After my billionaire parents found me, they asked if I was interested in getting married. Looking at the ring my boyfriend had given me, I should have refused, but I decisively said yes. Just two days before, when I went to see my boyfriend, I’d overheard his mother talking to him. “Dump Evie, now. I’ve already agreed to your engagement to the wealthy Hayes family.” My boyfriend, Kolt Sterling, replied nonchalantly: “Don’t worry, Mom. I only ever saw Evie as a plaything. I’ve been bored of her for years. I’ll dump her soon.” Seven years of our relationship, and to him, I was just a plaything. Fine, then I’ll find a new one. After telling my parents about the arranged marriage, I went back to the Sterling estate to pack my things and leave. The moment I flicked on the light in the small room I was staying in, Kolt followed me in, pushing me onto the narrow bed as he always did. “Why have you been away so much lately? I’ve been missing you like crazy.” His cool hand skillfully slipped under my shirt, and his eager, passionate kiss was about to land, but I dodged it. I pushed away a surprised Kolt and stood up, saying directly: “I heard everything you and your mother said.” Kolt’s furrowed brows smoothed out, and he actually let out a long sigh of relief. “You heard it all?” “Good. That way, I won’t have to keep secrets from both of you anymore. It’s exhausting.” He pulled me into his arms, his voice coaxing: “Evie, we’re not kids anymore. You’re smart enough to know the social gap between us. I don’t need to spell it out.” “I know you can’t live without me. As long as you behave yourself and don’t cause trouble, I’ll keep providing for you, giving you the life you want, okay? Hmm?” As Kolt spoke, he brushed the hair from my temple, his expression one of his usual, feigned tenderness. I followed his movement, looking at his defined fingers, where only a clearly discolored ring mark remained. My gaze dropped further, to the ugly, twisted self-harm scars on his wrist, pulling me back to that winter when I was eighteen. Actually, when Kolt and I first started dating, the Sterling family hadn’t been entirely against it. Kolt’s mother had fired me, left me without papers, and sent me to the US. When Kolt found out, he went ballistic. That very night, he slashed his wrists. The water in the bathtub turned blood red. Every time they saved him, he’d do it again. After a few rounds, Kolt’s mother was completely helpless. When I was brought to the hospital to see him, the eighteen-year-old boy was pale, stumbling but rushing towards me without stopping. Kolt hugged me tightly, so hard it felt like he wanted to fuse me into his very being. He urgently slipped a custom-made matching couple’s ring onto my finger. “Evie, I had this ring custom-made with a tracking device.” “No one will ever separate us again, not in this lifetime! Promise me, no matter what happens, you’ll never, ever leave me again, okay?” A boy’s vows still seemed to echo in my ears. But now, it was him who so easily chose to betray our love. I stepped back out of Kolt’s embrace, took off the ring, and stated, each word deliberate: “Kolt, we’re over.” Kolt’s face darkened. “Are you serious?” Seeing me nod, he slammed the door shut and stormed out. “Fine. You better not come crawling back, begging me with tears in your eyes!” In our relationship, Kolt was always the dominant one, always in control. Every time we fought or gave each other the silent treatment, I was always the one to placate him, sweet-talk him, and make up. But not anymore. My phone chimed. My father had sent me profiles of potential fiancés. “My dear daughter, which one would you like to marry?” My eyes immediately locked onto a familiar face, Kolt’s sworn enemy, whom he hated to his core. The one he resented countless times but always had to treat with deference – his older half-brother, Ronnie Sterling. On the video call, my father picked up the file with a satisfied look: “Him? He’s doing quite well with his business abroad now, even on the verge of surpassing the Sterling family! I think he’s a good choice!” My mother smiled too. “Indeed! And coincidentally, your sister, Briar, just got engaged to their Kolt.” “Though Briar was switched at birth, she’s lived with us for over twenty years. This way, you’ll have an additional bond, and we won’t drift apart as a family.” It turned out that the one engaged to Kolt was none other than Briar, the fake heiress, with whom my life was swapped. I could tell my parents had deep affection for Briar. So when they suggested we wait until after her wedding to Kolt to announce my true identity and engagement, I didn’t refuse. After packing, I opened my door to leave, but a figure suddenly rushed in.
The woman raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. “You’re that bitch who’s been trying to seduce my Kolt, aren’t you?” “Why don’t you look in a mirror and see what kind of trash you are? How dare you even dream of wanting my man!” “Let me tell you, if you know what’s good for you, stay away from Kolt! Otherwise, once I marry in, I’ll have plenty of ways to deal with you!” Briar’s arrogance blazed as she finished yelling and tried to slap me again. I blocked her arm, ready to slap her back. The next moment, Kolt rushed over, grabbed my wrist, and forcefully pushed me backward. Kolt snapped at me coldly: “Apologize!” I raised my still reddened cheek. “Can’t you see she hit me first? Why should *I* apologize?” Briar’s tears gushed out instantly. Feigning hurt, she threw herself into Kolt’s arms. “Kolt, your maid is so mean! I didn’t mean to, it’s just all the terrible things people are saying outside. As your fiancée, was I wrong to warn her?” Kolt dotingly wiped a tear from her eye, coaxing softly: “No, no, my little princess can do no wrong.” “There, there, sweetheart, don’t let some unimportant person ruin your mood. I’ll take you to your favorite steakhouse again, okay?” Back when Kolt had struggled with his mother, threatening suicide to bring me back, besides slashing his wrists, he’d also swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills. After having his stomach pumped and being revived, he’d developed a chronic stomach condition. It was so severe that just the smell of anything greasy would make his stomach spasm uncontrollably. I never thought he’d throw caution to the wind for Briar. Briar stopped crying, shot me a triumphant glare, then wrapped her arms around Kolt’s neck. “Okay, but first, I need a little kiss to make me feel better!” Kolt glanced sideways at me, pinched Briar’s chin, and kissed her deeply. Amidst wet, smacking sounds, long, lingering strands of saliva stretched between them. “Ugh, darling, you’ve got me all hot and bothered! I don’t want to eat anymore, I’d rather you…!” Hearing this, Kolt scooped up a limp Briar in his arms. His gaze landed on me, and a mocking sneer twisted his lips. “Alright, hubby, I’ll take you back to the room and let you have your fill!” “Oh, and Maid, remember to send up a few more boxes of protection for us! My Kolt is so strong; I’m afraid we won’t have enough!” It wasn’t until the sound of Kolt closing his master bedroom door came that it dawned on me: for all these years, Kolt had never allowed me into his room, except for cleaning. Perhaps my subconscious wanted to sever all ties. Before I knew it, I was standing at Kolt’s door, holding what they’d asked for. The moment I pushed the door open, Briar and Kolt’s voices seemed amplified a thousand times. Used tissues were scattered across the floor. Kolt was pressed against Briar in the bathtub. Her hands were pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window, and his face was lost in ecstasy. My eyes accidentally met Kolt’s in the mirror. His gaze hardened, and he stared at me, deliberately intensifying his movements. Water splashed, and what spilled out was clean water, but for some reason, I could still smell the blood from that year. “Leave the stuff and get out. This isn’t a place you’re fit to be!” It wasn’t until the door closed again, muffling the sounds behind me, that a wave of nauseating sickness and tears washed over me simultaneously. I’d changed my mind. I redialed my father. “Dad, Mom, I want to announce my identity and engagement sooner rather than later. Can we do that?” My parents were silent for a long time on the video call, then replied with a hint of disappointment in their expressions: “Alright. After all, you are our biological daughter. Your wishes come first.” “Coincidentally, Ronnie received the wedding invitation and will arrive in New York tomorrow. You two can meet tomorrow to discuss the wedding date, and then hold a press conference together.”
The next day, I met Ronnie at the restaurant he’d chosen. The last time I’d seen him was eight years ago, when Kolt successfully used his suicide attempt, and I returned to the Sterling family. After that, Ronnie went abroad and never returned to the Sterling estate. Compared to Kolt’s confident and flamboyant nature, Ronnie was still the cold and expressionless man I remembered. He was the first to speak: “Long time no see, Evie. I never expected you to be the long-lost daughter of the Hayes family.” “About the engagement, do you still need time to think it over?” I was about to answer when a cheer suddenly erupted from the large outdoor terrace outside the restaurant’s glass window. Kolt’s friends surrounded Briar, bringing her to the center of the platform. In the night sky, fireworks and a drone light show soared together, dazzling and almost blinding. The giant LED screen of the downtown skyscraper, directly opposite the river, suddenly lit up, then cycled through “Happy One-Year Anniversary, Kolt and Briar.” So, they’d been together for a year already. What was I doing exactly a year ago today? Some moments in time cannot be revisited. Once revisited, those hidden pains, once thought to be sealed by time, would suddenly resurface, gnawing at your flesh and blood. That day, I saw two pink lines on the pregnancy test and went to the hospital to confirm my pregnancy. I was feeling ecstatic, wanting to surprise Kolt, but on my way back to the Sterling estate, I was pulled into a van by masked men. A few masked thugs took me to an abandoned factory, brutally beating me with sticks. They then tore my clothes, taking degrading naked pictures. They originally had more sinister intentions. But when my unborn child slid out as a pool of blood, they assumed I was just bleeding from my period, called me “dirty,” and left. I desperately crawled to the road for help, clutching my stomach, hoping for a miracle. But when I woke up again, I only received a miscarriage report from the doctor. Actually, I wasn’t without opportunities to call for help then. When I was taken out of the van, I managed to break free and hid in the bushes while the thugs weren’t looking. Panicked, I pressed the tracker activation button on my ring, calling Kolt again and again. After he pressed reject a few times, he finally picked up. Noisy cheers and shouts came from the other end of the line. Before I could even speak, Kolt said, “I’m busy right now,” and hung up. Busy with what? Turns out, he was busy making things official with Briar. Thinking back to how I felt immense guilt towards Kolt for not saving our child, choosing to carry the burden alone. Recalling the nights tormented by endless nightmares, I suddenly wanted to slap myself. Perhaps I’d been on antidepressants for too long; it really seemed to have messed with my head. By the time I came back to my senses, Kolt was already on one knee in front of Briar, holding a ring. The people around them started cheering: “Marry him! Marry him!” My gaze returned to Ronnie. I said: “I don’t need to reconsider the engagement. However, I want the engagement announcement and the wedding date to be as soon as possible.” Ronnie raised an eyebrow at my words, and a slight smile played on his lips as he extended his hand to me: “Well then, shall we get married?”
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