My husband’s little songbird had him on a KPI: twelve nights a month in her bed. This month, buried in work, he only managed eleven. So the girl threw a tantrum—a full day of nothing but tears, refusing all food and drink. And Alexander, desperate to soothe his precious bird, came begging to me, his actual wife. “Sandra, please,” he pleaded. “Just help me out. Tell her I didn’t sleep with you this month. It’s just one sentence.” He was right, of course. The intimacy between us had died long ago. Ever since he first cheated three years back, my body had developed a visceral, traumatic response to his touch. Any time he tried, I would be seized by a suffocating panic. He tried a few times. I was rushed to the emergency room a few times. After that, he didn’t dare touch me again. He still claimed I was the love of his life, the only one he truly cherished. But he never stopped cheating. I dialed the girl’s number, my voice a calm, flat line. “Alexander is all yours now. He always will be.” When I hung up, Alexander assumed I was jealous. He tried to placate me. “You know you’ll always have a place in my heart.” But I don’t want you anymore, Alexander. We’ve been separated for nearly two years. The court will grant the divorce. … But the girl wasn’t soothed. She didn’t believe it. She sent Alexander packing, right back to me. He returned looking utterly defeated, at a complete loss. He started trying to reason with me again. I cut straight to the point. “Alexander, what exactly do you want me to do?” Seeing me so composed, so devoid of anger, he dropped all pretense. “We’ll get a doctor to check you. There are specialists for this.” “Don’t worry,” he added quickly, “I’ll make sure it’s a female doctor. A thorough exam. It’s the only way to prove to her we haven’t been together recently.” He paused, his voice softening into the gentle tone he used for a child. “She’s just a simple girl, a bit stubborn. This is the only way she’ll believe it. Don’t take it personally.” He raised a hand, a fond look in his eyes, as if to pat my head. “You’ve always been the reasonable one. Not like her, always making a scene.” A wave of nausea churned in my stomach. I recoiled as if from something rotten, putting as much distance between us as I could. A tight band of pain squeezed my chest, and the familiar feeling of suffocation crept in. My heart had turned to ash for him long ago, but to hear him make such a request—for his mistress—was like a blade twisting in an old wound. My revulsion was palpable, as if I were dodging filth. In the beginning, this reaction had wounded him deeply. But after years of it, he’d grown accustomed to it. Now, fearing he’d make it worse, he took a step back himself. “Just think of it as a routine check-up,” he coaxed gently. “There’s no need to stress.” The sickness in my gut intensified. I clutched my chest and let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Don’t push me too far, Alexander.” “If you want to appease her, just give me a divorce! That would solve everything!” My voice was raw with fury. He knew he was in the wrong, so he didn’t press the issue. His tone softened again. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. You’re the most important person in my life. You always will be.” “Just calm down.” He always said that. Always told me I was the most important, right before he went crawling back to her bed. He was so sure of himself, so confident in his wealth and power, that he thought I would tolerate this degrading triangle. After all, I had fought tooth and nail to become Mrs. Alexander Prescott, beating out a legion of his other admirers. He was certain I would never give up the life of luxury he provided. What Cinderella, once she’s in the castle, would ever want to leave? He didn’t know that this Cinderella had already saved up enough to buy her own damn kingdom. His phone buzzed, the special ringtone he’d set just for Poppy. The song was called “The Only One.” Even with me standing there, trembling with rage, he answered it. I could hear Poppy’s shrill, tearful voice through the phone. “Alexander! I was eighteen when I got with you! You’re a liar! A heartbreaker! You promised me!” “You promised! Twelve times a month, and you wouldn’t touch the woman at home! That was the deal for being your bird in a cage!” “You’re a fraud! We’re done! I’m not giving you another chance to hurt me!” Of all the women he kept, Poppy was the only one who wasn’t afraid of him. She was the most demanding, the most spoiled. He doted on her completely. A year ago, when his mother passed away unexpectedly, he, as her only son, was supposed to keep vigil by her casket. But Poppy got drunk, called him sobbing, and begged him to come to her. And he did. He left me to keep vigil over his mother’s casket while he ran off to comfort Poppy. That night, she sent me a photo. A taunt. He’s exhausted. Wore himself out on me all night and fell asleep. Hope you’re managing things at home. I don’t know how I survived that night. The pain in my chest was so intense I thought my heart would stop. Before Poppy, Alexander had been a devoted son. That was the night I knew. It wasn’t just physical anymore. He had given her his heart. He loved her. Loved her enough to trample all over my dignity. “You are the bane of my existence!” I heard him yell into the phone, his voice pulling me from my thoughts. “I’ve told you a hundred times, and you still don’t believe me! Fine! I’ll have a doctor examine her tomorrow!” “Will you believe me then?!” I stared at him. After my furious refusal, he had actually agreed to it, all to placate her. Early the next morning, Poppy showed up. With a male doctor in tow. Alexander was shocked. “No,” he said, his face hardening. “No male doctors. It has to be a woman.” His jaw was tight, a flicker of jealousy in his eyes. For all his infidelity, he was still fiercely possessive of me. If I so much as spoke to another man for too long, his temper would flare. A classic case of “do as I say, not as I do.” Poppy’s face soured. “How do I know a female doctor isn’t on her payroll? What if you two conspire to trick me?” He indulged her, as always. “Fine. Find your own female doctor, then. Is that acceptable?” She pouted but reluctantly agreed. They were really acting as if I had no say in the matter. Without a word, I walked straight up to Poppy and slapped her, hard, across the face. “Who the hell do you think you are?” I hissed, a surge of righteous fury coursing through me. “You’re a mistress, a dirty little secret! What right do you have to interfere in my marriage bed?” To twist the knife, I added, “The reason Alexander missed your precious KPI is because he was with me seven times. The man is exhausted.” The number was a bomb. Poppy’s face crumpled. “You see!” she shrieked at Alexander, tears streaming down her face. “She admits it! You’re still lying to me!” Alexander turned on me, his eyes blazing. “What the hell are you talking about? Isn’t this chaotic enough for you?” Poppy, clutching her stinging cheek, ran out of the house. Alexander immediately chased after her. But as he ran, he threw a final, ironic order over his shoulder to the housekeeper. “Make sure my wife takes her medicine.” Ever since my traumatic response to him began, he’d been spending a fortune on various treatments and medications to “cure” me. “It will get better,” he would always say. “Once you’re well, we can have a baby.” He didn’t know I poured every single pill down the drain. I was just counting the days until I could finally leave. On my way to the embassy to finalize my visa, I was intercepted by Alexander’s men. I was dragged back to the villa, restrained, and forced onto a cold, hard examination table. Five female doctors tied my wrists and ankles down. As I struggled, one of the doctor’s phones rang with a video call. Poppy’s voice filled the room. “Make sure you check her thoroughly.” “Rest assured, Miss. We’re professionals in this field.” “Poppy, you will rot in hell for this!” I screamed, thrashing against my restraints. “And you, Alexander! You’ll rot right alongside her!” I knew he was there, with her. And then I heard his voice. “Sandra, Poppy is pregnant. I’m thirty-five. Please don’t make this difficult for me.”

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I was the eighteenth substitute Alexander Kingsley found for his lost love. I was also the one who looked the least like her. He announced our relationship to the world with a fleet of a thousand drones on Valentine’s Day. He journeyed to a treacherous, snow-capped peak to retrieve a rare mountain blossom, just to soothe an old ailment of mine. When his family refused to accept a “gutter girl” like me, he staged a hunger strike and even endured his father’s brutal cane to win their approval. Everyone said he had long forgotten his first love, that he was utterly devoted to me. But on the eve of our wedding, he had the bride’s name on everything changed to Isabelle’s. When his friends questioned him, he just smiled. “With her around for the past few years, my parents finally stopped suspecting I was flying abroad to find Isabelle.” “She was just a tool, a distraction to draw their fire so they’d finally give in. The only one I ever intended to marry was Isabelle.” Everyone was waiting for me to have a meltdown. But I just clutched the check with its staggering number of zeroes and breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect. At least now I wouldn’t be committing bigamy. … After a full day of grueling “wifely instruction” at the Kingsley family manor, I dragged my aching, exhausted body to the wedding venue. Hearing those words had left me numb. So this is what it was like to truly love someone—to willingly clear every obstacle and thorn from their path. I forced a smile and greeted them. When Alexander saw me, a flicker of guilt crossed his face. He cleared his throat and had his planner friend cover up any wedding items that showed a bride’s face. Then he smiled and reached for my hand. The moment his fingers brushed mine, I sucked in a sharp breath of pain. He froze, his brow furrowing as he looked down at my battered palms. “They punished you again?” I managed a weak smile. “Yes. I was too clumsy, kept making mistakes.” He sighed. “That will all be over soon. I promise.” Ever since he’d declared he would marry no one but me, parading me at family dinners and anniversary celebrations, I’d been summoned to the manor for regular “lessons.” I’d spend hours kneeling before the stern portraits of his ancestors, copying pages of their family history. One mistake meant the sting of a hard wooden ruler against my palms until they were raw and bloody. One misremembered fact earned twenty sharp slaps across the face, forcing me to choke back the taste of my own blood and continue. Once, I shed a single tear in his presence and was accused of failing to be a stoic partner. My punishment was to kneel for hours on the freezing marble of the winter veranda. He had shown a brief flash of pity for me then, telling me to just hold on, that all this suffering would end after we were married. But it was only a flash. The moment he saw a message from Isabelle on his phone, he abandoned me without a second thought. And because I had “failed to hold my husband’s heart,” the maids stripped me, took photos, and sent them to him. Even that didn’t stop him from running to her. And just like that, I became the laughingstock of high society. As I was lost in thought, Isabelle burst into the room, her eyes red. “You’re really going to marry her? You told me you would love me forever, that you’d marry no one else! Did you call me back just to watch you get married to someone else?” With a dramatic flourish, she ripped the cloth from the welcome stand. When she saw her own portrait printed on it, her tears turned into a triumphant smile. “I knew you were just trying to make me jealous!” She looped her arm through Alexander’s and shot me a smug look. “Honey, you see now, don’t you? He was waiting for me all along. Sorry you had to take the heat for a few years.” “If you ever fall on hard times, let me know. For playing the part of my stand-in, I’ll be sure to help you out.” They exchanged a knowing glance. The panic in Alexander’s eyes melted into a look of pure bliss. He pulled out a crisp new credit card and handed it to me. “I’m sorry I deceived you. I only ever saw you as a shield to protect Isabelle. Now that things are back to how they should be, we’re finished. This is more than enough to set you up for life. Find a good man.” I stared at the card, the scene suddenly reminding me of the day I said goodbye to the husband I thought I’d lost. A sourness pricked my eyes. “Can’t we… wait? Just a few more days.” My voice was a whisper, lost under the rattling of the crystal chandelier overhead. He leaned in, about to ask what I’d said. In a flash of sparks and a sharp clink, everyone’s eyes shot upward. “Look out!” Alexander instinctively pulled Isabelle into his arms. My own instinct was to shove him clear. Thump. Something warm trickled down my neck, followed by a dull, throbbing pain in the back of my head. “Are you insane?” Seeing the flicker of alarm on Alexander’s face, I shook my head. Before I could speak, Isabelle cried out. “Alex, my hand hurts…” The concern in his eyes for me vanished instantly, replaced by sheer panic as he scooped her up. “Isabelle can’t stand pain. I’ll have the driver take you to the hospital.” He was gone like the wind, his retreating back and hers blurring through my tears. “Why do you always leave me behind?” I whispered. His footsteps faltered for a second, but then he was gone. I woke up in a hospital. Alexander stood over me, his brow furrowed in apprehension, as if terrified I would use this “life-saving” act to blackmail him. “You know I hate clingy women,” he said coldly. “But since you saved my life, I’ll give you three days. Heal up, get all your things out of the villa before the wedding. I don’t want Isabelle to be upset by any of it.” I nodded, my gaze dimming. My reaction must have been too placid, not at all what he expected from someone supposedly deeply in love. He seemed about to say more, but his phone rang. Isabelle was on the other end, sobbing hysterically. The ache in Alexander’s eyes was palpable. “Alex, I’m so sorry, I never should have come back! If I hadn’t, Amelia wouldn’t have felt so threatened and staged that whole heroic rescue act.” “Thank God I only got a small cut. If you had been hurt, how could I ever face your parents?” He didn’t engage with her accusation, just offered a few soothing words and hung up. We looked at each other for a long moment before I spoke softly. “It wasn’t me.” He took a deep breath. “I know. You were at the manor being punished all day. And my friends have never liked you enough to help you pull a stunt like that. One of them already told me what happened. It was her. She felt insecure when she saw me showing you some concern, so she staged the whole thing.” He then took my phone and deleted the contact information of all his friends. “There. I’m leaving. Get some rest.” Just as he turned to go, the door to my room flew open. Isabelle’s mother swept in, followed by the family butler carrying a box of their cruel instruments of “discipline.” Without a word, she slapped me hard across the face. “How dare you endanger Alex just to win his affection? If we don’t teach you a lesson now, you’ll be completely out of control after you’re married!” They dragged me onto the floor. Alexander started to speak, but Isabelle rushed in. “I’m the one who told her, Alex. You’re not mad at me, are you? I just want anyone who tries to hurt you to pay the price!” The butler pulled out a pair of pliers and forced my mouth open. My eyes, wide with terror, locked onto Alexander’s. “It wasn’t me, it was her—” The next instant, terrified I would expose Isabelle, Alexander snatched the pliers and shoved them into my mouth. With a sickening crack, two of my lower teeth were ripped from their sockets. His voice was savage, yet it trembled. “You do something wrong, you face the consequences! Even if you are my fiancée! Let this be a lesson. Never again say things you shouldn’t, or manipulate others into doing your dirty work!” Blood filled my mouth, hot and choking. They left in a storm of righteous fury, leaving me crumpled and disgraced on the floor. A moment later, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Alexander. 【I haven’t told my family about the change of bride yet. Isabelle was just scared of losing me, so she acted out and framed you.】 【If my mother found out she was behind it, she’d never accept her. You’re used to the Kingsley family discipline. Taking it one more time won’t kill you. Consider it interest paid for all the years you had me to yourself. Be grateful.】 A tight, crushing pain seized my chest. He knew I wasn’t the one marrying him. He knew I was innocent. Yet he still made me endure it all. Tears splashed onto the phone screen. He would never have treated me like this. After sending his mother-in-law-to-be away, Alexander returned with Isabelle. As compensation, he had the best dentist flown in to repair my teeth. On the way back to the villa, Isabelle sat in the passenger seat, chattering about her exciting life abroad, the two of them reminiscing about their sweet past. Watching the tender, adoring look on Alexander’s face, a wave of bitterness washed over me. If it weren’t for the accident, I could have had a life filled with that same warmth. My eyes welled up, and I ducked my head, sniffing quietly. Suddenly, Isabelle glanced at me in the rearview mirror, her eyes mocking. “Oh, I shouldn’t be talking about all this, should I? I’m making you sad. You can’t bear to part with Alex, can you? Why don’t you stay on as a maid? It suits your background perfectly. You can take care of him and still see him from time to time to ease your lovesick heart.” “What do you think, Alex?” Alexander’s eyes met mine in the mirror. He slammed on the brakes at a red light, turned, and cupped her face, kissing her deeply. They only broke apart when the horns behind them started blaring. “You don’t need to test me,” he murmured to her. “I only love you.” “But,” he added, glancing back at me, “if you want a capable maid, she can stay. She knows how to do everything. I’d feel better knowing she was here to look after you.” They flirted and teased the rest of the way home, their affection thick and cloying. The moment we walked through the door, they disappeared into the master bedroom, a tangle of limbs and pent-up desire. I went to my own room to pack. The sounds from their room were impossible to ignore, each cry louder than the last, a blatant performance meant for my ears. Even with headphones on, I couldn’t block them out. After a long while, my door opened. Alexander tossed a soiled bedsheet at my feet. “Hand-wash this. Then go make her some restorative soup. I have to go deal with wedding preparations. To avoid my family getting suspicious, you’ll pack your things while taking care of her for the next few days.” “Once the wedding is over smoothly, you can leave.” I opened my mouth to protest, but a gasp came from the other room. Isabelle appeared, wrapped in a silk robe, her steps unsteady and her face flushed. In her hand was a necklace—crudely made, but crafted from the finest materials. “Alex, darling… when we were… well, it hurt a little, and I accidentally pulled on this. It snapped. I hope it wasn’t important.” It was a gift Alexander had won for me at a high-end auction last year, on our anniversary. All he knew was that I had a tacky affection for such artless things. What he didn’t know was that it was one of the last things my husband had left behind before he faked his death, a decoy created to throw his enemies off his trail. It was our promise, our token of love. I had searched for it for years, finally spotting it at that auction. Seeing the necklace lying in two pieces, my vision blurred with red. I lunged forward and shoved her. “You did this on purpose! I kept it hidden in a drawer! Who told you to touch my things?” She stumbled and fell, the loose robe slipping to reveal the dark bruises of passion on her skin. She looked up at me, a perfect picture of wounded innocence. “I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.” Alexander’s face contorted with rage. He slapped me, hard. “Amelia! This is my house! How dare you lay a hand on her? Have I been too lenient with you?” “Apologize to her! Now!” The wound in my mouth split open again, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of my lips. My hands trembled as I gathered the broken pieces. “Why… why couldn’t you leave me with this one thing?” I whispered, my voice breaking. Alexander paused, mistaking my grief for heartbreak over his gift. His tone softened, but it was strained. “It’s just a necklace. I’ll buy you a hundred more, alright?” He swept Isabelle up into his arms. “This is the first and last time. I don’t want to see you act out against her ever again. You know what I’m capable of.” Watching them, so intimate and connected, I pushed down the acidic burn in my chest. Suddenly, a notification pinged in my headphones. An anonymous, untraceable message popped up on my screen. 【The wedding. Wait for me.】 The familiar tone made my dead heart leap. It was finally coming to an end.

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At my childhood friend’s engagement party, his phone suddenly lit up with 99 notifications for a series of blush-inducing, scandalous videos. He went pale as a ghost, scrambling to delete them, but his new fiancée snatched the phone from his hands. She had always seen me, his “best girl friend,” as a thorn in her side, convinced that something was going on between us. Now, at the pivotal moment of exchanging rings, she was trying to force me to connect the phone to the big screen. I broke out in a cold sweat, my hand clamped over the screen-mirroring button as I tried desperately to stop her. “Sophia, you really can’t play these videos…” “Can we please handle this privately? Let’s not make a scene in front of everyone.” But the bride’s face was twisted with venom. She shoved me hard in front of all the guests. “Oh, so now you care about shame? Where was this concern when you were seducing my fiancé!” “Hiding behind your ‘just friends’ bullshit while you’re screwing him behind my back! Women like you are utterly disgusting!” “Today, I’m going to let every single one of our friends and family see just what a slut you are in bed!” I froze. But the star of those videos… was clearly you and my friend. … At Aiden and Sophia’s engagement party, I was just about to hit ‘play’ on their “Love Story” slideshow. Suddenly, Sophia grabbed the mouse off the table, a cold sneer directed at the guests. “On this joyous occasion, on behalf of the Grant family, I’d like to invite you all to enjoy something a little more… special!” Before I could react, she had mirrored the phone’s screen and opened a deeply hidden folder on the desktop. I recognized it instantly. It was the “Private Collection” that Aiden had accidentally synced to my work computer three days ago due to a cloud error. The incident had scared the hell out of both of us, as I was working overtime in the office. Aiden had looked like death itself, practically begging me on his knees to delete the folder. I’d assumed it was just some porn he’d downloaded and hadn’t thought much of it. Now, seeing Sophia’s finger hovering over the files, I lunged forward to stop her. “Sophia! Don’t! I’m begging you! You can’t play those!” I tried to make my voice sound as sincere as possible, even though my heart was pounding against my ribs. “You really can’t watch what’s in that folder.” “There are so many elders here, let’s not make this ugly.” “Give me the phone. We can talk about this backstage, okay?” Sophia laughed. A harsh, ugly sound. “Ugly?” “Where was your shame when you were seducing my man?” “And now you’re using our elders to guilt-trip me?” She turned to face the crowd, her eyes glinting with a wild madness. “Ladies and gentlemen, since Amelia here is so desperate for you not to see this, I think it’s even more important that you do!” “Let’s all see what this woman, who pretends to be as pure as the driven snow, is really like behind closed doors!” Her bridesmaids started to cheer her on. “Yeah! If you did it, you should own it!” “Play it! Time to expose the bitch!” From the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden. The groom, who should have been stepping in, was cowering behind a champagne-colored pillar. He was pale and trembling like a leaf, his hand clamped over his mouth to stifle any sound. A cold dread washed over me. Sophia gave me no chance to explain. She slammed her finger down on the enter key. The massive screen lit up. The first video began to play. The lighting was dim, the camera shaking violently. The sound of heart-pounding moans and heavy breathing filled the ballroom. The image was just a blurry, indistinct shot of two entangled figures from behind. The entire hall erupted in gasps. Sophia pointed a triumphant finger at the screen. “Everyone, take a good look!” “That build, that cheap, pathetic aura… who else could it be but Amelia?” “Aiden told me a long time ago that some women are just trash. They’ll spread their legs for free!” I stared at the blurry figure on the screen. Was that supposed to be me? If I denied it now, she would just play more. I could only bite my lip and endure the daggers of contempt being thrown at me from every direction. “That’s not me,” I said, my voice a weak protest. Sophia wasn’t listening. “Not you? Then who is it, a ghost?” “Amelia, the evidence is right there. Are you still going to deny it?” “It seems one video isn’t enough to break you.” Her finger moved over the mouse again. “Then let’s kick it up a notch!” “You think you’re tough, Amelia?” “Let’s see you try to explain this next one!” Sophia clicked on the second video file. This time, the lighting was much brighter. The scene was no longer a hazy hotel room. In the background stood two enormous, European-style Roman columns and a wall covered in roses. The crowd exploded. Someone shouted, “Hey! Isn’t that Aiden and Sophia’s new house?” “Yes, it is! I was there! Sophia had those columns custom-made!” “And they just put up that flower wall for the wedding!” The murmurs grew into a roar. Sophia froze. She obviously recognized her own master bedroom. For a split second, her expression was rigid. She whipped her head around to face me, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets as she glared. “Amelia! You are shameless!” “You snuck into our marital home while I was away to seduce Aiden?” “That’s my bed! The bed I was supposed to use on my wedding night!” Sophia’s voice cracked with rage, becoming a shrill, piercing shriek. “How could you be so vile?” “Did you have a key made? Have you been planning this all along?” “Screwing him in my wedding bed! Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?” In her victim narrative, this was all a premeditated plot I had orchestrated. The guests were swept up in her story. “My God, how could she be so shameless?” “You don’t foul your own nest. This is just cruel.” “This is why they say to guard against your best friend more than anyone.” Suddenly, a figure shot up from the main table. It was Aiden’s mother, the woman I considered my godmother. She marched up to me and, without a word, slapped me hard across the face. My head snapped to the side, my ear ringing, my cheek burning with a fiery pain. “I treated you like my own daughter! How could you do something so sneaky and disgusting!” She pointed a trembling finger at my nose. “That’s your brother’s home! Are you that desperate for a man?” “You have disappointed me beyond words! Get out! I’ll pretend I never knew a backstabbing snake like you!” I clutched my stinging cheek, looking into her eyes, which were filled with a crushing disappointment. My own heart felt like it was being squeezed. When I was a little girl and bullies picked on me, she was the one who held my hand and stood up for me. I had always thought of her as my real mother. But now, even she didn’t believe me. I opened my mouth to explain, but then I saw Sophia’s furious face, my godmother’s heartbroken gaze, and Aiden, still hiding like a coward in the corner. And I suddenly realized, an explanation was pointless. This family was a lost cause. Seeing me get slapped, the look of triumph in Sophia’s eyes intensified. She started frantically scrubbing through the video’s timeline. “Yes, Mom! That’s right!” “A tramp like her deserves to be beaten!” “Don’t worry, everyone, I’m going to find a shot of her face!” “I want everyone to see just how depraved she looks on my bed!” The mouse clicked furiously. The images on the screen flickered past—a blur of flesh and tangled limbs. But because of the camera angles, all you could ever see was the woman’s back or a profile obscured by hair. No clear face shot. Sophia grew more and more agitated, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She rummaged wildly through the folder’s contents. “Why is it all from behind!” “That useless Aiden! Can’t he even film a video properly?” Cursing under her breath, she clicked on the third video. The scene changed. This time, it was inside a car. A cramped space, a shaky camera. Through the window, you could clearly see streetlights flashing by. It was the backseat of Aiden’s signature black SUV. Everyone recognized it. Sophia’s eyes turned an even deeper shade of red. “Car sex? Wow, Amelia, you really get around!” “You act so prim and proper, but you’re into this kind of stuff?” I ignored her insults. While everyone’s attention was glued to the screen, I discreetly pulled out my own phone. This was my last chance. And my final ultimatum for Aiden. I dialed his number. Aiden, still hiding behind the pillar, clearly didn’t expect a call from me at this moment. He answered on the first ring. But before I could speak, a hand shot out and ripped the phone away from me. It was Sophia. “Trying to call for help?” she sneered, looking at Aiden’s name on the screen. “Perfect. The man of the hour.” “Let’s just hear what secrets these two lovebirds have to whisper to each other now!” She didn’t hang up. Instead, she hit the speakerphone button. “Aiden!” Sophia screamed into the phone. “Your precious little ‘sister’ is calling for a rescue! You gonna answer?” From the speakers, Aiden’s terrified, muffled voice cried out. “Honey! Stop playing them!” “Please! Turn it off! You really can’t play them!” “If you keep going, you’re going to ruin everything!” The crowd gasped again. It was a confession! If the videos weren’t of him and Amelia, why would he be begging like that? “You’re protecting her?” “Even now, with the evidence right in front of us, you’re still protecting this slut?!” Sophia shrieked into the phone, tears of rage streaming down her face. “Aiden! I’ve been so good to you, and you’re begging me for her sake?” “You’re afraid she’ll be humiliated? You’re afraid of her social suicide?” “Did you ever once stop to think about how I feel?” Aiden was still babbling on the other end, “No! It’s not about protecting her! It’s for us—” “Shut up!” Sophia didn’t want to hear any explanations. She raised the phone high and smashed it onto the red carpet at her feet. The screen shattered.

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The day I found out Nathan Wilde had cheated on me again, our world exploded. I screamed at him, called him a self-degrading, shameless pig. A man his age, still messing around with young girls. He laughed and called me a washed-up hag, said I was mentally unstable. “You talk about shame? You defied your own father to run away with me when you were eighteen!” “You think you’re so noble? You had two abortions in three years.” “Amy, you’re the most pathetic person on this entire planet!” Our fight raged from our home all the way to the psychiatric hospital he was trying to commit me to. Right at the hospital entrance, a speeding car slammed into us. As my consciousness faded, I heard Nathan’s vicious curse. He said that in his next life, and the life after that, he never wanted to see my detestable old face again. But when I opened my eyes, I saw an eighteen-year-old Nathan Wilde, holding a bouquet of flowers, smiling at me. “Amy,” he said, “I’m in love with you.” 1. I wasn’t dead, and I wasn’t insane. Nathan had amnesia from the crash. His memory had reset to ten years ago. To the year he loved me most. He’d forgotten everything that had happened between us, all the betrayals and the bitter arguments. And now he was standing by my bedside, holding a bouquet of flowers, grinning from ear to ear. “Honey, you’re awake,” he said, his voice bright. “I don’t know what happened. I woke up and suddenly it’s ten years in the future. They all say I have amnesia, but who cares? As long as you’re my wife, I’m not afraid of anything.” He looked around the private room, his eyes wide with wonder. “Wow, the older me is pretty amazing. A nice car, a big house, and I even married the girl of my dreams. Heh, Amy, I must be the happiest man in the world.” The white roses were still beaded with morning dew. They were obviously expensive. Only the eighteen-year-old Nathan would move heaven and earth to give me the very best. But as I looked at the roses, my mind was flooded with images of him tangled in bed with Jessica. A wave of nausea churned in my stomach. I flinched away from his touch, disgusted, and swatted the bouquet to the floor. “Cut the crap, Nathan,” I said, my voice flat. “Let’s get a divorce.” The joy in the young man’s eyes vanished, replaced by sheer panic. He grabbed my hand, his face a mask of desperation. “Amy, what are you talking about? Why a divorce? Isn’t this what we always dreamed of?” “I know it’s my fault. I didn’t take good care of you, and you got hurt. I promise, I’ll never be so careless again, I’ll—” Before he could finish, the door swung open. Jessica teetered in on her high heels, a look of frantic concern on her face. Ignoring me completely, she threw herself into Nathan’s arms. “Nathan, oh, thank God you’re okay. When I heard about the accident, I nearly died. It’s all that bitch Amy’s fault. A washed-up old hag, clinging to her title as Mrs. Wilde. If she knew you didn’t love her anymore, she should have just stepped aside gracefully! If she wanted to die, fine, but how could she drag you down with her? Look at your hands, all those stitches… it must hurt so much…” Jessica stroked his hand, shooting me a hateful glare. My head was still spinning. I turned away, not wanting to deal with her. But Nathan shoved her away, his face a picture of confusion and disgust. “What the hell are you talking about? Washed-up hag? My wife is beautiful. She’ll always be the most beautiful woman in the world. And you… what are you? With that face that looks like you paid a plastic surgeon a fortune, you dare criticize my wife? Get away from me. I’m allergic to your perfume!” He pinched his nose and shuffled closer to me, like a puppy waiting for praise, hoping for a pat on the head. But all I felt was revulsion. The hickey on his neck hadn’t even faded. Jessica’s lipstick was still smeared on his collar. Every inch of him was stained with the scent of betrayal. The twenty-eight-year-old Nathan had been warped beyond recognition by years of indulgence. I said nothing more. By the time Nathan had gotten rid of Jessica, my lawyer had sent over the divorce papers. I forwarded the digital file to Nathan’s phone, my silence speaking volumes. He stood frozen, his eyes widening in shock before slowly turning red. He choked back a sob for a long moment, then finally looked up, his eyes swimming with tears. “Why?” “Amy, believe me, I’m not lying to you. I don’t know why I have amnesia. If you don’t like it, I’ll take my medicine, I’ll see the doctors. I know we must have fought so hard to be together. Please… don’t leave me over a little misunderstanding. Please?” I believed him. I believed he really had amnesia. Because it had been years since Nathan had looked at me with such tenderness. Ever since Jessica appeared, his eyes held nothing but contempt and cold indifference. But I was done. The eighteen-year-old Amy would have died for love. The twenty-eight-year-old Amy just wanted a bigger settlement in the divorce. Whether Nathan had amnesia or had simply lost his mind, for me, this was a golden opportunity. 2. While Nathan was gone, I discharged myself from the hospital. Our home was still a disaster zone. Shards of glass littered the floor, mixed with used condoms and torn lingerie. I had to marvel at his stamina. He’d had enough energy for a marathon session with Jessica and then a knock-down, drag-out fight with me. I kicked our shattered wedding photo out of the way and called the cleaning service to deal with the mess. I wasn’t about to let him have this multi-million dollar house for free. While I was taking pictures for evidence, Nathan burst in, holding a box with a chocolate cake, panting. “Amy, I just stepped out to buy a cake, why did you leave on your own? You didn’t even say anything, do you have any idea how worried I was?” He was grumbling, but he carefully presented the cake to me, trying to coax a smile. “I remember you always loved the cake from this place. I can’t believe it’s still open after ten years. Here, try some. See if it tastes the same.” I took a few steps back and shook my head. “I don’t eat that stuff anymore.” Not since the time he’d turned the car around to buy Jessica a cake, leaving me stranded on the side of the road. Not since the time he’d pushed me into a tiered cake display just to make her laugh. I had given up all sweets. Especially chocolate, Jessica’s favorite. The distance in my voice made him flinch, a wounded look crossing his face. But he quickly recovered, moving closer. He had no idea I was taking inventory of our assets for the divorce and cheerfully started “helping” me clean up. When he found a small box under the bed, his eyes lit up. “Amy, this is the wish box I gave you! You kept it all this time! I knew it. You were just saying all that angry stuff. We must have had a great marriage.” He pulled out a few slips of paper and started reading them aloud. “Buy Amy a big villa by the sea.” “Take Amy on a trip around the world.” “Have a cute baby with Amy.” “Make Amy the happiest woman in the world!” “Amy, we’re so rich now. We must have made all these wishes come true, right? Do you have any pictures? Show me! Maybe it’ll jog my memory.” He was getting more and more excited, completely oblivious to my clenched fists. I snatched the papers from his hand and tore them to shreds. Then, unable to hold back any longer, I shoved my phone in his face. “Oh yes,” I said with a cold smile. “Your wishes all came true.” “But they had nothing to do with me.” “The person you bought luxury cars for, lived in a villa with, and traveled the world with wasn’t me. It was your precious Jessica!” After he made his fortune, Nathan bought a seaside villa for our marital home. But when Jessica said she liked it, he signed it over to her that very night. We almost had a baby. But two consecutive miscarriages left me unable to conceive again. And while I was at home, recovering, at my lowest and most helpless point, Nathan took Jessica on a trip around the world. My voice was a low growl, my words clipped with rage. “You’re a very generous man, Nathan. Every new city, every new landmark, you made sure to send me a photo of you and Jessica. Sometimes you were kissing, sometimes hugging. Sometimes they were naked.” “The worst was when you sent me her ultrasound report.” “Nathan, back then, I refused to break up with you out of pride, out of a stubborn refusal to lose. But now… I’m just tired. I don’t have the energy to fight with you anymore.” “Sign the papers. And get out.” The explicit photos on my phone screen made his eyes widen in horror. He just kept shaking his head, muttering, “This is impossible. Impossible. I would never do that to you. Amy, what on earth happened these past ten years?” He grabbed my arm, desperate for an answer. But I didn’t know how to begin. I hate remembering. We were together for so long that the pain and the struggle were etched into my bones. Every time I looked back, it was like tearing open a barely healed wound, exposing the raw, bloody mess of our past. But I knew how stubborn Nathan could be. There were some things he needed to understand.

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My brother is known in our circle for having a terminal case of lovesickness. To chase after the high and mighty princess of the Blackwood family, he practically ripped his own face off and stomped on it. I’m his sister, but my brain has only one mission: to absolutely, under no circumstances, let my brother be a simp. To give him a taste of sweet revenge, I went undercover and got close to the Blackwood family’s eldest son, figuring I’d try a flanking maneuver—get to the source of the problem. It backfired. Spectacularly. In the end, that same princess tied us both up, trussed like holiday turkeys, and threw us in her living room. “I’ll marry your brother! You marry my brother! How about that? I’m begging you two, just stop tormenting me!” Me: ? 1 When my brother, Connor, first started college, he fell for a girl in his year at first sight and completely lost his mind. I later found out she was Julie Blackwood, the treasured jewel of the Blackwood family, famous for her beauty, talent, and proud demeanor. I tried to talk some sense into him. “She’s a goddess, and we’re just mortals. It’s not gonna happen.” My brother insisted I didn’t know a thing, that she was his soulmate. And so, the fool began a two-year-long, frantic pursuit. Daily pick-ups and drop-offs, flowers, and gifts were the bare minimum, and he never even managed to snag the title of “official boyfriend.” They went on dates and had meals together, but to any outsider, it was clear Julie had never said yes. My brother was just a veteran simp, at her beck and call. I called him pathetic, a terminal case of lovesickness. He’d yell back, his eyes red, that he was happy to do it, that you can’t put a price on true devotion. What could I do? Our parents passed away early, so my brother and I grew up relying on each other. Connor might not have a head for business, but he gave me all his kindness and protection. When our parents first died, our relatives circled like vultures, eyeing our family company, ready to tear us apart. It was my brother who shouldered all the pressure, fighting tooth and nail at countless dinners, drinking until he coughed up blood and ended up in the hospital, just to protect our business and protect me. In my heart, my brother is my only family. For him to fall for someone this hard, even if she was a block of ice that would never melt, I had to swallow my disgust and help him strategize for the sake of his happiness. Until Julie’s junior year, when she suddenly took off to study abroad without a word. By then, I had taken over the company. The universe, it seems, has a sense of balance; all the business acumen my brother lacked was given to me. I was tougher than him, sharper. After half a year of battling the old foxes on the board, I had finally secured my position. But my brother completely fell apart. When he heard Julie had left the country, he drank himself into a stupor and ended up in the emergency room. I rushed to the hospital, fuming. I pushed open the door to find him trying to rip the IV drip out of his arm. His face was ashen. “I don’t want to live anymore. Julie doesn’t want me. What’s the point…?” My head was buzzing, my temples throbbing. Without a second thought, I marched over and slapped him. Hard. “She went abroad, she didn’t die! Are you out of money or do you not have a passport? Why don’t you go after her?” The slap seemed to knock some sense into him. He stared at me, stunned, before it finally clicked. “Oh, right… Quick, give me my phone, I need to book a flight!” I tossed him the phone. He eagerly scrolled through his chat history, but after a few swipes, his face fell like a wilted flower. “A few days ago… I saw a guy confessing his feelings to her, and I got so angry I blocked her…” I took a deep breath, fighting the urge to strangle him. “So you don’t even know what country she’s in or what school she’s attending?” My brother shook his head miserably. I was beyond frustrated. “Alright, stop whining. I’ll have someone look into it. You just stay put. Don’t work yourself into an early grave before you even see your precious ‘sister-in-law’.” Hearing the word “sister-in-law,” the fool immediately stopped fussing and obediently lay down. Outside the hospital room, I read the message from the private investigator and fell into deep thought. “Ms. Reid, Ms. Blackwood’s whereabouts have been deliberately hidden. The person responsible is her brother.” Julie’s brother? Xavier Blackwood? The legendary business prodigy who hit the Forbes list by the age of thirty? The Reid and Blackwood families didn’t have any business dealings, and I had never met the man. If he was the one intentionally hiding her, this was going to be a problem. If I told my brother this, he’d just dissolve into another puddle of tears. I rubbed my temples and decided to meet this Xavier Blackwood myself. The next day, I sent my assistant to make contact. She came back pale as a ghost. “Ms. Reid, Mr. Blackwood said…” “Said what? Spit it out.” “He said… the Blackwood family has high standards, and they would never let their daughter marry a crybaby waste of space. He told us to give up now.” I saw red. I was furious. Who the hell was Xavier Blackwood to talk about my brother like that? So what if he cries a little? He’s kind and gentle, and aside from his lovesickness, he’s a great guy! Xavier Blackwood, you’ve made an enemy. Since playing nice didn’t work, it was time to play dirty. First, I sent a few handsome men and beautiful women to apply for jobs at the Blackwood Corporation, hoping a little seduction would loosen some lips. I figured every man has a weakness, right? Less than three days later, they all came back with their tails between their legs. “Ms. Reid, Xavier Blackwood isn’t human! He made us run fifty laps around the company building at the crack of dawn, to ‘build character’!” I gritted my teeth. Fine. If he wouldn’t fall for honey traps or threats, I’d handle it myself. I went home and told my brother, “You watch the company for a few days. I’m going to handle your future brother-in-law.” He looked skeptical. “Are you serious? Or are you just trying to skive off work and go on vacation?” I gave him a cold smile. “Say that again. Do you want me to post all your pathetic love letters online?” He immediately shut up. With the fool at home taken care of, I created a new identity, transforming myself into a recent graduate, and managed to get a job at the Blackwood Corporation. I thought I’d find a chance to get close to Xavier. Instead, I spent a week in the finance department and didn’t even figure out where his office was. My patience wore thin. That afternoon, armed with a stack of questionable financial reports, I barged into the executive elevator. When the doors opened, Xavier Blackwood’s icy face was right there. Our eyes met. We were both stunned. I recovered quickly, shoving the reports into his chest. “Mr. Blackwood, I have an urgent matter to report.” The pressure in the CEO’s office was suffocating. I slammed the evidence of embezzlement I’d spent all week uncovering onto his desk. Even though I was a spy, my professional ethics wouldn’t let me ignore such a massive discrepancy. Xavier flipped through the documents, his expression growing darker. Finally, he looked up at me, his gaze sharp and appraising. Soon after, the executive who had been embezzling funds was fired. And I, inexplicably, became Xavier’s new favorite, promoted directly to his executive assistant. While it wasn’t part of my original plan, it was a lucky break. I had gained his trust. He even specifically requested that I accompany him to a business gala that evening. Talk about a small world. I was on Xavier’s arm when we ran right into my brother at the event. Xavier clearly had a terrible impression of Connor. The moment he saw him, his brow furrowed, and a chill emanated from him. My brother, on the other hand, saw me, and his eyes went wide, his mouth opening, ready to start bawling. I shot him a death glare: Hold. It. In. He choked back his tears, looking utterly wronged. After a few drinks, everyone was a little tipsy. Xavier was slightly flushed, and my brother was swaying on his feet. The fool stumbled over, holding a glass, and yelled at Xavier, “Bro! A toast! To you! May your company prosper and make you a fortune!” Xavier gave him a cold glance and didn’t even touch his glass. My brother’s fragile heart shattered on the spot. His eyes welled up, the dam about to break. My own heart leaped into my throat. If he cried in public, the Reid family’s reputation would be ruined! I quickly grabbed a glass and, when no one was looking, dragged my brother by the wrist out onto the terrace. “Cry, cry, cry! Is that all you know how to do? Can’t you have a little dignity?” I hissed. He sniffled. “But… but I haven’t seen Julie in a month… I miss her so much…” I clamped my hand over his mouth, afraid someone inside would hear. Just then, a cold voice came from behind us. “What are you two doing?” The voice was like a clap of thunder, nearly scaring me to death. I stiffly turned around. Xavier was standing in the shadows, his gaze chillingly fixed on our intertwined hands. “What are you doing?” he repeated, his voice thick with suppressed anger. I let go of my brother’s hand as if I’d been electrocuted, my mind racing. “Um… Mr. Blackwood, I saw this gentleman was drunk and was worried he might cause a scene, so I brought him out for some fresh air. I was just… helping him sober up.” My brother was nodding frantically beside me. Xavier was silent, his eyes darting between my face and my brother’s. Suddenly, understanding seemed to dawn on him, and his expression turned darker than a stormy sea. “Tessa, come here.” In that moment, I was eternally grateful that I’d used my mother’s maiden name for my undercover identity. I sheepishly walked over to him. My brother was still looking at me with the mournful eyes of an abandoned puppy. Xavier grabbed my wrist, his grip surprisingly strong, and pulled me away. I kept looking back, desperately trying to signal to my brother: Don’t worry, I’m fine! Get out of here! Xavier dragged me to a deserted corner, trapping me between the wall and his body. He smelled faintly of wine, and his presence was overwhelmingly intense. His eyes were tinged with red as he stared down at me, a look that made my stomach flutter with nerves. Crap, did he figure out I’m a spy? “Tessa, you like him?” I froze, a million questions marks popping up in my head. What? Seeing my silence, Xavier seemed to get even angrier, his tone laced with scorn. “Don’t. A man who does nothing but cry isn’t worth it. Besides, he only has eyes for my sister. You don’t stand a chance.” I almost coughed up blood. Me? Like my own brother? Am I sick in the head? I shook my head frantically. “No! I swear I don’t like him!” Xavier’s expression softened slightly. “Really?” “Absolutely!” “Good.” He seemed relieved, his voice softening too. “I was going to give you my sister’s address, but if you don’t like him, then I guess there’s no point…” “Wait!” Alarm bells went off in my head. For the sake of my brother’s happiness, I had to go all in. I grabbed his tie, my expression instantly shifting to one of profound sorrow. “Actually… Mr. Blackwood, I was lying. I do like him. I’ve liked him for a long time.” Xavier’s face instantly turned to stone. “Tessa, are you playing games with me?” I went for a full-blown Oscar performance, tears streaming down my face. “I really do like him! But I know he only loves your sister, so I tried to get into the Blackwood Corporation just to see… to see what kind of girl could captivate him so completely…” Xavier stared at me, his eyes a mixture of complex emotions. I cried even harder. “Mr. Blackwood, please just tell me. Let me see her one time, just once, and I’ll give up! I promise, after I see her, I’ll come back and work hard and never think about him again!” In the end, he couldn’t withstand my performance. He let out a long sigh. “Alright, stop crying. I’ll give you the address. But after you see her, you have to give up. A man like that isn’t worth your time.” I nodded furiously. “Don’t worry, Mr. Blackwood! I’ll give up completely! I’ll be totally over him!” Inside, I was cackling with glee. Mission accomplished! After getting the address, I promptly quit my job and flew with my brother to a romantic little town abroad. Connor finally saw the goddess of his dreams. Unfortunately, reality was harsh. At an outdoor café, Julie was laughing and talking with a handsome, scholarly-looking young man, their hands resting on top of each other’s. And that man just happened to be my brother’s sworn enemy, Landon. My brother exploded on the spot, charging over and screaming, “Julie! How could you do this to me? You know I hate him!” Julie was startled, her face clouding over. “Connor, are you ever going to stop? I don’t like you. Why did you follow me here? Can’t you just leave me alone?” My temper flared. My brother might be a fool, but his feelings for you are real. You can reject him, but you don’t get to humiliate him! And Landon was notoriously deceitful. I wasn’t about to let my brother get hurt. I stormed over and, without a word, slapped Landon across the face. Twice. I don’t hit women, but this guy, I couldn’t stand. Smack! Smack! The sound was crisp and satisfying. Landon was stunned. “Who the hell are you? Are you crazy?” Julie was furious, her eyes red. “Why did you hit him? Landon is just a classmate, he doesn’t even like me! What right do you have?” My brother was still stuck on his own point. “I don’t like you? Julie, where did you get that idea? I’m crazy about you!” “I got it from both my eyes! What you do is called harassment, not love!” The scene devolved into chaos. In the end, Julie ran off, and my brother stood there like a wooden statue. “How could she say that to me…” Seeing him so dejected, I felt a pang of sympathy. I had pissed off Xavier, lost my job, and all for this. Just then, my phone rang. It was Xavier. Over and over again, the vibration making my hand numb. Feeling incredibly guilty, I turned it off. “Come on, bro! We’re going for a drink tonight! There are plenty of fish in the sea. We don’t need this one!” I dragged my brother to a local bar. That night, we both drank ourselves into oblivion. When I opened my eyes, my head felt like it was splitting open. I tried to move but found my hands and feet were tied. I looked down to see myself trussed up like a sausage, lying on the floor. Next to me, also tied up and snoring loudly, was my brother. My heart dropped. Crap. Were we kidnapped? Did Xavier find us?

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Alex cheated. With a subordinate twelve years his junior. When I found out, he chose to come back to his family. Everything was quiet until tonight, when I happened to see an unsigned text on his phone. [I’m getting married tomorrow. Can you come to Port Crest to see me one last time?] It’s a three-hour drive from our city to Port Crest. If he left now, he’d get there around one in the morning. I watched him pack a suitcase, my voice deceptively light. “Taking that many clothes? Are you planning to sleep with her one more time?” I added, a saccharine smile on my face, “Oh, should I pack a box of condoms for you two?” Alex looked up, his face a mask of exhaustion I’d never seen before. “Stella, I already chose you. What more do you want?” His voice was raw. “Do you really have to push me to the edge before you’re satisfied?” 1 I remember the day I caught him with Lily in that hotel room. The sheer panic on his face was almost comical. And I had become a cliché, the scorned wife from a TV drama. Fueled by a blinding rage and a shattered heart, I had screamed, clawed, and hit them. I took humiliating photos and blasted them everywhere. Lily’s reputation was ruined. She was fired from her job and fled back to her hometown not long after. Alex lost a six-figure deal because of the scandal and was forced to resign from his director position. Crushed under the weight of moral “condemnation,” he got on his knees, begged for my forgiveness, and came home. After his return, he became the picture of obedience. If I said east, he wouldn’t dare look west. Even as he struggled to launch his own startup, facing unprecedented pressure, he took over all the night feedings for our newborn daughter, Penny, just so I could get some sleep. In the span of a single year, despite the exhaustion, his new company was on its feet and starting to thrive. As his status rose, he regained his swagger, a success story in the eyes of the world. It seemed like he’d faced no real consequences at all. Oh, except for a few bad colds from being overworked in the beginning. And that’s what he calls me pushing him to the edge? The irony was suffocating. A bitter smile touched my lips. “Alex, how dare you say that to me.” “Have you forgotten the oath you swore? That you would never see her again?” He slowly unpacked the suitcase, folding each item and placing it back in the closet before shutting the empty luggage. “Stella, it’s been a while since we visited Director Thompson and the kids at the orphanage. Let’s go together tomorrow.” “We should get some rest before Penny wakes up. You know how much of a handful she is when she’s fully charged.” His casual tone was laced with a deliberate, gentle warmth that made my skin crawl. I dug my nails into my palms, the sting of it grounding me. I hated this placid mask he wore, this way he sidestepped everything important. He was the one who had shattered our lives, yet he stood there, the picture of calm rationality. My voice dripped with scorn. “What about Lily? You love her so much. Won’t she be heartbroken if you don’t go to Port Crest? Or are you just afraid of being struck by lightning for breaking your sacred vow?” His expression remained infuriatingly placid. “Stella, the kids love the pork buns from that Southside bakery. Remember to pick some up tomorrow.” This was classic Alex. The colder his exterior, the more organized his thoughts, the deeper the emotion he was burying. It used to be for me. Now, it was for her. I felt a desperate urge to rip that fraudulent mask from his face. I yanked open a drawer and pulled out a stack of letters, my stomach churning. In a voice thick with mock sweetness, I began to read his words aloud, one by one. “Lily, you are like a cloud in the sky, untouched by the dirt of the world. Seeing you, I finally understood that something so pure and clear could exist.” “They say clouds are fleeting, but I will hide you, my cloud, in my heart. Year after year, I will protect your pristine beauty.” “All I desire in this life is to drift with you, my cloud, from dawn till dusk, never apart.” “Lily, the person in my bed is not the one in my heart. Only in the depths of night, in my dreams, can I see your face, so pure it makes my soul tremble.” A crack finally appeared in his composure. His voice erupted in a desperate roar. “Shut up! Stella, I made a mistake, okay? Just one mistake! Haven’t I atoned enough this past year?” “It’s over! Why can’t you just let it go?” I smirked, snatching a pair of women’s silk panties from the drawer—embroidered with twin lotus blossoms—and threw them in his face. “Let it go? Oh, but these love letters you wrote her are just too moving. I have to keep them, to constantly remind you of the pure, beautiful Lily hidden in your heart!” 2 “And besides, do you call that atonement? Penny is my daughter, but she’s yours too. Taking care of her isn’t penance, it’s called being a father!” Alex had always been a romantic, prone to grand, cheesy gestures when he was in love. I used to pretend to cringe at them, but secretly, my heart would soar. I thought I was the only one he would ever love. Until one day, bored and cleaning, I found a box tucked away at the bottom of his bookshelf. Inside was this stack of paper. Over two years, he had written her five hundred and twenty-one love letters. The embroidered panties were her response, a token of their shared “love.” It was like opening Pandora’s Box. The demons inside swarmed out and devoured my soul. The emotional shock sent me into premature labor that very day. Alex, still clueless that I knew about their filthy secret, continued to play the part of the tragic lover in a forbidden romance with Lily, right up until I exposed them. The day I was cleared to leave the house after giving birth, I packed the thick stack of letters into a bag and stormed to his office, ready to tear them down in front of everyone. But the receptionist told me Alex had taken Lily out for a “procurement trip.” A female colleague saw my pale, exhausted face and, assuming I was just a dutiful wife delivering documents, took pity on me. “This morning,” she whispered, “I heard Mr. Morgan tell Lily he was taking her to The Monarch Hotel.” The last sliver of hope in my heart died. Nothing else mattered anymore. When I got to the hotel, the staff tried to stop me, thinking I was just some troublemaker. I had no choice but to call the police. With their help, I finally got into the suite. And there was my husband, his face a mess of panic as he shielded his mistress with a look of pained tenderness. I lost my mind. I screamed, I clawed, I hurled the most vicious curses I could conjure. I took photos and sent them everywhere. The whole process was surprisingly straightforward, easy even. But it drained every last ounce of strength from my body. Now, Alex rubbed his temples, his voice laced with impatience. “Was all that really necessary? The hotel, that was a moment of weakness, I admit. But it was just that one time. And because of the scene you made, nothing even happened in the end, did it?” “Don’t you dare try to justify your cheating!” I shot back. “Alex, you’re despicable!” He smirked, his tone calm and cruel. “You know, Stella, the more you spiral like this, the more perfect Lily seems in my memory.” “You can never compare to her. Let’s see how long you can keep this up.” My breath hitched. I stared at him, my vision blurring. He was finally showing emotion, but it felt like a boulder had lodged itself in my chest, suffocating me. The man who once looked at me with nothing but love in his eyes was now a monster. I had tried. I had told myself to let it go. He had repented, he had come home, we had a daughter who needed us. But over the past year, whenever he tried to share our bed, whenever he tried to touch me as a husband, all I could see were his and Lily’s bodies tangled together. The nausea was overwhelming. I couldn’t pretend it never happened. All the grief and rage I had bottled up inside finally exploded. “Then divorce me and go marry her!” I shrieked. “Alex, stop acting like you’re the victim here! It makes me want to puke!” I snatched the silk panties off the floor and ripped them to shreds. “Whore! You’re both whores!” A flicker of satisfaction crossed Alex’s face as he watched me unravel. He reached out to wipe a tear from my eye. “See? You make yourself this ugly just to get a reaction out of me. Was it worth it?” His voice softened again. “Stella, it’s in the past. Why can’t you just let us live in peace?” 3 “We have a daughter now. Don’t ever talk about divorce again.” I slapped his hand away and said nothing. Our commotion woke Penny. Her cries filled the room. I went to the crib and lifted her into my arms, rocking her gently. Alex watched for a moment, then turned and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Later, after I’d settled Penny back to sleep, I went to the kitchen to make her a bottle and was hit by the overpowering stench of alcohol. I found Alex slumped on the living room floor, his eyes glassy and unfocused. Empty liquor bottles lay scattered around him. A living tragedy. Was he mourning the impending marriage of his precious Lily? His phone buzzed on the floor beside him. He glanced at the screen, and his expression shifted. With a trembling hand, he answered. “Lily, I’m here.” Her voice floated through the speaker, soft and fragile. “Alex… she won’t let you come see me, will she?” A shadow passed over his face. “Lily, she’s my wife. We have a daughter. I have to be responsible.” “I know, Alex. You’re a good man. So responsible, so dependable. I always knew I had good taste.” Her voice sounded like it might break. Alex gripped the phone tighter. “Yes,” he said, his own voice gentle. “We shouldn’t see each other anymore. Lily, I wish you and him a happy marriage. All the best.” Just as he was about to hang up, she pleaded, “Alex, can I just… say a few words to her?” He hesitated for a long moment before holding the phone out to me. “Lily wants to talk to you. Try to control your temper. Don’t scare her.” I refused to take it, but it didn’t matter. It was as if Lily knew I was standing right there. “Stella,” she began, her voice dripping with faux concern, “since he’s come back to you, I’m begging you, please be good to him. The stress he’s under, working to provide for you all… it’s just as hard as what you go through.” “He doesn’t like spicy food, but he has a real sweet tooth, especially for mango pudding. And don’t give him too many cold things in the summer; he has a sensitive stomach.” “Oh, and I bought him a shoulder massager before. His neck and shoulders get really tight, so you should use it on him when you have time. Also… he’s in a crucial phase with his career right now. You just had the baby, so you should be careful when you’re intimate. Don’t let another pregnancy distract him. Remember to use a condom…” I let out a cold laugh. “Are you done?” “You shameless bitch. You’ve got some nerve, trying to manage my husband from another city! Since you can’t seem to let him go, how about I pack him up and ship him to your wedding tomorrow? You can have a new groom!” “After all, a homewrecker like you has no shame, right? We can let everyone see what a pathetic—” Alex snatched the phone away. “Enough!” he roared at me. “Are you insane?” My eyes burned with hatred. “She had the audacity to do it, so I have the audacity to say it. Alex, you two are a disgusting pair of hypocrites! How dare you flaunt your affair in my face!” From the phone, we could hear Lily’s soft, whimpering sobs. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to make your wife angry.” Alex’s face darkened. “Stella, apologize.” That was it. The last thread of my sanity snapped, consumed by flames. I was back in that hotel room, my fists flying, my nails digging into his skin. “Apologize to your mother! Alex, are you even human? You and that bitch can both go to hell! Go to hell!” He shielded his face and pushed me away, his own anger boiling over. “Stella, are you deaf? Didn’t you just hear me say goodbye to her? If you don’t stop this madness, I swear I’ll drive to Port Crest right now to see her!” As he spat out the last sentence, a flicker of anticipation flashed in his eyes. A longing to go see Lily. But he had to maintain his facade of the responsible, long-suffering husband, a martyr to his family. It painted me as the villain, as if his “unfortunate situation” was all my fault. I laughed, a harsh, grating sound. I ran back into the bedroom, grabbed the clothes he had just put away, and stuffed them back into the suitcase. I threw it at his feet. “Get out!” “Alex, the very sight of you makes me sick.” 4 “You asked for this, Stella. Let’s see how you manage with the baby all by yourself.” A cruel smile twisted his lips as he picked up the suitcase and walked out the door. Silence descended on the apartment. I collapsed to the floor as if all the strength had been siphoned out of me, hugging my knees and crying without a sound. It wasn’t until Penny started crying again that I forced myself up, finished making her bottle, and carried it back to the room. I held her tiny body close, my eyes wide open all night. I was the one being pushed to the edge. By him and Lily. On the surface, our life over the past year had been… tolerable. But inside, I was breaking. I became someone I didn’t recognize. I started having nightmares of two pale bodies writhing on a hotel bed. I’d wake up crying for no reason, my body wracked with uncontrollable tremors. I screamed. I threw things. I started cutting my own arm with a kitchen knife. If Alex came home even a little late, I would pick a fight, my words laced with suspicion and acid. I was constantly convinced he was with another woman. At first, he would patiently explain himself. Eventually, he just started sleeping in the guest room. The warmth between us slowly froze over. The day I found myself on the balcony, holding Penny and thinking about jumping from the eighteenth floor, was my wake-up call. I almost died. I had become one of those “oversensitive,” “hysterical” new mothers he read about. I had postpartum depression. Standing on that balcony, the cold wind shocked me back to my senses. I started trying to save myself. I saw doctors. I took medication. But tonight, Alex, the very source of my sickness, had shoved me right back towards the abyss. This disgusting, shattered marriage had to end. Now. I stayed up all night. Alex didn’t come back. Instead, his parents showed up first thing in the morning. Alex’s father looked me up and down with disdain. “Fighting with Alex again? Stella, if Alex really loved that… Lily-whatever-her-name-is, you would have never been our daughter-in-law in the first place.” “And don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve always been petty and shortsighted. If you had just looked the other way back then, Alex wouldn’t have been fired, and he’d be collecting easy dividends every month. He wouldn’t have to work so hard now.” His mother took out her phone, feigning a sigh. “Stella, our Alex is such an exceptional man. It’s normal for him to have admirers. You need to hurry up and have a son to secure his heart, or you’ll be crying a lot more in the future!” She then thrust the phone in my face. It was a social media post Alex had made after he left last night. In the photo, he was holding Lily tightly, gently wiping away her tears, his face filled with affection. The caption read: [Drove for miles, just to see you one last time.] I opened my phone, but the post wasn’t on my feed. I realized he had blocked me. I tried calling him several times, but each call was rejected. After the last one, I asked quietly, “Are you sure he went to see Lily?” His mother’s face was smug. She dialed Alex’s number right in front of me. He picked up instantly. “Mom? What’s up?” “Honey, where are you?” she cooed. “Did you and Stella have another fight?” Through the phone, Alex’s voice was flat, tinged with contempt. “Not really a fight. She just had one of her episodes. Probably bored from being stuck at home all day.” “I’m in Port Crest right now. Mom, don’t tell Stella. I’ll be back soon, just after I see Lily one last time.” The call lasted less than a minute. So he really had driven through the night to be with her. My chest felt hollowed out, yet strangely, a sense of relief washed over me. Seeing my lack of reaction, his mother clucked her tongue. “Did you hear that? Alex is always complaining to me about how dull and stupid you are, how you do nothing but fight with him. If it weren’t for the baby, he would have left you long ago!” “You know, this Lily girl doesn’t seem so bad. I hear her parents are teachers. She’s more than good enough for our Alex. Not like some people, with no parents to speak of. Probably a jinx!” “Like father, like son. Since some people have a taste for spoiled goods, I’m happy to let them have her.” I delivered the line calmly, then picked up my daughter and walked out, leaving the two of them sputtering curses behind me. I knew they never liked me. After marrying Alex, I had tolerated them time and time again. Not anymore. Since Alex wasn’t in town, I would go find him myself. I stopped by a lawyer’s office to pick up divorce papers, then hailed a cab to Port Crest. Using the photo from his mother’s phone as a guide, I went straight to the hotel where they were meeting.

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1 The day I found out I was the illegitimate daughter of the country’s richest billionaire, I rushed over to his mansion to meet my dad. When I got there, I found ninety-eight other girls lined up, all waiting to do the same thing. It turned out the billionaire’s only son and heir had recently passed away. To find a successor for his hundred-billion-dollar empire, he had tracked down all his secret daughters. Now, he was holding a competition to find the best of us. Feeling completely out of my league, I was about to turn around and leave with my head hung low. Suddenly, a glowing banner unfurled in my vision: [Don’t you dare leave, sweetie! Your mother is basically the Underworld’s new queen now, and I can help you win this whole thing.] [Remember your old rival from the orphanage? She’s one of them. If you walk away now, that hundred-billion-dollar fortune will fall right into her lap.] My head snapped around, and sure enough, I saw her face. Veronica. A decade ago, she locked me in a pigsty and stole my chance at being adopted, condemning me to ten more years of misery. Hatred flooded my heart. Fine. I’ll listen to my mom. I’m not leaving. That hundred-billion-dollar fortune is going to be mine. … Veronica recognized me at the same instant. “Zoe? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be back in the pigsty where you belong?” She looked me up and down, a sneer twisting her perfectly made-up face. “Don’t tell me you’re here to steal something. A beggar like you doesn’t even deserve to breathe this air.” Her designer clothes were so bright they hurt my eyes. I clenched my fists, ready to fire back a response. Just then, my billionaire father, Alistair Finch, walked slowly to the top of the grand staircase and looked down at us all. “All these years, I have failed in my duty as a father. For that, I am truly sorry.” “As a small compensation, I’ve prepared one hundred thousand dollars for each of you. Anyone who wants it can register with my butler and collect the money.” The villa erupted. “Thank you, Dad!” “This is perfect! I desperately need the money! You’re the best, Dad!” As a swarm of women rushed toward the butler, Veronica scoffed beside me. “A bunch of greedy fools. And they think they have what it takes to compete with me for the inheritance?” After stealing my adoption, Veronica had been raised in wealth, living a life of luxury. A hundred grand was nothing to her. But to me, a girl who survived on stale bread, that money was a lifeline. Seeing my own feet start to move toward the queue, my mother’s message flashed urgently before my eyes: [Honey, this is the first elimination round.] [Anyone who takes the money is considered shortsighted. They’ll be disqualified immediately.] [Those who refuse the money prove they have the ambition and vision to enter the real competition.] I froze. I snuck a glance up at Alistair. Just as my mom said, he was watching the line of girls with a disappointed frown, shaking his head slightly. The butler’s voice then cut through the noise. “To be clear, anyone who accepts the hundred thousand dollars must also sign this document, formally waiving all rights to the inheritance.” Without a second of hesitation, I backed away from the line. The agreement, however, didn’t deter most of them. Seeing the majority of the girls eagerly sign away their future for a quick payout, Alistair let out a frustrated sigh. His gaze then shifted to those of us who remained. As my eyes met his for a brief moment, another banner appeared: [See? Mom wouldn’t lie to you.] [Just trust me and do as I say. I never got a single penny from that deadbeat while I was alive. You have to make him pay for both of us.] A moment later, Alistair’s deep voice announced, “Twenty of you have chosen to forego the money. Please follow the guards upstairs.” As I fell in line behind the others, Veronica gave me a stunned look. “Zoe, you’re an illegitimate daughter too? So that makes us… half-sisters?” I ignored her. Because Alistair was announcing the rules for the first official round of the competition. “To be my heir, you must possess exceptional financial and business acumen.” “I will provide each of you with ten thousand dollars in seed money. In one hour, the ten people with the most capital remaining will advance to the next stage. You will be my potential successors.” 2 The moment Alistair finished speaking, the other nineteen girls whipped out their phones and sprang into action. “My mother is a CEO. I’ve been learning about business since I was a child. This is in the bag!” “I have a Ph.D. in finance. I know exactly how to make money from money.” They were all in their element. Some immediately started trading stocks. Others dove into investment fund websites. One even began drafting a startup proposal on the spot, using the ten thousand as her initial investment. Another girl cleverly jumped on the social media trend and started a live stream. “Broadcasting live from the billionaire’s heir selection! Follow me for a real inside look at a high-stakes family drama!” I just stared at the debit card a guard had pressed into my hand, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over me. I never even finished high school. The orphanage forced me out to sell trinkets on the street just to survive. How could I possibly compete with these educated, cultured, brilliant women? Veronica saw the panic on my face and laughed, her voice dripping with scorn. “Everyone else is busy making moves, and you don’t even have a phone. You really think you have a chance against me?” She wasn’t just looking down on me. She looked down on everyone. “I graduated from a top business school. When it comes to making money, no one here can touch me.” She immediately launched a two-pronged attack, buying stocks with one hand while writing a detailed investment plan with the other, ready to present it to Alistair at the end of the hour. Meanwhile, my only source of encouragement was my mother’s spectral pop-ups: [Honey, have you ever heard the saying? There’s nothing more dangerous than a rich kid with a business plan.] [Let them run wild. In this round, you can win by doing absolutely nothing.] [Even if you have to fake it, you need to project an aura of absolute confidence!] She added another boost: [You’ve been out in the real world since you were a kid. You’ve seen the best and worst of people. When it comes to reading a room, none of them can compare to you.] [Use this time to observe your billionaire father. It might come in handy later.] The thought of my mom, even in the Underworld, working so hard to help me, filled me with a new sense of purpose. I retreated to a quiet corner and began to study Alistair, trying to decipher his personality and temperament. While the other girls scrambled with their various schemes, my focus remained entirely on him. My unusual calm and stillness eventually caught his attention. He sent the butler over to me. “Why aren’t you doing anything?” the butler asked. Following my mom’s guidance, I started spinning a tale. “Protecting a fortune is far more difficult than building one,” I said, my voice steady. “In today’s volatile market, I believe a conservative strategy is the wisest. My goal is to protect the wealth my father worked so hard to create.” Just as the words left my mouth, a scream pierced the air. “My stocks just crashed! How is this possible?” Someone else kicked over a chair in fury. “Scammers! This whole investment platform is a scam! They converted my money into some worthless crypto and ran!” “Who shut down my live stream? I just paid for a traffic boost!” Amid the chaos, my eyes met Alistair’s, and I offered him a small, knowing smile. A barely perceptible gleam of approval lit up his eyes, though he said nothing. The hour passed quickly. My strategy of doing nothing had actually worked. I placed fifth and advanced to the next round. Mom! Thank you! I’m one step closer to that hundred-billion-dollar fortune! As for Veronica, she had managed to turn her ten thousand into fifteen. Her business proposal also received high praise from Alistair. She advanced in first place, earning the venomous glares of the other girls. As we followed the butler upstairs again, Veronica deliberately shoved me. “You just got lucky, Zoe. It’s not too late to give up and walk away now.” “Because once I become the official heir, I will make it my mission to destroy you.” I shot her a cold look, making a silent vow. When I inherit that fortune, I will make her pay for everything she did to me. We were led into a lavish dining room. To my surprise, the butler pulled out the chair at the head of the table and gestured for me to sit. “Miss Zoe, this seat is for you.” I didn’t think much of it at first. But just as I started to move, I noticed Veronica staring at me with a smirk, as if she was waiting for me to make a fool of myself. I immediately froze, a sense of caution washing over me. 3 At the same time, my mother’s banner flashed into existence: [Honey, that’s the host’s seat! Your father’s seat! You absolutely cannot sit there!] [This isn’t about eating. It’s a test of etiquette. He’s seeing if you have the grace to belong in his world.] [Pay attention from now on. Do exactly as I say!] A shiver went down my spine. I quickly waved my hands at the butler. “Sir, that seat is for my father. When will he be joining us?” The butler’s smile was full of approval. In my peripheral vision, I saw Veronica grind her teeth in disappointment. I didn’t dare get cocky. My full attention was on my mother’s instructions. The butler assigned everyone a seat. I remained standing until Alistair entered and sat down. Only then did I take my seat, the last one to do so. My mom’s tips kept coming: [The spout of the teapot should never point at the host. When you get the chance, you have to fix it.] [When pouring wine, fill the glass. When pouring tea, only fill it partway.] [When the fish is served, the head must be pointed toward Alistair.] [Do not, under any circumstances, pick up your silverware before the host does. And never leave your spoon sticking upright in your soup. Got it?] With my mom’s help, I dominated the dinner. One of the girls rushed to pour tea for Alistair. I said nothing, but the moment she set the teapot down, I quickly and discreetly turned it so the spout was pointing at my own seat. Alistair’s expression didn’t change, but I saw a flicker of appreciation in his eyes. When it was time to pour the wine, I used the skills I’d learned as a waitress to pour a perfect, full glass without spilling a single drop. “To your health, Father,” I said, my voice clear and warm. I had a whole repertoire of toasts ready, thanks to years of listening to customers in diners. When the butler brought out the main course, a whole roasted fish, I intercepted the platter and placed it on the table, carefully positioning it so the head was aimed directly at Alistair. “May our fortunes always be as plentiful as this feast,” I added. Veronica couldn’t believe how well I was performing. She was clenching her jaw, practically vibrating with the desire to challenge me. But at a formal dinner, she couldn’t make a scene. All she could do was watch me shine. I, in turn, watched Alistair, memorizing his every micro-expression. Between my observations and my mother’s intel, I was quickly piecing together a complete picture of his habits and personality. I navigated the meal with the grace of a seasoned socialite. After dinner, as the butler led us downstairs, I noticed that our group was smaller. Five more competitors were gone. The girl who had pointed the teapot at Alistair, the one who started eating early, even one who had spun the lazy Susan too aggressively, had all been eliminated. They were forced to sign the waiver and left with their hundred thousand dollars, their dreams of a billion-dollar inheritance shattered. Veronica jabbed me in the back. “See that, Zoe? That’s going to be you.” “Don’t think you’re so special just because you showed off a few cheap tricks. I’m about to show you what happens when you overestimate yourself.” I was done being timid. I shot back, my voice as cold as ice, “You should worry about yourself, Veronica.” “Because if I win, the very first thing I’m going to do is find you a nice, cozy pigsty to live in.” “You bitch!” Veronica’s face turned crimson. She raised her hand to slap me. Suddenly, Alistair stopped walking and turned to face us, his eyes scanning each of our faces. “Before we proceed to the next round, I have a very serious question for you all.” “I expect you to think carefully before giving me your official answer.” 4 I knew instantly. This was the next test. Everyone held their breath, waiting. “If, one day, my business empire was facing a catastrophic crisis,” Alistair began, his voice grave, “and the only way to save it was for you to marry a wealthy, brain-dead man who could not produce an heir… would you do it?” “And I want you to be very clear,” he added, his gaze intense. “This is not a hypothetical. This is something that could very well happen.” Before the silence could even settle, Veronica stepped forward. “Of course I would! I would do anything to help you, Father. No sacrifice is too great!” “And I believe that with my abilities, I could not only save the company through this marriage but also leverage my husband’s family resources to elevate our own empire to new heights!” Her passionate declaration broke the dam. The other girls rushed to pledge their loyalty. “As your daughter, it is my duty and my honor to secure our family’s legacy through marriage. I would die for our family’s glory!” “A brain-dead man with no heirs is even better! That way, I wouldn’t have to bear children for his family. I could have a child of my own, one who would carry our family name!” For a moment, the scene was almost heartwarming, a group of devoted daughters surrounding their beloved father. My mom, worried I’d be too slow-witted, sent a frantic message: [Honey, don’t listen to his blustering. This is just a loyalty test.] [Just say what everyone else is saying! Be sweet, flatter him. It’s the safe play!] But as I looked at Alistair’s face, I saw nothing. No emotion, no approval. Just that same, faint, calculating look in his eyes. A seed of doubt sprouted in my mind. Alistair’s reaction felt… off. Was it really as simple as just agreeing? Something felt deeply wrong. I stood there like a statue, my mind racing, trying to understand the real question. My mom was getting impatient: [Zoe, what are you waiting for? Just say yes!] [Use that cleverness you had at the dinner table! Say something charming like Veronica did and win him over.] [I dated that old goat for six months, I know how he operates! He’s always been a sucker for a sweet talker. Hurry up and say it!] No. That’s not right. My mother was wrong. Alistair wasn’t a man who could be easily manipulated. And a pretty speech was definitely not the right answer here. I replayed my brief interactions with him, his subtle expressions, the glint in his eyes. My brain kicked into overdrive. My continued silence drew everyone’s attention. Alistair’s brow furrowed as he stared at me. “Zoe. Is this a difficult question for you to answer?” “Look at your sisters. They all answered without a moment’s hesitation.” Veronica’s face was alight with smug satisfaction. “What’s the matter, country bumpkin? Did you not understand the question?” “Zoe, if I were you, I’d take the hundred grand and run. Save yourself the embarrassment.” The other girls started whispering, all waiting for me to fail. “So much for being the star at dinner. Now we see her for what she really is.” My mom was practically having a panic attack in the afterlife, wishing she could just climb out of the ground and answer for me: [Zoe, are you trying to kill me? Just say it!] [If you just say yes, you can stay in the running for the inheritance!] Everything and everyone was pushing me toward the same, seemingly safe, answer. The air was thick with anticipation. I took a deep breath and, in a voice that rang with conviction, I gave my answer. “I refuse.” Alistair’s face instantly darkened.

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1 After I took the fall for the fake heiress and was sent to prison. The guards forced me to kneel on shattered glass to repent, made me drink from the toilet, and seared my back with cigarette butts until it was a tapestry of scars. I endured a thousand days and nights of this hell, finally making it to my execution day. The cold, dark barrel of a gun pressed against the back of my head. Through a one-way mirror, I could see my family in the observation room, popping champagne to celebrate. My third brother, Kian, pointed at the monitor and roared with laughter. “Look at the way the little fool is shaking! She actually thinks she’s about to be executed for murder.” “Hiring a few actors to dress up in uniforms was a brilliant idea. We’ve scared the pride right out of the ‘true’ heiress.” “That’s what she gets for making our little princess cry. This ‘private prison’ is her own personal playground, built just for her.” The gun fired a blank. The sound ripped through me, tearing my sanity to shreds. Just as they were about to come in and enjoy the sight of my humiliating breakdown, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in my mind: Host, have you had enough of this so-called family? Teleportation countdown initiated. Let them weep over a corpse. … I was strapped into the execution chair. Cold metal clamps bit into my wrists and ankles, digging into flesh that was already raw and infected. A hard, cold cylinder pressed against the base of my skull. The muzzle of a gun. Behind me, the crisp click of the bolt being pulled back sounded like the Grim Reaper knocking at my door. My body trembled uncontrollably. I bit my lip until it was a mangled mess, the coppery taste of blood flooding my mouth. Is this how it ends? I had spent a thousand days in this lightless “death row.” Three whole years. Three years it took me to go from screaming my innocence to silently begging for scraps of food. “Rhea Blackwood, I’ll ask you one last time. Do you confess to your crime?” The executioner’s voice was distorted by a modulator, sounding like harsh, electronic static. I managed to pull my lips into a pained grimace, my voice as raspy as a broken accordion. “I… confess.” What else could I do? If I didn’t confess, dinner tonight would be a bowl of rancid slop mixed with porcelain shards. If I didn’t confess, I’d be dragged to the water cell to soak in freezing, filthy water for twenty-four hours. If I didn’t confess, the barbed whip would fall on my back again, a back that had never had a chance to heal. I was terrified. The pain had broken me. “Very good.” The executioner seemed pleased with my submission. But something felt wrong. The wall directly in front of me suddenly became transparent. It was a massive one-way mirror, now electrified to reveal the scene behind it. The bright lights made me squint. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw them. My family. My eldest brother, Wyatt, swirled a glass of amber liquid, a mocking smile on his lips. My third brother, Kian, was clutching his stomach, laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. And there, in the center of their adoring circle, was the fake heiress, Corinne. She wore an expensive designer gown, looking like a pure, innocent angel as she snuggled into our mother’s arms. There was no jury. No victim’s family. Only my biological parents and brothers, watching me as if I were a clown in a circus act. I froze. Even with a mind dulled by years of torment, I knew something was terribly wrong. This was no official execution chamber. 2 Kian’s voice, dripping with undisguised contempt, crackled through the speakers in the wall. “Look at the way the little fool is shaking! She actually thinks she’s about to be executed for murder.” “It was Corinne’s idea, and it was a brilliant one. Hire a few actors, put them in uniforms, and we’ve scared the pride right out of Rhea.” “That’s what she gets for making our little princess cry. This ‘private prison’ is her own personal playground, built just for her.” Every word was a sledgehammer to my heart. It was all fake. There was no murder, no prison, no sentence. This was all because three years ago, Corinne had framed me time and time again, until my family’s disappointment in me curdled into hate. The final straw was when she cried that I had pushed her down the stairs. Just because she had whispered, “Does my sister hate me?”, my entire family had conspired to create this hell for me. To appease their precious adopted daughter, they had spent a fortune building this basement, hiring professional actors, and faking everything. Three entire years. Right under their noses, I was tortured like an animal. And they were right here, on the other side of the glass, sipping wine and watching my suffering for their own amusement. A casual after-dinner entertainment. My vision blurred. Not with tears, but with a despair so absolute it felt like blindness. Corinne seemed to notice me looking at her. She walked up to the glass, picked up a microphone, and her voice, sickeningly sweet, filled my cell. “Happy birthday, sister.” “This little gift took the boys a long time to prepare. Do you like it?” “All you have to do is get on your knees, bow to me three times, and say you’re sorry. Then we’ll let you out, okay?” She giggled, a delicate, tinkling sound. Behind her, Wyatt stroked her hair fondly. “Corinne, you’re too soft-hearted. Trash like her should be scared to death in there.” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. A metallic sweetness flooded my throat. These were my blood relatives. The family I had fought so desperately to belong to, to please. “Proceed with the execution,” our father’s stern voice commanded, tinged with impatience. “Don’t be late for the celebration dinner tonight.” The “executioner” behind me pulled the trigger again. BANG! A deafening roar. I felt a massive impact at the back of my head, and a violent ringing consumed all other sound. It was a blank, but at this range, the concussive force and sound were enough to shatter a person’s spirit. My body convulsed, my heart seizing violently in my chest. The world began to spin as darkness flooded my vision. And in that final moment, a cold, mechanical voice exploded in my mind. [Host’s vital signs are in rapid decline.] [Host’s mental threshold has collapsed.] [System activated.] [Host, have you had enough of this so-called family?] With the last shred of my consciousness, I grasped onto that lifeline. Had I had enough? How could I not have? If I had another life, I would rather be a blade of grass, a stone, anything but a member of the Blackwood family. [Do you wish to abandon the salvation of the Blackwood family and depart from this world?] [The moment this body dies, you will be able to return to your original world and embrace a new life.] I want to go back. I’ve dreamed of escaping this place. [Affirmative. Teleportation sequence initiated.] [Detachment commencing.] [Let them weep over a corpse.] 3 The pain was gone. In its place was a lightness I had never felt before. My perspective began to rise, and I looked down at the emaciated, scar-covered body slumping lifelessly in the execution chair. That was my body. And it was my final “gift” to the Blackwood family. On the other side of the one-way mirror, the laughter continued. “Whoa, she’s down for the count!” Kian slapped his thigh, howling as he pointed at the monitor. “Not bad acting! That fall looked pretty convincing.” “She probably wet herself. That gunshot even made me jump.” Wyatt took a sip of his wine, his eyes full of contempt. “A coward is a coward. With guts like that, how did she ever think she could compete with Corinne?” Corinne covered her mouth, giggling, a flash of vicious pleasure in her eyes. “Don’t be so mean, boys. My sister has always been a bit timid.” “But that expression on her face was so ugly. Like a dead fish.” They were still waiting. Waiting for the person strapped to the chair to wake up from her terror, to start crying and begging for mercy, to get on her knees and bark like a dog. That was the script they had written. But a minute passed. Then two. The figure in the chair remained motionless. Not even the slightest rise and fall of her chest. Her head hung limply, like a broken doll. A strange stillness began to seep through the thick, soundproof glass. “What’s going on?” our mother frowned, setting down her teacup. “Why isn’t she getting up? Has she gotten addicted to playing dead?” Kian clicked his tongue in annoyance and grabbed the microphone. “Hey! Rhea! Stop faking it!” “The show’s over! Get up and bow to Corinne!” No response. Only the crackle of static from the speakers and the dead silence of the small room. The actor “guards” exchanged uneasy glances. The prop guns they used were specially made to produce sound and a slight puff of air. They were completely harmless. “Are these the actors you hired?” our father’s displeased gaze fell on Wyatt. “Completely inept. Did they actually scare her into fainting?” Wyatt’s face flushed with irritation. He slammed his glass down. “I’ll go wake her up.” “This stupid girl. I give her an easy way out, and she forces me to get my hands dirty.” He strode out of the observation room, pushed through the heavy metal door, and entered the “execution chamber.” Kian and Corinne followed, eager to get a closer look at my pathetic state. Wyatt walked up to me and kicked the iron leg of the chair. CLANG! “Wake up! How long are you going to keep this act up?!” My head lolled with the vibration of the chair, but it didn’t lift. My matted, yellowed hair covered my face, hiding my expression. Wyatt’s patience ran out. He reached out, grabbed the collar of my prison uniform, and tried to haul me to my feet. “I said—” His words died in his throat. His hand froze. The skin his fingertips touched was as cold as ice. Not the normal coolness of a living person, but a profound, bone-deep cold that had lost all trace of life. And she was so light. The person in his hands felt as light as a sheet of paper, as if she were nothing but a skeleton. Wyatt’s heart skipped a beat. He instinctively let go. My body, no longer supported, slid down the back of the chair and crumpled onto the concrete floor with a heavy thud. My limbs were bent at grotesque, unnatural angles. “What are you doing, bro?” Kian walked in, pinching his nose in disgust. The room stank of old blood and mildew. “Hurry up and wake her so we can get out of this dump. It stinks.” Wyatt didn’t speak. He stared at my body on the floor, his pupils constricting violently. That feeling… it wasn’t right. That stiffness… it wasn’t an act. “Kian, call a doctor,” Wyatt’s voice was hoarse. Kian paused. “A doctor? Why? Just throw a bucket of cold water on her. She’ll wake up.” “I SAID CALL A DOCTOR!!!” Wyatt suddenly roared, the veins on his neck bulging. The shout startled Corinne, who had just entered the room. “Wyatt, what’s wrong?” she pouted. “Sister is just playing dead to scare us. Why are you yelling at Kian?” Wyatt ignored her. He crouched down, his hand trembling as he slowly reached a finger toward my nose. No breath. Dead silence. He then shakily felt for a pulse on my neck. Nothing. Not even the faintest flutter. Wyatt collapsed onto the floor, his face instantly turning a deathly white. “She’s… gone.” “What’s gone?” Kian was still clueless, kicking my leg in annoyance. “Hey, Rhea, knock it off. You really think you’re some kind of A-list actress?” “I SAID SHE’S NOT BREATHING!!!” Wyatt whipped his head around, his eyes like those of a cornered animal. “SHE’S DEAD! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! SHE’S DEAD!!!” 4 “Dead?” Kian looked as if he’d just heard the world’s most ridiculous joke. “Bro, did she fool you too?” “How could a blank kill someone? We had experts calibrate these props!” Refusing to believe it, he crouched down to slap my face. “Rhea, that’s enough—” His hand touched my cheek. The icy, rigid feel of my skin made the words catch in his throat. Kian was a race car driver. He’d seen his share of blood and accidents. He knew the difference between a living person and a dead one just by touch. No one could fake that temperature. Kian snatched his hand back as if he’d been electrocuted. He scrambled backward, knocking over a nearby rack of torture implements. A loud crash of metal echoed through the room. “How could this happen…” Kian muttered, his eyes vacant. “The medical report said she was in good health…” “I had someone give her nutritional IVs regularly for the past three years…” “How could she just be scared to death by a single blank?” By now, our parents, who had been watching from the doorway, realized something was terribly wrong. Our father strode in, his face ashen. “What is all this commotion! Get a hold of yourselves!” Despite his stern words, his pace was hurried. If someone had actually died, even here, it would be a massive problem. Especially since the dead person was his own daughter. Even though he had never truly acknowledged me. “The doctors! Where are the doctors?!” he roared. There was no need to call for one from outside. Our second brother, Nolan, was a top surgeon. He had been delayed by an important surgery and hadn’t arrived yet. But the facility was equipped with its own emergency medical team, precisely to prevent them from “taking the game too far.” Several people in white coats rushed in. They were also on the family payroll, responsible for patching up my wounds to ensure I wouldn’t die, so the torture could continue. “Quick! See what’s happened!”

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A new girl, Sienna, transferred in—a bombshell with a sharp attitude. She vowed to have my childhood best friend, Noah, in her bed within months. Without looking up, Noah said, “Stay away. I’m a germaphobe.” But then he gripped my hand, eyes red, and whispered, “Aria, I’ve only ever been yours. Why wait until after graduation? Waiting is killing me.” He paused, then added, “But fine. I’m traditional. A few more months won’t kill me. Your happiness comes first.” Sienna chased him for half a year; he never glanced her way. I thought it was true love—until the pre-semester party. Drunk and barely standing, he leaned on me, murmuring my name desperately: “Aria, have pity on your future husband…” My heart raced. Alone, I tried to steal my first kiss. But as my lips touched his, his hazy eyes snapped open. He pinned me against the door, his voice a rough whisper: “Why so shy tonight? No tongue? Last night in the music room, you were all over me.” A chilling cold washed through me. The boy who swore I was his one and only… was wearing a mask I’d never seen. 1 Noah’s kiss was deep and possessive, his movements far from clumsy. He kissed like an expert. He said last night. So, who was he with last night? Before I could even form the question, he pulled away. He was completely wasted, his eyelids heavy. He let out a low groan, his brow furrowing slightly. “You dummy, still haven’t learned how to breathe?” “Did I teach you nothing?” I took a sharp breath, pushing against his chest. My fingertips trembled, but I forced my voice to stay level. “Noah, look at me. Look who I am.” Noah went silent for a beat, squinting at me. I never imagined that the few seconds before his answer would feel like an eternity. A dreadful possibility was clawing its way into my mind. But I needed to hear it from him. He patted his own cheeks, then gently pinched mine, his words slurred with alcohol. “Sweetheart, are you still in my dream?” “Aria… you’re so much better in my dreams. You let me kiss you whenever I want.” My eyelashes fluttered. Hearing my name, that gnawing anxiety in my gut subsided, just for a moment. So, he thought he was dreaming. Noah cupped my face, his warm lips descending on mine again. “Breathe, sweetheart. Don’t hold your breath and turn all red like last time.” He cooed and kissed me, peppering his words with all the old pet names he had for me. When he was done, he flopped onto the bed and buried his face in the pillows, as if embarrassed. “Damn, this dream feels real.” I sat beside him on the edge of the bed, my thoughts racing. After a few moments, I stood up. Whatever. Noah was an idiot. He’d been chasing me his whole life. Even if he was hiding something, he was terrible at keeping secrets. It would come out eventually. No one else was home tonight. I pulled out my phone to order some hangover soup, but it died right in my hand. Too lazy to find a charger, I grabbed Noah’s phone instead. The lock screen was still the latest picture I’d sent him. He always claimed he got bored easily, so he demanded at least three new, different photos of me every week. If I didn’t deliver, he’d pout and ignore me, a real pain to win back over. I always teased him about it. “If you get bored so easily, how have you been stuck on me for so many years?” He’d just grin, all carefree charm. “Tough luck. You’re the one I like.” But when I tried my fingerprint to unlock the phone, it failed. Of the five fingerprints registered on his phone, one was his. The other four were mine. I tried each of my fingers. All of them failed. Did he delete them by mistake? Noah wasn’t that careless. I tried the passcode next: my birthday. He’d used that code for years. He wouldn’t change it. But it failed, too. Just then, a notification popped up on the screen. It was a picture, from Sienna. The girl who had been chasing Noah for months. 2 My hand tightened around the phone, my knuckles white. When did they become friends on social media? Didn’t Noah say he couldn’t stand her? To be fair, Noah had always had a legion of admirers. But he was aloof and had a sharp tongue. That, combined with his blatant, unwavering devotion to me, made most girls give up pretty quickly. Sienna was the only one who had lasted this long. And she was the only one who truly got under his skin. I remember one evening after our late study session, she cornered me in the hallway. Her voice was laced with ice. “Aria, you and Noah aren’t actually dating, are you?” “So it’s fair game. May the best woman win.” Her hostility was palpable. Before I could respond, Noah appeared, snagging my backpack and slinging it over his shoulder with practiced ease. He handed me a warm carton of milk and carefully adjusted my scarf and hat. Noah was usually so mild-mannered, but that night, I could feel the storm brewing inside him. He took my hand, his tall frame shielding me from her glare, and his voice was cold steel. “She doesn’t have to compete with you. Because I’m the one chasing her.” “And you’re right, we’re not dating. I’m just her future husband.” Noah was silent the entire walk home that night. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and poked his arm. “What’s wrong?” His eyes were red, and he pinched my cheek, his tone accusatory. “Aren’t you even a little bit jealous?” “Someone says that to you, and you have no reaction? Do you not even like me?” Oh, so that was it. I shook my head. “No, because I know your heart only has room for me.” Noah’s lips pressed into a thin line, but I could see he was pleased. He took my hand again, his grip tight. “I can’t wait for graduation, Aria. I want to date you so badly.” I looked down, remembering what Noah’s mother had told me. “Aria, sweetie, I know Noah has loved you since you were little, and I don’t object to you two. But can you promise me you’ll wait until after graduation to say yes to him?” I squeezed Noah’s hand, thinking to myself. Just wait a little longer, Noah. There’s only one semester left. 3 I put Noah’s phone down and went to my own room downstairs. The room I had lived in for over a decade. When I was three, my parents divorced. My mother, raising me alone, found a job with the Scotts, Noah’s family. She worked as their housekeeper, and we lived there with them. Noah and I are the same age. We grew up side by side. Even as a kid, Noah had this “keep your distance” aura. I was a little scared of him, but I was always polite, calling him my big brother. He never answered back, but he always included me when he played with his friends. I guess I was a cute kid, because one of the boys once told Noah to share me with him. Noah, who was always so cool and collected, exploded. He tackled the boy, pinned him to the ground, and just snarled, “Get lost.” It was the first time I’d ever seen him angry, the first time I’d heard him swear. On the way home, I trailed timidly behind him, calling his name. Still fuming, he turned and yelled at me, another first. “Don’t call me your brother!” I was so scared I avoided him for days, until he finally cornered me. His tone was softer then, and he used a nickname for me for the very first time. “Aria, are you dense?” “Brothers and sisters can’t get married.” I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. I’d imagined he hated me, that he was annoyed by me… But I had never, ever imagined he might actually like me. After his confession, Noah became even more shamelessly devoted to me. His love wasn’t quiet like he was; it was loud, passionate, and on full display. Everyone knew it. Noah Scott would only ever marry one person in his life. Aria Lane. But tonight, my mind couldn’t stop racing. His practiced, expert kiss. The way he called me “sweetheart.” And that picture from Sienna, the one I couldn’t see. 4 The next day was the first day of the new semester. My mom had taken a month off to visit family, and Noah’s parents were away on a business trip. It was just me and Noah in the house. I hadn’t slept a wink, so naturally, I overslept. The moment I opened my door, I walked straight into Noah’s chest. A faint scent of citrus hit me. I sniffed the air, asking without thinking, “Did you change your body wash? It smells… unfamiliar.” For years, he had insisted on using the same brand as me. He’d never switched, not once. Even yesterday, when we went out, he smelled like my body wash. Noah’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He gave a quiet “mmhmm.” He clearly didn’t want to elaborate. “I made you breakfast. Let’s get to school.” I took the breakfast sandwich he handed me and pursed my lips. “My mom told me to take care of you…” Noah grabbed my hand, a faint smile playing on his lips. “You, take care of someone? You practically threw me on the bed last night and disappeared.” I seized the opportunity. “I was going to order you some hangover soup, but my phone died. And you changed your phone’s passcode.” Noah paused for a second before explaining, “The guys figured out my password was your birthday last time. It’s not secure.” “You know my phone is filled with pictures of you. I’d lose my mind if even one got out.” “Oh,” I said. He continued, “I changed it to the day I first told you I liked you.” I nodded, pretending to understand. But a thought still nagged at me. That doesn’t explain why you deleted my fingerprints. Just as I was about to press him further, Noah handed me his phone and leaned back against the car window, closing his eyes. “Go ahead, look. It’s not every day I get an inspection from you.” “Finally starting to care about what I’m up to, huh?” I’d never done anything like this before, but today, I had to know. So I opened his chat history. Sienna’s contact was gone. I tossed the phone onto his lap. “I saw Sienna send you a message yesterday. It was a picture. It’s gone now.” Noah didn’t even open his eyes. “Yeah. She sent me an explicit photo. I blocked and deleted her.” 5 …An explicit photo? A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to ask him why he’d added her in the first place. I thought he couldn’t stand her. But what right did I have to ask? We weren’t anything, officially. Everyone thought I was just stringing him along, refusing to say yes after he’d poured his heart out for so long. But Mrs. Scott had taken my mother and me in when we had nowhere else to go. We owed them everything. I had to honor the one condition she’d given me. Besides, it was just a little longer. Being with Noah at all was more than I could have ever hoped for. “Aria, I didn’t know it was her when I accepted the request.” He held up his phone, showing me his lock screen—my face—his eyes softening with a genuine tenderness. “It just disgusted me. She’s got nothing on my Aria.” In class, Noah sat beside me as usual. He expertly unpacked my various snacks from his backpack, along with new pens and notebooks, and a few other little things he knew I sometimes needed. He was always like that, taking care of every little detail. Sienna was the last one to arrive. On this frigid winter day, she wore a tight, cropped top under a thin jacket, paired with a skirt that barely reached her mid-thigh. She sauntered in, chewing gum, and tossed her bag onto the desk across the aisle from Noah. Noah’s pen froze for a second. He glanced at me. “Aria, switch seats with me.” Sienna just smirked and plopped down into her chair. I moved to Noah’s seat. As soon as I sat down, I was hit by a wave of citrus. The same scent that was on Noah. Only here, it was much, much stronger. 6 First period was a study hall. I told myself to stop overthinking and buried my head in my workbook. A folded note slid onto my desk. It was from Sienna. I hesitated for a moment, then unfolded it. “He smells like me, doesn’t he?” I crumpled the note into a tight ball and threw it at Noah in frustration. He was in the middle of organizing my notes on problems I’d gotten wrong. He raised an eyebrow at me, then slowly unfolded the paper. As he read the words, his fingers clenched, crumpling it again. Noah muttered a curse under his breath and pulled me out of my seat and into the hallway. The class monitor called after us, but we were already gone. He sighed and wrote both our names on the board for detention. At the end of the empty hall, I yanked my hand free. “What is wrong with you?” “What kind of lies is she feeding you now?” I pressed my lips together. “She’s not lying. You both have the same scent.” Noah sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t listen to her nonsense. I ran into her the other day when I was buying you snacks.” “She must have seen me grab some new body wash. She’s doing this on purpose to mess with you.” It felt like too many coincidences, but I chose to believe Noah wouldn’t lie to me. “Okay, I get it. I didn’t say anything. Let’s go back to class.” Noah reached for my hand, but I flinched away instinctively. I was distracted for the rest of the day, making stupid mistakes on the simplest problems. On the walk home, for the first time in forever, Noah didn’t hold my hand or talk to me. Usually, the walk from the classroom to the school gate was his dedicated pestering time. He’d chatter endlessly, a stark contrast to the cool, quiet persona he showed everyone else. It was an endearing, adorable side of him that I loved. But today, he was just staring at his phone. He had long legs and a fast pace. He forgot about me, leaving me trailing behind. I clutched my backpack straps and jogged to catch up. 7 That evening, Noah brought a glass of warm milk to my room. He leaned against the doorframe, watching me drink it all. Then he pushed his hair back from his forehead and smiled. “Can I have a hug?” I nodded. We’d already kissed last night, so a hug didn’t seem like a big deal. I walked over and stepped into his embrace. The scent that hit me wasn’t the citrus from earlier. It was my scent, the one he was supposed to smell like. Didn’t he say he switched his body wash? Noah’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it. Then he released me and left without looking back. “Get some sleep.” I stood frozen in place, the lingering scent of him clinging to me, a confusing, unsettling presence that I couldn’t shake. Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, I got a new friend request. The profile picture was familiar. It was Sienna. I accepted. A message came through immediately. [Remember what I said three months ago? Well, I did it.] [I tested him out for you. He’s amazing, by the way. And very… gifted.]

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I got the supercar dirty while I was mucking out the chicken coop. The family’s young prince was already in a foul mood over his rebellious adopted sister and her new boyfriend. He didn’t dare take it out on her, so he threw the car keys at my head instead. “If you don’t break up with that punk, you can get the hell out of this house!” The girl’s eyes filled with tears. “Then who do you want as your sister? Her?” She pointed a dramatic finger at me, still rubbing my head. The prince didn’t even glance my way. “Works for me,” he sneered. I was about to protest when strange, glowing text floated in front of my eyes: 【LOL, does the chicken poop girl actually believe him? He’s just saying it because he’s mad.】 【He already regrets it. If she hesitates for even a second, he’ll take it back.】 【But… if she actually becomes the Morton family’s adopted daughter, she’d be set for life. Money, luxury, everything…】 I snapped to attention and beamed. “Hello, brother!” 1. The moment the words left my mouth, the expressions on everyone’s faces soured. The boy, Spencer, looked me up and down, his gaze finally landing on the chicken droppings caked on my boots. His face twisted. “You really want to be my sister?” I nodded, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “Are you going to take it back?” His jaw tightened, and he pressed his lips into a thin, silent line. “Spencer!” The girl, Tina, stomped her foot, her voice thick with tears. “You promised I would be your only sister!” The air crackled with tension for a few seconds. Then, Spencer’s voice turned cold. “Sorry. I was just joking.” My heart sank. The floating text reappeared: 【OMG, I’ve seen shameless people, but this is a new low. Practically begging to be a stranger’s sister.】 【She should take a good look at herself in a puddle. A wild hick reeking of chicken shit, trying to compare herself to our sweet, perfect heroine?】 【Besides, the role of ‘sister’ is sacred to him. He would never let some dirty girl take that spot.】 I rubbed the growing bruise on my head. I lowered my gaze and mumbled, “Then… can you at least give me some more money?” 2. Spencer gave me twenty crisp hundred-dollar bills. By the time I left, the brother and sister had already made up. Tina was clinging to his arm, a triumphant smirk on her face as she glanced at me. “That’s not even enough for me to buy a new backpack. Maybe we should give her some more?” A flood of text filled my vision: 【Our heroine is so kind! Aaaah!】 I carefully rolled the bills into a tight cylinder, tucked them deep into my pocket, and shook my head. “No… that’s not necessary.” I was asking for compensation, not trying to blackmail them. I rolled up my sleeves and meticulously wiped the bird droppings off the supercar’s gleaming finish. Thankfully, it came off without leaving a trace. The whole time, Tina covered her mouth with an exaggerated gasp, her big, bright eyes wide. “It stinks so much, Spencer! Is that what chicken poop smells like?” Spencer shot her a look but, for once, didn’t respond. He stayed silent until I had polished his entire car. Just as he was about to leave, he frowned, his handsome brows furrowing, and pressed another roll of cash into my hand. That money was a lifesaver. I divided it into three parts. One for my high school tuition, one for living expenses, and the last part I sent to the hospital. When the money ran out, I started collecting empty bottles. I’d start after school and work late into the night. The next time I saw Spencer, he was drinking alone on a dark street corner. Under the dim streetlight, his silhouette was lonely, his deep-set eyes filled with a quiet desolation. The floating text, silent for so long, flickered back to life. 【He must have seen the heroine kissing the other guy. His heart is probably shattered.】 【Our girl is just going through a rebellious phase! It’s not like she doesn’t love him! Aaaah!】 【If only she could realize how important he is to her. She’s only so reckless because she knows he’ll always forgive her!】 【He knows what the problem is, but he can’t bring himself to discipline her, can he?!】 … I quietly placed a carton of milk at Spencer’s feet. My eyes darted to the expensive watch on his wrist. I summoned my courage. “Brother.” Spencer lifted his eyelids, his dark pupils heavy as they fixed on me. “What did you call me?” My voice trembled with nerves. “If you take me in, I can help you… manage your relationship with your sister.” He stared at me, his face a blank mask. “You? And how would you do that?” This was my one shot. I widened my eyes, trying to convey all my sincerity. “I’m a really good cook, I can get the dishes sparkling clean, and I-I’m great at housework…” His lips curved into a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile. I gradually lowered my head, my voice trailing off into a mumble. “…I could just be a servant, if you want. I’m not expensive, you could consider it…” My voice faded, dissolving into the dusty night air. After a long moment, I heard a soft chuckle. Spencer was actually laughing. The curve of his eyes under the streetlight was devastatingly handsome. “My family doesn’t have a history of hiring child labor.” I let out a disappointed “oh” and was about to slink away when he called out. “But… I could certainly use a more obedient sister right now.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What’s your name?” “Alice.” The air seemed to freeze for a second. Spencer’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly. 【Alice??? Isn’t that the name of the scheming supporting female character who has the same name as the heroine’s original name?】 【I thought she was just a random extra, but she’s actually that disgusting character… No wonder she’s throwing herself at him.】 【She’s the one who constantly tries to seduce the male lead, making our heroine throw tantrums. But her little tricks never work and only end up pushing the main couple closer together…】 【I heard that in the end, he marries her off to an old man fifty years her senior… who has a psycho son.】 … I stood there, perfectly still. My hands were tucked in my pockets, nervously rubbing the last two bills I had left. Compared to a tomorrow where I might not eat… Who I might marry in the distant future didn’t seem so important. After a long pause, Spencer ruffled my hair. “From now on, your name is Holly. It’s easier to remember.” 3. The Mortons were good people. They weren’t angry that their son had inexplicably brought home a strange girl. They even gave me a guest room to stay in. But they didn’t immediately agree to adopt me, saying they wanted to observe for a while. Tina threw the household into chaos. She cried, screamed, and went on a hunger strike. It took Spencer four hours of coaxing before she finally agreed to go to sleep. Seeing the exhaustion etched on his brow as he left her room, I felt a wave of despair. I thought for sure I was about to be kicked out. I packed my meager belongings and sat by the front door all night. I was finally woken up by Spencer’s annoyed voice. “Trying to run away?” His gaze landed on my face and paused. “You actually look pretty when you’ve gained a little weight. Much better than when you were all skin and bones.” He casually pinched my cheek. “Relax and stay. My parents really like you.” I breathed a sigh of relief. That night, for the first time in a week, I slept soundly. I didn’t have to collect bottles anymore. I didn’t have to worry about tuition or food. I poured all my energy into my studies and quickly ranked in the top ten of my grade. With me as a constant comparison, Tina felt the pressure for the first time. She stopped skipping evening study sessions and even ignored the love letters from her boyfriend, burying her head in her books every day. The day she finally broke up with him, Spencer did something unheard of: he came to pick me up from school himself. “Good job, sis.” His usually stoic face was alive with a rare, bright energy. He had a cigarette dangling from his lips and a smirk in his eyes that told me everything. That was the first time he ever called me sister. I smiled back at him. My genuine, heartfelt smile seemed to catch him off guard for a moment. I smoothed down my skirt and said obediently, “I know what to do next, brother.” I started finding creative ways to cling to Spencer in front of Tina. Spencer was a picky eater, so I spent hours researching recipes he’d like, delivering his lunch to his office every day, rain or shine. It got his employees talking. “The boss’s new sister is so much more thoughtful than the other one.” “She gets good grades, she’s obedient, and she actually knows how to take care of her brother.” Spencer would neither confirm nor deny it, just ruffle my hair and give me a knowing smile. The gossip quickly reached Tina’s ears. Just as I expected. After her initial burst of anger, she slowly started to rein in her temper and began showing concern for Spencer too. One time, while Spencer was washing fruit for Tina, I deliberately snuck up behind him, covered his eyes, and whispered, “Brother…” The long lashes under my palms fluttered. He turned, taking my hands in his. His expression was a little strange. “Holly, don’t you know about personal space?” Just then, Tina walked into the kitchen and saw us. Her eyes turned red, and she ran off in a huff. From then on, Tina not only started sticking to Spencer like glue, but she also saw me as her sworn enemy. After our final exams, she deliberately pestered her parents into sending me abroad. “Spencer is mine. You can’t steal him, so stay away from him,” she warned me coldly. I didn’t say anything, just gave her a look of profound gratitude. My exam scores were excellent; I could apply to even better universities overseas. I didn’t forget my promise to Spencer during my four years of college. Since I couldn’t be there in person, I’d slip a cute little trinket that looked like me into his car. Sometimes, a passenger would joke, “Your girlfriend put this here?” Spencer would just raise an eyebrow. “Something like that. She’s clingy. Can’t live without me.” Whenever I came home for a visit, I would ignore Tina’s thunderous expression and use the excuse of a nightmare to beg him to stay with me for a little while. In my junior year, I was being harassed by some rich brat, and it was Spencer who stepped in to solve the problem. He was always a willing participant in our little play, and every time, it successfully provoked Tina. He played the part of the perfect, doting brother so well. Sometimes, I even felt he was a little too good at it. He once bought out every single camellia in the city and had them delivered to me, just because I’d casually mentioned I liked them. He’d call me and ask nonchalantly if I missed him, and when I said yes, he’d book a flight and cross an ocean just to see me. Gradually, everyone in Spencer’s circle came to know about the new sister he cherished. His friends would look me over with playful smiles. “Well now, his sister is a real beauty.” “How old are you? Ever had a boyfriend?” I looked at them honestly. “I have.” “Oh really? Who was he? Does Spencer know?” From the corner of my eye, I saw Spencer, who had been lounging lazily, sit up a little straighter, a frown creasing his forehead. I smiled sweetly. “Just some silly high school thing. I kept it a secret from my brother. I guess I’m confessing now.” “Pfft—a high school romance?” My candid, innocent attitude must have been convincing. The young heirs shook their heads in disappointment. “Just holding hands doesn’t count as dating, little sis. Boring.” “You perverts, is that all you think about!” Spencer’s features relaxed as he laughed and cursed at them. “My sister is the sweetest, most obedient girl in the world. She’s only ever had eyes for me. You think she’d have a boyfriend behind my back?” Is that so? Fuzzy, moonlit images flickered through my mind. I nodded serenely and said yes. But I couldn’t stop the heat rising in my cheeks. 4. On Tina’s twenty-second birthday, the whole family went to the coast to celebrate. On a private yacht in the harbor, Spencer was staring out at the sea, lost in thought. I quietly walked over and draped a jacket over his shoulders. The floating text appeared: 【Here comes the famous scene!! The supporting character is about to kiss the male lead!! The heroine is going to see and burst into tears from jealousy!】 【This supporting girl is so annoying. Hasn’t she been trying to seduce him long enough? It’s so obvious he only sees her as a sister!】 【Watching them get close all this time must have made the heroine finally realize her own feelings for him, right?】 【This kiss is the turning point!! After they talk it out, it’s all sweet moments from here on out!】 My fingers lingered on Spencer’s shoulder. For so long that he noticed something was wrong. He turned, looking down and taking my hand. “Why are your hands so cold?” I forced a smile. Taking a deep breath, I stood on my toes and kissed him. The next second. Tina’s hand connected with my cheek in a resounding slap. 5. The night ended in chaos. Tina was completely overwrought, confessing her love for Spencer through a flood of tears. Spencer held her tenderly, his heart aching for her. Just as the floating text had predicted. My kiss was the catalyst that brought all their feelings rushing to the surface. The main characters were finally together. It was time for the supporting character to make her exit. The next day, I was informed of an arranged marriage. Spencer looked at me with cold indifference, all his previous warmth gone. “Holly, I only ever saw you as a sister. Your behavior has been a great disappointment.” I lowered my eyes. “I know.” His face was a stony mask. “Walter Lancaster. Fifty-seven years old. He has an illegitimate son. You will marry him.” I nodded. “Okay.” He seemed stunned that I would agree so easily. For the first time, Spencer’s composure cracked. His voice was hoarse. “You can… think it over.” “No need. I’ll marry him.” I met his gaze calmly. Marrying an old man wasn’t as bad as the rumors made it sound. Old men were good. They had money and status, which meant my own status would rise accordingly. The only downside was the loss of love. But after flipping through a full page detailing the Lancaster family’s assets, that one downside suddenly seemed negligible. I quickly got a handle on the Lancaster family situation. Walter Lancaster was in poor health and spent all his time in a private hospital. The only potential complication was his illegitimate son—his only son—who had just returned from abroad. But I wasn’t worried about that. Spencer’s expression seemed to darken even further. “Holly, are you doing this to spite me?” I blinked, then let out a small laugh. Why would he think that? “Brother, I sincerely wish you and the person you love a lifetime of happiness.” Now that Tina had confessed, this long, drawn-out performance was finally over. I looked at him with genuine sincerity. “And now, I’m off to find my own happiness.” As the words fell. The cup in Spencer’s hand suddenly crashed to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. Ceramic shards flew past my ankles like raindrops. He stared at me, his face blank, for a very long time.

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