Category: English

On the day the school district posted the disciplinary notices for the AP exams, my mildly autistic younger sister, Chloe, took a three-hour bus ride to my house. She stood outside my study door for a long time, clutching the notification stamped with “Cheating Investigation Pending” in red ink, before she finally found the courage to walk in. “Julian… I was the only one in that testing room. I swear I didn’t cheat.” Her voice was barely a whisper, as if she was terrified of bothering anyone. My husband, Julian Carter, was the Head of the Academic Integrity Board. Nobody knew the rules of single-student testing rooms better than him. Yet, he didn’t even look up from his laptop. “Being alone in the room doesn’t prove your innocence, Chloe. If you have a grievance, take it up with the Ethics Committee.” Chloe froze. Her hand, which had been reaching out to show him the paper, hovered in the air. She didn’t know what to do with herself. Slowly, she folded the letter and stuffed it back into the pocket of her faded denim jacket. It was a clean jacket. She had ironed it herself just to look presentable for Julian. My throat tightened. But as I turned my head, my eyes caught the document open on Julian’s laptop screen. *Application for the ‘Academic Integrity Star’ and Early Decision Ivy League Recommendation for Scarlett Vance.* Scarlett Vance. She was the younger sister of Serena Vance—Julian’s first love, his “one that got away.” She was also the sole witness who had reported my sister for cheating. There was zero security footage, zero physical evidence. It was just Scarlett’s word against Chloe’s. As Chloe bent down to tie her sneakers at the entryway, her knee hit the shoe cabinet with a dull thud. She quickly waved her hand at me, trying to smile. “I’m fine, Nina. Julian is busy. Don’t let me get in the way of his important work.” I stood by the door, my fingernails digging deep into my palms. This neglected, emotionally exhausting marriage—I was completely done with it.

“Nina? Why are you just standing by the door staring into space?” Julian walked out of the study, holding an empty coffee mug. “Chloe didn’t bring an umbrella. It’s pouring outside.” I turned around to grab the umbrella from the entryway rack. “She’s a grown girl. She can just call an Uber,” Julian said smoothly. His tone was warm and gentle. It was as if the cold, power-tripping man in the study just minutes ago didn’t exist. “She has autism, Julian. When it rains, she gets too overwhelmed to even speak to strangers. She can’t call an Uber.” I quickly slipped on my shoes and ran out into the pouring rain. By the time I reached the bus stop, the last bus heading to the outer suburbs was already pulling away. The icy rain pelted my face, freezing me to the bone. When I got back home, I didn’t even take off my soaked coat. I marched straight to the living room medicine cabinet. Chloe had gotten drenched. She was already physically weak from the stress, and the last time she ran a high fever, she almost had a seizure. I opened the white first-aid kit. The three boxes of imported cooling patches and liquid fever reducers that I always kept on the top shelf were gone. “Don’t bother looking, Nina.” Julian walked in from the balcony, just finishing a phone call. He casually took off his suit jacket and handed it to me. “Scarlett caught a cold from the rain and was sneezing. She has a delicate immune system, so I stopped by and gave her those meds just in case.” He said it so naturally, as if he were merely telling me what he wanted for dinner. My hand holding the empty medicine box froze in mid-air. “Chloe almost had a seizure the last time she had a fever. Those specific meds were prescribed and imported just for her.” I stared at him, my voice cracking. Julian sighed, walking over to wrap his arms around me. “Don’t be so sensitive all the time, Nina.” “Chloe has autism. Her pain tolerance is much higher than normal people.” “But Scarlett is different. She has a major art exhibition tomorrow. She can’t afford to be sick.” “Be a good girl. You can just buy more for Chloe tomorrow.” I took a step back, dodging his touch. “Those are Chloe’s emergency meds. You didn’t even bother to ask me before giving them all to Scarlett?” Julian frowned slightly, looking at me with the patronizing patience one might show to a throwing-tantrum child. “Scarlett is Serena’s sister. Serena trusted me to look after her before she moved to Europe.” “I can’t just stand by and watch her sickness ruin her future.” “Besides, Chloe’s disciplinary case isn’t finalized yet, and Scarlett is the key witness.” “If you treat Scarlett a little better right now, maybe she’ll soften up and drop the cheating accusation against Chloe.” I stared at the handsome, sophisticated man in front of me. He always found the most noble excuses to justify his cruelest actions. “Chloe did not cheat,” I said, pronouncing every single word clearly. “She was the only one in that room.” “Scarlett accuses her with zero proof, and you just blindly believe her.” “You’d rather trust an outsider than my sister?” Julian rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted. “I am the Head of the Academic Integrity Board. I have to be responsible for all students.” “Scarlett has been an honors student her whole life. She has no reason to frame Chloe.” “And let’s be real—Chloe can barely speak a coherent sentence on normal days. How could she suddenly solve the extra-credit advanced calculus problem at the end of the exam?” He turned toward the bathroom. “Is my bath ready? I have an important district board meeting tomorrow morning.” I stood frozen, watching his tall back walk away. We had been married for three years. To take care of his daily life, I had resigned from my dream job as a senior data analyst. I thought my sacrifices and patience would buy his respect and care for Chloe. But instead, he dragged my boundaries through the mud just to please his ex-girlfriend’s sister. “Run the water yourself,” I said quietly. Julian stopped in his tracks and looked back at me, seemingly surprised. “Nina, stop throwing a tantrum. Go make me some hot ginger soup. I want it after my bath.” He wasn’t angry. He just spoke in that usual, commanding tone, absolutely certain that I wouldn’t dare refuse him. I ignored him completely. I pulled out my phone and called Chloe’s landlady. “Hi, Mrs. Gable. Could you please check on Chloe for me? If she has a fever, please call me immediately.” After hanging up, I threw Julian’s suit jacket onto the sofa. The sound of running water came from the bathroom. I walked out to the balcony, staring into the pitch-black, rainy night. My phone screen lit up. It was a Snapchat message from Scarlett. “Thanks for the meds, Nina! Julian is such a lifesaver. The cooling patches work like a charm! ❤️” Attached was a selfie of her with a cooling patch on her forehead. The background was the luxurious leather interior of the sports car Julian had gifted her. I didn’t reply. I just swiped left on her chat and deleted it. The rain grew heavier, rattling against the glass. One by one, I turned off all the lights in the living room. Julian came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. “Nina, where’s my soup?” In the darkness, the only sound was the water dripping from his towel onto the floor. “I didn’t make any,” I said from the sofa, my voice flat. He paused, then switched on the light. “What is wrong with you today? Are you seriously throwing a fit over a few boxes of cheap medicine?” “Fine. Tomorrow I’ll have my assistant buy ten boxes and send them to Chloe. Satisfied?” He walked over, towering over me. “I’ve had a exhausting day at work. Can you please be a little supportive?” I looked up into his eyes. “Julian, do you honestly think this is just about a few boxes of medicine?” His frown deepened. “Then what? What else do you want me to do?” “Go apologize to Chloe? Or humiliate Scarlett?” “Nina, you’re an adult. Stop acting like a prickly teenager.” I looked down, digging my nails into my palms. I didn’t say another word. Because I realized that no matter what I said, in this man’s eyes, I would always be the one who was “unreasonable.” He honestly believed that a few cheap favors could always keep me quiet and obedient. I stood up, walked past him, and headed to the bedroom. “I’m staying somewhere else for a few days starting tomorrow.” Julian let out a soft, arrogant chuckle behind me. “Sure. Take a few days to cool off. Just don’t forget to pack my daily stomach meds into my organizer before you go.”

The next morning, carrying the newly bought medicine and cooling patches, I took a three-hour bus ride to the rundown suburban trailer park where Chloe lived. When I pushed the door open, the room smelled of damp mold. Chloe was curled up on her single bed, her forehead burning hot. Biting back my tears, I gave her the medicine and placed a fresh cooling patch on her forehead. She was delirious with fever, but her hand was clutching a piece of drawing paper with a death grip. “Nina… didn’t… didn’t cheat…” she mumbled. I gently pried her fingers open and pulled the paper out. It was a drawing of a sunflower, completely filled with complex numbers and intersecting lines. To anyone else, it looked like random, chaotic graffiti. But I knew better. This was Chloe’s encrypted visual diary. Because of her autism, she used this unique system to record everything that happened to her daily. By noon, Chloe’s fever finally broke. She sat up, carefully smoothing out the drawing on the desk, and began adding more numbers with a pencil. Just then, there was a knock on the door. I went to open it. Julian was standing outside holding a fruit basket. Beside him was Scarlett, wearing a designer dress and holding a Starbucks iced latte. “Nina, I brought Scarlett to see Chloe,” Julian said warmly. He walked right in, putting the fruit basket on a scratched coffee table. “While you’re here, make some homemade lobster bisque for Scarlett. She said she’s craving it.” He wasn’t here to visit my sick sister. He was here to order me around. I stared at his entitled face and didn’t move an inch. “There’s no lobster here, and there’s no kitchen for that.” Scarlett wandered around the tiny studio, pinching her nose in disgust. “Julian, this place is so gross and sketchy. The air smells weird.” She walked over to Chloe’s desk, her eyes landing on the paper. “Ooh, what’s this?” She reached out to grab Chloe’s drawing. Like a cat getting its tail stepped on, Chloe violently lunged forward to shield the paper. “Don’t… Don’t touch it!” Chloe’s voice shook with terror. Scarlett gasped, taking a step back and looking at Julian with pouty, tearful eyes. “Julian, I just wanted to look at it. Why is Chloe being so mean to me?” Julian’s face darkened. He walked over and grabbed Chloe by her shoulder. “Chloe, stop being rude.” Scarlett stared at the drawing, a calculating glint in her eyes. “Julian, my art exhibition tomorrow is actually missing a piece of modern abstract art.” “This messy drawing actually fits my theme of ‘Chaos and Order’ perfectly.” She tugged at Julian’s sleeve, whining. Without a second thought, Julian reached down and snatched the drawing right out from under Chloe’s arm. “Be good, Chloe. It’s just a piece of scrap paper.” “Scarlett needs this for her portfolio to get into her dream college. Think of the bigger picture.” “I’ll buy you a strawberry cake later.” Chloe panicked. Lacking the words to express her distress, she desperately reached out to grab it back. “Give it back! It’s mine!” In the struggle, Chloe’s wrist slammed hard against the sharp metal edge of the desk. There was a sickening *thud*. Chloe pulled her hand back, whimpering. The fair skin on the back of her hand instantly swelled up, a dark purple bruise forming at a terrifying speed. She didn’t cry out loud. She just bit her lip raw, tears welling up in her eyes. I rushed over, shielding Chloe behind my back. “Julian, give the drawing back. Now.” I glared at the paper in his hand. Julian handed the drawing to Scarlett and looked at me coldly. “Nina, is this how you raise your sister?” “Scarlett is just borrowing it. She’ll return it.” “A child’s scribble helping Scarlett win an award is a blessing for Chloe.” “Do you really have to make everyone miserable over such a trivial thing?” Scarlett held the drawing, a smug smirk playing on her lips. “Don’t be so stingy, Nina.” “Once I win the prize, maybe I’ll buy Chloe a nice dinner.” Looking at Chloe’s bruised hand, the last bit of warmth in my heart turned into absolute ice. “Get out.” I pointed at the door. Julian’s expression turned icy. “Nina, look at yourself. You’ve become so toxic.” “I brought Scarlett here out of the kindness of my heart, and this is how you treat us?” “You seriously need to fix your attitude.” He took Scarlett’s hand. “Let’s go, Scarlett. Let your sister cool her head first.” The door slammed shut. The room fell into a dead silence. Looking at the empty desk, Chloe finally let her tears fall. “Nina… my drawing…” I knelt down, gently stroking her hair. “Don’t worry, Chloe. I will get it back for you. I promise.” I stood up, pulled out my phone, and opened a hidden data analysis software backup folder. Julian thought it was just a piece of scrap paper. He had no idea that the numbers on that paper recorded the exact timestamps and evidence of Scarlett destroying Chloe’s AP exam prep sheets. I watched the data codes flashing on my screen. All the pain and humiliation I had suffered during this marriage transformed into a freezing, calculated calm. I wasn’t going to yell anymore.

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For five years, Kayden kept me at the center of his world. But when my heart condition worsened and I became a burden in his life, all his tenderness went to a perfectly healthy girl named Cherry. He forgot my fatal allergies, missed my emergency rescues, and was even late to sign my pre-surgery consent forms because he was busy fixing Cherry’s leaking pipes. He always assumed I was trapped on a hospital bed, unable to go anywhere, so he could take his sweet time. But he forgot one thing. When a woman’s heart goes completely cold, she strips away all your privileges. When I crossed his name off my emergency contacts and medical proxy forms, one by one—and when I reclaimed my life under the care of my lead surgeon—the man who was always late finally lost his mind, kneeling in the rain, begging me to look back. The lights in the bridal shop were blindingly bright, making my pale face look even more ghostly. I stood in front of the giant floor-length mirror, draped in a long, trailing lace wedding gown. Beside me, the consultant stood with a tight, awkward smile. “Miss Summer, is Mr. Kayden still not here? The back of this dress really needs his input for the final fit…” I looked down at my phone. The screen was completely blank. Half an hour ago, Kayden had sent me a quick voice note. The background noise was incredibly loud, like he was standing on a busy street. “Summer, the pipes in Cherry’s rented apartment burst, and her landlord is ignoring her. She’s just a girl, sitting in a flooded room crying. I’m going over to help her handle it. Try the dresses on yourself first, okay? Be a good girl.” “Be a good girl.” He always used those words to brush me off. I took a deep breath, and a familiar, sharp pain shot through my chest. It felt like an invisible hand had clamped down hard on my heart. Breathing suddenly became a struggle. “Miss Summer?” The consultant noticed something was wrong and rushed to support me. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness completely. When I woke up, I was on a hospital bed. The sharp smell of bleach burned my nose, and the heart monitor beside my bed beeped rhythmically. The ward door was suddenly pushed open. Kayden rushed in, panting, sweat dripping from his forehead. In his hand, he held a cup of Starbucks. “Summer, you scared the hell out of me! How do you pass out just from trying on a wedding dress?” He walked over to the bed and held the coffee out to me. “I grabbed this on the way. Your favorite, a hazelnut latte. Drink some while it’s hot.” I stared at the steaming cup, making no move to take it. Hazelnut. I have a severe, life-threatening nut allergy. Even a tiny trace would cause my throat to swell, suffocating me. For a heart patient like me, it was a death sentence. The nurse beside the bed gasped and was about to speak, but a well-defined hand reached out and snatched the cup away. “She has a severe nut allergy. Are you trying to put her back in the ICU?” The voice was cold, calm, and carried an undeniable authority. It was my lead surgeon, Dr. Ethan Vance. He was in his white lab coat, his silver name tag gleaming under the fluorescent lights. Kayden froze. He looked at his empty hand, then at Dr. Ethan, and finally at me. A flash of embarrassment crossed his face. “I… I got it mixed up. I bought this one for Cherry. She was so shaken up today and insisted on having something sweet. I just grabbed one for you on the way, I forgot you can’t have nuts.” On the way. Cherry’s apartment was in the far north of the city. The bridal shop was in the south. The hospital was dead center. To comfort a “shaken” female coworker, he had driven across the entire city. Yet, he forgot that his fiancée, who had a severe heart condition, couldn’t touch a single peanut. I looked at him, and suddenly, everything felt incredibly pointless. “Just leave,” I said softly. Kayden frowned. “Summer, what are you throwing a tantrum for now? I told you, I just got the orders mixed up. If it’s that big of a deal, I’ll go buy you another one.” “No need.” I turned over, facing the wall, leaving my back to him. “I want to rest.”

The hospital room fell dead silent. Kayden stood by the bed for a moment and sighed. “Fine, get some sleep. I’ll come back to see you later. Cherry’s place is still a mess, so I need to head back and supervise the plumbers for her.” The door clicked shut. I opened my eyes and stared at the sterile white wall. Dr. Ethan walked to the foot of my bed, flipping through my chart. “Summer, your heart is at its absolute limit. You cannot afford any emotional stress.” “I know, Dr. Ethan.” He closed the file and looked at me, his eyes softening slightly. “We are still waiting on the donor list. Until then, you must keep your emotions stable.” “I will.” He turned to leave, but stopped just before the door. “I’ve noted your nut allergy on your bedside chart. From now on, the nurses will verify any food brought into this room.” “Thank you.” Dr. Ethan didn’t say anything else. He pushed the door open and stepped out. I pulled out my phone and opened SnapChat. The pinned chat at the very top was my conversation with Kayden. The background was a photo of us at the beach two years ago. He was holding me in his arms, laughing under the sun. He had told me back then, *Summer, as long as I’m here, I’ll never let you suffer.* I changed the chat background back to the default plain white. Then, I tapped his profile and opened his location on Snap Map. Three days ago, he had voluntarily shared his live location with me, claiming he wanted to give me “peace of mind.” The little icon was pulsing. It was parked right outside a single-apartment building in the north end of the city. He really did go back to Cherry’s. Does supervising a plumber take all night? I didn’t know. All I knew was that my heart monitor had spiked violently just a moment ago. But very quickly, it settled back into a flat, steady rhythm. Like a pool of stagnant water, it could no longer be stirred. The next morning, my mom arrived. She brought a thermos of hot, homemade chicken soup. As she poured it into a bowl, she sighed. “Kayden called me last night. He said you fainted while trying on dresses and that he was worried sick.” I blew on the soup, keeping my head down. “He also said he wanted to stay here with you, but his department had an urgent project that he couldn’t walk away from. He asked me to come keep you company.” An urgent project. So Cherry’s burst pipe had now officially become a company project. I set the bowl down. “Mom, the soup is delicious.” My mom looked at me, hesitating. “Summer, did you and Kayden get into a fight?” “No.” “Then why…” She paused, lowering her voice. “Back during the Christmas holidays, Mrs. Gable told me she saw Kayden at the mall shopping with a girl. She said the girl was holding his arm, looking very intimate.” Christmas. I was lying in the ICU for three days due to sudden heart failure. Kayden had stood outside the glass window of my ward, took a phone call, and left in a hurry. He told me it was end-of-year billing and he couldn’t get out of it. So, he was actually out buying clothes for someone else. “Her name is Cherry. She’s his coworker,” I said, my voice as calm as if I were talking about a stranger. My mom got anxious. “Coworkers hold hands at the mall? Summer, how can you be so careless about this! With your health the way it is, if Kayden really has someone else…” “Mom,” I interrupted her. “I’m tired. I want to sleep for a bit.” Seeing how pale I was, my mom swallowed the rest of her words. “Alright, go to sleep. I won’t nag. Just focus on getting better, nothing else matters.” She tucked the blanket around me, packed up the thermos, and left.

I was alone in the room again. I opened my phone and scrolled through Instagram. A few posts down, I saw one from Lily, Kayden’s cousin. It was a group photo at Disneyland. It featured Lily, her boyfriend, Kayden, and Cherry. Cherry was wearing Minnie Mouse ears, beaming at the camera, leaning her body naturally against Kayden. Kayden was holding two ice cream cones, looking at her with pure tenderness. The caption read: “Double date weekend! Big bro and sis-in-law treating us!” Sis-in-law. Lily used to reserve that title exclusively for me. Now, it belonged to someone else. I tapped the photo, zoomed in on Kayden’s face. This was the man I had loved for five years. Now, his love belonged to someone else. I calmly closed Instagram. I opened my contacts and searched for Kayden’s name. His contact name used to be “Hubby ❤️”. I deleted the heart. I deleted “Hubby.” I changed it to “Kayden.” Clean and simple, without a single trace of emotion left. At three in the afternoon, Kayden showed up. This time, he didn’t bring coffee. He brought a bouquet of lilies and a box of pre-cut fruit. “Summer, how are you feeling today?” He put the flowers in the bedside vase and pulled up a chair. “Much better,” I said flatly. He poked a piece of apple with a toothpick and held it to my mouth. “Have some fruit. I went to the organic market specifically to get the ones you like.” I didn’t lean in. “I don’t want any.” His hand froze, and he put the apple back in the box. “Summer, are you still mad about yesterday? I really just got confused. Cherry is all alone in this city, and it’s not easy for her. As her senior colleague, it’s only right that I look out for her.” “Yes, it is,” I said, looking at him. “So to look out for her, you can abandon me while I’m trying on our wedding dress.” Kayden’s face darkened. “It wasn’t intentional! The burst pipe was an emergency. I couldn’t just leave her to drown, could I?” “And me?” I looked into his eyes. “I fainted in the bridal shop. Does that not count as an emergency?” Kayden ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “But you’re fine now, aren’t you? The doctor said it was just exhaustion. Summer, you never used to be this unreasonable.” Unreasonable. So, me fighting for my life on a hospital bed was just “unreasonable” to him. His phone buzzed. Kayden glanced at it, and the tension in his face instantly melted, a faint smile playing on his lips. He quickly typed a reply, then flipped the phone face down on his lap. “Summer, something came up at the office. I have to run back. I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Kayden,” I called out. He stopped at the door and turned around. “Next Wednesday is my pre-surgery risk assessment. I need a family member to sign the consent forms.” Kayden blinked, then nodded quickly. “Right, I got it. I’ll definitely be here next Wednesday.” He left. His steps were hurried, like he was rushing to a date he had been anticipating all day. I looked at the lilies on the table. I hated lilies. Their scent was too heavy and always made my chest feel congested. But he never remembered. When Dr. Ethan came in for his rounds, he frowned at the flowers. “Take these out and throw them away,” he told the nurse behind him. “For heart patients, strong scents and pollen are major triggers.” The nurse quickly gathered the bouquet and walked out. Dr. Ethan walked to my bedside and looked down at me. “Did he send those?” “Yes.” “Does he not know anything about your condition?” “Probably not.” I forced a smile. “He’s a very busy man.” Dr. Ethan stared at me for a long moment, asking no further questions. “Rest well. For next Wednesday’s assessment, have your mother come.” I was taken aback. “Why?” “Because,” Dr. Ethan’s voice was cold and firm, “I don’t need a medical proxy who can’t even remember your basic allergies deciding whether you live or die.”

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During our three years together, Carter took “going Dutch” to a pathological level. Even when we ordered pizza, he would look at the receipt and deduct the price of the mushrooms I didn’t eat from the total. “Chloe, I’m a professional,” he would say. “Feelings are feelings, but keeping money crystal clear is the only way a relationship lasts.” I used to think he was just naturally rigid. That was until Clara, the girl he grew up with and always called his “little sister,” returned from abroad. On that pouring, stormy night, I was running a 103-degree fever, trying to patch up a leaking window in our apartment by myself. Carter, on the other hand, spent $85,000 on a down payment for a brand-new Porsche just because Clara said she “didn’t want to take an Uber.” He then drove 120 miles through the storm just to grab late-night tacos with her. He didn’t crawl back until noon the next day, looking exhausted. He completely ignored me, even though I had just walked in the door from the ER. Without a word, he tossed the coffee mug I had used for three years straight into the trash can. “Clara is staying with us for a few days,” he said casually. “She’s a germaphobe, and your old mug looks like an eyesore.” “She’s never had a hard day in her life. As the older one here, just let her have her way. I’ll add another $100 to our shared grocery budget this month.” The sound of the ceramic shattering in the trash was deafening. For years, I thought if I just played the role of the perfect, low-maintenance girlfriend, I could finally melt his icy heart. It turned out his heart wasn’t made of ice. It was just that his fire was never meant to burn for me.

“Chloe, do you mind if I sleep in the master bedroom?” Clara stood at the doorway. She hadn’t even stepped inside, but her eyes were already scanning every corner of the room. “Oh, did I come at a bad time? Maybe I should just check into a hotel instead.” Carter pushed her suitcase into the hallway. “What hotel? It’s not safe for a girl like you to stay alone in the city.” He finished speaking, then looked up at me. “Change the sheets in the master bedroom, Chloe. Clara has sensitive skin; she can’t sleep on old linens.” I was still clutching a piece of the shattered ceramic mug in my hand. The sharp edge dug into my palm, making my fingertips go numb. Clara immediately grabbed Carter’s sleeve. “Carter, please don’t make Chloe mad because of me. I can honestly just sleep on the couch.” “You are not sleeping on the couch,” Carter’s voice softened. “Be good. Go take a shower.” I turned around and walked into the master bedroom. The sheets on the bed were pastel blue. When we first moved in years ago, Carter had said this color looked clean. He said it felt like home. As I yanked the sheets off, the picture frame on the nightstand fell to the floor. In the photo, Carter and I were standing on the beach. The wind was howling, and he was blocking the sun for me with his hand. I was laughing so hard my eyes were closed. That was our first year of dating. Back then, if I worked late, he would drive half an hour in the freezing cold just to pick me up. If my stomach hurt, he would stand at the pharmacy counter for an hour, carefully reading the back of every medicine bottle. He would even push the last bite of his warm sandwich to me. “You eat it. I’m not that hungry.” But later, he started talking about how “adults need to be independent.” And eventually, he turned that “independence” into a very dull, slow-cutting knife. I placed the photo face down. Just as I finished tucking in the new sheets, Clara pushed the door open and walked in. “Chloe, please don’t be mad at Carter. He’s just always taken care of me. I was a sickly kid, so it’s just a habit for him.” I said nothing. She walked over to my vanity and picked up my perfume, taking a sniff. “Wow, this scent is so… mature.” I reached out and took it back from her hand. Instantly, Clara’s eyes welled up with tears. Carter happened to walk in at that exact moment. “What’s going on?” Clara shook her head. “Nothing! I think I just accidentally touched Chloe’s things and upset her.” Carter glared at me. “She literally just got here. Is it really necessary to target her like this?” “It’s just a bottle of perfume.” Carter snatched the bottle from my hand and carelessly tossed it into Clara’s hands. “If you like it, keep it.” I had bought that perfume for myself on my birthday last year. When Carter saw the receipt back then, he had lectured me, saying $120 for a bottle of perfume was too luxurious, and made me pay him back my half of the rent early to “balance my budget.” Yet now, he gave it away to Clara without a second thought. The cut in my palm was still oozing blood, staining the glass shard in my hand. I threw the fragment into the trash. Carter glanced down. “What happened to your hand?” “Got cut by some old trash,” I replied flatly. He paused for a second. But in the next second, Clara let out a tiny, delicate cough. Carter immediately turned his back on me. “Is the AC too cold?” He rushed over to adjust the thermostat for her. I looked down at my hand. It turned out that some pain can truly only be felt by yourself. Later that evening, I was moving some of Carter’s work samples out to the balcony when he walked over. “Clara wants that premium truffle pasta from downtown. Come with me to grab it.” I looked up. “Now?” “She has jet lag and can’t sleep.” Carter pointed to some cardboard boxes on the floor. “While we’re out, make sure to carry up that case of spring water from the garage. Clara only drinks that brand.” I let out a cold laugh. “If it’s so easy, why don’t you carry it up yourself?” His face darkened. “What is wrong with you today? Clara is a guest.” I pushed the last box into the corner. “Carter, my fever just broke this morning.” He froze for a fraction of a second, as if he finally remembered my call from the ER last night. But it was only a fraction of a second. “Then stay home and rest. I’ll calculate the venmo request when I get back. We’re getting three portions of pasta, so you’ll pay for yours.” I sat on the floor of the guest room and opened my phone. An email from HR was sitting in my inbox. It was an offer for a transfer to our LA branch. A permanent position, starting next week at the latest. I stared at the screen for a long time. Then, I clicked *Accept*.

“You’re transferring to LA?” Carter had spotted the open email on my laptop. Clara was sitting at the dining table, picking at her truffle pasta. She complained it was too rich, eating only the truffles on top and leaving the rest of the expensive dish to go waste. Carter didn’t say a word about her wasting food. I closed my laptop. “It’s a company directive.” “Since when?” Carter frowned. “Something this big, and you didn’t even consult me?” I looked at him. “You were busy getting pasta.” Clara took a sip from her straw and asked in a small, innocent voice, “Is it because of me, Chloe? Are you leaving because I’m here?” Carter immediately snapped at me. “Stop taking your issues out on Clara.” I hadn’t said a word. She was the one who brought it up. But Carter had already decided that I was just being dramatic. “Go tell your manager tomorrow that you’re declining the transfer,” he ordered. “I can’t.” “Then quit.” He said it so easily. “It’s not like your salary is that high anyway. Just find another basic job here.” Clara tilted her head. “But Chloe is so independent. I doubt she’d want to live off your money, Carter.” As if reminded of my “independence,” Carter’s tone softened slightly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just don’t feel comfortable with you living in a different city alone.” I kept my head down. “I don’t need your permission.” Clara quickly tried to play peacemaker. “Carter, I think Chloe is just sad about leaving you. She’s just saying the opposite of what she actually feels.” Carter’s expression relaxed. He preferred that narrative anyway. The narrative that I was obsessed with him, that I was throwing a tantrum, and that I was just waiting for him to comfort me. For three years, I had indeed been that girl. Every time he gave me the silent treatment, I was the first to apologize. Every time he chose Clara over me, I told myself they were just childhood friends. But “childhood friends” don’t wear my silk slip dress and stand on the balcony, asking him: “Carter, do I look like your girlfriend in this?” That afternoon, I ran back to the apartment to grab some documents. When I pushed the door open, Clara was wearing my white silk slip dress. That was the only gift Carter had ever brought back for me from a business trip last year. Clara hastily covered her chest. “Chloe! Oh my god, I’m so sorry! My clothes were in the wash and weren’t dry yet. Carter said I could borrow something of yours.” “I really didn’t mean anything by it. I can take it off and give it back to you right now!” She reached for the shoulder strap, but Carter immediately caught her hand to stop her. “Don’t do that,” he said. Then, he turned to me. “Chloe, apologize.” I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. “You want *me* to apologize?” He looked dead serious. “You scared her.” “Clara was sheltered growing up. She’s not used to being barked at.” I looked at that white silk dress. I suddenly remembered the day I first got it. I had tried it on for Carter, excited. He had barely spared me a glance. “It’s too revealing. Don’t wear it out.” Since then, that dress had sat at the very bottom of my closet. It turned out the dress wasn’t the problem. The person wearing it was. I slid my documents into my bag. “Keep the dress.” Clara blinked, stunned. “Really?” I looked her dead in the eye. “I don’t like keeping things that other people have already ruined.” Carter’s face went completely cold. He grabbed my wrist. “Step outside. We need to talk.”

Carter dragged me down to the parking garage. The brand-new Porsche was parked in the most prominent spot. Its glossy paint reflected the overhead lights, making my eyes ache. “You’re acting less and less like yourself lately,” Carter sighed, looking exhausted. “You used to be so mature. So cool.” He thought for a second. “You never used to sweat the small stuff with Clara.” Small stuff. My mug was small stuff. My bed was small stuff. My perfume and my dress were all “small stuff.” The moment Clara laid her hands on them, they became insignificant details I was supposed to ignore. I looked at him. “Then tell me, Carter. What *is* big stuff?” Carter fell silent for a moment. “Our future.” When he said those words, his expression was genuinely earnest. If this were a few months ago, my heart would have softened. He always did this—giving me a crumb of false hope right when I was at my breaking point. “We were planning to get engaged by the end of the year. I’ve already been looking at townhouses.” Carter’s voice softened. “If you transfer to LA now, you’re throwing our future away just to throw a tantrum.” I looked at the luxury car behind him. “Whose name will be on the house deed?” His brow twitched. “I’m paying the down payment, so obviously it’ll be in my name first.” “And the renovations?” “We’ll split that 50/50,” he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Didn’t you always want to design our home?” “And who gets the final say on the design?” Carter was growing impatient. “Clara took some interior design classes. She has great taste. We can just have her help us out.” I laughed out loud. In his “future,” there was his house, my 50% contribution to the renovation bills, and Clara’s taste. There was absolutely no room for me. Carter stared at me, then suddenly spoke up. “I didn’t buy this car *for* Clara.” I stopped in my tracks. Carter seemed to be explaining it to me, but it felt more like he was trying to convince himself. “She just got back to the States and her job situation isn’t stable yet. I’m just letting her borrow it. The title is under my name. It’s not a gift.” “Stop looking at her Instagram and overthinking everything.” I nodded. He looked visibly taken aback. He wasn’t used to my silence. He expected me to argue, to scream, to demand answers. My utter calmness made him uncomfortable. Suddenly, Carter’s phone buzzed. It was Clara. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he answered. He listened to the other end for a second. “I’ll be right up.” After hanging up, he turned to me, back to his usual tone. “Clara has a stomachache. I’m taking her to the urgent care.” He unlocked the Porsche, but stopped before getting in. “Don’t worry about the medical bill this time. I’ll cover it myself. Clara is tight on cash since she just moved back.” I kept my eyes on the concrete floor of the garage. A few months ago, my chronic gastritis flared up so badly I couldn’t even stand up straight. Carter had driven me to the clinic. But at the billing counter, he handed the invoice straight to me. “Pay it first, and we’ll split it on Venmo later.” The bill that day was $237.60. He made me Venmo him exactly $118.80. But now, because Clara had a simple stomachache, he told me “not to worry” because he would cover it himself. I finally understood. He wasn’t incapable of being generous. He just only applied his strict calculations to me. After Carter drove off, I walked out of the garage alone. A light drizzle was falling. My phone buzzed. It was a photo from Clara. Carter was kneeling on the floor in front of her, tying her sneaker laces. *“With my favorite guy here, I have nothing to fear,”* her caption read. I locked my phone. The rain fell on the back of my hand, feeling icy cold. When I got back to the apartment that evening, the living room was packed. Several of Carter’s friends were over. Zach saw me walk in and waved cheerfully. “Hey, Chloe! You’re back just in time. Clara wanted to celebrate her return, so Carter is personally cooking tonight!” On the dining table sat a massive pot of Slow-cooked Beef Bourguignon. It was my absolute favorite dish. Whenever I had begged Carter to make it for us in the past, he always dismissed it, saying it took too much prep work. Clara was sitting at the table, kicking her legs back and forth. “Carter is literally the best cook ever. I used to eat this all the time when we were kids.” One of the guys teased, “Man, Carter, you really spoil your little sister, don’t you?” Carter smiled gently. “She’s a picky eater.” I paused while changing my shoes. Zach seemed to notice something was off. “Hey, Chloe, you look a bit pale. You okay?” Clara immediately chimed in. “Oh, does Chloe not like having people over? I can tell everyone to leave if you want.” Carter set down a fruit platter. “Don’t ruin the mood.” I knew exactly who that comment was directed at. During dinner, Clara took a bite of the beef and frowned slightly. “Hmm, it’s a bit too sour for me.” Carter immediately tasted it. “I’ll add some sugar.” Zach laughed. “Wait, doesn’t Chloe love it on the sour side?” Carter’s hand paused mid-air. Clara lowered her eyes. “Oh… so this is how Chloe likes it? Then don’t change it. I’ll just eat less.” Carter picked up the pot and headed back to the kitchen. “I’ll make a fresh batch.” I stared at the piece of beef in my bowl. It was steaming hot. But suddenly, I couldn’t swallow a single bite.

By the time the second batch of beef was served, it was so sweet it was nauseating. Clara smiled and showed everyone her phone. “Look, guys! This is the car Carter got me. Isn’t it gorgeous?” She swiped through her camera roll. Photos of the car, designer bags, diamond necklaces, expensive dinners, and a shot of Carter’s back as he swiped his black card at a jewelry counter. Someone let out a low whistle. “Damn, Carter. Generous much?” Carter leaned back in his chair, his tone casual. “She just got back to the country. She needed a lot of essentials.” Zach instinctively looked at me. “Man, then Carter must treat you like a queen, Chloe.” Clara blinked innocently, acting like she didn’t get the hint. “Oh, what did Carter get you for your birthday, Chloe?” Before I could say anything, Carter answered for me. “Chloe doesn’t like wasting money on useless things.” He said it so naturally. As if I was born to not deserve nice things. For my birthday last year, he gave me a free one-day gym pass. It was a voucher he had won at his company’s holiday raffle. At the time, I had hugged him, thanked him sincerely, and felt happy for days. Clara covered her mouth with a soft gasp. “Wow, Chloe, you’re so thrifty! Unlike me, I’m always spending Carter’s money.” Carter gave her a playful look. “As long as you know. Stop buying useless junk from now on.” His tone sounded like a lecture, but his eyes were filled with warmth. I got up to clear the dishes. Clara suddenly followed me into the kitchen. “Chloe, do you absolutely hate me?” I turned on the faucet. “You’re overthinking.” “But Carter used to care about me the most,” she smiled, her sweet demeanor vanishing instantly under the rush of the water. “I was only gone for a few years. Did you honestly think he belonged to you?” The sound of running water drowned out the laughter from the living room. “You know that white silk dress? I wore it on purpose,” Clara whispered. “And your perfume? I took it on purpose, too.” “I just wanted to see how much you actually matter to him.” I turned off the tap. “And what did you find out?” She gave a light, mocking laugh. “Honestly? Not much.” In the next second, she grabbed a bowl of hot soup sitting on the counter and poured a splash of it directly onto the back of her own hand. The bowl shattered on the floor, and she let out a piercing scream. By the time Carter rushed into the kitchen, Clara was already shaking and sobbing violently. “Chloe… I just wanted to help wash the dishes… why did you push me?” Without a single moment of hesitation, Carter violently shoved me away from the kitchen door. “Chloe! Are you out of your mind?!” I looked at him. “I didn’t push her.” Clara clung to his chest, the back of her hand turning bright red. “Carter, it’s okay… maybe Chloe didn’t mean to do it.” “Shut up,” Carter said coldly. I thought he was talking to Clara. But in the next second, his cold gaze locked onto me. “Apologize.” Another apology. I suddenly realized how familiar those words were. For three years, I had been constantly apologizing. Apologizing for buying shoes that were “too expensive.” Apologizing for getting sick and “distracting him from his work.” Apologizing for not being “cool” enough, “understanding” enough, or “independent” enough. And now, I was expected to apologize for a bowl of soup she had poured on herself. This time, I wasn’t backing down. “I won’t apologize.” Carter’s face went completely dark. The guests in the living room had all stood up, feeling the tension. Zach stepped in, trying to defuse the situation. “Hey, Carter, maybe we should check the camera first? Didn’t you put a security cam in the kitchen?” We had a camera in the kitchen because Carter was always paranoid I’d forget to turn off the stove. I looked at Carter. “Yes, check the footage.” Clara’s sobbing paused for a split second. Carter knew the camera was there, but he didn’t reach for his phone. Instead, he avoided my eyes and said in a harsh, rigid voice, “Enough.” “We have guests over. Do you really have to make a scene and embarrass everyone?” Zach frowned. “Carter, checking the app takes two seconds. It’ll clear things up.” Carter dismissed him coldly. “Clara’s hand is already burned. Does it really matter who’s right or wrong at this point?” I stared at him. So, whether the truth mattered or not depended entirely on *who* was hurt. Clara sobbed, “I don’t want to make things difficult for Chloe. We don’t need to watch it.” Carter wrapped his jacket around her shoulders. “I’m taking you to the hospital.” At the door, he stopped and threw a cold look back at me. “Chloe, if Clara ends up with a scar on her hand, we are not done.” The door slammed shut. The apartment was left in a messy silence, under the awkward gazes of his friends. Zach wanted to say something, but in the end, he just let out a heavy sigh. “Chloe… don’t take it to heart. Carter is just… really protective of Clara.” I bent down and picked up the shattered ceramic pieces from the floor. This time, the glass didn’t cut me. Because I was wearing gloves. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was an email from the LA office. *“Hi Chloe, your transfer paperwork has been fast-tracked and approved. Your start date is tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.”* I replied instantly. Then, in a corner where no one was looking, I quietly packed my suitcase. Go spend the rest of your life with your 50/50 calculations, Carter. I am done.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “436632”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

Julian and I are immortals. On the night of our one-hundredth anniversary, he suggested we play Truth or Dare. I lost. “Dare! Come on, what do you want me to do?” Julian looked at me, his voice flat and calm. “Eve, let’s take a break. For a hundred years.” I froze. He gave me a helpless, indulgent smile, the kind he always used when I was being stubborn. “There’s this girl. She’s been chasing me for three or four years. She’s incredibly persistent, and I don’t want to break her heart. So, I agreed to be with her.” “And what about me?” My fingernails dug so hard into my palms that they drew blood. He brushed it off like it was nothing. “Mortals only live for about a century anyway. Once she’s gone, I’ll come back to you.” “Besides, she’s pregnant. You’ve always loved kids. When the baby is born, you can be the godmother. Isn’t that perfect?” The sheets beneath us still bore the messy creases of our recent intimacy. I let out a bitter, hollow laugh. He had no idea. Monsters like us are completely sterile. We can never conceive. 1 “When did you sleep with her?” My voice shook. Julian raised an eyebrow. “Which time?” It felt like a cold hand had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart to pieces. I gripped the white sheets, twisting the fabric until my knuckles turned white. Julian chuckled softly. He casually tugged open his collar. On his collarbone were two distinct, fresh bite marks. I never had the habit of biting him. Julian gently traced the marks, a look of lingering satisfaction on his face. “Too many times to count, honestly.” “She kept saying she wanted to be with me for the rest of her life. You have no idea how beautiful she looked when she was trying to hold back her tears.” “I just couldn’t resist.” A wave of intense nausea hit me. The thought of him touching me after being with someone else made my stomach wrench. I bolted to the bathroom, throwing up until my throat burned. Julian’s voice drifted in from the bedroom, cold and mocking. “Why are you acting so disgusted?” “She’s only twenty. You’re over a hundred and twenty, Eve. If anyone should be disgusted, it’s her.” I snapped my head up, my eyes bloodshot as I glared at him. Being immortal was my ultimate nightmare. Mortals envied our eternal youth, but they didn’t know the price. No family, no friends, constantly running, constantly hiding. Living like sewer rats. I used to have Julian by my side to survive it. But now, I wouldn’t even have him. I took two steps back, my voice incredibly raspy. “Julian, we’re done. Officially.” He assumed I was agreeing to his “hundred-year break” proposal. His tense face instantly relaxed. “That’s my girl.” He reached out to hug me, but I flinched away. “I’m not waiting a hundred years for you,” I said. “We are over. Forever.” Julian let out an annoyed sigh. He reached over and patted my head patronizingly, like he was soothing a pet. “Eve, stop playing games.” “You only survive in this world because of me. With your terrible disguise skills, you would’ve been dragged into some underground lab for experiments a long time ago.” His eyes drifted to the dense scars on my arms from old needle marks. “Have you forgotten what they did to you back then?” My chest tightened, and I quickly covered my arm. My fingers trembled uncontrollably. Julian and I were both products of a failed immortality experiment. Exactly a hundred years ago today, I was strapped down to a freezing metal operating table. I couldn’t move. I could only watch as a strange, glowing blue-green serum was injected into my veins. My body swelled up like raw dough. Even moving a finger was agonizing. I thought I was going to die. Until a massive, roaring fire swept through the facility, burning everything to ashes. The lab became a graveyard of concrete and steel. A young Julian had carried me out on his back, walking one painful step at a time under the setting sun. He had whispered: “Don’t be scared, Eve. I burned all the bad guys!” “From now on, you’re with me. I’ll protect you forever!” The boy’s promise felt so real back then. But “forever” turned out to be far too long… A loud crack of thunder shattered my thoughts. Outside, a heavy storm had begun to rage. Julian’s expression suddenly changed. He stopped arguing with me, grabbed his phone, and bolted for the door. I grabbed his sleeve. Seeing my tear-stained face, Julian hesitated for a brief second. A flash of guilt crossed his eyes. But then, he peeled my fingers off his arm, one by one. He broke my last shred of hope. Julian gave me a helpless smile and kissed the corner of my lips. “She’s not like you, Eve. She’s fragile. She’s terrified of thunderstorms and she’ll cry if she’s left alone.” “Use this time to calm down. We’ve been together for a century. You can’t just throw that away.” Bang— The door slammed shut in my face. Hot tears spilled from my eyes, dripping onto the floor, mimicking the sound of the rain outside. I stood there for a long time. Then, I reached for the doorknob. 2 I left the villa behind. The rain was pouring hard. I struggled to hold my umbrella against the wind as I walked down the street. I didn’t even know why I was following him. Maybe it was just habit. Or maybe it was sheer denial. As I turned the corner of the block, my heart stopped. Under the awning of the local diner we always visited, Julian had Chloe pinned against the brick wall, kissing her passionately. They were kissing so deeply, oblivious to the storm. I could hear their heavy, breathless whispers. “It’s pouring outside. Why did you run out? Do you know how dangerous that is?” I instinctively spoke up. “I—” But a weak, tearful voice cut me off. “I don’t care! Why were you at her place instead of being with me?” “You promised you’d never see her again. You lied to me…” Chloe sobbed, looking incredibly fragile and hurt. Julian, who rarely lost his cool, panicked. He awkwardly wiped away her tears. I gripped the handle of my umbrella. My heart ached with a dull, throbbing pain. So, those worried words he said earlier weren’t meant for me at all. After ten minutes of their passionate makeup session, Julian finally let go of her lips, his hand resting on her waist. As he turned, our eyes met. Before I could say a word, Chloe’s eyes welled up with tears. She pretended to hide behind him, but then glared at me defiantly. “Babe, Julian already broke up with you. Keep your distance!” “Otherwise, I’ll tell everyone you’re a homewrecker!” So, she knew who I was. I stared at her pretty, innocent-looking face, and everything clicked. Her name was Chloe, and her family owned this diner. She usually helped out here. I couldn’t eat spicy food, but Julian loved it. So, I had endured stomach aches just to accompany him here, week after week. And while I was suffering from heartburn, these two were secretly messing around behind my back. I forced a bitter smile. Julian looked slightly uncomfortable. “Eve, look…” He made a move to come over to soothe me, but before he could take a step, Chloe shoved him back. She sobbed dramatically: “Fine! Go to her then! Go to your side chick!” “You two are the real soulmates. I’ll just leave!” “And the baby… you can forget about the baby too!” With that, Chloe turned and ran into the pouring rain. She looked so weak, yet so dramatic. Julian panicked, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back into his embrace. He began to coax her endlessly. “Babe, don’t say such stupid things.” “You’re the only one I love. I’ve been bored of Eve for years. She doesn’t compare to you.” “Fine,” Chloe pouted proudly, pointing a finger at me. “Then tell her to get lost!” Julian looked over at me, his gentle expression instantly turning into irritation. He said coldly, “Eve, go home.” The rain was freezing, splashing against my skin. It was impossible to seek shelter here anymore. I bit my lip and opened my umbrella to leave. But Chloe grabbed my hand, tilting her head with a sweet, mocking smile. “Hey, I don’t have an umbrella. Can I have yours?” 3 Julian stood silently behind Chloe, doing nothing. His silence was his consent. I was shaking all over. I violently shook Chloe’s hand off, turned around, and walked away. But Julian finally moved. He leaned in close to my ear, his voice dropping into a threatening whisper. “Eve, you’re an immortal. Your body can handle a little rain.” “But Chloe is different. She’ll get sick.” “Be mature for once. Stop throwing a tantrum.” I let out a cold laugh. The man who once swore to protect me from every storm in the world was officially dead to me. I slowly lowered my umbrella, dropped it on the ground, and walked straight into the heavy rain. As if things couldn’t get worse. Just as I walked a few yards away, a car lost control on the slick road and sped straight toward me. Crash— I couldn’t dodge in time. I was thrown into the air and slammed hard onto the asphalt. Julian seemed to realize something was wrong and looked over. A pool of bright red blood began to spread on the dark road. I lay there alone, like a broken doll. Lifeless. Julian took a step toward me, his lips tight. But the next second, Chloe covered his eyes from behind. She whispered seductively in his ear, “Babe, I’m wearing that thing you like tonight.” “The white lace one…” Julian’s response was swallowed by another kiss. In his mind, it didn’t matter. An immortal wouldn’t die anyway. Why care if she got hit by a car? Chloe smiled with pure satisfaction. My body felt shattered. Unbearable pain tore through me, but it was nothing compared to the agony in my chest. Even though immortals don’t die, we are still human. We still feel pain. As the sound of their soft whispers faded, my heart died. The panicked driver ran out of the car, his knees shaking, trying to call 91

I struggled to crawl up. I stopped him. If the police got involved, my fake identity would be exposed. Under the terrified gaze of the driver, I limped away into the dark. I didn’t know how long I walked. By the time the rain stopped and the sun came up, the streets were getting crowded. People pointed and whispered: “Oh my god, look at her. She’s covered in blood!” “Her clothes are a mess. Did she get beat up by some wife for sleeping with her husband?” “Probably got kicked out of some guy’s house, haha…” By the time I regained my senses, I was inside a hospital. The doctors and nurses were horrified by the blood, but after a quick examination, they looked even more shocked. “This makes no sense… why don’t you have any actual wounds?” I froze. I was so out of it that I forgot my body heals itself instantly. I dragged my exhausted body back to the villa, only to run into the happy couple at the entrance. I accidentally bumped into Chloe. Before I could even apologize, Julian shoved me hard. I fell to the cold ground, my head spinning. A familiar voice sounded, filled with uncertainty. “Eve?” My heart sank. Predictably, Chloe’s mockery followed immediately. “Are you kidding me? Is this actually Eve?” She walked around my disheveled self, looking at me like I was a piece of trash. “How did you turn into a homeless dog overnight?” “How pathetic.” I struggled to stand up. “I don’t need your pity!” I gritted my teeth and swung a hand to slap her, but Julian caught my wrist mid-air. He glared at me, his grip so tight I could hear my bones pop. He shielded Chloe behind his back. A lump formed in my throat. My mind flashed back to the summer when I was twenty. In a dark alley, Julian had easily taken down a creep who was harassing me, slamming the guy’s face against the brick wall. “Apologize to her,” Julian had snarled. The creep had begged for mercy, kneeling and bowing. I had laughed and asked Julian, “Hey, why are you so good to me?” The young boy’s face had turned bright red. “Because… you’re my family.” “Just family?” He had nodded, then shook his head, completely flustered. I still remembered how cute and innocent he was back then. Chloe let out a dramatic gasp, her eyes turning red as she squeezed out a few tears. Julian’s voice was ice-cold. “Apologize.” I kept my mouth shut. Chloe bit her lip, acting terrified. “Babe, it’s fine if she doesn’t want to.” “I… I’m okay…” She shed a couple of perfect tears. Julian’s frown deepened. He held a medical report in one hand and used his other hand to force my head down, forcing me to bow to Chloe. “Apologize to her. Don’t make me say it again!” 4 During the struggle, the paper in Julian’s hand fell to the ground. My breath hitched. The report read: *Pregnant, six weeks.* No wonder. No wonder he was acting like this. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. Chloe smirked. “What was that? Speak up, I can’t hear you.” My head was forced lower, my vision blurring. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bumped into you.” “It was my fault.” “I was wrong.” Chloe looked satisfied. Julian finally released his grip on the back of my head. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up, and scoffed. “Why are you crying?” Was I crying? I wiped my face and felt the cold moisture on my fingers. Julian picked up the report, rubbing his temples in frustration. “You see this? Chloe is actually pregnant.” “This baby is a miracle. You need to stop picking fights with her.” “I know you love kids. I can convince Chloe to let you be the godmother. That way, your dream can come true too.” Chloe pouted. “No way.” Julian smiled indulgently, stroking her hair. “Fine, fine. I’m just saying it to quiet her down. Our baby belongs only to us.” They walked past me, hand-in-hand, leaving me alone in the empty hospital lobby to be swallowed by the whispers of strangers. Julian was wrong. I was never the one who wanted kids. He was. He craved a family more than anything. Over the decades, I had seen him stare longingly at children playing in the park. What was he thinking back then? Probably that I was broken because I couldn’t give him a child. But he was wrong. It wasn’t just me who was sterile. His resentment had built up over the years, forming a bitter knot in his heart. And I had been too blind to see it. Lost in thought, I walked aimlessly until I stopped in front of a run-down brick apartment building in the old industrial district. This was the very first place we bought together. The furniture inside was exactly as it was decades ago, covered in a thick layer of dust. I washed off the dried blood and changed into my favorite bright red dress. I stood in front of the mirror. My reflection was still youthful, looking exactly the same as it did a hundred years ago. For a second, I saw Julian hugging me from behind in the reflection, burying his face in my neck. “Eve, what’s for dinner tonight?” I had asked him back then, “I didn’t have a name before. Why did you call me Eve?” He had laughed softly against my shoulder. “Heh, it’s a secret.” I smiled at the memory, but the smile quickly faded. I picked up a decayed wooden box from the closet and walked out without looking back. My phone buzzed twice. It was a text from Julian. [Bring the keys of the villa back. Chloe wants them.] [I’m busy right now, so she’s waiting for you at the gate. Don’t make her wait.] How efficient. In just two days, a person could change so completely. It made me feel like a century had passed in a flash. I sighed. I needed to give him the wooden box anyway, so I might as well go. When I arrived, the entrance of the villa was blocked by moving trucks. Chloe’s belongings were being carried inside, filling up every corner. Meanwhile, my clothes, shoes, and personal items were tossed onto the muddy driveway like actual trash. I clenched my fists, shaking with anger. “What right do you have to throw my things away?” Chloe looked down at me from the porch. With Julian gone, she didn’t bother pretending anymore. She sneered: “I threw them out. What are you going to do about it? Hit me?” She picked up one of my silk nightgowns with two fingers, pinched her nose in disgust, dropped it in the mud, and ground her heel into it. I stepped toward her, suppressing my rage. “Stop right there.” 5 Chloe didn’t look scared at all. Instead, she whipped out a yellowed notebook and waved it in front of me. The sun was hot, but I felt a sudden chill run down my spine. She smiled maliciously. “So, immortals really do exist.” “Eve, guess what will happen if I turn this journal over to the authorities?” My mind went completely blank. I looked at her, silently begging. Chloe’s grin widened. She pointed her manicured finger at the muddy nightgown on the ground. “Put it on, and I’ll keep your little secret.” The nightgown was so filthy you couldn’t even see its original color. I slowly bent down. My hands shook as I picked it up and walked toward the house. “Where do you think you’re going?” Chloe grabbed my shoulder, pointing at the driveway. “I want you to change right here.” What…? I stared at her in disbelief. This was outside the villa. There were dozens of moving guys walking back and forth, their vulgar gazes already lingering on me. Chloe’s voice was cold. “You have two minutes, or I’m calling the cops.” I gripped the dirty fabric. My head spun, and memories of being strapped to that cold operating table flashed before my eyes. Trembling, I began to unzip my dress. I let it slide down. Chloe immediately pulled out her phone. The sound of her camera clicking and her cruel laughter filled my ears. My face was completely pale. I barely registered what was happening. “Are you happy now?” I whispered. Chloe smirked. With pure malice, she said, “I lied. I’m posting this video online right now.” My eyes flared with anger. I lunged forward and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her violently. “You—” “Ah!” Two voices sounded at once. Chloe suddenly fell backward onto the ground, clutching her stomach in agony. I stood there, stunned. Just then, Julian’s car screeched to a halt. He sprinted over and knelt beside Chloe. He tried to lift her, but his hands were instantly covered in bright red blood. She was miscarrying?! Julian roared in fury, glaring at me like a wild beast. I panicked. “No… it wasn’t me…” “She fell on purpose! I only shook her!” Julian’s face was terrifyingly dark. He stood up, towering over me. “You’re saying she framed you?” “Would she kill her own baby just to frame you?!” I opened my mouth, but no words came out. He already believed I was a murderer. Nothing I said would matter. Chloe sobbed in pain. Julian gently lifted her into his arms, comforting her. “Don’t cry, babe. It’s going to be okay.” “I called 911. They’re coming. Don’t be scared.” My heart went completely cold. There was a time when I was terrified of being discovered, and Julian would wrap his arms tightly around me, whispering: “Don’t be scared, Eve.” “I’m here. I’ll always be here.” “I won’t let anyone find out your secret, even if it kills me.” But those days were long gone. Chloe pointed a trembling finger at me, screaming through her tears. “Julian! She killed our baby!” “Call the cops! I want her to pay! I want her in jail!” Julian stiffened slightly. His voice sounded strained. “Chloe, let’s get you to the hospital first. I’ll make her apologize later.” “But calling the police… let’s not do that.” Chloe’s eyes widened in outrage. “Julian! I’ve been with you since high school! How can you protect her?!” She struggled out of his arms, grabbed a fallen pocketknife from the ground, and pressed it against her own throat. “Either she goes to jail, or I die right here!” Blood began to bead at the tip of the blade. Julian looked lost for a moment. He stared at me, his eyes filled with a complicated darkness. Eventually, he took the knife from her hand. The wail of police sirens echoed from down the street. I suddenly burst out laughing. Like a madwoman, I began smashing everything around me. Even the old wooden box was shattered into pieces. The officers rushed in and immediately pinned me down. Before they threw me into the back of the police car, I looked back at Julian. I was completely calm. “Julian, you are so incredibly stupid.” “Pathetic.” Julian froze. His eyes fell on the papers that had slid out of the shattered wooden box. As he read the bold letters on the top sheet, his pupils shrunk to the size of needles.

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The hemp rope cut brutally into the back of my neck, the stinging pain finally bringing me back to reality. My former fiancée, the woman who once swore she would marry no one but me, had tied me up in an underground VIP gambling parlor. She was using me as a living dartboard target, all for the sake of her precious childhood sweetheart. Ten razor-sharp throwing knives grazed my skin and slammed into the hardwood board behind me. Blood slowly seeped down the wood grain. She stood right beside the dartboard, looking down at me. Her voice was as cold as poison. “Ethan Reed, you owe this to Christian. Your mother stole his father’s life-saving donor heart back then. It’s only fair you pay it back with your life.” I grit my teeth, refusing to make a sound. She had promised me that if I survived these ten knives, she would pay the overdue medical bills for my little sister in the ICU. She had no idea that when the truth finally came out, it would completely break her. Back then, it was my mother who had willingly signed the donor agreement to save Christian’s father. My mother didn’t steal anything. In fact, she was framed by the Cole family while trying to protect the original agreement, and she died miserably in a prison cell. Years later, Serena found my sister’s grave. She knelt before the tombstone, slapping her own face repeatedly until her cheeks bled. I stood by the roadside, glanced at her coldly for a brief second, and turned around to link arms with the person beside me. I wouldn’t give her even a shred of forgiveness.

The air in the underground gambling parlor was thick with the sickening stench of copper blood and cheap cigars. I was bound tightly to a massive wooden spinning wheel. “Ms. Vance, are we really going this far?” a rich playboy next to her asked, rubbing his hands together with a cruel, excited gleam in his eyes. Serena Vance sat in the center of the room on a plush leather sofa. Her long legs were crossed, and she was casually flipping a gleaming, silver throwing knife in her hand. Christian Cole sat right beside her. His face was pale, but a smug, barely noticeable smirk played at the corner of his lips. “Serena, let’s forget it. Ethan looks like he’s already hurt pretty badly. It’d be bad if something actually happened to him.” Serena let out a cold laugh, her gaze sweeping over my face like a blade. “A killer’s son? Since when does he deserve pity?” She stood up and walked to a spot about fifteen feet away from me. “Ten knives, Ethan. As long as they don’t hit your vitals, I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars for each one.” “Finish all ten, and you get a million. That should be enough to cover your sick little sister’s surgery and ICU bills.” My dry, cracked lips parted. “Deal.” No hesitation. No begging. A flash of sheer violence crossed Serena’s eyes. Three years ago, I was the pampered young heir of the Reed family whom she held in the palm of her hand. Now, I was just a broken piece of trash who would discard his life for money. She flicked her wrist. *Whoosh—* The first knife grazed my cheek, slicing off a few strands of my hair before thudding deeply into the wooden board right next to my ear. The coldness of the blade sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t blink. “One hundred thousand,” I said, my voice completely flat. Serena clenched her jaw so hard her facial muscles tensed. The second knife grazed my neck. The third knife brushed past my waist. Each throw carried the sound of tearing wind, packed with her desire to tear me into a thousand pieces. The crowd around us erupted into cheers. I kept my eyes locked onto Serena’s. Those eyes, which used to be filled with deep affection, now held nothing but disgust and sadistic pleasure. As the eighth knife was about to fly, Christian suddenly gasped. Pretending to lose his balance, he bumped hard against Serena’s arm. The trajectory of the knife shifted. *Squelch.* The blade sank straight into my left shoulder. Blood erupted instantly, soaking through my faded, washed-out white shirt. An agonizing pain ripped through my nerves. I let out a muffled groan, cold sweat immediately drenching my back. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry, Ethan! It was an accident!” Christian gasped, covering his mouth, but his eyes were dripping with pure malice. Serena froze. Looking at the blood gushing from my shoulder, the hand holding the remaining two knives trembled slightly. But she quickly masked her reaction, looking at me coldly. “Does it hurt?” “When your mother bribed the doctor and snatched the heart meant for Christian’s father, Christian felt ten thousand times worse than this.” “Sins of the mother, paid by the son. You deserve every bit of this.” I looked at her and forced a pale, blood-stained smile. “Ms. Vance, does this knife count? If it does, that makes it eight hundred thousand.” Serena stared at the smirk on my lips, the rims of her eyes turning a furious red. She suddenly slammed the remaining two knives onto the floor. “Ethan Reed! Do you get off on degrading yourself like this?!” Tied to the board, my blood dripped slowly from my fingertips onto the floor. “Ms. Vance, if I don’t degrade myself, my sister dies.” “Give me the money.”

The air in the private lounge froze instantly. Serena stared at me, her chest heaving violently. She strode over and grabbed my collar, pulling it so hard she nearly ripped my shirt apart. “Are you really that desperate for money? To the point of throwing away your dignity?” Forced to look up, I met her furious gaze. “Can dignity pay for my sister’s life?” “If it can, Ms. Vance, give me a price. I’ll sell it to you by the pound.” Serena’s pupils dilated. She let go of me instantly, as if she had been burned. “Get him down,” she ordered the bodyguards, her voice sounding raspy. The moment the ropes were untied, my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the floor. The wound on my left shoulder was still bleeding, staining the expensive carpet. Serena pulled out a checkbook, quickly scribbled a check for one million dollars, and walked over to me. She didn’t hand it to me. Instead, she let it go. The check fluttered down, landing right in an ashtray filled with sharp, broken glass shards. “Get it yourself,” she said, looking down at me from above. I didn’t say a word. Pushing myself up from the floor, I reached out my right hand and shoved it directly into the ashtray. The sharp glass sliced into my fingers. Blood and ash mixed together instantly. But I felt the paper. I gripped the check tightly in my fist. “Thank you for the charity, Ms. Vance.” Struggling to stay upright, I clutched my bleeding shoulder and took slow steps toward the exit. “Hold on,” Christian suddenly spoke up. He stood up and walked over to block my path, a sneer on his face. “Ethan, you got your dirty blood all over Serena’s carpet. Do you really think you can just walk away?” “Get on your knees and clean the carpet.” I stopped and looked back at Serena. She stood in the shadows, making no attempt to stop him. She was allowing it. I looked down at the blood-stained check in my hand. One million dollars. My sister Lily was waiting for this money in the ICU to stay alive. I closed my eyes, and my knees slowly began to bend. Just as my knees were about to hit the floor, the heavy door of the VIP lounge was kicked open with a loud bang. Fiona Sterling strode in, wearing a long black trench coat, carrying the cold wind of the storm with her. She immediately saw me swaying on my feet, and the shocking amount of blood on my shoulder. “Ethan!” Fiona rushed over, catching me before I fell, and pressed her trench coat against my bleeding shoulder to stop the bleeding. She spun around, glaring at Serena with eyes like daggers. “Serena Vance, do you even have a soul?!” Seeing Fiona holding me, Serena’s eyes turned to ice instantly. “Fiona, this is a private matter between Ethan and me. It’s none of your business.” “Private?” Fiona sneered. “You mutilated him! This is aggravated assault! Ethan, let’s go. We’re calling the cops.” I grabbed Fiona’s arm and shook my head weakly. “Fiona, please… take me to the hospital.” “My sister is waiting.” I couldn’t call the police. If the police got involved, Serena had a hundred ways to make sure that check got frozen, and I would never see a single dime. Fiona looked at my pale face, a flash of deep heartache in her eyes. She wrapped my arm around her shoulder and helped me walk out. “Ethan Reed! If you walk out that door with her tonight, you won’t get a single penny of this money!” Serena’s furious voice roared from behind us. Leaning against Fiona, I didn’t look back. “Ms. Vance, I already have the check.” “The transaction is complete. We owe each other nothing.”

It was pouring rain outside. Fiona helped me into her car, slammed her foot on the gas, and sped toward the municipal hospital. The heater was blasting, but I was still shivering violently, my body freezing. The wound on my left shoulder had gone completely numb. I gripped the check like it was my sister’s very last breath. “Ethan, are you insane? She wanted to use you as a dartboard and you just let her?” Fiona yelled as she drove, her voice trembling with suppressed tears. I stared out the window at the blurred city lights. “Fiona, I had no choice.” “The hospital gave me a final ultimatum. If I didn’t pay the overdue bills tonight, they would take Lily off the ventilator.” “My mother already died in prison. I can’t lose Lily too.” Fiona slammed her hand against the steering wheel, her eyes rimmed with red. “I told you I was getting the money together! Why won’t you just take my money?!” “Because I can never pay you back,” I said softly. Three years ago, when the Reed family went bankrupt and my mother was imprisoned, everyone avoided me like the plague. Only Fiona, a poor student I had once sponsored who was now a brilliant elite lawyer, braved Serena’s heavy suppression to help me in any way she could. I already owed her far too much. The car screeched to a halt in front of the hospital lobby. I pushed the door open and stumbled inside. “Nurse! I have the money! One million! Set up my sister’s surgery right now!” I rushed to the billing window and slammed the blood-stained check against the glass. The night nurse took one look at the check, then at my bloody clothes, and gasped in shock. She quickly took the check to verify it. A few minutes later, she walked back, her expression incredibly grim. “Mr. Reed… this check has been frozen.” My brain went completely blank. “What? That’s impossible! That’s a Vance Corporation corporate check!” “The bank just notified us. The issuer has canceled the payment order,” the nurse said, looking at me with pity. Serena Vance. It was her. She really was never going to let me go. All the strength left my body in an instant. I slid down the cold wall, collapsing onto the floor. “Ethan!” Fiona rushed over to support me. I grabbed Fiona’s arm, my teeth clattering. “Fiona… she stopped the payment… she stopped the check…” “What about Lily? What is going to happen to Lily?!” Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a voice message on Snapchat from Christian. With trembling fingers, I tapped it. “Ethan, Serena says if you want the money, crawl back to the Vance mansion.” “Start from the front gates, and beg on your knees all the way to the living room.” “If you beg loud enough, she’ll release the million dollars immediately.” In the background of the voice message, I could hear Serena’s cold, uncaring chuckle. I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles turned white. “Ethan, don’t go! I’ll call some people right now to get a loan!” Fiona tried to snatch the phone from my hand. I pushed her away gently and stood up, leaning against the wall. “There’s no time.” “Fiona, watch over Lily for me.” I turned and ran straight into the pouring rain.

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On Christmas Eve, I drove six hours through sleet to surprise my fiancé. By the time I reached Logan Pierce’s penthouse, my hands were raw from carrying grocery bags, my boots were wet, and the city below his windows was glowing with Christmas lights. His doorman knew me. His spare key still worked. That was how stupid I was. I let myself in, took off my coat, and spent three hours cooking the Christmas dinner I had imagined us eating together before we called our families on video and told them we were finally ready to announce the engagement date. Roast chicken with rosemary butter. Garlic mashed potatoes. Cranberry sauce from scratch. A chocolate cake cooling by the sink. I even wrapped his gift and placed it under the tree: a vintage watch strap he had once mentioned for half a second and forgotten. I remembered everything Logan forgot. While the gravy simmered, I checked my phone. A post had gone viral on Threads. How do you know a man is obsessed with you? The top answer was from a girl with a soft-focus profile picture and a Christmas tree emoji in her bio. He told his family he had an emergency board call tonight because I couldn’t stand spending Christmas Eve alone. My fingers stopped moving. She continued. He was supposed to get engaged to his girlfriend this holiday, but I said I wasn’t ready to watch him choose her, so he postponed it. He remembers my coffee order, my birthday, my favorite Christmas song. He even made the passenger seat of his car mine. The kitchen went quiet except for the low hiss of the stove. Logan had told me he couldn’t come home for Christmas because of an emergency board call. Logan had postponed our engagement announcement two weeks ago. Someone replied: Girl, that sounds like being the other woman. The girl answered with a laughing emoji. The woman he doesn’t love is the other woman. He told me his fiancée is only a responsibility. I get the man. She gets the title. Then another line appeared. We’re going to look at Christmas lights now. The attached photo showed half of a man’s face under gold string lights. Sharp jaw. Straight nose. Black wool coat. A hand resting on the steering wheel. On his ring finger was the platinum band I had given Logan on our third anniversary. The same ring he said made him feel “already married.” I enlarged the picture until the pixels broke apart. Then I shrank it. Then enlarged it again. I tried to believe another man in this city had Logan’s jaw, Logan’s coat, Logan’s ring, and Logan’s habit of resting his thumb on the wheel like he owned the road. Then the girl posted a second photo. Two hands intertwined over a cashmere blanket. His watch was visible. So was the bracelet I had bought him last Christmas. My stomach dropped. I called Logan. The phone rang for almost a full minute before he answered. In the background, Christmas music played. A woman’s laugh slipped through before he moved away from it. “Ava?” Logan’s voice was warm. Too warm. “What’s wrong?” I looked at the dinner I had made. “Where are you?” “At the office,” he said smoothly. “I told you. Board call.” If I hadn’t seen the post, I would have believed him. That was the worst part. “I’m at your place,” I said. The silence on his end lasted long enough to kill five years. Then he said, “Stay there. I’m coming.” He came back thirty-two minutes later. He did not come alone. The woman beside him had glossy lips, soft brown hair, and a cream coat that looked expensive but useless against the cold. Her cheeks were pink, her earrings were tiny gold stars, and his scarf was wrapped around her throat. I knew her. Sienna Cole. Logan’s assistant. She had drifted through enough of our video calls to become familiar. Always in the background. Always carrying coffee. Always smiling at him like she had a secret key to a room I didn’t know existed. When Logan saw me standing beside the dining table, the first thing that crossed his face was not guilt. It was annoyance. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” My gaze dropped to his clothes. The black wool coat. The ring. The scarf missing from his neck and wrapped around hers. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. “I wanted to surprise you,” I said. My voice sounded strange. Flat. Like it belonged to a woman watching this from far away. Turns out he had prepared a better surprise first. I looked at Sienna. “Do you and your assistant usually spend Christmas Eve board calls together?” Logan’s jaw tightened. “You should have told me earlier. I would’ve picked you up.” I almost laughed. I had driven six hours in sleet to reach him, and he had not asked whether I was tired, hungry, or safe. Sienna smiled at me. “I didn’t expect you to remember me, Miss Carter. Mr. Pierce and I really were working. When he got your call, he rushed home right away.” Home. She said it like she lived there. Like I was the woman who had arrived without permission. Logan looked at her, and the corner of his mouth softened. It was quick. Private. A smile he had not given me in months. Then he turned to me. “Ubers are impossible tonight. I couldn’t leave her standing outside in this weather. I’ll take her home later.” Sienna blinked at me. “You don’t mind, do you?” Before I could answer, Logan said, almost amused, “Ava isn’t as dramatic as you.” Sienna pouted. “I am not dramatic.” They laughed. Just a little. Enough. They sounded less like CEO and assistant and more like two people who had spent too many nights making each other comfortable. My burned finger pulsed from where hot butter had splashed earlier. Sienna’s eyes moved over the table. “Oh my God. You cooked all this?” She tilted her head. “That’s sweet. I’m awful in the kitchen. Logan doesn’t even let me hold a knife. He says my job is to sit there and look pretty while he cooks.” Logan looked away. But not fast enough. I turned to him. “I don’t like her.” Sienna’s smile froze. “Logan,” I said, each word clean and sharp. “Fire her.”

Sienna looked at Logan immediately. Not like an employee. Like a girl waiting to see if her man would choose her. Logan was quiet for two seconds. Then he said, “Fine. I’ll handle it.” Her face went white. “Logan…” He glanced toward the windows, where the city was already buried in holiday traffic. “It’s late. I’ll take her home.” I stared at him. “You just said you’d fire her.” “I will.” His voice dropped, the way it always did when he wanted me to stop embarrassing him. “But I’m not letting her walk home in sleet on Christmas Eve.” Of course not. Sienna had to be protected from the weather. I had apparently been built to survive anything. They left together. The door clicked shut. The Christmas playlist kept playing. The chicken went cold. The gravy formed a skin. The cake sat untouched under the warm kitchen light. Two hours later, Logan came back. By then, I had thrown the entire dinner into the trash. He paused at the sight of the empty table. Then his eyes moved to me. “Ava—” His collar was open. One button near his throat had been fastened wrong. His hair was slightly damp at the nape, as if snow had melted there—or as if someone had run her fingers through it. On the edge of his white shirt was a faint smear of pink gloss. Sienna had posted again ten minutes earlier. His fiancée showed up and made him promise to fire me. Poor thing. Next line: He still walked me to his car. He still kissed me until the windows fogged. He went back upstairs with my gloss on his collar and his shirt buttoned wrong. She added a winking emoji. Merry Christmas to me. Everything matched. The two hours. The collar. The gloss. The way Logan stood in the doorway like a man already preparing to lie. He reached for me. I stepped back. “Don’t touch me.” His hand stopped midair. “Ava.” The scent hit me then. Not his usual cedar cologne. Vanilla. Sienna’s perfume. It was on his coat, his shirt, the air around him. My stomach turned. I ran to the bathroom and gripped the sink. Nothing came out. My body only shook, dry and useless, like even my nausea had been humiliated. Logan followed. “Are you sick?” He rubbed my back. “Did you eat something?” I flinched away from his hand. “Is Sienna just your assistant?” He frowned. “Of course she is.” I laughed. It sounded ugly. I pulled up the posts and handed him my phone. “Then what’s this?” Logan took it. He read. For a long time. I watched his face carefully. Shock would have been nice. Anger would have been better. Guilt would have been something. Instead, he only looked tired. “She’s young,” he said. “She likes attention. She exaggerates everything online.” “She exaggerated the Christmas lights?” “Ava—” “She exaggerated your ring in her hand?” His mouth tightened. “She exaggerated the lip gloss on your collar?” Logan looked away. There it was. The smallest confession. Not enough to be honest. Enough to insult me. “Don’t make this bigger than it is,” he said. I stared at him. “Do you know I hate cinnamon?” He blinked. “What?” “Do you know I hate cinnamon?” He didn’t answer. Because he didn’t know. Every December, Logan bought cinnamon candles because he liked how they made his apartment smell “warm.” I had sneezed through them for five years. He did not know. But Sienna’s post said he remembered she liked peppermint mocha with oat milk, no whipped cream, extra chocolate drizzle. He knew that. “Do you know I like spicy food?” I asked. His expression grew confused. “You never—” “I stopped asking because your stomach hurt every time we ate it.” Silence. “And the passenger seat?” I continued. “Remember when I brought that little ceramic fox from my first work trip and wanted to put it in your car?” Logan’s jaw flexed. “You said you hated clutter,” I said. “But Sienna has a pink blanket, lip balm, a stuffed reindeer, and a glitter sign that says Princess Seat.” He rubbed his temple. “I’ll clean the car.” “That’s not the point.” He looked at me then, and his voice softened. “After Christmas, I’ll transfer her. I’ll make everything normal again. We can still have the engagement party in January.” Normal. As if betrayal were a table he could wipe down. As if my ring, my dinner, my six-hour drive, his assistant’s perfume on his shirt—none of it mattered if he paid someone to delete a few posts. Sienna had written that I only had the title. Maybe she was right. If being his fiancée meant standing in his kitchen while another woman documented the places her mouth had been, she could have the man. I looked at Logan. “No.” His eyes sharpened. “No what?” “No engagement party.” “Ava.” “No wedding registry. No venue. No January announcement.” He stared at me like I had spoken a foreign language. I took the ring off my finger and placed it on the sink between us. “I’m done.”

Logan stared at the ring. For one second, something like relief flashed in his eyes. It was small. Ugly. Fast. But I saw it. Then he covered it with a sigh. “Ava, don’t say things you can’t take back.” “I already did.” “If you don’t want the party in January, we can delay it.” His tone turned patient, like he was negotiating a contract with a difficult client. “I’ve been under pressure. The company is preparing for funding. You know how busy I am.” I looked at his collar. The pink gloss was still there. “You were busy in Sienna’s car too?” His face darkened. “That’s enough.” No. It had been enough a long time ago. Five years together. Two years long-distance. Hundreds of flights, drives, calls I stayed awake for because his schedule mattered more than mine. The night I was supposed to meet his parents, I had cried from nerves in a hotel bathroom and then smiled through dinner because his mother called me “our future daughter-in-law.” When Logan asked to postpone the Christmas engagement announcement, I had swallowed my disappointment and said work came first. Now I knew whose feelings came first. Not mine. “All this because of a few stupid posts?” he asked. “Not the posts.” My voice was quiet. “It’s the fact that every post is believable.” Before he could answer, his phone rang. Not his normal ringtone. A girl’s voice filled the bathroom. Mr. Pierce, pick up. Your Christmas princess is calling. Ignore me and I’ll cry. The sound bounced off the tile. Logan snatched the phone and declined the call. His face tightened. “It was a joke.” The phone rang again. Same voice. Same Christmas princess. This time, he walked into the hallway and answered. He lowered his voice, but not enough. “What happened? The heat went out? Did maintenance come? Don’t cry. I’ll be there.” He came back into the bathroom with that look on his face. The one I already knew. He was going. “There’s an issue at the office.” I laughed once. On Christmas Eve, he couldn’t even respect me enough to invent a decent lie. “At the office?” He avoided my eyes. “I don’t know when I’ll be back. You should sleep here tonight.” Sleep here. In the apartment where I had cooked his Christmas dinner while his assistant waited for him downstairs. The apartment that smelled like vanilla perfume and cold gravy. “No,” I said. I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed my suitcase. Logan followed me. “Ava, don’t do this.” “Don’t do what? Leave a man who is leaving me?” His phone buzzed again. Sienna. Of course. He looked at it. That was answer enough. I took my coat from the chair. When I reached the door, he said, “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.” I turned back. He looked handsome in the warm Christmas light. Tired. Expensive. Ruined in small ways only I knew how to read. “Tomorrow,” I said, “I’ll be gone.” Then I left. I checked into a hotel ten blocks away. Outside the window, the city glittered with Christmas lights. Couples crossed the street hand in hand. Someone in the hotel lobby laughed under a hanging wreath. I sat on the bed in my coat and opened Sienna’s profile again. I hated myself for it. But I looked anyway. Fifteen minutes earlier, she had posted a carousel. Christmas with the person I actually want. Nine photos. Logan’s hand on a steering wheel. His coat thrown over the back of her chair. Two mugs beside a half-built gingerbread house. Her legs tucked under the pink blanket in his passenger seat. A close-up of the glitter sign on his dashboard: Sienna’s Seat. The last photo was a mirror selfie. Her face was tilted up. His face was half-hidden behind hers. His hand rested low on her waist. The caption read: His fiancée can have the ring. I get Christmas Eve. I stared until my vision blurred. Then I booked the earliest flight home. At 2:13 a.m., Logan called. “I’m staying late,” he said. “Sienna’s heat is out, and she’s scared. Go to bed. I’ll explain tomorrow.” In the background, she laughed softly. Not scared. Satisfied. I ended the call before he finished speaking. Then I typed one message. Logan, we’re over. This time, I did not wait for him to reply.

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I have a habit. Whenever I eat, watch a movie, or take a cab, I always leave an empty seat next to me. I used to believe that Austin would suddenly show up in my city and give me a surprise. But during our three years of long-distance relationship, he never came. Not once. So, I ended up doing everything alone—trying on wedding dresses, booking the venue, running myself ragged until my body finally broke down. With trembling hands, I sent him a Snapchat message. [I have a fever. It’s 102°F, and I don’t have any medicine at home.] He didn’t reply until half an hour later. [And?] [What do you want me to do, grow wings and fly over to drop off some Tylenol?] [I’m still reviewing a project proposal. Just order something on UberEats.] My fever was so high that I couldn’t even lift my fingers. I drifted into unconsciousness. When I woke up, my best friend, Chloe, was sitting by my bed with red eyes, holding a glass of warm water and medicine. “He’s only taking advantage of how understanding you are,” she said softly. “If it were me, I would have thrown a tantrum long ago.” Two weeks later, Chloe also came down with a high fever. I wanted to rush over to take care of her. But then, she posted a photo on Ins. It was a close-up of a man’s hand holding a spoon. [Sick during the season change. Thank God my knight in shining armor flew across three time zones overnight just to make me dinner.] I couldn’t have mistaken that hand. On Austin’s wrist was the luxury watch I had saved up half a year’s salary to buy him. At that moment, it hit me. The empty seat beside me wasn’t vacant because he couldn’t make it. It was because he simply didn’t want to. Since that was the case, keeping that seat open for him would just be foolish.

Holding a bag of medicine, I stood outside the door of Chloe’s apartment. The door wasn’t fully closed. Inside, Chloe’s nasal, congested laughter drifted out. “You flew back overnight? What about the NYC project? Are you really planning to stay in L.A. for good?” Austin replied without a second of hesitation. “I don’t care about the project anymore.” “I couldn’t focus knowing you were here having a fever alone. I’ve already applied for a transfer back to the L.A. branch. No more long-distance for us.” Chloe’s tone was playful. “If Elena finds out, won’t she be thrilled to death?” “I only care about your happiness.” My fingernails dug into the plastic handles of the bag, leaving bloodless white marks on my skin. Three years ago, holding my mother’s critical illness notice, I had grabbed his sleeve and begged him to stay. I asked him if we could not do long-distance. He had packed his suitcase and walked out without looking back. “Elena, you know how crucial this promotion is for my career. I’m doing this for our future. Be mature.” The night he chased his bright future, my mother passed away. I shook and cried alone in an empty house. Over the past three years, I had suggested ending the long distance countless times. I was even willing to compromise, to give up my career in L.A. just to move to NYC for him. But he rejected me every single time. “The cost of living in New York is too high. If you move here, you’ll only drag down my progress.” “Stop trying to hold back my career with your emotional insecurity.” But his precious career and future suddenly became worthless when Chloe got a common cold. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Austin was sitting by the bed, holding a bowl of warm soup. The moment he saw me, his brows knitted together. “What are you doing here?” I placed the bag of medicine on the nightstand. “I came to see Chloe. And, of course, to see the knight who flew across three time zones.” Chloe quickly waved her hands in panic. “Elena, please don’t blame Austin. My fever was just so high last night, and I complained to him on Snapchat.” “I didn’t expect him to leave his work and fly back. If it bothers you, I can tell him to leave right now.” Austin’s face darkened. “You’re this sick. Why should I leave?” He set the bowl down, his expression completely unapologetic. “Elena, stop being so passive-aggressive.” “Chloe is your best friend. She had a 102-degree fever. Did you expect me to just let her rot in this apartment alone?” I looked at the seafood chowder in the bowl. It was a recipe I had spent half a month perfecting, writing down every single step on a sticky note to teach him. He had complained that takeout chowder never tasted right. And now, he was using the recipe I taught him to nurture another woman. “I also had a 102-degree fever two weeks ago,” I said quietly. “You told me to use UberEats.” Austin’s eyes flickered with a brief moment of guilt. “But you got through it fine on your own, didn’t you?” “Chloe is different from you. She isn’t as independent as you are. Are you seriously getting jealous of your own best friend?” Suddenly, I found my past self—the girl who had desperately messaged him for help—utterly pathetic. A self-mocking smile crept onto my lips. Seeing me smile, his expression relaxed, looking relieved. “Good, now that you’ve smiled, let’s put this behind us. Don’t bring it up again.” “I’ve already applied to transfer back to L.A., so we won’t be apart anymore. You got what you wanted. Chloe just said she wanted some macarons from the boutique bakery downtown. Go grab some for her.” I turned and walked out. My phone vibrated in my pocket. [Hi Ms. Elena, the wedding dress you fell in love with has arrived in our boutique. When would you like to come in for a fitting?] [No need. Please cancel the order and process a refund.] I used to think long-distance relationship was just a long queue. As long as I kept the seat next to me empty and waited patiently, he would eventually sit down. Now I realized that a flight from NYC to L.A. only took six hours. It wasn’t that he couldn’t come back. He had just changed his destination long ago. There was no point in waiting anymore.

I didn’t go buy the macarons. Instead, I went straight back to my apartment and started packing. I threw the toothbrush, the dark grey towel, and the rinsing cup on the vanity straight into the trash can. No matter which apartment I moved to, I always kept a double set of daily essentials. I had always hoped he would suddenly show up in L.A. and surprise me. So I stubbornly left half of my space empty for him. Now he was back, but the surprise wasn’t for me. Austin didn’t come home that night. Chloe posted another update on Ins. [The best perk of being sick is having someone watch a 2 A.M. movie with you.] The picture showed a projector screen, with the side profile of a man looking focused and gentle. The movie was the one I had wanted to watch for a long time. I had mentioned it to Austin a thousand times, but he always dismissed it as boring. I gave her post a “like.” Three minutes later, a message from Austin popped up. [Get ready and come downstairs. Today is Grandma’s 80th birthday gala. I’ll pick you up on the way to the estate.] According to our original plan, today was also the day we were supposed to officially announce our engagement to his family. When I walked down, Chloe was already sitting in the passenger seat. She was holding a steaming latte, while her other hand played with a spare key to Austin’s apartment. On the keychain was a lucky charm I had personally woven for him. It was now stained with coffee. She turned to me with a sweet smile. “Hey El, you don’t mind me hitching a ride, do you?” Austin played a French song Chloe liked on the car stereo. “Chloe just got over her fever, and I didn’t feel safe leaving her alone. I figured taking her to the family estate would help her get some fresh air.” “Besides, she’s still weak from being sick.” “You sit in the back.” Half an hour later, we arrived at the estate. Chloe couldn’t wait to unbuckle her seatbelt. “Oh my god, I can already smell the delicious food!” She naturally walked up to Austin’s side, and they walked in shoulder to shoulder. I walked behind them like an irrelevant assistant. In the living room, the matriarch of the family was sitting on the sofa. “Austin, bring your girl over to let Grandma have a look.” Chloe walked up gracefully. “Happy birthday, Grandma.” The old lady smiled and patted her hand. “This must be the sweet girl Austin brought home last Christmas, right?” “So beautiful. No wonder Austin loves you so much.” Several relatives who actually knew me looked at each other, their eyes turning toward me in unison. I picked up my teacup and took a sip of warm water. Last Christmas, I was alone in L.A., staring at a table of cold Christmas dinner. Austin had told me over FaceTime that there was a massive issue with his project, and the entire team had to pull an all-nighter at the office. It turned out his “all-nighter” was bringing Chloe back to meet his family. The old lady slipped a stunning sapphire bracelet off her wrist and put it directly onto Chloe’s. “This is a gift from Grandma.” “Grandma… I couldn’t possibly accept this. You’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Chloe said, but her hand didn’t make any move to take the bracelet off. Austin leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Elena, let Chloe wear the bracelet for now. I’ll ask her to give it back to you after the party.” “Be mature. Don’t throw a fit today.” I shook my head. “No need to return it.” Austin froze, a flash of approval in his eyes. “I’m glad you see it that way. It actually looks quite nice on Chloe. I’ll buy you a new one some other day.” I put down my teacup. The tea was Earl Grey, Chloe’s favorite. Even Austin’s grandmother remembered her preference. While this was my first time entering the family estate, Chloe had already been here countless times. “Since you’ve given her the bracelet, let her keep it.” I looked at him calmly. “Austin, let’s break up.”

The smile on Austin’s face vanished instantly. “Just because of a bracelet? Elena, when did you become so incredibly petty?” “Yes, just because of a bracelet.” Chloe immediately started frantically trying to pull the bracelet off. “Elena, please don’t be mad. I’m taking it off right now. You two have been together for nine years, you can’t let it ruin your relationship because of me.” She pulled so hard that her wrist turned bright red, and tears welled up in her eyes. Austin grabbed her hand to stop her. “Why are you taking it off? You did nothing wrong.” “Chloe is still recovering. Do you have to humiliate her in front of everyone, Elena?” I couldn’t stand being there for another second. I turned and walked out. Behind me, whispers echoed through the hall. “She has such a terrible temper.” “Exactly. Men sometimes play around, she should just turn a blind eye.” Chloe spoke in a worried voice, “Austin, go after her. Elena is acting out of anger, what if something happens to her?” Austin sneered. “We’ve been together for nine years. She’s a thirty-year-old woman. Who else is going to take her in if not me?” He raised his voice so I could hear him. “If some people want to play hard to get, then our wedding date will just have to be pushed back even further.” The wedding boutique manager sent me a photo of the dress to confirm. [Ms. Elena, the deposit is non-refundable. You came in so many times for this. Are you sure you don’t want it anymore?] I stared at the screen for a long time. I had tried on seventeen wedding dresses in that shop all by myself. Every single photo I sent to Austin was met with a cold, automated reply: [Busy. You decide.] It turned out that one person’s expectation could never carry a future meant for two. [Cancel it,] I replied. The next morning, I went to work. A transfer notice was sitting on my desk. [Given Elena’s recent poor performance, she is being transferred to the administrative support team.] Right after, an announcement was posted in the company group chat: Chloe had been promoted to Senior Account Manager. Along with that, the project proposal I had spent seven sleepless nights and fifteen drafts perfecting now bore Chloe’s name as the lead. At the very bottom of the document, the approver’s signature was Austin’s. I called Austin immediately. “Saw the notice? I was just about to call you,” he said. “Austin, why is Chloe’s name on my proposal?” He chuckled softly. “You embarrassed Chloe at Grandma’s birthday party yesterday. She cried all night because of you.” “Giving her this project is to comfort her, and also to give you a little lesson.” Chloe’s congested voice came through the speaker. “Elena, if you’re unhappy about this, I can give the promotion back to you.” Austin cut her off. “Why would you give it back? She brought this on herself.” “Elena, as long as you behave and apologize to Chloe, the wedding is still on.” “I’ll make sure you get the next promotion slot.” I found it incredibly absurd. He was using my hard work to please another woman. I simply said, “Okay.” After hanging up, I submitted my resignation and clicked “accept” on an international job offer in Paris.

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I had just transferred the hard-earned money from my fifth side hustle to my boyfriend, Ethan, when a viral video popped up on my Instagram feed. It was a grand proposal that was breaking the internet. The sheer luxury of the setup was breathtaking. On screen, a man knelt on one knee, tears glistening in his eyes. “I regret so much that I didn’t confess my feelings to you before we went to study abroad. We let other people get in our way for so many years.” I sighed, thinking it was just another beautiful love story, and was about to swipe away. But then the camera panned. The man’s face came into full view. It was Ethan. And the girl crying tears of joy opposite him was my younger sister, Chloe. The only difference was that they both looked a bit more mature, a bit older. My eyes darted to the background banner. It read: “July 2030.” This was Ethan… four years into the future. Suddenly, a cold realization washed over me. Ethan’s stubborn insistence on going to London to study with Chloe wasn’t for my sake. It was never about me. Just then, two calls came in simultaneously—one from my supervisor at my next gig, and another from Chloe demanding her monthly allowance. I declined both. If they were meant to be, it would be extremely impolite of me to keep getting in their way.

On screen, Chloe sobbed out a tearful “Yes,” and the crowd erupted into cheers. Live streamers rushed forward, shoving microphones into their faces. I clicked into the most popular live stream. “Mr. Miller, it seems your journey with your fiancé wasn’t easy. Would you mind sharing your story with our viewers?” “Yes, please! Everyone in the chat is dying to know!” Ethan offered a gentle, practiced smile and wrapped his arm around Chloe’s waist. “Chloe, her older sister Nora, and I… we grew up in the foster care system together,” Ethan began softly. “Actually, I’ve always loved Chloe. But I never expected Nora to confess to me first. To protect the sisters’ relationship, I had to bottle up my feelings.” “I wanted to tell Nora so many times that I didn’t love her. But during our years studying abroad, she wouldn’t let go. She kept obsessively transferring money to us, trying to use financial guilt to keep us apart.” I stared at the screen, my breath catching in my throat. I couldn’t believe these words were coming from Ethan’s mouth. When Chloe graduated high school and wanted to go to a top-tier college in London, I didn’t hesitate. I told her to focus entirely on her studies, promising I would handle the money. Ethan had held my hands back then, begging me, “Nora, you know my degree won’t get me a good job here. I need to go to London with Chloe to build a better future. I’m doing this for our future family.” Since then, I had been working three regular jobs and countless side hustles, barely sleeping. I was terrified they would starve or feel less than their peers abroad. Ethan had promised he would marry me the moment he graduated. And now, all my sacrifices were reduced to “obsessive harassment” in his narrative. The live chat was absolutely ruthless. “What a toxic psychopath! She didn’t even try to improve her own life, but wanted to drag down two successful people.” “Thank God true love won in the end.” Ethan glanced at the rolling chat, a satisfied smirk flashing across his face before he turned to the crowd. “Alright, everyone. I have a special surprise for Chloe.” With a wave of his hand, the giant LED screen behind them began playing a video compilation. “Ethan Miller will definitely marry Chloe Evans one day.” In the video, a teenage Ethan wore his high school jacket, the silver necklace I had bought him with my first summer job check still hanging around his neck. The scene cut to a beaming Ethan. “We graduated! Chloe and I got into the same college program. We’re going to be together every single day!” My chest felt hollow, like my heart had been ripped out. When we were applying for colleges, my grades were good enough for a top university in a major city. But Ethan had begged me to choose a local community college to study nursing so I could get a job quickly. “You need to start earning ASAP to fund Chloe’s grad school,” he had argued. “After all, you’re her only family. Don’t worry, I’ll apply to a school in the same city as you.” But when the admission letters came, he and Chloe were accepted to a university in a completely different state. He told me it was a computer system error. The video kept playing. “Today is Chloe’s 23rd birthday. I can’t wait to give her this gift. I don’t have much money right now, so I could only get her this simple thing. But once I make it big, I’ll give her the world.” In his hand was a Chanel handbag—the exact luxury bag I had stared at through the glass display window during my shifts, never daring to touch. Her 23rd birthday was the day after tomorrow. I had just worked five grueling shifts back-to-back, sending him $5,000 to cover his “rent crisis,” only for him to spend it instantly on a “simple” designer bag for my sister. My body shook uncontrollably. Tears hot as fire rolled down my cheeks and splattered onto the back of my hand. I opened Snapchat and pulled up my chat with Ethan. “Ethan, are you really going to marry me?” After what felt like an eternity, a bubble popped up. “Don’t overthink things, babe.” Before I could type a reply, another message flashed on my screen. “When are you transferring Chloe’s allowance for this month?”

Of course. The only reason he even replied to me was because Chloe needed money. “I won’t be sending any more money for your living expenses. Ever.” After I sent that, the chat went dead silent. Suddenly, my phone rang. I answered, and the faint, whiny voice of a girl in the background grated on my nerves. I was about to hang up when Ethan’s voice came through the receiver. “You’ve been working really hard lately, haven’t you?” “Thank you for everything.” “Actually, I bought you a gift. It should be arriving today.” My hardened heart softened just a tiny bit. After hanging up, I went down to the lobby with a flicker of hope to retrieve the package. It was a cheap, poorly crocheted bag. The kind you could buy on eBay for five dollars. Holding the cheap yarn in my hands, I couldn’t even bring myself to be angry anymore. Right at this moment, he was probably using my hard-earned cash at a high-end boutique, picking out a luxury designer purse for Chloe. In the past, I would have immediately snap-chatted him a picture, telling him how much I loved it. But I was done acting. I dialed my manager’s number. “Hey, Mr. Davies. I’m accepting the transfer to the London branch. I’m ready to relocate permanently.” Within an hour, I signed the digital contract on the company portal and booked a one-way flight. Once everything was set, I couldn’t help but look back at the live stream to see how my “future” played out. The screen showed them in different outfits now. The venue had shifted to a stunning historic castle, with a massive multi-tiered cake standing in the center. “On July 5th, 2026, you finally became mine,” Ethan said into the microphone, looking passionately at Chloe. “From that very moment, I swore to myself that I would work myself to the bone to make sure you’d never suffer again.” I let out a bitter laugh. July 5th. That was my birthday. “So, I did everything I could to make money. And thank God, I can finally give you the home of your dreams.” My mind flashed back to the summer after high school graduation. I had gotten tipsy on cheap beer, crying about how exhausted I was and how much I just wanted a place to belong. Ethan had held me tight, whispering, “I’m going to build a home for us, Nora. I promise.” I had only ever seen him as a supportive friend from foster care, but from that night on, I fell hopelessly in love with him. “Ding.” A text popped up on my phone. “Nora, you really need to transfer Chloe’s allowance soon.” “I know it’s tough on you, but she’s your only sister.” “She’s literally starving here, surviving on cheap burgers because we have no cash.” The texts kept rolling in, one after another. My chest felt suffocated. They were complaining to me about being broke? When they first moved, Ethan complained that the dorms were too noisy and cramped, demanding to rent a luxury apartment off-campus. I spent my nights doing Uber Eats deliveries in torrential downpours just to pay his security deposit. Even when a car clipped my bike and left me with a hairline fracture, I didn’t complain once. When Chloe whined that walking to class made her legs hurt and begged for a Vespa, I washed dishes until my hands cracked and bled, never saying a word. I had only one thought back then: “My sister and my boyfriend love me. They are my family. I have to take care of them.” “Why aren’t you replying? Are you sick?” “Should I order some medicine to your place through DoorDash?” Ethan’s messages flooded my screen. I didn’t reply to a single one. On the live stream, the romantic speech reached its climax. “Fortunately, after Nora went completely delusional, claiming we betrayed her, she had a massive psychological breakdown and had to be committed to a mental facility.” “Even God was on our side.” Hearing those words, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through my chest. I could barely breathe. Ethan’s messages were still flashing on my phone. I opened the chat. “Ethan, you don’t have to marry me anymore.” “And I don’t want to marry you, either.”

He didn’t reply. On the screen, the host was asking Ethan about my commitment to the mental facility. The viewers in the chat seemed thrilled to see the “villain” who tried to ruin true love finally get her karma. Ethan cleared his throat, speaking with a sigh of mock pity. “After graduation, Chloe and I tried to distance ourselves from her.” “Normally, anyone with an ounce of self-respect would have taken the hint. But instead, she kept calling, demanding to know when we were coming home.” Chloe took the microphone, putting on a victim act. “Yeah, she was shameless. She wouldn’t leave Ethan alone. We didn’t want to humiliate her publicly, so we just stopped visiting.” “But then she actually tracked us down near our campus. She started telling our classmates that she had been funding our lives for years and that we had abandoned her.” “She made us look like ungrateful monsters. For a long time, we couldn’t even hold our heads up in front of our friends.” Chloe wiped away a stray tear. Ethan wrapped an arm around her, patting her shoulder reassuringly. “She wanted to use financial leverage to make us feel guilty, but I didn’t give her the chance. I flat out told her that Chloe and I were together.” “I told her that we had already crossed that line, and we were officially a couple.” “I guess her fragile mind couldn’t take it. She just… snapped.” Someone in the crowd yelled, “She went crazy because she couldn’t have you!” Ethan remained silent, but a faint, mocking smirk played at the corner of his lips. I knew that smirk. Back in high school, when he fought off three bullies at the school gate for me, wiping blood from his lip, he had warned them: “Touch Nora again, and I’ll end you.” He had that exact same arrogant smirk on his face. But back then, I thought he was my protector. Tears were streaming down my face now. In my memory, he had always been a good guy. In foster care, when other kids tried to take our food, he would always stand in front of Chloe and me, holding his arms out. “Don’t be scared, Nora. I’ll protect you guys forever.” But now, his protection only extended to Chloe. The grand proposal live stream finally ended. I sat in the dark apartment for a long time, unable to move. The two people I loved most in the world were going to betray me, gaslight me, and drive me into an asylum. I refused to accept that ending. I spent the rest of the night packing my bags. I needed to leave for London as soon as possible. Around 3:00 AM, a frantic knocking echoed from my front door. I crept up and looked through the peephole. Ethan was standing outside, looking completely panicked. The moment I opened the door, he practically threw himself inside, wrapping his arms tightly around me. “Nora! Oh my god, I was so worried about you!” I raised my hands and pushed him away. His face froze. “What… what’s wrong?” I shook my head, keeping my voice flat. “Nothing. Why are you here?” Ethan stammered, looking uneasy. “I was so worried after your last message. I literally booked the earliest flight back.” “I’m just glad you’re okay.” Before I could even process his sudden arrival, he added, “Since you’re fine… could you please transfer Chloe’s allowance? She’s really stressed out.” I let out a cold, sharp laugh. “When I got hit by a car and was hospitalized, you knew about it, but you didn’t even bother to call, let alone fly back.” “But for her…” The words choked in my throat. I swallowed down the bitterness. “Never mind.” Ethan’s brow furrowed, and he grabbed my shoulders. “Nora, I didn’t have the money for a plane ticket back then! You know that!” I didn’t answer. I turned around and walked toward my bedroom. His eyes scanned the apartment and fell on my packed suitcases. “Nora? Where are you going?” I kept my head down, wiping away my last tear. “I’m leaving. I’m getting out of your and Chloe’s way.”

Ethan stared at me in shock, then let out his signature gentle chuckle. “Silly girl, what are you talking about?” “Have you been overthinking things because we’ve been apart for too long?” Looking at him now, I finally realized what an incredible actor he was. “Chloe is just my sister-in-law, Nora. I only care about her because of you. I don’t have any feelings for her.” “Come on, stop being dramatic.” He reached out to ruffle my hair. “I’m going to run to the 7-Eleven down the street to grab some food. I’ll stay here and keep you company for a few days.” He turned and left the apartment. Like a possessed woman, I opened Instagram and searched for the account that had streamed the proposal. Their “epic love story” had already gone viral. I had been branded as the toxic, obsessed ex-girlfriend. The comments were flooded with hate directed at me. As I scrolled, one comment caught my eye: “No need to waste your energy hating her. Karma got her. Word is that Nora Evans actually passed away last night.” My heart stopped. I quickly replied with a burner account: “Do you have any details?” The user replied almost instantly. “Ethan hated her. After they put her in the psych ward, he refused to pay for her care or even visit. Her mental health deteriorated rapidly. My friend who works at the facility said she watched the proposal video, went to sleep, and never woke up. The nurses heard her crying and whispering about how unfair it all was before she passed.” Reading this, my breath hitched. Pure, icy terror gripped my throat. I forced myself to take deep breaths to stop my hands from shaking. Once I calmed down, I opened my airline app and rescheduled my flight to London for the very next morning. I had to run. I had to rewrite this ending. Just as I put my phone down, Ethan returned with a bag of snacks. He sat down next to me on the couch, and I instinctively flinched away. His eyes flashed with confusion, but he quickly opened a bag of chips. “Here, Nora. These are your favorite. I bought a bunch and put them in the pantry.” “Don’t be mad at me anymore, okay? I promise to spend more time with you from now on.” Right then, his phone vibrated. He tried to turn away, but in the quiet room, I could clearly hear Chloe’s sobbing voice from the speaker. “Ethan… I’m so scared here by myself…” Ethan stood up quickly and locked himself in the bathroom. Five minutes later, he came out with a helpless expression. “Nora, I’m so sorry. My advisor just called. There’s an emergency with my thesis, and I have to fly back immediately.” “I can’t stay with you right now.” “But I promise, I’ll make it up to you during the holidays.” In the past, I would have begged him to stay, tears streaming down my face. But now, I simply nodded. “Go ahead.” A flash of doubt crossed Ethan’s face, but he brushed it off. Before sunrise, he was ready to leave. At the door, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and pulled me into a tight embrace. “Don’t worry, Nora. I will marry you. I promise.” His eyes were slightly red. For a split second, I couldn’t tell if he was acting or if there was a shred of sincerity left in him. I just nodded to get him to leave. Before boarding my flight, I checked Instagram again and found Ethan’s personal account. Someone had left a comment on his post: “I heard Nora passed away.” His reply was a simple: “Thank you.” The plane took off, and I switched my phone to airplane mode. When we finally landed in London, I nervously turned my phone back on. I let out a massive sigh of relief. The video, the account, the comments… they were all gone. The timeline had shifted.

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On my wedding day to Julian, his Shibari artist ex-girlfriend and “first love,” Chloe, quietly returned to the country. Since then, Julian was always out of reach. He was either finding people for her to practice her rope rigging on, or busy cleaning up her messy accidents. It went on until Chloe tied me up in those tight, brutal ropes, forcing a miscarriage that took the baby in my womb. As I was being rushed to the hospital, slipping in and out of consciousness, Julian gently touched my lower abdomen. “Chloe said real art requires sacrifice. Don’t worry, you’re incredibly fertile anyway. We can always have another baby.” “I’ve already spoken to the doctors. They’ll do everything they can to keep you healthy.” Before I was even wheeled into the operating room, his assistant rushed over, saying Chloe had tripped in a pool of blood and scraped her knee. Without hesitation, Julian left with him. He had no idea that the baby was the very last one I had risked my life to keep for him, defying my System’s warnings. It was also the sole condition for me to give up my mission and return to my original world.

Julian’s hurried footsteps faded at the end of the long hallway. I lay all alone on the cold metal gurney. The freezing metal frame pressed against my back, and the IV fluid slowly dripped down the tube. The nurse wheeled me toward the operating room in silence. The medical staff around us looked at my pale face, their eyes filled with pity. The fully-formed baby inside me had already stopped moving. The lead surgeon put on sterile gloves, his brows furrowed in deep sympathy. “Evelyn, your uterus was already severely damaged from previous miscarriages.” “Having to induce labor at this stage… the chances of you conceiving again are almost zero. You most likely won’t be able to have children ever again.” As his voice fell, a cold, mechanical sound suddenly rang in my mind. But this time, the usually emotionless electronic voice carried a hint of pity. “Host, you risked your soul and defied the System’s rules to have this baby. I can make an exception and save the fetus for you.” “After all, you were so stubborn about completing your mission with Julian, risking your life to get pregnant multiple times, only to end up with miscarriages. I don’t want you to leave with absolutely nothing.” I stared at the harsh, bright surgical lights above me and let out a dry, bitter laugh. “No need. You can’t force someone to love you.” The System was silent for a moment, as if wanting to persuade me further. But seeing the utter deadness in my eyes, its voice returned to its usual icy tone. “Understood. Proceeding with Host’s choice. However, the anesthesia will be blocked immediately.” “All pain during the surgery will be multiplied. This will serve as your final trial to leave this world.” The moment the anesthesia wore off, painful, shattered memories rushed into my mind. I remembered Chloe binding me with those thick ropes, pulling them brutally tight across my abdomen. The pain was so agonizing that I had curled up on the floor, screaming. “Julian, it hurts so bad! Please, untie me!” But he had only shaken his head. “Chloe’s rope art requires sacrifice. Just bear with it, Evelyn. Stop making a scene.” As I struggled in agony, my foot had accidentally brushed against Chloe. It was barely a touch, but Julian had immediately panicked, pulling her into his arms to check if she was hurt. Then, he turned around and personally tightened the ropes around me. That heartbreak had already carved itself into my bones. Compared to that, what was a little physical pain now? I slowly nodded. In the darkness, I felt the sharp scalpel slice through my skin. The sensation of cold surgical instruments stirring inside my abdomen was sharp and agonizing. Warm blood poured out of my body continuously. Wave after wave of excruciating pain washed over me, threatening to swallow me whole. When the long surgery finally ended, all my strength was gone. I felt like an empty shell that had lost its soul as the nurses wheeled me out. The System’s voice chimed in right on time. “Congratulations, Host, on successfully passing the departure trial. You will be transported back to your original world in forty-eight hours.”

I was taken back to a regular recovery room. Just as I leaned back against the pillows to rest, the door was pushed open. Julian walked in, holding a thermal flask. His eyes fell on my suddenly flat stomach. A fleeting look of guilt crossed his face, and he stepped forward, reaching out to pull me into his arms. I turned my head slightly, coldly dodging his touch. My hand instinctively protected my empty stomach. Julian froze, a look of shock flashing in his eyes. But he quickly masked it, his voice softening. “I know you’re still angry. I know you suffered this time. To make it up to you, I’ll stay here and take care of you.” He opened the flask and poured out a bowl of rich, thick herbal soup, holding it out to me. The heavy, greasy smell hit me, making my stomach churn. I frowned. Seeing my reaction, Julian’s brow furrowed, his tone turning annoyed. “Chloe made this herself and asked me to bring it to you. I’m even feeding you personally. What more do you want, Evelyn?” In the past, whenever he mentioned Chloe, I would lose control and scream at him. Because of those fights, he had stopped bringing her up, but he had also grown colder and more distant. But now, as I touched my empty belly, I felt absolutely nothing. I replied flatly, “I’m not ungrateful. I just don’t have an appetite after the surgery.” My calm reaction caught Julian off guard. He set the bowl down and grabbed my wrist, wanting to say something. But the door opened again, and Chloe walked in, wearing a delicate, elegant dress. She kept her eyes down, looking incredibly hurt. “Why won’t you drink the soup, Evelyn? Do you hate me that much?” “I know I’m clumsy. I even cut my hand while making it. It’s only natural you’d look down on it.” Julian immediately let go of my hand. He rushed over to grab Chloe’s hand, examining her tiny cut before calling for a doctor. Chloe giggled, gently tapping his chest. “It’s just a scratch. It’s already treated. As long as Evelyn finishes the soup, my hard work won’t be wasted.” Julian turned back, picking up the bowl and pushing it toward me again. I looked at the two of them acting so intimate. Since I only had two days left, there was no point in fighting anymore. I took the bowl, forced down the nausea rising in my throat, and drank the greasy soup in one gulp. Seeing me finish it, Julian’s face softened a bit. “Good girl. Get some rest. I’ll stay here with you.” The moment he said that, Chloe chimed in. “Oh, don’t stay here. Our rope experiment got interrupted because of Evelyn earlier. You have to make it up to me.” “Let’s just use the empty private room next door. That way, we won’t disturb Evelyn’s rest.” Soon, my room became dead quiet. My heart still ached for my unborn child. I wanted to ask Julian for a proper burial place for the baby, so I forced myself up and slowly walked to the room next door. The door wasn’t fully closed. I could see everything inside. Julian was lying on the bed, bound in layers of intricate ropes. Chloe’s fingers slowly traced his skin, her eyes full of desire. “Since I came back, I’ve wanted a baby that belongs to just the two of us. Will you give me that, Julian?” Their intimate whispers drifted into my ears clearly. I stood outside the door quietly. The very last shred of hope I had for this man completely shattered and turned to ash.

I turned around to go back to my room. But my body was too weak after the surgery, and the greasy soup made my stomach churn again. I gasped, my shoulder heavily bumping against the doorframe. Julian quickly untied himself and rushed out of the room. He patted my back to help me catch my breath. The scent of Chloe’s expensive perfume clung to his shirt. The strong fragrance triggered my nausea again. I pushed him away with all the strength I had left, leaning against the wall. Chloe walked out leisurely behind him. The passion in her eyes had completely vanished, replaced by her usual innocent, fragile act. She spoke softly, “I don’t have much time left to live, and I don’t want to get married. I just want a child of my own.” “Julian only agreed to help me because he saw how lonely and miserable I was. While you’re recovering from losing your baby, you can help us take care of our child to fill the void.” I knew she was mocking me, but my face remained completely blank. “None of my business. I was just passing by.” Chloe wouldn’t let it go. She stepped closer. “Evelyn, I know you think I’m disgusting. But I had no choice. You can understand me, right?” I looked up at her. “You are indeed disgusting.” My blunt words took her by surprise. Tears instantly filled her eyes, and she made a move to drop to her knees to apologize, sobbing. “Then I’ll just disappear. I won’t ruin your life anymore.” Julian immediately caught her, pulling her up. He glared at me with absolute disgust. “Evelyn! This is Chloe’s only wish. Why do you have to be so cruel and push her to the edge?” I wanted to laugh. Julian had always been so stingy with his warmth and tenderness when it came to me during our marriage. For him, I had gotten pregnant multiple times and suffered miscarriages, facing the pain of losing my babies all by myself every single time. A million emotions choked my chest, but I was too tired to argue. I turned to leave. But Julian suddenly picked me up in his arms and carried me back to my hospital bed. “The one I love has always been you. I’m only helping Chloe to fulfill her dying wish.” “Since you care so much about this, I’ll give you another baby. Will you stop throwing these tantrums then?” Before he could lean down any closer, I struggled with all my might, crying out in terror, “No!” But Julian ignored me, tightly grabbing my wrists. Driven to a corner, I gathered every ounce of strength I had left and slapped him across the face. The loud slap echoed in the room. Julian froze. Then, his eyes flared with rage. “Evelyn! You are getting completely out of hand.” “Since you don’t want it, I promise you will never have a child of mine again. Don’t you dare regret this!” With that threat, Julian slammed the door. Not long after, the playful, suggestive giggles from the room next door drifted into my ears. I lay on the bed quietly with my eyes closed. I only had one day left before I could leave this world. Nothing mattered anymore. The next morning, ignoring the doctor’s warnings, I checked myself out of the hospital. I went back to our penthouse, took off my diamond wedding ring, and threw it into the trash chute. I didn’t take a single thing that Julian had bought me. I only packed a small suitcase with my own belongings. Just as I finished, the front door was pushed open. Julian stood there, his brows furrowed as he looked at my suitcase. “Where do you think you’re going with that?”

The scent of Chloe’s perfume on Julian was even stronger now. Before I could speak, he stepped forward and snatched my suitcase away. His eyes were filled with impatience, assuming I was still playing hard to get. “Stop acting out. Chloe just came up with a new rope design. Go over and help her practice.” “If you behave well and make her happy, I might reconsider the baby thing.” I used to desperately want his baby because I loved him to death. But now, I looked him dead in the eye and said calmly, “I don’t want your baby anymore. And I will never be her guinea pig again.” “Since you love helping her so much, why don’t you go keep her company for the rest of her short life?” Right then, the System’s voice chimed in my head. “The twelve-hour countdown to departure has begun.” My rejection completely infuriated Julian. He violently kicked my suitcase, sending it sliding across the floor. His face was ice-cold. “I knew you wouldn’t listen. I’ve already sent men to pick up your mother.” Hearing the word “mother,” my heart seized. In this strange world, my mother, Sarah, was my only comfort. During the countless nights Julian had left me alone, she was the one who stayed by my side. She gently healed my loneliness and anxiety. She was the only person I cared about in this world. I rushed forward to stop him. “Don’t you dare touch my mom!” Julian grabbed my arm. His grip was like iron, his voice cold and commanding. “You don’t get a say in this.” He dragged me out of the penthouse and threw me into his car. The car sped through the city and finally stopped at the underground warehouse of Chloe’s private estate. The warehouse was dimly lit. When I looked up, I saw my mother hanging from the ceiling by ropes. Her limbs were tied tightly, and her face was deathly pale. I screamed, trying to run over to untie her, but Julian held me back firmly. “Chloe has no interest in hurting an old lady. If you want to save your mother, take her place.” Looking at my mother’s agonizing state, I bit my lip and nodded. A smug smile spread across Chloe’s face. “Smart girl. Once I’m pregnant with Julian’s baby, I’ll need to rest. This will probably be my last session.” With that, she began tying my limbs. Julian quickly pushed her aside, telling her not to exhaust herself and that he would handle the rest. Rough ropes were wrapped tightly around my skin, squeezing my waist and chest. My blood flow was cut off, and a suffocating feeling washed over me. My limbs gradually went numb and freezing cold. The torture went on for what felt like eternity. My face turned paper-white, and my body shook uncontrollably. Seeing this, Julian was about to call it off, but Chloe held his arm to stop him. “The time isn’t up yet.” Then, she pressed her hand to her forehead, looking weak. “Julian, I feel so dizzy and hot… Do you think it’s because of my illness?” All of Julian’s attention immediately shifted to her. Filled with worry, he carefully scooped Chloe into his arms and rushed out of the warehouse. He didn’t even look back at me. I was left hanging in the middle of the dark, silent warehouse. Just as the agonizing pain was about to make me pass out, the System’s voice suddenly rang in my head. “Warning: Host’s life is in extreme danger. Emergency departure can be activated immediately. Do you wish to return to your original world now?” I looked at my unconscious mother on the floor. “Yes,” I whispered in my mind. The next second, a powerful force pulled my soul out of my body. … Julian was too worried about Chloe’s dizziness. He drove her straight to the nearest hospital. But shortly after they arrived, his phone rang. It was his assistant. The voice on the other end was frantic. “Mr. Julian, the other volunteers who practiced Chloe’s rope art before are all having severe medical emergencies!” “The authorities are investigating. They need Chloe to come down and explain her techniques immediately.” Julian frowned. He was confident in Chloe’s skills, so he answered carelessly, “Don’t bother Chloe. Go to the warehouse and bring Evelyn to testify.” “She has always been obedient. She will tell them the technique is perfectly safe.” He was certain he had me wrapped around his finger. But a few minutes later, the assistant called back, his voice trembling. “Mr. Julian… we just went to the warehouse. We took Mrs. Evelyn down from the ropes… but she’s not breathing…”

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My husband was taking me out to dinner. The moment we got into his new car, he casually gave a voice command to the console: “Navigate to our usual spot.” The screen flashed, and the GPS immediately pinned a famous, high-end organic bistro known exclusively for its curated maternity menu. I looked at him, completely confused. “I thought we were going to that Omakase place downtown?” Julian’s face stiffened for a microsecond. Then, he let out a casual laugh and swiped the screen to cancel the route. “This stupid system. It’s been full of bugs since the last software update. I need to take it to the dealership tomorrow. Did it scare you, babe?” My heart sank, but I chose to stay silent. A few days later, I drove to his office to drop off some urgent tax documents. Just as I parked, I saw his gorgeous new assistant, Tiffany. She walked straight up to Julian’s brand-new car, completely at ease, and unlocked it with a quick voice command. “Adjust the passenger seat to maternity lounge mode. Use my personalized profile, please.” The documents in my hands scattered all over the concrete. Julian had told me that this car only registered one woman’s voice—mine. Now, it was obeying someone else.

“Mrs. Vance? What are you doing here?” Tiffany’s sweet, high-pitched voice snapped me back to reality. Panic flashed across her face. She quickly knelt down to help me gather the scattered papers. Right then, Julian came rushing out of the office building. Seeing the mess on the ground, he frowned. But instead of walking toward me, he went straight to Tiffany. “What happened?” He grabbed Tiffany’s arm, his voice laced with a tense panic I had never heard before. Tiffany’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. She shook her head. “It’s nothing, really. Mrs. Vance just…” Only then did Julian turn his annoyed gaze to me. “Fiona, what is wrong with you? Why are you being so clumsy?” “Why does she have voice access to this car?” I asked, pointing directly at the brand-new SUV. Julian froze. He let go of Tiffany and stepped closer to me. The annoyance on his face melted into his signature gentle smile. He lowered his voice. “Tiffany had a family emergency, and I had to let her borrow the car. I just set up a temporary profile for her.” “It was just for convenience, Fiona. It’s a temporary guest setting. Don’t overthink it.” “A temporary setting?” I squeezed the papers in my hand, repeating his words. “But she literally said ‘passenger maternity lounge mode’ and ‘personalized profile.’ You call that temporary?” Julian choked on his words. A flash of irritation crossed his eyes, but he quickly covered it up. “Fiona, you must have misheard her. She said ‘cloud-saved driving mode.’ The voice recognition system in this car has been acting up lately.” “She’s just a young girl fresh out of college. How could she possibly be pregnant?” He said it so confidently, so righteously. He was treating me like an idiot. Did he really think I was hallucinating? “Julian, do you honestly think I’m that stupid?” Tiffany chimed in from the side, looking utterly helpless. “Mrs. Vance, I have a bit of an accent, so maybe that caused the mix-up. Mr. Vance was just being kind enough to help me when I was in a rush.” She called him “Mr. Vance,” but they were practically finishing each other’s sentences. Watching them play their little roles made my chest tighten with a suffocating anger. When we got home, Julian went back to his usual doting self, acting as if nothing had happened. He even voluntarily did all the chores. That night, he wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissing my neck. “Babe, don’t be mad anymore. I promise I won’t set up temporary profiles for anyone else ever again, okay?” I didn’t say a word. While he was in the shower, I grabbed the car keys and went downstairs alone. I sat in the driver’s seat. The faint, sweet scent of another woman’s perfume had not yet faded. I took a deep breath, mimicked Tiffany’s soft tone, and spoke to the console. “Hello.” The car’s system responded with a cold, robotic voice: “Identity unrecognized. Please use a registered voice profile or key fob to operate.” It felt like a knife had plunged straight into my heart.

The next morning, Julian brought breakfast to my bed, looking incredibly eager to please. “Babe, it really was a system bug. I called the dealership first thing this morning.” “They said the latest software update has messed up some user data, especially the voice profiles. They told me to bring it in for a factory reset when I have time.” “I’ve already deleted Tiffany’s temporary profile. You can rest easy now, okay?” His eyes were filled with nothing but sincerity. I stared at him, unable to say a word. If I hadn’t heard that “Identity unrecognized” prompt with my own ears last night, I probably would have believed him. For the next few days, he treated me like we were back in the honeymoon phase. He came home straight after work and spent the weekend taking me out to movies and shopping. He even suggested we finally go on that luxury trip to Hawaii we had delayed for years. His sudden wave of tenderness began to slowly wear down my defenses. I almost let myself fall back into his beautiful illusion. On Wednesday, I took Julian’s car to the grocery store. I casually said to the console, “Play some music.” The system paused for a few seconds. “Sure. Playing Tiffany’s Favorite Playlist.” A cold shiver ran down my spine, and my blood froze instantly. I began tapping the screen frantically like a madwoman, trying to turn it off. But no matter what I pressed, the words “Tiffany’s Favorite Playlist” remained locked in the center of the screen. I pulled over to the curb, my heart hammering against my ribs. Didn’t he say he deleted her? Why was this still here? When Julian came home that night, I confronted him immediately. “What is ‘Tiffany’s Favorite Playlist’ doing in your car?” He gasped, then quickly put on a look of sheer frustration. “This piece of junk! I told you the system is completely messed up!” He pulled out his phone, put it on speaker, and called the dealership representative right in front of me. “What is wrong with my car? Didn’t you guys say it was reset? Why is another user’s playlist still popping up when my wife drives it?” The representative on the phone apologized profusely, claiming it might be a cloud cache issue and asking him to bring it in again. Julian hung up and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted. “Babe, please don’t overthink this. It’s genuinely just a technical glitch.” “I’ll take a day off tomorrow to get this sorted out once and for all.” He took my hand and kissed it gently. “And to give you peace of mind, I’ve already transferred Tiffany to another department. Is that enough?” I looked into his eyes. “Really?” “Really. Have I ever lied to you?” His gaze was steady, without a hint of guilt. The heavy stone in my heart finally felt a little lighter. But the next day, while doing the laundry, I found a crumpled piece of paper in his suit pocket. It was a billing receipt from an elite private maternity clinic. The date on the receipt was the exact day he had sworn to me that he had deleted her profile. Under the patient name, it read: “Fiona Miller.” That was my name.

Clutching the receipt, I stormed into Julian’s home office. “What is this?” I slammed the paper onto his desk. He was reviewing some reports, but when he saw the receipt, he remained surprisingly calm. “Fiona, your health hasn’t been great lately, right? I asked a friend to book a top specialist for you. I wanted to surprise you.” “Tiffany happened to feel unwell that day too, so I just gave her a ride and got her a basic checkup first.” “I used your name for her registration because I didn’t want you to worry and get the wrong idea.” The explanation sounded absolutely seamless. “A surprise?” My voice was trembling. “Julian, do you honestly think I am brain-dead?” “An early pregnancy confirmation test. Is that your surprise for me?” The air in the office instantly turned freezing cold. Julian’s face darkened, his gentle facade completely vanishing. He stood up and walked toward me, step by step. “Fiona, what are you trying to say? Are you accusing me of cheating?” He raised his voice, sounding deeply offended. “Is that who I am to you? A man who would just betray you like that?” “We’ve been married for three years. How I’ve treated you… do you have no heart?” With every sentence, he took another step closer. The sheer pressure of his imposing figure forced me backward until my spine hit the cold wall. “Then what about Tiffany? Where did you transfer her?” I gritted my teeth and asked. “I told you, another department! Why can’t you just trust me!” he roared. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and immediately silenced it. “Fiona, can you please be rational? Are you really going to destroy our marriage over some petty suspicion about an outsider?” Even as he tried to soothe me with his words, his fingers were rapidly typing a text. I saw it clearly on his screen: “Don’t worry, I’m handling her.” My heart plummeted into a dark, bottomless abyss. There was nothing left to deny. The person on the other end of that phone was Tiffany. While his mouth was promising me the world, his fingers were busy comforting his pregnant mistress. I suddenly felt a wave of mocking laughter bubble up in my throat. “Julian, let’s get a divorce.” I said those words with absolute, chilling calm. He froze. “What did you say?” “I said, I want a divorce.” I looked him dead in the eye. “I can’t live like this anymore. Go spend the rest of your life with your little assistant.” His face turned a terrible shade of gray. “Fiona! Have you lost your mind?!” He grabbed my wrist with terrifying force. “Over this? Over some stupid software glitch in a car? You want to throw away our marriage?!” Suddenly, a sharp, agonizing pain ripped through my lower abdomen. I let out a weak groan, and cold sweat instantly drenched my forehead.

The pain was so blinding that my vision went black. My knees buckled, and I slid down the wall onto the floor. “Julian… my stomach… it hurts so bad…” I curled into a ball on the floor, my voice barely a whisper. Julian squatted down, looking down at me with cold, skeptical eyes. “What now? You were perfectly fine a second ago. What kind of sick game are you playing, Fiona?” “I’m not playing… it hurts…” I felt a sudden, warm gush of liquid between my thighs. I looked down. The fabric of my pants was rapidly staining bright red. Blood. Julian saw it too, and his pupils dilated in sheer shock. “How… why are you bleeding?” He finally realized I wasn’t acting. He tried to lift me up but panicked, his hands shaking violently. The pain was causing me to black out. I used the last ounce of my strength to grab his hem. “Call 911… please…” As if waking from a nightmare, he fumbled for his phone. The moment the call connected, he stammered: “My… my wife has severe abdominal pain. She’s bleeding a lot… but she was just arguing with me a second ago…” Hearing his words, I nearly choked on my own breath. Even at a moment like this, he was trying to paint me as the hysterical, difficult wife to the dispatcher. Thankfully, the operator was highly professional. She cut him off and demanded our address immediately. On the way to the hospital, the agonizing pain kept dragging me in and out of consciousness. Julian’s phone rang again. It was Tiffany. He answered it, whispering in a low, hushed tone. “I have an emergency here… don’t worry, just find a place to sit down and rest. I’ll come over as soon as I’m done here.” I was lying on a gurney, practically dying, while my husband was using his gentlest voice to soothe another woman. The moment we arrived at the hospital, I was rushed straight into the emergency room. After a quick examination behind the curtain, the doctor’s face turned incredibly grave. “It’s an ectopic pregnancy. The fallopian tube has ruptured, causing severe internal bleeding. We need to perform emergency surgery right now!” Julian stood there, completely dumbfounded. “Ectopic pregnancy? How… we always use protection…” Just then, Tiffany actually showed up at the hospital. She looked pale and fragile, practically trembling. The moment she saw Julian, her tears began to stream down her face. “Julian, I’m so scared…” Then, she noticed me on the gurney and the critical consent form in the doctor’s hand. She walked over to my bedside, her voice dripping with sweet poison. “Fiona, how could you be so careless… Did you stress the baby out during your argument with Julian this afternoon?” “Do you have any idea how much Julian was looking forward to having a baby? If this is because of me…” Hearing this, Julian suddenly snapped. He rushed over, grabbed my shoulders, and began shaking me violently. The agonizing pain in my abdomen coupled with his rough shaking made my vision spin into darkness. “Fiona! What does this have to do with Tiffany? Did you do this on purpose to get rid of the baby?!” “Do you hate me that much?! To the point of using our own child to punish me?!” The doctor immediately slammed him back. “What are you doing?! The patient is in critical condition!” The doctor shoved the surgical consent form and the critical condition notice into Julian’s shaking hands. “This is an emergency! We need to remove the ruptured fallopian tube, and we might even have to perform a hysterectomy to save her life! Sign it now!” Julian held the pen, but his hand was shaking uncontrollably. Tiffany whispered from behind him, her voice filled with mock concern. “Julian… a hysterectomy… does that mean… Fiona will never be able to have children again?” Julian’s hand froze. He looked at me, and in his eyes, there was not a single shred of pity or love. I felt my life slowly draining away. The pain in my abdomen was consuming me entirely. Looking at this hesitating man—the man who had sworn to love and protect me for the rest of his life, yet hesitated to save me when I was dying—my heart finally died. With the very last of my strength, I dragged myself up and reached for my bag. I pulled out a document and a pen I had prepared beforehand. I signed my own name on the surgical consent form. Then, I flipped to the last page of the “Divorce Agreement” I had drafted days ago, and signed my name there too, smearing a drop of my own blood onto the paper. I weakly shoved both documents into his face. “Sign it, and I’ll go into the operating room myself.” Julian stared at the blood-stained divorce papers, completely paralyzed. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. The nurse beside us stamped her foot in frustration. “What are you waiting for?! If we delay any longer, she’s going to die!” My consciousness was fading fast, and my vision began to double. Without looking at him again, I turned to the doctor. “Doctor, I signed it myself. I take full responsibility.” With those final words, I plummeted into absolute darkness.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “436165”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster