My boyfriend, Austin, proposed to me right after donating his kidney to his childhood best friend, Chloe. In my past life, I said yes to his proposal. After we got married, the entire financial and physical burden of our lives fell on my shoulders. Austin claimed that since he only had one kidney left, he couldn’t get too tired, couldn’t handle stress, and couldn’t do any physical labor. I had to work overtime to pay the bills while doing every single bit of the housework. I literally worked myself to death at forty, dying of sudden cardiac arrest at my desk. And what did Austin do? He took my life insurance payout and married Chloe. They lived happily ever after on my blood money. So, when I woke up reborn, standing in front of Austin’s proposal once again… I rejected him on the spot. “Why the hell would I marry a lazy, one-kidney slacker like you?!” “Emily, marry me!” Austin knelt on one knee, holding a bouquet of red roses in one hand and a diamond ring in the other. His face was still pale from the kidney donation surgery a few days ago. But a confident smirk played on his lips. He was absolutely sure I wouldn’t say no. After all, we had been together for seven years. Marrying him had practically become my life’s goal. Even though he had stood me up countless times for Chloe. Even though he ignored my warnings and insisted on giving Chloe his kidney. He believed I would always be his safety net. His frat bros stood behind him, cheering and filming on their phones. “Say yes! Say yes!” One of them nudged me. “Come on, Emily, just say yes!” “Yeah, haven’t you been dreaming of marrying Austin forever?” “He’s finally proposing. What are you waiting for?!” It was exactly like my past life. A month after Austin donated his kidney to Chloe and got discharged from the hospital, he threw this grand proposal. He told me I was his true love. He said donating the kidney to Chloe was just because they grew up together. He said he couldn’t just watch her die. He begged me to understand his “noble sacrifice.” In my past life, my heart softened, and I said yes. But right after the wedding, Austin used his health as an excuse to quit his job. He refused to work. He spent every single day lying on the couch, playing video games and scrolling through TikTok. He didn’t lift a finger to help around the house. Whenever I complained, he’d play the victim card. “I only have one kidney, Emily! I’m fragile!” “The doctor said I can’t do heavy lifting! I can’t stress myself out!” “Do you want me to die? Is that it?!” Even his mother, Helen, had the audacity to point at my face and scream: “You’re the one who begged to marry my son! Did he force you?” “You’ve been living with him for seven years. If it wasn’t for Austin, who would want a used-up woman like you at thirty?” “Now that you’re a Carter, it’s your job to serve him!” So, I worked a grueling 9-to-5 by day and did endless chores by night. We never had kids, because Austin claimed his kidney issue made him impotent in bed. Between the stress, the exhaustion, and the depression, I collapsed and died of a sudden stroke at my desk in my early forties. Not even a month after my funeral, Austin registered his marriage with Chloe. They moved into the house I bought. And lived a luxurious life using my life insurance payout. Remembering the sheer horror of my past life… I looked down at Austin kneeling before me. I sneered. “Austin, you’re nothing but a lazy, one-kidney slacker now.” “Why on earth would I marry you?!” Austin froze, staring at me in utter disbelief. Chloe immediately stepped forward, grabbing my arm with a hurt expression. “Emily, how can you say that to Austin?!” “He saved my life! He gave me his kidney because he couldn’t bear to see me die!” “You can’t look down on him just because he did something heroic!”

She was freshly discharged, her face pale and her lips bloodless. Because she got so worked up, her body swayed as if she was about to faint. Austin scrambled up from the floor and quickly caught her in his arms. The look he shot me was filled with pure disgust. “Emily! Since when did you get so malicious?” “I just saved Chloe’s life. Was I supposed to just stand by and watch her die?！” Austin’s friend chimed in, “Seriously, it’s just one kidney. Austin and Chloe have been best friends since they were kids!” Austin tried to grab my hand again. “Emily, stop throwing a tantrum! I know you’ve been dying to marry me. I’m literally offering you a ring right now!” He was offering me a ring. How incredibly generous of him! He made it sound like I should be down on my knees thanking him. I stepped back, slapping his hand away. “Austin, I’m not throwing a tantrum, and I’m definitely not joking.” “Not only am I rejecting your proposal, but I’m also breaking up with you.” “You only have one kidney left. Who knows if you can even perform in bed anymore?” “Why would I choose a broken man over all the healthy, capable guys out there?!” At my words, Austin’s face flushed a deep, angry red. He never expected me to bring up his masculinity in public. “Emily! Don’t push your luck!” “You’re almost thirty, and we’ve been living together for seven years. Who else is going to want you if not me?!” “I’ll give you twenty-four hours to cool your head. Keep playing this game, and I swear I’ll leave you for real!” With that, Austin picked Chloe up and walked away without looking back. He always did this. Whenever we had a fight, he would walk out on me to “let me cool down.” And in the past, I would spend the entire night crying, spamming his Snapchat with paragraphs of apologies. His friends gave me looks of sheer disgust and pity before leaving. Soon, I was left standing there completely alone. This proposal was pathetic. Aside from the cheap roses and the ring, there were no decorations, no effort. As I walked back, a drizzle began to fall. I took an Uber back to the apartment Austin and I rented together. When I pushed the door open, I saw Austin wearing an apron, cooking soup in the kitchen. In our past life, after we got married, he wouldn’t even lift a finger if a bottle of soy sauce spilled. Yet here he was, playing the caring chef for Chloe. Seeing me walk in, a smug smirk appeared on his face. His eyes said: I knew you’d crawl back to apologize. I ignored him and walked straight toward the bedroom. But Austin rushed over and grabbed my arm. “Chloe is sleeping in there. Don’t go in.” I frowned. “If I don’t go in, how am I supposed to change my clothes?” I had gotten soaked in the rain, and my hair and clothes were dripping wet. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “It’s just a little rain, you’ll survive.” “Chloe is a fragile patient right now!” Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind—our third anniversary. I had booked a fancy restaurant months in advance. But Austin ditched me for three hours because Chloe called him with some minor emergency. It had rained that night too, and I had walked home soaking wet. When I confronted him, his response was exactly the same: “It’s just a little rain, you’ll survive.” I let out a cold laugh. So his heart had already drifted back then. He pointed to the standing fan in the living room. “Go stand in front of the fan. It’ll dry quickly.” Feeling the cold, damp fabric sticking to my skin, I violently yanked my arm out of his grip.

“Austin, I pay half the rent for this apartment. You brought Chloe here without even asking me, and now you won’t even let me into my own bedroom?!” Seeing me push past him, Austin blocked the door with his body. “Emily, can you stop being so dramatic?!” “Chloe and I just got discharged. We both got caught in the rain today. Instead of showing some basic empathy, you’re trying to kick a sick girl out of her bed!” I laughed out of sheer anger. “If you guys are so sick, why aren’t you in the hospital? Why didn’t you take Chloe back to her own place? Why bring her to my apartment?” “Austin, you’re the one who dragged your little side-chick in front of my face!” I shoved him to open the door, but Austin grabbed my wrist in a vice grip. With a harsh grunt, he shoved me back violently. “Emily, know your place!” “If Chloe’s recovery is ruined because of you and she gets sick again, I’ll make you pay with your life!” Unprepared, I lost my balance and fell, my lower back slamming hard against the wall. A sharp pain shot up my spine, tears welling in my eyes. I looked up at Austin’s fierce, hostile eyes. For the first time, I realized I had never truly known this man. In my past life, he always claimed he was too weak to even open a bottle of water. But the force he used to shove me just now? That was definitely not the strength of a sick patient. From inside the room, Chloe let out a weak, theatrical cough. Austin immediately panicked and rushed inside. “Austin… are you and Emily fighting because of me?” Chloe’s weak voice drifted out. “Please don’t be mad at her, she didn’t mean it…” Austin’s voice softened instantly as he comforted her. Disgusted, I walked into the room, grabbed a suitcase, and began packing my things. Austin paused, looking at me in shock. “What do you think you’re doing?” I rolled my eyes. “You won’t let me sleep here, remember? I’m leaving. Enjoy your cozy little nest.” “Emily! Do you have to be so passive-aggressive?!” Chloe threw back the duvet, pretending she wanted to get out of bed, but Austin gently pushed her back down. “Ignore her. Let her throw her tantrum.” “Let’s see how long she can survive out there!” I packed my essential clothes, grabbed my ID and documents, and zipped the suitcase. As I walked out, Austin was carefully feeding Chloe soup, spoon by spoon. Ha. How touching. I booked a decent hotel near my office. The next morning at work, I went straight to my manager’s office. There was an overseas relocation opportunity to Italy. Because it was so far, nobody in the department wanted to go. In my past life, my manager, Sophia, had offered it to me. I had studied Italian in college, and she thought I was the perfect fit. But because of Austin’s proposal, I had turned it down. This time, I was absolutely not wasting my life for a slacker. Sophia was thrilled when I volunteered. “Are you sure, Emily? What about your boyfriend?” “We broke up.” Sophia stared at me for a moment before handing over the paperwork. “Fill this out. You can fly out next week.” Next week. One week was more than enough to erase myself from Austin’s life. I took the afternoon off and went back to the apartment to get the rest of my things. The place was empty. When I unlocked the door, the sight made me gag. The kitchen sink was piled high with greasy dishes. Moldy takeout boxes littered the table. Dirty clothes were thrown all over the couch, and the trash can was overflowing. My phone buzzed. It was a text from Austin: [When you get off work, clean up the apartment.] Still as demanding as ever. In our past life, he treated me like his personal maid.

He expected me to serve him hand and foot. He even demanded that I cover all his living expenses. And he said it with such entitlement: “You think I want to ask you for money? I’m sick! I can’t work!” “If you don’t support me, you’re forcing me to work and die early! Emily, do you just want to see me dead?!” I locked my screen and walked straight to the bedroom to grab my remaining bags. Let them rot in their own filth. We had lived here for two years. Every corner of this small apartment held memories. I remembered when we first moved in. Austin had held me close, promising he’d buy me a giant mansion once he made it big. We had stayed up late planning our future. When did it all change? Ah. It started a year ago, when Chloe was diagnosed with kidney disease. He started ditching me at a single phone call from her. He took the soup I spent four hours simmering to feed her. He even gave away the plushies we won together at the arcade to “cheer her up.” In the bottom drawer, I found a photo of a pet rabbit. Austin and I had won it at a carnival a year ago. We raised it for three months. Chloe saw it, said it was cute, and Austin gave it to her without asking me. By the time I found out and rushed over, Chloe had already cooked it into a stew. She sobbed, claiming she “didn’t know it was a pet” and thought it was meant for eating. I packed my things into two categories. One to ship back to my parents’ house, and the rest straight into the dumpster. I left the keys on the counter and sent Austin one final text: [Austin, we are over. Don’t contact me again.] Then, I blocked and deleted his number. In this life, I refuse to waste another second on him. When Austin brought Chloe back later that day, he expected a clean house. Instead, the kitchen trash was practically crawling with maggots, releasing a foul stench. Chloe pinched her nose in disgust. “Is Emily still mad at me?” “Maybe I should just leave.” She made a show of walking toward the door, but Austin caught her. “Don’t worry about her!” “She’s just trying to make us feel miserable.” “I’ll clean up. Go rest on the couch.” As Chloe lounged on the couch, Austin rolled up his sleeves and started doing chores. In the two years we lived together, he had barely done any housework. Now, because he cared so much about Chloe, he had to do it himself. By the time he washed the dishes, threw out the trash, mopped the floor, and started the laundry, he was gasping for air. With only one kidney, his stamina was shot. But Chloe couldn’t do any physical work either. He collapsed onto the couch, panting. “Since when did Emily get such an attitude?！” “She actually stayed out the entire night!” Chloe gripped Austin’s hand, looking incredibly anxious. “Austin, what if Emily really wants to break up with you?” “If you guys break up because of me, I’ll never forgive myself!” Her eyes welled with tears, looking utterly pathetic. Austin smiled and gently patted her head. “Don’t worry, babe. Emily and I have been together for seven years. She’s been desperate to marry me. She’d never actually leave.” “Besides, now that I’m like this, she’ll only feel more obligated to stay.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “454432”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

On my birthday, Ethan told me he had a surprise for me. I was blindfolded and waited for a long time, only to be held by a completely strange man. My body felt weak and hot, and I cried, begging him not to touch me. A low chuckle came from above. It was Asher Vance, Ethan’s best friend and the school’s notorious bad boy. He reached out, gently wiping away my tears, and murmured with a sigh, “Dump him. Be mine instead.” Then, he showed me a video. In a dimly lit VIP lounge at a club, Ethan was drinking with his rowdy friends. Someone asked him, “Is your girlfriend’s body really that amazing? I don’t believe it. Unless you let me sleep with her.” “What are you thinking? She’s Ethan’s precious girl. If you touch her, Ethan will have your head!” another friend laughed. Ethan, sitting amidst a cloud of cigarette smoke, spoke nonchalantly, “Beat me in poker tonight, and you can have her.” Amidst the roaring laughter, someone asked, “What about Lily, your little admirer? I’d like to—” “Don’t you dare!” Ethan kicked him coldly. “Lily is the only pure flower in my heart. If any of you touch her, I’ll chop your fingers off!” He let his friends make the dirtiest jokes about me. Yet, he wouldn’t allow Lily to be tarnished in the slightest. I wiped away my tears, turned to the campus bad boy, and asked, “If I become your girlfriend, will you help me destroy him?”

“Are you joking?” Even after all these years since graduation, Asher still carried that dangerous, rebellious aura. He gave me a mocking look. “You’re not just playing me to escape this room, are you?” Saying that, his hand slid around my waist. “Don’t forget, your boyfriend literally bet you away and lost you to me.” “Whether I agree to your deal or not, tonight, you belong to me.” His warm breath brushed against my neck. I wanted to kick him, but my limbs were completely weak and useless. He laughed softly and leaned down to kiss me. But the moment before his lips touched mine, he stopped. He stared at me with pure amusement. “Chloe, tell me, is your boyfriend blind?” His hand gently brushed past my cheek, trailing through my hair. “Using a woman as beautiful as you as a poker chip… and losing you to another man.” “If my girlfriend were in a room with another guy, I would go absolutely insane.” As his hand moved downward, my cheeks burned like fire. “Asher…” The glass of water Ethan had given me earlier was definitely spiked. I steeled my heart. “Help me. Use your body to make this heat go away.” I closed my eyes and heard his low laugh. Then came the sound of clothes hitting the floor. I bit my lip, bracing myself. But the next second, a glass of ice-cold water was splashed directly onto my face. I opened my eyes in shock. Asher had already put his jacket back on, sitting a few feet away from me. “I don’t take advantage of drugged women. But that doesn’t mean I’m rejecting your deal.” The light was too dim for me to read his expression. He said, “Starting today, you are my girlfriend. I will unconditionally help you ruin that piece of trash.” With that, Asher got up and went into the bathroom. The cold water had washed over me, and the effect of the drug subsided by half. I didn’t know when I fell asleep. All I knew was that when I was shaken awake, Asher whispered, “Your boyfriend is outside.” Before I could react. The door was pushed open slightly, leaving a crack. Ethan walked in, looking around nervously. Just as I was about to call out to him, Asher covered my mouth. When I saw the girl Ethan was holding, I froze. Her name was Lily. She was wearing a pure white dress, looking as innocent as a little wildflower. Soon, Ethan pressed her against the wall, kissing her with desperate obsession. I recalled the video again. Ethan said Lily was the “only pure flower” in his heart. But in the beginning. That was exactly how he used to describe me. I stared unblinkingly at the hallway, watching the gentle look on Ethan’s face. Lily wasn’t satisfied with just a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his hand toward the hem of her dress. But Ethan gently stopped her. “Babe, not here. I don’t want your first time to be in some random place. Let’s wait until we get back. I’ll book the most expensive suite for us.” Lily smiled coyly. “Chloe has been with you for six years. Did you coax her like this too?” Ethan was silent for a moment. “No.” Lily pouted playfully. “Liar. I don’t believe you.” A bitter smile formed at the corner of my mouth. He wasn’t lying. I remembered my first time with him. He had begged and pleaded for it. It was in a dusty backroom of his family’s department store. He didn’t even want to spend money on a hotel room. It turned out that being loved and not being loved were worlds apart. “Ethan, who is prettier? Me, or your girlfriend?” “You are.” Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed. “True. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have used her as a bet and lost her to another man.” “She’s probably sleeping with someone else right now. Aren’t you sad at all?” Ethan let out a mocking laugh. “She’s been dirty for a long time anyway. One more man won’t make a difference.” It felt like a lightning strike. Even after he walked away with his arm around Lily, my hands and feet remained ice-cold.

I knew exactly what he was referring to. It was that night back in college. I was walking back late from my campus job and took a sketchy shortcut through a wooded path. I ran into a group of local thugs. When I finally escaped and got back, my clothes were torn. Rumors spread like wildfire, saying I had been ruined by those thugs. I clarified again and again that they hadn’t touched me. On the surface, Ethan pretended to believe me. He held me gently and comforted me, saying, “I know. My Chloe is always pure.” But behind my back, he told his friends: “Chloe? Who knows how many guys have slept with her already.” “I don’t even want to touch her. She feels dirty.” It turned out, from beginning to end, He had never believed me. The next day, when I found Ethan, he was picking out a birthday gift for Lily. It was an expensive jade bracelet. He had specially ordered a jasmine flower to be engraved on it. Ethan looked at it with eyes full of tenderness, imagining how it would look on Lily’s wrist. “Aren’t you going to explain yourself?” My voice was cold. Ethan looked up at me and smiled. “Asher has had his eye on you for a long time. Giving you to him for one night wiped out my millions of dollars in debt.” He sneered. “Don’t you think that’s a pretty good deal?” Losing my mind, I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the face. But Ethan seemed to enjoy it. He gently touched the cheek I had slapped, his smile turning even more despicable. “Chloe, I said I would still marry you. No matter how many men you sleep with, I’ll still marry you.” “But if you keep throwing these tantrums, I don’t mind postponing our wedding for another year.” His tone was so condescending. After all, I was the one who had chased him in the past. My parents divorced when I was young, leaving me extremely insecure. All I wanted was to build a family of my own early on. But to Ethan, that made me easy to manipulate. The last time he postponed our wedding, which was supposed to be last month, was because Lily cried. She claimed I called her a mistress and pushed her down. But if he had bothered to check the security cameras, he would have seen that Lily fell on purpose. She had cornered me to provoke me, and when I ignored her, she used this petty trick to frame me. Before I could even defend myself, Ethan believed her without hesitation. “Chloe, you went too far. Lily has been sheltered her whole life. How could you push her?” “Kneel down and apologize to Lily right now, or our wedding is postponed for a year!” I hadn’t done anything wrong, so of course, I refused to apologize. So, the wedding was indeed delayed. But now, I finally understood what it felt like to stop loving someone. Let alone the wedding. I didn’t even want this man anymore. By the time I snapped out of it, Ethan was already gone. I pulled out my phone and texted him: “Let’s break up.” After a long time, he sent back a casual, single-word reply: “Okay.” I let out a bitter laugh and turned off my phone. I walked aimlessly around the street food market, feeling completely lost. Back in college, Ethan always said he was broke and couldn’t afford fancy restaurants, so he often brought me here. Even though we were poor, feeling loved made everything feel warm. Five years after graduation, Ethan was now a CEO. He would come back from hooking up with Lily and hand me a twenty-thousand-dollar designer bag or take me to a thousand-dollar dinner. But he never loved me the way he used to. I remembered the first time he introduced me to Lily. He sat in the car, looking at the girl in the pleated skirt and pigtails standing at the school gate, and said: “She’s my neighbor’s little sister. She just came to the city for college, and her family asked me to look after her.” Later, the way he looked at Lily became more and more intense. More and more tender. Once, after getting drunk, he looked at Lily’s back and chuckled. “Chloe, don’t you think she looks a lot like you did five years ago?” “So pure, untouched by the world.” Yes, she was pure and flawless. Unlike me now, who had to go to business dinners and drink myself to exhaustion just to save his company from crises. I no longer had that “untouched” innocence. Instead, I had the aura of a weary, calculating businesswoman. But he forgot. Who was the one who turned me into this? The avocado salad in my mouth tasted like cardboard. I stood in the cold wind, tears streaming down my face. “If it tastes that bad, don’t eat it.” Suddenly, a hand snatched the salad away.

I turned around in surprise, only to find Asher standing there. He had been quietly following me from a short distance this whole time. He handed me a tissue and gently wiped away my tears. I looked at him blankly. “Why are you here?” Asher stared at me with a complex look in his eyes. “You agreed to be my girlfriend. Can’t I go on a date with my girlfriend?” He slowly leaned closer, took my cold hand, and stuffed it into his coat pocket. “Or are you planning to back out?” Asher and I walked in silence for a long time. Suddenly, he asked: “Why didn’t you tell him that I didn’t touch you last night?” I shook my head. “I broke up with him anyway.” Asher gave me a surprised look. “I thought you couldn’t let him go. After all, everyone said you two… had the perfect relationship.” Maybe it was my imagination, but Asher’s voice sounded a bit strained, almost jealous. I looked up at the sky and smiled. “Yeah. Everyone thought we had a great relationship. Even I believed it.” Three years ago, Ethan got critically ill. The doctors even issued a critical condition notice, telling his family to prepare for the worst. But I didn’t give up. I worked five jobs a day. I was a waitress during the day, delivered food during rush hours, and promoted alcohol at clubs at night. I worked so hard I almost coughed up blood. I did everything I could and somehow saved Ethan’s life. When Ethan woke up, his eyes were red as he held me. “Chloe, I love you.” He promised he would protect me for the rest of his life. On my birthday that year, he gave me a massive bouquet of paper roses. He said I would always be his favorite rose. But it wasn’t until I saw him spend millions on that jade bracelet, carefully carving a jasmine flower onto it, That I realized. He didn’t want roses. He liked jasmines. “Maybe it’s fate, Asher. You saved me back then, and maybe I was destined to return the favor.” I took the initiative to hold Asher’s hand. “I’m your girlfriend from now on.” Asher let out a soft chuckle. “I thought you forgot about what happened back then.” How could I forget? In college, there was a rumor about Asher and me for a while. He was the notorious bad boy, the rebel who skipped classes and got into fights. Even the professors stayed out of his way. In my memory, he was a loner. Whenever I saw him, I would walk the other way. But that night, walking home late from my job, Ethan was supposed to pick me up but stood me up. I walked down the dark path alone. And ran into those thugs. They cornered me in a dead end, covered my mouth, and tried to tear my clothes off. Just when I was in complete despair, Asher showed up. He fought like a maniac, completely reckless, and literally terrified the thugs away. “Get back to your dorm already,” he growled. He recognized me. He hid his bleeding knuckles behind his back and followed me from a safe distance to make sure I got back safely. I asked hesitantly, “You’re bleeding. Let me take you to the hospital first.” “None of your business. Stop being annoying,” he snapped coldly, like a defensive hedgehog. But feeling guilty, I forced him to go to the clinic anyway. By the time we got back to campus, the sun was almost up. When people saw me returning with the school bad boy, my clothes torn, the rumors started. They said I had spent the night with Asher at a motel. The rumors were nasty. While I didn’t care about what others said, I begged Ethan to believe me, repeatedly explaining that nothing happened between Asher and me. On the surface, Ethan comforted me gently, saying he believed me. But behind my back, he told his friends: “Who knows what really happened that night? Maybe Chloe was already ridden by Vance.” No wonder he never touched me after that night, claiming he wanted to save it for marriage. My thoughts were interrupted when Asher went to buy me boba. I sat on a bench near the mall entrance waiting for him, when a familiar voice sounded in front of me. “Ethan, look, isn’t that Chloe?” Lily smiled at me with an innocent face, holding a massive bouquet of bright red roses. “Why is she shopping all by herself? Ethan, how could you leave your girlfriend alone? I should go say hi to her.” “Lily!” Ethan frowned and called out to her, but he didn’t stop her. He quickly followed behind, glaring at me defensively, as if he was terrified I would hurt his precious Lily. “What are you doing here?” I sneered. “I didn’t know you owned this street. Why do you care?” Lily smiled and wrapped her arm around Ethan’s. “Ethan is taking me out. He said you two used to eat here all the time during college. He even said your favorite was cheap street hot dogs. I would never dare to put something so cheap in my mouth. You really can endure anything, Chloe.” I rolled my eyes internally. I looked around to see why Asher was taking so long, but Lily took that as a cue to flaunt her roses. “Look, Ethan bought these roses for me. They smell so good!” “Since you’re his girlfriend, why don’t I give them to you!” I looked up coldly. “Didn’t he tell you? We broke up.” Ethan frowned. “Chloe, stop throwing a tantrum. We’ve been together for nearly seven years. What do you mean, broke up?” “Even if you’re mad about what happened the other night, you don’t have to lie about this.” He was the one who had replied “Okay” to my breakup text. Just as I was about to pull out my phone to show him, Lily suddenly shoved the roses right into my face. “Don’t be mad. Just take these roses as Ethan’s apology to you…” Her movement was so sudden that I couldn’t dodge. The thick scent of pollen rushed straight down my throat. “Get… get them away…” I was severely allergic to pollen. Within seconds, my lungs seized up, and I could barely breathe. “Call… call 911…”

Seeing me gasp for air, Lily looked terrified and immediately hid behind Ethan, pretending to cry. Ethan shielded her, looking down at me with disgust. “Stop acting, Chloe.” “Do you think copying Lily’s innocence makes you look pitiful? This pathetic act only makes me despise you more.” I wanted to beg them to help me, but Ethan disgustedly kicked my foot away and walked off with Lily. As my consciousness faded, I suddenly remembered years ago. The first time Ethan found out about my pollen allergy, he had rushed me to the ER, holding me tightly, crying with panic. “Chloe, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you were allergic!” “I promise I’ll protect you from now on…” But just now. He only cared about protecting his precious little flower. He forgot that my allergy was severe enough to kill me. When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed. I opened my eyes to meet Asher’s worried, bloodshot eyes. “You almost scared me to death.” “I came out with the boba and saw you collapsed on the pavement. The doctor said if I had been a few minutes later, you wouldn’t have made it.” He still looked visibly shaken. I smiled weakly at him. “Who knew the fearless bad boy of our school could make a face like that?” Asher looked away, embarrassed. “I’m thirsty.” He immediately poured me a glass of water. I noticed his knuckles were bruised and scraped. “What happened to your hand?” Asher tried to pull his sleeve down to hide it. But I grabbed his arm. “Tell me the truth.” Asher sighed. “Ethan did this to you. I went and taught him a lesson.” My eyes widened in surprise. That was definitely Asher’s style. I tugged at his sleeve. “Asher.” “Yeah?” “Do you… like me?” Asher turned around, staring into my eyes with absolute seriousness. “Dummy. It took you this long to realize?” I froze, my face turning crimson. That afternoon, Asher went out to get food. When he came back, he mysteriously pulled out a velvet box and proposed to me. “Chloe, I can’t wait anymore.” “I’m terrified that if I hesitate for even a second, you’ll run back to that loser. I need you to promise to marry me right now.” The patients in the neighboring beds laughed and cheered. “Say yes! A guy this devoted is hard to find!” I hadn’t planned on moving so fast. But looking into Asher’s intense eyes, I found myself nodding. “Can I really trust you?” “Of course. I’m a million times more reliable than your ex.” I laughed. Asher bought plane tickets. He said he wanted to take me back to his family’s estate next week to get married. After officially quitting my job, I passed a bakery on my way home. Remembering Asher liked strawberry cake, I smiled and picked one out. “Excuse me, how much is this—” Suddenly, the cake was snatched from my hands. Lily cooed, “Ethan, I love this cake. Buy it for me, please?” Then she gave me a provocative look, pretending to be shocked. “Oh, Chloe! What a coincidence! I’m so sorry, but I really want this cake. Can you let me have it?” What a curse. I couldn’t even buy a cake without running into them. I pulled my hand back in disgust. Since she touched it, I didn’t want it anymore. Seeing me turn around to leave, Lily pouted as if she was about to cry. “Ethan, is Chloe mad at me? Go comfort her!” The next second, Ethan blocked my path. “Didn’t you hear her? Lily is crying because of you. It’s just a cake, why can’t you let her have it? Apologize to her.” Seeing my silence, his tone softened. “Chloe, Lily just graduated. She’s still a kid. Don’t be so petty.” “If you behave, and let me spend this graduation season with her, we will get married in a year as planned.” “You’ll still be my wife. No one can take your place.” I looked up and let out a cold laugh. “Ethan, didn’t you get my breakup text? Why are you still acting like we are together?” “What breakup text?” Ethan froze. The next second, Lily stepped between us. “Chloe, your dress is so pretty. Can you send me the link?” She intentionally sent Ethan away to pay for the cake. Once he was out of earshot, the mask came off. “I’ll tell you the truth. I replied to that text on Ethan’s phone. He has no idea.” “Chloe, you already know Ethan doesn’t love you anymore. But since his family is rich, it’s no wonder you’re still clinging to him like a desperate dog.” “But stop wasting your time. No matter how much he liked you in the past, you are history now.” She crossed her arms, smiling like a proud white rose. “The only one Ethan loves now is me.” She expected to see tears in my eyes. Instead, I gave her a calm look. “Is that so? Then congratulations.” I turned and walked away without looking back. She had no idea that I was getting married too. Whatever drama they had had absolutely nothing to do with me anymore. A week later, Asher took me to his family’s estate. When we pulled up, I was stunned by the massive, sprawling historic estate before my eyes. “This is your family home? Why does the gate say ‘Vance Mansion’?” Asher explained: “Vance is my mother’s family name. When my father cheated and abandoned her, I took her name. Now, the Vance family needs an heir, so they brought me back.” Asher looked at me seriously. “Actually, I am the sole heir to the Vance Empire.” Back in college, I thought Asher was just a poor, angry kid. When I accepted his proposal, I was fully prepared to live a simple, budget-friendly life with him. I had no idea he was the heir to the wealthiest family in the city. Three days later was our wedding. Asher threw me a grand, spectacular wedding that caught the attention of the entire high society. Even my wedding dress had been custom-made months in advance. When I tried it on, it fit perfectly. I asked him in surprise, “How did you know my measurements?” Asher smirked. “Guess.” I couldn’t. Later, the housekeeper let slip that on the night Ethan “lost” me to him, Asher had held me close just to measure my frame. On the day of the wedding, the Vance family invited every prominent figure in the city. Ethan and Lily showed up in formal wear, looking around the Vance Estate with pure envy as they were led to their seats. When Ethan saw me passing by, his brow furrowed. “Chloe? How did you sneak in here?” He looked around nervously. “Come here. Do you know what kind of place this is? You can’t just wander in without an invitation.” “Just tell them you’re with me. Don’t cause trouble.” I was wearing a casual but elegant silk wrap dress, heading to the bridal suite to get my makeup done. Naturally, Ethan couldn’t tell I was the bride. I just smiled. “No need to worry, Ethan.” With that, I walked away. Ethan’s voice chased after me. “Wander around all you want! Don’t blame me when security throws you out!” I thought to myself: The only one getting thrown out today is you. Two hours later, the makeup artists finished my bridal look, and I changed into a multi-million-dollar designer wedding gown. The venue was buzzing with excitement. Lily looked around with starry eyes. “I wonder who the lucky girl is to marry the Vance heir!” Ethan shook his head. “I’ve never met him. I don’t know why he invited me, maybe some business associate of my dad’s.” He was already planning how to flatter and connect with the mysterious Vance heir after the ceremony. “The bride and groom are coming!” Asher gently held my hand. Amidst the thunderous applause and cheers, we stepped out onto the grand altar. When Ethan and Lily saw our faces, their expressions turned completely pale. “No way… How can it be them?”

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Eight years into our marriage, I was driving my daughter to school when I received a follow-up call from a luxury hotel. “Is this Mr. Ethan Reynolds? Your wife, Chloe Vance, left her diamond ring in the suite.” My whole body froze. Ethan was my husband. Chloe was my best friend. Panic-stricken, I rushed to my brother, Logan, desperate for someone to lean on. But he didn’t look surprised at all. He just sat there, completely calm, and tried to soothe me: “Summer, they have a child together now. Just pretend you don’t know about it.” “Ethan only hid it from you because he didn’t want you to be hurt.” My sister-in-law, Rachel, chimed in: “Exactly, Summer. Don’t blame Chloe. You’re both mothers. Try to show her some understanding.” I stared at Rachel, completely dumbfounded. I used to think she was my best friend. Now, she was telling me to forgive a mistress and a bastard child. It turned out that in family, friendship, and love… I was nothing but an outsider. Seeing the dead silence in my eyes, Logan sighed and tried to persuade me with a heavy heart: “Summer, we aren’t young anymore. And you have Lily to think about.” “Take my advice. Close one eye and let it go. Having a compromised marriage is still better than being a single mother.” This was my own brother. My own flesh and blood. Yet he was openly helping them lie to me. Rachel stood by his side, gently grabbing my wrist with a practiced, superficial warmth. “Yes, Summer. At our age, what other choices do women have?” “Chloe didn’t have a choice either. When her family went bankrupt years ago, she was cornered by brutal debt collectors. Ethan saved her. She had no other way to repay him, so…” A sharp pain stabbed my heart. Rachel, Chloe, and I had been inseparable since middle school. We had sworn to be sisters for life. But now, she knew perfectly well that Chloe was the homewrecker. Yet she still demanded that I forgive her. People’s hearts are always biased. It didn’t matter that I once got eight stitches on my forehead after defending Rachel from a gang of street thugs. None of it mattered now. I violently shook off her hand and said coldly: “Rachel, as of today, we are done.” She gasped. Before she could speak, the office door was kicked open. Ethan stood there, his face clouded with anger. His eyes locked onto me. Logan and Rachel quickly slid out of the room, leaving the two of us alone. Ethan walked up to me, his voice deep and demanding: “Summer, you dragged this drama all the way to Logan’s office. What exactly do you want?” In all our years together, this was the first time he had ever looked at me with such cold indifference. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I choked out: “Ethan, what did I ever do to deserve this? You’re sleeping with my best friend, and you even have a kid with her?” Seeing the tears in my eyes, Ethan softened slightly. He sighed and pulled me into his arms, his voice dropping to a gentle whisper: “Summer, relax. She will never take your place. You are still the only Mrs. Reynolds.” My eyes stung. I stubbornly pushed him away. I refused to share my husband. Ethan’s brows furrowed, and his tone turned icy again: “Summer, if we take this to court, I will fight for full custody of Lily. You know how that will end. Do you really want our daughter to suffer in poverty with you?” I stared at the man in front of me, my mind blank. We had loved each other since we were teenagers. How did we end up threatening each other over our child? Seeing my hesitation, Ethan’s voice softened a fraction: “Just live your life quietly. You and Lily will want for nothing. To the world, you will always be the glamorous Mrs. Reynolds.” I hid the burning rage in my heart and nodded slowly. From that day on, I pretended everything was back to normal. I drove Lily to and from school every day. I stopped asking Ethan why he didn’t come home. I stopped leaving the porch light on for him. Instead, I quietly hired a private investigator to gather evidence. Until one afternoon, a familiar figure blocked my path. It was Chloe, whom I hadn’t seen in months. She looked slightly uneasy. For years, I had believed Chloe was living a hard life. When she got pregnant out of wedlock years ago and lived alone, I felt so sorry for her. I took care of her. I bought almost all of her baby’s clothes and supplies. I even nagged Ethan constantly to help her out financially. Looking back, I realized they had probably been sleeping together in the very bed I helped pay for. Chloe stepped forward, her voice soft and trembling: “Summer, can we talk?” I stopped and looked at her, my face completely expressionless. “Say what you want to say.” She bit her lower lip, glancing nervously at the pedestrians passing by, and lowered her voice: “Things weren’t supposed to end up like this. Ethan and I… we’ve been together for years. Our child is growing up now. I just want us to coexist in peace.” “I never wanted to ruin your life. But when it comes to love, we are all helpless.” Listening to her hypocritical speech, a mocking smile touched my lips. “Save your tragic act.” I stared into her eyes, and a realization suddenly hit me. “Ethan cheated on me with you during my second month of pregnancy, on the night of my birthday, didn’t he?”

Chloe’s pale face gave me the answer. That night, Ethan had promised to come home early to celebrate with me. But I sat alone with a cold dinner, holding my positive pregnancy test, waiting all night. At dawn, he finally came home, covered in bruises. I panic-strickenly tried to take him to the ER, but he held me tight, whispering: “Summer, don’t move. Just let me hold you. I missed you so much.” It wasn’t a confession of love. It was the guilt of a cheater. Every ignored red flag and suspicious detail suddenly rushed back to me. No wonder Chloe moved right after that night. She claimed a stalker was following her, but a “good Samaritan” saved her. It wasn’t a good Samaritan. It was Ethan. “Summer, we can still be friends,” Chloe said, reaching out to grab my hand like she used to. I stepped back, dodging her touch. I let out a bitter laugh. “The kind of friends who sleep with each other’s husbands?” Suddenly, a cup of ice-cold water splashed right onto my face. The water dripped from my eyelashes. I looked up and saw Rachel standing there, glaring at me with fury. “Summer, do you think Chloe is having an easy time?” “A rich girl like you will never understand the desperation of people at the bottom. No wonder you’ve never had any real friends!” A sharp, stabbing pain pierced my chest. I swallowed my words. There was no point in arguing. Then, Ethan appeared. He handed me a tissue, his tone patronizing, as if he were soothing a toddler throwing a tantrum: “Summer, stop making a scene. Lily is waiting in the car.” All my anger was instantly crushed by reality. Yes. I had my daughter. Now was not the time to blow everything up. Just as I turned to leave, a stray, aggressive dog suddenly charged toward us from the park. In a split second, without a shred of hesitation, Ethan threw himself over Chloe. He shielded her entirely in his arms, screaming at the dog. Terrified by his shouts, the dog veered off and knocked me to the ground instead. My hands and knees scraped violently against the rough asphalt. Fortunately, the school security guards rushed over and tackled the dog. Ethan gently helped Chloe to her feet. Then, he looked at me and said indifferently: “Are you okay?” Before I could answer, he spoke again: “I’m taking Sophia to the amusement park tonight. I won’t be coming home.” The evening wind blew past, carrying a bitter chill. I should have stopped expecting anything from him a long time ago, shouldn’t I? I walked back to my car. The moment I opened the door, Lily threw herself into my arms, asking sadly: “Mommy, why did Daddy protect that lady instead of you? You were in way more danger.” Even a five-year-old saw it. But he didn’t. Choking back my tears, I stroked my daughter’s hair: “Because Daddy is farsighted, sweetie. He can only see things that are far away.” My daughter nodded, not fully understanding. For several days, Ethan didn’t show his face. Until one afternoon, my phone rang. “Summer, Chloe has been mysteriously ill. We’ve been to every hospital, and the doctors can’t find any physical issues.” Before I could say anything, his voice turned incredibly cold: “I had a spiritualist look into it. The medium says the negative energy is coming from your mother’s grave. Your mother’s plot is too close to Chloe’s mother’s plot. Her dark aura is cursing Chloe, making her sick.” My fingers tightened around the phone. I couldn’t believe my ears. “What did you just say?” “Exhume your mother’s casket and relocate it to another cemetery.”

Ethan’s tone was completely casual, without a hint of guilt or hesitation. “Arrange it quickly. Stop dragging Chloe’s health down.” His words hit me like a physical blow, leaving me gasping for air. When Chloe was in middle school, she and Rachel often came to my house. My mom knew Chloe loved tacos, so every time she visited, my mom would make them fresh for her. Later, when Chloe’s mother died of illness and her family was bankrupt, they couldn’t even afford a basic casket. It was my mother who took out her own savings so Chloe’s mother could be buried with dignity. Neither I nor my mother had ever done anything to hurt her. But now, she wouldn’t even let my dead mother rest in peace. I bit my lip so hard it bled, my voice shaking: “No. My mother has been buried for years. She is at peace. I will not move her.” My refusal instantly enraged Ethan. He snapped, his voice filled with venomous accusation: “Summer, can you be mature for once? Moving a casket is a minor issue. Chloe’s life is on the line. Do you have to be this malicious?” He slammed the phone down. That same afternoon, Ethan took a crew of workers to the cemetery. By the time I rushed there, everyone I cared about was already standing by my mother’s grave. Seeing me, Logan stepped forward to block my path. “Summer, stop being so stubborn. It’s just a relocation. The dead are already gone, but the living need to survive.” Staring at my own brother who was siding with a mistress, my heart turned to ash. All my patience and restraint shattered at that moment. I took a step forward, raised my hand, and slapped Chloe hard across the face. Chloe’s head snapped back. Tears instantly spilled from her eyes as she sobbed: “Ethan… I didn’t force her… I’m just in so much pain…” Ethan’s eyes flared with absolute fury. He grabbed my wrist so hard I felt my bones cracking. His voice was freezing: “Summer! Are you insane? Who gave you the right to lay a hand on her?” Beside him, Logan immediately pinned my shoulders down, barking: “Summer! You’ve gone too far! Apologize to Chloe right now! Stop acting like a spoiled brat!” I struggled wildly to break free, screaming at them: “Too far? Who is the one going too far?!” “I paid for her mother’s funeral! I gave her everything!” “And she ruined my family, and now she won’t even let my mother rest!” “Logan, she was your mother too! How can you do this?!” A sudden downpour drenched the cemetery. The cold rain mixed with my tears, blinding my vision. Logan’s face stiffened, but he remained stubborn: “She’s already dead, Summer. It’s just a casket relocation. Don’t be so stubborn!” With those words, the last thread of sibling bond between us snapped completely. Ethan looked at me, a brief flash of hesitation in his eyes. But in the next second, Chloe cried out in despair: “Summer is right. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t even be alive.” Ethan panicked. To comfort Chloe, he looked at me and said coldly: “Since you dared to hit Chloe, this is your punishment. You will stand right here and watch your mother’s grave be dug up.” With a wave of his hand, several burly security guards stepped forward. They threw me down, pinning me into the wet, cold mud. In front of me, the workers picked up their shovels and began to dig. The tombstone engraved with my mother’s name slowly began to tilt. I shook violently, screaming until my voice went hoarse: “Ethan, please… I beg you… don’t do this.” “That’s my mother! She is already gone! She did nothing wrong!” “Chloe’s illness has nothing to do with my mother! You know that!” “Please, stop them! Don’t dig her up… I beg you!” I stripped away every ounce of my dignity, but Ethan remained completely unmoved. Chloe leaned against his chest, a subtle smirk playing on her lips. She was doing this on purpose. Finally, with a heavy thud, the corner of the wooden casket was exposed to the muddy rain. Kneeling in the mud in front of my mother’s desecrated grave, I made a silent vow: I would never forgive any of them. After that day, I fell dangerously ill. I lay in bed with a raging fever until a frantic call woke me up. The school principal’s voice was filled with sheer panic: “Mrs. Reynolds, you need to get to the school right now! Lily had a physical altercation with another student.” “Both girls have run up to the school’s rooftop terrace! It’s extremely dangerous!” My heart leaped into my throat. My limbs turned to jelly. Lily was a gentle, quiet girl. She never fought with anyone. Why would she be on the rooftop? I didn’t have time to think. I threw myself into my car and drove like a maniac. The entire way, I prayed to God not to let anything happen to my little girl. The metal door to the rooftop was slightly ajar. I pushed it open, and the scene before me made my blood run cold.

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My sister, Stella, had a disastrous first love, which left her convinced that all men were trash. The day I introduced Ethan to her, she didn’t hold back. She looked him up and down and said coldly, “He’s just like every other guy. Eventually, he’s going to betray you.” Under the table, I desperately tugged at the hem of her shirt. But Ethan didn’t get angry. He looked straight into Stella’s eyes and said, word for word, “If I ever betray Maya, I hope I lose everything.” Stella only let out a scoff. “We’ll see about that.” After that day, the tension between them was ice-cold, leaving me awkwardly caught in the middle. Later, I was sent away on a six-month business trip. The night before I was scheduled to return, I was lying in bed, scrolling through an anonymous confession page on Instagram. One post caught my eye: 【I fell in love with my younger sister’s boyfriend. What should I do?】 The comment section was filled with absolute rage. Then, I saw a reply from a burner account: 【Please stop hating on her. It’s not her fault. I was the one who pursued her.】 【She acts so tough on the outside, but she’s incredibly fragile inside. The more she pushes me away, the more my heart breaks for her.】 My finger froze. Instinctively, I clicked on the burner account’s profile. There was only one video on the page—a video of a cat. Yet, a sudden chill washed over me, and I couldn’t stop shaking. That cat was Joy, the one Ethan had given me.

I zoomed in on the video, over and over. I didn’t want to miss a single detail. But every single detail confirmed my worst nightmare. It was the cat from our first anniversary. On my birthday, Ethan had driven through a massive blizzard just to deliver her to my doorstep at midnight. He told me her name was Joy. He said he hoped she would bring joy to every single day of my life. A wave of absurdity washed over me. I could barely breathe. I backed out of the profile. I scrolled back to the very beginning of the confession post. It was posted just an hour ago. 【The first time we met, I hated him. I had been betrayed before, so I didn’t trust men at all.】 【But he was so good to my sister. She has a sensitive stomach, so he kept a detailed note on his phone of what she could and couldn’t eat.】 【Every time she worked late, no matter how midnight it was, he would always go pick her up.】 【He remembered every little thing she liked. His Instagram profile picture was even a matching couple photo of them.】 I bit my lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Ethan had been so perfect to me. He tracked my period cycle, always keeping Midol and heating pads in his backpack. Once, when I was rolling in pain from cramps in the middle of the night, he booked the earliest flight just to bring me medicine. Any passing comment I made, he would remember and make it happen the next day. I had always felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have found the best man on earth. With trembling hands, I kept scrolling. 【Then my sister went on a business trip. She told me to call him if I needed anything, saying he was reliable. I told her I’d rather die than call him.】 【One night, there was a violent thunderstorm, and the power in my apartment went out. The lightbulb shattered. I’m terrified of the dark, and the landlord didn’t pick up my calls.】 【In a panic, I found the number my sister left me and called him.】 【Thirty minutes later, he showed up at my door, completely drenched. He smiled and said, ‘So you do have a weak spot after all.’】 【In that exact moment, something shifted in my heart.】 I remembered that night. Ethan used to tell me everything. When we FaceTimed that night, he had brought it up himself. “Your sister acts like she’s fearless, but she’s actually terrified of the dark.” He talked about Stella for a long time. He smiled as he spoke. There was a strange, gentle warmth in his laugh. I didn’t think much of it back then. I even told him to make sure he helped her whenever she needed it. 【After that, whenever things broke in the apartment, my first instinct was to call him.】 【We started seeing each other more often, and I realized I didn’t hate him anymore.】 【He started waiting for me to get off work. We went grocery shopping and watched movies together.】 【He even learned how to cook my favorite meals. Just like he did for my sister, he made a list of my likes and dislikes on his phone.】 【I told him it felt wrong that he was texting me with a profile picture of him and my sister. He changed it instantly.】 【My feelings for him are getting so complicated.】 That profile picture was the very first photo he took of me when we started dating. I remembered teasing him back then. “Aren’t you embarrassed to use my photo? People will laugh at you.” He had pinched my cheek, looking so proud. “My girlfriend is beautiful. Of course I want the whole world to know.” He had kept that picture for five years. No matter what anyone said, he never changed it. The day he finally did, I asked him why. He said it was for work. And I believed him. It turned out it was all because of a single word from Stella. Tears splashed onto my screen, blurring the text. 【We went to the movies tonight. At the end, he suddenly turned to me and asked, ‘Do you like me?’】 【I could hear my own heart hammering. Then I heard him say, ‘I wish I had met you first, Stella.’】 【I lost control. I kissed him, and he didn’t pull away.】 【I feel disgusted with myself. How could I do this to my own sister? But I can’t stop loving him.】 【She comes back tomorrow. I don’t know how to face her.】

My stomach churned, and a wave of nausea hit me. I leaned over the edge of the bed and dry-heaved, but nothing came out. When our parents died in that car crash, I was eight, and Stella was thirteen. Stella was the one who went to all my parent-teacher conferences. She was the one who braided my hair. When I got my first period, Stella was the one who bought pads and taught me what to do. Other kids talked about their moms and dads. But for me, it was always Stella. When I introduced Ethan to her, I wanted her approval so badly. To me, she was more of a parent than anyone else. But now… The person I shared blood with, and the person I loved most. They had been doing this behind my back. My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. I curled up on the bed, sobbing in the dark. The confession post was going viral. The comments were getting more brutal by the second. 【This is sick. Stealing your own sister’s boyfriend? What a parasite.】 【I feel so sorry for the sister. Betrayed by her own flesh and blood and her boyfriend? This is a living nightmare.】 【’Can’t stop loving him’? Go to hell. And this guy is absolute trash!】 Under every single hateful comment, Ethan had replied. 【She is in more pain than anyone. She hates herself more than you ever could. You have no right to judge her.】 【Yes, I’m trash. But even as trash, I will protect her.】 【If I had met her first, I would have chosen her.】 And the latest update on the post was from a minute ago. 【You’re all right. I’m disgusting. I’m going to cut him off. I can’t lose my sister.】 My phone slipped from my hand, clattering onto the hardwood floor. Just yesterday, I was counting down the hours to come home. Now, I had no idea how to face them. Outside, the city lights were blinding. I didn’t sleep a wink. After hours of painful agonizing, I dragged my suitcase to the airport anyway. A text from Stella popped up right on time. 【Maya, I’m waiting for you at the arrivals gate.】 Ethan’s text came a minute before my flight boarded. 【Safe flight, Maya. Can’t wait to see you.】 This was his only message since our rushed phone call last night. In the past, he would have called me thirty minutes early to wake me up. He would nag me about not forgetting my ID, my bags, and to make sure I ate breakfast. Then, he would spam me with texts the entire trip to make sure I was safe. But now, there was only one short sentence. I didn’t reply. I turned off my phone and closed my eyes. When the plane landed, I saw Stella and Ethan waiting at the exit. They stood on opposite sides, at least six feet apart. Acting like strangers. Stella’s makeup was heavy, almost completely hiding any signs of crying. She was always like that—never showing any vulnerability. Even to me. Ethan didn’t run up to hug me like he usually did. He forced a natural-looking smile and pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. “Welcome home, Maya.” When he handed me the flowers, both Stella and I froze. He was holding white roses. Those were Stella’s favorite.

I fought with everything I had to keep my face neutral. I was the one who had told him Stella only liked white roses. I only liked baby’s breath. For five years, he had never gotten it wrong. He suddenly realized what he was holding. Panic flashed in his eyes, and he quickly tried to cover it up. “I was in such a rush this morning, I didn’t even notice I grabbed the wrong bouquet. I’ll get you a much bigger one later.” As he spoke, his eyes instinctively darted toward Stella. Stella didn’t look at him. She stepped forward and took my suitcase. “Come on. Let me take you out for a nice lunch.” In the past, the three of us would have gone to grab a massive meal. But those words from the confession post kept screaming in my head. I forced a tight smile. “You guys go ahead. I have to head straight to the office.” Ethan stepped forward. “I can drive you there.” “No!” The rejection came out sharper than I intended. Both Ethan and Stella frowned, confusion and suspicion written all over their faces. I lowered my head, took my suitcase back from Stella, and tried to keep my voice steady. “My manager is waiting for my report. I won’t be home until later.” Their expressions softened. Stella smiled. “Okay. I’ll cook your favorite dinner tonight.” Ethan offered a gentle smile. “Call me when you’re done. I’ll come pick you up.” I nodded. I turned and practically ran out of the airport, hailing a cab to the office. Outside the window, the familiar streets blurred past. I had lived in this city for twenty-five years. Every corner held a memory of them. That steakhouse on 5th Street. Stella always lectured me about my sensitive stomach, refusing to let me eat anything too spicy, forcing me to drink milk. That boba shop on Broadway. Ethan had waited in line for three hours just to get me a limited-edition cat mug. And the cinema downtown. The three of us used to buy tickets for late-night shows, then walk back slowly under the streetlights. We would argue about the plot. Stella would always tear Ethan’s opinions to shreds. Ethan would raise his hands in surrender, laughing and saying, “My bad, my bad.” Then he would lean in close to my ear and whisper, “Your sister is terrifying.” Those days were so happy. When I snapped back to reality, my face was drenched in tears. The cab driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror. “Hey, kiddo. Nothing in this life is worth crying that hard over. Keep your chin up.” I let out an embarrassed laugh. “Thanks.” I wiped my tears away. When we arrived at the office, I paid and got out. Looking up at the glass building, I took a deep breath. During my six-month trip, I had been temporarily assigned to a regional project. Because of my performance, my manager had offered to put me on a secret three-year project overseas. I had turned it down. Because Ethan said he wanted to get married. Before I left, he told me that as soon as I got back, we would start looking at houses. Well, I didn’t need to look at houses anymore. But I definitely needed that project. I walked into the office. My manager, Mr. Vance, was just coming out of a conference room with a stack of files. He stopped when he saw me. “Maya? I thought you weren’t back until tomorrow.” “I got an earlier flight,” I said, forcing a smile. “Mr. Vance, about that overseas assignment… I want to apply for it.” His eyes lit up. “Really? I tried to convince you for months, and you wouldn’t budge.” “Are you sure about this?” Was I sure? To be honest, even now, I couldn’t fully believe that Stella and Ethan had betrayed me. But I knew some things didn’t need to be understood. They just had to be accepted. I nodded. Mr. Vance’s expression turned serious. “This is a highly confidential project, Maya. You’ll be stationed overseas for three years. No trips home, and extremely limited contact with anyone back here. Can you handle that?” “Yes. I can leave tomorrow morning.”

It was 10 PM by the time I finally walked out of the building. Ethan was leaning against his car, smoking. A pile of cigarette butts littered the ground around his feet. The orange glow of the cherry lit up his face, highlighting his deep frown. In our five years of dating, I had only seen him smoke twice. The first time was the year we graduated. His parents wanted him to move back to his hometown. But I wanted to stay with Stella. Ethan had smoked cigarette after cigarette back then, just like he was doing now. In the end, he chose me. And now? What choice was he making? I didn’t want to think about it. Seeing me, he immediately crushed the cigarette, walked over, and took my bag. “First day back and they make you work this late? Your company is slave-driving you.” “Just had a lot of data to go through,” I lied. He opened the passenger door, and I slid in. A faint scent of perfume hit my nose. My body went completely rigid. It was Stella’s favorite perfume. I looked down. Right there, wedged in the gap of the seat, was a lip balm. It was the one I had bought for Stella last month. Ethan got into the driver’s seat. He saw me staring at the lip balm and froze. The car fell into a suffocating silence for two long seconds. Then, he laughed. “Oh, Stella must have dropped that when I gave her a ride earlier. I’ll give it back to her.” I stared at the lip balm. “Did Stella sit in the passenger seat a lot while I was gone?” His hand froze on the seatbelt. He turned to look at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. Then, he reached out, ruffled my hair, and chuckled. “What, are you jealous of your own sister now? Cute.” I didn’t laugh. His tone became serious. “You’re the one who wanted us to get along, Maya. I only drove her around occasionally.” He paused, then added, “If it bothers you, I won’t do it again.” “I’m tired,” I said, closing my eyes. I didn’t want to hear another word. He stared at me for a few seconds before starting the car. “Did you… see anything online last night?” I opened my eyes and looked at him. “See what?” He remained quiet for a moment, then smiled. “Nothing. You just seem off today. Your eyes are really red.” I closed my eyes again. “I was too excited last night. Didn’t sleep at all.” He started the engine, shaking his head with a soft chuckle. “Still a kid.” He reached over and turned up the thermostat. The car got noticeably warmer. Whenever Stella rode with us, she always wanted the heater on high. She hated the cold. When we got home, Stella was already waiting at the door. “You must be starving! Wash your hands, dinner’s ready.” I walked in. The table was packed with all my favorite foods. I sat in my usual spot. Stella sat on my left, and Ethan sat on my right. Both of them immediately put food on my plate at the same time. “Maya, your favorite garlic parmesan chicken.” “And the spicy wings.” For a second, I felt like I was back in the past. But reality pulled me right back. Everything was broken. A thousand questions bubbled up in my throat. I saw the post. Why did you do it? But as the words reached my lips, I lost my nerve. I couldn’t ask. The dinner tasted like cardboard. Finally, Stella raised her glass. “Maya, I want to make a toast.” She drank her first glass. “Welcome home.” “Second, to your promotion.” Then, she looked at Ethan. “And third. You two have been together for five years. I know I used to be against it, but I’m not anymore. You should pick a date and get married.”

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At my birthday party, I had an accidental one-night stand with Ethan, the boy next door I’d chased for ten years. When I woke up, he was already getting dressed, looking down at me with cold disgust. “This is a really cheap trick, Chloe.” I looked at the glass of non-alcoholic juice on the nightstand. I didn’t explain. I didn’t argue. I just ignored the aching soreness in my body, went straight home, and completely cut off contact with him for three whole months. The next time I heard from him, his mother had dragged him to my house to ask for a favor. “Our stubborn boy is finally ready to settle down! They’re planning the engagement! Chloe, you majored in interior design, right? Can you help them renovate their new house?” I froze in the kitchen, spilling the hot soup all over my hand. My mom happily patted my arm. “Wait, did you two actually make it work? I always said my girl might not be the smartest, but she’s definitely thick-skinned. You actually snatched Ethan!” The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Ethan’s face went pitch black. “Chloe, is it fun to spread rumors? Even if you lie and say we’re having a baby, I will still never marry you!” Both of our mothers froze. Mrs. Davis immediately apologized, “What nonsense are you talking about? Chloe is a good, respectable girl. Stop acting like a jerk!” She turned around and slapped Ethan’s arm repeatedly. I took the opportunity to speak up. “It’s fine, Mrs. Davis. But I really can’t help with the house.” I looked down and gently touched my belly. “I actually am pregnant. Exactly three months.” I smiled and added, “But don’t worry, all three of you. The baby isn’t Ethan’s.”

That one sentence felt like a sudden clap of thunder. Ethan kicked the chair next to him in a rage, gritting his teeth. “Is it appropriate for you to make this kind of joke right now?” Under my mom’s shocked gaze, I brought out a bowl of chicken soup and sat down at the dining table. Looking at his furious face, I covered my lower abdomen, completely calm. “I’m not joking. I am pregnant. And it really isn’t yours.” Then, I forced a polite, apologetic smile. “I just found out a few days ago and haven’t had the chance to tell everyone. I’m sorry, Mrs. Davis. You’ll have to find someone else to design the house.” I stirred my soup and said to my mom, “I asked you to make chicken soup today because the doctor said the baby needs more nutrients.” The air in the room froze. My mom’s eyes welled with tears, and she couldn’t say a word. Sensing that things were going south, Mrs. Davis awkwardly laughed and dragged Ethan out of the house. Before he left, Ethan gave me a dark, unreadable look and spat out one last line. “Even if it’s true, I’ll never take responsibility for it.” The moment they left, my mom slammed her hand on the table. “I know you’ve loved Ethan for ten years. But even if you’re angry that he’s getting engaged, you can’t ruin your own reputation like this! You haven’t even had a boyfriend. Where would a baby come from?” I pulled the ultrasound report from my pocket. The words “Pregnancy: 3 Months” completely silenced her. She closed her eyes in defeat, then suddenly grabbed my wrist as if realizing something. “I heard what he just said. He said ‘even if it’s true, he won’t take responsibility.’ Did something happen between you two? Is this child his?” I took a sip of the soup and said quietly, “Mom, how many times do I have to say it? The baby really isn’t Ethan’s.” My mom’s hands shook with anger. “Then tell me who the father is! I’m not against you dating. You’re almost thirty, and you always rejected the guys I set you up with. I thought you were set on Ethan forever! But you…” She looked around and lowered her voice. “But you went and got yourself pregnant without a husband!” A wave of nausea hit my throat. I stood up and poured the soup down the drain. As she kept lecturing, I said helplessly, “I’ll tell you more when the pregnancy is stable. He knows about the baby, and he’s willing to take responsibility.” My mom followed me, her face full of frustration.

“Take responsibility? How? Right now he says he will, but once you actually give birth, he’ll run away!” My mind drifted, thinking of how excited a certain someone had been when he found out. An involuntary smile touched my lips. He would take responsibility. The moment he found out I was pregnant, he immediately transferred a million dollars to my account and bought all the baby supplies himself. At the very least, he was a thousand times more responsible than Ethan. “Mom, don’t worry. Your daughter isn’t stupid. I’m going to work now.” I packed my things and went down to the garage. When I reached my car, I saw Ethan’s car blocking my driveway completely. I instinctively reached into my bag to grab his spare key to move it. But after rummaging for a bit, I remembered he had taken his keys back the day we started our cold war. Hesitantly, I pulled out my phone and scrolled to the bottom of my chat list to find his name. [Can you move your car? I need to go to work.] The next second, a red exclamation mark flashed on my screen. He had blocked me. I tapped on his Instagram profile. His profile banner, which had been a sports theme for years, had been replaced by a photo of two hands locked together—an official relationship announcement. I let out a bitter laugh and put my phone away. Right. He took his keys back, so blocking me was only natural. As I turned to leave, I tripped on something on the ground and almost fell. My heart leaped into my throat. I grabbed the side mirror of his car to steady myself. Scattered all over the concrete were things I had left in his car over the years. There was my winter coat, which I had given him because I was worried he’d catch a cold after drinking. There was a silver cross necklace I had climbed thousands of steps at a cathedral to get for him, just to keep him safe. And a meticulously packed first-aid kit, in case he got sick… The rest was just random junk—lipsticks and fake eyelashes I’d accidentally dropped during our hangouts. If the person didn’t matter to him, then her things were just trash to be thrown away. Through the passenger window, I saw the front seat had been decorated beautifully. There was a pink cushion, a cute plushie tied to the headrest, and a toy steering wheel on the dashboard. In the past, whenever I tried to put a small keychain in his car, he would throw it out. “If you put something so girly in here, people will think I have a girlfriend,” he used to say. My eyes burned. So this was the special treatment saved only for an official girlfriend. I bent down, threw all my old belongings into the trash can, and called an Uber. As soon as I sat down, my high school bestie, Lily, called me, screaming through the phone. “Chloe! That jerk Ethan is getting engaged!” Hearing the news again, I was much calmer. “Yeah, I just found out.” “Did you see his Instagram? We were all terrified! He never posts anything, and today he uploaded five different posts! We thought the bride was you! But it turns out…” I didn’t want to hear it, so I cut her off. “Want to hear something even more shocking?” Lily asked instantly, “What?” A gentle smile crept onto my face. “I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a godmother!” “What?!” “I’m not lying. Exactly three months.” I sent her a picture of the ultrasound. She sounded like she was about to cry with excitement. “I thought you were going to be stuck on Ethan for the rest of your life. I was literally just about to tell you to stop running into that brick wall. But look at you! You got pregnant! That’s amazing!” “Quick, tell me! Who’s the dad?” I kept it a mystery. “In a few days, when he’s done with his business trip, you’ll be the first person to meet him.” She happily agreed, and we hung up after chatting about baby prep. Right after I sat down at my desk, Lily posted on her Snapchat: [Thank God! My bestie Chloe is pregnant! I’m going to be a godmother!] I was about to message her to tell her to keep it on the down-low. But the next second, Ethan, who had been completely MIA, commented: [? Are you playing along with her little drama now?]

Lily clapped back instantly: [People without kids shouldn’t interfere with those of us who do! Are you blind? Can’t you see the hospital’s official stamp on the report?] The frustration that had been building up in my chest was mostly cleared by Lily’s reply. I hummed a little tune and spent a busy afternoon working. Later, I took a picture of the soothing flowers a certain someone had sent to my office and posted it on my Snapchat story: [It feels so good to have someone caring for me.] Out of nowhere, Ethan left a comment: [Is lying to yourself that comforting? Just don’t go around telling people I sent those to you.] In his eyes, I was that worthless. I didn’t reply. While waiting for my ride after work, a familiar car pulled up right in front of me. A frustrated Ethan rolled down the window. “Get in.” I stood still. “I called an Uber.” “I’m not asking. Get in.” Sighing, I cancelled my ride. I instinctively walked to the passenger side, but after he glared at me, I quietly got into the back seat. Ethan drove incredibly fast. The wind cut through the open window like a knife. While waiting at a red light, he habitually pulled out a cigarette, but after glancing at my flat stomach through the rearview mirror, he put it away. “You can’t keep this baby. I can compensate you for what happened that night, but I won’t be responsible for a child’s future.” I gently stroked my belly, my heart aching. “You make it sound like I forced myself on you that night. Let me say it again: I don’t need you to take responsibility, and the baby isn’t yours.” Ethan swore under his breath and slammed his hand on the steering wheel, honking the horn loudly. “You’re still acting at a time like this? I don’t think you have enough charm to make any other guy look at you.” He looked at me through the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with endless mockery. My pale, tired face was reflected in the window. I didn’t care to argue with him. Since we were kids, Ethan was always the golden boy. He was tall, handsome, studious, and great at sports. The girls chasing him could line up from our doorsteps to the school gates. Even my breakfasts were supplied by his fangirls. Because I looked so average, they collectively agreed that I wasn’t a threat. When I first started passing their love letters to him, Ethan was shocked. “Hey, why are you giving me these? I don’t like you, don’t do this.” Wearing my thick glasses, I told him honestly, “I didn’t write them. Someone else asked me to give them to you.” “Good.” He let out a long sigh of relief. “Let me make this clear. Don’t get any ideas about me. To me, you’re basically genderless.” I felt a pang of sadness, but I still spent the next three years quietly following behind him. It wasn’t until high school, when we were in the same class, that things changed. After his basketball games, he would walk a long way just to ask for my water bottle. “Give me a sip. I’m dying of thirst.” The setting sun hit his sweaty face, making him look incredibly bright. For the first time, my ears flushed red, and I refused. “Why not? Don’t be so stingy to your bro.” He unreasonable snatched it away and gulped it down. When I got the bottle back, I hid in a corner where no one was looking and took a sip from where his lips had touched. That was the moment I realized I liked him. But he didn’t like me. I started caring about my appearance, tried taking off my glasses, and clumsily put on makeup that made me look like a clown. He mocked me mercilessly. “So ugly.” Later, I intentionally threw away over fifty points on my SATs just to make sure I went to college in the same city as him. I played games of Truth or Dare just to confess to him under the guise of a joke. I threw drunken tantrums and dropped hints constantly. But all I got in return was his disdain and malicious teasing from our mutual friends. The final straw was at my birthday party three months ago. I had gone out to buy cold medicine for him, and when I returned to the private room, I heard his friends making bets through the door:

“Ethan, do you think Chloe is going to find another chance to confess to you tonight? How many times has it been? At least ten thousand times, right?” Ethan’s lips curved into a slight smirk. “No matter how many times she hints at it, I’ll just play dumb. After all, she’s great for everything—except being a girlfriend.” My hand froze in mid-air. I completely lost the courage to push the door open. That was the first time I didn’t try to drop clumsy hints. In fact, after the party ended, he looked uncomfortable, grabbed my arm, and asked if I had anything to say to him. I shook my head. He then dragged me to a hotel, almost out of spite, saying he wanted to clear things up. And after that, he woke up, got dressed in disgust, and cut me off. A sudden, violent screech of brakes pulled me back to reality. The car had stopped in the underground garage of his apartment building. I thought about it and decided to tell him the truth about that night. “Ethan, that night, we didn’t actually—” Before I could finish the words “do anything,” he pushed the door open and ran off without looking back. “Victoria, don’t be scared. I’ll be right there. Wait for me.” He left so decisively, leaving me locked in the back seat, helplessly banging on the window for help. Only then did I realize who “Victoria” was. She was the elegant senior who was the only girl to ever reject him. I waited and waited until midnight, knowing he wouldn’t come back. Now that his dream girl was back, how could he let me ruin his mood? I wanted to call Lily for help. But I was afraid Ethan would think I was making a big deal out of nothing and make his dream girl misunderstand. In the end, from the lack of oxygen in the car, I fainted. … When I woke up again, the white walls and the smell of disinfectant surrounded me. The room was noisy. Mrs. Davis was screaming at Ethan. “Do you even have a heart? You knew Chloe was pregnant, and you left her locked in the car all night? If anything happens to the baby, you’re dead to me!” My mom was angry, too, but she tried to keep the peace. “Alright, alright. She’s fine now. The baby is still small.” I coughed twice, cutting them off. My mom immediately rushed to my bedside, her eyes full of worry. “Chloe, are you feeling better? The doctor said you’re weak. It was hard to save the baby, so don’t put yourself in danger anymore, okay?” Every word she said was a jab at Ethan’s carelessness. Mrs. Davis looked extremely embarrassed, but she forced a smile. “Yes, Chloe, you need to take care of your body. I won’t let this brat bother you anymore.” It sounded a bit like I was the one clinging to her son. I weakly turned my head away, but Ethan cut his mother off. “I was the one who went looking for Chloe. Stop being passive-aggressive.” He awkwardly stepped closer and held a bowl of soup to my lips. I pulled away, refusing to take a single sip. He got annoyed and slammed the bowl onto the table. “If you don’t drink it, don’t blame me if something happens to the kid!” I was almost amused by his words. He had been insisting the child had nothing to do with him. So what was this act supposed to be now? Mrs. Davis’s expression hardened behind him, and she looked at me with a hint of displeasure. I said quietly, “The baby has a father. You don’t need to worry about it.” Ethan’s face darkened by several shades. “You’re in your first trimester, so I won’t argue with you. I bought all the baby supplies based on online guides. Take care of yourself.” I looked at the corner of the room, which was piled high with baby clothes, strollers, and toys. Ethan was still misunderstanding. Since everyone was here, it was the perfect time to explain everything clearly, so a certain someone wouldn’t get jealous. But before I could speak, a slender, beautiful figure walked into the room.

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In the middle of the night, I was dragged into the police precinct. Hailey Ward, my intern, was sitting there shivering, wrapped in a man’s oversized jacket. The moment she saw me, she pointed a shaking finger right at my nose and screamed, “It’s him… It was her husband! He assaulted me! He ruined my life! I want him in prison for the rest of his miserable life!” The detectives in the room turned to look at me, their eyes filled with utter disgust. I stood there, completely frozen. I’m twenty-eight, single, and haven’t been in a relationship in years. Where the hell did I get a husband? Before I could even open my mouth to explain, another officer burst into the room. “Detective Miller, the rape kit results are back. We found male DNA on Hailey Ward. We’re rushing the DNA match through the database right now.” Hailey stumbled forward, trying to lunge at me. “Chloe Sterling! What do you have to say for yourself now? You enabled that psycho husband of yours. You both deserve to rot in hell!” A sudden realization hit me. I didn’t get angry. Instead, I calmly took a sip of water from the paper cup. Wait. On paper… I actually did have a husband. Except, he wasn’t human.

I set my cup down and looked at the detective in charge. “Check the public registry first.” Hailey’s sobbing stopped instantly. Detective Miller frowned. “What do you mean by that?” “I mean, I’ve never been married. I don’t even have a boyfriend.” Hailey immediately grabbed her phone and slammed a photo onto the metal desk. It was a screenshot of my emergency contact and employee info sheet. Under the marital status section, it clearly read: Married, with child. She glared at me, her eyes red. “Chloe, are you seriously still lying at a time like this? Everyone at the office knows you have a husband and a kid! You leave at exactly five every single day. You never join us for after-work Happy Hour, and you refuse any business trips that require staying overnight. Last month, when the boss asked you to stay for a dinner with clients, you said your husband had a massive temper. You said if you were even a minute late, he’d start throwing things.” Miller’s gaze turned cold again. “Ms. Sterling, I suggest you take this seriously. Harboring a fugitive and covering up a felony is a serious crime. You will face prison time.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a massive headache coming on. Who would have thought that the fake, toxic husband I made up just to escape working overtime would one day land me in a police station? Three years ago, during my interview, HR asked if I could handle frequent, last-minute traveling. I knew that single women in this industry were often treated as free, on-call labor. So, I casually lied and said I was married with a young toddler who needed me home. After I got the job, the boss loved calling “urgent” meetings ten minutes before clock-out time. To leave on time, I had to keep building my fake story. My husband had anger issues. My kid was sickly. My mother-in-law was a controlling freak. I even invented an eighty-year-old grandmother who lived with us and needed me to feed her dinner. Thanks to this completely imaginary, dysfunctional family, I managed to avoid every single useless corporate bonding event for three years. But now, karma was biting me in the ass. “Officer, I admit that the whole marriage and kid thing was a lie. You can check the official government database. The system doesn’t lie.” Hailey jumped up from her chair, hysterical. “So you’re saying I’m lying about being assaulted?! What girl would make up something like this and ruin her own reputation? You lied to the company about being married, and now you’re claiming you’re single. Who knows what’s real with you? Detective, she’s the department director. She has money and connections. She probably hacked the registry and wiped her marriage records!” I looked at her. She was wrapped in that large male jacket, her hair a messy nest, with a few red scratches on her arms. She was crying tears of pure despair, but every accusation she threw at me was calculated and sharp. The detective logged into the federal database to verify my identity. After a few minutes, he looked up. “The registry says Chloe Sterling, twenty-eight, single, no children.” Hailey’s crying cut off instantly. She stared at the screen, her face pale. “No… That’s impossible! That’s absolutely impossible!” Suddenly, as if remembering something, she fumbled with her phone, pulled up a video, and shoved it in front of the detective. “Fine! Maybe they aren’t legally married. But people can live together without a marriage certificate, right?” She tapped play on a security camera clip. A tall man wearing a black hoodie was walking out of my apartment hallway, carrying a trash bag, and stepping into the elevator. “This guy! This guy came right out of your apartment! Even if he isn’t your husband, he’s your boyfriend! He’s the suspect you’ve been hiding in your home!” Hailey zoomed in on the screen. “I’ve been in your car, Chloe. I saw this exact hoodie on your backseat. Are you going to tell me he has nothing to do with you? Chloe Sterling, how are you going to explain this?!” Looking at that familiar, tall figure in the hoodie, my heart sank. I finally understood why she was so absolutely sure I had a husband.

Next, the detective pulled up another security video from the street nearby. The timestamp was shortly before Hailey called 911. Under a dim streetlight, a tall man of the exact same build suddenly grabbed Hailey from the sidewalk and dragged her into the dark shadows of a bush. Hailey pointed at the screen, shaking like a leaf, weeping as she watched herself being dragged away. “That’s him! That’s the man!” She whipped around to face me, her eyes burning with pure hatred. “And you! Chloe Sterling! You’re his accomplice!” Hailey was absolutely certain that the man who assaulted her and the man who walked out of my apartment to throw away the trash were the same person. In both videos, the build and the hoodie were about eighty percent identical. And that specific bush happened to be in a security camera blind spot. A few minutes later in the video, Hailey stumbled out of the bushes, her clothes torn, with clear scratches and bruises on her arms. The detective turned the screen toward me. “Do you know him?” “Yes.” Hailey screamed instantly. “You finally admit it! He’s the one who did this to me! Chloe, you knew he was a sick freak, and you purposely brought me to your neighborhood!” I stared at the familiar figure on the screen, remaining calm. The detective pressed on. “What’s his name?” “He doesn’t have one.” “Social Security Number?” “He doesn’t have one of those either.” The detective slammed his hand on the desk. “Chloe Sterling! This is a police precinct, not a playground. Stop playing games!” I looked up, meeting his eyes. “I am telling you the truth. The thing that walked out of my apartment… is not a human being.” “You cold-hearted, evil bitch!” Hailey lost her mind and began cursing at me. “No wonder you always offered to drive me home after work for free! You had this planned all along! You’re his accomplice! You set me up just so your freak boyfriend could assault an innocent girl!” A chill ran down my spine. Hailey was a fresh graduate with a low salary, and her rented place was far from the office. I had driven her home purely out of pity, wanting to make things a little easier for a young girl starting out. At work, I always looked out for her, assigning her the easiest tasks that still got her the best commissions. I never could have imagined that my kindness would be twisted into a horrific criminal accusation. Right then, the door to the interrogation room was slammed open. Several people claiming to be Hailey’s family rushed in, pointing at me and screaming obscenities. “You absolute monster! Look what you did to my daughter!” “She’s a good girl! She was supposed to get married soon! Now you and your psycho husband ruined her life!” A middle-aged woman Hailey’s mother was wailing hysterically. She lunged forward, trying to grab my hair. “I’m telling you, this isn’t over! We want fifty thousand dollars for emotional damages! Every single penny! Or we will go to your company, post this on Snapchat, and ruin your entire life!” The officers immediately jumped in to hold them back. Miller turned to me, his voice sharp and commanding. “Chloe Sterling! Tell us the identity of the man living with you right now!” The room was in absolute chaos. The screaming, crying, and cursing made my ears ring. I sighed, looking up. “Fine, I’ll tell you. But like I said… he isn’t human.”

The room went dead silent for a fraction of a second. Hailey’s mother was the first to react, leaping up from her chair and charging at me again. “What the hell are you talking about?! Not human? What is he, a ghost? Do you think we’re idiots?!” Miller stood up, his face turning incredibly dark. He clearly thought I was mocking him. “Ms. Sterling! This is a police station. We do not tolerate jokes here!” Hailey became completely hysterical. “Officers, do you see this?! She won’t confess until she’s behind bars!” Hailey snatched a ballpoint pen from the desk and pressed the sharp tip hard against her own neck. “Do I have to die right in front of you for you to believe me?” She shrieked, tears streaming down her face. “Is the camera footage fake? Are my injuries fake? Is the DNA inside me fake too?!” She sobbed, glaring at the police with desperation. “If you don’t arrest that monster, and if you don’t punish this woman who is protecting him, I will kill myself right here!” Seeing this, Miller warned me with a freezing voice. “Chloe Sterling, this is your absolute last warning. Refusing to hand over a suspect makes you an accessory to a felony. You will face serious prison time. This is your last chance.” The room was a mess. Miller managed to disarm Hailey, taking the pen away, while another officer dragged her mother out of the room. “Chloe, we’ve given you every opportunity to explain. Give us his name, address, and contact info. Now. Otherwise, we will officially charge you as an accomplice.” I looked at the clock on the wall. “Let’s go to my apartment. He’s in there right now.” Miller waved his hand. “Assemble a team. We’re moving out.” They put me in handcuffs for the ride. When the cold metal clicked around my wrists, my heart twinged with a bit of pain. Three years ago, I was the one who hired Hailey. When she couldn’t afford rent in the city center, I helped her apply for company housing. When her mother was hospitalized and no other coworker would lend her a dime, I personally lent her five thousand dollars. I mentored her from a clueless intern to a core team member. And now, she couldn’t wait to put me in a cage. I was escorted into the back of a police cruiser. Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to my building. Several heavily armed tactical officers quickly got out of their SUVs, securing the perimeter of the building. Hailey hid behind a few officers, pointing a trembling finger at my window. “It’s up there. That demon is definitely still inside.” The arrival of several police cars with flashing lights had caused quite a stir. A few elderly neighbors were peeking out from their windows. Miller began deploying his men. After a quick briefing, he drew his service weapon and walked over to me. “What kind of lock is on your door?” “Fingerprint scanner.” “You’re going to open it for us.” I held up my hands. “Sure, but you’ll have to let me use my finger.” Miller glanced at me and immediately denied the request. “No. You might trigger a silent alarm or alert the suspect inside.” He turned and waved to the officers behind him. “Get the battering ram.” I sighed. It was just a simple smart lock, but they insisted on using a battering ram. Fine. Building management would charge the department for the door repairs anyway. The elevator was too slow, so the tactical team rushed up the stairs to the sixth floor. I was escorted by two officers, my handcuffs clinking with every step. Standing outside my apartment door, Miller gave the final signal. Two tactical officers flanked the door, their rifles raised. Behind them, an officer held a heavy steel battering ram, ready to swing. Miller held up three fingers, counting down silently. Three. Two. One. BOOM! The door flew open, and the team stormed inside like a pack of wolves. “Police! Nobody move!” “Hands in the air! Get down on the ground! Now!” The living room lights were bright, and the warm scent of freshly cooked dinner filled the air. In the kitchen, a tall man was standing with his back turned to everyone.

He was holding a spatula. Even with the loud shouting and guns pointed at him, he didn’t react at all. Miller yelled even louder, “I won’t say it again! Get on the ground! Hands behind your head, or we will use force!” Still, no response. Two tactical officers exchanged a quick look and rushed forward. One grabbed his arm, twisting it backward, while the other tried to pin his shoulder down. In that exact split second. CLACK. The entire living room fell into a horrifying, dead silence. Everyone stared in absolute shock at the arm that had just fallen onto the hardwood floor. “No… This… This is impossible…” A young officer stammered, his voice filled with terror and confusion. And in that eerie silence, the man with the missing arm slowly spun around. He looked at me with his glowing, synthetic eyes. “Welcome home, Chloe. Dinner is ready. System alert: Door lock damage detected. Would you like me to contact building maintenance immediately?” The officer who was holding the “man’s” other shoulder jumped back as if he’d been electrocuted. He fell flat on his butt, scrambling backward, screaming at Miller. “De… Detective! This… This guy is made of metal!” I could finally speak. I walked over to the “man,” looking back at the frozen police officers and the pale, trembling Hailey. “Everyone, let me formally introduce you. This is the ‘man’ who throws out my trash and cooks my dinner every day. The one you all swore was a rapist. He is also the ‘abusive husband’ I made up to avoid working unpaid overtime. Meet Apollo. A limited-edition, advanced domestic service android.” “Ah!” Hailey let out a piercing shriek. She rubbed her eyes in utter disbelief, babbling incoherently. “No… No! That’s impossible! A robot can’t look exactly like a real human! You’re lying! You must be lying!” I calmly walked to the sideboard, opened a drawer, and pulled out a thick folder. “Officers, here are the full patent certificates, factory quality approval, and technical specifications for this latest model of synthetic android. They come in male and female models. Very customizable.” I handed the documents to the completely dumbfounded Miller. “Furthermore, as the lead engineer of this project, I can assure you that his design and manufacturing comply with all international safety standards.” My words sent another shockwave through the room. Hailey, still refusing to accept defeat, immediately yelled, “Even… Even if he’s a robot! You must have done it! You remotely controlled this robot to assault me!” I looked at her like she was an absolute idiot. “Hailey, did you fail basic biology in high school?” I walked over to Apollo, and before everyone’s eyes, I pulled down his sweatpants. “He’s a domestic chore-focused android. Not a sex toy.” A few officers quickly looked away, clearing their throats. Miller coughed uncomfortably. “As you can see, to avoid legal and ethical issues, our domestic models do not come equipped with any human reproductive organs down there. So please tell me, how exactly did he assault you? With his charging port?” Hailey’s mother, realizing things were going horribly wrong, jumped in to cause more trouble. “Then… Then it must have been another man! There has to be another man! This robot is just a cover-up to confuse us!” Hailey’s face flashed between red and white, her hands shaking, but she still wouldn’t back down. “Then how do you explain the security footage? The figure in the hoodie!” I let out a cold laugh, walked over to my desk, and plugged my laptop in. “You want evidence? Fine. I’ll show you everything.”

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When I was seven months pregnant, I decided to go to a local boutique to pick out some baby supplies. Peering through the shelves, I froze. Across the aisle, my husband was leaning down, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind a strange woman’s ear. “Oh, you recognize Mr. and Mrs. Vance too?” The sales associate asked casually, her head down as she scanned the prices of the items in my cart. “Honestly, who doesn’t envy Victoria? They’ve been married for three years, and Ethan has never had a single scandal. He’s completely devoted.” “They were childhood sweethearts, and now they have a boy and a girl. They’re the ultimate power couple.” I gripped the edge of the counter, my knuckles turning white. A boy and a girl? Power couple? But the “Ethan Vance” she was talking about was supposed to be my husband—the ordinary, sweet guy who told me his parents died years ago! Seeing my pale face, the sales associate gave me a suspicious look. “Do you know Ethan?” She looked me up and down, her eyes lingering on my cheap maternity dress. A flash of contempt crossed her face. “If you have any dirty ideas, I suggest you forget them.” “Ethan is a respectable man. He wouldn’t even glance at a woman like you.” She shoved past me, making me stumble. I instinctively covered my belly, panicking. Then, I heard her whisper to another coworker, laughing mockingly. “Look at her. She’s practically drooling over Ethan. Probably trying to be some rich guy’s side chick.” “With a belly like that, I bet she doesn’t even know who the real father is.” A side chick? I stood there, paralyzed, unable to defend myself. Just this morning, before he left for work, he had kissed me gently on the forehead. He told me his company was swamped with meetings and told me to rest at home. But could two people really look so identical? Down to the tiny scar at the corner of his left eye? Ethan Miller told me he got that scar from a fall when he was a kid. If he already had a family, a wife, and children… Why did he court me? Why did he marry me? Why did he turn me into the trashy, cheap side chick in everyone else’s eyes? I wanted to run after him and demand the truth. I had told him about my past. I told him my mother committed suicide by jumping off a building because she believed the sweet lies of a wealthy heir and ended up as his hidden mistress. I, Evelyn, would rather marry a beggar than ever become someone’s mistress. Why did he lie to me? Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit me. I tripped over something on the floor and nearly fell. Hearing the commotion, Ethan turned around. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he rushed over. “Evelyn! Oh my god, are you okay? Why are you out here alone?” His eyes were filled with genuine panic, and he held me close, whispering comfort. But the expensive charcoal suit he was wearing was not the cheap office wear he had on when he left our apartment this morning. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m taking you to the hospital right now.” I grabbed his wrist, my voice cracking with tears. “Ethan… are you hiding something from me?” At my words, panic flashed through his eyes. “Babe, what are you talking about?” “Did someone say something to you?” His eyes darted around, but he quickly composed himself. “That woman… Victoria, she’s just a friend. We ran into each other and were just catching up.” “I didn’t think you’d see us. I should have been more careful. I’m sorry I caused a misunderstanding.” “I promise, I will never let something like this happen again.” Ethan spoke with such sincerity, his gaze steady and clear. I looked past his shoulder. Victoria stood there calmly, showing no intention of arguing. If they were really husband and wife, she wouldn’t just stand there in silence, right? Before I could think further, Ethan scooped me up in his arms and rushed toward the hospital. In his arms, my mind drifted back to the first time we met. He had held me just like this. Back then, my mother had just jumped to her death, and my greedy uncle was trying to sell me off to a sixty-year-old slumlord to pay his debts. I had run away, bruised and terrified. Ethan was the one who saved me from the streets, took me to the hospital, and gave me a place to stay. He told me he was an orphan, that his greedy relatives had stolen his inheritance, and that he was struggling to make a living on his own. We fell in love in our tiny, cramped rented apartment, leaning on each other for survival. Even though he was broke, he was incredibly refined and eventually got a decent job at a corporation. I had my doubts back then, but I loved him too much to dig deeper. Until the day he knelt on the worn-out carpet with a simple silver ring. “I swear to God, Evelyn, I will cherish you for the rest of my life.” He took care of all our marriage paperwork alone. After we got married, he handed his entire paycheck over to me. Every time he came home from a business trip, he brought me little gifts—a cheap necklace, some pastries, or a bouquet of wildflowers. He loved me so passionately. How could it all be a lie? At the hospital, the doctor reviewed my ultrasound and wrote a prescription for some prenatal vitamins. He smiled at the anxious Ethan. “Both mother and baby are fine. Just make sure she gets plenty of bed rest.” Ethan let out a long, shaky breath and gently stroked my belly. “Thank God you two are okay.” He knelt by my bedside, placing his cheek against my stomach, whispering softly, “Little one, be good. Don’t stress your mommy out.” I saw tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. Ethan had been nothing but good to me. He was my savior. I convinced myself that the sales associate must have made a mistake. Maybe Victoria was just a client, and the girl got confused. I shouldn’t doubt him. With a lighter heart, I went home to rest. But the very next morning, right after Ethan left for “work,” our front door was violently kicked open. I rushed to the living room, only to see Victoria standing there with a dozen burly men in black suits.

Faced with so many intimidating strangers, my heart hammered against my ribs. The nanny Ethan had hired to look after me shrank behind my back, trembling. I forced myself to stand tall. “Victoria, we don’t know each other. What is the meaning of this?” The gentle, elegant woman from yesterday was gone. Now, her eyes were dripping with cold disdain. She sneered, and her personal assistant immediately stepped forward, pointing a finger at my face. “You shameless bitch, how dare you ask? Our mistress is being generous enough to bring you back to the estate to have your baby.” I had no idea what she was talking about, so I tried to reject her politely. “I appreciate the offer, but we are strangers. I have no intention of moving into your house.” “Besides, I’m pregnant and it’s not safe for me to move right now. Please leave.” The moment the words left my mouth, the assistant slapped me hard across the face. “You home-wrecking whore! Always using the baby as an excuse to stress our mistress out!” “Victoria is the only legal Mrs. Vance. Your bastard child will just be an illegitimate mistake. Don’t think you can use it to climb the social ladder.” I stumbled backward, clutching my burning cheek. Luckily, the nanny caught me before I hit the floor. Victoria watched my struggle with a mocking smile. She walked over slowly, using the tip of her designer umbrella to lift my chin. “How pathetic. Has Ethan still not told you the truth?” “Then let me tell you. I am Ethan Vance’s real, legal wife.” She told me Ethan Miller was actually Ethan Vance, the sole heir to the multi-billion-dollar Vance empire. And she was Victoria Sterling, the youngest daughter of the powerful Sterling family. Their marriage was an arranged alliance, a match made in high-society heaven. She spoke so casually, but my heart shattered into a million pieces. Every strange detail, every inconsistency in Ethan’s story over the past year, suddenly made perfect, horrible sense. But no matter what, I couldn’t go with her. I, Evelyn, had my pride. If Ethan had really lied to me, I would rather abort this baby and run away again than stay and be humiliated. I screamed, “I don’t believe you! I want to hear it from him!” “If you’re really his wife, why are you afraid to let me confront him?” Victoria didn’t answer. A flicker of annoyance passed through her eyes, and she barked an order to her guards. “Tie her up and drag her to the car!” Seeing the guards close in, I screamed toward the open door, hoping the neighbors in the hallway would help. “Help! Please! I don’t know these people!” “Please call the police! Or call my husband!” But the neighbors, who were usually so friendly, only watched coldly from their doorways. They looked at me with disgust and muttered among themselves. “I knew she looked too trashy to live here. Turns out she’s just a sugar baby.” “And to think I helped her carry her groceries. How disgusting.” “Victoria is being too nice. If I were her, I’d have this home-wrecker beaten to death.” The heavy guards pinned me to the floor. Listening to the cruel whispers of the crowd, a wave of intense shame washed over me. I yelled at them desperately, “You all saw us! You saw Ethan and me! We had a small wedding in the courtyard!” “My husband is an orphan! He’s not some billionaire!” But no one cared. “A wedding? Please, what kind of respectable man gets married with just a backyard barbecue and no family?” “We all knew that guy looked too wealthy to be a regular office worker. You lived with him and didn’t notice? Stop playing the victim.” “You’re just a kept woman, sweetie. Don’t lie to yourself.” My body went cold. If all of his love was a lie, what was I? Just then, through the hallway window, I saw a familiar face walking into the courtyard below. It was Julian Bennett, Ethan’s coworker. He had been to our apartment for drinks. He had called me “Evelyn” and “sister-in-law.” He could prove my innocence!

I struggled against the guards, using every ounce of my strength to yell out the window. “Julian! Julian! Help me!” Julian looked up, shocked. “Evelyn? What the hell is going on?” He ran up the stairs and yelled at the guards holding me down. “Hey! Let her go!” “What do you think you’re doing to a pregnant woman in broad daylight?” I let out a sob of relief. “Julian knows me. He can prove who I am!” I glared at Victoria. “Even if you are a Vance, you have no right to kidnap me! Let me go!” But Victoria didn’t flinch. She smiled warmly at Julian. “Julian, what did you just call her?” “Since when does Ethan have another wife that I don’t know about?” Seeing Victoria’s face, Julian’s expression instantly changed. All his anger vanished, replaced by pale terror. “Mrs. Vance… I didn’t realize it was you.” He quickly stepped closer to Victoria, lowering his voice. “Why waste your time with someone like her?” My heart plunged into a freezing abyss. Ethan Vance… did you really plan all of this? Did you lie to me from the very start? Julian continued to whisper to Victoria, his tone submissive. “She’s just a plaything Ethan kept on the side. You shouldn’t lower yourself to deal with her.” “If Ethan really cared about her, he wouldn’t leave her in a cheap apartment like this without even a single guard, right?” He pointed to our nanny, who was crying in the corner. “If you just ignore her, Ethan will appreciate your grace. There’s no need to ruin your reputation over a side chick.” I ignored his insults and demanded with a shaking voice, “Is Ethan Miller actually Ethan Vance? Is he married to her?” Julian turned his face away, refusing to look me in the eye, and nodded slowly. Victoria laughed triumphantly. “Hear that? Now you know your place.” “A cheap mistress trying to act tough in front of me. Hilarious.” But I was not a weak girl who would just take this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived my uncle’s abuse. I thrashed wildly, ignoring the pain in my belly. “I am not a mistress! Even if he is a Vance, I will not be his dirty secret!” “I want to ask him myself! If he lied to me, I will pack my bags and leave! I don’t want his money!” Victoria sneered. “Do you think I’m going to fall for your reverse-psychology tricks?” “Whether you like it or not, you’re coming to the Vance estate today. If you won’t walk, my men will carry your body.” She waved her hand, and the guards threw a heavy black coat over my head. Julian quickly warned, “Careful, she’s carrying Ethan’s child.” Victoria hesitated for a second, then ordered, “Tie her hands and put her in the car.” I tried to scream for help, but a rough hand shoved a cloth into my mouth. Tears streamed down my face. My heart was completely dead.

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Brooke Vance, the intern at my company, did something to my bank account. No matter how much money I deposited, my balance always magically reset to five dollars. In my past life, my biggest dream was to buy a starter condo near the office. I worked myself to the bone until I finally saved up $50,000 for the down payment. But when the realtor ran my card, she looked at me pityingly and told me it was declined. I checked my transaction history, argued with the bank, and even called the cops. But everyone treated me like a lunatic. Because on paper, my bank statements showed every single transaction clearly. But I knew I hadn’t spent a single penny of that money! I was living on ramen and cheap coffee! Sobbing, I called my parents. Instead of comfort, I got a harsh lecture. “Chloe, are you seriously making up excuses for blowing your paycheck?” my mom snapped. “Do you think we’re stupid? If you want money from us, just ask. There’s no need to make up such a ridiculous lie.” I tried telling my coworkers, hoping for some support. But after looking at my leaked bank statement, a few toxic male colleagues started smirking. “Wow, Chloe. Spending thousands of dollars at VIP nightclubs at 2 AM? I guess we now know how much those hot male models cost per night.” No matter how much I explained, no one believed me. Desperate, I posted my story anonymously online. The internet tore me apart, accusing me of making up a wild story just to get clout and sell products. Only one random user left a helpful comment: *Check your surroundings. See if anyone close to you has a spending history that perfectly matches your missing funds.* I started watching people closely. And that was when I noticed Brooke, our new intern. Every time she bought something, an alert for the exact same amount would pop up on my phone, deducting money from my account. Even when she ordered a Starbucks drink, my phone buzzed instantly. Once I was sure, I confronted her directly. Brooke just laughed in my face. She claimed I was a reckless spender who couldn’t manage her own money and was now trying to frame her. She said I was losing my mind. She even rallied our coworkers against me, gaslighting them into thinking I was dangerous, and had me forcibly committed to a psychiatric facility. I was trapped in that hellhole for two torturous years. Unable to take the abuse any longer, I finally found a chance to escape and threw myself into the freezing river. But when I opened my eyes again… I was back. I had returned to the exact day before I was supposed to sign my condo contract. *** My first instinct after waking up was to open my banking app and check my balance. Sure enough, it was exactly five dollars. I quickly forced myself to calm down and think. Right now, all my hard-earned savings had already been transferred to Brooke’s account through whatever sick method she was using. I wanted to drag her to hell with me right then and there. But then I remembered how my parents looked in my past life after I died—their hair turning white overnight from grief. I instantly regretted my impulsiveness. If I acted blindly like last time, I would only ruin myself again. Just then, my manager, Sarah, called me over to her desk. “Chloe, this new client is a total pain in the ass, but the commission is five grand! I’m doing you a huge favor by giving this to you, okay?” My throat tightened. I swallowed hard. Five thousand dollars. That was enough to cover my rent for a month and leave me with a huge chunk of change. But I shook my head. “Thank you, Sarah. But I’m taking a break from taking new clients for the next month.” Ignoring Sarah’s shocked expression, I turned and walked out of her glass office. Because the office walls were thin, everyone outside had already heard us. Immediately, whispers erupted. “Chloe Higgins is the top sales representative in the whole company. She’s literally a machine. Did she just turn down a client?” “Not just today. Didn’t you hear her? She’s taking a whole month off!” Ignoring the gossip, I pulled out my phone, opened a food delivery app, and ordered a venti iced Americano. The purchase instantly drained the remaining five dollars from my account. In my past life, I wouldn’t even spend two dollars on a gas station coffee. To survive and get a foothold in this ridiculously expensive city, I had worked myself to death. I used to stay up until 3 AM following up with clients. I woke up before dawn and squeezed onto the packed subway like a canned sardine for two hours just to clock in on time. One minute late meant a fifty-dollar penalty. That was my grocery budget for an entire week. My only dream was to own a tiny 300-square-foot studio apartment near the office. Every month, I only kept three hundred dollars for basic survival. The rest went straight into my savings account. And to think, the fifty thousand dollars I had literally bled for had ended up in someone else’s pocket! Suddenly, the heavy glass doors of the office were pushed open. “Hey, everyone! Lunch is on me today!” Brooke’s loud, obnoxious voice echoed through the room. She practically glowed, strutting in with a brand-new Chanel handbag on her arm. She looked like a trashy lottery winner who had suddenly come into money. “We’re going to the Grand Hyatt! Order whatever you want!” The office erupted. Colleagues rushed over to surround her. “Brooke! Did you hit the jackpot or something?” “Did you find yourself a sugar daddy?” I didn’t move. I just held my coffee cup, staring at her with cold, dark eyes. Because I knew. Every single penny she was spending belonged to me. Brooke waved her hands, pretending to be modest. “Oh, come on, guys. It’s nothing like that. I just bought a random scratch-off ticket a couple of days ago and won a little prize.” One of the gossipy coworkers instantly nudged her. “How much did you win?” #### Chapter 2 Brooke glanced at me, a smug, self-satisfied smirk playing on her lips. “Not much,” she said casually, waving her hand. “Just a few hundred thousand.” A collective gasp echoed through the office. A few hundred thousand dollars was a life-changing amount for wage slaves like us. But I noticed that ever since Brooke stepped through the door, her eyes kept darting back to me. She was watching me. Like an scientist observing a lab rat. She wanted to see if I had realized my bank account was completely drained. I squeezed my coffee cup, forcing down the violent urge to scream at her. I couldn’t ruin my plan now. I had to play dumb. I stood up, putting on a perfect, slightly envious smile. “Wow, Brooke! Congratulations! You have to let me get some of that good luck.” Seeing my completely normal reaction, a flicker of surprise crossed Brooke’s eyes, followed by a subtle sigh of relief. She probably thought I was still clueless about my missing savings. As lunchtime approached, Mia, who sat at the desk next to mine, leaned over. “Chloe, didn’t you say you finally saved enough for your down payment? When are we going to look at the condo? I can go with you.” At the mention of the condo, my fists clenched so hard my fingernails dug into my palms. But I quickly forced my hands to relax and kept my face neutral. “No rush,” I said smoothly. “I actually lost my ID a couple of days ago, and the DMV is taking forever to mail the replacement. Plus, the housing market is cooling down. I think I’ll wait and see.” The moment the words left my mouth, I felt that burning gaze on me again. It was Brooke. She was staring, her eyes sparkling with a twisted, triumphant glee. Brooke was just an intern who had joined the company two months ago. She was slightly overweight, had a completely forgettable face, and was always at the bottom of the sales leaderboard. In a high-pressure, looks-conscious sales department like ours, she should have been at the very bottom of the food chain. Yet, in my past life, she took my fifty thousand dollars, got full-body liposuction, and paid for extensive plastic surgery. Overnight, she transformed herself into a gorgeous, wealthy IT-girl. She used my money to buy everyone’s loyalty, hired a few male coworkers, and had me thrown into a psych ward under the guise of me having a “mental breakdown.” Remembering the agonizing two years in that place, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. At noon, Brooke took us to the Grand Hyatt. She grandly gestured for us to order whatever we wanted. I didn’t hesitate. I flipped the menu directly to the most expensive pages. “The king crab, the largest one you have,” I told the waiter. “The bluefin tuna sashimi platter.” “The pan-seared foie gras.” “And let’s add the premium caviar service.” With every dish I ordered, the faces of my coworkers grew more and more shocked. Mia pulled my sleeve, whispering, “Chloe… isn’t this a bit too much? It’s so expensive.” I just smiled at her and said nothing. It was my own money. How could spending it be a waste? Brooke’s cheek twitched violently. But with everyone watching, she had to keep up her generous persona. “It’s fine! Chloe is our top sales rep, after all. She works so hard. She deserves to treat herself.” She smiled brightly, though her eyes were cold. “Besides, you need to eat up so you can close more deals for our department!” Before I could answer, another colleague chimed in. “Oh, Brooke, you weren’t here this morning. Chloe told Sarah she’s taking a break from taking new clients for the next month.” The air in the private dining room suddenly went dead silent. I slowly wiped my mouth with a linen napkin and looked up at Brooke. The smile on her face froze, cracking bit by bit. “What did you say?” She stared at me, her voice suddenly sharp and high-pitched. “Chloe, why would you stop taking clients?” “What is wrong with you?” #### Chapter 3 I met Brooke’s furious stare and let my lips curl into a slow smile. “I’m taking a break. Why are you so worked up about it?” The surrounding coworkers exchanged looks, their eyes burning with sudden curiosity. “Yeah, Brooke,” Mia couldn’t help but say. “Even Chloe isn’t stressed about it. Why are you reacting like this?” “Right? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were the one losing out on commission.” The quiet murmurs acted like a bucket of ice water, snapping Brooke back to reality. The ugly distortion on her face vanished, replaced by an expression of deep, exaggerated concern. “I… I’m just worried about Chloe!” She raised her voice, trying to sound as sincere as possible. “Didn’t she say she was just a few deals away from securing her down payment? The units at West End Luxury are so hard to get. If she stops now, she’s going to lose out on so much cash! I just feel bad for her!” She looked almost on the verge of tears. It was a flawless performance. I chuckled. “I’m just tired. I want to rest.” I casually picked up a lobster claw and began cracking it open. “Besides,” I paused, looking up at her with an innocent expression, “didn’t you just win the lottery? A few hundred thousand dollars, right? If I’m actually short on my down payment… surely you wouldn’t mind lending me some, right?” The room went dead silent again. All eyes instantly locked onto Brooke. The color completely drained from her face. Her lips trembled, but she couldn’t squeeze out a single word. I took a bite of the lobster meat and added playfully, “Our generous Brooke would definitely help a friend out, right?” Cornered by everyone’s expectant stares, she was practically roasting on an open fire. Finally, she managed to squeak out a few words. “O-Of course I would.” Terrified that I would actually make her sign a loan agreement right there, she quickly added, “But, you know, it wasn’t *that* much after taxes. Just… pocket money, really.” I looked at her brand-new Celine dress, the limited-edition Chanel bag sitting next to her, and the table full of food that cost more than a normal person’s monthly rent. Yeah, right. My fifty thousand dollars really wouldn’t last her very long at this rate. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Before leaving, I called the waiter over and asked him to pack up the untouched king crab and lobster. A few coworkers started whispering behind my back. “Oh my god, packing up leftovers at a fancy lunch? That is so tacky.” “Seriously. She’s acting like she’s never eaten food before. How embarrassing.” I heard them, but I didn’t care. I just looked at Brooke with a bright smile. “Brooke, you spent so much money. It’d be such a waste to leave this delicious food behind. You don’t mind if I take it home, right?” Brooke’s face went through three different shades of purple. But under the gaze of the entire office, she could only nod through gritted teeth. “I… I don’t mind.” Back at the office, I casually placed the takeout boxes in the shared fridge, completely ignoring the judgmental looks from everyone else. That afternoon, I walked into the finance office. “Brenda, I need to request a cash advance on my commission.” Brenda looked up from her computer. “Company policy says you need the manager’s signature, and payments are usually direct-deposited at the end of the month.” I handed her a pre-signed form I had prepared. “Sarah already approved it.” “And I don’t want a bank transfer.” “I need it in cash.” If keeping money in my bank account meant it would be magically siphoned away, then I would just keep physical cash. Let’s see how she steals that. An hour later, I walked back to my desk with a thick envelope of cash. It was my base salary plus my commission from last month—fifteen thousand dollars. I slipped the envelope into the deepest, zippered compartment of my bag. In my past life, my nightmare had started with that fifty thousand dollars. In this life, I would claw my way back starting with this fifteen thousand. But before my seat could even get warm—not even five minutes later— My right eyelid began to twitch violently. Twitch. Twitch. Twitch. It grew more intense with every passing second. A sudden, overwhelming sense of dread gripped my heart. I quickly unzipped my bag and reached into the hidden compartment— Empty! The paper envelope was still there, but the thick stack of bills was completely gone! My blood ran cold. The hairs on my arms stood on end. I hadn’t expected Brooke’s account-linking trick to be so absolute. Was she trying to cut off my every means of survival? I looked over at Brooke’s desk. Sure enough, a smug, subtle grin played on her face. I clenched my fists. Fortunately, I had already anticipated this and had a backup plan!

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At three in the morning, a piercing ringtone shattered my sleep. It was the ER. On the other end, Nurse Brenda’s voice was frantic. “Dr. Vance, you need to get down here right now! We have two bizarre patients. Their arms… they’re literally fused together. It’s like they’re growing into one!” I rubbed my temples as I threw on my white coat, sighing. I figured it was just another pair of wild college kids playing some stupid late-night prank. But the moment I pushed open the trauma room doors, the annoyed expression on my face froze. There they were, looking like a pair of grotesque, struggling conjoined twins. Their skin was weirdly blended together at the forearms. One of them was my mentor, Dr. Richard Sterling, a man who had been like a father to me. The other was Vanessa—my wife, the woman I loved more than life itself. It was Friday night. I had just finished lead-operating on a grueling burn-graft surgery and was about to clock out when the emergency pager went off. “Dr. Vance! ER Bay A! Now!” It was Jimmy, our intern. His voice was shaking violently. My heart sank. I thought one of our recovering firefighters was having an acute rejection episode. I rushed toward the ER while changing my clothes, trying to calm him down. “Don’t panic, Jimmy. Deep breaths. What’s the situation?” “Dr. Vance… you just have to see it for yourself,” Jimmy sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “Two people… their arms are literally grown together!” Grown together? I stopped dead in my tracks. A million medical anomalies flashed through my mind. I had performed separation surgeries on conjoined twins before, but two adults fusing together later in life? What kind of sick joke was this? “Is it skin adhesion? Did they get stuck together with superglue or industrial epoxy?” I pressed. “Neither!” Jimmy cried. “They are literally joined! Flesh and blood! It’s like one continuous sheet of skin!” I didn’t have time to process it. I took the stairs three at a time and burst into the ER. The sharp, sterile smell of bleach was mixed with low, agonizing groans. And then, I saw it. The most absurd sight of my career. On two adjacent gurneys lay a man and a woman. Their right and left arms, from elbow to wrist, were seamlessly bound together. The skin connecting them was smooth and perfect. There were no stitches, no scars, as if they had been born this way. The sight was so unnatural that even after twenty years as the Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, my scalp went numb. But a second later, when I saw the woman’s face—flushed red with a mixture of pain and shame—the blood in my veins completely turned to ice. It was Vanessa. My wife of five years. And the man beside her was Dr. Richard Sterling, the legendary medical pioneer who had mentored me and whom she always spoke of with the utmost respect. “What are you staring at? Haven’t you ever seen a medical experiment go wrong? Do something!” Vanessa—the woman who was usually so soft-spoken and blushed whenever she raised her voice—glared at me. Her eyes held a venomous, hateful look I had never seen before. Both she and Dr. Sterling were wearing messy hotel bathrobes. Their hair was damp, and they smelled faintly of cheap hotel body wash. A loud buzz rang through my head, as if I had been struck by a sledgehammer. My legs felt weak, and I could barely stand. “Dr. Vance,” Nurse Brenda said, her expression incredibly awkward as she handed me a clipboard. “Dr. Sterling needs an emergency separation surgery immediately. But… we need a family member to sign the consent form. We can’t reach his wife, Eleanor.” Vanessa shrieked, “Don’t call Eleanor! She has a severe heart condition. She can’t find out about this! Ethan, just sign the damn paper! You’re his protégé, you have the authority. Sign it!” The surrounding staff looked at me. Their eyes were a mix of sympathy, pity, and a barely concealed urge to gossip. I could practically hear their thoughts: *So, this is the sweet, devoted wife Dr. Vance always brags about.* Just yesterday, I was bragging to my colleagues about how Vanessa had taken a day off to prepare a “special anniversary surprise” for me at home. Well, this was the surprise. She was literally glued to another man. I took a deep, shaky breath, forcing down the overwhelming wave of nausea and fury. “I can’t sign this,” I forced out. “Why not?!” Vanessa’s voice pitched dangerously high. “Ethan Vance! Are you trying to kill Dr. Sterling? If anything happens to him, I swear… I will ruin you!” She tried to sit up, but the movement yanked at the fused flesh. Both of them let out a painful groan. Dr. Sterling’s face was deathly pale. Sweat dripped from his forehead, but the look he gave me was still full of condescending authority. “Ethan,” he wheezed, using his usual paternal tone to command me. “Don’t act like a child. We were testing a new bio-gel formula, and there was an accident. Lives are on the line. Learn to prioritize.” A bio-gel formula? I wanted to laugh. That was my project. I had spent three years of blood, sweat, and tears to make a breakthrough on the core formula. Since Richard was my mentor, he had access to the files. But my project was still in the animal-testing phase. And they were “testing” it on themselves, in a hotel room, wearing bathrobes? “No,” I repeated. My voice was quiet, but rock solid. “Hospital policy states a direct family member must sign the consent form for a high-risk experimental procedure. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, the department cannot take the legal fall.” “You selfish bastard!” Vanessa’s face contorted with rage. She pointed her free hand at my face, screaming, “Ethan Vance, you ungrateful leech! Who got you out of that small-town clinic and secured your residency? Who funded your research? Now that we need a simple signature to save a life, you’re playing bureaucracy games?!” “Dr. Vance, maybe… maybe you should just sign it,” Jimmy whispered, pulling gently on my sleeve. “Vanessa… I mean, she has a point. Dr. Sterling is your mentor. And if they file a formal complaint against you, your promotion to Chief Medical Officer this year will…” A smug gleam flashed in Vanessa’s eyes. She knew me too well. She knew how hard I had worked for the CMO position. She was betting everything that I wouldn’t risk my career. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an icy hand, suffocating me. I looked at her, savoring every syllable. “Vanessa, if you say one more word, I am filing for divorce.” Then, I turned to Nurse Brenda. “Notify the administration. I am officially recusing myself from this surgery due to a personal conflict of interest.” I ripped off my white coat, threw it onto the floor, and walked out under the stunned silence of the entire ER. **Chapter 2**

I didn’t go home. That house would feel more suffocating than the hospital right now. I drove down to the river, stood in the freezing wind, and smoked one cigarette after another. My phone wouldn’t stop vibrating. There were angry calls from the hospital Chief, texts of concern from colleagues, and dozens of hysterical, abusive texts from Vanessa. Finally, one text made me freeze. It was from Eleanor, Dr. Sterling’s wife. “Ethan, Richard told me he went out of town for an urgent medical conference. Do you know which one? He forgot his blood pressure medication, and I can’t reach his phone. I’m really worried.” Staring at the screen, my vision went blurry with rage. These two monsters weren’t just betraying me; they were gaslighting an old woman with a failing heart. The anger burned away my remaining hesitation. A cold, calculated plan began to form in my mind. I put out my cigarette and dialed the Chief of the hospital. The moment he picked up, he started yelling. “Ethan! What the hell are you doing?! The patients are in critical condition, and you just walked out? Do you know they’ve already filed a formal complaint? Your CMO candidacy has been put on hold!” “Chief, I’m sorry,” my voice was eerily calm. “I just needed to clear my head. I’m coming back now. I’ll perform the separation surgery myself.” The Chief paused, his tone softening slightly. “Good. That’s more like it. Remember, Ethan, you’re a doctor first. Your duty is to save lives.” “Yes, I am a doctor,” I murmured. “And I will handle this in the most professional way possible.” When I returned to the hospital, the OR was prepped. Vanessa and Dr. Sterling had already been anesthetized and were lying side-by-side on the operating table. Under the harsh surgical lights, the fused skin looked even more repulsive. I snapped on my sterile gloves and picked up the scalpel. The team expected me to slice in immediately. Instead, I turned to my assistant. “Take tissue samples. Send three sets for urgent DNA profiling and chemical analysis. One from the fused zone, one from Vanessa, and one from Richard.” “But Dr. Vance…” the assistant hesitated. “Time is sensitive.” “Do it now,” I ordered coldly. I also told the anesthesiologist to increase their dosage slightly. I needed to make sure they wouldn’t wake up before I finished setting the stage. Then, using a micro-probe, I carefully extracted some of the gel-like substance trapped beneath the fused tissue. This was their “bio-gel.” I smiled coldly as I sealed the sample in a sterile vial. Only then did I lower my scalpel and begin the physical separation. My hands were perfectly steady. Like rock. Each cut was mathematically precise. I didn’t nick an extra millimeter of Vanessa’s flesh, nor did I leave any of Richard’s tissue on her arm. I had used these hands to restore confidence to burn victims, and to wipe away Vanessa’s tears. Now, I used them to cut the very last tie between us. The surgery was a success. Two hours later, their arms were separated, wrapped in clean bandages, and they were rolled into a VIP room. To “make care easier,” Vanessa had demanded they share a double room. I didn’t object. I even “thoughtfully” made the arrangements myself. Once they were settled, I took the precious vial of gel and walked straight into my private lab. **Chapter 3**

Late at night, the hospital corridors were silent. I sat in front of my lab computer, watching the results pop up on the screen. A dark fire of revenge ignited in my chest. The first was the DNA report. It showed that the fused skin cells had completely merged at a genetic level, showing abnormal cellular proliferation. They had literally become one on a biological level. The second was the chemical analysis. And it was exactly what I had suspected. The “bio-gel” they used wasn’t my research. It was a black-market product I had read about in an international journal—a dangerous, experimental compound called “Gene-Grafting Gel,” which had been banned by the FDA due to severe side effects. This gel used specific enzymes to force cell walls of different organisms to rupture and reconstruct, creating an artificial graft. It was originally designed for interspecies organ transplants. But it had a fatal flaw. The catalytic reaction was highly unstable. If the ratio was off, or if the temperature and humidity of the environment weren’t perfect, it would trigger uncontrollable, continuous cellular fusion. It would create a permanent, inseparable mass of flesh. Even worse, once this fusion process started, it couldn’t be stopped by standard surgery. Any remaining gel in their tissue would act like cancer cells, triggering secondary and tertiary fusions with any skin they touched. In other words, they were now like two magnets. Even if you pulled them apart, if they got too close again, they would literally melt back into each other. The only way to stop it was a highly specific inhibitor. And the formula for that inhibitor was locked safely inside my head—a byproduct of my own research to prevent accidents. Looking at the report, I laughed. They had tried to steal my life’s work, but because they couldn’t get their hands on my actual formula, they bought a cheap, dangerous knockoff on the black market. And Vanessa was so confident I could “save” them because she assumed I had the real gel and the cure. She wanted everything. My career, my research, my future. Perfect. Just perfect. I encrypted the files, saved them to a secure drive, and dialed a number. “Hello, Eleanor? It’s Ethan. I’m so sorry to call this late. But I just found out Richard had… an accident. He’s currently admitted to our hospital. Can you come over? There are some things you have a right to know.”

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My wife won a $5 million lottery. Right after cashing it, she demanded a divorce and wanted me to leave with absolutely nothing. I agreed. But on our way to the courthouse, a truck flipped over and crushed our car. At the exact moment of impact, my wife pushed me right into the path of danger. A steel bar pierced straight through my chest. She died shortly after when our car exploded in flames. Now, we’ve both been reborn. We’re back to two months before the lottery draw. And my wife can’t wait to divorce me to keep that $5 million all to herself. What she doesn’t know is… I was the one who bought that winning ticket. I only swapped our tickets to surprise her and make her happy. The moment I opened my eyes, a harsh slap landed on my face. Looking at the terror and anger in Chloe Cooper’s eyes, I knew she had been reborn too. “Ethan Miller! Did you do that on purpose?! You couldn’t stand the thought of me having $5 million, so you tried to kill me in that car!” Chloe’s face was pale with fear, still haunted by the pain of her past death. I let out a bitter laugh. I was the one who got impaled by a steel bar trying to shield her, yet in this life, I was the monster who tried to murder her? Terrified that I might change my mind, Chloe scrambled through the drawers, grabbed our IDs, and dragged me toward the door. “Come on, we’re getting divorced right now! You promised, and you can’t back out!” She was terrified that I would stay and demand half of her $5 million. Listening to her frantic, desperate voice, a cold despair washed over me. In our past life, we couldn’t afford much. On our wedding anniversary, we each bought a lottery ticket, promising to give them to each other as anniversary gifts once the numbers were drawn. On the day of the draw, I was shocked to find that my ticket had won the $5 million jackpot. Back then, we didn’t really care whose ticket was whose. To give Chloe a surprise, I quietly slipped the winning ticket under her pillow while she was out. I planned to bring up the draw casually so she could “discover” it herself and we could celebrate together. But when Chloe found it, she hid the truth from me. After secretly cashing the ticket, she claimed our marriage was dead and demanded a divorce. I was still hopelessly in love with her back then. I thought she was just being impulsive. I figured once she calmed down, she would come back to me. So, I agreed to sign the papers and walk away penniless. Who would have thought that on our way to the courthouse, a massive truck would flip and crush us? At the final second, Chloe pushed me right into the path of a flying steel bar. I was impaled alive. The worst part was, I didn’t die instantly. I felt every agonizing second as my life slowly drained away. Even though she eventually died in the car explosion, my hatred for her never faded. Looking at her hurried back, I sneered and yanked my arm out of her grip. Meeting her startled gaze, I said coldly, “I’ll sign the divorce papers. But leaving with nothing? No way.” After all, I had my own secret assets. I had plenty of investments before we married. I only kept them quiet because I didn’t want to hurt her self-esteem. I wanted to slowly build a better life for us together, step by step. Chloe thought I was backing out. Her face twisted, but when she realized I was just refusing to walk away empty-handed, she relaxed instantly. “Fine, whatever! It’s not like you have any money anyway! You’re just a broke loser. Did you think I’d actually care about your pennies?” Looking at her smug face, I felt a wave of pity. I wondered what her face would look like when she found out she never had the winning ticket in the first place.

When we walked out of the courthouse, the sun was shining brightly. Chloe stared at the divorce papers in her hand as if a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She practically radiated smugness. I looked at my own papers with mixed feelings. In my past life, I had truly loved this woman. But that love had turned to ash the moment she threw me away for money. And it was completely obliterated when she pushed me to my death. “Chloe, from now on, we are completely done,” I said quietly, saying goodbye to my past. “You better believe it!” she snapped, pointing a finger at my face. “We’re parting ways now. Don’t you dare crawl back to me when you find out about my fortune! A broke loser like you won’t get a second glance from me ever again!” She sounded so sure of herself, as if the $5 million was already sitting in her bank account. I watched her hail an Uber and leave. Then, I turned around and walked toward the lottery convenience store. In our past life, this was the exact day we bought those tickets. Chloe never believed in luck. She had just picked a random string of numbers and completely forgot about them. She hadn’t even noticed that the winning numbers were completely different from the ones she originally chose. As for me, I wanted the ticket to be meaningful. I had specifically chosen our birthdays as the numbers. I never expected that my romantic gesture would become the very tool that destroyed our marriage. But it was for the best. Now, I didn’t have to hide my financial status for Chloe’s sake anymore. Luckily, Chloe thought I was just a broke guy. She didn’t bother to do a financial discovery during our quick divorce. After buying the ticket with the exact numbers from my memory, I went home and opened Snapchat. I was surprised to see that Chloe had already posted on her story. She was posing next to a luxury sports car with the caption: *What’s mine is mine, and nobody can take it away!* At the same time, my phone started buzzing with notifications. Chloe had used our linked accounts to apply for loans across multiple online platforms. The total came out to a whopping $3 million. Before the divorce, we had linked our credit profiles and phone notifications for convenience. It was obvious. Chloe was so confident she would win that she was already maxing out loans to spend her future prize money. But I had my doubts. Chloe’s family was a mess. She had a paralyzed, greedy mother who treated her like a cash cow. Did she really think she could flaunt this money online without her mother finding out? Sure enough, within an hour of her post, my phone was flooded with angry texts and missed calls from her mother. They were all accusing Chloe of being an ungrateful brat who forgot her own blood the moment she got rich. Her mother demanded she transfer the money immediately. Her mother cursed her out in the texts, calling her every name under the sun. Even through the screen, I could picture Chloe’s frantic face. A satisfied smile spread across my face. I unlinked our accounts from my phone and lay down on my soft bed. To keep Chloe comfortable, I hadn’t even bought a decent mattress back then. My back used to ache every single day. I looked at the lottery ticket resting on my nightstand. A deep sense of peace washed over me. Chloe, this is just the beginning of your panic. Just wait until the loan payments are due and you don’t have a single cent to pay them back. That’s when the real nightmare begins.

On the day of the lottery draw, our old college group chat suddenly came alive. Someone was organizing a reunion. Chloe and I had been college sweethearts. We went from campus dating straight to marriage, witnessing each other’s youth. That was why her cold betrayal had hurt me so deeply. After thinking about it, I decided to go. I was curious to see how everyone was doing after graduation. More importantly, knowing Chloe’s vanity, she would definitely show up to brag. I wanted to see the exact moment her world crumbled. When Chloe arrived at the lounge, she drew gasps from everyone. She had completely ditched her usual modest look. Now, she wore a flashy, hot-pink dress with a high slit, her hair curled into loud waves. She practically screamed “new money.” Seeing everyone’s reaction, Chloe covered her mouth and giggled, though her eyes were filled with arrogance. “Oh, stop it, guys! It’s only been a couple of years!” “Wow, Chloe, you look so different!” one of the girls asked curiously. Chloe took a sip of her champagne and said casually, “Well, they say a bad marriage is like acid to a woman’s face. Now that I’ve broken free from my chains, I’ve finally got my glow back!” The room went quiet. Several eyes darted toward me. The atmosphere turned incredibly awkward. Back in college, Chloe and I were the couple everyone envied. These classmates had all attended our wedding, calling us soulmates. Now, Chloe’s words were a direct slap to my face, mocking me for being useless and unable to provide for her. I let out a cold laugh. “Well, they also say it takes two to tango. I’d rather be a simple man than a gold-digging, unfaithful snake.” “You!” Chloe’s hand tightened around her glass. Her eyes flared with rage. She stood up, ready to throw her drink in my face, but a few classmates quickly stepped in to pull her back. I sat there, completely unfazed. Go ahead, throw it. Let’s see if you can afford to pay for my custom-tailored shirt. Just as someone tried to change the subject to break the tension, the VIP room door swung open. A collective gasp echoed through the room. “Serena Vance! I can’t believe she actually came!” I looked toward the door. Serena Vance walked in, wearing a stunning red high-slit gown. Her legs were wrapped in sheer black tights, ending in killer black heels. With her perfectly styled dark waves and flawless pale skin, she looked like a dangerous, breathtaking rose blooming in the dark. Most importantly, Serena was now the CEO of a major listed company. Her net worth was astronomical—far beyond anyone else in this room. That was why so many people had shown up tonight. Everyone wanted to get on her good side and bag some business opportunities. Coincidentally, her outfit was almost a direct contrast to Chloe’s. But Serena’s elegance and posture easily outclassed Chloe. Standing next to Serena, Chloe looked like a cheap, tacky plastic flower. Seeing her spotlight stolen, Chloe’s face fell. She tried to strike up another conversation to draw the attention back to herself. But everyone was too busy trying to greet Serena. Nobody paid Chloe any attention. To everyone’s absolute shock, Serena ignored the crowd. She picked up a glass of wine, walked straight toward me, and smiled softly. “Ethan. It’s been a long time.” A quiet murmur rippled through the room. I smiled and clinked my glass against hers. As she sat down next to me, I looked at her beautiful face, and my mind drifted back to the quiet girl from college. Back then, Serena was plain and introverted. She used to wear her bangs so long they covered her eyes, always keeping her head down. She was so quiet that some of the guys in our class used to pick on her. I couldn’t stand it, so I helped her out a few times. I never expected her to take it to heart. She started bringing me breakfast, cleaning my desk, and even doing my homework. Chloe had thrown massive tantrums over it, so I had to politely ask Serena to stop. After that, we drifted apart. Whenever I tried to talk to her, she would just lower her head and walk away quickly. But on my wedding day with Chloe, though Serena didn’t show up, she sent a whopping $188,000 wedding check. It had shocked every single guest at the venue. Now, our classmates began whispering, speculating about my relationship with Serena. Chloe’s face twisted in jealousy. Seeing me become the center of attention, she sneered and spoke up, her voice dripping with venom. “Serena, Ethan is just my trash. He’s a broke loser with nothing to his name. Aren’t you worried about catching his bad luck by sitting so close to him?”

The entire room fell dead silent. Everyone had heard rumors about our divorce, but they had politely avoided the topic. Nobody expected Chloe to bring it up so crudely, launching a vicious personal attack on me. On the surface, she was insulting me. But in reality, she was mocking Serena for hanging out with “trash.” Serena frowned slightly. She shifted her gaze from me to the mocking Chloe. For the first time, a look of genuine confusion appeared on her face. “…I’m sorry. Do I know you?” I pinched the bridge of my nose to keep from laughing. Serena’s face-blindness was acting up again. But I couldn’t blame her. Chloe’s style had changed so drastically. She used to be a simple girl, but now, under her expensive makeup, she looked like a tired, worn-out woman trying too hard. Chloe’s expression shattered. “Serena! You don’t recognize me? It’s me, Chloe! Chloe Cooper!” Serena blinked, finally putting the name together. Her polite demeanor instantly turned cold and distant. “Oh. Ethan’s ex.” Seeing Chloe’s face turn the color of a bruised plum, I wanted to burst out laughing. Chloe had wanted to use Serena to show off, but now she was reduced to nothing more than “Ethan’s ex.” Serena raised her eyes, her commanding CEO aura instantly filling the room. “I don’t care what happened between you two, and frankly, I’m not interested. But as Ethan’s friend, I will protect him. I ask that you watch your mouth in front of me.” She paused, then added coldly, “You had something precious and didn’t know how to cherish it. Now you’re here throwing tantrums. If I were Ethan, I’d be glad to be rid of you too.” Though she kept her words polite, the underlying anger in her voice was unmistakable. I looked at Serena, completely stunned. Was she… defending me? Was she saying Chloe didn’t deserve me? Did she actually care about me…? Sensing my gaze, Serena turned to look at me. Realizing what she had just blurted out, a deep blush rushed up her cheeks. She suddenly looked like a shy schoolgirl, a complete contrast to the cold CEO who had just shut Chloe down. I tentatively reached out and took her hand. Her hand trembled slightly, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she quietly nudged her chair closer to mine. Having lost all face, Chloe wanted to scream. But she didn’t dare cross Serena. She wanted to glare at me, but Serena’s warning was still ringing in her ears. With nowhere to vent her fury, she slumped into a corner, her face dark with rage. I didn’t care about Chloe. I just looked at Serena. She had changed so much, yet the way she looked at me—with that same quiet, hidden warmth—had never changed. Soon, classmates started coming over to toast Serena, hoping to secure partnerships with her company. Serena looked at me as if asking for permission. When I smiled and nodded, she gave me an apologetic look and turned to handle the guests. Watching her, my heart melted. Suddenly, a loud shriek shattered the warm atmosphere. Chloe stood up, holding her phone high in the air, screaming frantically, “It’s time! The lottery numbers are being drawn! I won $5 million! It’s my time!” 【PAYWALL NODE】

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