Category: English

When I opened my eyes, I was back on my way to donate blood. The wife of the city’s wealthiest man was in a difficult childbirth and desperately needed a transfusion—and my blood type matched her rare one. In my first life, I gave my blood without hesitation. As thanks, the billionaire gifted me a chic townhouse and three million dollars. My roommate Hannah, who always acted above material things, was furious. She accused me of selling my blood, said I was dirty, and spread rumors I was a homewrecker. Her words ate at me. I ended up refusing the gifts and cut off all contact with men, even skipping classes taught by male professors. By graduation, I’d failed so many courses I couldn’t graduate on time. Desperate, I begged Hannah for tutoring help. Instead, she filmed me pleading, called me an idiot, and posted it online. The video went viral—my tear-streaked face became a meme, and Hannah became an influencer overnight. That same night, overwhelmed, I ended my life with a bottle of pills. 1 Two men in casual clothes stopped me at the hospital entrance. “You must be Miss Cassie Miller?” When I nodded, the man I recognized as the city’s most prominent billionaire became so emotional his words stumbled over each other. “Miss Miller, my wife… she’s an older mother, and there were… complications during the surgery. She needs blood, urgently!” He swallowed hard. “You… you were informed of the situation, right?” When he spoke of his wife, this seasoned man who had weathered countless storms in the business world had tears welling in his eyes. His eldest son, Noah, who stood beside him, looked at me with immense gratitude. “Miss Miller, thank you so much for coming. My mother… we’re counting on you.” “Of course,” I said, extending my arm without a second thought. “Where do I go? Take me there now.” But just as we were about to head inside, a sharp voice cut through the air behind us. “Stop right there! None of you are going anywhere!” Hannah stormed over, planting herself directly in front of me. She stared at me, her eyes burning with a look of profound disappointment. “Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you’re doing? Donating blood for money? You’re basically selling your body! Have you no shame?” The familiar words sent a shiver down my spine. It was only then that the reality hit me with full force. I was back. I had been reborn. In my last life, she had stopped me just like this. But back then, all I could think about was that a life was on the line. Besides, I had come fully prepared to donate for free. I didn’t agree with her twisted logic, so I ignored her and followed the doctor to the donation room. I never expected that after the transfusion, the billionaire would offer me three million dollars and a house as a reward. Hannah found out and called me trash, a sellout who was a disgrace to modern women. Under her relentless psychological pressure, I ended up refusing the kind offer. That one simple act of refusal ultimately led to my death. Thinking of it now, a hot anger simmered in my chest. “Hannah, what are you talking about? I’m here to save someone’s life!” Hannah looked genuinely shocked, probably because the meek and quiet me had never dared to talk back to her. Seeing that all eyes were on her, she lifted her chin, her gaze drifting into the distance as if addressing a crowd. “Save a life? Don’t make it sound so noble. This is all just a trap set by these rich people!” She sighed dramatically and lowered her voice, leaning in as if sharing a secret. “Cassie, I’m only saying this for your own good. Don’t you know? Your blood type is rare. If you’re not careful, these wealthy vultures will turn you into their personal blood bag!” The billionaire panicked at her words, holding up four fingers in a solemn oath. “Never! Absolutely not! Miss Miller is saving my wife; she’s a benefactor to our entire family. How could we possibly do anything to harm her?” Noah chimed in, “If you don’t trust our word, we can sign a formal agreement. If this situation ever arises again, we will never force Miss Miller to donate if she is unwilling.” Hannah let out a derisive snort. “You think we’d believe that? Let me tell you something. We may be poor students, but we have principles! We would never sell our bodies for you! Impossible!” With that, she grabbed my arm and tried to drag me away. This time, I was ready. I yanked my arm free. “Mr. Davison, this is my body and my decision! Where is the donation room? Please, take me there now!” Noah understood immediately and motioned for a nearby doctor to lead me inside. Hannah, unwilling to give up, screamed after me, “Cassie, you’re a lost cause! If your parents knew you were selling your body, they would die of shame!” When I ignored her, she planted her hands on her hips and looked at Noah with utter contempt. “Let me make one thing clear to you people! Cassie might be spineless enough to sell herself to you, but I’m not! I, Hannah Davis, live my life with integrity. I would never stoop to something so vulgar!” But the Davisons couldn’t have cared less about her performance. Their attention was already back on the operating room doors. A few minutes later, I walked out, pressing a cotton ball to the small puncture wound on my arm. 2 Hannah’s sharp eyes immediately spotted my pale face. She covered her mouth, a flicker of malicious glee in her eyes. “See, Cassie? Didn’t I tell you? These rich people are already treating you like their personal blood bank! As long as you’re alive, they’ll just keep draining you!” Hearing this, Noah bowed his head in apology. “I’m so sorry, Miss Miller. It was an emergency, so they had to draw 150ml. How are you feeling right now?” Before he could finish, his father rushed over, shoving a bag full of expensive nutritional supplements into my hands. “Cassie, please, see if there’s anything you like in here. You need to eat something right away!” I waved my hand dismissively. “I’m fine. I just felt a little dizzy when I stood up too quickly. It’s passed now.” Hannah clicked her tongue. “Cassie, don’t try to be tough. This is serious.” She sneered. “They only took 150ml? Do you actually believe that? I certainly don’t. They’re definitely lying to you!” Her voice was grating. I subtly shifted away from her. “I know exactly how much they took. The scale on the bag was perfectly clear. Hannah, not everything is a conspiracy.” I wasn’t naive. I knew situations like that could exist, but I knew of the Davisons’ reputation. Mr. Davison was a self-made man who had built his empire from the ground up. He was wealthy but never wasteful. Noah was a rising star in his industry, known for his integrity. People were desperate to work for his company. Just as I finished speaking, an apologetic Mr. Davison approached with a bank card and a set of keys. “Cassie, I truly, truly cannot thank you enough for helping my wife. I know you came to donate altruistically. This isn’t payment; it’s just a small token of our family’s immense gratitude.” Noah nodded sincerely. “Miss Miller, please, you must accept it.” Watching this, Hannah’s eyes turned red with fury, just like they had in my past life. “Don’t you dare take it!” she shrieked. She slapped my outstretched hand away and threw the keys and card directly at Mr. Davison’s face. “Don’t you dare shame us with your dirty money! Do you think this will make us submit to you rich snobs? I’m telling you, never!” Panting, Hannah spun around to glare at me. “Cassie, have you no self-respect? Taking this money is the same as selling your body! Selling yourself to an old man like him… doesn’t it make you sick?” She took a few dramatic steps back. “I can’t even imagine how filthy you are right now. What you did is no different from being a homewrecker! And you know what happens to them, don’t you? They get beaten in the streets!” A cruel smile touched her lips. “The moment you take his money, you’ve sealed your fate as the other woman. You’ll be a rat that everyone wants to stomp on! Your parents will die of shame because of what you’ve done!” Her words just fueled my rage. In my last life, after I died, she made a fortune turning my tragic story into content and memes, launching her career as an influencer. She signed with an agency and did live streams every night, begging her followers for gifts so loudly the neighbors couldn’t sleep. If I didn’t know her true nature, I might still be fooled into thinking she genuinely despised money. I took a deep breath, bent down, and picked up the bank card and keys from the floor. “In that case, thank you for your generosity, sir.” Why would I be shy about accepting a gift like this? Seeing me take them, Mr. Davison smiled in relief. “Excellent, excellent! I’m so glad.” Noah also smiled. “Miss Miller, are you feeling unwell at all?” I shook my head, but in the next second, my vision went black, and I collapsed. 3 When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed. I looked up and met Noah’s worried gaze. His voice was soft. “Miss Miller, are you alright? The doctor said you’re suffering from malnutrition.” “I’m so sorry,” he continued, his face filled with guilt. “If I had known about your condition beforehand, I never would have let you donate blood.” I shook my head. “It’s my own fault, it has nothing to do with you. The malnutrition is because…” “Hahaha! I was right!” Before I could finish, Hannah’s triumphant voice cut me off. “Cassie, this is what you get for not listening to me! I warned you, these rich people see you as nothing more than a walking blood bag!” She laughed coldly. “It’s not too late to regret it!” As she spoke, she lunged toward me, reaching for the IV needle in my arm. Thankfully, Noah’s reflexes were quick. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. That small action was all it took for Hannah to completely lose it. “What do you think you’re doing? Why are you touching me? Did you really think I’m as pathetic as Cassie, fawning all over you rich people?” Watching her get lost in her own little drama, I couldn’t help but laugh. If I remembered correctly, this was her attempt at playing hard to get. It was a tactic she’d learned from some trashy romance novel, one where the heroine wins over a billionaire by acting like a cold, aloof flower. Hannah was trying to follow that script. Noah’s brow furrowed in annoyance. “Miss Davis, if I’m not mistaken, this is a private room. Cassie needs to rest. Please leave immediately.” Her ego bruised, Hannah crossed her arms. “Did you hear that, Cassie?”

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Ethan tricked me into filming a sex tape. The next day, the video spread all over campus. He even publicly posted a price: $10, and you could sleep with me once. When I confronted him, I overheard him talking to a woman. “My family won’t let me marry you, so I’ll bring home Summer. Someone lowborn and with a ruined reputation. With her as a contrast, my parents will definitely agree to our marriage right away!” After hearing this, the woman kissed Ethan. “Aren’t you afraid Summer will take revenge on you for doing this?” A contemptuous smile curved at the corner of Ethan’s lips. “Revenge? She’s just a poor girl from the slums. What could she possibly do?” So he spread those lies about me just to make another woman look more noble by comparison. It seemed my gamble had failed too. I didn’t cry or make a scene. I called my childhood friend who was far away in London. “I lost. I choose to marry you.” Summer POV My name is Summer, a commoner girl admitted to the elite private school NYU through an exceptional entrance program. Because I was poor, I didn’t fit in with my classmates who were all either rich or well-connected. I became known as the cold, aloof ice queen, consistently ranking first in my grade year after year, yet always keeping to myself, never getting close to anyone. Until one day, a post suddenly appeared on the school forum with the title. “How much does it cost to knock an ice queen off her pedestal?” The post laid out every cost in detail. $100,000 to hold her hand. $500,000 to kiss her. $1,000,000 to take her to a hotel. And at the bottom was a price list. “Private photos of Summer. Unlock for just $100 each.” “Latest private video of Summer. Unlock for $1,000.” As soon as the post went up, it exploded across campus. The download count for the attachments kept increasing by hundreds per second. The comments numbered in the thousands. The filthy language in the comment section made my whole body tremble, my ears filled with buzzing, my mind completely blank. In the dorm, my three roommates huddled together, gossiping about me. “I thought she was so high and mighty. Turns out she’s just a money-grubbing opportunist!” “Putting on that untouchable act every day. Who knew she’d be this wild behind closed doors? No wonder she hides every inch of skin.” “Hmph. Probably been with so many guys she’s used up.” They didn’t even try to whisper, like they wanted me to hear. My face flushed deep red. I stood up abruptly and left the dorm. I ran across campus, the wind drying my tears, but my heart refused to believe that the person who made that post was my boyfriend, Ethan. It was him! He’s the one who talked me into filming those photos and that video! I arrived at the club where Ethan spent most of his time, about to push open the door. “Ethan! The download count has already hit three thousand! My god, you’re ruthless. Our school only has like five thousand people total. Summer’s definitely done for. She’ll definitely lose her full ride to the PhD program.” “That’s not even all. She doesn’t even know that Ethan only pursued her because of Sophie. He never actually liked her. He wouldn’t even sleep with her when they shared a bed… If she finds out, she’ll absolutely lose it!” “Too bad your family and Sophie’s family are business rivals, otherwise you and Sophie could have been together ages ago. Summer never would have had a chance!” After saying this, the person elbowed Ethan. “Ethan, didn’t you promise Summer you’d take her to meet your parents next week for the engagement? Is that for real?” Ethan held a cigarette, his eyes flickering in the smoke, a careless smile playing on his lips. “Of course it’s fake. My family won’t let me marry Sophie, so I’ll bring home a lowborn woman with a ruined reputation. Let’s see where they’ll hide their faces then.” The person suddenly understood. “No wonder you released Summer’s private photos and videos. If your parents find out you want to get engaged to a woman like that, they might just give in and let you marry Sophie.” “Ethan, aren’t you afraid Summer will cause trouble? What if she tries to get revenge?” Ethan curled his lip in contempt. “Revenge? She’s just some broke scholarship kid from the slums. What does she have to get back at me with?” “People like that are dogs. Throw them money and they come running. Kick them to the curb when you’re done. If they get upset, buy them something nice and they’ll shut up and do whatever you want. But I’m warning you all. Not a word of this gets back to Summer before the engagement party!” “Don’t worry, our lips are sealed! Consider it an early congratulations…”

Summer POV Outside the door, my whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cave, my blood seeming to freeze. Every word they said was like an arrow piercing straight through my heart. I stared blankly at the cold, aloof Ethan with his indifferent expression, unable to connect him with the person who had once pursued me so passionately. I came to NYU carrying my grandmother’s hopes and all our savings, and I still owed tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. So I didn’t dare slack off in my studies, determined to get a scholarship every year. I didn’t dare socialize to save money. I didn’t dare date and waste money, all to lighten my grandmother’s burden… Until that day in the pouring rain when I accidentally fell. My pants were torn by a sharp stone, leaving a huge hole. I couldn’t stand up, but I couldn’t stay on the ground either. When I was at a loss, Ethan held an umbrella over me and lent me his jacket to tie around my waist. The next day, I washed the jacket clean and returned it to Ethan, only then learning he was the most popular boy in school. After that, Ethan began pursuing me relentlessly. Flowers and gifts never stopped coming, but I refused them all. I rejected him many times, but couldn’t resist his increasingly intense and direct pursuit. He noticed when my shoes gave me blisters and brought me band-aids. He noticed which dishes I liked and specifically asked the cafeteria chef to save me a portion. When everyone avoided sitting next to me, he sat by my side without hesitation… So when Ethan confessed again, I inexplicably agreed. After we got together, Ethan treated me like a princess. Holiday flowers and gifts, romantic candlelit dinners became countless. I told him I didn’t need these things. But Ethan told me that because he loved me, he was willing to spend money on me, wanting to give me the best. I never imagined that all of this would become weapons he used to hurt me deeply, all for another girl! I had only ever wanted his love, not his money! I wanted to rush in and confront Ethan, but my throat felt blocked. I couldn’t make a sound. He was right. I was just a commoner girl. How could I possibly get revenge on him?! I ran off in a daze, tears mixing with rain as they hit the ground. I ran aimlessly into the library. In the glass reflection, I saw my own wretched appearance. I smiled bitterly and opened the library computer, logging into my email. The first email was an acceptance letter from an Ivy League school. This full scholarship spot was specially created by the school after learning I’d received an Ivy League acceptance, hoping to keep me there to prepare for future research positions. I replied to the email accepting the offer. Then I took out my phone and texted my professor. “Professor, I’ve decided to give up the full scholarship spot and study out of state.” Next, I called Ethan’s mother and said simply. “I don’t care about your money, but I promise you I’ll break up with Ethan.” Ethan’s mother on the other end laughed coldly. “Enough with the act. I’ve met too many poor people like you. You just think it’s not enough money, right? Don’t worry, I’ll add another five hundred thousand. One million total. I’ll mail you the check.” Before I could object, she hung up. Just then, my professor also replied to my message. “Alright, Summer. I respect your decision. I’ll report your response to the school.” “By the way, when are you planning to leave?” I typed out my reply word by word. “Next week.”

Summer POV I had just turned off my screen, not yet having time to put my phone in my pocket, when someone suddenly grabbed my wrist. My whole body stiffened. I looked up sharply to find a completely unfamiliar man’s face. “So you’re the most popular girl.” The man’s surprised expression turned to delight when he saw my face clearly. Before he finished speaking, I tried to pull my hand free. “Let go of me!” But a malicious smile appeared on the man’s face. He tightened his grip, leaving a red mark around my wrist. “Let you go?” His evil gaze traveled over my pale wrist. “You’re selling your private photos and videos, so you must really need money, right? I have money. But with your current reputation, asking a million isn’t reasonable!” As he spoke, he backed me into a corner, using his larger frame to pin me down. “I like the library. Is ten thousand enough?” My eyes turned red and I bit my lower lip hard, about to bite down on him when I saw a figure swiftly pull the man away and punch him hard. Ethan’s face was ice cold as he kicked the man hard in the stomach without hesitation. “Get lost!” Then he looked at me, his eyes clearly filled with concern. He lifted my wrist, his face full of distress. “I went to your dorm looking for you. Your roommate said you weren’t there. I guessed you’d be here. Is your hand okay? Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?” Looking at his expression, no different from usual, I yanked my hand back and turned to leave without a word. “Summer!” Ethan panicked and grabbed me. “Are you angry about that forum post?” “This is my fault. My friend took my computer to play around. He’s irresponsible. I didn’t think he’d upload those things online. I already yelled at him and told people to delete the post immediately. Don’t be angry, okay?” I shook his hand off forcefully and turned around, my eyes no longer holding any love. “Ethan, let’s break up.” Just as the words left my mouth, the library door opened. A rain-soaked figure ran inside. When Sophie saw Ethan and me holding hands, her face instantly turned deathly pale. The accusation she was about to blurt out turned into a trembling voice. “Ethan, are you and Summer… together?” As she spoke, a tear fell from her eye, mixing with the rain as it traced down her cheek. She turned and ran back into the rain. When had Ethan ever seen Sophie so fragile and helpless? His heart felt like something had slammed into it hard. Full of guilt and compassion, he couldn’t spare a thought for what I’d just said. He dropped my hand and chased after Sophie. He used so much force that I crashed into a pillar and fell to the ground. By the time I slowly stood up and walked out of the library step by step, I saw on the distant sports field. Ethan gripping Sophie’s wrist with one hand, his face drenched by rain, shouting loudly at her. “Yes, our families are business rivals. So what? Even if it means defying my family and hurting Summer, even though the world is so big and there are so many women, I only want you.” In the pouring rain, Sophie’s tears mixed with rainwater as she stood on her toes and kissed his lips. Then Ethan cupped her face with both hands and kissed her back forcefully. I stood quietly in the rain watching the two of them kiss in a scene as beautiful as a romantic movie. My heart felt torn in two, my eyes cried until they were dry. I returned to the dorm soaking wet, showered, changed into clean clothes, then climbed into bed. I didn’t sleep all night. The next day, I went to class as usual. But unexpectedly, when I reached the classroom, I found a crowd gathered around my desk. Seeing me walk in, some troublemaker whistled at me, half-joking, half-contemptuous. “Summer, what are you selling this time? A ten-million-dollar check.”

Summer POV I froze for a moment, immediately understanding. I rushed forward, trying to snatch back the check that Ethan’s mother had sent me. “Who gave you permission to touch my things?” I pushed into the crowd. They seemed to have coordinated to toy with me. The check passed back and forth between several tall students. No matter how I reached, I couldn’t grab it. A girl spoke sarcastically. “If you can sell private photos, what wouldn’t you sell?” “Your stuff? Tch, it’s probably dirty anyway.” Another girl chimed in. “Yeah, you don’t think we’ve all seen that post, do you? Everything about you had a price tag on there!” “This ten-million-dollar check. Did you get it from hooking up with some billionaire?” Her words stirred up a storm. Everyone seemed to suddenly understand. “So she found herself a loaded sugar daddy!” “I heard Summer’s family situation is bad, and she owes quite a bit of debt! No wonder she’s selling herself.” “All of you shut up!” I was shaking with rage, using all my strength to shout that sentence. The air went quiet for a second, then the mocking and sneering grew even more wild. “Class is starting. What are you all crowding around for!” The professor had arrived without my noticing, frowning as he told them all to return to their seats. After class, I searched everywhere for that check. I needed to return it to Ethan’s mother. Until I heard a familiar male voice. “Looking for this?” I looked up to meet Ethan’s dark gaze. In his hand was his mother’s check. Seeing I didn’t speak, a cruel, mocking smile curved at his lips. “So you’re breaking up with me for this money?” His voice was very soft, spoken right next to my ear. My whole body stiffened. I shook my head hard. “No, I’m not.” “Slap!” Before I could finish, Ethan slapped me. His eyes were filled with coldness, looking at me like I was ice to the bone. “Summer, I didn’t think your appetite would be this big. For money, you really can do anything.” I had no way to defend myself. Explain what? This money was indeed Ethan’s mother’s breakup fee for me, but I never intended to take it! “Ethan, this money-” I opened my mouth, but before I could explain, a female voice interrupted. “I heard student Summer was admitted under hardship status? The school even helped you apply for an extremely low-interest student loan?” Sophie, dressed in high-end custom clothing with delicate features, walked gracefully to Ethan’s side, her eyes staring straight at me. My breath caught. The next second, Ethan’s eyes turned cold as frost. He threw the check in my face, the disgust in his eyes unconcealed. “I’ll suggest to the school that they audit your student loan.” That light sentence felt like a boulder crushing my heart, making me panic instantly. I grabbed the corner of his shirt, my eyes reddening. “Ethan, what are you doing?” He pulled his shirt away, frowning as he took out a handkerchief to wipe the spot I’d touched, then casually tossed it on the ground. “I don’t like people who are only after money touching my things.” “Student loans are for people who really can’t afford school. Someone like you doesn’t deserve it.” With that, Ethan and Sophie turned and left side by side without hesitation. My arm fell to my side, my palm still seeming to hold the cold touch of his body, making me tremble slightly.

Summer POV That afternoon, the school posted an announcement on the campus website and bulletin board suspending my student loan. I stood in front of the campus bulletin board, hands clenched into fists, biting my lower lip hard. Without the student loan, scholarship money alone couldn’t cover my tuition and living expenses, plus the $100,000 my grandmother had borrowed from neighbors to support my education. It was the height of summer, but I felt cold all over, the chill seeping from my skin into my bones. Behind me, gleeful classmates passed by, whispering. “Still playing the victim! Shameless!” “She sold so many things to make money, but still pretends to be a needy student to scam financial aid. What an eye-opener!” Various insulting words filled my ears. I collapsed, covering my ears and running away. Ethan saw my crying figure running away from a distance. His foot lifted slightly, his palm unconsciously tightening. Sophie beside him took in his expression. “Are you worried about Summer?” Ethan was silent for a moment before a cold snort came from his nose. “How could I be? She’s just a money-grubbing woman.” I sat by the campus lake for a long time, writing an appeal letter on my phone and sending it to the school office. Just then, a figure rushed up to me, shouting. “Summer! Your academic advisor Mr. Cooper is looking everywhere for you! You need to go to his office right away!” My face changed dramatically. Why would Mr. Cooper be looking for me? I casually wiped the tears from my face and went to the office. Inside, Mr. Cooper looked grave. Sophie stood to one side, eyes brimming with tears, looking aggrieved. Seeing me arrive, Mr. Cooper questioned me sternly. “Summer, confidential data was stolen from the school lab. The school checked the access records. Only you and Sophie entered the lab yesterday. Sophie says she never touched the data.” His tone became heavier. “You need to understand, this experimental data relates to the school’s research progress, to the competition between NYU and Columbia. This cannot be lost. If the school finds out who did it, it won’t just be a disciplinary mark. In serious cases, the school will pursue legal action!” My brow jumped sharply. I clenched my fists and answered firmly. “I did enter the lab yesterday. The professor asked me to record some key data for him. But I absolutely did not leak any experimental data. And-” As if remembering something, I took out my phone and showed Mr. Cooper my chat history with my professor. “When I entered the lab yesterday, I specifically started a video call with my professor. If you just contact him, you’ll know that after I finished recording the data, I shut down the computer…” Mr. Cooper looked at the clear time stamps in the chat history. The balance of suspicion in his mind tipped toward Sophie. “Sophie, what were you doing in the lab? The computer backend keeps records of all operations. We just need to check and it will be clear who it was!” The stern words made Sophie’s face turn deathly pale, her hands and feet going numb. I also breathed a slight sigh of relief. Just then, the office door was pushed open forcefully. A familiar figure walked in holding a flash drive, his voice clear and cold. “Mr. Cooper, No need to check.” Ethan strode to Sophie’s side, shielding her behind him, and handed the flash drive to Mr. Cooper. “I already found this flash drive with the lab’s confidential data in this girl’s backpack. I can testify for Sophie. Yesterday I personally saw Summer holding this flash drive, acting suspiciously while making some kind of deal with someone. I kept an eye on it and intercepted the flash drive.” Mr. Cooper opened the flash drive. Inside was indeed the missing experimental data! I froze in place, looking at him in disbelief. After I returned to my dorm yesterday, I never left. How could I have made a deal with anyone?

Summer POV I suppressed the unease and grievance in my heart, my voice trembling. “Mr. Cooper, my professor can vouch for me. I’ve been working on this experiment with him the whole time. Some of the confidential data was even calculated by me personally. There’s no reason for me to copy it…” Mr. Cooper’s brow furrowed tightly, his suspicious gaze falling on Sophie again. Ethan stepped to the side, blocking Mr. Cooper’s sharp gaze. He took out the ten-million-dollar check from his pocket, raising an eyebrow with a contemptuous tone. “No reason? Summer, didn’t you sell the data for money?” “This check is the payment from the person you made the deal with. Everyone in class can testify to this.” Then several of my roommates crowded at the door and added loudly. “That’s right! Yesterday we saw Summer run out alone with a flash drive, and this morning she got this check. She’s definitely the one who leaked the data! She’s desperate for money. The school suspended her student loan. She can’t even afford to stay in school!” I felt like I’d fallen into an ice cave, cold all over, watching helplessly as Ethan took out his phone and added the final straw. “Mr. Cooper, look at this post and you’ll understand. Everything about Summer can be bought and sold for a price.” His cold eyes cut my heart to pieces like a knife. “Someone like this. For ten million, what wouldn’t she do?” My whole body trembled. Every word he said was like a resounding slap across my face. Mr. Cooper’s gaze toward me instantly grew cold. He directly determined that I had sold confidential data for money, gave me a disciplinary mark, and canceled my eligibility for all honors for the year. Holding the disciplinary notice, I didn’t know how I left Mr. Cooper’s office. My mind echoed with those words of extreme disappointment. “Even if your grades are good, if your character is bad, you’ll only harm society when you leave!” I was like a soulless shell, watching Ethan approach step by step. My heart was dead, and I asked him in a very soft voice why. He knew that check was from his mother. He knew I never spent money carelessly and could never afford an expensive flash drive. Ethan just said casually, “Sophie needs to apply for a full scholarship. She can’t have any blemishes. You have money anyway, isn’t that enough?” As he spoke, he pressed the check into my palm. I looked down at the crumpled check in my palm and laughed softly. One check had buried my reputation and my future. In Ethan’s eyes, could money settle everything? I tore the check to shreds like a madwoman and threw the pieces at him forcefully. “Ethan, take your filthy money and get lost!” Ethan looked at the scattered check fragments before him, slightly stunned. “What, not enough?” “Slap!” I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. Tears fell uncontrollably from my eyes, my fingertips trembling. “Ethan, I really regret it! I regret agreeing to be your girlfriend! If I could do it over, I would stay far, far away from you!” With that, I turned and left without hesitation. Still in shock, Ethan stood frozen. An inexplicable anger rose from the depths of his heart. But before he could speak, he saw me fall straight down. When I woke up again, I was in a hospital room. A nurse was changing my IV bag. “You’re awake?” “You fainted from a high fever. Your classmate brought you to the hospital. By the way, he’s quite good-looking. Is he your boyfriend?” “Who?”

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1 The first morning of my second chance, I woke in my old room. The calendar confirmed the fateful date. Then I saw Dylan, my best friend, rushing into the lottery shop. He shouted the exact string of numbers that once won me everything. A chill shot through me—he’d returned with his memories, too. In my past life, we both landed an interview with a dream Fortune 500 company. But on interview day, I detoured to buy a lottery ticket, arrived late, and lost the job. Dylan got hired. The ticket I’d bought, though, won the $50 million jackpot. I spent my life in lazy comfort, but Dylan’s career turned toxic. He grew bitter, resentful, and finally pushed me off a rooftop during an argument. What broke me wasn’t the fall, but what came after. My girlfriend Jessica helped Dylan cover it up, telling everyone I’d gone mad and jumped. They used my death for content, played grieving friends online, and built influencer careers off my tragedy. Now, back at that moment, my wallet clenched tight in my hand. This time, everything would be different. … “One lottery ticket, please!” Dylan bolted past me, dashing into the store. When he, panting for breath, recited the sequence of numbers I knew by heart, I was certain. He was back, too. Ticket in hand, Dylan turned to me, a smug, challenging look on his face. “Sorry, Alex. This one’s mine.” I shrugged, completely unfazed. “I wasn’t planning on buying one anyway.” He clearly didn’t believe me. He snorted, stuffing the ticket into his bag. “No way. You’re only here for this ticket because…” He stopped himself abruptly. I knew what he was going to say. In our last life, that ticket made me miss the bus and the interview. Dylan landed the corporate job. But I won fifty million bucks. He was grinding away while I was living off the interest. But his corporate life was a nightmare. The pay was low, he was bullied, and eventually, his resentment boiled over, and he pushed me off a roof. Dylan looked at me, his eyes gleaming with triumph. “I’m not even going to the interview. Since you love grinding away in the rat race so much, the spot’s all yours.” I just nodded. Fine by me, I thought. You can have the $50 million jackpot, too. Without a second of hesitation, I turned, boarded the bus, and headed for my interview. That evening, I walked back into our dorm room to find Dylan with his arm wrapped tight around my girlfriend Jessica’s waist. They looked like they’d just finished a heated make-out session. I was so blind in my last life. I never knew they’d been hooking up behind my back until the very end. Seeing me, they didn’t even flinch. Their faces were masks of pure provocation. Jessica stared at me with disgust. “Alex, the one I really love is Dylan. I was only with you for those two crappy old apartments your family owns.” “But things are different now,” she continued, her voice dripping with venom. “My Dylan won fifty million dollars. We’re going to be rich.” “I don’t have to compromise for money anymore, and I certainly don’t have to stay with a disgusting piece of trash like you.” My fists clenched so hard my knuckles turned white. So that’s how it was. Both Dylan and Jessica came from small, rural towns. One was my best friend, the other my girlfriend. I’d never been cheap with them, always picking up the tab. It finally clicked. They were just parasites, sucking me dry. If fate gave me a second chance, I was going to make them pay back every drop of blood they took from me in my last life, a thousand times over. Dylan let out a derisive laugh. “Alex, I used to let you have her because your family was a little better off than mine. But now? I’ve got fifty million. I’m financially free. How can you even compete?” He sneered. “You’re destined to be a miserable wage slave for the rest of your life. But Jessica and I, we’re different. We’re about to travel the world. A life you couldn’t even dream of.” They packed their bags and moved out of the dorm right then and there. As I watched them walk away, a cold smile spread across my face. So naive. Did you really think a windfall like that would ever fall into your lap? 2 My interview went perfectly. I landed the offer from the Fortune 500 company. For someone with my degree, this was the absolute peak. The office was far from my parents’ place, so after talking it over with them, I decided to buy a condo nearby. I was at the sales gallery for a new development, looking at a few units with an agent, when a familiar voice boomed from the entrance. “Someone get over here! Show us the best places you’ve got!” I turned to see a swaggering Dylan with his arm around Jessica. When they spotted me, they walked right over, their faces dripping with scorn. “Alex, what are you doing here, playing pretend? You can’t afford a place like this,” Dylan scoffed. “I already checked. Even if you sold both of your family’s rundown apartments, you wouldn’t have enough for a down payment in the city center.” Hearing this, the sales agent, who had been gushing with enthusiasm just moments before, turned noticeably colder. I shot back at him, “I can’t afford it? And you can?” He puffed out his chest. “Of course. I won fifty million. I could buy a few of these in cash.” The agent’s eyes lit up, and she immediately scurried over to their side. “Sir, how may I help you?” Dylan pointed with his chin. “That unit over there looks pretty good.” “Excellent choice, sir!” the agent beamed. “That’s our premier unit, best location and view in the entire building. For you, the price is nothing. Only twenty million.” “Twenty million?!” Jessica and Dylan froze, their jaws dropping. They never imagined a 1,000-square-foot apartment in the city center could be so absurdly expensive. “If that feels a bit steep,” the agent added, “you could always finance it.” Dylan, his pride wounded, straightened his neck. “Finance? I won fifty million. I’m paying in full.” His bravado worked. The agent’s enthusiasm returned in full force. “If you love the unit, you can put down a one-million-dollar deposit now. If the lottery money hasn’t cleared yet, we can help you arrange a bridge loan with the bank.” Jessica and Dylan exchanged a hesitant glance. That was my cue. I sighed, feigning impatience. “I’m starting to doubt you even won fifty million. Are you just here to waste our time?” I waved a dismissive hand. “If you can’t afford it, stop holding everyone up and get lost!” My words struck a nerve. Jessica’s eyes turned red with anger. “Don’t you dare say that! Dylan definitely won fifty million! He just hasn’t collected the money yet!” “Whatever,” I said, waving them off. “Just get out of the way. I’ll take this unit.” That sent them into a panic. Dylan, through gritted teeth, blurted out, “I’ll take it! I’m getting a loan for the deposit right now!” 3 Over the next few days, Dylan and Jessica’s social media feeds were a non-stop parade of their world travels. Photos dripping with luxury brands filled their stories. It was clear they’d taken out more than just a mortgage. Let them fly high before they fall, I thought. They sent me a barrage of photos directly, which I promptly ignored by blocking them both. I, on the other hand, was buried in work. A Fortune 500 company was no joke. I hadn’t even officially started, but my team lead had already sent me stacks of materials to get up to speed. On the day of our graduation party, Dylan, our class president, sent a message to the group chat. [Everyone be at the designated restaurant by 11:30 AM sharp for the graduation party.] After sending it, he specifically tagged me. [Alex, you have to be there.] I immediately replied, [Sure.] People in the chat started asking why he’d chosen that particular restaurant. It was pretty far from campus. Only I knew why. It was right next door to the lottery shop. At 11:30, all the students and professors had arrived. Only then did Dylan and Jessica make their grand entrance, hand in hand. They instantly became the center of attention. They looked completely transformed, radiating luxury from head to toe. Dylan handed out a limited-edition designer toy to every single student. “Everyone,” he announced, his voice booming, “order whatever you want tonight! It’s all on me!” Our classmates stared at them like they were crazy. Some were already whispering that the toys he handed out were fakes. Dylan pulled the lottery ticket from his bag and waved it triumphantly. “I won the fifty-million-dollar grand prize.” The room erupted. “Fifty million!” “Did I hear that right? Dylan is that lucky?” “Oh my god, I won’t make that much in my entire lifetime.” And if that wasn’t enough, he’d hung a massive banner across the restaurant wall: [CONGRATULATIONS TO DYLAN ON HIS $50 MILLION LOTTERY WIN!] A professor spoke up. “The ticket is in your hand, but the drawing hasn’t officially paid out yet. Where did you get all this money?” Dylan waved a dismissive hand. “The money’s on its way. I’m just enjoying it a little early.” Someone in the crowd suddenly asked, “Wait, wasn’t Jessica dating Alex? How did she end up with Dylan?” Faced with a room full of curious stares, Jessica didn’t even blush. She just held Dylan’s hand tighter. “People move up in the world. It’s natural, isn’t it?” Her voice was laced with condescension. “After graduation, Alex is just going to be another miserable corporate drone. But Dylan… Dylan is different. Besides, my true love was always Dylan.” Her speech left many of our classmates speechless. One student stood up for me. “But Alex got an offer from a Fortune 500 company. That’s the best offer in our entire class.” Dylan laughed so hard he nearly cried. “So what if he got the best offer? Is he ever going to make fifty million in his lifetime? In today’s world, a good job doesn’t mean anything! It just means you’re a beast of burden in a fancier cage, treated worse than a dog!” He turned his smug gaze on me. “Alex, you’re not even worthy of polishing my shoes. But hey, if you serve me well, maybe I’ll be merciful and toss you a few crumbs.” 4 The other students flushed with anger at his words, but they couldn’t argue back. The savvier ones had already started sucking up. “Dylan, I always knew you were destined for greatness! I just didn’t realize your luck was this incredible!” “Don’t forget about us old classmates when you’re on top!” “Yeah, man, hook us up!” They knew his words were harsh, but there was a grain of truth to them. No one in that room, even with a great job, would likely ever earn fifty million dollars in their lifetime. Some even started to pile on. “Dylan’s right. So what if Alex got into a top company? He’s still just a wage slave, grinding himself to death. How can he compare to Dylan?” A small smile played on my lips. The company’s benefits were actually fantastic. The only reason Dylan had crashed and burned in our last life was because he immediately tried to suck up to his female boss in a very inappropriate way. The whole office found out, and he was ostracized for it. Finally, the meal wound down, and it was time for the main event. Dylan touched up his makeup, straightened his designer suit, and stepped onto the small stage at the front of the room. At the same moment, a dozen influencers with cameras suddenly streamed in. Dylan gave them a nod. He’d planned this all along. He held up the lottery ticket for all the cameras to see. “To all my viewers out there,” he proclaimed, “I’ve just graduated from college, and I’ve already won fifty million dollars. From now on, I’m financially free. I can just chill and travel the world. But you poor slobs? You have to grind away at some dead-end job. Low pay, no respect, no dignity. Your entire life, mapped out and miserable.” As he said this, he shot a pointed look in my direction. The live stream chat exploded with angry comments, but Dylan didn’t care. He suddenly pointed a finger at me, his tone imperious. “Alex! The store where I bought this ticket is right next door. Go get the owner. Tell him to come here and verify my win. In person.” I said nothing. Jessica stepped forward, her voice sharp with annoyance. “Alex, are you fucking deaf? What are you waiting for? Dylan is doing you a favor by even asking. Someone like you isn’t fit to shine his shoes. If he asks you to do something, you should be grateful. You kiss his ass enough, maybe he’ll throw you a scrap or two.” A few classmates started muttering behind their hands, unable to stand it.

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I’ve been able to see ghosts since I was a child. I can’t speak to them, only watch. On our fifth wedding anniversary, I prepared a whole table of food and waited for my husband Ethan to come home. When I looked up, I saw his ghost. He was curled up in the corner of the living room, his face deathly pale and gray, staring at me intently. I felt like I’d fallen into an ice pit. Trembling, I reached for my phone, wanting to call him. Before I could dial, the door opened. Ethan walked in and hugged me gently like always. “Sorry, honey. I got held up at work.” He held me in his arms. I heard his familiar heartbeat in my ear, warm and strong. I closed my eyes and told myself: he’s alive. But when I opened them again, the spirit in the corner was still there. My heart sank bit by bit. If Ethan was already dead, then who was this person wearing his face and embracing me? I stared hard at Ethan’s face. I’d been looking at that face for twenty years. From childhood until we got married, he’d been by my side every single day. Now, I was watching with my own eyes as a ghost with his exact face curled up in the corner. My whole body trembled. For a long time, I couldn’t make a sound. “Emma, what’s wrong?” He walked over and placed his hand on my forehead. “Why are you sweating so much? Do you have a fever?” His eyes were full of concern, his warm palm pressed against my forehead. I startled and stumbled back a step. The movement was too sudden and knocked over the glass on the table. “Crash!” Water spilled everywhere. He froze, his hand suspended in mid-air, looking at me helplessly with a trace of hurt in his eyes. “Emma? What’s wrong?” I forcibly suppressed the panic in my heart. If the ghost in the corner was the real him, then who was this person in front of me? I absolutely couldn’t tip my hand. I took a deep breath and forced out a smile. “Nothing,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Come eat. The food’s getting cold.” I sat down and picked up a piece of pork rib with my fork. He ladled me a bowl of soup and took out a bottle of red wine from the cabinet. “I came home late today. Let me apologize first.” I looked at the dark red liquid in the glass and spoke as casually as I could: “Do you remember that time we snuck liquor?” I stared at his face. He paused for a moment, then smiled. “How could I forget? That day you insisted on trying it. I couldn’t stop you. You got blackout drunk after two glasses.” “And then?” My hand holding the fork trembled slightly. “Then you threw up all over me. I took you home, and your mom smelled the alcohol and thought I’d forced you to drink. She chewed me out.” He shook his head. “I didn’t dare say you wanted to drink it yourself. I just took it.” My heart tightened. Only the two of us knew about this. “What were you wearing that day?” I pressed on. “A white shirt. You threw up all over it. It took forever to wash clean.” He smiled and ruffled my hair. “Why are you suddenly asking about this?” I lowered my eyes without answering. He even remembered this detail. I glanced at the ghost in the corner. He was still staring at me. My heart lifted again. No, this wasn’t enough. I cleared my throat and looked back at him, speaking with slight embarrassment. “Today… Mom called and said she’s craving the beef stew I make.” He picked up a piece of pork rib for me. “Okay, I’ll make it tomorrow and take it to her.” “You’ll make it?” I looked up at him. He laughed. “Haven’t I always been the one who makes it? Back then you tried to learn how to make that dish and nearly set the kitchen on fire. I ended up learning it instead. I burned several blisters on my hands.” “The first time I made it, you used salt instead of sugar. After you tasted it, your whole face scrunched up, but you still stubbornly said it was good. I thought to myself, this wife of mine is really cute.” “You even lied to my mom and said you made it,” he shook his head. “Then my mom bragged about your cooking to the neighbors. I didn’t dare expose you.” “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” He patted the back of my hand. I said nothing more. All the details matched up perfectly, but the ghost was still there. Could my eyes really be playing tricks on me? Impossible. I’d been able to see ghosts since childhood. I’d never been wrong about this before. After dinner, he put on an apron and went into the kitchen. I followed and leaned against the doorframe, observing him carefully. His movements handling the ingredients, his technique applying the seasonings, even his posture when sprinkling salt—everything was exactly the same as years ago. The familiar aroma drifted from the kitchen. He turned back and smiled at me. “Go sit down. It’ll be ready soon.” I didn’t move. When the food was served, I tasted a bite. The flavor was identical. “Is it good?” He leaned over, his eyes bright as he looked at me. I nodded. “Yeah, same taste as always.” He smiled and packed the beef into containers to put in the fridge. Then he took my hand. “Alright, it’s been a long day. Let’s go rest.” I leaned into his embrace. His body temperature came through his clothes, his steady breathing brushing against my ear. “Okay.” I closed my eyes. Whether you’re human or ghost, I will find out the truth.

I followed him into the bedroom. The ghost in the corner followed us in too. I looked away, not daring to look again. Ethan made the bed and patted the pillow. “Come, lie down. You’re tired today. Get some rest early.” I lay down beside him. He reached over to turn off the light, leaving only a small nightlight by the bed. “Emma,” he turned on his side to look at me, “have you had something on your mind lately?” “No,” I stared at the ceiling, “just a bit tired from work.” He held my hand. “If you’re tired, take a break. I’ll take care of you.” His palm was warm, his voice gentle. My throat tightened as I glanced again at that lonely spirit in the corner. “Do you still remember this necklace?” I picked up the necklace from the nightstand. He glanced at it and smiled. “Of course I remember. I gave it to you for your eighteenth birthday. I saved up my allowance for two months to buy it. The shopkeeper said it was the last one, and I was afraid someone else would snatch it up.” My heart clenched. He was right. “Do you remember what you wrote on the note when you gave it to me?” I continued pressing. “‘This necklace is for you. Happy birthday.’” His face reddened slightly. “Actually I wanted to write ‘I like you,’ but I didn’t dare.” “How did I respond?” “You didn’t. The next day you stuffed a box of chocolates in my desk. I was so happy I didn’t pay attention in class all day.” I closed my eyes. All correct. He took out the necklace and pointed to the words “Waiting for you” engraved on it. “I even cut my hand engraving this.” He extended his index finger. There was a faint scar on the pad. “Then why haven’t you worn this necklace all this time?” My voice trembled. “You said you couldn’t bear to, that you wanted to wait until our wedding day to wear it.” I took a deep breath and put the necklace back on the nightstand, lying down as casually as I could. “You have such a good memory. You remember things from so many years ago.” He smiled and ruffled my hair. “How could I forget anything about you?” I lowered my eyes, but my heart felt like it had a thorn in it. He was right. He remembered everything. But how could I explain the ghost in the corner? I turned on my side. “Since your memory is so good,” I stared at him, “let me test you. Do you remember when we went swimming as kids?” He thought for a moment. “I remember. The pool was deep, and you wanted to jump in without a float.” “Then you almost suffocated. I pulled you out. You were so lame.” I watched Ethan’s face nervously, afraid to miss even the slightest expression. I was the one who almost suffocated back then. He was the one who saved me. If he went along with my version, he would be fake! He paused for a moment, then suddenly tapped my forehead with his finger. “Are you dreaming? You were the one who almost suffocated. I pulled you out. You choked on water and cried for a long time.” I opened my mouth, unable to refute. “Do you remember our first time at the beach?” He looked at me blankly. “We’ve never been to the beach. Don’t you remember? You always said you wanted to see the ocean, but we never had time.” My whole body went cold. He was right again. I really had never been to the beach, just said I wanted to go. “Also, I had a white cat when I was little, named Snowball.” My voice tightened, my tone becoming somewhat urgent. He frowned. “You’ve never had a cat. When you were twelve, you got scratched by a cat, so you’re afraid of them. You avoid them whenever you see one.” I couldn’t say another word. Every lie, he could precisely identify. “Sleep. Stop thinking nonsense.” He pulled the blanket over and wrapped me in his arms. “You’ve been acting weird today.” I leaned against his chest and heard his heartbeat. “I’m sorry,” I said softly. “Hm?” “Nothing.” I closed my eyes. He turned over, habitually draping his arm over my waist, naturally pulling me into his embrace, exactly the same as before. I opened my eyes and locked gazes with the ghost in the corner. My mind was in chaos. Who should I believe?

This went on for several days. I still had no clue, feeling like a stone was pressing on my heart. Until one morning, Ethan was tying his tie. He glanced at me in the mirror. “Didn’t sleep well again last night?” “Yeah.” I rubbed my eyes, looking exhausted. “Had dreams all night.” He turned around, fastened the last button, and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Emma, I need to tell you something.” “Hm?” “I booked a couples trip to the Maldives before. I wanted to surprise you,” he held my hand, “but there’s an emergency at the lab and I can’t get away. You go first, and I’ll join you in three days.” I froze. He’d never let me travel far alone before. “Why so suddenly…” “You’ve been so tired lately,” he smiled and ruffled my hair. “Go relax. I’ll fly over as soon as I finish up.” My heart stirred. This was a good opportunity to test him. I nodded. “Okay.” He turned to pack my luggage. I followed and leaned against the doorframe. He took out my favorite floral dress from the closet and folded it neatly. Then he stuffed sunscreen, a sun hat, common medications, and even the eye mask I usually used into the suitcase, one by one. “It’s hot there, pack more light clothes. Don’t get too cold, cover yourself at night,” he chattered on without stopping. “Your stomach isn’t good, so I bought some crackers to put in your bag. Eat them if you get hungry.” I watched his busy figure, my eyes getting a bit teary. He even remembered these details. “Also, that book you said you wanted to read—I downloaded it to your tablet. You can read it on the plane if you get bored.” He turned back and smiled at me. I lowered my eyes. The more meticulous he was, the more I felt like a jerk. Seeing me standing in the doorway without reacting, Ethan waved his hand in front of my face. “Alright, stop dawdling.” He zipped up the suitcase. “I’ll take you to the airport.” He came over, took my hand, and pulled me out the door. I looked back at the spirit in the corner and noticed he didn’t follow. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Good. It must just be my hallucination. My eyes must be the problem. All the way there, Ethan held my hand, chatting idly. I looked out the window, my mind in turmoil. At the airport, he helped me check in and stuffed the boarding pass in my hand. “Call me when you arrive.” “Okay.” He hugged me, his chin resting on my shoulder. “Have fun.” I walked through security and looked back at him. He stood outside the glass door, waving at me. My nose tingled. He was so good to me, yet I kept doubting him. I closed my eyes and made a secret vow: this is the last time. I’ll never doubt him again. On the plane, I deliberately chose a window seat. After takeoff, I looked out the window. Still no ghost following. The weight on my heart finally lifted. I’d have to make time to get a medical checkup. After forcibly suppressing the lingering unease deep in my heart, I opened the book he’d downloaded for me to distract myself. After landing, I immediately turned on my phone and sent him a message. “Arrived. Don’t worry.” He replied instantly. “Have fun. Wait for me.” I stared at the screen and smiled.

The scenery in the Maldives was beautiful. I sent him photos every day—beaches, sunsets, palm trees. He replied instantly to every one, his tone as gentle as always. During our video call at night, he leaned back on the sofa in warm yellow light. “Where did you go today?” “Diving,” I said, lying on the bed. “When are you coming? It’s no fun here alone.” “Soon, soon,” he smiled. “Didn’t you always want to see the Maldives? Back in college you said your honeymoon had to be here. I remembered.” I froze. That was something I’d said casually in college. I’d almost forgotten it myself. “You still remember?” “I told you, how could I forget anything about you?” His eyes were bright. My nose tingled. He got up to pour water. The phone camera shook slightly. In that instant, I saw a blurry shadow standing in the hallway behind him. The ghost had appeared again. Staring hard at Ethan with an unfriendly expression. My whole body went cold. “Emma? What’s wrong?” He came back with a water glass. “Bad signal,” I forced out a smile. “I’m tired today. I’m going to hang up.” After hanging up, I opened the ticket app with trembling hands. The nearest flight was in three hours. Before boarding, I dialed his number. No answer. My heart sank hard. He never ignored my calls! It was early morning when I landed. I rushed home. The lights were off. He wasn’t there. The ghost wasn’t there either. I could only open my phone’s location tracker and found he was at the hospital. I ran out like a madwoman. The hospital corridor was long, the lights blindingly white.

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I had booked our flight months ago, eager to return to our favorite place for our anniversary. Before boarding, I was stopped by my husband’s assistant—the woman everyone said he truly loved. She looked tearful and pleaded with me, asking for my ticket. “Please, I have a family emergency. I can’t afford the fare.” I refused, explaining I’d bought the ticket myself. Later, Declan questioned me. “Did you know she ended up walking home?” he asked, explaining she was trying to reach her dying mother. I was confused. “Why would she walk? There’s plenty of transport.” Declan nodded softly and handed me my nightly glass of milk, as he always did. I drank it and fell asleep. When I woke, I was alone in a blazing desert. A helicopter hovered nearby. Declan stood in the doorway, his arm around his assistant, staring down coldly. “You said transportation was convenient,” he said. “Let’s see you manage without a flight.” I was being broadcast live. The tag “Billionaire Wife Treks the Desert” was already trending. Looking into the camera, I stayed calm. “When you’re done with this childish game,” I said, “send a car to pick me up.” 1 The moment the words left my mouth, a massive digital screen hanging from the helicopter lit up. A flood of live comments rolled past rapidly. [Abigail still thinks she’s a spoiled heiress! Everyone knows the Hastings family went bankrupt and her parents fled the country. Who is she expecting to pick her up?] [Exactly! She lives off her husband’s money now, yet she still bullies average working class girls. Stealing discounted tickets from desperate employees? Has she no shame?] [I bet she won’t even make it a mile. Give it thirty minutes and she will be begging on her knees. Declan is the best boss ever for avenging his staff!] [Place your bets! I’m putting money on her crying and apologizing!] The desert heat was easily pushing past a hundred degrees. Baking under the merciless sun, I was already on the verge of severe dehydration. My miserable state was projected perfectly onto the live broadcast. Declan held Lily close to his chest, taking a slow sip from a crystal glass of iced wine. He looked down at me with absolute arrogance. “Stop acting so tough. If you want to leave this wasteland, you have two options. Walk out yourself, or drop to your knees and beg Lily for forgiveness. There is no third choice.” Hearing this, Lily immediately put on her best innocent act. “Declan, it’s okay. Abigail grew up in the lap of luxury. She’s never experienced real hardship. Please don’t punish her.” She lowered her head, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. “It’s my own fault for being poor. I couldn’t afford a first class seat and missed the cheap tickets. I had to walk through the mountains… I guess I deserve it.” My memory of the airport was crystal clear. When I bought my ticket, there were plenty of economy seats left. Lily deliberately waited until they were completely sold out before putting on her little show to guilt trip me. Declan’s voice cut through the dry air like a whip. “When she used her status as my wife to bully you, she should have known this day would come!” “Abigail, I warned you over and over again. Do not mess with Lily. She might not have your elite pedigree, but that does not mean she is completely unprotected.” Looking at the man I had loved for five years, a bitter taste flooded my mouth. After the Hastings family lost everything, Declan ignored all corporate protocol and brought his childhood sweetheart straight into the executive office. Lily was incredibly incompetent. She was constantly late and made endless mistakes. As her supervisor, I naturally assigned her overtime to fix her errors. When Declan found out, he punished me in our bed that night, keeping me awake until I was physically incapable of going to work the next morning. When I finally dragged my aching body into the office, he sneered at me in front of the entire staff. “I thought you hated tardiness? You can stay here until three in the morning tonight. Let that be a lesson.” From that day on, anytime I offered Lily even a shred of constructive criticism, Declan accused me of being an elitist snob. Once, Lily tripped and scraped her knee. Without asking a single question, Declan assumed I pushed her. He grabbed my shoulders and violently threw me down a flight of stairs. The memories snapped back to the present. My eyes burned, turning slightly red. Up in the helicopter, Declan saw my expression and froze for a fraction of a second. “Look, she’s already crying.” Lily capitalized on the moment, her voice trembling pitifully. “When I walked those miles through the mountains, I lost my shoes and bled everywhere, but I never shed a single tear.” Just as she intended, those words erased any fleeting sympathy Declan might have felt. His face hardened into pure stone. “Do you have any idea how much Lily suffered because of you? Guards, strip off her shoes!” 2 Before I could even brace myself, the bodyguards standing by lunged forward. They pinned me down and violently ripped the sneakers from my feet. My bare skin hit the scorching sand. A layer of skin instantly blistered and peeled from the agonizing heat. The live chat went completely feral. The total betting pool on when I would surrender skyrocketed into the millions. “Abigail, if it’s too much for you, just apologize. I promise I won’t hold a grudge,” Lily called out. She wore a mask of pure innocence, but a sickeningly triumphant gleam flashed in her eyes. “What exactly did I do wrong? You failed to buy a ticket, and you think you can manipulate the world into feeling sorry for you?” I gritted my teeth and forced myself to take a step forward, completely ignoring her fake pity. Lily’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. “I know I’m useless… If I were better, I wouldn’t have had to trek through the treacherous mountain trails. The ground was covered in thorns and jagged rocks. It was all my fault…” “Abigail, it seems I have spoiled you for far too long. Do you still think you are sitting on a throne?” Declan pulled Lily into a protective embrace, issuing another cold command. “I explicitly ordered this environment to replicate her mountain trek. Scatter the nails. Let’s see how long her stubborn pride lasts!” A torrential rain of metal thumbtacks cascaded onto the path ahead of me. They vanished into the loose sand, leaving only their razor sharp tips exposed. I couldn’t stop my momentum in time. My foot came down hard, and the metal spikes drove deep into my flesh. Fresh blood welled up, dripping down my ankles and staining the yellow sand a brilliant crimson. The color drained entirely from my face. The private physician standing by in the helicopter looked alarmed. “Sir, her health has always been incredibly fragile. Her body will go into shock.” “I am well aware of her condition. Why do you think I brought you along?” Declan scoffed softly. “I am just breaking her arrogant spirit. If she is truly on the verge of death, you have my permission to treat her. Besides, she isn’t blind. Can’t she just avoid the nails?” But the tacks were perfectly camouflaged in the shifting dunes. Walking barefoot, it was a literal minefield. Within minutes, the soles of my feet were a mangled, bleeding mess. The pain was so blinding I was on the verge of passing out. Declan’s jaw tightened as he watched me stumble. Before he could speak, Lily whispered softly into his chest. “Declan, all she has to do is say she’s sorry and this all ends. But with millions of people watching… even if I want to forgive her, she needs to give you some respect.” “But I suppose a spoiled princess like her would never lower herself to apologize to someone like me…” Those words perfectly triggered Declan’s deepest insecurity. He leaned out of the helicopter and shouted down at me. “Don’t think I don’t know the truth! You have always looked down on me because of your wealthy background! If you refuse to bow your head, then you can walk until you drop dead!” His cruel words echoed in my ears, carving a hollow cavern into my chest. We had been together for five years. I had severed ties with my family to stand by his side when he had absolutely nothing. Back then, he treated me like glass. If I got a papercut, he would hold my hand and cry out of pure guilt for hours. All of that vanished the day the Hastings empire collapsed. He grew entirely sick of my supposed entitlement. He labeled my basic standards as elitist tantrums and poured all his affection onto the submissive, easily controlled Lily. He was willing to torture me in a lethal desert just to avenge a minor inconvenience for his new favorite pet. Realizing this, whatever love I had left for him completely died. The live chat was moving at lightning speed. [Just give it up already. You are never making it out of there. This is getting boring.] [Seriously, I bet three months of rent on this. Apologize so I can cash out!] “It looks like the entire world knows you can’t make it, Abigail. Stop trying to act tough. Just get on your knees.” Lily mocked me with a sickeningly sweet tone. But the very next second, her smug expression completely vanished. An anonymous user had just placed a massive wager that I would successfully leave the desert. The bet was fifty million dollars. 3 That single notification sent a shockwave through the entire broadcast. Because the amount was so astronomical, the chat immediately erupted with suspicion. [Who casually drops fifty million?! Are they rigging this just to steal our money?] [Is this a massive scam?!] Lily panicked but tried to play it cool. She flashed her own betting slip to the camera. “Don’t worry, everyone! I also put my money on Abigail apologizing. I have no idea what idiot is trying to hand us free cash.” But the doubts kept rolling in. Lily was sweating. She had literally emptied her entire bank account to place her bet. Declan’s face turned a dangerous shade of purple. “Who placed that bet? Who else would possibly support you? Are you sleeping with another man behind my back?!” “That is none of your business. The second I get out of here, we are getting a divorce.” I fired back without missing a beat. Hearing the word ‘divorce’ only fueled his manic rage. He let out a dark, cruel laugh and signaled his guards. “If we are truly replicating the mountain path, we need to do it properly. I want her to feel exactly what Lily felt.” “Mountains are full of snakes. Release them!” My heart stopped. The blood froze in my veins. Declan knew perfectly well that I had a crippling, clinical phobia of snakes. At his command, the bodyguards hauled massive bamboo crates to the edge of the chopper. Hundreds of thick, slithering reptiles spilled out into the sand, writhing and hissing as they moved. I stumbled backward in pure terror. Declan simply sneered. “They are just harmless garden snakes. Kids in the country play with them every day. Only a fragile, pampered princess would be terrified of something so basic.” “Exactly! I used to get bitten all the time growing up. It’s totally harmless!” Lily chimed in, though a vicious, calculating shadow crossed her eyes. It didn’t take me long to realize the horrifying truth. The vibrant, triangular heads emerging from the sand were absolutely not harmless garden snakes. They were highly venomous vipers. I turned and tried to sprint away, but my mutilated, bleeding feet couldn’t find any traction. In my panicked rush, I lost my balance and collapsed hard into the dirt. The scorching sand seared my bare skin. Hidden tacks pierced my palms and knees, tearing fresh, agonizing wounds across my body. The vipers smelled the fresh blood. They began to swarm, closing the circle around me. I had nowhere to run. A thick, brightly colored snake lunged forward, sinking its fangs directly into my ankle. The venom burned like absolute fire. A cold sweat broke out across my forehead. Once the first snake struck, a second and a third slithered closer, ready to attack. The skin around the bite immediately swelled, turning a sickly, bruised purple. The color rapidly drained from my lips. The physician up in the helicopter instantly noticed my physical collapse. He stepped forward in a panic. “Sir! She has been bitten by a venomous species! She is going to die! We need to administer antivenom right now!” Declan didn’t even flinch. “I specifically ordered non venomous snakes. Stop overreacting over a tiny bite. We save the medical supplies for real emergencies.” But as he looked closer, the reality finally registered. My lips were turning blue. My breathing was shallow and ragged. He looked down at the sea of vipers swarming the dunes. Those were not the harmless garden snakes he had requested. A sudden, paralyzing panic gripped Declan. He screamed at the top of his lungs. “I said no venom! Who brought these things?!” “Get those monsters away from her! Bring the chopper down! Let me out!” The bodyguards immediately deployed chemical repellents and heavy nets to drive the swarm back. I lay in the burning sand, barely clinging to consciousness. Through blurred vision, I watched Declan shove past a protesting Lily and sprint toward me. The doctor grabbed a vial of antivenom from his emergency kit and rushed to the open door. “Sir, we have to inject her immediately! Let me call for a medical evac!” Before the doctor could step off the helicopter, Lily suddenly lunged forward. “Let me help!” She violently tripped over her own feet, slamming into the doctor. The glass vial of antivenom slipped from his hands, plummeting toward the ground and shattering into a hundred pieces against a jagged rock. Declan’s eyes widened in absolute horror. “What the hell did you just do?!”

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The office has been tense since I submitted my resignation—all because of my new Porsche. After parking it in the corporate garage, I found it the next morning destroyed: windows smashed, hood splashed with paint, and obscenities sprayed on the doors. Security footage showed the vandal was Brenda, my department manager. When I confronted her, she stood tall, claiming she was doing my parents a favor by teaching a “gold digger” a lesson. She even threatened to ruin my reputation if I went to the police. Our conflict started during a business trip, when the company booked me into a cheap motel. I chose to pay for a luxury hotel suite instead due to allergies and cleanliness concerns. I had also just closed a $70 million contract, so the cost was irrelevant to my work. Brenda didn’t agree. In the next meeting, she mocked me, called me disrespectful, and even accused me of sleeping around to afford the hotel. When I told her to stay out of my personal life, she nearly lunged at me. I never thought she’d escalate to destroying my car. Now, with my resignation in, whatever happens to this toxic company is no longer my concern. 1 Standing outside the grimy fifty dollar a night roadside motel in a neighboring state, I couldn’t help but frown. The company’s standard travel allowance had always been five hundred a night. Since when did they become so incredibly cheap? The room in front of me was stained, smelled like mildew, and was completely unlivable. Coincidentally, my parents had just wired me thirty thousand dollars as a birthday gift a few days prior. Without a second thought, I tapped my phone and booked the executive suite at the luxury hotel right down the street. The next morning, back at the office. The second Brenda walked into the morning briefing, her eyes locked onto me like a heat seeking missile. I gave her a look of mild confusion. A second later, Brenda’s face darkened into a scowl. “Avery, hand over the hotel receipt from your business trip.” Even though I had been working here for less than three months, I knew the reimbursement protocol inside and out. Expense reports went to finance, not directly to department managers. Besides, I hated dealing with red tape. I never bothered expensing my hotel stays anyway. Meeting her intense, interrogating glare, I simply shook my head. “Brenda, I paid for a different hotel out of my own pocket. I’m not filing it for reimbursement.” Brenda looked at me with a complicated, disappointed sigh, adopting a sickeningly patronizing tone. “Avery, sweetie. You are young, but you need to maintain some basic moral boundaries. A business trip is just one night. A bed is a bed.” “The company already arranged a hotel for you. Why are you burning money for no reason? You should be sending that cash back home to support your poor parents.” I swallowed my rising irritation and gave her my most polite, customer service smile. “Brenda, I appreciate your concern, but my parents actually worry I don’t spend enough. On top of that, I have extremely sensitive skin and severe germophobia. I physically cannot sleep in a rundown motel.” “Getting proper rest means I work more efficiently. Rest assured, I didn’t touch a single cent of company money. It was entirely self funded.” To my shock, Brenda completely lost her temper. “Self funded? Oh my god, you earn a tiny little paycheck and suddenly you think you are royalty! If I were your mother, I would die of a broken heart!” I actually let out a dry laugh. I had dealt with arrogant male bosses before, but this was my first time dealing with an overbearing, toxic work mom. “Five thousand dollars for a single night in an executive suite! I think you are getting way too big for your boots, acting like a spoiled princess just chasing cheap thrills!” Hearing her state the exact price and room type made my stomach drop. Every colleague in the conference room turned to stare at me. I was traveling completely alone. How exactly did she get that specific information? Pure anger began to bubble up in my chest. Unable to tolerate the disrespect any longer, I slammed my leather portfolio onto the table. The sound echoed like a gunshot. “Who exactly do you think you are? How I spend my personal money is absolutely none of your business! Keep your unsolicited opinions to yourself unless it is strictly about work!” Brenda clearly hadn’t expected me to push back so publicly. Her face flushed a violent shade of purple, then pale white. “I am only looking out for you! Don’t be so ungrateful.” Seeing that I wasn’t going to back down, she desperately tried to save face by waving me off. “Fine, fine. We will deal with your attitude later. Continue your presentation.” I took three deep breaths, forcing my emotions back into a locked box. The work had to come first. The rest of the presentation went flawlessly. Thanks to the seventy million dollar contract I had just secured, I was officially crowned the top performer of the month. But my peace didn’t last long. I was deep in a spreadsheet when Brenda suddenly marched over and violently slammed my laptop shut. “I have been thinking about this all morning, and things just aren’t adding up.” 2 Not this again. I crossed my arms and glared up at her, my eyes icy. “You claim you paid out of pocket, but let us look at the reality. Your salary, your bonuses, your stipends… they all come from this company. The massive commission you are getting from this new project? That is company money too.” “The sheep pays for its own wool. You are secretly bleeding the company dry to fund your little luxury lifestyle. You really think you are a genius, don’t you, Avery?” Brenda leaned heavily against my cubicle wall, a smug smirk twisting her lips. “Self funded? Please. You are just trying to build this fake, wealthy socialite persona for yourself.” “Is this what your parents sent you to college for? To learn how to be a professional gold digger?” I narrowed my eyes, giving her a sharp warning. “Brenda, watch your mouth. I brought in a massive account for this firm. The company compensating me for my labor is exactly how business works.” Brenda ground her teeth together, her eyes practically bulging. “I asked around. Your paycheck this month, including the commission, is nearly eighty thousand dollars!” “I am drowning in a mortgage and car loans! I can’t even justify paying ten dollars for a Netflix subscription! You are barely in your twenties, you have been here two months, and you are taking home that kind of cash? God only knows what dirty favors you pulled to get that contract!” The colleagues around us, who had previously kept their heads down, all looked up. Hearing the exact number of my commission sparked a wildfire of toxic whispers across the floor. I was absolutely livid. A blind, burning fury ignited in my chest. I kicked my office chair back and stood up, getting right in Brenda’s face. “Are you completely out of your mind? Payroll is highly confidential. Employees are strictly prohibited from discussing salaries! Yet here you are, broadcasting my personal finances to the entire floor!” “You guys dumped this client on me because they were notoriously difficult to please. I didn’t steal. I didn’t cheat. I earned every single penny of that commission!” “Are you just jealous? If you want that kind of money, go close a deal yourself! Stop using your age as an excuse to act like an unhinged lunatic!” I basically screamed the last sentence. I thought my absolute outrage would finally force her to back off. Instead, she took it a step further. “If you can casually drop five grand on a hotel room, you clearly don’t need the money. You need to split that seventy thousand dollar bonus with the rest of the department. Consider it a thank you for all the help we have given you these past two months.” Are you kidding me? Who hired this absolute idiot? How did someone with zero brain cells make it into management? I pulled out my phone, ready to dial Rowan immediately. Was my husband playing a sick joke on me? Didn’t he promise I would be placed in a quiet, drama free department? When I first graduated, I wanted to take two years off just to travel and enjoy life. But Rowan begged and pleaded, claiming he couldn’t stand being away from me all day. He practically bribed me to take a cushy, low stress job at his company just so I would be in the same building. I hated corporate gossip, so we agreed to keep our marriage completely secret. But right now, I was done playing the undercover wife. If I let this continue, Brenda was going to give me an aneurysm. The phone barely began to ring before a hand shot out and snatched the device right out of my grip. Brenda glanced at the caller ID, let out a loud, mocking scoff, and hit end call. “Calling Hubby? You play a very dirty game, Avery. I knew you were using your body to secure deals, but you really have no shame, do you?” She leaned in close. She pretended to lower her voice, but she made sure her words carried across the silent office. “You better be a smart girl and hand over that commission. Otherwise, I am reporting your little prostitution ring to upper management.” I stared at her with dead, emotionless eyes. I gave her a two word response. “You’re psychotic.” I grabbed my bag, turned on my heel, and walked straight out of the office. I left Brenda standing there, stomping her feet and screaming insults at my back. That night at home, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. If Rowan hadn’t flown out of the country for an executive summit, I would have dragged him by the collar and demanded to know if this was some twisted loyalty test. Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a notification. Before I could even unlock the screen, over a hundred friend requests and messages flooded my notifications. 3 When I finally opened the app, the sheer vulgarity of the messages left me stunned. [Hey gorgeous, how about I pick you up after work tomorrow at five?] [Hi beautiful, I have a great income. We can get our marriage license this week.] [Avery, I might not be a millionaire, but I can let you be a stay at home wife. Think about it.] Before I could even process what was happening, I realized I had been dragged into a massive, five hundred person matchmaking group chat. My personal information, my phone number, and my work details were plastered all over the group. The group admin was literally monetizing me, selling my photos like premium mystery boxes. A headshot was ten bucks. A full body photo was thirty. A makeup free natural photo was sixty… Reading the absolutely vile, predatory comments from the men in the chat, I felt like I had been struck by lightning. Taking a deep breath to steady my shaking hands, I tapped on a profile that looked somewhat normal and replied privately. “I am already married. How exactly did you get my contact information?” The guy immediately exploded. “Married?! Then why the hell did your mother list you in a sugar baby matchmaking group? Your whole family is sick in the head! Psycho!” Being cursed out by a complete stranger made my hands shake with pure rage. My mother? Absolutely impossible. Both my parents had attended my lavish wedding with Rowan. Looking at the admin’s specific typing style in the main chat, a dark suspicion began to take root in my mind. The next morning, I walked into the office to find Brenda sitting right at my desk, a smug smile plastered across her face. “So, Avery! Did any of your blind dates work out?” “Take it from someone with life experience. You are young and pretty, which means you are easily tempted by the wrong path. Once you find a nice, average man and settle down, you will finally behave.” I opened my mouth to completely destroy her, but the CEO’s executive assistant, Kyle, suddenly walked into the bullpen and called my name, asking me to step outside. The moment I left the room, Jessica, the office gossip, couldn’t hold back. “Why is the CEO’s assistant looking for her? She just landed a massive contract. Do you think she’s getting a promotion?” Brenda let out a loud, disdainful snort. “Over my dead body. The CEO definitely found out about her little prostitution scandal. He sent Kyle down here to fire her on the spot!” It wasn’t that I didn’t hear their toxic whispers; I just didn’t want to waste my breath arguing with trash. Kyle led me down to the executive VIP garage. He handed me a sleek, heavy set of car keys with an apologetic, incredibly polite smile. “Ma’am, Mr. Caldwell had back to back dinners last night and couldn’t answer your call. He bought this as an apology for missing you.” Looking at the stunning, pristine white Porsche parked in the VIP bay, a large chunk of my anger finally melted away. “Do me a favor, Kyle. Tell Rowan I am officially quitting.” Kyle nodded immediately, not daring to question me. I considered asking him to investigate the sudden drop in the travel budget, but decided against it. My sudden resignation was going to trigger Rowan’s protective instincts. He would tear the company upside down to find out why I left, and the truth would inevitably surface. I was completely done playing detective for a company that treated me like garbage. The gorgeous curves of the Porsche gleamed under the garage lights. My mood instantly skyrocketed. I took the elevator back up to pack my desk. I couldn’t bear to spend another second in this toxic wasteland. But the moment I stepped back into the bullpen, I froze. My usually pristine desk was buried under a massive mountain of disorganized paperwork and client files. Before I could even ask what was going on, Jessica smirked from her cubicle. “With great salary comes great responsibility, Avery. You can’t just take all that money and not do the grunt work.” Was she seriously trying to gaslight me? I wasn’t about to swallow this disrespect. I grabbed the stacks of heavy files and violently hurled them right back onto Jessica’s desk, scattering papers everywhere. Once my desk was finally cleared of their garbage, I noticed something horrifyingly wrong. My iPad, my custom laptop, my ergonomic mouse, and even my expensive desk humidifier were completely gone. I hastily pulled my chair out, only to find that my Birkin bag, which I always kept tucked away, had vanished as well. “Where is my bag? Where is my laptop? Who touched my stuff?!” The entire office went dead silent. Nobody dared to make eye contact. Suddenly, Brenda walked into my line of sight, aggressively waving a thick stack of cash in her hand. “I sold it all to a secondhand dealer. Just doing my part to recoup the company’s losses and send some charity back to your poor family.”

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When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day that changed my life. Sebastian was holding me tight, his body a shield, his clothes soaked in blood. His voice, rough and strained, whispered words of terror and relief, as if we had just cheated death itself. The kidnapping, when I was twenty. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I ignored my family’s desperate pleas and married him. But the life that followed was no fairytale. He systematically hollowed out my family’s company, the stress sending both my parents to the hospital. When I finally swallowed my pride and knelt before him, begging for mercy, he casually dropped a truth that shattered my world. The kidnapping was his masterpiece, a meticulously staged play of heroics. The wound that nearly killed him? Self-inflicted. All of it was a grand performance to win my heart and, with it, my fortune. After that confession, he had me committed to a mental institution. My life ended there, strapped to a bed I could never leave. Now, pressed against his chest once more, my heart was a block of ice. But my fingers, they were steady as I dialed 911. When the operator answered, I spoke with chilling clarity. “Hello, I need to report a crime. Someone staged a kidnapping.” 1 The moment the call connected, the hand Sebastian had cradling the back of my head went rigid. It was only for a fraction of a second, but I felt it. “Alice?” He looked down at me, his handsome face paper-white from blood loss, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and concern. “Who are you calling?” I didn’t look at him. I switched the phone to my other hand, holding it away from him, and calmly gave the operator our address. “Alice.” Sebastian’s hand slid from my head to my shoulder. His grip was weak, trembling slightly. “It’s okay, the kidnappers are gone. I’m here.” He paused, his voice growing raspier. “You don’t have to call the police. I’m sure someone already did.” Such a flawless performance. Gravely injured, yet his first instinct was to comfort me, his tone a perfect blend of gentleness and restraint. He wasn’t even trying to stop me directly. I met his gaze for a long moment. “I’m still reporting it,” I said. “I want to tell them myself. Someone tried to kill me.” Sebastian’s pupils contracted. “Alice…” He opened his mouth, but his lips were pale and bloodless. He swayed, on the verge of collapsing. The ambulance and the police cruisers arrived almost at the same time. After a few brief questions from the officers, Sebastian was loaded onto a stretcher. He’d lost consciousness, the wound in his back still seeping blood, staining the better part of his white shirt a sickening crimson. The paramedics said he’d lost a dangerous amount of blood and needed to get to the hospital immediately. A young female officer escorted me to the station to give my statement. On the way, she asked if I was scared. I told her I was fine. At the station, I recounted the entire event. The officer taking my statement was diligent, asking for detailed descriptions of the attackers, filling two whole pages with notes. Finally, he closed his notebook. “Miss, we’ll open a formal investigation into this. For now, you should go home and rest. We’ll contact you if anything develops.” I asked him a final question. “If it turns out someone staged the whole thing, would that be a crime?” The officer paused, studying me for a moment. “If it was just a setup with no real harm intended… he’d likely just get a stern warning. It depends on the specifics, of course.” A stern warning. I savored the words, a bitter laugh catching in my throat. It was nearly dawn when I finally left the precinct. My parents, having gotten the news, were already waiting for me outside. My mother threw her arms around me, sobbing, while my father stood beside her, his eyes red-rimmed as he cursed the bastards who had done this. I looked at them, the memory of how Sebastian had destroyed their health in my past life flashing before my eyes. My mother’s stroke, my father’s heart attack—they had fallen one after the other. I wrapped my arms around my mother’s waist, burying my face in her shoulder. “I’m okay, Mom,” I mumbled. This time, I would be. Back home, I lay in bed, my mind a storm of memories from my previous life. Back then, at this exact moment, I was at the hospital, doting on Sebastian. I brought him food and water, staying by his side day and night. My mother had come to visit, her heart breaking for me. “Why are you so devoted to a stranger?” she’d cried. “He’s not a stranger,” I’d told her. “He’s the man I’m going to marry.” And I did. At the wedding, my father placed my hand in Sebastian’s. “This is my only daughter, Lockwood,” he’d said, his voice thick with emotion. “You take good care of her.” Sebastian, ever the gentleman, smiled warmly. “You have my word, sir. I will.” Three months into our marriage, he had me sign over all my shares in the family company. “You’re not well, darling,” he’d cooed. “Don’t you worry about these things. Let me handle it.” I believed him. I signed away every last share my parents had given me, barely glancing at the transfer agreements. Whatever he put in front of me, I signed. By the time I realized those shares were gone for good, my father had already been hospitalized from the shock and betrayal. Sebastian had conspired with other board members, slowly eating away at my father’s control until the company was his. 2 “Where are your shares?” my father had asked me from his hospital bed. “I gave them to Sebastian,” I’d whispered. My father closed his eyes, silent for a long, heavy moment. Soon after, my mother collapsed, too. I went to Sebastian then, fell to my knees, and clutched at his trousers, sobbing. “Please, give the company back to my dad. I’m begging you.” He sat on the sofa, smoking a cigarette, watching me through the haze. The look on his face—cold, distant, triumphant—is seared into my memory. I try not to think about what came next. He had me committed, telling everyone I’d lost my mind, that I was suffering from severe persecutory delusions. He cut me off from my family, isolated me from my friends. The man I called my husband visited once a month, staring at me through a pane of reinforced glass, his face a blank mask. A year of tranquilizers. My body wasted away, my arms a roadmap of needle marks. My muscles atrophied until I couldn’t even turn over in bed. I died on that bed, the one with the permanent restraints. No one knew. No one came. But now, here I was, sitting by that same window in my childhood room. Twenty years old. Alive, healthy, and terrifyingly lucid. My phone buzzed. A text from Sebastian. He was awake, asking if I was okay, if I was scared. He said he’d come see me as soon as he was better. In my last life, he destroyed my family for his own gain. Reporting him to the police was a dead end; there was no concrete proof. Even if they found the two hired thugs, they would never betray Sebastian, and even if they did, he would deny everything. He’d even boasted to me once that he’d “taken care of them” afterward. No witnesses. If the law couldn’t touch him, I would. I wouldn’t let him drain my family dry. I wouldn’t give him a single chance to lock me away. I would make him taste the cold, bitter dregs of having nothing. What he did to me, I would return to him, piece by painful piece. I stared at his text for a few seconds, then slowly typed out a reply. “You just focus on getting better, Sebastian. I’ll make some soup and bring it to you this afternoon.” I hit send. That afternoon, I prepared a hearty beef stew, poured it into a thermos, and took a cab to the hospital. When I pushed open the door to his room, Sebastian was propped up against the pillows, his face turned toward the window. The sunlight caught the line of his jaw, his long lashes casting soft shadows on his cheek. He was in a hospital gown, a bandage wrapped around his neck. He was still pale, but he looked much better than he had yesterday. When he saw me, the corners of his eyes crinkled, a slow smile spreading across his face. “What are you doing here?” His voice was still a little hoarse, but it was laced with pleased surprise and a hint of concern. “You went through such an ordeal. You should be at home resting.” I walked over, setting the thermos on the nightstand. As I opened it, the rich aroma of the stew filled the room. I ladled a bowlful, offering it to him. I kept my eyes downcast, my voice deliberately soft. “I was worried about you. You lost so much blood… all for me.” As he took the bowl, his fingertips brushed against the back of my hand. He paused, then gently enclosed my hand in his. “Alice.” He looked at me, his gaze impossibly tender. “No one will ever hurt you again. I promise.” I met his eyes for a second before looking away, feigning a bashful blush. “You should eat your stew before it gets cold.” He chuckled and began to eat. I sat on the edge of his bed, watching him, just as I had during those long days in the hospital in my past life. I’d fed him spoon by spoon back then, too. Every time, he’d smile and say, “You’re so good to me, Alice. I’ll spend the rest of my life taking care of you.” The old me had melted at those words, convinced I’d found my soulmate. The new me wondered if a single true word had ever passed his lips. He finished the stew and set the bowl aside, leaning back against his pillows to watch me. “By the way,” he said, “the police questioned me yesterday. They said they’re going to keep investigating. They think if they can find those two thugs, they can get them to name whoever was behind it.” 3 I said it casually, but my eyes were fixed on his face from the corner of my vision. His hand, which had been resting on the empty bowl, froze for an instant. Then, as if nothing had happened, he placed the bowl on the nightstand and turned to me, his expression calm and composed. “That’s good. People like that need to be caught before they can hurt anyone else.” “I think so, too,” I said, smiling sweetly at him. He smiled back. I stayed at the hospital for nearly two hours. Before I left, Sebastian held my hand, his voice pleading. “Alice, can you come visit me every day? It gets so lonely in here.” “Of course,” I said. He beamed. The moment I stepped out of his room, my smile vanished. A window at the end of the hall was open, and the October wind whipped through, carrying a chill that cut to the bone. I stood there for a moment, leaning against the sill, piecing everything together in my mind. In his world, I was still the same naive Alice, utterly captivated by his heroic rescue. I was simple, easy to fool, and completely devoted to him. He would follow his script: approach me, woo me, marry me, and then take everything I had. I wouldn’t stop him from pursuing me. In fact, I would help him. Because the only way to win this game was to let him think he was in control, to let him move his pieces onto the board so I could capture them, one by one. The next day, I returned to the hospital with more homemade soup. The day after that, and the day after that. Sebastian’s color returned, his wound healed quickly, and soon he was able to walk around his room. On the fifth day, there was someone else in his room. A woman in her forties, plainly dressed, sat by his bed, holding his hand with red-rimmed eyes. When I entered, she stood and gave me a thorough once-over. “Mom, this is Alice, the girl I told you about,” Sebastian said from his bed, a proud smile on his face. “Alice, this is my mother.” I had met his mother in my past life, but much later. By then, I was already married into the Lockwood family. She was always polite but distant. I never heard her say a harsh word to my face, but I once overheard her telling Sebastian in private, “Her family has money, yes, but it’s not your money. You need to find a way to get your hands on it.” The comment had passed me by then. Now, it echoed with sinister meaning. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lockwood,” I said, my voice sweet and respectful, placing the thermos on the table. “I didn’t know you were coming, I only brought enough for Sebastian.” His mother glanced at me. “Don’t mind me,” she said, her tone flat as she sat back down. “You two talk. I’m going to get some water.” After she left, a brief silence filled the room. Sebastian beckoned me over. I sat on the edge of the bed, and he pulled an envelope from under his pillow, handing it to me. “What’s this?” I opened it. Inside was a greeting card with a bouquet of roses on the cover. I flipped it open. A few lines were written inside in Sebastian’s elegant script. “Alice, thank you for everything these past few days. Meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. —Sebastian” It was simple, not quite a love letter, but I knew what it was. It was a lure. In my past life, he had showered me with these small, thoughtful gestures, slowly and methodically reeling me in. I looked up at him. He was watching me, a hint of nervousness in his eyes. “Sebastian,” I said, holding the card, my voice a soft, gentle whisper. “What does this mean?” He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for a monumental decision, and took my hand in his. His palm was large, his fingers strong, his grip firm enough to hold me but not so tight as to feel forceful. “Alice,” he said, his eyes locked on mine. “I’m in love with you. I have been for a long time.” A long time. A cold laugh echoed in my mind, but on my face was a perfect picture of shocked, blushing delight. My eyes welled with tears, and I sniffled, looking up at him with a trembling voice. “Sebastian, I’m in love with you, too.” 4 He blinked, surprised, then a radiant smile broke across his face. He reached out and gently ruffled my hair. I didn’t flinch. I let him. Let him believe he had me right where he wanted me. Let him think Alice was still that same foolish girl, ready to give her life to the man who had supposedly saved it. As his fingers combed through my hair, I did a quick calculation in my head. Last time, he had gutted our family business, walking away with hundreds of millions. Twenty years of my father’s blood, sweat, and tears, all swallowed whole. My mother’s inheritance, my father’s shares, every asset to my name—wiped out. This time, I was getting it all back, with interest. For the next week, I was a fixture at the hospital. Sebastian’s recovery was swift. In less than two weeks, his stitches were out, and the doctor said he could be discharged after a few more days of observation. The night before he was set to leave, he had a nurse help him book a reservation at a restaurant. He wanted to take me out to a proper dinner, he said, to thank me for taking care of him. He chose a quiet Italian place near campus. Throughout the meal, his eyes never left me. He cut my steak, refilled my water, and asked me about all my favorite things, claiming he wanted to memorize every detail about me. “Alice,” he began, his tone serious. “There’s something I need to ask you.” “What is it?” “I want to marry you.” The words came a few days earlier than I’d expected. My fork clattered against my plate. I looked up at him, my voice a small, disbelieving whisper. “What did you say?” “I said, I want to marry you,” he repeated, his voice firmer now. He reached across the table and took my hand. “Alice, I know we’re young, but I can’t wait. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” “I will,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face, tracing a salty path to my lips. “Oh, Sebastian, I will.” He smiled, a tender, loving smile, and reached out to wipe my tears away. His thumb was gentle as it brushed my cheek. But I wasn’t crying tears of joy. I was crying for the girl I used to be. The twenty-year-old girl who had sat at this very table, heard these very words, and cried these very tears. She had been so genuinely happy, so certain she was the luckiest woman in the world, so sure that this man would cherish her forever. She had no idea what kind of monster she was marrying. It was almost eleven when Sebastian walked me home. The streetlight at the entrance to my neighborhood cast his shadow long and dark on the pavement. He stood under the light, watching until I was safely inside, then waved. When I got in, my parents were still awake. My dad was on the sofa reading the paper, and my mom was folding laundry on the balcony. I slipped off my shoes and sat down next to my dad. After a moment’s hesitation, I spoke. “Dad, Mom… Sebastian asked me to marry him tonight.” 5 My father’s newspaper slipped from his grasp. My mother rushed in from the balcony, a half-folded shirt still in her hand, her voice an octave higher than usual. “What? He proposed? You’ve barely known him a month!” “He saved my life. If it weren’t for him, I might be dead.” These were the exact words I had used last time. Back then, my father had fallen silent, and my mother had said no more. They couldn’t argue with it. In their eyes, Sebastian was my savior. A marriage, while impulsive, wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. This time, my father fell silent again. My mother, too, held her tongue. But I knew what they were thinking. They didn’t like Sebastian. My father set his paper down, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. His voice was heavy. “Do you really know him, Alice? Do you know anything about his family? Have you even considered if his feelings for you are genuine?” “I know what you’re worried about,” I said, leaning over and resting my head on my father’s shoulder. “But Dad… how can I not trust a man who was willing to die for me?” My father sighed, a deep, weary sound. Across from us, my mother’s lips parted as if to speak, but she said nothing. In my heart, I apologized to them. But this was the only way. If I didn’t marry Sebastian, he would never show his true colors. I would never have the chance to take back what was mine. Only by drawing him into the trap of marriage could I begin to repay him for everything he had done. The next morning, I called Sebastian, my voice bubbling with fake excitement, and told him my parents had more or less agreed. He was ecstatic, promising to have his parents come over immediately to formally discuss the engagement. “But, Sebastian,” I said, my tone shifting to one of hesitation. “My parents agreed, but… they have one condition.” “What is it?” His voice was still warm, but I detected a new note of caution. “The dowry. My parents said they aren’t the kind of people to sell their daughter, but tradition is tradition. They want this much.” I named a number. A very large number. Three seconds of dead silence on the other end of the line. In my last life, I hadn’t asked for a single penny. My parents had given Sebastian a generous gift and even bought him a condo in the city as a thank-you for saving me. I had thought it was only right. He’d saved my life; of course my parents should be good to him. This time, I was going to make him pay for it all. “That’s… a significant amount,” Sebastian finally said, his voice a little tight, though he struggled to maintain his gentle tone. “Alice, my business is just getting started. I can’t pull together that much cash right now.” “I know,” I replied immediately, my voice soft and tinged with hurt. “I told them that. I told them your family isn’t wealthy, that you couldn’t afford it. But my mother… she said if you can’t provide, you can’t marry me. And she said something else… something I was afraid to tell you.” “What?” “She said, ‘He may have saved her, but who’s to say that wasn’t part of some plan? I won’t let some outsider get his hands on the company your father built his entire life for.’”

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The study was quiet except for the murmur of my video call. Mid-negotiation, the door creaked open. My seven-year-old niece Sophie stood there holding her stuffed bunny, her eyes hopeful as she asked if I’d attend her parent-teacher conference. Since losing her parents at five, she’d been my whole world. I muted the call and promised I’d be there. The next morning, driving Sophie to her private school, I parked in an open-air VIP spot. A woman in a red Porsche slammed her hands on my window, yelling that the spot was hers. I calmly explained it was first come, first served. Without another word, she grabbed a baseball bat from her trunk and smashed a deep dent into the hood of my Mercedes. “I make the rules here!” she screamed. “My husband is on the school board. I’ll have you and that brat expelled by lunch!” For a moment, I just sat there, stunned by the sheer audacity. Then I slowly took out my phone and dialed Tristan Klein. “I didn’t know you already had a wife,” I said as soon as he answered. “Consider our engagement over.” I hung up before he could reply.

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The next morning, I stared blankly at the divorce papers sitting on the nightstand. Right next to them, my wife’s best friend slid a check for one million dollars toward me, plunging my brain into absolute chaos. This entire nightmare started because I came home early from a business trip, hoping to give my wife a romantic surprise. Who could have guessed that my little surprise would turn into a horrifying trauma for everyone involved? Faced with this sudden, massive windfall, was I actually supposed to take the money? 1 After being away on a business trip for nearly a month, I was desperate to get home. I finished the project ahead of schedule and decided not to tell my wife, Sophie. I wanted to give her a proper surprise. At midnight, I dragged my suitcase through the hallway and sneaked up to my front door. I pressed my thumb to the smart lock, and the door clicked open. Perfect. She had not changed the locks. I was still welcome in my own house. The apartment was pitch black and completely silent. Sophie was clearly already asleep. I quietly took off my shoes, left my suitcase in the foyer, and headed straight for the bathroom. The hot shower washed away weeks of travel exhaustion. After nearly a month of forced celibacy, I felt like a caged tiger finally seeing the open door. I wrapped a towel around my waist and crept into the master bedroom on my tiptoes. The moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains, illuminating a curvy silhouette buried under the duvet, sleeping soundly. My blood ran hot. I lifted the edge of the blanket and slipped inside without making a sound. A heavy scent of alcohol hit my nose immediately. Wow. She really let loose while I was gone. Whatever. A little liquid courage meant she might be a little wilder tonight. I wrapped my arms around her from behind. The warmth of her skin pressed against me, and every cell in my body woke up. She mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over to face me. In the pitch black room, I could not make out her features, but the familiar scent of her expensive shampoo destroyed my remaining self control. I lowered my head and kissed her. Things escalated quickly. Looking back, there were definitely a few warning signs. For instance, “Sophie” was unusually enthusiastic tonight. And her curves felt just a tiny bit different than I remembered. But in the heat of the moment, with my blood rushing south, I did not overthink it. I figured the long distance just made the heart grow fonder. The next morning, I was violently jolted awake by two pairs of eyes glaring daggers at my face. I blinked my sleep heavy eyes, my brain still buffering. Then, I witnessed the most terrifying scene of my entire life. On my left lay a woman with messy hair and a flushed face, staring at me like I was a sleep paralysis demon. On my right, sitting in an armchair by the bed, was another woman. She wore her silk pajamas, arms crossed, face pale with a cold fury that could freeze the Sahara. The woman on the left was Emma, my wife’s best friend. The woman on the right was Sophie, my wife. I could not speak. My brain went through the entire process of booting up, crashing, and forcing a hard restart. My logic centers were completely fried. Who was I? Where was I? What exactly did I do last night? The woman from last night was not Sophie? It was Emma?! A phantom thunderbolt struck the top of my skull. My entire body went numb, from my scalp down to my toenails. “Connor.” Sophie’s voice was calm. Too calm. Like the dead silence before a hurricane. “Are you awake?” I nodded mechanically. My throat felt like it had been scrubbed with sandpaper. I could not force a single word out. “How was it?” she continued, a freezing smile curling the corners of her lips. “Was my best friend to your liking?” “No… honey, you have to listen to me!” I finally found my voice. I scrambled to get out of bed, but my leg tangled in the sheets, and I crashed face first onto the hardwood floor. Thud. I felt my dignity shatter right alongside my jaw. “Listen to you?” Sophie scoffed. “Sure. Go ahead. Emma and I have been sitting here for an hour waiting for you to wake up, just so we could hear your brilliant explanation.” Emma, who was still frozen in the bed, finally snapped out of her shock. She yanked the duvet up to her chin, wrapping herself tightly. Her beautiful face was bright red, and tears welled up in her eyes from a mix of humiliation and absolute rage. “Connor! You bastard! What did you do to me!” I stayed on the floor, raising one trembling hand. “Hold on, I should be asking you that! Why were you sleeping in my bed?!” “This is my bed!” Sophie’s voice spiked an octave. “Emma got wasted last night. I let her sleep in the master, and I took the guest room! How was I supposed to know you would sneak back in the middle of the night like a creep!” I understood. I understood everything. The chain of logic instantly clicked into place in my head. I, Connor, an innocent and devoted husband, came home early to surprise my wife. But because my kindhearted wife took in her drunk best friend, I got into the wrong bed and hooked up with the wrong woman. What kind of absolute nightmare was this! This was more ridiculous than a cheap soap opera! I kneeled on the floor, burying my face in my hands. My life was officially over. “Sophie, I swear to God, I really thought it was you!” I pleaded, my voice cracking. “The room was completely dark, and it smelled like tequila! How was I supposed to know the difference!” Emma was shaking with anger on the mattress. “Difference? Are you blind! Do Sophie and I look alike? Do we even have the same body type?!” I instinctively opened my mouth to compare the two, but my survival instincts kicked in and I swallowed the words. Telling the truth right now would be like pouring gasoline on a forest fire. “I… I wasn’t thinking straight. I lost my mind…” Smack. A decorative pillow hit me squarely in the face. Sophie threw it. “Connor!” She gritted her teeth, enunciating every syllable. “Are you telling me that as long as it is a woman, and she is drunk in your bed, you will just lose your mind? You are unbelievable!” It was over. The more I tried to explain, the worse it sounded. I could jump into a river of bleach and still not wash this sin clean. Everything I said was wrong. Everything I did was a crime. The next hour was the darkest moment of my entire existence. It was a full blown interrogation. Sophie and Emma played good cop, bad cop. Actually, they both played bad cop. One led the questioning, and the other filled in the gaps. They grilled me on every single detail, from the exact minute I walked through the door, to how long I showered, to every single move I made in that bed. I kneeled by the nightstand like a convict on trial, confessing everything without holding a single detail back. I desperately hoped that full transparency might buy me a sliver of mercy. “So, from start to finish, you never noticed anything was wrong?” Sophie narrowed her eyes, looking at me like a cat analyzing a mouse. I pulled a miserable face. “I noticed, but things were already moving too fast. I thought you were just trying out a new routine… I thought you were giving me a surprise…” “A surprise?!” Emma’s voice wavered from under the duvet, thick with tears. “More like a horror movie! You took advantage of me!” I wanted to cry. Look, it was my first time cheating too! I had never been with another woman since I got married! “Shut up!” Sophie barked, making me flinch. She stood up and paced the room. The sharp clicks of her slippers against the floorboards felt like she was stomping directly on my heart. Finally, she stopped. She pulled a pen and a stack of paper from the nightstand drawer. She scribbled furiously for a few seconds, then slapped the paper onto the floor right in front of me. “Connor. Sign it.” I looked down. At the top, in bold letters, it read: Divorce Agreement. Below that, she had written: The husband, Connor, commits adultery and gross misconduct. He voluntarily agrees to leave the marriage with nothing. All assets go to the wife, Sophie. My blood ran completely cold. “Sophie, is this really necessary? It was a genuine mistake! I swear on my life, you are the only woman in my heart!” “A mistake?” Sophie sneered. “You call this a mistake? Then please, enlighten me. What exactly qualifies as intentional? Do I need to catch you starring in an adult film for it to count?” “I mean… we technically were starring in one last night,” I muttered under my breath. “Excuse me?!” Sophie grabbed a glass of water from the table, fully prepared to launch it at my head. Emma quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Sophie, don’t. He isn’t worth it.” Emma turned her head to look at me. Her expression was incredibly complicated. There was shame, humiliation, and something else I could not quite read. She reached into her designer purse on the nightstand, pulled out her checkbook, and furiously wrote out a line of numbers. She ripped the check out and held it in front of my face. “Connor, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. But… it happened. Here is one million dollars. Consider it… compensation. Take the money, sign the divorce papers, and get out of our lives. We are completely even, and we will never speak again.” I stared at the divorce agreement on the floor, then looked up at the one million dollar check in her hand. On one hand, I was being kicked out with absolutely zero assets. On the other hand, a million dollars. Instant wealth. This ridiculous fortune had practically fallen out of the sky. I fell into deep thought. I was a man of strict principles. But in the face of a million dollars, my principles started to wobble just a little bit. I swallowed hard and looked up at them. Sophie’s eyes were full of absolute resolve. Emma’s eyes were rushing me to take the deal. I took a deep breath and made the hardest decision of my life. With a trembling hand, I reached out. I did not take the check. Instead, I picked up the pen from the floor. Sophie’s expression softened just a fraction, as if thinking, ‘At least you have some spine left.’ Emma frowned, clearly thinking, ‘Is one million not enough?’ Then, under their watchful eyes, I pressed the pen to the check and quietly added another zero to the end of the number. “Um… Emma,” I looked up, flashing what I hoped was my most sincere smile. “Do you think we could make this ten million? I mean, this was my first time too. The emotional trauma is pretty severe.” The room descended into a dead, suffocating silence. Sophie’s face transitioned from shock, to disbelief, and finally to explosive wrath. Emma’s face went from confused, to blank, to purely homicidal. Three seconds later. “Connor! I am going to kill you!” “You absolute garbage! Go to hell!” Two women, two pillows, a bedside lamp, and an endless barrage of expensive cosmetics rained down on me like a meteor shower. I covered my head as they physically beat me out of the bedroom and down the hall. Slam. The heavy front door closed violently behind me. I, Connor, wearing absolutely nothing but a pair of SpongeBob boxers, still clutching that stupid pen, was officially kicked out of my own home. The cold morning draft blew through the apartment hallway. I shivered and looked down at the pen in my hand. Great. Forget ten million dollars. I did not even have ten cents. I was a project manager at a publicly traded company. Usually, I wore tailored suits and looked like a respectable human being. Right now, I was squatting outside my own apartment in cartoon underwear, deeply reconsidering all of my life choices. My phone, my wallet, my keys. Everything was locked inside. I was broke and practically naked. To make matters worse, my nosy neighbor, Mrs. Higgins, opened her door to take out the trash. She froze and stared at me for three agonizing seconds. “Connor… is this some sort of performance art?” I gave her an incredibly awkward smile and strategically covered my crotch. “Good morning, Mrs. Higgins. I was just… playing a game with my wife. Roleplay.” Mrs. Higgins gave me a knowing look, shook her head, and carried her trash bags away. I heard her muttering, “Kids these days are out of their minds.” I mentally logged another devastating entry into my social suicide diary. I could not stay out here. My only hope was my best friend, Tyler. He lived in the apartment complex right next to mine. I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and sprinted down the stairs as fast as humanly possible. Along the way, I received highly confused stares from elderly people doing their morning jogs. Some looked at me with pity. Some with disgust. A few pulled out their phones. I did not even want to imagine the absolute bloodbath that would be the neighborhood group chat tomorrow. I just knew I had to reach Tyler’s place before someone called the cops and had me arrested for public indecency. Bang! Bang! Bang! I hammered on Tyler’s door like a madman. It took forever before I heard Tyler’s groggy voice from the other side. “Who the hell is it? Did somebody die?” The door swung open. Tyler was yawning and rubbing his eyes. When his vision focused on me, he instantly woke up. His eyes bugged out, and his jaw dropped low enough to catch a baseball. “Holy shit! Connor? Did you get abducted by aliens and just escape?” I ignored his jokes, squeezed past him into the apartment, and slammed the door shut. I leaned against the wood, panting heavily, feeling like I had just survived a war zone. Tyler looked me up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement. “Not bad, bro. The abs paired with the SpongeBob give off a very innocent yet feral vibe.” “Shut up!” I snapped. “Find me some clothes. And get me a glass of water, I am dying.” Wearing Tyler’s oversized t-shirt and baggy shorts made me look like I was wearing a potato sack. I chugged three glasses of water before I finally explained the entire disaster to him, leaving nothing out. Tyler listened, falling into a long, profound silence. He frowned. He nodded. He occasionally looked at me with deep pity. I stared at him, my nerves completely fried. “Tyler, say something! What the hell do I do now?” Tyler finally opened his mouth. He patted my shoulder with solemn gravity. “Connor. Look on the bright side.” “What bright side?” “I mean,” Tyler said, looking deeply serious, “Your wife, Sophie, is gorgeous. Tall, beautiful, elegant. Her best friend, Emma, is petite, cute, and has a crazy figure. In one night, you got to experience both top tier aesthetics. Sure, the process was a little messy, but the result is a win. From a purely biological standpoint… you scored.” I stared at him. I genuinely wanted to punch his head clean off his shoulders. “Be serious!” I yelled. “Okay, okay, I’m serious.” Tyler dropped the smirk and rubbed his chin, suddenly playing the role of a master strategist. “First, let us analyze the core of the problem.” “The core is that I slept in the wrong bed.” “No,” Tyler wagged his finger. “The core is that you not only got into the wrong bed, but you fumbled the aftermath. It could have been a beautiful accident, but you literally turned it into financial extortion.” I remembered my bold attempt to add a zero to the check, and my face burned. “I had a temporary lapse in judgment!” “You had a poverty possessed brain,” Tyler corrected bluntly. “Right now, Sophie wants a divorce, and Emma wants you dead. You are the villain in both of their stories.” “So what do I do? Beg on my knees? Write an apology in blood?” “Useless.” Tyler shook his head. “When women are that angry, breathing is a crime. The more you beg, the more pathetic you look. In my professional opinion, you need a drastic move.” “What drastic move?” My eyes lit up. I was desperate for anything. Tyler lowered his voice, looking incredibly secretive. “We need to flip the script. Turn your defensive position into an offensive strike.” “How?” “Think about it. Whose fault is this really?” “Mine.” “No. On the surface, it looks like your fault. But what is the root cause? Emma got drunk and slept in your bed! Sophie invited a guest into the master bedroom and did not warn you! You are the real victim here!” I listened, completely stunned. That actually… made a twisted kind of sense? “And?” “And so, you cannot apologize!” Tyler slapped his thigh. “You need to act more wronged, more furious, and more heartbroken than they are!” “What?” “You call Sophie and tell her you never expected her to be so evil. Accuse her of teaming up with Emma to set you up in a honey trap! Tell her your true love was completely wasted on her!” My jaw dropped. “Are you insane? She will skin me alive!” “You know nothing about psychology. This is a survival tactic!” Tyler spat passionately. “Women have soft hearts. If you act convincing enough, if you make her think you are actually the victim, she will start doubting herself. She will wonder if she really misunderstood you.” “What about Emma?” “Emma is even easier.” Tyler grinned wickedly. “You tell her that you are going to take full responsibility for her! From today on, she is your woman! Tell her you are going to marry her!” Pfft. I choked on my water and sprayed it across the room. “Are you out of your mind?! Marry her? What about Sophie?!” “That is exactly the point! You make Sophie realize you are not joking! You trigger her panic! You make her realize that if she doesn’t forgive you right now, you are actually going to become her best friend’s husband!” I looked at Tyler. He wasn’t giving me advice; he was handing me a shovel to dig my own grave. This plan sounded incredibly suicidal. But looking at my current situation, I had absolutely zero alternatives. I had to bet it all. I gritted my teeth. “Fine! We do it your way!”

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1 Gideon and I were once the deadliest duo in our covert ops unit. We breathed and bled together. Then, fate played a cruel joke. During a high-stakes op, we were forced to pose as husband and wife, and the fake marriage eventually became a real chain. He resented me for stealing the title of “wife” from the woman he truly loved. I hated him for marrying me out of duty, with nothing left of his heart to give. For five bitter years, we weaponized our silence, each hoping the other would vanish. Until the past caught up with us. A cartel we had dismantled years ago came for revenge. They tied me to a C4-wired chair on a yacht and forced Gideon to choose: “You die, or she dies.” The moment the shot rang out, Gideon did the unthinkable. Without hesitation, he threw himself over me, tackled the cartel boss, and dragged them both into the icy ocean—opting for mutual destruction. Before the water swallowed him, he whispered up to me: “If there’s a next life, let’s just be partners. Never husband and wife.” Then, the timer on my chair reached zero, and everything erupted in pain. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the ocean. I was back in the sterile briefing room at headquarters—on the very day we were meant to draw lots for the undercover mission. This time, I didn’t hesitate. I stepped forward, snatched both wooden sticks from the table, and declared calmly, “Skip the draw. I’m taking the solo assignment.” In this life, I would set him free. I would not be the wall between him and the woman he truly loved. When my fingers closed around both long sticks, a flicker of surprise twisted my stomach. I looked up at the Director. Arthur shifted his weight, his eyes darting away from mine. A second later, his expression tightened into something complicated. “Raven, this syndicate is ruthless. Are you absolutely certain you want to go in completely alone?” In my previous life, Ruby had drawn the long stick first, marking her as the mole. Gideon and I had been paired as her backup, posing as a married couple. Back then, my heart had fluttered at the thought of playing his wife. I was so blinded by my own foolish crush that I never realized Arthur, who had always favored me, had rigged the draw to keep me out of the direct line of fire. But Arthur couldn’t have known his protective gesture would doom Gideon and me to five years of mutual torture. I gave Arthur a look of genuine gratitude. “Ruby is too impulsive. Her cover would blow in a week. I’ll take the inside job.” Seeing the finality in my eyes, Arthur gave a stiff nod. With me going in deep, the backup roles fell into place. Ruby would automatically pair with Gideon to play the married couple running surveillance. The moment we stepped into the hallway, Gideon came striding around the corner, his tactical boots heavy against the linoleum. Ruby’s face instantly lit up. “Gideon!” His expression was as icy as ever, but his eyes locked onto hers with a gravitational pull. They stared at each other for a beat too long, and Ruby finally looked down, the tips of her ears burning scarlet. The raw, unspoken tension between them felt like a knife twisting in my chest. A split second later, Gideon grabbed my elbow and dragged me down the corridor, out of earshot. Behind him, Ruby’s flushed face morphed into a mask of pure jealousy. “I am completely against this operational plan,” Gideon hissed, his grip bruising my arm. “Silas is a paranoid psychopath. He’ll smell a rat the second an undercover agent steps into his inner circle.” He leaned closer, his voice vibrating with barely contained panic. “Ruby doesn’t have the miles on her for this. I will not sign off on throwing her to the wolves.” I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth. In my last life, he had fought just as hard when he thought Ruby was the one going in. He had argued every angle, torn apart every strategy. And when he failed, I had calmly waited until deployment day, taken his arm, and dragged him to the courthouse to make our cover unbreakable. “You know the protocol,” I said, my voice deadpan. “Someone has to get close to Silas. It was always going to be me or Ruby.” His jaw clenched. His eyes, usually so cold and calculating, burned with arrogant certainty. “If Command gives me just a little more time, I can find another pressure point. Pushing a woman into Silas’s bed isn’t the only tactical entry we have.” I offered him a hollow, pitying smile. The only reason Command narrowed it down to me or Ruby was because we spent most of our careers sporting buzzcuts and tactical gear. Silas’s intel stated our strike team was entirely male. Sending a female operative in high heels and silk was our only blind spot advantage. “Captain,” I said, my tone stripping away years of our partnership. “We are out of time. The op is green-lit. Show up to the briefing or don’t. Your call.” I yanked my arm free and walked away, leaving him standing there in stunned silence. I had no intention of telling him that I was the one going into the snake pit. Let him hear the good news from his precious Ruby. He’d be thrilled to know she was safe. Gideon, I thought, the neon lights buzzing above me. In this life, I’ll trade the title of your wife for a glass of whiskey poured over your grave. 2 That night, alone in my quarters, the reality of my rebirth still felt like a fever dream. A soft knock pulled me from my thoughts. I cracked the door to find Arthur standing in the dim hallway, holding a greasy paper bag of street skewers and a six-pack of imported beer. “I don’t drink before a deployment,” I said, raising an eyebrow at him. He stepped past me, making himself at home on my worn sofa. “I know. That’s why I’m drinking the beer, and you’re eating the meat.” A genuine laugh punched its way out of my chest. He drank in silence. I ate in silence. It was a comfortable rhythm we had built over the years. Finally, the question burning in my throat had to come out. “Why did you do it?” He knew exactly what I was asking. He took a slow pull from his bottle and smirked. “I was shipping you two. Thought I’d give fate a nudge.” I rolled my eyes so hard they hurt, but the chaotic storm in my chest finally settled into a quiet calm. The next morning, the sun hadn’t even crested the horizon when a fist hammered against my door. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and undid the latch. Gideon shoved the door open, practically vibrating with rage. His eyes were bloodshot. The corners of his eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were tight with fury. Before a mission, he always drew a small scorpion motif near his temple—the mark that earned him his lethal reputation in the underworld. His skin was bare today, but his glare was venomous enough to kill. “Raven, you are absolute garbage.” He backed me against the wall. “Why the hell did you conspire with the Director to rig the draw?” His hands flew up, his fingers digging into my shoulders, shaking me. “I actually thought… I thought it was just the luck of the draw. Destiny.” His thumbs pressed dangerously close to my windpipe. I clawed at his wrists, my voice tight. “Gideon, back off! You’re hurting me!” “You feel pain?” he spat, his face inches from mine. “Do you think Ruby wouldn’t feel pain? Do you think getting tortured to death on an undercover op wouldn’t hurt?” He was panting, his chest heaving. “You have no idea what happened last time—” He abruptly cut himself off, his jaw snapping shut as if he had almost spilled a state secret. When he looked at me again, the fury had melted into absolute, crushing disappointment. “Why are you so hellbent on tearing us apart? Why do you insist on sending Ruby to her death?” His grip tightened, cutting off my air. Initially, I hadn’t braced for combat, but the lack of oxygen flipped my training switch. I twisted my hips, grabbed his elbow, and threw my weight forward. In the cramped space of my quarters, the fight was brutal and fast. “Are you out of your mind?!” I yelled, pinning his arm against the drywall. “The assignment comes from Command! We don’t write the script!” His eyes were feral. “You’re lying! Both sticks were long! Ruby told me she drew the long one to go deep cover. We all know you and Arthur played us!” I knew exactly where his old injuries were. I pressed my knee into the nerve cluster on his thigh, forcing him down. “I’ll say it one last time,” I hissed in his ear. “Command makes the calls. As for what you really want… I’m sure Command will accommodate your happily ever after.” He let out a broken, cynical laugh. “What I want… I can never have it again. Because of you.” I held him until the fight completely drained out of his muscles. When I finally stepped back, he dropped to his knees, his fists slamming into the floorboards. Seconds later, he stood up. The emotional wreckage was gone, replaced by the glacial, untouchable captain I knew so well. It was as if his total breakdown hadn’t just happened. He threw a muttered “My mistake” over his shoulder and walked out. I didn’t say a word. Only Ruby could make him lose his mind like that. In our previous life, while playing the perfect married couple, Gideon had been dosed with a highly potent neural-stimulant by an enemy target. To maintain our cover and save his life, I gave myself to him. Even in bed, he was a statue of military discipline, his face carved from stone. There was no passion. No heat. When the drug wore off, he buttoned his shirt without looking at me and said, “I’ll take responsibility for this.” After Ruby died and the mission imploded, we never bothered to file the divorce papers. We just existed in the same airspace. But from that day on, he treated me like a stranger carrying a disease. We went from being the team’s most lethal, synchronized weapon to a hollow couple who only communicated in nods. I thought taking the bullet for this undercover op would preserve our professional respect. Clearly, I was wrong. The cracks were already showing. But maybe this was for the best. If Silas put a bullet in my brain, Gideon wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. 3 The syndicate had been under Command’s microscope for three years. The intel was dense. Our squad sat around the conference table, methodically breaking down the entry strategy. Because she was now paired with Gideon to play his wealthy wife, Ruby couldn’t stop beaming. As the briefing wrapped, she pulled a small, tarnished silver pendant from her pocket and slid it across the table with a shy smile. “Gideon, I got this from St. Jude’s cathedral yesterday. For protection.” Gideon was a hardline atheist. He despised anything related to faith or prayer. After his father died when he was seven, his mother drained their bank accounts, gave the money to a cult, and abandoned him to live in an ashram. He grew up eating scraps and surviving on pure spite. Once, during a heavy firefight, I had muttered a quick prayer to survive. He had shoved his rifle barrel against my vest and snarled, “Say that again and I’ll kick you out of my unit myself.” So, when Ruby offered the saint’s medallion, the entire squad collectively held their breath, waiting for the explosion. Instead, Gideon’s lips curled into a gentle smile. He took the pendant, looped it around his neck, and reached into his tactical vest. He pulled out a heavy, vintage silver locket. I recognized it instantly. It was the only thing his mother had left behind. The man was a walking contradiction—he hated her guts, but carried her memory over his heart. In our past life, shortly after we married, I accidentally knocked that locket off a table. He didn’t say a word. He just grabbed my collar and flipped me over his shoulder onto the hardwood floor. Jax, our comms specialist, leaned back in his chair and whistled. “Damn, Cap. You finally thawing out?” I unscrewed the cap of my canteen and took a long drag of water. For some reason, it tasted like ash. Bitter. Worse than the black sludge from the breakroom coffee maker. Another teammate chuckled. “Our girl Ruby is unstoppable. She bagged the Captain, and now she’s gonna go deep cover and wrap Silas around her little finger. This op is in the bag!” My head snapped up. I stared at Ruby in total shock. She avoided my gaze, suddenly fascinated by the stitching on her holster. She hadn’t told them. She was letting the team believe she was the one going in. I couldn’t fathom why she was playing this game. Jax grinned. “Hey, you better watch your six in there, Ruby. Silas eats pretty girls for breakfast.” I watched Gideon’s knuckles turn white. He slammed his fist onto the metal table, the sound echoing like a gunshot. “Shut your mouth!” he barked. The room instantly flatlined. Nobody dared to breathe. After the meeting, Ruby cornered me in the shadowed stairwell. “Raven, I… I didn’t mean to take the credit for the undercover gig. It’s just that Gideon pulled me aside.” Her face flushed a deep crimson. “He was so worried about me. He spent the whole night going over deep-cover protocols and infiltration tactics with me.” She looked up through her lashes. “I just didn’t have the heart to tell him I wasn’t the one going in.” Looking at her playing the bashful maiden, everything clicked into place. I sighed and rubbed my temples. “It’s fine. He’s the team lead. He should be training you. Just soak up the intel.” After all, she was going to be his partner in the field from now on. I had to keep telling myself that. I honestly couldn’t remember how I walked back to my room that night. 4 The next morning, the air in the briefing room was thick enough to choke on. I was two minutes late. There were six people in the room, making me the seventh. No one was sitting. Gideon stood at the head of the table, radiating pure violence. When I walked in, his eyes locked onto mine. “The day you joined my squad, I gave you three ironclad rules. Jax. Recite them.” Jax swallowed hard, looking from me to Gideon. “Uh. Rule one: keep yourself breathing. Rule two: keep your squad breathing. Rule three: no internal sabotage or backstabbing.” Gideon’s gaze shifted to the sniper standing next to Jax. “Penalty for breaking rule three?” “Three thousand push-ups, ten-mile run with an eighty-pound ruck. And a public apology.” Gideon turned his dead eyes back to me. “Raven. Drop.” I planted my boots, totally confused. “What the hell are you talking about?” Jax took a step toward me, his face grim. “Look, Raven… I love you like a sister, but what you did crossed the line. You need to apologize to Ruby right now.” The rest of the squad nodded in agreement. I looked at Ruby. She was staring at the floor, hugging her arms around herself. “You want to play dumb?” Gideon growled. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded tissue, and threw it onto the table. It was the vintage silver locket. Smashed into pieces. “I gave this to Ruby to keep her safe,” Gideon’s voice was a lethal whisper. “You couldn’t handle that, so you ripped it off her neck and crushed it?” My eyes widened in absolute horror. “What? No! I didn’t touch it!” I spun toward the girl. “Ruby, tell them! Tell them what actually happened!” She bit her trembling lip and shook her head, tears spilling over her lashes. “Raven… I didn’t want to say anything, but Gideon saw it. If I lie, he’ll punish me instead.” “Raven,” Jax cut in softly. “We all know you’ve got feelings for the boss, but going scorched-earth out of jealousy? Over a piece of silver? He just wanted her safe. She’s going into the lion’s den, for god’s sake.” The rest of the team chimed in, their voices a chorus of disappointment and anger. I stared at Ruby, my mind short-circuiting. I couldn’t comprehend how someone could fabricate such a flawless, devastating lie out of thin air. “Ruby. Look me in the eye.” My voice shook with suppressed rage. “Did I do this?” She let out a choked sob and buried her face in her hands. “Gideon… she didn’t mean it, please don’t be mad at her.” “Enough!” Gideon roared. He marched up to me, his chest almost brushing mine. “You make me sick. You have become a liability. You don’t deserve the patch on your shoulder.” His eyes were merciless. “Take the punishment and confess, and maybe we let you stay in the unit. Refuse, and I am marching up to Command to have your badge stripped. You’re no operator. You’re a jealous child.” I shook my head, my eyes burning. We had bled together in war zones. He knew my character down to my bones. But all it took was a few fake tears from Ruby, and suddenly I was a traitor? “Are you going to apologize?!” he barked. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. I kept my eyes locked on Ruby. After a long, agonizing silence, my voice came out like cracked ice. “I’m sorry.” “Louder!” “I am sorry!” “Drop.” I hit the floor. I didn’t speak. Three thousand push-ups was torture. Around the two-thousand mark, my triceps started spasming. My pace ground down to a grueling, agonizing crawl. When the last rep was done, I stood up, strapped on the eighty-pound ruck, and walked out the door. Jax tried to step forward to plead for me, but Gideon shut him down with one terrifying glare. I hit the asphalt track. Lap after lap. My vision blurred. My muscles screamed. Right near the finish line, my legs gave out, and I slammed hard into the dirt, tasting blood and gravel. A shadow fell over me. A suffocating cloud of designer perfume filled my lungs. “Tsk, tsk. Sorry about that, Raven.” Ruby crouched down next to me, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. “I just wanted to test how much Gideon really cared about you.” She laughed, a sharp, ugly sound. “Turns out, not much.” I pushed myself up onto my elbows, glaring at her. “Why?” I rasped out. “Why do you all want me to take the deep-cover op? You know it’s a death sentence. Arthur wants it, Gideon wants it… he spent all week training you, just to make sure you wouldn’t have to go. So I’m just collateral damage?” I let out a bitter, exhausted laugh. “It’s not going to work out the way you think, Ruby.” “Oh, really? Don’t think I don’t know you stole those sticks. And so what if you’ve been his partner? Once I’m standing by his side in the field, I’ll erase every memory he has of you.” “I’m sure you will,” I whispered tiredly. He already loved her. That was a fixed point in the universe. But my quiet resignation sounded like a challenge to her ears. Her eyes flared with malice. “Don’t get cocky, bitch.” Before I could react, she lunged forward, pinning my exhausted arm down. She jammed a small white pill against my lips. “I just need you to do me one more favor!” But in a chaotic blur of motion, she suddenly shoved the pill into my palm, grabbed my hand, and forced it to push the pill into her own mouth. She collapsed backward, clutching her throat. “Raven! Why are you doing this to me?!” Her eyes were wide with perfectly feigned terror. Heavy boots pounded into the dirt behind me. Gideon flew past me, dropping to his knees and gathering Ruby into his arms. He whipped his head around, his face feral. “What the hell did you force her to swallow?!” “Gideon…” Ruby whimpered, her face flushing crimson as she curled into his chest. “I feel so hot. I… I just came down to help her back to the barracks. I brought her medical spray…” Tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked like a broken angel. My mind spun. How could someone with this level of psychotic acting ability possibly fail an undercover op in her past life? Before I could solve the puzzle, Gideon’s hand shot out and clamped around my throat, slamming my head back into the dirt. My airway collapsed. Black spots danced in my vision. “What. Did. You. Give. Her. Where is the antidote?!” I tried to peel his iron fingers off, a manic, hysterical laugh bubbling up in my chest. “Ask her! Ask her what she took!” His eyes were rimmed with red. The absolute disgust radiating from him felt like physical blows. “What the hell did you turn into? Or have you always been this twisted and I was just too blind to see it?” He kicked me in the ribs, sending me sprawling across the dirt. My body was completely broken from the punishment. I didn’t have the strength to lift my arms. I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth, forcing myself up on one trembling arm. I looked right at the trembling girl in his arms. “Bravo. I hope you can keep the mask on forever.” “You are beyond saving,” Gideon snarled. “I am submitting the paperwork to burn your operative number. I’m reporting every single thing you’ve done. You are unfit to wear the uniform.” Operative Number: 01467. It was my father’s old call sign. Gideon knew exactly why I fought so hard to inherit it. But right now, blinded by what he thought he saw, he was going to strip me of my legacy. Panic finally broke through my exhaustion. “I was wrong! Gideon, I admit it, I was wrong, please don’t—” He didn’t even look back. He scooped Ruby up and sprinted toward the medical wing. My vision narrowed to a pinprick, and the darkness finally pulled me under.

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