Ten years after our divorce, I ran into my ex-husband at a nightclub. He was the domineering CEO buying drinks for the entire venue to celebrate Rose’s birthday. And I was the delivery driver bringing them condoms. The whole time, he pretended not to see me. Until I got down on my knees and begged, all for a five-star rating. Looking at my gaunt, skeletal face, he grabbed my chin and demanded coldly: “You’d rather deliver food than stay married to me?” “Mata, you’re pathetic!” I didn’t take it to heart. I just pointed at his phone. “Could you… give me a five-star rating?” Ten years had passed. Whatever love we once had was long gone. But every five-star rating brought me closer to getting promoted and earning more money. Money I desperately needed to secure the last available treatment slot. “Begging on your knees for a five-star rating!” “Mata, is this how you degrade yourself?” Alex’s face darkened instantly, probably embarrassed. Then again, a five-star rating meant nothing to people like them. But enough of them could get me promoted and earn me more money. Rose giggled as she wrapped her arm around Alex’s, marking her territory. She wore a strapless dress, and the hickeys on her neck were painfully obvious. The onlookers started cheering. “Kiss! Kiss!” Alex didn’t shy away. Instead, he grabbed her waist and kissed her. The expensive wine he’d ordered for Rose’s birthday—over a hundred bottles. But I’d need to earn thousands of five-star ratings just to afford one bottle of that wine. Rose leaned close to me, a mocking smile on her lips. “Alex has been waiting for you to apologize. But you divorced him out of spite and now you’re out here delivering food. Aren’t you embarrassed?” I knew she was trying to provoke me. In the past, when other women challenged me, I’d grab them by the hair and slap them senseless. But now, I just looked at her calmly. “I work for what I need. What’s there to be embarrassed about?” Hearing my response, Alex flew into a rage, laughing coldly. “You want a five-star rating? Then show me some sincerity.” I was used to her deliberate humiliation by now. Instead of lashing out, I reached for an empty wine bottle on the table. Alex immediately stepped in front of her, watching me warily. “Crack!” But as the sharp sound of shattering glass rang out, everyone froze in shock. “Alex, we’re all working people. It’s not easy for anyone.” “There’s no need to make things hard for a delivery driver…” Rose nestled into his arms, whimpering pitifully. Alex’s brow furrowed. “You want to stand up for her?” He cut off the employee mid-sentence, his casual tone now laced with anger. “If you don’t want to get fired, shut up!” The employee had only spoken casually, not wanting trouble, so he laughed awkwardly: “I’m just worried she’ll make a scene and damage the company’s reputation. I didn’t mean anything else…” I’d hit myself too hard. My stomach convulsed violently. The pain made me grimace as I crouched on the floor. But soon, I covered the bleeding wound on my forehead, stood up, and reached for a second bottle. Alex suddenly grabbed my arm. “Are you trying to kill yourself?” “Is this sincere enough?” The moment the words left my mouth, someone slapped me hard across the face. “Smack!” I fell to the ground, my ears ringing. My elbow was cut by broken glass on the floor, blood flowing freely. Alex glared down at me, so angry his hands were shaking. “You’d debase yourself for money, but there has to be a limit!” “When you die, I’ll pay for a grand funeral. Otherwise, don’t expect a penny from me!” I could only silently clutch my wound, my whole body trembling as I struggled to my feet. That’s right. Cold and ruthless. This was the Alex I remembered. In an instant, memories buried deep in my mind came flooding back like a tide. “You bitch! You drugged me just to steal my billion-dollar deal!” “You love money so much, why don’t you just die?”
My thoughts returned to the present. I looked up at Alex with a faint smile. “If this sincerity isn’t enough, Alex, I can still—” “Enough!” His gaze fell on the small medicine bottle at my feet. He picked it up before I could, examining it closely. “Ten painkillers at once? Are you trying to kill yourself?” After we married, Alex frequently brought women home. Each one was trouble. Some even secretly drugged Alex with aphrodisiacs to climb their way up. The situation was urgent, so I took the antidote for Alex myself. But when Alex woke up, he was convinced I’d drugged him, causing him to lose a billion-dollar deal. From then on, he systematically destroyed my family’s business until we went bankrupt. I desperately tried to explain that Rose was the one who drugged his drink. But Rose cried, and he refused to believe me. My family went bankrupt, and after divorcing Alex, I left with nothing. To escape my family’s debts, I hid and struggled daily, barely eating. During that time, Alex actually transferred me some living expenses. In ten years of marriage, it was the first time he’d helped me when I was down. But reality threw cold water on me again. To get that money, I had to apologize to Rose. I couldn’t take it anymore. I refused his charity and shouted at him: “Alex, you’re hopelessly stupid! I’ll say it one more time! I wasn’t the one who drugged you! It was your secretary Rose!” After Alex hung up, my parents were humiliated that very night and jumped from the company rooftop. I begged everyone on my knees to borrow money for their burial, but Alex spread word throughout the city: anyone who lent me a single penny was his enemy. So I had nowhere to turn. I went from a wealthy lady to a delivery driver. Meanwhile, Alex attended business events with Rose. He even spent millions chartering a luxury yacht for three days just to celebrate her birthday and make her smile. I watched their happiness from afar, eating my meals mixed with tears. For ten years. But misfortune picks on the miserable. I was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer at the hospital. I’d spent everything paying off debts. My pockets were emptier than my face, let alone affording those expensive targeted drugs. Desperate, I even worked as a hostess at a nightclub, where I encountered a gloomy-looking Alex. His expression was indifferent. “Mata, you’ve really got some nerve!” “I understand you’d drug me for money, but you dared to frame Rose. You’ll pay with your life. However much money you want, I’ll burn it for you!” I shook my head with a bitter smile, but tears fell from my eyes first. Fine. If he wanted me to pay with my life, so be it. Living this long had been exhausting anyway. I rushed to the restroom to clean my wound. Alex followed me out and grabbed my chin, trying to kiss me. He said it was compensation. I bit down hard on his hand and spat out the blood. “Get lost!” Alex’s face darkened. He laughed coldly. “What five-star rating? At the end of the day, you just need money, right? Sleep with me once, I’ll give you five hundred!” “Stop pretending! You drugged me back then for money, didn’t you?” He pressed me against the wall, his hand reaching into my jeans. “Alex! You animal, don’t touch me! You disgust me!” Alex punched the wall right next to my head. He seemed enraged, deliberately finding ways to humiliate me. He made me deliver a bag full of sex toys and condoms to a couple’s hotel. Alex leaned against the doorway in a bathrobe, looking me up and down with that casual gaze. I knew Rose was in his bed. But I didn’t care anymore. I ignored him, just set the delivery by the door and turned to leave. Alex couldn’t stand it anymore. He chased after me and grabbed my arm. “Stop! Is this how you treat customers?” His voice betrayed barely concealed panic. My bandaged wound started bleeding again. The door wasn’t closed. The pungent smell made me nauseous. Seeing I didn’t care, he flew into a rage and slammed the door. “Get lost!” Two days later, I’d just returned to the company. My supervisor threw a resignation letter in my face. Then came a tirade. “How did you offend Rose? She came to the company herself! That’s Alex’s sweetheart!” “We can’t pay you. Don’t drag us down with you. Pack up and get out!” My stomach twisted painfully. I leaned against the wall and crouched down. After swallowing over a dozen painkillers, I finally managed to say: “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have offended Rose.”
In ten years, I’d lost both my parents. Every day I did the hardest work, desperately trying to survive at the bottom of society. I survived on this job’s meager wages. Now that was gone too. Where could I possibly go? Perhaps the pain in my abdomen grew worse. I collapsed on the floor, cold sweat beading on my forehead. I didn’t even have the strength to move. Then the hospital called demanding payment. “I barely managed to save the last treatment slot for you. Do you still want the targeted therapy or not?” “I’ll hold it for three more days. Pay the balance within three days, or face the consequences!” My voice was urgent. “I just got fired. I don’t have that much money right now. Can you give me a few more days…” But they cut me off, voice rising sharply. “You think the hospital’s a charity? If you don’t have money, why are you even trying to get treatment?” I was about to speak when they hung up. To raise the money in three days, I went to my father’s business partner to ask for some dividends. But his tone was even colder. “I’ll tell you straight up, you won’t get a penny of interest back.” “The money your father invested? You won’t get that back either!” I felt chilled to the bone, my voice shaking with urgency. “That’s breach of contract! I’ll sue you!” But the person on the other end wasn’t afraid at all. He even laughed smugly. “Be my guest. Alex is providing us with the best legal team anyway!” “I heard you’re short on cash! Let’s drag this out and see who dies first, shall we?” So Alex didn’t just get me fired—he’d already lined up a legal team, waiting for me to walk into the trap. A metallic taste surged up my throat. The bone-deep pain struck again. I quickly opened the bottle, poured out a handful of painkillers, and swallowed them dry. Cold sweat had already soaked through my work uniform. I slid down against the wall, a bitter smile on my lips. Why? Why could he destroy all my hope with just a flick of his finger? I just wanted to try to survive. But it wasn’t over yet. Just as I dragged my exhausted body back to my rental room. A celebrity gossip notification on my phone immediately caught my attention. [Female Secretary Drugs and Seduces Listed Company CEO!] The photo showed Rose and Alex entering a hotel together, looking affectionate. But the angle was hidden, clearly taken secretly. I scrolled down. The next second, my eyes widened. My name actually appeared in the news.
Rose’s affair with a married man was exposed, and she instantly became the internet’s public enemy. The comment section was flooded with curses. Some even threatened to come after her. This was clearly her own staged performance. I returned to Alex’s house. Alex was taking care of Rose, who was lying in bed. “What right did you have to get me fired? And provide legal support to those deadbeats? Do you know I—” Before I could finish, Alex slapped me across the face without asking any questions. He said coldly: “You still have the nerve to come back? Looks like you really won’t cry until you see your coffin!” “Mata, spreading rumors online wasn’t enough, you even hired people to stalk and harass Rose, driving her to jump in the river. Lucky I showed up in time to save her. If anything had happened to her, ten of your lives wouldn’t be enough to pay for it!” “No! You must apologize to Rose in front of all the media!” Hire people to harass her? Alex had pushed me to the point where I couldn’t even afford medicine. Where would I get money to hire anyone to harass her? But whenever he was unhappy, he pushed me into desperate situations again and again! I laughed at Alex’s words. “Then should I just die to apologize to her?” He seemed enraged by my words. “Even your life wouldn’t be enough to repay what you owe her!” With that, he dragged me in front of the media, ignoring my resistance. My abdomen hit the steps. The pain made cold sweat pour from my forehead. A flash of heartache crossed Alex’s eyes, but when he glanced at the frail Rose, he stopped looking at me. “Mata, until the truth comes out, I won’t let you die!” Fine. Before I die, I’ll explain everything. Give him and Rose a clean slate. As soon as I appeared, media from all outlets swarmed around. “Mata, you submitted articles to various media saying Rose is a homewrecker. Is this true?” “Yeah! Even if you’re angry, you can’t pay for publicity to slander someone’s reputation!” I froze in place. Looks like Rose had already bribed the media to turn the tables on me. My heart was completely calm. I just wanted to explain everything clearly and never see them again. But Alex’s fingers dug into my wound, and he leaned close to my ear, saying through gritted teeth: “Mata! Watch your mouth!” I broke free from Alex’s hand and said formally: “Rose, I’m sorry! I deliberately hired people to market false stories online to slander you, and I hired people to stalk and harass you! It was my fault. Please be magnanimous and forgive me!” I met Rose’s gaze, but she didn’t dare look me in the eye. A reporter couldn’t help but defend her. “Do you think a few painless words of apology can make up for all the harm Rose has suffered these past days?” “We, on behalf of the audience, demand that you kneel and kowtow in apology until Rose is satisfied!” Rose shook her head tearfully, shrinking into Alex’s arms, her voice trembling. “I didn’t seduce Alex. The person who drugged him back then wasn’t me…” Alex quickly pulled her into his embrace, his eyes full of heartache. “Mata! You’d kneel and beg for a five-star rating, so why act high and mighty now!” Seeing I wouldn’t move, his fingers flew across his phone screen. Then my phone buzzed. A friend sent me a high-definition video. “Mata, look quickly. Is the woman in bed you…” It was a video from my wedding night with Alex ten years ago. Now it portrayed me as a shameless slut who actively stripped and seduced men! At this moment, I truly understood he was trying to drive me to my death. I endured the humiliation and knelt down. I smiled bitterly and swallowed the blood rising in my throat. “Alex and I just had a business marriage. In ten years of marriage, he never loved me. The only person he’s ever loved is Rose. Back then, I secretly drugged him to steal the billion-dollar deal, and I deliberately sowed discord to frame Rose…” “Alex, are you satisfied now?” Since he was convinced I did it, explaining further was meaningless. For someone about to die, the truth didn’t matter anymore. I clutched my stomach and laughed wildly. Seeing my crazed appearance, Alex roared: “What are you laughing at? Won’t you be satisfied until you’ve driven me to death!” That night, lying in bed, he thought about how I’d knelt and apologized. The laughter carried deep despair. His heart grew even more panicked. Just as he was about to call me to ask what was going on, he received a call from the hospital. “Are you Mata’s ex-husband? She left your number.” Alex was about to ask, but heard the other party say bluntly: “She owes the hospital quite a bit of money for treatment. I won’t refund the deposit for the targeted therapy!”
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