Ethan froze.
He looked down at the documents on the floor, then up at me, as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Divorce?”
He pulled at the corner of his mouth, his voice full of certainty and contempt.
“Eleanor, there’s a limit to throwing tantrums. You’ve been married to me for ten years, never worked a day. You probably don’t even know how to ride the subway anymore.”
“Who are you kidding? Everyone knows you’re nothing without me.”
Looking at his arrogant face, my stomach churned.
Ten years ago, Ethan was just a poor kid. My father saw his potential and gave him his first startup capital.
When his company was struggling the most, I was there, eating instant noodles with him, pulling all-nighters.
Later, when the company grew, he said the world outside was too harsh, and told me to stay home and live comfortably, his ‘lady of leisure.’
I believed him.
And what did I get in return?
His dismissive line: “You’re nothing without me.”
“Ethan, I’ve already signed the papers.” I stood up, smoothing my dress. “My lawyer will contact you tomorrow.”
With that, I walked out without hesitation.
“Eleanor Vance!” He called out sharply from behind me. “If you walk out that door today, don’t even think about coming back! I’d like to see how you’ll survive without me!”
I didn’t stop, only leaving him my back.
“Just you wait.”
Stepping out of the hotel, the night air was cool.
I pulled my shawl tighter and called Martin, my driver.
“Martin, bring the car to section C in the underground parking.”
He stammered on the other end, “Ms. Vance, uh… the car’s having some trouble. I sent it for repairs. Maybe you could call a taxi?”
I frowned.
The car was perfectly fine this afternoon ā how could it suddenly break down?
Just then, a black SUV pulled up in front of me.
The door slid open, and Chloe poked her head out, smiling innocently.
“Eleanor, can’t find a cab this late? Ethan told me to give you a ride home.”
I looked at her, then at the familiar figure in the driver’s seat.
Martin.
My father’s most trusted driver, who had watched me grow up, was now looking down, avoiding my eyes.
I understood instantly.
“Martin, what is the meaning of this?” I asked coldly.
He rubbed his hands, his voice thin, “Ms. Vance, Ms. Miller said… she said she was going that way anyway, and she helped my son get into that private school…”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
So that’s how it was.
Even the people closest to me could be bought by her with such tactics.
“No, thanks.” I opened my eyes, my gaze chilling as it swept over Chloe’s triumphant face. “I find it dirty.”
With that, I walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi.
Through the rearview mirror, I saw Chloe’s smile freeze, and she stomped her foot in frustration.
It was late when I got back to the mansion.
I didn’t turn on any lights, going straight upstairs to the walk-in closet to pack.
I only took a few changes of clothes and the mementos my parents had left me.
The rest ā the designer bags, couture gowns, and jewelry Ethan had bought ā I didn’t even glance at them.
“Well, well, well, trying to run away in the middle of the night?”
A sarcastic voice suddenly came from behind me.
I turned around to see Chloe leaning against the doorframe, wearing a burgundy silk nightgown, holding a glass of red wine.
That nightgown was my mother’s favorite. It was passed down to me.
I had cherished it, barely daring to touch it.
Now, it was being worn by an ungrateful snake.
A surge of pure fury rushed to my head.
“Take it off,” I stared at her, saying each word slowly and deliberately.
Chloe not only didn’t take it off, but she deliberately puffed out her chest, chuckling smugly.
“What’s wrong, Eleanor? Ethan said this dress was just gathering dust, so I could wear it. I think it fits perfectly.”
She walked in, high heels clicking, her eyes scanning my suitcase with contempt.
“Eleanor, you don’t need to overreact. Ethan said your family only gave him a little money back then, and he’s repaid it all, with interest, over the last ten years.”
“He doesn’t love you; he was just repaying a debt. Now that he’s met me, he knows what true love is.”
“You’ve hogged him for ten years, shouldn’t you be satisfied?”
I looked at her face, twisted by jealousy and triumph, and felt a sudden wave of pity.
I walked up to her, and without warning, I raised my hand.
Slap!
A loud slap landed on her face.
Chloe stumbled, the wine glass in her hand falling to the ground and shattering.
Red liquid splattered onto the expensive carpet, a stark, alarming stain.
“You… you dared to hit me?!” She clutched her face, staring at me in disbelief.
“And what if I did?” I looked at her coldly. “This dress is my mother’s heirloom. Who do you think you are to wear it?”
“And also, did Ethan not tell you that the startup capital for his company was given by my father? The down payment for this mansion? I paid for it. And the CEO position he now holds? Half the shares are in my name!”
“You thought you snagged a trophy husband? Wrong. All you snagged was a dog I raised!”
Chloe was stunned by my words, her face turning green then white.
Just then, the front door was violently pushed open.
Ethan stormed in.
“Eleanor Vance! What are you doing!”
He immediately shielded Chloe behind him. Seeing the slap mark on her face, his eyes turned vicious.
“You actually dared to hit her?”
I sneered, “What, you feel bad for her? Then take her and get out of my house.”
“Your house?” Ethan looked as if he’d heard the funniest joke. “Eleanor, are you out of your mind? This mansion is registered under my name!”
“Is it?” I zipped up my suitcase, straightening up to face him. “Then you’d better check the purchase contract from back then and see who really paid for it.”
Ethan’s face changed.
When we bought this house, he had no money at all. I secretly used all my personal savings and investments, unbeknownst to my father, to cover the cost.
Even though it was registered in his name, the transaction records were all there.
“Eleanor, do you really have to make this so ugly?” He gritted his teeth. “Fine, you can leave, but you’re not taking anything from this house! You’ve lived off me all these years; what right do you have to take anything?”
I looked down at the suitcase on the floor. It contained only a few old clothes and my parents’ photos.
“Don’t worry, I find the trash you bought disgusting.”
I pulled my suitcase, walking out without looking back.
As I passed them, I paused and looked at Ethan.
“Ethan, remember what you said today. Starting tomorrow, everything the Vance family gave you, I’m taking it all back, piece by piece.”
Stepping out of the mansion, the night wind on my face, I felt a clarity I hadn’t felt in years.
Ten years.
I’d spent ten years of my youth to see a man’s true colors.
The cost was high, but thankfully, it wasn’t too late.
I pulled out my phone and found the hidden list in my contacts.
On the list were three hundred names.
Over fifteen years, I had used my private account to continuously support scholarship recipients.
Many of them had lost touch, many were still toiling at entry-level jobs.
But some had already grown into towering figures.
I dialed the first number on the list.
After two rings, the call was answered. A deep, steady male voice came through.
“Eleanor?”
“Liam.” I looked at the flashing neon lights in the distance, my voice calm. “I’m getting divorced.”
There was a second of silence on the other end, then the sound of a chair being pushed back.
“Where are you? I’ll send someone to pick you up immediately.”
“No need. I’ll send you my location. Tomorrow morning at ten, bring your people and meet me.”
“Got it.” Liam didn’t ask any unnecessary questions, his response quick and concise.
After hanging up, I hailed a taxi and went to a five-star hotel in the city center.
After a hot shower, I lay on the large bed, staring at the ceiling.
Ethan Hayes, you thought I, Eleanor Vance, was a mere clinging vine that could only depend on you.
But you didn’t know that for the past ten years, though I didn’t work outside, I planted an entire forest.
Now, it’s time for this forest to overshadow you.
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One AM, I was mopping the floor at the convenience store when I bumped into my own mother.
She was wearing a cashmere coat worth thousands, holding her two-year-old daughter’s hand, picking out imported milk for her shopping basket.
Seeing my name tag, her smile froze.
“Give me your account number. I’ll transfer you some money so you and your dad can get something decent to eat.”
I pushed her hand away.
“No, thanks, Ms. Vance.”
She frowned, looking at my twisted knuckles and the old scars on my palm.
“Where’s your dad? Is he not taking care of you? At least tell me, I’ll come pick you up.”
I stared at her.
“He can’t anymore.”
“He’s dead. Died three years ago.”
She didn’t believe me.
She said my dad was a master at playing the victim.
But soon after, she barged into my tiny rented apartment and saw Dad’s memorial photoā
She shook my shoulders wildly.
“Where is he? He can’t be dead!”
I shook her off.
“The night you spent eight million on a painting for Caleb Blackwood, my dad was biting through his lips in pain on his hospital bed.”
“One less splurge from you, and his surgery would’ve been covered.”
“And that card.”
“The one you said had three hundred thousand in it, when I tried to withdraw itā”
“There wasn’t a penny.”
It had been three years since I’d seen my mother, and I found her in a convenience store.
One AM. The store was empty.
I was bent over, stocking bottled water on the shelves, when the sensor bell chimed at the entrance.
A woman holding a little girl, around two years old, walked in.
I continued working, not paying attention.
It wasn’t until the woman came to the checkout counter with a bottle of water that I looked up.
Our eyes met.
The expression on her face froze.
I was stunned for a moment too, but quickly recovered.
“Twelve dollars total.”
I scanned the barcode, my voice as flat as a machine’s.
She didn’t pay.
She stared at my name tag.
My name tag read: Autumn Dawson.
“Autumn?” Her voice was trembling slightly. “Is it really you?”
I didn’t answer her question.
“Twelve dollars. How will you pay?”
Her gaze moved from my grease-stained uniform to my deformed knuckles, then to my worn-out canvas shoes with peeling soles.
“Why are you so thin?” She frowned. “Where’s your dad? If he’s not taking care of you, at least tell me, I’ll come pick you up.”
I forced a small smile.
“Ms. Vance, either pay for your things or step aside.”
She glanced back. There was no one behind her.
She sighed.
“Give me your account number. I’ll transfer you some money so you and your dad don’t have to suffer.”
I looked up at her.
“No, thanks.”
“Never saw you care so much about Dad and me before.”
Her face darkened.
“You’re as stubborn as your dad. If you hadn’t stuck with him back then, would you be working the night shift at a convenience store now?”
The little girl tugged on her coat.
“Mommy, I want milk.”
She bent down, picked up the child, and looked at me again.
“Tell your dad not to be stubborn. If he’s willing to apologize, I’ll take you in. Your life wouldn’t be worse than it is now.”
My fingers tightened on the cash register.
“My dad and I don’t need your concern. We’re strangers to you. Talking like this, people might misunderstand.”
Her eyes flickered, as if she wanted to say something.
But she swallowed it.
She put down twelve dollars, turned, and left.
After she left, my colleague peeked out from the back.
“Who was that just now? She had quite the entourage.”
I didn’t look up.
“Don’t know her.”
Another colleague came over, holding her phone screen in front of me.
“I looked her up. Isn’t that Eleanor Vance from Vance Corp.? The CEO who’s always in the news for her charity work?”
“Look at this interview. She says her biggest regret in life is her ex-husband and daughter.”
I glanced at the screen.
“She’s good at faking it.”
“But she donates real money to charity, and she even started a children’s foundation named after her daughter!”
I stopped what I was doing and looked at them.
“She pretended to be poor to her ex-husband, transferred all their savings when they divorced, and dumped all their debts on him.”
“Her husband went from being a teacher to a warehouse mover just to pay off the debts she left behind.”
“She says her biggest regret is her ex-husband and daughter? But then she physically pushed her own daughter’s hand into broken glass, making it so I could never draw again.”
They froze.
“You… How do you know all this so clearly?”
I flipped my name tag.
Autumn Dawson.
“Because I’m her daughter.”
They immediately fell silent.
After my shift, I didn’t go back to the rented apartment. I stopped at a bakery for the smallest cake, then a flower shop for a bouquet. It was a forty-minute walk to the cemetery.
The cake and flowers I placed in front of the gravestone.
In the photo, Dad wore a white shirt and had a gentle smile.
I knelt down in front of him.
“Happy birthday, Dad.”
“I ran into her today.”
“She still thought you were alive.”
The next day, as soon as I walked into work, something felt off.
Mr. Henderson, the manager, was behind the counter, wiping sweat, his face pale.
Eleanor Vance sat on a lounge chair in the middle of the lobby. An unopened coffee sat in front of her.
Her assistant, David, stood behind her, holding a file bag.
The manager saw me, his eyes looking like he’d seen a lifeline.
“Autumn, Ms. Vance said the milk she bought yesterday was bad, and her daughter got sick.”
“You, you come over and explain to Ms. Vance…”
I glanced at him.
“Explain what? If it’s not past its expiration date, it’s not our problem.”
Then I walked towards Eleanor Vance.
Her gaze was already fixed on me.
“Ms. Vance, what exactly do you want?”
She looked up.
“The milk yesterday had a quality issue. Lily drank it and threw up all night. Her dad isn’t happy.”
I scoffed.
“So? Are you here to complain? Or are you looking for an excuse to drag me in front of Caleb Blackwood and make me apologize to him?”
Her face changed.
I continued.
“Isn’t that what you did three years ago? My dad and I were always the ones apologizing first, kneeling first, making amends first.”
Her brows furrowed.
“My business with your dad is not for a child to judge.”
“I’m not a child anymore.”
I stared at her.
“The year you threw my dad and me out when I was sixteen, that’s when I grew up.”
“Threw you out?”
Her voice rose.
“Your dad dragged you out himself! He knew what he did!”
I looked at her, unsure whether to be angry or laugh.
“What did he do? What he did was get framed by your precious husband.”
“It’s been three years. Did you ever once look into the truth?”
She slammed her hand on the armrest of the chair.
“Did you learn to lie through your teeth from your dad? When has Caleb ever harmed you? He’s a thousand times better to Lily and me than your dad ever was!”
I retorted coldly.
“Better? Better enough to stomp on your own daughter’s hand? Better enough to press my dad’s face to the ground where you couldn’t see?”
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
I didn’t want to waste any more time with her.
“Ms. Vance, I advise you to leave now. You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore.”
She finally stood up.
“I want to see your dad. Let him explain it himself.”
That sentence made my whole body stiffen.
Several customers in the store were watching.
I stared at her.
“See him? You lived in the same house with him for seventeen years, did you ever really know him?”
She was too angry to answer for a moment.
She threw down a business card and left.
Gold embossed: Eleanor Vance.
My colleague came over.
“Autumn… Are you okay?”
I tore the business card in half.
“Help me get a few more shifts. I’m still three hundred short on rent this month.”
She looked at the shredded paper in my hand and didn’t dare to ask anything else.
After work that day, I went home and looked at my dad’s photo.
“Dad, she’s looking for you.”
“She said you know what you did.”
I buried my face in my knees.
“But you didn’t do anything wrong.”
Three years ago, our family lived in a three-bedroom apartment.
Dad was a teacher at a private school.
Every day, he’d come home, hum while he cooked in the kitchen.
I was in my first year of high school, spending all my free time in the art studio.
That year, I won first prize in the art competition.
The judges said I had exceptional talent with color and recommended me for early admission to a top art school.
Mom didn’t come home often.
But when she did, she’d sit on the couch and watch me draw.
She’d smile and say my talent was like hers.
Those were the happiest days of my life.
Until one day, Mom suddenly stormed home, slamming the door.
She smashed Dad’s phone on the floor, pointing at him.
“Michael Dawson, you’re absolutely shameless!”
“Look at these pictures yourself!”
On the table was a stack of printed photos.
Dad hugging a young woman, picking out jewelry at the mall.
Dad’s face went white.
“That’s not me, Eleanor, listen to meā”
“Shut up!”
She slapped him.
“Caleb Blackwood investigated for a month! You’ve been with that student for a whole year!”
I rushed out of my room.
“Mom, let Dad explainā”
She didn’t even turn around.
“He cheated on me, he cheated on you. I can’t stay in this house for another day.”
That night, the lawyer arrived.
The agreement was already drawn up.
The house was hers, the car was hers, all the savings were hers.
Dad got nothing.
Dad’s hand kept shaking as he signed.
“Eleanor, those pictures are fake… Let me investigate, just give me a weekā”
“You don’t have a week. Be out by tomorrow.”
I knelt, tugging at her skirt.
“Mom, please don’t go. Can you just let Dad prove it? I don’t want you two to divorceā”
She suddenly shoved me.
I flew backward, hitting the back of my head on the corner of the coffee table.
I instinctively put out my right hand to brace myself.
My palm landed on a glass cup on the table, shattering it.
Shards of glass embedded themselves in my palm and between my fingers.
Blood gushed out instantly.
The pain made my vision go black.
Dad rushed over and held me.
“Eleanor! Call an ambulance quickly!”
Mom glanced at me.
A flicker of panic crossed her face.
But at that moment, Caleb Blackwood walked in through the door.
He saw the blood everywhere and covered his mouth.
“Eleanor, what happened… This is so scary…”
Mom’s expression changed instantly.
She quickly went over, hugging him to comfort him.
“It’s okay, it’s nothing to do with you.”
She didn’t look at me again.
Caleb was an unknown actor back then.
He was handsome and spoke in a sweet, soft voice.
He said he grew up in an orphanage, with no parents.
He said my mom was the best person in the world to him.
He said if my mom didn’t take care of him, he wouldn’t want to live.
Mom believed it all.
She gave him all her tenderness.
My right hand underwent three surgeries.
The tendon damage was too severe; my fingers couldn’t regain their flexibility.
From then on, I couldn’t hold a paintbrush steadily.
My early admission to the top art school was revoked.
That winter was the hardest time for my dad and me.
Dad was fired from the school.
Somehow, those fake photos got to the school administration.
The woman in the pictures looked about the same age as his students.
Even though it wasn’t the same person, the parents raised a fuss, and the school couldn’t cover it up.
I never had proof of who sent the photos, but I had my suspicions.
No job, no house, no savings.
Dad moved me into a cheap apartment, less than ten square meters.
The walls were covered in mold, the windows leaked air, and in winter, it was so cold you could see your breath.
Dad worked as a mover in a warehouse during the day and washed dishes at a restaurant at night.
Fifteen, sixteen hours a day, he got so thin his cheeks became hollow.
My hand was still bandaged.
Every day after school, I’d go to the supermarket to help people carry groceries.
Two dollars a trip.
At first, we could afford bread.
Later, we couldn’t even afford to buy much of that.
Every meal, Dad would put all the good food in my bowl.
He’d say he wasn’t hungry.
But I’d hear him get up in the middle of the night to drink cold water several times.
One day, I came home from school and smelled meat cooking.
I opened the door and saw a table full of dishes on the coffee table.
Next to it, a small cake with a crooked candle.
“It’s your birthday today,” Dad smiled, stroking my head. “Eat your cake, then do your homework.”
I looked at the dishes, then at his increasingly hollow face.
“Dad, how much did you eat?”
He said he’d eaten.
But in the trash can, there was only an empty instant noodle packet.
I didn’t eat the cake.
I stared at the flame for a long time.
Then I cried.
Late that night, I saw Dad sitting on the steps outside our rented room.
Under the streetlight, he was flipping through his phone gallery.
All of them were old photos of Mom.
Not a single one deleted.
I crouched beside him.
“Dad, don’t look anymore.”
He turned off his phone and pulled me into a hug.
“Autumn, I’m sorry. Your dad isn’t capable.”
I buried my face in his chest.
“You are capable, you’re the best dad in the world.”
A few days later, I scrolled past a news headline.
Eleanor Vance and Caleb Blackwood attending a charity gala.
She in a white haute couture gown, he in a custom-made suit.
Holding hands on the red carpet.
The headline read: “Vance Corp. CEO and Her Beloved Find True Love, Long-Term Commitment to Philanthropy.”
The comments were full of praise.
Saying she was loving and righteous.
Saying she started from scratch and found true love.
Someone asked her if she’d like to talk about her ex-husband and daughter.
She looked at the camera, her eyes slightly red.
“That’s my biggest regret in life. If someday they’re willing to come back, my door will always be open for them.”
I almost crushed my phone.
“Her door will always be open?” I turned to Dad.
“Then I’ll go try.”
The next morning, I helped Dad to Mom’s new house.
A seaside villa, with three luxury cars parked out front.
Security guards stopped us at the iron gate.
“Who are you looking for? This isn’t a place for you.”
Dad, his eyes red, said, “I’m Eleanor Vance’s ex-husband. I need to see her.”
The intercom buzzed.
Five minutes later, Mom appeared at the door.
Silk pajamas, hair disheveled.
“Michael Dawson, what are you doing here?”
Dad gritted his teeth. “Eleanor, I’m not here to reconcile. Autumn’s hand needs a follow-up, and I’m injured too… Can we borrow some money?”
Before he could finish, Caleb Blackwood peeked out from behind her.
Seeing Dad and me, his face instantly changed, and he shrank back behind her.
“Eleanor, they’re here again… Are they going to cause a scene…?”
Mom turned to comfort him.
When she turned back, her face was completely cold.
“Michael Dawson, have you no shame? You messed up, and you’re still coming here asking for money? What do you take me for?”
I stepped forward.
“He didn’t do anything wrong! Those photos are fake! Why wouldn’t you investigate?”
Mom glanced at me.
“The child doesn’t know any better, your dad corrupted her. Someone, please escort them out.”
The security guards came up and pushed us.
Dad was pushed down onto the steps.
I knelt to help him up.
The door closed in front of us.
The moment it shut, I heard Caleb Blackwood laughing inside.
After that, Dad’s body couldn’t hold up anymore. He hadn’t thought much of the fall at the warehouse at the time. But later, he started having frequent stomach pains, couldn’t eat, and visibly wasted away.
I dragged him to a community clinic.
The doctor’s expression after reading the report is something I’ll never forget.
“Stage two stomach cancer. Immediate surgery is required, or it will progress to stage three.”
Surgery plus follow-up treatment, at least three hundred thousand.
For us, that was an astronomical sum.
I had already dropped out of school by then.
Working at a coffee shop during the day, and cleaning at a karaoke bar at night.
At most, I earned three thousand a month.
Dad didn’t want me to drop out.
But we couldn’t afford tuition at all.
I said it was okay.
My drawing hand was already ruined anyway, so going to school or not made no difference.
Three hundred thousand.
I tried every method I could think of.
We only raised twenty-three thousand on GoFundMe.
Relatives had long cut ties.
Community aid had a six-month waiting list.
Finally, I called Mom’s number again.
The first few dozen calls, all busy tones.
But online, her news was everywhere.
Throwing a birthday party for Caleb, booking out an entire commercial street.
Spending eight million at an auction on an oil painting.
The painting was of a little girl running in a field.
She spent eight million on a painting.
But she couldn’t answer my phone call.
Later, after dozens of attempts, the call finally connected.
“What do you want now?” Her voice was cold.
I clutched the phone, my voice trembling uncontrollably.
“Mom… Dad has stomach cancer. Stage two. He needs three hundred thousand for surgery, please… He’s really not doing well…”
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.
“Are you and your dad putting on another act? Last time it was an injury and asking for money, this time it’s cancer. Next, will it be a will?”
I crouched in the hospital corridor, tears falling one by one onto the floor tiles.
“I’m not lying… I can have the doctor talk to you…”
“Enough. I’ll give you one last chance.”
Two days later, David, her assistant, came to the hospital.
He handed me a bank card.
“Ms. Vance said there’s three hundred thousand in it. Take it, and don’t call again.”
I took the card with both hands.
Like holding a life in my hands.
I ran back to the hospital room, kneeling by Dad’s bed.
“Dad, the money’s here. You can get the surgery now.”
Dad looked at me, his eyes red.
He laboriously raised a hand and stroked my head.
“Autumn, your mom gave it to you?”
I nodded.
He didn’t say anything.
He turned his face away, tears flowing into his pillow.
I took the card to pay the bill.
I waited in line for a long time.
Finally, it was my turn.
I handed the card into the window.
“Transfer three hundred thousand, for surgery.”
The staff member swiped it.
Then swiped it again.
She looked up at me.
“Insufficient balance.”
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Ethan and I were on a road trip when I got thirsty and went to grab some water at a rest stop. When I came back, he had driven off.
I called him ten times, and every call went straight to voicemail.
An hour later, my best friend Fiona called:
āOh, Iām so sorry, Kylie. Ethan just turned back to pick me up. Youāll have to wait another hour, and weāll come get you.ā
I suddenly felt like laughing.
Before, Iād ask Ethan to pick me up on his way home from work, but he always found it too much trouble.
Even this road trip, I had begged him for a year before he finally agreed.
Now, he was willing to spend three hours picking up Fiona.
Turns out, he wasn’t lazy; he just didn’t care enough about me.
After waiting for nearly two hours, Ethanās car finally pulled into the rest stop.
Fiona got out of the car, carrying her favorite juice, a bright smile on her face.
āKylie, I know youāve been waiting forever, so I specially bought you juice!ā
She took one out of the bag, stuck a straw in it, and put it to my lips.
I instinctively took a sip, but as soon as I tasted mango, I turned away, coughing.
An itch spread through my throat. I leaned against the wall, coughing uncontrollably, tears welling in my eyes.
Fiona gasped, then turned to complain.
āWhatās wrong with you, Ethan? I told you to get juice, why did you buy one with mango? Kylieās allergic to mango!ā
Ethan retorted without hesitation.
āI didnāt know this juice had mango in it.ā
āSeriously? Couldnāt you have just asked the store clerk?ā
I wiped away the tears from my eyes.
Silently, I took the water Ethan handed me.
Just like countless times before, I heard him say:
āIf it were Kylie, a bottle of water would be enough. Not like you, always making me remember all these picky details. Itās a hassle.ā
But no matter how much of a hassle, didnāt he still remember?
That thought inexplicably popped into my head.
I actually loved juice too, and I used to love bugging Ethan to buy it for me.
But he was always lazy.
Too lazy to check if the ingredients contained my allergen.
Iād just reminded him, and then heād immediately say he forgot.
At that moment, Ethan was glued to his phone, starting a new ranked match, not even looking up.
āWaterās fine, isnāt it? Whoād bother to remember something like that?ā
Iād told him countless times that I was allergic to mango, but he just couldn’t remember.
When I looked up again, Fiona was already in the front passenger seat.
I met her gaze from outside the car.
Fiona slapped her forehead.
āOh, my bad! Kylie, come sit in the front.ā
āNo, thanks.ā
āNo, thanks.ā
Ethan and I said in unison.
Ethan actually looked surprised for once.
Right, it wasn’t the first time Fiona had mistakenly sat in the front passenger seat.
Every time before, I would have swapped places with her.
But today, there was no need.
I glanced at him, then pulled open the back door.
Fiona turned around, suddenly saying mysteriously.
āAre we totally synced or something? That ski resort youāre going to is exactly where Iāve always wanted to go! I canāt believe, Kylie, you donāt even ski, and youāre planning a trip there.ā
Ethan looked at me again through the rearview mirror.
He casually spoke, hands on the steering wheel.
āWe were originally going to the beach, but sheās afraid of getting a tan, so I planned the trip to the ski resort instead. Kylie said she wanted to learn how to ski.ā
Fiona listened intently, then skillfully pulled her hand cream from the glove compartment.
āGoing to the beach would have been nice too; I love the ocean.ā
āOkay, can we just keep it down?ā Ethan interrupted, turning on the music.
That music was Ethan’s alarm.
I immediately remembered how, over a year ago, the day after Ethan agreed to the road trip, I had woken up early, excited.
After turning off his alarm, I inexplicably found myself opening his SnapChat.
Fiona had sent him a few messages complaining about work last night.
I casually scrolled through them and then froze.
[Ugh, I seriously need a vacation. I wanna go to the beach so bad!]
[Ethan, if you guys go to the beach, take me with you, pretty please~]
Ethan replied,
[Sure thing.]
I stared at those messages for ten minutes, my eyes aching before I finally let the screen go dark.
When Ethan woke up and hugged me from behind, nuzzling me playfully, I pretended to say casually,
āLetās not go to the beach for our road trip. Didn’t you say I look bad with a tan?ā
I thought at the time,
I didn’t mind Fiona traveling with us.
After all, Iād known both of them for over ten years.
But why did Ethan choose a travel destination that she liked?
Ethan didn’t think for long after hearing that. He kissed me.
āAlright, then letās go skiing. Iāll teach you how.ā
Thinking about it, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud in the car.
Ethan looked back and asked what was wrong.
I shook my head and said nothing.
I just realized how naive I was over a year ago.
Thinking that as long as Ethan changed for me, it would be enough.
Even though I didn’t like the beach and wasn’t really interested in skiing.
I unlocked my phone and bought a ticket to a different destination.
This time, I was going where *I* wanted to go.
ā
We checked into a small town at the base of the ski resort.
We had planned to go skiing tomorrow, but I no longer intended to go up the mountain.
So I only took my own luggage.
All the gear stayed in the trunk.
Ethan parked the car, then glanced at the stuff in my hands, surprisingly sharp.
āWhy didnāt you take your skiing gear?ā
I casually mumbled a reply.
āForgot.ā
But I didn’t frantically turn around to get it, like I usually would.
After I swiped my card and entered the room, Ethan came in with the luggage.
He saw me squatting on the floor, rummaging through my suitcase, and walked over to ask.
āAre you mad?ā
I didn’t turn around.
āNo.ā
The next moment, he pulled me up and into his arms.
Ethan’s hugs were always warm, accepting of all emotions.
When I was little, I just thought of him as my older brother, just a year older.
But then, when he chased off my stalker ex-boyfriend and held me, comforting my scared self, I suddenly realized my heart was pounding so fast.
Totally different from the slightly calmer beat it had now.
Ethan chuckled.
āAre you jealous because I brought Fiona along to hang out?ā
āI just thought of her as your best friend. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even give her a second glance.ā
He cupped my face and kissed me a few times.
āFiona said you were petty before, and I didnāt believe her. Guess itās true.ā
Ethan laughed again, and that laugh felt like a needle pricking my already aching heart.
Then his phone vibrated. He glanced at it and shook his head with a sigh.
āFiona didnāt bring any hand warmers. Iāll go get them for her.ā
Then he bent down, took a big pack of hand warmers from my suitcase, and went to the room next door.
I looked down at the two lonely hand warmers left in my bag and suddenly felt a chill.
I remembered another time when I forgot to grab my pajamas for the shower. They were right next to Ethan, but he was too lazy to get up and hand them to me.
Now, walking from our suite to Fionaās room was more than ten steps away.
And he hadnāt even thought of refusing.
Ethan didn’t come back for two hours. He seemed like he wanted to explain something, but then he saw I was already lying in bed, facing away from him.
The next day when I opened my eyes,
Ethan was already dressed, helping Fiona, who must have come in at some point, adjust her collar.
āZip up properly, or youāll get cold.ā
Fiona stuck out her tongue.
Watching this scene, I sat up.
āYou guys go have fun today. Iām not coming.ā
I hadn’t planned on going up the mountain today anyway.
Seeing their natural interactions, I felt like I would just be in the way.
āKylie, youāre awake? What were you just saying?ā
Fiona blinked, then playfully slapped Ethan’s arm.
āKylie just called you. Say something!ā
Ethan smirked.
āDo you think sheās like you, needing to be coaxed out of bed?ā
He turned to me and said.
āI was going to let you sleep in a bit, but then I forgot to call you. Hurry up and get ready, weāre leaving soon.ā
Then he bent down and picked up his things.
āFiona, letās go first. Weāll wait for Kylie downstairs.ā
I stood up and looked down from the window.
Fiona walked ahead, occasionally looking back and smiling as she said something.
Ethan, walking behind her, replied, unlike with me, when we rarely had much to talk about.
Ethan and she always had so much in common.
I don’t like playing video games, and I’m not into extreme sports. I couldn’t join Ethan in his passions like cave diving, skiing, or skydiving.
But in our ten years together, I never thought there was anything wrong with that. People don’t have to be alike to be together.
But looking at Ethan’s smiling face now, I knew he was truly happy today ā a hundred times happier than spending a boring weekend with me, or drinking one of my poorly mixed cocktails.
I opened my chat with Ethan.
He had just asked when I was coming down.
I wanted to type āLetās break up,ā but my fingers felt incredibly stiff.
So I sent voice messages:
[You guys go ahead, Iām not coming.]
[Ethan, weāre just not right for each other. Letās break up.]
He first replied with āOkay.ā
Then he sent a voice message:
[Okay, well hurry up and catch up. Weāll wait for you up ahead.]
Ethan was being lazy again. Of the two voice messages, he only half-read the transcribed text of one, and didn’t even bother to look at the other.
He probably thought the second message was just me telling them to wait a bit.
He’d always been like this. Always.
I put down my phone and remained silent for a long time.
The hotel phone rang. I picked it up.
āYes, I booked a driver. To the station.ā
Because of the significant temperature changes between day and night, I started to feel a bit feverish.
While waiting for the driver, my mind began to drift.
When I came back to my senses, my phone showed an unknown number of missed calls.
I didn’t clearly see who was calling, so I just tapped to call back.
āKylie, why didnāt you follow?!ā
The voice from the phone merged with a real-life voice, and I saw Ethan standing right in front of me.
His face was dark, and when he saw my suitcase next to me, he immediately roared.
āWhat are you pulling now?!ā
āWhy didnāt you follow? Do you have any idea how worried Fiona was when she couldnāt reach you? She went looking for you and fell down the slope! We still haven’t found her!ā
I shook my head, checking each missed call.
āShe didnāt call meāā
Ethan slapped my phone out of my hand forcefully, and it fell into the snow.
Ethan’s gaze was as cold as ice.
āKylie, arenāt you just throwing a tantrum because I picked up Fiona? Now youāve put her in danger, and youāre pretending to be innocent?ā
āI never thought you were the type to be so cruel, to be able to hurt your best friend like this.ā
My temples were throbbing. I rubbed them, then bent down to pick up my phone.
āIf thatās what you think, then fine.ā
I pulled my suitcase, ready to leave, but my wrist was grabbed.
āSomething happened, and you still want to leave? Come up the mountain with me to find her!ā
Ethan was stronger than me, and I was running a fever, my limbs heavy with fatigue.
I didn’t even have time to put on more clothes before I was dragged up the mountain.
A rescue team had already arrived, but the wind was picking up, and visibility was dropping fast.
Ethan pulled me along, and all I could hear was our breathing.
He frowned and looked back.
āHow many hand warmers did you put on? Your hand is burning up.ā
My lips were pale.
āNone.ā
The person in front of me scoffed.
āStill pretending.ā
After another hundred feet, the wind and snow grew heavier, and visibility was less than a meter.
Suddenly, a crying sound came through the wind.
I didn’t even have time to react,
my hand was forcefully shaken off.
āFiona, itās me!ā
The snow was deep but not stable.
I stumbled backward, falling and rolling about thirty feet until my back slammed hard against a rock, finally stopping me.
Through the blurry snowstorm, I saw Ethan pick Fiona up and carry her on his back.
Their outlines merged.
The wind was howling, and Fiona yelled into his ear.
āKylie? What about her?!ā
Ethan looked around, seeing no sign of me.
āForget her! Youāre what matters now!ā
When I woke up, I was in a small hospital in the ski resort town.
Fiona, her eyes red-rimmed, was gripping my hand tightly.
āYouāre finally awake! I was so worried about you!ā
āItās all my fault. There was no signal on the mountain, so I couldnāt call you, and then I accidentally slipped and fell down the slope. And Ethan, seriously, why did he even bring you up here?!ā
I listened quietly until Fiona ran out of things to say.
āKylie, why arenāt you talking? Does your throat hurt?ā
āOf course, she has nothing to say. Don’t make excuses for her; she was in the wrong first.ā
Ethan walked in, his face expressionless, carrying a pizza.
āI bought your favorite pizza. Kylie, itās fine if you donāt go up the mountain because of your fever, but why didnāt you tell us earlier?ā
āYouāre an adult. Canāt you be a little more considerate?ā
I looked at the now cold pizza, without an ounce of strength to explain.
Ethan, impatient, picked up a slice and tried to put it in my mouth.
I turned my head away.
āI donāt like seafood pizza.ā
āHow is that possible? You clearlyā¦ā
Fiona looked anxious, reaching out to take it.
āStop arguingāouch!ā
š Continue the story here
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Before the divorce, I wrote fairy tales.
After the divorce, I exiled myself to Detroit and became a bestselling horror novelist.
My readers asked why my style changed so drastically. I told them, “Before you die, you have to get a little wild.”
The basement of this villa was my forbidden zone.
Until the agent brought in a new tenant, Ethan Hayes, my ex-husband, whom I hadn’t seen in four years.
He still had that cop’s sharp gaze, steady and stern, but beside him was a five-year-old boy whose eyes were exactly like his.
We had only been divorced for four years.
He handed me a handkerchief to wipe my coffee-scalded hand. “Elara Vance, there is no need to hold onto the past.”
I clutched the handkerchief, remembering that rainy night four years ago, when he pushed the divorce papers toward me and said, “I betrayed you.”
Now I finally saw the proof of that “betrayal.”
Before turning to go back to the basement, I tossed out a line. “I just don’t want to get too involved with a married man.”
As I brushed past him, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. A small packet of white powder fell from my pocket.
He picked it up, his eyes instantly turning sharp. “What is this?”
I snatched the powder back, looking up at him. “None of your business.”
“Elara Vance, don’t tell me you have fallen that low.” He pinned me against the wall, bloodshot eyes staring into mine.
I pushed him away with all my strength. “On the day we divorced, you said my affairs would no longer concern you.”
Closing the door, I collapsed onto the table, trembling with pain.
That packet of powder was morphine.
The doctor said the blood vessel in my brain was pressing on a nerve, making surgery impossible. I could die at any moment.
Elara Vance POV
Before the divorce, I was an unknown fairy tale author.
After the divorce, I exiled myself to Detroit, one of America’s grittier cities, and became a bestselling horror novelist.
All my readers thought I had been traumatized by the divorce, which was why my writing style had transformed into something with a violent aesthetic.
Responding to the buzz on the forums, I quoted a line from one of my characters.
“Before you die, you have to get a little wild.”
…
In the basement, lit only by a desk lamp, the glow from the computer screen reflected on my pale face.
I lit a cigarette, my red nails making my hands look even paler.
“Nightbloom: Alright, usual rules. Ten lucky readers picked yesterday can ask anything.”
My message instantly made the fan group explode.
“Piggle_Rider: I’m first. Will the heroine in the next chapter escape the loop? My heart can’t take it.”
I blew out a smoke ring, typing with one hand.
“Nightbloom: Depends on my mood.”
As the message went out, questions about my current serialized suspense horror novel scrolled non-stop.
“RiverFlows: Actually, I wanted to ask, why did you get divorced back then? I heard you and your ex-husband had a great relationship.”
At this question, the lively chat went silent, as if everyone was waiting for my answer.
My tongue lightly traced my teeth as I carefully formulated a reply.
“Nightbloom: Our relationship broke down.”
From that question on, the next few people became curious about my private life.
“November_Moon: How long did you and your ex-husband know each other before you started dating?”
“Nightbloom: He lived upstairs from me. We’ve known each other since childhood.”
“TinyGrain: What’s your ex-husband like, and what does he do? If I became your ideal lover, would there be a way to trick you into giving me your unpublished works?!”
Seeing these intrusive questions, I frowned, tapping my fingers lightly on the table, my interest fading.
Suddenly, my phone rang.
I flicked the ash off my cigarette and answered.
“Ms. Vance, this is Mr. White, your agent. The tenant for the viewing is here. We’ll be there soon.”
“Got it.”
I hung up, gave a perfunctory answer to the remaining questions, then shut down my computer.
I stubbed out the cigarette and went upstairs.
Pushing open the basement door, the dazzling sunlight made me instinctively squint.
The two-story, sun-drenched villa was a stark contrast to the gloomy basement.
December in Detroit was especially cold. The ruined streets were covered in snow, burying sin and decay beneath.
After opening the front door, I started making myself coffee.
Amidst the hum of the coffee machine, a black car pulled up outside the villa. A moment later, two men walked in.
“Sir, this is the house you wanted to see. The owner is also here.”
Hearing Mr. White’s voice, I turned around.
When my gaze landed on the man beside Mr. White, my pupils constricted.
How could it be Ethan Hayes? My ex-husband of four years.
He wore a black overcoat, his figure still tall and lean, but his handsome face no longer held the youthful confidence and tenderness I remembered. It was replaced instead by a somber maturity.
A burning sensation on the back of my hand almost made me drop the mug.
I frowned, setting down the full coffee cup. As I reached for a napkin, Ethan handed me a handkerchief.
“Are you alright?”
His voice was still that cool, alluring tone that could captivate any woman.
I hesitated, then took it. “Thanks.”
Mr. White noticed our familiarity. “Excuse me, you two know each other?”
I looked at the man’s impassive eyes, my throat feeling a little dry. “Old friend.”
Ethan’s gaze deepened. He turned to Mr. White and said, “No need to look any further. This is it.”
My expression remained neutral.
I knew Ethan was stubborn. He wouldn’t easily change his mind once he’d decided something, so I only stated one condition.
“I only have one rule: the basement is my private space. You can’t go there.”
Ethan nodded readily. “Alright.”
Mr. White was surprised by how smoothly the deal went, but also happy to have closed a sale. “I’ll go get the lease agreement.”
In the spacious living room, it was so quiet you could hear the wind outside.
Ethan looked at me, calmly sipping my coffee, his eyes deepening.
I had my long hair loosely tied up with a pencil, a black dress clinging to me, my amber eyes shadowed with a somber, gloomy aura.
He asked, “What are you doing here?”
I also asked, “What are *you* doing here?”
Our simultaneous questions created an awkward silence.
I pursed my lips. “The chaos and violence here… it suits my writing.”
As I spoke, a hint of teasing entered my voice. “What about you? Don’t tell me you, a cop, came here to catch a fugitive.”
Ethan’s expression shifted slightly. Just as he was about to reply, a five-year-old boy ran in.
The boy hugged his leg, his round, bright eyes full of excitement.
“Dad, is this where we’re going to live now?”
Elara Vance POV
I felt like no plot twist I’d ever conceived for a novel could be as heart-stopping as this moment.
The little boy in front of me had eyes exactly like Ethan’s, making it impossible for me to even pretend otherwise.
Ethan looked at the boy, his gaze softening. “Yes.”
“Then who is this pretty lady?”
He hesitated for a moment before answering the child’s question. “This is Ms. Vance.”
“Hello, Ms. Vance!”
Hearing the boy’s clear, chirpy voice, I could only manage a strained smile.
Ethan ruffled the boy’s hair, calmly explaining, “His name is Leo. He just turned five. He’s not very well, so I brought him here for treatment.”
Just as he finished speaking, Mr. White came in with the contract.
“If everything looks good, you can sign. For now, it’s a short-term lease for one month. If you have any issues later, feel free to call me.”
After the contract was signed, Mr. White left, and Leo eagerly went to explore upstairs.
The aroma of coffee filled the air, but the atmosphere in the living room was heavy.
Finally, I broke the silence. “We’ve only been divorced for four years, but your child is five.”
My tone was tinged with bitterness, sounding like an accusation, or perhaps a lament for myself.
Ethan’s throat worked. “I told you when we divorced, I betrayed you.”
Just like before, his answer was direct and unreserved.
My hand, holding the coffee cup, trembled. Emotions that had lain dormant for years surged forth again.
I thought I had moved on, but unexpectedly, my heart still ached with the same numbness as it had four years ago.
I took a deep breath, turning my head so he wouldn’t see my eyes welling up.
“You didn’t just betray me, you betrayed yourself.”
With that, I turned and went back to the basement.
Closing the door, I sank to the floor, feeling drained. As I closed my eyes, memories flashed through my mind.
Warm sunlight, a bright study.
I had just finished typing the end of a fairy tale when Ethan, home from work, gently hugged me from behind.
“How was today’s story?”
“The princess and prince lived happily ever after!”
I snuggled contentedly in his arms, my eyes shining as I smiled. “I want our future children to read my fairy tales and grow up in our love.”
But opening my eyes again, the endless darkness pulled me back to that night four years ago.
Torrential rain, cold, untouched dinner.
Ethan sat on the sofa, smoking, while I stared blankly at the divorce papers on the table.
He said, “I’m sorry, I betrayed you.”
That night, the gentle me turned into a madwoman.
No matter how hysterically I pleaded and cried, Ethan remained unmoved.
It wasn’t until dawn, my tears dried and my voice hoarse from crying, that I finally signed the ‘wife’s signature’ line.
The memories were now rusted, crumbling into fragments with the slightest touch.
I swallowed the bitterness in my throat, got up, and sat in front of my computer. I lit a cigarette, put it to my lips, and started typing.
But after less than two lines, I felt a headache coming on.
I collapsed onto the table, falling into a drowsy sleep.
I don’t know how much time passed until I was startled awake by a knock at the door.
I checked the time. It was already 7:30 PM.
I got up to open the door. It was Ethan.
He had changed into a gray turtleneck sweater, sleeves rolled up to reveal the distinct veins on his forearms. An apron tied around his waist made his shoulders seem broader and his waist narrower.
“I made dinner. Let’s eat together.”
Hearing Ethan, I looked towards the dining room.
The table was set with dishes I hadn’t seen in ages, steaming hot. Leo was sitting obediently at the table, eating.
My eyes darkened. “I remember you couldn’t cook.”
Ethan pursed his lips, his voice a little lower. “Leo’s mom couldn’t cook, so I had to learn.”
His words felt like needles pricking my heart.
We had grown up together, and even after we married, Ethan had never cooked for me once.
But I never felt wronged back then. He was a cop, always swamped with work. It was good enough that he even had time to eat.
For a moment, I couldn’t tell if I felt more anger or more sorrow.
I forced a bitter smile. “That’s nice. She’s luckier than your ex-wife.”
With that, I started to close the door. “Thanks, but I’m used to takeout. Someone will deliver my meal soon.”
Just as I finished speaking, the doorbell rang.
“Hello, pizza!”
I opened the door, took the takeout, paid the tip, and prepared to go back to the basement.
But Ethan called out to me. “Elara, you don’t need to hold onto the past.”
Listening to his somewhat helpless tone, my palm involuntarily trembled. “I just don’t want to get too involved with a married man.”
Ethan was speechless, a flicker of struggle passing through his deep eyes.
As I brushed past him, he grabbed my hand.
“Wait!”
Caught off guard, I stumbled. A packet of white powder fell from my pocket.
Elara Vance POV
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
A flicker of panic crossed my eyes. I reached down to pick it up immediately, but Ethan was faster.
He held the white powder, his gaze on me filled with a brewing storm. “What is this?”
My face was grim. I reached out and snatched it back. “None of your business.”
With that, I turned to leave.
But the next second, his tall frame pressed against me, pinning me against the wall.
“Elara Vance, don’t tell me you’ve fallen that low.”
Ethan stared at me, his bloodshot eyes radiating a sharp chill.
At such close proximity, I could see my own reflection in his eyes.
I looked as disheveled as I had on the day of our divorce four years ago.
I pushed Ethan away forcefully. “Don’t forget, on the day we divorced, you said my affairs would no longer concern you.”
Throwing out that last sentence, I hurried down to the basement, slamming the door shut.
Back in the basement, even the familiar dimness couldn’t alleviate my discomfort.
My head throbbed harder and harder, the nerves in my brain twisting like red-hot knives.
I sat down at my computer, dumped all the powder into my mouth, then pulled out my phone and dialed a number.
After a few rings, a clear male voice answered.
“Ms. Vance, what’s wrong?”
My face was white as I rubbed my head. “Dr. Derek, my headache is getting worse.”
Dr. Derek sighed. “Since you fainted four years ago and came for treatment, I told you the blood vessel was pressing on your brainstem, and surgery isn’t possible.”
“I can only prescribe morphine powder for the pain, but given your current condition, you’re likely in life-threatening danger at any moment…”
Hearing this, a pang of pain flashed in my eyes. I said “got it” and hung up.
I slumped onto the table, letting the sorrow consume me.
I wondered if fate just couldn’t bear to see me happy: first, my parents died young, then my marriage shattered, and finally, I was struck with a terminal illness…
Thinking about it, I gave a bitter laugh.
If life were a novel, my plot truly sucked.
Night deepened. As before, I drifted into a heavy sleep, only to be woken by pain.
This cycle repeated until dawn.
I woke up at 8 AM. The pizza on the table was stone cold.
I rubbed my head, and dragging my exhausted body, I washed up and walked out of the basement.
Before my eyes could adjust to the light, I smelled the familiar aroma of breakfast.
Ethan stood in front of the counter, which barely reached his hip, deftly flipping a fried egg in a pan with one hand.
Our eyes met. After a moment of surprise, I remembered Ethan had become my tenant yesterday.
I said nothing, making myself coffee as usual.
In the morning stillness of the house, we were both busy with our own things.
But I noticed many storybooks on the table.
Looking closer, they were all fairy tales I had written years ago.
“Leo really likes those books. He insisted on bringing them.”
Ethan paused, his voice deepening. “He keeps asking me when you’ll write new stories.”
I didn’t answer immediately, just stared intently. Each book cover had the publisher’s “NO.1” mark.
I had intended these to be gifts for my and Ethan’s future children.
But our story wasn’t a fairy tale. The gifts I’d meant for *our* children, he had ultimately given to his child with someone else.
I took a sip of the bitter coffee. “I won’t be writing them anymore. Fairy tales are all lies.”
Ethan understood my hidden meaning but said nothing more.
Suddenly, a loud bang from outside made the window frames rattle.
Almost instantly, Ethan pulled me into a corner, shielding me tightly.
His heartbeat was close, and his distinct minty scent made me momentarily disoriented.
But as I regained my composure, I immediately pushed him away. “This is Detroit. Such disturbances are common.”
The alertness in Ethan’s eyes faded, replaced by a questioning look. “Why did you choose to come to this chaotic city?”
I couldn’t answer. My throat felt tight. “I just wanted a change of environment.”
Ethan pressed, “Then what was that packet of powder that fell out yesterday?”
Our eyes met. Seeing him in full interrogation mode, I gave a self-deprecating laugh.
I pulled out a cigarette, expertly lighting it. “You know, great works always require some forbidden methods for inspiration.”
The wine-scented smoke blurred the distance between us. Ethan frowned, his gaze turning sharp.
“If I ever get the chance, I’ll arrest you myself.”
After delivering that flat warning, he carried Leo’s breakfast upstairs.
Listening to his footsteps fading, I looked at the table full of brightly illustrated fairy tales, my eyes welling up.
Don’t worry, Ethan.
Neither I, nor the past, can ever go back.
Elara Vance POV
Muffled thunder rolled through the dark clouds, and the basement felt cold and damp.
I’d been writing for two straight days and finally decided to stop and rest.
Rubbing my throbbing head, I walked out, intending to make myself a cup of coffee to wake up, only to find a sticky note on the coffee machine.
“I have an urgent errand. Could you please look after Leo for me?”
The handwriting was sharp, just like Ethan.
Beside the coffee machine was a pre-made sandwich.
I frowned, glancing at Leo playing with toys in the living room, and casually tossed the note into the trash.
Why did Ethan think I’d look after his child with another woman?
After finishing my coffee, I was about to go back for a nap when Leo suddenly ran over, pulling my hand to sit on the sofa.
“Ms. Vance, play with me!”
The soft, warm touch on my palm made me stiffen.
Before I could react, the child added, “Your hands are as pretty as Mom’s.”
Hearing him mention that woman I’d never met, I felt uncomfortable, yet couldn’t help but probe into Ethan’s other marriage.
“Does your dad… love your mom very much?”
Leo nodded, his eyes sparkling.
“Dad loves Mom the most!”
“I’ll tell you a secret: once, when Mom was sick, I saw Dad cry. He said big boys don’t cry, but he cried even uglier than I do when I get a shot.”
“And then…”
The child chattered on, and as he spoke, my mind conjured images of Ethan and a gentle, beautiful woman sharing a happy life in what used to be *our* home.
It was almost subconscious, but my previously agitated heart found a sliver of comfort.
Yet, when I came back to my senses, I felt only sorrow and absurdity.
I was so deeply in love with a man that I could overlook his betrayal and still feel comforted by his stable, happy life…
Leo soon got tired and fell asleep right on the rug.
I looked at his innocent sleeping face, sighed deeply, and covered him with a blanket.
Night deepened.
It was already 11:30 PM. After sending the draft I’d finished to my publisher’s editor, I dragged my tired body upstairs.
The living room was quiet, lit by the dim light of a floor lamp.
As I reached the kitchen counter, I felt a nerve in my brain suddenly twitch violently, and I collapsed to the floor.
My face went ashen, and I instinctively pounded my throbbing head.
But the next second, a pair of strong hands lifted me, and the familiar minty scent brought a moment of clarity.
“Are you alright?”
His voice seemed to vibrate from his chest, a slight tremor that left me momentarily disoriented.
When I regained my senses, I realized Ethan had placed me on the sofa.
The faint night light illuminated his deep eyes and the subtle worry within them.
But Leo’s words, “Dad loves Mom the most,” echoed in my ears.
My heart tightened, and I immediately pulled away. “Thanks…”
Facing my distance, Ethan’s gaze darkened. “Do you always have to be so strong?”
Hearing that, I smiled bitterly to myself.
If I hadn’t been strong, the four years of agonizing illness, the pain of being abandoned and betrayed by my loved one, would have crushed me long ago.
But I was too tired to argue, so I changed the subject. “How long will Leo’s treatment take?”
Ethan got up and poured me a cup of hot water. “If all goes well, a month.”
He paused, then asked, “What about you? How long do you plan to stay here?”
I suppressed the stabbing pain in my head. “…I don’t know. Maybe once I finish this novel, I’ll move somewhere else.”
Suddenly, both of us fell silent.
My fingertips traced the warm rim of the cup, trying to break the stiff atmosphere, when I suddenly heard Ethan say, “Once Leo’s well, I’m going to quit my job.”
I looked up in surprise, meeting his steady gaze.
We grew up together. I had witnessed all the efforts Ethan made to become a police officer. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was his life’s passion.
My voice felt dry. “Being a cop was your childhood dream. Why…”
“Weren’t you also determined to be a fairy tale author since childhood? Why did you switch to writing horror novels?”
Faced with Ethan’s counter-question, I was speechless.
He looked at me. “I’ve given a lot for my ideals. The rest of my life, I want to dedicate to the person I love. I want to protect her.”
Bitterness climbed into my nose, warming my eyes.
I used to worry sick about Ethan, but even when he loved me so deeply, he never gave up his passion.
It just meant he’d found a woman who could truly make him give up everything.
I lowered my eyes, hiding my bitterness. “You should get some rest. I want to be alone for a while.”
Ethan looked like he wanted to say more, but just offered a “Goodnight” and went upstairs.
The wind, laden with snowflakes, gently tapped against the French windows. I sat alone for a long time.
Suddenly, my phone rang. It was my editor.
I took a deep breath and answered. “Does the draft need revisions?”
My editor’s voice was excited. “No revisions, no revisions! Elara, I just wanted to ask when you plan to finish it?”
I pursed my lips. “A month.”
The other end was silent for a moment. “Don’t you still have nearly 700,000 words remaining? Will you make it?”
I looked towards the upstairs hallway, my eyes dark. “That’ll be enough.”
A month was enough to finish my novel and my past.
Elara Vance POV
For me, the days spent furiously writing flew by.
Trapped in the basement with only a desk lamp, I couldn’t even tell day from night without checking my phone.
It wasn’t until I felt I had no strength left to type that I stumbled to bed for a nap.
I had barely closed my eyes when there was a knock at the door.
“Ms. Vance, it’s Leo!”
I frowned but roused myself to open the door.
Ethan stood there, holding Leo’s hand.
“Leo has a check-up at the hospital today. He wanted you to come with him.”
As soon as Ethan finished, Leo tugged at my dress. “Ms. Vance, will you come with me, please?”
Facing their identical eyes, my refusal caught in my throat. But then I remembered how long it had been since I’d gotten my medication from Dr. Derek, so I agreed.
The three of us went to the hospital.
Leo was very well-behaved. He didn’t cry or fuss, even around the cold medical equipment.
Once he went into the examination room, I happened to glance towards a corner and saw Dr. Derek.
Dr. Derek’s light gray eyes naturally held a touch of melancholy. He subtly gave me a signal, then turned and walked towards his office.
Ethan was very observant. He had noticed our interaction the moment I turned my head.
“I have something to do. I’ll be gone for a bit.”
I ignored Ethan’s reaction, threw out that line, and left.
In the doctor’s office.
Dr. Derek looked at me, his eyes filled with sorrow.
“I contacted my mentors. They reviewed your scans and all agreed that the risk of surgery is too great.”
My expression remained neutral. I had already prepared myself for this.
“I understand. You don’t need to feel burdened. I considered going to Switzerland for euthanasia, but I’m too tired to bother.”
Hearing my lighthearted tone, Dr. Derek’s eyes showed pity.
I knew he admired my free spirit and resilience, yet he couldn’t bear to see such a young life lost to the torment of illness.
As I prepared to leave, he gave me a restrained and polite hug.
“Ms. Vance, I’ll pray for you.”
Feeling his pure kindness, my eyes welled up. “Thank you.”
Stepping out of the office, I turned and almost bumped into Ethan, who was standing outside the door.
He glanced at Dr. Derek, who was already back at work. “Who is he?”
I continued towards the examination room. “A doctor.”
“I asked what your relationship is.”
Ethan’s brow bone was prominent. His current grim expression made him look rather fierce.
I didn’t answer, instead changing the subject. “Is Leo okay?”
Ethan’s face darkened, his tone growing a bit stiff. “Two more tests.”
Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang.
I glimpsed him from the corner of my eye. He answered directly.
“You’re still awake?”
His expression softened, and his voice became much gentler.
“Ethan, it’s dangerous over there. You need to be careful. Is Leo causing you any trouble? Can you manage taking care of him alone?”
They were close, and the woman’s gentle voice from the other end of the phone also reached my ears.
And Ethan returned her concern with even softer words.
“Leo’s doing great now. You need to take care of yourself at home. We’ll be back soon.”
I clenched my hands. My mind couldn’t help but recall a night many years ago.
We weren’t divorced then. On any stormy night, no matter how busy Ethan was, he would call me.
“Elara, don’t be scared. I’ll be home soon.”
His gentle, patient words made me fearless.
Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but turn to look at the man beside me.
Seeing his gentle eyes, I suddenly felt less resentful.
Perhaps I was too tired to hate anymore. I was a person with no future. Leaving without any ties felt like peace.
Ethan hung up the phone, his gaze sweeping over my deep, contemplative expression.
“What’s wrong?”
I forced a smile. “…Nothing.”
The atmosphere became subtle with our silence.
It wasn’t until we returned to the examination room door that Ethan spoke, somewhat abruptly. “I’ve been reading your serialized novel. It’s very good.”
He paused, then added, “The heroine’s experiences are very similar to yours.”
I gave a dry laugh.
The protagonist of this book was based on myself. The only difference was that I didn’t give my character the same incurable illness I had.
“Art imitates life, after all.”
Ethan turned to look at me, his voice growing husky. “As your tenant, can I know the ending of the novel in advance?”
My pupils trembled. Memories rushed through my mind.
Happy, sad, touching… finally stopping at the moment four years ago when I stood alone on the chaotic streets of Detroit.
“It should be… the heroine taking her own life.”
Elara Vance POV
Screech.
A nurse pushing a medical cart down the hallway masked my faint voice.
At the same time, the examination room door opened.
The doctor removed his mask. “The child needs to be hospitalized. Please, parents, follow me to the office to discuss the treatment plan.”
Ethan glanced at me, a look of hesitation on his face, but ultimately said nothing and followed the doctor out.
I looked at Leo, already asleep on the hospital bed, then turned and left.
The cold wind was bleak.
I returned home, ate the takeout that had been delivered, and went to sleep.
For a long time after that, I locked myself in the basement to write.
Several times, nosebleeds dripped onto my keyboard, or my headache was so severe that I had to take several packets of morphine powder to relieve it.
Due to the side effects, my complexion worsened, and my sleep became increasingly scarce.
My only comfort was the occasional faint sounds of Ethan cooking.
I would also go to the hospital to see Leo, but I never stayed for long.
Until this day, when my novel was almost finished, I decided to take a break and went to the hospital.
The snow in early January was heavy, covering me from head to toe.
As soon as I entered the ward, I heard Leo’s cheerful voice. “Ms. Vance, you’re here!”
Ethan, who was peeling an apple, looked up, a slight frown on his brow.
We hadn’t seen each other in days, and I had lost even more weight.
I placed the toy I was holding on the table and gently ruffled Leo’s hair. “I’ll be leaving soon. I’m busy with my manuscript.”
Ethan said nothing, just split the apple in half.
He gave one half to Leo and offered the other to me.
Looking at the apple, I hesitated for a moment before taking it, then handed it to Leo.
A flicker of almost imperceptible stiffness crossed Ethan’s face.
After playing with Leo for half an hour, I prepared to leave.
“The snow’s getting heavy. I’ll drive you back.”
Ethan also stood up, grabbing his coat from the sofa.
Sensing he had something to say, I didn’t refuse.
We walked in the cold wind, the dim streetlights casting two parallel shadows.
Ethan spoke in a low voice. “You look so drawn.”
My voice was hoarse. “Didn’t sleep well…”
As I spoke, my foot caught on a stone, and I stumbled.
He quickly steadied me, his voice tight, tinged with helplessness. “Watch your step.”
I turned to look at him. In a daze, I felt like I was back in some afternoon years ago.
Swaying tree shadows, blue and white school uniforms, and a boy gently blowing on my scraped knee after a fall.
“Clumsy. Why do you always trip?”
Back then, I would playfully throw myself into his arms, and he would wholeheartedly dote on me…
I came back to reality, pulling free from Ethan’s hand. “Thanks.”
Ethan looked at me. “Leo’s treatment over the past month has been positive. I’ll be sending him home tomorrow, and his follow-up treatment will continue there.”
I froze.
Had it really been a month already? I felt like only a few days had passed…
I asked, “Not renewing the lease?”
“No.”
Hearing his low response, I gave a bitter laugh to myself.
It was probably for the best that he left. After all, from the day of our divorce, our lives had already diverged.
The next day.
I pulled an all-nighter. The following morning, after submitting the rest of my manuscript to the editor, I left the basement and went to the living room.
Ethan was coming downstairs, carrying a suitcase.
I leaned against the counter, quietly sipping coffee, my gaze sweeping over the empty living room.
The toys and fairy tales that had been everywhere were gone. The kitchen no longer held the familiar smell of cooking. The house looked as if they had never been here.
It wasn’t until he got into the car that Ethan, who had been silent, looked towards me at the door. Something in his deep, night-like eyes seemed on the verge of spilling out.
“Take care of yourself. We’re leaving.”
Leo, in the back seat, waved sweetly at me. “Bye, Ms. Vance!”
I wanted to say goodbye, but my throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I could only manage a muffled “Mmm.”
Watching the car slowly disappear, a destructive emptiness, like a strange fishing net in the open sea, tangled around me, tightening with every struggle.
I gazed into the distance, my slightly red eyes filled with a sense of loss.
Four years ago, I had left without a word the day after the divorce, exiling myself to this chaotic city. Occasionally, I would fantasize that Ethan would regret it, that he would search for me like a madman.
But it was laughable; he had lived a very happy life these past four years.
Was I unwilling to accept it? Of course, but I couldn’t control the part of my heart that still wished him peace and happiness.
I closed the door and returned to the basement.
I took out the last cigarette from the pack, lit it, and typed a message on my social media.
“Final book complete. Thank you for your companionship. This is my last.”
After posting, I shut down my computer.
I pulled open a drawer and took out a cold, gleaming handgun.
Click!
A soft sound, a bullet chambered.
Suddenly, my phone rang.
It was Ethan.
After a moment of hesitation, I answered.
“Did you leave something behind?”
“Can I keep the house? I might renew the lease.”
Listening to his deep voice, my eyes dimmed slightly. “I’m sorry, I plan to sell it.”
I paused, then added, “I forgot to tell you earlier, have a safe trip. I wish you and your loved one eternal happiness.”
Those words came from my heart.
Perhaps from the moment I heard from Leo that Ethan had a happy family, I had already let go.
Ethan asked, “Where are you going?”
My voice was desolate. “Maybe England, maybe Australia… Ethan, in the future, I’ll also have a happy family and adorable children. It won’t be any worse than yours.”
This was the beautiful dream I was weaving for myself in my final moments.
If there was a next life, I wanted to live it this way.
A stable relationship, so perfect that no flaws or mistakes could be found.
No illness, and no agony for love.
The man on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time before giving a hoarse reply.
“Then, I wish you all the best.”
“Thank you. Goodbye.”
I placed my phone face down on the table, tears silently falling onto the dark muzzle of the gun.
A long while later, I looked at the cigarette burned down between my fingers, extinguished it, then took out paper and pen, writing my will little by little.
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I was reborn, brought back to life on the very day my roommate wanted to swap online boyfriends with me.
Waking up from the excruciating pain of being stabbed, I heard Isabella complaining to Chloe, who was on the bed opposite, about her online boyfriend.
“I suggested going to the movies, and he said, ‘How about studying at the library instead?’ I suggested a walk in the park, and he said, ‘How about a lab project instead?’”
Isabella rolled her eyes. “Three months of online dating, never met, never spent a dime on me. It’s so boring.”
She saw I was awake, hopped off her bed, and grabbed my arm. “Catherine, you have an online boyfriend too, right? Why don’t we swap?”
I looked at her, saying nothing.
In my last life, I refused her.
And what was the result? My online boyfriend was a good-for-nothing jerk, pretending to be a rich kid online, sweet-talking me into dating him.
I fell for his lies, flunked my exams, and only got into an average university. After graduation, he conned me into taking out online loans, and I ultimately died by a debt collector’s knife.
Meanwhile, Isabella’s online boyfriend was a brilliant student, excelling in both academics and character. He pushed her to study, got into a top-tier university himself, and dragged her along to an elite institution.
They went from college sweethearts to walking down the aisle, but on their fifth wedding anniversary, Isabella’s secret lover burst in and stabbed her. That’s when everyone found out she’d been cheating, embezzling funds, and faking her degree all these years.
Now, looking at Isabella’s expectant gaze, I nodded. “Okay.”
The first thing I did after getting Isabella’s social media account was link it to my phone.
Isabella scoffed, watching my actions. “Seriously? I won’t go back on my word.”
I ignored her. In my last life, she didn’t go back on her word, but in this life, I wasn’t going to gamble.
After logging in, the last message in the chat history was from the guy, asking Isabella to the library, to which Isabella had responded with a sarcastic eye-roll emoji.
I scrolled further back.
They had been chatting for three months, and the total word count was less than what my online boyfriend and I exchanged in a week.
Every time, he initiated the conversation, asking how many problems she’d solved that day, which concepts she didn’t understand, or if she needed help organizing her notes.
Isabella would usually reply with “Mhm” or “Oh,” and most of the time, she didn’t reply at all.
For three months, Isabella found him unromantic and never even met him.
He, however, kept actively asking her to the library, but Isabella always made excuses to push him off.
Perhaps it was this contrast that made Isabella conclude he was a boring bookworm, which conveniently benefited me.
It had been three days since their last chat, and Isabella hadn’t replied.
I quickly tapped the input box, typed a few words, deleted them, and repeated the process several times before finally sending a message:
ćIsn’t meeting like this a bit too casual?ć
He replied quickly: ćThen what do you want to do?ć
I thought for a moment, then typed: ćLet’s go for a run on the track tonight. 800 meters. The loser does ten practice tests.ć
This time, he paused for a few seconds.
I stared at the screen, my palms a little sweaty.
A message popped up: ćOkay.ć
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though I was reborn, my memories of studying hadn’t faded.
This life, I had a chance to turn things around.
I immediately got out of bed, packed my backpack, and got ready to leave.
Isabella was chatting with Chloe, laughing loudly. “I’m meeting my boyfriend for bubble tea tonight. There’s a new trendy spot that just opened, and I haven’t been able to go, but tonight someone’s finally treating me!”
She glanced at me, her tone boastful. “My new boyfriend? He’s so generous. You can tell he’s willing to spend money on me.”
I didn’t reply, just slung my backpack on and walked out the door.
After dinner, I waited for him by the track.
My heart was pounding, not because we were meeting, but because I knew this man could change my destiny.
In my last life, the first time I met my online boyfriend, Federico, he dragged me to a bubble tea shop, ordered two of the most expensive drinks, and then told me he’d forgotten his wallet.
I ended up paying.
I wondered if Isabella would manage to get anything out of him this time.
Footsteps sounded behind me.
I turned and saw a guy walking over. He was tall, with clear, sharp eyes, and held a bottle of water.
His name was Gabriel, and in my last life, I’d seen his face on TV.
I felt a little guilty and avoided eye contact.
He looked at me, then handed over the water. “Warm up first, or you’ll cramp.”
I took the water and started jogging slowly behind him.
Neither of us spoke; only our footsteps and breathing filled the track.
When we finished, I leaned on my knees, panting.
Gabriel stopped beside me, glanced at his stopwatch. “Four minutes and two seconds. You lost.”
“Ten practice tests,” he said. “Start tomorrow.”
I looked up at him.
In the moonlight, his expression was serious, and he looked handsome and fresh.
“Okay.” My heart thumped uncontrollably, and my face began to flush.
He nodded, then turned and walked away.
I stood there, watching his retreating back, then looked down at the water bottle in my hand.
My heartbeat returned to normal.
Catherine, you don’t need a man; you need a top-tier university.
By the time I returned to the dorm, it was almost ten.
Though my legs were wobbly from exhaustion, I felt incredibly happy.
In my last life, this was the day I started down the wrong path. This life, no more.
I looked at Isabella’s bed; it was empty.
Chloe poked her head out. “Isabella said she’s not coming back tonight. She went to an all-night karaoke with her online boyfriend.”
I didn’t reply, just lay back on my bed and closed my eyes.
From that day on, Gabriel and I started studying together.
I’d be in my own classroom during class, then go find him after.
We’d work on our respective problems in a corner of the library, occasionally swapping notebooks with our incorrect answers.
He spoke little when explaining problems, but every word hit the mark.
Once, I got stuck on a function problem. He looked at it for two seconds, then tapped a number on the paper with his pen tip.
“You missed this condition.”
I reread the problem. Sure enough.
“How do you see that so fast?” I asked, a little unconvinced.
“Because I’ve seen all the problems you’ve gotten wrong,” he said. “Your main issues are careless calculations and missing conditions, not a lack of understanding of the concepts.”
I froze. He’d even looked at my incorrect answers?
I buried my head deeper, pretending to be diligently working on the problem.
But my heartbeat was too loud; I was afraid he’d hear it.
Meanwhile, Isabella started skipping classes frequently, and her allowance grew.
In the dorm, she’d look at me with disdain, always flaunting things subtly.
“Federico bought me another bag. Do you know, that brand costs thousands?”
I advised her, “You should really study. Exams are coming up.”
Isabella rolled her eyes. “You’ve been spending too much time with Gabriel, your brain’s become a stick in the mud just like his.”
She glanced at the practice test I was working on and scoffed. “What’s the point of studying all day, every day? Women, you’ve got to enjoy yourself while you’re young.”
I didn’t say anything more. Some paths, you only know they’re pitfalls after you’ve walked them yourself.
I had already walked that one once.
The day exam results came out, I had moved up thirty-two places.
I snapped a picture of my report card and sent it to Gabriel: ćThank you.ć
He replied with a picture of his own report card. He’d also improved, ranking fifth in his grade.
I smiled at the screen.
Isabella, seeing me smile, leaned over to look and her face immediately soured.
“What’s so great about getting lucky?” she suddenly blurted out. “Everyone knows what your real abilities are. Don’t think just because you got lucky on a test once, you’re hot stuff.”
I put my phone away and ignored her.
The class bell rang, and Federico came to the classroom door to find Isabella.
She went out for a moment, and when she returned, a new bracelet adorned her wrist.
Isabella deliberately extended her hand and waved it in front of me. “Pretty, right? Federico bought it for me. It cost thousands.”
I glanced at the bracelet.
I’d had one just like it in my last life.
At the time, I thought it was a designer brand and carefully treasured it. Later, I found out it was fake, costing less than fifty dollars to make.
Isabella saw I wasn’t speaking, assumed I was envious, and smugly withdrew her hand. “What good are good grades? Marrying into wealth isn’t about scores; it’s about having good judgment and knowing how to pick a man.”
I remembered Federico’s cold, detached expression as I lay dying in my previous life.
“Yes,” I said. “You definitely need good judgment.”
Because of this improvement, I trusted Gabriel’s abilities even more and studied harder.
Isabella’s grades, however, plummeted, and she couldn’t keep up with her classes anymore.
Her gaze towards me grew increasingly strange.
Then, the rumors started.
Chloe secretly told me, “Isabella’s been going around telling people you and Gabriel are dating, just so he’ll help you cheat on tests. She also said…”
“Said what else?”
“She said you don’t know how much you ‘gave up’ to improve your grades, that you’re too young to be so immoral, clinging to Gabriel because he’s smart, and tomorrow you’ll be fawning over the school’s bad boy because he’s handsome.”
She looked at me, cautiously. “She also said you have no self-respect.”
My hand, holding the pen, tightened.
Chloe looked at me worriedly. “Catherine, maybe you should keep some distance from Gabriel? Until this blows over.”
“I’m not dating,” I said. “We’re just studying together.”
Chloe opened her mouth, about to say something else, when our homeroom teacher suddenly appeared at the classroom door.
“Catherine, to the office, please.”
In the office, Isabella stood in the corner, a smirk of schadenfreude on her face.
Gabriel was there too, standing beside his homeroom teacher, Mr. Davies.
I was a little nervous, but my expression was calm.
Ms. Hayes, my homeroom teacher, asked, “Catherine, what’s your relationship with Gabriel?”
“Study buddies,” I quickly said. “Gabriel and I both struggled with certain subjects, so we’re tutoring each other.”
Isabella cut in, “Does tutoring require you to always be glued to each other? Together during breaks, together during evening study, and even together coming and going on weekends?”
I ignored her, intending to continue explaining, when Gabriel suddenly spoke.
“I like her. Is that a problem?”
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The Brandi family had two adopted sons.
One was me. The other was Lace.
On the day Annie Brandi, the eldest daughter, got engaged to Lace, she was in a car accident. Both her legs were crippled. Lace cried as he tore up the engagement.
And I, to repay a debt of gratitude, married Annie.
After the wedding, I took care of her for ten full years. I helped her through rehab, helped her stand again.
For her, I gave up my chance to go to college.
But I never expected that on the day she finally stood up and took over the family business, she would suddenly announce she was bringing Lace back homeāLace, who’d been scammed out of all his money by a sugar mamaāand that she wanted to divorce me.
I’d raged and questioned her. I’d smashed everything in the house. I’d even begged on my knees.
But Annie remained stubborn as ever.
Even my adoptive parents felt that someone like meāwho never even went to collegeāwas no longer worthy of Annie in all her current glory.
In my fury, I coughed up blood right there and leaped from the top floor of the Brandi family mansion.
When I opened my eyes again, I’d returned to the day the Brandis were choosing a husband for their daughter.
…
After packing everything, I carried my suitcase back downstairs.
The people in the hall hadn’t dispersed yet. Annie looked at my suitcase and let out a cold laugh.
“Carter, stop playing hard to get. Let me tell you, don’t even think about any more schemes. I won’t let you manipulate me like you did befālike you used to!”
“Once you walk out that door, you’ll never get a single cent from the Brandi family!”
I stopped. “Annie, don’t worry.”
“The Brandi family’s money doesn’t interest me.”
“But before I leave, there are some things that belong to me that I need to take.”
I pulled out a document I’d prepared earlier from my bag.
“Mr. Brandi, these are the core patent rights to the Andrews family technology that my birth parents left behind.”
“Since I’ll have nothing to do with the Brandi family from now on, please sign this document and return these patents to me.”
Old Mr. Brandi’s expression shifted.
Lace immediately sneered from the side. “Carter, have you lost your mind?”
“Those Andrews family patents are completely outdated. What use are they to you? You think you’re going to get rich off that junk?”
Annie’s face was full of contempt. “Dad, give them to him! Since he insists on being so petty about it, return those useless papers to him. That way he can’t go around saying the Brandi family coveted the Andrews family’s assets!”
Old Mr. Brandi hesitated.
Years ago, my parents had died in a car accident while saving the Brandi couple. To silence public gossip, the Brandi family had adopted both Lace and me.
Naturally, the Andrews family’s business and patents came under Brandi family “management.”
Over the years, the Brandi family had already sucked dry all the Andrews family assets they could liquidate, leaving only these foundational technology patents they considered obsolete.
“Carter, why put yourself through this? You’re a grown manāwhat use are these to you?” Old Mr. Brandi said with false concern.
“This is the only memento my parents left me. Sign it.” My tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
The intermittent glances from surrounding guests put pressure on both Old Mr. Brandi and Mrs. Brandi. With a flourish, Old Mr. Brandi signed the transfer agreement and stamped it with the Brandi family seal.
I carefully checked the documents, confirmed everything was in order, and put them in my bag.
They had no idea that these seemingly outdated foundational patents would become the most critical breakthrough in the new energy technology sector over the next three years.
In my previous life, Annie had used these patentsāwhich I’d given away for nothingāto propel the Brandi family to become the wealthiest in the West.
In this life, I would never again hand them the knife handle.
“Mr. Brandi, Mrs. Brandi, the debt of raising me is greater than heaven itself, but my parents already repaid that debt with their two lives.”
“From today on, I, Carter, and the Brandi family are even. All ties are severed. We owe each other nothing.”
Annie stared at the suitcase in my hand, sneering. “Nice act. Just don’t come crawling back the moment you step out that door.”
I glanced back at her.
“Annie, I wish you and Lace a lifetime of happiness.”
“Whatever you do, don’t regret this.”
With that, I walked out of the Brandi family mansion without looking back.
The night wind felt cool against my face.
But I felt that this was the freest day of both my lives combined.
Less than half an hour after leaving the Brandi family, a torrential rain hit the West.
Wild wind whipped sheets of rain against the taxi’s windshield.
I sat in the back seat, quietly watching the blurred nightscape outside.
The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Sir, heading to the airport in this weather? Catching a flight?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Going East.”
“This rain is crazy. There’s been a bad accident on the overpass up ahead. Road’s closed. We’ll have to detour.”
The driver muttered as he turned the wheel.
Hearing the words “car accident,” my eyes flickered.
Calculating the timeāyes, it would be right about now.
I pulled out my phone and opened the local Western news feed.
Sure enough, a bright red headline popped up.
[BREAKING! Serious accident on Western overpassāblack Maybach crushed by dump truck, owner suspected to be daughter of Brandi family conglomerate!]
Below were several blurry photos from the scene.
The front of the Maybach was completely deformed, the driver’s cabin crushed into a heap of scrap metal.
A shocking pool of blood on the ground had been washed across the pavement by the rain.
The news updated in real time: [Brandi family heiress’s legs trapped by deformed cabin, compound fracture, facing risk of permanent disability.]
Looking at the photos on the screen, my finger paused.
In my previous life, because I’d been worried about her, I’d secretly followed their car.
When the accident happened, I’d risked the car exploding and smashed the window with my bare hands, nearly giving my life to drag her out.
Because of my timely rescue, though her legs were disabled, the nerves were preserved. That’s why she’d had hope of standing again later.
But in this life, she’d been trapped in that deformed car for a full half hour before firefighters got her out.
She’d missed the optimal rescue window. Those legs of hers were finished.
Annie, enjoy the rest of your crippled life locked together with your true love.
I expressionlessly swiped away the news.
Then I opened the back of my phone and pulled out the SIM card.
I rolled down the window and tossed it out.
The tiny chip was instantly swept away by the rain, disappearing into the dark sewer.
In my previous life, to take care of her, I’d given up my guaranteed admission to Harvard.
In this life, I’d already contacted a top professor in Harvard’s finance department in advance.
Tomorrow morning, I’d report to her lab.
I was going to pursue the bright future that truly belonged to me.
As for Annieā
That was the path she chose.
…
At that very moment, at Western General Hospital.
The red light outside the emergency room had been on for five solid hours.
When Old Mr. Brandi and Mrs. Brandi arrived, Mrs. Brandi’s legs gave out and she fainted.
Lace stood in a corner of the hallway, his face ashen, irritably tugging at his tie.
The emergency room doors swung open.
The attending physician walked out covered in blood, his expression grave.
“Mr. Brandi, we saved her life.”
“But… your daughter’s legs suffered compound fractures with massive nerve death.”
“We did everything we could, but she’ll likely… spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.”
The words hit like a thunderbolt.
Lace’s eyes went wide in disbelief as he staggered back a step.
Spend her life in a wheelchair?
Crippled?
Lace had dreamed of taking over the Brandi family empire!
If Annie was crippled, wouldn’t he have to spend his whole life serving a paralytic and enduring people’s pitying stares?
Just imagining it made Lace feel nauseated.
Several nurses wheeled out a hospital bed.
Annie was still unconscious, her legs wrapped in thick bandages, blood still seeping through.
The air reeked of blood and disinfectant.
Lace recoiled in disgust, afraid the blood would stain his expensive shoes.
“Lace…” Old Mr. Brandi looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. “You’re the one Annie cares about most. You have to stay with her.”
Lace forced on an expression of grief, his voice stiff. “Mr. Brandi, don’t worry. I’ll definitely take good care of Annie.”
“I… I’m going to smoke a cigarette and collect myself. Then I’ll come stay with her.”
With that, he turned and hurried toward the end of the hallway without a backward glance.
The next morning, Annie woke to excruciating pain.
As the anesthesia wore off, her legs transmitted tearing agony mixed with a strange numbness.
She stared at the white ceiling as her memory gradually returned.
Feeling the pain in her lower body, something suddenly occurred to her.
A moment later she relaxed, weakly managing a pale smile.
Why had she still gotten in an accident even after driving Carter away?
Whatever. Carter just loved her too much. She knew itāhe was definitely playing hard to get, so desperate to take care of her.
Depending on his behavior going forward, maybe she could forgive him after all.
But in this life, without that scheming Carter getting in the wayā
Her Lace must be standing guard by her bedside like a devoted protector, right?
“Lace…” she called hoarsely, struggling to turn her head.
But the bedside was empty.
No sign of Lace.
Only Mrs. Brandi sat there with swollen eyes, looking like she’d aged ten years overnight.
“Mom… where’s Lace?” An ominous feeling rose in Annie’s chest.
Hearing her voice, Mrs. Brandi’s tears spilled over again.
“Annie… stop looking for him.”
“That ungrateful traitorāhe ran.”
“When he heard your legs were crippled, he went back to the villa overnight, cleaned out your safe, tore up the engagement agreement, and fled the country.”
Annie’s brain went blank with a buzzing sound.
“Impossible!” She struggled violently, and the searing pain in her legs made her gasp. “Mom, you’re lying! Lace loves me so muchāhow could he run?”
“Did Carter drive him away!”
She shouted incoherently.
A nearby nurse couldn’t take it anymore and cut in coldly.
“Miss Brandi, last night when the doctor announced you might be permanently disabled, the disgust in Mr. Lace’s eyesāeveryone in our entire department saw it clear as day.”
“He complained that the blood on your legs was dirtying his designer shoes. He used smoking as an excuse and ran faster than a rabbit.”
The cold beeping of medical equipment filled the hospital room.
Each sound seemed to mock her self-deception mercilessly.
Annie stared at the empty doorway.
Her heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand.
How could this be?
Without Carter’s scheming, why did she still have the accident? Why did Lace still run?
What went wrong?
Just then, an unexpected figure appeared at the door…
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My mind was filled with images of them kissing.
I thought and thought, still feeling a deep sense of injustice.
I wanted to confront Ethan and get to the bottom of it.
As I reached the study door, Ethan was sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, lost in thought.
His eyes were fixed on the direction Serena had left.
In his hand was the ring Serena had given him years ago.
I suddenly recalled Serena’s words.
I turned and looked around.
Pink curtains, juvenile decor, cherry blossoms everywhere.
This was supposed to be our marital home, paid for and decorated by me, yet there wasn’t a single thing that suited my taste.
It was like how I disliked light music and Western food.
Yet Ethan would still, without fail, take me to that high-end Western restaurant.
At first, I thought Ethan simply didn’t understand these things.
Now, looking back, he wasn’t ignorant.
He had simply woven all his love and longing for Serena into the fabric of our shared life.
The answer was painfully clear, no need to ask further.
I wiped away my tears, a bitter understanding settling in my heart.
Just as I was about to turn back, I accidentally knocked over a nearby vase, shattering it.
The sharp crash of the vase startled Ethan, making him turn around abruptly.
The ring in his hand rolled to my feet.
I instinctively bent down to pick it up.
The man, who had just been full of melancholy, suddenly rushed over.
Roughly, he snatched the ring from my hand.
“Why are you touching my things!”
The edge of the ring cut a deep gash into my palm.
The wound was deep, but I didn’t feel the pain.
Perhaps, I had grown accustomed to it.
When we first started dating, Ethan had also lost his temper with me over this ring.
I thought the ring was ugly.
I felt that its cheap, childish craftsmanship didn’t suit his businessman’s demeanor.
But he insisted it was his lucky charm, and no one was allowed to touch it.
A lucky charm?
No, it was plainly a memento of his longing.
I glanced at Ethan’s bare finger, a bitter smile touching my lips.
“Ethan, where’s our wedding ring?”
As if remembering something,
Ethan’s angry expression softened a little, and he lowered his voice.
“I forgot. Maybe I left it at the engagement party.”
He didn’t forget.
Serena threw it away.
I saw it with my own eyes tonight.
He had carefully cherished the ring Serena gave him for ten years.
Yet, he casually tossed my wedding ring by the roadside.
“Forget it then, it’s not important anyway.”
Ethan sighed.
Just as I was about to turn away, he suddenly gripped my hand.
I thought he had noticed the cut on my hand.
The next second, I heard him say casually,
“Chloe, let’s just cancel our wedding. We can just sign the papers.”
“You’ve seen Serena’s condition.”
“She has mental health issues and can’t handle any kind of stress.”
It was the same excuse again.
The first time, Ethan and I were on a date.
Serena followed us to the restaurant and put something in my food.
I was sick with severe vomiting and diarrhea for days, almost ending up in the hospital with dehydration.
Ethan said she was just young and naive, telling me not to bother with her.
The second time, on our anniversary.
Serena threatened to commit suicide by jumping off a building if he didn’t return to her.
Ethan said she just couldn’t accept us being together.
The third, fourth, fifth time…
She killed my pet kitten, threw away my competition entry.
Every time, Ethan would tell me,
“She’s just a lunatic, why bother arguing with a crazy person?”
“We just need to be more careful in the future not to provoke her.”
Back then, I didn’t realize the indulgence hidden in his words.
Looking back now, he must have been enjoying all of it.
Enjoyment led to indulgence. His affection made him willing.
My efforts and presence were just a cruel game in their twisted relationship.
My heart ached intensely, and I recoiled from Ethan’s touch.
The fresh blood from my palm dripped onto the floor with my movements.
Ethan finally noticed my injury, and his expression instantly became tense.
“How did this happen?”
“Honestly, you’re impossible. Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”
I had told him, but no one cared.
Once, I was attacked by one of Ethan’s enemies, and the situation was critical.
I called him dozens of times, but he never answered.
It wasn’t until I was in the hospital that I found out:
Serena had deliberately led them to me.
She even faked being sick to take Ethan’s phone and block all my messages.
Because of that incident, I lost our first child.
Ethan felt deeply guilty after learning the truth.
But when I truly demanded he punish Serena,
His guilt turned into impatience.
I should have understood then.
The person he truly loved was never me.
And those who aren’t loved never get the luxury of being willful.
Thankfully, I understood now, and it wasn’t too late.
I pulled my hand away and, under Ethan’s gaze, tended to my own wound.
Ethan watched me for a long time.
His eyes held tenderness, guilt.
And a hint of something I couldn’t quite decipher.
But I no longer wanted to be entangled with him.
Before Ethan could speak again, I turned away first.
“It’s nothing serious. Get some sleep.”
“Tomorrow, we still have to clean up the mess Serena left behind.”
Ethan, feeling guilty and unsure how to comfort me,
Hesitated for a long time, then only sighed softly.
“Alright, get some rest.”
“Since you don’t want to see me, I’ll sleep in the study tonight.”
“If you need anything from me, remember to let me know anytime.”
No need.
From now on, I wouldn’t need him anymore.
Back in my room, I cancelled our planned honeymoon trip and called my mom, who was overseas.
After listening to my story, Mom sighed deeply.
“I told you from the start that Ethan wasn’t reliable, but you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Now look, you’ve suffered, haven’t you?”
“Forget it, come back when you’ve had enough. Your father and I miss you terribly.”
“Don’t be too sad, wounds always heal.”
Yes, wounds always heal.
Just as my feelings for him would eventually subside.
I looked at the plane ticket Mom had sent me.
My heart ached, and tears fell uncontrollably.
For myself, and for the past ten years.
I spent a sleepless night.
By the time I woke up, Ethan had already left.
On the living room coffee table lay a brand-new diamond ring.
He was always like this.
Every time Serena caused trouble, he would offer me some form of compensation.
Flowers, bags, diamond rings. But he would never send Serena away.
If they truly couldn’t let go of each other, then I’d grant them their wish.
I packed my things and headed to the hospital alone.
Halfway there, a red sports car suddenly swerved and hit me.
I couldn’t react in time and was thrown hard to the ground.
In an instant, the world spun.
Excruciating pain radiated from all over my body, spreading to my very core.
I struggled to lift my head and look.
The driver was Serena Bellwether.
She emerged from the driver’s seat, her face impassive, and stomped hard on my lower abdomen.
“You wretched bitch, using your pregnancy to steal my Ethan!”
“Today, I’ll kill this bastard, and Ethan will be mine again!”
Large gushes of blood poured from between my legs.
The pain made my tears stream down.
I wanted to tell her that I didn’t want Ethan anymore.
In a few hours, I would leave and never return.
I wanted to beg her to call the hospital.
My body was too fragile to endure any more hardship.
But the intense pain made me unable to speak.
Serena’s face grew increasingly twisted.
Just as I thought I was about to pass out, Ethan suddenly rushed over and pushed her away.
They started arguing.
But I couldn’t hear anything anymore.
My world blurred into a hazy illusion.
Love, Ethan, the child.
Along with the scattered cherry blossoms on the ground.
Everything vanished without a trace.
When I woke up again, I was in the hospital.
The baby was gone.
Though I had prepared myself for the possibility of losing him, I never imagined it would happen in such a brutal way.
Ethan displayed the same remorse as before.
He held my hand, offering soft words of comfort.
“I never thought Serena would be so impulsive.”
“This time, I promise I’ll teach her a lesson.”
A lesson? Forget it.
Without Ethan’s indulgence, how would Serena dare to go this far?
He could never bring himself to truly punish Serena.
Just as he never truly cared about me.
My heart was already numb from the pain.
I closed my eyes, touching my flat abdomen.
“This is the second one.”
“What?”
Ethan had forgotten.
This was our second child, lost at Serena’s hands.
He always habitually ignored everything related to me.
Ignoring the love I had for him, which was slowly withering away.
This time, I refused to endure it any longer.
Taking a deep breath, I looked up at Ethan.
“I’m calling the police.”
“I want Serena to face the consequences of her actions!”
“That’s impossible!”
Ethan quickly pulled his hand away.
“You’ll ruin her life if you do that!”
“Then who will be responsible for mine?!”
The pain in my body spread to my heart.
I was trembling all over.
“The doctors said my body has been so severely damaged that I might never be able to have children again!”
“Who can give back everything I’ve lost?!”
Serena couldn’t, and neither could Ethan.
He couldn’t even answer the question.
He could only, after a long silence, slowly say,
“Serena only did this because she loves me too much.”
“You’re about to become Mrs. Vance, so don’t stoop to her level over these issues.”
I didn’t argue then because of love.
I loved him so much that I didn’t want to make things difficult for him.
But now, that love was gone.
All my devotion and love for Ethan had died under the cherry blossoms that night.
I refused to cling to the empty title of Mrs. Vance, trading it for a pitiful scrap of sympathy.
After Ethan left, I called the police.
At 4 PM, Serena was arrested by the police.
At 5 PM, Ethan had her bailed out.
At 5:10 PM, Ethan sent me a message.
“Why did you call the police? Do you know how much this has hurt Serena?”
“She was so traumatized at the police station, crying non-stop. You need to come over and apologize to her immediately!”
I didn’t reply.
At 5:20 PM, Ethan sent another message.
“If you don’t come, I’ll have to comfort her physically.”
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The prominent Davis family had struggled for a decade with fertility issues, making their newborn daughter, Lily, an incredibly precious miracle.
At Lily’s extravagant birthday party, I, Chloe, the newly hired nanny, was about to witness Lily become the heir to their immense fortune.
But just as the nanny, Brenda, carried Lily away to change her diaper.
Suddenly, I heard a sobbing baby sound coming from inside the swddle:
[Don’t hand me over to this bad nanny! She’s going to swap me with her own daughter!]
[Anyone who can save me from this will be my godmother, and I’ll give her five hundred million!]
My body stiffened. I stared in horror at the malicious nanny.
Just then, from not far away, another wicked baby voice chimed in:
“Once my nanny-mom completes the swap, all of the Davis family’s money will be mine!”
“Good thing Lily and I look so much alike; no one will notice. But even if they do, they can just blame the new nanny!”
Without a second thought, I lunged at Brenda, snatching Lily from her arms.
“You can’t give the baby to Brenda! She’s trying to secretly swap her!”
I was desperate to save Lily, my face contorted with urgency.
“Brenda brought her daughter too, she’s hiding somewhere, just waiting to swap with Lily.”
“Please, you have to believe me. Don’t let her touch the baby!”
The Davis family and all the guests froze, their eyes widening in shock.
Mr. Davis clenched his fists, his face turning crimson. “Chloe, are you out of your mind? Stop this nonsense and let go of my daughter!”
Sarah, Mrs. Davis, looked at me as if I’d gone crazy. “Brenda has been with our family for five years; her integrity is beyond question. How could you make such baseless accusations?”
No one believed me.
Brenda’s expression remained calm as she refuted my claims.
“Chloe, I know I’m more experienced with babies than you, and you’re probably afraid I’ll outshine you.”
“But this is between us. We can discuss it privately. Don’t scare little Lily Davis.”
As she spoke, she tried to step forward and grab the baby.
“She just had a dirty diaper; it needs to be changed quickly, or she’ll be uncomfortable!”
Mr. Davis’s eyes hardened. He gestured to his bodyguards, who moved to follow Brenda.
Lily, who had been quiet, suddenly burst into tears.
[I knew something bad was coming, but I thought I could avoid it. Am I doomed?]
[Why doesn’t Dad believe her? Now only Chloe can protect me…]
When Lily cried, Sarah’s eyes immediately welled up.
“Chloe, you’ve scared my baby! What exactly do you want?!”
Brenda was nearing, a sly smirk on her face. I clutched Lily and retreated quickly.
“Lily cries whenever Brenda gets close, and calms down when she’s away. That proves Brenda’s intentions aren’t pure, and Lily is scared of her!”
“Babies understand everything; they can tell who’s good and who’s bad. Just watch!”
Lily cooperated perfectly.
When I moved back three feet, Lily quieted down.
But the moment I took a step towards Brenda, Lily would wail.
Sarah, a keen observer, paused, then frowned.
“Brenda, why is my daughter so distressed around you?”
“Yet, with Chloe, my daughter doesn’t seem scared at all.”
Brenda’s face flickered for just a second.
Then, she aggressively turned her accusations back to me.
“Chloe must have drugged Lily! All these tricks are just to steal the baby!”
“Mr. Davis, you can’t let her go on like this. Lily will suffocate if she keeps crying!”
Mr. Davis’s expression grew darker and darker.
In a flash, three bodyguards and Brenda had me cornered.
My legs were trembling with fear.
With nowhere left to go, Grandma Margaret suddenly tapped her cane heavily on the floor and stood up, her voice firm.
“Chloe, you say Brenda is trying to swap my granddaughter.”
“Then tell me, where is the other baby Brenda brought?”
The moment she spoke, Lily babbled softly.
[Grandma’s right. If they find Brenda’s daughter, everything will be clear!]
[Go, Chloe! Five hundred million dollars depends on you!]
Grandma Margaret was clearly giving me a chance to prove myself.
My breath hitched, and I immediately calmed my mind, trying to use the baby talk to pinpoint Brenda’s daughter’s location.
But Brenda’s daughter seemed to be deliberately defying me. At this moment, I couldn’t hear her voice at all.
Seeing Brenda’s hand reaching out for Lily, I panicked, grabbed Lily, and sprinted towards Grandma Margaret.
But I’d only taken two steps when Brenda sped up, catching me and yanking my hair roughly.
I stumbled, falling hard to the ground.
To protect Lily, I twisted my body mid-fall, making sure my head and back took the brunt of the impact.
I saw stars from the impact, but I forced myself to get up, wincing from the pain. I urgently handed Lily back to Grandma Margaret.
“Grandma Margaret, from now on, please don’t let Lily out of your sight. Especially don’t let Brenda touch her!”
Brenda and I locked eyes. The hatred in her gaze felt like it could tear me apart.
Grandma Margaret had still harbored some doubts, but when she saw Lily grin at me and stretch out her tiny hands as if wanting to grasp me, she seemed to vaguely realize something.
“When you fell just now, you’d rather hurt yourself than let Lily get injured.”
She shot a pointed glance at Brenda.
“Some people, however, appear enthusiastic but completely disregard whether Lily might get hurt.”
Brenda’s face flushed, and she quickly cried out in protest.
“I was just worried about Lily, so I might have been a bit rough. Mr. Davis, you know I’ve been with the family for five years; I would never do anything to harm Lily!”
Mr. Davis, still in shock, his veins bulging on his forehead, thundered, “Chloe almost hurt our daughter! I won’t let this go!”
I desperately wished Lily could speak, could explain everything and get me out of this mess. But no matter how anxious she was, Lily could only produce blurry, innocent baby sounds that no one but me could understand.
Sarah, seeing my distressed expression, softened a little.
“Lily seems to really like Chloe. I don’t think she’s a bad person. Since no real harm was done, maybe we can just let it go?”
With kind Sarah coming to my defense, Mr. Davisās face remained tense, but he suppressed his anger.
“It’s Lily’s birthday party today, so I’ll let you off this time.”
“Now get out of here. If you dare cause any more trouble, I’ll make you regret it!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grandma Margaret holding Lily tightly, with Sarah close by.
Relieved, I turned to look for Brenda’s daughter. Only by finding the other baby could I completely end Brenda’s scheme!
But for some reason, Brenda’s daughter hadn’t made a sound since.
I scurried around like a headless chicken, completely clueless. Where had Brenda hidden the fake Lily?
There weren’t many places to hide a baby here. Why couldn’t I find the child no matter where I looked?
After searching everywhere, inside and out, I still found nothing.
I gnashed my teeth in frustration, then had a thought. If I couldn’t find Brenda’s daughter, I’d just stick by Grandma Margaret and keep a close eye on Brenda, making sure she didn’t get another chance.
But unexpectedly, just then, I heard Lily’s faint cry for help.
[Help me, I’m stuck in a very dark, stuffy place! I’m so scared!]
[Chloe, please come save me! I don’t want to die!]
My heart sank. I never expected that Brenda would succeed again after I’d only been gone for a few minutes!
Without even considering Mr. Davis’s warning, I bravely turned and rushed back into the banquet hall.
“Something’s wrong! Lily Davis has been swapped after all!”
The air froze again.
Everyone stared at me as if I were insane.
The fake Lily in Grandma Margaret’s arms also shivered.
[How does this nanny know I’m the fake Lily? Never mind, she has no proof. I’ll just pretend to cry to distract them!]
Immediately, heart-wrenching wails echoed through the banquet hall.
The fake Lily cried, trembling, as if she were about to faint.
Sarah, whose maternal instincts were heightened, immediately panicked.
“Chloe, shut up!”
“We only left our daughter for a few minutes to use the restroom. How could she possibly be swapped so easily?”
To others, it sounded like a desperate baby’s cry, but to my ears, it was a clear, insidious plot.
[If I just cry and act pitiful, making the Davis family feel sorry for me, Chloe will be doomed!]
Mr. Davis’s gaze was like daggers, making my heart pound.
But I couldn’t back down. If Lily was left in that stuffy place for another five minutes, she would be dead. And then Brenda might even blame me, and I wouldn’t be able to explain it even with ten mouths!
“Brenda, where have you hidden Lily?!”
“Hand her over now, and it’s not too late! If anything happens to her, you’ll spend the rest of your life in jail!”
Brenda’s face stiffened, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.
I then shouted to Grandma Margaret, “Two babies, there must be something different about them! Grandma Margaret, look closely! I’m sure you can spot the difference!”
Grandma Margaret frowned, half-believing, half-doubting, and slowly lifted the child, intending to take a closer look.
But the fake Lily started fussing uncontrollably.
[I won’t let them look!]
[Hope Mom doesn’t give up. Just a few more minutes, and Lily will be dead!]
After a few seconds of internal struggle, Brenda hardened her heart, falling to her knees to feign distress.
“Chloe, I don’t know what I’ve done to offend you.”
“If there’s an issue, we can talk outside. Please stop scaring the Davis family and Lily…”
What was supposed to be a lovely birthday party had turned into chaos because of me.
Mr. Davis, enraged, threw a wine glass at me. “Chloe, are you done or not? I don’t believe anyone would dare to touch my daughter!”
I couldn’t dodge it. With a sharp ringing in my ears, I was hit, my head bleeding.
The bodyguards, grim-faced, surrounded me, vowing to teach me a lesson.
I stumbled backward, enduring the intense pain, and desperately emphasized to them, “You have to believe me! This isn’t your biological daughter! If you don’t believe me, get a DNA test!”
“Lily Davis is hidden in a very dark and stuffy place. The priority is to find her immediately!”
“Any later, and her life will be in danger!”
In a daze, Lily’s whimpering baby voice grew even weaker.
[So stuffy and hot, like there’s fire burning above me. My head feels heavy…]
[If no one comes to save me, I’m going to pass out…]
I keenly picked up on the details in her baby talk.
But if I just ran off now, everyone would think I was fleeing, and no one might follow.
To keep the Davis family’s attention, I gritted my teeth.
I lunged forward, snatched the fake Lily, and then ran towards the kitchen.
“If you want your daughter back, follow me!”
Sarah shrieked, the first to follow me.
Mr. Davis reacted, his roar almost piercing my eardrums.
“Prioritize my daughter’s safety!”
He and the bodyguards, supporting a stumbling Grandma Margaret, followed me through the winding corridors.
The fake Lily in my arms let out an even more desperate wail.
[Chloe can’t find Lily! She can’t ruin my plan!]
Brenda was blocked by a large group of bodyguards and couldn’t keep up with me.
Blood was still flowing from my forehead. I exerted all my strength, distinguishing Lily’s increasingly faint baby voice.
[Such a choking smell of smoke, I can hardly breathe.]
[Am I… destined to die here?]
Her choked sobs tightened my heart.
Driven by adrenaline, I burst into the hotel kitchen like a woman possessed.
Under the terrified gazes of the staff, I held the fake Lily in one arm and frantically yanked open every cabinet.
“A place that’s hot and smells of smoke… it must be the kitchen…”
“Lily, cry out! Tell me where you are…”
But in my ears, apart from the fake Lily’s malicious curses, I could no longer hear Lily’s baby voice.
My chest ached with anxiety, and my eyes were stinging.
Lily, just hold on a little longer. I’ll save you soon.
Mr. Davis, who had caught up, stood a short distance away, his gaze terrifyingly fierce.
“If my daughter gets burned by the fire, I’ll make you pay with your life!”
My eyes were swollen with desperation, but my voice was trembling yet firm.
“She’s not your daughter!”
“Your biological daughter is in one of the kitchen cabinets! You have to believe me!”
“Please, help me look! She’s about to lose consciousness!”
Sarah was already crying hysterically, completely drained. She ran her hands through her disheveled hair, pleading with me.
“Chloe, name your price! We can give you anything! Please, just let go of my daughter!”
My mind was solely focused on finding Lily.
One cabinet door after another was forced open, but inside were only food and various kitchen utensils.
Amidst the clatter and bangs, Lily let out one last weak whimper.
[I think I hear Chloe’s voice…]
[Chloe, save me, I’m right in…]
Before Lily could finish, I followed the sound and spun around, looking at a dish cabinet in the deepest part of the kitchen.
“Lily’s in there! Go save her!”
My chest was heaving, my only thought to rush over there.
But behind me, two strong bodyguards lunged at me simultaneously.
One snatched the fake Lily and returned her to Mr. Davis.
The other clamped down on me, making my bones creak.
In desperation, I could only appeal to Sarah again.
“Sarah, please, take a good look at this child!”
“I’m sure you can tell the difference between her and your own daughter!”
Sarah was about to breathe a sigh of relief. Hearing my words, maternal instinct made her subconsciously glance at the fake Lily.
She looked at the little red face, her brow furrowing slightly.
Brenda, seeing this, eagerly tried to pull Sarah away.
“Don’t listen to her crazy talk; she’s a lunatic. It’s too hot in here; Lily will be uncomfortable. Let’s go now.”
Sarah saw the child’s red face and eventually let Brenda pull her away.
My body felt weak, my mind a blank slate. I couldn’t think of anything else.
However, while no one was paying attention, Grandma Margaret, leaning on her cane, walked to the dish cabinet, half-believing, half-doubting.
Seeing her raise her hand, full of indecision, I croaked out, clinging to a last, slim hope.
“Grandma Margaret, just one look, please, just one look…”
“Your Davis family’s precious baby is in there. Whether she lives or dies depends entirely on you…”
Mr. Davis could no longer stand my raving.
“How dare you curse my daughter? My daughter is perfectly fine!”
Brenda, hiding in a corner, sneered.
The fake Lily even let out a strangely sinister giggle.
[I knew Mr. Davis wouldn’t doubt me.]
[Go peacefully, Lily. From today on, the Davis family’s billions are all mine!]
Seeing Grandma Margaret’s raised hand fall again, tears and blood blurred my vision, plunging me into utter despair.
Lily, I’m so sorry. Not only did I fail to save you, but I’ve also ruined myself.
“Lock Chloe in the freezer! I’m going to…”
Just as the bodyguards were about to forcibly drag me away, Grandma Margaret squinted and peered into the crack of the cabinet door.
The next second, her pupils constricted, and she shrieked in terror.
“Don’t go! There’s… there’s really a baby hidden inside!”
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After getting clawed by Taylor again,I finally drove myself to the ER.
The nurse peeled the towel away and sucked air through her teeth.
“Honey.Honey.”
Four claw marks from my shoulder damn near to my wrist.Deep enough to see pink.
“Your beastman ever been through socialization training?”
“Graduated top of his class.”
Taylor Jones.Pureblood silver fox.Rank-S compatibility.Five hundred thousand dollarsāmy entire savings.Every overtime shift.Every packed lunch.Every dollar I didn’t spend on myself for three years.
Twelve months ago,he begged me to choose him.Before anyone found out he was infertile.
Now my phone was buzzing.
“It’s just a scratch.Did you seriously go to the hospital?”
“Dramatic much?”
“I’m hungry.Come home and cook.”
Then a fourth message.A screenshot sent to the wrong thread.Dinner reservation.Eleven Madison.Two seats.Tonight.
That would be Ava.
Ava.Grade-A human.Family money.She wanted Taylor for her bloodline program.Taylor played along.She didn’t know he was infertile.Nobody did except me and the Bureau.
I paid dollars to save him from being discarded.Now he was helping another woman build a family.
I locked the phone.Set it facedown on the exam table.
One hour later I walked into the Beastman Bonding&Registration Center.
“I’d like to replace my beastman.”
The receptionist pulled up my file.Eleven months and three weeks of cohabitation.Ten days from permanent bonding.
“Can I ask why you’ve decided to request a replacement?”
“He doesn’t like me.ā
āā¦Excuse me?ā
āI think your training program failed.I’ve met strays that behaved better than him.If this is what a certified companion beastman looks like…then I think dogs deserve an apology.”
Walking into the Center brought back the memory of how pitiful Taylor had looked that day.Before Taylor was diagnosed infertile,his auction price had once made financial headlines.He begged me to pick him up.
The receptionist’s face scrunched up.”That really shouldn’t happen.Hostile rejection from a bonded beastman is extremely rare.”
I shrugged.”Guess I’m just unlucky.”
“NoāIvy,please.”She stood up.”If there was a breakdown in our training process,that’s on us.That is not on you.”
“This time,”I said,”I’m hoping you can match me with a dog type.”
She gave me a soft smile.”Come with me.”
I followed her through frosted glass doors into the back.Long hallway.Clean lighting.It reminded me of the first time I came hereāhow nervous I was,how carefully I’d counted the money in my account three times before walking in.
In the new era,male beastmen had taken over most reproductive roles.When I bought Taylor,he cost five hundred thousand dollars.Every overtime shift.Every packed lunch.
The showroom was bright and sleek.Holographic profiles rotated on a massive screenāface after face.Leopards.Snow lynxes.All gorgeous.All trained.All way out of my price range now.
I watched them cycle through.
“Is thereā¦anything else?”
“What type are you looking for?”
“Dog type.Golden retriever,maybe.”I’d read online that golden retriever beastmen were naturally affectionate.
“I’m so sorry,Ivy.No canine models available right now.”She paused.”But given your situation,we can put you on priority.First in line.”
“ā¦Okay.”
She walked me back toward the lobby.As we passed through the corridor,a thick registration handbook started slipping under her arm.Something fell from between the pages.
A photograph.Landed faceup on the tile.
I bent down before thinking.
Cold gray eyes.Sharp vertical pupils.Broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist.
And behind himāpointed ears.Silver-tipped.
A fox.
The receptionist noticed and sighed.”He’s actually the most obedient beastman we’ve ever trained.”
I was still holding the photo.My thumb had landed right across his chest without me realizing.
“Then why isn’t he assigned?”
“Corporate wanted to test a new market segment with him.”
She hesitated.”But most humans won’t take foxes.Too unpredictable.He’s scheduled to be sold to an underground beast arena tonight.”
“A fighting pit?”
She nodded.Didn’t look happy about it.”He was raised for companionship since he was a kid.Temperament conditioning,emotional regulation,all of it.And they’re sending him to a cage.”
She lowered her voice.”The ones they send there get torn apart.Sometimes there’s not even enough left to send back.”
I looked at the photo again.Gray eyes straight into the camera.Not angry.Not sad.Just waiting.
“I don’t care about fertility,”I said.”I just wanted someoneāor honestly,maybe a dogāto come home to.Is he really obedient?”
Her face lit up.”Extremely.”
I looked at the photo one more time.Another fox.After everything Taylor put me through,I was really about to choose another fox.
“Then I want this one.”
“ā¦For real?”
“If nobody else wants him.”
They brought him out for inspection.
Taller than I expected.Broader.But the way he carried himself was smallāshoulders curved in,chin tucked.
He lowered his head.”I hope you’ll take me with you.”
A pause.
“The sooner the better.”
Then he knelt.Right there on the tile floor.This six-foot-something fox beastman,on his knees in front of me.
I didn’t move.Nobody had ever knelt for me before.Not once.
He looked up and his earsāsomewhere between a dog’s and a cat’sāpricked slightly toward me.Like he was already listening for what I needed.
A good-looking guy with zero confidence.That got me.I won’t pretend it didn’t.
I was done for.
The paperwork took another hour.The receptionist handed me a sealed contract folder.”Ivy,I think he’s really lucky to have met you.We’ll deliver him to your registered address this evening.”
“Thank you.”
After finishing at the center,I headed to the mall.Place was packed the way it always was.Everyone tired from work.
But happy.
Most of the people there were low-grade humans with their equally ordinary beastmen.Just regular couples doing regular shopping on a regular Tuesday night.
Maybe one day that could be me.I took the subway home.Walked up four flights with the bags cutting into my fingers.
I unlocked the apartment door and heard the TV already on.
My hand froze on the knob for half a second.
Taylor was home.He was never home.Usually he was out with Ava until midnight.But there he was,sprawled across the couch,tail flicking lazily over the armrest.
It lashed once when he saw me.
“Where the hell were you?You didn’t even make dinner.”
“Living broke with you is bad enough.”He leaned up on one elbow.”Now I can’t even eat.”
“I figured you’d eat at Ava’s.”I set the bags down by the door.”You don’t like my cooking anyway.”
I said it simply:”Last birthday I spent all afternoon in the kitchen.You threw every dish in the trash.”
He didn’t say anything to that.
I crouched by the bags and started pulling stuff out.Chew sticks.A steel grooming comb.Fish oil supplements.I lined them up neatly beside the sofa.
Taylor appeared behind me at some point.
“ā¦You’re treating me like a dog now?”
I kept my face turned away from him.
He picked up the comb between two fingers.”I don’t need this cheap stuff.My fur would get wrecked with a comb like this.”
He glanced at the fish oil.”This brand isn’t even pure enough.”
Then,quieter than before:”Whatever.Since you already bought themā¦I guess I can try.”
“They’re not for you.”
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