As I anticipated, Genevieve eventually made her move.
Recently, Genevieve’s visits to our school increased noticeably.
Milo always picked me up at the dorm, and we had breakfast, attended classes, and went on dates together.
But several times, I found Genevieve waiting with Milo downstairs. From a distance, Genevieve smiled brightly, and though Milo seemed indifferent, he’d occasionally respond to her.
Genevieve acted like she belonged, inserting herself into our world.
One day, Genevieve invited me to dinner, specifically asking me to bring Milo.
I knew her intentions, but I still brought Milo along.
When we arrived, Genevieve was already waiting in a private room.
She seemed dressed to impress, with exquisite makeup. Her wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she wore a tight red mini-skirt. Her long, white legs were eye-catching, and the low neckline revealed her ample cleavage.
Such obvious intentions?
I brought Milo with a hidden agenda. I wanted to see if he could withstand Genevieve’s allure.
“Milo, I heard you’re great at basketball. Can you teach me sometime?” Genevieve’s voice was soft and sweet.
Milo replied indifferently, “If you really want to learn, you can hire a coach.”
Genevieve wasn’t pleased with Milo’s attitude but seemed even more intrigued.
“Why bother with a coach? You’re my sister’s boyfriend; I can just ask you.”
I stirred my soup and heard Milo’s cold voice beside me.
“You know I’m your sister’s boyfriend, so let’s avoid any misunderstandings.”
Watching Genevieve’s face pale slightly, I almost burst out laughing.
Genevieve rarely fails with men. This was probably her second time, the first being five years ago.
Perhaps I was too obvious in my amusement, as Genevieve rolled her eyes at me. I let go of my spoon and said, “Oops, I dropped my chopsticks.”
As I bent down to pick them up, they didn’t have time to react, and I saw Genevieve’s foot hadn’t been retracted.
Yes, just now, without my knowledge, Genevieve had extended her foot towards Milo, even between his legs…
Milo didn’t refuse.
Was it because he didn’t have time, or did he not want to?
I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
We finished dinner with mixed emotions. Milo Everett stepped out to take a call, and I waited for her at the door. Genevieve Parker came out after paying the bill and looked at me.
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296643”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
I’m a foster daughter of the Johnson family. During the time when Gideon was temporarily blind due to a car accident, we had an unplanned night together. I ended up having a child with him, but following his family’s arrangements, I left the baby with the Johnsons and moved abroad. Gideon became a single father without even knowing who his child’s mother was.
Five years later, I returned to the country and married him. People say I must be open-minded to take on the role of a stepmother at such a young age. But what they don’t know, not even Gideon, is that I am the biological mother of his son, Finn.
At noon in the Johnson Corporation’s Legal Department break room, I stand to the side, making coffee. I overhear some colleagues discussing our top boss, the young CEO of the Johnson Corporation.
“Mr. Johnson put on a wedding ring two months ago.”
“Did our CEO suddenly get married and settle down?”
“Why should a wealthy family’s marriage and children be announced to you?”
“Just curious. It wasn’t publicly announced. What kind of woman could win over the cold Mr. Johnson?”
“Maybe it’s a marriage alliance.”
“But on the other hand, Mr. Johnson’s new wife became a stepmother right away.”
Their current CEO, Gideon, is a decisive leader, only twenty-seven, very young and promising. Yet everyone knows he already has a son about five years old. The little boy was once brought to the company by Mrs. Johnson herself to see his dad. His delicate features are almost identical to Mr. Johnson’s, clearly showing their blood relation.
Looking at Gideon’s timeline, he graduated from the country’s top university. His son, Finn, was born the same year he finished school. At a very young age, just after graduation, Gideon became a father. The little boy has always been raised solely by Gideon. The existence and identity of the child’s mother have always been a mystery.
I heard someone among those people say: “More than being curious about Mr. Johnson’s new wife, I’m more curious about what kind of person the mother of the young master was. To make Mr. Johnson a father at just twenty-something.”
Just as I left the break room, the department manager called me: “Nora, come with me to the meeting.”
I returned to the country about three months ago. Just a month after returning, I got registered and married to Gideon. It wasn’t a marriage alliance. Not only was I adopted by the Johnson family, but Gideon’s mother also liked me a lot. She insisted Gideon marry me.
Almost no one in the company knows that Gideon and I are married because we keep work and personal life separate.
I went upstairs for the meeting. In the spacious and bright conference room, I stood in high heels at the front to present the risk assessment report. Sitting at the head of the table was that man, impeccably dressed in a suit, looking exceedingly handsome and dignified. His raised eyes exuded an aloof aura, making people hesitant to approach or offend him.
His gaze did not linger on me, as if we were unfamiliar and unacquainted. However, after work, in the Maybach driving out of the company’s underground garage, Gideon and I sat together in the back seat.
Returning home, I didn’t see Finn. I asked the butler, “Where’s the kid?”
Gideon, handing his suit jacket to the butler, replied softly, “Mom took him to the family estate. He won’t be back tonight.”
Not coming back, huh.
In the bedroom late at night, I came out of the bathroom after a shower. Gideon’s tall figure was leaning against the headboard. Unlike his impeccable image at the company, his hair was half-wet, one long leg slightly bent, in a lazy posture. He wore a dark, finely made set of loungewear, with the top button undone. The thin fabric outlined a mature and solid physique.
During the day, Gideon in a suit was so proper and abstinent that people dared not look at him for fear of desecration. It seemed that such a cold face could never be associated with desire. I used to think so too, but after two months of marriage, I realized Gideon had desires. He even usually took the lead.
Since we’re married, we’ve done all we should. He glanced at me, placing the tablet he held between his slender fingers on the bedside table. On the bed, Gideon leaned over me. He didn’t move at first but asked, “Has Mom been urging you to have a child recently?”
My silence was my default. Gideon directly said, “Your body, your choice. If you want to have one, I’m completely on board. If not, I’ll refuse Mom and Dad.”
We had never discussed such things so clearly before. A few years ago, I was young, and on weekends, when I returned to the Johnson family, he would ask if I was keeping up with my university courses. Suddenly, Gideon was asking if I wanted to have children with him. The leap was so big it made me uncomfortable. My cheeks heated up, thinking of Finn, so I refused: “I don’t want to yet.”
“Okay.”
Gideon got up to get a condom. When he was particularly forceful, I tilted my head, biting my lip, but couldn’t help softly calling out that familiar title: “Brother! Please, not anymore.”
Gideon paused briefly. He was leaning down, his forehead pressing tightly against my sweat-dampened neck and shoulders, nibbling with his lips. He raised his head, came over to kiss my lips, his breath low as he murmured my name, “Nora,” like it was being rolled and bitten in his mouth.
“Don’t call me that. It makes me feel like I’m committing a crime.”
Maybe because we talked about kids tonight, afterwards, as Gideon got up to tidy up, he said to me: “You don’t have to put yourself in the role of a stepmother. If you don’t like Finn or don’t get along with him, don’t force it.”
I almost instinctively retorted, “I like Finn.”
“Oh?” Even Gideon was surprised.
I opened my sleepy eyes, tentatively asking Gideon, “He’s very cute. Maybe one day his mother will regret⊔
“Her existence, to me, is just for giving Finn life.”
Before I could finish, Gideon interrupted me. Even in the deep darkness, I could feel the oppressive and restless aura emanating from the man beside me. This was a rare emotion for the always calm and composed Gideon in my memory. Finnâs biological mother was his taboo.
“Plotting to have a child with me,” Gideon slowly said, “No matter who she is, she should never appear before me again, never be found by me. Otherwise, even if she’s alive, I’ll make her wish she were dead.”
In middle school, my family went bankrupt. My parents fled abroad, leaving me behind. I was taken in by my mom’s former friend, Mrs. Johnson, and raised by the Johnson family.
Gideon is a year older than me. Until the year of his car accident, I’d been calling him brother for seven years. The accident wasn’t serious, but it was an extremely rare case. The doctor said it was nerve compression, causing temporary blindness. Yet, after six months of treatment, his eyes still hadn’t recovered.
Gideon grew colder and more volatile. All of Harbor City said the future heir of the Johnson Corporation had become blind. Unwilling to accept reality, he still attended a party, and unlike before, his sharpness was dulled. Gideon was drugged and set up.
He didn’t know that the Johnson parents and I, worried, also attended the party. I felt something was off and followed him into the room to check on his condition, only to be pinned down by him.
After Gideonâs first ravaging, I was sick with fever for two days. The morning-after pill I took in confusion was thrown up. Upon discovering the pregnancy, the Johnson parents who raised me almost begged me. If Gideon never recovered, this child would be the Johnsons’ current hope for the future.
Mrs. Johnson asked Gideon, “Nora is gentle, caring. How about letting her stay with you in the future?”
Even though Gideon couldn’t see, he remained exceptionally handsome and outstanding. During that difficult time, his response was firm and powerful: “Mom, our intention in adopting her was never to cultivate her into your obedient daughter-in-law. It was to raise her as a daughter.”
“Nora is like a sister to me, nothing more. As for that girl that night⊔ Gideon’s expression turned unsightly, “Is she still alive?”
Gideon didnât know it was me that night. He only saw me as a sister. Even the Johnson parents didnât dare tell him that the girl he saw as a sister was having his child.
Later, while I was preparing for childbirth, I heard about a young and accomplished female ophthalmologist who had been carefully treating Gideon for months. Gideon even trusted her to perform a highly complex and risky surgery. Thankfully, the outcome was very satisfying.
Six months after Gideon regained his sight, I had already flown abroad to continue my studies. Later, although the female doctor was young, she was still seven years older than then 22-year-old Gideon. The Johnson parents were not pleased, so they directly brought the six-month-old Finn to his father, Gideon.
Upon learning Gideon had a child, the doctor quickly married someone else. No wonder Gideon hated the existence of his childâs biological mother so much. She directly disrupted his past relationship. As for why he later agreed to marry me, it was probably because Mrs. Johnson pushed us hard.
Sure, here is the adapted translation:
Fortunately, the results turned out to be quite satisfactory.
Six months after Gideon regained his sight, I had already flown abroad to continue my studies.
Later, although the female doctor was young, she was still seven years older than the 22-year-old Gideon at the time.
The Johnson family parents were not pleased at all and directly brought little Finn, who was only six months old, to Gideon, now a father.
After learning that Gideon had a child, the female doctor quickly married someone else.
No wonder Gideon was so resentful of the child’s biological mother; she had directly ruined a relationship he once had.
As for why he was willing to marry me years later, it was probably because Mrs. Johnson pressured us.
On the first night after our marriage, I referred to Gideon as “brother.”
He said that since we were married, he would embrace the role change.
He wasn’t the kind of man to abstain and definitely wouldn’t stay away from his wife.
Finn was sent back early.
At the dining table, when I got close to him, the little boy interrupted me and asked, “Are you here to take my dad from me?”
“I’ll never like you.”
“Apologize.” Gideon stopped eating leisurely, with a father’s authority in his eyes.
“What about the manners and upbringing you’ve been taught?”
Finn stubbornly refused to speak, so Gideon asked the butler to take him to school.
I hurried outside and told the butler, “I’ll take him.”
It wasn’t until we reached the preschool entrance that the little boy spoke to me, “If you think I’m bothering you, Vivi and her mom invited me to stay at their house.”
I teased him, “Is Vivi the girl you like?”
He spoke softly, “I just like her mom.”
“Her mom is a doctor, sometimes busier than my dad, but she still picks her up from preschool every day after school…”
In the morning at the company, I ran into the deputy director of the Tech Department, who came over to greet me.
Gossip spread instantly among colleagues.
“Nora, what’s going on with you and Declan?!”
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296659”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic #çŒäșșWerewolf
After the Black-Widowed Wife Faked Her Death, My Husband Sent Away 108 Mistresses
Even I, six months pregnant, and my five-year-old daughter were forced into the storage room.
“Pregnant women have a strong body odor. She’s not allowed near Aaliyah.”
“Lily’s five years old; she should learn to do chores. From now on, she’ll take care of Aaliyah’s daily needs.”
I cried, saying my daughter had to go to school, and hiring a nanny to do these things would be the same.
Chadwick said coldly:
“Aaliyah prefers quiet. A mute makes the perfect servant.”
On the Dragon Boat Festival, Aaliyah tasted a zongzi that my daughter had secretly brought back from school.
Discovering it was filled with pork, which she disliked, she poured the boiling hot curry from the stove all over my daughter.
Sitting in my wheelchair, I helplessly beat my numb legs, my heart-wrenching cries echoing throughout the villa.
When Chadwick returned, she had already disposed of my daughter’s body.
“That little girl was so stubborn; I only said a few words to her, and she ran away from home.”
“With a mother like that spoiling her, what good could she become?”
I approached the rooftop.
Chadwick, I really don’t have the strength to love you anymore.
Inside the villa, I knelt on the floor, wiping Aaliyah’s shoes as she entered.
She lifted her toe and tapped my chin.
“Long time no see, sister-in-law. You’re becoming more capable.”
Chadwick’s eyes were filled with mockery.
“As the eldest sister-in-law, it’s what she should do.”
From the day I married Chadwick, I was forced to take care of his numerous mistresses.
Washing clothes, polishing shoes, cooking, cleaning – all the household chores were mine, even pushing myself around in a wheelchair.
I had refused once, but Chadwick said with indifference,
“These women are either celebrities, models, or noble daughters, accustomed to being pampered. I don’t trust anyone else to take care of them.”
What could I do? A person paralyzed from the waist down, what could I possibly resist?
And whenever I angered Chadwick, those 108 mistresses would take turns tormenting me.
I lowered my head and said nothing, carefully cleaning Aaliyah’s feet as I had done countless times before.
Chadwick, unusually, didn’t continue mocking me, nodding in satisfaction.
“Behave, and you can keep your position as the eldest mistress of the Shen household.”
I was about to pull myself up onto the wheelchair when Aaliyah’s foot suddenly slammed forward, hitting the footrest of the wheelchair hard.
“Ahâ!” she cried out, Chadwick forcefully pushing me aside and sweeping her up into his arms.
Because my hands instinctively protected my six-month pregnant belly, my entire body fell backward.
“Evelyn! What are you plotting!”
I remembered last year when I was wiping the shoes of one of Chadwick’s celebrity mistresses and accidentally left some watermarks.
He had me tied up in the living room, pouring dirty, icy water over me again and again for three days in the dead of winter.
“You can’t clean them properly? Then you won’t be clean for three days.”
I was sick for a whole month because of that.
Thinking of that, I instinctively curled up, unable to feel my lower limbs, and could only lie on the ground in a strange position.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Don’t try to play tricks on me. I’m not some old woman; you can’t gain my sympathy with pitiful acts.”
I continued to desperately protect my stomach, preventing him from kicking it like two months ago, when he suspected I was simply gaining weight from eating too many tonics and faking my pregnancy.
Chadwick didn’t care how I crawled back into the wheelchair but immediately carried Aaliyah into the bedroom and summoned the top medical team.
After a while, my daughter came home from school, thoughtfully helping me tidy up the messy entrance hall.
Chadwick also pushed open the bedroom door.
Walking up to me, he covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief.
Seeing him, my daughter hid behind the wheelchair, her little hand holding mine turning instantly cold.
I squeezed her fingers to comfort her.
Chadwick frowned as he looked at my daughter and me.
“Pregnant women have a strong body odor. From now on, you’re not allowed within three meters of Aaliyah.”
“Lily’s five years old; she should learn to do chores. From now on, she’ll take care of Aaliyah’s daily needs.”
Hearing this, my face turned deathly pale. Lily was his own daughter!
But I couldn’t anger him. I asked tremulously:
“My daughter still has to go to school; maybe we could hire a nanny instead?”
Chadwick’s eyes glinted coldly.
“Aaliyah prefers quiet. A mute makes the perfect servant.”
Because Chadwick had terrible habits, and my health wasn’t good after giving my kidney to his older brother, Chad, Lily was diagnosed with being a congenital mute when she was born and could only barely make a few sounds.
My daughter could understand, and her little face was covered in tears.
There was no use arguing with Chadwick, I could only think of another way.
My daughter and I were thrown into the storage room.
The entire villa was re-disinfected.
The servants laughed and said Chadwick had ordered it to remove the filthy smell of the pregnant woman.
Hearing this, I felt extremely ironic.
At the dinner table, my daughter was called to serve Aaliyah soup.
I couldn’t bear it. “Let me do it; children are clumsy.”
Chadwick slammed the table with a “smack.”
“Aaliyah is feeling sorry for you being heavily pregnant, so she is enduring the discomfort and letting you eat at the table. Are you trying to make her feel disgusted by going to serve her soup?”
My daughter and I had become accustomed to Chadwick’s rage.
Lily clumsily ladled a bowl of soup and respectfully handed it to Aaliyah, but she didn’t take it.
Aaliyah scooped a spoonful of curry for me.
“Pregnant women should have more supplements. It’s also because I have rhinitis and can’t stand the smell on your body, that’s why Chad gets so angry.”
Looking at the curry in front of me, my stomach churned.
My morning sickness was already bad, and this month I couldn’t bear any heavy flavors.
When I hesitated, Aaliyah stomped hard on my foot under the table, and glanced smugly at my daughter.
Lily’s hand holding the soup was scalded red.
I could only endure the discomfort and drink that spoonful of curry.
Only then did Aaliyah take the bowl of soup with satisfaction.
“As the eldest sister-in-law, you make Aaliyah serve you food, you really are a good daughter-in-law of our Shen household!”
Chadwick snorted coldly at me.
“Evelyn is pregnant, she should be taken care of.”
“Aaliyah, you’re just too kind.”
He stroked Aaliyah’s head dotingly.
Then he pointed to several dishes of African cuisine on the table and instructed:
“This is African royal cuisine made for you by Aaliyah herself. If you don’t know what’s good for you and deliberately don’t finish it, then don’t eat at all in the future!”
…
In the middle of the night, my daughter vomited and had diarrhea.
“Ah… Mom… Mom, it hurts…”
She mumbled a few words.
Her uncomfortable appearance made my heart feel like it was being twisted into a ball.
I wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “Baby, be good, Mommy’s here.”
To cater to Aaliyah’s eating habits, all the water in the house was replaced with a cooling system.
I had no choice but to boil hot water myself.
At this time, she was already burning hot.
And because she was so uncomfortable, her mouth was bitten through.
The sound of boiling water woke Aaliyah.
She quickly stepped forward, grabbed her daughter’s ear and pulled her off the wheelchair.
“No wonder she is a little bitch born from a slut, so many things, I can not even get my beauty sleep well.”
“Don’t!”
I leaned forward to stop her, but accidentally fell to the ground.
My daughter was still curled up, hugging her abdomen.
“I beg you Aaliyah, even if you just let Lily drink a mouthful of hot water, okay?”
“I was wrong, I shouldn’t have offended you, I’m willing to do anything you want me to do.”
Aaliyah showed a dangerous smile,
“Really? Then kneel here and massage me until dawn.”
She dragged our mother and daughter into the master bedroom, with red lace panties stained with traces hanging on the doorknob.
I bit my lip and looked away.
After drinking hot water, my daughter finally felt better, but Aaliyah still made her lie on the cold floor.
Aaliyah suddenly became interested in looking at the daughter on the ground.
“In our African country, children only need to drink the blood of nobles when they are sick, and they will be safe all their lives.”
She cut open her wrist with a knife, and said condescendingly:
“I will bestow it on her today.”
But I clearly saw some red rashes on her legs and wrists just now, and some of them were broken.
There was also a wound on the corner of her daughter’s mouth, and a terrible thought appeared in my mind.
Without thinking, I hugged her leg,
“Let me drink, let me drink, Lily is still young, I beg you…”
“Hahaha!” Aaliyah laughed, “Rural uncivilized woman, ignorant and uncultured, fighting to drink human blood.”
She pressed her bleeding wrist against my mouth.
Suddenly, with a “bang,” Chadwick broke into the door.
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296675”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
In my past life, I was the one he chose, becoming the most humiliated bride at the wedding.
Everyone thought I’d struck gold, that my luck was beyond belief.
Only I knew it was a complete and utter nightmare.
The night before the wedding, his ‘white moonlight’ had drunk herself to death, overwhelmed by grief.
The next day, his eyes blazing red, he accused me of “killing her” and personally dragged me to hell.
In the bridal suite, he whipped my back, lash after lash, screaming another woman’s name.
“You stole her place, now you’ll feel her pain.”
He publicly tore my dress, then locked me in a dog cage for three days and three nights, all because I wore the wedding gown she loved before she died.
He even turned her ashes into perfume, forcing me to wear it daily, claiming it was so she could watch me atone.
Finally, I died on the jagged rocks by the ocean, still wearing that blood-stained wedding dress.
He said I owed her a funeral.
This time, I swapped the selection number in advance.
But then, he came at me, eyes red, gripping me like a madman:
“Chloe, this time, I only want you.”
Late at night, in the Sterling family’s Heirloom Selection Chamber.
I walked in, mop in hand, pretending to clean. In reality, my fingers were already clutching a tiny, folded number card.
Number 47, Chloe Sterling.
I squeezed it tight, tucking it under the mop head. With a swift, practiced movement, I pulled out another card and slipped it into the numbered slot.
That card read â Vivian Thorne.
The day of the selection ceremony, the Sterling family’s main mansion glittered with gold.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine women arrived, dressed to the nines.
Each one was like a peacock in full display, desperate to show off every ounce of their refined elegance to Alexander Sterling.
“I heard the hot pick this year is Chloe Sterling?”
“That cold face of hers? Does she even *deserve* to be a Sterling wife?”
“Are you blind? Doesn’t she look *exactly* like… *her*?”
I stood in the furthest corner, lowering my head, slowly tearing the number card from my collar into tiny pieces.
When the host called out the number, the entire hall fell silent.
“Number 47, Vivian Thorne.”
The next second, applause erupted.
Alexander Sterling stormed down the stage, his eyes bloodshot, looking utterly insane.
He yanked Vivian into his arms, holding her so tightly it looked like he wanted to embed her into his very bones.
“Vivian.” His voice trembled. “This time… it’s finally you.”
The entire hall gasped.
Alexander lowered his head to look at Vivian, his gaze tender to the point of madness, a smile uncontrollably spreading across his lips. “You’re back. You finally came back.”
Vivian leaned against him gently, her cheek pressed to his chest, as if confirming his heartbeat.
But her eyes, subtly, swept across the crowd and settled squarely on me.
I gave a small, knowing smile, as if seeing through her, and through this entire charade.
Alexander Sterling finally looked up at me.
He had surely anticipated my breakdown, my tears, my angry questions.
Heâd probably even prepared a speech, ready to comfort me, to offer a sliver of false pity.
Too bad. I didn’t give him the chance.
In my previous life, when “Number 47, Chloe Sterling” was called, my eyes had welled up with tears ofæżćš.
I stood beneath the crystal chandeliers, my face flushed, my voice trembling as I called his name.
But Alexander Sterling, seated below the stage, looked terrifyingly cold.
He stared at the shadow at his feet, as if my selection was a personal insult to him.
I raised my hand, calmly applauding them.
*Clap. Clap. Clap.*
The sharp sound echoed, and the entire hall fell silent again.
His expression froze. His throat moved, but no words came out.
I smiled and nodded, my eyes devoid of emotion. “Lord Sterling, you’re truly fortunate.”
“I wish you both a happy ever after.”
His brow furrowed fiercely, his eyes so dark they seemed to bleed.
“Chloe Sterling, what do you mean?”
“I mean nothing.” I smiled, turning to walk away.
“You two are perfectly matched.”
The moment I left the ballroom, my step-mom dragged me into a side room and slapped me across the face.
“Chloe Sterling, who are you trying to fool, playing all high and mighty?!”
“This opportunity, I spent months begging Uncle Arthur for!”
“And what do you do? You just hand it over to someone else?! Do you want me dead?!”
I sneered. “The Sterling family gives me ten million a year, and I give you seven million for your retirement. And you spent it all on plastic surgery!”
“What did Uncle Arthur even see in that worn-out face of yours?!”
Her face darkened. She gnashed her teeth and hissed, “If you don’t marry Alexander, the Sterling family will cut you off! What about your sister?!”
I straightened my collar. “Didn’t you insist on shoving me into the Sterling family? Fine. Let’s try a different direction.”
“Have Uncle Arthur arrange the next selection for me. Throw my name into the hat for Julian Sterling.”
Her face changed. “Are you insane?! You’d dare mess with *that* man?”
“A Sterling is a Sterling. He throws around just as much cash as Alexander does.”
I didn’t bother to explain further.
She looked stunned.
Julian Sterling, a distant cousin of the Sterling family, nicknamed “The Wild Card.”
Rumors said he was quite the player, dabbling in both circles, with whispers of past affairs with rising stars and influential figures across the city’s elite.
But I knew better. The year my sister was sick, he’d visited her in the hospital once, bringing her a soft bunny toy â a small, quiet act of kindness that stood out. He wasn’t inherently bad.
I stopped at my room door, pausing for a few seconds.
The lock had been changed, and a new plaque was affixed to the doorâ
[Ms. Vivian Thorne’s Private Quarters]
This room was designed by Alexander Sterling himself, just for me.
He’d said, “With you sleeping here, I feel at peace.”
Now, he was peaceful enough to give it to someone else.
Just as I turned to leave, a maid hurried after me, whispering, “Miss Chloe, Lord Sterling wishes you to move to the West Wing. He says it’s quieter there.”
The West Wing was an old guesthouse, damp and isolated, without even hot water.
I murmured “Mm-hm,” saying nothing else. I picked up my bag and quietly went to pack my things.
At dinner, the moment I entered the dining hall, I saw Vivian.
Vivian was seated to Alexander’s left, her entire being nestled against his side.
She said, “My appetite hasn’t been good lately. I can only eat porridge.”
He immediately rose, personally serving her a bowl, his voice gentle:
“The kitchen changed the rice. It’s the texture you used to like.”
I stared down at the plate in front of me, my stomach clenching.
I hesitated, then quietly signaled to a maid nearby. “Could I have a bowl of porridge too?”
My stomach had always been sensitive. It started when he was in a car accident years ago, and I stayed up for half a month, nursing him sleeplessly.
He knew that.
Before the maid could move, a cold voice spoke from nearby:
“Miss Chloe, that porridge is exclusively for Miss Thorne.”
My spoon paused in mid-air.
A second later, I heard his icy voice:
“If you want to drink it, drink it. Then get out of here. Don’t be an eyesore.”
I looked up at him.
His eyes lingered on me for half a second. Something flickered in their depths.
But it quickly turned cold again.
I smiled, put down my spoon, and wiped my fingers.
“On second thought, I’ll pass.”
I stood up and walked towards the drinks bar, casually picking up a glass of red wine.
Just as I raised it to my lips, Vivian walked over, smiling. Her voice was soft. “Oh, sister, drinking alone? How pathetic.”
I couldn’t be bothered with her. I replied coolly, “Whether I drink or not, how is that any of your business?”
She suddenly swayed, directly bumping into me.
The red wine instantly splashed all over me, and the glass shattered into pieces on the floor.
I took a step back, my dress soaked.
But she dramatically stumbled to the ground, her arms and wrists reddening in splotches, a dense rash breaking out.
“Ah, it’s so itchy… Did I have an alcohol allergy again…?”
Before I could even react, Alexander Sterling had rushed over, immediately scooping her into his arms.
Then, he glared at me, his voice a low, furious growl:
“Are you insane? You know she has an alcohol allergy, and you still threw wine on her?”
I opened my mouth, but before I could explain, he already issued an order:
“Someone, hold her down!”
“Make her kneel on these glass shards for half an hour, then have her clean the floor!”
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296691”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
On Valentine’s Day, my husband took his ex-girlfriend and her daughter out to dinner.
And I, like an idiot, waited all night in a rundown shack with no electricity in the middle of nowhere.
What I got instead was the joyous news of him inheriting billions!
I took my daughter, Stella, to his celebration, hoping to get some answers, but the security guards treated me like a lunatic and nearly beat me to death.
His ex-girlfriend, Celeste, had been upgraded to the ‘official’ Mrs. Sterling.
A doctored drink claimed my life and Stella’s.
Before my last breath, I swore: Blake Sterling, you’ll pay for this!
Heaven must have opened its eyes, because I was reborn with all my memories!
This time, I sold off the dilapidated house and headed straight for my family’s sprawling 20,000 square foot villa estate.
Just you wait, Blake Sterling! The debt from my past life, I’ll make you repay a hundredfold!
“Dad, I was wrong! I want to divorce Blake!”
I knelt at the entrance of Sterling Industries, dragging Stella with me, drawing countless onlookers.
Thinking back to my past life, I must have been out of my mind!
For a total social climber, I cut ties with my billionaire father, clinging stubbornly to him, marrying into a village, living on scraps and barely scraping by.
And what did I get? He soared to success, then treated me like dirt, used me up, and then tossed me aside!
Not far off, several uniformed security guards pointed at us, their faces etched with disdain.
“Who are these hicks, daring to cause a scene at Sterling Industries? Security! Get them out of here!”
“Exactly, look at their clothes. They look like beggars. How dare they call themselves the boss’s daughter?”
I took a deep breath, ignoring their harsh comments, my eyes fixed on the revolving door in front of me.
Oh, Dad, your daughter has finally seen the light!
Because what’s better than love? Money, that’s what!
“Stella, don’t be scared, Mom’s here!” I squeezed my daughter’s tiny hand, giving her a reassuring look.
Stella nodded obediently. Though only four, she already showed signs of inheriting my and Dad’s excellent genes. She’d grow into a stunning beauty, destined to be a heartbreaker.
In my previous life, this little beauty suffered far too much with me.
This time, I’d make sure she became the happiest little princess!
“Well, well, which heiress has fallen so low?”
A snide, syrupy voice drifted over. I looked up to see Marcus, Dad’s Executive Assistant.
That man, relying on being Dad’s confidant, always made sure to give me a hard time.
“Marcus, long time no see.” I forced a smile, cursing inwardly: Just you wait, the moment I’m back on top, you’ll be the first I fire!
“Heiress? Oh, I wouldn’t dare.” Marcus pursed his lips, looking me up and down with a disdainful gaze.
“Miss Sterling, the CEO said he doesn’t have a daughter like you. Please stop disturbing him!”
“Shut up!” I cut Marcus off. “I’m here to admit my mistake! I promise, I’ll listen to him from now on, no more being reckless!”
Marcus paused, seemingly surprised that I would be so meek and humble.
“Hmph, if only you’d thought of that sooner.” He scoffed, his tone softening slightly. “Alright, I’ll reluctantly go inform him for you, but I can’t guarantee the CEO will see you.”
With that, Marcus turned and walked into the revolving door.
A biting wind howled, making Stella and me shiver.
But this was my crucial step to changing my destiny!
Blake Sterling, Celeste, just you wait!
What’s mine, I’ll take back, one piece at a time!
What you owe me, I’ll make you repay twofold!
Good thing I wasn’t stupid enough to sign a prenuptial agreement back then.
This time, I had to fight for Stella’s and my own survival.
Stella and I stood outside the imposing gate of Blake’s mansion. The security guards eyed us like thieves, scanning us several times, confirming we were wearing cheap clothes, and growing even more impatient.
“What do you want? This is private property, get out of here!”
I took a deep breath, telling myself to stay calm, not to stoop to their level. “Please tell Blake Sterling that his ex-wife is here with his daughter to see him.”
The guard sneered, “You say you’re Mr. Sterling’s ex-wife? There are plenty of women claiming to be his wife these days! Mr. Sterling is very busy now, he doesn’t have time for your kind. Beat it!”
I had expected this.
After all, the current Blake Sterling was a high and mighty heir to a fortune. How could he remember the ‘rags-to-riches’ wife he conveniently forgot?
I stepped back a few paces, pulling Stella with me, and yelled at the top of my lungs:
“Everyone, come see! Blake Sterling swore undying love to me back then!
He promised to be good to me forever, but now that he’s rich, he throws me and his daughter aside!
Is there any justice left in this world?”
Blake’s mansion was in a wealthy neighborhood, surrounded by affluent residents.
Hearing my shouts, people immediately gathered, curious.
“Oh dear, these days, there are too many women who tried to hook a rich guy and failed, aren’t there?”
“Look how shabbily dressed the mother and daughter are. They must be trying to extort money.”
“Mr. Sterling is known as a good man; he dotes on his wife and children. How could he abandon them?”
Listening to the whispers around me, I smirked inwardly.
Blake Sterling, you acted all high and mighty, but today, I’m going to rip off your mask!
I pulled out a copy from my canvas bag and held it over my head.
***æȘæçč***
“Everyone, look closely! This is a guarantee letter Blake Sterling personally wrote years ago, all here, in black and white!
If he denies it, I’ll go to the media and publicly disgrace him!”
Inside the surveillance room, the butler’s face changed drastically when he saw the contents of the guarantee letter.
He quickly ordered the guards, “Stay here. I’ll go inform Mr. Sterling.”
Sure enough, not long after.
Blake Sterling walked out of the villa, his face dark.
Behind him trailed Celeste, dressed in a Chanel suit.
The butler pointed at me and said to Blake:
“Mr. Sterling, it’s this woman. She claims to be your ex-wife. I think she’s crazy. Should I kick her out?”
Blake’s eyes were dark and menacing as he stared at me. “Look up.”
I curled my lips into a smile and slowly raised my head.
The moment he saw me, Blake’s face went pale.
“Scarlett? Is that really you? How did you get here?”
He quickly walked up to me, lowering his voice.
“Didn’t I make it clear on the phone? I’ve already called the police. This won’t end well for you if you keep this up!”
Five years had passed, and Blake was even more mature, more charismatic.
He wore a tailored designer suit, exuding the aura of a successful man.
Stella and I, on the other hand, wore cheap clothes, looking utterly miserable.
“Blake Sterling, what did you promise me back then?
You said you’d be good to me forever, that you’d give me and Stella a happy life!
And now? You live in a mansion, drive fancy cars, yet you discard me and Stella like trash. Where’s your conscience?”
Blake’s face turned ashen, but a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes.
“Scarlett, it’s not what you think. Please take Stella and leave. We can settle this privately.”
As he spoke, he secretly slipped a check into my hand.
He gestured for me to take the money and leave, to stop making a scene.
I sneered, and in front of everyone, I tore the check into tiny pieces.
“Blake Sterling, do you think a few measly dollars can buy me off?
I’m telling you, no way! I came here today to reclaim everything that belongs to Stella and me!”
My voice was loud enough for everyone around to hear clearly, and Blake’s face grew even uglier.
He gritted his teeth and threatened me:
“Scarlett, what exactly do you want? I said I’d compensate you. Can’t you just calm down?”
I gave a cold smile, pulling Stella towards the villa entrance.
“My daughter hasn’t had a decent meal in a long time. I’m afraid she can’t wait.”
“Mr. Sterling, why are you so reluctant to let your ex-wife in? Is there something you’re trying to hide?”
Of course, I knew why Blake didn’t want me inside.
The mansion wasn’t just home to him now.
It also housed Celeste, his late brother’s widow, whom he now publicly claimed as his wife, along with her two children.
Everyone comfortably seated on the living room sofa knew Celeste was the ‘official’ Mrs. Sterling, the one Blake presented to the world as his wife.
As for me, his suddenly reappearing ‘ex-wife,’ Blake naturally had no idea how to explain me.
After all, he was the one who cried and begged to marry me, and now he wished he could erase me from his life.
But I was here today to make him lose face.
Blake stared at me with a twisted expression, probably cursing me eight hundred times in his head.
Celeste’s eyes darted around, and then she suddenly walked over, taking my hand with a forced warmth.
“Oh, dear sister, what are you saying?
Since you’re Blake’s… friend, you’re certainly a guest here.
It’s normal for him to be caught off guard when you bring your child. Don’t misunderstand, please come in and sit down.”
With that, she tried to pull me towards the nearby lounge area.
I coldly pulled my hand away. “You must be Celeste, right?”
Celeste’s face stiffened, but she forced a smile and nodded.
In my past life, I was foolish. I always thought she was so pitiful, having lost her husband at such a young age.
I had no guard against her, believing everything she said. And what happened?
My daughter died instantly, spitting blood, after eating a cake Celeste had given her!
“No need for the lounge area. Didn’t Mr. Sterling just say guests were visiting?
My daughter and I are hungry, we’ll just eat something here. And perhaps Mr. Sterling can introduce us to everyone?”
“Scarlett!”
Blake growled, “Are you deliberately trying to embarrass the Sterling family, dressed like that to see guests?
At least change your clothes. Celeste, take her to change…”
Blake froze mid-sentence, realizing what he’d said. Seeing my silence, he quickly explained.
“Scarlett, don’t misunderstand. Celeste is my only relative in this family.
I treat her like a sister, that’s why I call her that.”
“There’s absolutely nothing improper between us!”
Blake’s desperate explanation only made me sick to my stomach.
The scene before my death in the last life, I could never forget it.
Celeste sobbing, lying.
She claimed my daughter was greedy, accidentally ate the expired cake she’d left on the dining table because she was going to throw it away. She swore that wretched child stole it, which was why she died from the poison.
Blake didn’t shed a single tear for us. Instead, he tenderly embraced Celeste, his face full of affection.
He gently wiped away her tears, holding her close to comfort her.
He said, “If she’s dead, she’s dead. Even if she hadn’t died, I was going to marry you anyway.”
“All these years, my eyes have only been on you and the two kids. There’s no room for anyone else, and I won’t allow anyone to disturb our life.”
From that moment, I completely gave up.
Celeste led me into a room and tossed me an old dress she’d worn, telling me to change.
Blake was squatting in front of Stella. “Don’t you remember Daddy?”
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296707”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
The year my mom was critically ill and we desperately needed money, I resorted to a desperate measure to get close to Liam, finding myself in his bed.
After that wild night, I got what I wanted: I became Mrs. Hemsworth.
“I know you were in a difficult situation.”
After we married, he didn’t criticize me. Instead, he treated me with distant politeness.
Until I discovered his assistant, Chloe, secretly embezzling company funds.
I called the police on the spot, and for the first time, the usually composed Liam blew up at me.
“Chloe just temporarily borrowed the money for her father’s treatment. I gave her my silent consent.”
“Did you expect her to stoop so low as to use her body for money, like you did?”
I froze, stunned by his words.
“Can you believe Mrs. Hemsworth, who seems so proper, actually used tricks to get where she is?”
“Using her body for money? Who is *she* to give Chloe a hard time?”
Gossip filled my ears, and I pressed my lips together.
After my mother passed, I proposed divorce and repaid the money I’d borrowed from the Hemsworth family. But Liam fought tooth and nail to save the marriage.
Now, it seemed, it should have ended long ago.
It was pouring rain outside.
Liam, usually so poised and calm, arrived at the office with his suit completely soaked, water dripping from his hair.
He rarely lost his composure like this.
He looked at me, and his first words were:
“I didn’t realize you could be so aggressive, bullying the new girl.”
Chloe, her eyes red, looked like a fragile, innocent lamb. She tugged on Liam’s sleeve.
“Mr. Hemsworth, Skylar didn’t mean to. It’s just⊠after all this, I don’t feel like I can stay at the company anymore.”
At her words, Liam’s concern deepened, and his tone grew colder.
“Chloe only borrowed company funds to pay for her father’s medical treatment. Did you really have to make such a huge scene? I’ve already sent the police away. This matter is over.”
“Skylar Rhodes, you abused your power to make things difficult for a new employee. There’s no need for you to be the General Manager anymore.”
I hadn’t even said a word, and Liam decisively delivered the news, as if he couldn’t wait another second to protect the woman behind him.
When he made up his mind, no one could change it.
After a long moment, I simply said in a low voice:
“If it’s a loan, then draw up a promissory note for a million dollars.”
Company rules were company rules. As long as I was still here, we had to follow procedure.
Unexpectedly, Chloe’s eyes became even wetter at my words, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Are you implying I won’t pay it back, Mrs. Hemsworth? Why call the police and demand an IOU to humiliate me? Maybe I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth like you, but I will definitely repay the loan.”
Before I could reply, Liam sharply snapped:
“Haven’t you made enough of a fuss!?”
“Chloe is just paying for her father’s treatment. Are you going to be so overbearing and force her to, like you, stoop so low as to use her body for money and get into my bed?”
I froze.
Ten years of marriage. Even if the initial spark had faded, I always thought there was still some marital affection between us.
But it turned out he had always thought I was lowly.
Whispers gradually rose around us.
“I heard Mrs. Hemsworth used tricks to get where she is back then⊠So it was true. How shameless⊔
Liam quickly realized he’d said too much. A flicker of hesitation crossed his face.
But in the end, he didn’t stop the gossip. Instead, he took Chloe’s hand.
“Too much has happened today. I’ll take Chloe home.”
His voice softened, perhaps out of concern for appearances.
“You don’t need to handle company matters anymore. Just go home and rest.”
With that, he turned and left without hesitation, leaving me standing there, my face pale.
When my team from the tech department found out Liam had fired me, they were furious. They submitted their resignations that very day and left with me.
They said they’d go wherever I went.
By the time we finished packing up and left the company, it was already dark.
I walked alone, holding my umbrella, when I quickly noticed a man following me.
My heart pounded as I realized the danger. I opened my phone to my contacts and instinctively called Liam, who was at the top of my favorites.
Once, twice⊠After he hung up three times, his impatient voice finally came through the receiver.
“I’m busy tonight. I won’t be home.”
My voice was shaky with panic.
“Liam, I’m being followed.”
A moment of silence on the other end, then I heard a faint scoff.
“Skylar Rhodes, is this your new trick?”
“Didn’t I tell you I prefer a well-behaved, proper wife?”
He said he liked “proper and dignified,” so even on a stormy night, I was still wearing a formal dress and heels.
My ten-centimeter heels rubbed my feet raw and bleeding, allowing the man behind me to get closer and closer. I didn’t even have a chance to run.
“Liam, helpâ”
Before I could finish, a cheerful female voice came from the other end of the phone.
“Big Boss Liam, you said you’d treat me to dinner as an apology today! Why are you zoning out? You’re not going to back out, are you?”
Liam’s voice quickened, as if he were giving me charity.
“Alright, I don’t have time for your drama. I’ll be home later.”
Then, the call was abruptly cut off. Hearing the dial tone, despair spread through me.
The next second, the man behind me lunged forward and snatched my bag. The momentum sent me crashing against a wall, my arm scraping against the rough surface, leaving a bloody gash.
At least he was just after money.
When I stumbled out of the alley, bruised, bleeding, and covered in mud, I suddenly saw a familiar figure at a street food stall not far away.
Liam’s bespoke suit looked ridiculously out of place at the greasy street food stall. His gaze was doting as he watched Chloe, her mouth full, eat.
“Big Boss, seriously, thank you. If it wasn’t for you today, I really wouldn’t know what to do about Mrs. Hemsworth.”
At the mention of me, Liam subtly frowned.
“She’s been Mrs. Hemsworth for too long, so long that she’s forgotten her own lowly status and started throwing her weight around.”
My eyes welled up at his words.
As the daughter of the Hemsworth family’s housekeeper, when my mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I was in a moment of sheer desperation. I used a trick to get close to Liam, who I’d grown up with.
When he woke up, I didn’t ask for a title or formal recognition. I only asked him to help my mother, considering our history.
But he insisted on marrying me, saying he understood my difficulties and would take responsibility for me.
Yet despite his words, our relationship remained distant after marriage. His eyes held a look I couldn’t quite decipher.
It was only in his arms, in the quiet of the night, that I felt a flicker of warmth.
I always thought he was naturally aloof, but I never imagined he would act impulsively and lose his temper for Chloe, or that he would join her at a street food stall he’d never even consider eating at.
“Mr. Hemsworth, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time⊔
Chloe suddenly looked up, her gaze firm.
“You don’t look happy. So, I don’t want to hide my feelings anymore.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Liam’s eyes flickered. Before she could say another word, he lowered his head and kissed her, leaving no room for argument.
“Mmm⊠but if Mrs. Hemsworth finds out about us⊔
Chloe’s cheeks flushed, her words laden with implication.
“Don’t worry about her.”
Liam cut off her words with another kiss. The man’s usual composure was completely gone.
From not far away, I saw Chloe cast a provocative glance my way.
It turned out she was saying it all deliberately for me to hear.
I clenched my fists, but after a long while, slowly loosened my grip.
Watching the two of them being so affectionate, I picked up my phone and called my lawyer.
“Hello, please draft a divorce agreement for me.”
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296723”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
Julian’s ‘darling little thing’ was having her 99th ‘breakup’ tantrum.
He handed me the divorce papers.
“Quinn, just sign it. It’s just to humor her. Once she cools down, we’ll get back together.”
This time, I didn’t refuse. I signed the divorce papers without hesitation.
The bystanders present were all murmuring, “Julian, you’re a legend! You’ve got your wife completely under your thumb!”
“Spill your tricks, dude! Share your secrets to handling a woman!”
Julian snuffed out his cigarette butt, his face gleaming with pride.
“She’s head over heels for me. I could bring a woman home and screw her right here, and Quinn wouldn’t dare utter a peep.”
The laughter behind me exploded like fireworks, exposing the raw, ugly truth of my ten-year marriage.
That night, he brought the girl home.
The faint, bunny-like whimpers from the girl went on all night.
I picked up my pre-packed luggage and turned to leave.
Martha, our housekeeper, tried to stop me, but Julian just scoffed.
“Let her go. She’s nothing but a damn nobody without me!”
“Does she still think she’s that celebrated champion artist she once was?”
He provocatively kissed the young girl’s face, but his eyes were fixed on me.
The next day, the whole town was betting how many days it would take Julian’s ‘disobedient ex-wife’ to come crawling back.
But what they didn’t know was that the renowned director, my best friend Riley, who was personally flying me out to the International Art Gala, was already waiting in the extended limo outside.
This time, I was truly leaving.
—
0
Seeing I wasn’t jealous, Julian rushed after me, grabbing my suitcase.
“Quinn, Stella’s dream is to be an artist. She wants to see the trophy. Let her play with it!”
I lowered my gaze, looking at my fingers, aching and stiff from countless hours of painting.
Becoming a champion cost me a body riddled with aches and pains. He knew damn well how important that trophy was to me.
He also knew it was the one thing I’d never leave behind if I left, but he deliberately went out of his way to thwart me.
He saw my silence and frowned impatiently.
“God, you’re annoying! Always with that pathetic, gloomy face. It’s bad luck just looking at you!”
“Just name your price. How much? Is a hundred million enough?”
Money. If it really came down to money between us, how much were the ten years of my prime, my peak fame, worth?
A bitter laugh escaped me as I looked at Stella’s face, six parts similar to my own when I was younger.
They say a man’s loyalty only extends to 18-year-old girls.
And who knows how long this girl, who rose to fame as ‘Little Quinn,’ will last with Julian.
I handed her the trophy, offering a heartfelt wish: “I hear you’re from the Art Academy too? Then I wish your dreams come true soon!”
Seeing my obedient demeanor, he nodded, satisfied, and actually tried to appease me.
“As long as you take good care of Stella, I can consider adding her name to your artwork. But I can write your name a bit bigger.”
I scoffed, “Is she even *worthy*?”
All because Julian said, “I can’t stand to see you work so hard. Just be Mrs. Julian, isn’t that enough?”
I announced my retirement from art at the City’s Best Female Artist award ceremony.
My decade as Julian’s wife was supposed to be my most precious years, but all he gave me in return was one affair after another!
And now he wanted to put someone else’s name on *my* artwork?
I grabbed my luggage and turned to walk away. Just then, Julian, in a fit of rage, hurled the trophy at me.
0
Crystal shards flew, slicing my leg open, leaving gashes of varying sizes.
Crimson blood poured from my leg.
He stared at me, his eyes pure ice, devoid of any pity:
“Quinn, you’re nothing without me. I bought you one championship; I can damn well buy another one for someone else!”
“You want to leave? Fine. But strip off every stitch of clothing you have on!”
“Every single thing you’ve ever eaten or worn was provided by me, by *my* family!”
Stella, her eyes red-rimmed from crying, huddled in Julian’s arms, trembling.
“Julian, please don’t fight with Quinn because of me. It’s my fault for being so foolish. I don’t want Quinn’s artwork, okay?”
A year ago, my friends from my old art circle encouraged me to submit my work to the largest, most prestigious art exhibition in the city.
Many famous masters and influential figures would attend, and my reputation would skyrocket.
But on the day of the exhibition, the name on my artwork was Stella’s.
To promote her, Julian pulled strings to replace my name with hers on my artwork, bribing reporters to gush about her ‘natural talent’ and youthful, delicate face.
I became the talk of the art world overnight. Everyone said the once-celebrated genius artist would soon be Julian’s discarded trophy wife.
Julian pulled Stella closer, pressing a heavy kiss on her, but his eyes were still locked on me.
“In this town, *I* make the rules!”
“What’s yours is hers! That ‘champion’ title? I only bestow it on women who know their place and obey me!”
“Guards! Strip her!”
I stared at Julian, my eyes burning. A decade of marriage, and he could be so utterly heartless toward me.
The house staff, caught between us, hesitated, not daring to move.
At the entrance hall, I took off my own blazer, worn over my silk dress, and then my red-soled heels.
The shoes thudded loudly to the floor. “Is that enough?”
I turned to leave, but he ripped my dress.
“You’ll leave this dress too, including your underwear!”
I stared at Julian in disbelief. “I bought these clothes myself! They have nothing to do with you!”
He sneered, “You bought them? You’ve been a housewife for ten years! Where would *you* get money like that? Strip her bare!”
The staff swarmed me, tearing off the last remnants of my dress.
I struggled fiercely, but they kicked my stomach hard. A dark, bloody discharge streamed from my body.
I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to cover my nakedness, biting my lip hard, tears streaming down my face.
He just held Stella, looking down at me with smug satisfaction. “See? That’s what happens when you don’t listen!”
Stella wrapped her arms around Julian’s neck and kissed him.
“Stella’s the best girl, Julian. I’ll never make you angry, unlike some people who don’t know what’s good for them!”
Julian’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes burning with raw desire.
He picked Stella up, and a startled gasp echoed from inside the room.
Martha looked at me, her eyes filled with pity. She slipped off her own jacket and gently covered me. “Oh, honey,” she whispered, “what a terrible thing.”
I buried my face in the jacket, finally letting out a sob.
I never thought that the home I’d poured ten years of my life into, the only one who’d offer me a shred of dignity, would be Martha, who I’d known for less than three months.
0
Wearing Martha’s work uniform, I walked barefoot out of the mansion.
The extended limo parked not far from the gate was my ticket to a new life.
But I didn’t expect that at that critical moment, I’d be forcibly dragged back into Julian’s mansion by a group of people.
It turned out Julian and Stella had gotten carried away with their games; the dripping hot wax set the sheets ablaze, burning Stella’s arm.
Stella’s eyes filled with tears, looking utterly pitiful at Julian.
“Julian, my arm is burned. How will I paint now? Please, you have to do something!”
I noticed the dense red marks on Stella’s body, and the dog chains, whips, and red candles scattered on the floor.
So, Julian, who was usually so calm and composed, secretly enjoyed this kind of thing.
A bitter laugh escaped me, my heart a dull, numb ache.
Stella noticed my gaze and, whether on purpose or by accident, shifted her body.
A bunny tail dropped from the bed.
She apologized, covering her mouth. “Oh, sorry! Julian really likes little bunnies.”
“Quinn, you don’t mind, do you? After all, you’re older, and you can’t play like this anymore, right?”
I looked at the girl’s fresh, youthful face, so tender it seemed water could be squeezed from it, and shook my head, smiling faintly.
She still didn’t get it: youth is fleeting.
This whole charade was utterly boring. I checked my watch.
“Julian, did you drag me back here just to watch this spectacle? I have somewhere important to be!”
Julian bristled. “Who said you could leave? Do you really think I’ll miss you?”
“You think too highly of yourself!”
“I brought you here to take a piece of *your* skin for Stella!”
My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at Julian.
“Do you know what you’re saying? What right do you have to harm my body?”
Julian leaned down, his eyes filled with ruthless intent.
“You’re nothing but a dog I’ve kept around. Don’t talk to me about rights!”
“Her delicate skin can’t have any scars, so we’ll just have to use yours.”
“Dr. Evans, proceed!”
A group of people rushed forward and pinned my hands. I struggled desperately, “No!”
But the needle still plunged mercilessly into my skin, and I gradually lost consciousness.
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296736”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
There were three days left until the wedding.
I thought that by agreeing to break off the engagement and marry in her place, I could spend these three days in peace. But as I walked to the dining table for breakfast as usual, Mrs. Davies emerged from the kitchen, let out a shriek, and rushed over to snatch the plate from in front of me.
“Mrs. Davies, what are you doing?” I frowned.
“Miss Stella, this breakfast is for Miss Scarlett. And the seat youâre in right now? That’s Miss Scarlett’s too.”
She deliberately emphasized “Scarlett.”
“From now on, you’ll sit over there,” she pointed to the very edge of the dining table.
A surge of anger flared in my chest.
Even if I was the imposter heiress, it wasn’t a servant’s place to bully me.
“Who gave you these rules?” My voice turned cold.
“Sister, don’t blame Mrs. Davies. I was the one who said I wanted to sit here.”
Scarlett Sutton appeared, I didn’t know when, her voice soft and weak, her eyes slightly red-rimmed.
She was dressed in a beautiful lace nightgown, a picture of innocent vulnerability.
“Scarlett, why didn’t you sleep longer?” Mother, hearing the commotion, also came out of the kitchen, carrying a nourishing smoothie.
“Mom, I was afraid Sister would misunderstand Mrs. Davies⊔ Scarlett lowered her head aggrievedly.
Father walked over too, and seeing the scene, his face immediately darkened.
“Stella Sutton! Are you bullying Scarlett again!”
“Scarlett is our biological daughter! Get your identity straight!”
“She just came back; she’s not used to many things. Can’t you just make allowances for her?”
Mother echoed him, “Thatâs right, Stella. Scarlett suffered so much hardship outside. As her older sister, you should be more understanding.”
I stood rooted to the spot, watching them, a picture of a happy family of three, while I felt like an unwanted outsider.
All the accusations shot at me like sharp arrows.
This blatant favoritism made my chest feel suffocating.
Injustice swelled up like a tide, but I pushed it down fiercely.
What else could I say?
If I said I hadnât bullied her, would they believe me?
If I said I was also a victim, would they feel sorry for me?
No, they wouldn’t.
In their eyes, every tear Scarlett shed was precious and deserving of pity, while all my feelings were insignificant.
I silently walked to that corner, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Scarlett Sutton picked up the smoothie, sipping it delicately, a smug smile playing on her lips.
“Stella Sutton, you know your place now, don’t you?”
“You’re nothing but a dog the Suttons raised for twenty years.”
“Now that I’m back, you, this dog, can be abandoned at any time.”
Her words were ugly, but they were the brutal, cutting truth.
After my parents finished breakfast and left, only Scarlett and I remained in the dining room. The challenge and smugness in her eyes were undeniable.
I looked at her coldly, not wanting to waste my breath.
Scarlett’s gaze fell on my wrist, and her eyes lit up.
It was an heirloom bracelet I had worn for many years, an antique piece, a rich emerald green, shimmering with an inner glow.
“That bracelet is nice. I want it,” she said, reaching out to snatch it.
I instinctively protected my wrist. “This is mine!”
“Yours?” Scarlett scoffed. “What do you own that’s truly yours?”
“Everything you eat, wear, and use in the Sutton household, isn’t it all the Suttons’?”
“And what belongs to the Suttons, naturally belongs to me!”
“Let go!” I snapped.
This bracelet was the only keepsake my biological parents had left me before they died.
It held profound significance for me.
“My biological parents left this to me!” I tried to explain.
But Scarlett reacted as if she’d heard the biggest joke. “Your biological parents? Who are they? Does it matter?”
“Anyway, I want this bracelet now, and you *will* give it to me!”
She pulled with force, her nails digging into my skin, the pain twisting my face.
In the struggle, the bracelet slipped from my wrist. With a “smash!” it fell onto the hard floor.
The crisp sound of it breaking shattered in my ears like a clap of thunder.
The bracelet split into several pieces, and my heart, too, shattered into a million fragments.
It was the only memento my biological parents had left me, the only way I could feel their presence in this world.
Now, it too was broken, just like my heart at this moment, incapable of ever being whole again.
Scarlett froze for a moment, then a flicker of panic crossed her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.
She hypocritically bent down and picked up a shard. “Oh, sister, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“If you had just given it to me earlier, it wouldn’t have broken, would it?”
Her apology was light and empty, devoid of any sincerity.
Julian Davies, I didn’t know when, arrived, having heard the commotion.
Seeing the broken pieces on the floor and Scarlett’s “aggrieved” expression, he immediately turned on me.
“Stella Sutton! What are you doing now!”
“Scarlett only liked your bracelet; couldn’t you have just given it to her? Did you have to make a scene like this?”
Julian tenderly took Scarlett’s hand. “Don’t be afraid, Scarlett. It’s just a bracelet. I’ll buy you a better one.”
Then he frowned at me. “Stella, Scarlett just came back; she’s still innocent. She suffered a lot outside. Can’t you be more understanding?”
He didn’t ask me a single question, didn’t understand the circumstances, and didn’t even see the red marks Scarlettâs nails had left on my wrist. He simply condemned me, as if I were some unforgivable criminal.
For some reason, at that moment, I found myself looking forward to the day I would marry Dorian Blackwood.
Julian’s tone grew increasingly annoyed. “Why do you always have to be at odds with Scarlett? Are you trying to get my attention?”
“Let me tell you, my bride is already decidedâit’s Scarlett. You don’t need to play these useless little tricks anymore. I’m never going to marry you!”
I hadn’t realized Julian thought this way; I felt as if I had never truly known him.
“Julian Davies, you have no right to tell me what to do. We stopped being anything to each other the day I broke off the engagement!”
I ignored his endless accusations, simply knelt down, picked up the fragments, and rushed out of that suffocating house.
I didn’t notice the stunned, complex look in Julian’s eyes as I turned and left.
My wedding and Scarlett’s were set for the same day.
Early in the morning, the Sutton mansion was bustling with activity.
Scarlett, in her pristine white wedding gown, beamed with happiness, like a princess held in the palm of their hands.
I, too, had changed into a deep red gown, simple but perfectly fitted.
When Julian came to pick up Scarlett, his eyes immediately found me, also dressed in a wedding gown.
He froze, then a look of disgust spread across his face.
“Stella Sutton, what do you think you’re doing?” He walked over, lowering his voice to confront me.
“Do you think wearing a wedding gown will let you steal Scarlett’s wedding?”
The narcissism and certainty in his tone made me want to laugh.
“Julian, do you think too highly of yourself? Do you think you’re the center of the universe, and everyone revolves around you?”
Scarlett walked over, hooked Julian’s arm, her voice mournful. “Sister, are you deliberately trying to embarrass me?”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened again, and she turned to my parents with a pitiful look.
Father casually explained, “Julian, Scarlett, Stella is also getting married today.”
“She’s marrying Dorian Blackwood, the Blackwood family’s head.”
Scarlett’s eyes flickered with glee at the mention of it.
So she’s marrying that cripple Dorian Blackwood. She didn’t care for that, so my marrying him instead was perfect.
Julian, however, looked as if heâd heard something unbelievable, his brows furrowing tightly.
“Marrying Dorian Blackwood? That cripple?”
“Stella Sutton, are you crazy?”
“Don’t think this way you can get my attention. Let me tell you, it’s impossible!”
He stubbornly insisted that I was deliberately wearing a wedding gown to sabotage his and Scarlettâs wedding.
I was too tired to argue with him.
Just then, the sound of car engines reached us from outside.
Several black luxury cars slowly drove up, stopping in front of the Sutton mansion.
From the leading car, a well-dressed, respectful middle-aged man emerged. He was the Blackwood family’s butler.
“Miss Stella Sutton, the ceremony is about to begin. Mr. Blackwood sent me to pick you up,” the butler said, bowing slightly as he approached me.
In that moment, Julian’s arrogance and certainty finally cracked.
He stared at me in shock, then at the Blackwood’s impressive wedding car procession, seemingly only then believing that I was truly marrying Dorian Blackwood.
As I was about to step into the car, Julian suddenly stepped forward and blocked me.
“Stella Sutton, you can’t marry him!”
“Snap out of it! Don’t you know what kind of person Dorian Blackwood is? You’re ruining your future!”
His tone was urgent, even with a hint of panic he himself hadn’t noticed.
I looked at him coldly, feeling only a bitter irony.
“Julian Davies, in what capacity are you stopping me now?”
“You’re Scarlett Sutton’s groom, aren’t you?”
My words hit him like a bucket of ice water, drenching him to the bone.
Julian’s face turned a shade of sickly green, then stark white, and he opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296752”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic #æ ĄćSchool
My husbandâs idealized first love got engaged.
To make her regret it, he abandoned me right after our wedding and left for a scientific expedition in Antarctica.
I visited him 66 times during that period, but all my attempts were futile.
Five years later, I stopped. I was laughing and chatting at my birthday party when he suddenly appeared.
He looked at my slightly swollen belly, his face twisted in anguish.
âI was away for five years, and you never once bothered with me. Whose bastard child is that in your belly?â
I replied calmly, âItâs none of your business. Legally, a couple can divorce after two years of separation.â
Hearing that, Brandon Sterling kicked over the birthday cake, furious.
âChloe Sterling, Iâve only been working away for five years, and youâve already gotten yourself pregnant.â
âYouâre so despicable. Tell me, whose bastard is it? Iâll make sure he canât even show his face in this city.â
Seeing my carefully prepared birthday party ruined by Brandon, my temper flared too.
âBrandon Sterling, this isnât your playground. Stop acting like a lunatic. If youâre sick, go to a hospital.â
When Brandon heard the word âhospital,â his emotions instantly surged.
He grabbed my arm and started dragging me out.
âBitch, weâre going to the hospital right now for an abortion.â
Brandonâs strength was immense; I had no room to struggle.
Just then, Grandma Sterling heard the commotion and rushed over, leaning on her cane.
Seeing Brandonâs brutal actions, her heart leaped into her throat.
âBrandon, let go of Chloe immediately!â
âChloe is carryingâŠâ
Brandonâs anger seemed to calm slightly when he saw Grandma, but it surged again when he heard her words.
He cut Grandma Sterling off directly.
âChloe Sterling, youâre quite the manipulative one, youâve even got Grandma wrapped around your finger.â
With that, he raised his other hand and brutally slapped my face.
My lip instantly split, and my cheek swelled red.
Grandma Sterling was shocked by the scene.
She immediately tried to pull me free from Brandonâs grip.
But Brandonâs bodyguards blocked her, preventing her from getting close.
Brandon told his bodyguards to call a private hospital doctor to prepare for the abortion.
He arranged everything while dragging me to the car.
Grandma Sterling stubbornly followed the bodyguards into another car.
None of our friends around us offered a hand.
Instead, they watched the scene unfold with gleeful schadenfreude.
The Sterling family was wealthy and influential, and they didnât want to offend Brandon, preferring to curry favor with him.
The car quickly arrived at a private hospital.
Dr. Hayes, the Dean, personally came out to greet Brandon.
Brandon ignored the Deanâs obsequious flattery, dragging me straight to the obstetrics and gynecology department.
âBrandon Sterling, let go of me! The child in my belly isâŠâ
Before I could finish speaking, I ran straight into Serena, who had just come out of the doctorâs office.
She was Brandonâs ex-sister-in-law, and the idealized woman he could never forget.
The moment she saw Brandon, she happily ran over and hugged him tightly.
âBrandon, Iâm finally pregnant!â
After saying that, she looked at Brandon with deep affection.
Brandon released my hand and carefully embraced Serena.
âSerena, youâre pregnant, why are you still so reckless? Be careful.â
Serena giggled playfully, then her eyes caught sight of me, and she exclaimed in surprise,
âSister-in-law, youâre pregnant?â
Seeing their intimate actions at that moment, I instantly understood.
Why Brandon had been gone for five years, and why Serena had also disappeared for five years.
It turned out they had been involved all along.
I ignored the challenge in Serenaâs eyes and replied calmly,
âBrandon Sterling, we are no longer married, and besides, youâre with Serena now. Let me go immediately, or you wonât be able to handle the consequences.â
Though Grandma Sterling was shocked by Brandon and Serenaâs entanglement, her immediate concern was preventing Brandon from doing something extreme.
âBrandon, let Chloe go back and rest now.â
Brandon instantly released Serena, demanding in a sharp voice,
âGrandma, Chloe cheated on me! Sheâs carrying a bastard child! Do you expect me to just turn a blind eye?!â
Grandma Sterling heard his intent to not give up easily.
She quickly said, âBrandon, the child in Chloeâs belly isnât a bastard, itâsâŠâ
Before Grandma Sterling could finish speaking, Serena interrupted,
âBrandon, Grandma doesnât look well. Is Chloe not taking good care of her? Or perhaps Grandma is being threatened by Chloe?â
Hearing this, I found it utterly ridiculous.
âBrandon Sterling, Grandma raised you. You just left for five years. You know better than anyone why Grandmaâs spirits are low.â
Serena scoffed, walking up to me.
âYou were the one who came between Brandon and me in the first place! Why Brandon left, donât you know?â
With that, Serena violently shoved me.
My belly slammed into a gurney placed in the hallway, and a sharp pain instantly shot through me.
A warm gush flowed down my thighs.
Grandma Sterling saw it and looked utterly frantic.
âDoctor, quickly, come look! Nothing can happen to Chloeâs baby!â
The doctor and nurses were about to come check, but Brandon barked at them,
âNo one is to go near her! Today, Iâm going to make her abort that bastard!â
At Dr. Hayesâs signal, the doctors and nurses didnât dare move.
Serena sneered,
âSister-in-law is carrying some unknown bastard, betraying Brandon. How does she even have the nerve to ask for doctors from his familyâs hospital to examine her?â
Grandma Sterling anxiously fumbled in her bag for her phone, ready to call for help.
Brandon saw her and had his bodyguards confiscate Grandmaâs phone.
âGrandma, what kind of spell did this bitch Chloe cast on you? Youâre still trying to find someone to help her now.â
âGrandma, Iâm telling you, this bastard cannot be kept.â
Grandma Sterling was utterly shocked.
âBrandon, Iâm your grandmother! Are you not going to listen to me anymore?â
With that, Grandma Sterling went to help me up and tried to lead me outside, planning to find another hospital.
But the bodyguards held her back.
âBrandon Sterling, donât you dare act crazy here!â
I struggled to stand, clutching my belly, cold sweat pouring down my body.
âThe child in my belly is not something you can touch. Let me go now, or you wonât be able to handle the consequences!â
Brandon stared at me, silent for a moment.
Just then, Serena opened a live stream on her phone.
She tiptoed and whispered something in Brandonâs ear.
Brandon took the phone Serena handed him, pointing it at me.
âChloe Sterling, since you donât want a proper abortion at the hospital, Iâll find another way.â
âIâll make sure you remember the consequences of betraying me.â
Brandon had his bodyguards tie me to the hospital bed.
My eyes widened in terror as I watched the bodyguards with clubs.
I thrashed my arms and legs desperately, trying to break free.
At this point, I couldnât care less about anything else. I was ready to reveal the childâs true father.
âBrandon Sterling, youâre insane! The child Iâm carrying isâŠâ
Before I could finish speaking, at Brandonâs signal, a bodyguard brought a club down hard on my belly.
Excruciating pain ripped through me, and the words I was about to utter turned into a scream of agony.
Blood seeped from where my wrists and ankles were tied due to my violent struggles.
âBitch, this is what you get for cheating on me and getting pregnant with a bastard!â
The online viewers, having learned the alleged story, chimed in with agreement.
âThis woman clearly isnât decent.â
âCheaters deserve to die, donât let her off easy.â
âSeductress, beat her to death! Let all women see the consequences of cheating!â
Brandon held the live stream screen for me to see.
âChloe Sterling, not only did you cheat on me and make a fool of me, you also manipulated Grandma to help you deceive me.â
âToday, Iâm going to have the child in your belly beaten to death right before your eyes.â
When the bodyguards started tying me up, Brandon had already locked Grandma Sterling in a nearby office.
As the second blow was about to land, someone suddenly burst in.
He stopped the bodyguard.
âMr. Sterling, you canât touch Ms. Sterling right now.â
âIf you stop now and apologize to Ms. Sterling, your future might be a little easier.â
Serenaâs expression changed slightly when she saw the bodyguard, but she didnât say anything.
However, Brandon stared at the unexpected visitor for a long time before speaking,
âYou look familiar. Oh, youâre my brotherâs bodyguard.â
With that, Brandon suddenly grabbed the club from his bodyguardâs hand and brutally struck the man on the head.
âDamn it, youâre just a low-level worker! How dare you meddle with my woman?!â
Blood instantly gushed from the bodyguardâs head, and his body slumped to the ground.
Watching the bodyguard who had been by my side fall to the ground, his life hanging by a thread, my emotions plummeted.
This was my only hope, and now it was gone.
âBrandon Sterling, please, Iâm sorry. Please, let my baby go!â
Utterly desperate, I cried out these words.
Brandon glanced at his phone, then at me, and had his bodyguards untie me from the bed.
âNow, kneel before me and tell me what you did wrong?â
âIf the viewers in the live stream forgive you, then Iâll let you off.â
Clutching my aching belly, I painfully crawled to Brandonâs feet and knelt.
âIâm sorry, I shouldnât have cheated, and I certainly shouldnât have gotten pregnant. Iâm a slut.â
âBut the baby is innocent, please, I beg you, let him go.â
Brandon watched my pathetic state but said nothing.
Instead, he randomly connected to a viewerâs microphone.
The outraged voice of a viewer boomed from the phone.
âBitch, you deserve to die! Youâre a whore, beat her to death!â
Serena walked up next to Brandon and slowly spoke,
âBrandon, look, sister-in-law still doesnât want to give up this child, and she still wonât say who the father is. It seems she hasnât truly acknowledged her mistakes.â
Hearing their conversation, my face turned ashen.
But for the sake of the child in my belly, I couldnât give up.
Enduring the intense pain, I suddenly stood up and ran towards the exit.
If I could just run out of this hospital, if I could call for help from people outside and report this.
Then this child would still have a chance to survive.
Just as I was about to rush out the hospital main entrance, Brandon grabbed my hair from behind.
He harshly pulled me back, a tearing pain searing my scalp.
âBitch, youâre actually trying to escape now?â
âUnless I teach you a lesson, youâll never learn.â
He spoke while handing me over to the bodyguards, telling them to tie me to an operating table.
âDoctor, directly perform a caesarean section and remove the fetus from her belly.â
The doctors and nurses prepared to give me anesthesia, but Brandon stopped them.
âSheâs a whore, and the child in her belly is a bastard. No anesthesia is needed.â
Looking at the sterile, white lights of the operating room, I weakly said,
âBrandon Sterling, you will regret this.â
Brandon replied indifferently,
âAfter this, maybe youâll even thank me. Do you know, youâre famous now? Youâll be the first person in history to have an abortion live-streamed for the whole internet to see.â
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296768”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #æ”Ș挫Romance #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
While expanding my business overseas, I unexpectedly stumbled upon my brother-in-law Markâs SnapChat story.
âHappy birthday to my wife today. Helping her become the CEO of Sterling Group.â
My brows instantly furrowed.
Because the woman in the photo, intimately close with my brother-in-law, wasn’t my sister.
Yet, she was wearing my sister’s clothes and jewelry, sitting on my sister’s husband, and even living in our family’s mansion.
Scrolling further down, I realized Mark had blocked my main account on SnapChat.
âToday, we got a new pet at home. My wife doesnât like it, so I can only let the dog stay outside.â
In the photo, my sister Clara was covered in bruises, barely clothed, her hair completely shaved off.
She was chained like a dog in a small doghouse by the entrance, looking utterly miserable.
Rage burned through me. How dare that good-for-nothing leech who married into our family turn my sister into a dog?!
âŠ
I rushed back home. My car pulled up to the Sterling family mansion, and the sight before me made my breath catch.
The once meticulously maintained garden was now overgrown with weeds, the villa’s exterior walls were peeling, and the yard was littered with trash.
What truly chilled me to the bone was the tiny figure chained next to the doghouse by the entrance.
“Clara?”
I rushed closer, unable to believe my eyes.
The figure huddled by the doghouse was my sister, the one I had cherished and protected like a precious gem.
She looked up, her eyes vacant and lifeless, her face covered in wounds.
Even more terrifying, she didn’t show any surprise or joy at seeing me. Instead, she cowered back, a low whimper, like a dog’s bark, escaping her throat.
“Clara, it’s me, your brother, Alex!”
My voice trembled as I knelt before her.
But she grew even more terrified, desperately trying to burrow into the doghouse, crawling with all fours.
“Don’t hit me⊠please⊠I’ll be good⊔
She whimpered softly, her voice so hoarse it was barely recognizable.
I saw her exposed arms and ankles were covered in bruises and scars. Some even looked like cigarette burns.
My sanity instantly shattered, consumed by fury.
“Who! Who did this!” I roared, standing up.
Just then, the mansion door opened.
My brother-in-law Mark and his mother, Brenda, stepped out.
“Alex, you’re back?”
Mark wore a smile, but his tone was nonchalant.
I stared at them coldly:
“What happened to my sister? Why is she chained out here?”
Mark’s face changed, then twisted into a sorrowful expression:
“Alex, Clara⊠she’s developed a mental illness.”
Brenda chimed in, adding fuel to the fire:
“Lately, Clara suddenly became unstable, going crazy all day, even trying to bite people! We had no choice but to⊔
“Shut up!” I cut her off.
“Don’t you think I know what Clara is like? What exactly did you do to her?!”
Seeing my fury, Mark’s expression immediately hardened:
“Since you don’t believe me, then I’ll tell you the truth.”
He pulled out his phone and played a video:
“Take a look, this is what your sister is really like!”
In the video, a figure resembling my sister was entangled with several men in a hotel room.
“What is this?” I demanded, my voice icy.
Mark sneered:
“That’s your sister’s true face! A chaotic private life, seducing men everywhere!”
“As her husband, I’ve been tolerant enough. Anyone else would have divorced her long ago!”
“Ever since I found out about this and proposed a divorce, she couldn’t handle it herself and went insane.”
Brenda, ever the instigator, added:
“Our family is respectable! How can we tolerate a woman who tarnishes our good name?!”
“Your family?” I scoffed.
“Your son married into the Sterling family, he even changed his surname, and you’re still talking about your family’s good name here?”
I knew my own sister. If Clara had ever done anything like that, Iâd drop dead on the spot.
Just then, Clara finally spoke. She cautiously tugged at my pants.
Her voice was so weak it was almost inaudible:
“Brother⊠they⊠they drugged me⊠it wasn’t willing⊔
“You little tramp, shut your mouth!”
Mark lunged forward to hit her, but I blocked him instantly.
“Dare to touch her? Just try me.” My eyes blazed with murderous intent.
Mark recoiled, intimidated by my glare, but his words remained venomous:
“Alex, don’t let her fool you! She acted just like this when I caught her red-handed at the hotel that day!”
“Everyone at the company knows she’s mentally unstable. The board has already voted to remove her from her position!”
I ignored him, kneeling to embrace my trembling sister, carefully examining her arms.
A multitude of needle marks and old scars were clearly visible.
“What are these?”
I pointed to the needle marks. Mark stammered:
“Those are⊠those are sedatives the doctor gave her⊔
“Doctor? Which doctor?” I pressed.
“Just⊠the community clinic’s⊔
My rationality completely snapped. I waved my hand towards the car outside the mansion.
A dozen black-clad bodyguards immediately stormed in, apprehending Mark and Brenda.
“What are you doing! Let me go!” Mark struggled violently.
Brenda shrieked:
“Help! Someone’s attacking us!”
“Search the place! Turn this house upside down and find all the evidence!” I commanded coldly.
Mark thrashed:
“How dare you! This is my house! Let me go!”
I punched him in the face:
“You married into the Sterling family, live in the Sterling family’s house, and abuse the Sterling family’s heiress, and you have the nerve to call this your house?!”
Mark’s nose bled profusely, but he still yelled:
“Alex Sterling, don’t go too far! Let me tell you, the Sterling Group isn’t yours to command anymore!”
“The company has a new CEO, and your sister is nothing now!”
I sneered:
“Oh really? Then I’d like to see who’s audacious enough to snatch my sister’s position.”
The bodyguards moved swiftly, thoroughly searching the entire mansion.
I, meanwhile, held my sister, light as a scarecrow, and gently comforted her:
“Clara, brother’s back. It’s okay now, everything will be alright.”
Clara trembled in my arms:
“Brother⊠they’ll kill me⊠they said⊠if I told you the truth⊔
“No one can hurt you, I promise.” I said firmly.
I took clean clothes from the car and helped her change, my heart aching.
Her body was covered in injuries, some scabbed over, others fresh.
Even more terrifying, her eyes were filled with pure dread. Even my softest words made her tremble.
“Clara, don’t be afraid. Brother will take you to the company and see who dared to bully you!” I whispered gently.
A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, then she nodded slightly.
I instructed my head bodyguard:
“Keep a close eye on them. I’ll deal with them when I get back!”
The bodyguard nodded:
“Don’t worry, Mr. Sterling, they won’t get away.”
“Also, organize all the evidence you find, especially those drugs and surveillance footage.”
Taking Clara to the Sterling Group headquarters building, I found the situation worse than I’d imagined.
The receptionist looked at us with disdain: “Do you have an appointment? No appointment, no entry.”
I scoffed:
“I am Alex Sterling, and this is Clara Sterling, the CEO of Sterling Group.”
The receptionist displayed a look of contempt:
“I’m sorry, our company’s CEO is Ms. Victoria. I haven’t heard of anyone named Clara Sterling.”
Ms. Victoria?
My brows furrowed instantly. I could understand if Mark, that bastard, wanted to usurp power and become CEO himself.
But who was this Ms. Victoria, and where did she come from?
Several employees nearby were already whispering:
“Look, isn’t that the boss’s husband’s mistress? I heard she’s a real party animal, went crazy from all the fun, and then her family locked her up.”
“CEO? She’s really trying to flatter herself!”
“Who’s that guy? Her brother? Daring to cause trouble?”
“Oh, what do you even know? At the end of the day, isn’t being a mistress just for money? This might be just a new client she’s picked up.”
I glared at those employees,
“Are your mouths filled with absolute garbage?!”
A security guard approached, blocking our way:
“Sir, please don’t cause a disturbance here, or we’ll call the police.”
I took a deep breath, suppressing my anger, and told the receptionist:
“Take me to the CEO’s office.”
The receptionist hesitated, perhaps seeing my strong aura, not daring to confront me directly. She made a phone call.
“Ms. Victoria, two people claiming to be Alex Sterling and Clara Sterling want to see you⊠Alright, I’ll take them up now.”
Upon receiving the instructions, she gave a strange smile:
“Very well, please follow me.”
The elevator went straight to the top floor. On what used to be my sister’s office door, a nameplate conspicuously displayed “CEO Victoria.”
The office door opened, and a glamorous woman walked out, followed by a panting Mark, who must have escaped my bodyguards at home.
Victoria sized us up, a sneer playing on her lips:
“You must be Alex Sterling, right? I’ve heard so much about you.”
I didn’t know how Mark had managed to get away from the bodyguards, but he now stood beside Victoria, looking utterly confident of victory.
“Who are you? Why are you in my sister’s office?” I demanded coldly.
Victoria’s smile grew more smug:
“I am Victoria, the CEO of Sterling Group, and this is a legitimate appointment.”
She pulled a stack of documents from a drawer:
“This is the appointment letter, unanimously passed by the board of directors. Your sister was dismissed due to mental issues, and now I’m managing Sterling Group.”
I scoffed:
“Legitimate? Are you sure?”
Victoria raised an eyebrow: “Of course, all procedures were legal and compliant.”
“Clara Sterling became mentally unstable and couldn’t perform her CEO duties, so the board voted for me to take over.”
“These are legally binding documents. You can have your lawyer verify them.”
Clara hid behind me, trembling constantly, murmuring softly:
“No⊠it’s not like that⊠they’re lying⊔
Mark sneered:
“Clara, stop pretending. We have all your psychiatric diagnostic reports.”
“Everyone in the company saw you having your fits.”
Victoria chimed in too:
“Mr. Sterling, I understand your feelings as a brother, but facts are facts.”
“Your sister needs treatment, not to continue in a position she can’t handle.”
I gently patted my sister’s hand, calming her, then pulled out my phone and dialed a number.
“Immediately gather all Sterling Group board members. They must be here within five minutes, not a single one missing!”
Victoria and Mark exchanged a glance, their faces subtly changing.
“Mr. Sterling, what is the meaning of this?” Victoria tried to maintain her composure.
I sneered:
“Meaning? You’ll find out soon enough.”
Mark interjected:
“Alex, don’t cause trouble. It will only make things more embarrassing for you.”
“The board is all on our side. You can’t win.”
I ignored him, just staring at him coldly:
“Mark, do you really think that just because I wasn’t here for three years, you could do whatever you wanted?”
“You overestimate yourself.”
In less than five minutes, the board members arrived one by one. Seeing my sister and me, their eyes held clear hostility.
Director Mr. Peterson was the first to speak:
“Alex, you returned without warning. What’s the meaning of suddenly barging into the company?”
Another director chimed in:
“That’s right. Sterling Group is running very well now. We don’t need you telling us what to do.”
I looked around the room. These people had all been my father’s trusted subordinates, yet now they had all betrayed us.
“I want to know, why did you betray my sister? She is the legitimate heir of Sterling Group. By what right did you put this woman in the CEO’s position?” I demanded coldly.
The board members exchanged glances, finally, the most senior, Director Mr. Miller, spoke:
“Clara Sterling is mentally unstable and no longer suitable to be CEO. This was a unanimous decision by the board.”
“We have hospital diagnostic certificates and video recordings of her fits.”
“As the board, we have a responsibility to protect the company’s interests and cannot let a mentally ill person continue to lead Sterling Group.”
Brenda, who had arrived at some point, stood by, fanning the flames:
“See? Even the company staff know Clara’s gone crazy! It’s a fact, no one can change it!”
Mark seized the opportunity to attack:
“Alex, you don’t understand company rules, so don’t come here to cause trouble. Sterling Group is now controlled by the board and Director Victoria. Everything is legal and compliant.”
Victoria pressed her advantage:
“Mr. Sterling, I suggest you take your sister and leave. She needs proper rest, not to cause more disruption here.”
“Look at her now, does she look like a normal person?”
My sister, the CEO of the prestigious Sterling Group, was being humiliated by these people!
Clara trembled behind me, her eyes filled with dread.
“I’ll ask one last time: are you sure you want to side with them?” My voice was colder than ice.
Director Mr. Peterson sneered:
“Alex, who do you think you are? You’re just an expatriate who returned from overseas. Sterling Group has already changed hands. Do you really think you’re still the undisputed ruler around here?”
“Sterling Group is ours to command now. You’d better be sensible and leave with your crazy sister.”
“If that’s too hard, I can even send you a two-hundred-dollar PayPal payment. Get your crazy sister some more male escorts, isn’t she into that kind of thing?”
Mr. Hayes also added:
“Exactly. Don’t think that just because you had some success overseas, you can come back and boss us around.”
“We’ve been working with your father for many years. How the company should operate is not for you to teach.”
“I just never thought your father, such a respected figure, could raise two utterly disgraceful individuals like you.”
Director Mr. Miller was even more direct:
“Security, get these troublemakers out of here!”
Just then, the conference room door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man walked in with several assistants.
“Mr. Thompson!”
The directors immediately stood up, their faces beaming with fawning smiles.
Director Mr. Miller hastily introduced:
“Alex, you probably haven’t met him, right? This is Mr. Thompson, the East Coast Regional President of Titan Enterprises. Thanks to Ms. Victoria, we’re discussing a major project with Titan.”
“If your sister were still CEO, we probably wouldn’t have met Mr. Thompson in our lifetime.”
“Mr. Thompson, I’m truly sorry you had to see this.”
Mr. Thompson surveyed the scene, frowning slightly.
Mark, seeing this, quickly stepped forward:
“Mr. Thompson, this is my brother-in-law. He just returned from overseas, doesn’t understand the company situation, and is causing trouble here.”
Victoria also chimed in:
“That’s right, Mr. Thompson, he even wants to interfere with our cooperation with Titan. It’s truly outrageous.”
Director Mr. Hayes added fuel to the fire:
“Mr. Thompson, we hope you can help us uphold justice. If this kind of person continues to cause trouble, it will be detrimental to the entire business community.”
“The contract we’re about to sign with you, it concerns hundreds of millions in profit.”
Mr. Thompson’s gaze swept across the room, finally landing on me, his expression complex.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, he walked directly up to me and bowed ninety degrees:
“Mr. Sterling, you’re back! Titan Enterprises is at your disposal anytime!”
The entire conference room fell silent.
Everyone’s faces shifted from smugness to shock, then to utter dread.
I scoffed softly:
“Mr. Thompson, thank you for your hard work. It seems you’ve done a great job expanding Titan’s business in the East Coast region.”
Mr. Thompson respectfully replied:
“It’s all thanks to your guidance, Mr. Sterling. I only came to discuss this cooperation today because I knew Sterling Group was your family company.”
At his words, the entire room was even more stunned.
Mr. Hayes stammered:
“Mr. Thompson, you⊠you know Alex Sterling?”
Mr. Thompson gave him a contemptuous look:
“Titan Enterprises is Mr. Sterling’s property. I’m just an employee.”
“In the three years Mr. Sterling was overseas, he acquired seventeen multinational corporations, quadrupling his assets.”
“Titan is just one of many subsidiaries Mr. Sterling owns.”
This news dropped like a bomb, stunning everyone present.
Titan Enterprises was a giant in the domestic business world, with a market value of hundreds of billions. And it belonged to Alex Sterling?
They had thought Alex Sterling had lost real power after passing on Sterling Group to Clara.
But who would have thought that he didn’t care about Sterling Group at all; it was just a place for his sister to work and have fun!
Victoria’s face turned pale, her legs weak, barely able to stand.
Mark was too terrified to speak, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The directors exchanged bewildered glances, finally realizing the immense trouble they had caused.
I looked around, speaking calmly:
“Today, I announce the termination of all of Victoria’s positions within Sterling Group and the freezing of all assets held by Mark and Victoria that are related to Sterling Group.”
“All employees hired by Victoria and Mark will go through standard dismissal procedures!”
“Furthermore, the board of directors is hereby dissolved and will be re-formed. Everyone involved in this incident will pay for their actions.”
The directors snapped out of their daze, falling to their knees, begging for mercy:
“Mr. Sterling, we were forced!”
“Mark threatened us, saying he’d cut off our financial resources if we didn’t cooperate!”
“He had videos of your sister and hospital certificates! We truly believed she had mental problems!”
“We were also thinking about the company. Ms. Clara’s condition really wasn’t good⊔
Mr. Thompson scoffed:
“What a bunch of spineless opportunists, just swaying whichever way the wind blows.”
“Mr. Sterling was so good to you all. If he hadn’t protected you back then, you would have been purged from the board long ago.”
“Now, you repay kindness with betrayal, and aided and abetted these wrongdoers!”
I looked at those spineless opportunists with cold eyes, no longer bothering with them.
Just then, several bodyguards entered the conference room with police officers and investigators.
The investigators held a stack of documents and several USB drives:
“Mr. Sterling, we found these in the mansion.”
“Surveillance footage shows Mark and Brenda routinely abusing Ms. Sterling, injecting her with unknown drugs, and the original fake video files.”
“This is the list of drugs they injected into Ms. Sterling; most are psychiatric medications and sedatives. Long-term use can lead to mental confusion and cognitive impairment.”
“Additionally, we found extensive evidence of company asset embezzlement. Mark transferred most of Sterling Group’s funds into private accounts.”
“These are the forged hospital diagnostic reports. We’ve already contacted the hospital and confirmed they are fake.”
With overwhelming evidence, Mark, Victoria, and Brenda’s faces were beyond pale.
Victoria was the first to break down. She knelt on the floor, crying out:
“It’s not my fault! It’s all Mark! He was the one who promised me the CEO position! He was the one who said he’d marry me!”
“He said as long as I cooperated with him, once he controlled Sterling Group, he’d divorce Clara and marry me!”
“I just followed his instructions; all decisions were controlled by him behind the scenes!”
Brenda, hearing this, immediately cursed:
“You tramp! You vixen! Seducing my son wasn’t enough, now you want to blame him too?!”
“Do you think I don’t know all the dirty things you two were doing behind our backs?”
“My son wouldn’t have done such things if you hadn’t charmed him!”
Mark’s face turned ashen as he faced accusations from both sides. Suddenly, he lunged at me:
“Alex Sterling, don’t you get cocky! I’ll kill you!”
đ Continue the story here
đđ» đČ Download the “NovelMaster” app
đ search for “296784”, and watch the full series âš!
#NovelMaster #ç°ćźäž»äčRealistic
