Category: English

Dominic is a control freak. He needs to know precisely when I wake up, when I eat, when I sleep, even when I go to the bathroom. He has me trained like a dog. His friend once asked me, “Has it ever occurred to you that your entire life is being controlled by that psycho, Dominic?” Dominic, with a faint smile, answered for me. “He hasn’t.” Alright, fine. If that’s how he wants to play. I told Dominic, “From now on, our curfew is 7 PM.” “And we need to have our phone locations shared at all times.” I started video-calling him eighteen times a day. I’d pull him into intimate photos, plastering our “love” all over social media, making a grand show of our relationship. I forced him to live inside my own web of suffocating, omnipresent surveillance and performance art. And then… he got off on it. 1 I was out of breath when I stumbled through the door at one minute past eight. The house was dark, completely unlit. I thought Dominic wasn’t home yet and breathed a silent sigh of relief. But in the next instant, with a soft click, the lights flooded the room. Dominic’s tall figure stood in the entryway, silhouetted against the blinding light. Like a ghost. “Noah,” he said softly, “you’re 1 minute and 27 seconds late.” The sudden light had already startled me. His whisper-soft voice sent a chill down my spine, and a cold sweat broke out on my back. I took a deep breath, trying to force down the metallic taste of blood that had risen in my throat from running so hard. “An old classmate of mine is in town, so a few of us got together. I was already on my way back at seven, but the traffic was insane. That’s why I’m a little late.” He gestured for me to sit on the low bench in the entryway, then knelt gracefully before me. His hand wrapped around my slender ankle. His fingers slid slowly upwards, gripping the sliver of skin just above my white sock. He lifted my foot with a gentle pressure to help me change my shoes. He looked up at me and smiled, a picture of innocence. “Then why didn’t you leave earlier? Or you could have asked me to pick you up.” My fingers, braced against the bench, trembled slightly. “I… I didn’t want to bother you. You had a long day at work.” “I really thought I could make it back before curfew,” I explained, my jaw tight. “I planned ahead, I swear. The mall is only a half-hour drive from our place… I never expected the traffic to be this bad.” He slowly slipped off my sneakers, his fingers squeezing the soft sole of my foot through my sock. I felt a tickle and instinctively tried to pull my foot back, but his grip on my calf was like iron. I couldn’t move an inch. He put my slippers on for me. “Are these old classmates of yours really that important?” he murmured. “So important that you can’t even come home on time?” “Did you not want to come home? Did you want to spend more time with them that badly?” “Was an old flame among them?” “Don’t be ridiculous!” I snapped, cutting him off. “Today was a one-time thing. I’ll be back before curfew from now on!” He ignored my outburst. He stood up, leaned in, and brushed his nose against my cheek. “Noah,” he whispered, “why can’t your eyes be only on me?” 2 I woke up the next morning in a fog. When I managed to force my eyes open, I saw Dominic leaning against the headboard, smiling down at me. “Good morning, my love.” He kissed me. As he leaned over, his hand brushed against mine. I flinched violently. Before Dominic, I never could have imagined that there were so, so many ways to torment a person, to make them break, to make them lose control of their own body, stripped of all dignity… all without a single act of violence. Seeing me recoil, he pulled me into his arms, comforting me. “Darling, how about we go to Finland for the weekend? I’ll have my assistant clear a flight path. We can take off after work on Friday. You can sleep on the plane, and we’ll fly back Sunday night.” He gently outlined a weekend schedule detailed down to the minute. “On Saturday morning, we can try the bread at a local private kitchen. We’ll go see the snow in the late morning, and then we can have a spa treatment in the afternoon…” Everything was planned to perfection. But the more he spoke, the stiffer I became. “I promised Chris I’d go to the comic convention with him on Saturday,” I said in a low voice. “I told you on Monday.” My words hung in the dead silence of the bedroom. After a long, terrifying pause, Dominic finally spoke. “You’re right, you did tell me. I forgot. I’m sorry, my love. You go have fun.” He released his grip on my waist, letting me go without a fuss. Just like a normal, ordinary boyfriend. With my back to him, I couldn’t see the blank, emotionless mask that had replaced his gentle tone. 3 On Saturday morning, I dragged my sore, aching body out of bed, buzzing with excitement. Dominic, shirtless, propped himself up on one elbow and watched me get dressed. Seeing me awkwardly trying to pull on my pants, he said considerately, “If you’re not feeling well, just tell Chris. You can rest at home. I’m sure he’ll understand.” If it weren’t for what he did last night… I stubbornly finished dressing myself. “I’m not tired. I feel great. I am absolutely going to that convention today!” Just before I left, I got a call from Chris. I answered cheerfully. “I’m on my way out! Where are you?” Chris’s voice on the other end was full of guilt. “Noah, man, work just dropped an emergency business trip on me. I’m packing right now. I have to go be a corporate slave in Chicago for two weeks… I’m so sorry.” My hand froze on the doorknob. The smile on my face slowly faded, but I kept my voice normal. “Hey, no worries! Go do your thing. I’ll grab some merch for you while I’m there.” He sounded relieved. “You’re a lifesaver, bro!” I hung up, and a voice came from behind me. “What’s wrong?” I turned to see Dominic’s lean frame propped against the marble dining table. He looked as luxurious as the deep blue silk robe he was wearing. He raised an eyebrow. “Stood up again? Your friends really are unreliable.” A sliver of suspicion entered my mind. I asked him deliberately, “Well, do you want to go to the convention with me then?” His expression flickered. My heart clenched. Could he really have been the one to ruin Chris’s weekend? If he was… “Unfortunately,” Dominic shrugged, “I didn’t know your friend was going to bail, so I didn’t get a ticket. I can’t get in.” “But I can give you a ride, if you’d like. My dear.” I relaxed. If he hadn’t prepared in advance, he probably wasn’t the one who got Chris sent on a business trip… “No, thanks. I’ll just get a cab. You enjoy your weekend at home.” 4 Wandering the convention alone was pretty boring. I bought the pin Chris wanted most and was about to leave when I turned and bumped into a soft wall. “Oh, sorry—” I said, rubbing my forehead. I looked up and saw a very familiar face. I stared. “How did you get in?” Then, feeling deceived, I added, “You said you didn’t have a ticket!” It had to be him. He must have been the one who got rid of Chris. He’d always hated all my friends! I was about to lose it. “You son of a—” Dominic pulled a staff pass from the pocket of his expensive suit. “I don’t have a ticket. But I do have a little money.” “Just got this staff pass—a little bit of ‘cash-power.’” I was speechless, staring at the pass hanging from a gold chain. Who in their right mind uses a pocket watch chain for a staff pass? He smiled at me. “A son of a what?” I looked at his benevolent smile and shivered, remembering things. “A… a… a guy who just shines with brilliance!” I blurted out, a stroke of genius. I let out a long breath, feeling like I’d regained the upper hand. I looked him over. He was wearing a custom-tailored black tailcoat that accentuated his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs. He exuded an air of pure class. “What are you doing dressed to the nines at a comic convention? Who are you trying to seduce?” His eyes crinkled into a smile. He took my hand with his white-gloved one and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I am here to serve you, My Lord.” I froze, and before I could even blush, a wave of suppressed squeals erupted around us. “Oh my god, he’s so hot!” “Is he cosplaying Sebastian? Or Claude?” “I don’t think so, he’s not wearing any makeup…” “Holy crap! He’s that handsome without makeup? His character model is insane!” I was suddenly the center of attention, so embarrassed I could have dug a hole and lived in it. I grabbed Dominic’s hand and pulled him away. Once we were out of the crowd, I finally breathed. “You have to work? What kind of work?” He answered with a straight face, “Yes, I do.” “My job is to accompany you around the convention.” “Noah, I will do anything with you. I will never stand you up. So please… look at me more.” My eyelashes fluttered, and the tips of my ears grew hot. “I spend more time with you than I do at work. Isn’t that enough?” He stared at me. “No. It’s not nearly enough…” His intense, obsessive gaze sent a shiver down my spine. But in the next second, Dominic was back to his usual gentlemanly self. 5 I quickly forgot about that little episode and excitedly dragged Dominic around the convention. By the afternoon, I was getting hungry. We passed a stall where cosplayers were selling snacks, and I wanted to grab something. But as I eagerly headed over, a hand caught my arm. I turned to Dominic. “What’s wrong?” He frowned at the shabby-looking stall, the scent of artificial flavoring wafting over. “If you want takoyaki, I’ll have the chef make it for you when we get home. Don’t eat from street stalls like this. It’s not clean.” At that moment, several girls who had just bought snacks walked past us, giving us a strange look. The kind of look you give rich lunatics. I tugged at his sleeve, embarrassed. “It’s not dirty. Don’t say that.” The girls at the stall were wearing masks and disposable gloves. But Dominic was clearly unconvinced. He didn’t trust any street vendors, food stalls, or hole-in-the-wall restaurants. In the three years we’d been together, I hadn’t had a single bite of delicious junk food. This time was no different. He held my hand, his grip gentle but firm, and wouldn’t let me go. “If you’re hungry, let’s go home.” There it was again. Once he made up his mind, there was nothing I could do to change it. I was still holding the merch I’d bought, only halfway through the convention… but suddenly, all the fun had drained out of it. I lowered my head and went home with Dominic. I don’t know if it was because I’d skipped breakfast or because I was in a bad mood, but my stomach started to hurt on the way home. The pain was so bad my face went pale and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Dominic noticed immediately, his expression changing. In that instant, I knew I was screwed. He had found out I didn’t eat breakfast. From that day on, he watched me eat every single meal. 6 I ate three healthy meals a day under his watchful eye, but my stomach pain didn’t get better. Once, it even woke me up in the middle of the night, a sharp, twisting pain. This time, Dominic ignored my protests and took me to the hospital for a painless gastroscopy, colonoscopy, and a full-body check-up. Finally, the doctor at the private hospital looked at my test results, thought for a long time, and said slowly, “You have some mild gastritis, but nothing serious. Just stick to a light, healthy diet. Most importantly, try to stay in a good mood. The stomach is an organ of emotion…” I walked out of the consultation room in silence. I had barely stepped out the door when my colleague called. Because of my stomach pain last night, Dominic had insisted on taking me to the hospital today. I had to take a sudden day off work and hadn’t had time to hand over my tasks. I stood in the hospital corridor and talked to my colleague for ten minutes before hanging up. When I turned around, I saw Dominic standing behind me, frowning. “Is work very stressful lately?” “No.” “But between the office and working from home, you’ve been averaging overtime until eight-thirty.” “It’s the end of the year. It’s always busy.” I thought that was the end of it, but that night, he brought it up again. “Noah, have you ever thought about your career path?” I looked up from my phone on the sofa, confused. Dominic handed me a glass of warm water and leaned against the armrest, his voice gentle and persuasive. “I think you should consider it. You don’t have to run yourself ragged for a little money. You could think about what you really want to do. Take a break, think about what kind of person you really want to be.” 7 Dominic is six years older than me. I met him during my senior year internship. I had good grades and got into a top company. There were a lot of interns that year, and the backstabbing and office politics left me exhausted and full of self-doubt. I met Dominic when he came back to our university as a distinguished alumnus to give a speech. When he pursued me, he gave me a lot of confidence during a low point in my life. I’m a simple person; he was exceptional, and to be pursued so ardently by someone so exceptional was a huge boost to my ego. It helped me rebuild some of the confidence that the cutthroat corporate culture had shattered. After we got together, aside from his control issues… and his kinky side, he was a nearly perfect partner. As the older one, he had always guided me. I trusted him. After his words, I began to seriously consider the impact my job was having on me. Just then, my company lost two major deals in a row, and rumors of downsizing started to fly. There was a change in the company’s ownership, and the office became a toxic, anxious environment. After being targeted by my boss repeatedly, the thought of quitting started to form in my mind. Coincidentally, Chris returned from his business trip, and I met up with him for dinner. He spent the meal complaining about his trip, and I vented about the chaos at my company. It was a cathartic meal for both of us. Finally, Chris leaned in and whispered mysteriously, “Do you know who our big client was on this trip?” I raised an eyebrow. “Who?” “Evergreen Hospitality,” he said with a sly grin. “You’ve probably never heard of it, but you’ve definitely heard of the Brighton Group that backs it! I was wondering why my boss was making such a big deal out of a regular budget hotel chain. Turns out he was trying to get in with the Brighton Group…” I froze. Of course I knew the Brighton Group. It was a massive conglomerate that had started with a chain of hotels and expanded into multiple sectors. More importantly, the current head of the Brighton Group, Pierce Brighton, was Dominic’s childhood friend. I don’t know how I got back to the office that afternoon. The first thing I did was look up my company’s new owner. It was a company I’d never heard of. But I didn’t give up. I traced the chain of holding companies and majority shareholders all the way up. When the name “Brighton Group” finally appeared, my heart skipped a beat. Of course… How could there be so many coincidences in the world? Chris and I had planned to go to a convention, and he gets sent on an emergency business trip. Dominic thinks my job is affecting my health, and my company loses two major deals and gets a new owner. He had been so subtle about it, even routing everything through Pierce’s name. Even if I found out, he could just say it was a coincidence. Just the Brighton Group’s expansion plans, just Pierce’s decisions. What did it have to do with Dominic? I suddenly clutched my chest, feeling like I couldn’t breathe. 8 “Noah, are you off work? I’m waiting for you in the parking garage…” Today was one of Dominic’s friend’s birthdays, and he was taking me to the party. I calmly went downstairs, found his car, and got in. He expertly navigated out of the garage. Noticing my low mood, he asked softly, “Did you run into trouble at work?” “Yeah.” Seeing I was upset, his voice became even gentler. “A change in ownership and a new boss can really disrupt things. If you’re not adjusting well, you can always take some time off and rest at home. Or if you don’t want to quit, you could consider taking a leave of absence.” “Noah, you’ve been so distracted and down lately. Work is important, but I hope you’ll put your health first.” I suddenly turned and stared straight at him. “Do you want me to quit?” His expression didn’t change. He still wore that faint, gentlemanly smile. “I respect all of your decisions.” 9 The birthday party was held in a newly built private garden, complete with a celebrity-headlined lawn concert. Dominic led me to a table in the inner circle. After dinner, they started playing cards. Dominic won three hands in a row, and the atmosphere became lively. A group of privileged elites, all with a competitive streak, were getting fired up. Pierce was among them, and he was losing the worst, already down two sports cars and a prize horse. Even as everyone ganged up on him, Dominic remained effortlessly in control. He even found a moment to remind me, “Don’t drink. I had someone get you some warm water.” Pierce, seeing he was about to lose again, threw down his cards. He gave a knowing smile and raised an eyebrow. “Dominic, you won’t even let him drink now? You’re getting more twisted by the day.” Then he turned to me. “Noah, has it ever occurred to you that your entire life is being controlled by this psycho?” Dominic wrapped an arm around my suddenly rigid frame, smiled, and threw down a royal flush, winning another hand. He answered for me. “He hasn’t.” Pierce clicked his tongue and gave him a thumbs-up. For a split second, I wanted to flip the table, to smash the wine bottles over Dominic and Pierce’s heads. If you don’t want to perish in silence, you have to fight back.

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On a night of torrential rain, my fiancé abandoned me on the side of the road to go comfort his childhood sweetheart. As I stood there, completely drenched and shivering, a Range Rover pulled over in front of me. A tall, incredibly muscular man stepped out of the car and held an umbrella over my head. “With rain this heavy, what on earth are you doing out here, miss?” My eyes drifted first to his prominent, muscular chest pressing against his shirt, and then slowly up to his face. And then, I burst into loud, ugly tears. He panicked instantly, waving his hands frantically. “Holy shit! Please don’t cry! If you’re in trouble, just tell me! I’ll help you!” 1 “Son of a bitch! Is he even human?!” Sitting in the passenger seat of his car, I finished telling my story. The kind stranger was furious, cursing loudly and slamming his fist against the steering wheel. “What an absolute bastard!” “Don’t cry, miss. Here, dry your hair first.” He handed me a clean towel. His movements were incredibly gentle and careful, a complete contrast to the aggressive way he was cursing just seconds ago. He looked at me with deep sympathy, righteous anger burning in his eyes. “Good lord, look at how he treated a sweet girl like you. He’s a disgrace to men everywhere.” The more he talked, the more wronged I felt, and my tears just wouldn’t stop. Even total strangers thought he was completely out of line, yet Nate Sterling genuinely believed he hadn’t done anything wrong. It was an autumn night. I was soaked to the bone, and the freezing wind made me shiver uncontrollably. The man quickly took off his heavy jacket, draped it over my shoulders, and blasted the car’s heater. “Thank you so much.” “Don’t be sad, miss. I’m not a bad guy, I swear. Where do you live? I’ll drive you home. You’ll catch pneumonia if you stay out here.” I gave him my address, and he drove me straight home. That night, Nate Sterling abandoned me to comfort Chloe, his childhood friend who claimed to have severe depression. Instead, it was a random stranger passing by who saved me. Even though I got into the car quickly, I still woke up the next morning with a high fever. While drifting in and out of consciousness in bed, I heard my mom and Nate talking outside my bedroom door. “I was wrong about last night. I came to apologize to Hazel,” Nate said. My mom sighed. “Couples fight all the time. It’s normal. Just go in and talk to her softly. She’ll forgive you.” My mom didn’t know the full story of what happened last night. She assumed it was just a minor, petty argument. After all, I loved him so deeply and desperately. How could I ever stay mad at him? In the past, a few soft words were all it took for me to forgive him. The bedroom door opened. A warm palm rested gently against my forehead. I opened my eyes and looked at him coldly, turning my head to dodge his touch. Nate froze for a second, but his expression quickly returned to normal. His eyes held a trace of apology. “Last night was an emergency. You know Chloe has severe clinical depression. I couldn’t just leave her alone when she was having an episode.” You couldn’t bear to leave Chloe alone, but you could bear to leave me. A bitter taste flooded my throat, and my heart turned completely cold. Chloe constantly weaponized her “depression,” using it to snatch Nate away from me countless times. During our dates. While we were eating dinner. Even when we were lying in bed at night. All it took was a single phone call. No matter how busy or preoccupied he was, he would drop everything and rush to her side immediately. He constantly told me I needed to be “understanding” of Chloe. He swore he only saw her as a little sister. But what kind of “brother and sister” are so intimately close that they fall asleep hugging in the same bed? He claimed it was because Chloe lacked a sense of security and needed to be comforted. Last night, Chloe called him again, crying hysterically and saying she couldn’t breathe. Nate immediately turned the car around. I snapped and we got into a massive fight. His face was full of annoyance. He frantically checked his watch over and over, terrified that if he delayed even one more second, Chloe might do something drastic. “Can you stop causing drama for once?! Chloe is sick! She is a patient! You have absolutely zero empathy!” In that moment, I desperately wanted to know who mattered more to him. I arrogantly, foolishly issued an ultimatum: “You have to choose right now. It’s either me or Chloe.” And then… I was humiliatingly, brutally abandoned on the side of the road. I still remember the freezing, indifferent tone of his voice right before he left: “You are being incredibly cold-blooded right now. Stand here and reflect on your behavior.” The car tires screeched as he sped away, splashing freezing, muddy rainwater all over my dress. It felt like fireworks going off to celebrate Chloe’s ultimate victory. It was late at night. The road was completely deserted. He wasn’t worried that I might run into danger; he was only worried that Chloe might hurt herself. If that kind stranger hadn’t stopped to help me last night, I have no idea what could have happened to me. If he actually felt guilty, why didn’t he call me once during that entire, endless night? Why didn’t he come looking for me? Why did he only show up now? Because he spent the entire night keeping Chloe company, obviously. The agonizing pain of a heart covered in scars had finally gone completely numb. I was just sinking into an endless abyss. From seventeen to twenty-five. I had to face the brutal reality: the man I had loved for my entire youth was rotten to his very core. I would never be his first choice. As long as Chloe existed, the scales in his heart would always, permanently tip toward her. I stared at him, my gaze terrifyingly calm and detached, and spoke slowly: “Nate, I don’t want to marry you anymore.” “Let’s break up.” “I’ll explain everything clearly to both of our families.” My tone was so incredibly calm that Nate’s expression cracked for a split second. He furrowed his brow, familiarly reaching out to tuck the blankets around me. “You’re just speaking out of anger right now. Don’t say stupid things you’re going to regret later.” He leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead. It was incredibly tender. So tender that it made my nose sting with unshed tears. That’s the cruelest part. I desperately wanted to stop loving this despicable man, but I could still see the ghost of the boy I fell so deeply in love with. It made cutting him out of my life feel like pure psychological torture. “Rest up and get better. I’ll be right here with you.” 2 For the next few days while I recovered at home, Nate visited me every single day. He brought me pastries from my favorite bakery, meticulously fed me my meals, and made sure I took my medicine on time. My parents had originally been against our relationship. They thought Nate was emotionally unstable and unreliable. But I loved him so desperately, and after throwing enough tantrums, they finally gave in and gave us their blessing. Now, seeing Nate acting so attentive and caring, their opinion of him completely flipped. They started treating him incredibly warmly. Nate sat by my bed and said softly, “I already hired the wedding planner. If everything goes smoothly, we can have the wedding by the end of the year.” He held my hand, looking deeply into my eyes: “The venue design is exactly the style you wanted. Your custom wedding dress should arrive soon. Once you recover, we’ll go in for your final fitting.” Maybe God was giving me one final chance to reconsider. Because my fever refused to break, lingering for days. I silently pulled my hand out of his grip. Meeting his shocked gaze, I asked him: “If we get married… what happens to Chloe?” Chloe was Nate’s childhood friend. They grew up on the same street. They had been practically glued together since they were kids. Nate spoiled her like she was his own flesh and blood. He gave her whatever she wanted, and he always, instinctively, prioritized her needs over everything else. It was basically a hardwired reflex. Of course, the “she’s just my little sister” excuse was entirely Nate’s own delusion. In the eyes of their entire friend group, the two of them were soulmates who were destined to end up together. So when Nate finally introduced me to his elite social circle and announced I was his girlfriend… Everyone’s reactions were incredibly complex. But absolutely no one looked happy for us. Especially Chloe. Her face went ghostly pale. She forced a tragic, fragile smile, raised her wine glass, and with tears shimmering in her eyes, said: “Congratulations. I hope Nate and his new girlfriend are very happy together.” That night, Chloe drank heavily. No one could stop her. Nate’s brow remained furrowed in a tight, anxious knot the entire evening. His entire focus was completely monopolized by Chloe. Aside from Nate, I didn’t know a single person in that room. I felt entirely ostracized by their tight-knit group, so incredibly awkward I could only stare down at my phone. When Chloe got blackout drunk, she started crying hysterically and throwing a fit. She refused to let anyone touch her except Nate. In the end, Nate abandoned me. He told me to call an Uber and go home by myself, while he carried Chloe out and drove her home. 3 Before Nate left, he looked furious. Whenever an issue involved Chloe, he seemed to completely lose control of his temper. He looked at me with frustration and annoyance, defending himself: “I told you a million times, she’s just a little sister to me. We are completely platonic! Why do you always have to project such disgusting, toxic assumptions onto everyone?!” Am I the one making toxic assumptions, or are they the ones with something to hide? Honestly, everyone in that room knew the truth. But I wasn’t allowed to say it out loud. The second I said it, I became the villain. After Nate left that night, he didn’t come to see me for several days. My fever eventually broke. A close friend of mine, Leah, was officially launching her new non-profit organization, and the opening ceremony was perfectly timed. Standing near the entrance of the community center, Leah grabbed my hand, pointing excitedly at a man in the center of the room being praised by local politicians. “Look, that’s our primary donor! He’s incredibly generous. When he heard about our youth outreach program, he just signed a check for $500,000 without even blinking.” The man was extremely tall and powerfully built. He stood out massively in the crowd. The second I looked at him, I recognized him. It was the good Samaritan who drove me home that night in the rain. A second later, he turned his head and locked eyes with me. A look of genuine surprise crossed his face, and he walked briskly toward me. “Hey! Aren’t you the girl who was crying her eyes out on the side of the road in the middle of the night?” Leah froze, her expression instantly darkening. “What do you mean, crying on the side of the road in the middle of the night?” The man immediately slapped his own mouth lightly. “Ah, my bad! I shouldn’t have brought that up. Don’t be mad, miss, I didn’t mean to reopen an old wound.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine. Honestly, I really need to thank you again. I wouldn’t have made it home safe without you.” He waved his hand dismissively, a booming, hearty laugh escaping him. “Don’t mention it! That’s what neighbors are for.” He was clearly an incredibly kind, straightforward guy. He drove a stranded girl home in the freezing rain, and he was dropping half a million dollars on a local charity. Plus, he just radiated a rugged, protective aura. “By the way, miss, what’s your name?” “Hazel.” “Beautiful name. I’m Carter Vance.” He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper: “So… did you finally dump that piece of garbage boyfriend yet?” At the mention of Nate, my smile turned slightly bitter. “I’m planning to call off the engagement soon.” “Good for you! Let me tell you, where I’m from, a man who doesn’t treat his woman like a queen deserves to be struck by lightning.” Leah, who had been completely out of the loop, stared at me with wide eyes. “Wait… what?! You’re breaking off the engagement with Nate?!” Instead of trying to convince me to reconsider, she slapped her thigh, her eyes lighting up with absolute joy. “HELL YES! You should have dumped that loser years ago!” “He and Chloe are a toxic, narcissistic match made in hell. If I didn’t know how deeply in love you were, I would have told you to run a long time ago!” Sometimes, people refuse to listen to advice. But when life finally slaps them in the face, they learn the lesson immediately. 4 When Nate heard that Leah was launching a non-profit, he also donated $15,000. He was wealthy; to him, it was just pocket change. Even Chloe donated $3,000. Nate used this exact point to lecture me: “I told you Chloe has a good heart. The misunderstandings between you two are just too deep. You need to find a time to sit down and clear the air with her.” In his mind, even after we were married, he had absolutely no intention of cutting contact with Chloe. In fact, he demanded that I learn to get along with her. What was his ultimate goal here? A modern-day harem where everyone lived in harmony under his roof? When Leah found out about the night Nate abandoned me on the road, she was so furious she actually cried. She wanted to refund Nate and Chloe’s donations immediately, but I stopped her. “Don’t let pride get in the way of funding. There are so many kids who need food and supplies. Our current budget is nowhere near enough.” “So when are you going to tell your parents about calling off the engagement? Is Nate actually going to agree to it?” Nate felt completely secure. He wasn’t worried that I would break off the engagement unilaterally. Because technically, he and Chloe hadn’t engaged in any explicitly sexual or romantic physical contact. If I used Chloe as the reason for the breakup, his entire social circle would just brand me as a paranoid, hysterical, jealous woman making a huge scene over nothing. The end of this relationship couldn’t be framed as my fault. While I was trying to figure out a clean exit strategy, Nate invited his friend group out for dinner. Chloe was there, too. His goal was obvious: he wanted to force me and Chloe to “resolve our misunderstandings” and force me to finally accept her presence in our lives. Nate’s world simply could not function without Chloe in it. He would rather force me to swallow my humiliation and pain than ever abandon her. Using group pressure and social dynamics to “mediate” our relationship was nothing but emotional blackmail. When I arrived at the restaurant, Chloe was sitting in the dead center of the private dining room, surrounded by their friends. Her eyes were red, she looked incredibly fragile and tragic, and everyone was fawning over her, comforting her. She was the beloved, protected princess of their elite little clique. She was the only girl in the group, and she grew up alongside Nate. I was just the awkward outsider who suddenly intruded on their perfect dynamic during high school. Back then, I genuinely believed Nate and Chloe were just platonic friends. He rarely even mentioned her name around me. But one afternoon, I went to drop off an umbrella for Nate because it was raining. From a distance, I saw Chloe arguing with him. I didn’t hear what she said, but she ended up crying and sprinting away into the rain. The very next day, Nate officially asked me to be his girlfriend. After that, I didn’t see Chloe around him for a very long time. Until the news of Chloe’s “clinical depression” suddenly broke. Even though Nate’s friends were superficially polite to me, behind my back, they blamed me for Chloe’s mental breakdown. In their eyes, I was the malicious homewrecker who had stolen Nate and destroyed Chloe’s life. “Don’t worry, Chloe. With us here, she wouldn’t dare try to bully you.” “Seriously, Nate, why do you put up with Hazel? She’s the one who needs to apologize, and she has the nerve to show up late?” “Can’t you see how devastated Chloe is? Why do you insist on staying with Hazel? What does she even have to offer?” Right as their toxic gossip reached its peak, I pushed the heavy oak doors open and walked in. The room instantly fell dead silent. The expressions on everyone’s faces were incredibly entertaining, quickly smoothing over into masks of thinly veiled disgust. They reflexively ignored my existence, performatively pouring tea and handing tissues to Chloe, deliberately trying to signal that Chloe was fundamentally different from me, and that I would never, ever be accepted as one of them. I smiled. “What’s with the setup? Are you guys planning to put me on trial?” Nate pulled me down into the chair next to him, frowning. “Hazel, could you please not speak with such a hostile tone? You never used to be like this.” As he said that, his eyes instinctively darted toward Chloe. Seeing her looking like she was about to cry, a flash of deep pain crossed his face, and he looked back at me with sharp reprimand. It was as if I was just being an irrational, dramatic child. He had completely forgotten his promise to love and accept every part of me. Now, just because I made one slightly sarcastic comment, he was already blaming me to protect his precious childhood friend. Honestly, he wasn’t any different from the rest of the people in this room. Deep down, he had never truly viewed me as a real part of his life. The good news was: I didn’t care anymore. Chloe forced a tragic, brave smile, sniffled quietly, and raised her glass of juice toward me. “Hazel… in the past, I was immature and didn’t understand boundaries. I caused too much trouble for you and Nate. It was my fault. I’m apologizing to you now, and I really hope you can forgive me.” The young woman looked at me with an expression of profound sorrow, mixed with a defiant, stubborn glint in her eye. It was obvious she wasn’t actually sorry at all. I didn’t even bother standing up. I just stared dead into her eyes. “Chloe, are you actually diagnosed with clinical depression? Or are you just faking it?” The second the words left my mouth, Nate violently grabbed my wrist. His face contorted with rage, looking like he genuinely wanted to murder me. “HAZEL!” Chloe’s expression completely shattered. Her face went stark white, she covered her face with her hands, and burst into hysterical, gut-wrenching sobs. “Hazel… how could you possibly say something so cruel?” The entire room erupted in fury, pointing fingers at me. “Hazel, are you even human?! Who the hell jokes about something like that?!” Coincidentally, one of my close friends worked in the exact psychiatric hospital where Chloe claimed to receive treatment. I had asked her to check the system. Chloe’s name was completely absent from all patient records. I had actually told Nate about this before. But he refused to believe me. After all, Chloe had genuinely been admitted to the ICU for a “suicide attempt” in the past. I watched the chaotic, screaming room with absolute, deadpan calm. Nate was deeply offended by my cold, emotionless reaction. His eyes were full of profound disappointment. “You never used to be like this.” “You never used to be like this either.” I laughed. “Did you forget the promises you made to my parents?” “We haven’t even been engaged for that long, and you’re already teaming up with outsiders to bully me.” “Nate, you are truly an incredible fiancé.” His face cycled through several shades of red and white. His friends were yelling loudly, aggressively demanding that Nate “be a man” and put me in my place. Nate gritted his teeth, and ultimately, chose to stand firmly by Chloe’s side. “Hazel, you need to apologize to Chloe.” His voice was soft, almost like he was coaxing me. He was coaxing me to lower my head and submit to the woman he shared an ambiguous, emotionally entangled history with. My nose stung with a sharp, burning sensation. I suddenly realized that I had never, truly seen the real him. Or maybe, I had just projected my own idealized fantasy onto him. And now that I had finally accumulated enough disappointment, I could see his true face with absolute clarity. Everyone loves a man with a strong sense of responsibility, empathy, and devotion. But when a man distributes that responsibility, empathy, and devotion generously to every woman around him… he’s not a good man. He’s just a communal space heater. My eyes burned hot. Without saying a single word, I picked up the glass of iced water on the table and threw it directly into Nate’s face. The entire room gasped in shock. Nate’s face went completely, terrifyingly dark. Whatever final shred of patience he had for me instantly vanished. “Hazel, have you lost your fucking mind?!” The man sitting next to Chloe lunged forward, his face twisted in fury, raising his hand to hit me. With tears still blurring my vision. I grabbed a heavy glass tumbler and smashed it directly into his face. SMASH. It hit him square in the nose. Blood instantly gushed everywhere, and the sheer pain made him howl in agony, tears streaming down his face. “You’re all a bunch of brain-dead dogs. I’m done playing your pathetic little games!” I grabbed my designer purse and turned to leave. Nate chased after me, grabbing my wrist tightly, refusing to let go. “Hazel, you are going to apologize to them right now! If you don’t, how are you ever going to interact with my friends after we get married?!” I wouldn’t interact with your fucking friends even if you paid me! I swung my free hand around and slapped Nate hard across the face. “If you care about them so much, why don’t you just marry them instead?!” Even if I hadn’t already decided to cancel the wedding, why the hell would I ever care what these irrelevant losers thought? “You are being completely irrational!” “You are coming back inside with me right now!” Chloe, who had followed him out, tried to intervene, pulling at our arms. “Nate, please! This is all my fault. Please don’t fight with Hazel over me!” In the chaotic scuffle, someone shoved her hard. Chloe fell to the floor, scraping the palms of her hands on the pavement. She winced, her face going pale from the pain. Seeing her injured, Nate completely abandoned our argument, immediately dropping to his knees to frantically check on Chloe. “I’m fine. I just really don’t want you two to ruin your relationship because of me.” Chloe had an incredibly innocent, pure aesthetic. When she cried, she looked heartbreakingly fragile. Nate could never bear to see his precious “little sister” shed a single tear. And now, he truly, deeply hated me. “Hazel. If you refuse to apologize to Chloe right now…” “Then I think we need to cancel the wedding.” Using the wedding to threaten me? That was exactly what I had been praying for. Since I managed to secretly record the entire conversation on my phone, everyone would clearly hear Nate prioritizing an outsider and trying to force his fiancée to submit. When I leaked the audio, the blame would fall entirely on him. I didn’t have the energy to waste another breath on these two. I turned around to walk away. But Nate blocked my path again. As we struggled, a massive hand suddenly grabbed Nate by the shoulder and shoved him violently backward. Nate stumbled, nearly losing his balance, his brow furrowing in anger. “Who the hell are you?!” I stared blankly at the man who had just appeared. Carter Vance glared at Nate with a terrifying, aggressive scowl, pointing a thick finger directly at his face. “Who am I? I’m your worst fucking nightmare!” “Are you incapable of using your words like a man?! Why the fuck are you grabbing her?! You dress like a Wall Street executive, but you act like a complete degenerate! If there weren’t security cameras here, I’d rip that arm off and use it to scratch my dog’s back!” This guy could curse like a sailor without even pausing for breath. I didn’t know Carter was not only kind-hearted, but also an elite-tier trash talker. Nate’s face flushed a violent shade of red. He wasn’t the type to get into screaming matches; he literally didn’t know how to respond to street-level aggression. “What I do with my fiancée is none of your business!” Carter’s eyes went wide. He looked at Nate, then looked down at Chloe sitting on the floor. He nodded slowly, a disgusted smirk on his face. “Ah. So you’re the absolute scumbag who abandoned this sweet girl on the side of the road in the freezing rain to go hook up with your side-piece.” “I have a great eye for reading people. One look at you, and I knew exactly what you were. You and this little green-tea manipulator are clearly screwing around behind her back, and you have the audacity to come out here and torture a good woman.” “What century do you think this is? Are you trying to build a harem?!” Chloe had never been spoken to with such vulgar, brutal disrespect in her entire life. Her face turned just as pale as Nate’s. “What kind of garbage are you spewing?!” Carter shot her a freezing, contemptuous glare. “A girl like you is so toxic I could use you as rat poison, and you’d still smell like cheap perfume. Don’t sit there trying to play the innocent victim when you know exactly what you’re doing.” He wrapped his massive, muscular arm around my shoulders, pulling me protectively behind his back. Seeing this, Nate suppressed his fury and reached his hand out toward me. “Hazel. Come here.” Carter immediately launched another devastating verbal combo. “Come where?! Who the hell do you think you are, ordering her around like a dictator?!” “If I hadn’t happened to drive by and pick her up that night, she could be the victim on tonight’s True Crime broadcast! You abandoned your own fiancée shivering in the freezing rain, just so you could go snuggle up in a warm bed with your side-chick!” Nate was 6’1″, which wasn’t short. But standing next to Carter, he was still half a head shorter. Combined with Carter’s massive, heavily muscled frame, the physical intimidation factor was completely unmatched. He looked incredibly aggressive and scary, but standing behind him, I felt an overwhelming, profound sense of safety. When Nate’s friends had ganged up to bully me, I didn’t cry. When he stood by Chloe’s side and demanded I apologize, I didn’t cry. But suddenly, hearing a total stranger forcefully validate all the trauma and injustice I had suffered… Having someone finally stand up for me… I couldn’t hold it back anymore. The tears just started falling. Carter was a pro at talking trash, but he clearly had no idea how to handle a crying woman. Seeing my tears, he panicked, stammering awkwardly for a few seconds. Finally, he leaned down and whispered softly in my ear: “Don’t cry, Hazel. Give me a minute, I’ll find some guys to beat the shit out of him later.” My tears stopped instantly. I was supposed to be deeply upset, but his comment caught me so off guard I actually laughed. “Assault is a felony.” He winked at me conspiratorially. “Don’t worry. I’ll do it quietly. No one will ever know.”

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I was the pampered secret Norman Lancaster held in the palm of his hand. When his obsession with me was at its peak, even the most arrogant old-money socialites in Manhattan had to treat me with respect. That was until one day, at twenty-eight years old, I was personally decorating a private table at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Hudson River for our ninth anniversary. My phone buzzed with a text from him. “I am getting engaged today… I was worried you might find out and cause a scene.” “Be a good girl. I will come home later and explain.” The silver fork in my hand clattered against the plate. I froze, paralyzed. It felt like the floor had opened up, swallowing me into an endless abyss. Tears spilled over my lashes before I could even blink. “Then all these years… what was I to you?” I hit send. The chat screen remained dead, met with an agonizing, suffocating silence. 1 The dawn sky was a stifling, cinematic gray, making the faint flush of warmth in the bedroom feel even more intense. I had just rolled over. My gaze collided straight into the dark, bottomless eyes of the man beside me. They were heavy with sleep. He had just woken up. “You are up early,” I whispered. The arm wrapped around my waist suddenly tightened, locking me against his hard chest. “Dom, stop…” “Mhm.” He let out a low, gravelly hum that vibrated against my skin. His hands, however, did not stop. Warm fingers, heavy with familiar desire, smoothly slipped the strap of my silk nightgown down my shoulder, tracing lower. Before I could even push him away, his powerful, overwhelming body pressed over mine. … Two hours later. I dozed lightly against his chest until the bright morning sun pierced through the curtains, waking me up. His hands were still brazenly wandering over my curves. His voice was lazy, completely satisfied. “What is it? Cannot sleep?” I shifted my aching hips and playfully punched his shoulder. Pulling the heavy duvet over my flushed face, I mumbled my complaint. “It is all your fault…” He had been utterly insatiable last night, taking me again and again until I was entirely exhausted. And the second he opened his eyes this morning, he was all over me again. It always gave me this pathetic, delusional hope that he loved me down to the marrow of his bones. Because of that, the tiny, suppressed hope in my heart started sprouting like weeds after the rain. I just could not keep it buried. I crawled up, resting my chin on his chest. My index finger traced slow, teasing circles over his smooth skin, careful and deliberate. “Norman… do you know what day it is today?” The pale, elegant fingers holding his cigarette paused. It was as if he had hit an invisible wall. His hand froze in mid-air. His thin lips parted slightly. “No. Why? Is something going on?” Plumes of white smoke drifted upward in lonely, perfect rings. The haze blurred his sharp, devastatingly handsome features, but it could not hide the sudden, icy shift in his demeanor. I shivered, my heart dropping to my stomach. I understood instantly. He had forgotten what today was. Again. A heavy weight dragged my chest down. For the past nine years, today had been our anniversary. Yet, he never actively remembered it. It felt deliberate. Like he was erasing it on purpose. He would go all out for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or my birthday, showering me in diamonds and attention. But never today. It made me feel so incredibly cherished, yet utterly worthless all at once. … The silence in the bedroom grew deafening. “Are you mad?” Seeing my silence, he leaned over and pinched my chin, tilting my face up. I snapped out of my daze. His expression had returned to normal. He stared down at me, letting out a low chuckle. “Let me guess what holiday you invented this time. A rose festival? A Cartier jewelry day?” That lethal, sexy mouth curved upward. “I will have Assistant Wyatt handle it for you.” “But,” he added, his tone dripping with lazy finality, “I really do have plans tonight.” He said it so casually, but there was an underlying, absolute authority in his voice that dared me to argue. A massive wave of grievance hit me. My eyes quickly filled with hot tears. If it were any other day, I would have swallowed my pride and compromised like a good girl. But not today. Today, I wanted to be selfish. I forced my voice to stay steady, completely ignoring his warning as I blurted out the truth. “What could possibly be so important that you cannot cancel it? I do not care. You have to have dinner with me tonight.” The relaxed lines between Norman’s brows snapped together. He eyed me, his aura turning freezing cold, but he maintained a sliver of patience. “I cannot cancel it.” My chest physically ached. I raised my voice, fueled by pure hurt. “Norman, are you doing this on purpose? I said, you are having dinner with me.” “…” When his sharp, perfectly sculpted brows furrowed deeply, a distinct look of offense crossed his face. Like a peasant had just insulted a king. It was a look I had never seen directed at me. His glacial eyes swept over me without an ounce of affection before looking away. He coldly put out his cigarette, stood up, and fastened his luxury watch around his wrist. “We will talk later.” He grabbed his crisp dress shirt and put it on. It was not until he was fully dressed and standing by the bedroom door that he finally looked back at me. His voice was laced with pure frost. “Madeline, you are crossing a line with this tantrum. It is not a good look on you.” Panic instantly seized my throat. I called out desperately, “Dom…” But the only answer I got was the sound of the heavy bedroom door slamming shut. The lock clicked, trapping my voice inside this massive, empty room. 2 Norman said this was not like me. But did he know that this was not like him either? When I first met him nine years ago, the image burned into my brain was of a man entirely composed, brutally disciplined, and untouchable. It seemed like nothing in the world could ever make him lose his temper. At least, that was how he had always been with me. I still remember our very first encounter. It was my college graduation. As the valedictorian, I was supposed to receive my diploma and an award from him, our university’s most prestigious billionaire donor. When our hands met, the hand offering me the certificate paused. His voice, crisp and cool like a rushing stream, echoed through the microphone. “Excellent work. What is your next goal?” In that exact moment, I looked up and got lost in his eyes. I completely froze. How could I even describe those eyes? They were obsidian, mysterious, like a massive black hole threatening to swallow me whole. I could hear my own heartbeat going absolutely chaotic in my ears. “I, I…” In my panic, my fingers crushed the edge of my graduation gown. The words tumbled out of my mouth. “I want to be yours…” “…” The entire auditorium went dead silent. A second later, a massive wave of laughter erupted from the crowd. I stood there, paralyzed, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me. My face drained of all color. I waved my hands frantically, desperate to fix it. “No, no, no! I meant… I want to be someone like you…” Despite my absolute humiliation, the man standing before me remained perfectly composed. There was not a single ripple of shock in his eyes. Those dark, narrow eyes gleamed slightly under the stage lights. His thin lips curved into a smile gentler than a spring breeze. “A very creative opening statement. Miss Madeline truly earns her title as valedictorian. The rest of you should take notes.” He chuckled softly. “I will remember you.” “Keep up the good work,” he said smoothly. Norman did not get offended. Instead, in front of thousands of people, he handed me a graceful way out, rescuing my fragile, shattered pride. His grace left me absolutely deeply shaken. That day felt like I had been cleansed by a sudden, beautiful rainstorm. I also knew, deep down, that he was a shore I could never reach, no matter how hard I swam. After graduation, I found a decent corporate job in Boston. I mapped out a practical life, aiming for a modest, successful future that had absolutely nothing to do with him. But just as my life was getting on track, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer. In just three months, we drained every single penny we owned, but we still could not save her. My father broke under the grief. He turned to alcohol, cigarettes, and eventually, underground gambling. He mortgaged our house and took out massive loans from loan sharks. He destroyed whatever was left of our family. The next time I saw Norman, I was taking a shot of cheap tequila for a girl named Penny. She was there to party. I was there as a bottle girl, desperate for cash. Inside a loud, chaotic VIP booth, a sweaty, drunk man was dragging her by the wrist, trying to force liquor down her throat. “I bought this, so you are going to drink it.” “I will not!” Penny thrashed wildly. “Let go of me! My uncle is Norman Lancaster! If you touch me, he will destroy you!” That specific name made my hand freeze over the ice bucket. The next second, right as the man was about to pour the liquor into her mouth, I reached out and snatched the glass. “I will take this drink for her.” The man looked up, annoyed. His gaze landed on my face, tracing my pale skin, my features, and my long legs in the uniform skirt. I knew exactly what my assets were. His eyes lit up with disgusting hunger. “Alright, sweetheart. You drink it. Drink this, spend the night with me, and I will let the little brat go.” … I lost count of how many glasses they shoved down my throat. Suddenly, a glass bottle shattered against the fat man’s head with a sickening crunch. When I forced my heavy eyelids open, the disgusting man was already cowering on the floor. Standing over him was a tall, imposing figure. Through my blurred, spinning vision, I only saw a man in a flawless tailored suit. His aura was entirely lethal yet aristocratic. His hand, adorned with a million-dollar watch, grasped my arm with strict professional boundaries, pulling me up. “Are you alright?” My tongue felt numb. “I… I…” I just gave up and shook my head. I was practically dragged out of the club. The wind outside was brutal. The cold air mixing with the alcohol made the world spin violently. I collapsed onto the soft mattress of a luxury hotel room without ever seeing the man’s face clearly. But my intuition screamed at me. I knew it was Norman Lancaster. When I woke up the next morning, the suite was empty. But on the nightstand, there was a crisp piece of hotel stationery. “I remember you. Thank you for what you did last night. Here is my personal number. Keep it just in case.” The elegant handwriting perfectly matched his breathtaking profile. His face instantly flashed in my mind. My heart hammered against my ribs like an earthquake. 3 After that night, I kept my job at the club, constantly scanning the crowds, hoping Norman would walk through the doors again. But my luck was terrible. I did not find the man I was waiting for. Instead, I ran straight into the drunk man from that night. I learned his name was Director Marcus. He was a sleazy film director who had a few hit movies years ago and now used his fading influence to exploit desperate young actresses. Penny, wanting to break into Hollywood without her family’s help, had been tricked into coming to his booth. I was holding a tray of drinks when I locked eyes with him. The stench of stale alcohol hit my nose immediately. “You.” He ground his teeth, his eyes turning vicious. “You actually have the nerve to show your face around me?” His sweaty, greasy hands shot out, wrapping around my throat like a vice. He leaned in, panting heavily. “I am going to end you tonight, you little bitch.” My face drained of blood. I thrashed wildly, trying to break free. The other men in the VIP room immediately understood the assignment. They stood up and walked out, clearing the room for him. I screamed for help. “No! Let me go!” But the heavy, soundproof door clicked shut right in front of my eyes. My heart plummeted into absolute darkness. He violently threw me onto the leather sofa. His hands ripped at my uniform shirt, tearing the fabric. My hands scrambled blindly across the table, praying to find a glass bottle or a corkscrew. Anything. Instead, my fingers brushed against the phone in my vest pocket. I pressed the emergency dial without looking. BANG. The heavy doors were kicked open. Norman’s massive frame stood in the doorway, backlit by the hallway lights like a literal god. That was the third time we met. Right in the middle of my ruined, miserable life. I was exhausted, broken, and helpless. He was the light cutting through the fog. I found out later why my accidental emergency call got him there so fast. He was already in the club that night for a meeting. He had seen me when he walked in, but he had kept his distance. Because of my own calculated move to set his private number as my emergency contact, I had miraculously saved my own life. “Mr. Lancaster, thank you.” My throat was bruised. My voice came out cracked and hoarse. Norman’s eyes swept over my torn clothes. With perfect gentlemanly grace, he shrugged off his expensive suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. He smiled faintly, polite and distant. “Do not mention it, Miss Madeline. I owed you a favor anyway.” “Consider us even.” Just then, his assistant walked in, carrying a brand new dress. I took it gratefully and went to the bathroom to change. When I stepped back out, I had regained whatever little dignity I had left. “The dress is beautiful. It looks like I owe you a favor again, Mr. Lancaster.” “…” As a way to repay him, or rather, using my gratitude as an excuse to cling to him. For the next two weeks, I practically stalked him. I begged him to hire me as his personal secretary. First, I genuinely wanted to pay him back. Second, I had realized a brutal truth. In this world, the only way to survive and protect myself was to stand behind the most powerful man in the room. Initially, Norman refused. But by pure luck, his executive secretary of five years, Rachel, had to go on sudden maternity leave. Her absence threw his entire meticulous life into absolute chaos. It was 11:00 PM. The icy winter wind slashed against my face, chilling me to the bone. I stood right outside the glass doors of Lancaster Corp headquarters. I watched this pristine, flawless billionaire walk out of the lobby, heavily rubbing his temples in exhaustion. His jaw was clenched tight, his expression masking deep frustration. His right hand was pressed hard against his stomach, rubbing it as if he were in pain from skipping meals. As his long strides carried him past me, I took a deep breath. I told myself, This is it. It is time to let go. But to my absolute shock, those expensive leather shoes stopped, turned around, and walked right back into my line of sight. “It seems I really cannot function without a woman organizing my life.” The freezing wind messed up his perfectly styled hair. His voice sounded like it was echoing from a deep, lonely cavern. Cold, detached, but yielding. He said, “Want to give it a try?” “…” And just like that. Our fourth encounter stopped time itself. I never told him that night was my deadline. I had made a bet with myself. If he rejected me by midnight, I would disappear from his life forever. Thank God. I had taken ninety-nine steps toward him, and just as I was about to turn around, he took the final step toward me. 4 After becoming Norman’s secretary, I became the busiest woman in New York. I did not want him to think I was a burden, so I compressed months of training into weeks, learning every single detail of his personal and professional life. My analytical brain, the one that made me valedictorian, allowed me to adapt instantly and navigate the corporate warzone with ease. Norman was extremely satisfied with my performance. Though he never praised me with words. Instead, he doubled my base salary, gave me massive performance bonuses, and bought me a luxury condo in the center of Manhattan. It was a life I used to think was a fantasy. Then came that night. I was wearing a stunning, elegant off-the-shoulder gown, accompanying him to an exclusive high-society gala. The old wolves of Wall Street kept coming over to toast him. As his secretary, I flawlessly stepped in, blocking the liquor and downing glass after glass with polite, charming smiles. I drank too much, too fast. My head was spinning. I excused myself and stepped out onto the terrace to get some fresh air. Suddenly, a warm, high-quality suit jacket was draped over my bare shoulders. My heart fluttered. Thinking it was Norman, I turned around eagerly. But the man standing there had a face I had never seen before. He had striking features and radiated an easy, arrogant wealth. I frowned immediately. “And you are?”

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I woke up five years in the future. Married to my ex-boyfriend, who was now a titan of industry. And pregnant with his child. But he seemed to despise me. When I tried to cook for him, he wouldn’t touch the food. “What did you lace it with this time?” When I offered myself to him, he just sneered. “Trying to get me in the mood just so you can shove another woman into my bed again?” I begged him to let us be a happy family of three. He looked at me like a wounded animal. “Are you trying to humiliate me with this baby again?” Goddammit. You’re telling me the baby isn’t even his? 1 Last night, Cole had gone at it until the early hours of the morning. The insatiable beast. He nearly took me apart. “Cole!” I called out habitually. “Get me a glass of water.” Silence. No one answered. The silk sheet slid off my body as I sat up, revealing the slinky nightdress I had on. For all his rough handling last night, there wasn’t a single mark on my skin. Wait a second. I stared down at my stomach in shock. What was this… gentle curve? I… was pregnant? The room was unfamiliar, a minimalist palette of white and gray, with luxury whispering from every detail. But I could have sworn… last night, I was with Cole in his tiny rental apartment. The rickety wooden bed had creaked and groaned under his relentless assault all night long… 2 In a panic, I instinctively dialed Cole’s number. “What is it?” His voice was cold. I bit my lip, feeling a rush of confusion and hurt. “Where did you go?” “The office.” “The auto shop?” A pause. Cole’s voice came back through the line, laced with an unnerving chill. “Are you planning to use my past against me again?” “What past?” I was completely baffled. “Don’t you work at the auto shop?” “And another thing, last night we were in your apartment. How did I end up…” Beep… beep… beep… Before I could finish, the line went dead. Cole had hung up on me. That bastard! I cursed under my breath. Just as I was about to call him back, my eyes froze on the screen. The year… was 2030. Five years in the future. My gaze drifted numbly to my rounded belly. The horrifying realization dawned on me: I had somehow time-traveled five years forward. And I was pregnant. An old photograph sat on the nightstand. It showed a vibrant, dolled-up me, standing next to a ruggedly handsome Cole in a tank top. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I redialed his number. “Cole, we’re married, right?” “How many years has it been?” “How did my dad ever agree to let me marry you?” I was desperate to understand what had happened in those five years. But Cole seemed to hear something else entirely. He let out a bitter laugh. “Stella, are you trying to tell me you regret it all over again? This is the third time this month you’ve brought up divorce.” He paused. “And I’ve told you before, I won’t agree to it.” 3 “Who said anything about a divorce?” I asked, stunned. That face, that body, that… stamina. And now he was loaded? Why in the world would I want to divorce him? The other end of the line was silent. So silent I could hear the sudden hitch in his breathing. After a long moment, he said flatly, “Do whatever you want.” And before I could say another word, he hung up again. Seriously? When did this man get so moody? I probably spoiled him. You can’t spoil men. Knowing I was in my own home, at least, brought a small measure of relief. I decided to change and go downstairs. But when I opened the closet, I froze. It was an explosion of gaudy colors. Each outfit was tackier than the last. Ugh. This was my future self’s taste? I managed to find a relatively simple dress and slipped it on, then padded downstairs in my slippers. To my surprise, I found a familiar face in the living room. “Martha?” I cried out in delight. Martha had been our family’s housekeeper for over twenty years. Seeing someone I knew and trusted in this strange future was a huge comfort. “Perfect timing,” I said, linking my arm through hers warmly. “I was just about to cook a meal for Cole. With you teaching me, I know I can do it.” Martha’s expression was complicated. She hesitated, then whispered, “Ma’am… are you planning on making things difficult for Mr. Donovan again?” Making things difficult? Considering my disastrous cooking skills, that wasn’t an exaggeration. She tried to say more, but I cut her off. “I know Cole. Even if it tastes awful, he’ll force himself to eat every last bite.” 4 In the kitchen, I casually tried to pump her for information about the last five years. Five years ago, I had defied my family to marry Cole. After the wedding, he quit his job and started his own business to give me a better life. My father, despite his disdain for his penniless son-in-law, had secretly provided a lot of support in the early days. And Cole had more than proven himself. In just five years, he had transformed from a poor kid into one of the brightest rising stars in Crestwood. According to Martha, his wealth and status now far surpassed my father’s. “It’s just…” Martha began, her voice trailing off as she helped me with a chicken soup. “Ma’am, are you still seeing that boy, Jax?” “Jax?” I asked, stirring a pot distractedly. “Who’s that?” Martha looked stunned. “Your… boyfriend.” I nearly choked on my own saliva. Our eyes met. “I’ve been cheating?” Martha nodded, her face a mask of sorrow. “He’s a mechanic, too. You were so insistent on the divorce, you wanted to…” Her words were cut short by the sound of footsteps at the door. Martha fell silent instantly. I turned around and saw him. The Cole of five years later. His long legs were encased in tailored slacks, the cuffs of his dress shirt unbuttoned to the second button, giving him an air of rugged maturity. He was leaner now, his features sharper. Even knowing he was my legal husband, the sight of him still made me blush. “You’re… home.” “Yeah.” So cold. But then again, I was cheating on him with a younger guy. Why would he be nice to me? Taking a deep breath, I plastered a smile on my face and braced myself to clean up my future self’s mess. “You must be tired. Why don’t you wait outside? Dinner’s almost ready.” Cole’s eyes scanned the loose apron tied over my pregnant belly. His tone was flat. “I’m not hungry.” With that, he switched on the kitchen’s ventilation fan and turned to leave. “Cole!” I grabbed a spatula and hurried after him, my voice turning into an involuntary whine. “It’s almost done. I made all your favorites. Just try a little, please?” “I’m not hungry,” he repeated, and walked out. Beside me, Martha asked timidly, “Ma’am, should I… finish the food?” I sighed. “Yeah, let’s finish it.” 5 Dinner was ready. Four simple, home-cooked dishes and a soup. Cole, who had claimed he wasn’t hungry, was now sitting at the dining table. This is a good sign, I thought, and quickly placed a shrimp in his bowl. “Ma’am,” Martha whispered urgently from beside me, “Mr. Donovan is allergic to shrimp.” Damn it. I quickly snatched it back and replaced it with a piece of braised pork. But Cole didn’t move his chopsticks. He leaned back in his chair, watching me with a cool, detached amusement. “Go on. Tell me.” “What did you put in the food this time?” I stared at him, dumbfounded. “I didn’t…” Cole cut me off with a cynical drawl. “You’ve cooked twice this year. The first time, you put laxatives in my food. The second time, it was sleeping pills. All because I wouldn’t agree to a divorce. So, Stella, what is it this time?” I looked at him in disbelief, utterly speechless. “I really didn’t put anything in it.” To prove it, I frantically picked up a piece of meat and shoved it into my mouth. “See? It’s not poisoned…” “Ugh…” Cole’s face darkened. He reached out and tried to pry the food out of my mouth. “Fine, I’ll eat it, okay?” he snapped. “I’d eat it even if it was poisoned. You don’t have to do this.” I pushed his hand away and swallowed the chunk of meat whole. “It’s not poisoned, it’s just… really bad.” It had a greasy, gamey taste. Cole stared at me for a long moment. Then he sat back down. I could have sworn I saw the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile. He finally picked up his chopsticks. I watched his face intently. Sure enough, the moment the food touched his lips, even the stoic Cole couldn’t help but frown. But he had grown up poor. As bad as it was, he ate almost everything. Seeing him in a better mood, I decided to strike while the iron was hot. “Cole, I need to talk to you tonight.” His hand, holding the chopsticks, froze. “I’m busy.” His expression turned cold again. He set his chopsticks down with a sharp clatter. “I have to work late. We can talk some other time.” 6 I sat at the table, chin in my hands, lamenting my terrible luck. Five years of my life were a complete blank. It was no different from having my life cut short by five years. And on top of that, I had to clean up my future self’s messes and win back my husband. This new CEO version of Cole was moody and unpredictable, his temper turning on a dime. I sighed. Martha hesitated before asking, “Ma’am, are you… still planning on asking for a divorce tonight?” I blinked. “You thought I wanted to talk to him about a divorce?” “Well… yes, didn’t you?” Martha murmured, confused. “For the past year, you’ve been dead set on divorcing him. Every time you see him, you’re either forcing him to sign the papers or begging him to let you go.” I thought back to the ugly look on Cole’s face just now. So that was it. He had shut down and claimed he was busy because he was afraid I was going to bring up divorce again? That fool. 7 Cole worked in his study late into the night. I was dozing off waiting for him when I heard footsteps outside my door. They moved through the moonlit hallway and stopped right outside. Sleep vanished instantly. I grabbed my pillow and got out of bed. When I pulled the door open, I was met with Cole’s startled, vulnerable gaze. He froze, then slowly lowered the unlit cigarette from his fingers. “Cole,” I whispered. He gave me a complicated look, then rubbed his temples with a grimace. “I’m exhausted. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.” He turned to leave again. Gritting my teeth, I followed him, pillow tucked under one arm, and looped my other arm through his. Cole went rigid. I looked up at him. “I don’t want to sleep alone. I’m scared.” He turned his head away. Another rejection. “I have to work. I’m too tired.” “I won’t bother you,” I promised sincerely. “I’ll just sleep next to you. I won’t do anything. You won’t even know I’m there.” Cole didn’t speak, but I saw his Adam’s apple bob. “Fine,” he muttered. I happily followed him into his room with my pillow. The room was spartan. For a CEO, his room was surprisingly bare—just a bed, a wardrobe, and nothing else. Oh. And an old photo of me on his nightstand. I was about to take a closer look when Cole snatched it and stuffed it under his pillow. “I’ve been having nightmares,” he said gruffly. “The picture on the nightstand… it wards off evil spirits.” Right. Keep telling yourself that. Cole lay down with his back to me, clearly ignoring me. I hesitated for a moment, then slid in beside him and wrapped my arms around his waist. The next second, he flung my hand off. He rolled over to face me, his features cast in a sliver of moonlight, his expression utterly heartbroken. “Stella,” he whispered. “Are you just trying to seduce me so you can push another woman into our bed again?” He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to suppress a wave of raw emotion. “You went through all that trouble, again and again, just to leave me… just to go to him?” I was completely stunned. My heart ached for him. What on earth had I done to him over these past five years? I didn’t know how to explain, so I just reached for his hand. “Cole, can you please just trust me? I don’t want a divorce. We have a baby on the way. From now on, let’s just be a family, the three of us. Okay?” But my words seemed to strike a nerve deep inside him. He pushed me away, his whole body trembling. The anguish in his eyes was so thick it was about to overflow. “Stella, are you going to use this baby to humiliate me again?” Humiliate him? I suddenly remembered Martha’s hesitant, unfinished sentences. A terrible premonition crept into my heart. Oh, God. Don’t tell me… the baby isn’t even Cole’s. 8 I was so shocked I could barely speak. Cole wouldn’t look at me. He gathered his blankets, stood up, and prepared to sleep in another room. “Cole!” I finally found my voice. “I need to tell you something. It’s going to sound crazy…” “I’m from five years in the past. The night before I woke up here, I was with you in your old apartment. You were… a real bastard that night. We did it seven times.” “But that’s not the point. The point is, I went to sleep and woke up five years in the future.” I licked my lips, feeling his disbelieving stare on me, and nervously finished my sentence. “The person who cheated… that was the future me. The real me… I love you.” Dead silence. Cole stood there, his face unreadable, until the silence could no longer contain his fury. “Stella.” “Yes,” I answered quickly. “I’m listening.” A bitter smile twisted his lips. “So, the cheater was the future you, not the you standing in front of me right now, the one who just came from five years ago after sleeping with me in my apartment?” I nodded vigorously. “Yes!” If only he would believe me. But then Cole started to laugh. It was a cold, mocking sound. “Do I look like an idiot to you?” He pried my fingers from his sleeve, clutched his blankets, and walked out. “Get some sleep.” The door closed softly behind him, but the sound was deafening. I sat on the edge of the bed, dejected. I guess he had a point. If the roles were reversed, if Cole had cheated on me repeatedly and then told me it was his future self and that he had time-traveled from the past and wanted to start over… I’d probably slap him twice. Are you playing me for a fool? 9 I barely slept a wink. The next morning, I came downstairs with dark circles under my eyes. Cole had already left for work. Martha coaxed me into eating some breakfast. After much thought, I made a decision. I was going to the hospital. To get rid of this baby. I learned from Martha that Cole and I hadn’t slept together in almost a year. That meant this child could not possibly be his. I didn’t know why my future self had done what she did. But this baby could not stay. I made an appointment with an OB-GYN. However, just as my car turned off the main road onto a quieter street, a motorcycle screeched to a halt, cutting me off. The rider was a young man in cargo pants and a black t-shirt. For a split second, he looked just like the Cole I used to know. But when he took off his helmet, the face was completely unfamiliar. Handsome, rebellious, and unapologetically arrogant. He walked up to my car and tapped on the window with his knuckle. I could read his lips. He was saying my name. “Stella.” I rolled down the window. “Who are you?” The young man clutched his chest, feigning heartbreak. “It’s only been a few days and you’ve already forgotten me, sweetheart?” He reached out and pinched my cheek. “Is it because I haven’t seen you? I’ve been busy with a race. Don’t be mad. I’ll make it up to you today.” He raised an eyebrow, his smile wild and untamed. I had a pretty good idea who he was. “Jax?” “So you haven’t forgotten me completely.” I frowned, deciding to get straight to the point. “Since you’re here, let’s clear things up.” He grinned, putting on a show of listening intently. “Whatever we were before, it ends today. I have a family, and I am not getting a divorce. You’re young, you shouldn’t be wasting your time on a married woman. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?” The young man didn’t say anything. He took a couple of drags from a cigarette, then turned his head and blew out the smoke. He let out a soft, humorless laugh. “Tired of your toy, so you’re just throwing it away? Are you playing me for a fool, sweetheart?” I was about to respond when I looked up. Past Jax, I saw Cole standing down the street. I couldn’t make out his expression. All I could see was the shopping bag in his hand. It was from my favorite bakery. 10 A sudden, sharp pain lanced through my chest. “Cole!” I scrambled out of the car, the door bumping into Jax. He grunted in pain. “No conscience at all, have you, sweetheart?” But I couldn’t spare him a thought. As I got closer, I finally saw the look in Cole’s eyes. It was a mixture of indifference, disappointment, and a deep, wounded sorrow. He just stood there, watching me silently. It was clear this wasn’t the first time he’d seen something like this. “Here.” He held out the bag. His voice was low. “The cake you loved five years ago.” He watched me, his gaze intense, as if he was searching for something. “You still love it, right?” A bitter, acidic feeling rose from my chest. So, he had believed my “time travel” story after all. As I stood there, stunned, Cole’s arm remained outstretched, rigid. Finally, as if all the strength had drained out of him, he slowly started to lower it. I rushed forward and took the bag. “I love it.” To prove it, I pulled out the cake and took a bite. The frosting was sickly sweet. I smiled, but I felt like crying. “It’s delicious.” Cole smiled back. He said, “Stella, I was up all night thinking. You said you came from five years in the past. I can believe you.” Not I believe you. I can believe you. Even though the reason was flimsy, absurd, even though he was a man of logic and reason. He could still choose to believe me.

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A hidden camera was live-streaming inside my house, and I had absolutely no idea. On the screen, Liam walked up to me, his voice icy. “You’re playing games again?” My online haters were gloating in the comments. “Aria is always clinging to the CEO, faking their perfect romance. Now her true colors are showing!” My in-laws and sister-in-law were watching the stream too, offering cold remarks. “If Liam really doesn’t like her, they shouldn’t force this miserable marriage.” But then, the camera captured me—the woman who always maintained a gentle, graceful, and obsessively-in-love public image—impatiently shoving Liam’s handsome face away. “What is your problem? Back off.” Instead of getting angry, Liam’s stoic face revealed a hint of grievance. “Are you sick of me?” 1 The day I married into money, the internet tore me apart, sending me straight to the top of the trending topics. “What is going on?! Did my ultimate OTP just sink?” “Does Aria have no shame? She knew the CEO was in love with someone else, but she still seduced him. The worst part is her scheming actually worked!” My husband, Liam Sterling, was childhood friends with Mia Kensington, an A-list sweetheart of the entertainment industry. He had invested in her movies, ruined the careers of sleazy executives who tried to take advantage of her, and even showed up on variety shows just to support her. The “Billionaire & America’s Sweetheart” pairing was the nation’s favorite unspoken couple. Unfortunately, that fairy tale was ruined by a manipulative witch like me. During an interview, Mia forced a brave smile. “Liam and his wife are a great match.” But when she turned around, her eyes were red with tears. The internet instantly rallied behind the heartbroken childhood sweetheart. They dragged my name through the mud, accusing me of using dirty tricks to climb the social ladder. They even pointed out that my in-laws hated me. They weren’t wrong about that last part. Liam’s parents were incredibly displeased with me. Even at our wedding, their expressions were stony. His younger sister, Harper Sterling, had never once called me “sister-in-law.” She only ever called me by my first name. The public noticed all of this. The hashtag #WhenWillLiamDivorceAria trended year-round. I didn’t really care. It wasn’t like Liam and I were strangers forced together, but we weren’t exactly in a passionate, sweeping romance either. I had money to spend and a gorgeous man in my bed. Life was great. Who cared what the internet thought? But I never realized they hated me this much. Sterling Tech had just developed a fully automated tracking drone camera. It was tiny, hovered silently, and featured an AI recognition system programmed to strictly avoid filming any private or explicit moments. To promote this revolutionary product, the PR department decided to sacrifice their CEO. The invisible drone was going to follow Liam, live-streaming the daily life of a billionaire CEO to the entire world. And absolutely no one told me. While I was sprawled on the couch in my messy pajamas, my hair a tangled nest, the live stream quietly began. 2 “Shouldn’t someone have told Aria about the stream? What if she says something she shouldn’t?” Harper pouted, glaring unhappily at the screen showing her brother. On the stream, Liam wasn’t interacting with the chat. He was leaning back in the leather seat of his chauffeur-driven car, his eyes closed, looking slightly exhausted. He had woken up early to host the product launch, and now he was doing this live stream to appease the marketing team. He was drained. But his cold, aloof demeanor didn’t dampen the internet’s enthusiasm one bit. “The most hardcore brand ambassador in the world—CEO Sterling has arrived!” “Hahaha, this is way more entertaining than watching celebrities!” “Speaking of celebrities, is Aria going to show up in this stream?” “Ugh, please don’t bring up that toxic woman right now.” “Help! Just thinking about her fake, try-hard face makes me suffocate for my ruined OTP.” “Don’t worry, guys. A live stream is the ultimate lie detector. Just wait for Aria’s true colors to be exposed.” Mrs. Sterling glanced at the hateful comments scrolling across the screen and spoke mildly. “Aria is a pop singer, not a trained actress. She can’t fake a natural demeanor for hours on end. If we warned her, the viewers would think it was scripted, which would ruin the promotion.” “Besides, your brother knows what he’s doing.” Harper’s pout deepened, clearly annoyed. “I just don’t understand why he had to marry someone like her!” Mr. and Mrs. Sterling fell silent. They didn’t like Aria as a daughter-in-law, but they had always respected Liam’s decisions. They hadn’t actively stopped the wedding, but they certainly weren’t warm to her. This live stream was an opportunity for them to see the reality of Liam and Aria’s marriage. It would determine whether they needed to step in and offer Liam some “sincere advice.” If the two were truly miserable, it was better to cut ties sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, I was wearing a fuzzy yellow bear onesie, my hair clipped up haphazardly with a cheap plastic claw. I was curled up in a beanbag chair, furiously tapping on my phone, completely oblivious when Liam walked through the front door. He took off his suit jacket and tie, poured a glass of water at the kitchen island, and then paced back and forth in front of me a few times. I caught his shadow out of the corner of my eye, but I was in the middle of a ranked match. I couldn’t be bothered. Seeing that I was ignoring him, he walked right up to me, clearly displeased. His jaw tightened, and his tone was as cold as frost. “You’re playing games again?” Instantly, a tidal wave of comments flooded the screen. “You can’t blame Mr. Sterling for being mad. He works all day, comes home, and doesn’t even get a ‘welcome back.’ I wonder who the real boss is here.” “A freezing house, a cold husband. Welcome to Aria’s tragic reality.” “She deserves it. That’s what she gets for using dirty tricks to tear apart the Golden Duo. Ugh, poor Mia.” The haters were practically throwing a parade, fully expecting me to jump up in terror and grovel for his forgiveness. After all, my public persona was that of a submissive, gentle wife who was desperately, madly in love with Liam. Instead, I frowned impatiently and swatted my hand out, shoving Liam’s handsome face as far away as possible. “What is your problem? Back off.” You’re blocking my screen. Liam’s eyes widened slightly. His stoic, chiseled face revealed a distinct hint of grievance. “Are you sick of me?” For a solid ten seconds, the live chat was completely, utterly blank. Harper nearly dropped her phone in shock. “Am I hallucinating?! Is my brother… whining?!” 3 Hearing the pouty grievance in his voice, I finally pulled my attention away from the game and looked up in surprise. He was leaning over me, one arm planted above my head, his warm breath lightly brushing against my face. I reached out and poked his arm. He didn’t budge. He just stayed there, stiff and stubborn, staring at me with dark, intense eyes. I immediately realized what was happening. The guy was secretly throwing a tantrum again. He was always like this. Whenever I ignored him for too long, he would trap me in his arms, refuse to speak, and refuse to let me go. He would just press his lips together and stare at me, as stubborn as a massive, sulky golden retriever. But he was incredibly easy to coax. All it took was a hug or a kiss. Then he would act like nothing happened, quietly curl the corners of his lips, and revert back to his calm, collected CEO persona. I figured it had to do with how he was raised. As the eldest son and heir to the Sterling empire, his parents demanded absolute perfection from him. From his academics to his business acumen, down to his every word and action, he had to be flawless. He used to perfectly fit my stereotype of an alpha billionaire. Stern, humorless, and incredibly elegant. Honestly, he cared more about his image than I did as an actual pop star. It wasn’t until we got together that I realized his entire personality was basically an act. On the outside, he was all business. On the inside, he was a giant softie constantly craving affection. I sighed, put my phone down, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I pressed a few soft kisses behind his ear and whispered, “How could I be? You’re the absolute best, honey~” Liam’s earlobes turned bright, cherry red. He hugged me back fiercely, burying his face in the crook of my neck, as if trying to absorb my body heat. A moment later, he straightened up. Then, his body suddenly went completely rigid. By now, the live chat was exploding in absolute shock. “What is CEO Sterling doing?! Was he throwing a tantrum?!” “Is this how they actually act at home? I refuse to believe it. It has to be scripted!” “Definitely an act! Remember when Mia was filming that reality show and Mr. Sterling visited the set? He yelled at Aria to shut up in front of everyone!” “Mr. Sterling is sacrificing so much for this PR stunt.” “Wait… but his ears are literally red?” 4 The internet was in mourning. They couldn’t believe a dignified billionaire was lowering himself to act like a cheesy influencer for a marketing campaign. But Harper knew better. Her brother was rigid and principled. He would never force himself to act out a fake romantic script just for PR. Especially not a script that ruined his intimidating reputation. Honestly, the fact that he agreed to let a camera follow him at all had already shocked the entire company. Harper stared blankly at the screen. After a long pause, she pointed at Liam and asked her parents, “Did they hire a body double? The makeup is really convincing.” Mr. and Mrs. Sterling were speechless. As their eldest son, Liam had always been mature and dependable. They never had to worry about him. But seeing their cold, ruthless son blushing and burying his face in Aria’s neck… their brains short-circuited. When a person is shocked beyond a certain threshold, they just go numb. They sat there in a daze, completely unable to form words. The haters in the chat were coping hard. “This makes me sick. Why does Aria get to live this perfect life after the disgusting things she did?” “I feel so bad for Mia. Aria literally stole her life.” “Uh, wait. The side-chick’s fans are dragging the actual legal wife? You guys are delusional.” “Whatever, Aria isn’t worth a single hair on Mia’s head.” 5 Liam’s sudden stiffness felt a bit odd, but I didn’t think much of it. Having successfully appeased him, I grabbed my strawberry bear pillow and curled back into the sofa to resume my game. Liam opened his laptop on the coffee table and started working. As his fingers typed across the keyboard, he kept looking up to stare at me. Being a celebrity, I’m highly sensitive to being watched. After having my focus broken for the fifth time, I finally got annoyed. I shifted my body so my back was facing him. But a few minutes later, I felt that heavy, unmistakable gaze burning into my back again. I peeked over my shoulder. He had literally moved his laptop to sit on the opposite side of the table just so he could face me again. …So annoying. I groaned, crawled off the sofa, ruffled my messy hair, and prepared to relocate to the bedroom. “Where are you going?” Liam’s hands stopped typing. “Somewhere else, so you can stop harassing me.” “I’m harassing you?” He looked genuinely shocked. I scoffed, pointing two fingers at my own eyes, then at him. “You are visually harassing me.” “…” The chat was losing it. “Hahahaha, is Mr. Sterling always this clingy?!” “Am I crazy, or does Aria seem totally indifferent, while Mr. Sterling is the one obsessing over her?” “Aria’s fans are so delusional. He gives her one nice look and suddenly they’re ‘deep in love’?” “To be honest, their house is really cozy. TV tropes lied to me. Not every billionaire lives in a sterile, modern-art mausoleum.” Harper had never actually visited her brother’s house, so this was her first time seeing it too. Back at the family estate, Liam’s bedroom was entirely decorated in sophisticated greys and blacks—clean, sharp, and minimalist. But now? A cartoon desk calendar, a cat-paw mug, and a Hello Kitty desk mat. Things her brother would have never touched in a million years were proudly displayed right next to his work laptop. It somehow made his stoic resting-bitch-face look incredibly cute. Harper’s feelings were a complicated mess. She felt a weird mix of relief—like watching a dead tree suddenly blossom—and awkward guilt. After all, she had given Aria a lot of attitude over the years. “Oh God, I’m doomed… If I start calling her ‘sister-in-law’ now, is it going to look like I’m sucking up to her?”

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On the fifth round of IVF, I was finally pregnant with Marcus’s child. When I ecstatically showed him the positive test results, Marcus suddenly said, “Actually, your student, Melissa, and I… we already have twins.” The world tilted, the color draining from my face. But Marcus looked at me, his expression earnest. “Do you know why your first few IVF attempts failed? Because Melissa didn’t want you to suffer, so she secretly intervened.” “She was willing to carry my children for you. How could I deny her and our sons a family?” “And now you’re pregnant too. So, you can either accept this calmly and give our child a complete family, not to mention a respectable father.” “Or, you can make a scene, become a broke, single mother with no one to rely on.” “The choice is yours.” After he left, I sat in the dark for the entire night. And then, I made a third choice. 1 Marcus left in a hurry. “Melissa heard you’re pregnant. She’s terrified I’m going to abandon her. I need to go check on her,” he said, his voice laced with a false sense of duty. “I know you must be a wreck right now, so I’ll give you some space to think things over.” I sat on the balcony, the cold night wind whipping around me, until dawn. When he returned in the morning, carrying breakfast, I asked him a single question. “Can you treat us both fairly?” Marcus was taken aback for a second, then gave a weary smile. “My thing with Melissa… it started as a drunken mistake. But it turned out we were just… incredibly compatible.” “You and I tried for so long, and nothing. With her, it happened the first time.” “Melissa is a kind soul. She was so worried you’d be heartbroken that she secretly went to get an abortion.” “If I hadn’t stumbled upon the hospital bill, I would never have known that child even existed.” “After the procedure, she was consumed by guilt and fell into a deep depression. Her doctor said the baby was the root of her trauma.” He paused, looking at me cautiously. My voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “So, to make it up to her, you had twins with her.” “Well, that’s part of it. Mostly, she knew how much the IVF was taking out of you. She didn’t want you to suffer anymore.” “Besides,” he said, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather, “a child is a child. Whether she gives birth or you do, they carry my blood. It makes no difference.” “With Melissa, I feel a mix of pity and gratitude. But no matter what, she can’t compare to the eight years you’ve spent by my side.” He took my hand, his touch as gentle as the day he proposed, his eyes swimming with feigned devotion. “Anya, I’m not asking you to accept her. Just turn a blind eye to my other family, and I promise, she will never overstep her bounds.” “You will always be Mrs. Blackwell. Of course I can treat you both fairly.” I gently pulled my hand away and produced the agreement I’d prepared. “Just in case. Sign it.” Marcus glanced at it, raising an eyebrow. “One instance of favoritism costs me a hundred thousand dollars?” I pointed to the addendum. “That’s the base price. The final amount for emotional damages will be determined by the severity of your bias. No upper limit.” “Marcus,” I said, meeting his gaze. “Do you dare sign it?” 2 Marcus chuckled softly. “If it gives you peace of mind.” He signed his name with a confident flourish. “Anya, I do love you.” “As long as you don’t cause trouble for Melissa, I’ll try to spend more time with you.” I felt a wave of dizziness. Marcus and I were college sweethearts. I was with him when he went from bankrupt and drowning in debt to staging a stunning comeback. We lived in a cramped basement apartment, scavenged for leftover vegetables at the market. We’d split a single bagel, and I’d always give him the bigger half. I wore the same old clothes for years, saving every penny to buy him decent suits for his business meetings. He used to be so good to me. No matter how exhausted he was, he’d always cook me noodles when I came home from a late shift. No matter how busy, he set aside one day a week just for me. He said I was his motivation, that everything he did was for me. One year, on our anniversary, he was stuck out of town on business. He felt guilty about it for months. But now, spending time with me was a reward to be doled out. The thought was devastating. And after the devastation came a profound, crushing weariness. Marcus didn’t notice a thing. His voice held the arrogant tone of a benefactor. “I’ll stay and have breakfast with you today.” He took a breakfast burrito out of a paper bag and handed me a freshly made cup of oatmeal. “Here. From that cart near campus. Your old favorite.” I sighed and reached for it. Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at me and answered it on speaker. “Daddy! Daddy!” a child’s voice chirped from the other end. A smile bloomed on Marcus’s face. “What’s wrong, buddy? Is Mommy awake yet?” “Mommy’s sick! She’s crying!” The smile vanished from Marcus’s face. “Stay right there. I’m on my way.” He grabbed his car keys and bolted. The cup of oatmeal tipped over, spilling onto my skirt. It scalded my leg, leaving a painful red welt. He never even looked back. As I was treating the burn, he called. “Melissa is such a silly girl. She didn’t want to bother you, so she tried to hide being sick. I can’t leave her alone. I’ll stay here today to take care of her. You can go to your prenatal check-up by yourself, right?” I looked at the blistered skin on my thigh. I wasn’t surprised. And before I even had a chance to feel sad, he hung up. I sat there for a moment. Then I took a picture of my leg and sent it to him. [Your scales weren’t balanced. Compensation for distress plus medical fees, total $180,000.] A long time passed, so long I thought he hadn’t seen the message. Then, the notification sound for a bank transfer chimed. It was followed by a voice message from him. [I sent you an extra twenty thousand. Next time, don’t resort to these immature, attention-seeking games where you hurt yourself.] [I won’t be back for a couple of days. You need to calm down and think things through.] I had to laugh. He actually thought I’d burned myself on purpose to win his affection. In his eyes, I had become a helpless, clinging vine, capable of nothing but manipulation. But I was a graduate of a top university, an honors student. Before I even finished my degree, a major corporation had offered me a position heading their overseas R&D department. It was because I couldn’t bear to leave Marcus that I gave up that opportunity. I chose to stay and work at a small, unknown local research institute instead. My sacrifices hadn’t earned me mutual respect. They had earned me this humiliating, unbearable reality. I wasn’t without pain, or regret. But after the pain and regret, I had to think about the future. I sniffled, my nose stinging slightly. I transferred the full $200,000 into my personal savings account. Then I did two things. First, I contacted an agent to find me a suitable rental in the UK. Second, I scheduled an abortion for the next day. Marcus always believed the fertility problems were my fault. He thought I couldn’t live without him, and that I would never give up the baby in my belly. That’s why he felt so brazenly confident telling me about him and Melissa. But the truth was, he was the one with the low sperm count. There was nothing wrong with me. I could have more children in the future. They just wouldn’t be his. 3 The procedure wasn’t long. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, the little life inside me was gone. Staring at the medical report, I couldn’t stop my eyes from turning red. I forced myself to pull it together and spent two days recovering in the hospital. The day I was discharged, I received an official job offer from a prestigious research center in the UK. I breathed a sigh of relief and headed straight to my old institute to pack up my things. Before I even opened the door, I heard peals of laughter from inside. “Liam is so brilliant! He’s doing advanced math problems already! A true son of Mr. Blackwell and Director Melissa.” “And Toby is a little genius too! Look how fast he builds with those Legos!” “I know, right? And they can already identify different chemical compounds and do experiments!” “It’s what happens when you combine superior genes. Not like Anya. She can’t even get pregnant through IVF. You can just imagine how weak her genes are.” “Haha, it’s a good thing she’s barren. Can you imagine if she had an average kid? What a waste of Mr. Blackwell’s DNA.” I recognized the voices. One was my former assistant, the other a nepotism hire. Director Melissa? When did Melissa become a director? I pushed the door open. The chatter stopped instantly. The smile on Marcus’s face froze. Melissa looked at me timidly. “Professor… Anya, what are you doing here?” Marcus wrapped an arm around her shoulder, rubbing it gently in a silent show of support. Seeing this, the others’ expressions turned smug. “Anya, you were fired. Why are you even here?” one of them sneered. I paused. “Fired? When did that happen?” The nepotism hire laughed. “Stop playing dumb. The notice was posted in the company group chat. Didn’t you see it?” I hadn’t looked at the work chat at all while I was in the hospital. I opened it now and saw that on the very day I’d had the abortion, the institute had terminated my employment for “procedural violations” and promoted Melissa to my position as director. I laughed, a bitter, angry sound. “Procedural violations? Where’s your proof?” My former assistant lifted her chin. “I saw it with my own eyes. And there’s security footage.” I stared at her coldly. “I have the original, unedited surveillance footage of every single one of my experiments. If you think you can frame me with a doctored video, we can settle this in court.” They froze, clearly not expecting me to have a backup. Melissa shot a panicked look at Marcus. He patted her reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Go play with the boys for a bit.” After Melissa walked away, his gaze lingered on her and the twins for a long moment before he finally turned to me, his eyes dismissive. “Anya, the evidence doesn’t matter. What matters is the attitude of the investor. Me.” “A top-tier research conglomerate has taken an interest in one of our recent projects. They’ve sent an invitation to a major science forum. Melissa is young; she needs a stage like this.” I clenched my fists. “So, for her to have her moment in the spotlight, you’re just going to throw away all my years of hard work?” A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a smirk. “It’s not fair to you, I admit. But it’s her dream to be up on that stage.” “To convince me to help her… that shy, timid girl… she put on cat ears and a tail for me. Her face was bright red, but she spent the whole night meowing like a little kitten. Tell me, how could I possibly say no?” For some reason, at his final question, all the rage inside me just… dissipated. I unclenched my fists, my voice calm. “In that case, a million dollars shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?” Marcus’s expression went blank for a second. After a few beats, he nodded. “Yes. You deserve it.” I held his gaze. “Transfer it now. And make sure the memo says ‘Voluntary Gift.’” Marcus frowned. “Anya, I thought you were the one who never cared about money.” I just smiled. Since I’d already decided to give up on the man, I might as well take as much of his money as I could. 4 I needed to get my personal belongings from my office. Melissa stood in the doorway, wringing the hem of her sleeve, her face a mask of pitiful distress. “Professor, the research results… they weren’t your work alone. I contributed too. If you take all the core data, what are we supposed to do?” I had to laugh. “What did you contribute? The time you mistook sodium nitrite for sugar in my coffee and sent me to the ICU? Or the time you brought flammable materials into my office and burned all my research notes to a crisp?” Melissa’s eyes darted around, her trembling lips betraying her guilt and anxiety. My face hardened. “Move.” She didn’t budge, tears already welling in her eyes. WHAM! A sharp blow struck my lower back. I staggered, pain radiating through me. Before I could recover, something hard slammed into my knee. The blunt force sent me crumpling to the floor. My forehead hit the sharp corner of the wall, and my vision went black for a second. Through a blurry haze, I saw Melissa’s two sons. One was holding a baseball bat, the other was still in a throwing motion. “You mean bitch! Don’t you bully our mommy!” “Mommy was right! You’re just a homewrecker trying to steal our daddy!” Marcus rushed over. His eyes lingered on me for only a second before he opened his arms and pulled the weeping Melissa into a comforting embrace. “It’s okay, baby, don’t cry. I’m here. No one’s going to hurt you.” Then he turned to me, his voice sharp with anger. “Anya, what are you trying to pull now?” I pushed myself off the floor and hit play on my phone’s voice recorder. “Listen for yourself.” Melissa’s sobs hitched. The two boys exchanged a guilty glance and lowered their heads. Marcus listened, his expression unchanging, until he strode over and stopped the recording. “Anya, they’re just kids. Don’t take it to heart.” He glanced at the blood trickling from my forehead, and his voice softened. “I’ll have my driver take you to the hospital.” Before I could respond, the nepotism hire piped up. “Give it a rest, Anya. Mr. Blackwell has already divorced you. It’s useless to keep clinging to him. You might as well take whatever medical money he’s offering before he gets completely sick of you.” A loud ringing filled my ears. “Divorced?” I looked at Marcus. He pressed his lips together, saying nothing, but his eyes held a clear warning. I lowered my gaze and smiled. “That’s right. He and I… we’re already divorced.” When I looked up again, my expression was ice. “In that case, Mr. Blackwell, how much do you intend to offer for my medical expenses?” Marcus was silent for a moment, then gave a lazy smile. “How much do you want?” I pointed to my still-bleeding forehead. “Five million dollars.” Melissa gasped. “That’s outrageous! It’s just a—” “Done.” Marcus cut her off and immediately initiated the bank transfer. “Anya, I’ll take you to the hospital.” I sneered. “Don’t trouble yourself, Mr. Blackwell. I can get there on my own.” “As for the transportation fee, let’s say… ten thousand.” Marcus paused, then furiously tapped ‘confirm’ on his phone, his tone clipped. “Whatever you want.”

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My phone buzzed relentlessly. It was the elite kindergarten’s parent group chat. Miss Collins, the head teacher, had tagged me with a photo attached. “Blair’s Mom, Blair was involved in a physical altercation in the classroom. You need to come to the school immediately.” My heart dropped into my stomach. I tapped the image. My sweet, tiny daughter was battered. Her face was bruised and swollen, and dried blood stained her pristine uniform collar. My fingers flew across the screen, trembling with rage. “Who did this?” A woman saved in my contacts as “Jax’s Mom” replied almost instantly. Her tone practically dripped with arrogance through the screen. “I told my son to do it.” Before I could even process the audacity of her confession, two more photos popped up in the chat. The first was a professional wedding portrait of her and my husband. The second was a candid family photo of me, my daughter, and my husband. “You filthy homewrecker,” her next message read. “Did you really think you could steal my husband and pop out a bastard child without consequences? You’re lucky I didn’t tell my boy to beat that little rat to death.” The group chat exploded. Notifications poured in like a landslide, every single parent dogpiling on me and my daughter with vicious insults. I grabbed my keys and sprinted to my car. While the engine roared to life, I sent a voice memo straight to my corporate legal team. “Execute the infidelity clause in the prenup. Draft the divorce papers. Chace leaves with absolutely nothing.” I took a sharp breath, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. “And someone assaulted my daughter. No settlements. No mediation. I want them destroyed.” A penniless gold-digger who married into my family really thought he could keep a side piece and a secret kid on my dime? When I pulled up to the extravagant wrought-iron gates of the kindergarten, I spotted her immediately. Jax’s mom. Vanessa. She was holding court near the entrance, surrounded by a flock of desperate, social-climbing mothers from Blair’s class. “Vanessa, you kept that so quiet! If this hadn’t happened, we never would have guessed your husband is the CEO of Apex Holdings,” one mother cooed, practically drooling over Vanessa’s designer handbag. “Right? I knew you had an aura of old money the second I met you,” another chimed in. “We came out specifically to support you today. We’re respectable women. We can’t let some trashy mistress walk all over you.” “Exactly! The mistress’s brat deserved it. Jax is truly the young heir to Apex Holdings. Taking out the trash at such a young age, what a brave boy!” Even Miss Collins, the teacher who was supposed to protect my child, was busy kissing up to her. “I am so sorry, Mrs. Kensington,” the teacher simpered. “If I had known you were the CEO’s wife, I never would have scolded Jax. Please rest assured, I will handle this matter to your absolute satisfaction.” Vanessa soaked up the flattery like a sponge, tilting her chin up as if she were royalty. Chace had been a nobody for years. After we married, I handed him the reins to Apex Holdings, our family’s smallest subsidiary, just to give him something to do and pad his resume. I never imagined it would become the very currency this woman used to buy her little army of sycophants. The moment they noticed me walking up, the sickeningly sweet smiles vanished from the parents’ faces. They looked at me like I was a piece of garbage stuck to their designer shoes. Miss Collins marched right up to me, her face hardening into a cold sneer. “Blair’s Mom, the director has instructed me to inform you that as of today, Blair is officially expelled.” I locked eyes with the teacher, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “My daughter gets beaten on your watch, and instead of protecting her, you expel her?” The teacher rolled her eyes dismissively. “This is an exclusive preparatory academy. Every child here comes from power and wealth. Keeping a bastard child born to a mistress will only poison our school’s reputation.” My expression turned glacial. “I highly suggest you do a background check and find out exactly who the mistress is in this situation.” The words barely left my mouth before Vanessa lunged forward. Her palm cracked across my cheek with a blinding force. “You cheap whore,” she spat, her face twisted in ugly triumph. “You think you can strut around in front of the actual wife? You think popping out a little bastard gives you the right to steal my spot?” The sudden violence left my ears ringing. Before I could regain my balance, the other mothers started throwing verbal daggers. “Look at her. Dressed so nice, but she spreads her legs for married men.” “It’s always the quiet ones. They see a billionaire and suddenly they forget how to keep their knees together.” “Mistresses are a disgrace to women. And their spawn are even worse.” The commotion drew a massive crowd of onlookers from the street. People pointed, whispered, and pulled out their phones to record me. Someone actually spit at my feet. I calmly unbuttoned my custom tailored blazer, ruined by the scuffle, and dropped the twenty thousand dollar garment directly into a nearby trash can. Then I turned to face Vanessa. “You are causing a public riot and committing assault,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “Are you really not afraid of the police?” Vanessa threw her head back and laughed. “The only one who belongs behind bars is you! I’m serving justice. Why should I be afraid?” She crossed her arms, smirking. “My husband runs Apex Holdings. I could take your miserable lives right now, and he would still make it go away.” The chorus of sycophants nodded in frantic agreement. “If you weren’t sleeping with her husband, she wouldn’t have hit you. You brought this on yourself.” “You should be groveling on your knees, begging for forgiveness. One slap was a mercy.” Vanessa’s eyes suddenly darted past me, landing on my parked car. Her eyes narrowed with pure, unadulterated jealousy. “You leech,” she hissed. “Spending my husband’s hard earned money without a second thought. A Rolls-Royce? A piece of trash like you doesn’t deserve a car like this.” She marched over to my vehicle, pulled a jagged house key from her designer purse, and violently dragged it across the glossy paint. The metal shrieked. She carved a massive, ugly phrase into the driver’s side door. “WHORE.” I glanced at the ruined paintwork and let out a dry, hollow laugh. “You are going to realize very soon just how ironic that word is.” My calmness pushed her over the edge. “Still running your mouth? Still mocking me?” she screamed. “I’ll make you spit out every single dime you drained from my husband!” She grabbed a heavy brick from a nearby landscaping planter and hurled it straight into the windshield. Glass shattered, raining down on the pavement. She didn’t stop. The headlights, the hood, the mirrors. She smashed everything in sight. Seeing her go feral, the other mothers decided they wanted a piece of the action. They grabbed loose stones, umbrellas, whatever they could find, and started bashing my car. One of them actually climbed inside through the broken window to slash the hand stitched leather seats. In a matter of minutes, a half million dollar luxury vehicle was reduced to a pile of scrap metal. I watched the frenzy with eyes as cold as dead winter. “I hope you all feel this enthusiastic when the bill comes due.” Nobody cared. They were too drunk on the thrill of destroying things. Suddenly, one of the women popped the trunk open and let out a loud gasp. “Look at this! She’s got a bunch of fancy stuff stashed back here!” Vanessa strutted over, dragging a large, framed painting out of the trunk. She sneered at the canvas. “A woman who sells her body for cash wants to pretend she appreciates fine art? How pathetic.” I took a step forward, my voice hardening. “The contents of that trunk are worth substantially more than the car. I highly advise you to put that down.” Those items were fresh from an exclusive Sotheby’s auction. I had just secured them when I got the text from the school, rushing over before I even had the chance to transport them to the vault. Vanessa’s face twisted with spite. “Trash like you doesn’t deserve beautiful things.” She slammed the painting over her knee, snapping the antique wooden frame, then ripped the canvas right down the middle. She threw the shredded pieces onto the dirty pavement and stomped on them with her high heels. An older man in the crowd, who looked like an art appraiser, suddenly went pale. “My god,” he stammered. “That… that looked like an authentic Renaissance master sketch. The opening bid on something like that is at least forty million dollars!” Vanessa didn’t even blink. “Forty million? So what? It’s my husband’s money anyway! I can destroy my own property if I want to!” Her sheer stupidity left me speechless. First of all, Chace was a nobody who married into my wealth. Secondly, even with the title of CEO, his gross incompetence had caused Apex Holdings to lose nearly half its market value. If he wasn’t legally tied to me, I would have fired him months ago. Yet these women were treating him like a god of Wall Street. Spurred on by Vanessa’s boldness, the other mothers began ripping boxes out of the trunk, smashing priceless ceramics and tearing up historical documents just for the fun of it. I couldn’t waste another second on these lunatics. My only priority was my daughter. I ignored the chaos and marched toward the kindergarten entrance. Suddenly, Director Pritchard, the head of the school, stepped out to block my path. He looked at me like I was a diseased rat. “Do you honestly think someone of your status is allowed on our prestigious grounds?” “I want my daughter,” I demanded, my tone lethal. The director scoffed. “She’s been expelled. The staff is gathering her belongings. She’ll be out shortly.” Right as he finished speaking, the heavy doors opened. A staff member literally shoved Blair out the door, tossing her backpack right after her. My little girl hit the concrete hard, bursting into terrified sobs. I rushed forward, dropping to my knees to gather her into my arms. I glared up at the director, venom in my veins. “Is this how your academy treats young children?” He looked down his nose at me. “She is the offspring of a homewrecker. We are simply taking out the societal trash. Is there a problem?” The parents clapped and cheered. “Director Pritchard is a man of morals!” “Exactly! We can’t let stray dogs mix with purebreds.” “She doesn’t need school. Just teach her how to seduce rich men, that’s clearly the family business!” Vanessa sauntered over, completely high on power. “See this? This is what happens when you cross the line. You and your little rat will spend the rest of your lives at the bottom of the food chain, exactly where you belong.” Director Pritchard turned to Vanessa, bowing slightly with a greasy smile. “Mrs. Kensington, if you are satisfied with how we handled this, perhaps you could put in a good word for our school with your husband? We are looking to expand, and the land adjacent to us is owned by Apex Holdings.” Vanessa crossed her arms, playing the benevolent queen. “Don’t worry. You did well today. I’ll have him sign the deed over to you.” The director practically glowed. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Kensington!” The other parents swarmed her again, shoving business cards and gifts into her hands. “My husband’s firm would love an exclusive contract with Apex…” “Please take this black card for our family’s luxury department store, completely unlimited…” Vanessa basked in the worship. She looked down at me, her eyes filled with toxic pity. “This is power. You thought spreading your legs would buy you a ticket to the top? I am the true wife. You will never touch this kind of glory.” She leaned in close. “I’ll give you twenty four hours. Pack your bags, take your bastard, and get out of this city. If I ever see you near my husband again, I will bury your kid alive.” Blair whimpered, burying her tear streaked face into my neck. “Mommy, it hurts. I’m scared.” Her voice was raw, trembling with a trauma no child should ever know. I pulled her back slightly to check her injuries. Beneath her torn sweater, her tiny arms were covered in vicious, bloody scratches. They weren’t just scrapes. Someone had dug into her skin with a pair of sharp craft scissors. The sight of her mangled skin broke something inside me. My vision blurred with red hot, agonizing tears. I looked up at Vanessa, a murderous aura radiating from my bones. “Your son did this?” She examined her manicured nails, utterly bored. “Don’t be so dramatic. You should be thanking me he didn’t aim for the throat.” The mob backed her up immediately. “She’s still breathing, isn’t she? Stop crying like a victim.” “You knew the risks when you decided to be a whore.” The director smiled down at a chubby, arrogant looking boy standing next to Vanessa. “Jax is a natural born leader. Rooting out evil! I’ll make sure he gets an award at assembly tomorrow.” The brat puffed out his chest. “I’ll beat her up every time I see her!” I was shaking violently, not from fear, but from a rage so pure it felt like ice in my veins. “Every single one of you,” I said, my voice cutting through the noise like a scythe. “You are going to regret this.” The crowd erupted into hysterical laughter. “Is she delusional?” “She’s powerless. Just a barking dog.” “If I were her, I’d throw myself into traffic out of pure embarrassment.” The insults rained down. The crowd mocked me, spat at me, pointed their cameras at my crying child. Vanessa stood tall, the conquering hero, a sickening grin plastered across her face. Then, the low, powerful rumble of engines cut through the chaos.

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The stage scaffolding collapsed. Nate completely lost his mind, rushing straight to Vivian’s side without a fraction of a second of hesitation. Trapped beneath the heavy, iron ruins of the stage, I watched him from the dark. He was panicked, entirely stripped of his usual composure, desperately performing CPR on her. Vivian looked up at him, her voice fragile and trembling: “Nate… do you still love me?” Nate didn’t say a word, but his eyes violently flushed red with tears. He was a man who was always so stoic, yet in that moment, his hands shook with pure, unadulterated terror. I closed my eyes as a single tear slipped down my cheek. Earlier today, I had sent him a text, asking if he could come to my piano performance tonight. He told me he was stuck in an emergency surgery and couldn’t make it. Nate Sterling. We’re done. 01 When I was finally wheeled out of the operating room, the attending physician glanced down at my heavily bandaged leg and asked: “Do you play the piano, or do you dance?” I replied softly: “Piano.” The tense, frantic expression on his face instantly relaxed. “Good. Your leg is going to need a significant amount of physical therapy to recover, but at least your hands are fine.” I lowered my eyes, looking at my completely intact hands. Then I tried to move my leg, only to find that my right leg had lost all sensation. While the nurse was changing my IV drip, I accidentally overheard the staff gossiping right outside my curtain: “Sigh, Dr. Sterling and that ballerina in the next private wing look exactly like star-crossed lovers.” “Oh my god, you should have seen his face when he carried Vivian into the ER. He’s usually so icy to everyone, but yesterday he was completely frantic with panic.” “A bunch of paparazzi blocked the corridor, and he literally roared at them to get the hell out of his way.” Nate was naturally cold and aloof. He treated everything in life with absolute, clinical indifference. I rarely saw him smile, and I had never seen him lose his temper. The nurse administered my medication, her movements incredibly gentle and precise. She thoughtfully tucked a warm gel pack under my arm. She offered a warm, comforting smile: “The IV fluid is cold, and running it too fast can cause a sharp pain. This warm pack will make it feel much better.” “If you notice any redness or swelling, just page me.” I nodded, forcing a polite smile back at her. Right before she stepped out, she couldn’t help but let out another sigh: “This is the first time Dr. Sterling has ever taken a formal leave of absence. All just to stay in the hospital and care for Vivian.” Left completely alone in the silent room, I pulled out my phone and dialed Nate’s number. The line rang for a very long time before he finally answered. Before I could even open my mouth, his flat, indifferent voice cut through the speaker: “Wynne, I won’t be home for lunch today.” “I have an emergency surgery to perform.” This was the first time in our entire three-year marriage that Nate had ever proactively called me to report his schedule. But he was only doing it to feed me a lie. In the past, I was always the clingy, annoying wife. I would spam his phone with hundreds of text messages, constantly babbling in his ear about my day. The nurse said he took a month of leave. Married for three years, he practically lived at the hospital, working around the clock. Unlike other doctors, his overtime was entirely voluntary. Every Thanksgiving holiday, he would voluntarily cancel his leave and reschedule his time off for Christmas. His colleagues were always ecstatic to swap shifts with him. We never had a real wedding ceremony, let alone a romantic honeymoon. The internet was currently flooded with viral rumors and paparazzi articles about Vivian and Nate. Staring at Vivian’s flawless face on my phone screen, everything suddenly clicked. I finally understood why Nate had run to her without a single second of hesitation. I spent half a month in that private room. For those fifteen days, Nate called me at the exact same time every single day, his voice flat and detached: “Working overtime tonight. Not coming home.” And I replied every single time: “Okay. Got it.” According to the nurses, Nate had taken a full month of leave, spending every single waking second guarding Vivian’s bed. I listened to their gossip from my hospital bed day after day. My leg was broken, leaving me completely trapped. Aside from the occasional private caregiver helping me wash up, I spent my entire existence on that mattress. So, I actually found the nurses’ gossip quite entertaining. If the tragic male lead of this grand romance wasn’t the exact husband listed on my marriage certificate, I probably would have ordered an iced boba tea and some popcorn, enjoying the drama like a juicy piece of reality TV. But in this heartbreaking tale of star-crossed lovers, Nate was my husband, and I was merely the bitter, villainess wife standing in the way of true love. I couldn’t bring myself to smile. 02 Vivian posted a selfie on Instagram wearing her hospital gown. The photo subtly, intentionally captured a man’s tall silhouette in the background, focusing on his long, elegant fingers. On his wrist was a Rolex Submariner with a slightly faded, worn strap. The caption read: [Don’t worry. He’s taking excellent care of me.] The comment section, instantly sniffing out the celebrity drama, exploded with thousands of fans: [Vivian, is that your boyfriend?!] [A literal feast for hand-lovers! Those hands are gorgeous, perfect for holding.] Vivian immediately replied to a fan’s comment, publicly claiming her sovereignty over Nate: [Already holding hands.] She attached another photo, still wearing her gown, their long fingers tightly, beautifully entwined. It turned out that holding hands was so incredibly effortless for them. I remember when Nate and I were together in college. Our relationship felt like an underground espionage operation. He never allowed a single trace of affection or intimacy in public. Until the day we graduated, my roommate, Leila, had absolutely no idea we were even a couple. When we got our marriage license after graduation and I finally told her, she stared at me in absolute, paralyzed horror: “Have you gone completely insane from unrequited love?” If the marriage certificate weren’t an ironclad fact, she would have assumed I was just another delusional fan hallucinating a relationship. During my stay, Leila came to visit me. She asked cautiously: “Are you and Nate divorced yet?” I froze for a second, answering flatly: “Soon.” Leila didn’t press for details. Before leaving, she clapped her chest and gave a bright, booming laugh: “My door is always open for you. Come stay with me whenever you’re ready.” I smiled back at her, feeling a genuine warmth. Right before I fell asleep that night, Nate called again. His voice was perfectly neutral, devoid of any emotional rippling: “The hospital is slammed right now. I won’t be home for the next two weeks.” And I replied exactly as before: “Got it.” He had no idea that through the clear glass window of my room, I had just watched his silhouette standing right out in the hallway. After that call, he stopped calling entirely. He probably figured daily updates were far too tedious and decided to bundle his excuses all at once. Occasionally, Leila would visit and push my wheelchair around the hospital garden. One afternoon, we ran into Nate. He didn’t see me. His tall, powerful frame was bent over, pushing a woman in a hospital gown. Her skin was flawless, her features delicate and incredibly gentle. Vivian pouted, demanding ice cream. Nate crouched directly in front of her wheelchair: “It’s too cold. You can’t have it.” She grabbed his hand, whining cutely, and he gave in immediately, walking over to buy her a cone. When some ice cream smudged her lip, Nate reached out to wipe it away, but he froze mid-air, hesitated, and shoved his hand back into his coat pocket. I saw the quiet, fiercely restrained love burning in his dark eyes. Vivian smiled brilliantly: “Nate, wipe it for me.” Across the crowd, her brilliant smile landed right on me. Nate’s back was turned to me. In that exact moment, I finally realized that a massive mountain, a raging ocean, stood between me and Nate. Nate would never refuse to buy me ice cream in the winter because he simply didn’t care if I caught a cold. And he would never bend down to wipe my mouth. He would say: “Wynne, wipe it yourself. It’s unhygienic.” 03 My attending physician checked my leg and went over the discharge instructions. “You can leave next week.” I nodded, thanking him. Leila was traveling for work next week, so I would need to hire a private caregiver to help me move. Before leaving, the doctor added: “Make sure to wheel yourself outside for some fresh air.” I manually spun the wheels and rolled myself down to the courtyard alone. While eating lunch back in my room, I saw a post trending on Twitter. It was a side-by-side photo comparison of Nate and Vivian, charting their relationship from the age of sixteen to twenty-six. Nate’s broad back shielding Vivian from the paparazzi, her face looking straight into the camera. Zooming in closely, the twenty-six-year-old photo was taken right here in this hospital. And blurred out in the background… was me, struggling alone to push my wheelchair. #AloofSurgeonVSBeautifulBallerina #ForbiddenStepSiblingRomanceInRealLife My heart dropped into a bottomless abyss. The caption read: [Forbidden romances are the absolute best. So what if they’re step-siblings? They still have to sit at the same table for Thanksgiving dinner every year.] Reading those words, the fog in my brain instantly cleared. The old, faded photo Nate kept hidden in his wallet for years… was his stepmother’s daughter. Married for three years, I knew he had a sister, but he had never allowed me to meet her. Every single time I brought her up, he shut the conversation down completely. The mystery finally made perfect sense. My quiet, secret love for Nate—he had noticed it a long time ago. Once, when he was drunk, I secretly followed him out of a campus bar. I gathered my courage to approach him, but he suddenly turned around. I frantically whipped my head away, my heart pounding violently against my ribs. His deep, cold voice echoed behind me: “Wynne Vance. If you brought that water for me, just hand it over.” After that day, our paths crossed, and we drifted into a relationship. He confessed, we dated, we married. The entire process took less than six months, running smoothly like a dream. The happiness I thought was a sweet dream turned out to be a cage he built for me. He married me because he loved Vivian. His rigid morality told him he couldn’t cross the line with his own step-sister. When their parents forced them apart, Vivian went abroad, and he stayed for grad school. He desperately needed someone to make his parents think he had moved on. And I was the willing fool who volunteered for the job. I figured it all out just by reading between the lines of Vivian’s social media. It was the end of the year, and because of the holidays, no one wanted to take a caregiver job at a hospital. I offered triple pay, but no one applied. I had no choice but to stay in the hospital for a few more days until Leila returned. The hospital beds were scarce, and a new patient was moved into my shared room. An energetic elderly lady. She smiled warmly at me: “All alone, sweetie?” I nodded: “Yeah.” Because I had been delaying my discharge, the doctor and nurses had prodded me multiple times. I looked incredibly embarrassed, apologizing profusely: “I’ll leave soon, my friend is on her way.” The nurse, who was about my age, looked at me sitting alone and sighed heavily: “It’s fine. Don’t worry. You can stay one more day. I’ll get the doctor to sign off on it.” Seeing the panic and embarrassment on my face, she winked at me and mouthed the words silently: [Don’t worry, stay as long as you need.] 04 The next morning, Leila got stuck at JFK due to severe flight delays. And a new patient was brought to our floor. I heard a familiar male voice growling outside the door: “Why the hell are you still lingering in this hospital?” “Are you treating it like your own personal home?” I felt a wave of crushing humiliation. I frantically started gathering my things from the wheelchair, piling my bags near the door. The sweet elderly lady in my room helped me move them. I pushed the door open, and a cold, dark face loomed right in front of me. His nose was sharp, his brow furrowed tightly. He looked utterly impatient. He glared at me: “Do you have any idea how scarce the beds are right now?” “You’ve delayed your discharge for a week. Do you think you own this hospital?” Staring at his face, I froze completely. It was Nate. He was holding a leather suitcase in his right hand. Standing right beside him was Vivian, her arm tightly looped through his. I was wearing a medical mask, my face completely burning with embarrassment. I lowered my head and whispered: “Got it.” I awkwardly pushed my wheelchair out into the corridor, my bags piled messily around me. Until the sweet young nurse called out my name: “Wynne, let me help you. My shift just ended.” She started grabbing my bags. “Wynne?” Nate violently grabbed the metal frame of my wheelchair, his long legs stepping right in front of me. Our eyes met, and he finally recognized me. He completely froze. I forced a faint smile beneath my mask. The nurse looked at him, confused. “Wynne, where’s your husband? Your intake file explicitly says you’re married.” I lifted my eyes to look at Nate. Married for three years, and not a single colleague of his even knew he had a wife. I smiled and said: “I’m not married. I filled out the form wrong.” Nate tried to step forward, but Vivian aggressively pulled his arm back. I pushed my wheels, steering myself straight into the elevator. As the doors began to slide shut, I see a sudden flash of panic in his eyes. He frantically charges forward, screaming my name: “Wynne Vance! Wait!” He shoves his hand into the closing elevator doors to stop them, catching his fingers between the metal. He lets out a sharp grunt of pain and wrenches his hand back as the doors snap shut. Through the final crack, his expression is filled with confusion and absolute disbelief. Inside the taxi, I powered on my phone. Looking at the iMessage logs, it was a massive wall of green text messages—me, endlessly, mindlessly sharing my daily life with him up until a month ago. He used to tell me to be quiet. From now on, I will never annoy him again. I finally recognized my exact place in his heart. Nate sent a text: [Wait for me. Don’t go anywhere.] I didn’t reply. Back at my apartment, I practice standing up, holding onto the furniture. My leg was starting to regain feeling. The doctor said I had to permanently give up heavy sports, but walking and light jogging were fine. During my month in the hospital, I had already fully accepted that my leg would never dance or climb mountains again. And I fully accepted that Nate never loved me. I was right on the verge of falling asleep when the front door handle rattled. Nate walked in. His coat was covered in fine flakes of white. The first snow of the year had started falling outside. I lay in bed. He was holding a bag of takeout, his face slightly flushed, his breathing heavy. He ran up the stairs. He stared at me, his lips parting slightly, wanting to say something but remaining silent. After a long silence, he spoke: “Why didn’t you tell me you were hospitalized?” “When did it happen?” I squinted against the harsh light he just turned on, my eyes blurry. “A month ago.” His body stiffens. He seems to be calculating exactly how long a month ago was. His eyes sweep over me, his pupils contracting sharply. His voice is laced with disbelief: “A month ago?” “The night of your show?” I nod, pulling the covers up, completely exhausted. “Turn off the light. I want to sleep.” Nate suddenly asks: “Why didn’t you leave a light on for me tonight?” Hearing his question, a cold, mocking laugh bubbled up in my chest. Right. Why should I leave a light on for him? For three straight years, whenever he worked late, I kept a warm plate of food and left the hallway light on for him. It was all just my own pathetic, one-sided emotional desperation. After three years, I couldn’t even warm a block of ice. I don’t want to warm it anymore. “I’m tired. Turn it off.” The atmosphere freezes. After a long pause, he clicks the light off.

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1 The night I caught my husband hooking up with my best friend, I had just gotten back from picking up my son and grabbing groceries on a battered bicycle. Clothes were violently scattered across the living room floor. Dripping wet in my cheap raincoat, I walked right into them cuddling on the leather sofa in the afterglow. The smell of the discount store spaghetti and meatballs in my hands couldn’t mask the heavy scent of sex filling the room. My son rushed forward. He practically jumped up and down, screaming his lungs out to welcome his new mommy. I lost my mind. I hurled the bags of meatballs right at their naked bodies. But no matter how hysterical I got, Chuck remained deadpan. He forced me out of the house with absolutely nothing to my name. His excuse was simple. They already had a baby on the way. Seven years later, I finally returned to Bayview. Walking out of the luxury mall restroom, I bumped right into a ghost from the past. “Maureen? Is that really you?” Chuck’s face lit up like he had struck gold. He stepped right into my personal space. “Where on earth have you been all these years?” I froze. Of all the places in this massive city, the universe just had to throw this sick joke at me. Seeing my silence, Chuck didn’t even have the decency to feel awkward. He just kept talking. “You vanished into thin air after the divorce. I looked everywhere for you.” “Someone finally told me you left Bayview entirely.” He paused, softening his gaze into something sickeningly gentle. “You look stunning. How have you been treating yourself?” “Look, I blame myself. I was young, arrogant. I shouldn’t have made you leave with nothing.” Hearing him gloss over that absolute nightmare made my stomach churn. “Mr. CEO, I’ve been doing just fine. You really don’t need to lose sleep over me.” He blinked, then let out a forced, bitter chuckle. “Maureen, I know you hate my guts.” “What happened back then… I just couldn’t control my feelings for her. My hands were tied.” “But honestly, all these years, I never forgot everything you did for our home.” He reached into a bright orange shopping bag and pulled out a jacket he had just bought, holding it out to me. “I’ve always felt guilty, but I never knew how to make it right.” “Take this. It’s freezing out there.” I stared at the hideous, clearance rack jacket and my lips twitched. “I’m good, Chuck. Really.” His eyes swept up and down my body. He stubbornly shoved the fabric against my chest. “Just take it. Sienna has a closet full of these anyway.” “It’s not a designer piece or anything, but I bet it still costs more than your rent.” I paused and looked down at my outfit. I wasn’t wearing a custom tailored suit with a massive luxury logo. I had on a slightly frayed gray knit sweater. I also smelled heavily of expensive bourbon from a brutal networking dinner I had just left. I suppose I did look like a pathetic corporate slave grinding away for pennies. Seeing that I wasn’t putting it on, he sighed heavily. “You haven’t been back once. Noah misses you, you know.” Hearing my son’s name made me scoff. I finally gave him a real reaction. “Isn’t he living the dream with his brand new mommy?” Chuck let out a soft laugh. “See? I knew you still cared about him.” A wave of absolute disgust washed over me. Before I could tell him off, Chuck kept rambling. “He was just a kid back then. Kids say stupid things when they’re mad. But you’re his biological mother. He talks about you all the time.” “He just thinks you abandoned him because you never reached out.” He took a breath. “Come over to the house when you have time. See Noah. We can put the past behind us and catch up like adults.” I laughed out loud. “Wouldn’t your wife have a problem with that?” Right on cue, a sickly sweet voice echoed behind me. “Why would I? You’re my absolute best friend.” “It’s been so long, babe. I missed you to death.” 2 I turned around. Sienna was strutting toward me, dripping in designer logos and carrying a dozen shopping bags. Her pregnant belly was obvious. She threw an arm over my shoulder with fake intimacy and rested her head against me. “Oh, Maureen. You just up and left after the divorce. You didn’t even look back to check on your oldest friends.” She let go of me and locked her arm around Chuck’s elbow instead. “Since we ran into each other, you have to come over.” “Plus, I’m pregnant with my second baby! I’m due soon. We should totally have dinner to celebrate.” I subtly wiped the cheap foundation she left on my shoulder. “I’ll pass. I have places to be.” “Oh, stop being so shy! It’s just dinner.” Sienna blocked my path. “Honestly, I always felt super bad about what happened.” “But Chuck and I are soulmates. True love wins, you know? I’m sorry you had to be the collateral damage.” “We can definitely afford to treat you to a nice meal. Looks like you could use some real food anyway.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Chuck on the cheek. “Right, honey?” Chuck went rigid, but he awkwardly patted her head and turned to convince me. “She’s right, Maureen. We hired a new private chef. Let’s just have one meal together.” I thought for a second. The real reason I returned to Bayview flashed in my mind. I decided to play along. “Sure. Let’s go.” Sienna’s smile cracked. A flash of dark annoyance crossed her face, but she forced her plastic grin back into place. Chuck, on the other hand, looked thrilled. He eagerly led the way out. A sleek Range Rover was parked by the entrance. Chuck hopped into the driver’s seat. Sienna slid into the passenger side, throwing me a smug, victorious look through the window. I got into the back seat, finding the whole thing completely hilarious. She really didn’t need to flex so hard. Back when Chuck and I were actually married, he never let me sit in the passenger seat either. My only mode of transportation used to be that rusty little bicycle. Rain, shine, sleet, or snow. Whether I was buying groceries or picking up our son, that bicycle was all I had. I used to beg Chuck to buy me a cheap used car. Anything with four doors and a heater. We had the money. A decent used sedan would have cost a few grand and saved me from freezing to death on the winter roads. But Chuck always said it was a waste of cash. He claimed I was a terrible driver and that traffic was too bad anyway. He gaslit me into thinking the bicycle was a privilege. But I had a pristine driving record. I even used to race on amateur tracks before we got married. He just didn’t want to spend a dime on me. Then, I watched him buy Sienna a hundred thousand dollar sports car. When she totaled it rear ending someone, he dropped everything, ran to the scene, and bought her a brand new one the next day. That was the day I realized he didn’t think a car was a waste of money. He just thought I wasn’t worth it. Memories flooded my mind until the SUV pulled up to the house I used to call home. Chuck knocked on the door. It swung open, revealing a face pale with shock. “Mom?” 3 I locked eyes with Noah. Seven years had passed. The little toddler who hadn’t even started kindergarten was now a lanky teenager drowning in a private school uniform. “Come on in.” Chuck eagerly placed a pair of guest slippers at my feet. As I stepped inside, Noah nervously backed away. I ignored him. I sat on the sofa and looked around. The interior was mostly the same, but the vibe was entirely corrupted. Expensive women’s coats overflowed on the coat rack. Bright plastic toys littered the hardwood floors. The room I had originally painted and prepped for Noah now had a baby gate across the door. A little boy, maybe five or six, came crashing through it holding a plastic sword. He sprinted straight at Chuck. “Daddy! Look at my castle!” He bulldozed through the living room, knocking over decorative vases and kicking toys out of his way. Noah silently crouched on the floor, picking up the mess. As his sleeve rode up, I noticed faint, fresh scratches on his forearm. I knew exactly what the situation was. This kid was the baby Sienna was carrying when she blew up my marriage. The baby that made Chuck force me out onto the streets. Sienna’s overly sweet voice drifted from the hallway. “Toby just worships his dad.” She rubbed her pregnant belly, looking at the father and son with pure adoration. Meanwhile, Noah, the boy who used to scream for his new mommy, was left kneeling in the dust. My face remained blank. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest. The chef brought out the food. Chuck pried Toby off his leg and gestured for me to sit. The silver lids were lifted, revealing thick clouds of steam. Toby immediately started screaming. He wanted the Wagyu beef. He wanted the king crab. He hoarded half the massive pot onto his tiny plate before anyone else could even pick up a fork. Chuck shot me a nervous look, his ego taking a hit. “Toby, finish what you have first. Where are your manners?” Sienna just laughed and piled more meat onto Chuck’s plate. “Oh, relax. He’s just a growing boy. It doesn’t matter.” She grabbed Chuck’s hand and placed it on her stomach. “I bet the little guy in here is going to be just as wild as his big brother.” Chuck’s scowl instantly melted away. Amidst their picture perfect family moment, Noah finally reached out with his chopsticks to grab a single crab leg from the pot. The second he did, a heavy serving spoon slammed down on his wrist, knocking the crab onto the floor. Toby stood on his chair, screaming at the top of his lungs. “That’s my house’s food! You’re a beggar! You don’t get to eat!” Noah’s hand trembled violently. A bright red welt swelled on his skin. Chuck’s face went dark. “Toby! Do not treat your brother like that!” Toby shrieked back. “He’s not my brother! My mom didn’t make him! He’s the son of that ugly bitch!” Dead silence fell over the dining room. I slowly turned my head and stared dead into Chuck’s eyes. His face turned the color of bruised plum. He raised his hand, ready to strike the kid. “You little brat! Is that how you speak in front of me?” Before the slap could connect, Sienna caught his wrist. She giggled softly. “Oh, Chuck, stop. Boys will be boys. They just play rough.” She threw a sideways glance at me. “Maureen is a big girl. She’s not going to get offended by a toddler, right?” Noah looked at me with pure terror in his eyes. Chuck was sweating, watching my expression. I didn’t say a word. I just calmly picked up my crystal glass and took a sip of water. Seeing my absolute indifference, Noah finally broke. His voice cracked with a suppressed sob. “Mom…” Sienna cut him off immediately. “Alright, Noah, that’s enough whining. Get on your knees and clean up the food you dropped.” Noah slowly crouched down. His skinny frame shook as he picked up the dirty crab leg from the floor. “Yes, Aunt Sienna.” Behind him, Toby stuck his tongue out and danced around victoriously. Sienna chuckled again, dropping an overcooked piece of beef into my bowl. “Kids are just so chaotic. Don’t be shy, Maureen. Eat up.” “Chuck is so unoriginal. He just buys me the most expensive ingredients to keep me healthy. We eat this luxury stuff every single day. Honestly, I’m getting sick of it.” I pushed the bowl away. “I’m full. My business partners forced me to eat lobster and caviar earlier, and the bourbon hasn’t settled yet.” Sienna’s smug smile froze. Her face twisted into something ugly. It took her a long time to put her fork down. She forced out a dry laugh. “Right. You must be working so hard. Hustling everyday, begging clients for pennies.” “Not like me. Chuck spoils me rotten. I don’t even have to leave the house. If I point at something, he buys it.” Her eyes drifted down to my frayed sweater, and she actually let out a snort. “Your boss is terrible, though. Letting you work yourself to the bone and paying you peanuts. Walking into a client meeting looking like a homeless person? No wonder you have to drink so much to close a deal.” She stood up, walked into her bedroom, and came back with a stack of outdated, gaudy neon dresses. “Here. Take these. They’re old season, but they are a million times better than the rags you’re wearing.” She forcefully shoved the pile into my lap. “Take them. We’ve known each other for over a decade. Consider it charity.” I didn’t even blink. I shoved the pile right back off my lap, brushed the lint off my sweater, and smiled. “No thanks. My family knitted this for me. It keeps me warm.” Chuck’s face drained of all color. “Maureen… what are you talking about? Your parents died the same year we got divorced.” 4 The temperature in the room dropped below freezing. I clenched my fists under the table. The one memory I wanted to bury forever started playing on an endless loop in my mind. It was raining outside. Just like it was seven years ago. I was wearing that suffocating plastic raincoat. Massive raindrops felt like stones hitting my shoulders. Bags of cheap groceries dangled precariously from the handlebars. Noah was hiding behind my back. The plastic visor of my helmet was blurred by the storm. I wobbled through the aggressive city traffic on that dying bicycle. A massive truck blew past us, spraying a tidal wave of filthy street water directly into my face. I swerved, lost control, and slammed right into the metal guardrail. Mud soaked through my clothes. The groceries flew into the dirty puddle. I panicked, scrambling to check on Noah. Thank God my maternal instincts kicked in and I had shielded him with my body before we hit the ground. Cars behind us blared their horns. Blocks of tofu were crushed into white mush on the asphalt. I was on my hands and knees, desperately trying to salvage whatever food wasn’t ruined. Noah stood on the sidewalk under an awning. He didn’t come to help. He just stared at me like I was a diseased rat. When I finally scraped everything together, only one sealed bag of cheap veggie meatballs had survived. I dragged the heavy bicycle upright, shoved the meatballs into my pocket, and waved for Noah to get back on. He reluctantly crawled under the back of my raincoat, muttering loud enough for me to hear over the rain. “Why do you always pick me up? Why can’t Dad and Aunt Sienna do it? They have cool cars.” He shifted uncomfortably against my wet back. “You ride this piece of junk and carry stinky groceries. Everyone at school is laughing at me. I’m so embarrassed.” Every single word pierced straight through my heart. My soaking wet clothes clung to my freezing skin. The rain slashed against my face, and I blinked hard to keep the tears from falling. I didn’t yell. I didn’t defend myself. I just gripped the handlebars and focused on getting him home alive. I thought to myself, Once we get home, it’ll be fine. Once we get home, I can take a hot shower. I can cook a warm meal for my family. But when I dragged my exhausted body through the front door, there was no warmth waiting for me. There was only the heavy stench of sex and clothes littered everywhere. The shock paralyzed me. I stumbled blindly into the living room. On the expensive leather sofa I had saved up to buy, Chuck was buried deep in Sienna. They were completely naked, except for Sienna wearing my silk nightgown wrapped around her neck. It was a scene straight out of a nightmare. A guttural, shattered scream ripped out of my throat. But even then, my very first instinct was to turn around and cover Noah’s eyes. I didn’t want my baby to see this trauma. Instead, he violently shoved me away. He sprinted toward the two naked adults, clapping his hands in pure joy. “Daddy! You finally brought Aunt Sienna home! Does this mean she’s my new mommy now?” I stopped breathing. The floor vanished beneath me. Chuck didn’t even have the shame to cover up. He laughed, reached out, and ruffled Noah’s hair. “That’s right, buddy. You always wanted a pretty, nice mom, right? Aunt Sienna is your new mom now.” He grabbed Noah’s little hand and placed it on Sienna’s flat stomach. “Look. Your new mommy already has your baby brother in here. We’re going to be a real family.” Noah jumped up and down, absolutely ecstatic. “Yes! Yes! I’m getting a brother and a new mom!” He turned around and pointed his little finger right at my face. “I don’t want this broken mom anymore. She’s ugly, she’s old, and she makes me look like a loser!” And Sienna. The girl who had been my best friend since high school. The girl who stood next to me at my wedding. Twelve years of sisterhood. She laughed, pinched his cheek, and looked right into my eyes. “That’s right, baby. I’m your mommy now.” Something inside my brain just snapped. I pulled the bag of veggie meatballs out of my pocket and hurled it at their faces with everything I had. They scattered across the expensive rug. I threw myself at them like a rabid dog. I swung my fists wildly, but I was so weak from the cold that my punches felt like nothing. The next second, Chuck grabbed my shoulders and violently threw me backward. My spine slammed directly into the sharp edge of the glass coffee table.

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My wife and I were reborn at our own wedding, ten years in the past. Without a word of explanation, we both defied our families and friends, both demanding the ceremony be called off. After we went our separate ways, she wasted no time getting with another guy who’d been chasing her, and they moved overseas together. I kept my head down, grinding away as a simple programmer. Ten years later. Her new boyfriend had become a rising star in the international business world, a celebrated mogul with a future brighter than the sun. And I, in everyone else’s eyes, was still just a programmer at the same old company. She leaned into her man’s arms, a vision of sultry success, and looked down her nose at me. “Ten years, Finn, and you’re still the same dead-end programmer. Thank God I had the sense to cut my losses when I did.” I couldn’t be bothered with her smug, triumphant act. Not until my wife, a world champion, gently looped her arm through mine. That’s when Lydia shattered the wine glass in her hand. “Finn! I’m your wife! How could you let another woman touch you?” 1 We met again at the funeral of our old university professor, a decade after our rebirth. Lydia’s husband now was Grayson, the hotshot business mogul who’d just returned to the country. A crowd of fawning admirers buzzed around him, making him the undisputed center of attention. The service was about to start, but the funeral home’s A/V equipment was on the fritz. To keep things from falling behind schedule, I was crouched by the stage, troubleshooting the system. That’s when Lydia and Grayson made their grand entrance. A flock of our old classmates practically tripped over themselves to greet them, completely ignoring the somber setting. “Grayson, you’re a legend! Building an empire at such a young age.” “Heard you’re back to expand into the domestic market, Grayson. Don’t forget about us old friends, huh?” “Totally! I always knew you were different back in school. A cut above the rest.” “And Lydia, you haven’t aged a day! You look like you just stepped off campus. What a power couple.” Lydia couldn’t hide the smile blooming on her face. “Oh, you guys are too kind.” Seeing how much she lapped up the praise, the crowd doubled down, each person trying to outdo the other in their flattery. I rose from behind the console of equipment. “Could you show some respect? This is a funeral. Your racket is completely out of line.” Lydia’s brow furrowed the moment she saw me. “What is he doing here?” Most of the people here were old classmates. They knew that Lydia and I had been reborn at our wedding and had promptly, wordlessly, cancelled the whole thing. They knew our history. “Isn’t that Finn? What’s he doing behind the tech booth? Still a programmer after all these years?” “Man, to think you and Lydia were almost married. Look at you two now. Worlds apart.” A flicker of discomfort crossed Lydia’s face. She shot a nervous glance at Grayson. “That’s all in the past. Let’s not talk about it.” At her cue, everyone shut up and quickly changed the subject. I gave the equipment a final check, and seeing everything was working, I stepped back into the crowd. As I approached, Grayson let out a cold snort. “Still slinging code at that same little company, huh?” His words were a signal, and the pack pounced. “Yeah, Finn. Ten years and you’re still stuck in the same place?” “No wonder you never show up to the reunions. If my life were that pathetic, I’d hide too.” “Exactly. Lydia and Grayson missed them because they were overseas building an empire. You missed them because you’re a nobody.” I looked up. Lydia was dressed in a designer gown, a limited edition piece that probably cost more than a car. Her hair was swept up loosely, with a few tendrils framing her face, their tips brushing against a pair of diamond earrings. Every move she made oozed a calculated sensuality. Grayson stood beside her in a bespoke black suit, a watch on his wrist that screamed wealth. Together, they looked like they’d stepped right out of a luxury magazine. A perfect, untouchable pair. The barbed comments kept coming, and I shot them all an irritated look. “This is a funeral. Try to have a shred of decency for the man we’re here to honor. If you want to kiss their asses, wait until the service is over.” My words were blunt, and Lydia’s face tightened, ready to snap back. But Grayson held up a hand, stopping her. “Finn’s right. Let’s honor the professor.” He then turned his attention to me. “Look, the Dean mentioned we’re all getting dinner tonight. You should come.” “My new hotel is having its grand opening, so we’ll go there. It’s on me. It’s been too long since we all got together.” I was about to refuse, but then I remembered the Dean had called me last night. He’d specifically mentioned this dinner, telling me several senior faculty members wanted to meet me and that I absolutely had to be there. While I hesitated, Grayson’s voice cut in again, laced with a challenge. “What’s the matter? Too good for my invitation? Or are you afraid to show up?” I raised an eyebrow. Afraid? “In that case, I’d be honored. Thanks for footing the bill, Grayson.” My acceptance seemed to satisfy them, and the murmuring finally died down, allowing the funeral to proceed. As Lydia and Grayson walked past me to lay flowers, Lydia paused, her gaze dripping with condescension. “Look at you, Finn. Just look at the pathetic mess you’ve become.” Her voice was a low, venomous whisper. “If you had just listened to me, you wouldn’t be stuck as a dead-end programmer for the rest of your life, scraping by on a few thousand a month, struggling just to get by.” “We’re on different paths now, Finn. We have been for a long time.” Watching them walk away, I got lost in thought. Different paths? She had no idea. In our first life, Lydia and I met in college. We were each other’s first love. After graduation, we got married, just as everyone expected, and started our life together. But that simple, happy life didn’t last. Everything changed when Grayson returned from overseas. He had pursued Lydia relentlessly in college, but she’d chosen me. So, after we got married, he left the country. Just like in this life, he returned a decade later, a self-made tycoon, dripping with success. At the reunion party thrown to welcome him back, the way Lydia looked at him had changed. I tried to tell myself I was imagining things, that Lydia wasn’t the type of woman to betray our vows. But after that party, she quit her job. The collection of designer bags and clothes in our closet started to grow exponentially. On the day we were reborn, she hadn’t come home all night. When she finally did, her neck was covered in the faint, unmistakable marks of passion. That’s when we had our final, explosive fight. She threw her new Hermès bag right at my head. “I must have been blind to choose you, Finn!” she screamed, her face twisted with rage. “So what if I cheated? Look at this bag! Your entire pathetic salary for a year couldn’t even buy this! I’m sick of this miserable life!” Staring at her distorted face, all I felt was a deep, chilling sorrow. The truth was, our life wasn’t miserable. We owned our own home in a decent city, had a reliable car. My salary was more than comfortable, and with no kids, we lived well. But Grayson’s return had shown her a bigger, shinier world, and she’d gotten a taste of wealth and status. I could understand wanting a better life, but I could never accept her betrayal. After her tirade, she stormed out. She was so agitated, I was afraid she’d do something reckless, so I ran out after her. Maybe it was the guilt of being caught, but she couldn’t calm down. We were arguing on the street when an out-of-control truck came barreling towards us. The next thing I knew, we were both waking up, ten years in the past, at our own wedding. Even with everyone watching, we acted in perfect, unspoken agreement, cancelling the ceremony on the spot. After we split, she seamlessly transitioned into a relationship with Grayson, and they left for Europe together. And I went back to being a programmer, continuing down my path of software development. The only difference between this life and the last was that I was no longer just a “simple programmer.” I had a ten-year head start on the rest of the world. A decade of foresight. After the rebirth, I saw the coming storm of short-form video. I developed what is now the world’s most popular social media app, and my first move was to acquire the very company I used to work for. Once the money started pouring in, I began donating to my old university—new equipment, entire buildings, and a scholarship fund for underprivileged students. It was where my dream began; giving back felt natural. But I was always buried in work and hated the spotlight, so I never attended any of the university’s ceremonies or thank-you events. Besides the Dean and a few top administrators, no one knew who I really was. Today was the professor’s funeral. The Dean had called me last night, and after turning him down so many times, I finally agreed to his dinner invitation. Running into Lydia and Grayson was not part of the plan. But since it happened… I wasn’t the one who did something wrong. I wasn’t the one who should be hiding. After the funeral, the group headed for the hotel. Grayson and Lydia walked out, surrounded by their sycophants. A sleek, low-slung sports car was parked right at the entrance, and they headed straight for it. Gasps of awe rippled through the crowd. “What a machine. Only the best for Grayson.” “Isn’t that a limited edition? Of course he’s already got one.” “If I could own a car like that, I could die happy.” I tuned out their pathetic bootlicking and walked over to a row of shareable e-scooters. The World Championships had just ended, and today was the day my champion wife was flying home. After my driver dropped me at the funeral home, I’d sent him to the airport to pick her up. The hotel wasn’t far. A scooter was faster and would let me zip through traffic. Just as I reached the scooter bank, Grayson’s smug voice sounded behind me. “Seriously, Finn? All these years and you still can’t afford a car?” “A guy your age, riding a public scooter? I’m almost embarrassed for you.” “You know what, why don’t you ride with me? I’ll give you a lift.” He paused dramatically. “On second thought, never mind. Don’t want to get my seats dirty.” I unlocked a scooter and glided over to him, giving him a lazy, sidelong glance. “A car’s a tool, man. No matter how fancy yours is, we’re ending up at the same place. So stop barking. It’s annoying.” Without waiting for a response, I sped off. Halfway down the block, a thought occurred to me. I stopped, turned back, and grinned at Grayson’s thunderous expression. “Oh, and by the way, since your car is so precious, you probably shouldn’t drive it. You should carry it to the hotel, Grayson. Wouldn’t want it to get dirty.” …

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