Category: English

To increase the birth rate, the country mandated that anyone unmarried past thirty must accept a system-enforced match. Dylan and I had been married for almost a year, so when I received the call from City Hall, my first instinct was to question it. “Are you sure you have the right person?” The staff member’s tone was firm. “The system shows you’re still unmarried.” “This concerns a major life decision. We verify personal information multiple times. There’s no mistake.” I hung up, grabbed the marriage certificate from my drawer, and rushed to City Hall. The staff member saw through it immediately. “This is a fake certificate. Even the stamp is forged.” Before I left, they stopped me. “We’ve already found your matched partner. Two days from now, remember to come on time to complete the marriage registration with him.” The fake marriage certificate was destroyed right before my eyes, reduced to a pile of ashes. My voice hoarse, I requested to check Dylan’s marital status. The staff member’s fingers flew across the keyboard, then turned the screen toward me. Married. Spouse: Claire Rivers. The registration date was eight months ago—exactly the same as the date on my fake certificate. When I accepted that marriage certificate that day, Dylan must have thought I looked like a complete fool, so easily played by him. A chill swept through my body. I felt dizzy and disoriented. When I came to my senses, I was already standing at my front door. Dylan sat on the sofa, his tone as gentle as always. “Where were you? Why are you back so late?” My eyes bloodshot, I walked up and slapped him across the face. “Why did you lie to me?” “Why her of all people?” He froze for a moment, then a mysterious smile curved his lips. He smoothly caught both my hands, trapping my agitated body in his embrace. He already knew exactly what I was asking about. “Actually, Claire isn’t as terrible as you say.” All the strength drained from my body in an instant. Such a light, casual sentence, dismissing all the harm I’d suffered. But when I collapsed crying at my mother’s funeral, when Claire’s lackeys cornered me and beat me against a wall, Dylan had held my hand and sworn solemnly. “Your enemies are my enemies. Renee, I’ll always be your solid support.” I had truly believed him. But now he stood before me, and when he spoke Claire’s name, his eyes held a tenderness that broke my heart. I wanted to grab his collar and demand when it had started, to ask what else he’d lied about. But all I could do was dig my nails into my palms, forcing myself to calm down. As long as I could find someone to marry within three days, City Hall would withdraw the forced matching. Apart from Dylan, I had no one else. I wiped away my tears, hope flickering in my eyes. “Could you… could you divorce her?” He let out a muffled laugh and playfully tapped my nose. “Now’s not the time for you to throw a tantrum.” I opened my mouth to say more, but his finger pressed against my lips. “Claire is pregnant. I need to give her security.” “Don’t worry. As soon as the baby is born, we’ll divorce immediately.” “Renee, just wait for me a little longer.” I swayed unsteadily, shaking my head through blurred tears, wanting to say there was no more time. In three days, I would marry someone I’d never met. But my throat felt stuffed with cotton. I couldn’t get a single word out. Dylan kept talking. Now that everything was out in the open, he threw caution to the wind.

“Claire is in her third trimester. I don’t feel comfortable with her living alone.” “Tomorrow I’ll bring her to live here.” With the facade torn away, he became even more brazen. The next day, he did exactly as he said and brought her over. Claire’s pregnant belly was prominently rounded, her face glowing with obvious joy. Meeting my gaze, she flashed a provocative smile. “Renee, which room should I sleep in?” I stared at her, grinding my teeth. I would never forget the day she and her mother came to our house. The sun had been shining brightly. Shortly after, my mother became a pool of blood and flesh on the lawn below. “Renee, remember to keep your eyes open from now on. Don’t follow in Mom’s footsteps.” After saying that, she jumped right in front of me. What followed was an endless nightmare. And now, Claire stood in my home with her arm around my husband, smiling provocatively at me. “Renee, the guest room is a bit small. I want to sleep in the master bedroom.” I didn’t get any say in the matter. The moment she finished speaking, Dylan waved his hand and workers swarmed in, throwing all my belongings out of the master bedroom. Things clattered across the floor. He helped Claire to the bed, carefully settling her on the edge. A jade bracelet on the nightstand caught Claire’s attention. Its texture was lustrous, clearly well-treasured. She picked it up and examined it carefully. The next second, as if her hand had slipped, she let go. I instinctively ran forward to catch it, but I was still a step too late. The sound of the jade shattering exploded in my ears. I lowered my head as tears dropped one by one onto the floor. Overwhelming rage surged into my head. I swung my arms toward Claire. “That was the only thing my mother left me!” But before I could get close to her, Dylan stepped forward, grabbed my arm, and shoved me backward hard. I fell onto the bracelet fragments, the impact cutting my palms until they bled profusely. Dylan, who would normally blow gently on even a small cut on my hand for ages, now frowned harshly, his tone as casual as discussing what to eat for dinner. “It’s just a bracelet. Next time I’ll buy you a better one.” “Getting worked up over this and upsetting Claire isn’t worth it.” I climbed up from the floor, carefully gathering the blood-stained fragments into my clothes. But a moving worker stumbled, his arm hitting my back, and the fragments scattered across the floor again. I finally couldn’t hold back anymore and collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. After enduring all this, I developed a high fever that night. In my confusion, I felt a pair of hands carefully wiping away my sweat, placing a cool, damp cloth on my forehead. When I was fourteen, I was punished for not cleaning the stairs properly, forced to kneel in the snow in the dead of winter. My stepmother’s expression was vicious. “We’ve raised you all these years, and you can’t even do this small task properly.” My father deliberately avoided my pleading eyes, pretending not to see. Halfway through my punishment, a basin of foul, cold water was dumped over me, chilling me to the bone. Claire stood on the second floor wearing a thick coat, her hands in fuzzy gloves as she held the basin. “You looked sleepy, so I came to wake you up.” In the end, it was Dylan who brought me home, forcing several bowls of fever medicine down my throat to pull me back from death’s door. He had cradled my swollen, frost-damaged fingers, his eyes brimming with heartache. In my daze, I opened my eyes to find that the teenage Dylan had transformed into this cold, silent stranger before me.

“You’re sick. Don’t move around the house these next few days, so you don’t pass the illness to Claire.” Tears rolled down my temples, soaking into the pillow. I couldn’t understand how a good person could rot like this. He stood at the door, meticulously wiping his hands with disinfectant alcohol, afraid of missing a single detail. Footsteps pattered outside the door. The next second, Claire threw herself into Dylan’s arms. The guest room door clicked shut and locked. No matter how much I knocked and shouted, there was no response. I was imprisoned, simply for having a fever. I slid down against the door and sat on the floor, my heart already too numb to ripple. In the darkness, my phone vibrated. A message popped up. [Match successful. One day remaining until marriage registration.] I gave a self-mocking smile, avoiding looking at the matched partner’s information like an escapist. A whole day passed. It seemed everyone had forgotten about me. My already weak stomach ached from not eating all day. My throat was dry and scratchy, and even my breath felt hot. The door opened a crack. Claire stood far away, holding a stale piece of bread. Like feeding a dog, she tossed the bread in front of me. Then she raised her phone and took a photo of me. “Didn’t you say you hated homewreckers the most?” “Now I’m going to make you experience what it’s like to be the other woman yourself.” She laughed loudly, then turned to edit a caption and post it online. She portrayed herself as a pitiful pregnant woman, claiming I had taken advantage of her vulnerability to seduce her husband. In the photo, I looked like a homeless dog—disheveled and pathetic. My phone notifications dinged incessantly. Soon someone had dug up my information. “She looks decent on the outside, but she’s so shameless behind closed doors.” “The birth rate is already declining year by year, and she chooses this moment to upset a pregnant woman. Rotten to the core.” “Is it possible her mother gave birth to her the same way? Like mother, like daughter.” I shook my head, whimpering: “No… it’s not…” I wanted to say Claire was the homewrecker who stole someone else’s man, that I was the victim. But then I suddenly remembered that fake marriage certificate burned to ashes. My hand slowly dropped. After a long while, I finally spoke in a hoarse voice. “Let me go. I won’t interfere in your business anymore.” Claire let out a cold laugh. “I refuse.” “I want you to watch the child being born with your own eyes. Watch as I take away everything you care about, piece by piece.” She leaned close to my ear, speaking at a volume only we could hear. “Want to know when I got pregnant with this child?” My heart clenched. I instinctively backed away several steps, but Claire grabbed my arm and held it in a death grip. Her voice continued. “On the anniversary of your mother’s death.” My pupils contracted sharply, overwhelming hatred rising in my heart. I remembered how Dylan, who had promised to be there that day, suddenly canceled. “Something urgent came up at work. I can’t get away.” “Renee, we’ll visit your mother together next year, okay?” Thinking back now, Dylan’s voice had carried subtle breathlessness when he spoke. I’d just been too grief-stricken that day to notice. I clenched my fists, my fingertips turning white with pressure. If I had a knife right now, I would gladly plunge it deep into Claire’s belly.

But before I could react, she suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out softly. Urgent footsteps approached from far to near. Dylan’s trembling hands supported Claire. “What’s wrong?” “Dylan, my stomach hurts so much…” The next second, Dylan’s sharp gaze shot toward me, anger surging within. “If anything happens to Claire and the baby, I definitely won’t let you off.” He steadily lifted Claire into his arms. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to order someone to bring me along. “If anything goes wrong, you need to be ready to donate at any time!” The car sped toward the hospital. I rested my head against the window, Dylan’s tireless comforting of Claire filling my ears. Claire clutched Dylan’s clothes tightly, her voice full of panic. “Dylan, do you think our baby will be okay?” Dylan held her tightly in his arms, then raised his hand and slapped me. “Didn’t I warn you to stay away from Claire? Why did you provoke her again?” I lifted my eyelids but didn’t argue. Whatever I said, he wouldn’t believe me anyway. Dylan’s words continued. As the car stopped, doctors who had been waiting rushed over. I stood outside the crowd, watching coldly. Claire turned to look at me, then fearfully turned back. “Dylan, I’m so scared.” “Childbirth can cause massive hemorrhaging. What if there’s not enough blood in the blood bank?” Dylan gripped her hand tightly, following her gaze to me. I sensed something and tensed. “She has the same blood type as Claire.” “Take her to draw blood!” I backed away in fear, flailing my arms wildly, but was immediately restrained. “Let me go!” I struggled desperately, but was still pinned firmly in the chair. The needle pierced my arm. Crimson blood flowed from my body. “We’ve already drawn 500cc, Mr. Carter. Should we continue?” Dylan glanced at me coldly, his voice ice-cold and merciless. “Continue.” Then he simply turned and left. I felt the vitality draining from my body, warmth slowly dissipating. The nurse’s pitying voice reached my ears. “If we keep drawing, she’ll die, won’t she?” “Sigh, so young. Poor thing.” I felt my whole body begin to shake uncontrollably. Then my consciousness plunged completely into darkness. The operating room light stayed on. An irrepressible panic kept rising in Dylan’s heart. He felt something had slipped beyond his control. He attributed this emotion to worry for Claire. Medical staff went in and out, making him even more irritable. After who knows how long, the operating room light finally went out. The doctor brought the baby out. “Mother and child are safe. It’s a boy.” Dylan carefully took the baby, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. He suddenly remembered Renee’s existence. “Go bring Renee here.” But before long, his subordinate ran over in panic, holding a phone. “This is bad. Miss Rivers is gone.” “Her phone was on the hospital room floor.” Dylan took the phone. Just then, a text message popped up. [Forced matching has taken effect. Your marital status has been updated. Congratulations on your marriage!] But before Dylan could read the message clearly, Claire was wheeled out by a nurse.

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When I was sixteen, Lucas killed my stepfather, the beast who had molested me for years. When reporters asked if he regretted his impulsive action, he smiled calmly and candidly: “Of course I regret it. I regret not getting rid of him sooner.” As everyone watched in shock, he lowered his eyes and laughed softly. “Trading my worthless life for Violet’s peace of mind and freedom for the rest of hers.” “It was worth it.” Three years after Lucas went to prison, I turned around and fell into the arms of a wealthy elite. That same year, Lucas had his sentence reduced. Later, Lucas and I reunited at a nightclub after his release. He had leaped from being a discarded pawn of the Reed family to becoming the revered Mr. Reed of the elite circles. And me? I was just a waitress serving drinks to pay off debts. Someone in the private room asked, “Mr. Reed, I heard the woman you once saved, her sugar daddy went belly up. If she knew who you are now, she’d be kicking herself.” Lucas held his girlfriend close and casually blew out a smoke ring. “That’s all in the past.” The next second, his cold, piercing gaze drifted lazily to the top of my head. “But I’ve long regretted it too.”

The moment Lucas finished speaking, the room erupted in chaos. “I heard that woman was Lucas’s childhood friend. The second he went in, she immediately climbed into Daniel’s bed.” “But even fate can’t stand watching a backstabbing bitch like her have everything go her way.” “Look, Daniel went bankrupt and left her alone to pay off the debts while he ran off to avoid trouble abroad.” Amid everyone’s ridicule, Lucas’s dark, deep eyes never left me. “Yeah, she deserves this ending. She brought it on herself.” I stood beside Lucas holding a drink tray, my chest feeling as if it were pierced with countless fine needles. My heart ached unbearably. “Waitress, come pour the drinks… wait! Aren’t you Violet?!” The woman beside Lucas exclaimed in surprise, and everyone’s eyes immediately turned to me. She rose gracefully, dimples gracing the corners of her mouth. “Hello, I’m Madeline. You’re Violet, right? I recognize you.” “Thank you for letting him go, for letting Lucas see what kind of person you really are. I’m able to be with him partly thanks to you.” “You absolutely must come to our wedding.” I smiled awkwardly, my fingers unconsciously clenching tight. The next second, Lucas’s jacket was stained with spilled wine. The incident caught me completely off guard. After a long moment, I heard Lucas’s icy voice from above. “Is this the level of professionalism from the waitstaff here? Call your manager.” I suppressed the bitterness in my heart and spoke tremblingly. “I’m terribly sorry… Name your price, I’ll… compensate you.” The previously lively room fell silent in an instant, until someone broke the stillness. “Compensate? Can you afford it?” “Lucas wears only designer brands. How will you pay? By selling yourself?!” “Strip off one piece of clothing for a hundred grand. Strip everything and I’ll pay for you-how about that?” The crowd around continued their jeering, their mocking or gleeful voices drilling into my ears. “Any woman who caught Daniel’s eye and climbed into his bed must have a smoking hot body.” “Strip and let us feast our eyes!” “Yeah, when will you ever pay off your debts as a waitress? Why not come with me instead? I’ll give you five thousand a night-how about it?!” “Lucas, what do you say?” Lucas just took a sip of his drink without answering. I listened to the tide of humiliation. My hand holding the drink tray wouldn’t stop trembling. “Enough, stop it.” In the dim lighting, I saw Lucas furrow his brow, a hint of restraint seeming to flash in his eyes. Even knowing he hated me to the bone, I couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope rise in my heart. Thinking he would step forward like before, protect me, save me from the flames. But the next second, Lucas’s words made my heart stop violently, cold blood coursing through my entire body! “Violet, when you betrayed me, did you think about today?” “Strip off one piece of clothing-two hundred grand.”

I instantly froze in place, swallowing the sourness in my throat. My trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons on my clothes, creating several tangles before I managed to undo one. Whistles blew continuously behind me as Madeline walked up to me in front of everyone, swirling her wine glass. The next second, sharp red wine splashed directly at my face. My eyes stung unbearably-I could barely open them. “Oops, so sorry~ my hand slipped.” Through my blurred vision, I saw Madeline playfully stick out her tongue at Lucas. He smiled indulgently and reached out to pull her into his embrace. “No need to apologize. At most, we’ll give her an extra three thousand.” I pressed my lips together, my nails digging in tighter. “It’s taken this long and the jacket’s only half off. So slow. Let me help you!” A man’s drunken laugh rang in my ears, followed by a harsh riiip- My jacket was torn open by brute force, revealing my short waitress uniform underneath. “Well, well, dressed so slutty. Who are you trying to seduce?” I desperately clutched at my skirt hem, but to no avail. More hands joined in. My skirt zipper was pulled down, the hem roughly torn open. Large expanses of skin were completely exposed to the cold air and prying eyes. “No!” I screamed until I lost my voice, curling up my body desperately, trying to use the remaining scraps of fabric and my trembling arms to cover myself. “Fuck! Never thought this bitch had such a hot body. No wonder Daniel was willing to spend a million to buy her!” “So what? She’s probably been used up by everyone. Otherwise why would Daniel be willing to abandon such a beauty?” A bone-chilling wind blew through the window, so cold it felt like it was cutting straight through my skin. But even more piercing than the cold wind was the inescapable, burning humiliation. Tears blurred my eyes as suffocating panic occupied my entire mind. Through my blurred vision, I desperately reached out, trying to grab Lucas’s pant leg. But I saw him intimately leaning against the sofa with Madeline, carefully wiping the wine stains from her hands, looking at me as if I were someone completely insignificant. No longer with the heartache of before. I collapsed on the floor, trembling like a leaf, my heart aching as if being slowly sliced apart. “Violet, if you can’t handle just this, did you ever think about how I survived those five years inside?” “This is what you owe me! You deserve this!” As he spoke, an unfamiliar man took the opportunity to tear off my last shred of covering. His disgusting thing suddenly appeared before my eyes. The darkness from ten years ago engulfed me once again, my stepfather’s sick, leering expression constantly surfacing before my eyes. “Let me taste what this bitch is like!” Instantly, I felt all the air around me being sucked away, the icy suffocation gripping my throat. I kicked hard at the man’s groin. A howl followed as a sharp slap came flying at me. Tears mixed with blood blurred my face as he grabbed my neck and slapped me again. During the struggle, a crystal ring on my chest fell to the ground and shattered. “You fucking bitch, believe me when I say I’ll kill you! I’ll fuck-” Before he could finish, Lucas kicked the man to the ground. His gaze locked deadly on the ring. After a long moment, his calm expression finally showed a crack. His throat rolled slightly as he stared fiercely at the man against the wall. “That’s enough, stop messing around. Everyone get out!” Everyone’s eyes focused on me, whispered conversations continuing around me. Unable to bear this terrifying pain any longer, I picked up my clothes from the floor and fled in panic.

After returning to my rental, I desperately scrubbed my body. Trying to wash away that sticky, disgusting feeling. I didn’t stop until my skin was raw, cracked, and bleeding. When looking for bandages, my eyes were drawn to a protective charm in my nightstand drawer. Lucas crawled up the three thousand steps, kneeling and praying every step of the way to get it for me. I clutched the charm tightly to my chest, and my tense nerves finally relaxed temporarily. In my dreams, I returned to the year I first met Lucas. My mother divorced and remarried with me to my alcoholic stepfather who turned violent when drunk. My nightmare began that day. Unable to bear the humiliation, I tried to drown myself in the river, but was saved by Lucas, who shared an equally tragic fate. I’ll never forget his determined expression. “Hey, I saved your life, so from now on, I’m protecting you!” “Cough, cough. My name’s Lucas. What’s yours?” “Violet, nice name. Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.” “As long as we keep living, we’ll find a way out eventually. Anyone who dares bully you, I’ll fight them to the death!” … Later, he truly put his heart into keeping his promise. At thirteen, my mother died. My stepfather told me I’d have to trade my body if I wanted him to pay for my education. Lucas rushed in alone, using his young body to shield me from my stepfather’s fists, pulling me out of that muddy home. “Violet, come with me. I’ll protect you!” At fourteen, I was diagnosed with kidney failure. Lucas, who never believed in gods, threw himself to the floor and begged heaven to give me a chance to live. He knelt in the church for three days and three nights just to pray for my safety. “Violet, Violet… please open your eyes and look at me. It’s me, Lucas.” “I won’t let you leave me like this. I’d rather lose you in life than lose you to death.” At fifteen, facing pressure from tuition fees, Lucas skipped classes to work odd jobs, do manual labor, and collect trash others threw away, saving up seven years of tuition for me. “Don’t be afraid. You just focus on studying and boldly move forward. I’ll always be behind you.” At sixteen, my stepfather lured me home with my mother’s belongings to assault me. At the critical moment, Lucas came in with a knife and ended the nightmare that had haunted me for years. He held me tightly in his arms, crying even harder than I did. “Violet, thank god you’re okay. You never have to live in fear again. Your nightmare is finally over.” “From now on, you’re the freest, most carefree Violet.” The sound of my phone ringing pulled me from my dream. The club manager’s voice came through. “Violet, it’s almost evening and you’re still nowhere to be seen. I’m marking you down for being absent!” “Hurry up and get to Twilight. Some big shot specifically requested you for service!”

The moment I stepped into the private room, I saw Lucas. The dazzling crystal chandelier’s refracted light outlined his distant yet handsome profile. All the top-tier elites were competing to toast him and curry favor. The manager gently pushed me forward from behind. “Serve this important person well. If anything goes wrong, you’ll pay for it!” Lucas sat in the main seat, his gaze casually sweeping over me, fingers lightly tapping the table. I looked at the wine glass pushed in front of me and instantly understood my situation. I could only pick up the glass and drink it all under everyone’s watchful eyes. At this moment, a pot-bellied man stood up, his greasy, fat hand landing on my shoulder. “This waitress is quite a looker.” Everyone first glanced at Lucas, and seeing his expressionless face, they began forcing drinks on me. The sharp, burning liquid went down my throat and then surged hotly through my body. When drunk and dizzy, I laid my head on the table. I vaguely heard someone discussing my fate. “Mr. Reed, if you’re not interested in this top-tier beauty, why not do me a favor and let me enjoy her tonight?” After a moment, Lucas’s mocking, contemptuous voice rang out. “A woman who’s been used up-I’m not interested.” A lewd smile immediately spread across the man’s fat face. Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared on my chest, groping everywhere. Like a bucket of cold water poured from head to toe. I used all my strength to struggle and rise, but he pushed me back down. “Oh, quite feisty. If you serve me well, you could fly up the social ladder from being just a waitress.” Even though I held back my sobs, tears still fell quietly. My shattered dignity made me lower my head to Lucas once again. “Please, help me…” As I spoke, I turned my face away, painfully closing my eyes, but my body shivered uncontrollably. Lucas laughed, his superior manner carving his noble face with striking definition. A cold voice poured into my ears, “Violet, what makes you think I would help you?” I was pressed into the man’s embrace, the glass on the table reflecting my desperate, pale face. “Look, no one will help you. If you behave, I’ll take you to get a room. If you resist, I don’t mind performing for everyone right here.” “In front of everyone, let me feel if you’re soft… huh, why does this face look so familiar?” The man suddenly stopped moving, roughly turned my face, and pulled out his phone. The next second, a young girl’s crying voice echoed through the entire hall. My stepfather’s seductive, lewd voice pulled me back into my childhood nightmare! It was the video that beast had recorded all those years ago! Blood instantly rushed to my head, then drained away completely the next second. “Holy shit, so she was already used up when she was just a teenager.” “Already knew how to seduce people at such a young age, and now she’s pretending to be some virtuous woman in front of me.” The man’s foul words echoed in my ears as my vision went white. The sounds from the video continued. “Good girl Violet, spread your legs…” The empty hall erupted in an uproar. I thought my nightmare had long ended, that my life would clear up. I never imagined it was just the prelude to an approaching storm! I stood barefoot and helpless at the center of public opinion, my blood cooling bit by bit until I was completely cold and trembling. “Lucas…” In the crowd, I met Lucas’s eyes out of focus, only to see in his pupils- Shock, disbelief, despair, my own face pale as paper. Lucas only froze for a moment before grabbing my chin, lifting my face to force me to meet his eyes. Then he suddenly laughed. “Violet, isn’t that the truth?” “Aren’t you just a slut who sleeps around?” My world instantly collapsed. Rage surged through me like never before. I let out a shrill cry. Using all my strength, I slapped Lucas across the face. What I got in return was more abuse and a barrage of hits from all sides. Warm liquid poured from my nose and mouth simultaneously, the metallic sweetness spreading throughout my mouth. Suddenly everything began to spin. Before losing consciousness, in my last glance, I seemed to see Daniel rushing over, his face full of anxious panic. I only heard an enraged roar in my ears, followed by the sounds of fists and kicks. “Lucas, you beast!” “Violet doesn’t owe you anything!” “Do you think you got out so fast and made it in the elite circles all on your own? Think again!”

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I gave nine years of my youth to the wrong person. Tristan Ford said Sophia Moore was just an ordinary friend, yet he held her daughter at the doctor’s office and let the child call him daddy. Before we even broke up, he had already proposed to Sophia. He didn’t know that the girl who’d worked three jobs for him in that basement apartment, who’d miscarried after drug trials for money, was the long-lost heiress of the Hawthorne Group. She was the long-lost heiress of the Hawthorne Group. Later, when he knelt in the rain begging me to come back, I laughed. “Tristan Ford, do you think I take in trash?” Chloe POV “I had a few drinks, can’t really drive…” The voice on the other end of the phone was slightly hoarse. I gripped my phone so tightly my knuckles turned white, cutting him off with rapid-fire words. “Tristan Ford, don’t tell me you’re planning to spend the night at your ex-girlfriend’s place tonight?” Silence on the other end for a moment. Then the man’s voice dropped, clearly displeased. “Sophia and I are just ordinary friends. Don’t let your imagination run wild.” “Am I imagining things, or are you hiding something?” Tears fell onto the back of my hand without warning, scalding hot. “Tristan, have you forgotten you have a girlfriend now? Staying overnight at another woman’s house in the middle of the night. Have you even considered my feelings?” My voice shot up sharply, my throat feeling like I’d swallowed broken glass. “Is it really because you can’t drive after drinking, or do you just not want to come home? You want to stay there with Sophia?!” These past few days, I’d been in denial. Like a thief afraid of the light, I’d been secretly checking Sophia Moore’s Instagram and Twitter. One evening, I went to bring Tristan stomach medicine. Outside the VIP lounge door, I heard his elite friends mocking me. They called me a clingy old hag throwing herself at him. But I didn’t have the courage to push open the door and confront them. Yet I was the one who’d been Tristan’s girlfriend for nine years. I struggled desperately to control the fragility and humiliation inside me. But my throat couldn’t help releasing a faint, suppressed sob. He clearly heard it. After a long silence, Tristan spoke with obvious irritation. “I’ll come home now, okay?” The call disconnected. Listening to the dial tone, I felt no happiness at all. I could hear Tristan’s impatience. He was only compromising because I’d forced him to. What he really wanted was to stay there with Sophia. I walked to the living room like a lost soul. I didn’t turn on the lights. I just sat on the sofa, watching the New York night outside the window gradually fade, waiting from darkness until dawn. The door never opened. Tristan didn’t come home. At that moment, I already had a vague premonition that Tristan and I probably had no future. But I was so unwilling to accept it. Nine years together, my entire youth. How could I just let it go? If Sophia hadn’t gotten divorced and come back to New York, if she hadn’t shown up with that child, we’d be at City Hall right now, getting our marriage license. We’d be planning a small ceremony. I picked up my phone and checked the date. Friday. The wallpaper was a photo from our junior year when we became official. Back then, I was young and bright, smiling so radiantly. But Tristan in that photo looked indifferent, his lips curved in only the slightest arc. I’d once seen the way Tristan looked at Sophia. It was on Stanford’s campus. Tristan held Sophia’s hand, smiling so tenderly, his eyes seemingly full of stars. That’s why I was so wary of Sophia. Because I knew Tristan had once loved Sophia unreservedly, with his whole heart. Did Tristan love me? Nine years, and Tristan had never once said he loved me. I walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. Dark circles under my eyes, haggard expression-this face wasn’t young anymore. I took out my makeup and layered it on to cover the exhaustion, forcing myself to produce a smile. Tristan had promised me we’d go to City Hall today. Even though a voice inside me was screaming: Tristan won’t come. I still went out.

Chloe POV Outside the doctor’s office at the hospital, it was bustling with people. I stood at the end of the hallway, my whole body ice-cold as I watched the scene just steps away. Tristan wore the same shirt from yesterday, bent over, patiently coaxing a little girl about three or four years old. Sophia stood beside Tristan, her eyes red-rimmed, looking pitifully helpless. A family of three, picture-perfect harmony. I walked over stiffly. When Sophia saw me, she flinched first, then spoke with a face full of guilt. “Chloe, I’m sorry… Tristan said he was supposed to go to City Hall with you today. You should take him and go. Give me the child. I can take my daughter to the doctor by myself…” As Sophia spoke, she reached out to take her daughter. But the little girl clung tightly to Tristan’s neck and burst into loud tears. “I don’t want Mommy! I want Daddy! I want Daddy to take me to the doctor! Daddy, don’t go!” Sophia’s eyes reddened as she tried to pull the child away. “Be good! Daddy needs to go to City Hall with Chloe to take care of business. You can’t be difficult and delay them, or Chloe will be angry!” Chloe. When my name came out, combined with the scene of forcing a man to go get married, the looks from the people waiting in line around us instantly changed. “What’s wrong with this woman? The child has such a high fever, and she’s still forcing the man to go register their marriage. Marriage-obsessed much?” “Look at how she’s dressed-doesn’t look like a good person. Probably a mistress trying to force her way into legitimacy, right?” “Has to be! Just now this mom and dad looked so loving together. As soon as this woman showed up, she scared the kid into crying. Definitely going to be an evil stepmother later!” Every word pierced my ears like needles. I trembled with anger, staring hard at Tristan. I hoped Tristan would step forward and explain to these people. Tell them that Sophia was just his ex-girlfriend! That this child had no blood relation to him whatsoever! And that I was his fiancée of nine years! But he didn’t. Tristan’s brows were tightly furrowed, his face full of impatience as he looked at me. “Chloe, stop making a scene, okay? Go home first. I’ll go to City Hall with you next week…” “Next week?” I laughed bitterly, tears instantly flooding out. “Tristan Ford, you said the same thing last week. Nine years-how many more ‘next weeks’ do you expect me to wait for?” In that moment, seeing the coldness in Tristan’s eyes, I finally heard the sound of my heart breaking. Gritting my teeth, I spoke word by word. “If you don’t leave with me right now, we’re breaking up!” Tristan’s brows instantly knotted into a tight knot. He stared at me with those dark, inscrutable eyes that held a trace of disgust. “I told you I can’t leave right now. If you can’t even be this understanding, then we really don’t need to register our marriage!” A roar in my head. My mind went blank as I stared at Tristan, my eyes full of hurt and disbelief. I moved my lips but couldn’t make a sound. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain making it impossible to breathe. “Tristan, how can you say that to Chloe?” Sophia chided him gently, then turned her head to look at me apologetically. “Chloe, Tristan is just too sentimental. Don’t take it personally.” Too sentimental? Sentimental toward his ex-girlfriend? Tears broke through uncontrollably. I cried in front of everyone like a complete joke. The nurse called out a number. “It’s the child’s turn. Let’s go in.” Tristan didn’t even glance at me. He picked up the child and walked into the examination room without looking back. Sophia followed behind Tristan. Before entering, Sophia turned her head and gave me a provocative smile.

Chloe POV I couldn’t remember how I got home. As soon as I sat down on the sofa, my phone started vibrating. It was a FaceTime call from Sophia. I answered but didn’t speak. After a few seconds of silence, Sophia’s slow, contemptuous voice came through. “Chloe, you’re old enough that you wouldn’t stoop to desperate clinging, right?” I gripped my phone tighter. “What do you mean?” “Stop playing dumb.” Sophia snorted coldly. “Tristan just broke up with you. If you have any self-respect, you should pack your things and get out now. Stop lingering in Tristan’s house and pestering him!” “I’m pestering Tristan?” I laughed bitterly in my anger, though tears still fell. “What else? Nine years and Tristan wouldn’t marry you. Don’t you understand yet that Tristan doesn’t love you at all?” Sophia’s voice carried condescending pity. “Wasn’t today’s choice obvious enough? Tristan has always loved me. If I hadn’t gone to Europe back then, you wouldn’t have had a chance. Nina would have been Tristan’s biological daughter!” I bit through my lip, tasting blood. “But there are no ‘what ifs’ in this world! You were the one who abandoned Tristan back then! Sophia Moore, you’re shameless!” “Yes, I abandoned Tristan. So what?” Sophia’s laugh was particularly grating. “The one who’s favored always acts with impunity. I have the capital to be willful. Chloe, let’s make a bet, shall we?” Without waiting for my response, Sophia continued on her own. “Leave for three months. During those three months, I’ll get Tristan to propose to me. If I succeed, you disappear from Tristan’s world forever. If I lose, I’ll take Nina back to Europe and never bother you again. Do you dare?” My whole body trembled, my nails digging deep into my palms. “Don’t dare?” Sophia mocked. “Nine years, and you don’t even have that much confidence? Chloe, you’re truly pitiful. No wonder Tristan doesn’t want you.” “I’ve already broken up with Tristan.” I closed my eyes, desperately suppressing my breakdown. “You two can do whatever you want. You disgust me!” I hung up harshly. Within seconds, Sophia sent a text: “I hope you keep your word.” I blocked Sophia directly. I stood up, dragged out the suitcase from the corner, and started packing. This apartment wasn’t large, but every single item, from the succulents on the balcony to the rug in the living room, had been carefully selected by me. Once, I thought this would be my forever home. I thought we’d get married here in New York, have children, raise a cat. Now looking at it all, it only felt bitterly ironic. I didn’t have many clothes-one suitcase was enough. I left the keys on the coffee table. Dragging my suitcase downstairs, it had started pouring rain outside at some point. Cold wind mixed with rain hit me in the face, making me shiver. The world was so big, yet I didn’t know where to go. I stood in the rain for a long time before finally taking out my phone and dialing a number I hadn’t called in years. “Hello?” A low, cold male voice answered. The moment I heard that voice, all my grievances exploded, and I cried uncontrollably. “Hunter… can you come pick me up?”

Chloe POV Airport terminal, people coming and going. I sat on a bench in the waiting area, my eyes red and swollen. Hunter stood not far away, on the phone. Hunter wore a perfectly tailored black suit, his posture straight, his features cold and stern. Hunter was my stepbrother, the true power holder of the Hawthorne family, a low-profile billionaire. Years ago, to be with the penniless Tristan Ford, I’d had a falling out with my family. My father was so angry he declared he’d never had a daughter like me. These nine years, I’d suffered every hardship, doing Tristan’s laundry and cooking, scrimping and saving to support his business ventures, even secretly begging Hunter to invest in him. But now, I was slinking back home in disgrace. The announcement for boarding came over the speakers. My phone suddenly started vibrating frantically. Tristan Ford’s name flashed on the screen. Looking at that name, my heart ached with a kind of numbness. I answered. “Where are you? Why is all your stuff gone from the house?” Tristan’s voice was frantic, with that self-righteous anger. “We already broke up. I moved out.” I said flatly. “Have you lost your mind?” Tristan roared. “Just because I didn’t go to City Hall with you today? Is it such a big deal? You packed up and left home over this? Chloe, you’re almost thirty. Can you stop playing these games!” The airport announcement sounded again, reminding passengers on the flight to Washington to board. Tristan heard it, his voice suddenly tight. “You’re at the airport? Where are you going?” “Home.” I said lightly. “You paid the rent on that apartment. It’s not appropriate for me to keep living there.” “Chloe!” Tristan spoke through gritted teeth. “So I stood you up twice? You want to get married, we’ll go Monday! Stay there, I’m coming to get you now!” Tristan thought I was just throwing a tantrum, thought that as long as he beckoned, I’d come running back like a dog wagging its tail. “No need, Tristan.” I looked at the tarmac outside the glass window, tears silently falling. “Nine years. I’m tired. Let’s end it here.” “Chloe! Try walking away! If you leave, don’t you dare regret it!” Tristan threatened in furious desperation. I hung up and powered off the phone, popped out the SIM card. And threw it in a nearby trash can. Hunter finished his call and walked over, glancing at the trash can, then at my pale face. Hunter didn’t ask anything, just naturally took my suitcase. “Let’s go. Let’s go home.” By the time we arrived at the Hawthorne estate in Washington, it was late at night. My father sat on the living room sofa, his hair much whiter than before. When he saw me, his eyes reddened, but he stubbornly turned his face away with a cold snort. “So you finally remembered to come back?” I walked up to my father, crying uncontrollably. “Dad, I’m sorry… I was wrong. I was so wrong…” Nine years of obsession, nine years of humiliation. In this moment, they shattered into dust. My dad sighed and patted my head consolingly. “It’s good you’re home. I’ll introduce you to some new men. Your childhood friend Lucas Sterling has been wanting to see you!”

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In my past life, Ethan’s mom found a pair of sexy underwear in his room. Faced with Ethan’s pleading eyes, I accepted by default that the underwear was mine. From that day on, I became a thorn in his mother’s side. Later, after the SAT, Ethan—who should have gotten into an Ivy League school—only made it into community college. Ethan’s mom lost her mind. She set fire to my house and burned my entire family alive. Reborn into this life, back to the day the lingerie was discovered. This time, I’m not taking the fall. “You little slut! So young and already seducing my son into sleeping with you? Have you no shame!” Victoria Lane’s shrill voice exploded through the apartment complex courtyard. A pink piece of lingerie landed on my face, reeking of an indescribable fishy smell. My whole body trembled. In an instant, I remembered the bone-searing pain of being burned alive in my past life. In my past life, it was also today. Mrs. Lane publicly accused me of seducing her son. I was about to open my mouth to refute when I caught Ethan’s slightly pleading gaze. The rebuttal on the tip of my tongue was swallowed back down. I promised Mrs. Lane over and over that I would keep my distance from Ethan, never imagining that was just the beginning of a nightmare. From that day on, whenever Ethan’s grades showed the slightest fluctuation, Mrs. Lane would show up at our door crying and making a scene. My parents were tormented beyond endurance and even lost their jobs. I originally thought that after the SAT ended, things would gradually calm down. I never expected that Ethan—whose grades should have been good enough for MIT—dropped a bombshell on SAT score release day. He only scored just over 300 points. Mrs. Lane went crazy. In the middle of the night, she doused our house with gasoline and burned our entire family alive. My parents and I were trapped inside. The agony of flames licking my body and the smell of burning flesh intertwined. The heart-wrenching screams of my parents are something I’ll never forget in this lifetime. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. Ethan ran over and grabbed his mother. “Mom! Stop embarrassing yourself here!” Mrs. Lane thought her son was protecting me and plopped down on the ground, wailing, “I worked so hard to raise my son. Ethan is my only hope. If you wanted a man, go find those delinquent punks who don’t study. Why target my son? Are you trying to destroy me?” Mrs. Lane knelt toward me. “Lily Thompson, I’m begging you, please leave our Ethan alone. I’ve never wronged you all these years. Just let me live, okay?” With such a big scene, neighbors gathered around, pointing and whispering about me. “This Lily seems so proper though…” “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” “And pink lingerie too. Young people these days really know how to have fun.” I took a deep breath, my eyes uncontrollably drifting toward Ethan. Ethan’s eyes were full of pleading, just like in my past life. In my past life, I was soft-hearted and nodded, then carried the reputation of being frivolous and promiscuous from then on. Mrs. Lane went around saying I was young but already knew how to seduce people. Our whole family couldn’t hold our heads up in the complex. And Ethan, the actual culprit, never once stood up to say a word in my defense from beginning to end. I took a deep breath. “This underwear isn’t mine.”

Mrs. Lane froze, then sneered, “Lying through your teeth, huh? If it’s not yours, whose could it be? Besides you, Ethan never brings other girls home!” I explained, “I get to school at 7:30 every morning and finish evening study hall at 10:30. My mom and dad take turns picking me up. Plus, every time I go to your place, Mrs. Lane, aren’t you always there?” I looked into her eyes. “Besides, the building security cameras can check, the school entrance logs can check. If you don’t believe me, you can go look right now.” Mrs. Lane’s neck stiffened. “What if you cut class?” “I’m ranked second in my grade. You think I got a 600+ score by cutting class?” Seeing more and more onlookers gathering, the security guard quickly came over to maintain order. Guard Wilson squeezed through the crowd. “Alright, alright. I work night shift every day. This girl really does get picked up by her dad at 10:30 sharp every night. On weekends she still has to go to tutoring. Where would she have time to seduce your son? Making accusations requires evidence, doesn’t it?” My mom has always been kind to others and has a good reputation among the neighbors. The onlookers began to switch sides. “Yeah, I’ve watched Lily grow up since she was little. She’s well-behaved and sensible. She even tutored my daughter in freshman and sophomore year. Her character is beyond question.” “Lady, accusing a young girl without any proof is a bit much, don’t you think?” “Exactly. Besides, that thing is attached to your son. If he wasn’t willing, could a girl force him?” “Victoria, did you misunderstand something?” Mrs. Lane’s face turned the color of liver. Ethan’s expression was also ugly. He grabbed his mom and left. “Mom! Stop making a scene. Let’s go home!” Mrs. Lane was being dragged away but didn’t forget to turn back and glare at me with a vicious warning look. I stood in place, my palms full of sweat, but I knew this wasn’t over. Because Ethan really did have a girlfriend he didn’t dare let his mom know about. In the future, whatever trouble the two of them caused would be dumped on my head again. Soon enough, I met Ethan’s girlfriend. The next day at school, there was a girl sitting on my desk. The books and test papers I’d stacked neatly were swept onto the floor. She sat crookedly, as if trying very hard to contort herself into alluring curves. The originally oversized school uniform had been altered to fit her body, the collar open wide so you could see the low-cut bra underneath from above. I knew her—Madison Brooks from the class next door. With her grades, it would be hard for her to get into a good school. I stood in front of her. “Move. This is my seat.” She sat on the desktop without moving. “Oh, so this is Ethan’s little childhood friend? Pretty ugly, but you sure dream big.” She deliberately raised her voice. “I heard you left your lingerie at Ethan’s place yesterday. Mrs. Lane didn’t hit you, did she?” The students nearby perked up their ears, no longer sleepy or busy, listening in on the gossip. Ethan still said nothing. I smiled. “Madison, it’s not good to badmouth your boyfriend like this, is it? You two have already gotten intimate. Too scared to own up to it? Want to pin it on me instead?” “Enough!” Ethan looked at me with disappointment. “Why are you joining in on this nonsense?” I took a deep breath. “Ethan, control your girlfriend. If she keeps spreading rumors about me, I’ll tell Mrs. Lane about you two.” Madison obviously knew how formidable Mrs. Lane was and awkwardly shut her mouth. I gathered my things from the floor, grabbed my backpack, and walked straight to the last row, sitting down next to the school bully. The school bully was named Derek Frost. Tall and built, he slept in the back row year-round, and no one dared mess with him. He lifted his head to glance at me, then laid it back down. Ethan walked over, lowering his voice. “What are you doing? Move back!” “No.” “Don’t joke around with your grades.” He frowned. “Class is about to start.” I looked at his face and suddenly felt disgusted. In my past life, I took the fall for him. What did he do afterward? After our family of three died, Mrs. Lane was sentenced to death. He “turned over a new leaf,” changed his name, repeated senior year, then went straight to MIT. Living his happy, brilliant life. Never once saying sorry from beginning to end. “Where I sit is my freedom.” I looked down at my book. “Don’t bother me.”

During the break, I went to the bathroom. Just as I closed the stall door, I heard a “click”—someone locked it from the outside. Madison’s laughter came from outside. “Lily, you were pretty bold just now, huh? If you kneel down and beg me, I’ll be kind and pour a little less water on you.” As soon as she finished speaking, a bucket of cold water poured down from above. I was soaked through. Madison and her group laughed hysterically outside. I wiped my face, stepped back two paces, and slammed into the bathroom door. “Bang!” The lock broke. I rushed out and grabbed Madison by the hair, shoving her head into the dirty sink beside us. “Ahh—!” She screamed and struggled. The other three were terrified. No one dared move. I pressed her down, enunciating each word. “I’m not interested in Ethan. Don’t provoke me. Got it?” Just then, Ethan suddenly rushed in and without a word, slapped me across the face. “Smack!” My cheek stung with burning pain. “Lily, this is bullying!” He stood protectively in front of Madison. The dean arrived at the sound. “Everyone stop right now!” Madison covered her face and collapsed crying into Ethan’s arms. “I don’t know why she suddenly came at me. I just got a little closer to Ethan. If you didn’t like it, you could have just said so. Why bully me like this?” Ethan looked at me coldly. “Dean, Lily struck first.” I laughed coldly. “Then explain why I’m soaking wet.” “There’s a surveillance camera at the bathroom entrance. Who’s right and who’s wrong will be clear with one look.” The dean glanced at me, then at him. I knew that between Ethan and me—one ranked first in grade, one ranked second, both aiming for Ivy League schools—punishing either of us could cause problems. In the end, the dean glared at Madison. “Madison Brooks, 5,000-word self-criticism, to be read aloud at Monday’s school-wide assembly!” Madison glared at me hatefully. “Lily! I’m not done with you!” Monday, just after Madison finished reading her self-criticism, the school forum exploded. A user called “Ethan’s Wife” went on a posting spree on the forum. [Ethan wore a white shirt today, so handsome!] [Worthy of being my boyfriend, want to lick, want to lick] [That idiot Madison, why is she so close to my boyfriend?] [Ethan and I are childhood friends. I’m Mrs. Lane’s handpicked daughter-in-law. Does that bitch think she can compete with me?] The attached images were all private photos of Ethan—eating, sleeping, wearing a tank top… The angles were extremely intimate, clearly taken at home. Based on the deliberately provided “clues” in the posts, you didn’t even need to guess—it was obviously “me.” The student next to me gave me a thumbs up. “Holy crap, girl, you’re amazing!” “Lily dares to love and hate. Truly an inspiration to us all.” “Is this what academic love looks like? So thrilling!”

Soon, the homeroom teacher called me to the office. Sitting beside her were Mrs. Lane and Ethan. As soon as Mrs. Lane saw me, she rushed over, hand raised high. But before the slap could land, my dad grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing!” My dad pulled me protectively behind him. The teacher sighed. “You know about the forum posts, right? It’s a very bad influence, and Ethan’s grades have been greatly affected recently…” Ethan glanced at me, his eyes dark with unreadable emotion. “Lily, what’s the point of doing this? I don’t like you at all… If my past behavior made you misunderstand, I apologize, but can you please stop making things up about me?” Hearing Ethan’s words, Mrs. Lane became even more convinced that I was the one who posted on the forum. “I knew you had bad intentions! Last time it was lingerie, this time spreading nonsense online! If my son doesn’t get into MIT, I’ll kill you!” Both my parents spoke at once. “Our daughter would never do such a thing!” I pressed down my angry parents and spoke directly to the teacher. “Teacher, the post has such high visibility now that the whole school knows about it. The impact is huge. This could be prosecuted. Why don’t we report it to the police and have the cyber police trace the IP? Whoever posted it gets arrested.” Mrs. Lane froze, then immediately nodded. “Yes! Call the police!” Now it was Ethan’s turn to look pale. “We can’t call the police.” Ethan suddenly stood up. Mrs. Lane glared at him. “Ethan, how can you be so confused! The most important thing now is to root out the real vixen. You can’t let this affect your studies!” Ethan avoided her gaze. “Mom, we’re all classmates. Making this bigger will affect my studies even more. Let’s just drop it. I promise I’ll definitely rank first in grade next time.” The homeroom teacher didn’t want things to escalate either. If this somehow made the news and went viral, her meager salary wouldn’t be enough to cover the deductions. She quickly tried to smooth things over. “That’s right, Mrs. Lane. They’re just kids having little squabbles. If this gets out, Ethan will be pointed at wherever he goes in the future. Don’t worry, our school will definitely investigate thoroughly and won’t let other people affect your child’s studies.” Mrs. Lane looked at him suspiciously, then at me. Finally, she left through gritted teeth. Only Ethan and I remained in the hallway. He leaned down, lowering his voice. “What’s going on with you lately? Changing seats, getting into fights, now you want to call the police. Do you have to give me trouble?” I laughed. “Ethan, get it straight. We’re just ordinary neighbors. Your mom wrongly accused me, you gave false testimony for Madison, and now you want to pin the blame on me. I’m not allowed to fight back?” His face turned iron-blue. He couldn’t say a word. “Stop putting yourself on a pedestal.” I picked up my backpack. “I have no interest in causing you trouble. Don’t disgust me either.” As I walked past him, Ethan grabbed my hand. “Lily, you weren’t like this before…” I laughed coldly. “Ethan, I once thought you weren’t this kind of person either.” This time, I shook off his hand and didn’t look back. Mrs. Lane still didn’t trust me. She installed surveillance cameras in the hallway just to monitor what time I came home. She even stalked all my social media accounts. Even if I posted about going out to have fun, she’d immediately screenshot it and ask my mom if I’d brought her son along. My mom was afraid it would affect my mood, so she just endured Mrs. Lane’s harassment. But I couldn’t stand it. Friday evening study hall, I glanced at Ethan’s seat. He wasn’t there again. I heard he’d taken sick leave, but Mrs. Lane was the type who would make him go to school unless he was dying. I didn’t believe he was really sick. I took out my phone and snapped a panoramic photo of the classroom. Ethan’s seat was in the lower left corner. Most people wouldn’t notice, but I was sure Mrs. Lane would spot her precious son’s absence at a glance. I clicked send and added a caption: “Another day of hard work studying. When will the SAT come!” Less than ten minutes after posting, hurried footsteps echoed through the classroom hallway. Mrs. Lane rushed into the classroom, out of breath. “Where’s Ethan?” I didn’t even lift my head, focused on my work. “No idea, Mrs. Lane. Maybe check wherever there aren’t many people around?” Mrs. Lane seemed to think of something. Her expression changed, and she turned and ran. I leaned against the window ledge, watching her figure disappear toward the far end of the field. Before long, a piercing scream came from the direction of the small grove.

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After my husband Damien Carter died in the line of duty, I visited his grave every weekend. Five years later, on another weekend, I was in a car accident on my way to the cemetery. When I woke up, my best friend Gwen Mitchell tried to comfort me. “He’s been gone for so many years now. You need to move on and live your own life.” I nodded and agreed, deciding to take a job in the UK. Before heading to the airport, I decided on impulse to say goodbye to my husband at the cemetery. His headstone was gone. I pulled up the cemetery’s security footage from three days earlier. My husband — who had supposedly died in a fire — was there, holding hands with a pregnant Gwen. That evening, Gwen called asking if I’d landed yet, wondering why I wasn’t replying to her messages. I raised my hand and knocked on her door, smiling at her shocked, wide-eyed expression. “Your belly’s gotten so big. Why didn’t you tell your best friend?” That evening, I arrived at Gwen’s door and knocked. The moment she saw me, her phone clattered to the floor. I bent down and picked it up for her. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” She seemed to snap out of a daze, forcing out a smile. “Didn’t you fly to the UK? Why did you suddenly come find me without saying anything? I could have picked you up.” I let out a cold laugh. “Didn’t you sprain your ankle?” After my car accident, she’d been anxious and apologetic, saying she’d twisted her ankle and couldn’t get back from Los Angeles to see me. All lies. Just then, a delivery guy emerged from the elevator, handing over a large bouquet of roses. “Delivery for you — flowers.” Gwen didn’t take them. I did. “Honey, is that the delivery?” From inside the apartment, a man’s familiar voice made my heart lurch violently. The next second, Damien Carter walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron. Seeing me, he froze completely, his pupils trembling. I pulled out the card from the flowers. It was in Damien’s handwriting. “Dear Mrs. Carter, Happy Fourth Wedding Anniversary. Thank you for marrying me and giving me a lifetime of happiness.” I read it aloud mockingly, watching both their faces grow increasingly pale. “How wonderful.” They both stood frozen, unsure how to react. I walked toward the photo wall in the living room. Five years ago, Damien had supposedly died saving people, his body obliterated in a fire explosion. I’d been devastated, crying day after day until my retina detached. While they moved into their new home, excitedly planning their new life together. The day before I attempted suicide by cutting my wrists, they’d registered their marriage. While I was downing antidepressants by the handful, finding it difficult to even breathe or feel my heartbeat, they were traveling and vacationing around the world, skiing and diving. While I could only fall asleep listening to Damien’s old voice messages, he’d gotten my best friend pregnant and was reading picture books to their baby in her belly. I took down the ultrasound photo of the baby, my hands shaking uncontrollably. “Have you picked a name for the baby yet? How about Luna?” At Damien’s wedding, he’d said in his vows: “I fell in love with you at first sight. The night we first said hello, I’d already thought of names for our children. Luna.” Everyone had laughed, including my maid of honor — Gwen. Gwen had held the bouquet and playfully hit Damien. “If you dare hurt Keira, I won’t let you get away with it.” Damien had laughed and said he knew. Back then, immersed in exhausted happiness, I hadn’t noticed the subtle tension between them at all. I took a deep breath, grabbed a potted plant by the sofa, and hurled it at the photo wall with all my strength. Gwen jumped in fright, her face going pale as she clutched her belly. “Honey…” Damien immediately rushed to support her, helping her sit down. Gwen shook her head and pushed him away. “I’m fine. Go check on the soup in the kitchen. Remember, don’t add cilantro when it’s done — Keira doesn’t eat it.” I let out a cold laugh. “My dear best friend, so thoughtful and considerate.” “Enough!” Damien’s face darkened, his voice a low, angry growl. I laughed again, staring straight into his eyes as I walked up to him. I slapped him across the face. Not satisfied, I hit him several more times. He turned his face away, veins bulging and pulsing on his forehead. My hand went numb from shaking, my whole body trembling. Over these five years, I’d lost count of how many times I’d dreamed of this exact scene. I’d come home, push open the door, and Damien would suddenly be standing there alive before my eyes. I’d hit him, curse at him, cry and ask him why he left me alone. “Keira, I’m sorry…” Gwen dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. “It’s all my fault. If you want to hit someone, hit me. I was the one who fell for Damien first. I seduced him, pursued him. I deceived you and betrayed our friendship.” She desperately pushed away Damien as he tried to help her up. “Go away! Go home with Keira! The baby… I’ll abort the baby. She never should have existed anyway, and I don’t deserve to be her mother.” Damien held her tightly, his eyes full of heartache. “Don’t talk nonsense. I love you. I love our daughter. You two are my family.” My heart felt like it was being crushed by a giant fist, the pain making my breath tremble. Suddenly everything went dark. I thought my retinal detachment was acting up again. Thankfully, it was just a power outage. “Ah…” Gwen screamed. She grabbed my leg, and I kicked her in the stomach. “Honey… the baby… my stomach hurts so much…” Damien frantically found his phone and turned on the flashlight. Seeing the footprint on her dress, his eyes filled with furious rage. He kicked me away with one foot. My head hit the cabinet corner, my back pressed against the broken ceramic shards of the flowerpot. My hand touched something wet — blood. Damien picked up Gwen to take her to the hospital, saying through gritted teeth: “Keira Summers, if anything happens to them, I won’t let you get away with it.” The door slammed shut. I lay on the floor, laughing and crying in the darkness. I don’t know how long passed before I seemed to smell gas. I tried to crawl up, but like in a nightmare, I couldn’t move at all. Maybe dying like this would be better. I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. I woke up with a splitting headache. My vision blurry, I instinctively grabbed Damien’s hand, my voice carrying a grievous sob. “Don’t leave!” He clearly stiffened. The next second, I snapped fully awake, remembering everything. He pried my hand away and placed it on top of the blanket. “Be careful. Don’t dislodge the IV.” His concern carried a deliberate distance and avoidance. I laughed self-mockingly. “Sorry, I forgot you’re my best friend’s husband now.” His expression darkened at that. He turned and pulled my phone from the drawer, handing it to me. “Your company called. They asked why you didn’t report for work.” He paused. “You should start a new life.” Everyone around me had been saying the same thing. A new life… just three words when spoken, but only I knew how difficult it actually was. From the moment I fell in love with him, all my visions of the future included him. When he died, my heart died with him. Now I’d tasted something a thousand times more painful than death. I swallowed the bitter taste in my throat. “Damien Carter, I won’t let you two get away with this.” His eyes flashed sharply, glaring at me with vigilance and resentment. “If you dare hurt Gwen and the child again, I’ll definitely make you pay.” With that, he turned and left. I stared at the ceiling and let out two cold laughs. When I first started working, my boss would take me to business dinners and subtly take advantage of me. I didn’t dare resist directly, so I complained to Damien when I got home. A few days later, my boss’s face was swollen like a pig’s head. “Don’t worry, he won’t suspect us.” Damien’s expression held a trace of pride, though it quickly turned serious. “Keira, no matter who it is, if anyone bullies you, I’ll definitely make them pay.” Looking at his serious, determined eyes, I was so moved my nose stung. I jokingly asked him: “What if the person bullying me is you?” He wrapped his arm around my waist, pressing his forehead to mine. “That won’t happen.” “If one day I really do make you sad… then punish me by losing you forever.” Losing me had once been the greatest punishment for him. But a few years later, I became the shackle he desperately wanted to shed. For that, he didn’t hesitate to fake his death and escape. I wiped away the tears rolling down my temples into my hair. Gwen pushed open the door. “Keira, eat something.” While arranging the contents of the lunch box on the table, she chatted casually. “The baby’s nickname is Joey. We haven’t decided on a full name yet. You’re the child’s godmother — why don’t you help us choose one?” “You understand, right? Your Damien can never come back to you. If you haven’t vented enough anger, we can keep playing along.” “Beef stew — Damien’s specialty. You haven’t had it in a long time, right?” Smelling the meat, I was hit with an even stronger wave of nausea. She smiled. “Oh, didn’t you tell me your sister finally got pregnant after so many rounds of IVF? Twins, even.” “What do you want?” I asked through gritted teeth, my eyes bloodshot as I glared at her. “I don’t want anything.” She looked innocent. “The key is — what will you do?” 3 She returned my phone. My sister happened to call right then. “Keira, I just received a package. Inside were two really exquisite dolls. Did you buy them?” My heart jumped. I shouted urgently: “Don’t touch them! Throw them out!” My sister was startled, asking what was wrong. I took a deep breath, watching the faint smile on Gwen’s lips, my spine going cold. My parents died in an accident when I was young. My sister dropped out of high school to work, supporting me and putting me through college. Her difficulty getting pregnant was largely due to overwork that damaged her health. Gwen knew how deep my relationship with my sister was, so she was using her to control and threaten me. After hanging up, I admitted defeat and compromised. “I won’t do anything. I don’t know anything. Nothing happened. My husband is already dead.” Gwen smiled with satisfaction. “Don’t worry, the dolls are just ordinary dolls.” “Hurry and eat. The food’s getting cold.” But the next second, she heard movement at the door. She flipped the small table over. Soup and dishes spilled all over my bed and body. The lunch box rolled to the floor with a clatter. Damien rushed in from outside. “Gwen! Did you get burned?” Gwen shook her head and smiled. “No, I’m fine. Check on Keira quickly.” Damien held her back, glancing at me sideways. “She’s fine. Don’t worry about her.” Another knife to the heart. Gwen looked even more satisfied. Damien protectively walked her out. I heard his voice, kept very low: “Keira’s emotionally unstable right now. What if she goes crazy and comes after you? I’ve already arranged for someone to come.” Gwen’s voice was soft and coquettish with a hint of laughter: “You’re so thoughtful.” They left. A nurse came in to clean up. I hid in the bathroom and called my sister back. “Hailey, will you come to the UK with me for a while? Have your husband take you to get your visa today. I’ll come back to get you.” Someone knocked on the door. I hurriedly told my sister one more thing and hung up. It was the nurse’s voice. I opened the door, and a man pushed his way in. Before I could scream in terror, my mouth and nose were covered, and I quickly passed out. When I regained consciousness, I was lying in bed wearing my hospital gown. Under my clothes were bruises all over. Gwen came in supporting her waist, like a friend sharing gossip as she showed me nude photos of myself. “Since you don’t trust me, I had to keep some leverage on you too.” “If you don’t want your sister, your coworkers and friends, or even strangers to see these things, you’d better keep your mouth shut forever.” I trembled all over, gritting my teeth and nodding. Gwen drove me to the airport and gave me a card. “Live well on your own.” I took it, but she didn’t let go immediately. “The password is the day Luna left. I’ve always felt guilty. Especially after I got pregnant myself — I kept dreaming about it.” I froze, realizing in a flash. “The car accident… you did it on purpose!” After Damien’s “death,” I discovered I was pregnant. Gwen advised me not to keep it. I couldn’t bear to give it up, so she said she’d help me raise it after it was born. But a few days later, she drove me out to relax, and we got into an accident. I lost the baby. “A child without a father is too pitiful. Better not to come into this world to suffer.” I swallowed the bloody taste rising in my throat and got out of the car. Just after getting off the plane, my old phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated frantically: “Is this Keira Summers, Hailey Summers’s sister? Your sister opened a package delivered to her home today. It had a strong allergen on it. She’s hemorrhaging badly and had a miscarriage. The situation is critical. You need to get to the hospital immediately to sign papers!” My fingertips instantly went ice cold. I turned around and went to the counter to change to the earliest flight back to New York. On the plane, I had a good cry. Back in New York, I bought a new phone and switched it on, then made a call. “This is Keira Summers. You said I could come to you if I needed help. Does that still stand?” 4 I brought my sister to New York, temporarily staying in a secure private community that the man had arranged. I felt somewhat reassured. I organized evidence and documents, writing two complaint letters. I printed the complaint letters and put them in two separate envelopes. One I sent to Gwen’s workplace, the other to Damien’s military unit. The afternoon after mailing the letters, I sat on a park bench, watching the falling leaves in a daze. These years I’d spent as a widow for Damien — it was all a joke. If only he had really died in the line of duty. At least then, we wouldn’t have come to this point, and my sister’s children would still be alive. Three days later, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find Damien standing outside, holding two crumpled letters in his hand. The very complaint letters I’d sent. “Keira, don’t do anything foolish.” He threw the letters on the coffee table, his tone carrying a warning. “Fighting a losing battle won’t end well for you. Your sister is the best example.” I suddenly stood up, my chest heaving violently: “I already agreed! Why did you have to destroy everything I had left?” For the first time, Damien’s eyes showed a trace of guilt. His expression was complicated. Suddenly he reached out and pulled me into his arms, apologizing: “I’m sorry, Keira. Don’t do anything foolish. Just live your own life properly.” I broke down crying, tears hitting the floor: “Damien Carter… why are you doing this to me?!” He didn’t answer. The accumulated grievances and anger exploded again. I continued crying and asking him: “Damien Carter! How can you?! How can you destroy everything I have and then tell me to live well?!” He let me hit him, but his arms only tightened around me. “I’m sorry…” he kept repeating. I cried until I was drained of strength, using what little energy I had left to push him away. When he left, he left behind a card. “Let’s end this here. Gwen still has those photos of you. I don’t want her to hurt you again.” “This card — consider it some compensation from me to you and your sister.” I looked at him with a smile and nodded okay. With my sister’s situation still unresolved, how could I possibly let them go? If I really gave up now, wouldn’t that be exactly what they wanted? If I was in pain, they shouldn’t get to be comfortable either. But I didn’t expect they had no intention of letting me go either. The next morning, I went to bring my sister breakfast. Just as I walked out of the community gate, a black sedan suddenly accelerated toward me. The blinding headlights made me unable to open my eyes. I instinctively stepped back but tripped on a step. After being hit by the car, only one thought remained in my mind. I can’t die. In the last second before losing consciousness, I felt someone pick me up. I struggled to open my eyes and saw a face with distinct features. The man’s voice was deep and gentle. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

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On my second day after transferring to the County Clerk’s Marriage License Bureau, I took over a colleague’s desk. A young woman had come in to request a replacement marriage certificate. My colleague leaned over and whispered, “This is the 99th time this girl has come in for a replacement! We have her files backed up, so it’ll be quick.” I froze. “99 times?” My colleague laughed. “Yeah. The little brat married a rich older guy. Whenever they get into a fight, she loves to tear up their marriage certificate to throw a tantrum.” “Only an older man would put up with that kind of childish behavior. Word is her husband is the wealthiest man in the state, from the Sinclair family!” Instantly, my brow furrowed. “The Sinclair family prides itself on being low-key and humble. Are you sure her husband isn’t a fraud?” My colleague looked terrified and slapped a hand over my mouth. “Girl, keep your voice down! That is the legitimate head of the Sinclair empire—Arthur Sinclair.” I sat there, stunned. My phone slipped from my hand and clattered onto the desk. On the lit screen was my lock screen wallpaper: a photo of Arthur Sinclair and me, cuddled close together. The young woman in front of the desk suddenly changed her expression. She snatched my phone right off the table. “Who are you? Why do you have a picture with my husband?” … I opened my mouth, but my throat felt completely blocked. She said my husband. But the man in that photo was the husband I had been married to for five years. The Sinclair family was a massive, sprawling dynasty with deep-rooted power. Because of that, our marriage was kept a secret. He told me that keeping it hidden was to protect me. He said his business was too high-profile, and he was terrified the media would harass me. I believed him. And I kept believing him for five whole years. I never expected that, in the end, I was the punchline to a sick joke. The young girl’s face flushed red with fury. “I’ve seen plenty of women like you! The second you see a wealthy man, you throw yourselves at him like your life depends on it, ruining other people’s families! And you have the nerve to work at the Marriage Bureau? I’m going to file a complaint! I’ll get you fired!” My colleague hurried over to smooth things out. “Ms. Harper, please calm down, there has to be a misunderstanding…” “What misunderstanding? The photo is right there!” I took a deep breath, took my phone back, and spoke with surprising calmness. “It is a misunderstanding. I used to work in a neighboring city as a journalist. I interviewed Mr. Sinclair and asked for a photo together. That’s all.” Hailey Harper stared at me, skeptical. “An interview?” “Yes. For work.” She studied my face for a few seconds before her expression gradually relaxed. “Oh… I’m sorry then, my mistake.” She let out a small laugh. “It’s just that my husband is so successful, there are always women trying to climb into his bed. I have to keep my guard up.” I forced a smile. “It’s fine.” “So, about my replacement certificate…” “Your file is missing your original birth certificate,” I said. “You’ll have to go back and get it.” Hailey frowned. “My house is close by. I’ll just run back and grab it.” “I can go with you,” I said, standing up. “I can just take a picture of it on my tablet and upload it directly so you don’t have to make another trip down here.” She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Sure, let’s go.” I followed her out of the city hall building. She drove a brand-new white Porsche. The interior was a sickly sweet, overwhelmingly girly pink. Twenty minutes later, the car pulled up to the gates of a very familiar luxury condo complex. It wasn’t until we went upstairs and stood in front of the door to the unit that my heart skipped a beat. Because I knew this condo intimately. Two years ago, when we got married, I used all my pre-marital savings to put the down payment on this exact place as our marital home. I knew the Sinclair family was incredibly wealthy and probably looked down on this modest condo, but I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t with him for his money. At the time, Arthur said his company was facing cash flow issues. He suggested we keep the marriage quiet and wait to hold the wedding until his finances freed up. I understood, and I supported him. Later, when his company’s cash flow recovered, he never brought up the wedding or this condo again. I asked him about it a few times, and he told me he had rented it out. I did receive rent money, transferred into my account right on time every single month, so I never once thought to come check on the place. Standing in the entryway, I looked into the living room and saw a massive wedding portrait hanging dead center on the wall. In the photo, Arthur wore a crisp white tuxedo, and the woman beside him wore a long, trailing bridal gown, smiling sweetly. “Come in, have a seat,” Hailey called out. I stepped inside. My feet felt like they were sinking into cotton. In five years of marriage, Arthur never gave me a wedding. He never took a wedding photo with me. Our only photo together was that tourist selfie I had practically begged him to take. In it, he stood next to me looking as stiff as a stranger. Yet here, a massive portrait of him and his bride hung on the wall. It was six feet tall, framed in gold, and facing the sofa for everyone to see. “Your home is very cozy,” I said, forcing the corners of my mouth up. She beamed. “I actually thought the wedding photo was way too big, a bit tacky even. But my husband insisted. He said he wanted everyone who walks in to know that I am his wife.” “He… treats you well.” “He’s alright,” she said, feigning modesty, though her eyes were shining with triumph. “Take a seat, I’ll go find my birth certificate.” I sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the wedding photo. Arthur’s smile was so gentle. It was a tenderness I had never once seen directed at me. It turned out he didn’t hate taking pictures. He just hated taking them with me. Hailey rummaged around for a while before coming back out empty-handed. “Weird, my documents aren’t here.” She picked up her phone. “Let me call hubby.” The call connected, and she put it on speaker. “Hubby, where did you put my birth certificate? I’m at the clerk’s office trying to replace our marriage license and I can’t find it.” Arthur’s voice floated through the speaker, so full of indulgence it made my stomach churn. “You tore it up again? Honestly, you’re a mother now, why do you still have such a child’s temper?” She whined affectionately, “So where did you put it?” “I have it with me. I was out looking at new houses for you today, so I happened to have your files in my briefcase. I’ll bring it to you soon.” “Well hurry up, I have someone waiting at the house.” “Got it. Did you buy the baby formula?” “Yes, yes, the brand you mentioned last time.” “Good girl. Wait for me.” She hung up, smiling like the happiest woman in the world. “My husband will be right back, sorry to keep you waiting. Oh! Let me show you my son!” She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the bedrooms. “He’s six months old and absolutely adorable.” I let her drag me to the nursery, completely numb, only snapping back to reality when we crossed the threshold. In the nursery, a chubby, fair-skinned baby boy lay fast asleep in his crib. Hailey leaned over the railing, her face overflowing with maternal love. “Isn’t he cute? My husband says he looks just like me.” I stood there, a terrifying coldness seeping into my bones. They had a child. Arthur and I had been married for five years. Six months ago, I had finally gotten pregnant. At seven months, I suffered complications. They told me I needed an emergency induced labor, and that the baby didn’t make it. After that traumatic loss, he told me we should focus on his career and hold off on trying again. I thought he was just trying to spare my feelings. I never questioned it. It turned out he didn’t not want a child. He just didn’t want me to be the mother. “What’s his name?” I asked. Hailey’s smile grew even sweeter. “Grayson. My husband picked it out. He said he loved the sound of it.” A bomb went off in my head. Grayson. That was the name Arthur and I had picked out together. When I first got pregnant, he said we needed a meaningful name. My middle name is Grace. He said “Grayson” was perfect—literally Grace’s son. A tribute to me. “Does the name… have any special meaning?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking. Hailey let out a dramatic sigh. “My husband’s late wife… her middle name was Grace. She had a terribly difficult labor, and neither she nor the baby survived. He chose this name to honor her.” I stared at her, the bitter taste in my mouth so strong I couldn’t speak. Hailey’s tone suddenly dropped, laced with insecurity. “Every time we fight, I tear up the marriage certificate. Please don’t think I’m just petty. The truth is, I’m terrified deep down.” “He is so deeply attached to his dead wife. What does that mean for anyone else? What if one day he just…” She trailed off. I stood by the crib, staring at the sleeping infant, a storm raging in my chest. If the baby I lost at seven months had lived, he would be exactly this big right now. “He told you his ex-wife died in childbirth?” Hailey offered a sad smile. “Yeah. The whole thing devastated him. It took him years to recover. It wasn’t until he met me that he slowly started to heal. Sometimes I think it must be fate… I kind of look like her.” I looked at her face. She looked absolutely nothing like me. If we had to share one common trait, it was that we were both utter fools. “Does he treat you well normally?” I asked. Her eyes lit up. “Of course, he’s wonderful, just incredibly busy. But he promised me that in a few years, he’s going to hand the company over to a board and take me around the world.” I nodded slowly. He told me the exact same thing. Five years ago. I stood in the nursery for another moment, my mind chillingly clear. “I don’t see a memorial or an urn for his late wife anywhere?” Hailey scoffed gently. “You care about that stuff? I asked him about it once. He said when someone is gone, they’re gone. As long as they live in your heart, you don’t need all those physical formalities.” I lowered my eyes. As long as they live in your heart. What profoundly touching words. Then where exactly did the child I lost at seven months live? I uncurled my tightly clenched fists, leaving deep crescent-moon indentations in my palms. “I have one more question for you.” “Hm?” “Your family is so incredibly wealthy. Why live in such an ordinary condo?” Hailey laughed. “I demanded it! My husband is too rich. He’s so rich that his mansions don’t even feel like human homes. I made him buy this place in a normal neighborhood so we could live like a regular family.” She pointed at the decorations on the walls. “See? I decorated all of this myself. He hated it at first, but he grew to love it. He says this place actually feels like a home.” “Your husband bought this place for you?” “Yep. He bought it as a gift.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Between you and me, I had my own selfish reasons. If he ever decides he doesn’t want me anymore, I won’t be left out on the street. He promised me this house is mine forever.”

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At the wedding reception, the woman who had stolen my life drifted over to me, a smug, provocative smile playing on her lips. Under the guise of a toast, she leaned in close. “Happy wedding day. Just wanted you to know, I took your billionaire husband and your bridal bed for a test drive last night. He’s incredible.” I couldn’t help myself. I slapped her hard across the face. The very next second, my fiancé, Liam Sterling, grabbed me and furiously slapped me six times in front of everyone. “Chloe Vance doesn’t have a greedy bone in her body! She’s given you everything, and yet you still can’t stand her existence!” “I would rather marry a dog than a classless, pathetic woman like you!” With one command, Liam had me thrown into the deep, lawless backwoods, tossed into a snake pit filled with venomous serpents to “reflect on my actions.” After seven days of torture, my three biological brothers finally came to settle the score. Caleb Vance, the oldest and CEO of the family empire, brutally kicked me, breaking my leg bone. “Chloe Vance cried all night. I’ve already authorized the legal transfer of every asset in your name to her.” Elias Vance, the second oldest and Hollywood movie star, twisted my arm until it snapped. “The family tree will only ever list Chloe Vance’s name. You, on the other hand, are dead to this family.” Gideon Vance, the youngest and a renowned medical prodigy, was the cruellest. He drove a knife straight into my abdomen. “Chloe Vance has had kidney issues since she was a child. To make it up to her, you must give her one of your healthy kidneys!” Before I could utter a single word in my defense, my organs were brutally ripped out of me while I was still alive. Amidst the bone-deep, maddening pain that should have broken my mind, the cold, mechanical voice of the System suddenly pinged in my mind. [Congratulations, Host. You have successfully completed all torturous plotlines assigned to the ‘cannon fodder’ villainess!] [Upon the confirmation of this physical body’s death, you will be transported back to your original world to enjoy a grand prize of $100 Billion USD!] 1 Hearing those words, I suddenly stopped screaming. The despair and agony inside me were instantly replaced by the absolute relief of imminent liberation. My older brothers, Caleb and Elias, had already left with my kidney. Inside the frigid snake pit, only I and my third brother, Gideon Vance, remained. Blood was still gushing from the incision. Gideon frowned in dissatisfaction as he started stitching the wound closed. “If you had just cooperated and donated the kidney earlier, we wouldn’t have had to operate under such primitive conditions.” “You’ve wasted so much of my time. You’re such a pain.” Just last week, Chloe Vance was processing some files when she got a tiny paper cut, so small it was barely visible. Gideon Vance acted like the sky was falling. He called in the nation’s top medical team to assist him in performing emergency bandaging on Chloe Vance, and then personally checked the wound’s healing progress every three hours. But now, facing me, whose entire kidney had been alive excavated, he was actually complaining that basic suturing was too much trouble. Perhaps seeing that I hadn’t moved or made a sound for a while, he leaned over, slapped my face lightly, and injected me with a shot of antibiotics. “Stop acting. I know you’re healthy as a horse. A little scratch like this is nothing to you.” “Aren’t you just trying to act pitiable to make me feel guilty, so you can steal my affection away from Chloe Vance? You are too dark and petty. Since you’ve entered the Vance family, you better learn to suppress your pathetic little schemes!” If this were the past, facing my own flesh and blood’s misunderstanding, I would have cried, my eyes red, pleading that I wasn’t that kind of person. But now, I felt only a numb calm. I closed my eyes and whispered, my voice raw, “You should leave too. I can wait here and die alone.” To me, the fastest way to liberation was to die immediately. But when those words fell into Gideon Vance’s ears, they clearly meant something else. “Elara Vance, what is that supposed to mean? Intentionally saying negative things just to disgust me, right?!” He deliberately pulled the suture violently. The fragile skin and flesh around the edge instantly constricted, dark blood gushing out, bringing with it a剧剧normal person would find absolutely unbearable. Seeing me gasp for air from the pain, my head covered in a cold sweat, a flicker of reluctance flashed in his eyes, and his tone softened slightly. “You are my biological sister. You can’t even imagine how much money and effort we three brothers spent over the years to find you. How could we possibly let you just die like this?” “Ultimately, if you weren’t so petty, unable to stand Chloe Vance, and even slapped her, why would you be suffering like this?” While complaining, he gave me a shot of anesthesia directly into the wound. “Just promise me that when you get back, you will stop making things difficult for Chloe Vance and give her a proper apology.” “I can take you back to the hospital, get you the best treatment, and you won’t have to suffer here anymore.” Listening to his condescending tone, as if he were bestowing a magnificent favor upon me, I felt only a cold, sarcastic chill. Even though I was a transmigrator, I had transmigrated into the body of Elara Vance when I was only six years old. Three years ago, after I had suffered countless hardships, the three Vance brothers found me, tears in their eyes, saying I was their long-lost biological sister, and brought me back to the Vance estate. But after going back, I discovered that the Vance family already had a princess: Chloe Vance, who they had adopted years ago. The first moment I saw her, I recognized her. Years ago, back in the orphanage, it was her who locked me in a small, pitch-black utility closet and impersonated me to go out and meet the Vance family, which is why she was adopted by them. For twenty years, Chloe Vance enjoyed all the Vance family’s care and affection in my place, while I endured all the suffering and misfortune in hers. But whenever she just pretended to be wronged and wrinkled her brow, my three biological brothers would unconditionally stand by her side and accuse me of being petty. Even my fiancé, Liam Sterling, with whom I had an arranged marriage, would only ever have a smile for her, while treating me with nothing but cold, furious glares. I was exhausted by this constant entanglement and pain. I didn’t want to waste another ounce of energy arguing. I simply lifted my hand and violently tore open the incision that had just been stitched shut. When the blood and intestines poured out together, Gideon Vance’s scream was utterly unhinged. “Elara Vance, you’re insane! You’re going to die!” Looking at the tears of panic on his face, I just curled my lips. “Die? That would be wonderful.” “Every second I have to spend alive in this world… makes me feel utterly disgusted!” After finishing that sentence, I could no longer control my sinking eyelids. Then, my head lolled to the side, and I lost consciousness. 2 I don’t know how much time passed before I woke up from the darkness. I thought I had already returned to my original world. When I opened my eyes, the familiar face of my oldest brother, Caleb Vance, was right there. “You’re finally awake.” His eyes were bruised with dark circles, looking like he hadn’t slept well, but his tone was completely devoid of patience. “You’re an adult. Why are you so impulsive?” “Making such a dramatic scene over one little thing… is absolutely beneath a daughter of the Vance family…” At the thought of still having to deal with this rotten world, I felt only a wave of exhaustion. I didn’t have the slightest interest in arguing, so I simply interrupted him, my gaze vacant. “You’re right. I’m an embarrassment. I don’t deserve to exist.” “So, just let me die.” Caleb Vance’s face instantly twisted. He instinctively lifted his hand to slap me. But when he saw my ghostly, pale face, completely devoid of any color, that slap ultimately did not fall. “Elara Vance! I am warning you to stop talking nonsense!” His voice was trembling. The impatience in his eyes faded slightly, hidden beneath a sliver of panic that even he himself didn’t recognize. “I spent so much effort pulling you out of thatSnake Pit. It wasn’t so you could sit here and say ridiculous things!” I curled my lips, revealing a completely cold, humorless smile. Spend effort? More like he’s terrified that if I die, nobody will be left to serve as Chloe Vance’s spare organ bank, and nobody will be left for her to play the pitiable, wronged victim with. Just as I was thinking this, the hospital room door was pushed open, and my youngest brother, Gideon Vance, walked in carrying medication. Seeing that I was awake, a flash of relief crossed his eyes, but when he spoke, his tone was still extremely aggressive. “Since you’re awake, drink your medicine. Don’t force me to have to pour it down your throat!” He held the medicine bowl to my face. The liquid was pitch-black, emitting a bitter aroma. I turned my head away and closed my eyes in refusal: “No need. Waste of medicine.” “You!” Gideon Vance was so angry his hands were shaking, but he didn’t force the medicine down my throat as he normally would. Instead, he placed the medicine bowl on the nightstand and reached out to check my wound. When his fingertips touched the bandage, his movements were actually unusually gentle. For the first time, there was a hint of the tenderness and consideration he normally reserved only for Chloe Vance. “Sure enough, using the best medicine really does speed up the healing process quite a bit…” He re-wrapped the bandage, giving me a vicious glare. “You better behave yourself. If this wound opens up again, I absolutely will not stitch it up a second time!” His words were harsh, but I clearly saw the red veins in his eyes, and the barely detectable tremble in his fingertips. No doubt, he had stayed up many nights watching over me. If it were the past, I would have definitely been moved by this sliver of tenderness, would have held him and cried, pouring out my grievances. But now, I found it only ironic. I broke free from his hand, violently yanked off the duvet, and was about to tear open the incision again. Right now, every second I spent alive was excruciating torture. As long as I could die quickly, I didn’t care about anything. “You’re insane!” Caleb Vance grabbed my arm in a death grip, his force so strong it nearly shattered my bones. But when I groaned in pain, he instantly loosened his grip slightly, only to scream at me, tears in his eyes: “Elara Vance, what exactly do you want to do?” “I want to die.” My tone was flat, like I was speaking about something completely insignificant. “Letting me die is best for everyone.” “You won’t have to be torn, and Chloe Vance can securely be the princess of the Vance family.” “So, please be so kind as to let me die faster.” 3 These words seemed to have struck Caleb Vance’s painful spot. His eyes went red, and he lifted his hand to give me a slap, but it was much lighter than any time he had ever hit me before. It was more like an act of frustrated desperation than punishment. “I absolutely forbid it! You are the biological daughter of the Vance family. Who would dare let you die?” Gideon Vance also panicked. He rushed forward, holding my shoulders, pushing me back onto the bed, his tone carrying a rare note of pleading. “Elara, stop messing around.” “I know you’re in pain, but just heal up. In the future… in the future, I’ll spoil you more, okay?” I looked at the pleading in his eyes, finding it utterly preposterous. What were you doing before? When you were alive excavating my kidney, when you were making such a huge fuss over Chloe Vance’s tiny cut, why didn’t you think about spoiling me then? I closed my eyes, refusing to look at them again. I let Gideon Vance tuck me back in, let him bring the medicine bowl to my lips, but I simply refused to open my mouth. Amidst the stalemate, the door opened, and my second older brother, Elias Vance, walked in, followed by a pale-faced Liam Sterling. Elias Vance’s eyes went red when he saw me. He quickly walked to the bedside. “Elara, I’m so glad you’re awake. You scared your big brother to death.” When I was first recognized by the Vance family, Elias Vance was actually the kindest of all the relatives to me. Not only did he take me all over the country to have fun, but he also told me about the family’s missing and searching for me over the years, often breaking down in tears when he spoke about it. But later, after Chloe Vance had wiped away tears and accused me of things a few times in front of him, his demeanor changed. He accused me of being a hypocritical, superficial person, betraying the family’s true sincerity toward me. Seeing him again, I felt only disgust and moved away from the hand he was trying to use to touch my face. Elias Vance’s hand froze in mid-air, a bitter expression on his face as he withdrew it. Seeing this, Liam Sterling stepped forward, proactively taking the medicine bowl from Gideon Vance’s hands. “I’ll feed her. She might listen to me.” It wasn’t surprising he would be so confident. After all, over the past few years, anyone with eyes could see just how much I tolerantly yielded to this fiancé of mine. I basically loved him to my very bones. Just as he walked toward me, the hospital room door opened again. “Elara Vance, I came to see you.” Chloe Vance, wearing hospital pajamas and looking very weak, walked in. Caleb Vance immediately stood up to help her: “Chloe, you just accepted the kidney transplant surgery, your body is still weak. Why are you here?” Chloe Vance shook her head, her gaze landing on me, her eyes filled with manufactured guilt. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t failed to stop Sister Elara that day, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point.” “My mind is uneasy. I had to come and apologize to her.” As she spoke, she took the bowl from Liam Sterling’s hands and sat on the edge of my bed. “Sister Elara, stop punishing yourself. Drink the medicine and heal up. Everyone is worried sick about you.” “I know you still blame me, but I really didn’t want to steal anything from you. Everything in the Vance family was originally supposed to be yours…” These words appeared to be a retreat, but in reality, every sentence was a hidden accusation that I was petty, holding onto the past, and intentionally using my own body to throw a fit. Before her spoon could touch my lips, I lifted my hand and violently slapped the medicine bowl away. A massive crash echoed as the porcelain bowl shattered on the floor. The scalding hot medicinal liquid splashed all over Chloe Vance, especially on her wrist and the front of her clothes, which instantly turned red from the heat. Chloe Vance gave a dramatic gasp, her eyes instantly red, her voice carrying a cry. “Sister Elara… how could you do this? I was just trying to feed you medicine…” She bit her lip, looking like she was enduring immense suffering, tears welling up in her eyes, a sight that was enough to break anyone’s heart. “Elara Vance! You’re insane!” 4 Caleb Vance was absolutely furious. He yanked Chloe Vance behind him, glaring at me with vicious hatred. “Chloe was kind enough to come see you, even feed you medicine, and this is how you treat her?” Gideon Vance immediately rushed forward to check Chloe Vance’s burn, his tone full of anxiety. “How is it? Does it burn badly? Call a doctor!” Elias Vance also knitted his brows tightly, his gaze filled with complete disappointment. “Elara, you’ve gone too far! Chloe has already proactively apologized. When are you going to stop with this dramatic tantrum?” Liam Sterling also quickly walked to Chloe Vance’s side, pulling out a tissue to wipe her off, his tone laced with accusation. “Elara Vance, can you stop being so immature? Chloe came here with good intentions. Even if you don’t appreciate it, you shouldn’t have violently attacked her.” Several men surrounded Chloe Vance, showering her with excessive concern and care, completely disregarding me—someone who had just been alive excavated of a kidney and whose wound was still throbbing with intense pain. Chloe Vance leaned into Caleb Vance’s arms, secretly casting a得意glance at me, a victorious flash in her eyes, though her mouth was still pretending to plead for me: “I’m fine, don’t blame Sister Elara. She’s just in a bad mood…” This white lotus performance… if this were the past, I would have definitely been shaking from fury. But now, I found it only absurdly hilarious. Such a clumsy, amateurish routine… anyone else would have seen right through it, but these four men, who occupied the very highest peaks in their respective fields, were actually willingly being played for fools by Chloe Vance. Or, as the saying goes, one is willing to beat and the other is willing to endure the beating. I was just an insignificant part of their weird play. “If you want to feel heartbroken for this animal, please take it outside to feel heartbroken. Do not pollute my hospital room.” Hearing my cold, indifferent voice, several men were so angry they were shaking all over. “Elara Vance, it seems you haven’t reflected enough!” Gideon Vance looked at me with profound disappointment, his voice sharp: “From now on, I am stopping all your pain medication!” “Until you’ve cleared your mind, until you are willing to apologize properly to Chloe Vance, then you will get your medication restored.” Caleb Vance also agreed: “Exactly! You should have a good taste of intense pain. Let’s see if you still dare to be so willfully reckless!” Elias Vance let out a sigh, his gaze full of powerlessness, but he did not object. Liam Sterling stood to the side, silently nodding, clearly in agreement with this decision as well. I closed my eyes, not offering any refutation, not feeling any anger. So what if the pain medication was stopped? The pain of the wound was completely insignificant compared to the humiliation and torture I had endured over the past twenty years. Instead, the intense pain would keep me even clearer as I waited for death to arrive. Seeing my completely unmoved attitude, Gideon Vance immediately acted, ripping out my pain pump. The moment the overwhelming, catastrophic wave of pain hit, my closest relatives and fiancé all surrounded Chloe Vance and walked out, looking deeply concerned for her. Until the door was slammed shut with a massive BANG, not a single person looked back. Ignoring the blood dripping from the corner of my lips, I pulled out a sharp porcelain bowl shard I had covertly hidden under my pillow just now, and slashed it toward my throat without a second of hesitation. As I collapsed again, I could feel the strength in my body slowly draining away. The pain of the wound gradually faded into the distance. My heartbeat got slower and slower… The moment the darkness fully descended, I actually let out a small laugh. This suffocating, painful life was finally over. … Out in the hallway, after the group had walked quite a distance, Caleb Vance, who was in the front, suddenly halted his footsteps. “You guys go accompany Chloe to get that burn treated. I… I don’t feel quite at peace. I’m going back to check on Elara.” The second he said that, Elias Vance immediately cut him off: “I’ll go. Elara is truly angry this time. Out of all the relatives in the Vance family, she and I had the best relationship. It should be me who goes to coax her.” Gideon Vance was unhappy upon hearing this. “Listen to that. Like anyone here isn’t Elara’s biological brother!” “You guys are amateurs. Elara needs a doctor right now. I should be the one going back.” Seeing them simultaneously turn to walk back, Liam Sterling knit his brows, giving a apologetic smile to Chloe Vance, who still hadn’t processed what was happening. “They are all going. As her husband, it would be inappropriate for me not to go.” “Besides, your burn isn’t very serious. Go get it treated yourself. When I’m done, I’ll go see you.” Finished speaking, not even giving Chloe Vance a chance to react, he chased after the three Vance brothers’ footsteps. But when they pushed open the door of the hospital room they had only just left, a thick, suffocating smell of blood came rushing directly toward them.

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In the delivery history of our grocery app, my husband was ordering fresh milk and organic eggs to a strange address every single morning at 5:30 AM. The delivery note simply read: For Joey’s Kitchen. Joey is my husband’s nickname. But that address wasn’t our house. I stared at the screen, my fingers turning ice-cold. He leaves the house every morning at 5:00 AM to “go jogging.” For eight years. I actually thought he was running. 1. My name is Sarah, thirty-six years old, the CFO of a mid-sized tech company. Base salary: $150,000 a year, plus bonuses. It sounds glamorous, but my breakfast usually consists of a lukewarm bagel from the deli downstairs or instant oatmeal from my desk drawer. It’s not that I don’t want to eat well. It’s that I have no time. I leave the house at 7:00 AM every day and get home at 10:00 PM. By the time I walk through the door, my husband, Joseph, is already asleep. The living room lights are off. The kitchen is spotless. It is always spotless. I open the fridge, grab a carton of milk, and drink it standing in the dark kitchen. There are eggs, flour, and butter in the fridge. But no one has ever used them to cook a single meal for me. Joseph calls himself a “freelance photographer.” In reality, being a freelance photographer just means he has no stable income. He picks up one or two gigs a month, pulling in maybe $500 to $800. Our mortgage is $2,400 a month. He pays $400. My car payment is $800. He pays zero. Our daughter’s private preschool tuition is $12,000 a semester. He pays zero. The HOA fees, utilities, insurance, groceries—every single bill is auto-drafted from my account. I’ve done the math. In our eight years of marriage, I’ve sunk over $900,000 into this household. He has contributed less than $40,000. But he has one “redeeming quality.” Every single morning at 5:00 AM, he wakes up to go “jogging.” Rain or shine. When we first got married, I was actually touched by it. “Look how disciplined my husband is,” I used to boast to my coworkers. They would say, “You’re so lucky. My husband sleeps in until noon on the weekends.” I would just smile. Yeah. I was so lucky. Every morning, he wakes up at 5:00, comes back at 6:30, takes a shower, and then drops our daughter off at preschool. He never eats breakfast at home. I asked him once, “Don’t you get hungry after your run? Do you want me to leave some breakfast out for you?” He said, “No need, I just grab a bite while I’m out.” “What about me?” “Just pick something up on your commute,” he replied, his tone entirely casual. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. I didn’t mind. I was too busy. Too busy to care about trivial things like that. Until that night, when I got home from the office at 11:00 PM. I opened our shared Instacart account to order some fruit for our daughter’s lunchbox the next day. And then I saw the order history. Daily delivery. Every morning at 5:30 AM. 12 organic eggs, 1 gallon of whole milk, 1 block of Kerrygold butter, a bag of artisan bread flour. Delivery Address: The Riverfront Condos, Building 18, Unit 1402. Delivery Instructions: For Joey’s Kitchen. We live at The Heights, Building 9, Unit 2201. Not The Riverfront Condos. I stared at the address, then looked at the order frequency. Every day. Every. Single. Day. The earliest record dated back exactly eight years ago. I put my phone down. I picked it up again. I put it back down. The harsh, fluorescent light of the kitchen illuminated my hands. They were shaking. He leaves at 5:00 AM every day. Not to jog. He goes to that place. To cook. For who? 2. The next morning, my alarm went off at 4:50 AM. I didn’t turn on the light. Lying in the dark, I listened to the rustling beside me. Joseph got out of bed as quietly as possible. The sound of him getting dressed was incredibly faint. He was terrified of waking me. In the past, I thought this was him being considerate. Now, I knew it was guilt. When he left the bedroom, I started counting. From the moment he got out of bed to the click of the front door, it took exactly four minutes. There was no sound of him brushing his teeth or washing his face. Meaning, he didn’t get ready at home. He got ready over there. I waited five minutes, got out of bed, threw on some clothes, and left the apartment. His car was missing from our assigned spot. I called an Uber. “Riverfront Condos, please.” The Riverfront Condos weren’t far from our house. A twelve-minute drive. When I arrived, the sun hadn’t even come up yet. Parked in front of Building 18 was his car. A white Volvo. The one I bought. I didn’t go upstairs. Instead, I walked into the 24-hour diner across the street and ordered a coffee. At 6:10 AM, he walked out of Building 18. He was holding a trash bag. He tossed it into the dumpster out front. From where I sat, I could see eggshells inside the semi-transparent bag. An empty milk carton. Used aluminum foil. He had made breakfast. Not for me. Not for our daughter. For whoever lived in Unit 1402. He got into his car and drove away. I sat in the diner, my coffee completely cold. I hadn’t taken a single sip. I pulled out my phone and opened the county property tax database. Riverfront Condos, Building 18, Unit 1402. The owner information was hidden behind a privacy block, so I couldn’t see the name. But I found something else. The HOA payment portal. I couldn’t see the owner, but I could see the payment history. I smiled. He was even paying the HOA fees for this place. Which card was he using? I opened my Chase banking app. We have a joint checking account. Every month, I deposit $2,000 into it to cover various household bills. Scanning the transaction history, I spotted a recurring monthly charge of $250. Merchant: Riverfront HOA. The HOA fee for our own house is $400. Which meant, every single month, he was taking $250 out of our household account to pay the HOA fee for that condo. Using my money. I kept scrolling. There was another fixed monthly expense. $300. Category: Groceries. $300 a month, $3,600 a year. Over eight years, that was $28,800. Twenty-eight thousand dollars. That was the exact amount he spent of my money to buy groceries and cook for someone else. I closed the app and walked out of the diner. The sun had risen. The morning light was beautiful. I stood on the sidewalk and took a deep breath. Then, I walked toward Building 18. I took the elevator to the 14th floor. Unit 1402. There was a pair of slippers outside the door. Women’s slippers. A small decorative sign hung on the door. A wooden plaque with one word painted on it: Home. I didn’t knock. I took out my phone and snapped a picture. Then I left. I needed to find out exactly who lived inside. When I got home, Joseph had already showered and was sitting on the couch, scrolling on his phone. “Why are you up so early?” He glanced at me, looking genuinely surprised. “Couldn’t sleep. Went out for a walk.” “Oh.” He didn’t ask any more questions. He just went back to looking at his phone. I stared at him. His hair was still damp. On his index finger, there was a tiny, fresh blister. A burn. From cooking oil splattering. Every time he came back from his “morning run,” he had little injuries like this on his hands. I used to think he scraped himself falling on his runs. God, I was so stupid. 3. I didn’t make a scene. For an entire week, I woke up at 4:50 AM and followed him. In that one week, he went to the Riverfront Condos six times. Monday through Saturday. He rested on Sundays. Because on Sundays, he had to “spend time with our daughter” at home. Which meant, that person didn’t need him to make breakfast on Sundays. Maybe she handled it herself. Or maybe she had other plans on Sundays. On the seventh day, I didn’t follow him to the Riverfront Condos. I went somewhere else. My office. I’m a Chief Financial Officer. I have the clearance to access highly detailed banking and financial tracing tools. Not for the company. For myself. I pulled a comprehensive audit of every single transaction under Joseph’s name. And then, I found a massive wire transfer. Three years ago. $130,000. Recipient Account: Chloe Evans. Chloe Evans. I stared at the name, a loud ringing exploding in my ears. Chloe. It was Chloe? Chloe is my best friend. We went to college together. We’ve known each other for fourteen years. She is the Marketing Director at a mid-sized tech firm. Single. Or at least, she claimed to be single. She came over to our house for dinner all the time. Every time she visited, Joseph would cook a massive feast. He never cooked for me when it was just the two of us. But whenever Chloe came over, he would tie on an apron and say with a smile, “Since Chloe’s here, I guess I have to show off a little.” I thought he was just being a good host. I thought he was doing it to give me face in front of my best friend. After dinner, Chloe would always say, “Sarah, your husband is such an amazing cook. You’re so lucky.” I would reply, “Yeah. It’s a shame he’s so busy normally, he rarely cooks at home.” Chloe would just smile. Thinking back on that smile now… it wasn’t envy. It was smugness. Because all that time he was “so busy normally,” he was spending it cooking for her. Every single morning. For eight years. I picked up my phone and opened Chloe’s text thread. Her last message was from three days ago. She had sent me a picture. A beautifully crafted latte with perfect latte art. Caption: “The coffee today is sooooo good~” I scrolled up. Our entire chat history was perfectly normal. Just standard best-friend banter. “You busy lately?” “Wanna grab dinner this weekend?” “Does this dress look good on me?” There was absolutely nothing suspicious. She hid it even better than he did. I put my phone down. $130,000. Wired from Joseph’s account to Chloe. But every single dime in Joseph’s account was money I had transferred to him. I gave him a $3,000 “allowance” every month. Plus the money in the joint account for household bills. Over eight years, the total amount of money I had transferred to him exceeded $400,000. He took $130,000 of it to help Chloe buy a house. Riverfront Condos, Building 18, Unit 1402. He went there every single day. To make her breakfast. With groceries bought using my money. In an apartment partially funded by my money. I supported this family for eight years. And he used my money to support a second family for eight years. I picked up my water glass from the desk and took a sip. My hand wasn’t shaking. It was strange. I thought I would have a complete mental breakdown. But I didn’t. I just felt cold. Frozen solid, from the inside out. 4. I started thinking back. Over the last eight years. Starting from the very beginning. The first year of our marriage. We had just moved into The Heights. My parents paid the down payment; I paid the mortgage. Joseph had said, “Once my photography career takes off, I’ll take over the mortgage.” Eight years later, his career hasn’t taken off. The first month of our marriage. One morning, I woke up and found he wasn’t in bed. I called him, and he said, “I’m downstairs going for a jog.” It was the dead of winter. 5:00 AM, twenty-five degrees outside. I said, “It’s freezing, and you’re still running?” He said, “Gotta stay disciplined.” I hung up the phone and thought to myself, I married such a disciplined, dedicated man. I’m so lucky. Was that the first time he went to the Riverfront Condos? I didn’t know. But the Instacart order history told me the deliveries started that exact same month. The first month of our marriage. Which meant— He was never faithful to this marriage. Not for a single day. I remembered something else. When I was pregnant. My morning sickness was brutal. I couldn’t keep anything down. I asked him, “Could you just make me something light in the mornings? Plain oatmeal is fine.” He said, “I’m not really good at cooking. Why don’t you ask your mom to come stay with us?” Not really good at cooking? He woke up at 5:00 AM every day to make Chloe artisanal pour-over coffee, French toast, and Eggs Benedict. But to me, he was “not really good at cooking.” Later, my mom flew in from out of state and took care of me for three months. When she left, she said, “Joseph is a good guy, he just doesn’t really know how to take care of people.” Mom, it wasn’t that he didn’t know how. It was that he didn’t want to take care of me. His tenderness had a dedicated recipient. And it wasn’t me. There was another incident. Three years ago. For Chloe’s birthday. She took us out to dinner. At the table, having had a few glasses of wine, her face flushed as she said, “Sarah, you’re so lucky to have a husband. I feel so lonely by myself.” Joseph chuckled from across the table. “Chloe, you’re such a catch. You’ll meet the right guy eventually.” They were putting on a play right in front of me. Right to my face. And I actually comforted her. “Don’t rush it, the right person will come along when the time is right.” I was holding her hand. And she was holding my husband. I felt nauseous. Not morning sickness. Just pure, unadulterated disgust.

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When my Brigadier General husband took the $100,000 holiday bonus the military issued him and gave it all to a female massage therapist. I completely lost control. I smashed everything in the house that could be smashed and screamed at him with the most vicious words I could find: “Get the hell out of my house! And don’t you dare bring some filthy disease back to me!” Hearing this, Liam Vance simply and calmly crushed his cigarette into the ashtray and let out a mocking laugh: “Right. You’re so high and mighty.” “I wonder who it was that stripped naked and rolled into bed with me at 18, and then went to high school carrying a belly.” The true heart I had once surrendered to him had now become a bullet tearing through my chest. Liam Vance would never know. The exact moment he said those words, I gave up on this marriage. And I gave up on our second child. … The living room was dead silent. The military spouses who had come over to mediate covered their mouths in shock. The deepest wounds can only be inflicted by the people closest to you. I still remember being eighteen. We were just kids. We couldn’t scrape together the money for an abortion clinic, so we had no choice but to buy pills off the street and mix them into a mug of hot tea. In that cramped, tiny bathroom, wave after wave of agonizing, tearing pain ripped through my abdomen. Eighteen-year-old Liam held me tight, his back drenched in cold sweat, his tears dropping into my hair. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I’m a piece of shit. This is all my fault…” And now, that most vulnerable, humiliating past was being dug up by thirty-year-old Liam and weaponized to attack me as “cheap.” All for that massage therapist. The color drained completely from my face. I could barely stand, unable to force a single word out of my mouth. Liam rubbed his temples in frustration. The fellow officers and their wives beside him hastily tried to smooth things over for him: “Chloe, we swear it’s not the General’s fault this time. That girl, Serena, literally ran up to the base gates to block his car.” “Yeah, she fell to her knees crying hysterically, saying she was dying. The General just had a moment of soft-heartedness.” “It’s the holidays! Couples shouldn’t hold grudges overnight. Just talk it out and it’ll be fine!” A long time ago, I used to think the same thing. I thought Liam just pitied Serena. She was a massage therapist from a poor, rural town with barely a high school education. I never imagined he would develop real feelings for her. Until he pulled strings to connect her with the top cardiology specialists at the VA hospital, paying for her treatments year after year. Because she casually mentioned she “hadn’t seen much of the world,” he brought her as his plus-one to the base’s annual formal gala. When she said she was never pampered as a child, he took her to Disney World, awkwardly trying to make up for her so-called “childhood trauma.” They kissed when the Ferris wheel reached its highest point. A tourist snapped a photo and posted it on a local Facebook group, which is how I belatedly found out. The man who was always “swamped with deployments,” who never had time to eat a single dinner with me, had long since become someone else’s rock. We had our first earth-shattering fight. Liam said Serena was the one who threw herself at him. He said he just saw her crying and didn’t have the heart to push her away immediately. The fight ended with him writing a letter of apology and promising never to contact her privately again. But I never expected that what followed would be an endless cycle of suspicion, cold wars, and brief reconciliations. Sometimes it was because of a strange perfume scent on his uniform. Sometimes it was because of ambiguous text messages he received late at night. He became increasingly impatient, increasingly silent. And I became increasingly unhinged, acting more and more like a bitter, paranoid housewife. Today, I was completely exhausted. Liam had given Serena too much. Money, attention, favoritism. So, he might as well take the title of “Mrs. Vance” and give that to her, too. I forced a pale smile at the group. “We won’t be a couple for much longer.” Chapter 2 Liam stared at me in disbelief. “You’re asking for a divorce over a hundred grand?” “Chloe, throwing a tantrum has its limits!” Even to this day, after trampling on my dignity time and time again for that woman. He actually still believed our marriage was unbreakable. How laughable. As the standoff continued, Liam’s phone rang. It was a custom vibration pattern. I immediately knew who it was, and the blood rushed straight to my head. How many late nights, the moment that ringtone sounded, would he leave in a hurry, leaving me alone to face an empty, freezing house? After a few brief words on the phone, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. “Where are you going now? You are not leaving!” I simply couldn’t believe it. Before we had even settled things here, he was going to find her again. “We’ll talk when I get back.” “If you walk out that door today, we are getting a divorce immediately!” “General! Say something!” one of the wives pleaded. “Chloe is emotionally unstable right now, you should stay and be with her…” Everyone could see I was on the verge of a total breakdown. He was the only one who turned a blind eye. He didn’t care at all. Liam’s impatient voice cut through the air. “I’ve explained everything that needs explaining. Give her a few days to cool off, she’ll figure it out herself.” “We’ve been married over a decade. We aren’t going to split up over something this trivial.” I listened to the heavy slam of the front door, offering a silent, bitter laugh. On the living room wall, the massive framed portrait of him in his dress uniform and me in my wedding gown had fallen during the earlier chaos. The glass was shattered all over the floor. Tears fell silently. For so many years, I was habitually finding excuses for him, forgiving him time and time again, compromising time and time again. But Liam was no longer that green, teenage boy who would sneak out of his window just to buy me a hot bowl of soup. I was the only one still clinging to the pitiful, fading warmth of those memories, lying to myself. Today, even I couldn’t keep up the lie. I drove straight to the hospital. The doctor told me that because of my previous medical abortion history, my uterine lining was in poor condition. Another abortion could lead to permanent infertility. I listened numbly, nodded, signed the paperwork, and lay down on the operating table. When the cold instruments entered my body, I didn’t cry. I just stared at the blinding white glare of the surgical lights, drifting in a haze back to that suffocatingly hot afternoon when I was eighteen. The bathroom smelled heavily of bleach. Liam was holding me tight, his palms slick with sweat, his eyes full of tears. The pain back then was real. The heartbreak in his eyes was real, too. It’s just a shame that the person he is heartbroken over now is someone else. After the procedure, the nurse helped me sit up and went over the post-op instructions. I leaned against the wall and slowly walked out, every step feeling like I was walking on cotton. The hospital corridor reeked of antiseptic. And right in my most vulnerable, weakened moment, I saw Liam. Chapter 3 He was supporting another woman, wearing the exact expression of gentle tenderness that I used to be so intimately familiar with. I watched them quietly, my heart a wasteland of dead silence. Serena was wearing a hospital gown, leaning bonelessly against Liam’s arm. He seemed to be heading off to fill out some paperwork. He whispered a few comforting words to her, then turned and walked away. When Serena saw me, she froze for a second, then spoke up timidly: “Chloe? What are you doing here… Did you follow us?” “Liam just saw that I was all alone and took pity on me. He kindly brought me in for a checkup. Please don’t be mad, okay?” She enunciated the words “all alone” with deliberate clarity. Waves of cramping pain washed over my lower abdomen. I was in no mood to play her games. Just as I turned to leave, Serena suddenly bit her lip and threw herself at me. “Chloe, that hundred thousand dollars might just be the price of a few designer bags to you, but to me, it’s life-saving money! The doctor said if I don’t get the surgery this time, it’ll be too late. Please, I’m begging you, don’t force me into a corner, okay? Once I’m better, I’ll work like a dog to repay you!” Without warning, she dropped to her knees with a thud, gripping the hem of my pants in a death grip, tears instantly streaming down her face. “I’m begging you, please don’t take away the money for my life, okay? I just want to live!” Her agonizing, pitiful cries echoed through the waiting area. The surrounding patients and families all turned to look, pointing and whispering at me. “What’s going on here? Forcing a sick person to give up their treatment money?” “She looks dressed so nicely, how can she be so cold-hearted?” “Can’t she see the poor girl is on her knees? Saving a life comes first…” I was breaking out in cold sweats from the pain. I tried forcefully to pull my leg free, but Serena used the momentum to collapse limply onto the floor, trembling all over. Liam pushed through the crowd and saw the scene. His face darkened instantly. He yanked Serena up off the floor, looking at me with eyes full of disappointment and irritation: “You followed me to the hospital? Do you really have to be this relentless? Are you actually haggling over the money she needs to survive?” “Chloe, as a military spouse, do you have any compassion left at all?!” When he was called away by Serena on our anniversary, he had accused me with the exact same words. “She has no family, no friends, she’s so pitiful. Can’t you have a little empathy?” “As an officer, I serve the people.” “When did you become so cold?” I was sick to death of hearing these speeches. Whatever. Let him think what he wants. Perhaps days of arguing had exhausted my patience. Or perhaps anger had clouded his judgment. Liam frowned, stepped forward, and shoved my shoulder hard: “Speak! What exactly do you want?!” That shove made my already weak and unsteady footing completely fail. I stumbled backward and crashed heavily onto the floor. My tailbone slammed against the hard, freezing tile, and a tearing, explosive pain ripped through my lower abdomen. Gasps erupted from the crowd. I curled into a ball from the agony. Liam froze. He didn’t understand how I, who usually had excellent physical stamina, could be knocked down so easily. Just like he didn’t understand that during the few hours he had spent rushing around for Serena… The very last tie binding us together had quietly snapped. He instinctively bent down to help me up. I turned my body, avoiding his touch. “Liam.” My voice was incredibly hoarse. “From now on, give her however much money you want. I don’t care. I will never ask about it again.” He stiffened entirely, rooted to the spot. I used my hands to push myself up off the floor and limped out the hospital doors. Standing in the freezing wind outside the hospital, I dialed my lawyer’s number. The lawyer quickly analyzed the situation and told me the division of assets would be heavily in my favor. I listened, but felt no joy in my heart. Only a profound, heavy exhaustion. I returned to the base housing unit that we used to call “home.” As the key turned and the door opened, I heard the soft, delicate laughter of another woman. He actually brought her home. The blood seemed to instantly rush to my head, only to freeze into solid ice the next second. I stood in the entryway, looking into the living room. Serena was wearing my fluffy slippers, holding the insulated thermos I used every day. Liam sat beside her, looking down at his phone, likely researching surgery details. They looked exactly like an old married couple enjoying a peaceful afternoon. Hearing the door, they both looked up simultaneously. Liam stood up, his expression completely normal: “You’re back.” Serena immediately put down the thermos, acting flustered: “Chloe… please, please don’t misunderstand. Liam was just…” “Just what?” I cut her off, trembling with rage. “Liam Vance, what do you think this place is? A hotel? Or your little love nest? Am I invisible to you?!” “Chloe!” Liam frowned deeply. “Can you stop making everything sound so filthy? Serena is about to be admitted for surgery. Her condition is very bad right now; she could go into cardiac arrest at any time. Plus, those blood-sucking relatives of hers from her hometown tracked her down to cause trouble. It’s not safe for her to stay out there alone.” He walked over, trying to grab my arm. His tone carried a rare note of earnestness and apology. “I promise, this is the last time. Once her surgery is done and she’s recovered, I will cut ties with her completely. We’ll go back to living our life, okay?” Living our life? My stomach churned violently. How many times had he said those exact words? Every single “last time” was followed immediately by the next escalation. I exhaled a heavy breath of stale air, pulled the divorce papers from my bag, and slapped them onto the coffee table. “Liam, your promises are completely bankrupt to me.” Chapter 4 The paper hit the wood with a sharp smack. Liam stared dead at the document. He practically growled the words. “Chloe!” “Are you serious? Over a hundred grand? Just because I temporarily took in someone who needs surgery and has nowhere else to go? Are over ten years of our relationship really worth this little to you?!” “Over ten years of our relationship?” I laughed. I laughed so hard tears almost came out. “Liam Vance, you have the nerve to bring up our relationship? Everyone knows you’ve been having an emotional affair for ages!” “I have not!” He denied it vehemently, the rims of his eyes turning red. “I just pity her! You didn’t use to be like this. You used to be so kind. Why have you become so bitter, so petty?” “You’re right. I am bitter, and I am petty.” I nodded, my tone terrifyingly calm. “So, sign the papers. It’s best for both of us.” Liam violently snatched the divorce papers from the table and ripped them to shreds. As if he were infuriated beyond reason, or perhaps to prove something, to retaliate against something, he turned to Serena and forced a smile. “Serena, stop feeling inferior just because you don’t have a degree.” “Look at this ‘highly educated’ college graduate here. Didn’t she follow me into a cheap motel when she was 18?” “On her knees for me in high school, then going to class carrying a belly, hiding in the girls’ bathroom to take abortion pills because she was terrified the teachers would find out.” “You might not have her education, but your character is a million times purer, cleaner, and more self-respecting than hers.” A loud buzz erupted in my brain. My mind went completely blank. My entire body shook uncontrollably. Serena exaggeratedly covered her mouth, her eyes wide as she looked at me, a gleam of unconcealable triumph hidden in the depths of her gaze: “Oh my god… Chloe, you actually… Liam, why didn’t you tell me sooner! That poor baby…” As she spoke, her eyes actually welled with tears. She looked at Liam, “Liam, we should… go pay our respects to that baby sometime? Set up a little memorial, as a way to…” “Shut up!” “You do not have the right to mention my child!” Serena looked at Liam with red eyes, waiting for him to defend her, but the defense never came. Everything from the past completely collapsed in this single moment. The man who toasted my parents at our wedding making promises, the man who stayed by my bedside without leaving for a second when I was sick, the man who smilingly handed over his entire salary for me to manage… All of them mutated into the unrecognizable man standing before me, attacking me with the most vicious words imaginable. Tears poured out like a flood. I could barely stay on my feet. Liam seemed to finally realize what a horrific thing he had just said. His face turned ugly. “Two years ago, when my mom was critically ill, you accompanied Serena out of state to ‘relax’ and find her a specialist. You ignored every single phone call.” “Right before my mom passed, she told me not to blame you. She said you had your responsibilities.” His eyes darted away, afraid to look at me. I gave a tragic smile, choking on my words. “You always say you were wrong, that you’ll change, that you’ll never break my heart again.” “But Liam, the truth is, you’re exactly the same as you were at 18. You never learned how to take responsibility.” “You will forever be indebted to me.” Those words carried too much weight. They hit him so hard his shoulders slumped slightly. He stared off into space, a rare occurrence. I wiped my tears away and smiled. “Thank God, this time I had my own money to pay for the abortion.”

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The day before my wedding, Arthur Sterling accompanied me to the bridal boutique for my final dress fitting. I had just stepped out of the dressing room. I saw Arthur frantically taking off his suit jacket, turning around, and preparing to leave. “Lily had an accident. Evelyn can’t handle it alone, I need to rush to the hospital. Let’s cancel tomorrow’s wedding for now.” In the past, I would have blocked the door. I would have demanded to know who was more important: me, or Evelyn Hayes and her daughter. But this time, looking at his retreating back, I didn’t say a word to stop him. This was the ninety-ninth time he had canceled our wedding for Evelyn and her daughter. Half an hour later, Evelyn posted a new update on her Instagram. [You are my only pillar of support in this world.] In the live photo, Arthur had his arm wrapped protectively around Evelyn, while little Lily called them “Daddy and Mommy.” They looked exactly like a perfect family of three. My parents sighed helplessly when they heard the news. “Chloe, is the wedding canceled again tomorrow? But we’ve already mailed out all the invitations…” I shook my head, my face completely calm. “The wedding will proceed exactly as planned. My groom just won’t be him.” … Hearing my words, my mom quickly pulled a spare wedding invitation from her purse. My dad’s eyes immediately fell on the line where the groom’s name was written. I watched the tension visibly leave both of their bodies. “If you’re marrying him, your mother and I can finally rest easy.” “Chloe, I told you a long time ago that Arthur Sterling wasn’t worthy of a lifelong commitment. I’m so glad you’ve finally woken up.” I had spent years banging my head against a brick wall, refusing to turn back. But this time, I chose to finally let myself go. After I finalized the dress, Arthur happened to call. “I remember you’ve always wanted to try that viral Italian bistro downtown. I paid a concierge broker triple the price to secure a lunch reservation for us today.” I originally wanted to refuse. But thinking about the six years we had spent together, I figured we owed it to ourselves to end things with some dignity. I arrived at the entrance of the bistro. Arthur reached out to take my purse, his other hand habitually reaching out to wrap around my waist. I dodged his touch and walked straight into the restaurant. Looking at his hand frozen in the air, his brow furrowed, a trace of impatience bleeding into his tone. “Chloe, stop throwing a tantrum.” “Lily had a sudden medical flare-up, and I’m the only person Evelyn can rely on.” “You know this. Before David died, I promised him I would take good care of his wife and daughter.” I didn’t reply. I sat down and began looking through the menu. He sat down next to me, tugging at his tie in frustration. “A man is only as good as his word. You wouldn’t want to marry a man who breaks his promises, would you?” I pulled out my phone to scan the QR code for the menu. He waited a moment. Seeing that I was still giving him the silent treatment, he let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, stop being mad. I promise the wedding won’t be canceled next time. I told you I’d give you the most perfect wedding, and I won’t break that promise.” But his promises were only valid when it came to Evelyn and her daughter. I was the one who always had to step aside. Just then, a waiter walked over. “Excuse me, Miss. Your table has already ordered a four-person family meal. If you order more, it might be too much food. Would you like me to cancel the extra items?” Before I could react, a familiar female voice rang out from behind me. “The line for the restroom was so long. Sorry to keep you waiting, Chloe.” Evelyn Hayes walked toward us, holding little Lily’s hand. She sat on the other side of Arthur, while Lily squeezed right into the space between Arthur and me. I froze for a second. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but Evelyn beat him to it. “It’s all Arthur’s fault. I just casually mentioned I was craving this bistro, and I didn’t expect him to take it to heart and pay triple to a scalper just to get a table.” “Chloe, you don’t need to cancel your order. Eat whatever you like.” Watching her act like she owned the place, I couldn’t help but let out a cynical laugh. In the past, I thought Arthur was just oblivious to Evelyn’s manipulative tactics and hidden motives. Now, I realized he had been enjoying the ego trip of two women fighting over him all along. I looked up at the waiter. “Cancel my order…” “Ahhh—! It hurts! Daddy, Auntie Chloe pinched my arm! It’s swelling up!” Lily suddenly held up her supposedly red, swollen arm and began crying hysterically. “Chloe! If you’re unhappy with me, take it out on me! Why would you bully a child? She’s innocent!” Evelyn’s eyes went red. She looked at Arthur, her gaze overflowing with grievance and helplessness. “Arthur, thank you for taking care of us all these years, but we shouldn’t see each other anymore. If she has the nerve to abuse a child right in front of you, I don’t even dare to imagine what she’ll do in the future…” Saying this, she grabbed Lily’s hand, acting like she was about to flee. Lily gripped the hem of Arthur’s shirt, refusing to let go. “I don’t want to leave Daddy! I want Daddy and Mommy to be together forever! Auntie Chloe is a bad person, she’s trying to steal my Daddy!” The commotion at our table instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant. A few influencers who were live-streaming their meals immediately rushed over, pointing their phone cameras right at my face. “Oh my god, chat! I came to review a restaurant and ended up catching a homewrecker picking a fight with the real family! Screenshot this mistress’s face so she doesn’t steal your husbands!” “That poor kid! The mistress actually dared to abuse the child right in front of the parents! Imagine if she became a stepmother!” The waiter, who had been polite to me just moments ago, turned his expression to ice. “Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Our establishment doesn’t welcome people like you.” As the situation spiraled out of control, I looked at Arthur, hoping he would stand up and clear my name. But he just shot me a cold, disgusted glare. “Chloe, Lily is just a child. How could you be so cruel?” “Arthur, I didn’t pinch her.” I pointed a finger at the security camera mounted on the ceiling. “If you don’t believe me, go ask the manager to pull the footage right now.” The moment those words left my mouth, Lily suddenly rolled her eyes back and “fainted” on the floor. “Arthur! Lily fainted! We need to get her to the hospital!” Evelyn screamed at the top of her lungs. Arthur scooped Lily up into his arms and sprinted toward the door. Just as he crossed the glass threshold, he paused and looked back at me. I was currently surrounded by livestreamers and “righteous” customers. Every kind of vile insult was being hurled at me. Just as I thought Arthur’s conscience might have finally kicked in, he suddenly spoke. “Chloe, I never knew you were this malicious. Don’t come looking for me until you realize what you did wrong.” With that, he left without looking back. Leaving me entirely alone to face the abuse of the influencers and bystanders. Finally, a sympathetic customer called the police, and only then was I escorted safely out of the restaurant. Sticky pasta sauce dripped from my hair. My white sundress was stained with food and smelled awful. No Uber driver would pick me up, so I had to walk three miles back to the house. When I pushed open the front door, Arthur was sitting on the living room sofa, smoking a cigarette. Even though he tried to suppress his expression, I still caught the flash of utter disgust in his eyes. “You’re back?” I looked at him calmly. “Arthur, we’re done. Let’s end this here.” His hand, holding the cigarette, paused. He stood up and walked toward me. “Is this because of what happened at lunch?” He stared at my face, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and blew a cloud of smoke into the air. “Chloe, I thought you would be mature enough to understand the situation. If I had defended you in that restaurant, the internet mob would have turned their crosshairs on Evelyn and Lily.” “Besides, this only happened because you were insanely jealous and hurt Lily. You have no one to blame but yourself for ending up like this.” “Lily has already forgiven you, and Evelyn said she won’t hold a grudge. We’re dropping the subject.” He reached out, wanting to pat my head. But the moment his hand neared the dried sauce in my hair, he quickly pulled it back. “Go clean yourself up first.” “Arthur.” Looking at him turning his back to me, I took a deep breath. “Tomorrow is my wedding day.” His footsteps halted. He whipped around, looking like a man whose patience was completely depleted. “You know perfectly well that every time Lily has a flare-up, someone needs to monitor her for a full week. How am I supposed to have time to marry you tomorrow?” “Chloe, can you please grow up and act like an adult?” I stared at him, my face completely devoid of emotion. “I am informing you. I am not asking for your permission.” His face darkened like a storm cloud. “Can you stop being so unreasonable?! I told you, I don’t have time tomorrow.” “If you want to host a wedding with no groom, go right ahead! You and your parents will be the only ones humiliated!” I clenched my fists and met his gaze head-on. “My wedding doesn’t need you.” He suddenly burst out laughing. “Chloe, besides me, who else would actually marry you?” Right as the words left his mouth, a massive crash echoed from the nursery down the hall. My heart seized. I sprinted to the nursery and pushed the door open. The stuffed animals that had been perfectly arranged in the display cabinet were scattered all over the floor. The tiny baby clothes my mother had hand-stitched were cut to shreds. And sitting on the custom crib my father had built with his own hands, was Lily. A shattered porcelain urn and gray ash were scattered around Evelyn’s feet. Evelyn blinked her tear-filled eyes, her face a perfect portrait of helplessness and fear. “I accidentally knocked this jar over.” Arthur rushed in, shoving me out of the doorway, and grabbed Evelyn’s hands. “Evelyn, are you hurt? Did you get cut?” Evelyn’s gaze drifted over Arthur’s shoulder, shooting me a provocative, victorious smirk. I knew it. She did it on purpose. But I still couldn’t control myself. I lunged forward and slapped her hard across the face. Evelyn clutched her red, swollen cheek, her voice trembling. “I’m so sorry… I just saw there was dust on the jar, and I wanted to help wipe it clean. I never thought I’d drop it… I really didn’t mean to…” Arthur grabbed my arm violently, trying to force me to bow my head to Evelyn. “Chloe! You’ve gone too far! Apologize right now!” “Arthur, that was our baby!” Two years ago, Arthur and I were expecting a child. The jar Evelyn shattered was my baby’s urn. Receiving a covert signal from Evelyn, Lily suddenly covered her ears and ran out of the room screaming. “Lily!” Evelyn immediately chased after her. Arthur’s face was livid. “Look what you’ve done! Since when do the dead matter more than the living?! Did you really have to hit her?!” I stared directly into his eyes, absolute disbelief crashing over me. “Arthur, you know exactly what this nursery means to me! That was your child! How could you…” “Chloe!” He cut me off sharply. “If you hadn’t bullied Lily at lunch today, would I have had to bring her here to calm her down?! I’m doing all of this to atone for your sins!” Just then, Evelyn’s loud sobs echoed from the living room. Arthur panicked instantly. He forcefully shoved my arm away and sprinted out of the room. Caught off guard, I was thrown to the floor. My forehead slammed against the hardwood, and my vision instantly went black. Suddenly, a memory from two years ago flooded my mind. It was a night with torrential rain. One frantic phone call from Evelyn was all it took for Arthur to abandon me, leaving me five-months pregnant and stranded on the side of a flooded highway. A drunk driver lost control and crashed his truck directly into me. That night, Arthur knelt beside my hospital bed, violently slapping his own face, begging for my forgiveness. “I’m sorry, I was wrong! I never thought an accident would happen.” “I just didn’t want to let David down… I never wanted to hurt you.” “Chloe, I failed you and our baby. Let’s just get married, and we can try again. Our baby will come back to us.” That time, I forgave him. But now, he was telling me our dead child didn’t matter as much as Evelyn and her daughter. “Chloe.” Arthur’s face suddenly magnified in front of my blurry vision. Just as I blinked, trying to figure out if this was a nightmare or reality, Lily’s voice chimed in. “See? I told you Auntie Chloe was just faking it.” Seeing that my eyes were open and clear, Arthur immediately stood up and shielded Lily behind his legs. It was as if he was terrified I would attack her again. Before I could even sit up, Evelyn rushed forward and dropped to her knees in front of me. “Breaking the urn was my fault! If you want to hit someone or curse someone, do it to me! Lily is innocent! She’s just a child, please don’t hurt her!” Arthur aggressively hauled Evelyn up from the floor, his face dark with rage. “Chloe, stop pushing it!” “First you assaulted her, and now you’re forcing her to her knees?! What the hell is wrong with you?!” “You’re the one in the wrong here! Apologize right now!” “I was wrong.” A cynical, exhausted smile crept onto my lips. I was blind. I was stupid. I chose the worst possible man, and I made my parents worry about me for years. “I’m sorry.” I was tired. I didn’t want to play this toxic game with them anymore. Arthur was visibly stunned. In all our arguments involving Evelyn, I had never once backed down. My sudden, flat apology made a bizarre wave of panic rise in his chest. His voice actually softened a fraction. “I’m not genuinely angry with you. Just don’t be so impulsive and resort to violence next time.” A flash of bitterness crossed Evelyn’s eyes. She tugged pitifully at Arthur’s shirt. “Arthur, since this room holds ashes, we shouldn’t stay here. I’m terrified Lily will have nightmares sleeping under this roof.” “Lily and I will just go back to our own apartment… I’m just so scared she’ll have another episode…”

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