Category: English

The Covenant of the Scarlet Fang is absolute. At the Lunar Rite,the future Alpha must be chosen by the oracle to claim his Luna—bound by an eternal covenant. I loved Damien.We grew up together. For him,I poured every drop of my soul into my Moon-Bound Shard,praying for the bond to ignite. Seven years.Seven full moons. Every time,the Shard remained a cold,mocking void. Tonight was the eighth year. I stood in the shadows of the temple. A voice cut through the dark—low,urgent,unmistakably his mother’s. “Damien,you swore you’d marry Elara!” “Why did you use forbidden magic to mask her scent for seven years? You turned her Moon-Bound Shard into a lifeless stone! And you silently watched her weep—didn’t it break your heart?” The disappointment in her voice was impossible to miss. Damien let out a short,cold laugh. “Of course it hurts.But Lila is back from the Outlands.Her wolf-spirit is unstable. I promised to use my Alpha power to stabilize her for seven years. Besides,that fool won’t marry anyone else anyway. Next year,I’ll give her the grandest ceremony the pack has ever seen.” He tossed the stone into the cold brazier.It shattered. In the shadows,something in me quietly let go.Alaric,my grandfather,the High Elder,once told me:The Covenant only gives us eight chances. If the eighth oracle is destined to be blank…fine. I’ll just find another Alpha to marry. His voice floated back through the dark. “The sound of stone cracking is much more pleasant than your sobbing,don’t you think?” Damien was busy adjusting his silver-threaded cuffs,his eyes fixed on the temple doors. Outside,the moonlight was like liquid silver. The elite of the Scarlet Fang had gathered—a tide of low growls and proud silhouettes. The eighth Rite.My last chance. He brushed past me,heading straight for Lila. She stood in the middle of a cluster of high-ranking she-wolves. The moment she spotted Damien,she broke free and threw herself into his arms like a frightened fawn. “Damien!”Lila’s eyes were red.Her voice came out in a whimper. “They said I’m just a lowly Omega…they said I’m a sinner for standing between you and Lady Elara…” Damien furrowed his brow,his fierce Alpha presence sweeping the room before locking onto the whispering she-wolves.“Who dares question her?My will is the law of the Scarlet Fang—Lila is my honored guest.Anyone who causes her trouble will pay the price…with me.”He didn’t even spare me a glance.I waited for the familiar sting of tears.They never came. But I just watched him,my eyes as cold as the moon

A heavy silence swallowed the hall.The she-wolves’fur bristled with fear;their eyes pleaded as I emerged from the shadows. For seven years,I had been Damien’s rightful fiancée. I was the only noble-born she-wolf he ever tolerated by his side. Aside from the cursed Lunar Rite,he denied me nothing. They expected me to lash out at Lila,to leave marks of fury.At the very least,to shed tears.They thought I would cry and demand to know why he was protecting her—just like the last seven years. But this time,I simply brushed a speck of moon-dust from my gown. Taking a goblet of blood-red wine from a passing servant’s silver tray,I took a slow,deliberate sip. The icy liquid slid down my throat,extinguishing the last flicker of warmth I once held for him. “Lady Elara…are you just going to let this happen?” A wolf whispered tentatively. A smile touched my lips—cold as frost. “Let the future Alpha play the hero.Why would I get in the way?Besides,I’m far more curious whether the Moon Goddess has anything to say to me this year.” Damien went rigid. He snapped his head around to look at me,clearly blindsided. In the past,I would have already bared my fangs,sobbing and demanding Lila be banished from our lands. But tonight,I was as tranquil as a stranger passing through. A flash of irritation crossed his eyes. Releasing Lila,he closed the distance between us with long,aggressive strides. “Elara,what tantrum is this now?Lila’s got a fragile wolf spirit—she can’t handle any shock. You’re the heir to an ancient bloodline. So why not show some grace?”

I looked at the man I had loved for over a decade,and suddenly,he was nothing but a stranger. Seven years.Over two thousand five hundred days and nights. I hid my claws. I choked on ancient rules. All to be his perfect Luna. To ensure my Moon-Bound Shard would be chosen by the oracle,I had bribed the High Priest.I had groveled to his mother,the reigning Luna.I had bled myself dry. And for what? For him to tell me to show some grace. For my heart to lie shattered,nothing but ashes at the bottom of a cold brazier. “Damien.” I set my goblet down. The crystal clinked sharply against the stone table,the sound cutting through the heavy tension.”I’m not throwing a tantrum.I actually think you’re right.Miss Lila’s spirit is terribly delicate. She absolutely needs a powerful Alpha to stay by her side and heal her.” Damien froze. He stared intently into my eyes,searching desperately for a flicker of jealousy, a trace of wounded pride. But there was nothing.Only an endless frozen tundra. The realization that he was losing his grip on me sent a flicker of panic through his chest. He reached out to grab my wrist. “Fine.I’m glad you understand.Once tonight is over,next year—” “There is no next year.” I stepped back,easily dodging his grasp. My tone was as casual as if I were commenting on the moonlight. “The High Elder says the Covenant grants but eight chances. Tonight marks the eighth. If the oracle remains blank, our betrothal shall be void. Then,we are free to find our own paths.”

Damien scoffed as if he’d just heard a hilarious joke. “How many times are you going to play this same game,Elara?” “Three years ago,you said you’d go visit human cities—but you just stood at the border,howling and crying out for me.Two years ago,you demanded to break off our engagement. Then you stood outside all night in a blizzard,nearly freezing your wolf spirit. You really think you can leave me?” He was so sure of himself.So arrogant.He even looked at me with pity. To him,I was nothing more than a shadow.How could a shadow ever break away from the light? Beside him,Lila covered her mouth to hide a smirk.Her eyes mocked me. “Elara,I know you’re hurting.But Damien was only trying to help me—don’t say things like that just to get back at him.What if people take you seriously?What Alpha would ever come near you after that? Everyone in the North already knows you’d never settle for anyone but Damien.You’re already a laughingstock.” A laughingstock? She was right.For Damien,I had made myself a complete joke. I stared at Lila’s fake,innocent face. The words I had overheard at the temple door came back to me: “That fool won’t marry anyone else anyway.” To them,my devotion was sheer foolishness.My loyalty,nothing but weakness and worthlessness. “You worry too much,Miss Lila.” I tucked a strand of silver hair behind my ear.I smiled at her,gracious and unhurried. “My bloodline comes straight from the Moon Goddess. My family’s lands are vast and rich. Alphas who wanted to bond with me?They’d stretch from the Northern Peaks all the way to the Southern Coast.” “But you,Miss Lila…” My gaze dropped to her hands,still clinging weakly to Damien’s arm. “I heard you suffered in the Outlands for seven years. Is that why you’re still so frail?You can’t even stand without help? Should I call a Druid for you? Maybe we should drag you straight to the Cliff of Rest,just to check if your wolf spirit is dying?”

“You!”Lila’s face paled.Tears welled up in her eyes on cue,spilling down her cheeks. “Damien,look how she treats me…” Damien’s expression darkened. “Elara!You’ve crossed the line!Apologize to Lila!” “Apologize?” I raised an eyebrow. “For what?Because she’s the one you treasure above all else? Or because she’s a fragile Omega who needs everyone’s pity? Damien,did you forget?Tonight is my stage. Until the Moon Goddess’s blessing begins,I am still your official fiancée. What’s wrong with putting an outsider in her place?” Whispers broke out among the pack. The current Luna hurried over. Seeing the scene,she frowned deeply. “Stop this!Haven’t you embarrassed yourselves enough?” She shot Damien a sharp look,then turned to me with an unreadable look. “Elara,it’s almost time.Don’t let someone irrelevant cost you everything.” The Luna truly cared for me. She genuinely wanted me as her daughter-in-law to unite our powerful bloodlines. Too bad her precious son had destroyed it all with his own hands. Damien took a deep breath,suppressing his anger. He wrapped an arm around Lila’s shoulders and patted her comfortingly. Then he glared at me,his voice ice-cold. “Fine.If you want to play games,let’s begin. I can’t wait to see if you’re still this sharp-tongued when the oracle gives you nothing!” He turned and strode toward the high altar in the center of the temple. There sat the giant Moon Basin,filled with sacred spring water.My judgment stand. I watched him walk away.My gaze went cold. Damien,you think you control everything. You have no idea how swiftly the hunter becomes the hunted.

In the center of the temple,moonlight poured through the crystal dome. It cast a holy glow.Every wolf’s eyes locked onto the ancient Moon Basin. By tradition,the basin held hundreds of”Moon-Bound Shards”from eligible noble she-wolves.When the ritual began,the Alpha would reach into the basin,guided by the Moon Goddess to his destined mate’s shard. If chosen,they were fated mates,engaged on the spot. If not,their fate was delayed to the next year. For the past seven years,I had watched my shard drop into the basin with so much hope. And every time,Damien pulled out a dead stone. I had thought it was bad luck. I thought the Goddess was testing our love. Until today.Today I learned the truth. My shard was never in that basin. He had used forbidden magic to replace my shard with a dead stone— with his own hands. “Go on,Elara,”the Luna encouraged from below. “I had the High Priest read the stars.He said your destined mate will appear tonight. You will succeed.” Maybe.But those stars weren’t shining for Damien. I lifted my gown and walked up the steps. Damien stood by the basin.One hand in his pocket.Utterly arrogant. He looked at me like I was a pup throwing a tantrum. He leaned in,lowering his voice so only I could hear. “Elara,apologize to Lila now.If you do,I promise the Goddess will’choose’you next year. Actually,you won’t even have to wait that long.Be a good girl.Stop bullying Lila,and I might consider ending this boring game early.”

To him,my seven years of suffering meant nothing. My youth.My dignity.It was all just a game to him. A game he could pause whenever he felt like it. I stopped.I stood right in front of him. We were only inches apart,but a bottomless abyss lay between us. “Damien,”I said softly.”Do you really think you’re my only choice?” Damien froze for a second.Then,he laughed out loud. “Who else?” “What other Alpha could handle the terrible temper of your ancient bloodline? Besides the Crimson Fangs,what other pack is good enough to ally with your family? Accept your fate,Elara.You are destined to be my Luna.And mine alone.” He was so confident. He thought he held my weakness. He thought he could trample my boundaries forever. I dropped my gaze to hide my smirk. “Is that so?Then let’s see who really needs to accept their fate.” I took a deep breath.Slowly,I raised my right hand and plunged it into the freezing Moon Spring. My fingertips brushed against the icy Moon-Bound Shards.One.Two.Dozens. The temple was dead silent. Lila stood at the front of the pack.A winner’s smirk played on her lips. She knew my shard wasn’t in the basin. She was waiting for me to make a fool of myself. She wanted to watch me break down and cry in front of the entire pack. Damien casually looked away. He already knew the outcome.Or so he thought. I closed my eyes. Finally,my fingertips brushed against a stone. Its texture was unmistakably different. Before the ritual,during the crowd’s chaos,I had my loyal guard slip it in. It was my ultimate backup plan.My final way out. My eyes snapped open. With a flick of my wrist,I pulled the shard out of the water. “Alpha Heir,”I called out. I held the shard high.My voice rang clear and loud across the entire temple. “It seems your little guarantee has just expired.”

The smug indifference vanished from Damien’s face. His eyes darted to the shard in my hand. A flicker of confusion broke through his arrogant facade. Impossible.He had crushed my original Moon-Bound Shard with his own hands. He’d even used dark magic to mask my scent. To be absolutely sure,he had double-checked the sacred basin right before the ceremony began.There was no chance any stone in there would react to me. “What kind of stunt are you pulling with that fake rock,Elara?” He scoffed,reaching out to snatch the shard from my grip. “Stop making a scene.You’re embarrassing us in front of all the Northern packs.” “Whether it’s a fake or not,why don’t we let the Elder read the decree?” I stepped aside,dodging his hand. A fierce,untamed smile broke across my face—a smile he had never once seen in all seven years I had spent shrinking myself for him. “Since the Alpha Heir doesn’t believe me, I’ll ask a respected Elder to read the Goddess’s will.Alaric,would you do me the honor?Tell us which Alpha this rune points to.” Leaning on his bone staff,Alaric walked steadily onto the dais and took the shard. Under the moonlight,a complex crest began to glow on the stone’s surface. Alaric’s aged eyes widened. Suddenly,a booming,joyous laugh erupted from his chest. “Yes!Yes!The Moon Goddess has spoken!This is her true will!” Unease clawed at Damien’s chest. Forgetting all protocol,he lunged forward. “Elder,let me see that!” But Alaric snapped his hand shut over the stone. He turned to face the hundreds of elite wolves below. His ancient voice thundered across the sanctuary, “By the ancient pact and the guidance of the Moon Goddess, Elara has received her decree on her eighth blessing! She has found her fated mate!A destined match!”

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“I’m sorry,Ava,”Coach Grayson said.”The roster is final.The Silver Ridge Pack Athletic Council has stamped it.” I stood in front of the bulletin board and stared at that list for five minutes. My name was gone. Under the youth figure-skating scholarship,the place where Ava Stone should have been was now Nora Vale. At first,I thought it was a mistake.Later,I understood.Kaiden had done it. My fated mate had given my place to his new girl. I went to the parking lot to find him. He was leaning against his car,scrolling through his phone.When he saw me,he only lifted his eyes. “Nora’s Pack is barely holding on,”he said before I could speak.”If she doesn’t get this scholarship,she’s finished.” “You’re strong.Even without a wolf,you can still make it into the Regional Qualifier.” “That is a full spot at the North Ridge Olympic Training Center,”I said.”You know what that means.” “You’ll figure it out.” I looked at him.He looked away. He sighed,pulled out a black card,and held it out as if he were offering a tip. “I’ll pay.Coaches,ice time,equipment,Pack medical coverage,all of it.I bought the spot.” Rain began to fall,and the cold seeped into my clothes. I looked at the card,then at him. He once told me training would get me out of that rotten home,tear off the label of”wolfless trash,”and let me make my skating dream real. So I trained like my life depended on it,and worked at Silver Ridge Ice Center whenever I had time. But now,the person putting a price on my dream was him. I turned and walked away. His voice came through the rain,colder than the rain itself. “You grind your hands raw in that dump of a shop,spend your whole life chasing money,and now you’re pretending you’re above it?” “There’s more money on this card than you’ve ever seen in your life.” I stopped and looked back at him through the rain. I had thought promises did not rot,that a mate bond did not break.In that moment,it all rotted from the inside out. I smiled at him. “Of course,Kaiden.Think whatever you want.” When I got back to Silver Ridge Ice Center,my phone buzzed. It was Rina. “Ava.Tell me I saw it wrong.I saw Nora take your place.” “You didn’t see it wrong.” “It was Kaiden.It had to be Kaiden.Did you talk to him?” “I just came back from him.” I leaned against the back counter and looked at the row of skates waiting to be sharpened. “He said he’d pay for all my training.Said he bought my spot.” The other end of the call went silent for a long time. “That bastard,”Rina said.”Tell me you threw the card in his face.” “I left.” “Ava,that was your scholarship.Do you know how many nights you stayed up for it?And your dad-” “It won’t help.” “What?” “Kaiden and the Hawthorne Pack funded the scholarship and built the rink.If they can take me off once,they can do it again.” She went quiet. “I saw Nora’s Instagram.Kaiden booked a restaurant to celebrate for her.” “Good for her.” “Good for her?That’s it?” “I have to go.A customer just came in.” I hung up before she could say anything else.

The next day,I went to North Ridge Training Center to register.The air smelled of cedar and ice wax. I saw Kaiden with his arm around Nora. Nora saw me first.She shrank back at once and hid behind Kaiden. “Kaiden,I’m scared.” He stood in front of her like a wall. “Ava,don’t make a scene.” I tried to walk around him.He grabbed my wrist. “What is wrong with you?Nora didn’t do anything.Do you have to make it this ugly?” I yanked my hand free. “Let go of me.” People in the hallway turned to look. Nora’s tears came right on cue.She stepped out from behind Kaiden. “Ava,I’m sorry.If you want to blame someone,blame me.I never meant to hurt you…This is all my fault.” She took another step forward.Kaiden pulled her back into his arms. “Look at her.”Kaiden’s Alpha tone pressed down on me.”Look what you’ve done to her.Ava,I never thought you could be this cruel.” Whispers rose around us. “That’s her,right?The girl who works at Silver Ridge Ice Center.” “Wait,isn’t she the one who lost the scholarship?” “Yeah,she lost to Nora.Honestly,look at her.No wonder the Alpha heir got tired of her.” “Nora looks like an angel.I’d choose her as future Luna too.” I stared at Kaiden. “I said,let go of me.” He did not let go.Instead,he shoved me. I slammed into the lockers,my shoulder blade hitting metal with a dull thud. I looked up at him. He looked back.There was not a trace of hesitation on his face. We grew up together.When he was ten,he was sent here to learn the Hawthorne Pack’s ice business in the north. During his first week,before he knew how life on the icefields worked,a few young wolves cornered him behind the rink.I raised a sharpened skate blade and scared them off. From then on,he followed me everywhere. When someone bullied me,he would pin them to the ground,his eyes so black it looked as if he might tear out their throat. “Ava,I will always be here.” “We’ll leave this place together.North Ridge Training Center,the International Pack Ice League,the world beyond the Pack.I’ll be with you the whole way.” Now he was protecting another girl and shoving me against a wall with his own hands. Nora cried harder. “Kaiden,don’t…let’s go.This is all my fault.” Kaiden lowered his head and kissed her hair. “It’s not your fault.Not one bit.” He gave me a warning look,then left with his arm around her. I leaned against the lockers,struggling to breathe. The office was at the end of the hall.I passed the wall of outstanding athletes. Nora’s picture hung in the center,larger than everyone else’s. A rising star who overcame hardship.The brave story of a future Luna. I looked at it for one second and laughed. I remembered a late night after training,when I came back to the skate shop. My father was waiting in the parking lot.I could smell the sour rot on him from ten feet away. “Where’s the money?” I did not answer.I tried to get past him and unlock the door. He grabbed my hair and slammed my face into the outside wall. “I’m talking to you.Are both your ears deaf?” “I don’t have any money.” “The Hawthorne Pack’s Alpha heir is that rich,and you follow him around every day.You can’t get a few hundred dollars out of him?” He slapped me across the face. “You hiding it from me?Where is it?Huh?” He searched my pockets roughly.I pushed him away. That was a mistake. The next second,he kicked me in the stomach.I hit the asphalt and curled up in pain. “You ungrateful bitch.You’re just like your mother.Trash,both of you.” He turned to look for something heavier.A tire iron,maybe a metal pipe.I could not see clearly. That was when Kaiden’s car pulled into the parking lot. He was out before the engine shut off.With an Alpha’s strength,he had my father pinned down in two moves,then pulled me up from the asphalt. He checked my face,my arms,and my ribs again and again. “Where did he hit you,Ava?Tell me where you’re hurt.” I could not answer.He took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. “It’s all right.I’m here.” That night,he did not go home.He stayed with me on the broken couch behind the shop until dawn. The next day,he went with me to the police station and watched my father get locked in a holding cell. He held me tight and said, “I’ll take care of you from now on.When I become Alpha of the Hawthorne Pack,you’ll be my Luna.” Back then,I actually believed him.

One week before the Regional Qualifier,the club held its final mock competition.Judges,scores,procedure,everything followed official competition rules. I came in first,nearly twelve points ahead of second place. Nora came in last. She tore down the score sheet,crumpled it up,and threw it into the trash. “Whatever.I already got the training scholarship.” Kaiden was waiting for her with two coffees. When she saw him,her eyes lit up at once,as if she were not the girl who had just fallen apart on the ice. “You were beautiful.” She rose onto her toe picks and kissed his cheek. I passed them on my way to the locker room. “Ava.” I did not stop. “Ava.Hey.” He moved in front of me and blocked my path. “Are you still angry about the training scholarship?” I did not answer. “Is that really necessary?I told you,she needed it more.You could go to the Regional Qualifier and win with your eyes closed.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “The black card is still yours.Coaches,training camp,Pack doctor.If you want it,I’ll cover all of it.” He thought money could glue broken things back together. “I don’t need it.” “There you go again.How much can you make in a month?What I’m offering you is more than you’ll earn in a lifetime.” Nora skated over from behind him and put her gloved hand on his arm. “Kaiden,don’t.She’s just not used to it yet.” She gave me a careful,sad,practiced smile. “Ava,I had nowhere else to go.My dad lost everything,my stepmother keeps tormenting me,and the Pack doesn’t want me anymore.”Tears welled in her eyes again. I had watched this performance for a year. In every conversation,she was the victim.In every look,I was the one who made her cry. “Kaiden and I will take care of you,”she said.”Whatever you need,just tell us.” I tugged at the corner of my mouth. Kaiden frowned.”What’s so funny?” “You two are perfect for each other.I hope she becomes your Luna soon.” His face changed. “Ava-” I walked past him and went into the locker room. “Ava,come back here.” I ignored him. That night,Rina sent me a screenshot from Nora’s Instagram. Nora was leaning against Kaiden’s leg.He was holding a bottle of wolfsbane beer. In the background,a group of friends lifted their glasses and shouted,”Congratulations,Nora!” Rina:Don’t let it hurt you.She doesn’t deserve to affect your mood. I tossed my phone aside. I picked up my training notes and started writing my program plan for the Regional Qualifier. As long as I kept training,I did not have to think about anything else.

The week before the Regional Qualifier,the club shortened training hours so everyone could adjust. Most of my teammates used the time to rest.I picked up extra shifts at the Silver Ridge Ice Center shop. On Wednesday afternoon,Kaiden’s car stopped outside. Kaiden got out and leaned against the door,his sunglasses pushed into his hair. “Ava,come here.” I kept working and pretended I had not heard him. “I’m talking to you.”He frowned and walked over. He reached as if to grab me,then saw the grime on my hands and pulled back. “Go wash up.You’re coming with us.” “Where?” “The mountain cabin.Nora needs to rest.You’re coming too.” “I’m not going.” He sighed.”Don’t start this again.Nora wants to make peace.Stop being difficult.” “There is nothing between her and me that needs making peace.” “Ava.” “I have to train.” He let out a short,ugly laugh. “You don’t even need to.Come on.Leave this dump for the weekend.Nora really wants to fix things.” “I’m not going.” His patience ran out.He laughed again,and this time there was no warmth in it. “Suit yourself.” He pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills and threw it at my feet. “Your wages for the month.I paid your boss for you.Take the money,keep your dignity,and stop showing up in front of me and Nora.” I did not move. “Not enough?”He threw down another stack.”How about now?” Coach Grayson came out of the back office.When he saw the cash on the floor,he hurried over. “Mr.Hawthorne.What is this?We don’t need this.” Kaiden did not even look at him.His eyes were fixed on me. “Pick it up.” I still did not move. Nora got out of the car and ran over with wide,innocent eyes. “Kaiden,please,don’t do this.You’re scaring her.”Nora crouched to pick up the money.”Ava,don’t be angry with him.He’s only doing this for me.He didn’t mean it that way.” She held the stack of cash out to me with both hands,her eyes wet. “Come with us.I don’t want to be the reason you two fight.” I looked at her,then at Kaiden. He felt no regret at all.He thought I should kneel and thank him. I walked past both of them,went into the back room of the shop,and shut the door. Through the wall,I heard him say, “See?You try to help her,and this is how she repays you.” The car started.Music faded down the street. A minute later,Coach Grayson put the money in front of me. “Take it,kid.” “No.” “Ava.”He pushed the money toward me.”Your father,your situation…you need this.” The bills smelled like Kaiden’s cedar,a scent that used to make me feel safe. I walked to the sink in the corner and turned the hot water all the way up. Soap,scrub,rinse.Again and again,until my skin turned red and hurt. That night,my father came again. He was drunker than before,and he saw the cash. He took the money and smashed up the shop. When the police arrived,he was swinging a hockey stick at the lights,with display cases knocked across the floor. It took two officers to cuff him.He spat bloody foam at me. “You called the cops on your own father.People like you should rot in hell.” I watched the police car drive out of the parking lot. So this was what it felt like to have no one at your back.

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Six months after we broke up,my ex,Damian Blackwood,DM’d me a screenshot. It’s a photo I posted three minutes ago. A silhouette of me at a gallery opening,with the caption:[I miss you]. Before I could reply,my phone rang. It was him. I heard the muffled bass of a party in the background. Then came his voice—that damn lazy drawl,as controlling as ever. “So,you finally came to your senses? I hooked up with a model,so what? It’s not like I stopped loving you. This little tantrum of yours needs to end. Besides,compared to the girls around me,your quiet socialite type is honestly a little boring.” A text notification popped up—an address for a rooftop bar in Manhattan. His voice,slurring slightly,dropped to a command. “Thirty minutes.Get here,and we’ll pretend nothing ever happened.” I let out a soft,”Okay.” Then I hung up and blocked his number for good. Damian always forgot one thing. When a girl like me decided to move on… We actually moved on. We chose someone we could build a real life with. I honestly thought the call was another one of Damian’s late-night whims. But my best friend’s frantic call woke me up the next morning. She was hysterical about a limited-edition Aston Martin parked outside my building. I looked out my window. And there he was,leaning against the driver’s side door. That was when I fully woke up. He was serious. Six months apart,and he was standing there like nothing ever happened. A bag of croissants from the French patisserie I used to love was in his hand. He saw me,but didn’t ask why I’d ghosted him the night before. With a casual gesture,he opened the passenger door. It was a move straight out of our past. He motioned for me to get in,holding out the bag. “They’re still warm.” I did not take them. I just looked him straight in the eye. “Are you enjoying this,Damian?”

He paused,pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. Smoke drifted from his lips as he exhaled. “Aurora,this little act of yours is getting boring.A little jealousy is one thing.This is pathetic.” He’d said those exact words the day I broke up with him. We were at his estate in the Hamptons. A model sauntered past me,wearing nothing but his dress shirt. Her skin was covered in fresh love bites. Damian stood by the pool,casually fixing his collar. Then I saw it. A bright red scratch snaking up his neck. I felt my blood turn to ice. “Why?”My voice was a trembling whisper. He barely glanced up,his tone infuriatingly light. “Oh,her?A friend brought her over.She was fun,so I kept her around.” His casual dismissal… It was as if they’d spent the night discussing philosophy. He frowned when he saw my eyes glistening with tears. “In our circle,this is just how things are.Life’s too long to be tied to one woman,Aurora.It’s boring.Besides,you’re my girlfriend,you don’t own me.A little attitude is one thing.This is embarrassing.” I opened my mouth,ready to scream. But the accusations got stuck in my throat. All that came out was a shaky,”We’re over.”

He leaned against the bar,silent for a long moment. Then his voice dropped to a low warning. “What set you apart was that you were smart and classy.Don’t lose that now.” It hit me. In Damian Blackwood’s world,I was no different. I was just a diversion,a toy to pass the time. He’d shower me with affection when he was interested,and discard me the second he found someone new. After we broke up,he dived right back into the party scene. A new girl on his arm every other week. My leaving meant nothing to him. I was a wreck for months,lost in a spiral of self-doubt. It took everything I had to claw my way out of that darkness. I didn’t care what Damian wanted from me now. I just knew I wasn’t getting roped into his comeback tour. “Step aside,Damian.Or I’m calling the cops for harassment.” He crushed his cigarette and closed the distance between us. The faint scent of another woman’s perfume clung to him. I tried to step back,but his hand shot out and clamped around my wrist. “Harassment?That post yesterday was obviously bait for me.Now you’re playing the saint?Is this some new trick?” He always did this—ignoring my anger. He was convinced I was playing hard to get. “Look,I know you don’t have a new boyfriend,and I happen to be single.So why not get back together?” Oh. So he was bored again and decided to dig up his old favorite toy. His dark eyes locked onto mine. “This time,I’ll let you be my girlfriend again.And I promise,for the next three months,I won’t see anyone else.” The offer was delivered like some grand act of charity. In his mind,I was supposed to fall at his feet,grateful for the crumbs. His long fingers stroked my wrist. I ripped my hand away. My eyes met his. “Damian.I’m getting married.”

“Married?” Damian acted like I’d just told the funniest joke in the world. He bent down,his fingertips tracing a teasing line along my jaw. “It’s been a while.I thought you’d finally come around.Why kill the mood with all this boring marriage talk?Who are you marrying?Because I have no plans to propose.” Of course I knew that. He’d made that clear when he staged the scene to humiliate me. After five solid years,I thought we were finally ready. I was going to introduce him to my parents,to start planning our future. Instead,at our own anniversary party,I walked in on him with another woman. I ran from the Hamptons villa,stumbling onto the dark coastal road. My ankle twisted,a sharp pain shooting up my leg. As I waited for my friend to pick me up,I heard Damian talking to his business partners. “Damian,wasn’t that too cruel?”his partner asked. Damian just sounded casual,unbothered. “I overheard her on the phone with her sister.Said the‘time was right’to meet her parents.I’m not getting tied down.This was a way to get her to back off.I’m too young to be chained to one woman.” His friend snickered. “What if she’s for real this time?What if she actually leaves you?”

A confident smirk played on Damian’s lips. “She was with me for five years.She can’t leave me.Give her a month,tops.She’ll come crawling back,begging.Just watch.” That’s when it all clicked. He had heard my call. Instead of talking to me,he chose the cruelest way to cheat. All to avoid a conversation about our future.Or,god forbid,marriage. His phone rang,snapping me back to the present. Damian answered,and a sugary-sweet voice cooed from the other end. “Damian,you promised you’d make it up to me for our breakup.I’ve decided what I want.Can you come now?” Her voice caught in a fake,pathetic sob as she spoke. “We’re done.Don’t contact me again.” He probably didn’t even realize it,but his voice softened. I knew that tone. It was the same one he always used to calm me down. After hanging up,he deliberately flashed the phone in my direction. “See?I cut everyone off for you.” He shoved a cold croissant into my hands. “From now on,my world is just you.I’m giving up a lot to be here with you.” I dropped the pastry bag into the nearest trash can. I took out a wipe and scrubbed the spot on my wrist he had touched. “Who cares?Listen,we are not getting back together.” His face darkened.”Fine.You want to be ungrateful?” He immediately dialed the model back. “Address.I’m on my way.” His eyes stayed locked on my face,seeking a reaction. When he got nothing,he hung up and slid into his car. “Have it your way.You’re going to regret this.” Regret it? Never.

After he left,I took a cab to the office. I had to request my a from my boss. The wedding leave alone wasn’t enough for the honeymoon. He approved it right away. The next morning,the bridal boutique called about my final makeup trial. The moment I walked in,I ran straight into Damian. He froze for a second when he saw me. Then that lazy,arrogant smirk spread across his face. “Still chasing me,even after you said no?” I didn’t say a word. The bridal consultant beside me spoke up. “Mr.Blackwood,this client is here for her wedding day makeup trial.” The smirk on Damian’s face vanished. His hand almost twitched,as if to reach out. Then a sharp voice cut through the air from behind him. “Wow,interesting,Aurora.Heard Damian and I were here taking wedding photos,so you rushed over?And with such a pathetic excuse.” A model named Tiffany latched onto Damian’s arm,rolling her eyes at me. “I’ve never seen someone so desperate to marry rich.There isn’t even a ring on your finger,and you’re already here marking your territory?” A few of Damian’s rich friends snickered. “Oh,this is nothing.You have no idea what she’s capable of.” “She’s a total stage-five clinger.Impossible to shake off.Poor Damian was terrified.It took him forever to finally get away from her.” Another one chimed in,laughing. “Seriously.It’s been six months since the breakup.All Damian has to do is look at her,and she comes running back like a lapdog.” A sharp slap cracked through the hall.

I shook the sting from my hand,glaring at him. “Watch your mouth.Or I’ll do it for you.” He stared,stunned,before his face twisted in fury. “You bitch!How dare you?!” “You’re just Damian’s used-up toy!I could ruin you in this city with a single call!” “You pathetic piece of…” “Enough!” Damian’s voice sliced through the air. He grabbed his friend’s arm before he could swing at me. The guy tried to argue,”Damian,I…” But Damian ignored him,his eyes locked on me,his brow furrowed. “Did you really have to make a scene?” I had no time for his drama. I turned to the staff.”Can you show me to the dressing room,please?” My fiancéwas still in Europe finishing up business. I had a million wedding details to handle and couldn’t waste time on this circus. The consultant quickly led me away. My custom gown,flown in from Paris,was waiting. After the makeup trial,I slipped into the dress to see the final look. But when the curtain was pulled back,Damian was there. Sitting alone on the sofa. The moment he saw me,his dark eyes lit up. “You look…incredible in that dress.” I turned my back on him,focusing on my reflection in the mirror. A second later,I was pulled into a familiar embrace. Damian’s arms locked around my waist. “You know,I’m suddenly thinking…Marrying you might not be a bad idea.”

His touch was revolting. I felt physically sick. But Damian was oblivious. He kept talking. “I just looked it up.We can get it done in two days.A big wedding is too much to plan,but we can go straight to City Hall.” Everything I had ever wanted from him… He was now tossing it at me like it was nothing. The thought made my stomach turn. Tiffany walked in,her eyes flashing with jealousy. “Aww.Looks like your little puppy-dog routine actually worked.” The man I’d slapped chimed in,his voice dripping with venom. “See?No shame gets you everywhere.Damian really has her well-trained.” Damian raised an eyebrow. He laced his fingers through mine,forcing my hand into his. “For the next three months,she’s the only woman you’ll see on my arm.So show some respect.” He acted like he was defending me. In reality,he was just making me look pathetic. I cut him off,my voice ice. “I have a fiancé.I am not marrying you.Have some self-respect.” The air in the room froze. Damian let out a sharp,bitter laugh. “A fiancé?Aurora,are you kidding?Enough with the tantrum.Who else but me would ever marry you?” His friend snickered. “This is priceless.She’s sloppy seconds,playing hard to get because Damian looked her way.” Tiffany looked down her nose at me,like she was offering charity. “Aurora,a word of advice,woman to woman?Quit while you’re ahead.”

She mocked me with her eyes. As if I should be grateful for Damian’s pathetic”generosity.” But I didn’t want his scraps. “If you like picking up trash,be my guest.Just leave me out of it.” Tiffany’s face flushed a deep crimson. Ignoring the fury on Damian’s face,I tore myself from his grip. There was no reasoning with them. My makeup trial was over,so I headed to the fitting room to change. When I came out,the gorgeous gown was a pile of shredded fabric on the floor. Tiffany stood there,holding a pair of scissors with a taunting smile. “Oops.Guess this cheap thing just falls apart if you breathe on it.” I was shaking with pure rage,staring at the ruin she’d made. My fiancéhad a top designer work on that dress for three months. A custom gown for me. She had destroyed it. Damian met my furious glare,then stepped in front of Tiffany to shield her. “It’s just a dress.I’ll pay you back for it,alright?” He grabbed a cheap,off-the-rack dress from a nearby rack. Then he shoved it into my arms. “Two days.Wear this to City Hall.” I stood frozen,clutching the cheap fabric,as they all walked away. A staff member approached me cautiously. “Miss Hayes,are you OK…?” I took a deep breath and turned to her. “Can you please get me a copy of the security footage from here?” They thought they could get away with this? Not a chance. Later,after they left,one of Damian’s friends asked him. “Damian,after all that,you really think she’ll show up and marry you?” Damian laughed,full of confidence. “I know Aurora.She acts tough,but she’s all talk.She could never stay mad at me.” “I’ll go pick her up myself in two days.She’ll come quietly.” All Damian could picture was how stunning I looked in that wedding dress. He suddenly decided that spending his life with me wasn’t a bad idea.

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When my daughter turned six, I started forcing her to do household chores. I recorded everything on camera. She wasn’t even as tall as the kitchen counter. Standing on a little toddler stepping stool, she struggled and fumbled, failing over and over again. Frustrated to the point of tears, she threw tantrums, begging me to let her stop. But I just stared at her with deadpan calm, ordering her to keep going. The internet tore me apart. Keyboard warriors called me a clout-chaser, accusing me of abusing my kid for views. Some even questioned if I was her real mother. That was until six months later, when a video of me finally stepping in front of the lens went viral. It was my digital suicide note, left solely for my little girl. In the video, I smiled at the camera. “When I’m gone, let these videos keep you company.” “Whenever you miss Mom, just come here and take a look.” 1 After the cancer diagnosis, the only thing tethering my soul to this earth was my daughter, Lily. She was only six. Tiny, soft, with a little bob and blunt bangs. Absolutely precious. Everyone in the family spoiled her rotten. But she was naturally introverted. Timid, even. Whether she wanted a toy or felt wronged, she never had the guts to speak up. I always had to notice her quiet pouting and gently coax the words out of her. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a big deal. Kids grow out of it. She would have been fine. But the doctor told me I had six months left. At most. I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for her to grow up. The sweeter and more obedient she was, the more my heart felt like it was being fed through a meat grinder. I was terrified that without a mother, she would become a target for playground bullies. I was terrified she wouldn’t be cared for, or worse, neglected. My husband and my in-laws loved her, sure, but they were oblivious. They missed the subtle cues. They wouldn’t know how to navigate the delicate maze of a little girl’s heart. And if my husband eventually remarried, Lily’s position in the house would become painfully awkward. I spent countless sleepless nights agonizing over this until I made four rules for myself. One: In the limited time I had left, I would teach her how to survive independently. Two: Record as many videos as possible, answering every question she might ever have about life. Three: Leave her a safety net of money. Four: Write her one letter for every birthday until she turns eighteen. The plan was simple on paper. Executing it was pure agony. She was six. The concept of death was totally alien to her. All she would know is that one day, her mom vanished. She would never see me again. I would never hold her again. “I will be the biggest trauma of her childhood.” That thought physically suffocated me. It hurt far worse than the terminal diagnosis itself. 2 I opened a trust fund for Lily. I dumped every single penny of my life savings into it. Locked for ten years. By the time she turned sixteen, she would have total financial control over it. The house we lived in was already transferred to her name. When she grew up, she could sell it or live in it. Her choice. With the legalities out of the way, I pulled Lily out of all her after-school ballet and piano classes. The second the school bell rang, I took her out. Parks, amusement rides, indoor trampoline gyms. The kind of joy she used to have to earn through good grades was now served to her daily on a silver platter. While she played, I constantly adjusted the angle of my mirrorless camera, capturing every second. She was breathtakingly cute. Long lashes framing big, bright eyes, and those chubby, soft cheeks. Whenever she looked at me, I melted. Kids naturally gravitated toward her. But sometimes, the rowdier kids would relentlessly pinch her cheeks or snatch her toys. Even though I could tell she hated it, she stayed polite. The most she would do was hide behind a slide. Watching this from the sidelines made my stomach tie into knots. The very next day, the aimless fun stopped. I signed her up for a youth mixed martial arts and self-defense class. Combat sports are grueling. I had never once envisioned my sweet girl throwing punches. But if I wasn’t going to be around to teach her how to say no to boys in high school, she at least needed the physical ability to protect herself. The result? Lily spent two days just doing basic planking and combat stances. Before the real lessons even began, she broke down. Tears streamed down her face as she wailed that she was too tired and wanted to quit. I hardened my heart. I coldly refused her, forcing her to push through the burn. Feeling utterly betrayed, she threw a massive tantrum. I edited the footage and uploaded it to a brand-new social media account. I never expected the tsunami of vitriol that followed. [Throwing a little kid on the internet like this? This mom is sick in the head!] [The kid clearly hates it. The parents are forcing her just for clout. You don’t deserve to be a mother!] [At an age where she should be reading, she’s goofing off and making TikToks? Trash parenting.] [Selling out your own flesh and blood for likes. Disgusting.] 3 Before I hit upload, I reviewed the footage a dozen times to make sure it wouldn’t expose her to any real danger. But honestly, I understood the backlash. Because a few months ago, I was exactly like them. Grades above all else. As long as I was there to be her umbrella, she only needed to be a happy, innocent little girl. But my umbrella was breaking. In the wild, a mother wolf teaches her cub how to hunt before the winter comes. In my rapidly vanishing timeline, I needed to drill the most brutal, vital life lessons into her skull. And in the grand scheme of survival, getting an A in spelling was completely useless. I didn’t want her to be obedient. I didn’t want her to be sweet or well-mannered. I needed her to be brave. Resilient. Unbreakable. Without a mom, she had to learn how to fight, how to grab what was hers. She needed to become an apex predator to survive this vicious world. Besides MMA, I had to teach her how to cook. Food is survival. No matter how dark life gets, you have to feed yourself. You have to keep your body alive. Lily was barely taller than the stove. I bought her a heavy-duty toddler step stool. With every movement of the spatula, she would look back at me, her big eyes seeking permission. Only after I nodded encouragingly would she continue. Watching her tiny, tense frame gripping a kitchen knife on that stool. Thinking about all the massive, terrifying obstacles she would have to face alone in the future. It felt like someone was dragging a razor blade across my chest. If I had a choice, I would never rob her of her childhood. But fate didn’t give a damn about my choices. I had to be the villain. If the martial arts video sparked debates about parenting, the cooking video sparked a witch hunt. The comment section was a bloodbath. [Is this bitch pregnant with her second kid? Training the older sister to be a free nanny?] [If you can’t afford to raise them, don’t breed! Making a six-year-old cook? Are all the adults in that house dead?] 4 [I was forced to cook and do laundry for my whole family when I was her age. Trust me, what she posts is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind closed doors, it’s slave labor.] [Having a daughter is great, right? Free live-in maid.] [In the last video, the kid was happy she didn’t have to go to piano class. So she pulled her out of real education just to make her cook. Sick.] [This gives me the creeps.] [Some people really shouldn’t breed.] The video blew up. The account gained over a hundred thousand hate-followers in a week. My DMs were flooded with death threats. It got so big that even my own parents saw it. My mom called me, her voice laced with concern. “Are you and your husband just too overwhelmed with work? “Let Mom come over and take care of her, okay? Stop making the baby cook. “And she needs her extracurriculars. Kids these days are so competitive. You can’t let her fall behind.” Mothers will always ache for their daughters. Even though I was thirty-five and practically standing in my own grave. She still treated me like a child. The guilt made my throat tighten. I had never properly repaid her for raising me, and we used to bicker all the time. I was such a terrible daughter. “I just pushed her too hard before, Mom. I want her to breathe a little,” I lied smoothly. “Having a happy childhood matters too.” My words unexpectedly struck a nerve. My mom sighed, clearly thinking about my own childhood. “You’re right. Your dad and I were always working. We left you home alone every weekend. “And then we made you help raise your little brother. “We really failed you back then.” Parents always feel like they owe their kids. Like they never gave enough. My eyes burned. I felt a crushing weight of sorrow for my parents. Noticing my silence, my mom gently probed, “How about I come visit you guys in a couple of days?” Panic spiked through my veins. If she came, she would see the sickness radiating off me. She would know I was dying. 5 My mom was incredibly perceptive. If I said no, she would instantly know something was wrong. I forced a bubbly tone and agreed immediately. The second I hung up, my anxiety skyrocketed. I started pacing, trying to figure out how to hide my decaying body. It had been a week since the diagnosis. I hadn’t breathed a word to anyone. Not even my husband. Noah only found out I canceled Lily’s classes because he saw the videos. Coming home late from another grueling shift, he carefully chose his words. “Are we trying to turn our daughter into an influencer?” I shook my head. He looked even more confused. “Then why the sudden drop from ballet? “And taking her to the theme parks every day?” I thought he was mad. Before I could explain, his tone shifted into a whiny pout. “And you went without me! I wanted to go on the rollercoasters too. “Why do you only love her and not me?” A startled laugh ripped out of me, followed by a rush of tears. Ten years together. When we met, we were reckless, wild, and bursting with life. Now, he was grounded, steady, a real man. We had become the adults we always dreamed of being. And the way he looked at me hadn’t changed since college. I was still so madly in love with him. But this love only had a six-month expiration date. Looking at his face, all my walls crumbled. The tears wouldn’t stop. I had to tell him the truth. “Noah… I’m dying.” He froze. Just stood there, completely hollowed out. 6 At first, he thought it was a sick joke. But seeing the absolute despair in my tears, the certainty drained from his face. Muscle memory took over. He pulled me into his chest. He patted my back, slow and rhythmic, like he was soothing a nightmare. He waited until my shaking subsided before he found his voice. “No you’re not,” he whispered fiercely. “I’m right here. “I won’t let anything happen to you. “You’re just feeling sick, right? Then we’ll get you healthy. “Don’t worry about work, the mortgage, the kid. I’ve got it all.” His voice cracked. He was fighting back a sob. “Whatever it is, we fight it. We don’t give up. Deal?” I started crying all over again. Not out of self-pity. But because the thought of leaving him behind was tearing me to shreds. “It’s no use, Noah. It’s lung cancer,” I gasped against his shirt. “Stage four.” 7 Noah’s arms clamped around me like a vice. Like he was trying to physically fuse our bodies together so death couldn’t pull me away. A raw, choked sound escaped his throat. His voice was completely destroyed by shock and terror. “How is that even possible?” He was asking the exact question that had been haunting me. Why me? Why did this shadow have to fall over our perfect little house? “You’re young. You don’t smoke, you don’t drink. Why… how could it be lung cancer?” But his refusal to accept it was stronger than mine. “Don’t be scared, baby. Look at me. Don’t be scared. “I’ll call my frat brothers in med school. I’ll ask my boss. I’ll find the best oncologists on the planet. “We are going to beat this.” When the doctor handed me the papers, I had the same fleeting hope. But lung cancer is a silent killer. By the time you feel the symptoms, it’s already too late. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the whole truth. That the cancer cells had already metastasized to my sternum. That every single breath I took felt like crushed glass in my lungs. So I just nodded against his chest. “Okay. I won’t give up. We’ll fight.” But deep down, I knew we were just burning money and time. I reached up and gently traced the lines of Noah’s face. It was a habit from our dating years. Whenever my heart ached for him, or when I wanted to coax a smile out of him. I would nestle into his arms and map out his features with my fingertips. Usually, when I did this, even if we were mid-argument, he would inevitably break into a grin. He would catch my hand, tell me it tickled, and joke that I was taking advantage of him. But this time, he didn’t laugh. Hot, heavy tears spilled over my knuckles. 8 “Noah,” I whispered, my heart shattering. “I’m going to have to put you through hell.” He was going to have to drag me to hospitals. He was going to have to lie to our parents. He was going to have to juggle a demanding job and a terrified daughter. And later… after I was put in the ground. He was going to have to figure out how to keep living. Without me. I wanted him to forget me. To move on. To find someone new and start over. I wrote all of this down in a letter. I didn’t say it to his face. Because I knew I would choke on the words. Every time I thought about it, I wanted to scream. And in these final days, I refused to leave him with nothing but memories of my tears and bitterness. I wanted to be radiant. So that years from now, when my face crossed his mind, he would remember me smiling. I used to hate wearing makeup. Now, I painted my face every single morning. Just to cover the gray, dying tint of my skin. Noah practically went manic. He scoured the country for clinical trials, booked consultations with specialists, and stayed up until 3 AM reading medical journals. Every time he found a sliver of new information, he’d rush to tell me, his eyes wide with desperate hope. He refused to let a single door close. I played my part. I nodded enthusiastically, pretending I believed the treatments would work. Giving him a reason to keep breathing. We were both putting on the performance of a lifetime to keep the family in the dark. But paper can’t wrap a fire forever. Noah’s mom was the first to notice the cracks. 9 My in-laws were both retired teachers, so they had a lot of free time. Since they lived in the same subdivision, they dropped by constantly. My mother-in-law was a wizard in the kitchen. Her roast lamb was legendary. So tender, completely free of that gamey smell. It was our family’s favorite. One afternoon, she showed up with premium lamb chops fresh from the butcher. She was excitedly talking about making a hearty stew. But the moment she walked through the door and looked at me, her warm smile froze. Her eyes scanned my face like a scanner. “Sarah,” she asked, her voice tight with sudden dread. “Tell me the truth. Did something happen?” “What do you mean, Mom?” I forced a bright laugh. She grabbed my hands, staring dead into my eyes. Her own eyes rapidly filled with tears. “Why have you lost so much weight?” My mind went blank. She was a deeply kind woman who treated me like her own flesh and blood. If I told her my body was rotting from the inside out, it would break her. “Mom, I’m sorry,” I choked out, pivoting to an easier lie. “Work has just been crazy stressful. I haven’t been sleeping well. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Hearing it was just stress, she exhaled, her shoulders dropping in relief. Though her eyes still held pity. “You young people push yourselves too hard. It’s not your fault. “But you have to let things go. Health comes first, alright? We’ll get some meat on those bones.” I smiled and nodded. She smiled back, then immediately shifted gears to roast her own son. “What is wrong with Noah? His wife is this stressed out and he doesn’t even notice? “Just wait until he gets home, I’m going to chew him out.” She turned around and started aggressively prepping the vegetables. Watching her busy, loving silhouette by the sink made the guilt burn my throat. I softly asked her, “Pulling Lily out of her ballet classes and making her cook on camera… are you mad at me for that?”

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During the most vibrant years of my youth, I spent three years wrapping Beckett around my finger, or rather, letting him wrap me around his. Honestly, he was gorgeous, incredible in bed, and built like a god. So when he finally called it quits, I cried like my world was ending. “Babe, can we still kiss after we break up? If I call you over to hook up, will you still come?” Beckett sneered. “Is it really just me you can’t live without?” My eyes pooled with tears. “Babe, I love you!” But after getting dumped that day, I walked away crying, clutching a five-million-dollar parting gift. That same night, someone filmed me at a club and sent the video straight to Beckett. In the video, I had my arms around six male models, my voice dripping with disdain: “Beckett? Who’d actually like him with that trash attitude? I was only in it for his body.” A second later, my phone exploded with calls from him. “Ordering male models the second we break up? You’ve got some nerve. Playing with my feelings? You must have a death wish.” “I’ll be there in ten minutes. You better pray you can run fast enough.” 1 Hearing the word “breakup,” my nose tickled, and the tears started falling. No one knew how good I had it during those three years with Beckett. “Do we really have to?” Beckett was shirtless, leaning against the headboard, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. “Yeah.” Maybe because of the storm we’d just weathered in bed, his voice was still low and raspy. I crouched on the floor, sobbing dramatically. Beckett knit his handsome brow. “Don’t cry. I can compensate you. Is five million enough?” I kept sobbing, unable to stop. “I don’t want your money. I want your love.” My hand drifted over his abs, my fingers tracing the sharp lines before swirling over his skin. “Babe, can we still kiss? If I text you for a late-night hookup, will you still show up?” Beckett stared at me, his gaze dark and unreadable. After a long silence, a dry chuckle escaped his throat. “Is it really just me you can’t live without?” I looked up at just the right moment, my eyes wide, wet, and utterly innocent. “Babe, I love you…” But contrary to what I expected, Beckett didn’t soften. He coldly pulled my hand away. “How much?” “So much I can’t breathe.” “Then put my face and body aside. What do you actually like about me?” I froze. I looked up and met his sharp, piercing gaze. A sudden wave of guilt washed over me, rendering all my usual sweet-talk useless. Honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to a man. I stammered, “I… I can’t put them aside…” Beckett was famous for his terrible temper. Combined with his wealthy family background, he was arrogant and reckless with everyone. But he was just too damn good-looking. At first, half the girls at our university were head over heels for him. But his sharp tongue and volatile moods quickly sent them running. Back then, no one expected that a completely ordinary girl like me would be the one to tame him. For a while, rumors flew about how incredibly calculating I must be. In reality, there was no master plan. My goal had been crystal clear from the moment I laid eyes on him: I wanted him in my bed. When you’re doing something bad, you don’t get tired. So, of course, I could tolerate all his flaws. His petulance and sensitivity actually felt endearing to me. I wanted to know about his childhood, his past pains, and his joys. I secretly listened to his favorite songs, quietly noting down every hobby and habit he casually mentioned. I tracked his star sign, his favorite flowers, watched the movies he loved, and took screenshots of everything related to him. I loved him, including his fragility and his dark sides. Day after day, under my relentless campaign of affection, Beckett finally cracked. To the point where, one night, when I casually asked, “By the way, are you big down there?” Beckett didn’t get angry. Instead, his ears turned red as he grabbed my wrist: “Are you coming back to my place tonight to keep listening to me talk about my dysfunctional family?” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “You can talk forever. I’m always listening.” … Now, hearing my honest answer, Beckett fell silent. He stubbed out his cigarette, looking down at our clothes scattered across the floor. Finally, he looked up, a bitter smile playing on his lips. “Three years together, and there isn’t a single thing about my personality that attracts you?” “There is,” I said, my face flushing under his intense gaze. “It’s just… you’re really sweet when you want to be.” 2 I had to admit, Beckett changed his mood faster than he took off his clothes. After I said that, he got furious for some reason. He shoved a credit card into my hand and kicked me out. “There’s five million on this. Don’t ever look for me again.” The door slammed shut. Beckett always had a bad temper. Even though he’d thrown fits and told me to leave before, this time felt different. Not for him, but for me. Maybe I was just getting older, running out of energy. I felt a deep, heavy exhaustion. Outside, a light drizzle was falling. I opened my ride-sharing app, but the wait times were insane. Steeling my resolve, I decided to walk back in the rain. The moment my foot hit the wet pavement, a large black umbrella bloomed over my head. My heart skipped a beat. I spun around. “Beckett?!” Instead, I was met with his assistant’s blank face. He made a polite gesture toward a waiting car. “The young master said you walk too slow. He doesn’t want to see you around, so he ordered me to get you out of here as fast as possible.” My throat tightened. “Oh.” I looked up at the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse. Catching my gaze, a shadow flitted behind the glass and vanished. The assistant was true to his word. Smooth and fast, he dropped me off in ten minutes. My best friend, Roxy, blinked in shock when she saw me. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Beckett?” My chest felt heavy, like wet cotton pressing down on my lungs. I took a deep breath, forcing a smile, and flashed the card. “We broke up. And he gave me a massive severance package.” “Come on, babe. Let’s go spend some money.” Roxy reached out and gently touched my face. She looked like she wanted to say something, but stayed quiet. I knew she felt bad for me, but when it came to love, you just had to let things go. That night, I dragged her to a club known for having the best-looking guys in the city. “The fastest way to get over an old flame is to find a new one.” “Who cares about Beckett? We’re here for a good time, not a long time!” We hadn’t even been seated long before we ran into a bunch of familiar faces. A group of trust-fund babies sat in the VIP booth next to ours. Most of them were from Beckett’s social circle. Throughout our three-year relationship, they had been the most vocal skeptics. With Beckett around, no one dared to say anything to my face. But now, they wasted no time crowding around me with smirks. “Well, if it isn’t Paige, the ultimate clinger!” “What are you doing drinking here? Did Beckett finally throw you out?” “Did you really think you could secure the bag? He was just using you for a good time.” “If she hadn’t spent every day groveling at his feet, Beckett wouldn’t have looked at her twice.” The air grew thick with their snide remarks and laughter. Roxy, who had already had a few drinks too many, didn’t hesitate. She slammed her glass down and stepped right up to them. “Did you guys forget to brush your teeth tonight? Your breath smells like pure trash!” “Calling her a clinger? You’d crawl through broken glass to get Beckett’s attention, but he wouldn’t even look in your direction!” “And besides, Beckett is nothing. Paige is the one who dumped him!” I pulled her back, looking coldly at the crowd. “If you’re so upset on Beckett’s behalf, why don’t you go tell him?” The ringleader of the group stiffened, his smug grin faltering. Once, someone had actually dared to talk trash about me to Beckett. Beckett had beaten him so badly the guy ended up in the hospital. Since then, no one dared to cross him. “What are you acting so smug for? You think he’s still going to protect you?” I ignored his provocation, turning my attention to the tablet the host had handed me, scrolling through the profiles of the hosts. Once I had selected six male models of completely different styles, I looked up. “Why don’t you try me and find out?” Borrowing Beckett’s terrifying reputation was incredibly effective. We had broken up and gotten back together countless times. They couldn’t be sure if this was just another one of our dramatic spats. 3 The trust-fund babies scattered quickly, terrified of offending Beckett. Six handsome models crowded around Roxy and me, calling us “gorgeous” in sweet, honeyed voices. We each had three of them draped over us, laughing. One fed me fruit; another poured my drink. One, wearing a sheer white shirt, was dancing right in front of us. Sweat and alcohol clung to the fabric, highlighting his perfectly sculpted muscles. I suddenly realized that spending three years obsessing over Beckett had been a colossal waste of time. So when Roxy, still angry, started venting and cursing Beckett, I joined right in. “Beckett? Who’d actually like him with that trash attitude? I was only in it for his body.” The more I drank, the more animated I became. “My love for him was real, but he’s not the only fish in the sea.” “Beckett’s hot, amazing in bed, great body, but I’m bored of him now.” “Hey, Roxy, look at one o’clock. I think I just spotted my dream guy.” “He’s easily as hot as Beckett. Should I go talk to him?” Before Roxy could answer, her expression went dead serious. She picked up my buzzing phone and held it in front of my face. Someone had filmed me touching a model’s abs and saying those exact words, and they had sent it straight to Beckett. He was calling me repeatedly. The messages kept popping up on the screen: Paige, stop playing dead. Answer the phone! Unbelievable. So everything you said about loving me was a lie? Hiring models the second we break up? You’ve got some nerve. Playing with my feelings? You must have a death wish. I’ll be there in ten minutes. You better pray you can run fast enough. I was completely wasted. I squinted at the screen for a long time before finally grasping the words, then casually turned the phone off. Roxy’s eyes went wide. “Are you crazy? He’s going to lose his mind!” “Let him.” “Should… shouldn’t we run? If Beckett catches you, he’s going to kill you.” I giggled, my brain completely foggy. “Kill me how? We already broke up. What’s he going to do, double-dump me?” … The most entertaining dynamic in the world is definitely a toxic ex-boyfriend who hasn’t fully let go. Especially since Beckett was entirely my type. As long as he didn’t find someone else, hooking up with him occasionally after the breakup didn’t sound like a bad plan. Ignoring Roxy’s exasperated look, my eyes caught onto something across the room, and I practically floated over to it. Instantly, the scent of expensive blue cologne mixed with raw male hormones filled my senses. The guy standing there looked about fifty percent like Beckett. But his hair was styled in soft, messy curls, his lips were pink, and he looked incredibly sweet and innocent. He was the complete opposite of Beckett’s wild, arrogant vibe. “Remember me?” I purred. The handsome stranger looked a bit startled, studying my face closely. “I’m sorry, I just got back to the country. My memory’s a bit rusty. Who are you?” “Don’t you remember? When we were kids, you played at your house, and I played at mine. We’ve been strangers since childhood.” He stared at me for a second, then burst into a warm, genuine laugh. I suppressed a smirk. If I could tame a wild beast like Beckett, a cute little puppy like this was child’s play. “It’s fine if we didn’t know each other back then. How about we get to know each other now?” I winked, slipping a shot glass into his hand before tossing my own back. He hesitated for a moment before drinking his. “Aren’t you moving a bit fast? Aren’t you afraid I might be a bad guy?” “What kind of bad guy? A handsome distraction?” “No, a guy who might take advantage of a beautiful girl.” “Well, I’m already dizzy from how gorgeous you are, so feel free to try.” He laughed, his sharp little canine teeth showing. He looked clever and cute, a classic puppy-dog type. After dealing with a wild wolf for so long, a sweet, slightly mischievous dog felt like a breath of fresh air. 4 His ears flushed red under my direct gaze. “Is this what they call flirting with the innocent?” I leaned slightly against the bar table, resting my chin on my hand, looking up at him with a hazy, bedroom gaze. “Flirting? I just thought my ability to read a guy’s subtle emotions was a gift from above.” “Oh? And what did you read?” My fingertips brushed over his palm, and he suddenly gripped them. “I read that you have a lot you want to say to me. And that my gift only works when I’m with you.” He gently played with my fingertips. “You’re the most interesting girl I’ve ever met.” “I’m not just interesting, I’m a great listener,” I said, suddenly pulling my hand back. “So, I’m ready to listen to all about your childhood traumas and your lonely past.” He looked at his empty palm, amused. “My childhood?” I lightly grabbed his collar and pulled. Caught off guard, he leaned forward, his chin brushing against the crook of my neck. The fresh, woody scent of his cologne washed over me. I leaned close to his ear, my warm breath tickling his neck. “But you know what we’re doing after you finish talking.” I pulled back slightly, watching his Adam’s apple bob. Just as I was about to say something even more shameless, a strong hand violently ripped me away. Beckett stood there, his face dark and his eyes completely bloodshot.

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When I opened my eyes again, my daughter was standing in the doorway, once more holding hands with her bleached-blonde street-punk boyfriend. They looked incredibly nervous, guilt practically oozing from their pores as they asked if I would bless their relationship. I smiled faintly and looked at my future son-in-law. “I’ll agree, but on one condition.” He swallowed hard, looking suspicious. “What condition?” I pointed to the massive stack of college prep exams on the coffee table. “Get yourself into a top-tier university, and I’ll personally pay for your wedding.” What? Both my daughter and her boyfriend stood there, completely dumbfounded. A year later, he got accepted into the Military Academy at West Point. Everyone in town thought I’d struck gold. I couldn’t agree more. After all, in my previous life, this was the very man who started with nothing but manual labor and built a multi-million-dollar business empire from scratch. 1 My boy-crazy daughter, Kaitlin, had brought her bleached-blonde boyfriend back home again. The two teenagers stood side by side in the entryway, looking so incredibly tense they didn’t even know what to do with their hands. Kaitlin forced a weak smile, keeping her head low. Her eyes were red-rimmed and filled with silent pleading. The boy beside her had a messy crop of dyed-yellow hair, wore a simple oversized hoodie, and had a collection of cheap chain earrings dangling from his lobes. He was barely eighteen, his face still holding the soft edges of youth. But standing before me, he looked utterly terrified and guilt-ridden. My daughter, who had caused me nothing but sleepless nights, finally found her voice. “Mom, we love each other. Please, just let us be together. I’m begging you.” She rubbed her hands together, her voice trembling as she poured her heart out. In my past life, the moment those words left her mouth, I had slapped her hard across the face. Any parent who had worked themselves to the bone to raise an Ivy League-bound daughter only to have her bring home a street punk within her first year of college would have lost their mind. Back then, I let anger consume me. I forced them apart with ruthless efficiency. But later, when I was set up and ruined by rivals, bankrupt and abandoned by every friend and relative I had ever known, it was this very punk who rode up on a rusty delivery tricycle to take my daughter and me in. He used his bare hands, working brutal shifts hauling bricks, to carry our entire family on his back. Eventually, he built a publicly traded empire from the ground up. Unfortunately, he had treated his body like garbage during his youth. As he aged, the physical toll caught up with him, and he left Kaitlin and me far too soon. Now that I had been given a second chance, I had no intention of repeating my mistakes, nor would I let him work himself to an early grave. But I couldn’t play the saint too easily either. If I didn’t set some boundaries for these two at their age, I’d end up with a grandchild running around years ahead of schedule. I cleared my throat, looking at the frozen, terrified couple, and spoke slowly. “How exactly do you plan on supporting my daughter?” The second the words left my mouth, Kaitlin scrambled to answer. “Mom, I won’t buy expensive bags anymore. No designer clothes, either. I’ll get a job early to help support us…” I rolled my eyes. Even in this life, I still felt that slap from my previous life had been thoroughly deserved. “So, Austin, right?” I looked past her. “Do you think it’s fair to let my daughter sacrifice her future like that for you?” Austin, the bleached-blonde kid, shook his head frantically. “No! I want her to finish her education. I’ll work two… no, three jobs if I have to. I swear I won’t let her quality of life drop because of me.” Looking into his eyes, I knew he meant it. He was entirely capable of doing just that. But this time, I wasn’t going to let him ruin his health. “I will allow the two of you to date,” I said calmly, “but on three conditions.” 2 Kaitlin and Austin snapped their heads up, their eyes lighting up like stars. They stared at me in absolute disbelief, the heavy dread on their faces instantly vanishing. “Mrs. Smart,” Austin stammered, “what are the conditions? I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it kills me.” I pointed to the thick stack of prep materials and college entrance exams I had prepared beforehand, sliding them across the coffee table. “First, I am sending you back to school, Austin. If you can get into a university on your own merit, I won’t just consent to your relationship; I will personally fund and host your wedding the moment you graduate.” The two teenagers stared at the books, completely stunned. Kaitlin’s joyful expression froze. She looked blankly at the massive pile of study guides. Austin’s face flushed a deep red. Kaitlin, suddenly defensive, snapped, “Mom, are you trying to humiliate him? Austin had to drop out because his family couldn’t afford tuition! Aren’t you just setting him up to fail?” “Your love-blind brain is officially useless, Kaitlin. Listen to me carefully,” I said, my voice sharp. “I am paying for his schooling. I will cover every single cent. But if he fails to get in, he packs his bags and gets out of our lives.” Kaitlin went quiet, turning to Austin with a worried, questioning look. Austin’s eyes were bloodshot. Anyone who didn’t know him would think he was seething with anger over the perceived insult. But I knew him, and I remained entirely unbothered. Then, with a heavy thud, Austin dropped straight to his knees on the hardwood floor. “Mrs. Smart… I’ll do it. I’ll go back to school. I actually loved studying, but my family refused to support me, so I had to quit. I promise you, I will get into a university and make you proud.” He leaned forward and pressed his forehead firmly against the floor, a loud knock echoing through the room. That had to hurt. In my previous life, I remembered seeing him steal whatever spare moments he had to read and study. Kaitlin had told me how deeply he regretted never going to college, but he’d never had the luxury of time. In this life, I was going to hand him that opportunity. 3 I waved him up dismissively. “Second, absolutely no intimacy until you both turn twenty-one.” The moment the words left my mouth, the two deeply-in-love teenagers flushed so red they looked like ripe tomatoes. I rolled my eyes. At least they were still sweet and innocent. “What? Do we have a problem with that?” “No problem!” “I agree!” They answered in unison. I nodded and moved on to my final demand. “Third, I run this house. You both listen to me. If any of your toxic relatives come knocking, you do not interfere with how I handle them. No matter what.” Austin clenched his fists, remaining silent. But Kaitlin’s protective instincts flared up again. “Mom, they’re still family…” So she knew just how awful his extended family could be. I slammed my hand onto the table and stood up. “Those are my three conditions. Disagree with even one of them, and you can both pack up and get out of my house. And Kaitlin, if you walk out that door, you are no longer my daughter.” Kaitlin’s eyes welled with tears, and she sank to her knees. I knew that despite her foolishness in love, she had ultimately chosen to stay home and finish her degree in our past life, eventually securing a stable job. “Kaitlin, get up,” Austin said, gently pulling her arm. “Those people don’t deserve to be called family. Mrs. Smart is right. I need to cut ties with them anyway.” He wiped his eyes and looked up at me, still kneeling. “I accept all three conditions.” I stood up and gestured toward the hallway. “Come on out.” Four middle-aged professionals stepped into the living room. I turned to Austin and introduced them. “These are your private tutors. Starting today, before you even set foot in a classroom, you will be cramming the entire high school curriculum. Do we have a deal?” Austin stared at the imposing lineup of educators, swallowed hard, and gave a tight nod. “Mr. Austin, please follow us upstairs. Our first session begins right now,” one of the tutors said smoothly. Before the boy could even process what was happening, two tutors took him by the arms and politely marched him up the stairs. Kaitlin turned to me, trembling. “Mom, be honest with me. Are you doing all this just to drive him away? He’s a street kid. How is he supposed to sit still and study like this? If you’re just trying to torture him, it would be kinder to let him leave now.” 4 Looking at my daughter’s tearful, anxious face, I felt a sudden, powerful urge to shake some sense into her. I clenched my fists to keep myself in check, silently chanting: I gave birth to her, I gave birth to her, I gave birth to her. Taking a deep breath, I said coldly, “I have no intention of driving him away. But if he can’t even handle this, he has no business standing by your side.” Kaitlin bit her lip. “But what if he can’t keep up?” “Then he’ll have to work harder. Didn’t he say he’d give his life for you? Let him prove it. You focus on your own classes, and if you keep whining, I will make you choose between us right now.” Kaitlin flinched. She was terrified of being forced to make that choice. Austin was a resilient boy at heart. The only reason he had turned into a rough-around-the-edges street kid was sheer, desperate poverty. He hadn’t lacked guidance; he had lacked resources. His parents had passed away early, and the grandparents who raised him were gone too. If he hadn’t put on a tough, punk persona, he probably would have starved to death, let alone had a chance to study. The four tutors I hired were all senior instructors from the city’s top college prep academy. They were fully capable of dragging his neglected education back on track. Once I saw that Austin had adjusted to the grueling study schedule, I used my connections to enroll him as a transfer student in the honors program at the local high school. On his first day, he looked clean-cut and sharp in a simple casual outfit. I didn’t force him to dye his hair back immediately; the focus needed to remain on his studies, not his style. I figured that with the intensive tutoring he’d received, he would be fine as long as he kept his head down. Meanwhile, I threw myself entirely into my business, determined to scale operations. With the hindsight of my previous life, solving complex corporate strategies felt like second nature. Just as I signed a million-dollar contract, my phone rang. It was the high school. “Are you Austin’s guardian? He got into a violent altercation at school. Three students are injured. Frankly, I don’t want a troubled kid like him in my honors class. You need to come in and transfer him out.” I smiled. “Sure. But in that case, please make sure none of your honors students use the new school library, considering my company funded its construction.” The line went dead silent. After a flurry of hurried apologies, the homeroom teacher quietly hung up. I grabbed my purse, wearing a bold crimson dress as if marching onto a battlefield. When I arrived, I found Austin standing outside the main office, looking defiant. His face was bruised, and his knuckles were badly scraped. The moment he saw me, his shoulders slumped, and he looked down. “Mrs. Smart…” I waved him off. “Don’t say a word. Let me go in and see what’s going on. Brooks,” I turned to my assistant, “go pull the security footage from the hallway.” While school security cameras weren’t as advanced back then, this particular academy had recently installed a state-of-the-art surveillance system.

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1 In my past life, I saved Finn, the golden boy of the city’s most powerful elite circle. He fell for me at first sight and married me in a lavish, heavily publicized wedding. But only after the wedding did I discover the horrifying truth. He was impotent, a twisted sadist who married me solely to conceal his dark secret from the high-society gossip columns. I was systematically tortured by him until my heart finally stopped. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the past, on the very day he brought a horde of reporters to my family’s doorstep to locate his mysterious savior. Before I could even slip away, my younger sister, Sienna, charged forward. She pointed a finger at me, shouting for everyone to hear. “Finn, don’t let her fool you! That night, Nora was partying at a club, drinking with several guys until the early hours of the morning. There’s no way she could have saved you!” “She’s trying to steal credit for my actions just so she can claw her way into your family and become your trophy wife!” I froze in utter shock, the paralyzing terror in my chest instantly dissolving into pure, unadulterated ecstasy. This was spectacular. Since I was supposedly partying that night, it meant I had never saved him. Which meant this psychopathic heir would have absolutely nothing to do with me in this lifetime. … In my past life, I had found Finn severely injured on the side of the road and rushed him to the emergency room. In his semi-conscious state, he pressed a luxury watch into my hand, telling me it was a token to find him. After he was discharged, he used the hospital records to locate me. Claiming to have fallen in love at first sight, he knelt and proposed to me in front of a crowd of reporters. I had been overjoyed to marry into such wealth, completely ignorant of his true nature. Only after the wedding did I realize he was impotent, deeply insecure, and highly unstable, taking his rage out on women behind closed doors. I died in absolute despair under his endless cruelty. Now that I was back, I only wanted to run as far away from him as possible. But before I could take a single step, Sienna blocked my path, confronting me fiercely in front of the cameras. “Nora, have you no shame?” She strode up to me, her voice dripping with venom. My heart sank, assuming she was about to expose my actual rescue of Finn. But before I could speak, she turned to Finn and threw a stack of photos onto the ground at my feet. “Finn, please don’t let her trick you! She was at a club the entire night, she never left!” I stared at the photos on the ground. They were highly realistic, showing me laughing and drinking at a crowded bar. The editing was so perfect that it was impossible to tell they were fakes, even though I had never stepped foot in a nightclub in my entire life. I frowned. “Sienna, what on earth are you talking about? I didn’t…” She cut me off with a sneer. “Stop acting! You’re just jealous that I’m the one who saved Finn. You stole the watch he gave me, trying to take my place and gold-dig your way into high society! Several people at the club saw you that night, and they’re all ready to testify!” As soon as she finished speaking, a few unfamiliar men stepped forward from the crowd, nodding in agreement. I stared at my smug little sister, a profound sense of absurdity washing over me. Was she actually saving my life, or was she just desperate to steal my misfortune? Finn watched me with a mocking, half-smile, his eyes completely cold. “Your name is Nora? You have decent looks, but did you really think you could play me by stealing Sienna’s credit? A woman like you doesn’t deserve to be my savior.” He turned to face the reporters, speaking with absolute authority. “I have personally verified that Sienna is my true savior. Her sister, Nora, is a deceitful opportunist who tried to steal her credit. She has absolutely nothing to do with me.” He then turned back to Sienna, his gaze softening into a look of deep affection as he dropped to one knee. “From the moment you saved me, I fell in love with you. Sienna, will you marry me?” Watching the two of them act out this ridiculous melodrama, my heart didn’t even skip a beat. Normally, anyone would be driven mad by such a betrayal, screaming and begging to prove their innocence. But not me. I was thrilled to let her have him, eager to sever all ties with this monster. Still, the sheer coldness of my family’s betrayal stung. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, my parents grabbed my arms, holding me back with bruising force. My father lowered his voice, his tone dripping with impatience and embarrassment. “Nora, you aren’t his savior. Stop lying to yourself. Trying to slander your sister at a time like this, have you no shame?” I wanted to say something, to give my sister one last chance to back out of this grave she was digging, but my mother yanked me away, dragging me to the very edge of the crowd. 2 Sienna stood beside Finn, her meticulously applied makeup catching the camera flashes. She looked at me like a victorious queen sneering at a beggar. “See? No one is going to listen to you,” she whispered in my ear, her voice dripping with malice. “I am the one marrying into the most powerful family in the city. Play nice and keep your mouth shut, or I’ll make sure you can’t survive in this town.” Ah, so she truly believed I had hit the jackpot in my last life and wanted to snatch my fortune. Well, who was I to deny her? The sheer joy bubbling up inside me was almost impossible to contain, but I forced my head down, hiding the massive grin threatening to split my face. When I finally looked up, I forced a look of desperate, wild fury onto my face. “This is a setup! Sienna, you claim I was throwing myself at men in a club that night instead of saving him? Where is your proof?” My face was flushed, and I trembled with theatrical rage. Sienna glanced at the media, a smug grin playing on her lips. “Proof? I have eyewitnesses.” The reporters and onlookers pressed closer, trapping me in the center. Two heavily styled strangers stepped out from the crowd, immediately grabbing my arms with dramatic distress. “Nora, you can’t just pretend we don’t exist!” I shoved them off. “I don’t even know who you are! Stop lying!” The two immediately burst into tears for the cameras. “How can you be so heartless? We spent the entire night together in that VIP booth. We did everything there is to do, and now you’re acting like we’re strangers!” Whispers broke out among the onlookers. “She looks so innocent, but she’s actually so wild.” “No wonder she tried to steal her sister’s fiancé. She’s just a social climber.” I took a deep breath, feigning desperate defense. “I drove Finn to the hospital myself that night. The security cameras must have caught my face. How could I have been at a club?” Sienna let out a soft laugh. “Oh, didn’t you know? The hospital’s security footage from that night has been completely erased.” “That’s impossible! Medical records are kept for years.” “If you don’t believe me, call them yourself,” Sienna challenged, crossing her arms. I quickly dialed the hospital’s reception, my voice shaking with realistic panic. “Hello, could you please check the security footage from a week ago?” “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’ve had a massive system crash. All of our video archives from the past month have been completely wiped.” My fingers grew cold, but I pressed on. “What about the physical paperwork? There must be a registration sheet with my signature on it.” There was a brief pause on the line. “I’m so sorry, but there was a localized electrical fire in our records department a few days ago. The physical charts were destroyed.” As I hung up, Sienna’s smile widened. “See? No signatures, no footage. You have nothing.” “Even if the records are gone, the attending doctors and nurses can testify for me!” Sienna clapped her hands in mock amusement, signaling her assistant to bring out several documents. “Oh, I forgot to mention. The medical team you’re talking about? They’ve all resigned and left the city.” 3 Sienna let out a theatrical sigh. I turned my gaze toward my parents, the people I should have been able to trust most. They quickly looked away, unable to meet my eyes. Beautiful. Just beautiful. It wasn’t just my sister. Even my parents were in on the plot. I clenched my fists, letting my fingernails dig into my palms. Everything was too perfect. Every step calculated, every detail engineered to leave me absolutely no way out. The two hired actors stepped close again, trying to grab my shoulders. “Nora, just admit it…” “Get away from me!” I snapped, my voice sharp enough to silence the room. The two jumped back in surprise, and Sienna’s smile faltered for a second. I scanned the crowd until I found a familiar face. “Penny, come here.” Penny was my closest friend. Since the day we met, we had been inseparable. I had defended her from bullies, bailed her out of trouble, and supported her through every low point in her life. But I hadn’t missed the guilty glance she exchanged with Sienna earlier. She slowly walked over, her chin pressed against her chest, utterly refusing to look me in the eye. Sienna smirked. “Go ahead, Penny. Tell everyone where Nora was that night. Did she save Finn?” Penny kept her eyes on the floor, her voice quiet but clear. “Nora didn’t save anyone. She was at the club with us the entire night. I watched her walk into the club myself. She was nowhere near the alley where Finn collapsed. This entire savior story is a complete lie she made up.” The crowd erupted into furious whispers. I let out a bitter, mocking laugh. “Penny, I treated you like a sister for years. Is this how you pay me back?” She finally looked up, her eyes rimmed with red, though her words remained sharp. “Nora, I just can’t lie for you anymore. Sienna is the one who saved Finn. I can’t let you keep deceiving everyone.” Sienna patted her shoulder consolingly. “Thank you for telling the truth, Penny.” I looked at the two of them, shaking my head. “Betraying me for a payout… you people really have no shame. You, and you, and every single person standing here, remember this day.” None of them cared. Penny looked relieved that her part was done, while Sienna stepped forward, her eyes locked on my hand. “Stop stalling and give me the watch you stole from me.” I squeezed the luxury watch in my hand, my knuckles turning white. It was the token Finn had forced on me, and now they were fighting like dogs over it. Sienna sneered. “Cut the crap and hand it over!” With tears stinging my eyes and a look of utter defeat, I threw the watch onto the gravel before her. Sienna snatched it up immediately, cradling it like a treasure. I turned around and began walking away. Sienna jeered behind me, her voice dripping with triumph. “You’re nothing after all, Nora!” I paused, slowly turning my head to give her one last cold, penetrating look. “You have no idea what kind of monster you’ve just bought. When you finally see his true face, don’t regret it. And don’t you dare come begging for my help.”

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Luke proposed eight times. Each time, disaster struck. His friends sneered I was a jinx, our fates doomed to clash. Determined the ninth would be perfect, I came early to check everything myself. Instead, I found him cornering his secretary, his voice hard. “When you took my mother’s fifty-million-dollar payoff and left, did you think I wouldn’t marry?” “You’ve sabotaged my proposals over and over. Did you really think I’d play this game forever?” Someone whistled. “Luke, stop acting. You’ve humored her eight times already.” “What’s the drama today? If this fails, Nora will cry herself sick. Don’t you feel bad?” Luke laughed, unbothered. “Of course I do.” “But she’s sweet, easy to comfort. Even now, pregnant, a few kind words have her dreaming of the next proposal.” He looked at Sienna, eyes soft with unmistakable affection. “Not like some people—heartless. One fight and they vanish, forgetting everything.” “So tell me, whose feelings come first?” Their laughter stung my eyes with tears. I wasn’t a jinx. Those disasters weren’t accidents. Play your games with her, Luke. I don’t want your proposal anymore. 01 The event planner, who had just rushed over, greeted me with a warm smile. “Miss Nora? Why are you standing out here? Why aren’t you going inside?” She enthusiastically ushered me right to Luke’s side, then turned to her staff to bark out orders. “Everyone, get to your positions! The ceremony is starting now.” A delicate white veil was draped over my head. I stood there, watching Luke walk toward me step by step, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers. This time, the helium balloons didn’t suddenly explode like they did during the first proposal, setting my dress on fire and leaving me with painful burns. The heavy backdrop wall didn’t collapse and crush my arm into a fracture, repeating the disaster of the second proposal. And there was no random drunkard rushing in from nowhere to tackle me to the ground, trying to tear my gown off in a manic frenzy. Everything was going flawlessly. Luke slowly sank to one knee before me, his eyes glistening with what looked like genuine, emotional tears. My rational mind screamed at me to wake up, but hope still clawed its way up like wild weeds. What if, just this once… But in the very next second, every illusion shattered into pieces. The massive banner hanging from the ceiling unfurled: Sienna, marry me! The giant LED screens began scrolling through a montage of romantic photos. It wasn’t me. It was Sienna. Her radiant smile in those pictures felt like a physical slap to my face. Luke glanced up casually, his voice remarkably dismissive. “I’m so sorry, Nora. It looks like another mishap. We can’t go on with the proposal today. The new secretary is young and careless. I’ll make sure to reprimand her later.” Always the exact same excuse. Only today did I learn that Sienna wasn’t just some newly hired secretary. She was the first love Luke could never truly let go of. Obsessed with his past, he turned a blind eye to her sabotage. He even enabled her, letting her ruin my hopes over and over again without consequence. Even during the last proposal, when I was trapped in a sudden fire and nearly suffocated to death, Luke had brushed it off with a casual, “She didn’t mean to do it.” I stood there in complete silence. I didn’t try to salvage this “accident” like I always used to. Luke raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, then patted the back of my hand to comfort me. “Since the setup is already ruined anyway, we might as well roll with it. I’ll just go through the ceremony with someone else today. Think of it as a dress rehearsal so I can get a feel for the real thing.” The crowd fell into a stunned silence. Guests exchanged uneasy glances until one of his friends finally spoke up. “Luke, the other accidents were one thing, but swapping the bride on the fly today… isn’t that crossing the line a bit?” Even outsiders realized how messed up this was. I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat and looked up at Luke, desperately searching his face for even a flicker of guilt. But he only paused for a fraction of a second before dismissing it. “Don’t worry, it’s just a rehearsal for the real deal. The actual proposal will be yours, I promise. And it’ll be way grander than this.” Without another ounce of hesitation, he turned around with the ring in hand, walked over to Sienna, and dropped to one knee. Sienna let out a gasp of delight and threw herself into Luke’s arms, her voice trembling with excitement. “Yes! A thousand times yes! Ten whole years… I’ve finally waited long enough for this.” Instantly, waves of mocking and pitiful stares shifted toward me. I sniffled, forcing my burning tears back. That diamond ring, the one Luke had spent months refining with a custom designer specifically for me, was now being carefully slid onto Sienna’s ring finger. “It’s just a ring, Nora. Don’t be petty,” Luke murmured, catching my gaze. “Your favorite designer just launched a new collection. I’ll have someone buy you the best piece tonight, and I’ll make sure you love it for our real proposal. Out with the old, in with the new. You deserve better anyway.” Watching Luke hold Sienna close amidst the cheers and wolf whistles of the crowd, I felt as if I were looking at a complete stranger. I forced myself to look away and nodded slowly. “You’re right. I do deserve better.” I paused, my voice steady. “Luke, we’re done. Let’s break up.” 02 The celebratory fireworks launched into the night sky, their thunderous booms completely drowning out my quiet voice. Luke frowned, leaning slightly toward me. “What did you say, Nora?” Before I could repeat myself, someone shoved Sienna forward, sending her stumbling directly into Luke’s arms. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her to steady her. The crowd surged forward, and someone yelled at the top of their lungs, “Kiss her! Kiss her!” Luke’s best friends winked and nudged him. “Come on, man, don’t waste this chance! Make up for all those lost years tonight!” Sienna blushed crimson, looking up at Luke with breathless anticipation. Nearby, guests and bystanders raised their phones, eager to capture the romantic moment. Luke turned back to me, his expression laced with mock helplessness. “What should I do? Everyone is putting me on the spot… If I don’t go along with it, the rumors will ruin Sienna’s reputation by tomorrow. She’s my employee, after all. I have to protect her.” Listening to his pathetic, paper-thin excuses, I felt nothing but a hollow sense of absurdity. When I was the one subjected to public humiliation and branded a curse, Luke had never cared. But when it came to his precious first love, he couldn’t bear to let her suffer even a second of discomfort. “Do whatever you want,” I said, offering him a faint smile. “A reunion like this is quite beautiful, isn’t isn’t?” Luke froze, seemingly unsettled by my lack of anger. “What are you talking about? It’s just a show for the crowd. Be good, Nora. You’ve always been the sensible one. Just give me a little time, and as soon as this is over, I’ll take you home.” I didn’t bother replying. I turned around and let myself fade into the bustling, noisy crowd. The romantic music I had personally selected reached its swelling crescendo. Under a shower of red rose petals I had spent weeks organizing, Luke and Sienna shared a passionate kiss. I joined the crowd, clapping along like a detached spectator. Someone gently nudged my elbow and offered me a tissue. “Did the romance make you cry too? I heard they were high school sweethearts. They lost touch for five years and only just found each other again. Apparently, when she broke up with him back then, he went absolutely wild with rage. The very next day, on Valentine’s Day, he hooked up with some random girl just to spite her.” Five years. Valentine’s Day. No wonder his friends had looked at me with such bizarre, pitying expressions when Luke first introduced me as his girlfriend. Some of them had swallowed their words; others had snickered behind my back. They had even set up a betting pool on how many days it would take for Luke to dump me. To them, I was nothing but a rebound, a “random girl” chosen to fill a void. The woman beside me kept babbling on. I quickly wiped my face, entirely uninterested in hearing a stranger gush over the fairytale reunion of my boyfriend and his soulmate. Muttering a quick thank-you, I spun on my heel and walked out. As I waited for a cab, the clouds finally broke, and a heavy downpour began to drench the streets. I spotted a single remaining umbrella in the venue’s rack. Just as my fingertips brushed the cold handle, a large hand snatched it away. “Sorry, Nora. Sienna has a weak constitution, and the rain is freezing. I can’t let her catch a cold.” I looked up in shock, only to see Luke’s retreating back. He didn’t even spare me a passing glance. Through the thick curtain of rain, I watched Luke open the umbrella, keeping it entirely over Sienna as they walked away. Perhaps sensing my gaze, he paused and looked back. Our eyes met. Luke hesitated, his gaze shifting uncomfortably between me and Sienna. “Nora, go find somewhere dry to wait. I’ll drop her off at the hotel lobby and come right back for you.” Before I could even open my mouth, he turned his back on me again and guided Sienna into the warmth. Inside the cab, my phone buzzed incessantly. Luke: Why did you head home on your own? The guys are hammered and won’t let me leave. I’m stuck here. Luke: Don’t be petty, babe. Go take a hot shower and get some sleep. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll make sure to be on time for your OB-GYN appointment tomorrow. I blocked his number immediately. Almost instantly, a call from my mother flashed on the screen. “Now that you’ve finally come to your senses, clean up your mess quickly,” she said, her voice crisp and businesslike. “Come back home. It’s time to prepare for your marriage alliance with the Harrington family.” 03 The morning sun was already filtering through the blinds when Luke finally stumbled back, reeking of alcohol. “Babe, why did you block me? Sienna and I… there’s really nothing going on between us.” As he bent over to hug me, a box of condoms slipped out of his coat pocket and clattered onto the hardwood floor. Luke didn’t even blink. He casually picked the box up and tossed it into the trash can. “The guys shoved those into my pocket last night. Annoying as hell. Don’t overthink it.” A torn plastic wrapper peeking out from his pocket. A fresh, raw bite mark on the web of his hand. Even asking questions felt like an exhausting waste of breath. I closed my eyes in deep fatigue. Luke finally noticed something was wrong. He reached out to touch my forehead. “Why are you burning up?” Dizzy and weak, I propped myself up and leaned back, deliberately carving out space between us. “I got soaked in a freezing downpour. Catching a fever is only natural, isn’t it? Oh, by the way… how was your night with Sienna at the boutique hotel?” Luke’s face darkened, his drunken haze instantly vanishing. “Were you spying on me?” I didn’t need to. Someone had been eager to ensure I knew, sending me the video directly to my phone. Luke yanked at his tie in frustration, looking at me as if I were the one causing trouble. “It was just a joke! The guys booked the room for laughs. The atmosphere got a bit carried away, so we just played along for the final part of the rehearsal. It’s not a big deal. Why do you always have to make a mountain out of a molehill? Aren’t you tired of this?” Swapping the bride was an accident. Getting a hotel room with his ex was a rehearsal. I stared at Luke, feeling a cold, hollow amusement. Amusement at his pathetic lies, and at myself for wasting five years on this man. The bedroom fell into a suffocating silence until his phone rang. The ringtone, customized specifically for Sienna, was high-pitched and grating. “Luke, I’m so stupid,” she whimpered over the speaker, her voice dripping with tears. “I can’t do anything right. I was just cutting some fruit and sliced my finger open. It won’t stop bleeding… I don’t know what to do.” Maybe it was the fever clouding my mind, or perhaps it was the sudden, fluttering sensation of the baby kicking for the very first time. I reached out and weakly caught the hem of Luke’s shirt. “Can you stay?” I heard my own voice, nasal and desperate, attempting to threaten him in a way I had once thoroughly despised. I just wanted to give our five years one final, desperate chance. “If you walk out that door, I’m terminating the pregnancy.” Luke stared down at my pale face. A trace of memory flickered in his eyes, replaced quickly by a smug, mocking smirk. “Cut the act, Nora.” He paused, his voice ringing with absolute certainty. “We both know how hard it was to get this baby. You really expect me to believe you’d throw that away?” So he did remember. The endless hormone injections. The cold, sterile operating table for the egg retrieval. The three miscarriages we fought through just to keep this one pregnancy viable. I never imagined that my physical agony would one day become the leverage he used to mock me. “That’s enough,” he sighed, patting my hand dismissively. “I promise the real proposal will go off without a hitch. Just stop throwing tantrums, okay?” Before he could finish, I spoke in a quiet, deadpan voice. “There won’t be a next time, Luke. Tomorrow, I’m going to the clinic…” But he didn’t even have the patience to let me finish. Snatching his car keys, he mumbled a distracted reply. “Tomorrow? Did they reschedule the ultrasound? Look, if you’re feeling sick from the fever, call the driver to take you. I really have to go check on Sienna.” I watched his retreating back as he rushed out, not even taking the time to put his shoes on properly. In the empty, silent room, I whispered the words I hadn’t finished. “To get an abortion… and then we are done forever.” A few minutes later, my screen lit up with a text message from the same unknown number. So sorry, sweetie. I accidentally nicked my finger, and he just had to drop everything to rush over to me. Attached was a photo of Luke, kneeling at her feet, his expression entirely focused as he carefully wrapped a band-aid around her finger. Ignoring Sienna’s petty provocation, I opened my contacts and sent a message to my doctor. Help me book the earliest termination procedure possible. 04 Once Luke was gone, any trace of sleepiness vanished. I got out of bed and began packing my things. The skincare products, the jewelry, the designer clothes… everything Luke had gifted me over the last five years. After a moment’s thought, I left them all behind. Aside from my passport, ID, and the two simple outfits I had brought with me when I first moved in, I took absolutely nothing. The matching toothbrushes, the couples’ slippers, the custom mugs… everything that tied me to him went straight into the trash. It wasn’t an act of petty anger. It just felt wrong to leave them there, mocking what we used to be. I tore out the pages of our five-year relationship journal, feeding them sheet by sheet into the paper shredder. I was never one to dwell on the past. Once I decided to move forward, I would never look back. I had just booked a hotel room and was heading for the door when the lock clicked. Luke walked in. One of his hands was wrapped tightly around Sienna’s, while the other wheeled a bright pink suitcase. The moment his eyes landed on me, he dropped Sienna’s hand as if he’d been burned. A flash of irritation crossed his face. “Why are you still awake? It’s late. Look, Sienna… she had too much to drink, and there’s no one at her place to look after her.” I didn’t look at him. I knelt down to lace up my shoes. “Oh, that works out perfectly then. I’m leaving, so she can have my spot.” Only then did Luke notice the suitcase standing beside me. He froze, then rubbed his temples in frustration, his voice heavy with exhaustion. “Nora, can you please not add to the drama? Dealing with Sienna has already drained me. I’m just letting her stay the night. Is it really necessary to throw a fit and threaten to move out? What is wrong with you?” Before I could reply, Sienna raised her head from Luke’s chest, her eyes glassy with alcohol. Her gaze locked onto my slightly rounded belly, and tears welled up in her eyes. “You bitch!” she shrieked. “You’re only keeping Luke trapped because of that baby! That’s why he won’t come back to me!” Startled by her sudden mania, I frowned and took a step back. “What are you doing?” Before the words could fully leave my mouth, she lunged at me, raising her hand to strike. I reached out to grab her wrist to defend myself, but a massive hand clamped down hard on my arm, pinning me in place. Slap! My head whipped to the side, and a sharp, burning pain bloomed across my cheek. A fleeting look of regret crossed Luke’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “Sienna’s mother just passed away, Nora. Her mental state is fragile right now. She can’t take any triggers. Just… let her get it out of her system. Bear with it for a moment, okay?” A thin trickle of blood seeped from the corner of my mouth. I tried to speak, but the movement stung, forcing involuntary tears to slip down my face. My hand trembled, and the folded paper containing my clinical appointment slipped from my fingers, fluttering onto the floor. Luke’s eyes darted to it, catching the words OB-GYN Clinic before I quickly snatched it back up. “So you booked your ultrasound for tomorrow?” The tension in his brow melted away, replaced by a confident chuckle. He was absolutely certain that my departure was just a childish bluff. “Look, if you really need space, go stay at a hotel for a couple of days. Send me the address and the appointment time. I’ll drive you tomorrow.” Without waiting for my response, he guided Sienna toward the master bedroom, never once looking back. The next morning, the aggressive buzzing of Luke’s phone woke him up. Friend: Damn, Luke, you’re a legend! Spending the night drinking with your ex, and now you’re up early to play the doting father at Nora’s ultrasound? Respect. Luke frowned in confusion, but before he could type a reply, another message flashed on the screen. Friend: Holy shit, dude, what is going on? Did you bring Nora here to get an abortion? The moment Luke opened the attached video, his phone slipped from his hand and crashed onto the floor. Every ounce of color drained from his face.

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1 Before her death, my mother left me three matches. She said they could pull me through time’s currents. I used the first at a corporate gala when Dominic was drugged. I stayed close, kept him from the spiked drinks, and ensured no other woman stood a chance. Our marriage became flawless, life moving exactly as it should. I let my guard down, becoming the envied Mrs. Blackwell. Then came the crash. Dominic shielded me with his body, taking the full force of steel and glass. He died on the operating table. I struck the second match without hesitation, rewriting his fate to avoid that moment. I thought I would never need the third. We were meant to be forever. Until he tossed an ultrasound photo onto the coffee table. The world tilted. His voice was ice. “Jade is four months along. It’s my son.” The ringing in my ears drowned everything out. He spoke without warmth. “Surviving that crash was a sign. God gave me a second chance to be with my true soulmate. You keep the Blackwell name, but don’t touch Jade.” The matchbox in my pocket bit into my palm, sharp enough to draw blood. I didn’t know how he remembered the crash. But he clearly didn’t think I held the power over time. The hospital’s air conditioning sent a violent shiver through my spine. I forced the question out of my throat. “Why?” Dominic’s expression softened, but not for me. “Jade isn’t like you. She grew up with nothing. She’s fragile, she needs security. This baby is her shield, and it’s my promise to her. Besides, we’ve been together for fifteen… no, five years. Touching you now feels as exciting as my left hand touching my right.” I caught his slip of the tongue immediately. In my original life, I discovered his affair with his secretary in our tenth year of marriage. Our child was five years old then. He had slit his own wrists, writing me a letter in his own blood, claiming he had been drugged and only stayed with her out of a sense of forced responsibility. He had transferred all his assets to me in a show of “remorse.” In my panic back then, I used the first match to go back to our fifth year. But he just said fifteen years. I fought back the tremor in my chest. “So, she’s the love of your life.” Dominic leaned back, looking bored. “Yeah. You might not believe this, but every time I’m at death’s door, I wake up in the past. You? You’re tough. You don’t need security. You were ready to elope with me right after graduation. You even stole your family’s legal documents just to marry me. Sloane, you’ve always been cheap.” I clutched my chest. A sudden, sharp pain flared beneath my ribs, forcing me to double over. After high school graduation, we had a plan to run away together. But that night, he never showed up at our meeting spot. My parents found me instead. When I confronted him later, Dominic’s eyes were red as he held me. “Sloane, your father was right. We’re too young. We can’t support a ‘forever’ yet. Just give me some time. I’ll give you the world. I’ll take you away properly, with my head held high.” I was furious at his broken promise. I froze him out. Even though we went to the same university, I treated him like a ghost. But in our second year, he started a tech company with some friends and actually made a fortune. He showed up at my father’s house with a mountain of cash to ask for my hand. My father still refused. Dominic just smiled, said nothing, and went back to making more money. I was the one who snapped. I stole my birth certificate and passport, and we eloped to the courthouse. He was working for our future, and I was willing to burn every bridge to stand by him. Dominic looked at me with pure vitriol. “You can ask for a divorce if you want. But just remember, your mother’s experimental cancer treatments? You’ll be paying for those yourself.” His phone rang. He answered it and walked away without a backward glance. I touched my heart. Can a man truly become this heartless once the love dies? After my mother found out he was an orphan, she stepped in and treated him like her own son. She lived in our villa, taking care of us. When people whispered that he was a “nobody” with no family, my mother would chase them down the street with a kitchen spatula. And yet, no matter how many times I reset the clock, my mother always ended up with cancer. I stood up and chased after him. I was the one who pulled him back! I was the one who saved his life! How dare he betray me again! The scent of wet pavement and rain filled the air. Outside the hospital, Jade was standing there, her feet tucked into Dominic’s oversized designer shoes, her arms wrapped around his neck. “The baby and I have been waiting forever!” she pouted. “You’re late. You better buy me something amazing to make up for it!” Dominic’s lips curled into a genuine smile. “I heard there’s a stunning jewelry set coming up at the Sotheby’s auction. I’ll have my assistant bid on it for you.” My feet felt like they were nailed to the floor. I watched as Dominic kissed her, and when she pulled away, he leaned in to chase her lips again. I realized then that we hadn’t been that intimate in years. Since the honeymoon, we stopped kissing. The most we ever shared was a dry peck on the cheek. I pulled out my final match. The freezing rain couldn’t clear the fog in my mind. Where could I go now? To what point in our lives? Dominic’s betrayal seemed like an inevitability, a fixed point in time. But my mother’s cancer was under control in this timeline. She wouldn’t die in agony like she did the first time. Was it worth resetting? Two nurses walked past me, their voices filled with gossip. “I heard he sleeps in the same bed as that Miss Jade every single night just to give her ‘security.’ He’s desperate for that baby.” “That’s nothing. Last week, she called him a ‘dirty dog’ because of his wife, and he actually made the doctors give him a chemical peel and full-body scrub just to ‘cleanse’ himself for her! He’s obsessed.” “I heard she liked the original villa the wife lives in, so he told the wife he had to sell it for ‘business investments’ just to kick her out. Now he’s putting the wife in some cramped apartment near the clinic.” I felt a jolt go through my soul. A year ago, Dominic told me his company needed to expand. He said he was short on cash. I couldn’t stand seeing him drown his stress in alcohol at business dinners, so I suggested we sell our wedding home. We moved into a rental near the hospital to make it easier to care for my mother. I had been so heartbroken to leave that house. Dominic had held me, promising he’d buy me a sprawling estate once the money started flowing back in. I didn’t want him to struggle. I used my father’s inheritance to pay for our daily expenses while I worked a grueling 9-to-5. The nurses’ voices drifted further away. “He even opened a flower shop for her right across from the hospital!” I looked through the veil of rain at the flower shop across the street. A bitter, hollow laugh escaped my lips as tears finally began to fall. I went there every morning to buy a bouquet. The clerk told me the owner was a close friend of Dominic’s and always gave me a discount. When I told Dominic, his eyes had flickered with something I couldn’t read, and he just vaguely nodded. I pushed open the door to the shop. The clerk recognized me instantly. “You were here this morning. Another bouquet already?” I looked around the shop. From the lighting to the placement of the sink. The specific model of the flower fridge. It was all hauntingly familiar. When we first started dating, Dominic asked me what I’d do if money wasn’t an issue. I told him I wanted to open a flower shop. I had shown him a stack of sketches, my dream since middle school. My father had called it a “useless hobby,” but Dominic had helped me refine the designs. But after graduation, I was too busy being his social proxy, entertaining other wives, managing his household, and working my own job. I never had the energy for my own dreams again. Rage bubbled in my throat. The clerk suddenly whispered, “Did you do something to offend our boss?” “What do you mean?” “I’m just saying, maybe you should apologize. It’s not good for a sick person to breathe in flowers that have been treated with those specific chemicals every day. It’s bad for the lungs.” I dug my nails into my palms. “What chemicals?” The clerk checked the security camera on the wall, then pulled me into a corner. “The kind that triggers chronic inflammation and allergies. The boss told me you tried to drug her husband and get pregnant on purpose. She said her husband was smart enough to trick you with a fake marriage certificate. He even hired someone to stage a ‘fender bender’ to get rid of your ‘mistake’ of a pregnancy.” “But you don’t seem like that kind of person. You always bring me those homemade sweets.” I thought of the ultrasound I lost. I grabbed the clerk’s hand, my grip like a vice. “Last May, was your boss vacationing in the Swiss Alps?” The clerk nodded. “Yeah. Her husband takes her abroad every month because she loves it. Apparently, he met her at a club right after he finished college and he’s been taking care of her ever since.” The world turned gray. I leaned against the wall for support. Last April, I was in a car crash. I had gone through thousands of hormonal injections to finally succeed with IVF. And just like that, the baby was gone. I had called Dominic a hundred times. He was in Switzerland, claiming a client was being difficult and wouldn’t let him leave. When I finally saw him after my recovery, I had screamed at him, asking why he wasn’t there when I needed him most. He had acted so repentant back then. He stayed by my side, helping me crawl out of my depression. Now I realized he had been with Jade the whole time. I was just too blind to see it. I pulled out my phone and sent a photo of my “marriage certificate” to a lawyer friend. The reply came back instantly. It’s a fake, Sloane. A high-quality forgery, but it wouldn’t hold up in any court. Who would even dare to pull this kind of stunt? That was the final blow. Every reset, every sacrifice, was a joke I played on myself. I was the fool who kept paying for her own destruction. Even the last flicker of hope vanished. I knew exactly which moment I had to go back to. I sat by my mother’s bedside until the sun began to peek over the horizon. My mother opened her eyes, groaning in pain. “Mom,” I whispered, my eyes burning. “If I go back again, will you still have to suffer?” As if we were linked by a thread of fate, she didn’t ask why. She just reached out and touched my hand. “Next time, I’ll tell you where those matches really came from.” I went back to the villa he had “sold.” I wanted to ask him why. I loved him clearly, and I wanted to leave him with no questions left. The old housekeeper was still there. Every detail of my life was a lie. Everyone knew about them except for me. I placed the photo of the fake marriage certificate on the table. “Why?” Why stay with me? Why not just tell me the truth? Why kill our child? Why let Jade poison me with those flowers? Dominic’s pupils shrunken. He didn’t expect me to find out. His fingers curled into a fist. “You were a perfect wife,” he said. “But I wanted Jade to be a princess. I wanted her to never have to worry about anything. During that year we were ‘fighting’ in college, she was the one comforting me, giving me ideas on how to win you back. The flowers, the jewelry, the sweet talk… she taught me all of it.” “She told me she loved me, but she was too ashamed because her father had sold her to a club to pay off his debts. On our wedding night, when I told you I was ‘busy’ at the office? I was at the club, buying her out. She’s cleaner than you, Sloane. She doesn’t throw herself at men like you did.” “And that divorce agreement? I slipped it into the paperwork when we ‘sold’ the house. You’ve already signed it.” Nausea surged in my gut. I remembered the night we eloped. He had cried, promising me everything. He bought me a diamond ring with his last cent. I thought I saw love in his eyes back then. I looked at him, my voice a mere whisper. “You’re disgusting.” Dominic sighed and tried to take my hand. “Sloane, you’ve always been sensible. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.” But all I got from him was pain, lies, and betrayal. This man I had lived with for fifteen years… his face was warping into a monster before my eyes. I pulled my hand back and turned to leave. I was done. Dominic stood up, looking frustrated. He grabbed my wrist with bruising force. “Who are you putting on this ‘victim’ act for? Do you think I don’t know what you were doing behind my back?” He threw a stack of photos in my face. I looked down at them. My face had been crudely photoshopped onto various bodies in compromising positions. “You were sleeping around while we were fighting in college! If Jade hadn’t shown me these, I’d still be in the dark! I loved you enough to marry you despite your filth!” I started to laugh. It was so absurd it was hysterical. I had wasted two matches on this man. I had let my mother suffer through cancer twice for this piece of trash. “Dominic,” I said, my voice steady. “You aren’t a fool, and neither am I. You could have hired a pro to check those photos. You could have called the cops. But you didn’t. You wanted me to be ‘guilty’ so your own disgusting behavior would seem justified. You wanted to be the hero in your own twisted story.” My phone rang. It was the nurse, her voice frantic. “Miss Whitmore! Come quickly! Miss Jade came into the room, and your mother has gone into shock!” I violently shook off Dominic’s grip. He grabbed me and shoved me toward his car. “You want to wait for an Uber? Your mother doesn’t have that kind of time!” I didn’t argue. My heart was thundering. I pushed open the hospital door to find Jade kneeling on the floor, looking terrified. “Sloane! I just tried to talk to her, and she started calling me a homewrecker! She tried to hit my stomach!” I walked past her, desperate to reach my mother. “Liar! A patient with stage four pancreatic cancer doesn’t have the strength to hit anyone!” Jade collapsed, clutching her belly, her face pale. Before I could say another word, a stinging pain exploded across my cheek. Dominic’s voice was lethal. “You couldn’t keep your own brat because of your lifestyle, so now you want to kill mine?!” I had just walked past her. But because it was Jade, it was my fault? The heart monitor let out a long, flat drone. Terror paralyzed me. I watched as Dominic scooped Jade up and ordered all the doctors to follow him. I stood in his way. “My mother is dying! Move! She took care of you for years! She cooked for you, she cleaned for you! She’d wake up at 2 AM just to make you soup when you were hungry!” Dominic looked at the bed, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. Jade let out a pained whimper in his arms. “The baby… is he okay?” Dominic signaled a doctor to take her. Then he turned to me. “Sloane, your mother’s cooking was trash. I never needed her help. A mother who raises a daughter as loose as you… she’s probably rotten to the core anyway.” The world turned into a blur of static. The doctors ignored my mother to follow him. My mother’s line stayed flat. I couldn’t stand. I fell to my knees. My hands were shaking as I pulled out the final match. The lighter flickered, but my tears kept dousing the flame. Finally, it caught. A sharp pain erupted on my scalp as someone grabbed my hair. “Miss Jade almost lost her baby because of you! Mr. Blackwell said to give you a lesson!” I didn’t fight back. I just watched the match burn on the floor. From the room next door, I heard Jade’s voice, thick with flirtation. “The doctor says the baby is stable now… we can celebrate, honey. I want you.” “Don’t you think it’s more exciting with Sloane and her dead mom listening next door?” Rage boiled over. I kicked the person holding me and grabbed a paring knife from the fruit basket. I didn’t think. I lunged. Dominic was there, his shirt unbuttoned, his chest marked with her hickeys. Jade gasped. Dominic instinctively moved to shield Jade. The blade sank deep into his chest. As Jade’s screams filled the room, the match in my hand burned down to my fingers. “Dominic,” I whispered. “I’m the one who controls the clock. This time, let’s go back to before we ran away.” Dominic’s face went white, his eyes wide with disbelief as the fire consumed the room.

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1 My long-distance boyfriend’s distant tone suddenly shifted. When I complained about the heat, he told me to shave my head. Asked about his post-grad plans, he said he wanted to see me in a sailor uniform in an empty classroom. I thought grad school stress had brought out a playful side. Walking in nervously, the lights snapped on. Asher’s lab partner Chloe yanked off my wig, revealing my buzz cut. The room exploded in laughter. “She actually shaved it!” Chloe shrieked. “Is that a sailor suit? Take off the jacket!” Camera flashes blinded me as phones recorded my humiliation. Then it hit me—for three years, those sweet messages weren’t from Asher. They were from Chloe. Tonight’s setup was just a bet to see how long it took me to notice. Asher looked disappointed in me. “Lab work’s exhausting. I let Chloe reply to keep you quiet,” he sighed. “How did you not realize it wasn’t me?” Something in me broke. The boy who once froze on his balcony fighting mosquitoes just to talk to me was gone. Our dream of studying abroad together died too. I’d have to chase it alone. “Evelyn, this has nothing to do with Chloe,” Asher continued, his voice void of any warmth. “You’re the one who needs to reflect on your absolute lack of common sense.” Using every ounce of strength I had, I clutched my jacket tightly across my chest and tried to push past the laughing crowd toward Chloe. Asher, who had been standing casually with his hands in his pockets, immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body. “I gave Chloe my phone. I specifically asked her to reply to your messages,” he stated firmly. “As for the sailor outfit and the buzz cut…” His brow furrowed in absolute disgust. “It was an incredibly obvious joke. I can’t believe you were stupid enough to fall for it.” My knuckles turned white as I gripped the fabric of my jacket. My throat completely closed up. I couldn’t force a single syllable out of my mouth. Three years of long-distance. I was studying in Chicago, and he was in Boston. A thousand miles apart. I had been entirely consumed by the illusion of a devoted boyfriend who always texted back immediately. How was I supposed to magically guess that the person on the other end of the screen wasn’t him? Seeing me trembling violently under the blinding flashes, Asher let out an annoyed sigh. He pulled off his varsity jacket and draped it over my shoulders. “Let’s go. Stop embarrassing yourself.” I took a step back, dodging his touch. His annoyance instantly deepened. “What? Are you enjoying having everyone stare at you?” Standing safely behind him, Chloe suddenly burst into a bright, innocent giggle. “Wow, Asher! It looks like your girlfriend really loves the kinky games I came up with! She wants to stay here and play with you.” “But honestly, I get it,” she smirked, her eyes glinting with malice. “Considering she almost got assaulted by her older cousin when she was little…” Chloe deliberately paused. The crowd instantly gasped, their eyes widening with morbid, excited curiosity. My blood ran completely cold. “Asher!” I stared at him, my voice cracking in absolute horror. “You… you told her about that?” My entire body shook uncontrollably. Yet, he just shrugged, completely unfazed. “Chloe wanted to win the bet, so she scrolled through our chat history to learn your texting style.” “I was just following the rules of the game. Are you seriously blaming me for that?” Chloe dramatically covered her mouth, feigning shock. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I totally forgot that was a deep, dark secret between you two.” “But hey, you know what they say. Flies don’t swarm a seamless egg. If you respected your own body, things like that wouldn’t happen to you. Just look at you right now…” She narrowed her eyes, scanning me up and down. “You’re clutching that jacket so tight. Do you even have clothes on underneath that sailor uniform?” The crowd, eager for more drama, instantly began jeering. “Yeah! If you’re wearing normal clothes, why are you so terrified to open the jacket?” “If you’re playing these freaky games in public, please don’t use our golden boy Asher as your backup plan.” Asher, who had defended Chloe seconds ago, remained completely silent. He stared down at me. The look in his eyes was unmistakable. He was questioning my loyalty over the last three years. I couldn’t endure the suffocating humiliation for another second. I aggressively ripped the zipper of my jacket all the way down. Asher panicked, lunging forward with his own coat to cover me. “Evelyn, stop throwing a tantrum!” But I wasn’t naked. I wasn’t wearing a sailor uniform. I reached inside my jacket and pulled out a small, warm paper bag of roasted chestnuts. The exact brand he casually mentioned he was craving a few days ago. A thousand miles. A five-hour flight. I had kept the bag pressed against my chest the entire trip so it wouldn’t get cold. Looking back now, Asher had always hated snacks. His sudden craving for roasted chestnuts was probably just another one of Chloe’s sick pranks to make me run like a dog. Beneath my jacket, I was wearing a perfectly ordinary, oversized t-shirt. My eyes stung with unshed tears. I met Asher’s completely stunned gaze. “I’m so sorry to disappoint you.” I shoved past him and bolted out the door. I wandered aimlessly through the massive campus for three hours. My best friend, Maya, called me from her dorm in London. “So? How did it go? Was the great golden boy absolutely shocked that you locked down two fully-funded PhD spots in Europe?” “I’ve got the champagne ready for when you guys get here!” I swallowed the massive lump in my throat and cut her off. “Maya. He’s not coming.” “What?! What did that bastard do?!” After I choked out the story, Maya exploded on the other end of the line, cursing him out. “You worked yourself to the bone for three years to build a future for both of you, and he’s playing psychological games with some little bitch?!” “Does he have any idea what you sacrificed to get two full rides?!” I took a deep, shaky breath. The tears finally spilled over. Right before my flight, the Dean of my university had called me into his private office. “If you go to Europe alone for your PhD, the university will cover all expenses and issue you an additional hundred-thousand-dollar educational grant.” “If you insist on bringing your boyfriend, you forfeit the grant and cover his tuition entirely out of your own pocket.” The Dean slid two acceptance letters across his desk, looking at me with deep sympathy. “Evelyn, I know you and your boyfriend grew up in poverty together. I know you view yourselves as childhood sweethearts fighting against the world.” “When you started grad school, you drained your entire savings account to send him to a prestigious ivy league, while you settled for a lower-tier program just because it offered a full ride.” “You finally secured this incredible opportunity. Some paths are meant to be walked alone. You’ll move much faster without the dead weight.” Sitting on a cold bench in the middle of campus, I finally understood what the Dean meant. “My flight is tomorrow at noon. I’m going alone.” After hanging up with Maya, I walked into a 24-hour print shop. I filled out the solo acceptance form, scanned it, and emailed it directly to the Dean. The moment I stepped out of the shop, I ran straight into Asher and Chloe. Asher instinctively reached out and grabbed the handle of my rolling suitcase. “The guys took the joke too far. I already scolded Chloe.” “Stop being mad, okay?” I looked up. Right on his collarbone, peaking out from his shirt, was a dark bite mark smeared with red lipstick. He noticed my gaze and casually rubbed his neck. “I lost a drinking game. It was just a tiny penalty.” Chloe stepped forward, pouting playfully as she twirled her car keys. “I’m really sorry, Evelyn.” “Grad school is just so boring and stressful. I just wanted to find a little entertainment. I didn’t mean any harm by it.” “Asher was just sacrificing his dignity to boost the team’s morale. Seriously, don’t overthink it.” I calmly pulled my suitcase out of his grip. “Why would I?” Asher glanced at his expensive watch. “It’s getting late. I’ll drop you off at your hotel so you can rest, and then Chloe and I are heading out for a lab dinner.” Realizing how that sounded, he quickly added, “It’s just a bunch of people you don’t know. You’d feel awkward and out of place.” Chloe smoothly looped her arm through his. “Yeah, Evelyn. It’s kind of an exclusive department thing. It’s not really appropriate to bring outsiders. I promise I’ll return Asher to you later tonight.” I smiled. But my lungs felt like they were being crushed in a vice. A few hours ago, I was surrounded by a mob of his friends, photographed, and treated like a circus animal for their entertainment. He didn’t think twice about my feelings then. But a simple dinner? Suddenly, I was an outsider. “No need.” “Asher. We’re done.” Under the pale streetlights, Asher’s footsteps abruptly stopped. He turned around. He looked at me, then glanced at the glowing screen of my laptop in my bag, where the sent email was still visible. He reached out and fondly ruffled my buzz-cut hair. “Are you really this jealous?” “It’s your last night here. I’ll come back to the hotel as soon as the dinner is over.” “Then we’ll pack our bags and fly to Paris together for our PhDs. No more long-distance, I promise.” He firmly believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would happily surrender my pride and abandon my dignity, just to stay by his side. Just like I always did. Without waiting for my response, and with Chloe tugging impatiently at his sleeve, he hailed a cab for me. “Go to the hotel. I’ll bring you takeout. If you’re tired, just go to sleep. Be good.” I didn’t get into the cab he hailed. I took my suitcase and caught a different ride directly to the airport hotel. After checking in, I had just finished my shower when my phone buzzed. It was a video from Asher’s number, followed by an emoji of a cat sticking its tongue out. I didn’t need to guess who actually sent it. I tapped play. The video showed Asher sitting at a crowded bar. His face and ears were flushed red from the alcohol. A group of his lab mates were surrounding the table, hyping him up. They were clearly playing Truth or Dare. “Come on, Ash! Tell the truth! Have you ever actually caught feelings for our little Chloe?” “You’re always protecting her in the lab. There’s no way there isn’t a spark there!” Under the intense peer pressure, and with Chloe staring at him with wide, adoring eyes, the untouchable, perfectly composed golden boy smiled. His voice was incredibly soft, dripping with indulgence. “Maybe… if Evelyn wasn’t in the picture… I would have fallen for Chloe.” He reached out and gently patted her head. “Chloe, once I’m not here to watch your back, you have to be more careful. Stop being so reckless.” “If you get stuck on a project, or if you’re just having a bad day, you can call me anytime.” He spoke every word with absolute, unwavering sincerity. The last time he looked at someone like that was during our senior year of high school. He had sat beside me, patiently explaining every single math problem on my practice test. “Evelyn, don’t rush through the equations. If you’re stuck, just ask me. I’m going to pull you forward, and we’re going to make it out of here together.” The golden sunset had spilled across our cheap wooden desks. The promises of youth were always so incredibly fierce. Back then, I genuinely believed we would conquer the world together. The crowd in the video erupted into applause. “Asher! What a gentleman!” Someone, fueled by liquid courage, screamed over the music. “Don’t leave any regrets! Kiss her! Kiss her!” Chloe, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, shyly stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips directly against Asher’s. After a second of absolute silence, the bar exploded. The guys screamed, their faces red with excitement. The person holding the phone was jumping up and down so hard the footage blurred. Chloe collapsed happily into Asher’s chest. “Asher, you promised to take me stargazing.” “Can we go tonight? Please?” In the final second of the video, Asher’s soft, barely audible response pierced straight through my chest. “Okay.” I clicked on Asher’s profile for the very last time. Delete. Block. Clean and simple. The next morning, I sat in the airport terminal, my suitcase by my side. An unknown number called me. It was Asher. “Evelyn. We drank way too much last night.” “Okay.” “I didn’t sleep with Chloe.” “Alright.” Asher’s tone instantly shifted to deep irritation. “What I mean is, we didn’t cross any lines. So why did you launch a malicious attack to destroy her life?” “Someone forwarded a video of the classroom incident to the HR department of her internship.” I paused. “Did it actually impact her job?” I could hear Chloe sobbing hysterically in the background. Asher’s voice was lethal. “What do you think?” “Evelyn, when did you turn into such a toxic, vindictive person?” “First of all, I didn’t send any video to anyone.” “Second, what exactly am I ‘turning into’?” The sheer audacity of his accusation was absurd. But Asher sounded like he had been holding this in for years. He unloaded on me without taking a breath. “You’re petty. You throw tantrums. You hold grudges.” “Ever since you landed in Boston, you’ve been acting bizarre. Like the entire world owes you an apology.” “You are going to withdraw that complaint from her internship right now, and you are going to issue a public apology to Chloe!” For the first time in my life, I felt absolute, crystal clarity. The final glowing ember of my love for Asher completely extinguished. “And if I refuse?” “Then I’ll use the exact same tactics to completely destroy your academic transcript.” “You can kiss your PhD in Paris goodbye, Evelyn.” A bitter, hollow laugh escaped my lips. From a tiny, broken-down elementary school in the mountains to standing in this international airport. No one knew exactly how much blood, sweat, and tears I sacrificed to get here better than Asher. And now, over a pathetic girl and an imaginary crime, he was threatening to burn my life to the ground. I shook my head at the absolute absurdity of it all. Asher wasn’t bluffing. He would absolutely try to ruin me. Unfortunately for him, the Dean had finalized the transfer of my academic records to the European university database last night. My silence only enraged him further. He gritted his teeth, delivering his ultimate ultimatum. “If you don’t fix this, I am going to Paris alone. You will never see me again.” “Are you absolutely sure you want to push me this far, Evelyn?” The intercom crackled, announcing the final boarding call for my flight. I stood up and walked toward the gate. “I am absolutely sure.” “Asher. I hope I never see your face again.” “Fine! Don’t you dare come crawling back tonight begging—” I hung up the phone before he could finish. Standing in the lab, Asher stared at his dark screen, a terrifying rage igniting in his chest. Chloe was weeping so hard she was hyperventilating. She aggressively stomped her foot and slumped into a chair. “It was just a harmless prank! Why is she trying to ruin my life?!” “It’s over! Now that HR has this complaint, no reputable firm is ever going to hire me!” Asher quickly wrapped an arm around her, typing frantically on his laptop. He was sending an urgent email to his faculty advisor, begging him to intervene and save Chloe’s internship. Three seconds later, the advisor replied with a single URL link. Suspected female grad student mercilessly bullies classmate; secretly recorded by janitor. Video goes viral. In the video, I looked utterly terrified and helpless, surrounded by a mocking crowd. Chloe’s arrogant, vicious face was in perfect focus. The internet was out for blood. Netizens were bombarding the university with thousands of formal complaints. A voice memo from his advisor played out loud, his tone dripping with absolute fury. “A janitor walking by filmed the whole thing and posted it on TikTok! The internet is furious. We’ve received over three hundred emails demanding disciplinary action!” “With this level of viral outrage, losing an internship is the least of Chloe’s problems.” “I heard the victim is your girlfriend. Asher, you better fix this disaster before the university gets involved.” Hearing the audio, Chloe immediately stopped crying. A look of massive relief washed over her face. “Asher, this is perfect!” “Just force her to film a clarification video. Make her tell everyone it was just a staged skit for a project!” Asher stared at the viral video playing on his laptop screen. The shaky, blurry footage made the reality of the situation painfully clear. It looked exactly like a pack of wolves cornering a wounded animal. The laughter echoing from the speakers suddenly sounded incredibly cruel. For some inexplicable reason, for the very first time in his life, a cold spike of pure panic pierced his heart. A flicker of genuine guilt flashed in his eyes. But Chloe was relentlessly tugging at his sleeve, demanding he act. He picked up his phone and dialed my number again. But this time, he was met with a cold, mechanical voice. “The number you have dialed has been disconnected…”

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