Category: English

My husband suddenly went bankrupt. That very night, he rushed our son and me onto a boat to a remote, deserted island, claiming he was protecting us from his dangerous creditors. Worried sick about his safety, I snuck back halfway through the journey. But when I reached our mansion, I found him throwing a wild party, with a gorgeous woman wrapped tightly in his arms. His best friend, Marcus, laughed and teased him, “Man, you sent your wife and son to that godforsaken island where nothing grows. How are they even going to survive?” My husband replied as if he were talking about the weather: “Amber’s organic pet food factory shut down recently. I repackaged all that unsold dog kibble and shipped it to the island. It’s more than enough to keep them fed for a few years.” The woman snuggled closer into his chest, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. “Babe, you’re so good to me and our baby.” She gently caressed her still-flat stomach. He pinched her nose affectionately. “You’re so innocent and sweet. If I don’t look out for you, who will?” “For your sake, I had to banish that she-devil to that remote island.” “Otherwise, if she found out you were pregnant, she’d tear you to pieces!” “Just hang in there. Once you give birth and we raise the baby to two years old, I’ll bring them back. By then, it’ll be a done deal, and there’s nothing she can do about it.” Standing in the shadows, I felt like I had been struck by lightning. Cold sweat drenched my back. Three years later, my phone finally rang. It was him. “Chloe, how are you and our son doing? I’m ready to come and pick you up now.” I glanced at the devastatingly handsome man sleeping soundly beside me and smiled coldly. “We’re doing great. My new husband treats both me and your son wonderfully.”

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the line, followed by a dry chuckle. He clearly thought I was joking. “You really haven’t changed at all, have you? Still trying to push my buttons.” “Look, I know you’re mad because I didn’t visit or call you guys for three years.” “But Chloe, you have to understand the reality. I just finally cleared all my debts. The moment I was free, I called you.” “I’ll be at the island the day after tomorrow to bring you and Leo back.” Before I could cut him off, my phone screen flickered and died. Out of battery. My new husband, Christian, stirred in his sleep. He rolled over, wrapping his powerful arm around my waist, pulling me effortlessly back into the warm covers. After a passionate, exhausting night, we both needed the sleep. By the time I woke up in the afternoon, Christian had already left for his company. Our son, Leo, had been driven to his elite private prep school by our security team. Feeling refreshed, I decided to go to the local high-end supermarket to buy some ingredients. I wanted to cook a delicious steak dinner for my husband and son tonight. As I was picking out some fresh, marbled ribeyes, a woman’s voice suddenly sneered from behind me. “Chloe?” I turned around. It was Amber. She was flanked by two maids, one of whom was holding a two-year-old girl. No DNA test was needed. The little girl looked exactly like Ethan—they were cast from the very same mold. Amber looked incredibly shocked to see me standing there. My eyes instantly locked onto the vintage emerald necklace resting against her collarbone. My blood boiled. That necklace belonged to my mother. It was her final gift to me before she passed away. Three and a half years ago, Ethan told me he had accidentally lost it. We had called the police, and he pretended to be so devastated that he didn’t sleep for three days straight, searching everywhere. He had apologized to me with red, teary eyes, and I had wept for weeks over the loss. He knew exactly how much that necklace meant to me. It was the only piece of my mother I had left. Yet, he lied to me and gave it to his side chick. Aside from the necklace, she was dripping in designer labels and luxury jewelry. Clearly, Ethan had been pampering her over the last three years. Amber put on a fake, sweet smile. “Well, hello, Chloe.” “Welcome back.” Her tone was dripping with provocation. Three years ago, whenever she saw me, she would lower her eyes respectfully and call me “Mrs. Miller.” Back then, she owned a pet food business. My mother-in-law loved dogs and frequently bought specialty kibble from her. Amber had always played the part of a polite, well-mannered girl. Who would have thought she was actually a scheming, home-wrecking leech?

Without a second thought, I reached out, grabbed the necklace, and ripped it off her neck! The sharp tug left a bright red scratch on Amber’s pale skin. She gasped in pain, clutching her neck. “Ouch!” “This necklace belongs to me,” I said coldly, clutching the emeralds in my palm. “Don’t you dare flaunt it in front of me again, or I won’t be this polite next time.” I didn’t want to waste my energy making a scene with her. When a man cheats, the root of the problem is always the man. Amber looked half-aggrieved and half-furious, her voice rising so the surrounding shoppers could hear. “I only call you Chloe out of respect for Ethan. He gave me this necklace. I suggest you return it to me.” “Besides, Ethan and I are together now. This is our daughter. I’ve always believed that women shouldn’t make things hard for other women, which is why I always tell Ethan to treat you well.” I let out a harsh laugh. This woman truly had a gift for twisting the truth. She did the dirtiest, most shameless things, yet managed to sound so righteous. She took her daughter from the maid’s arms and thrust the toddler toward my face. “Sweetheart, say hi to the old lady.” She stood there with a look of supreme generosity, making it seem as though she was being magnanimous while I was just a petty, bitter woman. The little girl mumbled cutely, “Hi, old lady.” My anger flared, but I had no intention of taking it out on an innocent child. Ignoring Amber, I spun around to walk away. Suddenly, Amber grabbed my arm. Before I could even shake her off, she dramatically threw herself and her child onto the polished floor, making it look like I had violently pushed them. She let out a loud, theatrical cry of pain, and the little girl began to sob hysterively. Within seconds, a crowd of onlookers gathered, whispering and pointing at me. “How could she lay a hand on a woman holding a baby?” “How vicious! No matter what the issue is, you don’t take it out on a child.” I stood there, my face freezing into a mask of pure ice. I pointed down at Amber. “She’s a homewrecker who destroyed my family. And I didn’t touch her. She threw herself down to play the victim. It’s just a cheap trick to secure her sugar daddy.” With that, I turned on my heel and walked out. Within half an hour, my phone was blowing up with calls from Ethan. Amber had obviously run to him crying. I refused to answer. Then, a flurry of texts came flooding in on Snapchat. “When did you get back? Why didn’t you wait for me to pick you up?” “You went too far today. What happened between Amber and me is my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame me.” “Where are you? I’ll come pick you up. Let’s sit down as a family and talk this out.” “Chloe, I want you to know something. No matter how many children Amber and I have, you will always be the most important woman in my heart. My love for you will never change.” I felt an overwhelming wave of nausea. In truth, the moment I returned, I had already instructed my lawyers to begin building a case against him. A moment later, a notification popped up on my phone. It was an alert for a loan approval. The loan amount was fifty million dollars. Over the past three years, Ethan had used my personal information, conspiring with corrupt bank managers to take out loans totaling one billion dollars behind my back. My lawyers had tracked the money trail. Every single cent of that one billion dollars had been transferred directly into Amber’s personal accounts. During those three years, he had spent money on her like water—buying her luxury sports cars, penthouses, and starting bidding wars at high-end charity galas just to put a smile on her face. In the beginning of my exile, I had tested him. I had called him, sobbing over the phone: “Ethan, our son has a raging fever. He’s incredibly sick, and there are no meds on this island. Please send some money so I can take him to a hospital.” He had simply sighed over FaceTime and said, “Boys need to build up their immune systems. Just use cold compresses. Chloe, to be honest with you, I’m so broke I can barely afford instant ramen right now. I don’t have a single penny.” “We have to be strong. We’ll get through these hard times together, okay?”

The very next day, I woke up with severe appendicitis. The pain was so agonizing I was rolling on the floor, sweating so heavily it felt like I had been pulled out of a lake. I didn’t even have the strength to hold my phone. My young son, Leo, had initiated a FaceTime call to Ethan, begging him to come save me and take me to a hospital. Ethan’s eyes showed a brief flicker of concern, but it quickly vanished. He simply told our son: “Just rub your mommy’s tummy. She’ll be fine in a bit. It’s probably just a mild stomach ache. She won’t die from it.” Then, he hung up in a hurry. After I collapsed and lost consciousness from the pain, Leo was absolutely terrified. He called Ethan again, crying. But all he got was a harsh scolding from his father: “Tell your mother to stop faking it!” When Leo tried to call back, the phone had been switched off. Appendicitis might be a routine issue, but the pain of a near-rupture is torturous. It was at that exact moment I realized: a husband who has had a change of heart is more terrifying than any monster. I screenshotted the loan notification and sent it to my lawyer via WhatsApp: “Secure this evidence. Prepare to file the lawsuit when I give the word.” I took a deep breath, calmed my racing heart, and went home to cook a beautiful four-course dinner. Christian was absolutely thrilled when he walked through the door. He didn’t even put down his briefcase before wrapping his arms around me and kissing my cheek. “Sweetheart, you’re too good to me. I definitely need to reward you tonight.” His idea of a “reward” always involved a very long, passionate night in our bedroom. He was utterly insatiable. I gave him a playful shove. “Behave yourself.” After some sweet, teasing banter, his expression turned serious as he got down to business. “Ethan sent me an invitation. He’s hosting a massive birthday bash for his daughter.” Our eyes met, and we both shared a knowing, cold smile. How could I possibly miss such a grand occasion? Two days later, Christian and I arrived together at the massive estate for the party. As we walked in, Christian had to step aside to take an urgent international conference call, so I went in ahead of him. I looked around the sprawling, French-style estate. It was located in the most expensive, exclusive neighborhood in the city. While Ethan was lying to me about being bankrupt, leaving a ton of rancid dog food for his wife and son to eat on a deserted island, he had dropped 1.5 billion dollars to outbid everyone else for this mansion. All because Amber liked it. A wave of absolute hatred crashed over me, making my steps firm and filled with quiet fury as I walked inside. As I entered the grand ballroom, Amber, dressed in a breathtaking custom gown and holding her daughter, spotted me immediately. A smug, mocking look flashed in her eyes as she sauntered over. “Look, sweetheart,” she said loudly, drawing the attention of nearby guests. “Your Auntie Chloe is here to wish you a happy birthday.” She raised her voice further, “Let’s ask Auntie Chloe what beautiful gift she brought for you today?” Her loud voice immediately drew Ethan over. When Ethan saw me, shock registered in his eyes, quickly followed by a patronizing look of relief. “I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses. Amber is generous enough not to hold what happened at the supermarket against you. It seems you’ve finally learned to control that nasty temper of yours. That’s a good step forward.” His eyes then landed on the vintage emerald necklace resting on my neck. His face darkened, and he spoke in a commanding, yet soft tone: “Give the necklace back to Amber. She’s been in poor health lately. I took her to see a spiritual master, and he said only this specific emerald can protect her energy.” “A beautiful piece like this should belong to someone who actually needs it. That’s how it holds true value.” “Be a good girl. I’m incredibly wealthy again now. I can buy you as many necklaces as you want.” “Amber is young. You’re the older, mature one. You should let her have this.” Let her have it? My mother’s necklace. He wanted me to give my own mother’s legacy to his mistress? I laughed, a sound dripping with pure rage. “Ethan, I’ve met shameless people in my life, but you take the crown!” “This necklace was left to me by my mother. You stole my property to give to your cheap side chick, and now you have the nerve to ask me to hand it over?!”

Amber immediately began to sob softly, looking as though I had subjected her to the ultimate cruelty. “Chloe, you called me a homewrecker and attacked me at the mall the other day. Today is Lily’s birthday party. I beg of you, stop throwing that word around to humiliate me, please?” “I can take the abuse, but I’m just so worried that your childish screaming will embarrass Ethan and his parents in front of all these high-profile guests.” I watched them both like I was watching a comedy show. “Oh, look. A shameless homewrecker suddenly cares about dignity. How fascinating.” “You!” Amber clutched her chest, gasping for air as if she were having a sudden medical emergency. Ethan’s face twisted in panic and rage. He lunged forward and grabbed the necklace on my neck, pulling it with brutal force. The sharp chain dug into my skin, and tears of pain welled up in my eyes. Amber chose this exact moment to pour more fuel on the fire. “Chloe said she would rather throw the necklace into the trash than let me have it. Ethan, can we just buy it from her instead?” Hearing this, Ethan lost his mind. He snatched the emerald necklace and slammed it violently onto the marble floor. With a sickening shatter, the precious emerald broke into several jagged pieces. I froze. For a second, I forgot how to breathe. I could literally hear the sound of my own heart breaking into pieces. Ethan roared at me: “A necklace! You’re throwing a tantrum over a stupid, useless necklace! Let’s see how you throw a tantrum now that it’s gone!” A primal fury took over me. With a wild cry, I lunged at Ethan, my nails clawing at his face. “You monster! Give me back my mother’s necklace! It was all I had left of her!” Amber rushed over, pretending to play the peacemaker while whispering maliciously in my ear: “Chloe, our husband is furious. You need to drop your attitude and do something to make him happy, okay?” “Oh, by the way, Chloe, there’s an old tradition in my hometown. The first time a stepmother meets the child, she has to let the baby spit her formula right in her face.” “It proves you’ll love the child unconditionally. Come on, kneel down, and let our sweet baby spit on your face. This is our husband’s precious daughter.” “If you do it, he won’t be mad at you anymore. Take my advice, kneel down.” My vision turned red. I raised my hand and slapped Amber across the face with all the strength I had. “You filthy, disgusting leech! You really want to die today, don’t you?!” “I’ll gladly oblige!” I threw her to the ground and began beating her furiously. The screams and chaos grew louder, drawing almost every single guest in the ballroom to circle around us. Ethan, burning with rage, violently yanked me off Amber and delivered a stinging slap across my face. “If you dare to act like a wild animal in my house again, I will ruin you!” Ethan’s parents, Richard and Victoria, came rushing through the crowd, pointing and screaming at me. “You crazy bitch! What kind of event is this?! How dare you make a scene here and humiliate the Miller family!” “Call the security guards! Throw this garbage out! She is a curse on our family. She should have been locked away on that deserted island forever. We never should have let her back!” Amber was helped up from the floor by her maids. She put on a saintly, pitiful expression. “Chloe clearly came here tonight just to ruin the party. Even if we throw her out, she’ll just find a way to sneak back in and cause more trouble.” “She’s so wild and aggressive, behaving no different from a stray dog. It’s terrifying. Why don’t we lock her in the dog cage in the basement first? We can let her out after our baby’s birthday party is over.” Without a single shred of hesitation, Ethan turned to his security team and barked: “Grab her! Lock her in the basement dog cage! No one is to let her out without my explicit permission!” On his command, two massive security guards grabbed my arms, pinning me down as they prepared to drag me to the basement. As I struggled with everything I had, a voice cut through the ballroom like ice—a voice that instantly brought me absolute peace. “If anyone dares to put my wife in a cage, I will personally destroy them.”

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My husband hates late. He doesn’t wait for anyone. Not even his wife. He made the rule the day we got married: Any fight over ten minutes, he walks out. No warning. No second chance. Today is our anniversary. I’m eleven weeks pregnant. Morning sickness put me three minutes behind at the gate. Three minutes. I look up and Alaric is already telling the crew to close the door. Willa is in my seat. Fourth time this month. First time, security held me two minutes. He flew Willa to the Maldives. Second time, my checkup ran over by five. He took her to the spa I booked. Third time, I couldn’t stand from the nausea. Ninety seconds late. His car pulled off without me. “You’re always late,” he says. “A seat’s a seat. Someone has to use it.” I stand in the empty terminal. Something rips inside me. My hands shake as I dial him. Busy. Again. Busy. Third try, he picks up. “Willa’s airsick. I can’t move. Call 911 yourself.” I look down. There’s a puddle of red at my feet. Bright. Wrong. I set the phone on the floor. Alaric. Your schedule never had a minute for me. So this time, I’m the one leaving you behind. … The paramedics get there fast. I can’t finish a sentence. They cut my pants off at the ankle. Soaked through. Onto the stretcher. “Family?” the nurse asks, gripping my wrist. “How far along? Any conditions?” “Eleven weeks. Husband’s on a plane.” “Baby’s father. Name. Can you reach him?” I close my eyes. “Don’t bother. He’s busy.” The phone rings. Alaric. I stare at it two seconds. Answer. “Iris. You called an ambulance?” His voice is low. In the background, Willa, soft and shaky. “Alaric, is Iris okay? Maybe we should turn around. I can handle it.” He doesn’t cover the mic. “She’s good at turning nothing into a crisis. Lie down.” Then to me, “Why an ambulance? The airport has a clinic. We’ve taken off. We’re not turning back.” My stomach cramps again. I bite down and wait it out. “The doctor said I could lose the baby.” Two seconds of silence. “Using the baby again? Really?” “Iris. You were the one who was late. If I rearrange my life every time you slip up, everyone will think my time is a joke.” Before, I would’ve cried. Begged him to believe me. Told him the pain was real. Now I just watch the nurse peel off another bloody pad. I don’t have the energy. Willa’s little voice floats through, “Ric, don’t be mad. Pregnant girls get emotional. She probably just wants you to comfort her.” His voice goes colder. “I don’t have time for your jealous games.” “Keep the receipts. I’ll cover the hospital when I’m back. Stop calling. Willa needs rest.” Click. I check the time. Exactly ten minutes. The nurse looks at me. Opens her mouth. Closes it. I flip the phone screen down. “Can you put it on silent?” … By the time the tests are done, it’s dark. The doctor slides the report across. “Threatened miscarriage. Strict bed rest. No stress. No movement.” “Will the baby make it?” “There’s still a heartbeat. That’s all I can promise. Can family come tonight?” I shake my head. Her jaw tightens. “You shouldn’t be alone. If you bleed heavily, hit the call button right away.” The door opens. Alaric’s assistant walks in wheeling Alaric’s suitcase. He lifts out a folded shawl. “Miss Grant left this at the airport. Mr. Vance is worried about the flight back being cold. He says you’re close to the airport. Wash it and drop it at the dry cleaner’s.” The doctor’s face goes flat. “She almost lost the baby an hour ago. And you brought her laundry?” The assistant shifts. “Mr. Vance said Madam’s good at taking care of these things. Miss Grant needs it before nine tomorrow. For the flight home.” His phone rings. Speaker. Alaric. “Delivered?” “Yes, sir. But the doctor says she can’t get out of bed.” “Then hire a courier. Iris, don’t drag this out. Willa needs her things.” I hand the shawl back. “Take it. I’m not her laundry service.” “What now?” he says, bored. “It’s a shawl.” My hand goes to my stomach. It’s still cramping. My voice comes out low. “You’re right. If it gets lost, it doesn’t matter.” The assistant reaches for the shawl. The suitcase tips. A prenatal folder slides out onto the floor. The name on the cover is Willa Grant. Bottom line, printed clean: Eight weeks pregnant.

“Willa’s pregnant?” I flip the folder open. A baby scan is tucked inside. The assistant’s face drains. He lunges for it. “Mrs. Vance, that’s Miss Grant’s private information.” “Then why is it in my husband’s suitcase?” “Mr. Vance just went with her to the appointment.” The phone’s still on speaker. Alaric cuts in, cold. “Willa hasn’t been feeling well. I took her to get checked. She’s not married. She doesn’t want people knowing. Don’t spread it around.” I look at the date on the scan. It’s the day of my first checkup. The day he promised to come with me. We got to the hospital. He said Willa’s car broke down. Told me to go in alone. I sat in that waiting room four hours. When I came out with my results, his phone was off. Same hospital. Same day. He was walking another woman through every scan on the other side of the wall. I ask it flat. “Whose baby is it?” “None of your business.” “You’re my husband.” His patience snaps. “That’s exactly why I’m telling you to drop it.” “Iris. You already have a baby. You don’t need to come after a girl with no one in the world.” “I asked whose baby it is.” Willa gasps like she just woke up. “Iris, please don’t get the wrong idea. Ric and I aren’t like that. I didn’t want my family finding out. He was just keeping it quiet for me.” “Then where’s the father?” Silence. Then she starts crying. Alaric drops his voice, soothing. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say.” He takes the phone back. All the warmth is gone. “Are you done? She just found out she’s pregnant. She can’t handle stress.” I look at the diagnosis on my bedside table. We’re both pregnant. Willa frowns and he panics. I bleed and he sends over her laundry. “Alaric. I can’t handle stress either.” “You’re fine, aren’t you?” It slips out. Both ends of the line go quiet. I don’t say another word. For the first time, I’m the one who hangs up. He doesn’t come back until the next afternoon. He doesn’t come to me first. He takes Willa home. Puts her to bed. Seven in the evening, the door swings open. He’s holding a takeout bag. “Willa said your appetite’s been bad. She wanted me to bring you something.” I glance at the label. Seafood risotto. Willa’s favorite. I’m allergic to shrimp. “Just leave it.” He sits by the bed. His eyes flick over my face. “What did the doctor say?” “Bed rest. To keep the baby.” “Family dinner is tomorrow night. We were going to announce your pregnancy. Since you can’t make it, Willa will sit in for you.” I stare at him. “She’s going as Mrs. Vance?” He tucks the blanket around me. His voice is almost soft. “Just the seat. Focus on getting better. Don’t make it a thing.” Next second, he pulls a document out of his briefcase. “Sign this. We’re announcing Project Skyline tomorrow. You can’t be there. We’ll list Willa as lead designer for now. After the launch, we switch it back.” I grip the paper. Project Skyline is my mother’s last work. Two years of my life to finish it. “Why can’t you just announce my name?” “You’re not showing up. That spooks the investors. Willa looks the part and she’ll be on time. She’s a better fit.” “It’s my design.” “I know.” He puts the pen in my hand. His thumb presses down on the back of mine. “We’re just borrowing her name. Don’t be difficult.” I pull my hand back. “I’m not signing.” His face goes blank. “Iris. The company isn’t your playhouse.” “You already blew up the flight schedule. Willa’s willing to clean up your mess. What more do you want?” He smooths the paper flat again. “Signed by nine. My assistant will pick it up.” I watch his back. “And if I don’t?” He stops in the doorway. “Every file on Project Skyline is at Vance Group. You don’t sign, I still get to decide who announces it.” He knows exactly what this project cost me. My hand closes into a fist. And I finally say it. “I want a divorce.” His step falters. He turns. His eyes are mocking. “Iris. Jealousy has a limit. Don’t take this somewhere you can’t come back from.” He says it like he’s said it a hundred times before. Like he knows I can’t leave him. But this time. I’m just tired.

The door opens. A nurse walks in with a lab report. “Family of Iris Sinclair? Her numbers are dropping again. She needs someone with her for the next twenty-four hours.” Alaric checks his watch. “I told Willa I’d have dinner with her at eight. I can’t be late.” I look at him. One last time. My voice shakes. “So she matters more than me.” “It’s not what you think.” The last of his patience is gone. His voice drops flat. “Willa’s on time. She has manners. She knows how to think about other people. If her father hadn’t died saving me, she wouldn’t be alone in this world.” “When are you going to learn to be like her?” He steps past the nurse and walks out. I’ve heard this speech before. Willa’s father was Alaric’s pilot. Ten years ago, engine failure. He shielded Alaric and didn’t make it out. Alaric has been paying that debt ever since. She wants the passenger seat, I get out. She wants the ticket, he leaves me at the airport. She wants my place, and he calls it making things right. I used to understand. But understanding doesn’t mean I have to be the doormat. Half an hour later, the nurse comes in to move me. They wheel me out of the private room and into a six-bed ward. On the TV mounted to the wall, Vance Group’s press launch is streaming live. Willa is wearing my dress. Standing in front of the model of the cabin I designed. The host smiles. “Miss Grant, I hear this is a gift for your baby on the way?” Willa touches her stomach. Shy little smile. “Something like that. Ric helped me revise it so many times. He said our baby deserves the safest sky in the world.” The room goes loud. Someone shouts a congratulations. Someone else asks if there’s a wedding coming. Alaric doesn’t correct anyone. He just adjusts her mic and says, easy, “The fact that she’s up here says everything.” Applause. The women in the beds around me look over. “Isn’t that your husband?” “No, that’s his wife, isn’t it? She’s pregnant.” I reach for the remote. My hand is shaking too hard to hit the button. The woman next to me switches it off. “Honey. Don’t watch.” My phone buzzes. Alaric. [Launch went great. If you’d cooperated, none of this would look so ugly.] An electronic authorization form is attached. My name is already on it. I call him. “Who signed for me? That’s forgery.” “The launch can’t stop for you. Willa signed on your behalf. When you calm down, legal will clean it up.” My stomach knots. “Stop the launch. Put out a correction.” “Do you have any idea how much Vance Group loses if we pull it now?” “It was my mother’s work.” “That’s why I turned it into something worth more.” He pauses. His tone softens on cue. “Stop this. I’ll come see you tonight. Text my assistant what you want to eat.” Something inside me curls up small. He always does this. A crumb of kindness. And I’m supposed to forget everything. Then Willa’s voice comes through, sharp and thrilled. “Ric! I think I just felt the baby move!” Alaric snaps to attention. “You’re only eight weeks. It’s too early to feel anything. Are you in pain? I’ll take you to the hospital right now.” He doesn’t even hang up. I hear his footsteps hurrying away. Car door. Willa laughing softly. Him telling her to breathe. The line finally cuts. The nurse rushes in with a chart. “Iris? The contractions are getting worse. We need family consent, now.” I look at the black screen of my phone. I set it face down on the blanket. The bleeding won’t stop. The pain is climbing. I already know what she’s going to say next. The doctor comes in behind her, quiet. “Iris. The bleeding isn’t slowing. If we wait, we’re going to lose you too.” “You need to make a decision. Now.” Every choice already made. Every door already closed. Every minute he wouldn’t wait. There isn’t a heartbeat left to save. I look at the doctor. My voice is steady. “End the pregnancy. Save me.” She hesitates. “You’re sure? Once we start.” “I’m sure.” “He doesn’t get to be a father. Not to my child.”

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The night of my twenty-fourth birthday, I wanted to invite my fiancé to dance the opening waltz. I went to the lounge to find Adrian Vance, but stopped outside the door when I heard him talking to a friend. “You clearly want to ride Isabella Moretti’s coattails to the top,” his friend said. “So why have you let her be humiliated at her own birthday party five years in a row? Watching everyone laugh at her like she’s some lovesick fool chasing after you—doesn’t that bother you at all?” Adrian’s voice was lazy. “A little.” He let out a short laugh. “But what can I do? Lily throws such a fit. I lost a bet to her.” “A bet?” “The deal was, I’d make Isabella lose face at her birthday party for six years straight. Not a year less—Lily wouldn’t have it any other way.” Adrian swirled his glass. “Isabella is the Moretti heir. Who would actually dare laugh at her? Tonight’s year six. Next year, I’ll propose to her at her birthday.” I stood outside the door, my fingers going cold inch by inch. Adrian loosened the tie from his neck. It was the engagement token I’d embroidered by hand. On the underside, hidden in the weave, was the Moretti family crest. He ran his thumb over the hidden pattern, amusement in his voice. “This tie—I’ll give it to Lily’s Gentleman later. She’ll be thrilled.” His friend went still. “Gentleman? Lily’s golden retriever?” “Yes.” Adrian’s voice dripped with indulgence. “If I don’t humor her, she’ll get another headache. Little Princess Lily can’t handle being upset.” I didn’t listen any further. I turned and walked away. When my grandfather, Vincent Moretti, handed me the family, he said one thing to me. “Bella, the Boss of the Moretti family is allowed to be weak for love no more than five times in a lifetime.” I had been weak for five years. In the sixth year, the engagement tie I’d embroidered with my own hands was about to be put on a dog. So this engagement was over. Ten minutes later, the birthday gala began. I stood at the top of the second-floor staircase. Adrian sat at the head table. Lily Vale wore a red dress and sat beside him. The golden retriever circled at their feet. “Gentleman, come here.” Adrian beckoned. The dog trotted over. In front of everyone, Adrian removed the deep blue tie and knotted it around the dog’s neck, finishing it off with a perfect Windsor. The ballroom went silent for a beat. Everyone recognized that tie. It was the engagement token given by the Moretti heir. It had no business being on a dog. Lily covered her mouth and laughed, leaning into Adrian. “Adrian, look—doesn’t he look like a proper little gentleman now?” “He really does.” Adrian stroked the dog’s head, smiling tenderly. Then he looked up at me. In the past, I would have confronted Lily on the spot. Adrian would have called me unreasonable, said I was using the Moretti name to bully her. And in the end, everyone would have waited for me to apologize. But now I knew who was really humiliating me. I gathered the hem of my gown and descended the staircase. The crowd parted. I walked straight to Adrian. Lily shrank behind him. Adrian frowned and shielded her with his body. “Isabella, it’s your birthday.” His voice was a warning. “Don’t make a scene.” I didn’t look at him. I looked only at the dog. “That’s a nice color on that tie,” I said evenly. “It suits the dog’s coat.” Adrian’s face went rigid. Lily’s smile vanished. “What did you just say?” Adrian’s voice dropped low. “I said it suits him.” I picked up a glass of red wine from a waiter’s tray and raised it toward him. “Since Mr. Vance enjoys this sort of thing, consider the tie my gift to the dog.” I turned and walked toward the head table. Behind me, Adrian shot to his feet. His chair scraped against the floor. “Isabella, don’t you walk away from me!” I didn’t stop. For Adrian Vance, I had already used up every one of the five hesitations my grandfather allowed me. In the sixth year, he fed my handmade token to a dog. These six years of engagement were finished.

After the gala ended, I returned to the penthouse apartment where Adrian had been staying. The apartment was originally prepared by the Moretti family as our future marital home. For the past several years, Adrian had lived there. The unit, the car, the security system, even the bespoke suits in his walk-in closet—all paid for with Moretti money. I gathered the work files from the coffee table into my briefcase and prepared to leave. The door swung open. Adrian walked in reeking of alcohol. He carried the scent of Lily’s gardenia perfume, and his expression was ice-cold. He yanked open his collar and tossed his jacket onto the sofa. “What was that attitude of yours at the gala tonight?” “No attitude. I simply told the truth.” “The truth?” He sneered. “Lily was just having fun. She likes the dog and thought the tie was pretty. Did you really have to embarrass her in front of all those people?” He lit a cigarette. “Do you know how long she cried tonight? She kept blaming herself, saying it was all her fault you were unhappy.” I looked at him. “Adrian, it was my birthday party.” “And?” He exhaled smoke. “You’re the Moretti princess. You have everything. Lily only has me. I was just making her happy for one moment, and you can’t even tolerate that?” Footsteps sounded outside the door. Lily walked in wearing one of Adrian’s oversized spare shirts, her eyes red-rimmed. “Adrian, please don’t fight with her because of me.” She tugged at his sleeve. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have thought the tie was pretty. I’ve just never seen anything so exquisite before.” Adrian immediately took her hand. The look he gave me turned even colder. “Did you hear that? She’s still defending you.” I looked at their interlocked fingers. Six years of devotion—it had all been a joke. “There’s another dozen ties in the entryway cabinet,” I said. “All gifts I gave you before. You can have them. Along with this apartment—consider it yours to stay in for now.” Adrian blinked, then smirked. “Isabella, are you pulling the running-away-from-home act again?” He looked at me with contempt. “Last time, you came crawling back in tears begging me to let you stay.” Lily lowered her head, the corner of her mouth curling ever so slightly. “Please don’t be angry, I’ll leave right now…” She turned to rush out. As she passed the coffee table, she deliberately clipped its corner. “Ah!” She cried out in pain and collapsed toward Adrian. Adrian caught her, then whipped around to snarl at me. “Why did you move the table so far out? Did you do this on purpose?” That table hadn’t been moved a single inch since the day it was delivered. I couldn’t be bothered to explain. Adrian carried Lily to the sofa and examined her knee. There was nothing but a faint red mark. “I’ll get the first-aid kit.” Adrian stood. As he passed me, his shoulder slammed hard into mine. I was wearing heels. My ankle twisted and I pitched sideways into the cabinet. My temple struck the corner. Searing pain exploded. Blood ran down my brow bone, dripping one drop at a time onto the floor. Adrian glanced back. “Stop faking it.” He frowned. “I barely touched you. Go get Lily an ice pack—her leg matters more.” I pressed my hand to my forehead. Blood seeped between my fingers. On the sofa, Lily watched me. Her eyes were pure provocation. I braced myself against the cabinet and stood upright. Without looking at either of them again, I walked out. The cold night air hit my face. Adrian would never know. In that moment, he had severed the very last thread connecting him to the Moretti family.

The next day. Top-floor boardroom, Moretti Group. I sat at the head of the table, white gauze taped to my forehead. The boardroom doors opened. Adrian walked in with Lily trailing behind, clutching a stack of files. He was the general manager of a Moretti subsidiary. Lily was his assistant. Adrian noticed the gauze on my forehead and his stride faltered. “What happened?” he asked, irritation in his voice. I opened the financial report. “Let’s begin, Mr. Vance. Everyone’s time is valuable.” Adrian’s face darkened. He sat down across from me. Halfway through the presentation, Lily reached over to hand Adrian his coffee. Her hand slipped. Scalding coffee splashed across the original financial statement in front of him. “I’m so sorry, Adrian, I didn’t mean to…” She immediately grabbed napkins to blot it, tears already falling. Adrian pressed her hand down. “It’s fine. It’s just a document. Don’t burn yourself.” Then he looked at me, his tone perfectly matter-of-fact. “Isabella, have your secretary reprint this.” I capped my pen. “Mr. Vance, this document has been verified by every relevant department. It bears the personal signatures and security codes of our partners’ senior executives. It is the sole authorized original. Digital backups cannot replace its legal validity.” Adrian waved his hand impatiently. “Then have the team redo the whole process. Lily was up until midnight organizing data—it was just a slip. Show some understanding.” No one in the boardroom spoke. I raised my eyes to him. “This is a workplace. Please keep the discussion professional.” “Isabella, are you targeting Lily again?” Adrian slammed the coffee-soaked document on the table. “It’s just a report. You’re supposed to be my fiancée—can’t you be the bigger person for once?” Lily stepped forward with reddened eyes. “Boss Moretti, this is all my fault. Please don’t blame Adrian… I’ll redo it right now.” As she spoke, she bent to pick up papers from the floor, letting her body sway deliberately. Adrian immediately steadied her and hissed at me: “Enough! Look at yourself right now. Where’s any of the grace a Moretti heir should have? Lily’s health is fragile—if you scare her into an episode, are you going to take responsibility?” I pressed the intercom. “Send security up.” Adrian froze. “What are you doing?” Two security officers pushed through the doors. I looked at Lily. “Lily Vale has committed gross negligence, destroying a critical corporate document and creating significant risk for the Group. She is terminated effective immediately.” Then I looked at Adrian. “Adrian Vance has blurred professional boundaries and disrupted a senior executive meeting. Effective today, all his duties are suspended. He is to go home and reflect.” Adrian let out a disbelieving laugh. “Isabella, you’d stoop to this just to make me bow? Fine. I’ll go. Let’s see who pushes the South Harbor project forward without me.” He grabbed Lily’s hand. “Lily, we’re leaving.” Lily glanced back at me, triumph flickering in her eyes. At the door, Adrian stopped. “When you learn how to be a proper fiancée, you can come beg me to come back.” The door slammed shut behind him. The wound on my forehead throbbed faintly. I fed the ruined document into the shredder and opened the next item on the agenda. “Meeting continues.” Three days later. Outside the VIP ward at City General Hospital. My grandfather’s attending physician stood before me, his expression grave. “Miss Moretti, Don Vincent’s condition is critical. He needs bypass surgery immediately. But Professor Gray is attending a classified military conference out of state—all communications are restricted.” The doctor paused. “We’ve confirmed that Mr. Vance’s private jet has special route clearances on file. It’s currently the fastest way to bring Professor Gray back.” I took out my phone. My fingertips were shaking. I dialed Adrian’s number. First attempt—he rejected the call. Second attempt—no answer. Third attempt—he finally picked up. On the other end, there was music and the sound of a crowd cheering. “What?” Adrian’s voice was clipped with impatience. “Adrian, Grandpa’s had a cardiac arrest. He’s in emergency surgery. He needs your plane to pick up Professor Gray.” I forced myself to stay calm. “I’m begging you. Arrange it now.” The line went quiet for a few seconds. Then Lily’s voice came through. “Adrian, who is it? Aren’t we supposed to go see the meteor shower tonight? If the plane gets sent away, we won’t be able to go… I’ve never seen a meteor shower in my whole life.” Adrian’s voice turned gentle, coaxing. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart.” A moment later, his voice came back, clear and cold. “Isabella, knock it off. This trick isn’t going to work.” I gripped the phone. “I’m not playing tricks! Grandpa is really in emergency surgery!” “Emergency surgery?” He scoffed. “Last month you said Don Vincent’s blood pressure was high. Last week you said you cut your hand slicing fruit. Isabella, the same routine loses its effect after the third time.” “Adrian, this is a human life.” “Enough.” He cut me off. “If you want me back, just say so. Don’t use an elder’s health to put on a show. I’m busy.” The call disconnected. The red light above the operating room stayed on. I held my phone, my back against the cold wall.

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I turned down the arranged marriage with the Godfather of House Soros and insisted on marrying the man I’d fallen for at first sight. But on the day we were supposed to get our marriage license, Lucas pulled up the cancellation screen for the whole room to see. Before I could even process what was happening, his friends were already doubled over laughing. “Diana, you’re that desperate to marry Lucas?” “We started a bet yesterday on how long it’d take you to figure it out.” “Didn’t expect you to not only miss it, but show up all dolled up too.” “You didn’t seriously think just because Lucas said yes, you had nothing to worry about?” Lucas smiled, careless and unbothered. “You’re too clingy. If I don’t teach you a lesson now, you’ll just keep trying to control me after the wedding. Marrying me isn’t that easy.” A clerk came over and said: “Ma’am, we close in fifteen minutes. There’s one last time slot available for reschedulinging—please hurry.” My best friend was right there laughing at me too. “Even the staff can tell how desperate you are to get married!” “Hurry up and rescheduling before our Lucas changes his mind!” I shook off the hand Lucas extended toward me, calmly rescheduling the last available slot, and sent a voice message to Edward, the Godfather of House Soros. “Get to the registry office with your documents in ten minutes, and I’ll marry you.” … After I got my queue number, I sat down far away from all of them. Three years ago, Edward and I had seriously discussed an alliance marriage. Both families had approved. But then I met Lucas. Seeing me sit so far away, Lucas quickly walked over. “Diana, stop being unreasonable.” “If we can’t do it today, we’ll do it next time. Don’t throw a tantrum at me.” I pulled my hand back and confronted him publicly for the first time. “I’m being unreasonable?” “Who cancelled the appointment yesterday?” “Who hid it from me and only told me right before closing?” “All of you knew. I was the only one kept in the dark, and now I’m the unreasonable one?” It was the first time I’d ever lost my temper. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances. I kept going. “Last month—who hid my birthday present in a bar locker and let me search for three hours?” “Who turned our third anniversary dinner into a guys’ night and left me sitting alone with cold food until midnight?” “And the trip—who gave me a fake flight number so I’d wait at the airport until dawn?” “You mess with me over and over, watching me break down—is that fun for you?” Lucas frowned, looking annoyed, as if I were the one being childish. “It was just a joke. Do you really need to interrogate me like I’m on trial?” “Everyone came here today in good spirits to celebrate with us, and you have to dig up all this old stuff?” I wrenched free of his hand and let out a cold laugh. “Came here in good spirits—to watch us get married, or to watch me make a fool of myself? You know the answer.”

Lucas’s face darkened. His friends shifted uncomfortably. After a brief silence, they all chimed in again. “Diana, at the end of the day, you obviously still care about Lucas!” “It’s not like we caused any real harm—why are you so worked up?” “Lucas just wanted to test you. You’re always so clingy—everyone was just having a bit of fun!” One of the girls sidled closer to Lucas and murmured, “Lucas, Diana’s got quite the temper.” I looked at Lucas. “So cancelling the appointment, making me a laughingstock—that was all your idea?” He nodded, utterly indifferent. “Yeah.” “You’ve been confirming wedding details with me every single day. It was stressing me out.” “I just wanted you to understand—even after we’re married, you can’t make me your whole world. It’s exhausting for both of us.” By the end, he’d already looked away. I smiled bitterly. Suddenly, the past three years felt absurd. “Don’t worry. I won’t be paying attention to you anymore.” Lucas’s brow twitched at that. His friends immediately jumped in to back him up. “Exactly, Diana. I know you’ve been scouting wedding venues, but going back and forth on the dress design and the invitation wording—you really are too eager to marry Lucas.” “He was just joking. You’re way too petty.” Lucas nodded, his lazy smile restored. “You really need to fix that about yourself. If your reactions weren’t so entertaining, we wouldn’t keep messing with you.” “And honestly—handle the wedding stuff on your own. Stop bothering me with every little thing.” I lowered my eyes. Every time they’d pranked me over these three years, Lucas would hold me afterward and comfort me. He’d say his friends meant no harm. That they joked around with me because they didn’t see me as an outsider. I thought it was because he cared. Now I understood—the comfort was just to set me up for the next time. I looked at this group of people and spoke coldly. “The only reason you dare treat me like this is because you know Lucas doesn’t actually care about me.” No one answered. The smile slid off Lucas’s face. Only Cindy, my best friend, seemed to sense the shift in me. She tugged timidly at my sleeve. “Diana, I’m sorry. I thought you wouldn’t mind…” “They said they’d rebook right away—that it wouldn’t cause any real problems.” “Lucas said you’d definitely get the license in the end. That’s the only reason I went along with it.” I brushed her hand away. “I heard your apology. But I don’t forgive you.” Cindy went pale. My phone screen lit up. Edward had shared his live location. “I’ve left the estate. Nine minutes out.” I sat back down in the waiting area.

I was still watching the registry office doors when my mother called. “Diana, how’s everything going today?” Her voice was bright and cheerful. “I started prepping ingredients at six this morning. The housekeeper offered to help but I wouldn’t let her—I made Lucas’s favorite grilled fish.” “Your cinnamon apple pie is already in the oven too, and your father prepared venison.” “Finish up quickly and come home for lunch.” I was silent for two seconds, trying to keep my voice normal. “Mom, things aren’t done here yet.” A pause on the other end. She asked carefully: “Did something come up with Lucas?” My eyes stung. Lucas’s family was never a match for ours. Edward had been the original arrangement. All these years, because I’d loved Lucas so recklessly, my mother had lowered herself again and again. It only made his family think we were pushovers. To make him treat me a little better, she was always this cautious—afraid that one wrong move would make him love me less. Our family had my brother as heir. Father was strict with him and gave all his indulgence to me. I made up my mind: I would never again let my parents lose face because of me. “Mom, it’s nothing serious. Just a scheduling issue with the appointment.” “If lunch is ready, go ahead and eat with Dad and my brother.” She paused for two seconds, then said with forced cheer: “It’s fine if you can’t make it back.” “I can always cook again.” “If he wants to be with his friends, don’t rush him—you don’t want everyone feeling uncomfortable.” “If it’s really taking too long, let Lucas go ahead with his friends. I can always make more food.” I heard my father’s voice asking something in the background. It was just bringing a boyfriend home for a meal, and still they wanted to give me the very best. Because they loved me, they loved the person I loved. Lucas had appeared behind me at some point. He took the phone right out of my hand. “It’s Lucas.” “Diana’s just throwing a little fit. It’s nothing.” “We’ve got something going on here—probably can’t make it for lunch. I’ll definitely come with her next time.” My mother said yes immediately, repeatedly. “No problem, no problem at all. Young people have their own circles.” “Do you have many friends there? Should I send some food over?” Before she could finish, Lucas hung up impatiently. If it weren’t for me, someone from his minor family would never dare treat my mother that way. Mark laughed loudly from behind. “Your mom’s really something, isn’t she?” “She’d do anything to marry her daughter off to Lucas.” “Why not just let Lucas inherit your family’s estate—how embarrassing!” Cindy couldn’t take it anymore and pushed back quietly. “Mark, that’s enough. Diana’s mom has always been good to everyone. Don’t go too far.” Mark scoffed and pointed at me. “Good to us? That’s just so she can marry her daughter off to Lucas!” “Some old woman calling to play the victim, all to sell off her daughter!” I shot to my feet and slapped Mark hard across the face. “Shut your mouth!” “Who gave you permission to insult my mother? You think your family won’t disappear from this city by tomorrow?” Mark stood there stunned. Lucas grabbed him and pulled him back, his expression completely dark. “Diana, are you done?” “Over a few jokes, you’re going to threaten my friend?” He took a deep breath, reached over to smooth my crumpled collar, and softened his tone. “Let’s end it here today.” “Don’t tell your mom about the cancelled appointment. Our family still has business to discuss with your brother. I’ll go apologize in person another day—you don’t want your mother worrying about you, do you?” This entitled, patronizing attitude was nauseating. His consideration was always built on burying my pain. Every time his friends started something, I was the one who ended up apologizing. But not once—not ever—had he made any of them genuinely apologize for what they’d done to me. The last trace of warmth in my chest went cold. My phone screen lit up. Mom had sent a photo of her prep table, vegetables and garnishes arranged neatly. Below it, one line: “No rush. Mom will wait for you to come home and eat together.” I replied, expression hard: “Don’t worry. I’ll be home on time with someone for lunch.”

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Serena was sitting on my husband’s lap, laughing as she pressed a kiss to his lips. “I don’t think Valentina will file for divorce. She’s a parasite—she wouldn’t dare.” Lorenzo raised an eyebrow, stubbed out his cigar, then suddenly pulled her in for a deep kiss. I stood just outside the door, shaking all over. It hit me then—they’d called me here on purpose. They wanted to see my reaction. But I was even more pathetic than they imagined. I couldn’t even bring myself to walk in. Instead, I made a phone call. To Serena’s husband. “Serena’s drunk. She’s at the Triumph Club. You should come get her.” Alessandro Greco—a man who’d once gone to prison for slashing someone in broad daylight. He should be braver than me. “Who’s she drinking with?” His voice carried a cold edge. “Friends. All men. You’d better get here fast.” Alessandro said okay. Said he’d be right there. I hung up and turned to leave. Serena had once bragged to me: “Alessandro looks like a pushover, but he nearly killed a man for me once.” “And ever since, he never goes anywhere without his knife.” I’d barely reached the club entrance when my phone rang. Lorenzo. His tone was casual, lazy. “You’re already here, aren’t you.” I moved my lips but said nothing. He continued: “The doorman said you stood outside watching for a while. Heard everything?” I let out a quiet “Mm.” Lorenzo laughed. “Pathetic.” He was right. Everyone knew I was pathetic. Back in school, all I ever did was trail behind Lorenzo. If he hadn’t looked out for me, I might not have even finished university. “Don’t tell me you didn’t even dare come inside?” “Playing ostrich isn’t much fun, you know.” People were egging him on in the background, their laughter shameless and unbridled. Then Serena chimed in, all smiles: “If I’d known you were this afraid of losing him, we wouldn’t have bothered hiding it from you.” “Though I have to say, doing it behind your back—what a rush.” “Your husband—I’ve had a taste on your behalf. Excellent in every department.” “So I’ll just be keeping him, okay?” “Serena, if you keep going, she’s going to cry.” “Lorenzo, aren’t you going to comfort her?” This time it was Lorenzo, uncharacteristically serious: “Cut it out. If she cries later, I’ll have to deal with it.” “Valentina’s not like you—she’s much easier to soothe. Don’t bully her.” Then he took the phone back, and his voice became clearer: “Where are you? I’ll come find you. It’s hard to get a cab around here.” I looked down the corridor. I saw him holding up his phone, freezing for a moment when he spotted me, then hanging up. The expression on Lorenzo’s face was one of satisfaction—even a flicker of cruel enjoyment. He walked over, ruffled my hair carelessly: “She’s not like you. You’re the legitimate Mrs. Rossi—what are you crying for?” “Relax, I’m not going to divorce you.” But just then, Serena stumbled out, one hand pressed to her forehead. She staggered with precision, colliding right into Lorenzo’s arms. Lorenzo immediately wrapped his arm around her waist, his palm flat against her bare skin. Serena tilted her head against his chest, lifted her eyelids, and glanced at me: “Lorenzo, my head hurts. They were forcing drinks on me in there.” “Take me back. Valentina already knows anyway—there’s no point hiding it anymore.” “She won’t mind. Right?” On those last two words, she looked straight at me. The challenge in her eyes was brazen. Just then, a message from Alessandro appeared on my phone, asking for the club’s address. I sent him the location. After sending it, I looked up and fixed my gaze on Lorenzo: “What if I do mind?” Lorenzo’s face softened with something like reluctance. He tried to push her away. But Serena clung to him like wet clay. “We’ve already done it so many times. What’s with the gentleman act now?” She laughed and cursed, then turned to me: “Didn’t you say it yourself? That Valentina’s like a dead fish in bed—no fun at all!” Lorenzo shot me a nervous glance: “That was just a joke. I was just playing along with her.” My nails dug into my palms. I let out a thin, weightless “Oh.” “Then let me go with you to drop her off.” “What did you just say?” Serena asked in disbelief. I lifted my head and looked at them both steadily: “You have a headache, don’t you? Lorenzo and I will take you back.” I pulled her firmly toward me, forcing her to lean against my shoulder instead. Lorenzo froze for a moment at my gesture, then seemed almost amused. He reached over and tapped the tip of my nose: “Oh? Finally willing to get jealous? A little temper looks good on you.” His gestures and words were intimate, as if nothing had happened at all. It made my skin crawl—but I let nothing show. In high school, I’d been cornered in the bathroom by the school bully’s girlfriend, who shredded my clothes with scissors. I’d worn this same expression then, too. It was Lorenzo who warned that girl off for me. At the time, he’d frowned at me for a long while, then pulled off his school jacket and draped it over my shoulders: “You should have more of a backbone.” Later, that girl never came back to school. Lorenzo assumed it was because of him. He never knew it was because I’d made sure her father found out about what was going on between her and the bully’s dad. I was happy to let Lorenzo play the hero. So I never told him the truth.

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At my daughter’s seventh birthday party, I was just about to call for her father to come cut the cake. Instead, Vito Romano shoved me away in front of everyone. “Don’t call me that. I’m not her father!” He slammed a DNA paternity report down on the table. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. My adoptive parents slapped me across the face right there. Alessia—the “real daughter” they’d just welcomed home—shrank into my husband’s arms, eyes red, playing innocent: “I’m so sorry, Sofia. I only mentioned in passing that Bella doesn’t look like your husband. I never thought he’d actually go and get it tested…” From that day on, I was branded a whore. And Bella became the bastard child everyone spat on. Then my husband filed for divorce. For my daughter’s sake, I swallowed my pride and went to beg him—just one more DNA test. But instead, I overheard him talking to a friend: “You faked a DNA report to humiliate your wife for Alessia’s sake, stamped Bella as a bastard—aren’t you worried your wife and kid will actually leave?” His voice was breezy, indifferent: “Why would I worry? My in-laws know the DNA test was forged.” “She’s the fake daughter who stole all those years of Alessia’s life. Once Alessia feels like things are even, I’ll just remarry Sofia. Simple.” “Sofia can’t survive without me. Even after the divorce, she’ll wait.” I thought of Bella crying, asking me if Daddy really didn’t want her anymore. I clenched my fists so hard my nails broke the skin of my palms. The next day, I didn’t cry. I didn’t make a scene. I went to city hall with him and signed the divorce papers calmly. What he didn’t know was that the moment I walked out of that building, I turned around and picked up another marriage certificate. Standing outside his door, listening to Vito’s careless words, I could barely keep my legs beneath me. His friend tried to say something more, but Vito cut him off with a low laugh. “Relax. When the time comes, I’ll just act like I didn’t know. I’ll say the hospital made a mistake. She’ll come crawling back on her own.” I braced myself against the wall, a spasm of pain twisting through my chest. Just hours earlier, Bella had come home from school in tears. Her uniform—the one she always kept so neat—was caked in mud, her knees scraped raw and bloody. I called her teacher. The voice on the other end was ice-cold, demanding we transfer schools: “Bella’s mother, do you really need me to spell it out? When a parent’s personal life is this disgraceful, when it’s all anyone talks about—every child in that school knows your daughter is some man’s illegitimate mistake. The other parents have serious concerns, and frankly, we’re in a very difficult position.” I hung up and held my trembling daughter, my heart splitting open. She looked up at me, her small face streaked with tears: “Mommy, if I really am Daddy’s daughter… would he love me again?” For that one sentence, I threw away every last shred of dignity and came to find Vito. To beg him for one more DNA test. I never imagined I’d overhear something so vile instead. In his eyes, publicly forging a DNA test to humiliate me was nothing—a trivial inconvenience. The shame and abuse Bella and I endured was just a performance he’d staged to please another woman. Even my adoptive parents—who’d always sworn they loved me most—were accomplices in his little play. In his eyes, publicly forging a DNA test to humiliate me was nothing—a trivial inconvenience. The shame and abuse Bella and I endured was just a performance he’d staged to please another woman. Even my adoptive parents—who’d always sworn they loved me most—were accomplices in his little play. I shut my eyes against the pain. Behind the door, their laughter continued. His friend seemed to feel a twinge of guilt: “But what about Bella? I saw her earlier—a bunch of kids were screaming ‘bastard’ at her and she ran out of school crying. You’re really okay with her suffering like that? If she ever finds out the truth, she might never forgive you.” Vito’s tone dripped with the arrogance of a man convinced he held all the cards: “Kids forget fast. A little suffering never hurt anyone. Besides, she’s my biological daughter—blood is thicker than water. You really think she’d disown her own father?” I dug my nails deeper into my palms, but I couldn’t feel the pain. Before, I would have kicked that door open and demanded answers. But this time, I simply turned around. This divorce was happening. No matter what.

I packed a few changes of clothes, took Bella by the hand, and went back to the Romano estate. Every other time I’d come home, my adoptive parents would come out smiling before I even reached the door. This time, my adoptive mother’s voice was thick with disgust: “What are you doing here?” “Mom… I have nowhere to go. I just need to stay one night with Bella.” She sneered. “The Romano estate isn’t a homeless shelter. Don’t bring your bad luck in here.” My chest tightened. Bella peeked out from behind me, timid and small: “Grandpa! Grandma!” Her voice was soft and sweet, just like always—waiting for them to scoop her up. Their faces remained stone-cold: “Don’t call us that. We don’t have trashy relatives like you.” It hit me like a blow to the head. I stood rooted to the spot. A few days apart, and we’d gone from adopted daughter to not even worth claiming as distant family? I still remembered when my adoptive father used to lift me over his head and declare that Sofia was the jewel of the Romano family. My adoptive mother used to brag to everyone about how accomplished her adopted daughter was. But ever since Alessia came back, their love for me vanished overnight. The family businesses I managed were stripped away, one by one. The connections I’d painstakingly built were transferred to Alessia’s name, piece by piece. At the time, I’d told myself it made sense—Alessia was their real daughter. Compensating her was only natural. Now I finally understood. They resented me. They resented me for being the cuckoo in their nest, for living the life that should have been Alessia’s. Vito’s cruel words still echoed in my ears. To make Alessia feel better, they’d sanctioned that entire charade—that public humiliation—and ground me and Bella beneath their heels without a shred of mercy. I swallowed the emotions churning inside me and tested the waters: “What if… that DNA test was wrong? What if the results were falsified?” My adoptive mother paused. “The evidence is right there. You still want to argue?” I swallowed the emotions churning inside me and tested the waters: “What if… that DNA test was wrong? What if the results were falsified?” My adoptive mother paused. “The evidence is right there. You still want to argue?” My adoptive father fixed me with a cold stare: “Everyone saw it. You’ve already dragged the Romano name through the mud. If a DNA test isn’t proof enough, what do you want? Do we need to catch you in bed with someone before you’ll admit it?” A bone-deep chill spread through me. They knew. They knew all of it was fake. And still, they stood there cursing me with that same venom, nailing me to the pillar of shame. My adoptive father frowned, his tone dripping with condescension: “Fine. If you really want to stay here, then tomorrow you’ll issue a public statement. Admit that you were unfaithful during your marriage. Admit that Bella is not Vito’s child. Then you’ll step down from all core family positions and transfer your shares to Alessia. Unconditionally.” I could barely believe my ears. My voice shook: “You want me to admit what? Bella is not a bastard!” My adoptive mother didn’t even look up: “A counterfeit raising offspring—what else would you call it but counterfeit?” Something in my mind went white with static. Something inside me shattered completely. Just then, footsteps sounded from upstairs. Alessia descended, eyes rimmed with red, looking for all the world like a startled deer: “Dad, Mom, please don’t do this…” She turned to me, voice gentle. “Sofia, I know you’re hurting. But Mom and Dad are getting older, and the family has a reputation to protect. You can’t drag everyone down because of your personal life. Just apologize, and once this all blows over, we’ll still be family.” She bent down to look at Bella, eyes full of manufactured sympathy: “As for whether the child is really Vito’s… Vito is such a good man, I’m sure he won’t hold it against you.” Before I could respond, my adoptive parents had already lost patience. They ordered the bodyguards to throw my things out: “We raised you for twenty years. We were willing to let you keep some dignity. Since you won’t admit your wrongs—don’t ever come back to the Romano family again.”

It was late when we left the Romano estate. Bella was curled up in my arms, eyes swollen, not making a sound. I stroked her hair, assuming she was simply exhausted from crying, and hurried to find somewhere to stay. By the time I stood in the hotel lobby, I looked like an absolute wreck. “A suite, please.” I handed over the supplementary credit card. The receptionist swiped it, then looked up. “I’m sorry, ma’am. This card has been frozen.” My stomach dropped. I dug out my own bank card. Only to discover that my personal savings had been transferred out too. My fingertips went cold. I felt nothing but revulsion. Vito was willing to go that far. He didn’t just want me to grovel—he wanted to cut off every escape route I had. The receptionist’s tone was flat: “Miss, would you still like a room?” My throat constricted. I called my closest friend: “Can you lend me some money? Or book a room for me? I just need somewhere for Bella and me to stay tonight.” My fingertips went cold. I felt nothing but revulsion. Vito was willing to go that far. He didn’t just want me to grovel—he wanted to cut off every escape route I had. The receptionist’s tone was flat: “Miss, would you still like a room?” My throat constricted. I called my closest friend: “Can you lend me some money? Or book a room for me? I just need somewhere for Bella and me to stay tonight.” Two seconds of silence. Then her voice dropped low: “Sofia, it’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s just—my family is in the middle of negotiating a deal with the Romanos right now. This thing with you has gotten so big… if I get involved, it could hurt the company.” She didn’t finish, but I already understood. I hung up, staring at my own reflection in the marble floor, and suddenly found it all absurd. Twenty-some years alive, and I had nothing. The only person left who would stand by me without hesitation was the daughter in my arms. But the next second, her body swayed, and she went limp against me. I pressed my hand to her forehead, and my heart turned to ice. She was burning up. I scrolled through every contact in my phone, and finally stopped on the one name I least wanted to bother. After managing to borrow money, I carried Bella back to the front desk: “A room, please. My daughter has a fever.” The receptionist suddenly rolled her eyes: “No wonder your cards are frozen. You’re that Romano fake heiress who cheated on her husband.” I froze. She looked me up and down, her tone growing nastier by the second: “Rotten to the core, and you still had to pop out some no-name bastard to embarrass everyone. This is a respectable establishment. Please take yourself elsewhere—don’t dirty our floors.” Guests in the lobby turned to stare. I tried to explain, but there was nothing I could say. I could only carry Bella out of the hotel in humiliation. The streets were empty, the late-night wind cutting like a blade. Bella was delirious with fever, her face buried in the crook of my neck, murmuring: “Daddy… please don’t leave me…” That single sentence ripped my heart to shreds. I clenched my jaw and finally pulled out my phone, dialing Vito’s number. Ten calls. No answer. My fingers trembling, I typed out a message: Bella has a fever. Can you please come? After a long while, his reply: “The kid isn’t even mine. I don’t have time for your sob story.” I stared at those cold, dead words on the screen. The world around me buzzed with noise, but I couldn’t even cry. In the end, I took Bella to the hospital alone. The emergency corridor was crowded. I’d barely finished registering when I heard a familiar voice. Vito was guiding Alessia into the ER. A nurse handed a test form to Vito, her tone reproachful: “Bleeding in the first trimester—threatened miscarriage. These early months are critical. You’re her husband; be more careful. Stop putting stress on the mother!” Vito took the form, instinctively pulling Alessia closer. “Does it still hurt?” Alessia shook her head softly, eyes red-rimmed. “Bleeding in the first trimester—threatened miscarriage. These early months are critical. You’re her husband; be more careful. Stop putting stress on the mother!” Vito took the form, instinctively pulling Alessia closer. “Does it still hurt?” Alessia shook her head softly, eyes red-rimmed. Vito frowned. “Don’t go home tonight. Stay at my place—I’ll take care of you.” Alessia bit her lip, whispered an agreement, and leaned into his chest. I stood there. My blood turned to ice, inch by inch. Years ago, when I was pregnant with Bella, he’d held me just like that. I’d had terrible morning sickness—couldn’t keep even water down. He canceled every meeting on the spot and stayed by my side for all ten months. He’d said: “Sofia, you and our daughter—you’re my whole life.” And now, the one who’d stamped his “whole life” as a bastard was him. The one who’d pushed me and Bella into the abyss with his own hands—also him. I almost wanted to laugh. Turns out, the more real a person’s love seems when they love you—the more brutal they become when they don’t. Bella was still burning in my arms. My phone buzzed. I looked down. A message from Vito: “Sofia, I’m done waiting. Three days from now. City hall.”

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The day I confessed my feelings to Ethan Shaw. I saw a few more shades of cruelty in his eyes. He made it public and humiliated me. He pinched my face and said to me, “You and that mother of yours really are the same kind of disgusting.” When I finally made up my mind to stop liking him, he begged me like a madman to like him again. “Say it. Why did you call me here?” Ethan Shaw blew out a smoke ring and glanced at me impatiently. I kept my head down and hesitated for a while before looking up at him and saying, “Ethan, I… I like you.” “I don’t have time to listen to your jokes.” Ethan narrowed his eyes, as if he realized I was not joking. He threw the cigarette butt at me, and the burning tip grazed my wrist. The burned spot turned red, and tears circled uncontrollably in my eyes. Ethan sneered and grabbed my wrist. “You and that mother of yours really are the same kind of disgusting.” He shook off my hand as if he found me repulsive. How could this be… Seeing that, I immediately grabbed the corner of his shirt. “Ethan, I really… I really like you…” Ethan curled his lips. “Is that so? You like me?” I was taken by Ethan to the karaoke lounge he often went to. The Shaw family had money and power, and Ethan could be considered the prince of New York’s elite circle. He held the microphone and looked at me with contempt and disgust in his eyes. “That one is the son my dad had with some mistress outside, and he says he likes me.” As soon as he said that, the whole room burst into laughter. I stood there awkwardly, and there were beautiful women all around Ethan as he put his arm around one of them and looked at me. “Even someone selling themselves on the street would be easier on the eyes than you.” My mom and Mr. Shaw had been childhood sweethearts, and originally, my mom and Mr. Shaw were the ones who should have ended up together. Later, because the Shaw family opposed it, my mom married my dad. But my dad beat her to death in a domestic violence incident, and Mr. Shaw took me in. Mrs. Shaw knew Mr. Shaw still could not forget my mom, so she spread rumors everywhere that I was Mr. Shaw’s illegitimate son and that my mom was a mistress. Ethan hated me. I knew that. But the moment I first saw him, I fell for him. He lifted my chin. “Don’t think that just because you entered the Shaw family, you can treat yourself like the owner.” I did not speak, and my useless tears just kept falling. It was as if a slap had landed on my face, leaving it instantly red. “Stop acting like your home-wrecking mother, thinking you can win people’s sympathy by crying. It’s disgusting.” He kicked me, and my back slammed into the wall, sending a sharp wave of pain through me. It hurt so much that I cried out. He lit a cigarette and took a few drags, then seemed to find it tasteless and tossed the rest of it onto me. The burning half-cigarette brushed across my calf, and I watched his retreating figure before slowly crouching down. A small blister had risen on my calf. I wiped away my tears and began to hate where I came from. Why couldn’t my mom just live her own life, and why did she have to do something like that? If none of that had happened, maybe Ethan and I would not have ended up like this.

Ethan had always treated me sometimes well and sometimes badly. The story about my mom being a mistress spread through all of South University. Even the fact that I liked Ethan became after-dinner gossip for people. They said I was a toad lusting after swan meat. Gradually, people started looking for trouble with me. They locked me in a bathroom stall and poured water inside again and again. I crouched there until I was already numb. The moment the door was kicked open, I looked up and saw Ethan holding a baseball bat, his face still full of disgust toward me. “Useless trash! You can even endure being bullied. You’re embarrassing the Shaw family.” Ethan grabbed one of them by the collar. “Apologize!” My heart warmed a little, and I could not tell how Ethan truly felt about me. I followed him home, drenched from head to toe. He unhappily took off his jacket and draped it over me. “Ethan, I’ll wash the jacket and bring it back to you.” I touched that jacket, a little attached to the scent on it. He lit a cigarette. “I don’t want the jacket anymore. It disgusts me.” I watched him leave, and a faint ache rose in my chest. Just moments earlier, he had rushed in with a baseball bat to save me. But why… was it just because of my background? Although Ethan was the prince of New York’s elite circle, he also drew plenty of hatred. Every day, there was no end to the people looking for trouble with him. He knocked irritably on my bedroom door. I opened the door half-asleep and saw him standing there with a first-aid kit. He threw the first-aid kit to me and walked straight inside. I was used to this. I skillfully bandaged the wound on his arm. “Ethan, stop fighting in the future. You’re covered in injuries.” I looked at the shocking wounds on his body and felt my heart ache. He snorted coldly, grabbed the back of my collar, and threw me into the corner. “What right do you have to control me? As my brother? Or as a gay guy who likes me?” Ethan pressed one knee against my chest, and I found it harder and harder to breathe. He lifted my chin. “You really are like your mom. Just looking at that face of yours makes me sick.” Tears always betrayed me at moments like this. I asked him through my tears, “Ethan, why do you hate me so much? Is it… only if I die that you won’t hate me so much?” Ethan stood up and wiped his hand in disgust after letting me go. “Yeah. It would be best if you died, just like your mom.” I hated where I came from, and I hated my mom. The moment I was born into this world, I was already rotten.

I lived every day in a daze. Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Shaw fought every day. In the end, Mrs. Shaw always dragged me into the fight. “Don’t think I don’t know. He’s the illegitimate son you had with that bitch!” Mrs. Shaw pointed at my room, almost insane. Mr. Shaw finally could not take it anymore. “What are you making trouble about now! He’s just a child, and nothing happened between me and his mother.” I curled up in the corner of my room. The door was kicked open hard. Ethan strode in, grabbed me, and threw me to the floor. He yanked my hair and pressed my face against the ground. “Are you satisfied now? Watching them fight must make you so happy, right?” I explained through tears, “No, Ethan, I didn’t…” He reached out and patted my cheek. “It would be so much better if you died.” “Then there wouldn’t be so much trouble. Why didn’t you die along with that mistress mother of yours!” “What is the point of you being alive? To destroy other people’s families? Then why don’t you just go die!” He left. Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Shaw’s fighting continued without stopping. I lay on the floor and cried until I could barely breathe. I hated myself, pinched my own flesh, and shed silent tears. Maybe Ethan was right. Why didn’t I just die? 3 Today was the anniversary of my mom’s death. I brought the things I had saved up for a long time and planned to visit her grave. I quietly went out. Ethan was about to go out too. He had almost gotten into the car. After seeing me, he stepped back and shut the car door. “You’re not allowed to go. If you go, don’t come back to the Shaw house. I find it unlucky.” I did not speak and simply kept walking on my own. Ethan, with a furious face, grabbed my hand. “I said you’re not allowed to go!” I lost my balance and fell to the ground, and my elbow hit a stone, splitting open a cut. It was as if I could not feel pain, and I felt nothing. He dragged me up and dragged me all the way into a room. This was his room, and he never let me enter it. But this time was the exception. He held the first-aid kit and treated my wound roughly. My tears fell again without my control. He thought I was crying from the pain, so his movements slowed a little. “Endure it.” I wiped my tears away. Why was he always hot and cold toward me? “Ethan Shaw, do you really hate me that much?” I choked, and my tears gradually blurred my vision. He did not answer and only quietly treated my wound. I looked at my bandaged arm, then stood up and wanted to take my things and leave. But Ethan was very strange today, and he held back his temper. “Go sit down.” I stubbornly grabbed my things and was about to leave, but he snatched them away from me. “I told you, you’re not allowed to go. I find it unlucky!” He pinned me against the wall, and the veins bulged on the hand gripping my shoulder. I held back my tears. “Ethan Shaw, don’t you hate me? Then why do you care whether I go or not? At worst, I just won’t come back here.” A slap landed on my face, leaving it instantly red. “Don’t be cheap! Today is my mom’s birthday. Don’t make her and my dad upset again!” He kicked me into the corner, and I felt my stomach churn violently. A metallic taste filled my mouth, and I forced that mouthful of blood back down. My heart seemed to hurt more than my body. Ethan stood in front of me, and I crawled up from the floor and knelt before him. “Ethan, I’m begging you. Let me go. I’m begging you. I’ll never like you again after this. Just let me go…” I cried until I could barely breathe, but he still looked at me coldly. I did not know how long we stayed frozen there before he finally left. “Get out, and don’t ever step through the Shaw family’s door again.” I picked up the things scattered across the floor one by one. I went to my mom’s grave and set everything out piece by piece. My tears could no longer fall. I said a lot to my mom, and I asked her why this had to be my fate. I stood on the rooftop, and the railing felt a little cold under my hands. I looked down at the busy traffic below, and tears blurred my vision. I wiped my tears and climbed over the railing. I looked downstairs, where fire trucks surrounded the area and police sirens rang through the air. It seemed like there was nothing in this world worth making me stay. Ethan Shaw, after this, you won’t hate me anymore. I closed my eyes and did not look back.

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After my stepbrother discovered the secret that I liked him. He sent me to a conversion center. “You’re disgusting, liking your own brother.” After I came out, he led the bullying against me. Only when he realized I no longer liked him did he regret it. He knelt in front of me and begged me to keep liking him. “You’re disgusting, liking your own brother.” Adrian Gray threw the diary where I had hidden my feelings straight into the fire. With red-rimmed eyes, I tried to explain, “It’s not like that, Adrian…” Adrian flicked the cigarette butt in his hand onto my hand. “Don’t call me that, I find it disgusting.” He had someone send me to a conversion center for treatment. “This is an illness, and it needs to be cured. Once you’re cured, I’ll have someone bring you home.” I looked at the electric shocks and batons inside the conversion center, and my whole body trembled uncontrollably. I dropped to my knees with a thud. “Adrian, I was wrong. Don’t send me in there. I won’t like you anymore. Please take me home, okay?” Adrian kicked my hand away. “Don’t touch me, I find you filthy.” “You can come home when you’re cured.” I was dragged into a room. I listened to their filthy words. “Another one who fell for his own brother. How disgusting.” They shocked me with stun batons and poured cold water over me again and again. They even forced me to watch videos of men with men. They wore me down until I had no desire left. My illness was cured. I became what everyone expected me to be. A normal person. Adrian had someone pick me up and bring me home. I no longer had the energy I used to have, and I stood quietly to the side. “Adrian, I’m back.” Adrian looked me up and down. “Looks like sending you in there was the right choice.” “Your illness is cured. Dad and your mom will be happy when they see it too.” At the dinner table, Mr. Gray and my mom looked at me and could not hide their delight. “As long as you’re cured. As long as you’re cured.” “Live a good life from now on.” Mr. Gray arranged for me to return to school. Everything that happened at the conversion center still remained vivid in my mind. I became withdrawn and quiet, unwilling to interact with anyone. Adrian glanced at me. “My brother had some issues before.” “He liked men, and he was gay, but he also fell for his own brother.” “Of course, everyone doesn’t need to be scared. His illness has already been cured.” I stared at Adrian. “Why did you do this?”

Adrian chuckled. “I’m helping you by letting them understand you better.” “Don’t you want more friends to play with you?” What Adrian called playing with me was a group of people bullying me. My roommates always threw my blanket downstairs. I had no choice but to go downstairs to pick it up, and when I came back, they locked me outside the door. “He’s so disgusting. He actually liked his own brother. Just being around him makes me want to puke.” Even in the classroom, my seat was moved next to the trash can. They laughed loudly. “Disgusting gays should sit with disgusting garbage!” Adrian held up a video of me being pinned down and bullied on the rooftop and played it in front of me. “Adrian Gray, I already don’t like you anymore. What else do you want from me?” Adrian pinched my chin. “Ethan Miller, don’t use such a boring trick to fool me.” “I know your illness still isn’t cured.” “During your time at the conversion center, you were always secretly writing my name behind everyone’s back.” “I’m helping you. I’m helping you cure your illness.” I widened my eyes in terror and looked at him. “You were watching me!” Adrian sneered. “I’m your brother. I have a duty to help cure your illness.” Adrian was right. During my time at the conversion center, I had once secretly carved his name into the wall. I thought that as long as I hid it well enough, I could go home sooner. During those days at the conversion center, Adrian was my last hope. What Adrian called helping cure my illness was making me suffer even worse bullying. They dragged me into the bathroom and humiliated me however they wanted. “Take off his pants. I want to see how a gay guy is different from us.” Adrian watched coldly as they stripped off my pants, and I crawled to his feet and begged him. “Adrian, help me…” Adrian bent down and looked at me, his camera pointed at me. “This is the best way to cure you.” I lay naked on the floor, my whole body cold. They took photos of me from every angle. Those photos were posted on the school forum. The caption read: Twenty dollars a time, do whatever you want. When people passed me, they only spat out one insult. “Disgusting. Shameless.”

The malice I suffered grew even worse. My seat became the place where they threw their trash. Different brands of condoms were piled on my desk. My advisor warned me again and again. “Ethan Miller, this is your final warning. If there’s a next time, you’ll be asked to leave.” I sat in my seat and reached out, only for a thin little snake to crawl onto my arm. I jumped up from my seat in terror. They stood beside me clapping and shouting as if they were watching a clown put on a show. Every time Adrian saw me, it was as if he had seen something filthy. “Adrian, is that your brother? I heard people can do whatever they want with him for twenty dollars?” Adrian gave a cold snort. “Disgusting.” Why was all this malice focused on me? More and more condoms were piled on my seat, and they even opened them one by one and laid them out. The school directly ordered me to go home and advised me to withdraw. Mr. Gray looked at me with a cold expression. “I sent you there to study properly, and instead you went out there and embarrassed me!” My mom slapped me across the face. “Is this how you repay Mr. Gray?” “How did I give birth to such a useless son?” “I didn’t. It wasn’t me.” I lowered my head, not daring to look up at my mom. Why wouldn’t even she believe me? Adrian chuckled. “He was doing that kind of business at school. Twenty dollars a time.” “He’s such a disgrace to our family.” I whipped my head around and looked at Adrian. Why did he have to lie? It obviously wasn’t me. He filmed the video, and he posted it on the forum. My mom hit me like she had gone insane. “Are you trying to make me lose every last bit of dignity I have?” “Didn’t you say your illness was cured? Why are you still doing this?” She hit me again and again, and I did not step back, letting her hit me. Mr. Gray’s face darkened. “Since he isn’t cured, send him back!” “Let him come back when he’s completely cured.” Mr. Gray was a businessman, and any little disturbance could affect his business. He cared especially about reputation and saving face. He would never allow a gay adopted son who did such low-class dirty work to threaten his interests. I stood frozen in place, but Mr. Gray left without looking back. My mom followed behind him without even glancing at me. Adrian chuckled. “Ethan, this time I’ll make sure they cure you properly.” 3. I collapsed weakly onto the floor, my face covered in slap marks. With red eyes, I looked at Adrian. “Adrian Gray, you’ve changed.” When we were little, if someone bullied me, Adrian always protected me behind him and said to those people, “Don’t bully my brother.” No matter what good food he had, he always saved it first and shared it with me. My mom only wanted to secure her place as a wealthy man’s wife. So she went out of her way to please Adrian. She told me to endure everything and give in to Adrian. Whenever Adrian got into trouble, she always hit me first. But Adrian always stood in front of me every time. Until that accident, when Adrian discovered the diary where I had hidden my feelings. Everything changed. Adrian yanked my hair and looked at me with disgust. “No brother likes his own brother.” “Every second I see you, I feel disgusted.” Adrian let go of me and wiped his hand with a tissue right in front of me. They sent me back to the conversion center again. I looked at this former nightmare and could not stop trembling. The director’s greasy hand rubbed across my face. “Mr. Gray, don’t worry. I’ll definitely cure your brother’s illness.” I was locked in a dark, empty room and left to be abused however they wanted. I fought back, but in the end, it only earned me brutal beatings. The director spat on my face. “Pah, do you really think you’re some clean thing?” “You’re just a cheap slut who’s been used rotten. Getting to serve me is the greatest blessing of your life!” I curled up in the corner. Was this what Adrian meant by letting them cure me properly? I looked helplessly at the pitch-black room. In my heart, the brother who had once loved and protected me had completely rotted away. Adrian Gray, this time I really won’t like you anymore. The director often came to see me, taking the novelty he wanted from my body again and again. I took psychiatric drugs, and my mind slowly became dazed and hazy. I looked at the belt the director had left behind and picked it up instinctively. I tied it tightly to the ceiling because I wanted to end my life. But someone found me. They beat me brutally. They poured chili water on me, shocked me, and cursed filthy words in my ear again and again. I became silent and withdrawn, and my illness was completely cured. Adrian came to take me home. “Ethan, I’m here to take you home.” He reached out to place his hand on my shoulder, and I dodged instinctively. “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me.” I shrank to the side in fear, my whole body shaking. Adrian frowned in displeasure. “Ethan, I’m Adrian Gray, your brother.” Hearing that, I looked up at him, at this person who had become more and more blurred in my mind. I could no longer remember many people. They became blurrier and blurrier in my mind, about to fade away. “How was your time inside?” I did not answer him and stared blankly out the window. Adrian’s gaze tightened. “Ethan?” A trace of unease rose in Adrian’s heart. “Ethan, where did you come up with this act now?” Seeing that I still did not react, Adrian stopped the car and looked at me. “Ethan, tell me, who made you like this?” I curled up instinctively. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” Adrian frowned tightly, and despite all my struggling, he grabbed my arm. He pulled back my sleeve and clearly saw more than a dozen scars, big and small. Some were even fresh wounds layered over old ones. I yanked my arm back. “Don’t hit me. Don’t hit me. I was wrong.” Adrian’s face darkened. “They actually did this to you!” I looked at him in confusion. “Adrian Gray, wasn’t it you who allowed it?” Wasn’t it you who sent me in there with your own hands? Wasn’t it you who allowed them to treat me like that? Adrian froze in place, and he looked at me, my eyes empty and lifeless. I looked at him too, and the things he had done to me gradually surfaced in my mind.

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On the day I turned twenty, I gathered my courage and confessed to Ethan. He called security to restrain me, then personally sent me to a conversion center for “treatment.” After half a year of forced treatment, he told me he was afraid to “come out,” but that he loved me… When I was ten, the Bennett family adopted me, and my foster parents treated me very well, raising me like I was the center of the world… The glaring sunlight made my eyes ache, and I instinctively blocked the light, my eyes stinging as I took a long time to recover. Facing the empty road, I realized he had not come to pick me up, so it seemed he really was sick of me. After he learned about my feelings, he had security clamp down on both my arms and told my foster parents, then drove me to the conversion center. The forced treatment was like living in darkness, with torture, electric shocks, and drugs… After half a year of inhuman treatment, I did not want to go near him again, but my foster parents asked me to come home for a visit, and I could not cut off more than ten years of family affection. I stood hesitantly at the villa entrance, took a deep breath, and told myself I was home. In reality, the moment I stepped through the Bennett family’s front door, I feared this familiar place and forced myself not to let my legs go weak and collapse. After taking a deep breath, I walked inside, only to bump into a wall, and when I saw the black leather shoes, I stiffly raised my head and met the eyes of the person who made my scalp go numb. “Ethan…” I was about to greet him, but acid churned in my stomach, and my knees could not hold me up as I weakly fell to the floor, because whenever I saw him, I thought of those six months of forced treatment and was too afraid to go near him. “You look like a dog right now.” Ethan Bennett had both hands in his pockets as he looked down at my sorry state with an arrogant expression, his voice indifferent while the end of his tone rose faintly. “Tsk, if you had the guts to lust after me, then you had to bear the consequences, and it seems the forced treatment worked pretty well.” “It was my fault. I never should have had those thoughts about you…” I could not stand, so I curled up and crawled backward on my knees, because Ethan Bennett was far beyond my reach, and I had been delusional to try to get close to him. I crushed my last fantasy, my heart trampled to pieces by him, my breathing hard, and tears slid down uncontrollably as I wiped them messily with my sleeve, not daring to dirty the Bennett family’s floor. “The person you should apologize to isn’t me. Mom and Dad loved you so much. How could you face them?” He walked up to me and crouched down, and beneath his loose bangs, those seductive eyes were full of pity. “Should I stay farther away from you? Look at you, like a dead fish.”

My throat clogged, and I looked at him in disbelief as a numb pain swept through my whole body, making me tremble all over, while he gave a nasty little laugh and stepped back away from me. “Lee.” I gasped for breath and saw my foster mother walking over with red-rimmed eyes, while my foster father still wore a stern face that revealed no emotion. “You’re not eating on time again, and you’re getting thinner and thinner.” My foster mother held my hand with heartache as she nagged me, then hugged me tightly. The faint grassy scent on her surrounded the tip of my nose, and it was the scent unique to my foster mother. My fingertips trembled as I returned her hug, suppressing the urge to throw up from being touched, because I knew I had to tell them that I had been completely “cured.” “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry…” I knelt on the ground, pressed my palms to the floor, and kowtowed hard, the small stones on the ground slicing my skin as my lips trembled and I shouted loudly, “I shouldn’t like men… I was possessed before and fell for Ethan. I’m sorry, Mom and Dad…” After apologizing, my tears fell uncontrollably again, and I desperately kowtowed to prove that I had been “cured.” My foster mother hugged me and patted my back with concern. “It’s okay. A good child admits his mistakes and corrects them. Let’s go home.” My foster father frowned and snorted coldly, turning his head away. “Look at what you spoiled him into. What does he even look like now?” “Lee has changed now, so stop wearing that awful expression!” My foster mother looked me up and down with heartache. “Mom will make you soup so you can nourish yourself properly, and you have to eat well.” “Dad, I’ve corrected myself. Please forgive me.” I hunched my shoulders, crawled to my foster father’s feet on my knees, and kowtowed hard, hitting the floor until I felt dizzy. My foster father let out a long sigh, but in the end, his heart softened and he helped me up, then dusted me off. “We’re a family! It’s fine as long as you correct your mistakes. You will always be our child.” I nodded hard, then looked at Ethan Bennett, who had become part of the background and said nothing, and while holding back my fear and nausea, I bowed to him at ninety degrees. “Ethan, I’m sorry. I was possessed and did something wrong.” Ethan Bennett stepped forward, his strong body less than a foot from mine, and he patted my shoulder, lifted my palm, frowned, and said lightly, “Since the treatment worked, live properly and don’t disappoint Mom and Dad.”

After receiving their forgiveness, I returned to the Bennett family home and resumed life there, and the days were just like before. When I stepped through the door and returned to the room where I used to live, I lay on the bed and looked at the familiar decorations, still feeling a sense of unreality. I always woke up in the middle of the night, cold sweat sticking to my clothes so stickily that it made me sick, and I always dreamed that I was sleeping in a damp, cold basement, where the dog chain locked around my neck only tightened more the harder I struggled. I wanted to start over as a person, find a job, and live normally, but my high school diploma was too low for me to even qualify for interviews, so I found a cleaning job from an ad on a utility pole. “Mr. Bennett, welcome. We’re honored to have you here for guidance.” When I heard the boss’s hearty laugh, I silently moved the water bucket aside and continued kneeling to wipe the floor. The sound of conversation grew closer and closer. I turned my face away, knelt in the corner of the office with my head lowered, and prayed that he would not see me. The sound of leather shoes stopped, and when I saw those polished black leather shoes diagonally behind me, that burning gaze made all the hair on my body stand up, and every time I turned my head, I could feel Ethan Bennett’s anger. “Mr. Bennett? Is there something you’re not satisfied with?” The manager hesitated and looked at the clean, tidy floor, wondering if there was a problem with the new cleaner. “Liam Bennett, is this the so-called good job you found?” Ethan Bennett’s voice came slowly from behind me with a bone-chilling coldness, and I lowered my head as my body trembled. “I… don’t know you…” I lowered my head, carried the water bucket, hunched my back, and tried to leave. “You don’t know me? Liam Bennett, you’ve really grown bold.” Ethan Bennett forcefully grabbed my wrist, water splashing all over the floor, and he pinched the back of my neck with his left hand, forcing me to look straight at him. “Come back with me!” I lowered my head to look at the tips of my shoes, not daring to meet his eyes, which were filled with anger and disappointment, and when our skin touched at such close range, the burning sensation in my stomach made me feel so sick that I wanted to vomit, while every inch of flesh seemed to tear with pain. “Ethan, I still have to keep working, so don’t delay me…” I lowered my head, my fine hair covering my brows and eyes, and resisted in a small voice as I tried to shake him off. I failed. “Delay you? You’re the young son of the Bennett family, and you’re working as a cleaner. What do you think outsiders will say? Will you only be happy if you make the Bennett family a joke? Are you really that cheap?” Ethan Bennett questioned me in anger, and the force around my wrist gradually tightened. I could not argue back, and my whole body went cold as my lips trembled and I bowed. “I’m sorry… Ethan, I didn’t mean to embarrass you…” He did not have the patience to listen, and in front of everyone, he grabbed my arm, dragged me downstairs, shoved me into the passenger seat, started the car, and left.

When we arrived at the Bennett house, he forcibly dragged me in and threw me into the bathtub, and when I struggled to stand, he turned on the shower and drenched me from head to toe, the cold water soaking my clothes until they clung to my body, cold and miserable. “Ethan… I know I was wrong. Please don’t do this…” I was so cold that I shivered and curled up, wanting to step out of the bathtub, but what came next was cold water hitting me head-on. He stood right in front of me, as if I were something “dirty,” and as if the cold water could wash me clean, while water blurred my eyes so badly that I could only hug myself and gradually curl into the corner of the tub. “Your apologies are so cheap!” Ethan Bennett snorted coldly, but he grabbed my collar in a rage, his nose inches from mine, and the woody scent of lemon and tea lingered around him. “Ugh…” I shoved him away hard, knelt over the bathtub drain, and dry-heaved until all the acid came out, while the fiery burning sensation in my stomach made me miserable. “Seeing me makes you so sick you want to throw up? After electroshock treatment, your acting skills have gotten better and better. Should I give you an award?” Ethan Bennett grabbed the loose hair over my forehead and lifted my head, his eyes filled with red veins as he forced our gazes to meet. “I… Ethan… I’m sorry.” My tears slid down in big drops, but I could not control myself. “That cleaner uniform is an eyesore. Take it off and throw it away!” Before I could react, Ethan Bennett grabbed the collar and sleeve cuffs and tore them, making the buttons pop off. I wanted to stop him, but he was too strong, and being so close to him made my stomach churn violently. After the cleaner uniform was torn apart, he held the scraps of fabric and looked at me with a frown. “Wasn’t the forced treatment only electroshock?” After hesitating and pausing, he asked, and there was a little more pity in his voice. I wrapped my arms around myself to cover my ruined body, lowered my head, and curled up, not wanting to expose myself to win sympathy. That pitying gaze of his was probably because he had seen my scars, with every inch of skin covered in wounds, whip marks all over my back, a rough wound on my stomach messily stitched with thread that extended to my thigh, all kinds of cigarette burns on my arms, and the words I’m sorry carved into my calf with glass… I had escaped from that “hell” countless times, only to be caught and brought back every time, and once a month there was a chance to contact family, so I hoped Ethan Bennett would come take me away, but the call never went through… The price of running away was punishment ten times or a thousand times worse, and they locked me in the basement, covered the walls with photos of Ethan Bennett, pressed down on my legs and forced my eyes wide open, hurt me and violated me, and those hands were so dirty… I was no longer clean, Ethan… I no longer had the courage or strength to love you.

Ethan Bennett’s warm fingertips gently brushed over every inch of my scars, and I felt that warmth, but I still curled up and did not want to face him. “Lee, I was wrong.” Ever since I confessed, he had never called me by my nickname again, and the warm memories of the past played in my mind like a movie. I trembled and tried to move away from him, tears dripping down uncontrollably. “Lee, I shouldn’t have sent you in for forced treatment. I didn’t realize my own feelings… I love you… Can you forgive me…” Ethan Bennett touched my wet hair as he confessed to me. I had thought he sent me to treatment because he was “homophobic,” but in the end, he loved me. “Lee, we can start over. I’ll treat you well.” He draped a bath towel over me, carried me back to the bed, and gently, carefully wiped away my tears as he spoke in a soft voice. “Ethan… I can’t start over…” I pulled the towel around my body and refused his touch. Ethan Bennett stared at me with red eyes, and after pressing his lips tightly together in silence, he said, “There’s nothing that can’t be started over. I’ll book you the best therapist and find the best doctors. Everything can be fixed. I’ll handle Mom and Dad. We can move to another city, forget all these unhappy things, and, Lee, can you love me one more time?”

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My first love was my stepbrother, and he wanted me to donate a kidney to his first love. Mo Ji questioned me for him: “Are you really just going to watch him die?” “I… my body isn’t…” It seemed that if your health was poor, you did not deserve to live either. He forced me to donate a kidney to Lin Qing… I was an accessory, an organ host… “Are you really this cold and heartless?” “This is a human life, and donating one kidney won’t kill you!” Mo Ji frowned as he took out the transplant consent form, his legs crossed as he leaned against the sofa, his tone forceful and allowing no doubt. His brows and eyes were cold, and his aura was untouchable. He was the man I loved deeply. The person who can make you smile can also push you into the abyss. “I… my body isn’t…” My voice trembled, and I had not yet figured out how to say the bad news. He knitted his brows and impatiently pointed at the signature line. “You only need to sign it, and don’t worry, medicine is very advanced now, so nothing will happen.” If it had not been for him, how could my body have become like shattered pieces… and now I had even fallen to the level of an organ host. I wanted to grab his collar and question him about how he could say something so cold. “If you don’t donate your kidney, don’t even think about seeing Zhou Yi again.” Endless water surged toward me, flooding over my nose until I could not breathe. He had changed, saying such ungrateful words so lightly. “Mo Ji, you are the most selfish and cold person.” Without Zhou Yi adopting us, we would have starved to death on a street corner long ago. “I’m only protecting the person I love.” His expression was faint, and his thin lips pressed together slightly. “Your love is so fake.” I signed the transplant consent form. He had probably forgotten long ago how good Zhou Yi had been to him. He had forgotten how he once smiled and swore that he would let Zhou Yi live a good life.

Looking at the name I had scribbled hastily at the end, I lowered my eyes and refused to look at him, hunching my shoulders because I did not want to expose my weakness. “Later, Assistant Liu will take you to the hospital for an examination and surgery preparation.” “Mr. Su, Mr. Cen’s flight is about to land.” I glanced over without meaning to, and his brows and eyes were full of joy, the corners of his mouth rising, while bitterness filled my heart. Lin Qing was Mo Ji’s first love, and because his body was frail, he had been recuperating abroad. As for me, I had grown up with Mo Ji since childhood, and I was his first love as well as the substitute who could never be seen in the light. We were adopted by Zhou Yi, and our finances were not good, so when we were young, people often bullied him, and after I stood up for him, I was dragged into an alley outside the school gate and beaten by a group of people. He was teased, and his books were scribbled all over. When money went missing in class and he was misunderstood, I was also the one who went to the principal to demand justice for him, making such a fuss that I almost got expelled. All the kindness I gave him still could not compare to the pen Cen Xi gave him when he forgot to bring one to an exam. “Don’t run around at home.” Perhaps because Mo Ji saw the cake on the table, or perhaps because he saw that I had signed the consent form, his tone was rarely gentle. I nodded seriously, watched him take the car keys and leave, then opened the cake and tasted the sickly sweet cream. He remembered my birthday, but he forgot the words he had once said. Those bright, smiling eyes were still in my mind, and he had covered my eyes as he led me into the room, holding a small cake as if it were a treasure. There was one candle stuck in it, the flame swaying, and he smiled shyly and bashfully, saying, “Linlin, may you be safe every year, and may we stay together year after year.” He had hugged me and prayed for my safety and happiness too. All I could hear was my heart pounding wildly. Bite after bite of sweet, greasy cream, I forced myself to swallow it, and a pile of mango was still left. I had prepared it specially, and at noon, I had made the food he liked, while the cake was brought back by Xiao Liu. He had probably casually ordered someone to buy it, and I was allergic to mango. Why did love disappear in an instant? It was not until the early hours of the morning that Aunt Zhang buried her hands in her apron and said with both hesitation and concern, “Niannian, it’s getting late, and staying up is bad for your health, so Mr. Mo probably won’t be coming back.” She brought me a cup of warm milk, and I responded with a smile. The maid beside her sneered coldly, “Aunt Zhang, Mr. Mo won’t be coming back tonight, and it’s a shame about this whole table of food.” This maid wanted to climb into his bed, and she did not know Mo Ji’s preferences, so she always found chances to pick fights and tried openly and secretly to squeeze me out of the villa. The destination of the dishes I had prepared with care was the trash can. Watching them clean up, even throwing the plates into the trash can, I was still hoping to hear the roar of a car engine. I hoped he would come back and give me his blessing, even if it was only a happy birthday. Watching the hands of the clock turn, I sat in front of the desk and looked at the chart I had once made. He did not spend my birthday with me, so ten points deducted. He bought me a mango cake, so twenty points added. After repeatedly deleting and changing the chart, I looked at the last two lines, and if the chart was filled or the score dropped to zero, I would stop liking Mo Ji. Before he liked Lin Qing, he was very good to me. Only later, he no longer touched me, and the gaze he cast on me seemed to be missing someone else too. I knew all of this, but I had no way to control my feelings… I could not bear to leave him, and even if I was only a replacement… it was still good enough to stay by his side. I always comforted myself through his actions, telling myself that he still remembered me in his heart. The chart was deleted and changed again and again, and the points were never fully deducted. Stroking the notebook in the quiet room, I curled up and missed the nineteen-year-old Mo Ji. He would have hugged me with heartache and refused to let me suffer.

“Mr. Lin, if you don’t feel well, you can explain it to Mr. Mo…” Assistant Liu hesitated and paused. I looked at his concerned appearance. Even an assistant knew how to care about me, but he did not care. Maybe I should have left long ago. “I’m fine.” I shook my head and followed the assistant out. If I called to tell him about my situation, he would only think I was putting on an act. I did not know when loving Mo Ji had become so exhausting. “Although you signed the donation consent form, your physical condition simply cannot support this surgery… I suggest you stay in the hospital for half a month of observation before the operation.” The doctor held the report, his brows knitted and his tone serious, and he also cared about the state of my body. “I confirm that I can undergo the surgery.” I signed my name on the informed consent form for the operation. The doctor sighed, “How about this, I’ll notify your family.” Family? I pulled up the corners of my mouth into a bitter smile, because after Zhou Yi left, what family did I have left? Holding the pen and writing my name on one confirmation form after another, my heart suddenly stopped hurting. Uncle Zhou, living is so tiring, and I can finally come to find you. The surgery was scheduled for three days later, and I thought he would come. In my free time, I played on my phone and saw news of his pursuit of love. He accompanied Lin Qing shopping and experiencing domestic-style restaurants, but it was all his one-sided wishful thinking. Paparazzi secretly photographed their movements, and Lin Qing was elegant like a noble, linking arms with his mother while shopping, the scene bright, grand, and harmonious. Mo Ji stood half a step behind him, following them like a shadow. As for Lin Qing, who looked similar to me, I did not hate or envy him. I touched my brows and eyes, and although our faces were clearly similar, he had a complete family and Mo Ji’s love, which was wonderful. Lying on the hospital bed and looking at the glaring red light, I planned out my final days. I would go see the great rivers and mountains of my motherland. As the anesthetic entered my body, my consciousness gradually blurred. I did not know how much time had passed, but my head was heavy, dizzy, and stinging. The kidney transplant surgery was successful, but I had a postoperative infection, and I only had two months left. Facing this broken body, perhaps death was the best destination. I told the doctor I wanted to be discharged, and I also had my medical records sealed. The wind was strong on the day I left the hospital, and the only contacts saved in my phone were Mo Ji and Assistant Liu. I put the phone back in the villa. Sitting on the plane and looking at the clouds so close at hand, I enjoyed life.

June 13th was Uncle Zhou’s death anniversary. I came back again, holding jasmine flowers to visit Uncle Zhou. Looking at the gray-white photograph, I remembered that I had slowly carved this stone slab myself. At that time, I had no money, so I could only find a full-service funeral company and bury him in a wild mountain. Only after Mo Ji achieved success and fame did I save up money to buy a public cemetery plot. “Uncle Zhou, I brought you jasmine flowers, and also jasmine tea, and I miss you so much…” I sat beside the gravestone and chatted with Uncle Zhou. During this time, I went to several places, and Uncle Zhou had wanted to see the sea, so I fulfilled that wish for him. I saw white sneakers gradually walking toward me, with black leather shoes following closely behind. I saw Lin Qing walking over with red eyes, while Mo Ji still guarded behind him like a knight, holding an umbrella. “Where did you go!” He rushed toward me. I remembered that our relationship was not that close, but I still smiled and greeted them. Rather than leaving in sorrow, it was better to leave with a smile. “I just went out to have some fun.” Lin Qing stood in front of me with restraint, hesitating as he reached his hand toward me, his movements careful. “Your phone never went through, and I sent you so many messages.” I was confused by his appearance. “You’re my younger brother!” Lin Qing announced it loudly, trembling as he reached out, wanting to hug me. I had once regarded Lin Qing as a love rival, and I had also learned before that the Zhang family had been spending a lot of money searching for their missing son all these years. No wonder our brows and eyes were so similar. I had never expected to solve the mystery of my birth before I died, and the news was like thunder. “I know.” I stepped back, thinking that children from wealthy families would all fight over family property. “Aunt Lin wants to see you.” “Little brother, let’s go home.” I poured the jasmine tea in front of the grave for Uncle Zhou to drink, and after calculating the time, I had less than a week, so it was time to prepare my grave. “I only have one week.” Lin Qing stood there in a daze, and the umbrella Mo Ji was holding fell down, hitting the ground with a somewhat piercing sound. “Little brother, stop joking, because our family finally reunited after so much difficulty.” Lin Qing pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile, his eyes bright. There was softness in his eyes, and he did not want me to die. If I had not gotten lost, he probably would have been a good older brother… and growing up in the Zhang family, I probably would have been raised in a honey jar. “I’m not joking, it’s the truth.” “Zhou Nian, stop playing little tricks.” Mo Ji’s face darkened, but his lips had turned pale, and out of consideration, I did not say the reason. Even if I said it, he would only think I was trying to win sympathy. I did not want to tell Lin Qing that Mo Ji and I had been each other’s first love. “As for the Zhang family, I won’t be going back.” I wiped the dust from the gravestone. Holding Uncle Zhou’s gravestone, I felt as if he was responding to me, even patting my shoulder, caring for me as always. “After I die, can you bury me beside Uncle Zhou?” “During the Tomb-Sweeping Festival, please bring both of us a bunch of jasmine flowers.” Lin Qing came forward and hugged me, and his tears fell onto my shoulder, burning hot. Mo Ji turned his face away and also wiped the corners of his eyes. “Little brother, let’s go home.” “I can fulfill that request too.” Lin Qing’s emotional moment was interrupted, and he glared at Mo Ji. “I don’t need you to do it, because I have family, and Uncle Zhou liked jasmine flowers the most, fresh and elegant, and they can also be brewed into tea.” Actually, it was because the old woman at the street corner planted jasmine flowers and gave us a big bag for free every year. He held my hand tightly, “I promise you everything, and Mom and Dad have been waiting for you at home for twenty-one years.” I pressed my lips together and did not know what to say, because if I went back and told them I only had one week left… they would be sad because of it too. I did not want anyone to worry about me anymore. “Our family has money, so we’ll leave for overseas treatment right away, and we can extend your life.” His tone was excited, there were stars in his eyes, and his embrace was warm. I could smell the faint scent of disinfectant on Lin Qing, but it was not unpleasant. Gently, I leaned my head on his shoulder, because it had been so long since I received a warm embrace. Mo Ji still stood one foot behind him. Looking at those familiar brows and eyes, my heart could not help being moved by him. He was like a knight in a fairy tale, unwaveringly protecting the princess. Unfortunately, I was not the one being protected. “Do you think this kind of joke is fun?” “You just want money, don’t you?” Mo Ji took out his card holder and sneered as he threw out a black card, his expression scornful and disdainful. “Adults always playing this kind of trick is meaningless, and you only want to gain our sympathy to achieve your goal of getting money.” I looked at him in shock, because in his heart, I was this kind of person. My eyes stung, and I could not hold back my tears, so I quickly wiped them away, but Lin Qing still noticed. “What money?” “He’s my younger brother, and he doesn’t need you to give him money, so what is your relationship with him?!” Lin Qing patted me comfortingly with one hand, then turned his head and angrily scolded Mo Ji for what he had just done. “There is no relationship, and I don’t know him.” I rushed to answer first and drew a clear line, because after Uncle Zhou left, I had no relatives anymore. Mo Ji’s pupils widened, shocked and angry, “What do you mean!” “What trick are you playing now!” Yes, after he became successful in his career, he had wanted to draw a clear line between us. I had also never asked him for money… but now that I denied our relationship, he was angry. “Brother, this person is inexplicable and so fierce, so I’m a little scared.” I resisted by shaking Lin Qing’s hand, revealing my vulnerability. “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared, I’ll drive him away right now.” After comforting me, Lin Qing hugged me tightly again and ordered him around arrogantly. “Didn’t you hear him?” “Don’t scare Niannian!” “Heh, you’re really something, no relationship, right?” “Then spit back out all the money you spent of mine before!” Hearing this sentence, my numb heart throbbed painfully, and I wanted to laugh at how sarcastic those words were.

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