Category: English

1 The moment I stepped through the front door, the house was already buzzing. My older sister was practically vibrating with excitement, ready to parade her wealthy fiancé in front of our parents. In the living room, my future brother-in-law was enthusiastically handing over expensive gift baskets to my mom and dad. When it was my turn, he shoved a pair of cheap rubber gloves into my hands. “For your cleaning lady to use. Just a little something,” he said with a charming smile. Before I could even process what was happening, my sister jumped in and thanked him profusely. Mom suddenly grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin, and dragged me into the kitchen. She lowered her voice to a frantic whisper. “Carter comes from old money. He’s an only child. We told his family that Stella is our only daughter too.” She shoved a greasy dish towel against my chest. “Tonight, you are the housekeeper. Start prepping dinner right now. We have a VIP guest, and the food better be perfect.” I looked down at the dish towel in my hands and actually let out a laugh. This was literally my house. I bought it. But suddenly, it was the “housekeeper’s” quarters. From the living room, Carter’s arrogant voice drifted in. He was definitely kicking his feet up. “Your maid doesn’t really seem to know her place. You guys need to train her better.” I stood in the doorway of my own kitchen, listening to this absolute circus. Suddenly, the people sitting in that living room felt like total strangers. I dropped the towel on the counter and looked at my mother with pure amusement. “Mom, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Her face dropped the second the words left my mouth. “Start cooking right now, do you hear me? If you don’t cook, how are we supposed to explain a maid who doesn’t do her job? The whole lie will fall apart!” I just stared at her, dead silent. Mom took a deep breath. Her tone shifted from a harsh command to a pathetic, soft plea. “Riley, please. I promise I’ll find a way to explain everything to him later. I swear.” She patted my arm, her eyes darting nervously toward the living room. “But right now, the most important thing is helping your sister keep this story together. Just swallow your pride for one night, okay? Be a good girl.” Without waiting for my answer, she turned on her heel and scurried back out to entertain Carter. I stood alone in a kitchen piled high with raw vegetables and frozen meat. I calmly pulled out my phone, opened a delivery app, and found the most expensive upscale steakhouse nearby. I ordered a massive premium catering package. Ribeyes, lobsters, the works. Payment method: Cash on delivery. Name on the order: Arthur, my dad. If they were going to erase my existence, I definitely wasn’t going to be their unpaid private chef. After placing the order, I walked straight to my bedroom and shut the door. Through the thin walls, I could still hear Carter complaining about the “maid’s terrible attitude.” An hour later, the doorbell rang. Dad opened the door and just stood there, staring at the mountain of food. “I didn’t order any of this.” The delivery guy held up the receipt. “The name on the slip is Arthur. The address matches. Please just check the bill, sir.” “Why would I order four hundred dollars worth of takeout?” Dad sputtered. “We have a maid to cook for us!” Carter’s voice chimed in from the couch. “I bet your lazy maid ordered it. She refused to cook, hid in her room, and now she’s ordering takeout on your dime.” Footsteps stomped down the hall, and my bedroom door flew open. Dad stood in the doorway, his face purple with rage. “Riley, get out here right now! Did you order four hundred dollars worth of food?” I sat up on my bed. “Yep. Sure did.” Dad panicked, realizing I wasn’t even going to deny it. “There is a fridge full of groceries in there! What is wrong with you?” Carter strolled up behind him, leaning against the doorframe. “See? What did I tell you? I’ve never seen such a lazy, entitled housekeeper in my life. You guys really hired a nightmare.” Stella finally spoke up, crossing her arms. “Riley, we pay you a great salary and treat you like family. Have you gotten so comfortable that you think you own the place?” She glared at me, her eyes flashing with a warning. “Fine. Since you didn’t cook, you can pay the four hundred bucks yourself.” She turned to Dad, laying the guilt trip on thick. “Dad, see? This is what happens when you and Mom are too nice to the help. You give them an inch, and they walk all over you.” Carter nodded in total agreement. “My family employs staff too. If I were you, I’d fire her tonight. Young girls working as maids… honestly, they’re mostly just lazy freeloaders.” Stella stepped closer. “Riley, Venmo me the four hundred dollars right now, and I’ll go pay the delivery guy. Otherwise, I’m having my parents fire you on the spot.” I looked right past her, locking eyes with Mom, who had just promised to “explain everything.” “Are you going to say something?” I asked her. “Or are you just waiting for me to pull out my wallet like she is?” 2 Carter looked completely baffled by my question. “Wait, why does your maid talk to you like that? And why is she calling you sister?” Stella’s face went pale. She quickly grabbed Carter’s arm and pressed herself against him. “Oh, babe, she’s just been with us for so long. We treat her like family, so sometimes she forgets her boundaries and gets a little overly familiar.” Mom forced out a nervous, awkward laugh. “Yes, exactly! This… this poor girl is the daughter of a very distant relative from the countryside. We took her in to help her out. She just calls Stella her sister out of habit.” Mom looked at Carter with wide, innocent eyes. “Don’t you worry, Carter. Stella is our one and only child.” I stared at Mom, letting her words sink in. My sister wasn’t always the “one and only.” Her name used to be Sarah. But five years ago, she threw a massive tantrum, screaming that my existence ruined her dream of being a pampered only child. To shut her up, my parents literally let her legally change her name to Stella, treating her like she was the center of the universe. Carter raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping back and forth between me and Stella. “A distant relative. Right. That makes sense.” He smirked. “I was actually thinking she looked a little bit like you, babe.” Dad rubbed his hands together, sweating slightly. “Yeah, well, Riley doesn’t have much of an education. She couldn’t find a real job out there, so we figured we’d throw her a bone. Room and board in exchange for some light chores. Better than letting her rot on the streets.” Carter nodded slowly, totally buying the lie. “Ah, I get it now. No wonder she has such a nasty attitude. She thinks because she’s blood, she doesn’t actually have to work. That explains a lot.” He turned to my parents, looking incredibly smug. “But a maid is a maid, and family is family. You have to draw a hard line. You’ve definitely spoiled her.” Stella’s face was flushed with embarrassment. she pointed a shaking finger at me. “Riley, I don’t have time for your games! Pay the delivery guy right now!” I ignored her completely and kept my eyes on Mom. “Mom. Are you going to tell him the truth or not?” Carter froze. “What did she just call you?” All the blood drained from Mom’s face. Stella lost her mind. “Riley, that is enough! Who the hell are you calling Mom? Are you psychotic? That is my mother!” Mom looked at me, then at Stella, and finally let out a heavy sigh, playing the victim perfectly. “I’m sorry, Carter. This girl has always been a little mentally unstable. Ever since she came to live with us, she’s been obsessed with calling me Mom. I never agreed to it, but she just won’t stop. It’s been years, and we just can’t fix her delusions.” Carter let out a long “Ohhh,” shaking his head with a condescending laugh. “Wow. I have never met someone with such thick skin.” He took a step toward me, looking down his nose. “Listen, little girl. If you just put your head down, did your job, and showed some respect, your aunt and uncle here would take good care of you. But with this lazy, greedy attitude? Nobody in the real world is going to want you. Got it?” Right at that moment, the delivery guy yelled from the front door. “Hello? Is anyone going to pay for this? I have other deliveries to make!” Dad grabbed my arm, his grip painfully tight. “You ordered the food, you pay for it. Cut the crap.” He yanked me toward the door, positioning his body so Carter couldn’t see his face, and glared at me with absolute venom. “Riley, I’m warning you. I don’t have your mother’s patience. If you don’t pay this bill right now, I am going to make your life a living hell the second he leaves.” I opened my mouth to fire back, but Mom suddenly stepped in and peeled Dad’s fingers off my arm. She let out a dramatic sigh. “Alright, alright, stop fighting. This is embarrassing.” She pulled out her phone, scanned the delivery guy’s card reader, and paid the four hundred dollars herself. She put her phone away, turned to me, and looked at me with a face full of sheer exhaustion. “Riley, when are you going to grow up?” She leaned in close, her voice breaking. “Riley, I am begging you. Just for the length of this dinner. Can you please just help your sister? Just swallow it down this one last time.” Her eyes were entirely filled with desperation, pleading with me to let them humiliate me just a little bit longer. I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat. Seeing Mom pay the bill, Stella crossed her arms, looking deeply annoyed. Carter puffed out his chest, stepping up like the man of the house. “Stella, since your parents are too soft to put her in her place, let me handle it. I’ll teach her some manners.” 3 Carter confidently walked over to the head of the dining table and took a seat. “Come here, maid. Serve the food.” I almost laughed out loud at the sheer audacity. But Mom was standing right next to me. She reached out and gave my sleeve a gentle, desperate tug. I looked back at her. Her eyes were begging me. I remembered the tremor in her voice when she said, Just swallow it down this one last time. I let out a slow breath. Fine. This would be the absolute last time I ever let my heart soften for these people. I walked over to the dining table, opened the expensive takeout boxes one by one, laid out the silverware, and arranged the plates perfectly. Carter leaned back in his chair, totally satisfied. “See? That’s more like it. A maid needs to act like a maid. Stop walking around with a sour face like everyone owes you money.” Stella sat down next to him, flashing a sickeningly sweet smile. “Don’t let her get to you, babe. She’s just an uneducated hick who doesn’t know any better.” I completely tuned them out. Once the last plate was set, I turned on my heel to go back to my room. I obviously wasn’t going to eat with them. Nobody had invited me anyway. But the second I turned around, Stella’s voice snapped like a whip. “Maid! Where do you think you’re going? Come back here and peel my shrimp.” She leaned back in her chair, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at the platter of garlic butter shrimp. She lifted her chin. “What are you staring at? Peel the shells. My fiancé loves seafood.” Carter sat there, watching me with a smug, highly entertained look on his face. “Oh, and while you’re at it, carve the meat off that prime rib. Keep it in nice, whole slices. Don’t hack it up.” Listening to them confidently bark orders at me in my own dining room, a cold laugh escaped my throat. “Do you want me to chew it for you too? That way you won’t even have to use your jaws. Think of the calories you’ll save.” The entire house fell dead silent. A second later, Stella slammed her hand on the table. Her face turned beet red. “Riley! What the hell is your problem? We ask you to do your basic job and you give us this sarcastic attitude? Are you purposely trying to ruin my night?” I looked at her, my voice eerily calm. “I served the food out of respect for Mom. That does not mean you get to treat me like a dog.” “You could have just let me go to my room so you two could enjoy your dinner. But you just had to call me back here to flex. So tell me, Stella, who is actually trying to ruin whose night?” Stella shot up from her chair. “Who gave you the right to use my first name? A maid thinking she’s on my level? You are out of your mind!” I stared at her face. We looked incredibly similar. The resemblance was undeniable, and the whole situation suddenly felt hilarious to me. “Stella, are you done acting? You are my biological sister. Did you seriously brainwash yourself into believing I’m actually your maid and you’re my boss?” Carter’s smug smile vanished. He frowned deeply. “What? Biological sister? What is she talking about?” He looked at Stella, his voice dropping an octave. “Stella, what did she just say? She’s your sister?” Before Stella could even stutter out a lie, Carter turned his sharp gaze onto my parents. “Arthur. Martha. What is going on here? You explicitly told my family that Stella was an only child. Where did a biological sister come from?” When my parents just stood there stammering, Carter raised his voice. “What is the truth? Has this entire family been lying to me since day one?” He slammed his napkin down. “Because if you have, this wedding is off!” I didn’t even have a chance to react. Suddenly, Mom lunged at me. She closed the distance in a second and swung her arm. Whack. The slap echoed through the room. I was completely blindsided. My ear rang violently. Mom pointed a shaking finger right at my nose, screaming at the top of her lungs. “What kind of insane garbage are you spewing?! Who is your sister?! If you say one more crazy word, I will throw you out on the street!” The skin on my cheek burned like fire. “Insane garbage?” I asked quietly. I reached up and touched my stinging face. “Fine. You want to prove I’m crazy? Go get the official Family Trust documents. Bring out the legal paperwork and show your precious future son-in-law exactly how many daughters you have.” I locked eyes with Carter. “You want the truth? Make them pull out the legal records. See for yourself.” Carter’s face was made of stone. “She’s right. Go get the documents. I want to see if I’m marrying into a family of pathological liars.” 4 Stella panicked. She grabbed Carter’s arm, her nails digging into his shirt. “Babe, please, don’t listen to her, she’s literally having a psychotic break, she’s—” Carter ripped his arm away. “Bring me the papers!” Dad stood up slowly. I honestly thought he would hesitate. I thought he would make up an excuse about losing the paperwork. But he didn’t. Without a single word, Dad turned around and marched into the master bedroom. Less than a minute later, he walked back out holding a heavy, official-looking leather folder. It was their notarized Family Trust and Beneficiary dossier. He slammed it down on the dining table right in front of Carter. “Look for yourself.” Carter eyed it suspiciously. He opened the folder, flipped past the legal jargon, and checked the primary beneficiary pages. Slowly, the tension left his shoulders. A look of total relief washed over his face. He let out a short laugh. “Wow. I almost let this little maid play me.” He tossed the folder back onto the table. “Arthur, Martha, your housekeeper is severely unhinged. She doesn’t just refuse to work, she’s a compulsive liar.” I froze. My heart dropped into my stomach. I lunged forward and snatched the folder off the table. There were only three names listed under the primary family unit. Grantor: Arthur. Grantor: Martha. Sole Beneficiary and Child: Stella. The rest of the space was blank. There was no second daughter. There was no Riley. Any record of my existence in this family’s legal framework had been completely scrubbed. My hands started to shake. I looked up at Mom and Dad. Neither of them would meet my eyes. They just awkwardly smiled and tried to usher Carter back into his seat to eat. Under Stella’s profile, it listed her former name: Sarah. She changed her name five years ago. And the date stamped on this trust document was exactly five years ago. It hit me like a freight train. I thought she just threw a tantrum and changed her name. I had absolutely no idea they used that opportunity to legally erase me from the family entirely. An overwhelming, suffocating wave of grief washed through my chest. Stella, feeling victorious, sneered at me. Her voice dripped with malice. “Do you finally understand now? Read the room. Know your place.” She dropped back into her chair and tilted her chin toward the garlic shrimp. “Alright, enough drama. Stop standing there like an idiot and peel my food.” The side of my face still throbbed fiercely from the slap. My mind was spinning. Dad glared at me, his eyes dead and cold. “Let me make this perfectly clear, Riley. You are the help. There is no place for you in this family. You aren’t in the paperwork, which means you do not exist.” He pointed a stiff finger at Stella. “Whatever your sister tells you to do, you do it. Stop being so ungrateful.” Stella laughed, highly amused. “Exactly, Dad. Look at her standing there. A maid trying to play the tragic victim.” Carter, completely relaxed now, picked up his fork. “Alright, enough wasting time. Peel the shrimp, carve the meat, and then go wait in your little maid’s room. I’m tired of looking at you.” I looked at the three of them sitting around the table, a perfectly happy little family. And I smiled. I smiled so hard tears actually pricked the corners of my eyes. I was laughing at my own stupidity. I was so stupid to think that if I just endured it, things would get better. So stupid to think they actually loved me deep down. So stupid to let my heart soften over and over again. I literally just got slapped across the face, and a part of my brain was still trying to call them mom and dad. I tilted my head back and wiped the tear away. Then, I looked dead at the three people waiting for me to serve them. Stella rolled her eyes. “Are you psycho? What are you smiling at? Hurry up, the seafood is getting cold and gross.” I took a very deep breath. I reached out, grabbed the heavy fabric of the tablecloth with both hands, and yanked it backward with everything I had. Plates, bowls, and glasses launched into the air. Stella screamed, scrambling backward as hot garlic butter and cocktail sauce splashed all over her designer dress. Carter leaped up, cursing loudly as dark gravy ruined the front of his expensive trousers. Mom and Dad sat frozen in absolute shock. I grinned at them. “You guys like legal documents? Perfect. I have some too.” I turned around, walked calmly into my bedroom, and pulled a thick manila envelope from my safe. I walked back into the dining room, stepped over the shattered porcelain, and tossed the official Title Deed to the house onto the bare table. “Take a good look. The sole owner of this property is Riley. The girl who doesn’t exist.” I crossed my arms. “So right now, the girl who doesn’t exist is telling all of you to get the hell out of my house.”

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After awakening to the fact that I was the cannon fodder true heiress in a novel, my entire family suddenly started hearing my inner voice. I complained internally about my dad’s right-hand man, and he immediately fired him. I complained about my mom’s best friend, and she cut ties with her instantly. I roasted my brother, and he rushed to the hospital for a full-body scan. My family, who originally only doted on the fake heiress, were now fighting tooth and nail to treat me well. The fake heiress was clueless until the very end. She hadn’t changed, so why was everyone growing to despise her? 1 “Sister, do you like it? Here, you can have it.” “Everything in this house belongs to you anyway. I’m just grateful Mom and Dad let me stay.” “As long as you like it, Sister, I’ll give you anything.” Serena’s delicate face wore a faint smile, her eyes slightly red, as she offered me a diamond watch. Watching her theatrical performance, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. If I hadn’t awakened to the truth, I would have fallen for her trap again. It was only after my awakening that I realized I was a cannon fodder supporting character in a “True and Fake Heiress” novel. Serena, the fake heiress, was the female lead. I was her foil. We were switched at birth. She grew up surrounded by luxury and wealth in the Sterling family. I was thrown into a remote countryside, surviving like a stray dog. Not long ago, the Sterlings found me and brought me back. I was dark and scrawny, my hair was dry and yellow, and my face and hands were rough like an old woman’s. My biological father, Arthur Sterling, said I had “no table manners and no proper posture,” and my academic grades were even more unwatchable. Meanwhile, their adopted daughter, Serena, was beautiful, elegant, played the piano, spoke foreign languages, and excelled academically. Comparing the two of us, my biological parents really couldn’t bring themselves to love me. Even the name they gave me was lazy: Maya Sterling. 2 Right now, the diamond watch Serena wanted to give me was the limited-edition reward her mother, Eleanor, had given her for placing third in her class on the practice exams. I, on the other hand, got no reward because I bombed the test. I had just glanced at the watch twice, and Serena asked if it was pretty. I casually said yes, and the very next day she was trying to give it to me. But this was actually a trap she set. According to the plot, I was supposed to happily accept the watch. Then, the watch would suddenly snap into several pieces in my hands. She would cry and say that if I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to accept it, but why did I have to destroy it? This was a custom piece her mother had ordered way in advance, a treasure she protected with her life, and I had ruined it. This manipulative speech would successfully make Eleanor despise me even more. Fearing I would harm Serena again, she would banish me to the servants’ quarters in the back. “Serena, if it was given to you, keep it. It’s your reward! Maya, if you like it, I’ll naturally buy you one when you get good grades. In this house, no matter who it is, rewards and punishments are clearly separated.” Hearing Serena’s “magnanimous” words, Eleanor felt a pang of sympathy and spoke up, frowning. Serena acted even more considerate and humble: “As long as Sister is happy, I don’t need a reward. Sister, take this watch.” Saying that, she forcefully tried to shove the watch into my hands. I stepped back several paces: “I don’t want it, use it yourself.” I sneered inwardly: [Give it to me? You’ve already smashed the watch band and barely pieced it back together just to force it on me. The moment I touch it, the watch will shatter into pieces, and then you’ll frame me for being malicious.] [If I touch it, even if I had a hundred mouths, I wouldn’t be able to explain myself.] Ever since I returned, Serena had been especially keen on setting traps for me, desperate for the family to despise me and kick me out as soon as possible. At first, I tried hard to explain. But as soon as she cried, the family took her side. No one listened to a word I said. So now, I couldn’t even be bothered to explain. I knew Eleanor wouldn’t believe me anyway. I no longer cared about parental love or family affection. I planned to avoid the female lead as much as possible, save up some money, and leave the Sterling family the moment I turned eighteen. It wasn’t that far away anyway. 3 Seeing that I didn’t fall for it, Serena froze. After all, I had been naive and easy to trap since I came back. She tried to insist, but Eleanor suddenly reached out and grabbed the watch. “Mom—” Serena didn’t even have time to snatch it back. Eleanor took the watch in her hand and gave it a slight twist. Snap. The watch broke into several pieces, two of them falling to the floor. One look and it was obvious someone had intentionally broken it. Eleanor froze. I was also taken aback: [What’s going on? This isn’t following the plot.] [Could it be that Eleanor has awakened too? Does she know Serena intentionally broke the watch to frame me, so she could drive me out to the servants’ quarters, making it easier for her to torment me?] Serena’s face went completely pale. Because the watch band was extremely sturdy; it couldn’t have shattered into pieces with just a gentle twist. But she reacted quickly, putting on a face of complete ignorance: “How did this happen? This watch was perfectly fine when Mom gave it to me yesterday, right—” She turned to look at me, her face turning terrified: “Maya, what did you do in my room early this morning? It was you, wasn’t it—” “Enough!” Eleanor sternly cut her off. Serena, who had never been scolded by Eleanor before, was stunned. But what followed shocked her even more. Eleanor called the butler over and ordered him to pack Serena’s luggage and move her to an empty room in the servants’ quarters in the back. The butler and Serena were both dumbfounded. Then, Eleanor looked at me, her expression somewhat unnatural: “Maya, you move into Serena’s old room. I’ll have someone replace everything in there with things you like.” Serena’s room was right next to the master bedroom, decorated lavishly and dreamily. Even the bed alone was worth the price of a normal person’s house. I was also a bit stunned, couldn’t help but think: [Could it be that Eleanor really has awakened? Then she should know who her precious adopted daughter’s biological mother is—] At that moment, Serena’s agitated questioning interrupted my thoughts. Hearing that she was being sent to the servants’ quarters, Serena panicked, asking pitifully: “Mom, did I do something wrong?” Eleanor sneered: “The custom gift I got you, if you didn’t like it, you didn’t have to accept it. Why did you have to destroy it?” “I really didn’t expect that while I treated you as my biological daughter, your heart was so dark.” “Since you despise me as a mother, go live in the servants’ quarters and stay far away from me, so you don’t offend my eyes!” “Butler, hurry up and move her!” “Yes, ma’am!” The butler was startled, not daring to hesitate any longer, and led the staff to start moving her things. I felt a rush of secret satisfaction; thankfully I hadn’t taken that watch. Serena: “…” Serena burst into panicked tears, trying hard to make excuses: “It’s not like that, I really didn’t break it. I treasured it so much, how could I bear to ruin it…” Just then, the eldest son of the Sterling family, Lucas, arrived. Serena immediately ran to him, throwing herself into his arms: “Lucas, help me, help me explain to Mom. Mom told me to give my room to Maya and wants me to live in the servants’ quarters. I’m willing to give it to her, but I don’t want to live in the servants’ quarters, I’m scared, boohoo~” Lucas doted on this sister the most. Seeing her crying her eyes out, he immediately hugged her. He turned to look at me, scolding me without a second thought: “Maya, if you’re not satisfied with your room, just say so. We’ll change it for you. Whatever you need, we’ll buy it. Why did you have to steal Serena’s room?” I hadn’t even spoken yet. Eleanor anxiously shouted at him: “Get out of here, stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, and get back to work!” Serena hugged Lucas’s neck, pressing her whole chest tightly against him, crying even more pitifully: “Lucas, boohoo~” Lucas naturally hugged her back: “Mom, are you confused? Serena grew up in our family. She’s pure and kind-hearted by nature, and doesn’t like to fight with others. How can you bear to let her be wronged? Butler, stop moving!” I scoffed inwardly: [Tsk tsk, what a fiercely protective brother. I hope in a few days, on the night of her eighteenth birthday, after she drugs you and climbs into your bed, you’ll still think she’s pure and kind-hearted by nature?] [But he probably won’t even live to see that day, because his health is already terrible right now. He suffers from insomnia every night, and has heart palpitations and headaches during the day, but never takes the time to go to the hospital.] [By that day, when he’s drugged with those powerful aphrodisiacs and tormented by Serena all night, a perfectly capable young man will be turned into a drooling idiot at the sight of a woman.] Smack. The other half of the watch slipped from Eleanor’s hand and fell to the floor. And Lucas, who was always stubbornly protective of Serena, actually had a stiff expression as he reached out and pushed away his precious sister. [Looking at the timeline, the tumor in Lucas’s brain is probably about to turn malignant, right? I should tell him to get a checkup at the hospital.] [Forget it, last time I just handed him a bowl of soup, and he told me to mind my own business, not to be overly affectionate, and not to fight over everything. If I try to advise him now, he’ll probably think I’m just jealous of his dear sister again.] Serena never expected to be pushed away by the brother who loved her the most. Caught off guard, she almost face-planted onto the floor. After steadying herself, she moved towards Lucas again. But Lucas took two sudden steps back. He suddenly looked at me, his expression complex. After a long while, his voice sounded uncertain as he said: “Sorry, I have something to do. I need to go out for a bit.” He left in a hurry. “Lucas!” Serena cried out tragically. But Lucas didn’t even look back. Serena’s expression shattered. 4 Serena didn’t go live in the servants’ quarters. She packed a simple, small bag. She only packed a few changes of clothes. She intended to move out of this house. She bowed deeply to Eleanor, tears falling like pearls, her voice hoarse: “Thank you for taking care of me all these years. I’m leaving. When I graduate, I’ll work hard to earn money and repay your kindness in raising me.” Eleanor frowned: “You made a mistake, I scolded you, and you’re feeling wronged? Is this you threatening to run away from home?” Serena cried and shook her head: “I’m not throwing a tantrum, I genuinely want to leave. Maya has suffered a lot outside these past few years, so please dote on her. You don’t need me anymore.” “Eleanor, there was a shipment of fresh fruit at Whole Foods today. I picked out a few for you, come have a taste.” Bursting in like a whirlwind was Eleanor’s best friend, Brenda. Eleanor was always overbearing, so she had very few friends. Brenda was the only one who accommodated her in everything. Because of this, the two were very close. Seeing Brenda, the cold Eleanor’s expression softened a bit: “Thank you.” I laughed inwardly: [What’s there to thank her for? She’s buying you fruit with your own money.] [You loaded her membership card with ten thousand, and eight thousand of it was spent by Brenda.] Eleanor’s face, which had just relaxed, froze again. Brenda, oblivious to this, ran over to comfort Serena: “Oh my, what’s going on? Who upset our Princess Serena? Your pretty little face is all smeared with tears like a messy kitten.” Serena held her bag, crying even harder: “Aunt Brenda, boohoo, I’m moving out. I’ll come visit you when I have time.” Brenda looked surprised: “What happened?” Serena: “The watch Mom gave me broke. I don’t know how it broke, but it made Mom mad, and Maya felt wronged, so it’s best if I move out.” Brenda laughed it off: “Is that all? Serena, just apologize and it’ll be fine. You’re so pretty, if you go out there alone you’ll be kidnapped by traffickers. Your parents and brother would be heartbroken. Right, Eleanor? You wouldn’t bear to let this beautiful girl wander the streets alone, would you?” [Hmph, with her biological mother right here, how could Serena ever wander the streets? The luxury condo you borrowed from Eleanor, the princess room you meticulously decorated, wasn’t that all prepared for Serena?] As soon as I finished my internal rant, Eleanor suddenly asked: “What did you say?” Her eyes were wide open, her voice trembling slightly. Seeing her staring at me, I was taken aback and shook my head: “Nothing, I didn’t say anything.” I continued complaining in my head: [It’s a pity we can’t choose our origins. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen to be born into the Sterling family.] [Eleanor is blind, completely oblivious to the fact that Brenda swapped their two daughters.] [While I was in the countryside fighting dogs for food, my own biological mother was raising someone else’s daughter like a princess, and even letting her leech off the Sterling family, paying for all her food, clothes, housing, and expenses.] [Later, when Serena turned the Sterling family upside down and seized all their assets, she moved Brenda into the Sterling family’s mansion. Do you remember what Brenda did to Eleanor?] [She called Eleanor a moron and an idiot, saying Eleanor must be blind to fall so low. She even said she never treated Eleanor as a best friend, but rather as a servant, and that now she was the master.] [When Arthur fell ill, Eleanor went to Brenda to borrow money. As a result, Brenda forced Eleanor to kneel and lick her shoes clean.] [Even though Brenda and her daughter are barely human, specializing in inhumane acts, and Serena never said a word even when she knew about her true parentage early on. Even if I told Eleanor these things, she probably wouldn’t believe me. Better not be overly affectionate again. I’ll just watch how things unfold for them. Anyway, I must get out of this house as soon as possible.] [Speaking of which, this isn’t my home at all. I’m just a pitiful ghost temporarily lodging here. No one considers me family anyway.] At this time, Brenda pushed Serena in front of Eleanor: “Eleanor, it’s not a big deal. Why kick the child out? Everyone envies you for having such a daughter—beautiful, smart, and elegant. You couldn’t find another like her in all of New York. If she runs out and something happens, wouldn’t you cry yourself to death?” Brenda urged Serena: “Go on, apologize to your mom.” Serena looked softly at Eleanor: “Mom—” Before she could say another word, Eleanor abruptly interrupted her: “Serena, since you want to leave, then move out.” Both Serena and Brenda were dumbfounded. Eleanor stepped aside to make a phone call, then took my hand: “Come with Mom to the hospital to see your brother.” I was confused and bewildered. This was the first time she had held my hand, and the first time she used the words “Mom” and “Brother” in front of me. I was led away by her in a daze. Eleanor drove, and I sat in the passenger seat. She fastened my seatbelt for me with unprecedented gentleness. As we drove out of the garage, Brenda pulled a sobbing, stumbling Serena to block the car: “Eleanor, is Lucas at the hospital? What’s wrong with him? Serena is very worried about her brother too. Let us ride with you—” Eleanor locked the car doors immediately and said coldly: “No need. Lucas isn’t her biological brother, so there’s no need for her concern.” With that, she maneuvered the car around the stunned Brenda and Serena, hit the gas, and sped away. In the rearview mirror, Serena’s cries grew even louder. 5 Lucas said he wasn’t feeling well and went to the hospital for a checkup, where they found a tumor. Thankfully, it was caught early and wasn’t a major issue. After surgery, he would be fine. We had just arrived when Serena and Brenda followed right behind us. “Lucas, are you okay?” Serena’s eyes were red and swollen again, her face full of concern. She handed an exquisitely packaged bag to Lucas and said considerately: “This is chicken soup from your favorite deli, Lucas. It’s still hot. Drink some, and you’ll get better faster.” Hearing “chicken soup,” I instinctively glanced at the packaging box a few more times: [The drug Serena slipped to Lucas on his birthday was mixed into this chicken soup. Turns out it’s his favorite. No wonder he was completely oblivious to being drugged.] [With a fake sister this attentive, it’s no surprise Lucas likes her.] [Too bad this affection won’t last. Later, when Lucas turns into a fool, his dear fake sister will immediately send him to a mental asylum with the worst conditions.] [He tried everything to make a phone call to her, but this fake sister found it annoying and had the asylum orderlies electrocute him to death with stun batons.] Crash. The soup fell to the floor, splashing everywhere. It turned out that when Serena handed it to Lucas, he outright refused it. Because he pushed it away too fast, it fell to the ground. Not only did he refuse it, but he also looked terrified, backing up continuously on his hospital bed. If there wasn’t a wall behind him, he would have retreated even further. Serena froze, tears “whooshing” out again, looking on the verge of a breakdown: “Lucas, am I a ghost? Why are you hiding so far away from me?” Lucas had a “you’re scarier than a ghost” expression and said coldly: “Leave. I’m fine. I don’t need your concern.” Serena looked pitifully at Eleanor again. Eleanor looked away and also said coldly: “Hurry up and leave.” Serena was even more heartbroken. “Then get some rest, Lucas.” Brenda gave Eleanor and Lucas a deep look and pulled Serena away. As she passed by me, Serena glared coldly and drove me away: “My brother needs to rest, and he doesn’t want to be disturbed. Stop being so full of yourself and lingering around here. Get out.” Just as she finished trying to kick me out. Lucas called out: “Maya, you don’t need to go.” I originally didn’t want to stay, but with Serena right there, I intentionally stayed and smiled slightly at her: “He insists on me disturbing him.” Serena: “…” Serena’s face turned green with anger. 6 After Brenda pulled Serena away. Lucas grabbed a carton of milk from the bedside table—delivered by his assistant—opened it, and handed it to me, saying somewhat unnaturally: “Maya, want to drink this?” I refused without a second thought: “No thanks.” [What are you pretending for? Eleanor already knows you find me annoying and hate me, so what’s the point of playing the loving sibling act in front of her? Besides, she hates me to death herself; why would she care how you look at me?] Lucas froze, his face inexplicably turning red, looking guilty. And Eleanor’s eyes inexplicably turned red too. She took my hand and choked back a sob: “I’m sorry, Maya. Since you came back, Mom hasn’t properly cared for you…” Lucas suddenly apologized to me as well: “Maya, it’s my fault too. I don’t even know what you like to eat. Tell me, and I’ll buy it all for you from now on.” His eyes were also red: “Maya, I don’t hate you. We’re biological siblings. You’re my biological sister.” He deliberately emphasized the words “biological sister,” as if afraid I wouldn’t believe him. Me: “?” This drastically different attitude before and after made me suspect they had both been possessed. I gave an awkward smile and played along: “Haha, right, we’re siblings.” [Whatever, I’m only staying for a few days anyway. Once I turn eighteen, I’ll have saved up some money. Then I’ll move out and stop hoping for some supposed blood relation.] I didn’t say anything overly harsh. For some reason, Eleanor and Lucas looked even sadder and more guilty. 7 Serena actually started trying hard. She didn’t return to the Sterling family for several days in a row. Without her causing trouble at home. My treatment in this house instantly skyrocketed. The biggest room was now mine. Every day, the chefs prepared food tailored to my preferences. A Rolls-Royce was assigned to pick me up and drop me off. Seniors barely had any days off, let alone time to go shopping, yet Eleanor bought me heaps of clothes, shoes, and bags. Eleanor gave me a card, and Lucas gave me a card too. They both said it was my allowance. I checked; both cards had over a million dollars each. And they both said they would transfer money to the cards every month, telling me to spend it freely. Actually, when they brought me back, they didn’t give me any pocket money. Like Serena, they probably felt that since we were kids, giving us large sums without restriction wasn’t a good idea, so they never gave me such huge amounts before. Earlier, when I first returned, seeing my poor grades, my parents originally planned to hire private tutors for me. But Serena volunteered to tutor me. Mom and Dad were very pleased and agreed. But when she tutored me, she intentionally threw in foreign languages that I couldn’t understand at all. Naturally, I didn’t improve one bit. Serena would then show my tests, covered in red ‘X’s, to our parents, smiling helplessly and saying I gave her headaches. Her expression practically etched the words “naturally stupid” on my forehead. My parents probably assumed my academics were beyond saving. After that, they never mentioned hiring tutors for me again, only asking Serena to continue paying closer attention to my studies. But these past few days, Eleanor hired several private tutors for me in a row, all of them top-tier professors. Before, problems that sounded like gibberish to me became understandable once these professors broke them down into simple terms. Although the Sterling family was treating me very well right now, I still didn’t dare let my guard down. I studied desperately with the professors while continuing my master plan to save money. Except for essential expenses, I didn’t dare spend a single extra penny of the money the Sterling family gave me, carefully saving it all. 8 Serena returned a week later. Brought back by Mr. Sterling, Arthur. He had returned from a business trip and, because he hadn’t eaten for a day and a night, he went to a restaurant near the airport with his trusted assistant to eat. There, he ran into Serena and brought her back. Serena was still wearing the same outfit she had worn when she left. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her complexion was sallow. Her hands were covered in band-aids. Arthur held Serena’s hand tightly, his heart clearly aching for her. As soon as he got back, he confronted Eleanor, demanding to know why she let a high school senior move out alone over such a trivial matter. He angrily accused Eleanor: “Do you have any idea what she was doing out there? She was washing dishes in a restaurant! Going to school during the day, washing dishes at night, and washing dishes on holidays too! If I hadn’t run into her, her whole life would have been ruined by your hands!” Surprisingly, Eleanor didn’t feel sorry for the miserable-looking Serena. Instead, she asked skeptically: “What a coincidence? Out of all the restaurants, she happened to be washing dishes at the exact one you went to eat at after your business trip?” [Is it really a coincidence? They planned it all out beforehand.] [Brenda and her husband, Kevin, are relying on this daughter to leach off the Sterling family. How could they let her suffer?] Kevin was Arthur’s trusted assistant, and also Brenda’s husband—Serena’s biological father. [Looking at Serena’s dark circles, she probably went through several palettes of eyeshadow.] [Tsk, and her hands. To play the victim, how many band-aids did she waste?] I was just complaining internally when Eleanor suddenly picked up a pot of tea and splashed it right at Serena’s face and hands. Splash. The makeup on Serena’s face was ruined. Serena screamed, raising her hands to cover her face. Because she had applied it so thickly, the eyeshadow started running down. And the band-aids on her hands, soaked through, fell off. Revealing smooth, completely unblemished fingers underneath. The air instantly went dead silent. Eleanor sneered: “Act! Keep acting! I’m the one who failed as a mother. I meticulously raised you for eighteen years, only to raise a deceitful liar!” Arthur was stunned. Serena, completely caught off guard, was also dumbfounded. I was in awe of Eleanor. She actually recognized that Serena’s “pitiful look” was just makeup. 9 Arthur stared at Serena in disbelief, speaking with disappointment: “So, you even lied to me? The dark circles, the band-aids on your hands—it was all an act?” Seeing she had been exposed, Serena dropped to her knees with a thud: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean it. Mom was very angry with me, and I was afraid… I was afraid you guys really didn’t want me anymore. Dad, you love me the most, you definitely won’t stay mad at me, right?” [What Dad? She already reunited with her biological parents five years ago. She intentionally kept it from you because you’re rich and she wanted to use you as an ATM.] [I also don’t know why Arthur chose Kevin as his confidant. Kevin is even more disgusting than his wife, Brenda. He secretly runs a small company, embezzles company funds to gamble, and loses millions in a single game. And that’s not even the worst of it.] [He also uses his position as the CEO’s confidant to hook up with countless mistresses at the company. The employees below hate him to the core. With him causing so much trouble, Arthur is completely clueless. Truly impressive.] [No wonder the company was later seized by Serena and her biological father, Kevin. At his age, Arthur is too easy to fool.] “What?” Just as I was ranting, Arthur suddenly seemed unwell. His face and lips turned pale, and he collapsed onto the sofa. Eleanor quickly had someone call the family doctor. When the doctor arrived, the examination revealed a blood pressure issue. They gave Arthur some blood pressure medication. Once he stabilized, Arthur stared at me for a long time, his eyes full of complex emotions. [Why is he staring at me like that? Does he still think I’m bullying his precious adopted daughter?] Arthur’s expression froze. Serena tried to move closer to Arthur again. But he pushed her away. He slowly stood up, looked at me, and spoke with unprecedented gentleness: “Maya, there’s no school today. Do you want to come play at Dad’s company?” Before I could answer, Serena eagerly interrupted: “Dad, I want to go! I’ll go with you right now.” There was an unspoken rule in the Sterling family: if the children were chosen by the head of the family to be taken to the company, it meant they were intentionally being groomed to pave the way for their future entry into the business. And Serena had been waiting for this day. She thought she would only have a chance after she officially turned eighteen. She didn’t expect the opportunity to present itself now, and she was eager to seize it. However, Arthur ruthlessly rejected her: “You don’t need to.” He turned back to me, his expression softening: “Maya, can you accompany Dad to the company? Think of it as an internship. Dad will pay you an hourly wage, is that okay?” I couldn’t figure out what he was up to, but hearing I could earn money, I agreed. “Dad!” Serena’s face contorted with anger, her voice trembling. “How could you treat me like this too? Are you trying to force me to die? Boohoo~” [You won’t die. Your biological parents are waiting right outside the mansion.] As soon as I finished my internal commentary, Eleanor, who had regained her composure, picked up her phone, dialed a number, and said coldly: “Brenda, come pick up your goddaughter.” Brenda had become Eleanor’s best friend in order to stay close to Serena, and had even acknowledged Serena as her goddaughter. Brenda quickly ran in, out of breath. Seeing Serena’s ruined makeup and the removed band-aids, she tried to smooth things over: “Eleanor, is Arthur home too? You all know? Well, I couldn’t bear to let the child wander outside, so I let her stay at my place for a few days. She cried every day because she missed you all.” “I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I came up with this bad idea. Don’t blame her. If you want to blame someone, blame me, okay?” “You see, you guys were such a happy, perfect family before. You were the envy of everyone. Now you’re arguing like this. Aren’t you just letting people laugh at you for no reason?” After Brenda finished, she glared at me, her eyes filled with such resentment that they almost shot daggers: “Maya, you caused all this, didn’t you? You intentionally drove a wedge between Serena and her parents, trying to drive Serena out?” I scoffed in anger: “Are you crazy? What does this have to do with me?” Brenda’s voice grew louder: “Heh, look at your manners. Is that how you talk to your elders? Country bumpkins truly can’t present themselves in public! Do you think you can win just by being loud and throwing tantrums?” “Let me tell you, Serena is the meticulously groomed heiress of this family. You have no grades, no grace, you can’t compare to her in any way. Just because you’re lazy, you stir up trouble in the Sterling family, driving a wedge between Serena and the family. You’ve completely disgraced the Sterling family—” Before she could finish her sentence. Smack! Eleanor slapped her hard across the face. Eleanor trembled with anger: “Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to dictate matters in my family? Get the hell out!” “Eleanor, you hit me?” Brenda stared at Eleanor in disbelief, clutching her cheek as tears welled up. “I hit you! If you say one more word about my daughter, I’ll hit you again!” Eleanor roared even louder, “Get out!”

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On my thirty-fifth birthday, a girl crashed into my living room. She rocked bright pink hair and heavy smoky eyeliner. It was me at twenty. Bold, arrogant, and radiating a wild energy that absolutely refused to be tamed. My heart skipped a beat. Terrified she would scare my supposedly straight-laced husband, I immediately ordered this rebellious kid to get the hell out. But his eyes were completely glued to her. Like a man possessed, he became instantly infatuated with my younger self right then and there. It was a bitter irony. I had spent the last seven years playing the perfect housewife for him. I quit smoking, stopped drinking, and erased every single one of my bad habits just to be a good partner and mother. The former serial dater had completely retired her playbook. I genuinely thought I had found a man I could trust for the rest of my life. And the result? After that birthday party, he stopped coming home at night. He spent every waking hour hitting up dive bars and clubs with the twenty-year-old me. When I couldn’t take it anymore and told him to keep his distance, he actually laughed in my face. “Are you seriously jealous of yourself?” He even tried to justify his behavior. “Even if something happens between us, you’re the one I truly love in my heart. What is there to worry about?” Wow. Men really were all the same. He would probably never realize one simple truth. The twenty-year-old me wouldn’t be caught dead settling for a guy like him. … 1 The clock in the living room ticked away. The hands pointed straight to one in the morning. I sat on the sofa, locked in a silent standoff with my husband who had just come home. Simon broke the silence first. “Isn’t the twenty-year-old Stella also you?” “I’m going to her gigs to support her because I love you.” “Stella, I really don’t get it. Why are you eating yourself alive with jealousy over your own past? Is it really necessary?” Simon adjusted his rimless glasses, looking every bit the refined, respectable university professor he always claimed to be. Except for the half-smeared red lipstick print sitting right on his shirt collar. Supporting her… from that close? My mind wandered. Just a month ago, he was busy commissioning a custom oil portrait as a surprise for my thirty-fifth birthday. A month later, he had completely tossed me aside, calling me unreasonable and paranoid. And all of this happened because the twenty-year-old me fell out of the sky. She had bright pink hair, bold red lips, and heavy smoky eyes. She was the absolute polar opposite of the gentle, submissive wife I had become. She oozed rock and roll. The moment she opened her mouth, she mocked me for looking like a pathetic housewife. I watched her cause absolute chaos at my birthday dinner. I was terrified. A former maneater hanging up her boots to find a decent guy to marry was no easy feat. I wasn’t going to let this brat ruin my marriage, so I immediately told her to get out. But Simon was surprisingly protective of her. “That’s enough, Stella. Be mature.” “Even if you aren’t that person anymore, you should gracefully embrace your past.” He sounded so incredibly righteous. I actually thought I had married the right man. I was just about to sit him down and confess the wild, complicated truth of my past, but he was already completely mesmerized by her. It turned out he was utterly captivated by that vibrant, unfiltered version of me. For the past month, I watched it all happen right in front of my eyes. My Mr. Perfect husband, who had never once been late for dinner, suddenly mastered the art of staying out all night, drinking, and clubbing. Typical man. I originally planned to make him the only man I would love for the next few decades. I swallowed my wild side, happily cooked his meals, and prepared to start a family with him. But he didn’t want that. He wanted to be just one of the dozen guys I flirted with back in my twenties. Fine. I would grant his wish. There was a strand of bright pink hair tangled around one of Simon’s buttons. I reached out, plucked it off, and dropped it right into his palm. “Why would I be jealous?” “From this second on, I’m done managing you. Do whatever you want.” He looked confused, assuming I was just throwing a petty tantrum. His expression grew colder. “At the end of the day, you’re the one I want. You should be grateful for that.” I knew exactly what he was implying. Since she was technically me, I was supposed to count my blessings that he wasn’t out cheating with a complete stranger. I wasn’t going to play that game. Simon walked upstairs. The bathroom door slammed shut. I sat back on the sofa, crossing my legs, and pulled out my phone. A few rings later, my old lawyer friend, who had harbored a massive crush on me for years, picked up immediately. “Well, well, Stella. I’ve been waiting for this call.” “You want a divorce, right? Send me the asset spreadsheet. I’ll draft the papers tonight.” I gave a faint smile and just said two words. “Thank you.” By eight o’clock the next morning, the divorce agreement was sitting perfectly in my inbox. 2 While I was reviewing the fine print of the divorce papers, Simon was standing right next to me, picking out clothes and styling his hair. A deep V-neck shirt, a silver skull necklace, and his hair curled to look like some seasoned bad boy. The whole reason I wanted to marry him in the first place was because he was a respectable academic. He had this untouchable, saintly aura, completely different from the sleazy players I used to date. Who knew that when men finally let their true colors show, they were all exactly the same. He thought he was radiating pure testosterone, but in reality… “Stella, you should really take some notes from young Stella. Stop dressing so depressingly all the time.” Young Stella was what he called the twenty-year-old me. She wore heavy makeup every single day. If her back wasn’t exposed, her shoulders were, and her jeans were always ripped to shreds. After getting married, I was terrified of embarrassing Simon in front of his colleagues. I didn’t keep a single piece of my old wardrobe, swapping it all out for modest, knee-length skirts. Now that his brain was completely fried by lust, he actually wanted me to put those ripped clothes back on. Psycho. I rolled my eyes and picked up my phone. Without him noticing, I snapped a picture of him posing in the mirror and texted it to Bennett, my lawyer. “Find a way to squeeze him for more alimony. He is completely at fault.” Bennett replied with a thumbs up, telling me to gather more evidence. No problem. At nine o’clock that night, I walked into the dive bar young Stella practically lived at. It was the exact same spot I loved hanging out at a decade ago. Sure enough, Simon was there too. The man I once thought had an ethereal, classy presence now just looked pathetic. His facial features were still handsome and refined, but his entire vibe was completely off. He sat in a VIP booth, his eyes glued to young Stella the entire time. Too bad she wasn’t even giving him the time of day. After all, a fossil in his thirties had absolutely zero competitive edge against the hot college guys swarming the place. The bass from the speakers made my heart pound against my ribs. I really was getting too old for this. “Hey! Listen to me!” “What?!” Even under the heavy makeup, those identical facial features still carried a trace of youth. Young Stella held a beer bottle, screaming directly into my ear. “Why did you ever settle for him?!” “Look how old he is, trying to rock a deep V-neck like a frat boy! It’s hilarious!” As she said that, young Stella finally tossed Simon a glance. She raised her beer bottle, giving him a toast from across the room. I watched his lips twitch as he tried to hide a massive, glowing smile. What a pathetic loser. So embarrassing. I cursed him in my head. “Yeah, why the hell did I settle for him?!” I couldn’t figure it out anymore either. I grabbed young Stella’s hand and downed half her beer in one go. Seeing my reaction, she leaned in close, her voice dripping with disgust. “If he hadn’t promised to fund my new band, I wouldn’t even look in his direction.” Made perfect sense. Simon wasn’t even close to my type when I was twenty. The only reason she was entertaining him this long had to be the band. Even as a maneater, I had standards. Back in my prime, I had plenty of guys chasing me, but nobody was allowed to get in the way of my music. Even after I married Simon, whose traditional family hated the idea of a wife being in the public eye, I secretly kept writing songs. I never told him just to avoid the headache. The hidden camera pinned to my chest blinked a tiny red light. Young Stella caught on immediately and gave me a wicked smile. “Not bad.” “You got married, but at least your brain didn’t completely rot.” Just then, Simon got up and walked over to us. His Adam’s apple bobbed. In front of me, he was always the composed, gentle husband. But talking to young Stella, he acted like a nervous teenage boy. “Looking good! The bad boy aesthetic suits you, old man!” The younger me beat him to the punch. She was a master at playing the crowd. Tell them exactly what they want to hear. She patted Simon’s shoulder twice before heading backstage to prep. She was the resident singer for the late-night set. Simon clearly ate up every second of her attention. He stood frozen in place, taking a long moment to snap back to reality, seemingly savoring the lingering scent of her heavy perfume. I wasn’t jealous. I was just pure, violently disgusted. Married for seven years, and he still had the nerve to act like a lovestruck puppy. I let out a cold scoff, making absolutely no effort to hide the disgust on my face. Simon finally realized I had been standing there the whole time. His brow furrowed instantly. “What are you doing here?” 3 “If you’re still upset about the Stella… I mean, the young Stella situation, I don’t think we have anything to talk about.” He slipped right back into his righteous, academic persona. It was as if we were debating a philosophical thesis. I used to adore that serious, intellectual side of him. Now, every single thing he did just made my skin crawl. Even arguing with him felt like a massive waste of oxygen. But we had been married for seven years. I gave him one final piece of friendly advice. “Don’t fall too deep.” “This girl is way out of your league. A pretentious academic like you will get eaten alive.” I crossed my arms, watching the wild, untamed girl owning the stage. It was true, when the younger me sang, it was impossible to look away. Simon just scoffed coldly. “Give it a rest.” “I know what this is. You’re just jealous of her.” I turned my head, genuinely confused. What met my gaze was a pair of ice-cold eyes. “You’re jealous that she’s vibrant and alive! You’re jealous that she has more charm in her pinky finger than you do!” He looked me up and down. A casual blouse, mom jeans, canvas sneakers, and my hair tied back in a messy bun. “Unlike you. You’re dull, boring, and completely lifeless!” “Instead of being jealous, you should really take some notes from her!” With that, he refused to look at me again. He even took a few steps away from me. As if standing next to a housewife was beneath him. In that split second, the manners and class of the man I once loved completely evaporated into thin air. My heart turned to absolute ice. Even the last shred of pity I had for him died on the spot. “Fine,” I replied calmly. “Then go to her. I won’t stop you.” I waved my hand, pointing straight at the stage. He froze, hesitating for a moment. “Are you really… not going to hold this against me?” “Did you genuinely accept her, or are you just trying to trick me?” Deep down, he knew exactly how deranged this whole thing was. He desperately needed me to validate his twisted logic so he wouldn’t feel guilty, so he wouldn’t violate his own high moral standards. I didn’t say another word. I just gestured for him to go. It was as if a chain had been broken. Simon practically sprinted toward the stage, catching young Stella as she finished her set and pulling her into a tight hug. “That was incredible, Stella!” “I’ll fund everything. Let me help you build your dream band, okay?!” He looked as sincere as the day we got married. “You are so amazing, Stella!” “Marrying you was the greatest honor of my life!” Without missing a beat, I aimed my lens right at his face and hit the shutter. Click. Click. A few hours later, every single one of those photos was sitting in Bennett’s inbox. He sent back a voice memo trying to comfort me. I didn’t even have the patience to listen to the whole thing. I just chose the wrong man and ended up in a failed marriage. Make a mistake, fix it, and move on. It wasn’t the end of the world. The only thing I cared about now was making sure the final settlement tipped heavily in my favor. 4 After that night, Simon started contacting young Stella relentlessly. Scouting venues, meeting investors, he was always there. Writing tracks, rehearsing, picking out stage outfits, he was there for all of it. He made absolutely no effort to hide his obsession. We were literally the exact same person, but whenever he talked about the twenty-year-old Stella, his eyes dripped with sickening sweetness. On the rare occasions he actually came home, he only looked at me with flat indifference and annoyance. And me? I watched him sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand, and I didn’t utter a single word of warning. He genuinely believed I had bought into his “you’re both the same person” delusion. He stopped making excuses entirely, slipping into her life as if it was his absolute right. Meanwhile, I used all my free time to dive deep into our marital assets. The deeper I dug, the more shocked I was. Simon’s academic research was highly successful. The royalties from the books he published over the last few years had easily crossed the million-dollar mark. He had more than enough cash to bankroll a rock band. A few days before the band’s premiere showcase, he completely stopped pretending. He handed me a VIP pass and ordered the thirty-five-year-old me to be there. I only realized his true intentions after I arrived. He was actually shameless enough to plan a massive, public romantic confession to the twenty-year-old Stella right after the curtain closed. Simon was dressed in a tailored suit, looking as if this concert was his second wedding. “Stella, I really hope I have your blessing today.” “I have to admit, right now, my heart only has room for the twenty-year-old Stella. There is no space left for anyone else.” “But don’t worry, I won’t divorce you. After all, you and her are the same person. You’re both my wife.” He stood at the very front of the VIP section, his eyes locked on the girl rehearsing on stage. He didn’t even look at me when he spoke. I let out a soft laugh. “Is that so.” “Well, I highly suggest you check your email first.” Sitting right in his inbox was the finalized divorce agreement. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too? Over my dead body. But he clearly couldn’t care less. “We’ll talk about it after the show.” “I am not letting anything ruin this night.” Was it the show he was worried about, or his grand confession? I nodded, deciding to keep my mouth shut. Because right at that exact moment, if my memory served me right, the twenty-year-old me was busy making intense eye contact with the bassist. That was just the reality of being a player. If you wanted to claim her officially, you had to get in line. As for Simon… I stood calmly beside him, waiting for the show to start. The amps blasted, the stage lights flared, and the crowd surged forward. The final chord rang out into the stadium. Every single person in the room screamed for the musical prodigy on stage. Suddenly, a strange feeling blossomed in my chest. A wave of inexplicable satisfaction and immense pride washed over me. In that specific moment, I finally felt the absolute truth that we were the exact same person. The twenty-year-old me was Stella. The thirty-five-year-old me was Stella. The sheer impact of that massive achievement would echo through my life forever. Seeing the show end in total triumph, Simon jumped up in pure ecstasy. He pushed his way through the screaming crowd, shouting Stella’s name at the top of his lungs. But the very next second, everything stopped. The ecstatic girl on stage grabbed the handsome bassist by the collar and kissed him passionately in front of everyone. I crossed my arms, a massive smile spreading across my face as I watched them make out. One second. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Every drop of color drained from Simon’s face. He was shaking from head to toe, staring at the stage in absolute disbelief. Then, he slowly turned his head to look at me. I gave him a cold, mocking smirk, waving the digital divorce papers on my phone screen right in his face. “What are you looking at?” “She doesn’t want you, and neither do I.”

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It had been three years since I ended things with Noah Slavin, three years since I’d left this city behind. Now, I was back. Everyone was whispering, speculating that I’d returned because I couldn’t stand being away from him any longer, that I was here to beg him to take me back. Noah himself seemed to think so, too. His buddies were already sucking up to him, their voices dripping with envy. “Damn, Noah, you’ve got some serious game. After all this time, the great Sienna Windsor is still wrapped around your finger.” Another one chimed in, “Who can compete with our man Noah? She stormed out of here like she was never coming back, and now look at her, crawling back like a lost puppy, ready to beg.” A mocking smile touched Noah’s lips as he listened. He let out a soft, arrogant laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous. Even if she did come back begging, it all depends on whether I’m still interested.” But none of them knew the truth. I wasn’t the same girl I was three years ago. Six months ago, I got engaged to Grayson Holt. I was back to plan my own wedding. 01 My friends were all there to meet me at the airport. My best friend, Bella, threw her arms around my waist. “Sienna, you jerk! You’re finally back. I missed you like crazy.” Familiar faces surrounded me, warm and welcoming. But I never expected Noah to be there. Three years hadn’t changed him much. He still had those roguish, charming eyes, a lazy swagger, and that same untamable arrogance. “I told you not to wear stuff that’s so tight,” he said, his voice a low drawl. “Don’t come crying to me when people make fun of your body again. I’m just looking out for you.” Right. Still the same silver-tongued devil. I used to be so insecure about my large chest. A comment like that would have made me hunch my shoulders, instinctively looking down to see if something was out of place. But I was long past the age of letting someone else’s words define me. Besides, I was wearing a high-necked, knee-length dress. If anyone had a problem with it, that was a reflection of their own dirty mind, not my fault. So, I just gave him a cool, detached glance and a polite, distant smile, saying nothing. Bella, however, shot him a glare. “What do you know? Sienna has the kind of killer body other girls would die for. All the curves are in the right places.” Noah seemed to notice the change in me. His expression faltered for a second, his eyes fixed on me. To celebrate my return, my friends booked a private room at a bar. When it was time to sit, I deliberately chose a seat as far away from Noah as possible. The man’s sharp brows twitched, but he stayed silent, merely shrugging off the other girls who tried to slide in next to him. At one point, a couple of girls from the next room came over, using a game of “truth or dare” as an excuse to ask for Noah’s number. He turned them all down politely. That surprised me. The Noah I remembered was never one to refuse a pretty face, as long as she was decent-looking. Just then, a friend leaned in and whispered to me. “Noah’s changed a lot since you left. He barely talks to girls anymore. You hardly ever see him with another woman.” 02 I had no idea what he was trying to achieve by telling me that. Was I supposed to be touched? A little late for that, wasn’t it? This worthless, self-serving gesture? He was only trying to make himself feel better. Uninterested, I got up and headed to the restroom. On my way back, I saw Noah and a few of his friends smoking on the balcony just off the hallway. Their voices drifted over to me. “Seriously, Noah, you’re the man. All these years, and Sienna Windsor still can’t get over you.” “Yeah, teach us your secrets, bro. I wanna know what it’s like to have a rich heiress completely hung up on me.” “Who can compare to Noah? Remember how final she was when she left? And now she’s back, tail between her legs, ready to play nice.” A smirk played on Noah’s lips. He chuckled. “You guys are talking nonsense. Even if she begged me to take her back, it’s not a given I’d say yes.” A round of laughter followed. Then, one of them spoke up, a little more thoughtfully. “I don’t know, man. Sienna seems… different this time. She’s barely even looked at you.” Noah flicked the ash from his cigarette, the ember glowing faintly. He exhaled a cloud of smoke, completely unconcerned. “Different how? She’s just throwing a tantrum. It’s not the first time.” So that’s what they thought. That I’d come back to beg Noah for a second chance. A three-year-long tantrum. What a creative way to see it. I was afraid they were in for a major disappointment. Because six months ago, I had gotten engaged to Grayson Holt, the man at the helm of the Holt Corporation. I was back to get married. Still, I couldn’t entirely blame them. The old me really had been head-over-heels for Noah. 03 Noah and I were childhood sweethearts. It all started when he told me, “Stick with me, and I’ll have your back.” And so, I trailed after him for over a decade. After high school graduation, he said, “Sienna, I know you like me. Let’s give this a shot.” And just like that, we were a couple. I used to think I was special to him. He was the one who, when other guys would catcall me or make crude jokes about my figure, would complain about me being too flashy, then corner those jerks in an alley and beat the crap out of them. He was the one who, when I got injured during a track meet, set aside his germaphobia to have someone carry me to the nurse’s office on a stretcher. He’d grumble about me being a pain while carefully tending to my wounds. I always told myself that Noah just wasn’t good at expressing his feelings. That if I just loved him enough, one day, he would show me his gentle side. That fantasy shattered the day Lily, a transfer student on a scholarship, showed up. That’s when I learned that Noah’s kindness didn’t have to come packaged with insults and belittlement. That he could be genuinely warm and considerate. At first, Noah just said he felt sorry for Lily. She was all alone, struggling to pay tuition with student loans, and he just wanted to help her out. I believed him. I even went out of my way to buy Lily clothes and toiletries. I forgot that so many relationships begin with pity. But the moment that truly killed every last bit of hope was the campus “Prom Queen” election. 04 At our university, the elected Prom King and Queen got to share the first dance at the Freshman Ball. Noah was, without a doubt, voted Prom King. I, on the other hand, worked my ass off to become Prom Queen. I campaigned relentlessly, stayed up all night helping classmates with their group projects, and spent my entire monthly allowance buying them lunches and gifts. But when the final vote came down to a tie between me and Lily, Noah cast the deciding vote. For her. In that instant, my world went silent. The cheers, the whispers, the laughter around me all faded into a dull roar. All I could see was Noah on the stage and Lily in the crowd, sharing a triumphant smile. A bitter, acidic feeling churned in my stomach. For the first time, I wondered if Noah had ever liked me at all. He tried to smooth things over afterward, a rare attempt at placating me. He explained that the Prom King and Queen got a paid gig to shoot promotional posters for the university. I didn’t need the money, but Lily, with her difficult family situation, desperately did. He asked me not to fight her for it. But that night, outside the pool hall, I overheard the real reason from him and his friends. “Nice one, Noah. Getting Lily crowned was all your doing, wasn’t it? Sacrificing your own girlfriend for the cause. Cold-blooded, man.” Noah just laughed, not denying it. “A Prom Queen should be… you know, the pure type. Sienna’s not exactly the right fit.” “True,” another one added. “If Sienna wore the gown, all the freshmen would probably get nosebleeds just looking at her.” The whole group erupted in laughter, Noah included. The same boy who used to get into fights because someone made fun of me had become one of them, laughing right along. “But isn’t Sienna your girlfriend? We thought you were into her type.” Noah’s demeanor shifted, as if they’d hit a nerve. “No way,” he denied instantly. “If my parents hadn’t pushed me to be nice to her, I wouldn’t have given her a second look. A girl who’s that clingy? It’s such a turn-off.” The others glanced toward the entrance of the pool hall, their knowing smirks saying it all. One of his friends did push back a little. “I don’t know, I think Sienna’s great. If I were voting, I’d pick her. She’s a total bombshell. Hottest girl in school, built like a goddess.” The conversation grew cruder, and Noah’s face finally hardened. “That’s enough,” he snapped, his eyes landing on Lily, who was sitting nearby, blushing furiously. “There’s a lady present. Watch your mouths.” 05 I don’t remember how I got home. It felt like the world had been ripped out from under me. My heart was a block of ice, the cold so sharp it was agonizing. A lump of years’ worth of hurt lodged in my throat, and I couldn’t even find the courage to storm in there and confront him. It was hard to even breathe. If Noah’s love had been like sugarcane—too fibrous to swallow but too sweet to spit out—now, even that last hint of sweetness was gone. I didn’t sleep a wink. The next day, I dragged my exhausted body to class, only to see Lily showing off the dress Noah had bought her for the ball. “Wow, Lily, that dress is gorgeous!” someone gushed. Lily shot a triumphant look in my direction, but her tone was feignedly helpless. “I told Noah he shouldn’t have, but he just wouldn’t listen. He said that as his dance partner, I’d be by his side all night, representing him.” I was already past the point of caring, but Lily made a point to walk over to me. “Sienna, what do you think? Does this dress suit me?” She held it up against herself, giving a little, not-so-accidental twirl. I ignored her. She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “You know, Sienna, I’ve always wanted to ask… are they real?” She gestured toward my chest. “I mean, a lot of rich girls get implants to… you know, hook the guy they want.” “What did you just say?” I shot up from my chair and shoved her, hard. Lily stumbled backward, crashing into a desk. A cup of water tipped over, soaking the front of her shirt. “Sienna, what the hell are you doing?” Noah’s furious voice boomed from the doorway. He rushed to Lily’s side, pulling her into his arms and glaring at me with eyes as cold as ice. I told him what Lily had said, what she had insinuated. “So what? It’s a normal question,” Noah cut me off, his voice laced with impatience. “The way you look, anyone would wonder. You don’t have to be so sensitive about it.” With that, he draped his own jacket over Lily’s shoulders and carried her out of the room, presumably to the nurse’s office. Watching his arms wrapped so tightly around her, my eyes filled with tears. So, his germaphobia was selective. The one thing I had always longed for was something she could have so effortlessly. A broken laugh escaped my lips. Tears finally streamed down my face. I had been such a fool for so many years. His words were the final bucket of ice water, extinguishing the last flicker of hope in my heart. I broke up with Noah. I called my mom and told her I wanted to study abroad. The withdrawal papers were processed in two days. On the third day, I was on a flight to New York. Other than the generic holiday greetings he mass-texted every year, we had no contact. 06 “Hey, did you guys hear? I think Grayson Holt, the head of the Holt Corporation, is getting married.” Someone in our private room suddenly dropped the gossip bomb. “For real? That’s like seeing a pig fly. That guy is a total workaholic. He’s 32, and his parents have been on his case for years, but he never budged. They were starting to lose hope.” “I wonder who the lucky girl is. She must be something special to land him. I heard she’s young, still in college in New York.” “Sienna, you were in New York. Do you know who it is?” Bella nudged my arm. I managed a small smile, taking a sip of my drink to hide my unease. “No idea. I was totally focused on my studies. I didn’t really follow that stuff.” My thumb traced the rim of my glass, a nervous habit whenever I lied. Bella nodded, buying it completely. Only Noah noticed my small gesture. He gave me a long, searching look. When the party ended, we all started heading out. Suddenly, a jacket was draped over my shoulders. Noah was standing beside me. “I’ll take you home. If my parents find out I let you go home alone after drinking, they’ll kill me.” His tone was so familiar, so intimate. As if I’d been gone for three days, not three years. The old me would have been floating on a cloud of pink bubbles. But now, I just stepped back and handed the jacket back to him. “That’s okay. My boyfriend is coming to pick me up.” The word “fiancé” felt too intimate, too much to say out loud just yet. Noah’s smile froze on his face. Everyone else turned to stare, their expressions a mix of shock and confusion. The guys who’d been talking smack on the balcony looked particularly flustered, their eyes darting between me and Noah. “You brat! You kept something this big from me?” Bella slung an arm around my neck, feigning offense. I laughed, apologizing. “I’ll tell you everything later, I promise.” One by one, everyone else left. I stood by the curb, waiting for Grayson, with a scowling Noah lingering behind me. After about ten minutes, the scowl on his face slowly melted into a smug grin. “Sienna, you don’t have to resort to childish games just because you don’t have a boyfriend. I know I was harsh before. If you’re still mad, I can…” Before he could finish, a black Bentley pulled up silently in front of us. 07 Arthur, the driver, got out. “Miss Windsor, Mr. Holt’s flight was delayed. He asked me to come and get you.” I nodded and slid into the back seat, not sparing Noah a final glance. A moment later, my phone buzzed with a message from him. Don’t tell me that old guy you hired is your ‘boyfriend.’ I get that you’re trying to make me jealous, but don’t lie like that again. It actually pisses me off. My brow furrowed in disgust. I blocked his number. I hadn’t bothered before because it seemed pointless. But now that he was actively nauseating me, there was no reason to put up with it. Sensing my discomfort, Arthur spoke from the driver’s seat. “Miss Windsor, there’s some soup for you. Mr. Holt anticipated you might be drinking tonight and had us prepare it.” He continued, “Also, Mr. Holt knows you prefer not to stay at your family’s home. He’s had the villa at Crescent Bay prepared for you. We’ve already replaced the bedding and toiletries with your preferred brands. If there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” I nodded, picking up the thermos beside me and taking a sip. A warm, comforting feeling spread through my stomach. My mom had told me during the matchmaking process that older men were better because they knew how to take care of you. Turns out, she was right. It was nice. I didn’t have to worry about a thing; he had already arranged everything. After a shower, I sank into the plush bed, surrounded by the calming scent of my favorite aromatherapy diffuser, and fell asleep almost instantly. The next morning, I walked out of my room to find Grayson, just returned from his trip. He stood there in a black overcoat, tall and imposing. The moment his eyes met mine, a wave of raw, masculine energy washed over me. “You’re staying here too?” I asked, my brain still foggy with sleep. I’d completely forgotten this was his house. He raised an eyebrow. “Should I leave?” “No, that’s not what I meant!” I backpedaled quickly. “I just meant… there are a lot of rooms here. If you wanted to stay… it wouldn’t be a problem.” A hint of a smile touched his eyes. He handed his coat to the butler and strode toward me. Before I could say another word, he cupped my face in his hands, leaned down, and kissed me.

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In our past life, my sister forced me to marry a poor, ugly street thug. Ten years later, that thug became a billionaire stock market god, and I lived a life of unimaginable luxury by his side. Reborn, my sister raced to grab the thug’s hand, determined to marry him at any cost. But what she didn’t know: The true “Stock God” was me. Her man knew absolutely nothing; he was just a puppet I placed in the spotlight. 1 When I was reborn, I was in a dimly lit high school equipment room. In front of me was a heavy-breathing figure. It was my husband from my past life, Vince. He had ripped open the buttons of my shirt, pressing his face into my neck like a wild animal. My entire body was weak, my limbs twitching uncontrollably. Amidst the chaos, I forced myself to realize: time had rewound. I was seventeen again. I had returned to the day my sister, Chloe, drugged me. Just as my clothes were about to be completely torn off by Vince, the equipment room door burst open from the outside. Someone rushed in. It was Chloe. She looked like she had sprinted all the way here, her hair plastered to her sweaty face. Ignoring the mess, she rushed forward and hugged Vince tightly. “Vince! Don’t be with her! You belong to me!” It suddenly dawned on me. Chloe had been reborn along with me. 2 In our past life, Chloe liked the star quarterback of the school, but he ended up writing a love letter to me. Consumed by jealous rage, Chloe drugged me and forced me to marry the most pathetic, lowlife thug in school, Vince. Who would have expected that over a decade later, Vince would become a billionaire investing legend known as “V-God.” Because of him, I became a wealthy socialite living in absolute luxury, switching out rare Hermès Birkins daily and being chauffeured in a half-million-dollar Rolls-Royce. Everyone envied me. They said: “Audrey is so lucky she married a great husband.” “When Vince was a nobody, Audrey had the foresight to see his potential. Now she gets to enjoy the fruits of her labor!” Meanwhile, Chloe’s rich-kid husband had long since gone bankrupt, becoming a deadbeat chased by debt collectors. He even tried to kiss up to Vince: “Brother-in-law, you’re V-God, right? I idolize you! Can you take me under your wing on your next investment?” Every time Chloe looked at me, her eyes were filled with uncontrollable jealousy and deep, bitter regret. Sure enough, during a family gathering, when Vince excused himself to use the restroom, I saw Chloe secretly follow him. In the hallway, hiding in the shadows, I listened through the thin door to my sister’s drunken, tearful voice. “Vince, the one you liked back then was clearly me!” My sister hugged Vince, trying to kiss him. Vince inhaled sharply and violently pushed her away. He said stiffly: “That was over a decade ago.” My sister fell to the floor, continuing to cry relentlessly: “Have you forgotten? You brought me breakfast every day, rode me around on your bike, told me I was your goddess forever, and said you’d do anything I asked… Vince, it should have been me!” Vince ignored her. He straightened his clothes, which my sister had rumpled, and hurriedly fled out the door. He looked like he was running from a plague. Having lost all hope, my sister sat slumped on the cold tile floor of the restroom. I pushed the door open, looked down at her, and said coolly: “Stop sitting there. People who know the truth know you failed to seduce your brother-in-law. People who don’t might think you’re starring in a tragic teen romance movie.” Chloe’s head snapped up. She glared at me, her eyes full of hatred. “Why you, Audrey? “How are you better than me? Why are you the one who married into wealth?” I coldly brushed her hand away. “Chloe, get your facts straight. Me being with Vince is entirely thanks to you. “Now that you see Vince is successful, you regret it? Too bad. It’s too late.” My sister glared at me fiercely. After a moment, she shook her head and smiled a venomous smile. “Audrey, you’re wrong. It’s not too late at all.” … Back then, I didn’t understand what that meant. But right now, looking at my seventeen-year-old body, I understood. Chloe must have bound herself to some sort of system that brought her back to when we were seventeen. Given a second chance at life, she wanted to win back the man who rightfully “belonged” to her. Right now, in the equipment room, Vince was breathing heavily, his face written with lust. He looked at me: “I feel so hot…” Chloe forcefully grabbed Vince’s face, forcing him to look at her instead of me: “Vince, I love you.” She initiated a kiss, and the two were quickly tangled together. I watched the two of them passionately making out nearby, struggled to my feet, buttoned my shirt, and stumbled out the door. Thank God. Thank you, Chloe. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would get to do this over again and escape this nightmare. In my past life, Chloe spiked both mine and Vince’s drinks and locked us in the equipment room. Then she brought our parents and neighbors to “catch us in the act.” The neighbors witnessed my disheveled state with Vince. My parents felt deeply humiliated, decided no other man would ever want me, and forced me to marry him. When I refused, they locked me in the house, denying me food and water, beating me viciously every day. Chloe even cried next to me, urging: “Audrey, just marry Vince. Otherwise, to protect the family’s reputation, they’ll just beat you to death.” In the end, clinging to life by a thread, I was forced into marrying Vince. Later, even though we had immense wealth, that trauma haunted me for life. Now, I had finally escaped that shadow! 3 Chloe came home during dinner. Her face was flushed with excitement. As soon as she walked in, she couldn’t wait to announce that she was going to marry Vince. Upon hearing this, our parents almost dropped their forks. “Chloe, why on earth? “Vince has been held back for years; he’s in his twenties and still repeating his senior year. How is he good enough for you?” Chloe shook her head, stating firmly: “Dad, Mom, I promise you, Vince is only down on his luck right now. He will definitely be incredibly successful in the future!” How could our parents believe that? They tried even harder to talk her out of it, and Mom even started sobbing. Finally, fed up, Chloe yelled: “It’s useless to try and stop me! I’ve already given myself to Vince.” She touched her flat stomach: “For all I know, I’m already pregnant with his child!” Our parents were stunned. Seeing their shocked and despairing faces, Chloe smiled calmly. She sat next to them, affectionately putting her arms around their shoulders, and comforted them: “Dad, Mom, you have to believe your daughter. “Before, I told Dad not to go into business with Uncle Dave, and I told Mom to stop going to that shady clinic on the east side. What happened? It came out that Uncle Dave embezzled money and ran off, and that clinic got shut down for medical malpractice. “You see, everything I say comes true—ever since I was little, the fortune teller said I was a lucky star. Did you forget?” After Chloe said this, our parents’ expressions softened significantly. She pressed on: “So, you have to trust my taste in men too. Vince carries immense wealth in his destiny. We’ll be living in luxury because of him in the future.” Mom was the first to be swayed: “Really?” Chloe smiled: “Of course.” Dad also gradually started to believe Chloe’s certainty. He even began worrying in advance: “If Vince becomes successful, will he treat you badly?” Chloe smiled nonchalantly: “No, he won’t. You can tell just by looking at him that Vince is the kind of guy who spoils his wife.” She must have been thinking about our past life. After Vince’s identity as “V-God” was revealed, young, beautiful women wanting to throw themselves at him were a dime a dozen. But he never even glanced at them. Instead, he treated me, his original wife, better and better. He would always open the car door for me, serve me food at dinner, and if I said go east, he wouldn’t dare go west. Meanwhile, Chloe’s rich-kid husband, despite being buried in debt, still shamelessly stared at every young girl on the street with a good figure. Comparing the two, it was no wonder Chloe’s eyes bled with jealousy. Right now, listening to Chloe praise Vince to our parents, I kept my head down and ate my rice, pretending I didn’t hear a thing. I didn’t want to engage with Chloe, but she insisted on rubbing her presence in my face. That night, Chloe pushed open my bedroom door. She stared at me, who was focused on doing homework, and let out a cold laugh. “Audrey, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking—acting all quiet on the surface, but secretly plotting how to snatch Vince back. Am I right?” How should I put this… with my sister’s level of thinking, I was embarrassed to admit we had the same mother. But I was very happy she misunderstood me like this. Let Vince attract all her attention. Only then would she not compete with me for the things that truly mattered. Chloe walked over as she spoke. She grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at the mirror nearby. “I advise you to save your energy. Look at yourself. If I make a move, how could you possibly compete with me?” The mirror reflected a dark, skinny girl wearing thick, heavy glasses and a worn-out, baggy school uniform that looked like a potato sack. Next to her stood Chloe, with a face as fair as jade, smooth dark hair, wearing the season’s newest dress—a beautiful girl with a 100% head-turning rate on the street. I was indeed not as refined as Chloe. Combined with my parents’ favoritism—giving Chloe the best food and clothes, leaving me malnourished and sallow—the gap was even more obvious. “Look at yourself. Do you really think any man would like you?” Beside my ear, Chloe relentlessly mocked me, as if trying to vent all the grievances she suffered in her past life. “Vince was my simp to begin with. In the last life, he only married you because he couldn’t get me. “This time, I won’t give you another chance. “As soon as I’m of age, I’ll marry him immediately. When he becomes V-God, half of his wealth will be mine!” Chloe’s eyes were practically glowing as she said this. Right. At his peak, V-God had billions in assets. Getting half in a divorce would be enough to live in luxury and date young models for the rest of her life. I spun my pen and kept my head bowed deeply. Chloe thought I was crushed by her words. But actually, I was lowering my head to hide the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. My dear sister, I really love how much you underestimate me. Because of this deep-rooted underestimation, I’m afraid even if you were reborn ten thousand times, you would never guess— The true V-God is me. Yes. I was the legendary mastermind who built an empire from scratch using intelligence, courage, and luck. First, I won massive capital in the stock market, then capitalized on the perfect timing to load up on Bitcoin, achieving absolute financial freedom. Because my burner ID on an investing forum was “qwertyu,” randomly mashed on a keyboard, people called me V-God (using the ‘V’ from ‘Value’ or ‘Vision’ in the English adaptation). Too many people were curious about V-God’s true identity, and I knew I couldn’t hide behind the scenes forever. So I pushed Vince to the front, making him my puppet. Or rather, my scapegoat. After all, our circle is full of drastic ups and downs. Sudden immense wealth makes you the target of everyone’s jealousy, while sudden ruin breeds desperate, dangerous people. Over those years, Vince was kidnapped three times and brutally beaten by enemies four times. Once, when we went back to visit family, he had just been beaten up, and one of his ribs was still broken. That was why when Chloe hugged him, he not only inhaled sharply in pain but immediately pushed her away. But even while taking all the heat on the front lines, Vince would absolutely never dare tell the truth. He didn’t dare cross me. By being a puppet, he at least got to enjoy wealth and luxury. Without me, he truly was nothing. Right now, looking at the completely clueless Chloe, I offered a sincere smile. “Sister,” I said softly, “I wish you and Vince a lifetime of happiness.” You go ahead and bind yourself to him. While I focus on my SATs, save up money, go to college in New York, and leave this family forever. 4 I genuinely hoped Vince and Chloe would stay together forever. However, after school, Vince blocked my path. He parked his bike horizontally in front of me and blew a sleazy whistle: “Audrey, you look pretty good today. Where are you going dressed up so nice?” I took a step back, feeling a wave of disgust. I knew exactly what kind of person Vince was. He was a complete scumbag. In a scumbag’s world, the one they haven’t slept with yet is always the best. In our past life, that person was my sister. Now, it was me. Clenching my jaw, I tried to dodge around him: “I’m going to work. Move.” I was recently helping out as a cashier at a local supermarket, trying to save up some starting capital for myself. The boss was a good guy. Seeing me in an ill-fitting, too-short school uniform, he brought his daughter’s clothes for me to wear. A light blue cardigan and a snow-white midi skirt made me look much prettier than usual. And as a result, I caught Vince’s eye. At this moment, he leaned in with a sleazy grin. “Work? What kind of work? Your big bro here has some ‘work’ for you, you want it?” As he spoke, he tried to press his body against mine. Suppressing my nausea, my hand had already quietly reached into my backpack, gripping a pair of scissors for self-defense. But before I could pull them out, a figure suddenly charged out from the side. She shoved me hard aside and stood protectively in front of Vince: “Audrey, why are you rubbing yourself against Vince?!” Her voice was loud, pointing her finger right at my nose: “Seducing your own sister’s fiancé, do you have any shame?” Vince stood a bit further away, rubbed his nose, and played along: “I just ran into Audrey while riding my bike, and she wouldn’t let me leave.” Hearing this, Chloe’s anger flared even higher. “Audrey, are you still not giving up? Take a look in the mirror, how are you good enough for Vince? “I am definitely marrying Vince in this life. If you dare seduce him again, believe me, I’ll have Mom and Dad sell you off to some backwoods town.” With that, Chloe grabbed Vince and turned to leave. But clearly, she wasn’t reassured. That night when I got home, I found my room completely ransacked. The metal tin box I used to save money had been found and lay open in the middle of the room. It contained all the wages I had saved from working at the supermarket, but now it was empty. The cash was clenched in Chloe’s hand. Chloe looked at me triumphantly. She waved the bills in one hand and pointed at my nose with the other, her long nails almost poking my face. “This is Audrey’s secret stash. “She’s been hanging out outside lately, but she’s actually sleeping with the supermarket owner. “I saw with my own eyes the supermarket owner giving her money and taking her to buy new clothes.” Chloe pointed at the cardigan and skirt I was wearing and scoffed. “Tsk tsk, I bet everyone over there knows our family produced a mistress.” Before I could say anything, my dad, with a dark expression, rushed forward and slapped me hard across the face. My mom cried and complained from the side: “That fortune teller back then said this girl was bad luck. I took several doses of abortion medicine, but she just wouldn’t come out. Now look, she’s completely disgraced our family…” My parents were always like this. They favored my sister unconditionally. Whatever she did could be forgiven. But because a psychic called me a jinx when I was still a fetus, and my dad’s business went bankrupt shortly after I was born… Everything I did was wrong. Right now, my dad confiscated all the money I had saved and started whipping me with his belt. A smug smile played on Chloe’s lips, but her voice carried a fake tone of distress as she stood by adding fuel to the fire. “Audrey, don’t blame Dad for hitting you hard. “If he doesn’t hit you hard, you won’t learn your lesson. “Girls need to respect themselves. Make sure you never earn that kind of dirty money again.” Finally, I passed out from the excruciating pain. When I woke up, I was lying in the yard. My parents had taken Chloe shopping. Chloe was getting engaged recently, and they were buying her a nice dress. And I had lost all my savings, without even basic first aid supplies around me. Struggling to my feet, I stumbled out of the yard. The yard next door belonged to my cousin. At this moment, only my cousin-in-law, Brenda, was outside washing clothes. Seeing me so weak I couldn’t even speak, she was startled. “Audrey? Oh my god, what happened?” Brenda dropped the clothes and came to support me, her hands getting covered in my blood. “Sit down, I’ll get you some medicine.” I lay on the empty patch of dirt in the yard, looking up at the sky. The moon was very bright, but there are always dark corners in the world its light can’t reach. Brenda applied the medicine for me. “Your parents, why did they hit you so hard… you’re still their biological daughter…” Brenda wiped her tears. She was a soft-hearted, good person. But her life was very bitter. She wasn’t very literate, forced to drop out of school in the third grade to help at home and take care of her younger brother. Later, her dad basically sold her to my cousin to raise the bride price for her brother’s wedding. Right now, she was tenderly applying medicine to my wounds, and I gently touched her arm, which was equally covered in scars. My cousin beat her frequently. In our past life, before I even turned twenty, Brenda passed away. After a long silence, I suddenly spoke: “Brenda, do you have any secret savings?” Brenda froze for a moment. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t tell him.” She breathed a sigh of relief: “I have two thousand. Why? “Are you going to college and your family won’t give you money? “If that’s it, take it. Education is important, girls should go to school.” My nose stung. I bit the inside of my cheek hard to stop myself from crying. At the most bitter points of destiny, pitiful people try hard to offer each other a little bit of sweetness. I said softly: “No, Brenda. I don’t want you to sponsor me. I want to take you to make money. “I can turn your two thousand into twenty thousand, maybe even two hundred thousand…” Brenda burst out laughing. She clearly didn’t believe me, coaxing me like a child: “Alright, alright, just use this two thousand for school. When you graduate college, you can pay me back. We’re family, it’s not like I’m going to charge you interest.” I didn’t say anything, just looked at the boundless night sky. In my past life, I became successful too late. By the time I returned to my hometown, Brenda had already died of depression. In this life, I definitely had to help her. And help myself too. Chloe, you are too stupid. Given the chance to rewind time, all you have in your head is stealing a man. While my head is full of stock ticker symbols. Do you even know what kind of cheat code you gave me? 5 Early Monday morning, I took the money Brenda gave me and went to school. I planned to sneak out during the long recess when no one was paying attention and open a brokerage account. I didn’t expect that just as I rode my bike out of the school gates, a figure would suddenly dart out from an alley ahead. The person swung a spiked wooden bat at me. I dodged in a panic, tumbling straight off my bike and crashing hard onto the pavement. I ignored the pain, first clutching my backpack tightly to my chest. Inside was all of Brenda’s secret savings. In front of me was a pair of brand-new, expensive sneakers. Looking up, a round, chubby face looked down at me, sporting a malicious smile. I recognized him. It was Chloe’s husband from my past life, Kevin. Since middle school, Kevin had been a loyal simp trailing behind Chloe. He was a rich kid whose dad did business down south. Back when we were all wearing drab school uniforms and knockoff sneakers, Kevin could already rattle off the names of various foreign luxury brands. Kevin had pursued Chloe for years. Chloe disdained his looks but couldn’t bear to let go of his wealth, so she strung him along throughout her entire teenage years, treating him as her ultimate backup plan. Later, when Chloe got older and hadn’t met a better man, she married Kevin. Who knew that shortly after they got married, Kevin’s family went bankrupt? Chloe, who had invested with them, was implicated, and their whole family became deadbeats, not even allowed to buy plane tickets. But no matter how miserable the future Kevin would be, the Kevin right now was still that arrogant, wealthy young master from a prominent family, someone nobody dared to offend. So I clutched my backpack, cautiously scooting backward, not wanting a direct confrontation with him. But Kevin wouldn’t let me go. He nudged my face with the tip of his shoe and sneered: “Chloe always tells me her sister is a sneaky little rat, and I actually caught you—sneaking out of school, what are you trying to do?” I whispered: “Buy some things.” “Buy things?” Kevin chuckled. He suddenly stopped smiling, violently yanking my backpack strap and dumping everything out. Pencil case and textbooks scattered across the ground, and an envelope slipped out. I tried to grab it, but Kevin was faster, snatching the envelope immediately. “Wow, so much money?” Kevin waved the cash. “What are you buying? Wedding candy for you and your sister?” He pocketed the envelope and said coldly, “Don’t think I don’t know. Chloe told me everything. You’re vain and jealous of her, so you wouldn’t hesitate to be someone’s mistress just to earn money for pretty dresses. I bet you stole or scammed this money. I’m going to tell Chloe right now.” I was kicked into the corner by Kevin. Dust flew up, making me cough violently, but my mind suddenly cleared. Kevin following me was indeed under Chloe’s orders. Having been reborn alongside me, even though she had already stolen Vince, she still wasn’t at ease about me. So she sent her simp, Kevin, to keep an eye on me. But that wasn’t the main point. The main point was the phrase Kevin had inadvertently blurted out just now. “Wedding candy for you and your sister.” I suddenly burst out laughing. Perfect. Kevin really didn’t know about Chloe and Vince being together. It made sense. Kevin was only useful to Chloe if he was kept in the dark. If Chloe told him she was getting engaged to someone else, how could he possibly still do her bidding? Kevin originally planned to turn and leave, but suddenly saw the smile on my face. He couldn’t help but frown: “What are you laughing at?” My smile grew even brighter: “I’m just happy for my sister.” “You love her so much and protect her. I’ll definitely have a great brother-in-law in the future.” I said softly, “I can’t wait for you two to get married.” This was exactly what Kevin wanted to hear. His expression softened, but he still eyed me suspiciously: “Saying nice things now, hoping I’ll let you off the hook?” “You don’t need to let me off the hook. I haven’t done anything wrong.” I stood up, dusting off my clothes. “This money is from my cousin-in-law. She heard about my sister’s good news and asked me to buy some gifts for her.” Kevin’s gaze instantly changed. He frowned: “What good news?” I feigned confusion: “I don’t know either, but I heard my parents say they plan to hold an engagement party for my sister before she goes to college in the city. After all, you guys are childhood friends from the same town, and everyone knows each other. It’s better than going to the big city and getting scammed by bad men.” I observed Kevin’s expression, then smiled: “Silly, you still haven’t figured it out?” Kevin looked a bit dazed: “Figured what out?” “My sister’s fiancé is definitely you.” I said with a beaming smile. “Think about it. Everyone knows you like my sister. My parents mentioned ‘childhood friends.’ Among all the boys around here, who is a better match for my sister than you?” Kevin’s face lit up with joy, though he hesitated: “Why hasn’t Chloe ever told me?” I chided playfully: “My sister is shy, she’s definitely just embarrassed. But she’ll probably tell you in the next few days—oh, I’ve seen her running to the small woods behind the school a lot lately. She must be preparing some surprise for you.” Kevin, completely blinded by love, exclaimed: “Really?!” “You can go check it out yourself right now.” I held out my hand to Kevin: “Give me the money. I still have to pick out a dress for my sister—brother-in-law, do you like pink or blue? I’ll pick according to your preference.” Being called ‘brother-in-law’ made Kevin euphoric. Without overthinking, he slapped the envelope into my hand: “Pink!” After saying that, he sprinted off toward the school. He was probably anxious to see what kind of surprise Chloe had prepared for him. I smiled, got on my bike, and was in such a good mood I even started whistling. This surprise… is definitely going to make Kevin remember it for the rest of his life. 6 When I hurried to the brokerage firm, Brenda was already waiting anxiously at the door. It was her first time in a trading hall. Looking at the screens filled with fluctuating colors and numbers, she felt completely lost: “Audrey, you understand this stuff?” I didn’t even need to look. From the moment I bought my first stock, the market trends for the past and future ten years were etched into my brain like a photograph, unforgettable. I didn’t explain this to Brenda; I just smiled: “I understand it. Just trust me.” At the brokerage firm, I also saw a familiar figure. Kevin’s father, Mr. Hayes. He was originally handling business accompanied by his secretary, but after receiving a phone call, his face drastically changed. He hurriedly got into a black sedan parked at the entrance and sped off toward our school. I stood at the door, silently watching the sedan disappear. After finishing the paperwork, Brenda came to my side: “What are you looking at?” I glanced at the sky: “Nothing, just that the weather is about to change.” … And the weather did change. Under my “encouragement,” Kevin excitedly rushed to the small woods, waiting to see the surprise Chloe had for him. But as soon as he entered the woods, he heard indescribable noises. Taking a closer look, he discovered the main characters were his goddess Chloe and the street thug Vince, whom he had never even given the time of day. This could be considered the biggest shock Kevin had received in his nearly twenty years of life. By the time he reacted, the sound of ambulance sirens was already echoing all around. Vince was beaten so badly by him that he was sent straight to the ER. When I arrived at the hospital, Vince was already awake, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, lying immobilized in bed. This scene was quite familiar to me. After all, in my past life, when I pushed him to the front as my shield, he often got beaten up like this. But Chloe had never seen a scene like this before. She sat by the hospital bed, crying so hard she could barely breathe. Kevin was marched into the hospital room by his father, Mr. Hayes. Mr. Hayes, fearing his son would go to jail, had come to negotiate a cash settlement. But Kevin was like a charging bull. The moment he entered the room, his eyes went red, and he charged straight at Vince. If Mr. Hayes’ two secretaries hadn’t been quick enough to restrain him, Vince probably would have been thrown straight out the window. “Kevin! Apologize right now!” Mr. Hayes was frantic. “Apologize for what?! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kevin panted, pointing at Vince on the bed. “He was raping Chloe, that’s why I beat him up!” Poor Kevin. As an ordinary person without the perspective of being reborn, seeing Vince and Chloe together, his first reaction was naturally that. At this moment, Kevin looked eagerly at Chloe: “Chloe, please say something for me. I was trying to save you.” Mr. Hayes also saw a glimmer of hope and looked at Chloe: “Young lady, you are an eyewitness. Please tell everyone the truth.” Suddenly, the eyes of everyone in the hospital room landed on Chloe. She gritted her teeth, plunging into a long internal struggle. Finally, blushing, she whispered: “It was consensual.” Kevin’s face instantly went deathly pale. “What? Chloe, you couldn’t possibly…” On the hospital bed, although Vince was covered in casts, he still managed to squeeze out a smug smile. A gutter rat like him had never been able to make a wealthy young master like Kevin eat dirt in his entire life. Chloe actually giving him this opportunity made him feel like he was flying high. “That’s right, Chloe and I are truly in love.” Vince, ignoring the pain from his wounds, said loudly. “Kevin intentionally assaulted me! He belongs in jail!” Mr. Hayes’ face darkened. He took a step forward, not looking at Vince on the bed, but attempting to pressure Chloe: “Young lady, I advise you to think carefully before you speak…” The Hayes family had immense power and influence locally. Even my parents began to feel scared, hinting to Chloe: “Chloe, maybe you should think it over again…” But you could tell Chloe was genuinely conflicted. But she couldn’t afford to offend Vince. Not only could she not offend him, but she also had to firmly grasp his heart. That was the future V-God! Compared to the billions in wealth of the future, the Hayes family right now seemed insignificant. So she tightly gripped Vince’s hand: “Think about what! Vince and I are truly in love. Anyone who hurts Vince must pay the price!” Kevin couldn’t hold back anymore. He shook off the secretary’s hand, rushed forward, and slapped Chloe across the face: “Chloe, are you blind?!” In our past life, Kevin went bankrupt shortly after getting married, and he acted incredibly pathetic in front of Chloe. Chloe had always looked down on him. This was her first time being slapped by this utterly despised man. She went completely crazy. “Kevin, who do you think you are?!” She shoved Kevin hard. “A useless rich kid, do you think having money makes you special? Let me tell you, in a few years your family is going to be bankrupt!” As soon as these words left her mouth, even Mr. Hayes, standing a bit further away, turned ash-grey. Finally, Mr. Hayes stormed out, slamming the door. Kevin chased after him, leaving only our family in the hospital room. My dad rubbed his hands together anxiously: “This… this, Chloe, why on earth did you offend the Hayes family?!” In recent years, my dad had relied on the Hayes family’s resources to run a small business. With Chloe offending them like this, my dad could forget about doing business with them anymore. Chloe frowned impatiently: “Dad, don’t be so short-sighted. If the business is gone, it’s gone.” She looked at Vince tenderly, with the gaze of someone looking at a rare treasure: “With Vince, we’ll have everything.”

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My wedding was in full swing when my bridesmaid and best friend, Autumn, seemed to have a problem with her eyes. She stepped on my gown, mumbled an apology, then tugged the torn dress and pulled us both down. The hall fell silent. Leaning close, Autumn spoke as if offering kind advice: “Selene, Harrison is busy with his company’s IPO. Love will only hinder his ambition. I hope you and Harrison won’t share a bed or even meet for the next ten years.” My makeup artist rushed to help me up. I looked calmly at Autumn. “What right do you have to say that?” She replied, “I’m Harrison’s business partner,” and pulled a document from her bag. “Sign this. After ten years, you can bear his children.” I turned to Harrison, who was coming off the stage. “Do you agree with this?” Just then, Autumn took a call and left. Harrison jogged after her, brushing past me. “Autumn joined the latest round of investment. Given her business sense, I believe she’s doing this for my good.” A moment later he added, “We’ll consummate our marriage in ten years.” 1. Divorce Announcement Hilarious. I scoffed. At this moment, a mix of humiliation and rage churned within me, but I fiercely suppressed it. Watching Harrison about to step out of the banquet hall doors, I grabbed the microphone from the emcee, facing everyone. “No need to consummate the marriage.” “Because I’m divorcing you!” Harrison’s hand, reaching for the door, paused. He turned, asking dismissively, “Are you sure?” “No regrets?” From his tone, it wasn’t hard to guess. He didn’t love me at all; he probably thought I was just being childish. So, all this time, only I took this relationship seriously, right? “Don’t worry. I won’t cling to you anymore.” “Now scram.” “I hope you stick to your word.” Harrison nodded, his reply utterly calm, then quickly chased after my best friend, his business partner. I was left speechless. I could only conclude that all my passion over the years had been utterly wasted. To win Harrison over initially, I secretly used the allowance my parents gave me as his startup capital. I shamelessly begged all my relatives to buy his unbranded, unverified products. To protect his pride, I never mentioned it to him. Perhaps in Harrison’s eyes, and in the eyes of his entire family, a young man from a humble background with no connections could build an empire by the age of thirty entirely through his own efforts. But they had no idea. With just one word from me, this promising, celebrated young entrepreneur could be utterly ruined. Without a shred of doubt! I walked to my dad’s table and threw my arms around his neck. “Dad, I’ve realized. I don’t want someone who doesn’t love me.” “I want to be your good girl.” My dad patted my arm, which was draped around his neck. “My dear, I’m so happy you’ve finally shown some sense.” Harrison’s father walked over from his table and handed me a card. “Here’s thirty thousand dollars. Consider it buying out your seven years of relationship with Harrison. Don’t you dare cling to our Harrison ever again.” I was amused. My dad wanted to stand up in anger, but I held him down firmly. “You think thirty thousand dollars can buy out all my effort and dedication, from his startup to now, over seven years?” Harrison’s father’s face darkened. “Thirty thousand dollars is enough to live very well in a small town. Young lady, don’t be too materialistic at your age.” Harrison’s mother also walked over, disdainfully eyeing my dad and me. “You, a gold-digger who loafs around all day, does nothing, and relies entirely on men, thirty thousand dollars probably isn’t enough for you, huh?” “What if we don’t give it to you?” “Ultimately, whether or not you have this thirty thousand dollars, I won’t allow you to cling to our Harrison anymore.” “Otherwise, I’ll report you to the police and have you arrested every time I see you, and your dad too!” I took the bank card, fiddling with it for a moment. “Since you’ve said all that, if I don’t take this money, I’ll feel like I’m losing out.” “Thanks, nice lady.” Harrison’s mother rolled her eyes so hard they almost disappeared into her head. But I continued unhurriedly. “However, thirty thousand dollars isn’t quite enough. My ambitions are huge. I want all of your family’s assets. Will you give them to me?” “Oh, don’t roll your eyes just yet. This time, you don’t need to give them to me; when the time is right, I’ll come and take them myself.” Harrison’s father burst into loud laughter. The relatives on the groom’s side all joined in, chuckling. Some were even more exaggerated, mimicking my tone and mannerisms, mocking me sarcastically. “Oh dear, anyone with a dream is amazing. Little lady, I support you.” “When you take over the Smith family assets, why don’t you start a live stream? I’ll send you donations.” Harrison’s father finished laughing, then scoffed arrogantly. “You’ve taken the money now, so save your big talk for outside. Today is our Smith family dinner; uninvited guests should kindly excuse themselves.” “Then just wait. Don’t come begging me to come back then.” I linked arms with my dad, and my relatives and I gradually left the banquet hall, reopening several tables at a more upscale hotel to celebrate my newfound single status. Luckily, Harrison and I hadn’t registered our marriage; we’d only held the wedding banquet. Otherwise, I’d have to go through a divorce now, what a hassle. 2. The Smith Family Crisis The day after the wedding was canceled, Harrison’s company descended into chaos. Harrison’s father’s office door, as one of the owners, was almost kicked down. It was packed with department managers and distributors. Smith Corp’s production lines, supply chain, sales channels, and customer base all experienced major fluctuations. Sales, especially overseas, were hit hard. The shipping company, with whom they had long-standing agreements, sent a message first thing in the morning. They demanded a price hike. Otherwise, they would refuse to carry Smith Corp’s cargo. Harrison’s father, too anxious to eat breakfast, personally rushed to the shipping company to negotiate the freight fees with the manager. He was fuming, but still had to plaster on a smile. “The freight fees were agreed upon before, why are you pulling this stunt just before loading? If you do this, the cost of the goods will go up, how are we supposed to sell them?” The moment Harrison’s father finished speaking, the shipping company manager replied, “That’s your problem, what does it have to do with me? Our shipping company is huge, we employ thousands of staff, we need to eat too, you know.” “With the current international situation so tough, increasing freight fees is just a matter of survival.” “Besides, if you think it’s too expensive, you can always find another company.” “Another…” Harrison’s father choked. Finding another shipping company just before loading? Where would he even find one? Harrison’s father wasn’t stupid. They had always worked with this company, and it had always been stable. This sudden move could only mean someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. Sure enough, as he was leaving, a carrier he had a good relationship with subtly warned him. “The Smith family must have offended someone big.” “This morning, our boss got a call, and then the price for your ship went up.” Harrison’s father fell into deep thought. Who did he offend? He was accustomed to smiling at everyone he met for business, how could he have offended anyone? The carrier saw he still hadn’t figured it out. He could only sigh and remind him. “Lien!” Harrison’s father was incredulous. “Selene Lien?” The carrier said nothing, turning to leave. Harrison’s father’s mind reeled. He suddenly remembered Selene’s words at the wedding yesterday. “I want all of your family’s assets. Will you give them to me?” When he first heard it, he hadn’t paid it any mind. He thought it was just big talk from a young girl, abandoned by his son, trying to save face. He never imagined she actually had the power. He felt completely disoriented. To get the goods shipped out and salvage some losses, he turned back, gritted his teeth, and signed the increased freight agreement with the shipping company. Then he jumped in his car, floored the accelerator, and drove straight to his son’s newly bought villa, pulling him out of bed. At that moment, Harrison and Autumn, after a night of passionate intimacy, were sweetly asleep. The sudden yank of the blanket startled Autumn, who screamed as she rolled off the bed, using it to shield her body. Harrison quickly blocked Autumn, looking at his father with utter bewilderment. “Dad, why didn’t you knock?” “Do you know what privacy is?!” Harrison’s father didn’t even glance at his son, only staring at Autumn’s head, which was peeking out from behind him. “You, you’re still protecting her!” “Why didn’t you protect Selene like that?!” Autumn, hearing this, looked plaintively at Harrison’s bare back. “Harrison.” Harrison snatched the blanket from his father, covering both himself and Autumn. “Dad, what are you talking about? You know I don’t love Selene, why are you saying this?” Harrison’s father anxiously slapped his thigh. “Son, we’ve lost a golden phoenix.” “Dad, what on earth are you talking about?” Harrison’s father recounted the series of events that morning, and the difficulties Smith Corp might face in the future. Autumn, listening, felt her pupils contract in shock. After a long moment, she murmured, “That’s impossible. I’ve known Selene for six years. Every time I saw her, she dressed so cheaply. In college, she even worked three part-time jobs.” “With that kind of background, how could she possibly…” Harrison nodded in agreement. He gently calmed his father’s exploding temper, then said he would call Selene to get to the bottom of it. At this moment, I was still sound asleep. The phone rang. Seeing Harrison’s name on the caller ID, I instantly perked up, quickly grabbed my phone, and sat up in bed. “Selene Lien, you really are something!” I leisurely admired my newly done manicure. “If you want to talk about the trouble Smith Corp is having, I can tell you this: I’m just engaging in healthy competition with you. It’s your lack of strength, your inferiority, who’s to blame?” “As for that shipping company…” “My apologies, that happens to be my family’s business.” “Yours?” “Mm-hmm.” “Selene, have you been reading too many romance novels? Do you really think you’re some rich heiress now? You can actually make up such nonsense?” “If you don’t believe me, fine, I’m hanging up.” Harrison choked, but reacted quickly. “No, wait, wait!” “Where are you? Let’s talk face to face.” 3. The Truth Revealed I sent him my location. Half an hour later, Harrison met me at the restaurant in the little villa. This villa in the suburbs was a coming-of-age gift my parents gave me when I was eighteen. I didn’t usually live there; I stayed at my parents’ house. I didn’t want him to meet me at my main residence, fearing he’d cling to me in the future. As for why I let him meet me here? Because I wanted to see his expression when he realized I was living better than he was. I sat at the dining table, elegantly sipping milk. Harrison was led in by the butler. He looked around the richly decorated room, then at me, who had once lived in a basement with him and packed cardboard boxes for a living, his eyes wide with shock. He would never in a million years have thought I’d be living in the most valuable hillside villa in this city. This property was worth over two hundred million dollars. The property management fees alone amounted to over three hundred thousand dollars. Plus, there were the nannies, butler, gardener, chef, and so on. The key was that even with money, it wasn’t guaranteed you could buy a place here. Because this area was home to renowned entrepreneurs, celebrities, directors, politicians, and the like, every prospective buyer underwent a strict vetting process. Although the Smith family had developed quite well in this city over the years and gained some fame, they were still insignificant compared to these figures. In simple terms, it was like the difference between a commoner family and an established aristocratic one. The Smith family was the commoner. Hearing footsteps approaching, I unhurriedly turned my head. “How do you want to talk?” Harrison’s focus was still on the connection between this villa and me. “Are you working as a housekeeper here?” “Or a taste-tester?” He stared at the breakfast in my hand, probably assuming a housekeeper wasn’t allowed to eat the owner’s food. But he absolutely refused to believe I was the owner of this villa. I found it quite amusing. “Want me to show you my property deed? Or my bank balance, which is longer than your ID number?” I pulled out my phone, opened my mobile banking balance, and held it up for him to see. Harrison laughed until tears came to his eyes. “Selene, you doctored a few pictures, rented a villa, and got a fake deed, and now you’re shamelessly claiming you’re rich?” “Hahahaha, you’re quite an actress. It’s a shame the film studios aren’t hiring you; it’s a waste of your talent.” I turned off my phone and continued eating breakfast. Let him think whatever he wanted. “So, you’re doing all this photo-editing and whatever else to prove you really have the financial power to bring down our Smith family, is that it?” “Selene, you’re truly a drama queen.” “Honestly, you should go to Hollywood. That’s where you belong.” I hadn’t intended to say much more to him, but if he was going to talk like that, congratulations, he had successfully provoked my competitive spirit. I calmly picked up my phone and called the shipping company. “Have the manager come over.” “I’ll text you the address.” Harrison watched me operate my phone, then, whether from hunger or exhaustion, he pulled out a chair and began eating the elegantly plated breakfast on the table. “Excuse me, sir, that’s not your breakfast!” The high-class nanny, who was playing the violin for entertainment, suddenly interjected. “It’s alright, let him eat. It’d be a waste otherwise.” I still had that much generosity. While waiting, Harrison’s father, mother, and Autumn also arrived. Harrison’s father had been quite confident letting Harrison come alone. But he suddenly remembered how yesterday, all those distributors, suppliers, and even the shipping company had warned him about offending a powerful figure.

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When my father pulled a faded photograph from his closet, I could hardly believe my eyes. The man in the tailored suit had gentle features, but his face looked exactly like mine. It all started with a bank statement I’d printed the day before. The teller slid the paper across the counter, and the numbers froze me: a monthly deposit of fifteen thousand dollars had been wired to an account for exactly eighteen years. The sender was a stranger named Richard Kensington. The first transfer was made the day I was born. I rushed home, threw the statement on the kitchen table, and demanded to know who Richard was. My father stared at the name in heavy silence before finally going to his room and retrieving that hidden photo. The real beginning was the night my mother died. While cleaning her room, I found an old, worn bankbook tucked deep under her mattress. My mother was a laid‑off garment worker living on a nine‑hundred‑dollar monthly pension. Yet the balance in that book was a staggering five hundred thousand. My dad sat in the corner, lighting a cigarette. His hands were steady. He simply said it was the money my mother had saved all her life, and I should keep it. But how could a woman earning nine hundred dollars a month save half a million? That impossible question finally had an answer the moment I saw the photograph. 1 I stared at the picture, my hands shaking uncontrollably. “Dad, what is this?” Arthur Bennett, the man I had called ‘Dad’ for eighteen years, leaned back in his chair. His eyes were rimmed with red. “You aren’t my biological daughter.” Those words felt like a dull, rusted knife. They didn’t slice quickly, but they dug incredibly deep. I opened my mouth, but my throat was completely sealed shut. He took a slow drag of his cigarette and kept going. “When your mother was young, she worked on the floor at the local textile mill. One day, a young executive came in to negotiate a contract. He was handsome, spoke well, and wore expensive clothes. Your mother was the most beautiful girl in that entire factory.” He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing heavily. “Eventually, she got pregnant with you. That man, Richard Kensington, promised he was going to take her away and give her a proper life.” “And then?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. “And then his wife found out.” Arthur’s voice suddenly flooded with raw, toxic hatred. “Her name was Victoria Hastings. She came from massive real estate money. She brought six or seven hired thugs, stormed right onto the factory floor, and dragged your mother by her hair across the raw concrete. Right in front of hundreds of people.” My fingernails bit so hard into my palms they almost broke the skin. “The beating wasn’t enough for her. Victoria forced the factory management to fire your mother on the spot, screaming that she was a homewrecker trying to ruin a wealthy family. The factory owners were terrified of the Hastings family. They kicked her to the curb the very next morning.” “Where was Richard?” I asked, my chest tight. Arthur let out a dry, bitter laugh. “He fell to his knees in front of his wife and swore on his life he would never see your mother again.” “He did it right in front of her.” I closed my eyes, feeling a physical ache in my ribs. “Your mother was thrown out onto the street, heavily pregnant. The entire town branded her a slut. Nobody would give her the time of day.” His voice cracked, turning raspy. “I was just a security guard at the front gate back then. Just a simple, quiet guy who knew he’d probably never find a wife. She needed a place to survive, and we just made it work.” I opened my eyes, staring at his worn, calloused hands. “So you knew all along?” “I knew.” “And the fifteen grand a month? You knew about that too?” “Yes. Richard started wiring that money the minute you took your first breath. Your mother refused to spend a single dime of it on herself. When you got sick as a kid, or when your tuition was due, that’s what paid for it. She hoarded every other penny.” “Half a million dollars,” I whispered, my throat burning. Arthur slowly shook his head. “It was way more than that.” “What do you mean?” “Eighteen years, Nora. Fifteen grand a month. Do the math.” Fifteen thousand times twelve, times eighteen. That was over three point two million dollars. But the bankbook under her mattress only held five hundred thousand. There was nearly two point seven million dollars missing. “Where is the rest of the money?” Arthur stood up with a heavy sigh and rummaged through the back of the closet again. He pulled out a thick, brown manila envelope. My mother’s handwriting was on the front. It was shaky and uneven, but I recognized every single stroke. It read. “For Nora. Open immediately.” I tore the flap open. A sleek, embossed business card fell out into my palm. Thomas Wright. Wright and Associates. Senior Partner. On the back of the card, my mother had scribbled a message. “Nora, find him. He will tell you everything. I am so sorry for the life I gave you, but everything I did, I did to protect you.” I clutched the heavy cardstock, my mind spinning. My mother was a laid-off factory worker. She lived on a nine-hundred-dollar pension. How in the world did she know a senior partner at a corporate law firm? What exactly had she been doing behind our backs all these years? 2 I didn’t sleep a single wink that night. I sat on the floor of the tiny bedroom my mother had lived in for eighteen years, tearing through every possession she owned. Her closet held exactly four winter coats. Two of them were visibly patched. Her shoe rack held three pairs of shoes. Two worn-out canvas sneakers and one pair of cheap plastic sandals with the soles rubbed paper-thin. At the very bottom of her lowest dresser drawer, I found a massive stack of newspaper clippings. I pulled them out, examining them one by one under the dim desk lamp. Every single article was about Kensington Global. The oldest clipping was a tiny column from fifteen years ago. “Local Entrepreneur Richard Kensington Awarded State Business Excellence Ribbon.” In the middle of the stack was a half-page feature from seven years ago. “Kensington Global Expands into Healthcare Sector, Investing in Major Metropolitan Hospitals.” The most recent was a full-page glossy spread from two years ago. “Kensington Global Market Cap Breaks Billion-Dollar Mark. The Expanding Empire of Richard Kensington.” My mother had taken a red pen and highlighted critical sections in every single article. The margins were filled with her scribbled notes. I leaned in close to read the shaky handwriting. “2016. Real estate expansion too aggressive. Debt-to-equity ratio critical.” “2019. Brought in strategic investors. How much were his voting rights diluted? Check the annual corporate filings.” “2022. Tristan Kensington joins executive board. Three major development projects operate at a massive loss. Capital flow unaccounted for.” My fingertips traced the faded ink, a sudden chill raising the hairs on my arms. My mother. A woman who didn’t even finish high school. She had been actively analyzing the financial structure and corporate debt of a billion-dollar conglomerate. I grabbed my phone and typed “Richard Kensington” into the search bar. The screen instantly exploded with results. Richard Kensington, 52. Chairman and CEO of Kensington Global. Dominant in real estate, finance, and private healthcare. Estimated personal net worth. Nine hundred million dollars. Nine hundred million. I pulled up my own banking app. Available balance. One hundred and twelve dollars. That was everything I had saved from pulling double shifts at a local coffee shop all summer. I kept scrolling down the search results. A high-definition family portrait loaded on the screen. Richard was standing tall, his arm wrapped around an incredibly glamorous woman. Victoria. Her skin looked flawless, and massive emerald teardrops hung from her ears. Her smile was perfectly practiced, straight off the cover of a luxury magazine. Standing next to them was a young man in his mid-twenties. He was tall, lean, and carried a sharp, arrogant smirk that screamed generational wealth. Tristan Kensington, 26. Executive Vice President of Kensington Global. Columbia MBA graduate. Twenty-six years old. Vice President. Ivy League pedigree. Mansions and supercars. I was eighteen, slinging lattes for twelve bucks an hour. I zoomed in on the watch wrapped around Tristan’s wrist. It was a Patek Philippe Nautilus. Market value was easily a quarter of a million dollars. A quarter of a million. My mother hadn’t even owned a cheap gold chain her entire life. I locked my phone and tossed it onto the bed. I picked up the business card again. Thomas Wright. Wright and Associates. Financial District, 38th Floor. “Mom,” I whispered into the empty, quiet room. “What kind of game were you playing?” Early the next morning, I put on the nicest piece of clothing I owned. A white button-down shirt my mother had bought me on sale for fifteen bucks. Right as I reached for the front doorknob, Arthur called my name. “Nora.” “Yeah.” “Before your mother passed, she made me promise to tell you something.” I froze, my hand hovering over the brass knob. “She said, ‘Arthur, if Nora decides to go look for that man, do not stop her. But you make sure you tell her one thing. Do not beg him. Do not get on your knees. And do not ever let him look down on you.’” A sharp burn stung the back of my nose. I didn’t turn around. “I hear you.” 3 It took an hour and a half on the city bus to cross into the financial district. The Kensington Global headquarters towered at the end of the block. Forty-six stories of sleek, reflective glass. The morning sun hit the facade, making the building look like a golden blade piercing the sky. The revolving doors were spotless. The lobby was paved in imported marble. When I walked in, my worn canvas sneakers let out a pathetic, squeaking sound against the polished floor. The receptionist at the front desk looked up. Her eyes slowly dragged from the top of my head down to my cheap shoes. I will never forget that look as long as I live. She looked at me like I was a cockroach that had crawled through the front door. “Can I help you? Do you have an appointment?” “I need to see Richard Kensington.” The corner of her mouth twitched. It wasn’t a smile. It was the kind of exhausted smirk you give a crazy person. “Mr. Kensington does not accept walk-ins. What company are you representing?” “I’m his daughter.” The smirk froze on her face for exactly one second. Then her hand dropped to the intercom button on her desk. “Security. We have a girl in the lobby claiming to be the CEO’s daughter. Please remove her.” Two massive security guards appeared out of nowhere. They grabbed me by the arms, lifting my feet entirely off the floor, and dragged me toward the exit. “I am actually his daughter! Just let him see my face!” “We get three of you nutjobs a month,” one of the guards sneered, rolling his eyes. “Last one claimed she was his long-lost twin sister.” “Go home, kid. You don’t belong in a place like this.” They violently shoved me through the revolving doors. My foot caught the edge of the metal frame, and I crashed hard onto the concrete steps outside. The skin on my knee tore open. Hot blood immediately pooled and began trickling down my shin. But the physical pain was absolutely nothing compared to the suffocating humiliation burning in my chest. Right at that exact moment. A matte black Porsche Cayenne pulled up to the curb. The heavy door swung open, and a pair of Italian leather loafers stepped onto the pavement. It was Tristan Kensington. He looked even taller than in the photos. His posture was rigid, and his eyes were completely devoid of warmth. He was flanked by an assistant, a secretary, and a driver. He had a bigger entourage than a movie star. He glanced down at me bleeding on the ground, then turned his head toward the guards. “What is this?” “Mr. Kensington, just a crazy girl causing a scene. Claimed to be the Chairman’s daughter. We handled it.” Tristan let his heavy eyelids droop, looking down his nose at me. His lips curled into a cruel, mocking sneer. “Another gold digger looking for a payout?” He casually reached into his tailored jacket, pulled out a sleek money clip, and slid out a crisp hundred-dollar bill. He leaned over and dropped it on the concrete right in front of my face. “Buy some bandages. And don’t ever come back.” He stood up straight, casually adjusting his expensive cuffs, and looked at his secretary. “Make sure the front desk registers her face. If she shows up again, call the cops and have her arrested for trespassing.” The rhythmic clicking of his leather shoes echoed off the concrete as he walked away, never once looking back. I stayed on my knees. The wind blew past, lifting the edge of the hundred-dollar bill and flipping it onto the back of my hand. I stared at that piece of paper for a very long time. Then I stood up. The blood from my knee dripped steadily down my leg. One drop. Two drops. Staining my white canvas shoes. I didn’t run away. I walked down the street with my spine completely straight, step by deliberate step. I found a public restroom a block away, washed the blood off my leg, and slapped two cheap bandages over the wound. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the business card. Thomas Wright. Wright and Associates. Financial District, 38th Floor. I checked the building directory. It was a three-minute walk from the Kensington Global headquarters. Mom, did you seriously pick a law firm right next door to his empire? I pushed through the heavy glass doors of the firm. The receptionist looked up at me. Her expression was completely different from the one at the Kensington building. There was no disgust. No superiority. “How can I help you? Are you looking for someone?” “Thomas Wright.” “And your name?” “Nora. Nora Bennett.” She froze. She immediately snatched up the phone on her desk. “Mr. Wright. There is a Ms. Bennett here to see you. Yes. Nora Bennett. Right away.” When she hung up the phone, her entire demeanor shifted into absolute, terrifying respect. “Ms. Bennett. Mr. Wright is in the corner office at the end of the hall. He said to tell you…” She swallowed hard. “He said he has been waiting for you for a very long time.” 4 Thomas Wright’s office was massive. The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves stacked with heavy legal texts. He stood up immediately when I walked in. He was in his late fifties, with silver hair and wire-rimmed glasses. The moment his eyes locked onto my face, they turned glassy with unshed tears. “You look… exactly like your mother.” I didn’t have the energy for small talk. “Mr. Wright, my mom told me to find you. She said you would tell me everything.” He nodded slowly. He walked over to a heavy steel safe bolted into the wall and punched in a code. He pulled out a thick, black archival box. Inside was a mountain of legal documents. He pulled the top file and laid it on his desk. It was an irrevocable trust agreement. Grantor. Margaret Bennett. Beneficiary. Nora Bennett. Establishment Date. March 15th, 2012. The signature at the bottom was my mother’s. It was meticulous and precise, vastly different from the shaky writing on the envelope. It looked like she had practiced that signature a thousand times. “Your mother walked into this office fifteen years ago,” Thomas said, his voice slow and heavy. “She was wearing a faded, cheap winter coat, clutching a plastic grocery bag. That bag was filled with cash. Exactly sixty thousand dollars.” “She sat exactly where you are sitting and said, ‘Mr. Wright, I need you to open a brokerage account for me. I want to buy stock.’” “I asked her what company she wanted to invest in.” “She looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Kensington Global.’” My fingertips went completely numb. “I was stunned. A woman wearing threadbare clothes, clutching a grocery bag of cash, wanting to dump her life savings into a company I assumed she knew nothing about?” “But then she pulled out a spiral notebook.” “It was filled with three years of Kensington Global’s financial data. Revenue streams, profit margins, debt ratios, executive board shifts, and horizontal industry analysis. It was more thoroughly researched than reports I get from Wall Street analysts.” “She looked at me and said something I will never forget.” Thomas took off his glasses and wiped them with a silk cloth. “She said, ‘Mr. Wright, I don’t know the first thing about the law. But I know one truth. I cannot leave my daughter’s fate in someone else’s hands.’” A hot tear spilled over my lashes and hit the polished mahogany desk. “For the next fifteen years,” Thomas said, opening a thick portfolio, “your mother took the vast majority of the allowance she received and pumped it straight into Kensington stock. In the early days, when the stock was cheap and the market cap was small, she bought huge blocks of it. When they went public and the price skyrocketed, she bought smaller fractions. But she never stopped.” He slid the final page of the report across the desk. Total Ownership Stake. 8.3%. Current Market Value. Twenty-Four Million Dollars. A blinding white flash exploded behind my eyes. My mother. Living on a nine-hundred-dollar pension. Wearing patched coats. Walking in shoes worn down to the pavement. A woman who never even bought herself a birthday cake. Over fifteen brutal years, operating entirely in the shadows where nobody bothered to look, she had systematically bought up eight percent of a billion-dollar empire. Tristan Kensington had thrown a hundred-dollar bill at me and told me to get lost. I currently held more voting shares in his company than he did. “There is one more thing.” Thomas reached into the very bottom of the black box and pulled out a heavy manila envelope. There was no writing on it. The flap was sealed with thick, red wax. “Your mother gave me strict instructions. This envelope was only to be opened after her death.” I broke the wax seal. I pulled out a few sheets of loose-leaf paper. It was handwritten. The writing was jagged and erratic. In several places, the blue ink had bled, warped by tears that had fallen onto the page. The title was written in bold letters. “My Death Record.” I read the first line. “Nora, if you are reading this, it means I failed to swap out my medication in time.” Every drop of blood in my body turned to ice. “Mr. Wright.” “How exactly did my mother die?”

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My younger sister always claimed I stole her glamorous life. “If I had been the one to drop out of school and enter Hollywood back then, your Oscar would be mine right now.” I always just laughed it off, until we were both reborn and sent back to the exact day we had to make that fateful choice. This time, my sister chose to drop out, leaving me to stay in school. I lowered my head and sneered. Did she really think making it in Hollywood was that easy? 1 As an internationally acclaimed, Oscar-winning actress, I was surrounded by a small army of bodyguards and assistants. Every single item I wore cost six figures. The men chasing me ranged from Silicon Valley billionaires to the hottest pop stars. They swarmed around me, eager to please, just hoping I’d cast a glance their way. All of this made my younger sister, Chloe, seethe with jealousy. Every time I went home for the holidays, Chloe would stare at me with eyes full of grievance and resentment: “Maya, tell me the truth. If I had been the one to drop out and brave Hollywood back then, and you had stayed in school, would I be the Oscar-winner today?” When I didn’t answer, she continued, lost in her own delusion: “I definitely would have climbed higher than you. I was always much prettier than you back then.” Chloe was bitter. She had chosen to stay in school, but her grades were mediocre, and she only managed to get into a low-tier state college. Now, at twenty-nine, she was working as a mid-level admin at some corporate firm, not even clearing six thousand a month. And I? I had been worse than her at everything back then, but because I made the “right” choice and entered the entertainment industry, every movie I starred in became a massive hit. Resources poured in, and the industry practically forced the Oscar into my hands. Now, at thirty, thanks to top-tier dermatologists and trainers, I looked like I was in my early twenties. Meanwhile, at twenty-nine, Chloe’s face was already showing deep signs of exhaustion. The more Chloe spoke, the more agitated she became, completely unable to pull herself out of her fantasy. I, on the other hand, was genuinely exhausted, dozing off on the sofa. Suddenly, a deafening explosion shattered the peace. The gas line in the house ruptured. A piece of shrapnel slammed into my head, and in an instant of blinding agony, I lost consciousness… 2 “Maya, Chloe, things are really bad. We just can’t afford to keep both of you in school anymore.” My mother wiped her tears, clutching the urn holding my father’s ashes. “Your dad is gone, and he left us with a mountain of debt. My salary barely covers rent. You two… you two need to figure out which one of you is going to drop out and get a job to help the family. I’m so sorry…” Before my mother could even finish, Chloe rushed forward: “Mom, I’ll drop out!” “Yesterday, a talent scout approached me and Maya on the street. He said he wanted to sign both of us! With how bad things are at home, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Let Maya stay in school. I’ll go try my luck in Hollywood!” My mother let out a long, heavy sigh and didn’t say anything else. But my mind was racing. I suddenly realized what was happening. Chloe and I had been reborn! We had been thrown back to the exact day we had to make the choice that would define our lives! I was seventeen, a junior in high school. Chloe was sixteen, a sophomore. Our family had just declared bankruptcy, my father had taken his own life, and he had left us with an unmanageable mess. My mother couldn’t shoulder the burden alone. She needed one of us to drop out and work to support the family. In my past life, I was the one who volunteered. I gave up my spot as the valedictorian of my high school, signed with that talent agency, and worked myself to the bone to pay for Chloe’s education, eventually clawing my way up to become an Oscar-winning actress. But now, Chloe, having seen the glamorous future I built for myself, was desperate to hijack my life. I… happily agreed! In fact, I couldn’t wait. Did she really think Hollywood was an easy place to survive? She had no idea how much blood, sweat, and literal tears I shed on my way to the top. One wrong step, and you fall into an abyss you can never climb out of! She didn’t even realize how much I envied her pure, simple, normal high school life! 3 The next day, I went back to school, while Chloe was supposed to report to Apex Media. I opened my textbooks. All the knowledge I had accumulated by seventeen was still perfectly intact in my brain. I knew how to solve every problem; every concept was deeply ingrained in my memory. It was amazing. This feeling was incredible. I sat in a clean, bright classroom, laughing and chatting with my classmates, using my pen to finally fill the regrets I had carried in my past life. I didn’t have to wear heavy makeup at the crack of dawn. I didn’t have to waste my youth at seedy industry parties, enduring the leering, handsy behavior of producers old enough to be my father, just forcing a smile for a single chance to be on camera. After school, I hummed a tune as I walked home. The first thing I saw was Chloe sitting on the sofa, her makeup perfectly done, her luggage packed beside her. Just like in my past life, my mother signed the contract as her legal guardian. The agent collected the contract, transferred the signing bonus to my mother, and then shot a sidelong glance at Chloe. His eyes were full of calculation. My mother, remembering that I had an academic scholarship, gave the entire signing bonus to Chloe, telling her to take good care of herself out there. Seeing me walk in, Chloe looked incredibly smug: “Sister, this massive wave of wealth is finally coming my way. Even if you try to steal it from me now, it’s too late.” “I’ve officially signed with Apex. I’m moving into the apartment they provide. I’ll be going to auditions and casting calls. You’ll see me on TV soon.” I replied flatly, “Congratulations on getting exactly what you wanted.” Unsatisfied with my mild reaction, Chloe stood up, leaned close to my ear, and threw out a provocative whisper: “This time, the wealth, the Oscar, the fans, the billionaires chasing me… everything will be mine.” “Maya, we finally get to swap lives.” With that, Chloe held her head high and walked out the door without looking back, not a single trace of nostalgia in her eyes. My eyes were completely cold. Chloe still had no idea that the contract she just signed was a predatory trap designed to destroy her. 4 Apex Media’s signing bonus wasn’t easy money. If you didn’t generate a specific, massive amount of revenue within the first year, you were required to pay the company back tenfold as a penalty. In my past life, after I signed with Apex, they shelved me for six months, refusing to give me any auditions. Then, just as I was panicking and desperate, they suddenly threw me into a massive reality TV survival show. A hundred beautiful girls competing for five spots in a new pop group. My agent told me that I had to make the final group no matter what it took. I had to prove my value to the company, or I could pay the penalty and get out. You have to understand, the girls who made it past the initial cuts either had massive financial backers or were wealthy socialites themselves. Competing against a group like that, I was so stressed I developed a severe ring of cold sores around my mouth. I had to cake on foundation just to cover it up. That was when my agent “kindly” pointed out an alternative route. He brought me to a private dinner with Mr. Vance, the biggest sponsor of the reality show. My agent leaned in close, his voice sleazy and suggestive: “Maya, Mr. Vance loves pure, innocent girls like you. As long as you make him happy tonight, making the final group is nothing. He could even make you an A-list star…” That night, I endured the sickening dinner. When the moment was right, I secretly recorded a video of Mr. Vance sexually harassing another young actress. Then, I smashed a wine bottle on the table. I held the jagged glass to my own jugular, my other hand hovering over the “Send” button on my phone, glaring at them like a cornered, feral panther. I gambled my life, and I won. Mr. Vance didn’t get angry; instead, he laughed. He laughed at my naive audacity, laughed at how out of my depth I was. With a wave of his hand, he gave me the opportunity I wanted, acting like he was placing a bet on a wild animal, eager to see how hard I would crash and burn later. I didn’t expect to actually seize that opportunity. I fought my way into the final group and had my first viral, nationwide performance. Now, all of that was falling squarely onto Chloe’s shoulders. I was very much looking forward to seeing how she handled it. 5 Six months passed, and I didn’t hear a single word from Chloe. It seemed that, just like me in my past life, she had been temporarily shelved. Meanwhile, I took first place in the midterms and qualified for the state academic decathlon. It wasn’t until the internet was suddenly flooded with aggressive marketing for the new reality show, Apex Girls, that I unexpectedly saw Chloe in the contestant lineup. The light in her eyes flickered wildly. She wore a pure, sweet smile, but her eyes were burning with raw, unbridled ambition. During the first round of solo evaluations, Chloe’s score was dead last. I calculated that this was right around the time her agent would step in and arrange the dinner with Mr. Vance. I called Chloe. The first time, she didn’t answer. The second time, the third time… It wasn’t until the eighth ring that Chloe finally picked up. “Chloe, listen to me. Do not go to that dinner…” Before I could finish, Chloe interrupted me, her voice dripping with irritation. “Maya, are you ever going to leave me alone?” “It’s just a dinner. You went to it in your past life, why can’t I go? Are you just jealous? Are you trying to make me miss my shot?” “You are so disgusting. You got to enjoy all the wealth and fame in your past life, and now that it’s my turn, you’re trying to sabotage me?!” “Mind your own business from now on. Stay out of my career!” Click. The line went dead. Chloe hung up on me. I sighed. Fine. I’ll respect her choices. I need to let go of my savior complex. 6 I threw myself entirely into preparing for the state finals, leaving no extra energy to keep up with Apex Girls. My mom even arranged for me to board at the school to save time. Occasionally, overhearing my classmates gossip, I learned that after Chloe’s disastrous solo performance, she seemingly experienced a miracle, skyrocketing from the bottom to the top three in the second episode. She eventually secured her debut, taking the highly coveted center position. She looked much more glamorous and successful than I had in my past life. After finishing the state finals, I walked out of the exam hall and immediately checked my phone for news about Chloe. The media’s intense focus gave her a massive surge in exposure, but soon after, paparazzi caught Chloe and Mr. Vance entering the same luxury hotel, one after the other. The show’s producers immediately issued a statement claiming the entire group had a scheduled appearance and were all staying at that hotel rehearsing that night. The other members of Apex Girls quickly came forward to publicly support Chloe. The scandal was temporarily suppressed. Watching all this unfold, I secretly lamented. I knew my worst fear had come true. By attaching herself to Mr. Vance, Chloe gained a fleeting moment of spectacular fame through a shortcut. But she was entirely unequipped to handle the second major hurdle that was fast approaching. After the Apex Girls national tour, they would have the opportunity to audition for the second female lead in Director Nolan’s highly anticipated historical drama. Director Nolan famously despised actors who relied on connections, and it was an open secret in the industry that he and Mr. Vance hated each other. When I debuted with the group back then, Mr. Vance publicly stated to the press that he didn’t see any potential in me. Following his lead, the reality show’s producers subtly shaded me, and the other group members made passive-aggressive comments about me in interviews. The goodwill I had just built up from my performances plummeted. At that time, the opportunity to audition for Director Nolan’s new project felt like my only lifeline. I stayed up for nights analyzing the script, visited film sets to observe seasoned actors, and completely immersed myself in the character. That was the only way I managed to impress Director Nolan during the audition and secure the role. But Chloe… could she seize this opportunity? 7 After the Apex Girls tour concluded, it was publicly announced that they would be auditioning for Director Nolan’s new drama, Spring’s Return. In front of the cameras, Chloe looked completely self-assured and radiant. She flipped her hair, looking like victory was already hers: “The second female lead? No, I’m auditioning for the lead role, Elara!” “I’ve read the script. Elara’s resilient, unyielding character, blooming even in adversity… it resonates with me so perfectly. It’s like the role was tailor-made for me. Director Nolan has great taste; he’ll definitely pick me!” The reporter had probably never encountered an actress this “authentically unpretentious.” His mouth visibly twitched. “So, you believe you have a natural talent for acting?” Chloe’s eyes narrowed playfully, and she gave a coy smile: “Well… why wouldn’t I?” Watching that interview, I genuinely couldn’t handle the secondhand embarrassment. I had to respect the reporter’s professional composure. A few days later, a hashtag exploded to the top of the trending page— #DirectorNolanCallsChloe’sActingDisgusting# My eye twitched. I clicked the hashtag, and a video clip of Chloe’s audition popped up. The scene involved the protagonist, Elara, intentionally leaping out of a hidden cellar to draw the assassins’ attention, sacrificing herself so her younger sister, hiding inside, could survive. When Chloe’s version of Elara jumped out, there wasn’t a trace of heroic sacrifice. Instead, she looked incredibly eager and impatient, as if she already knew about the miraculous plot armor waiting for her after being captured. Even the crucial line, “You monsters will burn in hell,” was delivered softly and weakly, sounding more like a coquettish pout. Director Nolan was furious. He threw a script at her, yelled “Disgusting!”, and told her to get out. After the hashtag blew up, Chloe posted a defensive, aggrieved statement: “If Elara hadn’t jumped out, the assassins would have taken the sister. Then the sister would have gotten all the future opportunities and plot armor, and the sister would have ended up on the throne. What would Elara have gotten?” “So the way I see it, Elara was just stealing her sister’s future. What’s there to be sad about? She was just making a calculated choice that benefited her.” “The real Elara is selfish. My interpretation was the accurate one! I have no idea why Director Nolan reacted that way…” Director Nolan, probably on the verge of a heart attack from her sheer audacity, posted a public response: [Chloe might be able to sing and dance, but she is absolutely unfit to be an actor. A good actor requires empathy and a strong moral core. She has neither. I don’t understand why just anyone thinks they can act these days.] Director Nolan carried immense weight in the film industry. That single statement effectively blacklisted Chloe from acting. Perhaps triggered by Chloe’s atrocious performance, after the first round of auditions, Director Nolan shook his head and sighed: “Actors today are too superficial. We need fresh blood.” He then announced a “Nationwide Search for the Female Lead” open casting call. On the day I saw the casting notice, I happened to be heading to the state academic finals. Coincidentally, the exam venue was less than five blocks from the audition location. After thinking about it, I decided to sign up. In my past life, the second female lead I played was gentle on the surface but ruthless and selfish underneath. The role sparked massive internet outrage, which ironically made me incredibly famous. Everyone said my performance was flawless, but no one knew that I was actually desperately in love with the protagonist, Elara. I saw myself in Elara. Playing the villain required me to dissect the script and meticulously craft my performance. But Elara? I wouldn’t even need to act. Because she was me. I didn’t need to perform her sacrifice. Because I understood exactly what Elara felt when she jumped out to protect her family. Every internal conflict, every hesitation—I had lived it. That kind of sacrifice, that kind of surrender… I had already experienced it once. In the script, when Elara reunites with her sister later, the sister’s first reaction isn’t relief that Elara is okay. Instead, she marvels at the luxury of the palace and says, her voice laced with jealousy, “Sister, if it were possible, I wish I had been the one who jumped out that day.” The chilling heartbreak of that moment, the eventual death of hope, the complete disillusionment with her sister… I resonated with it deeply. So this time, not driven by desperation or poverty, but purely to fulfill a regret from my past life, I submitted my name for the role of Elara. 8 Coming out of the state finals, most of the students around me were sighing and looking defeated. A few kids who wanted to compare answers were immediately shut down: “To compare answers, you have to actually have an answer first! We couldn’t even understand the questions! Where are we supposed to get answers from?!” “Exactly! Are these questions even designed for humans? I want to see how many brains the kids who win medals actually have!” “Whatever, forget it. The test is over, what’s the point of checking answers now? Let the teachers grade it. Let’s just go have some fun. I heard there’s an open casting call for a movie nearby, and a lot of celebrities are showing up. Let’s go check it out!” I nodded. “I’m actually heading there to audition. It’s on my way, let’s go together.” “You? You’re going to audition for the lead role?” My classmates’ jaws practically hit the floor. Someone immediately made a snide, jealous comment: “I don’t want to burst your bubble, Maya, but even though you’re pretty, you’re at best ‘high school pretty.’ You think you can be the lead in a movie? Keep dreaming.” I shrugged. “I’m just going to try. I have nothing to lose. I’m just doing it for fun.” Seeing the mocking looks on their faces, I figured they probably didn’t want to walk with me anyway, so I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked off alone. By the time I arrived, there was still half an hour before the auditions began. A casting assistant looked me up and down, then said dismissively: “Tsk, why aren’t you wearing any makeup? Are you just a high schooler?” As soon as he spoke, everyone in the waiting room turned to look at me. Most of their gazes were disdainful or contemptuous. Only one girl offered me her small makeup bag. I gave her a grateful look. Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone in the room, I transformed my face in under a minute. In my past life, constantly rushing between sets, speed-makeup was a basic survival skill. After logging my name, the assistant handed me a piece of paper. It was the scene I was supposed to perform. Unlike celebrity auditions, unknowns like me don’t get to see the full script outline; we only get a short excerpt. The scene I drew happened to be the exact same one Chloe had auditioned with. “Number 168, Maya Sterling!” I immediately stood up, smoothed out my clothes, and pushed open the door to the audition room. This was my first time seeing Director Nolan in this life. He looked exactly the same. He looked like an unkempt, grumpy old man, but his eyes were startlingly clear. Because they were so clear, they looked exceptionally bright. He was my mentor in my past life. He brought me into the industry, cast me in hit after hit, pushed me to the pinnacle of television awards, and then introduced me to the heavyweights of the film industry, helping me push for the Oscar. Back then, rumors about us flew everywhere. Some said he was my sugar daddy; others said I was his illegitimate daughter. The concept of “soulmates” was something they didn’t understand, and they didn’t believe in. That was until Director Nolan smashed a whiskey bottle in front of a camera, pointed at the broken glass on the floor, and smiled at the gossip reporters: “Eat it.” All the so-called “scandals” about me vanished overnight. The brightest jewel on that Oscar crown… I won it to give to him. But when I won the award, he was in the ICU. The day I won Best Actress happened to be the day he passed away. I could only place the jewel among his personal effects, letting it be buried with him. The day he took his last breath, his phone screen was playing my acceptance speech. They said that when Director Nolan left, he was smiling.

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Today was my little darling’s fifth birthday. My husband, who usually buried himself in work, had, for once, agreed to take our first family photo. I was so excited I woke up early, scrambling to book the city’s most exclusive photography studio. But as the appointment time drew near, there was no sign of my husband or son. I waited at the studio until closing time, and then my husband’s message finally arrived. He casually mentioned that his company had organized an end-of-year trip, and he’d already left with our son. Right after, my son sent a voice message, his tiny voice saying the trip was super fun and he’d take pictures with me when he got back. I smiled at the screen, sent a “Sounds good!” back. Then, with a flick of my finger, I messaged the chairman of my husband’s company: “Your company organized a trip? Why wasn’t I, your biggest shareholder, informed?” … 1. A voice call came through immediately, laced with bewilderment: “What trip? Are you still half-asleep? End of the year is crunch time for sales, everyone’s running themselves ragged. There’s no way I’d arrange a trip. Everyone in the company is working overtime, except for your husband, who took annual leave.” My best friend, Quinn, her voice crackled through the receiver. I tightened my grip on the phone. “I understand.” “Wait, no, what’s going on?” Quinn heard the shift in my tone and pressed anxiously. I pressed my lips together, looking at myself in the mirror – impeccably dressed in a haute couture gown, hair perfectly styled, yet utterly alone. I felt like a joke. “Come pick me up.” I gave her the address. “Alright, five minutes.” I hung up, still frozen at the vanity. The studio staff had already begun packing up their equipment, ready to close. I could feel the shift in the air; the staff, who had initially eyed my extravagant private booking with envy, now looked at me with blatant pity. Amidst their hushed whispers, I vaguely caught phrases like “stood up,” “poor thing,” and “what’s money good for anyway?” Just then, the studio manager approached, carrying a thick photo album. “Ma’am, please don’t be too upset. Perhaps your husband had an urgent, unexpected matter.” The manager gently pushed the album towards me. “Although today didn’t work out, you can take a look at our sample prints. This is our collection of family portraits; you can choose a style for next time, and when you bring your husband and son, we can start shooting right away.” I felt dispirited, but out of politeness, I casually opened the first page. The moment I did, my entire body froze. Staring back at me, proudly displayed on the title page as a studio showpiece, was a huge family portrait. The background was warm and luxurious. A man in a crisp suit smiled gently; a woman in an elegant gown stood beside him. In the middle, a little boy in a miniature suit, eyes curved into crescent moons, held a bouquet of daisies. That was my five-year-old son. That was my husband, the man I shared a bed with. And that woman… The manager, seeing my stunned expression, thought I was amazed by the photo’s quality. She immediately launched into a gushing explanation, a hint of pride in her voice: “Ma’am, you have excellent taste, choosing this one right away. This family is our studio’s model family, and they’re long-time clients.” “The gentleman in the photo is the general manager of a listed company, earning millions a year. He’s handsome and charismatic. The lady next to him is also impressive, famously doting on her husband and child.” “This family of three, they’ve been coming to us for family portraits every year since the child was a month old. Look at this little boy, he’s incredibly photogenic, loves having his picture taken, and is always so happy every time he comes. The entire staff loves to play with him.” “Oh, by the way, they booked the Grand Hall at the Grand Estate Hotel for a birthday party today. Our studio photographer was even invited to follow and document it.” Every word from the manager felt like a knife, slicing into my heart, one by one. Years ago, for my husband Liam’s dream, I had willingly stepped back. Fearing he’d be bullied, I secretly got him into Quinn’s company, continuously investing anonymously to make him an undeniable top performer, earning him the General Manager position. Immediately, my mind flashed back to every time I’d tried to take photos of my son. He would always frown, either hiding behind his father or outright covering his face with his hands, yelling: “Go away, Mom! I hate photos!” Back then, Liam always protected him, scoffing at me: “If the kid doesn’t like it, just drop it. Don’t force him; your photography skills aren’t that great anyway.” But now, looking at my son smiling in that photo, I suddenly felt a chill run through me, a bitter coldness deep in my heart. He didn’t hate photos; he just hated taking photos with me. My gaze slowly shifted to the woman in the picture. At first glance, she looked familiar. Now, on closer inspection, wasn’t this Seraphina Song, the impoverished college student I had sponsored for four full years? I had seen her diligence and hard work, not only paying for her entire university education, but when she graduated and struggled to find work, it was I who used my connections to get her a job at a well-regarded state-owned enterprise known for its excellent benefits. I never imagined that the bright student I had sponsored would end up not only in the company I arranged for her, but also in my home. The manager was still chattering away: “Ma’am? Ma’am, what do you think of this style? If you like it, next time…” Just then, the roar of a sports car came from the doorway. Followed by hurried footsteps: “Chloe!” Quinn burst in, a whirlwind of energy. She spotted me instantly, unable to resist a playful tease: “Whoa! This look, you’re stunning! Anyone would think you’re walking the red carpet.” She surveyed the empty studio, puzzled. “Why are you alone? Where are Liam and Leo? Didn’t you say you were taking family photos? Are you done?” I closed the album. This was utterly humiliating. “What’s wrong, Chloe? You look awful.” Quinn dropped her playful demeanor, looking at me with concern. I looked at her and gave a short, bitter laugh: “To the Grand Estate Hotel. I hear my son’s having a birthday party today.” 2. Quinn paused for a moment, then floored the accelerator, driving us straight to the Grand Estate Hotel. The Grand Estate Hotel was not only the most luxurious hotel in the city but also an establishment owned by Quinn herself. Standing at the entrance of the banquet hall, a massive welcome poster greeted my eyes. On the poster was that family portrait: Liam had Seraphina in his arms, our son perched on Seraphina’s shoulders, and the title read: [Our Beloved Son Leo’s Sixth Birthday Bash]. Sixth birthday? I froze. Wasn’t Leo five? Quinn’s face turned stormy. As the big boss of this hotel, she was about to explode, but I held her back. I pushed open the banquet hall doors, and the clamor inside instantly ceased. Hundreds of eyes turned in unison towards the entrance. Most of them were employees of Liam’s company; I didn’t show up often, but I had delivered food to the company a few times, so some recognized me. “Oh, isn’t that the freeloading wife of Manager Smith?” Someone in the crowd scoffed, and then whispers swelled like a tide. “What bad luck, what’s she doing here on such a joyous day?” “I heard she’s worse than the nanny at home, just washing and cooking all day, completely dependent on Manager Smith. Truly a disgrace to women.” “Look at her, dressed to the nines. I bet that gown was bought with Mr. Smith’s credit card.” Liam was standing center stage, cutting the cake, a long knife in his hand. Seraphina’s hand rested intimately on his. They looked utterly coupled. Seeing me enter, Liam showed no trace of guilt, instead frowning. “Chloe Johnson, what are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to stay home? Don’t come here to embarrass me!” He didn’t even bother to step down from the stage, reprimanding me from above. I walked towards the stage, step by step. “Embarrass you?” I pointed at the large number on the poster, my voice hoarse. “Liam, is Leo five this year, or six?” Liam’s eyes flickered, then he became even more self-righteous. “What’s the difference between five and six?” At that moment, Seraphina walked out, smiling. She wore a perfectly tailored haute couture gown, exuding the air of a successful professional. Holding a glass of champagne, she looked at me with an expression that was seemingly polite but truly mocking. “Since you’re here, find a corner and grab something to eat. Today is Leo’s birthday party, hosted by Liam and me, and it’s also a gathering to celebrate my promotion. Don’t spoil everyone’s fun.” “Go away!” Suddenly, a small figure darted out and pushed me hard. It was my son, the one I had doted on for five years. He wore a prince-like suit but glared at me as if I were his enemy. “I won’t let you bully Mommy Seraphina! Mommy Seraphina said you’re a useless good-for-nothing, you only drag Daddy down!” In that moment, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I stared in disbelief at the son I had hand-fed, the one I had stayed up all night watching when he had a fever. “Leo, I’m your mom…” “No, you’re not!” Leo hugged Seraphina’s leg, proudly lifting his chin. “Mommy Seraphina is my mom! She earns lots of money and can buy me lots of things. Mommy Seraphina said I have excellent blood, just like her, not a good-for-nothing like you!” The entire hall erupted in gasps, then quickly dissolved into roaring laughter. “Looks like someone’s a step-mom!” “Hahahaha, raising someone else’s kid for five years, what an incredible cuckold.” “No wonder Mr. Smith doesn’t like her. That kind of waste deserves to be a pawn.” Those employees who usually respectfully called me “ma’am” were now, eager to flatter Seraphina and Liam, speaking with increasingly cruel words. Six years ago, I sponsored Seraphina through her senior year of college. Liam and I met around that time; he tearfully recounted how he’d been unlucky in love and wanted to settle down with a stable person. It turned out that from beginning to end, this was a scheme to find a free meal ticket for Seraphina’s child. “Liam.” I took a deep breath, suppressing the hatred about to erupt in my chest. “So, for these five years, you’ve been acting?” Quinn finally lost it. She rushed forward, pointing at the executives. “You blind idiots! Open your damn eyes and see who I am! And Chloe Johnson, standing right in front of you, is your company’s biggest—” “Security!” Liam impatiently cut Quinn off, casting a cold glance at us. “Get these two disruptive lunatics out of here. Especially the one next to Chloe Johnson, dressed like a lowlife thug. She must be some poor relative of this good-for-nothing, right?” Eager to impress, the employees didn’t even wait for security. Several tall managers rolled up their sleeves and surrounded us, sinister smiles plastered on their faces. 3. “Who dares touch me!” Quinn roared, enraged. She usually presided at the group headquarters, rarely inspecting this branch office. Plus, dressed casually today, these people truly didn’t recognize the legendary Chairman. “Is that woman crazy? ‘Who dares touch her’?” A department manager sneered. To curry favor with Seraphina, she was the first to rush forward and shove Quinn. “Who are you anyway? Don’t you know Mr. Smith is the General Manager here? Getting rid of you is as easy as squashing an ant!” Seraphina stood on the stage, holding her son, arm around Liam, watching us being encircled as if it were a play, a smirk playing on her lips. “Everyone, whoever cleans out these two pieces of trash today, so they no longer dirty mine and Liam’s eyes, will have their year-end bonus doubled next year.” Generous rewards always spurred bravery. The pushing and shoving crowd instantly turned violent. Someone kicked Quinn hard in the knee, sending her stumbling to the ground. I rushed to help her, but a heavy punch to my back made my vision go black. “Chloe Johnson, do you really think you’re someone important?” I spat out a mouthful of blood, looking up at Liam. “Can you really afford the consequences of marital infidelity and marriage fraud?” Liam walked off the stage and stopped in front of me, looking down at me on the floor with eyes full of disgust and contempt. “Since we’re speaking so plainly, I won’t hide it from you anymore.” He pulled a marriage certificate from his bag and threw it directly in my face. It bore the names Liam Smith and Seraphina Song, and the registration date was a year earlier than mine. I shot my head up, my pupils contracting violently. “No need to look, the marriage certificate we got back then was fake.” Liam sneered. “Back then, Seraphina had just graduated, her family was poor, and she didn’t have a stable job. She couldn’t give the child a good life. We had to find an honest person to take care of things, right?” “You’re an orphan with no parents, the easiest to control. I originally planned to dump you after you raised the kid. I just didn’t expect you to be so ungrateful, causing trouble at a time like this.” “Fake.” I mumbled, feeling as though my insides were twisting in agony. So, these five years of days and nights, these five years of devoted effort, even the legal recognition, were all a deception! “This marriage doesn’t even need a divorce, because it never existed.” Seraphina walked over, stepping on the back of my hand and grinding her heel down hard. “Senior, thank you for your sponsorship back then, and thank you for helping me raise my husband and child for these past five years. Now that I’m successful, it’s time for a good-for-nothing like you to make your exit.” I endured the excruciating pain, trying to get up, but she kicked me in the chest again. Quinn, trying to shield me, was savagely struck on the head with a wine bottle, blood instantly gushing down her face. Quinn was almost incoherent, still desperately trying to protect me. “You… you’ll regret this…” “Regret?” The manager who had struck her spat on her. The surrounding people laughed. “Hit them! Hit them until they’re dead! Mr. Smith will take responsibility for anything that happens!” Quinn and I huddled on the ground, taking countless kicks. My vision was already blurring, and the smell of blood filled my nostrils. Liam watched it all coldly, then turned and covered his son’s eyes. “Leo, don’t look, it’s dirty.” Just as that manager raised a solid wooden chair, preparing to smash it onto my head. “Bang!” The banquet hall doors were violently forced open from the outside. Immediately after, a team of bodyguards rushed in. Before anyone could react, a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses and a refined aura stumbled in. When he saw Quinn, battered and bloody in the pool of her own blood, his entire body froze. “Chairman?!” He then looked up and saw me, also bruised and bloody, his face turning ashen. “Miss… Johnson…”

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1 I was escorting a high-value prisoner on a commercial flight when a flight attendant began openly flirting with the man next to me. I shot her a warning look and quietly asked her to move us to a secluded pair of seats. She rolled her eyes. “Do you own this airline? What’s the problem with me talking to this gorgeous guy? Are you jealous or just painfully single?” Her boldness left me speechless. I called for the chief attendant, but before help arrived, she broke into dramatic tears, telling everyone I was bullying her. Sympathetic and accusing eyes turned toward me. I could not explain aloud that the “gorgeous guy” was a notorious serial killer on death row. Just as the tension peaked, the prisoner made his move. He seized her in a chokehold and yelled for the pilot to turn the plane around. Since you’re so eager to please a man, now is your chance. … My name is Renee. I am a homicide detective. I spent three grueling months deep undercover just to track down Silas, a serial killer who had terrorized the entire country. It took everything I had to finally slap the cuffs on him. Following strict orders from the top brass, I was transporting him back to the state precinct via a commercial flight. Before boarding, my captain emphasized one rule above all else. Total secrecy. If the passengers found out who Silas was, it would trigger a mid-air panic. I kept my badge tucked away and draped a thick jacket over the steel cuffs binding Silas to my wrist. I whispered a harsh warning for him to behave, my eyes scanning every single face in the terminal. I couldn’t afford a single second of distraction. Shortly after the plane leveled out, a fresh-faced intern flight attendant pushed her beverage cart down the aisle. The moment her eyes landed on Silas, they stuck to him like glue. She purposefully slowed her pace, completely invading my personal space as she leaned over me to get closer to him. Her voice dripped with an artificial, sugary sweetness. “Hey handsome, what can I get you? Water, coffee, or maybe some juice?” Silas slowly looked up at her. A chilling smirk played at the corner of his mouth. My stomach dropped. I instantly answered for him. “No thank you. He doesn’t need anything. We are trying to rest, so please do not disturb us.” The intern acted like I was invisible. She shot me a look of pure disgust before leaning even closer to Silas. “Are you feeling okay, handsome? Do you need me to grab you some medicine?” I forced down the rising anger in my chest and deepened my voice, heavily stressing my next words. “I said we do not need anything. We want to rest. Do you not understand English?” I glanced around the half-empty cabin. “Also, I need you to move us to the back row. Keep us as far away from the other passengers as possible. I don’t like the noise.” That was apparently the wrong thing to say. The girl flared up like a cat backed into a corner. She slammed her plastic cup onto my tray table. Water splashed directly onto my shirt, but she didn’t offer a shred of an apology. “Excuse me, lady, but I was talking to him. Did I ask you?” “Did your daddy build this airplane? You think you can just demand seat changes? Why don’t you go sit on the wings then?” My eyebrows knitted together. I kept my voice as level as humanly possible. “We are traveling together. I am speaking for him. He isn’t eating or drinking. Please stop hovering.” I flicked my eyes downward, practically begging her to notice the silver handcuffs hidden beneath the coat. She was completely oblivious. Instead, she raised her voice, dripping with pure arrogance. “Drop the act, lady! You must be seriously starved for male attention if you’re throwing a tantrum just because I said hi to a hot guy!” Her loud, piercing tone drew the attention of half the cabin. Heads swiveled in our direction. “Seats on this flight are assigned. You think you’re some kind of royalty?” My eyes widened. I genuinely could not fathom how a supposedly trained professional was acting like a high school mean girl. Having said her piece, she turned back to Silas, her voice suddenly morphing into a whiny pout. “Sir, look at her. I was just trying to offer you good customer service, and she’s attacking me.” “If she tries to file a complaint against me after we land, you have to promise to defend me, okay?” Silas gave me a dark, amused look before speaking in a low, slow drawl. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. A pretty girl like you doesn’t deserve to be in trouble.” The intern blushed furiously, staring at her feet. She immediately dug a notepad out of her apron, scribbled down her number, and slid it toward him. “Here. My name is Brittany. Add me on Insta.” I took a massive breath, grinding my teeth together so hard my jaw ached. “I said, change our seats!” 2 Brittany jutted her chin out, looking completely untouchable. “And I said no! Even if you drop dead today, you’re dying in that exact seat!” My hands began to shake with suppressed fury. I couldn’t hold it back anymore. “Go get your Chief Flight Attendant right now! I want to know if this is the standard of professionalism Trans-Global Airlines accepts!” Brittany scoffed loudly. “God, women are so pathetic. Always letting jealousy ruin everything and instantly crying to the manager.” “Call her! You think I’m scared of you?” Whispers broke out across the cabin. A fiery rage spiked in my chest. I had been a detective for eight years. I had personally taken down some of the most vicious predators to ever walk the earth. But I had never met someone so willfully, painfully stupid. She had absolutely no idea that the gorgeous guy she was throwing herself at was a monster with hands soaked in innocent blood. The Chief Flight Attendant hurried over shortly after. She put on a polite, practiced smile. “Ma’am, is there a problem I can assist you with?” Before I could even open my mouth to explain, Brittany stepped forward and practically threw herself at the older woman. “Aunt Helen!” Then she buried her face in her hands and started sobbing hysterically, making sure every single passenger in the cabin was watching her performance. “Aunt Helen, this woman is bullying me! I was just doing my job, and she started screaming at me out of nowhere! She’s demanding a seat upgrade and threatening to get me fired!” She deliberately shouted the words bullying and fired, playing the role of a frail, helpless victim to absolute perfection. The passengers in the front rows swallowed the bait instantly. People started standing up, craning their necks to look. A few even pulled out their phones to record me, their voices laced with pity for the weeping intern. A middle-aged man in a polo shirt pointed a thick finger at me. “Hey lady, you need to back off! The poor kid is just an intern doing her job. What kind of monster threatens a young girl’s livelihood?” His wife nodded vigorously, glaring at me with utter contempt. “Exactly. Dressed so nice but acting like pure trash. That girl is someone’s daughter. You’ll have kids of your own someday, you know! Have some compassion!” “Some hags just can’t stand seeing a young, pretty face. It’s pure, bitter jealousy.” “Don’t worry, sweetie! If she tries to report you, we will all write to the airline and defend you!” A businesswoman across the aisle violently yanked off her sleep mask and shot me a lethal glare. “Can you shut up? Your life must be incredibly sad and pathetic if you get off on harassing service workers.” The wave of baseless accusations made my blood boil. “Are you all blind? Or just completely brain-dead?” “She is completely twisting the truth! I politely told her multiple times to leave us alone, and she refused to stop harassing us. All I did was ask for a seat change, and she flips the script and plays the victim!” Seeing the crowd rally behind her, Brittany cranked up the waterworks. She choked out her words through heavy sobs. “Thank you, everyone. Thank you for seeing the truth. I’m just trying to do my job, and she’s targeting me!” She then actually buckled her knees, pretending she was about to drop to the floor. “Ma’am, I’ll take the blame! I’m so sorry! Please, I’m begging you, don’t get me fired! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” A chorus of disgusted clicks and sighs echoed through the plane. “Flight attendants are human beings too. Look at how terrified the poor thing is.” “This lady is out of her mind. Does she think she owns the sky?” Helen’s polite mask vanished instantly. She yanked Brittany up, shielding the girl behind her own body, and stared at me with eyes like shards of ice. 3 “Ma’am, I suggest you watch your tone. Service workers are not beneath you.” “Professionally speaking, she is my subordinate, and checking on passengers is her literal job description. She did nothing wrong.” “Personally speaking, I am her aunt. I helped raise her. I know her character infinitely better than some bitter stranger.” She paused, making sure her voice carried to the back rows. “It is 2026. As a fellow woman, why are you tearing down another girl just to get a man’s attention? You’re a textbook pick-me. Maybe log off the internet and stop projecting your insecurities onto innocent women!” “A pick-me? Tearing down women?” I genuinely let out a dry, humorless laugh. The sheer absurdity of the situation had pushed me past the point of anger. I looked her dead in the eye. “You have a lot of nerve. You didn’t even bother to ask for my side of the story. You blindly took your niece’s word for it. Isn’t that the exact same thing you’re accusing me of?” “She’s an intern, so fine, I’ll write off her stupidity. But you are the Chief Flight Attendant. You are in charge of this cabin. Did you not read the pre-flight briefing regarding a high-risk VIP on board? Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in if you compromise my operation?” The whispers grew louder, tinged with heavy sarcasm. “Oh please, a VIP? Who does she think she is? If she was important, she’d be in first class.” “Empty cans rattle the loudest. Just listen to her.” “This is hilarious. It’s like she’s never been on a plane before. The secondhand embarrassment is killing me.” Hiding behind her aunt, Brittany flashed me a smug, victorious smirk, her eyes practically dancing with mockery. Helen faltered for a fraction of a second before her face hardened again. “Don’t you dare try to intimidate me with some fake VIP status. I have the manifest for every single person on this aircraft, including you! If you don’t want me calling your employer when we land, I suggest you sit down and shut your mouth. One more word, and I’m calling the Air Marshal.” We were locked in a stalemate. My fingertips brushed against the cold leather of my police badge inside my pocket. Right at that moment, another flight attendant rushed out from the back galley and grabbed Helen’s shoulder. She leaned in, whispering frantically. “Helen, I just double-checked the system. There is a high-level VIP on this flight! The company flagged it with absolute top priority. We cannot mess this up!” The smugness washed right off Helen and Brittany’s faces. The older woman hastily grabbed her company tablet, her fingers swiping frantically across the glowing screen. 4 Brittany leaned over her aunt’s shoulder, her eyes glued to the alert on the screen. Her initial panic faded. Within seconds, a nasty, triumphant grin spread across her lips. Helen locked the tablet and slowly looked back at me, radiating pure arrogance. She let out a sharp laugh. “You’re actually right. There is an incredibly important VIP on this flight. But guess what? It’s not you.” She stood a little taller. “We are hosting Dr. Arthur Harrison, the country’s top cardiovascular surgeon. He’s flying out for an emergency medical summit. Corporate gave us strict orders to ensure his absolute comfort and silence.” The entire cabin erupted into cruel laughter. “Oh man, she actually had me going for a second. Thought she was a senator or something.” “Did you hear the lady? Dr. Harrison needs quiet. What are you gonna do when you stress out a surgeon, huh?” Brittany, utterly drunk on her own perceived victory, rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. She turned to Silas, her face softening into faux concern. “Sir, I honestly think the woman next to you is mentally unstable. For your own safety, why don’t I escort you up to first class? We can actually talk without the crazy lady screaming at us.” She reached out, attempting to grab his arm and pull him up. Panic surged through my veins. The last thread of my patience snapped. I didn’t care about being humiliated. But Silas was a lethal weapon. I could not let him leave my side for a single second. I yanked my badge out of my pocket and held it up high. “I am a police detective! I am in the middle of an active operation!” Before I could even blink, Brittany snatched the leather wallet right out of my hand. She didn’t even glance at it. She just ripped the internal ID card cleanly in half. “I could buy a whole box of these fake badges on Temu. If you’re a cop, then I’m the freaking President of the United States!” She puffed out her chest, acting like a superhero saving the day. “Do you realize what you’re doing? Handcuffing him to you is illegal imprisonment! I am saving this man!” With a sudden burst of manic energy, she grabbed the steel chain linking my wrist to Silas’s. She planted her feet and pulled upward with all her body weight. “Let him go! Let him go right now, you absolute psycho!” I lunged forward, desperately trying to pry her fingers off the metal. “Do not touch the cuffs! You are going to get everyone killed! He is a convicted murderer!” We wrestled violently in the cramped aisle. Snap. The metal link shattered. The sudden release of tension threw me completely off balance, sending me crashing hard into the armrest. I threw my head up. Silas’s wrist was completely free. Half of a broken, jagged handcuff dangled uselessly from my own arm. 5 A blur of motion tore past my vision. It was so fast my brain struggled to process it. By the time I scrambled upright, Silas was already standing directly behind Brittany. His massive hands clamped down around her throat. The sheer force was horrifying. Brittany’s face instantly turned a sickening shade of crimson. “Tell the pilot to turn this plane around! Now! Or I snap her neck like a twig!” Brittany’s eyes bugged out of her skull. Her tongue protruded slightly as she gasped for air that wouldn’t come. Her manicured nails clawed frantically at his thick forearms, tearing at his skin, but he didn’t even flinch. He was an unmoving wall of muscle. “I am not going to repeat myself! Turn the plane around or every single one of you dies up here!” Silas’s voice was devoid of any human emotion. The entire aircraft plunged into a terrifying, suffocating silence. The passengers who had been laughing and mocking me seconds ago were now paralyzed, their faces drained of color. A heartbeat later, absolute pandemonium broke out. Screams, sobs, and terrified prayers bounced off the curved ceiling. Passengers scrambled over each other, trying to press themselves as far back into their seats as possible. Helen, the Chief Flight Attendant, looked like she was going to vomit. She cowered behind the Air Marshal, her legs physically giving out beneath her. “Please! Don’t hurt us! We’ll give you whatever you want, just don’t do anything crazy!” Trapped in a suffocating grip, Brittany was drowning in pure terror. She choked out a pathetic, rasping whimper. “P-please… handsome… I’m sorry… cough… let me go…” Even as she was being strangled to death, she pathetically tried to rub her cheek against his arm, acting like her flirtation could save her. She was banking on a miracle. She severely underestimated the monster holding her. Silas didn’t care about her pretty face. His eyes darkened, and his grip tightened until a sickening, wet popping sound echoed from her throat. He leaned in close to her ear, his voice laced with venomous mockery. “I really should be thanking you, sweetheart. I never would have gotten these cuffs off without your help.” Brittany’s complexion shifted from crimson to a bruised purple. Her airways were completely crushed. Tears of agonizing regret spilled down her cheeks. She couldn’t even manage a whisper anymore. I ripped the broken cuff off my wrist and locked my eyes onto him. Every muscle in my body was coiled like a spring. “Silas, there is nowhere to run! Hijacking an aircraft is a federal offense. You let her go, put your hands up, and I swear I will ensure you make it to trial alive!” A decade of intense police training kept my heart rate steady. I couldn’t afford to panic. But Silas wasn’t a street thug. He was a trained, calculated apex predator. Good cops had died trying to put him behind bars. Taking him down inside a metal tube thirty thousand feet in the air, surrounded by civilian hostages, was a nightmare scenario. Silas shot me a sideways glance, letting out a dark chuckle. “I’m already sitting on death row, detective. What are they gonna do? Kill me twice?” “Besides, it’s just you up against me. You really think you can take me down?” His eyes darted around the chaotic cabin, calculating his next move, looking for a better insurance policy. Right at that exact second, Brittany, desperate to save her own skin, managed to wheeze out a single, damning sentence. “I… I know where the doctor is! Take him! He’s worth way more than me!”

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