Category: English

After finding condoms in my husband Jacob’s passenger seat yet again, I wasn’t angry anymore. I just silently helped him put them away. Jacob gave me a complicated look and volunteered an explanation. “Check for yourself. This box hasn’t even been opened.” I said nothing, closing my eyes and pretending to sleep. Half an hour later, he pulled up in front of a store and said to me: “Let’s go buy a gift for your mom. We’ll go back to your place together for Christmas to see her.” My tears finally fell. My mom was dead. He still didn’t know. “Iman? Are you listening to me?” Jacob’s voice dropped several notes, full of oppressive force. My voice came out hoarse. “No need.” No need to go back. Never need to go back again. But he misunderstood what I meant and leaned over to look at me. “Are you mad? “Just trust me, okay? Otherwise count them yourself.” He opened the box as he spoke, dumping out all the condoms. His eyes were helpless yet indulgent, as if looking at an unreasonable child. I wiped my tears and looked over. “I’m really not mad.” Jacob leaned over and hugged me, sighing. “And you say you’re not mad. “Didn’t you always want me to go back with you? “This Christmas I finally don’t have any work obligations. “If we miss this chance, who knows when the next one will be.” His palm gently soothed my back, just like before. But I numbly pushed him away and nodded. “Okay, then let’s go.” Before my mom died, she kept talking about how Jacob was too busy with work and hadn’t been able to visit. If Jacob had time this Christmas, it would be good for him to pay his respects. After all, once we got divorced, there’d be no reason to ask him to go. But on Christmas day, Jacob didn’t come home. As if I’d expected it all along, I calmly accepted the possibility that he might miss the flight. So I took a cab to the airport by myself. It wasn’t until the plane started moving that he called me. “Sorry, something came up here that delayed me. “Can you change your ticket? How about we leave tonight instead?” I looked at the scenery retreating outside the window and swallowed my tears. “No need. I’ve already left.” I didn’t even bother asking him the reason. But Jacob volunteered an explanation. “It’s really not because of Leah this time. “A project we’d already agreed on suddenly had some problems. I thought I could make it. “Iman, don’t make a scene.” I don’t know where he heard that I was making a scene. I spoke calmly. “I know you’re busy. You can come tomorrow.” Waiting one more day didn’t matter. That’s all there was to it. Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. “Wait for me like a good girl. I’ll cook for Mom when I get there. “She always said my cooking was good. It’s probably been years since she’s had it. “This time I absolutely—” “I’m tired. I want to sleep.” I interrupted his fantasy, tears streaming down my face. I really wanted to scream it out loud. My mom can’t eat it anymore! Where were you all this time! But I was tired. I didn’t want to argue. Too many arguments. I’d argued myself into exhaustion. It was like I was a person without self-respect, shamelessly begging for his attention. As long as he came, as long as my mom could see him. It wouldn’t be for nothing that my mom had raised him all those years. It wouldn’t be for nothing that I’d brought him home back then, and for over a decade after, he’d eaten at my house every day. But I’d overestimated him after all.

Uncle Coleman saw that I’d come back alone again. His expression wasn’t good. That evening, Aunt May tentatively asked: “Did you and Jacob have a fight? “Actually, when your mom was in the hospital, she noticed something too, but didn’t bring it up because she was afraid you’d be hurt. “You should rein in your temper. With both parents gone, you only have your husband to rely on. “Having a child as soon as possible is what’s most important right now.” I listened quietly and told her Jacob would come tomorrow. I explained: “His company hasn’t been doing well these past few years. He always has work obligations. “When my mom was in the hospital, he wanted to come too. Don’t worry, we’re fine.” I didn’t want the family to know I was planning to divorce. I was too lazy to deal with their attempts at reconciliation. But I didn’t expect Jacob to break his promise again. In the morning, he told me he was on his way to the airport. May had prepared abundant ingredients early in the morning. “It’s good he’s coming. He didn’t even show up at your mom’s funeral. The whole village thought you’d been abandoned. “Now he can shut them up. “You should come back more often too. Come sit with us at home.” May bustled about in the kitchen, chattering as she worked. But after making a whole table full of dishes, Jacob didn’t answer any of my calls. “Let’s eat first.” I forced down my emotions and spoke, looking at them apologetically. May and Coleman exchanged glances and both nodded. “Okay, okay, let’s eat first then.” “I’ll have your cousins come over too. We can’t finish all this food ourselves anyway.” “They can go up the mountain with you afterward.” May spoke while busily preparing the tableware. Food left on the table for half an hour in winter had long since lost its warmth. I forced back my tears, smiling with difficulty. Coleman suddenly sat down next to me and ruffled my hair. “You’ve always had your own mind since you were little. Do whatever you want to do. “If your dad were here, he wouldn’t bear to see you suffer like this. “This is always your home. You still have family here. Don’t listen to May. People need to live freely.” I smiled at Coleman and got up to go to the bathroom. I only came out after crying. Coleman and May were in the kitchen reheating the food when my phone rang. It was Jacob calling. “Leah’s in the hospital, in surgery. “It’s a matter of life and death. I can’t just ignore her. “Iman, tomorrow. I’ll come get you tomorrow. “And I’ll bring Mom back to stay for a few days too.” I numbly listened to his words, emotions churning in my chest. I didn’t want to get angry. My mom always said: “Iman, don’t always lose your temper. It’s not worth it. “Let’s just live our lives peacefully. “Turn a blind eye, and decades will pass. “Look at me—I had so many complaints about your dad before, but after he died, I only remember the good things.” But Jacob was really bullying me too much! “You don’t need to come anymore. When I get back, I need to talk to you about something.” I said coldly and hung up. When Jacob called again, I declined it. His messages came through to my phone instead. [Don’t be unreasonable. Just wait for me.] [If there was anyone else who could help, she wouldn’t have called me.] [About last time, she wanted to apologize to you, but I didn’t let her.] [Iman, you know your own temper. I was afraid you’d hit her again.] [Can’t we just live our own lives well? Why throw a tantrum over small things?] […] He sent many messages. I skimmed through a few. By then my cousins had returned. I turned off my phone and ignored Jacob. The meal was eaten with everyone lost in their own thoughts. When we went to my mom’s grave, my cousins waited for me at a distance. I sat on the ground, looking at the person in the photo. Tears fell as I looked. I had so much to say, but couldn’t speak. Only when leaving did I tell her: “I’m sorry. I lost the son-in-law you liked so much. You won’t blame me, will you?” Just then the wind rose, as if fingers gently brushing across my face. I held back my tears and left down the mountain without looking back.

The next day I boarded a plane back to Los Angeles. On the plane, the divorce agreement the lawyer I’d hired had drafted also arrived on my phone. I looked it over carefully and had them revise a few small details. I didn’t want his company. I had other plans. But I wanted all the cash and properties in our names. The value was also in the eight figures. What I didn’t expect was running into Jacob at the airport. We stared at each other. Standing beside him was Leah, who’d supposedly been in surgery just yesterday. Apparently it wasn’t a life-or-death surgery after all. After all, she could get out of bed the next day, even wearing beautiful makeup. Leah’s eyes were red with anxiety as she rushed to speak. “Don’t blame him. I’m the one who rushed him to come find you, aren’t I? “Of course I know wives are more important than friends. “When I called him, I thought he didn’t have plans for the holiday and could help out. “I didn’t expect him to hide the fact that he was going to your place because he was worried about me. I’m really sorry. “You won’t blame him, will you?” Jacob snapped out of it and instinctively moved Leah behind him. I’d hit Leah before. Since then, he’d never let me have direct contact with her. At this moment, Jacob spoke in a heavy voice. “This is my fault. Don’t take it out on her.” The scene before me made me think of the phrase “mutual devotion.” I nodded and looked at Leah. “Since you’re here too, why don’t you come sit at our place?” She looked completely shocked. Jacob’s brow furrowed. I looked at Jacob teasingly. “Didn’t you say there’s nothing between you two? “If you’re just friends, you don’t even dare bring her home?” I walked ahead. Jacob followed behind with Leah. “Don’t talk with so much hostility. It sounds terrible. “She’s just a young, innocent woman. After you scared her last time, how would she dare come to our house?” I stopped and looked past him at Leah. Our eyes met. Leah suddenly smiled, a hint of provocation in her eyes. “Since Iman invited me, of course I’ll go.” I looked at Jacob again. “Be a man. That bitch is braver than you.” As soon as we got home, I went to the study. I printed out the divorce agreement, bound it, and went to the living room to hand it to Jacob. “Take a look. If there are no problems, sign it. “You can take your things and leave with her today. “The company had my mom’s initial investment of two hundred thousand. I don’t want it. “But all marital assets and properties are mine. Except for the company, give me everything else.” I finished in one breath. Jacob’s expression went from shock to anger. “What the hell is wrong with you? “Does your mom know about this? “You went through all this trouble just to say this? Even tantrums have limits.” I lowered my eyes and spoke flatly. “I’ve already informed her. “What mother doesn’t want her child to be happy? “She was good to you because she wanted you to be good to me. No matter how much she liked you, how could she value you over her own child? “So you don’t need to worry about what she thinks.” At this point, I glanced at Leah. Her smile couldn’t be suppressed. She looked at Jacob with determined confidence. I smiled and continued speaking to Jacob. “Now that things between us have come to this, you don’t think my mom would still be nice to you, do you?” Jacob grew angrier. “What did you tell her? “How many times do I have to say it? Nothing happened between Leah and me!” I threw the divorce agreement in his face and spoke flatly. “Does something only count as happening if you’ve slept together? “Who did you adjust the passenger seat for? “Our wedding anniversary, my birthday, my mom’s birthday… “Which special occasion this year didn’t you spend with her? “Did all her relatives and friends die? “Does she need you, an irrelevant married man, to accompany her for a minor surgery? “Jacob, we’re all smart people. Don’t treat people like fools, okay?” My tone started out calm, but by the end my voice was trembling. But Jacob said coldly, repeating, “I will not divorce you!” He added, “If we divorce, your mom will be heartbroken!” I instinctively shouted: “My mom is dead! How could she be heartbroken?”

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At the school tennis tournament, when my girlfriend Victoria found out my racket cost a hundred thousand dollars, she went ballistic. “A hundred thousand? Just for this piece of junk racket? Are you insane! You’re a complete spendthrift.” She pulled over Killian, a student on financial aid: “His monthly living expenses are less than five hundred dollars. Wouldn’t it be better to help him out instead?” I frowned. “It’s my money. I can spend it however I want. Why should I subsidize him? Just because he’s poor? There are tons of poor people in the world.” Seeing I showed no remorse, Victoria flew into a rage and demanded I hand over all my bank cards. “I’m going to marry you eventually anyway. From now on, I’ll manage all your family’s money. Starting today, you need to submit a request and get my approval before spending anything.” I fell silent, looking at her like she was a stranger, then turned to call my grandfather Johnson to cancel our engagement. Since she sympathized so much with Killian, I’d help them both out!

“Are you serious?” Johnson asked me. “Yeah.” “Why?” “No particular reason. I just don’t like her anymore.” Johnson was silent for a moment on the other end, then said: “Alright, let’s find a time for both families to have dinner together and discuss calling off the engagement.” I agreed and picked up my racket to take the court. After the match ended, I won the men’s singles championship, and thanks to my stellar performance, our class also won the team competition. I became the hero. Many classmates started clamoring to celebrate at a bar. “You guys go ahead. Killian isn’t feeling well today, so I’ll stay with him.” Victoria’s words plunged the atmosphere to freezing point. Everyone looked at me, including the teacher. Because they all knew Victoria and I had grown up together and were engaged. I looked at Victoria, my eyes stinging. Twenty years. She’d left an indelible mark on my heart, but in hers, I apparently didn’t even measure up to Killian, whom she’d only known for a few months. “Victoria, the mood’s so good, don’t be a buzzkill,” a classmate urged her. “Besides, tonight is to celebrate Leopold, so it wouldn’t be right if you didn’t go.” Killian also said: “Victoria, you should go. I’ll be fine on my own.” After speaking, he covered his mouth and coughed twice. Victoria immediately looked anxious, reaching out to pat Killian’s back, her tone reproachful: “You say you’re fine, but how can I feel at ease when you’re like this?” Seeing my expression darken, the surrounding classmates quickly laughed: “Victoria is too kind-hearted, worried about leaving sick Killian alone.” “Yeah, yeah, having such a kind classmate is our blessing.” Kind-hearted? In that moment, my heart ached! Just because of kindness, she could give away my clothes, shoes, watch, even my money to Killian without my permission? Did she even know I was her fiancé with whom she had an engagement? Or did she know but just not care? “Why aren’t you guys leaving yet? Whatever, I can’t be bothered with you. I’m taking Killian to the hospital.” Victoria helped Killian leave, then turned back after two steps and said to me: “Oh right, I almost forgot to mention—you only won the championship because that hundred-thousand-dollar racket gave you an unfair advantage. Your actual skill level is just so-so.” Hearing this, I laughed and nodded: “You’re absolutely right!” Childhood sweethearts for twenty years, but we’d never reach a happy ending. “That’s too much. How could she say that?” My roommate felt indignant on my behalf. “Yeah, Leopold prepared for months for this tournament, leaving at four in the morning every day and not coming back until ten at night.”

“I’m going to make her apologize to you.” I stopped my roommate who was about to chase after them, smiling: “Forget it.” There’s a saying: people who don’t love you can’t see your efforts. Since that was the case, why should I care? “Let’s go. Today’s on me!” The atmosphere at the bar was lively. Because Killian wasn’t there. During previous class group activities, no one had looked down on him for being on financial aid. They’d take him everywhere, but he always said inappropriate things. “Fifty dollars for one drink? That’s so expensive. You guys are really rich.” “I’m not rich like you guys to buy gifts, so I can only give verbal blessings. Happy birthday.” “My family is poor. I really envy how you guys just throw away torn clothes.” He always disguised himself as the victim, as if we were flaunting our wealth in front of him. Whenever this happened, Victoria would always step forward to defend him. “What are you thinking about? You’re today’s star. Why don’t you sing a song for everyone?” My roommate nudged me with his elbow, then stood up and pulled me along, asking the bar’s band to play “At Last” for us. This used to be my favorite song, but not anymore. “Change it to ‘She’s Gone,’” I said, starting to walk toward the stage. My roommate paused, then silently changed the song. As soon as the intro started, Victoria walked in with Killian. Victoria acted like she didn’t notice anything, saying on her own: “Killian persuaded me. I thought about it and he was right—I should come. Plus, I think it’s necessary to let you all see him completely transformed.” Victoria smiled broadly: “So? Isn’t he handsome?” The room fell silent. I looked at Killian wearing my clothes, pants, and shoes, and was the first to applaud: “He really is handsome!” “At least you have good taste!” Victoria was satisfied with my response. “Actually, Killian is very handsome. He just didn’t have money to dress up before. Now you can see he’s just as good as any of you.” I smiled. Handsome? Wearing my clothes, pants, and shoes that clearly didn’t even fit him properly. Victoria looked Killian up and down, tapping her chin: “Seems like something’s still missing.” She turned to look at me: “Leopold, take off your watch and give it to Killian.” I froze, looking down at the watch on my wrist. It was the first birthday gift Victoria had ever given me. It held special meaning for me. Though it was already many years old, I’d always carefully maintained it. I’d even treated it as a token of love between Victoria and me. Now, she was asking me to give it away with my own hands. I was silent for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice: “Are you sure?” “What’s there to be unsure about? It’s just a watch. It’s not like you can’t afford a new one.” Victoria said indifferently, then personally came over to remove the watch and put it on Killian’s wrist herself. In that moment, I saw Killian smile at me, his eyes full of smugness and provocation. “Leopold, you’ve finally become sensible.” Victoria was pleased that I didn’t make a fuss after giving away the watch. She happily pulled Killian along to sing. I watched the two of them singing a love duet, sitting expressionlessly on the sofa. I hadn’t become sensible—I was learning not to care. When the party ended, Victoria was drunk, leaning drunkenly against Killian and insisting he take her back to her dorm. Killian looked at me with feigned helplessness on his face, but his eyes were clearly triumphant.

I didn’t care: “Since she wants you to take her, then take her.” With that, I walked out of the private room, my eyes already red. The next day, Victoria’s roommate found me: “Leopold, Victoria didn’t come back to the dorm last night. Did she call you?” I immediately fell silent. Victoria’s roommate seemed to realize she’d said something wrong and hurriedly made an excuse to leave. I walked alone to the field, wandering aimlessly on the track, thinking about all the moments with Victoria. Childhood sweethearts, growing up together—my world was full of her. From kindergarten through college, I’d always protected her, never letting her get hurt. In elementary school, when an older student made her cry, I’d pulled her along with red eyes to find the person and demand an apology, not hesitating to get physical. In the end, she got her apology, and though I ended up bruised and swollen, I smiled happily. On her eighteenth birthday, I bought all the fireworks in the city and the front page of every newspaper that day to celebrate for her. That night, both families confirmed our engagement. I was so happy I didn’t sleep all night. I thought we could continue like this together, companions for life, growing old together. But everything changed after meeting Killian. She no longer acted cute with me—instead, there were mostly rebukes and yelling. I endured and endured, for no other reason than because I loved her. But did she love me? Before yesterday, I’d been certain of the answer—she loved me too. But today, I realized I was wrong. She didn’t love me that much. But I didn’t understand—could twenty years of feelings really be less than a few months? I couldn’t find an answer to this question. I don’t know how long passed before I heard someone calling me. It was Victoria, and unsurprisingly, Killian stood beside her. I walked over and looked at Victoria’s beautiful face, my heart aching sharply. The facts were right in front of me. No need to guess anymore. Victoria looked at me guiltily and explained: “Last night, Killian fell and hurt his back on the way taking me home. I stayed with him at the hospital all night.” “Yeah, it hurt so much,” Killian said, rubbing his back. “Even now my back is still sore and aching.” I watched him quietly perform. Hurt his back? What a coincidence. Did he really fall? Or was it because he exerted himself too much? But the answer didn’t matter anymore. I nodded: “Mm.” I turned to leave, but Victoria grabbed me: “Don’t you believe me?” “No, I’m just tired.” I calmly pried Victoria’s hand away. She threw herself at me, hugging me. “Alright, stop being angry. I just forgot last night and didn’t let you know I was safe. I promise you, there absolutely won’t be a next time.” Indeed, there wouldn’t be a next time. I pushed Victoria away and said flatly: “Was there something else?” Killian smiled: “Actually, I have something. Thank you for giving me the watch last night. I really like it.” “But my family is poor, so I can’t give you an expensive gift in return. I saw the mangoes at the supermarket looked good, so I specially picked some to give you. Please don’t look down on them.” Looking at the bag of mangoes Killian held out to me, I saw them like a terrible flood, and kicked the bag over. “Leopold, what are you doing? Killian specially bought these mangoes for you, you…” Victoria angrily berated me, but when she saw my cold eyes, she couldn’t help stepping back twice, swallowing the words at her lips. “Did you forget I’m allergic to mangoes?” Hearing this, Victoria’s expression changed, but seeing Killian standing helplessly to the side looking like he’d done something wrong, her eyes flashed with sympathy and she frowned at me. “Even if you’re allergic to mangoes, just don’t eat them. Why kick them over and disappoint Killian’s thoughtfulness?”

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My son George practiced magic for two months just to perform on stage with his dad for Children’s Day. I stayed up three nights sewing matching capes for the father-son duo. In the pocket of the larger cape, my son secretly tucked a lollipop, saying it was a reward for Dad. Two hours before the performance, Mason said his first love’s daughter also had a show at her kindergarten, and no one was going. I told him his son had been waiting for two months. He was already grabbing his car keys. “I’ll just take a quick look and come right back. Tell him I went to the bathroom.” I asked what if he didn’t come back. He paused for a moment. “You’ll be there, won’t you?” When the curtain rose, the large cape was neatly draped over an empty chair, the lollipop still in the pocket. My son stood alone under the spotlight and said, “My magic trick is called—The Disappearing Dad.” Not a single person in the audience could laugh. On the way home, my son finished that lollipop himself and asked me, “Mom, if I disappear too, then Dad won’t have to choose anymore, right?” I held his hand and said with a smile, “Mom will perform a big magic trick with you.”

On the way home from kindergarten, George was very quiet. He didn’t shed a single tear the entire time, didn’t even complain once. He just clutched the plastic stick from the half-eaten lollipop. As soon as we got through the door, the doorbell rang urgently. Mason’s driver, Alan, stood outside panting, holding a huge cardboard box. “Miss Annie, Mr. Mason asked me to deliver this.” Alan wiped the sweat from his forehead and carefully set the box down. “Mr. Mason called me several times on the road urging me to buy this Ultraman Lego set. He said he left in a hurry and was afraid George would be upset, so he wanted me to hand it to George personally.” “Mr. Mason also said on the phone to stop by that dessert shop you always go to, Miss Annie, and buy a taro roll, but the shop was closed today.” I looked down at George. George didn’t even lift his eyelids. He simply walked around the box blocking his way, carrying his little backpack, and went straight to his room. Click—the door closed. Alan awkwardly rubbed his hands. “Miss Annie, this…” “Just leave it. Thanks for your trouble.” I calmly closed the door. My phone buzzed. It was a message from Mason on SnapChat. “Daisy was crying so hard backstage she could barely breathe. The situation isn’t good. I need to stay and comfort her. Explain to George for me. Did he get the Lego?” I didn’t reply. Right then, a new notification popped up—a post from Mia. The photo showed a man’s upright figure from behind, bending down to hold a little girl in a princess dress. The caption read: Thank you for saving a lonely little girl’s Children’s Day. That silhouette—I’d been looking at it for ten years. Staring at the glaring image and text on my phone screen, all I felt was deep exhaustion. I calmly walked to my desk, pulled open the bottom drawer, and took out a divorce agreement I’d drafted long ago. Turning to the last page, I picked up a pen and steadily signed my name in the wife’s section—Annie Brown. Then I walked to the calendar on the wall. In the box two days away, marked with a smiley face and the words “Family Photo,” I picked up a black marker and drew a pitch-black circle over it. Late at night, the living room lights were off. I sat on the sofa with scissors, the red cape I’d spent countless sleepless nights sewing draped across my lap. Blood from needle pricks had stained the lining—all to create the perfect father-son performance. The scissors mercilessly tore through the fabric. Golden tassels fell in two pieces onto the carpet. I cut and cut, mechanically, until the cape that held months of my son’s anticipation became a pile of scraps. I swept them all into the trash. At two in the morning, the sound of the password lock came from the door. Mason pushed open the door, smelling faintly of alcohol, exhaustion written all over his face. He casually loosened his tie and was about to change shoes when his movements suddenly stopped. In the moonlight, he stared down at the trash bin by his feet. Inside, the shredded red cape lay quietly. “Annie, what are you throwing a fit about now?” Mason frowned deeply, strode over to me, and looked down at me sitting on the sofa, irritation in his voice. “Didn’t I have Alan deliver the Lego? You spent so long sewing that cape…” He suddenly paused, his gaze sweeping over the red scraps in the trash, his tone turning cold and hard. “But did you really have to do this?”

I sat in the darkness, staring coldly at him. “Mason, two years ago when George was four, you canceled a pre-meeting for a merger contract just to teach him a card trick.” “You said then that childhood only happens once, and if you miss it, you can never get it back.” “Now he’s practiced for two months just so you’d sit in the audience for half an hour, and you think it doesn’t matter?” Mason’s breath caught. He tugged at his tie again. “That was because of an emergency! Daisy doesn’t have a father. She was hiding in a corner crying alone, and Mia was beside herself with worry. What was I supposed to do, ignore them?” As he spoke, he walked over and reached out to put his arm around my waist, trying to pull me into his embrace. “Come on, be good.” He lowered his voice coaxingly. “I came back, didn’t I?” The moment he touched me, nausea rose in my stomach. I turned my head away in disgust and forcefully pushed his hand away. Mason’s hand froze in midair. He snorted in displeasure and muttered something about me being unreasonable. He turned to grab his suit jacket from the sofa, preparing to take a shower. Just then—thud. A small box fell from his jacket pocket and rolled to my feet. It was a bottle of men’s cologne with sweet notes. Mason stopped. He immediately came over and picked up the cologne. “Mia insisted on giving this to me to thank me for helping today. I wasn’t planning to keep it.” “Does it feel good playing the man of someone else’s house?” I looked at him with a mocking, cold laugh. That sentence hit Mason’s sore spot precisely. His expression changed. He stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. His five fingers gripped tightly. I could feel the slightly hot temperature of his palm. “Annie, can’t you understand me? That child doesn’t even have a father. I just helped out once. George has you—what do I have to worry about?” He paused, sighing with a trace of exhaustion. “You’re my wife. You’re the one I trust. As long as you’re there, I can rest easy.” I looked at his face. Pain shot through my wrist, but my heart had gone numb. I didn’t struggle. I just looked at him with the dead, desolate eyes one gives a stranger. Mason met my gaze and suddenly froze. He immediately released my hand and, right in front of me, threw the cologne bottle into the trash. “I don’t want her stuff!” He said in a panic, “I only use the woody cologne you buy me. Is that okay now?!” With that, he turned and fled into the bathroom. The next morning, I took George to the photography studio in the city center. “Hello, I’d like to cancel this weekend’s sixth birthday family photo package.” I handed the receipt to the receptionist. George pressed against the studio’s display window, staring at the Ultraman-themed family portrait poster. He’d saved half a year’s allowance and stubbornly insisted the whole family take this photo together. He looked at it for a long time but said nothing. Just as we left the studio, my phone rang. It was Mason. His tone was unusually hesitant. “Annie, this weekend the company has an urgent acquisition. I… I have to go on a business trip.” I held the phone, listening to Mason’s guilty voice through the receiver, feeling utterly absurd. Rewind half an hour. I’d just come out of the bathroom. Passing by the study, I heard voices inside. Mason’s phone was on speaker. Mia’s crying voice was especially clear in the quiet room.

“Mason, Daisy’s private elementary school interview is this weekend. The school requires both parents to attend, or she’ll be disqualified…” “I’m begging you, please pretend to be my husband for half a day, okay? Just half a day! I’m getting on my knees! If you’re not there, Daisy’s whole life will be ruined!” Mason was silent for a long time, then said in a low voice, “Send me the address.” This was his so-called unavoidable business trip excuse. “Annie, are you listening?” On the other end of the line, Mason asked again when I didn’t respond. “I heard you.” My tone was strangely calm. Mason seemed relieved. Then my phone dinged—a transfer of two hundred thousand dollars. “Honey, take George to buy the most expensive birthday present. Consider it my way of making it up to him. Wait for me to come back.” He hung up. Looking at the string of numbers on my screen, I pulled at the corner of my mouth. That weekend, on George’s sixth birthday. I took him to the mall, wanting to buy him a children’s watch he’d been eyeing for a while. Coming out of the mall, right across the street was the city’s private elementary school. George had been looking down, fiddling with the toy in his hands, when suddenly his movements stopped. He looked up, staring blankly across the street. A black Bentley was parked at the school gate. Mason stepped out of the car in a suit and tie. He took the hand of a little girl in a pink dress. On the other side of the girl stood Mia, beaming. A happy family of three. Just then, Mia tried to loop her arm through Mason’s. Mason coldly avoided her. I could even see his lips move slightly, as if warning her about something. But this self-righteous claim of innocence looked utterly ridiculous in this moment. Shortly after, my phone buzzed. Mia had posted on Ins, tagged at this very private school. —Thank you for being here. You’re our eternal support, mother and daughter. I turned to look at George. Through the traffic, George watched with his own eyes as his father, who was supposed to be on a business trip, played father to someone else. He had no dramatic reaction. He simply walked over and silently threw the toy he’d just bought into a nearby trash can. After we got home, George took out his calendar with the countdown from his backpack and picked up a black crayon, flipping to the birthday page. Originally, that square had a smiley face and stick figures of a family of three. George gripped the pen and forcefully colored that square pitch black. The black ink bled through to the back of the page. “George…” My eyes stung. I crouched down, wanting to hug him. George looked up. Those clear eyes were now filled with darkness. “Mom, I’m never celebrating my birthday again.” I silently picked up my phone and called an overseas immigration agency I’d contacted before. That evening at eight, Mason came home early. He pushed open the door to find the house dark, the table completely bare. His gaze swept over where the birthday cake should have been, his expression faltering. He flipped on the living room light with a click, looking at me sitting on the sofa. “Annie, it’s George’s birthday today and you didn’t even buy him a cake?” He said in a low voice, “If you want to get mad, take it out on me. Is it appropriate to use a child’s birthday to make a point?” Mason pulled at his tie and strode up to me. His gaze swept over the empty dining table, his eyes unconsciously evasive. “I know I shouldn’t have missed today, but the sudden business trip was out of my hands.”

“Things are what they are. Annie, can’t you put in a good word for me with George?” I didn’t get up. I simply picked up the blacked-out calendar from the table and threw it at his feet. “It’s your son who doesn’t want to celebrate anymore.” Mason looked down at the black scribbles, his brow twitching. “Next month… next month when the company isn’t busy, I’ll cancel everything and personally take him to the amusement park.” His gaze avoided mine, fixed on the tightly closed bedroom door, his voice unconsciously dropping. “I owe him this time.” Just then, George’s voice came through the crack of the closed bedroom door. “Uncle Mason, I don’t want to go.” “Uncle Mason?” He repeated those two words quietly, his voice suddenly soft. The living room was so quiet you could hear the clock ticking on the wall. Then he slowly lifted his eyes to look at me, fury churning in their depths. “Annie, who taught him to say that?” He strode toward the bedroom and grabbed the doorknob, about to barge in. “Stop!” I lunged over to block him, pressing myself firmly against the door. Through the door, I suddenly heard George’s heavy, rapid breathing. I pushed the door open and rushed in, reaching for George’s forehead—his skin was abnormally hot. I grabbed the thermometer—103.6 degrees! “George has a high fever!” I turned frantically toward Mason. “Quick, get the fever medicine!” Mason paused, about to get it when his phone suddenly rang, Mia’s name flashing on the screen. He answered. Immediately, Mia’s crying came through. “Mason! Come quick! Daisy got so upset from not doing well at today’s interview that she’s burning up, and she’s locked herself in her room with scissors and won’t let anyone in!” Mia sobbed breathlessly. “I don’t dare upset her. She’s allergic to regular fever medicine! I remember you said the imported fever reducer George takes works really well. Please bring a box and save her! If we wait, she could die!” Mason’s face changed. He listened to the crying on the phone, then glanced at me with my back to him. “Mason, the medicine is at the bottom of the medicine cabinet. Hurry!” My voice trembled with urgency. Mason pushed past my hand and strode to the bedside, pressing the back of his hand to George’s forehead and frowning. He looked at the child’s flushed face, then turned toward the medicine cabinet. “Annie, listen to me—George just has a regular fever. Some fever medicine and a night’s sleep and he’ll be fine. Over there, Daisy has scissors in her hand—someone could actually die. I’ll handle it and come right back. You watch him.” He strode to the medicine cabinet and pulled open the drawer. What he did next made my blood run cold—he actually took out the only remaining box of George’s usual fever medicine and stuffed it into his pocket. “What are you doing?!” I rushed over to grab it. “That’s George’s medicine!” “Daisy’s allergic to regular fever reducers, and she’s holding scissors. Annie, let me finish.” His voice was low and rushed. “I’ll take this box. You go downstairs to the pharmacy right now and buy regular medicine for George. He’s strong, he can handle it.” He turned sideways to avoid my reaching hand and hurried toward the door. “Annie, the pharmacy downstairs is a ten-minute walk. Go buy some now. I’ll come right back after I handle this.” I lunged forward and grabbed his arm, refusing to let go. He yanked hard. I stumbled and crashed into the hard edge of the table. Bang—I fell to the floor, my elbow scraped open, blood welling up. Mason turned back. His steps paused for two seconds. His lips moved. “Take care of that wound first.” “Half an hour. I’ll be back in half an hour.” With that, he turned and walked out, slamming the door shut. The moment the door closed, my phone showed a message—Mason had sent a pharmacy location with a note: This one’s open 24 hours, close to home. From the bedroom came a sudden gasp. Then George’s eyes rolled back, his body convulsing, guttural sounds coming from his throat. Febrile seizure! “George—!” I screamed, crawled over and scooped up my convulsing son, and ran out into the rainy night. Rain poured down. Lightning lit up the darkness. Harsh white light hit my face. I was soaked through. George’s vomit mixed with the blood flowing from my elbow, soaking through my clothes. “Family member! The patient has acute febrile seizure leading to respiratory failure. Critical condition. Sign the critical illness notice immediately!” A doctor rushed out with a form, speaking rapidly. “We need both parents’ signatures. Where’s the father?!” I took the pen with trembling hands. Rainwater mixed with blood blurred the paper. “He’s dead.” I said through gritted teeth, word by word, and signed only my name on the form. During the long wait outside the emergency room, I used the nurses’ station landline to call Mason thirty times. The first three were instantly rejected. From the fourth on, I heard the automated message: The number you have dialed is powered off. At four in the morning, the emergency room door finally opened. “We brought him back, but he needs to stay in ICU for observation.” The doctor said wearily. Through the glass, I watched George’s small body covered in tubes. He weakly opened his eyes and lifted the hand with the IV catheter, laboriously tapping the screen of his children’s watch in small movements. When the screen lit up, he found the number labeled Superman Dad and pressed delete. I knew clearly that George no longer needed the role of father. In the morning, George’s condition stabilized and he was moved to a regular ward. I sat by the hospital bed, took out my phone, and called my lawyer, then contacted the overseas agency. “Yes, liquidate all funds and stocks under my name. Give full authority to sell the two properties at bottom price. Transfer the proceeds directly to my overseas account.” After handling this, I pulled out the inner compartment of my bag. The European visa I’d gotten to celebrate George’s sixth birthday would come in handy after all. I booked tickets to Venice for this weekend, looked at the sky outside the window, and let out a deep breath. The next evening, I brought George home for one last visit. The house was still in the same disarray as the night Mason left. I didn’t touch anything that belonged to him. I packed my clothes into a suitcase, then added George’s documents. Before leaving, I walked to the table. I placed the signed divorce agreement neatly in the center. Next to the agreement, I set down the candy wrapper left from the Children’s Day magic show. “Mom, where are we going?” George held my hand and looked up to ask. “Mom’s going to perform a big magic trick with you.”

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To take over the family aviation company. Grandpa made me rotate into the flight attendant position for a week. On my first day of work, I encountered a man waving a super VIP card and throwing his weight around with the flight attendants. “Do you know what a super VIP card means? It could buy all your lives!” “Such a shallow bow—do you have a lumbar strain or are you looking down on me? Ninety degrees! Hold it for 100 minutes!” “What kind of pig slop is this economy class food? Let me treat you all to some premium additions!” I was about to intervene when a flight attendant beside me stopped me. “He’s the older brother of our general manager’s little assistant. In our airline…” The flight attendant mysteriously pointed upward. “Offending General Manager Carter still leaves you a way out, but offending his little assistant… you’ll die a miserable death.” I was dumbfounded, almost wanting to laugh. I picked up the satellite phone and called Grandpa. “Grandpa, notify the captain to land at the nearest airport. When we land, I want to see my divorce papers from Carter.”

Today was the first day of my secret rotation. I stood at the aircraft door, maintaining a standard smile to welcome passengers boarding. Most passengers nodded at us kindly. Until a man wearing a pink tweed Chanel suit appeared at the jetway entrance. He was holding a shiny VIP card, his critical gaze sweeping me from head to toe. “New here? No wonder you have no manners!” “Do you know what a super VIP card means? It could buy all your lives!” “Such a shallow bow—do you have a lumbar strain or are you looking down on me? Ninety degrees! Hold it for 100 minutes!” Following standard procedure, I bowed slightly and showed a professional smile: “Sir, good morning, welcome aboard.” Just that one word “sir” stirred up a hornet’s nest. He stopped abruptly, his voice affected and theatrical: “How should I put this? In this flight attendant business, just selling smiles won’t cut it—you need more discernment!” He pointed at his entire outfit, “Look at me from head to toe, which part looks like a ‘sir’? Call me Miss Jason!!” Rachel, a senior flight attendant welcoming passengers beside me, turned pale and quickly tugged at me, stepping forward with a ninety-degree bow: “I’m so sorry! Hello, Miss Jason! She’s new and doesn’t know the rules. Please don’t take offense!” The man snorted coldly through his nose, rolled his eyes at us, and walked into the cabin. Rachel quickly whispered in my ear: “This person is Jason Brown, a super VIP member of our airline. We must serve him well, otherwise if he complains, our entire crew will be in big trouble.” I was stunned. Our airline had only issued 3 super VIP cards total. Two went to Grandpa’s old friends, and the other one… I had clearly given it to my husband—the airline’s current general manager Carter, for him to use for the most important business receptions. But why would Carter give the super VIP card representing the airline’s highest courtesy and absolute trust to this flamboyant Jason? I suppressed the shock and churning emotions in my heart. Right now, ensuring the flight operated smoothly and taking care of all passengers was my primary duty. This was also a good opportunity to see how, under Carter’s brilliant leadership, this VIP with his platinum card threw his weight around. And what exactly the frontline staff were enduring. Right after takeoff, Jason immediately pressed the call button. I walked over. He crossed his legs, not even lifting his eyelids: “Get me a glass of warm water, 45 degrees, not one degree more or less. I need to take my medicine now.” I immediately went to prepare it, but because I needed to mix cold water to adjust the temperature, it took an extra minute. Just that one minute made him explode. When I hurried over with the water, he slammed the table: “What kind of service attitude does your airline have? Look at the time! It’s been a full minute past when I should take my medicine! I’m taking birth control pills. Do you know what happens if I miss the time?” “If I get pregnant, can you take responsibility?” All eyes in first class instantly focused on him. Although Jason wore heavy makeup and a dress, his prominent Adam’s apple and angular facial features made it obvious to everyone that he was a man. I struggled to maintain my expression: “Miss Jason, I’m very sorry, but adjusting the water temperature does take time.” He snatched the cup from my hand and ruthlessly splashed the water directly on my chest. “With your stupid pig brain, I really don’t know how you serviced your way into this position? I bet you’ve provided plenty of special services to the captain, haven’t you?” “Disgusting creature! Just wait for my complaint!”

My clenched fist dug nails almost into my palm, rage surging to the top of my head. Just as I was about to lose control, Rachel rushed forward and blocked me. “I’m sorry! Miss Jason! She really is new. I apologize on her behalf! Please don’t get angry—it’s not worth damaging your precious health!” While speaking, she secretly gripped my wrist, pleading in a voice only we could hear: “Hold it in! Don’t be impulsive! Think about his complaint—our entire crew will have bonuses deducted or even be grounded! It’s not worth it for this scum! Leave it to me!” Seeing Rachel’s submissive manner, Jason finally seemed to enjoy the pleasure of being above others, leisurely pulling out a tissue to wipe his hands. “Hmph, at least you veteran employees know some manners.” He said in a condescending tone, “Fine, I’ll accompany you to the galley!” The galley? Aircraft catering had strict safety and hygiene regulations. How could we let him enter casually? “Miss Jason, passengers cannot enter the catering area at will. That’s the regulation…” I tried to dissuade him. Before I finished speaking, Rachel tugged at me again. “Don’t you understand yet? His sister is Eve, our general manager’s favorite little assistant.” “In our airline, offending General Manager Carter still leaves you a way out, but offending his little assistant Eve, you’ll die a miserable death.” “Carter listens to her every word! Everyone in the company is saying… saying she’ll be the new Mrs. General Manager sooner or later! Whether we stay or go is just a matter of one word from her! You’re still in your probation period—don’t be stubborn!” The new Mrs. General Manager? My husband Carter’s… new wife? Seeing me pause, Jason thought I was scared and immediately sneered sarcastically: “Oh~ scared as soon as you hear Carter’s name?” “Let me tell you, someone like Carter isn’t someone bottom-feeders like you can provoke! One word from him decides your life or death, understand?” In the few seconds I was stunned, Jason had already barged into the galley. “Tsk tsk, what kind of pig slop is this economy class food?” He disdainfully picked up a piece of vegetable with his fingertips, looked at it, then flung it away. Then he pulled out an exquisite metal canister from his bag, tapping the canister with his nails: “Looking at how poor they are, they’ve probably never seen anything good—forget it, I’m in a good mood today. I’ll treat them to some premium black truffle powder, let them broaden their horizons!” Saying this, he unscrewed the canister and was about to sprinkle it on the meals. “Miss Jason! Absolutely not!” The purser finally couldn’t hold back. She stepped forward, her tone anxious but extremely firm as she blocked the meal cart, “Aviation food safety regulations strictly prohibit adding any outside food or seasonings to crew meals. This is for the safety of all passengers! Please understand!” “Regulations? Safety?” Jason acted as if he’d heard the biggest joke. “My stuff would be less safe than your garbage food? Do you know this canister costs more than your annual salary?” “Get out of my way!” The purser held her ground. “Miss Jason, this is a matter of principle! If anything goes wrong, we can’t bear the responsibility! Please don’t put us in a difficult position!” Seeing the purser dare to obstruct him repeatedly, Jason’s face instantly darkened. He pulled out his phone and directly made a video call. “Eve, look! These flight attendants have rebelled. I just want to add some seasoning to the food and they won’t let me! They even dare to talk back to me!” Through the speaker, a sweet voice came through, “Jason, don’t get so upset. Give the phone to the purser.” Jason smugly shoved the phone in front of the purser. Eve’s voice instantly turned ice cold: “All flight attendants kneel down and apologize to my brother immediately! Otherwise, every single one of you today will be fired for serious misconduct and permanently blacklisted from the aviation industry! I mean what I say!”

The air in the galley seemed to freeze. The purser’s lips trembled, tears of humiliation welling in her eyes. Rachel and several other flight attendants turned pale, exchanging glances, their eyes full of struggle. Seeing their hesitation, Eve laughed coldly: “Fine, you won’t kneel? You’re that stubborn? Just wait!” Immediately after, the video screen began shaking violently. Eve actually picked up her phone and directly barged into the airline general manager’s exclusive conference room! When the video stabilized, the conference room came into full view— Around the long conference table sat company executives with serious expressions, with the second half of the year’s strategic planning PPT displayed on the projection screen. Carter was sitting at the head position listening to reports. Seeing Eve suddenly burst in, he first showed slight surprise, but his eyes held no displeasure at being interrupted. Instead, they instantly filled with deep concern. “Carter~” Eve ignored the shocked gazes of all the executives in the room and walked straight to Carter’s side, practically collapsing against his chair’s armrest. “Look at these flight attendants on the plane. They’re ganging up to bully my brother. My brother just made a small request, and they were mean to him and even scolded him. My brother has a bad heart—they’ve made him cry! Carter, you must stand up for us!” As she spoke, she leaned into Carter like a boneless creature. Tears fell like broken pearls, as if she’d suffered the greatest injustice. She was completely different from the sharp-tongued person she’d been moments ago. Carter’s face immediately darkened. He didn’t even ask about right or wrong—all his attention was on Eve trembling and crying in his arms. “There, there, don’t cry. Your eyes will swell up and won’t look pretty. Such a small matter—is it worth crying over? Hmm? With me here, no one can bully you or your family.” He gently wiped away her tears, then raised his head to look at the phone screen, his tone dropping to freezing: “Are you all deaf? Didn’t you hear what Eve said?” “I’m ordering you now—immediately do as Mr. Jason requests! Kneel and apologize!” “If within three seconds I don’t see your attitude…” Before he could finish, I walked directly into the center of the phone camera. My figure, along with my calm expression, appeared clearly in the video. “Carter, are you sure you want me to kneel?” “Helen Jones?” Carter almost blurted it out. Like a thunderclap, it seemed to give the desperate flight attendants a glimmer of hope. But it was fleeting. The surprise on Carter’s face was quickly replaced by deeper displeasure and irritation. He didn’t even let go of his arm around Eve, just impatiently rubbed his brow with his other hand: “Helen, what are you doing here?” “The new job you told me about last night—was it to be a probationary flight attendant at my airline?” I nodded calmly. Carter’s gaze swept over my wet uniform, his voice dropping: “Stop fooling around. Just do what Mr. Jason says and apologize. We’ll talk about whatever it is after the plane lands.” As soon as he said this. Not just me—even the flight attendants in the galley were stunned. Their eyes went from shock back to despair, finally left with only numbness. Seeing this, Eve immediately shrank further into Carter’s arms, adding fuel to the fire: “Carter, so this is Helen~ She was so fierce just now. Jason must have been scared by her!” Carter immediately patted her back comfortingly. “Eve and Jason are both very innocent and simple-minded. They just want an apology.” “Be good. Kneel down and apologize to Mr. Jason first. Don’t make this difficult for me.”

I looked at him and suddenly laughed, though the smile never reached my eyes—ice cold and piercing. “Carter, do you remember what you promised me on your knees before we got married?” “Now! It’s time for you to fulfill your promise!” Without waiting for his response, I hung up the phone. I didn’t linger for a second, turned decisively and walked to the crew storage locker. I took out a heavier satellite phone from the locker. “Grandpa.” “Someone is interfering with normal cabin service procedures and disrupting aircraft order.” “Notify the captain to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport immediately.” “Also, when we land, I want to see my divorce papers from Carter.” Jason stared at my hand holding the satellite phone, stunned for two seconds, then covered his mouth and laughed mockingly. “Oh my, newbie, what are you pretending to be? Holding a broken satellite phone and playing rich? Calling Grandpa?” His eyes were full of contempt: “Do you know who Carter is? In this aviation circle, when he stomps his foot, the ground shakes!” I sneered coldly, not even glancing at him: “Carter? He’s something?” Years ago, Carter’s grandfather had once helped my grandfather. The Jones family valued old friendships and remembered this favor for a lifetime. So when Carter’s family fell on hard times and Grandpa came to me, hoping I would fulfill this arranged childhood engagement. Seeing that his abilities were passable and he seemed honest enough, I nodded in agreement. Before the wedding, I called him to the study and made things crystal clear: “Carter, loyalty is my bottom line. If you ever have second thoughts or do anything to betray me, I will divorce you immediately.” How did he respond then? He knelt before my grandfather, swearing to heaven that he would never fail me. If he violated this oath, may heaven strike him down—he would leave with nothing and never rise again. My grandfather and I also kept one card up our sleeves. We didn’t tell him about the Jones family’s true wealth. So Carter always thought I was just an “ordinary rich girl.” He believed even more that his position as airline general manager after marriage was entirely due to his exceptional ability and hard work. Stupid as a pig. Today I would let him see clearly—without me, what exactly was Carter! Grandpa’s voice came through the receiver, steady but with a trace of barely perceptible gravity: “Have you thought this through?” “Yes.” I didn’t hesitate for a moment. Grandpa was silent for three seconds, then instructed someone beside him: “Do as Miss Helen says. Execute immediately.” Almost the instant the words fell, another calm and efficient male voice cut in— It was Simon, Grandpa’s most capable assistant. “Understood, Mr. Jones.” In the background, keyboard typing and clear commands immediately followed: “Tower, flight G-1024 initiating highest priority emergency landing. Clear the airspace, priority routing.” “Legal department, Carter leaves with nothing. Divorce papers to be delivered to the landing airport VIP passage within half an hour.” “The security department and I will immediately proceed to Elvis Airport to await Miss Helen’s landing.” The orders were clean and efficient, without a trace of hesitation. Simon’s voice came through last: “Miss Helen, everything is ready. Landing at Elvis Airport in thirty minutes.” “Information on the platinum card troublemaker and the associated person Eve will be synchronized to you within ten minutes.” Hearing the clear instructions from the phone, Jason laughed mockingly again: “Hahaha! Clearing airspace? Keep acting! Keep it up!” “Let me tell you, when we get off this plane, my sister will say one word to Carter and you won’t even know how you died!” However, before his laughter died down— The aircraft announcement sounded again. This time, the captain’s voice carried unprecedented seriousness. “Attention all passengers, attention all passengers. Due to force majeure factors, this flight will make an emergency landing at Elvis Airport. Please return to your seats immediately and fasten your seatbelts…” The mocking smile on Jason’s face instantly froze! He frantically pulled out his phone to call Eve. Before the call connected, two security officers quickly walked in and directly confiscated his phone. “Mr. Jason, you are suspected of endangering flight safety. Please cooperate with the investigation.” Just as Jason was being escorted out, I received a message from Carter. [Helen, enough is enough. Eve is very innocent. She would never make unreasonable demands like you! I’m telling you clearly—I love you! But I need to be with her for at least three years. During this time, you’d better behave yourself, do your duty, and don’t cause me trouble. After three years, if I’m tired of her, I might consider returning to the family.] [Don’t forget—without me, Carter, you Helen are nothing now.] I picked up my phone and replied calmly: [Carter, get to Elvis Airport within thirty minutes.] [I have a big gift to give you.] [Of course, you can choose not to come. Then I’ll hand Jason over to the police.] After sending it, I blocked Carter.

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When I got out of juvie, I saw Wendy’s mutilated body. The word “whore” was carved all over her. By the time she was sent to the funeral home, neither Mark nor Jacob had shown up. Only Lily stayed with me, gently patting my shoulder: “Zoe, your mom’s death is actually a good thing. Logan Hayes has not only dropped the charges against you, but he’s also agreed to give you a million dollars in compensation.” “Just sign the settlement agreement and start a new life in another city.” That’s when I learned the truth. Logan Hayes had found out I pushed his daughter down the stairs and threatened to break both my legs. Wendy sent me to juvie, then took it upon herself to apologize to Logan Hayes on my behalf. She ended up being brutally tortured to death. Actually, Wendy and I didn’t have a good relationship. During those three days locked up in juvie, I thought of a hundred ways to fight her when I got out. So facing her memorial photo, I could actually smile: “Did Wendy deserve to die?” Lily touched her nose: “The Hayes family has wealth that rivals nations and power that reaches the heavens. A single human life means nothing to them. There’s no ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t.’” My smile didn’t change: “Then she didn’t deserve to die. If Wendy didn’t deserve to die, then the Hayes family needs to pay for her life.” Lily’s expression turned stern: “Zoe Mitchell, you want to go after Serena Hayes again? Don’t forget, your mom died trying to atone for your sins. What right do you have to fight against Serena?” I lowered my lashes, hiding the coldness in my eyes: “Not just Serena. I want every single member of the Hayes family’s life.”

I took the settlement agreement, glanced at it, then tore it into shreds. Then I went to the closet in Wendy’s bedroom and dug out an inconspicuous little box. I tucked it into my jacket and headed for the door. Lily blocked my path: “Zoe Mitchell, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull.” “Wendy was heartless enough to send you to juvie, yet you want to risk your life fighting the Hayes family for her? With this toy-like little box? How stupid.” “You’d be better off doing what Mark and Jacob did—sign the settlement and take the million. Using Wendy’s life to get a fresh start, isn’t that worth it?” I asked myself the same question. Was it worth it? Mark and Jacob definitely thought it was very worth it. Since I got home, I haven’t seen them once. They didn’t ask which funeral home Wendy was sent to or when the cremation would be. The two pinned profile pictures in our family chat sat there like they were dead. If Wendy knew that her death only benefited these two cold-blooded animals, would she ever be able to rest in peace? Faced with my undisguised mockery, Lily uncomfortably avoided my gaze. “But you’re still here, aren’t you? Being able to help you settle things with the Hayes family makes it worth it.” She’d probably come on the Hayes family’s orders, doing everything possible to get me to sign the settlement. She pushed her phone in front of me: “Zoe, you need to be more reasonable. Actually, Wendy’s death has no direct connection to the Hayes family. It was just an accident. You’re just an ordinary student—don’t go up against the Hayes family.” “If you don’t believe me, watch the surveillance footage Serena sent. When Serena left, Wendy was still alive.” I tapped the video open. In the footage, the woman knelt before a girl twenty years younger than herself. Begging her not to hold it against me. Then after Serena left laughing, she slowly pressed her head to the ground and never lifted it again. I dragged the progress bar back and forth several times: “Serena cut Wendy one hundred and eighty-seven times?” Lily’s hand trembled, goosebumps breaking out on her arm. “What are you talking about?” “I counted. Serena cut her at least one hundred and eighty-seven times.” I lowered my lashes. Hiding the darkness in my eyes. The injuries on her body were definitely more than what showed on the surface. They said Wendy died of a heart attack, but she actually died from the pain. She was so stupid. Usually she’d hit me or scold me. If I ate one more piece of Jacob’s fried chicken, she’d twist my ear. But when it came to something life-threatening, she’d rather send me to juvie than let me go herself. And she let Serena abuse her without running away. All just to hear those words: “Fine, then I’ll let your daughter go.” Even when she was covered in wounds from the torture, she was smiling. I had just dragged the progress bar back several times. I saw her collapse on the ground, struggling several times but unable to get up. Before she died, there was no light left in her eyes, her lips constantly moving. Even though there was no sound, I recognized what she was saying. Zoe, I’m sorry. Zoe, don’t avenge me. Zoe, run away. She really was a complete and utter fool. I traced my fingers across her pale face on the screen: “Wendy, when have I ever listened to you?” “Don’t worry. I won’t run. There’s no reason in this world for a murderer to live peacefully.” “I’ll make the Hayes family pay with their blood.” Lily’s whole body trembled. She quickly snatched her phone back. Even her voice was shaking: “Are you crazy? Going after the Hayes family is suicide!” “You’re going to throw away the rest of your life for a dead person?” I gripped the little wooden box in my hand. If this was three days ago, I really wouldn’t have had any way to deal with the Hayes family. But now it’s different. I pushed past her hand and hailed a cab to the Hayes estate, not letting Lily see the cold gleam in my eyes. She’d witnessed Serena’s bullying of me at school for three years without stopping it once. Now she wanted to smooth things over and force me to give up investigating Wendy’s death. Once I dealt with the Hayes family. I wouldn’t let her off either. The car slowly stopped. The Hayes family villa loomed before me. Someone in a security uniform came over and knocked on the window. “What do you want?” “Got an appointment? You think you can just barge in? If you don’t have an appointment, fuck off.”

It was actually Mark. He’d taken the million dollars but instead of going off to enjoy himself somewhere else, he became a security guard at the Hayes estate. Well, I suppose the Hayes family wouldn’t let these people who knew the truth run around loose. Keeping them under their noses was safer. I got out of the car. Mark’s expression froze on his face, then twisted into surprise: “How is it you? Oh, I get it, you’re here for that million, right?” “Let me set up an appointment with the butler for you.” I held the wooden box in my hand: “I’m looking for Logan Hayes.” Mark’s face instantly changed. He reached out to cover my mouth: “Are you crazy? You think you can just say Mr. Hayes’s name like that? Be careful or you won’t get a single penny.” “You really think you’re somebody important?” I sneered: “Logan Hayes and his daughter killed your wife, yet you don’t even dare say his name.” “If you want to be a dog, be one yourself. Don’t drag me into it.” Mark’s face instantly turned red. The veins on his temples stood out clearly. If we were at home, his palm would have already slapped my face. At the Hayes estate, he still maintained basic decorum. The other security guard in the gatehouse couldn’t sit still anymore. He grabbed a baton and ran in front of me: “Zoe Mitchell, calling our dad a dog—where are your manners?” “Mom died because you offended Serena. I haven’t settled accounts with you yet, and now you’re questioning us?” Jacob straightened his security uniform. Looking all righteous and proper. Seeing once again what cold-blooded scum this father and son were, I couldn’t help cursing Wendy in my heart again for being a fool. This father and son clearly knew Serena was bullying me at school, yet they never stood up for me. That would have been one thing. We never had any real family affection anyway. But they enjoyed Wendy’s care every single day. Mark’s shop lost nearly ten thousand a month, and Wendy filled the gap by working as a housekeeper and doing odd jobs. Jacob stayed home playing games every day, and Wendy had to bring meals to his room. Yet knowing Wendy was tortured to death by Serena. They still chose to come to the Hayes estate and be their guard dogs, bowing and scraping and wagging their tails at them. I wonder if Wendy saw this scene. Would she regret it? I tested them one last time: “Mark, Jacob, I haven’t signed the settlement agreement yet.” “Come with me to the police station now and tell them everything.” “Mark, I can let go of the wrong things you did before.” Mark froze. His eyes darted around, a flash of guilt quickly passing through his pupils. But before he could say anything. Jacob rushed over and kicked me in the stomach: “Zoe Mitchell, I’m warning you, Dad and I are doing great now. Even working as security at the Hayes estate, we’re living the high society life.” “You want to ruin our good days? Don’t even think about it.” “And you want to see Mr. Hayes? Believe it or not, I could kill you right now and no one would dare say anything.” Mark calmed down too, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows at me: “Zoe Mitchell, be smart. Take the money and work as a maid at the Hayes estate.” “Think about it—when Wendy was alive, could you eat lobster and premium steak for every meal? The moment Wendy died, our good days arrived.” “What does that tell you? It tells you Wendy was a curse on our family of three.” He crouched down and grabbed my arm: “Zoe, if you don’t want to be a maid, that’s fine too. As long as you let the Hayes family put a tracker on you and promise never to go to the police…” His face was still full of longing for the good life. Then his expression suddenly froze. Followed by an inhuman wail. That piercing sound almost made Jacob wet his pants. He mustered his courage and pinned Mark’s body down. Only then did he discover both eyes were streaming blood. I’d blinded him. Jacob’s face turned ashen: “Are you insane? You believe I won’t call the police?” I pulled my lips into a smile: “Go ahead and call them. Doesn’t the Hayes family say they can smooth over anything for their daughter?” “What do you mean?” Mark’s pig-like screaming brought everyone out of the villa. A servant suddenly pointed at my face and shouted: “Look, doesn’t she look familiar?”

Her shout drew everyone’s eyes to my face. Soon someone recognized me: “Isn’t this the person Miss had conflict with? I remember her last name is Mitchell. She’s not here to extort money because of her mom, is she?” The first maid kept shaking her head: “No, I mean, her appearance looks very familiar.” “She looks like… Mr. Hayes.” The entire atmosphere froze for a moment. The butler standing at the front frowned deeply: “Don’t talk nonsense.” But his hand quickly grabbed the intercom: “Sir, please come to the entrance. This matter may require your personal attention.” My heart lifted uncontrollably. Even though I’d long stopped expecting any family affection from the Hayes family. This was the first time I would meet my biological parents. Who would have thought—I was the real daughter of the Hayes family! I was the biological daughter of this couple who didn’t consider human lives as lives! I only found out about this the night before Wendy sent me to juvie. I heard Wendy arguing with Mark through suppressed sobs: “No, we can’t let Zoe go to the Hayes estate!” “Aren’t you afraid your dirty deeds will be discovered by the Hayes family?!” “If Logan Hayes discovers you switched his daughter with yours, and that his biological daughter has been bullied by your daughter all along, what do you think he’ll do?” “Let me tell you—you and Jacob will both die!” My brain went blank. I heard every word clearly. I recognized every word. But strung together in sentences, I couldn’t understand. Mark paced in place like a caged animal: “Then what do we do? Serena specifically demanded Zoe come apologize. She’s angry and wants to vent. If Zoe doesn’t go, we’ll die anyway!” “Besides, it’s been so long now. How could Mr. Hayes possibly recognize that’s his daughter?” “Don’t be so paranoid…” After saying this, he viciously shoved Wendy. “Look at what you gave birth to. Now she’s playing the young lady with such a temper. I wanted to claim kinship with her, but now there’s no chance of that.” It wasn’t until I heard this. That I finally understood completely. I really was Logan Hayes’s daughter. Years ago, Mark had switched us. Letting her assume my identity as the Hayes family’s young lady. Leaving me at the Mitchell house to be a blood bank for his son. Those moments I’d missed, those confusing scenes, came flooding back from the depths of my memory one by one. Mark probably never thought. That I actually looked a lot like Logan Hayes. That’s why when Serena first saw me, she showed uncontrollable panic. Then, using the excuse that I’d dirtied her shoes, she slapped me over a dozen times. She didn’t want to see my face. She found trouble with me at school day and night. Sometimes it was because I scored a few more points than her, sometimes because I said one sentence to her deskmate. Only when my face was black and blue, almost unrecognizable, would she be satisfied. Everyone knew. Logan Hayes doted on his only daughter. Everyone knew. Logan Hayes always sought revenge. Actually, I’d thought about it—as long as I solved the problem with Serena, I wouldn’t need to acknowledge the Hayes family. The harm the Hayes family had done to me couldn’t be erased by blood relations. And I remembered how guilty Wendy’s eyes looked every time she saw me. Since childhood, she was the only person who was good to me. I didn’t notice then how Wendy’s expression gradually became determined. Before I could react, she sent me to juvie. Three days passed. Wendy died. Died at Serena’s hands. I looked at Logan Hayes walking out the door: “I have something to say to you.”

Logan Hayes’s eyebrows didn’t move at all. His face showed no expression, but his presence commanded respect. I didn’t miss the flash of astonishment in his eyes. Serena held his arm, her face almost bloodless. I directed my gaze at her: “After killing Wendy, can you really sleep at night?” I didn’t believe she hadn’t guessed my identity. Didn’t believe she hadn’t guessed the relationship between her and Wendy. Logan Hayes’s eyes filled with disgust: “You’re the one who pushed Shannon and made her fall down the stairs. What, you came to my house to cause more trouble for my daughter?” “Your mother’s death was an accident. One million dollars is the highest sincerity I can offer. If you want more money, forget it.” After speaking, he glared at the butler with displeasure. He put his arm around Serena to return to the house. I stepped forward, blocking Serena’s path: ” A debt must be repaid, and a murder must be paid for with a life..” “I don’t want your money. I want Wendy’s life.” Both Logan Hayes and Serena froze, as if they’d heard the biggest joke. Jacob rushed forward to grab my shoulder: “Are you sick? You just blinded my dad and I haven’t settled that with you yet. I’m your elder brother, and I can send you back to juvie.” I spat at him viciously: “Pfft! Am I even Mitchell blood? Where does ‘eldest brother like a father’ come from? My dad is standing right here.” Serena’s face completely changed. She looked at me with something like panic, pulling on Logan Hayes’s hand: “Dad, throw her out quickly.” “I think she’s gone crazy!” “I never want to see her again!” Logan Hayes was heartbroken. He pulled her into his embrace: “Okay, if you don’t want to see her, you won’t.” “Trust me. If I want, I can make sure she never appears within ten kilometers of us again.” The Hayes family’s bodyguards understood his implication. They exchanged glances and surrounded me. I knew this was my last chance. If I was expelled by the Hayes family, I would never be able to see Logan Hayes again. Jacob glared at me with resentment. Clearly already thinking of a hundred ways to teach me a lesson. The moment the Hayes family bodyguards grabbed my wrists. I smashed the little wooden box I’d been holding all along. With a crisp “crack.” The wooden box shattered into pieces. The contents rolled out and stopped at Logan Hayes’s feet. The man merely glanced at it. Then his face changed drastically.

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After five years with Ethan Crawford, I couldn’t even afford rent. I pawned the ring my mom left me for five hundred dollars. Later, I found out it was for Vivian Winters’ fourth “heart surgery.” Over five years, our anniversary was canceled four times. When I had a fever of 103 degrees and went to the ER, he said on the phone that Vivian was getting a follow-up exam and he couldn’t leave. My friends all said Ethan was a good guy, loyal and devoted, and told me not to be petty. I believed them. I even felt ashamed of my occasional jealousy. Until yesterday, when I scrolled past a video of a trail marathon. The girl in the lead had a killer body and had just broken the women’s division record. At the finish line, she jumped up and hung around Ethan’s neck, laughing. “Ethan, I told you I’m perfectly healthy! You’re just too worried!” Those limited-edition running shoes on her feet cost five hundred dollars. Ethan smiled as he tied her shoelaces. “See? I told you it was worth the money.” Looking at those shoes, I suddenly didn’t want to ask anymore. Turns out the moon wasn’t dim—it just never shone on my side.

“Didn’t I tell you Vivian had an EKG scheduled today? You still called three times in a row. Do you have to make a scene at a time like this?” Ethan pushed open the door, bringing in the chill of early autumn. He tossed his car keys onto the shoe cabinet by the entrance with a clatter. I sat on the sofa, my phone screen already dark. The image from that marathon video was still burned into my mind. “Why aren’t you saying anything? What are you sulking about now?” Ethan changed his shoes and walked over. He sat down beside me. There was a faint smell of sweat and earth clinging to him. It wasn’t the scent of hospital disinfectant. It was the scent of mountain air. He placed a plastic bag on the coffee table. “Picked up some tacos from a food cart on the way back. Eat while they’re hot.” I glanced down at the tacos. Sauce was seeping through the paper bag, and they were loaded with crushed peanuts. “I don’t eat peanuts,” I said quietly. Ethan froze for a moment, then frowned. “Lily, when did you become so difficult?” “Vivian had three vials of blood drawn today. I spent all day running around the hospital with her, and I still thought to bring you dinner on the way home.” “Just pick them out. Is that so hard?” He looked at me as if I were an unreasonable child. I stared at the mud stains on his sweatpants. The color of that mud matched the mud by the finish line in the marathon video. “She had blood drawn today?” I asked. Ethan sighed and reached out to ruffle my hair. I tilted my head slightly, dodging his hand. His hand hung awkwardly in midair. His expression darkened. “What exactly do you want?” “I already told you the doctor said her heart isn’t getting enough blood. She needs rest.” “You think I want to spend every day at the hospital? It’s my responsibility.” “If her brother hadn’t gotten into that car accident saving me, would she be like this now?” He’d repeated this speech countless times over the past five years. Every time I showed even a hint of dissatisfaction, he’d place this moral crown on my head. Making me feel like a cold, selfish, unreasonable woman. I lowered my eyes to my bare ring finger. There used to be a silver ring there—the only thing my mom left me. Two days ago, the landlord had demanded rent. Ethan said he’d used all his money on Vivian’s hospital bills. Running a fever, I’d pawned the ring for five hundred dollars. “Do the shoes you bought her fit well?” I heard my own calm voice. Ethan’s hand froze as he was pouring water. Water sloshed out of the glass and spilled onto the coffee table. He turned around. His eyes flickered, but he quickly regained his composure. “Did you go through my phone?” His tone turned cold. “Lily, I hate it when people invade my privacy.” I didn’t explain that I’d seen it in a marathon video. It didn’t matter anymore. “The shoes were recommended by her doctor.” Ethan set the glass down heavily on the table. “Vivian has a heart condition. The doctor said she needs shoes with excellent shock absorption for her rehab exercises.” “They’re just shoes. Do you have to be so petty?” He looked at me with disappointment in his eyes, as if I were a vicious woman who would even begrudge someone shoes for medical treatment. I looked at that familiar face and suddenly felt like I was looking at a stranger. Rehab exercises. The kind that break women’s division marathon records. I didn’t call him out on it. I just stood up and threw the peanut-laden tacos into the trash. Ethan took a deep breath, suppressing his temper. “Fine. If you don’t want them, forget it.” “I’ll return the shoes tomorrow, okay? I’ll transfer you the money for rent.” He was certain I was just jealous. Certain that if he backed down just a little, I’d forgive him like I always had. “No need,” I said. Ethan watched me walk back to the bedroom, his voice tinged with irritation. “Lily, you’d better know when to stop.”

The next morning, I went to the pawn shop in the old district. I wanted to get my mom’s ring back. Last night I’d sold some coats and bags on Poshmark and barely scraped together five hundred dollars. The owner sat behind the counter and pushed up his reading glasses. “Young lady, you’re too late.” “That silver ring was bought half an hour ago.” I froze in place, my fingers tightening on my canvas bag strap. “Sir, the redemption period hasn’t ended yet, has it? Could you help me contact the buyer?” My voice trembled. “I can pay more.” The owner shook his head. “The young couple seemed to really like it. They paid in full and left wearing it.” I was about to plead further when the glass door of the pawn shop swung open. The wind chime rang with a crisp sound. Ethan pushed through the door, carefully shielding the girl behind him. “Vivian, slow down. The doctor said you can’t walk too fast.” Vivian Winters was wearing those five-hundred-dollar limited-edition running shoes, holding a cup of hot milk tea. She smiled sweetly. “Ethan, I’m not that fragile.” She raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. On her ring finger, that familiar silver ring caught the harsh sunlight. My breath stopped. Ethan looked up and saw me standing by the counter. Shock flashed across his face, followed by a frown. “Lily? What are you doing here?” Vivian saw me too. She shrank back behind Ethan, looking nervous. “Hi, Lily,” she said timidly. I ignored her, staring straight at the ring. “That’s my ring.” I looked at Ethan. Ethan glanced at the ring on Vivian’s hand, his frown deepening. “Lily, stop making a scene.” “I just bought this from this shop. How is it yours?” The pawn shop owner coughed behind the counter but said nothing. I looked at Ethan’s self-righteous face and found it absurd. “I pawned it two days ago,” I said, word by word. Ethan froze. He seemed to remember something. His expression changed. Vivian’s eyes immediately reddened. She hurried to take off the ring. “I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t know it was yours.” “Ethan saw I was feeling down lately and said he’d buy me a little gift to cheer me up.” “I’ll give it back. Please don’t be mad at Ethan.” The more anxious she got, the harder it was to remove the ring stuck at her knuckle. A red mark formed on her pale finger. Ethan grabbed her hand. “Stop. You’re hurting yourself.” He turned to me, his voice filled with impatience and accusation. “Lily, if you needed money, why didn’t you tell me? Why come here and pawn things?” “I already bought the ring and gave it to Vivian. She really likes it.” “It’s just an old ring. I’ll take you to buy a new diamond ring later.” He spoke in the most rational tone while making the cruelest decision. In his world, my keepsake wasn’t worth Vivian’s momentary happiness. I watched him shield Vivian behind him. “No need,” I said quietly. Ethan thought I’d given in. He relaxed. He pulled a card from his wallet and held it out to me. “There’s a thousand dollars on this. Pay your rent and buy yourself something nice with what’s left.” “Stop acting like I’ve mistreated you.” I didn’t take the card. I turned and walked toward the glass door of the pawn shop. As I pushed it open, I heard Vivian whisper, “Ethan, is Lily really mad?” Ethan’s voice was flat.

“That’s just how she is. She’ll get over it in a couple days.” Ethan’s words blew into my ears on the wind. I didn’t look back. I kept walking along the cobblestone street. When I got back to the apartment, a WhatsApp voice message from the landlord was waiting. “Lily, when are you paying rent? You’re three days late.” “If you don’t pay today, you’ll have to move out tomorrow. I won’t have any trouble renting this place out.” I listened to the message and replied: “Mrs. Green, I won’t be renewing. I’ll move out tomorrow.” After sending that message, I pulled out the dust-covered suitcase from under the bed. After five years, I didn’t actually have much. A few seasonal clothes, some old books, and various odds and ends. I folded them one by one and packed them into the suitcase. At seven that evening, Ethan came home. He was carrying two large pink storage bins. When he saw the suitcase in the living room, he paused. “What are you doing?” He set the bins on the floor and frowned. I was putting my last few books into a cardboard box. “Packing,” I said without looking up. Ethan walked over and kicked my suitcase. “Lily, are you seriously throwing a tantrum? Running away from home over a broken ring?” “I already said I’d buy you a new one. What more do you want?” I straightened up and looked at him. “The landlord’s demanding rent. I can’t afford it.” Ethan relaxed, his tone softening. “That’s all?” He walked over to the sofa and lit a cigarette. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” “Vivian’s roommate plays video games until the middle of the night. It’s seriously affecting her rest.” “The doctor said with her heart condition, she can’t handle late nights and noise.” He exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at me through the blue-white haze. “I’m planning to have her move in here for a while.” I looked at him quietly, saying nothing. Ethan thought I was hesitating and continued: “You can move into the small room and give her the master bedroom.” “Vivian’s health is fragile. The master gets better light.” This apartment only had one bedroom and a living room. The so-called “small room” was actually a storage closet less than fifty square feet. It could barely fit a single bed and didn’t even have a window. “Don’t worry, I’ll cover the rent from now on.” “Once Vivian’s feeling better, I’ll have her move out.” He spoke in a consultative tone while issuing a non-negotiable order. In his view, since I couldn’t pay rent, I had to accept his charity and arrangements. I looked at his self-assured face. “Okay.” I nodded. Ethan clearly hadn’t expected me to agree so readily. The hand holding his cigarette paused. Surprise flickered in his eyes. “You’re okay with it?” “Yeah.” I sealed the cardboard box with tape. Ethan smiled. He walked over and reached out to hug me. “I knew you were the most understanding.” “I know this is hard on you for a while. Next month when I get my bonus, I’ll take you to the Maldives.” I stepped back, avoiding his embrace. “I’m a little tired. Going to sleep.” I turned and walked into the master bedroom, closing the door. Through the door, I heard Ethan on the phone with Vivian. “Vivian, it’s all arranged. You can move in tomorrow.” “Yeah, the master bedroom’s yours.” His voice was tender enough to drip honey. I sat on the edge of the bed, took out my phone, and bought a ticket home for tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow was our fifth anniversary. I woke up at six a.m. sharp. Ethan was still asleep on the sofa. He’d stayed up late last night helping Vivian pack. I didn’t wake him. I wheeled my suitcase to the entrance. At ten a.m., Ethan woke up. He saw me sitting in the living room and walked over, running his hand through his hair. “You didn’t go to work today?” “Took the day off,” I said. He seemed to remember something and slapped his forehead. “Right, it’s our fifth anniversary.” He walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, twisting it open and taking a sip. “Where do you want to eat tonight? I’ll book a steakhouse.” I looked at his perfunctory expression. Over five years, our anniversary had been canceled four times. The first time, he had to accompany Vivian to see a doctor in another city. The second time, Vivian was feeling down, so he took her to see the ocean. The third time, it conflicted with Vivian’s birthday. The fourth time—last year—he was at the hospital with Vivian while she got an IV. “No need,” I said. Ethan frowned. “What now? I’m the one who brought it up, and you still want to ruin it?” Just then, his phone rang. The name “Vivian” flashed on the screen. Ethan immediately answered, his tone instantly anxious. “What’s wrong, Vivian?” “What? You twisted your ankle? How could you be so careless!” “Where are you? I’ll be right there!” He hung up and grabbed his car keys from the coffee table. “Lily, Vivian missed a step going down the stairs. Her ankle’s really bad. I need to take her to the hospital.” “Go to the restaurant tonight without me. I’ll meet you there when I’m done.” He didn’t even wait for my answer before rushing out the door. The door slammed shut with a loud echo. I sat on the sofa, watching the clock on the wall tick away. At noon, I stood up. I put everything Ethan had bought me over the past five years into a black trash bag. There wasn’t much—a few clearance clothes, a lipstick that smudged, and some cheap earrings. I placed the trash bag by the door, then took out my keys and set them in the center of the coffee table. I pulled my suitcase out of the apartment I’d lived in for five years. At three p.m., I was sitting on a train heading home. The scenery outside the window flew past in reverse. My phone vibrated. A message from the landlord: “Lily, I’m going to collect the keys. The door’s unlocked, so I’ll just take them, okay?” I replied with “Okay.” Then Ethan’s message popped up. “Vivian broke a bone in her foot. She needs a cast. I can’t make it tonight.” “Get yourself something good to eat. I owe you one.” “Oh, and did you clear out the storage room? Vivian’s stuff is being delivered tonight.” I looked at the words on the screen and typed out a response. “All cleared out.” “Keys are on the coffee table.” After sending those two sentences, I clicked on his profile picture. Delete. Block. Done. The train entered a tunnel. The cabin went dark. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes.

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The moment I was reborn on the beach, my buddy Liam’s urgent phone call came through. “Ethan! Where the hell are you?! The bride has been waiting for you for two hours!” I rubbed my throbbing temples and swiped open my phone calendar with a laugh. “What are you talking about? Today’s the 14th. My wedding is on the 21st. That’s a whole seven days away.” “Seven days my ass!” His voice cracked. “All the guests at the hotel are about to leave! Vanessa has torn off her veil. Get over here now.” I looked up at the public screen by the beach. It clearly displayed June 14, 2026. In my past life, I thought I’d been so busy I’d mixed up the dates. I rushed to the hotel like a madman, only to have a flower pot drop from above and smash through my skull the moment I stepped through the door. I didn’t even get a chance to see the killer’s face. This time, I stared at the messages popping up on my phone — “Today is your wedding” — my fingertips ice-cold. The sea breeze carried a faint fishy smell into my nostrils. I jerked my eyes open, gasping for air, my whole body radiating bone-chilling cold. In my past life, the flower pot had exploded on my head. In an instant, intense pain struck. My whole body went numb. Blood pooled everywhere. In the last second before losing consciousness, I still couldn’t figure out why the wedding had been moved up seven days. I’d spent half a year preparing for this wedding, attending to every detail. I’d even written the date on the invitations myself. Before I could sort out my thoughts, the piercing phone ringtone pulled me back to reality. My lock screen showed the countdown to my wedding with Vanessa: [7 days until the wedding] Liam kept calling. I suppressed my irritation and answered. His anxious voice came through. “Ethan, today’s your wedding. The guests have been waiting for you for two hours. The bride is going crazy. Where did you run off to?” I suppressed my anger and asked in a low voice, “Say that again. What day is the wedding?” “June 21st! Did you forget your own wedding day?” I gripped my phone tightly, my knuckles turning white. “Then check today’s date.” Silence on the other end for a few seconds. “Ethan, today is June 21st, Saturday. Are you coming or not?” I hung up and pulled up the invitation photo. Black and white, June 21st. That was right. But my phone calendar, the car display, the screen on the street — all showed June 14th. I forced myself to calm down. In my past life, I’d lost my life because I rushed over impulsively. I called my grandfather, George. He had raised me. He’d said he would definitely attend my wedding.

“It’s Ethan! What made you think to call me? Remember to pick me up next Saturday for your wedding.” George put on his reading glasses and squinted at me affectionately. Seeing him so calm and composed, I relaxed a bit and asked casually, “George, what’s today’s date?” George smoothed his graying hair and said with a smile, “Today’s the 14th. Our Ethan’s wedding is on the 21st. What’s wrong? Getting anxious to marry your bride?” He had always doted on me most. He would never lie to me about something as important as my wedding. My tense nerves relaxed slightly. But then I thought — why would Vanessa and Liam put on such an elaborate show to deceive me? I clenched my fist, veins bulging on the back of my hand. Seeing me zone out, George said gently, “Ethan, make sure you rest well these next few days. You need to be the most handsome groom on your wedding day.” I was silent for a moment, then finally just said “Got it” and hung up. On the screen by the shore, the date was clearly visible: June 14, Saturday. I pulled up the invitation photo. June 21st, no mistake. My phone screen kept flashing. Vanessa was calling again. Before I could speak, Vanessa’s voice came crashing down. “Ethan! You gave my mother a heart attack! She’s in the hospital! If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive you! Where are you?” I took a deep breath, suppressing my anger. “Vanessa, I’ve been preparing this wedding for half a year. The date is set for June 21st. What’s the point of this scene you’re making today?” Vanessa’s voice turned cold. “You think I’d use my own mother’s health to put on an act? Even if you don’t want to get married anymore, we can sit down and talk. You called all the elders here, then left them hanging while you vacation at the beach?” She paused, her voice becoming hoarse. “Ethan, I never realized you had this much nerve.” My heart tightened. “Elders? What elders?” Vanessa turned the camera. George was standing in the hotel lobby, his wrinkled face filled with exhaustion. Seeing that familiar face, my head buzzed. I had to grip the railing to keep from falling. George faced the camera, his voice carrying a disappointment I’d never heard before. “Ethan, you’ve been so sensible since you were little. How could you joke about something this important today? You made Vanessa’s mother so upset she had to go to the hospital! Come over right now and apologize to everyone properly.” Vanessa took back the phone, her tone ice-cold. “If you have any sense of responsibility left, get over here now.” As soon as she finished speaking, she sent a hotel location. It was exactly where I’d died in my past life. My hand holding the phone began to tremble. I had just talked to George on the phone. He was grilling meat at the farm. How could he possibly appear at a hotel in the city center in just a few minutes? I immediately called George again. “Ethan, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Hearing such caring words, my heart didn’t warm at all. The video background was clearly next to the grill in the farm’s backyard. I steadied my emotions. “Nothing, George. I just missed you.” I hung up and sent the call recording to Vanessa. “My grandfather is at the farm right now. I don’t know who that person you found is.” A few minutes later, Vanessa sent a video. George was pacing back and forth at the hotel entrance, occasionally looking anxiously outside. When he heard any sound, he rushed out anxiously, tripped on a chair, and fell hard. My heart clenched watching it. Then Vanessa’s messages kept popping up. “Ethan, you’re really something, using AI video to deceive me. Your grandfather is at the hotel right now. He’s been waiting all morning!”

George said his only wish was to see me get married and see me happy. He’d prepared the family heirloom for me half a year in advance and even handcrafted a small wooden cradle. No matter what method Vanessa used to get George to the hotel, I had to go and ask him face to face. Recalling my past life when I rushed to the hotel entrance, the welcome sign clearly read June 21st. What was going on with all this? I organized the information I’d collected and sent it to Vanessa. After a few seconds, Vanessa video called me. Her eyes were slightly red, her voice carrying suppressed trembling. “Ethan, you’re still hung up on the date at this point? I don’t care what day it is today. I want you at the wedding venue right now.” After a few seconds of silence, her tone softened slightly. “Ethan, whatever happened, just come over first. Your family is all here. We’ll apologize to everyone properly, and it’ll be over. Your grandfather is old. He can’t handle this much stress.” My parents also crowded into the frame. My mother, Sarah, looked exhausted but still tried to sound calm. “Ethan, just come over. Even if you mixed up the dates, your father and I won’t blame you.” My throat tightened. “But today is the 14th. The wedding is the 21st.” My father, David, snatched the phone when he heard that, his face livid. “How did I raise you? When you make a mistake, you own up to it. Where did your manners go? How can you not even know what day it is? Get over here right now and apologize to everyone!” He hung up after saying that. Regardless, with my past life’s experience, I could definitely avoid the danger. I steeled myself. I wanted to see exactly what Vanessa was up to. With that thought, I picked up my pace and returned to the hotel to change clothes. When I got in the Uber, the first thing I looked at was the display screen. Just like my past life, the electronic screen showed June 14th. As soon as I sat down, I urgently said to the driver, “The Ritz Hotel, please.” The driver was clearly taken aback and glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Are you sure?” I nodded. The car sped down the road, scenery flying past the windows. The driver put on some soothing light music. Once my tense nerves relaxed, drowsiness slowly crept in. I don’t know how long passed. I rubbed my eyes, and when I saw the news notification on my phone clearly, I broke out in a cold sweat. A news story had shot to the top of Twitter’s trending topics. #Groom forgets wedding date and goes missing, bride’s mother dies of heart attack#

I stared at my phone screen. The comments section had exploded. [Is this guy sick? If you don’t want to get married, just say so. Is this really necessary?] [The bride’s mom was literally killed by stress. He needs to pay with his life!] [I heard the groom is still vacationing at the beach. Unbelievable.] [Wedding turned into a funeral. This guy’s life is over.] My finger scrolling through the screen trembled uncontrollably. Vanessa’s mother… was dead? That was impossible. In my past life, when I rushed to the hotel entrance and the flower pot fell, I clearly saw her screaming in horror from the second floor. I suddenly looked up at the taxi display screen. June 14th, 2:23 PM. The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Young man, you don’t look so good.” “Sir, can you go any faster?” “This is already the fastest.” The driver paused. “The Ritz Hotel… I’d advise you to mentally prepare yourself.” My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?” The driver didn’t answer. He just silently turned up the music volume. It was an old song, “The Wedding March.” The gentle, melodious tune felt especially eerie now, giving me goosebumps. My phone rang again. It was Liam. “Ethan, where are you? Vanessa’s mother… she’s really gone.” His voice was low. “Come quickly. Vanessa’s in bad shape.” I gripped my phone tightly. “Liam, tell me, what day is it today?” Silence on the other end for a few seconds. “June 21st. Ethan, do you… really need to see a doctor?” I hung up, opened my camera, and aimed it at a road sign outside the window. Seaside Boulevard, 15 kilometers from the Ritz Hotel. The electronic screen on the sign clearly displayed: June 14, Saturday. I took a photo and sent it to Liam. He replied quickly. “Is photoshopping fun?” Then another message. “And you’re still hung up on the date at this point!” I turned off my phone and looked out the window. In the distance, the spire of the Ritz Hotel was faintly visible. In my past life, the flower pot had fallen from the curved balcony on the fourth floor. The taxi stopped at the hotel entrance. I paid, and the driver suddenly called out to me. “Young man,” he lowered his voice, looking at me in the rearview mirror, “don’t trust your eyes too much about some things.” I stared at him. “What do you mean?” The driver had already started the car and only left me with, “Sometimes people even lie to themselves with their own memories.” I stood in front of the hotel’s revolving door and took a deep breath. The lobby was empty. Unexpectedly quiet. In the distance, I could see a huge welcome sign standing in the center. The background was a wedding photo of Vanessa and me, with gold lettering: Groom: Ethan & Bride: Vanessa Wedding Date: June 21 Seeing this scene, my breathing suddenly quickened. The fear from my past life rampaged through my rationality. I was certain the accident in my past life was deliberate. If so, the killer wouldn’t show themselves unless I went over. They might even kill me another way. My back was already soaked with sweat. I gritted my teeth and charged forward. Bang! The flower pot exploded behind me. Flying ceramic shards cut bloody gashes on my leg. I had no time to care. I stepped back half a step and glanced up. The person hurriedly retreated, but I still caught sight of her face. I thought I knew what was going on. I steadied myself and quickly scanned my surroundings. Then a hand pressed on my shoulder from behind.

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“Summer, go play a Happy Birthday song for Evelyn.” Nathan sat on the sofa with Evelyn nestled in his arms. He was ordering me to perform for his mistress. My right hand had been crushed by a falling beam three years ago. I could no longer play a complete piece. But I couldn’t refuse. Because my brother was still lying in the ICU, and Nathan controlled his ventilator. I endured the piercing pain, pressing one key at a time. Evelyn walked over and poured red wine on my crippled hand. “That sounds awful.” The wine stained his mistress’s shoes, but Nathan didn’t even bat an eye. “Kneel down. Clean her shoes.” I knelt. In front of everyone, I bent my once-proud back and used my sleeve to wipe the wine stains from the tips of her shoes, bit by bit. I looked at Nathan one last time. He didn’t know I had terminal brain cancer. I only had three months left. Summer POV “Summer, malignant brain tumor, terminal stage. The tumor’s location is compressing your optic nerve and pain center. Surgery carries extreme risks. Without intervention, you have at most three months to live.” I looked at the brain scan in my hands, my face deathly pale, but my eyes showed not a trace of emotion. I simply nodded quietly and slipped the scan into a paper bag. “I understand. Doctor, no need to arrange hospitalization. Just prescribe me some painkillers. I’ll notify the hospital on my last day. Please help me arrange organ donation. My corneas… if they’re still usable, please donate those as well.” I saw the doctor freeze. He seemed to have never encountered a young person facing death with such calm. He tried to dissuade me again, but I only smiled palely, stood up, thanked him, and left. Walking out of the hospital entrance, the December wind cut through my thin coat like a knife. I pulled it tighter. The phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated violently. One name flashed on the screen: Nathan. I swiped to answer. The man’s voice was low and cold, without a trace of warmth. “Get to the New York Plaza Hotel within thirty minutes. For every minute you’re late, Mason’s ventilator gets unplugged.” “I’ll be right there.” I didn’t even offer an explanation before the call was ruthlessly disconnected. In the top-floor ballroom of the New York Plaza Hotel, people wore glamorous clothes, holding wine glasses and chatting with each other. Today was Evelyn’s twenty-fourth birthday. When I pushed open the heavy doors, all eyes fell on me. I wore a faded shirt that looked completely out of place here. In the center of the sofa, Nathan sat with his legs crossed, his handsome face radiating deep coldness. Evelyn leaned intimately against him, like a noble princess. “Oh, Summer’s here.” Evelyn covered her mouth with a coy laugh, her eyes full of contempt. “Nathan said he prepared a special surprise for me today.” Nathan held a cigarette between his fingers. He didn’t even lift his eyelids. His voice was bone-chillingly cold. “Summer, go to that stage over there. Play a Happy Birthday song for Evelyn.” Gasps immediately rippled through the room. Everyone knew I had once been New York’s famous piano prodigy, winning an international gold medal at fourteen. But three years ago in a fire, Nathan’s brother Ryan had died trying to save me, burned so badly he couldn’t be saved. And my right hand had been crushed by a falling beam. I could never play a complete piece again. Since then, Nathan hated me. He used every means to bankrupt my family. He used my brother Mason, now a vegetable, to blackmail me. He took me, once a proud prodigy, and crushed me beneath his feet. “What? You don’t want to?” Nathan lifted his eyes. His gaze was like a sharp blade. “Or would you rather go to the hospital tomorrow to collect Mason’s body?” “I’ll play.” My voice was hoarse. I didn’t resist. I walked to the pure white Steinway piano and sat down. My stiff, deformed right hand moved to the keys. The moment I pressed the first note, extreme pain spread from my finger bones throughout my entire body. But the worse pain came from deep within my brain. A tearing sensation. The tumor was acting up. My vision instantly blurred. I bit my pale lips and pressed one key at a time. The originally smooth, cheerful melody came out broken and fragmented under my fingers. Mocking laughter from wealthy girls echoed around me. “What piano prodigy? She plays worse than a street beggar now.” “She got Ryan killed. She deserves to be tortured like this by Nathan.” Evelyn picked up a glass of red wine and walked to the piano, deliberately sighing with false regret. “Summer, you play so badly. It’s really ruining the mood.” As soon as she finished speaking, she tilted her wrist. Red wine poured entirely onto my scarred right hand. The wine dripped along the keys. My whole body trembled. My fingers hung in midair. Then I heard Nathan’s cold, heartless voice. “Playing so badly, and you’ve dirtied Evelyn’s ears. Summer, kneel down and clean her shoes.” The entire ballroom fell deathly silent. I stared blankly at the man sitting not far away. That face was still the one I’d fallen for at first sight when I was eighteen. But the way he looked at me now held only endless disgust and hatred. Pain in my brain surged like a tsunami. My vision darkened in waves. Cold sweat beaded densely on my forehead. Seeing me motionless, Nathan suddenly smashed the wine glass in his hand onto the floor. The sound of shattering glass was piercing. “Do you not understand me? Kneel down!” I took a deep breath and forcibly swallowed the sourness in my eyes. I stood up and dragged my heavy legs to stand before Evelyn. Under everyone’s mocking gazes, I slowly bent my once-straight back. My knees touched the ground. “I’m sorry, Evelyn, for dirtying your ears.” Trembling, I extended my sleeve and wiped the red wine splattered on the tips of Evelyn’s shoes, bit by bit. My utterly humble posture finally brought a flash of satisfied cold amusement to Nathan’s eyes. He seemed to find it very satisfying. “Get out. Stop being an eyesore here.” Nathan spat out those few cold words. I stood up numbly, head bowed, and walked out. With every step, the pain in my brain intensified. Outside the hotel, New York was caught in a downpour. Without an umbrella, I could only stumble through the storm. Ryan, can you see this? The me you saved with your life has become a complete joke. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Soon I’ll go to make amends to you, to repay everything Nathan owes you, all of it cleared after death.

Summer POV I didn’t know how I made it back to the luxury villa. When I arrived home, I was soaked through, like someone just pulled from water. The villa was empty, with only endless darkness and cold wrapping around me. I’d just changed out of my wet clothes when a violent dizzy spell hit my brain. I leaned over the sink and vomited a large mouthful of fresh blood. The red liquid looked terrifying against the white ceramic basin. Trembling, I rinsed away the blood and fished two painkillers from my pocket, swallowing them dry. Just then, the roar of a car engine sounded from downstairs. Nathan had returned, and he’d brought Evelyn. I steadied myself against the wall and walked downstairs, just in time to see Evelyn intimately hugging Nathan’s neck as she surveyed the villa’s decor. “Nathan, after we get married, let’s redo all this decoration. I don’t like this cold style.” “Whatever you want.” Nathan’s voice carried rare tenderness. Hearing footsteps, they both looked up. Seeing me, the tenderness on Nathan’s face instantly vanished, replaced by extreme disgust. “What are you doing down here?” Before I could speak, Evelyn’s gaze suddenly fell on my neck. There hung a sapphire necklace. The only keepsake from my late mother, and the most valuable thing I owned. “Nathan, that necklace is so beautiful. My birthday wish tonight was to have a sapphire necklace just like that.” Evelyn leaned against Nathan’s chest, her voice coy. Nathan looked at me coldly and commanded without any warmth. “Take it off. Give it to Evelyn.” I clutched the pendant at my chest tightly, my knuckles turning white. “No! This is my mother’s keepsake. Nathan, you can’t take it!” For three years, no matter how he tortured me, I endured silently. But this necklace alone was my last connection to this world. “Keepsake?” Nathan sneered, strode forward, and gripped my chin, with force that seemed ready to crush my bones. “A vicious woman like you doesn’t deserve keepsakes. When you killed Ryan, did you think about how he didn’t even leave a last word!” I was forced to tilt my head back, my eyes red-rimmed, my voice violently trembling. “That fire wasn’t set by me! I’ve explained countless times!” “Shut up!” Nathan interrupted me brutally, his eyes churning with intense hatred. “I won’t listen to your excuses. The necklace. Either you take it off yourself, or I call the hospital to cut off Mason’s medication right now.” Mason was my younger brother, my only living relative who’d become a vegetable after being severely injured in that incident three years ago. Hearing Mason’s name, all the strength seemed to drain from my body instantly. The severe pain in my brain surged violently again. My vision became blurry in an instant. I laughed miserably as tears finally slid down my cheeks. “I’ll take it off.” With trembling hands, I unfastened the clasp at my neck. The sapphire, still warm with my body heat, was handed over by my own hands. Evelyn happily received it and put it on immediately. “Thank you, Nathan. I love it so much.” “As long as you’re happy.” Nathan didn’t even glance at me again. He put his arm around Evelyn and headed upstairs. “The air’s too dirty down here. Let’s go back to the room.” I stood alone in the spacious living room, hands clutching my head tightly, the pain almost suffocating. Late at night, the basement was cold and damp. This was the bedroom Nathan had arranged for me. I curled up on the narrow hard bed, my pain nerves tortured madly by the tumor. I bit the blanket to keep from making any sound, until a bloody taste welled up deep in my throat. I suddenly coughed up a large pool of dark blood that stained the rough sheets red. Three months… I looked at the blood in my palm, my lips twisting into a smile uglier than tears. Nathan, wait three more months. You’ll never have to see me again. This life of mine. I’ll return it to you soon.

Summer POV The next morning, I dragged my extremely weak body to the hospital. In the intensive care unit, Mason lay quietly on the bed, his body covered with tubes. I sat by the bed and gently held his pale, cold hand. My voice was as soft as a breeze. “Mason, I might not be able to wait for you to wake up. Don’t be afraid. After I’m gone, the money will be enough to maintain your treatment. If there’s a next life, you can protect me instead, okay?” The hospital room door opened. Dr. Hayes walked in wearing a white coat. Hayes was Mason’s attending physician. Over these three years, if he hadn’t been secretly looking after Mason, my brother wouldn’t have made it this far. “Summer, why do you look so bad?” Hayes looked at my gaunt face, his brow furrowed tightly. “What happened to your hand? And have you been having frequent headaches lately?” As a perceptive doctor, he seemed to have noticed something wrong with my body long ago. “I’m fine, Hayes. I just didn’t sleep well last night.” I instinctively hid my hand in my coat pocket and avoided his gaze. I couldn’t let anyone know about my condition. If Nathan found out, he’d only think it was a new trick to escape atonement. Hayes looked at my forbearing appearance. He seemed deeply pained. He suddenly stepped forward and gripped my shoulders. “Summer, stop staying with Nathan! He’s sucking you dry, demanding your life! Come with me. I’ll take you abroad. I can find a way to treat Mason too!” “What big words from Dr. Hayes. Where exactly do you want to take my wife?” A cold, vicious voice suddenly rang out from the doorway. Nathan, dressed in a black suit, strode into the room. His gaze fixed deadly on Hayes’s hands on my shoulders, his eyes filled with extreme fury. My heart lurched. I quickly pulled away from Hayes’s grip. “You’ve misunderstood. We were just discussing Mason’s condition.” “Misunderstood?” Nathan laughed coldly and grabbed my wrist, roughly pulling me to his side. “No wonder you couldn’t wait to run out first thing in the morning. Turns out you were rushing to meet your old flame. Summer, a woman as unfaithful as you truly disgusts me.” “Nathan, don’t go too far!” Hayes’s eyes reddened with anger. He rushed forward to pull me back. But Nathan swung his fist and punched Hayes in the face, shouting a warning. “Touch her one more time and I’ll pull Mason’s tubes today!” Those words hit my weak spot completely, cutting off any resistance. I desperately held Hayes back. “Hayes, please stop! I’ll go with him.” Nathan dragged me like lifeless cargo, stuffed me into the car, and sped all the way back to the villa. As soon as we entered, he threw me hard onto the carpet. “So desperate for a man? Can’t help seducing people even at the hospital?” Nathan loosened his tie and looked down at me from above, his eyes full of disgust. “Since you’re so idle, do something useful for me.” He waved his hand. Bodyguards carried in several heavy cardboard boxes filled with red wedding invitations. “Next month is my wedding with Evelyn. These remaining ten thousand invitations. You’ll write them all by hand. If you don’t finish, Mason won’t get another cent for medical expenses.” I lay on the floor, staring at that glaring red color, feeling as if my heart had been carved out alive. This was the wedding he’d once promised me. Now he wanted me to personally write his name alongside someone else’s. “Fine. I’ll write them.” Not a single tear fell. I was calm to the point of numbness. Seeing me not even resist, Nathan seemed even angrier. He snorted coldly and turned to leave. Under the dim light of the basement, I gripped my pen and wrote “Nathan” and “Evelyn” word by word. Ten thousand invitations. A mountain of them. By late night, the tumor’s compression of my optic nerve worsened again. The text before my eyes began to double, then became a blurry black mass. Extreme pain exploded from the back of my skull. My whole body convulsed from the pain. The pen tip scratched a jarring bloody line across the paper. I nearly bit through my lip just to keep from passing out. My vision went completely dark. I could only rely on muscle memory to write with my eyes closed in the darkness. Every stroke was the most painful farewell to this humble love.

Summer POV For three full days and nights, I was locked in the basement without a drop of water or bite of food, until I finished the last invitation. When I leaned against the wall and stumbled to push open the living room door, the harsh sunlight stung my already blurred eyes. On the sofa, Evelyn was trying on a lavish diamond wedding dress. Nathan sat nearby, flipping through documents. The scene was so warm it was blinding. Hearing movement, Evelyn turned her head and covered her nose in disgust. “Summer, why do you look like such a mess? You reek of mold. Stay away from my wedding dress.” I ignored her and walked to Nathan, my voice so weak it seemed ready to break. “Ten thousand invitations. I’ve finished them. Mason’s medical expenses. You should transfer them to the hospital now.” Nathan looked up. His gaze fell on my deathly pale face and cracked lips. His brow furrowed slightly. Before he could speak, Evelyn suddenly stood up from the sofa and walked to my side. She deliberately stepped on the long train of her wedding dress, then cried out and fell backward. “Nathan, save me!” Nathan reacted quickly and caught Evelyn in one swift motion. Evelyn took the opportunity to clutch her stomach, tears streaming down her face. “Summer, I know you’re jealous I get to marry Nathan, but you can’t push me!” “I didn’t push you.” I stated the fact calmly. A heavy slap struck my face hard. Nathan’s face was icy cold, the viciousness in his eyes undisguised. “Summer, you never change! If anything happens to Evelyn, I absolutely won’t let you off!” The slap knocked my head to the side. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. My ears rang. The whole world seemed to spin endlessly. “Nathan, my engagement ring is gone!” Evelyn suddenly shrieked, pointing at the outdoor pool beyond the floor-to-ceiling window. “When she pushed me just now, the ring flew off and fell into the pool! You gave me that ring!” It was now frigid December. The outdoor temperature had dropped to ten degrees below zero. The pool’s surface had even formed a thin layer of ice. Nathan looked at me coldly and ordered mercilessly. “Go fish it out.” I stared hard into those bottomless black eyes, trying to find even the slightest trace of reluctance. But there was none. Only endless indifference and hatred. “Nathan, I’ll die in there.” My voice was extremely soft, stating a fact. “Then go die.” The man spat out those five words ruthlessly. “That life of yours was owed to the family anyway.” Yes. I owed him. I smiled. I turned around, pushed open the floor-to-ceiling window, and walked into the biting cold wind. Under Nathan’s and Evelyn’s watchful eyes, I stepped into the freezing pool without hesitation. The bone-chilling water instantly submerged my calves, then my waist, then my chest. That cold wasn’t just cold. It was like countless red-hot needles stabbing into my marrow all at once. The nerve pain from the brain tumor erupted completely under the extreme cold’s stimulation. My face went white as paper. I groped underwater, diving into the ice water again and again. Through my hazy vision, I saw Nathan standing by the floor-to-ceiling window on shore, watching my body rise and sink in the ice water. He bit down hard on his teeth. His hands seemed to unconsciously clench into fists. Three hours later. I finally found that sparkling diamond ring on the filter screen at the bottom of the pool. My whole body was as stiff as an ice sculpture. My legs had completely lost all sensation. Relying on the last instinct for survival, I forced myself to crawl ashore. “The ring. I found it.” I collapsed on the floor, trembling as I held that diamond ring out to Evelyn. But Evelyn stepped back in disgust, covering her nose. “After falling in that dirty water, I don’t want it anymore. Nathan, let’s just go buy a new one, okay?” “Fine. Since it’s dirty, throw it away.” Nathan’s voice came from above my head. Immediately after, the ring I’d traded half my life for was kicked mercilessly into a nearby trash can by the man. I lay on the cold floor, staring at that sparkling ring in the garbage, and suddenly let out a hoarse, low laugh. The laughter grew louder, mixed with violent coughing. I felt everything inside my body tearing apart. Nathan, you’ve not only trampled my dignity, you’ve personally killed the last faint glimmer of love I had. My vision plunged into complete darkness. In that icy cold, I lost consciousness entirely.

Summer POV “How long has she been playing dead?” Through the haze, I heard a cold voice near my ear. “Mr. Nathan, Summer has been burning with a 104-degree fever for a full day and night. If this continues, someone’s going to die…” the servant answered fearfully. “Die? Disasters live long. She’s not that easy to kill.” Nathan snorted coldly. I heard his footsteps fade farther away. I lay on the hard bed in the basement, feeling as if I were in a burning sea of flames. It felt like thousands of drills were frantically grinding in my head. The pain left me without even the strength to make a sound. It hurts so much… someone save me… Just when I thought I’d die in endless darkness, the basement door was kicked open. Hayes burst in with bloodshot eyes. Seeing me unconscious with fever on the bed, he looked both furious and heartbroken. “Summer! Wake up!” He immediately took off his coat and wrapped it around my cold body, lifted me up, and charged out of the villa like an enraged lion, heading straight for the hospital. The emergency room’s red light stayed on for three full hours. In the hospital room, I had an IV in my hand. My already thin face was now utterly bloodless. Hayes looked at the just-released brain scan report. His hands were trembling violently. “Terminal malignant brain tumor… Summer, why didn’t you tell me anything!” Hayes’s voice carried a desperate sob. I slowly opened my unfocused eyes and weakly pulled at the corner of my mouth. “Hayes, don’t tell Nathan… I don’t want him to think I’m using a sympathy ploy to deceive him.” “Even now you’re still protecting him!” Hayes closed his eyes in pain. Bang! The hospital room door was suddenly kicked open with tremendous force. Nathan strode in with an icy aura. He stared deadly at Hayes holding my hand by the bedside. The fury in his eyes seemed ready to burn everything down. “Hayes, you’ve got some nerve, daring to snatch someone from my villa?” Nathan stepped forward through gritted teeth, grabbed Hayes by the collar, and shoved him aside hard. Then his gaze turned darkly to me on the bed. “I thought you were really dying, but turns out you just switched locations to have a tryst with your old flame. Summer, you truly have no shame!” “Nathan, you’ve gone too far! Do you know she’s already…” Hayes angrily tried to shout the truth, but was interrupted by my weak scream. “Hayes! Don’t say it!” I coughed violently, my eyes full of pleading. In Nathan’s eyes, this seemed like ironclad proof that I was desperately protecting Hayes. “What a touching tragic couple’s performance.” Nathan laughed in extreme anger. He suddenly reached out and ripped the IV needle from the back of my hand! The sharp needle was brutally pulled from the vein, bringing up a string of red blood droplets that splattered on the white sheets. “Nathan, you’re insane!” Hayes tried to intervene but was pinned against the wall by bodyguards who’d followed. “Come back with me.” Nathan completely ignored my cry of pain. Like dragging a lifeless rag, he forcibly pulled me from the hospital bed. My legs had no strength. I fell directly onto the cold tiles. Blood from the back of my hand dripped onto the floor, but I didn’t struggle. I lifted my head. Those once-bright eyes now looked like a pool of stagnant water. “Nathan.” My voice was extremely soft but carried a frightening death-like stillness. “In this life, have you ever loved me?” Nathan’s movement paused. He seemed to feel a stab of pain, but he quickly covered it up and mocked coldly. “Love? You think you’re worthy? You’re only fit to spend a lifetime atoning at Ryan’s grave!” “I understand now.” I closed my eyes. A final tear slid from the corner of my eye. In this moment, the shackles that had bound me for three years finally shattered completely. The Summer who deeply loved Nathan had died in that cold hospital room. What remained was just a shell counting down to death.

Summer POV Three days later was the third anniversary of Ryan’s death. The sky was overcast gray, drizzling cold winter rain. In New York’s largest cemetery, the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating. Ryan’s parents stood before Ryan’s headstone, faces full of grief. Evelyn held a black umbrella, standing obediently beside Nathan. When I dragged my extremely weak body close, Ryan’s mother’s eyes instantly turned red. She rushed at me like a madwoman, raised her hand, and slapped me hard across the face. “You cursed woman! How dare you show your face to see my son?!” she screamed shrilly. She swung her other hand for another slap, hitting me so hard I swayed and fell heavily into a muddy puddle. “If it weren’t for you, how would my son have been burned alive! Why didn’t you die? Why wasn’t it you who died!” Ryan’s mother cried and screamed while picking up the flowers in her hand and throwing them frantically at my head and face. I didn’t dodge. I knelt on the ground, letting mud and petals fall all over me. My cheeks were swollen and aching. My eardrums rang. My vision had blurred so much I couldn’t see Ryan’s photo on the headstone clearly. I could only bow my head deeply toward that direction. “I’m sorry…” My voice was hoarse, repeating over and over. Nathan watched all this coldly, like a lofty judge. “Nathan, Summer looks so pitiful. Why don’t we just let it go?” Evelyn pleaded falsely from the side, but her eyes were full of satisfaction. “She’s pitiful? When Ryan was burned to death in the ruins, who pitied him?” Nathan’s voice held not a trace of warmth. He walked to stand before me, looking down at my utterly wretched appearance from above, and coldly ordered, “Since you came to atone, show some sincerity. Kneel here for twenty-four hours. One minute less, and I’ll make Mason go down to keep Ryan company.” I stiffly lifted my head. Rain slid down my pale face. “Fine.” I answered calmly and straightened my back, kneeling properly before the headstone. They turned and left with their umbrellas. Soon, the vast cemetery held only me. The winter rain was bone-piercing, cutting like blade edges into my skin. The severe pain from the brain tumor compressing my nerves made every second a living hell. But I didn’t dare fall, because Mason was still waiting for me in the ICU. From day to night, then to the next morning. Twenty-four hours. I endured it all. When Nathan’s bodyguard came to check, what he saw was a body that seemed already frozen to death. I mechanically stood up. My legs, after prolonged lack of blood circulation, gave out and I collapsed to the ground. I spat out a mouthful of dark red blood. The blood sprayed onto the stone slab in front of Ryan’s headstone. I carelessly wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. I looked at the headstone and murmured in a low voice. “Ryan, the life I owed you. I’ve repaid it with three years of endless torment. The rest, I’ll soon come to the other world to return to you personally.” After leaving the cemetery, I didn’t return to the villa. Instead, I went to the hospital. I found Hayes and handed him a signed transfer consent form. “Hayes, do me a favor. I’ve already contacted brain neurology specialists abroad. Take Mason overseas for treatment. I’ve transferred that overseas trust fund under my name entirely to your account. The password is Mason’s birthday. This money will be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.” Hayes looked at the documents in his hands. His eyes suddenly reddened. He grabbed my wrist. “Summer, what about you? Are you coming with us?” I gently withdrew my hand, a weak smile forming on my lips. “I’m not going. I can’t walk anymore, Hayes.” “No, modern medicine is so advanced. As long as you’re willing to go abroad, there’s definitely still hope!” “There’s no hope.” I calmly pointed to my own eyes. “Since yesterday, I can’t see anything anymore.”My time left is only three days.” Hayes stood there as if struck by lightning. Desperate tears spilled from his eyes. I turned around, groped along the wall, and slowly walked out of the hospital. In this world, my only concern had been properly arranged. Next, I only needed to quietly wait for death to come.

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I used to believe Ethan truly loved me. Until that day, when I found the engagement invitation in his car. His and Vivian Sinclair’s, the heiress of the wealthy Sinclair family. Ethan was getting married, but the bride wasn’t me. And in front of me, he was still the same gentle, considerate, perfect boyfriend. In the private lounge, he and his friends mocked me in French. “Keeping Lila on the side isn’t much trouble. She’s so obedient in bed, I can’t bear to break up with her.” They didn’t know. My French scores were top of my class. For three years, I clipped my own wings, willing to be his caged canary. Now it’s time to wake from this dream. I submitted my application to study at the top veterinary medical center in Boston. Ethan, you’re getting married. And I’m going to fly back to the sky where I belong. Lila POV “Miss Hayes, working late again today? Mr. Ford has been waiting outside for you for quite a while.” Sarah, a nurse, smiled and joked. I took off my work clothes, washed my hands, and smiled gently. “There was an emergency surgery today. It took a bit longer than expected. I’m heading out now. Thanks everyone for your hard work.” I pushed open the glass door of the veterinary hospital. The early autumn night breeze carried a hint of chill. A low-key, luxurious black Maybach was parked by the curb. The window rolled halfway down, revealing Ethan’s handsome profile. Three years together. He was the heir to New York’s top financial empire, and I was just an ordinary veterinarian. Everyone said I was lucky, and I once believed Ethan truly loved me. I opened the car door and got into the passenger seat. Ethan naturally leaned over to fasten my seatbelt, his crisp woody cologne enveloping me. “Why so late today? I’m taking you to meet some friends.” His voice was low and lazy, with its usual indulgence. “A dog had complications during birth. I just finished doing a cesarean section.” I explained softly, reaching for the wet wipes in the glove compartment to clean my hands. But the moment I pulled open the drawer, my movements froze. Deep in the glove compartment lay a white invitation. The invitation bore two familiar names. Ethan Ford and Vivian Sinclair. My breathing stopped for a moment, my fingers trembling slightly. Vivian was the heiress of New York’s Sinclair family, also from an extremely wealthy background. So while I’d been standing at the operating table until my legs went numb for a few hundred dollars in surgery fees, my boyfriend had already set a wedding date with someone else. “What’s wrong?” Ethan noticed my reaction and glanced over. I calmly pulled out a wet wipe, closed the glove compartment, my voice so steady even I found it unbelievable. “Nothing, just grabbing a tissue.” Half an hour later, the car stopped at New York’s most exclusive private club. The lounge door opened to reveal luxury and opulence, smoke curling in the air. The noisy conversation paused in unison the moment they saw me. Ethan took my hand and led me to a seat, his expression untroubled. Before I could adjust to the atmosphere, Marcus, sitting across from us, raised his eyebrows, his tone dripping with undisguised contempt. “Ethan, why’d you bring Lila Hayes? This lounge has poor ventilation. Why do I smell that animal stench?” The moment he finished speaking, low laughter rippled through the lounge. My fingers tightened around my glass, knuckles turning white. Every day at the hospital I dealt with sick animals. Even though I showered and changed clothes before leaving work, to these rich kids’ noses, I seemed to permanently carry an unwashable animal smell. I turned to look at Ethan, but saw him only carelessly swirl the wine in his glass. He didn’t speak up for me. Instead, he said in that tone one uses to soothe a pet, “Honey, ignore them. They’re just joking.” Marcus saw Ethan wasn’t angry and grew bolder, deliberately speaking in French to the person beside him. “Ethan is getting engaged to Vivian next month. What are you planning to do about Lila? You’re not seriously going to keep her for life, are you?” Everyone present knew I came from an ordinary background, had even paid for college with scholarships. They were certain I couldn’t understand French, and their laughter grew more unrestrained. Ethan took a sip of wine and replied in equally fluent French. “The marriage alliance is my family’s idea. The wedding is just going through the motions. Lila is very obedient, doesn’t make a fuss. Keeping her on the side isn’t much trouble.” The lounge erupted in laughter again. Someone mocked, “True, these broke women are so easy. Give them a little money and they’ll behave.” The mocking laughter assaulted my ears. No one noticed that sitting quietly in the corner, the light in my eyes was extinguishing bit by bit, turning into deathly silence. They didn’t know I’d taken a second language in college. My French scores were top of the entire program. Three years together, Ethan spoiled me lavishly. Bought me designer bags, let me live in his mansion. But never once introduced me to his family. I thought he was protecting me, afraid I’d be hurt. Only today did I understand. In his eyes, I was never a partner who could stand beside him, but a “very obedient, quiet” pet. In that moment, I suddenly felt even confronting him was unnecessary. From now on, he could marry his Vivian, and I would be a veterinarian. We would have nothing to do with each other anymore.

Lila POV After everyone had been drinking for a while, the atmosphere in the lounge grew increasingly heated. I felt cold all over. When the gathering ended, everyone headed out together. I lagged half a step behind. Just as I reached the hallway, I heard a voice laced with malice behind me. “Lila.” I stopped and turned. It was one of the wealthy guys who’d laughed the loudest in the lounge earlier. He looked me up and down and sneered. “Ethan’s getting married soon. If you’re smart, you’ll take the money and leave. Don’t think that just because you’ve been with Ethan for a few years, you can marry into a wealthy family. Someone like you who deals with animals all day. How could you compare to Vivian?” I looked at him quietly, my face showing no ripples, as if watching a clown. Ethan, who’d been walking ahead, noticed I hadn’t followed and turned back, coldly glancing at the man. “Watch your mouth.” The man awkwardly touched his nose and didn’t dare say more. On the drive back, the car was terrifyingly quiet. When we arrived at the apartment they shared, Ethan took off his coat and hung it on the rack. From behind, he pulled me into his embrace, his chin resting against the hollow of my neck, his voice low and soft. “You had a rough time today? I won’t take you to these kinds of gatherings anymore, so their words won’t upset you.” I didn’t struggle, only asked in a flat tone, “Do you think I embarrassed you?” Ethan chuckled softly, turned me around to face him, and reached to ruffle my hair, but I dodged by tilting my head. His hand froze in mid-air. He said helplessly, “What are you overthinking? I just don’t want them targeting you. Honey, you just need to know that you’re the only one in my heart. That’s enough.” The only one in his heart? Then what was that white invitation? What did “keeping on the side” mean? I looked at his affectionate eyes and felt nothing but disgust. I didn’t expose him, only said flatly, “I’m tired. I want to shower.” Ethan let me go. “Alright, go shower. I’ll handle some emails in the study.” When I came out from my shower, Ethan had just gone into the bathroom. He casually left his phone on the nightstand. The screen lit up with an Ins message. Ethan’s password was my birthday. I’d never checked his phone before, but today, I couldn’t control myself from reaching out. Unlock. Open Ins. Besides me, there was another account at the top without a name. The newest message read: “Honey, we’re trying on wedding dresses tomorrow. Can’t you come keep me company tonight? I know you can’t bear to leave your girlfriend, but we’re getting married soon. You need to show me some respect, right?” Scrolling up, there were chat records of them discussing wedding venues and selecting diamond rings. Though Ethan didn’t reply much, every sentence showed the indulgence and compromise a fiancé should have. Looking at those glaring sentences, my heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain suffocating. I put the phone back and reset the message to unread. Before long, Ethan came out of the bathroom with a cloud of steam, picked up his phone and glanced at it. His expression changed slightly. He turned to look at me sitting at the vanity, a flash of apology in his eyes. “Lila, there’s an urgent matter at the company. I need to go over there. I probably won’t be back tonight. You should get some sleep early.” He left in such a hurry, he didn’t even wait for my response. After a while, my phone vibrated. It was a message from an unknown number. In the photo, Ethan sat on the sofa in the Sinclair family villa, Vivian leaning against his shoulder, the two in an intimate pose. Then came a text message: “With just one word from me, he’ll still abandon you to come find me. Lila, after we get married, what will you be? A shameful mistress?” I stared at the screen as tears finally fell. This knife was wielded by Vivian, but handed to her by Ethan himself. I wiped away my tears, opened my laptop, logged into the hospital’s internal system, and pulled up a document. “Application for Selection of Outstanding Physicians for Two-Year Advanced Training at Boston’s Top Veterinary Medical Center.” Without hesitation, I filled in the information and clicked submit. Ethan, since you’re getting married, I wish you a happy wedding.

Lila POV The next day, I went to the hospital as usual. The director was very surprised when he saw my training application. “Lila, this training opportunity is rare, but you’d have to spend two full years in Boston. Does Mr. Ford agree?” I lowered my eyes, my voice calm but firm. “This is my personal career plan. It has nothing to do with him. I hope it can be approved as soon as possible.” Seeing my resolute attitude, the director sighed and signed it. “Alright, the procedures will take about a week. Prepare for the handover these next few days.” After work, I returned to the apartment and took out a large black trash bag, beginning to clean out the room. Couple’s mugs, couple’s slippers, clothes he’d bought me, even the stuffed animals we’d gotten together at the amusement park… Everything that held memories of us together, I mercilessly threw into the trash bag. I’d just carried two large bags of trash to the door when I heard the lock turn. Ethan pushed open the door. Seeing the trash bags on the floor and the much emptier living room, he frowned slightly. “Why are you suddenly cleaning out so much stuff?” “Season’s changing, spring cleaning. I’m throwing out old things I don’t need anymore.” My tone was indifferent, and I didn’t even glance at him. Ethan didn’t think much of it. He walked over and hugged me from behind, his tone carrying a hint of coaxing. “The company had too much going on last night, I couldn’t keep you company. There’s a charity gala tonight. Want to come with me?” In the past, I would have considerately declined, afraid I didn’t understand those high society rules and would embarrass him. But today, I turned to look at that affectionate face and nodded. “Sure.” The gala was held in the ballroom of a seven-star hotel. I wore the haute couture gown Ethan had someone deliver, and walked into the venue on his arm. The moment we entered, we attracted quite a few glances. We hadn’t walked far when a woman in a wine-red evening gown with exquisite makeup approached. It was Vivian from the photos. Vivian’s gaze lingered for a moment on my arm linked with Ethan’s. A flash of jealousy crossed her eyes, but she quickly masked it and spoke with a bright smile. “Ethan, you made it.” Ethan’s expression showed a moment of discomfort. He instinctively withdrew his arm from mine and introduced us. “Lila, this is Vivian, a good friend of mine.” Good friend. I laughed coldly inside, but my face showed no reaction. Vivian held a Ragdoll cat in her arms and looked at me coquettishly. “I’ve heard Ethan has a girlfriend who’s a veterinarian. Finally getting to meet you today. Miss Hayes, my cat hasn’t been feeling well lately. Since you have so much experience caring for these little animals, could you take a look?” She emphasized the last sentence heavily, her contempt undisguised. Several of Ethan’s friends gathered around and chimed in. “That’s right, Miss Hayes. This is Miss Sinclair’s beloved pet, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. More than your annual salary. You’d better take good care of it.” I stood there, my gaze cold as it swept over everyone, finally landing on Ethan’s face. Ethan frowned slightly, seeming to think Vivian’s words were too much, but he didn’t speak up to scold her. Instead, he said to me, “Lila, if you know how, just take a look for her.” The last trace of hope in my heart shattered completely. I withdrew my gaze, glanced at the cat, my voice cold. “Miss Sinclair, the cat is severely stressed. Noisy environments like galas aren’t suitable for bringing pets. If you truly loved it, you wouldn’t use it as a tool to show off. Also, I’m a doctor, not a servant.” Vivian’s expression stiffened. Just as she was about to lose her temper, Ethan interrupted her. “Alright, Vivian. Lila’s right. Have someone take the cat back.” He seemed to be defending me, but the intimacy and indulgence in his tone was like a thorn stabbing deep into my heart.

Lila POV The charity auction began. Ethan and Vivian’s seats were arranged together. The organizers’ deliberate arrangement in consideration of the upcoming marriage alliance between their families. As Ethan’s date, I could only sit on his other side. As auction items were displayed one by one on stage, Vivian kept leaning over to whisper to Ethan. The two appeared intimate, like a couple. I sat beside them like a superfluous outsider. “Our next auction item is a pet collar set with top-grade pink diamonds. Starting bid, two million.” The host’s voice rang out on stage. Vivian’s eyes lit up and she immediately raised her paddle. “Three million.” Marcus from the back row whistled and laughed loudly. “Miss Sinclair is so wealthy, spending three million on a cat collar. Miss Hayes, even if you did spay and neuter surgeries your whole life, you probably couldn’t earn enough for this collar, could you?” Low snickers rippled through the crowd. I sat with my spine straight, my gaze fixed forward, as if I hadn’t heard those taunts. Ethan frowned, turned to look at me, and said in a low voice to comfort me. “Ignore them. What do you like? I’ll bid on it for you.” I turned to look at him, at those deep eyes, my tone so calm it held no ripples. “No need. I’m not worthy of such expensive things.” Ethan thought I was sulking and immediately raised his paddle. “Five million.” The entire venue buzzed. Vivian looked at him with delight. “Ethan, are you buying it for me?” Ethan didn’t deny it, only smiled faintly. I felt the air here suffocating. I stood up. “I’m going to the restroom.” I splashed cold water on my face, looked at my pale reflection in the mirror, and took a deep breath. Just as I was about to turn and leave, the restroom door was pushed open. Vivian walked in on her high heels. Without outsiders, Vivian dropped her mask completely, her eyes contemptuous and vicious. “Lila, I thought my message was clear enough. Why are you still shamelessly clinging to Ethan?” I pulled out a paper towel to dry my hands, looking at her coldly. “Miss Sinclair, please get it straight. I’m the one who’s been with him for three years. Who’s really the homewrecker here?” Vivian laughed as if she’d heard the biggest joke. “Love? You think there’s real love in wealthy families? You’re from an ordinary family, you’re a veterinarian. You have nothing. What do you have to compare with me? Do you really think Ethan will marry you?” She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “He’s just after something fresh, treating you like a toy. Next month we’re getting engaged. If you’re smart, you’ll leave him quickly. Otherwise, once I become Mrs. Ford, I have plenty of ways to make your life in New York unbearable!” Looking at her arrogant face, I felt no anger in my heart, only deep sorrow. I wasn’t sad about Vivian’s bullying, but about Ethan’s tacit permission and indulgence. “Don’t worry, Miss Sinclair.” I threw the used paper towel precisely into the trash bin, my tone as cold as if discussing something completely unrelated to me. “I never take back trash. You two are the real couple. I wish you a lifetime together.” With that, I ignored Vivian’s furious expression and walked straight out of the restroom. When I returned to the ballroom, the auction had ended. Ethan held the velvet box containing the pink diamond collar and handed it to Vivian. Seeing me return, he walked over and put his arm around my waist. “Where were you for so long? The gala’s over. Let’s go home.” I didn’t dodge his touch, only nodded obediently. Go home? No, that apartment full of lies had long ceased to be my home.

Lila POV The three of us walked together to the hotel’s underground parking garage. Ethan had just pressed the car key to unlock when Vivian quickly walked over in her high heels, her face showing just the right amount of distress. “Ethan, my car won’t start, and my driver took the day off. Could you give me a ride home?” Ethan frowned slightly and instinctively glanced at me. I stood in place, my expression indifferent, as if I hadn’t heard Vivian’s words. Seeing Ethan hesitate, Vivian bit her lip, her voice softer. “Mom specifically told me today to come home early and rest. We still have to try on wedding dresses tomorrow. If you don’t take me home and Mom asks…” Hearing “Mom” and “try on wedding dresses,” Ethan’s expression darkened, but he finally nodded. “Get in.” A flash of triumph crossed Vivian’s eyes as she walked straight to the passenger seat and opened the door. “Oh my,” she suddenly exaggeratedly covered her nose, fanning the air in disgust. “Why does the passenger seat smell like dog hair? Miss Hayes, you sit here all the time and don’t bother to clean up? I’m allergic to animal fur.” I watched her crude performance coldly. I was wearing an evening gown today and hadn’t been to the hospital at all. Where would dog hair come from? Ethan’s frown deepened. He looked at me, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible irritation. “Lila, sit in the back. Vivian has allergies.” I didn’t argue, didn’t even hesitate for a second. I directly opened the back door and got in. My movements were quick and decisive, which actually made Ethan freeze for a moment. He probably expected me to make a scene, to feel wronged. But I was as calm as stagnant water. The car left the parking garage and drove onto the road. Vivian sat in the passenger seat, happily chatting with Ethan about their families’ collaborative projects and the upcoming engagement party details. “Ethan, that French restaurant has great desserts. Let’s use them for the engagement party favors, okay?” “Sure.” “Also, the wedding dress, the designer said it’ll be ready tomorrow. You have to come with me to try it on.” “Mm, I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.” They chatted happily, treating me in the back seat as if I were air. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. The neon lights flashing by outside the window alternated across my pale face. Listening to their intimate conversation up front, I felt wave after wave of nausea. I used to think Ethan was a man of few words. It turned out he just had nothing to say to me. In the social class he belonged to, he could be just as gentle, considerate, and talkative. The car first drove to Vivian’s family villa. Before getting out, Vivian deliberately turned to look at me, her eyes full of a victor’s pride. “Miss Hayes, thank you for giving me the passenger seat today. Ethan, see you tomorrow.” The car door closed and the car fell silent again. Ethan cleared his throat, attempting to explain. “Vivian has been spoiled by her family since childhood. She says things that are a bit much. Don’t take it to heart. I only took her because our families are working together…” “Ethan,” I interrupted him, slowly opening my eyes, my gaze clear and cold. “Pull over at the intersection up ahead. The hospital just messaged me. There’s an emergency surgery and they need me to come back.” Ethan was taken aback. “It’s so late and you still have to go back? I’ll take you to the hospital.” “No need. It’s not on your way.” My tone was firm. The car stopped at the intersection. I pushed open the door and walked into the night without looking back.

Lila POV For the next few days, I practically lived at the veterinary hospital. Using work handover and emergency cases as excuses, I declined all of Ethan’s invitations and didn’t return to the apartment even once. Friday afternoon, the training approval documents were officially issued. Next Monday, I would fly to Boston. I arranged to meet my best friend Chloe at a coffee shop near the hospital. “What? You’re going to Boston for two years of training? And you’re breaking up with Ethan?!” After hearing my words, Chloe nearly spit out her coffee. I stirred the coffee in my cup, calmly recounting the invitation, Vivian’s provocations, and that phrase in the lounge about “keeping on the side.” “Ethan, that bastard!” Chloe slammed the table in anger, drawing glances from surrounding customers. “I used to think he was one of the rare devoted ones among the wealthy! Having a marriage alliance with a rich heiress while still wanting to keep you as a mistress? How dare he!” I smiled bitterly. “Yeah, I used to think he truly loved me too. But now that I see clearly, it’s good I can end this mistake early.” “When are you planning to make it clear to him?” Chloe held my hand sympathetically. “The day I leave.” I lowered my eyes. “I don’t want to fight with him, and I don’t want to hear his hypocritical explanations. Leaving quietly is the last dignity for this relationship.” Just then, the wind chime at the coffee shop entrance rang. I instinctively looked up, and the color drained from my face instantly. The person walking in was none other than Ethan and Vivian. The two walked in side by side. Vivian intimately held Ethan’s arm, tilting her head to say something, smiling radiantly. Though Ethan’s expression was neutral, there was no resistance in his eyes. He even considerately pushed open the glass door for her. This scene stabbed my eyes and completely ignited Chloe’s fury. “These two bastards actually dare to show up right in front of us!” Chloe shot up from her seat, about to rush over and confront them. I grabbed her, clutching her wrist tightly, my voice trembling slightly. “Chloe, don’t. It’s not worth it for people like them.” The commotion on our end caught Ethan’s attention. He turned his head, his gaze cutting through several tables to collide directly with my cold stare. Ethan’s body went rigid. He instinctively tried to withdraw his arm from Vivian’s grasp. Vivian also saw me. Not only did she not let go, she held on even tighter, defiantly lifting her chin. Ethan’s expression changed. He quickly walked to my table, his tone tinged with panic he himself hadn’t noticed. “Lila, what are you doing here? I… Vivian and I were just discussing business nearby and stopped in for coffee.” “Discussing business requires holding arms? Mr. Ford’s business methods are truly unique!” Chloe laughed coldly, her mockery merciless. Ethan’s brow furrowed. He ignored Chloe, staring intently at me. “Lila, let me explain…” “There’s no need to explain.” I stood up, my tone terrifyingly calm. “Mr. Ford, this is your private matter. You don’t need to explain it to me. We have things to do. We’re leaving first.” I didn’t call him Ethan, but Mr. Ford. I pulled Chloe along and walked out of the coffee shop without looking back.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “406603”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

The day before my period, I saw a note in my fiancé’s memo. 【Predict tomorrow is her period, remember to prepare pads and painkillers in the bag.】 I smiled sweetly, touched by my fiancé’s thoughtfulness. Until the next day, when my lower abdomen cramped with pain, I went through my bag with a pale face, but there was nothing inside. Dark red blood had soaked through my pants. Students pointed at my back and laughed. I thought he had simply forgotten. But the new intern teacher had just posted on her social media: 【Just started work and met Mr. Nice mentoring me! He even prepared pads and painkillers for me. This period doesn’t hurt at all.】 The accompanying photo showed ibuprofen and a pad. The medicine was the brand I’d kept at home for years because of my cramps. The pad was the only brand I could use without an allergic reaction. I turned off my phone and stared at the ring on my middle finger for a long while, then got up and went to the principal’s office to apply for the international teacher exchange program. Seven years, and he’d never remembered my cycle. There was no need for him to remember it anymore.

I submitted my application just as the dismissal bell rang. The principal looked at me with some hesitation, but finally couldn’t hold back. “Miss Jennifer, you and Mr. Luke are having your wedding next month. Just two days ago you were still designing invitations. Now why…” I knew the rest of her unspoken sentence. The exchange program abroad required a minimum of three years before returning. How could newlyweds possibly endure such a long separation? Moreover, everyone at school knew that I had chased after Luke for four years, dated him for three more, and was finally about to walk down the aisle. How could I bear to leave him? But the prerequisite for reluctance to part is that both people like each other. Just now, I suddenly understood that the man who agreed to marry me perhaps didn’t like me as much as I’d imagined. I picked at the dried blood in the creases of my fingers—it had gotten on my hands when I was padding myself with thick wads of toilet paper. I said, “He and I just aren’t meant to be.” “Principal, I’m asking you for a favor. Please don’t tell anyone about this, okay?” She frowned, her eyes revealing a trace of pity. “Alright, I’ll keep this confidential for you.” “The earliest group leaving for the exchange program departs tomorrow. If you want, I can arrange for you to go with them.” I nodded and bowed gratefully before leaving the office. My phone rang for the second time. I opened it and glanced—it was a message from Luke. “What’s taking so long? It’s been ten minutes since dismissal and you’re still not down.” Ever since Luke and I moved in together, I had to leave with him every day after work. “Please, Luke, you already have me—it would be too pitiful for you to go home alone at night.” Even though he taught seniors while I taught freshmen, and Luke’s dismissal time was a full two hours later than mine, requiring me to sit in the office for two extra hours, I never found it hard. But today, after he’d only waited ten extra minutes for me, he was already getting impatient. I pressed my lips together and carefully examined my feelings, but I didn’t feel the suffocating pain I’d expected. That’s when I knew I’d completely let go. I sent back a message. “Still have some things to do, you go ahead.” Then I turned off my phone and didn’t look again. I returned to the office to pack up my textbooks, organized the materials and class information that needed to be handed over, and an hour later, I finally stretched my aching shoulders and left the school gate. I took out my phone to call a cab when a horn honked behind me, startling me. I turned around to see Luke’s car stopped behind me. I froze in place until he honked again and stuck his head out. “Get in the car already. Why are you standing there like an idiot?” I snapped back to reality and thought about the large bloodstain on the back of my pants that might dirty his car. I pulled open the passenger door, about to sit down. Luke glanced at me and handed me a black plastic bag, suddenly speaking. “Wait.” I took the bag, momentarily confused about what he meant. “You know your period is coming and you still don’t know to bring a pad? Jennifer, you’re a 28-year-old adult. Can you have some basic self-care skills?” “Walking around school all day with blood all over your ass—so many students asked me if you had a terminal illness. How embarrassing.” Embarrassing? The smell of blood seemed to fill my nose again. Actually, I had remembered to bring pads, but one memo from Luke made me forget. I thought he’d finally learned to keep me in his heart. In the end, the person he truly kept in his heart was someone else.

I opened the plastic bag. Inside lay a pink pad covered in a thick layer of dust—clearly a brand that couldn’t sell, randomly bought from a roadside convenience store. “If you really didn’t have any, you could’ve borrowed one from someone. Why did you have to hole up at school refusing to come out, making me wait for you for a whole hour?” “Hurry up and go change, then get in the car. Don’t get it dirty.” He kept talking on and on. I looked at his beautifully shaped thin lips and only felt utterly exhausted. I closed the plastic bag and said weakly, “Luke, I can’t use this brand.” To be precise, I couldn’t use any mainstream pads on the market because they all had adhesive backing, and I was severely allergic to glue. Even touching it would make my whole body turn red. Much less during my most vulnerable time, sticking something with glue to my most private area. So I only used one specific brand—the only one I could use. Actually, when I first got together with Luke, I’d mentioned this. “Luke, I’m allergic to glue and can only use this one brand of pads. If you see it on sale, remember to stock up for me, okay?” Luke didn’t even look up from his game, scoffing. “So high maintenance.” My fingers froze on my phone screen. I forced out an ugly smile. “Sorry, I’ll stock up myself. This is kind of troublesome, and you don’t really understand…” He always spoke to me like this, occasionally like he was wielding a club, beating down on me without warning, leaving me hurt and at a loss. But aside from this, he was actually pretty good to me. After we moved in together, he did all the housework and cooked well, even fattening me up by five pounds. Whatever I wanted to buy, he wouldn’t stop me. Even when I brought home weird decorations that didn’t match his home’s style at all, he’d just smile helplessly at most. “Childish.” Over time, I thought that was just his personality—he didn’t like remembering other people’s habits and could be pretty cutting sometimes. Moreover, I was the one who pursued Luke first, so I used the occasional sweetness he gave me to dilute the pain, enduring like this for three years. Until I endured all the way to today, when I couldn’t endure anymore. “Why can’t you use it?” He’d asked me this question seventeen times. I’d explained sixteen times. This time, I wasn’t going to explain anymore. I just casually tossed the pad in the trash and said flatly, “If I say I can’t use it, I can’t use it. Since you’re afraid I’ll dirty your car, I’ll just take a cab home.” His frown deepened, but in the end he still opened the car door and stuffed me into the passenger seat. “It’s too late. Would it be safe for you to take a cab? Forget it, just my bad luck. I’ll go wash the car tomorrow.” Again, this mix of good and bad. I gripped the seatbelt in front of me, my throat tight. I simply took out my phone and contacted the wedding photo company we’d booked long ago. 【Hello, I’d like to cancel the wedding photoshoot scheduled for next week. What procedures do I need to follow?】 The contact I’d labeled “Wedding Photoshoot” kept switching between her name and “typing…” over a dozen times before she finally sent a message. 【Miss Jennifer, three days ago you changed your wedding photos to a couple’s birthday art photos, and Mr. Luke contacted us to move up the shoot. The edited photos will be ready tonight.】 【Your husband didn’t tell you?】 My fingertip hovered over the screen. After a long moment, I realized it was shaking badly. I used my other hand to hold my wrist so I wouldn’t drop the phone. I turned to glance at Luke. He looked straight ahead, driving seriously, everything like before. Perhaps sensing my gaze, Luke tilted his head slightly, his tone unfriendly. “Why are you looking at me? Can’t handle being criticized a little?” I didn’t respond. Once my hands steadied again, I slowly typed. “Can I see the photos?” The shop owner went through the typing motion several times again before sending the photos, along with a ten-second video. 【At the time, your husband repeatedly assured us he wouldn’t cause us trouble, so we agreed to the change and early shoot. Miss Jennifer, please don’t make things difficult for us…】 I had no mind to read what else she sent. I opened the photos, and a familiar face appeared in my pupils, stinging my eyes red. The person in the photo was Ivy, the school’s new intern teacher—the same person Luke had given pads and painkillers to. There were many photos. I flipped through them one by one. Luke appeared in every single one. The two wore matching outfits, looking like an intimate couple. Finally, I clicked on the video. Ivy seemed a bit tired from the shoot and pouted in complaint. “My shoulders hurt so much. Luke, help me rub them.” In those short ten seconds of video, I saw another side of Luke—incredibly gentle in a way I couldn’t believe. “Alright, you little princess. Just one more set of photos. Hang in there a bit longer, and I’ll treat you to a big meal after.” Only then did Ivy smile again, happily raising both hands. “Yay!” My eyes felt sore. I reached up to touch them, thinking I’d feel salty tears, but there was nothing. I couldn’t cry over Luke anymore. It just made me remember some things.

After we got engaged, I’d mentioned many times that we should get our wedding photos taken early, or there wouldn’t be time. But Luke refused. “I don’t like taking photos. You know that. Wedding photos are only for looking at—completely useless. Why do you insist on forcing me to do something meaningless?” I bit my lip and said softly, “They are useful, Luke. When we’re old and can’t remember each other’s faces clearly, we can take out our wedding photos to look at. And we can show our future children how happy Mom and Dad were back then.” “I promise, just two settings—one for the wedding reception and one outdoor shot, okay? I definitely won’t tire you out.” He glanced at me and spat out one word. “Dramatic.” Even so, I wouldn’t give up. I kept pestering him for a long time, getting hurt to tears by Luke’s harsh words several times before he finally reluctantly agreed to take wedding photos with me. To get it done in one go, I did tons of research—from outfits to locations to photographers. I often stayed up until two or three in the morning making plans, then forced myself to be energetic for class the next day. Because the wedding date was close, I even paid extra to skip the queue and rush the editing. But the wedding photoshoot I’d carefully selected was secretly given by Luke to someone else. The man who claimed he didn’t like taking photos used all his patience to accompany Ivy through five different settings, making me unable to tell whether he truly didn’t like taking photos or just didn’t like taking them with me. The car shook and stopped in the underground parking garage. I opened Ivy’s social media—sure enough, she’d posted another set of photos, thoughtfully covering Luke’s face. “Ding ding ding, the best birthday gift I received early this year is, of course, beautiful photos. Thanks to a certain someone!” Luke stood outside the car and took out his phone. The next second, his like appeared on Ivy’s post. I looked at that tiny red heart and couldn’t help but laugh. He never actively liked my posts. “We’re home. Why are you still sitting in the car?” Seeing I hadn’t moved, Luke knocked on the car window. I looked at him through the glass and suddenly spoke. “You already went to take photos with Ivy. Why not just take the wedding photos I booked? You two match pretty well anyway.” Luke’s expression stiffened for a moment, then he frowned. “Jennifer, what are you going crazy about?” “You changed my wedding photos and went to take birthday art photos with someone else, and now you’re asking me what I’m going crazy about?” “Luke, you’re the one who’s crazy!” I thought I could hold it in, but in the end I still shouted my grievances. I stared hard at Luke, wanting to hear an answer. He just clicked his tongue impatiently. “Ivy just started working. She has no one to celebrate her birthday with. As her mentor, of course I have a responsibility to take care of her.” “And it’s just wedding photos. If we can’t do it this time, we’ll do it next time. Why such a big reaction?” I looked at his casual expression, and all my anger dissipated. “Forget it.” I said, completing the second half of the sentence in my mind: We won’t need them anyway. Only then did Luke’s expression relax. He replied to another message on his phone. After I got out of the car, he got back in. “Alright, you go back first. Ivy’s birthday is tomorrow. She wants to treat the school teachers to dinner but can’t handle it alone. I’m going over tonight to help her prep.” I blinked. I’d originally wanted to talk to him tonight about canceling the wedding, but now it seemed unnecessary. I nodded and returned alone to our new house. I took out my suitcase, but looking at the room full of traces of my life, I didn’t take anything with me—only the large stock of pads and painkillers I’d accumulated. Then I called to cancel the wedding banquet hotel. The deposit was non-refundable. The money Luke had given me was all stored on one card, which I placed on the nightstand, not a cent missing. Finally, I took off the engagement ring and placed it on top of the card. Then I dragged my not-too-heavy suitcase and got in a car to the airport. Just before takeoff, I sent Luke a message. “Luke, let’s just forget about getting married. I’ve explained things to both our parents. Finally, I wish you find someone you truly like.” The message sent. I put my phone on airplane mode. Leaning back in my seat, I fell into a deep sleep. When I opened my eyes again, I’d arrived at my destination. I turned off airplane mode, and instantly hundreds of missed calls flooded in.

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