Category: English

After the scholarship student Lily appeared, my three childhood friends stopped clinging to me. At a banquet, my dad suddenly asked me: “Sienna, tell Dad who you like, bring him over, and I’ll arrange your engagement today!” As soon as he finished speaking, everyone at the banquet looked toward the three wealthy heirs who used to dote on me. But they acted as if they hadn’t heard a thing. Ethan was feeding Lily food, Lucas was making Lily laugh, and Ryan was massaging Lily’s shoulders. The scene became awkward, and Dad’s expression stiffened. I quickly spoke up: “Dad, my boyfriend is overseas. I’ll bring him to meet you when the time comes.” The three childhood friends heard my words and scoffed mockingly, glancing at me. I knew they didn’t believe I had a boyfriend. They thought I was just trying to save face. But actually, I really did have a boyfriend. The next time I went to the three childhood friends’ homes, it was to deliver my wedding invitations. While I was having tea with Mrs. Ashford in the living room, Ethan came downstairs. Mrs. Ashford called to him: “Ethan, we were just talking about Sienna’s wedding—” Ethan, exuding the aura of a CEO, glared at me coldly: “Sienna Walsh, who said I was going to marry you?” “Don’t ask my mom to be your mediator. I told you I’m not interested in you. You better give up on that idea!” After saying this, he left the house impatiently. Mrs. Ashford sighed helplessly: “This child only hears half of what people say. Who said she was marrying him?” She looked at me apologetically because of Ethan’s rudeness. “Sienna, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into Ethan. He used to care for you so much, competing and arguing with those other two boys to treat you well.” “I originally thought if you were to become my daughter-in-law, Ethan would have to work hard to beat those two boys, but who would have thought…” I smiled and shook my head: “If there’s no chemistry, there’s nothing we can do. Well, Auntie, I’ll be going now.” “Alright, we’ll attend your wedding.” After leaving the Ashford home, I went to the Sterling residence. When the servant led me in, Lucas was on a phone call. When he saw me, a mocking smile curved at the corner of his mouth. He walked over: “Ethan just called saying you went to his house trying to force him into marriage, and now that he rejected you, you’ve come to me?” He had always worn a mask of gentleness: “Sienna, I thought the last banquet made it very clear. We don’t like you and won’t marry you. You shouldn’t pester us like this.” I smiled and nodded: “That’s why I’m just here to deliver my wedding invitation.” He froze, then mockingly curled his lips: “Is Sienna trying to pull the same stunt your dad did last time, announcing things without asking first, then appointing one of us as the groom at the wedding, thinking we won’t embarrass you and will help you stage a fake wedding?” “Tsk tsk, Sienna, haven’t you learned your lesson from last time?” “I’ve told you, we don’t like you. To avoid Lily misunderstanding, we won’t give you face. When you can’t get off the stage, it’ll be too late to make up another fake boyfriend.” I shook my head and was about to speak when his phone rang again. When he saw the caller ID, his expression softened. He answered: “Hello, Lily.” “Okay, I’ll be right there.” After responding gently, he looked at me, silently mouthed “take care of yourself,” and walked past me to leave. I sighed helplessly. It seemed that because of the incident at the last banquet when my dad asked me to publicly acknowledge a boyfriend, they were convinced I was trying to force one of them to marry me this time too. Whatever. They’d find out eventually. Mrs. Sterling came out, warmly received me, accepted my invitation, and sighed, “My Lucas doesn’t have the good fortune.” I came to deliver the invitations in person because, setting aside the friendship between me and the three childhood friends that no longer existed, their parents had treated me extremely well. When Mom died and Dad was busy with his career, I had rotated between their three homes. I wouldn’t forget the warmth from those times. I suddenly saw Lily’s social media post—she had posted photos of the four of them at an amusement park. So I felt confident going to the third childhood friend’s home.

While I was in the living room with Mrs. Blake, I was just saying: “The wedding date is next month—” “Mom, how could you casually decide on my marriage to Sienna Walsh! This is my girlfriend, Lily!” Ryan suddenly rushed over, pulling Lily along. “Mom, I know we used to play house a lot, and you’d joke about making Sienna our family’s daughter-in-law, but that was just when we were young and didn’t understand.” “Now we’re all grown up. You should respect my choice!” Mrs. Blake was stunned: “No, Ryan—” Ryan, who had never had a good temper, glared at me: “Sienna Walsh, can you stop pestering us? Do you think having the elders pressure us will make one of us accept you?” “Can’t you see how much we all detest you now, how we avoid you?” “Ryan!” Mrs. Blake angrily scolded him. But Ryan kept a cold expression and wouldn’t listen to anything Mrs. Blake or I said: “Anyway, the person I like is Lily. I will absolutely never marry Sienna Walsh. Just wait for the wedding to fall through!” With that, he pulled Lily away. Mrs. Blake sighed: “Sienna doesn’t even like him. Where does he get the confidence that you want to marry him?” I smiled and shrugged: “He probably dislikes me so much right now that he can’t be bothered to listen to what I say. Anyway, they’ll all understand eventually.” When I left the Blake villa, all four of them—Ethan, Lucas, Ryan, and Lily—were actually outside. Following their claim that they detested me, I acted as if I didn’t see them and left directly. “Sienna!” But Lily suddenly came forward and grabbed me. “Don’t misunderstand. Ryan just asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend.” “Lily, why are you explaining to her? I only did that to get rid of her!” Ryan said impatiently. “Ryan, don’t be like that. We’re all very good friends. I only got to know you guys because of Sienna. I really miss the days when the five of us used to hang out together.” “Sienna, please stop being angry at everyone, okay? I really hope you can continue hanging out with us.” As Lily spoke, her fingernails suddenly dug into my flesh where she was holding my hand. I hissed and shook off her hand. “Ah!” She fell backward as if I had violently thrown her off. “Lily!” The three of them rushed over nervously to support her. “Sienna Walsh! Lily is so kind, and you won’t appreciate it—that’s one thing—but you actually pushed her? Have dogs eaten your conscience?” Ryan said furiously. Lucas also had a cold expression: “Lily always hoped you could return to our group, but it seems you really don’t deserve it.” “Apologize to Lily right now, Sienna Walsh!” Ethan said in a deep voice. Lily leaned against Ethan’s chest, looking wronged and fragile, but her eyes held a familiar smugness and provocation as she looked at me. I patted my arm and looked at them coldly: “I’m so terrible, why would I apologize to her?” “So just take her far away from me, won’t you? Then she won’t get hurt, right?” With that, I turned and left directly. “Sienna Walsh, if you still can’t learn to be friendly toward Lily, then we’ll have no more friendship to speak of!” Ethan said coldly from behind. The corner of my mouth twisted sarcastically, and I left without paying any attention. Ever since Lily appeared, when had there been any friendship left between us?

That evening, following Mrs. Ashford’s request, I delivered medicine to the suburban vacation villa for her, only to discover that only Ethan, Lucas, and Ryan were there. We then realized we had all been tricked into coming here by our parents. Moreover, our cars had all been driven away, and late at night like this, there was no way back to the city. Mrs. Ashford said on the phone that she hoped we could find our childhood memories at this place where we used to play often, and reconcile. Ryan scoffed: “How boring and such a waste of time. I wonder if Lily will be okay without us.” His words made both Ethan and Lucas frown with worry. I agreed it was a waste of time, but looking at this familiar villa, I still felt a bit dazed. I walked over to a piano. It had been here for over ten years, hadn’t it? I remembered once, the four of us played eight-handed pieces together. Ryan was always causing trouble, making us argue noisily, while the aunties and uncles watched us with smiles, taking many photos of us sitting at this piano. “Lily’s been learning piano lately. Look at this video I took of her.” Ryan pulled out his phone and played a video. Ethan and Lucas quickly gathered around to watch. The intermittent sound of piano playing and a sweet voice came through. The three of them watched seriously, their faces full of smiles. I stepped out of the villa. The lights illuminated the pool area. I hazily remembered that year when the three of them competed in the pool to see who could hold their breath the longest. Young and naive, I didn’t understand and thought they were drowning. I was so scared I jumped into the water to save them. “Ethan, Lucas, Ryan, don’t be scared, I’m here to save you—” But when I jumped into the water, I swallowed several mouthfuls. The three of them pulled me up together, wanting to laugh at me but also feeling helpless. “Sienna is both cute and silly. We must protect you well from now on.” Their words still echoed in my ears. They truly protected me as they said, all the way through growing up. Blocking all the dangers I faced as a child, taking me to eat good food, taking me to play… My vision seemed filled with many happy voices and laughter. Suddenly a voice from reality broke the illusion. “Lily, don’t be scared, we’ll come keep you company right away!” Ethan answered a call from Lily, extremely anxious. “There’s thunder in the city, and Lily was so scared she cried. We need to go be with her!” Ethan said anxiously to the other two, and they were also frantic. They rushed out of the villa, looking left and right. “There’s not a single car!” “No, I can’t wait anymore. I’m going to walk back!” Ryan gritted his teeth and immediately rushed outside. The other two also anxiously rushed into the night. “Wait.” I called out to them. Ryan turned and glared at me: “Sienna Walsh, Lily is so scared she’s crying, and you’re still jealous here trying to stop us?” Ethan and Lucas also glared at me disapprovingly. My expression was indifferent: “If you walk back like this, the thunder will have long stopped, and Lily will have already gotten over her fear.” “Then what should we do? We can’t just wait here doing nothing!” Ryan gritted his teeth and was about to rush into the night again. Lucas calmed down and stopped him: “Let’s contact someone to pick us up first, and also look for any transportation.” They searched around the villa anxiously with their phone flashlights. We were familiar with every corner of this place because we had played countless games of hide-and-seek here before. “There’s an abandoned car here that can be driven.” My phone’s flashlight shone on a broken-down car in the corner. They immediately rushed over. The broken car was pushed out, and Ethan got in the driver’s seat. Lucas and Ryan got in the back, but the space was cramped. They were tall and large, and there was no room for a third person. They hesitated and looked at me. I shrugged: “I never planned to take this back to the city with you anyway. Do as you please.” “Sienna—” Lucas began. I said coolly: “Lily might really be terrified by now.” When they heard this, they immediately became anxious and couldn’t care about anything else. “Sienna, we’ll send someone to pick you up.” I calmly watched them disappear into the night, rushing with all their might toward the girl they cared about. Along with them disappeared twenty years of memories. “Goodbye, Ethan, Lucas, Ryan.” A car suddenly drove up, and the man who got out had just gotten off a plane to rush here. I smiled and ran over, throwing myself into his arms.

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My best friend disguised herself as a nurse and artificially collected my husband Gideon’s sperm during his medical checkup. She got pregnant. All because Gideon’s grandfather, the world’s richest man, made an announcement before his death. Whoever gave birth to the future heir of the family would inherit his trillion-dollar fortune. But I had fertility issues. Three years of marriage, and still no pregnancy. After my best friend got pregnant with my husband’s child, she moved the delivery room right into Grandfather’s hospital room and gave birth to a boy on the spot. “Wren, I’m doing this for your own good. The family needs an heir.” “Besides, I’m a traditional woman. Since Gideon took my virginity, he has to take responsibility.” “As for you, if you agree to leave with nothing, I might let you be the child’s godmother.” Triumph filled her eyes as she slapped the prenatal paternity test report in my face. I looked at her paternity test. It clearly stated: “Test results support biological father-son relationship between the parties.” Everyone thought I was about to be kicked out of the family. But I just smiled as I looked at a line of text in the corner.

The paternity test report slapped against my face, papers scattering everywhere. At Grandfather’s funeral, everyone wore mourning clothes—except for my best friend Vanessa, who wore a bright red dress and held her newborn son. Her smile stretched from ear to ear. She looked nothing like someone attending a funeral. “After I found out I was pregnant, I moved into the family estate to take care of myself.” “Don’t blame Gideon. After all, the baby in my arms is the family’s only son. Naturally, he has to be recognized as the rightful heir.” The air fell silent for a moment. The mourners all looked at me, waiting for my reaction. But I just smiled at a line of text in the corner. Then Vanessa’s phone rang. Gideon’s mother’s voice burst through the speaker, overflowing with joy. “Vanessa, is it true? Our family has an heir? I have a grandson?” Vanessa looked at me triumphantly and went on and on about how adorable her son was before hanging up with her chin held high. I looked at her and spoke calmly. “This child will never inherit the trillion-dollar fortune.” Vanessa sneered, thinking I was just desperately grasping at straws. “Wren, don’t tell me being a daughter-in-law has made you stupid.” “The paternity test clearly states that it supports Gideon as Asher’s biological father.” “According to the will, only Asher is the family’s bloodline.” “If you leave with nothing now, I might let Asher recognize you as his godmother.” An hour later, Gideon’s mother stumbled into the funeral, not even having time to grab a coat. The moment she saw the baby’s face, she couldn’t stop praising: “He looks just like him. Exactly like him.” Gideon’s mother was afraid I might lose control, so she had people block me. “This is a precious treasure. We must take good care of him.” Then she pulled Vanessa aside: “Vanessa, you haven’t finished your postpartum recovery yet. Sit down and rest. Don’t tire yourself out.” “I’ll call the lawyer right now to transfer the inheritance to you!” Then she turned and glanced at me with disgust: “Unlike some people who couldn’t produce anything in three years.” “If I were you, I’d pack up and leave now before being thrown out and humiliated.” But I just stared intently at the baby in the nanny’s arms. “No need to call the lawyer, because she won’t get a penny of that inheritance.” Vanessa looked me up and down, then spoke as if bestowing charity: “Wren, face reality. You can’t have children because you’ve done too many bad things. You seduced Gideon in college, wearing those tank tops and short skirts. What kind of decent woman dresses like that?” “Only a proper woman like me deserves to give birth to the family’s son.” Many people came and went through the funeral hall, everyone with different thoughts, their eyes constantly shifting between Vanessa and me. After all, this was the world’s richest man’s fortune. So many people were envious. Whoever could get it would basically be set for life. “This is a funeral hall. What are you all doing?” Gideon’s father strode over. When he saw Vanessa, his face relaxed. He looked utterly kind: “Vanessa’s here. The lawyer will arrive soon, and we’ll announce the heir directly.” “This is freshly made chicken soup. Drink up.” “That’s right, you’re our family’s greatest benefactor. You must nourish your body properly.” “After the inheritance transfer, go to a private postpartum center to recover for six months.” Gideon’s mother hastily scooped up a spoonful of chicken and brought it to Vanessa’s lips. I looked at the three of them in front of me, acting like a harmonious family, and felt it was painfully glaring. “Uncle, Aunt, putting aside the fact that Gideon and I aren’t divorced yet.” “Aren’t you celebrating a bit prematurely? What if she can’t get Grandfather’s inheritance?” Hearing this, Vanessa almost spat out the blood chicken in her mouth. She pushed past Gideon’s father and mother, holding the child, teasing him while glaring at me. “So what if you’re married? The family won’t want a slut who can’t have children.” “Who knows what you were doing, coming home at ten o’clock every night. You probably slept around so much you became infertile.” “In the future, when my son grows up, he’ll never marry a woman with such a messy private life like you.” Gideon’s mother helped Vanessa sit down, glanced at me, and sneered: “This little baby is definitely our family’s bloodline. He looks exactly like Gideon when he was little.” Vanessa’s face filled with triumph again: “Wren, I know you’re upset that I gave birth to Gideon’s son.” “But you’re talking nonsense. Have you gone crazy from not being able to have children?”

Every word was baseless slander. Yet it attracted the attention of the family’s distant relatives. “Gideon married a woman with a messy private life? No wonder she couldn’t get pregnant for so long.” “Good thing Vanessa had a son, otherwise the family wouldn’t have an heir.” “But Wren seems so certain. Could it be the child really isn’t his?” Hearing this, Vanessa’s eyes immediately reddened. She clutched Gideon’s mother’s arm, looking aggrieved: “Whether the child is his or not, you can tell just by looking.” “I know you’re all looking out for Gideon.” “If you don’t believe me, I’ll take Asher for another paternity test.” Vanessa’s face was full of grievance, as if she would burst into tears the next second. Gideon’s mother’s face wrinkled with distress, and her voice immediately grew louder. “I’d like to see who dares make my grandson suffer.” “Those eyes, that nose—exactly like Gideon when he was little! If he’s not our biological grandson, whose could he be?” “You don’t need to test anything, Wren. This grandson, our family has claimed!” Looking at Gideon’s mother’s twisted face before me, my heart stung with pain. The Gideon’s mother of the past had always been kind and warm to me, always smiling. I had treated her like my closest family. But now, with Vanessa’s manipulation, she looked at me with pure hatred. Gideon’s father couldn’t hold back anymore and waved for people to remove me from the funeral hall. “Because of one sentence from you, you made Vanessa, who just gave birth days ago, cry like this.” “Get her out of here.” I looked around, staring hard at Gideon’s father and mother, speaking each word clearly: “Do you really think just because Vanessa had a son, she can get the inheritance?” “Even if the lawyer comes, she won’t get a single penny!” The air froze for a moment, so quiet you could only hear breathing. Gideon’s father stomped his cane heavily, his face flushing red with anger: “Get her out! I don’t want to see this lunatic anymore!” Two security guards immediately came forward, grabbing my arms. I suppressed my anger and shook them off hard. “Don’t touch me. I’m pregnant.” With that, I pulled out the pregnancy test report from my bag. Black and white, clear as day: 12 weeks pregnant. Gideon’s father and mother exchanged glances and laughed coldly. Vanessa reached out and snatched the pregnancy report from me. After looking at it for a few seconds, she laughed: “So what if you’re pregnant?” “You’re only three months along. You don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl.” “What right do you have to compete with my son Asher for this inheritance?” “Today, I’ll make you see the contents of the will clearly.” Half an hour later, the lawyer got out of his car carrying a briefcase. Everyone’s eyes locked onto the lawyer. They watched him walk into the main hall, pull the will from his briefcase, and read it clearly, each word hammering into the entire funeral. “Given that the testator is advanced in age but currently of sound mind and able to express his will freely.” “The testator wishes, through this will, to transfer all his property to the biological mother of Gideon’s first son.” Vanessa triumphantly snatched the will and shoved it in my face. “Did you hear that? The biological mother of his first son!” “Even if you have a son, he’ll only be fit to carry my son’s shoes!” The way Gideon’s mother and father looked at me pierced my heart. “I heard it. I heard it very clearly.” I looked at the short line of text on the will, my gaze falling on “biological mother of the first son.” Then it fell on Vanessa’s face. “When you can’t get the inheritance, let’s see how long you can keep acting smug.”

Gideon’s mother comforted Vanessa while Gideon’s father jabbed his finger at my face: “How can your heart be so black? Just because you can’t have children, you curse Vanessa.” “Do you have to see our family without children before you’re satisfied?” “This is Grandfather’s will! Not child’s play!” Gideon’s sister walked over, pretending to be concerned: “Usually hiding things from Gideon and having your fun is one thing, but this is family business. You can’t mess around.” “Even if you’re jealous of Vanessa, you can’t be this vicious.” Word by word, they slandered me, painting me as a jealous shrew. The whispers around me reached my ears. “Exactly. With a child here, who knows where Gideon’s heart will be.” “The family treated Wren like their own daughter-in-law, who knows how wild she’s been behind the scenes.” “She should sign the divorce papers right now!” I clenched my palms, my knuckles turning white. After a long moment, I raised my phone and called the family doctor. “Dr. Lee, bring a full set of testing equipment to Grandfather’s funeral. Give Vanessa’s child another complete examination.” Before I finished speaking, Gideon’s father slapped the phone out of my hand, furious: “What examination? My grandson is perfectly healthy!” “How can your heart be so malicious? You’re actually cursing a newborn child to die!” The phone screen shattered, and my hand turned red. “After Dr. Lee examines him, you’ll understand what I meant.” Gideon’s father glared at me with a dark expression. “Fine! I want to see what tricks you can pull.” “If nothing’s wrong with the child, I won’t let you off!” Half an hour later, Dr. Lee walked in quickly with two assistants behind him, looking anxious. I stared hard at the child in Vanessa’s arms: “Full examination. Check him thoroughly from head to toe!” Gideon’s mother anxiously grabbed Dr. Lee’s hand. “Dr. Lee, there won’t be any problems with the child’s heart and lung function, right?” Dr. Lee said nothing, just took the child. His assistants set up the equipment and began a thorough examination. Everyone around held their breath, waiting for the results. Soon, Dr. Lee removed the stethoscope: “The child’s heart and lung function is very healthy. No damage.” Vanessa visibly relaxed. “See, I told you. During pregnancy, I went to a rural village for a traditional remedy passed down for three thousand years.” “I drank my father-in-law’s morning urine for three hundred days. How could there be any problems with the child?” “For this child, my father-in-law also made great efforts, drinking a liter of alkaline water every day.” Gideon’s mother patted her chest and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Gideon’s father glared at me, his eyes wide with rage. ‘Slap!’ He hit me so hard my ears rang. “Wren, I’ve treated you well for three years as our daughter-in-law. Don’t push your luck!” “My grandson is perfectly healthy. If you curse him again, our family isn’t to be trifled with!” He threw divorce papers in front of me. “Sign it, then get out.” The slap on my face burned with pain. But no matter how much it hurt, it couldn’t match the coldness in my heart. “I won’t sign unless we do another paternity test.” At those words, Gideon’s mother also became furious. “Crazy woman! Gideon’s eyes, Gideon’s nose—can’t I, his own mother, recognize them?” Vanessa’s eyes turned red. She rushed up and gripped my shoulders tightly with both hands. “You think I faked the paternity test? You think everyone’s as disgusting as you?!” “Fine, I’ll let you die with clarity today!” She turned and shouted at Dr. Lee: “You want a paternity test? Let’s do it now!” Then she glared at me viciously, like a demon from hell: “If the test results come back confirming that Asher is Gideon’s son.” “You, Wren, will abort the baby in your belly, sign the divorce papers, and leave the family completely!”

Neither Gideon’s father nor mother objected. The pain on my face hadn’t faded, shooting all the way to my heart. I clenched my fists tight as unprecedented emotions surged through me. If I backed down now, Gideon would unknowingly have his wife switched and gain a son who couldn’t even inherit. Before I could agree, Gideon’s sister grabbed me with disgust on her face and dragged me to the medical room. “I want to see what else you have to say!” Dr. Lee sensed the heavy atmosphere and tactfully collected samples to send for testing. Soon, Gideon’s toothbrush was sent over. During the wait for results, the scene was deathly silent. All of Gideon’s elders sat in a row, staring at me with dark expressions. As if I wasn’t the family’s daughter-in-law, but some heinous criminal. I looked at those hateful faces before me, unable to suppress the turmoil inside. A family aunt sneered with narrowed eyes: “When the results come out, let’s see what you have to say.” I don’t know how long passed before the machine emitted a cold beeping sound. One test report after another was printed out. A sharp beep sounded. The top one clearly displayed: “Test confirms parental relationship exists between Asher and Gideon.” Gideon’s mother was first to rush up and snatch the report from Dr. Lee’s hands. After seeing the words clearly, she laughed loudly: “See that? This is my biological grandson!” She held the report up to everyone’s faces one by one. Gideon’s father was so happy his mouth wouldn’t close, holding the baby and rocking him constantly. Gideon’s sister snorted coldly, grabbed my hand, and tried to stuff me into the car. “Today I’ll watch you abort that baby!” “Wait…” I struggled desperately. This was the child I’d begged for three years to finally conceive. I absolutely wouldn’t allow anything to happen to him. The family’s cold faces filled my vision. Words filled with hatred assaulted my eardrums: “How dare she insult the mother of the family’s future heir. Teach her a lesson!” My shoulders shook back and forth, my wrists twisted hard, trying to break free from Gideon’s sister’s grip. “Her child isn’t what you think at all!” I opened my mouth and bit down hard on Gideon’s sister’s arm, then turned and shouted at Dr. Lee: “The paternity test report, Dr. Lee, the line below…” “Stop struggling. Today, you’re getting that abortion!” Vanessa kicked me hard from behind. My eye socket hit the car window frame, and everything went blurry. But I ignored the pain, only turning to look desperately at my last hope. Dr. Lee met my gaze. Seeing the desperate hope in my eyes, he froze for a moment. His heart softened, and he bent down to pick up the paternity test report from the ground. The moment he saw the contents, his breathing became rapid and he frantically tried to stop them. “Wait! Stop!” “You can’t abort the baby!” The car started. He rushed frantically to the front of the vehicle, pounding on the glass. “This child is the last hope. You can’t abort it!” “No one can leave!” The car stopped. Gideon’s father looked impatient. “Dr. Lee, you did the paternity test yourself. What problem could there be?” “Asher is the family’s only heir!” Dr. Lee swallowed hard and handed over the report in his hand. “You should look at this before making any decisions.” “Hmph! Let me see what other tricks you can pull!” Gideon’s father impatiently took it. The next second, his eyes suddenly widened!

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Xavier Stone announced at the full moon banquet that he was going to hold a Marking ceremony, and the entire hall erupted in applause. But I never expected that before the banquet even ended, I would see a projection screen on the wall outside the lounge. On the screen was a massive Excel spreadsheet. Behind the names of dozens of candidates, densely packed evaluation criteria were listed: bloodline, value to the Pack, performance in bed… In the baseline column, my name was prominently written: Violet. “People around you,” he said, swirling his wine glass casually, “also need regular evaluation. Survival of the fittest.” So seven years of companionship meant I was just an investment that had lost its value in his eyes. I didn’t push the door open to confront him. Instead, I took out my phone and sent a message to that person: “Come pick me up.” Three seconds later, came the reply: “Everything settled? I’ll be right there. The Marking ceremony is ready.” Violet’s POV Xavier had just publicly announced the Marking ceremony on stage, and everyone was applauding in celebration. Even I thought he was finally going to give me an official status. But I never expected that before the banquet even ended, I would overhear him at the lounge door discussing how to dump me. The door wasn’t fully closed. I had come to deliver something, but the moment I looked up, I saw the projection screen on the wall. A massive Excel spreadsheet glowed on the screen. “Alpha Xavier, is this really how you choose your mate?” His deputy, beta Jason’s voice came through, carrying a hint of mockery. “You’re practically running a talent show with scoring for the future Luna.” I stopped in my tracks and peered through the gap in the door. A complex Excel spreadsheet was projected on the wall. The spreadsheet listed dozens of names, each followed by densely packed evaluation criteria: bloodline background, value to the Pack, fertility assessment, and even a rating for bedroom performance. Beta Jason held a cigarette, pointing at the data analysis on screen: “Look at this candidate No.19, Amber, right? The alpha’s daughter from Frostveil Pack. Obedient, sensible. Her score already completely exceeds your required threshold.” In the baseline column, my name was prominently displayed: Violet. Jason exhaled a smoke ring, his tone becoming somewhat hesitant: “However, Violet has served the Pack for seven years. Everyone considers her the future Luna. If we replace her directly, won’t it upset the pack members? Won’t other packs think we lack contractual integrity, affecting Moonclaw’s prestige?” Silence fell in the room for two seconds. Xavier sat in the main seat on the sofa, swirling half a glass of red wine, his face showing no trace of intoxication. He looked up and scanned the data on screen, his eyes cold. “The people around you need to be changed up too, to keep my interest.” He tilted his head back and took a sip of wine. “Violet and I haven’t held a Marking ceremony yet… This so-called mate thing is just her wishful thinking.” “That’s too cruel to Violet.” In the lounge, beta Jason’s voice carried some hesitation. Xavier’s tone was casual: “She has no value to the pack anymore. I’ll give her two more months. If she can recognize her position and leave on her own, that works too. Or… if she’s willing to be my mistress, I can accommodate that.” Standing outside the door, the hangover soup I had specially made for Xavier spilled out. I didn’t feel the pain, only felt like a joke. Seven years of companionship, all-in support—in his eyes, I was just an old thing that had lost its value. Since I was already a burden in his eyes, I might as well actively sever all of this. I didn’t push the door open to confront him. I walked to the trash can at the end of the hallway and dumped what I was holding into it. Then I took out my phone and found that contact that had been forcibly added to my phone. My finger hovered over the screen without any hesitation as I typed a message: “I’m ready.” Message sent. I reapplied my lipstick using the brass mirror in the hallway. A few minutes later, Xavier came out of the lounge. He casually put his arm around my waist, leading me toward the center of the banquet hall. The spotlight fell on us. With a smile on his face, he whispered a warning in my ear: “Smile. Don’t make a scene.” When his fingers touched my waist, I stiffened physiologically. Then I avoided his touch, pulling the corners of my mouth into a standard social smile. The next morning, I was at Moonclaw Pack’s training camp, training the young wolves. Because these young wolves hadn’t fully adapted to their bodies yet, they needed some gentle, playful training. This was originally one of the responsibilities of the pack’s Luna, and I had been handling it all these years. Even though I had already decided to leave, until then, I still had to be responsible for these young wolves. At that moment, gamma Silas came over to me and said: “Violet.” Because Xavier and I had never held a Marking ceremony and I hadn’t been officially recognized as alpha Xavier’s mate. So Silas only called me by my name. “A young lady from Frostveil Pack specifically requested to see you.”

Violet’s POV I looked toward the training camp’s main entrance. That girl was carrying a limited-edition Hermès bag with an antique necklace around her neck. It was the one Xavier claimed he accidentally lost last week. “Let her in.” Gamma Silas nodded and brought the girl in. Amber stood before me. Nineteen years old, young, tight skin, wearing a suit that was obviously trying to imitate my clothing style, her eyes full of eager ambition. I waved my hand, signaling gamma Silas to take the young wolves to play. Only then did I ask Amber what she wanted. She handed me a crumpled receipt. “Miss Violet, Alpha Xavier accidentally spilled red wine on my dress last night. He said you should handle it and told me to come to you for reimbursement of the cleaning fee.” I glanced at the amount on the receipt: $1,800. Then I glanced at the dress she was wearing. I didn’t take the receipt. Instead, I took out my phone, opened the payment code, and transferred $2,000 to her. “Keep the change.” I smiled at her. Amber froze, clearly not expecting this reaction from me. She crumpled the receipt into a ball and threw it hard at me: “What are you so smug about! Xavier said you’re a loose, boring, useless woman! He said seeing you makes him sick!” I raised my hand and slapped her face to the side. Amber covered her face, looking at me in shock. “Use the extra money to buy mouthwash. A dirty mouth makes people look down on you.” I pulled a tissue from my pocket and carefully wiped my right hand that had just struck her. “Acting so arrogant before you’ve even gained a foothold—that’s asking for death.” Amber’s eyes instantly reddened. She pulled out her phone, took a photo of me, and sent a voice message with a tearful voice: “Xavier, that woman hit me… She’s so mean, I’m so scared.” After sending the voice message, she glared at me viciously. “Xavier said you’re a nanny.” This sentence echoed in my mind. Seven years ago when Xavier was injured, I stayed by his bedside all night. Back then he said: “You’re my angel.” Now the angel had become a nanny. Only youth and fresh bloodlines had become the only hard currency. I threw away the tissue in my hand. That slap was just interest.

Violet’s POV When I got home, it was already dark. There was an extra pair of pink slippers on the shoe rack, like a territorial declaration. Xavier sat on the sofa, holding a tablet. Hearing the door open, he didn’t even look up. His first words were a rebuke. “How can you argue with an immature young girl? Amber sent me a photo. Her face is swollen. Can’t you be more magnanimous?” I ignored him and walked straight to the bedroom, pulling out my suitcase. Xavier followed me in, leaning against the doorframe, his brow furrowed: “I’m talking to you! Violet? Amber is from Frostveil Pack, an important marriage alliance choice. I’m just giving her a chance. You’re abusing your power.” I opened the closet, took down the clothes hanging inside one by one, and threw them into the suitcase. “I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense.” I swept my skincare products into my makeup bag. Xavier finally realized something was wrong. He stepped forward and pressed down on my suitcase: “What are you doing? Running away from home again? I already told you it’s nothing. Can you stop being so unreasonable?” I backhanded him with a slap. This slap was heavier than the one I gave Amber during the day. Xavier’s head jerked to the side from the blow, five finger marks quickly appearing on his face. He covered his face, looking at me in astonishment. “That slap is the interest for me leaving.” I said. Xavier took a deep breath, his eyes turning cold: “Fine, Violet, you’ve got some nerve now. Since you want to make a scene, let’s settle the accounts. Everything you have now—which of it wasn’t given by me? You want to leave? Fine. Don’t expect me to beg you to come back. Also, that credit card in your hand—I’m canceling it. Consider it punishment for going crazy today.” “Whatever.” I closed the suitcase. “Anything related to you, I don’t want anymore.” “Don’t regret this!” Xavier pointed at me. “Once you walk out that door, don’t expect me to give you anything ever again!” After saying that, feeling he’d lost face, he slammed the door and left. I surveyed this house filled with seven years of memories. I took out a stack of yellow sticky notes and labeled all the furniture, appliances, and decorative paintings I had purchased myself. After finishing all this, I dragged my suitcase, took one last look at this house, and turned to leave. As I drove away from the area, I saw Amber’s figure. Sure enough, the moment I left, she couldn’t wait to move in. An hour later, I arrived at the small apartment I had purchased myself. In a human community. Far from Moonclaw Pack, where no one would find me. The first thing I did was open my computer and connect with Lucas. Yes, my fated mate was the son of the alpha King, that notoriously fierce Lucas. The screen lit up. Lucas’s background showed he was in a car. He raised his hand, signaling the people beside him to leave, focusing on the camera. “Am I disturbing you?” I asked. Lucas stared at me: “Nothing is more important than you. Have you handled everything? Think carefully—once you come to my side, I won’t let you go.” “I’m certain.” I looked at him. “I want to be with you.” Lucas couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth: “I’ll come get you right away.” “Okay, I’ll wait for you.” The video call ended. I sat alone on the carpet. A few days ago, while handling diplomatic affairs for Xavier, I happened to encounter Lucas, who was also out. The special thread of fate between wolves drew us together, making us understand the moment we locked eyes. We were fated mates arranged by the moon goddess. But at that time, I still loved Xavier, so my wolf and I had a huge fight, finally agreeing to give me one week. If within that week Xavier was willing to hold a Marking ceremony with me, I would refuse Lucas. I knew this wasn’t good. After all, Lucas had been searching for his fated mate for nine years. Any wolf who gets rejected after nine years of searching wouldn’t feel too good about it. In the worst-case scenario, he might directly kill Xavier. Well… maybe he wouldn’t, at least that wouldn’t be wise. Fortunately, Lucas had something very important to deal with urgently at the time, so he temporarily agreed to my request to stay at Moonclaw pack for one more week. But now, just three days later, I had decided to be with my fated mate. The destiny arranged by the moon goddess was indeed correct.

Violet’s POV Early the next morning, I went to the supermarket downstairs to buy necessities. At checkout, I handed over the card I usually used. A few seconds later, the cashier awkwardly handed the card back: “Miss, the transaction was declined.” The customers queuing behind me cast strange looks. I took back the card. My phone immediately showed a message from Xavier: “Card’s canceled. Want to spend money? Come back and apologize.” I switched to my own savings card to pay, picked up the shopping bag, and walked out of the supermarket. As soon as I got home, my phone vibrated. It was a bank text message: Your joint account ending in 8899 has been forcibly redeemed and $200,000 transferred out. The note said household expenses. That was our joint account. Most of the money in it was from my early savings. Including what my father gave me and what I earned from working. Xavier was openly robbing me. The phone call came immediately after. “Violet, did you see the deduction notice?” Xavier’s voice was self-righteous. “This is a fine for your tantrum. That two hundred thousand dollars is compensation for Amber. Don’t feel wronged. When you do something wrong, you pay the price.” Amber’s voice came through in the background: “Xavier, how do I turn this on? Can only your girlfriend use it?” Xavier hurriedly brushed it off: “Think it over carefully. Contact me when you’ve come to your senses.” With that, he hung up. I took a screenshot of that deduction text and sent Xavier a message: “Illegally transferring money from my account—24 hours to return it, or I’ll file a complaint with the werewolf council.” Protection of property in the werewolf world was clearly regulated by law. It was enacted twenty years ago after two packs went to war over a financial dispute, when the alpha King issued a new law. The purpose was probably to prevent packs from going to war over such small matters. Although I believe the werewolf world has become peaceful recently purely because Lucas’s mediation methods are too terrifying—and everyone can’t beat him anyway. After returning to the apartment, I opened my computer and pulled up the spending records from all these years. Thanks to Xavier’s habits—he had an extremely strong need for control and required every large expenditure of mine to be recorded, which conveniently left me with perfect evidence. Late at night, a post popped up on social media. The profile picture was Amber’s. The photo background was my former bedroom. She wore my pajamas, taking a selfie in front of the mirror. Caption: “The old owner’s taste isn’t bad, but now it’s mine.” Immediately after, a private message lit up. “I used all your skincare products for you. No sense wasting them. He’s sleeping so soundly next to me.” I calmly typed a reply: “I wore those pajamas when I had a skin disease and didn’t wash them. The skincare products expired three months ago. Enjoy using them.” The other side immediately showed “typing…” for a long time, but ultimately sent nothing. What I said was of course fake, just to disgust her. Looks like I succeeded. At 3 AM, I had insomnia. I got up and stood by the window for a while, then contacted a werewolf lawyer. These legal team members, uniformly trained by the Kingdom Academy, usually handled interpretation of various laws issued by the alpha King. They also took on some legal business. By the way, because they belonged to the alpha King, no one dared to retaliate against them when dissatisfied with litigation results. After handling these matters, I went back to bed to sleep. In my dream, Xavier gave me his first gift, swearing to treat me well for a lifetime. When I woke up, my phone showed a bank deduction text. That lifetime turned out to be only seven years. You want to talk money? Then let’s settle accounts one by one.

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In the second year of my contract marriage to Ethan Wheeler, he terminated the agreement early. On the anniversary of my mother’s death, I accompanied aunt Lily to visit her grave. Ethan stood at the far end of the cemetery, holding an umbrella for another woman. Aunt Lily followed my gaze and sneered, tapping my forehead with her finger. “I told you to hold onto him back then, but you insisted on clinging to your pathetic pride.” “Look at you now. Divorced, childless, and you didn’t even keep the man. Who’s going to marry you after this?” I looked at my mother’s photo on the tombstone, my voice barely audible. “It’s fine.” “He was never mine to begin with.” I didn’t tell aunt Lily that I had tried to keep Ethan. The night before the contract ended, I stood at his study door in my thin nightgown. My lower abdomen still ached. I pressed my hand there, my voice hoarse. “Ethan, can we not get divorced?” Ethan stopped typing. The room fell silent for a long time. He saw my tears. He knew what I’d just lost. But that moment of vulnerability wasn’t enough to change his mind. After a long pause, he closed his file, his tone indifferent. “Serena Hart, getting too invested is the biggest taboo in a contractual arrangement.” “Leave with some dignity.” “Don’t make me take back even the last bit of sympathy I have for you.” Only later did Ethan realize, too late, that when I asked “can we not get divorced,” it was the only chance he’d ever have to keep me.

“Ms. Hart, this is your Relationship Remnant Liquidation Confirmation Form. Please sign here.” I’d just returned from the cemetery when assistant Chloe stood in the entryway of Skyridge Manor, handing me a folder. The access code had already been deactivated. I’d had to register at the security office and wait for Chloe’s confirmation before being allowed inside. The liquidation supervisor nodded at me and opened the checklist. “Ms. Hart, your items are divided into three categories.” “Category One: Marriage Display Items.” He pointed to a gray plastic bin in the center of the living room. “Wedding photos, rings, formal gowns, jewelry worn at public events—retention period expired, classified as assets pending destruction.” A red barcode label was stuck on the bin: PENDING DESTRUCTION. I looked at the wedding photo inside. In the picture, Ethan stood beside me in a black suit, his expression cold and distant. I had smiled so carefully that day. Because the photographer had said the bride could move a little closer. I’d just shifted half a step toward him when Ethan reminded me in a low voice: “Serena Hart, just cooperate for the camera. Don’t cross the line.” I’d thought I smiled gracefully that day. Now I could see I’d looked desperate to please. I’d been caught in the rain. My lower abdomen throbbed with a sinking pain. I endured it and asked: “What about the second category?” The supervisor continued reading: “Category Two: Non-Essential Traces of Cohabitation. Including bunny slippers, handwritten medication notes, study repair tools, tableware, etc.” He picked up a sealed bag. Inside were the stomach medication labels I’d made for Ethan. One early morning. Ethan had stomach pain so severe his face turned pale. I searched through the medicine cabinet and knelt by the sofa to pour him water. He kept his eyes closed, his voice low. “Don’t bother. Call the doctor.” I’d smiled and said: “Mr. Wheeler still needs to stay alive until the doctor arrives.” He’d glanced at me briefly. But I remembered that glance for a long time. What I’d taken as the beginning of feelings had only been a risk assessment for him. “What about the third category?” The supervisor paused. “Pregnancy Medical Remnants Archive.” My fingers stiffened. He continued: “Ultrasound results, prenatal checkup records, miscarriage records, post-procedure medication lists. The system has determined that these materials may trigger subsequent emotional disputes and unnecessary complications. We need your confirmation on whether to have them sealed by Wheeler Medical or destroyed.” I stood there, unable to speak for a long time. They even called the child who never got to be born “medical remnants.” The door opened at that moment. Ethan walked in, bringing the scent of rain with him. He swept a glance around the living room, his gaze landing on my trembling shoulders. “Why did you get so soaked?” He turned to Chloe. “Get a hot towel.” Chloe returned quickly. Ethan took the towel, walked over to me, and draped it over my shoulders. My eyes suddenly burned with unshed tears. He was always like this. He could remember that I got cold easily, remember my stomach problems, remember all my little ailments. But he could never remember that my heart could hurt too. The liquidation supervisor approached, holding up the box of stomach medication. “Mr. Wheeler, should this old medication and the handwritten labels be destroyed?” Ethan glanced at it, barely pausing. “Keep the medication. She only takes this brand for stomach pain—anything else makes her throw up.” My heart clenched violently. He still remembered. I looked up at him. Ethan saw the look in my eyes. The next second, his expression cooled. “It was in the medical records.” He adjusted the towel on my shoulders, his voice steady. “Finishing the liquidation quickly is better for both of us.” Last night, I’d stood outside his study begging him not to divorce me. Today, that study stood wide open. Inside, it was so clean it looked like I’d never existed. The supervisor handed me a pen. “Ms. Hart, regarding these relationship remnants, what is your decision?” I bent down and retrieved my mother’s old repair kit from the corner. I didn’t look at any of the notes, the rings, or the wedding photos again. I looked up at Ethan. “Destroy them.” Something flickered in Ethan’s eyes. I smiled slightly. “Since they’re all risk remnants anyway, there’s no point keeping them.”

At eight o’clock the next morning, Chloe’s call came right on schedule. “Ms. Hart, to reclaim usage rights for the restoration studio, you must attend today’s separation meeting.” The restoration studio my mother left behind was the last thing I had. Two years ago, when my mother was gravely ill, she suddenly called me to her bedside and handed me a contract. “Serena, sign this. After this, no one will dare touch you.” I looked at Ethan Wheeler’s name on the contract, completely confused. What was my mother’s relationship with the Wheeler family? What did she trade to secure all this? She didn’t say anything. I only knew the basic terms: Receive the Wheeler family’s protection network as Ethan Wheeler’s wife, then divorce after two years. After the divorce, Ethan Wheeler would pay compensation sufficient for my independent living. During the contract period, neither party could engage in intimate relations. Two years. When the marriage term ended, we would part ways. I asked her why. She just looked at me, deep exhaustion in her eyes. “Don’t ask anymore. Promise me.” When I signed, I thought I was clearheaded. Only later did I learn that the person who falls in love first is the biggest fool in any contract. At ten in the morning, I pushed open the door to the top-floor conference room at Wheeler headquarters. Three auditors sat at the long table. Ethan sat at the head. To his right was Paige Sinclair, Wheeler’s Chief Risk Officer. The woman he’d held an umbrella for. Paige wore a cold white suit and spoke with disdain. “Ms. Hart, please sit.” “This is just separation protocol. No need to be nervous.” I sat down. In front of me lay a thick document. “Serena Hart Relationship Termination Risk Assessment and Separation Report.” The auditor opened the file. “Mr. Wheeler, this month’s monitoring shows Ms. Hart’s emotional dependency index spiked three times.” “Does she currently meet the standard for complete separation?” My heart grew colder bit by bit. Their discussion treated me like a project awaiting transfer and disposal. I turned to look at Ethan. He wore a dark gray suit, his expression calm, fingers resting on the table. Paige flipped open the report, her voice merciless. “Let me add something.” “Ms. Hart, many women mistake protective mechanisms for love.” “Wheeler is helping you complete this separation to restore your independence and freedom.” My stomach cramped painfully. I instinctively pressed my lower abdomen. Less than two weeks since the miscarriage, the pain hadn’t fully faded. Ethan’s gaze fell on my trembling hand. He frowned and interrupted Paige. “Get her water.” Soon, a cup of water was placed in front of me. He always caught me just before I fell, then pushed me away again. The auditor continued: “Regarding Ms. Hart’s accidental miscarriage last month leading to emotional breakdown, will this become a potential PR risk for the company?” I froze completely. Ethan’s expression darkened. I thought he would lose his temper. But he only tapped the table. “Skip that item.” “Mr. Wheeler, the risk assessment must be comprehensive…” “I said skip it.” His voice was cold and hard. I picked up the cup of water and forced myself to take a sip. When the meeting ended, I signed the final “Complete Separation Confirmation.” People gradually left. Only Ethan and I remained. I put away my pen and stood up. “Ethan.” His hand paused while adjusting his cufflinks. I looked at him. “In these two years, was there ever a moment when I wasn’t just part of the process to you?” Ethan was silent for a long time. Finally, he looked up, his tone restrained. “Don’t dwell on meaningless things.” In that moment, even my breathing stopped. So every day I’d spent hurting was meaningless to him.

I rented an old apartment. The landlord tossed the keys onto a wooden table. “Rent is three months up front, utilities are separate, and the corner gets moldy when it rains.” I nodded and paid. The place was small, the wallpaper was peeling with mold, and the windows didn’t close properly. But here, I didn’t need a Wheeler access card. And no one would record when I slept, when I woke, who I saw, or how many times I cried. That evening, I opened my mother’s repair kit. At the very bottom, pressed beneath two torn papers, was a small note in my mother’s handwriting: “Serena, when you truly leave the Wheeler family, repair this.” “Don’t use the truth to beg for love.” I stared at those words, tears nearly falling. I put on sterile gloves, prepared separation solution, and moistened the paper edges. The slightly acidic scent of the solution spread through the air. That smell was terrifyingly familiar. After we married, I often worked on old letters in the study. Ethan would occasionally come in and adjust the harsh white light above my head to warm lighting. I was afraid of thunder. On stormy nights in Mistport, he’d change his international conference calls to audio-only and sit in the living room handling emails. When thunder rumbled, I could look up and see his silhouette. That silhouette had given me so many illusions. I’d thought that was what companionship meant. Until I asked him: “Ethan, could we have a meal together this weekend? Not a business dinner, just the two of us.” He looked at me in the mirror while knotting his tie and said: “Serena Hart, don’t mistake everyday courtesies for intimacy.” “That’s just polite cohabitation.” Later, I got pregnant. I thought this child might make us different somehow. But Paige’s emails came more frequently each day. “Pregnancy Emotional Independence Recommendations” “Non-Essential Companionship Risk Advisory” “Contractual Relationship Boundary Reminder” Reading every word made me feel like I was crossing boundaries. The day I miscarried, Mistport was hit by a torrential storm. I was in so much pain I couldn’t stop shaking. I called Ethan seventeen times. The eighteenth call finally connected. But it was Paige’s voice on the line. She was completely calm. “Mr. Wheeler is handling an urgent matter.” “Ms. Hart, please contact the medical team through proper channels. Don’t occupy Mr. Wheeler’s private line.” I wanted to say I was bleeding. I wanted to say I was in so much pain. But the call had already disconnected. Ethan made it to the hospital later. He stood by the hospital bed, his face frighteningly pale. But his first words were: “Why didn’t you follow protection protocol?” “Why didn’t you bring your life assistant when you went out?” By then, the baby was already gone. My body had lost all its strength, with only a thread of life remaining. I stared at the ceiling and asked him: “Ethan, will I always rank behind your protocols?” He was silent for a long time. Finally, he reached out and tucked in the blanket around me. “At least protocols won’t harm you.” The tip of my repair knife faltered. I snapped back from the memory. In the layer revealed by the solution, half of a sharp signature emerged. “Ethan Wheeler.” My hand trembled, and the knife point cut my fingertip. I didn’t care about the pain. I just stared at that name. How could it be him?

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At sixteen, I was known as the ugly girl of my class. Caleb Pierce mistook me for the school beauty. We dated online for two years, but on the day we finally met in person, he realized he had added the wrong Snapchat account. Feeling humiliated, he relentlessly bullied me for three years. Because of him, I bombed my SATs and failed to get into a good college. Years later, his career and love life were booming, while I was tragically assaulted and murdered while working a dead-end night shift. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to being sixteen. Back to the exact day Caleb and I had promised to meet in real life. 1 I distinctly remember dying. I died on a freezing winter night, in a hotel room reeking of cheap alcohol. A heavy-set man with a flushed, greasy face had his thick hands wrapped tightly around my neck, squeezing the air out of my lungs. My consciousness stalled for a fraction of a second. Then, the agonizing pain vanished. I snapped my eyes open, only to be completely stunned by the sight in front of me. Row upon row of wooden school desks. I looked down and realized there was a stack of high school textbooks and two brand-new prep school uniforms resting on the desk in front of me. I was surrounded by familiar faces from high school. At the front of the room, our homeroom teacher, Mr. Harrison, was smiling and introducing himself to the class. But… hadn’t Mr. Harrison retired years ago? Before I could even process what was happening, footsteps echoed from the hallway. “Excuse me—” My heart seized. That voice. Could it be…? I looked toward the door. A tall boy dressed in black stood there, a lazy, arrogant smirk playing on his lips, his posture radiating a careless entitlement. A full-body shudder racked through me, and I nearly screamed out loud. Caleb Pierce! It was Caleb Pierce! My heart pounded violently against my ribs. Pure terror, heavily laced with a deep, venomous hatred, surged through my veins. My fingers curled into fists unconsciously, my nails digging so hard into my palms that they broke the skin. The sharp sting in my hands confirmed it. I really had been reborn. I was sixteen again. It was the first day of sophomore year—the exact day Caleb and I had agreed to finally meet in person. 2 A vast majority of the misery in my life started the moment I met Caleb Pierce. When I hit middle school, puberty hit me like a truck. I gained a lot of weight, and my face broke out in severe acne. The boys in my class constantly made fun of me. I was already introverted, but over time, the relentless teasing shattered my self-esteem. I became so insecure I barely spoke to anyone. And Caleb happened to appear right when I was at my loneliest. He had been trying to add our math tutor’s Snapchat, but carelessly typed the wrong username and added me instead. When the mix-up was cleared up, Caleb didn’t delete me. Instead, he offered to be my friend. I didn’t say no. Because back then, I was just so unbelievably lonely. Just like that, we started an online relationship that lasted two years. By the end of freshman year, Caleb wanted to meet in person. I was terrified and didn’t know what to do. I wanted to see him too, but I was so scared he would find me ugly that I couldn’t bring myself to agree. Sensing my hesitation, Caleb sent me a message. It was that exact message that dragged me into a living hell. [Mia, I know how amazing you are. I don’t care about your looks. I like you for what’s on the inside.] I fell for his sweet lies and promised that if we both got accepted into Oakridge Preparatory Academy, we would meet. In my past life, we agreed to meet at the local amusement park this very afternoon. He said he wanted to take me on the Ferris wheel. I wore a white sundress I had bought specifically for the occasion, my heart fluttering with joy as I went to see him. But the moment he laid eyes on me, his face dropped. He looked at me in sheer disbelief. “You’re… Mia?” I nodded, smiling at him. “Yeah, I’m Mia.” While I was overflowing with happiness, Caleb’s face darkened into a furious scowl. He coldly pulled out his phone and made a call. Minutes later, three or four vicious-looking guys showed up. They were Caleb’s lackeys. On Caleb’s orders, the boys dragged me into a dirty alleyway behind the park and beat me mercilessly. It started to drizzle. My pristine white dress was quickly ruined by muddy footprints and grime. Caleb kicked me square in the stomach, sending a wave of agony through me that felt like my internal organs were rupturing. I struggled to call his name, desperately wanting to ask why he was doing this to me. He cut me off with a vicious spit. “Ugly bitch, do you think you have the right to say my name? You’re hideous, and you dared to impersonate my goddess?! Have you no shame?!” “Stay the hell away from me. You make me sick!” That was when I finally realized that Caleb truly had added the wrong account back then. The person he had originally meant to add was his longtime crush, the school beauty. Because her name was Amelia, she also went by the nickname “Mia” online, and we happened to have the same aesthetic profile picture. He had mistaken me for her. What I thought was my salvation was nothing but a cruel, twisted mistake. 3 At the door, Caleb casually explained to the teacher that he had walked into the wrong classroom earlier. Since it was the first day of school, Mr. Harrison didn’t make a big deal out of it and gestured for him to find an empty seat. Staring at his back, I fell into deep thought. The girl Caleb truly liked was Amelia Sterling, the famously brilliant and beautiful valedictorian-track goddess. In our past life, to follow in her footsteps, Caleb played the role of a reformed good boy. He spent three years grinding his way up from the bottom of the class, successfully reversing his bad grades to get accepted into an elite Ivy League university. Amelia was so moved by his dedication and perseverance that she accepted his confession right after graduation. The teachers literally used his turnaround as an inspiring success story, even inviting him back to give motivational speeches to the underclassmen. He reaped the rewards of a beautiful romance, flowers, and applause. Meanwhile, in a dark corner nobody cared about, I bombed my SATs. Caleb viewed my existence as a stain on his pride. He used me as his personal punching bag to relieve his academic stress, bullying me relentlessly for three entire years. In the end, my scores were so low I couldn’t even get into a regular state college; I had to settle for a local community college. Without a solid degree, my adult life was a brutal struggle. To pay off the massive medical debts from my dad’s cancer treatments, I sold our house and worked multiple exhausting part-time jobs. Just when I was finally about to pay off the last of the debt, I crossed paths with a drunk, lust-crazed customer and was killed. The memories flashed through my mind like a horrifying movie reel. It wasn’t until the phone in my pocket buzzed that I snapped back to reality. Caleb had sent me a text. [Mia, what are you wearing today? I seriously can’t wait to see you!] [Heart-eyes emoji] Staring at the screen, a wave of nausea washed over me. He was clearly a shallow prick who only cared about appearances, yet he had the audacity to claim he didn’t care about my looks. It was absolutely sickening. I didn’t want any more ties to Caleb. Without a second thought, I typed back: [I’m over this.] [Let’s delete each other. There’s no need for us to meet.] The moment I hit send, I blocked his number and deleted his Snapchat. As soon as the opening day assembly was over, I rushed straight home. The moment I pushed open the front door, the familiar, long-lost aroma of home-cooked food hit me. My dad, wearing his faded floral apron, was busy in the kitchen preparing lunch. Seeing me, he waved his spatula with a bright smile. “Mia, you’re back! I made your favorite homemade fried chicken. Go wash your hands, food’s almost ready!” Staring at his back, my eyes instantly welled up with tears. Afraid he would notice something was wrong, I hurried into the bathroom to wash my face and compose myself. By the time I came out, the food was already on the table. I picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite. The nostalgic taste exploded in my mouth, sending warmth through my entire body. The tear I had been holding back finally slipped down my cheek. Seeing me cry, my dad panicked. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Why are you crying? Does it taste bad?” I shook my head frantically. “No, it’s just so good. I’m crying because it’s delicious.” In my past life, my dad passed away from stomach cancer during my second year of community college. I never dreamed I would get the chance to eat his cooking again. Hearing my answer, my dad breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out and affectionately ruffled my hair. “Eat up if you like it. You need a full stomach so you have energy to hang out with your friends later.” During middle school, I didn’t have any friends. I spent every weekend locked in my room. Knowing I was supposedly going out with a “new friend” today made him incredibly happy for me. Of course, I had no intention of going to see Caleb. To keep my dad from worrying, I didn’t explain anything. After I finished eating, I simply left the house. Even though I had already blocked Caleb, I still felt a lingering unease. This second chance at life was too precious. Just to be safe, I headed straight to the Verizon store and completely changed my phone number. The late summer sun was blazing hot. Stepping out of the phone store, I finally let out a long sigh of relief. With this, Caleb wouldn’t be able to track me down anymore… right? 4 For the next two months, Caleb didn’t bother me. But just when I thought I had successfully shaken him off and was ready to dive fully into my studies, a crumpled note suddenly appeared inside my desk. A line of aggressive, messy handwriting glared up at me: [Don’t leave after school. Wait for me, or else!] My stomach tied in knots. I wasn’t entirely sure if Caleb wrote it. To test the waters, I crumpled the note and threw it into the trash can right in front of him. As I turned around, I caught his reaction in my peripheral vision. He didn’t seem to react much at all. I thought maybe I was just being paranoid. But the very next day, I found another note in my desk. This time, it read: [Ugly bitch, if you run after school today, you’re dead!] My heart sank. “Ugly bitch” was Caleb’s signature insult. I had heard him spit those exact words at me countless times in my past life. I was practically positive Caleb was the one leaving the notes. But why… Why was he still coming after me when I had gone out of my way to avoid him? I took the note straight to our homeroom teacher, Mr. Harrison. Being bullied by Caleb for three years was the ultimate nightmare of my past life. I absolutely refused to let history repeat itself. Mr. Harrison was an English teacher with thick black-rimmed glasses who carried a strict, no-nonsense aura. He examined the note and asked if I had offended anyone recently. I shook my head. “No, I get along fine with everyone, and I haven’t gotten into any arguments. I got a similar note yesterday, but I didn’t think much of it. But since it happened again today, I got really scared, so I decided to tell you.” Mr. Harrison patted my shoulder. “You did the right thing. When you encounter problems, don’t keep them to yourself. Always communicate with a teacher.” He told me to head back to class and to report to him immediately if anything else happened. I nodded earnestly. As I turned my head to leave, a small smile crept onto my lips. Mr. Harrison was incredibly sharp and knew every student’s handwriting like the back of his hand. I was confident that within two days, he would get to the bottom of this. Caleb wanted to play the good student? I was going to make sure the teachers saw exactly what kind of disgusting trash he really was. Sure enough, by Friday afternoon, Mr. Harrison called Caleb into his office. When Caleb returned to the classroom, his face was as dark as thunderclouds. It was obvious he had just been chewed out. Being young and hot-headed, he purposefully slammed his hip into my desk as he walked past me. Two of my books fell to the floor, and he viciously stomped on them. Before I could even speak, my desk-mate beat me to it. He lazily lifted his eyelids and let out a mocking scoff. “Caleb, how are you this mentally deficient? You look like a brain-damaged toddler who can’t even walk down an aisle without crashing into furniture.” Caleb, who was already overflowing with rage and desperate for a target, immediately exploded. “Shut up, you cheating dog! Are you begging to get expelled?!” We had reshuffled seats a week ago, and my new desk-mate, Declan Hayes, was notoriously ruthless. During the very first placement exams of the year, he was caught red-handed cheating by the Dean. As punishment, he was kicked out of the Honors track and dropped down to the Regular classes. He already had one major strike on his permanent record. If he got another, the school would expel him. Declan raised an eyebrow, a dangerously casual smile on his face. “Hard to say. Maybe the school will expel you first?” I fully expected Caleb to escalate the fight. Instead, he just shot Declan a venomous glare. “I don’t have time for trash like you. Bad luck.” He turned to me. “Mia, you just wait!” After dropping that empty threat, Caleb actually walked away. I was genuinely surprised. Swallowing his pride and walking away was definitely not Caleb’s usual style… Did Declan have some kind of blackmail on him?

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An accidental spiked drink led to me rolling in the sheets with my arch-nemesis for a whole day and night. Afterward, my best friend asked me how it was. To save face, I stubbornly lied, “All show and no go. It was over before I even felt anything.” My arch-nemesis happened to overhear this. With a dark smirk, he dragged me right back to that exact same hotel room. He pinned me beneath him, slowly and deliberately pulling the hearing aid from his ear, mouthing the words to me: “Once this comes off, I won’t be stopping.” “Don’t cry and beg for mercy like last time.” “Because… I won’t be able to hear you anyway.” 1 Riiip— Hudson Brooks’s custom-tailored shirt was torn clean in half by my hands. I was draped over him, my fingers roaming wildly over his abs, pulling low, ragged pants from his chest. Just as I reached for his belt, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. His fingers flashed in rapid sign language. Through my blurred vision, I barely made out his meaning: No. “Damn it, Hudson, are you just going to watch me die here?!” “I’m already like this and you still won’t touch me! Does it just not work?!” “If you can’t get it up, go find me a man who can!” I burst into frustrated tears. Who could have predicted that I’d get roofied at a high-society gala? The drug was incredibly potent, burning away every last ounce of my reason. If I didn’t get a man right now, I genuinely felt like I was going to explode. Hudson’s grip on me tightened, his sharp Adam’s apple bobbing heavily. He signed a few more words. He was asking: You won’t regret this? Completely out of patience, I propped myself up and smashed my lips against his. “If you’re a real man, just do it! Stop talking nonsense!” 2 When I woke up the next day, my back ached, my bones felt like they were falling apart, and my throat was unbearably dry. Clutching my waist, I was just about to get up for some water when my eyes landed on Hudson, resting with his eyes closed beside me. His hair was messy, and his neck was covered in highly visible scratches and hickeys, looking impossibly scandalous. Especially the massive bite mark right over his chest. My breath hitched. My brain went into overdrive. Who am I? Where am I? What did I just do? Who is the man next to me? Then, I let out an internal banshee screech. Holy crap, I actually slept with my arch-nemesis, Hudson Brooks, for a whole day and night!!! Throwing all shame out the window, I threw my clothes on on my trembling legs and fled the hotel room. When I sneaked back into my house, my parents—who had been frantically looking for me—looked me up and down. Seeing I was safe and sound, they finally let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, Maya sweetheart, have you seen our Hudson?” Before I could even process my parents’ relief, another voice suddenly cut in, making me jump out of my skin. It was Hudson’s mother. I looked up and realized that Hudson’s parents were in my living room too. From the looks of it, they had been waiting here for a long time. Mrs. Brooks’s face was etched with worry. “He disappeared right after he left the gala last night.” “We checked the security cameras, and you left the venue with him.” “Why did you come back alone?” Meeting Mrs. Brooks’s eyes, my heart seized, and I couldn’t help but look away guiltily. Of course I knew where Hudson was. We were literally rolling around in the same bed just hours ago. If our parents found out we slept together, they would absolutely force us to get married. But Hudson was my sworn enemy. We could never be together. Besides, yesterday was just a drug-induced accident. 3 Just as I was racking my brain for an excuse, Mrs. Brooks’s eyes suddenly lit up. She hurried past me. “Hudson—” The moment she spoke, a heavy, piercing gaze landed silently on my back, scraping against my skin like a sharp little knife. I turned around stiffly, only to find Hudson staring right at me. He signed to his parents that he was fine, then lifted his heavy eyelids to look at me. He signed: Why… did you… come back… first? He looked exactly like he did last night, when I was riding him and he patiently signed, asking if his pace was okay. A chaotic flood of explicit memories crashed into my brain. Panicking, I spun around and fled upstairs as fast as my legs could carry me. Back in my room, I locked myself in the bathroom and dunked my head in a sink full of cold water, desperately trying to flush out those filthy, inappropriate memories. “Maya Collins, what the hell kind of R-rated garbage are you thinking about?!” I forced myself to calm down, silently consoling my reflection. So I slept with Hudson. Big deal. Hudson probably doesn’t care either. He’s probably disgusted by it. Just pretend it never happened. Just like how he always pushed me away before. 4 Hudson and I were childhood friends who grew up right next door to each other. Because our families were close, we played together since we were toddlers. We were practically inseparable. Back then, Hudson’s ears were perfectly healthy. He didn’t need hearing aids. Every day after school, the first thing I did was run over to find him, and he never got tired of dragging me around to play. Until we were ten years old. Hudson caught a sudden, dangerously high fever. Because he didn’t receive treatment in time, it left him with a permanent disability. From then on, he had to wear hearing aids just to hear anything. From that day forward, the sweet, gentle little boy I knew became volatile and moody. He grew silent and withdrawn, locking himself in his room and violently resisting all medical treatments. I tried to cheer him up, but every time he saw me, he would throw things, lose his temper, and angrily scream at me to get out. Even though I was young, I could clearly feel it: he didn’t want to see me. He was repulsed by me. But I was never one to back down from a fight. The more Hudson pushed me away, the more I forced my way into his space, opposing him at every single turn. As we grew up, he continued to give me the cold shoulder. And so, he became the arch-nemesis I swore to be at odds with until the day I died. 5 I hid in my house for three days. During that time, my best friend Zoe kept asking me to hang out, but I made up excuses to reject her. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go out; it was that my lower back felt like Hudson had literally snapped it in half. Hudson was almost six-foot-three, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and biceps that bulged against his sleeves. He could lift my ninety-pound self with a single arm. That night, he had pinned me against the wall with one hand, pushing my body past its limits over and over again. And even after that, he didn’t let me go, dragging me to multiple different “venues” around the hotel room. I honestly suspected he had some kind of sex addiction. It wasn’t until the fourth day, when my body finally recovered a bit, that I agreed to meet Zoe. The moment we sat down, Zoe eagerly demanded to know what happened between me and Hudson. “Spit it out, what exactly happened between you two? He’s been blowing up my phone asking about you.” Hudson was asking about me? My first reaction was that it was impossible. After pushing me away for so many years, shouldn’t he be avoiding me like the plague? But under Zoe’s relentless interrogation, I finally cracked and confessed that I had slept with him. “What?! You and Hudson slept—” Zoe’s jaw dropped, her voice hitting an outrageously high pitch. I clamped my hand over her mouth immediately, barely avoiding drawing the attention of the entire bar. “Maya, look at you go! You actually managed to bed Hudson Brooks.” “So, how was he? Is he an absolute beast in the sack?” Zoe nudged me with her elbow, a wicked smirk on her face. My face instantly turned beet red. Though I didn’t really want to admit it, I had to say, Hudson was exceptionally talented in that department. The only problem was the communication barrier. Sometimes, when things got too intense, his hearing aid would get knocked out. No matter how much I begged him to slow down, he wouldn’t react at all. Eventually, I had to press my lips right against his ear, crying and begging for mercy in broken gasps. 6 But here’s the thing about me: I would rather die than lose face. Getting me to admit my arch-nemesis was good in bed? Absolutely impossible. So, faced with Zoe’s intense curiosity, I stubbornly lied: “All show and no go. It was over before I even felt anything.” “You don’t understand, Hudson just looks good on the surface, but actually…” Before I could finish my sentence, Zoe suddenly froze. She stared at me in sheer panic, her eyes desperately darting to the space right behind me. I instinctively turned my head. “What’s—” Before the word could leave my mouth, I came face to face with Hudson. He was wearing a sharp black suit, the top two buttons undone, casting a dark, half-smile down at me from his razor-sharp features. His expression clearly said: Keep going. My legs started shaking involuntarily. Realizing the impending doom, Zoe let out an awkward laugh and patted my shoulder. “Uh, Maya, I just remembered I have an emergency.” Without looking back, Zoe bolted, leaving me alone with him in the bar. I watched the corner of Hudson’s mouth twitch. It looked like a smile, but also like blatant mockery. Then, slowly and deliberately, he raised his hands and signed to me. You… didn’t… feel anything… that night? I knew sign language. The very first day I learned Hudson would need hearing aids for the rest of his life, I immediately went out and learned ASL. But right now, every sign he made landed heavily on my chest, suffocating me. My instinct was to run, but I forced myself to stay glued to the stool. “Th-that night, just forget about it. I’m pretending nothing happened.” I didn’t want one mutually consensual accident to complicate our relationship forever. But I clearly underestimated Hudson. His jaw locked. He stepped forward and scooped me up into his arms, carrying me bridal style. No matter how hard I thrashed, he held me in a vice grip. I panicked, struggling wildly. “Hudson, what are you doing?! Put me down!” It wasn’t until we were out of the bar that he looked down. His thin lips parted, mouthing the words with absolute clarity. “I’m going to… make you feel it.”

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While reconciling the year-end accounts, I noticed something wrong with the company ledgers. After working overtime to fix it, I found an extra penny in the account. I stayed up for another three nights redoing the books, only to discover that the new secretary was transferring a penny into the company account every single day. When I confronted her, she said, “I just saw you staying up late every day crunching numbers, and the money wasn’t adding up. I wanted to help.” The boss defended her, saying, “Harper is just trying to be nice. Stop being so aggressive.” Under the collective condemnation, I became the villain who bullied my coworkers. I was fired from the company and smeared online during Harper’s livestreams. Tortured by the backlash, I spiraled into depression and took my own life. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the moment the accounts didn’t add up. 1 Staring at the extra penny on the spreadsheet, I furiously smashed my mouse, turned around, and yelled at the rest of the office. “Who the hell is sending a penny to the company account every single day? “With inflation this high, wouldn’t you rather save that penny to buy your own coffin?” My coworkers stared at me, jaws dropping. I suppose that’s the collective silencing effect you get when the usually quiet person suddenly explodes. After a moment, my coworker Kyle Morgan burst out laughing. “Whoa, Chloe, did you eat gunpowder for breakfast? “Did you get rejected on another blind date? You can’t just take it out on us!” Kyle, who had been here for three years, fancied himself a comedian and loved making fun of my failed dates. I kept a straight face and demanded strictly: “Kyle, did you transfer this cent into the account? “It might just be a penny, but it throws off the accuracy of our financial data. The books won’t balance, the company’s audit will be screwed, and none of us will have an easy holiday season!” I admit I was exaggerating a little. But hearing that he might be held responsible, Kyle instantly dropped his goofy smirk. “Chloe, it wasn’t me, I swear.” I ignored him and swept my gaze over everyone else. “Whoever did this knows exactly who they are. Don’t force me to audit the data line by line. “I’ll give you three seconds to step up and admit your mistake. Otherwise, whatever massive fallout this causes, you’ll be the sinner of the whole company!” Just as I started counting down, the company’s new secretary, Harper Evans, burst through the door in a panic. “Chloe, I-I’m so sorry, I sent the money.” As she apologized, she didn’t forget to pass out the Starbucks coffees she was carrying to everyone. “I know we all get sick of the free coffee in the pantry, so this is on me. Please, don’t be shy!” There’s a saying: you can’t bite the hand that feeds you. After receiving Harper’s coffee, everyone’s faces softened into smiles. “How much was this? I’ll Venmo you.” “You’re too sweet. You buy us coffee every other day, I feel bad taking it!” “Harper, your family must be loaded! An intern’s salary is barely enough to cover all these treats!” Harper smiled and waved her hands. “It’s no fun drinking alone. It’s only happy if we all drink together! “And don’t worry about my wallet, it can handle it.” In less than a month since joining, Harper had maneuvered her way into everyone’s good graces with these petty favors. Holding his coffee, Kyle made a passive-aggressive jab. “Harper, if only everyone were as easy to get along with as you. Some people have been here for five years and still haven’t integrated into the team.” Harper blinked, asking with spectacular tone-deafness, “Who? Is it someone I know?” The people around them covered their mouths, snickering. This exact scene had played out countless times in my previous life. 2 On Harper’s first day, Kyle was the one tasked with showing her around. Surprisingly, they found a lot of common ground. For example, they shared a shocking synergy when it came to making fun of me. When I was working late on the year-end books and found the discrepancies, I pulled three all-nighters to recalculate the accounts. I worked until my hair was practically falling out, only to discover that Harper had been transferring a single penny into the account every day. Faced with my confrontation, she cried and said, “I just saw you staying up late every day crunching numbers, and the money wasn’t adding up. I wanted to help.” All my coworkers took her side. “Newbies are bound to make mistakes. Harper is already trying so hard.” Even the boss chimed in: “Harper was just being kind. Don’t be so aggressive.” Under their relentless accusations, I was branded a workplace bully and subsequently kicked to the curb. No severance package. The boss even withheld my last month’s paycheck. Then, Harper started livestreaming online, smearing my name, while my boss and former coworkers jumped in to testify against me. I was officially labeled a toxic workplace abuser. Right at that time, my mother back in our rural hometown fell seriously ill and desperately needed money for treatment. I was being doxxed online, and the hundreds of resumes I sent out vanished into the void. Because we didn’t have the money, my mom missed the optimal treatment window. Shortly after, my dad passed away with her. Tortured by depression, I committed suicide. When I opened my eyes and saw the extra penny tacked onto the long string of numbers in the ledger, I just exploded. You either erupt in the silence or perish in it. So in this life, I chose to erupt, and then obliterate the disgusting clique led by Harper and Kyle. 3 After passing out the coffees, Harper noticed she was one cup short. She pressed her hands together pleadingly and walked up to me. “I’m so sorry, Chloe. Here, you can have my cup.” I followed her gesture and pressed her firmly into my desk chair. “Alright. Whoever caused the accounting errors is going to be the one responsible for finding and fixing them.” Harper stared at the accounting software, totally bewildered, looking like she was about to cry. “Chloe, I majored in secretarial studies… I don’t know how to do this…” I cut her off. “That’s fine, you can learn. “Since you have the time to meticulously transfer a penny every single day, you must be extremely interested in the company’s financials.” With that, I stretched my arms and started packing up my personal belongings from the desk. Kyle frowned and challenged me. “Chloe Bennett, you’re just bullying the new girl. How can you hand off such an important task? What if something goes wrong?” He made it sound so noble. But I had long seen through his shit-stirring nature. The best way to deal with someone like him is to drag him down into the mud too. So, I pulled his chair over. “Kyle, aren’t you Harper’s mentor? Perfect, you two can study the ledgers together.” Harper’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears. “Chloe, I know you don’t like me. I’m just a new intern, I haven’t even passed probation, so I wouldn’t dare say anything if you bully me. But Kyle is a senior employee. He has so much on his plate already. How can you dump your work on him? “I can work overtime every day, but Kyle has a kid at home. He needs to go back to his wife and child. Could you please not drag the people around me into this? If you have a problem, just come at me!” Harper’s feigned resilience drew everyone’s sympathy—and their collective resentment toward me. “Chloe, you can’t just use your seniority to bully Kyle and Harper. Even I can’t stand watching this!” “Seriously. She just sits in the corner all day with a sour face. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the company owed her money. Such a buzzkill.” “We’re all busy. Even the newbies have a lot on their plate. Someone is just using this as an excuse to pawn off her workload. Real calculated.” Not too far away, the corner of Harper’s mouth twitched up into a faint smirk. If this were the past, I definitely wouldn’t have irresponsibly handed off my duties to someone else. But in my previous life, the moment people started criticizing me, the boss fired me under the pretext of workplace bullying. I will never forget that ugly, hypocritical face. At the end of the day, he just wanted to fire me without paying severance. A company like this wasn’t worth another ounce of my energy! “Alright. Since all of you want to speak up for them, you can do the work. “I’ve been working overtime for nineteen days straight trying to reconcile these accounts, practically on the verge of a heart attack. And the reason there are constant discrepancies is because she keeps wiring a penny every day. I’m no saint. I refuse to accept this kind of sheer stupidity that almost cost me my life. “Don’t just stand there making cheap comments. Whoever supports them, feel free to pitch in and audit the books!” I rolled up my sleeves, looking like I was ready to brawl. “What’s all this noise? Are you done working?” The boss, Mr. Thorne, walked over with a dark expression. Harper’s eyes sparkled with tears. “Mr. Thorne, it’s all my fault. Chloe gave me her work because she trusts my abilities. I shouldn’t have declined.” The other coworkers chimed in, instantly painting me as the villain who bullied the new girl. I waited patiently for them to finish before speaking. “Why are you all so focused on me handing off the work, but totally ignoring the fact that she maliciously wired money into the account every day and sabotaged my job? “The workplace isn’t her mother. Shouldn’t she take initiative to fix the problems she caused?” After Mr. Thorne figured out the situation, he started playing peacemaker. “Alright, alright. Chloe, I know you’ve been working hard lately. I’ll give you a half-day off sometime.” I had worked three unpaid weekends in a row, and Scrooge Thorne couldn’t even bear to give me a single full day off. Before I could respond, Harper quickly interjected. “Mr. Thorne, Chloe has been working so hard. Give her more time off! I’ll cover her overtime!” The boss beamed, praising her as the most outstanding employee he had ever seen. At the same time, he didn’t miss the chance to throw shade at the “poor attitudes” of certain veteran employees. Harper smiled and turned to the rest of the office. “You guys don’t have to come in this Saturday. It’s mostly just sending out client materials anyway. I’ll handle all of it.” Naturally, the others felt a little embarrassed to agree. But then she added, “I’ve been interning here for a month now. Just consider it a test. I want to prove my worth. “Please, give me a chance!” With a wave of his hand, the boss approved it. After he left, the coworkers swarmed Harper, praising her to the skies. Kyle even explicitly called her a kind-hearted angel. Harper pulled out a little notepad, meticulously writing down everything they needed help with. “Chloe, do you still need me to help check the accounts?” Harper made a lap before stopping in front of me to ask. Kyle scoffed sarcastically. “You’re going to help her? Don’t bother. If something goes wrong, she’ll just blame you.” I calmly countered, “So, you wouldn’t blame her, right?” Kyle looked at me like it was obvious. “She’s offering to help out of the goodness of her heart. Regardless of the outcome, that intention alone deserves gratitude.” His buddy Derek Fisher agreed, “Exactly. Not like some people, who won’t even lift a finger to help grab a package.” Harper looked overwhelmingly touched, swearing on the spot that she would handle all their tasks perfectly. I felt a bizarre urge to laugh, but held it in. A weirdo who had enough free time to wire a penny into the company account exactly on schedule every day—I wasn’t holding my breath for her competence. Let’s let these people truly experience Harper’s “kindness”! 4 During my rare weekend off, I bought a comprehensive full-body health checkup package online for my parents back home. They were reluctant to go. “Sweetheart, why are you wasting your money on this? Use that five hundred dollars to buy yourself something nice to eat. “Be safe living alone in the city, don’t skimp on food and drinks. If you’re short on cash, don’t be afraid to ask us.” Hearing my parents’ voices, my emotions completely broke. I covered my mouth, sobbing until I couldn’t catch my breath. My parents were farmers. They worked themselves to the bone year-round, barely earning enough to scrape by. But they were only ever stingy with themselves. In my past life, when my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she refused to waste money on treatment. After she died, I found their entire life savings hidden under their bed back home. My aunt told me it was the dowry they had painstakingly saved up for me over their entire lives. Even the living expenses and medical bills I had wired them later on were in there, completely untouched. “Mom, Dad, I’m doing great in the city. You’re the ones pinching pennies all year. “You have to go to this checkup. It’s already paid for and non-refundable.” After catching up with my parents, I wired some money to my aunt. “Auntie, please take my parents to the city for their checkups this weekend. “Oh, and the checkup was sixteen thousand, not five hundred. Don’t let that slip, okay?” With my parents’ health checkups arranged, a huge weight lifted off my chest. After all, being reborn wasn’t just about revenge—the most important thing was my parents’ health. 5 Time off is always brief. Soon, the dreaded Monday arrived. But I knew there were people dreading it far more than me. The first was Derek, who was the first to arrive at his desk. The moment he opened his laptop, he froze. Harper had deleted all the draft copies of his design blueprints, leaving only the final version. Suppressed with rage, Derek asked her, “Harper, what the hell? I just asked you to send the final version. Why did you delete all the others?” Harper smiled. “Your desktop was way too cluttered, and you were running out of storage. What’s the point of keeping the old drafts? “Derek, I’m not trying to nag, but you really need to develop better organizational habits. Keep your desktop clean!” Derek had a meltdown. “But the client just emailed me! They want to choose between the first two initial drafts. “Wait, they should still be in the recycling bin.” Derek frantically opened his trash bin, and his expression instantly spiraled into sheer despair. Harper looked a bit sheepish. “Um, I emptied the recycling bin while I was at it.” Derek’s vision went black. He looked like he was about to pass out. Meanwhile, I strolled past him, holding my coffee, looking refreshed and radiant. “Derek, what’s wrong? Somebody help, Derek is dying!” Harper grabbed a massage gun off a desk and jammed it right into Derek’s philtrum. The next second, Derek resurrected on the spot. “Ahhh! That hurts like hell!” I sat quietly at my desk staring at spreadsheets, but I was practically bursting a lung trying not to laugh. “Harper, is there something wrong with your brain?!” While howling in pain, Derek tore into Harper. She pulled out a little handkerchief and apologized, sobbing pitifully. Derek just got angrier. “Cry, cry, cry, that’s all you know how to do! If apologizing worked, we wouldn’t need prisons for murderers, would we?” Excellent. It seemed our office finally had someone capable of rational thought. I twirled a pen in my fingers and continued enjoying the show. Shortly after, the others trickled into the office. Kyle walked in just in time to hear Derek cursing. He marched right up and punched Derek in the shoulder. “Why the hell are you yelling at her? Can’t you see Harper’s crying?” Derek started venting his misery. “I revised those drafts so many times they were unrecognizable, and now the client suddenly wants the very first version. I don’t even remember what the original looked like!” Kyle sighed. “I’m not trying to blame you, man, but you should back that stuff up. You left it on the desktop, Harper thought it was trash and cleaned it up for you. That makes sense, doesn’t it? “Forget it. She’s just a new girl fresh out of college, don’t hold it against her. I’ll help you redraw it later.” Soothed by his buddy, Derek’s anger gradually subsided. But this was only the beginning. That afternoon, Kyle was dragged into a meeting room by the department manager, who had just returned from vacation. The manager screamed at him for two solid hours. “What happened? What did Kyle do to get ripped a new one?” Everyone was eating up the drama. The unofficial group chat was flooded with hundreds of messages in minutes. And none of them realized that Harper, who had excused herself to the bathroom, had been missing for half an hour.

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My sister and I were bound to the Doomsday Supermarket System. I sourced the inventory, she ran the storefront, and together we saved countless human lives struggling to survive in the apocalypse. Later, my sister announced she was dating the warlords of the four major survivor factions. Because of this, she was willing to abandon our modern life and stay in the wasteland forever. And then, she conspired with them to trick me into returning to the apocalypse. She stood by and watched as her “husbands” strapped me to a table, cracked my skull open, and dissected me. When I asked her why in absolute despair, my sister just looked at me with innocent eyes. “Harper, my husbands said that if they can just extract the System from your brain, they can use its infinite modern supplies to unite the wasteland.” “This is the only chance to save this broken world. You wouldn’t refuse to make a tiny sacrifice for the greater good, right?” Just like that, I died on a cold operating table. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the exact day my sister declared she was staying in the apocalypse. 1 “Harper, I’m not going back. I want to stay here.” “I’m already with Asher and the others. We’re going to get married, and I want to give each of them a child.” I froze, looking down at Chloe’s flushed, bashful face. What did she just say? Waves of agonizing pain crashed against my skull, feeling exactly like a scalpel was being driven right through the center of my brain. “Harper, what’s wrong? Do you have a headache?” Chloe reached out with a look of deep concern to touch my forehead, but instinct took over and I slapped her hand away. “Don’t touch me!” Chloe looked immediately wronged. “I know you’re mad at me, Harper. After all, we promised we’d head back home in a few days.” “But am I not allowed to change my mind? I like it here! Plus, I’ve found true love. Asher, Wyatt, Caleb, and Declan—all four of them treat me like a queen. They truly love me!” “You’re my sister. Shouldn’t you be happy for me?” Hearing those exact words confirmed it. I had been reborn. I was bound to a dimension-hopping System in the first place, traversing different worlds to complete missions, so being reborn wasn’t entirely shocking. But the moment I remembered exactly how Chloe had tortured and killed me in my past life, a venomous hatred boiled over in my chest. In my previous life, Chloe had pulled this exact stunt. Once our mission was complete, she claimed she was madly in love with the four warlords and wanted to stay behind for love. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen, so I eventually left alone. Not long after, the System relayed a message that she was begging to see me. Terrified that she was in danger, I abandoned my current mission, took the massive penalty, and rushed back to the wasteland to save her. The moment I stepped out of the portal, her four men ambushed me. They strapped me to an operating table and ripped me apart. Meanwhile, Chloe stood just a few feet away, watching with dead, apathetic eyes. I screamed at her, asking why she lied to me. She just blinked, looking like an innocent little fawn. “Harper, my husbands said that if they can just extract the System from your brain, they can use its infinite modern supplies to unite the wasteland.” “This is the only chance to save this broken world. You wouldn’t refuse to make a tiny sacrifice for the greater good, right?” “You’ve always spoiled me. Just think of this as doing me one last favor! You want me to be happy, don’t you?” Happy, my ass! She had access to the System too, yet she hid that fact from Asher and his crew, painting a massive target on my back instead. I never could have imagined that the biological sister I had protected and pampered my whole life could be so utterly depraved and selfish. Fine. She wants to stay here? I tried to stop her last time. This time, I wouldn’t even try. In fact, I was going to fully support her. I’d even leave her a nice little parting gift! I took a deep breath, forcing down the urge to strangle her right there. I smiled and took her hands. “Chloe, why would I be mad? You’ve found men who truly love you—four of them, no less. Of course I won’t stand in your way.” “If you want to stay, then stay.” Chloe’s eyes lit up. She shook my arms excitedly. “Really?! Harper, I knew you were the best sister in the world!” Suppressing a wave of nausea, I subtly pulled my hands away and put some distance between us. “However, if you’re staying, I have one condition.” 2 Chloe blinked, looking slightly confused. “What condition?” “I want to watch you get married.” I paused and didn’t miss the immediate flash of joy on Chloe’s face. It seemed she was desperate to lock those four men down. Well, as her big sister, it was only right that I gave her a push. I continued: “I know it’s a bit rushed, but I’m leaving soon, and we probably won’t ever see each other again. I want to see you in a wedding dress, marrying the man… men… of your dreams.” “Let’s throw a wedding, okay? Do it for me.” “Besides, I have a very special gift I want to give you on your big day.” Chloe was beyond thrilled. She praised me to the heavens, then turned and sprinted out the door. “I’m going to go ask them right now!” I smiled and waved her off. At the same time, I called out in my mind. System, can I revoke Chloe’s access to the sub-system? A few seconds later, the System’s cold, mechanical voice echoed in my head. [Affirmative.] I nodded, sitting back in my chair with absolute peace of mind. Chloe was never supposed to have a System. I was the only one officially bound to the Multiverse System. Every time I finished a mission in a different dimension, I could return to my home world to rest before my next jump. Unfortunately, after one of my runs, Chloe overheard me talking to the System. She begged and pleaded to come with me on my dimension-hopping missions. “Harper, didn’t you promise that whatever you have, you’d share with me?” “I just want to keep you company while you work! Why won’t you let me?” Nothing I said deterred her, and eventually, I caved. After consulting the System and ensuring it wouldn’t violate any core protocols, I had the System split off a sub-node and bind it to Chloe just to keep her safe. In my past life, when I left the wasteland, I didn’t revoke her sub-system because I was worried about her survival. And how did she repay me? By selling me out to be butchered. She probably felt invincible because she had the System backing her up, which gave her the audacity to betray me so ruthlessly. But now. The second I leave this world for good. That system is coming right back to me. 3 It didn’t take long for Chloe to run back in, her face flush with afterglow. She wiped her slightly swollen lips with a smug look. “Harper, I’m going to be so happy. You see? All I had to do was give them a few kisses, and they agreed to everything!” “We set the wedding for three days from now. How does that sound?” I told her it sounded perfect. “By the way, such a massive celebration should be shared with every survivor in the wasteland so they can give you their blessings.” “Doesn’t Caleb have a tech guy who’s a master hacker? You should have him broadcast your wedding live across the globe. Let the whole world worship you.” Chloe bit her lip, squirming a little. “Well… I’d have to ask their permission first. I mean, I don’t really mind either way…” I knew she was already sold on the idea. Ever since she arrived in the wasteland, she had used the supplies I procured to play the glorious savior, which was exactly how she caught the attention of the four warlords in the first place. Someone as vain and attention-hungry as her could never resist an offer like that. Knowing the hook was set, I smoothly changed the subject. “Chloe, did you ever tell Asher and the guys about the System?” Chloe froze. A flicker of panic flashed across her face. But it only lasted a second before she put her innocent mask back on. “No, of course not. Why would you ask that?” “Don’t worry, Harper. Even after you leave, I’d never expose our secret.” I lowered my eyes and smiled, saying nothing. Her micro-expressions gave it away. She had absolutely told them. And she had specifically only told them that I had a System. Otherwise, in my past life, they wouldn’t have ignored her completely and gone to such great lengths to lure me back. Unbelievable. She had been plotting against her own flesh and blood this entire time. Since she could push me toward a gruesome death without a shred of guilt, she couldn’t blame me if my wedding gift turned out to be a little unpleasant. Three days passed in a flash. Bright and early, Chloe dragged a group of people into her room to do her hair and makeup. Maybe the impending wedding had inflated her ego, because she completely dropped her sweet facade. She aggressively swatted the makeup artist’s hand away. “Do you even know what you’re doing?! Why aren’t you using concealer?!” “Riley, I know you’re just jealous that I’m marrying Asher! You’re trying to make me look ugly on purpose!” The girl named Riley awkwardly set the makeup sponge down and explained softly: “That’s not it… When everyone was fleeing the infected zones, no one prioritized packing cosmetics…” “I had to beg every girl in the compound to scrape this much together. It’s not going to be like the old world. You’ll just have to make do…” Furious, Chloe swept the entire vanity of makeup onto the floor, sneering. “This is my one and only wedding! I am not ‘making do’!” I watched the drama unfold with cold detachment. She was riding the high of having a System, acting like she was a god among insects, hurting people simply because she could. The harder she flexed her power now, the harder her downfall would be once I left. The thought made me smile. I quickly stepped out of the room. I needed to go check if the hacker had the global broadcast ready. I couldn’t let anything ruin my grand finale. But as luck would have it, I bumped right into Asher, who was carrying a wedding dress. 4 I frowned and instinctively turned away, pretending I hadn’t seen him. But Asher called out to me. “Harper!” He jogged over, presenting the wedding dress to me like he was offering up a sacred treasure. “Harper, look at this. Beautiful, isn’t it? Declan and I scoured the ruins for days until we finally found a bridal boutique that hadn’t been looted.” “I looked through hundreds of them, but this one felt the most perfect. What do you think?” He paused, his eyes locked onto mine, swirling with manufactured affection. “I think… if you wore this, you would look absolutely breathtaking.” “Harper, stay here with us. Please? You know I’ve always been in love with you. Sure, Chloe is great and all, but… she doesn’t hold a candle to you.” “Harper, I will do everything in my power to give you the world. Just stay, please?” I took three steps back and genuinely dry-heaved. It was stomach-churning. In my past life, right before I left, Asher had pulled me aside to make this exact same sickly-sweet confession. Back then, I didn’t understand his ulterior motives, so I just strictly rejected him. Looking back, it was obvious. They knew I had the System, and they were desperate to keep their golden goose from flying away. He didn’t love me for a second. He loved the limitless modern supplies he could extract from me. After all, in my past life, he was the first one to swing a bone saw into my skull. To prove his “devotion,” Asher practically threw the pristine wedding dress onto the dirty floor. He rushed forward, trying to hold me. “Harper, are you okay? Are you sick?” Swallowing my nausea, I looked him dead in the eye. “I’m fine. Just ate something bad.” “By the way… do the other three feel the same way you do?” Asher’s eyes lit up. He nodded frantically. “Of course they do! If you’re willing to stay, we’ll do whatever you want! Anything!” “What about Chloe? What happens to her?” Asher froze, a look of extreme awkwardness washing over his face. “Chloe… well, she’s your sister. We’ll make sure she’s taken care of.” “Harper, honestly? I’ve only ever treated her as a substitute for you…” As he spoke, he stepped closer and closer to me. I smiled. Because I could see my dear sister standing right in the doorway, witnessing the entire exchange. Asher kept going. “Harper, you have to—” Suddenly, Chloe’s furious shriek tore through the hallway. “What the hell are you doing?!” 5 I took two steps back, thoroughly satisfied. Chloe walking out right then wasn’t a coincidence; I had specifically commanded the System to time it perfectly. I let Asher get close for the sole purpose of letting Chloe see it. Her possessiveness and paranoia would ensure she gripped those four men in a death lock. I looked at Chloe, painting a mask of perfect apology on my face. “It’s nothing, don’t misunderstand. I tripped and almost fell, and Asher was just catching me.” “You guys probably have a lot to talk about, so I’ll stop being the third wheel.” I patted Chloe’s shoulder with a bright smile and walked away. Not even a minute later, the door to my room was violently kicked open. “Harper! What the hell were you actually talking to Asher about?!” I shrugged innocently. “Nothing, I already told you. I almost fell…” Chloe angrily cut me off. “Liar! I already asked the System! It told me you purposefully got close to him and baited him into saying he loved you!” “Harper, how could you try to seduce my man just because you’re jealous of me?! You’re a psycho!” I couldn’t help but sneer in my head. What an idiot. Did she really think her sub-system would give her playback logs without my direct authorization? I fired back: “Chloe, if you’ve already asked the System, how can you stand there and shamelessly blame this on me?” “You know exactly what happened. Asher cornered me and told me I was prettier than you. Isn’t that right?” “You bitch!” Furious and humiliated, Chloe pulled a spiked combat whip straight out of her quantum storage bracelet and slashed it toward my face. I simply stepped to the side, grabbed the whip, and yanked hard. Chloe stumbled and face-planted onto the floor. “Every single item in that quantum bracelet was bought with my credits. I didn’t give it to you so you could use the weapons to throw a tantrum.” I looked down at her pathetic, sprawled form and scoffed. “My dear sister, I was doing you a favor. I was testing your men’s loyalty, and how do you thank me? By accusing me of seducing them?” “Look at the results. A tiny bit of bait, and Asher showed his true colors instantly. The other three wouldn’t fare any better. With you acting like this, how could I possibly feel safe leaving you here alone?” Chloe’s pupils contracted. She glared at me, pure panic bleeding into her eyes. “What are you saying?! Are you backing out?!” “Harper, you promised me! You said you’d let me stay! My wedding is literally about to start. Are you trying to drag me back to the modern world?!” She scrambled backward across the floor, shaking her head wildly. “You don’t understand anything! They do love me! Asher was just joking around, why are you taking it so seriously?!” “They love me! They got on their knees and begged me to stay! They cried for me! How could I abandon them?! I’m never leaving!” “Here, I am the queen of the wasteland! I have access to the highest tier of luxury and power! If I go back home, I’m just an ordinary nobody… I won’t go back! I won’t!” Looking at Chloe’s borderline psychotic breakdown, I laughed out loud. Just as I thought. No matter how much she played the role of a hopelessly romantic girl blinded by love, it couldn’t hide her rotting, selfish core. She didn’t stay for love. She stayed for the intoxicating high of being worshiped and handed a life of absolute privilege with zero effort. I just wondered if she’d be able to handle the impact when she fell from that pedestal. I walked forward and gently smoothed down Chloe’s messy hair. “Who said I was taking you with me?” “Relax. I never go back on my word. Since I promised to let you stay, I’ll respect your choice.” “And don’t forget, sister, I promised you a grand wedding gift. It will stay by your side and protect you in my place.” Chloe’s eyes sparkled greedily. She immediately grabbed my hand. 6 “What is the gift? Give it to me right now!” “And don’t bother coming to the ceremony later. This is my wedding. All the attention should be on me.” “Just give me the gift now, Harper!” I chuckled. She was terrified I would steal her spotlight, yet absolutely shameless about demanding free handouts. Unfortunately for her, the universe doesn’t hand out free lunches. I nodded, pretending to agree, but then asked: “But if I don’t go, who’s going to be your maid of honor?” “Oh, never mind. You have Riley, don’t you.” Right on cue, Riley knocked on the open door, her face a mask of total apathy. “Chloe, it’s time to change into your dress. The wedding is starting.” Chloe shot Riley a dirty look, then glared back at me. Finally, she nodded reluctantly and gave me a hushed warning: “We’ll talk about the gift later. When you come to the ceremony, make sure you stand in the back!” Chloe snatched the wedding dress from Riley’s hands, intentionally shoulder-checking her as she stormed out of the room. As I prepared to follow, I noticed Riley glaring daggers at Chloe’s retreating back. I raised an eyebrow. Right. Before Chloe showed up, Riley was Asher’s girlfriend. I didn’t know why Chloe was in such a frantic rush, but she had aggressively bumped up the ceremony timeline. By the time I reached the main square, Chloe had already exchanged vows with the four warlords. One by one, the four men leaned in to kiss her. Ugh. Eye bleach, please. I jogged forward and interrupted them. Looking extremely annoyed, Chloe stepped forward, throwing her arms out like a mother hen shielding her chicks, tucking the four massive warlords behind her. “Harper, what are you doing here…” I scanned the perimeter. This was a joint wedding for the leaders of the four major factions. Every prominent figure, captain, and survivor who could make the trek was in attendance. With the stage set, I projected my voice clearly: “Everyone here has bought supplies from me at some point, right? I’m sure you’ve all been dying to know where I source my inventory, and where I hide my stockpiles…” Hearing this, Wyatt immediately stepped forward in a panic. “Harper, wait—” I cut him off. He was terrified. They were all terrified that if the public learned the truth about the System, it would completely shatter their monopoly on power. After all, they only became the supreme warlords because of the infinite supplies Chloe and I pumped into their camps. But I was going to rip the curtain down and watch the dogs tear each other apart. I smiled, patted Chloe’s shoulder, and continued: “I know Chloe has told the four of you that she gets her supplies from me, and she even told you that I’m bound to a cosmic System, right?” “But did you know… she has a System too?” Chloe’s smug expression disintegrated instantly. She stared at me in absolute terror. “Harper…” Hilarious. Now she remembers to call me by my name? Being the magnanimous older sister I am, I clamped my hand over her mouth.

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Preston Sterling, the notorious billionaire heir of the Manhattan elite, was famous for his twisted obsession with crossdressers. He publicly made a wild declaration: “If someone is willing to transition just for me, they will share my multi-million dollar empire.” Upon hearing this, my brother’s heart fluttered with temptation. He immediately applied a coat of fiery red lipstick, ready to show off his skills. Out of the goodness of my heart, I advised him against it. I told him those guys play sick and twisted games, and he shouldn’t ruin his bright future. So, my brother obediently gave up. But the very next day, the billionaire heir announced his new male-model boyfriend, sharing all his assets with him. In a fit of rage, my brother sold me off to a human trafficking ring in the Appalachian backwoods, where I was abused to death. When I opened my eyes again, my brother was smearing on that same red lipstick, itching to try his luck. “Nora, do you think I can successfully win over the billionaire heir?” I smiled, turned around, and pulled out a sheer, see-through camisole he had hidden at the bottom of his trunk. “The heir has seen it all. Brother, if you want to win, you’re going to have to be a lot sluttier than that.” 1 My brother finished applying his lipstick, admired himself in the mirror for a moment, then put down the tube and turned to face me. “Nora, do you think I can successfully win over the billionaire heir?” In my past life, my brother asked me this exact same question. What did I say back then? “Oliver, Preston Sterling’s circle is completely twisted. I don’t want you taking that risk. I’m terrified something bad will happen to you, and I don’t want to lose my brother.” At that time, I was genuinely terrified for him. He wasn’t just anyone; he was my brother, my family. The sick games Preston’s crowd played were infamous, even to someone completely outside their upper-crust circle like me. I had even heard whispers of a twisted party game they called “Russian Roulette,” which involved Hollywood starlets, Instagram models, and high-end escorts. Even though my brother couldn’t get pregnant, if he truly entered that world, there would undoubtedly be even more depraved games waiting for him. I warned him about the severe consequences, crying and begging him to stop. So, my brother gave up. Who could have predicted that the very next day, Preston Sterling would publicly announce his boyfriend and fulfill his promise, sharing his entire fortune with him? When my brother saw the news, he shook with absolute fury. He raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face, knocking me to the ground. “This is all because of you! If you hadn’t scared me with all that garbage, the one standing next to Preston right now would be me! The one sharing his wealth would be me! “Nora Vance, you ruined my life! You made me lose everything!” To get his revenge on me. Under my brother’s scheming, I was sold to human traffickers deep in the Appalachian backwoods, where I was eventually abused to death by a pack of miserable, aging bachelors… The horrifying memories of my past life wrapped tightly around me, making my body tremble uncontrollably. But my brother was still entirely immersed in his sweet dream of winning Preston Sterling’s exclusive favor, completely oblivious to my distress. He asked again, urging me to answer: “Say something, Nora! Is this look going to work or not?” I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. Glancing at my brother’s fiery red lips, I curled my lips into a smile, walked into his room, and dug out the sheer, see-through camisole he had secretly hidden at the bottom of his trunk, handing it to him. “Just a fiery red lip isn’t going to cut it.” “The heir has seen it all. Brother, if you want to win, you’re going to have to be a lot sluttier than that.” 2 My brother seemed surprised by my bluntness. A hint of shyness flashed across his delicate, effeminate face, and he hesitated to take the camisole. Hah, so he still knows how to be bashful? “Hurry up and try it on,” I urged, pushing the silky fabric closer to him. My brother seemed a little uptight. “Right now?” “Of course right now! Didn’t you ask me to help you check your look?” I scanned him up and down. “You’re not actually shy, are you? If you’re this embarrassed in front of me, what are you going to do when you’re face-to-face with Preston Sterling? Men don’t like coy and hesitant.” My brother took a deep breath, as if gathering all his courage, and snatched the camisole. “I’ll go change.” Moments later, my brother stepped out, wearing practically nothing. I had to admit, the secret stash of clothes he had collected was off-the-charts scandalous. Clutching the hem of his tiny skirt, my brother asked uncertainly, “How is it? Will this work?” I shook my head. “The outfit works, but you don’t. Oliver, you need to be more confident, more liberated. “Give me a little sway, let me see.” At first, my brother was extremely self-conscious, but after swaying his hips a few times, he found his groove, and his movements grew bolder. Honestly, it was pretty damn sexy. I praised him relentlessly. “Oliver, you are absolutely on fire! Preston Sterling is going to fall head over heels for you!” A smug look crossed my brother’s face, and the more he danced, the more into it he got. Until a sharp gasp pierced the air. “Ah!” My brother panicked. Mom and Dad had returned home at some point. My brother had been too absorbed in his dancing, and I had been too absorbed in watching, so neither of us heard them come in. “Nora Vance, what on earth are you doing?” My mom glared at my brother with sheer disgust, then sharply reprimanded me. “Who told you to bring this kind of trashy woman into our house? Tell her to get out right now!” She turned to look at my dad. His eyes were glued to the sight, which only infuriated my mom further. She stormed forward, grabbed my brother’s arm, spun him around, and delivered a vicious slap across his face. “Get the hell out of my house! Nora, if I ever catch you hanging around this kind of unpresentable trash again, I’ll…” “Mom!” I stepped forward, fighting back a smile. “Look closely, that’s Oliver!” The fury on my mom’s face didn’t fade; she still wanted to keep scolding me. It took her a delayed second to process what I had just said, and then she froze. The next second, her shocked gaze landed heavily on my brother. Unbelieving, she gasped, “What?” My dad finally recognized my brother’s heavily made-up face. After a moment of stunned silence, he stormed forward, shaking with rage. “Oliver Vance, what is this… what the hell are you doing? Dressing yourself up like this, are you… are you out of your damn mind?” It was as if the sky had fallen on my mom. “Oliver, who told you to dress like this? Take it off right now!” As she spoke, she lunged forward, clawing frantically to rip the wig off my brother’s head. Our family ran a decent-sized business. My parents had always preached that my brother would inherit the entire family empire simply because he was the son. And now… They were finally reaping the ultimate reward for their golden-boy syndrome. 3 “Mom!” My brother dodged, but my mom still managed to yank the wig off his head. He was biologically a man, after all, naturally stronger than my mom, and his temper flared up instantly. Pushing my mom away, my brother puffed out his chest, tilted his chin up, and declared loudly, “Since you’ve both seen it, I don’t need to hide it anymore. “It is exactly what it looks like. I don’t want to be a man. “Ever since I was little, I felt like I was supposed to be a woman. I was just too scared to tell you because I knew you’d react like this. “Well, I’m laying it all out right now. I want to be a woman!” “Shut your mouth!” My dad tossed aside all his dignity, stepping up to deliver another heavy backhand to my brother’s face. I guess he felt the blush on my brother’s cheeks wasn’t heavy enough. Having been slapped twice, my brother’s cheeks were burning red, giving him a weirdly unique, tragic sort of beauty. “Why are you hitting me? I have human rights! I get to decide how I want to live my own life!” My brother bent down to pick up the wig my mom had thrown on the floor. “From now on, I’m going to be a woman!” My mom’s legs gave out, and she swayed, nearly collapsing. Watching my brother put the wig back on with a seductive, sensual flair that even my mom couldn’t rival… She completely broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. My dad roared, “Shut up! Look at this fine son you’ve raised for me!” My brother completely let loose, swaying his hips and rolling his eyes. “I seriously don’t get why you guys are overreacting. If I become a woman, does that mean I’m no longer your child?” Tears streamed down my mom’s face. “How is that the same? A son suddenly turning into a daughter—who can accept that? Besides, if you become a woman, what happens to our family? When you take over the company later, who’s going to respect you?” My brother scoffed dismissively. “I don’t give a damn about our little family business anyway. Just give it to Nora. “Besides, me doing this is actually for the good of the family. “Haven’t you seen the news Preston Sterling put out? As long as someone can win his heart, they get access to all his money. Who cares about our family’s chump change?” “Preston Sterling?” My dad’s tone immediately grew serious. In his eyes, Preston Sterling was a true titan. Normally, my dad couldn’t even get close enough to see the back of Preston’s head. If there was truly a chance to get close to Preston, or even just graze the edges of the Manhattan elite, the Vance family’s social standing would skyrocket. My dad was instantly tempted, though he still doubted my brother’s capabilities. “You? Preston Sterling has seen it all. Are you that confident he’d even look twice at you?” My brother gave a haughty hmph. “Why wouldn’t he?” I had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines and chimed in at the perfect moment. “Preston will definitely fall for Oliver. Dad, didn’t your eyes just glaze over when you looked at him a minute ago?” My dad: “…” A flash of deeply uncomfortable embarrassment crossed his face, and he shot me a blistering glare. My brother’s cheeks flushed. He glanced at my dad but stayed quiet. My mom’s expression was grim, but it was a different kind of grim than her earlier breakdown. Earlier, before she realized it was my brother, she had flawlessly demonstrated what toxic female rivalry looked like. This family of three was honestly hilarious. They usually acted so loving, with my parents pouring all their devotion into my brother. Now, just because he put on a dress, they were falling apart like loose sand. I kept my mouth shut and continued enjoying the show. My dad was still uncertain. “Are you really confident you can win over Preston?” My brother crossed his arms and shot me a look. I immediately piled on the flattery. “Absolutely! Dad, look how sexy and alluring Oliver is right now! Preston will love it. “Honestly, if I were a man, I’d fall in love with him too. “Ugh, suddenly I feel like a total failure as a woman. I’m not even half as charming as my brother. “Right, Mom?” My mom furrowed her brow, shooting a cold glare at my brother’s outfit, then glared at me before steadying herself. “We’ll talk after you actually manage to win Preston over.” 4 In my past life, my parents genuinely didn’t know about my brother’s hidden desires at first. But once he set his sights on winning Preston over, he started dropping hints, and they eventually figured it out. Yet, not only did they not blame my brother, they blamed his transformation entirely on me. They claimed I had failed as a sister. They argued that since they were always busy working, I was the only one with free time at home. The fact that I didn’t spot his tendencies early on and correct him meant it was entirely my fault. My mom had even confronted me with red, teary eyes: “Did you purposely hide this from us? Nora, I never realized you were so calculating! You wanted your brother to become a woman so you could destroy my only son. That way, all the family inheritance would go to you. Is that what you’ve been plotting?” Later, when Preston Sterling officially announced his boyfriend, my brother flew into a violent rage. My parents dumped all the blame on me, pushing my brother into a psychotic frenzy. He directed all his vengeance at me, selling me off, which led to my gruesome death. When I died in my past life, hadn’t my own flesh-and-blood parents been the ones handing him the knife? I had already experienced their toxic favoritism in my last life, so in this life, I genuinely didn’t care anymore. I wouldn’t let it touch my heart. But I absolutely had to get my revenge. After my brother touched up his makeup and left the house, my parents called me into the study. “You knew about your brother being like this, didn’t you?” my mom asked coldly. In my memories, my mom had always been icy toward me, even projecting her twisted sense of female rivalry onto her own daughter. When I was little, all I wanted was to behave well and earn my parents’ love, but my mom would just look at me with the coldest eyes. “We’re both women here. Don’t think I can’t see right through your little tricks. “Being this manipulative at such a young age… having a daughter really is just birthing a rival for myself. “But it’s obvious your dad isn’t buying your act, so put away your little schemes.” Even though my dad only valued my brother, he wasn’t as viciously critical of me as my mom was. To him, my existence just meant setting an extra plate at the dinner table. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to feed me. Plus, when I got married in the future, he figured he could probably cash in on a hefty dowry or business connection. This was the toxic household I was raised in. The irony was that our family’s “empire” wasn’t even that big. We were squarely upper-middle class at best, yet they acted like royalty. Now that my brother had turned out like this, even though my dad wanted to use him to climb the social ladder and latch onto Preston Sterling, deep down, he still couldn’t accept that the son he had raised had suddenly changed so drastically. “Earlier, you kept speaking up for your brother. I know what you’re plotting,” my dad said heavily. “Nora, you’re a girl. Eventually, you’ll marry out of this family. What’s yours, I’ll give to you, but don’t go eyeing things that don’t belong to you.” “You’re just trying to piss me off into an early grave!” My mom glared at me like I was her sworn enemy. “Since you were a kid, you’ve opposed me at every turn. You fought me for your dad’s affection, and now you’ve convinced my son to change his gender. How exactly have I wronged you for you to treat me like this?” “…” If this were my past life, I might have argued back, asking how she could think such things about her own daughter. Now? She could think whatever the hell she wanted. Even if she died of sheer anger, I wouldn’t shed a single tear for her. I just couldn’t comprehend her twisted logic. What kind of garbage was filling her head? “Mom, Dad, are you saying you don’t agree with Oliver being with Preston? Why didn’t you say that earlier?” My dad’s breathing grew heavy. “Latching onto Preston Sterling would be incredible, obviously. But I only have one son. Naturally, I want him to be a normal man and take over the family business.” My mom’s tears started falling again. “Your dad is right. I only have one son. If he turns into a woman, are you expecting me to have another baby at my age?” “Then I’ll go tell Oliver you guys don’t support him,” I said, turning to walk out. My dad stopped me. “Let’s wait and see. If your brother really bags Preston, we’ll wait until he gets the money, and then force him to change back. Either way, my son is absolutely not going to be a sissy!” “Alright, I’ll keep my mouth shut for now.” Yeah, right. 5 Back in my room, I called my brother and asked where he was. Pinching his voice to sound softer, my brother whispered, “I got a tip that Preston is partying at a VIP club tonight. I have to go show my face so he remembers me.” It was obvious that my brother was totally committed now. He was determined to win Preston over and wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore. I glanced at my closed bedroom door and lowered my voice. “Good luck, Oliver! Mom and Dad just told me they still oppose you doing this. You have to lock Preston down ASAP. Otherwise, if Mom and Dad think about it overnight and decide to lock you up, you’ll lose your chance completely.” A heavy exhale came through the phone. “Those two dinosaurs are going to ruin everything. But I can’t guarantee I’ll win Preston over tonight.” “True. There are tons of people trying to get into his good graces just like you. You’re not exactly the most unique one out there, so it’s not a sure bet you’ll catch his eye,” I said, sounding dead serious. Honestly, even if my brother did manage to catch Preston’s eye, it would only last a day or two. My brother didn’t like hearing that. “Didn’t you say I just needed to be slammier? Am I not slutty enough right now?” “But Preston has no shortage of slutty people throwing themselves at him.” Hearing this, my brother realized I had a point. He sounded lost and asked me to think of a solution for him. Since my parents were so dead set on their son coming home to inherit the “throne,” then why not… “Oliver, if you were willing to undergo gender affirmation surgery for Preston, he would definitely remember you.” The only reason my parents favored him was because he had a penis, right? Given a second chance at life, I was going to cut off their “roots” directly. “Gender affirmation surgery?” My brother clearly sounded intimidated. “I don’t have to go that far, do I?” “If you don’t make a real sacrifice, how are you going to make Preston look at you differently? Brother, do you actually want to win him over or not? Preston is gorgeous, elite, and swimming in billions. Are you really going to sit back and watch a catch like him fall into someone else’s lap?” Silence on the other end of the line. I pushed harder, striking while the iron was hot. “Besides, haven’t you always wanted to be a woman? Once you actually transition, it’ll be too late for Mom and Dad to stop you. “But hey, it’s your body, your choice. I’m just pointing out the fastest route. It’s up to you if you want to take it. “Just don’t blame me for not helping you when someone else ends up by Preston’s side…” Before I could finish, my brother slammed the hammer down. “I’ll do it! I’ll get the surgery! For Preston, I’m willing to do anything!” He hung up the phone and didn’t come home that entire night. 6 The next morning, my brother strutted into the house looking ecstatic, practically shoving the hickeys on his neck in my face. Suppressing the nausea churning in my stomach, I asked, “You got Preston?” He hadn’t even had the surgery yet. I guess he actually had some skills. My brother flipped his wig, his face radiating seductive charm. “I publicly confessed my love to Preston last night, right in the middle of his party.” He was beaming, chattering away non-stop. “You have no idea. When I first walked in, there was already no room left next to Preston. Those twinks were so desperate they refused to even go to the bathroom. “It was my first time, so I didn’t know the ropes. I should have worn an adult diaper. Next time I’ll wear one so I don’t have to leave my seat either, otherwise someone snatches your spot the second you stand up. “But my grand public confession really grabbed Preston’s attention. You should have seen the looks on those other bottoms’ faces—pure envy and jealousy. They were just mad they didn’t have my guts. “I even have a video. I’ll send it to you.” My brother was treating me like his best girlfriend, holding absolutely nothing back. I received the video on my phone and tapped play. In the video, a few fresh-faced models in scandalous outfits were performing a raunchy dance on stage when my brother suddenly ran up. The music cut off. My brother grabbed the mic, staring straight at Preston Sterling, who was lounging in the VIP booth with people draped over both arms, and screamed, “Preston, I love you!” After a brief, stunned silence, the entire club erupted in wild cheers. More accurately, they were all living for the drama. Looking deeply and affectionately in Preston’s direction, my brother shouted even louder, “Preston, I’m going to get gender reassignment surgery just for you! Will you wait for me?” The crowd’s screaming grew deafening. Preston remained seated in his booth, still flanked by his companions. He let his gaze sweep over my brother with a look of immense amusement, a half-smile playing on his lips, but he didn’t say a word. The video ended there. My brother excitedly pumped his little fists. “Nora, did you know? Preston ignored me the whole night, and I thought my confession totally bombed. But after the party ended, Preston specifically asked me to stay behind. And he…” At this point, my brother looked down shyly. “He took me last night.” “…” I opened my mouth, let out a dry laugh. “Congratulations, Oliver.” My brother bit his lower lip, seeming slightly embarrassed, but blurted it out anyway. “Nora, I’ve decided. I’m absolutely getting the surgery.” I smiled. “Then you’d better hurry up and book the appointment.” 7 My brother rested at home for three days before venturing out again. My parents actually thought he had given up on becoming a woman and felt quite relieved during those three days… Even though they mourned the loss of the Sterling family connection, keeping their precious son intact was more important. Little did they know, the moment my brother walked out the door three days later, he completely vanished. He wouldn’t pick up their calls. So, they naturally turned to me. “Where did your brother go?” He’s a grown man; am I supposed to babysit him 24/7? Besides, he didn’t tell me what he was doing before he left. Even though I knew perfectly well he had flown out of the country for his surgery. But I wasn’t going to say a word. “Oliver didn’t tell me. How am I supposed to know where he went?” My mom panicked. “Did he change his mind again? Is the Vance family bloodline really going to end here?” My dad’s face darkened instantly. “What the hell are you talking about?” Terrified that my dad might go out and father an illegitimate son, my mom ordered me to go out and find my brother. Ever since I was reborn, I had barely left the house, spending all my time mapping out my plans. Now, it was finally time to step out. Although I wasn’t part of Preston’s elite circle, the drama of my brother getting gender reassignment surgery just for Preston had blown up so massively that I got dragged into it. People were starting to recognize me as Oliver Vance’s sister. “Nora Vance, do you remember me? We went to the same college.” The man standing in front of me was Carter Hayes, a regular in Preston’s circle. I was absolutely positive that Carter didn’t know I existed back in college. Sure, I was pretty, but college was full of pretty girls, and I definitely wasn’t at the top of the food chain. But gaining access to this untouchable circle through my brother’s infamy was a massive advantage for me. I feigned surprise. “You remember me?” Carter nodded. “Of course. And I also know you’re Oliver’s sister.” I knew it. The second my brother publicly confessed to Preston and announced his surgery, the vultures in that circle had thoroughly investigated our family background. I was probably somewhat infamous in their crowd now, though most of them probably didn’t know my name. They just referred to me as “the sister of the guy getting his dick chopped off for Preston.” I wasn’t quite sure what Carter’s angle regarding my brother was, so I just kept a polite, smiling face. Carter smiled with perfect gentlemanly charm. “Are you busy? If you have time, let me buy you a coffee? Consider it catching up.” I wasn’t about to let an opportunity like this slip away. I gladly accepted. “Sure.” In the coffee shop, Carter and I sat across from each other. He started with some light college nostalgia before effortlessly steering the conversation toward my brother. “Is your brother really going under the knife for Preston?” I nodded with a smile. “It’s true. He’s already flown out of the country. He even has the surgery booked.” Carter let out a sharp chuckle. “Looks like your brother is deeply smitten with him.” He looked at me intently. “What are your thoughts on all this?” I wasn’t sure why he was asking me this or what kind of answer he was fishing for. Carter didn’t beat around the bush; he put his cards on the table. “Your brother is a pretty hot topic in our circle right now. A lot of guys want a taste of something fresh.” I already knew their crowd was full of degenerates, so hearing this didn’t shock me at all. “So what you’re saying is…” Carter smiled, maintaining his gentlemanly facade. “Oliver is your brother. What could I possibly be implying?” He had practically spelled it out. Now it was up to me to make a choice. “Even though my brother is devoted entirely to Preston, if I stepped in, he’d probably listen to me.” I paused, then rephrased. “I will definitely make sure my brother listens to me.” Carter nodded in satisfaction, looking at me with absolute approval. “You’re a smart woman. I like that.” It seemed I needed to officially register my own company before my brother recovered. The only problem was my lack of startup capital. My family wasn’t poor, but with my parents’ extreme favoritism, they would never give me serious money. Carter seeking me out for a partnership meant I needed to sell my brother for a very good price. He sold me out in my past life. Why couldn’t I sell him out now?

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My company was facing a temporary cash flow issue, and the construction payout we owed had to be delayed by a month. I called in the girl I had been financially sponsoring for years. She was the crew foreman’s daughter, working as an intern at my company after graduation. I told her gently, “I won’t be able to make the transfer on time this round. It might be delayed by a month. Please give your dad a heads-up so he doesn’t worry.” But the very next day, the workers trashed my office. They screamed, “You swore up and down we’d get paid, and now the project’s done, you claim you’re broke!” I looked at the girl. Crying, she said, “All I know is the company is out of money right now and you can’t pay. I can’t lie to them. This is about my personal integrity.” 1 My office was completely trashed by the workers. I had just gotten back from a business trip and walked through my front door when I got the news. By the time I rushed back to the company, my office was a disaster zone. They couldn’t break the heavy mahogany desks, so they had just shoved them out of place. Smaller things—mugs, folders—lay shredded and shattered across the carpet. Computer monitors were smashed into jagged spiderwebs, scattered everywhere. The moment everyone saw me, it was like they found their anchor. My employees rushed toward me. “We couldn’t stop them, Ms. Vance. All three security guards got beaten up.” “They smashed my laptop, too. All my data was on it.” “A whole week of number-crunching, completely down the drain.” …… Before I could even speak, people started pouring out of my office. A dense crowd of dozens of men, swarming toward us like a dark, aggressive storm cloud. They had come straight from the construction site. They were still wearing their hard hats, their flannels and boots splattered with dried cement. They had been working under me for three years. In my memory, they had always been cheerful, simple, and hardworking folks. Now, their faces were hardened with rage. Some were even gripping crowbars and shovels. I couldn’t fathom what could possibly justify this kind of violence. A second later, one of the workers answered my unspoken question. Taking a massive stride forward, he yelled, “So you’re just not gonna pay us?!” He reached out to grab my arm but was swiftly blocked by the staff standing around me. Pinned to the ground, he still struggled, reaching out for me with wild eyes, looking like he would tear me apart just to get an answer. His actions instantly ignited the fury of my own employees. “You really trying to hit our boss?!” “You think we won’t fight back just because we haven’t thrown a punch yet?!” The guys on my team instinctively stepped up. The two groups stood locked in a tense, explosive standoff, neither side willing to yield an inch. Only then did the foreman finally step forward. He took a drag from his cigarette, frowned, and bellowed, “Quiet!” The restless workers instantly fell silent. I hadn’t interacted with him much. My only real memory of him was visiting his house last year. It was a rundown, two-room cabin. He had bowed repeatedly, thanking me endlessly: “Thank you so much for sponsoring my daughter all these years, Ms. Vance. She only made it to college because of you.” Now, he stood up perfectly straight. That timid, grateful image was completely gone. He looked down his nose at me and said, “You told us the second the project wrapped, we’d get our money. Now it’s done, and you’re saying you’re broke.” “If that’s not a scam, what is?” 2 The moment the words left his mouth, the rest of the crew echoed him. “Yeah, what is it if not a scam?” “My whole family is counting on that paycheck!” “Scammer! Liar! Fraud!” But I never said I wasn’t going to pay. I said it would be delayed by a month, at the absolute latest. Almost instantly, I knew exactly where the miscommunication happened. Suppressing my boiling frustration, I turned to my assistant. “Bring Chloe out here.” Hearing his daughter’s name, the foreman took another drag of his cigarette. Those eyes locked onto me. “Let’s keep things separate. Why are you dragging Chloe into this? We’re talking about you withholding our wages.” Chloe Henderson arrived quickly. I swallowed my temper and asked, “What exactly did you tell your dad?” The second the question dropped, she burst into tears. “I just said you can’t pay them right now.” “I can’t lie to people. The company accounts are empty.” I was so angry I could barely stand. This was an issue that should have been handled by our finance and PR teams, but I trusted her. I thought that if the news came from her, the workers wouldn’t panic. That’s the only reason I asked her to deliver the message. I had funded her education for five years. She was the foreman’s daughter. It was the one task I thought was absolutely foolproof. And yet, she managed to completely butcher the message. She was still crying. The workers all knew her, and a few spoke up to comfort her: “Don’t cry, Chloe. We know you’re just looking out for us.” Gripping the edge of a desk to steady myself, I looked at Chloe, keeping my voice dangerously low. “What exactly did I say to you? I said it would be delayed by a month at most. I said the money would be paid.” Through her tears, she argued back, “But you can’t pay them right now.” “I can’t lie. That’s a matter of personal integrity.” 3 I grabbed the shattered remains of a glass mug next to me. Smash! The glass exploded against the floor, and whatever fragile grip I had on my sanity shattered right along with it. I pointed a shaking finger at Chloe. “Personal integrity?! The entire company is on the hook for your ‘integrity’!” “You couldn’t even handle one simple task. What did I say, and what did you say? I said I would pay.” “How the hell did you translate that?” Chloe sobbed, defending herself, “Just tell me, which part of what I said was a lie?” “Go outside and ask any contractor in Seattle! Who doesn’t experience delayed payouts? I asked for one month. One single month!” Blood rushed to my head. I surged forward, raising my hand. For years, I had treated her like a little sister. I never expected her to be this ungrateful and treacherous. Before my hand could fall, her father grabbed my wrist. His eyes widened in fury. “You lay a hand on my daughter?” I yanked my arm free and sneered at the crowd of men. “Our cash flow is tied up right now. But I will pay you. One month, tops.” They started muttering to each other. “She’s not refusing to pay? Just a month late?” “Our old bosses used to make us wait six months minimum.” “A month? That’s actually pretty good…” …… They were all from Chloe’s hometown. Three years ago, when I first stepped into their rural county, the locals brought me fresh fruit. When Chloe handed me an apple, I noticed dirt caked under her fingernails. Seeing me stare, she awkwardly wiped her hands on her shirt. “I washed them, I promise.” Because of that one moment, I made up my mind to help them. The men in her town didn’t have specialized skills; they only had their brute strength. I instantly covered their travel and housing expenses and brought them on my payroll. The average daily wage for a laborer in Seattle was $200. I bumped it to $250 for them. I provided iced water in the summer heat and hot catered lunches every day. I personally checked the quality of the food before truckloads were sent to their sites. I never imagined that a mere one-month delay would cause them to bypass a simple question and go straight to destroying my office. Even after I clarified the situation, the tension in the room didn’t ease much. “She’s lying. She’s just trying to buy time to skip town.” 4 That sentence was like a drop of water in boiling oil. The momentarily quieted workers instantly erupted again. Amidst the chaos, someone shouted at Chloe, “Chloe! We only trust you. Tell us, is she gonna pay or not?” I stared at Chloe. She sniffled and answered, “Uncle Dan… right now, the company really can’t pay.” It felt like my chest was stuffed with cotton. The employees surrounding me couldn’t take it anymore. “Chloe, just answer this: has Ms. Vance ever missed a payment in three years?” Hundreds of these men had worked for me for three years. The second a project wrapped, I had payroll cut the checks. We were always the fastest payers in the industry. This was the first time a payment was ever delayed, and they instantly turned on me with pure malice. The foreman’s eyes locked onto me, and in a split second, he laid down the ultimatum. “Sorry, Ms. Vance. I’ve got hundreds of mouths to feed. I can’t afford to wait.” “Either you pay us right now, or we keep tearing this place apart.” “We’ll sit right outside your front doors. Let’s see you try to close any new business with us out there.” My vision swam with dark spots. Three years. Even if you feed a stray dog for three years, it won’t bite you if you miss a single meal. But just for a one-month delay, they were backing me into a corner. Nobody in the entire city of Seattle treated their crews as well as I did. They were just bullying me because I was a woman, and they had the numbers. I had been up all night working, hadn’t eaten breakfast, and now I was dealing with their violent extortion. I could barely stand, but in that moment, total clarity washed over me. If a dog bites, you get a new dog. Especially when ordinary laborers were a dime a dozen in this city. I braced myself against the desk and asked, “How much? Name the number.” “$650,000.” Seeing my expression shift, he quickly justified it. “Look, we’ve got hundreds of guys who worked straight through for four months. We all rely on this money to survive.” “You have to understand—” I cut him off. “Save it.” I took a step forward, and instantly, a group of workers boxed me in, as if terrified I was making a run for it. “I’m going to my office to make some calls.” It was only when I stepped inside my private office that I saw just how viciously they had destroyed it. Files were strewn everywhere. My drawers had been yanked out and dumped. Important documents had been ripped to shreds. I waded through the wreckage and stood by my desk. I picked up my phone and started making calls, standing right in the middle of the ruins. “Mr. Davis, it’s Jessica. Do you have a minute this afternoon?” “Sarah, hey, I need to ask you a huge favor…” “Brenda, it’s me…” …… Twelve phone calls. That’s what it took to scrape together the cash. I had never bowed my head to anyone in my life, but today, I bowed it over and over. Through the shattered glass walls of my office, I could see my employees looking down, unable to bear watching me. The workers, however, stared at me with predatory eyes, like wolves waiting to tear a chunk of flesh from my bones. I transferred the money, down to the exact cent, and walked out holding my phone. “Every last penny is there. Check it.” 5 The foreman verified the transfer. He looked up and scoffed, “See? You had the money. Why make us go through all this trouble?” I ignored his bait and brought up something else. “The police are on their way. We’re tallying up the property damage. You’ll be paying for that.” They must have anticipated paying for the damages when they started smashing things. Though a few looked angry, nobody said a word. While we waited for the cops, Chloe suddenly spoke up. “Jessica, just let them go. The next project is starting soon, every second they stay here is a loss of money for them.” I glanced at Chloe out of the corner of my eye. A few workers thought she made sense and shifted on their feet, ready to leave. My assistant, Emma, seeing how pale I looked, handed me a cup of hot water. I took a sip before I finally spoke. “You don’t need to go back to the site.” The foreman snapped his head toward me. “What’s that supposed to mean, boss?” “You’re all fired.” Flick. A lighter sparked, and cigarette smoke plumed into the air. Through the haze, the foreman stared at me. “Ms. Vance, we’re halfway through the build. Kicking us out now is just bad business, don’t you think?” Chloe looked at me pleadingly. “Jessica, they’ve been with you for three years.” Holding my warm cup, I looked her dead in the eye. “You too. You’re an adult now. Pack your things and move out of my house tonight.” She clamped her mouth shut. In the dead silence, the foreman aggressively threw his half-smoked cigarette onto the floor. “Who the hell do you think you are? People have been trying to poach my crew for months anyway. I quit!” The floor was littered with shredded paper. His cigarette landed right on a pile. A small patch began to smolder, smoke rising quickly. I tilted my cup and poured the hot water directly onto the embers. The water sizzled, instantly drowning out the spark and killing the smoke. I looked the man in the eyes. “Get the hell out.” 6 They all left in a hurry. That very night, I stayed up hiring a brand new crew. Because I offered a premium day rate, I filled the roster incredibly fast. The new foreman promised me up and down that there wouldn’t be a single hiccup. By the time I finished the paperwork, the sky outside was turning gray with dawn. My house was exactly as I’d left it, which is when I realized Chloe hadn’t come home all night. The moment I walked into the company lobby the next morning, Chloe was waiting for me. She handed in her resignation letter and came to say her goodbyes. Uncharacteristically, she was wearing a brand-new designer outfit, the logos loud and flashing. My eyes fell on the bag draped over her arm. An $80,000 Birkin. Bright purple crocodile skin. Not exactly a young girl’s aesthetic. Every wealthy, prominent man in Seattle was either a widower who stayed single, or married with kids Chloe’s age. I had sponsored her for five years. I watched her transform and grow step by step. No matter how hardened I felt, I couldn’t help but ask, “Where did you get the bag?” She stammered, “Jessica, that’s really none of your business.” None of my business. When she first went to college, I was the one who drove her there. I bought gifts for her roommates so she wouldn’t feel left out. Every major choice in her life had my backing. And now, it was none of my business. My face went cold. “I asked, where did it come from?” Seeing me push, she threw caution to the wind. “My boyfriend bought it for me.” I pointed right at her. “He buys you something like this, and you don’t know what you’re going to have to trade for it?” Chloe looked annoyed. “Trade what? He gave it to me because he likes me.” Things are never that simple. At her age, buying each other iced coffees was one thing. Dropping eighty grand on a purse meant he wanted something in return. She kept going. “Jessica, you sponsored me all these years so I could make money, right? Well, now I have money.” “Do you even know how much this bag, these clothes, cost?” Did I support her for all those years for this? I sponsored her because, years ago, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “I get good grades. I just want to go to school.” Now, she was smugly showing off her designer clothes, asking me, “Do you know how much this costs? It’s worth years of my salary.” I casually picked up the coffee cup next to me and dumped it directly over her head. It still didn’t feel like enough. I grabbed a Sharpie from the desk, seized her bag, and yanked it toward me. “What are you doing?!” She panicked, trying to block me, but the black ink streaked violently across her arm and onto the leather. She completely ignored herself, frantically trying to wipe the ink off the Birkin. “Are you crazy?! What is your problem?!” I ignored her, tossing the marker onto the floor. I walked back to my desk and wrote out a check. My head was pounding. I pressed a hand to my temple and held out the check. She instantly went silent. The sharp clack of her heels echoed in the room. She snatched the check from my hand, placed the ruined Birkin on my desk, and sneered, “Jessica, you really look down on me now, don’t you?” I kept my hand to my head and didn’t answer. She pressed on, “Everyone has different goals. I don’t think I did anything wrong.” She actually believed she was right. “Chloe,” I said. I forced myself to stand and walked slowly toward her. Ever since they smashed my office, a suffocating anger had been building in my chest. I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face. Smack! She clutched her cheek just as the office door swung open. No one outside dared to look in. Everyone in the building knew how much I valued Chloe. I had taught her almost everything hands-on. I had been desperate for her to learn the ropes and stand on her own two feet. I had no idea how she had turned into this hollow, greedy shell of a person. Holding her cheek, Chloe let out a cold laugh. “Jessica, every single cent you spent on me all these years, I will wire back into your account. Just you wait.” She turned and stormed out. Emma tentatively poked her head in. “Boss, are you okay?” I dragged my feet back to my desk. That scribbled-on Birkin felt like it was mocking me. I grabbed it. With a heavy thud, I chucked it directly into the trash can. At the same time, my vision went completely black, and I collapsed.

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