Category: English

Ten days before the wedding, I pushed open the fitting room door to find my fiancé Ethan bent over, adjusting Chloe’s wedding dress. That dress—I was the one who ordered it. The store clerk stood nearby, smiling as she complimented Chloe’s figure, saying the dress looked like it was custom-made for her. I stood frozen in the fitting room doorway. Chloe spotted me in the mirror and quickly covered her exposed cleavage. “Natalie, don’t misunderstand.” Her voice dripped with innocence. “I just thought this dress was so beautiful, and I mentioned wanting to try it on. Ethan said—” Before she could finish, Ethan rushed to explain. “Chloe’s never worn a wedding dress before. What’s wrong with letting her try it on?” I looked at him, and suddenly felt like laughing. This wedding dress? I didn’t want it anymore. This fiancé? I didn’t want him either. I said nothing, walking over slowly. The store fell silent. The clerk who’d been holding my gloves instinctively stepped back. Ethan glanced at me, finally seeming to notice my expression. “She just got back to the country and she’s going through a rough time. It’s just a fitting. Don’t make a scene.” I stared at him and asked quietly, “When did this start between you two?” His brow furrowed. Chloe bit her lip, maintaining that innocent look. “Natalie, I really didn’t mean anything by it. I just—” “Don’t bother lying!” I cut her off. “You knew exactly how important this dress was to me. Not only did you put it on, you had my fiancé help you into it!” Her face paled. Ethan’s voice dropped immediately. “Natalie. Why are you taking it out on her? She said she just wanted to try it. Why are you being so harsh?” Looking at him, I suddenly felt that even getting angry would be a waste of energy. I reached up and removed the veil from my head. Ethan’s expression finally changed. “Natalie, what are you doing?” I ignored him, focusing on removing the ring from my left hand. That ring—he’d put it on me just last month. The ring stuck a bit as I tried to remove it. I twisted it forcefully, and my knuckle quickly turned red. Ethan walked over, finally showing some urgency, reaching out to touch me. “Stop this.” I stepped aside, avoiding his hand, and threw the ring on the floor. “She wants to try on wedding dresses? You can help her. She wants to get married? You can marry her too.” The color drained from Chloe’s face, and her voice began to tremble. “Natalie, please don’t do this. I really wasn’t trying to steal—” “You weren’t trying to steal.” I looked at her. “You just knew that whenever you reached out, he’d always take your side. And he’s never disappointed you, has he?” Ethan’s expression darkened. “That’s enough. You want to call off the wedding? Have you thought about the consequences?” I suddenly smiled. “I have. So from this moment on, the wedding is cancelled.” Ethan looked like he hadn’t heard me correctly. “What did you say?” “I said, it’s cancelled.” I turned to the clerk. “Please pull up all the payment records for this dress.” Chloe finally seemed unsteady on her feet, clutching the dress as she stepped back. “Ethan, maybe I should change out of this…” “Change.” I looked at her. “Right now.” Her eyes immediately welled up with tears, as if she’d suffered some terrible injustice. A few minutes later, the clerk pulled up the payment records. I held them in front of Ethan’s face. “See this clearly? I ordered the dress. I paid for it. You took my property to please your white moonlight, and you expect me to be gracious about it?” Ethan’s lips moved as if he wanted to explain. “Natalie, that’s not what I meant.” “What you meant doesn’t matter anymore. The wedding is cancelled!”

With that, I turned and walked out. Ethan finally caught up, grabbing my wrist and lowering his voice. “Is this really necessary?” I stopped and looked back at him. “Ethan. You’re gambling that I won’t dare make a scene.” His fingers stiffened. I pulled my hand free, bit by bit. “Too bad. This time you bet wrong.” When I walked out of the bridal shop, the sun outside was blindingly bright. So bright my eyes stung. My bridesmaid Maya chased after me, shoving my phone and purse into my arms, her voice still shaking. “Nat, are you really calling it off?” “Yes. Seven years. That’s all it was. I’m not throwing away the rest of my life for it.” I got into the car and turned the AC to its lowest setting, but my back was still covered in sweat. Maya sat in the passenger seat, glancing back at me several times, clearly wanting to say something. I’d been with Ethan since my early twenties, supporting him from nothing to where he was today. Seven years total. When we first got together, during his hardest times, I was the one who helped him through. When he had a fever, I was the one who carried him downstairs to the hospital in the middle of the night. During the most difficult period of his career transition, I was doing my own projects while also editing his resume and practicing interviews with him. Even later, when Chloe’s name started appearing between us occasionally, I kept telling myself not to overthink it. A first love from college, leaving some shadow in his heart—that didn’t mean anything would actually happen. On his birthday, a message popped up on his phone. I saw it was from “Chloe.” He said it was just someone from an old college group chat checking in. The day she returned to the country, he cancelled dinner with my parents at the last minute, claiming work emergency. Later, I saw a photo she posted on Ins of someone picking her up at the airport. He was in the frame. I stared at my phone for a long time but never asked. It wasn’t until today that I understood—some relationships don’t suddenly fall apart. Maya finally spoke up. “Want to go home?” “Let’s go to my place,” I said. “I need to sort out the accounts first.” She paused. “You’re doing accounts right now?” “If I don’t do it now, should I wait for him to strike first?” I unlocked my phone and pulled up the wedding budget spreadsheet. Wedding dress final payment: twenty-eight thousand. Maya looked at that figure and sucked in a breath. “You never settled this with him before?” “I did,” I said. “He told me to cover it first, and he’d pay me back when his quarterly bonus came through.” “Plus there were things he just assumed I’d pay for because I was better at handling logistics and could pay faster. We’d settle up later.” As I said it, I had to laugh at myself. Settle up later. Turned out in his mind, I was suitable for marriage not just because I was stable, understanding, and good at managing life. But also because I could pay, could cover expenses, could handle all the hassles. And all he had to do was show up when needed and continue playing the respectable groom-to-be. My phone screen suddenly lit up. A message from Ethan. [Just calm down for a bit.] Then a second one. [Today wasn’t as serious as you think.] The third came quickly. [Chloe just went through a breakup and she’s emotional. I was just looking out for her. Don’t blow this out of proportion.] I stared at that phrase “blow this out of proportion,” my fingertips growing cold. Even now, his concern was about proportion. Not about right or wrong. Maya leaned over to look and nearly laughed in anger. “He’s got some nerve.” I didn’t reply. The next second, my phone vibrated again.

This time it wasn’t a private message—it was the wedding planning group chat. That group included both sets of parents, groomsmen and bridesmaids, the wedding planner, hotel coordinator, and a few close relatives. Ethan posted in it: [There was a small misunderstanding at the dress fitting today. Natalie got a bit emotional, but the wedding is still on. Everyone, don’t worry.] I stared at that line for three seconds. Maya swore out loud. “He’s getting ahead of the narrative.” I nodded. Not surprising. Ethan had always been best at packaging embarrassing situations as harmless misunderstandings. He was never afraid of hurting me. He was afraid of people finding out that ten days before his wedding, he’d given his fiancée’s wedding dress to his white moonlight. Soon, people started responding to smooth things over. [Couples always get anxious before the wedding. Don’t let it hurt your relationship.] [Ethan, just be patient with her.] [Natalie’s probably just stressed.] Then there was Ethan’s mother’s message: [You’re this close to the wedding. Don’t give outsiders something to laugh about.] Almost simultaneously, my mom’s private message popped up. [Nat, don’t be afraid. Take care of yourself. Your dad and I are here.] Looking at those two messages, I suddenly smiled. So even at a time like this, some people worried about losing face, while others only worried about me getting hurt. Who cared about appearances and who cared about me—it was crystal clear. I placed my phone on my lap and took a deep breath. “Maya.” “Yeah?” “At the bridal shop—did you record a video?” Maya froze for a moment, then nodded quickly. “I was originally trying to film you coming out, but I accidentally caught Ethan adjusting Chloe’s back clasp. I didn’t film long, but that moment’s in there.” I held out my hand. “Send it to me.” She immediately transferred the original video. I opened it. The footage was a bit shaky, but clear enough. Ethan stood behind Chloe, his fingers on the wedding dress clasp, his movements painfully practiced. And that dress—the waistline, the hoop skirt, the train—all exactly as I’d confirmed just two days ago. This wasn’t a misunderstanding. This was evidence. I dragged the bridal shop payment records, wedding expense spreadsheet, and corresponding transaction records all into one folder. “He said I was being emotional?” I looked up at Maya. “Then I’ll show everyone whether I’m throwing a tantrum or cutting my losses.” I picked up my phone again and opened the wedding planning group. [Since Ethan says it’s a misunderstanding, let’s clear up the misunderstanding.] The moment I sent the message, the group went silent. I knew the real second round was just beginning.

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Kael’s father, Roderick, was the Alpha of BlackPine Pack. He had just pulled the family business back from the brink of collapse. And the first thing he did was force his son to divorce me. “Cut ties with her. I’ll find you a partner worthy of you.” “A full-time housewife who only knows how to stay in the kitchen doesn’t deserve to be BlackPine Pack’s Luna.” “I must have been blind to agree to your marriage in the first place.” I could only laugh softly at his words. A year ago, when his family business imploded, it was me who anonymously bought up all his bad debts and filled the hole for him. Without my intervention, he wouldn’t have any of his current glory. His entire family would have become homeless rogues. My phone screen lit up. My assistant, Liam, CEO of NorthPeak Capital, sent me an audio file. I didn’t open it. The accompanying text summary already made the sordid contents clear. On the dining table sat a glass of warm milk I’d just prepared, mixed with calming herbs to soothe a werewolf’s restless mind. Kael had been stressed about Pack affairs for the past six months. Every night, I’d prepare this milk and wait for him to emerge from his study in the late hours. The sound of the password lock came from outside. Kael was home. He looked exhausted, giving me a cursory glance before heading straight to his study and closing the door heavily. Once, he used to hold me first thing when he came home, sharing the day’s events. Now, only silence remained between us. I picked up the milk and walked to the study door, knocking before pushing it open. “You’ve been up half the night. Have some warm milk to help you relax.” He glanced at it, his brow furrowing. “That again. I told you I’m sick of it.” My hand hung in midair, white steam from the glass blurring my vision. I suddenly remembered three years ago when we registered our marriage. Back then, he’d just taken over BlackPine Pack’s mess, losing sleep every night over Pack affairs. I’d stayed up with him until dawn every night, preparing this calming milk. He used to hold me and say he could never live without this companionship, that with me there, he could move forward with peace of mind. He didn’t look at me again, his gaze returning to the screen. He coldly threw out a sentence. “Get out. Don’t disturb my work.” I silently took the glass and left, closing the door behind me. The entire house fell completely silent. When Kael emerged from the study, it was already late into the night. At the dinner table, we sat in silence. He ate a few bites before putting down his fork. “Elara, we need to talk.” I looked up at him. “This can’t go on.” His gaze was evasive. “Our lives are no longer on the same level.” “My father’s company is back on track, bigger than ever before. BlackPine Pack’s position in North America is completely secure.” “And you. You stay home all day with no job, no social circle of your own, completely disconnected from the outside world.” He seemed to finally gather his courage and looked at me. “I think we should separate for a while. Give each other some space to think.” I looked at his determined face and suddenly laughed. “Fine.” One word blocked all the arguments he’d prepared in his throat. He froze, clearly not expecting me to agree so readily. I stood up to clear the table. “Kael,” I said with my back to him, my voice flat, “once you’ve decided, don’t regret it.” The next day, I met my best friend Mia for afternoon tea. At the outdoor café, Mia sighed heavily. She complained about the hardship of raising two kids and her husband’s complete indifference to family matters. “Elara, you have it easy. Kael gives you all the money, no strings attached, no family pressures weighing you down.” She patted my hand. “Not like us, waking up to a mountain of problems every day.” I smiled but said nothing. In werewolf circles, everyone thought I was mild-tempered and unambitious. As the only daughter of WhiteRock Pack’s Alpha, they also thought I was utterly incompetent. Completely lacking the ability to be an heir. Last year when BlackPine Pack neared bankruptcy, everyone said I was jumping into a fire pit. Now that the Pack had made a comeback, everyone assumed I was just a woman living off Kael. My phone buzzed. A message from Kael came through. “Saturday night, my father’s birthday. You’re coming with me to the estate for dinner.” Still that commanding tone, cold text without a trace of warmth. I sent him back a “Fine.” But I knew in my heart that this family dinner was a humiliation trap prepared specifically for me. What was coming would come eventually.

Saturday was the sixtieth birthday celebration for Roderick, BlackPine Pack’s current Alpha and Kael’s father. I carried a gift and walked into the Pack’s estate. The standalone manor that had once been deserted, with most of its security staff dismissed, was now brightly lit, a display of prosperity following their comeback. Roderick wore a bespoke hand-tailored suit, his face glowing as he stood in the center of the banquet hall. He raised glasses and laughed with business moguls and Alpha leaders from neighboring packs. When he saw me enter, the smile faded from his face, his eyes filled with contempt. “You’re here. Find yourself a seat. Don’t push to the front.” He pointed to the most remote corner of the hall, right by the service station, then didn’t spare me another glance. At the head table, Kael sat at an angle with an unfamiliar young woman beside him. The woman wore a silver haute couture evening gown, a limited-edition Patek Philippe watch glinting on her wrist under the lights. A collector’s piece only accessible to children of North America’s top Pack Alphas. Kael leaned close to her ear, speaking with a smile, his tone relaxed. “Elara.” Kael’s mother walked over holding a glass of champagne, her tone distant and perfunctory. “This is Sera, daughter of SilverMoon Pack’s Alpha. She flew in specially from London for Roderick’s birthday. Her family’s business spans Europe and America. She’s young and accomplished.” I nodded and looked at Sera. She was sizing me up, her gaze like she was examining something beneath her station, superiority radiating from her. “Oh, so you’re Luna Elara?” She drew out her words, a hint of a smile on her lips. “I heard you’ve been a stay-at-home wife since getting married? You’ve really sacrificed a lot for the family.” Her words mentioned sacrifice, but the disdain in her eyes was overflowing. Kael’s expression stiffened slightly. He glanced at me, then turned to follow Sera’s conversation about future collaboration plans between the two Packs. Dinner was served. The table was filled with exquisite dishes prepared by a three-Michelin-star chef. After several rounds of drinks, Roderick took the microphone and went on stage to give a speech. “Thank you all, friends and allies, for attending my sixtieth birthday banquet!” He raised his glass high, full of vigor. “This time last year, BlackPine Pack was at rock bottom. It’s because of your unwavering support that we’re here today!” He drained his glass, then suddenly shifted his tone, his gaze locking onto me in the corner. “Of course, today I must also thank certain people.” He emphasized the word “thank,” dripping with sarcasm. “Some people benefited from our family’s misfortune without contributing anything. Now that we’ve risen, she still has the gall to stand here, basking in our success and sharing in our glory.” The moment he finished, the entire hall erupted in laughter, mixed with waves of agreement. “Exactly! Just a full-time housewife. What else can she do besides spend a man’s money?” “The heir’s wife is just a housewife? She really doesn’t deserve BlackPine Pack.” “Roderick is being too generous. If it were me, I’d have kicked her out long ago!” Sera laughed and chimed in, her voice loud enough for nearby tables to hear: “Roderick is being modest. Some people just want stability. They have no real abilities, so they can only stick to household chores. “But BlackPine Pack is on the rise. Kael has a bright future ahead. Naturally, he needs someone more suitable by his side, not someone irrelevant holding him back.” The two of them played off each other like they’d rehearsed it, every word aimed at me. I never spoke, sitting quietly in place. My silence, in their eyes, became weakness, became incompetence. I became tacit admission that I wasn’t worthy of Kael, wasn’t worthy of BlackPine Pack. The birthday banquet’s clamor gradually subsided. Roderick finally dropped all pretense, walking straight to me with his wine glass. “Elara, you can see for yourself. Our family isn’t what it used to be.” His tone was icy. “You being with Kael is holding back his future.” “I’ll give you five hundred thousand dollars. Divorce Kael. Stop pestering him afterward, and never set foot in BlackPine Pack territory again.” Five hundred thousand dollars. To buy out our three-year marriage. To buy out the thirty-two million in debt I’d quietly covered for him. To buy out the entire BlackPine Pack I’d saved. What a joke. Everyone in the banquet hall focused their eyes on me, full of mockery and anticipation of a spectacle. Sera stood nearby holding her wine glass, a triumphant smile on her face, as if she’d already determined herself to be Kael’s next partner, BlackPine Pack’s future mistress.

I didn’t look at Roderick, but turned my gaze to Kael instead. He was like a bystander, as if our three-year marriage had nothing to do with him. “Kael,” I spoke, “is this what you want too?” His body jerked violently, his knuckles turning white around his wine glass. Every eye in the hall turned to him. Even the air went quiet. “Yes.” That single word completely shattered the last bit of warmth remaining in my heart. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Good. Very good.” I stood up and surveyed the room full of people. Roderick’s brow furrowed tightly, extremely dissatisfied with my reaction. “What are you laughing at? Five hundred thousand isn’t enough? Elara, don’t be shameless!” Sera leaned on Kael’s shoulder looking at me, disdain practically spilling from her eyes. “A full-time housewife who’s been freeloading for three years. Without Kael, you couldn’t even earn five hundred thousand. What’s there to be dissatisfied about?” And Kael just let her lean on him without even frowning. “Elara, be smart. Take the money and leave. Don’t make this uglier than it needs to be.” “Ugly?” I looked at him, the smile at the corner of my mouth growing colder. “Kael, from the moment you allowed Sera to sit here and humiliate me, things were already ugly.” “I’ll divorce you, but not now.” The moment I said this, everyone in the room froze. Sera laughed mockingly, sitting up straight. “What, trying to drag it out? Even if you drag it out ten or eight years, it won’t change the fact that he wants to divorce you. Stop wasting your energy.” “I’m not trying to drag it out.” I spoke calmly. “I just feel that when Kael and I got married, we didn’t have a proper wedding. Now that BlackPine Pack is back at its peak, why don’t we invite all our business partners to a grand press conference to announce our divorce.” “It would be a proper ending to our marriage. A dignified conclusion.” My suggestion left both Roderick and Sera stunned. They couldn’t figure out what I was planning. To them, this was tantamount to public execution, trampling what little dignity I had left. A gleam flashed in Roderick’s eyes. He immediately realized this was a golden opportunity for him! He’d been worrying about how to announce his powerful return to the business world, how to introduce Sera, the new daughter-in-law who could bring more resources to BlackPine Pack. I’d voluntarily given him this chance. How could he not seize it? “Good! That takes guts!” Roderick’s face broke into a wide smile. “Elara, I didn’t expect you to have some backbone! Let’s do it! I’ll arrange the press conference and make sure it’s dignified!” Sera looked at me with eyes full of contempt and pity. “Elara, don’t go crying when the time comes. Do you need me to sponsor a decent dress for you?” I ignored her, only giving Kael one last look. His face showed confusion and bewilderment, perhaps even a trace of barely perceptible guilt. But what did it matter? He chose this path himself. Then he must be the star of this grand finale. Over the next few days, Roderick indeed threw all his energy into preparing for this banquet. He booked the most luxurious hotel ballroom, inviting every business elite and Alpha from every Pack across North America he could reach. Word spread throughout the North American werewolf community. BlackPine Pack had risen from the ashes, and heir Kael was about to marry a noble new partner. I became a complete joke.

When Liam heard I was going to the press conference, he nearly exploded with rage, calling me immediately. “Elara, why are you rushing to hand them a knife? When they say something inappropriate, it’s your face that gets lost.” “For trash like them, the bigger the scene, the better. Solving everything at once will bring peace.” I said lightly. “You!” Liam was too angry to speak. “I’ll be watching to see how you handle this!” On the day of the press conference, I wore a simple evening gown and walked into the resplendent ballroom. Roderick and Kael’s mother were dressed lavishly and glamorously, greeting guests with beaming faces. Kael wore an expensive bespoke suit, his arm linked with Sera’s, accepting congratulations and envious looks from everyone. Seeing me, the smile vanished instantly from Roderick’s face. He strode over quickly, lowering his voice, his tone full of warning and disgust. “You actually dare to come! Remember, today you’re here to cooperate with the show. Don’t try any tricks!” Sera also walked over, looking me up and down. “Elara, that outfit. Are you here to work as waitstaff? Let me remind you, everyone here today is someone important. You’d better shrink into a corner to avoid embarrassing BlackPine Pack.” I said nothing, only smiled. Kael’s gaze briefly met mine. He quickly looked away, his expression complex. I found an inconspicuous corner to sit in, watching this absurd yet real drama unfold before me. Watching Roderick circulate through the crowd, boasting about how he pulled his company back from the edge of bankruptcy. Watching Sera, acting like the lady of the house, introducing BlackPine Pack’s grand blueprint to everyone. Watching Kael. The man I’d loved for three years, the one I thought I’d grow old with. Thriving in this vanity fair, slipping further and further away from me. Halfway through the banquet, the host invited Roderick onstage for a speech. Under the spotlight, Roderick held the microphone, full of vigor. “Good evening, friends!” “Thank you all for your support of BlackPine Pack, which has made us greater than ever before.” Thunderous applause erupted below. He basked in it all, then changed his tone. “Besides announcing BlackPine Pack’s magnificent comeback, my son Kael will be saying goodbye to the past and welcoming a brand new life!” As he spoke, he beckoned to Kael and Sera. The two walked onstage intimately and stood beside Roderick. “Some people are only suitable for sharing hardship, not prosperity.” Every gaze in the hall turned to me in unison. Some sympathetic, some pitying, but most were mocking, enjoying the spectacle. I became the superfluous person in their eyes. Kael kept his head down, not daring to look at me. Sera wrapped her arm around Kael’s waist, silently flaunting her victory to me. Roderick cleared his throat, preparing to announce my divorce from Kael and hint at Sera and Kael’s upcoming engagement. I stood up and walked slowly toward the stage. Everyone froze. The music stopped. Roderick’s face turned iron-dark, hissing into the microphone: “Elara! What do you think you’re doing? Get down from here!” I ignored him, walking straight to center stage and taking another microphone from the host. The spotlight shone on me. I could clearly see every shocked face below. “Don’t be in such a rush, Roderick.” I smiled, my voice carrying through the sound system throughout the entire ballroom. “Today is my stage too, isn’t it?”

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Three years after overcoming my depression, I applied to join a suicide prevention organization. On the day my internship was about to end, I received a call from a man: “Ma’am, I’m getting married tomorrow. But when I think about marrying a woman I don’t love, I don’t want to live anymore.” I froze. My wedding was tomorrow too. But I was lucky—my fiancé loved me deeply. Just as I was about to comfort him, I heard urgent gasping and a woman’s scream from the other end. The call was abruptly disconnected. My heart tightened. My colleague and I quickly located his position and rushed to the rescue. But when we broke down the presidential suite door at the hotel, what greeted us were two bodies entangled in intense intimacy. The scar on the man’s arm was identical to the one my boyfriend got when he grabbed the knife to stop me from self-harming. The commotion of breaking down the door startled the two people inside. When they turned around, the last shred of hope in my heart completely shattered. One was my fiancé who treasured me like a precious gem. The other was my closest friend. But at this moment, they were naked, tightly pressed together. My brain buzzed. Pearson quickly pulled the blanket over himself and Ivy, coldly saying, “Get out!” My supervisor and colleagues never expected that after racing here at breakneck speed, our rescue mission would turn into catching adultery. My supervisor apologized frantically, then dragged me outside and gave me a harsh scolding. “Zoe Harper, what the hell are you doing? That’s Mr. Pearson! Our organization’s biggest sponsor! Your A-level suicide risk assessment—it was just Mr. Pearson being intimate with his lover? I think you’ve lost your mind chasing success! Don’t even think about passing your probation!” The chance at permanent employment I’d hoped for over three whole months shattered into nothing. But when did my fiancé become the esteemed Mr. Pearson? Back when I finally got into college, my stepfather forced me to marry. In my despair, I was ready to end it all. But I was unexpectedly saved by Pearson, who was drowning in debt at the time. Later, I met Ivy, who was just as poor. The three of us supported each other, squeezed into a tiny rental apartment. Though our days were tight, we were happy enough. But I never knew that the boyfriend who worked day and night delivering food to scrape together money for my antidepressants was actually the CEO of Pearson Group. The best friend who ate bread for a whole month just to buy me a luxury sleep aid was actually my boyfriend’s fiancée. Seeing my disbelief, my supervisor waved dismissively. “You don’t know Mr. Pearson of Pearson Group? You don’t know the heiress of the Ashford family? Their families arranged a business marriage when they were children—they’re engaged for real.” “Everyone in the circle knows Mr. Pearson always protects his own. You’ve offended Mr. Pearson and his lover—you can forget about staying in this field. Go pack your things and get lost!” With that, my supervisor stormed off with the team. Two streams of tears suddenly rolled down my face. I covered my face and broke down crying. I don’t know how long I cried. Suddenly, someone handed me tissues. Pearson’s expression was indifferent. “The floor is cold. Get up. Let’s go inside and talk.” I’d been crouching too long. When I stood up, I couldn’t help stumbling. Pearson naturally reached out to steady me. I pushed his hand away and supported myself against the wall. As soon as I entered the room, the smell of sex made my stomach churn. The familiar contraceptives and lingerie scattered on the floor made my eyes sting. Just this morning, Ivy had pulled me into an adult products store, whispering with a mischievous smile, “Buy this whip—it feels so exciting. And this nightgown, Pearson definitely likes it.” “For my bestie’s sexual happiness, I’ll eat bread for another half month just to get all of these for you. Consider it my wedding gift to you two!” Thinking back carefully, there had been signs all along. I bit my tongue hard until I tasted blood, forcing myself not to lose composure. I took a deep breath, suppressing the sob in my throat. “Mr. Pearson, Miss Ashford, don’t you owe me an explanation?” Ivy’s flushed face instantly turned pale. She opened her mouth and let out a tearful sound. “Zoe…” Pearson calmly blocked Ivy, frowning at me. “Then I’ll tell you straight. I agreed to marry you only to force Ivy to see her own heart and marry me.” “Because Ivy wanted to become a psychological counselor, I pretended to be poor with her and played this rescue game with you for three years.”

During those dark days, Pearson had countless times snatched sharp objects from my hands, encouraging me to overcome my emotions and move toward a new life. Ivy stayed by my side constantly, eating and sleeping with me, using her gentle voice to untangle all my emotional knots. They healed me, and I loved them too. So when Pearson said he needed money to start a business, I sold my mother’s bracelet without a second thought. When Ivy accidentally caused a counseling incident, I took all the blame without hesitation. But now I learned it was just a game the rich played with me. And my role was the clown. Ivy choked out, “Zoe, I know this is hard to accept right now. I can apologize to you.” “It’s just that we already registered our marriage today. If you can forgive me, I can give you the wedding ceremony! I’ll even be your bridesmaid!” Give? I laughed bitterly. “No need. Unlike you two, I find a fake wedding disgusting.” Pearson gripped my wrist hard, confused. “Zoe Harper, what exactly do you have to feel wronged about? Ivy and I lowered ourselves to squeeze into that rental eating noodles with you. We acted out love and friendship for you. Didn’t you enjoy it yourself?” “Ivy was even afraid your wedding would be embarrassing, so she coaxed me into doing it a few more times before I agreed to the fake ceremony. We’re giving you a way out. Don’t be ungrateful.” I shook off his hand and said word by word, “I don’t need fake feelings!” I took off the diamond ring from my finger and threw it at Pearson. I went downstairs to the lobby. Outside the hotel entrance, a large crowd had gathered, noisy and chaotic. “Didn’t they say someone was suicidal? Why did the emergency responders leave?” “I heard a female psychologist made a wrong diagnosis. She actually came to catch someone cheating!” “I hate homewreckers the most. When we beat up the mistress, I’ll help.” Ivy had been chasing after me, but seeing this scene, she stumbled back a few steps. Someone in the crowd immediately said, “I just went upstairs to look. The homewrecker is one of them!” Ivy hid behind Pearson, anxiously refuting, “It’s not me. I already registered my marriage with Pearson. Zoe, help me explain.” In an instant, everyone’s eyes locked onto me. “Isn’t that Zoe Harper from the news? The psychological counselor? The news reported she seduced a client who had a wife!” “That’s her! During counseling, she even advised my wife to divorce me!” “How can a homewrecker be qualified to counsel others?” The accusations rushing at me made my heart tighten. Seducing a client was the boundary violation Ivy caused during her counseling internship. I was afraid she’d get in trouble, so I took the blame. Counselors rarely give advice, but when Ivy was playing with my phone, she jokingly advised clients seeking help to break up or divorce. Watching the crowd close in, I could only try to buy time waiting for security. “This is all a misunderstanding. Actually, actually…” But Pearson cut me off urgently. “Zoe Harper, you did all these things yourself. Who are you trying to slander? You have depression to begin with. You got married at 18 and ran away. With someone like you, nothing you do would be surprising!” As soon as he spoke, everyone’s gaze became both curious and contemptuous. My heart raced and I gasped for air, trembling as I hugged myself. When I used to be too afraid to sleep, Pearson stayed by my bedside with a baseball bat for several nights. When I cried all night because of depression, Pearson held me and patiently told me over and over that it wasn’t my fault. What I once thought was light had now become a piercing blade. Pearson’s words enraged the crowd. An extreme man raised his mineral water bottle and threw it hard at me, but it missed and flew toward Ivy instead. Ivy grabbed me and used me as a shield. The rough plastic instantly sliced across half my face. Blood flowed with the sharp pain. At the sight of blood, the onlookers screamed in panic. “There’s blood! Someone’s killing people! Everyone run!” The crowd scattered. In the pushing and shoving, a strong force hit me. I was pushed down the steps. My abdomen slammed hard into a ground pillar. The pain made my vision go dark. I used all my strength to call for help, but when security arrived, they were stopped by Pearson. Watching Pearson and security protect Ivy as they left, I smiled bitterly and closed my eyes, letting my consciousness sink into the abyss.

When I woke up, both Pearson and Ivy were by my bedside. The side of my face was wrapped in gauze, and my abdomen ached with a dull pain. Pearson trembled as he held my hand, saying softly, “I’m sorry, Zoe. The doctor said your ovaries were damaged. You’ll never be able to have children of your own.” Pearson’s words hit me like a blow to the head. I opened my mouth but didn’t even have the strength to speak. Ivy’s eyes were red as she hesitated. “It’s all my fault for being afraid of blood. Pearson made a big deal out of it and insisted I get in the ambulance first. The doctor said if you’d come earlier, there would have been hope.” Pearson disagreed. “You’re pregnant. It’s right to be careful.” Ivy comforted me. “Zoe, you don’t need to be too sad. The doctor said I’m pregnant. I’ll let you be my baby’s godmother, okay? Since you can never get pregnant again anyway, you can just come back to the villa with us and help me take care of—” Before she could finish, I slapped Ivy. Pearson grabbed my hand, furious. “Zoe Harper, are you crazy? Ivy was trying to comfort you, and you hurt her? Apologize to Ivy!” I said coldly, “Impossible.” Pearson’s grip became even more brutal, but even though the pain nearly crushed my wrist bone, I refused to back down. Pearson threw my hand away and suddenly sneered. “Zoe Harper, you really think I have no way to deal with you? Let’s see just how stubborn you can be!” With that, Pearson took Ivy to find a nurse. I recovered from the pain, got up, changed clothes, and went to see my mom. My mom had a bad heart and was receiving long-term treatment at this hospital. Just as I was about to enter her room, someone covered my mouth with brute force and dragged me to the hallway. The person violently slapped me. I was knocked to the ground, followed by fists and feet raining down on me like hail. “Damn it, you little bitch hid pretty well. If it weren’t for Mr. Pearson, I wouldn’t have been able to catch you two!” “You’ve made quite a bit off men these years, haven’t you? Spit it all out and go back to the village to get married. Try running again and I’ll beat you to death!” Hearing my stepfather’s curses, I instantly felt like I’d fallen into an ice cave, cold as death itself. I hugged my head and curled up numbly, taking the beating. Tears poured out in large drops. So the person who pulled you from the abyss also knows best how to push you into hell. My mom heard the commotion and tried to rush over to protect me, but my stepfather kicked her away. She had an acute attack. My stepfather tried to go after her again, but I desperately held onto his legs, refusing to let go no matter how much it hurt. Seeing Pearson watching coldly from the crowd, I finally broke down. “I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please, let my mom and me go!” Pearson waved his hand, and my stepfather was taken away. He sighed and helped me up. “Wouldn’t it have been better to apologize earlier? Why make yourself so miserable?” “You hurt Ivy’s feelings. Tomorrow’s wedding will be mine and Ivy’s now. Be a good bridesmaid and make amends.” “Remember to hide your wounds. Don’t scare her. I’ll cover all the medical expenses for you and your mom.” I clenched my fists but weakly nodded.

The next day at the wedding, the ceremony and banquet were countless times grander than what I’d originally planned. Ivy wore the wedding dress Pearson and I had designed together. I held up her train under the strange looks of the guests. Ivy was pregnant, so Pearson had me down glass after glass of champagne in her place. Behind me, people gossiped. “Wasn’t Zoe Harper supposed to be the bride? How did she become the one holding the train?” “Getting cheated on and still being this pathetic—was Zoe Harper a turtle in her past life?” “If I had a friend like this, I’d die of shame. I should’ve said I was Ivy’s friend instead.” Pearson pulled me aside and handed me a box of stomach medicine. “Why didn’t you tell me your stomach problem flared up? Ivy’s being naughty, but you don’t need to indulge her tantrums. Take the medicine. I don’t have time to make you soup today.” I ignored him. Pearson laughed coldly and threw the pills in the trash. Ivy glanced at me and pulled Pearson onto the stage. Just as they were about to exchange vows, Ivy suddenly said while holding the bouquet, “That lady down there is my best friend, Zoe Harper.” “Zoe is very pitiful. Her father died when she was young. Her stepfather sexually abused and beat her for years, forcing her to marry at 18. She even developed depression because of it…” My past wounds were ripped open bloodily. My body went numb with cold. Everyone’s gaze made me feel like I was being stripped naked and mounted on an operating table with nowhere to hide. Ivy’s voice lifted. “On this happy day, I hope my best friend can get married with me.” “All of Zoe’s friends and family are here anyway. So whoever catches my bouquet, I’ll marry Zoe to him right now!” Hearing this, quite a few lewd men in the crowd whistled and jeered. Before I could refuse, Ivy had already thrown the bouquet to a middle-aged man in his forties. The man grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth. “Well, I was just worrying about finding a woman to give me children. Marry me and I’ll definitely spoil you rotten!” Ivy’s bridesmaids forcibly dragged me onto the stage. The man groped my waist with a lecherous smile. I looked pleadingly at Pearson. Pearson frowned, about to help me, but Ivy cut in. “Pearson, I just want to get married at the same time as my best friend. If she doesn’t get married, then I won’t either! It’s fake anyway. Just satisfy this one little wish of mine.” Pearson said helplessly, “A wedding is once in a lifetime. Since Ivy likes it, Zoe, just cooperate.” My heart died. I took vows, exchanged rings, and was forced to kiss a strange man in front of everyone. Ivy waved her phone. “Zoe, marriage is a big deal that needs parental consent. I already sent this video to your mom!” I lunged to grab her phone, but it was too late. The phone rang like a death knell. “Ms. Harper, your mother had a sudden cardiac episode and died despite resuscitation efforts.” Hearing this, my internal organs felt like they were being crushed by an invisible hand. The pain nearly suffocated me. I tried to rush at them like a madwoman for revenge, but Pearson grabbed me and said in a low voice, “This is my and Ivy’s wedding. Stop making a scene. Whatever it is, I’ll compensate you after the banquet ends.” Then, like throwing out trash, he tossed me to a man. “Take her away and watch her!” The man chuckled and dragged me outside. I laughed through my tears. “I’d rather have never been saved by you. This life—I’m giving it back to you now.” With that, I broke free from the man and, under everyone’s shocked gaze, climbed out the window and jumped.

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To cancel the arranged marriage, I begged my mother to replace my photo with one covered in acne scars. All because Angel Williams, the heiress of a wealthy family, was an extreme looks-obsessed person. Anyone ugly who came within three meters of her would be thrown out by her bodyguards. I hid my handsome, refined face and pretended to be ugly every day, until Diana appeared. On the day she proposed to me, she held my hand and promised: “Julian, I don’t care about your appearance. No matter what you look like, I will always love you.” I believed her. Despite my mother’s objections, I insisted on getting engaged to her. But on our wedding day, during the ring exchange, she looked lovingly at her first love’s plastic surgery face, shook off my hand, and fled the wedding on the spot. The guests erupted in an uproar, casting sympathetic glances my way. But I just smiled. So it was this simple to see a woman’s true colors. Perfect. Now I could become the Williams family heir with peace of mind.

The wedding march came to an abrupt halt. The undisguised mockery and contempt from the guests nearly swallowed me whole. “How humiliating! He can’t even keep his own woman!” “I told you so. How could Diana, the heir to the Peters family, actually marry such an ugly freak!” “I bet Miss Diana regretted it. I mean, with that face, you’d have nightmares just looking at it at night!” My knuckles turned white as I gripped the bouquet. In my line of sight, Diana was staring intently at her phone screen. On it was a shocking crimson photo of slashed wrists. She looked up, her face full of anxiety, her eyes showing a hint of guilt and pleading as she looked at me. “Julian, Manuel slit his wrists. He’s in the hospital being resuscitated right now!” “I have to go. Wait for me to come back, and I’ll definitely give you an explanation!” I looked at her coldly, my voice not loud, yet it carried clearly throughout the silent chapel. “Diana, if you walk out that door today, we’re completely finished.” The moment my words fell, Diana’s footsteps suddenly froze. She turned around, her face full of struggle. “Julian…” But the next second, from her bridesmaids behind her, one of her childhood friends loudly chimed in: “Diana, just go! Julian loves you so much, he’s not going anywhere, right?” “Besides, with Julian looking like that, who would dare to steal him away!” Sharp laughter instantly filled the entire banquet hall. I ignored those voices, just quietly watched Diana, and said word by word: “If you dare to leave today, I dare to marry someone else.” She froze for a moment, then a smile I’d never seen before appeared at the corners of her mouth. “Julian, stop making a fuss. Besides me, who else would want you?” “Wait for me to come back, I’ll definitely make it up to you!” With that, she turned around without hesitation and rushed out of the wedding hall resolutely. The moment the door closed, what surfaced in my mind was three years ago, the day I first met Diana. I was being surrounded and humiliated for being ugly, and she descended like a god, draping her coat over me. She gently wiped the dirt from my face with a handkerchief, her voice as tender as spring water: “Don’t listen to them. You’re good-looking.” Back then, her eyes were clean and sincere. But now… A mocking smile curved at my lips. She was certain I was ugly, certain I couldn’t leave her, so she dared to trample my dignity so brazenly. Under all those sympathetic yet contemptuous gazes, I calmly pulled off my tie and threw it on the ground. I turned around and walked toward the dressing room without looking back. Sitting in front of the vanity mirror, I picked up a wet wipe and slowly wiped my cheeks. The dense acne marks were wiped away, revealing a handsome, striking face. The door opened, and my mother walked in. Looking at me, she sighed heavily. “Julian, the Williams family sent someone. They’re asking about the arranged marriage again…” Before she could finish, my phone vibrated with a buzz. It was a message from Diana on SnapChat: [Julian, Manuel’s been resuscitated. He’s very scared. I need to stay with him tonight. Let’s postpone the wedding, okay?] Immediately after, there was a new notification on Ins—it was Manuel’s post. A photo of Diana peeling an apple for him at his bedside, her profile gentle and focused. The caption read: [As long as you abandon everything for me, that’s enough.] A mocking arc formed at the corner of my mouth. Just as I was about to block and delete both of them, Diana’s call came through. “Julian, issue a statement saying you suddenly fell ill, that’s why we canceled the wedding.” “Manuel can’t handle stress… and besides, you don’t like seeing people anyway.” Don’t like seeing people? Ha! Just because I’m ugly, my emotions don’t matter to her? I couldn’t be bothered to deal with Diana anymore and hung up directly. Then, facing the mirror, I used makeup remover to wipe away the makeup on my face bit by bit. A stunningly handsome face appeared in the mirror, striking enough to shock anyone.

My mother looked at my restored face, her expression complicated as she sighed: “Child, if it was going to be like this, why did you pretend to be ugly in the first place?” My eyes swept across my reflection in the mirror. The person in the mirror had eyes like cold stars, a high nose bridge, and sharp features, looking exactly like my father in his youth. Father married my mother through an arranged marriage, abandoning his first love. Before he died, he clutched my hand and said: “Julian, you must marry someone you truly love in the future. Only then will you be happy.” That’s why when I learned I was to have an arranged marriage with that pampered princess from the Williams family, I deliberately made myself ugly. I didn’t want an arranged marriage. I didn’t want to become someone like my father. But Diana used three years of tenderness to trick me into giving her my heart. In the end, she was just like everyone else. Since sincerity was worthless, I might as well trade it for tremendous wealth. I turned my head and looked at my mother, who was shocked speechless, my thin lips parting slightly. “Mom, tell the Williams family—this marriage, I accept.” As soon as news of my acceptance of the arranged marriage reached the Williams family, the family’s matriarch Jennifer insisted on meeting me in person. That evening, at the Williams family villa. Jennifer’s gaze fell on my face, with unconcealed amazement. In the past, I would have felt uncomfortable with such a gaze and would even instinctively lower my head. But now, I simply straightened my back, met her gaze, and wore a perfectly appropriate smile at the corners of my lips. Jennifer nodded repeatedly, praising me endlessly: “Angel is so fortunate. This Julian from the Franklin family—his looks, his bearing, even better looking than the male models in magazines!” Her eyes full of affection, she gave me a ring. “This is the Williams family’s heirloom sapphire ring. From now on, you’ll be the Williams family heir!” After settling the arranged marriage, as I was leaving, Jennifer suddenly lowered her voice: “Julian, you should continue pretending to be ugly before the wedding. That way you can give everyone a surprise.” I touched the ring on my hand and thought of the rumored looks-obsessed capital city heiress. Angel, the Williams family’s only heir. A few years ago, to avoid her running away from marriage, I pretended to be ugly and met Diana. She and I had never met, but to avoid any complications, I still followed Jennifer’s advice. The next morning, I was packing my luggage, preparing to move out of this wedding house I had personally decorated over three years. The door lock suddenly turned. Diana came in carrying seafood sandwiches, her face wearing an ingratiating smile: “Julian, still mad? Look what I bought you?” I looked at the sandwich in her hand, a mocking smile forming at the corner of my mouth. On the day we started dating, I had already told Diana I was allergic to seafood. The next second, I expressionlessly picked up the sandwich from the table and threw it in the trash. Diana froze: “Julian, I waited in line for an hour to buy this. How could you…” Suddenly, seeing my direct stare, she slapped her forehead in chagrin: “I’m sorry, Julian. I forgot you’re allergic to seafood.” “No need to apologize, since we won’t have any relationship in the future anyway.” I directly threw all her personal belongings that I’d packed overnight, along with the ring we hadn’t exchanged, at her feet. I watched as Diana’s face turned pale inch by inch. Watched as she crouched down, picked up the ring, her fingertips trembling slightly. “Julian, don’t be like this… I know I was wrong. We can have the wedding again…” Before she could finish, I impatiently interrupted her: “No need! Now, take your things and get out of my house. From today on, our engagement is dissolved!” She stared at me intently, her eyes actually reddening: “Julian, why?” I looked at her reddened eyes and suddenly found it somewhat amusing. “Why? Because I’m marrying another woman, of course. My fiancée doesn’t want to see me entangled with another man anymore!” Diana’s pupils contracted sharply, shock and panic surging in her eyes. “Who? Julian, are you doing this because of what my friends said yesterday? Are you trying to spite me?” A trace of mocking smile spread from my eyes. I looked at her calmly: “What’s there to be spiteful about? Diana, you think too highly of yourself!” After a long ten seconds, Diana looked at my expression and finally said through gritted teeth: “Fine. If you really want to marry someone else, then tell me who you’re marrying!” “I don’t believe that besides me, there’s anyone else…” She didn’t finish, just looked at me. I was about to say Angel’s name when a timid cough suddenly came from outside the door. Manuel stood at the doorway, his face pale, looking pitiful. He walked in, his gaze greedily surveying this luxurious penthouse duplex. Finally, it landed on the suit hanging on the wall—one I’d spent a year sewing by hand, stitch by stitch. “Diana, this house is so beautiful. I really like that suit too.” “Too bad I’ll never have the chance to wear such a handsome suit in my lifetime…” I looked at the undisguised triumph and provocation in Manuel’s eyes, the smile at the corner of my mouth deepening. Sure enough, the next second, Diana immediately hugged him protectively and turned to look at me, her eyes full of pleading. “Julian…” Looking at her face, I couldn’t help but laugh lightly: “Diana, you don’t want me to let him live in this house and give him this suit, do you?” Diana opened her mouth, about to speak, but her pupils suddenly contracted sharply. Because the next second, I had already grabbed the scissors from the table and viciously cut that suit in half! As the suit fragments floated lightly to the ground, I said word by word: “My things—I’d rather destroy them than let trash touch them!” Manuel screamed and hid behind Diana. “Psycho! Diana! He’s crazy!” Diana looked at the cut-up suit on the ground, then at me, her eyes full of disbelief. “Julian! It’s just a suit!” “Even if you didn’t want to give it away, you didn’t have to destroy it. What will you wear at the wedding?” The smile at my lips deepened: “That’s none of your concern. The Williams family will naturally prepare a new one for me.” Diana’s whole body shook. “The Williams family? You don’t mean the heiress Angel, do you?” Shock flashed in her eyes, then she sneered with disdain: “Julian, everyone knows Angel hates the most…” She looked at me strangely and didn’t continue, but I knew what she was going to say. In the past, I hid my appearance to find a sincere heart untainted by superficiality. Thinking of this, I was too lazy to continue entangling with Diana. I directly took out makeup remover wipes, about to wipe off the disguise on my face to make this woman, whose eyes were full of disbelief, shut up and leave. But the next second, seeing me silent, Diana reached out her hand, about to grab me. “Enough, what are you doing with that? No matter how much you wipe, your face can’t change into…” Before she could finish, my phone suddenly rang. The Williams family’s old butler’s respectful voice rang out in the quiet room, each word clear: “Mr. Julian, Lady Jennifer has instructed that the wedding date is set for three days from now.” Dead silence in the room. The color drained completely from Diana’s face.

“Impossible! How could the Williams family…” She reflexively objected, the panic in her eyes nearly overflowing. “Diana, he must be lying to you!” “How could the Williams family possibly… He’s just mad you ran away from the wedding. He’s deliberately getting someone to put on an act to scare you!” Manuel insisted I was lying. Diana’s gaze lingered on my face for a moment. The wavering in her eyes immediately disappeared. “Julian, stop it. I know you’re mad I left you for Manuel, but you can’t joke about your lifelong happiness.” “Angel…” She swept her gaze across my disguised face and said through gritted teeth: “She’s an extreme looks-obsessed person. How could she possibly marry you? As long as you apologize to me now and say this is all fake, I can…” “Can what?” I interrupted her, my voice calm and unwavering: “Continue keeping me as a backup, and when you’re tired of your first love, you’ll come back to me?” “Diana, do you think I, Julian, am that cheap, that unable to leave you?” She was left speechless by my question, her face turning green then white. Seeing this, Manuel immediately leaned over weakly, his voice carrying a sob: “Diana, let’s just go. Don’t make Julian angrier here.” “Julian is obviously confused with anger. When he thinks it through, he’ll naturally know who really treats him well.” As he spoke, he didn’t forget to shoot me a provocative look. With Manuel’s persuasion, Diana seemed to find a way out. She took a deep breath and looked at me: “Julian, I’ll give you time to calm down. When you’ve thought it through, call me anytime.” With that, she helped Manuel and left without looking back. Ironically, the doorbell rang right after she left. The Williams family butler, along with two assistants, respectfully delivered a huge gift box. When the lid opened, inside was a suit custom-made by a top international designer. Diamonds adorned it, shimmering brilliantly.

Over the next two days, Manuel kept sending me intimate photos of himself with Diana. The backgrounds ranged from hospital rooms to high-end restaurants to the passenger seat of Diana’s sports car. In every photo, Diana looked at him tenderly. I read them all without replying and blocked them directly. Until the night before the wedding, I received a message from Diana’s best friend: [Julian, Diana is just being stubborn. The person she loves most in her heart is still you.] [Come to SKY Hotel tomorrow. She’ll definitely propose to you on the spot and give you a makeup wedding!] I looked at the screen, sneered, and tapped lightly. [Sure, I’ll definitely be there!] How could I not go? My engagement ceremony with Angel was also at SKY Hotel. As if the provocation wasn’t enough, Manuel soon sent me a video. In the video, Diana’s friends laughed mockingly, loudly jeering. “Diana, your fiancé is so ungrateful. Looking so ugly but daring to throw a tantrum at you?” “Exactly! He’s not even half as handsome and considerate as Manuel!” The camera shook and finally focused on Diana’s face. She held a wine glass, her face showing some drunkenness, smiling contemptuously: “Before, I indulged him because he was obedient. Now that he’s not obedient, he needs to be taught a lesson.” “Well said! Diana really knows how to manage her husband!” Everyone laughed loudly, egging Diana and Manuel on to drink a toast. I didn’t continue watching. I just calmly blocked Manuel’s contact. The next day, in the VIP dressing room on the top floor of SKY Hotel, I sat by the floor-to-ceiling window. The makeup artist used makeup remover to wipe away the spots and dullness on my face bit by bit. When the last bit of disguise faded, a stunningly handsome, refined face appeared in the mirror. I changed into the haute couture suit the Williams family had sent, inlaid with 999 small diamonds. Meanwhile, on the second floor of SKY Hotel. Diana had arranged the proposal scene like a dream, with roses covering the entire hall. Although it was under the guise of proposing to Manuel, she kept looking toward the entrance, her eyes showing undisguised anxiety. Manuel held her arm, saying sweetly: “Diana, don’t worry. He’ll definitely come!” But after a full hour, I still hadn’t appeared. The anticipation in Diana’s eyes gradually turned to irritation. Just as she was about to lose her temper, the hotel manager suddenly ran in, sweating profusely. “Miss Diana! Please wrap this up quickly!” “Today the top floor is hosting the heiress of the Williams family’s wedding of the century. All the big shots from the capital are here. If we disturb the distinguished guests, we’re all dead!” Manuel froze for a moment, then took Diana’s arm and said quietly: “Should we go up and see? Just in case it really is like Julian said, we should go congratulate Julian, right?” Diana snorted coldly: “How is that possible? Let’s go up and see!” She led Manuel and a group of friends to the top floor banquet hall. As she walked, she took out her phone, clicked on my profile picture, and sent a voice message: “Stop this, Julian. The Williams family princess is having her engagement party today. I already know you were lying.” “Get to me within ten minutes, and I’ll pretend all your nonsense before never happened.” Just as her voice message was successfully sent. The priceless rosewood door in front of her slowly pushed open to both sides. Thousands of spotlights suddenly shone down. I walked out in that brilliant suit, step by step, in full view of everyone. That devastatingly handsome face was completely exposed to everyone’s sight without reservation. Outside the door, Diana was instantly thunderstruck. She stared fixedly at that face of mine, then at my all-too-familiar figure. Her brain completely crashed, and she murmured in disbelief: “Ju… Julian? Impossible… This is absolutely impossible!” She wanted to rush over like a madwoman. But before she could get within three meters of me, several bodyguards in black instantly pressed her firmly to the ground. A crisp, proud, and extremely oppressive female voice rang out from behind me: “What trash dares to block my husband’s way?”

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My best friend, who I’ve relied on since we were kids, said she got into a big corporation and would soon be able to give me—an MC rider—a wealthy life. I sneered and wished her good luck. Because I knew clearly that during the day she was a cheap intern exploited by everyone, but at midnight she was an assistant wearing a sexy short skirt to drink with her boss. Yet she always grinned foolishly, bragging about how her boss praised her again today and that she’d soon become a regular employee. I kicked over a beer bottle: “Quit. I’ll take care of you!” But my best friend cried and said: “The company has its rules. Just endure this period and it’ll be fine. Once I become a regular employee, we can pool our money to buy a small house and never be apart!” I hated that she’d been completely brainwashed by the workplace and decided to stop managing her affairs. Until that day, when I was racing with over a hundred MC members, I suddenly received a message from her: “Aria, I really can’t learn the rules of big corporations anymore. My boss wants me to sleep with his two major clients tonight. I don’t want to live anymore!” …… 1 I stared deadly at the last line on my phone screen. The Coke bottle in my hand was crushed out of shape. The entire racing track instantly went quiet. Over a hundred people all turned to look at me in unison. I shoved my phone into my pocket, stood up, and whistled. In less than ten seconds, over a hundred people gathered around. “Aria! What’s up!” I kicked over the plastic table in front of me and grabbed the half steel pipe hidden under the table leg. “Get on your bikes. Follow me.” “Where to?” “Grand Hyatt Hotel.” I tucked the steel pipe into my waistband and straddled my modified exhaust Ghost Fire motorcycle. I twisted the throttle, and the engine roared. Behind me, fifty motorcycles ignited simultaneously. Taxi drivers on the road, seeing our formation, were so scared they crashed their cars straight into the curb. Wind poured into my ears, but it couldn’t drown out those words replaying in my head. “Big platforms have their rules. Just endure this period and it’ll be fine.” “Once I become a regular employee, we can pool our money to buy a small house and never be apart.” Natalie, you idiot. I told you long ago that your boss Williams wasn’t human. During the day he had you serving tea, pouring water, and working overtime until 3 AM, and at midnight he had you wear a maid outfit to his room to report on work. You told me that was the training model of big corporations, that every intern had to go through it. I kicked a beer bottle to pieces and yelled at you to quit, and you cried begging me not to make trouble. Fine, I held back. But now you’re sending me a suicide note? Natalie! You fucking wait. Even if I have to tear down the Grand Hyatt Hotel tonight, I’m dragging you out of those bastards’ hands! Grand Hyatt Hotel. When we arrived, a row of black Mercedes S-Classes was parked at the hotel entrance. Several doormen were bowing to open car doors for guests. Seeing fifty motorcycles roaring up, their faces turned deathly pale. “You… what are you doing! You can’t park motorcycles here!” Before he finished speaking, my guys rode their motorcycles straight onto the red carpet at the hotel entrance. Over a dozen bikes blocked the revolving door in a chaotic mess. Four security guards rushed out from the lobby. They had just pulled out their walkie-talkies when my people pressed them down onto the marble floor. “Aria, top floor suite, 2801.” My guy Monkey ran over holding his phone. Ten minutes ago he’d already hacked into the hotel’s reservation system. I squeezed into the VIP elevator with over a dozen of my trusted men. Every second the elevator went up, Natalie’s suicide note replayed in my head. “Ding.” The elevator door opened. But four black-clad bodyguards stood at the door of 2801, very muscular. These weren’t hotel security—they were private security hired by that foreign corporation. The bald leader saw us and immediately blocked our way: “Private event, unauthorized personnel…” I didn’t even let him finish. The steel pipe smashed directly into his brow bone. “Bang!” Blood splattered onto the hallway’s beige wallpaper. The bald man screamed, covering his face, and collapsed onto the carpet. The remaining three bodyguards froze for half a second. Max and Tank each took one down, and the last one was knocked over by Monkey with a fire extinguisher. Four bodyguards, solved in seven seconds. I stood in front of 280

Through the heavy wooden door, deafening music came from inside, along with men’s unrestrained laughter. I raised my foot. “Bang!” The door lock was kicked out of shape with one kick, and the double doors slammed open to both sides! 2 What hit me in the face was the smell of liquor and cigars, and the scent of date rape drugs. I spotted Natalie immediately. She was tied to the armrest of a sofa, her jacket torn down to half, shirt buttons scattered all over the floor. There was blood at the corner of her mouth. A short, fat man was pinching her chin, pouring a wine glass into her mouth. The liquid ran down her neck. Her eyes had already lost focus. And on the leather sofa facing her, two balding middle-aged men had their collars unbuttoned. One was crossing his legs holding a phone recording video, the other was chomping on a cigar laughing with a face full of wrinkles. “Williams, this intern of yours is something else. Great body. Once the drugs kick in, she’ll be howling like a dog.” Standing nearby, Director Williams was holding a wine glass and laughing. “Mr. Zhang, rest assured, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied tonight. We’ve got plenty of this kind of merchandise at our company. Play with one till she breaks, then swap in a new batch.” I gripped the steel pipe, my knuckles cracking. The next second, I kicked over the table in the center of the living room. The coffee table broke in two, bottles and glasses on it shattered all over the floor. “Crash!” The short fat man was so scared his hand loosened, and the wine glass fell to the ground and smashed to pieces. I rushed forward in three steps, the steel pipe precisely smashing into the hand of the balding man recording video. Two fingers broke, the phone flew out, screen shattered. “Ahhhhh my hand!!!” The balding man screamed holding his hand, rolling off the sofa. I grabbed the collar of the other balding man chomping on a cigar and yanked him up from the sofa. On the coffee table was an ashtray filled with ash and cigar butts. I grabbed his jaw with one hand and pressed the entire ashtray over his mouth. “Eat!” “Mmmmph!” He rolled his eyes choking on the ash, his mouth filled with ash and saliva. Williams threw down his wine glass, so scared he backed up three steps. “Aria! Are you fucking crazy! Do you know what kind of place this is!” He pointed at my nose. “You’re social trash who didn’t even finish middle school. Do you know who Mr. Zhang is! If you touch a single hair on his head!” I turned back and walked to Natalie, untying the rope on her wrists. The marks had drawn blood. I took off my leather jacket and wrapped her entire body in it. Her whole body was trembling. She groggily opened her eyes. The moment she saw it was me, tears immediately poured out. “Aria, you need to run…” She grabbed my sleeve. “You can’t fight them… They’ll sue you…” “They have lawyers, connections, we can’t afford to compensate…” I crouched in front of her, using the back of my hand to wipe away the wine stains and blood on her face. “Natalie, who the fuck said anything about fighting? I’m just here to take you home tonight.” 3 Williams had already pulled out his phone from his pocket. “Mr. Stone, there’s trouble on the top floor. Thugs are causing a scene. Come up with people quickly!” He hung up and tilted his head to look at me, a smile on his lips. “Aria, you think bringing a few gang punks lets you run wild on my turf?” “Just wait.” In less than five minutes, a group of people filed in. Leading them was a man in his early fifties with slicked-back hair wearing a custom suit. The company’s Greater China Vice President, Derek Stone. Behind him followed two lawyers carrying briefcases, and over thirty uniformed corporate security guards wearing earpieces. Compared to this group, the dozen or so trusted subordinates I’d brought were clearly outmatched at a glance. After Derek Stone entered, he first scanned the mess all over the floor, then looked at the clients rolling on the ground clutching their hands, and snorted through his nose. Then he looked at me. “Just you?” He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his hands. “Young age, won’t go to school, bringing a bunch of thugs to a five-star hotel to vandalize and rob.” “Do you know what this is called? Home invasion robbery, gang fighting, intentional assault.” He turned his head and looked at the two legal counsels beside him. “Did you film it?” The legal counsel nodded, pointing at the camera on his chest. “Started filming as soon as we entered, Mr. Stone.” Derek Stone walked to the sofa and sat down, crossing his legs. His legal counsel opened the briefcase and pulled out a stack of A4 papers. “This is the training agreement and confidentiality clause Natalie signed when she joined.” The lawyer pushed up his glasses and handed the papers to me. “According to Article 7 of the agreement, during the training period, if Party B unilaterally breaches the contract and resigns, they must compensate Party A for training fees, client resource losses, trade secret disclosure and other comprehensive expenses…” “Fifty million.” Fifty million. Natalie could work her entire life and never earn that amount. The lawyer continued. “Additionally, tonight’s drinking session was a normal business entertainment activity arranged by the company. Miss Natalie voluntarily participated. Here is her personally signed activity consent form.” The lawyer sneered. “This young lady simply drank too much. We have the hotel’s full surveillance footage to prove it.” “However, you brought gang members to forcibly break into a private room, causing serious injury to two businessmen.” “I think I don’t need to tell you what the consequences are, do I?” That consent form signature was forced on Natalie. I saw through it—this was a setup they’d prepared. Williams came over again, straightening his wrinkled shirt collar, hands on his hips looking at me. “Aria, these are the rules of big companies. Poor people should obediently be toys. Who are you to play the hero saving the beauty? You’re an MC rider who can’t even come up with five thousand bucks, and you want to challenge our corporation?” Behind me, Natalie was trembling all over. She suddenly broke free from my hand and fell to her knees in front of Derek Stone with a thud. “Mr. Stone… please… let Aria go…” “I signed the agreement myself, it has nothing to do with her… I’ll go, I’ll go entertain the clients… please don’t pursue charges against her…” Watching her kneel on the ground begging those beasts, my eyes stung. I grabbed her arm and pulled her up, then backhanded a slap across her face. She froze. “Natalie, stand the fuck up straight. If you kneel to these scum one more time, I’ll cut ties with you immediately.” She bit her lip, tears falling in strings. Dense footsteps came from the hallway, getting closer. Military boots stepping on carpet made muffled sounds. Over a hundred elite security guards urgently deployed from the corporation’s local headquarters completely sealed off the entire top floor. The fire door at the stairwell was locked from inside, the elevator set to exit-only mode. The guys I brought were trapped in the hallway, surrounded front and back by masses of uniforms. No escape. 4 Derek Stone wasn’t in a hurry to make a move. He just sat on the sofa watching me. Muffled sounds came from the hallway—my guys being taken down by stun batons. Screams came one after another. In less than two minutes, the hallway went completely quiet. A security captain walked in, blood on his boots, and nodded at Derek Stone. “Mr. Stone, everyone outside has been subdued.” Derek Stone nodded with satisfaction. He stood up and slowly paced over to me. He sighed. “You think picking up a weapon and having a fight can solve problems?” “In this city, how much are fists worth?” “Capital, legal teams, media, networks—things you’ve never even heard of. Any one of them can crush you to dust.” After speaking, he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills, weighing them. Smack! Ten thousand dollars slapped hard across my face. The bills scattered and fell to the floor. Williams came over, squatted on the ground, slapping his knee and laughing. “Hahahaha, Mr. Stone is so generous!” Derek Stone looked down at me from above, his voice not loud. “Kneel down. Lick the spilled alcohol off the floor.” “Then have your best friend properly serve the two bosses.” He tilted his head slightly, looking at Natalie trembling in the corner, then his gaze returned. “Do that, and this matter is settled. You take your people and get lost. I’ll pretend tonight never happened.” He stepped forward, bent down, almost pressing against my ear. “Don’t do it. You two will disappear from this world tonight. The fifty million debt, I’ll hang it on your family’s heads.” “Your sick mom, your uncle who sells sausages from a cart—heh, you think they can handle it?” He straightened up and adjusted his cuffs. I didn’t speak. I lowered my head, looking at the hundred-dollar bills scattered at my feet. Natalie suddenly moved. While everyone was staring at me, she quietly bent down and picked up a triangular piece of glass from the broken table on the carpet. She pointed the glass shard at her own neck. She wasn’t crying anymore. “Aria… you go.” Her voice was very soft, very calm. “They won’t let you take me… just go… I’ll handle the penalty myself… don’t worry about me anymore…” The sharp point of the glass had already pierced her skin, a thin line of blood seeping out. I kicked the glass shard out of her hand. She froze. I crouched down and wiped the blood from her wrist with my sleeve. Then I stood up and turned around. At my feet were scattered bills. In front of me were the smug Derek Stone and the sleazy-smiling Williams. In the hallway, all my guys had been taken down. I took a breath. Then I burst out laughing. Derek Stone’s eyelid twitched, and he took half a step back. Williams’s smile froze on his face. Even those security guards instinctively gripped their stun batons tighter. I laughed enough, raised my hand, and wiped the tears of laughter from the corner of my eyes. Then I pulled out my phone. “Williams, oh Williams. You don’t really think I’m just a poor MC rider, do you?”

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When I came home from my business trip, Ethan, who was always clingy in bed, didn’t touch me. I was puzzled by his restraint and abstinence. When I mentioned it to my best friend, she sneered. “He’s definitely getting satisfied by some woman out there. I told you from the start he’s no good, but you insisted on being with him.” I bit my straw, shaking my head in a daze. “No way. Ethan said he only loves me.” My best friend poked my forehead with her finger, sighing helplessly. “You believe everything he says. Melissa, you’re so naive that even if his mistress stood right in front of you, you wouldn’t recognize her.” A week later, I went on another business trip, but my scheduled flight was canceled due to weather, forcing me to return home. When I pushed open the door, clothes were scattered all over the floor. Urgent breathing sounds came from the bedroom—a man and a woman. Ethan said passionately: “I’d be willing to die in your arms!” My best friend laughed and replied: “That won’t do. If you died, that fool Melissa would cry. I can’t bear to see her sad.”

I stood frozen in place. In the April weather, I suddenly felt cold. The elevator door opened. A delivery person glanced at the apartment numbers while stuffing something into my hands. “Hello, delivery for you.” It was the ultra-thin condoms Ethan usually used. The delivery person peeked into the apartment nosily a few times. When their gaze returned to my face, there was a hint of sympathy. I thanked them and walked into the house in a daze, knocking on the open bedroom door. “Your condoms arrived.” I set down the sushi in my other hand and looked at Ethan. “You said you wanted this yesterday, so I brought it back for you.” The passionate atmosphere in the bedroom instantly froze to ice. Natalie and Ethan’s bodies were still joined together. Identical panic flashed across both their faces. Ethan instinctively pushed Natalie away. “Melissa, didn’t you go to the airport? How come…” The bay window wasn’t closed properly. Wild wind mixed with raindrops roared into the room. Natalie’s naked body trembled from the shock. Ethan’s words stopped. Bad weather, canceled flight, I came back and caught them in the act. How simple. I walked over and closed the window tightly, then turned to leave. “Put your clothes on. Don’t catch a cold.” Ethan snapped back to reality, hastily pulling on his pants and belt, urgently grabbing my wrist. “Melissa, let me explain!” He pulled me to sit on the sofa. His muscular chest and back were covered with bright red scratch marks. I stared blankly at the roses in the vase. They had been blooming beautifully this morning, but now they were already wilted. Ethan noticed my soaked shoes and pant legs. He brought a towel and slippers with distress, crouching down to change them for me. Natalie’s cheerful voice rang out. “Since you caught us, I won’t have to bother hiding it from you anymore.” She wore Ethan’s oversized white shirt, leaning against the doorway, eating fish balls with relish. Her fair skin was covered with dense kiss marks. A trace of embarrassment flashed across Ethan’s face. He scolded her in a low voice. “Go back first. I’ll explain things to Melissa.” Natalie rolled her eyes. “What’s there to explain? Melissa’s not blind.” She met my gaze provocatively. “Melissa, I like your man, and I slept with him.” “What are you going to do about it?” I honestly shook my head. “I don’t know.” Blue veins bulged on the back of Ethan’s hand. “Natalie, stop talking!” He forcefully ushered the struggling Natalie out and slammed the door shut. He turned back and crouched in front of me, his voice trembling. “Melissa, don’t be angry. I was confused for a moment.” My heart felt hollow, my mind a complete fog. I didn’t know what to say. Ethan touched my ice-cold hands, his face full of distress. “Melissa, let me heat up some milk for you to warm up.” He grabbed a piece of clothing and put it on, quickly walking into the kitchen. I came to my senses and finally took out my phone, making a video call. The other end picked up immediately. Natalie was lounging on the bed, applying bright red nail polish to her smooth, jade-like toes. Seeing my dazed face, she gave a lazy smile. “What do you want?”

Natalie’s tone was relaxed and calm, as if what just happened hadn’t occurred at all. I squeezed out a dry sentence from my throat. “Why would you do this?” Natalie lazily tossed the nail polish aside, admiring her handiwork. “It’s fun!” “Ever since you started dating Ethan, you’ve always ignored me.” “When we go shopping and you try on clothes, you have to send photos to him. When we eat together, you have to reply to his messages. Even on my birthday, you ran off to take care of him when he had a fever.” “After you got married, it goes without saying—you two are family now.” She lifted her head and looked directly into my eyes, curling her lips in a mischievous smile. “I thought to myself, is Ethan really that great? I had to try him out for myself.” “And once I tried, I discovered he really is pretty good. No wonder you’re so crazy about him.” Natalie smiled seductively. But my heart grew colder inch by inch. I’d been best friends with Natalie for over twenty years. She was especially dissatisfied with Ethan, and the two of them would give each other cold looks whenever they met. Natalie complained that I gave all my attention to Ethan, forgetting about my friend now that I had a man. Ethan didn’t like that Natalie always took up my time, disturbing our time together. I tried hard to maintain their relationship, mediating everywhere. But I never expected that the two of them would get together and leave me behind. “Melissa, even though your reactions are always slow, your taste in men isn’t bad.” “Ethan is so obsessed with me. He insisted I move into the apartment above yours so he could see me every day.” “Last week when you replaced your bed, it actually wasn’t worn out—Ethan and I broke it because his desires were too strong.” Through the screen, Natalie added with a smile. I stared at her blankly, unable to say a word. My slow brain finally started working, and memories surfaced. In the past, Ethan looked down on Natalie and wouldn’t even give her a kind look. But gradually, he started handing Natalie a hair tie during meals. When he accompanied us shopping, he’d replace Natalie’s ice cream with a hot drink, reminding her that her period was coming soon and she should eat less cold food. When Natalie moved in, Ethan personally helped me assist her with moving, working busily. At that time, Natalie proudly glanced at Ethan doing the work. “I’m practically his sister-in-law. Smart of him to recognize that!” I laughed happily, not noticing anything unusual. I was just glad that my two favorite people were finally getting along. But I overlooked the deep, meaningful gaze Ethan directed at Natalie. On the phone, Natalie seemed to become more interested, her eyes sparkling. “Melissa, when you were away on that business trip, Ethan nearly wore me out. You have no idea…” The video was abruptly cut off by a well-defined hand. Ethan’s face was ashen. He set down a steaming cup of hot milk in front of me. “Melissa, don’t listen to her nonsense.” I stared at him blankly, my gaze empty and hollow. He sighed and pulled me into his arms. “Melissa, I got drunk at a business dinner that night. Natalie happened to come by the house to get something, and we just…” “I didn’t maintain proper boundaries. Please don’t be angry with me, okay?” His body carried a deep woody scent mixed with the fishy sweetness of sex, combined with Natalie’s fragrance. A belated wave of nausea surged up. I forcefully broke free from his embrace and walked into the study to pack up my materials. I didn’t want to stay here anymore. Just yesterday, Ethan had held me reluctantly, full of complaints. “Why does the company keep sending you on business trips? Do they hate seeing us happy together or something?” Then he pressed me beneath him in passionate intimacy, whispering sweet words in my ear. “Melissa, when you’re not here, I miss you ten thousand times a day.” My heart felt like it was being scratched by sharp claws over and over again, dull pain flowing endlessly. When I walked out holding a pile of architectural blueprints, Ethan hurriedly blocked my way. “Melissa!” I pushed him away. He clung to me. I pushed him away again. He clung to me again. As we struggled, the door’s electronic lock opened. Natalie walked in with a smile. “Melissa, I have good news!”

She raised the pregnancy test in her hand. “I’m pregnant with Ethan’s baby. You’re going to be a godmother!” I stood frozen in place, almost forgetting to breathe. A trace of joy flashed in Ethan’s eyes. He let go of my hand and walked toward Natalie. I felt intense nausea. The files in my arms scattered across the floor. I shoved past them and rushed out the door. The whole world was crumbling. Hurricanes howled, rain poured down. I walked through the city with my head down, my face covered with moisture—I couldn’t tell if it was tears or raindrops. Natalie’s swaying silhouette appeared before my eyes, delicate pain coursing through my heart. We used to be the best of friends. I would steal lots and lots of strawberries she loved from my family’s fruit shop. She would patiently help me put together outfit after outfit. When she opened her nail salon after college graduation, I gave her all my savings. Natalie cried her eyes out then. “Melissa, if I lose money, you’ll have nothing left!” I answered slowly. “Even if that happens, I’d do it willingly.” Natalie was beautiful and clever, like a clear, bright moon. And I was clumsy and slow, just wanting to be an insignificant star by her side. Why did we end up like this? “Melissa, come back with me. You’ll get sick if you stay in the rain any longer!” An exasperated voice rang out. My wrist was tightly grasped by Natalie. In the storm, her figure holding an umbrella looked somewhat fragile, but her eyes were incredibly determined. Like countless times in our youth when she stood beside me, openly saying “Melissa is my best friend.” My nose tingled. I silently pulled away from her. “I don’t need your help.” Natalie lost her balance and stumbled, falling to the ground. “Natalie!” Ethan arrived just in time. He forcefully pushed away me as I stepped forward in panic to help Natalie up. His eyes were bloodshot as he raised his hand and slapped me. “Melissa! Natalie is pregnant, and you deliberately pushed her?” “How could you be this kind of person!” I was dizzy from the blow. When I came to my senses, he had already rushed Natalie to the hospital. The rain poured down. I stood there sobbing uncontrollably. Ethan had secretly loved me throughout all three years of high school. Knowing I liked flowers, every morning he would secretly place a freshly bloomed flower covered in dew in the plastic water bottle on my desk. When passing by the basketball court, he would run over drenched in sweat and shyly place a candy in my palm. After college entrance exams, he confessed to me, his cheeks nearly bright red. “Melissa, I like you. Can you give me a chance to be your boyfriend?” “I won’t be like the uncles in my family with their endless romantic debts. I only like you.” Born into a prestigious family, he was heaven’s favored son, yet he noticed plain and ordinary me. Even the most dull and boring girl would be moved by such sincere words. The old him wished he could lay the whole world at my feet. But now, for Natalie’s sake, he could slap me without hesitation. I wiped my face and hailed a car to the hospital. Outside the hospital room, Ethan was soaking wet, his expression exhausted. He looked at the red swelling on my face and pulled me into his arms with distress. “Melissa, I’m sorry. I was impulsive just now.” “Natalie had an examination. Everything is fine. If you’re upset, take it out on me, but don’t provoke her.” His warm palm caressed my cheek. Ethan lowered his head and kissed my earlobe. “You’re afraid of pain, so let Natalie have the baby and we’ll raise it. Don’t worry, you’ll always be Mrs. Hayes.” “Let’s just pretend this never happened, okay?” I pulled away from his embrace in a daze. No. Ethan sighed, somewhat helpless. “What will it take for you to forgive me?” I stared at him stubbornly, tears welling up, my vision like it was covered in fog. “You and Natalie can’t be together. She’s my best friend.” Ethan was stunned. After processing this, he looked at me with amusement. “Melissa, stop being silly. Don’t you understand? I like her.” “Just like I like you and don’t want to be apart from you, I don’t want to be apart from her either.”

A huge sense of absurdity struck me head-on. Ethan’s voice was indulgent. “Go home. I’ll stay here with her.” He turned and walked into the hospital room without looking at me again. Through the glass window, I saw Ethan patiently blowing on the cream of mushroom soup to cool it, feeding it to Natalie spoonful by spoonful. To outsiders, they looked as sweet as lovers deeply in love. I sat stiffly on the bench in the hospital corridor. My mind was filled with thoughts of Ethan. He would drive hundreds of miles to take me to eat a bowl of borscht I’d been craving. Though he was an heir to a wealthy family, he learned to cook well for me, saying he married me to give me happiness. When I stayed up late drawing blueprints, he would brew energizing tea and silently keep me company. The Ethan who at eighteen swore he only liked me. Now casually says he’s fallen for someone else. The next morning, Ethan carried Natalie out of the hospital room, looking at me in surprise. “Melissa, you sat here all night?” I didn’t answer. I just stood up silently and followed behind them. Stubbornly wanting to see why they could develop such intense feelings without me noticing. Back at Natalie’s place, Ethan moved skillfully through every corner. I used to see the razor at her place and foolishly asked Natalie if she had a boyfriend. She winked slyly. “Sometimes when I get drunk at bars, strange men send me home.” I worriedly told her to be careful. Natalie hummed smugly. “No need to worry. My man is super clean!” It turned out her man was Ethan. Natalie changed into a soft white dress and sat on the sofa, ordering Ethan around. Seeing my dazed expression, she laughed. “Melissa, don’t blame me. You can’t control feelings.” “Besides, I’m not asking for any title or status.” “We’re best friends. There’s nothing wrong with me having a taste of your man, right?” Every sentence Natalie spoke was light and casual, but they fell heavily on my heart. Ethan heated up bread and milk and brought it to Natalie. Natalie acted coquettish, wanting him to feed her. Ethan looked at me. “Melissa, go home first.” My throat was hoarse. I couldn’t say a word. Natalie hooked her lips and tugged at Ethan’s sleeve. “No need. Melissa is just stubborn. Once she figures it out, she’ll leave on her own.” My eyes became sore, but not a single tear fell. Yesterday, I had cried all my tears for them. I turned and left. In the evening, I rang Natalie’s doorbell. Ethan, wearing matching couple’s loungewear, opened the door. Seeing me, he smiled gently and pulled me into his arms, nuzzling affectionately into the crook of my neck, teasing in a low voice. “So, Melissa, have you thought it through and accepted that Natalie and I—” I pushed him away and walked straight to Natalie. Solemnly, I removed the wedding ring from my hand and the necklace from my neck—the one Natalie gave me after earning her first bucket of gold. Ethan sat back on the sofa, looking at me like a child throwing a tantrum, amused. I lowered my head and pulled out a document from my bag, placing it in front of him. Ethan took it. After seeing the title, the nonchalance on his face instantly froze. He jerked his head up. His voice trembled. “Melissa, you want to… divorce me?”

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In my past life, Jimenez asked me to meet him in the back alley to confess his feelings. I was sexually assaulted by a group of thugs, resulting in vaginal tearing and lifelong psychological trauma. When Jimenez arrived later, he held me and cried, making me a promise never to leave: “I’ll love you forever, even though your uterus is damaged and you can’t have children.” It wasn’t until after his death that I discovered his diary, filled with pages of regret. He regretted helping Aurora, the school’s cheerleading captain, hide the truth. It turned out he had fallen in love with Aurora long ago. Before confessing to me, he had rejected Aurora’s advances. Those thugs were sent by Aurora to get revenge on me. As I lay dying in a hospital bed, Aurora pitifully begged him to keep her secret. Jimenez nodded, helped Aurora, and eventually married me. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn on the day Jimenez confessed to me. [Morris, meet me in the back alley after school. I have something to tell you. Come alone] I stared in disbelief at the message from Jimenez. I had actually returned to that most humiliating day. Because of this day, I suffered vaginal tearing and had to endure pubic bone pain day and night. After this day, Jimenez took me away from home, leaving my dignity behind in my homeland. My sense of self was shattered and rebuilt. Tears of excitement fell from my eyes. This time I finally had a chance to rewrite my life. Before this incident, I was a top student in my class with a bright future ahead of me. After this incident, I became a factory worker. I suffered so much just to reach the position that had once been within easy grasp. [Okay, I’ll wait for you] I put away my phone and headed straight to the coffee shop at the school gate. In my past life, this was where Jimenez broke things off with Aurora, which led to Aurora taking out her anger on me by hiring thugs to defile me. Now, I sat right behind them. Jimenez and Aurora sat facing each other, Aurora’s face showing shy delight. “What did you want to tell me?” “I’m sorry, I may have given you the wrong impression these past few days.” “I’ve thought it over seriously. I can’t lose Morris. What I felt for you was just temporary attraction. Can we still be friends?” Jimenez spoke on his own, completely oblivious to Aurora’s darkening expression. The server brought two cups of coffee but accidentally spilled them on Jimenez’s clothes, interrupting his words. “I’m so sorry, so sorry.” “It’s fine—” Jimenez suddenly stood up, scanning the surroundings in confusion. The moment he saw Aurora, he glared at her furiously: “Aurora, how dare you show your face in front of me?” Aurora looked bewildered. “What’s wrong with you?” He had been fine just moments ago, but suddenly he seemed like a different person. Seeing Jimenez’s strange reaction, I understood—he had been reborn too. Jimenez only froze for a second, then slowly sat back down after regaining his composure. “Your phone. Let me see it.” Aurora clutched her phone tightly, desperately trying to hide her panic. “Why do you want to see my phone?” “Never mind.” Jimenez rubbed his temples. “This is fine. After she’s been violated, she’ll be more docile and settle down with me.” Everything before me lost its luster. All I could hear in my head was that sentence—after she’s been violated, she’ll be more docile. So this was what he really thought. “Have you been well these past years?” Jimenez’s eyes showed cautious tenderness. Aurora relaxed and smiled faintly. “I’ve been fine.” As long as he didn’t continue that previous topic. Jimenez stared, transfixed, and the next moment his eyes reddened slightly. “That’s good.” “Can we hug, just once?” After the embrace, Jimenez turned his head and made a serious suggestion. “Transfer schools tomorrow. Don’t appear here again. This time I’m truly letting go.”

Aurora didn’t understand, but I knew why Jimenez said this. In my past life, the news of my assault by thugs spread like wildfire. When my classmates carried me home, my lower body was covered in blood. My parents only had one daughter—me. They went completely insane. They didn’t believe it was an accident. They suspected everyone they saw, especially anyone who had conflicts with me. Aurora was the main suspect. I was kind-hearted and rarely had conflicts with anyone. Aurora’s conflict with me stood out prominently. Later, when Jimenez took me far away to help me forget, my parents still wouldn’t let her go. If Jimenez hadn’t helped Aurora hide the truth, my parents would have found evidence long ago and sent Aurora to prison. Aurora’s reputation in our hometown became so terrible she couldn’t hold her head up. I heard she didn’t get into a good university, went abroad, and never came back. In my past life, Jimenez held me with such heartbreak, saying he wished he could tear the culprit to pieces. But when he actually saw her, Jimenez only covered for her, letting the tragedy repeat itself, even giving her his most sincere advice. It turned out the saddest moments are when you can’t even cry out loud. I quickly wiped the moisture from the corner of my eye with my fingertip, even forcing a self-mocking smile at the corner of my mouth. It wasn’t sadness—it was finally seeing clearly. Sitting in the back, I clearly saw that because of Jimenez’s reminder, Aurora secretly deleted the text messages and made an excuse to go to the restroom. In reality, she put money in an envelope and used a pay phone to communicate with the thugs. The two parties never met face to face. This time, Aurora had enough time to do things more discreetly. Jimenez didn’t stop her the entire time. Instead, he watched Aurora’s retreating figure with a longing gaze. Before Aurora came back with a bright smile, Jimenez ordered a Napoleon pastry and left with light, quick steps. Even his retreating back revealed barely concealed anticipation, as if rushing to keep a long-desired appointment. If I hadn’t witnessed his conversation with Aurora with my own eyes, I might have thought he was eager to see me. In this era, Napoleon pastries were a luxury. A small piece cost an entire month’s allowance. Occasionally buying one meant the whole family would share it. Yet Jimenez spent all his money to buy Aurora a Napoleon pastry. I remembered in my past life, my birthday came one month after that incident. That day my spirits were unusually good, and I really wanted a piece of cake. Jimenez looked troubled and told me we had to save the remaining money and couldn’t spend it carelessly. I didn’t know why, but I cried terribly, gasping for breath. Jimenez had no choice but to buy an apple, stick a candle in it, and let me blow it out. It turned out he did know how to cherish someone—I just wasn’t worth it. I watched Aurora joyfully scooping up the Napoleon with a spoon, eating it bit by bit. She was editing a text message, probably to Jimenez, with a sweet smile on her face. [Morris, are you there yet?] Looking at Jimenez’s message, I could feel his anxiety even through the screen. I sneered, turned around, and invited my desk mate to study together at the nearby library.

In my past life, my desk mate had asked if I wanted to study abroad with her in France. I didn’t need to worry about expenses—her family was willing to cover my tuition and living costs. I was especially interested in languages. Since childhood, I had learned fluent French by watching TV. Even then, a small seed had planted itself in my heart. I was determined to become an amazing translator. My desk mate was an immigrant from France. When she heard my spoken French, she was surprised that my pronunciation was so standard. She was an only child, and her family didn’t feel comfortable letting her travel alone. They would only allow her to venture to Europe if someone went with her. I hesitated back then, but ultimately refused. In my past life, I didn’t want to leave Jimenez. Then that incident happened, and Jimenez and I left school, abandoning our education. This time, I wanted to seize the opportunity and never let it slip through my fingers again. When I arrived, Figueroa was already sitting at our spot waiting for me, with various study materials on the table. “Since you’re the one who invited me this time, don’t give up easily. I don’t want to hear you abandon your dreams for Jimenez again.” She shrugged with feigned indifference. I smiled apologetically: “I won’t.” “All I want now is to study, go to France as soon as possible and realize my dreams. People need to take responsibility for their own lives.” There were no online classes at this time. Preparing for exams could only rely on self-study. But Figueroa handed me a brand-new French textbook. “Study hard.” I said nothing more and began seriously memorizing French. After about two hours, I finally looked up and twisted my stiff neck. “Let’s stop here for today. We’ll continue tomorrow.” Figueroa packed up her bag. I took out my phone. Instantly, countless messages popped up, all from Jimenez. [Where are you?] [I don’t see you] [Can you reply? I’m really worr—] The message was sent before he finished typing. I sneered. He wasn’t worried about me—he was worried the incident wouldn’t happen to me. I casually replied: [Sorry, I just saw my phone. I was reviewing with a classmate. You should head home first.] I did it on purpose, deliberately coming to the library so everyone could see me studying and serve as my witnesses. That way, if something happened to Jimenez, they couldn’t blame it on me. Jimenez didn’t reply. I didn’t care. On the way home, I heard passersby discussing in shock with their friends. “Oh my God, did you know? A male student at our high school was sexually assaulted by a group of thugs!” “I heard when they found him, he had rectal prolapse and was covered in blood!” “Those thugs are absolute scum!” “Who knows? Maybe that male student was promiscuous, deliberately looking for thrills, and things got out of hand with those thugs. Otherwise, why didn’t the thugs target anyone else?” Hearing the same rhetoric from my past life, tears nearly fell from my eyes. In my past life, they said the same things about me. Back then, I couldn’t listen to any gossip. I would rush at them, ready to fight. Jimenez advised me that mouths belonged to others, and even if I stopped them for a moment, I couldn’t stop them forever. They would still talk behind my back. He told me not to take it to heart. This time it was his turn. I hoped he could be just as open-minded. The thugs Aurora hired were quite reliable. Since I didn’t go, Jimenez was alone in the alley. So even if they had suspicions, they still dutifully completed their task.

“Mom, I’m home.” I entered with a smile on my lips. As soon as I put down my backpack, I saw Jimenez’s mother standing behind me like a floating ghost. She seemed to have been waiting at my house for a long time. With a dark expression, she saw me enter and—slap—struck me across the face. I had no time to react. I took her slap, and half my face instantly burned with pain, swelling red. My mom stepped in front of me, shouting angrily: “Are you crazy? What are you doing?” Jimenez’s mother was pulled disheveled by my mom, looking even more like a soul-stealing ghost, saying ominously: “Why didn’t Morris go when Jimenez asked to meet her?” “Then Jimenez had an accident.” My mom froze for a second. “Are you kidding me? Are you sick? Jimenez was the one who asked Morris to meet. What’s wrong with Morris not wanting to go? His accident was just that—an accident. Should Morris have taken his place? Do you have no shame? Should Morris have to experience all this?” “Honey, where the hell are you? Get out here! Someone’s bullying your wife and child, and you’re not coming to help!” My mom roared while protecting me tightly. My dad rushed out of the kitchen. As a grown man, he couldn’t hit her, so he used a broom to push Jimenez’s mother out. “Get out!” At the moment the door closed, I saw Jimenez lying on the ground, frowning. He wasn’t lying in the hospital at this time but came to my house—nothing good could come of this. Jimenez supported his upper body with both arms, barely propping himself up. His legs were wrapped in thick blankets, with blood stains faintly visible. His legs had almost no strength. He had crawled to my doorstep using only his hands, dust covering his entire body. Unable to hold on any longer, he collapsed heavily by the door. “Mom.” He frowned helplessly and called out. Jimenez’s mother seemed frozen in place. She slowly turned around, shocked, and rushed to support him. “Jimenez, why aren’t you in bed? Why did you come out?” My mom and Jimenez’s mother were best friends since childhood. My dad and Jimenez’s dad grew up together as close friends. Jimenez and I were childhood friends. Since childhood, our two families had been extremely close. So seeing Jimenez’s terrible condition, my parents couldn’t bear to drive them away. They quickly set up a folding bed for him to lie down. The two of them stood in front of me in perfect sync, like two impregnable mountains. “Jimenez, take your mom home quickly. During recovery, you need to avoid excessive movement.” “Rest well. You’ll recover in time.” Jimenez first looked deeply at me, his eyes surging with indescribable pain and deep love. My parents instantly became alert. Then he lowered his head politely: “Okay.” “I’ll go back and talk to my mom. This has nothing to do with Morris. I was just… too unlucky.” “Mom, let’s go home.” Jimenez’s mother held back tears, grief-stricken: “How can I accept this?” My parents were still kindly advising: “People have to look forward. There’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome. At worst, you can move…” Before they finished speaking, Jimenez silently pulled out a love letter from his bag, looking at me affectionately. “Morris, I know you’ve been reborn too.” “I don’t blame you.” “Even if it’s tit for tat, I’ve experienced what you went through in your past life. I know you like me.” “Marry me. We’ll live a good life together from now on.” Jimenez’s mother chimed in viciously: “If Morris doesn’t marry Jimenez, I’ll spread the word everywhere that Morris couldn’t have him and deliberately hired people to violate Jimenez. This love letter is the evidence!” “Don’t think you can get out of this!”

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On my wedding day, my bridesmaids decided to play a game and hide me among them. They blindfolded my fiancé, Ethan Shore, and told him to find his bride using only his sense of smell. Ethan and I had been childhood friends, dating for ten years. When he walked up to me, his eyebrow twitched slightly. I smiled, about to announce his victory. But Ethan walked straight past me to the first bridesmaid, Sienna. “Darling, I found you!” Sienna stood before him, her face flushing red instantly, looking shy and timid. My smile froze on my lips. The bridesmaids all fell silent. In the heavy silence, Ethan removed his blindfold and naturally positioned himself protectively in front of Sienna. When he looked at me, he casually added, “Sorry, wrong person.” He apologized. The groomsmen quickly jumped in to explain and smooth things over. “Come on, what guy doesn’t have a past?” “I remember back in the day, Sienna’s parents locked her in the house once, and Ethan was so worried he skipped his football game to find her.” “Not just that. Later when the teacher made him apologize, he publicly confessed his feelings to Sienna instead.” “And there was also…” They went back and forth, painting a vivid picture of their colorful youth together. Everyone seemed moved by the memories. Only I was left out, as if I hadn’t been their classmate at all. The heavy wedding dress pressed down on me. The air still carried the scent of Sacred Wood perfume. Ethan once said this was his favorite scent. I had started wearing it too, and never changed it since. So— He had recognized me. I just wasn’t the bride he wanted in his heart. He had recognized me. He just wanted to hold his first love one more time in front of everyone. My chest ached painfully. I looked at Ethan. He was completely lost in the past, exchanging frequent glances with Sienna. Only Quinn walked over to me, patted my shoulder, and loudly reminded everyone: “Why are you all talking about the past? Today is Chloe and Ethan’s wedding. They’re the stars of the show!” Quinn pulled me to the center of the crowd, smiling warmly. “Come on, bride, tell us about you and the groom.” “How did you two meet?” “When did you get together?” “How did he pursue you?” The room fell silent for a moment, all eyes on me. I opened my mouth, about to speak— “Yeah, yeah, tell us.” One of the groomsmen chimed in, his tone dripping with sarcasm: “Our Ethan stayed single all these years for Sienna. We’re all curious what kind of girl could land him.” Eight years ago. After high school graduation, Sienna chose to study abroad. Her breakup with Ethan was dramatic and public. Ethan had gotten drunk and stayed depressed for a long, long time. But later, he actively pursued me. Five years ago that summer, he pursued me for six months. He waited downstairs at my dorm every day, brought me umbrellas when it rained, saved seats for me before exams. When I casually mentioned wanting strawberry cake, he’d go buy it late at night. Back then, his eyes were full of me. All our college friends knew. Our current coworkers all knew. Only our high school classmates didn’t know. At every high school reunion, Ethan never clarified things. Everyone remained stuck in the memories of his youth with Sienna, treating it as something special. When Ethan and I announced our engagement, all our old high school friends assumed I had forced him into marriage. I could let it slide before, but today was my wedding. How could I not care?

“Actually, we—” I started to explain. “That’s enough.” Ethan cut me off. “What’s there to say? We just got together, that’s all.” My breath caught. The words stuck in my chest, suffocating and painful. Ethan seemed completely oblivious. He leaned against the doorframe, shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, his gaze fixed on the other side of the room. I followed his line of sight. Sienna stood by the window, sunlight falling on her. She wore a pale pink dress, her long hair draped over her shoulders, quiet and still, like a painting. She seemed lost in memories too, her eyes full of melancholy. Yet she pretended not to care, teasing Ethan instead. “The bride wants to share your story, and you won’t let her?” Ethan smiled faintly. Everyone’s attention immediately shifted to Sienna. “How about you tell us what Ethan was like when he was young?” “Did girls always like him?” “Were you two childhood sweethearts?” Sienna stood surrounded by people, her ears turning slightly red. She glanced at Ethan, then lowered her head, her voice hesitant. “Oh, that’s not really appropriate… today is your wedding with Chloe…” “What’s inappropriate about it?” Ethan walked over to Sienna’s side. “It’s just old stories. What’s wrong with sharing them?” He stood beside Sienna, very close to her. So close their sleeves almost touched. “Why don’t you tell them about the time we skipped class and got caught?” Sienna smiled with pursed lips. “You’re the one who insisted on climbing the fence. Then the dean chased us down half the street and dragged us back to write apologies.” “That’s because you couldn’t run anymore and I went back to pull you along. That’s why we got caught.” They exchanged a glance. Sienna’s face turned even redder as she looked down. Ethan didn’t look away. The corners of his mouth held that smile I’d seen for over ten years. I knew that smile too well. Not a perfunctory smile. Not a polite smile. But the kind with light in his eyes that only appeared when looking at someone he truly liked. These past five years. I thought I had earned Ethan’s smile too. But now I finally understood. In Ethan’s heart, there had always been a place for Sienna. Even though Ethan, Sienna, and I were all childhood friends. Everyone’s eyes could only see the two of them. “Enough of this already.” Quinn really couldn’t take it anymore. “Can we stop talking about ancient history? Let’s get on with the actual ceremony! Groom, find the wedding shoes!” Everyone finally snapped back to reality. The bridesmaids cooperated with Quinn, pushing Ethan toward the bedroom door. Some were laughing, some were cheering. Ethan entered the bedroom and started searching through everything. The nightstand, the closet, behind the curtains—he searched very carefully. At least it looked careful. But no matter where he searched, he always stayed on the right side of the bed. Sienna was standing on the right side. Every time he bent down, he got a little closer to her. Every time he stood up, his gaze landed on her first. “Shouldn’t you be looking for the wedding shoes near the bride?” Quinn frowned. “Groom, why do you keep going over there?” Ethan didn’t hear her, or if he did, he ignored it. He walked to the vanity by the window. Sienna was standing there. When she saw him approaching, she moved aside slightly and said something in a low voice. He smiled and bent down to open the drawer. Watching his back, I suddenly felt exhausted. Not physically tired, but the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that felt like being hollowed out. “Ethan!” Quinn finally lost her patience, her voice rising an octave. “If you don’t find the wedding shoes soon, we’ll miss the ceremony time! I’m telling you, if we miss the auspicious hour, Chloe won’t marry you! She’s got plenty of other suitors who want to marry her!” The room fell silent for a moment. Someone in the groomsmen’s group laughed. “Plenty of suitors?” The voice carried contempt. “I heard she was the one chasing after Ethan?” “Exactly,” another person joined in, his tone full of mockery. “If Ethan wasn’t so soft-hearted, she probably wouldn’t even—” “Enough.” Ethan finally spoke, his voice not loud, with a light, almost indifferent reprimand. “Don’t talk nonsense.” Then he glanced at me. Just a glance, quick, like an inadvertent sweep. No defense, no explanation, not even a frown. He said “don’t talk nonsense” with his mouth, but his tone was full of indulgence. So much indulgence that people felt— Those words weren’t really wrong after all. That was just how Ethan was. Five years. Every time someone misunderstood me, he would speak up for me. Except in front of high school friends. When he instinctively distanced himself from me in front of high school friends. Every word was like a knife, cutting into me one slice at a time. Five years of cuts. I lowered my head and looked at my phone. The screen was lit, showing Ryan’s chat window, still on that message: [Do you really have to marry him? How am I not as good as him?] I stared at those words for a long time, then sent a message: [Come to the wedding venue.]

After sending it, I held my phone in my palm and looked up. The living room was still noisy. Ethan was still rummaging around. Sienna stood beside him. The distance between them made me sick. “Where on earth did you hide the wedding shoes?” someone asked. Quinn glanced at me. I shook my head slightly. As my longtime best friend, she instantly understood. “Sienna.” Quinn walked over and grabbed her arm. “Did you hide the wedding shoes?” Sienna froze, looking up innocently. “I… I just put them somewhere random. I didn’t know…” “Where did you put them?” Sienna twisted her dress hem with her fingers. After a long pause, she said quietly, “I… I threw them outside.” The room fell silent for a moment. “Threw them?” Quinn’s voice changed pitch. “Where did you throw them?” “Just… in the flower bed downstairs.” Sienna’s voice got smaller and smaller, her eyes beginning to redden. “I don’t really understand these customs. I thought hiding the wedding shoes meant hiding them as hard as possible to find, so their marriage would be happier… I didn’t know…” Before she finished speaking, tears fell. After a few seconds of silence in the room, someone from the groomsmen spoke up. “Come on, Sienna’s never been married. She didn’t know. It wasn’t on purpose.” “Exactly. She threw them, so what? We’ll just find them.” Ethan said nothing, just looked at Sienna once, then sighed. That sigh held no blame, only helplessness. “I’ll go get them.” “Me too!” The groomsmen followed Ethan out. Sienna was about to follow when Ethan raised his hand to stop her. “Don’t come. It’s hot outside.” His voice was very gentle when he said this, like coaxing a child. Sienna nodded. Her tears hadn’t dried, but the corners of her mouth curved upward. Watching this scene, my stomach turned. A few minutes later, Ethan returned, holding a wedding shoe. “Found it.” But the shoe was covered in mud. The red satin was stained with a large dirty patch, looking utterly disheveled. “Can she even wear this?” Quinn frowned, picking up the shoe to examine it. “It’s so dirty!” “Just wipe it off.” Ethan’s tone was casual, as if discussing something insignificant. I looked at that filthy wedding shoe. My heart felt like it was being squeezed tight. “I don’t want it.” Everyone looked at me. “I don’t want it even if you clean it.” I said. “I want a new pair.” The room fell silent for a moment. Ethan frowned at me. “Where am I supposed to buy new ones now? We need to leave soon.” “Then we won’t leave.” I said. Ethan’s frown deepened, impatience creeping into his voice. “Chloe, stop making a scene. Just wipe them clean and it’ll be fine. No one will notice your shoes.” No one will notice your shoes. Those words were like a knife, stabbing precisely into my heart. For over ten years, Ethan had said so many things like this. Chloe, no one will notice you. In this childhood romance, I had been invisible for so many years. In the end, even Ethan himself believed it. I really wasn’t worth his attention. “Is it hard to buy them?” I looked at him, my voice calm. “Or do you just not want to buy them, Ethan? Because you don’t actually want this marriage at all?”

The atmosphere instantly froze. Quinn gasped. The groomsmen exchanged glances. Even Sienna looked stunned. Ethan looked at me, his expression shifting from a frown to something I couldn’t read. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly laughed. That laugh carried a hint of helplessness, a touch of indulgence, like looking at an unreasonable child. “Fine.” “I’ll go buy them.” Ethan turned and walked out. The groomsmen followed. Sienna hesitated, then followed too. “Wait for me. I’ll come with you. I know there’s a mall nearby…” Ethan didn’t turn around, but his steps slowed, waiting for Sienna to catch up. They walked out side by side, their figures disappearing at the end of the hallway. The moment the door closed, the living room became so quiet you could hear breathing. Quinn came over, crouched in front of me, and looked up at my face. “Chloe,” her voice was soft, “what if Ethan doesn’t come back?” I didn’t speak. I lowered my head, hiding my reddening eyes. Five years. I had believed he could forget Sienna for five years. But every time, he disappointed me. “I don’t want to marry him anymore.” I said. Quinn froze. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. The other bridesmaids quickly asked me: “What about the wedding?” “With so many guests, won’t people laugh at Chloe?” After several seconds, Quinn suddenly smiled. That smile held no surprise, no opposition. Instead, it seemed relieved. “Let them laugh. We’ll be with Chloe anyway.” The bridesmaids all had red-rimmed eyes, gripping my hands tightly. “You should have left him long ago.” “Exactly. That Ethan doesn’t deserve you.” “We’ve always thought you deserved better.” Looking at their faces, seeing the heartache and relief in their eyes. I suddenly realized that maybe I had been wrong all along. I thought if I waited long enough, Ethan would eventually see me. But Ethan didn’t. During those eight years when I wasn’t seen, he just grew more and more accustomed to ignoring me. Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door. The door opened. Ethan walked in, holding a shopping bag. The groomsmen followed behind. Sienna walked at the back, head lowered, lost in thought. “Got them.” Ethan handed me the bag, his tone slightly expectant of praise. “Went to three stores before finding them. Satisfied now?” I took the bag without speaking. The groomsmen behind him looked strange. They had been joking around before leaving, but now they were all quiet, looking at me differently. Some even avoided my gaze. I didn’t know what had happened, and I didn’t want to know anymore. “Alright, alright, put them on quick. We’re running out of time.” Quinn took the shoebox and crouched down to help me change shoes. “Beautiful.” Quinn said. I looked down and nodded. “Let’s go.” Ethan came over, bending down to carry me. I didn’t dodge. Ethan picked me up, carried me out the door, into the elevator, down to the ground floor. The wedding car was parked at the entrance, decorated with flowers and ribbons. The hood displayed our names—Ethan Shore Loves Chloe. He carried me to the car and was about to close the door when— “Ethan.” Sienna’s voice came from behind, soft and hesitant. Ethan paused. He turned to see Sienna standing two steps away, fingers twisting her dress hem, eyes slightly red. “I… there’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you. I know now might not be the right time, but after today, it’ll be even less appropriate…” The surroundings fell silent for a moment. The officiant nearby reminded him quietly, “Groom, it’s about time. We should go.” Ethan didn’t move. His gaze remained on Sienna, his eyes filled with something thick and intense. After a few seconds of silence, he turned his head to look at me. “Chloe, give me ten minutes.” I looked at him too, and said only one last thing. “Ethan, in ten minutes, I won’t be getting married anymore.”

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I was blacklisted by the entire internet for supposedly being the “other woman” in an A-list movie star’s relationship. The production crew of a dating reality show wanted to watch the world burn, so they invited me to join the show alongside the star and his girlfriend. I didn’t want to go, but they simply offered too much money. The whole world expected to watch me fail at seducing him. Instead, a silver Maserati MC20 roared into the frame. The driver, with a wicked smirk and a lazy drawl, said: “Honey, why did you leave for the set without waiting for me?” With that one sentence, the entire live stream crashed. 1 Because I was photographed looking “too close” with my co-star, Austin Hayes, I was labeled as the homewrecker destroying his relationship with his non-celebrity girlfriend. My fans tried to defend me, which only led to more accusations—claiming I was “bullying a commoner.” In the heat of the scandal, the producers of the reality show Catch the Spark decided to lean into the chaos. They invited me to be a guest. I wasn’t interested in the drama, but the paycheck they offered had too many zeros to ignore. Austin and his girlfriend, Lila Moore, were the “it” couple of the show. They had a massive following of “shippers.” That’s why everyone was so vicious toward me when the rumors broke. But this was a dating show. What was I supposed to do there? Be a mascot? The producers were vague. “Just show up,” they said. “We’ll handle the rest.” On the first day of filming, the moment I appeared on screen, the comment section exploded. Most of it was pure vitriol. —”WTF? Sienna actually showed up?” —”She has no shame. Dancing right in front of the real girlfriend.” —”Cancel the homewrecker!” The few fans brave enough to speak up were instantly buried under a mountain of hate. See? To destroy a female actress, all you have to do is whisper the word “mistress.” As I stood there lost in thought, a familiar black SUV pulled up. Austin and Lila stepped out. He carefully shielded her as she climbed down, as if she were a piece of fragile porcelain. The camera crew, clearly looking for a viral moment, cut between the two of them looking deeply in love and me standing alone on the corner like a pathetic loser. The comments peaked: —”The showdown! The showdown!” —”The mistress meets the wife. This is better than the Oscars.” —”Austin is so protective! Ugh, Sienna is such trash for trying to ruin this.” I couldn’t agree more. I also wanted to know what I was doing there. Lila was wearing a simple yellow sundress. She barely had any makeup on—just a bit of tint on her lips. She looked like the “girl next door,” pure and innocent. She looked at me as if she had never seen the tabloids. She smiled gently and reached out her hand. “Hi, you’re Sienna, right? I’m Lila.” As she reached out, a massive diamond—a total “rock”—flashed under the sun. Every woman loves diamonds. And damn, that thing was blinding. Lila seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly pulled her hand back, looking apologetic. She covered the ring with her other hand, a classic “I’m trying to hide it but I actually want you to see it” move. Message received: He’s mine. The comments caught it too. —”OMG! Was that an engagement ring?!” —”Did Austin propose? Is that a rock or a planet?!” —”LMAO, look at Sienna’s face. She looks so awkward.” —”Producers, get her off the screen. She’s an eyesore next to them.” Just then, a roar of an engine echoed from the distance. The camera panned away. A silver Maserati MC20 drifted into the shot. The driver rolled down the window just enough to show a hand with well-defined knuckles. His profile was sharp, a pair of dark aviators resting on a high bridge of a nose. Even the staff cleared a path. Lila looked over with curiosity. She had been on the show for several episodes, but she’d never seen a guest arrive with this much swagger. The butterfly doors swung upward. It was effortlessly cool. The driver stepped out, his long legs moving with a lazy grace. The world seemed to go silent. My heart beat in sync with his movements as he took off his sunglasses. The wind caught his dark hair. Even in a tailored suit, he had this air of untamed rebellion. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing muscular forearms. A faint, wicked smirk touched his lips as his eyes locked onto me. The camera zoomed in on his face. The chat went dead for three seconds before a nuclear explosion of comments occurred. —”HOLY CRAP! Who is this guy?!” —”Does anyone know him? Is he a new model?” —”I’ve never seen him in Hollywood. Who is he?!” While the internet was losing its mind, the mystery man spoke. He looked straight at me, his voice low and honey-thick. “Honey, why did you leave for the set without waiting for me? You left me all alone in bed.” The internet broke. —”Did he… did he just say… HONEY?” —”Am I hallucinating?” —”Is he talking to… Sienna? No way. No freaking way.” He didn’t wait for the comments to catch up. He walked over, his long strides reaching me in seconds. Lila stood there with her mouth open, looking between the producers and this newcomer. She clearly hadn’t been briefed on this. Ignoring the cameras, the man buried his face in the crook of my neck. “I missed you, baby.” Me: ??? Internet: ??? —”My eyes are failing or my ears are lying!” —”Is this Sienna’s boyfriend?!” —”I need a background check! Now! Who is this man?!” 2 And just like that, Rowan became the new guest on the show. Watching us standing there with our fingers interlocked, the other guests had… complicated expressions. Rowan’s background was a fortress. If he didn’t want you to know, you could dig six feet under and still find nothing. He didn’t seem to want to reveal his full identity yet. When the director asked for an introduction, he just smirked. “Just your average trust-fund kid.” He held my hand so naturally, like we had been together for a lifetime. I looked down at our joined hands. Faded memories started to clear. I remembered many years ago… Rowan had said to me: “Sienna, I’m coming back for you. Even if you don’t wait for me, it doesn’t matter. I’ll find you.” He actually did it. After the intros, we headed to the rooms to unpack. In the stairwell, Rowan glanced at the cameraman. The poor guy was so intimidated he immediately turned his back to “film the wall.” Rowan wrapped an arm around my waist from behind, his chin resting on my head. “Baby, I was gone for a while. Did anyone bully you?” The cameraman turned the lens away, but he forgot to turn off the mic. That one husky, protective sentence sent the live stream into another meltdown. —”CAMERAMAN! I order you to turn around right now!” —”His voice is so hot! The protectiveness!” —”Is this what it feels like to be a VIP member? I want more!” Tears pricked my eyes. I wanted to turn around and tell him how much I missed him, and how much the internet had hurt me. But I held it in. I’d tell him after the cameras were off. I wasn’t giving the haters the satisfaction of seeing my private heart. Rowan carried my luggage up. Before we could even settle, the producers sent an envelope with our first task. “Guests, please settle your luggage. Gentlemen, please assemble in the lobby. Ladies, please wait in your rooms.” Rowan kissed my forehead. “Be right back.” —”Help, why do I think they’re the perfect match?” —”They have so much chemistry. This can’t be scripted.” —”Don’t be naive. Sienna probably hired an actor to wash off the mistress labels.” 3 The lobby was filled with racks of women’s clothing. The host explained: “Tonight, we are hosting a gala. The men must choose a complete outfit for their partners. The ladies will wear whatever you pick.” The comments were already laughing. —”LMAO, I’m so curious about Austin’s taste.” —”I’ve been married for ten years and I still don’t let my husband buy me socks.” The racks were overwhelming. Arthur, an older actor, went straight for a classic, modest emerald gown for his wife. It was safe and dignified. Austin and a younger idol named Jax were struggling. Austin walked around with a frown, especially when he saw the more “daring” designer dresses. —”Hahaha, Austin looks like a grumpy dad at a mall.” —”He looks offended by every sequin!” Finally, Austin went to the casual section. He picked a thick, white cable-knit sweater and a pair of baggy jeans. He paired them with… sneakers. The chat lost it: —”The logic is there, but why did he pick the one with a cartoon sheep on it? It’s so ugly!” —”Lila is an adult woman. Why the sheep sweater?!” —”It’s a gala! Why did he pick casual clothes?” In the interview booth, Austin looked into the camera. “It’s fall now. It’ll be cold tonight. I want Lila to be warm and modest. Those other dresses are too revealing. Lila looks best when she’s covered up.” —”Ugh, typical controlling boyfriend vibes.” —”He’s literally that guy who gets mad if you show an inch of skin.” —”Is Lila actually going to wear a sheep sweater to a gala?” —”Look! Rowan is picking. I wonder what the ‘average trust-fund kid’ chooses.” Rowan walked past the racks everyone else was ignoring—the high-fashion, bold silhouettes. He pulled three dresses and studied them seriously, as if he were analyzing a stock market crash. Finally, he chose a white strapless piece. It was architectural and sharp, with a thigh-high slit and a trail of star-like diamonds at the hem. He even picked out the perfect stilettos. The chat went silent, then roared: —”Taste. Absolute taste.” —”I saw that dress on a runway last month. It’s gorgeous but so hard to pull off.” The director asked him: “Why this dress? The other men went for ‘safe’ designs.” Rowan looked at the camera, his eyes brightening. “Because Sienna will look like a goddess in this.” “She loves to be beautiful, so I want to give her the best. It’s a party. I want her to shine. My job is just to protect her while she burns the room down.” The chat shifted. While the other men chose based on their comfort—making sure their women weren’t “too exposed”—Rowan chose based on what I would love. He smirked at the lens. “I have to pick the best. If she doesn’t look stunning, she won’t be happy. And I hate it when she’s not happy.” —”I officially ship them! To hell with the haters!” 4 I was thrilled with the dress. Rowan knew me too well. But when I stepped out of the dressing room, Rowan didn’t look happy. He was sitting on the bed, staring at his phone. “Sienna, doesn’t your agency handle this crap?” He was looking at the leaked “intimate” photos of me and Austin. I walked over and flipped his phone face down. “Don’t look at that. Look at me. Do I look good?” Rowan looked up and his expression softened instantly. “I knew you’d be breathtaking.” He pulled me into his lap, burying his face in my waist. His voice was muffled. “I just hate that they talk about you like that.” “Sienna, you’re the best person I know.” 5 I expected the other men’s choices to be bad, but I didn’t realize they’d be this bad. Lila was wearing the sheep sweater—which was at least two sizes too big—and jeans that swallowed her legs. She looked like a middle-schooler at a pajama party. Jax’s girlfriend, Chloe, a high-fashion model, was forced into a strawberry-print sundress. It looked ridiculous. I stood at the door, almost afraid to walk in. Lila looked like she was on the verge of tears. I felt bad for her—Austin really had zero sense of style. When I walked in, the chat went from “LMAO” to “HOLY SH—.” —”Goddess. Absolute goddess.” —”Rowan is a visionary. This outfit is legendary.” —”My eyes are being blessed.” The host announced: “Gentlemen, please invite your partners to the dance floor.” The lights dimmed. Rowan bowed slightly, extending his hand. “Sienna, may I have this dance?” The Rowan in front of me overlapped with the teenage boy in my memory who had asked for my first dance with that same fiery gaze. I nodded and slid into his arms. The other couples looked miserable in their outfits, and Lila eventually excused herself, claiming she didn’t feel well. The world narrowed down to just Rowan and me. He spun me around, our noses almost touching. —”KISS HER! KISS HER! I’M BEGGING YOU!” As if hearing the internet’s prayer, he tilted his head and kissed me deeply. —”AHAHHAHAA! MY SHIP IS SAILING!” —”Kill me now, this is too sweet.” Suddenly, a new hashtag exploded on Twitter: #SiennaSugarDaddy A tabloid leaked photos of me from a few years ago. I was leaning affectionately against a middle-aged man in a suit. Internet sleuths quickly identified him: The Chairman of the Sterling Group, one of the most powerful conglomerates in the country. —”God, are these real?” —”So she does have a benefactor.” —”No wonder she got that lead role last year. She’s been a kept woman this whole time.” —”Mistress habits die hard. First a billionaire, now a movie star.” The staff signaled for me to go backstage. The comments were turning toxic again. Rowan was called away too. He looked furious. When I saw the photo, I… blanked out for a second. Rowan walked in, saw the photo, and his brow instantly relaxed. I had thought it was a deepfake or a clever angle. But the photo was real. I even had the original on my phone. The man in the photo was the Chairman of Sterling Group. His name is Robert Sterling. Rowan’s father. My uncle-in-law. The photo was cropped. In the original, Rowan was sitting right on the other side of me. We were at Robert’s birthday party. Rowan looked at the screen, his face cold. He grabbed his phone and called his PR department. “Give me the login for the official Sterling Group Instagram.” He logged in and posted the full, uncropped photo with a caption: “Family dinner.” The reversal was the fastest in the history of internet scandals. —”Wait, what? That’s Rowan’s DAD?!” —”I’m dying. Tabloids tried to frame a girl for dating her own father-in-law.” —”Wait… Rowan’s dad is the Chairman? So Rowan is…” Rowan’s true identity was out. —”ROWAN IS THE STERLING HEIR?!” —”He said he was an ‘average trust-fund kid.’ Dude is literally royalty.” —”Who could ‘hire’ a Sterling to play a boyfriend? This is real love.” —”I’m eating my words. They taste like crow, but they’re delicious.” Rowan didn’t care about the show anymore. He sat in the staff area and registered his own personal account. His first post: “Hi everyone, I’m Rowan Sterling. Sienna and I have been together for years. I joined this show to surprise her, not realizing she was being bullied by fake rumors. Whether it was the photos with Austin or my father, it’s all absurd. We will be taking legal action against every account that defamed her.” The internet crashed. Again. #RowanSterlingHeir #SiennaAndRowan #TheSterlingProtector The other guests looked at us with entirely different eyes now. 6 Back in the bedroom that night, I looked at Rowan. “Rowan, now that everyone knows… should I quit acting?” I knew he didn’t care, but the “Old Money” world usually looked down on Hollywood. My own father had threatened to disown me when I started. (I didn’t care, I was already the black sheep.) “Sienna,” Rowan said, his voice serious. “I have enough power now to make sure you never have to worry about what ‘they’ think. You shine on screen. I watch every one of your movies on repeat. I’ll back your career until the day you decide you’re done. I love you, and I love the version of you that follows her dreams.” My eyes watered. No one had ever chosen me this firmly. I grew up in a wealthy family, too, but compared to the Sterlings, we were new money. My parents were obsessed with the “right” image. After my mom passed away, my dad remarried and had a new “perfect” family. I was the leftover child. Then I met Rowan. He was the high school rebel. The guy who treated the school rules like a suggestion. Everyone was terrified of him, or obsessed with him. I thought he was just another bored rich kid. But he chased me for a year and a half. He took me to movies, watched me play volleyball, taught me how to ride a horse, and made me laugh until I forgot I was the “unwanted” daughter. The day of his father’s birthday, he took me to meet his whole family. He announced to the room: “This is my girlfriend, Sienna. Isn’t she beautiful? You guys are all jealous, I know.” His family was actually lovely. Later, I found out the “deal” he made with his dad to let us be together was that he had to go abroad to study business and prove he could run the company. “Sienna, wait for me,” he had said. “And if you don’t, it’s okay. I’ll still find you.” I waited. Shortly after he left, an Oscar-winning director found me. He said my mom had helped him years ago, and he wanted to pay it back. He offered me a lead role. I became a star overnight. I never went back to my father’s house. For years, we were a world apart. Sometimes I’d be filming until 3 AM, just as he was waking up. We lived in the gaps of our time zones. I missed him so much it hurt. 7 Now he was right here. Rowan pulled me into his arms. “Go to sleep, baby.” “We’re never being apart again,” I whispered. “Never.” 8 The next morning, the director—ever the opportunist—changed the rules of the show to capitalize on our fame. We were sent to a remote countryside village to live in “farmhouses.” Rowan and I were the first to arrive. We picked a small cottage by a stream. The owners were an elderly couple who treated us with amazing warmth. The comments were peaceful for once: —”I’m just here to watch the nepo-heir experience a farm.” —”He looks so confused by the chickens.” We were tasked with feeding the chickens. Rowan looked at the birds like they were a new species of alien. He crouched down, staring at a particularly scruffy chicken with a bald tail. He pulled out his phone and opened a “Pet Translator” app. He spoke into the phone: “Hey, scruffy. What happened to your tail?” The phone translated: “Cluck cluck cluck!” (Translation: None of your business!) I stared at him. “Why do you have that app? Does it actually work?” The chicken tilted its head and let out a sharp cry. Translator app: “Eat my dust, human.” The chat exploded: —”LMAO! Rowan is a comedy genius!” —”The chicken really said ‘None of your business!’” The old couple asked me if Rowan liked the chicken. I hesitated. “I think so…” The chat: —”I have a bad feeling about this. Look at the grandma’s face.” —”They’re gonna cook the chicken, aren’t they?” Sure enough, for lunch, the scruffy chicken was served on a platter. Rowan looked like he was about to cry. He took a photo of the dish and whispered, “Rest in peace, buddy.” Then he took a bite. “Damn… he’s delicious.” The chat: —”RIP Scruffy. You were tasty.” —”Rowan is so chaotic, I love it.”

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I asked my brother to buy me a pack of tampons. When his girlfriend found out, she immediately cursed me out in our family group chat. “How do you have the nerve to ask your brother to buy something as intimate as tampons? Don’t you know boundaries? You’re shameless! Are you so terrified of dying alone that you’re trying to seduce your own brother?” The next day, not only did she show up at our house to mark her territory, but she also tried to set me up on a blind date with an old creep. When we rejected him, she threw a tantrum and threatened to abort the baby in her belly. My parents just shrugged calmly. “We aren’t the Royal Family. We don’t have a throne to pass down. Do whatever you want!” 1 Aunt Flo arrived early, I had run out of tampons, and my cramps were killing me. I had no choice but to text my brother, Liam, who happened to be at the grocery store downstairs, to pick up a box for me. Who knew that half an hour later, Liam’s girlfriend, Emma, would send a barrage of explosive texts to our family group chat? [Do people have absolutely zero sense of boundaries nowadays? Asking your brother to buy something as intimate as tampons? You’re completely shameless!] [You’re almost thirty and you don’t even have a boyfriend. Are you trying to seduce your own brother because you can’t get a man?] [Even animals know not to mate with their own kin! If you’re that desperate and thirsty, I can introduce you to some guys.] [I haven’t even married into this family yet, and there’s already a pick-me trying to steal my boyfriend.] Staring at the wall of text attacking me, I was stunned. I admit, asking Liam—who had a girlfriend—to buy tampons might have been a slight oversight on my part, and I made a mental note to be more mindful. But if she minded that much, she could have just communicated it calmly. Was it really necessary to hurl abuse at me? After all, we hadn’t even met in person yet. We had only exchanged a few polite greetings two days ago when Liam added her to the family group chat. I hadn’t done anything to offend her. Why was she suddenly firing off like a loose cannon? Was there something wrong with her brain? And cursing at me was one thing, but accusing me of seducing Liam? That was crossing a massive line. I was adopted, so I shared no blood with Liam, but we had grown up together. Our bond was exactly like real siblings. How could her mind be so filthy? After thinking it over, I forwarded the screenshots to Liam. I hoped he would handle the situation appropriately. But Liam didn’t reply. Seeing my silence in the group chat, Emma probably thought I was scared. Feeling emboldened, she fired off a few more vicious insults. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I replied directly in the chat. [I suggest you go to the doctor and get tested for a stomach infection.] Emma replied instantly: [What is that supposed to mean?] [Because your breath stinks!] Furious, she immediately tagged Liam. [Look at your sister! I haven’t even walked through your door yet, and she’s already bullying me! They say a sister-in-law is just a second monster-in-law. They weren’t wrong!] I was typing out a scathing reply when Liam’s message finally popped up. 2 [Alright, both of you say a little less. It’s late, Mom and Dad are sleeping. Stop arguing in the chat.] Only then did Emma back down, and the group chat finally went quiet. A little while later, Liam came home. He handed me the tampons and explained what happened. Apparently, he had been on FaceTime with Emma while checking out. Eagle-eyed Emma spotted the tampons in his cart and immediately interrogated him. He explained they were for me, and without noticing the shift in her mood, he hung up to pay for his groceries. By the time he checked his phone again, we were already at each other’s throats. “Sis, I apologize on Emma’s behalf. Don’t take it to heart.” I took a deep breath, patted his shoulder, and gave him a subtle warning. “You might want to evaluate your girlfriend’s character a bit more closely.” Liam pushed his glasses up and quickly defended her. “Sis, Emma is actually a really sweet person. It’s just because she recently got pregnant. Her hormones are making her unstable and extra sensitive. That’s why she blurted out all that nonsense. Don’t hold it against her. I’m actually bringing her over tomorrow to meet Mom and Dad. Once you meet her, you’ll see.” Since Liam put it that way, I didn’t say anything else. My cramps were agonizing anyway, so I didn’t dwell on the drama. I washed up and went straight to sleep. I didn’t expect to be woken up the next morning by frantic, aggressive knocking on my door. I checked the time. It was barely 7:00 AM. Groggy, I opened the door and saw a girl in a tube top and a tight mini-skirt, standing with her arms crossed, glaring at me. “Who are you?” I asked, confused. The girl’s face instantly dropped. She rolled her eyes at me and barged straight into the living room. That’s when it clicked. This was Emma. Wow. Coming over as a guest and acting like this right off the bat? And Liam said she was a “sweet person”? I rolled my eyes, walked into the bathroom, and started brushing my teeth. Through the door, I overheard Emma complaining to Liam. “She knew I was visiting your family for the first time today, and she didn’t even wait at the door to greet me. She’s actually sleeping in? Is she a lazy pig?” Standing there with a mouth full of toothpaste, I really wanted to march out and slap her across the face. Wait at the door to greet her? Who did she think she was? The Queen of England? Did her arrival bring glory to our humble home? If that wasn’t enough, she called me a pig. Did she have zero social filter? But she didn’t seem to realize how rude she was being, and just kept running her mouth. “And your parents! They’re nowhere to be seen. It’s obvious your family doesn’t respect me at all.” “Who said that? It’s just because you came over so early!” Liam coaxed her while peeling a lychee for her. “And my sister wasn’t feeling well, so she slept in. As for my parents, they knew you were coming, so they woke up at the crack of dawn to go to the farmers market to buy fresh seafood for you. They just aren’t back yet.” Emma happily ate the fruit. By the time I changed my clothes and walked out, my parents had returned. Seeing Emma, they gave a simple, polite greeting and went straight to the kitchen to prep the food. I could tell their attitude was cold. They were early risers, which meant they had definitely seen Emma’s unhinged texts in the group chat from last night. They clearly didn’t have a good impression of her. But for Liam’s sake, they didn’t make it too obvious. I didn’t want to look at her either, so I headed toward the kitchen to help. Surprisingly, Emma grabbed my arm, acting incredibly sweet and affectionate. 3 “Sis, I noticed your bedroom is way bigger than Liam’s, and the interior design is totally my vibe. How about you give it to me starting today?” She smiled ingratiatingly, acting as if her cursing me out last night had never happened. But I wasn’t about to let it slide. Disgusted, I yanked my arm away and gave her a fake smile. “We only have three bedrooms. If I give mine to you, where am I supposed to sleep?” She casually pointed toward the storage room, speaking as if she were granting me a favor. “That room is a bit small, but if you clean it out, it’s perfectly livable. Besides, it won’t be an inconvenience for long. Once you finally get married, you’ll have to move out anyway.” Heh. She hadn’t even married into the family yet, and she was already acting like the lady of the house, barking orders and trying to evict me. Her audacity was off the charts. To avoid embarrassing Liam, I swallowed my anger and looked pointedly at him. If he had any sense, he would shut down Emma’s ridiculous demand himself. To my shock, even though he clearly heard her, he just kept his head down, peeling his lychee, not daring to utter a single word. Instead, it was my mom, who had just walked out carrying a plate, who pushed back with a polite smile. “The storage room can’t even fit a twin bed. How is anyone supposed to sleep there? Besides, when you and Liam get married, you’ll be sharing his room. Why would a married couple sleep in separate rooms?” Emma looked displeased. She pouted her lips. “Auntie, I’m pregnant! Liam tosses and turns in his sleep. I wanted separate rooms because I’m afraid he’ll hurt the baby.” “Well, that’s the house we have. Liam will just have to be more careful,” my mom said with a helpless shrug. Failing to get her way, Emma’s face darkened. She looked like she was fuming. I pressed my lips together, smiling silently. Nice try. Did you really think being pregnant gave you a free pass to act like a tyrant? You clearly didn’t know who you were dealing with. My mom definitely didn’t subscribe to the archaic “favor boys over girls” mentality. Just then, my cat smelled the food and darted out, accidentally brushing against Emma’s leg. She shrieked, dramatically jumping into Liam’s arms, and began bossing him around. “Why is there a cat in this house?! I’m terrified of those things. Liam, hurry up and throw it out!” She aggressively nudged Liam to take action. Liam stood there looking incredibly awkward. As he hesitated, the cat jumped into my arms. I stroked its fur and smiled at Emma. “Sorry about that. She’s mine.” Emma sneered in dissatisfaction. “Those things carry so many parasites. It’s incredibly dangerous for a pregnant woman. I don’t want to see it ever again. You need to send it away immediately.” Listen to her commanding tone. If I didn’t put her in her place, I was going to give myself an ulcer. “Then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. My cat is a member of this family. We value her very much, and we won’t be sending her anywhere.” Emma stamped her foot in a panic and yelled at my mom, “I’m carrying the eldest grandson of the Liam family! Do you value a cat more than you value me?!” Using her pregnancy to pressure my mom again. But my mom wasn’t buying it. 4 “If you truly feel Chloe’s cat is a risk to you, you and Liam can always move out and get your own place. Wouldn’t you prefer to enjoy some privacy as a couple anyway?” Digging a hole and almost burying herself in it, Emma completely panicked. She knew full well that our current house was located downtown and worth millions. She was terrified that if Liam moved out, the house would go entirely to me. Desperate, she shot a frantic look at Liam. Liam finally stepped up to smooth things over. “Mom, Emma is just joking with you! Please don’t take it seriously.” For Liam’s sake, my mom didn’t push the issue. Emma sensibly kept her mouth shut, but she started checking her phone obsessively, furiously typing away as if arguing with someone. A while later, my dad finished cooking. Just as we were about to sit down to eat, the doorbell rang. When we opened the door, we were greeted by a balding, greasy, middle-aged man with a massive beer belly. He looked to be about the same age as my dad. He was holding two gift boxes, smiling widely at us. We had no idea who this man was. While we stood there bewildered, Emma hurried over, beaming as she introduced him. “Uncle, Auntie, this is my cousin, Richard!” I finally understood why she had been checking her phone so aggressively. She was rushing her “cousin.” My parents assumed Richard was here as a family representative to check out Liam’s background. They warmly invited him to the table. But the second Richard sat down… Emma delivered a fatal blow. “Uncle, Auntie, Richard is the blind date I set up for Chloe.” I literally felt my soul leave my body. Was she out of her mind? Who brings a blind date for their future sister-in-law to the very first meet-the-parents dinner? We didn’t know anything about this. We didn’t even know this guy. If she wasn’t embarrassed, we were embarrassed for her. My parents’ faces darkened, but Emma remained completely oblivious to the shift in the room. She kept proudly hyping Richard up. “Uncle, Auntie, Richard has a Ph.D. Honestly, if he wasn’t divorced with a kid, a woman with Chloe’s older age and lower education wouldn’t even deserve him. “He only agreed to come today as a favor to me, his cousin. Otherwise, he has a long line of young girls chasing after him. He’d never usually settle for leftover goods like Chloe.” Elevating him while stomping all over me. If she wasn’t pregnant, I would have slapped her across the face twice. But what left me truly speechless was Richard himself. He proudly adjusted his glasses, looking me up and down with arrogant disdain, and chimed in. “Your age is definitely a bit on the high side, but your face and figure aren’t bad. I can make a compromise and we can try dating.” Barf. Does anyone understand how insane this is? A man twenty years older than me was acting like he was settling for me. Where did he get this unearned confidence? I fought the urge to flip the dining table, watching Emma excitedly fish for compliments from my parents. “Uncle, Auntie, see how capable I am? I solved two major unmarried-children problems for your family in one day! Since it’s convenient, we might as well use this dinner to discuss Chloe and Richard’s wedding plans too!” My dad didn’t say a word. He just gripped his chopsticks tightly, staring at Liam. He clearly wanted Liam to stop Emma’s manic episode and save her some face before things got ugly. But instead of appreciating the lifeline, Liam actually agreed with Emma. “I think Emma is right. We should strike while the iron is hot. After all, Chloe isn’t getting any younger.” Liam’s words chilled me to the bone. I had been holding back my temper this entire time purely to save his dignity. I didn’t expect him to be such a scumbag. Not only did he waste my good intentions, but he was actively enabling Emma’s delusions. Since they both wanted to act like clowns, fine. I had no choice but to go completely unhinged. 5 I slowly picked up a steak knife, dragging it back and forth across my empty plate. I pretended to look incredibly casual as I spoke. “Mr. Richard, your cousin is absolutely right. I don’t just lack education… I also have a mental illness.” The moment those words left my mouth, the smug satisfaction on Richard’s face morphed into panic. Trying to keep his composure, he asked, “What illness?” I let out a creepy, hollow laugh. It sounded genuinely deranged. Richard and Emma stared at me in horror. I twisted my body unnaturally, sliding my chair right next to Richard’s. I raised the steak knife and began waving it wildly, pointing it directly toward his crotch. “I don’t know why, but whenever I see a man’s junk, I just get this overwhelming urge to slice it right off.” As my voice dropped, I shook my head tragically, letting out a heartbroken sigh. “I guess my first love cheating on me really broke my psyche beyond repair!” That little performance nearly gave Richard a heart attack. He stared at me, trembling, and swallowed hard in absolute terror. “You… you’re not sick… I-I’m the one who isn’t good enough for you! I’m leaving!” Before the words were even fully out of his mouth, he leaped out of his chair, shot Emma a furious glare, and sprinted out the front door as fast as his legs could carry him. “Richard, wait! She’s lying!” Emma tried to call after him. My dad finally snapped. He roared at her, “Get out!” Emma froze, then pointed toward the door in confusion. “He already ran out.” My dad snatched the knife from my hand and pointed a shaking finger directly at Emma. “I mean YOU should get out! Act like a decent human being for once! Yesterday you cursed Chloe out in the group chat, and we let it go for Liam’s sake. Today, without our permission, you bring a freak into our home to set her up? What normal person does something like this?!” Emma flinched, then immediately burst into tears, playing the victim. “You’re calling me abnormal? Ha… I poured my heart into helping your family, and this is how you treat me.” As she cried, she suddenly let out a bitter sneer. “You have the nerve to despise my cousin? How is Chloe any better? If she keeps being so picky, even old men won’t want her anymore. Is she planning on staying home and leeching off you for the rest of her life?” My mom couldn’t take it anymore either. She slammed her hand on the table. “Even if she stays unmarried for the rest of her life, we’d gladly let her leech off us. What’s it to you?!” Emma looked shocked, which quickly turned into furious indignation. “Your money and property are supposed to go to me and Liam! What gives you the right to waste it on her? Did you ask for our permission? “Besides, if you spend all your money on her, what about the baby in my belly? Don’t forget, this is the eldest grandson of this family! If you don’t marry her off, I’ll abort the baby!” Emma threatened us triumphantly, assuming my parents would immediately cave for the sake of their grandchild. But she miscalculated drastically. My parents delivered a fatal blow. 6 “We aren’t the Royal Family. We don’t have a throne to pass down. Do whatever you want!” Emma stared at my parents in utter disbelief. It took her a long moment to snap out of it, and then she turned around and started hitting Liam. “Did you hear that?! That’s your parents’ attitude toward me! Just to protect their adopted daughter, they don’t even care if their own grandchild dies! Liam, do you see this clearly? To them, the three of us combined aren’t as important as an adopted kid.” Liam was already upset by my parents’ words, and with Emma throwing fuel on the fire, his anger reached its boiling point. “Mom, Dad, I truly didn’t expect you to be this biased. Don’t forget, I am your biological son.” Facing their seething accusations, I almost laughed out loud. His girlfriend showed zero respect for human life, using an unborn child as a bargaining chip to threaten his parents. And instead of correcting his toxic girlfriend, he was blaming my parents? What kind of twisted moral compass was that? “Liam, your brain is rotting from this relationship. Have you lost all sense of right and wrong? Apologize to Mom and Dad right now.” But Emma was even more frantic than Liam. She lunged forward and screamed at me. “Did Liam say anything that wasn’t a fact?! Why should he apologize? You’re just thick-skinned! You’re thirty years old and still living at home, trying to steal your brother’s house. Let me tell you right now, everything in this house belongs to us. If you know what’s good for you, pack your bags and get the hell out. Otherwise, when we get married, you’ll never be allowed to visit your family again.” Before I even had a chance to retort, my mom slapped Emma hard across the face. “Don’t even mention the fact that you aren’t married to Liam yet. Even if you were, you do not run this house. Who gave you the right to speak like that?!” “You dared to hit me?!” Emma clutched her burning cheek and raised her hand, ready to hit my mom back. My instincts kicked in. I grabbed her wrist in an iron grip, my face dark with warning. “Try touching my mom. See what happens.” Liam rushed forward and pulled her back, and only then did Emma fiercely rip her hand out of my grasp. My dad had reached his limit. He pointed at the door and roared, “Get out… our family does not welcome people like you.” Emma was so enraged she violently knocked over a dining chair, pointing her finger at us as she screamed. “You just wait! You want to play favorites, right? One day I’ll make you taste what it’s like to be treated this way!” With that, ignoring Liam’s attempts to calm her down, she stormed out. Having no other choice, Liam shot us a look of pure hatred and chased after her. My parents didn’t stop them. After all, Emma was pregnant. No matter how twisted her morals were, or how utterly lacking in manners she was, they couldn’t bring themselves to force Liam to break up with her. With all that chaos, no one had the appetite to eat. After comforting my parents, I started cleaning up the mess Emma had left behind. Not long after, I got a text from my boyfriend, Noah. [When does the ugly son-in-law finally get to meet the parents?] My mood instantly brightened. I subconsciously replied: [In a few days!] My grandma’s birthday was coming up in a few days. My family still didn’t know I had a boyfriend. Since the whole family would be gathered together, I figured I would just officially announce it then. It would finally stop my relatives from relentlessly trying to set me up on dates. Seeing that I had finally agreed, Noah was ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to take me out shopping to prepare gifts for my family. Unable to talk him out of it, I agreed. But I never expected that while we were out shopping, I would accidentally bump into Emma. She was walking arm-in-arm with a man. And that man wasn’t Liam. It was her “cousin.” The creepy older man she had set me up with.

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