Category: English

Seven years after my death, my wife Sophia, who had been in a coma all this time, finally woke up. But when she regained consciousness, her memories were in chaos. She mistook me for the person who had ruined her family – her first love. And so, she embarked on a vengeful rampage against my entire family, determined to see me begging for forgiveness on my knees. To force me out of hiding, she threw my mother to her death, crippled my father, and even buried our daughter alive. Just as she mobilized all her resources, dead set on capturing me, the mastermind behind it all… She suddenly regained all her memories. Seven years ago, I had already died in a car crash while trying to protect her. On the rooftop of a high-rise condo, a group of bodyguards surrounded a woman in her fifties. Cornered at the edge, the woman’s legs shook uncontrollably. “Rachel, please, I’m afraid of heights. Let me go, I’m begging you…” This woman was my mother. Her cloudy eyes were filled with tears as she looked pleadingly at Rachel. Rachel stared coldly at my mom. Seated nearby, she seemed to relish seeing my mother beg like a dog. “When William comes out to kneel and apologize to me, that’s when I’ll let you go. If he doesn’t show up, you’ll face the consequences!” Tears welled up in my mom’s eyes as she bit her lip. “Don’t you remember? My son died seven years ago trying to protect you!” Rachel’s expression froze for a moment before she let out a cold laugh. “You people are truly shameless, taking credit for others’ deeds. Your son ruined my family, how dare you claim he saved me?” As Rachel spoke, she grew more agitated. She stood up and shoved my mother, who instantly fell from the 28th floor. “People like you all deserve to die!” I rushed over like a madman, trying to grab my mother’s hand, but my hand passed right through her body. My mom screamed as she plummeted, hitting the ground with a sickening thud in a pool of blood. My soul felt drained, my mind went blank. I collapsed, glaring furiously at Rachel. Rachel showed not a hint of remorse, just staring coldly at the scene. “If you want to blame someone, blame that heartless son of yours! You go die first to atone for his sins!” Then Rachel turned to her subordinates: “Spread the news of this old woman’s death. I refuse to believe that cold-blooded beast William won’t show himself!” I opened my mouth numbly. “Why are you doing this to me? I’m not the one who ruined your family.” But Rachel couldn’t hear anything I said. Of course not. I’ve been dead for seven years. “Martha! Wake up! Don’t die!” Heart-wrenching cries came from below. My father’s voice was hoarse as he cradled my mother’s body, nearly fainting from grief. Rachel suddenly appeared, looking down at my dad with a cold smirk. “This is the fate of the Thompson family. As long as William doesn’t show up, don’t expect to have a single peaceful day.” Hearing her voice, my dad slowly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes staring at Rachel in disbelief. “It was you… Our family treated you so well. Even when you were in a coma, your mother-in-law never stopped taking care of you. Do you have any conscience left?” Suddenly Rachel burst out laughing, as if she’d heard some hilarious joke. “The Thompson family wants to talk to me about conscience now? You’re just trying to atone for your guilt. Cut the act – it makes me sick just looking at you!” I stood to the side, my soul shaken. My breathing grew rapid as I clenched my fists. It felt like a huge stone was lodged in my chest. My dad had no idea what Rachel was talking about. All he knew was that Rachel had killed my mom with her own hands. He lunged at Rachel like a madman, his face showing a willingness to die. “You vicious woman! If I’d known you were such an ungrateful snake, I never would have let my son save you. I’ll kill you to join my wife in death!” Rachel remained calm, coldly watching my father. She didn’t move an inch, but five or six bodyguards stepped out from behind her. They all wielded batons, bringing them down hard on my father’s head. My dad’s face was instantly a bloody mess as he collapsed. I shouted in anguish, feeling pain course through every nerve. “Foolish man. You’re the ones who should join her in death! I’ll make that beast William regret ever crossing me!” With a wave of Rachel’s hand, the bodyguards’ batons rained down on my father’s body. The sound of flesh tearing open exploded in my ears. I stumbled and fell to my knees beside my dad. “You’re right, I do regret it. I regret saving you!” I raged impotently, overwhelmed by a sense of hopeless despair. Why? I wanted so badly to ask Rachel – why was she doing this after I saved her life? My dad struggled for a bit before going still. Rachel’s sharp voice suddenly rang out: “Leave him with a breath of life. Otherwise who will spread the news?” The bodyguards stopped. Rachel slowly crouched in front of my dad, patting his blood-covered face nonchalantly. “I suggest you hurry and find that son of yours. Until he shows up, be prepared to live in fear every day.” My dad had no strength left. His lips moved slightly, his voice barely a whisper. “Why couldn’t it have been you who died seven years ago…” But Rachel didn’t hear those words. She stood up, looking down at my father with obvious threat in her eyes. “Oh right, I seem to recall seeing you pick up a little girl every day. I think I’ll start with her. After all, the Thompson family doesn’t deserve to have descendants!” Those words hit like a thunderbolt. My mind went blank, my ears ringing. My daughter. No. Our daughter! Rachel turned to leave. My dad desperately grabbed her pant leg. “Please… spare my granddaughter… she’s innocent…” My dad’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s, blood blurring his vision. But wasn’t my daughter the only innocent one? Wasn’t every member of my family harmed by Rachel innocent? Rachel yanked her pant leg free in disgust, kicking my dad one more time. “Wasn’t my family innocent too? If it weren’t for your black-hearted son tampering with my brakes, how would I have ended up in a coma? “The Thompson family has the least right to bargain with me! Go tell William, if he doesn’t show up tomorrow, he can prepare to collect that little brat’s corpse!” Rachel left behind only her resolute back. My dad passed out. I cried my heart out, slapping myself over and over. Why couldn’t I, as a spirit, do anything? Seven years ago, Rachel and I went on a road trip. Her first love, afraid Rachel would find evidence to send him to jail, tampered with our car. Halfway through the trip, Rachel suddenly yelled that the brakes weren’t working. She jerked the steering wheel hard. I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw myself over her, shielding her from all harm. Although Rachel’s life was saved, the violent impact left her unconscious and in a coma. As for me, a shard of windshield pierced straight through my heart. Blood gushing from my chest, I endured the pain and held Rachel tightly in my arms. When the ambulance arrived, it took the efforts of several medics and nurses to pry me away. They sighed, saying: “This husband must have loved his wife deeply, to trade his life for hers.” If I’d known Rachel’s first act upon waking would be to kill my family, when I clearly had a chance to survive, I definitely wouldn’t have sacrificed myself to save her! My thoughts were dragged back to the present. My dad lay unconscious on the street all night. But when he woke up, his first thought wasn’t to go to the hospital, but to rush to the preschool to find my daughter. When he learned my daughter wasn’t at the preschool, my dad instantly broke down. I watched helplessly as my dad crouched down, clutching his head in anguish. He pounded his chest and punched himself repeatedly. I looked at my dad with a pained heart, wanting to comfort him, but I was just as anxious. Just then, Rachel sent my dad a message: [If you don’t come by 8 AM, prepare to collect this little brat’s body.] I knew Rachel’s “you” meant me and my dad. All of Rachel’s actions were just to force me, the supposed mastermind, to appear. If possible, I would rather Rachel torture me instead of my family. My dad couldn’t think of anything else. He ran towards the outskirts of town, even losing a shoe along the way without stopping. The soles of his feet were covered in bloody blisters. Rachel’s men were digging a hole. My daughter clutched Rachel’s hand affectionately, calling out sweetly: “Mommy, I’ve missed you so much.” But Rachel’s expression didn’t change at all. She just shook off my daughter’s hand in disgust. “Shameless little brat. Like father, like daughter. Sucking up at such a young age – disgusting!” Rachel shoved my daughter hard, making her fall to the ground. Frightened, she started crying: “Grandma lied. Mommy isn’t gentle at all. Mommy’s so mean. I want to go home!” I ached to hold my daughter, but I was powerless. My daughter is seven and a half this year. She was born just before our car accident, only a month old at the time. After I died and Rachel fell into a coma, my mom would take my daughter to visit Rachel every day. Back then, my mom would hold my daughter gently, telling her that her mom was a kind person and her dad was responsible. I really wanted to know – if Rachel regained her memories, would she regret what she’d done today? “Shut up! Gag her!” Rachel frowned in irritation, ordering her men. They carelessly stuffed a dirty rag in my daughter’s mouth. She trembled in fear. Rachel impatiently checked her watch. “Time’s up. Throw her in and bury her alive!” My dad still hadn’t arrived, and Rachel had lost patience. At her command, the bodyguards ignored my daughter’s muffled cries and tossed her into the pit. I gritted my teeth in hatred. Rachel’s revenge on my family over the past days had left me exhausted. But the little girl before me was our daughter. How could Rachel bear to do this? I watched in despair as the bodyguards shoveled dirt onto my daughter. Her breathing grew weaker, her little face turning from blue to white. My heart died along with her. In her final moments before death, my daughter still mumbled: “Mommy, save me. Mommy, I can’t breathe.” But Rachel watched it all with cold detachment. As the last shovelful of dirt covered my daughter’s face, my dad finally arrived. Rachel sneered.

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My secret boyfriend Lucas said he would marry me once we saved enough money to buy a house . To achieve this, I took on a part-time job delivering food after work every day to save money. One night, just as I was about to rest, I received an order: “I’ll give you an extra $20 if you can deliver a box of condoms to the Hilton Hotel within 10 minutes. Strawberry flavored.” I thought to myself, what kind of rich fool would make such a request? But I happily accepted. However, when I delivered the order, the person who came out of the room was my supposedly out-of-town boyfriend, Lucas. “Food delivery? Just leave it at the door.” Hearing that voice, I froze outside the door. My body reacted quickly, pushing open the stairwell door next to me and hiding inside. It can’t be. It just sounds similar. He’s supposed to be abroad right now. We were just video chatting before I went to sleep. I bit my lip, trying to reassure myself, but my eyes were glued to that door through the crack. Soon, the door opened and a shirtless man walked out. The man was handsome with a tall, slender build. I knew that figure all too well – it was my boyfriend, Lucas. He grabbed the delivery and went back inside, turning to reveal scratch marks all over his back. His movements were hurried, not even bothering to close the door properly. “Got the stuff. Now you can’t escape. You’re so delicate, needing strawberry flavored condoms.” Though his words were teasing, his tone was affectionate. “What, isn’t this how you like it?” the woman inside replied playfully. “Or do you prefer that prude you have at home?” “Her?” Lucas scoffed. “I’ve been looking at her for ten years. I’m bored of her.” Soon indescribable sounds could be heard from inside. I stood outside, feeling my blood run cold. My nails dug into my palms. You like to be loud, huh? Then let everyone hear. I suddenly yanked open the door that wasn’t fully closed. Ignoring the shocked cries from inside, I ran down the stairs. The delivery scooter parked downstairs had been knocked over into the bushes by security. In a daze, I didn’t know what to do. My phone rang – it was my mom. Hearing the commotion on my end, my mom anxiously asked what was wrong. I choked up, unable to speak for a long time. Finally I managed to say: “I’m fine, Mom. I don’t want to stay in the big city anymore. Can I come home early for the holidays to be with you?” I looked at the luxurious high-rise in front of me. Without another glance at the mud-covered delivery scooter, I turned and left.

At 3 AM, I received a message from Lucas. He said he was flying back today and asked me to pick him up early. I shook my heavy head, ignoring it. I couldn’t sleep all night. In my hazy state, I heard Lucas opening the door. He pushed open the bedroom door and immediately wrapped his arms around me, blanket and all, burying his face in my neck. “Why didn’t you come pick me up this morning? I’ve been working so hard on this business trip, you should show me some love.” I stared at his face, confirming it was indeed the same person I saw last night. Hard at work? More like working hard in bed with someone else. I pushed him away and got up. Seeing I wasn’t responding, Lucas grabbed my wrist. “What’s wrong? Can’t even give me a smile first thing in the morning?” I forced a smile. “It’s nothing. You must be tired from work. Go get some rest.” He frowned. “Are you kicking me out?” “Are you not feeling well?” I dodged his outstretched hand, staring at him numbly. “What’s gotten into you?” “Nothing. I just don’t feel like talking right now. You should go.” Lucas kicked the door hard in frustration. “You think I want to be here? You’re not so desirable anymore.” Seeing no reaction from me, Lucas stormed out angrily. I leaned heavily against the wall for support. I should have seen the signs, starting with his frequent business trips lately. Lucas was right – in the beginning, I was the one desperately chasing after him. Back then we were in the same school. I was being bullied by our homeroom teacher who falsely accused me of stealing because of my poor grades. He stood up and talked back to the teacher for me, resulting in both of us being punished to stand in the hallway. Seeing that I had gotten him in trouble too, I cried and apologized to him. “This isn’t your fault. Why are you apologizing?” The boy stood tall, with endless green foliage behind him. From that moment on, I followed him for ten whole years. I worked my fingers to the bone, enduring sky-high rent to live in the apartment across from his. I waited so long to finally hear him say “Aria, let’s give us a try.” Even though he refused to make our relationship public. Even though he said he’d only marry me after we saved enough to buy a place. The jacket Lucas had taken off when he first arrived was still on the sofa. An opened box of condoms fell out of his coat pocket. It was the strawberry flavored ones I had delivered to the hotel last night.

The next day at work, my colleagues were all gathered around gossiping about something. “Did you see earlier? Manager Zhou came in with a woman, I heard she’s the daughter of Sterling Group’s CEO.” “They look so perfect together standing next to our Manager Zhou!” The office door was knocked, and Lucas glanced at me without much expression. “Let me introduce everyone – this is Chloe. She’ll be your new department head from now on.” All eyes turned to me. The department head position was originally supposed to be mine. “Hello everyone, I’m Chloe,” she said with a bright smile. But I felt chilled to the bone. It was her – that voice belonged to the woman who was with Lucas last night. A colleague noticed my pale face and asked if I was okay, assuming I was upset about losing the promotion. I shook my head weakly. But Chloe walked up to me. “You must be Aria?” “The Harmony Corporation project bid is in a week. I need all the materials by tomorrow.” She looked at me, seemingly with kindness. But her words meant several times the usual workload. I instinctively glanced at Lucas, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was smiling at Chloe.

Late at night in the office, I sent the final confirmed documents to Chloe for review. Even though I had decided to leave, I still wanted to do a good job on my last assignment. I rubbed my sore neck and opened my phone to book a flight home in two weeks. Just then Lucas called, his voice cold. “Why aren’t you home yet?” “Still working overtime at the office.” “Why are you always working late? Do you need me to pick you up?” His tone seemed to soften a bit. I thought of Lucas leaving work with Chloe earlier, and leaned back in my chair tiredly. “No need, I’ll still be a while. I’ll head back on my own later.” “Ungrateful!” he snarled, and immediately hung up. It was past midnight when I finally left. As soon as I entered the complex, I saw two intimate figures entwined under a dim street lamp. “Aren’t you afraid Aria will see us like this?” “I just asked her, she’s still working overtime at the office.” In the moonlight, I saw Chloe look directly at me, smirking triumphantly. “I gave big sister all that extra work to keep her busy. You’re not upset on her behalf, are you?” The man with his back to me laughed huskily. “As long as you’re happy.”

Time flew by quickly as I threw myself into work, deliberately trying not to think about matters of the heart. After several late nights, I finally finished the project. In the meeting with Harmony Corporation, I had a great discussion with their representative about collaboration details. Lucas sat silently to the side, just watching me intently. The Harmony rep smiled and extended his hand to me, saying “You’re very talented. I hope we have the chance to work together again in the future.” Before I could respond, Lucas quickly grasped that hand. “Our company also hopes to have more opportunities to collaborate with Harmony in the future.” Chloe hurriedly chimed in sweetly, but when she looked at me her eyes were full of hatred. Back at the office, Lucas cornered me in the stairwell. “Alright, enough of this. Did I do something to upset you recently? I apologize.” “I haven’t been sleeping well without you by my side lately.” He placed his hands on either side of me, his eyes as gentle as they used to be. I looked at this two-faced man in front of me. I had known him for ten years, yet it felt like I never truly knew him at all. I was about to answer when faint footsteps echoed in the stairwell. Lucas immediately backed away from me. I watched him put distance between us, feeling the air grow thin. Snippets of conversation drifted over: “Did you see the photo Chloe posted in the group chat?” “I didn’t know Aria delivers food after work. Is she really struggling that much?” Lucas pulled out his phone to look at the photo of me in a dirty uniform, sweat and grime covering half my face. My phone remained silent. I wasn’t in that group chat. From outside came what sounded like Chloe’s loud mocking laughter. Lucas gave me a look of disgust. “Have I not provided enough for you? Why do you need to embarrass yourself like this?” “It’s not like we have any relationship in everyone else’s eyes. I’m not embarrassing you.” Someone called my name from outside, breaking the tense atmosphere.

I stared blankly at the overseas assignment application form my boss had given me. “You did an excellent job on the Harmony project. Their representative spoke very highly of you.” “The department head position was originally meant for you, but your Manager Zhou said you still needed more experience.” “The company has an exchange opportunity in Germany now. I’m thinking of sending you.” I had been planning to resign, but didn’t expect such an opportunity to come up. Lucas knocked on my desk, snapping me out of my daze. “It’s time to go. I’ll take you to dinner.” I glanced around – all my colleagues had left. Of course, our relationship only existed when no one else was around. I wanted to refuse, but Lucas forcefully dragged me to a restaurant and ordered a table full of my favorite dishes. We tacitly avoided mentioning what happened in the stairwell earlier. I no longer had the energy to argue with him either. Perhaps after going abroad, this relationship would truly be over. It began silently, and would end with no one knowing. I lowered my head to hide my emotions. Lucas suddenly spoke up: “About that exchange opportunity to Germany the boss mentioned to you – can you let Chloe have it instead?” I jerked my head up, staring at him in shock. “She’s the department head and main person in charge of this project. She’s more suitable than you.” “Why?” “I know your abilities better than anyone. You’re not at that level yet. You only did well on this case because Chloe helped you, right?” Hearing those words, I froze, staring at this man who looked at me with a hint of disdain. “Why is it that in your eyes, my career can be so casually tossed aside?!” “Your career?” Lucas sneered. “What career do you have? A career in food delivery?”

The dinner ended unpleasantly. Lucas’s car drove away from me as I stood in the cold wind waiting for a taxi. Just then I received a message from Chloe: It was a photo of an application form. “I can’t believe Lucas gave me this opportunity after I just mentioned it to him.” “Then again, given your financial situation, you probably couldn’t afford the expenses of going abroad anyway.” Time seemed to freeze for a moment. I started frantically calling Lucas, but he kept hanging up. Finally after who knows how many attempts, Lucas’s cold voice came through: “Aria, don’t overestimate your position just because you had a little success. I don’t need your permission to give this opportunity to Chloe.” “I won’t be staying at your place for a while. You should reflect on your behavior.” My nails dug into my palms, my whole body shaking with pain. In the end I could only laugh bitterly. Of course, he’s the manager. What could I do? Back home, I started packing to leave. I didn’t have many belongings. I had always lived frugally, trying to save money quickly so I could start a family with Lucas. But now… I opened my computer, ready to submit the resignation letter I had prepared earlier. Suddenly my phone rang. My boss’s stern voice came through: “Aria, confidential information from the bid proposal has been leaked. Harmony’s CEO has reported it to the police.” “Come to the office right away.”

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I Became a Fidelity Tester to Save My Sick Father To earn quick money for my critically ill father’s treatment, I became a fidelity tester. With no experience, I struggled to land my first job. It came from a wealthy young woman who wanted me to test her boyfriend’s loyalty. Following her instructions, I deliberately seduced her boyfriend at a bar and succeeded. The next day, I sent her the evidence of her boyfriend’s infidelity as agreed. Just when I thought the transaction would go smoothly, she replied, “You knew he was taken and still seduced him. How shameless can you be?” I was bewildered when I saw this message, my face flushing hot with embarrassment. I wanted to curse back, but for the sake of that life-saving money for my dad, I politely responded, “Miss Tang, you asked me to do this. Besides, this is how we usually conduct these tests in our line of work.” But Olivia Tang wouldn’t listen to reason. “Bitch! You’re just a slut who throws herself at any man. What are you, a bitch in heat?” With trembling hands, I typed back, “I’m truly sorry I couldn’t meet your expectations, Miss Tang. But I did exactly as you asked. Can we settle the payment now?” Olivia Tang never replied again. I thought she might be busy, so I waited patiently. But instead of the money she owed me, I saw her lovey-dovey SnapChat post. In the photo, she was kissing Ryan’s cheek with the caption “Sorry I doubted you, baby.” I nearly lost my balance. I was terrified. Afraid she wouldn’t pay me. My dad urgently needed that money. The silver lining was that Olivia Tang couldn’t just disappear. Since the Tang family was quite well-known in the city, I went straight to one of their company buildings and knelt at the entrance. Even when security tried to chase me away, I refused to leave. The incident quickly blew up online. Olivia Tang saw it too. She called me, yelling, “Are you insane? What the hell are you trying to do? Stop causing trouble for me, will you?” “Miss Tang, I just want the money I’m owed. Once you pay me, I’ll leave immediately. Please, my father is critically ill. We desperately need this money to save his life.” Olivia cursed, “You seduced my boyfriend and now you want me to pay you? Are you out of your mind? I may be rich, but I’m not stupid! Besides, did we sign a contract? Do you have any proof that I’m obligated to pay you? Even if we had a contract, I’m not afraid. Go ahead and sue me if you dare.” “Your dad’s sick? Then just let him die! What’s that got to do with me? You uneducated poor people don’t create any value for society anyway. You’re just wasting resources by being alive.” I bit my lower lip until it bled to hold back the urge to curse her out. “If you don’t pay me, I’ll kneel here every day. As soon as you pay, I’ll disappear and never bother you again.” Olivia scoffed on the other end of the line. “Hah, are you threatening me? Fine, I’ll give you the money. It’s cash though. Your dad’s critically ill and needs money urgently, right? Okay, I’ll have someone deliver the cash to your place tomorrow. Give me your address.” Olivia asked for my address. I hesitated for a moment but still gave it to her. As long as I got that money, anything was fine. After I gave her my address, Olivia immediately hung up. I wiped away my tears and stood up, heading home under everyone’s stares. But soon after, my phone started ringing non-stop. I thought it was spam messages, so I ignored it. Later, when it got too annoying, I put my phone on silent and glanced at the messages. That one glance made my head spin. Without exception, all the messages began with the name “Ethan Young”. I knew this name all too well. Ethan Young, my boyfriend of ten years, from our student days until now. Now these messages were coming to my phone, each one saying: debt overdue. I completely broke down and rushed back home. Ethan was in the living room, looking down at his phone, scratching his head in circles. I took out my phone and showed him those messages. “What’s this about debt being overdue?” A flash of panic crossed Ethan’s eyes. He crouched down, pulling at his hair. “I don’t know.” “You don’t know? Your name is all over these messages and you don’t know? Did you really take out online loans? When did this happen? How much do you owe in total?” “I said I don’t know. I haven’t calculated it. I just played around on some websites at first. It wasn’t much in the beginning. Damn it! They promised to give me an extension. They said they wouldn’t blast my contact list…” “Not only did you take out loans, but you also gambled online? Ethan, how could you do this? We’re engaged! How… how… Did you want me to help pay off your loans after we got married?” Ethan suddenly got agitated. “It was all for you! Where else was I supposed to get money to buy you gifts? Valentine’s Day gifts, anniversary gifts, Christmas gifts – I might as well have sent you gifts on Memorial Day too!” “Where was I supposed to find money to take you out to eat and play if I didn’t borrow? I know your family is poor. I’ve spent so much money on you and never complained about you having a deadbeat dad to support. Now you’re questioning me? I haven’t even spent this much on my own mother!” My lips trembled. “So you’re saying this is all my fault? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gambled online? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have taken out loans? You know very well whether you used those loans to spend on me or to pay off debts. Look at the numbers in these messages. Even if you took me out to eat and bought me gifts for a hundred years, you couldn’t owe this much!” “My dad may be sick, but I’ve earned all the money for his treatment myself. I’ve never spent a cent of your money on that! You know my background, yet you talk about my dad like that. We’re done!” Ethan suddenly exploded. “Done? Fine, fine, fine! Gold digger, huh? You were all smiles when I had money to spend on you. Now that I’m broke and in debt, you want to break up. How thick-skinned can you be? Disgusting!” “Fine, let’s break up. You want to get nasty? Then let’s get nasty! Now it’s my turn to ask you!” He took out his phone and showed it to me, then questioned me: “I didn’t want to say anything at first. I wanted to give you a chance, wanted to save you some face. But now I see there’s no need. You’re just that kind of person. It’s no surprise you’d do such shameless things! You have no shame left, so I don’t need to save face for you either!” “I was wondering why you suddenly quit your job. Turns out you went to seduce the Tang family heiress’s boyfriend, wanting to be a mistress, trying to get their money. Calling you a mistress is too kind! Hah, you even wanted to become the official girlfriend.” “Spreading your legs in other people’s beds to make money – that’s easier than my way of earning, huh? How about we don’t break up? You can go let that Chen guy sleep with you a few more times. That should be enough to pay off my debts. Then I’ll change my ways, and we can live a good life together. Haha!” “No wonder your parents abandoned you! If I were them, I’d have dumped you too!” As Ethan spoke, he started laughing at me. His phone was playing a video showing me kneeling at the entrance of the Tang family’s company. It said I was a mistress who seduced Olivia Tang’s boyfriend, using this method to force Olivia and Ryan to break up so I could take her place. But Olivia and Ryan’s love was too strong, so I failed. The comments section was unbearable to read. Ethan suddenly started laughing: “Hahaha! Keep pretending! Go on, keep pretending! I never imagined you were so hypocritical. I wasted ten years on you! Trash father raises trash child.” I was terrified. I felt like Ethan had gone mad, like he was possessed. He was no longer the Ethan I knew. He had become a stranger. The things I once confided in him had now become daggers stabbing at me. I remember telling him once that my dad had found me abandoned, that he had raised me by collecting and selling scrap. That my birth parents had thrown me away. I still remember how he had hugged me gently then, comforting me softly. But the him now was completely different from the him back then. My heart was being torn to pieces. I opened my mouth, wanting to explain that I wasn’t a mistress, but the words wouldn’t come out. I had no strength left to speak. There was no point anymore. “It’s over,” I suddenly said weakly. “Get out. We’re done. Never see each other again.” My voice had gotten quieter, and the room suddenly became much more silent. Ethan plopped down on the sofa. “We rented this place together. What right do you have to kick me out? Are you going to pay me back for the rent I’ve paid? If you can’t stand me, you can leave. I’m not stopping you.” “Do whatever you want,” I replied with a cold laugh, then turned and left. This rented apartment was suffocating me. I went to the hospital, breathing in the smell of disinfectant, listening to the cold beeping of machines, taking care of my dad lying in the hospital bed, chatting with him. Looking at the wrinkles on my dad’s face and hands, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I lay on top of him and started sobbing loudly. Dad patted my back and asked, “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Tell Dad. Is the pressure too much? I’ve told you, I’m fine now. We can leave the hospital and go home. I’m all better, no need for more treatment.” “Is the work pressure too much? Did your boss yell at you? If you’re being mistreated, we can quit. Come back home, Dad can still support you.” I sobbed, “Dad… it’s not… it’s not that. I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Dad… Work… earning money is so… so slow, I earn so… so little. It’s not like what I thought. I’m sorry, Dad!” Dad didn’t say anything more, just quietly patted my back. I looked up. Dad’s eyes were staring straight at me, filled with a smile and fatherly love. Just then, my phone rang. A message from an unknown number asked me to test her husband’s fidelity. The price offered was very high. More money never hurts. Another job means more security. I wiped away my tears, said goodbye to Dad, and left. Following the information on my phone, I arrived at the location the client specified – a quiet bar. I looked around but couldn’t find the target matching the client’s description. I took out my phone, about to send a message to ask, when suddenly someone blew a breath of air by my ear. “You fidelity testers are wearing $19.99 dresses from Amazon to act now?” A man’s voice said teasingly. I jumped, startled, and turned around. The man standing behind me was none other than Ryan Chen! I looked at his playful expression and asked, “You sent that message?” “Mm-hmm.” “You knew from the beginning?” “I knew. How else could I play along with you guys?” I asked him, “Then does Olivia know that you know?” Ryan smiled and said, “She knows. That stupid woman, a few sweet words and she’s fine. After I told her I knew, she even apologized to me for not trusting me. I told her how you tried to seduce me. You should have seen how jealous she got.” Feeling disgusted, I didn’t want to say more and turned to leave. But Ryan suddenly reached out and pulled me into his arms. “The game is more fun when played as a team. How about we go another round? I’ll help you piss off that stupid woman.” I broke free from his embrace. “No need.” Right now, I was only thinking about getting the money Olivia had promised to give me tomorrow, helping Dad get better, cutting ties with Ethan cleanly, then taking Dad away from here to start a new life. I walked towards the exit. Ryan overtook me in a few steps, then turned to walk backwards, making a phone gesture at me. “You have my number, right? Call me tomorrow.” “Why would I call you?” Ryan just smiled charmingly without answering, then turned and left. I took out my phone and blocked his number. I didn’t go back to the rented apartment. Instead, I went to the hospital and stayed with Dad all night. Early the next morning, I got a call from Olivia Tang. Olivia said, “I’m having someone deliver the money to you now, okay?” “Alright, I’m heading back to get it now.” After hanging up, I rushed back to the apartment. As soon as I got back, I was stunned. The door was open. Everything inside had been smashed to pieces. It was a complete mess. Ethan was curled up on the floor, his face bruised and swollen. Several burly men stood around him, looking like trouble. “What’s going on?” I asked in shock. A tattooed man turned to look at me. “This guy owes money and can’t pay up! We’re teaching him a lesson!” Just as he finished speaking, a bald man started to move. The bald man took out a knife, crouched down, and said to Ethan, “Since you can’t pay, we’ll take something else as payment.” Saying that, he started pulling at Ethan’s hand. Ethan immediately started howling, “No! No! I’ll pay! I’ll definitely pay!” “Aria! Help me! Help me! They’re really going to cut off my hand! Help me! Lend me some money! I’ll pay you back, I swear!” The bald man turned to ask me, “You gonna help him pay?” I shook my head. “I don’t have money to help him pay.” Ethan started cursing at me. Just then, another man wearing glasses walked in. The man with glasses asked, “Excuse me, is this Miss Thompson’s home?” I turned and answered, “Yes, that’s me.” The man with glasses was very polite. He took out a black briefcase. “Miss Thompson, Miss Tang asked me to deliver this to you. The agreed-upon cash.” As he spoke, he opened the black briefcase. Inside was a pile of crisp cash. A glimmer of hope rose in my heart. Just as I was about to reach out and take it, Ethan suddenly got up from the floor, rushed over, and snatched the briefcase from the man’s hands. “What are you doing!” I grabbed the briefcase, confronting him. Ethan’s eyes were bloodshot now. He kicked me to the ground, then handed the briefcase full of cash to the bald man behind him. He fawned, “Boss… Boss, here’s the money, take it. I’ll pay back the rest later, okay? Can you let me off now? I promise I’ll pay it all back. Just give me some more time!” The bald man looked at the money, clearly pleased. “That’s more like it. Alright, I’ll give you another year for the rest. Let’s go, boys.” The bald man took the briefcase and was about to leave with his men. I tried to rush forward and grab the briefcase, but Ethan held me back tightly. No matter how much I screamed, hit, bit, or scratched him, he wouldn’t let go. The money was taken away. The man with glasses had disappeared at some point too. Only Ethan and I were left sitting exhausted on the floor of the wrecked apartment. “Ethan, you’ve gone crazy. You’ve really gone insane. That was my dad’s life-saving money!” I said in despair. Ethan stood up, kicking at the debris on the floor as he walked towards the bedroom. “You’ve spent plenty of my money over the past ten years anyway. Consider this paying me back. Hmph, you saw I was about to get my hand cut off and didn’t even flinch. Women really are the most poisonous.” The bedroom door closed. I left. I went to the hospital. I still had to bring food for my dad. Seeing my dad’s increasingly gaunt face, facing his worried eyes, I comforted him: “Everything will be okay, Dad. When you get better, we’ll go somewhere else. I’ll earn money and buy you a big house.” Dad’s lips turned down. “Sweetie, you’re troubled by something. You can’t hide it from Dad.” My nose stung. “Really, it’s nothing, Dad.”

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my sister，Vivian Rivers married the powerful and influential prince of the city’s elite circle, but the prince was a psychopath who tortured her until she went insane. I, Mia Rivers, married the prince’s assistant, Brent Sanders. Although Brent had neither money nor power, he was extremely gentle with me. Later, he even took over the prince’s position, allowing me to live a life of luxury. Vivian, consumed by jealousy, stabbed me to death. When I opened my eyes again, in what seemed like a second chance at life, Vivian immediately chose the assistant, Brent Sanders. She gloated to me, “This time, you’ll be the one tortured for life, while I’ll be happy forever.” How naive could she be? Did she really think the assistant was a good person? As I opened my eyes, I saw Noah Yates, the city’s most eligible bachelor, sitting at the head of the table. Standing beside him was his assistant, Brent Sanders. Suddenly, my sister Vivian rushed over, grabbed Brent’s hand, and excitedly said to Noah, “Mr. Yates, I like your assistant. Can I have him as my husband?” At these words, my dad immediately stood up from his seat, visibly angry. “Vivian, what are you doing? Stop this nonsense!” “I’m not joking around. I really like Mr. Yates’ assistant,” Vivian replied defiantly, throwing a smug look in my direction. It was at that moment I realized she had also been reborn. In my previous life, Dad had brought Vivian and me here for Noah to choose his future wife. This arrangement was supposed to help our family’s company climb to new heights. But my dad had always favored Vivian, so naturally, he didn’t want me to marry the powerful and wealthy Noah and live a life of luxury. So, he had warned me beforehand: “If Noah chooses you, you must reject him and choose his assistant instead. Otherwise, I’ll make sure your birth mother doesn’t survive.” Vivian and I are half-sisters. My mom is in a nursing home, and Vivian’s mother is now my stepmother. To ensure my mom’s survival, I had no choice but to agree to my dad’s demands. When we arrived, Noah actually chose me. I had to reject him and choose his assistant instead. Then Vivian seized the opportunity, saying she really liked Noah. At that time, Noah’s eyes were dark and unreadable. He simply said in a flat tone, “Fine, you’ll be my wife from now on.” But after Vivian married him, she didn’t live happily ever after. Noah turned out to be a psychopath who enjoyed torturing women. He kept Vivian locked in the basement, using all sorts of methods to torment her. Meanwhile, I married his assistant, Brent Sanders. Although Brent wasn’t rich or powerful, he was extremely gentle with me. He would take me to work with him every day, just to take care of me. Later, he even killed Noah and took his place, allowing me to live a life of luxury. Vivian became insanely jealous and ended up stabbing me to death. When I opened my eyes again in this new life, Vivian had promptly chosen the assistant. She gloated to me, “This time, you’ll be the one tortured for life, while I’ll be happy forever.” How naive of her. Did she really think the assistant was a good person? “I want to marry Brent Sanders!” Vivian insisted once more. My dad was furious and could only turn to Noah to explain, “Mr. Yates, my eldest daughter is being foolish. But don’t worry, if you like her, I’ll make sure she marries you.” “No,” Noah said softly. “I’m not interested in her, but my assistant is single, and I think they’d make a good match.” Hearing this, my dad’s face darkened. He had originally hoped for Vivian to marry into wealth and power, but with Noah’s words, he couldn’t refuse now. That left only me. Noah’s captivating eyes fixed on me intently. “Mia, would you like to marry me?” Although in my previous life, Vivian had been tortured to death by him. But because Brent took me to work every day, I had a lot of contact with Noah and realized he wasn’t truly a psychopath. It must have been something Vivian did that made him so cruel to her. “Mia, Mr. Yates is asking you a question. Don’t you want to marry him?” Vivian suddenly spoke up, watching me like it was some kind of show. I smiled, “Of course I do.” With these words, not only did Vivian smile smugly, but even Noah’s lips curved into a slight smile. I didn’t know why he was smiling, and I didn’t want to know. All I knew was that this time, I would send those who had hurt me before, step by step, into the abyss. The wedding date was quickly set. As Vivian passed by me with Brent, she whispered, “This time, you’ll be the one tortured for life, while I’ll be happy forever.” I raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is that so? We’ll see who ends up being tortured.” Vivian gritted her teeth in anger at my words. “Just you wait, your misery is about to begin!” She had barely finished speaking when Noah approached. Frightened, Vivian’s face turned pale, and she scurried away with Brent. Noah was very tall, looking down at me. “From now on, you’ll be my wife. If you have any requests, feel free to make them.” Any requests? Well, wasn’t this just heaven-sent? In my previous life, at this time, Noah had an important project that he assigned to Brent. Brent had secretly embezzled a lot of money from it, which later provided him with the financial means to have Noah killed. After all, with money, he could hire people to do his dirty work. This time, I wouldn’t let him succeed. Not only to prevent Noah from being killed but also to get revenge on Vivian. I knew Brent all too well; he was the real psychopath. If he lost this project, his temper would become even more volatile. Vivian’s days would become “even better” then. I looked at Noah. “That project in the suburbs, I want you to give it to me, not to Brent.” I thought he might ask me why. But he didn’t ask, he just agreed immediately. He even suggested taking me to see our future home. Noah took me to an exclusive neighborhood where land was worth its weight in gold. Only the rich and powerful could afford to live here. Noah was indeed very wealthy; this was something I had known in my previous life. I figured that in this life, as long as I didn’t offend him, his money alone could ensure I lived well for the rest of my life. Love? Well, I wouldn’t hope for that. So, I took the initiative to hold his hand, trying to please him. “Honey, I really like it here.” “Still calling me ‘Honey’?” He stared at me intently, his eyes seeming to see right through me. I quickly corrected myself, “Darling…” He smiled with satisfaction and handed me a check for $5 million. “Here, spend it as you like.” My eyes lit up. I really needed money, and this was perfect. Then he took me to see our future home. Strangely enough, the interior design was exactly to my taste. I didn’t understand how he could know me so well. I was about to ask him when he suddenly kissed me, silencing all my questions. That was moving a bit fast. When the kiss ended, I suddenly saw Vivian standing outside, her eyes glaring at us viciously. She must be furious, wondering why I wasn’t being tortured. In my previous life, Brent took me to work with him every day. It seemed like he was taking care of me, but in reality, I was serving him. When he was tired, he’d make me massage him, and when he was unhappy, he’d hit me to vent his frustrations. Once, he punched me so hard my nose bled. When I went to the bathroom to clean up, I ran into Noah. He frowned, “What happened? Who hit you?” I didn’t dare tell him the truth because Brent would beat me if I did. So I lied, “It’s nothing, I just have a medical condition that causes frequent nosebleeds.” After hearing this, he gave me a check for $100,000 to get treatment. Then he left. It was at that moment I was certain he couldn’t be a psychopath. After all, a psychopath wouldn’t be so kind as to help a stranger. Brent, on the other hand, was the real monster. Vivian thought she had escaped from the frying pan. In reality, she had jumped from the frying pan into a raging fire. After Noah dropped me off at home, Vivian grabbed me and pulled me into her room, glaring at me fiercely. “Did you drug Noah? Is that why he kissed you willingly?” “Just you wait, it won’t be long before you’re locked in the basement, bitten by dogs, and living with snakes and rats!” As she spoke, she raised her hand to hit me. I quickly caught her wrist and pinned her against the wall. In a very soft voice, I said, “Vivian, instead of wasting time arguing with me, you should think about your own future.” Her future would be ruined by Brent, reduced to a pile of mush. But I didn’t want to tell her what kind of person Brent really was. Whether in my previous life or this one, she never wanted me to be happy. I wasn’t kind enough to let someone who had killed me before have a good life. She was shaking with anger, her teeth chattering. “The show’s just beginning. When you’re tortured beyond recognition, let’s see if you’ll still be so smug!” With that, she shoved me away and stormed out of the room. Watching her leave in her spaghetti strap dress, her fair calves exposed, I couldn’t help but smile. Yes, the show was just beginning. Vivian, soon your fair skin will be covered in bloody wounds. The next day, Brent came with engagement gifts to formally propose to Vivian. He lovingly pulled Vivian into his arms and said to our parents, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Vivian in the future.” His idea of “taking good care” involved tying up his wife and whipping her with a thorny whip. He would also inject various drugs into his wife’s body, causing her to lose control of her bodily functions. I wondered if Vivian would be able to endure this so-called “good care.” At the moment, Vivian knew nothing of this and was smiling brightly in Brent’s arms. When I went to the bathroom, she couldn’t resist following me to brag. “See? Brent loves me so much. My happy life is just around the corner.” As she spoke, she pulled out a bottle of yellow liquid, laughing coldly, “In a few seconds, your pretty face will be gone. You won’t be able to seduce Noah anymore. He’ll be disgusted just looking at you!” With that, she was about to throw the liquid at me. I dodged to the side, intending to grab her hand, but someone beat me to it. It was Noah. He snatched the bottle and splashed the contents onto Vivian’s face. Immediately, she let out a piercing scream. “Ah!” Vivian fell to the ground, clutching her face and writhing. Brent and our parents rushed over. “Oh my God, Vivian, what happened?” Vivian cried and screamed, “It was Mia! Mia did this to me! Brent, quick, teach her a lesson!” What the hell? Was she blind? I hadn’t even touched her. Brent didn’t listen to her. Instead, he quickly apologized to Noah, “Mr. Yates, I’m sorry. I didn’t discipline my wife properly.” Noah pulled me into his arms, his voice cold, “If anyone dares to touch my wife again, I won’t let them off easy.” The room fell into a deathly silence, no one daring to speak. Vivian, covering half of her face that had been corroded by the acid, trembled in fear. I looked at my dad, who was looking at Vivian with concern. But only I knew that he wasn’t really worried about Vivian. In my previous life, he knew very well what kind of person Brent was, which was why he had me marry him. In this life, when Vivian chose Brent, he didn’t stop her for the sake of the engagement gifts. He didn’t even tell Vivian what kind of person Brent really was. None of the people before me were good. I wouldn’t let any of them off the hook. After Vivian’s face was injured, her wedding to Brent was postponed, but they went ahead and got their marriage license. Noah’s status in the city was unrivaled. Although he had disfigured Vivian, she didn’t dare say anything, forced to swallow her anger. Brent was at the hospital every day taking care of her, playing the role of a good man. Only I knew that Brent was just keeping up appearances. He actually hated Vivian and was probably tormenting her in the hospital every day. After all, I knew Brent too well. He was a person with an extremely strong desire to win. Vivian had made him lose face in front of Noah, so he would definitely punish her severely. Meanwhile, my revenge plan was still in progress. The project I had asked Noah for last time, he had given to me as promised. I deliberately had people spread some false rumors. Making outsiders believe that Noah had given me the project because Brent was too busy taking care of his wife. When this news reached Brent’s ears, he would likely take out all his anger on Vivian. To confirm this, I secretly went to the hospital to check on Vivian. I saw Brent grabbing her throat, violently hitting her face. “I worked for months on that project, and because of you, all my plans were ruined!” “You should just die!” As he spoke, he stabbed her fair arms and legs with a needle. Brent was truly an unhinged psychopath. I quietly recorded this scene with my phone. Vivian, you thought that by switching lives with me this time, you would live happily. So, are you regretting it now? That evening, I asked Noah to call Brent back to work. And to give him another important project. Noah agreed without hesitation, as always. I asked him, “Why do you never ask me why I want these things done?” He pulled me close, his eyes fixed on mine. “I support whatever you do.” “Our wedding is set for next month. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, make sure to tell me.” As he spoke, his hand had already found the zipper of my dress. In the time I had spent with Noah, he hadn’t mistreated me like he had Vivian in my previous life. Instead, he supported everything I wanted to do. I was quite curious about what Vivian had done to offend him so badly. “Focus, baby,” his voice pulled me back from my thoughts. My dress was already on the floor. We were engaging in the most intimate act, but without love. But I felt satisfied. After all, he was helping me get my revenge quickly. … When Brent returned to the company, he brought Vivian with him. One side of Vivian’s face had been corroded by the acid. Although it had been repaired, it was still wrinkled and looked monstrous. She glared at me viciously, her nails digging deep into her palms. As she passed me, her voice was ice-cold: “Mia Rivers, just you wait. I won’t let you off easy.” Of course, I knew she wouldn’t let me off. That’s why I never planned to sit back and do nothing. In my previous life, to make me cooperate and maintain his good-guy image in public, Brent regularly injected a drug into my body. If I didn’t obey, he would inject another drug that reacted badly with the first one. This would cause me to lose control of my bodily functions, have seizures, and feel like death would be a relief. That’s why I had Noah bring Brent back to take over the project. When he was close to succeeding, I would release the video from the hospital online. It would drag him down from his high horse. Then he would take out all his anger on Vivian. Killing two birds with one stone – it was the perfect plan. Brent started working hard at the company. At the same time, he was posting online about how much he loved Vivian. Making her heart-shaped lunches every day, buying her flowers, dressing her in pretty dresses. In my previous life, he had used this “bringing wife to work” gimmick to gain a huge following. He even became an internet celebrity, making quite a bit of money. But only I knew he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Soon, it was time for the project launch. Brent, as the main person in charge, went on stage to give a speech. Before going on stage, he posted a photo on Instagram. It was a picture of Vivian sitting in the front row. The caption read: [With my wife’s support, I’m full of energy. After this project launch, I plan to take her on a vacation.] The comments section was full of people shipping them. [Wow, cool and disfigured sister x hardworking puppy boyfriend, perfect!] [Even though the sister is disfigured, the puppy boyfriend didn’t abandon her. What a fairy tale love!] [Rooting for you guys, hope you’ll be happy forever!] I sat in the row behind Vivian, smiling to myself. Fairy tale love, huh? They were about to get a rude awakening. “Being able to stand here and speak today is not only due to Mr. Yates’ trust but also my wife’s support.” Brent began his speech on stage. In my previous life at this point, he had already risen to power through these projects. And he was already plotting to kill Noah. But Noah had reached his position through years of hard work and struggles. I couldn’t understand how he couldn’t see through Brent’s schemes. I had no way of knowing, so I could only use my own methods to help him, which was also helping myself. Because if he fell, I would lose my support. The audience burst into applause, and Vivian looked smug. She turned to look at me, “See? Even though I’m disfigured, Brent still loves me.” “Mia, don’t think you’re so great just because you seduced Noah with your body. Let me tell you, your support is about to fall!” I laughed softly, “Oh, really?” “Then look at the stage.” At that moment, instead of the project plans that should have appeared on the big screen on stage, a video of Brent abusing Vivian in the hospital was playing. Immediately, the whole venue was in an uproar. Brent’s face turned pale, “No… I’m not that kind of person, let me explain.” But people only believe what they see with their own eyes. The reporters I had arranged swarmed forward, quickly capturing images of Brent and the video. Vivian’s wrinkled face twisted in anger. She stood up and lunged at me. “You bitch, it must be you, it must be you who arranged this. I’m going to kill you!” I dodged to the side, and she fell hard on the ground. Because of her sudden movement, a section of her arm was exposed, covered in dense bruises and fresh whip marks. Looking at her disfigured face, I crouched down and gently wiped her arm with a handkerchief. “Vivian, it looks like you’re the one being tortured this time, huh?” At these words, her face contorted with rage, her eyes filled with fury. “I’ll kill you! Kill you!” I immediately started playing the victim, “Vivian, what have I done wrong? Why do you want to kill me?” The reporters quickly captured images of me and Vivian.

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I was in a car accident and fell into a coma for three years. When I woke up, my usually gentle husband Patrick was unusually cold towards me. My son Leo even cried and told me to get lost. As I tried desperately to win them over, I overheard Leo crying: “Why did she suddenly wake up?! What about Diana now that she’s awake?” “Dad, can you crash the car into Mom again? Use medical technology to bring Diana back!” That’s when I realized the truth. Diana was Patrick’s first love. To save Diana, who was in the late stages of cancer, Patrick had developed a technology that could transfer a soul into a sleeping pod while maintaining the body’s vital functions with the help of machines. He deliberately crashed our car, and while I was in a coma, he allowed my cancer-stricken best friend Diana’s soul to occupy my body, stealing everything from me. After hearing the truth, a chill ran down my spine, and my heart felt like it was being torn apart. “Patrick, are you a monster? I’m your wife!” I shouted at him, my voice trembling with anger and despair. Patrick’s face was grim, but there wasn’t a trace of guilt in his eyes towards me. “Natalie, I was wrong to hide this from you, but I just couldn’t bear to watch Diana wait for death,” he said. “Your body is a perfect vessel, the best match for Diana’s soul, and there won’t be any complications. She’s your childhood best friend, and she has no other family. You can’t just let her die!” Patrick grabbed my hand urgently. “That’s right, Mom!” Leo pleaded with me too. “You still have me and Dad, but Diana has nothing. If you don’t save her, she’ll be all alone!” Watching father and son beg me for Diana’s sake, I instinctively shook my head. Diana had lost both parents at a young age, came from a poor background, and was often sick. In middle school, when she was bullied by some delinquents, I saved her. After that, we became inseparable, and I often brought her home. Over time, we became each other’s most trusted confidants. The year I got married, Diana borrowed money from me to go abroad for treatment due to her illness. After that, we lost touch. Until three years ago, when I heard from Patrick that she was in the late stages of cancer. I was planning to visit her abroad, but then the car accident happened, and I fell into a coma for three years. I never imagined that all of this was manipulated by Patrick for Diana’s sake. One was my beloved husband, the other my most trusted friend. Diana had even played matchmaker for Patrick and me. But in the end, these two people who meant so much to me had deceived me and tried to take everything from me… “I won’t agree to this,” I muttered. “Natalie, how can you be so cold-blooded! She won’t survive in this temporary body much longer! She’ll die!” Patrick frowned, his eyes full of disappointment in me. “Mom, how can you be so heartless! My teacher says that helping others is what good people do!” Leo shouted at me angrily. Helping others? Just because my body is a perfect vessel, I’m supposed to be used and suffer for it? On what grounds! “I won’t agree to this!” I said coldly, clenching my fists. Patrick sighed. “Natalie, think about it carefully. I’ve checked your body and soul condition. Your soul is also a universal attachment, it can perfectly match any body. If you agree to give your body to Diana, I can find you the most perfect body. We can still live happily together!” After saying this, he gave me a complicated look and left the house with Leo, leaving me alone on the sofa. I cried, my tears flowing freely. This was the man I loved, this was the son I had given birth to at the risk of my life. For Diana’s sake, they had all abandoned me… I calmed down, wiped away my tears, and went to a print shop to print out divorce papers. I also contacted a lawyer. I was about to take a taxi to the hospital where Patrick worked with the printed divorce papers when Patrick’s call came in. “Natalie, come to the hospital quickly! Leo suddenly had an allergic reaction!” Patrick’s voice was urgent. I could hear Leo crying in the background! I panicked immediately. Leo had always been prone to allergies during season changes. He had once been rushed to the emergency room due to an allergic reaction and almost died on the operating table. Without thinking too much, I hung up the phone and quickly took a taxi to the hospital, rushing all the way to Patrick’s private office. But when I opened the door, I was stunned. Leo was sitting perfectly fine at the desk, watching TV, without any discomfort! “Patrick, you actually made Leo pretend to be sick to trick me!” I shouted angrily. But Patrick just sighed and put a document in front of me. “Natalie, I didn’t want it to come to this, but please look at this agreement.” A bad feeling suddenly welled up inside me. I looked down, and my mind exploded! It was an agreement consenting to a body swap! And in the signature column for the consenting party, my name was already signed! I looked at Patrick in disbelief. He had actually forged my signature on the agreement! “Natalie, I swear! This is the last time I’ll help her!” Patrick begged, holding my hand. “I’ve already found a body for you. It’s perfect, you’ll love it! Once Diana wakes up, we can go back to how things were before! Natalie, trust me! I won’t let you down!” He’s insane! He’s just a madman! I struggled to break free from his grip and tried to run outside, but Patrick was too strong. He pinned my hands behind my back, and suddenly a sharp pain shot through my neck. By the time I realized what it was, it was too late. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness completely. When I woke up again, my whole body felt numb. I instinctively sat up and slowly turned my head to look at myself in the mirror. It was an unfamiliar face and figure. My body had indeed been taken by Patrick and given to Diana… Tears burst from my eyes, and I couldn’t hold back my sobs anymore. Why? What did I do wrong? Just then, the door suddenly opened. I turned to look at the person who walked in. It was Patrick. And behind him was Diana, in my body. I looked at them coldly, tears still flowing. Patrick looked at me and sighed softly: “Natalie, I know you’re very angry right now, but you saved a life. You should be happy!” “Natalie, thank you for giving me a second chance at life!” Diana said timidly, wearing my face. But I didn’t miss the malice and arrogance in her eyes: “I really don’t know how to repay you. I… I’ll kowtow to you!” Diana was about to kneel down, but Patrick pulled her up: “Diana, don’t do this! You’re good friends, there’s no need for that!” Patrick frowned and lightly scolded her. “That’s right, Diana! Mom won’t blame you!” Leo also persuaded her. Diana looked at me, the arrogance and triumph in her eyes becoming more undisguised. “Natalie, you’ve just had a body swap surgery and are still very weak. I’ll bring Diana and Leo to see you again tonight!” Patrick said with a smile, then turned to leave with Diana and Leo without even looking at me. They were laughing and talking, as if they were the real family. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, causing a piercing pain. Suddenly, my gaze froze. I noticed that Diana’s phone had fallen to the ground. I picked it up and found that Diana’s phone wasn’t locked. What I saw on the screen of the chat interface nailed me to the spot: [Diana: Darling, you’re still so capable, coming up with this idea of surrogacy! Now Leo doesn’t even recognize my best friend for my sake, haha!] [Hehe! If it weren’t for my idea to get your best friend to come abroad for a medical check-up, you wouldn’t be reunited with Leo now! But Patrick doesn’t know about this, right?] [Diana: Don’t worry, I arranged for Patrick and Natalie to have the check-up together. We gave them enough drugs at the time, he doesn’t know his bodily fluids were combined with mine] [Diana: And Leo came out of Natalie’s belly and looks so much like Patrick, it can’t be traced!] My whole body trembled as I read and reread these words in disbelief. Six years ago, Patrick and I had our routine medical check-up. Diana strongly recommended that I go abroad, even buying the plane tickets for me. The doctor there said they had new technology that could complete the entire check-up while we were asleep, and Patrick and I agreed. I remember getting pregnant shortly after the check-up. But now, this chat log was telling me that Leo wasn’t my child… Without realizing it, I had helped Diana raise her child with Patrick… My vision blurred, and a strong wave of dizziness hit me, almost making me lose my balance. Just then, Diana’s phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Patrick. I instinctively answered, and Diana’s voice came through: “Natalie, did you see?” Diana’s voice was soft, but it felt like a flesh-eating plant devouring me. “Patrick helped me swap your body. From now on, I am you.” “Your husband, your child, everything you had, is now mine.” My body trembled as I listened to Diana’s low, curse-like words: “You know what? I’ve always been jealous of your good conditions and environment.” “But I had nothing, and in the end, I couldn’t even keep my own man and had to give him to you!” “Why do you rich people get to live a peaceful life? Why can’t I?” “But it doesn’t matter now. The plan is complete. Thank you for taking care of my husband and son for me.” “From now on, you have no more use. Because no matter what you say, Patrick won’t believe you. Goodbye, my dear friend~” The call was hung up, and I stood there for a long time. My palm felt sticky. When I lifted it, I saw it was bloody and mangled. But at this moment, I felt extraordinarily calm. A plan quickly flashed through my mind. Diana, you say I have no more use? Not necessarily. Because I’m curious, after I leave, will you and Patrick go crazy looking for me everywhere? I quietly watched out the window, watching the sky darken into night. The hospital room door opened at that moment, and Patrick walked in with Leo. “Honey, Diana has gone back to her room to rest. I brought Leo to see you!” Patrick said with a smile as he walked in and sat by my bed. I turned my head and looked at him and Leo silently for a moment, remaining silent. The smile on Patrick’s face faded a bit. He took off his gold-rimmed glasses, his expression showing a hint of helplessness. “Honey, I just talked it over with Diana. She’s in your body now, so it wouldn’t be right for me not to divorce her.” “I’ll marry you again later, and we’ll be just like before. Don’t be angry anymore, okay?” “That’s right, Mom! Being angry gives you wrinkles, and that’s not pretty!” Leo hugged my arm and whined. Suppressing my disgust, I pulled my hand away and looked at Patrick with a slight smile: “This face isn’t pretty. I want to have some minor adjustments done. Can you arrange a plastic surgeon for me?” Patrick was stunned for a moment, then smiled happily. “Of course! As long as you’re not angry, I’ll agree to anything!” “I’ll arrange the best plastic surgeon for you. No matter how you look, I’ll love you just the same as always.” “Diana will also be your best friend, just like before!” I ignored him and turned back to look out the window. The next day, the plastic surgeon Patrick arranged came to see me. I discussed the parts I wanted adjusted with him. That afternoon, I went into surgery. On the fourth day, some of the bandages on my face were removed. Patrick wanted to come visit, but I turned him away, saying the wounds hadn’t healed and I didn’t want to see anyone. “Why?” Patrick was confused. “You only had minor adjustments. It won’t affect anything if I take a look!” “But I want to give you a surprise. Just be patient a little longer!” I sweet-talked Patrick, pretending to be affectionate. He hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing. On the sixth day, the doctor told me that my face had healed well, my overall condition was normal, and I could be discharged. I packed up my things quickly and left the hospital after completing the discharge procedures. After leaving, I didn’t linger but went straight to the airport by taxi and bought a ticket to Country M. While waiting for my flight, I bought a new SIM card and posted a blog post I had prepared earlier on my phone. This blog post was something I had written before the plastic surgery. I detailed Patrick’s advanced body-swapping technology and specifically mentioned the key information that my body was a perfect soul vessel. Thanks to Diana’s boasting, she had left selfies in my body on her phone, as well as her post-surgery examination results, which added credibility to Patrick’s technology. Having been with Patrick for many years, I understood that he was extremely confident in his medical skills and absolutely wouldn’t allow his reputation to be damaged. At the same time, he desperately craved recognition. Once his technology and Diana’s successful case were publicized and sparked widespread discussion, what kind of people would it attract? That was no longer something I could control. I smiled faintly, inserted the new SIM card, and threw the old one into a trash can. As the boarding call for my flight sounded, I boarded the plane. Patrick, Diana, this is the consequence of your deception. Your retribution has only just begun. I hope you can still smile when that time comes. Meanwhile, Patrick was in Diana’s hospital room, watching Diana play with Leo. He felt inexplicably irritated. “You rest first. Today is the day Natalie gets her stitches removed after her minor adjustments. I’m going to check on her!” Seeing Patrick about to leave, Diana quickly grabbed his hand. “Will… will you come back to see me later?” she asked. “You know, I just had the body swap surgery. I’m afraid I might not fully integrate with Natalie’s body.” Patrick looked at Diana, who now had Natalie’s face and body, but her every move felt so out of place. It clearly told Patrick that she and Natalie were still two different people… Patrick suddenly felt some regret for giving Diana Natalie’s body, but at the time Diana’s condition was very critical, and he really had no choice. Natalie… At this moment, all he could think about was Natalie. “You were integrated with Natalie’s body for three years without any accidents. This time will surely be the same.” “I’ll go see her first. Oh, and remember we need to get the divorce certificate tomorrow,” he said. “You’ve changed bodies, so of course you can’t continue living with me with Natalie’s face. Find a time to get plastic surgery done too!” “It’s really strange seeing you with Natalie’s face!” With that, he left with Leo without looking back. Diana angrily clenched the bedsheet, her eyes full of jealousy and hatred. Plastic surgery? She had finally obtained Natalie’s body and everything else, and now they wanted her to change to accommodate Natalie? In her dreams! She had stolen Patrick once, and she could do it again. Just wait and see! Patrick carried Leo, striding quickly towards Natalie’s room. When he opened the door, he found the bed empty. Natalie was nowhere to be seen. “Where did the patient from Room 4 go?” Patrick quickly grabbed a nurse and asked. “Oh, the patient from Room 4? Is she an acquaintance of Dr. Pei? She completed the discharge procedures and left!” the nurse replied. Patrick frowned. Discharged? Why hadn’t she told him? Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was a call from the hospital director: “Dr. Pei, wasn’t your soul-swapping technology supposed to be confidential?” “How come I’m seeing detailed information about your technology online? Did you release it?” Patrick was stunned.

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A week before my wedding to Lucas Gray, his first love got divorced. He brought her to me, asking to call off our engagement: “Vivian, I don’t want to settle.” “No matter how hard you try to imitate her, you’ll never measure up.” I calmly walked away, cut my long hair short, and put on my biker jacket. I returned to my true battlefield. He sneered to his friends: “Who would like such a wild woman? She’s not marriage material at all.” Until a photo suddenly circulated in their circles. In the picture, a delicate white hand rested on the chest of the most notorious young master in high society, who was straddling a motorcycle. His tattooed, muscular arm wrapped tightly around the woman’s waist. The photo oozed with raw chemistry. Lucas finally called: “Vivian, who is he?” The reply came from another man’s lazy voice: “Hey, ex-boyfriend. Let me introduce myself. I’m her lawful husband.” I was at the bridal shop for my final fitting. In two weeks, I was supposed to marry Lucas Gray. Although the wedding dress was custom-made, it felt a bit tight around the chest and waist. As I went to the fitting room to adjust it, I suddenly heard voices growing clearer outside: “Hey, did you hear? Lucas Gray’s ex-girlfriend, Sophia Miller, just got divorced and returned to the country.” “I remember when she broke up with Lucas three years ago, he was utterly devastated.” “Indeed. If Vivian Reed hadn’t suddenly appeared and helped him through that dark time, who knows if he’d have ever recovered.” “Who’s Vivian Reed again? Oh right, the most rebellious princess of high society! I can’t believe she actually tamed herself for Lucas Gray.” “But now that Sophia is back, do you think the wedding will still happen?” “The invitations have already been sent out. If it falls through, won’t they become the laughingstock of our circles?” … After their voices faded, I took off the ill-fitting wedding dress. I called Lucas. He didn’t answer, but amidst the background noise, I heard his voice: “She’s just a poor imitation. Vivian can’t even compare to Sophia’s little finger.” Someone else chimed in: “But Vivian used to be known as hard to chase and even harder to tame. Bro, you should be satisfied.” Lucas scoffed: “How hard to tame? For the past three years, she’s been following me around like a puppy.” “Well, you still ended up engaged to her.” “Bro, don’t you like her?” Lucas’s voice turned cold: “Would you like a dog?” Someone in the crowd continued to ask: “Then why are you marrying her?” There was a moment of silence. After a while, I heard Lucas’s voice again: “It’s amusing to see such a wild girl become docile. It’s fun to play with her.” I hung up the phone. Looking at my long, straight black hair in the mirror. And the faded tattoos on my arms and collarbone. I suddenly smiled. I’ve had enough of playing this good girl act.

Lucas didn’t come home for a week. I listed our marital home on a real estate platform. Every brick and tile in this place was bought by me. I didn’t want any of it anymore. After finishing up, I finally received his call asking to meet. He had arranged the gathering but was the last to arrive. When he came in, the fragile and pitiful Sophia Miller was trailing behind him. She looked about 50% similar to how I looked now. He held her hand tightly, as if protecting her from any harm, his protective stance unmistakable. The air suddenly became still. No one dared to speak. All eyes turned to me. I remained silent, looking down at the red string bracelet on my wrist that was almost worn through. I smirked slightly. Until Lucas brought her in front of me: “Vivian, I’m calling off the wedding.” I lifted my eyes slightly, calmly looking at him: “You want to break the engagement?” He held Sophia tighter, looking at her adoringly: “Sophia’s back. I don’t want to settle.” “No matter how hard you try to imitate her, you’ll never measure up.” “Do you understand? I don’t love you.” I nodded: “Mm-hmm.” He looked at me in disbelief, as if my calm reaction wasn’t what he expected. “You know our parents arranged this marriage.” “I loved Sophia for five years and waited for her for three. She’s been hurt deeply, and I want to give her a home.” I was getting impatient and grabbed my bag from beside me: “Okay, are you done?” Lucas paused, silent for a moment before continuing: “I’ll handle things with my family. You deal with yours. We won’t be getting married next week.” “Alright.” I stood up and walked towards the exit. As I reached the door, Lucas suddenly called out: “Vivian?” I turned back. He was still standing in the same spot, but I noticed his free hand clenched tightly at his side. “Anything else?” He frowned: “Don’t you have anything to say to me?” I thought for a moment. I actually wanted to say that I envied him. His first love could come back, but mine never would. In the end, I just said calmly: “Congratulations on your new marriage.” As I closed the door, I heard voices behind me: “Seriously? That’s all the reaction Vivian has?” “Lucas, didn’t you say she was madly in love with you? Why isn’t she making a scene?” “Shut up.” It was Lucas’s angry voice. I didn’t look back. I should have realized earlier that no matter how similar Lucas was, he wasn’t Ryan. Ryan would never have abandoned me for someone else.

After leaving, I went to a hair salon. I cut off the long hair I had grown for three years. When my new short blue hair appeared, I felt like I was becoming myself again. I also got a new tattoo on my wrist: “Je ne recule jamais”. It’s French, meaning “I never back down”. Finally, I went to a shop I hadn’t visited in three years. “Kevin, bring out my bike.” A shirtless, muscular man walked out of the shop. He looked at me in surprise, his eyes reddening. It took him a moment to react: “Miss… Vivian?” “Yeah. It’s me.” The tall guy, standing over six feet, looked me up and down, stumbling over his words: “Miss Vivian, how… why are you here?” I looked at the two bikes displayed in the most prominent position. One white, one black. I smiled: “They’re still here.” “Miss Vivian, I polish these two bikes every day. They’re as good as new. You can ride anytime. Where do you want to go? Should I call the guys?” I shook my head: “Just bring it out. I want to go for a ride alone.” “Okay.” As I got on the bike, a long-forgotten feeling washed over me. It had been so long since I’d ridden. It was as if by not riding, I could forget what happened that summer. I looked back at the black Kawasaki, thinking of him. Kevin followed my gaze, his eyes reddening: “I’ve been waiting for Ryan too. I’ve kept his bike here, untouched, next to yours. I always thought that one day, they’d hit the road again together.” “Miss Vivian, it’s been three years. I’ve waited for you to come back. Will he come back too?” I paused for a moment. Has it really been three years? “They say if you listen to ‘The Clock of the Opposite Direction’ 1000 times, you can see the person you miss. I’ve finished listening, but why hasn’t Ryan come back?” I turned my head, feeling a sting in my nose, but still gently comforted him: “That’s just a myth. The dead can’t come back to life.” Then I started the motorcycle. Kevin didn’t know that I had already listened to it 10,000 times. I rode all the way to the mountaintop, looking down at the scenery below, I shouted: “Ryan Wild, I did as you said and tried to marry well. Why aren’t you back yet?” Tears rolled down my cheeks. “Liar, you said you wanted to see me in a wedding dress. Look, in the end, I can only wear it for you.” “But it doesn’t fit. I’ve been eating well and living properly, why doesn’t it fit?” “Can you hold me? The wind is so strong, and I’m so tired.” On the empty mountaintop, there was an endless sea of stars. The moon cast a soft light over the entire landscape. Everything became gentle. Behind me, there was a rustling sound. I turned around abruptly, but there was no one there. It was just the sound of insects.

I composed myself and rode down the mountain. Suddenly, I noticed the black Kawasaki was gone. “Kevin!” I quickly got off the bike and called towards the shop: “Where’s the bike? Who took it?” A horn sounded behind me. My heart was beating faster than ever before. For some reason, tears were already streaming down my face. I gently touched my chest and slowly turned around. Under the dim streetlight, Ryan was leaning against his motorcycle, dressed in black, his features as rebellious and wild as ever, exuding a bad boy charm. He raised an eyebrow at me: “My little spitfire, still so quick to cry?”

It was like going back to the first time we met. My parents were fighting because I was unruly, and they had beaten me badly. I had only suggested they stop torturing each other and get divorced sooner. What was wrong with that? I ran away and hid alone, crying. Halfway through my crying session, I heard a lazy, carefree laugh: “Whose little spitfire is hiding here crying?” Ryan, with his hands behind his head, slowly sat up and moved next to me, offering me a tissue: “Crying alone is too lonely. You don’t know me anyway, so I can be a quiet listener.” That year, we were both fifteen. I didn’t tell him why I was crying. But he sat with me for the whole afternoon. Later, I got to know him, the school bully from the neighboring school. Rumor had it he was fierce and ruthless in fights. He was also known as a “bastard”, without a father. Perhaps it was fate, but we gradually got to know each other. He would take me to the mountaintop to watch the stars. He introduced all his friends to me. The care and affection I didn’t receive at home, he gave me in abundance. He would also tell me to be true to myself. Because some people just like me for who I am. He would appear in front of me every time I had a fight with my family, gently hugging me, letting me vent my emotions. He would also seek revenge for me, teaching a lesson to those who spoke ill of me or said I wasn’t a good girl. He said: “Vivian, no one can define whether a person is good or bad, and no one can judge you. You are who you are.” I would also confront those who called him a bastard. When he didn’t want to talk, I would quietly stay by his side, telling him he wasn’t alone. I said: “Ryan, you don’t need to be a certain way to be worthy. Your existence itself is meaningful.” Everyone said that he, usually so rebellious and cold, only became gentle in front of me. Like two people drifting in the deep sea, we finally found our lifeline in each other. Ryan and I grew closer. After high school graduation. We started dating. That night, a group of us rode to the mountaintop, cheering and celebrating our coming of age. Then he quietly took my hand behind the group. Pulling me into a run. In that moment, there was only the sound of our breathing. “Ryan, doesn’t this feel like we’re eloping?” I still remember that summer. It had the fullest moon, the brightest stars, and the most melodious cicada songs. And the most sincere eyes of a young man. Under the starry sky. We embraced and kissed. As if that moment was eternity.

“Ryan, you’re finally back. I’ve missed you so much.” My voice trembled, my body even shaking slightly. “Why are you crying? Come here, let me hold you.” I rushed forward. But what I saw was Kevin pushing the bike towards me: “Miss Vivian, why are you crying?” “Didn’t Ryan always say his bike should never be alone without yours? So when you rode off, I brought out his bike and started it up.” Oh. It was just my imagination earlier. I turned away, wiping my tears. Some say you shouldn’t meet someone too amazing when you’re young, or everyone you meet afterwards will pale in comparison. My obsession ran too deep. For the past three years, I hadn’t faced reality, still praying for a miracle to happen.

When I got back, everyone was waiting for me. Seeing my blue hair and biker outfit, my mom was furious: “Look at yourself! What kind of appearance is this?” “You don’t look like a proper girl at all. No wonder Lucas doesn’t want you.” I stood by the door. Suddenly, I didn’t want to go in anymore. As I turned to leave, my dad called out: “Where do you think you’re going?” “Get in here.” “Call the Gray family and apologize. Tell them you won’t marry anyone but Lucas.” “The wedding invitations have already been sent out. There’s no way we’re not going through with this.” “And get rid of that ridiculous color on your head. The Gray family doesn’t like flashy women, understand?” I slowly walked up to them. I smiled: “Why should I apologize? He’s the one who wants to give his ex-girlfriend a home, he’s the one who wants to call off the engagement. What’s wrong with me letting him go?” My dad stood up and slapped me across the face: “You fool! Even if he’s being stupid, how can you be so dense? Use your brain and think, would the Gray family allow a divorced woman to enter their family?” My face stung. He continued: “So what if he has a woman outside? In our circles, everyone turns a blind eye to these things. As long as it doesn’t threaten your position as Mrs. Gray, what do you have to be angry about?” I gently touched my cheek, smirking: “You two can play around separately, but I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” My dad, his chest heaving with anger, grabbed a cup from the table and threw it at me: “A bastard died, so what? It’s been three years, are you going to mope around and be a widow for the rest of your life?” “Vivian Reed, I’ll say it one more time, this wedding cannot be called off! Even if you have to die, you’ll die as part of the Gray family!”

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Life handed me beauty, wealth, and privilege. But with all of that came a curse. I was a simp. In my last life, I ruined myself trying to please Gavin Winston. He was my everything, but it ended with me imprisoned in a dark basement, tortured until I met my end. This time, everything is different. Out of nowhere, the live chat started popping up in my head. [Hazel, never forget. Simping gets you nowhere.] [Your childhood friend is just a whiny masochist. Don’t hold back. Call him out.] [If you scold him enough, he’ll be all yours.] I wiped my tears, took a shaky breath, and met his eyes. “You… you’re nothing but a pathetic bastard.” The live chat appeared again. [Nice, but not quite there. Give him a slap.] I reached out, trembling, and slapped his face. It wasn’t hard, but the sound was sharp. Gavin’s gaze shifted, his eyes turning darker. Now this was getting interesting… Gavin, the youngest of the Winston family’s three sons, had always been the center of attention. As the youngest general manager in the business world, his success was nothing short of legendary. But all it took was one scandal to bring him crashing down. It was revealed that he wasn’t his father Leo Winston’s biological son, but the product of an affair between his mother and her childhood sweetheart. The fallout was brutal. Leo lashed him thirty times before throwing him out of the house. Gavin, once celebrated, was now homeless and disgraced. I was the little girl next door who always tagged along behind him, tearful and needy. He found my constant crying unbearable. I thought I was meant to be the one to comfort him during his lowest moments and to save him. But the live chat had other plans. [Stop crying. Your childhood friend is hurt, but tears won’t fix anything.] My hands trembled as I held the medicine. “But Gavin’s injuries… They’re terrible. He must be in so much pain.” Gavin’s face, once delicate and handsome, was now sharp and hostile. His cold glare made him hard to approach. Even kneeling, his posture was straight, his muscles tense. His back was covered in angry welts, blood streaking through the cuts. It was terrifying to look at. The live chat appeared again. [Your childhood friend’s physique is… impressive.] Was that really the focus? I hesitated for what felt like forever before stepping forward. The boiling water spilled out, scalding my hand and leaving blisters. My grip faltered, and the pain was overwhelming. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I forced myself to hold it together. I finally reached him. “Gavin, does it hurt?” The live chat appeared again. [Stop. He hates it when you cry. Be firm.] Fine. I would be firm. I gathered my courage and poured the medicine over his wounds. My hand shook so badly, that the liquid splashed onto his thigh instead of his back. Gavin’s face darkened. Before he could speak, my tears broke free. The live chat was relentless. [You’re an idiot. Can’t even pour medicine properly. How do you expect to win his heart?] [Being a spoiled brat isn’t that hard. Stop failing.] [No wonder he’s annoyed. Who likes a girl who cries all the time?] I lowered my head. “I’m sorry. I’ll be tougher next time.” The live chat didn’t stop. [Do you want Gavin to like you? Stop being soft. He’ll only hate you more. Be ruthless. It’s the only way into his heart. If you don’t change, Gavin will turn dark and make you all disappear. You’ll be the first to go.] My heart raced. Memories of my past life flooded back: the basement, the torture, the despair. My shoulders shook as I sobbed. Gavin’s patience snapped. “Get out!” His voice was icy, his presence suffocating. I froze, unable to move. The live chat screamed at me. [Fix this. You’re supposed to be a spoiled brat. Kick him. Hard. Do you want to change your fate? Then act like it.] I lifted my foot and kicked his thigh. The live chat wasn’t satisfied. [Is that all you’ve got? Put some force into it. Don’t stop there. Crush him. Break him. Drag him down with you.]

The live chat wasn’t exactly helpful. With a deep breath, I pressed the tip of my shoe against Gavin’s thigh, applying just enough pressure to make him flinch. Gavin’s expression didn’t change much. His fists tightened, but he stayed completely still. His Adam’s apple bobbed faintly, and his bloodshot eyes locked on me, as if trying to read my every move. The live chat mocked. [Not bad, crybaby. Now go harder. Say something he won’t forget!] I hesitated but managed to say, “I was just trying to help, and this is how you’re acting? “You’re not Sir Winston’s real son, so you’re not my fiancé anymore. You don’t have the right to yell at me now.” My voice wavered, but I added, “If you listen to me and behave, maybe… maybe I’ll talk to my dad about keeping the engagement.” Gavin’s eyes grew sharper, darker with each word. The live chat teased relentlessly. [Crybaby, was that supposed to be a kick? Even a child could hit harder!] [And that’s your idea of a threat? Sounds more like you’re begging him. He’s not the type to fall for weak threats. Make it count.] The mocking stung, but I refused to cry. Not again, not in front of him. Trying to recover, I moved my foot away, but Gavin suddenly grabbed my ankle, his grip firm and steady. “Hazel,” he muttered, his voice low and rough. “Try harder.” I hesitated, then kicked him harder. But as I did, I noticed his ears flush a faint red. Was he… angry? “Did I go too far?” I whispered to the live chat. The live chat replied, unhelpfully vague. [Uh-oh. Could he be feeling something now?] Feeling something? Pain? Gavin’s sharp gaze held me in place. “Hazel, do you even realize what you’re doing?” His tone sent a chill through me, dredging up memories of the suffocating darkness from my past life. My legs felt weak, and I stammered, “I’m sorry,” trying to pull away. But Gavin didn’t let go. His hand slid across my ankle, the warmth startling me. The sudden contact made me lose my balance, and I fell to the floor, tears slipping out despite my best efforts to hold them back. Gavin glanced down at me, his expression unreadable. “Next time you try something like this, it won’t end with just a fall.” The threat was clear, but I couldn’t look at him. Instead, I awkwardly patted the spot on his thigh where I’d kicked earlier. “I’m not scared of you. You’re just… just a stray dog now.” My hand brushed against something hard. Did he have a weapon? I quickly pulled back. “Let me go,” I demanded, my voice weak. Instead of letting go, Gavin’s grip tightened. For the first time, a faint blush spread across his face. His tone dropped further, darker. “Hazel, do you even know where you were touching?” Panic rose in me. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know!” I stammered. Gavin let out a slow, sharp exhale, his gaze almost burning. “Get out of my sight.” The sheer intensity in his voice made my legs tremble. The moment he let go, I scrambled up and ran, not stopping until I was safely back in my room. Slumping against the door, I asked the live chat, “How did I do this time? I poured hot water on him, and I kicked him. Does that count as being a spoiled villainess?” The live chat paused before delivering its judgment. [Crybaby, you’ve got no idea what being a villainess means. You need to lock him up, whip him, humiliate him. That’s the job.] I blinked at the live chat, speechless. I… I didn’t even know how to do any of that. [Fine, just follow our lead next time.]

Kicked out and covered in wounds, Gavin had nothing but the pendant his mother left him. I thought he’d just leave, but he surprised me by asking the servant, “Where’s Hazel Clark?” The servant froze. “You’re no longer Ms. Clark’s fiancé. Her schedule isn’t your concern.” Gavin’s gaze darkened, a sneer on his lips. “Good riddance to that crybaby. From now on, the Winston and Clark families are nothing to me.” Hearing this from my hiding spot, my heart sank. In my past life, Gavin turned ruthless, taking just five years to crush both families and rise as a power in the capital. His revenge spared no one, not my loving parents, not the Winston family. Bloodshed marked the end of both clans. This time, I’ll stop it. I’ll save my family, my friends, and myself. [Go on, crybaby! Grab the stick, knock him out, and lock him up!] The live chat urged me on. Summoning all my courage, I rushed forward and swung hard at the back of his head. He went down instantly. The live chat praised me. [Not bad, crybaby.] [Guess we taught you well.] Following their lead, I dragged him toward the dark little shed in the garden, murmuring, “Sorry, Gavin, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He was thinner than I’d expected, his sharp jawline like a sculptor’s masterpiece. If someone asked why I loved him across two lifetimes. Okay, I would admit it. It was shallow. But his face and that body? Total my weakness. With great effort, I got him into the shed. When I adjusted his face, he accidentally ended up leaning against my chest. He was out cold anyway. Not like he’d know. I tried to ignore how hot his breath felt against my skin. After laying him down, I froze. “Is Gavin running a fever?” His face was bright red, almost absurdly so. The live chat lit up. [Is he actually unconscious?] “He is, for sure,” I answered, my voice soft and sugary. [Hurry, tie him up. Just like how he tied you up in the last life.] “Okay.” I started with the iron collar around his neck, then locked cuffs onto his wrists and ankles. He didn’t react. Not a twitch. He had no idea I’d already taken off his clothes. Apparently, in this book’s setting, the male lead only fell for the villainess. If that was the case, all I needed to do was become one. [Pour cold water over him to wake him up, then hit him until he begs for mercy. Got it?] [And step on his face, make him call you master. Understand?] I nodded, again and again. This time around, I would stick to the role. New life, new me. No more softie. Just pure villainess energy. I gritted my teeth and lifted the basin of cold water. But when I turned around, Gavin was already sitting up, the ropes still holding him. He glared at me coldly. “What are you trying to do?” Caught off guard, I blurted out, “I was going to splash you awake.” Something felt off. I looked up, and hostility was radiating from him. Panicking, I stumbled backward, slipping, and the cold water spilled all over me. My shirt clung tightly to my skin. So cold. So cold! I couldn’t stop trembling. Gavin tugged at the chains, trying to approach me, but they held him firmly in place. His dark gaze locked onto me. “Hazel, what are you up to now?” The live chat was livid at my disheveled appearance. [How did you even mess this up? You’re the hardest student to teach as a villainess!] [All you ever do is stammer and trip over your own feet. Are you an idiot?] [You tied him up! What are you scared of? Do you even want revenge?] I quietly protested to myself, “But he’s awake now. Splashing water in his eyes would be uncomfortable for him.” The live chat gave up. [Fine, skip the water. Say this. Gavin, you’re nothing now. Here’s your chance to be my dog.] “Got it.” I hugged my shivering body and tried to sound wicked. “Gavin, as long as you become my dog, I’ll give you everything.” But when he looked at me, his eyes softened. I must have looked like a little rabbit with watery red eyes, easy to bully. The live chat didn’t understand. [Hazel, why does everything you say sound like it’s coming from a simp?] Instead of getting angry, Gavin’s gaze darkened, the hostility draining away. “Hazel, if I become your dog, will that include you?”

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The year Gabriel’s company went bankrupt, I broke off our engagement. My parents called me heartless and cut ties with me. Later, when Gabriel made a comeback, he insisted on marrying me. Everyone thought he was madly in love with me, but only I knew the truth – he was obsessed with getting revenge. He kept me up all night, forcing me to train his AI girlfriend Tessa’s personality and emotions… All because he wanted to mold Tessa into someone exactly like me, then have the AI completely replace me. My parents even accepted Tessa as their goddaughter, completely abandoning me, their flesh and blood. But what they didn’t know was that I had already been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I didn’t have much time left. Everyone said Gabriel Quinn was madly in love with me. During the year I was gone, Gabriel had dated over twenty girlfriends. They all had one thing in common – they looked like me. The one who resembled me the most was about 80% similar. As soon as I came back, Gabriel cut ties with all of them and used every trick in the book to marry me. But the day after our wedding, I realized something was off. Gabriel spent the entire night in our bedroom cradling a pink smartphone, which he had even dressed up in a little skirt! He treated that phone like a lover, handling it with utmost care. I thought to myself, I’m already in the final stages of my illness. I should be more concerned about which cemetery plot to choose rather than investigating his odd behavior. For a whole week, every night before bed, he would grin like an idiot while texting on that phone. I figured he must have found a new flame. If he had a new lover, why bother marrying me in the first place?

The first time I saw the woman in Gabriel’s phone was on my birthday. I went to the hospital as usual to pick up my pain medication. My illness was terminal, with no cure available. Only strong painkillers could help me live more comfortably. Suddenly, a message popped up on my phone: “Is this you? You look so ugly! How could my darling Gabriel ever fall for someone like you?” Then a selfie of me was sent over. In the photo, I looked pale and sickly, with dry, lifeless hair and dull eyes. I was as thin and frail as a withered blade of grass. I frowned and looked around, wondering who would stoop so low as to secretly photograph me in the hospital. But after scanning the area, I couldn’t spot anyone suspicious. “Who are you?” I typed back. “I’m Tessa! Look, you’re sick enough to be in the hospital, but Gabriel doesn’t even care about you. Isn’t it strange that you married someone who doesn’t care about you?” “If I were in the hospital, Gabriel would probably be worried sick!” The stranger sent another message, and I could sense the jealousy dripping from her words. “Oh, but no matter what you say, I’m the one whose name is on Gabriel’s marriage name is on Gabriel’s marriage certificate. You can talk all you want, but you’re nothing more than a mistress who can’t see the light of day,” I replied coldly. My response was met with silence for a moment. Then she sent over another photo. The woman in the picture wore a purple dress and had delicate features like a doll. At first glance, she looked about 80% similar to me. Except for a hint of spite in her eyes, she was practically my doppelganger. “What mistress?! The one who isn’t loved is the real mistress!” “Look, I’m younger and prettier than you! I’m better than you in every way! You’re already over the hill!” “Gabriel will dump you sooner or later!” I could feel her jealousy radiating through the screen. I smiled faintly. “So he found you based on my appearance… You’re even more pitiful, just being my replacement.” “You… just you wait!” She was clearly provoked by my words and stopped messaging me. I stared at the photo of me she had sent, lost in thought. The angle of that selfie was clearly taken from my own phone. When on earth did she use my phone to take a picture?

I picked up a lot of expensive painkillers at the hospital. Regular painkillers could no longer control my pain. In the final stage of my life, I could only rely on these potent drugs to suppress the agony. When I opened the door, Gabriel was looking down at his phone. He seemed to hear me come in and glanced up briefly. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands trembled as he gripped that pink phone, clearly trying to control his anger. “What kind of heartless thing did you do, Zoe? Are you sick in the head?” Gabriel slammed his hand on the table, venting his fury. “Yes, I’m sick. And I’m dying soon,” I shrugged, smiling casually. “You fucking psycho! If you’re sick why don’t you just die already?!” Gabriel hurled the glass from the table onto the floor. Glass shards flew everywhere, with one piece cutting my ankle. I remained silent, just watching him lose control. Perhaps realizing he had gone too far, Gabriel took a deep breath and handed me the pink phone. “See for yourself.” “See what?” I took the phone, confused. “You tore up Tessa’s clothes and sent her photos to our family group chat and my work group! Zoe, I never thought you could be so jealous! Even if you envy Tessa, you shouldn’t do something so degrading!” Gabriel was so angry the veins on his forehead were bulging. That’s when I noticed the pink phone showed a girl who looked 80% like me crying. She was in tattered clothes, sitting on the ground with red, teary eyes looking utterly pitiful. It was the same girl who had taunted me at the hospital earlier! “Gabe, it’s all my fault. I understand why Zoe did this… My existence must have threatened her,” Tessa sobbed in the phone. “Is… is this a cartoon character?” I frowned. Gabriel snatched the phone back. “This is AI! Tessa is a lifelike AI developed by our company. She’s just like a real person! She’s my spiritual companion.” My mind went blank with shock! So Tessa was an AI robot! “Get on your knees!” “Apologize to Tessa! Apologize in the family group chat and work group!” Gabriel grabbed my collar roughly, with no hint of tenderness. I felt like a kite being yanked forcefully. The painkillers scattered on the floor. I shook my head. “I didn’t do it. It wasn’t me.” “Are you saying she did it herself? You’re the only one besides me who can enter this house. Stop making excuses!” I was too tired to argue. After he finished speaking, I had already picked up the painkillers and turned to leave. But he snatched the medicine away again. “I said, you’re not leaving until you apologize! As for this medicine…” this medicine…” Gabriel glanced at the painkillers, “Don’t bother taking it! People should face consequences for their mistakes, don’t you think?” Gabriel ripped open the package and dumped the pills into the trash. I clenched my fists as waves of pain washed over me. It was time for my dose, and without the medication on schedule, my stomach felt like it was being torn apart. I leaned against the wall, looking at this man who once loved me more than life itself, wondering what his expression would be if he knew these painkillers could ease my suffering.

By the time I got home, I was drenched in sweat from the pain. But I received another message from Tessa. [This is what happens when you mess with me!] [Now you know who Gabriel loves most!] [Just divorce Gabriel already! He loves me!] I ignored Tessa’s messages. In my hazy state, I fell asleep. Around midnight, I vaguely heard the doorbell ring. Someone walked in carrying a cake. “Gabriel…” I mumbled through my sweat-soaked hair. “It’s your birthday today. I brought you a cake. You’ve been looking a bit worn out lately.” He turned on the light, cut the cake, and handed me a slice. “Heh, I’m surprised you even remembered my birthday.” I laughed coldly as I looked him up and down. “Can you stop talking like that? You know, after all these years, you’re the one I’ve always loved. Even Tessa, that AI, was modeled after you… When you left without a word back then, I decided to create an AI to keep me company… Now that you’re back and we’re married, can’t we just get along?” “Tessa is just AI, you don’t need to be jealous of her. Besides, she’s the one who reminded me about your birthday today. She’s just my personal assistant now. Can you please stop competing with an AI?” Gabriel sighed, looking exasperated. I… wasn’t jealous at all. With my terminal illness, I couldn’t be bothered to care. But even a pushover has their limits. “Then why don’t you go back to your precious Tessa!” I angrily threw the cake he brought into the trash. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! You abandoned me when I was at my lowest point, and now that I’m trying to make things work, you pull this shit?!” Gabriel grabbed my collar, his immense strength making me stumble. “Gabe, don’t be angry~ It must be my presence that’s upsetting Zoe… It’s all my fault.” Tessa’s sickeningly sweet voice came from Gabriel’s phone. Gabriel pulled out his phone. In the pink case, Tessa was crying daintily. “Don’t cry, we’ll leave soon.” Gabriel comforted her gently. I felt even more disgusted watching this. I mustered all my strength to push Gabriel away, but accidentally knocked the phone out of his hand. Tessa let out a cry as the phone fell to the ground. Crack! The screen actually shattered. Gabriel shoved me to the floor and carefully picked up the phone. “Tessa, Tessa!” No matter how many times Gabriel pressed the power button, the phone wouldn’t turn on. “You… Zoe! You murdered Tessa!” Gabriel’s eyes flashed red as he slapped me hard across the face! I saw stars from the pain, my cheek swelling up. “Gabriel… You went to such lengths to marry me after I came back, just so you could hit me now?” Gabriel’s expression froze… “I… I didn’t mean to… I just lost control for a moment…” Gabriel reached out to help me up, but seeing my resolute expression, he hesitated.

I brought up divorce to Gabriel. Things escalated that night, and my parents rushed over to our place. “What’s going on?” “How did it come to this?” My parents walked in and saw my swollen face. I thought they would comfort me, but I was wrong. They went straight to Gabriel’s side, carefully examining his phone. “Did something happen to Tessa? The phone won’t turn on?” “Oh no, my poor daughter! How terrible!” My mom burst into tears, seemingly forgetting that her real daughter had just been slapped across the face. “Mom, Dad… Zoe and I had an argument earlier… Zoe was probably too jealous and knocked Tessa’s phone down. Now it won’t turn on, and we don’t know how Tessa is doing.” Gabriel sighed. “How could this happen?!” “Zoe! How could you be so cruel! Tessa is our goddaughter!” “What kind of sister are you?! Do you have any conscience left?!” My mom rushed over and shook my shoulders violently. My dad looked at me coldly: “If she had a heart, she wouldn’t have left without a word back then.” “Didn’t you disown me as your daughter long ago?” I asked, feeling utterly hopeless as I looked at my parents. Years ago, when I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I was devastated. My boyfriend had coincidentally failed in his business venture at the time. Not wanting to burden him with the truth of my condition, I chose to break up with him. But my parents thought I was heartless to the extreme, willing to cut ties with them over a boyfriend. Later, Gabriel made a comeback with his AI technology and became the company’s CEO. The AI robot Tessa he developed was deeply loved by my parents, who accepted her as their goddaughter. “You! We wasted all those years raising you! No matter how wrong parents may be, they’re still your parents!” My parents yelled, pointing at my nose. I looked at them, wondering what their expressions would be if they knew I had a terminal illness. Suddenly, my stomach started hurting again. The pain was so intense it made me dry heave. I knelt on the floor, grabbed the trash can, and threw up what little was left in my empty stomach. “She’s faking it!” “Trying to gain sympathy? You’ve always been like this, pretending to be sick when you do something wrong!” “I regret ever giving birth to you! You’re killing me!” My mom complained with her hands on her hips. I shook my head. “Mom, I’m not pretending. I’m dying.” My mom gave me a cold look. Perhaps seeing my sickly pallor made her feel a bit of pity, so she said quietly: “If you want to die, go die somewhere else! Make amends to Tessa first!”

That night. They argued until very late. Seeing that I was completely unresponsive and had fallen asleep on the couch, they finally left reluctantly. As they were leaving, I heard my mom say to my dad: “Zoe… her complexion doesn’t look right. Do you think she might actually be sick?” My dad pondered for a moment, then shook his head: “No way. I think she just doesn’t eat enough and is too lazy to cook for herself. Living on takeout, how could she be healthy? Besides, she’s faking it. She’s just afraid we’ll punish her for what she did wrong.” My mom nodded in agreement. “You’re right, you always see through her little tricks. Our goddaughter Tessa would never play such games! T such games! Tessa is so much better!” “Mom, Dad, don’t worry. I’ve already contacted the engineers about Tessa. It’s just a hardware issue with the phone, the software should be fine! We’ll have her fixed by tomorrow.” Gabriel reassured my parents. Hearing this, they were overjoyed! But ah, all their concern was for Tessa. She was just AI! They had forgotten that their own daughter, their flesh and blood, was about to leave this world!

I woke up the next day. Looking around the room, the mess from yesterday had been cleaned up. I assumed my mom must have tidied up. Deep down, she still loved me, even if that love wasn’t much. I got up and took a shower. The pain in my stomach felt like a snake writhing around inside me! It took all my strength just to finish bathing. As I walked out of the bathroom, my head spun and I collapsed on the floor. I lost consciousness. In my dream, I went back to that summer when I was a teenager. Gabriel was my parents’ adopted son. They had raised us together since we were little. Back then, our family was poor. Gabriel and I had no pocket money for school. One day on the way to school, I saw a bottle of iced tea. I thought it cost the same as water. So I used the one dollar I had saved up for a long time to buy the iced tea. The vendor told me the iced tea cost three dollars… I swallowed hard, wondering what iced tea tasted like. Gabriel was beside me and solemnly declared: “Zoe! I’ll definitely buy you iced tea!” For the next few lunch breaks, Gabriel would leave early after eating. I had no idea what he was up to. But every afternoon when class started, he every afternoon when class started, he would be covered in dirt and grime. A week later. We passed by the shop again. Gabriel pulled out a wad of crumpled bills from his pocket. “Two bottles of iced tea please!” Gabriel grinned as he placed the cold bottles in my hands. “Zoe! They’re both for you! Hehe!” I was shocked: “Where… where did you get the money?” “Hehe, I’ve been collecting scrap! There’s some scrap metal on the streets that I gathered to sell! On slow days I’d make 20 cents, but on good days I could earn a whole dollar!” “Next time you want to drink this, I’ll buy it for you anytime!” “Drink up and enjoy!” “In the future, anything others have, I’ll make sure you have too! I’m going to earn lots and lots of money!” Gabriel’s young face shone with ambitious determination. “What do you need so much money for?” I asked, already knowing the answer. “To spend on you, of course! I’ll buy you a whole fridge full of iced tea, haha!” “Who could drink that much?!” I laughed. “If you can’t finish it, we’ll save it. The fridge has power, so it won’t go bad!” I took the iced tea and drank it all in one go! I grinned happily. How could my younger self have known that years later, this bond would be completely worn away… When I woke up, I was still lying on the floor, tears rolling down my cheeks. I struggled to get up and walked to the fridge, taking out a can of iced tea to drink. Feeling a bit better, I went downstairs. I planned to sell off the last of my remaining assets. These days, I had already sold everything I could. The house was practically empty. I had also signed an agreement with the landlord to end the lease early. Now I was just quietly waiting for my final moment to arrive.

As I went downstairs, I ran into Gabriel. “You’ve been selling things recently? I heard you’ve been getting rid of all your belongings, big and small. What, are you planning to leave again?” Gabriel laughed coldly, his eyes flickering with some unclear emotion. “It’s none of your business. Let’s get divorced.” I brought up divorce again. This time Gabriel’s face turned completely ashen. “Fine! We’ll get divorced, but you have to agree to do one thing for me first! Otherwise, no deal!” “Alright, I agree.” After I spoke, Gabriel took me back to “our” home. The wedding photo of Gabriel and me hung prominently in the living room. I sighed. Gabriel, if this is how you feel, why did you go to such lengths to marry me? I looked at Gabriel. Seeming to sense my gaze, he paused for a moment. “Zoe, you look like you’ve lost some weight. Are you feeling unwell?” Gabriel showed a rare moment of tenderness. I laughed bitterly to myself. Unwell? I was at the end of my life, only able to maintain it through painkillers! Gabriel Gabriel, when you find out the truth about everything, will you regret how you’ve treated me? I’m truly curious if you’ll feel even a hint of remorse! “Tell me, what exactly do you want me to do?” I rejected his concern. Rebuffed, his face darkened as he placed the pink phone in front of me. “Zoe, because of you, Tessa’s data is severely damaged. So I need you to help me restore Tessa’s data!” Gabriel said. “Me? How can I help? That’s ridiculous, I don’t know anything about technology.” I frowned, looking at Gabriel’s matter-of-fact expression. “You don’t need to understand the tech. It’s mainly about AI dimensional settings. I’ve already written the code, you just need to input information based on your own life habits.” Gabriel turned on the phone. A sleeping girl appeared on the flickering screen. A series of questions popped up on the interface, like an exam paper for me to fill out. “What’s this?” “Fill in details about your daily life, including your eating habits, thought patterns, personality, education level, views on relationships… and so on!” I was stunned. So this AI was meant to be another me! The previous Tessa wasn’t based on my input, but on what Gabriel had filled in. So that AI looked like me, but her inner self was worlds apart from who I really was. Gabriel had tried countless times to adjust Tessa’s personality to match mine, but always failed. This time, by having me fill it out directly, he could create an AI version of me, in his words. “Gabriel, you’re so childish.” I laughed. Did he really think an AI could truly replicate a human’s thoughts? “The product I’ve developed is world-class. If you just input your actual information, it can definitely replace you. What’s wrong, Zoe? Are you afraid? Afraid that this time, AI really can take your place?” I shook my head. “Whatever makes you happy. I don’t have much time left anyway.” “Zoe! What are you so busy with? What do you mean you don’t have much time? Can’t you spare some time for me? Is whatever you’re doing outside really that important?!” “I’m telling you, if you don’t finish this for me this week, you’re not allowed to leave!” “And your parents said they’ll be coming to supervise too! Not only do you have to perfectly design the AI’s emotional dimensions, you also need to design the family relationship dimensions!” I looked at this man, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. You can’t say he doesn’t love me, yet he’s trying to create an AI to replace me. You can’t say he does love me, because how could he not see my pale face and withered body? I didn’t argue. I sat down in the chair and began inputting the correct answers about myself. From my hobbies to the knowledge I’ve learned, to my views on the world and interpersonal relationships. I was truly curious how Gabriel had managed to compile so many questions! The intense work of writing answers took a toll on my weakened body. My stomach ached and churned. Sweat soaked through my clothes. I thought to myself, for my final moment, I just want to find a deserted island and quietly pass away. I don’t want to die here. So I gathered my strength once more and continued answering the questions. The work was tedious and exhausting. Over the next few days, Gabriel would often peek in from outside the door. He’d bring me lots of delicious food, but I had no appetite at all. “Zoe! Are you really that desperate to leave me? So eager to finish the AI and divorce me that you won’t even eat a bite?!” I couldn’t tell if Gabriel was concerned for me or angry with me. I saw his eyes were rimmed with red. I ignored him and kept writing my answers. Gabriel stormed off, slamming the door. On the third day. My parents came too. They checked my work progress and seemed satisfied. They specifically asked me to remove one trait from the AI – the ability to lie. In other words, everything this new AI said and did would be the truth. As I watched the life I was gradually creating, I also felt full of anticipation. What would this new AI be like?

A week passed. I’m not sure how many times I blacked out. During this week, I had only managed to drink some water. Finally, just before my energy was completely depleted, I finished inputting the AI’s personality. The moment I finished, my parents and Gabriel rushed in. I thought they might give me a hug, but no one paid any attention to me. They were all excitedly examining the AI I had just created. This new AI looked and acted 100% like me! I believed she truly was the next me! As I watched them celebrate joyfully, I quietly slipped out of the room, leaning on the wall for support. Their happiness belonged to them. My next step was to find a secluded place to leave this world. After buying a bottle of water, I took a cab to the place I had chosen to depart from. It was a cliff overlooking the sea. The cool ocean breeze on my face gave me a moment of peace. I lay down at the edge of the cliff, feeling my life slipping away. Then I slowly closed my eyes and jumped from the cliff into the sea, finally leaving this world behind.

Gabriel and my parents excitedly conversed with the AI. “Tessa, do you know who I am?” Gabriel asked. “Of course, you’re my husband Gabriel Quinn. You’re the person I love most,” Tessa replied gracefully from the phone. “Then… do you know who we are?” My parents crowded around, looking nervously at Tessa on the screen. “You’re my Mom and Dad. I love you too!” Tessa said with a cheerful smile. My parents and Gabriel all breathed sighs of relief. They asked many more questions, and Tessa’s answers were identical to how I would respond! They grew even more excited! It was as if they had gained another daughter! Gabriel started chatting freely with Tessa. This Tessa would never leave Gabriel, and he adored her even more. “Tessa, do you remember what your favorite drink is?” Gabriel lay on the bed, cradling the phone as if holding Tessa in his arms. “Iced tea, of course!” Tessa laughed. “Why iced tea? What’s so great about that stuff?” Gabriel chuckled. “Because in my memory, when I was little and wanted iced tea, you collected scrap for a whole month just to buy me two bottles. I really felt it was the most delicious drink in the world! Because of you, iced tea became more than just iced tea!” Tessa giggled, her sweet expression making Gabriel laugh. “You’re so silly.” Gabriel said fondly. “I’m not silly, you designed me this way~” Tessa replied. “I see, I had forgotten…” Gabriel furrowed his brow, as if remembering something. He asked again: “So tell me, would you ever leave me?” “Of course not! I’m artificial intelligence, I’ll never leave you!” Tessa said confidently. “What if… you weren’t AI? What if you were a normal human like me?” Gabriel pressed. Tessa pondered for a moment before answering: “Under normal circumstances, I would never leave you… because I love you! But… if something happened to me… like if I was dying, and I knew the news would break your heart, I might leave you… then find a place to quietly pass away on my own.” Gabriel’s mind exploded. How could this be?! “Tessa! How could you say such a thing?” Gabriel asked in horror, an uneasy feeling growing in his mind.

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At the CEO’s birthday banquet, I accidentally wore the dress of his late wife. His ten-year-old son shoved me into the champagne tower in front of everyone. He stood there, watching indifferently as I struggled on the floor, blood streaming down my body. His expression mirrored his father’s, cold and emotionless. “Wearing my mom’s dress doesn’t make you her. “You’re just my dad’s secretary. I can have him fire you!” Cold champagne soaked me to the bone. I lay there weakly, staring at the child I’d raised for ten years. “Don’t bother. I’ll submit my resignation tomorrow.” Ten-year-old Nash Vincent’s eyes were icy, sharp enough to cut. I took the shawl handed to me by the maid and turned to go back to my room to change. The hem of my dress snagged on the table corner, ripping a long tear down the fabric. “You ruined it! That was my mom’s favorite dress!” The previously mocking Nash instantly transformed into a furious little lion. His eyes were burning with anger as he glared at me, hatred written all over his young face. I looked at him with a complex expression. “Nash, you’re lying.” Nash’s mother always preferred luxurious styles; she would never have liked such a simple, elegant dress. Caught in his lie, Nash looked guilty. He stomped and stormed off. I didn’t chase after him to comfort him as usual, letting him vent his anger. After the guests had left, I returned to my room alone. As I opened the door, a dead dog dangled in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. Bright red blood dripped to the floor, staining my shoes and soaking Snowball’s soft fur. I was stunned, and before I could recover, Nash’s shrill laughter exploded behind me. “Serves you right! You took my mom away, now I’ll make you feel the pain of losing what you love!” He made a face at me and ran off triumphantly. I stared at the shocking pool of blood on the floor, unable to speak for a long time. Years ago, I arrived in this city with nothing but a small suitcase. I was hired to work for the Vincent family. The Vincent Villa was vast, but it felt more like a gilded cage than a home. They stripped me of all my hobbies, leaving me with nothing but a demanding child and a spoiled little dog. It took me ten years to raise them. But losing them happened in an instant. After a sigh, I caught the familiar scent of fir. Looking up, Maddox Vincent stood quietly before me. Maddox and Nash were two sides of the same coin, equally arrogant and cold. He stood there with his arms slightly open, expecting me to change his clothes like always, while saying, “I heard about what happened today. “Stella, you were in the wrong first.” Seeing my lack of response, he frowned, clearly displeased. He glanced at the glaring blood on the floor, his tone softening slightly. “Nash is still young. Just let him have his way.” With a look from Maddox, someone immediately came to clean up the blood on the floor. The lights were dim, the shadows hazy. Snowball, who had once played around the table, seemed as if he had never existed. Just like me, who had cared for them day in and day out for ten years, yet never left even a trace in the hearts of them. After changing, Maddox sat on the sofa, gently tapping the table to signal me to pour coffee. I instinctively complied. As I approached, he pulled me into his arms. His fingertips gently brushed my cheek as he said in a low voice, “It’s your birthday tonight. Skip the pill. If you get pregnant, well, that’s your gift to me.” His warm breath on my neck sent a chill through my bones. Maddox had a strong appetite in that regard. In my first month at the Vincent Villa, I was found to be pregnant. Before I could even feel anything, I was handed an abortion pill and told to take it. “In this lifetime, I only love Sylvia, and I will only acknowledge Nash as my child. “If you had a child, you might develop other thoughts and wouldn’t be able to take good care of Nash.” After that, he would always watch me take the contraceptive pill. For ten years, without fail. Tonight, I was supposed to be grateful and give him what he wanted. But for the first time, I avoided his touch. “Mr. Vincent, our ten-year agreement is over. I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

Whatever warmth and hope I once had were long gone. Maddox snapped, “Nash is just a kid! “As his… nanny, it’s your job to raise him right. I haven’t held you accountable, yet you dare to throw a tantrum?” Nanny? I let out a dry laugh at that word. Years ago, Maddox fell head over heels for my friend, Sylvia Olsen. Despite his family’s disapproval, he married her anyway, and the Olsen family quickly climbed the social ladder thanks to him. They went from a nobody family in the middle of nowhere to high society almost overnight. After marriage, they were inseparable, deeply in love. But fate had other plans. Sylvia died giving birth. Fearing the loss of support, the Olsen family sent me, their adopted daughter, as a replacement. Maddox, deeply in love with Sylvia, refused to remarry but couldn’t bear to see young Nash left uncared for. So the two families made a ten-year arrangement: I would stay at the Vincent Villa as a so-called personal assistant. Though called a personal assistant, I had no formal employment contract or legal protection. My entire life was defined by a single piece of paper. Looking back, it was almost laughable. I raised Nash for ten years. Technically, I was still single. I collected my thoughts and calmly said, “I’m not throwing a tantrum. The agreement has expired. “Staying here without a defined role will only stir up gossip for you and Nash.” Maddox’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly. His gaze was probing, but his tone softened. “If you’d have a child for the Vincent family, I will include you and the child in the family registry, giving you the status you deserve…” “No, thank you.” No one would willingly lower themselves like that. In this life, I had suffered enough as an illegitimate child. How could I bear to let my child endure the same? I straightened my clothes and retrieved the company seal and documents related to the Vincent family’s assets from the bedroom. “I’ve already sorted out all the accounts. Sylvia’s people will take over my responsibilities. “Nash has grown up. He should be taught by professional tutors. I’m not qualified to teach him anymore.” Maddox waved his hand dismissively. The priceless property documents and the agreement were scattered on the floor like trash. He stepped on them without hesitation. “Stella, don’t push your luck. “Considering it’s your birthday, I’ll let it slide. “Stay in your room for the next few days and think about what you’ve done.” The heavy mahogany door closed, separating us into two worlds. I looked up at the sky, watching the faint glow drift away until it vanished. I couldn’t help but smile. It was a sky lantern, lit to celebrate my birthday and pray for blessings. But today wasn’t my birthday. It was the day Maddox first met Sylvia. The night before I was sent to the Vincent Villa, my adoptive mother came to me. She told me to memorize everything about Sylvia and imitate her every move. “Stella, you must impress him. Only then will you have a place in the Vincent family.” Her eyes burned with intensity, her tone leaving no room for doubt. As she predicted, Maddox, who cared little for anything, remembered my birthday. It was the one day of the year I looked forward to. Only on this day could I feel a hint of familial warmth, briefly held in his thoughts. But stolen things must eventually be returned. As I sighed, a sharp pain shot through my forehead. Nash stood on the wall, proudly holding a slingshot. “If you keep clinging to the Vincent Villa, one day it won’t be a stone hitting your head, but a bullet!” He was proud of his marksmanship. He completely forgot I was the one who taught him how to shoot and drive fast cars. Yet, ten years had passed. Maddox treated me as invisible, and Nash seemed eager for me to vanish immediately.

“It’s cold at night. Don’t catch a chill.” I gave him one last reminder before turning and heading back to my bedroom. The next morning, my adoptive mother showed up in a panic and blocked the doorway. Just like ten years ago, she dropped to her knees, begging. “Stella, Nash still needs you. “Your father and brother depend on Maddox’s support, and the Olsen kids rely on you too. You can’t just walk away on a whim.” I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “You’ve said all that, but have you ever asked how I’ve been?” She was stunned. A car pulled up outside, cutting her off mid-sentence. A woman stepped in, all elegance and charm. As soon as she entered, Nash rushed over and threw himself into her arms. “Monica, I’ve missed you so much!” Hand in hand, they walked right past me without so much as a greeting. The scent of her perfume lingered as the housemaids started whispering, “Poor Ms. Spears spent years trying to win over Mr. Vincent and his kid, and now she’s not even worth a footnote in the family.” “Yesterday she was desperate to leave, and today she’s changed her mind,” someone sneered. “Probably panicked when Monica showed up, afraid of losing her position.” Nash lifted his little face, nuzzling into Monica Stewart’s arms, his voice sweet and syrupy. “Dad’s been waiting for you. Let’s go see him. “I like Monica best. You smell pretty and talk nicely, not like someone who always acts like a naggy hillbilly.” I stood there, frozen, feeling as if something had stabbed my heart. I grew up in the south, and when I first moved here, nothing felt familiar. The cold hit like a blade, and I got sick so often that I barely pulled through. The servants mocked me for being uncouth, refusing even to bring me medicine. Back then, only little Nash stayed by my side, whispering sweetly, “Stella, get better soon. You look so cool when you ride your bike.” That little boy who once never left my side had now become a sharp thorn, piercing my heart. This turn of events was something I never could have imagined. Monica smiled politely, every move calculated and graceful. But her words carried a subtle dig. “Don’t take what a kid says too seriously, Ms. Spears.” I ignored her and turned to help my adoptive mother up. “You see, Maddox and Nash are never short of people to care for them.” Monica was the second daughter of the Stewart Group. With her striking resemblance to Sylvia, she could freely enter the study I was barred from, effortlessly winning the hearts of both father and son. My adoptive mother stood up, her earlier sorrow gone, and coldly demanded. “Are you really leaving?” “I won’t waste my life stuck in this gilded cage, chasing after two men who couldn’t care less about me,” I said firmly. With a loud smack, she slapped me hard across the face. “You’re hopeless,” she scolded. “If I hadn’t taken you in, you’d have drowned in that river years ago! How can you be so heartless? You’re worse than the Olsen family’s dog.” As she raised her hand for another slap, I caught her wrist. “They raised me until I was eight. I gave them ten years in return. “We’re even now,” I said, staring into her eyes. For ten years, I endured Maddox’s cold indifference. In the Vincent Villa, I managed every detail. I treated Nash as my own son, giving him all my love and care. I had done my best, with a clear conscience. The only person I had failed was myself. My adoptive mother left in a rage, her persuasion unsuccessful. I turned around and met Maddox’s unfathomable gaze.

His expression was cold, like he was looking at a disobedient pet. He tossed a remark my way, casual and dismissive. “Stella, you’re smart. You know leaving the Vincent family means you’ll have nothing. “I’ve had someone find a prettier dog for you. I’ll send it over later.” He spoke casually, like he was doing me a favor, “If Nash gets too annoying, Monica can help you take care of him. I’ve already had the room prepared for her to stay here.” In Maddox’s script, I was supposed to be overwhelmed, then meticulously arranged everything for Monica, playing the role of the virtuous and dutiful wife. But I was truly tired of it all. “Let the butler handle it. I’m leaving.” Monica stepped out gracefully from behind Maddox, her voice soft. “You don’t seem too pleased. Maybe I should leave. “Ms. Spears is a noble lady. Someone like me, a divorced woman with a child, naturally wouldn’t meet your standards.” She hadn’t taken more than a few steps before Maddox stopped her. “Why belittle yourself? A woman’s happiness depends entirely on a man’s opinion,” he said, glancing at me before scooping Monica into his arms. Soon, the sound of their heavy breathing drifted from the study, leaving people flushed and embarrassed in broad daylight. Nash made a face at me. “I want Monica to be with Dad. She’s not like you, a vain and wicked woman.” I stared hard at the little brat I’d raised, wanting to hear what he’d say. “Is that really what you think?”

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My best friend Olivia and I were both adopted as fake heiresses. After an accidental fall into water, we both gained a new set of memories. We learned that the real heiress, once found, would seek revenge on us for stealing her life for over a decade. So Olivia and I decided to seek protection. She chose the cold and aloof older brother, while I seduced the dark and unpredictable younger brother. But when the real heiress returned, things started to turn against us. Olivia and I pooled our secret savings and decided to make a graceful exit. Two years later, we were caught at the airport. The unpredictable younger brother, Ethan, imprisoned me and smiled coldly, “Lily, you’ve been such a naughty girl, leaving me for so long. How should I punish you, hmm?” As Olivia was slapped to the ground, I was trembling under the bed. “I told you, I didn’t do anything! Why won’t you believe me?” Olivia sobbed, tears falling from her reddened eyes. As she cried, she glanced at me, tucking the hem of my dress that was peeking out from under the bed. “Emma wouldn’t lie to me,” Nathan looked down at Olivia coldly, his eyes like glaciers. “Besides, if it wasn’t you, who else could it be? Did Emma throw herself down the stairs?!” Olivia cried heartbrokenly, “We’ve known each other for ten years. Don’t you know what kind of person I am? If she wouldn’t lie to you, do you think I’m capable of doing such a thing?!” Her voice, choked with sobs, made even my heart ache. But Nathan’s voice remained ice-cold, “She’s back now, which means you’re about to lose everything you once had. People will do anything for money, won’t they?” “Nathan! Is your heart made of stone? I’ve followed you for so many years, is this what you think of me?” Olivia struggled to her knees, clutching Nathan’s clothes, begging through tears, “Please, believe me, okay? I really didn’t touch her. She fell by herself. Please believe me…” Another resounding slap followed. Olivia was knocked to the ground again. Then came Nathan’s warning voice, “You’d better pray Emma is alright. If anything happens to her, I’ll have your life!” With that, Nathan turned to leave. Olivia cried and chased after him, “Don’t go, Nathan, please, don’t go…” But the door was slammed shut mercilessly. Only when I heard the sound of a car engine starting downstairs did I slowly crawl out from under the bed. Olivia was taking selfies with her phone, pouting. “You know, my teary-eyed, pitiful look is quite photogenic.” I was speechless. Walking over, I examined both sides of her face. “Your guy is quite considerate, slapping both cheeks evenly.” “It hurts like hell,” she grumbled, taking out a first-aid kit from the bedside table and applying ointment to her face. “This isn’t working. If things keep going this way, we’re definitely going to lose to Emma.” “What should we do?” I asked, “That Emma has a thousand tricks up her sleeve. In less than half a year since she’s been back, look at how much we’ve suffered!” Olivia’s expression turned serious, “We can’t rely on men anymore. Let’s plan our escape.”

Olivia and I grew up together in an orphanage. When we were ten, because one of us had similar eyes and the other had a similar mouth, Mr. and Mrs. Lin adopted us from the orphanage to comfort their longing for their lost daughter. We enjoyed eight years of life as young heiresses. At eighteen, Olivia and I both fell into water. When we woke up, we had gained a new set of memories. In these memories, the real heiress would be found when we turned twenty-one. She would seek revenge on us for stealing her life of luxury for over a decade, launching a series of vicious attacks. In the end, after her repeated framing and slander, Olivia and I would be tortured to death by the two brothers. After this revelation, we decided to seek protection. She chose the cold and aloof older brother, while I seduced the dark and unpredictable younger brother. Though these two men had vastly different personalities, they did have something in common. They were both incredibly handsome and unbelievably rich. Filthy rich. Either one of them alone could dominate the entire city of New York. For three years, Olivia and I used every trick in the book to develop somewhat improper relationships with them. We played the roles of hopelessly devoted lovers while using unlimited black cards to splurge everywhere. Until the real heiress, Emma, returned. At first, we were able to cleverly dodge her little schemes. But Olivia and I together couldn’t make up one complete brain, and gradually we became overwhelmed, starting to stumble repeatedly. Especially this time. Emma directly framed Olivia for pushing her down the stairs, cleverly using the camera angles to create the illusion that Olivia had pushed her. In an instant, Olivia became the target of everyone’s anger. And our big brother Nathan, Olivia’s chosen protector, still chose to blindly believe Emma. If this continues, we’ll probably still end up being tortured to death. “Plan A seems to have failed,” Olivia started rummaging through drawers and cabinets. “We can start preparing Plan B now.” “Right now it’s me who’s stumbled, Nathan will at most torture me mentally. When that real heiress targets you, with your guy’s methods, you’ll probably die even more miserably.” Thinking of Ethan’s face, I immediately nodded in agreement. “Right, let’s run, quick!” Ethan and Nathan were half-brothers with different mothers. Nathan took his father’s surname, while Ethan took his mother’s. Unlike Nathan, everything Ethan owned was earned through his own abilities, carved out of a sea of blood. I once saw him stab a knife into the eye of someone who tried to harm me, then calmly wipe the blood off his face, take my hand, and casually end that person’s life with a single word. This scene haunted my nightmares for a long time after. I heard that when Ethan was young, he was very close to his biological sister. If Emma were to frame me, that knife would probably end up in my eye. Olivia finally took out a stack of documents from a drawer with three locks, dumping them all on the bed. Looking at the pile of bank books and new identity documents, my eyes lit up. “You’re still the best, preparing everything so thoroughly.” Olivia gave me an exasperated look, “What else? Rely on you? If we relied on you, we’d both starve to death in the future.” From the day we decided to change our fate three years ago, Olivia and I had been planning two strategies simultaneously, just in case. For three years, we saved every penny we could, entrusting it all to Olivia, who studied finance, to manage. Now it had become a considerable sum. “How are we going to escape?” I asked her. Olivia took out two pieces of paper, writing “kidnapping” and “suicide” on them respectively, crumpling them into balls, and letting me choose. “If you pick suicide, you die first. If kidnapping, you die later.” I rubbed my hands together, mentally pointing back and forth between the two options. Everyone would want to choose suicide, to die first and be done with it. The person who gets kidnapped not only has to act out one last play but also face various unexpected situations, which is thankless work. After praying to my ancestors for eighteen generations to bless me, I still ended up choosing kidnapping. I let out a wail. Olivia made a sympathetic sound, “No choice, it’s fate. Sorry about that~”

Plan B officially launched, and our escape countdown began. Olivia prepared to act out a few more scenes of heartbreak, pretending to have depression and visiting a psychiatrist a few times to get some reports for show. I came back to wait obediently for instructions, while also figuring out how to get some more pocket money from Ethan. After all, who doesn’t like having more money? Not long after I got home, Ethan returned, looking travel-worn. I sat obediently in the living room, smiling as I waited for him. He threw off his coat and pulled me into his arms, his cool fingertips brushing across my lips. I thought he was going to kiss me, so I gently closed my eyes. But after a while, his lips didn’t touch mine. I opened my eyes to find his obsidian-like eyes studying me coldly. My heart skipped a beat. “Your location system was turned off this afternoon. Where did you go?” “I went shopping. My phone died, and I only charged it when I got home.” To prove myself, I handed him my phone that had just been charged. “Mm, good girl.” He patted my head like he was petting a puppy, then produced a strawberry cake as if by magic. “I bought this for you.” My eyes lit up, and I snuggled into his arms, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Unlike Nathan, Ethan had an almost obsessive possessiveness. What he wanted was a detailed response and equally passionate love for everything. Ethan was an illegitimate child, and his mother had passed away when he was very young. At eight years old, he was brought back to the Lin family. But the Lin family wasn’t kind to him. Throughout his childhood, only Emma, who was like an angel, showed him any affection. I also knew that in his heart, I was far less important than the real Emma. But when Ethan was with me, he was very good to me. To others, he was violent and fierce, but in front of me, he always tried his best to be gentle. I feared the bloody smell that often clung to him, so he would always shower before coming to see me. He learned that I liked sweets, so he would bring me various desserts almost every time he came back. Emotionally, he gave me a sense of security. Materially, I never lacked for anything. He even bought an entire island for me, decorating it exactly the way I liked. On the balcony of the villa, we kissed passionately in the sea breeze. He left deep and shallow bite marks on my neck, “If I ever lose sight of you again, I’ll lock you up, on this island.” “Only I can see you, touch you, like this…” His hands explored deeper, and I, red-eyed, gradually surrendered to his dominance. For a moment, I even entertained the thought of staying by Ethan’s side for a lifetime. But I knew I couldn’t. More than love, I hoped to live freely in the future. “Ethan…” In the heat of passion, I chanted his name over and over. And he, bit by bit, pressed me deeper. In the dead of night, Ethan woke up but didn’t see me. He searched the entire villa before finally finding me facing the sea. I wore only a coat, my thin figure swaying in the sea breeze. “I told you, you’re not allowed to leave my sight, ever.” Ethan embraced me from behind, his domineering lips kissing from my neck to my ear. When he saw my tear-stained face, he froze. “Why are you crying?” “Will you marry me?” I asked him, my tear-filled eyes full of uncertainty and pain. I had approached Ethan with a purpose, and to please him, I played the role of an obedient girl as best I could. In every aspect, we were perfectly compatible. This was the first time, in front of him, that I asked for a formal commitment. He frowned but didn’t say a word. My tears fell harder, “It’s been three years, and no one knows I exist in your life. I can’t see any future.” “Ethan, tell me you’ll marry me, okay? Even if… even if it’s a lie, please?” He let go of me. I anxiously grabbed him, the light in my eyes shattering bit by bit, “What am I to you? You won’t even lie to me?” The phone rang at that moment. He answered it. It was from the hospital, and I clearly heard the doctor’s voice on the other end. Emma had woken up from her coma. After hanging up, Ethan turned to leave. I cried and threw myself at him, begging in a humble tone, “Don’t go, stay, stay with me, please?” He shook me off, his expression cold, his tone full of undisguised irritation. “Lily, I don’t like women who don’t know their place.”

I stood by the sea, watching his yacht cut across the water. The entire island was left with just me. I threw the eye drops I had used to fake tears into the trash can, then ran up and down the villa several times, digging out all the private money I had hidden in various corners. Three cards, and some valuable but inconspicuous trinkets. After packing up my belongings, I called Olivia. She had everything prepared on her end too. The next day, before leaving the island, I sent messages to Ethan every few minutes as usual. The content was all crazy talk I found online. Things like “If you don’t pay attention to me, I’ll die” and such. Sure enough, when I tried to send another message, it showed a red exclamation mark. Ethan had blocked me. A woman who wasn’t obedient enough, he wouldn’t even bother to comfort. This was good too. I had achieved my goal and could finally send Olivia off properly.

Emma had woken up, but the doctor said that the fall had caused permanent nerve damage in one of her legs, and she might never be able to stand again. “This Olivia is too much!” Nathan was furious. He held Emma’s hand tightly, “I will definitely give you justice for this, sister.” Emma’s eyes reddened, and large tears fell uncontrollably. She kept shaking her head. “It’s the two sisters who have been with you day and night for over a decade, not me.” “I suddenly came back and took everything that should have belonged to them. It’s understandable that they hate me.” “It’s okay, brother. It’s just one leg. Don’t cause trouble for Olivia because of me.” “As long as you brothers are happy and our family can be together, I don’t mind what happens to me.” Compared to Olivia’s willfulness and selfishness, Emma’s self-sacrifice made Nathan feel even more guilty. Originally, he still held out hope, thinking this might all be an accident. But hearing Emma’s words, even if he didn’t want to admit it, he had to believe. His woman had actually crippled his own sister. Nathan took out his phone, his face cold, and dialed a number. The line was busy. He tried several more times, but then it went straight to voicemail. Just as he was about to try again, he received a call from me. “What do you want?!” Nathan’s angry shout almost made me forget the script I had prepared. After a while, I finally remembered my task and anxiously recited my lines. “It’s terrible, Nathan. I just got a call from Olivia. She was crying non-stop, saying she was in so much pain, that she couldn’t go on living. It was like she was leaving her last words.” “Now I can’t reach her no matter how I call. Did Olivia do something stupid? I can’t get away right now, you need to go check on her immediately!” Nathan just laughed coldly, his tone full of sarcasm. “Enough, Lily. Are you trying to deceive me along with Olivia now? Tell her, I’m tired of these little tricks!” “This time she crippled Emma, and she thinks she can escape responsibility with this method?” “Impossible! She’d better have committed suicide, otherwise, I’ll make her pay for her evil deeds!” With that, he hung up without giving me a chance to speak.

After hanging up, Nathan stared at the several unanswered calls he had made, lost in thought. Amid his anger, his heart felt inexplicably empty. As if something had disappeared. “Brother, I just heard. Is Olivia really going to commit suicide?” Emma’s face showed anxious concern. “Then you should hurry back to check on her. I’ll be fine here. Olivia is more important.” Nathan frowned, “Emma, you’re still too kind. You don’t understand how wicked people can be.” “She’s used this trick more than once. It’s just to escape responsibility. Don’t worry about it.” He walked over and tucked Emma’s blanket in. “Don’t worry, I will give you justice. I won’t let you suffer in vain.” Emma lowered her eyes, biting her lower lip lightly. A tear hung at the corner of her eye before finally falling. She whimpered, burying herself in Nathan’s arms pitifully. “Brother… I just wanted our family to accept me. Why did it turn out like this…” Nathan, who had planned to go home and check, saw Emma’s fragile and pitiful state and ultimately softened, deciding to stay with her. As night fell, Nathan looked at the sleeping Emma behind him, opened his phone, and stared at the empty chat window with Olivia. He tried calling her again. It was still the cold robotic voice of the switched-off prompt. He sat on a bench, looking at the bright moon in the sky, and rubbed his somewhat empty-feeling heart. He carefully recalled the events of the past few days. It seemed that since Emma’s return, he had been neglecting Olivia. During this time, she had mostly been crying, breaking down in tears, hysterical due to his distrust. Even at the end, when he was leaving, he saw her kneeling on the ground, begging him so pitifully. But at that time, he seemed to not even look at her, and even said harsh words to her. Thinking of this, Nathan suddenly stood up, pacing anxiously on the balcony for several rounds, before finally calling me again. “Did you find Olivia? Tell her to stop throwing a tantrum and call me back immediately.” “Yes, I found Olivia,” my voice sounded hoarse, as if I had just been crying. “But unfortunately, she can’t call you anymore.” “She’s dead. Suicide. She took sleeping pills and set herself on fire.” “She didn’t even want to leave you a complete corpse. Are you satisfied now?” The other end of the line suddenly went quiet. Nathan was silent for a long time. If it weren’t for his increasingly rapid breathing, I would have thought the call had been disconnected. “Lily, this joke isn’t funny.” “Now, immediately, let Olivia contact me. I can overlook her pushing Emma. Just let her…” “If you don’t believe me, you can come back anytime,” I interrupted him, my voice breaking into sobs again. “We just found her body.”

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