Category: English

  • After Bearing the Alpha Billionaire’s Child, I Cried in Terror

    The alpha billionaire, Damian Blackwood, was sterile. Desperate for an heir, he kept a hundred ‘canaries’ at his sprawling estate. He made a public declaration: whoever bore him a child would receive a billion-dollar prize. A year later, ten of the canaries gave birth in succession. But every single one of them had their limbs hacked off and were buried alive. The reason given was infidelity. A month after that, my own ten-month pregnancy came to term. But one look at my newborn child, and I started sobbing in terror. The children of the other women, the ones buried alive for their betrayal, were at least human. My baby… wasn’t even human. It was five tiny calico kittens. 1 The private physician who delivered them fainted on the spot. Only my personal maid, Martha, was left, her eyes wide as she stammered, “Miss Monroe, what… what is this?” What was this? I wanted to know too! How could a human being give birth to cats? I pinched my thigh, hard, praying this was all just a nightmare. But the pain was sharp and real. This was not a dream. I was finished. The gruesome fate of the first ten women flashed through my mind, and I collapsed onto the bed, too numb for tears. A year ago, I was brought to this luxurious estate along with a hundred other young women from all corners of the country. That day, Damian Blackwood had announced his terms to all of us: the first woman to give him a child would walk away with one billion dollars. And so, the race began. Pills, acupuncture, desperate prayers to any god who would listen… every trick in the book was tried, but no one got pregnant. Until a month later, when the plainest of us all, a quiet girl named Jenna, suddenly announced she was expecting. Damian was ecstatic. He showered her with attention, a constant stream of jewels and fine things delivered to her room. Over the next month, nine more canaries fell pregnant. I was the last one to sleep with Damian. And it only happened because he was drunk, stumbled into the wrong room, and took me in a hazy stupor. I thought my chances were zero. But to my shock, the next month, I too tested positive. Just as all the expectant mothers were praying for a smooth delivery, Jenna gave birth. It was a boy. Everyone envied her, believing the billion dollars was as good as hers. Instead, her arms and legs were severed on the spot, and she was buried alive with her child. The reason? Infidelity. The child wasn’t Damian’s. One by one, the other women gave birth. And one by one, they were accused of cheating, of borrowing another man’s seed, and were met with the same brutal end. At first, I didn’t understand how Damian found out. Not until my own labor began. Damian stood guard outside the door himself, flanked by doctors and his personal security. The moment a child was born, a paternity test was performed. The first ten canaries failed that test, and their sentences were carried out immediately. It was true they had risked everything, getting pregnant by other men for the money. But I hadn’t! So why did I give birth to five kittens? Right now, Damian Blackwood and his entourage were waiting just outside my door. What could I do? The other women at least had a baby that could be tested. But I had a litter of tiny, fluffy kittens. The second Damian saw them, he would have us all ground to dust. As panic consumed me, Damian’s cold voice cut through the door. “What’s with the silence in there?” His urgent footsteps approached… 2 Damian was about to push the door open. I was frantic. I scrambled to scoop up the squirming kittens and shoved them into Martha’s arms, hissing in a low voice, “Quick! Hide them in the trash bin!” Martha gave me a shocked look, but her body moved faster than her brain. In a flash, all five kittens were nestled in the bin. Just as she finished, the door swung open. Damian’s gaze swept from the fainted doctor on the floor to my empty delivery bed. His brow furrowed. “What happened? Where’s your child?” His eyes bored into me, demanding an answer. I knew if I couldn’t come up with a believable explanation, I’d be in a shallow grave within the minute. My heart hammered against my ribs, my mind racing. In that split second, I took a deep breath, rolled off the bed, and gave Damian a deep, solemn bow. “Mr. Blackwood! I… I have failed you!” Damian’s face instantly darkened. “Tell me, how exactly have you failed me?” As he spoke, the bodyguards behind him rested their hands on the hilts of their daggers. I clutched my stomach, feigning extreme shame, my voice trembling. “Mr. Blackwood, what I just fought to deliver… it wasn’t a baby!” “It was a giant, foul-smelling, years-old… bowel movement!” “The stench is what made the doctor faint!” The room fell into a dead silence. The doctors and bodyguards stared, their professional masks cracking with disbelief. Damian’s lips twitched. He eyed my stomach suspiciously. “Who performed your prenatal check-ups?” “Dr. Wells,” I said quickly. “Mr. Blackwood, Jenna and I never got along. Dr. Wells was her lover. I suspect he deliberately misdiagnosed me to make me look like a fool in front of you! I was stupid enough to believe him. I spent months eating everything in sight, thinking I was growing a baby, but I was just getting fat! The terrible pain just now… it wasn’t labor, it was… relief!” Dr. Wells had already been disposed of along with Jenna. A dead man couldn’t defend himself. He was the perfect scapegoat. Damian’s face was a thundercloud. “So, I’ve been waiting outside all this time… for you to take a dump?” 3 The humiliation was crushing, but I forced myself to nod. “I never expected such a… bizarre situation. I’m so sorry to have wasted your time.” Damian gave me a look I couldn’t decipher, then barked an order to the doctor behind him. “Dr. Miles, examine her. See if she’s telling the truth.” It’s over! Dear God, you’re determined to take both my dignity and my life, aren’t you? Under Damian’s intense gaze, I held out my arm, feeling like the Grim Reaper was already calling my name. Dr. Miles conducted a thorough check, then pushed his glasses up his nose. “Mr. Blackwood, Miss Monroe’s physical condition is… quite unique.” Damian raised an eyebrow. “Unique how?” Dr. Miles’s tone was serious. “Her heartbeat is strong, her vitals are excellent. She shows none of the signs of a woman who has just endured childbirth. From a medical standpoint, she does not present as postpartum at all.” My eyes lit up. I wanted to fall at Dr. Miles’s feet and thank him. Of course, a normal woman would be half-dead after giving birth. But I wasn’t normal! The five kittens combined weighed next to nothing. Delivering them had been no different from… well, what I claimed it was. If Damian wasn’t here, I could probably run a hundred-meter dash. Hearing the doctor’s report, Damian’s face grew even darker. He was probably picturing himself waiting anxiously outside the door for a pile of crap. A vein pulsed in his temple. He stared at me, his voice a low growl. “You absolute idiot.” “From now on, you’re moving to the back shed! You are not to come out without my permission!” The back shed? I nodded eagerly. “Thank you, Mr. Blackwood, for your immense generosity!” It worked! I was alive! The sheer joy of survival made me dizzy. I quickly grabbed a stunned Martha and the trash bin containing my children, and we moved into the shed that very night. It was dilapidated and old, but as I looked at the five tiny kittens nestled on a makeshift cushion, it felt like paradise. “Martha, quick, get some rice water. These little ones must be hungry.” Martha brought the water, but no matter how we tried, the kittens wouldn’t drink. Seeing them huddled together so pitifully, Martha hesitated. “Miss Monroe, since you… gave birth to them… maybe you should try nursing them?” A human nursing cats? Was that even a thing? But they were mine. I couldn’t just watch them starve. I managed to express a little milk into a bowl. The moment I did, the five kittens, their eyes still sealed shut, scrambled toward it as if drawn by an invisible force. They lapped up the entire bowl in seconds. Just like their mother, I thought with a swell of pride. Tough little survivors. As I continued to feed them, I pondered the whole situation. I had only been with one man in my entire life: Damian Blackwood. So why did I give birth to a litter of kittens? I retraced every single detail before and during my pregnancy. My diet was normal. I hadn’t been exposed to anything strange. The only unusual thing was the day before I slept with Damian. I’d found a pure white stray cat in a corner of the garden and given it some meat. Could it be? Was that cat repaying my kindness by gifting me five of its children? As I was lost in thought, I heard a soft, sweet voice. “Mama, hungry.” I thought I was hearing things. I looked down, and nearly jumped out of my skin. The five kittens who had just been greedily drinking milk had transformed into five plump, cherubic babies! 4 My hand trembled, and the bowl crashed to the floor. Martha shrieked and dove behind me. “Miss Monroe! The cats… they turned into people!” I swallowed hard. “I see them.” One moment, they were five balls of fluff. The next, five chubby human babies. Right now, all five of them were staring at me with wide, round eyes, repeating in their tiny, singsong voices, “Mama, hungry, eat-eat.” Oh, God, are you trying to kill me with shock? Giving birth to kittens was one thing. But now the kittens were turning into babies? “Martha! The door! Lock the door, now!” I practically threw myself at the door, fumbling with the lock. Then I took a deep breath and walked back to the cushion. Hesitantly, I reached out and poked the cheek of the nearest baby. It was soft. Warm. A real, living human. “You… you can talk?” I asked in disbelief. The baby I’d poked nodded vigorously and held out his little arms. “Mama, hold.” The other four immediately started whining. “Mama, hungry, eat-eat.” Oh, my God. Not only had they turned into people, but they could talk from birth? What in the world had I given birth to?! After the shock wore off, a strange wave of maternal instinct washed over me. Looking at their adorable, chubby faces, my heart melted. I didn’t care if they were cats, demons, or humans. They were my children now. I snapped into action, picking them up one by one to nurse them. Perhaps because they were cats at their core, their appetites were small. They were all full in no time. The following days were a whirlwind of chaotic baby care in the shed. The five little ones spent most of their time as cute, well-behaved infants. They only transformed back into kittens when they were scared, usually when I scolded them. They grew at an astonishing rate, changing almost daily. Within two weeks, they could walk and even jump. I had warned them sternly never to leave our room, and they were obedient, so we avoided any close calls. While life inside the shed was a peaceful bubble of secrecy, outside, the story of “Ava Monroe’s ten-month pregnancy that produced a giant turd” had become the joke of the entire city. The estate buzzed with mockery. “Did you hear? That Ava Monroe was so desperate for money she was rubbing a belly full of crap and calling it her son!” “I heard the doctor fainted from the smell! He was so traumatized he quit on the spot!” “Now the whole city knows our estate has a woman who was pregnant with poop for ten months!” “And get this, she’s gone crazy in that shed. People hear her talking to herself, calling out for her ‘babies’ all day!” Martha would stomp her feet in anger whenever she heard the gossip, but I let it roll off my back. What did they know? I had five shape-shifting, talking babies! Whatever their origin, their intelligence was clearly superior to that of any drooling, ordinary infant. I even started to feel like it was a blessing in disguise. No more competing for favor, no more backstabbing. Life was a little poorer, but guarding my five precious secrets, it was also quite fulfilling. The only downside was the shed’s terrible condition. It was cold and drafty, and our daily meals consisted of leftovers from the main house. For five growing babies, cold scraps were barely enough to fill their tiny stomachs. One evening, I was staring at our empty bowls, wondering what to do, when I turned around and saw their cushion was empty! All five babies were gone!

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  • The Rumor Mill Redemption

    I was bound to a “Rumor System.” As long as I successfully spread rumors about every single one of my classmates before graduation, I could prevent my entire family from meeting a gruesome end. So, I pointed at the school bully and lied through my teeth: “Heh, he acts like a total delinquent, but behind the scenes? He helps old ladies cross the street and takes stray cats to get neutered!” I also spun tales about the busty girl who was always the target of crude jokes: “She’s protected by the Great Spirit of the Weasel. Anyone who disrespects her will have their private parts rot off!” Even the impoverished straight-A student, who was constantly bullied, didn’t escape my clutches: “You think he’s actually poor? Please. He’s a billionaire heir experiencing life as a commoner. Anyone who messes with him… just wait for your family business to go bankrupt!” Later on, the bully became a national role model for morality. The busty girl founded a top fashion brand. And the poor genius’s kid became the real billionaire heir. And me? I became that heir’s mom. 1 I had a nightmare. In it, my entire family died in a horrific accident. When I woke up, a strange voice echoed in my head. [Hello, Host. I am System 006 from the Villain System Alliance. My name is the Rumor System.] [As long as you achieve the achievement “Slander the Entire Class” before graduation, you can change the fate you saw in your dream.] [Instructions: The Host can draw power from rumors. The stronger the spread and impact of the rumor, the greater the chance of changing your fate.] Seeing my confusion, it enthusiastically offered examples. [You can spread rumors that the valedictorian cheats, the good girl sleeps around, the honest guy steals…] I stared blankly. “Are all you systems this shameless?” The system’s voice was flat. [You can choose not to cooperate. If you can accept your entire family dying violently, that is.] …I absolutely could not accept that. After a moment, I gritted my teeth. “Deal.” 2 Soon, the system issued the first mission. [Please create a rumor for the designated target within 24 hours.] The class roster appeared on the system panel. One name was glowing. Jax Carter. I let out a silent scream. Why did it have to be the school bully who no one dared to mess with?! 3 As the class president for over a year, Jax had caused me endless trouble. Skipping class, fighting, talking back to teachers… He had violated practically every rule in the student handbook! But whenever you criticized him, he would just prop his legs up on the desk with an attitude that said he feared nothing in heaven or on earth. Even when teachers threatened to call his parents, he didn’t care. “My parents divorced ages ago. I don’t even remember what they look like. If you can find them, I’ll change my last name to yours!” The teachers were always furious but helpless. How was I supposed to spread rumors about someone this untouchable? I fell into deep thought. … After school, I quietly snuck back into the classroom. With the dedication of a five-star hotel maid, I cleaned the room inside and out. I replaced the broken trash can. I watered the drooping plants. I scrubbed until the room was spotless. Finally, looking at the gleaming classroom, I smiled like a villain whose plan had succeeded. Jax Carter, just you wait. 2 The next day, as soon as I arrived at the classroom, panicked classmates grabbed me. “Prez! Something crazy happened! We have a cleaning fairy!” A group of them looked like they had seen a ghost, dragging me to see the classroom that had transformed overnight. I stroked my chin, putting on a mysterious expression. “It wasn’t a fairy. I know who did it.” Curious classmates crowded around. “Who?” I looked secretive. “Sorry, I promised them I wouldn’t reveal their name.” My bestie, the Academic Rep, whined and tugged my arm. “Come on, bestie, just tell me.” “We promise not to tell anyone.” Others chimed in, promising secrecy. I nodded, then finally spoke: “There is only one truth!” “It was him—” Imitating Detective Conan, I pointed dramatically at Jax’s empty desk. Everyone shook their heads. “No way!” “He kicked a soccer ball and muddied the wall just two days ago, and you two had a huge fight about it. Forgot?” “Yeah, Prez, did you see it wrong?” I shook my head solemnly and began to lie with a straight face: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” “Let me tell you, it wasn’t just this once.” “I also saw him helping an old lady cross the street!” “Taking stray cats to get neutered!” “Covering a sleeping puppy’s belly button so it wouldn’t catch a cold!” “Secretly erasing homework the teacher left on the board!” The students looked at each other, disbelief written on their faces. But with the Rumor System’s boost, my lies were accepted unconditionally. The system’s voice rang in my head. [Host rumor successful. First mission complete.] You got this, Quinn! I cheered for myself. 3 When Jax stepped into the classroom right as the bell rang, everyone stared at him. “Wh-what!” He froze, suspiciously checking his outfit. Sure, his clothes and shoes were a bit old and dirty, but not enough to cause this kind of attention. He looked up, confused. Classmates who usually gave him the cold shoulder were staring at him. Their eyes were filled with… warmth and admiration? He walked to his seat, trembling. Just then, the Academic Rep came to collect homework. He habitually tossed his head. “Didn’t do it!” Usually, the Rep would scold him, but today she was uncharacteristically gentle. “It’s okay, I understand.” “After all, you’re so busy after school…” She quickly covered her mouth. “I mean, it’s fine. If you have questions about the homework in the future, just ask me. We’re classmates, don’t be shy!” Jax had question marks floating above his head. You don’t hit a smiling person, so he mumbled a vague thanks. All day, no matter where he went, people looked at him with mysterious, knowing eyes. It made him too embarrassed to cause trouble. Even during gym exercises, he did the moves seriously. During break, classmates came up to thank him one by one. “Jax, you changed the water cooler bottle, right? Thank you so much! Here, have a candy~” “Jax, did you fix the broken curtain rod? I bumped my head on it last time. I didn’t expect you to notice. Thanks a lot!” “Jax, let me explain that math problem you couldn’t solve last time, okay?” … Surrounded by kindness, Jax was bewildered. He tried to act tough: “I told you it wasn’t me!” But no matter how he explained, everyone was convinced he was doing good deeds anonymously. A classmate timidly asked for help. “I’ve been extorted twice this week by thugs from the high school next door. I don’t even have lunch money. Jax, can you help me…” Jax slammed the table. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Damn it, I’ll skin them alive!” Those eyes, usually gloomy, lit up for the first time. 4 At 9 PM, the system began its evaluation. It mocked me: “Although the mission is complete, rumors of this level have minimal effec— Holy crap, how is this possible?” The interface showed my rumor had a significant impact. I finally relaxed. The system checked the backend in disbelief and finally found the answer. It said Jax was originally destined to become a small-time thug and die in a gang fight during a rainstorm. Ending a life no one cared about. But now, it detected a deviation in his destined path. Bound by the rules, the system reluctantly gave me bonus points. [Cunning human, cheating the system like this. You won’t be so lucky next time.] I ignored its tantrum. My gaze fell on my philosophy textbook. A sentence I had highlighted in red: Development arises from internal contradictions within things. When contradictions accumulate to a certain point, change is inevitable. Exciting, isn’t it? 5 During this month’s class meeting, Jax was anonymously voted “Star of Contribution.” When the results were announced, he was stunned. He fidgeted, looking like he might fall over. He clearly remembered a secret vote once where he was named “Most Unwelcome Person.” He pretended not to care, but he was humiliated. Since his parents divorced, the lonely boy always tried to get attention in clumsy ways, only to push people away. But now… Amidst the applause that wouldn’t stop, he wiped his eyes hard and stood on the podium. “I did a lot of wrong things before. I want to apologize to everyone I hurt.” “I, Jax Carter, promise to change.” “I will work hard to contribute to the class, to everyone!” 6 That night, the system gave me a new mission. [Please select a female student and spread scandalous rumors about her.] I nearly snapped the pen in my hand. The system gloated, [Let’s see how you wriggle out of this one.] After a long silence, I accepted the mission. 7 My target was Mia Rowling, a shy and timid girl. Her recent nickname was “Cow.” Some punks from another class had targeted her because of her figure and started using the nickname. Like rats in a sewer, someone fueled the flames, and the nickname spread tacitly. During gym and extracurriculars, boys would “accidentally” bump into her chest and laugh. Even in the cafeteria line, people would pull at her collar and straps. “So slutty. Wonder how many guys have touched her?” “Stop pretending. Covering up so much, bet she wants people to look.” … Mia couldn’t defend herself. She started wearing even baggier clothes to hide her body. The boys in our class didn’t join in, but they were too embarrassed to stand up for her. The girls spoke up every time, but we couldn’t protect her 24/7. Even though we tried to tell Mia her body wasn’t a shackle and she should be proud, she grew thinner and more haggard. Mia’s deskmate said she heard somewhere that losing weight reduces breast size, so she started dieting frantically. Recently, she developed anorexia and took a month off school. Next week was her return. I had to hurry.

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  • He’s Not Just the Pining Second Lead

    My marriage to Victor Hayes was a business arrangement. On our wedding night, as I offered to sleep in the guest room, a line of text materialized before my eyes. 【No! Don’t you dare sleep in the guest room! I have a severe allergy to fade-to-black scenes!】 【He’s putting on a brave face, but hearing you say that just shattered his world!】 【Just look at your husband! He’s been secretly in love with you for ten years!】 【And to think Victor wore those sexy shirt garters just to seduce his new wife… all for nothing! LOL!】 Shirt garters? Well, now I have to see. 1 It was ten o’clock at night. After playing the perfect hosts to our guests, Victor and I finally left the family estate. The leg that had been trapped in high heels all day throbbed with a dull ache. I couldn’t help but reach down and rub it. “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?” Victor, who had been immersed in work on his tablet, noticed my awkward posture. “Yeah, it’s been a while since I wore heels. My legs are killing me.” The words had barely left my lips when a warm hand settled on my shoulder, gently guiding me to sit up straight. Victor leaned down, slipped off my heels, and lifted my legs onto his lap. Realizing what he was about to do, I instinctively tried to pull back. “I can do it myse—” “—Let me.” His grip on my calf was gentle but firm, a silent command not to move. It was a battle I lost in a single second. I stopped struggling. Victor’s massage was perfect—the pressure just right, the warmth of his hands seeping into my sore muscles. The discomfort and tightness in my legs began to melt away. He carefully rotated my ankle. “If you’re not used to heels, you don’t have to wear them.” “Victor, you don’t get it,” I countered. “A silk sheath dress needs heels to look right.” “Your comfort is more important.” “So, you’re saying I don’t look good?” I tilted my head, my eyes locking with his. His hands stilled for a moment before he averted his gaze. “You look beautiful,” he murmured. Pleased with his answer, I swung my legs playfully. The movement was a little too enthusiastic, and my calf brushed against something small and hard. “Ouch. Your keys are digging into my leg, Victor.” “…” “It’s not a key,” he said, clearing his throat. “Now, stop fidgeting.” Not a key? Then what was it? Before I could ponder it further, the car glided to a stop. The driver’s voice crackled through the intercom. “We’ve arrived, sir.” By the time I’d gathered my things, Victor was already out of the car. Seriously? He didn’t even wait for me! So much for being a gentleman! “Hey, wait up—” My complaint was cut short as he leaned back into the car, hooking my heels with two fingers. Then, he opened his arms to me. “Come on,” he said, his voice low. “I’ll carry you.” 2 I was cradled in Victor’s arms, my head resting against his chest. From this angle, I had a perfect view of the clean, strong line of his neck. The top button of his shirt was done up neatly, resting just below his Adam’s apple. Victor already had that cool, aloof look about him. Dressed in a crisp shirt and tailored suit, he was the epitome of restrained desire. Perfect reference material. As a dedicated artist, I couldn’t resist. My mind began tracing the lines, sketching him out in my head. “What are you daydreaming about?” “Huh?” I snapped out of my very R-rated fantasy. “Oh, nothing.” “Alright,” he said, not pressing the issue. “You must be tired. Get some rest soon.” Once we were inside, I slid out of his arms, feeling a little self-conscious. My suitcase, covered in a chaotic collage of stickers, stood by the sofa. It looked completely out of place in his minimalist penthouse apartment. A bit like us. To call our marriage a business arrangement was putting it nicely. The truth was, my family was nowhere near his league. But years ago, my father had done Victor a great service. Now, he was cashing in that favor, forcing Victor to marry me and, in doing so, bail out my family’s failing company. A month ago, Victor was just the slightly intimidating older guy I’d always kept at a respectful distance. Now, he wasn’t just my “big brother” figure, he was my savior. Definitely someone to be admired from afar, not messed with. So, when he moved to grab my luggage, I lunged for it. “I’ve got it! I’ll just take the guest room, it’s fine!” He paused, then gently took the handle from my grasp. “You’ll sleep in the master bedroom. It’s already been prepared.” His voice seemed to drop a little. “I’ll take the guest room.” With that, he wheeled my suitcase into the master bedroom, leaving me no room to argue. I trailed behind him, trying to think of something else to say, when the strange text floated across my vision again. 【Nooo! Victor, don’t sleep in the guest room! I hate fade-to-black!】 【They’re married! Just do it already! For me!】 【Keep dreaming. Their script is ‘polite strangers.’ There won’t be any spice here.】 【He looks so calm, but hearing her say ‘guest room’ just made his world collapse!】 What was that? Am I hallucinating? I stared blankly at the floating words, so distracted that I walked headfirst into the doorframe. The next thing I knew, Victor had pulled me over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?!” A warm hand rested on my head. Victor’s brow was furrowed with genuine concern; I’d clearly scared him. I shook my head, but the movement was too sharp, and a wave of dizziness made me gag. He shot to his feet. “I’m calling a doctor.” “Don’t!” I grabbed his arm to stop him. “I’m fine!” Tripping over my own feet is embarrassing enough without an audience. What would a doctor even do? Document my clumsiness for medical science? I held onto his hand, my gaze intense. “I’m really okay! I just… I need to sleep.” The sheer humiliation of it all made me desperate for some alone time. I waved my hands toward the door, issuing a clear dismissal. “You should go get some rest too, Victor!” As soon as I said it, the pop-up comments flared to life again. 【LMAO! My sweet, clumsy girl!】 【Victor, how can you resist pouncing on this adorable dummy?】 【You thirsty animals need to calm down. They aren’t the endgame couple!】 【The fact that Victor put on shirt garters to seduce her is sending me. What a waste!】 What do you mean, not the endgame couple? We literally just got married. My head was spinning. The knock to my head must have been worse than I thought. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the annoying text to disappear. A second later, they snapped open again. Wait a second. What did you just say? Shirt garters?! 3 My eyes darted down to Victor’s long legs. Beneath the impeccably tailored fabric of his suit trousers, I could just make out the faint, raised line of a strap. He seemed completely oblivious to my staring, leaning down to gently pat my head. “Alright, I won’t force you. If you start to feel worse, just call me from next door, okay?” As he bent over, the trousers pulled taut against his thigh, defining the powerful muscle beneath. The strap, once a subtle hint, was now in sharp relief. He really was wearing them. So those pop-up comments… they were real? By the time I processed this, Victor had already turned to leave. “Wait!” My hand shot out to stop him. I meant to grab the hem of his suit jacket. Instead, my brain short-circuited, and my fingers closed around that hidden strap, right through the fine wool of his trousers. Victor’s body went rigid. He turned back slowly, his eyes wide with disbelief. His stare sent another jolt through my brain, and I snatched my hand back. A sharp snap echoed in the silent room. Before I could hide my traitorous hand, he caught it, pulling me forward with a gentle tug. Suddenly, I was in his arms, his large hand pressing against the small of my back, holding me close. “June… what are you doing?” Victor’s voice, usually so smooth and resonant, was now laced with a raw, husky edge. It sent a shiver right down to my toes. “I… I just…” Before I could stammer out an excuse, his lips were on mine. It was a feather-light touch, a question. And before I knew it, my own arms were wrapping around his neck, answering it. June, June, June. Your nerve is truly something else. He paused for a heartbeat, then deepened the kiss, lifting me onto the bed so I was sitting on his lap. It wasn’t until I shifted that I was poked by something hard. I pushed him back slightly, breathless. “Your keys… they’re digging into me.” Victor let me go, his voice unrecognizably hoarse. “I told you. They’re not keys.” So it really was the garter clip. “Victor,” I swallowed hard. “I want to see.” “Can I?” 4 The room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. A storm of emotions flickered across Victor’s face. After what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to speak, his voice strained. “June…” “I just want to look! I swear I won’t take advantage of you!” I rushed to reassure him, afraid he’d say no. “I just… I want to see how they’re different from the ones online.” His brow furrowed. “You’ve seen them on a lot of other people?” “No, never in person! That’s why I can’t get the drawings right.” “Drawings?” “You frequently draw men’s… accessories?” Victor seemed to struggle with the word. “Like this?” Right. He only knew I was an artist. He probably had no idea what kind of art I made. “Mhm, I’m working on a new illustration series featuring shirt garters,” I explained. “I was hoping you could be my model. Would that be okay?” Looking at reference photos online just wasn’t cutting it. I remembered that Victor had played basketball since he was a kid; the muscles in his thighs had to be incredible. That superior physique, combined with his cool, stoic vibe, and the elegant, provocative touch of the garters… Just thinking about it made me drool. “So… you wanted to see the shirt garters?” “Yeah, that’s right!” For some reason, Victor looked visibly relieved. He rubbed his temples, muttering something almost too quiet to hear. “I thought…” Huh? Thought what? 【LMAO OMG, did Victor think she wanted to see his dick?!】 【Victor: I do not understand, but… yes, she can look. Yes.】 Seeing the comments and recalling his conflicted expression, a wave of mortification washed over me. I scrambled to explain. “Victor, I didn’t mean that! I really wasn’t trying to—” “—June, we’re married.” Victor cut me off gently, his gaze fixed on mine. I nodded. “I know.” He pressed his lips together, saying nothing more. Instead, he took my hand and guided it to the metal buckle at his waist. When he spoke again, his voice was as tempting as a siren’s call. “What I mean is, you can do anything you want to me.” “Go on. Unbuckle it.” 5 They were sleek, black shirt garters. One end was fastened high on Victor’s thigh. Maybe because he’d been wearing them all day, or perhaps because his skin was so pale, but the edges of his skin beneath the strap were tinged with a faint pink. The other end clipped to the hem of his shirt, pulling the fabric taut and perfectly accentuating his lean, narrow waist. It was strategically positioned, concealing things that were probably best left unseen. But I still saw. It was unavoidable. And the view was… substantial. June had a bit of nerve, but not that much. After about thirty seconds, I scrambled away, my face burning as I grabbed the bathrobe lying nearby. I must have completely lost my mind. Before I even realized what I was doing, I’d ignored Victor’s outstretched hand and clumsily wrapped the robe around his waist. I tried to back away, flustered, but an arm shot out and circled my back, pulling me into his embrace. “Done looking?” “Y-Yeah, I’m good.” God, when did I develop a stutter? “Is that really enough?” Victor asked, as if genuinely curious. “Don’t you need to sketch it?” I shook my head frantically. “Nope, I’ve got it memorized.” A soft chuckle rumbled from above me. “Good girl, June.” I looked up at the sound and fell right into the deep, dark pools of his eyes. The on-screen comments went ballistic. 【WHOA, where did this plot twist come from?! How did things escalate so fast?!】 【I don’t remember this scene in the original story! Did they change it? Is the author finally going rogue?!】 【DO IT! For the sake of your readers! I’m team Victor all the way!】 【YES, PLEASE! FULL STEAM AHEAD!】 【Can the people upstairs shut up? I can’t stand non-canon ships!】 【It’s not gonna happen. The main love interest is about to show up!】 It was like a prophecy. Just as my mind was clouded with lust and I was rising on my tiptoes to steal another kiss from Victor, the shrill ring of my phone shattered the intoxicating atmosphere.

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  • The Bottle Cap Prince

    I asked my online boyfriend what he did for a living. He said he collected bottle caps. I said I swept streets. To keep up the act, I shared my street-sweeping tips daily, and he told me which bottle caps were worth the most. Then we met in real life. We stared at each other, dumbfounded. He was my billionaire stepbrother. Him: “Sweeping streets?” Me: “Collecting bottle caps?” We locked eyes and said in unison: “Nice story, bro.” 1 I lost a game of Truth or Dare, and my friends made me use a random dating app to find a boyfriend. I had to date him for a month. No breakups allowed. But after actually dating him, I realized I was starting to like him. That wasn’t the big problem. The small problem was, when we started, I used a fake name, “Riley,” and casually mentioned I was a girl from a rural village with no education who could only find work sweeping streets. He believed it. He even told me he collected bottle caps for a living. I still remember how carefully he asked if I would look down on him. Being head-over-heels in love, I obviously said the right thing. “A street sweeper and a bottle cap collector? We’re a match made in heaven!” He was clearly thrilled. “That’s great, babe! Let’s meet up. I can’t wait to see you.” We arranged to meet at a coffee shop. But before I could see my online boyfriend, I ran into my stepbrother, Julian. “What are you doing here?” Julian and I are a blended family. After my mom divorced my dad, she got together with Julian’s father. We became step-siblings in name. But by then, I was already in college, and Julian was out starting his own AI and robotics company. We rarely saw each other, so we weren’t exactly close like traditional siblings. I honestly didn’t understand how someone could have such a poisonous tongue. He roasted me every time we met. So, I usually avoided him like the plague. Every time we spoke more than two sentences, the classic bickering script would start. Like now. “Dressed like this… are you cosplaying a mud golem?” Julian looked me up and down, suppressing a laugh. I gritted my teeth. “What do you know? It’s called Earth Tone fashion.” Clearly, he had no taste. I clenched my fist, then noticed he was holding a single rose. “Ooh, bringing a flower? Going on a date?” I reached out, but Julian dodged immediately, looking protective. That confirmed it. He was giving it to someone. “Brother, bringing a single rose that costs less than ten bucks to meet a girl? That’s a bit cheap, isn’t it?” “You wouldn’t understand.” I shut up. Didn’t argue. I wanted to see which unlucky girl caught Julian’s eye. My phone suddenly rang. It wasn’t my boyfriend, but it reminded me. Julian was here. If my boyfriend saw him, would he be intimidated? While I was thinking, my mom called. “Stella, your brother is coming home tonight. Let’s have dinner together. Come home now, I need to talk to you.” 2 I hate this! Why is meeting up so hard! It’s not like I’m asking for the moon! The problem was Julian sitting at the next table, looking like he wasn’t leaving anytime soon. Forget it. Today wasn’t the day. Retreat! I packed up and left immediately. To hide my identity, I had parked my car miles away and took an Uber. Once in the car, I messaged my boyfriend. “Sorry babe, my mom called me home for an emergency. Can’t make it today.” “It’s okay. Something came up on my end too.” Then he transferred me $520. (Note: 520 sounds like “I love you” in Chinese) How many bottle caps did he have to collect to earn that?! “I found a wallet while collecting caps yesterday. Returned it to the owner, and they insisted on giving me $500.” He got $500, but added $20 of his own money for me. He loves me too much. I’m crying. “Babe, if I give you a ten-dollar rose, would you think I’m cheap?” Seeing this message, I didn’t hesitate. “Of course not! It’s the thought that counts, not the price.” Forget a ten-dollar rose; I’d accept a dollar store plastic flower. I thought of the rose in Julian’s hand. Yup, my babe is way more sincere! It was afternoon when I got home. Before I could speak, Mom dragged me upstairs to change. I was confused, like a puppet being maneuvered. Until evening came, and Julian returned. And there was a stranger at the dinner table. “Who’s this?” The man looked up at me and gave a shy smile. I had a bad feeling. “This is the son of a friend. Just here for a casual dinner and to meet you.” A blind date? I instinctively tried to deflect. “Mom, Julian just got back from abroad today. Shouldn’t we be celebrating him?” Before I finished, Julian waved his hand dismissively. “Your future is more important. A welcome dinner is unnecessary.” “Yeah, Stella. Your brother has other plans tomorrow. You meet him first.” Before I could speak, Mom pushed me into a chair. The man opposite me kept glancing up, making me uncomfortable. “Which school did you graduate from, Ms. Stella? What do you do now?” This time I answered first. “Not much education. I sweep streets now. Salary is $1,500 a month. But I spend more than I earn, so I still need my parents’ help.” I didn’t expect Julian to react more violently, suddenly coughing. “What did you say?” I wanted to ask if he looked down on street sweepers, but Mom cut in. “No, no. Stella started a company with friends focused on urban greening. Last month they hired unemployed middle-aged women for city cleaning. They even got an award!” The man’s face relaxed. But Julian’s gaze on me became strange. “Stella Lin, what were you doing at that coffee shop today?” 3 Everyone at the table looked at me. If I said I was meeting an online boyfriend, Mom would kill me. In a panic, I smiled. “I heard you were there and wanted to see you. But you were holding a flower, looking like you had a date, so I didn’t want to disturb you.” When I first met Julian, I couldn’t accept having a new brother, so I bribed his staff to report his schedule. I avoided any dinner he attended. So me knowing he was at the coffee shop didn’t raise any suspicion. Instead, Mom and my stepdad focused on him. “Really? Julian is dating? That’s wonderful!” “Where is she from? What does she do? How old is she? Bring her home!” Julian’s smile faded. He kicked me under the table. I kicked him back. Thanks to Julian’s love life, no one paid attention to me in this awkward blind date. I quickly ate a few bites and left, planning to walk in the garden. But the blind date guy chased after me. “Ms. Stella, I really think we’re a good match. Let’s add each other on WeChat and chat.” I looked at him. Simple suit, gold-rimmed glasses. Mom’s type: elegant and scholarly. Too bad I felt nothing for him. And I already had a boyfriend. “I don’t like you. Sorry you wasted a trip.” His smile froze for a second, but he spoke again. “Actually, I’m just doing this for my family too. Let’s add each other to deal with them. I promise I won’t harass you.” To get rid of him, I added him. He left tactfully. “I’ll visit Uncle Jiang and Auntie Lin another time. By the way, I’m Luke.” Julian couldn’t handle the interrogation and left to hide out. That gave me an idea. A beautiful life beckoned. I moved out of the house efficiently. Without a curfew, I called my friends to the bar that night, vowing not to go home sober. Halfway through my drink, my boyfriend messaged. “Babe, miss you. Let’s call.” Damn. Why now? I looked around. My friends were drinking, playing games, singing. The DJ outside was blasting music. The voice call was ringing. If I answered this, how could I pretend to be a street sweeper? The call ended, then rang again. He wasn’t giving up. I ran around the bar and finally ducked into the bathroom. Away from the music. Perfect. I picked up. His voice was raspy and sexy. “Babe, you finally answered. I missed you.” So sexy. But why did it sound familiar? 4 “Babe, why aren’t you talking? Did I disturb you?” “Of course not.” I spoke and realized my voice was terrifyingly rough. Probably from screaming karaoke earlier. I sounded like a robot with a sore throat. “You sound tired. Was work hard today?” I felt even more guilty. He was collecting bottle caps. I was drinking at a bar. “It was okay. I’m used to it.” “You make my heart ache. I got paid today, $5,000. I’ll send you $5,200 in a bit.” He’s too good. I’m crying. “Why give me money?” It wasn’t even enough for tonight’s bar tab, but it was his monthly salary. “It’s okay, take it. My job covers room and board, I don’t spend much. Some caps are worth a lot, I get a bonus.” I felt worse. Just as I was about to refuse, the bathroom door slammed open. Two drunk girls stumbled in, vomiting into the sink. “That vodka was strong!” “Keep going later! No sipping!” They walked out arm in arm, shouting drinking games. “Sisters are good! Five crabs! Six six six!” They were loud. My boyfriend heard everything. “Babe, are you at a bar?” Cold sweat ran down my back. I spotted a janitor’s closet in the corner. “Yeah, I’m working… at a bar. I got a job as a cleaner here today.” “Cleaning is hard work, especially with drunk people vomiting. I’m worried you’ll be too tired. Was the old job bad?” “I had no choice. The street sweeping jobs are all taken by older ladies. They say we young people are unstable and won’t hire us. I was lucky to find this.” After much explaining, I finally smoothed it over. I don’t know if he believed it, but I did. Unexpectedly, a few days later, he introduced me to a job. I looked at the listing. Company Cleaner. Female. Local resident. Under 30. Most importantly: Full benefits, salary $15,000 a month. What kind of company pays a cleaner that much?! I looked at the company name. WenYu Group. Isn’t that Julian’s company?! His company is rich enough to pay cleaners like execs? I was suddenly jealous. “Babe, I saw this ad online. You have to try. It’s a great job.” But… I’m Julian’s sister. If people found out I was a cleaner at his company, I’d be a laughingstock. “Babe, opportunity waits for no one. Go!” “I’ll try tomorrow.” “Go today. Their HR stays late.” “How do you know?” He paused for a long time. “Uh, I picked up a lot of coffee lids downstairs there before. Guessed they work overtime. Anyway, go try!”

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  • My Autistic Daughter Doesn’t Need Your “Romance”

    My autistic daughter was being harassed by a boy who wouldn’t stop making dirty jokes. Her teacher called me, sounding thrilled, to tell me someone was finally going to “save” my daughter. When I rushed to the school, I found a bleached-blond boy cornering my daughter against the wall. “You put a rubber band on my finger yesterday and told me it was ‘ultra-thin.’ Aren’t you going to explain yourself?” My daughter’s face was beet red. It took her a long time to squeeze out a single sentence. “I… I didn’t!” Floating text—like a livestream chat—suddenly erupted in my vision. [See? I told you the male lead would cure her!] [Go, Jace! Make the mute girl speak!] 01 When I got the call from the teacher, my stomach dropped. “Hello? Mrs. Higgins? Is Maya okay?” You can’t blame me for panicking. Although my daughter is sweet and gets straight As, she has severe autism. I can never be 100% at ease. Terrible thoughts flooded my mind: scissors cutting her hair, glue poured on her clothes, or being cornered in the bathroom. I immediately asked, “Is my daughter being bullied?” To my surprise, Mrs. Higgins’ voice was bubbling with joy on the other end. “Oh, no! Maya’s autism is finally going to be cured! You need to come to the school and see this.” I hung up, completely confused. Suddenly, a row of bullet comments floated across my vision. [Poor Maya finally met her salvation!] [Yeah, I heard autism is miserable. Thank god for the Male Lead, or her life would be over.] I rushed to the school. Mrs. Higgins grabbed my arm the moment I arrived and chattered the whole way down the hall. “Your Maya is great, but that autism… she’s just too quiet.” “How will she survive in society? But good news! A transfer student just joined. He’s rich, outgoing, and hilarious. I arranged for him to be Maya’s desk mate.” Desk mate? To give Maya the best environment, we specifically enrolled her in a school that guaranteed single desks. Where did a desk mate come from? We reached the classroom during a break. Maya’s desk had been shoved together with another one. In the corner, a boy with bleached blond hair had her pinned against the wall. “You put a rubber band on my finger yesterday and told me it was ‘ultra-thin.’ Aren’t you going to explain yourself?” Maya’s expression shifted rapidly. Finally, she spoke her first sentence of the day. “You’re lying. I… didn’t.” Mrs. Higgins covered her mouth, moved to tears. “Look, Ms. Sanders! She spoke!” The floating chat was celebrating. [I knew it! The chatterbox Male Lead finally provoked her into speaking! They are my OTP!] [This girl’s mom is useless. Couldn’t cure her for years, but our little ball of sunshine Jace did it in a day.] My face turned cold. I cut their celebration short. “Maya. Come here.” 02 The chat exploded. [What is wrong with this mom? Can’t she read the room?] [Our precious boy finally decided to help the heroine, and she’s blocking it?] [No wonder the girl doesn’t talk to her mom.] Mrs. Higgins looked awkward. “Ms. Sanders, don’t be so agitated. It’s just a joke between classmates.” “You saw it yourself. Maya is even talking now.” I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Mrs. Higgins, when we enrolled, we made it very clear. Maya needs space. Why did you assign a desk mate?” “And more importantly, you think sexual harassment is a treatment?” I laughed coldly. “So, the hundreds of thousands I spent on therapists is less effective than a boy making condom jokes?” With every sentence I spoke, the classroom atmosphere grew heavier. Someone muttered, “What a Karen. Making a big deal out of nothing.” Mrs. Higgins looked ready to apologize just to shut me up, but suddenly, I felt a tug on my sleeve. I turned around. Maya was looking at me with puppy eyes. I looked into her eyes. “What is it?” “Don’t. Scold him.” The chat went wild. [Maya is so cute! She’s protecting her hubby already!] [Exactly. This old witch is single for a reason. She’s probably jealous her daughter gets attention.] [Ew, competing with her own daughter? Disgusting.] My heart seized in pain. Raising an autistic child as a single mother has been incredibly hard. She rarely responds to me. Today, she spoke her first complete sentence to me. And it was to defend a boy who was sexually harassing her. I fought back the urge to scream. I calmly asked for leave and took Maya home. In the car, I asked her, “Do you really like that boy?” “Are you okay with them spreading rumors like that?” Maya had retreated into her own world. She didn’t react. The chat defended her. [She’s pressuring Maya again. Unlike Jace, who heals her.] [This mom is incompetent. She needs to exit the story so Jace can take care of her.] Since Maya wasn’t listening, I didn’t push. I started making dinner, but I was so distracted I sliced my finger. Blood dripped into the sink. I texted the housekeeper to come early, then went to the utility room to bandage myself. There, I saw a photo of Maya as a baby. 03 The year Maya was diagnosed, my ex-husband divorced me without hesitation. He needed a “healthy male heir.” Since then, it’s been just me and Maya. I worked, I parented, I fought. We saw countless doctors, spent a fortune, trying to find a “cure.” Finally, I accepted the brutal truth: Maya would likely be on the spectrum for life. The doctor told me calmly not to fixate on a cure, but to find her potential and guide her behavior. I accepted everything about Maya. I accepted she wasn’t the “perfect child” society wanted. I just wanted her to be happy and find her own path. Everyone who meets her says I raised her well. Even the doctors praise her progress. We found her hobbies. Her brilliance. Even if she never lives like a “normal” person, I’ve saved enough money for her to live comfortably forever. But now? I’m being told that a boy making disgusting jokes is the cure? That all my efforts mean nothing compared to a bully? It was absurd. And what about her future? Is she supposed to stay lucid only by being constantly sexually harassed? I sat in the utility room, hugging my knees, devastated. 04 “Mom. Bandage.” Maya found me. She put a Band-Aid on my finger. After years of therapy, Maya has good language skills, but she often gets lost in the colorful thoughts in her head and can’t react to the outside world. I took her to do Math Olympiad problems. Sometimes, when we have friction, we use this activity to de-escalate. All correct. Savant syndrome in mathematics appears in a significant percentage of autistic individuals. Maya is one of them. Just on her math talent and the trust fund I built, she is set for life. After handing her a Rubik’s cube as a reward, I asked again: “Do you really like that boy?” “Why won’t you let Mom stop them from lying?” She silently solved the cube, scrambled it, and solved it again. I waited patiently. Again and again. Night fell. Time for bed. I asked one more time. Still no response. Midnight. Thunder and lightning. I woke up with a start and ran to her door, knocking gently. “Maya, don’t be scared. Mom is here.” The door was locked. Maya is terrified of thunder. To make it easier for me to comfort her, her door is never locked. [Give up, old witch. Only the Male Lead has the key to Maya’s room now.] [If it weren’t for you, Jace would be holding her right now. It would be a sweet, romantic night, not scary.] [Why do moms always block their daughters’ happiness?] I sat by the door for a long time. Looking at the Band-Aid on my finger, I didn’t give up. That is my daughter. I know she has a good heart. She wouldn’t be normal yesterday and a stranger today. Something must have happened to cause this change. I just needed patience. Suddenly, the door clicked open. Maya walked out, trembling. “Scared…”

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  • Eight Years of Feelings

    On the eve of my wedding, my best friend, Stella, told me she was getting me a huge wedding gift. To afford it, she was swamped with gigs, working herself to the bone. My fiancé, Ethan, was getting busier too. Our dates were constantly cut short by last-minute work emergencies. I didn’t think much of it at first. Not until one late night, scrolling through my feed, I saw a clip Stella had posted of her gig at a downtown bar. The camera panned across the audience, and a silhouette of a man, head bent to light a cigarette, made my fingertips go cold. Ethan. He was wearing the limited-edition shirt I’d bought him, his face a sharp, painful silhouette in the hazy, colored lights. When I asked him about it, he just said, “I was entertaining clients. The meeting happened to be there.” Stella, who was with us, chimed in with a laugh. “Yeah, Vivi, your man is a real rainmaker for the bar. He brings in a ton of business.” They played off each other perfectly, their reasonable explanations deflecting all my doubts. I even started to question myself. Was it just pre-wedding jitters making me paranoid and jealous? Then, the day before the wedding, a local clip popped up on my feed. And the last shred of hope I was clinging to vanished. 1 In a dimly lit alley, a man had a woman pinned against the wall, kissing her deeply. He was tall and well-built in a sharp suit; she was all curves in a wine-red minidress. They looked like they were made for each other. The comments section exploded. “The chemistry is off the charts!” someone wrote. The top comment read: “This tension is clearer than my life plan!” A reply below it said: “You can just feel the history there, that push and pull between two people who know exactly what they’re doing. They should cast them in the next big romance drama.” You couldn’t see their faces clearly in the video, but the glint of crushed diamonds on the man’s watch face was a knife in my eye. It was the watch I’d given Ethan for our fifth anniversary. And the woman he was kissing? Dangling from her purse was a little rabbit charm, one with a single red rose tucked behind its ear. A birthday gift I had hand-knitted for my best friend, Stella. In that single, soul-crushing moment, my twelve years of friendship with Stella and my eight years of love with Ethan turned to ash. Twelve years ago, I had run away from home with nothing but my ID. It was Stella who supported me through college, Stella who stood up for me when I was bullied. She’d used the same phone for three years but gave me the latest model she’d won without a second thought. She had even helped me get with Ethan in the first place. I would have done anything for Stella, just as she had for me. I would have emptied my own pockets to give her the world. If she and Ethan had just told me they had feelings for each other, I would have stepped aside. I would have let them be happy. But why did they have to play me for a fool? Was the thrill of a secret affair just too good to pass up? I wiped the tears from my face and pulled up Stella’s profile. When I was a broke, recent graduate, she was already a well-known singer on the local circuit. Every time she posted a video or an update, she’d tell me to like and comment, and she’d pin my comment to drive traffic to my page, helping me build my career as an illustrator. Once my commissions started rolling in, she stopped linking our profiles together. Her last post was from a bar event three days ago. The video was shaky, but aside from her on stage, the frame captured a man in a white shirt on the right, only his forearm visible. I didn’t need to look closely to know. It was Ethan’s arm. Three days ago, Ethan had told me a shipment at work had run into problems. He had to work late. How convenient. One minute he was “working,” the next he was at her gig, staying out all night. September 11th. Ethan was “working late” again. But in the reflection of the TV in Stella’s video, I could see his silhouette. They were in a hotel room, and in the heat of the moment, they were still wearing the matching watches we’d bought as a couple. September 1st. The bar owner opened a new branch out of town, and Stella went to perform for the opening week. Ethan went on a “business trip” for five days. He came back with a small bandage on his temple and scraped knuckles that hadn’t quite healed. He said he’d seen a drunk harassing a girl and had gotten into a fight. Today, Ethan was “working late” again. I started to laugh through my tears, then cry through my laughter. The past and the present collided in my mind, a brutal, chaotic crash. I wanted to believe I was delusional, that I was inventing all of this, anything but face the truth. We were supposed to get married tomorrow. My wedding dress was hanging in the closet. The hair and makeup artists were scheduled to arrive in eight hours. The bouquet was sitting perfectly on my vanity. I had even practiced the bouquet toss eight hundred times, determined to make sure Stella would be the one to catch it. Everything was ruined. They say that after you shatter, you become colder, more rational than ever before. I opened my laptop and started drafting an email to cancel the wedding, but my eyes kept drifting to my phone. Should I call them? Demand an explanation? Listen to them spin more lies until they were cornered, then finally admit their sordid little secret, only to turn it all around and blame me? Just then, my phone screen lit up. A notification from our shared credit card. I tapped it open. A charge from a hotel. The suite they’d booked, at $11,888 a night, was the hotel’s luxury romance suite. The only time Ethan and I had been there was the night he proposed. He really knew how to spare no expense. The thought of ending things with dignity flickered in my mind for a split second before being incinerated by a blaze of pure rage. I wasn’t one to just let things go. They did this to me. And I was going to make them pay. 2 I deleted the email draft and walked into my studio. If they were so in love, then fine. I would give them my blessing. A stack of unused invitation jackets, nearly half the original order, sat in the corner. I found a template online, typed in the guest names, and printed out a thick new stack. It was far less work than the ones I had painstakingly designed and painted by hand. As I slipped the new inserts into the beautiful outer shells, a sharp pain twisted in my stomach. The names on the paper blurred. It was love at first sight for me with Ethan. He was on stage in a crisp white shirt and silver-rimmed glasses, giving the freshman welcome speech. His voice was calm and steady, and he had this cool, untouchable vibe that just made you want to be the one to break through it. The line of people trying to win him over stretched from the main hall to two miles off campus, from high school girls who’d known him before to seniors about to graduate. I was just another face in the crowd, completely unnoticeable. My art program was so demanding that I spent twice as much time as anyone else on coursework, leaving me no time to engineer a “chance encounter.” I could only follow his life through campus forums. But you can’t hide a crush from your best friend. The day after Stella found out, she cornered Ethan in an alley near campus as he was heading back from his tutoring job. With a lollipop sticking out of the corner of her mouth, she had this cocky, playful swagger. “My girl here wants to get to know you,” she’d said. “Give her your number?” Ethan’s gaze landed on me, and he let out a resigned sigh. My hand was trembling as I scanned his code to add him. He held his phone out for me, then turned his arm towards Stella. “What about you?” Stella just shoved me forward slightly and sauntered away. “Don’t have a phone.” When did they exchange numbers? I sealed the last invitation, clutching my stomach as I curled over the desk, the pain intensifying. Every single moment Ethan and Stella had shared replayed in my mind. The way he’d tilt his head when she laughed, how he’d play along with her jokes, go shot for shot with her at the bar, and drive her home. And I, like a fool, thought it was just him being kind to my best friend for my sake. Once the pain subsided, I grabbed my wedding dress and took a cab to the hotel where the ceremony was supposed to take place. That wedding was my dream, the culmination of all my fantasies. I’d spent a year and a half designing every detail, overseeing every vendor, crafting a perfect moment. Ethan hated all that stuff, and I never asked him to get involved, only consulting him on the invitations and the wedding favors. Now, I was about to tear that dream down with my own two hands and face the ugly reality. I had all the photos of us taken down, leaving only our names at the entrance, stark and bare. I whispered his name, “Ethan,” and felt the knot of rage in my chest begin to loosen. But as much as I hated Ethan, I hated Stella more. 3 The way Stella and I met was a total cliché. As a quiet, average student with parents who couldn’t care less about me, I was practically invisible at school. People like me are easy targets for bullies. But I got lucky. The very first time I was cornered in an alley, Stella was there. She was two years older than me and had stopped school after vocational high. Her family was a pack of leeches, so she’d moved to the city and started working as a hostess at a shady bar, hustling drinks from sleazy customers. The day I met her, she’d just been kicked out by her manager to “cool off” after telling off a customer. She chased away the girls who were bullying me. She was so stunningly beautiful that I couldn’t help but stare. A cigarette dangled from her lips. “Hey,” she said, smoke curling around her face. “Go home. What are you gawking at?” I have asthma. The smoke was fine from a distance, but as soon as she got close, my chest seized up. I collapsed, struggling to breathe. I kept pointing frantically at my backpack, where my inhaler was. But Stella, bless her heart, was an idiot. She didn’t understand and started performing some clumsy version of CPR that nearly broke my ribs. One emergency surgery later, my medical bills had wiped out Stella’s entire savings. My parents weren’t around, and there was no cash at home. Luckily, Stella wasn’t expecting me to pay her back. She just muttered something about her bad luck and left the hospital. From that day on, I was determined to repay her. A few thousand dollars—I could earn it back over time. I started making a point to walk by that alley every single day, just hoping to see her. At first, it was hit or miss. Then, she started waiting for me. And soon after that, she’d always have a small cupcake or a piece of pastry for me. Just like that, Stella became my protector, and I became her loyal sidekick. No one at school ever dared to mess with me again. Stella was always watching her figure, so she never ate any of the treats. All the “protection money” I offered her seemed to end up in my own stomach. We were like that for a year. Then, my parents came home. 4 They demanded I cut ties with “the wrong crowd,” or they’d pull me out of school and make me get a job. I refused. I packed a bag, and at seventeen years old, I ran away from home. I didn’t have an umbrella and got caught in a downpour, ending up completely soaked. Stella called me an idiot, yelling at me for fighting with my parents. I just smiled like a fool and said, “Stella, you’re the best person to me in the whole world.” And it turned out, I was right. She quit smoking because the smell triggered my asthma, and she’d change her clothes before meeting me. She gave up spicy food because I couldn’t eat it, sneaking out at 2 a.m. to get her fix at a barbecue stand. Little things like that, too many to count. She covered our rent, the utilities, our living expenses, and my tuition. I wanted to drop out and get a job to ease her burden, but she tore into me, unleashing a torrent of words so harsh I’d never heard her speak that way. And in her anger, she was putting herself down. “Vivian,” she’d snarled, “do you want to end up like me? Having people point at you and call you a slut behind your back?” I didn’t. “Don’t worry,” she’d said, her voice softening just a little. “I can take care of you.” I remember her expression, the sound of her voice, so clearly. I had long since come to see her as the closest family I had. My stomach churned, and a wave of nausea washed over me. How did we end up here? I spent the entire night on the top floor of the hotel, just sitting. The first hint of light reflected off the polished floor. I pulled back the curtains and saw the sky was already bright. In the ballroom next to ours, the family of another couple was bustling around, checking the decorations, their faces beaming with joy as they prepared for their children’s big day. I looked down at my own shadow. I was used to being abandoned, to being given up on. Being alone wasn’t so lonely after all. At nine o’clock, the wedding cars pulled up to the hotel entrance. The other bride, the one getting married on the same day as me, was surrounded by her loved ones, walking towards her future, towards happiness. I glanced in the direction the cars had come from and saw him, tucked away in a corner. Ethan. He was chain-smoking in the shadows, one cigarette after another, until another hand snatched the last one from his lips. Stella ground the cigarette out with her high heel. She slapped him across the face, her voice sharp and unforgiving. “Ethan, don’t you dare make me lose respect for you.” 5 Like a guilty child, Ethan grabbed her arm. “Don’t go. I just want a little more time with you.” They clung to each other, a desperate, intimate embrace, as if trying to fuse their bodies into one. It made me look like the villain who was tearing them apart. A laugh escaped my lips. I had been so considerate of his demanding job, cutting out most of the tedious wedding formalities. All he had to do was show up, say his vows, exchange rings, and let our friends and family witness our happiness. I never imagined he’d use that free time to whisper sweet nothings to another woman. I waited for them to slip inside the wedding hall. Then, without another moment of hesitation, I turned and went downstairs. Just as I’d instructed, a large trash bin was placed by the entrance where they had just been. Next to it was a box of new invitations. On every single one, the name “Vivian” had been replaced with “Stella.” Knowing them, they were probably holed up backstage, whispering their tragic confessions to each other. There was no way they’d come back out. The thought brought a sliver of satisfaction. Vengeance really was the best therapy. The staff followed my orders, collecting the original invitations from the arriving guests, tossing them into the trash to be destroyed, and handing out the new ones from the box. A confused murmur rippled through the venue. Ethan’s face was a mask of thunder. He had no idea what was happening; he was just an unwilling star in a show he didn’t want to be in. That’s fine. I was about to make it a day he would never forget. The time had come. The lights dimmed. I stood at the podium where the officiant should have been, dressed in my pure white wedding gown, and raised the microphone to my lips. As Ethan and Stella stared at me in horror, I began. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. Welcome to the wedding of Ethan Blackwood and Stella Monroe.” A spotlight hit Stella. She looked as if she’d been expecting it, a bitter smile gracing her lips. “Vivi…” Ethan snapped out of his shock and lunged for my microphone. “Vivian! This isn’t funny! Stop it!” I pulled out a second microphone. My voice dripped with sarcasm. “Let’s take a walk through their incredible love story and witness their beautiful romance.” Stella grabbed my wrist, her eyes pleading. “Vivian! You—” The massive screen behind us lit up with the photo of them kissing in the alley, followed by the unedited video of their embrace just moments ago. Ethan froze. In a split second, his shock turned to rage. “That’s photoshopped! You’re lying!” I smirked. “Let us all wish them a lifetime of happiness together!” Ethan scrambled to do damage control. “Everyone, I am so sorry. My fiancée… she’s been under a lot of creative pressure lately. She’s not… well.” The grip on my wrist loosened. I pushed the microphone into Stella’s hand and whispered, my voice for her ears only, “Stella. We’re done.” Not plastering this all over the internet and destroying everything she had was the last act of mercy I would ever show her. As for Ethan… I’d invited his managing director and his wife. If I played my cards right, his career was over. Stella’s expression was a storm of conflicting emotions. “Vivi, I’m so sorry.” Then, her tightly clenched fist opened. A single piece of paper fluttered from her palm, drifting on the air and landing at the feet of a guest in the front row. She raised the microphone and looked directly at Ethan. “I’ll tell you what that is,” she announced, her voice ringing through the silent hall. “It’s an invoice for an abortion!”

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  • He Stole My $50 Million Lottery

    I won the $50 million lottery. But when I went to deposit the money at the bank where my fiancé, Wayne, was the manager, the teller suddenly screamed, “There’s a problem with the money! Security!” Wayne rushed over and grabbed my hand in front of everyone. “Ava, the source of these funds is questionable. The bank has to freeze the account temporarily. Just cooperate and go home. I’ll call you.” In my past life, I believed him. Not wanting to cause him trouble, I went home obediently and waited. But the only thing that came for me was a police summons. Wayne and that teller had conspired to steal every last cent of my money, then framed me by claiming it was the proceeds of a scam. In the end, with my reputation destroyed, I lit a charcoal stove in my tiny apartment and let the despair swallow me whole. My soul drifted aimlessly through the lavish villa they bought with my money. I heard Wayne say to the teller, “That idiot really thought I loved her? Trading her luck for our lifetime of luxury… I’d say she died a worthy death.” I opened my eyes again, and I was back in that moment, with Wayne’s hand gripping mine. This time, I smiled, nodded, and pushed the money back across the counter. Let’s see who dies a worthy death. 1. The smile on my face made Wayne flinch. His grip on my wrist tightened, as if trying to decipher something from my expression. He would find nothing. The me from my past life would have been a panicked, pale-faced wreck right now, looking at him helplessly, clinging to him as my only lifeline. But now, I simply pulled my hand free. I took the bank card holding the fifty-million-dollar prize, along with my ID, and pushed them back across the counter. Right in front of the teller, Mia. “Deposit,” I said. My voice was quiet but clear, easily heard by the curious onlookers whose ears had perked up. A flash of panic crossed Mia’s eyes. She glanced at Wayne, silently pleading for help. Wayne recovered quickly, his voice softening. “Ava, please, don’t make this difficult. I know you’re excited about the money, but we have to follow procedure. Go home first, and I promise I’ll call you the second this is sorted.” He reached for my hand again, trying to pull me away from the unfolding scene. I sidestepped his grasp. “Mr. Thorne,” I used his formal title deliberately, creating a chasm between us. “If we’re talking about procedure, then let’s follow it. If the bank suspects an issue and needs to freeze my funds, fine. But I’ll need an official written notice. It should state the reason for the freeze, the duration, and it must be signed and stamped by an authorized bank official, correct?” A deep line formed between Wayne’s brows. He never expected the woman who had always been so compliant to suddenly become this difficult. The crowd in the lobby was growing, their whispers turning into a low murmur. “She doesn’t look like a criminal…” “Fifty million dollars! My God, no wonder the bank is on edge.” “But they can’t just seize her money without a proper reason, can they? That’s not right.” The rising tide of chatter made Wayne’s face darken. He knew a public scene would destroy his plan. Mia, from behind the counter, grew agitated. Her voice turned shrill. “We suspect the funds are related to money laundering! This is for your own good. What if you’re being used by a criminal organization? Wayne is just trying to protect you!” She called him “Wayne” with such practiced intimacy, her eyes, when they met mine, were filled with a smug, defiant glee. I looked at her coldly. “Miss, I am discussing official bank protocol with the manager. May I ask your position? Are you authorized to declare a transaction as suspected money laundering on behalf of the bank? Or does your relationship with Mr. Thorne allow you to overstep your authority and make decisions for him?” My words were a slap across her face. Her cheeks flushed a blotchy red, and she stammered, unable to form a coherent reply. And Wayne, hearing me call out their relationship, his gaze turned to ice. He finally realized it. I wasn’t the same woman he knew. 2. “Ava, how can you say that about Mia? She was just trying to help. Have you been under a lot of stress lately?” He sighed, putting on a mask of deep, wounded affection. “I know we’re about to get married, and your family’s situation has always made you feel… insecure. Coming into this much money so suddenly, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. Trust me, I would never hurt you.” In a few short sentences, he painted me as a mentally unstable woman, warped by insecurity, while positioning himself as the virtuous, long-suffering partner. The way people looked at me shifted instantly, from sympathy to suspicion and disdain. A masterclass in manipulation. I didn’t argue. I simply turned back to Mia. “Since the manager can’t provide the required documentation, I demand you process my deposit immediately. If you refuse, I will call the Banking Commission right now and file a formal complaint against this branch for unlawfully refusing a customer’s deposit.” I took out my phone. Wayne’s pupils contracted. The one thing he couldn’t afford was for this to escalate. If I went to corporate, or worse, to the regulators, his entire scheme would crumble. “Don’t!” The word escaped his lips before he could stop it. He quickly composed himself. “Ava, let’s not be hasty.” He walked to the counter and whispered something to Mia. Though her face was a mask of resentment, she nodded. Wayne turned back to me, his perfect smile back in place. “Alright, Ava. Since you insist, we’ll deposit the money first. But the verification process will still have to proceed. I hope you understand.” “Of course,” I said, nodding. I knew he was just buying time. He would let me deposit the money, then use his managerial access to manipulate the system from the backend, transferring the funds out silently. Just like last time. Mia began the transaction, her fingers striking the keyboard with resentful force. When the deposit slip printed, she stamped it violently and shoved it at me. I picked it up, carefully checked the details, and then placed it securely in my purse. “Thank you,” I said to her, flashing a brilliant, satisfied smile. The expressions on both her and Wayne’s faces froze again. Ignoring them, I turned and walked out of the bank. The sunlight was blinding, but I felt a profound sense of release. I hailed a cab and went straight to the State Lottery Commission. Wayne. Mia. Did you think the game was just beginning? No. The moment you decided to cross me, the game was already over. 3. At the Lottery Commission, I went directly to the public relations department. A director named Mr. Peterson greeted me. I didn’t give my full name, only that my last name was Sterling and I was the recent $50 million jackpot winner. Mr. Peterson was visibly surprised but maintained his professional composure. “Ms. Sterling, congratulations. How can we help you today?” “I’d like to do an anonymous interview,” I said, getting straight to the point. “The topic is how jackpot winners can protect themselves from financial risks and fraud—specifically, risks from within the banking system itself.” Mr. Peterson’s eyes lit up. This was a major story. A jackpot winner speaking out was more effective than a hundred of their own dry press releases. “Ms. Sterling, are you suggesting… you’ve encountered some trouble?” he asked, his journalistic instincts kicking in. I shook my head, my tone light. “Not trouble, just a minor incident that made me feel it’s necessary to warn future lucky winners. For instance, what to do if bank staff try to illegally seize your winnings, claiming the funds are from an unknown source.” I recounted what had just happened, omitting names and the specific branch, describing it in a calm, matter-of-fact way. Mr. Peterson’s expression grew serious. “That’s completely outrageous!” He slapped his desk lightly. “Ms. Sterling, rest assured, we will publish your warning through all our official channels. Furthermore, I strongly advise you to go to a notary public immediately and have your original lottery ticket and the claim receipt notarized. It’s the strongest legal evidence you can have.” “Thank you for the advice. That was my next stop.” It was the other reason I had come. In my last life, it was the lack of this crucial evidence that allowed them to brand me a fraud, a stain I carried to my grave. Leaving the commission, I went straight to a notary’s office. Everything went smoothly. As I held the notarized documents, my phone rang. It was Wayne. I answered. “Ava, are you home? Don’t be angry with me, I was just looking out for you. I’ve booked a table at your favorite restaurant tonight. Let’s talk properly.” I could almost picture his handsome, earnest face. It made me sick. “Of course! But I might be a little late. I’m out running some errands. Just gathering a few documents to prove my innocence.” On the other end of the line, Wayne’s breath hitched. “What documents?” His voice was laced with suspicion. “Oh, nothing much,” I said breezily. “Just some official papers. Fifty million is a lot of money, after all. Better to be safe than sorry. By the way, Wayne… what do you think would happen to someone who tried to steal that money and frame the real owner with fake evidence?” A long, heavy silence stretched from the other end of the phone. I could hear his breathing, suddenly ragged and harsh. He was scared. Good. This was what I wanted. To watch him fall from grace. To make him taste the same terror and despair that had consumed me. “Ava, what are you talking about?” he finally managed to say, his voice strained. “Just kidding,” I laughed lightly. “See you tonight.” I hung up, the smile on my face turning to ice. Wayne, your good life is officially over. 4. I went to a café to meet another familiar face from my past. Elias Vance. In my last life, he was the only financial advisor who had been willing to believe me in my darkest hour. Unfortunately, by the time I found him then, it was too late. Wayne had woven a web of lies so tight, with all evidence pointing to me, that even Elias couldn’t save me. His last words to me were, “Ms. Sterling, if time could be turned back, you must come to me the very second you get the money.” Now, here I was. Elias, dressed in a impeccably tailored suit and gold-rimmed glasses, looked calm and professional. “Ms. Sterling,” he said, extending a hand. I shook it briefly and pushed my bank card, deposit slip, and a copy of the notarized documents across the table. “Mr. Vance, today I deposited a fifty-million-dollar lottery prize. The bank manager—who is also my fiancé—and a teller publicly claimed my money was dirty and tried to freeze it. Although the deposit went through, I have every reason to believe they will make a move on the funds.” Elias listened, his eyes scanning the documents. They sharpened. “Your fiancé’s name, and which branch?” “Wayne Thorne. Manager at the Sterling Trust Bank, Westgate branch.” At the mention of the name, a subtle change crossed Elias’s face. “Ah, him. I’ve heard things. He has a reputation for high-risk ventures that have caused the bank more than a few headaches. I never thought he’d target you.” So that was it. A history I knew nothing about in my past life. “Ms. Sterling, your instincts are correct.” Elias’s expression turned grim. “A man like Wayne Thorne won’t give up easily. He has countless ways to move your money within the bank’s internal system and then create a flawless paper trail that will leave you with no way to defend yourself.” “So what should I do?” I asked. “It’s simple,” a cold smile touched Elias’s lips. “We call the police. But before we do that, we’re going to let him hand-deliver all the evidence of his crimes to us.” He looked at me, his gaze seeing right through me. “I suspect you want more than just your money back, don’t you?” I met his gaze and nodded. I wanted their ruin. Total and absolute. Just then, my phone rang again. A number I didn’t recognize. I answered. A stern, middle-aged man’s voice came through. “Is this Ms. Ava Sterling? This is Director Walsh from Sterling Trust Bank’s internal affairs department. We need you to come to our corporate headquarters to assist with an investigation regarding a deposit you made at the Westgate branch today.” It was happening. Wayne was moving faster than I’d anticipated. He was striking first, trying to solidify his narrative and paint me as the criminal. I hung up and looked at Elias. He simply smiled. “It seems the show is about to begin. Let’s go, Ms. Sterling. I’ll accompany you. I’m quite curious to see what kind of ‘gift’ Wayne has prepared.”

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  • The Dead Ringer

    I was the “Golden Girl” of the Sterling family—the perfect first love, the cherished daughter. Four years after my death, I was resurrected. But I wasn’t the only one there. A substitute had successfully climbed the ranks, wearing a face that was 90% identical to mine. She looked at me, smirking with triumph. “Everything you had is mine now. You’re too late.” What she didn’t understand was the sheer stopping power of being the original. The moment I appear, everyone abandons their principles and comes running to me. 1 “I’m home, Mom.” I pushed open the heavy oak doors of the Sterling estate without hesitation, smiling radiantly at the woman sitting on the sofa. Just like I used to, as if I’d just popped out for coffee. Crash. The porcelain teacup in her hand shattered against the hardwood floor. Her response was a sound like a wounded animal. “Serena! My Serena is back!” I am Serena Sterling, the eldest daughter. I died of heart failure four years ago. On the brink of death, I was bound by a ‘System’ and learned the truth: I was just a “White Moonlight” character in a romance novel—a plot device destined to die early to make room for the protagonist. The real heroine was a body double, a girl who looked just like me. Because of her resemblance, she would ascend the social ladder, becoming the darling of the elite. My parents would adopt her; my childhood sweetheart would fall for her; my brother would obey her every command. She would get all the love, but only because I was dead. When the System asked if I wanted to complete missions in other worlds to earn a resurrection back in my original world, I didn’t hesitate. Why should my life be the fertilizer for someone else’s garden? Why should my tragedy be the prologue to her happy ending? So, I came back. “It’s me, Mom. I’m home.” My mother’s embrace was warm, familiar, and tight to the point of suffocation, as if she feared I would evaporate if she let go. I sighed softly, patting her trembling back. The System had altered everyone’s memories. Instead of dying in a hospital, the story was now that I had vanished in a shipwreck four years ago. She thought she had been searching for me day after day, year after year. But our tearful reunion didn’t last long before the front door opened again. 2 “Mom! Look what we got you!” A sweet, unfamiliar voice rang out before the person even appeared. A young girl jogged in, carrying a box of pastries. A second later, a voice I knew better than my own followed, dripping with affection. “Slow down, don’t run.” Just one sentence, and I knew who it was. Xavier. My childhood sweetheart. “Mom? Do we have guests? Why are you crying?” That was Julian, my younger brother. He had walked in, but since my back was to him, he didn’t recognize me yet. He only saw our mother weeping in the arms of a stranger. I felt Mom’s grip on me tighten. Her eyes were red, lips trembling, trying to form words but failing through the tears. “Mom, stop crying. What happened? Who is this lady?” the girl asked. Then, suddenly: “Ouch! Xavier, why did you pinch me? That hurt!” Her voice turned into a sugary whine. Xavier didn’t react to her complaint. His burning gaze was bored into my back. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he tried to force out a name he hadn’t spoken in years. “You guys are acting so weird. The security guard at the gate said I already came home once today. So strange,” the girl muttered. She looked from my crying mother to my silent brother, then to the clearly shaken Xavier. Finally, her eyes landed on me. I could feel a bad premonition rising in the air. I pulled away from my mother’s embrace, turned around, and faced them. “Julian. Xavier. Long time no see.” 3 “Serena…” Xavier’s voice trembled almost inaudibly. Julian, however, had zero filter. “Serena Sterling! You have the nerve to come back? Where the hell have you been? Do you know I really thought you were dead? How dare you! How dare you…” He was eighteen now, not yet fully mature. He gritted his teeth, trying to sound angry, but his eyes were terrifyingly red, and tears started rolling down his face one by one. I patted his shoulder, feeling a wave of guilt. “You’ve grown up, Jules.” Four years ago, he was a bratty fourteen-year-old. Now, he was a man. His composure snapped. He buried his head in my shoulder, choking out a whisper. “Sis… I missed you so much.” While we were having our emotional reunion, the pastry box hit the floor with a thud. The room went quiet. Everyone finally looked at the girl standing by the door. I looked at her. That face—90% identical to mine—had drained of all color. She looked pathetic. We sat down for dinner. It was a meal filled with unspoken tension. The table was packed with my favorite dishes. Mom kept piling food onto my plate. Julian was busy peeling shrimp for me. But when Xavier instinctively placed a piece of honey-glazed pork—my favorite—into the girl’s bowl, everyone froze. The girl, Tiana, clenched her fist under the table. “Thank you,” she said softly. It was the first thing she’d said since realizing who I was. “Mmh,” Xavier hummed a faint, awkward acknowledgment. I ignored the undercurrents and ate calmly. “Your room hasn’t changed,” Mom said, her voice fluttering with anxiety. “I cleaned it myself every day. Go rest after dinner. The doctor is coming to check on you. Your dad is flying back tomorrow.” I nodded along to her ramblings. They didn’t mention Tiana. I didn’t panic. That’s the confidence of being the beloved one. But I didn’t expect the mountain to come to Mohammad. Late that night, there was a knock on my door. 4 I opened it to see Tiana’s familiar face. She was holding a glass of milk. I raised an eyebrow, expecting a peace offering. Instead, the timid mask she wore at dinner vanished, replaced by a sneer. “Dead or missing, why didn’t you just stay gone? You think you can beat me?” “I’ve spent four years strategy-gaming them. Except for this room, everything you own is mine. You’re too late. Do you understand?” Strategy-gaming? That was a weird choice of words. Before I could respond, she splashed the milk all over her own face, screamed, and threw herself onto the floor. Crash. The glass shattered. She burst into tears, looking like a rain-drenched pear blossom. “Sister, I’m sorry! I just wanted to welcome you! I didn’t mean anything by it!” God, it had been years since I dealt with such low-level framing. It was almost funny. I looked down at the girl sprawled on the floor. Wet hair, red eyes, trembling in fear. A masterpiece of victimization. Truthfully, I didn’t care much about fighting Tiana. She had comforted my family while I was gone. I had no malice toward her, provided she knew her place. But clearly, she wanted war. The noise drew attention. In a house this tense, no one was sleeping soundly. Doors flew open. 5 “What happened? Is it Serena? Is Serena hurt?” Mom rushed out, face pale, coat thrown on haphazardly, wearing two different slippers. When she saw me standing there unharmed, she let out a breath she’d been holding. “Mom…” Only after confirming I was safe did Mom hear Tiana’s whimpering. “What’s going on here? Why are you on the floor?” Mom frowned at the shattered glass near Tiana. “Why are you so careless? What if the shards hurt someone? Get up.” “It was Sister, she…” Tiana’s lip quivered, tears ready to fall. But her performance was interrupted. “Your hand!” Julian ignored the girl on the floor and grabbed my wrist. There was a tiny scratch on the back of my hand, barely oozing a drop of blood—probably a flying shard. I didn’t even feel it. But Julian looked like I’d been shot. “Can you not take care of yourself? Didn’t you feel that?” He scolded me, instinctively blowing on the wound like he did when we were kids. “I’ll get the first aid kit.” He turned to run. Mom crowded in, heartbroken. “Go, Julian, hurry! Oh, Serena, does it hurt? It’s my fault, I didn’t even notice.” Tiana was completely ignored. Her face twisted in ugly jealousy. Since she’d successfully climbed into the elite circle with that face, she had never tasted defeat like this. She thought she was the happiest girl in the world. Why did the dead have to come back to life? 6 “Mom, it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt,” I said. I saw the envy in Tiana’s eyes. I knew she wouldn’t let this go. When you hold onto something for too long, you start to believe it actually belongs to you. “Mom… it hurts. I’m hurt too.” While Mom wasn’t looking, Tiana grabbed a shard of glass and sliced her own palm. Blood welled up instantly. She held out her bleeding hand, eyes filled with tears, looking like a child begging for love. “Got the kit!” Julian returned, freezing when he saw Tiana’s bloody hand. “Jules… it hurts.” She knew exactly what worked on Julian. Usually, one look of dependency from her, and he’d be rushing to fix everything. She called his name again, hopeful. “Jules?” Julian pressed his lips together. Mom took the kit from him and pulled me into my room. “I need to clean this for Serena.” “Julian, help her up,” Mom threw over her shoulder. I knew why they were ignoring her. They were terrified I would be uncomfortable because of Tiana’s face. I wasn’t stupid. I knew what role she had played while I was gone. My voice stopped Mom. “Julian, help her.” Mom paused, surprised. Julian, who always listened to me, carefully stepped over the glass and helped Tiana up. “Jules… do you and Mom not love me anymore?” Tiana used his grip to stand, eyes red. “I really just wanted to give Sister some milk. I don’t know why she pushed me. Mom won’t talk to me, Sister hates me… are you guys going to kick me out?” “Jules, if I apologize, will she forgive me? I don’t want to leave…” “Tiana.” Julian cut her off. His voice was flat. Tiana froze, looking up at him. Julian met her gaze with the eyes of a stranger. “Serena is my sister.”

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  • Abandoned Love

    1 I took a bullet for my boyfriend of ten years. He survived, unscathed, and in the heat of the moment, he promised he’d do anything for me. Everyone assumed I would seize the opportunity to demand marriage. After all, I’d proposed to him multiple times before, and I was three months pregnant with his child. But to everyone’s shock, I looked him in the eye and dumped him. Right there. Then I turned my back on him. Someone told him to chase after me. But he just scoffed, his expression dripping with disdain. “Why bother? Everyone knows Jacqueline is desperate. She’s pathetic. She’s carrying my kid; she’s just playing hard to get. If I chase her now, I’m just falling for her little game.” He didn’t know that I had already died once. In my past life, my proposal was successful. But Lyla, the young girl he had ‘saved,’ slashed her wrists and screamed for him. Blaming me for her distress, he locked me in our house like an animal. He broke my legs—the legs I used to dance with. On the day I went into labor, he strangled our newborn with his own hands, leaving me to bleed out in agony. Heaven had mercy. I was back. And this time, I was going to give him exactly what he wanted. … My thigh burned like it was being branded with a hot iron. A sharp jolt of pain snapped me back to reality. The nurse was gently wrapping gauze around the wound, her voice soft. “The antiseptic is going to sting a bit, honey. Just hang in there.” Standing nearby, Jax let out a cold, mocking laugh. He was handsome, with that sharp jawline that used to make my heart race, but now his eyes were full of contempt. “Oh, now you feel pain? What happened to all that bravery earlier? If you hadn’t gotten in the way, I would have caught that dealer. You’re useless, Jacqueline. You ruin everything.” I looked down at my legs, smooth and unbroken. I stayed silent. In my last life, to avenge Lyla’s imaginary grievances, Jax had shattered these legs with a baseball bat. It had been so long since I’d seen them whole. The other officers in the room exchanged uncomfortable glances. They had been there during the raid. Two hulking drug traffickers, one with a loaded piece. If I hadn’t thrown myself in front of Jax, that bullet would have buried itself in his heart, not grazed my leg. Seeing that I wasn’t fighting back, Jax’s mood darkened. He kicked a metal stool, sending it skittering across the linoleum floor. “Enough with the silent treatment, Jacqueline! You stalked me to a crime scene and interfered with police work. Do you have any idea how stupid that was? And now you have the nerve to give me attitude?” He paced, agitated. “Look, I said I’d grant you a request for saving me. So? Spit it out. What do you want?” He looked like he was seconds away from hitting me. Time is a cruel thief. It stole the passionate, devoted boy I fell in love with and left this violent, bitter stranger in his place. He had forgotten that he once swore to protect me with his life. No, he hadn’t forgotten. He just found someone else to protect. My gaze drifted to his hand. The silver band we bought together years ago was gone. In its place, on his ring finger, sat a cheap, hand-woven string ring with a tacky plastic puppy charm. I knew who made that. Lyla. The eighteen-year-old orphan Jax met six months ago. The “innocent” victim. I let out a dry, bitter chuckle. “Anything? You’ll agree to anything?” Jax paused, his eyes flickering to the cheap ring on his hand. A shadow of guilt crossed his face, quickly replaced by annoyance. He gritted his teeth. “Yes.” A few rookie cops shuffled closer, grinning. They knew our history. Ten years is a lifetime. “It’s a life debt, boss! Might as well offer yourself in marriage,” one joked. The room erupted in laughter. “Yeah, Jax! Jacqueline said last year she wanted to be married before thirty. Tick tock!” “Count me in for the bachelor party!” I was about to shut them down when the door burst open. A breathless nurse rushed in. “Officer! It’s bad. The girl you brought in—she’s trying to slash her wrists!” Again. I couldn’t count how many times Lyla had pulled the suicide card. Just like in my previous life, she knew exactly how to steal the spotlight. Jax’s face drained of color. Without a glance at me, he sprinted out the door. I scoffed, ignored the pain in my leg, and limped after him to the second floor. By the window, Lyla looked frail and tragic, wrapped in Jax’s oversized police jacket. Her face was pale, her large eyes swimming with tears. When we left the scene earlier, Jax had carried her to the ambulance like she was made of glass. I remembered now—when the dealer aimed the gun, Lyla had stood there in silence. Only after the criminals fled did she collapse into Jax’s arms, sobbing and fainting on cue. Seeing me in the doorway, Lyla’s expression shifted minutely before she ramped up the hysterics. “I know Jacqueline took a bullet for you, Jax! You promised her anything. You’ve been together ten years. She wants to marry you, so you have to say yes, right?” She held a fruit knife to her slender wrist, pressing just hard enough to dent the skin. “But Jax… I’m an orphan. I’m just a stray dog nobody wants. You gave me a home. You saved me. The thought of losing you… I’d rather die!” “Put the knife down, Lyla! Please! I can explain everything,” Jax pleaded, his voice trembling with a tenderness he hadn’t shown me in years. It was almost funny. Lyla had some kind of dark magic. From the moment he saved her, Jax became obsessed with “fathering” this homeless girl. He gave her a credit card. He moved her into his apartment—our future apartment—claiming she needed warmth and safety. Whenever she cried, he ran. When I nearly died in a car wreck last year, he screamed at me over the phone for interrupting his time comforting Lyla after a nightmare. If you’re hurt, call an ambulance. What the hell am I supposed to do? You’re so dramatic. That was the moment my heart began to shatter. Jax saw a helpless eighteen-year-old in Lyla. He conveniently forgot that his twenty-nine-year-old fiancée had also grown up in the foster system. He forgot that he was the one who dragged me into this love story. In my last life, jealousy and unwillingness to let go led to my destruction. But this time? He could keep her. I was done. Jax lunged forward and wrestled the knife from Lyla’s grip. He pulled her into a crushing hug, kissing the top of her head repeatedly. “Don’t ever scare me like that again! You hear me?” Lyla buried her face in his neck, sobbing theatrically. “But you’re going to marry Jacqueline… and I’ll be homeless again. Why did you even save me?” I watched from the doorway, fighting the urge to vomit. It was such a clumsy performance, yet Jax bought every second of it. He glared at me over her shoulder, eyes filled with resentment, before looking back down at Lyla gently. “I promise you. Married or not, your place in my heart won’t change.” He sighed, as if forced to reveal a burdensome truth. “I have no choice, Lyla. Jacqueline and I have been together for a decade. Everyone knows she’s desperate to marry me. When my dad died, she paid for the police academy. She took care of my mom for years. It’s a debt. I have to pay it back.” The room went silent. The other officers looked awkward. Before Lyla, we were the precinct’s power couple. Now, he made me sound like a loan shark collecting dues. I did pay for his academy. I did nurse his sick mother. I did it because I loved him, not because it was a transaction. If I had known he would turn into this, I would have walked away years ago. “You said you’d agree to any request,” I said, my voice cutting through the soap opera. “Ready to honor that?” Jax stiffened. He patted Lyla’s head and stood up, adjusting his jacket with arrogant pride. “So eager to lock me down? Fine. You have no dignity anyway. When do you want to go to the courthouse?” “I want to break up.” Jax froze. The arrogance slid off his face, replaced by confusion, then anger. “Excuse me?” “I said I want to break up. Right now. Today.” “Quit the drama, Jacqueline,” he snapped. “Everyone knows you’ve been chasing me for ten years. You’d crawl over glass to marry into my family. Now I finally say yes, and you’re playing hard to get? Don’t treat me like an idiot. You’re still wearing our ring!” He pointed at my hand triumphantly. I calmly slid the silver band off my finger and tossed it into the medical waste bin. Clink. The sound was small, but in the silent room, it sounded like a gavel falling. “I’m not wearing it anymore,” I said, my voice eerily steady. “Can we break up now?” He had given me that ring when he was eighteen, fresh out of high school. He worked three jobs to buy it. He had presented it to me with shaking hands. Jacqueline, I know you don’t have family. I’ll be your family. I will protect you with my life. I’ll be the best man you’ll ever know. I believed him. I wore that cheap silver ring for ten years. Once, I dropped it in the ocean and nearly drowned diving for it. He knew what that ring meant to me. Now, it sat among the bloody gauze and used needles. “You think this threatens me?” Jax’s face turned red. “I’m warning you, Jacqueline. I’m keeping my word to marry you, but if you keep acting like a lunatic, don’t expect a warm welcome in my house!” I laughed. I actually laughed. “Good. Who wants to be in your house anyway?” I looked him in the eyes one last time. “Jax, this is your notice. We’re done. Don’t come looking for me.” I turned and walked away. “Aren’t you going to chase her?” someone whispered to Jax. “Chase her?” Jax sneered loud enough for me to hear. “She’s a clinger. And she’s pregnant with my kid. This is just a game. If I chase her, she wins. Let her cool off.” He was right about one thing. I was pregnant. Three months ago, he had shown up drunk, forcing himself on me, mumbling about how we were going to get married anyway. The next morning, he accused me of drugging him. Shameless! You trapped me! I should have left then. But the ten years of history weighed me down. I wanted a family. In my past life, that desire killed me. Lyla eventually committed suicide for real, and Jax blamed me. He turned my life into a horror movie. You killed Lyla! You don’t deserve happiness! I touched my slightly swollen abdomen. I knew what I had to do. The next day, I got a text from Jax. Passed out on duty near the old industrial park. Come pick me up. It was his usual rude tone. But I knew it wasn’t him. Only Lyla had access to his phone and would bother mimicking him. Jax had told me a month ago he’d never call me first. His ego was too big. I knew it was a trap. A “Hongmen Feast.” But I grabbed my keys and went anyway. The location was a derelict factory on the outskirts of the city. As soon as I stepped through the rusted doors, someone kicked the back of my knees. I hit the concrete hard. Crack. Pain exploded up my legs. Laughter echoed in the vast, empty space. I looked up. Lyla stood in the center, flanked by three rough-looking men. Her innocent mask was gone, replaced by a sneer. “Why did you have to follow him, Jacqueline? Why do you have to be so pathetic? Nobody wants you. Don’t you have any shame?” I stayed silent, kneeling on the dirty floor. Lyla strutted over, grabbed a handful of my hair, and yanked my head back. “Tell me,” she whispered, her breath smelling of peppermint, “if you lose this baby… do you think Jax will still marry you?” I stared into her eyes and smiled. “Why don’t you find out?” Smack. She slapped me across the face. “You think I won’t? Jax doesn’t love you! He told me you’re just a glorified maid. You’re disgusting! This is what you deserve!” She shoved me backward. Then, she started kicking. She aimed specifically for my stomach. “Bitch! Trying to steal my man! Blocking my way! You deserve to die!” I curled into a ball, screaming as the blows landed. I felt something warm and wet spread between my legs. My vision began to blur. Lyla laughed, breathless and manic. She grabbed a metal pipe from a pile of debris and raised it high. “Whoa, stop!” one of the thugs yelled. “She’s bleeding! That’s a lot of blood!” Lyla didn’t care. She swung the pipe down, smashing it into my ribs. The pain was blinding. Darkness swallowed me whole. I woke up to the chaos of a hospital corridor. White lights. Shouting. “We can’t operate without a signature!” “The emergency contact isn’t picking up! Check her phone for anyone else!” “Stay with us, honey! Stay with us!” … At the precinct, Jax was filling out paperwork. His phone rang. Lyla. She sounded terrified. “Jax! Help! Some men are following me!” Jax dropped everything and raced home. He found Lyla curled up in bed, shivering. “I was so scared,” she wept, clinging to him. “They said they wanted to have fun with me… I ran so fast…” “Shh,” Jax soothed her. “I’m here.” His phone began to ring. A jarring, persistent sound. He saw my name on the caller ID and frowned. He hit ‘decline’.

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  • The Monster They Made

    At the welcome-home dinner, my parents’ adopted daughter, Chloe, leaned in and whispered in my ear. “The Ainsworths have room for one daughter. You’re just some trash they scraped off the street.” I thought she had a point. So I turned and walked into the intersection, right into the stream of oncoming headlights. My new family completely lost their minds. They dragged me back to the curb, a chaotic mess of pleading and shouting. My brother, Ethan, his face a mask of fury, warned me never to upset his sister like that again. I nodded obediently. Later that night, I went downstairs, turned on the gas stove without lighting it, and left a note on the counter. 【It’s my fault I made my sister sad. I want to take the whole family to heaven with me, so no one has to worry anymore.】 The way they all looked at me after that, you would’ve thought they’d seen a ghost. A few weeks later, at a party, Chloe and her little friends cornered me by the pool. With a collective shove, they sent me into the deep end. But I didn’t struggle. I didn’t even kick. I just let my body sink toward the blue-painted concrete. Panic erupted. Chloe, her perfect makeup ruined by a splash of water, had to dive in after me, yanking me up by my hair. “You idiot,” she hissed, water streaming from her mouth. “If you actually drowned, Mom and Dad would hate me!” She dragged me to the edge. “Couldn’t you at least pretend to fight it?” What she didn’t know was that I had fought back before. The reward for fighting was dying, again and again, in far worse ways. This was my tenth life. This time, all I wanted was to finally die. 1 The chlorine in the pool water burned my stomach, a familiar fire. Ethan was the one who pulled me out completely. I collapsed on the poolside tiles, coughing up a lungful of water, my body limp. Chloe’s face was sheet-white. Her friends began to stammer, their voices overlapping in a frantic chorus. “We were just kidding around!” “Yeah, who knew she’d just let herself sink like that!” “No one just… stops moving when they’re drowning. Is she trying to scam us or something?” Ethan wrapped his suit jacket around my shivering shoulders as I struggled to my feet. My teeth chattered violently, a rhythm I couldn’t control. Still, I managed to force a smile as I looked directly at Chloe. “Sister, you told me to get in, so I got in.” My voice was quiet. “I do what you say.” A visible shudder ran through Chloe. She took a step back, as if I were some kind of monster. “What are you talking about?” she shrieked. “I never told you to do that!” Her eyes filled with tears as our parents rushed over, drawn by the commotion. “Dad, Mom, don’t listen to her, she’s crazy!” Chloe sobbed, pointing a trembling finger at me. “Sadie is trying to frame me!” My parents’ expressions were grim as they took in my drenched, pathetic state. One of Chloe’s friends, a girl in a designer dress, spoke up. “It’s true, Mr. and Mrs. Ainsworth. She just jumped in. We tried to help her, but she wouldn’t even grab our hands!” I peered out from behind Ethan’s arm, my face a canvas of pure innocence. “I wasn’t refusing help,” I said softly. “It’s just… when my sister tells me to do something, I have to do it perfectly. Otherwise, she gets upset.” I looked from my mother to my father, then to my brother. “When sister gets upset, Ethan gets upset. When they’re upset, you both get upset.” My eyes were wide and earnest. “So please, just tell me. What do I have to do to make you all happy?” A dead silence fell over the patio. Everyone was staring at me like I belonged in a straitjacket. Ethan’s body went rigid beside me. His grip on my arm was suddenly bruisingly tight. “Sadie, shut up.” My father’s voice was sharp as he barked at the housekeeper. “Take Miss Sadie to her room. And call Dr. Miller. I want him to run a full evaluation.” Then he turned to Chloe, his gaze uncharacteristically stern. “Chloe, you come with me. Now.” Chloe had always been the princess of this castle, shielded from so much as a harsh word. The tone of his voice made her flinch. The tears she’d been holding back finally broke free, and she began to truly weep. “Dad, it wasn’t me, I swear…” Watching their troubled faces, a profound weariness washed over me. What more do you people want from me? When Chloe’s toy poodle ran away, she’d put a collar around my neck, made me eat kibble from a bowl on the floor, and sleep in the doghouse as her new pet. When she went camping with her friends, she zipped me into a sealed sleeping bag and kicked me down a hillside. I remember the sickening crunch of my bones against the rocks, a pain so sharp it became a kind of numbness before I suffocated. As she looked down at my broken, twisted body, all she did was purse her lips. “Guess the quality of this sleeping bag is pretty terrible. I should leave a bad review.” A small, cruel smile. “Good thing my little sister tested it for me.” This time, I didn’t fight her torment. I did everything I was told. So why, Mom, Dad, Ethan… why are you still not happy? 2 After the doctor left, my mother, Eleanor, came into my room with a glass of warm milk and sat on the edge of my bed. She watched me for a long time, her expression a mix of pity and confusion. “Sadie, tell me the truth.” Her voice was soft. “Do you… do you really hate this family so much?” I shook my head. “I don’t hate you.” “Then why do you do these things? Why do you keep hurting yourself?” I took a small sip of the milk, considering her question seriously before answering. “I just want to make everyone happy.” Her eyes instantly reddened. “But you’re my daughter. My real daughter. You don’t have to please anyone!” I set the glass down and looked up at her. “But since I came home, Chloe hasn’t been happy. Ethan hasn’t been happy.” My gaze was steady. “Mom, was finding me a mistake?” The question left her speechless. All she could do was pull me into a hug. “No, Sadie. You are not a mistake.” Her embrace was warm. But it only made me remember another life. The one where Chloe had sliced her own palm with a paring knife and collapsed into this same embrace, weeping. Eleanor’s eyes had been so cold as she looked at me then. She’d locked me in a dark, musty storage closet, letting Chloe turn the knob on the old gas line outside, telling me I could come out when I’d reflected on how to stop “hurting” my sister. Back then, I didn’t understand what I had done wrong. All I’d wanted was to survive, to make them like me. Now, all I wanted was to die. And suddenly, my mother was calling me her precious child. The next day, there was a family meeting. Chloe, whose eyes were swollen shut from a night of crying, sobbed her piece. “I really didn’t push her. I was just… I was just scared.” She looked at our parents, her voice trembling. “I was scared that if she was back, you wouldn’t want me anymore.” That was all it took for Ethan. His protective instincts flared. “Mom, Chloe didn’t mean it. She’s just insecure,” he said, defending her immediately. “Look at Sadie. She’s only been here a few weeks, and she’s turned this house upside down!” He pointed at me, his face filled with disgust. “She’s not normal!” My father, Richard, rubbed his temples and sighed. “This can’t go on.” He made a decision. “We’ll find a therapist for Sadie. Get her some proper help.” On the day of the appointment, I was perfectly cooperative. I answered every question the doctor asked. “Why do you think about dying so often?” I sat on the plush leather sofa, swinging my legs. “Because it’s the easiest way to make all the problems disappear.” The therapist adjusted his glasses, trying to guide me. “But have you considered that if you die, the people who love you will be heartbroken?” I blinked, genuinely curious. “Love me?” I leaned forward slightly. “You mean love like the woman at the orphanage, who would say she loved me while she watched the other kids beat me?” “Or love like the man who bought me, who called me his good little girl while he locked me in a dog cage?” “Or…” I paused, glancing at the door. “Is it love like my brother? The one who warns me not to upset his precious sister, but waits until I’m half-drowned to pull me from the water?” I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Doctor, they don’t love me. They’re just afraid I’ll die in their house and cause a scandal.” “They think I’m sick and need to be fixed.” “But I’m not sick. I’m just… listening to them.” “To make them happy, I’ll do whatever they want.” “They wanted me to die, so I’ll die. Is that so wrong?” The doctor’s hand, the one holding the pen, froze mid-air. His face had gone completely pale. 3 The therapist reported every single word I said back to my parents. His final diagnosis was chilling: I wasn’t sick. Not in the way they thought. I was using an extreme, self-destructive form of self-preservation and revenge. My mental state was a string stretched to its breaking point; the slightest pressure could snap it completely. For me, actively seeking death had become the ultimate defense mechanism. After hearing this, my mother locked herself in her study for the rest of the day. My father chain-smoked on the balcony, one cigarette after another. Only Ethan remained convinced it was all an act. “Sadie is playing you!” he insisted. “You’re all falling for it! This is just her twisted way of trying to get rid of Chloe!” Chloe hid behind him, peering at me with timid eyes, though I could see a flicker of triumph deep within them. As long as Ethan was on her side, she believed she was invincible. “Mom, Dad, don’t worry,” she said, her voice soft and caring. “I’ll be nice to Sadie. I’ll help her get better.” The atmosphere in the house grew heavier each day. In a desperate attempt to normalize things, my parents decided to enroll me in King’s Academy, the same exclusive private school that Chloe and Ethan attended. They naively believed that putting me in a regular peer environment might help. Chloe was the first to protest. Her eyes widened in horror. “I don’t want her at my school! Everyone will make fun of me!” For the first time, my father’s voice was unyielding. “This is not up for discussion.” Chloe stormed off to her room, but I knew she wouldn’t let it go that easily. Sure enough, on my first day, I was the center of attention. The rumor had already spread like wildfire: the long-lost Ainsworth heiress was a lunatic fresh out of a psych ward. A clique of girls constantly surrounded Chloe, offering sympathetic whispers while shooting pointed glares in my direction. “Chloe, your sister is so weird. She has this creepy, vacant look…” “I heard she tried to kill your whole family with a gas leak! Isn’t that, like, certifiable?” “You should be careful. What if she tries to hurt you?” Chloe would put on a pained, sorrowful expression. “You guys, don’t say that. My sister… she’s just sick.” The more she “defended” me, the more monstrous I seemed to everyone else. The isolation was immediate and absolute. No one spoke to me. A chalk line was drawn around my desk. Ink was spilled on my textbooks. I didn’t care. Compared to the orphanage, this was child’s play. During gym class, the teacher told us to have free play. The gym captain, one of Chloe’s friends, ordered me to go to the equipment room to get more basketballs. The moment I stepped inside, the heavy door clicked shut behind me. The lock scraped into place. The room plunged into darkness. Through the door, I could hear Chloe and her friends giggling. “A psycho like her should be locked up, not let out of the hospital!” “Chloe, do you think she’ll freak out and start biting herself in there?” “Hahaha, probably! You should crack the door and peek.” “No way, I’m not going near her!” Class wouldn’t be over for another forty minutes. All I had to do was wait. The dark, cramped space gave me a strange sense of peace. I felt myself growing drowsy. After some time, an impatient voice came from outside the door. “Hey, crazy girl in there! Are you dead yet?” A pause. “Make a noise if you’re not dead!” I ignored her. A few moments later, the voice returned, now tinged with panic. “She’s not making any sound. What if something really happened?” “So what if it did?” It was Chloe’s voice, cold and dismissive. “If she dies, I’ll still be here to take care of Mom and Dad when they’re old. Let her figure out how to break the door down herself. Let’s go.” Their footsteps faded away. I closed my eyes, ready to get some real sleep. Suddenly, a sharp, acrid smell filled the air. Smoke. 4 The fire spread with terrifying speed. Within three minutes, the thick smoke was choking me, and the small equipment room had become a furnace. I didn’t scream for help. I didn’t bang on the door. I just hugged a basketball to my chest and curled up in the corner farthest from the flames. My consciousness began to fade. This is good, I thought. This time, I can finally succeed. No jumping off buildings, no gas leaks, no one to pull me from the water. Just a quiet exit, without bothering a soul. Once this life was over, I could finally be free of this body and move on. This body, covered in scars. My wrists, broken more times than I could count. My legs, mottled with cigarette burns. I wouldn’t have to live this painful, pathetic life of trying to please everyone anymore. Just as I was about to slip away completely, there was a deafening crash. The door splintered off its hinges. A figure, silhouetted against the flames, charged in and swept me up from the floor. It was Ethan. His clothes were blackened with soot, his face a mess of panic and terror. “Sadie! Wake up!” He carried me out of the inferno. A crowd had gathered on the lawn outside. When Chloe and her friends saw me emerge, alive, their expressions were a wild mix of shock, guilt, and a sliver of unmistakable disappointment. I was laid on the grass, and I greedily gasped for fresh air. Ethan knelt in front of me, his voice tighter and more strained than I had ever heard it. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” I stared at him, my chest rattling with each cough. “Brother, you saved me again.” I looked him dead in the eye, my tone flat but laced with genuine regret. “Why did you have to save me? I was so close to being dead.” Ethan’s face went dark. He grabbed my shoulders, his voice a raw roar. “Why didn’t you call for help?! Why didn’t you try to break the door down?! Did you really want to die?!” He shook me, his control gone. “Sadie, what the fuck are you trying to do!” I didn’t answer him. Instead, my gaze shifted to Chloe, standing in the crowd. She flinched as if I’d struck her. “It wasn’t me!” she yelped. “I didn’t start the fire! I don’t know how it started!” Her friends quickly chimed in. “We were already gone! It has nothing to do with us!” “Sadie went to get the basketballs herself! We just showed her where the room was!” Just then, the head of campus security ran up, panting, to the school principal. “We found the cause. It was old wiring in the equipment room. It short-circuited and started the fire.” It was an accident. A collective sigh of relief went through the crowd. Chloe’s shoulders slumped, and she immediately put her mask of fragile innocence back on. “Oh, Sadie, I’m so glad you’re okay!” she cried, rushing toward me. “It’s all our fault. We shouldn’t have played that joke on you, making you get the equipment all alone.” She reached for my hand. I recoiled, pulling away from her touch with the instinct of a chronically abused animal. And then, in front of everyone, for the first time, I began to scream and cry. A raw, piercing wail of terror. “I’m sorry, sister! I’m sorry! I should have stayed in there, but I don’t like the dark room! I don’t like it!” I looked up at her, my face a mess of tears and soot. “Next time,” I sobbed, “next time, can you pick a different way for me to die? Please?”

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