Category: English

Discovering I was actually the biological daughter of the richest man in the city who had been swapped at birth, I, a twenty-year-old corporate drone with the jaded soul of someone with thirty years of work experience, immediately set off on a journey to reclaim my identity. But every single time, I was thwarted by the fake heiress. The first time, holding my DNA report, I snuck into a charity gala to claim my family, only to be thrown into a storage closet by bodyguards arranged by the fake heiress. The second time, I staked out the company headquarters for three days and nights, but didn’t even catch a glimpse of my billionaire father. I later learned the fake heiress had leaked false information about his schedule. The third time, learning from my mistakes, I contacted the media for an exposé, only to have the fake heiress buy them off beforehand. I fought harder with every setback. Finally, after my 99th failure, taking advantage of her being sick, I orchestrated a minor car accident and successfully reunited with my billionaire parents. The day I was brought back to the mansion, I was brimming with fighting spirit, vowing to drive out this fake heiress who had stolen my identity. Unexpectedly, I heard her inner thoughts. [Damn it, this cold ruined everything! I stopped her 99 times, but they still managed to find her.] [My sister is so soft and cute. This lifetime, I absolutely have to protect her and keep her from being killed by these demons!] … Hearing her inner thoughts, I was stunned for a moment. Demons? Is she talking about my billionaire parents? I immediately scoffed. After ten years as a corporate drone, what kind of monsters and demons hadn’t I seen in the workplace? Mia failed to stop me 99 times, so she’s trying a new trick this time. Too bad for her, trying to confuse me with fake inner thoughts? Not a chance! I’ve been poor for half my life. This time, no one is going to stop me from sitting on a mountain of gold and reaching the pinnacle of success! I pinched my thigh hard to produce tears, bypassed her, and tearfully hugged my billionaire mother’s slender waist. “Wahhh, such a beautiful mother is actually my mother! Am I dreaming?” I was a newcomer, naturally no match for the fake heiress who had been by their side every day. But no one dislikes hearing flattery. Accustomed to high-class compliments, she was clearly moved by my rustic, genuine praise. My mother’s cheeks flushed slightly as she took a bracelet off her wrist and placed it in my hand. “This is a family heirloom. Keep it safe.” I turned to look at my father. “Daddy, you’re so handsome too!” My father took out his wallet and pulled out a black card. “There’s a hundred million in here. If you spend it all, just ask Daddy for more.” With my first pot of gold in hand, my face practically split from smiling so hard. This was a massive fortune! I couldn’t earn a tenth of this working my whole life! But now, all I had to do was act a little spoiled and say a few nice things, and I got it effortlessly. Wearing the bracelet and gripping the black card, I was thrilled, my belief that the inner thoughts were fake growing even stronger. How are these people demons? They are literally the God of Wealth! I looked triumphantly at Mia, my provocation obvious. Mia turned her face away and headed upstairs. As she passed me, her inner voice sounded in my ear again. [My sister looks so cute when she’s obsessed with money! I really want to kiss her!] [It’s just too pitiful. In her last life, right up until she died, she didn’t know the bracelet was fake and the bank card was frozen…] My heart skipped a beat, my hand nervously tightening its grip on the bank card. But I quickly recovered my senses. They are the richest family in the city. How could they deceive me with fakes? She was just jealous! Tomorrow, I’m going to the mall to buy a hundred Hermès bags and change them ten times a day! I’ll make her die of envy! During dinner, I was busy sweet-talking, making the billionaire couple smile from ear to ear. Mia sat across from me, looking gloomy: [My sister smiles so brightly, but whenever I think about how tragically she died, I want to cry.] I couldn’t smile anymore. Seriously, is this fake heiress sick in the head? Does she think I’m a three-year-old who would believe this nonsense? Just as I was about to retaliate, my mother picked up a piece of sashimi and placed it in my bowl. “Bluefin tuna flown in this morning. Eat up.” I feigned being touched. “Thank you, Mom. I’ve never eaten anything this good before.” I picked up the sashimi, but just as it reached my mouth, the slice of fish vanished. Mia was chewing on the sashimi she had snatched from right under my nose, speaking in a passive-aggressive tone: “Sister just came back from that kind of place. Her stomach is probably weak. Eating this might give her diarrhea. Better not eat it.” At the same time, her inner voice was screaming frantically. [Don’t eat it! Sister is allergic to sashimi! In her last life, she ate this and immediately broke out in red hives all over, got a high fever that wouldn’t break, and was rushed to the hospital for a long resuscitation! This demon couple actually…] “Mia!” My father’s face darkened as he scolded her. “Chloe is the true biological daughter of the Sterling family! Why are you targeting her like this?!” Saying this, my father picked up another piece of sashimi. “Eat! A daughter of my Sterling family can eat whatever fine foods she wants!” I blinked at her and, with lightning speed, shoved the sashimi into my mouth. Mia looked shocked, her face turning stark white. The next second, I started itching all over, my throat constricting. I clutched my chest, looking at Mia in disbelief. No way? Are her inner thoughts actually true?! Is she really warning me for my own good? When I woke up again, I was in the hospital. To my surprise, Mia was sitting by my bed, peeling an apple. I peered behind her, and she tugged at the corners of her mouth, her expression three parts coldness and seven parts mockery. “Don’t bother looking. I’m the only one here.” “Ending up in the hospital on your first day home. Mom and Dad think you’re bad luck; they’re avoiding you like the plague!” The apple peel broke. Her face was as calm as water, but her heart was burning with indignation. [Those two pieces of trash! They saw my sister faint and just abandoned her! They don’t deserve to be parents!] I lowered my eyes, pondering the credibility of her inner voice. Because I had only eaten one piece of sashimi all night, my stomach let out a loud rumble. It sounded exceptionally loud in the empty, private hospital room. “Pfft!” Mia laughed. “Hungry?” To be honest, Mia looked beautiful when she smiled. Especially when she was holding up a perfectly peeled, sweet apple. Moreover, she had just used her inner voice to warn me to avoid a disaster, but I didn’t believe her… Could it be that she was truly acting for my own good? Was this billionaire family really arsenic coated in sugar? After brief hesitation, I decided to temporarily accept her olive branch and prepared to take a bite of the apple. But she suddenly snatched it back and took a bite herself, her tone cold. “You really are stupid and naive. I just teased you a little and you believed it.” I felt a surge of irritation and grabbed the phone to call the butler. “I’m hungry! Right now, immediately, go to the most expensive hotel in the city, order a full imperial banquet to go, and bring it to the hospital!” I’m the true heiress of the richest family in the city. You think I care about your one apple? There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a voice as cold as a robot spoke. “Second Miss, the Eldest Miss instructed that since you just had surgery, you cannot eat.” With that, the butler hung up the phone. Thinking back to the fake heiress’s action of denying me food just now… so, it was for my own good? I was just about to tell her to get out when her inner voice chimed in perfectly on cue. [Ahhh, eating with my sister makes me so happy!] [When I was eating the ribs just now, my sister’s eyes got red. It seems she loves this dish. I’ll write that down and have the chef make it when she’s better!] I admit, having been neglected by my parents since childhood, I was severely starved for affection. Even if her inner thoughts were fake, I couldn’t bring myself to yell at her. I could only hide under the covers and sulk. When the time comes, I will definitely vent this frustration! Three days later, I was discharged from the hospital. The Sterling parents still hadn’t shown up, but I didn’t care. As long as the money was there, talk of love was just empty words. I was enrolled in an elite private school, in the same class as Mia. As soon as I entered the classroom, the class representative enthusiastically invited me to sit next to him. “The new student just joined us! Sit with me, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me anytime.” I was just about to set my bag down and take a seat. Mia tapped on the class representative’s desk. “My sister just came back from the countryside and doesn’t know the rules. My parents told me to keep a close eye on her.” Before I could speak, she threatened me with a cold face. “If you choose to sit here, I’ll tell Mom and Dad you’re getting involved in an early romance.” “They won’t care about the truth, but your allowance will be gone.” While she was speaking, her inner voice was screaming in my ear. [The class representative is a pervert! On the surface, he’s a top student, but secretly he loves to torment pure, innocent girls!] [In the last life, he lured my sister to his house under the guise of tutoring and tied her up in the basement…] A chill ran down my spine. I quickly grabbed my bag and sat in the empty seat next to Mia. “Hehe, I’m a bit shy around strangers.” During equestrian class, I used my recent surgery as an excuse to sneak back to the classroom and rifle through the class representative’s desk. On the newest page of his notebook, a sentence was clearly written. [A new little grey rabbit arrived today. Wonder what she feels like to play with? Such a pity she was ruined by that wicked Mia…] Footsteps sounded outside the door. My heart pounded frantically. I quickly returned the desk to its original state. It was Mia returning. She poured herself a glass of water, her inner voice leaping with joy. [My sister must have seen it, right? My efforts to get the password to his notebook weren’t wasted.] The sashimi allergy—even I wasn’t entirely clear about it, yet Mia knew. As my mortal enemy, she should have gladly sent me into the class representative’s wolf den, yet she found a way to shield me. Could it be that the rebirth thing was real, and she was using her inner voice to warn me? The scales in my heart began to tip. Over the next few days, Mia deliberately chased away the etiquette teacher my parents hired for me. I later discovered that the etiquette teacher was the class representative’s aunt. After that, under her “warnings,” I avoided numerous embarrassments and mistakes. After a few tests, my feelings shifted from doubt to a gradual belief in Mia’s inner thoughts. At dinner that evening, my father, who had been on a business trip for two months, finally appeared. “Tomorrow is the recognition banquet. I will announce to all the elites in the city that you are the biological daughter of the Sterling family.” “Prepare yourself well. Do not embarrass me!” As soon as he finished, Mia’s inner voice sounded resentful and furious. [It’s finally here! This recognition banquet is the main culprit that led to my sister’s tragic death in the last life!] I leaned closer to Mia, wanting to hear more information, but she didn’t say anything else. I silently pondered the inner thoughts I had heard. The recognition banquet was specifically hosted for me by the billionaire couple. After they announced my identity, they led me to toast the VIP guests. Sitting in the seat of honor at the main table was a regular feature in economic magazines. My parents were very respectful toward him. “Our Sterling family owes our success today to you, Uncle Wang!” “Chloe, since you’re home now, make sure to offer a proper toast to your Uncle Wang!” I took the half-glass of wine my parents handed me and exchanged a few pleasantries. Suddenly, Mia grabbed my hand, her inner voice frantic. [My sister absolutely cannot drink that! Mom and Dad drugged the wine!] [The family business has plummeted; only the glittering facade remains. To gain this Uncle Wang’s support, Mom and Dad are actually willing to drug my sister and offer her as a bargaining chip to this Uncle Wang!] [And this Uncle Wang… he looks like a perfect gentleman on the outside, but behind closed doors… his methods are twisted. Countless young girls have been destroyed by his hands!] My hand trembled, and I clutched my stomach. “Mom, Dad, my stomach hurts…” My parents looked impatient. “Uncle Wang is a benefactor to the Sterling family. Finish this toast, and then you can go rest!” I pressed my lips together and didn’t speak, my hand remaining still. Uncle Wang chuckled amiably. “I’m just an ordinary man; I hardly deserve to be called a benefactor.” “It’s fine. Don’t force the child.” My parents’ expressions grew even uglier. Right at that moment, Mia took the wine glass from my hand, a bright smile on her face. “Uncle Wang, I’ve always heard my parents talk about you.” “It’s an honor to finally meet you today. I must offer you a proper toast! Thank you for your support of our Sterling family all these years!” She deliberately lowered her glass, clinked it lightly against his, and downed it in one gulp. “I’ve finished mine! Please, drink at your own pace, Uncle Wang!” Her bold demeanor made Uncle Wang laugh heartily. “Excellent! Old Sterling, you’ve truly raised a wonderful daughter!” Only then did my parents’ faces relax into smiles. “Mia has always been generous and sensible. We never have to worry about her!” “Who knows which lucky boy will get her in the future? We can’t bear the thought of letting her go!” The guests chimed in with agreement. “Miss Sterling is beautiful, smart, and has high emotional intelligence. Isn’t she the standard-bearer for a wealthy family’s daughter-in-law?” While praising Mia, they didn’t forget to belittle me. “The one from the countryside just can’t compare to the one raised by their side. Look at the contrast; the difference is night and day!” Gossip among the wealthy has always been a topic of conversation. I was being pointed at and judged by these strangers. Meanwhile, Mia was happily chatting with the supposed “demon,” Uncle Wang. My parents watched her, their faces beaming with smiles, obviously extremely satisfied. But doubts sprouted in my mind. Didn’t Mia say the wine was drugged? If she snatched the wine to protect me, why was she completely unharmed after drinking it? And looking at the outcome, she was the one who benefited. My firm belief began to waver again. Her inner thoughts were clearly a trick to numb my senses, to suppress me, the true heiress, and seize my billionaire parents’ fortune! I was so stupid to have believed her nonsense! Carrying these doubts, the recognition banquet quickly came to an end. As the guests dispersed, my parents’ faces instantly turned cold. They issued me an ultimatum. “We’ve arranged an arranged marriage for you with the heir of the Vance family.” Mia’s inner voice chimed in perfectly on cue. [No! My sister absolutely cannot agree!] [The Vance family heir is a manipulative, psychopathic madman! Once you anger him, you won’t even know how you died!] Manipulative. Psychopathic. Die. Mia’s explosive inner thoughts gave me goosebumps all over. Seeing my hesitation, my parents lost their patience. “If you don’t want the marriage, that’s fine too. We’ll send you back to the countryside, and you can do whatever you want!” I had finally clawed my way out of a life of poverty; I absolutely refused to go back! But the consequences Mia described were even more terrifying! I bit my fingernails in anxiety, trying to carefully discern whether what she was saying was true or false. My head was practically splitting with pain. But Mia’s inner voice continued to haunt my ears: [Absolutely not! In the last life, it was only after the arranged marriage that my sister entered true hell!] [My sister cannot jump into that fire pit! Refuse quickly, or you’ll die!] The two voices constantly warred in my ears, and I broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. My parents also looked deeply pained, but the more they acted like that, the more frantic Mia’s inner voice became. A flash of anxiety inadvertently crossed her face, and my vision began to blur. Who should I believe? I thought of everything that had happened since I returned to the Sterling family. I looked at this fake heiress who shared no blood with me, who opposed me on the surface but constantly considered my well-being in secret. I gritted my teeth and decided to trust her one more time. I refused the arranged marriage my parents set up. Mia visibly relaxed. [Thank God! My sister can finally escape the tragic fate of her past life!] My parents sighed. “Fine. If you’re not willing, we won’t force you!” They handed Mia a card. “Since that’s the case, Mia, starting tomorrow, you are the fiancée of the Vance family heir!” “Go to the auction and see if there’s anything you like. Buy it!” “The Vance family has a massive empire. Your dowry cannot be shabby!” I was burning with anxiety. Mia was always looking out for me. I couldn’t let her jump into the fire pit because of me! But just as I was desperately trying to think of a reason to help her get out of the marriage, Mia surprisingly agreed without a second word! She unequivocally grabbed my hand. “Let’s go. Take a walk with me.” “Sis… Sister.”

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My mother-in-law told me to go feed the hog. As I stepped toward the pen, a voice hissed into my ear: [Here she comes. I’m going to tear her face off in a minute.] [This cheap trash… she actually had the nerve to sleep next to my man last night.] [Hee hee. She’ll die before she figures out that her husband and I are a pair.] I froze in my tracks. I stared at the pig. It was glaring back at me, its small eyes full of malice. But he was a boar. A male hog. 01 When I first heard the voice, I thought I was still dreaming. It was barely five in the morning, and the sky was a bruised, heavy purple. An hour ago, my mother-in-law, Mabel, had been pounding on our bedroom door. I’d tried to nudge my husband, Jackson. He just rolled over, reeking of cheap bourbon and snoring like a freight train. He hadn’t stumbled home until nearly three; I’d spent my night wiping his face and peeling off his boots. He didn’t budge. Mabel’s screeching drifted from the yard into the hallway. “What good is a lazy wife? I shouldn’t have to call you three times to feed a damn pig!” I dragged myself out of bed, wrapped a heavy coat over my pajamas, and headed out. The pigpen was in the back lot, reached by a narrow, lightless path between the barn and the fence. I felt my way along the cold wood, my boots sinking into the freezing mud. The slop bucket sat by the gate. The stench of fermented waste made my stomach lurch. I lifted the bucket, and as I approached, the voice returned—sharp, shrill, and feminine. [Finally! The bitch is finally here!] I stopped, spinning around. There was no one there. Only the wind. I took two more steps. Inside the pen, the hog was watching me. He was massive, a mountain of black bristles and slick fat. His tiny eyes were buried in folds of flesh, glowing with a muddy, unnatural light in the dark. He grunted impatiently, rooting his snout into the trough. He sounded like a normal animal. But then the voice came again, closer this time, as if someone were whispering directly into my ear canal. [What are you waiting for? Come inside! Come in so I can pin her down and chew her to pieces!] My hand shook. Half a gallon of slop splashed over the side of the bucket. [Does the slut know something?] [The last one was cautious, too. She wouldn’t come in. But I caught her by the arm and dragged her under the rail anyway!] [Hee hee hee…] [I dragged her into the trough and started with her feet. It took three days to finish her. It was pure bliss!] The blood in my veins turned to ice. Through the slats of the fence, I saw it clearly. A grin—a sickeningly human curve—spread across the pig’s snout. He nudged the trough again. [Come on! Come here!] The voice crawled into my ear, oily and desperate. [Put your hand in. Feed me.] The bucket hit the ground with a heavy clang. Slop splattered my legs, the sour smell hitting the back of my throat. I didn’t care. I just stared at him. He was still smiling. He shifted his massive weight, and I saw the heavy evidence beneath him. He was a boar. I pinched my thigh hard. It stung. I wasn’t dreaming. 02 I backed away, my heart hammering against my ribs. I found a long PVC pipe leaning against the barn. I began ladling the slop into the pipe, letting it slide down into the trough from a safe distance. All the while, I kept my eyes locked on the hog. His eyes, which had been narrowed in anticipation, flew wide. I saw a flash of genuine shock on that porcine face. The voice erupted: [What’s happening? Why isn’t the bitch coming closer?] [Don’t panic… don’t panic… find a way to lure her in…] [Yes! I’ll play sick. I’ll collapse, and she’ll have to come check on me.] [When she gets close enough, I’ll pin her. Right into the filth!] [Hee hee, yes. Perfect.] I gripped the pipe tighter. The hog started to eat, his snout shoveling through the rotting vegetable scraps and sour water. After a few bites, his body suddenly went rigid. He didn’t even swallow the mouthful of slop before his eyes rolled back in his head. White foam bubbled from the corners of his mouth. His four legs began to twitch violently. His massive body slammed into the muck, sending a spray of black filth into the air. I stood outside the gate, motionless. He continued to spasm, but his eyes were slanted toward me, watching. [Come on… come on… come check on me…] The thoughts were loud now, vibrating with an arrogant triumph. [As soon as she’s in, I’ll lunge. I’ll start with her face!] I reached for a heavy wooden fence post lying nearby. I swung it with everything I had, slamming it down directly onto the hog’s head. The pig’s fat shuddered, but he didn’t get up. He was committed to the act. But the voice in my head screamed: [FUCK! The bitch hit me!!!] [It hurts! It hurts so much! How is she so strong?!] [Hold it… hold it… she’s just testing me. If I get up, she’ll know I’m faking…] I raised the post again. Just then, a sharp, jagged voice cut through the air from behind me. “What the hell are you doing?!” 03 I spun around. Mabel was standing there, her face contorted, the loose skin on her neck trembling with rage. “Have you lost your mind? Why are you hitting that pig!” The corner of the pig’s mouth twitched into a secret smirk. The voice returned, bubbling with sadistic glee: [She’s here! My help is here!] [The old hag isn’t worth much, but she only let Jackson marry this trash because her family had money.] [Once I tear the bitch’s face off, the old woman won’t care. She’ll cover for me!] [She used to send those other little girls out here to feed me just so I could do her dirty work, didn’t she?] [That college girl from last year? I took half her face. She went crazy. Hee hee hee…] I gripped the wooden post until my knuckles turned white. I wasn’t the first victim. Mabel lunged at me, trying to snatch the wood from my hands. “Why is he foaming? He was fine yesterday! You did something to him, didn’t you? You poisoned him!” I stepped back. “I don’t know, Mabel. I poured the feed and he just collapsed. I was trying to… wake him up.” “Wake him up? You stupid cow!” Mabel grabbed my wrist, her yellowed fingernails digging into my skin. “You’re so damn spiteful! I ask you to do one chore and you try to kill the livestock?” I winced as she squeezed. “Now get in there and check on him!” “I… I can’t,” I whispered, glancing at the pen. “I’m scared.” “Scared of what?” Mabel’s voice rose to a glass-shattering pitch. “That isn’t just a pig! Jackson raised him from a piglet. If anything happens to him, Jackson will strip the skin off your back!” She began dragging me toward the gate. I dug my heels into the mud, resisting. The pig’s thoughts were a rhythmic chant in my skull. [Come in, come in, hee hee hee!] 04 Just as Mabel was about to shove me through the gate, she stopped. Her eyes fixed on something inside the pen. I followed her gaze. The hog was still lying in the muck, playing dead. But right next to his head, something gold and bright caught the morning light. My heavy gold bracelet. I’d tossed it in during the confusion. Mabel’s throat moved as she swallowed. Her eyes turned sharp with greed. That bracelet was 24-karat, a gift from my grandmother. Without a word, Mabel unlatched the gate and stepped into the pen herself. She knelt in the filth, her face inches from the hog’s snout, reaching for the gold. 05 In that heartbeat, the pig moved. He lunged, his jaws unhinging like a trap, and clamped down directly onto Mabel’s face. “AAAAAH!” The scream was cut short. The bite was perfect, agonizingly deep. The boar’s mouth enveloped her entire face—his upper teeth sinking into her brow, his lower jaw hooking under her chin. He began to crunch. He dragged her by the face into the dark corner of the pen. Mabel thrashed, her hands clawing at the air. The gold bracelet flew from her grip, rolling through the mud until it stopped at my feet. I picked it up and wiped it clean on my coat. The pig’s thoughts were ecstatic, a frenzied roar: [Bite! Bite! I’ll bite this bitch to death!!] [Think you can seduce Jackson? Think you can sleep in my man’s bed? Once I ruin this face, let’s see how pretty you are! Let’s see how much he wants you then!] [Die! Die! Die!] Mabel’s fingers found the pig’s nostrils and ripped upward. The boar squealed in pain, which only made him grind his teeth harder, like he was chewing through a tough steak. Mabel’s screams changed. They went from sharp to wet, then to a pathetic wheeze. Finally, she went silent. The pig didn’t let go. He shook his head from side to side, Mabel’s limp body flopping like a rag doll. After a long minute, he finally opened his mouth. He panted, his breath coming in ragged, bloody huffs. Mabel lay in the mud, face up. Or where her face used to be. It was just a mask of red and white pulp. Her nose was gone. Her lips were gone. Her teeth were exposed, bared to the sky in a permanent, horrific grin. The pig lowered his head and nudged her with his snout. Then, he froze. His small eyes bugged out. 06 The pig looked up, locking eyes with me. He was stunned. His thoughts were a mess of static: [Wait… what? How?] He looked down at the pile of meat on the ground, then back at me. Down. Then up. [Why is that woman still standing outside?] [Then who did I bite? Who is…] He used his snout to push aside the hair on the victim. The blood-matted strands moved, revealing white, brittle roots. The pig’s eyes bulged. [Ma… Mabel?] The voice was trembling now. [How is it the old woman?!!] [I heard her tell the bitch to come in! Why did she go first?] [I’m dead. I’m dead…] [If Jackson finds out I bit his mother, he’ll hate me. He’s so loyal to her. He listens to everything she says… if he knows…] The pig looked at me again, his gaze turning venomous. [It was her! This spiteful bitch!] [She did it!! She must have pushed the old woman in!] [I’ll kill her!] The hog charged, slamming into the wooden fence. The rails groaned but held firm. He bared his gore-stained teeth at me, but he was trapped. I turned and ran toward the road, screaming at the top of my lungs. “Help! Someone help! The hog’s gone mad! It’s eating Mabel! The pig is killing her!” Behind me, the pen erupted in a chorus of frenzied, guttural roars. I knew right then: that animal could not be allowed to live. 07 I found Jackson’s Uncle Silas down the road. “Uncle Silas, help! Something terrible happened!” “Grace? What’s wrong, girl? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I sobbed out a version of the story—carefully omitting the part where I could hear the pig’s thoughts. I told him Mabel had gone in to check on a sick hog, and it had snapped, attacking her before I could do anything. Silas went pale. He didn’t waste a second. “Move! Take me there!” I ran behind him as we reached the back lot. Mabel was still lying in the muck, a sight that would haunt a normal person for a lifetime. The hog was pacing around her, nudging her body with his snout. [Wake up! Don’t be dead, you old bat!] [If you’re dead, how do I explain this to Jackson? I’m panicking…] [Where is Jackson? Why isn’t he here yet? Did that bitch do something to him!] Silas couldn’t hear the thoughts. He saw a beast hovering over a fallen woman. “That hog’s gotta go!” Silas yelled. I put on my best panicked face. “But Mabel always said… she said we couldn’t ever kill him!” “Pigs are for slaughter, Grace!” Silas snapped. “I told my sister-in-law a dozen times that hog was past his prime. He’s five hundred pounds of useless fat. She wouldn’t listen. Now look! Look what she’s gone and done!” He turned to me. “Grace, go inside and start a pot of boiling water. I’m calling the boys from the village. We’re ending this today.” I nodded, my voice small and obedient. “Yes, Uncle Silas.” 08 Silas ran toward his truck, shouting into his cell phone. “Harlan! Get the trailer and the knives! We’ve got a man-eater!” The pig began to pace in frantic circles. [What? Slaughter me? That bitch called them to kill me?!] [How dare she!!] [Jackson! Jackson, come save me!!] [No… no… stay calm… think…] [Even if I die, I’m taking her with me.] [I’ll play dead again. I’ll lure them in. I’ll take down as many as I can!] The pig’s eyes darted around, faster and faster. He suddenly went stiff and tipped over. His legs kicked twice, then went still. His tongue lolled out, dripping slime, and his eyes rolled back until only the whites showed. Playing dead again. This pig had watched too many soap operas. Inside, I put the largest stockpot on the stove. The water began to hiss and bubble. 09 Silas returned with a group of grim-faced men. When they reached the pen, they stopped short. “Wait. Is he already dead?” Silas squinted through the rails. “Damn. If he’s dead, the meat might be sour. Won’t fetch a dime.” Silas moved to open the gate. I grabbed his sleeve. “Uncle Silas, don’t go in.” “Why not?” “What if… what if he’s faking?” Silas blinked at me, then patted my hand. “Grace, honey, you’ve been watching too much TV. He’s a hog. Animals don’t ‘fake’ being dead. If they had brains like that, they’d be running the world. I need to get Mabel out of there.” The pig lay perfectly still. [Come on… come on, you idiots…] [Wait until you feel my teeth…] [I’ll take the old man first, then the others. Then the bitch…] [Then I’ll find Jackson. We’ll run away together. Hee hee!] Silas’s foot was hovering over the threshold. I lifted the bucket of rolling, scalding water I’d brought out. I threw the entire thing directly onto the hog’s head. “GAAAAH-OINK!” The pig exploded off the ground, screaming in a way that didn’t sound like an animal at all. Silas jumped back so hard he tripped. “Holy shit! He was faking!” The men behind him looked stunned. They’d been farming for decades and had never seen a hog play possum. The pig rolled in the mud, trying to cool his scalded skin. He turned his bright red face toward me, baring his teeth. [BITCH!! Bitch, bitch, bitch!] [I’ll eat you alive! I’ll swallow you whole!] [Jackson! Save me! I’m going to die!] The roar turned into a pathetic whimper. Silas wiped the sweat from his brow. His face hardened. “Boys, get the ropes. No more games.” 10 Even a five-hundred-pound hog is no match for five grown men with a grudge. They had him pinned and bound in minutes. [Fight me one on one! You cowards!] [I’ll kill you all! Let me go!] He was hog-tied, belly up. All he could do was scream. Silas didn’t even look at him. He rushed to Mabel, lifting her bloody, limp form. “Mabel! Mabel, talk to me!” She was a dead weight in his arms. Silas didn’t wait. He carried her toward his truck. “I’m taking her to the ER! You boys finish this beast!” The men moved with practiced efficiency. Knives were sharpened. The pig’s screams began to fade as they prepared the final blow. Just as I thought it was over… “What the hell are you doing?!” A familiar voice shattered the air. The pig’s head, which had been drooping, snapped up. His eyes sparked with a terrifying hope. He began to thrash with renewed frenzy, his throat straining against the ropes, blood spraying everywhere as his neck wound reopened. “Damn it!” Harlan wiped a spray of blood from his cheek. “Hold him down! Don’t let the blood go to waste!” But the pig was possessed. He fought with the strength of ten hogs, his eyes fixed on the man approaching. 11 Jackson charged into the yard. He shoved the men aside, his eyes landing on the bloody heap that was his pig. “Stop! Stop it right now!” He threw himself onto the ground, cradling the pig’s gory head in his lap. “Beau! Beau, talk to me!” His voice was trembling. He tried to plug the wound in the pig’s neck with his bare hands, blood pulsing through his fingers. “It’s okay… I’m here…” The men stood back, exchanging looks of pure confusion. I stepped forward. “Jackson, he went rabid. Be careful. He just attacked your mother—” “Shut up!” Jackson looked at me with a hatred so pure it made my skin crawl. The pig, nestled in Jackson’s arms, tilted his head to look at me. [See that, bitch?] [You can’t break us. As long as I’m alive, I’m the only thing he loves.] He rubbed his snout against Jackson’s thigh. Jackson stroked the pig’s ears. “Good boy, Beau. Don’t be scared. I’ve got you.” He tried to lift the pig. But five hundred pounds of solid muscle and fat don’t move easily. Jackson’s face turned purple with the effort. “What are you standing there for?” he screamed at the men. “Help me!” No one moved. Harlan scratched his head and leaned toward Silas’s brother. “Is Jackson… is he right in the head?” I cried out, “Jackson, he’s dangerous! He mauled Mabel! Let the men finish him. He’s lost too much blood anyway, he’s not going to make it…” Jackson looked down at the pig. “You hurt my mom?” The pig let out two soft, pitiful grunts. They sounded almost… apologetic. Jackson seemed to understand perfectly. He pointed a bloody finger at my face. “You did this! Beau is the gentlest soul on this earth. He only snapped because of you! Mabel made you feed him—did you drug him? You spiteful bitch! You couldn’t stand my mother, so you used Beau to get rid of her!” In two sentences, he’d flipped the narrative. The neighbors began to mutter. “Why did Mabel go into the pen if Grace was supposed to be feeding?” “And Grace doesn’t have a scratch on her…” “I heard that hog saved Jackson’s life when he was a kid.” “Yeah, look how calm he is now. He’s like a puppy.” The pig let out a timely, mournful whimper. He leaned his head against Jackson’s chest. Jackson started to sob. “Please, help me save him! It’s not too late!” The men sighed, looking at each other. They couldn’t just stand there while a man had a breakdown. “Fine, fine. Let’s get him to the barn. Grab a tarp…” They dragged the pig away, leaving a long, smeary trail of blood across the dirt. Jackson walked beside him, whispering sweet nothings into the pig’s ear. I stood alone in the yard. 12 I’d had my doubts. I thought maybe the pig’s thoughts were just my own subconscious projecting onto an animal. But watching Jackson? Everything the pig said was true. 13 I went back inside and started packing. But I couldn’t find my ID or my passport. That’s when the voice drifted back to me from the barn, faint but clear: [Jackson told me the bitch is pregnant. He said he’s never going to touch her again.] [He said as soon as she has the baby, he’s taking her on a ‘hiking trip.’ He’ll inherit everything her family left her.] [Poor Jackson… if he weren’t the last male in the family, Mabel wouldn’t have forced him to breed with that trash. He has to scrub his skin raw every time he touches her. He thinks she’s disgusting.] [I hope the old lady dies. Then there’s nothing between us.] [I wish I could give him a child. Even a little piglet… anything to show him I’m his…] I touched my stomach. So the pregnancy was part of the trap too. I was being scammed by a man and his hog. I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the mess of my life. Divorce? No. That was too clean. Too easy for him. If he wanted to be with a pig, I was more than happy to play matchmaker. I drove to the vet supply store in the next town. I bought a large bag of high-potency livestock breeding stimulant—the stuff they use for reluctant breeders. Then I went to the barn and swapped Jackson’s “premium” hog feed for the stimulant.

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In the supermarket, I stared at the ribs on the shelf. The price tag read $8.99 a pound. My bank app showed an available balance of $12.50. Today is November 27th. There are still four days until next month’s $150 grocery allowance. I put down the ribs and grabbed a carton of eggs on sale. $2.99 for a dozen. Enough to last four days. At the checkout counter ahead of me, a middle-aged woman was swiping her card. The card reader beeped, displaying the total: $842. I glanced at her groceries—wagyu beef, king crab, and fresh cherries. I lowered my head and placed my eggs on the conveyor belt. My phone buzzed. A text from Eric: “I have a business dinner tonight, won’t be home for food.” I replied: “Okay.” That was the 147th “won’t be home for food” text. I counted. 01 When I got home, my mother-in-law was sitting in the living room. The coffee table was covered with a pile of health supplements, their boxes unopened. “Mom, you’re here.” Martha barely lifted her eyelids. “You’re back? What did you buy?” “Eggs.” She scoffed. “Eggs again. My son makes a million a year, and you feed him eggs every day?” I didn’t say anything. When I put the eggs in the fridge, I saw that it was completely empty. The groceries I bought last week were long gone. “Chloe,” my mother-in-law’s voice came from behind me. “A friend of mine recommended something good. Take a look.” She handed me a flyer. It was for a brand of goat milk powder. One canister was $180, and a full course was six canisters. “This is good for the health. Buy me two courses.” I stared at the number. $180 x 12 = $2,160. My monthly grocery allowance was $150. “Mom, this is too expensive…” “Expensive?” Martha’s face immediately fell. “My son makes a million a year, and you say this is expensive? Is this how you treat your mother-in-law?” “No, I mean—” “Enough.” She stood up and grabbed her purse. “I’m going to tell Eric. His wife is too stingy to even buy a few health supplements for her mother-in-law.” The door slammed shut. The whole house shook. I stood there, still clutching the flyer. $180 x 12 = $2,160. I looked down at my phone. $12.50. At 9:00 PM, Eric came home. He smelled of alcohol. Strongly. “My mom called,” he said, tossing his coat on the sofa. “About the goat milk powder.” I poked my head out of the kitchen. “Eric, the allowance for this month isn’t quite enough…” “Not enough again?” He frowned. “Chloe, isn’t $150 enough for you to spend? Back in the day, my mom fed our whole family on $50 a month, and now $150 isn’t enough for you?” “Prices are different now—” “Enough.” He waved his hand, cutting me off. “Don’t play the poverty card with me. I already transferred the money for the milk powder directly to my mom. Don’t worry about it.” He walked into the bedroom. The door closed. I stood in the kitchen doorway, my apron still on. The fried rice in the pan had gone cold. That was tonight’s dinner. Eggs and rice. I gripped my phone and typed a line in my notes app: “Nov 27, Goat milk powder $2,160, transferred directly to mother-in-law.” This was the 89th “off-budget expense” I had recorded. The first one was three years ago. Since then, Eric had fixed my monthly allowance at $150. $150. For a month. Enough to buy 15 pounds of ribs, or 50 dozen eggs, or 100 pounds of rice. But not enough to buy one canister of his mother’s goat milk powder. 02 The next morning, before Eric left, I stopped him. “Eric, could you… increase the allowance a bit?” He was tying his tie and paused. “Increase it again?” “Everything is getting more expensive, $150 really is—” “Chloe.” He turned around and looked at me. “Do you know how much pressure I’m under? The company is swamped, I have to support this family, support my mom, and pay the mortgage. Can’t you be a bit more frugal?” “I’m already being very frugal…” “Then be more frugal.” He finished tying his tie and grabbed his car keys. “Don’t compare yourself to other women. Some women buy bags that cost tens of thousands. At least you’re not that kind of person, right?” The door closed. I stood in the entryway, listening to his footsteps fade down the hallway. Be more frugal. I hadn’t bought a new piece of clothing in a year. My winter coat was from before we got married, and my down jacket was five years old, the fur on the cuffs completely worn off. Last month, during my period, I bought the cheapest pads available. Be more frugal. How else could I be more frugal? At noon, I bought vegetables at the stand outside our complex. The owner knew me. “Mrs. Vance, the cabbage is fresh today, 50 cents a pound.” I picked two heads. Less than two dollars. “Is your husband away on business again? Haven’t seen him in a while.” I froze for a moment. “He’s been busy lately.” “Yeah, he’s a big boss,” the owner said with a smile. “I saw his car, that Mercedes, must be at least seventy or eighty thousand, right?” I smiled but didn’t reply. He bought that car last year. $95,000. When he bought it, I asked him, “Could you buy me a cheap car just to get around?” He said, “You’re a housewife, what do you need a car for? Can’t you just take an Uber?” Take an Uber. With a $150 monthly allowance. I never brought it up again. As I was walking back with the vegetables, I ran into my neighbor, Mrs. Lee, at the building entrance. She lived upstairs, and her husband was also a businessman. “Oh, Mrs. Vance, grocery shopping?” “Yes, hello, Mrs. Lee.” She glanced at the bags in my hands, her expression a bit complicated. “Mrs. Vance, can I ask you something?” “Go ahead.” She lowered her voice and leaned in closer. “Is your husband… seeing someone on the side?” 03 “What?” I froze in place. Mrs. Lee looked around and pulled me into a corner of the stairwell. “I’m not just making this up. Last week, I went to look at apartments at The Pinnacle. When the agent was showing me a model unit, I happened to see your husband.” The Pinnacle. That was the most expensive luxury condo building downtown. Averaging a million dollars a unit. “He was with a young woman wearing a mink coat. The agent called her ‘Mrs. Vance’.” My fingers started to go cold. “Are you… sure you saw clearly?” “I’m sure. It was your husband, I recognize him.” Mrs. Lee patted my hand. “I’m not trying to cause trouble, I just thought… you should know.” She left. I stood in the stairwell, the bag of cabbage dropping to the floor. Mrs. Vance. The Pinnacle. Mink coat. I crouched down and picked up the cabbage. My hands were shaking. That night, I sat on the sofa waiting for Eric. I waited until 11:00 PM. The door opened. “You’re back?” I stood up. “Yeah.” He didn’t look at me, walking straight toward the bedroom. “Eric.” I stopped him. “Did you go look at apartments at The Pinnacle last week?” His footsteps paused. Just for a second. Then he kept walking. “Company business. Showing apartments to a client.” “A client?” “Yeah.” He opened the bedroom door. “Going to sleep, busy day tomorrow.” The door closed. I stood in the middle of the living room, gripping the bag of cabbage. Company business. Client. I opened my phone and found Mrs. Lee on WeChat. “Mrs. Lee, the woman you mentioned the other day, what did she look like?” Three minutes later, she sent a photo. “I took this. She was looking at floor plans with your husband.” The photo was a bit blurry. But I could make out the woman’s profile. A sharp chin, wavy hair, wearing a mink coat. I didn’t recognize her. But the hand resting on Eric’s arm—I saw it clearly. There was a small mole on her pinky finger. Very small. But very distinct. 04 The next day, I started investigating. I couldn’t access Eric’s bank statements. He had passwords on all his cards and never let me touch them. But I knew his brokerage account password. I memorized it six years ago when he asked me to help him make a trade. He forgot to change it. I logged in. The transaction history from January of this year. Jan 3rd, transferred out $50,000. Feb 14th, transferred out $20,000. April, transferred out $30,000. July, transferred out $80,000. The receiving account always had the same name: Mia Thorne. Mia Thorne. I memorized the name. Then I started looking up real estate. I didn’t dare go to the sales center at The Pinnacle. But property transactions are public record. I searched all day. Finally, on a real estate forum, I found the transaction record for that unit. The Pinnacle, Unit 1802. Size: 1,800 square feet. Total price: $1.2 million. Buyer: Mia Thorne. Co-signer: Eric Vance. I stared at that line, my heart clenching painfully. 1.2 million. He bought her a 1.2 million dollar condo. While my monthly grocery allowance was $150. I put my phone down. Then picked it up again. My fingers quickly scrolled through the history of the brokerage account. Going back to last year. The money transferred to Mia Thorne totaled over $400,000. $400,000. I stared at that number. And suddenly smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile. It was the kind of smile that tightens your throat and burns your eyes. That night, Eric got home at 10:00 PM. I was in the kitchen heating up food. “Another business dinner today?” “Yeah.” “Which client?” He paused. “Why are you asking so many questions?” “No reason, just asking.” I brought out the heated rice. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes over white rice. He frowned. “This again?” “The allowance is running low, just make do.” “Chloe.” He put down his chopsticks. “Can you stop bringing up money all the time? I work myself to death out there every day, and when I get home, I just want some peace and quiet. Can’t you be a little more understanding?” I didn’t say anything. I put down my bowl and chopsticks, turned around, and went back to the kitchen. “Eat up.” I stood in front of the stove and heard the sound of chopsticks hitting a bowl from outside. Very light. As if nothing had happened. 05 Weekend. Eric said he had company business and left early in the morning. I waited ten minutes after he left, then went out too. I followed his car. Not too close, not too far. He was driving very slowly, as if waiting for someone. Sure enough. In front of a shopping mall, his car stopped. A woman walked out of the mall. Wavy hair, small face, wearing a camel-colored coat. Mia Thorne. She opened the passenger door and got in. I saw her turn her face and kiss Eric on the cheek. The car started and headed toward The Pinnacle. I followed. The security at The Pinnacle was very tight. But there was a coffee shop next door, with floor-to-ceiling windows that perfectly faced the entrance of Building 1. I sat by the window and ordered the cheapest Americano. $3.50. I counted the money in my wallet. $8.00 left. Enough to survive for four days. For those four days, I came here every day. Americano, Americano, Americano, Americano. $3.50 x 4 = $14.00. I saved the money I would have spent on eggs. For those four days, I watched Eric’s car go in and out. Sometimes he came in the morning and left at noon. Sometimes he came in the afternoon and left in the middle of the night. Once, Mia held his arm, and the two of them stood at the building entrance talking for a long time. Her hand rested on her stomach. As if she was telling him something important. I couldn’t see their expressions. But I saw Eric’s action— He crouched down and pressed his face against her stomach. As if listening for a sound. At that moment, my fingers went ice cold. So that was it. No wonder. No wonder he had been getting colder towards me lately. No wonder he never brought up “having a baby” anymore. He already had a baby. It just wasn’t mine. 06 The fifth day. I didn’t go back to the coffee shop. I went somewhere else. Vance Tech. Eric’s company. More accurately, our company. Eight years ago, he was a poor guy with a startup dream and no money. I was the one who gave him the $200,000 I saved before we got married for his startup capital. At the time, I had just resigned from a research institute and held three patents for optical coating technology. He said, “Chloe, marry me, and I promise to give you a good life.” I believed him. I gave him the money, licensed the patents to him, and gave him myself. In exchange for a piece of paper. Party A, Chloe Vance, holds 30% of the shares in Vance Tech. He had probably forgotten about this agreement long ago. I hadn’t. It had always been in the hidden compartment of my nightstand. Stored together with those three patent certificates. The receptionist at Vance Tech didn’t recognize me. “Hello, who are you looking for?” “I’m looking for Sarah Jenkins.” “And you are?” “Her client.” Five minutes later, Sarah stepped out of the elevator. She was my college roommate, became a lawyer after graduation, and jumped ship to Vance Tech as Chief Legal Officer three years ago. But Eric didn’t know this. He never cared who my college roommates were. “Chloe.” Sarah saw me, her brow furrowing slightly. “Let’s talk in my office.” Her office was on the 23rd floor, with half the city’s skyline visible outside the window. I sat down and handed her my phone. “Take a look at this.” Photos. Audio recordings. Transfer records. Real estate information. Everything. Sarah looked at it for five minutes. Then she looked up at me. “What are you going to do?” “Divorce.” My voice was very calm. “I want back what belongs to me.” Sarah nodded. “Do you still have the shareholder agreement?” “Yes. And the patent certificates.” “Good.” She closed her laptop. “Chloe, I’ll be honest with you. This won’t be an easy fight. Eric has deep connections in the company, and the board members are on his side. If you want to take him down, you need to be prepared.” “I know.” “There’s one more thing.” She paused. “Do you know about Mia’s pregnancy?” “Yes.” “Then you should also know she’s the marketing director here. Eric hired her personally.” I didn’t say anything. “Over the past year, Eric has handed a lot of core business over to her. Your dividend payments have also bypassed you and gone straight to her accounts.” “What do you mean?” Sarah looked at me, her eyes complex. “That 30% stake you hold—have you ever received any dividends?” I froze. Dividends? I hadn’t even received a notice for a shareholder meeting. “Eric said the company is still in its growth phase, so there are no dividends…” “He lied to you.” Sarah pushed a document across the desk to me. “Vance Tech had a net profit of 15 million last year. Based on your 30%, you should have received 4.5 million.” 4.5 million. And my monthly grocery allowance was $150. I stared at the document, my nails digging into my palms. “Where did this money go?” “I checked for you.” Sarah pointed at a line of text on the document. “The dividends were transferred to an offshore account. The account holder is Mia Thorne.”

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I was brutally tortured and murdered. My mother was the sole witness. However, severely traumatized, she lost all memory of the killer’s face. Everyone comforted her. “It’s okay, take your time. You’ll remember eventually.” But ten years passed. She never remembered. On the tenth anniversary of my death, the police came knocking once more to press her for answers. My mother merely leaned down, kissed my nine-year-old sister, and spoke with total tranquility. “Let me forget those painful memories forever.” “After all, I already have a new daughter now.” 1 In the tenth year of my death, the officer was still patiently trying to persuade my mother. “Please, think about it again.” “If you could just remember the suspect’s face, we could actually close this case.” “Chloe was your daughter. Don’t you want to see her get justice?” My mother’s face remained entirely impassive. She slowly looked up, her tone wooden. “It’s clearly your own incompetence as investigators.” “You haven’t caught the killer in ten years, and now you say if you catch him, it’s a done deal?” A flicker of awkwardness crossed the officer’s face, but he remained remarkably patient. “I completely understand how you feel. It was a terrible tragedy that befell Chloe that day, and you suffered a severe shock as well.” “However, there were no security cameras on that street, and the emergency responders inadvertently destroyed some of the evidence while trying to save her.” “You are the only eyewitness left.” “If you can recall any detail, even the smallest, most insignificant thing, it could be the key to finding the killer.” As the officer spoke, I floated behind him, nodding furiously. “Yes, Mom! Please, just try to remember what happened that night.” “I’ve been stuck in this house for ten years. I really, really want to know.” Finally, a flicker of hesitation appeared in my mother’s eyes. Her voice choked up. “I’ve told you already, I can’t remember.” “Just starting to think about that day makes my heart race and I can’t breathe.” “If I push it, I’ll pass out.” “It’s just… it’s too painful.” As she spoke, tears rolled silently down her face. It was as if she were experiencing that suffocating terror all over again. Watching her tremble… I instantly calmed down. It’s true. I shouldn’t force her. Over the years, my mother had tried so hard to remember that face hidden in the shadows. She returned to that alleyway time and again, standing right where I fell, trying to trigger her memory. She saw countless psychiatrists and hypnotherapists, only to wake from hypnosis screaming and crying. She had pushed herself to the brink with self-destructive methods. She had knelt before the altar at the church, praying until she was physically exhausted. Honestly, I hated seeing her suffer like that. I floated right in front of her, trying desperately to touch her face. I wanted to tell her to stop trying to remember. Even if they never caught the killer, it was okay. But my hands simply passed right through her cheeks, again and again. I couldn’t comfort her. I could only watch helplessly as she said: “I’m sorry.” “I really want to help. I want Chloe to rest in peace. But I just can’t put myself through that again.” 2 Honestly, being a ghost all these years, I’ve lost a lot of my emotional capacity. But in that moment, I truly, desperately wished that whoever killed me would get what was coming to them. But what could I do? I couldn’t do a thing. I was just a wandering soul, drifting through the mortal realm. Thankfully, my dad was there. My dad has a gentle nature and completely dotes on my mom. I’ve never seen them argue, not once. He is her strongest pillar, her rock. Right now, he quickly stepped in to support her. Turning to the officers, his tone hardened. “My wife already said she doesn’t want to cooperate anymore.” “Please leave.” The two officers exchanged a look. The older one managed a few diplomatic words. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault you can’t remember. It’s a completely normal trauma response.” But the younger one couldn’t hide his frustration. He muttered under his breath: “She’s just giving up on her own kid?” “What kind of parent does that?” The two officers left their business cards on the table and walked out. The moment the door clicked shut, my dad swept the cards into the trash can. My mother finally dropped all her defenses. She leaned against my dad’s shoulder, completely motionless. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Honey, am I useless?” My dad kissed her forehead and held her tighter. “If you can’t remember, then don’t try.” “Even if you never remember for the rest of your life, I will never blame you.” My mother’s tears immediately started flowing again. “Do you think Chloe hates me?” “Hates me because… I clearly saw who killed her, but I can’t remember his face. I can’t get justice for her.” The room was terrifyingly quiet. Only my mother’s suppressed breathing could be heard. After a long, long time, my dad lowered his eyes. “Let’s not think about these unhappy things anymore.” “Lily is getting out of school soon.” At the mention of that name, my mother’s sobbing stopped instantly. Lily is my younger sister. She just turned nine this year. Lively and lovable. My mother rubbed her eyes and sighed. “Look at me, losing track of time again.” “I need to start making soup for Lily.” 3 Actually, the very day I was murdered, a Reaper came to collect me. But I badgered him, played dumb, and milked his sympathy for all it was worth. I told him I just wanted to spend a little more time with my mom. Maybe he felt sorry for me. Or maybe he was just too lazy to argue. He left without a word. And he never came back. So, I stayed in our house for ten years, always on edge, waiting for him to return. In the beginning, I watched my mother hold my picture, unable to sleep night after night. Later, she managed to sleep for a couple of hours at a time. But she always called my name in her dreams. Then, my mother gave birth to Lily. She was so small. So soft. She became the treasure of the whole family. And the reason my parents kept living. In front of Lily, and in front of friends and family, they never mentioned my name. But sometimes, when it was just my dad around, my mom would say a few words. “Lily is so different from her sister.” “She’s so mischievous, but so sweet.” It was true. Lily was light. Unlike me. I was a shadow. Trapping them forever in the past. My mom went to the kitchen to start the soup. My dad watched her go, a faint smile touching his lips. He took out his tools and started fixing the stereo. The sound of running water from the kitchen. The melody of children’s songs. It all wove together into a scene of warm domestic bliss. It was as if those heart-wrenching sobs and agonizing questions from just moments ago… Had never happened. I looked at my dad, then at my mom. For some reason, I suddenly didn’t want to be in the house anymore. I slowly floated outside. That’s when I noticed the two officers hadn’t left yet. They were taking a break right below our building. I had already peeked at the business card my dad threw in the trash. I knew the younger one’s name was Officer Davis. He lived up to his name—tall, long-legged, and radiating a strong sense of justice. Right now, he was venting his frustration. “What is wrong with that family?” “How can they be so apathetic about their own biological daughter?” Officer Miller was a veteran detective. He had been on my case since the beginning. He blew out a smoke ring and sighed slowly. “They loved their child. They’re just… they’ve been disappointed too many times.” My case had gone cold. They had arrested suspects a few times, only to let them go every time due to lack of evidence. My parents’ feelings had evolved from frantic, vengeful desperation… To cautious hope… To cold resignation. Eventually, it was as if they had become mere bystanders. They would only tell people who asked: “It’s in the past.” “It is what it is.” “If Chloe’s spirit is watching over us, she’ll guide us to the killer.” Officer Davis was still young. He didn’t seem to fully grasp his mentor’s logic. He wrinkled his nose. “Okay, but I saw a bunch of little girl’s things in their house just now.” “It’s impressive, really. Ten years, and they’ve kept Chloe’s stuff exactly as it was.” Before Officer Davis could finish his sentence. A Buick minivan pulled up to the entrance of our complex. My mom trotted over to meet it. A little girl jumped out of the car. Her smile was so sweet. She looked like a carbon copy of me when I was her age. 4 Mother and daughter walked away hand in hand. Officer Davis snapped out of his daze and scoffed. “No wonder they don’t care about Chloe anymore.” “Turns out they got a replacement.” His tone was so bitter. It made me so angry I could practically see smoke coming out of my ears. I wanted to rush right up to him and scream in his face. “Who gave you the right to talk about my parents like that?! Who says they don’t care about me!” “I’m their most precious, beloved daughter! I always have been!” But alas, I’m a ghost. And a weak one at that, clinging to the mortal realm out of sheer stubbornness, with barely any spiritual power. My hands couldn’t touch him. No matter how loud I screamed, he couldn’t hear me. All my rage only managed to stir up a tiny breeze. It barely ruffled the ends of his hair. Neither of them noticed me. And even if they did, they wouldn’t care about my feelings anyway. So, I sulked my way back home. Dinner was already served. Three dishes and a soup, all Lily’s favorites. She closed her eyes and dramatically praised the food. “Mom’s chicken wings are the best! Number one in the whole world!” I floated by the table, feeling incredibly petty. “That’s it?” “When I was little, the chicken wings Mom made were way better. Much tastier than these.” Lily didn’t hear me, of course. She turned to praise our dad. “Dad fixed the stereo! He’s super amazing too!” Just a few words. And she had both of them beaming with joy. I rolled my eyes so hard I saw stars. Where did this kid learn this stuff? So young, and already such a smooth talker. Annoyed, I reached out to flick Lily’s forehead. “Even chicken wings can’t shut you up!” “Keep talking, and I’ll eat them all.” But my fingertips just phased right through the plate. I opened my hand; it was completely empty. Meanwhile, Lily happily scooped the remaining chicken wings into her own bowl. I pouted. “So what.” “I’m the one who loved chicken wings first.” “Mom only learned how to make them because of me!” But no one heard a word I said. I glanced up at my parents. Of course, they weren’t looking at me. They were looking at Lily. Their faces were full of absolute, loving adoration. I knew I shouldn’t be jealous. Because when I was alive, they looked at me the exact same way. But today, for some reason, I just felt irritated. Maybe it was because I couldn’t eat the chicken wings. Maybe it was because of what that jerk officer said downstairs. Then, from the other side of the table, Lily suddenly spoke up. “Mom, you promised me! Once I get ten perfect scores, you’d set up an art studio for me.” She tilted her head up and blinked her big eyes. “Mom, isn’t there an extra room in the house?” “Can I have it?” I jumped up like a cat whose tail got stepped on. “That’s not an extra room! That’s MY room!” “You rotten kid, why are you trying to steal my room?!” 5 After Lily was born, my bedroom door was kept locked. When she was little and didn’t understand, she would throw tantrums wanting to go inside. My parents would coax her, telling her it was a secret room. And that she could go in when she was older. But when Lily was five, my mom forgot to lock it one day. And she sneaked in. She rummaged through everything in my room. She even pulled all the manga out of my drawers and threw them all over the floor. When my mom found her, Lily burst into tears. She thought my mom was going to spank her. But my mom didn’t say anything. She just handed her the yellowing manga books. “If you like them, take them.” But my mom never told Lily: “These books were your sister’s favorites. You need to take good care of them.” So, I had to watch helplessly as Lily took them to school. And then some mischievous boy kicked them into a puddle. Right now. Faced with Lily’s request, my dad actually spoke up for me. “We can’t touch that room.” “How about this? I’ll partition part of the living room and make an art studio for you. How does that sound?” It was a good compromise. But then my mom suddenly objected. “No.” “If we do that, the house will feel even smaller.” This house was indeed small. I was born here. Back then, my dad was just a junior employee. And my mom’s career hadn’t taken off yet. They didn’t have much money. It was only after I died that their businesses really started booming. But they never moved. Maybe it was to hold onto my memory. After all, they used to say this old house was full of traces of me. In the entryway, there were pencil marks drawn on the wall. Starting from a tiny little line, going all the way up. The last mark was from when I was fourteen. In the closet, my mom kept my school uniforms neatly folded. As if I was going to come home and put them on. But now, my mom put down her chopsticks and said very casually: “Let’s just move, then.” My dad’s smile froze. “Honey, didn’t we agree we were going to keep…” He tacitly avoided saying my name. They never said my name in front of Lily. But my mom nodded, her resolve strengthening. “We can’t refuse to move for the rest of our lives just because of the past.” “As for that room…” She looked back at it, her expression complex. “No one’s ever going to live in it again anyway.” 6 Lily’s cheers drowned out my mom’s sigh. She must have been thrilled. She kept jumping up and down, yelling excitedly. “I get an art studio! I’m getting an art studio!” “Mom, can I paint my bedroom pink?” “Mom, when are we moving?” I looked at Lily’s face. To be honest, my mom really loved me in the past. She always said I was her treasure. Her one and only treasure. If I casually mentioned wanting to eat something, it would be on the dinner table the next day. No matter how late she worked, she would always cuddle me to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, she would sit on the edge of my bed and brush my hair. She was good with her hands; my braids were always the most elaborate in my class. But, everything I had, Lily had too. In fact, my mom took even better care of her than she did me. I was no longer my mom’s only treasure. I couldn’t help but remember Officer Davis’s complaint. “No wonder they don’t care about Chloe anymore.” “Turns out they got a replacement.” And his mentor’s long sigh. “They lost a daughter, but…” “They can’t just stop living because of it.” At the time, I even nodded in agreement. “Exactly. You cops can get new cases, change departments, get new assignments.” “My parents shouldn’t be trapped on that one day for the rest of their lives.” “I’d be happier than anyone to see them forget me and move on.” So they had Lily. And they put even more effort into raising Lily than they did me. When I was little, I always walked home from school by myself. But my mom hired a dedicated driver just to pick up and drop off Lily. She would never let Lily walk home alone. I loved drawing too, and I was really talented. But my mom never got me an art teacher. Yet, the moment Lily said she liked drawing, my mom hired the best professor from the local art academy. I knew my mom treating Lily so well was also her way of making it up to me. I shouldn’t be jealous. I was only fourteen when I died. My mom was only thirty-six. She should still have sixty wonderful years ahead of her. Even if I couldn’t be a part of them. Even though I understood this logic long ago. Seeing my mom truly moving forward… My heart still felt like a chunk of it had been carved out. Cold wind kept blowing into the empty space. It chilled me so much I shivered. I struggled, floating back and forth between my parents. “Don’t move! You can’t move! This is my home!” “If you go to a new house, what about me?” But even when I used all my strength to throw myself at them… I only managed to stir the air a tiny bit. I didn’t know if my parents could sense my presence. Right after I died, they thought the wind was me, they thought the door creaking was me, they thought the cat meowing was me. But now, they just seriously discussed their plans. “We need to move quickly.” “We can’t make Lily wait.” 7 My room didn’t need to be locked anymore. Because other than that room… The rest of the house was completely empty. Just like my heart. With no one in the house, I suddenly felt very scared. But, what was I scared of? When I was little, I loved listening to ghost stories. I was terrified, but I loved them. And then I’d be scared after listening to them. Scared of the dark. Scared of things hiding in the closet. Scared of ghosts outside the window. But I didn’t need to be afraid of ghosts anymore. My mom supervised the movers as they carried out the very last box. She turned around one last time and looked at the room. Then she whispered softly. “Chloe, Mom’s leaving.” I genuinely thought my mom could see me. I floated excitedly near her. But her gaze remained unfocused, landing vaguely somewhere in the room. There was no focus. She wasn’t looking at me. She was just saying goodbye for her own sake. I could have followed my mom to the new house. But I was stubborn, and I didn’t go. That was Lily’s new home. Why should I go intrude? This was my first time spending the night alone. I curled up in a corner. I think what I was truly afraid of was that my parents would really never come back. I was afraid that from now on, everyone who remembered me would slowly drift away. But, wasn’t this what I wanted to see most? The people I loved, continuing to live. Living well. So why did I feel so sad when my wish came true? I spent an unknown number of days and nights in a daze in that empty house. Sometimes I was in a deep sleep. Sometimes even when I was awake, it felt like I was asleep. Sometimes I’d listen closely to the footsteps in the hallway. The clearer they were, the quieter the house felt. I even started to think that repeating these days endlessly, with no end in sight, was going to be my fate. But suddenly… I heard the front door of my house click open. Was it a burglar? I floated over cautiously. Standing outside the door were Officer Miller and Officer Davis again. They were knocking on the door and calling my mom’s phone. It looked like they didn’t know we had moved yet. Officer Davis looked incredibly excited. “Captain, do you think we’re finally going to crack Chloe’s case this time?” “It’s been so hard.” “That little girl has waited ten years. She can finally rest in peace.” 8 Officer Miller had been on my case for ten years. He certainly was persistent. Even my parents had let go of me, their dead daughter, but he was still holding on. But, what was he holding on for? Even if he found out the truth, so what? I couldn’t come back to life. I yawned and went back to sleep. After a long wait, it finally got noisy outside again. This time, it was my parents who came back. They probably chose to meet here because they didn’t want the officers going to their new house. I hadn’t seen her in a few days, and my mom looked a bit haggard. Over the years, every time the police visited, she would suffer from insomnia for days. Because she hadn’t slept well, her attitude wasn’t very friendly. “Why are you here again?” “All these years, you’ve never been able to figure out who killed my daughter.” “You arrest someone, then let them go. You let them go, then arrest someone else. Every time you say you have new leads, a new suspect.” “Do you have any idea how awful it feels to have your hopes crushed over and over again?” My mom spoke very rapidly. But this time, even Officer Davis didn’t look impatient. Instead, he explained earnestly: “We recently re-examined the crime scene and found some overlooked evidence. We identified a man whose movements from ten years ago align perfectly with the time and location of the murder.” “Furthermore, you might know him.” My mom acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing, showing absolutely no interest. It was my dad who asked. “Who?” Officer Miller spoke clearly: “Were you at the scene when you saw a man named Mark Lee?” “He was a student you once taught.” “We found a button at the scene, and we successfully pulled his fingerprints from it.” Officer Miller was very enthusiastic. It was the enthusiasm of someone closing in on the truth. But my mom’s eyes remained clouded over. “…No.” “I’ve never seen him.” Officer Miller frowned, emphasizing his words: “The suspect’s family background is complicated. They’ve already had a forensic psychiatric evaluation done for Mark Lee, aiming to get him off the hook.” “You are the sole eyewitness.” “Without your identification, it will be very difficult to move forward with this case.” “So, could we please ask you to undergo hypnosis one more time?” This time, even my dad seemed swayed. I jumped up too, desperately trying to shake my mom’s shoulders. “Do it! Just do it!” “Maybe the bad guy really is him!” But my mom’s expression remained as still as dead wood. She waved her hand dismissively and said exhaustedly, “Don’t try to persuade me. I won’t do it.” She looked up at Officer Miller. She was very calm, even calmer than before. “Chloe is already dead. The dead can’t come back to life.” “But Lily is still alive. I have to plan for the living.” “My life is still wonderful. Why should I spend my days running around for a dead person just for some so-called justice?” 9 Pain flared like wildfire. It burned through every inch of my body. I stared at my mom in utter disbelief. I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just try one more time? Even if it was just so I could rest in peace. Even my dad hesitated. He looked like he wanted to urge her. But in the end, he just held my mom’s hand. Then he looked at the two officers. “I listen to my wife.” “I won’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do.” This meeting ended on a sour note again. I watched the four of them leave, one by one. My mom was the first to walk away. She turned and left so resolutely. As if she had made some kind of final decision. I chased after her, unwilling to give up. I yelled from behind her, over and over again. “Mom, just try one more time.” “I know you have a new daughter, but I’m your daughter too.” “I promise, once I know the truth, I’ll leave.” But my mom’s pace only quickened. I followed my parents all the way back to their new house. It was a very beautiful little villa. I almost uncontrollably wanted to rush inside. But I forced myself to stop. Because on the doors and windows, there were paper talismans plastered everywhere. A glaring, piercing red. These were talismans meant to keep spirits and ghosts out. My mom… was afraid I’d come back. I suddenly remembered when Lily was just born. A relative gifted them a small wooden peach sword. They said hanging it over the crib would ward off evil spirits. The relative lowered their voice, whispering conspiratorially: “Especially since… Chloe, didn’t she get murdered right outside your front door?” “What if she comes back home?” Back then, the road in front of our house was under construction; it was a mess. My mom was supposed to pick me up that day. But something came up at the last minute, so she told me to walk home alone. I was murdered in an alley just two hundred meters from my house. When my mom realized I was late, she went looking for me and walked right past the killer. On that rainy night, she clearly saw his face. But no matter what, she couldn’t remember it. My mom ended up never hanging that sword. Because she said: “I don’t believe souls actually exist in this world.” “If they really did…” “Then why hasn’t she come home to see me?” But now, on the door of her new home, she had plastered those talismans. My mom really seemed to have let go. I was no longer her family. I was just a wandering, feral ghost threatening the peace of her home. Really, it’s all my fault. I was too greedy. I hoped they would only think of me occasionally. But I also selfishly wished they wouldn’t forget me completely. But in this world, you can’t have it both ways.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “392106”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

I was on the train when I got a text from my ex-boyfriend. “I have a new girlfriend now. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea, so let’s just delete each other’s numbers.” Wait, is this guy actually psycho? A second later, my roommate sent me a message. “I’m dating Liam now. You don’t mind, right?” Like hell I didn’t mind. I handed my phone to the guy sitting next to me. “Hey, handsome. Can you do me a favor?” 1 My phone buzzed. I opened it to see a text from Liam. “I have a new girlfriend now. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea, so let’s just delete each other’s numbers.” Wait, is this guy actually psycho? A second later, my roommate sent me a message. “I’m dating Liam now. You don’t mind, right?” I stared at the screen for three solid minutes. The silence in my head was deafening. Sarah was my roommate, and the main reason Liam and I broke up in the first place. She always styled herself as the “guardian” of our relationship, doing incredibly boundary-crossing things under the guise of “helping us.” When Liam was first pursuing me, Sarah volunteered to be his wingman, which she mostly used as an excuse to make him buy her dinner. Whenever Liam and I fought, she would stay up all night texting him, claiming she was just trying to mediate. She even picked out the birthday gift he got me. She made a point to ask me in front of our whole dorm: “Chloe, do you like the necklace? I went to the mall with Liam yesterday to pick it out.” “You picked it?” “Yeah! Liam told me he had no idea what to get you. I have great taste, right? You’re so lucky to have a roommate like me. Oh, by the way, we booked a table at Boom tonight for your birthday, you should go get ready.” I watched Sarah happily doing her makeup, then tossed the jewelry box onto her desk. “This necklace matches your dress perfectly. You should wear it tonight.” Then, I pulled out my phone and texted Liam to break up. Liam: “??? Are you serious? Why?” Me: “Because a relationship is for two people. Three people is a crowd.” 2 The train’s intercom announcement interrupted my thoughts. Looking at the back-to-back texts from those two, there was no way it was a coincidence. I could vividly picture them sitting together, gossiping about me, and hitting send at the exact same time. I was furious. After thinking for a second, I got an idea. I glanced at the guy sitting in the seat next to me. He had a black baseball cap pulled low over his face and headphones in, seemingly asleep. Would it be too rude to bother him? But faced with the choice between being polite or swallowing this disrespect, I chose to be impolite. I reached out and gently poked his arm. “Hi. Excuse me.” His cap slid up, revealing an incredibly handsome face. He was exactly my type. He didn’t look annoyed at all, just a little confused. I shamelessly held my phone out to him. “Hey, handsome. Can you do me a favor?” The screen showed Liam’s text. The guy frowned when he read it. I thought he was going to say no, but a second later, a knowing smirk crossed his lips. He took my phone, held the voice memo button, and said in a deep, casual voice: “Bro, who the hell are you?” He looked up at me, his eyes curving into a smile. “Is this the kind of favor you needed?” 3 “Yes! Yes!” I nodded frantically. This guy caught on so fast, I didn’t even have to explain the plan. “Thank you so much, man. You are as kind as you are gorgeous.” Damn my lack of a filter. Did I really just say that out loud? The smile in his eyes deepened. Suddenly, my phone started vibrating violently. We both looked down. A barrage of texts from Liam. “Chloe, who the f*** is that guy?” “Did you break up with me for him?!” Seriously? This guy was so delusional it hurt. “Oh, he’s triggered,” the handsome guy observed. A mischievous glint flashed in his eyes. He asked, “Do you want to make him even more triggered?” Huh? Before I could process it, he held down the voice memo button again. “Oops. Looks like we got caught.” He let go, sending the message. This guy was a professional menace. A second later, Liam called me. I was going to decline it, but I saw the guy next to me looking at my phone with the eagerness of someone wanting to watch the drama unfold. Fine, I’ll indulge him. I hit accept. “Chloe, who the hell is with you?!” Liam immediately demanded. A good Samaritan I met on the train. Obviously, I wasn’t going to say that. But since the guy was sitting right there, I was too embarrassed to claim he was my boyfriend. “Liam, why are you calling me? Won’t your new girlfriend get the wrong idea?” I asked innocently. Liam choked on his words. “I only texted you that because—” Before he could finish, he was cut off. “Baby, I don’t care what his new girlfriend thinks. But if you keep talking to him, your new boyfriend is going to get jealous.” The guy next to me had suddenly leaned in close, his warm breath ghosting over my hand holding the phone. Even though I knew he was acting, hearing him call me “baby” in that voice made my entire face turn bright red. “F***!” Liam cursed violently on the other end. “You played me, Chloe! No wonder you suddenly dumped me! You better hope I never find out who he is, or I’ll beat the shit out of him.” He hung up. What a psycho. 4 Having completed his mission, the handsome guy leaned back in his seat. He said sagely, “You won. Your ex is definitely more miserable than you are right now. No guy can handle thinking he got cheated on. Especially finding out after a breakup.” “You speak with such authority. Is it from personal experience?” The guy: “…” He turned to look at me, his face deadpan. “Do I look like someone who gets cheated on?” Deep eyes, a perfectly straight nose, and a flawless jawline. No. He looked like the kind of guy who handed out the heartbreak, not the one receiving it. “Thank you.” I genuinely thanked him from the bottom of my heart. If it weren’t for this Train Vigilante, I wouldn’t have been able to get the upper hand on Liam. Thinking about Liam and Sarah together still disgusted me. But remembering how triggered Liam just got made me feel a thousand times better. “Don’t mention it. Putting trashy exes in their place is every citizen’s civic duty.” …Such high moral standards. He had to be a college student. I asked tentatively, “Are you in college?” He nodded. “Yeah.” “Which one?” “A University.” What were the odds?! I gasped excitedly, “We must have shoveled manure together in a past life to have this much fate in this one!” The guy fell into a visible silence. “Miss, I don’t know about you, but I definitely did not shovel manure in any life.” He better realize I was just using internet slang. 5 Sarah and I got back to the dorm around the same time. The moment she walked in, she bee-lined for me, leaning heavily against my desk. “Chloe, why didn’t you text me back?” I did. I replied with silence. Sarah probed, “Are you ignoring me because you’re upset about Liam and me?” If she hadn’t brought it up, I would have genuinely forgotten. But since she was so obsessed with it… I picked up my phone, opened my chat with Sarah, and sent a “👍”. Me: “There, I replied.” “Chloe, what is that supposed to mean?” I looked up at her. “You asked me to reply. I replied, and now you’re mad?” Sitting nearby, our other roommate Mia snorted with laughter. “What are you laughing at?” Sarah snapped, turning her hostility toward Mia. “You,” Mia replied simply. Sarah ignored her and turned back to me. “Chloe, when you didn’t reply, I was so worried! I was terrified you were mad at me. I mean, you have every right to be mad, but I really don’t want to lose you as a friend.” Her voice got smaller and smaller, dripping with manufactured guilt. She always did this. Just like when we fought over her texting Liam all night. She had stood in the dorm, crying and apologizing. “Chloe, I just saw how unhappy you were fighting with Liam, so I tried to help! I was doing it for both of you. If you don’t like it, I’ll never do it again.” She had cried until her eyes were swollen and red. Even though she was the one completely violating my boundaries, she somehow made it look like I was being a crazy, unreasonable bully. “Chloe, I swear it’s true! I’ll show you the chat logs, we only talked about your relationship!” It was about our relationship. Liam: “Sarah, if Chloe was as sweet and understanding as you, we wouldn’t fight at all. She’s such a spoiled princess, she gets mad over nothing. I’m so sick of her sometimes.” Sarah: “Don’t say that about Chloe! I’m sure she has a reason for being mad. You probably did something to upset her. And anyway, I’m not as great as you say I am.” … Out of hundreds of pages of texts, she specifically made sure I saw those messages. It only made me angrier. I knew she did it on purpose back then. And I knew she was doing it on purpose now. 6 “Did you know? When Liam first confessed to me, I was so shocked, I rejected him immediately. But you really can’t control your feelings. I figured since you guys have been broken up for months, and he swore he had zero feelings for you anymore, I finally said yes. Liam said we should all grab dinner sometime as an apology. When are you free, Chloe?” I’m free never, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist smashing a plate into both of your faces. I started to reconsider my life choices. Had I been too nice? Was that why she thought I was a total pushover? I slammed my phone face-down on the desk. “Sarah, I’m not a target dummy. Stop shooting your arrows at me.” Sarah: “?” “Are you done putting on a show? When Liam and I were together, I didn’t want to call you out on your pathetic little schemes. I gave you too much grace, and now you actually think you’re untouchable. “Does picking up my trash make you feel special? Does dating my ex make you feel proud? “You came over here spewing all this garbage just so you could see me look sad and defeated. It feeds your ego. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not as fake as you are, and I won’t give you the satisfaction.” She clearly hadn’t expected me to rip off her mask and expose her true intentions so bluntly. Sarah’s face turned the color of raw liver. Her voice shook. “Chloe… you’re being really mean today.” Me: “Well let me tell you, it’s not just going to be today. If you don’t like how mean I am, you can stop talking to me.” 7 Sarah stormed out in a huff, and my ears finally found peace. Mia gave me a massive thumbs up. “Girl, your combat power is off the charts today! You always used to just turn a blind eye to her.” I gave Mia a full rundown of what happened on the train. Mia slapped her thigh. “No way! Why don’t I ever meet gorgeous, helpful vigilantes on the train?!” …Was that really the main takeaway here? Mia was instantly invested. “He goes to our school? What’s his name? I’m searching the university confessions page right now.” She unlocked her phone. “Ethan Cole. Computer Science.” “People are literally begging for his info and posting pictures of him. Holy crap, he’s top-tier.” Mia shoved her phone in my face. It was a photo of Ethan, zoomed in to fill the screen. He was mid-shot on a basketball court, the muscles in his arms flexing perfectly. Under the red and white jersey, you could see a glimpse of a lean waist, defined abs, and… Mia sighed in awe. “You are eating good.” Me: “I haven’t eaten anything yet.” I pulled up Ethan’s WeChat profile. Wow. His feed was even cleaner than his face. Zero posts. I had no idea how to even start a conversation with him. Unlike me. My life was a mess, but my social media was highly curated. Mia asked, “By the way, are you still going to the Class President’s birthday dinner tomorrow?” Me: “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Mia: “I figured you wouldn’t want to watch Liam and Sarah aggressively making out in front of you.” Me: “They can eat each other’s faces. I’ll be eating the steak.” Mia: “I thought it would make you lose your appetite.” I looked at her, confused. “They’re just being annoying, they aren’t taking a dump on the table. Why wouldn’t I eat?” Mia: “…” 8 The next day, in the private dining room. “Liam, I gotta hand it to you. You managed to bag the two prettiest girls in our major. Got the old flame on the left and the new spark on the right.” “Yeah, Liam, tell us the truth. Who do you like more? The ex or the current?” A few drinks in, and people were already talking too much. I frowned. That was an incredibly disrespectful question. Liam didn’t answer immediately. He just looked over at me. When I met his gaze, he awkwardly looked away. A moment later, he threw his arm around Sarah’s shoulders, pulling her into his chest, and smirked at the table. “What do you guys think?” Sarah’s face turned bright red. She leaned into Liam’s chest, acting all shy and delicate. “Stop it, everyone is watching.” Then, she looked at me with fake magnanimity. “Chloe, don’t be mad. I’ll scold him for you.” Wait, why would I be mad? Can I just eat my food in peace? Stop dragging me into this! But there’s always someone who just wants to watch the world burn. “Chloe, you look really unhappy. Are you still not over Liam?” Me: “Not even a little bit.” “Don’t deny it, Chloe! We totally understand. Our guy Liam is a total catch, right?” Do these people not speak English? I looked at the guys making the jokes, and then at Liam, who was sitting there silently enjoying it. Four words popped into my head: Birds of a feather. I felt profound regret that I was ever blind enough to date Liam. It felt like stepping in dog crap. “Sorry I’m late.” Suddenly, the private room door swung open, and a familiar voice rang out. I looked over. It was Ethan Cole. Oh thank god! It’s Ethan! I shot up from my chair instantly. “You’re here!” “You’re here!” Two voices spoke at the exact same time. Me and the Class President. The President looked at me in shock. “You guys know each other?” So he was friends with the President. I was even more certain now that we definitely shoveled manure together in a past life. I nodded vigorously. “Yeah! He’s my boyfriend.” My eyes locked with Ethan’s across the room. I frantically sent him SOS signals with my eyes. He raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise crossing his face. Then, the corners of his lips curled up into a slow, knowing smile. “Yeah. That’s right. I’m her boyfriend.” 9 After Ethan said that, the entire room went dead silent for a few seconds. The President was the first to break it. He looked thrilled. “Since when?! Why didn’t you guys tell me?!” Me: “Because keeping it a secret is more exciting.” The President was speechless. I looked at the guys who were just making fun of me, flashing them a sarcastic smile. “Do you really think that with a boyfriend looking like this, I’d be hung up on Liam?” At that moment, the expressions on everyone’s faces were absolutely priceless. Especially Liam’s. His face went completely dark. Mia was sitting next to me. When Ethan started walking toward us, she immediately jumped up and offered him her seat without a word. Ethan sat down, leaned in close to my ear, and whispered, “Which one is the ex?” Human nature is truly universal. Even he wanted the tea. I muttered, “Third one on your left.” I instinctively looked over, only to find Liam glaring daggers at us, looking absolutely furious. Ethan gave his assessment: “You have terrible taste.” …I literally could not argue with that. Sarah suddenly spoke up. “Chloe, you got a new boyfriend so fast! How come you never mentioned him in the dorm?” Still with the passive-aggressive tone, acting like she was the victim. I let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. “Because I was scared of you, obviously!” I grabbed Ethan’s hand and waved it in the air for everyone to see. “He’s very precious to me. I couldn’t risk you stealing him too.”

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My little sister’s middle school hosted a charity flea market. She spent five bucks on an old love letter and presented it to me like a priceless treasure: “Look, Summer! The person this is addressed to has the exact same name as you!” I stared at the letter, dated eight years ago, and fell into deep thought. The signature at the bottom read: Ethan Sterling. Wait. Wasn’t that my aloof, ice-cold high school lab partner? The guy who was now my aloof, ice-cold boss? Before I could ask any questions, a call came through to my sister’s smartwatch. A little boy on the other end was crying his lungs out: “My uncle is going to kill me! I’ll give you a hundred bucks—just please give that love letter back!” 1 Because of a mistake made by one of our interns, our entire team was getting chewed out. As the team director, I took the brunt of the yelling. By the time I walked out of the CEO’s office with my head hanging low, the intern was on the verge of tears. “Summer, I’m so sorry. I dragged you down with me.” I looked at the dark circles under her eyes. The workload had been brutal lately, and our whole team had been working overtime. She hadn’t been slacking off. I waved my hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I’m used to getting yelled at. It doesn’t even hurt anymore…” “Is that so?” A deep, low voice echoed behind me. The intern flinched like she’d been struck by lightning. My body went rigid. I looked up to see Ethan Sterling pushing his office door open, his brows furrowed as he stared at me. Ugh… that icy, deadpan face. Just looking at it makes me mad. I forced a stiff smile. “…No.” Ethan stared at me intently for a few seconds, then closed his office door. Later, when I stepped out to the pantry for water, I overheard a few interns whispering. “The boss is so mean to Director Hastings.” “Her heart must be made of steel. If it were me, I would’ve quit by now.” “I heard Director Hastings and the boss actually went to high school together.” “No way! And he still rips into an old classmate without an ounce of mercy? He’s a monster.” I shrugged my shoulders. They weren’t wrong. Ethan Sterling was a monster. And we weren’t just regular high school classmates; we sat right next to each other as lab partners for three whole years! Yet, he still gave me absolutely zero preferential treatment. I was about to walk away when the topic of their conversation suddenly shifted. “By the way, I heard the boss is engaged.” “Yeah, a little while ago, I saw his fiancée drop him off at the office!” “What? Our ice-cold CEO actually has a fiancée?” My footsteps faltered, and my fingers unconsciously tightened around my mug. Looking down the hallway toward the CEO’s office, I suddenly felt a stifling, heavy feeling in my chest. 2 After a month of grueling overtime, our project finally hit a major milestone. The company gave us five days off. The interns were so excited they practically cried. I politely declined their invitation to go out for drinks, went home to pack a bag, and drove straight back to my hometown. I hadn’t been back in six months. Thankfully, it was only a four-hour drive from the city where I worked. It was late at night by the time I arrived. My sudden appearance startled my mom, but she happily rushed off to make my bed while my dad hummed a tune and went to the kitchen to whip up a late-night snack. After dropping my bags, I quietly pushed open the door to a small bedroom. By the ambient light from the living room, I could see a little girl buried under the blankets, sleeping peacefully. Lily was the product of my parents’ “happy accident” when I was already in high school. Having a baby sister so suddenly took some getting used to at first. But as Lily grew up, she became impossibly cute, perfectly inheriting my mom’s patience and my dad’s intellect. She was incredibly clingy with me, always thinking of me first whenever she got her hands on something good. Early the next morning, I was roused by some rustling. I sleepily opened my eyes to see Lily resting her chin on the edge of my bed. Her bright eyes blinked at me. “Summer! You’re back!” “Yeah,” I mumbled, closing my eyes again. “Be a good girl, your big sister needs to sleep a little longer.” “Okay! I’m going to school now, but I’ll bring you a present when I get back!” I hummed an acknowledgment. When Lily tiptoed out, she even carefully pulled the door shut behind her. What a sweet kid. She must have saved up quite a bit of allowance to be buying me presents. I was actually a little excited. It was almost 11 AM when I finally got out of bed. My dad had just picked Lily up from school. My parents told me to watch her for a bit while they ran to the grocery store. As soon as they left, Lily eagerly pulled something out of her backpack and shuffled over to me like she had a massive secret. “Summer, guess what I got you!” How was I supposed to guess that? Before I could even throw out a random answer, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and shoved an envelope right into my face. “Look, Summer! Your name is on it!” I froze for a second and took the letter. The paper was slightly yellowed; it looked like it was from several years ago. The front of the envelope read: To Summer. What were the odds of sharing the same name? Lily babbled on: “Our school had a charity flea market today. We brought old stuff from home that we didn’t need, and students could buy whatever they wanted. The money goes to underfunded schools. “My desk partner brought a ton of stuff—old books, stationery… I found this letter tucked inside a book, so I bought it for five dollars.” Lily looked at me, desperate for praise. “Do you like it?” 3 My very first thought was: It’s just a coincidence. Growing up, I was never considered pretty in my class. I wore thick, heavy glasses and had a quiet, introverted personality. Whenever people talked to me, I never knew how to respond. So, naturally, no boy had ever given me a love letter. Holding the envelope, I felt a bit awkward. But Lily was urging me: “Open it! Hurry!” “I don’t think that’s a good idea…” After all, it belonged to someone else. And it was a love letter—something incredibly private. “But I spent a whole week’s allowance on this!” Kids are impatient. She snatched the letter from my hands and ripped it open in three seconds flat. Then she shoved the paper back at me. “Read it to me!” “My classmate said he took this from his uncle’s treasure box. He said everything in there is super valuable, so this must be too!” I was about to refuse again, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught the signature at the very bottom of the page. The handwriting was neat and elegant—Ethan Sterling. It felt like a lightning bolt struck my brain. I stared blankly for several seconds before my gaze rigidly moved upward to read the contents: [Summer, this is our third year sitting together as lab partners…] I slammed my hand over the paper, my face burning so hot it felt like it might explode. My sister was still begging: “Read it, Summer! I want to hear it too!” 4 I managed to distract my sister, clutched the envelope, and bolted into my room. I threw open the window and let the cold wind hit my face for a long time, but my heart wouldn’t calm down. I looked at the letter again. I was absolutely certain Ethan wrote this. Back in high school, my handwriting was atrocious. My English teacher couldn’t stand it anymore and actually gave me Ethan’s notebooks to trace over for an entire semester. I could recognize his handwriting even if it turned to ashes. But… why? Why would Ethan Sterling have liked me in high school? My thoughts drifted back to the beginning of our freshman year, the first time I met him. I was a small-town girl who had just moved to the city to attend its premier high school. I showed up carrying an oversized, cheap plastic moving bag stuffed to the brim with all my belongings. By the time I reached the school gates, it was too heavy to carry, so I just dragged it behind me. But I overestimated the quality of that bag. The friction against the concrete tore a massive hole in the bottom. I walked for quite a while before realizing the bag felt too light. I turned around and saw my things scattered all over the pavement. Textbooks, pens, toiletries, my lunchbox… The kids around me were all staring. Laughter echoed from all sides: “Wow, look at the country bumpkin.” “That bag is something else, man.” My face burned bright red. I crouched down and started retracing my steps, picking everything up. Not long after, I bumped right into a boy walking toward me. He was wearing a backpack, tall, with strikingly handsome features. He was holding a pile of my scattered belongings. “I picked up the stuff further down,” he said flatly. He looked over my shoulder at the shredded plastic bag on the ground. “Do you have another bag?” I shook my head awkwardly, too embarrassed to even look him in the eye. He thought for a second, pulled a few textbooks out of his own black backpack, and handed the bag to me. “Use this for now.” I took the backpack in a daze and looked up blankly. “How am I supposed to return it to you?” The boy pointed at the textbooks I had just picked up. “Aren’t you in Freshman Homeroom 3 too?” I froze, instinctively looking down at the textbooks he was holding. The name tag on the cover read his class and name. Freshman Homeroom 3. Ethan Sterling. … If we’re talking about who liked who first, I was definitely the one who fell for him first. Unfortunately, due to a mix of circumstances, that secret crush died a quiet death. After graduating from college, I joined an unknown, small startup for an internship, only to unexpectedly run into him again. That’s when I realized he was the one who founded the company. It just goes to show how the gap between people only widens over time. While I was still stressing over how to feed myself, Ethan had already started a business and climbed his way into the elite class. So, how did this love letter even come to exist? I racked my brain but couldn’t figure it out. Does Ethan still… Just thinking about it made my heart race, but before I could entertain the thought, I suddenly remembered the gossip the interns were whispering in the pantry. Ethan probably already has a fiancée. So this love letter, whether genuine or not, could only belong in the past. 5 While I was wallowing in melancholy, I heard Lily’s angry voice from the living room: “Leo! You broke your promise! I’m never playing with you again!” I cracked the door open and saw Lily holding her smartwatch up, currently on a call. The kid on the other end burst into tears the moment she spoke: “Please, I’m begging you, just give the letter back! My uncle came home unexpectedly today and found out I touched his stuff. He yelled at me so bad! I’ll give you a hundred bucks—no, I’ll give you all my Christmas money! Just give it back, please?” Maybe it was because he was crying so pitifully. Lily pouted and stayed quiet for a moment. She hesitated for a long time while the boy kept begging. “Fine, I’ll go talk to my sister.” She sounded conflicted. “It was supposed to be her present.” “Thank you so much!” The boy sounded immensely relieved. Then, he suddenly added, “Oh, by the way, my uncle should be at your house soon. He asked for your address and left half an hour ago. You can just hand the letter directly to him.” I jolted, practically launching myself out of the room. Grabbing Lily’s wrist to speak into her smartwatch, I demanded: “Hey kid, what’s your uncle’s name?” The boy stammered, “E-Ethan… Ethan Sterling.” Ding-dong— At that exact moment, the doorbell rang. I froze. I scrambled to the peephole and peeked out. Standing outside, waiting patiently, was Ethan. He was wearing casual clothes, his hair not perfectly slicked back like usual. He looked a bit more approachable. But that wasn’t the point. The point was, if I opened the door right now, things would get insanely awkward! How were we supposed to work together after this?! I turned and locked eyes with Lily. Just as she was about to speak, I slapped my hand over her mouth. “Listen to me. Go open the door. Don’t tell him I’m home, and definitely don’t tell him who your sister is.” I sprinted into my room, shoved the letter back into the envelope, and practically threw it at Lily. “Give this back to him, and then shut the door!” There was no time to worry about manners. Lily nodded. After I was safely hidden in my room, she trotted over and opened the door. … When the door opened, Ethan was about to speak, but he didn’t see anyone at eye level. He paused, looked down, and saw a little girl holding an envelope up to him. “Hi. Are you Leo’s uncle? “This is your stuff. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take it.” The little girl looked so pitiful that the frown on Ethan’s face instinctively softened. “It’s okay. Leo sold it to you; it’s his fault.” He glanced at the envelope and asked, “Did you open it?” The tear marks on the flap were pretty obvious. Lily’s eyes darted around, and she immediately lied: “I’m sorry, mister. I was just really curious, so I peeked inside. But I don’t know how to read very well, so I didn’t understand it.” Ethan smiled and let it drop. He handed Lily an envelope of his own. “A belated holiday tip. Work hard in school.” He didn’t linger and left shortly after. Once the door closed, I stepped out of my room. Lily flashed me an “OK” sign. “Mission accomplished!” 6 On the final day of my vacation, I drove back to the city. As I was prepping my materials for a meeting the next day, I realized I had left a crucial document at the office. I needed to verify some data, and doing it the next morning would be cutting it too close. I only hesitated for a few seconds before grabbing my car keys and heading out. My apartment wasn’t far from the office—just a ten-minute drive. Our company occupied the top floor of a twenty-story building. Standing outside, I looked up at the lights glowing on the top floor and paused. Frank, the security guard returning from his patrol, spotted me. “Who’s there?” “Hey, Frank.” I waved. “Oh, it’s you, Summer.” Frank smiled. Having worked there for a few years, I was a familiar face. I asked him, “Is someone still up there this late?” Frank looked up. “I just came down from there. It’s your CEO, Mr. Sterling.” He clicked his tongue. “He’s been here since this morning, working non-stop. Guy’s a total workaholic.” … I slipped into the office, grabbed my document, and was trying to leave quietly when I noticed light spilling from the CEO’s office at the end of the hall. After a moment’s thought, I changed direction and walked toward it. I was about to knock but caught a glimpse inside through the open blinds. My raised hand stopped mid-air. Ethan was lying on the black leather sofa, his long legs slightly bent. He was wearing his pristine white dress shirt, but his tie hung loosely around his neck. The top two buttons were undone, revealing the sharp line of his collarbone. I froze, then gently pushed the door open, terrified of waking him. Ethan’s brows were slightly furrowed; even in sleep, he didn’t look at peace. In my memory, he was almost always like this. Those handsome brows rarely seemed to relax. But I also remembered a time when Ethan showed an incredibly gentle side. It was the spring of our junior year. We had been desk partners for a year. He was the math rep, and I was the biology rep. That afternoon, the teacher sent us to the print shop outside the school gates to pick up some test papers. As soon as I stepped out of the gate, I ran into my grandma, who had come to visit me. She was thrilled. “Summer! I was just wondering how I was going to get inside!” Our school usually didn’t allow outsiders in. She had taken a long bus ride from our small hometown, transferring multiple times, and managed to spot me right as she arrived. She held my hand and chattered away. Ethan was standing a short distance away, waiting for me. My grandma asked me, “Summer, did you share the homemade fudge brownies I asked you to give your classmates last week? Did they like them?” I smiled. “They loved them. They all said you’re a great cook.” “That’s wonderful!” The wrinkles on her face deepened with her smile. But I had lied. I ate all those brownies myself. At first, I offered them to my roommates, but I accidentally saw them throwing the bag into the trash. “It looks dirty. You’ll get sick eating that,” they had said. I couldn’t stand seeing my grandma’s hard work trashed like that. And as a teenager, I had my pride. So I ate every single one of those leftover brownies by myself. I asked my grandma to wait for me by the print shop. I told her I’d take her to get food as soon as I got the papers. But there was a problem with the biology tests, so I had to call the teacher to sort it out. When I finally came out, I saw Ethan keeping my grandma company. I heard my grandma ask him, “Did Summer share any of my brownies with you?” Ethan paused for a second, then smiled. “She did. They were delicious.” Hearing this, my grandma beamed even brighter. She immediately pulled a small bag from her tote bag, her eyes full of hope. “I have more right here. Do you want some?” Older folks are like that—they always instinctively save what they think is best for the younger generation. To my grandma, her homemade brownies were the absolute best thing she could offer her granddaughter to share with her friends. I looked at Ethan nervously. But to my surprise, he reached out, took a piece of the fudge, and ate it without hesitation. “Thank you, Nana.” His eyelashes were long, casting faint shadows under his eyes in the sunlight. His usually sharp features softened completely. I stared at him, mesmerized. I heard him praising me—telling her I had great grades, worked incredibly hard, was very kind, and had lots of friends. My grandma was so happy that day. And it was from that day on that I realized I kind of… liked him. 7 A secret crush is a chaotic, one-person war. I secretly paid attention to his every move, mimicking his little habits when he thought about problems, copying his handwriting. Even the slightest accidental physical contact between classes made my heart race. Just like that, I carefully collected these precious little moments. Before summer break of our junior year, I planned to confess my feelings to Ethan. But right around that time, rumors about him started spreading through the class. “I heard his mom and sister ran away because his dad beat them! And his dad went to prison last year for getting drunk and starting a riot!” “Are you serious? I always thought Ethan looked kind of dark and gloomy. He totally gives off the vibe of someone who would randomly punch you.” “It’s true. I heard violent tendencies are genetic. We better stay away from him.” “Oof, guess Ethan won’t be able to get a security clearance for a government job now.” Their tones were dripping with schadenfreude. I couldn’t take it anymore. I snapped my head around and glared at them. “Someone’s just bitter that he always gets first place while you’re permanently stuck in second, huh?” The guy froze, then cursed: “Are you crazy?!” “You’re the crazy one! Rabid dog!” To be honest, I was usually very timid and rarely got into fierce arguments. Worse, I was the type who cried when I got angry. The argument barely started before my eyes were already red and welling up. So when Ethan walked into the classroom behind the teacher, the sight that greeted him was me, crying and cursing someone out, looking like an absolute mess. The guy and I were sent to stand in the hallway as punishment. The teacher asked us why we were fighting. We looked at each other and both chose to stay silent. He was silent out of guilt. I was silent because I was afraid Ethan would be hurt if he heard. … My secret crush also ended that summer. The day I finally gathered the courage to confess to him was the last day of summer break. Following an address from memory, I found Ethan’s house. It was an old, run-down alleyway, houses crammed together. Two or three people were peering into the courtyard of Ethan’s house. “He’s beating the kid again. It’s a sin!” “Shouldn’t we go stop him? What if he kills him?” “Don’t! Old Yang tried to break it up a few days ago, and that bastard hit Old Yang too!” I hurried forward just as a massive crash echoed from the courtyard. Through the gate, I saw the front door get kicked open. Ethan was thrown out onto the ground. “You little punk.” A tall man walked out and kicked Ethan squarely in the side. “You actually dared to hit back?!” The man was tall but heavily intoxicated, stumbling on his feet. Ethan wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, scrambled up, and tackled the man to the ground. “Why don’t you just die?!” “Why don’t you just die?!” Ethan wrestled with him. The man got enraged and hit back harder, cursing, “Even if I die, I’m taking you with me! You little punk, you think because you’re older now your wings are fully grown? Let me tell you, my blood flows in your veins! You’re my son, and you’ll never escape me for the rest of your life!” “Look! You look exactly like me when you hit people!” The man laughed manically. “You’re my son! My son!” Ethan’s raised fist froze in mid-air, then dropped in defeat. He stumbled to his feet, looking down at the man on the ground. The teenage boy had already grown very tall. He had the strength to protect himself now. “I am not like you,” Ethan said. “I am the valedictorian. I was before, and I will be in the future. I’m going to get into the best university, study the best major, and make something of myself. I’m going to walk a completely different path from you. “I am nothing like you.” His words dropped like a bomb in my heart. Suddenly, I understood why Ethan studied so desperately hard. Because he didn’t believe in fate. He wanted to change his destiny. Looking down at the love letter in my hand, I actually felt a wave of shame. Maybe I shouldn’t confess. To Ethan, it would probably just be a nuisance. A burden. I called the police. I waited until the cops arrived, then silently walked out of that alley. And buried my teenage crush deep in my heart. Until graduation. Ethan wasn’t just the valedictorian of our school; he was the state science fair champion. Flowers and applause surrounded him. Calls from Ivy League recruiters poured in constantly. Although I got into a decent state college, compared to Ethan, it felt completely insignificant. The gap between us was firmly established in that moment. My teenage crush ended amidst my endless hesitations and second-guessing. At the high school graduation ceremony. I stood next to Ethan, staring straight ahead, but tilting my head slightly toward him: “Ethan, I wish you a bright future.” Ethan paused for a second, his voice as clear and crisp as ever: “Thank you. I wish you a bright future too.” And with that, our youth drew to a close. 8 In the quiet office, I looked at the man in front of me. Ethan, you’ve made it to the top, so why don’t you look happy? A half-finished, cold cup of coffee sat on the coffee table, surrounded by scattered documents. Ethan looked genuinely exhausted. Dark shadows hung under his eyes, and a light stubble shadowed his jaw. He looked completely unguarded, and somehow, vulnerable. I stared at him for a few seconds, picked up his suit jacket from the side, and gently draped it over him. But the moment I let go, a hand firmly clamped around my wrist. I jolted, looking up to meet Ethan’s eyes, my heart skipping a beat. His gaze was a bit hazy at first, but quickly sharpened. His grip was tight, and I frowned in pain. Ethan loosened his grip, his voice raspy. “Why are you here?” I took a step back and replied, “I came back to grab a document. I saw the lights were on, so I came to check.” Ethan glanced at the jacket that had slid down to his lap. He stayed silent for two seconds, then got up to pour a glass of water. I was about to quietly slip out when I heard him call my name. I stopped. “Mr. Sterling, did you need something else?” He looked at me. A few seconds later, he said, “I’m sorry for having a bad attitude toward you in front of the interns earlier.” I didn’t expect him to apologize to me so suddenly. I quickly said, “It’s fine. It really was our team’s fault. I take full responsibility. Please don’t worry about it, Mr. Sterling.” Ethan paused. “You…” For some reason, I felt incredibly nervous. Just as my heart was about to jump into my throat, I heard his tone shift. “You should head home early. Drive safe.” “Will do, Mr. Sterling.” I softly opened the door and walked out, letting out a long breath. … I worked for five days straight. After clocking out on Friday, I went back to my apartment and slept like the dead. When I finally woke up, it was almost 10 PM. I picked up my phone and saw hundreds of new messages in the intern group chat. Maya, one of the interns, had lost a necklace. It was a jade Buddha her mom had specially gotten blessed at a temple for her. It meant a lot to her. She had searched everywhere but couldn’t find it, and was asking if anyone had seen it. “Could the cleaning lady have picked it up? What if she swept it away as trash?” I sent a voice memo to calm her down: “Don’t panic. Do you know roughly what time you lost it? I’ll check the security cameras for you.” Maya thought about it carefully. “Probably around 4 or 5 PM. I got hot and took off my jacket, maybe it fell off then.” As a director, I had access to the security footage, so I immediately pulled up today’s recordings. I found Maya’s desk and watched it back and forth several times. Finally, zooming in, I saw that when Maya took off her jacket, something fell from her person and was accidentally kicked under a desk by a passing coworker. I breathed a sigh of relief, screen-recorded the clip, and sent it to Maya. “Ahhhh, thank you so much, Summer! I’ll go get it on Monday!” “No problem. Glad we found it.” I exited the chat. I was about to close the security footage when my finger slipped on the mouse, jumping the video forward to 9 PM. Ethan’s figure flashed across the screen. I paused, surprised. Did Ethan really stay until 9 PM tonight? But then I felt confused. Ethan’s route out of the office didn’t pass by this area… Driven by curiosity, I clicked, rewinding the footage a few seconds. On the screen, Ethan appeared from one side, his target clear—he walked straight to my desk. Me: “?” He paused at my desk for two seconds. After he walked away, I could clearly see that a few caramel truffles had been left on my desk. My eyes widened, and I shot up straight in bed. There was candy on my desk almost every single day. I always assumed an early-arriving coworker was leaving them, and I ate them all without a second thought. Could it be… I hit the keyboard, pulling up the footage from the past few days. I skipped to 8 or 9 PM each night. Sure enough, I saw Ethan again. The one leaving the candy had always been him. Bzzzz— My phone vibrating broke my train of thought. Seeing the caller ID, my heart dropped. Why was Ethan calling me at this hour? I hit answer, but a strange woman’s voice came through. “Hello? Is this Summer Hastings?” “Yes, this is she. And you are…” “Mr. Sterling is drunk. You might need to come pick him up.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “391846”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My sister, Lily, had gone to Silverton to meet her online boyfriend. After a week of whirlwind romance, the guy told her he preferred slender girls. He demanded she slim down to 70 pounds before contacting him again. I was furious. “Why didn’t he say that when you met? You’re 5’5” and 120 pounds, that’s a perfectly healthy weight! How could you possibly drop to 70 pounds? He’s just playing with you!” Lily nodded, agreeing with me, and soon started a new relationship. That was until she scrolled through her social media feed and saw his wedding photos. She completely lost it. She pressed a pillow over my face, suffocating me. “Christopher’s bride is only a tiny bit thinner than me! I could have been with him if I’d just lost a little weight, but you said it was impossible! You did it on purpose! You’re just jealous I found true love!” I gasped for air, and then I woke up. I was back on the day Lily returned from Silverton. My face remained calm. “What’s wrong with getting down to 70 pounds? Even 50 pounds isn’t impossible! True love is hard to find; any sacrifice is worth it!” In this life, I wholeheartedly supported her pursuit of true love. But this time, she was the one who regretted it bitterly. … “Big sis, you don’t know, Christopher is incredibly athletic! And so handsome!” Lily gushed, her eyes wide with adoration. “He’s 6’1”, with exquisite features, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist! The second son of Apex Corporation, rich and good-looking – I love him so much!” “But when we parted, he said he liked slender beauties and told me to get down to 70 pounds before I went back to him. What should I do?” Lily blurted out the entire story of her meeting her online boyfriend and the problem she faced, exactly as it had happened in my previous life. I sniffed, the lingering sensation of suffocation from the pillow still fresh in my memory. I thought back to before, when I’d painstakingly explained to her that 70 pounds at her height meant a BMI of 12.55 kg/m ², far below the healthy range. I’d even listed several fatal cases of anorexia, telling her Christopher was a liar and that his demand for her to lose weight was just an excuse to make her leave him. She’d listened. With her pretty face, she’d quickly found a decent boyfriend. But when she’d seen Christopher’s wedding photos and realized his bride was only slightly thinner than her, she’d been consumed by resentment. She’d blamed me for everything, saying I couldn’t stand to see her happy, that I was jealous she’d found true love. Seeing her distressed expression, a peculiar smile touched my lips. My gaze was firm as I said, “A socialite like Christopher, his wife will often be in the spotlight. Look at any famous actress; they’re all incredibly thin. Supermodel Kate Moss is practically skeletal, but she’s considered high fashion, isn’t she?” “As long as you have the determination, what’s wrong with 70 pounds? Even 50 pounds isn’t impossible!” Lily’s eyes lit up with wild joy. “Big sis, you think so too? I thought the same thing! For true love, what’s a little suffering?” To show my support, I immediately found an extremely strict “Celebrity Fasting Schedule” online. I analyzed it with a serious air, “You have a tendency to gain weight, so if you want to lose 50 pounds in a month, you have to be ruthless with yourself. From now on, you’ll follow this fasting plan.” Lily looked at the diet, which consisted almost entirely of water. First, she expressed concern, then nodded in resolute agreement, as if she could already see herself in a wedding dress. In two weeks, Lily had tormented herself into losing twenty pounds. Her once round cheeks began to hollow, her cheekbones protruded, and dark circles hung heavily under her eyes. Clumps of hair clogged the bathroom drain. Her prolonged low-carb diet had led to ketosis, filling the house with the smell of rotten apples. Watching Lily hold a cup with a few floating vegetable leaves for breakfast, our mom finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Lily, are you losing weight too quickly?” she asked, frowning, her eyes scanning Lily’s pale face. “Your complexion is so sallow; don’t ruin your health.” Lily was about to flare up, but I interjected, my tone confident and professional. “Mom, you don’t understand. This is called the fat-burning reaction.” I spoke nonsense with a straight face. “These are all toxins being metabolized. Once this phase passes, she’ll be completely transformed. Look at those actresses, which one hasn’t gone through this ‘ascension’ to become a goddess?” Upon hearing “ascension,” Lily’s dull eyes instantly brightened. She rushed into the bathroom, lifted her top, and started snapping photos of herself in the mirror. It had to be said, though her complexion was poor and her skin a little saggy from the weight loss, she did have an “A4 waist.” Her features looked more defined with the filter. Less than two minutes later, she burst out, phone in hand, a radiant smile on her face. “Big sis! Christopher saw my photos and said I look beautiful!” She shot a triumphant glance at Mom, then tilted her head back and gulped down the unpleasant vegetable juice. “Mom, did you hear that? Christopher likes me like this!” “But Lily, you shouldn’t bother Christopher too often. You agreed to only see him when you reached 70 pounds. Those wealthy bachelors don’t have much patience!” Lily quickly nodded. “I’ll surprise him when I get to 70 pounds.” Dad hadn’t said a word throughout the meal, but after, he quietly asked me, “Is that Christopher really a rich kid?” I looked at him as if he were slow. “You know ‘Apex Corporation,’ right? It’s his family’s company. The name is a combination of his and his brother’s names.” Dad said “Oh” with satisfaction, a proud smile on his face. A few days later, Lily’s beauty journey hit a snag. Her weight stalled at 90 pounds, completely unchanged for three whole days. She raged in her room, slamming the electronic scale. “Why isn’t it dropping? Why?!” Mom frantically swatted the apple out of my hand. “Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Your sister is like that, and you can’t even help her think of a solution. What kind of big sister are you?” I gripped my finger, which had been nicked by the paring knife, blood dripping between my fingers. Mom ignored it. Ever since I was little, Mom and Dad had always emotionally blackmailed me by saying I was the older sister and had to act like one. Their idea of acting like an older sister was that I should suffer on Lily’s behalf, and she should get to enjoy all the good things. I retorted coldly, “What do you want me to do? Lose weight for her? Or convince her to give up?” Mom got even more agitated. “What nonsense are you talking about? How could she give up? Do you not want her to have a good life?” “If I could lose weight for her, wouldn’t you have made me do it a long time ago?” Mom was speechless. When we were in school, Mom would tell me Lily’s chore schedule in advance and make me do her cleaning. When Lily bullied classmates, Dad would drag me out and slap me in front of the bullied student’s parents, saying I’d instigated it. Dad saw the blood on the floor and impatiently asked what was going on. Mom quickly explained Lily’s stalled weight to him in detail, stating she was very anxious, and I was indifferent and even tried to make Lily give up. Now it was Dad’s turn to seriously criticize me. “Iris, how can you be like this? Your sister’s matter is huge. You should be helping to find a solution, not dragging your feet! Lily has the natural qualifications to marry into a prominent family; you can’t be jealous of that…” No wonder in my previous life, after Lily smothered me, Mom and Dad conspired to quietly bury me. They told everyone I was a disgrace and had run off with a married man. It turned out he also thought I was jealous of Lily’s beauty. Any lingering guilt I had vanished completely. I walked into Lily’s bedroom. “I heard that before Victoria’s Secret models walk the runway, they use special methods to achieve extreme figures. Things like ‘fairy tubes’ or powerful laxatives, where they eat, throw up, and get thin, not absorbing any calories.” Lily abruptly turned her head, staring at me intently. “Quick! Buy them for me! Buy them now!” I immediately placed an order for expedited delivery. When it arrived, I deliberately opened it in front of Mom. The transparent plastic tubes made my scalp prickle. “What is this stuff?” Mom asked suspiciously. “Imported dietary fiber tubes, they’re expensive, thousands of dollars a set,” I lied without batting an eyelid. “They’re for regulating Lily’s digestion, it’s all the rage in rich circles.” Mom’s mouth immediately closed when she heard the price, and she even cautiously touched them a couple of times. Late at night, heart-wrenching retching sounds came from the bathroom, sending chills down my spine. Mom knocked on the bathroom door, but got no response. She crept to my bedroom door and whispered, “What’s wrong with Lily? That sound makes my heart pound!” I rolled over, lazily responding, “Nothing, she’s practicing singing. She wants to surprise Christopher by singing ‘Love You Till Death.’ Don’t disturb her.” Mom mumbled something about “that child really working hard” and returned to her bedroom. I lay in the dark, listening to her dry heaves, a smirk on my face. To be a wealthy socialite, she was indeed working hard. Finally, Lily reached 70 pounds. Dad was ecstatic. He hosted a celebration party for Lily at home, inviting all our aunts and uncles. Also present was Mr. Harrison, a limping shrimp farmer from our hometown. Dad quietly told me, “Mr. Harrison is very wealthy. He just has a slight limp in his right foot. What does a limp matter? As long as he has money, right? You’re not like your sister, you don’t have the luxury to pick and choose! You just need a comfortable life!” I scoffed, a laugh escaping me. In Dad’s eyes, even marrying a limping man was me aiming high! “What if I don’t agree?” “Don’t make trouble! It’s good enough that he’s willing!” I was in the middle of confronting Dad when Lily emerged from her bedroom, wearing elegant makeup. The chatter among our relatives instantly ceased. Aunt Mae’s eyes widened, and she forgot to crack the melon seeds in her hand. Aunt Carol covered her mouth, nearly gasping aloud. Lily thought everyone was stunned by her beauty, and a faint blush colored her cheeks. Aunt Mae opened her mouth, then saw Mom and Dad’s triumphant faces and ultimately said nothing. Dad began to boast. “My Lily’s boyfriend comes from a prominent family in Silverton. The bar for marrying into such a family is high; the weight standard is strictly that of a supermodel. Fortunately, our girl is dedicated. After three months of rigorous figure management, she finally met the standard and will be getting married soon.” “Lily’s wedding is set. Now, what worries me most is our elder daughter.” Dad’s topic shifted, his gaze falling on me and Mr. Harrison. “Though Iris’s figure and looks are not as good as her sister’s, she’s been independent and strong-willed since childhood, perfect for settling down.” This was the first time in two lives Dad had ever complimented me, but it felt worse than being scolded. What did he mean, independent since childhood? It was because ever since Lily was born, I became the older sister and had to act like one. I had to do my own things, and I had to do my sister’s things for her. Mr. Harrison quickly chimed in. “Uncle, don’t say that. Iris is a good girl; it would be my blessing if things worked out.” I shot him a disgusted look. My cousin had told me that Mr. Harrison had a strange personality, hadn’t found a partner in his thirties, and might even be gay. He was also a heavy gambler, and his limp was supposedly from being beaten after losing too much and failing to pay up. Our relatives watched, eager for drama. I would never agree to this. “Hey! She and Lily are incomparable…” “Let’s exchange contact info. We should keep in touch.” Mr. Harrison interrupted Dad, holding out a QR code to me. Given that he’d stopped Dad, I scanned the code, saved him as “Limping Comrade,” and then ignored him completely. The entire dinner was filled with Mom and Dad’s bragging, as if Lily had already become the wealthiest person in the city. The day we left for Silverton, Lily specifically chose a tight, strappy red dress. It drew curious glances from everyone we passed. Lily put on her sunglasses, chin held high, and looked at my slightly plump figure with disdain. “I’m turning heads everywhere; being thin truly is the ultimate.” I nodded vigorously in agreement. “Yes, beauty lies in the bones!” Lily was overjoyed to hear this. Once we reached Silverton, she headed straight for the five-star hotel Christopher always booked. She wanted to surprise him. The elevator doors opened, and she bumped right into Christopher, who was on his way out. Lily excitedly threw her arms open and lunged at him. “Darling! I’m 70 pounds!” Christopher stiffened, a flicker of disgust passing through his eyes. “Li… Lily?” he stammered. “You… you’re amazing, I’m stunned. But there’s an urgent company matter, I have to go abroad for a month! Leaving immediately! Otherwise, I’ll miss my flight! Wait for me to come back!” As the elevator doors closed, I saw the look of sheer relief on his face. Lily turned abruptly, a little dazed. I thought she’d understood, but her reaction was: “Big sis, was he touched by me?” “He looked at me with such shock just now. He must not have expected me to be so hard on myself for him, right? But why didn’t he take me with him?” I curled my lips. “Yes, why indeed?” “Perhaps he still thinks 70 pounds is a bit too much? After all, those supermodels are all skin and bones!” Lily mused. I silently agreed. “If he still thinks it’s not enough, then I’ll keep losing weight. I’ll go down to 52 pounds, which means ‘I love you’! I want to be his cherished bride! I’ll let him see an even more perfect me in a month!” “Mom and Dad won’t agree,” I reminded her promptly. She immediately called Mom and Dad, saying Christopher had agreed to marry her and she needed to stay in Silverton to prepare for the wedding. She also asked them to transfer ten thousand dollars for her wedding preparations. Less than ten minutes later, twenty thousand dollars was directly deposited. Any lingering tenderness in my heart completely vanished. Mom had chased me for three days to pay back the twenty-eight dollars for an air conditioner cover she’d bought me. Lily merely opened her mouth, and they poured everything they had into her. Was I even their real daughter? Lily rented an apartment in Silverton and began her “ascension” journey. Every day, she survived only on vitamin supplements. Occasionally, she’d call me to complain. “Big sis, I’m so hungry, my heart is racing…” I would encourage her. “Hold on, you’ll soon have an ‘ultimately slender’ soul.” And she would reignite her confidence. Mom and Dad worried that Lily’s wedding preparations might not be lavish enough for a wealthy family, fearing she’d suffer after marriage. They demanded Mr. Harrison front fifty thousand dollars to help Lily with her wedding expenses. They also hoped I’d understand that the Davies were a prominent family, and Mr. Harrison’s family couldn’t compare! I just wanted to curse. Fortunately, Mr. Harrison could distinguish right from wrong. He told me that the first time he came to my house, he already knew my family status. He was on my side and told me to let him know if I needed any help. I asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend to appease Mom and Dad, but not to give them any money, and he played his part perfectly. Soon, Lily’s weight settled at 52 pounds. She happily video-called me. In the video, she was wearing a princess dress, twirling in front of a mirror. Her cheekbones were prominent, her eye sockets deeply sunken, and her limbs were so thin you could count every bone, like a living skeleton. “Big sis, how do I look?” “So beautiful! Lily, you have amazing willpower! Long live love!” I cheered for her. She told me she had custom-ordered a wedding dress and booked the largest commercial square screen below Christopher’s company building, preparing to officially propose to Christopher. I said I would come to her proposal ceremony to witness her shining moment! “You can come, but don’t be jealous, okay?” Lily teased me over the phone, her voice brimming with pride. I teased back, “Not jealous, just full of hate!” She thought I was joking, but I was telling the truth. Silverton’s most bustling commercial square was teeming with people. Suddenly, the advertisements on the large screen transformed into a declaration of love. “Christopher, I love you! I want to be your cherished bride!” Colorful heart shapes filled the screen, incredibly romantic! Lily stood in the center of the square, dressed in her wedding gown, waving to the onlookers. A chorus of screams erupted from the crowd. Cell phone cameras furiously filmed her. Lily’s face was beaming with pride as she held the microphone and loudly declared her love. “Christopher! Look! I’ve become the slender girl you like most! Thinner than any celebrity! This is the strength your love gave me! I went from 120 pounds to 52 pounds, enduring a lot of hardship, but for you, it’s all worth it!” The scene erupted. Christopher didn’t appear. Lily called out again, “Christopher! I know you’re watching! Come out now! I’m waiting for you to take me home…” Thunderous applause filled the square. Still, Christopher didn’t appear. After a few awkward minutes, a handsome man walked up to Lily. He handed her a letter. Lily took the letter and excitedly showed it off to the crowd. “Christopher wrote it, he’s quite romantic! I’ll share it with everyone!” She eagerly tore open the envelope. The moment she unfolded the letter, her face instantly turned ashen, and she collapsed to the ground. She stared intently at the words on the letter, unable to utter a sound. The onlookers, always eager for a show, started to jeer. “Read it out! Is it a proposal vow from the wealthy heir?” “Don’t be shy, beautiful, let us share in your joy!” Someone held up their phone, live-streaming. “Folks, this is the ruthless person who lost 52 pounds for love! Look at how touched she is!” Lily sat on the ground, completely distraught. She suddenly lunged to stuff the letter into her mouth. I quickly stepped forward to “help” her. I gently but firmly pulled the crumpled letter from her hand. “I’m her sister; I’ll read it for her.” Lily rose, trying to snatch it back, but I sidestepped. “Lily, I’ve never liked you. Asking you to lose to 70 pounds was purely to make you back off. I can’t believe you actually did it!” I declared indignantly, shouting to the crowd, “What a scumbag!” I continued reading. “When I saw you at 70 pounds, I was already scared. And now 52 pounds! You’re completely insane! The first time I didn’t reject you wasn’t because I liked you. When something’s offered, well, you know how men are. I didn’t want to say anything too harsh, but I was afraid you’d be misguided. Go home, stop this nonsense. We can still be friends!” After reading, I adopted a protective sister stance and demanded that everyone help my sister get justice. Christopher probably thought Lily would save face, quietly take the letter, and leave. But I definitely intended to fan the flames. “Holy crap, this guy is such a jerk, but this girl is also a freak.” “I knew it, who would like a skeleton like that? Turns out she was just played.” The live stream comments exploded, filling the screen with “Clown,” “Serves her right,” and “LOL.” Lily lay on the ground, sobbing. Her proud love, the figure she’d fought so hard for, had now become a complete joke. “No… this isn’t real…” I helped her up, wiping her tears. “Wake up, he’s a liar!” The onlookers also started to chime in. “Yes, girl, a man like that isn’t worth ruining yourself over.” “Don’t be so vain!” Lily’s public humiliation was utterly boundless. She suddenly rolled her eyes and fainted. After being rushed to the hospital, the doctor shook his head at the test results. “Severe malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance, multiple organ dysfunction. This isn’t weight loss; it’s slow suicide! If she continues like this, she’ll be headed straight for the crematorium.” Lily quieted down, but online public opinion soared. The online video titles were more sensational than the last. “Skeleton Bride Publicly Demands Love: Scumbag or True Love?” “Starving Herself to a Corpse for a Wealthy Marriage: Is This Human Perversion or Moral Decay?” “This girl’s brain must be fried, 52 pounds? My dog weighs more than her.” “This whole family is strange. The sister even read out such nasty words from the guy; clearly, apples don’t fall far from the tree.” I sat on a hospital bench, scrolling through these comments, feeling completely unfazed. Mom and Dad arrived, dusty and disheveled, rushing straight to me. Dad grabbed my collar, and before I could speak, a slap landed across my face.

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I rushed back from out of town to attend my nephew’s parent-teacher conference, only to be mistaken for a kept man by my future brother-in-law. He brought a group of his buddies, smashing classroom furniture, and repeatedly declared that I would pay the price. The moment I stepped through the door, he struck me with a stick, sending me sprawling to my knees. “You lowlife, daring to seduce my wife and trying to mess with my son? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, I’ve lived for nothing!” “Once I cripple you and you’re bedridden for the rest of your life, let’s see how you leech off rich women then!” He, in front of numerous parents, repeatedly struck me with a toilet mop handle. I covered my head, scrambling away like a stray dog, while his laughter grew increasingly maniacal. A second before I lost consciousness, my sister finally burst into the classroom. 1 When I received a call from my nephew’s teacher saying someone claiming to be the child’s father was causing trouble, I floored the gas pedal and sped to the school. My brother-in-law had passed away five years ago, and the more I thought about it, the more frightened I became. I called my sister several times on the way, but all calls went unanswered. Then I remembered, she hadn’t paid much attention to my nephew’s school affairs these past few years, probably didn’t even know which way the classroom door opened. So I headed upstairs myself, phone clutched in hand, ready to call the police at any moment. Before I even reached the classroom, the tumultuous noise already threatened to shake the building apart. A man’s vulgar curses pierced my ears. “Don’t blame me for interrupting the parent-teacher conference. This kept man outside is practically riding over my head!” “He sends my wife harassing messages all day, hotel receipts, expense statements—he’s spent all her dowry money!” “And today, he brazenly wants to attend my son’s parent-teacher conference? How am I supposed to tolerate that?” “Any decent person would be furious!” “I’m a fitness influencer, half a public figure, at least. Today, I’m making him pay for his actions!” Hearing this, I hurriedly quickened my pace. The moment I reached the classroom door, a group of parents were stirred into righteous indignation by his words. “Go ahead, buddy! We’ll pretend we didn’t see anything! The parent-teacher conference can wait; we absolutely can’t let a kept man like that off the hook!” “I despise scum who break up families, born of a mother but raised by no one!” The man, encouraged by the cheers, rolled up his sleeves, eager for a fight. “Thanks for the support, everyone. You don’t mind if I livestream this, do you? Let the whole internet recognize that kept man!” The more I listened, the more something felt wrong. Standing at the door, I craned my neck to look inside, only to lock eyes with a familiar face. Wasn’t that Liam Ellis, my sister’s soon-to-be new husband? I’d been living on my own these past few years after my family kicked me out for not marrying, so I’d only seen his photos on my sister’s social media. My sister had mentioned he was a fitness influencer, and I’d even thought about asking him for some pointers. But my sister said there’d be plenty of opportunities after they got married, and the matter was dropped. Now, looking at his face, red with rage, I quickly pulled out my phone to call my sister. I called three times, still no answer. I sent her a message. 【Did you do something to upset Liam? He’s causing a scene in our nephew’s classroom!】 【Now that your career’s taking off, you can’t be fickle. If there’s a misunderstanding, clear it up with him quickly! Mom and Dad are already angry enough about my situation; if your wedding has any problems, it’ll kill them!】 Just as I sent the second message, a pair of clean athletic shoes suddenly appeared before me. Before I could even look up, my short hair was violently yanked. A powerful force dragged my entire body into the classroom. Then a kick landed squarely on my lower back, sending me sprawling to the ground, out of control. When I looked up, a phone was practically shoved into my mouth. Liam snarled, “Everyone, take a good look! This is the kept man I was talking about!” “He was just hiding by the door, probably heard me talking and didn’t dare come in!” “What, you do something so disgusting, and you’re still afraid to admit it? If I were you, I’d hide my face in my pants when I went out!” With that, he tightened his grip, and the camera directly smacked my lip. A professional fitness enthusiast’s blow was not light; my lip quickly swelled up into a large lump. Seeing my miserable state, not a single person around stepped forward to defend me. Instead, they pointed fingers and cursed at me. My lips were numb for about ten seconds before I recovered, then I looked up at Liam and urgently began: “You’ve misunderstood, I’m not a kept man, I—” Before I could finish, he swung his sports bag, forcefully hitting me in the face. Blood immediately gushed from my nose, and my phone fell to the side, its screen cracking. He snatched it up, clutching it in his hand, and said coldly, “Still saying it’s not you! This is the phone my wife bought! I even screenshotted the payment bill! You just wait for the lawsuit and pay back the money!” 2 I wanted to explain that it was my sister’s birthday gift to me last year, a way for her to encourage me to go home and apologize to Mom and Dad. But the words caught in my throat, replaced by a gush of metallic-tasting liquid. It choked me, and I clutched my chest, coughing. Liam looked up at the surrounding parents, roaring, “See that? I just lightly tapped him, and a grown man can be this weak? What an act!” “No wonder my wife spent her dowry money on him! A man like this is utterly despicable!” My face flushed crimson, my eyes streaked with blood. The parents in the classroom looked at me with venomous, hateful stares. I furrowed my brow, suppressing the indignation, and spoke sternly, “Liam, I told you I’m not a kept man. How exactly did you come to that conclusion?” After all, he was my future brother-in-law, and I wanted to avoid a nasty public spectacle later on. I wanted him to show proof; business dealings often required social graces. If it truly was my sister who had wronged him, I was prepared to apologize on her behalf. But hearing my words, his anger surged. He shoved the camera closer to my face. “See that, everyone? On the verge of death and still won’t admit it!” “If I don’t make you understand what you’re dying for today, I’ve wasted my time coming here!” With that, he put a lit cigarette in his mouth, then pulled out another phone and opened it in front of me. Soon, several photos of me and my nephew at an amusement park appeared. Liam snorted coldly, “What do you have to say now?” “These were found on my wife’s phone! You really hid it well, reaching out to my son to climb up the ladder! I’m warning you today, if you touch a single hair on my son’s head again, I’ll use you as a barbell!” My brows knitted tightly; all my words instantly became powerless. That was just for my nephew’s birthday. My sister didn’t have time to accompany him, so I took him to the amusement park to take photos for her to see, never imagining it would lead to such a misunderstanding. Seeing my silence, he said coldly, “Nothing to say, huh? Brothers, hit him! Just leave him enough breath to speak!” “Ruin his face, let’s see how he leeches off rich women then!” As a group of muscular men rolled up their sleeves, ready to surround me, I quickly propped myself up to explain, but opening my mouth tore at the blood scab on my lip, making me gasp in pain. “You’ve misunderstood, I’m his uncle! Eleanor Carter is my sister, we’re siblings!” Liam glanced at me, scoffing disdainfully. “Siblings? Her own mother doesn’t even know she has a son!” “I’m about to marry my wife, and I’ve never once heard her mention having a brother!” “What kind of brother are you? A lover? Are you trying to fool me like I’m an idiot? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you really won’t know what kind of trash you are!” His curses stunned me. I never imagined my mother would be so angry as to disown me! Sweating profusely, I frantically asked the surrounding parents to call the police for me. But no one bothered to respond. Everyone merely looked on, enjoying the show. Someone even picked up a pencil from a desk and threw it at my head. The pencil lead lodged in my scalp, and the shaft snapped on impact. My face contorted in pain. Liam’s expression grew even more ominous. Anger burned in his eyes; he was about to step forward and attack me. I quickly spoke, “I’ll call my mom, alright? I’ll put it on speaker, and you listen!” A flicker of suspicion crossed Liam’s eyes, and he tossed my phone back in front of me. “You try to trick me, and you’re dead!” While I was dialing, Liam’s crew of brothers were already flexing their muscles, eyeing me menacingly. The phone rang, and my heart leaped into my throat. The next second, my mom abruptly hung up, then added me to her blacklist. My phone hit the ground, and my face instantly turned ashen. Liam sneered. “My mother-in-law probably thinks you’re making harassing calls. You’re still putting on an act!” Thinking of my nephew, my eyes lit up again. “Wait, where’s my nephew? He can vouch for me. I’m here to attend his parent-teacher conference today!” At that, Liam quickly stepped forward and delivered a hard punch to my face. A wisdom tooth instantly fell from my mouth to the ground, faintly stained with blood. “Enough! I told you you don’t deserve to mention my son! Stay away from him from now on!” 3 From the whispers of the surrounding parents, I gathered that all the students in the class had been taken to the office by the teacher. No wonder the teacher hadn’t shown up yet. She was already overwhelmed just managing those kids. Now, truly, no one could vouch for me. I was sweating profusely in a panic, but Liam gave me no time to think. With a single glance, his group of brothers immediately began trashing the classroom. Their wild, uncontrolled actions forced even the watching parents to retreat from the classroom. This became the muscular men’s personal domain for revenge. Liam aimed his livestream camera at the classroom, panning around. Desks and chairs lay shattered, white paint flaked off the walls. In just five minutes, the perfectly fine classroom was reduced to utter wreckage. The front and back blackboards were splashed with red paint, a terrifying and unsettling sight. He saw this and laughed even more wildly and uncontrollably. Speaking to the camera: “This kept man said he wanted to attend my son’s parent-teacher conference. Today, I’ll give him a memorable one!” “Working out and lifting weights every day, wasn’t it all for this?” Seeing this, I couldn’t help but interject, “If my sister finds out what you’ve done, you’ll regret it!” “Do you know what you’re doing? When my identity is revealed, you’ll be truly finished!” He curled one side of his lip, his face full of mockery. “Folks, this kept man is threatening me! I’m so scared! Stealing my woman and then trying to dominate me!” With that, he stepped forward and raised his bag, striking my head again. After several heavy blows, my head reeled, and I lost the ability to think. He furiously stormed out the door. More and more parents gathered outside; people from adjacent classrooms were drawn in. Now, many had their phones pointed at my face, recording. My weak pleas for help were drowned out by the insults. I couldn’t even manage to crawl to get my phone back and call the police. I forced myself to prop up my upper body, but just as my hand brushed the edge of my phone, a heavy blow landed on my back. Liam stood before me, mop in hand, his face etched with fury. A faint, disgusting yellow stain still clung to it. “Run? Where do you think you’re going to run!” “Today, the only person walking out of here standing is me!” “If I don’t teach you a lesson, my one hundred and fifty pounds were lifted in vain!” I was beaten to the ground, my gaze falling on the onlookers outside the window. Everyone was cheering for Liam. I was the sole culprit. The vast classroom had no clear space left to stand. A moment later, one of his brothers stepped forward and kicked me hard. My body felt weak and limp, like a piece of rotting flesh. My suit was drenched in blood and covered in dust, making me look utterly pathetic. “This is too easy for him! Doesn’t he want to attend a parent-teacher conference? We’ll give him a chance!” In Liam’s bloodthirsty, excited gaze, he said, “Drag him to the broadcast room and make him confess to the whole school that he’s a kept man!” Hearing this, I widened my eyes in terror, shaking my head desperately. Two muscular men grabbed me by my armpits, one on each side, hoisting me up. My lower body dragged on the ground; I was as helpless as a chick. As I struggled, my car keys fell from my pocket. Liam’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He angrily picked them up and violently smashed them into my face. The keyring grazed my temple, leaving a fresh red mark. “You kept man! You even had my wife buy you a car! She never even agreed to buy one for me! How dare you!” With that, he glanced at the car model, his gaze growing increasingly vicious. A parent, kindly watching the show, quickly spoke up. “Is it that one downstairs? I think I saw him get out of it just now! He drove it right in, not even worried about hitting a child. That kind of person has no conscience!” The moment the words left his mouth, Liam’s eyes blazed with fury. He immediately leaned over the railing and looked down.

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I spent seven years as the dirty little secret of my sister’s best friend. She was drunk—or playing at it—when she looked at me across the dimly lit VIP booth, a cruel, lazy smile on her lips. “Cole, I should just set you up with someone better. That way you can finally stop suffocating me, yeah?” My expression didn’t shift. I just looked at her and calmly said, “Okay.” Because I remembered another lifetime. A life where I didn’t agree. A life where I stubbornly married her anyway. In that life, she treated our marriage like a prison sentence. She froze me out, entirely indifferent to my existence. And when a semi-truck ran a red light and T-boned my car, leaving me bleeding out on the asphalt, she was miles away, watching the Northern Lights with her ex-boyfriend. That was when I finally learned that human hearts are fickle, fleeting things. You cannot beg someone to love you. … I said “okay,” and Stella froze. She hadn’t expected me to agree so easily. The amber lighting in the private room flickered, casting shadows over her bare, un-made-up face. There was a flush to her cheeks, but her eyes were razor-sharp, completely devoid of the drunkenness she had been feigning just seconds before. I sat perfectly straight, a faint, meaningless smile lingering on my lips as I looked back at her. Stella dropped the lazy, teasing act. Her voice hardened, taking on a defensive edge. “Cole, did you hear a single word I just said?” I nodded once. “Loud and clear.” In the past, if she had said something like that, I would have panicked. I would have feigned anger, cut her off, and begged her not to joke about giving me away. But now, I felt like a ghost inhabiting my own body. I felt absolutely nothing. It was like listening to the weather report for a city I didn’t live in. “Cole, you…” Before she could finish her sentence, my older sister, Tessa, pushed the heavy door open, letting in a blast of cold air from the main bar. She had a wicked, entertained grin on her face. “Guess who I just saw out there?” Without waiting for a response, Tessa forged ahead. “Your ex, Christian. He looks totally trashed. A couple of cougars were basically dragging him toward the back rooms…” Stella shot up from the leather sofa like she’d been burned. She shoved past the table, practically sprinting out into the corridor. A minute later, the unmistakable sound of a scuffle—shouting, a glass shattering violently against the hardwood—echoed down the hall. I stayed right where I was, casually peeling a mandarin orange from the fruit platter. Stella loved fresh fruit, but she hated the sticky feeling of peeling it. For seven years, I had painstakingly peeled everything for her, placing the segments on a napkin just so she would take a bite. Tessa used to watch me do it and laugh. “You treat her better than you treat your own flesh and blood. Don’t tell me you’re in love with her, little brother.” I had almost confessed so many times. But Stella would always interlock her arm with mine, flashing a sweet, warning smile at my sister. “Maybe Cole just thinks I’m a better sister than you are. Is it a crime for him to spoil me?” Eventually, I learned the script. She didn’t want anyone to know about us. So, I swallowed the truth. For seven years, not a single soul knew we were together. Tessa stood in the doorway now, craning her neck to see if she needed to break up the fight. She glanced back at me, still eating my fruit, and raised an eyebrow. “Your girl Stella is throwing hands out there. You’re really not going to play knight in shining armor?” I swallowed the last slice of citrus and shook my head. “It’s a catfight over a guy. Why would I get in the middle of that?” Tessa looked surprised, but she didn’t press it. She jogged out to help. I sat alone in the quiet hum of the booth. I waited until the shouting died down completely before I finally stood up and walked out into the corridor. The first thing I saw was Stella. Both of her hands were tightly wrapped around a man’s arm. It was Christian. The ghost of her past. The one she could never quite let go of. He was heavily intoxicated, his body slumped against hers like he had no bones. And Stella didn’t push him away. Instead, she held him up, pulling him flush against her side. Her dark eyes were blazing with anger at whoever had touched him, but beneath the rage was a tender, aching worry she didn’t even realize she was showing. Tessa saw me and nudged my shoulder. “Cole, what do you think? Any chance those two are going to rekindle the flame?” She didn’t speak softly. Stella heard every word. Her head snapped up, her eyes locking onto mine where I stood a few feet away. For a fraction of a second, a flicker of guilt flashed across her face. “I have no intention of getting back together with him,” she said, her voice defensively loud. “He’s just drunk. I’m helping him out.” I gave her a soft, accommodating smile. “I get it, Stella. Christian looks like he can barely stand. You should get him home safely.” Stella frowned, a subtle tightening of her jaw, as if my casual, distant tone bothered her. But she didn’t reject the out I gave her. As she turned to leave, supporting his weight, she called back to my sister. “You two head home soon, okay? Don’t stay out too late.” Watching their retreating backs, a familiar, needle-like pain pricked at my chest. It was just so profoundly, bitterly ironic. In my previous life, I had gotten exactly what I wanted. I married Stella. But I never got the happiness I bargained for. On my birthday, I had just wanted a quiet dinner at home. She had scoffed, slipping on her coat. “I’m slammed with work. Can you stop nagging me for one night?” An hour later, I saw Christian’s Instagram story: a picture of the two of them hitting the slopes in Aspen. When an acute stomach ulcer left me doubled over in agony, I begged her to drive me to the ER. She sighed, rolling her eyes. “I’m not a doctor, Cole. If you’re dying, call a cab. What do you expect me to do about it?” The next day, I saw her in the same hospital lobby, keeping Christian company for a mild sinus infection. The bitter end came on our anniversary. I had prepared a surprise, rushing home, only to be struck by a speeding car. When the ER trauma surgeon called her emergency contact number, begging for consent to operate, her voice over the speakerphone was ice-cold. “Is he dead yet? If he’s not dead, don’t bother me.” And then, right before the line went dead, I heard Christian’s exhilarated voice in the background: “Stella, look! The aurora is incredible. This trip was so worth it.” As the dial tone hummed, the blood from my crushed ribs soaked through the stark white hospital sheets. Remembering the agonizing, suffocating phantom pain of a dying heart, I gasped for air, clutching my chest in the present. I let out a pale, hollow laugh. Stella, since you feel my love is such a burden, I simply won’t love you anymore. Tessa and I didn’t stay out long. We went home early that night. When I woke up the next morning, groggy and disoriented, my phone screen lit up. It was a message from Christian. He had sent a picture of Stella, fast asleep, tangled in the sheets of his bed. The caption read: Stella stayed over to take care of me last night. I stared at the screen. I felt nothing. No jealousy, no rage. Just a profound emptiness. I typed a single letter: K. He wasn’t satisfied. A few minutes later, another photo buzzed through. Breakfast. Two plates. A perfectly cooked heart-shaped fried egg. Stella made me breakfast, he wrote. Even cut the egg into a little heart. During our seven years together, Stella had never once stepped foot in my kitchen. She used to tell me she was raised like a princess, and she wasn’t about to start scrubbing pots just because she had a boyfriend. So, to make sure she ate well, I had enrolled in an expensive, intensive culinary arts program. I made sure that whenever I was around, she always had a hot, gourmet meal waiting for her. Seeing what she was willing to do for Christian made me realize what a spectacular fool I had been. I put the phone down, didn’t bother replying, and went back to eating my own cold toast. Five minutes later, Stella texted. She didn’t mention where she was. She just demanded, casually: “Those homemade tortellini you made last week were amazing. Make another batch and bring it to my office for lunch.” “Oh, and remember, no basil.” The screen glared back at me. My eyes darkened. Stella had never hated basil. In fact, she loved it. She used to order extra pesto whenever we went out for Italian. I sat in the quiet of my kitchen for a long moment. Then, I typed: Sure. I opened a delivery app, ordered a mediocre, mass-produced pasta dish from a chain restaurant, and had it delivered to her corporate lobby. That evening, Tessa and I went out to a newly opened steakhouse to celebrate a work win. We had barely sat down when I saw them. Stella and Christian, walking through the glass doors, their arms linked, laughing brightly at some private joke. The second Stella saw us, she instinctively dropped his arm and walked over. Christian’s smile faltered for a microsecond before he put on a charming grin and followed. “What a coincidence. Looks like they’re totally booked, though. You guys wouldn’t mind if we crashed your table, right?” Without waiting for an answer, Stella slid into the leather booth, directly next to me. Tessa’s eyes went wide. She immediately stood up to switch seats. “What are you doing? Why are you sitting next to my brother while your first love is standing right there?” Stella was practically shoved across the table to sit opposite me. She looked incredibly displeased, staring at me like she expected me to defend her. I avoided her gaze entirely. I pushed a menu toward Christian. “Go ahead and order whatever you’d like, Christian. My sister and I already put ours in.” He took the menu, chuckling smoothly. “You know, Cole, that lunch you made today was incredible. So much better than anything you can buy at a restaurant.” So, my suspicion was right. The tortellini she demanded was for him. I just smiled and took a sip of water. Tessa laughed, a bit of teasing pride in her voice. “He lost his mind a few years ago and took all these intensive culinary classes. He was the only guy in the room. I thought he’d quit, but he stuck with it.” “Now he can hold his own in a Michelin kitchen. Whoever ends up marrying him is going to be incredibly lucky.” Stella had been wearing a faint smile, but at Tessa’s words, the warmth vanished from her face. She took a slow sip of her wine, her tone cool. “Is Cole looking to start dating?” I looked up at her, feigning innocence. I thought about what she had said in the bar. I gave a slight nod. “I’m twenty-six. It’s probably time. If you know anyone good, Stella, I’d love an introduction.” “Finally!” Tessa slammed her hand on the table, thrilled. “I’ve been trying to set you up for years and you always shut me down! Now that you’re finally open to it, I am going to find you the perfect girl.” Stella’s lips were pressed into a thin, bloodless line. She stared at me unblinkingly, as if trying to dissect the lie on my face. Christian noticed the shift in her mood. He smiled pleasantly. “Cole is a lucky guy, having an older sister to look out for him. I’m almost jealous. Honestly, I think Stella would be…” “Don’t be ridiculous. Cole is like a little brother to me.” Before Tessa could react, Stella cut him off, her brow furrowed. The words sounded like a reprimand, but her expression betrayed a deep, unsettled panic. I nodded enthusiastically, backing her up. “Exactly. I’ve always seen Stella as a second sister. You shouldn’t make jokes like that, Christian.” “Besides,” I added smoothly, “I think you and Stella are a much better match.” Stella’s face darkened instantly. A storm brewed in her eyes, and she let out a sharp, breathless laugh. “Is that right? Fine. I’ll set you up with someone. You’d better make time to meet her.” “Sounds great. Thanks, Stella,” I said, my smile blindingly bright. I didn’t contact Stella for the next few days, and she didn’t reach out to me. Instead, Christian showed up at my apartment. Tessa was over, lounging on the couch, when I let him in. “Alright, what do you want?” Tessa asked, not bothering to mince words. Christian looked at me, feigning a sheepish smile. “Tess, you know Stella and I go way back. We’re each other’s first loves. We had our ups and downs, but the connection never died.” “I was an idiot for letting her go. I want to officially win her back. I’m going to propose that we start over, and I need your help setting it up.” In another lifetime, I would have yelled at him to get out. I would have boldly declared that Stella loved me. She would never agree to it, I would have said. But living through that past life had burned the delusion out of my brain. I knew the truth. She loved him. They really were made for each other. “Sure, why not?” Tessa shrugged. “It’s obvious she’s never gotten over you. If you make a big romantic gesture, she’ll definitely say yes.” Christian’s smile widened. He looked at me, his eyes gleaming with a strange, competitive triumph. I just shrugged, completely unbothered. Two days later, Tessa and Stella’s inner circle of friends devised a plan. They decided the best way to trigger a confession was an adrenaline-fueled setup. They booked a weekend at a rustic lakeside lodge in the Catskills, timing it perfectly with the town’s famous summer bonfire and fireworks festival. The lakeside was packed. I hated crowds, so I tried to hang back near the treeline. But Christian wasn’t about to let me escape. He grabbed my shoulder, dragging me straight to the front row, right up against the safety barricades. When the massive bonfire roared to life, shooting towering sparks into the night sky, Christian strategically flinched, stepping back until his shoulder brushed Stella’s. Stella saw him ‘trembling’ and her eyes softened with pure affection. She looped her arm through his, teasing him softly over the roar of the fire. “You know you hate fire, you idiot. Why did you insist on coming right to the front?” “Because you’re here,” he murmured, leaning in. “When I’m with you, I’m not scared of anything.” Her eyes practically melted. She reached out and intertwined her fingers tightly with his. Staring at their clasped hands, my mind drifted back to the early days of my marriage in that other life. I had been so hopelessly eager to build a home. I handled every chore, cooked every meal, trying to surround her with warmth. Until the night I went to pick her up from a bar. I stood in the shadows of the hallway and listened as she drunkenly slurred to Christian. “I feel like I didn’t marry a husband. I feel like I married my father. He suffocates me, Christian. He manages my life down to the minute. It’s exhausting.” “Not like you,” she had whispered. “You always knew how to give me space.” A sudden scream yanked me back to reality. A stray, massive dog had slipped off its leash and was tearing violently through the crowd, snapping its jaws. Panic erupted. People shoved each other, scrambling to get away. The dog was charging straight at me. I grabbed Tessa’s jacket to pull her back, but suddenly, a hard hand shoved me squarely between the shoulder blades. Before I could catch my balance, I was pushed forcefully over the wooden safety barricade, landing hard in the dirt on the wrong side of the fence. Screams and the chaotic noise of the crowd swelled around me. And then, through the sea of panicked bodies, I saw a slender figure running toward the barricade. For a split second, an old, pathetic instinct flared in my chest. A delusion that Stella was rushing to save me. But she didn’t even look down at where I had fallen. She vaulted right over my legs, throwing her arms around Christian, who had also stumbled over the line. Cole, what on earth were you hoping for? I wanted to laugh, but the bitter irony choked me. Thank God for Tessa. She fought her way through the chaos, grabbed my arm, and hauled me up, helping me limp away on a twisted ankle. Once we were out of the crush of the crowd, Tessa wiped the sweat from her forehead. “The proposal setup is ready by the garden. Come on, we have to go watch.” She slung my arm over her shoulder, supporting my weight as we hobbled toward the lodge’s courtyard. Stella’s friends had transformed the massive oak tree by the patio. Fairy lights shaped like hearts hung from the branches. Polaroids of Stella and Christian’s teenage years were clipped to twine. Old love letters. Ticket stubs. Christian stood in the center, holding a massive bouquet of pink roses—her favorite. He was speaking softly, pouring his heart out, asking for a second chance. Stella stood in front of him, absolutely stunned. A warm summer breeze drifted past, rustling the leaves. Even the wind seemed to be cheering for them. They were in love. They belonged together. Listening to the crowd cooing and cheering around me, I raised my hands and started clapping. “Say yes! Say yes!” I chanted loudly. Hearing my voice, Stella snapped her head toward me. Her eyes were wide with utter shock and horror. “Cole, are you out of your mind?!” she screamed over the music. “I am your girlfriend!”

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Arthur’s little secretary broke my favorite teacup. Furious, I punished her by making her act as my maid for the day. In retaliation, she turned around and climbed into Arthur’s bed, sending me photos to show off. “Mrs. Sterling, what makes you think you’re guaranteed to be the lady of the Sterling house forever?” “I’m younger and prettier than you. Who gets the last laugh is still up in the air.” I slapped her so hard she ended up in the hospital with tinnitus. Three days later, Arthur punished me by forcing me to kneel and apologize to his little secretary. Looking at the hickeys on his neck, I rewarded him with a slap too. Arthur touched the red mark on his face and chuckled. “Mrs. Sterling.” “It seems you have plenty of energy. How about I cut off your allowance? Let’s see how you throw your little princess tantrums then.” He exiled me to the suburbs for six whole months. Six months later, Arthur finally remembered me. He arrived at the villa door, acting like he was bestowing a great favor, and asked if I had learned my lesson. Carrying a designer bag, I had just stepped out of my boyfriend’s luxury car. I met Arthur’s shocked, slightly red eyes. My boyfriend laughed. “Mr. Sterling, if you won’t take care of your wife, she’ll just find someone else who will.” 1 Oliver thoughtfully opened the car door for me. “Chloe, remember to get a good night’s sleep tonight. I’ll pick you up tomorrow to go to the art exhibition.” I nodded, keeping my eyes straight ahead as I walked toward the villa. “Chloe!” Arthur’s exasperated voice rang out. With bloodshot eyes, he stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. “How can you be so cheap?” “I told you to reflect on your actions in the suburbs for six months, and this is how you reflect?” His eyes seemed to shoot fire as he looked back and forth between me and Oliver. “I was wondering why you didn’t send me a single message these past six months.” “Turns out you found another man to keep you a long time ago.” “Two-timing me. Are you that cheap?” I wasn’t angry; I just let out a soft sneer. “And what about you, Mr. Sterling?” “When we remarried, didn’t you promise to cut ties completely with Mia?” “Yet you’re still stringing her along, two-timing me.” “What right do you have to insult me?” We were just the pot calling the kettle black. We were exactly the same. Arthur was choked, unable to speak. But men never reflect on their own actions. Even when they’re in the wrong, they just look for another angle to attack you. For instance, he insulted my lowly background. “Back then, you couldn’t even afford to go to school. You couldn’t even scrape together $100 for monthly living expenses.” “Chloe, don’t forget, if I hadn’t funded your college education, if I hadn’t married you and given you resources and status, how could you possibly be where you are today?” His furious tone made him sound like a rabid dog. But I just looked at him flatly. “Even without you, relying on myself, I would still be exactly where I am today.” To me, men were just a stepping stone. That man could be Arthur, or it could be someone else. It made no difference. This was a truth I only understood after divorcing and remarrying him. The first divorce happened because Arthur cheated. Just like a cliché plot from a trashy CEO romance novel. He fell in love with his young, pretty secretary, Mia. At a cocktail party, the two of them ended up rolling around together, clothes disheveled. And just like every other woman in that situation, I threw a crazy fit, grabbing anything I could find and throwing it at them. Arthur, however, silently shielded Mia. He stared at me like I was insane. “Chloe, are you done throwing your tantrum?” “Look at yourself right now. You look like a shrew. Aren’t you embarrassed?” With red, swollen eyes, I screamed hoarsely. “Arthur, I’ve been with you since I was 18! Now that you have everything, you cheat on me. Have you no shame?!” Arthur sneered lightly and grabbed my wrist. “If you had any shame, you wouldn’t have given yourself to me when you were 18.” That single sentence completely shattered all the love I had for him. This man, whom I had loved so deeply I felt drunk on it… For the first time, he made me feel alienated, made me feel it wasn’t worth it. I couldn’t tolerate a single grain of sand in my eye, so I demanded a divorce. Arthur agreed very readily. After signing the divorce papers, he mockingly said to me, light as a feather: “Chloe, if you can’t survive out there, come find me. I might just give you a chance to remarry me.” Three months after the divorce. I searched all over Seattle for a job, but no one would hire me. In that moment, I finally understood Arthur’s words. I understood what he meant by “if you can’t survive.” At the same time, the projects Arthur was handling couldn’t proceed without me. Taking what we both needed, we remarried. At the time, I specifically warned Arthur. “Tell your little secretary to get lost. Keep her out of my sight.” “Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” But she intentionally provoked me. If she wasn’t spilling water on my documents, she was breaking my teacup. I was just keeping things professional, punishing her according to office rules. But Arthur got angry. He punished me by exiling me to the suburbs to reflect for six months, and I obeyed. But now, why is Arthur the one getting so exasperated? I let out a cold laugh. “If there’s nothing else, please step aside, Mr. Sterling.” “I’ve been on dates all day. I’m very tired and need to go inside and rest.” Arthur gripped my wrist tightly. “Weren’t you so obsessed with me?” “Didn’t you use to check up on me every few days? Why don’t you care anymore?” He frowned, completely baffled. “Chloe, how did you turn into this?” 2 I paused. Was I the one who changed first? I turned my head to look at Arthur. “Mr. Sterling, is your memory failing you?” “You were the one who said that after we remarried, if you cheated even once, the marriage was automatically annulled.” “It was you who continued messing around with Mia after we remarried, and I generously chose not to make a fuss about it.” How dare you push your luck? And what’s this about checking up on you? That felt as distant as a past life. I had long since felt it was beneath me to do something like that. I looked at Arthur flatly, then shook off his hand. I even flicked imaginary dust off my sleeve where he had touched me. Seeing my actions, Arthur’s face instantly darkened. Oliver chuckled, proactively stepping between us. “Mr. Sterling, it seems Chloe doesn’t really want to see you. You should go back.” Arthur clenched his fists and glared at him. “This is between husband and wife. What right do you have to interrupt?” “Chloe.” Arthur frowned. “I came today to bring you back. My relationship with Mia isn’t rekindled.” “She’s only acting as my secretary temporarily. I’ll have her transferred in a few months.” “I told you this when we remarried.” “What happened before was a mistake. Mrs. Sterling, there will only ever be you.” I froze for a moment, looking down, wanting to laugh. “Mr. Sterling, you don’t need to explain this to me.” After all, before we remarried… Arthur was the one who disdained explaining things the most. If he slept with someone, he slept with them. He didn’t need excuses or reasons. Even when I caught him in the act, he was so self-righteous, saying casually: “Mrs. Sterling, you’re late.” “If you had come a little earlier, you might have caught a live show.” Because of his dismissive attitude, Mia never took me seriously. She intentionally broke my cups, ruined my clothes, and even secretly sold my designer bags for cheap. Relying on Arthur’s indulgence. She knew she wouldn’t be punished. So her behavior escalated day by day. Right now, looking into Arthur’s incredibly sincere eyes, I almost couldn’t resist throwing the provocative photo Mia sent me right in his face. And telling him coldly: “She already sent me pictures of you two in bed. What else is there to deny?” But I didn’t. I didn’t throw the photo. And I didn’t say the words to shut him down. I was too lazy to bother. I sighed, “Arthur, go back. I’m living a very happy life right now.” “Even though I haven’t seen you for six months, the upside is that my boyfriend is pretty great.” “Oh, right, how did you describe that little secretary of yours before?” I smiled mockingly. “A life assistant by day, a bed assistant by night.” “This boyfriend of mine is also very competent.” With every word I spoke, Arthur’s face turned a shade greener. Watching me hook my arm through Oliver’s, walking into the villa together like a perfect couple… “Chloe, you’re doing this on purpose!” The veins on the back of his hand bulged. He grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it at Oliver. Oliver couldn’t dodge in time. The rock hit him squarely on the head, bright red blood streaming through his fingers. In that instant, my expression changed. “Oliver!” I frantically supported him and pulled out my phone to call an ambulance. “Hold on, I’m taking you to the hospital right now.” I didn’t spare Arthur a single glance. Arthur, however, let out a desolate, cold laugh. “Chloe, stop acting.” “You love me so much, how could you possibly fall in love with another man?” “Even if you put on a great performance,” “I’ll never believe it.” 3 My movements froze as countless fragmented memories drilled into my brain. The reason Arthur was so certain I wouldn’t fall for another man… Was because there was a precedent. I remembered back when Arthur first cheated on me and betrayed me. To make me make a mistake, He hired men to seduce me into cheating. He threw check after check in the faces of those male models. “Whoever can make Chloe fall for him,” “Gets this $1,000,000 check.” Those male models fought over it like madmen. They approached me like crazy. They even reported my every move, every single detail, back to Arthur. However, I was completely unaware of all this. I thought those men were “prey” I had carefully selected myself. But without exception, every single one was sent by Arthur. They used every trick in the book to seduce me. Every time the relationship was about to progress to the next step, I found myself unable to continue. “I’m sorry, I just can’t do this.” I grabbed my bag and fled in panic. I could only hastily break up with them. And every time I returned home… I was greeted by Arthur’s cold sarcasm. “Mrs. Sterling, did your recent little boyfriend fail to please you?” “Seems he wasn’t dedicated enough. Tsk, tsk, he zoned out while kissing you, and he wasn’t forceful enough either.” “Want me to find you a different one?” In that moment, I felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over me. I felt subjected to absolute humiliation. “You’re stalking me?” Arthur laughed, completely unbothered. “Not stalking. Those little boyfriends were sent by me to serve you in the first place.” “The facts prove, Mrs. Sterling, that you really do love me.” “You love me so much that—” “You won’t even let any strange man near you.” I completely broke down, frantically demanding to know why Arthur would do such a thing. But he just watched me go crazy with absolute calm, even gently stroking my hair. “Mia is my little princess. She can’t leave me right now, and I don’t want to cut ties with her.” “Mrs. Sterling.” “Why don’t we just maintain an open marriage? Wouldn’t that be nice?” “You can keep up appearances in public and continue being Mrs. Sterling.” “And I can love whoever I want.” “For this, I was even generous enough to personally select little boyfriends for you. I’ve done everything I could, haven’t I?” Hearing those words back then, I thought it was completely absurd. But now. I could casually throw those exact words back at him. But when it was his turn to hear them… Why did Arthur get red eyes and become so furious? He even ran up to me to play the role of the deeply devoted husband. My thoughts returning to the present, I watched the blood pooling on Oliver’s head and my gaze turned cold. “Arthur, please get out of the way.” “You injured my boyfriend. Right now, I need to focus on treating him. I’ll settle the score with you later.” It was too late to wait for an ambulance. I helped Oliver into the car and buckled his seatbelt. “Oliver, hang in there a little longer.” “I’m taking you to the hospital.” With that, I got into the driver’s seat with practiced ease, turned the steering wheel, and the car’s engine roared to life. The mocking smile froze on Arthur’s face. He stared at me in shock. “Chloe, you… when did you learn how to drive?” I ignored him. For the past six months, he only cared about traveling the world with his little secretary. He had no idea how I was living my life. He had never truly understood me. I slammed on the gas, and the car sped away. “Chloe, if you dare drive away with that man today, we are completely finished!” But his voice was drowned out by the rising dust. Blown away by the wind. Impossible to hear. 4 The bleeding on Oliver’s head was stopped. The doctor required him to stay in the hospital for three days for observation, so I sat by his bed to keep him company. Even while asleep, Oliver called my name. “Chloe, don’t hurt Chloe.” My heart softened, and I held his hand. For the past six months, Oliver had been pursuing me. But I was a hard-hearted woman. I only ever held his hand, delaying any further progress. Even if I didn’t say it, Oliver understood. He would always look at me gently and say, “Chloe, I know the time isn’t right yet.” “I’m willing to wait.” “I will wait until the day you willingly accept me.” He brought me back this time, and we unexpectedly ran into Arthur at the villa entrance. I blurted it out, using him as a shield by calling him my boyfriend. Seeing Arthur so furious did give me a slight sense of satisfaction. But I also felt bad for using Oliver. I went back to grab some change of clothes for him, and picked up a couple of outfits for myself while I was at the villa. But as soon as I opened the door, something felt wrong. Someone was inside. Looking up, I met Arthur’s gaze from the sofa. “Finally decided to come back?” Arthur sneered, “That little boyfriend of yours isn’t hurt that badly. He’s not worth you looking so forlorn.” I froze in place. “None of your business.” I turned to go to my room, but Arthur grabbed my wrist and pinned me against the wall. “How far have you progressed with that man?” “Did you do it?” He stared at me coldly, his eyes like he was assessing prey. I suddenly laughed. “So what if we did? So what if we didn’t?” “Mr. Sterling, this isn’t something you should be worrying about.” “Didn’t you say it’s nice to maintain an open marriage like this?” I intentionally leaned close to his ear, smiling provocatively. “He… his body is much better than yours. He’s better than you in every way.” Arthur’s face instantly darkened. “Liar.” He suddenly went crazy, viciously pinning me into the corner. “Mrs. Sterling, we haven’t seen each other for six months, but your mouth is still as stubborn as ever.” “Are you acting this jealous because Mia sent you another message?” “After being lonely for six months, I think you must have missed me a lot.” He leaned in to kiss me. But I turned my face away, shoved him hard, and slapped him with a backhand. “Arthur, control your actions.” “Don’t act like a rabid dog in heat.” It was truly laughable. I was already disgusted by his touch because his body was dirty. Yet he thought I was acting out of jealousy. Arthur’s face was knocked to the side by the slap. He held his cheek, refusing to look up at me. Perhaps his male ego had taken a beating. He coldly scrutinized me for a long time. He dropped the line, “Chloe, you’ll regret this,” And stormed off. Soon, my phone started buzzing continuously. Without even looking, I knew it was provocative photos and messages from Mia. Arthur got mad and went looking for his little secretary again. Over the past six months, every time they hooked up… Mia would send messages to provoke me, like she was reporting back to me. I was sick of looking at them. I didn’t even open them; I just deleted them and drove to the hospital. When I arrived at the room, Oliver was already awake. He only smiled when he saw me. “Chloe, you’re finally back. I’ve been looking for you.” “Oliver,” I took a deep breath, “I’ve made up my mind. I accept your pursuit. I will be your girlfriend.” Oliver looked at me, surprised, seeming somewhat shocked. After a long time, his eyes filled with heartache again. “Chloe, I hope you’re not sad.” Oliver cupped my face, his eyes so gentle they seemed to sparkle. “It doesn’t matter to me if we have a title or not.” “As long as I can see you, I’m perfectly content.” I smiled and shook my head. “But this time, I want a divorce.” I didn’t want to waste any more time with Arthur. Before we remarried, I was the one pretending to be strong. I thought that as long as I held on long enough, Arthur would eventually change his mind. Even though Arthur had shown sincerity. Saying he would absolutely never bring Mia in front of me again. And that he would never have any ambiguous relationship with her again. But I knew that if the boy cried wolf too many times, no one would believe him. I didn’t believe that a man who loved sneaking around with his secretary… Could truly cut ties completely and become loyal. What’s more, the messages and ambiguous photos Mia had sent countless times over the past six months explained everything. Countless times, I felt a nausea like swallowing a dead fly stuck in my throat. As long as I stayed in this marriage… I would have to keep feeling that nausea. But now, I wanted to let Arthur go, and let myself go too. So, the day before Oliver was discharged… I proactively asked to meet Arthur at a coffee shop. He was at Disneyland with Mia. Upon receiving the message, he immediately ditched the little secretary to come meet me. But he put on a haughty act. “Mrs. Sterling, I knew you couldn’t keep up the act anymore.” He lifted his chin, revealing an expected smile. “Speak up. What are your terms this time?” “As long as you ask, I’ll give you a way out…” Looking at the faint lipstick mark still visible on the collar of his white dress shirt… “Arthur.” I said calmly, “Let’s get a divorce.”

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