Julian Thorne’s ex, Seraphina, was back from overseas, divorced, and pregnant. The moment she returned, my husband of five years, Julian, just told me to take care of her every need. I didn’t argue or make a fuss; I simply accepted. After all, everyone in the family knew I was just a stand-in for Seraphina. All these years, he’d ignored my dedication to this family. One casual comment from his ex about wanting a ‘servant’ and I’d be running myself ragged for her. If she so much as sighed, Julian would practically hand her his soul. When Seraphina saw me, she immediately flung herself into Julian’s arms. “Brother Julian always had good taste, marrying a free housekeeper.” “I just wonder if asking Amelia to take care of me will make her angry…” Angry? There was no need. Julian had already signed the divorce papers three days ago. From now on, we were going our separate ways, no strings attached. “My mother’s still in the hospital. Seraphina and I have plans tonight, so you go take care of her.” Julian said, pulling on the clothes I painstakingly ironed and laid out for him every day. He didn’t offer a single word of comfort, just grabbed Seraphina and walked straight out the door. He left the breakfast table a total disaster, and even though he knew I hadn’t eaten, he dumped the extra portion straight into the trash. The house was terrifyingly quiet, leaving me alone in a mess. “Oh, you poor thing, Amelia. You really slave away for us day in and day out.” “Now there’s just Seraphina, too, but I’m sure you can handle it. My brother trusts you, that’s why he gave you the task of looking after the whole family.” Julian’s sister, Chloe, muttered a sarcastic remark as she passed me. I knew she’d always disliked me. I mean, who asked me to ‘steal’ her dear Seraphina’s husband, right? Even though I was Julian’s legal wife, Julian and the entire Thorne family’s favoritism toward Seraphina was plain for all to see. I was already exhausted from work every day, yet he ordered me to spend ten hours at the hospital taking care of his mother, who was paralyzed from the waist down. Julian and I had a huge fight about it. Everyone in the Thorne family saw my distress. Even when I yelled and screamed like a banshee, not one of them would say a word in my defense. Even though I’d tirelessly played the part of the perfect daughter-in-law and wife for five long years. This was my last argument. I was exhausted from constantly fighting to stay afloat in this toxic family dynamic. I listed out all the care instructions for Mrs. Thorne in a neat table and sent it to Seraphina. Isn’t she so eager to climb the ladder? Might as well give her a head start on what it means to be a Thorne daughter-in-law. She stomped her foot in anger. “What’s this supposed to mean, Amelia? You’re complaining about taking care of Aunt Thorne?” “Besides, Brother Julian, you know I’m frail and sickly…” So Julian had the absolute audacity to tell me to quit my job and become Seraphina’s full-time caretaker. I stood before them, watching them flirt and intertwine. They both seemed to be waiting for me to get angry, to rage. But none of that happened. I simply said, flatly, “Okay.” And so, today’s scene unfolded. He seemed determined to humiliate me, all just to win a smile from his ex. Julian believed that leaving me utterly devastated was proof of his love for Seraphina. I should have recognized the truth long ago: Julian never loved me. Julian and Seraphina’s love story was the kind people dreamed of, a real fairytale, the kind you read about: childhood sweethearts, perfectly innocent and inseparable. But when the Thornes went to propose, they were utterly shut down. Apparently, the Cross family looked down on the Thornes’ social standing, thinking Julian was just a toad trying to snatch a swan, and married Seraphina off to a wealthy foreign businessman instead. Julian wanted to elope with Seraphina, but she refused, tears in her eyes. She claimed it was for her family’s benefit, but in truth, she had just snagged someone richer than Julian. And so, they parted ways. Seraphina went to live overseas with her husband, and Julian vowed never to marry. But Julian’s parents wouldn’t have it. That’s when they found me. Julian and I met on a rainy day, a scene straight out of a romance movie. I was being harassed by some thugs, and he stood up for me. Then I held my umbrella over him as he stood drenched in the rain. From that moment, love took root in my heart. It had been ten years since then. At first, he strongly resisted, but then, after meeting me, he compromised. It was only then that I realized the truth: it was because my face was an uncanny eight-tenths match for Seraphina’s. Now Seraphina was back, and it was time for me to go.
It was past midnight when I finally finished taking care of Mrs. Thorne. Mrs. Thorne was famously difficult: petty, cruel, and demanding. Even though I tried my absolute best, she was always finding something to complain about, even if it meant splitting hairs. If anything was even slightly not to her liking, she’d start throwing things around the hospital room and cursing me with all sorts of foul language. As a daughter-in-law, my conscience was clear. Tonight was no different. I was only a minute late bringing her food, and she made me kneel by her hospital bed until she fell asleep before I could leave. In the dead of night, taxis were scarce, so I had no choice but to hobble home, my knees swollen and red from kneeling. I couldn’t afford to waste time; I had a major project to follow up on at the company first thing in the morning. Then a notification popped up on my phone. I squinted, and it was from Julian Thorne. He had never actively messaged me before, and for a second, a flicker of surprise, even hope, stirred in my heart. But as I opened the message, my heart died completely. It was a photo of him kissing Seraphina. Behind them, fireworks exploded, and drones lit up the night sky, spelling out a message: “Seraphina, Julian Thorne loves only you, this life and forever!” All the grand gestures were custom-made for Seraphina. Julian’s next message was ice-cold. “Sent it to the wrong person. It was meant for Seraphina.” “Whatever. You saw it, you saw it. Doesn’t matter.” In five years, I had only ever made one request of him: to receive a single bouquet of roses from him. But he had refused. “Roses? Can’t eat ’em, so what’s the point!” Hearing that, I had only felt a quiet sadness, assuming he was just a pragmatist, not into grand gestures. Turns out, Julian wasn’t clueless about romance; he just wasn’t willing to put in the effort for me. The joyful, blissful expression on Julian’s face in the photo was something I had never seen before. I opened my social media feed, and it was completely dominated by Seraphina’s posts. The comment sections were filled exclusively with messages from relatives and friends. “I knew Seraphina and Julian were always the perfect match.” “When is Julian finally going to divorce that old hag, Amelia Vance?” “Wishing them eternity.” Those comments were like daggers plunging into my chest, leaving me breathless. My finger slipped, and I accidentally liked one of Seraphina’s posts. Her message popped up instantly. “Today is the 10,000th day since Brother Julian and I met. He insisted on giving me a surprise, and I forgot to block you, Amelia, which might have upset you.” “But Amelia, you’re such a generous person, I’m sure you won’t mind, right? Oh, and I forgot to tell you, the photo Brother Julian just sent you? I accidentally sent that too.” “Accidentally”? I almost choked laughing at her ‘accident.’ How she managed to ‘accidentally’ pick me out from hundreds of contacts and send that photo, she knew damn well. Seraphina just wanted to see me furious and raging, didn’t she? Well, I was truly going to disappoint her. What once felt like the end of the world now just felt… trivial. At that moment, I calmly downloaded the photo Julian had sent me and the photos from Seraphina’s social media feed, zipped them into a file, and sent them to my lawyer. Everything I was owed, I would get every single penny. I had already wasted too many of my prime years on Julian Thorne. From now on, I would live for myself. I dialed my family’s number. “Big brother, I’ve made up my mind. It’s much more comfortable inheriting the family fortune back home. Will you still welcome me?” My brother was practically weeping with joy. “My little princess is finally willing to come home! There’s always a place for you here, sis.”
Julian didn’t come home, so I immediately called my private investigator. Sure enough, an hour later, I had the video of them ‘doing their thing’ at a hotel. I was determined to get my share of the Thorne family’s assets. After we got married, Julian always wanted to start his own company. So, I handed over the millions of dollars my family gave me as a wedding gift, letting him go all in. He just happened to catch a massive trend, and the company took off, making the Thornes richer and richer. But Julian, with his pea-sized brain, couldn’t even manage to pass his classes back in the day – how did he think he could run a company? He actually believed he was some kind of business genius! If I hadn’t called in financial executives from Vance Group to advise him, he’d have lost his shirt by now, along with everything else. But instead of gratitude, Julian only became more arrogant, and that whole pack of ungrateful wolves in the Thorne family looked down on me even more. How they saw me no longer mattered. Sooner or later, they would reap what they sowed. I just considered all the money and time I’d invested over the years as wasted, thrown to the dogs. First thing the next morning, as I was packing my bags to leave, Julian called and told me to attend the Thorne family dinner. “Don’t forget the family dinner at noon. Just dress casually, nothing too fancy. You know my parents don’t like you dressing too extravagantly, and it wouldn’t look good for the relatives and friends to see you overly made up. Even if the Thornes are rich, we can’t have you being too wasteful.” Before I could refuse, he’d already hung up. Maybe he was afraid I’d argue with him again, or perhaps he was afraid I’d beg him to forgive me over the phone, considering I was always the one meekly going to him to make up after every argument. Whatever he was afraid of, it didn’t matter anymore. I was about to be completely free. My family’s fortune was waiting for me to inherit. No need to work hard, no need to endure being belittled. How great would it be to just ‘lie flat’ and still get paid? The divorce papers were already effective, and I had collected all the evidence of his infidelity. Attending one last family dinner wouldn’t hurt. But when I arrived at the banquet hall, I was stunned. Everyone was dressed to the nines, while my outfit could only be described as pathetic in comparison. No wonder he told me to dress simply. He was setting me up! The most dazzling person in the crowd was undoubtedly Seraphina, wearing a haute couture gown, its skirt shimmering with diamonds, making her look absolutely radiant. Julian had clearly gone all out to make me look bad and let Seraphina shine, putting in a truly pathetic effort. But when I looked closely at the design of the dress, I froze. Wasn’t this the gown design I had personally created? I stood at the entrance of the banquet hall, watching Julian put his arm around Seraphina’s waist and dance elegantly. People around me started whispering. “Is that Julian’s ex-wife? Why is she dressed so shabbily? How embarrassing!” “She clearly knows she can’t compare to Seraphina, yet she still showed up? Talk about overconfident!” “Tsk, tsk, tsk, she looks way too much like Seraphina. Did she get plastic surgery to look like that?” A wave of laughter swept through the room. Seraphina spoke up, feigning concern for me. “What’s so funny? Amelia spends all day slaving away in the kitchen at home. It’s perfectly normal she doesn’t know how to dress herself up.” Anyone who didn’t know better would think Seraphina was being noble, but in reality, she just wanted to embarrass me, pure and simple.
Too tired to deal with them, I turned to leave, but Seraphina grabbed my arm. “Amelia, you just got here! Why leave so soon? Stay and enjoy the party!” “Didn’t Brother Julian prepare a gown for you? I thought he’d arrange something for you too!” I raised my eyes and stared at Julian, but he nervously avoided my gaze. Seraphina continued to chatter. “Oh, that’s right. Amelia, you’re such a rough person, I guess you wouldn’t know how to wear a gown anyway. No need to waste Brother Julian’s money.” I cursed silently in my heart. Sweetie, when I was wearing gowns, you were probably still crawling around in diapers. But I maintained a polite expression. “Oh, you’re absolutely right. I’m just a crude country bumpkin. But Seraphina, you’re so generous, I’m sure you’d be happy to take off your gown and let your ‘older sister’ wear it, wouldn’t you?” Julian spoke up. “Amelia Vance, do you really have to be so difficult with Seraphina? It’s just a dress. I’ll buy you one, okay?” I smiled, looking at Julian. “Oh, yes, just one dress. But everyone at this party is dressed elegantly, and you specifically told me to dress simply. What was your intention, then? To make me a mere backdrop for your first love?” Julian looked a little flustered. “Do you have to be like this, Amelia? I already told you, Mom and Dad don’t like their daughter-in-law dressing too flashy.” I swirled the red wine in my glass, watching Julian perform his little act. “Is it really your parents who don’t like it, or is it your beloved first love?” Seraphina quickly interrupted. “Amelia, if you think it’s me, then it’s me! As long as you don’t fight with Brother Julian, I’m willing to take the blame.” “I’ll toast to you, hoping you’ll calm down.” She raised her glass, trying to clink it with mine. I scoffed. “I have a severe phobia of trash, so no, I won’t be clinking glasses with a b*tch.” Julian roared, “Enough! If you can’t behave, then get lost! Don’t be an eyesore.” I turned to leave, but Seraphina suddenly rushed forward and knelt in front of me, grabbing my hand and trying to pull it towards her face. “It’s all my fault, Amelia, please don’t be angry.” In Seraphina’s violent tug, I lost my balance and spilled the red wine from my glass onto her gown. She shrieked in terror. “Amelia, how could you do this? You can hit me, curse me, but how could you take it out on this gown? This is a haute couture gown worth millions, the only one in the world!” “If you can’t afford to pay for it, Amelia, you’ll be facing jail time. And I truly wouldn’t want to see that happen to you.” I just laughed. A chilling, slow smile that spread across my face. Seraphina looked confused. “Amelia, you’re about to go to jail. Why are you still laughing?”
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