Category: English

Chapter 1 In our fifth year of marriage, Liam Davies, a District Attorney known for his stoic restraint, spoke the longest sentence he had ever said to me in his entire life. “Stella, are you done causing trouble out of nowhere? If you are, then stop annoying me.” What he considered “causing trouble out of nowhere” included: Me being hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer, to which he replied, “I’m sequestered for a major case and can’t be contacted. Be more careful next time.” On the night of my birthday, his female intern had an acute appendicitis attack, and he stayed by her side at the hospital all night. When I found out I was pregnant, he had his female intern specifically deliver prenatal vitamins. I ended up hospitalized with a severe allergic reaction after taking them. Only after checking the ingredients did I find mango extract listed on the label. Unable to tolerate it any longer, I called him. He just sighed helplessly. “All this over a bottle of vitamins?” “Mia was just playing a joke on you. She was trying to help you build up a tolerance.” Then came the day my father was framed for murder. It was a case that should have resulted in a life sentence at worst, but Liam personally pushed for the death penalty. “It is exactly because he is my father-in-law that I must recuse myself to ensure absolute impartiality. I will absolutely not show favoritism or bend the rules.” Yet, his intern Mia posted on her Instagram: [Thank God my mentor was here, otherwise my brother would be going back to prison again. He got off completely clean!] [It’s true what they say, a man’s greatest charm is his ability to solve problems. It’s not my fault I fell in love with him~] After reading that, I took the miscarried, four-month-old fetus and placed it right in front of him. “Liam, let’s get a divorce.” “This isn’t me causing trouble out of nowhere. It’s a notification.” … “Sign it. Since you refuse to care, I’ll overturn the verdict myself.” The divorce agreement and the gift box containing our child sat on his desk. Liam didn’t even glance at them. His tone was placating. “It’s not that I don’t care. If your father walks free, what will people think of me? I have to put justice before family. The harsher the sentence, the better.” “Stella, once some time passes and you forget about this, things will go back to the way they were.” A sharp, agonizing pain ripped through my chest. “How am I supposed to forget? It’s my father who’s going to die, not yours! Is that why you can say it so easily?!” “In your heart, is your reputation really more important than my father’s life?!” Liam looked exhausted, staring at me as if I were an unreasonable, hysterical relative of a defendant. “Stop letting your emotions cloud your judgment. Do you know how many people are already gossiping about a District Attorney marrying the daughter of a murderer? My reputation has already been dragged through the mud because of—” Before he could finish, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. Five years ago, it was his unwavering commitment to his principles that made me fall for him. I stood by his side as he climbed from a junior prosecutor to the youngest, most promising District Attorney in the city. I thought our life would always be this peaceful. Until I saw Mia’s Instagram posts. Only then did I realize that someone else could be important enough for him to shatter the principles he had always rigidly defended. Back then, my father used every connection he had to pave the way for Liam’s career. But now, Liam was willing to let my father die in vain for another woman, even despising my very existence for dragging him down. A sharp cramp shot through my recently emptied womb. I bent over, clutching my stomach in agony. Liam asked nervously, “What’s wrong?” I ignored him. A knock sounded at the door. Mia pushed the door open and walked in. “Mrs. Davies, please don’t blame him. He just got out of court, he’s exhausted and stressed.” “Instead of fighting with him, you should be convincing your father to plead guilty and hope for leniency…” I raised my hand, and the sound of another slap echoed through the room. Liam grabbed my wrist, his grip shockingly tight. “She was just trying to help! Why are you taking your anger out on her?!” Hearing those words, I laughed so hard tears fell from my eyes. Without wasting another word, I logged directly into his work account on his computer. Then, I dumped every single piece of evidence I had gathered into the main department group chat. To get that evidence, I had been beaten, threatened, and had even sold off all my real estate at bargain-basement prices. All to obtain the proof that exonerated my father and proved that the real killer was Mia’s brother! “Liam, only you could twist covering up for a murderer into ‘trying to help’!” Seeing the “Read” receipts multiplying rapidly in the chat, Mia was the first to speak up, her voice choking with tears. “I know you’re desperate to save your father, Mrs. Davies, but you can’t just forge evidence…” “My mentor even recused himself and demanded the maximum penalty for his own father-in-law. Why would he destroy his own career to cover for me?” The prosecutors in the group chat immediately exploded. “Stella, we are so disappointed in you.” “You’re trying to use Liam’s career as a stepping stone to save your dad’s life.” I stared at the screen in disbelief, trembling with rage. “She sheds a few tears and you all just blindly believe her?” Mia stood up straight, her voice ringing with feigned righteousness: “I am formally requesting immediate suspension pending a full investigation!” After sending that message in the chat, she flashed a quick, provocative smirk and whispered to me: “Mad? Don’t worry, I’m about to make you truly despair.” Just as she finished, my phone rang. [Family of Robert Smith: Your father’s execution has been moved up. It will be carried out in one hour. Please arrive on time to collect the remains.] My brain exploded with a deafening roar. I shoved Mia aside and turned to run. She let out a piercing shriek, collapsing and curling into a ball on the floor, clutching her stomach tightly. “Mrs. Davies, you know I just had appendix surgery! How could you hit me right on my incision?!” Liam’s face changed drastically. He immediately scooped her up in his arms. “Stella, that is enough!” He called for security, and they roughly pinned my arms behind my back. “Take her to a holding cell to cool off! She doesn’t come out until she admits she was wrong!” Chapter 2 “Get your hands off me!” I fought with everything I had, grabbed my car keys, and sprinted downstairs. I blew through every red light, racing toward the state penitentiary. Watching the executioner’s rifle already aimed at my father, I held up the evidence and opened my mouth to scream. The next second, Liam suddenly grabbed me from behind, clamping his hand tightly over my mouth. “Stop making a scene! Will you only be satisfied when Mia is put under criminal investigation? Besides, forging evidence is a felony!” I struggled wildly. But just as I broke free, Bang. The gunshot echoed. I froze, only one thought remaining in my mind. My father was dead. Killed by the man I loved most in the world. A mouthful of blood surged up my throat. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness completely. As if trapped in an endless nightmare, I saw my father donating his life savings to the local elementary school. I saw his bloodshot eyes as the charges were read against him. I saw the utter despair on his face as he sat in the defendant’s chair, wrongfully sentenced to death by his own son-in-law. “Dad!” I screamed and jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. I grabbed my phone and dialed the number for a major news outlet. “I am officially filing a public whistleblower complaint against District Attorney Liam Davies. He covered for his intern, Mia, and forced my father to take the fall for a murder committed by her brother.” Right after the evidence was sent, Liam walked in carrying a bowl of hot soup, his voice thick with guilt. “Stella, don’t be sad. I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you from now on.” I almost laughed out loud. Who cared about his compensation? All I demanded was justice for my father. His assistant rushed in from the hallway, looking panicked. “Liam, it’s bad! Mia is surrounded by reporters downstairs!” He snapped his head toward me, his face darkening instantly. “Did you do this? The dead can’t come back to life! Your endless crusade is only going to destroy Mia’s career! Go down there right now and tell the reporters you made it all up!” I met his gaze head-on. “Keep dreaming. I will never let my father die carrying the stigma of a murderer.” He was silent for a moment, then spoke with chilling detachment: “What about your mother? Do you want to see her locked up in a psychiatric ward until she dies? Psychiatric patients tend to get agitated in the spring. It wouldn’t be unusual for fights or even fatal accidents to happen.” My heart violently seized. I never imagined that after killing my father, he would actually use my mother’s life to threaten me! For Mia, he had completely abandoned all his principles, all sense of the law. My fingernails dug so deeply into my palms they drew blood, but I couldn’t feel the pain. I could only walk toward the cameras in utter despair. “I’m sorry. I fabricated everything to frame them. I want to thank DA Davies and Mia for upholding justice for the victim…” With every word I spoke, it felt like my heart was bleeding. As the reporters dispersed, Liam took my trembling hand. “Stella, thank you for doing that. Let’s go, we’ll go pick up your mother and take her home together.” Home? Liam, thanks to you, I don’t have a home anymore. Just as I was about to pull my hand away, Mia spoke up, her voice fragile. “Mentor, my incision still hurts so much. Could you take me to a different hospital to get it redressed? I’m scared to go alone.” So, he only came to this hospital to get her bandages changed. Visiting me, and bringing the soup, were just things he did because he was already here. He didn’t hesitate for a single second. “Okay. Stella, you go pick up your mother by yourself. Drive safely.” Mia handed me my mother’s discharge papers. As I reached for them, her hand “slipped,” and the papers fell into the decorative fountain next to us. “Pick them up.” Mia pretended to act timid and leaned down to pick them up, but he frowned and stopped her. “She didn’t do it on purpose. Besides, your wound needs to be redressed. What if it gets infected from the water? This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you.” “Pick them up yourself. Your pregnancy is stable now, stop acting so delicate.” Looking at his self-righteous, supposedly just demeanor, I spoke as if to exact some small measure of revenge. “Liam, the baby is already—” Before I could finish, he had already walked away with Mia. The water in the fountain was bone-chillingly cold. I was soaked from head to toe, shivering uncontrollably. When I finally fished the discharge papers out, my fingertips were numb from the cold. Suddenly, a group of the victim’s family members surrounded me. “There she is! The rabid dog born from a murderer and a psycho! Stella Smith!” “You still trying to overturn the verdict? Smash this heartless bitch!” Countless objects were hurled at me. A dull, throbbing pain exploded across my face, and blood trickled down from my eyebrow. I gripped the discharge papers tightly, my face deathly pale. I remembered telling Liam that when I was a kid, other children used to throw rocks at me and call me a “little psycho.” He had held me tightly and said earnestly, “Your mother’s illness is not your fault. As long as I’m here, no one will ever dare treat you like that again.” I used to think he was my armor. But now, he was the one tearing open my scars, indulging others as they beat and cursed me. My heart felt like it was submerged in a block of ice; it no longer beat for him. Another sharp cramp seized my lower abdomen, and fresh blood gushed down my legs. Unable to hold on any longer, I collapsed heavily into the fountain. When I woke up again, Liam was sitting beside my hospital bed. His voice was laced with lingering fear. “You’re awake? How do you feel?” “Doctor, my wife lost so much blood. Is the baby okay?” The doctor looked confused. “Your wife didn’t have a—” Before he could finish, my phone suddenly rang. “Ms. Smith, your mother suffered a massive heart attack ten minutes ago and passed away. My deepest condolences.” Chapter 3 My ears were ringing. …It had to be a lie. I had the discharge papers right here in my hand. I was supposed to take her home today. Why did this happen? I threw off the covers and bolted out the door, colliding head-on with Mia in the stairwell. Her feigned concern couldn’t hide the smug triumph in her eyes. “Mrs. Davies, why do you look so pale? What happened?” I screamed at her: “Did you kill my mother?!” She looked entirely unbothered. “So what if I did? I just kindly informed her that your dad was a murderer. Who knew she’d be so fragile that she’d just drop dead on the spot?” “Your whole family of useless losers was nothing but a stumbling block between me and my mentor. It’s best if you go die, too… Ah!” I lunged forward, locking my hands around her throat, and shoved her fiercely toward the open window! Just as she was about halfway out, the stairwell door was kicked open. Liam yanked me away with brutal force. He pulled Mia, who was coughing violently, tightly into his arms. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” I was thrown to the floor, my back slamming hard against the wall. Watching him comfort Mia, my internal organs felt like they were being crushed by an invisible hand. I curled up in agony. He glared at me coldly, his eyes filled with pure disgust. “Stella, are you trying to become a murderer just like your father?!” The taste of blood filled my mouth. “She killed my father, and now she’s killed my mother! I want her to pay with her life!” He cut me off sharply: “Enough! Mia had already sent someone to pack up your mother’s things and take her home because you were taking too long. She was perfectly fine.” “I think you’ve lost your mind from grief. Apologize to Mia!” Apologize? The hatred was practically bursting out of my chest. “I’d rather die with her than ever apologize!” As soon as the words left my mouth, a wave of intense dizziness washed over me, and my body swayed uncontrollably. Only then did Liam notice the gash on my head. He instinctively reached out to touch it, then paused mid-air. He glared at the victim’s family members who had gathered around to watch the spectacle. “Who did this?” Intimidated by his glare, the family members defensively argued: “Don’t talk nonsense! She was in the water, our clothes are totally dry. How could we have hurt her?” “Exactly! She’s crazy enough to try and kill someone, who’s to say she didn’t do this to herself to put on a show?” Mia let out a delicate sob. “It’s okay, Mentor. Mrs. Davies just wanted you to feel sorry for her, that’s why she told a little lie. I won’t hold it against her.” Liam rubbed his temples wearily. “Stella, you have disappointed me immensely. I am going to make sure you cool down today and realize exactly what you’ve done wrong.” With that, ignoring my injuries, he dragged me to the police firing range. The deafening, continuous crack of gunfire echoed around us, instantly dragging me back to the day my father died. Every single shot felt like it was ripping right through my heart. He knew perfectly well how agonizing my father’s death was for me. He knew that the sound of gunfire was my absolute worst nightmare. Yet, while spouting words of debt and compensation, he chose this exact method to punish me, just to vent his anger on Mia’s behalf. I covered my head, unable to suppress my hysterical screams. It wasn’t until my heart had been repeatedly shredded into numbness that the gunfire finally stopped. Liam looked down at me from above. “Are you thinking clearly now? No matter how much trouble you cause Mia, your father isn’t coming back.” I slowly pushed myself up from the ground, my body completely numb. I handed him the divorce agreement, disguised as a property transfer deed. “Fine. Sign this and give me all the money, and I’ll stop causing trouble.” He seemed surprised, but signed his name without hesitation. “Be a good girl. Once the baby is born, our family of three will live a good life together.” I let out a soft laugh. Liam, the baby is already gone. And there will never be a “future” for us. I never brought up my parents again. Even he believed I had genuinely let it go. What he didn’t know was that I had secretly hired private investigators and lawyers, pouring everything into tracking down Mia’s brother’s hideout and gathering the evidence that proved she killed my mother. The day I secured the final piece of evidence, I received a notice to collect my father’s ashes. But when I arrived, I was told the ashes had already been picked up. My heart sank. The next second, a text from Mia came through. [If you want to see your dad, come to the charity gala~] I stared at the attached photo showing my father’s urn sitting on the auction block, my heart stopping cold. Chapter 4 When I rushed into the gala, the victim’s families were already in a frenzy in front of the stage. “I want to grind this animal’s bones into dust!” “Thank goodness Mr. Davies and the woman beside him are righteous enough to hand this monster over to us.” “Let me throw a bucket of dog blood on it first! I want to make sure he never finds peace, even in death!” The moment the bucket of blood was thrown, I leaped onto the stage and shielded the urn with my body. The overwhelming stench of blood and feces sent my stomach into violent spasms. The guests whispered amongst themselves. “Oh my god, is that the murderer’s daughter? What is she doing here?” “Just being in the same room as her makes me feel dirty.” Liam spoke up, his voice firm and commanding: “She is she, and the one who committed the crime was her father. Please watch your words, or I will take legal action.” Mia chimed in, feigning innocence: “Yes, I’ve known Mrs. Davies for a long time. She’s a very good person.” Watching them play off each other, I felt nothing but pure nausea. If it weren’t for the two of them, my father and I wouldn’t be subjected to this kind of contempt and spit. I tried to pick up the urn, but Mia stopped me. “Mrs. Davies, you can’t take this. My mentor said this is his way of making amends.” I found her words incredibly absurd. My father had been wrongfully put to death because of the crimes they forced onto him, and now he was supposed to make amends to the real killer? I held on tightly. She yanked hard, and the urn crashed to the floor. “Dad!” I screamed. As the lid rolled away, I saw that the ashes inside were covered in thick, yellow spit! Mia quickly explained, “The families were too angry. I had to let them open it and spit on it to vent their frustration. Now that their anger is appeased, Mr. Smith can rest in peace.” With trembling hands, I placed the lid back on the urn, tears streaming down my face. It was my fault. I couldn’t save him while he was alive, and I couldn’t even protect his ashes from being desecrated after he was gone! I let out an agonized scream, grabbed a champagne bottle, and moved to smash it over her head. But Liam intercepted me just in time. “Have you had enough? This was just to give the families some psychological closure.” “This is not the place for your tantrums. Lock her in the basement until the auction is over.” With that, the event staff wrenched the urn from my hands and roughly tied me up, tossing me into the basement. I huddled in the corner. My phone buzzed. It was a text from the private investigator. [Her brother has been scared out of his mind. He’s heading to the banquet hall now. Everything is in place.] I wiped the desolate look off my face. After setting everything up in the basement, I used a small knife I had hidden away to cut the ropes and walked out. Then, without looking back, I pressed the detonator. The banquet hall shuddered violently as flames erupted from the basement, shooting toward the ceiling. Liam’s face went white. He sprinted into the thick smoke almost instantly. But the very next second, he locked eyes with my corpse. And lying next to my body was our four-month-old child. He collapsed to his knees, as if all the strength had been drained from his body. “…How could this happen?” Even as Mia and his bodyguards desperately dragged him out, he remained in sheer denial, his face the color of ash. Until a crazed, raving man charged in, throwing his arms around Mia’s legs and sobbing wildly. “Sis, didn’t you tell me it was fine that I killed someone? I hid from the cops, so why am I being haunted by ghosts?!” Everyone’s gaze shot toward Mia like poisoned darts. All the color drained from her face instantly. The next second, the man turned, saw the portrait of the victim, and began kowtowing frantically in terror. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have killed you! Please let me go! The ghosts… they’re following me!”

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Chapter 1 During gym class, I crouched on the ground, clutching my chest and gasping for air. Coach Albright kicked me squarely in the back, her face twisted with contempt. “Stop acting like some fragile little snowflake! You’d really fake something like this just to get out of running?” The surrounding students erupted into laughter. They were all watching me, the school’s most pathetic simp, make a fool of myself again. My face was deathly pale. My hand trembled as I pointed toward the pocket holding my emergency nitro pills. But the prom queen got there first. Kennedy crushed the pill bottle beneath her designer sneaker, clinging to Connor’s arm and whining playfully. “Connor, baby, look at her. She’s putting on another show just to get your attention.” Connor stopped dribbling his basketball and stared at me with icy indifference. “Stop embarrassing me. If you don’t finish this 5K, don’t even think about going home.” A violent, agonizing spasm ripped through my heart. My vision began to blur, and I collapsed onto the rubber track. Before my consciousness completely faded, I used the last ounce of my strength to dial Connor’s mother. “Mrs. Sterling… I can’t deliver Connor’s birthday present anymore. I’ll repay your kindness in the next life.” I could hear Mrs. Sterling’s panicked screams through the speaker, but the sound was already fading away. The phone slipped from my fingertips, hitting the track with a sharp crack, shattering the screen. My vision plunged into total darkness. It felt as if a massive, invisible hand had ruthlessly crushed my heart. After the excruciating pain, there was only a deathly silence. But I didn’t disappear. I felt my body become incredibly light, floating up into mid-air. I looked down at myself—curled up on the track, my face a horrifying shade of blue-gray. I was dead. Elara, you are finally free. “Hey! Elara! How much longer are you going to play dead?!” Coach Albright’s shrill voice pierced the noise of the field. Wearing her chunky heels, she marched over to my corpse, raised her foot, and kicked me viciously in the ribs. Once. Twice. “Don’t think playing dead will get you out of this 5K! Let me tell you, even if God Almighty came down here today, you are finishing this run!” My corpse swayed lifelessly with each of her kicks. The surrounding students formed a circle, watching the spectacle like a circus act. No one stepped forward to stop it. Some even whistled. “Coach, Elara’s acting skills deserve an Oscar!” “Seriously. She’s rolling around on the dirty track just to get Connor to look at her. That’s dedication.” Outside the circle, Connor held his basketball, his brows furrowed tightly in absolute disgust. Kennedy clung to his arm, laughing until she shook. Her other foot was still resting on the pile of crushed powder from my pills, grinding it further into the dirt. “Connor, look at her. She’s so obsessed. She’ll even pull this pathetic victim act just to get a second of your time.” Kennedy’s voice was sickeningly sweet, drilling into my ears like a venomous snake. Connor let out a cold scoff and hurled his basketball violently at the ground. The ball bounced, grazing the scalp of my corpse, before crashing into the chain-link fence. “Elara, I’m counting to three.” Connor’s voice was as cold as ice chips. “Three.” “Two.” “One.” The ‘me’ on the ground didn’t move a muscle. Connor’s patience completely evaporated. He marched forward, grabbed the collar of my corpse’s shirt, and hoisted half my body off the ground. “Are you fucking deaf?! I told you to get up!” My head lolled lifelessly to the side. My eyes were wide open, staring blankly at a fixed point in the void. It was a classic death stare. But Connor acted as if he were completely blind. He entirely ignored my ashen complexion and my perfectly still chest. He shook my body violently, with enough force to rattle my bones apart. “Stop faking! You think this is going to make me feel sorry for you? Elara, these pathetic stunts only make me sick!” Floating in the air, I watched this man—the man I had loved for ten years—venting his rage on a lifeless corpse. Feel sorry for me? Connor, you really won’t. Because dead people don’t need your pity. Chapter 2 “Connor, babe, don’t be mad. She’s not worth getting worked up over.” Kennedy leaned in, feigning comfort while pouring gasoline on the fire. She reached out a manicured finger and poked my freezing hand in disgust. “Ew, why is her hand so cold? Elara, did you go lay in a meat freezer before class just to sell the act? That’s trying way too hard.” The crowd erupted into roaring laughter. “Hahaha, a meat freezer? Kennedy, you’re hilarious!” “She’s taking the simp lifestyle to a whole new level.” Coach Albright crossed her arms, looking impatiently at her watch. “Alright, that’s enough. Connor, just drop her on the side so we can finish class. Once everyone leaves, she’ll get bored and get up on her own.” Connor let go of my collar with a look of pure revulsion. Thud. The back of my head slammed heavily against the concrete edge of the track. If I were alive, a hit like that would have made me cry from the pain. But now, the shell on the ground was just a lump of meat incapable of feeling. Connor pulled a wet wipe from his pocket, scrubbing the fingers that had touched me one by one, as if he had touched something diseased. “Disgusting.” He balled up the dirty wipe and casually tossed it at my face. The white paper landed squarely, covering my unblinking left eye. “Let’s keep playing.” Connor turned and walked away without a single backward glance. Kennedy followed him smugly. Before she left, she deliberately kicked a spray of sand toward my open mouth. “Eat some dirt. Maybe it’ll wake you up.” The gym field returned to its chaotic noise. The sound of bouncing basketballs, boys cheering, and girls screaming filled the air. Only in the corner of the track lay a solitary, abandoned corpse. The sun beat down mercilessly. I watched my skin slowly lose its remaining luster. Lividity began to quietly pool in the hidden crevices of my body. I just floated above Connor’s head, watching him break a sweat on the court. He sank a three-pointer, and Kennedy jumped up excitedly to hand him a bottle of water. Connor took it, tilting his head back to chug it, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Hey, Connor… Elara is still laying there. You don’t think something actually happened, do you?” Finally, a boy couldn’t help but glance in my direction and asked nervously. Connor paused wiping his sweat, then sneered. “Happened? Bad weeds never die. Someone like her has a life harder than a cockroach.” Kennedy chimed in, “Exactly! Last time she claimed her stomach hurt, but then turned around and went to eat ghost pepper wings. This is definitely fake too. She just wants Connor to carry her to the nurse’s office. Anyone can see through her little tricks.” The boy scratched his head and didn’t dare say another word. Floating in mid-air, I couldn’t help but laugh. Last time my stomach hurt? That time, my stomach was actually bleeding internally. I was rolling on the floor in agony. It was Kennedy who had forced me to go eat blazing hot wings, claiming that if I didn’t, I was disrespecting her and Connor’s friend group. Desperate not to look pathetic in front of Connor, I forced myself to go. I ended up in the emergency room right after. And what was Connor doing then? He was playing video games with Kennedy. He never even answered my calls. And now, they were using that as proof that I was a liar. How incredibly ironic. Chapter 3 The bell finally rang. Students walked toward the cafeteria in groups of twos and threes. As they passed me, they pointed and whispered. “Still sleeping? She’s committed to the bit.” “Hey, Elara, lunchtime! They’re serving pizza today!” Someone purposely yelled right by my ear, trying to scare me awake. But I remained perfectly still. The boy who yelled flinched when he saw my deathly gray face and backed away. “Holy shit… why does her face look like that?” “She probably put on corpse makeup, right?” Coach Albright walked over, tucking her clipboard under her arm. Seeing me still on the ground, she flared up again. “Elara! Is this ever going to end?! Get up right now!” She raised her foot, this time aiming the pointed toe of her stiletto directly at my stomach. Just then, the frantic wail of an ambulance siren pierced the campus air, growing louder by the second. Immediately behind it, a black Maybach tore through the school gates like a feral beast, speeding straight onto the gym field. The tires shrieked against the pavement, coming to an abrupt halt right next to the track. The door flew open, and Connor’s mother stumbled out. Her perfectly maintained face was twisted in horror and soaked in tears. Her hair was a mess. She looked nothing like her usual elegant, wealthy self. “Elara! Elara!” Mrs. Sterling’s agonizing scream froze everyone in their tracks. Connor, who had been about to leave, stopped and frowned. “Mom? What are you doing here? Why did you drive onto the field?” He walked over, irritated, trying to block her path. “Did Elara complain to you again? She just wants you to yell at me, don’t believe her—” Smack! A resounding slap struck Connor’s face. Connor was stunned. He covered his cheek, looking at his mother in absolute disbelief. “Mom, you hit me?” Mrs. Sterling ignored him completely. She threw herself onto my body like a madwoman, her trembling fingers reaching to check my breathing. A few seconds later, she let out a soul-tearing shriek. “AHHHHH!!!” The sound was so haunting and visceral it made everyone’s scalp tingle. The paramedics rushed out of the ambulance with their trauma kits. They quickly pulled Mrs. Sterling back and began examining me. Connor stood frozen, watching his mother collapse onto the ground, sobbing hysterically. A faint sliver of unease crept into his chest. But he quickly shoved it down. “Mom, why are you playing along with her act? We’re in public, aren’t you embarrassed?” Connor gritted his teeth, walking over to pull his mother up. “Elara, that is enough! You know my mom has a bad heart. Are you trying to scare her to death?!” He yelled impatiently at me through the wall of paramedics. Kennedy stepped up beside him, muttering, “Mrs. Sterling spoils Elara way too much. She actually brought a whole medical team to help her fake this…” Chapter 4 The paramedics stopped what they were doing. An older medic pulled his stethoscope off, checked his watch, and shook his head with a heavy tone. “Pupils are dilated and fixed. No spontaneous respiration. Heart has been stopped for over thirty minutes.” He stood up and gave Mrs. Sterling a slight, respectful nod. “Ma’am, I am so sorry for your loss. The patient… is gone.” Boom. Those words struck the field like a thunderbolt. The noisy crowd instantly fell into a deathly silence. Everyone’s jaws dropped. Their eyes widened as if they had just heard a fairy tale. Connor’s expression froze. That look of annoyance was still pinned to his mouth, making him look utterly ridiculous. “What did you say?” Connor stared at the paramedic as if he had just heard a joke. “Gone? Gone where? Did she go home?” The medic looked at him with deep pity and repeated, “The patient is deceased. Preliminary assessment is sudden cardiac death, likely triggered by acute heart failure from intense physical exertion.” “Bullshit!” Connor suddenly exploded, shoving the medic aside and lunging at me. “Quacks! You’re all actors Elara paid off, aren’t you?! How much? How much did she pay you? I’ll double it!” He dropped to his knees, grabbed my shoulders, and shook me frantically. “Elara! Get up! Stop pretending! This isn’t funny!” “Didn’t you say you were going to give me a birthday present? Where is it? Get up and give it to me!” “Didn’t you say you’d repay my mom in the next life? This life isn’t over yet! Who gave you permission to move on to the next one?!” His voice went from a roar to a desperate scream, carrying a faint, undeniable tremble. My body flopped wildly in his grip like a broken doll. Yet, despite the violent shaking, I didn’t give him a single response. I didn’t timidly pull at his shirt and apologize like I used to. I didn’t look up with red eyes and say, “I’m sorry, Connor.” There was nothing. Only a dead, icy stillness. Connor’s hands touched my skin. It was no longer warm and soft. It was rigid, radiating a biting, bone-deep cold. That coldness seeped through his fingertips, traveling up his veins, freezing his very heart. He finally realized what was happening. With a trembling hand, he slowly reached for the carotid artery on my neck. It was completely silent. No pulse. Not a single beat. Connor’s pupils violently contracted. His breathing became erratic and rapid. He snapped his head up, his gaze falling on the crumpled wet wipe he had carelessly tossed aside. Beneath that wipe, my unclosed eye was staring blankly, fixedly, right at him. There was no love in that gaze. No grievance. Only an endless, empty void. As if mocking his stupidity. As if looking at a complete stranger. A massive, suffocating wave of terror drowned him. “No… impossible…” Connor’s voice broke horribly. He let go of me as if he’d been electrocuted, collapsing backward, scrambling away on his hands and knees. “She’s faking… she has to be faking…” He whipped his head around, locking onto Kennedy like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline. “Kennedy, say something! She’s faking, right?! She just moved a second ago, right?!” Kennedy was completely paralyzed with fear. Her face was as white as paper, her lips trembling so hard she couldn’t form a word. “I… I don’t know… I didn’t see anything…” Mrs. Sterling pushed herself off the ground. Like an enraged lioness, she charged at Connor. In her hand, she tightly gripped my shattered cell phone. “Connor! You animal! You killed her! You forced Elara to her death!” Mrs. Sterling smashed the phone violently into Connor’s face. The screen flickered to life. It was an unsent voice memo. With trembling fingers, Mrs. Sterling pressed play. It was my voice. Weak, agonizing, yet final. “Connor… if I die… will you be sad… even a little?” The recording cut off abruptly. Connor stared blankly at the phone on the ground. His face burned from the impact, but it was nothing compared to the agony ripping his soul apart. Dead? The Elara who had followed him around for ten years, the one he couldn’t chase away no matter how hard he pushed, the one he couldn’t break no matter how much he cursed her… She was really dead?

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My childhood best friend, Ethan, broke up with his girlfriend again and came straight to my place. Afterward, he casually grabbed his clothes and pulled them on, his face suddenly darkening. “Chloe, whose shirt is this?” I tiredly opened my eyes and glanced over. “My boyfriend’s.” “Oh, I forgot to mention. Don’t come over anymore. My boyfriend gets jealous.” 1 Ethan froze for a second, then stared at me with a half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Playing this game again?” My sleepiness vanished as I realized Ethan had completely misunderstood. He thought I was making up a boyfriend just to test if he would get jealous over me. I wanted to argue, but then I remembered that I had actually pulled that stupid stunt in the past. Ethan pulled off the shirt, tossed it into the trash can, picked his own shirt off the floor, and put it on. Before leaving, he let out a mocking scoff. “Chloe, next time, why don’t you bring this ‘boyfriend’ out so I can meet him?” He deliberately emphasized the word boyfriend. Not even twenty-four hours later, Ethan and his girlfriend were back together. In the VIP booth of the club, Ethan and his girlfriend were practically glued to each other. I had been dragged here at the last minute by some mutual friends. The moment I walked through the door, I met Ethan’s pitch-black eyes. A second later, his gaze shifted, looking past me toward the empty space behind my back. The corners of his lips curled up in an amused, playful smirk. It was as if he was asking: Where’s the boyfriend? I pretended I didn’t see his mocking stare. The drinking games started quickly. In the first round, Ethan lost. But the “punishment” was basically a reward. Ethan and his girlfriend had to make out passionately in front of everyone for a full ten minutes. It was enough to make everyone in the room thirsty and restless. “Ethan, man, save it for the bedroom! Stop rubbing it in our faces.” “Seriously, give the single people a break…” The two of them were so lost in each other they couldn’t even hear the crowd. When they finally pulled apart, the woman’s eyes were hazy, her lips slightly swollen and glistening. My gaze drifted upward, meeting the man’s perfectly clear, sober dark eyes. It was as if he wasn’t the one who had just been passionately making out. I instantly felt a flush of embarrassment, like a peeping tom caught in the act, and quickly looked away. As the game neared its end, the empty beer bottle spun and landed pointing directly at me. The punishment: Choose any guy in the room to kiss. I hesitated, unable to make a choice while everyone whistled and urged me on. Ethan’s confident voice cut through the noise. “Chloe, if you want to pick me, just say it. What’s there to be embarrassed about…” But the exact moment the words left his mouth, I turned and chose another guy sitting next to me. Instantly, the color drained from Ethan’s face. He let out a cold, sharp “Hah,” as if condemning my lack of appreciation for his offer. The atmosphere froze for a split second before the cheering resumed. Just as my lips touched the other guy’s, a loud crash of shattering glass echoed through the room, followed by a woman’s panicked voice. “Ethan, your hand is bleeding…” The guy and I quickly pulled apart. While everyone’s attention was focused on Ethan, I discreetly pulled the thin piece of clear plastic wrap from my lips. When I looked over, Ethan was staring at me with a freezing, deadly glare. He was probably blaming me for not picking him, making him lose face in front of the group. I quietly looked away. When the party broke up and we were leaving. I was standing on the curb waiting for an Uber when Ethan’s car pulled up right in front of me. His girlfriend, Mia, leaned out the window. “Chloe, we’re heading the same way. Hop in, we’ll give you a ride…” Before Mia could even finish her sentence, she was coldly cut off by the expressionless man behind the wheel. “It’s out of our way.” The sports car peeled off with a loud screech, kicking up a cloud of dust in my face. 2 That night. I had just finished showering and was getting ready for bed when I heard the front door unlock. Just as I was about to go check, my bedroom door was pushed open. The next second, I was pinned against the door, a familiar scent overwhelming my senses. My lips were kissed roughly, almost bitten, as if he was venting some deep rage. I shoved and struggled, finally biting down hard on the person’s lip. The man pulled back with a hiss of pain, panting heavily. “Chloe, you’re just trying to piss me off, aren’t you?! Kissing another guy right in front of my face.” “Ethan, you aren’t my dad. What gives you the right to control me?” Ethan’s voice went ice-cold. “Chloe, say that one more time.” “I’ll say it as many times as I want. You’re just my—” Before I could finish the sentence, my lips were brutally sealed again. Later, I don’t know how, but it turned into: “Be a good girl. Call me Daddy.” I bit my lip, absolutely refusing to satisfy his twisted bedroom power trip. “No—” Suddenly, the man’s lips curled into a smirk. The next second, he drove himself downward heavily. Caught completely off guard, I couldn’t stop a sharp scream from escaping my lips. If I didn’t say it, he was determined to make me surrender, relentlessly tormenting me. “Be a good girl. Say it.” …… By the end, my eyes were squeezed shut and I couldn’t even speak. In my dizzy, exhausted haze, I felt Ethan get out of bed, pour a glass of water, and help me drink it. Afterward, he pinched my cheek and threatened me: “Are you ever going to kiss another guy again?” I had absolutely no idea what he was saying and fell into a deep, heavy sleep. Early the next morning, I was woken up by frantic, aggressive pounding on my front door. I threw on a thin cardigan and walked out. The moment I unlocked the door, the person outside shoved her way in, looking furious. “Was Ethan here last night?” The woman’s eyes locked onto my neck, her expression changing drastically. She lunged forward and forcefully yanked my cardigan open. Before I could even react, a burning, stinging pain exploded across my cheek. “Chloe, are you a fucking whore?! You know perfectly well that Ethan is my boyfriend! Why do you keep throwing yourself at him?!” My exposed skin was covered in a dense map of hickeys left by the man last night. Mia looked at me like she wanted to eat me alive. She raised her hand to deliver another slap. But her wrist was caught by the man who had, at some point, walked out of my bedroom. “Mia, are you out of your fucking mind?” “You were the one who dumped me last night. What’s the point of running over here to throw a tantrum now?” “Ethan, you always told me you just saw her as a little sister! What is this then?! Is sleeping with her incest?!” “You two are—you’re fucking disgusting!” Mia shoved Ethan away and ran out, sobbing hysterically. Ethan didn’t make a single move to chase after her. Instead, he looked down at my red, swollen cheek. “Does it hurt a lot? Don’t take what she said to heart…” I gently pushed his hand away. “Ethan, leave. Don’t come back here anymore.” The man’s hand froze in mid-air, his temper flaring up again. “Chloe, that is enough. How much longer are you going to be mad? I literally broke up with her for you. Isn’t that enough?” “So what exactly is our relationship now?” My question made him pause. Then, he softened his tone. “Can’t we just be like we were before? Whether I have a girlfriend or not, it won’t change our relationship.” “Ethan, we are done.” I turned my head away. Ethan stared at me for a moment, then left without another word. Except for the fact that he slammed my front door so hard the walls shook. 3 The next day at noon. I texted Ethan, telling him to sign for a package. I had boxed up every single thing he had ever left at my place and shipped it to him. A few minutes later, my phone rang. “Chloe, what the hell is the meaning of this?” His voice was gritted through his teeth, heavy with nasal congestion, like he had caught a bad cold. “I’m moving.” “Chloe, you’ve really pissed me off this time.” “If I ever speak to you again, I’m a fucking dog!” He abruptly hung up. Right before the line went dead, I heard the sound of something shattering violently against the floor. The phone rang again. This time, it was my mom. “Sweetie, Arthur is already on his way to pick you up. Are you ready?” Arthur Hayes is the son of my mom’s best friend, and the man I’m currently dating. My mom, terrified that I was wasting my youth waiting around for Ethan, constantly texted me photos of Arthur—pictures that looked suspiciously like they were taken secretly. She couldn’t go three sentences without bringing up Arthur, talking about how handsome and successful he was. I couldn’t deny that the guy in the photos was an absolute ten, honestly even better-looking than Ethan. But who knew how heavily photoshopped they were? Seeing my skepticism, my mom immediately initiated a FaceTime call. Before I could hit decline, the other side answered, and a polite, deep voice offered a greeting. I was completely captivated by that low, magnetic voice. I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at the man on the screen. I was completely stunned. He was even better looking in real life than in the photos. He had a strong brow bone, eyes so dark you couldn’t see the bottom, with a slight, elegant tilt at the corners, and a perfectly straight nose. The faint smile on his thin lips softened his otherwise aloof and unapproachable aura. In that split second, I could hear my own heart pounding loudly in my chest. Is it possible that my only real type is just “ridiculously handsome”? It wasn’t until my mom nudged me with her elbow that I snapped back to reality. “Sweetie, what are you doing? I’ve called your name three times. Say hi to Arthur!” “Did you forget? You totally kissed him when you were little! You even said you were going to marry Arthur when you grew up and move into his house.” Through a series of fortunate events, we had our first official date. Then a second… until I honestly lost count of how many times we’d seen each other. It wasn’t until Arthur recently went on an overseas business trip… And Ethan showed up at my door after fighting with his girlfriend again, that I realized how long it had been since I’d even thought about Ethan. But at the time, my hormones were a mess, and I’d been single for a while. Faced with a man I used to have feelings for—and someone I had great physical chemistry with—showing up at my door, I made the mistake every woman makes at least once. Now, Arthur was back in the States. And I had drawn a permanent, hard line with Ethan. Everything was perfect. But I never in a million years expected to run into Ethan at the restaurant where we were having dinner. The man who swore he was a dog if he ever spoke to me again shamelessly pulled up a chair and sat right next to me, acting like he owned the place. He deliberately leaned in close and whispered: “Aren’t you going to introduce me to… this older gentleman?” “My boyfriend, Arthur Hayes.” I introduced Ethan to Arthur: “Just an acquaintance.” I shifted away to create some distance, but Ethan leaned in again, forcing himself into the narrative. “She means we grew up together. Childhood sweethearts.” I immediately shot back: “But we aren’t close.” Arthur offered a faint smile, his gaze landing softly on my face. “What a coincidence. I actually held Chloe when she was a newborn.” Instantly, Arthur flipped the script. “I assume Mr. Wright was probably just a toddler in diapers back then, too.” After a few rounds of verbal sparring, Ethan’s face cycled through shades of green and white. The other man calmly sipped his tea, acting nonchalant as he asked: “Chloe, is this green tea?” I nodded. Arthur smiled, seemingly in a great mood, and complimented it: “This really is… excellent tea.” (Note: “Green tea” is slang for someone who acts innocent but is actually manipulative and trying to steal someone’s partner). Ethan finally couldn’t take the humiliation anymore. He slammed his cup down and stormed off. Halfway through the meal, I went to the restroom. I had been slightly worried that Ethan might blurt out something completely inappropriate and ruin the dinner. But it seemed that worry was unfounded. However, the second I stepped out of the restroom, someone violently grabbed my wrist and yanked me into an alcove. Before I could even process what was happening, Ethan started hurling mocking insults at me. “Heh. Boyfriend?” “Chloe? Only a creepy old man would use a pet name like that so casually.” “Held you when you were a baby? Please.” “He might look like he has his shit together, but he only knows how to prey on naive, brainless girls like you.” “Your mom must be going blind in her old age to set you up with an old guy like that.” I frowned. “He’s only six years older than me. How does that make him an old man?” “A three-year age gap is a generational divide. What could you two possibly have in common?” “That doesn’t matter. My mom says older men know how to treat a woman right.” “Older men can’t get it up.” Every time I said a sentence, he let out a cold, sarcastic snort, acting like a bitter heckler. “Chloe, do you honestly think I’m going to believe you just found some random guy to play your boyfriend? Blocking my number? Throwing out all my stuff? Do you know what that proves? The harder you try to push me away, the more it proves that you—can’t let me go!” After finishing his delusional rant, the man leaned close to my ear as he was leaving and whispered: “But I am curious. What do you think would happen if he found out about what we did?” “And we’re not close? Chloe, tell me, which part of your body am I not intimately familiar with?” “Are we not close in bed?” My face flushed bright red. I glared fiercely at this utterly shameless bastard. Seeing my reaction, Ethan finally looked satisfied and smiled. He walked away with a noticeable bounce in his step, even offering a friendly nod to a stranger walking past. His back looked like a proud, arrogant peacock. 4 A few days later, Ethan somehow managed to get Arthur’s phone number. He invited him out for drinks behind my back. By the time I rushed to the bar, Arthur was already surrounded by a group of guys, acting incredibly friendly, having drank God knows how much. Soon after, they started playing a drinking game. The loser had to answer a truth question. After a few rounds, Ethan got annoyed that there were too many people. He told everyone else to get lost and insisted on playing one-on-one with Arthur. In the first round, Ethan won. “How many women have you slept with?” I glared at Ethan. He pretended not to see me. Assuming Arthur might be hesitant to answer, he offered a fake-helpful suggestion: “If Mr. Hayes isn’t comfortable answering, we can skip it. Or maybe I can ask a different—” Arthur answered immediately: “Chloe is my first girlfriend.” I don’t know if it was my imagination, but when this usually mature, composed man said those words, a brief flash of shyness crossed his face, and his ears actually turned a bit red. Ethan clearly didn’t believe him. “There’s no point in lying, man.” I was also a little skeptical. Arthur explained that he had spent his twenties entirely focused on his education. During grad school, he and some friends launched a tech startup. He literally never had the time to consider a personal life, which was why he had been single until now. Ethan let out a harsh “Heh,” and started the next round. “Does Mr. Hayes really like Chloe?” “Yes.” “And does Chloe like you?” “She is my girlfriend. If she stops liking me in the future, it will absolutely be because I failed to be a good enough partner to her.” …… After a few more rounds, Ethan got frustrated again and changed the rules to just straight drinking. The group of guys started relentlessly pouring shots. Or to be more accurate, they all teamed up to aggressively try and drink Arthur under the table. Arthur didn’t refuse a single glass, tossing them back smoothly. Ethan picked up another glass and raised it toward Arthur. I grabbed Arthur’s glass and hissed at Ethan in a low voice: “Are you crazy? He’s already had way too much.” “I’ll drink this one for him, and then we’re leaving.” Ethan’s voice was dripping with cold, bitter sarcasm: “It hasn’t even been a week, and you’re already desperately protecting him?” “Did you forget your own name?” Arthur gently took the glass from my hand. “Chloe, it’s fine. I’ll drink it.” “You guys grew up together. I don’t want to ruin your friendship over me.” I watched him drain the glass with deep concern. I didn’t notice the way Ethan was staring at Arthur, grinding his back teeth so hard they could shatter. It was a look that screamed murder. After finishing the drink, Arthur suddenly grabbed his stomach, looking like he was in immense pain. The veins on the back of his hand bulged. I quickly asked him: “Arthur, what’s wrong?” “I’m fine.” “We’re done drinking. We’re going home.” Terrified that something serious was wrong with Arthur, I helped him stand up to leave. As we reached the door, Ethan marched over, practically radiating dark, violent energy. I instinctively stepped in front of Arthur to shield him. “Ethan, what the hell do you want now?” Ethan stopped in his tracks. A flash of genuine hurt crossed his eyes before he swept a freezing glare over me. Finally, he leaned in and whispered something into Arthur’s ear that I couldn’t hear. Then, he stood there and watched us leave. The voices behind us slowly faded away. “Ethan, is Chloe really dating that older guy?” “No way. Everyone knows Chloe has been in love with Ethan since they were kids.” “This is definitely just a girl playing games. She’s not doing this for the first time. She just wants to make Ethan jealous.” “But what if she actually falls for that guy?” “Wanna bet on it?” “I’ll put my money on Ethan, obviously.” “But that guy doesn’t look like a downgrade from Ethan. What if he actually wins…”

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My mother said I was a starving ghost reincarnated, so she forced me to wear an anti-gluttony shock collar. On my sister’s birthday, my mother bought her a cake, and I said I wanted a piece too. My mother grabbed the remote and activated the collar, sending a jolt of electricity through me. “You even want to steal your sister’s cake? Have you no shame?!” My sister hated the fatty parts of meat, so she threw them on the floor. When I secretly picked a piece up to eat, I was caught. My mother activated the collar again. “Trying to steal your sister’s meat? You really are a starving ghost reincarnated!” When my stomach ulcer flared up from hunger and I tried to grab a piece of chocolate, my mother shoved me away violently. “This is your sister’s New Year’s gift, and you’re trying to steal this too?!” She gently picked up my sister, saying she was taking her out to celebrate the New Year. When she shoved me, my head slammed against the table. Suddenly, my stomach didn’t seem to hurt as much anymore. It felt like I would never have to feel hungry again. 1 I hunched over, clutching my stomach, dense beads of cold sweat breaking out across my forehead. The burning agony in my stomach made it impossible to sit or stand still. It felt as if a pair of invisible hands were squeezing my insides, making even breathing difficult. I stumbled out of my room, my vision blurred as I searched for food. Anything would do, as long as it filled my stomach. That’s when I saw a beautifully wrapped box sitting on the dining table. I rushed toward it. It was a box of exquisite chocolates, the kind I had never tasted before. My mouth watered instantly. I swallowed hard and reached out a trembling hand. Just one piece. If I just eat one piece, no one will notice, right? But the moment my fingers brushed the packaging, a hand violently shoved me away. I didn’t have time to react, nor did I have the strength to. I crashed to the floor. Losing my footing, the side of my head slammed heavily against the sharp corner of the table. Something warm began flowing down the side of my face. I touched it with trembling fingers. It was blood. Bright red blood, dripping down, drop by drop. My mother didn’t care at all. She frowned, looking at me with pure disgust. “This is a New Year’s gift for your sister, and you’re trying to steal it from her?! You selfish little brat!” The burning in my stomach seemed to intensify. My lips pale, I clutched my abdomen, completely devoid of the strength to argue back. And I knew deep down that even if I did argue, she wouldn’t listen. “Mom… I’m so hungry…” I used the last ounce of my strength to force those words out. Instead of answering, my mother pulled the collar’s remote from her pocket and slammed her thumb onto the activation button. Before I could even brace myself, a powerful surge of electricity ripped through my entire body. I writhed on the floor, howling in agony. Every inch of me was screaming in pain. “Try stealing food again, I dare you! Hungry? You stole all your sister’s nutrients when you were in my womb, and now you want to steal her chocolate?! You make me sick!” My lips moved silently, trying to say, No, that’s not true. It wasn’t like that. But my jaw was locked tight; I couldn’t even open my mouth. Hearing the commotion, my sister walked out of her bedroom. She was wearing a delicate, beautiful little dress and bright, shiny boots. Anyone could see she was a hothouse flower, pampered and protected. Like a porcelain doll. I was so jealous… That’s what I thought to myself. But my sister didn’t even spare me a passing glance. She smiled sweetly and took my mother’s hand. “Mommy, I’m all ready.” My mother’s furious demeanor vanished instantly. She stroked my sister’s hair with absolute adoration. “Okay. My daughter looks so pretty. Come on, Mommy’s taking you out to see the New Year’s fireworks.” With that, my mother took my sister’s little hand and picked her up. Only then did my sister act as if she had just noticed me, gasping in feigned surprise: “Mommy, look! Chloe’s head is bleeding! It looks really bad.” My mother didn’t even turn around. “She’s faking it. Ignore her. Serves her right for trying to steal your chocolate.” 2 Mom… I’m not faking… I wanted so desperately to say it out loud, but the violent dizziness from the blow to my head rendered me mute. My sister stuck her tongue out at me, looking playful and mischievous. “It’s your own fault, Chloe! Why did you try to steal my chocolate? Mommy bought that just for me, and I haven’t even had a piece yet!” I looked at my sister, whose face was a mirror image of my own, feeling a desolate chill wash over my heart. Why? Why did we look exactly the same, yet our lives were worlds apart? I had wanted to ask my mother that question countless times, but I never dared. Now, I didn’t even have the strength to ask. Suddenly, my mother seemed to remember something and looked back at me. My eyes lit up instantly. She must have noticed something was wrong. She must still love me. But before the joy could even fully form in my chest, reality slapped me hard in the face. My mother yanked me up off the floor and violently shoved me into the cramped, windowless storage closet. “Disgusting. You got blood all over the floor!” My head hurt so much, my neck hurt, my whole body hurt… But all I could do was watch helplessly as my mother carried my sister out the front door. And then, she locked the closet door from the outside. I was sealed in total darkness. I blinked, and blood seeped into my eyes. It stung sharply, and liquid kept streaming out, feeling like tears. But I couldn’t even cry out loud anymore. My parents divorced when my sister and I were very young. My dad originally wanted to take me with him, but my mom argued that my sister and I were a unit. She claimed that without me, my sister’s childhood would be incomplete. She insisted that biological sisters needed to stay together. My dad couldn’t fight her on it and eventually had to give up. I was so happy back then. I thought my mom had finally truly seen me. But it was all just a fantasy. Every ounce of suffering in my life came from her. My mom constantly drilled it into my head that because I stole all the nutrients in the womb, my sister was born weak and sickly. She told me I owed my sister. From then on, I gave up every good thing I ever had to my sister. But my sister was like an insatiable black hole. If she was even slightly unhappy, I would either be screamed at by my mom or beaten black and blue. And every time, my sister would flash that harmless, innocent smile and tell me not to make Mom angry. The collar around my neck still sent sporadic jolts of residual electricity through me. I could only lie on the floor, groaning in pain. When did I start wearing this collar? It was on our birthday. My mom had bought a beautiful, expensive cake. It sat quietly on the dining table, and both my sister and I were drooling over it. But I didn’t dare sneak a bite. My sister, however, blatantly walked up and scooped out a massive chunk with her bare hand. She smacked her lips right in front of me, her eyes full of satisfaction. My mouth watered constantly. I wanted a piece so badly. After she finished, she washed her hands and acted like nothing happened. When my mom finished cleaning up in the kitchen and walked out… The first thing she saw was the mangled, half-eaten cake. Her piercing gaze shot straight to me. She didn’t even ask a single question. She just walked into her bedroom, brought out something that looked like a dog collar, and without a word of explanation, locked it around my neck. 3 I stared at her in terror, but I didn’t dare resist. The next second, she hit the activation button, and a brutal shock of electricity tore through my neck. Caught completely off guard, I burst into hysterical sobs. But my mom just slapped me hard across the mouth. “I bought this cake for your sister! And you dare steal it?! Why are you such a glutton?! Have you no shame?!” And my sister just stood behind her the entire time, watching it happen quietly. Not saying a word in my defense. I prayed so hard in that moment that she would tell the truth. So that I wouldn’t have to hurt this much anymore… But she didn’t. She just blinked at me, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. Tears smeared across my face, my voice shaking as I told my mom, “It wasn’t me.” Hearing that only made my mom angrier. She cranked the intensity setting even higher. I thrashed wildly on the floor, convulsing, unable to form a complete sentence. The electricity pulsed for a long time. By the end, I was on the verge of losing consciousness. “You still dare to lie?! If it wasn’t you, who else could it be?! Are you trying to blame your sister?! I didn’t realize you were such a liar! You’re both my children, why are you so rotten?! From now on, you keep this anti-gluttony collar on. If you ever try to steal food again, I’ll shock you to death!” Right before I passed out, all I saw was my mother’s face, contorted with rage. Since that day, I had a collar around my neck. I wore it like a dog for years. But why? Why were we both her children… Yet she loved my sister so much more? My heart ached. I just wanted my mother’s love, too. Every memory from the past few years flashed through my mind. Sensing the creeping approach of death, I scrambled up in a panic. No, I don’t want to die yet. I haven’t even celebrated the New Year with Mom yet. No, I can’t. I used every last ounce of my strength to drag myself to the door. But no matter how hard I pushed or pulled, the locked door wouldn’t budge. By the end, my hands were covered in blood. Several of my fingernails had snapped off, leaving long, bloody streaks across the hard wood of the door. Mom is going to be so mad when she sees this… I collapsed weakly onto the floor. Suddenly, I remembered something. I looked up at the ceiling, at the small device emitting a faint, dark red glow. A tiny spark of hope flared in my chest. I stumbled over to stand directly beneath the security camera and looked up. Speaking into the lens, I said, “Mom, can you see me? I hurt so much… my stomach hurts so badly… I’m so hungry. I really wasn’t lying… I haven’t eaten in days…” “Please, believe me… Chloe didn’t lie to you… I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so tired. Am I going to die? It’s such a shame… I never got to become your favorite, perfect little girl… If there’s a next life, Mom, could you please love me a little bit more?” As I spoke, the tears started falling again. The sheer injustice of it all overshadowed the physical pain. “I really didn’t want to steal my sister’s things. That time on our birthday… I really wasn’t the one who ate the cake… But you didn’t believe me… It must be because I’m usually bad and don’t listen to you. I’m sorry, Mom…” My head grew heavier and heavier, my consciousness slipping away. But the physical pain was slowly fading. Memories of the past flickered through my mind like a movie reel. All those painful moments. My body didn’t seem to hurt anymore. 4 I floated in mid-air, quietly looking down at the lifeless corpse below. So, I was dead? I actually died. I wished I could say a few more words to my mom. I wondered when she would remember to check the camera footage. Would she see it? See my final words. How would she react? Would she feel even a little bit sad that I died? I couldn’t feel the pain anymore. Watching the brilliant fireworks bursting outside the tiny, high window, and hearing the distant, overlapping shouts of “Happy New Year!” from the streets below… I couldn’t help but drift outside. I never expected that regaining my freedom would happen like this. I floated high above the city, watching all the different fireworks—things I had never been allowed to see before. Even I felt a little bit of the holiday spirit. Eventually, the crowds dispersed, and I started to feel a little tired. Suddenly, a thought struck me: I just wandered off. Will Mom be mad when she gets back and realizes I’m not there? Startled by the thought, I immediately floated back. Sure enough, my mom and sister were already home. My sister was cradled in my mom’s arms, laughing joyfully. I reached out to grab my mom’s hand, only to watch my fingers pass right through hers. Right. I’m dead. I can never hold my mom’s hand again. I can never touch her again. At that realization, the tears started falling again. “Mommy, I want sweet and sour ribs!” my sister’s sweet voice rang out. My mom affectionately tapped her nose. “Okay. Mommy will make you whatever you want.” Listening to my sister list off a whole menu of dishes, my mouth actually started to water. But I would never feel hunger again. My mom went to the kitchen to cook, and my sister sat quietly on the sofa, eating the box of chocolates I never even got to touch before I died. Soon, my mom brought the food out to the dining table. “Mommy, shouldn’t we call Chloe?” my sister asked innocently, looking up. I looked at my mom expectantly too. My mom rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about her. She loves stealing food so much, who knows what kind of feast she sneaked while we were gone.” My heart instantly turned to ice. But I really didn’t steal anything. I didn’t have a single penny to my name. I hadn’t eaten a single bite of food in three days. Hearing that, my sister just smiled innocently and started eating with my mom. After they finished dinner, I still hadn’t made a sound. My mom finally frowned and decided to open the closet door to check. My heart leapt into my throat again. She pulled the door open, her angry gaze landing on me. “You’re old enough to know better, and you’re still sleeping on the floor? Are you waiting for me to coddle you? Keep dreaming!” She spat on me without an ounce of pity. But I didn’t react. I just lay face down on the floor. The blood on my head had dried into a grotesque, dark crust. “You think a little blood is a big deal?! You think leaving it uncleaned will make me feel sorry for you?! Do you think I don’t know you fell on purpose just to put on a show for me?! If you ask me, you’re just being dramatic! You’re a teenager, not a toddler. I have no obligation to humor you!” Listening to her icy words, it felt like someone was taking a sharp knife to the softest part of my heart, slicing it over and over again. Why? Why won’t you just step a little closer and look at me, Mom? If you did, you’d realize I stopped breathing a long time ago. When I still didn’t respond, her anger boiled over. She grabbed a ceramic teapot off the nearby table and hurled it at me. It shattered into pieces against my body. “If you want to play dead, then you can play dead forever! You think you’re so tough now! You don’t even listen when I talk to you. Fine, then you can starve! And to think I was actually going to let you eat something! Ungrateful brat!” With that, she slammed the door shut and locked it again. That was the closest she came to realizing I was dead. I was clearly dead, yet my heart ached so terribly. Even if she did realize I was dead, she probably wouldn’t care, right? After all, she hated me so much. Why was I always such a burden? “Mommy, why isn’t Chloe coming out?” my sister’s innocent voice echoed from outside.

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Thirty years into our childfree marriage, my husband’s twenty-eight-year-old illegitimate son showed up at our door. It was the second year since the law granted illegitimate children legal inheritance rights. His purpose for coming was glaringly obvious. I asked my husband what his plan was. His eyes darted around, and he stammered out excuses. First, he claimed we were getting older and needed someone to look after us. Second, he argued that the boy was, after all, his own flesh and blood. Seeing that I remained stubbornly silent, he closed his eyes and played his trump card: “If you had a child out there, you could bring them home too, and they could inherit our assets in the future.” We had been together for thirty years, never spending more than a year apart. He was absolutely certain it was impossible for me to have a secret child. But if he was going to put it like that, then I guess I didn’t need to feel guilty anymore. An illegitimate child? Did he really think I didn’t have any? Not only did I have them, I had more than him! 1 When the young man showed up at my door claiming he was looking for his biological father, my brain short-circuited for a second. Then, naturally, I told him, “You have the wrong house.” My husband and I had agreed to be childfree before we even got married. How could we possibly have a child? The polite smile remained plastered on the young man’s face. His gaze bypassed me, landing squarely on something behind me. His voice rang out, laced with pleasant surprise: “Uncle Thomas… No, Dad—” Dad? I followed his gaze, turning around stiffly, and saw my husband, Thomas Sterling, standing in the living room, watching us. He looked back at us, his face a complex mix of guilt he couldn’t hide. His eyes darted nervously, refusing to meet mine. A bone-chilling cold spread through my entire body. In that moment, what else was there to understand? The three of us sat on the living room sofa. Thomas and the young man exchanged glances multiple times, communicating silently through the air. They were clearly already very familiar with each other. They must have met privately plenty of times. I was the only stranger in the room. I remained silent. Thirty years of marriage. A husband who insisted on a childfree life before we even tied the knot now had a twenty-eight-year-old illegitimate son. I didn’t know what expression to wear or how to even begin processing my emotions. We were both nearing sixty, having just retired from our jobs, holding onto the life savings we had worked so hard for decades to accumulate. And this was the second year since the law had officially granted illegitimate children legal inheritance rights. The young man’s intention in showing up now was crystal clear. 2 Since it was already out in the open, Thomas had no choice but to endlessly apologize and explain. His excuses were pathetic, boiling down to one tired cliché: a drunken mistake in his youth. What a load of crap. Setting aside the fact that Thomas was famous in his youth for his high alcohol tolerance… even if he were blackout drunk, could he really have performed? After thirty years together, the man sitting in front of me, his hair more than half gray, suddenly felt like a complete stranger. I looked at them and asked the first question since Liam walked through the door: “Why didn’t your mother come?” Liam twitched the corner of his mouth. The look he gave me screamed, I knew you’d ask that. “Mrs. Sterling, my mom is very busy. She’s traveling with some friends right now and didn’t have time to come.” I narrowed my eyes slightly, taking a hard look at the young man who shared a striking resemblance to Thomas. I had, after all, lived twenty-odd years longer than him; I wasn’t deaf to the passive-aggressive undertone in his voice. He held his chin slightly high, an arrogant air seeping through his casual demeanor. Just an illegitimate bastard, and he actually thought he had the right to feel superior in front of me? I let out a cold scoff: “So, your mother raised you all these years without ever trying to find your father. And now, she sends you looking for him. What, can she not afford to keep you anymore?” Liam’s face darkened. But before he could even respond, Thomas was already barking at me: “Stella!” I glared at him coldly. He still didn’t have the guts to meet my eyes, just muttering under his breath that even if I was angry, I shouldn’t take it out on the kid. The kid was innocent; he didn’t know anything. Innocent? Of course he wasn’t innocent. As an illegitimate child, his very existence was the original sin in this marriage. Liam didn’t stay long. He only came to deliver a message: he had a girlfriend and wanted to get married, but his current apartment was too small for a married couple. He wanted to move in with us. After all, the penthouse Thomas and I currently lived in was over three thousand square feet. What kind of fever dream was he having? I didn’t bust my ass for half my life just to hand everything over to someone else. I immediately vetoed the idea, but Thomas just kept his head down and stayed silent. As Liam was leaving, he shot me a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Thomas had already done a DNA test with him. Even as an illegitimate son, his right to inherit was set in stone. I could block him for now, but I couldn’t block him forever. 3 After Liam left, Thomas and I sat in the living room in deafening silence. What’s done was done. Whatever we said now felt pale and powerless. After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, I suppressed the urge to scream and asked Thomas: “What is your plan?” Thomas stammered for a long time before finally saying: “Stella, we’re both getting older. Our bodies aren’t as strong as they used to be. If we had someone around to take care of us, it would be…” I cut him off: “Save the bullshit. I will never accept him.” The kid is his, not mine. Having him “take care” of me? Does he think I want to be suffocated in my sleep? Liam looked at me with nothing but hostility. I’m not blind; I could see it perfectly well. It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered divorce. But a divorce meant Thomas would get half of our marital assets. Those assets were the result of our combined efforts over more than half a lifetime. Even if it was only half, I refused to let it fall into the hands of someone like Liam. Thomas’s expression shifted several times, eventually suppressing his temper. He rambled on, the gist of it being that what happened happened, Liam carries the Sterling bloodline, and it’s impossible for him not to acknowledge his own son. It’s not like the Sterling family has a royal throne to pass down. “Only bloodline,” my ass. Seeing that my expression remained stone-cold, Thomas finally gritted his teeth and played his trump card: “Stella, if you had a child out there, you could bring them home too, and they could inherit our assets in the future alongside Liam.” He dared to say this because, in our thirty years together, we had never spent more than a year apart. He was absolutely certain I couldn’t possibly have a secret child. Furthermore, I was fifty-seven years old. I was no longer capable of having children. They had planned this perfectly. Waiting until now to show up at my door was probably because they were afraid I might have changed my mind about being childfree earlier on. But who can really say for sure when it comes to secret children? Seeing my face darken, Thomas softened his tone to comfort me: “Stella, I admit I made a small mistake in my youth and wronged you. But we’ve weathered thirty years of storms together. How many years do we even have left? Besides, at our age, it’s impossible to raise a child from scratch anyway. Liam has half my blood; his character can’t be that bad…” Perhaps he didn’t even realize the smug, triumphant look plastered on his own face. Back then, he was the one who suggested being childfree. He said he didn’t like kids, even claimed he had a physiological aversion to them. I happened to dislike kids too, so we reached a childfree consensus. Now, he had stabbed me in the back, only to turn around and mock me: Who told you to be so stupid and not guard against me? 4 Three days. Thomas only managed to play the part of the apologetic, submissive husband for three days. After that, he brazenly started contacting Liam right in front of me. Voice memos, FaceTimes, phone calls—the once quiet living room was now constantly filled with their laughter. Over the past two days, Thomas even suggested changing Liam’s last name to Sterling. I ignored him, coldly watching his smug display. Scum are excellent at camouflaging themselves, often hiding for long periods. But someone like Thomas, who could keep up the act for thirty years? That was truly rare. I was nearing sixty. The drive I had in my youth had long since faded. I lacked the courage to start over completely. Moreover, the assets Thomas and I had built up over our youth were mostly liquidated and tied up in investments. Stripping him of everything wouldn’t be easy. My passive attitude made Thomas believe that bringing Liam into the family was a done deal. After all, the fact that Liam was his biological son was undeniable, recognized even by law. I was too exhausted to look at Thomas’s face anymore. I decided to take a trip with my best friend, Chloe, for a few days to clear my head. Thomas considerately packed my luggage for me. Before I left, he chuckled and offered some advice: “Stella, at our age, there are many things we’re powerless to change. The best approach is just to let it go.” Chloe took my suitcase from his hands, smiling even brighter than him: “Thomas, it’s exactly because of that attitude of yours that Stella and I never have to worry when we go out and have fun.” Thomas didn’t catch Chloe’s underlying sarcasm. He assumed I hadn’t told her about his illegitimate son and thought she was complimenting him. The car door closed, and Thomas’s figure gradually shrank in the rearview mirror. I turned to Chloe and asked, “Are the kids back?” Chloe nodded. “They all got back last night. They’re waiting for you at home right now.” I didn’t say anything else, wearily pinching the bridge of my nose. My left hand, resting by my side, was suddenly enveloped in a warm grasp. I looked down. Chloe was only a year younger than me, but the wrinkles on the back of her hand were just as pronounced as mine. I sighed silently and gently squeezed her hand back. 5 I was gone for five days. For those five days, I cut off all contact with Thomas. When I finally came back and unlocked the front door, the first thing to rush out was a mixed-breed dog I didn’t recognize. The dog barked furiously at me from inside my own home. A strange woman’s voice drifted from the living room: “Daisy, what are you barking at? Is a guest here—” The woman walking toward the entryway swallowed the rest of her sentence the moment she saw me. It was obvious she knew who I was. And in this house, she was the “guest.” An incredibly unwelcome guest. The woman looked about my age. She wore a light pink dress, had permed, voluminous hair, and her face was caked in a thick layer of foundation that settled deeply into her laugh lines. She looked meticulously put together, yet incredibly tacky. Our eyes met. My expression was hostile. Even though I already guessed who she was, I demanded with an interrogating tone: “Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” A flicker of panic crossed the woman’s face for just a second before she quickly composed herself. She offered a less-than-friendly smile: “You must be Stella, right? I’m Rachel.” Rachel. Liam’s mother. Another voice echoed from inside: “Mom, who is it?” Liam and Thomas appeared behind Rachel simultaneously. Hah. A family of three. How perfect. Thomas was clearly guilty. He stammered, asking why I didn’t tell him I was coming back early. I sneered: “If I told you early, would I have been able to catch this wonderful little show?” It wasn’t until I walked into the living room that I realized it wasn’t a family of three, but a family of four. Liam’s girlfriend was half-lying on the sofa, playing on her phone with her feet propped up on the coffee table. Hearing people come in, she merely glanced up before looking back down at her screen. The audacity to bring his old flame and his bastard son into my home. Thomas had pushed me too far! 6 I slammed my luggage heavily onto the table. The girl on the sofa quickly pulled her feet down and shot me a dirty look. Liam, playing the loyal lapdog, wasn’t going to stand for that. He yelled at me: “Couldn’t you put that down a little more quietly?” I didn’t even give him the time of day: “This is my house. I’ll do whatever the hell I want. What does it have to do with an outsider like you?!” “This is my dad’s house too,” Liam scoffed coldly. He tilted his chin up, looking down his nose at me with a bizarre sense of superiority. “Aunt Stella, at your age, you should be looking for someone to rely on. I think you better start treating me with a little more respect.” I glanced at him, searing his arrogant face into my memory. Rachel stood next to Thomas, smiling tightly with her lips pressed together. Mhm. Like an aging white lotus. I ignored them and jutted my chin toward Thomas, keeping my voice as flat as possible: “Thomas, sit down. We need to talk.” Thomas instinctively looked at Rachel and Liam. Rachel let out a soft hmph and, without bothering to hide her entitlement, sat directly on the sofa across from me. Liam sat down next to her, staring at me with open hostility. They really had no idea what their actual status was here. But of course, that was quietly encouraged by Thomas. Thomas looked at them, then at me, and finally sat down on Rachel’s other side. They flanked Rachel, one on the left, one on the right, protecting her. It made me look like the wicked villain trying to bully poor Rachel. I couldn’t be bothered to waste time on pleasantries and cut straight to the chase: “Thomas, you know exactly how much money we’ve saved up over the years, right?” As soon as those words left my mouth, everyone’s eyes locked onto Thomas. Even the girl playing games on the sofa turned the volume all the way down and quietly pricked up her ears. A bizarre, tense silence fell over the living room. Thomas looked at me for a long moment before finally nodding: “I know.” All our savings were in a single bank account. The PIN was six digits long. I only knew the first three digits, and Thomas knew the last three. When we were young, Thomas and I were terrible with money. We didn’t combine our finances initially. Then Thomas got seriously ill, and we realized that combining our balances wasn’t even enough to cover the surgery. That was when we finally understood the importance of money and started planning to save. To prevent the other from slipping back into bad spending habits, we came up with this method. In front of everyone, I pulled the debit card out of my purse and placed it on the table. “There’s $2.24 million on this card.” Hearing that balance, nobody reacted—except for the girl on the sofa. It seemed Thomas had already told them. Thomas rubbed his hands together and offered an awkward smile: “Stella, uh, about Liam’s wedding… I’ve done the math. A million should be enough to cover—” He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Rachel cut him off: “Thomas, you just don’t understand the market these days. Based on current trends, what you’re talking about—the banquet, the ring, the bridal jewelry, the photoshoot… We have to do this right, a million isn’t going to cut it…” The girl who had been lounging on the sofa was now sitting up ramrod straight, her restless feet planted firmly on the floor. She nodded eagerly along with Rachel’s words: “Auntie is absolutely right. Liam, when my best friend got married last year, the groom’s family gave them $660,000 just for the engagement gift. I shouldn’t get any less than her, right?” Liam shifted closer to her and affectionately stroked her hair: “Don’t worry, you won’t get any less than her, right, Dad?” The ball was tossed back to Thomas. He didn’t answer Liam directly, but stole a cautious glance at me: “Stella, a wedding only happens once in a lifetime. What do you think…” “Let me finish speaking.” I unlocked my phone and opened the calculator app. “We still have five years left on the mortgage. The monthly payment is $8,000. If we want to pay it off in one lump sum, we need $500,000.” It was a 3,000-square-foot penthouse. We bought it early on when prices were still around $1,000 a square foot. We had paid off fifteen years of a twenty-year mortgage. The only reason we hadn’t paid it off early was that the interest was basically paid up. Based on our current savings, paying off the remaining five years wouldn’t be a strain at all. Before Thomas could say anything, Rachel frowned: “If you calculate it like that, there’s only about $1.7 million left. That’s barely enough to cover Liam’s wedding.” Liam chimed in on cue: “Dad, the mortgage obviously needs to be paid off first. Katie and I barely make enough to cover our own monthly expenses; we definitely can’t help with that.” I looked up from my phone screen, taking in their greedy faces one by one, and slowly smiled: “What are you all dreaming about? Do you really think that $1.7 million has much of a share for you?” Their faces instantly darkened. The furrow between Thomas’s brows was deep enough to crush a fly: “Stella, I thought you had come to terms with this? Why are you saying things like this again? I told you, Liam is my only child—” I raised a hand to stop him: “You only have one child. That’s your business. This is our joint marital property. Naturally, it should be divided equally among our children.” Before Thomas could even process what I had just said, I made a phone call: “Bring the kids in.”

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At my pre-wedding party, my fiancé’s “girl best friend” leaned against his chest and openly mocked me in front of everyone: “Sister-in-law, I heard your mom was a homewrecker who slept her way to the top. I also heard you used to be a high-end escort, and you only latched onto our Carter after your last sugar daddy dumped you?” Amidst the roaring laughter of the crowd, I backhanded a whiskey bottle against the table, grabbed the jagged glass, and pressed it right against the corner of her mouth. “I was born petty. Whoever dares to throw dirty water on me, I will rip the roof off their house and hang them from the city walls for everyone to see.” They called me a psycho. They said I couldn’t take a joke. I just smiled, pulled out an unlimited Black Amex card, and set up a little betting game. That very night, I ripped the hypocritical, innocent mask right off that “sweet childhood sweetheart.” Everyone thought that was the end of it. Until the day of our Wedding of the Century, when every billboard and screen in the city broadcasted a live feed— That “pure and untouchable” Ivy Thorne was starring in a sickeningly explicit, X-rated scene with my fiancé and his groomsmen. Holding the microphone, I stood amidst the shocked gasps of the entire venue and elegantly announced, “The wedding is canceled.” My fiancé, looking like a stray dog, lunged at me and roared, “Sloane! You toxic bitch! What did you do to Ivy?!” I looked at him like he was a complete joke. “Don’t panic. This is just the appetizer.” “Everything you’ve forced upon me, I will collect back with interest. I’ll make you pay in blood, one piece at a time.” Chapter 1 I was born petty. Whoever dares to throw dirty water on me, I will make sure their entire family never knows a day of peace. When I was a kid, a neighborhood Karen falsely accused me of stealing her packages. I literally hired a crew to rip the roof off her house in the middle of the night. When I started working, a coworker started a rumor that I was sleeping my way up the corporate ladder. I hacked the AV system at the company’s annual gala and played a security video of her and the regional manager getting busy in the supply closet on an endless loop. Gradually, no one dared to mess with me. They all said I was an unhinged, vengeful psycho—until my family arranged a marriage for me. At the pre-wedding party, his “girl best friend” leaned against his chest and smirked at me: “Sister-in-law, I heard your mom was a homewrecker who slept her way to the top. I also heard you used to be a high-end escort, and you only latched onto our Carter after your last sugar daddy dumped you?” Carter Sterling’s friends immediately erupted into laughter, waiting to see me make a fool of myself. I grabbed a whiskey bottle, smashed it against the edge of the table, and pressed the jagged glass right against her lips. “Carter, you have so many friends. I’m sure losing this one won’t matter to you, right?” … Carter’s face instantly darkened. He forcefully swatted my hand away. “Sloane, what crazy stunt are you pulling now?!” “Ivy was just making a joke. Do you really have to take it this far?” The frat boys behind him immediately chimed in. “Yeah, sister-in-law, do you know who Carter is? Your family hit the jackpot marrying into the Sterlings. You really can’t take a simple joke?” “Ivy is our girl, we grew up together. You threatening her like this shows you really don’t know your place.” I actually laughed. I picked up a shard of broken glass from the floor and twirled it between my fingertips. “You see, I’ve never had much of a sense of humor since I was a kid. I don’t understand ‘jokes’.” “So whoever jokes with me, I treat them like a joke.” I looked at Ivy Thorne’s provocative face: “For example, if someone starts a rumor that my mother was a homewrecker, I have every reason to suspect that her mother was the actual homewrecker.” “And that makes her a dirty little affair baby, doesn’t it?” Ivy’s body went completely rigid, and tears instantly spilled from her eyes. Seeing her look so pitiful, Carter grabbed my wrist: “Sloane Kensington, you apologize to Ivy right now!” “Where do you get the nerve to say something like that? Ivy’s father died saving my father’s life! The Sterling family taking care of her is the absolute least we can do!” “If you spout any more of this garbage, I’ll have you thrown out!” Ivy hid behind him, looking like a kicked puppy: “Carter, don’t blame her. Maybe I said the wrong thing… Sister-in-law, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have made that kind of joke.” The surrounding friends immediately started criticizing me. “Ivy already apologized, what more do you want, Sloane? Besides, she isn’t even wrong. We’ve seen you getting out of different men’s cars more than once.” “If you’re marrying Carter, shouldn’t you wrap up your little ‘side hustles’? Getting aggressive over a joke… if you’re going to be a buzzkill, you shouldn’t have come tonight.” I was genuinely amused by this pack of idiots. Before coming here, my dad had earnestly told me that the Sterlings were crucial business partners, and this marriage would benefit both our corporate empires. But I’ve known since I was a little girl that tears and compromise are the most useless things in this world. The only way to avoid being bullied is to be crazier and more ruthless than they are. Whoever dares to take a bite out of me, I will smash every tooth in their mouth. I slowly opened my hand, letting the glass shard fall from my palm. “You know what, you guys are right. Getting mad over a little thing like this does make me a buzzkill.” Smug, I-knew-it expressions washed over their faces. Carter’s expression softened slightly, and he opened his mouth, likely to say something condescending. I cut him off immediately: “However… if we’re talking about playing games, I’m the best there is.” “You want to play? Bring it on. Let’s keep going.” I looked around the circle of trust-fund babies who were thrilled by the drama. I grabbed a large glass and poured seven or eight different types of hard liquor into it. “Whoever loses drinks this whole glass, then has to answer one question from the winner. It has to be the absolute truth.” “If you dare to lie, or if you’re too scared to answer, you drink three more glasses.” One of the guys scoffed. “Sloane, games are fine, but it’s boring without any stakes.” I swirled the murky liquor in the glass, my smile deepening. I pulled out a sleek Black Amex card and slapped it onto the table. “Whoever can make me drink a single glass tonight gets this card. No limit.” Instantly, the entire room went dead silent. Carter’s face turned livid. “Sloane, is this enough? You think just because the Kensingtons have money, you can humiliate people?” I ignored him and stared dead at Ivy. “What, too scared to play? Weren’t you so good at ‘joking’ just a minute ago?” “Ivy, you’re up first.” Ivy’s eyes practically glowed with greed staring at that Black Card. She grabbed the dice cup and shook it. When it was my turn, I didn’t even look before I lifted the cup. Six sixes. After a pale-faced Ivy realized she lost, I spoke without hesitation: “Truth: Did your mother marry your father before or after you were born?” Ivy began to tremble uncontrollably. “I… I pick Dare!” I nodded and slid the glass of repulsive liquor toward her. “If you don’t have the guts to admit the truth, that’s fine. Chug this, then call your mom on speakerphone and scream that Ivy Thorne’s mother is the real homewrecker.” Ivy instantly broke down in tears. “Carter! No! I don’t want to play anymore!” Tch. Boring. She had the nerve to bark at me? I stripped her fake skin off in two seconds. Carter exploded. He shoved me back hard: “Sloane, is that enough?! Ivy is a girl, how could you treat her like this!” I genuinely laughed out loud. An idiot like Carter couldn’t even identify the most basic, entry-level manipulative pick-me girl. “When she was spreading rumors about my mother and insulting me, why didn’t you remind everyone she was just a ‘girl’?” I stepped into his personal space, forcing him back: “Carter, you protect her so fiercely, people might start thinking she’s the mistress you’re keeping on the side.” “Is she your ‘best friend,’ or just a friend you can sleep with casually?” Carter was thoroughly enraged. He raised his hand, ready to slap me. I didn’t dodge. I just looked up at him. “Hit me.” “Let everyone see how the young master of the Sterling family beats his fiancée over a mistress’s daughter.” “Should I call your dad right now and tell him tomorrow’s wedding is off?” I pulled out my phone, pretending to dial Mr. Sterling’s number. Carter panicked, snatched the phone from my hand, and smashed it violently onto the floor. “Sloane, you are completely unreasonable!” “Tomorrow is our wedding. You better spend tonight reflecting on what you did wrong. Don’t you dare embarrass me at the altar tomorrow!” He wrapped his arm around a sobbing Ivy and stormed out. His friends threw a few mocking comments my way and scattered. I looked at the mess on the floor and slowly smiled. I’m going to embarrass you? Alright. Let’s see who ends up embarrassed tomorrow! I went home, pulled out my backup phone, and dialed a number: “Run a background check on Ivy Thorne, and that father of hers who supposedly died saving Carter’s dad.” “I want to know absolutely everything about their family. The dirtier, the better.” The person on the other end chuckled. “Boss lady, it’s the night before your wedding. You sure you want to play this big?” “Cut the crap. Before morning, I want every single file in my inbox.” I hung up and looked at my cold reflection in the mirror. Carter Sterling. Ivy Thorne. You thought this was over? I was born a survivor. Since you dared to throw dirty water on me… I’m going to boil that water with your blood, and burn you both alive in it. The next day, the Wedding of the Century between the Sterling and Kensington families was the talk of the city. My dad whispered to me: “Sloane, keep your temper in check. Today is your big day.” “If you really don’t like Carter, just keep him around as a pretty face to serve you. At the end of the day, our family holds the real power in this merger.” I smiled slightly but didn’t say anything. My temper has never been something I could just ‘keep in check’ simply because I wanted to. As soon as I walked into the bridal suite, my phone rang. I answered it, only to hear Ivy’s tearful, victimized voice. I instantly realized what was happening. I swiftly connected my phone’s Bluetooth to the venue’s main PA system. The guests in the grand hall froze as the following audio blasted through the speakers. “Carter, it’s all my fault. If you hadn’t comforted me yesterday, we wouldn’t have done something so crazy and slept together.” “But you’re getting married today. You gave your first time to me… What if Sloane finds out and ruins the wedding?” Then, Carter’s voice echoed through the hall: “It’s not your fault. If Sloane hadn’t provoked you, that accident never would have happened between us.” “If you get pregnant, keep the baby. I’ll take care of both of you.” I leisurely walked out onto the stage and took a microphone. “My apologies, everyone. Thanks for bearing with the entertainment.” “It seems my fiancé has some ‘friendly’ business to take care of before the ceremony can begin.” Mr. and Mrs. Sterling turned green. They roared toward the backstage area: “Carter, you piece of trash! Get out here right now!” Carter quickly emerged from the VIP lounge. Mr. Sterling marched up and slapped him hard across the face. “Apologize to Sloane! If you can’t get her to forgive you today, you are no longer my son!” Upon realizing that their conversation had been broadcasted, Carter glared at me with pure hatred. But intimidated by his father’s wrath, he reluctantly offered an apology: “I’m sorry, Sloane. What happened with Ivy was a mistake. I swear to you, I will never see her again!” He stared at me with venom in his eyes. I returned his gaze with a breezy, unbothered smile. Trying to play me? You’re out of your league. But there was truly no need for this marriage anymore. I have no interest in keeping a dirty man. Just as I was about to speak, a photo was sent to my phone. I tapped it open, and the color instantly drained from my face. I froze in place. The photo showed my mother, bound with thick ropes, dangling over the edge of a skyscraper roof! My phone rang immediately. I answered it in a panic. “Sloane, want your mother to live?” “Come up to the rooftop alone. If you try anything smart, I’ll drop her off the edge.” The call disconnected. I sprinted toward the top floor like a madwoman. Whoever dared to touch my mother would have their entire bloodline buried with her! But the moment I pushed open the rooftop door, several figures lunged at me and pinned me to the concrete. Ivy’s face hovered above mine, a manic, twisted smile stretching across her lips. “Sloane, didn’t you say you like playing games?” “You dared to ruin things between me and Carter. Today, I’m going to play with you until you break!” “I’m going to let everyone see what the high-and-mighty Miss Kensington looks like stripped naked, panting like a bitch underneath a bunch of men.” Carter’s groomsmen surrounded us, their faces twisted with malicious glee. “Sloane, weren’t you acting so tough before? Let’s see you act tough now.” “By the time we’re done making you feel good, I guarantee you’ll be taking a detour every time you see us.” Ivy crouched down and slapped me hard across the cheek: “Sloane, I’m going to livestream every filthy second of this. I want all your high-society friends to admire your performance.” “Do you think your dad will thank us, or will he throw you in the river for bringing him such shame?” Ivy laughed triumphantly, forcing a handful of pills into my mouth. As my body began to burn and my face flushed crimson… She excitedly slapped my cheeks: “Why so quiet? Where’s that heiress temper of yours?” “Beg me. Get on your knees and beg me right now, and maybe I’ll tell them to be gentle.” She leaned in close to my ear: “But once we’re done playing with you, it’ll be time to livestream that old bitch you call a mother.” “Do you think everyone will enjoy watching a mother-daughter relay special?” I looked over at my mother, who was tied up and struggling desperately. Then, my violently trembling body completely lost control, and I began to laugh. One of the men kicked me impatiently. “What the hell are you laughing at?” I was laughing because it was funny. It was hilarious. Ivy was knocking on death’s door and was entirely oblivious. Just then, the Wedding March began playing from the banquet hall downstairs. “And now, please put your hands together to welcome the bride and groom!” The music played on. After the applause died down, a long, awkward silence followed. I don’t know how much time passed. The murmurs downstairs grew louder. “The groom has been waiting forever, where is the bride?” “I don’t know, she was just here. Do you think she got cold feet?” The next second, someone gasped: “Look! The main screen!”

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Chapter 1 Right before the end of the year, I lost my job. I was scrolling through an online forum looking for work when I stumbled upon a thread: [What’s the fastest way for a girl to make money?] There was a highly upvoted comment near the top. [Find a sugar daddy, obviously! Mine gives me ten grand a month. He remembers exactly what I like to eat and knows exactly when my period is. His sex drive is just insanely high, he always begs for it and keeps me up all night… but he’s super handsome~] Someone replied: [Where do you even find a sugar daddy like that? Is he single?] She replied: [He has a girlfriend, but he hasn’t touched her in a long time. He told me she just lays there like a dead fish in bed, totally boring.] [As for how we met, he accidentally rear-ended my car while he was on a business trip in Miami this year.] My breath caught in my throat. This March, Arthur Sterling had rear-ended a girl’s car while on a business trip in Miami. My fingertips went ice cold. I kept scrolling down. [Today I just mentioned I wasn’t feeling well, and he ditched his girlfriend to take me purse shopping!] Attached was a photo of two hands with intertwined fingers. On the man’s index finger, there was a fresh, superficial cut. It was in the exact same spot where Arthur had cut his finger while slicing fruit for me this morning. 1 I slammed my phone face-down on my lap, my heart pounding violently against my ribs. I squeezed my eyes shut, telling myself it couldn’t be him. Not the Arthur Sterling who would tuck my freezing feet into his shirt on cold winter nights. Not the Arthur Sterling who remembered every single thing I liked, whose eyes practically glowed whenever he talked about me. We had been together for seven years. Our lives had completely melted into one another. Besides, our engagement party was the day after tomorrow. He had personally designed the invitations. It had to be a coincidence. I took a few deep breaths and opened the top comment again. The replies underneath were a chaotic mix of jealousy and vicious insults. But her responses only grew more and more arrogant. [Why are you all so bitter? His girlfriend takes up the space but doesn’t know how to serve him. She deserves to be tossed aside. Men want passion, not a wooden statue.] [My sugar daddy even used his connections to get his girlfriend fired, just so he could give me her position at the company.] [His girlfriend is unemployed now, so he only gives her five grand a month, but he gives me ten grand~] Every single word felt like a physical stab to the chest. A week ago, I was fired from my job without cause. HR just gave me some vague excuse about “upper management decisions.” I went home and cried in Arthur’s arms, feeling incredibly wronged. He kissed the top of my head and said: “It’s just a job, babe. If it’s gone, it’s gone. From now on, I’ll give you five thousand dollars a month.” “You can just stay home, arrange flowers, and binge-watch Netflix. If you get bored, go shopping or get afternoon tea.” When I told him I didn’t want to be a useless pet he kept around, he just laughed and replied: “I love keeping you. I only want to keep you.” Only want to keep you. The words were still ringing in my ears, but now they made my entire body shiver with cold. My hands trembled as I clicked on “Miss Peach’s” profile. Her latest post. [Day 244 of being spoiled by my man. I casually said this looked pretty, and the next second he was taking it home for me~] The photo showed a man from behind, paying at a luxury checkout counter. When Arthur left the house this morning, he wasn’t wearing that suit. But that silhouette… I could trace it perfectly with my eyes closed. My stomach violently churned. I kept scrolling down. [Day 215 of being spoiled by my man. They’re getting engaged, but I’M the one who designed the invitations! Because I love honeysuckle flowers~ Ta-da, aren’t they gorgeous?] The invitation she posted was completely identical to the one sitting in my desk drawer. When Arthur handed it to me, his eyes were brimming with deep affection. “Honeysuckle. It blooms even through the harshest winter. It symbolizes unwavering loyalty and an unbreakable bond.” Loyalty. Unbreakable bond. How incredibly ironic. [Day 198 of being spoiled by my man. Today is his seven-year anniversary with his girlfriend, but he ditched her to come to the movies with me!] I remembered that day. I took the day off work, cooked all his favorite dishes, ordered a custom cake, bought a gift, and lit expensive aromatherapy candles. All I got was an apologetic phone call. “A crisis came up at the company, babe. I have to handle it. I’ll be home late.” I hadn’t suspected a thing. I even told him to make sure he didn’t work too hard. My fingertips were freezing. I could barely hold onto the phone. I kept scrolling, all the way down to her very first post. [Met my absolute dream guy today! He accidentally scratched my car, but he was so polite and insisted on taking me to the hospital to get checked out… but I think he has a girlfriend. Whatever! Letting a top-tier man like this slip away would be a crime! Operation: Steal the Boyfriend has commenced!] Edited on March 4th, 2025. The exact day Arthur rear-ended that girl’s car. “Urgh—” I sprinted to the bathroom and vomited until the world spun. Tears and snot covered my face. The woman in the mirror had bloodshot eyes. She looked like a complete lunatic. So this was the truth. 244 days. Seven months and twenty-two days. Every single night he was “working late,” “entertaining clients,” or had “an emergency.” Every time my heart ached for how hard he was working… he was in another woman’s bed. Even the job I cherished so much—he personally destroyed it, just for her. And he knew exactly how much that job meant to me! After a long time, I pushed myself up from the floor and took screenshots of every single post. When Arthur finally came home. He was still wearing the suit he left in this morning. He didn’t smell like anything suspicious. He was carrying takeout from the Sichuan seafood place across town. The exact place I had casually mentioned wanting to eat last night. Seeing my red eyes, he quickly walked over and cupped my face. “What’s wrong? Were you watching one of those sad movies again?” Before I could answer, the doorbell rang. He frowned slightly. “Might be the building manager. Let me go check.” When he opened the door, a sweet, playful female voice drifted in. “Hi there, delivery delivery!” The voice sounded exactly like Miss Peach from the videos on her profile. Arthur’s body went completely rigid for a split second. He quickly muttered a “thank you,” shut the door, and walked over holding two cups of bubble tea. “I saw a huge line at that boba place while I was driving past, and I figured you might want some, so I DoorDashed it. I didn’t want the fish to get cold while I waited in line.” His explanation was absolutely flawless. I looked up, staring deeply into his eyes. “Arthur, is there something you’re hiding from me?” 2 Arthur’s hand froze right as he was poking the straw into the cup. Instantly, his expression returned to normal. He smiled, pressing the bubble tea into my hand. He affectionately ruffled my hair. His tone was helpless but full of adoration: “Chloe, have you been watching those ‘test your boyfriend’ TikToks again? Those are all scripted for views.” “Besides, how could I ever hide anything from you…” Before he could finish, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, immediately pressing the lock button to darken the screen. “You go ahead and eat the fish before it gets cold and gross. I need to take a quick call.” He spoke a little faster than usual, turning and walking into the home office. I looked down at the iced matcha green tea latte in my hand. Condensation from the cup slid onto the back of my hand. It was freezing cold. I am deathly allergic to matcha. He had never, ever forgotten that before. It’s just that right now, he had much more important things on his mind. A short while later, he walked out of the office, wearing that familiar, apologetic look. It was the exact same look he wore every time he needed to leave for “business.” “Chloe—” he started. “Is there an emergency at the company?” I didn’t wait for him to weave a lie; I just cut him off. He froze for a second, then quickly nodded: “Yeah, there’s an incredibly urgent project that needs my signature right now.” I looked him dead in the eye. “Can you just not go?” The expression on his face hardened for a fraction of a second. “Chloe, don’t be unreasonable.” “You know how hard I work, how much I hustle—it’s all for our future.” “I have to prove to my mother that I can succeed without the family’s help. I can give you the absolute best life possible.” Arthur’s mother had never liked me. The reason was simple. My background was far too ordinary, even a little broken. I wasn’t “worthy” of the Sterling family’s elite status. Arthur was a true trust-fund heir, born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Before he met me, his family had paved every road for him, even picking out his future wife for a strategic corporate merger. But he defied his entire family’s arrangements just for me. He insisted on being with me. In a fit of rage, his mother cut off all his trust funds and essentially exiled him. She swore that if he could build a successful business entirely on his own, without a single cent of family money, within five years… She would accept me. She would accept our relationship. So for the past five years, Arthur hadn’t rested for a single second. And I had worked just as desperately, constantly trying to improve myself, terrified of slacking off. Terrified of becoming a burden to him. Terrified that his mother’s words—”What can she possibly do besides drag you down?”—would become a reality. His mother never stopped trying to make me back off, either. From an initial offer of half a million dollars, up to a million. And then, just a month ago, she slid a seemingly weightless check across the table to me. Ten million dollars. The condition remained exactly the same: Leave my son. I never took the money. Because I loved Arthur Sterling. And I fiercely believed that he loved me. I stubbornly believed that true love could conquer all obstacles, erase prejudice, and bridge the gap between social classes. Until this exact moment. The unwavering faith I had held onto began to crack and shatter, inch by inch. His phone buzzed again. He glanced at it, not even bothering to invent another excuse. “Chloe, I have to go. Make sure you eat.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode out the door. I grabbed my phone and followed him out. Down in the underground parking garage. I saw them. 3 The girl was hanging off Arthur like a koala. Arthur’s large hands securely gripped her thighs, hiking her up a bit so she could hold on tighter. His voice drifted over—it sounded like a reprimand, but it was dripping with absolute indulgence. “Didn’t I tell you to wait in the car? Who gave you permission to come upstairs? Do you just not want to get out of bed tomorrow?” The girl wrapped her arms around his neck and whined playfully: “Yeah, I want daddy to love me nice and hard~” “Besides, look how smart I am! I specifically bought two boba teas and brought them up so I could pretend to be a DoorDash driver. Don’t worry, daddy, your precious girlfriend won’t notice a thing.” Arthur let out a low, dark chuckle, pinching her nose: “My baby is so smart. But you can’t do that again, understand? I’ll give you whatever you want, but you absolutely cannot let her catch you. That is the bottom line.” The girl pouted, wiggling her body unhappily: “Daddy, doesn’t it exhaust you? Every time you see me, you have to change your clothes, absolutely terrified that she might notice something slightly off.” “Do you really love her that much?” Arthur paused for a second: “Yes. I love her. Which is exactly why I can’t let her find out. I can’t let her be heartbroken.” “Then what about me?” “You are my absolute favorite little pet, right after her.” “Hmph. Then you have to stay with me tonight. The whole night. You’re not allowed to go back.” Arthur lowered his head, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. His voice was incredibly tender: “Okay.” With that, he carried her to the car and put her inside. A short while later, the heavy SUV began to rock back and forth. I leaned my back against a concrete pillar, slowly sliding down until I was sitting on the cold garage floor. It turns out that when your heart shatters into a million pieces, it doesn’t make a sound. There are no tears. I don’t know how much time passed. The rocking of the SUV finally stopped. Then, the roar of the engine echoed through the garage, and the car drove away. I opened my recent calls log. I found the unsaved number. And dialed. Arthur’s mother answered the phone. Watching the taillights disappear from view, I spoke with absolute, terrifying calm: “Ten million dollars. I agree to leave your son.” In a private, high-end tea room, Mrs. Sterling set down her porcelain teacup. The corners of her lips curled into a faint smile. “Changed your mind?” “I thought you said you would rather die than leave him.” I didn’t touch the tea in front of me. “He betrayed me.” She raised an elegant eyebrow, not looking surprised in the slightest. “Because of that girl?” Her tone was completely flat. “I had heard rumors. I just didn’t expect you to be the first one to find out.” She seemed to sense that I had zero interest in small talk. “Send me your routing number. The money will be in your account within three days.” She looked at me, her gaze as sharp as a scalpel. “I expect you to keep your word. If you ever bother him again, you know exactly what the consequences will be.” I stood up and left. My phone buzzed with a text from Arthur. [Chloe, I have to work late at the office tonight. I probably won’t make it home. Go to bed early, don’t wait up for me.] I attached the photo I had taken of them in the parking garage and hit send. [Are you actually working late? Or are you sleeping with another woman?] 4 The message sank like a stone in the ocean. I sat on the living room sofa for the entire night. Arthur didn’t come home until the sun was coming up. When he saw the completely untouched food sitting on the dining table… His face filled with intense worry. “Chloe?” He practically sprinted over, reaching out to feel my forehead. “Why are you so pale? Are you sick? Why didn’t you eat anything?” I turned my head sharply, dodging his hand. His hand hovered awkwardly in the air. I looked up at him, my voice dry and cracked. “Did you not see the message I sent you last night?” He frowned, pulling his phone from his pocket, looking genuinely confused: “What message? I was buried in crisis management at the office all night. My phone must have been on silent, I didn’t even check it.” Just as he was speaking, Miss Peach uploaded a new post. [Day 255 of being spoiled by my man. I got caught hooking up with him! His girlfriend sent him a text, but I secretly deleted it~ I’m such a clever little genius!] Attached was a photo of a man’s back, wearing only a hotel towel around his waist. So that was it. My stomach was completely empty. I didn’t even have the energy left to feel nauseous. I offered a faint, bitter smile and looked away. I looked at Arthur, who was still pretending to frantically search his phone. “Maybe it didn’t go through.” He let out a very obvious, heavy sigh of relief. He immediately pulled me tightly into his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head, his voice so unbelievably soft and tender it could melt ice: “You little scatterbrain. You scared me half to death.” His embrace was still incredibly warm. He still smelled exactly the same. But right now, the only thing I felt was a biting, freezing chill sinking deep into my bones. “I’ve been way too busy lately. I’ve been leaving you home alone so much, with no one to eat with or sleep next to. It’s all my fault.” He murmured softly, sounding as if he loved me deeper than the ocean. “But it’s all going to be worth it. Tomorrow is our engagement party.” “I’ve already arranged everything. I’m going to let the whole world know that you, Chloe Carter, are the only woman I, Arthur Sterling, will ever choose in this lifetime.” I didn’t say a word. I just let him hold me. I remembered the year he was thrown out of his family’s mansion for me. He had to start from absolute zero. I had just graduated college. He didn’t have a single cent to his name. We lived crammed in a damp, moldy basement apartment. We shared a single bowl of instant ramen. He gave me the only piece of hot dog in the bowl. His eyes sparkled with pure, radiant hope as he promised: “Chloe, I know things are rough right now. But I swear to God, I will give you a beautiful life one day.” His tears back then had been real. His heartbreak for my suffering had been real. The light in his eyes… maybe that had been real, too. If I hadn’t seen that Reddit post. If I hadn’t seen the reality of that parking garage. I probably still would have been that naive, stupid girl, trusting him and loving him with everything I had. Right up until my very last breath. The next day. The engagement party. Arthur personally supervised every single detail of the venue. Everywhere you looked, there were wild roses. Because I had once told him that I loved the resilient, romantic life force of wild roses more than anything else. The venue was packed with guests. The only empty seats were the ones reserved for his parents. I wore the gown he had custom-designed for me, standing by his side, accepting the blessings of the crowd. He held my hand in a vice grip, his face radiating absolute bliss. Until the MC on the stage began delivering his emotional, tear-jerking opening speech. Arthur’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and immediately declined the call. But just as the MC was about to announce the exchange of the engagement rings… His phone vibrated again. This time, he didn’t immediately hit ignore. He offered me an incredibly apologetic smile and whispered: “It might be a massive crisis at the company. Let me just take this. It’ll only be a second.” He let go of my hand and stepped behind a nearby floral pillar. I stood rooted to the spot, watching his back as he answered the phone. He wasn’t standing very far away. I could clearly see that initially, he looked annoyed and impatient as he listened. Then, his face instantly turned as pale as a sheet of paper. “What?! Which hospital?! I’m on my way! Tell her to wait for me!” He aggressively hung up the phone. He didn’t even have the presence of mind to arrange his facial expression before he spun around and sprinted back to me. “Chloe, an absolute catastrophe just happened. I have to go deal with it right now.” “I’ll be back as soon as it’s handled. It’ll be fast. You have to wait for me here.” He didn’t wait for my response. He just turned and sprinted toward the exit like a madman. The entire ballroom plunged into a dead silence, followed immediately by an explosion of frantic whispering. Every single eye in the room turned to stare at me. The MC desperately, awkwardly tried to smooth things over. Right then, my phone vibrated. It was a massive bank deposit notification, followed immediately by a text from his mother. [The funds have cleared. Remember our agreement.] Almost at the exact same second, Miss Peach uploaded a new post. [Day 256 of being spoiled by my man. I purposely walked into traffic and got lightly bumped by a car. My man instantly ditched his girlfriend and ran straight out of his engagement party to come see me! I TOLD you guys I was the one he loved most!] I took a screenshot of the post and dropped it into the PowerPoint presentation I had prepared hours ago. Then, I walked forward and took the microphone from the MC’s hand. “Ladies and gentlemen. The engagement is officially canceled. I am incredibly sorry for the inconvenience.” “But before you go, I have a parting gift for all of you.” I cast the PowerPoint—titled [Arthur Sterling’s Infidelity Diary]—onto the massive LED screen behind the stage. The very first slide was Miss Peach’s newest post. Ignoring the deafening uproar erupting behind me, I picked up the heavy skirts of my gown, turned on my heel, and walked out the door. The Uber I had ordered was already waiting to take me to the airport. I powered down my phone, popped the SIM card out, and cleanly snapped it in half. Arthur arrived at the hospital to find that Tara’s injuries were completely superficial. He felt a flash of deep irritation, but he still comforted her in a soft, gentle voice: “Tara, just focus on resting and recovering. I’ll come back and see you tomorrow.” The moment the words left his mouth. His executive assistant called him. “Boss… Miss Carter found out about Tara.”

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At the college reunion, my impulsive, runaway bride of a sister finally returned. Everyone was making bets, certain that Ethan would dump me and choose my sister. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead and gently slipped the diamond ring onto my finger. “All these years, Maya is the one who stayed by my side. Besides her, my heart has no room for any other woman. I will never let the woman I love lose!” My sister’s face turned deathly pale, and she ran out of the room in tears. After we got married, Ethan spoiled me endlessly. He never allowed any other woman to get close to him. Until later, when I found intimate videos of him and my sister hidden on his computer. In the videos, my sister was playing hard to get, her eyes hazy and seductive. “Ethan, you’re already married to Maya. Aren’t you afraid of breaking her heart if she finds out?” Ethan, consumed by passion, murmured mindlessly. “In the end, she’s just a substitute anyway. I gave her the title of wife, but I’ll give my love to you, okay?” My heart turned to absolute ice. I knew my time to leave had come. 1 “Are you really going to leave?! What happens when Ethan eventually remembers everything?” Grandma Wright was anxious and angry. Looking at the explicit videos I had brought her, she was filled with a complex mix of emotions. Years ago, Ethan had been in a terrible car accident that wiped his memory. He forgot our entire history together and mistakenly believed he was deeply in love with my sister, Chloe. He insisted on marrying her. It was only after Chloe impulsively ran away on their wedding day that I finally had the chance to return to his side. My eyes fell on those sickening videos. I lowered my eyelashes, desperately trying to hide the bitter pain in my eyes. When I finally spoke, I had regained my usual calm. “Grandma, the person he loves right now isn’t me.” Seeing my ironclad resolve, Grandma Wright could only sigh in defeat. “This… alright. It’s too unfair to you.” “Getting the divorce papers is the easy part, but erasing your entire identity and background will take me about two weeks.” I thanked her and went back to our bedroom. Late that night, Ethan finally came home. He turned on the light, his face etched with exhaustion. Seeing me sitting on the sofa with my laptop, he frowned slightly. He walked over quickly, draped his suit jacket over my shoulders, and placed a beautiful, custom cake box on the coffee table. “Why are you still up so late? A client meeting ran long tonight, so I picked up some dessert for you on the way back.” I just stared blankly at the cake box, not saying a word. This bakery was incredibly popular; you had to wait in line for at least an hour just to get inside. “What are you looking at so intensely…?” He chuckled softly, leaning over to look at my screen. The smile instantly froze on his face. This man, who was known for his ruthless, cutthroat tactics in the boardroom, was suddenly holding my hand with extreme caution, his palms slick with cold sweat. “Maya, it’s not what you think. Your sister has been harassing me constantly. She slipped me something when I wasn’t paying attention. You have to believe me, my heart only belongs to you now.” An indescribable wave of sour grief surged from the bottom of my heart. Without changing my expression, I pulled my hand out of his grasp. “Let’s get a divorce.” Panic washed over his face, clear as day. I unlocked my phone and showed him the text messages Chloe had just sent me. “Maya, this is my ultrasound report. The baby is Ethan’s.” “Ethan specifically made time today to take me to the clinic to set up my prenatal care. It took a little longer than expected, so please don’t be mad at him.” “Oh, by the way, my morning sickness has been terrible lately. I couldn’t stomach the cake Ethan specifically bought for me, so I told him to bring it home for you. I didn’t want it to go to waste.” Chapter 2 Ethan’s pupils dilated in sheer panic. He forcefully snatched the phone from my hand and frantically deleted the chat history and the videos. He grabbed me by the shoulders, his eyes filled with pure terror. “Maya, don’t listen to her crazy lies! I know absolutely nothing about a baby, and I am never divorcing you.” “Even if there really is a baby, I won’t let her have it and ruin our marriage.” He immediately pulled out his own phone and dialed his assistant. His voice was harder and more ruthless than I had ever heard it. “Tomorrow morning, deal with whatever is in Chloe’s stomach!” “Warn her that if she ever speaks garbage to Maya again, I will destroy her!” He hung up the phone. But I clearly saw his web browser still open on his screen. Search: “Best nutritional foods for pregnant women in the first trimester.” My heart turned to absolute ice. That night, it felt like an invisible, bottomless canyon had opened up between us in bed. The next morning, he skipped breakfast, grabbed his briefcase, and hurried out the door. An hour later, my sister updated her Instagram story. The photo showed her and Ethan standing side-by-side in front of a sprawling, luxury villa. The caption was dripping with fake innocence. “Being spoiled so much is actually kind of exhausting. I couldn’t eat the cake yesterday, so today he sent me premium bird’s nest and sea cucumber.” “But what touched me the most is that he said he wants to give me a real home. So today, we’re house hunting!” I gripped my phone tightly. I took a screenshot of her post, uploaded it directly to my own public social media, and walked out the door. The paparazzi swarmed them outside the villa almost immediately. A reporter named Dave asked the most aggressive question. “Mr. Wright, didn’t you publicly declare you would never let Maya lose? So what is going on with you and Chloe now? And who is the father of the baby she’s carrying?” Ethan spotted me standing on the edge of the crowd. He panicked, shoving past the reporters to explain himself to me: “Maya, don’t misunderstand! Whatever happened between me and Chloe is strictly in the past. This house is just a compensation settlement for her. I told her I expect her to never bother me again.” In just a few sentences, he completely washed his hands of the situation. In that moment, the sheer hypocrisy and cowardly opportunism of this “mature” man was on full display. The media immediately caught on, pivoting their attacks directly onto Chloe. “Years ago, Mr. Wright loved her more than life itself, but she just had to play games and run away from her own wedding to test him. Now that he doesn’t love her anymore, she’s desperately throwing herself at him.” “Is the baby she’s carrying even Mr. Wright’s?!” The more the reporters speculated, the more aggressive they got, pushing Chloe to the brink of tears. Her face flushed with furious anger, she charged forward, her voice shrill and piercing. “What do any of you know?! Maya took advantage of my absence and stole Ethan from me!” Highly emotional, she ripped up the sleeves of her blouse and yanked her skirt up to her knees. Suppressed tears spun in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. “Do you really think I ran away from my wedding because I didn’t love him?! During that time, I went to Mount Shasta. I crawled up the entire mountain path on my hands and knees, praying for Ethan’s recovery. I bruised and deformed my own knees for him!” “When I found out Ethan and Maya were together, I fell into a severe depression. I tried to kill myself multiple times.” Ethan’s eyes locked onto the horrifying, jagged scars on her wrists and her permanently misshapen knees. His eyes slowly darkened with heavy emotion. Chloe’s tears finally broke free, streaming down her face. “What did I do wrong?! Now you’re all wildly speculating about my unborn baby! I’ll tell you all right now, the father of this baby is—” “Shut up!” Chapter 3 Ethan snapped back to reality. He shot a nervous glance in my direction and quickly cut her off. His voice was flat, devoid of any visible emotion. “Chloe, no matter the reason, we can never go back to how things were. Have some self-respect and stop harassing me.” Chloe glared at him with pure hatred, biting her lip so hard it began to bleed. Finally, drowning in the media’s mocking laughter, she turned and ran away crying. Ethan swept a cold, warning glare over the gloating reporters. “No one is allowed to publish a single word of what happened here today!” He personally drove me home. The entire ride was unnervingly silent. He didn’t yell at me for leaking Chloe’s post to the public, and I didn’t bring up his sordid affair with her. But just as I opened my door to step out, before I even had both feet on the pavement, he suddenly slammed his foot on the gas. 2 “Ethan, stop the car!” I screamed in agonizing pain. The hem of my long skirt had caught in the heavy car door. I was dragged violently across the asphalt for over three hundred feet. The skin on my knees was shredded, leaving two gaping, bloody holes and a gruesome trail of blood on the driveway. The car finally slammed to a halt. I desperately tore the fabric of my skirt to free myself. But instead of getting out to help me, he slowly pulled the car forward, made a U-turn, and accelerated rapidly, aiming the heavy tires directly at my wrists. I shrieked in terror, my entire body convulsing. He finally stopped, stepped out of the car, and stood over me. He looked down at my bleeding body, his voice colder and more ruthless than I had ever heard it. “This is your one and only warning.” I let out a miserable, tragic laugh. I knew he did it on purpose. The moment he saw his precious sister cry, he couldn’t even be bothered to keep up the act of loving me anymore. Despite Ethan’s threats, Dave the reporter published the entire confrontation. Enterprising internet sleuths even dug up photos of Ethan taking Chloe to her OBGYN appointments a few days prior. The internet unanimously took my side, dragging Chloe through the mud and ripping her reputation to shreds. Ethan was furious. He tracked Dave down at his media company, beat him with a baseball bat, and used the Wright family’s massive corporate influence to get him blacklisted from the industry. The situation blew up, severely damaging the Wright Corporation’s stock and public image. Grandma Wright was livid. She immediately summoned both our families to the Wright estate. “Ethan, how could you do this to Maya?! When Chloe abandoned you at the altar, you were completely broken. Maya is the one who stayed by your side and pulled you out of that dark place! Now, what are you going to do about the baby in Chloe’s stomach?!” Grandma Wright shot a vicious glare at Chloe, then raised her heavy wooden cane to strike Ethan. Suddenly, Chloe threw herself in front of Ethan, dropping to her knees in front of Grandma Wright. She gripped the cane tightly, crying so hard she was gasping for air. “Grandma, this is entirely my fault! Please don’t punish Ethan!” My father, feeling profoundly humiliated by his eldest daughter’s actions, slapped her hard across the face and tried to drag her toward the door. “You have completely destroyed the Carter family’s reputation! Get your ass home right now!” Due to the intense cyberbullying over the last few days, Chloe looked incredibly frail and exhausted. She clutched her red, swollen cheek, clinging desperately to the staircase banister, sobbing hysterically. “I’m not leaving! I lost Ethan! The only thing I want is to keep my baby! Is that a crime?!” The bright red handprint on her pale face severely triggered Ethan. Seeing that Chloe absolutely refused to let go, my father violently yanked her arm. “Ah!” Suddenly, she missed a step and tumbled backward down the grand staircase. “Chloe, watch out!” Ethan’s pupils shrank in terror. His body reacted faster than his brain. Without a second thought, he violently shoved me out of his way to get to her. I was thrown completely off balance, stumbling backward until I crashed heavily into the massive, custom saltwater aquarium in the center of the living room. CRASH! The thick glass shattered into thousands of pieces. Jagged shards of glass drove deep into my back. I was instantly drenched in my own blood. Ethan managed to catch Chloe perfectly. As the two of them rolled safely to the bottom of the stairs, the back of Ethan’s head struck the marble steps. Chapter 4 A blinding pain ripped through my body. Strange, unfamiliar fragments of memories flashed rapidly through my mind. Before I could even process them, Chloe’s cries of pain snapped me back to reality. “Ethan, my hand is scraped.” Ethan looked at the tiny droplets of blood oozing from her palm. His brow furrowed in deep distress. He immediately scooped her up into his arms and sprinted toward the door. Grandma Wright panicked, shouting after him. “You ungrateful bastard! Maya’s injuries are a hundred times worse! She’s bleeding out!” Ethan didn’t even pause his stride. “Grandma, Chloe has a severe blood-clotting disorder! I can’t waste a single second!” Lying in a massive pool of my own blood, I let out a weak, bitter laugh before letting the darkness completely consume my consciousness. His memories were completely scrambled. The one with the life-threatening blood-clotting disorder was me. 3 “Maya!” Seeing that my bleeding wouldn’t stop, Grandma Wright frantically called an ambulance and rushed me to the ER. After being wheeled out of emergency surgery, I was placed in a VIP recovery room—coincidentally, right next door to Chloe’s room. As the nurses wheeled my bed past her open door, a scene stabbed me straight through the heart. “Chloe, you’ve been through so much. I already picked out a name for our baby. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, let’s call it Riley, okay?” Ethan was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her closely, pressing his forehead against hers with overwhelming tenderness. He casually glanced up and saw me being wheeled past the doorway by the nurses. After a brief second of hesitation, he reluctantly let go of Chloe and chased after my bed. After learning from the nurses that my injuries were severe, and that the road rash from being dragged by his car still hadn’t fully healed… He looked at me with an incredibly complex expression, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. “Maya, there is absolutely no need for you to purposely exaggerate your injuries just to get my attention. I told you I wouldn’t abandon you, and I meant it. Chloe is pregnant. I was terrified she might have a miscarriage, which is why I brought her to the hospital first.” “The baby is innocent. Her blood doesn’t clot properly, so having an abortion is entirely too dangerous for her. But don’t worry, I already made a deal with her. I’m going to send her abroad. You’ll never have to look at her again, okay?” I instinctively placed my hand over my stomach, fighting desperately to hold back my tears. The name Riley… that was the name Ethan had picked out for our future child, back before his memory loss. Just moments ago in the operating room, the trauma surgeon had informed me that I was one month pregnant. My baby wasn’t even born yet, and Ethan had already been stolen from me. Now, was he going to steal my baby’s name too? “And what if I say no?” Swallowing the bitter acid in my throat, I forced the words out in a raspy whisper. Ethan froze. Noticing the tears pooling in my eyes, he assumed the nurses had hurt me while changing my bandages. He immediately took the ointment tube and began applying it himself. His movements were incredibly gentle, but his words left absolutely no room for negotiation. “Maya, stop throwing a tantrum. I admit I mishandled the situation today. I promise you, from now on, I will never see her again. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.” I didn’t say another word. I didn’t cry, and I didn’t scream. I finally realized that this man—who swore he would never let me lose—had ensured my absolute, total defeat. Because of the harsh antibiotics, I tossed and turned in agony the entire night. Ethan stayed by my bed, tirelessly blowing cool air onto my stitched wounds to ease the burning. “That’s weird. Why is the wound still bleeding?” Slowly, he started to realize something was wrong. Just as he reached for my medical chart hanging at the end of the bed, his phone rang with an unknown number. “Heh. Ethan Wright, didn’t you put out a massive PR statement swearing you would never betray Maya? What a beautiful, devoted persona. So… if I butcher Chloe and the little bastard growing inside her, you probably wouldn’t care, right?” Chapter 5 Dave the reporter laughed maniacally through the speaker. Immediately following his laugh, Chloe’s terrified, blood-curdling screams echoed through the phone. “Ethan! Save me! He’s going to cut my baby out…” “Chloe!” Ethan’s face drained of all color. Pleased with his reaction, Dave laughed even harder. “Hahaha! If you want to save Chloe, you have exactly one hour to bring Maya here and trade her for your precious ex. Let’s see if you’re actually willing to make the sacrifice.” Ethan’s expression turned incredibly grim. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before violently dragging me out of the hospital bed and throwing me into his car. “Ethan! You’re actually going to trade me for her?! Who the hell do you really love?!” I was absolutely devastated. I pounded frantically against the locked car windows, crying and screaming in a panic. Ethan slammed his foot on the gas, roaring at me in sheer frustration: “Maya, your sister’s life is on the line, and you’re still obsessing over who I love more?!” “Don’t worry, he just wants to humiliate me. He doesn’t have the guts to actually kill anyone. But Chloe’s medical condition is too fragile. I can’t take that risk.” “Stop fighting me! I usually let you get away with everything, but this is different. I swear I will make this up to you later.” With a harsh screech of brakes, he parked the car outside an abandoned warehouse. He opened the door, dragged me out, and without a word of explanation, bound my hands and feet with zip ties and shoved a greasy rag into my mouth. I fought back with everything I had, my muffled sobs breaking through the rag. He gently wiped the tears from my face, a brief flash of conflict crossing his eyes. “Maya, I’m sorry. You’ll have to endure this for a little while.” “Just stay quiet and cooperate. Do not provoke him. I already called the cops on the way here. Once I successfully get your sister out, SWAT will breach the building and rescue you.” With that, he hoisted me over his shoulder and marched into the warehouse. I shook my head frantically. My surgical wounds had torn open and were bleeding profusely, and my stomach was twisting in violent, agonizing cramps. “Hahaha! The great Ethan Wright finally admits he can’t let go of Chloe!” To exact his revenge for being blacklisted, Dave brutally smashed Ethan over the head with a steel pipe before honoring the deal and releasing Chloe. Chloe shot me a triumphant, mocking glare, subtly exchanging a knowing look with Dave. The next second, she threw herself into Ethan’s arms, sobbing. “Ethan, I knew you loved me the most! My stomach is cramping so badly, please, get me to a hospital.” Seeing her looking so pale and close to fainting, Ethan didn’t dare waste a second. Ignoring his bleeding head wound, he practically carried her out the door. Dave gripped a hunting knife, walking toward me with a malicious grin. “Hahaha! Ethan dumped you! And since I took your sister’s money, I have to make sure you get the VIP treatment!” I shook my head in absolute terror, trapped and defenseless. I could only watch helplessly as the blade plunged deep into my stomach. When he ripped the knife out, my blood splattered across the concrete wall like dark paint… After rushing Chloe into the ER, a deep, suffocating sense of dread settled in Ethan’s chest. The image of my desperate, terrified eyes flashed relentlessly in his mind, accompanied by waves of blinding headaches. Unable to stand any longer, he slid down the hospital wall and collapsed onto the floor. A flood of strange, fragmented memories violently pierced his brain, making it almost impossible to breathe. But he forced himself to stay conscious and called the police captain. “Hello? Did you rescue Maya?!” The answer on the other end of the line drained every ounce of blood from his face, leaving him looking like a corpse.

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Chapter 1 Carter Sterling was the most notorious workaholic in New York. Because of it, our wedding had been postponed a full nine times. Even when everyone in our social circle mocked me, he remained entirely unmoved. Even when it was my mother’s dying wish to see me married, he just gave me the same tired excuse: “Stella, I’m just too busy right now.” It wasn’t until my mother passed away, full of regrets, that Carter finally felt a pang of guilt. To make up for it, he threw a ten-million-dollar wedding at the most expensive hotel in Manhattan. But the very next day, I was blocked at the hotel doors. The security guards rolled their eyes at me endlessly: “Where did this crazy lady come from? The bride is the CEO’s childhood best friend. Did you get kicked in the head? Keep dreaming.” I refused to accept it and tried to force my way inside. In response, Carter simply called the cops. After being held in a precinct cell for twenty-four hours, I became the laughingstock of the entire city. When the wedding was finally over, Carter casually tried to coax me: “It was just a ceremony. The little girl wanted one, so I gave it to her. It’s not like we signed a marriage license. Is it really that big of a deal?” But this time, I didn’t cry, and I didn’t make a scene. Because someone else had already given me the wedding he couldn’t. … Yesterday, right there in the police precinct, I accepted my actual childhood best friend’s proposal. As soon as I finished handling my mother’s post-funeral arrangements, I was going to leave. Carter was completely oblivious. He even leisurely lit a cigarette. Through the drifting smoke, he delivered his arrogant apology. “That’s enough. Mia has severe depression. Are you really trying to push her to suicide?” With that, he turned on the TV. Every major news network was broadcasting footage of me trespassing at the wedding yesterday. “Carter Sterling, come out here! I waited for you for eight years! Why are you doing this to me?!” On the screen, I was screaming his name, looking like an absolute clown. The hair and makeup I had spent three hours perfecting were completely ruined as the security guards dragged me away. Even his groomsmen had looked at me with impatience: “Stella, come on. Be reasonable. You’re making a complete fool of yourself right now!” But I hadn’t cared how I looked. I just kept desperately trying to push my way inside. Until the police sirens suddenly blared. With the sharp click of the handcuffs locking around my wrists, my heart completely died. The pathetic footage of me had been captured and spread all over New York. Carter clearly had the power to stop it, yet he allowed the media to run wild. There was only one reason. Because I was disobedient, he wanted to punish me. Mia Harper walked over, biting her lip, looking the picture of innocence. “Stella, you have to believe me. I really just wanted to experience a wedding. I would never ruin your relationship with Carter. Can’t you just pity me for once?” I was so sick of hearing her use pity as an excuse. Because he pitied her, Carter ran off to comfort a “suicidal” Mia on my birthday. Because he pitied her, we had to drag Mia along on our one annual vacation. Because he pitied her, I was even expected to hand my own wedding over to her. I had had enough. I looked up at Mia, catching the blatant provocation hidden deep in her eyes. I offered a faint smile. “You’re already married, why call me by my first name? You two are a perfect match. Happy wedding.” Mia’s face instantly flushed beet red, as if her deepest, darkest secret had just been exposed to the world. “Stella, what are you doing?! Do you really have to humiliate me like this?!” As she spoke, a dark glint flashed in her eyes. She grabbed my hand and forcefully yanked it toward her own face. “It’s all my fault. Go ahead, hit me, Stella.” But before my palm even grazed her cheek, a massive force shoved me backward. Blinding pain shot through my entire body. Because of the scuffle yesterday, the security guards had thrown me to the concrete several times. My arms and knees were covered in scrapes that hadn’t even been treated yet, and now I had fresh injuries. Meeting my agonized expression, a flash of reluctance crossed Carter’s eyes. But at the sound of Mia’s soft whimpers, he snapped right back to attention. “Stella Davis, stop putting on an act. Be careful you don’t play with fire and get burned!” With that, he grabbed Mia’s hand, walked out, and slammed the door behind them. Chapter 2 I felt no joy and no sorrow. For the next three days, I handled my mother’s funeral arrangements entirely alone. Carter never came back. In the eight years we had been together, he had never once stayed out all night. Usually, when we fought, I was always the one to bow my head first. But this time, I didn’t yield. Instead, Mrs. Sterling—Carter’s mother—showed up uninvited. Her face was dark with displeasure. “Stella, I know Carter was in the wrong this time, but you can’t be so unforgiving. This is Carter’s house. What gives you the right to lock my son out?” The sheer humiliation I had suffered was lightly brushed over by her. As long as I showed any signs of caring, I was the one being aggressive and unreasonable. But then again, she had looked down on me for eight years. In her eyes, there was only Mia. “From a poor, single-parent family. I still have no idea what Carter sees in you.” Back then, she wore her disdain on her sleeve, never even trying to hide it. There was one time I actually gave up and tried to leave. Carter raced his sports car all the way to the airport to catch me. He held me tightly, crying. “Stella, can’t you just hold on, for me?” And that momentary lapse of my soft heart pushed me permanently into the abyss. “Mia has the mind of a child. She has depression and almost killed herself. Why can’t you be a little kinder?” Mrs. Sterling’s blatant favoritism was almost honest. She cast a highly critical eye over me. It made me feel like a piece of garbage. I’m not kind? Their entire family only cared about Mia’s emotions. But who had ever genuinely cared that I had just lost my mother? “Mrs. Sterling, Carter and I broke up. I’ll be leaving very soon. You don’t have to worry.” Mrs. Sterling’s face instantly turned livid. Just as she was about to explode, the front door clicked open. Carter and Mia walked in. He looked stern and imposing. He had clearly heard what I just said. Mia warmly grabbed my hand, putting on a sickeningly sweet face: “Stella, don’t be mad. Here, this is the gift we bought you from our trip to Paris.” Hearing the word Paris, my tightly locked heart still gave a painful twitch. I had told him so many times how much I wanted to go to Paris, but he was always “too busy with work,” dragging it out for over a year. Afraid of making him feel guilty, I had pretended I didn’t care. I was trembling all over. In that moment, a thousand words threatened to pour out of me. But when they reached my lips, I couldn’t utter a single syllable. I simply pushed Mia’s hand away and shook my head. “Stella Davis!” Carter grabbed my wrist, his voice dropping low. “Stop making a scene. Can’t you see my mom is here? She already dislikes you, so just be sensible for once!” Mia chimed in, playing the peacemaker: “Yeah, Stella. The elders are here. Whatever issues you have, we can talk about them later.” They played off each other perfectly, pushing all the blame onto me. I laughed. “Are you two deaf? I’ve said it more than once: Carter and I broke up. Why the hell do I care if his mother likes me or not?” For a split second, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. “Carter! Look at this wonderful fiancée of yours, daring to speak to me like that!” Mrs. Sterling’s shrill voice pierced the air, her hatred for me reaching its absolute peak. “She can’t even compare to a single toe of Mia’s! Break up with this woman immediately!” As soon as the words left her mouth, I pulled the engagement ring off my finger and calmly set it on the coffee table. “No need to trouble him. We’re already done.” With that, I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door. Two shrieks echoed from behind me as Carter took massive strides to chase me down. “Stella, what the hell are you doing?!” He grabbed my hand and frantically shoved the ring back onto my finger. His eyes actually held a hint of pleading. “Stop this. It’s been three days. Why are you still angry?” He asked the question with so much resentment, as if I was the one being completely unreasonable. The grip on my hand grew painfully tight, and I cried out. Startled, he let go, then immediately reached out to pull up my sleeve. “Don’t move. Let me see, let me see.” Ignoring the pain, I struggled violently, even managing to slap him across the face three times. He didn’t even try to dodge. Instead, his eyes suddenly turned red. “I didn’t know… no… I didn’t know you had so many injuries.” A man who was usually so articulate and composed was now stammering incoherently. Chapter 3 But I didn’t feel a single shred of emotion. Only the desperate need to break free. “Let me go!” Carter grew angry, a domineering look filling his eyes. “Your mom is dead, and your dad has been dead for years. Where else can you go? The only person you can rely on now is me!” Rely on him? I let out a shaky, broken laugh. “How am I supposed to rely on you? Have you ever, even once, stood by my side?” “Not only did you not stand by me, but you had me thrown in a holding cell. You made me the pathetic laughingstock of the entire city.” “Do you even know my mother just died?! All I wanted was to give her some peace of mind before she passed, why did you have to make that so incredibly difficult?!” Looking at my cascading tears, Carter’s heart seemingly stopped. A wave of intense remorse washed over him. “Stella, I regret it. I truly regret it. I thought because you had waited so many times before, making you wait one more time wouldn’t—” My brain buzzed, and in a moment of sheer breakdown, I slapped him across the face again. My understanding and forgiveness never earned his cherishing; it had simply become ironclad proof that I could be treated like garbage. Dragging my suitcase, I resolutely got into my car. But the next second, a heavy, suffocating wave of perfume hit my nose. The car had just been returned by Mia a few days ago, and it was filled with her things. I didn’t think twice. I slammed my foot on the gas and sped out of the driveway. Carter refused to give up, chasing right behind me in his own car. But very quickly, I realized something was horribly wrong. The brakes weren’t working! I yanked the steering wheel frantically, but at the red light, I still slammed headfirst into the car in front of me. With a deafening crash, I completely lost consciousness. “Stella!” I faintly heard Carter’s agonizing scream echoing in my ears. When I woke up, my body was in excruciating pain. I had a broken rib, and the rest of me was covered in severe lacerations. The doctor’s face was full of relief. “It’s a good thing you weren’t going too fast, so your internal organs didn’t rupture. If you had been going any faster, you would be dead or permanently paralyzed.” Carter, the corners of his eyes red, listened intently to the doctor’s instructions. I struggled to reach out with my left arm, hooked my phone, and started dialing 911. Noticing this, Carter asked anxiously. “Stella, who are you trying to have arrested?” I glared at the culprit standing in the room, pointing at a leisurely-looking Mia, and roared: “Who else could it be?! Tell her to get out!” Mia put on her signature, innocent face again. “Stella, I was planning on taking it to the shop to get fixed tomorrow. Nobody knew you were going to drive it.” My chest ached furiously from the effort of speaking, my voice reduced to a harsh whisper because I was so weak. “The car has been broken for that long, and you didn’t tell me?! You only say you were going to fix it tomorrow after I get into an accident?! I almost died!” As I finished speaking, I hit the call button. But suddenly, Carter snatched the phone from my hand and ended the call. “Stella, it’s all a misunderstanding. There’s no need to take it this far.” My vision instantly went black. For a moment, I honestly couldn’t tell if my physical wounds hurt more, or if my heart was just suffocating me. I used the last of my strength to murmur: “Get out… all of you, get out…” Mia pouted and scoffed. “Why are you being so dramatic? You just got a few little scratches, it’s not like you—ah!” Smack! Carter delivered a heavy, resounding slap, cutting her off completely. “Get out!” Carter’s voice was low and gravelly, the veins on his forehead bulging. He had clearly reached the absolute limit of his patience. Holding her cheek, Mia’s eyes filled with tears. “You actually hit me. For this bitch, Stella?!” Her tone was sinister. The look she gave me before slamming the door shut was enough to make my blood run cold. Chapter 4 I was completely drained of energy, possessing no more strength to care about their drama. But for five straight days, a ridiculously busy Carter stayed by my side, tending to my every need. Several times, I grabbed the water cup next to me and threw it at him, but I couldn’t drive him away. “Stella, just focus on healing. Once you’re better, we’ll talk.” He spoke softly, but carried an air of absolute refusal to leave, no matter what I did. I eventually stopped paying attention to him, letting him do whatever he wanted. Until one day, taking advantage of a moment when he stepped out, I grabbed my bags and my mother’s urn, and discharged myself from the hospital early. But while I was waiting for an Uber by the curb, an almost feral Carter charged toward me. “Stella Davis! You are utterly ruthless!” He threw a blood-soaked piece of clothing right in my face. Having just left the hospital, I had barely any strength. The force of the throw sent me crashing to the pavement. “What is this? What does this have to do with me?!” He grabbed me by the collar, furious: “Still lying! Mia is missing, and this bloody shirt is all that’s left! You’re the only person who’s had a grudge against her lately!” I froze on the spot for a solid ten seconds. The only reason was because it was just too absurd. “There is zero proof that I did this! You should be calling the cops right now, not blaming me!” I yelled, panting heavily. Carter’s face stiffened, his expression seeming to waver slightly. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He thought it was good news, but when he opened the message, his face completely darkened. He shoved the screen right into my face, his eyes bloodshot. “Look for yourself!” I frantically grabbed the phone. On the screen, Mia was tied up, kneeling on the ground. There was blood on the corner of her mouth, and she looked as if she had been brutally beaten. “I really know I was wrong. What do I have to do for you to forgive me, Stella? I really didn’t break the car on purpose. I can’t feel my legs anymore. Stella, please, just let me go.” Saying that, she desperately kowtowed against the floor. The video abruptly cut off. A sudden, sharp pain flared in my scalp. Out of nowhere, Mrs. Sterling had appeared and violently slapped me three times across the face. “You bitch! Mia is the daughter I raised! How could you do this to her?! Are you even human?!” I couldn’t catch my breath, completely defenseless. Just as another slap was about to land, Carter intercepted her hand. “Stella, speak! Where is Mia?!” I lay on the ground like a puddle of mud, tears streaming down my face. “It has nothing to do with me, I have absolutely no idea! What do you want me to say?! And the color of that blood in the video is completely fake!” Mrs. Sterling was hyperventilating with rage, lunging forward to hit me again. “Still making excuses! I will never let a woman like you marry into our family! You won’t shed a tear until you see the coffin. You’re just asking for a beating.” Carter blocked his mother, signaling that he would handle it. His eyes swept the surrounding area before finally landing on my mother’s urn. My heart stopped. I frantically lunged to grab it. But he was faster. He snatched it up. “What are you doing?! Give the urn back to me!” Ignoring the agonizing pain in my abdomen, I dragged myself across the pavement and fell to my knees. I lowered myself into the dust. “I’m begging you, give the urn back to me.” I sobbed uncontrollably, attempting to use my last shred of dignity to awaken the final trace of their humanity. But Carter looked away, his voice light and freezing cold. “I’m giving you one last chance. Are you going to tell me or not?” Mrs. Sterling was frantic, glaring at me as if I had murdered her entire family. “Mia is just a child! How did she ever offend you that you have to be so ruthless?! Where is she, tell us now!” I completely broke down, even slapping my own face. “I really don’t know! I swear to God, if I’m lying, may lightning strike me dead!” Even though my voice was practically tearing at the seams, Carter closed his eyes in frustration. When he opened them again, a flash of pure malice crossed his face. Crash. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the urn shattered into a hundred pieces on the concrete. The ashes inside drifted out, scattering in the wind. “Ahhhh!” I let out wave after wave of agonizing screams, throwing myself onto the ground to protect the ashes with my own body. It felt like a knife was twisting furiously in my heart. A flicker of pity crossed Mrs. Sterling’s eyes, but she still maintained her hard expression and said I brought it on myself. Carter clenched his jaw. Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang again. Seeing it was the police precinct, he answered immediately. “Mia Harper has been found. Please come to the precinct immediately, we have matters to discuss in person.” His brain buzzed. He instinctively looked down at me on the ground. But in that split second, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream from Mrs. Sterling, a flash of cold steel caught his eye.

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Chapter 1 It was my tenth year of being adopted by the Sterling family. The true heiress returned, riddled with injuries and illnesses. Looking at the old scars on his biological sister’s wrists, my brother Arthur’s gaze toward me grew increasingly cold. My adopted parents, who had originally planned to send me abroad to study, hesitated. Arthur, however, made the decision for them with a cold sneer. “Since she took Mia’s place and enjoyed a life of luxury all these years, she can stay and be Mia’s lifelong maid to atone for her sins.” Later, Arthur forced me to marry him. For the five years of our marriage, he found every possible way to torture me, making me donate blood and act as a human guinea pig for the true heiress. Until that massive fire. Without a moment’s hesitation, he scooped up the true heiress and charged out of the flames, leaving me locked inside the room to burn to death. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day I was adopted at the orphanage. Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, dressed in haute couture, stood before me, their eyes full of parental affection: “This child looks so bright and lively. We’ll take her.” A violent shudder ran through my entire body. The next second, I grabbed a fistful of mud from the ground and shoved it into my mouth, drooling and giggling idiotically at them: “Hehe, meat… yummy… so yummy…” “Hehe, meat… yummy… so yummy…” I crammed that ball of foul-smelling, black mud into my mouth, my teeth grinding audibly against the grit. Muddy water dribbled down the corners of my mouth, dripping onto the yellowed collar of my old orphanage uniform. The maternal affection on the wealthy woman’s face froze instantly. It looked like she had just swallowed a dead fly. She recoiled in disgust, taking a half-step back, her designer heels clicking sharply against the concrete floor. “Director, is this child… mentally impaired?” The orphanage director, sweating profusely, reached out to wipe my face. “No, Mrs. Sterling! Nora is usually the smartest child here. I don’t know what’s gotten into her today…” I violently swatted the director’s hand away. I wiped my mud-caked hands directly onto the wealthy woman’s ridiculously expensive custom skirt. Mumbling incoherently, I cried out: “Mommy… hug… hungry…” Mrs. Sterling shrieked, frantically swatting at her skirt as if she had just been infected by a deadly virus. The teenage boy who had been standing silently to the side finally spoke up. Arthur. The brother who had personally shoved me into hell in my previous life. He looked down at me from his towering height, his eyes assessing me like a pile of unrecyclable trash. “Mom, let’s go.” “Bringing a filthy thing like this home will only upset Mia.” “There are plenty of kids in the orphanage. Pick a clean one.” Mrs. Sterling, still visibly shaken, pulled out a silk handkerchief and covered her nose and mouth. “What awful luck. She looks decent enough, but turns out she’s a retard.” They turned on their heels and left, without a single backward glance. I kept up my idiotic giggling. Only when that black Maybach completely disappeared from sight did I slowly drop the foolish act. “Ptui.” I spat the mud out of my mouth. It was incredibly bitter. But compared to the agony of my previous life—having my blood drained and being burned to a crisp crisp—this little bit of mud was nothing. The director poked my forehead, furious at my failure to seize the opportunity. “You stupid brat! That was the Sterling family, the richest family in the city! Such an incredible opportunity, and you completely blew it!” “Do you have any idea how many people would kill for that position?!” I watched the direction the Sterling’s car had gone, my eyes as cold as ice. That position? The position of being a living blood bank, a guinea pig for experimental drugs, and a punching bag for the true heiress? Whoever wants it can have it. In this life, my only goal is to send them straight to hell. From the corner, a timid-looking girl stepped out. She looked at my mud-covered mouth, a flash of mockery and greed in her eyes. It was Chloe. In my past life, she bullied me endlessly at the orphanage. Just now, when the Sterling family was leaving, their gaze had lingered on her for a few seconds. “Nora, you really are an idiot.” Chloe smoothed down her ill-fitting dress, smiling smugly. “Since you don’t want it, I’ll just have to enjoy the Sterling family’s wealth in your place.” I looked at her as if looking at a dead woman. The corners of my lips curled into an eerie smile. “Be my guest.” “I hope you… enjoy it… thoroughly.” Chapter 2 Chloe got her wish and was taken away. On the day she left, sitting in that luxury car, she rolled down the window and flipped me the bird. Arthur sat beside her, gently handing her a piece of chocolate with a tender expression. That was a tenderness I had begged for on my knees for three days and three nights in my past life, yet never received. I wasn’t jealous. I only found it hilarious. Chloe thought she was going to heaven. Little did she know, she was entering a slaughterhouse disguised as a golden palace. The Sterling family’s true heiress, Mia, suffered from a rare blood disorder. She required long-term blood transfusions and constantly needed to test various experimental treatments. The Sterling family didn’t adopt a daughter out of the goodness of their hearts. They adopted one to raise an on-call “spare organ.” Chloe’s blood type, coincidentally, was a perfect match. The motorcade drove away. The orphanage returned to its deathly silence. Because my “crazy episode” had chased away the VIPs, the director punished me by withholding dinner and sending me to the back mountain to gather firewood. As it was getting dark, near an unmarked graveyard on the back mountain, I saw a strange old man. He was wearing a tattered, old-fashioned tunic suit, staring blankly at a weed. I recognized that weed. In my previous life, trying to please Arthur, I had obsessively studied countless medical texts. It was Spanish Needles. Highly toxic, yet a miraculous medicine. The old man seemed to sense my gaze and whipped his head around. His cloudy eyes suddenly shot out a piercing gleam. “Girlie, is this weed edible?” I walked over expressionlessly and stomped a venomous snake to death right next to the weed. “The weed is edible, but you’ll die if you eat it.” “The snake’s gallbladder is edible, and eating it will keep you alive.” The old man froze for a second. Then he erupted into a booming, thunderous laugh. “Interesting.” “Everyone else thinks I’m dirty, thinks I’m crazy, but you, girlie, you aren’t afraid.” “Since the Sterling family doesn’t want you, I’ll take you.” The director was eager to get rid of a “retard” like me. When filling out the paperwork, she didn’t even verify the old man’s identity. Carrying a small, beat-up backpack, I followed the old man out of the orphanage. The old man’s name was Silas Vance. Known in the underworld as the “Ghost-Handed Reaper.” In my past life, he was an internationally renowned medical genius. Even the Sterling family had offered exorbitant sums just to secure a meeting with him. Unfortunately, in my past life, I was locked in a basement. I only heard his name but never saw his face. In this life. I am his only disciple. Ten years. A full ten years. Deep in the mountains, I lived among venomous insects and medicinal herbs. I tested every herb imaginable and mastered acupuncture techniques that bordered on the supernatural. I also forged a heart colder and harder than a viper’s scales. Ten years later. Old Man Vance tossed a gold-foiled invitation at me. “Girlie, your apprenticeship is over.” “Go. There’s an auction in the city. Bring back that thousand-year snow lotus for me.” I caught the invitation. My fingertips gently brushed over the small print that read “Sponsored by Sterling Group.” The corners of my lips curved slightly upward. Arthur, Mia. Long time no see. Your “maid” has returned. Chapter 3 The city’s most exclusive, top-tier auction. I wore a simple black qipao, the upper half of my face concealed by a silver mask. Only the lower half of my face and my cold, detached eyes were visible. Old Man Vance had given me a fake identity—the miracle doctor, “Nameless.” As soon as I entered the venue, I caught a whiff of a familiar, rotting stench. Not literal rot. But the unique stench emanating from the depths of a Sterling family member’s soul. In a VIP box on the second floor, Arthur held a glass of wine, looking down at the floor below with careless arrogance. Ten years had passed. He was more mature, and even more cold-blooded. His perfectly tailored suit hugged his tall frame, but it couldn’t hide the violence bred into his bones. The woman sitting beside him wasn’t Mia. It was a woman so emaciated she looked like a skeleton. Even from this distance, I could see the dense cluster of needle marks and scars covering her wrists. Chloe. The girl who had once strutted so haughtily, eager to enter the Sterling family. Now, she was cowering at Arthur’s feet like a dog drained of its life force. She held a peeled grape in her trembling hands, offering it to Arthur’s lips. Arthur didn’t even look at it; he slapped it away with the back of his hand. The purple juice splattered across Chloe’s face. “Disgusting.” “Go wash your face. Don’t ruin Mia’s appetite.” Chloe shuddered violently and scrambled on her hands and knees toward the restroom. The surrounding guests turned a blind eye to this. As if she were merely a pet kept by the young master of the Sterling family. I withdrew my gaze and found a seat in a corner. The auction soon began. I had no interest in the initial lots. Until the thousand-year snow lotus was brought out. Starting bid: five million. “Ten million.” From the second-floor box, Arthur lazily raised his paddle. The entire hall went silent. Everyone knew the Sterling family’s eldest daughter, Mia, was in poor health. This snow lotus was obviously for her. No one dared to bid against the Sterling family. The auctioneer raised his gavel: “Ten million going once, ten million going twice…” “Twenty million.” A cold, clear female voice suddenly rang out from the corner. The crowd erupted in murmurs. All eyes zeroed in on me. Arthur’s hand, holding his wine glass, paused, and he slowly turned his head. Through the dazzling light of the crystal chandeliers. His gaze wrapped around me like a venomous snake. “Thirty million,” he stated coldly. “Fifty million,” I didn’t even bat an eye. “Eighty million.” Arthur’s voice carried a distinct edge of anger. “One hundred million.” I picked up the teacup in front of me and took a slow sip. “Mr. Sterling, care to keep going?” Arthur abruptly stood up, the wine glass in his hand shattering with a loud crack. Blood mixed with red wine dripped down his hand, a startling sight. He stared at me, his eyes terrifyingly dark. It wasn’t about the money. It was about my voice. Even though I deliberately lowered it, even though ten years had passed. Some things are etched into your very bones. “Who are you?” He leaned against the railing, body angled forward, like a wild beast ready to pounce. I set down my teacup, looked up, and gave him a faint smile from behind the mask. That smile. It was no different from the smile I gave ten years ago when I was eating mud at the orphanage. Only the idiocy was gone. Replaced by murderous intent. “Who I am doesn’t matter.” “What matters is, I’m taking this snow lotus.” Chapter 4 After the auction ended, I was cornered in the parking garage. Over a dozen men in black suits surrounded me. Arthur emerged from the shadows, casually flipping a sleek butterfly knife in his hand. The blade danced between his fingers, glinting coldly. “In this town, no one dares to snatch what I have my eye on.” He walked up to me, using the tip of the knife to lift a strand of my hair. “Take off the mask.” “Let me see which rich heiress is so eager to die.” I didn’t move. I just looked at him calmly. “Is Mr. Sterling planning to rob me in broad daylight?” Arthur scoffed. “Rob? You flatter yourself.” “Leave the lotus, leave a hand, and you can get the hell out of here.” He waved his hand, and two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, reaching out to grab my shoulders. In that split second. I moved. It wasn’t some flashy, theatrical dodge. It was a lethal, calculated strike aimed directly at a vital point. I grabbed the wrist of the bodyguard on my left and twisted it violently backward. Crack. The sharp sound of bone breaking echoed through the empty parking garage. Immediately following, a side kick sent the bodyguard on my right flying like a kite with a snapped string, crashing heavily onto Arthur’s car. The car alarm blared. Dead silence fell over the garage. The cold smirk on Arthur’s face froze. He probably never imagined that a woman who looked so delicate and fragile could strike so ruthlessly. “You…” The remaining bodyguards rushed me all at once. I ripped off the restrictive slit of my qipao, revealing long, toned legs. My body moved like a ghost, weaving through the crowd. With every strike, a man went down. Three minutes. The ground was littered with groaning men. I smoothed my slightly disheveled hair and walked toward Arthur, step by step. Arthur finally panicked. He gripped his butterfly knife tightly and yelled, “Stay back! Do you know who I am?!” “The Sterling family will never let you get away with this!” I walked right up to him and reached out my hand. Under his terrified gaze, I caught the butterfly knife between two fingers. With a slight twist. Snap. The blade, forged from hardened steel, was cleanly snapped in half by my bare hands. Arthur’s pupils dilated in shock. He stumbled backward instinctively, tripped, and fell hard to the ground. Looking utterly pathetic. I crouched down, bringing my eyes level with his. I reached up and took off my mask. Revealing a face that was stunningly beautiful, yet incredibly familiar to him. That face slowly merged with the memory of the mud-covered idiot from ten years ago. “Arthur.” I called out softly, my tone as gentle as a lover’s whisper. “What, it’s only been ten years and you don’t recognize me?” Arthur looked as if he’d seen a ghost, his face instantly draining of all color. “N… Nora?!” “Weren’t you retarded?!” I reached out and patted his stiff cheek, my fingertips icy cold. “Yeah.” “Only a retard would let you all bully her.” “Only a retard would act as your personal blood bank.” “Only a retard would throw her life away for the sake of so-called ‘family.’” I stood up, looking down at him from above, my eyes turning completely glacial. The subservience of my past life, the pathetic groveling of my past life. In this moment, it all vanished like smoke in the wind. I planted my foot squarely on his chest, the sharp heel of my stiletto sinking into his flesh. Listening to his muffled groans of pain, I felt an unprecedented surge of satisfaction. “Arthur.” “The game has just begun.”

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