Category: English

In the pouring rain, I knelt at a funeral for five hours, sobbing—just to earn a sliver of what my “dying” boyfriend Leo needed for surgery. Then I saw him. Smoking in the VIP section, surrounded by sycophants: “Is it true she’s a professional mourner, even pawning her dead mother’s heirlooms for you?” “Imagine her face,” they laughed, “when she finds out you’re a billionaire CEO—and this ‘sick boyfriend’ act was just revenge on your ex’s rival.” Leo blew a smoke ring. “Her tears are worthless. If she goes blind, so be it.” “Damn, Leo, you know how to handle women.” “She was born trash,” he said coldly. “Her fault for crossing Isabelle.” I stifled a sob. Every whispered “I love you”—a lie. Heart hollow, I called my general father: “I’ll take the arranged marriage.” … 1 I hung up, but the laughter from the VIP section didn’t stop. “Haha, Leo, you’re a master of the game.” “I heard that girl’s wailing is pretty melodic. Bet she sounds even better in bed, huh?” Leo shot the speaker a look. “You want to hear?” “I’ll record it for you guys next time.” “Hey, speaking of which, isn’t this a funeral? Why not bring your little crier over? Money’s money, right?” Leo took a deep drag from his cigarette and flicked the butt away. “She’s not worthy of an occasion like this.” “Besides, it’s not time yet.” The men around him snickered. “Getting soft, Leo? Don’t get caught in your own game.” “Never.” Someone teased, “Leo’s smart. It’s a good thing you didn’t bring her. If she actually managed to save up enough for the surgery, you’d have to stage a fake operation.” “No way. Leo’s just playing around. He’d never get serious.” Everyone fell silent, waiting for his answer. Including me. Finally, I heard his cold, sharp voice. “Of course not. How could I ever marry a funeral crier?” In that instant, my world shattered. Every ounce of pride and self-respect I had was ground into dust. I have no idea how I managed to stumble back to our rented room after accepting the three hundred dollars the butler handed me. At the door, the landlord was waiting, rubbing his fingers together. “Good haul today?” I numbly handed him one hundred and fifty dollars. Yes, it was the landlord who had gotten me this “job.” As thanks, I gave him half my earnings every time. I turned to go upstairs, but then I heard his voice, deliberately lowered, on the phone. “Yes, Mr. Leo, she made a good bit again today.” “Then raise her rent by fifty percent.” I recognized Leo’s voice instantly. The landlord hesitated. “Is… is that a good idea?” “Why not? It’s her own fault for being so good at making money.” “I tell her I’m not feeling well, and she works herself to the bone crying at funerals for me. I’m honestly afraid she’ll save up enough and try to force me to marry her.” “That’s true. If you actually got married, Miss Isabelle would not be pleased.” Leo was silent for a moment. “My guys have been working hard playing along with this act. The bonus will be in your accounts shortly.” The next second, the landlord shrieked. “Holy crap! Is that twenty thousand, five hundred and thirty-four dollars and ninety cents?” “Mr. Leo, that’s so much! And it’s such a specific number.” Leo’s voice was nonchalant. “It’s nothing. Spend it. There’s more where that came from.” Those few, careless words drained all the strength from my body. That was the exact amount of money I had scraped together over three years, one kneeling session at a time. A wave of helplessness crashed over me, and I crumpled against the wall, sobbing until I thought my lungs would burst. He’d sent me a single-page diagnosis, and I had immediately cut ties with my family to move in and take care of him. And with a few careless words, he had sentenced our three years together to death. If my father knew his daughter had become this pathetic, he’d probably disown me on the spot. 2 Back in the rundown apartment, I quickly started packing my things. But as I looked around, I realized there was almost nothing worth taking. The matching his-and-hers slippers he’d bought me for my birthday, $9.99 for two pairs, free shipping. The ring he’d given me—made from a soda can tab—after I’d spent six months caring for him in the hospital, when he’d cried and promised to marry me. The rainbow-colored kneepads he’d bought me after I started my “job,” and the cases of instant noodles in every flavor imaginable. Before him, I was a pampered princess who had never lifted a finger. After him, I ate ramen until I wanted to vomit and never once complained. I truly believed I had found a love that was one of a kind, the most precious thing in the world. Now I knew that even the love was a lie. I opened a drawer. Inside was a thick notebook, filled with my cramped handwriting detailing all his preferences. What he liked to eat, what he didn’t, his allergies, a daily log of his medication. On the last page was my blood donation record. During the leanest times, to make sure his “treatment” wasn’t interrupted, I would secretly sell my blood. The two days before each donation, I would drag him out for a big meal. He would always tease me. “Were you a starving ghost in a past life?” Back then, I thought it was playful banter. Now, I saw the malice and contempt dripping from his words. He never knew that of the five dollars we spent on breakfast, he ate four dollars and fifty cents’ worth. I would gnaw on half a bun and sip from a water bottle, starving until evening when I could finally eat again. I looked around the room: the piss-stained toilet seat, the moldy trash can, the creaky, hard bed. He never cleaned, never acknowledged the filth. Whenever I, fighting back nausea, would try to tidy up, he’d stop me. “Leave it. It’s not necessary.” At first, I thought he was worried about me overworking myself. Now I knew. He never saw this place as a home. He would pull me into bed, lost in his primal desires, but he never once planned a future that included me. It was time to wake up from this nightmare. In the end, I packed only a few of my own clothes and left quietly. But downstairs, I ran into Leo coming home. He looked surprised. “Aria? You have another gig this late?” Leo’s face, once so beloved, now looked like a stranger’s. He was pale, panting. “It started pouring the second I stepped out. Luckily, some kind people gave me a ride home.” The roar of a luxury car engine filled the air. Standing beside it were several impeccably dressed “kind people,” and among them, a woman of breathtaking beauty. I recognized her instantly. It was Isabelle, Leo’s real fiancée. Because on her wrist and around her neck were the bracelet and necklace my mother had left me. My breath caught in my throat. Even the heirlooms I’d pawned… he’d had someone manipulate the sale to get them. For three years, I had been living inside a colossal lie. I trembled with rage. My mother had left me two heirlooms. The priceless family bracelet I had pawned to pay for his “treatment.” All that was left was the necklace. Now, both pieces were on this woman. What was there left to believe? I walked straight up to her and held out my hand. “My mother’s heirlooms. Please give them back.” Leo’s adoring smile froze. “Aria, what are you doing?” I ignored him, my voice stubborn. “I just want my mother’s things back.” He forced a gentle smile, trying to explain. “You noticed?” “What a coincidence. The kind person who helped me just happens to be the one who bought your mother’s things.” “Aria, she helped me, so I gave her the necklace as a thank you. Isn’t it a bit ungrateful of you to demand it back?” 3 My face was a cold mask. I reached for the jewelry. Before my fingers even brushed her clothes, Isabelle let out a cry and collapsed to the ground. Her beautiful dress was soaked in the muddy rainwater, and a bruise was already forming on her forehead. “Why did you push me?” I was speechless. I saw a flicker of genuine pain in Leo’s usually indifferent eyes. He frowned. “Aria, apologize to her. Now.” I laughed in disbelief. “You want me to apologize?” “Go eat shit.” Humiliated in front of his friends, Leo’s face darkened with anger. “Aria, these people are clearly rich and powerful. You don’t want to get on their bad side. Just apologize.” Yes, they were rich and powerful. And so was he, standing right in front of me. The life-saving money I had scraped together, he could give away without blinking. “Never.” Seeing my firm refusal, Leo’s friends egged him on. “Dude, are you whipped? Can’t even control your own girlfriend?” “If you won’t apologize, then you can pay.” “That dress Isabelle is wearing is a global limited edition. Fifty thousand dollars.” I closed my eyes. “I don’t have any money.” Leo was furious now. He shoved me to my knees. His voice was harsh. “If you don’t have money, then get on your knees and kowtow. What’s the big deal?” “You kneel for a living every day. What’s so embarrassing about it? Is it so hard to bow your head for me?” His words were like a carving knife, scraping across my heart, each one drawing blood. To earn money for his treatment, my knees had become calloused, but I had never uttered a single word of complaint. But now, for something I didn’t even do, he was grinding my dignity into the dirt. All to appease his precious first love. The jeers and taunts of the crowd were like daggers, piercing the last shred of my pride. I started to unbutton my shirt. “You want money, right? I don’t have any. But I can pay with my body. How about it?” Leo stared at me like I was insane. “Aria, do you have any idea what you’re saying? Are you crazy?” I looked at him, my eyes unfocused. “Weren’t you the one who said you’d record me for your friends next time? Who wants to go first?” His pupils contracted, his face turning a ghastly white. “You… you heard?” Leo’s voice trembled. “No, that’s not it, let me explain…” I faced him, my voice dripping with scorn. “Explain what? That you’re not sick? That the late-stage leukemia was all a lie?” “You enjoyed watching me kneel and cry for money every day, just so you could squander it all, didn’t you? All because I outshone Isabelle at our thesis defense?” “Don’t worry about it. It was only the twenty thousand I scraped together over three years. Tell your friends to spend it well.” I gritted my teeth. “Leo, I truly wish you really did have leukemia.” I finally understood that hate is just love, shattered. Swallowing my humiliation, I continued to undress. Leo stopped me. He fumbled to cover me with his jacket, his voice frantic. “Aria, I’m begging you, stop.” “What’s wrong? Don’t want to share with your friends anymore?” “Leo, you’re so selfish. I feel sorry for the friends who had to act along with you for three years.” He flew into a rage. “Aria, I’ve already apologized! What more do you want?” 4 I didn’t hesitate for a second. “Let’s break up. And give me back my mother’s heirlooms.” “I know my status as a funeral crier is unlucky, low-class, and unworthy of a tycoon like you.” “I know my place. I won’t wait for you to get tired of me and kick me to the curb. I’ll leave on my own!” My mother’s heirlooms were meant for me to find the love of my life, to be my dowry. I had only pawned them to save Leo’s life. To think that all this time, I was living in his trap, played like a fool for three years. My nails dug into my palms. I had been so blind, so utterly disappointing to my parents. “Aria, listen to me, at first I really was—” “I don’t want to hear any of it. You played me for three years. I’m begging you, just let me go, okay?” Leo finally exploded. “What are you, a funeral crier, putting on airs for? So what if I lied to you?” “You’re a low-life. Marrying you is impossible. But if you’re obedient, I can make sure you’re well-cared for, for the rest of your life. Think about it.” “I’ve thought it through very clearly. I want my mother’s things,” I said, enunciating every word. A crack appeared in Leo’s composure. “You’re being unreasonable.” Isabelle stepped forward haughtily. “You want them back? Fine. I paid a good ten thousand for them. After being worn by me for a while, they’ve appreciated in value. How about twenty thousand? Cash.” Then she pointed to my knees. “Oh, I almost forgot. You earn a living with these. How about you kneel for three full days, and then I’ll give them back to you?” The crowd erupted in jeers. “With her pathetic, broke-ass life? Twenty thousand for three days! Miss Isabelle, you’re too generous!” “She could cry at funerals for the rest of her life and not make that much!” “Maybe if she found a sugar daddy. She’s got the looks for it. Our Mr. Leo is rich, handsome, and fit. She got lucky to be with him for so long.” Leo feigned concern. “Babe, just hold on. Kneel for three days, let Isabelle cool off.” Hearing this, Isabelle grew even more smug. She tossed the jewelry up and down in her hand. “When Leo gave me this, I thought it was some rare treasure. Turns out it’s just your dead mother’s stuff. How tacky.” With a flick of her wrist, she sent the heirlooms flying in a perfect arc, straight into a storm drain. The rushing rainwater swallowed them without a trace. My vision went red. “No!” I wanted to dive into the drain after them, but Leo held me back, his grip like a vise. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? They’re not even that valuable! As long as you stay with me, no strings attached, what can’t you have?” He didn’t understand. Those things were more precious to me than my own life, something money could never measure. I stared at him, my eyes burning, and slapped him hard across the face. Then I turned and walked away. Behind me, Leo’s lackeys were already sucking up to him. “Leo, man, just let a woman like that go. You’re not actually going to chase her, are you?” “No way, you can’t have actually fallen for that funeral crier, right?” The rain fell harder, and Leo’s reply was lost in the storm. I went straight back to the home I hadn’t set foot in for three years. A few days later, a friend of my father’s, a respected elder, passed away. I went to the funeral, as requested. At the entrance, I ran into Leo and his entourage.

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It was the parent-teacher day at my son’s school. Both mother and father were expected to attend. My husband never told me. He took his doctoral student instead. He said I was too busy with work and he didn’t want to bother me. For the sake of peace, I let it go. But today, my son, Leo, had an allergic reaction. I rushed to the hospital, only to find him lying there, his head resting in the doctoral student’s lap as he received an IV drip. After a call to the school, I learned the truth. Leo had secretly changed his emergency contact information. In the space for “Mother,” he had put the doctoral student’s name. And my husband, Theo, had approved it. In that moment, I just felt… tired. That night, I asked Theo for a divorce. He didn’t even look up from his papers. “Over an emergency contact?” “Yes.” 1 Theo rubbed his temples, a weary sigh escaping his lips. “Every time we argue, you bring up divorce. Can you just stop?” He was gathering files from his desk as he spoke. “I have to get to the lab. Can we talk about this when I get back?” His student, Sienna, was standing by the door, holding his coat. “Professor,” she said, her voice soft and deferential, “everyone is waiting for us.” She glanced at me, her expression a perfect mask of concern. “Ma’am, it’s a full group meeting today. It wouldn’t be good for the professor to be late.” They both spoke with an air of strained patience, as if I were the unreasonable one. Sienna’s phone buzzed. A message. She “accidentally” hit the speakerphone button. A loud, boisterous male voice filled the room. “Don’t tell me the professor is still being held hostage by his wife. Seriously, they should have divorced ages ago. Is she going through menopause or something? My vote is for Sienna to just take over. We’ll all chip in for a wedding gift!” I recognized the voice. It was Theo’s newest Ph.D. student. He’d been to our house for dinner. Sienna fumbled with her phone, her face flushing as she silenced it. “I’m so sorry,” she stammered. I looked straight at Theo. “Is that what your students say about me?” He sighed, a humorless laugh escaping him. “What, you expect me to control what other people say? If you keep this up, they’ll say worse.” He moved to walk past me, toward the door. It felt like a stone was pressing on my chest. I threw myself in front of the door, like a madwoman who had lost all reason. “Sign the divorce papers! Sign them now!” My shrill voice made Sienna flinch. Her face went pale, and she looked at Theo with an expression of pure, heartbreaking sympathy. Theo leaned against the wall, his head thudding softly against the doorframe in a gesture of utter exasperation. “Is this really necessary? All this, over an emergency contact?” he said, his voice strained. “I’ve already called the school and had them change it back.” “And the parent-teacher day… Leo is just more comfortable with Sienna. And you’re always so busy with work. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry, okay? It was my fault. I’m a terrible person. Are you happy now?” Sienna saw her opening and stepped forward, bowing respectfully. “Ma’am, I apologize as well. Please, don’t worry. Leo will always be your son. I could never take him from you.” The housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, hearing the argument, came upstairs. She’d been with Theo’s family for over a decade, practically one of them. “Now, Olivia,” she said, her tone chiding, “that’s enough. You’ve had your fit. Are you trying to drive Theo to an early grave?” I looked at them. The united front. It was as if they were all offering me a ladder to climb down from my high horse, and I was the one stubbornly refusing. But they were the ones who had pushed me up here. Theo and I met on a blind date. We were a good match on paper, and we married without much fanfare. But right after the wedding, my father was falsely accused of academic fraud and forced into a public apology. Overnight, he went from a titan in his field to a pariah. Theo’s parents were terrified my father’s scandal would ruin Theo’s career. They called me a jinx, a dead weight, and demanded we divorce. Then I got pregnant. They still insisted we live separately. When I went into labor, it was difficult. I nearly died bringing Leo into the world. The first thing I heard when I woke up was my mother-in-law’s disappointed voice. “She hemorrhaged that much and still didn’t die. What a tough one.” I fell into a deep postpartum depression. Using my “recovery” as an excuse, they took Leo to their estate to raise him. I begged them every day just to let me see my son. By the time I was well enough to have him back, Leo had learned to hate me, just like his grandparents did. He called me the “wicked witch,” said I was nothing more than the family housekeeper. He said I wasn’t worthy of being his mother. I tried everything to fix our relationship, but he met every overture with contempt. With Sienna, however, he was naturally affectionate. He didn’t want me at his parent-teacher day. He changed his emergency contact to her name. And Theo had allowed all of it. He’d even had the audacity to blame me for being too dramatic, too sensitive. This time, I was truly exhausted. I just wanted to escape this suffocating life. “Theo,” I said, my voice low and firm, “you’re not leaving this house until you sign these papers.” 2 I clung to Theo’s arm, refusing to let him go. “Olivia! Are you not happy until you’ve driven everyone insane?” He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. The next second, he exploded like a volcano. He kicked the coffee table, sending glass shattering across the floor. “Ah!” Sienna screamed, shrinking back in fear. Her scream seemed to shock Theo back to his senses. He rushed to her side, helping her up and pulling her behind him. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” The apology was for her. Sienna shook her head, her eyes red-rimmed as she clutched his sleeve. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me…” she whispered. “The most important thing right now is to calm your wife down.” Just like that, Theo was calm again. He ordered Mrs. Gable to bring Leo downstairs. A moment later, Leo appeared, trembling at the top of the stairs. He was wearing only a thin pair of cartoon bear pajamas. He said, “Dad.” He said, “Auntie Sienna.” He didn’t even glance at me. I automatically reached for his coat, wanting to wrap it around his small shoulders. He flinched away from me in disgust. “You smell weird,” he sneered. “It’s gross. I’m not wearing your clothes.” He shot me a look of pure disdain and ran to Sienna. “Hey, sweetie, why are you wearing so little?” Sienna said, her voice dripping with affection. She took off her own coat and wrapped it around him, scooping him into her arms. “Auntie Sienna, you’re so nice,” Leo mumbled into her shoulder. “Not like some people… who just fight with Dad all the time…” Theo cleared his throat. “Leo, apologize to your mother. She’s upset because she didn’t get to go to your school event. If you don’t apologize, she’s going to leave us.” Leo’s eyes lit up. “Is the wicked witch finally leaving?” he chirped. “I’m not apologizing! Go on, get out! I want Auntie Sienna to be my mom!” It was like a knife twisting in my heart. Was this really the child I had nearly died to give birth to? Theo’s brow furrowed. “Don’t talk like that! Apologize to your mother, now!” Leo, stubborn like his father, just shook his head, his eyes turning red. “No! I hate her!” Even Theo couldn’t get through to him. It was Sienna who finally broke the stalemate. “Sweetie,” she cooed, “why don’t you apologize to your mom? As a little favor for Auntie Sienna, okay?” Leo bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, and then actually gave in. “Sorry,” he muttered. “There, you happy?” Theo let out a breath of relief. “See? He apologized. Now can you stop this drama? I’m giving you an out. Take it.” Just then, Sienna’s phone buzzed twice. She glanced at it and typed a quick reply. Then, Leo’s smartwatch buzzed twice. For the next two minutes, the phone and the watch buzzed back and forth. A sly, knowing smile played on Leo’s lips. He stole a glance at me. My stomach dropped. They were messaging each other. About me. It felt like a hand was closing around my throat, squeezing the air from my lungs. Without a word, I snatched the watch from Leo’s wrist. And there it was. A group chat. Just the three of them. The group name was “The Safe Harbor.” Leo: The wicked witch is so annoying! I hate her! Sienna: Leo, sweetie, you shouldn’t say bad things about your mommy~ But it breaks Auntie’s heart to see you so upset. Leo: Why doesn’t she just die? Then I could be with Auntie Sienna forever! Sienna: Leo, you should keep thoughts like that to yourself. If your mommy found out, she might spank you… Reading the last message, I started to tremble uncontrollably. Leo was flailing, trying to grab the watch back. “Wicked witch! Don’t touch my stuff!” His small fists pummeled my face, my neck. The watch slipped from my grasp and shattered on the floor. “You stupid witch!” Leo shrieked, his face red with fury. He picked up the broken watch and threw it at my head. A sharp pain, and then I felt something warm trickling down my temple. The broken screen had cut me. I shuddered, my limbs going numb. My heart seized in a painful knot. I pressed a hand to the wound, my voice surprisingly calm. “I’ll buy you a new one.” Leo wasn’t having it. He spat at me. “Get out! Get out!” He kept shoving me, pushing me away. Theo, seeing the blood, looked torn. “Leo, that’s enough.” He handed me a tissue. “You know, if your son isn’t close to you, maybe you should think about why. You’re so aggressive. Who could possibly like you?” He sighed. “He apologized. You should be satisfied.” I blinked back the stinging tears. “Sign the papers, Theo. I’m done.” 3 “Olivia! Don’t push your luck! It’s such a small thing! I had the entire family coddle you, and it’s still not enough?” I looked up at him and shook my head. The emptiness in my eyes seemed to startle him. “…You really want to divorce me?” “Yes,” I said, my voice firm. Theo laughed, a harsh, angry sound. “You’d better think this through. Everything you have, I gave to you. After the divorce, you’ll be nothing but a washed-up, second-hand woman that no one wants.” “You won’t get a penny of my money! And you can forget about custody of Leo!” He thought he was threatening me. He had no idea I no longer cared about any of it. I nodded calmly and pointed to the divorce agreement. “You should read it. Custody of Leo goes to you. I’m only taking the house my father left me before we were married. I don’t want anything else.” The hand holding the papers was trembling slightly. Sienna chose that moment to reappear, her eyes red. “Ma’am,” she began, her voice trembling, “this is all my fault. If you really can’t stand me, I can apply to switch advisors… You’re a family. I’m just an outsider. Please, don’t let me come between you.” “I can even leave this city, disappear from your lives forever. I just want the professor to be happy…” She bit her lip, on the verge of tears. Theo’s brow furrowed, his eyes filled with sympathy for her. Leo immediately jumped to her defense. “Auntie Sienna, you’re not an outsider! If you leave, I’m going with you!” He shot me a sly look and whispered in Sienna’s ear, “Dad won’t want to be without me. He’ll leave the wicked witch and come find us.” I heard every word. The irony was suffocating. “Theo, let’s get a divorce,” I said, my voice flat. “Do you really think this marriage has any meaning anymore?” “Ma’am, please don’t be impulsive,” Sienna pleaded. I couldn’t help myself. “Sienna, who do you think you are? And what’s with the Good Samaritan act? You’re dying for us to get divorced so you can move in. Stop the performance.” “Olivia!” Theo was shaking with rage. He pulled Sienna protectively behind him. “You can take your anger out on me, but leave innocent people out of it.” Just a moment ago, he had refused to sign, no matter what I said. Now, just because I had said a few words to Sienna, he snatched up a pen and scrawled his name across the papers. It was laughable. “There! I hope you don’t regret this,” he snarled, throwing the papers in my face. The sharp edge stung my cheek. Then, dead silence. I crouched down and picked up the scattered pages. I straightened them, kept one copy, and left the other for him. “Thank you,” I said. “Don’t you have a meeting? You should go. Don’t be late.” He stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelief, as if he couldn’t understand my calmness. Under his stunned gaze, I went back to the bedroom. My bags had been packed for two weeks. I pulled out my suitcase and handed a gift-wrapped box to Leo. “Your birthday is next month. This is for you. It’s the Barcelona Bear you wanted.” “I don’t want it!” he pouted, rolling his eyes at me. He snatched the box and marched over to the fireplace. With a final, defiant glare, he tossed the bear into the flames. The fire swallowed it whole. “Auntie Sienna will buy me one!” he declared. I felt nothing. “Fine. Do what you want.” I turned and walked toward the door, Theo’s cold words chasing me. “The moment you walk out that door, Leo has nothing to do with you! He will never call you ‘Mom’ again!” “And don’t think for a second I’ll ever come crawling back! I’ll be glad to be rid of the dead weight!” His voice grew more frantic. I knew he was trying to make me back down. I just waved a hand over my shoulder, a lightness spreading through my chest. “Whatever.” “I don’t want him as my son anymore anyway. And as for you, I’ve had enough.” I didn’t slow my pace. I walked out of that house, out of that life filled with pain and bitter memories. I was finally free.

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My mother picked two suitors: a wealthy gentleman for my sister Evelyn, and a blind, wheelchair-bound scholar’s son for me. I devoted myself to his care—funding treatments, describing the world, becoming his eyes. Doctors said his legs were fine; perhaps it was psychological. Then we were kidnapped. As a knife stabbed toward Evelyn, my husband suddenly stood, yanking me in front of her. The blade pierced my heart. His bodyguards called him “Young Master.” He wasn’t disabled. His father, the city’s richest man, had staged this to test sincerity. “You passed,” he whispered as I died. “But I love Evelyn. I’ll repay you next life.” I awoke back at the choosing day. 1 In the living room, my mother was all smiles, chatting with two young men. One was Julian Harelik, sitting in a wheelchair. The other was the impeccably dressed Harrison Ford. Just like last time, my sister Evelyn’s gaze was fixed entirely on Harrison. My younger brother, Will, ever the troublemaker, saw my pale face and decided to poke fun. “Is there even a choice here? Rachel’s dressed like a farm girl. She and the blind guy are a perfect match.” He smirked. “But Evelyn has been the campus queen since we were kids. We can’t let a cripple ruin her.” My fists clenched. “So what you’re saying is that I, the sister who has fed and clothed you your whole life, deserve to be ruined?” “Don’t you forget how you’re still alive today!” Evelyn and Will were twins, three years my junior. From a young age, my parents had drilled one idea into my head: the eldest sister is like a mother. I had to care for my siblings like an adult and help support the family. So, the best food always went to them. New clothes were always for them. When Will needed a kidney transplant, it was my kidney that I gave. Now, Will wanted to marry some socialite, but we couldn’t afford the bride price. So my mother, shameless as ever, had contacted the Harelik and Ford families—families we hadn’t spoken to in over a decade—to demand they honor some casual, long-forgotten marriage pact made by our grandparents. She planned to use my and Evelyn’s dowries to pay for my brother’s wedding. But having lived and died once already, I had nothing left to lose. “I choose Harrison,” I announced, my voice ringing with a newfound firmness. “Or I won’t marry at all.” Everyone stared at me, stunned. Tears welled up in Evelyn’s eyes. I had never been so assertive, never dared to claim something she wanted. She immediately cast a pleading look at Harrison. He understood. He sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms. “Evelyn and I felt a connection the moment we met. As her older sister, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to stand in the way of her happiness.” Evelyn clung to his hand, her eyes misty. “And you know I’m terrible at taking care of people. I couldn’t possibly live with Julian. What if his condition gets worse because of me? I’d feel so guilty. Rachel, you learned traditional medicine from Grandpa, didn’t you? If you were with him, you might even be able to cure him. It would be a good deed.” I glanced at the silent Julian, a small, knowing smile playing on my lips. “So, you’ve decided on Harrison, then.” She nodded. My mother quickly sealed the deal. “Alright, it’s settled then.” But in the next moment, Julian moved. He lifted a slender hand, removed his dark glasses, and revealed a pair of startlingly bright eyes. Then, he stood up from his wheelchair. He walked past me, straight to Evelyn, a smile gracing his lips. “You don’t have to worry about taking care of me. I was just playing a little joke on everyone. And while I’m not from this city, my father is the wealthiest man in Crestmont. You’ll live a very comfortable life with me.” His voice was smooth as silk. “Evelyn, would you give me a chance to win your heart?” I scoffed inwardly. Of course. He was reborn, too. That made things much easier. 2 While everyone was still reeling from the shock, I spoke up. “Mom, since that’s the case, I’m not getting married. As for how much of a dowry you can get from them, that’s up to you.” My mother’s face flushed with embarrassment. One was the son of Crestmont’s richest man, the other the heir to a prominent local family. She couldn’t afford to offend either of them. And right on cue, Harrison’s competitive streak flared. He stood up, meeting Julian’s gaze. “A gentleman does not steal another’s love. Do you understand?” Julian returned his look without flinching. “Who is beloved, I believe, is for Miss Evelyn to decide.” A handsome curve formed on his lips as he turned his gaze, now filled with an overwhelming tenderness, back to Evelyn. “Do you remember, when we were children here in Seabrook, my grandfather set up a chess problem under a tree? You were the only one to solve it, and in less than an hour.” “I was so captivated by your intelligence then, I swore I would marry no one but you in this life.” “Don’t feel pressured. I will compete with Harrison fairly. No matter who you choose in the end, I will respect your decision.” In my past life, I had never understood why his love for Evelyn ran so deep. Now, hearing the reason, I could only find it laughable. I was the one who solved that chess problem. But I couldn’t blame him for the mistake. Back then, I was perpetually hungry, giving all my food to my siblings. I was shorter and scrawnier than Evelyn. But I had no intention of revealing the truth. It was all so pointless. Seeing Evelyn nod, Harrison, though displeased, agreed to the competition. This was no longer just about a girl; it was about the pride of two powerful families from two different cities. The show was over. I stood up to go to my room, but my mother stopped me. “Where are you going?” “Oh, I’m leaving this house to go live with Grandpa.” “You are not! If you leave, who will they marry?” I let out a sharp laugh. “Mom, what, you want both wealthy sons-in-law? If you’re that desperate, why don’t you marry one of them yourself? I’m not interested in anyone’s leftovers.” With that, I went to my room to pack. The truth was, my grandfather had disowned our family long ago. Twenty years ago, my mother, greedy for money, had boasted that his medical skills could bring the dead back to life. She insisted on bringing a corpse to his clinic, nearly ruining his lifelong reputation. He threw her out and severed all ties. Only I, after I was old enough, would secretly visit him. I had a natural talent for traditional medicine. In my last life, I could have inherited his legacy. I had to give it all up because I married Julian. I was too busy working odd jobs to pay for his treatments, saving up to take him on trips to lift his spirits. This time, I would live for myself. 3 After packing, I hurried to the entrance of our neighborhood to catch a cab. But Julian was there, blocking my path. It was the first time I had ever stood so close to him. I realized then how tall and perfectly sculpted he was. A beautiful vessel, but a rotten core. “Rachel, you’re reborn too, aren’t you?” I met his gaze, my head held high. “Yes. I remember every one of your cold glances, every lie you told me. And I remember the piercing pain of that knife.” He sighed. “I’m sorry.” “Save your cheap apologies. I will never forgive you. Now get out of my way.” Suddenly, his hand clamped around my arm like a vise. “You can’t leave.” In the next second, two of his bodyguards dragged me into a car. I was taken to a lavish villa and surrounded by his men. “Julian, what the hell are you doing? I’m not bothering you and Evelyn anymore. Why are you holding me captive?” “Rachel, in our last life, I said I would compensate you. If she doesn’t choose me this time, I will marry you and ensure you live a life of ease.” I snorted. “And if she does choose you?” “Then I’ll give you a sum of money and let you go. For now, I need your help. Tell me everything she likes.” He leaned in closer. “Tell me what she likes to eat. I’ve invited her for dinner. I’m going to cook for her myself.” Though my heart was filled with hatred, seeing him so devoted to Evelyn still sent a pang of pain through me. I bit my lip, refusing to speak, but his grip tightened until I thought my bones would break. “Expensive things,” I finally choked out. “The more expensive, the better.” After he went into the kitchen, I scouted the villa, looking for any possible escape route. Soon, the doorbell rang. Evelyn stood at the door in a pink dress, her face a picture of shy anticipation. Julian greeted her with a warm smile. “Thank you,” she cooed, her voice artificially sweet, before noticing my presence. “What are you doing here?” Julian quickly explained. “She’s here to help me win you over. I figured your sister would know your preferences best.” Though her eyes were filled with disdain, she forced a gentle smile. “Julian, you’re so thoughtful.” When we sat down to eat, I didn’t hold back, digging into the air-freighted lobster and king crab. But Evelyn was busy tapping on her phone. Soon, it rang urgently. “Mom? Calm down, what’s wrong?” “What? I’ll be right there.” After hanging up, she suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me. “Rachel, Will needs another kidney transplant! Please, help him! You can’t just let him die!” My mind went blank. After the last surgery, the doctor had said Will’s recovery was excellent and a relapse was highly unlikely. “You’re a match, too. Why don’t you donate?” But she acted as if she couldn’t hear me, banging her head on the floor. “Rachel, please, I’m begging you, save him!” Julian, his heart aching for her, pulled her up from the floor and into his arms. He then turned to me, his eyes blazing with anger. “You’re so selfish!” With that, he swept Evelyn out of the house, but not before ordering his guards to keep a close watch on me. 4 I was locked in a room on the third floor. No amount of pounding on the door did any good. I found a heavy trophy on a shelf and, without hesitation, smashed it against the window. Looking down from the third-floor height, my legs trembled. I closed my eyes and jumped. But fate was not on my side. I landed hard, breaking several ribs. The pain was so intense I could barely breathe. Just then, Julian walked over. I instinctively begged for help. “Take… take me to a hospital.” But his voice was glacial. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying here to donate a kidney to your brother.” I stared at him in disbelief, tears streaming down my face. “I only have one kidney left. If I give it to him, I’ll die.” “Yes,” he said flatly. “I know.” My heart turned to ice. “This is your compensation?” “I’m sorry. I can’t bear to see Evelyn sad. Just consider it another debt I owe you.” I lay in bed for days, my injuries slowly healing, but my life was ticking away. The feeling of waiting for death was a slow, creeping despair. Five days later, Evelyn came into my room alone. Seeing me tied to the bed, she burst out laughing. “Sister, since you’re about to die, I’ll tell you the truth. The one who needs the kidney isn’t Will. It’s the person he hit with his car. And what a coincidence, they’re a perfect match for you.” Tears poured from my eyes. “Have I ever been anything but good to you? Why are you doing this to me?” She shot me a venomous glare. “If you want to blame someone, blame Julian. If he were really a cripple, I would have let you have him. But he’s not. So I want them both!” I closed my eyes in sorrow. She untied my restraints. I got up and followed her slowly. As we reached the door, I suddenly shoved her out with all my might and slammed the door, locking it from the inside. I grabbed the can of gasoline I had prepared and doused the room, then struck a match. Evelyn pounded on the door frantically. “What are you doing? You can’t die! I’m calling Julian right now!” My voice was calm, detached. “I’ve already called the police. If you don’t want Julian to find out you conspired to trick him, you’d better pray I burn to death!” The pounding stopped. I stood amidst the swirling flames and laughed, a wild, liberating sound. Finally, release. Farewell, to this world that had never once been kind to me.

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1 On my birthday, my mother-in-law, fresh off the operating table, was rushed back into the emergency room. In a newly posted video by an intern, he was the one holding the scalpel, cutting her open. My wife, who was supposed to be the lead surgeon, was nowhere in sight. The caption read: “They say an intern isn’t qualified to operate? Doesn’t matter when the department head’s wife has a soft spot for you.” My colleagues flooded the comments, gushing over the “cute” revelation. I forwarded the video to the hospital director. It wasn’t long before my wife called, her breathing ragged, her voice sharp and broken. “So I forgot your birthday! Is that any reason to run to the director with fabricated stories about me violating hospital policy?” “I’ve had enough of your irrational nonsense! This time, even if my own mother sides with you, I’m done! We’re getting a divorce—” She hung up before I could get a word in. But she didn’t know. Her mother wouldn’t be siding with me anymore. Because the patient who bled out on the table, the one whose post-op rescue failed because an intern was at the helm, was her mother. A doctor was standing in front of me, impatiently holding a death certificate for my signature. “We did everything we could. You can take the body once you’ve signed.” The gurney had already been wheeled out of the ER, yet this doctor just kept pushing the form at me, completely ignoring the flagrant violation of an intern performing surgery. A bitter, ironic smile touched my lips. “I refuse to sign. I’m requesting a medical malpractice investigation.” The doctor’s smile became strained. He tried to reason with me. “Dr. Collins, the department head, said the cause of death was post-operative complications. The surgery itself was fine.” I insisted. The doctor, left with no choice, finally relented. In the work group chat, the intern, Mark, tagged me. “@Dr. Grant, I’m so sorry. The caption on my video had a typo. I meant to write ‘Dr. Collins’ but my phone autocorrected it to ‘wife’. I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding.” Other colleagues quickly jumped to his defense. “It was just a typo! What’s the big deal?” “If my attending doctor had been as amazing as Dr. Collins when I was an intern, letting me get hands-on experience, I’d be showing off too.” “It’s just a normal mentor-mentee relationship. Why does Dr. Grant have to make it sound so sordid?” These were the same people I’d bailed out of trouble countless times. But the moment they sensed that my wife, Dr. Amelia Collins, the head of our department, favored the new intern, they didn’t hesitate to throw me under the bus to curry favor with him. And now, even knowing he had performed an unauthorized surgery, they were still lying through their teeth. I let out a cold laugh and typed back: “You know perfectly well whether it was a typo or not.” The moment I hit send, I was muted. The group administrator was, of course, my wife, Amelia. I closed my eyes, a profound bitterness welling up inside me. I left the hospital to gather the documents needed for the malpractice claim. As I was leaving, the circulating nurse from the surgery rushed to find me. “Dr. Grant! The patient Dr. Collins let Mark operate on… something’s happened!” I looked at her calmly. “And?” She couldn’t meet my eyes, her voice dropping to a whisper. “There might have been a problem with the surgery. The family is demanding a malpractice investigation.” She took a breath. “Dr. Collins is hoping you’ll take responsibility for it.” I thought I’d misheard. Amelia, in her reckless attempt to boost Mark’s career, had let him operate. Now that it had ended in disaster, she wanted me, her own husband, to be the scapegoat to protect herself and her pet intern. For him, she had forgotten her duty as a doctor, and now she was discarding me without a second thought. The most tragic part? She still had no idea who the patient was. My heart turned to ice. “No. She made this mess, she can clean it up.” I brushed past the nurse and walked away. A few moments later, a video call from Amelia popped up on my phone. Her face was contorted with rage. “How can you compare yourself to me? I’m the department head! You’re just a regular doctor. If you lose your job, you lose your job!” “Ethan, have a heart! Mark is just starting his career! You can’t ruin his entire life just because you’re being selfish!” Wasn’t I the one with a heart? The promotion to department head was originally mine, but I gave it to her. I had poured my heart and soul into our marriage, and this is what I got in return. The disappointment in my eyes must have registered, because her tone softened into an apology. “Honey, I didn’t mean that. I was just thinking about how hard it was for us when we were interns, all the crap we had to take. I just wanted to look out for him.” “Mark really wants to be a doctor. If you help him with this, I’ll take back what I said about the divorce…” Before she could finish, Mark’s face appeared in the frame. “Dr. Collins, I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself and stay in a failed marriage because of me.” A derisive smile twisted my lips. “That’s right. Being married to me must be such a hardship for you.” 2 “Such a hardship that everyone in the department is defending you and your precious intern.” “So let’s just get the divorce. Then you can have a marriage without any hardships with him.” My words struck a nerve. “Ethan Grant! Are you deaf? I told you, there’s nothing going on between me and Mark!” she shrieked. “I guess what everyone in the department says about you is true! You’re just a paranoid, accusatory asshole!” Mark gently stroked her back, his voice a soothing murmur. “Dr. Collins, as much as I want to be a doctor, I won’t let you get dragged into this. I’ll take full responsibility.” Amelia’s eyes filled with adoration and pain. “I’m your mentor. I’ll see this through to the end. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Her voice then shifted, becoming cold and commanding. “Ethan! You are going to the director and you are telling him that you were the lead surgeon on that case, and Mark was only there to observe. If you don’t, I’ll have the divorce papers signed and on your desk by tomorrow!” She hung up. I felt nothing. Not a ripple of emotion. In fact, I almost wanted to laugh. She had already signed a divorce agreement during our first major fight over Mark. All it needed was my signature to become legally binding. By the time I finished preparing the malpractice claim, the sun was rising. A colleague, one whose ass I had saved during a previous patient complaint, called me. “Dr. Grant, come on. It wasn’t easy for Mark to get this internship. You’ve helped us out so many times, what’s the big deal helping him out this once? Besides, helping him is helping Dr. Collins. You don’t want to see her get into trouble, do you?” I didn’t even bother to respond. I just hung up and blocked his number. Amelia, these spineless colleagues… I was done with all of them. I pulled the divorce agreement from my desk drawer and signed my name. Then I packed up all of Amelia’s belongings and had them couriered to Mark’s apartment. When I saw a photo of Amelia and her mother, my eyes stung with tears. My own family was a mess; I’d never known parental love. After we married, my mother-in-law treated me like her own son, filling a void I never thought could be filled. When she found out about Amelia and Mark, she had chewed Amelia out more than once, furious on my behalf. She deserved a long, happy life. Instead, she was gone because of a minor surgery. The next day, I walked into the department to find Mark sitting at my desk, a smug look on his face. “Dr. Grant. You’ve been suspended pending investigation. Dr. Collins has asked me to take over your duties.” I stared at him coldly. “You two are the ones who broke the rules. What does that have to do with me?” Mark just smiled and pulled up the surgical records on the computer. “Dr. Grant, according to this, you were the lead surgeon for yesterday’s operation. I was merely an observer.” I stared at the screen, a sense of absurdity washing over me. To frame me, Amelia had actually altered the official surgical log. I took a step forward, my face grim, and reached out. Mark cried out and staggered back, clutching his face. “Dr. Grant, why did you hit me?” Amelia, who had just arrived at the doorway, threw the cup of hot coffee she was holding directly at me. “Ethan! How dare you lay a hand on him!” she screamed. “Apologize to Mark now!” My colleagues, drawn by the commotion, stared at me in shock. The hot liquid scalded my left cheek, mixing with the blood trickling down from my forehead. The burning on my face was nothing compared to the searing pain in my heart. Amelia didn’t even seem to see my injuries. She fussed over Mark, who was completely unscathed. “So you screw up in surgery and you can’t even own up to it? The record says you were the lead surgeon! Stop trying to drag Mark into this!” How laughable. This was the woman I had once loved with all my heart. “Dr. Collins,” I said, my voice dangerously low, “if my skills are so poor, how exactly did you get your position as department head?” I’d hit her where it hurt. Her eyes blazed with fury. “Ethan Grant! You better back off while I still have some shred of affection left for you!” I laughed coldly. “Affection? Don’t you think it’s a little late to be talking about affection? I’ve already—” “Enough!” The hospital director, Daniel Zheng, strode into the office, his face a thundercloud. “What do you think you’re doing, causing a scene like this in a clinic? Want the patients to have a good laugh? It looks to me like none of you want your jobs anymore!” Fearing for their positions, my colleagues quickly scattered. 3 Daniel stared at Amelia and me in silence for a few moments before turning his fury on me. “Ethan, as the lead surgeon, your failure during an operation resulted in a patient’s death. You are suspended, effective immediately, pending a full investigation! After the investigation, you will be terminated. Whether or not you will face legal charges will be determined at that time.” I stared at the director in disbelief. He knew perfectly well who the real lead surgeon was that night. Before I could speak, Amelia and my colleagues all voiced their support for the hospital’s decision, some even adding that a reckless doctor like me should be thrown in jail. Mark, with the air of a victor, drove the final nail in. “This isn’t your clinic anymore. What are you still doing here?” Amelia didn’t stop him. Instead, she ripped my ID badge from my coat, threw it on the floor, and ground it under her heel. I took one last, long look at the woman I had given my heart to, and at the colleagues I had once considered friends. Numb, I turned and walked away. I didn’t leave the hospital right away. I went down to the morgue to see my mother-in-law one last time. To tell her I was sorry, and to promise her that I would not take the fall for Amelia and Mark. When I got home, the apartment was a disaster. The air was thick with a sickeningly sweet, unfamiliar scent. All of my belongings had been thrown into trash bags. The various awards and certificates I had earned over the years were scattered on the floor, covered in footprints. And from the bedroom, I could hear unmistakable sounds. Rage erupted in me. I kicked the bedroom door open. “Get out!” The two figures on the bed jumped, startled. Mark pulled Amelia into his arms and had the audacity to glare at me. “Don’t you know how to knock?” Amelia pulled the sheets up, her face flushed with unsatisfied desire, her eyes full of resentment. “I’ve already decided to divorce you. What are you doing back here?” I laughed, a harsh, grating sound. This was my apartment. Why the hell should I give it up for this disgusting pair? Mark had certainly wasted no time making himself at home. His clothes were already hanging in the closet. I ripped his clothes from the hangers and threw them out the door. “Don’t forget, I bought this place. If anyone’s leaving, it’s you two!” Amelia’s voice was a shrill shriek. “What do you mean, your place? This is our marital home, which means half of it is mine! If you were any kind of man, you’d just give it to me! And don’t you dare go crying to my mother about this! I’ve earned this after all the years I put up with you!” Fury pulsed through me. How dare she even mention her mother? My eyes were red as I squeezed the words through clenched teeth. “You still have no idea who died in that surgery, do you?” Amelia scoffed. “She’s dead. Why should I care who she was?” She gestured to the door. “Now get out, unless you want to watch me and Mark get back to it?” Mark leaned in and deliberately nibbled on Amelia’s ear, a mocking expression on his face. “Actually, I think Dr. Grant can’t bear to divorce you. That’s why he’s making up excuses to stay.” Amelia playfully slapped his chest. “Too late for regrets. Does he really think he’s irreplaceable? I’ve already thought it through. I’ll divorce him first, then tell my mom. By then, it’ll be too late for her to object.” Her arrogance was so perfectly, tragically ironic. “She won’t be objecting,” I said, my voice flat. “She won’t get the chance.” Amelia’s smirk widened. “So, my mom finally sees you for who you really are and isn’t on your side anymore? That’s fantastic. I always said, what kind of mother sides with an outsider over her own daughter?” I pulled the entire file from my briefcase—the hospital admission forms, the surgical consent, the code blue report, the declaration of death—and threw it in her face. “Amelia, your mother won’t be objecting because the person who died on that operating table… was her.”

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1 No one in Northwood City’s elite circles knew my husband—the man who supposedly adored me—was the same rugged star of illicit videos driving women wild online. John Hughes, my coldly disciplined husband, had “saved” his assistant Mila after she was forced to shoot 108 erotic films to pay a debt. He became her co-star. I recognized him by the birthmark above his hip. That night, I confronted him in tears. “She was drugged,” he dismissed. “I was her first. No feelings—just physical.” But he lied. He was addicted. Their videos grew wilder, even filming beneath our wedding portrait. Night after night, I lay awake, listening to their muffled moans above me. The final straw? When I showed him my positive pregnancy test, he exhaled cigarette smoke and said, “Get rid of it. Mila’s pregnant too.” I turned away and dialed a number: “Bankrupt Hughes Corp. within a month.” I hung up just as John descended the stairs, cradling a flushed and pliant Mila in his arms. He was wiping her down with a towel, completely oblivious to my presence. Mila saw me and immediately ducked her head, tugging on his sleeve. “John, your wife is still here.” Only then did his eyes land on me, his brow furrowed in annoyance. “I’ve already booked the appointment for your procedure. Why haven’t you left yet?” He didn’t even try to soften the blow. “Don’t worry, you can move back in after Mila has the baby.” Mila’s face bloomed a deeper red. “It’s your fault for not being careful,” she mumbled into his chest. John chuckled, a low, intimate sound that twisted a knife in my gut. He playfully tapped her nose. “You don’t like it when I wear them. Besides, who uses protection for a video shoot? If it happens, it happens. It’s not like I can’t afford to raise another child.” I stood there, numb, listening to their graphic chatter as silent tears traced paths down my cheeks. In five years of marriage, no matter how lost in the moment he was, John never forgot protection. The tiny life growing inside me was a drunken mistake. All his talk about not wanting me to suffer through childbirth was a lie. He just never wanted a child with me. Seeing my tears, John tossed a black AmEx card at me. It clattered onto the marble floor. “That’s enough. There’s enough on that card to last you three lifetimes.” He followed it with a set of divorce papers. “Sign them. My child will not be born a bastard.” “We can get remarried after the baby is older,” he added, as if it were a generous concession. My vision blurred. I remembered the day he’d proposed, sliding the ring onto my finger, his eyes burning with sincerity as he swore to love only me, forever. That was only five years ago. “It’s just a baby,” Mila chimed in, a flash of triumph in her wide, innocent eyes. “It doesn’t matter who gives birth to it.” I tilted my head back, forcing the tears to retreat, and picked up the pen. When John saw me sign without a moment’s hesitation, he let out a cold, humorless laugh. “See? You’re no different from all those other gold-diggers.” He then flashed the signed papers at Mila. “Happy now? Can I finally pay off your debts, little one?” “I just didn’t want things to be unofficial,” she cooed, pulling a blanket around her shoulders. She walked over to me, deliberately letting the blanket slip to reveal a fresh love bite on her collarbone. “Elara,” she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy, “if you ever need anything, anything at all, you just have to ask me or John.” She was already playing the part of the new Mrs. Hughes. 2 A bitter smile touched my lips. I hoped she would enjoy her one-month reign as the lady of the house. “I won’t need anything,” I said, my voice flat. I turned to leave, but a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. Mila. Before I could react, she crumpled to the floor. I stared, stunned, as she lay there. Before I could utter a single word, her eyes filled with tears as she looked pleadingly at John. “John, my love… maybe we shouldn’t keep the baby,” she sobbed. “I’ll pay my own debts. I’ve already been ruined once, what’s one more man…” John lunged toward her, shoving me aside so hard I lost my balance. My head cracked against the corner of the console table, and a sticky warmth trickled down my temple. He didn’t even glance at me. His entire world was the sobbing woman on the floor. He scooped her up, his gaze turning to me, now as cold and hard as granite. “Elara. Apologize.” He didn’t ask. He didn’t investigate. He just condemned me. The tears I’d been holding back finally fell, hot and bitter. I didn’t know if it was from the searing pain in my head or the crushing weight of it all. I remembered the night he’d been drugged by a business rival and had ended up in Mila’s bed. He’d knelt at my door for hours afterward, begging me to forgive him. “Elara, I was drugged, I swear. I’ve already paid her to keep quiet. It will never, ever happen again,” he’d pleaded, his voice cracking. “Don’t leave me. Please.” I had swallowed my pain, convincing myself it was a one-time accident. I’d pretended it never happened. But then he’d hired her as his personal assistant. And now this. The man who was once so above it all, so untouchable, was debasing himself in cheap videos for her. The first time was an accident. What about the second? The third? The hundredth? I tilted my chin up, defiant. “I didn’t push her.” Suddenly, Mila shrieked. She pointed between her legs. “John! Blood! There’s so much blood!” The color drained from John’s face. He swept her into his arms, his voice tight with a panic I had never heard before. “It’s okay, baby, don’t be scared. The doctor is on his way.” In his haste, he snagged the wind chime hanging by the door, and it crashed to the floor, scattering into a forgotten corner. He had made it for me, by hand, after our first date. Our decade-long history, as fragile as the string that held the chime together, snapped under the weight of a one-year affair. A sharp cramp seized my abdomen, a pain that radiated through my whole body, but I barely registered it. I watched his retreating back, a sour burn in my throat. The fabric of my dress was turning crimson with my own blood, but he never looked back. Not once. I remembered a time I’d gotten a small paper cut, and he’d panicked, calling in a team of specialists just to look at my finger. Now, I was bleeding on the floor, and not a single servant dared to help me. Just as the pain threatened to pull me under, a hand reached out to me. I looked up, saw a familiar face, and a desperate flicker of hope ignited in my chest. “John…” I whispered. But it wasn’t a hand of salvation. He hauled me to my feet and dragged me toward the sauna, his face a merciless mask. He shoved me inside and threw the lock. “You misbehaved,” he said, his voice flat. “You need to be punished.” A wave of heat washed over me. Through the glass, I saw Mila take the remote control, her face a picture of feigned kindness. “Oh, John, you shouldn’t be so harsh with her. I’ll just turn the temperature down a little.” But the heat in the small room was already climbing, becoming unbearable. The temperature gauge began to flash a red warning. The scorching air amplified the pain throbbing through my body. I slammed my fists against the door. “John, let me out! I’m going to die in here!” 3 For a second, John’s expression flickered. He started toward the door, but Mila grabbed his arm. She blinked her big, innocent eyes, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. “But I turned it down, John. Seventy-eight degrees is the perfect temperature for comfort. How could she possibly die?” John’s hand dropped. His face hardened into a mask of disgust. “Elara, are you so pathetic you’d lie just to slander Mila?” “You disgust me.” He turned to the maids. “No one is to open that door without my permission.” My heart hammered against my ribs, each breath a struggle. I used the last of my strength to scream, “John, if I die in here, my family will never let you get away with this!” He paused, then slowly turned, his face a canvas of pure contempt. “Your family? You mean the Wiltons?” He let out a short, cruel laugh. “Your father is dead. Your mother remarried the second she could. Do you still think you’re the golden princess of Northwood City?” “If it wasn’t for me,” he sneered, “propping you up all these years, do you really think you’d still be living the same lavish life you were born into?” The moment he turned his back, holding Mila close, my legs gave out. I collapsed to the scorching floor. Tears of blood stung my eyes as I watched them walk away through the glass. “John Hughes,” I whispered into the suffocating heat, “you shattered my heart. I will never, ever forgive you…” When I woke up, John was sitting by my bedside. My gaze was empty, hollow. I saw a flicker of something—was it pity?—in his eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “The doctor said your body isn’t suited for childbirth,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion. “Telling you to get the procedure was for your own good.” “The baby’s gone now. It’s for the best. Mila has a kind heart; she said she’ll let you help raise our child.” “And the sauna… the thermostat was broken. She didn’t do it on purpose…” A mocking smile twisted my lips. Every word was a defense of Mila. He hadn’t once asked me if I was in pain. If I was okay. My heart was a dead, cold thing in my chest, but my eyes still filled with tears. I stared at him, then slowly, deliberately, I raised my hands. They were swollen and blistered from the heat. John, who had still been defending Mila, stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened. “What are you doing?” I ignored the searing pain and began to force my wedding ring off my swollen finger. It pulled at the raw, ruined skin beneath. “Are you insane?” he yelled, grabbing my wrist. His touch sent a jolt of agony through me, and my eyes watered, but my voice was calm. “The ring. You can have it back.” This ring. John had crafted it himself. Back then, he was just the unacknowledged bastard son of the Hughes family. I had defied my own family to marry him. He’d spent a month apprenticing with a master jeweler, barely sleeping, just so he could give me a proper wedding ring. For all these years, I had treasured it like a sacred artifact. I never took it off, not even to shower. A storm of complex emotions crossed John’s face, but I was too tired to try and decipher them. His grip on my wrist tightened. I winced. “You’re hurting me.” He finally realized and let go. “Elara, I’m sorry. I—” Just then, a soft sob came from the adjoining room. Without another glance at me, John spun around and rushed next door. “Mila? What is it? Did you have a nightmare?” he cooed, his voice a gentle murmur. Mila’s voice was thick with tears. “John, what am I going to do? They’re threatening me again! I only wanted the money to save my mother, why are they doing this to me?”

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The moment I succeeded in winning over the brooding male lead, I chose to exit the world. I didn’t hesitate for a second, not even when he begged me, broken and humbled, to stay. Later, back in the real world, my life fell apart. The System found me again. It offered me five million dollars to go back into the book and win him over one more time. Just as I was about to agree, a stream of comments flashed across my vision: “Holy crap, the ex who ditched Aidan is back.” “LOL, does she seriously think he’s still in love with her?” “The second ‘Tasker’ not only got his Darkness Value down to negative one hundred, but she also chose to stay, giving him the family he always wanted.” “The happy couple is about to get married. Can the ex-wife please have some self-respect and not bother them?” 1 It took me a long moment to process it. The “ex-wife” they were talking about… was me. Beside me, the System was still buzzing in my ear, trying to sell me on the deal. “All you have to do is make Aidan Sterling fall for you again, and you’ll get five million dollars. Even if you fail, you’ll get fifty thousand for your trouble. How about it? It’s a bargain, right?” It was a bargain. And right now, I desperately needed the money. But the comments echoed in my head. I stayed silent for a moment, then said I needed to think about it. So, the System decided to send me back into the book first. To be precise, it sent me back to the home Aidan and I once shared. The tiny apartment, old but filled with a familiar warmth, was exactly as I’d left it three years ago. Aidan hadn’t moved a single thing. Even the dress I’d accidentally stained just before I left was now hanging in the closet, clean and pristine, as if waiting for me. I remembered that dress. It was from a famous designer, all the rage at the time. When Aidan had secretly bought it for me, I’d chewed him out for spending so much money. He didn’t argue, just lowered his gaze, his long lashes shadowing his cheeks, and waited for my anger to fade. Then, he’d coaxed me, in that soft, gentle voice of his, to try it on. I looked down, the silky fabric cool against my fingers. I took a deep breath. If Aidan had truly forgotten me… then why was this apartment still here? I looked up again, my eyes scanning the small room. My gaze was suddenly caught by a white piece of paper taped to the window. A few large, scrawled words were visible through the glass. FOR SALE. PRICE NEGOTIABLE. URGENT. The sharp, decisive strokes were unmistakably Aidan’s. 2 A fresh wave of tiny text flooded my vision: “Hahaha, look at her face. The ex-wife is stunned. He wasn’t holding onto their past; he just hadn’t gotten around to selling the place.” “She really thought he still loved her like before. Plot twist: now that he has our sweet Sophie, he won’t even give his ex a second glance.” “The only reason the System brought her back is to create some drama for Aidan and Sophie. Get ready for some prime humiliation, folks.” I pressed my lips together. So that was it. The System was willing to offer five million because it was certain I would fail. Its real goal was to cast me as the villain, the obstacle in the main couple’s love story. He was getting my labor for a mere fifty thousand dollars. Fifty thousand. I laughed, a bitter, self-mocking sound. To play the fool for fifty grand… it wasn’t a small amount. It was enough to cover a week of treatment in the ICU. I summoned the System and coolly accepted the deal. The System was thrilled. It deposited a large sum of money into my account for expenses, though it could only be used within the book’s world. Since Aidan was so eager to sell this place, I might as well be the one to buy it. I clutched my phone, my fingers dialing a number I knew by heart. It rang for half a minute before someone picked up. A bright, clear female voice came through the line. “Hello? Who is this…?” I froze for a second, then glanced down to confirm the number. It was definitely Aidan’s. “Hi, I was passing by and saw the ‘For Sale’ sign in the window…” “You want to buy the apartment?” the person on the other end exclaimed, her voice bubbling with excitement. “That’s wonderful! Finally, someone wants it.” I asked cautiously, “Are you the owner?” “I’m the owner’s girlfriend. You can just call me Sophie.” So, this was the second Tasker. As my mind went blank, a brief murmur of voices came from the other end of the line, like two people whispering. It felt like an eternity passed before someone picked up the phone again. Aidan’s cold, detached voice came through, sharp and clear. “Hello. Is it convenient to meet and discuss this in person?” 3 I waited in the coffee shop, a bundle of nerves. Finally, a sleek, understated luxury car pulled up to the curb. A picture-perfect couple stepped out. I hadn’t seen Aidan in three years, but he was just as striking as ever. The last traces of youthful uncertainty in his features had been replaced by the quiet confidence that comes with power and wealth. He leaned casually against the car door. Sophie said something that made him smile, and he reached out to gently ruffle her hair. From across the distance, his gaze drifted in my direction. It rested on me for a fraction of a second before moving on, as placid and undisturbed as a still lake. I was still lost in a daze when Sophie sat down in front of me. She offered me an apologetic smile. “My boyfriend had to run, he could only drop me off. I’ll be handling the details in his place.” I nodded, my voice genuine. “I can tell you two are very happy together.” Sophie’s smile deepened. “He runs a tech company. The net profit is in the nine-figure range every year. It’s not about the money from the apartment, you know? We just… don’t want to keep it around anymore.” Her tone was laced with a faint, unmissable sense of superiority. I nodded again and, following procedure, asked to see the apartment. Sophie paused, a flicker of awkwardness in her eyes. “I don’t have the keys. If you want to see it, my boyfriend will have to take you himself.” I blinked, confused. “He didn’t give you the keys before you came?” Logically, any property sale involved a viewing. Aidan couldn’t possibly be unaware of that. Sophie sighed, a hint of frustration in her smile. “I asked, but he wouldn’t give them to me. He’s never even taken me there.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “To be honest with you, this is the place he lived in with his ex-wife when he was just starting out. It just… gives me the creeps. That’s why I want it gone, and fast.” “Oh,” I said. “In that case, I don’t need to see it. We can just sign the contract.” Sophie’s face lit up. Afraid I’d change my mind, she immediately pulled out the sales agreement. But she didn’t have the deed, so we couldn’t transfer the title just yet. We’d still have to wait for Aidan. With time to kill, I looked at this woman, a fellow Tasker, just like me. My curiosity got the better of me. “How did you and he get together?” What I really wanted to know was how she had managed to win him over. The System had told me that after I left, Aidan had briefly relapsed into a second darkness. He’d attempted suicide, slit his wrists… his Darkness Value had skyrocketed to a level that threatened the stability of the entire world. Sophie had appeared at his side during that critical time. She not only lowered his Darkness Value but completely replaced me in his heart. Aidan was not an easy man to win over. She must have gone through hell. But Sophie just smiled brightly. “He had just been abandoned by his ex-wife and was completely heartbroken. I was just there for him, comforting him. It didn’t take long for us to make it official.” Was it really that simple? I could hardly believe it. Once again, the screen of my vision was flooded with mockery: “Hahaha, the ex-wife is having a meltdown. Aidan has zero resistance when it comes to our girl Sophie.” “Don’t forget, it took the ex ten whole years to win him over. She threw herself at him countless times before he finally, reluctantly, agreed to be with her.” “Sophie just had a few conversations with him, and all of the ex’s years of work went down the drain. That’s the power of true love, baby.” … I silently watched the jeering words scroll by. They were right. My journey with Aidan had been incredibly difficult. So difficult that I never wanted to live through it again. 4 Aidan’s parents never loved him. At a young age, they abandoned him in a psychiatric hospital, leaving him to the mercy of abusive orderlies. The place was filled with violent, unhinged patients, a veritable prison guarded like a fortress. Even with the System’s help, I nearly died getting him out of there. I took Aidan to a new city where no one knew us. I made sure he went to school, got an education, stayed on the right path. I even arranged for expensive therapy sessions every week. I did all of it hoping he would finally, completely, trust me. But Aidan was too smart. He effortlessly saw through the façade of this world, including my identity and my mission. After graduation, Aidan was the state’s top scholar. I threw a party to celebrate, overjoyed for him. But he quietly pulled me aside, his expression cold, a flicker of self-deprecation in his eyes. “You’re doing all this to win me over for your mission, aren’t you?” After the initial shock, I sighed, my voice catching. “I’m in love with you. That’s my mission.” Aidan scoffed, clearly unconvinced. My heart hammered in my chest. I pressed my head against his chest, my voice a small murmur. “Aidan, please, don’t get hung up on all that. These last few years… they’ve been so hard. You have to hurry up and make my life easier.” My voice broke. “I really, really love you. Please don’t question me like this again. It hurts too much.” … After college, Aidan started his own company. We moved into that tiny, rundown apartment. It had no heating in the winter. I was always cold, and my feet would get so numb they ached. Every night, Aidan would massage them for me, his eyes red with unshed tears, silent but full of pain for me. By then, we were married. His life goal had shifted from building a tech empire to destroy the world to the mundane task of making enough money to buy his wife a house. We hustled during the day and held each other in that small bed at night. I remember being harassed by an investor I was trying to win over; I didn’t dare tell Aidan, so I just walked the streets alone, crying. Another time, when a rival company came after us, I stood in front of Aidan without a second thought, taking the blow that sent me to the operating room. I don’t know how many times I went through things like that before Aidan slowly, painstakingly, fell in love with me. And compared to my decade-long effort, Sophie had done it in just three short weeks. She’d brought his Darkness Value down to negative one hundred and pushed his Affection Meter all the way to one hundred percent. 5 Sophie was still chattering on about the sweet little moments she shared with Aidan. She said it was love at first sight for him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a sip of my milkshake. “Has he… ever mentioned his ex-wife to you?” Sophie thought for a moment, then a triumphant smile spread across her face. “Never. I think he’s completely over her.” I nodded. It was better this way. I didn’t actually want to ruin their relationship. When Aidan showed up, I’d just act like I was full of regret, pathetically throwing myself at him. Given his personality, he’d probably be disgusted and push me away. Once he rejected me, I’d take my fifty thousand dollars and happily exit this world. As I was plotting, Sophie’s phone rang. Her face lit up. “My boyfriend’s meeting is over! He’s coming to pick me up. We have a date tonight, so let’s deal with the apartment tomorrow, okay?” I froze for a second, then forced a smile and a nod. “Okay, I’ll just be going then…” “Where do you live?” Sophie asked, grabbing my arm affectionately. “I’ll have my boyfriend give you a ride.” The smile on my face froze solid. Sophie was just too insistent. Before I knew it, the car door had clicked shut, and I was inside. The cool, clean scent of pine wood hung in the air. I could hear Sophie’s sweet, playful voice as she showed Aidan her new manicure. Aidan was sitting right in front of me. From my angle, I could see his hands on the steering wheel, his knuckles sharp and defined. He kept his eyes on the road, but he responded to her every word. I glanced at the rearview mirror, at the handsome lines of his face, and felt a wave of disorientation. Aidan had never been this patient with me. When we were together, he was always so insecure, so full of dread. He knew about my mission and was terrified I would leave at any moment. He’d wake up in the middle of the night, startled, his hand frantically searching for me on the other side of the bed. I would have to soothe him, again and again, exhausted. “I won’t leave you alone. I love you, and it has nothing to do with the mission.” I kept telling him that lie, right up until the moment I left. He had cried then, clutching my hand, begging me not to go. Begging me to stay just a little longer, just a few more years. I had sighed and refused every plea. His face had gone pale, his eyes swirling with a storm of pain and madness. “Why? Don’t you love me? How can you just leave me like this? You said you’d never leave me alone!” I gave him a bitter smile. “I have someone I love in the real world.” … Aidan’s eyes flickered up, catching my gaze in the mirror. He frowned. The car lurched forward with a sudden, violent screech of brakes. Caught off guard, my forehead slammed against the window with a dull thud, leaving a blooming bruise. “Sorry,” Aidan’s voice was raspy. He turned his head slightly. “We’re here.” It took me a moment to register. “Oh,” I said, managing a “thank you.” When I’d gotten in the car, Sophie had asked for my address, and I’d just blurted out the name of a random apartment complex. I arranged to meet Sophie next time and got out of the car. Aidan kept his eyes down, never once looking back at me. He didn’t linger for a moment; the car’s taillights vanished around the corner almost instantly. At the busy entrance to the complex, I wrapped my arms around myself and slowly sank to the ground. I don’t know how much time passed. Then, the familiar luxury car pulled up again, silent and imposing, right in front of me. The window rolled down, revealing the sharp, defined profile of his face. Aidan stared at me, his expression unreadable. “Get in.” 6 I’d expected Aidan to find a way to see me alone. I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Too soon for me to prepare myself to face him. As we were locked in a stalemate, Aidan lifted a hand and lit a cigarette. I frowned instinctively. I hated it when he smoked. In the past, I would have snatched it from him without a word and stamped it out. And the Aidan back then was always so obedient. When I told him to quit, he never touched another one. He would never have been like this. He would never have sat there, shrouded in a pale haze of smoke, studying me so brazenly. I bit back my words, about to speak. The comments flooded my vision again: “What’s she hesitating for? Does she actually think he wants something from her?” “He’s known she was back for a while. He just didn’t say anything in the car because he didn’t want Sophie to get the wrong idea.” “The only reason he’s seeing her alone is to warn her not to run her mouth in front of Sophie. He couldn’t care less about her.” I stood rooted to the spot, the silence heavy around me. It was like a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head. The impulsive flicker of emotion I’d felt a moment ago was extinguished completely. I had no right to tell him what to do anymore. The hand resting on the car window, pale and elegant, dropped lazily. Aidan expressionlessly averted his gaze. As if remembering something, he crushed the cigarette with a flicker of derision. “You want to buy the apartment, don’t you? Get in. I’ll take you to see it.” 7 The ride was silent. Aidan showed no intention of speaking. But my mind was a chaotic mess of scrolling text. “Well, at least she knows her place. She took the back seat, knowing the passenger seat is for the girlfriend.” “He’s supposed to be warning her, so why is he taking her to their old place?” “Don’t worry, guys. He doesn’t know her real plan yet. Once she shows her true colors, he’ll be even more disgusted with her.” … When we arrived at the door, I couldn’t help but speak. “Don’t you have anything… to ask me?” Aidan’s hand, holding the key, paused. He glanced down at me, a brow raised, silently waiting for me to continue. I mustered my courage. “Like why I came back. How long I’m staying. Or… why I want to buy this apartment.” “Not interested.” Aidan looked away, his tone flat. “I don’t care who buys it. I’m erasing everything that has to do with you. As for why you’re back…” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and let out what sounded like a humorless chuckle. “You’re not planning to try and win me over again, are you?” I was silent for a beat. “What if I am?”

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I was the vicious fake heiress, raised in a wealthy family. After I died, the man I grew up with, my supposed soulmate, plastered my intimate photos online, calling me a cheap tramp who only knew how to seduce men. Protesters swarmed my family home, cheering that I had gotten what I deserved. To distance themselves from my “taint,” my parents burned our entire villa to the ground overnight. They even fed my ashes to the dogs. Everyone said I deserved to die. But then, on the day of the real heiress’s lavish, live-streamed wedding to my childhood sweetheart… They received a wedding gift from me. 1 The grand wedding of Elle and Elliott was a star-studded affair. In the audience, my parents dabbed at their eyes, whispering, “Our Elle is finally getting married. Our precious girl.” My ghost hovered in the air, a familiar ache twisting in my chest. They used to dote on me just like that. Suddenly, someone in the crowd exclaimed, “They’re a perfect match! Elliott and Elle are made for each other.” “Right? Not like that Vera,” another voice sneered. “She occupied the role of the Vanderbilt family heiress for years, but she was always just a cheap fake. Even in death, she’s considered bad luck.” Elle, on the stage, seemed to hear my name. She paused, a faint, contemptuous smile playing on her lips. It’s true, I thought with a self-deprecating pang. I had stolen twenty years of her privileged life. She had every right to mock me. But then, Elle looked directly into the camera. “Actually,” she said, her voice clear and bright, “I have Vera to thank for something.” “She prepared a wedding gift for us.” A gift? From me? My spectral form froze mid-air. I didn’t know anything about a gift. Before I could even process it, the crowd erupted. “She’s dead! What kind of stunt is this? So manipulative!” “She was arrogant and cruel in life, and now she wants to disgust us from beyond the grave!” “She was so vicious. It’s probably a curse or something.” My mother’s face turned ashen. She shot to her feet. “She spent her whole life trying to steal everything from Elle! Why would she send a gift?!” “Throw it out! Get rid of it! We can’t let something so unlucky tarnish Elle’s wedding!” Elliott frowned, waving a dismissive hand. “Forget it. Let’s not even look. It can’t be anything good. Let’s just continue with the ceremony.” But Elle held up a hand, silencing the uproar. “Really? I, for one, would like to see what she sent.” My parents tried to object, but Elle had already opened the gift box. Inside was a thick journal. I recognized it. It was mine. But… hadn’t my parents burned all of my belongings? How did it end up here? Before I could dwell on it, Elle picked up the journal and began to read aloud. February 1st, 2024. The real daughter of the Vanderbilt family, Elle, is back. She’s dark and thin, and so timid. Mom and Dad said she suffered a lot out there, that I have to let her have her way in everything from now on. As she read, an image appeared on the massive screen behind her. It was Elle, wearing a faded plaid shirt and worn-out jeans. I had secretly taken that photo, hiding in a corner. Her hair was dry and yellowed, her eyes hollow. She was a world away from the radiant woman on the stage today. Elliott tore off his tie. “Turn it off! Who authorized this? The past is the past! Elle isn’t like that anymore!” “Exactly!” someone in the crowd chimed in. “Vera was so calculating! To keep such an ugly photo!” “So she resented Elle from the very first day she came back?” “It makes sense now! All the terrible things Vera did to Elle later on… it was all premeditated!” Hearing this, my parents’ anger boiled over. “If I had known she was so vicious,” my mother seethed, “I would have sent her away that very day!” 2 Their words were a bitter cocktail in my soul. To think a single photograph could brand me so vile. Elle paused, then continued reading. But she doesn’t seem to hate me. She wiped her sweaty palm on her jeans and reached out to shake my hand, but I pulled away. She froze, asking in a small voice if I didn’t like her. I was about to answer when Mom and Dad’s scolding exploded in my ears. Mom said, “It’s Elle’s first day back. Can you please drop the princess act for one second?” Dad said, “Do you have any idea what Elle has been through for the past twenty years? If it weren’t for the mix-up at the hospital, you would be the one who suffered!” I was stunned. Just the night before, they had promised that even with Elle back, they would still love me like their own daughter. I guess all it took was me not shaking her hand for them to reveal their true feelings. But… I only did it because I saw the calluses on her hands. I was afraid she would feel self-conscious. As she read that last line, a flicker of something—confusion? recognition?—crossed Elle’s face. She bit her lower lip. My mother, realizing what was being read, looked up sharply. “I… I might have said that. But she became so unreasonable later, I had to…” “If she was really thinking of Elle’s feelings, why didn’t she explain herself then? It sounds like she’s just making excuses for herself after the fact!” My father wrapped an arm around her, comforting her. “It’s over now. She’s dead. Her debt is paid.” Elliott frowned, cutting in. “It’s obvious she didn’t want to accept Elle. She was probably just scared of losing her position in the family!” Elle smiled faintly, saying nothing. She turned to the next page. March 15th, 2024. The page was accompanied by a photo of Elliott, kneeling on the ground, tying my shoelace. Elliott came to see me today. The first words out of his mouth were that he wanted to break off our engagement. He said now that the real heiress was back, his family couldn’t possibly let him marry a fake. But he used to tell me he wanted to marry me only because he loved me. Twenty years of knowing each other… was it all meaningless compared to a simple accident of birth? Why did he change the moment Elle came back? I ran after him, wanting to demand an explanation. But I overheard him on the phone with a friend. “Vera’s just a cheap knock-off,” he was saying. “She actually thinks she’s something special.” “She was fun to play with, but for a marriage alliance, you need the real thing.” The friend on the other end must have said something, because Elliott burst out laughing. “Yeah, it is a shame, though.” “Five years together, I treated her so well, and she wouldn’t even let me touch her. Acting like some untouchable ice queen.” “But that Elle… she looks like she’d be an easy catch.” So I finally learned. All his past devotion was a lie. It hurts so much. I thought about telling Mom and Dad. But whenever I brought up Elliott’s name, they assumed I was trying to steal him from Elle again. They never gave me a chance to speak. What about Elle, then? I can’t just watch her marry a scumbag like him, can I? But would she even believe me? Elle paused, her eyes darting toward Elliott. He swallowed hard, then blustered, “She must have been jealous that you were going to marry me! She just made all that up!” Elliott’s parents shot to their feet. “If my son really said those things,” his mother roared, “then how do you explain Vera drugging my son, trying to climb into his bed?” Whispers erupted from the crowd. “That’s right! On Elle’s birthday, Vera drugged Elliott’s drink, then had the gall to demand he marry her the next day! She can’t wash that stain away!” Elle nodded slowly. “Yes. Why would she do that?” 3 She turned the page. May 20th, 2024. Today is mine and Elle’s birthday. But Mom and Dad seem to have forgotten about me. They only bought one cake, for Elle. I’m not angry, though. It’s just cake. I don’t even like it. Elle must have seen me standing in the corner. She brought me a slice and said, “Happy birthday, sister.” I pretended to be disgusted and pushed it away. But my heart was pounding. I wanted so badly to wish her a happy birthday, too. Even so, she just smiled and said it was okay. In that moment, I thought she really was an angel. No wonder so many people love her. Later, I saw Elliott slip some powder into her drink. There was no time. Elle was about to drink it. I lunged forward, snatched the glass from her, and drank it all myself. I had just breathed a sigh of relief when Mom rushed over and slapped me across the face. I fell to the floor, but she was still fussing over Elle, asking if she was alright. Me… But Mom, why didn’t you ask me why I did it? In the end, Mom chose not to believe me. She had someone lock me in my room. I don’t know how much time passed. I was dizzy, I couldn’t even stand up straight. Through the haze, I saw Elliott. He pushed me onto the bed, his face a mask of fury. “I was so close to getting Elle, and you had to ruin it! “Since you’re so desperate, I’ll take care of you tonight!” I wanted to fight back. But then a thought crossed my mind. If this happened… could I force Elliott to marry me? Would that keep Elle safe? So, I stopped resisting. Later, I was woken by a splash of cold water. Elliott looked at me with disgust. “Why did you drug me?! And you dared to lie and say you were Elle! You made me…” “But you can forget it. My heart belongs only to Elle.” Mom and Dad wouldn’t listen to my explanation either. They pointed at me, shouting, “You filthy thing! To think you’d use such low-life tricks to stop Elle from marrying into the Willis family!” “Get out of our house! Go back to your real family! You are not welcome here anymore!” I thought being forced like that was the most painful thing in the world. I was wrong. This, right here, was worse. As Elle’s voice faded, someone in the crowd stammered, “So… it was Elliott who drugged the drink? Vera was just trying to save Elle?” “Vera was framed?!” Elliott frantically waved his hands. “Nonsense! She’s delusional! It’s all in her head!” I saw my parents, frozen in their seats, their lips trembling. “Elle… Elle was going to marry Elliott anyway…” my mother whispered, her voice cracking. “It was inevitable. So what if it happened?” “But Vera, that ungrateful wolf! She only wanted to stay in this family for the money!” Elle let out a small, bitter laugh. “For the money?” She turned the page. I didn’t have time to feel wronged. I fell to my knees, begging them not to send me back. There was only my eighty-year-old grandfather there. He couldn’t even afford to buy Elle a decent dress. What could he possibly give me? I really don’t want to go back. Hearing this, my mother seemed to find validation in her own words. A look of relief washed over her face. My father’s expression remained stony. “Vera is a gold-digger. All the kindness we showed her was wasted!” The online comments flooded the screen. “Even if your grandfather is poor, he’s still your family! Calling you an ungrateful wolf is right!” “So disgusted by your own family? Did you ever think that’s the life you were supposed to have?” Elle’s grip on the journal tightened. “Then why was she so desperate for money? Let’s keep reading.” August 9th, 2024. I can’t hold on much longer. I asked Mom and Dad for twenty thousand. Mom asked with disgust where all my allowance went. I told her the truth. I gave it all to Grandpa. She scoffed. “Stop pretending. You didn’t even want to go back to him, and you expect me to believe you sent him money?” “Unlike you, my Elle has been quietly helping him this whole time. Don’t tell me you’re trying to steal credit for that, too?” In that moment, I knew. No matter what I said, Mom would never believe me. When did things get like this? I don’t know. But… I don’t have much time left to live anyway. If the cancer didn’t hurt so much, I wouldn’t have asked. I hope Grandpa never finds out about me. Elle once said he was a good, good man. If he knew, he would probably move heaven and earth to save me. I don’t want that. He’s already so old. It’s so hard. Forget it. I’ll never ask again. Finally, someone in the audience realized the gravity of what Elle was reading. “Did you say… Vera? Cancer?!” “So she didn’t want to go back to not be a burden on her grandfather?!” The live chat exploded, with people starting to defend me. At her table, my mother clutched her chest and shot to her feet. “She… she did say she wasn’t feeling well… but…” Elliott’s parents had had enough. “That’s it! This is a wedding! Why are we talking about a dead person?” Elliott’s father boomed. Elliott tried to take Elle’s hand, to stop her from reading. But she pulled away from his touch, her eyes red as she looked at my mother. There was a hint of mockery in her voice. “Don’t you want to know what she went through? Why she became the person she was?” My mother choked back a sob and sank back into her chair. “What does it matter now… She was just…” Elle took a deep breath. “Then let’s continue. Let’s see how Vera changed.”

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My neighbor abandoned her cat. I adopted him. He was never affectionate with me, but he was always winding around my husband’s legs, a constant, purring presence. That’s when I started paying attention. One night, when my husband, Mark, claimed he was working late, I knocked on my neighbor’s door. She answered, one hand resting protectively on her slightly protruding belly. “Chloe? What can I do for you this late?” The challenge, the sheer triumph in her eyes, told me everything I needed to know. When Mark tiptoed home in the dead of night, he found both our parents sitting in the living room. And on the coffee table, a set of divorce papers. 1. “A divorce?” “Chloe, are you serious?” Mark’s voice was incredulous. “You’re throwing away seven years of marriage because of a stupid cat?” He didn’t even bother to read them. He snatched the papers and threw them at the Ragdoll cat, who was currently rubbing against his leg. “If you don’t sign, we’ll settle this in court,” I said quietly, then turned and walked back to our bedroom. Our parents stared, bewildered. Just last month, we were the picture of a happy couple, as affectionate as newlyweds. How had things escalated to divorce so quickly? Mark hung his head, trying to hide the panic in his eyes, his hands clenched into trembling fists. His parents rushed to block my path. “Chloe, you can’t just accuse Mark of cheating because of a cat! Some cats are just naturally drawn to men. What does that prove?” his mother pleaded. “We’ve all seen how good Mark is to you. When you had that terrible flu, he stayed by your bedside for 48 hours straight. When you had that fall, he sold company shares, moved heaven and earth to assemble the best medical team money could buy.” “Does all of that mean less to you than one cat?” My own parents chimed in, their voices thick with disappointment. “Where are you going to find a husband as good as Mark?” my father asked. “Chloe, you can’t have children after your accident,” my mother added, her words a sharp sting. “The fact that Mark doesn’t hold that against you is a blessing. You need to be realistic.” Suddenly, Mark grabbed my hand, his eyes red-rimmed and filled with a desperate, all-consuming love. “Honey, we dated for two years, we’ve been married for five. We faced down death together and never let go. How can you let a cat come between us?” “Is this because I’ve been so busy with the company crisis lately? Do you feel neglected?” “I swear, from now on, no matter how busy I am, I’ll be home on time every night. I’ll be here for you…” The room was filled with people who, on the surface, all loved me. My in-laws, educated and kind, who had always treated me like their own. My parents, more pragmatic, who saw my marriage to Mark as a ticket to a secure life. But my face remained a mask of cold resolve. I pulled my hand from Mark’s grasp. “Let me say this one more time: if you don’t sign these tonight, we’re going to court.” “This is the last shred of dignity I’m offering you.” His eyes were bloodshot. “Chloe, how can you be so cruel?” “It’s simple,” I said, my voice flat. “Because I don’t care about you anymore. Not one bit.” Done with the pointless drama, I walked to the front door and left. The disappointed sighs of our parents followed me out, but I didn’t hesitate. I just walked faster. The Ragdoll slipped out of the open door behind me. Later, as I sat numbly on a park bench, I saw the cat chasing after its former owner, who was taking out the trash. The woman, Hailey, kicked at its head in disgust, but the cat stubbornly refused to leave. I couldn’t watch. I went over to intervene, but the Ragdoll arched its back and hissed at me, claws extended. Hailey let out a laugh. “You see, Chloe? People are just like cats.” “When someone doesn’t like you, they just don’t like you. You can’t force it.” I saw the taunt in her eyes, the smug superiority. I glanced at her pregnant belly, and it all clicked into place. “You’re right,” I said. “You can’t keep a creature that’s determined to be unfaithful. Whether it’s a cat or a person.” Just then, Mark found us, his face a mask of anxiety and panic. But it wasn’t for me. “Chloe, can you just act normal for once?” he snapped. “I told you, the cat liking me is just a coincidence! It has nothing to do with our neighbor! It’s one thing to throw a tantrum at home, but to come down here and harass a pregnant woman? Have you lost your mind?” He didn’t even know what had happened. He just saw me with Hailey and instantly assumed I was the jealous wife causing a scene. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I realized that even if Mark still loved me, that love couldn’t hold a candle to whatever he felt for Hailey. 2. Afraid I would cause more trouble for Hailey, Mark practically dragged me back to our apartment. His parents’ faces were grim. They had read the terms of the divorce agreement and had already thrown it in the trash. “Chloe, what is the meaning of this?” his father demanded. “We’ve treated you well, haven’t we? It’s bad enough you want a divorce over a cat, but you want to leave Mark with nothing?” “Have we been so kind to you that you think you can just walk all over us?” My own parents were red with shame. “You’ve gone too far, Chloe,” my dad said. “We can’t support you when you’re being so unreasonable.” I offered no explanation, just repeated my ultimatum. “If you don’t agree, I’ll see you in court.” A man who cheats deserves to lose everything. Mark’s voice trembled with desperation. “Chloe, is this about money? You know the passwords to all my cards. You can spend whatever you want. Isn’t that enough?” Not all his cards. Or, it used to be. Now, Mark had a few new cards, and I could only imagine how much he’d spent on Hailey behind my back. I was about to point this out when there was a knock on the door. Hailey stood there, the picture of innocence. “I’m so sorry to bother you all this late,” she said sweetly. “Downstairs, I saw Mr. Crawford and Chloe arguing because of me, and I just felt so terrible.” “Chloe wasn’t really harassing me,” she continued, her voice soft and apologetic. “She was just taking her anger out on the cat. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. It’s my fault. She can hit me or yell at me, it’s okay.” My in-laws’ faces darkened. “Chloe, you abused an animal and bullied this young woman?” My parents looked at me with profound disappointment. “Chloe, what has happened to you?” None of them noticed the one, glaring slip-up. “Mr. Crawford?” I asked, a slow, cold smile spreading across my face. “So, you do know my husband, Hailey. You must have been biting your tongue all those times we passed in the hallway and you pretended not to know him.” Hailey’s head snapped down, her eyes wide like a frightened deer. She darted a panicked glance at Mark, a silent plea for help. Her right hand, adorned with a sparkling diamond ring, went to her stomach. The fear and affection in Mark’s eyes were there for only a second before he smoothed his expression over. “I do know Hailey. She’s a junior employee at my company. We’ve crossed paths a few times.” “I didn’t think she was important enough to mention, and I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea,” he said, his tone placating. “Chloe, honey, don’t overthink things.” I had to laugh. If he had nothing to hide, why was he so afraid of me “overthinking” things? And how could a “junior employee” afford a luxury penthouse in the city center? Seeing my silence, Mark’s father stood up, his voice booming. “Chloe, if you have proof, I won’t say a word about the divorce! But if you think you can clean out my son based on nothing but suspicion, I’m telling you right now, you are dreaming!” Before I could reply, Hailey spoke up, blinking innocently. “Leave him with nothing? Chloe, don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” “Even though you’ve never been to the office, every employee there knows how much the CEO adores his wife. Everyone knows how much he loves you. Chloe… could it be that you have another man? Are you just using me as an excuse to try and take all of Mark’s money?” At her words, I didn’t hesitate. I swung my hand and slapped her hard across the face. “Watch your mouth,” I said, my voice dangerously low. “Mark may put up with your nonsense, but I won’t.” 3. For a split second, Mark’s hands clenched into fists, his eyes burning with a rage I had never seen directed at me. Then, he composed himself and turned to Hailey, his voice full of concern. “Are you okay?” Hailey was already crying, her eyes red. “I’m fine. I shouldn’t have said that. Chloe was right to hit me. Please, don’t be angry because of me.” In seven years together, Mark had never once raised his voice to me. Now, he gritted his teeth. “Apologize to Hailey. Bow and apologize.” I gave a disdainful snort. “Why should I? She deserved it.” Suddenly, Mark raised his hand and, with all his might, slapped himself across the face. The sound cracked through the tense silence. Half of his face immediately began to swell. “I’ll take that slap for her,” he said, his voice strained. “Chloe, I’m begging you. Please, stop this.” “Is that it?” he asked, his voice softening into a twisted kind of sympathy. “After your accident, has being cooped up at home all these years… has it affected you mentally? I promise, no matter what’s wrong, I’ll never hold it against you.” “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Just please, stop talking about divorce, okay?” “No,” I said without a moment’s hesitation. “It’s impossible.” “Mark, being with you for another second makes my skin crawl. It’s suffocating.” His concessions, my stubbornness. Our parents had reached their limit. Mark’s parents stood up, their faces cold with fury. “If you insist on a divorce, fine! We’ll see you in court! But don’t think you’ll get a single penny from our family. We will spend whatever it takes to make sure you are the one who leaves with nothing!” My own parents just shook their heads. “Chloe, you’re the one in the wrong here. When you end up with nothing, you’ll regret this.” But was I the one in the wrong? No. The contact I had cultivated inside Mark’s company soon sent me a video file. I was watching it in the guest room when Mark knocked and entered. To prevent him from seeing it and deleting the evidence, I quickly slipped on my wireless earbuds and put my phone away. “Chloe, what’s the point of this divorce?” he asked, his voice weary. “You can’t have children. No family with my kind of standing will ever want to marry you.” I looked at him and laughed coldly. “Mark, do you remember why I can’t have children?” It was because of an accident two years into our marriage. Mark loved thrills, extreme sports, and he always insisted I join him. One day, while rock climbing, he slipped. I risked everything to grab him, and while he managed to find a foothold, my strength gave out. I was the one who fell. Everyone said Mark was a saint for staying with me. He had literally put my life on the line. Now, he looked away, a guilty silence hanging between us. Through my earbuds, I could hear his voice, intertwined with Hailey’s flirtatious laughter. “Mark, that parachute jump was amazing! I had so much fun,” Hailey’s voice cooed. “But maybe having me move in next door is a little too risky, don’t you think?” A series of soft, wet kissing sounds followed. Then, Mark’s voice, low and conspiratorial. “That’s what makes it exciting.” “Chloe’s gotten so boring these last few years. Only you, Hailey… only you make me feel alive.” 4. Once I had gathered enough evidence, I went to Mark’s company to investigate its financial state, making sure he couldn’t hide or transfer any assets. The senior partners knew who I was and cooperated fully. Only Hailey, emboldened by Mark’s favor, tried to obstruct me at every turn. She had someone lead me to an outdoor smoking area. With no one else around, she dropped the act. “Chloe, why can’t you just be a good little housecat, kept and cared for?” “A useless woman like you who can’t even have children… Mark keeping you around is an act of charity. Why do you have to make a scene and embarrass yourself?” I laughed. “Fine. I won’t divorce him.” Hailey blinked, confused. “What?” My laugh grew louder. “You’re not just a homewrecker, you’re an idiot. You came to provoke me because you wanted me to divorce him as soon as possible so you could take my place, right?” “The joke’s on you. When you do take my place, all you’ll inherit is a mountain of debt. You’ll get nothing.” “Remember that Ragdoll cat? Your fate will be even worse than his.” Hailey must have seen what happened to the cat. Starving, it had come back to my door, begging for food. I shut the door in its face. It was forced to fight with strays for scraps, and was now covered in infected bites, a pathetic, miserable creature. Perhaps the cat’s fate struck a nerve. Hailey’s face twisted in rage, and she lunged at me. “You’re the one who’s not wanted! You’re the useless trash about to be thrown out! How dare you curse me?” Disgusted, I sidestepped her easily. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, clutching her stomach and sobbing. The commotion drew a crowd. When Mark heard what happened, he rushed back to the office, grabbed my arm, and tried to force me to apologize to Hailey. I shook him off. “She fell on her own. The security camera will prove it.” Mark gritted his teeth. “Don’t be ridiculous. There are no cameras in the smoking area.” I was about to tell him that there was one I had installed, but Hailey started crying louder. “Mr. Crawford, it’s not Chloe’s fault! It’s mine! I shouldn’t have moved in next door and caused this misunderstanding.” “Please, can you talk to her for me? I don’t care how she treats me, but she can’t hurt the baby!” Mark’s eyes widened in horror. “Chloe, how could you? You’d attack an unborn child? The baby is innocent!” “Innocent?” I sneered. “We don’t even know whose bastard it is—” Before I could finish, Mark’s hand cracked across my face. “You’re unbelievable!” he roared. “You brought this on yourself, Chloe! Don’t blame me for being ruthless! You want to sue? Fine! I’ll have the court date set for tomorrow.” “My family doesn’t need a twisted, inhuman monster like you!” In that moment, we weren’t a couple anymore. We were mortal enemies. And everyone, including my own parents, was on his side. Before the hearing, they were still trying to talk sense into me. “Chloe, are you sure you’re not the one who had an affair?” my mother asked. “The internet is full of stories about you, saying you’re a gold-digger who cheated on her husband. Your reputation is ruined.” “Please, wake up before it’s too late,” my father begged. Mark’s parents wouldn’t even look at me. “A snake is a snake. You can’t change its nature.” “Mark,” his mother said, “when she’s left with nothing and comes crawling back to you, don’t you dare be soft.” Mark himself looked down at me as if granting a final mercy. “Admit you were wrong now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened.” “Otherwise, you’ll end up homeless and alone for the rest of your life.” I said nothing. I just looked at the judge, waiting for the proceedings to begin. The judge’s first words wiped the confident smirk off Mark’s face and sent a wave of shocked disbelief through the courtroom. “What… How could this be?” “Mark, what have you been doing behind our backs?”

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When my husband’s depression flared up again, I exploded. I smashed every door in the house. Finally, I slammed the hammer down in front of him and spat out two words: “We’re done.” He shattered on the spot, clinging to my leg, his cries raw and desperate. “I’m sorry, Bonnie, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have had an episode. I lost control.” “I’ll get help, I promise. I’ll take my medicine.” “You’re all I have. I’m begging you, please, don’t leave me…” His eyes were red, his body wracked with sobs, so fragile he looked like a gust of wind could break him. A pathetic, love-sick fool who couldn’t live without his wife. A far cry from the confident, commanding CEO of Brooks Enterprises. I felt nothing. I lifted my stiletto heel and drove it into his chest. “Are you deaf? I said I want a divorce!” 1 My shout seemed to snap the swarm of relatives out of their stupor, but none of them dared to intervene. Only my husband’s father, Richard Brooks, stepped forward to take control. “Bonnie, calm down. Even if you want a divorce, you must have a reason.” I let out a cold, sharp laugh. “A reason? The reason is he changed the keypad on the front door to a lock and key.” A murmur of confusion rippled through the room. Richard’s face darkened. “Bonnie, if you hadn’t gotten pregnant with a daughter instead of a son, he wouldn’t have gotten depressed in the first place! He wouldn’t be so insecure!” “This ridiculous excuse for a divorce—I don’t accept it!” My husband, Julian, pointed a trembling finger at me, his eyes rimmed with red. I couldn’t even be bothered to look at him. I snapped my briefcase shut. “Sign it,” I said, my voice flat. “Don’t make me force you.” Ever since Julian changed the lock, he’d started locking himself in the bathroom, even to shower. I had to call him just to get into my own home. Sometimes, he’d be in there for three, four hours. I lost count of the number of times I was eaten alive by mosquitoes, or soaked to the bone in the rain until I caught a fever. Anyone who saw would have thought I’d done something wrong, that I was being punished. The neighbors came and went, their gossiping eyes like daggers in my skin and in my heart. I couldn’t take the humiliation. But every time I brought up divorce, Julian would slap me, hard, his eyes blazing. “Is it so hard to make a phone call? You promised you’d respect me for the rest of our lives!” If I dared to talk back, he’d use his depression as a shield, accusing me of having no compassion for a sick person. And now, today, at this family gathering, in front of all his nosy relatives, he was putting on this act of a devoted, heartbroken lover. It was disgusting. I was done with the abuse. I was done being his punching bag. I threw the divorce papers on the table and walked out. The entire family stared, their eyes darting between a trembling Julian and my resolute back. I could hear their whispers, wondering how I, the woman who had always put Julian first, could leave him over something so trivial. Julian stared, stunned, then reached out to grab me. His father started to rise from his chair. But before I could leave, Julian’s psychiatrist, Dr. Tessa Hale, pushed me back into my seat. “Ms. Davis, your husband is suffering from severe depression. He has extreme insecurity.” “He only locks the door to protect himself! How can you, as his wife, be so cruel?” “It’s because of you, constantly stirring up trouble, that his condition keeps getting worse!” The relatives immediately sided with her. “Dr. Hale is right!” “She’s just taking her own bad mood out on her husband!” “For a gold digger, she sure has a temper. Julian is the only one who would put up with her. She’d be nothing without him!” Julian shot a look that silenced them, then turned his gaze to me, his voice softening into a placating purr. “Bonnie, baby, I’m sorry.” “I know my illness has made you suffer. You never used to raise your voice at me. For the sake of our ten years together, can’t you just calm down?” “Is it your mother’s medical bills again? Don’t be embarrassed to ask. Your mother is my family, too.” The onlookers watched Julian’s groveling performance with murmurs of approval, but their looks toward me grew sharper. “Bonnie, for a sick man, Julian treats you incredibly well. You should be grateful,” one of them said. “Have we ever not taken care of your mother’s affairs? Just tell us how much you need. We’ll find a way,” Richard added, leaning on his cane. I knew what they were thinking. That I was too proud, too principled to ask for more money, so I was resorting to this drama instead. I met Julian’s eyes as he reached for my hand. I sidestepped his touch, my voice cold and detached. “There’s nothing left between us. Let’s end it.” The room fell silent. Julian rushed forward, grabbing me, his voice cracking. “Bonnie, don’t lie to me…” I shoved him away, taking two steps back. “It’s the truth.” “Let’s just end it here. With some dignity.” Julian stood frozen in shock. From the stroller, our daughter began to wail. I ignored everyone and turned to leave. Crash. A glass shattered at my feet. It was Tessa. She lunged forward, slapping the divorce papers against my chest, her finger jabbing at me. “Bonnie, are you even human?” “Julian gave up a scholarship to study abroad just to marry you! He loves you so much! And this is how you repay him?” “Now that he’s sick, you’re just going to abandon him and your daughter?” “You ungrateful bitch!” I looked at the frantic, sputtering woman and found it all rather amusing. “Dr. Hale, my husband and I are getting a divorce. What does that have to do with you?” Tessa’s spittle flew as she grabbed my collar, screaming. “You still call him your husband!” “You don’t know what’s good for you! Do you have any idea how much money the Brooks family has sunk into your half-dead mother?” “If Julian didn’t pity you, didn’t love you, your mother would have been dead and buried long ago!” I kicked her, hard. She stumbled back. “Get lost. A family gathering is no place for a shrink to be meddling.” Julian shoved past me, rushing to help Tessa up from the floor. “Bonnie, why are you taking your anger out on her? She’s innocent!” “I’m taking it out on the bitch who can’t keep her mouth shut!” I shot back, my resolve hardening as I glanced at the tender scene on the floor. The relatives’ accusations grew louder, a chorus of voices negating my ten years of devotion. They called me a thankless viper, moaning about how much Julian had suffered by marrying me. Tessa patted Julian’s hand. “It’s alright, Julian. It was my fault.” “I’m an outsider. I shouldn’t have judged Ms. Davis. Don’t get upset, you’ll make yourself sick.” She shook her head, her voice thick with feigned sorrow. “How could it be your fault?” Julian’s eyes were overflowing with adoration for her. He looked up at me, his voice choked with tears. “Bonnie, must you embarrass everyone like this?” “You know I love you. The family is all here. Can’t you just give me some face? We can talk about this at home.” His tears fell, one by one, onto Tessa’s chest. I could only laugh. He cried harder. The relatives rushed to comfort him. His performance cast me as the villain of the century. “Bonnie, you’ve taken good care of Julian all these years.” “I’ve seen your dedication and your filial piety.” “Just tell us the truth. What really happened? If it’s our family’s fault, we won’t shirk responsibility.” Richard limped over, leaning on his cane, trying to reason with me. But I remained stone-faced, unmoved. “This divorce,” I said flatly, “is happening.” Richard coughed, his face flushing a deep red with anger. Julian scrambled up from the floor, grabbing my hand, pleading. “Bonnie, don’t go.” When I didn’t react, he roared. “You must be cheating on me!” I met his gaze calmly, saying nothing. The cane slammed against the floor. “Bonnie!” Richard bellowed. “Everything you have, every piece of clothing on your back, came from the Brooks family! And you still have a sick mother to support!” “Live a quiet life, or leave with nothing. The choice is yours.” “I suggest you think it over carefully. You have two days.” It was meant to be terrifying. The onlookers’ faces were masks of anticipation, waiting for me to admit defeat. I shook Julian’s hand off me. “I don’t need two days. I can give you an answer right now.” “I, Bonnie Davis, and Julian Brooks, are getting a divorce today. If you don’t agree, then just wait for the special gift I have for you.” With that, I walked out of the Brooks house without a backward glance. The moment I got in my car, my childhood friend, Alex, sent me a few videos. They were all from the security camera at my front door. In the videos, every day, just before I got home from work, a figure would emerge from my house. The figure would then provocatively wave a different pair of lace panties at the camera. This whole drama about the lock? It was all a smokescreen. The real fuse was this endless stream of taunting videos. Two days was too long. I just wanted to send them all to hell as quickly as possible. The next morning, at the crack of dawn, I went back to the house to pack. When I opened the door, Tessa was in the living room, rocking our daughter’s cradle. Julian’s face went pale. He tried to compose himself, but his voice stuttered. “Dr. Hale… we had an appointment… for my… my therapy.” I ignored them and went straight to the bedroom. I was only there for one thing: the jade pendant my mother had given me to present to my husband. Julian no longer deserved it. Before I could even step into the bedroom, Tessa pushed the cradle in front of me, blocking my path, a smug look on her face. “Ms. Davis, I’m so glad you came home.” “The baby is so young. She can’t be without her mother.” “Come and see your daughter.” She tried to pull me towards the cradle. I shook her off, but she grabbed me again. I’d had enough. I shoved her away. “Get lost,” I snarled. I quickly went into the room, pulled open the nightstand drawer, and took out the jade pendant. Tessa followed, relentless, trying to snatch it from my hand, but she missed. “You think you’re worthy of something from the Brooks family?” I shoved her hard. She stumbled backward a few steps. Suddenly, the sound of a crash and a baby’s scream filled the air. Tessa was on the floor. Next to her, the cradle was overturned. Julian rushed in, saw the scene, and immediately rounded on me. “Bonnie! If anything happens to my daughter, I will never forgive you!” he roared, scooping up the baby and frantically checking her for injuries. “Julian, it’s all my fault,” Tessa whimpered from the floor. “I just thought the baby missed her mommy, but Ms. Davis didn’t care. She… she pushed us.” While I was distracted, Julian snatched the jewelry box from my hand and smashed it on the floor with all his might, his eyes blazing red. “For this piece of junk! You’d hurt your own flesh and blood?” My mind went blank. I only cared about the pendant. Thankfully, the box was sturdy. The jade was unharmed. Tessa screamed at me from behind. “You’re not a fucking human being! Your own daughter falls and you don’t even care! You go for a stupid piece of rock! Is that jade more important than your daughter’s life?” Julian righted the cradle, his tear-filled eyes fixed on me. “Bonnie, you better pray our daughter is okay!” “Take your trash and get out of my house!” “And never come back!” “After the court case tomorrow, I’m not just taking everything from you, I’m going to ruin your entire family!” “Get out!” He was like a madman, smashing things as he yelled. I just calmly clutched the box and left that toxic place. I hadn’t even left the neighborhood when Alex called and told me to check the trending topics online. A tidal wave of hate washed over me. They called me a gold-digging slut. A manipulative leech who only preyed on rich men. A monster who would choose an illegitimate child over her own daughter. I was branded with a thousand sins. AI-generated images were woven into the articles, making it all seem real. “Get everything about my mother taken down,” I told Alex. “The rest of it? Sue them.” I hung up and let the storm rage. After lunch, I announced a livestream for that afternoon. Julian called me over a hundred times. I didn’t answer. Finally, he showed up outside Alex’s building with a banner and a megaphone, the noise deafening. “Bonnie, the internet is tearing you apart!” “Going live won’t help! If you just apologize and repent, I’m willing to give you another chance!” I watched him from the floor-to-ceiling window above, my expression cold. Tessa snatched the megaphone, her voice oozing with false concern. “Julian said he’s willing to forgive you! Why make things harder for yourself? A livestream will only make it worse!” “Just admit you’re wrong! Your mother can still be saved!” Richard was there too, sitting under a parasol. “Bonnie,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Young people shouldn’t be so impulsive. What woman in her right mind would divorce her husband for changing a door lock?” Their words were nothing but threats to me. I watched the second hand complete its final rotation. The livestream started. As expected, the comments were a torrent of abuse. Not to be outdone, Julian started his own livestream from his company’s official account and requested to connect with me. The screen split in two. “Bonnie, since you refuse to repent, don’t blame me for what comes next.” On Julian’s side of the screen, a slideshow began: my spending records at high-end private clubs, and a string of fabricated, filthy chat logs. [Wow, what a slut! So dirty!] [Poor Julian! I support the divorce!!] [I’m a lawyer, and this bitch is definitely leaving with nothing!] “Well, let’s let the good people of the internet be the judge today!” Julian said, smugly fanning himself behind a pair of sunglasses. I let out a cold laugh, turned up the AC a notch, and said calmly, “Eight hundred and ninety-one.” Julian froze, his fan faltering. He quickly started fanning himself again, faster this time. “Don’t start quoting legal statutes. You don’t even know any.” “Are they legal statutes, Julian?” Alex, standing beside me, couldn’t hold back a laugh. The gift was about to be unwrapped.

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My father, the Duke, was executed, his estate seized. I, a lady of noble birth, was sold to a brothel. In my desperate struggle, I clawed at the worn leather breeches of a passing hunter. “Please,” I begged, “buy me!” The man looked down, his gaze steady and intense. “I am a poor man. My brothers and I have no coin for wives. If I buy you, you must be a wife to all three of us. Do you consent?” My eyes widened in shock. But before the darkness claimed me, I nodded. I expected a life of endless toil and childbirth. I never imagined that they would look past my disfigured face and cherish me with all their hearts. The only hardship was their age. All three were in the prime of their virile youth. On the bed, each was like a wolf. It reached a point where I began to fear the sunset. Because when night fell, I knew I would be claimed by one of the three brothers, devoured and left too weak to even leave the bed. 1. When I awoke from the blackness, several voices echoed around me. “Brother, when will our wife awaken?” “She’s been asleep so long. Isn’t she hungry?” I blinked my eyes open, disoriented, and met a pair of dark, fathomless eyes. It was him. The hunter I had begged to buy me. Before I could speak, he reached out, his strong hands helping me sit up from the rough wooden pallet. “You’re awake. You should eat something.” Only then did I take in my surroundings. I was in a small, dilapidated hovel with a thatched roof. Three towering, powerfully built men stood in the cramped space, their gazes fixed on me. The tiny hut felt completely filled by their presence. Remembering the terms of my purchase, my breath hitched, and a wave of shame washed over me. I clenched my fists. These three brothers… they were to be my husbands? It is said that a good woman does not take a second husband. And here I was, taking three at once. If my mother and father could see me from the afterlife, they would surely curse the day they bore such a shameless daughter. But after trying to end my own life once, I found I did not have the courage to try a second time. It was the only reason I still clung to this wretched existence. I closed my eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Rosalba, I told myself, it could be worse. You could have been sold to the filthiest whorehouse in the city. To be a wife to three brothers… this is a blessing by comparison. Besides, though my first glance had been brief, I’d seen their faces. They lacked the refined grace of the gentlemen in the Capital, but each was ruggedly handsome in his own right, with a strong, tall build. If not for their crushing poverty, men who looked like them would have had no trouble finding wives. I should be grateful they were the ones who had bought me. But still… looking at their formidable physiques, could my body truly endure being a wife to all three? As I worried, the hunter who had bought me spoke to his brothers. “Caelan, go fetch her a bowl of porridge.” “Owen, go heat some water for a bath.” The two younger brothers nodded at their elder’s command and immediately left the hut. Once they were gone, the man’s deep gaze settled on me again. I nervously clutched the rough fabric of my tunic. He simply tucked the worn blanket around me. “My name is Rhys. I am the eldest. Owen is the second, and Caelan is the youngest. You’ve seen our situation.” “There are just the three of us. We have no land, only this hut. No father would give his daughter to a house like this.” “The silver I earned a few days ago selling a deer hide… I was going to use it to pay the apprentice fee for Caelan to learn carpentry.” “But you begged me to buy you, and we are in need of a woman in the house. So I made the choice to buy you as our wife.” “From now on, the three of us will treat you well. As long as we have food in our mouths, you will not starve. But I expect you to fulfill your duties as a wife.” My voice was a raw whisper. “I understand.” In truth, I had grabbed Rhys’s leg as a last, desperate gamble. I never imagined he would buy me for such a purpose. After all, I had a large, gruesome scar on my forehead from where I’d slammed my head against a stone wall in my suicide attempt. After the brothel madam sold me to a slaver for a pittance, he had paraded me through town, trying to offload me, but no one was willing to buy a disfigured woman. 2. Soon, Caelan returned, carefully carrying a bowl of steaming porridge. His eyes, when they met mine, held no disgust. Instead, they shone with a bright, almost pleading light. “Wife, you must be starving. Here, eat.” The porridge was thick and rich with shreds of meat, cooked until it was soft. I hadn’t eaten a proper meal since being dragged north by the slaver. My stomach let out an embarrassing, loud growl. My face flushed with humiliation, and I couldn’t help but look down. Rhys turned to Caelan. “She has been hungry for a long time. Feed her slowly. I’m going into the mountains to see if I can hunt a pheasant to help her regain her strength.” He took his bow from the wall and strode out. Caelan nodded eagerly. “Don’t worry, Brother! I’ll take good care of our wife.” He scooped up a spoonful of porridge and held it to my lips, his face alight with anticipation. My hunger won out over my shame. I opened my mouth and swallowed greedily. The porridge was seasoned with coarse, bitter salt, but to me, it tasted sweeter than any honeyed cake from my past life. Seeing how ravenously I ate, Caelan’s face softened with pity. “Slow down, wife. There’s more in the pot.” Just as I finished the bowl, Owen returned with the hot water. He hauled in a wooden tub, large enough for a man to sit in, and placed it in the center of the hut, grinning at me with a flash of white teeth. “Wife, the water is hot. I’ll go fetch more to fill it. Just a moment!” I thought of how I hadn’t properly bathed in half a year, how I had intentionally smeared mud in my hair and on my skin to make myself repulsive in the brothel. I gave Owen a small nod. “Thank you… husband.” Hearing the word, Owen’s gaze burned into me, his grin threatening to split his face. “Of course, of course.” Caelan, not to be outdone, stared at me intently. “Wife, I want to hear you call me husband, too.” Heat crept up my neck, and I felt a fresh wave of unease. But remembering Rhys’s words, I whispered it. “Husband.” Both brothers beamed, their faces alight with pure joy, and then they bustled out, filled with a newfound energy to fetch more water. 3. Soon, the tub was full of steaming water. Seeing the two brothers standing there, staring at me expectantly, I felt a fresh wave of embarrassment. “Husbands… could you… could you please step outside for a moment?” They finally seemed to realize, their faces flushing. “Right! We’ll be just outside. Call if you need anything!” they stammered, backing out of the hut with obvious reluctance. Once the door was shut, I let out a long breath. I looked down at the still surface of the water. The reflection that stared back was a stranger: a woman with filthy, matted hair, a face grey with grime, and a terrifyingly ugly scar marring her forehead. The sight of it made even my own stomach churn. And yet, looking at this monstrous reflection, the brothers had smiled. There hadn’t been a trace of disgust or revulsion on their faces. For a moment, I felt a profound sense of confusion. In my old life, men like them would not have been worthy to tie my slippers. Now, it was clear that I was not worthy of them. But from their actions, it seemed they didn’t care how frightening my face was. Perhaps… perhaps I could truly build a life here. 4. I shed my ragged clothes and, using a small stool, carefully stepped into the tub. I knew they were poor, that every piece of furniture was likely hard-won. I was careful not to slip, terrified of breaking the tub. As my body sank into the water, the clear liquid quickly turned murky. My skin, beneath the layers of dirt, began to reveal its original pale fairness. Seeing the filth clouding the water around me, I stood up, wrapped the tattered rags around myself, and called out, my voice thick with embarrassment, “Husbands… would you mind helping me change the water?” The two of them answered immediately from outside. “Coming!” 5. A moment later, the door creaked open. As the brothers entered, their eyes immediately fixed on the bare skin of my arms. “Wife… you’re so pale,” Caelan breathed, his voice filled with awe. I clutched the rags tighter, unable to meet their intense gazes. Owen nudged him. “Caelan, help me with the tub! We can’t let our wife get cold.” Caelan snapped back to reality. Together, they lifted the heavy tub of dirty water, carried it outside to dump it, and quickly brought in a fresh one. After a second bath, I finally felt clean. I changed into a set of their old clothes, patched and worn but clean. After they’d disposed of the second tub of water, Caelan rushed back in, his eyes shining as he looked at me. “Wife, let me help you dry your hair.” I looked at my dripping hair and gave a hesitant nod. Caelan excitedly took the cotton cloth and gently began to squeeze the water from my long locks. His fingers, as they worked at the nape of my neck, would occasionally brush against my skin, sending a jolt of heat through my entire body, making me tense. Once my hair was mostly dry, the sun was high and warm. The brothers moved a stool into the small yard for me, so I could sit in the sun and let my hair dry completely. Their constant, attentive care was so thorough that for a fleeting moment, I felt as if I had returned to my old life of ease and comfort. Of course, it would have been better if their eyes didn’t gleam with such raw hunger. It made me feel like a lamb being watched by a pack of starving wolves.

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