Category: English

I woke up during my ectopic pregnancy surgery. My eyes met My husband Ethan’s. As the lead surgeon, he showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, he spoke in an utterly calm tone: “Actually, you don’t have infertility issues. Four years ago, I performed a tubal ligation on you. This time, you didn’t have an ectopic pregnancy either. The baby was perfectly healthy, but I’ve already removed it.” A chill ran through my entire body. My eyes turned bloodshot. “Why?” His gaze remained unruffled: “My brother Nathan died in that boat accident. Nathan’s wife, Freya, has had a hard time establishing herself as a widow in the Hayes family. I gave her a child, so I couldn’t give one to you.” “Why tell me this now?” I demanded. Ethan said indifferently, “No particular reason. I’m just tired. I did everything I could to prevent pregnancy, yet you still got pregnant. It was annoying. I didn’t want to keep lying to you, so I deliberately adjusted the anesthesia dosage. Better that you know sooner.” With that, he continued suturing. The sensation of the needle piercing through my skin was unbearably clear. I moaned in pain continuously. He remained unmoved. Only when he finished did he speak leisurely. “The child is getting older and needs a father. I plan to become Freya’s real support. Divorce or maintain the status quo — your choice.” Seeing my tears, he paused briefly. “If you don’t divorce, I’ll take care of Freya from now on. Just don’t give her trouble.”

When I woke up, a dull pain throbbed in my lower abdomen. Only then did I realize that everything that happened in the operating room wasn’t a dream. And from the bed next to mine, increasingly loud moans filled my ears. “Ethan! Stop it, Eva’s still right there.” The only response was an even heavier gasp. That voice was all too familiar. Without a second thought, I ripped the IV needle from my hand. I stumbled out of bed and yanked open the curtain. On the other side, Freya’s clothes hung open at the chest, exposing a large expanse of skin. Ambiguous marks covered her skin. On her collarbone was a tattoo identical to Ethan’s. The woman’s face was flushed, her eyes hazy. The moment she saw me, she suddenly screamed. Frantically, she buried herself in Ethan’s arms. “Eva, don’t misunderstand, let me explain!” Ethan merely glanced at me casually, then leisurely helped Freya button her clothes. “I couldn’t help myself. Don’t blame her.” After his confession to me, Ethan was remarkably composed. He looked at Freya in his arms with utter adoration. Chuckling softly, he said, “Why be shy? We already have a three-year-old child.” Freya shyly pounded on Ethan’s chest again. She hurriedly finished dressing, then rushed over to me. She grabbed my hand. “Eva, listen to me.” I stared at the chaotic scene before me. The air still reeked heavily of sex. Freya’s panties lay at my feet. The exact same style. I clutched my chest as a metallic sweetness surged in my throat. Those were the birthday gift Freya had given me. Back then, she’d sworn confidently that if I wore them for Ethan, he would definitely love them. I’d been half-skeptical at the time, not understanding why Freya seemed more certain of Ethan’s preferences than I, his wife, was. Now I had my answer. One was my husband, the other my best friend. Having sex in front of my hospital bed. My mouth opened and closed. All words stuck in my throat, unable to form any sound. But the tears wouldn’t stop flowing. The moment Freya touched me, I violently shook her hand off. I screamed, “Don’t touch me! Disgusting!” Freya let herself fall to the ground, looking back at Ethan with hurt in her eyes. Then she looked at me and murmured, “Eva, we’ve been friends for so many years. Why won’t you even listen to my explanation? I have my reasons.” Ethan scooped Freya up in his arms, looking at me with cold indifference. But his voice was gentle as he comforted Freya, “Ignore her. You did nothing wrong.” Then he looked at me, completely emotionless. “I already told you everything in the operating room. If you can’t handle it, then divorce me.” With that, he carried Freya and strode out. I grabbed the thermos from the table and hurled it at him. “Ethan Hayes, I won’t divorce you!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “As long as I don’t divorce you, you’ll always be nothing but shameful adulterers!”

The shattering glass shards cut into Ethan’s arm. He acted as if he hadn’t noticed, instead anxiously asking Freya, “Are you hurt?” In that moment, countless images flashed through my mind. In the pouring rain, his umbrella always tilted toward Freya. Walking down the street, he always kept Freya on the inside. Even during a sudden fire, the person he instinctively protected was only Freya. Afterward, it was always just a casual, “She’s Freya, and she’s your good friend for many years.” Every word, every sentence showed that what he did hadn’t crossed any lines. He was just taking care of his widowed sister-in-law on behalf of his dead brother Nathan. Though I had my complaints, I refused to believe my husband could be involved with my best friend. Besides, Freya was the one who’d set me and Ethan up in the first place. Freya and I grew up together. We’d promised each other since childhood that even when we married, we’d marry into the same place and never be apart. So when she got together with Nathan Hayes, she introduced me to Nathan’s twin brother, Ethan. At first, I thought she was joking and kept my distance from Ethan. Until one time when I had a high fever. I called Freya, but Ethan showed up instead. He took care of me all night long. When I woke up, the usually dignified man had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was messy, almost comical. But my heart betrayed me anyway. After Freya got married, Ethan very suddenly proposed to me… A shadow fell across me, pulling me from my memories. Ethan held out a divorce agreement. “Sign it. You can have the house and car. I’ll give you half the assets too.” His hand was still bleeding, but he didn’t care at all. His eyes rested on Freya, who sat in a hospital chair, silently crying. His gaze was tender, gentle to the extreme. My heart clenched violently. It hurt so much I forgot to breathe. Just the night before surgery, he’d held me with that same gaze, that same tenderness, softly reassuring me. He’d said we’d have another baby in the future. But the next day, he tricked me onto the operating table and personally killed our child! I touched my flat stomach, trembling all over. Four years. Because I couldn’t have children, I endured Mrs. Hayes’s contempt and mockery from our social circle. I sought medical treatment everywhere. I drank countless bitter medicines, endured countless needles, all to have just one child. And everything I suffered was a gift from the man I loved most! The metallic sweetness surged in my throat again. I suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and everything went black. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Freya bustling around my hospital bed. Seeing me wake up, she rushed forward excitedly. “Eva, you’re awake?” She immediately ladled me a bowl of beef stew. “It’s good for your health. Drink up.” My fingers clutched the bedsheet tightly. My eyes grew hot and my vision instantly blurred. I couldn’t understand why, after sleeping with my husband just moments ago, she could act like nothing had happened. Chattering away as she brought the soup to my lips. “I let it cool. Drink up.” I lifted my head, unable to bear it any longer. I knocked the bowl away. “Get out!” The next second, a slap landed on my face.

My ears rang. Only when I tasted the metallic sweetness at the corner of my mouth did I realize what had happened. I stared blankly at the man before me. He was holding Freya’s hand, carefully inspecting it. When he looked at me, his eyes were full of disgust, as if looking at an enemy. “Do you know how much she cares about you? She spent four hours making that soup for you. Eva Carter, she’s your best friend.” I cried and laughed at the same time, pointing at both their faces. “Cares about me? Cares enough to sleep with my husband? That’s a best friend? That’s a shameless homewrecker!” Ethan said coldly, “You’ve got it backwards. Freya was the one who consummated the marriage with me on our wedding night. Based on the actual order of sexual relations, you’re the third party.” My mind went blank. I thought I’d misheard. I murmured, “What did you say?” Ethan continued unhurriedly, “I said Freya and I had sex on our wedding night. Annie was conceived then.” My soul felt stripped away. My memory returned to that wedding night. I nervously changed into the nightgown he liked, but he threw a blanket over me. Coldly saying, “Nathan just died. Don’t provoke Freya.” Then he left without looking back. At dawn, Mrs. Hayes discovered we hadn’t consummated the marriage. Her mental state was extremely unstable from losing her eldest son. She subjected me to family punishment for failing to continue the Hayes bloodline and not fulfilling my duty as a daughter-in-law. One hundred lashes fell solidly on my body. During that time, I called Ethan countless times. Every call went to a mechanical voicemail. So on my wedding night, while I was being beaten bloody, he was with my best friend, his Freya. Making love. Suddenly, a mouthful of blood spilled from my mouth. I covered my mouth, staring at the red in my palm. Somewhat dazed. Seeing this, Freya quickly pushed Ethan. “Stop talking!” Then she rushed forward to check on me. “Eva, are you okay? I’m sorry. On your wedding night, I missed Nathan so much, I —” Before she could finish, I pushed her away. I closed my eyes, steadying myself. Weakly, I said, “Get out.” Freya tried to say something more. I screamed, “Get out!” Ethan put his arm around Freya and left. At the door, he turned to look at me. “Freya’s pregnant again. From now on, I am Nathan Hayes, her husband who miraculously survived. And your husband, Ethan Hayes, went abroad for advanced medical training due to marital problems.” I trembled all over, watching their retreating backs. Proud Ethan was actually willing to live his entire life under someone else’s name for Freya’s sake. I lowered my eyes. Tears fell heavily, soaking the blanket. On my ring finger, I still wore the plain ring he’d made himself. Our names were engraved on it. He’d said this ring would witness our lifetime of happiness. Turns out, it was all an illusion. Ethan moved quickly. In just one day, news that Nathan Hayes had returned alive spread across the internet. And equally viral online was news about me. A wealthy wife abandoned after four years of failing to produce a child, so thoroughly despised by her husband that he’d rather flee the country than live with me. I watched Ethan, assuming his brother’s identity, appear publicly with Freya. He even announced he would make it up to Freya by giving her a wedding of the century, earning countless blessings. I also watched the internet’s overwhelming mockery and ridicule, clamoring for me to get lost. I suddenly smiled. I dialed an unfamiliar number. “Nathan, it’s time you came home.”

On the day I was discharged, Ethan surprisingly came to pick me up. He brought flowers and gifts. “Happy anniversary.” I wasn’t surprised he’d remember that today was our fourth wedding anniversary. After all, this day held “special meaning” for him and Freya too. I finally understood why, whenever we celebrated our wedding anniversary, he always suggested bringing Freya along. I calmly accepted what he handed me, neither arguing nor making a scene. We were harmonious, just like before. The ring on his finger had been replaced with the same style as Freya’s. He’d cut his hair short, truly transforming himself into Nathan Hayes. Ethan opened the passenger door for me. I’d already gotten into the back seat. He paused briefly, his tone gentle. “Sit up front.” As if the man who’d confessed his affair during surgery had never existed. I said flatly, “I’m used to the back seat. Just drive.” Usually when the three of us went out, because Freya got carsick, I voluntarily let her sit in front. And I naturally sat in the back. I was quiet, always silently listening to the two of them chatting and laughing up front. Once I accidentally fell asleep. They completely forgot about me in the back seat. When they got out, they locked me in the car. Afterward, Freya explained that Ethan had called her to help buy flowers to surprise me. She even teased me to cherish Ethan because he was a good man. But I recognized those flowers. I’d personally bought them for Freya’s house when she went on a trip. The car braked, interrupting my memories. Ethan didn’t move, watching me through the rearview mirror. “Today is my wedding with her.” I looked up. Ahead was a banquet hall. The man continued, “She says you’re her only friend. She wants you to be her bridesmaid. Your bridesmaid dress is in the bag. Go change.” I finally understood. His personally coming to pick me up came with a price. I smirked. “You two make me sick.” With that, I moved to get out. But the moment my foot extended out, someone dragged me into a room. Several bodyguards in black stripped off my clothes and roughly changed me into a dress. Ethan followed leisurely behind. “Eva Carter, Freya was so afraid you wouldn’t be her bridesmaid, she cried all night.” I struggled, gritting my teeth. “And you felt sorry for her? So you kidnapped me to witness this incestuous love between you and your sister-in-law?” The next moment, Ethan grabbed my chin forcefully. “Eva Carter, my patience is limited. If you keep making trouble, I don’t mind having Hayes Corporation stop cooperating with your family. I’m sure you know your family’s company hasn’t been doing well these past few years.” My eyes widened. I stopped struggling. He smiled with satisfaction. When Freya saw me, tears immediately filled her eyes. She rushed forward and grabbed my hand. “Eva, I’m so happy you’re willing to come.” I coldly turned my face away. Ethan pulled Freya close, gently saying, “The ceremony’s about to start.” So the two of them, like a real married couple, walked onstage accepting everyone’s blessings. At that moment, my phone rang. Just as I lowered my head to answer it, a woman with graying hair grabbed my hair. “You jinx! My eldest son finally came home, and you drove my youngest son away!” She shouted, “Someone! Hold her down! Bring me my whip! Today I’ll teach you the Hayes family rules in front of everyone using family punishment! You can’t give me a grandson, and you drove my son away. I’ll beat you to death, you useless bitch!” Everyone stepped back. No one dared stop Mrs. Hayes. They all knew her mental state wasn’t stable and feared offending the Hayes family. When the first lash fell on me, I instinctively looked at Ethan. He only pressed his lips together, holding Freya, coldly watching everything. In that moment, the last trace of hope I had for him vanished completely. I struggled desperately, but the bodyguards held me firmly to the ground. No one dared plead on my behalf. In the huge banquet hall, only the crack of the whip remained. And my increasingly weak breathing. I don’t know how long passed. My back was already torn and bloody. Blood stained the white gauze dress. The air reeked of blood. Someone began to quietly intervene. “You can’t keep beating her. She’ll die.” I stared hard at the two people onstage. Meeting my gaze, Ethan frowned, his feet shifting slightly. But at that moment, Freya grabbed Ethan’s hand. She picked up the microphone and announced to everyone, “Mom, there’s another piece of good news today. You’re going to have a grandchild.” Mrs. Hayes stopped abruptly, excited. “Really?” Freya looked at Ethan with deep affection and shyness. “Yes, one month along. When Nathan came home that day, we —” Mrs. Hayes exclaimed with joy repeatedly. Just then, the banquet hall doors suddenly burst open. A tall man wearing a baseball cap walked in. Sneering, “Is that so? How come I don’t know I’m having another child?” When he removed his cap, revealing his face, everyone gasped in shock. Ethan’s face turned ashen, his voice nearly failing. “Nathan?”

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Everyone at the corporation envied me — from a lowly janitor to the wife of the Vice President. My husband doted on me. I never had to lift a finger. But no one knew that in private, he would have people bind my legs with rope. When he saw the bloody marks on my legs, his expression would soften as he stroked my face. “Honey, when you look so fragile, you’re most like her.” I applied medicine to my leg wounds, having learned to ignore Ethan’s insane ramblings. We’d been married for three years. I’d grown accustomed to this side of him, and I’d suffered enough from resisting. In name, I was his legally wedded wife. In reality, I was nothing more than a substitute for his dream girl. But what did it matter? I was originally just a janitor in the corporation building. I had no choice, and I couldn’t escape his villa. Whatever Ethan wanted from me, I could only comply. He leaned against the wall, a smile still playing at his lips. “Honey, walk for me. Let me see.” My hand paused while applying the medicine. Without much hesitation, I got out of bed efficiently and walked barefoot across the cold floor. I tried to walk lightly, slowly. I arched my feet too hard, tearing open the wounds I’d just treated. Blood trickled down from my ankles, staining the floor tiles red. But he seemed oblivious, only closing his eyes slightly, as if already asleep. He didn’t say stop, so I didn’t dare stop. The wounds hurt terribly. I lost focus for a moment and stepped down a bit harder. My footsteps became clearly audible. In the silent room, my heart pounded as I prayed Ethan had truly fallen asleep. But he hadn’t. He simply opened those eyes like spring water and dropped all pretense of a smile. He stared at me coldly. “Walk.” After speaking, he tossed over a hemp rope covered in bloodstains. I said nothing, quietly tying the rope around my ankles. The coarse rope pressed against the still-bleeding wounds. Between my two feet, only the width of a fist remained. With each step, the rope ground into my raw flesh. Forcing me to be even more careful, to take even more delicate steps. I walked like this until my skin split and flesh tore. Blood stained the hem of my dress, sticky and sickeningly sweet. Ethan frowned. He finally found it boring. Having apparently seen enough of me, he brushed past me and went to his study alone. I collapsed to the floor, hands trembling as I tried to untie the rope. But the maid outside looked at me with the same expression as Ethan. “Mrs. Harrington, Mr. Harrington didn’t say you could stop.” I bit my lip and used the table beside me to support myself as I stumbled to my feet. Looking at the coldness and contempt in the maid’s eyes, I lowered my gaze. “I understand.” I walked on the cold floor, from when the moon hung in the west until dawn broke. It wasn’t until Ethan finished breakfast that he leisurely wiped his hands. “My dear, you’ve worked hard. At tonight’s corporate gala, you’d better put on a good show.” My feet were ice cold. After walking all night, my legs trembled. But I could only act like a puppet, dressed up and sent to the car to play the role of a loving wife alongside Ethan. When getting out of the car, having eaten and drunk nothing with my legs aching and sore, my feet were so weak I nearly fell. Ethan wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me down. Cheney, the gala host, covered her mouth and took me from his arms. She teased with a laugh. “Mr. Harrington really knows how to cherish someone. I should have my husband learn from you.” “The Chairman personally arranged this marriage for you — you’re truly blessed!” I forced a smile at her. Looking back at Ethan, his face showed doting affection, but his eyes held not a trace of genuine feeling. I felt the pain and turned back to look at Cheney. “Yes, my fate is truly excellent.”

I survived in the corporation building until I turned twenty-two, with only three more years until I could be released as a free person. But after the company’s annual gala that year, the Chairman’s personal letter arranged for me to become Ethan’s wife. They said that when I was pouring wine at the gala, Ethan caught a glimpse of me and fell in love at first sight. He desperately pleaded with the Chairman to grant me to him in marriage. Ethan — famous from a young age, rising from a security guard to Vice President of the corporation through his achievements. The man of so many wealthy young ladies’ dreams. Yet he fell for me, an utterly ordinary janitor with no power or influence. What an honor. In the joyous wedding, all my emotions were buried. I was sent from the square corporation building to a square villa. When Ethan lifted my veil, he seemed dazed for a moment. I looked at him, my heart not entirely without hope. We drank champagne together at the wedding banquet. The room was lit with scented candles. He blindfolded me with a silk ribbon. Through the pain, I thought — this would be my life. If he was sincere with me, then so be it. Dazed and confused, I spent my wedding night. The next day, Ethan got up and looked at me with interest. “Like a pear blossom in rain, a beauty clutching her heart — from now on, you’ll be called Elara.” No discussion, no notice. He brazenly changed my name. I looked up at him then, refusing stubbornly. “I’m not Elara. My name is Savannah.” But he seemed not to hear, getting up and leaving on his own. I thought the matter would pass, but when I finished washing up, I found the room locked. I was confined for two days and one night. No matter what I said or did, only one voice came from outside the door. “Is Mrs. Elara requesting to go out?” At first, I could repeat with dignity. “I’m Savannah.” But when I was dying of thirst and retching from hunger, I learned that the wise submit to circumstances. When they asked again outside the door, I clenched my fists. “Yes, I am. Elara.” The door creaked open. Ethan came in holding a bowl of thin broth, gripping my chin and forcing it down my throat. I struggled to swallow. What I couldn’t swallow in time dripped down my chin into my collar, sticky and disgusting. Ethan stroked my hair, smiling with satisfaction. “Honey, how much better if you’d been this obedient from the start.” Back then I thought I’d simply encountered a pervert who loved to torment people. But later, I discovered that Ethan wanted to remake me into someone else. Someone he couldn’t clearly remember. That woman had saved him in his moment of crisis and left before he woke. He only remembered her retreating figure and the coral earrings swaying gently. So that nameless woman became the most perfect woman in his heart. And my silhouette at the annual gala was eighty percent similar to hers. But I found it absurd. I told Ethan seriously. “I’m not her. The person in your heart isn’t her either. You only met her once. You don’t understand her at all. You love only the person you’ve imagined.” Ethan looked at me, his eyes blood-red. He grabbed my wrist viciously and despite my resistance, stripped off my outer clothes. He had the maid push me, wearing only underwear, to crouch in the courtyard. He made all the servants come watch me in my wretched state. That day it snowed heavily. The snow-covered ground was freezing. The snow under my knees melted, then froze into ice. The winter sun was blinding but offered no warmth. Ethan wore a mink coat, holding a hand warmer. “What did you just say?” I bit my lip hard. Ethan smiled contemptuously, extending a warm hand to slap my freezing face. “You’re just a janitor whose fate is worth less than paper. What right do you have to mention her? Being even slightly like her is your good fortune.” Seeing I still wouldn’t speak, his hand moved from my cheek to my neck, then lingered at my collar. His finger lightly hooked the neckline of my underwear. “Admit you’re wrong, or I’ll strip you naked and let you freeze to death. Choose one.” The cold engulfed me. I trembled, my bitten lip bleeding, my spine breaking as I became mud in the snow. “I was wrong.” Who told me to be born humble? Who told me I was powerless? Falling to this state — I was wrong.

At the corporate gala, many wealthy wives looked down on me. They gathered in groups, leaving me isolated to the side. Cheney, who’d been warm earlier, went off to greet others, as if I were an unremarkable weed mixed among famous flowers — an eyesore and pitiable. Only one woman, similarly isolated, was willing to sit beside me. She said she was a widow. I glanced at her, understanding that this gala was essentially a matchmaking event for single men and women — besides the unmarried, there were only couples like Ethan and me there to make appearances. A widow showing up here would inevitably attract gossip about being “restless.” But that was others’ prejudice, which I didn’t share. Starting a new life after losing a husband was perfectly normal. Those society wives and daughters avoided her to prevent being tainted by idle gossip that might affect their social image — pure snobbery and herd mentality. And I, a janitor who married into wealth only through the Chairman’s arrangement, was equally beneath their notice. We were kindred spirits — one outcast needn’t look down on another. We kept each other company until the banquet ended. She walked out with me. Passing through the archway, she smiled at me. I found her face somewhat familiar. Before I could place her, she plucked a flower and tucked it into my hair. “Mrs. Harrington, I’m Vivienne Windsor.” She turned and left. I walked toward Ethan in the distance, forcing a shy smile. But as I approached, I found Ethan distracted, staring blankly in the direction Vivienne had departed. “So similar, too similar.” I turned back, finally realizing where that sense of familiarity came from. She and I shared similar height, build, and features. The difference was that she had an extraordinary bearing — the look of someone with excellent breeding. Ethan and I returned home. He didn’t speak the entire way. As soon as we arrived, he rushed impatiently to his study. The next day, before dawn, he woke me with dark circles under his eyes. He handed me an invitation, his tone casual. “Invite her to visit our home.” I opened the invitation and saw Ethan’s familiar handwriting. It bore the name I’d expected. Vivienne Windsor. I held the invitation, keeping my head down without speaking. Ethan’s gaze fell on me like something tangible. “Honey, you’ll be obedient, won’t you?” I was silent for a moment, then finally nodded. He smiled with satisfaction. His departing footsteps carried anticipation. I stood there lost in thought, wondering if Vivienne could be Ethan’s dream girl. If so, what would he do? Would he marry her? Then what about me? An idea took root in my heart. If Vivienne truly was that savior, Ethan would definitely want to be with her. Then I, the substitute, would become an obstacle. So could I perhaps ask Ethan to divorce me? At this thought, my heart began to race uncontrollably. Vivienne accepted the invitation. I received her as a standard housewife would. While strolling in the courtyard, we ran into Ethan in his suit. He approached through the flowers and willows, impeccably dressed. Standing in the sunlight, light and shadow played across his amorous features. He apologized as if by accident. Vivienne didn’t mind, her gentle eyes meeting Ethan’s. They exchanged pleasantries, gradually walking side by side. The stone path in the garden wasn’t wide. I fell back a step, following behind them with lowered eyes, listening to their conversation. Ethan brought up five years ago, asking if Vivienne had been in the capital that year. Vivienne smiled carelessly. “If Mr. Harrington mentioned other times, I might not remember. But that year I truly can’t forget.” Under Ethan’s expectant gaze, her features like a painting, she spoke calmly. “Five years ago, heavy snow in the capital — it nearly froze quite a few people to death.” Ethan looked as if he’d been punched. He froze in place, staring at Vivienne, unable to speak. I followed behind them, slowly tightening my grip on my handkerchief. Five years ago, Ethan’s family was destroyed, and he became a vagrant. He’d nearly frozen to death in that heavy snow. His eyes reddened, words on his lips but unable to emerge. He could only remove the red coral bracelet from his wrist and press it into Vivienne’s hands. He looked at her as if at a treasure lost and found. “Wait for me! You wait for me! This time, I won’t let you leave again!” He turned and hurried away. Vivienne held the red coral bracelet, turning back to look at me, her face innocent. “What does Mr. Harrington mean by this?”

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During my last outdoor activity in college, I unfortunately encountered a mudslide. When I woke up in the hospital, I saw Julian Smith standing by my bedside in a suit, frowning at me. I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, Harmony Brown, standing beside him, spoke first. “Snow, you’re finally awake. You scared us all.” I didn’t respond. My gaze fell on their clasped hands. Their hands, which had been tightly intertwined just moments ago, sprang apart the second my eyes touched them, as if electrocuted. I let out a soft laugh: “So you two started dating while I was unconscious?” “Oh, and I told you we shouldn’t climb that mountain. Good thing you both made it out okay.” “By the way, you two weren’t so caught up in your romance that you forgot to submit my graduation thesis, right?” Julian seemed unable to listen anymore. He lowered his voice and shouted at me: “Snow Miller! You’re thirty years old! What graduation thesis are you talking about!” Hearing his words, my entire body went rigid. Because in my memory, I was clearly only twenty-two years old this year. 0

The hospital room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. Only at this moment did I finally take a careful look at the two people standing by my bedside. Julian was different from how I remembered him before I lost consciousness. He looked more mature now, more like his father. When he wore a suit, he no longer looked like a child wearing adult clothes. And Harmony, standing quietly beside him, was no longer the scholarship student I remembered who always wore T-shirts and jeans. My gaze fell on the Chanel brooch at her chest. I remembered I once had a similar one—it was my eighteenth birthday gift from my mother. The first time Harmony went on stage as a student representative, I had even asked if she wanted to wear my brooch. Back then, she had lowered her head and smiled shyly, her dimples full of nervousness and uncertainty. She had said: “Snow, this is too expensive.” “I can’t wear a brooch that costs several years of my living expenses to give a speech.” But now, she wore a beautiful brooch, carried a bag worth tens of thousands, wore exquisite makeup, and her perfume smelled elegant and pleasant. Harmony seemed to sense my gaze and opened her mouth, wanting to explain something. But I still smiled and said, “Looks like our Harmony is living the life she wanted.” “Congratulations.” “Enough!” Julian’s roar interrupted my reminiscence. His handsome eyebrows were knitted tightly together. “Snow Miller, how long are you going to keep up this act! Don’t think I’ll fall for you just because you’re playing crazy! I’m telling you, it’s impossible!” I looked at Julian in confusion. “Why would you fall for me?” “Aren’t you already with Harmony?” Harmony finally found a chance to speak. Her eyes had somehow turned red. “Snow, listen to me.” “Julian and I aren’t what you think. I… we didn’t…” But the doctor who pushed the door open interrupted her words. “Miss Miller, do you feel any discomfort right now?” I gently shook my head. My hair rubbed against the pillowcase, making a soft rustling sound. “But… why do they keep saying I’m thirty years old?” “Isn’t it 2018?” “Doctor, why would they play this kind of joke on a patient!” The doctor’s expression became grave. In the end, Julian and Harmony were asked to leave the room. After that, many doctors and nurses came and went. Finally, as the sun crashed into the horizon, they reached a conclusion. “Miss Miller, you’ve lost your memory.” “You’ve lost all memories from the cliff fall in 2018 to when you rolled down the stairs a month ago.” I watched their mouths opening and closing, but it was as if I couldn’t hear any sound at all. So… I’m really thirty years old this year? 0

Although I had lost part of my memory, fortunately my bodily functions were fine. After staying in the hospital for a few more days, I was discharged. On the day of discharge, Julian picked me up. I don’t know why, but Julian had been very cold toward me lately. Actually, I had never told Julian that before Harmony appeared in our lives, I thought the two of us were meant to be together. Watching Julian throw my luggage into the trunk, then rather thoughtfully open the passenger door for me. I raised my uninjured hand in a gesture of surrender. “Give me a break.” “I didn’t mean to treat you like a driver.” “But it’s not appropriate for me to sit in the passenger seat when you have a girlfriend.” Julian’s face showed a flash of anger: “Snow Miller! Are you done yet!” I didn’t know what he was angry about again. I just maintained that ridiculous pose and stared at him for a while. A moment later, I walked around him to find the back seat, fumbling to open the car door and climb in. Julian said nothing more, only slammed the car door with a bang when he got in. He even drove fast the whole way, as if he couldn’t wait to send me straight to heaven with one press of the gas pedal. The scenery outside the window had indeed become strange to me now. This wasn’t the city where we went to college anymore. Our university was in the south, where you could see gentle scenes of small bridges and flowing water everywhere. But here—this should be Julian’s and my hometown. Through the dense buildings, I saw the abandoned building that Julian and I used to use as our secret base when we were kids. Only now it had been completed, standing cold and aloof in the center of the city. Perhaps in its belly, it still held all the silly things Julian and I had said over the years. We said we would go to college together. We also said that when we grew up, we would raise a cat together. And Julian had once said to me with a flushed face: “Snow Miller, wait for me to marry you when I grow up.” The car suddenly stopped. The violent shaking of the car pulled me out of those tender, sepia-toned memories. “Get out.” Julian opened the car door for me. His tall figure cast a pale gray shadow over me. “When we get inside, drop the act.” “Don’t think I’m as easy to fool as those stupid doctors.” He suddenly reached out and gripped my chin hard. “If you scare Mia, you’ll regret it.” In the sudden intense pain, I don’t know why I felt my nose sting. A round tear fell without warning onto the back of Julian’s hand. He withdrew his hand as if scalded by my tear. I pressed my lower lip, feeling dizzy from the completely different Julian from my memories and this almost entirely new world. I practically inched my way into that villa. I don’t know why, but the closer I got to this house, the tighter my chest felt, and even my tears couldn’t stop streaming down. By the time I stood in the entrance hall, my vision had been blurred into a chaotic kaleidoscope of light spots. But I could still make out, among those blurred shapes, the little girl running toward me. She had eyes too similar to Julian’s. I instinctively crouched down and reached out my hands to her, but she swatted them away and ran straight into Julian’s arms. “Daddy! Why did you bring her back again!” I froze slightly, even stepping back awkwardly. “Mia!” Harmony rushed out after her. “You can’t talk like that!” I forced an ugly smile at Harmony. “Harmony, it really isn’t appropriate for me to live here.” “How about I rent a place myself.” “I won’t disturb your family of three.” 0

Julian let out a cold laugh. “Snow Miller, get back to your own room.” “I want to see how long you can keep up this act.” “You like pretending to have amnesia, don’t you?” “Then stay here. When you remember who you are, then you can talk about moving out!” With that, he led the little girl named Mia past me. As he passed, he lowered his voice and said: “I hope by then, you’ll still be willing to leave.” I was left alone in the empty living room. When Harmony heard me say “won’t disturb your family of three,” she suddenly covered her face and ran off. She seemed to be crying again. Soon, I heard the voices of a man and child comforting Harmony from one of the inner rooms. I was glad no one was paying attention to me, so I wandered around the house alone. On the shelf in the living room sat photos of the three of them together. It seemed to be taken at an amusement park, with huge, brilliant fireworks behind them. Harmony leaned in Julian’s arms, smiling tenderly. And Mia, held by her hand, was looking up at them, with happiness practically solidified in the corners of her eyes and brows. I also saw Harmony’s trophy, matching mugs, and an essay Mia had written titled “My Mom.” Her still-childish handwriting carefully spelled out: “My mom’s name is Harmony Brown. She’s a beautiful and independent woman.” I read through it bit by bit, but the dull pain in my chest somehow grew more and more pronounced. When I reached the last photo of Julian and Harmony together, I was in so much pain I couldn’t straighten my back. Just then, the door sounded. A woman carrying bags of vegetables came in. Seeing my pale face, she quickly dropped the vegetables and rushed over to support me. “Ma’am! You’re out of the hospital!” “Oh my, you’re covered in sweat. Let me help you to the sofa.” My cold, sweaty palm rested weakly on her arm. “I’m fine.” “Could you please take me to my room?” “I don’t know which room I’m supposed to stay in.” Under the woman’s surprised and uncertain gaze, I smiled weakly: “The doctor said I’ve lost my memory. There are a lot of things I can’t remember now.” She supported me all the way to a room in the farthest corner. When she pushed open the door, the smell of moisture and dust hit me in the face, making me cough twice. The woman’s expression looked somewhat embarrassed, as if she also thought this room was too shabby. But in the end, she didn’t explain anything. As she closed the door, she said softly: “Maybe forgetting is for the best.” I stumbled over to the small wooden bed and sat down. The wooden planks beneath me creaked under the weight. Only at this moment did I belatedly recall that the woman had called me “ma’am.” But shouldn’t the ma’am of this house be Harmony? I was so confused by everything that had happened these past few days, but as I looked around the room, I spotted a pen abandoned in the corner of the desk. That pen was my father’s keepsake. I never went anywhere without it. If it was here now, it meant I must have lived in this room regularly. But why would I keep living in someone else’s house? Didn’t I have my own home? At this thought, I forced myself through the severe headache to move to the desk. In the desk drawer, I found my diary. And a ring. And that ring was clearly the same model as the one Julian wore on his ring finger. The next second, on the first page of the diary, I saw a divorce agreement neatly tucked inside. Party A’s name was Julian Smith. And following Party B was my name. 0

I stared blankly at that divorce agreement. The enormous shock hit me. At this moment, I seemed unable to even feel the bone-deep pain in my head. I read through it word by word. “One daughter born during marriage, Mia Smith, custody to go to Mr. Julian Smith.” “The two parties, due to irreparable breakdown of their relationship and inability to continue living together, are filing for divorce.” Below, Julian’s name was already signed, but my side was still blank. I frowned and opened my diary. This diary had been written in for a long time. Only a thin half remained blank. But in the filled portions, there were often water stains, blurring my handwriting into ugly ink blotches. Clearly only half a book of content, yet it seemed to hold all the tears of the first half of my life. I saw what I had written about the joy of being confessed to by Julian after that mudslide. I wrote about the surprise of being proposed to. I wrote about Harmony, as my bridesmaid at my wedding, crying uncontrollably. Later, perhaps because discovering infidelity always follows the same pattern. I wrote about Julian never coming home at night. I wrote about the unfamiliar perfume smell on him, and about the photos of him with Harmony on her social media. And just when I was first considering divorce, I discovered I was pregnant. During those nights when my pregnancy symptoms were extremely severe, I held my father’s pen, waiting night after night for Julian to come home. Later, Mia was born. I wrote about holding her as she slept, begging Julian not to leave, begging him to think about our childhood friendship. Looking at those words with edges frayed by tears, I only felt it was absurd. With only twenty-two years of memories, I didn’t know why my future self would humble herself so much for a man. And on the day I inexplicably rolled down the stairs, I had actually already decided to divorce Julian. It was just that everything had been put on pause because of that accident. The aroma of food drifted in through the crack in the door. I closed the diary and looked at the dim yellow light bulb overhead. I gently pressed my chest. “Good thing I’m back to being the fearless Snow Miller from her twenties.” I settled into living in this house. On one hand, because after losing my memory, I really did need time to adapt to current society. On the other hand, I felt there were still many places in this divorce agreement that could be adjusted. Julian had cheated during our marriage. Leaving with nothing was what he deserved. And I needed time to collect evidence. I lived in this house like a silent shadow. Only Mrs. Davis, who came daily to cook, was willing to say more than a few words to me. But she too was always careful not to mention Julian and Harmony. After I moved in, my first major conflict with them occurred on the day I was supposed to go to the hospital to have my cast removed. That day was also the parent open house at Mia’s elementary school. Mia, who had never shown me a kind face, knocked on my door for the first time the night before, twisting her clothes nervously. “Take me to school tomorrow.” Her tone was stiff, nothing like the innocence and coquettishness she showed when talking to Julian and Harmony. “No.” I looked down at the bank statements my lawyer had obtained for Julian’s accounts, my tone flat. “Don’t you want Harmony to be your mom?” “Let her take you.” But Mia suddenly burst into earth-shattering wails. “I don’t want to!” “They all say Harmony is a homewrecker!” “They say I’m the daughter of a homewrecker!” “Now no kids want to play with me anymore!” “It’s all your fault!” Mia rushed into my room and slammed hard into my injured arm. “If you hadn’t taken Harmony’s place, I’d still have friends!” I gasped from the sudden intense pain. The next second, I raised my hand and slapped her across the face. “Get out.”

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On my first night on call at the new hospital, I encountered my wife, Natalie Warren, who claimed to be on a business trip abroad. She lay on a gurney outside the delivery room, heavily pregnant, blood pooling beneath her. My hand was gripped tightly by a man kneeling at her side, his desperate pleas echoing in my ears. “Doctor, please, you have to save her!” The nurse beside me handed him the surgical consent form. “We need a family member to sign before surgery. What’s your relationship to the patient?” The man took the pen, his hands trembling as he signed. “She’s my wife.” My chest tightened at his words, my mind flashing back to a year ago when Natalie had smiled as she handed me our marriage certificate. “Adrian, from today on, we’re officially husband and wife.” Sensing my shock, the man looked up with red-rimmed eyes, confusion written across his face. I quickly lowered my head, adjusting the mask on my face, and pushed open the operating room doors. “We’ll do everything we can for the patient.” But as for the relationship between Natalie and me, I think it had just been declared completely over.

After a round of emergency treatment, Natalie’s condition stabilized, and the atmosphere in the operating room relaxed. A colleague beside me lowered her voice to gossip. “I heard these two ended up like this because they were too rough during sex.” “The woman’s at her due date, and her husband couldn’t show any restraint. Young people these days really don’t value their lives when they’re in love…” My hands slowed for a few seconds, my mind drifting to when Natalie proposed to me, her eyes shining with light. “Adrian, marry me. For the rest of my life, except for you, I, Natalie, will never touch another man!” But on our wedding night, she put back on the clothes I’d removed, one by one, pain and struggle written all over her face. “I’m sorry, Adrian.” “I accidentally got a gynecological condition. The doctor said we can’t have sex. Just wait a bit longer.” I believed her. The consequences were that I was now saving her soon-to-be-born child. I pulled my lips into a mocking smile. So it wasn’t about physical discomfort—it was simply because she didn’t love me. The surgery ended smoothly. I held the newborn baby in my arms. It didn’t weigh much, yet it pressed heavily on my chest. When I opened the operating room door, the man waiting outside immediately stood and rushed over. His bloodshot eyes showed uncontrollable worry and anxiety. “How’s Natalie?” I looked at the man before me, recalling the name he’d signed on the consent form—Ethan Shaw. A complete stranger. Natalie had never mentioned him before. I handed him the baby and offered my congratulations. “Congratulations. The surgery went well. Mother and daughter are both safe.” Ethan’s tense expression visibly relaxed, and he looked at me with unfamiliar gratitude. He seemed about to say something more when Natalie’s gurney was wheeled out from behind me. “Ethan…” She lay on the bed, extremely weak. Ethan immediately brushed past me, rushing to her side. Natalie touched the baby with one hand and held Ethan’s hand with the other, her voice carrying a tenderness I’d never heard before. “Ethan, our baby looks so much like you.” “When she grows up, she’ll be just as handsome as you.” What a perfect little family, radiating happiness that stung my eyes. I clenched my fists, digging my nails in until my fingertips turned white, barely maintaining my composure. Elena Hayes had just finished surgery, and I’d just been transferred to this upper-level hospital. This wasn’t the right time or place to tear away this facade. After regaining some strength, her gaze fell on me. “Thank you so much, Doctor. May I ask your name?” Hidden behind my cap and mask, Natalie didn’t recognize me. I stared into her eyes, trying to find a trace of guilt. “My surname is Smith. Just call me Dr. Smith.” Unfortunately, Ethan quickly diverted her attention, and she didn’t spare me another glance. As soon as I returned to the on-call room, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I slid to answer, and Natalie’s voice came through. “Adrian, there’s a sudden emergency at the company. I might not be able to come back for a while.” My chest was full of rage and questions I wanted to demand answers to. But when the words reached my lips, the physical and emotional devastation left me without even the desire to speak. My silence made Natalie misunderstand, thinking I was sulking, so she continued talking. “Be good. When I’m done here, I’ll definitely make time for our honeymoon trip…” “Natalie…” Before she could finish, Ethan’s call and the baby’s crying sounded on the other end of the line. “Gotta go!” Natalie hastily hung up the phone.

Too much had happened today. The overwhelming absurdity made my stomach churn, and I threw up violently in the bathroom. In my dazed state, I made a phone call. “Send me the marriage certificate from the study cabinet.” “And tell my dad that Natalie cheated. I want him to withdraw all financial support for Natalie starting now.” According to the schedule, I was in charge of rounds next. I forced myself to gather my energy and picked up the record sheet. Standing at the door looking through the glass, I saw Natalie and Ethan squeezed together on a small single bed. She nestled in Ethan’s arms, one hand gently patting his back, dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night. Even though I’d completely given up hope, seeing this scene still made my heart ache uncontrollably. The knock made Natalie’s eyes fly open. I put on my mask properly and pushed the door open. Though it was a hospital room, it was decorated warmly inside. The table was piled with maternity and baby supplies, from large to small, everything one could need. Without exception, they all came from my heartfelt recommendations. The night before she left on her business trip, Natalie suddenly shook me awake in the middle of the night. “Adrian, you’re an obstetrician. Can you tell me what things you need to prepare for childbirth?” I squinted, somewhat confused. “Why are you suddenly asking this?” Natalie answered hesitantly, saying a colleague’s baby was about to be born and had asked her to consult me. Having just finished a thirty-six-hour shift, I was so exhausted I was practically delirious. The next second, Natalie suddenly sat up and turned on all the lights in the house, dragging me out of bed. “Adrian, write it all down quickly.” She forcefully shoved a pen into my hand, then viciously pinched the softest flesh on the inside of my arm. The overwhelming pain instantly jolted me awake. I worked on that list until daylight broke outside. Before leaving, Natalie carefully tucked it into a hidden pocket in her clothes, but when she turned around, she didn’t even say thank you. Suppressing my emotions, I walked to the bedside for routine questioning. “How are you feeling today?” Ethan held Natalie’s hand, his voice gentle. “Natalie’s feeling much better now. Yesterday was so dangerous—we really have Dr. Smith to thank for that. I haven’t even had a chance to say thank you yet.” “I had the factory rush-make a trophy. I hope Dr. Smith won’t mind.” I smiled, but my eyes fell on their intertwined hands. On Natalie’s previously bare finger was now a ring matching Ethan’s uniquely designed one. Noticing my gaze, Ethan turned the ring and explained, happiness radiating from his voice. “My wife designed this herself. There are only two like it in the world.” “It’s a bit ugly, but I love it.” I quickly lowered my gaze, hiding the tumultuous emotions in my eyes. The day after our wedding, Natalie removed the wedding ring I’d specifically commissioned from a French designer. I watched her seal it in a box and shove it into the deepest part of a drawer, never to see daylight again. “Why aren’t you wearing it?” She frowned and shook her head. “It’s too valuable. What if I lose it? That would be such a waste.” I said nothing more, just silently removed my own ring and casually tossed it on the nightstand. When at home, Natalie’s ring finger had always remained bare. Now it was firmly encircled by a band. It turned out that in front of me, she couldn’t even be bothered to pretend.

The baby slept peacefully in the nearby crib, facial features unmistakably showing Natalie’s influence. As the body shifted, a jade pendant slipped out from around the baby’s neck. The stone was lustrous—one glance revealed its considerable value. This jade pendant was the wedding gift I’d given Natalie. Now she’d given it to her illegitimate child. My heart felt completely hollow, as if something had been thoroughly carved out of it. Ethan’s cloying voice sounded behind me. “Honey, I’ll go buy you breakfast. You rest here.” Natalie looked at him, her eyes worried. “You’re not familiar with this place. Let someone else go.” Ethan waved his hand dismissively, looking at me. “Don’t worry, Dr. Smith is here. He can show me the way.” Only after receiving my affirmative answer did Natalie nod reassuringly. The door opened and closed. Ethan and I walked side by side down the corridor. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat ironic, mockery hidden in the corner of my mouth. “Mr. Shaw and Ms. Warren have such a good relationship.” Ethan’s lips curved in a smile, his eyes brimming with happiness. “Natalie and I both came from small towns. Two people out in the world naturally have to understand and support each other.” “Fortunately, Natalie worked hard and now has her own business.” “If that investor wasn’t so difficult, she’d probably already be among the industry’s rising stars by now.” I raised an eyebrow, a spark of anger igniting in my chest. Natalie’s company, from registration to financing, was built step by step with my father’s guidance. The biggest investor now was also my father. Initially, she’d refused to work at Smith Corporation, saying she wanted to provide me with an affluent life through her own hands. But her business acumen was truly mediocre. The company had been losing money for two years, with my father secretly covering the losses out of respect for me. But from her mouth, my father had become the most difficult investor. What an ungrateful wolf that can’t be fed. My shoulder was suddenly bumped. The person beside me held a red trophy. Ethan suddenly stopped, arms crossed, looking at me with a half-smile. “Dr. Smith, catch.” The trophy was handed over. The person’s hand trembled, and the banner fell down. When I saw the words clearly, my expression instantly darkened. [Shameless Homewrecker] Those words were like invisible slaps across my face, turning it burning red. My whole body trembled as I spoke coldly. “What’s the meaning of this, Mr. Shaw?” At this point, Ethan’s attitude completely changed. His eyes looked me up and down. “Natalie’s not here. You don’t need to pretend in front of me.” “I noticed yesterday outside the operating room—your eyes were practically glued to Natalie.” “We’re both men. Don’t think I don’t know what filthy thoughts are running through your mind.” He deliberately covered his mouth and dry-heaved, looking at me with disgust and judgment. “Some angel in white you are. All day thinking about seducing patients’ wives. Absolutely revolting.”

I slapped the trophy to the ground, instinctively wanting to refute Ethan’s words. But thinking of those two marriage certificates of unknown authenticity, the words stuck in my throat refused to come out. Seeing me struck silent, Ethan grew even more arrogant. “Hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?” “You deliberately chose to work in obstetrics to take advantage of people in vulnerable positions.” He raised his chin toward the person who’d delivered the trophy. “You, hold him down.” I looked at him warily, backing up several steps, shouting sharply. “Don’t touch me!” But the next second, I was struck in the head by a heavy object. A warm stream flowed down my temple. When I came to my senses, the corridor was already packed with onlookers. Ethan’s eyes were red as he pointed at me and shouted loudly. “Everyone, come see! This obstetrician specifically targets vulnerable postpartum women to seduce them!” “From the first moment he saw my wife yesterday, his eyes haven’t left her!” He directed the person holding me to rip off my mask and grab my hair, exposing my face to everyone’s view. After seeing my face clearly, a flash of jealousy crossed Ethan’s eyes. “Of course he has a seductive face—born to lure people in.” He came before me and slapped me across the face. My cheek instantly burned with stinging pain. Ethan deliberately turned the jagged side of his ring toward his palm and forcefully carved a wound across my face. The nurse who’d heard the commotion ran anxiously toward the director’s office, stamping her feet. I tried to break free from the hands restraining me, but the bleeding wound rapidly drained my strength. Natalie, seeing Ethan hadn’t returned, came out in a wheelchair to look for him. Seeing the crowded mass of people, she immediately panicked. “Excuse me, excuse me!” She struggled to push through the crowd, heading straight for Ethan and examining him thoroughly from head to toe. “Ethan, are you okay? Why are there so many people out here?” Ethan grabbed her hand, his face full of pride. “Natalie, perfect timing. I just exposed Dr. Smith’s true colors in front of everyone!” “He’s been deliberately hanging around you, trying to climb up the social ladder through you!” Natalie affectionately tapped his nose. “You’re always so jealous. Besides you, how could I have room for anyone else in my heart?” “But let me see what this Dr. Smith looks like that he’d dare set his sights on me.” Ethan’s finger pointed straight behind her. Following his direction, Natalie turned and locked eyes with me. “Clatter.” The things in her hands crashed to the floor. Natalie’s pupils contracted sharply, her face changing dramatically. “Adrian, how are you here?”

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The housekeeper Levitt’s daughter Lavinia stays at my place every weekend during school breaks. Out of respect for her mother’s years of service to my family, I never said anything. Until one day I came home to find the door code had been changed, with a note stuck on the door: “Freeloaders who mooch off other people’s homes are forbidden entry.” I tore down the note and knocked on the door, asking Levitt: “What’s this about?” Lavinia sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, saying: “Can’t you read? Living in my house every day—have you no shame? If you have nowhere to live, go sleep on the streets. I hate freeloaders like you the most!” I looked at her in confusion. Levitt immediately came forward to explain in a low voice: “Miss Alice, I’m sorry. My daughter doesn’t know I’m a housekeeper. She’s been spoiled and doesn’t like living with outsiders.” “By the way, don’t you have another house in the suburbs? When my daughter comes to stay on weekends, you can go live in the suburban house.” With that, Levitt shut the door right in my face. Standing outside, I calmly dialed the police: “Hello, someone has illegally entered and occupied my house. Please come as soon as possible.”

I never imagined that as the daughter of the wealthiest person in the city, I would be called a freeloader to my face. The key point being—this villa was mine. Twenty minutes after calling the police, a patrol car pulled up in front of my villa. The two officers had just gotten out and hadn’t even asked about the illegal entry situation when Levitt frantically opened the door. She rushed over to me, her face pale: “Miss Alice, what’s going on? Why did you call the police?” I glanced at her without speaking. The officer looked her up and down and asked: “Are you the person Miss Alice mentioned—the one who illegally entered and occupied her house?” Hearing this, Levitt panicked instantly: “No, no, officers, this is all a misunderstanding.” “I’m Miss Alice’s housekeeper, responsible for taking care of her daily needs.” “My daughter’s school is on break, so she came to stay for a couple days. The door lock just broke, and when we had someone fix it, they changed the code. There’s no occupation of the house.” She pointed at the villa door and smiled apologetically: “Look, I opened the door right away, didn’t I?” The officer looked at me, then at her, and asked: “Miss Alice, do you still want to pursue this?” I was about to speak when Levitt suddenly lowered her voice, pleading humbly in my ear: “Miss Alice, Lavinia’s father died young. I’ve raised her alone—it hasn’t been easy. She just started college, when vanity is strongest, and having lacked affection since childhood, her personality is a bit extreme. If she finds out I’m just a housekeeper, she definitely won’t be able to accept it.” “I did this just to make her feel better.” “Please, for the sake of the twelve years I’ve served your parents, forgive me this once.” Hearing Levitt mention my parents, my heart did soften a bit. Levitt had been with my family for twelve years. My mother’s health was poor before she died, and Levitt was the one who personally cared for her, serving tea, attending to every detail. The day my mother passed, Levitt cried harder than anyone, kneeling by the hospital bed holding my mother’s hand, saying she would definitely take care of me. After that, she did exactly that. After my mother died, she kept the house in perfect order and looked after me like her own daughter. Whenever I tried to give her tips in the past, she would always decline repeatedly before accepting. Three months ago, her daughter Lavinia got into the same university as me. Levitt was both happy and worried. She was glad Lavinia was doing well, but stressed that university tuition was too expensive for her to afford. Understanding how hard it was for her to raise a child alone, I offered to cover Lavinia’s four years of university tuition. Levitt was so moved she cried. She clutched my hand, thanking me over and over, saying she would definitely repay my kindness. But starting last month, things changed. That day I came home and suddenly saw Lavinia at my house. I looked confused, but Levitt pulled me aside to quietly explain: “Miss Alice, Lavinia has nowhere to go on weekends during break. I haven’t seen her in so long, so I let her stay for a couple days.” I nodded without saying anything. The house had plenty of rooms anyway. Letting the mother and daughter reunite wasn’t a big deal. But later, I gradually noticed something was wrong.

The so-called “couple days” turned into a fixed arrangement every single weekend. Every Friday night, Lavinia would show up at my house right on schedule and only leave Monday morning. At first, Lavinia just liked taking photos in the living room and posting on Twitter to show off to her classmates that she lived in a big house. I could understand that—everyone wants to look glamorous in front of others. But what I couldn’t understand was how Lavinia always looked at me with disgust and disdain, as if I owed her millions. Several times, when I was sitting on the sofa watching TV, she deliberately covered her nose and complained loudly: “So annoying! How can such a luxurious villa have this constant stench of poverty?” I thought she genuinely smelled something odd, so I specifically asked Levitt to give the house a thorough cleaning. But Lavinia only got more exaggerated—either spraying disinfectant everywhere I sat, or putting disposable covers on the sofa for me to sit on. A few times I even saw her throw things I’d used straight into the trash. When I questioned her, Levitt would always sheepishly explain in private: “Lavinia is just worried those things aren’t clean and might affect your hygiene and safety, so she’s being extra careful.” I didn’t think much of it. After all, besides attending classes, I had to handle various company matters large and small. I was swamped every day and didn’t have the energy to argue with her over these things. Until this afternoon, when I saw that note on the door, it finally dawned on me. Lavinia thought I was living in her house. Originally I planned to teach Levitt and Lavinia a lesson. But now, Levitt kept pleading with me: “Miss Alice, I promise there won’t be a next time.” “I’ll explain the situation to Lavinia today and won’t let her come stay anymore.” “Please, for the sake of all the years I’ve served your parents, forgive me this once.” Seeing Levitt’s humble expression, I sighed: “Fine.” “I won’t pursue it.” After the officers left, Levitt let out a huge sigh of relief, thanking me repeatedly with an excellent attitude. After that day, Lavinia indeed never came to my house again. Levitt remained as diligent as ever, keeping the house spotlessly clean. The only thing she didn’t do well was that things kept going missing from the house. Today a bottle of wine, tomorrow a set of dishes, the day after a set of expensive clothes. Every time I asked, Levitt had excuses and reasons: “Miss Alice, I’m so sorry. I accidentally broke that bottle of wine while cleaning.” “Miss Alice, that set of dishes was used for too long. When I was washing them I noticed cracks and worried they might cut you, so I threw them away.” “Miss Alice, I took those clothes to the dry cleaner and they lost them.” Although the reasons sounded far-fetched each time, given her decent attitude, I didn’t make a big deal of it. I thought that was the end of it. Until that day, after paying respects to my parents, I decided to go thoroughly clean their suburban villa where they’d lived for half their lives. That was my parents’ favorite place. The yard was filled with my mother’s most beloved flowers, and the house was full of souvenirs my father had brought back from around the world. Before my mother died, she held my hand and said that house was her and my father’s life’s work, telling me to take good care of it. I treasured that villa deeply. Even though I was afraid of the painful memories and moved out to live alone, I would still personally go clean it regularly, carefully wiping every piece of furniture and trimming the flowers in the yard. But this time, when I arrived at the villa entrance, I froze. The villa’s gate, which was always kept closed, was wide open. From inside the villa came faint sounds of deafening music and noisy laughter. I immediately went forward and pushed open the half-closed door. After seeing what was inside, I was completely stunned.

The villa living room was a complete mess. Empty bottles, snack bags, fruit peels, and cigarette butts were scattered all over the coffee table, sofa, and floor. The genuine leather sofa worth hundreds of thousands had cigarette burn holes all over it. My mother’s beloved Persian rug was covered in footprints and several wine stains. The souvenirs hanging on the walls—some had been taken down to use as photo props, others were smashed and thrown in corners. Seeing this scene, I instantly clenched my fists. This villa was where my parents had lived for half their lives. Every piece of furniture, every decoration inside was carefully chosen by them. I was always so careful when walking around, afraid of bumping into anything, yet now it had been ruined beyond recognition. I scanned the room and found Lavinia sitting on the sofa directly facing the door. Around her were college classmates from our class: “Lavinia, your family is so rich! Even a random suburban villa is this luxurious.” “Right? I just looked it up—any random painting on this wall is worth millions!” “Oh my god, your mom is so powerful. She truly deserves to be the billionaire female CEO!” “For the sake of being classmates, after you graduate and inherit the family business, can you let us work at your company?” Lavinia’s lips curled up high from the praise: “No problem. Stick with me and you’ll never lack money.” Hearing this, the classmates were thrilled, frantically flattering Lavinia. Just then, Lavinia saw me standing at the door. Her smile vanished as she walked over arrogantly. Slap! Without a word, she viciously struck my face: “You bitch, you even followed me here?” The sudden slap left me stunned in place. The classmates present all widened their eyes: “Lavinia, what’s going on?” Lavinia pointed at me with utter contempt and disgust: “This Alice is the freeloader I just told you about!” “Living in my city house isn’t enough—now she wants to stay in the villa my mom specially bought for me!” I looked at Lavinia in disbelief: “Who told you this is a house your mom bought you?” Lavinia sneered: “My mom told me herself, of course.” “You bitch, you’re just after my mom because she’s a company CEO, so you live at my house every day trying to get her attention, aren’t you?” “Living at my house and deliberately creating opportunities to be alone with my mom isn’t enough—now you want to defile my villa too?” “Let me tell you, my mom said she lets you live at my house because you’re a pitiful orphan and she kindly took you in. Don’t even think about taking my place!” So this is what Levitt told Lavinia? No wonder Lavinia treated me so badly before. In her understanding, Levitt was the CEO who lived in a villa. And I was the poor orphan Levitt took in? So Lavinia always believed I was living in her house and trying to steal her position as the only daughter. How absurd! As Lavinia spoke, she turned to shout at the classmates: “Do you know how shameless Alice is?” “She stays at my house every day and won’t leave no matter what.” “I specifically put up a note telling her not to live in my house anymore, but she got so angry she called the police claiming my mom was bullying her.” “My mom was worried she’d make a scene that would damage the company’s reputation, so she made peace and bought me this separate villa to live in.” “Sometimes I really don’t understand—I’m my mom’s biological daughter, a legitimate heiress, and I often stay on campus. But she, a poor orphan, stays at my house all day long, acting like it’s her own home. Now if I want to wear my own clothes or drink my favorite wine, my mom has to secretly bring them from the city villa, just to avoid her saying we’re bullying her.” “I’ve never seen such a shameless bitch in my life!” My eyes widened. No wonder things kept disappearing from my villa recently—Levitt had been secretly taking them for Lavinia to use? What a Levitt. Since you’re treating me like a fool, don’t blame me for being ruthless!

I immediately took out my phone and called the legal department: “Come to my parents’ suburban villa right away with your people…” Before I could finish, Lavinia snatched my phone and smashed it hard on the ground: “You bitch, why are you so good at acting?” “‘Your parents’ villa’? This is the fucking villa my mom bought for me!” The classmates also hurled contemptuous insults at me: “No wonder everyone stays on campus but she’s always making excuses not to. I thought she was busy with important stuff, turns out she was being a parasite at Lavinia’s house, stealing someone else’s mom. Disgusting.” “Exactly. Her own parents died, so she goes looking for other people’s rich parents. If her parents knew how shameless she is, they’d probably come back to life from anger.” “Some people are just that low. The moment they see rich people, they do everything to get attention, trying to climb their way to success through a benefactor.” “Lavinia, you’re still too nice. If someone tried to steal my parents, I’d tear them apart!” I ignored everyone’s mockery and looked at Lavinia, saying sternly: “I advise you to call your mother and ask her properly whose villa this actually is.” Hearing this, Lavinia’s expression darkened. She immediately grabbed my collar: “You bitch, don’t think I don’t know—you’re just taking advantage of my mom’s soft heart, trying to trick her again to benefit yourself!” Suddenly, she looked at my neck, her eyes lighting up: “That jade necklace looks expensive. Did you trick my mom into buying it for you too?” With that, she yanked hard, viciously tearing the necklace from my neck. Lavinia’s movement was so fast and fierce I couldn’t react—the necklace was in her hand. Seeing this, my face changed drastically: “Give the necklace back!” Seeing my sudden panic, Lavinia looked at me with vicious eyes: “So nervous? Looks like this necklace cost my mom quite a bit, huh?” I panicked and quickly said: “It was from my mother. It’s not valuable, but it’s very important to me. Give it back.” I reached out to grab it. This jade necklace was a protective charm my mother obtained for me with her life. I was sickly as a child. At ten years old, I was critically ill and comatose in the hospital. The doctors told my parents to prepare for the worst. My mother couldn’t accept it and went to a temple to pray for me. To show sincerity, on a sweltering summer day with temperatures over 100 degrees, she prostrated herself step by step from the foot of the mountain to the summit. She kowtowed until her knees were bloody, exposing white bone, banging her head until it bled and she became delirious, finally obtaining this jade necklace. Perhaps even heaven was moved by my mother. I, who had been comatose, miraculously woke up, but my mother fell gravely ill as a result. Before dying, my mother placed the necklace in my hand, instructing me to keep it safe. I treasured this necklace immensely and carried it with me from childhood. It was something my mother traded her life for, and my forbidden treasure. I absolutely would not allow anyone to damage it! “The more you want it, the more I want to destroy it.” Before I could touch it, Lavinia threw the necklace hard on the ground. Accompanied by a crisp sound, the necklace shattered into pieces. Fragments scattered everywhere. “No!” Watching the jade necklace my mother traded her life for break like this, my heart felt like it was being cut by knives. I couldn’t breathe. “You bastard!” Unable to bear it any longer, I slapped Lavinia across the face. “You bitch, how dare you hit me?” Lavinia covered her face and shrieked: “Teach this bitch a lesson!” “Whoever does the best job gets a million dollars from my mom!” Hearing this, the classmates’ eyes lit up as they punched and kicked me. “How dare you hit Lavinia? Her mom is the richest person in our city—who do you think you are?” “Exactly. What kind of necklace could a poor person like you afford? That was obviously something you conned from Lavinia’s mom. She’s destroying her own property—why are you so worked up?” “Shameless bitch. Not only do you steal someone else’s mom, but you dare hit Lavinia. You’re asking for it.” “How dare you mention your own mother. Your parents deserved to die early for raising a shameless bitch like you!” I was beaten to the ground, trembling with rage, and said through gritted teeth: “You’ll regret this!” Hearing this, everyone present burst into laughter as if they’d heard the biggest joke. “Hilarious! Lavinia’s mom is the richest woman in the city. What are you to make us regret anything?” “Exactly. You’re at most a lowly orphan who lives in other people’s houses. You already depend on finding parents everywhere to survive, and you dare threaten us?” “A bottom-tier poor person without even her own house can only rage impotently like this.” Those people held me down on the ground, mocking and humiliating me without restraint. Lavinia, supported by the crowd, grabbed my hair and said arrogantly: “Regret? I’ve never regretted anything in my life. I’ll just wait and see how a poor person like you can make me regret it!” As soon as she finished speaking, luxury cars sped over and stopped at the villa entrance…

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “383066”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

I turned into a ghost and wandered for ten years. An internet streamer found my treasured, half-burnt photo, and started a viral campaign: “Finding Liam.” When I finally saw him again, he was about to get married. I just wanted to disappear… But when I actually disappeared, he ended up dying alone. Right before he died, he was still holding that half-burnt photo. 1 The night I died, a sudden fire broke out at the psychiatric hospital. Because of the hospital’s special design, many patients couldn’t escape and perished in the flames. After I died, I just wandered around the hospital. At first, I had a few companions. But as time went on, they gradually faded away. Leaving me here all alone. I couldn’t wander too far from the hospital, so I spent my days sitting by the window, letting time slip away. I watched the sunset so many times, way more than forty-four times. Ten years passed like this. The hospital slowly fell into ruin. The weeds outside grew taller and taller, thorns wrapped around the crumbling walls, and wild roses bloomed amidst the rubble. The locals said the place was haunted by a female ghost who ate people. They warned their children to stay away, saying the ghost would snatch them if they misbehaved. Absolute nonsense! I have never eaten a person! And I definitely wouldn’t snatch a child! … One day, a girl suddenly appeared, holding her phone and talking to herself: “Hey guys, it’s your girl Chloe! I’m here at the legendary haunted Greenview Psychiatric Hospital. It’s been abandoned for ten years. Rumor has it that a massive fire broke out here, killing twenty-seven people. They say the youngest victim was only eighteen. After the fire, the director was even arrested. Tonight, we’re going to explore this place and see if there are really ghosts here.” I floated over her shoulder and peeked at her phone. I got it! She was live-streaming! Some of the locals did that to make money too. She suddenly shrunk her neck and continued: “Even though it’s been ten years, you can still see how huge the fire was. The walls are all black, the scorch marks are everywhere…” She walked and talked, eventually making her way into my old room. She panned the camera around the pitch-black room, and her eyes landed on a corner of the wall. Chloe crouched down and pulled a blackened tin box from a crack in the wall. I was jumping up and down anxiously. “That’s mine!” “Mine!” “Don’t touch it!” But she couldn’t hear me, and she even opened my tin box. “Ah!” My secret was exposed just like that. She was so mean! She picked up the half-burnt photo inside and showed it to the camera: “Look guys! The girl in this photo is so pretty. She looks really young, I wonder if she was even an adult.” I snorted angrily: “Don’t think I’ll forgive you just because you called me pretty! And yes, I was an adult! Not little at all!” I even had a boyfriend! Comments started rolling across the screen— [Could she be the patient who died at eighteen?] [The spirits of minors who die tragically are super vengeful! Better not touch her stuff!] [What a shame, so young, and she’s gone.] [I heard this hospital had insanely strict security measures back then. Otherwise, when the fire started, so many patients wouldn’t have been trapped inside.] [Wait, look next to the photo. You can see a shoulder wearing a black jacket, looks like a guy.] [Is that the guy she liked?] [A mental patient can like someone?] [Being liked by a psycho… just thinking about it gives me the creeps.] I felt a little sad reading those comments. I wasn’t a psycho, I just… had autism. My dad said that as long as I got treated and got better, I could date. I was capable of liking someone. I wasn’t a psycho. Chloe frowned at her phone and said: “Whoever said that, get out of my stream. Calling someone a psycho… you think you’re so normal? Your whole family is ‘normal’.” I thought, maybe Chloe wasn’t so bad after all. She flipped the photo over and saw the two words written on the back. “Liam.” 2 Liam was my first love. Because I refused to go to school, he became my tutor starting my junior year of high school. He was nineteen that year. My dad said he was brilliant. They went to the same high school. He was the valedictorian of our city and a top student at Columbia University. He skipped three grades and secured a spot in grad school by his junior year of college. “How about we have him be your tutor?” I didn’t say anything. Whether I agreed or not, he was going to be my tutor anyway. Before Liam, my dad had hired a lot of tutors for me. But during lessons, I always preferred doing other things, like drawing or woodcarving, lost in my own world. Those tutors eventually all quit. When Liam first started, I ignored him too. I thought he would curse me out behind my back. Give me all sorts of mean nicknames. Those people thought I was stupid, that I couldn’t speak or complain, so that’s what they did. But he just kept explaining the math problems next to my ear, not caring if I was listening or not. Actually, I understood most of it. After the lesson, he pulled out a few worksheets. “These are worksheets based on what we covered today. Do them when you have time. We’ll go over them tomorrow.” I didn’t do them because I wasn’t interested. I scribbled all over his worksheets. He said: “That frog you drew looks pretty good.” That was clearly a tree frog! How could he call it a regular frog! So annoying. “Did I say something wrong?” I ignored him. He lowered his eyes and started explaining the problems. Liam had really long eyelashes. When he blinked, they fluttered like butterfly wings. Liam was always very calm, as if he didn’t care whether I responded to him or not. “Did you understand this problem? If not, you can tell me, and I’ll explain it again.” He tapped the desk with his fingertips. I ignored him. “Since you understand, let’s move on to the next one.” When I didn’t understand, I would turn my head and look at him, and he would explain it again. I thought it was fun, so I purposely looked at him again after he finished explaining. Even after explaining it five times, Liam remained completely unbothered. So weird, didn’t he ever get mad? A month later, I spoke my first sentence to him. “What’s a little monster?” Why did my classmates call me a little monster? Liam froze for a second, then asked me: “Who said that?” I didn’t tell him. He asked again: “Did someone call you that?” I nodded. Then he drew a picture for me. He asked me: “What is this?” “A snake that ate an elephant.” Liam gave a very faint smile and said: “But many people think it’s a hat.” So silly. He said: “People always reject perspectives that differ from their own. They think you’re different from them, so they have a prejudice against you. Prejudice is the real little monster. You are not.” “But I am indeed different from normal people.” “You are just… very special. Everyone is different, it’s no big deal.” No one had ever told me these things before. He asked me: “Do you want to know the story behind this drawing?” I nodded. “Finish this worksheet, and I’ll tell you.” Fine. Liam brought me a book. I felt I was as special as the Little Prince in the book. Liam was even more special. The Little Prince lived on a planet where he could see the sunset forty-four times a day. “Liam, I want to see the sunset forty-four times in one day too.” “If you get into a college in New York, I’ll take you to see it.” I hesitated. I didn’t like going to school, and I didn’t like people out there. But if Liam was there, maybe the outside world wouldn’t be so bad. 3 After the SATs, Liam took me to New York. In the university auditorium, I watched the sunset forty-four times. It was a visual effect he created using code and a 3D model. He said he wouldn’t be tutoring me anymore. “Why?” “High school is over.” “Liam, I like you.” High school was over, but my feelings wouldn’t end. “You’re still young, you haven’t seen the outside world.” I understood. Liam wouldn’t like a little monster either. “Liam, I’m not stupid. If you don’t like me, you can just say so, but don’t invalidate my feelings.” I rarely spoke so seriously. Just because I didn’t like talking didn’t mean I didn’t have my own thoughts. Liam was stunned. I knew a lot of people liked Liam. I could recognize that look in their eyes. But Liam couldn’t understand my look, and he even invalidated my feelings. He didn’t know that I only let him into my world. If he didn’t want to come in, then fine. I stopped talking to Liam. No matter what he said, I wouldn’t listen. As long as I wanted to, I could block out all outside noise and just live in my own world. When I was younger, I couldn’t understand what other people said, and I couldn’t step out of my own world. I didn’t understand why my mom cried when she looked at me. When she left, I didn’t feel anything special either. Later, after a long period of therapy, I finally learned how to step out of my world. Even though there were still many times I didn’t understand complex emotions. But I knew that tears meant sadness. My mom didn’t want me that much either. After meeting Liam, I finally understood what it meant to like someone. Liking someone meant wanting to share your world with them, wanting to be with them, and being happy even if you were doing nothing. When I told Liam my weird thoughts, he would think about them seriously before responding. Even though sometimes it wasn’t the answer I wanted, I liked his answers. He never brushed me off. After Liam rejected me, when he dropped me off at my door, he asked: “Are you really never going to talk to me again?” Since he didn’t like me anyway, why should he care what I thought. But I still nodded honestly. “Can’t we even be friends?” “But I like you, and you don’t like me. I’ll be sad.” “If you like someone else and are with someone else, I’ll be sad too.” “So, I can’t be friends with you.” He wasn’t my friend; he was the person I liked. I would put Liam in a secret corner of my heart, making my feelings for him my own private matter. If he ever wanted to visit my world again, I would invite him. But Liam remained silent. I didn’t know what he was thinking. Just as I was about to leave, Liam grabbed my wrist. He said: “I don’t want you to be sad.” Liam and I started dating. He was still the same as before; he texted and called me every day, told me stories, and took me out. We rode the Ferris wheel and watched the dolphins. When I was scared, he would hold my hand. He took up more and more space in my heart. I really wanted to be with Liam forever. I also wanted to smell the fresh laundry scent on him, hug him, kiss him… I really, really liked Liam. But my dad found out and forbade us from being together. My dad said he was poor and was only dating me to scam our family’s money. I didn’t know how to explain, I just kept repeating: “No, no, no…” Liam wasn’t that kind of person. “He likes me, and I like him too.” My dad said: “What do you know about liking someone? He’s a normal person, how could he possibly like you! He just thinks you’re easy to fool! I never should have hired him to be your tutor!” “No! No! No!” “Liam didn’t scam me!” “I know what it means to like someone!” “You don’t! You’re just being fooled by him!” “I know!” “I just know!” “Ah!” No one cared about my screams. My dad locked me in my room and wouldn’t let me see Liam. On a rainy day, Liam stood outside our villa, refusing to leave. I screamed so loudly in my room that my throat hurt, but my dad wouldn’t open the door. “Wait for Liam.” Just wait a little longer, give him some time, Liam would become very successful in the future. He wasn’t after our family’s money. He truly liked me. I retreated back into my own world. I stopped talking to my dad, stopped eating, and only wanted to see Liam. My dad said: “As long as you behave and get treated, once you’re better, I’ll let you see him.” “Be together.” Not just see him, I wanted to be with him. “Okay, when you’re better, I’ll let you be together.” I was admitted to the psychiatric hospital, taking medication and undergoing therapy every day. Most of the time, I could only look at the outside world through the window. I kept waiting, waiting until I was normal, then I could be with Liam. Even though I didn’t know what “normal” meant. I could finish all the SAT practice tests and get a very high score, but they wouldn’t ask me those questions. Instead, they asked me very difficult questions. “What do you think it means to like someone?” “Do you understand the concept of love or marriage?” I didn’t speak. That day, a new patient arrived at the hospital. The nurse said she hid her history of mental illness, but relapsed after getting married, and now her husband had committed her. The nurse said she harmed herself and others. Mental illness is hereditary; that poor man must really regret liking her and marrying her. I suddenly felt very scared. It turned out that just liking someone wasn’t enough to be together. Even if you are together, you might regret it. Maybe they were right, I didn’t understand anything. I’ve been dead for ten years, and I still don’t understand. Why was I locked in a psychiatric hospital for treatment just because I liked Liam? Why didn’t anyone believe that I truly liked Liam? 4 Chloe suddenly became very excited. She spoke into her phone: “Why don’t we start an event called ‘Finding Liam’! Let’s uncover the story behind this half photo!” She put the photo back into the tin box and then took the box, leaving the hospital. I was anxious, so I had to follow her. “Give it back to me!” “That’s my photo!” But she couldn’t hear me. Then I left the hospital and followed her all the way back to her house. I realized that it wasn’t the hospital that bound me, but that photo. I could only move around the photo. I watched helplessly as Chloe posted my photo online. she collected news, contacted various people, and asked around about Greenview Psychiatric Hospital. “The entire internet is searching for Liam” became a trending topic. I was a little scared, afraid that Liam would find out I was dead. He would be very sad. If Liam died, I would probably never step out of my world again. But I couldn’t stop Chloe. Because I was already dead. At this time. Chloe scrolled past a news article. Tech mogul Liam was returning to the US next week to attend an AI summit. “Liam!” She sat up abruptly from her bed, her face mask falling off. Then, she muttered to herself: “No way, no way.” I stared at the photo in the news article, afraid to blink. It was Liam. It was thirty-year-old Liam. It was my first love, Liam. So, he had been living abroad all this time? Did he forget about me? Why didn’t he ever visit me at the hospital? Was it because I wasn’t cured? Also, why wasn’t thirty-year-old Liam smiling? Was he unhappy? I really wanted to see him. I looked at Chloe, then at her house. Forget it, that would be too hard for her. Two days later, someone commented online saying they knew me. Chloe was ecstatic when she saw the message, dancing around. She really loved making a fuss over nothing; Liam was never like that. When she calmed down, I nervously looked at the phone with her. “The person in the photo was my high school classmate. She stopped coming to school much in her junior year, and after that, there was no news of her. Her name is Aria. She wasn’t quite normal, but she wouldn’t hurt anyone either. She just didn’t pay attention in class, always turned in blank tests, and acted like she couldn’t hear what anyone said. She never talked to anyone. Thinking back, she probably had autism.” Exactly, it was autism, not a mental illness. “Besides not studying, not talking, and ignoring people, she was pretty normal in other ways.” Chloe immediately contacted the person. “Then do you know Liam? What was his relationship with Aria?” “I don’t know him, Aria ignored everyone. But the name Liam sounds familiar, let me think.” I secretly prayed that he wouldn’t remember. But my prayers were useless. “I remember now! He was our senior in my junior year, the valedictorian of our city that year! If you search the news, you should be able to find his photo.” After Chloe searched, she let out a curse word. “Holy shit! Is this the Liam who is one of the top three internet moguls right now? This can’t be a coincidence!” Of course it’s not. Chloe, please, please, whatever you do, don’t ask Liam about the photo. The day Liam returned to the country, Chloe still managed to contact her journalist friend and went to ambush Liam. During those few days beside Chloe, I discovered something: the six degrees of separation theory didn’t apply to her. It seemed there was no one she didn’t know; two degrees were enough. I floated beside Chloe, super nervous. Although I was afraid Liam would find out I was dead, I finally got to see him secretly. And so, I got my wish to see thirty-year-old Liam. Only there was a woman beside him, holding his arm, walking very closely with him. I was a little angry and a little sad. I had never even held Liam’s arm. Would Liam like her the same way he liked me? Thinking about this, my heart felt like it was raining acid, corroding little by little. But I was also a little happy, because Liam seemed to be doing very well. Chloe rushed straight up and held up the half photo, asking: “Liam! Do you still recognize the person in the photo?” Help me! How could she be so reckless! Her question was very abrupt and inappropriate. But Liam stopped in his tracks. His gaze fell on the photo, and then he looked at Chloe coldly. Not only was Chloe scared. I was also scared into taking a step back. Liam’s look, it was as if he wanted to eat someone. “I don’t know her.” 5 My suspended expectations crashed heavily to the ground. Liam said he didn’t know me. Chloe sat in the car, holding the photo, puzzled: “Did I really get it wrong? But Liam’s reaction just now was very strange, it didn’t seem like he didn’t recognize her.” I didn’t understand how Liam could forget me. Was his past affection fake? I didn’t even mind that he liked someone else, but how could he forget me? Now, even if he knew I was dead, he probably wouldn’t be sad anymore. Suddenly, someone knocked on Chloe’s car window. It was the woman who had been standing with Liam. She said: “Hello, my name is Mia. I can pay you for that photo in your hand. Name your price.” “I’m sorry, it’s not for sale at any price. But if you can tell me whether Liam recognizes the person in this photo, I might just give it to you.” “I can tell you, the person in the photo almost ruined Liam.” “What?” “Owning this photo isn’t a good thing.” Mia looked at the photo and said: “Everything related to this woman is a minefield for Liam. You better be careful.” “Is that so?” Chloe gave the photo to Mia. I heard her mutter behind her back: “Things are getting interesting.” “Whether it’s a minefield or what, I have to step on it to find out.” ? I thought Mia would destroy the photo, but I didn’t expect… She actually took the photo to the hotel and gave it to Liam. “You still haven’t let her go, have you?” Liam took the photo, didn’t even glance at it, and threw it straight into the trash can. He said: “I’ve long forgotten who she is.” “Heh.” I felt Mia’s attitude was a bit strange. I sat at Liam’s feet, looking at the photo in the trash can, unable to describe how terrible I felt. That was the only photo Liam and I had together. I took it with a camera when we went to the amusement park together. I still remember he was holding pink cotton candy in his hand, and it was so sweet. He also said he would always like me. He changed his mind. But I didn’t. When I went back that day, I developed two copies of the photo. One was torn up by my dad. It was also because of the photo that he found out about Liam and me dating. I secretly brought the remaining photo into the psychiatric hospital. During the fire, I hid the photo in a tin box that used to hold candy. There was a mouse hole behind the peeling wallpaper, I put the tin box inside and blocked it with my body. By some miracle, half of the photo survived. After becoming a ghost, I drew Liam’s face in my mind every day. Even though the photo was ruined, I never forgot what he looked like. Every word he said to me, I remembered. It was all in my head. But, Liam forgot.

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Five years ago, I got pregnant with Elias Sterling’s child. Using that pregnancy as leverage, I married into the Sterling family and became his wife in name only. For those five years, Elias treated me and our child with nothing but chilling indifference. Three days ago, our son died in a tragic car accident. Meanwhile, Elias was miles away in Aspen with his first love, fulfilling a promise they had made to each other in their youth. On the third day after Leo’s death, Elias Sterling finally showed his face. 1 The funeral home was a revolving door of people coming and going. Each face wore a practiced mask of grief and pity. Only I knew it was all a performance. I stood in the kitchenette, pouring a glass of water. Just as I was about to take a sip, I heard the hushed giggles of two women behind me. “The kid’s been dead for days, and the father is still a no-show?” “Didn’t you hear?” The voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. “Elias is up in the mountains near Aspen with Elena Vance. Those high peaks have zero cell service. The Sterling family has been calling him like crazy, but not a single call went through.” “Maybe he’s just not answering on purpose,” the other woman sneered. “Everyone knows she trapped him with that pregnancy. If it weren’t for her, Elias and Elena would have been married years ago.” The noise, the whispers, the judgment—it all became too much. My world tilted, and I collapsed on the floor of the funeral home. When I finally woke up, someone was pressing medicine into my hand. My head felt like it was being split open with an axe. I buried my face in the pillow, trying to hide from reality. The fabric was damp and smelled of salt—the scent of the tears I had cried for days. Leo was gone, and Elias still hadn’t come home. Suddenly, the heavy sound of footsteps cut through the chatter. A voice murmured, “Elias, you’re finally back.” Elias… Elias Sterling? No. It couldn’t be. He was in Aspen with Elena. Why would he come back now? Even if he wanted to, would Elena let him? She had deliberately chosen Leo’s birthday to take Elias on that flight. That night, Leo had sat at the table with his head bowed. The candles on his cake were melting away, the flickering light reflecting the devastating disappointment on his small, round face. He was a child who loved sweets, yet he didn’t take a single bite. He just asked in that tiny, innocent voice, “Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?” He didn’t cry. He didn’t throw a fit. He was far too mature for his age, knowing full well that his father didn’t love him—and certainly didn’t love his mother. In those five years, Leo’s only wish was for his father to spend one birthday with him. He died before that wish could ever come true. A chair scraped across the floor next to my bed. Someone sat down. I knew that scent. I knew the rhythm of his breathing. After five years of sharing a life, I could sense his presence through a single look or a shift in the air. Once, I had lived for his touch. Now, I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him. “I’m sorry,” Elias said. His voice was flat. I’m sorry. Always the same words. When he was leaving for Aspen with Elena, I had blocked his path. I had grabbed his sleeve, begging him. “Can’t you go tomorrow? Today is Leo’s fifth birthday. He just wants his dad.” I knew I had no right to ask him for anything. I knew he never wanted this marriage. But for Leo, I had to try. Elias had simply brushed my hand away, his face like stone. “I’m sorry, Nora. Elena is waiting for me.” But his son had been waiting too. Only this time, Leo got tired of waiting. He wouldn’t be waiting ever again. “You’re awake?” Elias’s voice held no sorrow, only a sense of clinical urgency. “The guests are gone. You should get up and eat something.” How could he be so calm? It was as if the child who died wasn’t his own. But then again, he never treated Leo like his son. He never treated me like his wife. If it hadn’t been for my mother’s schemes to get me into his bed, I never would have become Mrs. Sterling. Elias hated me. He hated my mother. He once called us “The Farmer and the Snake.” Thinking of Leo, my nose stung again. I pressed my face into the wet pillow, my voice hoarse and broken by sobs. “Did you… did you go see him?” “Yes.” “Good. At least you did that.” I fought to keep my voice steady. “Now, get out.” His voice remained cool, like a breeze. “I didn’t get the calls. The equipment failed in the mountains… really.” Really? Was he emphasizing the truth, or just trying to absolve himself of guilt? It didn’t matter anymore. I didn’t care. “Fine. Just leave.” But Elias didn’t move. He sounded annoyed now. “Nora, the boy was only five. How could you let him go out by himself? I’m his father. I deserve an explanation.” An explanation? I let out a sharp, jagged laugh and sat up. I must have looked horrific. My face was a map of tear stains and pillow creases. My eyes were sunken, my skin deathly pale. I looked like a ghost inhabiting a living body. Elias, meanwhile, was the picture of perfection. Tailored suit, perfectly groomed, his face a mask of icy composure. No sorrow. No tears. He looked like a detective interrogating a suspect. And I, the grieving mother, was the criminal. “What are you laughing at?” he asked, frowning. “I’m laughing at you.” I leaned against the headboard. I felt as fragile as paper, yet my words were blades. “Do you know where Leo was going when he stepped outside?” Elias stared at me, waiting. “He was going to find you.” “He called you dozens of times. You never picked up.” “He told me, ‘Maybe Daddy is lost and can’t find his way home. I have to go help him.’” Elias hesitated. “And you didn’t stop him?” “I lied to him once. I lied to him twice. But he was so worried about you that he slipped out while I was…” I stopped. Why was I explaining this to him? I took a deep breath. “It was my fault.” The silence in the room turned into a storm. Elias’s eyes turned sharp, scrutinizing me. “It was my fault for being foolish enough to love you,” I said, each word deliberate. “It was my fault for ending up in this marriage and bringing Leo into a world where his father hated him. I failed to protect him from the loneliness you gave him.” Elias’s expression went blank. He was speechless. Suddenly, the door burst open. A hand flew through the air and slapped me across the face before either of us could react. “You couldn’t even keep an eye on a five-year-old! Do you even deserve to be a mother?!” It was Elias’s aunt, Catherine. She was a loud, arrogant woman who had always despised me and Leo. She was the one who once pushed Leo, gave him rotten fruit to eat, and whispered in his ear that his father hated him. Her theatrical grief now was nothing but a show for Elias. I sat there, numb, as she slapped me again. My lip bled. Elias, my husband, watched the whole thing with total indifference. He didn’t move a muscle. Throughout the years, whenever Leo and I needed him, he had never once reached out his hand. My hair was being yanked, the pain sharp. Through the insults, I locked eyes with Elias’s cold gaze. Once, years ago, I had tripped and scraped my knee. He had been so panicked, asking me over and over if it hurt. How times change. Now, he could watch me be beaten and feel absolutely nothing. The string inside me finally snapped. I lunged forward, grabbed Catherine’s arm, and slapped her back with everything I had. She froze, her eyes wide with shock, clutching her red cheek. In this house, I owed no one anything except Elias. And Leo owed no one anything at all. I was done being the victim. 2 The day we went to the cemetery, I was still wearing the marks of that fight. My left cheek was swollen, and there were scratches along my jaw. If Elias hadn’t eventually stepped in to pull us apart, it might have been worse. But when he stepped in, the person he pushed away was me. Sitting in the car, a cold front was sweeping through the city. I didn’t feel the chill. I just stared hollowly out the window. Elias sat beside me, answering a call. It was Elena. On the day of his son’s burial, he still found the time to be patient with another woman. His voice had that low, rhythmic cadence he only used for her. “Yes. I’ll be busy for a few more days.” “…You should go back first.” “Her?” I felt Elias’s gaze drift toward me. He handed me the phone. “Elena wants to talk to you.” In the past, I would have thrown the phone out the window. But after losing Leo, what was the point of a scene? Under Elias’s surprised gaze, I took the phone and pressed it to my ear. It still carried the warmth of his skin. I used to crave that warmth. Now, it just made me sick. Elena’s voice was clear, bright, and utterly fake. “Nora, are you okay?” I said nothing. The man beside me was a suffocating presence. I knew that if I said one harsh word to Elena, he would kick me out of the car. He had done it before. One snowy night, I had called Elena in front of him, telling her to stop destroying a family. Elias had flown into a rage, smashed my phone, and ordered me out into the cold. I had walked for two hours in the blizzard. I was bedridden with a fever for a week after. He never checked on me once. It was Leo who sat by my bed, pressing his tiny, warm hands to my forehead, calling “Mommy” until I woke up. I had stayed alive for Leo. I thought he needed me to survive the Sterlings. But now, he was gone, and the very air was being sucked out of my lungs. “Nora,” Elena whispered, her voice too low for Elias to hear. “You must be devastated. You lost your only leverage.” Leo. My son. My “leverage” for marrying into this family. I looked at the gray sky. “Then I’m giving it back to you.” Elena faltered. “What?” “I’m giving him back to you,” I said. “I’m sorry. He was always yours anyway.” Elias snatched the phone back and ended the call. His face was twisted with sudden violence. “What kind of nonsense are you feeding her now?” What does a mother who lost her child say to her husband’s mistress? There were no warnings left. No curses. Only a clean break. I was letting go. Let the “star-crossed lovers” have their happy ending. I had no strength left to fight for this marriage. Honestly, I didn’t even have the strength left to live. Under a light, drizzling rain, we buried Leo. The photo on the headstone was from when he was three. We had planned to take a family portrait that day. Leo and I had arrived early, waiting from dawn until dusk. All around us were happy families, laughing and posing for the camera. In the middle of that joy, Leo and I were a tragic joke. I could handle the coldness, but Leo… The rain washed over the cold marble. The boy in the photo wasn’t smiling. He had been trying so hard to hide his disappointment that day because he didn’t want me to be sad. Someone held an umbrella over me. I bowed my head, praying to Leo’s soul. I prayed that in his next life, he would have parents who loved him, not a life of cold shoulders and empty hallways. A shadow moved across the grass. It was Elias. I opened my heavy eyes. He was wearing a long black overcoat. He bent down and placed something at the base of the headstone. It was a race car Lego set. My heart turned to ice. “What is that?” I asked, my voice terrifyingly calm. Elias looked back at the grave. “A birthday gift for Leo. He asked me for it a while ago. I didn’t have time before…” “He asked you for it?” “We had a deal.” Looking at the utter desolation on my face, Elias reached out and grabbed my wrist. “What’s wrong?” My legs gave out. A sharp, searing pain twisted in my gut. I collapsed to my knees in front of Leo’s grave. My son… on the last birthday of his life, I had given him a fake gift. I told him it was from his father. He had smiled, even though he knew I was lying. He knew his father didn’t love him. He knew Elias hadn’t even remembered his birthday. And now, the gift was here. But it was too late. It was so, so much too late. 3 The atmosphere at the Sterling estate was heavy. Elias’s father, Thomas Sterling, was waiting for us. He gripped his mahogany cane, his brow furrowed. “Nora, go upstairs,” he said gently. I knew what was coming. Thomas was going to take his anger out on Elias. Thomas was the only person in this family who liked me. He was the one who had insisted I marry Elias, all because my father had saved his life years ago. When my father died, leaving us with nothing, the Sterlings took us in. They gave my mother a job as a housekeeper and sent me to the best schools alongside Elias. Elias had been told to treat me like a sister. He did, at first. Until I was foolish enough to fall in love with him. Thomas had found out that Elias missed the funeral. He had sent the others away so he could deliver “family discipline.” The housekeeper ran to me, her voice shrill and desperate. “Nora, please! Go talk to the Master! He’ll listen to you! Elias is getting beaten!” Why should I go? I used to love Elias with everything I had. If he were hurt, I would have been in more pain than him. But that Nora died with Leo. All that was left was guilt and a hollow chest. I took off my jewelry. I stripped off the expensive clothes. I packed a single suitcase with nothing but Leo’s things. Nothing in this room belonged to me. I placed my earrings on the vanity. After making sure I wasn’t taking anything that wasn’t mine, I walked downstairs. Elias was already on his knees, his hands braced on the floor, teeth grit in pain. He looked up, his bloodshot eyes meeting mine, but I didn’t spare him a second glance. Thomas dropped the cane and walked toward me. He was the man I respected most. He had provided for me and my mother, given us a home, and supported me even when the rest of the family sneered. “…Thomas.” I called him by his name, not “Dad.” I remembered the day I married into the family. Thomas had taken my hand and placed it on Elias’s. “Nora is a good girl,” he had told his son. “Treat her right.” It was just like the day my mother and I first arrived at the Sterling mansion. “Nora is your sister now,” Thomas had said to a young Elias. “Take care of her.” And back then, Elias had smiled at me. He had taken me to the cafeteria, waited for me after school, and made me watch him play basketball. There were hundreds of girls screaming for him on the sidelines, but he always insisted I be there. He was the golden boy. I was the shy, plain girl in a ponytail and a hand-me-down uniform. I was too timid to even look him in the eye. Everyone in school knew Elias only hung out with me because his father owed mine a life. He didn’t mind my silence or my awkwardness. He took me everywhere. Until Elena Vance appeared. Suddenly, the girl on the sidelines was Elena. The person eating lunch with him was Elena. I don’t remember exactly how she pushed me out of his life. I just remember the sudden coldness. I remember overhearing a classmate in the restroom: “Nora is so clueless. Elias is dating Elena now, and she’s still following him around like a lost puppy.” A lost puppy. I had backed away after that. I made excuses to stop eating with him. I avoided him at home. But one day, he found me in the cafeteria with another boy. He stood over our table, looking down at me with that aristocratic disdain. “So, you stopped eating with me because you found a boyfriend?” I didn’t understand. I just didn’t want to be the third wheel. But later, through a series of accidents and my mother’s desperation, I broke Elias and Elena apart. It was time to give Elena her place back. Elias stood up from the floor. The blows hadn’t seemed to bother him. He stared at me as I spoke to Thomas. “Thomas, I’ve left everything in the bedroom. I’m leaving today.” “Nora…” Thomas tried to stop me, just as he had many times over the years. But he knew that without Leo, there was nothing left to keep me in this prison my mother had built for me. Elias looked like an outsider, confused by the conversation. “Leaving? Where are you going?” Thomas snapped, “Shut your damn mouth!” Elias frowned. “Nora is my wife. I have a right to know where she’s going.” So now he remembered I was his wife? Too bad I was never acknowledged until I decided to leave. Thomas was clutching his chest, his face pale. I hurried to support him. “Thomas, please, don’t get worked up.” “Nora… this is my fault,” Thomas wheezed. “I didn’t raise him right. I let you and Leo suffer. If your mother knew…” “It’s okay, Thomas. Don’t worry about it anymore.” I walked past Elias. He grabbed my wrist. “Tell me the truth. Where are you going? Why are you doing this?” “The heart dies before the body, Elias,” I said. “You wouldn’t understand.” I shook off his hand and walked out. Three days after leaving the Sterling house, I collapsed in my small rental. It wasn’t a surprise. Stomach cancer. I had been diagnosed two months ago. Back then, Leo was still alive, and I was fighting to stay for him. I had even tried to tell Elias the day I got the diagnosis. All I got was a cold glare. He hated me so much that I had stopped trying to reach him. I had planned to get treated and then take Leo away. But now, I was going to find Leo instead. The irony of life is that at the very end, the person I saw when I opened my eyes was Arthur Miller. Arthur had been in my class in high school. He was a poor kid with brilliant grades, always buried in his books. He was the opposite of the wealthy, arrogant Elias. Back then, Elias had called him a “pretentious loser” and told me to stay away from him. I had defended Arthur, and Elias had accused me of taking sides against him. I knew Arthur wanted to be a doctor. I knew he would succeed. But I never expected to be his first patient after his residency abroad. He looked imposing in his white coat. It made me feel even more pathetic. He looked at me with that same look of disapproval he had in high school. “Nora, you’re failing so badly, how can you sleep so soundly?” Back then, I would have teased him. “Elias is taking me to study abroad. He said I don’t need to work that hard.” Whenever I said that, Arthur’s expression would turn complex. Now, I finally understood what he was thinking. Relying on a man who doesn’t love you is a one-way ticket to a tragedy. I was the living proof. Still, Dr. Miller had saved my life. I lifted my hand, heavy with IV tubes, and offered a weak smile. “Hi.” Arthur didn’t seem interested in chatting. He sent a nurse to look after me instead. I was brought in by a neighbor. The bills weren’t paid. When the nurse asked for a family contact, I just smiled. “No parents. No family.” The nurse gave me a look of pure pity. “Dr. Miller wants to take you for some scans and a full workup.” I struggled into my old coat. When I left the Sterlings, I took nothing. I was afraid Elias would sue me to get it back. I never wanted to see him again. The coat was years old. It didn’t keep out the cold, and the sleeves were pilling. I looked a mess. I stood up shakily. “No need. I’m just tired. I’m fine.” In the Sterling house, no one respected me except Thomas. I was the parasite who crawled into Elias’s bed to become a trophy wife. I had spent years hardening my heart and my body. The nurse was skeptical. My face was probably the same color as the patients in the hospice wing. Well, I was a terminal cancer patient. It was just a secret. When Leo was alive, I spent my time secretly visiting hospitals, looking for a cure while doubled over in pain, vomiting until there was nothing left. I went to the billing window and paid with what little money I had. I clutched my stomach, stumbling out of the line. My vision was blurred, but I thought I saw Elias. He was wearing the overcoat I had bought him, his arm wrapped around another woman. In that moment, I wished my consciousness would just fade. Then I wouldn’t have to see the scarf around Elena Vance’s neck—the one I had hand-knitted for Elias. When I gave it to him, I had asked where it was dozens of times. He had always said he lost it. He could have thrown it away. But instead, he used it to humiliate me. I wasn’t even surprised. I felt a strange sense of peace. That was the moment Elias Sterling finally used up the last bit of love and guilt I had for him. Along with Leo’s death, it was all buried. The dream was over. I was a childless divorcee with nothing. He had his new life and his heart’s desire. Standing in the crowded hospital, I remembered all the times I bought him ties, only for Elena to use them as rags. I remembered waiting up on his mother’s death anniversary, only to see Elena post a photo of him with the caption: “You always make my heart ache.” My mother had taught me to knit. It was my first project. I had been so nervous, hoping for a single smile. He had taken it and said, “Don’t waste your time on this again.” He was trying to tell me that my efforts were futile. But I just wanted to be a good wife. Back then, Leo had tugged on my sleeve to comfort me. “Don’t be sad, Mommy. Daddy is just acting tough.” Silly boy. When a man doesn’t love you, he isn’t acting. 5 Two weeks after Leo died. I was surviving on painkillers. The cancer was spreading, and the pain was becoming a physical weight I couldn’t carry. Every time I got sick, I felt like a hollow shell. Even a glass of water was painful to swallow. I took the pills and hugged Leo’s favorite teddy bear. In the haze of the drugs, I wondered if Leo’s death had been this painful. He didn’t have painkillers. He must have been so scared. It was my fault. I didn’t protect him. My Leo… Before I slipped into unconsciousness, I heard a steady knocking at the door. If it weren’t for the pain, I would have thought it was the grim reaper. It was Arthur Miller. He wasn’t the type to be persistent. Back in high school, I’d beg him to explain a math problem and he’d give me the cold shoulder. What changed? “Nora, you’re in bad shape. You need to be in a hospital.” He was a doctor. A good one. He could see the truth written on my face. Arthur hadn’t changed much. He was still tall, still carried that air of intellectual arrogance. Like Elias said, he was “too proud.” And proud people don’t like to be insulted. I didn’t want to offend him before I died. “Dr. Miller, are you out of patients?” I tried to sound as petty as possible. “How much of a commission do you get for these extra tests?” Arthur’s eye twitched. “Nora…” “Here, take some money and leave me alone.” I went inside and threw some cash at him. Arthur left. Good. No one should have to put up with a difficult patient. Dying alone was the best ending for me. I swallowed my pills and pulled the curtains. But as I looked down, I saw two figures. Arthur Miller and Elias Sterling. Why was he here? Shouldn’t he be with Elena? They were arguing, almost coming to blows. I ignored the pain and rushed downstairs, blocking the space between them. “What the hell are you doing here?” I rasped. Elias looked the same as always. Standing in the night wind, his coat fluttering, the moonlight sharp on his features. He looked at Arthur with the same venom he had in high school whenever Arthur helped me with my books. “Nora, don’t you have hands? Why do you need him to help you?” he used to say. He wouldn’t let other men help me, yet he gave all his kindness to Elena. I used to love him. I used to push people away for him. Not anymore. I stepped in front of Arthur and pulled on his sleeve, urging him to go. He locked eyes with Elias, the tension thick enough to burn. He only left because I asked him to. Elias watched him go, his face a storm. “Tired of the good life? You ran here to be with your little pet?” The good life? Being neglected by a husband and loathed by a family? That was Elias’s definition of a “good life.” He hated me for ruining his future with Elena. Well, I was dying now. He should be happy. “I’m done with that life. Give it to Elena. I hope you both live long, happy lives with lots of children.” I said it calmly. No screaming. No breakdown. It was just like the day I left the Sterlings. Like I was deciding what to have for dinner. Elias looked stunned. He probably thought my request for divorce was just a reaction to Leo’s death—a tantrum I’d eventually get over. “Nora, have you really thought this through?” “My leaving was your dream for years, wasn’t it?” Silence. Elias nodded, a mocking smile on his face. “Fine. It’s your choice. Don’t come crawling back when you regret it.” I watched him walk away. Regret? I didn’t even have a future to regret. That night, I saw Elena’s Instagram post: “Dreams do come true.” The photo was of a massive diamond ring on her finger. 6 The cancer was moving fast. I didn’t know how much time I had left, but I found myself welcoming the end. I’d see Leo soon. It had been over two weeks since I’d seen him. I missed him. But it had been days since I thought of Elias. I used to spend my life around him. Packing his bags, managing the house, dealing with the relatives. I was his nurse when he was sick and his maid when he was drunk. And he spent his life with Elena. He wouldn’t even take my calls when he was away. The only times he answered were when Elena picked up the phone. “Elias is sleeping,” she’d purr. “No wonder he hates you. You’re such a nuisance.” “Take care of him,” I’d say. “I don’t need you to tell me that. Do you really think you’re his wife? You’re just a parasite who trapped him.” I had no comeback for that. Life was easier now. I went to the hospital to get more meds. I just wanted to make it to Christmas. Leo loved Christmas. If I could see him then, he’d be so happy. I waddled through the crowds. I must have looked like a walking corpse, wrapped in layers of scarves to hide my skeletal frame. As I left with my prescription, Arthur caught up to me. I looked back, and his eyes were glued to my face. I pulled my scarf tighter. Extreme weight loss is hard to hide. “Nora…” Arthur started to speak, then just sighed. “Where are you going?” “The station.” “I’ll drive you.” Suddenly, my eyes burned. I tried to say no, but Arthur was already walking toward his car. The street was full of people. I wasn’t the only one suffering. “Did Elias say anything after I left?” Arthur asked as we drove. “He used to get so worked up about us.” “No. We’re divorced.” “I was shocked when I heard you two got married. He came to see me before I left for my residency. He threatened me… told me to stay away from you.” Arthur let out a dry laugh. “Elias is a contradiction. He wouldn’t let me love you, but he only called you a sister.” I froze. “When did he say that?” “After Elena showed up.” I remembered. Before Elena, Elias would steal my soda, drink from my cup, and kiss my cheek. He’d laugh and say, “The ice is bad for you. This is mine now.” But that was a lifetime ago. People saw the sparks between us. Elias didn’t deny it. One day, under the golden light of the setting sun, I followed him. “Why aren’t you explaining things?” I asked. “Explain what?” He had been about to say something, his eyes soft, when the driver arrived to take us home. Elias went into his father’s study and stayed there for a long time. After that, he turned cold. He stopped taking me to lunch. He told me to stop bothering him. I tried everything to win him back, but nothing worked. Then Elena appeared. He stopped sharing my drinks. He stopped kissing me. When a friend asked if we were together, he sneered. “Nora is just a sister. If it weren’t for her dad, she wouldn’t even be that.” He told me I was only in the house because of my father. He told me to know my place. My mother told me the same. She told me to be careful, to remember we were just guests. I had buried my love for him. Then, right as those feelings were dying, my mother pushed me into his bed. The rest of my life was spent in a cycle of regret. I looked at Arthur. “There is nothing between me and Elias Sterling.” Elias heard about it within hours. He was waiting by his car in the dark, smoking. The smoke curled around his expensive suit, making him look like a phantom. “Nothing between us? Nora, you bore my son.” He still remembered he had a son. Arthur must have told him. I didn’t care to investigate. I just smiled. “The son is dead. So the connection is dead, too.” Elias choked on his smoke. He dropped the cigarette right before it burned his fingers. “Nora… we can have another child.” No. There was only one Leo. “I’m sure you will,” I said. “You and Elena will have plenty.” I just wanted a quiet corner to spend my last days. “What about you?” Elias asked, his voice dripping with jealousy. “You and Arthur Miller will have children?” I was too tired to argue. I just wanted to be rid of him. If he wanted to believe I was with Arthur, let him. “Believe what you want.” I turned to go, but Elias grabbed my arm. “Did you forget? You’re still my wife.” “Not for long.” The wind was harsh, bringing the taste of copper to my mouth. Elias searched my face for a lie. “Nora, this game is getting old. You can’t survive without me.” A game? No one plays games with their own life. To force me back, Elias stalled the divorce settlement. He froze the accounts. He even took back the apartment I was living in. He left me homeless while he planned his wedding. Nobody gets remarried a month after their son dies. But Elias did. The news of his wedding to Elena was everywhere. I heard about Thomas’s rage and the family gossip. I didn’t care. I wasn’t part of the story anymore. Elena called me while I was trying to choke down my meds. “Nora, we’re getting married at the end of the month.” “Congratulations,” I said, and hung up. I went to the train station. Elias called me. “Nora, I’ll give you one more chance. Come home.” His voice sounded like a dream. Maybe he was finally feeling guilty. But where was that guilt when Leo was alive? “Elias… I’m never coming back. Ever.” I looked at the teddy bear in my hand. “I apologized for my mother. I apologized for everything. I’m sorry I stayed in the way of you and Elena for so long.” I hung up.

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My son was ruined by his grandmother. By sixteen, he refused to study and spent every waking moment hooked on League of Legends. I finally forced the issue with my husband and asked my son who he’d live with if we divorced. “Dad, obviously,” he sneered, without looking up from his screen. “Why would I live with you? You nag me 24/7 about nothing. You’re exhausting.” He actually smiled, then added, “As soon as you’re gone, Auntie Melissa can move in. She’s a thousand times better than you, a million times better. Just divorce already, don’t chicken out!” I nodded, feeling the last bit of attachment break. “Fine. I hope you don’t regret it.” 1 Back when Leo was just starting elementary school, I was swamped starting my own consulting firm. My mother-in-law, Martha, took him back to her quiet town to help us out. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I decided to step back, become a full-time stay-at-home mom, and bring Martha and Leo to live with us. I never imagined those few years would completely warp Leo’s character. His grandma spoiled him rotten, and now, at sixteen, he had zero self-discipline and felt entitled to everything. This wasn’t the first time my son had compared me to this “Auntie Melissa.” The first time I heard him say that, it felt like my heart was being twisted in my chest. I thought all those years of sacrifice, of stepping back from my career, were wasted. The woman he loved so much was Melissa Jenkins. She was my husband Mark’s college sweetheart. Mark had been hopelessly in love with her back in the day, but she had used him as a backup plan. She was obsessed with a “golden boy” from their class and actually moved to London just to chase him. Years later, she returned, penniless, with her looks fading, and suddenly realized my husband was the perfect “safety net.” She’d been working her way into our lives ever since. For the past few months, she’d been at our house every single day, rain or shine. She bought Leo a new smartphone, an iPad, a gaming console. She knew I limited Leo’s sweets, so she always had chocolate and premium candy bar stuffed in her purse for him. The day we finalized the divorce, Mark and I walked out of the courthouse with the papers. He’s usually pretty spineless, but he looked at me and asked, “We can still be friends, right? Want to come back to the house for a drink?” I gave him a long, hard look. “Sure. Why not?” I wanted to see the reality he had created. As soon as I opened the door, I heard laughter. My son was sitting close to Melissa on the couch, two massive KFC buckets between them. A sixteen-year-old in a growth spurt, and he’s eating this for lunch? I felt my temple throb. But I forced a casual smile, walked over, grabbed a handful of fries from their bucket, and ate them deliberately. Leo looked at me, a confused glint in his eye, which he quickly replaced with defiance. “Aren’t you going to yell at me? I’m eating ‘junk food,’ remember?” He emphasized the words, smugly taking a massive bite of his burger while watching for my reaction. I didn’t even bother to roll my eyes. “Nope. When you were my son, I cared about your health. I limited the junk because I know you’re self-conscious about your height and you have no self-control. But now you’re her problem.” I smiled sweetly. “Not my circus, not my monkey.” He was stunned. He hadn’t expected that. For a second, a flicker of hurt crossed his face, but he quickly covered it with a cold smirk and turned back to Melissa, laughing loudly at something she said, pretending I was a stranger. I didn’t care. From the moment he said, “Auntie Melissa is a million times better than you, why haven’t you divorced yet?” to the moment he stood there while Mark screamed at me, “Your low-class family raised a useless daughter, you don’t deserve this house!” I was done. As of today, he wasn’t my son. When he saw I wasn’t engaging, his booming laughter gradually faded to a whisper. Melissa shot me a cool glance, then addressed me directly. “Since you’re here… I also have a son, Tyler. He’s fifteen. I’m bringing him over tomorrow to live here and go to school with Leo. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?” She would never have dared to speak to me like that before. I deliberately took my time wiping the grease off my fingers, smiling. “Are you asking me? You’re the lady of the house now. You make the rules.” Her eyes widened in surprise, and then her face immediately filled with the smug satisfaction of a woman who had won. “Then it’s settled. Leo, you’re the older brother, you have to take good care of Tyler, okay?” My son cheered. “Awesome! Finally, someone to play CoD with!” I sneered internally. You idiot. Once her biological son arrives, your easy life is over. How did I raise such a fool? I must not have taken enough prenatal vitamins. 2 When our family’s finances first turned around years ago, I had bought the adjacent apartment. The plan was to bring my parents over when they got older, so they could live right next door and I could take care of them. That wasn’t happening now. During the divorce settlement, I hadn’t pushed for much, but I fought for that adjacent unit. It was mine. After the courthouse and the KFC “lunch,” I went back to my new apartment. As I was about to close the door, Mark caught it, looking hesitant. “Melissa and I… we haven’t actually, you know, ‘done it’ yet. I didn’t cheat on you during the marriage. If you hadn’t been so stubborn about the divorce—” “You didn’t cheat? I saw you kissing her in your office, and she looked like she was trying to suck the soul out of your body. What was that? A commercial shoot?” I sneered, slamming the door in his face. If he truly respected me, or this marriage, he would have rejected her the moment she started trying to worm her way in. But Mark enjoyed it. He loved having his college “goddess” worshiping him. He let her humiliate me and turned our home into a war zone. So I gave him the divorce. Now he could enjoy her without the guilt. What was the problem? I didn’t see a problem. I locked the door, shutting out those toxic people. The world was finally quiet. I pulled out my phone and listed the apartment on Zillow. My parents had only stayed here a few times, so it was basically new. Those few times were enough. My son was constantly screaming at my parents, actually calling them “old geezers” to their faces. My parents, bless them, didn’t have the heart to get angry at a child, but I refused to let them be treated that way. I was the one who stopped them from moving in. I had actually slapped the little brat for it back then, but Melissa had held me back, saying he was just a child, and I shouldn’t take it seriously. I should have slapped her too. The memory made my blood boil. I suddenly remembered that my son’s debit card was still linked to my bank account. I was transferring $500 a month to him… Not anymore. My thumb swiped across the screen. Unlinked. Cancelled. Instant relief. When I woke up the next morning, I saw an offer on Zillow. Some investor wanted to buy the place, cash, and close fast. I got dressed up before leaving. In the past, I was so busy serving my husband and son that I didn’t even have time to look in the mirror. Now, I had nothing but time. I sat at my vanity, did a full skincare routine, applied light makeup, and spent time on my hair and picking a dress. I stared at myself for a long time. My features were good. With some concealer and foundation, the exhaustion was gone, and I looked elegant, nothing like the tired, disheveled housewife I had become. My figure still needed work, though. I picked up my phone and booked a $1,000 personal training package. Now that I wasn’t spending money on that little brat, I had plenty of disposable income for myself. I hummed as I walked downstairs, and bumped into Melissa and her biological son, Tyler, on the sidewalk. One look and you knew they were related. Melissa raised him exactly the same way Martha raised Leo—one glance and you wanted to slap him. Tyler was kicking and screaming on the pavement, refusing to let go of a bike rack. Melissa was trying to cajole him. “Forget that bike! Martha and I have money now, I’ll buy you a brand new, custom-ordered mountain bike, the latest model!” She finally convinced him. I watched from the shadows as Tyler went back a minute later and used a key to scratch the bike that had caused the tantrum. He absolutely ruined the paint job. By the way, that bike belonged to my little brat. He had worked odd jobs for me for six months just to save up for it, and he loved it. No matter. Melissa has money now. She’ll buy him a new one. It was her son who broke it, after all. I went to meet the buyer and handle the closing. When I got back, the investor had already sent a crew to change the locks, but they called me to the adjacent unit. My new front door had been hacked and keyed. I assumed it was Tyler, but when the building manager pulled the surveillance footage, I saw my son’s face, filled with rage, gouging my door with a metal tool. My numb, distant heart felt another sharp twist. 3 I didn’t need to ask to know what happened. My son discovered his bike was ruined. Melissa probably mentioned, casually, that she had seen me downstairs early that morning… This wasn’t her first time using that tactic. I didn’t go confront them. I called the cops and gave them the video footage. When the police arrived to take my son in for vandalism, Martha and Melissa both rushed over to shield him. Martha glared at me, screaming, “Is this what a mother does? You’re sending your own son to the police station?” I crossed my arms. “Why not? What, should I wait until he moves from vandalism to assault? Or arson?” My son was staring at me coldly. “You’re a real piece of work. Just ruthless. I hope you don’t regret it.” Then he turned to the cop, shouting furiously, “I want to file a counter-complaint! She’s mad my dad dumped her for a younger model, so she ruined my bike this morning!” My jaw almost dropped. Melissa’s eyes were darting around, looking nervous. I almost laughed out loud at the absurdity. I calmly addressed the cop. “Here’s the deal. If I’m the one who ruined his bike, I’ll pay him ten times what it’s worth. But if I didn’t, he has to pay me ten times what it costs to replace my door.” The little brat froze. He instinctively looked at Melissa. I smiled sweetly at her, waiting. Melissa panicked. “Let’s not do that. We’re all family here. Don’t say things you don’t mean. Mark will just pay for the door.” I smirked coldly. Before I could speak, the little brat snapped, “Melissa, stop! If you give an inch, she takes a mile! Don’t protect her!” He actually called her Melissa. I wasn’t surprised. He’d already accepted the enemy. Melissa, however, looked annoyed when he used her name, not happy. Her expression went dark. The fool didn’t notice; he was too busy glaring at me. Martha was starting to get suspicious, looking back and forth between me and Melissa. Melissa bit her lip, then adopted a meek tone. “Since there aren’t any other cameras down there, it’s just your word against ours. There’s no way to prove anything.” I smiled sweetly. “All you need to do is agree to the ten times compensation. If I can’t prove it, I lose.” Melissa’s pupils constricted. She glanced at me, and I deliberately shifted my gaze away as if I were nervous. She took the bait. A smug smile touched her lips. “Fine. But Leo is furious, and as his mother figure, I don’t want him to feel cheated.” I smiled internally, ignoring her pathetic attempt to hurt me by calling herself his “mother figure.” “So, it’s a deal?” I casually pulled out my phone and tapped on the video I had already prepared. You should have seen Melissa’s face. It was priceless. The video on my phone clearly showed Tyler, Melissa’s biological son, smirking as he scratched Leo’s bike, and then using a key on my door while muttering, “This is all going to be mine eventually anyway, loser.” My son watched the video, stunned, his mouth hanging open. Then he furiously slammed his bag onto the ground and screamed a profanity at Tyler. The cop had to interject. “Hey! Cut that out! What’s with the language? You parents need to be watching what your kids are doing.” Martha was about to open her mouth to blame me—I could see it. I wasn’t letting her get away with it again. She wasn’t my family anymore. I addressed the cop directly. “I apologize, officer. The boy is raised without any discipline. I’ve tried to correct him, but my mother-in-law here fought me every step of the way, insisted on raising him herself, and brought him back a complete brat. When I finally brought him back to try and fix him, you can see the result. My home was turned into a battlefield and I was forced into a divorce.” I affected a weary, sad sigh. “I’m sorry you have to see this family drama.” The cop gave me a sympathetic look. Martha looked like a fish on land, her eyes wide, but she couldn’t say a single word. “The compensation goes to my account. You know the number. Don’t make me call your father.” I smiled coldly at my son, whose face was purple with rage. I ignored the rest of them and casually walked away. I didn’t care what the neighbors watching the drama were thinking. 4 My week was fantastic. I received the ten-times compensation, paid out of the brat’s savings and allowance, and the apartment closing went smoothly. When I told my parents I was selling, they hesitated. “What about Leo? If you aren’t there to watch him, won’t his stepmother treat him badly?” I smiled. “What happens to him isn’t my concern anymore.” I wasn’t being dramatic. The hurt ran too deep. I had dedicated my life to him, and for what? To be abused? Melissa only spent a year grooming him, and she had already eclipsed the decade of devotion I’d given him. It was time to move on. As I was happily packing up, Martha suddenly showed up with the little brat in tow. “I heard you sold the other apartment. You must have over a million dollars in cash now. Leo needs to get married one day. I found a great house in a gated community, I think you should buy it for him as a wedding gift.” My eyes widened in genuine disbelief. “Are you serious? Are you telling me that a mother is legally obligated to buy a house for a useless, ungrateful son who doesn’t even want to study? I don’t have that obligation. Do you want to see the court’s decision? The judge ruled I only have to pay $500 a month in child support until he’s eighteen.” My son looked at me in disbelief, which immediately turned to disgust. “I am not your son from this day on. If you won’t buy me a house, don’t ever expect me to support you when you’re old!” I chuckled. “I haven’t considered you my son for a while now, you call Melissa ‘Mom’ anyway, don’t you? Ask Melissa to buy you a house. And I never expected you to support me. You treat your grandparents like dirt, and they adore you. I can already see what my old age would look like with you in charge. Buy you a house? I’d rather buy a dog and buy it a golden doghouse.” My son was left speechless, his face bright red. He turned to his grandmother and screamed, “Why did you bring me here to talk to this bitch? She isn’t my mom, I don’t have a mom like her!” He actually called me that. The vein in my temple throbbed. Melissa appeared from around the corner, a smile on her face. “Leo is still a child, don’t take it personally.” Martha screamed at me, “You’re the mother! You’re actually holding a grudge against your own child? How can you show your face?” I smiled sweetly. “He’s calling me a bitch now. Eventually, he’ll start calling you one too. When that happens, remember, don’t take it personally.” I slammed the door. I put my hands over my eyes, taking a deep breath. It still hurt. It’s impossible to remain indifferent when someone you once loved more than life itself abuses you like that. But I wasn’t going to take it anymore. I knew Melissa was the one filling his head with this nonsense. Martha wasn’t smart enough to come up with the “wedding gift” plan on her own. They wanted a wedding gift? Fine. I’ll give them what they want. I called Mark. “Your mom just came by, demanding I buy Leo a wedding gift in a gated community. What’s your take?” Mark was confused. “Leo is sixteen. Isn’t that a little early?” I smirked. “Mark, you know Melissa brought her own son, Tyler. Tyler is also going to grow up and need a house. When the time comes, who gets your money? Tyler isn’t your son. Leo is your only heir.” I knew Mark well. He was obsessed with his legacy. He hesitated, then said, “Maybe I should buy something in Leo’s name, just in case?” “That’s your decision. Oh, and Mark, I’d suggest you keep this from Melissa. You know how she gets.” … I finished packing and moved into a new apartment across town, then immediately started looking for a job. I didn’t have much experience, but I was motivated. I eventually landed an executive assistant position. I hadn’t worked in years, and I was determined to succeed. I put in the hours, got along with my colleagues, and my boss, the CEO, seemed to like me. The following weekend, I was working overtime. My boss, Mr. Harris, a senior executive in his fifties, felt bad, and invited me to his house for lunch. When I arrived at his upscale community, I ran into Melissa and my son walking out of Mr. Harris’s neighbor’s house. “Melissa, you’re the best! You convinced Dad to buy me such an amazing place.” The little brat was hugging Melissa, beaming, and actually kissed her cheek. It was a scene of perfect mother-son affection. I was stunned. Mark had bought Leo the house, but Melissa had managed to take all the credit? I couldn’t tell if she was genuinely happy or just acting. Then my son saw me. His face immediately darkened. He smirked smugly. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t give me money for a house? My mom bought me one.” I smiled sweetly. “That’s wonderful. You should make sure you’re extra good to her.” He sneered. “Obviously. But what about you? You have no kids, nobody is going to care about you when you’re old. You’re going to die alone in your house.” I shrugged. “I’m okay with that. I was actually thinking of getting a dog. I’ll let the dog take care of me.” My son’s face shifted. He probably felt I was implying something, but he couldn’t think of a comeback. He just glared at me darkly. I ignored him and walked into Mr. Harris’s house. As I walked in the door, I glanced back and saw Melissa and my son staring at me with a strange, ominous look. The lunch with Mr. Harris and his wife was lovely. Mrs. Harris actually said, “You haven’t worked in years? You have fantastic business acumen. What a waste to have been a stay-at-home mom.” I smiled sweetly. “Well, isn’t that why they say behind every successful man is a supportive woman? But I’m glad to have a chance to succeed on my own.” They both laughed. I was thinking about the house Melissa and my son were in. I was curious. It looked like Melissa was genuinely excited, not just pretending. If it were an act, she was a world-class actress. Was there something else going on I didn’t know about? 5 I remembered they were coming from the house next to Harris’s, so I casually asked Mrs. Harris, “I noticed the adjacent house seems to be occupied. Do you know the neighbors?” Mrs. Harris said, “The investors who owned it sold it just a few days ago. We haven’t met them yet.” What a coincidence. My heart skipped a beat. I showed her a picture of Melissa. “Was it this woman who bought it?” “Yes, that’s her.” “Did she buy it alone?” “No, she had a boy with her.” I showed her a picture of my son. “This boy?” Mrs. Harris shook her head. “No, the boy was younger and… not as well-behaved. The boy down there was actually quite handsome.” I showed her Tyler’s photo. Mrs. Harris’s face immediately darkened. “Yes, that’s him. So rude. He came over here asking for snacks and just made a mess, didn’t even say thank you.” He left a memorable impression. I was confused. Was the house in Melissa’s name? Mark bought it for Leo, but Melissa had gone with Tyler to finalize everything? My son was being played, and he was thanking her for it. Just then, my phone rang. It was Martha, my ex-mother-in-law. Melissa and Mark were hosting an engagement party, and they wanted me to come. She probably expected me to refuse, so I immediately agreed. “Sure. I’ll be there. Can I sit at the family table? I am family, after all.” Martha was speechless. “If you have the balls to show up, I’ll find a seat for you.” Oh, I had the balls. I had a wonderful gift for them. … The day of the engagement party, I woke up early and spent time on myself. I looked great. When I arrived, many guests didn’t even recognize me. I realized how much I had changed. housewife, housewife… when you’re dedicated to serving your husband and son and you’re not taking care of yourself, what else are you going to be? Now that I wasn’t serving anyone, I was an elegant, successful woman. I felt pretty good about myself. Melissa and Mark began their rounds, greeting guests. Mark looked revitalized, and my son was right beside them, looking closer to Melissa than to his own grandmother. Someone commented, “Melissa is a fantastic stepmother. I used to think the ‘evil stepmother’ cliché was true, but she proves it wrong.” The person realized I was sitting right there and blushed. I smiled. “It’s fine. If she’s treating my son well, I’m thrilled.” They continued chatting with me. Then Martha walked over, a fake smile on her face. “Thrilled? You are the mother. How can you have the audacity to be so detached from your own child?” The happy family scene Martha was trying to project immediately shattered. Martha was looking for a fight; she’d probably spent all night coming up with insults. “Hmph, you actually have the nerve to show your face here. You refused to buy your own son a wedding gift, claiming you didn’t have to. But Melissa? The moment she heard, she bought him one immediately.” I looked shocked. “She bought it with her own money? Mark, I didn’t think you’d do that. You make so much money, and you let your new wife buy a house for your son?” Martha was immediately speechless. Melissa looked panicked, not smug. She waved her hand. “Let’s not talk about that on such a happy day. Elena, let me buy you a drink.” I took the glass from her hand, smiling sweetly. “Oh, no need to be polite. It was so generous of you to buy my son a house. How much did it cost? I can reimburse you for some of it.” Melissa was stunned. Before she could speak, Tyler, her biological son, was screaming from across the room. “What? Mom, you didn’t buy me a house, you bought one for him? I’m your son!” I was enjoying this. Go on, Tyler. Melissa’s face was turning purple. Mark was annoyed. “She didn’t buy it. I did. It came from my account. Right, Melissa?” Melissa blushed. “Yes, Mark bought it. I just went with him to help with the paperwork.” But Tyler wasn’t backing down. “Why did you buy him a house? You promised you’d make Mark buy me one, and I’d call him ‘Dad’!” The room went silent. Melissa froze. She furiously slapped Tyler. “What are you talking about? I never said that!” Mark looked awkward. I knew his finances; he was successful, but a gated community house in this city was a massive expense. He wouldn’t have much left, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be thrilled about buying a house for Melissa’s son. Melissa tried to recover with a tight smile. “It’s fine. I can buy my own son a house one day. Let’s not bring this up again. Engagement toast, everyone!” Everyone was ready to move past it, but I wasn’t letting them. I chuckled softly, comforting Tyler. “Tyler, don’t be mad. Leo doesn’t actually have a house. They’re both just sixteen, they can’t own property.” My son exploded. He screamed at me, “You’re full of shit! Dad and Mom bought it, and it’s mine! I won’t let you lie about them!” I deliberately rolled my eyes to provoke him. “I don’t believe you. If you can show me the deed, I’ll apologize. What do you say?” Hearing that I would apologize, my son’s eyes flashed with triumph. He snarled, “Wait right here,” and ran back toward the master bedroom to grab the deed. Melissa panicked. She grabbed my son, screaming, “Don’t go! This is so embarrassing! She’s your mother, give her some respect!” I sneered. “No need. He doesn’t have it.” My son was furious. He broke free from Melissa’s grasp, ran back, and slammed the folder onto the table. “Look at this! The deed!” I looked down, smiled, and then it confirmed my suspicions. I sighed. “You poor child. Have you ever seen a deed that doesn’t have the official seal from the recording office?” Everyone froze. Mark was the first to react. He snatched the deed and examined it closely. Then, his face twisted in rage, and he glared at Melissa. Melissa desperately grabbed Mark’s arm. “We’ll talk later, I can explain!” Mark hesitated, looking at me. I sneered. “Your family genes are pathetic. How could you possibly win against someone like her? It’s not my fault. Your whole family is just too stupid.” I ran before they could redirect their rage at me. Martha was screaming behind me, “The deed… the deed needs an official seal?” And my son’s voice, broken and confused: “Mom… Melissa, what’s going on? Is there a mistake?” I didn’t have the patience to listen. I needed to get a DNA test for my son. I didn’t believe he was mine.

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