Category: English

The day before the Marking ceremony, I got the wedding photos from the photographer. But the bride wasn’t me. Furious, I rushed to the bridal boutique to confront Alpha Liam. The moment I pushed open the door, I saw Liam’s female childhood friend wearing my wedding dress. When I demanded an explanation, Liam calmly sat down and blamed me instead. “What are you throwing a tantrum about now? Ava was just curious and wanted to try it on. It’s not like she can damage it by wearing it.” “Ava is my best friend. It’s just a dress. Is it really worth getting this angry over? I’ll just give her this wedding dress to use for photos.” He wanted to give my wedding dress to another woman! Bullshit. I picked up the wine glass and splashed it in his face. He thought that I, a human, wouldn’t dare provoke a powerful alpha. But what he didn’t know was that my stepbrother is the alpha of Moonclaw Pack. He’s powerful, handsome, and extremely possessive. And he’s had a crush on me for a long time.

Olivia Summers POV Before the Marking ceremony, my wedding photographer Amy sent me the finalized wedding photos. I opened the package with joy and began admiring them. But I discovered that the woman standing beside Liam in the photos wasn’t me. It was Ava. The daughter of the beta serving Liam’s father. She grew up with Liam, his so-called best friend. As I flipped through more pages, there were many more photos of just the two of them. In the pictures, Ava wore an elaborate wedding dress. Liam either embraced her from behind, gazed at her affectionately, or kissed her. In one photo, Ava’s finger clearly wore the ring I had selected. I remembered that half a month ago, Liam said he needed to help Ava with a favor. So this was his idea of helping. Going to take wedding photos with his so-called good friend, then continuing to deceive me by saying they were just friends. Moon goddess above, he was deceiving his fated mate! Yes, I am the fated mate of Frostveil Pack’s alpha Liam. But I’m not a werewolf. I’m an ordinary human. Three years ago, Liam and I met at a friend’s gathering and started dating. After three years together, his proposal wasn’t anything special. Just a sentence after dinner: “Get ready. The Marking ceremony is coming up soon.” As a human who grew up in the werewolf world, I certainly knew what the Marking ceremony meant. Werewolves Mark their mates and form a strong mate bond. It’s roughly equivalent to marriage in the human world, but much more solid and binding. Liam’s willingness to officially hold a Marking ceremony with me was a pleasant surprise. But the lack of a proper proposal still left me feeling somewhat disappointed. So I discussed with Liam about at least taking a set of wedding photos before the ceremony. He agreed very reluctantly at the time, constantly complaining that I was being too much trouble. But he didn’t find it troublesome to take photos with Ava? Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Liam. “Olivia, what do you want for dinner?” I didn’t reply. I took a screenshot of the most intimate photo of him and Ava and posted it on Ins. The caption read: “I’ve decided to let them have each other. Congratulations to my boyfriend Liam and his best friend on their wedding. Blessings!” Liam’s call came through immediately, his tone filled with angry interrogation. “Olivia! What the hell are you doing?! Delete that right now!” “Am I the one going crazy, or are you?” I said. “I already told you, I was just helping Ava out! She said she’d never done it before and wanted to experience what it felt like to wear a wedding dress and take wedding photos! As her best friend, how could I not help?” When I didn’t respond, Liam realized his tone was too harsh. He softened his voice slightly and continued more gently. “You know Ava grew up with us. She still hasn’t found her fated mate, so she wanted to experience it. There’s nothing between us. Don’t be so petty about this.” I thought his words were utterly ridiculous. “I’m being petty? Should I applaud you two sleeping together to be considered generous?!” Liam growled angrily. “Olivia! Watch your mouth! Do you think everyone is as melodramatic as you? Ava has always been straightforward. She’s not as filthy-minded as you!” “Fine, I’m the filthy one. I’ve defiled your sacred friendship.” At that moment, I felt exhausted. “The Marking ceremony is off.” Too tired to argue with him, I hung up the phone directly.

Olivia Summers POV Half an hour later, my apartment door was violently burst open. Liam stormed in, seething with rage. “Olivia!” His eyes were red as he pointed at me. “Explain yourself! What do you mean it’s off?!” I sat on the sofa, not even glancing at him. Liam grew even more furious. “Delete that Ins post right now and go apologize to Ava! Otherwise this ceremony…” He didn’t finish his sentence. I stood up and threw the Marking ceremony contract onto the coffee table in front of him. Liam froze. “What are you doing with that?” I didn’t answer. Right in front of him, I pulled out a page and tore it forcefully. “Are you insane?! Stop!” Liam reacted and tried to grab it. Too late. I didn’t stop. I tore the entire document into pieces, then raised my hand and scattered them. I watched Liam’s stunned expression and told him calmly: “I said the ceremony is off, so this thing is useless now.” Liam was completely shocked by my action. After the shock came humiliation and rage. I heard a low growl rumbling from his throat. I had no doubt he wanted to rush over and bite through my throat. But he wouldn’t. Ryan had told me that werewolves cannot kill their own fated mates. “Fine! Olivia, this is your choice. Don’t you dare regret it!” He just left those harsh words and stormed out, slamming the door violently. Looking at the mess all over the floor, I actually felt relieved. At what point in this relationship did I become so pathetic? My proposal was Liam’s casual remark after dinner: “Get ready, we’ll have the Marking ceremony soon.” All the subsequent preparations were done by me alone. For three years, I kept telling myself “he just doesn’t understand romance.” But those exquisite wedding photos Amy sent completely shattered my lie. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand. He just couldn’t be bothered to make an effort for me. Memories came flooding back. The passenger seat in Liam’s car was always Ava’s, with the excuse that “she doesn’t like sitting in the back.” We’d plan to see a movie, but he’d insist on buying an extra ticket so Ava could sit beside him. Even when Ava went out on missions, he’d follow and accompany her the whole time, leaving me sick and alone in the hospital. And my grievances were always met with just one sentence from Liam: “Why are you so petty?” For three years, I changed too much for Liam, learned to give in too much. It wasn’t love that beat me. It was him and his friend who had no boundaries. Now, I wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. I picked up my phone and started making calls one by one, canceling everything related to the Marking ceremony. “Hello, Amy? Sorry, you don’t need to come tomorrow… Yeah, that woman wasn’t me. It’s okay, it’s not your fault.” “Honey, the Marking ceremony is canceled. You don’t need to come. I can handle it. Just… don’t tell Ryan yet.” With each call I finished, I felt the shackles on me lighten a bit more. Three years of youth wasted on a dog was better than wasting a lifetime. At least there was still time.

Olivia Summers POV After Liam left, my Ins exploded. Ava posted a new update. The images showed several playful selfies of her and Liam in intimate poses. The caption was written casually but dripped with manipulation. “Oops, just wanted to experience taking wedding photos, didn’t expect it to cause some people to misunderstand. Sorry for the trouble, everyone. Guess we’ll just keep being single friends!” Immediately after, my phone started blowing up. The messages came from Liam’s friends, warriors from Frostveil Pack, and they all said virtually the same thing. “Olivia, it was just a joke. Don’t take it seriously.” “Three years together isn’t easy. Delete that Instagram post and give Alpha Liam a way out.” “You know Ava. She’s like one of the guys. Don’t overthink it.” Looking at these messages, I laughed coldly. Everyone stood on their moral high ground, urging me to be magnanimous. I understood now. They were protecting Liam. These people were Liam and Ava’s companions. They were never mine. I didn’t reply to any of them. I opened the messages and found their names, blocking them one after another without hesitation. After clearing out those people, my phone rang again. It was Liam’s mother calling. I answered: “Hello.” On the other end, Liam’s mother spoke with the pressure of an elder: “Olivia, I heard from Liam that you two had a fight. How can you talk about breaking up over a little joke?” “It wasn’t a joke.” “I watched Ava grow up. She’s like a daughter to our family. She and Liam have been playful since childhood. You need to be more understanding.” Liam’s mother’s words were full of excuses for Ava. “As Liam’s future mate and the pack’s future Luna, you need to be more gracious. Be good, delete that Ins post, and we’ll put this behind us. Don’t let everyone laugh at us.” I finally understood where Liam learned his lack of boundaries. Ava’s existence was enabled by them. If I actually ended up with him, just thinking about the future made me feel suffocated. I interrupted her. “This isn’t a joke. It’s a matter of principle. Liam and I have broken up, and that decision won’t change.” Liam’s mother became somewhat displeased. “How can you be so unreasonable? Liam is an alpha. He can do whatever he wants. Does he really need to explain himself to a human like you?” So that was it. I knew that to some werewolves, humans were too weak and looked down upon. But as times changed, most werewolves’ attitudes toward humans had become more moderate. Liam had also assured me that no one would look down on me. But his mother had just personally admitted her discrimination against me. I didn’t want to argue anymore. “Sorry, I have things to do.” I hung up and blocked this number as well.

Olivia Summers POV After hanging up on Liam’s mother, I remembered the wedding dress. It was the main gown I had designed for the Marking ceremony. I’d gone to the studio over a dozen times to work on it myself. Since I’d decided to end things, I needed to deal with it. At least pay the remaining balance or see if I could return it. I took a cab to the haute couture bridal boutique. I had just reached the VIP fitting room door and hadn’t even pushed it open when familiar laughter came from inside. “Wow, Liam, does it look good?” My hand froze on the door handle. That was Ava’s voice. Immediately after, Liam’s voice came, full of affection: “Beautiful! It’s like it was made just for you, Ava. You look gorgeous in a wedding dress.” I shoved the door open. In front of the full-length mirror, Ava was wearing the mermaid-style white gown that should have been mine. Those layers of lace were details I had stayed up late drawing and revising. Now, they were on another woman’s body. Ava stood on her tiptoes and kissed Liam on the lips. And my fated mate Liam didn’t refuse. Sometimes I really wondered if everything I’d learned about werewolves at Moonclaw Pack was fake. Didn’t they say fated mates were destiny arranged by the moon goddess, the existence werewolves valued most? Why could Liam betray me so easily? Hearing the door open, both turned around at the same time. Seeing me, embarrassment flashed across Liam’s face. “Olivia? What are you doing here?” Ava lifted her skirt and came over with an innocent expression. “Olivia, don’t misunderstand. I just thought this wedding dress was too beautiful and couldn’t resist trying it on. Don’t worry, even if I’m wearing the wedding dress, Liam will only Mark you. He’ll only recognize you as his mate.” She twirled, the hem of the dress sweeping past my feet. “Olivia, you don’t mind, right? I’ll only wear it for ten minutes.” I looked at her, then at Liam. “Take it off.” Liam frowned. “Olivia, what are you throwing a fit about now? Ava just wanted to try it on out of curiosity. It’s not like she can damage it.” “This is my wedding dress.” I stared at Liam. “It was custom-made for me. I was supposed to wear it at the Marking ceremony. Liam, do you have any sense of boundaries at all?” “Are you done?” Liam impatiently put down his phone. “Ava is my best friend. It’s just a dress. Is it really worth getting this angry over? At worst, I’ll just give her this wedding dress to use for photos from now on.” Give it to her? I laughed in disbelief. The wedding dress I had custom-made had become, in his mouth, something to make another woman happy. “Oh no, Liam, don’t scold Olivia. It’s all my fault…” Ava looked like she was about to cry and frantically tried to grab my hand. Just then, the cup of bright red strawberry tea in her hand accidentally slipped. The red tea spilled out, most of it splashing onto the white wedding dress. Large dark red stains quickly spread across the snow-white lace. “Ah!” Ava screamed, covering her mouth. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Liam’s first reaction wasn’t to look at the wedding dress. He grabbed Ava and nervously checked her hands and clothes. “Are you okay? Did you get your clothes dirty?” After confirming Ava was fine, he turned to look at the mess on the floor and frowned at me. “Look what you did. You came here to yell at her and scared Ava so badly she couldn’t even hold her cup. Fine, it’s just some tea stains. Have the staff dry clean it. Don’t make such a big deal out of it.” I looked at the ruined wedding dress, my heart turning cold. “No need to wash it.” I raised my head. “I find dirty things disgusting.” Liam froze. “What do you mean?” I turned and walked straight to the counter, slamming the invoice I hadn’t yet paid the balance for onto the desk. “Manager, I’m not returning this wedding dress. I’ll settle the balance now.” “Since Ava likes it so much and has ruined it, please have Liam pay in full. Liam, didn’t you just say you wanted to give it to her for photos? Pay up.” Liam’s eyes widened. “Olivia, are you insane? This costs hundreds of thousands!” “What’s wrong? Not willing to spend money on your best friend?” I said. “Weren’t you being pretty generous just now?” The staff and customers around us all cast watching eyes, pointing and whispering. Liam couldn’t save face. He gritted his teeth, pulled out his bank card, and slammed it on the desk. “Fine! I’ll pay! It’s just a broken wedding dress! Only you would treat it like a treasure! I’ll buy it and give it to Ava so you can stop being sarcastic here.” The card went through successfully. Ava was still pretending to object on the side. “Liam, it’s too expensive. I can’t accept it…” “Take it!” To save face, Liam’s voice was loud. “Wear it whenever you want from now on!” I nodded, looking at Liam. “Remember what you said today. This wedding dress belongs to you two now.” With that, I walked out of the bridal boutique. Behind me came Liam’s exasperated voice: “Olivia, stop right there! What kind of scene are you making now? You’re getting more and more unreasonable!” I didn’t stop. Tears fell, but I quickly wiped them away.

Olivia Summers POV By the time I got home, it was already evening. I felt cold all over, my stomach sending waves of spasming pain. It might have been from the rage at the bridal shop earlier, combined with not eating all day. My old stomach problem had flared up. When I first arrived at Moonclaw Pack, I was terrified of these savage people who would start a fight over anything. I was afraid I’d become like them. So I tried to stay out of sight. I ate as little as possible. Ideally, I wouldn’t touch their food at all. Until my stepbrother Ryan found me passed out from hunger and took me to the pack’s elderly healer. After that, Ryan started learning how to make human food and supervised my meals every day. But the problem of stomach spasms from not eating had lingered. I just didn’t expect it to relapse at this moment. I forced myself to walk into the bedroom and pulled out my suitcase. I didn’t want to stay in this house for one more minute. I started stuffing my clothes into the case. The twisting pain in my stomach continued. I just wanted to finish packing quickly. Just then, the sound of a key in the lock came from the front door. Liam was back. He was carrying several takeout boxes. Seeing me packing, Liam froze for a moment, then showed an expression of impatience. “What are you making a scene about now? I already bought the wedding dress and paid for it. You’re still not over it? Now you’re running away from home?” In his view, I was purely throwing a tantrum. I had no energy to argue with him. I clutched my stomach and slowly crouched down. “Liam, do you have any medicine? Help me get some water.” Liam walked over with a frown. “Stop acting. You were fine at the store just now. How are you suddenly sick as soon as you get home?” “My stomach hurts. It really hurts…” Liam scoffed. “Come on, Olivia. How many times have you used this trick? Every time we fight, you suddenly don’t feel well. Can’t you come up with something new?” Even though he said this, he still put the takeout on the table and turned to get water. Just then, his phone rang. Liam’s expression changed, and he immediately answered: “Hello, Ava?” From the other end came Ava’s tearful voice: “Liam, there seem to be some rogue wolves near my house. I’m so scared…” Liam’s voice instantly became gentle as he coaxed her patiently: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be right there!” Liam hung up and rushed toward the door. “Liam…” I lay by the bed, using my last bit of strength to grab the hem of his pants. “I really feel terrible. Take me to the hospital…” Liam stopped and looked down at me. He said impatiently: “Stop pretending!” He shook off my hand forcefully. “There are rogues near Ava’s place. What if something happens to her? You just have a stomachache. There’s stomach medicine in the cabinet. Can’t you take two pills yourself? Do you have to put on this act right now? Even throwing tantrums should have priorities!” With that, he didn’t spare me another glance on the floor and strode out of the bedroom. “Bang!” The door slammed shut. The pain in my stomach felt like it was tearing me apart, but the coldness in my heart was even worse than the pain. I curled up on the floor, tears silently soaking into the carpet. So in Liam’s heart, I really couldn’t compare to Ava. I used to think his neglect of me was because he didn’t understand human physiology. But I suddenly realized that my stepbrother Ryan, also a werewolf, could detect my condition. Tonight I finally understood. I had just been deceiving myself. After a long while. I struggled to get up, rummaged through the drawer for stomach medicine, and dry-swallowed two pills. The bitter taste spread through my mouth. Looking at the empty room, I suddenly laughed. Good thing the Marking ceremony hadn’t happened yet. Liam, since you like being with her so much, then stay with her forever.

Olivia Summers POV Early the next morning, Liam pushed the door open. I sat on the sofa without even glancing at him. Liam changed his shoes while announcing: “Ava’s place isn’t safe lately. She’ll be staying in our guest room for the next few days.” As soon as he finished speaking, Ava poked her head out wearing Liam’s shirt, carrying the bag with the stained wedding dress. “Morning, Olivia! Liam gave me this wedding dress. I’m planning to shorten it into a cocktail dress. You don’t mind, do you?” I glanced at the oversized men’s shirt. It was Liam’s clothes, now worn by another woman. I smiled. “I don’t mind. If you like picking up other people’s unwanted old clothes that much, keep it.” Ava’s expression stiffened. She hadn’t expected me to snap back like that. Liam frowned, scolding me with displeasure: “Olivia, watch your language. It’s just a piece of clothing.” I laughed coldly, too lazy to waste words, and turned back to my room. That evening. A pungent spicy chili aroma came from the living room. Liam came out carrying two bowls of noodles. Ava sat at the table and eagerly took one: “Smells amazing! Liam, you’re so good to me. You knew I wanted to eat this.” Liam placed the other bowl in front of himself and turned to tell me: “You don’t like eating this kind of thing. There’s plain rice porridge in the pot. Help yourself.” Ava ate while sighing: “Poor Olivia, can’t eat such delicious noodles and can only drink tasteless porridge.” I stood in the bedroom doorway, looking at those two polarized dinners, and suddenly laughed. I walked to the dining table and looked at Liam. Liam felt uneasy under my laughter and looked up impatiently: “What are you laughing at?” “Laughing at your poor memory.” I said. “Liam, who told you I was born loving plain rice porridge?” Liam froze, then slammed his utensils on the table: “What are you going crazy about now? Haven’t you been eating like this for three years?” “Yes.” I smiled. “But wasn’t all of this because you said you didn’t like heavily flavored food?” Liam seemed to recall that incident, looking embarrassed. “I… Ava wanted to eat it, so I tried it with her.” Then he suddenly became defensive with embarrassment. “You didn’t want to eat it. Could I force you? Eat it or don’t!” He really couldn’t force me. So I was foolish. That version of me who loved him so much she lost herself. I straightened up and nodded coldly. “You’re right. From now on, I won’t touch anything I don’t like.” With that, I turned to leave. “Stop.” Liam called out to me, switching to a gentler tone: “Jason’s having a gathering tomorrow night at the usual place. You come too.” I paused mid-step, my back to him, saying nothing. Liam thought I was putting on an act, his tone growing more impatient: “Don’t make a scene again. Everyone’s been unhappy these past few days because of the wedding dress thing. Tomorrow when you go, it’ll be a good opportunity to make peace with Ava and we can put this behind us.” As long as I obediently showed up tomorrow and obediently backed down, he’d forgive me for my unreasonable behavior these past few days. Behind me came Ava’s saccharine voice: “That’s right, Olivia. Everyone’s waiting for you. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?” I turned around. I looked at these two, clearly on the same page. “Sure.” I looked at Liam and smiled. Liam frowned, but hearing me agree, he still relaxed a little. “Good. At least you’re being reasonable.” I said nothing more and returned to my room. Go? Of course I’d go. Since I was settling the score for the past three years, how could I forget about those people? I wanted everyone to know exactly what kind of scumbag Liam really was!

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The intimate photos of me and Liam Hunter suddenly went viral throughout the entire company. Each photo was even labeled with a price tag: just ten dollars for a night with me. Only Liam had access to these photos. I had just reached his office door when I heard him laughing on the phone inside. “Nora White is just a pawn I’m using to piss off the Hunters. Once I’m done with her, I’ll throw her away.” “Vivian is the one carrying my child. She’s the one I’m going to marry.” I broke up with him on the spot, but all I got in return was a resounding slap across my face. He even released our sex tape. In just one day, I became the laughingstock of the entire company. The “woman who sold her body.” The moment my heart died, I opened the reply email from Liam’s rival law firm. “I accept your offer. On one condition: help me deal with that bastard Liam Hunter.” The phone rang almost instantly. That man’s low chuckle came through, his voice magnetic and dangerous. “Baby, you’re finally willing to leave that scumbag? Now, can I pursue you?”

Nora White POV I was a lawyer who had been recruited directly by Kingsley Law Firm. I had no background, no connections, just a score that ranked first in the state bar exam and top performance for two consecutive years since joining. Because I was poor, because I came from a small town, I didn’t fit in with the people around me. Behind my back, my colleagues called me a tool. Strong professional abilities, but not one of them. Then one afternoon, someone anonymously posted a document to the firm’s internal work group chat and tagged everyone. The title read: “The Secret to Miss White’s Rise to the Top: Every Step Has a Price Tag.” The document was meticulously crafted, with neat formatting and a combination of images and text. It listed chronologically everything I had received since dating Liam. The limited edition handbag he gave me on our first date: eighty-six thousand dollars. The presidential suite he booked the first night we spent together: twenty-three thousand dollars per night. The monthly living expenses he transferred to my account: fifty thousand dollars. Every single item had a screenshot, a price tag, accurate to two decimal places. And at the bottom was a set of photos. These were photos Liam said he wanted to take that belonged only to the two of us after we got together. I had hesitated for a long time before agreeing. Now these photos had been cropped and spliced together, arranged at the end of the document with a line of text below: “Full version available. DM for access. Two hundred dollars per set.” The moment the document was posted, it exploded throughout the entire firm. In less than ten minutes, even the chat groups in neighboring departments were circulating it. I stared at the screen, my ears filled with nothing but ringing. I had returned all of these things. I had the receptionist send back the handbag the very next day, and I returned every single transfer. He knew I wouldn’t accept them. So later he changed his approach, buying things and placing them directly on my desk or at my apartment door, making it impossible for me to return them. But the document only showed screenshots of what I received. Not a single record of what I returned. The voices of several female colleagues leaked through the half-open door of the break room. “So that’s how she became number one in performance.” “Mr. Hunter personally led her through projects, funneling all the resources her way. Who wouldn’t be number one?” “Did you see those last few photos? Tsk, I really didn’t expect that. Usually she walks around with that cold face like everyone owes her money, but behind closed doors she’s quite open.” “Come on, that’s called investment. Didn’t you see how high the return rate was?” The laughter wasn’t deliberately suppressed. Iit even carried a kind of intentional casualness. I stood outside the door holding my water cup, the surface of the water trembling slightly. I didn’t go in. When I turned to leave, my cheeks burned fiercely, but my steps didn’t falter. Those photos, transfer records, hotel bookings, no one except Liam himself could have obtained them. I walked straight toward Liam’s office. Before I could push the door open, my hand froze on the handle. The door wasn’t fully closed, and voices from inside leaked through the gap. It was Liam on the phone with someone, on speakerphone. “The document spread! Everyone at Kingsley has seen it. Nora White is completely finished now. The partner nomination is definitely over.” “But that’s not even the worst part. She still doesn’t know that you only pursued her to use her as a stepping stone. You never really looked at her, never even touched her. If she found out, she’d probably collapse on the spot.” “But then again, the Hunters and the Whitlocks are bitter enemies. If you want to be with Miss Whitlock, you’ll definitely have to go through some trouble.” The person on the other end of the phone spoke in a frivolous tone with laughter in their voice. “Didn’t you promise Nora you’d take her to meet your parents next week? Are you really planning to keep up the act?” Liam’s voice came through the door, unhurried. “Of course it’s an act. The Hunters won’t let me marry Vivian, so I’ll bring home a woman who doesn’t meet their standards and see where that leaves them.” “Once they give in and approve Vivian, this pawn will have served her purpose.” I stood outside the door, completely still. My blood seemed to freeze all at once. The cold spread from my fingertips to my limbs, then lodged in my chest, making even breathing painful. So from beginning to end, I was just a pawn. Him holding an umbrella for me in the rain was fake. Him showing up on time at my office every day when I worked late was fake. When everyone else ignored me, the fact that he was the only one to sit beside me, that was fake too. All of it was fake. I released the door handle and took a step back. I don’t know how I made it back to my workstation. The way people around me looked at me had completely changed, from two years of disdain to naked contempt. Some even couldn’t hold back a laugh in my direction. I didn’t look at anyone. I sat down and opened my computer, clicking into my email. At the top of my inbox was an email from two weeks ago, from a top-tier law firm in London. They had seen my case report at an international arbitration conference and reached out with an invitation. The annual salary was five times what I currently made, with a full relocation allowance included. I had looked at this email many times but never replied. Because I couldn’t bear to leave. I couldn’t bear to leave Liam. I stared at that email on the screen for a long time. The office lights were blindingly white, and people were still whispering in the hallway. I moved my cursor to the reply button. My finger hovered for three seconds. Then I clicked.

Nora White POV I then picked up my phone and sent a message to my direct supervisor, Simon Yale. “Simon, I’ve decided to resign. I’ll leave next week.” The reply came quickly. “I respect your decision. I’ll help you with the resignation process. It’s a shame, though. The firm was planning to promote you to the youngest senior partner. The management committee already passed the initial review.” Senior partner. The thing I had fought desperately for two years at Kingsley to achieve. I stared at that line of text for a few seconds, then typed a reply. “Thank you.” Then I scrolled through my phone’s contact list and found a number that had only called me once, one I had never dialed myself. Liam’s mother, Sophia Chambers. Three months ago, Liam took me to the Hunter family home for dinner for the first time. Throughout the meal, Sophia was polite but distant. Afterward, she called me alone to the study, told me I wasn’t suitable for Liam, and said I should leave sooner rather than later. She even offered me money. I refused on the spot. Sophia said nothing more, just left me a phone number. Now, I dialed it. “But I agree to break up with him.” There were two seconds of silence on the other end, then Sophia laughed, the kind of laugh that saw through everything with disdain. “I’ll give you five million dollars. I’ll send the check to your company.” “No need.” The call had already ended. I gripped my phone. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes for a moment. Liam’s voice filled my head. “This pawn will have served her purpose.” But I didn’t want to believe it. I still remembered the night I first met Liam. I had just joined the firm three months earlier and taken on a rotten case no one else wanted to touch. The defendant was a local real estate developer with connections, and the plaintiffs were a group of workers whose construction payments had been withheld. Everyone advised me not to take it. Even if I did, I couldn’t win. Even if I won, I’d make enemies. I took it anyway. For two straight weeks I lived in the office, sleeping only four hours a day. The rest of the time I spent combing through case files, searching for evidence, and writing legal briefs. One night at three in the morning, I couldn’t hold on anymore and fell asleep at the conference table. When I woke up, there was a jacket draped over my shoulders and a still-warm cup of coffee on the table. Sitting beside me was a man I’d never seen before, flipping through the case files I had spread out. “Your case, the breakthrough isn’t in breach of contract. It’s in the money trail.” He didn’t look up, just pointed at a page in the file. “Follow this line and you’ll find their off-the-books accounts.” I was stunned. I looked at the file and realized the loophole he’d pointed out was something I’d missed after two weeks of searching. “Who are you?” The man looked up. Under the lights, his features were sharp, his eyes carrying a kind of casual coolness. “Liam Hunter.” Later I learned that this man who had guided me through a case at three in the morning was the only son of Kingsley’s founding partner, Richard Hunter. After that, Liam began appearing frequently in my work life. He’d bring me late-night snacks when I worked overtime. When I didn’t eat them, he’d leave them at the corner of my desk, and when they got cold he’d replace them with fresh ones. He’d block me from the firm’s obligatory drinking parties. When everyone else avoided me, he would casually sit in the empty seat beside me, open a case file, and say he wanted to look at my case. I refused him many times. I knew what my status was, and I was clear about the distance between us. But Liam didn’t care. He never gave expensive gifts, at least not at first. He gave me band-aids because my new shoes gave me blisters. He gave me a voice recorder because I always forgot details from court hearings. He gave me a folding umbrella because I never checked the weather forecast. They were all inconspicuous little things, but each one precisely met a need of mine. So when he asked me seriously one more time if I’d give him a chance, I nodded. Clearly, all I ever wanted was him as a person, not his money. But now I knew. Even him as a person was fake. I opened my eyes. The office was nearly empty now, and the lights in the hallway were going out one by one. I stood up to gather my things from the desk, preparing to leave. I pushed open the office door, and suddenly the safety stairwell door at the end of the hallway burst open. A man stumbled out, his suit rumpled, reeking of alcohol, holding up his phone with my photo displayed on the screen. “It’s you.” The man squinted as he looked me up and down, the corner of his mouth twisting upward. “Miss White, you’re prettier in person than in the photos.” I took a step back. “Who are you?” The man grinned, his steps unsteady as he closed in on me, grabbing my wrist. “Don’t be nervous. If you can sell your photos, surely you won’t cost more than the photos, right? Name your price. I can afford it.” His grip was strong, causing a sharp pain in my wrist. I struggled hard but couldn’t break free. Just as I was about to kick him, a hand reached from the side, grabbed the man by his collar, and yanked him backward. Then came a dull thud. Liam’s fist slammed into the man’s face with enough force to knock him to the ground. Blood immediately gushed from his nose. He kicked the man. “Get lost.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it was as cold as ice. The man covered his face and scrambled away. Liam turned around and looked at my wrist. Red marks had already surfaced. He frowned and reached out to examine it. “Why are you still at the office this late? Does it hurt? I’ll take you-” I pulled my hand back. I looked at the face in front of me. The same concern as always, the same tenderness as always, the same… perfectly timed response as always. Perfectly timed enough to make me believe he actually cared about me. “Nora? Still angry about the document?” Liam’s tone softened. “I didn’t send that document. I lent my phone to a friend for a few days. He went too far sometimes. I already scolded him and I’m having people delete it.” “Liam.” I interrupted him. My voice was so soft that the echo in the hallway was louder than my own voice. “Let’s break up.” Liam’s expression froze for an instant. Before he could speak, the elevator door at the other end of the hallway opened. Vivian Whitlock walked out. She wore a white dress today, her long hair falling over her shoulders, holding a bouquet of flowers. Seeing Liam and me standing face to face, her steps suddenly halted. The bouquet slipped from her hands. “Liam… you and her…” Her voice trembled, tears immediately welling up in her eyes. “Are you two really together?” Before she could finish, she turned and ran into the stairwell. Liam’s expression changed. He glanced at me once, then turned and chased after her. As he passed me, his shoulder slammed heavily into mine, causing me to stumble back two steps. My back hit the wall. I didn’t cry out in pain. I slowly steadied myself and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the hallway. Below was the firm’s courtyard garden. In the night, the streetlights stretched two people’s shadows very long. Liam grabbed Vivian’s wrist, rain falling on his shoulders. He seemed oblivious to it. “Yes, the Hunters and Whitlocks are enemies. So what? Even if it means defying the entire Hunter family, even if the whole world opposes it, I only want you.” Vivian looked up, tears and rain mixing together. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. Liam cupped her face with both hands and kissed her back forcefully. I stood at the window, looking down at this scene. I returned to my apartment, took a shower, and lay in bed. I didn’t sleep all night.

Nora White POV The next day, I went to the firm as usual. When I walked into the office area, the atmosphere was wrong. A group of people surrounded my workstation, talking over each other. When they saw me approaching, the crowd fell silent for a second, then someone whistled. “Miss White, another deposit today? A check for five million dollars.” My steps halted. I pushed through the crowd. An envelope sat on my desk. It had already been opened. Inside was a check from the Hunter family’s exclusive account. Amount: five million dollars. It was from Sophia Chambers. Before I could reach for it, the check was snatched away by a male colleague nearby. He held it up to look at it, then passed it to the next person. “Who gave you permission to touch my things?” My voice was very low. No one paid attention to me. The check passed between several people’s hands, and every time I reached for it, I couldn’t get it. Those people were a full head taller than me, and their passing motion even carried a kind of playful coordination. A female colleague tilted her head to look at me, her tone rising. “Miss White, shouldn’t you update the price list in your document? The market’s going up.” Another person chimed in. “No wonder she wants to break up with Mr. Hunter. Turns out she found a higher bidder.” “You’re all overthinking it. She’s just holding out for the best price.” “Enough!” I practically shouted these two words. I never lost my composure in front of others. But now, my whole body was shaking. My throat felt like something was stuck in it, my voice hoarse and tight. The surroundings fell quiet for a second. Then came laughter that couldn’t be suppressed. “All right, everyone back to work.” At some point, the administrative supervisor had walked over, frowning as she dispersed the onlookers. I stood in front of my workstation, fists clenched, nails digging into my palms. I had to get that check back and return it to Sophia. That afternoon, I finally cornered the colleague who had taken the check in the hallway. Just as I was about to get it back, a familiar voice came from behind me. “Looking for this?” I turned around and met Liam’s dark gaze. The check was pinched between his fingers, already creased. “So you said you wanted to break up with me because of this money?” His voice was very soft, close to my ear, like a blade cutting across skin. I shook my head. “No, this money I never even-” A slap landed on my face. Several colleagues passing by all stopped in their tracks. Liam’s eyes were cold to the extreme, but a smile hung at the corner of his mouth. “Nora, I didn’t think your appetite was this big. A small-town lawyer with a humble background, this face of yours is really worth a fortune.” I covered my cheek, half my face burning. I opened my mouth, wanting to say that the money was from your mother… “I heard Miss White’s family still has quite a bit of debt?” Vivian had somehow walked to Liam’s side, her tone as gentle as if chatting about everyday matters. “Your father is a high school teacher in a small town with limited income, and he had to put you through law school. It really wasn’t easy.” Every word was fact. Every word was a knife. Liam looked down at the check in his hand, then raised his hand and threw it at my face. The thin piece of paper stuck to my cheek for a second before sliding to the ground. “I will recommend that the management committee conduct a financial audit of all cases you’ve handled.” His voice had no fluctuation. “People who practice law can’t have dirty hands.” Vivian added at the right moment. “This is for your own good. The innocent will be proven innocent.” The two of them turned and left side by side. A few passing colleagues slowed their pace, their eyes sweeping back and forth between me and the check on the ground. I bent down to pick up the check. My hands were shaking, but my movements were slow and steady. That afternoon, an announcement was posted on the firm’s internal system. My case representation authority was suspended, and an internal audit of all case accounts I had handled would begin immediately. I stood in front of the bulletin board, hands clenched into fists. Without case representation authority, I couldn’t appear in court, couldn’t sign documents, couldn’t access any case files. For a lawyer, this was no different from being crippled. And even worse, without representation authority, there was no performance commission. My current monthly income went toward student loan repayments, rent, and living expenses I sent to my father. If this money stopped, I couldn’t even survive in this city. Someone passed behind me, their voice neither loud nor soft. “An audit? I think it’s just for show. Everyone already saw what needed to be found.” “Right? She made so much money and still pretended to be poor. She also applied for quite a few of the firm’s pro bono case subsidies, didn’t she?” “Tsk, what kind of person.” I didn’t turn around. I stared at that announcement, reading it word by word, then turned and walked back to my workstation. I opened my computer and began writing an email. The recipient was the firm’s management committee. I would compile every transfer record I’d returned, every gift list I’d sent back, every complete financial record of cases I’d handled, and list them out one by one. Not to show anyone. But because I, Nora White, had nothing to feel guilty about to anyone.

Nora White POV Before the appeal email received a response from the management committee, I received even worse news. Simon Yale came to find me personally. “Nora, come to the conference room for a moment.” His expression was much more serious than usual, and as he walked ahead, he didn’t say a single unnecessary word. I followed him into the large conference room. Three senior partners sat at the other end of the long table. One of them was the management committee chairman, Vincent Pearson, the person who truly called the shots at Kingsley. A stack of documents lay in front of him, his gaze sharp. Vivian was also there, sitting in the corner with slightly red eyes, looking like she’d been wronged but was trying hard to hold it in. “Nora White, sit.” Vincent spoke, his tone flat but without pleasantries. “Yesterday, DuRay Corporation’s legal representatives formally sent us a letter stating that someone inside Kingsley leaked core evidentiary materials from the DuRay case to the opposing party. This case involves over eight hundred million dollars.” He pushed up his glasses. “We retrieved the backend records from the document management system. The last two people to access the DuRay case electronic files were you and Vivian Whitlock.” I sat up straight. The DuRay case was my most important project over the past six months. Most of the work, from filing to evidence collection to drafting the brief, was done by me. Vivian was brought in midway to assist, nominally responsible for client liaison. “Mr. Pearson, the last time I opened the case files was last Thursday. Simon assigned me to organize the data for the closing statement.” My speaking pace was measured. “That day my work records, email correspondence, and system logs can all prove that after I finished organizing, I logged out of the system. If needed, Simon can confirm this.” Simon nodded. “I can confirm that I assigned her that work that day.” Vincent’s gaze slowly moved to Vivian. “Miss Whitlock, what about you? Last Friday afternoon between three and five o’clock, you accessed all of the DuRay case electronic files. Please explain why.” Vivian’s lips trembled slightly, and she was about to speak. The conference room door was pushed open. Liam walked in. His expression was cold, as if attending an unimportant routine meeting. “Mr. Pearson, there’s no need to investigate further.” He walked to Vivian’s side, facing Vincent, and placed a USB drive on the table. “I found this USB drive in Nora White’s drawer yesterday. It contains the exact files that were leaked from the DuRay case.” What! My drawer?! There had never been any USB drive in my drawer. “Also.” Liam took out the creased check from his pocket and gently placed it next to the USB drive. “This is the five million dollar check Nora White received the day before yesterday. Everyone in the firm saw it.” He tilted his head slightly to glance at me, his gaze as calm as if looking at a stranger. “A lawyer whose representation authority has been suspended suddenly receives a large sum of money from an unknown source. Mr. Pearson, do you think this is a coincidence?” I stood up. “That USB drive isn’t mine, and that money wasn’t payment for any transaction.” “Miss White.” Vivian spoke softly, her voice carrying a trace of grievance and reluctance. “I don’t want to wrongly accuse you, but… when I accessed the system that day, I was only recording client follow-up notes. I didn’t copy anything. If it wasn’t me, then it could only be…” She didn’t finish, lowering her head. But the meaning was clear enough. Several voices came from the doorway. At some point, people had gathered outside the conference room. “I saw it. Miss White did bring a USB drive back last week. I thought it was strange at the time. Isn’t all the DuRay case material in the system?” “Plus her financial situation hasn’t been great lately, right? Her representation authority was suspended, her performance went to zero, and I heard her family still has loans to repay…” “She accepted a five million dollar check. What wouldn’t she do?” Vincent was silent for a few seconds. Then he closed the file in front of him, his voice heavy. “Nora, until the matter is investigated, the firm has decided to suspend our internal recommendation for your professional certification. This incident will be recorded in your practice file.” My heart skipped a beat. A lawyer’s practice file was my lifeline. Once I was marked with suspected leaking of client confidential information, I’d never be able to establish myself at any legitimate law firm for the rest of my life! “Mr. Pearson, I request a full review of the system operation logs and surveillance footage.” “The investigation will proceed according to protocol.” Vincent interrupted me. “In the meantime, go back and wait for notification.” His tone no longer held the neutrality from the beginning. I looked at Vincent, then at Vivian sitting in the corner with downcast eyes, and finally at Liam. He didn’t avoid my gaze. There was even an extremely faint curve at the corner of his mouth.

Nora White POV I left through the back door of the conference room. I leaned against the wall for a while, until my legs no longer felt weak, then slowly walked forward. I bought a bottle of water at the convenience store downstairs, sat on the steps by the roadside, opened the cap, and took a sip. Then I pulled out my phone. There was a message from Simon. “Nora, I believe you, but the Hunter family put pressure on this. Vincent Pearson can’t stand up to them. Don’t worry, I’ll help you figure out a way to pull the surveillance footage and logs.” I replied. “Thank you.” Then I scrolled to my chat window with Liam. The last message stopped three days ago. He had sent it. “I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow. Let’s go to that restaurant you said was pretty good last time.” I never replied to that message. And I didn’t plan to reply now. I closed my phone, sat on the steps, and stared at the trees lining the street across the road for a long time. I thought of the day my father sent me to this city. The bus ride took nearly eight hours. My father helped me load my suitcase onto the bus, stood outside the window, and waved at me on his tiptoes. He wasn’t good with words. After thinking for a long time, he only said one thing. “Nora, Dad doesn’t have much ability. From now on, you’ll have to rely on yourself. When you run into trouble, don’t be afraid. The sky won’t fall.” I lowered my head and took a deep breath. Then I stood up, patted the dust off my pants, and walked back to the firm. When I reached my workstation, Liam was already waiting for me. He leaned against the edge of my desk, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed. Seeing me return, he raised an eyebrow. “Cooled off yet?” I didn’t look at him. I walked around him, sat in my chair, and opened my computer. Liam frowned, his voice lowering. “About the DuRay case, don’t take it to heart. You know what Vincent is like. It’s just going through the motions. He won’t really do anything to you.” My fingers stopped on the keyboard. “You know full well that USB drive isn’t mine.” “You also know full well that check was from your mother.” I looked up at him. Liam’s expression stiffened for an instant. So brief. Too brief to truly capture. But my eyes had seen too many witnesses’ microexpressions in court. I saw it clearly. He knew. He knew everything. “Vivian needs the credit from the DuRay case project to compete for a partner seat.” Liam’s voice returned to calm. “You’ve already decided to leave anyway. This project is meaningless to you now. Sign a voluntary transfer statement and give your signature rights and project results to her.” I looked at him. The person in front of me had blocked drinks for me, covered me with his jacket, and found the breakthrough in my case in a conference room at three in the morning. This same person had personally placed a USB drive that didn’t belong to me on the table in the conference room, using a check I never intended to accept to nail me to the pillar of shame for selling client secrets. “I won’t sign.” I said. Liam stared at me for a few seconds. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he just straightened up, adjusted his cuffs, and left. I thought that was the end of it. If I didn’t sign, what could he do? I was leaving next week, flying to London, and would have nothing to do with anything here. But I was wrong.That night, my phone rang. It was my uncle Mike calling. “Nora! Something happened to your dad! Heart attack! The town hospital can’t handle it. He needs to be transferred immediately! The doctor said the surgery will cost at least three hundred thousand dollars!” I sat up too quickly from the bed. My vision went black. “Tell the hospital to save him no matter what it costs. I’ll figure out the money right away.” “Figure it out?” Mike’s voice suddenly shot up. “Nora, your dad received an envelope today! It was full of your… those… photos! And some kind of invoice! Your dad couldn’t handle it on the spot and…” His voice choked. “Nora, your dad saw those things and couldn’t take it. He collapsed. If you have the money, send it over quickly. The hospital is pressing hard…” It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.

Nora White POV Who sent the photos and an invoice? I thought Liam had deleted the document before, but those photos were still saved on his phone. He could use them however he wanted. And the letter was sent to my hometown. Only Liam knew my hometown address. My hands were shaking, but I still dialed Liam’s number. It rang for a long time before he answered. “You’re the one who sent it, aren’t you.” There were two seconds of silence on the other end, then Liam’s unhurried voice. “Come to your senses? Then come to the office tomorrow.” He hung up. I gripped my phone, standing in the cramped living room of my rental apartment. Outside the window were the lights of this city that would never go out. Three hundred thousand dollars. My bank account held less than twenty thousand. With my representation authority suspended, I had no income. I still owed sixty thousand dollars in student loans and had maxed out eight thousand dollars on my credit card last month. Three hundred thousand dollars, where could I possibly get it? Early the next morning, Nora White appeared at Kingsley Law Firm. Liam was waiting for me in his office. Vivian sat on the sofa holding a cup of coffee. When she saw me come in, she even smiled slightly. A document lay on the desk. “Sign this voluntary project credit transfer statement, apologize, and I’ll handle the money.” Liam’s tone was like he was discussing an insignificant business deal. I stood in place, looking at that document. The DuRay case was something I’d poured six months of my heart into. This case was my entire proof of existence at Kingsley. If I signed, I’d be completely erasing myself from this case, as if I’d never participated at all. But my father was lying in a hospital. “Lend me three hundred thousand dollars. I’ll sign.” Liam’s expression shifted. “Three hundred thousand dollars?” He laughed lightly. “Nora White, bow and apologize to Vivian, and I’ll give you five hundred thousand.” The air fell silent for a second. Vivian sat on the sofa holding her coffee, the curve of her mouth unchanged. I stared into Liam’s eyes. When he said these words, his expression showed no fluctuation whatsoever. Thinking of my father’s condition, I couldn’t wait any longer. I bent at the waist. “I’m sorry.” I looked at Vivian. Vivian lowered her head and sighed softly, looking full of pity. “Nora, why go this far? Get up.” I didn’t move. I took the document from the desk, flipped directly to the last page, and signed my name. Then I stood up. I stood very straight. “When will the money arrive?” Liam looked at me. His gaze grew complex for an instant, then returned to coldness. He picked up his phone and operated it for a moment. “The five hundred thousand is transferred.” My phone vibrated. I didn’t look at it. I turned and walked toward the door. When I reached the doorway, Vivian’s soft voice came from behind me. “Liam, thank you. Actually, I’ve been too embarrassed to say this, but the DuRay case really was a project I put a lot of effort into following up on.” Liam’s cold voice interrupted her. “You don’t need to explain to me. I’ve seen your hard work. As for Nora-” He paused. “Someone who can sell anything doesn’t deserve your concern.” The door closed behind me. I thought my heart had already died last night when I received Mike’s call. I didn’t expect it could be stabbed again. Walking out of the law firm building, I pulled out my phone. Five hundred thousand had arrived. I transferred three hundred thousand to Mike with a message. “Use this money for my dad’s surgery. Please.” The remaining two hundred thousand, along with all the previous medical bills, I transferred down to the last cent to the Hunter family’s corporate account. Then I bought a ticket on the earliest train back to my hometown. Four and a half hours later, I stood outside the ICU door at the hospital. Mike leaned against the hallway wall, his hair seeming to have turned white overnight. When he saw me arrive, he opened his mouth and his eyes immediately reddened. “Nora… your dad… he didn’t make it.” My body swayed. I barely managed to stay standing. I was still too late! I didn’t cry. It was just that all sounds disappeared in that instant. The world became silent. I spent one day handling my father’s funeral arrangements. I buried my father next to my mother. I stayed in front of the tombstone for a long time. When the sun had half-set, I cried. “Dad, I’m sorry.” “I couldn’t give you a good life.” “I have to go now. I’ll come back to see you.” Mike stood not far away. After hesitating for a long time, he walked over. “Nora, I burned all the stuff your dad received for you. I’ll explain things to the townspeople. Don’t take it to heart.” I nodded at him and said thank you. My voice was already hoarse. That evening, I returned to my rental apartment. I canceled my phone number. I canceled my bank card. I deleted all my social media accounts. Finally, I opened my closet and packed all the things Liam had given me, a windbreaker, two scarves, a pair of headphones, into a cardboard box, wrote the Hunter family address on it, and placed it by the door. I’d have it picked up by courier tomorrow. Then I picked up my luggage and called a car to the airport. My flight was in the early morning hours, heading to London. After arriving at the airport, I had no nostalgia whatsoever. I smoothly passed through security and boarded the plane. I sat by the window. As the plane took off, the city lights grew smaller and smaller, finally becoming a blur of light. I turned my face toward the window, my forehead pressed against the cold porthole. From this moment on, all that remained between Liam Hunter and me was hatred and enmity.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “394876”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

Late at night, my husband Ethan once again snuck into the bedroom of his deceased brother’s wife. Shameful moans spilled through the crack in the door. My heart twisted as if a knife was being driven through it. I once thought I’d married into happiness. Three years ago, I was kidnapped and nearly violated by a dozen men. It was Ethan who risked his life to save me. In that moment, I was moved to tears, and I chose to marry him. It wasn’t until two days ago that I learned the truth. The kidnapping was orchestrated by him. The knife wound he received while saving me was all calculated. Marrying me, doting on me, getting me pregnant. It was all to protect his beloved Lydia. It was all because his forbidden love with Lydia wasn’t supported by the family. Our three years of love was nothing but a lie. If that’s how it is, don’t blame me for what comes next. Sophia’s POV I am San Diego’s most well-behaved socialite, a recognized model lady in high society circles. I was so obedient growing up that I’d never even held a man’s hand. But my family insisted I marry the most infamous bad boy, Ethan. Rumors said he could go through three different women in a week, racing cars and yachts every night, living a life of complete debauchery. This man was definitely not husband material. So I made the only rebellious decision of my twenty-three-year life. The night before our engagement, I ran away. But fate played a cruel joke on me. I fled the arranged marriage, only to be kidnapped halfway by my family’s enemies. Just as my clothes were being torn off and I was about to be violated by a dozen men, the warehouse door was smashed open from outside. Ethan drove a black sports car straight in. He got out and fought over a dozen burly men. Eventually he drove them all away, but he was also severely injured. A blade pierced his left chest. He collapsed in a pool of blood, struggling to crawl to my side and untie the ropes binding me. I tore off the hem of my shirt and pressed it trembling against the wound on his chest. “Why did you come to save me?” “Because you’re my fiancée.” He coughed up blood, his devastatingly handsome face pale from blood loss. “Even though… you didn’t seem too willing.” My tears surged out, falling one by one. “I’m sorry. If I hadn’t tried to run away from the marriage, you wouldn’t have been dragged into this and injured…” Ethan reached out and wiped away my tears with his thumb. “Don’t cry.” He said, “It was my fault before, too many scandals, too bad a reputation… and you’re so good, so pure. No wonder you wanted to run.” “But don’t be afraid… from now on, they won’t force you anymore, won’t pressure you into this marriage… you’re free now, you can go anywhere, marry whoever you want…” In that moment, my heart was like a lake struck by a massive stone, rippling with countless waves. My heart was moved. “I won’t run anymore.” I held him tightly, tears rolling uncontrollably. “Ethan, I won’t run anymore. As long as you’re okay, I’m willing to marry you!” Fortunately, the ambulance arrived in time. The doctor said he was lucky: the blade missed his heart by two centimeters. He was saved. After he recovered and was discharged, I followed my heart and married him. After marriage, Ethan reined in his wild ways. No more women around him. He spoiled me endlessly. He was so good to me. So good that if I scraped my skin even a little, he’d hold it tenderly and blow on it for ages. So good that to avoid making me angry, he replaced all his secretaries and drivers with men. So good that he’d always come home by ten o’clock at night, earning teasing from his friends about being “henpecked.” And Ethan would always respond happily, with pride and affection, “My Sophia is a treasure that countless men would beg for and never get. That she’s willing to marry me is my blessing.” Every time I heard him say this to others, I felt that marrying him was the most correct decision I’d ever made. Until this prenatal checkup, seven weeks into my pregnancy. Ethan had an important client he couldn’t reschedule. I went to the checkup alone, and seeing it was still early, I stopped by his company wanting to wait for him to get off work so we could go home together. Learning he was meeting a client in the conference room, I didn’t have the secretary notify him. I went into his office and found a magazine to read in the private rest room. Ever since getting pregnant, I’d become especially drowsy. Without realizing it, I fell asleep on the single bed in the rest room. I woke to the sound of loud conversation from the office. “Tsk, aren’t you the gold standard for good husbands in our circle now? Your wife had such an important prenatal checkup today, yet you dared make up an excuse to hang out with us here? Aren’t you afraid she’ll make you sleep in the study when she finds out?” A burst of knowing laughter followed. It was Ethan and his group of friends chatting. I smiled slightly. Knowing this group made boundless jokes in private, I didn’t mind. I got up, about to open the rest room door and go out, when I heard Ethan laugh shortly, his voice carrying a cold mockery I’d never heard before. “A good husband?” Ethan scoffed. “Marrying Sophia, getting her pregnant with this child. None of it was ever my choice. I was forced into all of it.” My hand froze on the doorknob, my fingertips trembling imperceptibly. What did he mean by that? What did he mean, he was forced? Another friend said incredulously, “What are you talking about? Who in San Diego could force you?” “Who else?” One friend who knew the inside story said, “His grandfather! Have you all forgotten that punishment three years ago that left him bedridden for half a month?” The others exchanged glances, their expressions changing. “All these years, I acted like a jerk: racing cars, changing girlfriends, constant scandals. I thought if I did that, Grandfather wouldn’t think I still had feelings for Lydia.” Ethan laughed at himself bitterly, then his tone grew heavy. “But three years ago, he still caught me and Lydia together.” Lydia… Lydia Hayes? How could it be her? My breath caught. I could barely stand. Lydia Hayes, his deceased brother’s wife. He was actually with his own brother’s wife? A massive sense of absurdity crashed over me. I suddenly felt my stomach churning with nausea. “When grandfather saw me with Lydia, he thought we were disgraceful. He said she was disgusting, that I’d betrayed my brother. But Lydia and I were together first. It was my brother who tore us apart.” In the office, Ethan’s words continued. “But Grandfather wouldn’t listen to explanations. He was furious and severely punished Lydia. I got beaten too, but that wasn’t the worst of it.” He paused, then his tone turned ice cold. “The problem was, Grandfather used Lydia to threaten me. He said if I didn’t marry Sophia, Lydia’s days in the Quinn family would only get worse.” “So you married Sophia for Lydia’s sake?” Someone said with a sigh. “We all thought you’d long since moved on from her and fallen for Sophia. Otherwise, why would you have stepped up three years ago to save her, nearly dying from your injuries?” The friend who knew the inside story laughed knowingly. “You don’t know the whole story. The kidnapping Sophia went through three years ago, he orchestrated the entire thing.” “No way! That kidnapping was your setup?” Ethan was silent for a moment, his voice low. “Yes.” Hearing that affirmative word, my fingers dug sharply into my palm, nails piercing flesh, but I didn’t care.

Sophia’s POV Ethan continued slowly, “You all know how stubborn my grandfather is. He valued Sophia’s family background, appreciated how well-behaved she was. He said she was pure and innocent, the perfect choice for my wife.” He paused, flicking cigarette ash, that red glow flickering at his fingertips. “But she didn’t want to marry a notorious bad boy like me, and Grandfather was pressuring me hard. I had no other options.” “So you arranged that whole scene?” Someone asked. “Yeah.” Ethan admitted it readily. “I knew she was going to run from the marriage, so I contacted her family’s enemies and set up that situation. The knife was angled to miss by two centimeters, the ambulance was already waiting outside. Everything was calculated.” He laughed shortly, the sound devoid of warmth. “I didn’t expect her to actually cry like that when I collapsed, holding me and saying she’d marry me.” Everyone exchanged glances, momentarily speechless. “Brilliant!” Someone was the first to react. “That plan not only satisfied your grandfather but made Sophia completely devoted to you. Two birds with one stone!” Ethan crushed out his cigarette, his voice heavy. “This stays between us. She’s carrying my child now. If word gets to her…” “Don’t worry, which of us would tell?” “Exactly. This secret dies with us.” “But,” someone hesitated, “Do you really have no feelings for Sophia at all now? She’s carrying your child…” Ethan didn’t answer immediately. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his tone as calm as if discussing something unrelated to himself. “Lydia lives every day walking on eggshells. I promised to protect her, that I wouldn’t fall for another woman.” Inside the rest room, I felt completely frozen, like I’d been cast into hell. I covered my mouth tightly with one hand to keep from making a sound, the other clenched into a fist, knuckles white. So that was it. He conspired with the Hayes family’s enemies to kidnap me, nearly having me violated, then appeared at the crucial moment to stage that dramatic rescue. All his tenderness, consideration, and doting on me, including his supposed reformation, was fake. Those moments that moved my heart, those times I thought were sweet and happy, were all just an elaborate act he performed. And the purpose was to protect the woman he truly loved from being mistreated. He never loved me from the beginning, yet I was foolish enough to be deceived for three years, only discovering today just how many lies he’d woven for me. Countless emotions surged like a tide, nearly drowning me. When I came back to my senses, the office outside had gone quiet. Ethan and his friends had left. I wiped away my tears forcefully, took a deep breath, and pushed down all the anger, resentment, and the dull, knife-like pain in my chest before pulling open the rest room door. Outside was completely empty. I left Quinn Corporation and hailed a car to a law firm. “Hello, I want a divorce.” I found a divorce attorney and said directly, “Please draft a divorce agreement for me.” I was going to divorce Ethan. I would no longer be his tool to protect another woman. Just then, my phone rang. It was a call from Ethan.

Sophia’s POV Looking at the caller ID “My Love” on the screen, I zoned out for a moment. If Ethan knew I’d discovered everything and was even considering divorce, he would definitely try every means to stop me. So before successfully divorcing, I absolutely couldn’t let him notice anything. In the last second before the call would automatically disconnect, I slid to answer. “Sophia?” Ethan’s voice came through the receiver, carrying his usual warm concern. “Did you finish the checkup? How did it go?” If this were yesterday, I would have felt sweet about this thoughtful concern. But now, I only felt my stomach churning with nausea. I tried to keep my voice steady and normal. “Yes, it’s done. The doctor said the baby is very healthy. Don’t worry.” “That’s good.” Ethan’s tone relaxed a bit. “By the way, I have to make a sudden business trip to the next city. Important project. I’ll be gone two or three days. Take care of yourself and the baby. Have the kitchen make whatever you want to eat. I’ll bring you a gift when I get back.” “Okay.” I only replied with one word, afraid saying more would betray my emotions. After hanging up, I stood in the law firm’s air-conditioned hallway, feeling my blood run completely cold. I raised my other hand and gently touched my still-flat belly. Just yesterday, I’d been filled with joy about this child’s arrival, imagining who the baby would look like. But now… With such a calculating father whose heart belonged elsewhere, if this child were born, it would surely have an unhappy life. After getting the divorce agreement from the lawyer, the next day as I went downstairs in a distracted state, my foot slipped and I fell. When I woke up, my lower abdomen throbbed with pain. The doctor told me the baby was gone. I returned weakly to the villa and lay in bed to rest. My phone vibrated. I picked it up to see Lydia had just posted on Ins. There were six photos. A selfie of Lydia with a gentle smile, an elaborately decorated birthday cake, brilliant fireworks in the night sky, two plates of exquisite Western cuisine, and two wine glasses clinking together. The last one was a close-up of two hands with fingers interlaced. On the man’s wrist was a Patek Philippe starry sky watch I knew all too well. The caption read, “This year’s birthday, still with my favorite person by my side.” Location tagged: Grand Hyatt Hotel in the neighboring city. My whole body went ice cold, chilled to the bone. So Ethan’s so-called business trip was to celebrate Lydia’s birthday, enjoying their undisturbed time together. With trembling fingers, I clicked into Lydia’s Ins and scrolled up through her posts. Three years ago in autumn, Lydia posted a photo of maple leaves with the caption, “Maple leaves are red again. Remember that year you said you’d take me to see all the red leaves in the world.” Two years ago on Valentine’s Day, Lydia posted a starry sky image. “Even if we can’t always be together, our hearts in one place is enough.” One year ago, on mine and Ethan’s wedding anniversary, Lydia posted, “Some people, some things, are destined to remain only in the heart. But being able to silently protect is already fortunate.” Looking through these, I suddenly realized Lydia had posted quite a bit of ambiguous content over the past three years. It’s just that before, I’d genuinely treated Lydia as family and never connected that content with Ethan. Now, suddenly awakened to the truth, I felt like a complete fool. I had been thoroughly deceived for three years. I thought I had love and happiness, not knowing that my sweet happiness was just a joke to others. I closed my eyes. Tears slid silently from the corners of my eyes.

Sophia’s POV Two days later, Ethan returned. But it was the Quinn family estate’s butler who told me. The butler spoke urgently, with rare panic. “Please come to the estate quickly. Something’s happened to him!” I frowned. “What happened?” “You’ll know when you get here. The old master is furious. No one can calm him down.” I was confused but still rushed to the Quinn estate. The whole way, I’d imagined various possibilities, but I never expected to see this scene. Lydia’s long hair was disheveled, tears on her face, her whole body trembling. And Ethan was tightly shielding her in his arms. His entire back had numerous vicious bloody marks, skin split open, blood soaking through his white shirt. “You disgusting creature! How dare you do such a shameful thing!” Grandfather stood to the side leaning on his cane, chest heaving violently. “Did you think that just because you weren’t in San Diego, I wouldn’t know what you two have been doing these past few days?” Lydia shook her head crying. “It’s not like that, Grandfather…” “If Grandfather must punish someone,” Ethan said hoarsely, “Then punish me. This is all my fault. It has nothing to do with Lydia.” “You bastard! How can you face your deceased brother? How can you face Sophia? How can you face the child in her belly!” “Lydia and I truly loved each other from the start!” Ethan suddenly raised his voice, eyes reddening. “As for Sophia and the child in her belly, you forced me into that, grandfather.” The words fell, and the room went deathly silent. Grandfather trembled with rage, nearly fainting from anger. “I thought after three years of marriage to Sophia, you’d have some feelings for her. I never imagined you were still so bewitched by this woman that you’ve lost all reason!” Just then, the butler hurried in from outside. “She’s here…” Ethan’s body stiffened. He slowly turned his head. At the doorway, I stood quietly. Our eyes met. Ethan’s eyes flashed with momentary panic and guilt. His lips moved as if wanting to say something, but ultimately he just looked away and said nothing. Grandfather saw me too. His expression changed slightly as he urgently signaled to the butler. “Quick, take her to the front hall to rest!” The butler stepped forward respectfully. “This way, please.” I pressed my lips together and had no choice but to follow the butler away. Behind me came Grandfather’s voice, suppressing fury with his command. “Continue! Beat them severely!” The sound of the rod striking flesh resumed. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed that every strike the servant swung at Lydia landed heavily on Ethan’s back instead. He gritted his teeth, not making a sound, protecting Lydia in his arms completely. And Lydia remained completely unharmed. Late that night, a private doctor came to the villa to treat Ethan’s wounds. After nearly two hours of cleaning, medicating, and bandaging, the doctor finally left. Ethan lay on his stomach on the bed, looking toward me. After a moment of silence, he spoke. “Today at the estate… what did you hear?” I raised my eyes to meet his. “What should I have heard?” I asked back. Ethan studied me. “Nothing. She angered Grandfather. He wanted to punish her, but she’s too delicate to withstand it. With my brother gone, I have to protect her for him.” He reached out to hold my hand, his thumb gently rubbing the back of my hand, his habitual intimate gesture. “Sophia, don’t let it bother you.” I looked at his hand holding mine. Long fingers, well-defined and strong. Once, this hand had wiped my tears, stroked my hair, countless times gently held me, embraced me. Now, I only felt disgusted. “I know.” I calmly pulled my hand away. “I understand.” I took out a document from the nightstand drawer and placed it in front of him. “By the way, sign this for me.” “What is it?” He asked casually. “I saw a necklace I really like. It’s quite expensive. I want you to buy it for me.” I was gambling. Gambling that having just been punished for Lydia’s sake and having lied to me, he wouldn’t carefully read the document’s contents at a time like this. Sure enough, Ethan barely hesitated before taking the document and pen. He signed his name smoothly on the signature line of the last page I’d turned to. “What else do you want?” He handed the document back to me with an indulgent smile. “I’ll buy it all for you.” “That’s not necessary.” I smiled. “This one thing is enough.”

Sophia’s POV The next day, I delivered the signed divorce agreement to my lawyer, asking them to process it as quickly as possible, then returned to the villa. Stepping into the entrance, the housekeeper who was wiping a vase saw me. Her expression was somewhat strange, hesitant to speak. “What is it?” I asked while changing shoes. “Ma’am.” The housekeeper gestured toward upstairs. “Someone’s here. Upstairs.” My movements paused briefly, then returned to normal. “I see.” I went straight upstairs. The closer I got to the master bedroom, the clearer the sobbing from inside became. “…It’s all my fault. If not for me, you wouldn’t have been hurt so badly…” Lydia was draped over Ethan, crying with a face full of tears. Ethan turned his face slightly, seemingly about to raise his hand to wipe her tears, but his gaze inadvertently caught sight of me at the door. His movement froze instantly. “Sophia?” Ethan called out, with a trace of barely perceptible tension. Lydia startled like she’d been frightened, hurriedly moving away from him and straightening up, turning to look toward the door. Her face was pale, eyes red and swollen, looking pitiful. “Sophia, you… you’re back…” Lydia’s fingers twisted at her clothes anxiously. “Ethan was hurt because of me. I felt so guilty, I just wanted to come see him… We… we didn’t do anything else…” “She was just emotionally overwhelmed for a moment. Nothing more.” Ethan picked up the conversation. “Don’t misunderstand.” One with red-rimmed eyes looking pitiful, one with a soothing tone and evasive gaze. I suddenly wanted to laugh. Their panic wasn’t about me misunderstanding, was it? They were just afraid I’d tell Grandfather, afraid this marriage would fall apart, afraid Lydia’s days in the Quinn family would become even worse. “I understand.” I nodded. “I get it.” Lydia bit her lower lip, those wet eyes looking at me with careful pleading. “Sophia, Ethan was hurt because of me. I feel terrible about it. I want to stay and take care of him for a few days, even if it’s just bringing him water.” Before I could respond, Ethan spoke first from the bed. “Grandfather is furious right now. Her days at the estate aren’t easy. Let her stay here temporarily for a few days. When Grandfather calms down, she can go back.” He seemed to be asking, but his tone brooked no refusal. I smiled. “As long as you two think it’s fine, I have no objections.” “I knew it! Sophia, you’re so magnanimous and understanding!” Lydia beamed with joy and just like that, moved into our villa. That night. In the dead of night, my phone suddenly vibrated with a message notification. Ethan picked up his phone to look, then glanced sideways at me. After confirming I was asleep, he slowly got up and left the room. In the darkness, I opened my eyes, got up as well, and walked to the guest room door. Light leaked through the door crack, casting the shadows of two intertwined figures. “Does it still hurt?” Lydia’s voice was full of heartache. “Seeing those wounds, my heart is breaking…” Ethan cupped her face and lowered his head, kissing her wet eyes. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.” His voice carried a tenderness I’d never heard before. “Don’t worry. I can move around now. I’ll be fine soon.” Lydia tilted her face up, tears streaming. “Don’t protect me like that next time. Seeing you hurt makes me suffer a thousand, ten thousand times more than if I were hurt myself…” Ethan’s thumb caressed her cheek. “Silly girl. I told you I’d protect you. No matter how badly I’m hurt, it’s my willing choice.” Lydia’s eyes grew hazy. Suddenly she stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips. Ethan seemed ignited. The next second, he bent down and swept Lydia up in his arms. Walking to the bed in a few steps, he laid her down and pressed himself on top of her, kissing her lips as his hands began to roam restlessly. “Mmm… Ethan…” Lydia’s breathing was unsteady. “Isn’t this bad, doing this here? What if we wake Sophia?” Ethan’s kisses traveled down her neck, his voice muffled but certain. “She won’t wake up. She sleeps deeply since getting pregnant. Not even thunder would wake her.” I stood outside the door, watching that nauseating entanglement. They were actually so desperate they couldn’t control themselves, having an affair right under my nose. This was the good man I once believed in. My good husband. This was the woman I’d sincerely treated as family, whom I’d pitied as a young widow.

Sophia’s POV Just before dawn, the master bedroom door was gently pushed open. Ethan returned to the bedside silently like a ghost. He softly called my name once. After confirming I was still asleep, he lifted the covers and lay down. I had my back to him. In the faint light of dawn seeping through the curtains, I opened my eyes. In the days that followed, a bizarre calm settled over the villa. Lydia, under the pretense of caring for the injured, had practically become half the lady of the house. In the mornings, she’d wear silk robes while making coffee for Ethan, her fingertips “accidentally” brushing his hand. In the afternoon garden, she’d stand on tiptoe to straighten Ethan’s collar, her lips nearly touching his chin. Every time, I carefully took note but continued pretending not to know, as if I’d seen nothing. “Next week is Grandfather’s seventy-fifth birthday.” That evening at dinner, Ethan cut his steak and said casually, “We’re celebrating at the estate this year. We’ll need to stay overnight.” Lydia’s knife and fork paused in mid-air. “Got it.” I scooped up a spoonful of soup and agreed. On the birthday, the Quinn estate was filled with guests. Nearly every prominent figure in the city attended. Ethan held my hand, playing the loving couple in front of others. Lydia wore an elegant moonlight-white dress, sitting quietly in a corner. Occasionally when her gaze met Ethan’s, tender affection that only they understood flowed between them. When the banquet ended and guests dispersed, it was already evening. I’d been standing in high heels all day. My calves ached terribly. I was about to go upstairs to rest when a young maid hurried over carrying a fruit plate. The maid’s face was pale as she pleaded, “I suddenly have terrible stomach pain… This fruit plate is supposed to go to your grandfather. Could you… help me deliver it?” Thinking it was just a small favor, I nodded and took it. “Give it to me.” “Thank you!” The maid looked relieved, clutching her stomach as she hurried away. Grandfather’s bedroom was at the end of the hallway. The door was ajar, light spilling from inside. I approached, about to raise my hand to knock. A dull thud of something heavy hitting the floor suddenly came from inside. My heart jumped. Without thinking further, I pushed the door open with my elbow. The scene before me made my blood freeze instantly. Grandfather lay face-up on the carpet beside the bed, while Lydia gripped a down pillow with both hands, pressing it firmly over his nose and mouth. Her profile in the lamplight appeared twisted and vicious, her eyes full of malice. Completely different from her usual weak and pitiful appearance. “Grandpa!” The fruit plate slipped from my hands. I gasped in disbelief and lunged forward, shoving Lydia away. “Lydia! What are you doing?!” Caught off guard, Lydia was pushed to the floor. She screamed, hurriedly dropping the pillow, her face drained of all color, trembling violently. I was about to reach out to check Grandfather’s breathing when Ethan and other Quinn family members burst in after hearing the commotion. Ethan saw Grandfather collapsed on the floor. His pupils constricted sharply. “What happened?!” “Grandfather! Grandfather, what’s wrong?” Other Quinn family members crowded in, crying out in shock at the scene. “Quick! Call an ambulance! Now!” After Ethan shouted, he rushed over like a gust of wind, crouched down, carefully lifted Grandfather, and urgently pressed his fingers to the carotid artery. Chaos erupted. The ambulance arrived quickly. Grandfather was lifted onto a stretcher and sent to the hospital, straight into the emergency room. The situation was critical, life and death uncertain. In the Quinn estate’s main hall, the atmosphere was unbearably heavy. The main Quinn family members gathered there, everyone’s faces somber. Ethan returned from the hospital to the estate. When he entered the hall, his expression was even darker than when he’d left. “What exactly happened?” His voice was low, carrying the feeling of an approaching storm, each word like ice. “Grandpa was perfectly fine. How did he suddenly suffocate and fall unconscious? Who did this?” Everyone’s eyes focused on Lydia and me: some suspicious, some scrutinizing, some furious. When they all heard the commotion and rushed to the room, there were only two people inside besides Grandfather: Lydia and me. Only we knew what had happened. I opened my mouth, about to speak. “It was… it was Sophia!”

Sophia’s POV I looked at Lydia in shock as she suddenly cried out. Lydia’s face was deathly pale. She raised a trembling hand, pointing at me, tears streaming down. “It was Sophia! I saw it with my own eyes… saw her holding the pillow, covering Grandfather’s nose and mouth! I tried to stop her, but it was too late…” “You’re lying!” All the blood in my body rushed to my head. “It was you! I saw you with my own eyes holding the pillow over Grandfather’s face!” I turned to Ethan, explaining urgently. “Ethan, you have to believe me! I went to bring Grandfather fruit. When I pushed the door open, I saw Lydia using the pillow to smother him! She’s the one trying to kill Grandfather! That pillow must have Lydia’s fingerprints on it. We just need to test it!” “That won’t be necessary.” Ethan abruptly cut me off, his voice so low it was alarming. His gaze fell on my face, his eyes full of cold scrutiny, as if looking at a stranger. “Lydia would never do such a thing.” He said each word deliberately. “I believe her.” “You believe her?” I couldn’t believe it. My whole body trembled. “You won’t even investigate before believing her?” Ethan’s face was iron-gray, his eyes flashing with terrifying coldness. “Lydia’s been married into the Quinn family for so many years. We’ve all seen what kind of person she is. She’s usually so gentle she wouldn’t even step on an ant. How could she possibly dare harm Grandfather?” “Then what about me? Grandfather has always treated me well. What reason would I have to harm him?” “Yes, I’d very much like to ask you.” Ethan’s handsome face was as cold as frost. “Grandfather has always treated you well. Why were you so ruthless as to attack him?” My whole body shook. I was utterly shocked. I’d expected him to protect Lydia, but I never imagined he’d be so blind to the truth. “Ethan.” An older Quinn family member spoke gravely. “Your grandfather’s life still hangs in the balance. This matter must be severely punished.” “Yes, he must be given justice!” “We absolutely cannot let the culprit go free!” The Quinn family members chimed in, looking at me with disgust and fury. Ethan was silent for a moment, then finally raised his hand. “Someone come.” Two bodyguards entered at his command. “Take her to the police station.” Ethan’s voice was ice cold. “On charges of attempted murder.” “Ethan!” Cold seeped through me from the inside out. “You can’t do this to me. I’m carrying your child!” This was my only bargaining chip now. Though only I knew the child was already gone. But at this moment, this was the only way I could think of to delay and wait for the truth to come out. “Even if you really don’t believe me.” My voice choked, carrying a last shred of hope. “At least wait until Grandfather wakes up and hear what he has to say…” “Take her away.” Ethan didn’t look at me, only uttering two words to the bodyguards. The bodyguards stepped forward, gripping my arms from both sides. “Ethan!” I struggled, my voice shrill. “Please, at least wait until Grandfather wakes up…” “If Grandfather can wake up.” Ethan finally looked at me, his eyes colder than I’d ever seen. “Perhaps I’ll consider hearing your explanation. But now, you should pay for what you’ve done.” “You can’t do this, Ethan! I’m your wife. I’m carrying your child!” No matter how I struggled, argued, or pleaded, I couldn’t soften Ethan’s heart. The bodyguards forcibly dragged me away. The following days were the darkest period of my life. I was locked in a detention center. The female inmates looked at me like I was prey. At first, it was just verbal abuse, then it escalated to shoving, and then… “I heard she’s a vicious woman who tried to kill her own grandfather?” “Looks so innocent on the outside, but has such a black heart!” “Someone paid big money for us to teach her a lesson!” Fists, slaps, fingernails digging into flesh. All aimed at me. The most painful was late at night, when they’d press me down on the filthy bathroom floor and pour cold water over my head again and again. The cold water soaked through my thin prison uniform. The bone-chilling cold made my teeth chatter, but it couldn’t compare to one ten-thousandth of the cold in my heart. I’d fantasized countless times that Ethan would appear, investigate the truth, and take me out. But one day, two days, three days… hope gradually extinguished. On the afternoon of the seventh day, a guard opened the cell door. “Sophia Wright, someone’s posting bail for you.” I struggled to get up from the floor. My whole body was covered in injuries, my left eye so swollen I could barely open it, dried blood still at the corner of my mouth. I stumbled out of the detention center. The harsh sunlight made me dizzy. A black sedan was parked in front. Ethan leaned against the car, a cigarette between his fingers. Seeing me in this state, his expression didn’t waver. He just looked up slightly. “Get in.” I stood still, my voice so hoarse it didn’t sound like my own. “Has Grandfather… woken up?” Ethan’s smoking motion paused. Through the cigarette smoke, his face was somewhat blurred. “The doctor said his brain was severely deprived of oxygen. He’s become a vegetable. The chances of him waking up are minimal.” My heart sank to rock bottom.

Sophia’s POV “However.” Ethan threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his shoe. “Considering you’re still carrying Quinn family blood in your belly, the family has decided to temporarily not pursue criminal charges against you.” He opened the car door. “But from now on, you’re no longer my wife, no longer part of the Quinn family. Once the child is born, I’ll divorce you.” I looked at him and laughed. Laughed until tears came out. “Ethan.” I said softly. “You’re going to regret this. One day, you’ll know how ridiculous today’s choice was.” Ethan frowned, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately just turned aside. “Get in. Don’t make me say it a third time.” I wanted to refuse, but the words stuck in my throat. I knew resistance was meaningless. Besides, all my documents were still at the villa. I had to go back to get them before I could leave. Half an hour later, the car pulled into the familiar villa courtyard. But after stepping into the villa, the scene before me made me stop in my tracks. Several servants were moving things out of the master bedroom. My clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, even my cherished books and photo albums: all carelessly stuffed into cardboard boxes, piled in the hallway like trash. “Hurry up.” Lydia commanded imperiously. “Throw anything useless into the storage room.” She looked up and saw me, a victorious smile curving her lips. “You’re back?” Coming before me, she looked me up and down in my disheveled state, saying smugly, “Starting today, this villa has a new mistress. Naturally, the master bedroom is no longer yours either.” She raised her hand, pointing to a narrow door at the end of the hallway. “From now on, you’ll live there.” I found this utterly absurd and laughable. I looked at Ethan mockingly. “Your grandfather is still lying unconscious in the hospital, and instead of investigating the truth, you let this woman move into our bedroom? Can you face him after doing this?” “Grandfather became like this because of you. That’s the truth.” Ethan’s face was terrifyingly dark. “If not for the child in your belly, you’d still be in jail right now instead of standing here questioning me.” He raised his chin toward a nearby servant. “Take her to the storage room. From today on, she lives there until the child is born.” Two servants stepped forward, gripping my arms from both sides. The storage room was worse than I’d imagined. Less than a hundred square feet, filled with old junk, the smell of mold mixed with the pungent odor of cleaning agents, nauseating. The servants carelessly threw my belongings on the floor. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll be responsible for cleaning the entire villa every day.” Lydia stood in the doorway, her smile sweet but vicious. “Because the Quinn family doesn’t support freeloaders.” She paused slightly, as if remembering something. “Oh, and don’t think about running away or contacting anyone, because it would be futile. Your phone has been confiscated. I’ve also instructed everyone that no one in this villa dares lend you a phone. Before the child in your belly is born, someone will watch you every moment of every day.” With those words, the door slammed shut heavily. I dug my fingertips deep into my palm, trying hard to calm my emotions, then turned to rummage through the pile of belongings for a long time, finally finding all my identification documents. I gripped those documents tightly. I had to endure for now, endure until I found a chance to escape. In the days that followed, before dawn each day, I was dragged from the storage room by servants to begin the day’s labor. Scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets, washing mountains of dishes, tending to wildly overgrown weeds in the garden… any slacking off resulted in kicks from the servants watching me. My three meals were the cold leftovers everyone else didn’t finish. As for Ethan and Lydia… If before, with Grandfather keeping them in check, they still exercised some restraint and only dared to sneak around… Now with Grandfather down, they had completely thrown caution to the wind. The living room sofa, the study desk, the dining table, even the garden swing… everywhere bore traces of their lovemaking. Several times late at night, tossing and turning on the narrow bed in the storage room, I could hear moans and panting from the other side of the wall, obscene and unbearable. The gentle consideration that once moved my heart. How laughable it all seemed now. This afternoon at noon, the sun blazed overhead. I was ordered to clean the pool. I crouched by the pool’s edge, scrubbing the walls bit by bit with a brush. At the other end of the pool, water splashed everywhere. Lydia wore a sexy bikini, her whole body clinging to Ethan, laughing coquettishly. The servant watching me was a middle-aged woman, currently leaning back in a lounge chair dozing off, obviously drowsy from the stifling afternoon heat. My scrubbing motion paused slightly. I raised my eyes, quickly scanning the surroundings. Ethan and Lydia were immersed in their own world, not paying attention to me. The villa gate was at the end of the garden, about fifty meters away. My heart pounded violently in my chest. I gently set down the brush, pretending to reach for the hose in the corner, but used the cover of the bushes to inch bit by bit toward the gate. Five meters, ten meters, twenty meters… Behind me came Lydia’s coquettish complaint. “Ethan, my shoulders are so sore. Massage them for me…” Ethan chuckled lowly. “Where? Here?” Panting sounds resumed. I held my breath and finally reached the gate. I looked back once. The servant was still dozing. Those two were still entwined in the water. Now. This was the best chance to escape. I gripped the documents in my pocket tightly. Then without looking back, I slipped out silently.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “394877”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

My boyfriend Ethan brought me home to meet his family. His adopted sister Leah had just gotten out of the pool, and her bikini strap had snapped. She let out a little cry, hands flying to her chest, and ran straight toward Ethan. “Ethan, the strap broke! Help me tie it back on!” The butler and servants all lowered their heads. Ethan seemed completely used to this. He took her hand, turned her around, and expertly tied a knot. His hand even slid across Leah’s bare back as he said flippantly, “What kind of cheap stuff did you buy? Next time I’ll get you something better.” I was so angry I nearly blacked out. “Ethan!” I snapped. “Are my words just going in one ear and out the other?” Leah turned back to look at me with timid eyes. “Claire, don’t read too much into it. We’re just siblings. If something was really going on between us, I’d already be the lady of this house, wouldn’t I?” After saying that, she turned back around, her voice taking on a coquettish tone. “Ethan, I’ve told you so many times—after you tie the bikini straps, you need to adjust things properly so the shape looks good!” “You’re like a block of wood. You totally ruined the shape.” Leah actually reached into her bikini right then and there, adjusting herself in front of Ethan like no one else was watching. And Ethan didn’t look away at all. His eyes dropped to her chest and stayed there for two full seconds. Then he sighed helplessly and actually reached out like he was about to help her. “Leah, don’t you have hands?” I finally snapped. I strode forward and planted myself between them. “Ethan, am I dead to you? Is this something you can just ‘help’ with? Even if you grew up together, there’s a line between men and women. Don’t you two have any sense of boundaries?” The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I’d always known Ethan had an adopted sister. But I had no idea they were this close—completely crossing the line between siblings. In front of all these people, and in front of me, they could do something like this. I didn’t dare imagine what went on when they were alone! The moment I finished speaking, the air went still for a beat. Then Ethan suddenly burst out laughing and wrapped his arm around me. “Jealous?” He nuzzled my neck with his nose. “You’re right. I’ll be more careful from now on, okay? Don’t be mad. Besides, I completely see Leah as a kid. Looking at her is like looking at my own daughter.” That only added fuel to the fire. He still didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. Daughter? What kind of father ties his twenty-year-old daughter’s bikini and runs his hand down her back while he’s at it? I shoved his hand away irritably. Before Ethan could say anything, Leah clicked her tongue impatiently. “Come on, Claire. Ethan coaxing you once is cute. If you keep this up, you’re just being unreasonable.” Ethan’s mother—my future mother-in-law—walked over carrying a fruit platter, a polite smile plastered on her face. “Claire, it’s your first time visiting our home. Let’s not make a fuss over something so small. Ethan and Leah are just close. You’ll get used to it.” She handed me a piece of watermelon. “Leah grew up without parents. We all love her like she’s our own. Ethan especially treasures her. Please be understanding.” I was trembling with rage. Everyone around me was looking at me like I was overreacting. Including Ethan, who clearly didn’t think his behavior—or his family’s words—was problematic in the slightest. I took a deep breath, about to speak, when Leah suddenly started complaining loudly. She stamped her foot at Ethan. “Ethan, I’m hungry! Didn’t you say the chef was making sushi today? I can’t wait anymore!” Ethan’s brow immediately furrowed. He looked at me, his tone cooling. “Are you done making a scene? Can we go eat now? Leah has a sensitive stomach. If she goes too long without eating, it’ll hurt.” In that instant, my heart went cold. Was I the one making a scene? All he talked about was Leah. Because Leah wanted to eat, I had to swallow my grievances. With such a wonderful sister around, why did he even need a girlfriend? I closed my eyes, forcing back the sting of tears. “I’m done. Done making a scene, and done with you. Ethan, let’s break up.” The moment I turned to leave, I paused and looked back at Leah. “By the way, I heard siblings who are close sleep in the same bed to deepen their bond. I wish you and your brother a happy life together.” I strode toward the door. Ethan suddenly grabbed me, yanking me back so hard I stumbled. He gripped my wrist so tightly my bones ached. “Can you please give me some face in front of my family? Stop being so unreasonable!” “Tell me what you want to eat. After dinner, I’ll have the driver take us shopping. I’ll spend time with you properly, okay?” His tone softened, as if this were some enormous compromise. I laughed. Everything came after his precious sister. What was I to him? I wrenched my arm free and looked at my wrist, now red from his grip. I sneered. “No need, Mr. Brooks.” With that, I turned and walked away without hesitation. This time, Ethan didn’t follow. Behind me, I heard Leah’s gleeful voice. “Ethan, what’s wrong with her? We already said we’re siblings, but she insists on imagining there’s something between us. Total paranoia!” Ethan’s mother was sighing too. “Ethan, is this really the type of girl you like? She has such a temper. She’s going to cause trouble if you take her out.” Ethan rubbed his temples irritably and casually slung his arm over Leah’s shoulder as they walked toward the dining room. “Mom, drop it. I’m annoyed. Forget about her. If she wants to leave, let her leave.” “Come on, Leah. Let’s get you that coffee you love.” Tears streamed down my face instantly. I held them back as hard as I could, but the moment I got into the cab, I broke down completely. For this man, I’d turned down the stable job my parents had arranged and moved to his city all by myself. We’d been together for three years. I thought our love was unshakable. What an idiot I’d been!

The moment I got back to the apartment we shared, I started packing my things. For two whole days, Ethan didn’t call or text me once. I forced myself not to be pathetic and started planning my new life. I messaged the HR department of a company I’d previously turned down, asking if the Director’s Assistant position they’d offered me was still available. They replied quickly, saying the position was still open and asking when I could start. I told them next Monday. Just when I thought this chapter of my life was closing and I was ready to start fresh, the doorbell rang. I opened the door. Ethan stood there holding a huge bouquet of blue roses, though his expression showed little remorse. “Surprise!” He forced out a stiff smile and thrust the flowers forward like he was checking off a task. “Babe, I’m here to apologize. Forgive me, okay?” Even as he spoke, his eyes drifted over my shoulder into the apartment, as if checking for something. Before I could respond, Leah suddenly appeared from behind him. She shoved an elegant gift box into my arms with a bright smile. “Claire, don’t be mad. Getting angry all the time is bad for your skin.” With that, she breezed past me like she owned the place, slipping on house slippers and walking right in. Those were the fuzzy slippers Ethan had bought me—my favorite pair. Ethan immediately followed her in, not even glancing at me. All his attention was on Leah. “Careful. Don’t trip.” He pulled me onto the couch. “Baby, look—Leah even came all this way to apologize to you.” He opened the gift box. Inside was a necklace with a huge diamond that was almost blinding. “Remember that ‘Heart of the Ocean’ you glanced at during the auction? I bought it for you. Do you like it?” My heart skipped a beat. Before I could process it, he moved behind me and personally fastened the cold necklace around my neck. “It’s beautiful,” he murmured, his breath tickling my ear. “It suits you.” Leah, who’d been standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke up. Her tone carried just the right hint of envy. “You’re so lucky, Claire. Ethan treats you so well. I’m honestly jealous.” She stepped closer, staring directly at the necklace around my neck. Her lips formed a little pout and her eyes began to redden. “Ethan, I’ve never gotten such an expensive gift from you my whole life. At the auction, I told you how much I loved this ‘Heart of the Ocean,’ and you just pretended not to hear me…” The warmth on Ethan’s face instantly froze, replaced by guilt and indulgence toward his sister. He coaxed her, “Leah, be good. Next time I’ll buy you something nice first.” “I don’t want next time. I like this one,” Leah started whining, reaching out to tug on my arm. “Claire, you’re the sweetest. Can you just let me try on the necklace? Just for a second. Let me see how it looks. Just to satisfy my little wish…” “I—” Before I could finish, Ethan was already frowning impatiently. “Just let her try it on. It’s just a necklace. Leah likes it so much—why are you being petty with her?” Without even waiting for my consent, he personally unclasped the necklace he’d just put on me and turned to fasten it around Leah’s pale neck. “Ethan, this necklace looks way better on me. Look how beautiful it is!” Leah’s tears vanished instantly as she twirled around, beaming. Ethan smiled indulgently, his eyes full of doting affection. “Our Leah looks good in anything. You’re a natural.” Watching the two of them laughing and playing around in front of me, I felt nothing but nausea. The necklace that should have been mine had spent less than a minute on my neck before becoming a tool to please another woman. I forced a bitter smile. “Is this why you came today? Just to disgust me?” Leah shook her head innocently. “Claire, how can you say that!” “My brother gave you the ‘Heart of the Ocean’ just to make you happy. He’s never bought me a necklace this expensive!” “Before he came, he even called to ask me for advice. I was catching up on sleep after jet lag, and he woke me up with that phone call!” “Honestly, he’s so clueless about how to make a girlfriend happy. Claire, you really need to teach him.” Ethan smiled and patted her head. “Come on now. What kind of sister talks about her brother like this in front of other people?” “I’m not ‘other people’! I’m your closest sister!” In the blink of an eye, they were laughing and playfully shoving each other again. The “Heart of the Ocean” diamond swung back and forth in front of my eyes, stabbing painfully at my vision. I reflected on what kind of temporary insanity had made me open the door for them. Nearby, Leah was being tickled by Ethan, laughing so hard she could barely stand. “You’re so mean! I’m telling Claire all your dirty secrets!” She squirmed free and nimbly ran over to sit next to me, pulling out her phone and opening her photo album. I kept my face cold. I wanted to see just how much lower they could sink.

She tapped on a video. The scene showed the Brooks family study. Ethan was handling some documents. Leah, wearing a silk camisole nightgown, walked in carrying a glass of milk. She set the milk on the desk but didn’t leave. Instead, she climbed directly onto Ethan’s lap. “Ethan, you haven’t told me a bedtime story in forever.” Ethan put down his pen and looked at her helplessly. “How old are you? You still want bedtime stories?” Leah wrapped her arms around his neck and whined, “I don’t care. I want one.” Then she suddenly leaned down and kissed Ethan on the lips. “That’s a down payment.” The Ethan in the video froze. Then his Adam’s apple bobbed and his eyes darkened. He didn’t push her away. Instead, he lifted his hand to her back, his voice turning husky. “You little vixen.” The video cut off abruptly, the image shaking violently. Outside the video, Leah was doubled over laughing. She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. “I’m telling you, Ethan is so innocent. I was just teasing him and his face turned red as a tomato.” “But of course, he didn’t disappoint me. He carried me back to my room and told me stories all night long.” “No offense, Claire, but is your sex life a little… lacking? Ethan’s physical reaction was way too strong.” The video had just finished playing, freezing on Ethan’s face, written all over with desire. Ethan next to her reached out and flicked her forehead hard. “What nonsense are you spouting? Claire and I have a perfectly fine sex life. Mind your own business.” Leah refused to back down, and the two of them started roughhousing again like I wasn’t even there. The phone was tossed carelessly onto the couch by its owner. I calmly picked it up and sent that video—along with several other disgustingly intimate clips from her photo album—to my own phone. Then I deleted the sending history. When they’d finally tired themselves out, Ethan finally remembered I existed. He was still slightly out of breath as he looked down at me, his tone carrying a trace of commanding generosity. “Alright, you saw it. Even in that situation, all I did was tell her stories. I love you. That should be enough.” “So stop throwing tantrums, okay? Let’s just live our lives.” My chest felt stuffed with rage. So now he was the victim? But I forced that rage down and smiled, nodding. “Okay. I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again.” I was wrong, alright—wrong to think I could just walk away cleanly after breaking up. With scum like him and a homewrecker like her, if I didn’t ruin them both, how could I live up to the three years I’d wasted on him?

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Today was my prenatal checkup. Just as I was about to leave, my husband, Ocean Pack’s Alpha Kael, received a call from his Beta. “Alpha Kael, Lila is standing on the outside of the harbor railing, saying if you don’t come see her one last time, she’ll jump.” He fell silent for a few seconds, then turned to look at me. “Elara, something happened to Lila. I might need to go check on her.” I looked into his eyes and spoke calmly: “Does it have to be you? What about me and the baby if you leave?” Kael’s voice trembled, unable to meet my gaze: “The Beta already called the police, but she won’t let anyone near her.” He gripped my hand tightly, so hard that his knuckles made faint cracking sounds. “Elara, that’s a human life. I promise, once she’s safe, I’ll send her away immediately.” “When I get back, I’ll go with you to the prenatal checkup.” With that, he grabbed the car keys and left without looking back. After he left, I collapsed to the floor clutching my abdomen as blood trickled down my thighs. The housekeeper rushed over when he saw me and carried me to the car, taking me to the hospital. The doctor shook his head at me in the emergency room, his voice full of regret: “Luna Elara, we couldn’t save the baby.” I closed my eyes and nodded gently. The baby was gone. Kael, our fate together has ended as well.

In the third winter of my marriage to Kael, he brought back a young Omega named Lila from the border during a hunting trip. Lila curled up in his cloak, lifting her head to glance at me timidly. Kael said she was being hunted by rogues with nowhere to go, and he wanted to take her in as an assistant. He promised she wouldn’t overstep. But I clearly saw the tenderness in Kael’s eyes when he said this, looking at Lila. I wanted to refuse, but that day, Kael lost his temper with me for the first time. “How can you be so heartless? Where else can Lila go if she doesn’t stay here?” “As Luna, don’t you have any grace at all?” That day, I knew that Kael had crossed the line with this Omega. I watched his figure disappear at the end of the hallway and suddenly laughed. A tearing pain shot through my abdomen as warm blood soaked through my dress. This child that Kael and I had hoped for over three years ultimately couldn’t be saved. After the D&C procedure, I returned to the villa I shared with Kael, my face deathly pale. The old housekeeper drove very slowly, asking nothing the entire way. The car stopped in front of the villa. I was clutching my aching abdomen and had just pushed open the car door when headlights lit up from behind. Kael saw me holding my stomach with my pale face and froze for a moment. Then he took two strides over and scooped me up in his arms. “Elara, what’s wrong? Is your stomach bothering you?” His voice carried panic as his arms tightened, holding me against him. When he lowered his head, a cheap perfume smell wafted over. My gaze swept across his neck, where a fresh red mark was imprinted. After entering the house, I pushed away his arms and stepped back, looking at him with disgust: “Kael, let’s get divorced.” Kael froze in place, then his expression turned irritated and impatient: “Elara! How long are you going to keep this up? I already told you I’ll send her away. Why can’t you be more understanding?” I looked at the man before me, my memories somewhat hazy. In every wolf’s eyes, Kael loved me deeply. He would fight the Rogue King for precious supplies for my sake. He would brawl with the elders who opposed our engagement for my sake. These things once made me believe I was the happiest Luna in the world. Until Lila appeared. The struggle and pain on Kael’s face were just like when he knelt before me begging for forgiveness. The first time I caught Kael and Lila having sex in our marriage bed, he swore to the heavens that he would drive Lila out of Ocean Pack and never see her again. That proud Alpha knelt at my feet in front of both packs. He said he was just confused for a moment, that the one he loved had always been me. At that time, I touched the barely formed child in my womb, softened my heart, and decided to give him one more chance. But now I know this man isn’t worth it. Kael grabbed my hand and opened his mouth with what he thought was devotion: “Elara, I told you this is the last time I’ll see her. Didn’t we agree to make things work? Please stop fighting with me, okay?” Looking at him, I only found the man before me utterly disgusting. I was too lazy to keep arguing with him. I directly called the housekeeper to take me to my room without even glancing at him. The sound of Kael smashing things rang out behind me. I couldn’t care less.

I settled into the lakeside healing cabin in White Moon Pack. I sat by the window wrapped in a thick blanket, my hand unconsciously resting on my abdomen. The old housekeeper brought medicine and meals every day, never mentioning Kael or what was happening at the villa. I was content with the peace, wanting only to completely distance myself from that place full of lies and betrayal. On the third afternoon, the wooden door was shoved open violently. Kael walked in with a chill, carrying several exquisite gift boxes. “Elara, I’ve been looking for you for three days. So you’ve been hiding here.” I didn’t turn around, still looking out the window: “I’m not hiding. I just don’t want to see you.” He walked to my side, reaching out to touch my hair, but I dodged by tilting my head. His hand froze in mid-air, his tone carrying a hint of grievance: “I know you’re still angry. I’ve already sent Lila to the European branch. I’ll never let her appear before you again for the rest of my life. I’ve already done this much. What more do you want?” I finally turned my head to look at him. His reddened eyes looked affectionate and pathetic, but I only felt extreme disgust. Thinking about how he had held Lila with these hands, spoken sweet words to Lila with this mouth, made me nauseous. “Kael, I don’t want anything.” My voice was calm. “I just want to divorce you.” The ingratiating expression on his face instantly vanished. “Divorce? Elara, are you insane? Just because of one insignificant Omega? I already sent her away! Are you still going to hold onto this?” I looked into Kael’s eyes and suddenly remembered long ago, when I first met him. Back then, I met Kael at a bar and fell in love with him at first sight. I believed he was my mate, wanting to spend my life with him. But when I learned he was Ocean Pack’s Alpha, I hesitated. Powerful Alphas always had all kinds of temptations around them. I didn’t know if Kael truly loved me. My parents respected my opinion greatly. They said if I was unwilling, I didn’t need to worry about the century-old alliance. I could take my time finding an Alpha I liked. It was Kael who knelt before White Moon Pack’s altar, swearing to the Moon Goddess. “Elara, I, Kael, will never betray you in this lifetime.” “There will only ever be you as my partner.” “I will protect you and White Moon Pack with my life.” The vows in my ears seemed like yesterday, yet had long become the biggest joke. “Insignificant?” I laughed. “When she was having sex with you in our marriage bed, did you think that too? When you knelt at my feet swearing before both packs, did you think that too?” “That’s all in the past!” He slammed the table, the gift boxes tumbling to the floor from the impact. “I told you I was just confused for a moment! The one I love has always been you! Can’t you be more magnanimous? As Ocean Pack’s Luna, you should have a Luna’s grace!” “I don’t have that kind of grace.” I stood up, took the divorce agreement from the drawer, and threw it in front of him. “Sign it. Let’s make a clean break.” Kael’s face instantly turned pale. He picked up the agreement, his fingers trembling uncontrollably: “You had this prepared all along? You’ve wanted to divorce me all along, haven’t you?” “You forced me to.” I looked at him, my eyes devoid of any warmth. “From the day you betrayed me, things between us were finished.” “I don’t agree!” He violently tore the agreement to shreds, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at me. “The two packs’ alliance has been bound for a century. You think you can just divorce me? Do you want White Moon Pack and Ocean Pack to go to war?” “That’s your problem.” I walked around him toward the door. “I have countless backup copies of the agreement. In three days, I’ll formally submit the divorce application. If you don’t agree, we’ll see each other in court.” “Elara!” He rushed over to grab me, but I dodged to the side. “Get lost. Don’t let me see you again. You disgust me.” Kael looked at my resolute eyes and finally understood I wasn’t just throwing a tantrum. He clenched his fists tightly, nails digging into his palms. Finally, he glared at me fiercely and slammed the door as he left. The snow outside fell heavier. I leaned against the doorframe, slowly sliding to sit on the floor. Tears finally flowed uncontrollably.

I moved back to White Moon Pack’s ancestral home. Mom didn’t ask much, just brought the medicine she’d prepared into my room. At dinner, I put down my spoon and spoke: “Dad, Mom, the baby is gone. I want to divorce Kael.” I cried as I told them everything. Mom’s soup bowl crashed onto the table. Her hand trembled as she touched my flat abdomen. “My poor child, how could you bear all this alone for so long?” Dad’s face turned ashen. After a long silence, he slammed the table hard: “You must divorce that animal! No century-old alliance is worth more than a single hair on your head!” I leaned into Mom’s embrace as the grievances I’d accumulated for days finally broke through. I stayed at the ancestral home. I thought the divorce process would proceed smoothly, but when Dad returned from the territory council hall, he was shaking with rage: “That animal Kael! He’s forcing all the processing plants on the West Coast to break their contracts with us, cutting off our fishery sales!” I shot to my feet, blood rushing to my head. How dare he? How could he have the nerve? I grabbed the car keys and rushed out. I had to ask him if he had even a shred of conscience left. I pushed open the door to Kael’s villa. Kael was half-reclined on the sofa. Lila was wearing my silk nightgown, the moonstone necklace my father gave me for my eighteenth birthday around her neck. She nestled in his arms, feeding him grapes. My treasured white porcelain tea set was now being used by her to brew cheap fruit tea. Hearing the commotion, Kael’s head snapped up, his expression instantly darkening. Lila shrank back, burrowing deeper into his embrace. “Who let you in?” His voice was ice-cold, without a trace of guilt. “Aren’t you the one clamoring for a divorce?” I pointed at the necklace around Lila’s neck, my voice trembling: “Kael, this is my villa. Your little Omega is wearing my things.” “What’s yours and mine?” He frowned, his face full of impatience. “Lila likes it, so what if she wears it for now? As Ocean Pack’s Luna, how can you be so petty and mean?” “I’m petty? You’re working with outsiders to cut off White Moon Pack’s livelihood, and you have the nerve to call me petty?” “You brought this on yourself!” Alpha Kael shot to his feet, shielding Lila firmly behind him. “You insisted on forcing me to send Lila away, then sent rogues to intercept and kill her on the road! If I hadn’t arrived in time, she’d already be dead! I’m doing this to teach you a lesson!” I looked at Kael, finding it utterly absurd: “Kael, she’s not worth my effort to deal with. I find it beneath me.” Kael demanded sharply: “If not you, then who? Besides you, who else would dare hire assassins on my territory?” Lila peeked out from behind him, sobbing softly: “Luna Elara, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I’ll leave right now. I’ll never disturb you two again.” As she spoke, she started to get up, but Kael pressed her back down. “Don’t go!” he shouted. “With me here, no one can bully you!” Watching Lila and Kael’s coordinated performance made me nauseous. I wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible. Kael turned to look at me, deliberately softening his tone as he reached for my wrist: “Elara, stop this. I’ve already arranged it. Next week I’ll send Lila to the Antarctic research station. I’ll never let her come back for the rest of her life. Let’s forget about all this and live well together, okay?” Looking at his hypocritical face, the last trace of attachment in my heart turned completely to ash. I pulled my hand back, a shallow smile appearing on my face: “Okay.” Kael froze, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily. The joy in his eyes was impossible to hide: “Elara, I knew you still had feelings for me!” I withdrew my wrist and spoke calmly: “However, next week is the renewal ceremony for the two packs’ alliance. After the ceremony ends, I’ll move back.” He nodded repeatedly, so excited he could barely speak: “Yes, yes, yes! Whatever you say!” I said nothing more and turned to leave the villa. The moment I closed the door, the smile vanished from my face. Kael. Lila. What you owe me, what you owe my unborn child. I’ll claim it all back, principal and interest, at next week’s renewal ceremony.

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The glory of the World Championship win had barely settled when a man I once refused to sign stormed up to me, eyes burning with hatred. Surrounded by reporters, he angrily accused me of match-fixing. “If you hadn’t taken dirty money and undercut me, I’d be holding that trophy!” he shouted, yanking up his sweatpants to reveal a carbon-fiber prosthetic leg. The reporters erupted. Flashbulbs exploded as they shouted, “You belong in prison!” I raised my hands. “This is a misunderstanding.” “A misunderstanding?” He threw a medical report at me. “Two years ago today, in that playoff game—were you or were you not Kieran?” My stomach dropped. My name is Kieran, and I was involved—but as the head coach. I never stepped on the court. He took my silence as guilt. “You ruined my life!” he screamed. “I’ll make you pay!” The cruel irony: that day, I wasn’t even at the arena. An obsessed fan had drugged me, filmed me unconscious, and blackmailed me. But what stunned me most was his “witness.” “My girlfriend saw everything!” he yelled. “I won’t let you walk away with that trophy!” I looked at the woman beside him, clinging to his arm. My blood ran cold. It was her—the same fan who had ruined me two years ago. 1 When the woman finally got a good look at my face, a flash of pure panic and guilt crossed her eyes. Unfortunately, the crippled player completely missed her silent freak-out. He just pulled her forward, playing directly to the cameras. “I have been with my girl for seven years. Her biggest dream in the world was to see me win a championship.” “She dressed up that day, sitting in the bleachers with so much hope, just to watch me play. And what happened? Kieran maliciously stepped under my feet while I was shooting a three-pointer. My ankle shattered so badly they had to amputate. He killed my entire career in a split second!” He even held up a hospital billing statement. Under the ‘Guarantor for Medical Expenses’ section, my name was printed in black and white. Kieran. But that was because I was the coach of the opposing team. Naturally, I stepped up to cover the injured player’s medical bills out of basic human decency. I reached out, trying to pat his shoulder. “Bro, hold on a second. I am incredibly sorry about what happened to you, but you have the wrong guy.” “The wrong guy? You think you can just write off my ruined life as a misunderstanding?!” Tears streamed down his face. He looked completely unhinged as he roared at me. “My name is Silas! The Silas whose life you completely destroyed!” “If a monster like you gets to be crowned a World Champion, I would rather die right here to prove my innocence!” The media crowd gasped collectively. Every single camera lens pivoted directly to my face. The reporters were practically foaming at the mouth with righteous indignation. “Kieran, you know exactly how vital a player’s legs are. What exactly possessed you to do something so sick?” “Nobody would joke about losing a limb! Have you no conscience? Are you really going to stand there and deny it?” How the hell was I supposed to confess to something I never did? I had been dragged through hell that day too. I was just a clean-cut, hardworking coach back then. And that woman completely violated my boundaries. She drugged me, recorded my most vulnerable, humiliating moments on camera, and used the footage to try and force me into a relationship with her. God only knows how much money and sanity it cost me to finally bury that nightmare. I took a deep breath, fighting to keep my voice level. “I remember you. You were a prospect I rejected during the draft trials. You can’t just accuse me of ruining your life because I bruised your ego.” “I was merely the coach during that minor league game. I never subbed in. I never stepped on the court. I physically could not have fouled you.” Let alone the fact that I wasn’t even in the building. I waved my hand, gesturing for my legal team to step in and handle this circus. But before I could even turn my head, Silas lunged forward and snatched my World Championship trophy right off the podium. This was the holy grail my teammates and I had bled and sweat for over three years. It was the ultimate proof of our international dominance. As the team captain, I was supposed to be the one lifting it to the rafters. If Silas hadn’t hijacked the press conference to smear my name, my boys and I would be popping champagne right now. Instead, Silas held the heavy gold trophy high above his head. Pure malice spilled out of his eyes. My posture instantly turned lethal. “What do you think you are doing? Put that down and think very carefully about your next move.” Silas ground his teeth. “Kieran, you destroyed my life. If you do not confess to the whole world right now and show them the ugly freak you really are, you are not leaving this stage!” Seeing that he was entirely prepared to burn everything to the ground, I stopped moving. “Do you have any idea that slandering me on global television will land you in a federal prison?” “And the trophy you are holding represents the glory of an entire nation! Do not let your petty, delusional vendetta ruin this!” Silas just let out a disdainful snort. “You think I would come up here to expose you without hard proof?” “Look closely, everyone! This is the raw broadcast footage from that exact day. World Champion? Please. He is a career-ending thug!” He uploaded a video file directly to the event’s public feed. The reporters and the millions of fans watching the live stream immediately pulled it up. My eyebrows knit together in sheer confusion. What the hell was going on? The player in the video who viciously undercut him looked exactly like me. The footage Silas provided even had a verified timestamp. It was definitively from that minor league game. Realizing the massive severity of the situation, the tournament organizers routed the video to the jumbotron above us. Everyone watched as a player wearing my exact face deliberately slid his foot under Silas while he was airborne for a three-pointer. Silas came down hard, his ankle snapping in a sickening way as he collapsed in agony. The entire arena exploded into chaos. Fans from all over the world stared at the stage in absolute horror. “I can’t believe their World Champion is a dirty player. What an absolute disgrace!” My die-hard fans tried to scream in my defense, but the supporters of the team we had just defeated mercilessly attacked them. “Your idol is a literal criminal! This whole championship is tainted. We demand a complete rematch!” People started hurling cups of soda and half-eaten hotdogs at my supporters in the stands. The reporters didn’t hesitate. They shoved their microphones practically down my throat. “Kieran, are you still going to lie to our faces?” “Whether you took a bribe or did it out of spite, you intentionally maimed Silas and forced him into an amputation! That is an indisputable fact!” “A degenerate like you belongs behind bars. How dare you even touch that trophy? It is a desecration to the sport!” I tried to speak, but my voice was completely drowned out by the tidal wave of accusations. We had bled for our country. Now, our crowning achievement was being dragged through the mud. My fans in the audience were being shoved and bullied. My teammates, who had been crying tears of joy just ten minutes ago, now stood with their heads bowed, looking utterly lost and completely humiliated. Meanwhile, Silas soaked up the sympathy of the press, offering the cameras a tragically broken smile. “I used to be a kid with big dreams. I never thought the world could be this cruel. The woman I love was sitting right there in the crowd, and all she got to see was my most pathetic, broken moment.” “If life was fair, I would be the one holding this trophy today. But Kieran, that disgusting thief, stole everything from me!” Silas clutched the trophy my team had earned, weeping and playing the victim, acting like it rightfully belonged to him. That gold was forged from our blood, sweat, and sleepless nights. Why the hell should I let him tarnish it with his baseless, psychotic lies? I took a deep breath, forcing my heart rate down. I had no idea how my face ended up in that game footage. But there was one thing I knew with absolute, terrifying certainty. A human being cannot physically exist in two places at once. The day I was drugged and dragged into that hotel room, the lobby security cameras and the vile video Sloane filmed on her phone both had rock-solid timestamps. They were my unbreakable alibis. I just wondered if Silas would be able to handle the truth when I shoved it down his throat. I glared at him with ice in my veins. “We live in an era where deepfakes are practically flawless. Are you absolutely certain the guy in that video is me?” Silas gritted his teeth. “Who else could it be?! Everyone can see it perfectly. That is your face! You are just too much of a coward to admit it until the coffin is nailed shut!” Right on cue, his girlfriend Sloane stepped into the spotlight. “My boyfriend’s dream was always to win the World Championship. He was a generational talent. Before I met him, he had never lost a single game.” “Kieran was obviously insanely jealous of his natural gifts! That is why he refused to sign him, and that is exactly why he took a cheap shot and crippled him when they finally faced off!” She puffed out her chest, speaking with absolute, unwavering conviction, painting a vivid picture of the tragedy she supposedly witnessed that day. I would never be able to scrub Sloane’s sickening face out of my memory. I was the one who survived a nightmare because of her. Back then, I was just a regular coach grinding my way up. But my looks caught Sloane’s attention, and she developed a completely unhinged obsession with me. She tried to buy me with money. She tried to pressure me using her family’s connections. Nothing worked. I refused to cave. So she resorted to the lowest, most despicable tactic imaginable. She slipped a drug into my drink. She was in that hotel room. She took complete advantage of my paralyzed state to film an explicit, non-consensual video. The entire horrific ordeal was documented on her phone. I couldn’t even stomach the thought of watching it a second time. She was only bold enough to publicly slander me right now because she assumed I had permanently deleted that traumatic footage the second our legal battle ended. But the truth was, just in case this psychopath ever returned. I had kept a heavily encrypted backup. I stared dead into Sloane’s heavily plastic-surgeried face, a wave of pure revulsion rolling off me. “You claim I was on the court undercutting Silas that day. Then let me ask you something. Who was the guy passed out in the penthouse suite of the Grand Plaza Hotel that exact same afternoon?” Sloane violently flinched. She snapped her head toward me. “What, are you going to start spreading slut-shaming rumors about me now? Is this how a World Champion behaves?!” Silas clenched his fists. He immediately pulled Sloane behind his back, puffing up like a righteous savior. “I thought you were just an overly competitive thug who played dirty because you were terrified of losing to me. But at least I thought you had some backbone! Dragging an innocent woman’s reputation through the mud? You are not even a real man!” The reporters eagerly typed away, practically salivating. They were already painting me as a mob-connected enforcer who intentionally crippled rookies. Now, they were slapping a ‘misogynist’ label on me, condemning me for throwing a woman under the bus to save my own skin. I kept my tone dangerously calm. “I grew up in a working-class neighborhood. I am not some mobster intentionally breaking people’s legs.” Sloane pointed a manicured finger right at my nose. “That is exactly why you took the dirty money! You did a hit job to eliminate a player who actually had real talent!” “I saw the whole thing from the bleachers. Do not even try to lie your way out of this! Whether it is his leg or that championship trophy, you owe my boyfriend your life. You do not deserve any of it!” I had pushed through three years of brutal injuries. Three years of sleepless, agonizing training camps. And she had the sheer audacity to say I didn’t deserve it? I took a step back, putting distance between myself and Sloane. “A single video clip proves absolutely nothing. I am calling the police right now to pull my geolocation data and hotel records from that day.” “First of all, I was the head coach. There is zero possibility I subbed into the game. Second, I was never even inside that arena!” I locked eyes with Sloane, my gaze utterly lethal. “Where I was, and exactly what I was doing that day, is something you know very, very intimately, Sloane. Do not push me to the point of no return.” It was a highly explicit, deeply violating video involving both of us. Even though I didn’t grow up rich, my parents raised me to be a gentleman. I truly did not want to destroy a woman’s dignity on international television. But Silas didn’t care. At that exact moment, he hoisted the trophy high into the air and violently slammed it down onto the hard stage floor. A deafening crack echoed through the stadium. The honor my teammates and I had bled for over three years, a multimillion-dollar international trophy representing the pride of our entire nation, shattered into a dozen jagged pieces. I saw red. “Silas, have you completely lost your mind?! That is a national treasure!” More importantly, the sentimental value of that trophy was something a hundred thousand Silases could never afford to repay. Silas just pointed a venomous finger right at my face. “Let me make this crystal clear. I would rather smash this trophy to dust than let a piece of trash like you ever hold it again!” “Who knows if you are going to bribe the cops and the media to fabricate some fake alibi later!” He turned to the completely stunned crowd, speaking with fanatical devotion. “I swear on my actual life, Kieran is the one who took my leg. That video is one hundred percent authentic.” “If he can genuinely prove he didn’t do it, I will take a knife and end my own life right here on this stage! Are you all satisfied now?!” Betting his own life on the line. That was all it took for the scales of public trust to permanently tip in his favor. The tournament officials looked at us with deep apprehension. The gold medals that were supposed to be draped around our necks were quietly packed away. My fans, who had been fiercely fighting back just moments ago, went completely still. They squatted in the stands, quietly weeping as they absorbed the humiliation. A few of my teammates broke down sobbing, dropping to their knees and pounding their fists against the stage floor in sheer, helpless agony. The rookie I had personally mentored looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot and completely shattered. “Captain… did you really do those things?” “Please tell me it is a lie. You are not that kind of person, right?” Looking into his completely broken eyes, I knew he was hanging on by a thread. I was the leader of this franchise. I was the idol my fans looked up to. I represented the country. If I didn’t completely annihilate these lies and clear my name right here, right now, the people who loved and trusted me would suffer a permanent psychological collapse. And all of this nightmare was meticulously orchestrated by Silas and Sloane. Silas, you really wanted to play this game? You better pray you can survive the fallout. I pulled out my phone and unlocked the heavily encrypted hidden folder in my gallery. “We actually do not need to wait for the police. I have a video right here that explicitly proves I was nowhere near that basketball court.” I already had the media control booth’s email from the press briefing. I attached the file and hit send. “Put it on the jumbotron. The raw, real-time footage from that afternoon is more than enough to clear my name!”

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I ran over a small dog while driving. The moment I felt the bump, I knew something was wrong. I heard a tragic yelp from under the wheels. I stopped the car and got out. It was a Corgi puppy, no bigger than my hand, probably barely a month old. It was twitching on the ground, its spine and two of its legs crushed by my tires. The owner was a young girl. She immediately burst into tears, dropping to her knees and scooping up the puppy. In its final moments, the puppy stuck out its tongue, its eyes brimming with tears. Blood kept dripping from its mouth. Unable to make a sound, it could only whimper, using its last ounce of strength to lick its owner’s face before its head went limp. The girl cried until her voice went hoarse. I felt terrible, too. The puppy was so small. But honestly, I felt she bore some responsibility for walking the dog off-leash, so I didn’t want to take full financial responsibility. The girl refused to compromise with me and called the police. When the officer arrived, I argued repeatedly that the girl should be entirely at fault. However, the officer still ruled it a 50/50 split in liability. In the end, I paid $3,000 in compensation because Corgis are expensive dogs. Three thousand dollars was too steep. The more I thought about it, the more unfair it felt. Luckily, this was a rural area on the outskirts of the county, and many of the street cameras were managed by the local community board, not as complicated as getting footage in the city. I hurried to the community center to check the surveillance footage, intending to gather evidence for an appeal to the traffic division. When I arrived at the community center, no one was there, but the office door was open, and a computer was on. I decided to check the footage myself first. What I saw on the screen proved that something was very wrong. In the video, as I drove past, the girl came out of her house holding the puppy. Once my car was clearly passing by, she suddenly threw the puppy right under my tires! I was dumbfounded. And what happened next was even more unbelievable. After the girl “called the police,” a white car, looking exactly like a police cruiser but suspiciously unmarked, pulled onto the road in the corner of the video. The car stopped behind a bend. A man stepped out—it was the very “police officer” who had just handled the case. The man wasn’t wearing a uniform initially. Only right before arriving at the scene did he hastily throw on a police uniform, attach a siren to the roof, slap on fake police decals, and put on fake license plates before slowly driving over. That’s when I realized: I had been the victim of a scam that cost a puppy’s life! Who could tolerate such a disgusting waste of a little life?! I kept watching the footage. After I left, the girl and the fake cop returned to their “cruiser” and immediately stripped off all the police markings. The man opened the trunk, revealing it was full of barely-alive puppies. They completely disregarded whether the puppies would suffocate. The man pulled out another puppy, this time a Pomeranian, and casually tossed it onto the ground. The puppy yelped as it hit the dirt, breaking a leg. It limped toward the girl, as if begging for her protection. The girl couldn’t care less that its leg was broken; after all, it was destined to be thrown under a car’s tires. Too lazy to pick it up gently, she grabbed the puppy by the scruff of its neck and walked away. They were serial scammers! Furious, I immediately dialed 911, then walked out the door toward my car. I originally intended to drive after them, but right before I got in, I calmed down. These people were professional scammers, criminals. I just needed to wait patiently for the real police to arrive. Confronting them myself was way too dangerous. I swallowed my anger, unlocked my car, opened the door, and got in. But the moment I sat down, the passenger door suddenly opened too. Before I could react, a man slid into the passenger seat. Without any hesitation, he grabbed my arm. Then I got a clear look at his face. It was the man who had just impersonated a police officer to scam me! I never expected this guy to track me down and ambush me. Did they make sure the victim had completely left the area after every scam? He stared at me dead in the eye and asked, “Buddy, what are you doing at the community center?” For a second, I didn’t know how to answer. Reason told me not to provoke criminals, so I said, “Just getting some paperwork.” He nodded and said, “Show me the paperwork.” I didn’t have any paperwork! I could only grab the door handle, desperate to get out of there. But the next second, the man suddenly pulled a small knife from his pocket. Gripping my arm tightly, he said coldly, “You move, I stab you.” I froze instantly, my mind going completely blank. I had never been held at knifepoint in my entire life. Only then did I realize movies are full of crap. There’s no “staying calm under pressure.” The moment someone actually points a knife at you, your brain short-circuits. You can only stare at the blade, praying internally that he doesn’t plunge it into you! At that moment, the back door opened. The girl from earlier got into the car. She had completely dropped her pitiful act. She casually tossed the crippled Pomeranian aside, chewing gum, and asked, “Did he call the cops?” The man said, “Buddy, show me your phone.” I swallowed hard, not knowing what to do. But right then, I saw a security guard walk out from around the corner. Terrified, I quickly rolled down the window and screamed at him: “Security! Help!” I thought that with a witness present, the man wouldn’t dare make a reckless move. Who knew he wouldn’t care at all. The security guard heard my voice, glanced at me, and actually acted like he saw nothing! While I was staring in disbelief, the man suddenly roared at the security guard, “You just let anyone look at the security footage?!” The security guard actually offered an apologetic, fawning expression: “I’m sorry, man. I just went to grab lunch.” “Lock the door when you leave from now on! And delete the footage!” That’s when I realized: this man was connected to the community board, and deeply! So deeply that the security guard could turn a blind eye even when he clearly saw me being held at knifepoint! I had no choice but to meekly hand over my phone. Even though he was the scammer, I was the one carefully apologizing, “Man, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I don’t want the money back, just consider it a tribute to you guys.” He flipped through my phone and said casually, “You actually did call the cops.” The girl in the back seat suddenly flared up. She slapped me hard across the face from behind and cursed, “Call the cops, my ass!” The slap landed hard on my face, making it sting, but the humiliation and pain were nothing compared to my fear of that knife! I whispered, “I’m sorry, I’ll tell the police I made a mistake right now.” The man replied casually, “Don’t say sorry. I can’t let you go.” Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my stomach! I looked down. The man had plunged the knife into my gut! I could feel my abdominal muscles contracting violently. He pulled the knife out, and blood instantly gushed from the wound. My mind was in chaos. I stared at the wound, my head filled with the thought that I was going to die. I had a wife and kids, a mom and dad, but I was going to die! I clutched my stomach, my voice trembling as I spoke: “Why… it wasn’t a big deal, why…” I couldn’t even finish my sentence before I almost burst into tears. I was so scared. I was terrified of dying! I didn’t understand why I suddenly got into this mess, or why they had to kill me over something so trivial. The girl grabbed my hair and dragged me into the back seat. The man grabbed my legs and shoved me back. I wanted to fight back, but it hurt too much to move! In movies, when the protagonist gets stabbed in the stomach, they can still fight. But when I actually got stabbed, my first reaction was wanting to throw up. It hurt so much my whole body was shaking, and I was getting colder and colder. I could even feel my body temperature dropping as I lost blood. I had absolutely no strength, shivering from the cold! I was shoved into the back seat, my vision starting to go dark. The man got into the driver’s seat and started the car. The girl looked at me with contempt, like I was an animal, completely indifferent to whether I lived or died. Their reactions suggested this wasn’t their first time doing something like this. I wanted to plug the wound. Even with my hands pressing on it, blood kept flowing out. Fighting the dizziness, I grabbed some stickers my daughter played with from the back seat, peeling them off one by one and sticking them over my wound. Seeing what I was doing, the girl didn’t stop me. Instead, she found it hilarious, laughing continuously and telling the man to look at what I was doing. The man glanced back at me and burst out laughing too. My desperate struggle on the brink of death was nothing but a comedy to them. Weakly, I managed to stick all the stickers over my wound. Thank God, these stickers were all plastic-coated, making them harder for the blood to soak through. But eventually, I couldn’t fight off the encroaching darkness and passed out completely. In a daze, I felt like someone was touching me. Everything around me was very loud. I tried to open my eyes many times but had no strength. When I finally woke up, it was already daylight. Something was nuzzling my abdomen. I looked down and saw a dog sniffing my wound! Terrified, I quickly sat up, but the violent movement caused such intense pain I almost passed out again! Perhaps because of my sudden movement, a cacophony of shrill barking erupted around me. Clutching my stomach, I finally realized I was surrounded by dogs. I had been thrown into a massive dog pen, surrounded by fences, topped with wire mesh that reached all the way to the roof. My lips were cracked, and my throat burned with thirst. A pack of dogs stared at me in confusion. Finally, I spotted a large water trough in the corner. Several dogs were drinking from it. I don’t know what kind of primal instinct took over, but I crawled over to the trough, only to find the water inside was filthy, mixed with dog hair and muddy water. Even though I was dying of thirst, I refused to drink it. The psychological hurdle was too high. But I was so thirsty, and my body was alternating between hot and cold. My head felt heavy. I deduced I was probably dealing with an infection and a fever. The agony was unbearable. Eventually, I took off my sock and used it to scoop up water. I held the bulging sock as water filtered through, tilted my head back, and opened my mouth. Even if it was just a sock, it could at least filter out the dog hair and dirt. I used the sock to drink twice before I finally felt less thirsty. Once I regained some mental clarity, I began observing my surroundings. This was a massive dog breeding facility. Aside from the large circular pen I was in, there were many other similar pens. I could see mountains, and not just the foothills—I could see halfway up the slopes. Without a doubt, I was currently at a breeding facility deep in the mountains. Places like this usually need to be far away from residential areas, so the mountains are often a prime choice. While I was observing, I noticed a figure in the distance. It looked like a woman, limping, holding a phone and filming something. Because she was too far away, I couldn’t see clearly. But she stopped at every dog pen to film with her phone for a while before moving on to the next. She was getting closer and closer to me. When she got close enough, I saw her face clearly and was completely dumbfounded, because I recognized this person! She was a local internet personality known as “Kind-Hearted Chloe,” with hundreds of thousands of followers. She was disabled herself, but naturally compassionate. She usually made videos about rescuing sick, disabled, and abandoned dogs. She had even set up donation channels to help these poor animals. Even I had donated twenty bucks to her! Seeing her, I frantically hit the wire mesh and yelled: “Chloe! Can you see me? Help me!” Chloe was filming with her phone. She heard my voice, glanced at me, then ignored me and continued filming. My heart went cold. I understood. Kind-Hearted Chloe. We all thought she was a good person rescuing dogs, and everyone donated to her, hoping she could save more small animals. Now I realized, those sick dogs were probably all their tools. Alive, these dogs were tools to extort money. When they were about to die of illness, even their corpses could turn a profit. Chloe completely ignored me. After finishing her video, she took another dog from a different pen and said into the camera: “The little Golden Retriever with a broken leg that was abandoned by its owner last time is doing much better now. Today, we’re going to continue its treatment.” I didn’t dare yell, because I knew that since she dared to film in front of me, it meant she wasn’t livestreaming. If I dared to make a sound and ruin her video recording, they would definitely torture me again! Chloe took out a medical kit, recording a video, lovingly feeding the little Golden Retriever medicine. An injured dog was receiving treatment, while I, a dying human being, could only cling to life! After Chloe finished filming, she didn’t record my cage at all, simply walking past me. Suddenly, I saw something drop from her hand. I looked down and realized it was medicine. I reached out and pulled the medicine towards me. Veterinary Amoxicillin tablets, veterinary fever reducers, and some rubbing alcohol. These medicines didn’t have cardboard packaging, just the plastic blister packs. I looked at Chloe; she was still recording, acting as if she had absolutely nothing to do with those pills and had seen nothing. I quickly opened the medicine. Many pet medications are universal with human ones, just in much smaller doses. I took several pills and shoved them into my mouth. Then I looked at Chloe again. My intuition told me she was a good person, but she couldn’t be associated with me, not even giving me the cardboard boxes for the medicine. To avoid causing her trouble, after taking the anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing pills, I dug a hole in the dog pen and buried the remaining medication. After taking the medicine, I took off my shirt and lured a nearby puppy to bite it. The puppy, not knowing any better, thought the shirt was a toy and bit down hard, pulling back and forth until the shirt finally tore. I pushed the puppy away and tore the shirt into strips of cloth. Then, I grabbed the stickers covering my wound. Finally steeling myself, I gripped the stickers and ripped them off. The agonizing, soul-tearing pain almost made me scream out loud. I bit down on my teeth so hard I thought they might shatter. With every millimeter the sticker was peeled back, my agony increased exponentially! Blood flowed from the wound. I gritted my teeth and endured the pain, pulling until all the stickers were ripped off! I checked the wound. It was still bleeding, but not as heavily as yesterday. Some puppies curiously approached. I waved my hand forcefully, and the wound immediately flared with pain, causing me to hunch over. Gritting my teeth again, I poured the rubbing alcohol directly onto my wound. I had been hunched over, but the moment the alcohol hit the wound, the pain was so intense my legs straightened out! Gasping for air, I wrapped the cloth strips around the wound, tying them as tightly as I could. Simply cleaning the wound drained a massive amount of my energy. I collapsed on the ground, feeling completely drained, but I still managed to dig a hole and bury the alcohol bottle before lying down to rest.

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1 At thirty-five, I was a financial wreck, living paycheck to paycheck and blowing each one on trendy restaurants or concert tickets within days. After five years, I had no savings. When I got sick, I could not afford treatment. I died in a hospital bed, full of regret. Reborn, I vowed to save. But as soon as my salary arrived, the urge to spend took over. I turned to credit cards, and only when I faced a twenty five thousand dollar statement did I realize I needed someone to manage my money. But who would take on such a job? My best friend mentioned her cousin Simon, and a light went on. Simon was a finance director famous for his frugality. He split bills to the soda, kept hotel toiletries, and sold raffle prizes the same night. At thirty-five, he was still single. His penny pinching scared everyone away. I put down my bubble tea, a plan forming. A meticulous finance director obsessed with saving. He was the personal money manager I had been searching for. He was exactly what I needed. My best friend thought I’d lost my mind. “What do you even see in him?” she asked, bewildered. “Are you excited for him to take you on dates to Taco Bell? Or to make you go Dutch on everything?” “You don’t get it,” I said, my eyes gleaming. “I need someone to control my spending. I just can’t do it myself.” She sat across from me, frowning. “Then find a normal guy! Simon has a problem! It’s like a compulsion!” I just grinned. “Isn’t that perfect? I’m a spender, he’s a saver. We’ll balance each other out.” She rolled her eyes. “You two get together, and I guarantee he’ll be logging the cost of your morning bagel into a spreadsheet. You know that, right?” I took a long sip of my tea and nodded enthusiastically. “I know. That’s why I need him.” When my parents found out, their reaction was even stronger. “Simon? You mean the guy who’s so cheap he made the local news?” My mother nearly fainted. “Chloe, sweetie, you’re already so extravagant. If you get with a guy like that, you’ll be fighting every single day!” My dad had a slightly different take. “Being responsible with money is a good thing,” he mused, “but he does take it to an extreme.” I wrapped my arms around my mom, trying to win her over. “Mom, think about how much money I’ve wasted over the years. I need someone who can keep me in check.” “But not a complete Scrooge!” she lamented, sinking into the sofa in despair. I ignored their protests and had my friend set up a dinner for me and Simon. For our first meeting, I chose a budget-friendly diner—about twenty dollars a person. Simon was even more handsome than I’d expected: tall, slim, with sharp features behind a pair of glasses. He wore a faded navy-blue sweater. The first thing he did after sitting down was pull out his phone and open the calculator app. “This place averages twenty dollars a head, according to Yelp,” he stated. “The most recommended dishes are the spicy fish and the sweet and sour pork. For two of us, two entrees and a soup should be plenty. We can keep the total under fifty. Does that work for you?” I was stunned for a second. Not because he was being cheap, but because… it was such a relief. He had no idea how much anxiety a menu usually gave me. I always wanted to order everything, but my budget was limited, and I almost always overspent. Now, here was someone who had done all the math for me, right down to the final total. I didn’t have to think at all. I nodded shyly. “Okay. I trust your judgment.” After dinner, he walked me home. Standing at the entrance to my apartment building, I took a deep breath. “Simon,” I said, my courage wavering. “I’d like to try… with you.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Try what?” My face grew hot. “Dating.” Simon was silent for three full seconds. Then he spoke. “I’m open to that. But first, we need to sign a financial agreement.” I thought he was joking. He wasn’t. The next day, he emailed me a “Relationship Financial Management Agreement.” It stipulated that both parties would cover their own daily expenses, and all shared costs would be split 50/50. Each month, both parties were required to save no less than 30% of their income, with proof of savings subject to mutual review. Any non-essential purchase over fifty dollars required prior notification and justification. Neither party was to give the other gifts exceeding one hundred dollars, with a holiday gift budget capped at fifty dollars. If either party violated these terms, they would be required to pay the other 200% of the difference as a penalty. I stared at the document for a full ten minutes. Then, I burst out laughing. This man was completely serious. He wasn’t trying to take advantage of me. He just wanted to manage my money. 2 On our first official day of dating, Simon took over my finances. He had me show him everything: all my bills, my credit card statements, my payment apps. After reviewing them, he was silent for a full minute. “Chloe.” I couldn’t bring myself to look up. Twenty-five thousand dollars in debt was, admittedly, a bit beyond my ability to repay. His voice rose, but he didn’t mention the debt. Instead, he pointed at my order history. “You spent over a hundred and fifty dollars on bubble tea last month?” “I think so…” I wished the floor would swallow me whole. “One a day?” he asked, and I could hear him gritting his teeth. I mumbled, “Sometimes two.” He took a deep breath and scribbled a line in his notebook: “Bubble tea: limited to two per week, maximum four dollars per cup.” I scrambled over, trying to snatch the notebook away. “You might as well just kill me.” Simon held the notebook out of my reach, looking down at me. “You spend a hundred and fifty a month on tea. That’s nearly two thousand a year. If you saved that money, in three years you’d have enough for a down payment on a small condo.” My mouth fell open, but no words came out. He was right. In the weeks that followed, I learned what true budgeting really meant. He helped me cancel two streaming subscriptions I never used. He turned off the auto-renew feature on all three of my food delivery apps. He disabled push notifications for every shopping app on my phone. He even created a new lunch plan for me. The company cafeteria offered a meat and two-veg special for five dollars. It was healthy and cheap. I’d always found the cafeteria food disgusting and had never once eaten there. He joined me for lunch every day for a week, and I had to admit, it wasn’t half bad. In the first month, my spending dropped by a thousand dollars compared to the month before. I stared at the positive balance in my bank account—a first for me—and my eyes welled up. This time, I finally had money. This time, I wouldn’t die in a hospital bed because I was broke. The next day, I went for a full medical check-up. The results came back perfect. To celebrate, I treated myself to a spicy noodle soup that night. But after just a few bites, I was hit with a violent bout of food poisoning. My fever shot up to 102. By the middle of the night, I couldn’t take it anymore. I called Simon. He was at my door in twenty minutes. The first thing he did wasn’t ask how I was. He glanced at my takeout history on my phone. “What did you eat tonight?” I clutched my stomach, a cold sweat breaking over my body. “Spicy noodle soup…” Simon shoved the phone in front of my face, his expression grim. “Again? You just had that last Friday. I told you, you need to cut back on that stuff. It’s unhealthy and it’s not cost-effective.” I was delirious with fever, and hearing him talk about cost-effectiveness sent a surge of anger through me. “Simon, I’m dying here, and you’re still talking about money?” His tone was calm, almost clinical. “I’m not talking about money. I’m helping you analyze the cost-benefit. If you go to the ER now, the visit will be at least five hundred dollars. Do you even have that in your health savings account?” I turned my head away, refusing to answer. After a minute, I heard him sigh. “Fine. I’ll take you to the hospital.” I slapped his hand away. “I’m not going! All you care about is money!” Simon stood frozen, his eyes turning a little red. “Chloe, if I only cared about money, I wouldn’t have a taxi waiting downstairs with the meter running.” I blinked. Peeking out the window, I saw the flashing hazard lights of a cab parked by the curb. “Let’s go,” he said, reaching for my hand again. This time, I didn’t pull away. 3 At the hospital, he was a whirlwind of efficiency—registering, paying, picking up prescriptions. I sat in a chair in the treatment room, an IV drip in my arm. By three in the morning, my fever had broken and my head was clear. I watched him dozing in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside me, and a wave of guilt washed over me. “Simon.” “Hmm?” He opened his eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you earlier.” “It’s okay.” He paused. “But I still have to say it: that noodle soup was not a good value. Ten dollars for a meal that makes you sick. The hospital visit cost over five hundred dollars. Your total cost for that one meal was nearly six hundred. That’s enough to cover our cafeteria lunches for half a month.” I looked at his dead-serious expression and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Can’t you just be a little concerned about my health?” Simon reached out and felt my forehead. “Your health is fine now. But your spending habits are not. If you don’t change them, this will happen again.” He pulled a thermos from his bag and handed it to me. “Drink some warm water. The IV will make your hands cold.” I took the thermos, and the last bit of my irritation melted away. This was just his way of caring for me. A year passed just like that. For our first anniversary, I decided to buy Simon a new phone. He’d been using the same one for five years; the screen was so cracked he’d put tape over it to hold it together. While he was in the shower, I took his old phone to transfer the data. That’s when I saw it: a transfer record for two thousand dollars. Two thousand? I froze. Simon’s total monthly expenses were never more than a few hundred dollars. Where did this transfer come from? I glanced towards the bathroom but decided not to ask him yet. I put the old phone back where I found it and said nothing about the new one. But over the next few days, I started paying attention. I discovered a recurring transfer every month. The amounts varied—sometimes a thousand, sometimes fifteen hundred, but the two-thousand-dollar one was the largest. The recipient was always the same account. What was stranger was that after every transfer, he would delete the confirmation text from the bank. He was hiding something from me. My mind started racing. Did someone in his family need money for medical bills? But he’d never mentioned anything. Was he seeing another woman? The thought made my stomach twist into a knot. But no, that didn’t make sense. Simon wouldn’t even splurge on a movie ticket for our dates. How could he possibly afford to support another woman? What was it, then? I wracked my brain until one possibility emerged. Was he paying back an ex-girlfriend? I remembered my friend telling me that when he and his last girlfriend broke up, he’d given her an itemized list of shared expenses. Maybe she was turning the tables on him? All these theories battled in my head, keeping me up for nights. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. We were eating at a cheap food stall one evening when I just came out with it. “Simon, who are you sending money to every month?” The hand holding his chopsticks froze mid-air. “You went through my phone?” I shook my head, fighting the lump in my throat. “I’m willing to live this frugal life with you, but are you giving all our money to some other woman?”

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[System Alert: Critical deviation detected in Decade Vow core mission.] [Marriage milestone: FAILED.] [Host termination: 48 hours.] The warnings pierced my mind just after Richard asked, with cruel gentleness, if I still wanted to try on my wedding dress. Minutes earlier, he’d been adjusting my veil. “I was next door keeping Wendy company,” he chuckled. Then it clicked—that’s how he knew I’d gone to the club last night. “She was so scared when she heard your voice, she had to sit on my lap the whole time,” he said, each word a blade. I followed his gaze to Wendy, the girl I’d sponsored for years, now holding my crystal heels, eyes red with tears. Moments before, she’d crouched at my feet, gushing, “If he ever breaks your heart, I’ll make him pay.” Richard brushed my bodice, his tenderness now a mockery. All the joy drained away, leaving only the System’s countdown and the weight of betrayal. 1 I stared at Richard, my throat tight and burning. “Say that again.” And he actually did. This time, he sounded even more composed. “I was with her last night.” “I was planning to keep it under wraps a little longer. But seeing her hold your wedding shoes just now… it hit me. She deserves an explanation too.” I stood frozen, the words trapped in my chest. Today wasn’t just my final fitting. Today was the absolute deadline for the System to verify the success of my Decade Vow mission. Ten years ago, I bound my soul to this System. The price was ten years of my lifespan. In exchange, I gave Richard a meteoric rise to power and saved the Prescott family from absolute bankruptcy. The System only gave me one condition. I had to fulfill my marriage pact with Richard within ten years. Today was supposed to be the finish line. Instead, he chose today to shove me off a cliff. I heard my own voice shaking. “Why today?” “Why did it have to be the day I put on my wedding dress?” Richard remained silent for a heartbeat, but his gaze drifted right past me, landing softly on Wendy. “Because she’s been by my side for a long time. She never asks for anything. She doesn’t even dare to ask for a title.” “I refuse to let her suffer in silence anymore.” A bitter, broken laugh escaped my lips. “And me?” “What about my last ten years? What was all that for?” His expression didn’t waver. It was as if he had rehearsed these answers a thousand times. “It’s not like I’m backing out of the wedding.” “It’s just that Wendy needs some closure, too.” I looked at the man I loved, feeling my heart sink into a bottomless pit. But I didn’t realize he could stoop even lower. He met my eyes, his tone completely flat. “When you took that fall down the stairs at the new house last month? That wasn’t an accident.” “I took her to see our bridal mansion that day. She spilled some champagne and didn’t mop the floors properly. When you went up to check the lighting fixtures later, you slipped.” My blood ran cold. My entire body turned to stone. I nearly had a miscarriage that day. I spent the entire night clutching my ultrasound scans, too terrified to sleep, sobbing because I thought I had overworked myself with the wedding prep and failed to protect my baby. Richard had held me tightly that night, kissing my forehead, telling me it was okay, begging me not to blame myself. He wasn’t comforting me. He knew exactly what happened. He just sat back and watched me tear myself apart. I raised my hand and slapped him across the face with everything I had. The sharp smack echoed off the mirrored walls. The entire boutique went dead silent. Richard’s head jerked to the side, but he didn’t blow up. Instead, he let out a breath, looking almost relieved. “Are you done?” “If you’re done, try to calm down. We’re skipping the fitting today.” “The wedding can be pushed back.” He turned on his heel to leave. Inside my head, the System’s alarm screamed to life. [Decade Vow System detects critical mission deviation.] [Marriage milestone confirmation: FAILED.] [Host termination countdown: 48 hours.] I stood glued to the floor, my hands and feet turning to ice. Right on cue, Wendy rushed forward, her eyes brimming with fresh tears. She grabbed one of the bridal heels and lobbed it at Richard, acting like she was standing up for me. “You promised me you wouldn’t say anything!” “Why did you have to hurt Audrey today of all days?” The pointed heel clipped Richard’s forehead. His very first reaction wasn’t to check his own bleeding skin, but to grab her hands and ask if she had hurt her fingers. I stood in the distance, letting my tears fall and stain the pure white silk of my gown. 2 By the time the bridal shop descended into total chaos, Declan arrived. He was my senior in college and the co-founder of the charitable trust my late mother left behind. Every single grant application Wendy submitted over the past four years had crossed his desk. The moment he walked in, his eyes darted to Wendy first. Only after making sure she was okay did he frown and look at me. “Audrey, what exactly are you trying to pull here?” I stared at him. “You knew too. Didn’t you?” He dodged the question, his voice taking on that familiar, patronizingly soft tone. “Wendy just wants a place to belong.” “Don’t back her into a corner.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “I’m backing her into a corner?” “I used my dead mother’s money to put her through college. I paid her hospital bills. I paid her rent. I pulled strings to get her internships. And now you’re telling me I’m the one ruining her life?” Declan sighed heavily, giving me the kind of look reserved for a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. “She comes from a broken home. She grew up with nothing.” “You have the world at your fingertips. She has absolutely nothing.” “Since you’re the one who brought her up to this point, you should be the bigger person and show some grace.” Right on cue, Wendy drifted over, her eyes red and puffy. “Audrey, if you’re mad, take it out on me. Please don’t blame Richard.” “I was the one who fell for him first. It’s all my fault.” Her voice was frail and dripping with guilt. But the silver leaf pendant resting against her collarbone caught the light, and the sight of it made my eyes burn. That necklace was my mother’s heirloom. Three years ago, Wendy was hospitalized. She cried through the night, terrified of the dark. I personally fastened that necklace around her neck, telling her it would keep her safe. Looking at it now, I realized my kindness was just a joke. I reached out, hooked my fingers around the delicate chain, and ripped it off her neck. She let out a sharp cry of pain, bursting into tears as she scrambled backward. The next second, Richard stepped in and shoved me hard. I stumbled in my heavy gown. My waist slammed violently into the edge of the display podium. A sharp, cramping pain shot through my lower abdomen instantly. He completely ignored me, shielding Wendy behind him as his voice turned to ice. “That is enough, Audrey.” I looked up at him, suddenly finding the whole situation incredibly absurd. We had fought before over the past decade. But he had never laid a hand on me. He had never pushed me away in front of an audience. And now, to play the knight in shining armor for a girl I practically raised, he didn’t even care about the baby growing inside me. I took a shaky breath, shifting my gaze to Declan. “That phone call last night. Telling me to go to the club to pick up the girls. You set that up on purpose, didn’t you?” Declan’s eyes flickered away. “You were going to find out eventually.” Then it hit me. It wasn’t just Richard and Wendy. Even Declan, my trusted friend, was busy paving the way for her. Richard’s phone buzzed. He checked the screen and then shoved it directly in my face. Someone had already leaked photos from the bridal boutique to a gossip blog. The angles were perfectly cropped. You could only see Wendy looking innocent, holding the shoes with teary eyes, and me looking like a monster, aggressively ripping the necklace off her throat. The comments were already flooding in, tearing me apart for bullying a sweet girl. Richard’s face was thunderous. “Did you hire someone to post this?” Looking at that photo, a strange, chilling calm washed over me. “No.” “But isn’t she the other woman?” Richard ground his teeth, his voice dropping low with suppressed rage. “She never wanted to compete with you.” “Are you really so bitter that you have to destroy her life?” Declan chimed in, playing the voice of reason. “Audrey, if this blows up, it’s going to ruin Wendy’s graduation and drag the foundation’s name through the mud.” “You need to go to her commencement ceremony and clear the air publicly.” Richard followed up with a final demand, tossing it out like a generous favor. “As long as we get past this graduation drama, our wedding goes ahead as planned.” My chest felt hollow, packed with shattered glass. One betrayed me. One fiercely protected her. One did her dirty work to clean up the mess. And right now, all three of them were demanding that I be the one to swallow my pride and step back. Just then, my phone chimed with a private message from Wendy. [Audrey, Richard was so worried I’d get scared hearing your voice last night. He held me on his lap the entire time.] [I was shivering so much, so he kissed me. He kissed me for a really long time.] I stared at those two lines of text. Bile rose in my throat. The System’s voice echoed simultaneously. [Host’s will to survive is plummeting rapidly.] [Termination countdown halved.] [Remaining time: 24 hours.] I slowly raised my head and looked at the two men standing before me. “Fine.” “I’ll go to the ceremony.” 3 Wendy’s commencement was held in the grand university auditorium. When I walked backstage, she was wearing an immaculate white sundress. Her hair was perfectly styled, and her face carried that carefully curated look of innocent vulnerability. The professors, classmates, and alumni buzzing around her were showering her with praise. One of the deans patted her shoulder affectionately. “Wendy, you’ve really beaten the odds.” Someone nearby immediately chimed in. “Absolutely. Coming out of an impoverished mountain town and making it to the top of the class in the city. You’ve really made something of yourself.” An older alumni smiled warmly at her. “I was just telling the board, you’re the greatest success story the foundation has ever produced.” “Exactly. Winning valedictorian is incredibly well-deserved.” “She’s going places. I heard she bagged multiple elite internships in her senior year alone.” “That’s what you call pulling yourself up by the bootstraps.” I stood in the shadows, listening to the glowing praise, feeling a bitter laugh bubble up in my throat. None of them knew. Her tuition, her hospital bills, every stepping stone of this supposed ‘self-made’ success story was paved with the blood, sweat, and charity of my mother and me. But here she was, the poster child for independent resilience. The second I stepped into the light, Wendy’s eyes brimmed with tears. She rushed toward me. She paused a few feet away, acting incredibly timid, as if she was terrified I would lash out. Then, very tentatively, she reached out and pinched the fabric of my sleeve. “Audrey, you actually came.” “I thought… I thought you’d never forgive me.” Richard materialized behind her and shoved a folded piece of paper into my hand. “Read this when you get on stage. Stick to the script.” I glanced down at the paper. Paragraph one: I had to admit that my emotional outburst at the bridal shop was due to pregnancy hormones and pre-wedding jitters, and that I had wrongfully targeted Wendy. Paragraph two: I had to explicitly state that the cheating rumors online were vicious, fabricated lies. I read it once. Then, while maintaining dead-eye contact with Richard, I slowly tore the paper into confetti. His face darkened instantly. “Audrey, don’t do anything stupid.” I ignored him, walking straight past him, and took the microphone directly from the MC’s hand. The auditorium was packed. The harsh stage lights beat down on me, making my eyes sting. I stood at the podium, staring out at the sea of unfamiliar faces, my voice ringing out crystal clear. “I only have two things to say.” “First, Wendy is not an innocent, underprivileged student.” “Second, Richard isn’t my fiancé. He is her husband.” The crowd erupted. A tidal wave of gasps and whispers crashed through the room. Wendy’s reaction was flawless. The tears spilled over her lashes on command. “Audrey, how could you say that…” “I never wanted to steal anything from you.” “If you want, I’ll even claim your unborn baby as my own! Just please, don’t back me into a corner!” That single sentence acted like gasoline on a fire. The murmurs turned into loud, furious chatter. She successfully painted herself as the ultimate martyr making a heartbreaking sacrifice, while I became the toxic, unhinged villain using a pregnancy to blackmail a man. I opened my mouth to respond, but Wendy suddenly reached into her designer clutch and slapped a little red booklet onto the podium right in front of me. A marriage certificate. I looked down. My mind went entirely blank. The names printed on the legal document were Richard Kensington and Wendy. The date of registration was yesterday. I snapped my head toward Richard. A flicker of guilt crossed his face, but he quickly masked it with cold indifference, leaning in to whisper harshly in my ear. “She’s graduating. She’s been feeling insecure.” “I just signed the papers yesterday to humor her. It means nothing.” “Once this PR nightmare dies down, I’ll quietly file for divorce.” “Our wedding is still on. Stop throwing a tantrum.” Humor her. So in his world, a legal marriage was just a shiny toy you handed out to keep a girl quiet. He thought he could secretly marry her, then throw a massive wedding with me, partitioning his vows like party favors for two different women. But Wendy was still putting on the performance of a lifetime. Wiping her tears, she sobbed into her own microphone, claiming my four years of sponsorship were never about charity. She told the crowd I had a twisted savior complex, that I was trying to groom her into an obedient pet. She claimed I was a control freak who turned violently abusive the second she formed a genuine friendship with Richard. She even swore to God that the photos from the bridal shop were a smear campaign I had personally orchestrated. The crowd turned ugly. Fast. “What a fake philanthropist.” “Sponsoring a girl just to steal her man? Sickening.” “She’s absolute trash.” Rage blinded me. I raised my hand, fully intending to slap the lies out of her mouth. But before my hand could connect, someone gripped my wrist from behind, locking it in a vice grip. I whipped around. Declan was standing there, his face tight with anger. “Audrey, that’s enough.” “This is a graduation ceremony, not a street brawl for you to act like a lunatic.” I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. “Declan, you honestly think I’m the one being a lunatic?” He broke eye contact, but he didn’t let go of my wrist. His voice was cold. “If your conscience was actually clean, things wouldn’t have escalated this far.” That single sentence extinguished the last dying ember of warmth in my heart. And right at that moment, someone in the front row launched a plastic cup of red fruit punch at the stage. It hit my stomach. The sticky red liquid cascaded down the pristine white of my dress. Then came a second cup. Then a third. The insults grew deafening. A few radicalized students rushed the stage, shoving me, yanking on my dress, shoving their phone cameras aggressively into my face. I was violently jostled backward. My foot caught on a cable, and I stumbled hard. A sudden, agonizing tearing sensation ripped through my lower abdomen. I looked down and watched as the dark, heavy crimson began to bloom rapidly across the wet fabric of my dress. In that moment, a chilling realization washed over me. I was losing the baby. But the mob in the auditorium didn’t care. The screaming, the pushing, the flashes—nobody stopped. I clutched my stomach, the physical agony finally overriding the heartbreak. I didn’t even have the energy left to say a single word.

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The gala for my father’s seventieth birthday had just wound down. Deep in the night, my phone buzzed frantically. It was my husband, Mark. His voice crackled with panic on the other end. “Max, something terrible has happened! Our lead investor just skipped town with all the money. I have to get out of the country, lie low for a while. Don’t, under any circumstances, try to contact me!” In an instant, every trace of sleep vanished. I forced my voice to remain calm, telling him to be safe. The moment I hung up, I didn’t hesitate. I called the bank’s 24-hour hotline and froze every single card and account under my husband’s name. The irony was almost funny. The so-called “lead investor” who had supposedly vanished with our fortune was, at that very moment, passed out drunk in the room next to mine. He was my father. And I was very, very curious to see just how long he and my husband planned to keep up this elaborate “bankruptcy” charade. 1 I booked the first flight I could. When I arrived at the luxury resort he was supposedly hiding out in, I found him at the entrance of a grand ballroom. He was dressed in a sharp tuxedo, and on his arm was my close friend, Jessica, glowing in a white wedding gown. They were greeting guests. His eyes widened in panic when he saw me. He stumbled down the steps, rushing towards me. “Max, let me explain. Jessica’s father is critically ill. His dying wish is to see her married.” He grabbed my arm, his voice a desperate whisper. “I’m just acting, that’s all. It’s just a performance for her dad.” A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I yanked my arm free and slapped him hard across the face. “A performance?” I spat, my voice dripping with ice. “Should I chip in for a wedding gift, then? Help you really sell it?” The surrounding guests were already starting to whisper and point. Jessica, seeing the commotion, flushed with a mixture of shame and anger. Then, as if on cue, tears welled in her eyes, expertly casting her as the victim and me as the intruder. “Miss Aston,” she began, her voice trembling beautifully, “I know you’ve always been obsessed with Mark, to the point of developing… delusions. I feel for you, I truly do. But this is my wedding day. Please, don’t be so aggressive. You can’t force someone to love you.” Mark nodded, playing along. “Whatever you have to say, we can talk about it at home after the ceremony. Be good, Max. Don’t make a scene.” Even now, all he could think about was continuing with this sham of a wedding. I laughed, a harsh, grating sound. My eyes scanned Jessica, and then I saw it, glittering around her neck. It was my necklace. A one-of-a-kind emerald piece worth ten million dollars. The very one I had reported stolen months ago. “No wonder you were paying her a fifty-thousand-dollar-a-month salary,” I seethed, the pieces clicking into place with sickening clarity. “You two have been screwing around behind my back for God knows how long!” “And my designer bags, my jewelry that went ‘missing’… you stole them all for her, didn’t you?” I raked my gaze over Jessica with contempt. “One of you steals, the other one wears it. You’re a match made in hell, you pair of scumbags.” The crowd erupted in a mix of gasps and laughter, phones already out and recording. Jessica stomped her foot, her face a mask of fury. She fumbled in her purse and triumphantly produced a marriage certificate, shoving it in my face. “Open your eyes and look! Mark and I are legally married!” she shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me, high on her momentary victory. “She’s sick in the head! She throws herself at any man who looks her way. My husband is just her latest obsession!” The crowd’s murmurs shifted. A few men started looking me up and down with leering eyes, one of them letting out a low whistle. “Hey, baby, you that desperate? The guy’s married. My room’s just upstairs if you need to scratch an itch…” One of them was bold enough to reach for my arm. I snatched a wine bottle from a nearby table and brandished it, making him recoil. I pointed the jagged neck of the bottle at Mark, my voice low and dangerous. “I’m giving you one last chance. Me, or her. Who is your wife?” Mark’s gaze flickered, and his next words plunged a shard of ice into my heart. “My only wife is Jessica,” he said, his voice cold and final. “Now, you’re going to apologize to her, or so help me, I will have you committed.” Jessica clung to Mark’s arm, her face a picture of tearful gratitude, and shot me a look of pure triumph. “Darling, don’t waste your breath on a psycho. She’s not worth it.” Looking at their disgusting, triumphant faces, something inside me snapped. I raised the bottle, ready to bring it crashing down on them both. If I was going to hell, I was dragging them with me. But Mark was faster. He kicked out, not at the bottle, but at me. As I stumbled, he lunged forward, stomping on the back of my hand with all his weight. His eyes were filled with a chilling malice. “Jessica is my life,” he snarled. “You hurt her, and I’ll make you pay a hundred times over.” A sickening crack echoed in the ballroom. A dull, throbbing agony shot up my arm, stealing my breath. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. Jessica, ever the actress, rushed to his side, tugging on his arm. “Mark, stop! It’s our wedding day. If something bad happens, it’ll be a terrible omen. Just… just make her kneel and apologize. That’s enough.” Mark nodded, his tone dripping with magnanimous condescension. “You hear that? Get on your knees and apologize. Do it now, or you’re going straight to an asylum.” The loathing in his eyes was a physical blow. My heart felt like it had turned to stone. This was the man I’d given my youth to. My first love. Seven years. Our seven years of history were nothing against the test of time. I fumbled for my phone, my fingers clumsy and shaking. I opened my photo gallery and pulled up a picture of our marriage license, and a photo from our wedding day. “This is proof we’re married,” I announced, my voice trembling with rage. “I’m reporting you for bigamy!” In this country, bigamy was a serious crime. Prison time. The crowd’s murmuring turned suspicious, their eyes darting between Mark and Jessica. “That certificate she’s showing is dated seven years ago. Were they lying?” “If he’s married to both, that’s a felony! He should be locked up!” Jessica just smirked at me, a cruel, triumphant gleam in her eyes. She leaned in close, her voice a venomous whisper. “You still don’t get it, do you? Your marriage certificate with Mark… it’s a fake.” “He promised me he would only ever truly love me. You were never worthy of legally being his wife.” For a moment, the world went silent. Then, a tidal wave of pure, unadulterated fury surged through me. My entire seven-year marriage, my devotion, my sacrifices… it was all a joke. I started to laugh, a broken, hysterical sound that quickly turned into sobs of despair. I stared at her, my vision blurred with tears of hatred. I raised my good hand, not even sure what I intended to do, but before I could touch her, she let out a piercing shriek and threw herself backward onto the marble floor. She clutched her stomach, her face contorted in agony. “Mark! My stomach… the baby… our baby!” Before I could even process the word “baby,” a brutal slap sent my head snapping to the side. My ears rang, and the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. Mark scooped Jessica into his arms, his eyes burning with a hatred so intense it scorched me. “Jessica is pregnant with my child,” he roared. “If anything happens to that baby, I swear to God, I’ll make you pay with your life!” I tried to speak, but only a bitter taste coated my tongue. He was the one who said he never wanted kids. A DINK—double income, no kids—lifestyle, that’s what he’d preached. A child would only get in the way of “our life together.” I’d believed him. Now I understood. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a child. He just didn’t want a child with me. Jessica let out a panicked cry. “Get me to a hospital! Please, I think I’m losing the baby!” Without a second glance at me, Mark turned and ran, carrying his precious cargo out of the ballroom. The world tilted, and darkness swallowed me whole. When I woke up, the sterile white ceiling of a hospital room greeted me. An IV was taped to my arm, but it wasn’t dripping fluid in. It was drawing blood out. I tried to struggle, to sit up, but my body felt like lead. Mark appeared at my bedside, looking down at my pathetic state with cold, detached eyes. “Jessica’s losing a lot of blood,” he said flatly. “She needs a transfusion, and you’re a match. Consider it your way of atoning for what you did.” A surge of adrenaline-fueled rage shot through me. “I didn’t push her!” I screamed, my voice raw. His hand clamped around my throat, squeezing. “I have waited seven years for this child,” he hissed, his face inches from mine. “I will not allow anything to happen to Jessica or my baby. If they don’t make it, I will burn you to ashes and scatter them to the wind.” He held on until spots danced in my vision, then released me. I fell back against the pillow, gasping for air, overwhelmed by a suffocating sense of helplessness. The blood loss made me dizzy, and I drifted into a groggy sleep. I was pulled back to consciousness by the sound of a voice. I cracked my eyes open to see Jessica on the phone, her back to me. “Yes, everything is arranged with the asylum,” she was saying. “The moment Max Wynton is stable, she’s to be transferred. I want her locked away for the rest of her miserable life.” She noticed I was awake, ended the call, and walked over to my bed with a smirk. She poured a glass of water from the carafe on the nightstand. And then, she tipped it, sending a stream of scalding hot water onto my arm. “This is what you get for crossing me,” she sneered. I cried out, my body convulsing from the searing pain. I bit my lip until it bled, glaring at her through a haze of agony. “You faked it all,” I rasped. “The fall, the miscarriage…” She laughed, a loud, ugly sound. “And what if I did? Mark only believes what I tell him.” She placed a hand on her flat stomach, a cruel smile playing on her lips. “My baby could have been perfectly healthy. Such a shame I had that ‘accidental’ fall a few weeks ago that took care of it. Mark was so excited about being a father… I just had to find someone to blame, didn’t I?” I trembled with a rage so profound it felt like it would tear me apart. “You’re a monster.” Her smile widened. “And once you’re gone, all your assets will become mine.” A cold dread washed over me. She wasn’t just planning to lock me away. She was planning to make sure I never left this hospital alive. Using every last ounce of strength I possessed, I ripped the IV from my arm, scrambled out of bed, and shoved her aside. I had to escape. But my body betrayed me. I was too weak. After only a few steps, my legs gave out and I collapsed in the hallway. Jessica followed at a leisurely pace, giving my side a contemptuous kick. Seeing that I couldn’t even get up, she laughed. “Go on, run. I thought you were so tough.” Her eyes glinted with a sadistic light. “You know, just getting rid of you would be too boring. Let’s play a little game.” “I hear there’s a derelict part of town not too far from here. Full of… desperate men. How about we drop you off there?” I recoiled in horror, scrambling backward. “You can’t do this. My father is—” Before I could finish, she grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back and slapping me twice, hard. “Your family? A bunch of ungrateful leeches!” she spat. “Every time Mark brought them gifts, they looked down on him. If it weren’t for Mark supporting your family all these years, do you think you could have lived the life of a wealthy housewife?” My heart sank. The lie was so audacious it was almost brilliant. Mark was a broke nobody when I met him. I used my own savings to fund his first start-up. My family never approved of him, which is why he barely had any contact with them. The few times he did visit, he brought a cheap basket of fruit. And “supporting” them was a joke. Without my father secretly investing millions into his company, he never would have gone public in seven years. Her bodyguards dragged me out of the hospital and threw me into a car. We drove to the city’s dark, forgotten underbelly and they dumped me in a filthy alley. She pulled out her phone and addressed the group of gaunt, hollow-eyed men who were already gathering, drawn by the commotion. “Whoever shows her the best time,” she announced, her voice echoing in the grimy space, “gets half a million dollars.” Instantly, four or five of them closed in, a predatory hunger in their eyes that made my stomach churn. I grabbed a loose brick, ready to defend myself. “You will regret this!” I screamed at her. She was unfazed. She even started a video call with Mark. My terrified, dishevelled image on the screen made him roar with laughter. “Jessica, you’re too soft,” his voice tinny through the phone’s speaker. “She killed our baby. She should be rotting in a prison cell.” Jessica sighed dramatically. “But she was with you for a time, Mark. I want to build up some good karma for our future children. She’s just so stubborn. If she had just knelt and begged for forgiveness, I wouldn’t have had to do this.” Mark scoffed. “She’s a vindictive bitch. I’ve had enough of her. You know, Jessica, we’ll have to redo our wedding, but I promise you, this time, it will be the most extrMaxgant event this city has ever seen.” They talked as if I wasn’t even there, as if my life wasn’t about to be destroyed. Any last flicker of hope I had for the man I once loved died in that filthy alley. After hanging up, Jessica turned to the vagrants. “What are you waiting for? Get to it! If you don’t, you won’t see a single penny!” With a primal scream, I surged forward, crashing into Jessica and knocking her to the ground. I threw all my weight on top of her, my hands finding her throat and squeezing. “If I die, I’m taking you with me!” I shrieked. For the first time, I saw real fear in her eyes. She clawed at my hands, choking and gasping for help. Suddenly, Mark’s furious roar cut through the air. “Max, you’re dead!” He must have rushed over after the call. He snatched a heavy rock from the ground and brought it down on the back of my head. The world exploded in a flash of white-hot pain as he kicked me off of Jessica. It took a long moment for my vision to clear. When it did, I saw Mark glaring at me with pure, unadulterated hatred. “It wasn’t enough for you to kill our child, you had to try and kill her too,” he seethed. “This time, I won’t be lenient.” He barked an order at his bodyguards. “Go get more of them. And call the local news stations. Tell them we’ve got a scoop. By the end of today, Max Wynton’s name will be synonymous with filth!” Ignoring the blinding pain in my head, I tried to crawl away, to escape, but the bodyguards were on me in a second. They dragged me back, forcing me to my knees in front of Mark and Jessica. Mark fussed over Jessica, gently brushing dust from her dress with a sanitized wipe, his touch full of tenderness. He wouldn’t even look at me. “Don’t worry, my love,” he murmured to her. “I’ll get your revenge for you right now.” Jessica, her eyes brimming with tears, clutched his hand and shook her head weakly. “I don’t blame her. As long as I can be with you, I’ll endure any hardship.” I spat at her feet. “How many men have you pulled that routine on? How many backup plans do you have lined up after Mark?” I’d seen her getting cozy with other men at his office before; I’d just been too blind and trusting to see it for what it was. Her act shattered. The tears became real, streaming down her face in angry torrents. “Mark, she’s humiliating me! I can’t live like this!” she wailed, turning as if to smash her head against the nearby brick wall. Mark caught her, holding her tight, his face a thundercloud of fury directed at me. “I’ve been too good to you,” he snarled. “You can live out the rest of your pathetic life in this gutter.” He gestured to his men. “Break her arms and legs.” Panic seized me. I thrashed against their grip. “Mark, you’ll pay for this! As long as there is breath in my body, I will never let you get away with this!” He let out a cold, dismissive laugh. “Oh, I’m waiting. I remember that old college flame of yours, the one who’s still single, waiting for you. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees the video of the great campus beauty, Max Wynton, begging for mercy under a pile of hobos. He probably won’t be able to eat for a week.” I couldn’t believe it. To appease Jessica, he was willing to utterly and completely destroy me. My joints were brutally dislocated. The physical agony was immense, but it was nothing compared to the searing pain in my soul. Tears streamed down my face, hitting the grimy pavement as memories of our seven years together flashed through my mind. The sweeter the memory, the more bitter the irony now. I was a broken puppet, paralyzed on the ground, my eyes locked on Mark, burning with a helpless, venomous rage. He held Jessica, gazing down at my ruined form as if I were an insect. The circle of men closed in, the stench of unwashed bodies and cheap liquor overwhelming me. Their greedy, lecherous stares made me want to vomit. My tears of terror only seemed to excite them more. Jessica burrowed into Mark’s chest, her voice a sickly sweet murmur. “Mark, I can’t watch. It’s too scary.” He covered her eyes with his hand, his voice a gentle caress. “I’ll watch for you, my love. I’ll watch her get the punishment she deserves. She could never compare to you, to your purity and kindness.” My heart shattered into a million pieces. I gritted my teeth, trying to writhe away like a worm, to escape their grasping hands. But they cornered me, my back against the cold, damp brick wall. There was nowhere left to run. As they lunged, I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d rather die than suffer this humiliation. I was about to bite down on my own tongue, to end it all, when the piercing wail of sirens sliced through the night. Seven, eight police cruisers swarmed the alley, their lights painting the scene in strobing flashes of red and blue. In the middle of them all, a black Rolls-Royce, the kind that whispers of old money and untouchable power, glided to a silent stop.

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