asking if I had eaten. I whispered to him: “Why did you bite my lip so hard it bled? I didn’t even notice.” Ethan hummed and hawed on the other end before squeezing out: “I did it on purpose.” Just as I was about to speak, a loud bang came from behind the door. I turned my head. Julian’s face was red, full of impatience: “Are you eating or not? If not, I’m washing the dishes.” Ethan’s voice came from the phone: “You haven’t finished eating yet? Should I order you some fried chicken?” Hearing Ethan’s voice, Julian’s face turned iron green: “Who is that?” I looked up at him, smiled, and said slowly: “My boyfriend.” Chapter 4 Ethan was silent for a moment on the phone, then said: “Call me tonight. Waiting for you~” The sound of him hanging up came from the other end. In the hallway, only silence remained between Julian and me. Julian stared at my lips for a long time before suddenly saying: “How long have you been dating? And you… kissed?” I turned off the screen and put the phone in my pocket: “Almost a year.” I watched his face turn black then red. “How come I haven’t seen you mention him?” I thought about it. Julian was probably talking about my social media. After falling out with him, I didn’t delete him, but we rarely messaged each other. I rarely updated my status, didn’t change my profile picture or bio, and never posted anything about Ethan. I said: “I forgot to update.” I put the phone in my pocket as I spoke. Julian chuckled lightly: “Seems like you don’t like him that much.” He seemed relieved. I looked at him in confusion: “Why do you say that?” “If you liked him, you wouldn’t not mention him at all.” I clenched my fist lightly. “No, I like him very much.” I looked up, staring into Julian’s eyes, wanting to tell him I wasn’t lying. Julian looked down at me. Seeing that I didn’t seem to be lying, a trace of unease flashed in his eyes. I didn’t want to tangle with him anymore and started to walk away. Passing by Julian, he asked softly: “How could you move on so quickly?”

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At the party, my asthma flared up. I scrambled to grab my emergency inhaler. Only to find the canister empty. My boyfriend, Ethan, explained: “Chloe said her throat was dry, so I gave her the inhaler. Just have a cough drop, it helps too.” But my breathing was getting harder and harder. “Her throat was dry? Why didn’t she just drink water? You guys are going to kill me!” He frowned, dissatisfied. “Can you stop being so dramatic? You always act so fragile, like you’re some delicate princess.” “Chloe is right, you’re just needy.” I didn’t argue further. I texted my mother: “My asthma is acting up, but Ethan gave my inhaler to Chloe.” 1 Ethan saw the message and scoffed. “Pulling this again? Always tattling like an elementary schooler?” He snatched my phone, holding it high, looking down at me. I tried to grab it back. But as soon as I stood up, my vision went black, and I fell back down. “I’m having an asthma attack, help me,” I gasped urgently. Just then, Chloe walked over, waving the inhaler in her hand. “Oh my, Princess Sophia, are you really feeling bad? Or just trying to get attention?” “Ugh, I knew we shouldn’t have brought a girl to a guys’ night out. Always causing drama and competing for attention.” I gasped for air, staring daggers at Chloe. She was Ethan’s childhood friend. She always hung out with the guys, acting like “one of the bros.” Ethan had mentioned her to me more than once, praising her for being a “cool girl.” At first, I had a good impression of this carefree “bro-girl” Ethan described. After we got serious, Ethan introduced me to his circle. Chloe always acted very supportive of girls. “Wow Ethan, you have good taste! Where’d you find this princess?” “Yas queen, let’s stick together and ignore these smelly boys.” But I could always feel a hint of malice in the way she looked at me. Her methods were subtle. She claimed to support girls, but her actions deliberately ignored me. For example, at parties, she would always bring up inside jokes from their childhood. I couldn’t join in, forced to sit silently on the side. Then, she would loudly joke with me. “What’s wrong, Princess? You’re not upset because I’m talking to Ethan, are you?” I told Ethan how uncomfortable this made me. But Ethan just called me petty. He said Chloe was just trying to liven up the atmosphere, and I was too sensitive. But now, Chloe’s malice was undisguised. “A princess is always a princess. Is it because we aren’t revolving around you that you’re unhappy, so you’re faking being sick?” Hearing her words, the guys around us snickered. “I’m really not feeling well, give me the inhaler!” I raised my voice. Seeing me like this, the room went quiet for a second. Then erupted into even louder laughter. Chloe put her hand on Ethan’s shoulder. Watching me gasp for air, she laughed so hard she leaned back. “Wow, the acting is on point. Ethan, you’re not feeling sorry for her, are you?” The others goaded Ethan too. “Yeah, Ethan, you’re not gonna be whipped after you get married, right?” “Don’t embarrass us, bro! The man is the head of the house. If a woman misbehaves, you gotta teach her a lesson.” Ethan couldn’t stand the provocation. He stiffened his neck, avoiding my eyes. “Who feels sorry for her? She needs to be taught a lesson, always making trouble out of nothing.” I couldn’t breathe. I desperately pulled at Ethan’s sleeve, making wheezing sounds from my throat. “Save… me…” Seeing me like this, Ethan hesitated. But Chloe spoke up again. “Alright, alright Sophia, we’re all straight dudes here, no one buys your damsel in distress act.” Knowing I couldn’t get through to him, I tried to leave the room. But just as I propped myself up, Chloe pushed me back down. “The party isn’t over, how can you leave? That’s so disrespectful to me.” She pushed hard. I wasn’t paying attention, and the back of my head hit the wall. Thud. My head spun even more. Before I could react, Chloe screamed first. 2 She covered her mouth, exaggerating her shock. “Omg? You are so manipulative.” “I barely touched you, and you hit your own head against the wall to frame me?” Hearing this, Ethan looked at me with even more impatience. “Sophia, you’re crossing the line.” I bit my lip, trying to stay conscious. “I have severe asthma. If you don’t want someone to die, stop it.” My throat hurt; every breath felt like inhaling glass shards. Chloe waved the inhaler in front of my face tauntingly, taking a dramatic puff. “Can’t give it to you, my throat is dry.” “Gotta say, expensive stuff is good. This feels great to use.” I struggled to raise my hand to grab it. She laughed and held it high, dodging me. “Nope, not giving it.” I was so angry my vision went black again. Ethan stood by with his arms crossed, watching. “Look at you, begging like a beggar. Chloe just wants to use it for a bit, don’t be so stingy.” “Chloe saw your medical report. You don’t have asthma, you’re just short of breath sometimes.” I tried to calm myself down. “Ethan, haven’t you seen me have an attack before? What reason do I have to lie to you?” Before Ethan could answer, Chloe cut in. “For attention, obviously. In this day and age, there’s always some attention seeker faking illness.” “Hehe, Sophia, are you like those internet snowflakes who claim to have depression too?” Hearing this, Ethan’s bros laughed even louder. Someone whistled. “Ethan, your girlfriend is too petty. Not even half as cool as Chloe.” “Yeah, you’re gonna suffer when you marry her.” I gasped for air, using my last bit of strength to reach for the inhaler in Chloe’s hand. But just as my fingers were about to touch it, she dodged nimbly. I lost my balance and fell forward onto the carpet. “Oops, the acting is so realistic!” Chloe exclaimed dramatically. Then she squatted down, whispering so only I could hear. “Hehe, hurry up and die. If you die, Ethan and I can finally be together.” She stood up, raising her voice deliberately. “Sophia, stop it, get up. Everyone is waiting to toast you and Ethan.” Ethan felt something was wrong. He stepped forward to help me up. “What’s going on with you, are you really sick?” “Help me…” I struggled to spit out the words. My hand gripped Ethan’s wrist tight, only able to emit broken gasps. “In… inhaler…” Ethan’s brows knit tight, panic and struggle finally appearing in his eyes. He looked at Chloe. “Chloe, maybe give it to her.” Chloe’s face fell instantly. She stubbornly hid the inhaler behind her back, stomping her foot in frustration. “Ethan, are you blind? She’s obviously faking it! Did you forget what a diva she used to be?” Saying that, she suddenly shouted to the others. “Look guys, this kind of competitive girl just knows how to act. And of course, Ethan falls for it.” The guys immediately backed her up. “Ethan, we grew up with Chloe. Would she harm you?” “These princesses just love making trouble out of nothing. Don’t spoil her.” Ethan’s face changed. His grip on me loosened. I could feel his hesitation. Between my painful attack and Chloe’s manipulation. “But, her face looks really pale…” 3 Ethan was worried, his eyes on my bloodless lips. Chloe suddenly slapped her forehead. “Oh!” “I saw her take a tampon to the bathroom earlier. She must have period cramps.” She acted like she was being considerate. “Sophia, if it’s cramps, just say it’s cramps. Why lie about an asthma attack? Making Ethan worry for nothing.” Hearing this, Ethan sighed in relief. He looked at me with blame. “Don’t joke like that again. You almost scared me to death.” I had no strength left. Luckily, I took preventive medication before leaving the house. Otherwise, with their stalling, I would be dead already. Chloe hid behind Ethan, smiling provocatively at me. Then she pulled a small bottle from her bag. “Here, I have throat lozenges. Sophia, didn’t you say your throat hurts? Have one!” She shoved the lozenge into my mouth. The minty flavor rushed into my nose, making the burning in my throat worse. I wanted to spit it out. But she gripped my jaw tight. “Swallow it! What is wrong with you? You really are faking it for sympathy.” She only let go when I started dry heaving, then turned to Ethan. “See? She won’t eat it. If she’s not faking, what is it?” Ethan looked at me, then at the spat-out lozenge on the floor. The panic in his eyes vanished, replaced by annoyance. He felt I was making a big deal out of nothing. He sighed heavily and dropped me onto the sofa. My back hit the armrest, pain making me gasp. “Fine, let’s drop it. Don’t do this again.” “No, I…” I wanted to explain, but my throat could only make wheezing sounds. Chloe patted Ethan’s shoulder. “Come on, ignore her. Let’s go drink. If no one pays attention to her, she’ll be fine in a bit.” Ethan nodded. He glanced at me one last time before leaving. That look held impatience and annoyance, but no worry. Dragged by Chloe towards the crowd, he dropped one last sentence. “Behave yourself. Don’t embarrass me again.” The crowd dispersed with them, running off to drink. I curled up in the corner, watching Ethan and Chloe being urged to drink a “cross-cupped wine” (a wedding tradition/intimate gesture). “Come on, cross cups!” “Don’t be a killjoy, drink up!” “It’s just a game, your girlfriend isn’t that petty, right?” In my blurred vision, I saw Ethan glance at me from afar, then put his arm around Chloe and kiss her… I felt the air in my lungs being drawn out bit by bit. I really couldn’t breathe. My phone was thrown on the floor by Ethan. But I didn’t even have the strength to crawl to it. In despair, I suddenly remembered I had put an asthma pill in my bag last month. Summoning my last bit of strength, I fumbled around. My heart jumped when my fingertips touched the chain of my bag. I clawed at the strap, dragging it over. Leather rubbed against the sofa. The bag was open. I tipped it. A pill rolled out onto the carpet. This is it! Although just an emergency release tablet. Slower than the inhaler, but it could buy me time. I almost cried. But just as I reached out, fingertips about to touch the pill—a high heel stepped on it. 4 Right in front of my eyes, the heel ground the pill into dust. It was Chloe. She smiled down at me, toe still twisting. “Oops, almost let you eat the medicine.” Blood rushed to my head. “Get out! I’ll kill you! My mom won’t let you get away with this.” Suffocation surged. After saying this, I collapsed back onto the sofa, like a dying beast. “Heehee, seeing you rage helplessly makes me so happy.” Chloe squatted down, poking my face with her long nails. “You deserve it. Trying to take my things. Ethan is mine. Even if I don’t want him, it’s not your turn.” saying that, she yanked my hair hard. “Alright, you can die now.” My scalp stung. I wanted to struggle. But I couldn’t even lift my arm. “I am… Xu Group…” In my blurry vision, Chloe’s face twisted. She cut me off. “Ethan is drinking over there.” She leaned close to my ear, voice sickeningly sweet. “He can’t be bothered with you. Say, if you died right now, would he be sad?” I tried to bite her hand, but she dodged easily. She stood up, patted my face, then shouted to Ethan in the distance. “Ethan! Come look! Sophia seems really mad!” Ethan came over. Seeing me limp on the sofa, his frown deepened. “What are you doing now? It’s just cramps, don’t act like you’re dying. Every woman gets cramps.” “I, I really have…” I gasped weakly, “Asthma…” Ethan’s gaze swept over my pale face, then looked at Chloe. Chloe shrugged helplessly, indicating she couldn’t do anything. Ethan fixed his eyes on me, full of disappointment. “Sophia, I’ve had enough of you. If you keep this up, we’re breaking up.” With that, he turned and left. Chloe trotted after him, turning back to flash me a “V” sign. I felt my lungs were like leaking bellows, every breath tearing with pain. Static filled my vision. Chloe’s face in the distance zoomed in and out in the halo, like a demon from hell. My eyelids were heavy. Over there, the crowd cheered around Chloe. In my peripheral vision, Ethan toasted with his bros. Chloe pretended to be drunk and leaned into Ethan’s arms. He didn’t push her away; instead, he held her waist tighter. “Ethan…” I used all my strength to call him. Voice weak as a mosquito. He turned back inexplicably. Chloe immediately whispered something in his ear. He frowned, shaking his head impatiently. In that moment, the last warmth in my heart turned cold. I slowly closed my eyes. I regretted it so much. Why was I with Ethan? Ethan was just a poor student from an ordinary family. And my mother was a billionaire entrepreneur. Afraid Ethan would feel inferior, I never told him this. He always thought my family was just slightly better off than his. Chloe walked back. She squatted in front of me. “I heard you’re from a single-parent family. If you die, your mom will cry to death, right?” “But it’s okay. Ethan will handle your funeral as your fiancé. Maybe your mom will be touched and give all the inheritance to Ethan…” Chloe sure could dream. But before she finished, the private room door was suddenly pushed open. “Sophia!” It was Mom’s voice.

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1 Rovan’s overseas business trip ended in disaster. The only one who returned was his twin brother, Adrian. The grief was a physical blow. I collapsed, spitting blood. Clutching my wedding photo with Rovan, I threw myself into the sea seven times, and seven times I was pulled back from the brink. The eighth time I was rescued, I overheard Adrian arguing with my mother-in-law. “Rovan, how long are you going to keep this up? Beth has tried to kill herself eight times because she thinks you’re dead. You have to tell her the truth!” Adrian’s brow furrowed in refusal. “No. My brother gave his life for me. I have to take care of his fiancée for him.” “My sister-in-law is even more fragile than Beth. Once she’s pregnant and has something to live for, then I can safely admit that I’m Rovan.” I froze, the biting cold of the seawater nothing compared to the ice flooding my veins. I had nearly destroyed myself for him, yet in his heart, my life was worth less than a flicker of pity for his brother’s fiancée. If that was the case, I wanted no part of such a love. … My mother-in-law pleaded, her voice laced with desperation. “But Beth is your wife! How can you stand to see her suffer like this? If this ever gets out, there will be no going back for either of you.” “I can see that your heart truly belongs to Beth. I can’t let you throw away your future in a moment of misguided guilt.” Her words were sincere, but he just shook his head. “Don’t worry, Mom. I have a plan for Beth. I’ve already had the highest-grade amnesia drug sent from a top lab in Switzerland. Once she takes it, she won’t remember anything. She won’t try to kill herself anymore.” “After I get my sister-in-law pregnant, I’ll give Beth the antidote and beg for her forgiveness.” “She loves me so much. I know she’ll understand.” My body went weak. I couldn’t listen anymore. I stumbled back to my room, collapsing onto the bed. The wedding photo of Rovan and me crashed to the floor. The glass frame shattered, just like my heart. A few moments later, he walked in. “Sister-in-law, I heard you tried to jump into the sea again. You look so pale. Are you feeling unwell?” “My brother may be gone, but we are still family. I made you some herbal tea. Drink it, it will warm you up.” I stared at the bowl in his hands, my eyes burning. “No, thank you. I just want to be alone.” But he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Don’t be difficult. My brother wouldn’t want to see you like this. You have to drink this.” With that, he forced my jaw open and poured the liquid down my throat. I choked, tears streaming down my face as I shoved him away. He looked at the empty bowl, a sigh of relief escaping him. He then scanned the room, his eyes landing on my diary. He expertly snatched it and tossed it into the lit fireplace. One by one, he gathered everything that held a shared memory between us and threw it into the flames. I screamed, lunging to stop him, but he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me back. He looked at me, a flicker of pity in his eyes. “Don’t blame me, sister-in-law. This is the only way you can truly forget my brother and start a new life.” “I’m doing this for your own good. I want you to live.” He then pulled the wedding ring from my finger and tossed it into the fire. I had worn that ring for seven years. He had it custom-made for me. It was my most treasured possession, the one thing I had left to remember him by. Tears finally streamed down my face. I thrashed wildly, trying to kick over the fireplace screen. The commotion woke my sister-in-law, Maya. She hurried over to see what was wrong. Her face fell when she saw me locked in Adrian’s embrace. “Honey, what are you two doing? The smoke… it’s choking me.” He immediately let me go. “Take the fire outside,” he ordered. Then, without another glance, he led Maya away. Three minutes later, I heard the sounds from their bedroom. Her moans, sweet and cloying. “Oh, Adrian, you’re so rough…” “Your sister-in-law is right outside. Aren’t you afraid she’ll hear?” 2 My fists clenched, my heart twisting in agony. As I watched our memories turn to ash, a piece of my soul burned with them. The next second, the drug took effect, and I blacked out. In my dream, I saw Rovan again, the way he was when he was twenty. He told me he was sorry, that he hadn’t taken care of me. I watched as his body slowly faded, morphing into Adrian’s. “No, Rovan, don’t leave me…” I cried out, lunging for him, but I fell through empty air. When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed. Adrian was sitting beside me. He let out a breath of relief when he saw I was awake. “Sister-in-law,” he began, his voice hesitant. “Do you remember who you are?” I looked at him, my expression blank. If he was so determined to abandon our past and play the savior for Maya, then fine. I would give him exactly what he wanted. I would forget everything. “No.” Hearing my answer, he didn’t look as pleased as I had expected. He cleared his throat, gave me a brief explanation of what had happened, and then added, “Maya fainted from the shock of seeing you collapse. She needs a blood transfusion. Are you willing to donate?” My eyes dropped. He knew I had a clotting disorder. In the past, he would have never allowed me to even get a paper cut. Maya must have truly captured his pity. I nodded. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw a flash of guilt on his face. He reached out, his hand instinctively touching my forehead. “You’ve really forgotten everything?” And, of course, Maya chose that exact moment to walk in. She shot me a venomous glare and left without a word. Only after my blood had been drawn did she saunter back in. “Sister-in-law, have you no shame? Adrian might look like his brother, but they are not the same person.” “I get that you’re grieving, but that doesn’t give you the right to steal my husband.” “And just so you know, I was perfectly fine. I just wanted you to lose a little blood to teach you a lesson. If I see you getting close to my Adrian again, I won’t be so nice.” A wave of humiliation washed over me. I wanted to scream that she was the one who had stolen my husband. But I said nothing. Maya took my silence as defiance. “And another thing,” she continued, “I’m pregnant. Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. I’m going to tell him the good news then.” My gaze fell to her slightly rounded belly. A bitter smile touched my lips. “Is that so? Congratulations.” I turned my head away, unwilling to look at her any longer. Frustrated at my lack of reaction, Maya huffed and left. Alone in the room, I called my parents. “I don’t want to stay with the Valerius family anymore. I want to come home.” They already knew about Rovan’s “death” and had been worried sick. “Of course, sweetheart,” my dad said immediately. “Your brother Liam just got back from overseas tonight. He’ll come and get you tomorrow.” Liam was adopted by my parents when we were children. He had always been brilliant. He’d worked his way through college and earned a scholarship to study abroad. I hadn’t expected him to be back. We arranged a time, and I hung up. Then, I messaged a lawyer friend, asking her to draft a severance agreement. When a spouse dies, the marriage is legally dissolved. But I was worried that “Adrian” would eventually admit he was Rovan and try to entangle me in his life again. It was better to make a clean break now. I traced the faint indentation where my ring used to be. Rovan, I thought, I did love you. But I will not take back a man who’s been sullied. 3 A short while later, Adrian returned to my room. “Sister-in-law, tomorrow is my anniversary with Maya. I was hoping you could plan something for us. You know what women like better than I do.” I paused. “I’m not feeling well. You should do it yourself.” He raised an eyebrow, a flicker of concern on his face as he reached out to feel my forehead. “Really? What’s wrong?” At that moment, an angry shout came from the doorway. “Sister-in-law, I can’t believe you’re so vicious! You’re using a voodoo doll to curse me!” Maya stormed in, holding a doll riddled with pins, tears streaming down her face as she accused me. Her eyes, however, held a clear warning. I realized instantly what she was doing. This was her revenge. Without a second thought, Adrian believed her. He snatched the doll and threw it at me. “How could you do this to Maya? What did she ever do to you?” The pins pricked my skin, drawing blood. He just said I deserved it. Seeing Maya still crying, he declared he was locking me in the hospital morgue for the night. “Maybe then you’ll reflect on what you’ve done. I’ll let you out in the morning.” I shook my head frantically, trying to defend myself. “I didn’t do it! She’s framing me, I swear…” He slapped me across the face. “Enough! I believe Maya. She’s too kind to frame anyone!” They locked me in the morgue without a shred of mercy. Faced with a room full of corpses, I almost fainted from terror. I pounded on the door, begging him to let me out, but he never relented. Maya even had the power cut, plunging the room into absolute darkness. I huddled in a corner, my head in my hands, consumed by fear and helplessness. The slightest sound made my hair stand on end. In that moment, I began to seriously question my judgment in men. By the time he finally let me out the next morning, I was burning with a high fever. Adrian frowned. “I only left you in there for one night. Did you have to make yourself sick on purpose?” His expression was complicated. “Let’s get to the party. I’ve sent someone to get you medicine. We can’t be late.” I was weak, my voice hoarse. “I’m not going. I want to go home…” He hesitated for a second, then forcibly pulled me into the car. “No. Maya is already upset about the doll. Even if you’re sick, you need to go and apologize to her.” “Don’t worry. She’ll forgive you.” My eyes were swollen and red. “I told you, I didn’t do it. Why should I apologize?” His jaw tightened. He shot me a cold look in the rearview mirror. “Who else would want to hurt Maya?” I sighed, a sense of resignation washing over me. I felt nothing but a bone-deep weariness. When we arrived at the hotel, we walked into chaos. Maya’s boss was there with a group of thugs, smashing furniture. “You messed up the accounts! The company lost two hundred thousand dollars because of you!” he roared. “Either you pay up, or you go to jail!” Maya was terrified. When she saw Adrian, she ran to him as if he were her savior. “What do I do, honey? I really just made a mistake, I didn’t know it would cost so much.” She pressed an ultrasound report into his hand. “Honey, I’m carrying our child. I can’t go to jail. You have to do something…” Adrian looked at the report, and the deep frown on his face softened. He thought to himself, Finally, my duty is fulfilled. I can tell Beth the truth. But two hundred thousand was no small sum. The Valerius family couldn’t produce that kind of cash on short notice. The boss tried to force Maya to sign a work contract to pay off the debt. “No, she’s just found out she’s pregnant. She can’t do strenuous work.” Then, Adrian turned and pushed me forward. He looked at me pleadingly. “Sister-in-law, Maya is pregnant and unwell. Please, just sign this contract for now. We’ll figure something out later.” I refused, turning to leave. “I don’t owe him any money. Why should I sign?” Adrian cut me off, his voice sharp and urgent. “Why are you being so difficult? This is a crisis! We’re family! How can you just stand by and do nothing?” He grabbed my hand and forced my signature onto the contract. Then he stood by as the boss’s bodyguards gagged me and dragged me away. In the struggle, my shirt was torn open, exposing my waist. The boss’s eyes darkened with lust. “I hear your husband just died. Seems like this family doesn’t care much about you anyway. Why don’t you pay the debt with your body?” “Two hundred thousand. Twenty times with me. Seems fair, right?” He ordered his men to hold me down. I was already weak with fever, and my struggles were useless against their strength. Helpless tears streamed down my face. Seeing this, Adrian started to move towards me, but Maya grabbed his arm. “Those guys with him are dangerous thugs. Don’t go.” “Besides, if she can really get us two hundred thousand, what’s the harm in being touched a little?” Adrian’s first instinct was to snap at her, but then he saw her belly and forced himself to stay calm. “No, she’s still our sister-in-law. I have to help her.” But Maya ran to a table, threatening to hurt herself. “Adrian! If you go and something happens to you, I’ll kill this baby, and then I’ll kill myself!” He rushed to her side. “Don’t be rash, Maya! You and the baby have to be safe!” I watched them, my heart turning to ash. The boss’s hand cupped my cheek. “See? They don’t care about you.” “Why don’t you just come with me? Be my little mistress. I’ll take care of you.” Just as I thought all hope was lost, the bodyguards’ grip on me suddenly loosened. The police burst through the door and pulled me to my feet. Adrian sighed in relief, then looked surprised. “Who called the police? How did they get here so fast?” He raised his hand, intending to wipe away my tears. But at that moment, Maya clutched her stomach and cried out in pain. “Adrian, it hurts…” He rushed back to her side, his face etched with worry. “Did the stress affect the baby? I’ll take you to the hospital right now!” My heart was a dead, cold thing in my chest. I pulled out the severance agreement. “This is a list of offerings for my husband’s memorial. A family member needs to sign it.” Without even looking at it, he scribbled his name, then scooped Maya into his arms and ran to the hospital. I watched them go, my eyes like chips of ice. Clutching the agreement, I turned and walked away without looking back. From that day forward, I had nothing to do with the Valerius family.

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I had been sponsoring a student for three years. When she finally got into college, she suddenly turned into a he. When I confronted him, this boy—who had stolen someone else’s spot—stood there with red-rimmed eyes and asked me: “Just because I’m a boy, don’t I have the right to be helped?” I scoffed. “If you want money that bad, go be a gigolo. You can earn from both ends that way.” Chapter 1 The boy stood before me in a crisp white shirt and jeans, looking down. His eyelashes fluttered nervously, and his fingers anxiously gripped the hem of his shirt. He looked like a delicate flower trembling in the cold wind. If he hadn’t been standing in the line of female students I was sponsoring, I might have appreciated the aesthetic. But right now, I just felt a surge of rage shooting straight to the top of my head. I tried to keep my tone even, though my pen tapped impatiently against the desk. “I remember sponsoring a girl named Lily Miller from Miller’s Creek. Are you Lily? Or…” The boy’s eyelashes trembled even harder. He spoke softly. “I… I’m Lucas Miller. Lily’s younger brother. My sister felt the academic pressure was too much, so she dropped out in her sophomore year to get married.” “Our family discussed it, and we didn’t want to disappoint you. So… so I took my sister’s place to continue her education. We didn’t want your expectations to go to waste.” I actually laughed out loud. “So, should I be thanking you?” Before selecting candidates, I had conducted a meticulous review to ensure every scholarship dollar went to a girl who genuinely needed it. I never imagined that under all those layers of scrutiny, a boy could impersonate his own sister to collect the funds. And he managed to hide it for two years, only getting caught when they came to thank me after high school graduation. My temples throbbed with anger. I didn’t even want to think about the corruption involved. How many deserving girls didn’t get this money? How many people who didn’t need help stole opportunities that weren’t theirs? Seeing my anger, Lucas rushed to explain. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Vance. It was my sister. She thought studying was too hard, but she was too embarrassed to say it, so she came up with this idea.” I looked at his brand-new clothes and pristine white sneakers. Then I looked at the girls next to him, wearing clothes that were clean but washed until they were faded and thin. “I’m truly sorry, Ms. Vance. Our whole family feels guilty about this. No matter how you scold me or treat me, I won’t complain.” Lucas’s eyes turned red, tears hanging precariously on his lashes. My expression remained flat. “I want you to pay back the money. And compensate me for emotional distress.” I waved my hand, signaling my secretary to take them away. Chapter 2 After getting everyone settled, my secretary, Sarah, came back to report. “The girls are all back at the hotel. The local specialties they brought are in your car.” “Only that Lucas Miller… he was lingering downstairs, refusing to leave. I had security escort him out.” “Did he think he was staying for dinner?” Sarah smiled, then pursed her lips seriously. “Is Lily the little girl who hugged your leg crying two years ago during our site visit, saying she wanted to go to school?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That’s her.” I, Evelyn Vance, clawed my way up from the bottom to get where I am today. I dropped out of school because I couldn’t afford tuition. I saved every penny for living expenses and tuition before returning to school, getting into college, and climbing the ladder step by step. I know what poor girls go through. So after I made my fortune, I discussed it with my partners and established a foundation dedicated solely to sponsoring girls. To avoid situations like today, I even took time out of my busy schedule to visit many of the families myself. And Lily… she walked ten miles of mountain road alone just to meet me when she heard the inspection team was in town. I still remember her clearly. She wore oversized, patched clothes. She was in junior high but looked as small and frail as an elementary schooler. She looked dusty and gray, except for her eyes. They shone. When I was about to get in the car to leave, she hugged my leg. Before she could even speak, tears started streaming down her face. I followed Lily to her home. Her mother had passed away early, and her father had broken his leg at a construction site. Her elderly grandmother was responsible for the whole family’s livelihood. The only breadwinner had fallen. Lily had to drop out, waiting for the family’s situation to improve before she could return to school. I asked her why she wanted to study. At the time, she looked lost and whispered her answer. “I don’t know. Our teacher said if we don’t study, we’ll be stuck in this village forever. I don’t want that. I want to see the world written in the books.” As long as she wanted to read, I would support her. Chapter 3 Lucas’s case was definitely not isolated. Being played for a fool felt terrible. I took Sarah and traveled overnight to Lily’s hometown. With a fire burning in my chest, I wanted to ask Lily face-to-face. Plane to train, train to bus, bus to a rickety three-wheeler. It took fifteen hours to reach Lily’s home. It took me fifteen hours to get here from the most prosperous city. But for a girl like Lily, it might take a lifetime to get out. I didn’t believe the girl who hugged my leg and begged for an education would choose marriage because she “couldn’t handle the hardship.” And I absolutely refused to let the money that countless women and I worked so hard for fall into the wrong hands. I followed the village chief and the local coordinator through the muddy path, trudging through the sludge. The chief knew me but didn’t know why we were here. Once he knew we were looking for Lily, he wouldn’t shut up about the Miller family’s situation. “Ever since you sponsored the Millers, Ms. Vance, their life has improved so much.” “It’s just a shame Lily is so disappointing. She didn’t want to study anymore in her sophomore year.” “Luckily, her brother has a brain. He’s made for studying. Always top of his class, and his SAT scores were great.” “If you ask me, boys are just better. Girls can’t hack it.” He rambled on, praising Lucas non-stop. The coordinator beside him chimed in too. “Lucas really did us proud.” “We have quite a few capable boys like Lucas in our county.” “Does Ms. Vance want to meet them this time?” These two chatterboxes reminded me of when I first started the foundation. My company had just taken off, and the liaison sent to work with me was a man. When he learned I only provided opportunities for girls, he tried to “educate” me earnestly. “Girls only do well in elementary school. Once boys hit their stride, they easily surpass girls.” “There are plenty of boys in the world who can’t afford to eat or pay tuition either.” “Ms. Vance, you’re a person of vision. Surely you won’t be swayed by that divisive gender rhetoric online.” “The country needs excellent men. You should sponsor more boys, Ms. Vance. Contribute to building the nation.” I have to say, men have a natural ability to advocate for their own kind. Even facing a superior with more money and status, they dare to fight for strangers of the same sex. And they spare no effort to suppress and exclude anyone who isn’t like them, cutting off their upward mobility and demeaning their character. I deeply admired that. It’s something I need to learn more about. So I kicked him out of my company. After communicating with his company’s higher-ups, a female executive who had climbed out of poverty just like me promised to give me an explanation. Soon after, I heard he was fired and saddled with a huge penalty for breach of contract. He spent every day working odd jobs to pay off his debt. We arrived at the Miller’s gate. Last time I was here, it was a mud hut. Now it was a red brick house with a tiled roof. My heart sank. The moment I entered the yard, I recognized the girl washing clothes in the center. Chapter 4 She was as thin and frail as ever. Hearing the noise, she turned to look. Those eyes that once shone were now dull, as if covered by a veil. When she recognized me, she lowered her head nervously, wiping her hands over and over on her tattered clothes. Lily’s voice was as thin as a mosquito’s buzz. “Ms. Vance…” I walked closer to her. Lily kept her head down, afraid to look me in the eye. The commotion in the yard disturbed her father inside. He dragged his leg, limping out. I scrutinized him. He looked energetic. Even with the bad leg, he didn’t look like the deathly ill man lying in bed a few years ago. In contrast, Lily, a teenager, wore clothes washed white with age. Her back was deeply bent. She didn’t look young at all. Seeing me, Mr. Miller froze, then greeted me awkwardly. “Ms. Vance… you’re here.” The village chief shooed away the onlookers and ushered us inside. Lily stood by the door. Mr. Miller sat aside, puffing on a cigarette. The room was filled with smoke, making me nauseous. Checking my phone to confirm the police were on their way, I didn’t bother beating around the bush. I slammed a stack of documents onto the table. “Explain this. How did the student I sponsored turn from a girl in freshman year to a boy in sophomore year overnight?” Mr. Miller glanced at the contract and stammered. “Ms. Vance, I’m sorry. Our family is just too poor. Lily’s grades were bad, and we were afraid she wouldn’t get into college. That’s why we came up with the idea of letting Lucas take the scholarship.” “We’ll pay you back! Just give us some time. Once Lucas graduates and gets a job, we’ll pay you back.” “If that doesn’t work, I’ll sell the house and land to pay you back.” I ignored his plea for pity, my voice flat. “Mr. Miller, do you take me for a fool?” “The agreement was to sponsor Lily. Even if she didn’t get into college and the money went down the drain, I wouldn’t care.” “If you wanted Lucas to have a scholarship, you could have found a foundation for boys.” “You deceived me for two years. If Lucas hadn’t run to me, were you planning to keep hiding it?” The village chief stepped forward, grinning to reveal yellow teeth. “Look at this mess. You just wanted to sponsor a student out of the goodness of your heart, right? Does it matter if it’s a boy or a girl? They’re both students.” “Lily didn’t want to study anymore. She was the one who brought it up.” “She said she couldn’t do it, that the family needed a scholar, and she was willing to support her brother. Old Miller beat her and scolded her, but the kid just wouldn’t go back to school. We couldn’t do anything.” “She’s saved up quite a bit working these past two years. The money she owes you will be paid off soon.” With that, he shoved Lily forward, forcing her to explain. Lily’s voice was hoarse. “Yes, my grades were slipping too fast. I couldn’t keep up with my classmates, so I dropped out voluntarily.” I had seen Lily’s records. She had always been top of her class growing up. Even in high school, she was consistently above average. How could she plummet in sophomore year? I didn’t believe a girl who believed she had a gift for reading and wanted to change her destiny through books would quit for no reason. Looking at this exhausted child, I asked softly. “Were you bullied at school? Or did something happen?” The village chief stepped forward, trying to pull Lily back. “What could happen to a kid? She’s just dumb. Not smart enough.” Lily opened her mouth to speak but was shut down by the chief. Seeing that the chief was intentionally silencing her, my face darkened. “I’m asking Lily. Do you think you can answer for her?” The chief looked embarrassed and reluctantly let go.

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My childhood best friend died saving me from a fire. Soon after, a “System” appeared. It told me that if I could knock the school’s golden boy, Sebastian Thorne, off his pedestal, I could bring my best friend back to life. So, I did what I had to do. I approached the aloof, untouchable genius. I became the only girl he let into his life. Two weeks before our final exams—the SATs—I suddenly saw floating comments scroll across my vision like a live stream. [This villainess is so dumb. She doesn’t even know Tyler is the illegitimate son of the Thorne family. Faking his death and pretending to be a System just to drive the genius crazy…] [Poor Sebastian. He’s been secretly in love with the villainess for seven years. He’s going to skip the SATs for her, only to find out the truth at his 18th birthday party. His mom jumps off a building from the shock, and he’s traumatized for life.] [Hurry up, Heroine! Our male lead needs you to save him!] I froze. I stared at Sebastian, who was currently kneeling on one knee, tying my shoelace. “Sebastian,” I whispered. “Let’s get into MIT together, okay?” Chapter 1 The floating comments paused for a second. Then they scrolled furiously. [Did I hear that right? The villainess wants to go to MIT with the male lead? What about our precious Heroine?] [What is she doing? Isn’t she obsessed with Tyler? Is this some new manipulation tactic?] Sebastian looked just as surprised. He looked up, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. “MIT? But Cece, you said you hated nerds…” Guilt washed over me. Sebastian was brilliant, elegant, and kind. He was anything but a stereotypical nerd. I had only said that to manipulate him, to make him give up on his academic future. Seeing my silence, a shadow crossed his eyes, but he quickly replaced it with a gentle smile. “Is this another test? Don’t worry, Cece. I won’t take the SATs.” “I promised you. I never break a promise.” The comments exploded again. [This villainess is evil! Look at how she’s gaslighting him! He feels like he has to prove himself constantly.] [Thank god the male lead is smart. He saw right through her. Not gonna lie, I almost believed her.] [My poor boy. Giving up his future for her… being a good kid his whole life and now this…] Lines of text flashed before my eyes. I pushed down the panic rising in my chest and looked Sebastian straight in the eye. “It’s not a test, Sebastian. I want to go to MIT.” “With you.” “So, starting today, let’s study properly, okay?” The comments were in chaos. Sebastian looked equally confused. Shock mixed with a glimmer of hope. He opened his mouth, closed it, and just looked at me, unsure. I must have been so cruel before that he didn’t dare believe me now. I sighed, feeling helpless and guilty. I reached out and cupped his face. “Sebastian, really. Not a test.” “I swear. If I’m lying to you this time, I’ll…” He put a finger to my lips, silencing me. “Don’t swear. I believe you.” Chapter 2 After sending Sebastian home, I collapsed onto my sofa, exhausted. My phone buzzed relentlessly in my pocket. I pulled it out. Messages from “The System” flooded the screen. [Cecilia, why haven’t you completed the mission?] [Don’t you want to bring Tyler back?] [Don’t forget, he died saving YOU! Being passive with your tasks… how can you face Tyler?] Tyler. My childhood friend. A year ago, my house caught fire. My parents were working late, and I was a heavy sleeper. I almost didn’t wake up. Tyler rushed into the flames alone and carried me out. But he was exhausted. A falling beam trapped him inside. When I woke up in the hospital, he was just a jar of ashes. After Tyler died, my family’s life fell apart. Our home was gone. The fire spread to the neighbors, and the compensation wiped out my parents’ savings and buried them in debt. Tyler’s mom hated us. She even tried to run my mom over with her car. That’s when “The System” found me. I received an anonymous package containing an old smartphone and a note. [Want to resurrect Tyler?] [Unlock this.] The moment I unlocked it, anonymous texts started appearing. The sender claimed to be a System trapped in the phone due to some cosmic rule. It said if I successfully completed the “Conquest Mission”—knocking the golden boy Sebastian Thorne off his pedestal—I could revive Tyler and erase everything the fire destroyed. I believed it. I desperately wanted Tyler back. I wanted my life back. So I clung to that hope. I did everything “The System” asked. Get close to Sebastian. Seduce Sebastian. Destroy Sebastian. Until an hour ago, when I saw those strange comments. Chapter 3 The phone was still buzzing. [Cecilia! Answer me!] [Have you forgotten? You killed Tyler!] [You can’t even do this one small thing? Do you deserve his sacrifice?] Every sentence was an accusation. But the floating comments were reacting even stronger than I was. [Honestly, the villainess is kind of pitiful. She’s carrying all this guilt for a death that wasn’t her fault. Tyler is trash for gaslighting her like this.] [Wake up, girl! Tyler set the fire himself!] [In the original story, she finds out later and regrets everything. She’s not evil, just manipulated. Later, when Tyler kidnaps the Heroine, the villainess saves her and dies taking Tyler down with her…] Tyler set the fire? My heart seized. As if proving the comments right, a video materialized in the air. Dim club lighting. Tyler, alive and well, with a girl on each arm, looking arrogant and cruel. It was a side of him I’d never seen. His friends were laughing, passing a phone around. “Ty, what’s up with your little pet? Usually she replies instantly. It’s been half an hour.” “Maybe she figured it out?” Tyler smirked lazily. “Does she dare?” “True,” someone laughed. “Last time she was two hours late, you had someone hit her dad with a car and blamed it on ‘System Punishment.’ She totally bought it. A dutiful daughter like her wouldn’t gamble with her parents’ lives.” The car accident… I started trembling uncontrollably. Hatred, pure and cold, surged through me. I remembered that day. It was a “System Mission.” I had to intercept Sebastian on his way home and convince him to give up his spot in an international competition. I waited on his route and ran into the road when I saw his license plate. The driver was skilled; he stopped inches from me. I was terrified. I looked up into Sebastian’s worried eyes. “Sebastian, my head hurts.” Just one sentence. He missed his flight to Europe. He stayed by my hospital bed for twenty-four hours until the doctors cleared me. When I got home, I met Tyler’s mom downstairs. She said she was going to visit Tyler’s grave and demanded I go buy his favorite pastries from a shop twenty miles away. The subway ride took exactly two hours. I rushed home, only to find a pool of blood downstairs. And my mother, weeping uncontrollably. Chapter 4 “The System” had given me an explanation then. [Cecilia, the Main System detected your passive attitude. Your father’s accident is a punishment.] I couldn’t accept it. The phone “The System” gave me was an old model with a terrible battery. It died before I got home, and the charger port was obsolete. If I hadn’t gone to buy those pastries… “The System” paused for a few minutes after hearing my plea. [I will report this anomaly to the Main System. Don’t worry, the System will arrange the best medical care for your father. But remember, never go silent for more than an hour again.] [Your excuse is accepted this time. Only this time.] My thoughts snapped back to the video floating in the air. “Ty really went hard that time. Almost killed the old man. Hahaha! If her dad died, she might stop listening to you.” Tyler smirked. “What’s there to be afraid of? I sent him to the hospital, didn’t I? He won’t die. Besides, if her dad dies, she still has a mom, right?” I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached. The laughter in the video grated on my nerves. In that moment, I wanted to kill Tyler with my own hands. The comments scrolled by: [Screw this guy. How can a human being be this disgusting?] [Tyler grew up in Cecilia’s house because his parents ignored him. Her parents treated him like a son. He’s an animal.] [Ahhhh I can’t take it! Villainess, please wake up!] I forced down the hate. My hands shaking, I typed a reply to Tyler. [No.] [Something came up. I didn’t have time.] He replied instantly. [Fine. New mission.] [Within 24 hours, use any method necessary to make Sebastian break ties with his mother.] [Cecilia, this is your last chance.] [Your parents’ lives, and Tyler’s life, are in your hands.] I froze. Before I could reply, the comments went wild. [OMG! This is it! The turning point! The male lead fights with his mom about quitting school and runs away. His mom faints from anger, and his scumbag dad feeds her the wrong medicine—nerve-damaging drugs!] [Don’t remind me… Sebastian’s mom is a powerhouse, super cautious. If she hadn’t been heartbroken over her son, the dad never would have had the chance.] [Then the dad tricks her into signing over her assets and brings Tyler to Sebastian’s 18th birthday party…] [Villainess, I’m begging you, don’t do it!] I stared at the text. I decided to go find Sebastian.

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