I was going on a road trip with my boyfriend, Phillips, but when I got into the passenger seat, I realized there was a girl already sitting in the back. Phillips smiled and explained, “This is Penny. She’s heading the same way for the weekend, so I thought we’d keep each other company.” Penny leaned forward and flashed me a sweet smile. “Don’t worry, Susan, I won’t get in your way. I’m just carpooling to save some cash.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and said nothing. When we arrived at the hotel, I was holding the key card, ready to open our door, but Penny dragged her suitcase right in after us. Phillips said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “It’s not budget-friendly for her to get her own room. We can all share this one to save some money. She can just sleep on the sofa.” Penny had already seated herself on the edge of the bed. She looked up at me. “I’ll sleep on the couch. I promise I won’t get in your way.” I stood there, looking at Phillips’s nonchalant expression, and a sudden wave of disgust washed over me. “Fine. You two can share the room. I’m getting another one.”

I turned around and walked away without wasting another second. Phillips was stunned. He chased after me and grabbed my wrist in the hallway. “Susan, seriously? It’s just a room. Why are you overreacting like this?” I shook his hand off. “Just a room? Did you even bother to ask me first?” “What is there to ask? It’s not safe for Penny to stay in a hotel by herself.” “What’s the big deal about us sharing for one night? She’s not even taking the bed. She’s sleeping on the couch!” I stared at his face, suddenly feeling like I was looking at a complete stranger. “Why didn’t you tell me when you booked the room? Why didn’t you say anything before we got in the car?” “You wait until we’re literally standing in front of the door to tell me we’re sharing. Phillips, what do you take me for?” “I just didn’t want you overthinking things!” He frowned, looking at me as if I were the one being completely unreasonable. “You always do this. You get mad over the smallest things. Why do you have to make everything so complicated?” “I’m making things complicated?” I almost laughed out of sheer anger. “You brought another girl to stay in our room, I said no, and that makes me complicated?” “Then what do you want me to do?” “That’s your problem, not mine.” I hit the button for the elevator. “Since you care so much about her safety, you two enjoy the room. Leave me out of it.” The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped inside. Phillips didn’t follow me. “Susan, can you stop being so dramatic? Do you really have to ruin this trip for everyone?” As the elevator doors closed, I heard Penny run out of the room. Her voice sounded soft and pitiful. “Phillips, maybe I should just leave. I don’t want you guys fighting because of me.” I didn’t hear how Phillips replied. The elevator dropped to the lobby. I walked straight to the front desk and asked if there were any vacancies. The receptionist checked the system for a while and said, “We actually had a last-minute cancellation. We have a deluxe king room available. It’s $350 for the night.” Normally, I would never spend that much. But tonight, I didn’t even hesitate. I handed over my credit card. I took the key card and went up to the twelfth floor. Their room was on the ninth. Once inside, I threw my suitcase on the floor and collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. My phone kept buzzing. It was a barrage of Snapchats from Phillips. “What do you actually want from me?” “Did you really have to ruin the trip like this?” “Susan, can you be reasonable for once?” I didn’t reply. Ten minutes later, he sent another one: “I talked to Penny. She’s going to stay somewhere else. You can come back now.” I stared at the message for a long time. Then, I typed my reply: “Phillips, let’s break up.” After hitting send, I flipped my phone face-down on the bed. My heart was racing, and my palms were sweating. I forced myself not to look at my phone for three minutes. When I finally picked it up, Phillips had replied: “Are you sure?” Looking at those three words, I suddenly smiled. I replied: “Yes.” This time, he shot back instantly: “Fine. Don’t regret it.” I didn’t write back. I lay in bed for about half an hour until my stomach started cramping. I had only eaten some snacks in the car at noon, and now it was almost 8 PM and I hadn’t had dinner. I got up, washed my face, changed my clothes, and went downstairs to find some food. There was a trendy restaurant street near the hotel, packed with holiday tourists. I walked along the sidewalk, looking for a place with the shortest line. But when I reached a popular Korean BBQ spot, I stopped. Not because the line was short, but because through the glass window, I saw Phillips and Penny.

They were sitting by the window. A massive plate of marinated beef was sizzling on the grill in front of them, steam rising between them. That was the exact restaurant I had saved on my Instagram collections for three months. I had told Phillips so many times that I wanted to try their K-BBQ. Every time, he would promise to take me. But when the weekend came, he would always make excuses—it was too far, too expensive, too crowded, or we could just go “next time.” He had canceled on me at least five times. We never once made it. And now, there he was, sitting inside with Penny across from him, chatting and laughing over dinner. I stood at the entrance for about ten seconds, then pushed the door open and walked in. “Table for how many?” the host greeted me. “Just one,” I said. The host led me to a table right next to theirs, separated only by a narrow aisle. As I sat down, Phillips looked up and saw me. He froze. A piece of beef fell right out of his tongs and back onto the grill. Penny followed his gaze. The smile on her face stiffened for a second before she quickly recovered her sweet, innocent expression. I didn’t look at them. I took the menu and started ordering. While waiting for my food, I kept my head down, scrolling through Instagram. But from the corner of my eye, I could feel Phillips staring at me. He was probably waiting for me to walk over. Waiting for me to confront him, to scream, to start a fight. The old me definitely would have. If Phillips talked too much to a girl from his college club, I would get upset. If he liked another girl’s selfie on Instagram, I would question him. If he stared at a girl on the street for too long, I would pick a fight that lasted all day. Every single time, he would scowl and say, “Susan, can you stop being so insecure?” And I would reply, “I’m not insecure. You just never care about how I feel.” We had that exact conversation a thousand times. But now, I didn’t want to say a single word. Suddenly, Phillips stood up and plated a piece of prime rib for Penny. His movements were incredibly performative. “Eat up. Didn’t you say you’ve been craving this for ages?” Penny glanced at me, lowering her voice. “Phillips… Susan is sitting right there. If you do this, won’t she get jealous?” Phillips didn’t bother to lower his voice. “Don’t worry about her. We’re done anyway.” I dipped my beef in the sesame oil sauce, chewed it slowly, and swallowed. Throughout the dinner, Phillips kept placing food on Penny’s plate, deliberately glancing in my direction every single time. He was desperate for a reaction. He was waiting for me to slam my fork down, run over with teary eyes, and throw a hysterical fit just like I used to. But I did nothing. I just quietly finished my meal. When I got up to leave, I walked past their table. Phillips looked up at me, his mouth twitching as if he wanted to say something. I didn’t stop. I pushed the door open and walked out. The May evening breeze hit my face, carrying a slight chill. Standing in the crowd, I zipped my jacket all the way to the top and slowly walked back. When I reached the hotel lobby, I bought a bottle of water at the convenience store, drank it at the entrance, and went upstairs. I tapped my key card to open the door, but just as I was about to close it, a hand reached in to block the frame. Penny was standing outside, wearing the hotel’s disposable slippers, her face painted with a textbook expression of apology. “Susan, can we talk for a second?”

I leaned against the doorframe, staring at her. “Speak.” “Can I come in?” “Talk here.” She bit her lip. “Susan, I’m really sorry about today.” “I had no idea you’d mind this much. Phillips and I are really just friends. I just wanted to save some money.” “I feel terrible that you guys fought because of me. Please don’t blame Phillips. It’s all my fault.” Her eyes were red as she spoke. As I looked at her, I noticed the zipper on her shoulder bag wasn’t fully closed. A square, shiny plastic foil was peeking out. An ultra-thin Trojan condom wrapper. Penny noticed where my eyes were landing. She looked down at her bag and quickly zipped it shut. A flash of panic crossed her face, but she quickly reverted to her damsel-in-distress act. “Susan, that’s… it’s not what you think. That’s mine. It has nothing to do with Phillips.” I said, “No need to explain. It has nothing to do with me.” “Are you really not mad at Phillips? Can you guys please make up? I can tell he’s really miserable.” “Phillips and I are broken up.” “He has nothing to do with me anymore. And whatever you two do has nothing to do with me either.” “Sleep together, hook up, do whatever you want. You don’t need to report to me.” Penny wanted to say more, but I slammed the door in her face. The moment the door clicked shut, I heard her let out a soft, amused chuckle on the other side. I leaned against the door, closing my eyes. Phillips and I had been together for three years. From sophomore year to senior year, and then our first year post-grad. All my firsts were with him. First love, first hand-holding, first kiss, first time. My mom had opposed the relationship from the start. She said Phillips didn’t seem like a reliable guy. But I didn’t listen. I fought with my mom, packed my bags, and moved into his rented apartment. It was a dingy semi-basement apartment that was freezing in the winter and suffocating in the summer. We squeezed together on a small twin-size bed where even turning over required careful maneuvering. We fought for the bathroom in the morning and fought for the hot water at night. But I never complained once. Later, when I got a job and started making a bit more than him, I took over the majority of the rent. He promised me things would get better once his project took off. I told him not to rush, that we had time. I waited three years. And what did I get? I got him bringing Penny to share our room. By the time I crawled into bed, it was almost midnight. The curtains weren’t fully closed, and the city lights leaked through the gap. I stared at that sliver of light, my mind replaying scenes from the last three years. He had pursued me for three months, waiting outside my dorm every single morning with a breakfast sandwich and a Coke. Back then, I truly believed he was the one. But slowly, things changed. He started complaining that I was too controlling, too paranoid. He claimed that going out with girls from his club was “just work,” dining with female juniors was “being a supportive senior,” liking girls’ photos was “basic social media etiquette,” and looking at other girls on the street was “just male instinct.” “You can’t expect me to only have eyes for you, Susan,” he had said. He insisted I was just overthinking. But now, I finally got it. I wasn’t overthinking. He was just constantly testing my boundaries, and I was constantly stepping back. And when I had backed up so far that my back was against the wall, he brought another girl right into our space. I turned over and buried my face in the pillow. The next morning, my eyes were incredibly swollen. I pressed a cold wet towel against them for a long time before they looked semi-normal, then put on some light makeup to cover the puffiness. I planned to go to the beach today. Since I was already here, I wasn’t going to let some guy ruin my vacation. I changed and took the elevator down. It stopped at the ninth floor. The doors opened, and Phillips was standing there. He froze when he saw me, then slowly stepped inside. We were the only two people in the elevator. The silence was suffocating. He was wearing a white V-neck tee. The neckline was slightly stretched, and right near his collarbone on the right side of his neck, there was a glaring red mark. A hickey. He knew exactly what I was looking at. He nervously pulled his collar up. “Bug bite,” he said, keeping his eyes on the floor. I let out a soft laugh. “You don’t need to explain.” “Phillips, we are broken up.” “Who you sleep with, who kisses you, or how many marks you have on your neck… none of it is my business.”

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After I secured the company’s biggest offshore contract with my own skills and landed the full-time offer, the new intern actually exposed me at the company-wide meeting. “Attention, everyone!” “Aurora has no real talent at all! She stole my client, and she slept her way to the top to get that permanent position!” The entire room went wild. The department manager asked her where the evidence was, and Grace slammed a stack of photos onto the table. A colleague leaned in to look and gasped, “Oh my god! Aurora got into a limited-edition Maybach!” Instantly, looks of disgust and whispers filled the room. I stared at the jealousy-filled Grace and asked calmly, “You’re saying I sold my body for a promotion? And that I stole your job?” Her eyes were red, and she grit her teeth. “Yes! If I’m wrong, I’ll resign immediately and leave this industry forever!” I nodded and couldn’t help but laugh. Sure, I was an intern. But this entire company belonged to my family. Why on earth would I need to steal a job? Sleeping my way to the top? Whose bed would even be worth my time? 1. “Manager Henry! I graduated from an Ivy League school and worked overtime until midnight every single day. I never expected to deal with this kind of woman!” In the conference room, Grace pointed at the photos on the table, tears streaming down her face. “While I was out meeting clients, I saw her with my own eyes getting out of a car in front of a high-end private club.” “During the day, she pretends to study documents in the office. But at night, she goes out to please rich old men!” The conference room fell dead silent for a second. Then, everyone started whispering. Countless judgmental eyes locked onto me. Henry picked up the photos, his face turning completely pale. “Aurora! What do you have to say for yourself?!” “Our company is a reputable corporation. We will absolutely not tolerate someone who ruins our professional culture!” “Pack your things and get out of here right now!” I stayed in my chair, looking at the furious Henry. “Mr. Davis, what do a few photos prove?” “Just because I got out of a car at a club, it means I’m hosting old men?” “Who made a rule saying interns can’t go to high-end clubs?” A female colleague next to me rolled her eyes immediately. “Aurora, stop acting.” “You dress so cheaply every day. You don’t even own a single designer bag.” “If you were actually rich, why would you come here as a low-level intern to suffer?” “That is a custom limited-edition Maybach. It costs millions. You couldn’t even afford to rent it!” Grace wiped her tears and took a step forward. “Aurora, I didn’t want to make things ugly.” “We started this internship together. I know how hard the job market is.” “But you crossed the line. You shouldn’t have stolen the major European client I spent three months chasing!” “I stayed up countless nights writing that proposal just to secure my full-time offer!” I was so angry I laughed out loud. That European client was someone I personally picked up from the airport and negotiated with in fluent French. Grace had barely even seen the client. Now she had the nerve to claim the contract was hers. I challenged her. “You say it’s your contract? Where is your proof?” “My name is on the signed agreement.” “And I wrote every single meeting minute from the negotiation.” Grace bit her lip, glaring at me with pure hatred. “Of course you stole it! You used your body to bribe their representative!” “If you won’t admit it, I have no choice but to bring in the witness!” The room gasped again. Everyone turned their heads toward the conference room door. The door pushed open. A chubby, middle-aged man walked in. I recognized him. He was Frank Johnson, the local agent for our European client. As soon as Frank entered, he threw a disgusted look at me. Grace immediately welcomed him with deep respect. “Mr. Johnson, thank you for coming.” “Please tell the management the truth.” “Who was the one who actually closed that massive offshore deal?” Frank cleared his throat and spoke with absolute confidence. “Is that even a question? Of course it was Miss Grace.” “Her proposal was perfect. Our company was extremely satisfied.” “As for this girl, Aurora…” He sneered and pointed at me. “This woman has no shame!” “Two nights ago, she showed up at my hotel room door wearing barely anything!” “She tried to seduce me to get the contract signed!” “I turned her down immediately and kicked her out!” The conference room instantly erupted. “Oh my god, that is so gross!” “Knocking on a client’s hotel door? She’s ruining our company’s reputation!” “I knew she was fake. She’s just a cheap gold digger!” “Fire her now! Don’t let her drag the company down!” 2. Listening to the nasty insults around me, I leaned back in my chair and looked at Frank. “Frank, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want.” “Are you absolutely sure I knocked on your hotel door two nights ago?” “You do know that perjury is a serious crime, right?” Frank’s eyes flickered with a hint of panic, but he quickly puffed out his chest. “Of course I’m sure! You even took off your coat and tried to throw yourself at me!” “If I didn’t have self-control, a shameless woman like you would have trapped me!” Grace jumped in quickly. “Aurora, stop lying!” “We have the witness and the proof. You dared to seduce a client, not to mention sleeping around outside!” “You didn’t just steal my hard work. You insulted my efforts!” “Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for this job?” She sobbed dramatically, playing the victim. “My family is poor. My parents worked three jobs and I took out massive student loans just to get through college!” “I worked day and night just to stay at a top company like this!” “But you? What right do you have to steal my life with your dirty tricks?!” “If the company doesn’t fire you, I will expose this corruption on TikTok!” Hearing this, Henry stood up immediately. “Grace, don’t worry!” “Our company will never protect a woman who sleeps her way to the top!” “Aurora! Pack your bags and get the hell out of here!” I looked at Henry, my voice freezing cold. “Mr. Davis, on what grounds are you firing me?” “Just because of their words?” “The company handbook states that firing an employee requires concrete evidence.” Henry let out a cold laugh. “You want evidence? Fine, I’ll give it to you!” He pulled a sheet of paper from a folder and threw it right at my face. The paper landed on the table. I looked down. It was a screenshot from a hotel hallway security camera. In the photo, a woman wearing the exact same coat as mine was standing outside Frank’s hotel room. Because it was a shot from behind, her face wasn’t visible. I sneered in my mind. So, Henry had teamed up with Grace from the start. Another wave of whispers broke out. “Even the security footage is here. She is so busted!” “She actually had the nerve to ask for evidence. She’s shameless.” “Unbelievable. I’ve never seen anyone this thick-skinned.” Grace crossed her arms, looking down at me like she had already won. “Aurora, what do you have to say now?” “Mr. Johnson personally got this footage from the hotel.” “The coat that woman is wearing is identical to the one you wore two days ago!” “Are you going to deny that’s you?” I picked up the screenshot and looked closely. The coat was indeed the same. But two nights ago, I was working overtime in this very office finishing reports. I hadn’t stepped foot near any hotel. It was obvious Grace had hired someone to pose as me. I tossed the photo back onto the table. “You want to convict me based on a blurry photo from behind?” “Where is the full video? Where is the face?” “Grace, you really went to a lot of trouble to frame me.” Grace’s face twisted, and she pointed a finger at my face, screaming. “What rubbish are you talking about?!” “I framed you? Why would I need to frame a broke nobody like you?” “You did the dirty deed, and now you’re trying to blame me!” “Manager Henry, we can’t keep this woman. We need to call the cops on her!” Henry nodded repeatedly. “Yes! Not just fired, we’re calling the police!” “We’ll sue her for commercial bribery and extortion!” “Aurora, if you don’t return every single cent of the commission you stole today, I’ll make sure you rot in jail!” 3. When they mentioned calling the police, even the colleagues who usually got along with me backed away. Their eyes turned into pure avoidance and disgust. In the corporate world, no one was going to offend the boss for a soon-to-be-fired intern. I watched this circus quietly, finding it highly amusing. As the sole heiress of the multi-billion-dollar Franklin Group, I was being forced out of my own family’s company by a few low-level managers and an intern. I didn’t lose my temper. I just checked the time on my phone. “Sure, call the cops.” “But I suggest you think carefully before you do.” “Can you handle the consequences of filing a false police report?” My calm demeanor clearly drove Grace crazy. She slammed her hand on the table, her voice screeching. “Why are you still acting so calm?!” “Do you think your sugar daddy can save you?” “Let me tell you, this is the Franklin Group! The biggest corporation in the city!” Grace got more and more worked up. “The CEO of Franklin Group hates nepotism and shady deals more than anything!” “Even if your sugar daddy is rich, the Franklin Group won’t be scared of him!” “You’re done today. Nobody can save you!” Henry chimed in immediately. “Grace is right!” “Do you think you can mess around in the Franklin Group?” “Where are the guards? Call security and throw this woman out!” The conference room door opened again. The HR Director, Marcus Vance, walked in with two security guards. Mr. Vance went straight to Grace’s side. He patted her shoulder with an approving smile. “Grace, you did an outstanding job.” “You had the courage to expose the cancer in our company. Management will reward you greatly.” “I have personally signed off on your permanent full-time contract.” Grace immediately looked incredibly grateful, bowing deeply to Mr. Vance. “Thank you so much, Mr. Vance! Thank you, company, for this opportunity!” “I will work even harder to repay the company!” Mr. Vance turned his head, looking at me with cold eyes. “Aurora, your termination letter is ready.” “Because of your severe violation of company policy and damage to our reputation, you are officially fired.” “Furthermore, the company is suing you for five hundred thousand dollars in damages!” Everyone gasped. Five hundred thousand dollars was a devastating fortune for a regular intern. Grace sneered at me with pure triumph. “Aurora, did you hear that?” “Half a million dollars. Can you even afford that?” “Why don’t you beg that old man in the Maybach to pay it for you?” “Though, I bet he’s already tired of you and dumped you!” The room erupted into laughter. Frank joined in as well. “Miss Grace is right.” “Women like her sell their bodies for quick cash. Now that she’s caught, she’ll probably lose every cent she has.” “Get lost already. You’re hurting my eyes.” I looked at Mr. Vance and asked a simple question. “Mr. Vance, terminating an employee and suing them for damages requires the signature of the Vice President or above.” “Does your termination letter have the Vice President’s signature?” Mr. Vance froze, clearly not expecting a cornered intern to know the company’s bylaws so well. But he quickly recovered his arrogant look. “You’re about to get thrown out, why do you care?” “Since I brought it, of course it has been approved by upper management!” “Sign it now, and let security drag you out!” 4. I didn’t touch the paper. I just sat there, unmoved. “If it has the VP’s signature, show me the document.” “Otherwise, I am not signing anything.” “And if you try to drag me out by force, we can wait for the police to handle it.” Henry lost his patience completely. He pointed at the guards and shouted. “What are you waiting for?!” “Can’t you see this crazy woman is making a scene?” “Grab her and throw her out! Dump all her belongings in the trash!” The two guards stepped forward, reaching for my arms. Right at that moment, rapid, heavy footsteps echoed from outside. It sounded like a large group of people approaching. The employees watching from the hallway quickly gasped and scattered. “Oh my god, it’s the Vice President, Mr. Pierce Franklin!” “Get out of the way, quick!” “Why is Mr. Franklin coming down to this floor personally?” Everyone inside the conference room froze. Henry and Mr. Vance exchanged a look, both of their faces lighting up with excitement. Grace was shaking with pure thrill. “Wonderful! Mr. Franklin is here himself!” “He must have heard about your disgusting behavior and came to deal with you personally!” “Aurora, you won’t even have the chance to beg for mercy now!” Grace glared at me, as if she could already see my pathetic ending. The conference room doors were pushed open wide by two bodyguards in black suits. A tall, powerful young man in a bespoke suit walked in. His features were sharp, his eyes deep and cold. He was Pierce Franklin, the Vice President of Franklin Group—and my older brother. The moment Pierce walked in, his intense aura silenced the entire room. Everyone bowed their heads, barely daring to breathe. Henry was the first to react, rushing forward with a groveling smile, bending his back so low he was almost touching the floor. “Mr. Franklin! What an honor to have you visit our department!” “Don’t worry, sir, we are handling a minor issue right now.” “We won’t let this trash of an intern ruin your sight!” Mr. Vance rushed over as well. “Yes, Mr. Franklin, the firing process is almost done.” “This intern, Aurora, not only stole a colleague’s deal, but she’s also sleeping around. I was just about to have security throw her out!” Pierce ignored them. His cold gaze swept over the room, finally landing on me. Seeing the two intimidating guards standing over me, his eyebrows knit together instantly. Seeing this, Grace assumed Pierce was disgusted by me. She immediately seized the chance to show off and ran up to Pierce. She put on a self-righteous, heroic face. “Hello, Mr. Franklin! I am Grace, the newly promoted full-time employee.” “I was the one who exposed Aurora’s horrible behavior!” “The Franklin Group is a prestigious company. We cannot tolerate a gold digger who sleeps her way up!” “Even if it meant offending people, I had to stand up for the company’s integrity!” Grace spoke with such passion, as if she were a saint. The colleagues around her looked at her with admiration. Frank also chimed in from the side. “Mr. Franklin, I am Frank Johnson, the agent for the European account.” “Miss Grace is not only highly capable but also has great character.” “On the other hand, that Aurora girl actually came to my hotel room in the middle of the night!” “You cannot let such a shameless woman off easily, sir!” After hearing them out, Pierce suddenly let out a cold laugh. His laugh sounded incredibly sharp in the silent room. He turned his head, looking at the eager-faced Grace. “Your name is Grace, right?” Pierce’s voice was low and ice-cold. “You just said she slept her way to the top?” “And she knocked on someone’s hotel door in the middle of the night?” Grace nodded frantically, pointing at the photos on the table. “Absolutely, Mr. Franklin! Look, these photos are the proof!” “She rides in a limited-edition Maybach and goes to luxury clubs every day.” “She’s just a cheap girl kept by some rich old man!” I sat in my chair and couldn’t take it anymore. Looking at Pierce’s face, which was already freezing over, I spoke up softly. “Pierce, they are saying I’m being kept by some old man who drives a Maybach.” “Since when did you become an old man?”

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On the day I booked my premium MedSpa package, my coworker, Vivian, leaned over my desk, staring at my screen with pure envy in her eyes. Over the weekend, she suddenly sent me a message on Snapchat: “Is that MedSpa you always go to really that good?” I gave her a casual “yeah.” I never expected to run into her at the clinic the very next day. She was lying there, taking selfies with an expensive gold foil mask on her face. The aesthetician smiled and said, “This lady checked in under your VIP membership number, Chloe.” I swallowed my annoyance, thinking a basic facial was only about fifty bucks anyway. Whatever. But when my bank notification popped up at the end of the month, my hands started shaking. In just two weeks, over twelve hundred dollars had been charged to my card. I rushed to the clinic to check the records, and what I saw nearly made me faint. She hadn’t just been going there every week for high-end treatments herself—she had brought her daughter, Lily, for acne extractions, and her mother, Martha, for anti-aging therapy. She had even booked deep-tissue stress-relief massages for her husband, Peter, and her father-in-law, Arthur! To top it off, every single time, she demanded their most expensive tier-one specialist, plus a full set of premium ampoule serum infusions. As I stood there shaking, holding the receipts, my phone buzzed. It was a voice note from her.

“Chloe, oh my god, your skin looks amazing! What kind of miracle treatment are you getting?” Vivian’s face was almost touching mine, her eyes burning with envy. I had just finished a season-long treatment package at the MedSpa, and my skin was visibly glowing and smooth. I leaned back slightly, trying to avoid her overbearing enthusiasm, and said casually, “Just a clinic I go to regularly. I have a VIP membership there.” “Which one is it? It must be super expensive, right? Are they really that good?” she pressed. The office was crowded and noisy, and I didn’t want to gossip, so I brushed her off with a few vague answers. To my surprise, while I was scrolling through my phone over the weekend, a Snapchat message from Vivian popped up: “Chloe, is that MedSpa you always go to really that good?” Before I could reply, she sent another one: “Hey, can I use your membership ID just to try it out? Just once. I really want to see if it works.” I hesitated. My membership was a top-tier pre-paid Platinum card with over twenty thousand dollars loaded on it. You could charge services to it simply by giving the phone number associated with the account. But then I thought, we are coworkers. We see each other every day. Refusing would make me look petty. “A basic facial is only about fifty dollars. Letting her try it once won’t hurt,” I told myself. So, I sent her the membership number and the clinic’s name, adding a specific note: “Just give them my number. Just try a basic facial first.” She replied instantly: “Omg thank you so much! Love you, Chloe!” I forgot about it almost immediately. The following weekend, I booked a body massage and arrived at the clinic early. Just as I changed into my robe, I heard a loud, familiar voice outside my room. I pushed the door open and froze. Vivian was lying in my exclusive VIP treatment room. She had a luxury gold foil mask on her face, holding her phone up to take a selfie with her other hand flashing a peace sign. The aesthetician next to her looked incredibly awkward when she saw me. “Oh, Miss Chloe, you’re here.” “This lady said she’s your best friend. She checked in using your membership.” Seeing me, Vivian didn’t look embarrassed at all. Instead, she sat up excitedly, her mask almost sliding off. “Chloe! You’re here!” “Look at this! Is this the ‘Imperial Youth Gold Therapy’ you guys have? It feels amazing!” Anger flared up inside me. That “Imperial Youth” treatment cost three hundred dollars per session. It was definitely not the fifty-dollar basic facial I had agreed to. Vivian kept babbling. “Wow, your VIP card is incredible. The moment I walked in, they brought me straight to the VIP suite. The service is top-notch!” Forcing down my rage, I squeezed out a stiff smile. “I’m glad you liked it.” The aesthetician asked cautiously, “Miss Chloe, about this lady’s bill…” “Put it on my account,” I said through gritted teeth. Whatever. Just this once. Consider it a lesson learned. Vivian happily finished her session and even packed a bottle of high-end serum to go. She smiled warmly at me. “You’re the best, Chloe! I’ll come hang out with you here next time!” I watched her walk away. I felt like a heavy weight was suffocating my chest.

Over the next two weeks, Vivian seemed like a different person at the office. She wore exquisite makeup every day, her skin was literally glowing, and she walked around with her chin tilted up, speaking with a newfound sense of superiority. She told everyone she was getting professional skin management at a luxury clinic, but she never mentioned she was using my card. When some coworkers curiously asked where she went, she just smiled mysteriously. “Oh, a close friend took me there. It’s strictly referral-only. Regular people can’t even get an appointment.” Listening to her, I only felt disgust. I thought that three-hundred-dollar treatment was the end of it—the price I paid for being soft-hearted. But at the end of the month, I opened my banking app to check my auto-pay accounts, and a charge of $1,250 stared back at me. “Your card ending in 6051 has processed a charge of $1,250 at Sterling MedSpa.” I stared at the numbers, thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me. I had barely gone to the clinic this month! I immediately called my bank to confirm. Yes, the transactions were real. Several large charges had been made, all from that MedSpa. My hands shook violently as I gripped my phone. I drove straight to the clinic. The receptionist greeted me with her standard professional smile. “Welcome back, Miss Chloe.” I slammed my phone on the counter, my voice cold. “Pull up my recent transaction history. Right now.” The manager, Mr. Sterling, heard the commotion and hurried over to personally pull up the records. When the statement was printed out, it was a long, ridiculous list. Looking at it, I almost fainted. First charge: Vivian, Gold Therapy, $300. Second charge: Vivian, brought a ten-year-old girl (Lily), deep-pore cleansing for both, $200. Third charge: Vivian, brought an older woman (Martha), premium anti-aging therapy, $400. Fourth charge: Vivian, brought two men (Peter and Arthur), deep-tissue stress relief and scalp therapy, $350. She hadn’t just been going there for weekly luxury treatments herself. She had dragged her entire family—her daughter, her mother, her husband, and her father-in-law—and charged it all to me! And the most infuriating part? Every single line item had a note: Requested tier-one specialist, added premium ampoule serum infusion. This wasn’t “trying out” a clinic. She was using my membership card as her personal ATM! Manager Sterling was sweating, apologizing profusely. “I am so sorry, Miss Chloe. This was our mistake.” “The lady kept insisting she was your sister-in-law and your closest friend, so we thought…” “Did she sign for these?” I cut him off. The manager looked uneasy. “She said you gave her full verbal authorization, so… she didn’t sign.” What a “closest friend.” What “verbal authorization”! Holding those paper receipts, I was shaking with sheer rage. Right then, my phone buzzed. It was a voice note from Vivian. I tapped play. Her cheerful, incredibly entitled voice echoed in my ears.

“Chloe! Oh my god, your spa card is literally a lifesaver!” “Peter’s mom said she feels ten years younger after that anti-aging treatment!” “Oh, by the way, can you ask them if they have any kid-friendly facials? Lily said her skin feels a bit dry lately, so I want to bring her in for a full package too.” The voice note was only forty seconds long, but every word hammered against my skull. Not a single ounce of guilt. Just bragging and demanding more. She truly believed she was entitled to all of this. I took a deep breath, locked my phone, and looked up at the manager. My voice was deadly calm. “I want a copy of all security footage of her visits, along with a detailed itemized receipt for every single charge.” “Right now.” The manager didn’t dare hesitate and rushed to get it done. Half an hour later, I walked out of the clinic holding a USB drive and a thick stack of invoices. The sun was bright, but I felt freezing cold. The next day, I went to work as usual. When Vivian saw me, she ran over enthusiastically. “Chloe! Where were you yesterday? I texted you but you didn’t reply!” I looked up at her face, which was looking radiant thanks to my money, and said calmly, “Vivian, my spa card was charged over twelve hundred dollars last month. Was that you?” I kept my voice low, but the coworkers nearby, who already had their ears perked up, heard me. Vivian’s smile froze, and then she let out an exaggerated gasp. “Oh, that! I thought you knew!” “You’re the one who told me to go.” “I mean, you have so much money sitting in that account anyway. I was just helping you use it before it expires!” She spoke loudly, making it sound like I was the one being cheap and dramatic. “My membership is pre-paid. It never expires,” I said, enunciating every word. “Oh, what does it matter!” She grabbed my arm, pretending we were best friends. “Come on, we’re practically sisters! What’s yours is mine!” “Besides, I brought my family to test out their services for you! Now you know which treatments actually work!” Her twisted logic was truly mind-blowing. I shook her hand off and stared at her coldly. “So, you have no intention of paying me back?” Vivian’s face finally darkened. She dropped the act, her voice turning sharp. “Chloe, are you serious right now? You’re going to ruin our friendship over a petty thousand dollars?” “I really misjudged you! It’s just a few hundred bucks here and there. Is it that big of a deal?” “Think about how much you make a month. This is pocket change to you!” Her outburst gathered a crowd of onlookers in the office. People started whispering, casting strange looks at me. To them, I probably looked like a wealthy, heartless bully who was picking a fight with a friend over pennies. Looking at her self-righteous, victimized face, I suddenly smiled. I realized there was no point in arguing with someone this delusional. Without another word, I turned back to my desk. Vivian continued her loud complaints behind my back about how “stingy” I was. I ignored her, plugged the USB drive into my computer, and opened the files. On the screen, high-definition footage of Vivian and her family walking into the spa over and over again played perfectly. Since you threw away your dignity, don’t blame me for what comes next.

For the next few days, Vivian treated me like her worst enemy. She rallied a few coworkers she was close with and actively frozen me out. Whenever I walked into the breakroom, they would immediately stop talking. At lunchtime, they made sure to sit at the table furthest from me. Even during work collaborations, she maintained a cold, strictly bureaucratic attitude, intentionally delaying my requests. Rumors started spreading like wildfire. “Did you hear? Chloe is practically suing Vivian over a spa bill. They aren’t even friends anymore.” “Yeah, so petty. I thought Chloe was generous, but I guess she’s just a control freak.” “You never really know a person. Vivian was always so nice to her.” I saw everything and heard everything, but I didn’t say a word. When a person is blinded by greed, words are useless. Only real pain will wake them up. I kept going to work, hitting the gym, and visiting my MedSpa as usual. Except this time, I met with Manager Sterling and made a special arrangement. “Starting today, my VIP account requires a fingerprint and a secondary passcode to authorize any charge,” I told him. “Also, if Vivian comes back, tell her that I have set up a special ‘Family Add-On Card’ for her. Tell her she can charge everything directly to that card from now on.” The manager looked confused, but he nodded and agreed. Of course, I wasn’t actually giving her a card. I was giving her a signal—a bait to make her believe I had backed down, so she would become even more reckless. I had the manager send her a message from the clinic’s official Snapchat business account: “Hi Vivian, Chloe mentioned there was some misunderstanding previously. She has set up a Family Add-On Card for you as an apology. You can charge any future services to this card. Welcome back anytime!” Sure enough, by Friday evening, my MedSpa app sent me a notification. A new booking. Client: Vivian. Service booked: Grand Royal Couple’s Package (4 hours), priced at $999. Time: Saturday at 10:00 AM. Looking at the notification, my lips curled into a cold line. The audacity of this woman. She was icing me out at the office, yet she didn’t hesitate for a second to book their most expensive package. I didn’t cancel the appointment, nor did I call to confront her. I simply sent a message back to Manager Sterling: “Let her and whoever she brings check in tomorrow. Give them the full service. Business as usual.” The manager replied instantly: “Understood, Miss Chloe.” Putting my phone down, I looked out at the city lights. There was no anger left in me, only an icy calm. Vivian, this was your last chance. Saturday morning, 9:55 AM. I sat on the lounge sofa in the MedSpa lobby, pretending to read a magazine, keeping my eyes on the entrance. Right at 10:00 AM, Vivian walked in, arm-in-arm with her mother, Martha. They were laughing and chatting. Vivian was dressed up to the nines today, carrying a designer bag, her face glowing with triumph. The receptionist greeted them warmly. “Hi Vivian, your private suite is ready for you.” Vivian didn’t even look at me. She strutted past me like a proud peacock. Her mother, however, glanced at me and whispered to Vivian, “Isn’t that your coworker?” Vivian sneered, her voice loud enough for me to hear. “Just ignore her. She’s a cheapskate.” “She tried to pick a fight with me over a few bucks last week, but look at her now. She practically begged me to accept this family card.” “Some people just need to be put in their place!” I turned a page of my magazine, a cold smile playing on my lips. The show is about to start.

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On the eve of our wedding, my girlfriend, Angelica, insisted on throwing a bachelorette party despite my strong objections. She invited all of her ex-boyfriends to stay up all night with her. She even messaged me to “reassure” me: “Don’t worry, babe! There are so many of us here. We’re literally just talking, nothing else!” I smiled, replied with a simple “OK,” and felt so excited that I couldn’t sleep. The countdown to the wedding was down to seven hours. After tomorrow, she would become the most infamous woman in the entire city. Angelica had just called me. “Babe, seriously, don’t worry. There are so many people here, we’re just chatting!” “I know. I trust you,” I replied. Over the phone, I could hear several men jeering in the background. “Wow, Leo really trusts you, doesn’t he?” “Let us run the final check on him! We’ll teach him how to be a good husband after you guys get married!” Their provocations were mixed with weird laughter. I didn’t care. I just sneered and hung up the phone. If I hadn’t seen her Snapchat chat history, I might have actually believed her. I had been dating Angelica for three years, and she had lied to me for three whole years. At first, she told me she had a heartbreak so deep she could never forget her ex. Back then, my heart ached for her. I wondered why such a good girl couldn’t find true love. I spent three months winning her heart, completely unaware that she was still sleeping with her exes behind my back. To make things worse, she complained about me to them, calling me a “naive loser” who was easy to manipulate—just a “suitable guy to marry.” I bought her designer bags and a car, spending over $45,000 in three years. And to her, I was just “suitable.” Hearing the muffled groans coming from the room next door, I lit a cigarette. It was currently 12:40 AM on April 18th. In seven hours, it would be our wedding. Angelica had no idea that I was staying in the exact same hotel, in the room right next to hers, with my bags already packed. My flight was scheduled for 7:00 AM. At 1:00 AM, I packed all the gifts Angelica had bought me over the past three years. They barely filled a cheap plastic delivery bag. A cheap lighter, underwear that ripped after two wears, some travel badges… I left the bag of worthless trash at the front desk. I had already scheduled a courier to deliver it to Angelica’s house at exactly 10:00 AM the day after tomorrow. Then, I opened my phone gallery. I selected all 8,000 photos of us, hit delete, went to the trash folder, and emptied it permanently. My heart felt completely empty, yet strangely light. At 2:00 AM, I started working on a PowerPoint presentation. This was going to be the highlight of tomorrow’s event. Whether she became famous or not depended entirely on this. Right then, my phone buzzed. It was a Snapchat message from Angelica. She sent me a photo of herself tucked under a blanket, with only her head showing. “Babe, I’m back home and going to sleep! Goodnight. Love you!” I didn’t reply. The sounds of flirting and giggling were still leaking through the wall from the room next door. With a numb heart, I saved the photo and inserted it into the final slide of my presentation. At 3:00 AM, I sent a mass message to my Snapchat group: “The wedding tomorrow is canceled. You guys don’t have to come. I’ll buy everyone dinner another time. Sorry for the inconvenience!” These were all my close friends and family. A few of my best friends called me immediately, sounding panicked. Once they realized I was serious, they gasped: “Leo, are you insane? You’re calling it off now?” “Angelica has been with you for three years! You’re just dumping her at the altar?” “What the hell happened?” I only replied with one sentence: “Just watch my live stream tomorrow.” At 4:00 AM, I grabbed my suitcase and checked out of the hotel. Before leaving, I glanced at Room 363. An alarm was buzzing inside, followed by the rustling of sheets. I pulled my cap down, put on a face mask, and walked away without looking back. As the elevator doors opened, a woman rushed out. For a split second, our eyes met. She looked up at me and was about to speak, but I had already stepped into the elevator. It was Chloe, Angelica’s best friend. She was probably bringing her a change of clothes for the morning. What a loyal friend. When I arrived at the airport, Angelica sent me another message: “Babe, I’m so nervous! The makeup artist is arriving soon! You’re going to see the most beautiful version of me today!”

I sneered and texted back: “Great. Wait for me.” Angelica, you won’t be waiting for me today. But you will get a wedding you will never forget for the rest of your life. At 7:00 AM, the wedding planner called me. “Mr. Carter, we’ve arrived at 12 Lakeside Drive with the limo as you requested. When will you be arriving?” “I won’t be coming. Just go ahead without me,” I said calmly. There was a long pause of sheer confusion on the other end. “Mr. Carter, you…” “Don’t worry, the final payment will be wired to your account in full.” Hearing that, the planner let out a sigh of relief. Then, I contacted the live-stream team I had hired. I told them to set up the cameras at the venue and start streaming from the moment the bride arrived in the limo all the way to the stage. Since I paid them generously upfront, they didn’t ask any unnecessary questions. Before boarding the plane, I sent Angelica a quick text, telling her that there was an emergency at home and I might not make it on time. I told her the limo had arrived and she should get in first. Angelica called me immediately. “Leo, what the hell do you mean?” “Babe, it was a sudden accident. My car got rear-ended right outside my neighborhood.” “I’ve sent a professional team to pick you up. Just go through the ceremony first. I’ll meet you at the venue.” “I have a massive surprise waiting for you there!” Hearing this, Angelica’s anger melted into excitement. “Aww, babe! You better not be lying to me!” “I’m not. I promise you’ll never forget today.” “Hmph, you better make it up to me!” Her voice was still a bit raspy. Last night must have been quite wild. I hung up, turned off my phone, and the plane took off. I had booked myself a long vacation. My first stop was a beautiful beach resort. It was time to relax. As for the rest, Angelica could handle it herself. I was officially done. Two hours later, I landed. I turned on my phone and immediately opened the live-stream link. The wedding hall was packed with local influencers and drama-loving onlookers I had invited. Angelica was starting to realize something was wrong. None of my friends or family were there. The venue was only filled with her relatives and strangers holding up phones. Panic-stricken, she began calling me repeatedly. My screen was flooded with dozens of missed calls and frantic text messages. Even her bridesmaids and Chloe were calling, leaving angry voicemails cursing me out. Finally, when her call came through again, I picked up. Angelica screamed hysterically: “Leo! Are you playing me?! If you didn’t want to get married, you should have said so! Why aren’t you here yet?!” “Where is your family? And why is everyone here live-streaming?!” “Angelica, I’m so sorry. I’m still dealing with the car accident.” “But don’t worry, the ceremony is about to start. Your surprise is coming.” “Those people with the cameras are my friends. I hired them to document our special day.” Without waiting for her reply, I sent her $500 via PayPal. Angelica let out a cold snort. “You think you can just throw $500 at me after pulling a stunt like this?” “Be patient. When the ceremony begins, I’ll give you the most sparkling gift of all.” Only then did she calm down. “I’m warning you, Leo. If you pull any more tricks, I will ignore you for the rest of my life.” I didn’t bother replying. I hung up, checked into my beachfront hotel, changed into swim shorts, put on some sunscreen, and slid on my sunglasses. I sat on a beach lounge chair, taking in the view. The blue sky, white clouds, the ocean, and girls in bikinis—everything was beautiful. Meanwhile, my phone screen was playing the live stream of my own wedding. The onlookers and streamers were buzzing with excitement. None of them knew what was going to happen, but they knew this wedding was about to go viral.

Even the viewers in the chat were asking what was going on. [A wedding live stream? People will stream anything these days. Who wants to watch this?] [Wait, there’s drama! I’m friends with the streamer. Apparently, the groom has a massive, mind-blowing surprise for the bride!] [Really? I’m staying for this!] The viewer count quickly climbed to 10,000. I didn’t expect it to blow up so fast. As the minutes ticked by, the number surged to 30,000. The influencers were hyped, doing their best to keep the chat engaged. Watching this from my beach chair, I couldn’t help but laugh. It had to go viral. Otherwise, how would Angelica get the fame she deserved? Suddenly, the emcee’s voice echoed through the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, welcome to the wedding of Mr. Leo Carter and Miss Angelica Vance. I am your emcee, Marcus.” “At the request of Mr. Carter, I will be hosting today’s ceremony.” “And now, please welcome our beautiful bride, Angelica!” Angelica, waiting outside the hall, looked utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Leo isn’t even here yet, and I have to walk in alone?” The wedding planner quickly whispered from the side, “The groom is waiting on the stage screen to greet you. Go on in, everyone is waiting!” Angelica rolled her eyes. “Hmph. If it weren’t for his surprise gift, I wouldn’t do this!” She had no idea that the planner was also live-streaming. The viewers had watched her entire arrival. The groom hadn’t even shown up, yet the bride was still willing to go through with it. The chat was flooded with comments. [Did she hold him at gunpoint or something? Why is she so desperate to marry him?] [The groom hasn’t shown up yet. This is a massive red flag!] [Wait, the bride looks familiar… Wasn’t she at Club 897 last night?] [No way! The bride is my former classmate. I’m actually at the venue right now, and the groom is nowhere to be seen. Something is definitely wrong.] Angelica knew nothing of this. She had no idea what was waiting for her. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her gown and slowly walked out to the sound of the wedding march. The spotlight hit her, and the cameras flashed. Angelica held her head high, smiling like a Hollywood star. The venue setup was absolutely stunning—I had designed it exactly to her taste. I wanted her to be the brightest star on the red carpet, just for today. “Angelica Vance is beautiful and elegant. Today, their three-year journey of love finally bears fruit.” “Now, the groom, Leo Carter, has prepared a very special, mysterious gift for her! Let’s welcome our bride to the center of the stage!” As the spotlight locked onto her, Angelica’s face beamed with smug pride. However, since I still hadn’t appeared, she was starting to feel a little uneasy. She wanted to grab her phone, but remembered it was with Chloe, who was standing at the edge of the stage, looking so moved she was practically crying. Suddenly, the giant LED screen behind the stage lit up. My face appeared on the screen. I looked at the camera and gave a calm, polite smile. “My dear Angelica, today is our wedding day. But as you can see, I am not there. I am currently in Miami.” Angelica’s smile froze. “Leo, what the hell is this? Are you mocking me?!” she screamed at the screen. My face on the screen turned cold. “You are the one who has been mocking me.” “We’ve been dating for three years, and you’ve been cheating on me for three years! Your partners range from your ex-boyfriends to random hookups.” “They range in age from 20 to 50. In the past three years, you have slept with more than fifty different men.” “Every time you said you were traveling for work, you were actually fooling around in hotels with your boss.” “Every time you said you were ‘too tired’ and ‘needed space,’ you were wrapped in your ex’s arms.” “Even last night, at your bachelorette party, you were in a hotel room next to mine, fooling around with four men until sunrise!” “And I was right next door, listening to everything!” With every sentence I spoke, the color drained from Angelica’s face. “This wedding is officially canceled. Good luck, Angelica.” “This is the end of our three years. I hope you enjoy your life, and I hope you love my wedding gift!” *BANG!* A loud pop echoed as the massive balloons hanging from the ceiling burst simultaneously. Thousands of printed photos fluttered down like snow. At the same time, the giant LED screen began displaying Angelica’s Snapchat history and her intimate photos. Angelica let out a blood-curdling shriek. Seeing the venue covered in her scandalous photos, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, fainting right on the stage!

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The first time I went to visit my billionaire heir boyfriend’s family estate, I got drunk and wandered into the wrong bedroom. I ended up sleeping with his older brother. Cole, my boyfriend of five years, couldn’t handle the shock. He sped off into a torrential storm, crashed his car, and died on the spot. To punish me, his older brother married me and subjected me to endless torment and humiliation. He forced me in every place imaginable, with no regard for my dignity. He only let me go when I cried and admitted I was a worthless gold-digger who seduced him. But when I opened my eyes again… I was back to the day Cole was taking me to meet his mother. This time, my voice was hoarse as I said: “Let’s break up, Cole. We shouldn’t see each other anymore.” “Harper, what kind of nonsense is that?” Cole let out a playful laugh and grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry about today. It’s my fault we got stuck in traffic. Please don’t be mad.” I stared at him in a daze, then shoved his hand away in shock. In my past life, It was at this exact moment that Cole suddenly revealed he was the heir to the Sinclair empire. He insisted on dragging me to his family’s estate to meet his mother. But no one expected what happened next. A storm delayed Mrs. Sinclair’s flight that day. Instead, his older brother and the head of the family, Christian Sinclair, hosted us along with his fiancée, Scarlett Sterling. They arranged for me to stay in the guest wing. But the Sinclair estate was as massive and confusing as a labyrinth. Drunk and disoriented, I lost my way and walked into the wrong bedroom. I ended up in Christian’s bed, and we slept together. When Scarlett found out, she broke down, sobbing as she drove away in the storm. Worried about her safety, Cole chased after her. But the car skidded on the wet road and slammed into the guardrail. Both of them died instantly. Overnight, Christian lost the two people he cared about most. He married me as a form of revenge. After the wedding, he tormented and humiliated me at every opportunity, in every place possible. He would pin me down, forcing me to shake and cry beneath him, making me admit over and over that I was a cheap, plotting whore before he would finally let me go. In that suffocating prison of the Sinclair mansion, Every single day was a living hell. A massive wave of fear and shame washed over me. I trembled as I spoke. “Cole, I mean it. Let’s break up!” Cole stared at me, utterly bewildered. “Harper, what are you talking about?” “I didn’t mean to hide my family background from you. I apologize, okay?” As he spoke, he grabbed my hand and slapped his own handsome face with it twice. He lowered his head, acting like a scolded puppy. “I was wrong. Come on, who else is going to treat you like a queen if you leave me?” I clenched my trembling fists. Cole was a bit of a golden-retriever boyfriend, and he really had been sweet to me. In my past life, I had been thrilled, thinking I had hit the jackpot and was about to marry into royalty. But I learned the hard way that when the ultra-rich want to destroy a girl with no background, They can make you wish you were dead. Christian’s cold, dangerous smirk flashed in my mind again. I remembered my dad being beaten until he bled, and the endless humiliating scenes of my torment. I took a shaky step back. The Sinclair family. I couldn’t afford to touch them. I stared into Cole’s eyes, forcing out each word through gritted teeth. “Cole, you are so annoying! You’re not good enough for me. Stop bothering me!” Leaving Cole in utter shock, I turned around and ran without looking back. The moment I got home, I blocked every single one of Cole’s accounts on Snapchat and Instagram. I fell into a restless sleep, having no idea how long I slept. Suddenly, my dad burst into my room, looking frantic. “Harper, why are you still sleeping? Cole got into a car accident!” My eyes snapped open in shock. On the way to the hospital, my mind was a chaotic mess. Did Cole still end up in an accident, even though I avoided going to his estate in this life? Was my tragic fate unavoidable after all? I stood outside the hospital room, trembling. I didn’t dare open the door. I was terrified of seeing two bloody corpses inside. Suddenly, the door swung open from the inside. Losing my balance, I bumped straight into someone’s chest. “Who are you…?” A cold voice drifted from above. I looked up in terror. The elegant, sophisticated man in front of me froze for a second. But quickly, his eyes turned freezing cold. That look was all too familiar… My whole body started to shake. Christian had been reborn too!

Honestly, my relationship with Christian hadn’t been bad at the very beginning. Back then, Cole was rebellious. He smoked, drank, got into fights, and drag-raced. Christian got so angry that he kicked him out of the house. Cole almost got beaten to death on the street once. I happened to be delivering pastries for my dad’s bakery in our old van, and I managed to scare those thugs away. After that, Cole cleaned up his act and stuck to me like glue. A few days later, A very elegant, sophisticated man showed up at our shop. Cole happily introduced him as Christian, his older brother. Thanks to Christian’s help, our little artisan bakery suddenly went viral. All the big companies nearby started placing massive orders. My dad became so busy he could barely catch his breath. On weekends when I was home from college, my dad had no time to cook, so Cole would drag me to Christian’s penthouse for dinner. Back then, Christian was as warm and helpful as a friendly neighbor. When some local thugs tried to trash our shop out of jealousy, Christian resolved it with a single phone call. So, back then, I always called him Christian and brought him little gifts to show my appreciation. But who could have guessed? Our relationship would eventually turn into a nightmare. In my past life, after Scarlett and Cole died, Christian didn’t miss a single chance to humiliate me. In his office, at gala halls, in fitting rooms, by the swimming pool… I had to endure his cruel touch over and over while shaking uncontrollably. Only when I was about to faint from crying, choking out the confession that I had seduced him and that I was a shameless woman, Would he finally let me go. Those painful memories echoed in my head, making my vision go blurry. I could barely stand. “Harper.” Cole’s leg was wrapped in thick bandages. He looked at me with pure joy when he saw me. I forced myself to stay upright and squeezed out a few words. “Cole, we’re broken up! Stop calling my dad.” With that, I turned to leave. “Harper! No! Don’t go!” Cole was so desperate that he fell right off the hospital bed. My heart softened for a fraction of a second, and I paused. But a large hand quickly grabbed Cole and threw him back onto the bed. Christian sneered coldly. “She’s just a cheap girl. Why are you begging her?” Cole froze in shock. “Christian! What are you saying? Apologize to Harper right now!” Scarlett, who had just walked in, also froze. “Christian, didn’t you always say Cole found a wonderful girlfriend? Why are you being so harsh all of a sudden?” Christian shot a cold glare at me. “I was blinded by a scheming gold-digger before. Cole, stay away from trash like her from now on.” “Harper is not trash!” Cole began to cough violently. I clenched my fists. Christian had definitely been reborn. In my last life, he kept me as his personal prisoner, abusing me at his whim. He didn’t even let me see the baby I had just given birth to. No matter how hard I begged, All I got was endless humiliation. Later, a kind maid in the Sinclair house couldn’t take it anymore and secretly helped me escape. But Christian caught me effortlessly. To teach me a lesson, He brutally assaulted me right in front of my dad, which triggered my dad’s heart condition and killed him. On the night my dad died, I finally snapped and stabbed Christian. I couldn’t remember how many times I plunged the knife into him. I only remembered that when I came to my senses, Christian’s gold-rimmed glasses were splattered with blood. He couldn’t even speak. He just slumped on the sofa, staring at me quietly. I screamed and ran out, only to trip and fall from the balcony. Then, I woke up reborn. In this life, No matter what. I would rather die than have anything to do with the Sinclair family! I just wanted a peaceful, quiet life with my dad! I stared coldly at Christian. “Christian, are you deaf? I already broke up with your brother. What you should do is keep a leash on him so he stops bothering me!” A flash of shock crossed Christian’s eyes. I turned on my heel and walked out of the room.

“Christian! Why did you talk to Harper like that?! Now she’s left me! Are you happy now?!” Cole’s angry roars, the sound of heavy objects crashing, and Scarlett’s screams echoed down the hallway. It sounded like Cole and Christian were fighting. But none of that had anything to do with me anymore. Over the next few weeks, I threw myself into my studies. My grades skyrocketed. My professor unexpectedly asked me if I wanted to apply for an exchange program abroad. I thought about it. In my last life, I was locked away by the Sinclair family. I never got to enjoy freedom. In this life, I wanted to live for myself. I wanted to see the world. So, I signed the application form without hesitation. Cole didn’t show up for a long time. I thought my life was finally back on track. But then, Scarlett showed up at my college. I didn’t have much interaction with this rich heiress in my past life. I only knew she and Christian were childhood sweethearts. But why was she looking for me? “Harper, Christian has always been a polite gentleman. He’s never been this rude before. Maybe there was some misunderstanding?” “I want to apologize on his behalf. Please don’t take his words to heart. My engagement party is next week. Please come.” Scarlett handed me a beautiful invitation. A polite gentleman? I scoffed inwardly. Christian was just a master of disguise. Deep down, he was a monster. Sometimes, I felt a surge of hatred. I wondered if I had successfully stabbed him to death in my past life. I should have stayed to watch him draw his last breath. Since he was reborn, he must hate me to the core too. He was probably planning some twisted way to get back at me. I shook my head and declined. “I’m sorry, Scarlett. I…” Scarlett suddenly pulled out her phone and showed me a video of a hospital room. “Harper, please don’t say no just yet.” “I’m actually here for Cole. He’s been fighting with Christian and trying to kill himself for days. I can’t bear to watch it anymore.” In the video, Cole looked terrible, covered in bruises and unshaven. Like a maniac, he grabbed a scalpel and tried to slit his own throat. Blood splattered everywhere. Several doctors rushed in to pin him down and tie him to the bed. Cole’s eyes were bloodshot as he screamed. The sight of that blood made my chest tighten. I clenched my trembling hands. I had been treated like that in my past life too. Wanting to die, but not being allowed to. But Cole was innocent in all of this. I lowered my eyes and swallowed my rejection. “Scarlett, tell him that if he tries to hurt himself again, I won’t even show up at the party.” Scarlett’s face instantly cleared up, and she smiled as she took my hand. “Great. I’ll tell Cole right away.” It was just a party anyway. It wouldn’t kill me. Consider it a final goodbye. I wore the dress Scarlett had sent me and walked toward the grand ballroom of the party. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into a dark corner. My entire body went stiff. “Harper.” Cole had lost a lot of weight, and his eyes were red. “You finally came to see me.”

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While my mafia husband was taking a shower, I suddenly received a provocative text message from an unknown number. [77 times in his office, 88 times in his Maybach, 99 times at the Hilton.] [Your husband said I’m a hundred times better in bed than a cold fish like you. Plus, I’m pregnant with his baby. Who do you think he’ll choose? You or me?] Along with the text was a short video. In the video, a girl was leaning over a hotel bathroom sink, her phone camera aimed at the mirror. Behind her, a pair of familiar hands gripped her hair tightly. The screen shook violently for a long time before the video finally ended. That very night, I slid the divorce papers in front of Ethan Sterling. He smirked, casually pressing his burning cigarette butt right onto the signature line, burning a hole through the paper. “In the Sterling family, wives don’t get divorces. The only way you leave this mansion is in a body bag.” “Stella, if you don’t want to die, you stay by my side.” I didn’t believe in fairy tales. I hired the best lawyers and sought out the most unbiased judges. But after 32 divorce lawsuits, I suffered 32 consecutive defeats. It wasn’t until the 33rd trial that my twenty-year-old self from ten years ago suddenly woke up in this future.

When I opened my eyes again, the cold, stern voice of the judge echoed in my ears. “Mrs. Stella Sterling, regarding your divorce petition against Mr. Ethan Sterling…” I snapped my head up. On the digital screen directly ahead of me, a line of bold text stared back at me: [Plaintiff: Stella Rivers. Defendant: Ethan Sterling. Case: Divorce Petition.] [Date: July 8, 2026.] I froze in my seat, my fingertips turning ice-cold. Just a moment ago, Ethan was dressed in his groom’s tuxedo, standing in front of a hall full of guests, reaching his hand out to me across the crowd. But in the blink of an eye, he had become the man I was fighting in court just to get away from! Across the aisle, Ethan sat in the defendant’s seat. He wore a crisp black suit, his eyes utterly cold and indifferent. Whispers from the gallery drifted into my ears. “Stella married him in such a lavish wedding back then. Who knew she’d end up abandoned by her husband?” “I heard she insisted on divorcing Ethan, which caused the Rivers family to go bankrupt. Her father jumped from a building, her mother died of illness, and she herself went crazy for a few years.” My face drained of color. In the next second, a flood of foreign, sharp, and painful memories rushed into my mind like a tidal wave. So, in the third year of our marriage, Ethan had cheated on me with a college student named Chloe Bennett. He didn’t even bother to hide it. He openly brought Chloe back to the Sterling mansion. Broken-hearted, I fled back to my parents’ house and filed for divorce for the first time. But Ethan refused. He said, “Stella, I courted you for three years before I finally made you my wife. You don’t get to just walk away.” I refused to turn back, and my family refused to bow down to him. So, Ethan personally set a trap that bankrupted my family overnight. Faced with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, my father was forced to jump from the top floor of his office building. The shock triggered a fatal heart attack in my mother. She passed away the very night she was rushed to the ER. And I completely lost my mind under the weight of the endless grief. Over the years, I had tried to divorce him again and again. Including this trial, it was already the thirty-second time. The rush of memories was too violent. My vision went completely black, and I collapsed onto the floor. When I woke up again, I was lying in the master bedroom of the Sterling mansion. The night outside was pitch black, and only a single floor lamp lit the room. Ethan sat by the edge of the bed, his voice completely flat. “Stella, are you done throwing tantrums? You’ve dragged this into court thirty-two times. Aren’t you embarrassed enough?” My throat felt tight. “You think I’m the one who should be embarrassed?” Ethan frowned slightly, as if I was being completely unreasonable. “You knew what the Sterling family was like before you married me.” “My father kept four women by his side, and they all managed to live in peace.” “I only have you and Chloe. Why can’t you just be satisfied?” A sharp pain squeezed my heart. I stared at the familiar yet strange face of the man in front of me. I suddenly remembered ten years ago, when Ethan had knelt in my parents’ living room, his eyes red as he promised my mother and father: “In this lifetime, I will only ever love Stella.” Yet now, he could casually ask me why I couldn’t just accept another woman. I let out a soft, bitter laugh. Ethan’s eyes darkened. “What’s so funny?” “Nothing.” I slowly looked up, my voice so quiet it carried no emotion. “I just realized how stupid I used to be.” Ethan stared at me. But I lowered my eyes first, seemingly resigned to my fate. “I won’t fight you anymore.” The room fell dead silent for a moment. Ethan’s expression softened slightly. “You finally understand?” I nodded. “Yes.” “No more divorces?” “No more.” “What about Chloe?” “Let her move in. Give her the second floor. I don’t mind.” Ethan stood up, looking down at me from his towering height. “Stella, you should have realized this a long time ago.” “The Sterling family isn’t a place you can just enter and leave whenever you want.” “Remember, in this family, wives don’t get divorces. The only way you leave is in a coffin.” With that, he turned and walked out. I slowly sat up and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from under my pillow. It was the pre-nuptial agreement he had personally signed before our wedding ten years ago. Back then, he had held my hand, his voice incredibly tender: “Stella, if there ever comes a day when I fail you, you can leave me at any time.” In this timeline, I had personally torn that paper to shreds during our first year of marriage. But this copy had traveled with my twenty-year-old self from the wedding day ten years ago.

Ethan wasted no time. Early the next morning, he moved Chloe into the Sterling mansion. I stood on the third-floor balcony, leaning against the railing. I watched the servants carry suitcase after suitcase into the second-floor rooms. My heart was strangely calm. Just as I was about to turn around and go back to my room, my eyes caught the wedding photo hanging on the wall. It was Ethan’s favorite picture, the one we used to welcome guests at our wedding. I calmly called over a nearby maid. “Take down the wedding photo.” “Now that Miss Bennett has moved in, keeping this up is just awkward, don’t you think?” The maid froze. “But Ma’am… last time Miss Bennett just accidentally brushed against it, and you threw a massive fit…” Seeing her hesitate, I said softly, “Like you said, that was before. Now, I just don’t want to look at it anymore.” The maid took the photo down. I returned to my room. Not long after I lay down, my bedroom door was pushed open. Chloe walked in, carrying a cup of hot tea. This was the first time I had actually faced her since arriving in this future. She wore a simple white dress. With her delicate features and fragile frame, she easily triggered a man’s instinct to protect her. Chloe smiled as she approached, placing the tea on the nightstand. “Well, Stella, it seems your little drama didn’t work out.” “You fought so hard for so many years, but in the end, you still had to let me move in through the front door.” I looked at her calmly. “Women like you are dime a dozen in the Sterling family. No matter how much Ethan favors you, you still need the wife’s permission to live in this house.” “If you’re really that capable, kick me out and take my place as the official Mrs. Sterling.” Chloe’s face twisted in anger. “What do you have to brag about?” “I am the woman Ethan loves most now!” “He chased you for three years, and loved you for three years after marriage. That’s only six years in total.” “But he and I have been together for seven years now!” Seven years. Those words felt like a knife driving deep into my chest. The pain made me turn pale, my lips trembling. I couldn’t utter a single word. Just as I was about to kick her out, a flash of malice crossed Chloe’s eyes. She suddenly grabbed the cup of hot tea and poured it directly onto her own arm without a second thought! “Ah!” A piercing scream echoed through the room. Almost instantly, the bedroom door was kicked open. Chloe’s eyes welled with tears, her voice shaking. “Ethan, don’t blame Stella… I just wanted to show her respect by serving her tea. She probably found me eyesore and got angry…” Before she could finish, her tears fell. Ethan rushed over and looked at me, his eyes burning with fury. “You should know the rules of this house, Stella. Now that Chloe is here, she has the same rights and status as you. You have no right to bully her!” I propped myself up. “I didn’t touch her. She poured it on herself.” “Still lying?” Ethan turned to the bodyguards standing at the door. “Go. Bring up ten cups of boiling tea.” Two heavy-handed bodyguards immediately pinned my shoulders down. Ethan gripped Chloe’s hand, guiding her to pick up the first cup of boiling tea. The moment the hot liquid splashed onto my skin, a searing, unbearable pain exploded across my arm. The second cup. The third cup. The scalding water kept pouring down. My arm quickly turned bright red, and painful blisters began to bubble up. I bit my lip so hard it bled. My mind flashed back to many years ago. Back then, I had only nicked my finger on a broken piece of porcelain, and Ethan had rushed me to the hospital, his eyes red with worry as he said, “Stella, I can’t bear to see you in pain.” But now, as ten cups of boiling tea scalded my flesh, he didn’t even blink. When the last cup was poured, I was trembling so hard I could barely sit up. Ethan coldly let go of my hand. “Remember, this is your first warning.” “Do it again, and it won’t just be tea.” With that, he wrapped his arm around Chloe and walked out. The door slammed shut. I collapsed onto the floor, the pain so intense I almost blacked out.

Ethan had left a strict order before leaving: no one was allowed to treat my burns. All night, my wounds became severely infected, and I developed a dangerously high fever. I lay on the bed, drifting in and out of consciousness. One moment, I was dreaming of my father falling from the top of his office building, his blood pooling on the pavement before my eyes. The next, I was in the cold, white hallway of the hospital, the doctor pulling off his mask and saying, “I’m sorry, we did everything we could.” Then, the scene shifted to my parents’ funeral. In front of their black-and-white portraits, I knelt on the ground, crying until I couldn’t breathe. “Dad, Mom, I was wrong… I loved the wrong person…” My body was burning up, my lips cracked and bleeding as I muttered. “Water…” Soon, someone actually lifted my chin gently and slowly poured warm water into my mouth. I struggled to open my eyes. But the moment I saw the face of the person beside my bed, I froze. “Mary? What are you doing here? Ethan gave strict orders… no one is allowed to come in.” Mary’s eyes were red, and she squeezed my burning hand, her tears spilling over. “Oh, Stella… You are the rightful lady of this house. How could he treat you like this?” “It’s all because of that Chloe. She’s young but so wicked, ruining another woman’s family. People like her will face karma!” Before I could warn her to leave, the bedroom door was pushed open. Chloe stood at the doorway. A smug, cold smirk flashed across her face, but her voice instantly turned soft and victimized. “Stella, I only came to check on you out of kindness.” “How could you and Mary humiliate me like this?” Ethan arrived shortly after. “Stella, is there no end to this?” “You’re already injured, and you’re still causing trouble. Do you want to be punished again?” At the word punished, Mary panicked and instantly fell to her knees. “Mr. Sterling, it has nothing to do with Stella!” “It was me! I couldn’t bear to see her like this, so I said a few bad words to Miss Bennett. Please, don’t blame Stella!” Ethan’s eyes darkened, but he also seemed to let out a breath of relief. He said coldly, “Since you’re the one stirring up trouble, you will take the punishment.” My pupils shrunk. “No…” I dragged myself to the edge of the bed, falling to the floor, and grabbed the hem of Ethan’s pants. “Mary is old. She can’t take any physical punishment. Ethan, punish me instead.” “I don’t have my parents anymore. Mary is the only person left in this world who cares about me.” Ethan’s face turned incredibly dark, and he let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Good.” “The only person left who cares about you.” “So in your heart, everyone in the Sterling family combined doesn’t even compare to a mere servant.” I stared up at him in shock. Ethan averted his gaze, looking down coldly at the kneeling Mary. “I will give you two choices.” “Either you take ten lashes according to the Sterling family rules.” “Or you pack your things and leave this house right now. From now on, you are no longer employed by the Sterlings, and you won’t be punished.” I clenched my fists against his trousers until my knuckles turned white. “Ethan, you can’t do this…” Mary looked at me on the floor, a look of utter despair in her eyes as she closed them. “I’ll leave.”

The next morning, Mary was packing her things to leave. I supported myself against the wall, dragging my weak body to the servants’ quarters. Before I reached the door, I heard Chloe’s voice from inside. “Search everything thoroughly. Don’t let her steal anything that doesn’t belong to her.” With a wave of her hand, two bodyguards immediately stepped forward and began tearing through Mary’s coat pockets. Chloe stood by, her smile widening. “Didn’t you call me a home-wrecker last night?” “Look at you now. You’re so old, yet you have no dignity left.” Overwhelmed by anger and humiliation, Mary suddenly clutched her chest, gasping violently for air. Seeing this, I instantly realized she was having a severe asthma attack. I forced myself to crawl forward, reaching for the inhaler that had fallen onto the floor. But just as my fingers brushed the plastic canister, Chloe snatched it away. “That’s her medicine! Give it back to me!” Chloe looked down at the small inhaler in her palm, then turned and walked out toward the garden. I stumbled and crawled as I chased after her. In the backyard garden, several of Ethan’s hunting mastiffs were kept inside a fenced enclosure. Hearing the commotion, the large dogs immediately grew restless and began to growl. Chloe raised her hand and casually tossed the inhaler over the fence. The canister rolled into the dirt, and the dogs immediately surrounded it. Chloe turned back, her smile innocent yet sadistic. “Stella, don’t you care about her the most?” “Then go in there and get her medicine.” Without a single second of hesitation, I climbed over the fence and dropped into the enclosure. Smelling the blood from my burned arm, the mastiffs immediately lunged at me. I was dragged to the ground. My back slammed hard against the stone steps, and the pain made me almost lose consciousness. Just when I thought I was going to be mauled to death, a furious roar echoed from behind. “Back off!” The dogs were quickly driven away. Ethan rushed into the enclosure, scooped my blood-soaked body into his arms, and carried me out. When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed. As soon as I opened my eyes, the nurse standing by my bed whispered gently, “Miss Rivers, please accept my condolences.” “The elderly lady, Mary… she was already gone by the time she arrived at the ER.” I stared at her blankly. It took a long time for those words to register. When they did, I coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. The last person in this world who truly loved me was gone. Sometime later, the door to my hospital room was pushed open again. Marcus Sterling, Ethan’s father, was wheeled in by his assistant. He slid a document onto my overbed table, his voice completely indifferent. “The divorce is finalized.” I mechanically reached out to take the papers. On the very day I had woken up in this future, I had secretly sent the old pre-nuptial agreement to Marcus. Marcus had never liked me anyway. He thought I was too stubborn and lacked the tolerance expected of a Sterling wife—meaning I couldn’t accept my husband having other women. So when he saw the agreement Ethan had signed ten years ago, he gladly helped me process the divorce behind Ethan’s back. “Ethan has his men stationed all over the hospital. You can’t walk out of the front door.” “I’ve arranged a helicopter on the rooftop. Leave North City immediately before he finds out.” Clinging to my battered body, I silently followed Marcus’s men up to the helipad. The wind was howling, whipping my hospital gown against my skin. I took one last look at the city that had imprisoned me for ten years. There wasn’t a single shred of regret in my eyes. As the helicopter lifted into the air, I closed my eyes. From this day forward, Ethan Sterling and I were finished.

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My husband, Ethan, is the captain of a massive ocean-going cargo ship. He spends ten months of the year drifting at sea. I always trusted him completely, but I had a little routine that no one else paid attention to. Every time his ship docked at the port for resupply, I would invite the Chief Mate’s wife, Mia, out for a few margaritas. Marcus, the Chief Mate, was a man of few words, but his wife Mia was a chatterbox who couldn’t hold her liquor. We would talk about neighborhood gossip and life on the ship. By the third drink, she suddenly leaned in close. “Your husband is so romantic,” Mia whispered, eyes shining. “Last month, when the ship docked in Marseille, he went out of his way to find a local artisan to make a custom set of ocean-wave diamond jewelry. A necklace, bracelet, earrings—the whole package. He even had the supply ship bring it back early. I’m so jealous.” I kept my voice low. “Oh? Really? That’s nice. I haven’t seen it yet.” I didn’t push for more details, and Mia, sensing something, quickly changed the subject. When I got home that night, I logged into the voyage manifest database. Under the Marseille port cargo-passenger registry, there was indeed a jewelry package. But the shipping address was not my home. The seas are unpredictable, and I realized it was time for me to get off this ship.

Shipping Address: Marina Bay Luxury Condos, Building 17, Penthouse 1203. Note: Must be signed by the recipient in person. Under no circumstances should this be handed over to family. I stared at those last ten words for a long time. Under no circumstances should this be handed over to family. Ethan and I had been married for six years. Before every voyage, he would leave his keys in the second drawer of the entryway console. He would always say, “Ava, I’m leaving the house in your hands.” So, I managed his estate, coordinated his family’s trust fund, and sent out notifications on WhatsApp to the crew’s families. I always thought I was his family. But on his cargo list, “family” was the very category of people forbidden from touching those diamonds. My phone buzzed on the table. It was a text from Ethan on Snapchat. Ethan: Just passed the Suez Canal. Signal is terrible. I replied with a single word. Ava: OK. He probably didn’t expect such a short reply. Two minutes later, he texted again. Ethan: Why didn’t you ask if I’ve eaten today? I closed the laptop with the voyage records. Ava: Have you eaten? He replied instantly. Ethan: Yeah, I ate. Looking at the screen, I let out a cold laugh. For someone with a “terrible signal,” he sure replied fast. The next morning, I drove down to Marina Bay Luxury Condos. It was the most expensive waterfront property in Port Serene, only a ten-minute drive from the docks. The security guard at the gate asked who I was looking for. I showed him the screenshot of the delivery receipt on my phone. “I’m here to verify a delivery for Penthouse 1203, Building 17.” When the guard saw the VIP delivery note, his attitude turned extremely polite. “One moment, ma’am. Miss Reed in 1203 happens to be home.” Miss Reed. I memorized the name. As the elevator went up, Ethan’s face appeared on my screen—a FaceTime request. I declined it. He called back three times. On the fourth attempt, he sent a text. Ethan: Where are you? I replied: At the grocery store. He quickly sent back: Don’t wander around too much. I’m not home, and you can’t handle things if something goes wrong. The elevator doors opened. The door to Penthouse 1203 was already ajar. A young woman stood there in a silk robe, the ocean-wave diamond necklace sparkling around her neck. Seeing me, her hand instinctively went to the diamonds. “Can I help you?” she asked. “I’m Ava Vance,” I said calmly. The smile on her face froze for a fraction of a second before she recovered her composure. “Ah, so you’re the wife.” The way she said “the wife” wasn’t polite, nor was it guilty. Chloe Reed invited me in. Several opened packages sat in the living room, with French artisanal wrapping paper scattered across the coffee table. I spotted the matching earrings, the bracelet, and a small card. The writing on the card was unmistakably Ethan’s. The waves belong to the one who truly understands the sea. During our first year of marriage, Ethan bought me a nautical watch. The strap was stiff and scratched my wrist. At the time, he told me, “A captain’s wife should wear something from the sea.” I wore that scratchy watch for six years. Meanwhile, he bought real ocean waves for someone else, claiming she was the one who “understood” him. Chloe poured me a glass of water. “Are you here to take them back, Mrs. Vance?” I didn’t touch the glass. “Ethan bought these diamonds. They were shipped to your address.” She smiled, leaning back. “Well, Mrs. Vance, you’ll have to ask him about that. Doesn’t the shipping address tell you exactly who they belong to?” “It does,” I said. I pulled out my phone and took a photo of the card on the table. Chloe reached out to block my camera. “You’re being very undignified.” I looked up at her. “And accepting diamonds from a married man is dignified?” Her face went cold. “Ethan must have told you. We knew each other long before you ever came into the picture.” I nodded. “So you’ve been waiting in line for six years? That must have been exhausting.”

Chloe didn’t expect me to say that. Slowly, she took off the necklace and placed it on the table. “If you want to take it, take it.” I didn’t move. She sneered, “But what’s the point of taking the jewelry? The person he wants to see when he’s out at sea is still me.” Her words didn’t hurt. It was just a pathetic little drama she played for herself. I stood up. “Keep the jewelry here for now. Don’t lose it.” Chloe frowned. “What do you mean?” “Someone will be auditing these assets soon,” I replied. As I reached the door, my phone rang. It was Ethan. I answered. He immediately barked through the speaker, “Ava, what the hell are you doing at Marina Bay?” I looked back at Chloe. She was staring down at her lap, her fingers still pressing on her secondary phone. Wow, she was fast. I asked Ethan, “How did you know I was here?” He paused for two seconds. “Chloe called and said some crazy woman was harassing her. I knew it had to be you.” “She’s not a stranger,” I said. “Since you bought her a diamond set, I figured we should get acquainted.” The other end of the line went dead silent. Then, suppressing his anger, he said, “That’s a gift for a client. Don’t start imagining things.” “A client?” “She does public relations for the port authority. She works with our shipping group.” I laughed out loud. “A PR partner who lives in a luxury condo under a note that says ‘do not hand over to family’?” Ethan said coldly, “Ava, don’t make me deal with your emotional tantrums while I’m out at sea.” I hung up. That evening, Helen burst through my front door. She was in such a rush she didn’t even take off her designer heels. “Did you go harass Chloe?” I was in the kitchen stirring some soup. “Did Ethan call you?” Helen threw her Chanel bag onto the sofa. “He is losing his mind out there, and you’re asking me who called? Ava, why are you becoming so unreasonable?” “My husband bought diamonds for another woman, and I’m the one being unreasonable?” Helen’s face darkened. “Ethan is a captain. He has to entertain clients. Men in his position have obligations they can’t avoid. You stay at home all day; you don’t understand how stressful the real world is.” I placed a photocopy of the shipping receipt on the dining table. “He can’t avoid obligations to this extent?” Helen glanced at it, barely paying attention. “It’s just a piece of jewelry. Are you starving for diamonds? If you want them so bad, wait until Ethan gets back and let him buy you a set.” “I don’t care about the diamonds,” I said. “I care about the lies.” Helen slammed her hand on the table. “Lied about what? Doesn’t he bring his paycheck home? Isn’t this luxury house paid for by his hard work at sea?” I stared at her. The down payment for this house came from the trust fund my father left me. I supervised the entire renovation myself. Ethan was at sea so often he couldn’t even remember the color of our bedroom curtains. Seeing my silence, Helen assumed I was backing down. “Tomorrow, you will apologize to Chloe. Let this matter drop. Don’t let your jealousy ruin Ethan’s chances of being promoted to Marine Superintendent.” I poured the soup into a bowl. “I won’t apologize.” Helen’s hand shook with rage. “Do you really think you’re indispensable? Being a captain’s wife gives you a very comfortable life. What are you without him?” I set the bowl down. “Without him, I get to be myself again.”

Ethan arrived at the port five days later. I didn’t go to the docks to meet him. Usually, when he docked, I would start preparing three days in advance. I’d change the sheets, stock the fridge with his favorite foods, and leave hangover cures in his car. This time, I stayed home, organizing corporate ledgers. When the front door unlocked, I was busy scanning the Marseille port records into my computer. Ethan dragged his suitcase in, still wearing his captain’s uniform. His eyes fell straight on the ledgers on the table, and his expression instantly hardened. “Ava, are you auditing me?” “Are you afraid of an audit?” He threw his captain’s hat onto the sofa. “I literally just stepped off the ship, and you want to fight?” “I’m not fighting.” He walked over and snatched the ledgers away. “Where did you get these?” “They’re the spouse copies. They’ve always been in my study.” He glared at me, clearly annoyed. “Stay out of ship business from now on.” I smiled. “When you used the ship’s supply channels to smuggle diamonds to Chloe, why didn’t you think about staying out of ship business?” My words choked him up. A few minutes later, he tried a different angle. “That diamond set isn’t what you think.” “Oh? What is it then?” “Chloe helped me out a lot in the past. She’s had a tough couple of years, and I just wanted to give her a nice gift.” “You gave her diamonds,” I said. “What did you bring me?” An irritated look flashed across his face. “Do you have to compare yourself to her?” I remained silent. He rummaged through his suitcase, pulled out a small plastic bag, and tossed it onto the table. “I brought you this.” Inside was a cheap refrigerator magnet from a port souvenir shop; the price tag on the back hadn’t even been peeled off. Two Euros. I put the magnet back into the bag. Ethan’s face grew darker. “Still not satisfied?” “Do you honestly think I should be?” I asked. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ava, I am exhausted at sea. Chloe understands shipping, and she understands the pressure I’m under. You’re constantly obsessing over these trivial things. Don’t you find it exhausting?” In his eyes, a complete set of custom diamonds was a trivial matter, just as our six-year marriage was not worth mentioning. I unlocked my phone and held up the registration records of Marina Bay Luxury Condos. “You said she was a client. Does a client live in an apartment registered under your name for temporary parking and access?” “Who told you that?” “The security guard.” He snatched my phone from my hand. He scrolled through the album, realized I had already backed up the files, and his hand froze. “What do you actually want, Ava?” “A divorce,” I said. He froze. Then, he laughed. “Ava, stop trying to threaten me with divorce. How would you even survive without me? You’ve been out of the workforce for so many years. You have zero corporate skills. Without me, you are nothing.” I looked at him calmly. “You’ve never actually asked me what assets I hold, have you?” He tossed the phone back onto the table. “You’ve stayed at home for too long. Your worldview is too small, and you’re too naive.” That night, he voluntarily moved into the guest room. At 1:00 AM, I heard his muffled voice through the wall. The door wasn’t fully closed, and his voice was kept low. “Don’t worry, she can’t make any real waves. She’ll throw a fit for a few days, and then it’ll blow over.” “Keep the diamonds. Don’t return them. I bought them for you anyway.” “My mother will handle her. She won’t actually go through with a divorce.” I stood in the dark hallway, listening in silence. So, in his eyes, all my heartbreak and humiliation were just minor inconveniences that would blow over in a few days.

The next evening, the shipping company hosted a homecoming VIP gala for Ethan. Helen called me early in the morning, demanding I attend. “If you don’t go, what will people think of Ethan?” “Is Chloe going?” I asked. Helen grew impatient. “Chloe is a partner of the firm. Of course she’ll be there. Don’t be so petty.” I went. I wore a sleek black evening dress and left my wedding ring at home. The gala was held at the Port Serene Harbor Hotel. When I entered the private dining room, Chloe was already seated to Ethan’s left. She was wearing a white dress, and around her neck was the ocean-wave diamond necklace. She was wearing the matching earrings, too. The entire set. She had it all on. When Helen saw me, she waved dismissively. “Ava, over here. Sit by the door. It’s easier for you to help the waiters with the dishes.” Ethan didn’t object. Chloe looked up, a soft, victorious smile playing on her lips. “Mrs. Vance, please don’t misunderstand. I only wore this set because we need to take promotional photos tonight. Ethan said I should keep it for now.” Some of the colleagues at the table began to tease. “Captain Vance has great taste. The ocean-wave style suits Miss Reed perfectly.” “He’s a captain. Only someone who knows the sea truly understands him.” “Don’t be jealous, Mrs. Vance. Miss Reed is one of us.” Ethan raised his glass. “Alright, guys, let’s not gossip.” He told them to stop, but the smug smile on his face was hard to hide. I sat near the door, and the waiter placed a plate of cold oysters in front of me. I have a sensitive stomach and can’t eat raw shellfish. Ethan used to know this. But right now, he was busy scooping hot soup for Chloe. Chloe stood up, holding her champagne glass, and walked over to me. “Mrs. Vance, let me toast to you. Ethan always tells me how hard you work taking care of things at home. I really admire you.” I stared at her necklace. “What else does he say about me?” Amusement danced in Chloe’s eyes. “He says you take care of every little detail perfectly… but you just can’t read the ocean in his heart.” The table went quiet for a second. Someone quickly laughed to break the awkward silence. “Well, that’s life as a captain’s family! Long distance is hard. Mutual understanding is key.” Helen whispered sharply from beside me, “Drink the toast. Don’t embarrass us.” Ethan looked at me. “Ava, let’s keep our private issues private. Don’t lose your dignity in public.” I picked up my glass. But I didn’t drink. I tipped the glass and poured the champagne right into the potted plant next to my chair. Chloe’s smile vanished. Helen slammed her hands on the table and stood up. “Ava Vance!” Ethan also stood up, reaching out to grab my arm. Just then, the door was pushed open, and Mia walked in. She looked slightly flushed, clutching a folded piece of paper in her hand. “Ava, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” She squeezed past the guests and shoved the paper into my hand, her voice frantic. “The Marseille supply logs… there wasn’t just a diamond set. There was also a signed spouse-authorization release form. It has your signature on it, but Marcus told me you never signed anything!” Ethan’s face drained of color. He lunged forward to grab the paper. I stepped back, unfolding the document. At the very bottom, in the signature line, my name, Ava Vance, was written in a clumsy imitation of my handwriting.

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Alpha Liam came to pick me up from the Pack Healer’s clinic. But when I reached the SUV, my best friend was already sitting in the passenger seat. She gave me a bright, dazzling smile. She didn’t make even the slightest move to get out. “Long time no see, Sophia. You don’t mind if I take the front seat, do you, Luna Sophia?” From the driver’s seat, Liam Blackwood didn’t say a word. He just changed the subject. “Why were you at the clinic so suddenly?” I opened the back door and slid inside. I could tell he hadn’t caught the scent of his pup on me. So, I didn’t tell him I was pregnant. “Just a minor injury. No big deal.” I wouldn’t have come to the joint Pack social tonight if I knew Maya was going to be here. I heard she was doing pretty well in the human world. If I had known, I would have stayed home. “Honestly, Sophia, you’re still as delicate as ever,” Maya scoffed, tapping the dashboard ornaments. “A tiny scratch heals in seconds for us wolves, yet you still run to the Healer. Talk about wasting pack resources.” She flicked one of the customized hanging charms I bought for the car. “And Liam, this SUV is worth a fortune. Why did you let her decorate it so gaudily? It doesn’t suit an Alpha at all.” Liam kept his eyes on the road, a low, amused chuckle escaping his throat. “She likes it.” “Ugh, I hate it. Such a badass car, ruined by a messy style.” “I can buy you one if you want. Do you want it?” “Please, stop acting like you’re my boss, Liam. If I’m not around, who’s going to keep you company at the bar?” The curve of Liam’s lips was incredibly charming. I hadn’t seen him smile like that in a very long time. The AC in the car was blasting, but my heart felt like it was being submerged in freezing water. I grabbed the light throw blanket next to me and wrapped it tightly around myself. “Cold?” Liam looked at me through the rearview mirror, his brow furrowing as he reached to turn down the AC. But Maya’s hand suddenly pressed down on his. “Oh, come on! I’m roasting! If Sophia is cold, she can just crack the window and get some fresh air. We’re almost there anyway. Just bear with it, Sophia.” Their hands rested naturally over one another. It wasn’t until Liam saw me nod in the mirror that he pulled his hand back to focus on driving. “One of you hates the cold, and the other hates the heat,” Maya joked. “I seriously don’t know how you two managed to live together all this time.” This time, Liam didn’t reply. I let out a soft laugh. “Have you forgotten, Maya? Back then, you were the one sneaking out with him every single day.” Liam remained silent. Maya lowered her head and started playing with her phone. The silence in the car felt thick, heavy with guilt. Maya and I grew up together. Her father was a warrior who died protecting the former Alpha, and her mother was a servant in my family’s estate. We used to share a bed. We dressed up dolls together. We stayed up late whispering about our future mates. But it took me a long time to realize that we had both fallen for Liam. In the beginning, I would occasionally invite Maya on our dates. Liam used to complain about it. But slowly, the dynamic shifted. In our trio, the person sent to buy drinks eventually became me. Sometimes, they would go to pack gatherings together. Without me. Because I hated loud parties and drinking. I didn’t like hiking, and I was terrified of their racing events. But Maya loved all of it. Even when she didn’t know how to do something, she was eager to learn. I never thought they were crossing the line. I actually thought I was lucky. My best friend and my boyfriend were also best friends. We felt like one harmonious family. Until one day, Maya made a bet with me. She bet on whether Liam would choose her or me. She lost the bet. But looking back, I didn’t win either.

Maya went abroad. Liam provided all her funding and sorted out her visa. She said she wanted to leave the Pack to see the human world, and he spared no expense to make it happen. As for me, I was the daughter of the Frost Moon Pack’s Alpha. Our marriage was a political alliance. Liam had no right to refuse me. The party was even more suffocating than I had anticipated. Someone had ordered a greasy garlic and anchovy pizza. The strong smell made my stomach churn instantly. I covered my mouth and excused myself from the table. The restroom was right inside the private dining suite, and the walls were paper-thin. So when Maya loudly announced to the room that she had returned to the pack to “chase her true love,” I heard every single word. The crowd erupted into rowdy cheers. “Who is lucky enough to have Maya chasing them? Tell us!” “Oh, I wouldn’t dare say. I don’t want to make a certain someone angry,” Maya teased. “Just say it,” Liam’s deep voice cut through. “Who would dare get mad at you? If anything, I’ll help you win them over.” “You promised,” Maya said, her voice dropping to a sultry purr. “Yeah.” “Well, that person is right in front of my eyes.” The room went dead silent. My breathing hitched inside the bathroom stall. Slowly, nervous laughter broke out. I heard Liam’s exasperated sigh. “Maya, stop fooling around.” I pushed the bathroom door open and walked out. I saw Maya sitting comfortably in my seat, leaning close to Liam. The lingering affection in her eyes hadn’t even faded yet. Liam was the first to stand up and walk toward me, his eyes full of concern. “Are you feeling better?” Just like many times before, a tiny gesture of care from him was enough to melt my anger. No matter what happened, as long as he reached out, I would swallow my pride and let it go. Because his dignity as the Alpha was always more important to me than my own feelings. And he had grown to take my compliance for granted. I looked up at his handsome face. Then, I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the cheek. The sharp *CRACK* echoed through the room. His cold, composed eyes went completely wide with shock. A sharp gasp erupted from the corner. Maya screamed. “Sophia Vance! Have you lost your mind?!” I ignored her. I just stared coldly at the man I had loved for years. “Liam Blackwood. I reject you as my mate.” Liam had always treated me well. As a mate, he was almost perfect. The laws of the Red Flame Pack were strict, and he knew exactly how an Alpha should treat his Luna. So, even after being slapped in public and publicly rejected, he only frowned. “Sophia, let’s go home and talk about this.” The rest of the pack members dared not make a sound. Only Maya piped up loudly, “Let’s talk nicely, Sophia. Don’t resort to violence. How about I come back with you guys? I can help…” I finally turned my gaze to her for the first time tonight. “Come back with us? Who the hell do you think you are?” Liam’s frown deepened. “Sophia, Maya is just trying to help. You don’t have to be so sensitive.” He hadn’t said a single word of defense for himself after getting slapped. Yet, the moment my tone got slightly sharp with Maya, he immediately rushed to protect her. My vision blurred with tears. But Maya’s tears fell faster than mine. “Sophia, was it because of the joke I made earlier? If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize.” She bowed her head, her tears dripping onto the carpet. I stared at her, my heart turning to ice. “You really don’t have to take it to heart,” Maya sobbed. “Liam and I always joke around like that. Everyone here knows it. I’ve just been away in the human world for too long, and I forgot that you two are officially mated now. It’s all my fault…” The other pack members finally started chiming in. “Yeah, Sophia, don’t be mad. She didn’t mean anything by it.” “You’re the Luna of our Pack. Maya knows her boundaries.”

“Sophia used to have such a sweet temper. I can’t believe she just slapped him like that…” “Maya is so straightforward and sweet. Honestly, I regret not hanging out with her more back then.” The whispers drifted into my ears. I laughed. The tears I was trying to hold back finally spilled over. “Maya, you know exactly what you’re trying to do.” Suddenly, Liam stepped in front of her. His tall, powerful frame shielded her completely from my gaze. “Sophia, when are you going to stop this childish behavior?” I stared at his swelling cheek. The red mark on his otherwise flawless, aristocratic face made him look human for once. But the righteous, cold judgment in his eyes remained intact. He looked like a judge sitting high on a bench, looking down at me with pity and sternness. The drama finally ended under Liam’s quick arrangements. This time, Maya didn’t get to ride in my passenger seat. Liam hailed an Uber for her. Through the window, I saw him nodding to her reassuringly, whispering something to the driver. It looked exactly like that summer afternoon in the school parking lot years ago. Someone had nudged me to look forward. I had watched Maya skip happily into his car. Liam had ruffled her hair, speaking softly to the driver. His expression back then was so incredibly gentle. During those days, they would hang out with mutual friends. I thought that was just their dynamic. I didn’t know they also hung out alone, with nobody else around. Back then, Maya was young, wild, and bold. She had pressed a kiss to her palm and then smacked it playfully onto Liam’s cheek. When he looked shocked, she laughed until her face turned red. I had stood there, completely paralyzed by the scene. A thousand warnings from people around me couldn’t compare to seeing it with my own eyes. The sharp slam of the car door snapped me out of my thoughts. Seeing that I was sitting in the back seat instead of the front, Liam let out a tired sigh. “Sophia, Maya didn’t sit in the passenger seat to make a statement. She literally just wanted to feel the AC better.” His tone was incredibly sincere. Usually, when he used this tone, my anger would already be half-gone. By the next minute, I would have crawled back to the front seat. And if he bought me a diamond necklace at the next pack auction, the matter would be swept under the rug. But when it came to Maya, I could never let it go again. “Liam, since we mated, you have never let anyone else sit in my seat.” The SUV sat idling. Liam suddenly pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He knew I despised the smell of smoke. Yet, he lit it in the cramped, enclosed space of the car. “I thought you’d be happy to see Maya,” he said, blowing a cloud of smoke. “You two used to be inseparable. Weren’t you?” I let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, absolutely. We were so close we almost shared a boyfriend.” Silence fell over the car. Forced to breathe in his secondhand smoke, I rolled down my window. He threw the half-burnt cigarette out of the window, his voice sounding raspy. “Back then, looking at her just reminded me of you. That’s why I had more patience with her. But I only ever saw her as one of the guys…” The car was dark. I lowered my head, a single tear slipping from my eye and soaking into my clenched fist. “Did you know?” I whispered. “She once got drunk and cried to me. She said she wished she was born a guy so you wouldn’t be so guarded around her. So you wouldn’t have distanced yourself from her.” I knew about that night because Maya had shown me the video recording herself. The triumph in her eyes was unmistakable. She had told me that from that moment on, Liam only stayed with me for duty, not love.

Perhaps she was right. At the very least, I knew he had never argued with me like this over anyone else. “She didn’t grow up rich like you did,” Liam said, his voice cold. “She built her life through sheer hard work. Even if you hold a grudge, you shouldn’t judge her without hearing her out.” “She wanted to surprise you today.” A sharp pain squeezed my chest. Then came his deeply disappointed voice. “Sophia, there is nothing going on between Maya and me. Why can’t you just leave her alone?” He wanted me to leave Maya alone. But when did Maya and he ever leave me alone? I chose silence. I refused to speak to him. He didn’t force me. He just slammed on the gas. A twenty-minute drive took us barely ten minutes. But when I got out of the car, Maya was already standing at our front door. She immediately raised her hands in mock surrender and stuck her tongue out. “I’m just here to pick up some of my things. I’ll leave right away.” Liam had set up her job in the human world. It was only natural they had professional business together now that she was back. I had prepared myself for that. But I hadn’t expected Liam to let her stay the night. Looking at his stubborn jawline, I knew he was still furious. This was his way of telling me that he ran this house. And I had no choice but to accept it. When his gaze swept over me, I knew what he was waiting for. He was waiting for me to beg, to apologize, so he could graciously ask Maya to leave. But I didn’t. I just quietly walked past them and went upstairs. Maya was given the guest room at the very end of the hallway. Before going to bed, she knocked on my door to say goodnight and apologize again. I locked the door in her face and went to sleep. But I couldn’t sleep. So when the man beside me quietly got out of bed in the middle of the night, I noticed instantly. I kept my eyes closed, letting the hot tears slide silently down my temples. The hallway light was on. The door to our home bar, which was barely ever used, stood wide open. “Liam, this is incredible! It’s exactly how I described my dream bar to you back then.” “I’m glad you like it. I was worried it might look a bit outdated now.” “No way! I’m so touched…” I leaned against the hallway wall, my knees trembling. When we were renovating this house, Liam insisted on designing the home bar himself. He was incredibly picky about every single detail. I hadn’t understood why. He hadn’t cared about any other room in the house. Only the bar. He hadn’t allowed me to touch a single thing in it. It turned out it was all for Maya’s dream. He probably dreamed of living in this house with her every single day. Too bad my existence got in the way. I dragged my numb body back to bed. Liam didn’t return to our room for the rest of the night. And the very last shred of love I had for him finally withered away. At dawn, I got up. I booked an appointment on my phone, reserved a hotel suite, packed a few clothes into a small duffel bag, and walked out the door. I didn’t even look at the open door of the home bar as I passed it. By the time Liam realized I was gone, I was already sitting in my hotel room. My phone rang continuously. I patiently watched it light up. After the fifth call ended, it finally went silent. I knew Liam wouldn’t call again. His patience with me was always limited. Besides, the Frost Moon Pack had been struggling lately, and my father desperately needed the Red Flame Pack’s financial support. Otherwise, my father’s position as Alpha would be in jeopardy. Liam was sure I was just throwing a tantrum. He believed I would never dare to actually leave him.

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I was born with extreme pain sensitivity. A simple push feels like being pricked by a thousand needles. A single slap leaves me in agonizing pain. My mother said it was the curse of our witch bloodline—our bodies are too sensitive, able to feel even the slightest wrinkles of fate. On her deathbed, she told me this sensitivity would guide me to my fated one. Later, Alpha Victor of the Moonclaw Pack told me: “You are my fated mate, my very life!” Because of our blood-bond, any pain I feel is transmitted to him, magnified tenfold. When his family’s arranged fiancée pinched my arm, Alpha Victor spasmed in agony and immediately terminated all business partnerships with the Linwoods. His mother, the former Luna, slapped me: “Take a million dollars and stay away from my son!” My cheek burned like fire. The next second, Alpha Victor went into shock from the phantom pain and threw his own mother into the Pack prison. Since then, the entire werewolf world knew Alpha Victor’s golden rule: “If she frowns even once, I will crush your bones!” Yet, the daughter of the Ice Wolf Pack’s Alpha, who had just returned from overseas, didn’t know this. She kicked open my dorm door with her minions: “How dare a low-life human like you seduce Alpha Victor!” The next second, I was dragged toward the abandoned outpost, feeling completely hopeless… ***

The grip on the back of my neck was brutal. As two Pack warriors dragged me toward the abandoned warehouse, students along the hallway stuck their heads out to watch. Their whispers felt like tiny needles piercing straight into my brain. The warrior holding me gripped so tightly that his claws dug through my clothes and into the flesh of my arm. It hurt. I clenched the hem of my shirt, my eyes burning with tears. I had been like this since I was a child. When others pushed me lightly, I would hurt for hours. Now, with the warriors’ knuckles squeezing my wrist bone like steel pliers, waves of intense pain flooded my entire body. “Still acting tough? Who do you think you are?” “Why are you crying? Stop playing the victim!” Ivy Linwood sauntered over to me in her four-inch stilettos. Her fingers, painted blood-red, flew up. *Slap!* She struck my face right in front of everyone. She was the eldest daughter of the Ice Wolf Pack’s Alpha. The Linwood family sat on the board of trustees at Northwood University. She had just returned from Europe, only to find that her Alpha had been taken by a human with witch blood. To her, this was a double insult. She hated witches, and she despised humans. Ten minutes ago, when she kicked my dorm door open, I was typing my thesis on my laptop. Before I could even finish a sentence, she splashed half a cup of iced soda all over me. “How dare a human with witch blood seduce Alpha Victor?” She shrieked so loudly that the entire dorm floor poked their heads out. Those curious, mocking, and gossiping stares fell on my face. Shame and anger rushed through me, choking back any words of defense. The warrior behind me shoved me forward. I stumbled, my arm twisted behind my back. My joint let out a sharp pop. The agonizing pain shot straight to my brain, making my vision go dark. “What are you doing! I’ve already notified the Pack Enforcement!” My roommate, Chloe, rushed over to stop them, only to be shoved hard against the wall by a warrior. Her phone slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor. Ivy sneered, stepping over my scattered belongings, and ordered the warriors to keep moving. “Pack Enforcement?” she laughed arrogantly. “Even if you take this to the Pack Tribunal, it’s useless. The Linwood family owns this school. You’re just a witch-blooded human who barged in here by seducing Victor. What are you, anyway?” I looked at my printed thesis and notes, now covered in muddy footprints. My twisted arm was still throbbing with pain. A tear slipped down and splashed onto the back of my hand. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, but my pain-hypersensitive body made it impossible to control. Seeing this, Ivy mocked: “Oh, look at you. Who do you think you are, playing the fragile victim?” Just as she raised her hand to deliver another slap to my face. A voice roared from the end of the hallway: “Stop right there!” The man leading the way was Alpha Victor’s Beta deputy, Derek. Behind him stood four uniformed Pack warriors, lined up in perfect formation. Derek looked at Ivy with a cold sneer, his voice freezing the air: “Miss Linwood, I suggest you don’t do anything stupid.” “If anything happens to Miss Whitmore, I’m afraid you won’t survive the consequences. She is our Alpha’s Fated Mate. Harming her is a direct declaration of war against the Moonclaw Pack.” Ivy froze for two seconds, then burst into a mocking laugh. She took a step forward, completely unfazed. She pointed her long fingernail right at Derek’s nose, her tone dripping with arrogance: “Who do you think you are? A mere dog of the Moonclaw Pack dares to block my path?” “Watch your tongue. I’ve known Victor for over a decade. A Beta like you dares to play the hero here?” She cursed as she shoved Derek’s shoulder, glaring at him bossily: “Get the hell out of my way! Let me teach this girl a lesson. When Alpha Victor arrives, I’ll make him fire you on the spot!”

Ivy turned her glare back to me. “Sage, don’t think you’re special just because you got a Beta deputy to back you up. He’s nothing but a Pack dog. I don’t give a damn about him!” Derek’s expression turned utterly cold. The polite, professional smile on his face vanished. Nobody liked being called a dog. But Ivy, spoiled her entire life, completely ignored the dangerous shift in the room. She kept mocking me, starting rumors on the spot: “Your mother died early, and your grandmother is paralyzed in bed. You couldn’t even afford tuition. Didn’t you sell your body to get your name on the Vance Industries internship list?” With every word she spoke, the murmurs around us grew louder. Several classmates who didn’t know me began to believe her lies. “Wait, is her family really that broke?” “No wonder she never eats at the nice diners. She’s desperate for cash.” “Could Ivy be telling the truth? The Vance Industries internship is almost impossible to get. How could a poor orphan get chosen over everyone else?” “Yikes. She looks so innocent, but she’s actually so wild behind closed doors.” I dug my fingernails deep into my palms, turning them white. My slapped cheek was still burning, and my twisted arm throbbed. I couldn’t even tell what hurt more anymore. I wanted to cry, I was furious that she was spreading disgusting rumors, and I was terrified that everyone would believe them. It was true that I was poor. Even though my mother was a witch, I didn’t inherit any magical talent except for this hyper-sensitive body. My grandma had been paralyzed from a stroke for five years. Her medical bills were over four thousand dollars a month. I worked three part-time jobs and studied late into the night to keep my scholarship just to pay for school. But I got the Vance Industries internship fair and square. I beat out over three thousand applicants through five rounds of brutal interviews. I had nothing to be ashamed of. Yet, the words clogged in my throat. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. The blood rushed to my head, and my ears buzzed. Standing beside me, Derek saw my pale face and the endless tears streaming down. His expression changed instantly. Only he knew what this meant. One night a year ago, Ivy had hired a group of thugs to corner me in a dark alley behind the campus. They dragged me to a corner and beat me. As I curled into a ball, one of my ribs snapped. The agonizing pain surged through my body like electricity. I nearly blacked out. At that exact moment, Alpha Victor was hosting a routine meeting in the Pack council hall. In the middle of his speech, his face turned deathly pale. He clutched his chest and collapsed to the floor. The Pack elders panicked. The healers from the Silver Moon Clinic rushed in, but his vitals were perfectly normal—except for a massive, dark purple bruise that rapidly formed on his chest, right where I had been kicked. The healers were baffled. Victor couldn’t explain where the pain came from either. Over the next few months, similar phantom pains occurred. Sometimes, while signing documents, his arm would feel as if it were being sliced by a blade, yet his skin remained intact. Sometimes, he would wake up gasping in the middle of the night, feeling as if he were being strangled, though there were no marks on his neck. The Pack doctors ran every test possible—brain CTs, cardiac ultrasounds, blood analysis. Everything was normal. Some elders even feared he had been cursed by a rival pack. They brought in the Elder Luna to perform a blessing ceremony, but nothing changed. Until one day, Victor visited Northwood University. I happened to run into Ivy in the hallway. She slapped me in front of everyone, her nails scratching my face. The instant the sharp pain registered in my brain, Victor, who was in the principal’s office, dropped his coffee cup. He collapsed to the floor, clutching his face, his shirt soaked in cold sweat. The principal was terrified, thinking he had been poisoned. When the school doctor examined Victor’s cheek, they watched the skin turn red and swell up in real-time, exactly as if he had just been slapped. At that moment, Victor finally understood. It wasn’t a curse. I was his Fated Mate. A witch’s daughter had become the fated mate of an Alpha werewolf. Fate had forged a unique bond between us. My physical pain was transmitted to him through the blood-bond, magnified tenfold. Every time I was bullied, beaten, or hurt, he felt ten times the agony instantly. If I were to be fatally injured, his heart might literally stop. Only Derek knew about this secret. That was why Victor had ordered him to watch over me twenty-four hours a day. Anyone who dared to make me suffer would pay with their lives. Derek’s voice was tense as he roared at the warriors: “What are you waiting for? Confiscate the phones of anyone who recorded videos or spread rumors! Note down their names. The Pack Tribunal will issue subpoenas to every single one of them!” Seeing Derek panic, Ivy became even more arrogant. “Oh? Are you sleeping with her too? Is that why you’re protecting her so desperately?” “The way this dog guards its bone is hilarious.” She snatched my canvas bag from the side and slammed it onto the floor. That bag held my grandma’s imported medication. As the bag hit the floor, the plastic bottles shattered. The yellow pills scattered everywhere, rolling into the dirt, ruined. “Go on, pick them up,” Ivy sneered, her eyes dripping with malice. “Don’t you dogs love fetching things?”

My fingers trembled violently. I bent down to reach for the pills that hadn’t touched the dirt yet. But a stiletto heel stomped down first, crushing the pills into powder. The yellow dust mixed with the dirt, completely useless now. “Pick them up! Why did you stop?” Ivy laughed hysterically. “Is it too dirty? How about you lick it off the floor, and I’ll buy you ten new bottles. Deal?” I snapped my head up to look at her, my eyes bloodshot. Derek’s face was dark as thunder. He threw a heavy punch, knocking down the warrior guarding Ivy. The other Pack warriors jumped in, pinning Ivy’s minions to the ground. Derek rushed over to me. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, blocking me from the prying eyes of the crowd. He spoke in a whisper, terrified of triggering my panic: “Miss Whitmore, it’s okay. I will get the exact same medicine from the Silver Moon Clinic immediately. Don’t be scared. I’m here.” I leaned against his arm, shivering. My tears soaked into his jacket, leaving damp circles. I thought this nightmare was finally over. But Ivy, seeing her people pinned down, didn’t look scared at all. Instead, she laughed even wilder. The pure malice in her eyes made my blood run cold. “You’re quite a fighter, aren’t you, Derek?” “You think you can protect her? Let me tell you, even if God Himself came down today, he would still beg me on his knees!” Derek’s voice turned murderous: “Ivy Linwood, you are begging for death. Alpha Victor will destroy you!” “Destroy me?” Ivy laughed. She swiped her screen and thrust the phone right in front of my face. “Let’s see who destroys whom!” I looked at her screen. In an instant, my blood turned to ice. The screen showed an abandoned warehouse with damp concrete floors and no windows. My grandma was lying on a rusted cot in the middle of the room. An IV needle was taped to her thin, frail hand. The IV bag hung from a rusty pole, swaying in the wind. I could see the blood backflowing into the tube. Two burly men with full-sleeve tattoos stood nearby, smoking and playing mobile games. The camera zoomed in on Grandma’s face. She seemed to hear something. She opened her cloudy eyes, struggling to turn her head. She opened her dry mouth, her voice raspy: “Sage… Sage, where are you? I’m so cold…” My brain went completely blank. She was my only family in this world. I had no parents. My grandma had raised me by collecting recyclables. After her stroke last year, I worked myself to the bone to put her in the best care facility in the city. I spent most of my salary on a one-on-one nurse just to make sure she was comfortable and could stay with me a few years longer. And Ivy had dragged her out of that warm facility and thrown her into a freezing dump. “Look at her, so pathetic,” Ivy’s voice crawled over me like a venomous snake. “I paid off the facility’s night nurse. Nobody knows where your grandmother is. Only I do.” “Now, get down on your knees and beg me. Give me ten hard head-bows on the floor, then take this box cutter and slash your own face. Only then will I consider releasing her.” “Otherwise, I’ll call my men right now and tell them to pull her plug. If she dies, don’t blame me.” I shook like a leaf, my heart aching as if it were being torn out and crushed. Tears poured down my face, drowned out by Ivy’s triumphant laughter.

Seeing Grandma on the screen, Derek lunged to grab Ivy’s phone. “Ivy Linwood, you’re out of your mind! Kidnapping a human is a direct violation of the Peace Treaty! The human government will get involved! If you release her now, I can still show some mercy. Otherwise, you’ll rot in the Pack dungeons forever!” Ivy dodged his grasp, her finger tapping the call button. She put it on speaker. The tattooed man’s voice came through instantly: “Ivy, what’s the plan? Do we pull the plug now?” Ivy tilted her chin up, looking down at me with cold malice: “Sage, you heard him. I’m counting to three. If you’re not on your knees, they pull the plug.” “Three.” “Two.” All the strength drained from my body. Grandma’s raspy coughing echoed from the speaker. I couldn’t lose her. My knees buckled, and I slammed onto the hard concrete. “One.” Ivy stopped counting, bursting into a smug laugh. “Well, look at you, so obedient. Go on, ten head-bows. Don’t skip a single one.” Derek desperately tried to pull me up. “Miss Whitmore, don’t do this! Alpha Victor is almost here! I’ve already sent a team to rescue your grandmother!” The phone in Derek’s pocket vibrated madly. Victor’s name flashed brightly on the screen. Before Derek could answer, Ivy kicked his wrist. His phone flew and smashed against the wall, going completely black. “Alpha Victor, Alpha Victor… all you do is bark his name. When I talk to Victor later, you’ll be the first one he executes.” Ivy sneered, nodding at me: “Start bowing. Don’t waste my time. My patience is running thin.” I bit my lip, forcing my forehead down against the cold concrete. *Thud.* The first impact brought a dull, throbbing pain. Tears splashed onto the floor. *Thud.* The second one. Ivy laughed harder: “Harder! Did you not eat today?” People around us whispered. Some took out their phones to record, some shook their heads, and some said I deserved it. The third, the fourth… By the tenth time, my forehead was cut open. Blood trickled down my temple, dripping onto my white hoodie, blooming into bright red stains. I gasped, propping myself up on the floor. My vision was blurry. The wound on my forehead burned, throbbing with sharp pain. “Not bad. Very obedient.” Ivy nodded in satisfaction. She pulled a box cutter from her bag, clicked the blade out, and threw it onto the floor in front of me. “Now, ruin your face. The deeper the cuts, the happier I’ll be. If I’m satisfied, I’ll let your grandmother go.” I stared at the silver blade, my fingers trembling. If I cut my face, Grandma would live. Seeing my hesitation, Ivy frowned and kicked my arm. “Hurry up! Stop stalling! If you don’t do it, I’m pulling the plug!” “What, you can’t bear to ruin this pretty face? Still hoping to seduce another Alpha with it?” I gritted my teeth and reached for the box cutter. The moment my fingers touched the cold metal, the wound on my forehead bled faster. The bruises on my knees throbbed. Fear and anger surged through me at once. My vision darkened, my tears mixing with the blood on my face. I could barely breathe. Just as I raised the blade to my cheek, a thunderous roar echoed from the hallway. “STOP!” Everyone turned to look. Through my blurry, blood-tinted vision, I saw Alpha Victor standing in the doorway. His usually neat hair was a wild mess. His face, normally cold as ice, was covered in tears. His eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were completely pale. The hallway fell into a dead silence. Seeing Victor covered in tears, Ivy assumed he had cried out of worry for her. “Victor!” She sprinted toward him in her high heels, her voice dripping with fake sweet sorrow. “You’re finally here! This woman and Derek teamed up to bully me! You have to punish them!” Before her hand could even touch his sleeve, he swerved away. Without sparing her a single glance, Victor strode straight to me and dropped to his knees. His fingers trembled as he gently brushed the bloody hair away from my forehead. I stared at his red eyes, at the tears streaming down his face—the physical manifestation of my pain, magnified ten times and sent directly to him. “Victor… tell your Ice Wolf heiress…” I whispered, my voice cracking. “What happens to you… if I feel too much pain?”

By the time I finished my question, the blood from my forehead had seeped into my eyes. Everything in front of me was stained a blurry red. My forehead burned, my slapped cheek stung like hot iron, and my nerves were stretched to the breaking point by fear and anger. I forced myself to hold onto consciousness, waiting for his answer, but my mind was slipping away like loose sand. Before darkness took me, I saw Victor’s face turn paper-white, tears pouring from his eyes. He tried to reach out to catch me, but his own knees buckled first. Two heavy *thuds* echoed. We collapsed onto the cold concrete floor, one after the other. The crowd erupted into chaos. Ivy, who had been frozen in shock, panicked completely. “Victor! Victor! What’s wrong with you?” Derek’s heart nearly stopped. I had passed out from the pain, which meant Victor was currently feeling ten times that agony—a level of pain that could literally kill him. “Call the Silver Moon Clinic ambulance! Now!” “Confiscate every single phone! Delete everything they recorded! If a single word of this leaks out, the Pack Tribunal will seize your entire family assets!” Several Pack warriors charged into the crowd, grabbing phones and wiping every photo and video, even clearing the deleted folders. Ivy was still screaming, trying to get to Victor, but the warriors pinned her to the floor. Derek immediately dialed the Pack Enforcement. *** When I finally woke up, the sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose. It was the Silver Moon Clinic—it smelled similar to human hospitals, but with a faint, herbal undertone unique to werewolf healers. The wound on my forehead had been bandaged. It felt cool and barely hurt. Seeing me stir, the healer sitting by my bed smiled warmly. “You’re finally awake. Don’t worry, your grandmother has been brought to the clinic’s VIP suite. Our specialists checked her over. She just caught a mild cold. She’ll be discharged in a couple of days after some IV fluids.” The heavy weight on my chest finally lifted. As I tried to sit up, I heard rustling from the bed next to mine. I turned my head. Victor was lying on the neighboring bed, an IV drip in his hand. His face was pale, almost translucent, with dark circles under his eyes. The moment he saw me open my eyes, he struggled to sit up, causing the blood to backflow into his IV tube. “You’re awake,” he rasped, his voice incredibly hoarse. His trembling fingers reached out to touch my bandage. “When you blacked out… I felt like I was dying.” The tenfold suffocating, crushing pain had felt like being submerged in freezing water. Every single heartbeat felt like a knife twisting in his chest. In his twenty-eight years of life, he had never been so close to death. Just then, the door pushed open. Derek walked in carrying some takeout. Seeing us both awake, he let out a sigh of relief, though his face remained grim. “Alpha Victor, Miss Whitmore. We have a problem.” “Ivy Linwood is throwing a tantrum at the Pack Enforcement headquarters. She’s claiming Miss Whitmore faked the fainting to frame her. She even contacted your mother, the former Luna, telling her that Miss Whitmore is using a witch’s spell to control you. The former Luna is already on her way here.” “Also, those gossiping students leaked some edited videos onto the school forum before we could wipe them. Now everyone online is calling Miss Whitmore a homewrecker who seduced you, driving Ivy to despair.” Victor let out a cold, chilling laugh. “First, have the Pack Tribunal issue immediate subpoenas. Every Pack member involved in spreading those rumors will be dealt with under the Pack Code and banished from our territory.” “Second, notify all allied Packs that we are terminating all trade with the Linwood family. Anyone who does business with them is an enemy of the Moonclaw Pack. I want the Linwoods stripped of their seat on the Council within three months.” “Third, Ivy Linwood assaulted my Fated Mate, violating the Supreme Protection Order of the Luna. Charge her with kidnapping and aggravated assault. Hand her over to the Pack Tribunal for trial.” Derek nodded quickly, turning to leave. But before he could reach the door, it was violently kicked open. The former Luna, Seraphina, marched in wearing a vintage Chanel tweed suit. Her face was flushed with rage. The moment she saw me, she lunged and slapped me across the face.

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After I got pregnant, Ethan came home less and less. I was left alone, dragging my heavy pregnant belly around, doing the laundry, cooking, and taking care of his bedridden, eighty-year-old mother. In the middle of the night, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen. I looked down, and fresh red blood had stained the bedsheets. Terrified, I called him, sobbing, begging him to take me to the hospital. But all I got from the other end of the line was his irritated roar. “Can you stop bothering me in the middle of the night? I’m extremely busy right now!” Cold sweat drenched my forehead. My body felt weak and useless. And then, through the receiver, I heard a woman’s sweet, soft coo next to him. “Stop it, Ethan… gentler~” Before I could even process it, the line went dead, leaving only a cold dial tone. When I woke up again, I felt nothing in my lower stomach. No kicking. No movement. I unlocked my phone, and a Snapchat notification popped up. It was a photo. In the picture, my fiancé was holding his secretary on his office desk, locked in a passionate, heated embrace. 0

In the past, if I saw my fiancé fooling around with another woman, I would have rushed to his office immediately to confront them. But now, looking at this photo, I felt absolutely nothing. It was as if my heart had died and been buried right alongside my unborn child. I slowly placed my hand on my flat belly. I had imagined this baby’s face so many times. Would he have my eyes? Or his father’s nose? Because I didn’t know the gender, I had even prepared two sets of baby clothes. Now, none of them would ever be worn. I had loved Ethan for ten long years. I chased him for a decade. On the night he finally proposed to me, I cried like a baby, thinking I was the happiest woman alive. I thought our love had finally won. I didn’t know that right after the proposal, he locked himself in the study with his buddies, drinking the night away. I heard his friend, Tyler, ask him, “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Amber to come back? You’re just going to marry any random woman?” I knew who Amber was. She was Ethan’s college girlfriend, the love of his life—the one that got away. And I was just the “random woman” in his friend’s eyes. That night, I stood frozen outside the study door for a long time, waiting for Ethan’s response. I desperately hoped he would say I wasn’t just “anyone,” that he actually loved me. But I waited and waited, only to hear three icy words from him: “It doesn’t matter.” As long as it wasn’t Amber, anyone would do. I guess that was my worth to him. “I know you don’t care, but Chloe is different,” Tyler sighed. “She’s chased you for ten years. Anyone can see how much she loves you. If you marry her and Amber comes back, how are you going to shake her off?” My heart turned to ice. Before we were even married, Ethan was already thinking about how to get rid of me. I clenched my fists. I was young, stubborn, and desperately in love. I believed that as long as I kept treating him well, he would eventually forget Amber and love me back. Looking back, I was so incredibly naive and stupid. Trying to use marriage to touch the heart of a man who doesn’t love you is just self-torture. Ethan’s heart was harder than stone. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t chip away even a fraction of it. I checked myself out of the hospital alone. The moment I walked through the front door of our house, I saw Ethan sitting on the sofa. Seeing me enter, his first words were a sharp scolding. “Where have you been all day? Look at the bathroom. Why haven’t you washed the laundry yet?” I didn’t say a word. If he had bothered to look at me for even two seconds, he would have noticed how deathly pale my face was. “Are you still throwing a tantrum over last night?” “I told you, I was busy at work. What are you crying about now?” In the past, whenever he came home, the house would be spotless, and a warm, delicious dinner would be waiting for him. I wanted him to feel the warmth of a home after a long day at the office. But now, I was done being his unpaid maid. My love for him had been completely chipped away, and I had nothing left to give. I took a deep breath, clenched my nails into my palms, and spoke quietly. “Ethan, let’s call off the engagement.” 0

Ethan had only proposed to me, but we had never registered our marriage, nor had we held a wedding. Our relationship was neither legally recognized nor publicly celebrated. In the past, I used to beg him for a real wedding, to give me a legal title. But my pleas were always met with his cold shoulders and silent treatment until I eventually stopped asking. Just like that, I lived with him for five years without a title. When I found out I was pregnant this year, I thought he would finally give our child a legitimate family. But then Amber came back, and the topic was buried again. In Ethan’s heart, no one was more important than Amber. Hearing me say we should call off the engagement, his face instantly darkened. “Chloe! Since when did you become so petty and narrow-minded?” “Just because I stayed late at the office and didn’t come home, you want to break up?” “I work so hard every single day. If you can’t help me with my business, can you at least show some understanding?” Understanding? Hadn’t I been understanding enough? During our five years of engagement, he lived like a king. He never had to lift a finger at home. I shielded him from every single domestic stress. I never asked questions I shouldn’t ask, and I even used my father’s business connections to help his company grow. What more did he want from me? Seeing my eyes well up with tears, Ethan impatiently pulled a pair of earrings from his pocket and tossed them onto the coffee table. “Here. Take it as an apology for last night.” I stared at the earrings. They didn’t even have a box. What Ethan didn’t know was that I had seen Amber wearing these exact earrings on her Instagram story. He was handing me Amber’s leftovers as charity. At that moment, my heart completely died. Thinking of my lost baby, a sudden wave of relief washed over me. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe my baby knew his father wouldn’t love him, so he chose not to come into this miserable family. Holding back my tears, I snatched the earrings and threw them right at Ethan’s face. “What do you take me for, Ethan? Am I a trash can for Amber’s garbage?” Ethan’s eyes widened in shock. He jumped up and roared, “Chloe! I’ve been way too nice to you! What the hell is your problem?” “Yes! Amber was with me at the office last night! So what? She is my secretary. Isn’t it normal for her to work late with me?” “We were in a rush for a meeting, so I hung up on you. Afterward, she was even sweet enough to pick out a gift for me to bring back to you!” “Why can’t you be more like her? Instead, you stay at home all day, acting paranoid and crazy like a hysterical housewife!” Ethan rarely got angry like this. Usually, he preferred silent treatment and cold shoulder. Silence was his weapon to make me submit. But whenever Amber was involved, he lost his temper instantly. He couldn’t stand anyone saying a single bad word about her. “Since you think Amber is so perfect, then me leaving is just perfect, isn’t it? I’m clearing the path for her.” Seeing how serious I was, Ethan kicked the coffee table in frustration. “Are you seriously doing this? You want to call off the engagement?” I nodded. I didn’t want to waste another second. “Chloe! Have you forgotten how you begged me to be with you ten years ago? Who do you think you are to dump me?” “Besides, you’re pregnant with my kid. If you leave me, who else is going to want a woman with baggage?” 0

To Ethan, the baby in my womb was just “baggage”? How pathetic. I watched his cold, retreating figure as he turned around and walked out. The pain in my stomach flared up, and I collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Chloe, oh Chloe. For the past ten years, you really lived your life as a joke. With a loud *slam*, the front door shut. I knew Ethan did that on purpose to show me he was angry. For the ten years I chased him and the five years we lived together, it was always like this. He would throw a tantrum, and then wait for me to crawl back and beg for his forgiveness. But not this time. I dragged myself up from the floor, leaning on the sofa. I walked into the bedroom, packed my clothes, and left without looking back. As I walked out of the building, a young girl accidentally bumped into my shoulder. I stopped. She quickly apologized with a polite bow and then ran right back into her boyfriend’s waiting arms. I remembered the first time Ethan ran toward me like that. I was in high school back then. On my way home, a group of girls cornered me in the woods behind the school. They had been bullying me for two years, constantly extorting money from me. Before I met Ethan, my life was a living hell. But that day, he appeared in those woods. He didn’t just beat those bullies off; he reported them to the school board, ending my nightmare once and for all. That single glance was the start of my ten-year obsession. From then on, I quietly followed him. I studied like crazy just to get into the same university as him. Every step of my youth had Ethan’s shadow in it. I spent three years transitioning from a mere acquaintance to his friend. I watched him date girl after girl in college, until he met Amber. I knew instantly that he had fallen hard. He was different with Amber. He overcame his extreme fear of heights to go bungee jumping with her, and he ate spicy hotpot with her even though it gave him terrible stomach ulcers. Later, when Amber went abroad, he was devastated for months, drowning his sorrows in alcohol every single day. That was probably his lowest point. I had never seen him sober. It was during that dark period that Ethan proposed to me. I knew he hadn’t forgotten Amber, but I wanted to gamble. I gambled that my love would eventually touch him. I gambled that one day, Ethan would open his eyes and love me back. During our five years together, Ethan gave me everything except a marriage certificate. He was attentive and took good care of me. Just when I thought I had finally won his heart… Amber came back. From the moment she set foot back in the country, Ethan started disappearing. He ignored my texts and treated me like air. Amber’s presence was a slap in my face, reminding me that my five years of devotion were nothing but a joke. I wanted to leave back then, but fate played a cruel trick on me. I got pregnant. I thought the baby was a sign from God to save our relationship. I thought the baby wanted me to try one last time. So, I tried to have an honest conversation with Ethan. I asked him to keep his distance from Amber, but he couldn’t do it. To him, my baby and I didn’t even compare to Amber’s little finger. The moment Amber shed a tear, he would drop everything and run to her, leaving me and the baby behind. Even on the night I called him in agonizing pain, he didn’t even bother to ask why. When he came home, all he did was yell at me. I lost this ten-year gamble. But thank God, I could still walk away with what was left of my life. 0

After moving out, I couldn’t find a permanent apartment right away, so I checked into a hotel close to the hospital for my follow-up checkups. Right after registering at the clinic, I ran straight into Amber. Seeing me, she jogged over with a sweet, mocking smile. “Oh, Chloe! Are you here alone? Why isn’t Ethan with you?” I stared at her coldly. I knew she was just trying to rub it in, so I ignored her and walked past. But Amber wouldn’t let me go. She followed me closely, and when she got bored of my silence, she stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “Oh, silly me, I almost forgot!” she giggled, tapping her forehead. “Ethan is actually here at the hospital with *me*. How could he be with you?” “I was feeling a little under the weather today—just a mild headache and a tiny cold. I told him it was no big deal, but he insisted on taking me to the clinic. He’s so overprotective of me.” She was practically glowing with smugness. I raised my eyes and asked flatly, “Are you done?” “Are you mad, Chloe?” Amber stared at my belly, then slowly reached out, placing her hand on my stomach. “You shouldn’t get so worked up. If you accidentally lose the baby because of your temper, Ethan will hate you even more.” A sharp pang of grief hit my chest. I violently slapped her hand away. Amber let out a dramatic cry and fell to the floor. And of course, right on cue, Ethan appeared. “Chloe! What the hell are you doing?!” he roared. Ethan rushed over, bending down to help Amber up. Amber clung to him, her eyes red and tearful, looking like a helpless victim. “Ethan, don’t blame her… I’m sure Chloe didn’t mean to push me.” “Say no more,” Ethan comforted her gently, wrapping his arm around her. “I saw everything. I won’t let her bully you.” Watching them play the loving couple right in front of me made my stomach churn with disgust. “Chloe, what is wrong with you?” Ethan glared at me. “First you run away from home, and now you’re stalking me? Are you playing hard to get to make me apologize?” “You’re about to be a mother, yet you’re acting so malicious! If I hadn’t arrived in time, would you have done something worse to Amber?” “I am truly disappointed that my child has such a jealous, spiteful mother!” I clenched my fists so hard my nails nearly drew blood. Disappointed in a mother like me? How laughably ironic! My baby was already gone. And Ethan still thought I was just jealous of Amber. “Stalking you? What makes you think you’re worth stalking?” “If I see two dogs barking on the street, I walk the other way. Why would I willingly step in dog crap?” “You—!” I didn’t care what else Ethan had to say. I turned to walk away. But after only two steps, Ethan grabbed my wrist tightly. “Did I say you could leave?” “Apologize to Amber. Right now.” Me? Apologize to Amber? In his dreams! I barely used any force when I brushed her hand off my stomach earlier. She had staged that fall completely for his benefit. Since she loved playing the victim so much, I decided to give her a real reason to cry. I marched right up to Amber and shoved her to the ground with all my strength. “You probably couldn’t see clearly from over there, Ethan. Now look closely. *This* is what a real push looks like.” Ethan froze in absolute shock. When he finally snapped out of it, a loud *slap* echoed through the corridor. He hit me right across the face. My body was still incredibly weak from the miscarriage, and Ethan had used his full strength. I stumbled backward, trying to grab the wall for support, but my legs gave out. I collapsed heavily onto the cold floor. Immediately, a dark red stain began to spread across my sweatpants. Ethan stared at the blood pooling underneath me, his face turning pale. He panicked and screamed, “Doctor! Doctor! Someone help! My pregnant wife is bleeding!” Within seconds, a team of doctors and nurses rushed over. “Save the baby! Please save my baby!” Ethan cried out. The lead doctor happened to be the same OB-GYN who had performed my miscarriage surgery a few days ago. She looked at Ethan, her brow furrowing in confusion. “And who are you to her?” “I’m the father!” Ethan yelled. “Didn’t Chloe tell you?” the doctor asked, looking bewildered. “She had a miscarriage days ago.” Ethan stumbled back, his face completely drained of color. He trembled, barely able to squeeze out the words. “Mis… miscarriage?”

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