Category: English

After building a business from scratch with my husband, watching him rise to success, he suddenly brought home a college student and demanded I give her an answer. “The girl’s pregnant, can’t wait. We have so much money now, someone has to inherit it.” I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. As I desperately refused to sign the divorce papers, a line of text abruptly appeared before my eyes: [Fool! The male lead is about to face catastrophic bankruptcy. If you don’t sign, you’ll be stuck with a hundred million in debt and thirty years in jail!] My hand, poised to tear the agreement, froze mid-air. 1 The hovering text continued: [The original wife in the book adamantly refused to divorce, thinking she could drag the scoundrel and his mistress down with her. But in the end, she dragged herself down instead.] [Alas, she didn’t know the male lead’s company was going to implode in just one month. By then, the male lead would secretly block off the truth, transfer assets, and flee with his true love to live happily ever after.] [And the original wife, because she didn’t divorce, perfectly inherited the massive debt and became the male lead’s scapegoat, spending thirty years stitching uniforms in prison.] [Poor original wife, she wouldn’t even divorce in prison. By the time she got out, the male lead’s grandson was in kindergarten, and she was left to die miserably in a dumpster…] […] These revelations jolted me awake. After thirty-two years of life, I realized I was merely a cannon fodder wife in a “feel-good” novel? And the male lead in the book, who rose from poverty to become a billionaire, marrying a sweet young wife and reaching the pinnacle of life, was none other than my husband, Xavier Blackwood. Seeing me frozen, Xavier frowned and urged, “Selina, I know you’ve always been strong-willed, and you’d never tolerate a three-person marriage. Don’t gamble your future away with spite. Just sign the papers, and let’s free each other.” Free each other? My heart seethed with resentment as I looked at Xavier. When I toiled with him for ten years, working day and night to build this business, drinking myself to stomach bleeding for deals, he never said he’d let me go because he feared my hardship. When my career ambitions delayed having children, enduring endless snubs and humiliations from his family, forced to undergo hundreds of IVF injections, he never said he felt for me and would let me go. Now, the company’s listed, the bell has rung, and he’s a billionaire CEO. He casually brings a young girl here, and with a breezy sentence, asks me to let him go. Why should I?! I was full of hate! Full of injustice! But thinking of the fate described in the comments, I couldn’t help but shiver. I couldn’t gamble my entire future. Pushing aside my anger, I smoothed out the divorce agreement in my hand and read it carefully. Xavier, however, had little patience. He sneered, “Don’t bother reading. You’ve been a housewife for three years, what could you possibly understand? After all these years, I won’t mistreat you. Sign the papers, and the house we live in is yours, the car you drive is yours, and the five hundred thousand dollars in your account is also yours. I won’t take a cent, consider it alimony. This way, after the divorce, you’ll be set for life.” 2 [No way! The family company is worth over a billion, and he’s only giving the original wife five hundred thousand?] [Exactly! That house was her parents’ dowry, and that car is ten years old, used by the housekeeper for groceries. The male lead is seriously being too stingy.] [This kind of person can be a male lead? I find him a bit disgusting.] [To the previous commenter, this is just a brainless male-oriented “feel-good” novel. Without the original wife as a stepping stone and cannon fodder, how else would they highlight the male lead’s decisiveness, ruthlessness, and cunning?] [Ruthless men thrive; it’s just a story, as long as it’s enjoyable, why moralize?] [Right? Who wants to keep a ‘haggard’ wife around after achieving success? Of course, he’d marry a young, charming wife. The male lead will even have more mistresses overseas later. If you don’t like it, just scroll past~] The comments section was in an uproar, and my heart grew colder, clearer. I no longer needed to verify if the comments were true or false. Xavier’s calculations, laid bare before me, were enough to explain everything. I picked up the pen from the table. Under two expectant gazes, I twirled it twice, then stopped, and spoke calmly: “I won’t sign. I don’t agree to the divorce.” At my words, Xavier and Ava White beside him instantly looked grim. The comments became even more frantic: [I told you, this original wife’s love-struck brain is beyond saving.] [She won’t divorce even after all this; I wasted my sympathy on her. She deserves to die miserably on the streets.] [This kind of clingy woman is the worst. If I were the male lead, I’d prefer the gentle and resilient little white flower like the female lead.] Xavier pondered for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice: “Selina, I know you still have feelings for me. But Ava is already pregnant; you have to take responsibility for the child, don’t you?” I found it laughable. I didn’t get her pregnant, why should I take responsibility? But before I could speak, Ava tugged at his sleeve, whimpering, “Xavier, I told you Selina wouldn’t let go easily. Even after you’ve given her so much, she’s still not satisfied.” Clutching Xavier’s hand, her eyes filled with heartache, she continued, “But… she’s just a housewife, enjoying life at home every day. She wouldn’t still want to shamelessly demand a share of the company, would she? Xavier, you know I don’t care about money. I just can’t help but feel for you… that’s your life’s work. She didn’t lift a finger, why should she get a share just by saying so?” With that, tears genuinely streamed down her face. It seemed that when it came to money, her emotions were quite real. But she was wrong. I, Selina, was never just a simple housewife. This company, from the day it was registered. Every single business segment was developed by Xavier and me from scratch. Before I left the workforce three years ago, my prestige within the company and my reputation in the industry were far greater than Xavier’s. In fact, if my mother-in-law hadn’t blackmailed me with threats of suicide, insisting I return home to focus on pregnancy, the company’s IPO wouldn’t have been delayed by two full years. But even during these three years at home. Whenever the company faced difficulties or crucial decisions, Xavier would still come to me to discuss solutions. Ava might not know this, but I refuse to believe Xavier was clueless. Ultimately, he simply felt that with the company listed, he finally dared to burn bridges. I scoffed, interrupting the two parasites still doting on each other. “Madam.” “First, don’t call me ‘Selina sis’. I don’t have a mistress for a sister.” “Second, you keep calling me a housewife with no contribution. May I ask what your profession is? And how much effort have you put into Blackwood Group?” “Don’t tell me your contribution is… keeping the chairman happy in bed? Well, that would indeed be a significant effort.” 3 My words instantly made Ava’s face flush, and she almost lost her balance. Xavier quickly steadied her, his expression grim. He shouted at me, “Selina, why are your thoughts so filthy now? Staying home too long has turned you into a shrew. Can you at least maintain some dignity? Ava is still a student, she’s sensitive and has strong self-esteem. Besides, she’s been interning at Blackwood for six months and has contributed quite a lot to the company.” Hearing him, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “Sensitive, so she seduces a married man to be his mistress at such a young age? Strong self-esteem, so she dares to get pregnant out of wedlock and force her way in?” Ava’s face had turned from red to pale, and her tears flowed even more profusely. “Why is Selina sis being so hurtful? Xavier and I are truly in love, it’s not as sordid as you make it sound! You were just lucky to meet Xavier ten years before me… You, a woman who revolves around men and the kitchen all day, simply don’t understand the storms and struggles Xavier and I went through to bravely defy worldly opinions and be together!” Xavier was deeply moved and immediately chimed in, “Selina, Ava is pure and innocent, not like those loose, materialistic women who try to climb the ladder. She’s a poor student I sponsored, and it wasn’t easy for her to make it out of the mountains. She interned at Blackwood to repay that kindness, not even asking for a penny in salary. Our relationship is clean and pure, untouched by worldly filth, not disgusting as you imagine!” Honestly. I was utterly stunned by their shamelessness. She’s pure and innocent. But after six months of internship, she’s five months pregnant. She didn’t ask for a penny in salary. But she’s wearing Chanel and carrying a limited edition Hermès bag. What a pristine, peerless snow lotus! The comments were no less scathing than my thoughts: [Holy crap, I’ve never seen anyone describe marital infidelity so fresh and pure before.] [I used to think the female lead was about mutual salvation between a sponsor and a poor student. Now, what is this garbage?] [You women don’t understand, men inherently have a hero complex for saving damsels in distress. He’s just following his true heart, valuing love above all else. Besides, he gave the original wife a car, house, and money, what more could she want?] [The previous commenter is beyond evaluation… Nothing more to say except, I wish them a happy ever after, like two peas in a pod.] I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, unwilling to look any further. Seeing my prolonged hesitation, Xavier completely lost patience. He said coldly, “Selina, to be frank, even if we don’t divorce, I’ll never touch you again. Clinging on is pointless. Just tell me, what will it take for you to agree to divorce?” I opened my eyes and looked at him mockingly: “Fine, since you two are so innocent. Whether the child in her belly appeared by telepathy or was placed there by an ancestral dream, I don’t care. If you want me to agree to divorce, the agreement must be redrafted by my lawyer. Otherwise, no deal!” 4 After saying all that. I opened the front door and showed them both out. Initially, I was furious, hateful, and unwilling to simply let them off easy. But now, I was completely clear-headed. This man, who was less than useless, wasn’t worth wasting my precious life on. After they left, I immediately asked my best friend to contact a renowned divorce lawyer. While waiting for the lawyer to arrive, I pulled out my notebook and repeatedly reviewed the company’s recent performance. I wanted to unravel the mystery puzzling me. Why would Blackwood Group, a company that had always developed steadily and had just gone public, face a sudden, catastrophic implosion? Just as I was drawing a blank, the comments reappeared: [The original wife shouldn’t bother with company accounts. That rotten company is a hot potato; whoever takes it on will regret it.] [Blackwood has been ruined by Xavier for three years. He secretly brought in all those relatives without the original wife knowing, and not one of them is any good. Colluding internally and externally, they’ve been siphoning off money like crazy. Blackwood is now hollowed out, merely a shell, and even the IPO was based on false accounts! Xavier himself doesn’t even realize it!] [Luckily, Xavier, in his attempt to sideline the original wife, quietly changed the legal representative to himself a year before the IPO. He even tricked the original wife into transferring her shares for him to hold in trust. As long as they divorce, she won’t be implicated at all.] So that’s how it was. After reading all this, my hatred for that scoundrel Xavier intensified a hundredfold. But a heavy burden was also lifted, at least partially. Thankfully, his machinations had inadvertently allowed me to escape disaster. A top-tier legal team came with top-tier fees, but it was well worth it. In just one afternoon and evening, the team, following my instructions, drafted a divorce plan most advantageous to me. The next morning. I placed the re-drafted divorce agreement, already signed, before Xavier. Ava picked up the agreement first. After just a few lines, she exclaimed, “Xavier, Selina sis is demanding all the villas, commercial properties, and cars under your name, plus a hundred million dollars in cash? She’s an old woman who can’t even lay an egg, how dare she ask for so much!” 5 Ava, overcome with anger, clutched her chest, gasping for air. Xavier, hearing this, was also furious. He looked at me mockingly and scoffed, “Selina, I never thought you were so greedy and materialistic. You used to always say you loved me for who I am, but it turns out it was just a pretense of purity; in the end, it’s all about money.” I didn’t hold back, retorting instantly: “You also always said you’d only love me for life, but didn’t you turn around and blow that off like a fart? If you two aren’t materialistic, then don’t fight me over it.” Stung, Xavier was left speechless with anger. Ava quickly helped him calm down. Then, she stared at me intently, saying, “Xavier, is Selina sis making these unreasonable demands because she doesn’t want to divorce you at all? It makes sense; women her age find it hard to remarry after divorce, and she’s just an idle housewife. Of course, she wouldn’t want to give up a top bachelor like you. But Selina sis, emotions can’t be forced. If you truly loved him, you’d know to let go, not drag Xavier through this agony with you…” I wasn’t angry at all; instead, I smiled, playing along with her words: “Yes, I don’t want to let go, I won’t give up, so you might as well abandon hope. If I don’t agree, your illegitimate child will forever be an outcast, and you will forever be a despised mistress!” Ava almost fainted from anger, collapsing into Xavier’s arms and wailing, “Xavier, she admitted it! She just wants money! You can’t let her get away with it so easily; why should she get so much just by opening her mouth? You’ll be left with nothing!” Xavier’s face was extremely grim. It seemed he felt the same as Ava, completely unwilling to sign the agreement. “Fine,” I said with a slight smile, nodding. I snatched the divorce papers, tore them in half, and tossed them into the air. “Since you think I’m getting a raw deal, then I won’t divorce.” Perhaps not expecting my sudden change of attitude. Xavier and Ava’s faces paled. They exchanged glances, looking even more anxious than before. “Selina, can’t we discuss this calmly? Why are you rushing?” I ignored him, continuing to smile: “I’m not rushing. Anyway, I don’t want a divorce, so if we can’t agree, then we won’t divorce. Actually, I think dragging it out is more satisfying. After your love child is born, I’ll go to Blackwood Group, to Ms. Ava’s school, and to Ms. Ava’s hometown village. I’ll put up posters, hang banners, and bring a row of influencers to live-stream your celebration. Let everyone see that the Blackwood family has an heir, and it’s from the pure and innocent Ms. Ava, conceived through telepathy!~” My words made even the surrounding lawyers chuckle. Ava was so mortified she couldn’t even lift her head. Xavier, finally provoked, couldn’t listen anymore. He suddenly roared, “Sign! I’ll sign!” With that, he snatched the divorce agreement from the lawyer’s hand and started flipping through it. He read faster and faster, his hand trembling more and more. He looked as if he might explode from rage on the spot. But I didn’t miss it: after reading all the property division clauses, the corners of his mouth twitched into an uncontrolled, slight smirk. Others might not know. But I knew he had fallen into my trap. 6 Xavier, having climbed the corporate ladder for so many years, quickly regained his composure. He hastily scanned the agreement, sighed, and in a negotiating tone, said to me, “Selina, we’ve been married for years. If you want everything of mine, I’ll give it. But this amount is too much; I can’t produce it from my account right away. Could we…” “No,” I interrupted before he could finish. “Not a single cent less, cash upfront, or no deal.” Xavier glanced at his lawyer, then frowned and explained to me, “The company recently invested in a large project, so cash flow is tight. My personal account doesn’t have much either, only a few tens of thousands, as you know. How about we sign the divorce first, and I’ll gradually raise the funds later?” [Original wife, don’t believe him. When the company collapses, he won’t just fail to pay up; he’ll even make you take the fall.] [He’s been guarding against you for a long time. That’s why he pays himself a salary of a hundred dollars a year, and all the actual money he earns is transferred to his mother’s account.] I scoffed coldly: “Xavier, don’t treat me like an idiot. With Blackwood Group’s market value, you know very well that what I’m asking for isn’t much. In fact, you could say I’m being very generous. I don’t want shares, only cash, simply because I want no further ties with you all. A hundred million to buy all my shares is a great deal for you. Blackwood just went public; if I were to fight you for company control now, the impact on the stock price would be far more than this.” Xavier fell silent. He had actually wavered just now. My original shares, if traded on the market, would definitely be worth more than a hundred million. So, when he saw the clause stating I wanted cash instead of company shares, he relaxed. This was also the trap I set for him. If I held onto those shares, they would become worthless paper and a death warrant when the company exploded next month. And if I demanded too much, Xavier would be reluctant to pay and would delay. A hundred million was my prediction for his psychological breaking point. This amount of cash flow was indeed substantial for him, but it wasn’t impossible to scrape together. Ava, seeing him waver, grew anxious and angry, repeatedly tugging at him, signaling disapproval. But I, too, had lost patience and rose to leave. “Since you’re not in a hurry to divorce, then let’s just leave it. I’m not in a hurry either. Oh, by the way, Xavier, I officially inform you that starting tomorrow, I will return to work at the company…” Having said that, I was already at the door, about to turn the doorknob, when a voice, gritted through teeth, suddenly came from behind me. “Fine, I agree.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395024”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

The maid’s daughter slapped her own face hard, then pointed a trembling finger at me, accusing me of hitting her. My two personal bodyguards immediately turned on me, their faces twisted with righteous anger. “Blair, so what if we didn’t stay to watch the stars with you last night?” “How dare you lay a hand on Phoebe?” “Exactly! Get on your knees and apologize to her right now, or we are done with you!” A cold laugh escaped my lips. These two bodyguards had been trained by my family since they were kids. They grew up alongside me. And now, they actually thought they ran this house? I stepped forward and delivered a vicious, backhanded slap across both of their faces. The sharp crack echoed through the massive foyer. “Since when do two stray dogs get to bare their fangs at their master?” I asked, my voice dripping with ice. “Arthur,” I called out without looking back. “Doesn’t our diamond mine in the blistering heat of the Australian Outback have a severe labor shortage?” “Pack these two blind, ungrateful mutts onto the next cargo plane and send them straight there.” Arthur, our silver-haired butler, broke into a wide, deeply satisfied smile. “Right away, Miss Blair!” The two bodyguards froze, touching their stinging cheeks. This… this wasn’t how the script was supposed to go. 1 Seeing Carter and Jaxon get slapped, Phoebe immediately threw herself in front of them, acting like a martyr. “Blair, it is fine if you want to hit me, but how could you strike them?” She let out a pathetic, breathy sob. “I know this is all my fault. I twisted my ankle last night. I never should have called them away…” Listening to Phoebe’s manipulative, sugary whining, my mind rapidly processed the plot of the world I had just awakened in. The original Blair was the sole heir to a multi-billion dollar corporate empire. Yet, she was written as a pathetic, cowardly doormat. Last night was her birthday. Carter and Jaxon had promised to take her camping in the wilderness to watch the meteor shower. But the moment the tent was pitched, the two brothers received a frantic call from Phoebe, the live-in maid’s daughter. Hearing that Phoebe had slightly twisted her ankle, the two men panicked. They jumped into the only SUV and sped off, abandoning the heiress in the middle of a pitch-black, freezing forest. Since Blair’s parents died in a tragic car accident, this was far from the first time they had ditched her for the maid’s daughter. They had promised to take Blair to a sold-out stadium concert. She waited at the gates clutching the VIP tickets until the stadium went dark. They never answered their phones. Later, she saw their social media posts. They had spent the entire day at Universal Studios, flanking Phoebe with wide smiles. The caption read: Spending a magical day with our little princess! Always keep smiling, Phoebe! The comments beneath were filled with sickeningly sweet inside jokes. Blair had stood in the empty, windswept plaza, freezing and entirely alone. When Blair and Phoebe both caught severe pneumonia last winter, the two bodyguards stayed by Phoebe’s hospital bed for seven days and seven nights. They never once checked on Blair. And last night, they left her completely stranded in a dangerous, howling wilderness. Terrified of the rustling shadows and wild animal cries, she had to call the estate butler to send a rescue team. By the time she made it back to the mansion, the sun was rising. She walked through the doors only to be met by the smug, triumphant face of the beloved heroine, Phoebe. Without a word, Phoebe slapped herself and started crying, perfectly framing Blair just as the bodyguards walked in. Which led to this exact moment. Carter and Jaxon were technically employees, but Blair had always treated them like family. She never spoke a harsh word to them. Now, her palm had left bright red welts on their jaws. They stared at me, their eyes wide with utter disbelief. “Blair, you actually hit us?” 2 Jaxon’s voice trembled with absolute fury. “All because we went to take care of Phoebe last night?” Carter’s eyes darkened, stepping forward aggressively. “It seems we have spoiled you too much, Blair. It has made you arrogant and utterly toxic!” Seeing the tension, Phoebe immediately dropped to her knees on the marble floor, her tears falling perfectly on cue. “It is all my fault! Blair, please! I know I do not deserve their attention. Please do not take your anger out on them…” Before anyone could stop her, she raised her hands and slapped her own cheeks, creating a loud, dramatic smacking sound. The two brothers looked like their hearts were being ripped out. They rushed to her sides, desperately grabbing her wrists. Carter pulled her into his chest, glaring at me. “Stop it, Phoebe! It is not your fault! Blair is just an entitled brat who thinks she owns the world.” “You are just too kind and pure,” Carter whispered, brushing a tear from her cheek. “That is why she always gets away with bullying you.” Jaxon turned to me, his jaw clenched so hard a vein popped in his neck. “Blair, get on your knees and apologize to Phoebe right now, or we will never speak to you again!” Phoebe’s eyes were red and swollen. She weakly tugged at their sleeves. “Jaxon, Carter, please do not ruin your relationship with Blair over me. It is my fault… I am just the daughter of a maid…” Jaxon shushed her gently, then shot me a look of pure venom. “Are you deaf, Blair? I said get on your knees!” Peeking out from Carter’s embrace, Phoebe shot me a fleeting, arrogant smirk. I looked at these two ungrateful parasites, and the rest of the novel’s plot flashed through my mind. In the original story, these two exact bodyguards teamed up with Blair’s adopted brother and her fiancé to murder her. The day after her wedding, the four men locked her in a pitch-black basement and tortured her to death. After she died, her fiancé inherited her billion-dollar empire as her widower and happily married Phoebe. The adopted brother and the bodyguards stood at the altar, smiling and clapping. A perfect happy ending. When I read that trash ending in my past life, I cursed the author for being a sociopath. And then I woke up in Blair’s body. Watching the two brothers continue to bark at me like rabid dogs, a dark, dangerous smile spread across my face. “Jaxon. Carter. You two are nothing but leeches.” “You eat my food. You live in my house. My family paid for your education and your clothes. And now, you want me, your employer, to kneel to a maid’s daughter?” 3 I turned my gaze to the silver-haired man standing quietly by the door. “Arthur. Back in the old days, what happened to disloyal servants who forgot who owned the house?” Arthur was a veteran of the estate. He had watched Blair grow up and had always secretly despised her tragic weakness. Hearing my cold, authoritative tone, his eyes lit up with a dangerous spark. His posture straightened instantly. “Miss Blair, a betrayal like this would normally result in them being beaten to a bloody pulp.” I let out a soft, regretful sigh. “Shame we live in modern times. I suppose a severe lesson in respect will have to do.” “Slap them. Do not stop until they finally remember their place.” A deeply satisfied grin stretched across Arthur’s weathered face. “With pleasure, Miss.” He had loathed these two arrogant brats for years. They constantly paraded around the estate, treating the actual staff like garbage, never showing him an ounce of respect. He had always wanted to put them in their place, but the old Blair would have just cried and forgiven them. Now, the true heiress was finally awake. Arthur raised his hand. Instantly, eight massive, heavily muscled security guards stepped out from the shadows. They grabbed Jaxon and Carter, pinning their arms behind their backs with bone-crushing force. “What are you doing?! Get your hands off us!” Jaxon thrashed wildly, but he could not move an inch. Carter glared at me, his eyes burning with defiance. “Blair! Have you lost your damn mind?! You wouldn’t dare touch us!” A sharp, explosive SMACK echoed through the room. Arthur stood directly in front of them, lowering his stinging palm. “You do not address the young miss by her first name,” Arthur said, his voice dropping to a lethal gravel. “You lack basic manners.” “Miss Blair was kind enough to treat you well, and you confused her grace for weakness. You forgot who the master is, and who the servant is.” Arthur stepped back and looked at the guards. “Hit them. Keep hitting them until they learn the rules of this house.” Smack! Smack! Smack! The heavy hands of the estate’s elite security detail swung without mercy. 4 These two had never experienced an ounce of physical discipline in their lives. At first, they were just stunned. Then, sheer humiliation and rage boiled over. “Blair, you are going to regret this! We will never forgive you!” “Ah! You psycho!” “Make them stop! When your brother gets home, he is going to destroy you for this!” Oh, Preston? The adopted charity case? I am the true bloodline of this family. I hold the keys to the empire. No matter how loud they cursed or struggled, it only earned them a harder, more brutal strike across the mouth. Soon, the pain finally broke through their massive egos. Their arrogant glares morphed into genuine, panicked terror. “Blair… please, stop…” “We won’t ask you to apologize anymore, okay? Just make them stop…” “Ah…” Seeing their faces swell with dark purple bruises and blood trickling from the corners of their mouths, Phoebe was entirely paralyzed with shock. This was completely wrong. Usually, Blair would be weeping right now, desperately trying to explain herself. She would be offering them expensive watches or cars just to make them smile again. But today, Blair was sitting in an armchair, watching them bleed with eyes as cold as dead winter. Panic seized Phoebe’s chest. She threw herself toward my feet, crying hysterically. “Miss Blair! Please! It is all my fault! Have mercy on them, please do not hit them anymore…” 5 Martha, the head maid and Phoebe’s mother, rushed out from the kitchen. Seeing the violence, she dropped to her knees beside her daughter, wailing. “Miss, please stop this madness! When the young master returns, he will be furious with you…” I ignored her crying. My eyes locked onto the glittering diamond bracelet wrapped around the maid’s wrist. That bracelet was worth ten million dollars. It was my late mother’s absolute favorite piece of jewelry. And now it was casually strapped to a servant’s wrist? It seems they really thought this mansion belonged to them. How fascinating. “Martha,” I said slowly, letting the silence command the room. “If my memory serves me right, that bracelet is my mother’s heirloom.” “I am just terribly curious. How did it end up on your arm?” “My father fought a ruthless bidding war at Sotheby’s to win that for her. It cost ten million dollars. The transaction records and certificates of authenticity are locked in the family vault. You certainly have expensive taste.” “What?” “Ten million?” The other maids and staff gathered in the hallway gasped, covering their mouths in shock. “Is Martha insane?” “Oh my god! She is a thief!” “How dare she steal something that expensive? It belonged to the late Madam!” Martha froze. All the color drained from her face. She had only stepped out to play the loyal servant and beg for mercy, never expecting the fire to instantly catch her own clothes. She desperately tried to pull her sleeve down over the diamonds, her eyes darting around in sheer terror. She slammed her forehead against the marble, sobbing wildly. “Miss… Miss, I am so sorry! I swear I did not know it was worth that much! I just borrowed it to feel pretty for one day.” “Please, considering how many years I have served you, please forgive me this one time!” “I swear I will never do it again!” I did not even blink at her. I turned my head to the butler. “Arthur. Take a team to Martha’s living quarters. Tear the place apart. Let us see what else she decided to ‘borrow’.” A sharp, vindictive glint flashed in Arthur’s eyes. He bowed deeply. “Right away, Miss! I always suspected this woman had sticky fingers, but in the past…” He let the sentence hang. In the past, the original Blair was so desperate for love and peace that she let the servants walk all over her. If Arthur had spoken up before, Blair would have just brushed it off and made him look like the bad guy. But seeing the new, ruthless fire in his employer’s eyes, Arthur felt his spine straighten with pride. 6 Arthur waved his hand. Two massive guards immediately stepped forward, ignoring Martha’s screeching. They pinned her to the floor, dragging her off to the side like a sack of garbage. Several other guards marched directly toward the servant quarters. Watching this unfold, Carter and Jaxon momentarily forgot the blinding pain in their faces. They stared at the scene, absolutely dumbfounded. Phoebe’s face turned the color of ash. She knew her mother regularly skimmed from the grocery budget and occasionally pawned off small, unnoticeable silver trinkets to buy her designer clothes. Phoebe had even encouraged it. But she had no idea her mother was stupid enough to steal a ten-million-dollar heirloom right after the owners died. And she never expected Blair to publicly execute them for it. “Blair! Please, no!” “My mom just made a stupid mistake!” “She has taken care of your family for years! Even if you do not respect her, she has poured her blood and sweat into this house!” Phoebe lunged forward, trying to grab my legs, but I kicked her away with the sharp point of my heel. “Trash,” I sneered, looking down at her crumpled form. “You think pouring some coffee and doing laundry gives her the right to steal a ten-million-dollar piece of my dead mother’s soul?” “And she raised a daughter who boldly frames the owner of the house to her face?” Footsteps echoed down the hall. The guards returned. They placed an exquisite velvet jewelry box on the coffee table, followed by a pile of limited-edition designer bags and silk garments. “Miss, Arthur. We found all of this hidden inside a false bottom in her closet trunk.” A guard popped the velvet box open. Inside sat several breathtaking pieces of fine jewelry and a vintage, one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe watch. Arthur picked up a heavy emerald necklace, his hands trembling with rage. His face turned an alarming shade of purple. “This… the Madam wore this all the time! And this watch was the late Master’s favorite collectible!” He glared down at Martha, his voice shaking with absolute disgust. “You vile, wretched woman!” “The Madam took pity on you. She allowed you to raise your daughter in this mansion, eating our food, living in luxury. And this is how you repay them? You are worse than a stray rat!” With the undeniable evidence displayed on the table, the entire room erupted. The other maids had hated Martha for years. After the parents died, Martha acted like she was the new lady of the house because her daughter was surrounded by wealthy men. She refused to do chores and treated the junior staff like slaves. Seeing her finally fall was sweeter than honey. 7 “My god! Look at how much she took!” “She is a complete sociopath. A leech!” “The Madam treated her like family. She treated Phoebe like her own niece, and this woman robs her grave?!” Martha collapsed completely, her eyes vacant and filled with doom. I glanced at the pile of stolen luxury goods. I sneered internally. The original Blair was so blindingly stupid to let these two manipulate her into an early grave. “Arthur, call the police.” My voice was dead calm and freezing cold. “Hand all the evidence to the detectives. Press maximum charges. I want her in a federal cell.” “No! Please, do not call the cops, Miss!” “I was wrong! I know I was wrong!” “Please… for the sake of all the years I spent brushing your hair and making your meals, spare me!” “I will give it all back to you! It is all right here, I swear there is nothing else!” Martha finally realized her life was over. She crawled toward me, smashing her forehead into the marble floor, leaving smears of blood. Phoebe was hyperventilating. If they called the cops, her mother would be a convicted felon! Phoebe’s reputation in high society would be permanently destroyed. She frantically joined her mother, slamming her head against the floor. “Blair, it is my fault! I never should have made you mad!” “Punish me! Beat me! Do whatever you want, but please do not call the police!” I stared down at them from my chair, my lips curling in disgust. “Do not call me by my first name. You are a maid’s daughter. Learn your place.” “Now you want to beg and bleed on my floor?” “Where was this regret when your mother was looting my dead parents’ bedroom? Where was this regret when you were smiling while setting me up to be attacked?” “It is too late.” “Arthur, drag them out to the driveway. They are staining my floors.” Arthur waved his hand. The guards grabbed the two women by their hair and clothes, dragging them toward the heavy oak doors. Martha shrieked like a slaughtered pig. A guard finally slapped her hard across the mouth, and the screaming stopped. Phoebe thrashed wildly, trying to grab onto her mother’s hand, but a guard yanked her back effortlessly. 8 Just as the chaos reached its peak, the front doors flew open, and a furious voice thundered through the hall. “Stop this right now!” I looked up. A young man in a sharp, bespoke Italian suit stormed into the foyer. His jaw was tight, his face dark with rage. It was Preston. The adopted son. My so-called brother. He was supposed to be at a critical corporate summit today. Clearly, someone had tipped him off, and he had abandoned his duties to rush back. The moment he stepped inside, he saw Martha being dragged by her hair, Jaxon and Carter kneeling with bloody, swollen faces, and the entire staff watching in silence. His eyes locked onto me, burning with hatred. “Blair! What the hell is going on here?!” He pointed a harsh finger at my face. “I leave for one morning, and you turn the house into a slaughterhouse?!” “It seems my leniency has turned you into a complete monster!” “Release Martha and Phoebe instantly!” The guards hesitated. They looked at Preston, then looked back at me, unsure of whose orders to follow. Seeing their savior arrive, Phoebe and the bodyguards felt a surge of hope. Phoebe sobbed dramatically. “Preston! Save us!” They immediately began wailing, twisting the story to make me look like a tyrant. “Release them?” I laughed out loud. The sound was sharp and mocking. “One is a thief who stole tens of millions of dollars from my parents. The other is a manipulative liar who tried to turn my own security against me.” “You want me to let them go? Who gave you the authority to make demands in my house?” Preston paused. He clearly hadn’t grasped the full situation yet. “What nonsense are you spewing?!” Arthur stepped forward smoothly, bowing his head but keeping his voice rock solid. “Sir, the young miss is telling the absolute truth. The evidence is right there.” “We found roughly twenty million dollars worth of the late Master and Madam’s personal jewelry and watches hidden inside a false floorboard in Martha’s closet.” “The young miss was simply handing them over to law enforcement.” Preston looked at the dazzling pile of jewels on the table. He looked at Martha’s deeply guilty, terrified eyes. His face twitched. He was at a loss for words, but his ego refused to let him back down. He glared at me, his tone shifting from angry to condescending. “Even… even if Martha made a mistake, we handle things internally! Do you have to destroy the family’s reputation by involving the police?” “Do you have no shame?” He then pointed fiercely at Carter and Jaxon. “And what about them? What crime did Carter and Jaxon commit?” “You humiliate your own personal protection detail like this? They are practically family!” “You are completely out of control!” “Out of control?” 9 The temperature in my eyes plummeted to absolute zero. “These two mutts eat my food and spend my money, yet their loyalty belongs entirely to a maid’s daughter.” “They tried to force me, the owner of this estate, to drop to my knees and apologize to a servant.” “Am I out of control? Or did they forget who holds their leash?” “You!” Preston’s chest heaved with rage. “If they told you to apologize, you should have just apologized!” “If you did not constantly bully Phoebe out of jealousy, they would not be forced to discipline you!” “If you were even half as sweet and understanding as Phoebe, none of this would be happening!” I stood up, walked directly up to him, and slapped him across the face with everything I had. CRACK! The explosive sound silenced the entire mansion. “Preston, do not forget exactly what you are!” “I am the eldest daughter of this family. I am the sole legal heir to the empire.” “You are just a stray dog my parents took pity on and brought inside!” “They gave you a life of luxury, an elite education, and a respected name. They did not raise you so you could bite the hand that feeds you and disrespect their only actual child!” “This house belongs to my bloodline!” “It is not your place to teach me anything!” Every word I spoke struck like lightning. The entire room was paralyzed with shock. Preston stood frozen, his hand hovering over his stinging cheek. His face turned a sickly pale green. Anger, profound humiliation, and the deep, buried terror of having his adopted status thrown in his face collided in his eyes. His biggest insecurity was that he wasn’t related by blood. The old Blair was so desperate for family that she never, ever brought it up. She worshipped him. But today, I ripped off his mask and beat him with it. “You… you…” His finger trembled as he pointed at me. He couldn’t form a coherent sentence. After a long, suffocating silence, he gnashed his teeth together. “Fine. Perfect.” His eyes filled with a dark, venomous threat. “I am the CEO of the corporation now. Since you want to play this game, do not even think about setting foot inside the company headquarters ever again!” I actually paused. Did I hear that right? Did the author of this trash novel lack basic legal knowledge? Ban me from the company? I calmly pulled out my phone, opening the digital copies of the share transfer agreements and my father’s iron-clad will. I shoved the glowing screen inches from his face. “Preston, open your dog eyes and read.” “I am the sole inheritor. I hold the absolute majority of the voting shares.” “Stripping you of your title takes exactly one phone call from me.” “You are going to ban me from my own company?” “Are you mentally deficient, or am I?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395041”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

At my son’s hundred-day celebration, I fed him a spoonful of peanut butter. My entire family lunged at me as if I’d lost my mind. My mother-in-law knocked the bowl from my hands, snatched the baby, and shrieked, “You vicious woman! Don’t you know you can’t feed a baby something like that? This is your own son!” My husband shoved me away, his eyes red-rimmed. “I give you my entire salary. I tell you where I am at all times. Isn’t that enough? This is the son you almost died to save! How can you be so cruel as to use him to get at me?” As the baby started to wail, I watched them with cold eyes. “What’s the rush? Isn’t he severely allergic to peanuts?” My mother-in-law’s fury instantly morphed into terror. 1. It wasn’t until the baby’s cries turned his skin a blotchy red and a rash broke out across his tiny body that my mother-in-law finally seemed to relax. She then rushed him to the hospital. The party was over. Our son was immediately taken to the ICU. While we waited, my mother-in-law slapped me across the face. “Willow Kail! You knew he was allergic to peanut butter, and you fed it to him anyway! Are you trying to poison him?” she spat, her teeth clenched. “What kind of mother are you? He’s just a baby! Don’t you know how many children die from anaphylactic shock? This is attempted murder!” My husband, Hamilton, stepped between us, his fists clenched. “Mom, don’t blame Willow,” he said, his voice strained. “She just got out of her postpartum confinement. Postpartum depression is common. It’s my fault. I didn’t make her feel secure enough.” My own mother jabbed a finger at my forehead. “What’s gotten into you since you had the baby? You’re so paranoid. I know Hamilton hurt you in the past, but he’s a changed man. He’s trying to build a life with you. What more do you want? This is your child. How could you hurt him?” My cheek stung, but I remained silent through their barrage of accusations. When the doctor finally came out, I rushed to him. “Doctor, was it an allergic reaction?” He nodded. “Yes, the child had a severe reaction. You parents need to be more careful. A few more minutes and he could have gone into shock.” Ignoring the last part of his sentence, I grabbed his arm. “Have you identified the specific allergen? Was it the peanut butter?” The doctor gave me a strange look. “We won’t know the specific trigger that quickly. Besides, it’s normal for infants to have allergies. You just need to be vigilant.” My heart sank. My mother-in-law shoved me aside. “Are you still fixated on the damn peanut butter?” she screamed. “Willow, are you trying to tear our family apart?” “I have a severe peanut allergy,” I said, my face a cold mask. “It’s genetic. I was just testing to see if he inherited it.” My casual tone sent my in-laws into a rage. They lunged at me, but Hamilton held them back. He looked at me with pained eyes. “Willow, you’re not well. Tomorrow, I’m taking you to see a doctor.” My mother, convinced I was possessed, nodded in agreement. 2. When our son was released from the ICU, he was ravenous, his cries piercing the sterile hospital air. He was a picky baby. He refused all formula, accepting only breast milk. I heard his cries but didn’t move. I had no intention of feeding him. My mother-in-law was frantic. She brought the baby to me, her earlier aggression replaced by a desperate plea. “Willow, I’m not angry with you anymore. Please, just feed him. Look at him, he can barely breathe from crying so hard.” The rash had faded slightly, but his skin was still flushed. My expression flickered. Just as my mother-in-law’s face lit up with hope, a cruel smile touched my lips, and I shoved them both. The baby nearly flew from her arms, but she held on tight, stumbling to the ground. Even my own mother was horrified. “Willow! He’s just a baby! What if he’d gotten hurt? Have you lost your mind? His crying is breaking my heart! Feed him!” “No!” I said. Hamilton’s eyes were red with unshed tears. He dropped to his knees. “Willow, is this because I was looking at Amelia’s photo yesterday? It’s my fault. Blame me. But our son is innocent. He’s so little, and he’s starving. I’m begging you, please feed him. When we get home, I’ll get rid of all of Amelia’s things. I promise.” My mother started hitting my arm. “Amelia has been gone for so long! It’s time to let it go! Why are you so hung up on a dead woman?” Hamilton’s sobs caught in his throat. He let out a bitter laugh. “Yes, Amelia is dead! Willow, you already drove her to her death. I’m begging you, please don’t do the same to our son!” I drove Amelia to her death? A cold, mocking laugh escaped me. I thought back to a year ago. I had just found out I was pregnant. Overjoyed, I cut my business trip short, eager to surprise Hamilton. I walked into our home to find him tangled up on the sofa with his adopted sister, Amelia. My arrival interrupted them. Hamilton looked horrified, trying to stammer out an explanation. Amelia just held him tighter, her eyes full of defiance. I fell apart. I ran home, sobbing. The scandal was huge. The Kails weren’t titans of industry, but they were well-known. The news that the heir was sleeping with his adopted sister would have ruined their reputation. My father-in-law was furious. He sent Amelia abroad that same night. My mother-in-law and Hamilton came to my parents’ house to apologize, transferring two properties into my name as a show of good faith. Hamilton gave me all his savings and swore that things with Amelia hadn’t gone “all the way.” My parents, soft-hearted as ever, forgave him. For the sake of my unborn child, I decided to give him one last chance. A few months later, we heard Amelia had died in a car accident overseas. Hamilton seemed unfazed, merely arranging for her funeral to be handled. I thought it was all behind us. But now, he was blaming her death on me. 3. The commotion had drawn a crowd. Onlookers whispered and pointed, judging the mother who could be so heartless. Someone filmed Hamilton on his knees, begging me, and the video went viral almost instantly. I stood up, my voice firm. “Hamilton, save your performance for someone else. I’m not falling for it again. I told you then, that was your last chance. You blew it. I want a divorce. And I don’t want the child.” Hamilton grabbed my arm, his face a mask of disbelief. “No, I won’t agree to a divorce! What did I do wrong? Is it because I was upset that you fed him peanut butter? I just didn’t want you to hurt him! If he had died, you would have been the one in pain!” “Willow, you have postpartum depression. I’ll help you through this. Please, don’t talk about divorce. Our son needs you. Can’t you hear him crying for his mommy?” “Enough!” I cut him off. “I said, divorce. I’m giving up the child. Do whatever you want with him.” My mother-in-law’s face was contorted with hatred. “Fine, Hamilton, give her the divorce! What kind of mother can listen to her child cry like that and do nothing? If you stay with her, I’m afraid she’ll strangle him in his sleep! She acts like the baby is her mortal enemy!” My mother, heartbroken over her grandson, looked at me with disappointment. “Willow, you need to look forward. Don’t you remember when you were in that car accident right before you gave birth? Hamilton rushed you to the hospital. He never left your side. He took care of you with a devotion that put me to shame. He loves you so much. Don’t do this.” But my mind was made up. I took one last look at the baby, my voice hoarse. “No. I am getting a divorce. Just… just pretend I never had a child.” I walked away, the sound of their curses following me down the hall. I moved into one of the properties they’d given me. The empty living room seemed to echo with the baby’s cries. I covered my ears and finally let myself sob. When I had calmed down, I sent a text message. “Did you find it?” “Yes. It’s almost certain. The results are… not what I expected.” 4. I had been gone for a few days, my phone constantly buzzing with missed calls and messages. Hamilton’s friends and family were either cursing me out or trying to mediate, urging me to go back to him for the sake of the child. Hamilton, in a grand romantic gesture, gathered a crowd and lit thousands of sparklers outside my apartment building, declaring his undying love. I didn’t even go to the window. Someone filmed it, of course. Hamilton’s “devotion” went viral. The hospital video resurfaced, and public opinion turned viciously against me. I was branded a heartless monster, an unfit mother who had nearly killed her own son. My personal information was leaked, and I was inundated with harassing calls. Exhausted and overwhelmed, I finally answered a call from Hamilton. He told me the baby was sick. He begged me to come see him. I agreed. When I arrived at the hospital, a mob was already waiting outside the room. “That’s her? The one who almost killed her own son? She looks normal, but she’s pure evil.” “Why do good men always end up with horrible women?” “That poor baby. His own mother is tormenting him.” I ignored their venomous whispers and walked into the room. The entire Kail clan was there, along with my parents. Hamilton’s secretary and his personal assistant were there, too. The assistant, a man named Mr. Chen, glared at me. “Mrs. Kail, how can you be so cold? Mr. Kail has been running himself ragged between the office and the hospital, taking care of the baby. You’re his mother! How can you be so cruel?” Hamilton did look thinner, his face drawn and exhausted. My mother-in-law sneered, “I thought you were really going to abandon your own son.” “I have,” I said, my eyes downcast. “I just came to see if he was dead yet.” My words shocked everyone into silence. My own parents looked ready to strike me. The mousy secretary, a woman named Ms. Yao, clutched the baby tighter. “Mrs. Kail, you are so ungrateful,” she said, her voice trembling with indignation. “You have a loving husband and a beautiful child. This is the life most women dream of. How can you be so heartless as to wish your own son dead?” Her voice was loud, carrying out into the hallway. The mob surged into the room, pointing and shouting, a few trying to grab my hair. My parents, despite their anger, shielded me, lamenting their failure as parents and demanding I apologize. My defiant silence only fueled their rage. Hamilton gave a broken, weary smile. “Willow, your depression is getting worse. Why else would you say such a terrible thing about your own son?” I laughed, a cold, sharp sound. “Hamilton, stop acting. Is he really the son I nearly died to give birth to?” Hamilton froze. “Of course he is,” he said, his voice strained. “He’s been with me or my mother since the moment he was born. No one could have switched him. If you don’t believe me, we can do a paternity test.” “No need.” I threw a manila envelope onto the table, my gaze sweeping over the room. “I’ve already had one done. Everything in this file will explain why I had to leave my husband and my child.” Hamilton and his mother stared at the envelope, a flicker of panic in their eyes.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395025”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

1 My wife, Victoria, brought her young assistant into our bed. When I caught them, she just pulled up the comforter and stared at me with bored eyes. “Toby doesn’t want your spot. Why are you so suffocating?” After ten years, I swallowed my anger, wrote a hefty check, and sent him away. Less than a minute later, my phone buzzed. My father’s emergency heart surgery was halted by the hospital board. All my accounts were frozen. In a panic, I rushed to find a specialist and raced to the hospital, only to see the underground parking lot barricaded by roaring supercars. Victoria leaned against a sleek Lamborghini. “Ryan, you love throwing money at problems. Why not pay to move these cars?” I glared at her, nails nearly piercing my palms. “You became CEO because my father gave you his patents. Is this how you repay him?” She melted into Toby’s arms and laughed softly. “One million per car. Better start counting, honey.” Tracing his chest, she added, “Hurry, or our dad might die on the table.” My jaw clenched. I typed a message I’d sworn never to use: [Chief Defense Scientist compromised. Priority Alpha life in danger. Requesting immediate tactical extraction.] … I hit send. I shared my GPS coordinates. Then I looked back at Victoria. “All this because I sent him away?” She shrank against Toby, letting him wrap his arms around her waist. Her eyes were wide, playing the perfect victim. “Honey, I already told you. You can just pay to move them…” It was at least a thirty-minute drive to the nearest available hospital. Every second we stood here was draining the last drops of life from my father. His heart condition was incredibly rare. There were exactly two surgeons in the entire country qualified to perform this procedure. Victoria had already bought off the first one. Now, she was trapping the second one here with me, treating a dying man’s life like a party game for her new toy. I took a step forward, my voice shaking with fury. “Victoria, you froze my assets yourself. You know damn well I don’t have a single cent on me right now. You are deliberately murdering my father.” The moment the words left my mouth, her circle of rich, spoiled friends erupted into laughter. “Forget a million bucks. I bet this loser couldn’t even scrape together cab fare right now.” “That’s what he gets for messing with Toby. The boss lady protects her own.” Amidst the grating laughter, Toby flashed me a triumphant smirk. He laced his fingers with Victoria’s. She raised their joined hands high into the air, a public declaration of absolute ownership. Looking at them pressed together, a wave of sheer absurdity washed over me. Years ago, when she held my hands in a quiet church and made her vows, I never could have imagined this. I never thought the passionate, sincere woman I married would push my father to the brink of death just to protect her cheating mistake. I ground my teeth together so hard I heard a pop in my jaw. The surgeon standing next to me reached into his pocket, pulling out a black card to bail me out. But before he could even swipe it, two of Victoria’s private security guards slammed him against a concrete pillar, wrestled him to the ground, and pinned him against the hood of a car. My phone vibrated violently. It was the ICU. “Mr. Reynolds, where is the surgeon? His vitals are dropping! He isn’t going to make it!” My Adam’s apple bobbed. I stared at the exit ramp. The only man who could save my father was pinned down. A wall of multi-million dollar metal blocked every possible path. Without moving those cars, leaving was a physical impossibility. The call dropped. Victoria’s voice floated over, dripping with synthetic sweetness. “Like I said, honey. One million per car.” My entire body trembled. The knuckles gripping my phone turned bone white. But they had the numbers, and fighting them barehanded would only get me locked up while my father bled out. The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth. I slowly raised my hands and unfastened my cufflinks. During our first year of a startup, we were crammed into a tiny, drafty apartment. She had cried and promised that once she took over the Sinclair empire, she would give me the best the world had to offer. She kept that promise, but her soul had rotted along the way. I threw the cufflinks on the concrete. Next, I unclasped my watch. The Sinclair family built their fortune on luxury timepieces. This was a family heirloom. On the night before our wedding, she had kneeled in her family’s private chapel until dawn to convince her grandfather to give it to me. It was only because of that gesture that her snobby relatives stopped treating me like trash. Finally, I twisted the wedding band off my finger and hurled it directly at her feet. It hit the pavement with a sharp clink. “Is this enough?!” Victoria looked down at the glittering metal scattered near her designer heels. Something flickered in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak. But before she could form a word, Toby let out a soft snicker. He looked at me, feigning perfect innocence and surprise. “Ryan, man… I think you got scammed. These are all fakes.” Toby slowly rolled up his tailored sleeves and unfastened his own cufflinks. Then he took off his watch. The designs were exactly the same as the ones I had just thrown into the dirt. But the weight, the blinding clarity of the diamonds, the flawless polish. The difference was night and day. He met my gaze, offering a sickeningly sweet smile. “Victoria gave them to me last week. Said they were one of a kind.” My pupils dilated. I snapped my head toward Victoria. She pressed her lips together tightly, staring at the ground, refusing to meet my eyes. It felt like a cold hand had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart until it bruised. I took a ragged breath, forcing down the suffocating pressure in my lungs. My voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. “Victoria. Everything you made me wear… it was all fake?” She finally looked up. Her gaze slid over my face, dismissive and soft. “Toby is young. He likes shiny things. What is the big deal if you just let him have this one win?” Let him have this win. Those words floated in the air, light and effortless, like she was pacifying a toddler throwing a tantrum. Toby’s lips curled upward. He leaned into her shoulder, his tone dripping with fake empathy. “Come on, Victoria. Ryan meant well. Let us just pretend his little trinkets are the real deal. Move three cars for him.” Engines roared. Three sports cars at the outer edge slowly backed up. But the gap they left was barely wide enough for a stray dog to squeeze through, let alone a vehicle. Victoria looked back at me. Her brow furrowed slightly, as if she was actually struggling with a moral dilemma. Then she spoke, her tone coaxing. “Ryan, if you just get on your knees and give Toby a proper apology… I will call this whole thing off.” I looked into her eyes and suddenly wanted to laugh. On our wedding day, she refused to let me kneel even to her own parents. Now, she wanted me on my knees on filthy concrete, bowing to the boy who destroyed our marriage. She seemed to catch the sheer disgust radiating from me. Her eyes lingered on my reddened rims, and she hesitated. My phone vibrated again. A text message illuminated the screen. [Mr. Reynolds, you have ten minutes! He is crashing!] Below the text was a photo. My father, tangled in a web of plastic tubes. The surgical sheets beneath him were soaked in dark, thick crimson. The world tilted. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision. I opened my mouth, ready to swallow my pride and drop to my knees, but Toby gently tugged at Victoria’s sleeve. His eyes locked onto the silver guardian pendant resting against my collarbone. His eyes crinkled into a smile, playing the merciful saint. “If Ryan does not want to kneel, we can just keep bartering. I think that silver necklace looks pretty cool. How about we trade that for a few more cars?” My hand shot up defensively, wrapping around the cold metal of the locket. My mother gave this to me. Years ago, during a catastrophic flash flood in our town, I was locked inside a basement classroom. She came back for me. She was swept away by the raging water trying to pry the door open. Before the current took her, she managed to slip this locket through the crack beneath the door. She was exhausted, bruised, and dying. Her lips mouthed two words before the water pulled her under. “Stay alive.” My knuckles turned white holding it. Thinking of my father bleeding out on the operating table, the pressure in my skull became unbearable. I lifted my head and stared dead into Victoria’s eyes. “Victoria. You really think I should use this to pay him?” Her eyes dropped to the silver locket. Her pupils shrank. She knew exactly what this piece of metal meant to me. She knew the nightmares that still woke me up in cold sweats. Toby glanced at it, feigning ignorance. He leaned in and pressed his lips against her ear, whispering something so quietly I could not catch the words. Whatever trace of hesitation Victoria had vanished in an instant. She stopped looking at me. She reached out, grabbed the thin silver chain, and yanked it with brutal force. The metal bit into the back of my neck, slicing the skin. A sharp sting flared. The guardian pendant, now smeared with a drop of my own blood, dangled from her fingers. She tossed it to Toby without a second thought. He caught it, tossing it lightly in his palm, a victorious smirk playing on his lips. He slipped it into his designer pocket and stared at me, pure malice shining in his eyes. Victoria finally met my gaze. Her voice was barely a whisper, yet it felt like shards of ice. “Ryan, your mother refused to foster him when he was a kid. She left him in that trailer park to be beaten by his stepfather for years. Your family owes him this.” My mother had volunteered at a low-income school district years ago. She had mentioned a boy named Toby who was incredibly attached to her. Looking at Victoria’s cold, righteous face, the puzzle pieces finally snapped together. Toby was that boy. But the truth was, my mother had begged social services to let her take him in. It was Toby himself who lied to the police, crying that he loved his parents and didn’t want to leave. I was so blinded by the sheer audacity of the lie that I almost laughed. Before I could correct her, Toby stepped closer, his face twisted in a mask of “concern.” He leaned in, bringing his mouth just inches from my ear. His voice dropped to a venomous whisper meant only for me. “Ryan, aren’t you curious how Victoria knows all this? I whispered it to her. Piece by piece. When we were tangled up in bed.” “You have no idea how good it feels. Telling her these tragic little stories… and watching her look at me with so much pity while she rides me.” I whipped my head around, glaring at him with pure murder. He flinched, genuinely startled by the raw hatred in my eyes. But he didn’t back away. His smirk widened, his voice dropping even lower. “Oh, by the way. You should thank your wife for protecting me. Because the person who locked you in that basement while the water rose… that was me.” “And watching your mother cry and beg me to find the key… God, she looked like a pathetic wet dog.” My mother’s death had been a chain around my neck for over a decade. Victoria knew this better than anyone on earth. No wonder every time I hired private investigators to look into the “accident” with the locked door, they hit brick walls. No wonder evidence kept disappearing. They had been sleeping together for years, covering his tracks. The last thread of sanity holding my mind together snapped cleanly in two. I swung. My fist connected squarely with his jaw. The impact sent him flying backward. He slammed hard against the hood of a Ferrari with a sickening thud. He wiped the corner of his mouth, staring at the bright red smear on his hand, completely silent. Victoria shrieked. She threw herself in front of him, shielding his body with hers, turning to look at me with a gaze full of blazing hatred. Before she could scream, my phone rang. It was the surgeon. His voice was frantic, distorted by panic. “Mr. Reynolds! Your father is in hypovolemic shock! If I do not have a blade in my hand in three minutes, he is dead! Where the hell are you?!” The extraction team. They still weren’t here. The ground seemed to vanish beneath my feet. I was falling into a black, bottomless pit. I clamped my jaw shut, slowly bending my knees toward the concrete where Toby stood. “Victoria. I will apologize. I will kneel. I will do whatever you want. I am begging you…” A soft chuckle cut me off. Toby laced his fingers through Victoria’s. He tilted his head, looking down at me with casual cruelty. “Victoria, if Ryan is that desperate, let’s let him earn his way out.” His eyes dragged up and down my body, a predatory glint in his gaze. “After all, he doesn’t have any valuables left to trade.” Victoria turned her face, gently rubbing her nose against his cheek, her eyes soft and full of affection. When she looked back at me, all the warmth was gone. “Honey. I think you know exactly what you need to do.” I stared at her. Every syllable felt like chewing glass. “You want me to strip?” Victoria said nothing. She just played with Toby’s fingers, a faint, cruel smile lingering on her lips. Humiliation, rage, utter despair. A toxic cocktail exploded in my chest. I closed my eyes and drew in a long, ragged breath. When I opened them again, the fire was gone. There was only dead ash left. I raised my trembling hands and unbuttoned the top of my shirt. Victoria’s calm facade shattered. She surged forward, grabbing my wrist and slamming her fist against my chest. “Ryan! Why can’t you just lower your head to me for once?!” Thinking of my father dying on that cold metal table, my heart turned to absolute ice. I pushed her away. I moved to the second button. “Is this enough?” Victoria’s face darkened completely. The mask of the loving wife dissolved into pure malice. She stared at me, her voice dripping with venomous sweetness that made my blood run cold. “Alright. Since you are feeling so generous, let us go all the way. Take it all off. Strip bare, right here, and I will make every single car disappear. Deal?” I looked at the woman I used to love. There was nothing left but a stranger. I glanced at my phone. Thirty minutes had passed since my distress signal. Still nothing. I couldn’t wait another second. I ground my teeth together. “You keep your word.” I gripped the fabric of my shirt and ripped it open. Buttons tore loose, clattering against the concrete floor. Toby stood beside her, his eyes raking over my exposed skin. He leaned in and bit her earlobe playfully. “Victoria, tell me the truth. Who has the better body? Him or me?” The leering, judgmental eyes of her friends felt like razors carving into my flesh. The autumn wind bit at my skin, but the sheer, crushing shame was tearing my soul apart. I clenched my fists, took a deep breath, and reached for the buckle of my belt.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395042”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

To take a shortcut, my boyfriend Tommy gunned the engine and steered us into a tunnel not marked on any map. We’d been driving for over thirty minutes now, but there was still no end in sight. My face was pale. I could have sworn the distance between the two mountains was less than half a mile. How could we drive for thirty minutes and still be inside? 1 Tommy was stunned. “I’m pushing seventy-five, Jenna. Even in the city, that would get you across town in no time. I’ve never seen a tunnel this long.” “Maybe there are a lot of turns?” I wondered aloud. “Impossible. I’ve been driving straight the whole time. Haven’t turned the wheel once.” I quickly checked our GPS. The little blue dot on my phone hadn’t moved at all. We had no signal in the tunnel; it was stuck at our position right before we entered. I zoomed in on the map with two fingers. Even though the tunnel itself wasn’t marked, the satellite view showed the distance between the two mountains was clearly just over 700 yards. But we’d been driving for half an hour, and the darkness ahead was still absolute. If Tommy hadn’t said something, I would have thought I was just groggy from a nap. Tommy’s hands were trembling on the steering wheel. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” he said, his voice tight, “but in all this time, we haven’t seen a single other car. It’s just been us.” His words sent a chill down my spine. He was right. “That can’t be right,” I said, trying to rationalize it. “The national park is right up ahead. Even if this tunnel is a bit remote, someone else must have used it.” But one look at Tommy’s panicked expression told me he wasn’t joking. “Should we turn back?” I suggested. Even if there’s no exit ahead, we should at least be able to go back the way we came, right? I tried to reassure myself. Tommy immediately spun the car around. The tunnel was pitch black, our headlights only cutting through about thirty feet of the oppressive darkness. We drove for another hour. Still no sign of the entrance. “This is impossible,” Tommy stammered. “I know we were only driving for about thirty minutes before we turned around. How can this be?” “But we’ve been driving back for almost an hour now!” I cried out. Just then, the car’s AI assistant chimed in. “Battery level critical. Please find a charging station soon.” The battery was about to die. We couldn’t even see a sliver of light, let alone a way out. Beads of sweat rolled down Tommy’s forehead. “Jenna, what do we do? It’s like the entrance… it just vanished!” I was about to try and calm him down when a blinding light appeared in the distance. Headlights. There was someone else in here with us! 2 I told Tommy to pull over immediately. I had him stay in the driver’s seat with the door ajar, ready to floor it if we needed to. I’d get out and see who it was. The car approaching us slowed, its window rolling down just a crack. A pair of wide, anxious eyes appeared in the gap. She looked young. Seeing that I was a woman, she seemed to relax a little and rolled the window down further, though still only a third of the way. “Hey, do you know where the exit is?” she asked, her voice shaky. “I’ve been driving for half an hour and haven’t seen anything. This tunnel is insanely long.” So, another lost soul. My hopes sank. I shook my head. “We’re looking for it, too.” After talking for a bit, I learned her name was Hailey, a recent college grad who had also taken the tunnel as a shortcut. I called Tommy over. When Hailey heard we’d been driving back and forth for nearly an hour and a half, her jaw dropped. “You mean you’ve been driving for almost two hours, in both directions, and you haven’t seen an exit or an entrance?” She looked even more terrified than we were. “Check your phone,” I said, my voice weary. “Do you have a signal?” She fumbled for her phone. The top of her screen showed two crossed-out bars. No signal. “What are we going to do?” she whispered. Just as despair started to set in, I remembered something. “Wait, I read a clickbait article once… it said that in an emergency, you can still call 911 even without a signal.” “Quick, try it!” Hailey urged. I quickly dialed. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not reachable at this time. Please try again later.” How was that possible? Maybe the lines were busy? I told them both to try calling 911 as well. But no matter whose phone we used, or how long we waited between calls, the result was the same robotic voice. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not reachable at this time…” “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not reachable at this time…” Hailey threw her phone down in a panic. “That’s impossible! My cousin is a cop. He told me that even if the lines are busy, an emergency call gets rerouted to the nearest available dispatcher. It’s impossible for no one to pick up!” Things were getting stranger and stranger. I instinctively grabbed Tommy’s hand. He pulled me into a hug, whispering softly. “Don’t be scared. I’m here.” Hailey rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Now is not the time for PDA.” I offered her an apologetic smile. “Driving is getting us nowhere,” I suggested. “Why don’t we try walking? See if we can find a side path or something. It’s better than burning through what little power we have left.” I tried to push the weirdness of the phone calls out of my mind. Maybe the signal was just completely dead, and the article was wrong. We turned on our phone flashlights and started walking back the way we’d come. We hadn’t gone more than a few steps when my foot landed on something soft and crinkly. “Hold on, I think I stepped on something.” I pointed my light at the ground. A second later, a wave of pins and needles shot up my leg. Lying on the ground was a crushed soda can. Tommy looked confused. “It’s just a Coke can. What’s wrong?” I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. “This can… I threw it out of the car.” “But I remember exactly when I threw it out. It was right at the entrance to the tunnel. The moment we drove in.” 3 A bizarre silence hung in the air. Hailey forced a laugh. “Haha… maybe… maybe the wind blew it in here? I mean, it’s pretty light, right?” Tommy was quiet for a moment. “You’re probably just misremembering, Jenna. Let’s focus on finding a way out. Don’t scare yourself.” My mind went blank for a second. Maybe he was right. I get carsick, and I’d been drifting in and out of sleep the whole way. It was possible I was confused. I followed them numbly, but the feeling of wrongness wouldn’t go away. No, I was sure of it. I distinctly remembered tossing that can at the tunnel entrance. I even took a picture of the view. My eyes widened. The picture! I scrambled to open my phone’s photo gallery. And there it was. A picture of the scenery outside the car window, my hand clearly in the frame, dropping the can. It was taken right at the mouth of the tunnel. I was about to show them when Hailey let out a gasp of excitement. “Hey, look! Is that a phone on the wall?” I looked up. Sure enough, mounted on the tunnel wall was a green emergency telephone, the kind you see in every tunnel. Tommy let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank god. We should be able to get help now.” He hurried me over to the phone. After two rings, someone picked up. It actually worked? Tommy, stumbling over his words, explained that we were trapped. The voice on the other end was calm. “Okay, sir. Please turn on your flashlights and keep them on. Stay where you are.” “Do not, under any circumstances, wander off. Our personnel are on their way.” Hearing this, Hailey’s tense expression finally relaxed. She grabbed the phone. “Well, hurry up! What kind of messed up tunnel is this? We’re completely lost! I’m going to file a complaint when I get out of here!” “Our apologies, ma’am,” the voice replied smoothly. “This tunnel has been decommissioned. We’re sending someone immediately.” After he hung up, both Tommy and Hailey were smiling with relief. Tommy pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and offered it to me. “Hungry? Have a bite.” Hailey winked at me. “There they go again with the PDA. You’re lucky to have such a great boyfriend, girl.” I managed a weak smile, but my mind was stuck on what the operator had said. A strange, unsettling feeling was creeping back in. Something wasn’t right. But what… “Do you think that guy on the phone could have been lying to us?” I whispered. Tommy looked surprised. “Why would he lie? Stop overthinking. Let’s think about what we’re going to eat when we get out. BBQ or hot pot, what do you think?” Hailey was bouncing around, waving her flashlight. “Yeah, Jenna, don’t worry about it! What would anyone get from lying to us? We don’t have any money.” But I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread. About fifteen minutes later, a man in an orange work uniform appeared in the distance, waving a flashlight. “Sorry about the trouble! This old tunnel has all sorts of problems. Please, follow me.” Behind him was a tow truck. Everything looked so normal. As his light washed over my face, something clicked in my brain. It was like a flash of lightning. I finally realized what was wrong. If the tunnel was decommissioned, why would it have staff? There would be no one working here. “Run!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395026”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

After the big finale, my villainous husband was crushed by the hero and went bankrupt. My husband, heartbroken, walked to the rooftop to commit suicide. I grabbed him by the back of his collar, yanked him back like a chick, and he landed with a thud. “Don’t die. I’ll earn money to support you.” My strength was too much; I slammed him onto the ground. His head buzzed. “Aside from swiping cards at luxury stores, have you done anything serious all these years? How are you going to earn money?” My husband married me because once at a banquet, he took the wrong medication. We were caught in a compromising situation. For so many years, there was no affection, only cold, hard cash transactions. The coldness warmed my heart, and I decided to pull him out of this. I picked up my fish-killing knife, returning to my old profession. “Once those annoying people are ‘dealt with,’ and they stop making trouble, won’t you be able to earn money?” The big villain: ? Who’s the villain here? 01 At the end of the story, the big villain was about to jump off a building. No, not from when I just stopped him. Now his head was about to crack open, ending his villainous life. My husband, Sterling Vance, stood up, brushing dust from his shoulders. “Stop with these jokes.” “My life is already over.” I looked at Sterling’s despondent face and patted his shoulder heavily. “Husband, you still have me. I can gut fish; at least it’s a living. You won’t go hungry.” “Gut fish?!” Sterling looked at himself, then at me. The wind on the rooftop made both of us a bit disheveled. He reached out to touch my forehead. “Do you have a fever? One fish at most earns ten dollars, and I owe a mountain of debt. Don’t be so naive.” “Oh, and let’s get a divorce first, then I’ll jump. That way, these debts won’t fall on you, and you’ll even get some insurance money.” He pulled me, ready to go file for divorce. I forcefully covered his mouth and dragged him downstairs for dinner. “Why so much talk? The food will get cold if we wait any longer.” Sterling looked at me as if I had just escaped from a mental institution. But he wasn’t as strong as me, so he could only be dragged down to eat. Once I, the fishmonger, clean up the hero and heroine, won’t the big villain be able to earn money? Simple! 02 I forcibly brought him back from the rooftop to our rented apartment. This apartment was rented by me after selling off my old luxury bags. Now Sterling couldn’t earn a penny; he relied entirely on me. Actually, I had quite a bit of money in my bank account, but I couldn’t explain it to Sterling. I could only make do for now. I rummaged through drawers and cupboards, pulling out my fish-killing knife. It had been too long since I’d practiced my old trade. The knife wasn’t sharp anymore, so I found a whetstone and polished it until it gleamed. Sterling was utterly shocked. “I’ve seen your file. Before you married me, you were an orphan with a fish stall. Are you going to support me by selling fish?” Ah, we’d been married for so many years, yet we were strangers to this extent. Sterling was looking at my superficial resume. An orphan from a welfare home became a fish stall owner. This was the best way to hide my identity. No family, no attachments, just cold-blooded fish gutting. The light in Sterling’s eyes dimmed again. “Take a break. The last time you made fish soup, you couldn’t even fillet the fish properly… You can’t sell fish like that. No one will buy it.” I earnestly held up the fish-killing knife and explained to him. “No, I don’t earn money by selling fish. I earn money by gutting fish.” 03 A fish’s third spinal vertebra is the most fragile, and so is a person’s. I’m an orphan, and that’s what I learned since childhood. Master Lin, with ten years of experience, has an excellent reputation. With a swift stroke of the knife, clean and precise, never a botched job. “Alright, tell me, which fish first?” Sterling showed a strange expression. “Do you have to choose a fish?” If he wouldn’t choose, I would. I raised the fish-killing knife and brought it down heavily on the cutting board. “Then let’s start with Andrew Chen.” The hero, Andrew Chen, was like a direct contrast to Sterling. Now Sterling was so down and out, while Andrew was on his way to becoming a billionaire. He was the main driver of Sterling’s bankruptcy, and he hadn’t stopped his suppression and humiliation even after Sterling went broke. That’s why Sterling couldn’t find any decent job, and could only go to construction sites every day to move bricks. Sterling’s eyes widened, full of disbelief. “What did you say?! What are you going to… kill?!” I paused. Sterling’s heart couldn’t take any more shock. I smiled at him. “Just kidding. Tomorrow, I’ll go back to my fish stall and start gutting fish again. We’ll spend the money we earn.” 04 Sterling buried his head, utterly despondent and lost. “Don’t comfort me. How many fish can you gut in a day? I’m still burdened with endless debts… I’ll only drag you down.” “Let’s get a divorce. You can find someone else to buy you bags, alright?” Sterling wasn’t wrong. After marrying him, I spent most of my time at luxury counters. I used to be too busy! After retirement, I started my revenge spending! But the person in front of me was too dejected; I felt a pang of pity. Sterling was clearly a golden boy, a man who commanded the commercial empire. Now he was being suppressed to a dead end. What Sterling didn’t know was that we both lived in a book. After marrying Sterling, I used his card to buy too many bags at once, and accidentally hit my head while moving them. I awakened. It turned out Sterling was the big villain in this book, and I, the fishmonger, was a nobody, a mere extra. No matter how much Sterling struggled, he was destined for failure. He couldn’t win; the more he fought, the more he’d be pushed back. This was the villain’s fate. I hugged Sterling tightly. “Losing isn’t your fault. I’ll help you flip this table.” Sterling’s eyes widened. “Huh?” “By gutting fish?” Is this right? 05 Of course, it’s right. I don’t just gut fish the usual way. I set up my fish stall again. In our line of work, you don’t just kill; someone also needs to clean up the scene. There’s a complete process. When I set up my stall, they knew I was back in business, and organized people would contact me to place orders. I was worried that Sterling would jump off the building again if he stayed home alone, so I forcibly brought him along to the stall with me. As soon as he arrived, he inevitably reverted to his business world analysis. “Your stall is in the most inconspicuous spot in the market, and your prices are so expensive. Who on earth would come here to buy fish?” I sat on my small stool, looking perfectly composed. “You don’t understand. Those who understand will naturally buy.” Sterling was now penniless and desperate. Aside from his good physique and handsome face, he had nothing else, yet standing there, he even attracted a few customers for me. However, these people all left as soon as I told them one fish cost a hundred thousand. “A three-pound carp costs fifty at other places, and you want to sell it for a hundred thousand?” Sterling tugged at my sleeve, again looking at me as if I was a mental patient. “Do you want to earn money or not? Customers want to buy, why don’t you just sell to them?” Sterling’s gaze at me was overly strange. There were fewer than ten fish on the stall, and I wasn’t at all anxious to sell them. I grunted a few words. “They’re buying because of your good looks. If I sold to them, wouldn’t that be like selling you? Don’t worry, I have my own plan.” Sure enough, Sterling stopped talking. I finally waited for the person I was expecting: black hat, black mask, fully armed, wanting just one fish. “One fish.” My hand went up, then down, chopping off the fish’s head and handing it to him. “Here, a hundred thousand dollars.” The person opposite quickly scanned the code, paid the money, and left with the plastic bag. Sterling was stunned. “You didn’t even fillet the fish for him, just chopped off the head and sold it for so much money? Isn’t this robbery?” He didn’t understand the rules of our trade. A hundred thousand dollars for one fish was very cheap. I also had to bear the risk, and the organization had to provide people to clean up the aftermath for me. This was just a “friendship price” for making a comeback. In the past, I wouldn’t sell this fish for anything less than a million. “One willing buyer, one willing seller. Honest trade, excellent reputation.” “Didn’t I tell you selling fish is very profitable?” Sterling: …The world had turned fantastical. 06 After making a hundred thousand dollars, I treated Sterling to an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet that evening. In the past, Sterling would never have set foot in a smoky joint like this. But now, he was devouring the food ravenously, long gone was the image of the refined gentleman he once was. The grilled meat in front of me was piled into a small mountain, all grilled by Sterling. “Eat slowly, we have money now.” Sterling, full and satisfied, felt a pang of guilt and buried his head. “I wasn’t that good to you either. You should leave now.” I picked up a piece of meat and put it on his plate. “Eat. Why talk about all this? I’ve swiped so much of your money; when disaster strikes, I can’t just fly away alone, can I?” Sterling: “Don’t say that. That money didn’t mean much to me then, but now I don’t have a penny.” Sterling had hit rock bottom; everyone had left his side, leaving only me, the wife he had haphazardly married. A big villain, after all, has no friends. If I weren’t just an extra in the book, I might have been influenced by the plot and left him too. But. Before I met Sterling, I had just completed an extremely dangerous mission. The target was a powerful and influential figure with many bodyguards. I watched the man slowly fall before me, then swiftly ran to the hotel where the banquet was being held. After they realized what happened, they all chased after me. I was anxious to avoid them but was pulled into a hotel room by Sterling, who had been drugged with an aphrodisiac. To evade pursuit, I was also somewhat lust-struck. I almost instantly accepted this setup. Barely halfway through my stumbled retreat. Audrey Shaw and Andrew Chen entered the room with a group of people. Sterling had been set up, and so had I, who happened to need to hide my identity. At the time, his marrying me might have had an element of spite. So many people witnessed us, and Audrey publicly accused him, then consequently broke off their engagement. Sterling: “If you don’t mind, I can marry you, but we won’t be like a normal married couple.” I nodded furiously. My last mission had been extremely dangerous, and I desperately needed a legal identity to hide me. Wasn’t this a pillow arriving just as I felt sleepy? “Thank you, husband!” Sterling: …“Don’t call me husband.” “Thank you, boss!” 07 After the marriage, Sterling continued to battle with the hero and heroine, while I spent my retirement enjoying his card privileges. Even though I was a wife he married without affection, inexplicably, he never insulted or bullied me; instead, he gave me money to spend. He was practically my benefactor. Now that my benefactor was in trouble, I had to step in. When Sterling first went bankrupt, Andrew Chen immediately ordered a complete shutdown of his businesses and even threatened to break his legs. He wanted to make it impossible for Sterling to even do simple labor. I dealt with the people who came to break his legs. Andrew Chen also sent various thugs, gangsters, and kidnappers, big and small, trying to completely eliminate Sterling, but I quietly handled them all. However, I couldn’t prevent his downfall. Andrew Chen always found ways to humiliate Sterling. Every time Sterling went out to earn money, he would be suppressed. I thought the key lay with the hero and heroine. As long as they kept suppressing Sterling, Sterling would never be able to rise again. Don’t worry, soon there will be no annoying people left. I casually offered a few words of comfort to Sterling. “You’re very handsome, be more confident! Look how many people are looking at you!” “Actually, if you became a male model, you could probably earn a lot of money, but I wouldn’t want you to.” “Ah, it looks like I’ll have to return to my old trade.” Sterling’s ears turned red all the way to his neck. “Then maybe I should just die.” Die, die, die. Such inauspicious talk. Sterling used to be very confident; now he had none left. The person in front of me still had that broad shoulders and narrow waist, with an authoritative face, but his eyes were lifeless. I tried to persuade him. “The bad guys aren’t dead yet. If you die, wouldn’t you be losing out? Better to live badly than die well. Maybe one day you’ll bounce back and your luck will turn.” Sterling: “Andrew Chen can’t die. He said he’s the favored child of destiny… All the methods I used before never worked.” I sighed. “What if something unexpected happens to him? Can you still return to the capital market?” Sterling’s expression also changed. “Then I should still be able to find an opportunity.” Sterling paused. “If I can rise again, I’ll definitely give you a better life.” “I know this sounds like an empty promise. Autumn, I apologize for my actions in our marriage before.” I thought for a long time. What did Sterling do that wronged me? It dawned on me that he was probably referring to his coldness in the marriage. He took on the role of husband but didn’t fulfill spousal responsibilities. But this was something we had agreed upon before; I hadn’t taken it seriously at all. “Huh? No, our marriage was fine.” His authoritative face still needed to stand at the top, dressed in a suit, stirring up the capital market. That’s when he’s handsome! Sterling inadvertently blushed. “Thank you.” Walking home from the barbecue restaurant, he held my hand the entire way. Sterling’s fingers were long and slender, clasped with mine as he led me home. His ear tips were slightly red. An old married couple, yet acting surprisingly innocent. 08 The organization made contact; it was still the same organization. I had retired after finishing that last mission, marrying Sterling to hide my identity. It was a perfect retreat from the underworld. Now that I was back, they were all surprised. Not only was I back, but I had sold a fish. A successful sale meant a successful order. “W: Didn’t you say you married a rich man and retired? Why are you back?” “A: Which unlucky soul is about to suffer?” “A: Are you really back for good? Can you please kill that fake heiress for me first? I can’t stand her, oh my god, what a manipulative drama queen, playing dead.” It took me a tremendous effort to retire, and now I was back in the fray, stirring up trouble again. I made up my mind: once I dealt with the hero and heroine, I would agree to divorce Sterling. As long as he wasn’t affected by the plot, he had a great life ahead of him. The group chat was full of exclamations, wondering who was so foolish as to provoke me, the bringer of doom. My fish-gutting technique was unique, and I worked swiftly. Now the knife was sharpened, all that was left was to strike. Tonight, Audrey Shaw and Andrew Chen would be at a banquet. That evening, I heated up a glass of milk for Sterling, adding a sleeping pill. I would leave after he fell asleep. From a professional standpoint, I didn’t want to bring him along for the job. We had a strict procedure for these things; an extra person meant an extra risk. From a personal standpoint, I didn’t want Sterling to see the hero and heroine again. Every time he met them, he had bad luck. He had the villain’s constitution; if I didn’t protect him, he would have lost limbs long ago. “I can’t drink any more. I ate too much tonight.” Tonight was not a peaceful night. “Drink it~ I went to all this trouble to make you milk. I even treated you to dinner; you can’t even agree to such a simple request?” I rarely acted coy, giving Sterling goosebumps. “Okay, I’ll drink it.” Sterling drank the milk under my watchful eye, then lay down in bed and fell asleep. I changed my clothes, grabbed my knife, and went out. Unbeknownst to me, Sterling quietly opened his eyes. He went out too.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395043”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

When my wealthy parents finally found me, the backstabbing family drama I’d braced myself for never happened. Instead, both the real and the fake heiress were married off in strategic alliances. But after the wedding, despite being in perfect health, I couldn’t get pregnant. Meanwhile, Ivy, the one diagnosed with a condition that made conception nearly impossible, quickly gave birth to a daughter with her husband, a man known to have his own fertility issues. Outside the delivery room, my private doctor mistook me for Ivy and tried to comfort me. “Everyone has their own fate,” he said gently. “Your sister has a strong constitution, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope for you.” I forced a smile and corrected him. The doctor’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Then how is it you’re still not…?” His unfinished question was a dagger to my heart. I became convinced I wasn’t trying hard enough. I went home and threw myself into a punishing regimen of diet and exercise. I even took Ivy’s recommendation and started IVF treatments. I had just gotten off the operating table, the pain so intense I could barely stand, when I received a text. Ivy, whose first pregnancy had been called a medical miracle, was pregnant with her second child. 1. I stared at my phone, frozen. Envy and indignation washed over me like a tidal wave. For some reason, my mind flashed back to the day I was brought home. I stood in the lavish villa in my grey, threadbare clothes, a ghost at the feast. Ivy, dressed in an exquisite designer dress, showed no hostility. Instead, she took my hand. “Sister,” she said warmly, “we’re a family now.” My parents, their faces etched with guilt, sat me down. “Noelle, we are so sorry. We promise we will make it up to you.” “We’ve arranged marriages for both you and Ivy. Take a look and see which family you’d prefer.” Compared to a lifetime of working-class struggle, what was a corporate marriage? I agreed without a second thought. A few days later, our medical results came back. The doctor’s expression was grim. “Ms. Noelle Prescott is in excellent physical health, very active. However, Ms. Ivy Prescott, you have a condition that will make getting pregnant extremely difficult.” That night, Ivy came to me alone. “Sister, the Crestmont family is incredibly powerful, but their heir, Donovan, has low sperm motility. You’d be miserable if you married him,” she said, her voice full of concern. “But since I have my own fertility issues, if I marry him and can’t conceive, no one can blame anyone.” I was deeply moved. It seemed so unfair to her. She just smiled softly. “I’ve lived your life in the Prescott family for twenty years. I’ve enjoyed everything that should have been yours. This is the least I can do.” My parents urged me to agree. “Noelle, listen to Ivy. The Crestmonts are a complicated family. You should marry into the Ashworth family. Our families are social equals; we know them well.” At that moment, I felt like my life of hardship was finally over. I had a family and a good marriage waiting for me. I had no idea it was the beginning of a nightmare. Nathaniel Ashworth was truly good to me. He was a steady, kind man who deferred to all my wishes. But after a year of marriage, my womb remained empty. In these circles, producing an heir is everything. The already tense atmosphere in our home exploded the day we heard Ivy was pregnant. My mother-in-law, who had once been so warm, grew colder by the day. “We married a hen that can’t even lay an egg,” she would mutter. “I should have had my son marry Ivy. At least she could have given me a grandchild…” I was furious and hurt. Nate always stood up for me. “Mom, Noelle is doing everything she can. It’s not her fault we haven’t conceived yet. These things take time.” His mother shot me a venomous glare. “How can I not be anxious? Look at the Crestmonts! They used to look down on Ivy, and now that she’s pregnant, they treat her like a queen. Everyone says she’s blessed with good fortune. And then there’s our family…” I gave up every food I loved. I worked out, regulated my sleep, living with a discipline that felt archaic in the 21st century. I was so paranoid I stopped using my favorite skincare products, terrified some chemical would affect my chances. Nate and I went to the doctor countless times. The reports always came back the same: we were both perfectly healthy. No one could explain why I couldn’t get pregnant. My thoughts snapped back to the present. I tucked my medical file into my bag, ready to go home, when a voice stopped me. “Sister! Are you here to see me?” 2. I looked up. Ivy was standing there in a loose maternity dress, one hand cradling her belly, the other held tightly by her husband, Donovan Crestmont. This was the same Donovan who used to be so cold and arrogant toward her. Now, his eyes were full of adoration. “Slow down,” he murmured. “Don’t rush. What if you trip?” Ivy smiled and patted his hand. “It’s fine. I’m not that fragile.” She turned to me, her eyes filled with manufactured concern. “Sister, what are you doing at the hospital? Another check-up?” I hid the IVF report behind my back, my voice flat. “Yes. Just finished.” Just then, my parents emerged from a nearby consultation room. The smiles on their faces froze for a second when they saw me, then they immediately turned their fawning attention to Ivy. “Ivy, you’re carrying your second child now. You have to be careful with everything.” Donovan immediately chimed in, his tone respectful. “Don’t worry, Mom, Dad. I’ll take good care of her. She’s the hero of our family.” Ever since Ivy had given Donovan, the man with fertility problems, a daughter, her status in the Crestmont family had soared. Donovan’s mother was constantly bragging to her friends that Ivy had a “golden womb” and was sure to give them a boy this time. Our own family had secured several major business deals thanks to her marriage. My parents, who once felt a sliver of guilt toward me, now orbited Ivy like she was the sun. My mother held Ivy’s hand, beaming with pride. “Our Ivy is so blessed. She’s the pride of the Prescott family.” Then, she turned to me, her voice cooling several degrees. “Noelle, how were your results? Still nothing?” A knot formed in my stomach. I clutched my file tighter. “No.” My mother’s brow furrowed in disgust. “You’re so healthy, how can you not get pregnant? Are you even trying?” My father sighed. “Noelle, don’t be so stubborn. You need to take this seriously. The Ashworths are waiting for a grandchild.” Ivy quickly stepped in to smooth things over, taking my arm. “By the way, sister, did you try that special herbal remedy I gave you? It’s supposed to be very helpful for conception.” The mention of that remedy made my blood boil. “I tried it,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “It didn’t work.” Not only did it not work, it made my face break out in angry acne. I touched my cheek, where the inflammation seemed to be flaring up again. A flicker of something unreadable crossed Ivy’s face before she feigned surprise. “How could that be? It worked wonders for me. It really stabilized my pregnancy.” I wasn’t in the mood for small talk and made an excuse to leave. I walked aimlessly until I found myself in front of the maternity ward’s nursery. I stopped, staring at the tiny, perfect babies, my heart aching with envy. I had always loved children. I thought they were the most precious things in the world. And now, I couldn’t even have one of my own. “What do you think you’re doing?” A shrill voice cut through my thoughts. A woman in a hospital gown stormed over, shoved me, and glared at me with feral eyes. “Who are you? Are you trying to steal my baby?” 3. Stumbling from the push, I rushed to explain. “You’ve misunderstood. I’m just a patient here for a check-up. The babies are so cute, I was just looking.” The woman clutched her baby tighter, her expression still hostile. “A patient? How do I know you’re not lying? What if you have some contagious disease? What if you infect my child?” “I don’t!” I cried, my voice trembling. “You don’t? Then show me your medical file!” she demanded, lunging for the papers in my hand. I instinctively hid the file behind my back. The words “IVF Report” felt like a brand, a mark of my failure that I didn’t want anyone to see. Especially not now, not when I was already so humiliated. But the more I resisted, the more certain she became. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” she sneered, then lunged again, snatching the report from my grasp. She scanned it quickly, then yelled to the gathering crowd. “Everyone, look! This woman is doing fertility treatments! She can’t have her own kids, so she’s trying to steal mine! She’s a monster!” A sea of eyes turned on me. Curiosity, disdain, a few with pity—each glance was a needle pricking my skin. I clenched my fists, my voice dropping to an icy calm. “That’s a ridiculous accusation. If I wanted a child that badly, I could adopt. Why would I need to steal yours?” Just then, Ivy and my parents arrived. Ivy, cradling her belly, took in the scene. A calculating look flashed in her eyes. She rushed to the woman’s side, placing a gentle hand on her arm. “Ma’am, please don’t be angry. My sister just can’t get pregnant, and she’s very distressed. She saw how lovely your baby is and couldn’t help but look. She didn’t mean any harm.” The woman shot me a contemptuous look. “Look at her face, covered in zits. She’s clearly twisted and full of resentment. A person like that couldn’t raise a child even if she could have one! Who knows what she was really planning?” I was shaking with rage, about to tear into her, when my mother grabbed my arm. “Noelle, you were in the wrong first,” she hissed, her voice laced with impatience. “Stop making a scene and embarrassing us.” I stared at my mother in disbelief. I had been insulted and falsely accused for doing nothing more than looking at a baby, and my own family was telling me I was the problem. Ivy patted my back. “Sister, Mom is just looking out for you. Don’t let it get to you. She’s not worth it.” I looked at my parents’ cold, indifferent faces, at the judging eyes of the strangers around me. All my anger and hurt evaporated, replaced by a crushing sense of powerlessness. I bit my lip, forcing back the tears, and walked away without another word. As I turned a corner down the hall, I heard a familiar voice. It was the new mother. She was standing with her husband. “Honey,” he said, “I don’t think that woman meant any harm. Was it really necessary to go after her like that?” The woman hesitated before confessing. “It… it was another pregnant woman, a Mrs. Prescott. She paid me to do it. Said she’d give me good money if I cooperated.” “I was just thinking about how hard you work,” she mumbled. “I thought it would be easy money for diapers and formula.” Her husband was stunned. “But… aren’t they family? Why would she do that?” The woman shook her head and pulled him away, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Keep your voice down! It’s easy money, who cares?” I felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. I stood frozen, the world tilting on its axis. Ivy… why would you do this?

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395027”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Seven years into my marriage, the day I finally discovered I was pregnant, I went to the airport myself to pick up my husband, who had been away for three years. I waited four hours at the airport for Julian Goldsberry, but he didn’t appear. Instead, the girl he kept outside did. “Are you Julian Goldsberry’s secretary? No need to wait, your Mr. Goldsberry was exhausted last night and is still catching up on sleep abroad. Just drop me at the usual place.” I acknowledged her as an assistant, handed her my phone, and watched as she typed in the address of a thirty-million-dollar villa in the suburbs. All the way, she leaned back in the leather seat, playing voice messages from her best friend aloud. “Who says being pretty is useless? Was spending forty thousand on plastic surgery and breast implants worth it? I’ve totally got Mr. Goldsberry wrapped around my finger!” “He not only gave me three fully paid apartments downtown and a Lamborghini, but most importantly, he’s sending me to New York for grad school when I graduate!” “He even promised that if I get pregnant, he’ll give me even more!” Facing her best friend’s skepticism, the girl pouted, looking smug: “The devoted husband persona is all fake, of course. His wife at home is nothing special either.” Suddenly, her phone camera pointed at my face. “See, someone like this, working for Julian Goldsberry, old and faded, probably no one would want her even if she tried to climb into bed, right?” Then the girl nudged my shoulder. “Hey, wouldn’t you say so?” 1. I nodded, agreeing with her words. Then my gaze slowly fell upon her face. The girl’s name was Maya Vance, very young, in her early twenties. She was exquisitely doll-like; the forty thousand dollars had indeed been well spent. She continued talking to her best friend, her voice completely unhidden, “Don’t forget, we’ve known each other for three years!” “Besides, doesn’t Julian Goldsberry like highly educated women? His wife is doing a master’s-doctorate program, right? When he came to our school to give a lecture, he stared at me the whole time, wasn’t it also because I was an outstanding student representative?” Listening to the sweetness in her words, my fingers, gripping the steering wheel, tightened slightly. Just then, Julian Goldsberry called Maya. “You’ve landed? Why didn’t you communicate with me before you left?” To my surprise, Julian Goldsberry’s tone was as if he were talking to a subordinate, his business-like manner showing no hint of being on the phone with his mistress. Less than a minute after the call ended, my phone vibrated again. This time, it was mine. Julian Goldsberry’s voice came through my Bluetooth headset, syrupy, as if he were a different person. “Sweetheart, I have an impromptu meeting today, really can’t make it back.” “Are you home yet? Have you eaten? How’s your appetite lately? I’ll stew you some soup when I get back…” But just ten minutes ago, another girl’s bragging voice still echoed in my ears. “You haven’t seen him in bed! He’s completely different from his usual cold, aloof self!” A wave of nausea suddenly surged in my stomach. It wasn’t morning sickness, but a disgust that churned from the depths of my being. I removed my headset and took a deep breath. Then, Maya held her phone up to me; the screen showed Julian Goldsberry’s chat window. “Miss, your Mr. Goldsberry told you to take my luggage inside. Did you hear?” I said nothing, turned off the engine, and got out of the car. I admit, it was my curiosity at play; I also wanted to see their love nest. The moment I pushed open the door, a youthful vibrancy washed over me. Everywhere I looked was pink. The sofa was piled high with plush toys, and every cabinet displayed action figures. I instinctively looked for Julian Goldsberry’s traces—there were none of his favorite green plants. Nor his beloved wine cabinet or cigar wall. I inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. The painful truth was, I could only rely on finding these seemingly insignificant pieces of evidence he didn’t care about, to barely maintain the illusion that he still loved me. Maya casually tossed her discarded jacket at her feet. “Nice, isn’t it? It’s all decorated in my favorite style.” I clearly saw the necklace above her V-neck, my lips trembling slightly. “That necklace…” Hearing this, Maya leaned closer. “Your boss is quite generous, isn’t he? This is his birthday gift to me. I heard it’s really hard to order.” When Julian Goldsberry gave me mine, he said it was a limited edition, and he only managed to get one. Now, staring at that identical necklace, I suddenly couldn’t tell who between Maya and me was the secondary one. As I turned, my peripheral vision caught the entryway. A huge sticky note was plastered on the wall, stinging my pupils. It was Maya’s class schedule, with several key classes circled in red pen. Beside it were the exam times, precise down to the minute. Julian Goldsberry’s friends always teased him about being a “dad-type” husband. His memo app stored my dietary restrictions, the refrigerator had notes of my monthly check-up times, and he even helped me organize my family members’ medicine boxes. I always thought that was his instinctive love. Turns out, it was just a hobby. Not tired enough being a dad at home, he had to raise another one outside. “Do you want some?” Maya tore open a bag of local jerky. “I just love this beef jerky! The school cafeteria food is so bad, and your Mr. Goldsberry found out, so every Sunday night he has his housekeeper make these snacks and pack them for me.” She took a bite. “I wonder if his wife knows about it.” I stared at the beef jerky in her hand, my nails digging into my palm. Of course not. I even thought Julian Goldsberry liked it, and sometimes I would help the housekeeper cook it. “Miss Vance, do you know that Mr. Goldsberry and his wife have been together for seven years?” “Yes, I know.” Maya blinked, looking innocent. “What does that matter? I don’t want to marry him anyway.” “He gives me money and resources, I make him happy. We both get what we want, you know?” She leaned closer to me. “And think about it, his wife is just a frumpy housewife at home, dealing with daily chores. What passion can a man have when he comes home? I’m different. I’m young and pretty. It’s so much more respectable to bring me out.” She suddenly became excited as she spoke: “A while ago, I accompanied Mr. Goldsberry to a wine tasting, a very high-end one.” “Do you know why he brought me and not his wife?” I looked at her, not taking the bait. “Of course, it’s because I’m presentable.” She tossed her hair. “You probably don’t know what Mr. Goldsberry’s phone wallpaper is, do you? It’s me!” “But his lock screen is his wife, tsk tsk.” “So, men, they’re all good-for-nothing. They want face outside and stability at home.” I lowered my eyes, suddenly feeling a bit ironic. “Alright, you can go upstairs.” Maya waved her hand. “I’ll handle the luggage myself. Thank you, assistant sister.” 2. I turned to leave. But Maya’s words were like a thorn, piercing my mind, causing pain at every turn. In seven years of marriage, I had never checked Julian Goldsberry’s phone. His wallpaper was me; I had always known that. But I never imagined that a woman would live with such a mindset, believing that being young and pretty justified intruding on someone else’s marriage, and saying it so calmly. I felt it wasn’t worth it for her, nor for myself. And even less for the tiny life forming in my belly. As I started the car, my mind was filled with all of Julian Goldsberry’s good qualities. All those good things I thought were unique, belonging only to me. I didn’t sleep well, so he would warm milk for me before bed—a habit he kept for seven years. His phone also had a recipe app. It was full of my favorite dishes, like when to add sugar to sweet and sour pork ribs, and how many minutes to steam crabs. He would also collect movie ticket stubs we’d seen together, like a teenager. How could such a man not love me? But he did the same things for someone else. He delivered meals to Maya, remembered her class schedule to meet her, went shopping with her, and gave her identical gifts to make her happy. I blinked, swallowing the stinging tears back into my eyes. Three days later, Julian Goldsberry returned. Kisses rained down on my face, trailing downwards. “Sweetheart, I missed you so much.” His lips pressed against the hollow of my neck. “Why are you so thin? Were you missing me too much to eat properly?” Who would have thought that the stern man at the company would be like this at home? “I brought you a gift.” He proudly produced a bottle of red wine. “It’s your favorite brand. I went out of my way to pick it up.” “Shall we have some tonight?” I looked at the bottle of wine. Every time he went on a business trip, he would bring back a thoughtful gift for me. I used to ask him how he knew what I liked. Once, he brought back a bracelet, saying he’d overheard me mentioning it casually on the phone with Chloe. He had kept it in mind. But after seeing all those “matching surprises” at Maya’s place, I started to find this bottle of red wine an eyesore. At this very moment, would a bottle also appear simultaneously at that girl’s apartment? Just then, my phone rang. Julian Goldsberry glanced at it, then quickly pressed ignore. It rang again, and he pressed ignore again. When it rang for the third time, I silently brushed his hand away and walked towards the dining table. Julian Goldsberry answered the phone and walked to the balcony. In less than a minute, he returned, offering an explanation. “Company matters, an intern, always causing problems.” I nodded. “Sit down and eat first.” I was ready to confront him. After all, the fate of the baby in my belly needed a decision, right? But just as I was about to speak, his phone vibrated again. This time it was a text message. He looked down at it, his face instantly changed, and he shot up from his chair. “What’s wrong?” Julian Goldsberry’s voice was urgent. “Something urgent came up at the company. I need to go out.” With that, he was already putting on his coat, fumbling for his car keys. I looked at his retreating figure and suddenly spoke, “Let Leo go with you. It’s late, and it’s not convenient to drive alone.” Julian Goldsberry nodded, not refusing. After the door closed, I sat at the dining table and smiled faintly. Leo was my confidant. I also wanted to know what kind of trouble Maya Vance was really brewing, causing such a frantic rush in the middle of the night. “Shay, that girl is pregnant.” Leo called, his tone serious. “Mr. Goldsberry went because of that. They met at the hospital last night and are now eating at a private restaurant.” “Shay, are you okay?” I relaxed my fingers, which had been digging into my palm, and let out a forced sigh of relief. “Where is that private restaurant?” When I arrived, they were still in the private room. The door was ajar, and Maya’s voice drifted out. “Mr. Goldsberry, do you really love your wife that much?” “Her belly hasn’t shown any movement for so long. Have you… have you considered divorce?” A few seconds of silence passed inside. I stood at the doorway, my hand clutching my bag strap. “Mr. Goldsberry, what if you don’t divorce, and she doesn’t accept the baby in my belly? I’m serious. I want to keep this child.” Julian Goldsberry’s voice was filled with exhaustion. “Maya, stop it.” “I’m not making a fuss.” She sounded deeply wronged. “I just don’t understand, what is it about her that you can’t let go of? Didn’t you say she had been with someone else back then? If you despise her so much, why not divorce her?” My whole body stiffened. “Don’t you feel disgusted when you lie beside her?” “Maya.” “Alright, alright, I won’t say it anymore. So, are you going to divorce her or not?” “Not now.” “Then when?” Another stretch of silence. I stood at the doorway, utterly cold. 3. I still remember that night when I received Julian Goldsberry’s call, saying he’d been in a car accident and I needed to come quickly. Later, I was stuck in an alley for nearly an hour. My clothes were torn, but nothing substantial happened. Finally, Julian Goldsberry called the police to rescue me. He even hugged me and said it was okay, it wasn’t my fault. I thought he truly didn’t care. It turned out that incident was a thorn in his heart. Perhaps not getting a clear answer, Maya Vance stormed out angrily, her high heels clacking loudly. I pushed open the door and walked straight in. Julian Goldsberry looked up, a flicker of surprise on his face. When my slap landed, his appeasing hand was still frozen in mid-air. “Were those words just now sincere?” Julian Goldsberry froze, his face instantly changing. “Shay, you’ve misunderstood me. We don’t have that kind of relationship.” “I’ve already caught you. At this point, are you still going to lie to me?” Seeing my serious expression, Julian Goldsberry’s shoulders gradually slumped. “I… those weren’t my true feelings. I was just trying to appease her. I’ll tell you the truth: she’s pregnant and emotionally unstable. I was afraid she’d make a scene, so those were just thoughtless words!” “Shay, don’t you know how good I’ve been to you? It’s been so long since that incident, when have I ever resented you?” “Sweetheart…” His voice trembled as he reached out to pull me closer. “I just wanted a child. I wasn’t serious about her.” I stepped back. “Two choices.” I stared into his eyes, like an detached observer. “Come home with me now, and in front of me, break up with Maya Vance completely.” “Second, we meet at the city hall for divorce.” At my words, Julian Goldsberry grew anxious. “Sweetheart! Listen to me, Maya is emotionally unstable right now, and she’s pregnant!” “You know how much I’ve wanted a child all these years.” “Please, okay? Give me some time. I’ll definitely break up with her…” I took a deep breath. “How long?” “How much time do you need?” “A month? Two months? Or until she gives birth?” Looking at his evasive eyes, I suddenly didn’t want to ask anything anymore. I turned and pushed open the door. An hour later, I was sitting on a hospital bed in the obstetrics and gynecology department.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395046”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

During the worst year for our crew’s earnings, Rex, our boss, pointed at a Rolls-Royce with a license plate full of ones. “See that? Hit it.” That crash landed me a stern “father figure.” But the “father figure” in the older, dominant sense. Samuel Kingston was incredibly strict with me, demanding that I never make the same mistake three times, or face punishment. I prided myself on being charming and clever, yet Rex’s betrayal landed me in the police station, forcing me to call Samuel to bail me out. Samuel arrived, looking travel-worn. I was anxious, not daring to meet his gaze. Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded above me: “Lift your head. I’m here to back you up, not to be your judge.” 1 That winter, during the worst year for our crew’s earnings, Rex, our boss, pointed at a Rolls-Royce with a license plate full of ones. “See that? Hit it.” Without a second thought, I hopped on a shared bicycle and sped towards it. Faking an accident? That was my specialty, a piece of cake. I was just about to slip my hand into the driver’s pocket, thinking how to warm it up. The next second. My hands were clamped, and I was thrown in front of the luxury car’s owner. I was about to protest my innocence, but then I saw Samuel Kingston’s face. My knees buckled, and I found myself on the ground before him. He didn’t acknowledge me, simply instructed his men: “Tie them up and throw them in the car.” But ever since I was bound hand and foot and tossed into the car, Samuel hadn’t spared me a single glance. I deliberately wriggled a few times, trying to make some noise, hoping to catch his attention. Yet, he was entirely focused on bandaging a wound. Had he just finished dealing with someone? A chilling thought. I cautiously shuffled towards the corner, muttering a continuous prayer: “Please, if you’ve dealt with them, don’t deal with me, okay?” Just my luck. My mumbling caught Samuel’s attention. He lifted his eyelids, scanning me from head to toe like a prosecutor examining a suspect. His gaze finally settled on my face. “You again?” 2. I awkwardly lowered my head, offering my practiced apology: “My apologies, Mr. Kingston, I swear my eyes must have been blind not to recognize your car. I truly didn’t mean to!” “It’s just… my eighty-year-old grandmother is sick, and I need money for her medical treatment. It’s just her and me at home.” Samuel scoffed. “You said the same thing last time you tried to swipe my watch.” My head sank even lower, and I nervously licked my lips. The wrist bone Samuel had twisted when I was seventeen still throbbed faintly. That was the first time Rex had taken me to a high-end party. He made me change into a waiter’s uniform, pointed at Samuel, who was surrounded by admirers, and said: “See that? Bump into him.” I nodded resolutely, tray in hand, distributing drinks to the group of rich kids. Seizing the moment, as I offered the last drink to Samuel, I deliberately spilled it on him, then feigned remorse, pretending to help him tidy his clothes. In one smooth motion, I pilfered a Patek Philippe watch from his pocket. Mission accomplished, I hid in the restroom to text Rex about it. I tried to curl my lips into a smile, but my wildly thumping heart betrayed my unease. I splashed a handful of cold water on my face, trying to calm myself. Looking up, Samuel’s face was reflected in the water-streaked mirror. My heart skipped a beat. I stared at his indifferent expression, then pretended to be a passerby, turning to brush past him. “Holy cow.” 3. Samuel grabbed my wrist, tightening his grip. I yelped a curse. He twisted my wrists behind my back, his other hand pressing hard against the side of my neck, his knee digging into my lower back, forcing my face to the floor. “The item.” I squeezed out a heavy breath from my throat, protesting, “Sir, I don’t know what you mean.” Samuel chuckled softly, then pulled the belt from my waistband, using it to tie my hands. Once done, he reached into my pockets. “Sir, you can’t accuse me of being a thief without proof and search me like this!” Samuel searched all my pockets but found nothing. He impatiently pinched my chin, asking, “Do you know who I am? Can you handle the consequences of taking my property?” I didn’t know who he was, only that he was Rex’s designated target. I shook my head blankly. Samuel frowned, then pressed hard on my wrist bone, making me clench my teeth in pain. He seemed intent on this standoff, neither letting me go nor calling the police. “I… I know where it is.” I couldn’t endure his torment any longer, so I surrendered, gritting my teeth as I returned the hidden watch to him. “I’m… I’m sorry, sir, I swear I didn’t mean to!” “It’s just that my eighty-year-old grandmother is sick, and I need money for her medical treatment. It’s just her and me at home.” Samuel grunted softly. “Continue.” Continue? I couldn’t quite gauge Samuel’s attitude. Seeing his serious expression, I decided to play the obedient one. “I know what I did was wrong. I promise I’ll change.” Samuel didn’t press the matter further, only offered a few words of advice before leaving. But he didn’t realize that someone like me had no school to attend. 4. Running into Samuel again was the last thing I expected. I looked up, explaining to him: “My grandmother is in the ICU right now and desperately needs money. I truly had no other choice but to resort to this.” Samuel’s sharp gaze softened somewhat. He reached out and gently patted my head. His wound was bandaged with a silk scarf. As he patted my head, the soft fabric of the scarf brushed against my eyelids. I thought he had listened to my words, that he had softened, and would let me go. The next second, he gripped the back of my neck like he was holding a kitten. “Did you think I haven’t investigated you, Ember?” “You’re an orphan, without parents, surrounded only by a bunch of people with bad habits, just like you.” I shook my head, denying, “No, I have family.” He let out a cold laugh, seeing through my pretense. “A habitual liar like you, a stray cat, should be caged and properly disciplined.” My eyes widened at his words. What was this man trying to do?! I had already admitted my mistake, couldn’t he just let me go? I struggled futilely. But Samuel unexpectedly pulled out his phone and took a picture of my struggle. “Why do you have a plum blossom mark on the back of your neck? Could you really be a reborn kitten?” I froze instantly. He raised an eyebrow as if enlightened. “Well, then you’re a stray cat.” 5. It wasn’t until I stepped into the Kingston estate that I realized Samuel was serious this time. The butler, seeing me follow Samuel, immediately came forward. I expected him to say something like, “You’re the first person the young master has brought back.” But his lips parted twice, and as he took in my attire, his composed expression visibly stiffened. However, as he led me upstairs to a room, his expression returned to normal, as if he hadn’t seen me bound. I pursed my lips, rubbing my wrists where the ropes had chafed them red, and my thoughts drifted to the meaningful look Samuel had given me when he said he was keeping the ropes. Meaningful. He’d said the ropes would be useful later. I couldn’t help but shiver. “Young master, the master doesn’t like to be disturbed. Only the two of you live on the second floor.” The butler pointed to a closed door at the end of the corridor, telling me it was Samuel’s room. What did I care? At that moment, I had only one thought: to go home and face Rex’s punishment for failing the mission. My gaze swept past, noticing a slightly ajar door downstairs. The butler said it was his room, and all the Kingston staff lived on the first floor. I nodded thoughtfully, planning when would be the best time to escape. 6. That evening. The usually silent Kingston estate suddenly erupted in a commotion. It seemed that Old Man Miller, the butler, had lost all his gold bracelets, necklaces, and jade bangles—his retirement savings. I subtly frowned, watching them frantically search for the items. As I passed Old Man Miller, he was anxiously wringing his hands and sighing. Seeing me, he forced a smile… “Oh, I’m so sorry, young master, I’ve lost a few things. Did all this searching disturb your sleep?” He gave me an apologetic smile. I reached out and patted his shoulder. My other hand, tucked in my pocket, felt the cold touch of something metallic. “I’ll help you look too. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely find them.” With my hands still in my pockets, I pretended to help Old Man Miller search. The moment my foot crossed the threshold of the main door. Samuel’s voice, devoid of warning, rang out behind me: “Where are you going?” He stood on the staircase, his white shirt sleeves neatly rolled up, revealing his toned forearms—clearly someone who worked out regularly. “I’m helping Old Man Miller look for his things,” I said, turning back, a ingratiating smile playing on my lips. Samuel smiled faintly and tapped his finger lightly on the banister twice. The next second. A group of well-trained men in black suits swarmed in behind me. “Dad, brother!” “You all help Old Man Miller find his things.” Samuel pointed at me. “You, come with me to the study.” My feet wouldn’t move. But the presence of the men in black behind me completely blocked any chance of escape. I could only reluctantly follow Samuel to the study. As soon as he sat down, he demanded I hand over the items. I began to play dumb again, feigning confusion. “Mr. Kingston, I don’t know what items you’re referring to…” 7. I even dramatically patted my pockets, innocently spreading my empty hands towards him. Just as I was feeling smug, a ruler slapped against my palm. I looked up in shock, but was immediately intimidated by Samuel’s imposing presence. “You don’t seriously think I took Old Man Miller’s things, do you? I wouldn’t…” Before I could finish, the ruler ruthlessly struck my palm again. I instantly flared up. I felt like I needed to toughen up, to stand my ground against Samuel. “What, are you going to beat a confession out of me?” I angrily tucked my stinging hand behind my back. I retreated, glancing at the study door out of the corner of my eye, mentally planning to open it, rush downstairs, and bolt out of the Kingston estate. But Samuel gave me no such opportunity. He was a man of brute force, pinning me against the desk and reaching into my pocket to pull out a gold necklace. “You said you didn’t take anything. Then what is this?” I knew then that I couldn’t pull anything off under Samuel’s nose. But I was stubborn; I would never admit it. “I don’t know how that gold necklace flew into my pocket. Maybe it just felt more comfortable with me?” “Hmph,” Samuel sneered, calling his assistant to return the items from my pocket to their rightful owner. “This is the second time. Three strikes and you’re out.” “You don’t control me. So what if I lie, or fake accidents, or take other people’s things? I’m just a bad person.” Ever since I was abducted by traffickers at four, passed from one foster parent to another, and then picked up by Rex and brought to Elm Alley, I had already turned bad. “Next time I catch you, it’s straight to legal consequences.” 8. I genuinely thought my ears were malfunctioning. Samuel released my hand, helped me straighten my disheveled clothes, and then turned to leave. I numbly followed him. “If you really want to punish me, you can call the police.” With a bang, the study door closed, the distinct click of the lock echoing in my ears. “Reflect on your mistakes. When you truly mend your ways, then you can leave.” I instinctively slid to my knees, pleading, “I’ll change, I’ll change, I promise to change everything.” But Samuel wouldn’t listen. He saw me as a habitual offender, a liar, believing that pleading and apologizing were just words. I sat on the chair, fuming, and slammed my hand on the desk. “Fine, you can lock me in the study. I’ll steal all your confidential documents, I’ll make you go bankrupt, I’ll make you beg me to sleep with you.” But Samuel was too smart; his study was filled only with educational books, all about learning and character building, which gave me a headache. After three days, Old Man Miller opened the door and let me out. I sat weakly by the table, watching him busily set out my meal. A strange bitterness welled up in my nose. He smiled as he placed a bowl of hot porridge in front of me. When he bent down, I saw a few new strands of white hair at his temples. I didn’t know what Samuel had told Old Man Miller. I lowered my head, feeling guilty, and silently ate my porridge. Suddenly, my eyes swelled, and a few tears fell, mixing with the porridge. Old Man Miller gave a surprised “Oh?” “Is the porridge not good? I’ll have someone make a fresh bowl right away.” “It’s good, thank you.” Alright, I’ll change. I’ll try my best to be better. “I’m sorry.” The sudden apology caught Old Man Miller off guard. He patted my head and sighed softly, “Good kid.” Behind me, a click sounded. I turned. Samuel was leaning against the wall, holding his phone, taking a picture of me. I quickly lowered my head, thinking Samuel was probably going to extensively document my ugly photos to hold over me later. At that thought, I timidly rolled my eyes at the bowl. 9. Two weeks later, I finally got in touch with Rex. He arranged to meet me at our usual spot. I gave Samuel a vague update on my plans, describing Rex as a childhood friend who shared my struggles. I told him I needed to ‘save’ him. Samuel approved, but insisted I be back by 11 PM, or he’d come looking for me. Knowing his capabilities, I wasn’t about to challenge him, so I playfully texted back: “Mhm (fist emoji) (pity emoji).” Samuel replied with a kitten-petting emoji. For some reason, I felt incredibly identified with it. A short while after putting my phone down, Rex arrived. He was unusually dressed in a black suit today, looking quite respectable, almost making me not recognize him. Rex pulled me into a meal and drinks, pouring out his heart, asking if I wanted to escape Samuel’s control and return to Elm Alley. “That look on your face—you’re not thinking of not coming home, are you? You have to remember, you and I, we’re the same kind of people.” “Rex,” I said, speaking from the heart, “I want to follow Samuel and walk the straight path now. I’ve been reading, taking classes, learning new things lately.” Rex chuckled, patting my shoulder. “Alright, you’re doing so well with Samuel now. Then let’s have you take your old boss home one last time, and after this, we won’t see each other again.” I felt a pang of reluctance as I helped Rex back to Elm Alley. His mood wasn’t as high as it had been during dinner; he swayed even with my support. Suddenly, a blinding light shone from behind us. Cracking footsteps approached, and I vaguely heard shouts of “Thief!” and “Don’t move!” Rex gave me a deep look. I tried to reassure him, “It’s not our business. I’ll just take you home.” The words had barely left my lips when he shoved me to the ground, punching me directly in the face. My eyes widened in confused shock, my eyelids trembling uncontrollably. Rex tightened his fist, then, seeing the approaching people, he stopped mid-action, turning to the police and the victim. “This person was walking suspiciously, and when you called out, they bolted. Look, is this what you lost?” Rex held up a diamond ring. The victim’s face lit up with relief and ran over, clutching the ring. But the look she gave me was filled with resentment and hatred. “I didn’t take it.” I had promised Samuel I would be better. “If you didn’t take it, did this gentleman here? He’s wearing a thousand-dollar suit, and your whole outfit probably costs less than a hundred. Who’s going to believe you?” “It really wasn’t me…” “You don’t look that old. What, not learning anything good at such a young age? Don’t your parents care about you at all? Born with parents, but not raised by them?” 10. I silently lowered my eyes, standing beside the police officer’s desk where I was being interrogated. Rex glanced at me, his expression cold and distant, as if we truly were strangers. While he gave his statement, the victim, grateful to him, cursed at me non-stop. “Officer, you really should lock him up for a few days, give him a good education, so he doesn’t cause trouble again when he gets out.” The officer looked at me, asking me to contact a family member. “Parent’s name, phone number.” I clenched my fists, hesitantly picking at my palms. “Samuel Kingston, the number is…” I kept my head down, completely unaware that as I uttered Samuel’s name, everyone’s expressions changed dramatically. Rex swiftly put down his pen. “Officer, I’m finished. If you don’t need anything else, I’ll be leaving. My wife and children are waiting for me at home.” The victim’s mouth dropped open in astonishment, her face full of disbelief. “How is that possible… I never heard that Samuel Kingston had such a grown-up… illegitimate child?!” The scrutinizing gazes swept over me repeatedly. The victim clutched her chest. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence, same name.” Not long after, I saw Rex return, thinking he’d had a change of heart. Instead, I heard Samuel’s familiar voice. “To condemn someone without even fully investigating the truth, isn’t that against protocol?” Samuel suddenly smiled politely and gently. The surrounding air pressure abruptly dropped and grew cold. I nervously clasped my hands behind my back, not daring to meet Samuel’s eyes, afraid to see the indifference and disappointment in his gaze. And the “I knew it” expression he’d surely wear. Samuel walked to my side, his hand lightly touching the top of my head. “Raise your head. I’m here to back you up, not to be your judge.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395028”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My boyfriend’s mother was in a car accident. He said he was away on a business trip and couldn’t come back. I gave up a concert of my favorite idol to take care of her. Only to then see a new post from his secretary on social media. In the photo, the two of them were beaming under dazzling lights, and my boyfriend’s gaze at her held an undeniable tenderness. The caption read: “Want to hold your hand, from first blush to old age, and to the very end.” I quietly liked and commented: “Humans have sorrow and joy, separation and reunion. Cattle and horses adorn life.” 1. When I caught Karl Miller taking another woman to a concert, I was still diligently taking care of his mother in the hospital. All because, before he left for his trip, he had said, “When I get back, we’ll go get our marriage license. Our life is our own; if we don’t get blessings, so be it.” Our families were vastly different. His was an intellectual, high-society family, with parents who looked down on humble backgrounds like mine. They always thought I was with Karl for his money, so they disliked everything about me. This time, his mother had an unexpected car accident and was hospitalized, with no one around to care for her. Karl saw this as a good opportunity for me to prove myself, so he specifically told me about it. At the time, I thought that no matter what, she was still Karl’s mother. After marriage, we’d see each other often, so helping to take care of her was no big deal. But I never imagined that the man who had solemnly promised to marry me would now use a business trip as an excuse to accompany another woman to a concert. It was truly ironic. “Autumn, given your excellent performance recently, I’ve decided to grant you and Karl my blessing. You two aren’t getting any younger, don’t keep waiting. Go get your license when he comes back.” Karl’s mother said this with an arrogant air, her words implying it was a great favor. My thoughts snapped back, and I composed myself. I stared at her unblinkingly. “No need, ma’am.” “What?” She gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief, apparently not expecting my immediate refusal. “Didn’t you come to care for me recently just to earn my favor? Now I’ve given my approval…” My initial intention was indeed to gain her acceptance. But now, none of that mattered. I slowly stood up, took a deep breath, “Because I broke up with him. On second thought, we truly weren’t a good match. I’m sorry, we’re broken up now, and I can’t continue to care for you. You should hire a caregiver as soon as possible.” With that, I grabbed my bag and left. Walking out of the hospital room, I pulled out my phone. My messages with Karl stopped at my query from half an hour ago, asking when he would return. He still hadn’t replied. My heart felt like it was blocked by a large stone, neither rising nor falling. After two seconds of daze, I sent another message. Brief and to the point, I said we were breaking up. And this time, he replied instantly. But it was only a question mark. I glanced at it, ignoring it. Since I had broken up with him, there was no reason for me to stay at his place. I quickly packed my bags and moved out. The apartment he lived in alone was bought only after we started dating, and the interior decoration was all according to my preferences. No exaggeration, every corner of that home bore my personal touch. It was just a shame, if it wasn’t mine, it wasn’t mine in the end. I couldn’t find an apartment to rent temporarily, so I decided to move in with my single best friend. Seeing my sudden arrival, her eyes flashed with surprise. “Are you moving?” “Yes, Karl and I broke up.” I stated the fact calmly. Candy Vance sighed, about to ask something. Karl suddenly called. 2. As soon as I answered the phone, his accusing words came through from the other end. “Autumn, what on earth is wrong with you? You just left my mother alone. She’s all alone in the hospital, isolated and helpless. If anything happens, can you take responsibility?” I don’t know if it was because my idealized image of him had shattered, but hearing those words felt incredibly grating. My face turned cold, and I said nonchalantly, “Are you dead? Why should I, an outsider, take care of her?” Karl froze. A moment later, he softened his tone and gently appeased, “I know you’ve been wronged by my mother. You’ve worked hard these past few days. I’ll compensate you well when I get back. Can you please go back to the hospital to take care of your future mother-in-law?” In the past, hearing the term ‘future mother-in-law’ would make me shy. But now, it only disgusted me. “Are you illiterate? If so, let me remind you again: we’re broken up. Do you understand what ‘broken up’ means?” My words were laced with cold sarcasm. Karl heard the finality in my voice and fell silent. Finally, he said stiffly, “You’re unstable right now. Let’s talk after you’ve calmed down.” With that, he directly hung up the call. And I immediately deleted all his contact information. From then on, I completely exited his life. Candy hesitated for a moment, then asked, “You worked so hard for so long, are you really willing to give up?” Karl and I had been together for four years. Couples who’d been together for four years. Either they were already married, or they had long gone their separate ways. But we were still stuck. He always said that if we didn’t have his parents’ approval, I would be easily bullied if I married into his family. So he wanted to try harder, to get the blessings of both parents. It was precisely because of this that he suddenly changed his tune this time. I was overjoyed, even beginning to fantasize about our future together. But after finding out what I did, I started to doubt myself. “What’s there to regret? It’s just like you said before, if he really wanted to marry me, he would have done it already. Why does he always come up with various excuses?” “But didn’t you just say you were going to get your license when he came back from this business trip?” I calmly told her about him taking another woman to the concert. Candy first froze, then became furious. “What does he mean by this? You’re working like a dog for his mother, while he’s out having a blast with someone else? Does he think he’s some kind of emperor, wanting to have his cake and eat it too?” “So, I gave up.” I gave up on this four-year relationship. I gave up on any future involving him. I let out a long, clear sigh. “It’s fine. It’s not like I can’t live without him.” These words sounded more like self-comfort. I stayed at Candy’s place, and that night, we drank to our heart’s content. The next morning, I woke up having thrown all the unpleasantness out of my mind. I fully immersed myself in my work. “Dr. Hayes, I have good news for you. The department’s advanced training spots are out, and you’re one of them! The head of the department should be coming to talk to you soon.” I had just finished my morning rounds when a colleague excitedly brought the news. I wasn’t surprised by this result. But I couldn’t help but feel happy. “That’s indeed good news. Thank you for telling me. Once the official notice comes out, I’ll treat you to dinner.” “Then I’ll be waiting! But if you go for advanced training, won’t you be in a long-distance relationship with your boyfriend? Long-distance relationships are the hardest.” I pursed my lips, shaking my head. “I broke up with him.” 3. “What? You and your boyfriend have been together since college, such an enviable couple, why would you suddenly break up?” “It just suddenly felt like we weren’t a good match…” My words hadn’t even finished when there was a knock on the office door. I looked up to see a tall, elegant figure standing in the doorway. Karl Miller exuded an inherent coolness, with a hint of detachment in his handsome eyes. My colleague gasped, then chuckled awkwardly, “You two chat, I’ll be going now.” She hurried away. Suddenly, only the two of us were left in the office. I composed myself, stating indifferently, “This is my break time. Please make an appointment after 2 PM if you need to see me.” “Autumn, we need to talk.” He walked over with light steps, his deep black eyes fixed on me. “There’s nothing for us to talk about.” I calmly took off my white coat, grabbed my ID badge, and headed for the cafeteria. But as I passed him, he grabbed my arm. Karl’s expression was tense, a flicker of impatience in his eyes. “What exactly are you making a fuss about?” “Let go.” I said coldly, not even bothering to look at him properly. “Autumn, my patience has limits. While I’m not angry yet, speak properly.” Hearing that, I laughed in anger. I cast a cold glance at him. “I’ll just ask one thing: what exactly were you doing the day before yesterday?” Karl’s expression stiffened, a fleeting hint of guilt in his eyes. “I was on a business trip. What else would I be doing besides work?” I clearly caught his guilt, and a coldness seeped into my heart. We used to tell each other everything. But I don’t know when it started. It seemed there was a transparent barrier between us. We began to have our own secrets. “Karl Miller, honestly, you’re quite disappointing.” The four years I invested, because of his words, now felt like a complete joke. I didn’t ask him to be completely transparent about everything. I just asked for a bottom line on such fundamental issues. But he still disappointed me. Karl’s face showed impatience, his brows tightly furrowed. “Just say what you mean, why beat around the bush?” I looked him directly in the eyes, stating each word clearly: “Because of you, I missed my idol’s concert. And you, you took another woman, using tickets I bought, to see it. Karl Miller, if it were you, how would you feel?” Upon hearing this, he seemed to grasp the situation, then looked at me with an unreadable, complex expression. “My business dinner just happened to be near the concert venue. After the dinner, I figured I shouldn’t waste the ticket money, so I just went to watch.” “Such a small matter, and you’re still nitpicking?” I pressed my lips together, not speaking. In his eyes, such a small amount of money was insignificant. But these were front-row tickets I had painfully bought with a month’s salary. Just so I could go to a concert with him. A hint of mockery flashed in my eyes, and I said with disgust, “Karl Miller, sometimes you truly sicken me.” Karl was stung by my words; his breathing grew heavier, and the way he looked at me also changed. He was wondering why I was suddenly being so unreasonable. “Autumn, can you please change this petty, small-minded attitude of yours? It’s just two concert tickets, tell me how much, and I’ll pay you back.” 4. “Four hundred and eighty dollars. PayPal it.” Saying that, I directly pulled out my phone, found my QR code, and handed it over. Karl’s eyes clearly held disbelief, seemingly not expecting me to actually ask him for money. I’m generous with my own people, but that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover. Moreover, we’ve already broken up; there’s no longer any relationship between us. He owed me this money. “Hurry up, I need to go eat.” I gestured with my phone, urging him to be quick. Karl laughed in anger, then, as if in a fit of pique, he transferred a thousand dollars to me. Hearing the PayPal notification. My eyebrows twitched. I did the math and refunded him the excess money. At this, his face flushed with irritation, and he gritted his teeth, looking at me. “Are you really going to draw a line between us?” “We broke up. I won’t take what’s not mine.” “Fine, then you give me back everything I’ve ever given you.” He nearly bit through his teeth, his eyes burning with fury as he glared at me. I said without changing my expression, “Those things are at your place. I didn’t take them. You can go back and count them. As for the money, you can send me the bill, and I’ll repay what’s owed.” Hearing him say that, not a ripple stirred in my heart. I even felt a little relieved that I hadn’t taken those things when I moved out. Otherwise, returning them now would have been incredibly undignified. Karl’s face completely darkened. “Autumn, do you really want to make a scene?” After saying so much, I was also getting impatient. I glanced at the time; if I didn’t go to the cafeteria now, I probably wouldn’t even get soup. I couldn’t be bothered with him, so I pulled my hand free and turned to walk towards the door. Just then, a delicate figure peeked through the doorway. “Mr. Miller, I’ve finished my check-up.” It was his secretary, Maya Vance. Maya’s eyes flashed with surprise when she saw me. Then she straightened up, smiling as she greeted, “Ms. Hayes, long time no see.” Hearing her feigned words, I showed no mercy. “Didn’t I just see you on social media the day before yesterday?” At these words, the smile on her face almost faltered. Her eyes, bright and moving, shifted between Karl and me. She bit her red lip and said, “Ms. Hayes, you seem to be in a bad mood. Am I interrupting you?” “No, I’m interrupting you two. You both take your time.” Saying that, I was about to step away when Karl’s angry voice came through, “Don’t mind her. She’s been acting crazy lately.” As his words fell, he strode quickly to the doorway. After giving me a cold glance, he said in a deep voice, “Autumn, I’ll give you three days. Think it over and then come find me.” With that, he quickly left with Maya. However, I didn’t miss the challenging look she gave me as she departed. He was always like this, never realizing his mistakes. No matter whose fault it was, it was always me who had to swallow my pride, admit I was wrong, and coax him. Because he knew I liked him, that’s why he was so reckless. But now, I was tired. Thinking this, I took a deep breath. I cast aside the unpleasantness and went to the cafeteria for lunch. As soon as I finished getting my food and sat down at an empty table, I pulled out my phone to scroll through social media. I saw Maya’s post from a minute ago. She had posted a photo from Karl’s mother’s hospital room. I don’t know what they talked about, but Karl’s usually stern mother was beaming with a genuine smile. And her caption read: “So happy to be praised by my boss’s mom! She said she wished she had a daughter-in-law like me. Thank you, ma’am, for your recognition.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “395047”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel