I’d loved Victoria Hayes for five years, and she became my fiancée. But when my Grandpa was on his deathbed, Victoria didn’t lift a finger to help. All because Julian Sterling, the adopted son of the Sterling family, suggested to her that this was an opportunity to break me down, hoping it would make me stronger. Grandpa died helpless. And just as she wanted, I lost my rough edges, became tougher, and stopped clinging to her. Of course, I stopped loving her too. When I limped back into the city, I was the laughingstock of the elite circles. They all said the Sterling family’s long-lost heir, who’d been living away from the family since he was a kid, wasn’t capable but had a massive temper. He dared to openly argue with Julian, who was already working at the company, even threatened his parents, and ended up running away from home completely broke, needing to borrow even a few thousand dollars. Those entitled jerks who’d humiliated me before somehow got wind of my location. They swaggered into the city with a whole posse, openly pulling out their phones to snap pictures of me. I didn’t even bother raising my hand to shield my face or protect my dignity. After all, every last shred of my dignity had been chipped away by those loan sharks, little by little. Ever since they forced me to my knees and made me slap myself, my heart no longer stirred for such a thing as “face.” The old Leo Sterling, prickly and quick to anger, who used his sharp edges to hide his deep insecurity, was gone. The Sterling family and Victoria Hayes, they had suffocated him with their own hands. Suddenly, a few black luxury SUVs drove up, completely ignoring everyone else. When the spoiled rich kids saw the license plates, they immediately scattered. The lead car was understated and sleek, but I knew exactly who was inside. Victoria Hayes, the head of the Hayes family, and my fiancée. I watched the car, instinctively stopping. I was about to turn and find another route. The car door opened, and a woman in a suit stepped out. She walked up to me, and when she saw my face and my pitiful state, a flicker of surprise crossed her features. I knew I looked a mess. I was still wearing the crumpled white shirt from Grandpa’s funeral, with several distinct shoe prints on it. My face was swollen and red from being slapped the day before, my fingernails were packed with black dirt, and my fingers still trembled slightly. One foot wore a shoe I’d found in a trash can; the other was bare, frozen a raw red. Victoria’s secretary lowered her gaze, hiding the astonishment in her eyes. She made a polite gesture. “Mr. Sterling, Ms. Hayes would like to see you.” I lowered my head and stepped back, my voice hoarse and raw. Every word made my throat ache. “No, thanks. I need to get back to the Sterling residence.” With that, I tried to walk around her and leave. The secretary looked stunned. Victoria had been my salvation, my reason for everything. I’d followed her around for five years, and even when she always gave me the cold shoulder, I’d rack my brain for excuses to get closer to her. But now, I saw her as something terrifying, like a monster. My sudden avoidance clearly surprised the secretary, who was used to my relentless pursuit. “Leo Sterling!” Her cool, clear voice made me instinctively stop. The secretary saw my tightly pressed lips, hesitated for a moment, then repeated her inviting gesture. I tried to straighten my back, ignoring the discomfort in my left leg and the secretary’s hesitant glance, and slowly got into the car. Victoria was sitting inside. She looked up from her documents, saw my disheveled state, and instead of showing any concern, her brows furrowed tightly. Her tone was deeply displeased. “Are you cosplaying a beggar? You’re a mess. Aren’t you embarrassed?” My heart didn’t sting at her harsh words, not like it used to. Nor did I feel disappointed that she didn’t notice my injuries. I just lowered my head and mumbled a reply. “My apologies.” But I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t want to be tricked into taking out high-interest loans because I couldn’t afford a funeral. I didn’t want to be thrown to the ground and beaten by those loan sharks. I didn’t want to be forced to slap myself. I didn’t want to be chained to a wall like a dog, or forced to lick food off the floor. But most of all, I didn’t want Grandpa’s coffin to be dug up from his grave, robbing him of peace even in death. Her hand paused mid-action. She glanced at me, and her voice actually held a hint of approval. “Julian was right. A bit of hardship, a little suffering, and you’ve finally changed your ways. You’ve learned to be strong.” Before I was brought back to the Sterling family, Julian had been living there in my place. And I, the Sterling family’s true son, had been living with Julian’s biological grandfather. My mind was sluggish; I didn’t think about why Victoria mentioned Julian. Perhaps Victoria thought I had met her expectations. As a reward, she condescendingly waved me closer. “Sit closer.” I was sitting in the farthest seat from Victoria, staring at the floor mat ever since I got in. I hadn’t looked at her once. Hearing that contemptuous tone, like she was barking orders at a pet, my eyes were filled with resistance. I didn’t move.
Victoria saw my hesitation and raised her voice. “I told you to come over here.” I didn’t respond, my spine stiff and straight, as if trying to salvage what little fragile dignity I had left. Even though my dignity had vanished the moment I was beaten by the loan sharks until I begged for mercy. Without my reply, the car fell silent. Perhaps Victoria wasn’t used to this atmosphere, or maybe she was just impatient. She reached out toward me. As her hand neared my arm, my back tensed. But I was pressed against the car window, nowhere to escape. The moment she touched me, I caught a faint scent of perfume. It was her usual perfume, the one Julian had given her. It was that very bottle of perfume that had triggered a conflict between me and Julian, making me feel provoked. After my parents cut off my bank cards, I took the little cash I had and went back to my old home. Grandpa’s kidneys had already failed then. We couldn’t afford a hospital, so he hadn’t gone. I took Grandpa to the hospital, but I didn’t have money for the surgery. I tried calling my parents, but no one answered. Later, those spoiled rich kids I always clashed with showed up in T City, grinning at me. “Heard Mr. Sterling is really short on cash, huh?” “How about this, bro? We’re not unreasonable. Just crawl under our legs, and we’ll give you the money. What do you say?” Without hesitation, I knelt down, bowed my back, and on my knees, step by step, I crawled under each of them. Grandpa had raised me since childhood. If there was even the slightest chance to save him, I wouldn’t miss it. The private room was silent, so quiet I could hear my clothes rubbing against the floor. They held up their phones, filming my humiliation, then threw three red bills on the ground with a laugh and walked out, arms slung over each other’s shoulders. “Leo Sterling, look at yourself, you pathetic dog. You think you’re good enough for Ms. Hayes?” “Your true feelings for Victoria were only worth this much.” That’s why, desperate and cornered, I was tricked by those people into taking out high-interest loans. But Grandpa died because his treatment was delayed. After I finished Grandpa’s funeral and it was time to repay the debt, I called Victoria to borrow money. She impatiently told me to go back and apologize, then hung up. These memories made my breath catch. The arm Victoria touched broke out in goosebumps, thick and numerous, as if a snake was coiling around it. A wave of coldness washed over me. My head swam. Nausea swelled, and I felt like throwing up. I yanked Victoria’s hand away, hunched over, grabbing the front seat with one hand and covering my mouth with the other, dry-heaving violently in the car. I hadn’t eaten much these past few days, so nothing came up. A faint sour smell filled the car. Victoria covered her nose with a tissue and called my name, her voice full of disgust. “Leo Sterling!” I couldn’t hear anything in my ears, just kept dry-heaving until the urge to vomit passed. Victoria didn’t speak, just stared at me coldly. I knew her well; she was on the verge of exploding. I didn’t play dumb or try to brush it off like I used to. Because I knew I had no leverage to cause a scene. My body was shaky from weakness. My head hung low, and the hand gripping the front seat’s backrest tightened. “My apologies… I’ll help you wash the car when we get to the Sterling residence.” “I can get out and walk. I’m really sorry for messing up your car seats.” Victoria paused, giving me a suspicious look. After a moment of stalemate, she suddenly reached out, intending to feel my forehead. Watching her hand get closer, my entire body tensed. I knew I shouldn’t flinch. After all, what I used to crave most was Victoria reciprocating my love. But she was always so dominant and looked down on me. If I ever made her uncomfortable, she’d tear me down completely, leaving me humiliated and heartbroken. I remained stiff in my seat, constantly telling myself not to dodge, not to anger her. But the moment her cool fingers brushed my skin, that sickening feeling of being coiled by a snake returned. I couldn’t help but turn my head, avoiding her touch. Victoria’s hand hung in mid-air, unmoving. When her eyes met mine, I felt her anger and impatience. The dizzy spell returned to my head. I shook my head, and Victoria’s face vanished from my sight, replaced by Grandpa lying in his hospital bed. Because of them, I’d lost the only person who was ever truly good to me. I blinked, and a single tear rolled down my cheek.
Victoria’s words, poised to scold me, suddenly caught in her throat. She looked at my tear-streaked face and, in the end, said nothing. She just coldly urged the driver to speed up. I roughly wiped my tears with my sleeve, shrinking quietly into my corner, trying to make myself invisible. The scenery outside was a blur. I stared blankly at the changing landscape, suddenly wondering. If Victoria had extended a helping hand back then, would Grandpa have been saved? And I wouldn’t have borrowed from loan sharks, nor would any of this have happened. But in life, there are no ‘ifs.’ When the car stopped, due to inertia, my forehead bumped against the seatback. Victoria, surprisingly, asked me a question. “Are you okay?” I covered my forehead, shook my head, and didn’t speak. She didn’t press, got straight out of the car, ignored me, and walked into the Sterling residence. Once upstairs, I quickly took a shower. I pulled off my dirty suit pants, revealing my injured left leg. There were several gaping wounds on my left knee, the blood coagulated and black, looking horrifying. They had done this. They ignored my pain, driving nails into my knee. As they watched me writhe on the ground in agony, they laughed hysterically. Then, they demanded I pull out those nails myself before they’d give me a few scraps of food. It was a nightmare! After changing into clean clothes and cleaning my wounds, I finally went downstairs. It was dinnertime. Mom spotted me right away. She seemed a little disbelieving, waved me over, and her voice held a hint of complaint. “You finally decided to come back, huh? You’ve been gone so long, couldn’t even make a phone call.” Suddenly, I felt a surge of injustice, wanting to vent. But just as I opened my mouth to utter a sound, I was interrupted. “Mom, Mrs. Chen from the Chen family made a tea reservation with you this afternoon. Don’t be late again.” Julian Sterling, dressed in a crisp suit, walked in from the entrance, his tone casual. Mom’s attention was drawn to him, and her gaze shifted away from me. “Oh, right, I almost forgot. Good thing Julian reminded me.” Julian sat on the sofa and smirked at me. “Leo, what made you finally decide to come back? Stop being mad at Mom and Dad. You should learn to be mature and independent.” Everyone’s attention followed his words and landed on me. My heart pounded fiercely as I met Julian’s mocking eyes, but I didn’t lose my temper like I used to. Mom didn’t refute Julian. She just gave him a quick glance, then immediately said with concern. “Julian, have you not been eating well these past few days? Look at you, you’ve lost so much weight.” “No matter what, your health is more important than work. Besides, your Dad is still at the company.” Hearing her words, I quietly put my exposed hands behind my back. I was so close to Mom, yet she didn’t notice my bruised hands or my awkward limp. But when it came to Julian, she meticulously noticed whether he’d eaten well. Julian smiled. “Leo already gives Mom and Dad enough to worry about. I need to be more sensible.” Mom looked at me, caught between words, and sighed. At the dinner table, Mom kept actively putting food on my plate. I changed my previous behavior, politely lowering my gaze and thanking her. Instead of being relieved, she sighed worriedly. She didn’t lecture me again, but instead placed the bank card she had taken from me into my hand. “Leo, you running away really worried Mom and Dad.” “From now on, we won’t restrict you. This card is yours again, and your dad put some more money in it.” I tightened my grip on the card, then loosened it. Too late. This card came too late. Julian’s knuckles, holding his forks, turned white. He kept watching me until I met his gaze. Only then did he put his smile back on and say to Victoria, who was sitting beside him. “Victoria, you’re getting more amazing every day. I couldn’t even compete with you at the auction.” Victoria took out a gift box, her tone softening. “This is for your birthday. I was at a conference abroad a few days ago and didn’t have time.” Julian teased her. “I thought you, the busy Ms. Hayes, had forgotten about me.” He opened the gift box. Inside, a dark green watch lay quietly. My hand, holding my fork, paused. I had seen that watch in the auction catalog. I’d fallen for it at first sight, but I didn’t have an invitation to the auction. Victoria had noticed my gaze lingering on it and had coolly said that as long as I didn’t cause trouble, she’d buy it for my birthday. But now, she was giving it to Julian. Victoria didn’t offer any explanation, but I knew it was meant as punishment for me. After I finished eating, I excused myself and left. On the second-floor landing, I ran into Victoria. She stood there in high heels, looking dominant yet alluring. If it were the old me, I would have rushed over immediately. But now, I no longer felt that familiar flutter in my heart. She didn’t notice my change. “Leo, you’ve changed.” Victoria took a step forward, her high heels clicking loudly. I lowered my gaze, not looking at her. I only heard her speak, her tone almost like a condescending offering. “I know you really liked that watch, but you caused too much trouble these past two weeks.” “So, as punishment, you won’t get a birthday gift.” “However, you were very well-behaved today, and I’m pleased. I can grant you one wish, as long as it’s not too much.”
I looked up at her face, trying to find a trace of the memories I held of her. The first time I met Victoria was at a banquet. The spoiled rich kids there had been lectured by their families to be nice to me, the awkward, unpolished me. Because of my clothes, they ridiculed me at the banquet. Back then, I was incredibly insecure and didn’t know how to argue back. I couldn’t even speak loudly. It was Victoria who came to my rescue. She slapped one of them across the face and, looking down at them imperiously, cursed them for being useless. Those kids slunk away. She had frowned at me then and said, “You’re the Sterling family’s heir. You don’t need to be timid. They’re the ones who should be trying to please you. Show some backbone.” “I… I’m afraid they’ll dislike me.” “Dislike? Remember this: As long as your last name is Sterling, even if you slap them across the face, they can only praise you for doing it well. Understand?” I remembered that advice for over five years. But later, it was Victoria who publicly scolded me, calling me crazy, saying I’d explode at the slightest provocation. But they were the ones who provoked me first. Victoria’s face no longer held the protectiveness she once showed me. She urged me impatiently. “Have you thought about it? Don’t be greedy.” “I’m in a hurry.” I leaned against the wall, a dull ache in my left leg keeping my mind sharp. Because of her, I endured such abuse. When I begged for mercy, I had given my name and Victoria’s phone number, a string of digits I knew by heart. What a blow that was to me. She grew increasingly impatient. “What kind of trick are you pulling now?” “You spend all your time with those trust-fund brats. I don’t see any ambition in you.” “The Sterling family doesn’t need a good-for-nothing like you.” Her scolding brought back memories. Before, she had scolded those loan sharks too, enraging them. They took out their anger on me, forcing me to slap myself until my cheeks were so swollen my gums ached. Only then did they stop. Because my face was swollen, eating was difficult. The steamed buns were too hard for me to chew, so they’d use their feet to stomp them into a dirty, black pulp and shove them into my mouth. Thinking of this, my stomach began to churn with nausea again. I fought back the urge to vomit. “Sorry, I don’t want anything.” Victoria frowned, eyeing me suspiciously, her face full of warning. “I gave you a chance. You didn’t take it. Don’t come crying to me later.” “I don’t have that kind of patience.” I softly “hmm-ed,” just wanting her to leave quickly. “I won’t.” Victoria didn’t force me to ask for anything. Perhaps she never really wanted to give me a gift anyway. “That’s good to hear.” After a few steps, she stopped, her back to me. “Don’t bother Julian anymore. There’s nothing going on between him and me.” Before I could reply, she left.
I waited until midnight for Dad to finally come home from the office. I dragged my suitcase to find him. The suitcase held only a few rough, outdated clothes—the ones Grandpa had packed for me the day before the Sterling family found me. I wiped my tears, zipped it up, and left the suitcase by the door before going to Dad’s study. After getting Dad’s permission, I twisted the doorknob and entered. “Dad.” I stood meekly to the side. Dad looked me up and down for a moment. Seeing the scars covering my exposed skin, his lips trembled. “Leo, Dad knows everything.” “It’s Mom and Dad’s fault. If only we hadn’t taken your card back then, you wouldn’t have…” I didn’t want to hear about those nightmarish experiences again. For the first time, I interrupted Dad, losing my composure. “Dad, I want to move out.” Dad slumped back in his chair, defeated. “Leo, you’re still mad at us.” “But you have every right to be. It’s all our fault for not protecting you.” “It’s just that your Mom will miss you terribly.” I lowered my eyes, my voice filled with self-mockery. “Julian’s still here at home.” “What about Victoria, then? Don’t you like her the most? Can you really bear to leave her?” I fell silent for a moment. It was true, everyone knew about my feelings for Victoria. After she rescued me that one time, I couldn’t help but follow in her footsteps. Everyone in our circles joked that I was Victoria’s devoted simp, her loyal follower. But they wouldn’t know that when I stubbornly tried to emulate Julian, only to accidentally lose the company tens of millions, Victoria was the only one who stood firmly and gently by my side, telling me that in business, you win some and lose some. When someone mocked me, and I lashed out, Victoria was the only one by my side, contentedly saying I did well. We would go out to eat together. She would accept the flowers I gave her. She would remember my birthday. But ever since Julian came back from abroad, she changed. It was she who told me that a rose’s thorns were for self-protection. She said that people needed to be sharp to avoid being bullied, and as the Sterling family’s heir, I had the right to be sharp. Later, however, she was also the one who found my thorns too sharp and wanted to pluck them all out, to tame me. “My engagement to Victoria Hayes ends here.” I looked up at Dad, telling him, and telling myself. “I won’t bother Ms. Hayes anymore.” Dad sighed deeply, understanding my meaning. He slipped a bank card into my hand. “Come back and see us often.” I unconsciously gripped the card, bowing to him. “Thank you.” “Dad will transfer money to you regularly from now on. If you don’t want to live at home, then so be it.” “You’ll always be Mom and Dad’s child. Come back whenever you want.” I didn’t respond to his belated concern, turning resolutely. “Want me to drive you?” I shook my head. I knew clearly that as long as I stayed in the Sterling household, as long as I was near Victoria, my psychological wounds would never heal. I needed to forget the past to start anew. And Dad knew that after this incident, a rift had formed between me and them. To prevent me from hating them, he could only let me go. As for Victoria’s reaction, that was no longer something I cared about. I rented a house in the suburbs, far from the city’s hustle and bustle, allowing me to find peace and clear my head. I ordered takeout and asked the delivery person to leave it at the door. Listening to their footsteps fade away, I let out a long breath and stepped out to retrieve my food.
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