It was Labor Day weekend, and my childhood friend, Leo, brought his new girlfriend, Ashley, on our annual group trip. We were all out on the beach, the smell of salt and charcoal in the air from the grill. Leo pulled the first batch of perfectly charred chicken wings off the grate, walked past everyone—his girlfriend included—and handed the plate to me. That’s when Ashley’s voice cut through the relaxed vibe. “Doesn’t it get exhausting? Pulling that whole ‘one of the guys’ act?” The sizzle of the grill was suddenly the loudest sound on the beach. The air went still. I was just holding the plate, completely thrown. “I’m sorry, what?” “If you want him, just say it,” she continued, her voice sharp. “At least then I could respect you as a rival. But don’t hide behind this whole ‘best bud’ thing to flirt with my boyfriend.” The atmosphere went from zero to a hundred real quick. I was just standing there with a plate of wings, totally embarrassed and confused by her sudden attack. “I think you’ve got this all wrong,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Leo jumped in, scowling at her. “Ashley, what the hell? Mia and I are just friends. Stop looking for trouble.” “Friends?” She let out a bitter little laugh. “You give her the first plate of wings instead of your own girlfriend, and now you’re yelling at me to defend her. You expect me to believe you two are just ‘buddies’?” Her glare snapped back to me. “And you, Mia. Drop the innocent act. I’ve seen girls like you a thousand times—the ‘cool girl’ who hangs around a bunch of guys, blurring the lines, acting like a bro. Have some self-respect.” I felt a headache starting to pound behind my eyes. Our little group of four—two guys, two girls—had been inseparable since we were kids. Our parents all knew each other, did business together. It was just how it was. But I’d always been careful to keep clear boundaries. The only reason Leo gave me the wings first was as a thank you. He and Ashley had been dating since sophomore year of college, and he was planning to propose this weekend. He’d asked us, his oldest friends, to help plan the whole thing. I was in charge of the venue and setup, while Sarah and Ryan handled fireworks and music. This whole beach resort? It belongs to my family. I shut it down to the public for a week just for his proposal. He could give me a million chicken wings and it wouldn’t cover the favor. But the proposal was a surprise. I couldn’t blow his cover. I forced myself to stay calm. “Look, he was just thanking me for helping him with something recently.” Sarah and Ryan quickly backed me up. “Ashley, seriously, we can vouch for them. There’s nothing going on between Mia and Leo,” Sarah said. Ryan added, bluntly, “Mia’s not into Leo.” But Ashley’s face was like stone. She slapped her phone down on the picnic table. The screen lit up with a screenshot of a text exchange between me and Leo. It was me, asking if his wound was healing okay and if he needed me to come take care of him. “Not into him, huh?” she sneered. “But you’re so concerned you offer to play nurse? Are you that desperate for attention you’ll just volunteer for anything?” I just stared at the screen. Those texts were from eight years ago. *** We were in high school. Puberty had hit our friend group like a truck. Leo, after learning some basic biology, turned into a total jerk. He’d snap girls’ bra straps, try to flip up skirts, and make gross jokes. It was disgusting. One day, I saw him do it and just lost it. I grabbed the nearest plastic chair and slammed it into him, screaming at him to apologize to the girl. I was young and didn’t know my own strength. He ended up with two stitches in his head. My parents read me the riot act, and I realized I’d probably gone too far. So, I sent him a few texts, reluctantly checking in. That was the extent of our “caring” exchange. The good news was, he never bullied another girl again. The bad news was, it revealed his true colors. He cycled through girlfriends at an insane rate, and even bragged about cheating. If it weren’t for our parents’ history, the rest of us would have ditched him years ago. But after he started dating Ashley, he seemed to clean up his act. He deleted all the other girls’ numbers and played the part of the reformed bad boy. I never bought it. A leopard doesn’t change its spots. The day Leo introduced Ashley to us, I pulled her aside and quietly gave her a heads-up. “Hey, just so you know, Leo used to be a huge player. Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt.” She looked at me with pure suspicion. “I think I can learn about my own boyfriend from him, thanks. I don’t need his ‘girl buddy’ to fill me in.” It was like she thought I was trying to sabotage them from day one. So, I dropped it. It wasn’t my business. But now, all these years later, she was dragging up ancient history to paint me as the villain. “I have absolutely zero interest in Leo,” I said, enunciating every word. Before Ashley could fire back, Leo had had enough. “If you’re not going to eat, then just go back to the room! Why are you so obsessed with attacking Mia? You’re embarrassing me!” Her head snapped up, her eyes suddenly red and glassy. “Oh, so now you’re getting defensive, are you? Fine! I’m the extra one here! I’m in the way! You and your *best friends* can have a great time!” She spun around and ran off down the beach. Leo muttered a curse under his breath, then turned to me, looking mortified. “Mia, I am so sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into her today. After I propose tonight, I’ll set her straight. I’ll make sure she apologizes.” I just gave him a tight, fake smile. I felt sick to my stomach and furious. If I’d known helping him out would be this much of a nightmare, I would’ve charged him for emotional damages. After that, no one felt like eating. We all just went to get the final proposal prep done. Ryan went to check on the fireworks, and Sarah started setting up candles and balloons. I was supposed to be directing the hotel staff with the field of roses we were planting in the sand. Per Leo’s request, the entire stretch of beach was supposed to be covered in red roses. But a freak heatwave had rolled in, and more than half the flowers were completely wilted and useless. I had no choice but to call Leo to ask if he was okay with using high-quality fakes instead. But it wasn’t him who answered. It was Ashley. Her voice was dripping with venom. “You’ve got incredible timing, you know that? The second Leo starts to calm me down, your name pops up on his phone.” I gritted my teeth, trying to stay professional. “I’m calling him about something important.” “And what could be so important that you can’t tell me?” she scoffed. “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you basic girl code? If you need to talk to one person in a couple, you call the one you have a goddamn Y chromosome in common with.” Leo’s angry voice cut her off in the background. “Ashley, that’s enough! Aren’t you embarrassed enough already?” I heard shuffling, and then Leo was on the line. “Mia, I’m on Ashley’s floor. Just come up here and we can talk.” *Click.* He hung up. To avoid any more drama, I grabbed Sarah and brought her with me. We found Leo waiting for us in the hallway outside his room. The second he saw me about to mention the proposal, he frantically waved us into the stairwell, terrified Ashley would overhear. “What’s up?” he whispered. I told him about the rose situation. A deep frown creased his forehead. “Why didn’t you order more backups?” he snapped. “Fake flowers? Seriously? Ashley cares so much about the little details, she’s going to be so disappointed.” I almost laughed in his face. “I ordered *thousands* of roses, Leo. You think I can control the weather?” Sarah didn’t hold back. “We’re busting our asses to help you, and you have the nerve to blame us?” He flinched, his tone softening. “No, you’re right, I’m sorry. I’m just stressed… Okay, fine. Use the fake ones from the hotel. It’ll be dark, maybe she won’t notice. All the damages are on me. Mia, don’t be mad. I’ll Venmo you the money right now.” Before he could finish, the stairwell door slammed open with a deafening *BANG!* And then, a sharp, stinging *CRACK!* Ashley was standing there, and she had just slapped me clear across the face. “You shameless, pathetic pick-me!” she shrieked. *** Ashley was heaving, her eyes blazing with a wild, triumphant fury. “I knew it! You create some stupid little emergency so my boyfriend has to come running to you! I caught you red-handed!” Her eyes darted down to his phone. “And you’re asking him for money? What’s wrong, isn’t your family’s money good enough for you? Or is his money just *special*?” she spat. “And you brought Sarah along as your lookout! You’re so calculating!” She lunged at me again, but this time Leo grabbed her, holding her back. “Ashley, are you insane?!” Sarah yelled. “You don’t even know what’s going on and you just hit her?” My cheek was on fire. I’d never been slapped in my entire life. All the patience I’d been holding onto evaporated in a rush of pure rage. “You think Leo is some kind of prize to be won?” I yelled back. “The only reason I’m even talking to him is because he’s about to ask you to—” “Mia!” Leo’s voice was a desperate plea. His eyes were begging me not to ruin the surprise. He turned back to Ashley, trying to wrestle her toward the door. “We were just talking about maybe taking a boat out later, that’s all! Why did you follow us? Come on, let’s go. I’m begging you, stop making a scene!” He practically dragged her out of the stairwell. A minute later, Sarah came back with an ice pack for my swelling cheek. My phone buzzed. It was a Venmo notification. Leo had sent me $10,000. The message read: *Mia, I’m so sorry. Please, please don’t ruin the proposal. I won’t let Ashley out of the room again. Don’t reply.* Sarah peeked at the screen and snorted. “Wow. A match made in heaven. He’s an idiot and she’s a psycho.” Just then, Ryan came back from checking the fireworks. When he saw my face and heard what happened, he looked both furious and completely exhausted by the drama. “That’s it,” he said. “Leo crossed a line. He cares more about his image and his crazy girlfriend than a friend he’s known his whole life. After he proposes tonight, we’re done. We’re not inviting him to anything ever again.” Sarah scoffed. “I don’t know why he acts so high and mighty anyway. You know his family’s business has been struggling for years…” The Maxwells had been quietly sinking, and their company was only staying afloat because of their contracts with our three families. This whole proposal weekend was something Leo’s parents had personally asked us to help with, as a favor. Otherwise, none of us would have bothered. I was so full of rage I couldn’t see straight. I was done. I handed the rest of the setup duties over to the hotel staff and called the dock to make sure our boat was ready to leave the island the second this whole charade was over. Later that night, everything went according to plan. Leo led Ashley down to the beach for a walk. He got down on one knee in the middle of the (mostly fake) sea of roses and pulled out a ring box. On cue, Ryan set off the fireworks, which exploded in glittering bursts across the sky, illuminating the tears welling in Ashley’s eyes. After a long, heartfelt speech, Leo held up the ring. “Ashley, will you marry me?” That was our signal. Sarah and I ran over, playing the part of the ecstatic audience. “Say yes! Say yes!” Ashley reached for the ring. And then she threw it. Hard. Right at me. “You sound so happy, don’t you?” she screamed, tears streaming down her face, her laugh turning into a sob. “You must be just sick with jealousy inside! Well, you know what? Fine! I’ll make it easy for you two! No more sneaking around and treating me like an idiot!” I was stunned. “Who’s treating you like an idiot?” “Oh, stop playing dumb,” she sobbed, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. “You really think I don’t know? About the baby you and Leo had together?”

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The day our daughter turned five, my wife’s lover, Julian, posted a photo on Instagram. It was of him and my wife, Claire, lying in bed together. The caption read: *“The little one was crying for his mom before bed, and supermom dropped everything to be here.”* The woman in the picture, the “supermom,” was my wife. I glanced at the text she’d sent me just ten minutes earlier: *[Something came up at the office. Don’t wait up for me and Lily.]* I liked the post. Then I called my divorce lawyer. *** Claire didn’t get home until two in the morning. The sudden glare of the hallway light made me instinctively shield our daughter’s eyes. Claire leaned against the doorframe, her voice a low murmur. “Hey, I’m home. Let’s wake Lily up. I can still do the cake with her.” I used to be obsessed with those family rituals. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, every stupid parent-teacher conference at the preschool—I always insisted Claire be there. I didn’t want Lily to grow up like I did, seeing her mother mostly through a phone screen. But now… I straightened the comforter, my voice flat. “Don’t bother.” A flicker of annoyance crossed her face. “Ethan, I was just putting his son, Leo, to sleep. Don’t read into it.” She sighed, a sound heavy with accusation. “This is why I can’t be honest with you. You’re always so suspicious.” I wasn’t misinterpreting anything. And I wouldn’t be suspicious anymore. “If you’re done for the night, you should go to your own room. Don’t wake Lily. She has school tomorrow.” My response was met with a cold little laugh. “Fine. But don’t you dare say I’m an absent mother later.” I turned away and switched off the lamp, gently patting the back of our daughter, who had stirred from the noise. Absent? I didn’t care anymore. After all, Lily’s birthday wish this year, whispered over her single candle, had been: “I don’t want to see Mommy anymore.” The next morning, after breakfast, Claire did something unusual. Instead of heading straight for the door, she sat and watched the morning news. Just as I was getting Lily’s coat on, she stood up, grabbed her car keys, and walked over, ruffling Lily’s hair. “Mommy will take you to school today.” The words were for our daughter, but her eyes were locked on me. Two years ago, when Lily first started preschool, Claire drove her every single day. But after Julian came back into her life, she started leaving earlier and earlier. The excuse was always an early-morning board meeting. I believed her. I believed her right up until three months ago, when I was dropping off a forgotten lunchbox and saw her car parked across the street from the school. I saw Claire, the woman who was supposedly in a meeting, lean into the backseat and lift out a little boy. It wasn’t that she didn’t have time to take her own daughter to school. It was just that someone else was more important. We had a terrible fight that night. The next day, Lily stopped asking for her mom to take her. Even though I’d already made my decision, Claire was still Lily’s mother. I thought for a moment, then nodded. A small, triumphant smile played on her lips as she bent down and scooped Lily into her arms. But when I opened the passenger door of her Mercedes, I froze. The back seat was cluttered with someone else’s life. A Spider-Man water bottle, a wooden toy bow and arrow, a man’s blazer thrown carelessly across the leather. And behind the passenger headrest, hanging from a hook, was a framed “family photo.” Claire, Julian, and his son, Leo, smiling on a beach somewhere. She saw where I was looking. Her expression tightened. “Julian hung that there. He said it makes Leo happy when he’s in the car.” She gave me a warning look. “Don’t start a fight over something so small.” The old me would have. I would have ripped the picture down, thrown it out the window, and screamed at her, demanding to know what Lily and I even meant to her. But the new me just nodded. “It’s a nice picture.” She stared at me, her eyes filled with a strange confusion. “You’re not mad?” Mad? Maybe I should have been. But all I felt was a hollow echo, a strange desire to laugh. Did she really think I couldn’t see through such a clumsy, transparent power play? Or did she just not care? “We should get going,” I said, my voice even. “Lily’s going to be late.” Her lips thinned into a tight line as she walked around to the driver’s side. Just as I was about to buckle Lily in, Claire’s phone rang. The ringtone was a tinny version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” A little boy’s frantic sobs came through the speaker. “Mommy! Mommy, where did you go? Did you leave me and Daddy?” Claire hung up. Without another glance at us, she got in the car and started the engine. “Leo’s having a meltdown. I have to go. The driver can take you today.” The black sedan sped away, leaving us in a cloud of exhaust. I worried about Lily, so I knelt down to her level. “Hey, Mommy had an emergency. Next time she’s free, we’ll all go together, okay?” Lily looked up at me with an unnerving maturity. “Mommy’s never going to be free, Daddy. All her time is for Leo and his dad.” *** That evening, Claire called. “Ethan, I’m going to be late again. Leo’s running a fever…” “Okay.” My quick agreement seemed to throw her off. Her practiced explanation caught in her throat. Assuming I was being passive-aggressive, her tone hardened with annoyance. “Ethan, don’t be childish.” Then she hung up. Ten minutes later, a series of texts came through. It was Julian. [Hey man, sorry about this. Leo’s been so clingy with his mom lately.] [But seriously, she shouldn’t have just bailed on you and Lily the second I called.] [I’ll talk to her about it. Don’t be mad, okay?] He finished it with a winking emoji. It wasn’t an apology; it was a victory lap. I had no interest in fighting him for her. I deleted the texts and blocked his number. A moment later, Claire called again, her voice sharp. “Ethan, what is your problem? Julian was trying to apologize to you. Why are you being like this?” In the background, I could hear a child’s faint whimpering and a man’s placating sighs. I didn’t say anything. After a long, tense silence, her voice, now cold and clear, came through the phone. “I don’t even know who you are anymore, Ethan. I’m so disappointed in you.” It was always the same. Julian would provoke me, and somehow, by the end of it, Claire would make it all my fault, as if I were the villain in her story. I went home and started packing. While Claire was on the phone lecturing me, I was on my laptop, messaging my lawyer. After the divorce, I was entitled to at least 30% of her company’s stock, which I’d been granted during our marriage. And while courts often favor the mother, Lily didn’t want to live with Claire anymore. A judge would listen to that. My last hesitation was gone. Clothes, watches, Lily’s favorite stuffed animals. All of it went into boxes. As I sealed the last one, my hands brushed against an old, dusty wooden chest under our bed. My fingers trembled slightly as I broke the wax seal. It was full of letters. From Claire, ages seventeen to twenty-two. I picked up the one on top. It began: *To my Ethan, age twenty-seven. This is your Claire, age seventeen.* *This is the first letter in our ten-year box. As we planned, we’ll open this together on the anniversary of our first date.* *By now, I know we’re married. Maybe we even have a beautiful little kid.* My phone rang. It was the Claire of today, her voice frantic and accusing. “Ethan! Julian took Leo and left! Did you know about this? If anything happens to them, I will never forgive you!” My eyes fell to the last line of the letter in my hands. *Love forever, your Claire.* A sharp pain, like a piece of glass in my chest, made me flinch. Something inside me quietly shattered. I hung up the phone and threw the entire chest into the fireplace. *** Claire didn’t come home that night. I didn’t call her a hundred times, begging her to come back, promising I’d stop making things difficult for Julian. And Lily didn’t ask about her mother once. She just quietly took the framed photo of her and Claire from her nightstand and packed it in her own small suitcase. We were in a silent standoff. It lasted a week, until Lily’s preschool sent home a field trip permission slip that required a parent’s digital signature, verified through a corporate security login I didn’t have. I tried calling Claire, only to find she’d blocked my number. Left with no choice, I took the tablet and drove to her office. I hadn’t been waiting long in the lobby when I saw a familiar figure bypass the front desk and head straight for Claire’s office. The executive assistant glanced at me apologetically. “Mr. Thorne… Ms. Rhodes gave instructions that Julian is allowed in her office at any time.” That little privilege was, ironically, my fault. Back when I still tried, I used to bring Claire lunch every day. We’d sit and talk for an hour. One time, Julian showed up, but the assistant at the time, following protocol, made him wait. By the time Claire and I finished, Julian and his son were shivering in the lobby. That was the first time Claire ever truly lost her temper with me. She screamed at me, saying my daily visits were a waste of her valuable time. The assistant who had stopped Julian was fired. From that day on, everyone in the company knew who Claire’s priority was. I never came back. I gave the assistant a tight smile and walked toward the office. The door was ajar. Claire was in a meeting, but she saw me. “What are you doing here?” she asked, surprised. Julian was perched on the armrest of her high-backed leather chair, their bodies so close they were almost touching. She followed my gaze and then looked away, a defensive edge to her voice. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Ethan. Julian just happens to know a few things about this project, so…” I just nodded and held out the tablet. “Lily’s field trip. It needs your signature.” “You came all the way here just for that?” “Why else would I come?” The atmosphere in the room grew heavy. I knew Claire well enough to know she was in a foul mood, though I couldn’t tell why. Julian let out a soft chuckle. “He’s just using it as an excuse to see you, Claire. It’s his way of making up.” He looked at her pointedly. “You’ve been staying at my place all week. You should probably go home and see Lily.” The tension in Claire’s shoulders eased. She tossed the tablet onto the coffee table and gave me a smirk. “So now you’re using our daughter as a pawn, Ethan? How pathetic.” She leaned back. “Apologize to Julian. Otherwise, I’m not signing it.” A year ago, those words would have enraged me. Now, I felt nothing. No anger toward her, or toward him. All I could think was that if I didn’t get this signed, Lily would miss the trip to the zoo, and she would be devastated. I looked at Claire, then at Julian, still lounging possessively on her chair. Without another word, I turned and walked out of the office. I’d just have to tell the school that Lily didn’t have a mother. I hadn’t made it ten feet when a smooth, calm voice stopped me. “Mr. Thorne? If you don’t mind, perhaps I can help.” It was one of the women from the meeting. She was dressed in a sharp, black sheath dress, her expression cool and observant. “After all,” she added with a wry twist of her lips, “I feel like I’ve been an unwilling audience to your family drama for some time now.” I just handed her the tablet. The authorization went through instantly. On the signature line, in elegant cursive, was a name: *Sloane Covington.* *** The divorce papers were drafted. I texted Claire, telling her she needed to come home that night. When I went to pick Lily up from her preschool, Claire’s Mercedes was already parked out front. The passenger window was down, revealing Julian’s smug face. “Well, well, Ethan. Picking up the kid?” He looked my simple wool coat up and down. “This is a pretty exclusive school, you know. Still wearing last year’s coat? Aren’t you afraid of embarrassing your daughter?” I ignored him and moved a few feet away. Julian’s face fell, and he turned to Claire in the driver’s seat. “Claire, did I say something wrong? I think I made him angry.” For once, Claire didn’t respond. She was staring at my coat, her expression unreadable. Her voice was stiff. “Ethan, it’s cold out. Just get in the car.” I moved further away. I don’t know when it happened, but the distance between us had become a canyon. Even a simple offer of warmth sounded forced, like an obligation. Just then, a commotion broke out in the line of kids waiting. Two of them were shoving each other. One of them was Lily. I ran over and pulled them apart. The other child, I now realized, was Julian’s son, Leo. The moment he saw me, he froze, then promptly sat on the ground and began to wail. “Waaah! That man pushed me! It hurts!” Claire and Julian rushed over. Julian scooped his son up, glaring at me. “Ethan, I know you don’t like me, but you don’t take it out on a child. They were just playing. You didn’t have to get violent.” Claire was looking at me with disapproval, too, as if she’d completely forgotten which child was hers. The teacher looked mortified. “Mr. Thorne, Mr. Vance… the children were arguing. They both saw Ms. Rhodes and started shouting that she was their mother. It… escalated.” The entire pickup line of Upper East Side parents was now watching us. Murmurs rippled through the crowd. “What a mess. Two kids fighting over one mom? Must be the wife and the mistress.” “That woman looks rich. Maybe the little girl is just lying to look important.” “Taught to be a gold digger at that age? What kind of parents does she have?” Leo was still crying, his arms wrapped tightly around Claire’s neck, chanting “Mommy, Mommy.” And Lily… she just stood there, her small hand gripping mine, her eyes fixed on Claire, not blinking. Another child piped up, “Ma’am, who’s your real kid? You have to tell us! The one who’s lying has to say sorry!” Claire opened her mouth. “I’m Li—” At that exact moment, Julian gently took her hand. His eyes were wide with a silent, desperate plea. I knew in that instant. She was wavering. Just like all the other times, the second Julian needed her, my daughter and I became her second choice. I gritted my teeth, my voice a low warning. “Claire. Your answer right now will affect Lily for the rest of her life. Think very carefully before you speak.” Her body went rigid. Her eyes were downcast, her expression veiled. Then, in a voice quiet but clear enough for everyone to hear, she said, “I’m Leo’s mother.” She looked at Lily. “I think you’re mistaken, little girl.” My heart seized, a physical blow that almost buckled my knees. This was our daughter. Our Lily. The judgment from the other parents was immediate and harsh. “That little girl needs to apologize for lying. And for hitting her son!” “No class at all. The truth comes out and she just stands there.” “Probably jealous. Wants to be a rich kid.” “Look at her dad. Dressed like a kept man. Probably coached her to do it, hoping to get a payout from the rich lady.” “Claire, how could you—” I started, but a sharp pain in my palm cut me off. Lily was squeezing my hand with shocking strength, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Her eyes, which had been so full of desperate hope, were turning a dull, lifeless grey. “It’s okay, Daddy,” she whispered. Then she turned, her posture unnaturally straight, and bowed stiffly to the woman who gave birth to her. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I made a mistake.”

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I knew I was a character in a book, but by the time I was born, the story was already over. The brilliant second female lead had retired to a quiet life in the country, while the hero and heroine were set to take over the world. I was the throwaway character, the one with a terminal illness, fated to die young. And yet, somehow, I was the one who married her. For three years, I knew she still loved the hero. I knew I was living on borrowed time. But in those three years, her care was absolute. She promised me I’d live to be a hundred. And I started to believe her. I started to believe she might have finally fallen in love with me. Then, the hero was poisoned. She rushed to the city to save him, forgetting that today was the day my own illness would flare, the day I needed her most. *** The pain hit like a tidal wave. I bit down hard on the corner of the duvet, my hair plastered to my forehead with cold sweat. The woman who was always by my side during these episodes was gone. My caretaker, Sam, was wiping my face with a damp cloth, his eyes red with frustration. “She’s never forgotten this date, not once in three years. Where could she be?” I hadn’t felt a pain this raw, this untamed, in so long. The young staffer I’d sent to find her returned, trembling, and handed a single sheet of paper to Sam. Sam snatched it and read aloud, his voice tight with disbelief. “*Alexander Vance has been poisoned. The President’s own detail requested my help. My husband, please take care of yourself…*” The ink was still slightly damp. She’d written it in a hurry. Sam’s jaw clenched. “When did she leave?” “This morning, sir,” the boy whispered. He didn’t dare lie. Everyone on the estate knew what today was. “Leave us,” I managed to rasp. Sam closed the door, and another spasm wracked my body, forcing a tear from the corner of my eye. Alexander Vance. The hero of the story. The moment I heard his name, I knew I had lost. “Sir, I’m calling Dr. Chen,” Sam said, turning to leave. He stopped, his shoulders slumping in defeat. Aris Thorne *was* the genius doctor. My condition was something only she could manage. In this sprawling medical sanctuary she called a home, there was no second-in-command. I knew her history. I knew she was the second female lead who had loved the hero with a fierce, unrequited passion. But I never thought she would do this to me. My chest was a knot of fire. Every breath was an agony. I’ve known I was in a book since before I was born. For years, I just thought I was a normal person in a normal world, albeit one with a rare and fatal genetic condition. It wasn’t until I met Aris that the pieces clicked into place. My father, desperate after exhausting every conventional medical option, heard rumors of a reclusive medical prodigy named Aris Thorne. He found her, and she laid out her terms. She would treat me, but I had to marry her. I wanted to refuse, but seeing the raw hope in my father’s eyes, I agreed. For the first year, I kept my guard up. I remembered the book’s plot. *She loves the hero.* I told myself not to fall for her, no matter how brilliant or kind she was. But a heart isn’t made of stone. For three years, she was my world. Every night, she performed meticulous treatments with fine needles and rare herbs, drawing the sickness from my body. On the days of my attacks, she never left my side. Every doctor had told me I wouldn’t see my sixteenth birthday. Aris was the only one who looked me in the eye and said, “With me here, you’ll live to be a hundred.” I’m eighteen now. I survived. The book’s story was over. The hero and heroine were building their empire. The second female lead was supposed to be living in quiet solitude. I thought her being with me meant she had broken free of the narrative. I thought she had chosen me. Her affection was a warm, constant sun, and I couldn’t hide from it forever. The locks around my heart rusted and broke. But the moment I finally let myself believe, fate played its cruelest joke. This was supposed to be my last major attack. Aris had said that after today’s treatment, the final traces of the illness would be gone for good. Without it, the disease would come roaring back, stronger than ever. She knew the stakes. Just last night, she had whispered against my ear, her breath warm, “Eli, after you’re well… can we finally be truly married?” My face had burned, and I’d answered her with a kiss. And today, for the man she truly loved, she had left me to suffer, without a second thought. The presidential palace has a whole team of doctors. Why did they need her? *** My vision swam. When it cleared, a hand was on my wrist, taking my pulse. A spark of warmth ignited in my chest. I turned my head. The hope died just as quickly. The name *Aris* dissolved on my tongue. “Sir, I got Dr. Chen from the city. You’re going to be okay,” Sam soothed. But I knew it was useless. Sure enough, Dr. Chen withdrew his hand, his expression grim. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.” “But you’re the best there is!” Sam’s voice cracked with a desperate anger. “You can’t even ease the pain?” I squeezed his arm, giving the old doctor an apologetic look. Thankfully, he understood. “I’ll find someone else,” Sam insisted, but I shook my head. “Don’t. It’s just a few hours. I can bear it.” No one else could treat me. That’s why my death at sixteen had been a foregone conclusion. Aris had pulled me back from the brink. And now, she had pushed me right back over the edge. If she was always going to choose him, why did she ever bother saving me? Days passed. My body regressed. I was back to the fragile creature I’d once been, coughing at the slightest exertion, growing dizzy after just a few steps. I was resting in a lounge chair on the veranda, my face pale, a dull ache radiating from my chest. The sun was warm, but I couldn’t feel it. Then, one of the staff announced that Aris was back. My heart leaped. I lifted my head, my eyes searching. I saw her walking up the main path. She was supporting a man in an impeccably tailored navy suit. She didn’t even glance in my direction. “Sir, how could she…” Sam started, his voice thick with outrage. I grabbed his sleeve, stopping him from charging after them. A metallic taste filled my mouth. I forced myself up and had Sam help me back inside before I collapsed. He might not have recognized the man, but I did. In the novel, Alexander Vance was famous for one thing besides his ruthless ambition: he only ever wore navy blue suits. It was his armor, his uniform. Back in my rooms, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I coughed, a spray of red dotting the white handkerchief in my hand. Sam’s eyes widened in panic. “I’m getting her!” “Sam, no,” I said, gripping his arm with what little strength I had. “Don’t go. And she’s not your mistress anymore.” Her actions made it painfully clear. Why would I subject myself to more humiliation? “But she cared for you, sir. I saw it. She truly cared.” He was right. She did. But that care was conditional. It only existed in a world where Alexander Vance was healthy and out of reach. Now, compared to him, I was nothing. I still remembered the slow burn of our courtship. The first time we truly met was on our wedding night. After I’d lifted the veil, I told her plainly that our marriage would be in name only. She would be my doctor, and I would be her patient. She had just smiled, her fingers gently finding the pulse on my wrist. “We’re husband and wife now,” she’d said, her voice like silk. “How could it be in name only?” When I told her I wouldn’t live past sixteen, her smile had only widened. After that, she rarely spoke of it, but my symptoms began to fade one by one. I tried to pay her with gold, with jewels, anything to repay the debt. She returned it all, and instead brought me gifts—a hand-carved jade pendant, a sachet of calming herbs, pastries from the city, strange and fascinating little gadgets. She was trying to win my heart. And when I realized it was working, I panicked. I pulled away. I avoided her. Then came the storm. She stood in the pouring rain, calling my name, “Eli! Eli!” clutching a box of my favorite cakes, shielding it from the downpour with her own body. My resolve shattered. The story was over, I told myself. She was here. With me. I opened the door. She’d thrown her arms around me, her eyes red, and solemnly promised me a lifetime. The love in her gaze had been a tidal wave, and I’d thought, in that moment, that we could truly have it all. I was wrong. *** “Sir… should we go home?” Sam asked softly, his anger replaced by a quiet sadness. “I miss my father,” I whispered, wiping the blood from my lips. I asked him to bring me a pen and paper. I wouldn’t fight for her. I wouldn’t beg. A throwaway character versus the hero of the story? It was no contest. When we arrived at Aris’s private wing of the estate, two men in dark suits stood guard at her door. The small, stylized ‘V’ embroidered on their collars told me everything I needed to know. They were Alexander Vance’s men. Before I could even speak, a sharp, metallic object pressed against my throat. A thin line of blood beaded on my skin. “Sir!” Sam lunged forward, but I held him back. “Aris Thorne is my wife,” I stated, my voice steady. The pressure on my neck eased, but the guards didn’t move. “Dr. Thorne has given orders not to be disturbed,” one of them said, his voice flat and cold. “By anyone.” I stood frozen, a bitter taste filling my mouth. Her rooms… I’d always had free access. She’d treated royalty, billionaires, politicians—all with their own security details. But she had always given one standing order: “My husband is never to be stopped.” Anytime, anywhere, she’d said. If I wanted her, I could come to her. But now, she’d said *anyone*. And that included me. Three years. The intimacy we’d built, the quiet depth of our connection… it all felt like a lie. The whiplash of it was a physical blow, my heart clenching painfully in my chest. I met the guard’s indifferent gaze, blinked back the threatening tears, and took a step back. “My apologies for the disturbance.” Sam knew me well enough to understand. Though his hands were clenched into fists, he stood by my side, waiting. The sun beat down, and the world began to tilt. I felt myself sway, but I couldn’t leave. Not yet. I was afraid if I left now, I’d lose my nerve. I don’t know how long we waited. The sun was setting when she finally appeared. She walked toward me, backlit by the golden light, her beautiful face etched with fatigue. Her normally bright eyes were clouded with weariness. The only time I’d ever seen her look this drained was after pulling an all-nighter to care for me during an attack. I had thought that vulnerability was reserved for me. The irony was a bitter pill. All her whispers of devotion, all her promises… they were all conditional. “Eli? Why are you waiting out here? Have you had dinner?” She seemed surprised to see me and moved to take my hand, just as she always did. I sidestepped her touch. A fresh trickle of blood escaped my lips. The cut on my neck had scabbed over, but now it burned. “Who hurt you?” Her eyes widened, seeing the blood, seeing the sickly pallor that had returned to my face. For a moment, she looked lost. “You’re… bleeding…” I didn’t answer. I just held out the folded paper. She took it, her brow furrowing. As she read it, the color drained from her face. “Eli… you want a divorce?” Her voice was a shocked whisper. Those calm, confident eyes were suddenly dark with something I couldn’t decipher. “Yes,” I said, calmly wiping my mouth. I kept a firm grip on Sam, who looked ready to explode. A clean break. That was my way. Wallowing in self-pity over a woman was a fool’s game. There were other trees in the forest. I refused to hang myself from this one. “Why? You promised…” She trailed off, the realization dawning on her. The night I had promised her everything was the night before she left. The day she left was the day of my attack. “I’m sorry, Eli,” she said, her gaze intense, full of a love that felt like a lie. “Alexander’s life was on the line. I had no choice.” I looked away. “Just sign it. Let’s go our separate ways.” She was the second female lead. Of course she was capable of deep, profound love. I just had to accept that love was never meant for me. *** “Sign it,” I repeated. My legs were starting to shake. I didn’t want to hear her excuses. “Eli, don’t be childish,” she sighed, her expression shifting to one of gentle reprimand. “Your body can’t handle this kind of stress. This was my fault, I admit it. But I promise, I will find a way to make you well again.” She was apologizing, but her words were hollow. I didn’t want them. “Aris Thorne,” I said again, my voice so cold it surprised even me. She stared, a flicker of fear in her eyes. “Eli, let me check your pulse. Let me help you, please?” She reached for me again. I took another step back, the world starting to go grey at the edges. Her expression changed to alarm. She moved to catch me, but a voice from inside her rooms, weak but laced with steel, cut through the air. “Aris… the pain is back.” In an instant, she spun around and rushed back inside, leaving me behind without a second thought. “Where does it hurt? Let me change the dressing.” I heard her gentle, worried voice as she fussed over him. I looked up and my eyes met his. Alexander Vance. His expression was placid, but his eyes were sharp as knives. The hero of a political thriller, indeed. His gaze flickered over me, filled with a faint, dismissive hostility. The look said it all: *When it comes to her, you will always lose to me.* Sam didn’t shout. He didn’t make a scene. He just picked up the divorce papers I had dropped, quickly scrawled *Aris Thorne* on the signature line, and took my arm. “Sir,” he said, his voice a low growl. “We’re going home.” He led me away, his pace measured to match my own faltering steps. A small, humorless laugh escaped my lips. I suddenly felt lighter. I should have known. The second female lead always loves the hero. The story might have ended, but the characters hadn’t changed. Loving a woman tied to the hero’s narrative was a fool’s errand. If I didn’t get out now, I’d be destroyed. “Do you need to pack anything, sir?” Sam asked as we reached the main gate of the estate. I pulled him through it, out into the real world. There was nothing in that place worth keeping. It was dark by the time we arrived at my family’s home. My father, having been alerted of our arrival, rushed out to meet us, his eyes red-rimmed. “Why are you back?” he asked, his voice thick with worry. Then he saw my face, the deathly pallor, and his words died in his throat. He hadn’t seen me this sick in years. “Let’s get you inside,” he choked out, turning away to hide his tears. My own heart ached for him. My father had been my rock, raising a fragile, dying son on his own. He had moved heaven and earth to keep me alive. He’d wanted this marriage for me, wanted me to have a chance at a normal, healthy life. And now I was back, broken. He didn’t need to ask what had happened. “Father, you should get some rest,” I said, as he led me to my old wing. I saw that my rooms had been kept pristine, cleaned daily, as if they were waiting for my return. Looking at the pain in his eyes, my own self-pity began to fade. Aris’s heart was not mine to control, but my father’s love was absolute, unconditional, and entirely mine. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Rest now, son. Your father is here.” At his words, all the grief and betrayal I had been holding back threatened to overwhelm me. I just nodded, fighting back tears, and went inside. I was a man now. I couldn’t let him worry anymore than he already was. Only when the door was closed did I let the tears fall, a silent, burning stream. My chest heaved, a cough rattling my ribs. Somehow, I slept. But when I opened my eyes the next morning, Sam was standing by my bed, his face grim. “Sir,” he said. “Dr. Thorne is here.”

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The day our daughter Mia turned five, my husband’s mistress, Amber, posted a photo on Instagram. It was a selfie of the two of them, tucked into bed, a little boy asleep between them. Her caption read: **【Little guy was fussy and wanted his daddy before bed, and this super-dad dropped everything to rush over. ❤️】** The man in the picture, the “super-dad,” was my husband, Julian. I glanced at the text he’d sent me just ten minutes earlier: **【Something came up at the office. Don’t wait up for me and Mia.】** I liked her post. Then I called my divorce lawyer. *** 1 Julian didn’t get home until two in the morning. The harsh glare of the headlights cut through the bedroom window, and I instinctively shielded Mia’s eyes. He leaned against the doorframe, his voice a low rumble. “Hey, I’m home. Wake Mia up, I’ll celebrate her birthday with her now.” I used to be obsessed with these family rituals. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, even kindergarten events—I’d always insist Julian be there. I didn’t want Mia to grow up like I did, seeing her father mostly through a phone screen. But now… I straightened the comforter, my voice flat. “Don’t bother.” A flicker of annoyance crossed Julian’s face. “Chloe, I was just putting Leo to sleep. Don’t get the wrong idea.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “This is why I can’t be honest with you. You’re always so suspicious.” I wasn’t getting the wrong idea. And I wouldn’t be suspicious anymore. “If that’s all, you should go to your own room. Don’t wake Mia. She has school tomorrow.” He let out a cold laugh. “Whatever. Just don’t come crying to me later, saying I’m missing out on Mia’s childhood.” I turned and switched off the lamp, gently patting the back of my daughter, who had started to stir. Missing out? I didn’t care anymore. After all, Mia’s birthday wish this year was: “I don’t want to see Daddy anymore.” The next morning, after breakfast, Julian didn’t leave for work right away like he usually did. He sat on the couch, watching the morning news. Just as I was getting Mia’s backpack ready, he stood up, grabbed his keys, and walked over, ruffling her hair. “Daddy’s taking you to school today.” He said it to Mia, but his eyes were locked on me. Two years ago, when Mia first started kindergarten, Julian drove her every single day. But after Amber showed up, he started leaving earlier and earlier, claiming his morning meetings at the office had been moved up. I’d believed him. Until three months ago, when Mia switched schools. I was waiting at the gate and saw him. The man who was supposed to be in a board meeting was leaning over, unbuckling a little boy from the back seat of his car. It wasn’t that he didn’t have time to take his daughter to school. He just had someone more important to take. We had a massive fight that night. The next day, Mia stopped asking for him to take her. Even though I’d already decided on the divorce, he was still her father. I thought for a moment and didn’t say no. A small, triumphant smile touched the corner of his lips as he scooped Mia into his arms. But when he opened the car door, I froze. The back seat was cluttered with stuff. A Spider-Man water bottle, a wooden toy bow-and-arrow set, a woman’s cashmere scarf draped over the headrest… And tucked into the back of the passenger seat was a small, framed “family photo.” Julian saw where I was looking. His expression tightened. “Amber just stuck that there. She said it makes Leo happy,” he said defensively. “Don’t start a fight over something so small.” The old me would have shattered the frame, would have screamed and cried, demanding to know what Mia and I meant to him. But now, I just nodded. “It’s a nice picture.” He stared at me, a strange look in his eyes. “You’re not mad?” Mad? Maybe I should have been. But I felt nothing. A complete, hollow calm. In fact, it was almost funny. Did Julian, always so sharp and perceptive in business, really not see through such a clumsy, transparent power play? Or maybe he just didn’t care. “We should get going,” I said softly. “Mia’s going to be late.” His lips thinned into a hard line as he got into the driver’s seat. Just as I was about to buckle Mia in, his phone rang. The ringtone was a child’s voice, custom-recorded. *“Daddy, Daddy, it’s a call for you! It’s for my best Daddy!”* A little boy’s frantic sobs came through the speaker. “Daddy! Daddy, where did you go? Are you leaving me and Mommy?” Julian ended the call without even a glance in our direction and started the car. “Leo’s having a meltdown. I’ll have the driver take you guys today.” The black Maybach sped away, leaving us in a cloud of exhaust. I worried about Mia and knelt down to face her. “Honey, Daddy had an emergency. Next time he’s free, we’ll all go to school together, okay?” Mia looked at me, her small face etched with an unnerving maturity. “Daddy’s never going to be free, Mom. His time belongs to Leo and his mom now.” *** 2 That evening, Julian called. “Chloe, I’m going to be late. Leo’s running a fever…” “Okay.” My quick agreement seemed to catch him off guard, his excuses dying in his throat. He must have thought I was giving him the silent treatment, because his tone sharpened with irritation. “Chloe, don’t be like this.” Then he hung up. Ten minutes later, a series of texts came through. 【OMG Chloe, I’m so sorry. Leo has been so clingy with his dad lately.】 【But seriously, Julian shouldn’t have just ditched you and Mia the second I called. That was not cool of him.】 【I’ll be sure to give him a talking-to. Don’t be mad, okay? 😉】 It was Amber. Less of an apology, more of a declaration of victory. I had no energy to fight her over a man I no longer wanted. I deleted the texts and blocked her number. A moment later, Julian called again, his voice tight with anger. “What the hell is your problem, Chloe? Amber reaches out to apologize and you give her that attitude?” I could faintly hear a woman and child crying in the background. I said nothing. After a long, tense silence, his voice dropped, heavy with disappointment. “Chloe… how did you become this person?” he said. “I’m so disappointed in you.” It was always the same. Amber would provoke me, and the moment she shed a tear, Julian would paint me as the villain. When I got home, I started packing. While Julian was on the phone lecturing me, I’d been on the phone with my lawyer. I was entitled to at least 30% of his company’s shares. And in custody cases where both parents have similar means, the court typically favors the mother. My last hesitation vanished. Clothes, handbags, jewelry, Mia’s favorite toys—all of it needed to go. As I taped up the last box, my hands trembled. I found myself staring at an old, dust-covered wooden chest, its wax seal cracked with age. Inside was a lifetime of letters—from the Julian who was 17, all the way to 22. I broke the seal and picked up the one on top. It began: 【To my Chloe, age 27. This is me, Julian, age 17.】 【This is the first love letter I’ve ever written you. As we planned, we’ll open this together in ten years.】 【I bet we’re married by now. Maybe we even have a beautiful kid.】 My phone buzzed. It was the 27-year-old Julian. “Chloe! Did you know Amber took Leo and left? They’re gone!” he roared into the phone. “If anything happens to them, I swear to God, you’ll pay for it.” My eyes drifted to the bottom of the letter I was holding. 【Signed, Julian. Who will love his Chloe forever.】 A sharp pain, like a shard of glass, pierced my chest. Something inside me quietly shattered. I hung up the phone and tossed the entire box of letters into the fireplace. *** 3 Julian didn’t come home that night. I didn’t blow up his phone with frantic calls like I used to, crying and promising I wouldn’t give Amber a hard time anymore. Mia never asked where her daddy was. The only thing she did was quietly take a framed photo of her and Julian from the living room and hide it in her suitcase while I was packing. We were in a cold war. It lasted a week, until Mia’s kindergarten needed a permission slip signed for a field trip, which required a parent’s digital signature on the school portal. I tried calling Julian, only to find he’d blocked my number. Left with no choice, I drove to his office. I wasn’t waiting long before a familiar figure breezed past the reception desk and straight into Julian’s office. The assistant pouring me a glass of water looked embarrassed. “Mrs. Vance… Mr. Vance gave instructions that Amber can go into his office anytime.” That “privilege” was, ironically, my fault. Back when I used to bring Julian lunch every day, we’d eat and talk for an hour. One time, Amber came by to see him and the assistant at the time stopped her. When Julian walked me out, he found Amber and her son shivering in the lobby, their lips blue from the cold. It was the first time Julian ever truly lost his temper with me. He yelled that my daily lunch deliveries were a waste of his time. The assistant who had stopped Amber was fired on the spot. From that day on, everyone in the company knew. Amber was the one who held his heart. I never came back to the office again. I gave the new assistant a small, polite smile and walked toward the office. Julian was in a meeting. He looked surprised to see me. “What are you doing here?” Amber was perched on the armrest of his leather chair, their bodies so close they were almost touching. He followed my gaze and cleared his throat. “Chloe, don’t misunderstand. Amber just happens to know a few things about this project, so…” I nodded, not caring, and held out my tablet. “Mia’s permission slip for her field trip needs your signature.” “You came all the way down here just for that?” “What else?” I replied. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy. I didn’t know why, but based on years of experience, I knew he was in a foul mood. Amber scoffed. “What kind of signature is so important? Julian, she’s just looking for an excuse to make up with you. You’ve been staying at my place for days. You should probably go home and see Mia.” The tension in Julian’s shoulders eased. He tossed the tablet onto the coffee table, a cruel, mocking smile playing on his lips. “So now you’re using our daughter as an excuse, Chloe? Apologize to Amber. Otherwise, I’m not signing anything.” Before, those words would have enraged me. I would have been furious that he cared so little for his own daughter, and even more furious that he was using her to placate his mistress. But now, I wasn’t angry at anyone. I just thought about how disappointed Mia would be if she couldn’t go on the trip. I looked at Julian, then at Amber, still sitting possessively on the arm of his chair. Without another word, I turned and walked out. I’d just tell the school Mia didn’t have a father. I’d only taken a few steps when a crisp, clear male voice stopped me. “Ms. Tang, if you don’t mind, I’d be happy to sign for you.” It was one of the men from the meeting in Julian’s office. He stepped out into the hallway. “After all,” he added with a hint of irony, “I feel like I’ve been watching your family drama for a while now.” I finally got a good look at him. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit that screamed power, with sharp, intelligent eyes and a commanding presence. He looked like he owned half the city. I handed him the tablet without hesitation. The authorization went through instantly. On the screen, a bold, elegant signature appeared: **Ethan Cole.** *** 4 The divorce papers were drafted. I unilaterally ended our cold war and told Julian he needed to come home that night to sign them. When I went to pick Mia up from school, his Maybach was already idling in the pickup lane. The window rolled down, revealing Amber in the passenger seat, a smug smile on her face. “Well, hello, Chloe. Picking up your daughter?” she said, her eyes raking over my outfit. “This is a pretty exclusive academy, you know. Is that a coat from last season? Aren’t you worried the other kids will make fun of her?” I ignored her and moved a little further down the sidewalk. Amber turned to Julian, her face a mask of faux concern. “Julian, did I say something wrong again? I think Chloe’s mad at me.” But for once, Julian didn’t answer her. He was staring at my thin coat, his voice stiff. “Chloe, it’s windy out. Get in the car.” I moved even further away. I don’t know when it happened, but we had become strangers. So much so that even a simple expression of concern sounded forced and hollow. As the kids started filing out, a scuffle broke out in the line. I squinted and my heart dropped. One of them was Mia. I ran over and pulled them apart. The other child was Leo. The moment he saw me, he froze for a second, then threw himself on the ground and started wailing. “Waaah! The mean lady hit me! It hurts, it hurts!” Julian and Amber rushed over. Amber scooped her son into her arms, glaring at me. “Chloe, I know you don’t like me, but you can’t take it out on a child! They were just playing. Did you have to get so aggressive?” Julian stared at me with disapproval, completely forgetting that Mia was his actual daughter. The teacher on duty hurried over, looking flustered. “Mrs. Vance, Amber… the children saw Mr. Vance’s car, and they both started insisting he was their daddy. It… escalated.” The pickup line was now crowded with other parents, all of them watching. “What’s going on? Two kids fighting over a dad? Is that the wife and the other woman?” “That guy looks loaded. Maybe the other kid’s just a gold digger, making it up, and got caught by the real daughter.” “Wow, teaching your kid to lie about their dad at that age? What kind of parents are they?” Leo was still screaming, his arms wrapped tightly around Julian’s neck, crying, “Daddy, Daddy!” And Mia… Mia just stood there, clutching my hand, her eyes fixed on Julian, not blinking. The other kids started chiming in. “Mister, who’s your real kid? You gotta tell us! The one who’s lying has to say sorry!” Julian opened his mouth. “I’m Mia’s—” Just then, Amber gave his sleeve a tiny, desperate tug. Her eyes were pleading. In that single instant, I knew. He was wavering. Just like all the other times, the countless times before. All it took was one look from Amber, and Mia and I became his second choice. I gritted my teeth, my voice like ice. “Julian, think very carefully about your answer. What you say right now will affect Mia for the rest of her life.” His body went rigid. His gaze dropped, his expression unreadable. Then, in a voice that was quiet but clear enough for everyone to hear, he said: “I’m Leo’s father.” He looked down at my daughter, at our Mia. “I think you’re mistaken, little girl.” My heart seized. It felt like a sledgehammer had slammed into my chest, the pain so sharp it stole my breath. *That’s our daughter.* The crowd of parents started murmuring, their judgment now aimed squarely at Mia. “So the little girl was lying. And she hit their son, too.” “What a brat. She got caught and won’t even apologize.” “She’s just jealous. Wants a rich dad for herself.” “Look at her mom. She doesn’t look like the classy type, either. Probably put her up to it, hoping to snag a rich guy.” “Julian, you soulless…” Before I could finish, I felt a sharp pain in my palm. Mia was squeezing my hand, her grip astonishingly strong for a five-year-old. She bit her lower lip, and the light in her eyes just… went out. “Mommy,” she whispered. “It’s okay. Let it go.” Then, she turned, her movements wooden, and bowed stiffly to the man who was her father. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said, her voice small and empty. “I made a mistake. I thought you were someone else.”

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At my wedding reception, my best man, Ethan, got up to sing a song for us. He chose Adele’s “Someone Like You,” and by the second verse, he was crying. I thought he was just emotional about me getting married, so I clapped him on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. That’s when the text appeared, floating in the air in front of my eyes, like a live stream chat overlaying my vision. **【Can this loser side character get out of the way? He’s blocking the shot of the main couple singing to each other.】** **【LMAO, he thinks the ML is crying for him. Bro, he’s crying because he didn’t get to marry the love of his life.】** **【It’s okay, guys! Just 10 more episodes! Once the FL finds out why the ML broke up with her back then, she’ll dump this placeholder husband and start grovelling to win him back!】** **【Tbh does this guy really not know about the FL and ML? He’s so manipulative. Later in the story, he almost gets the ML killed to stop the divorce. Thank god the FL loves the ML so much she bankrupts the side character’s family. He jumps off a building and dies. So satisfying!】** A chill went down my spine. I refused to believe what I was seeing. But then I turned my head. And I saw my new wife, Chloe, silently singing along with him, tears streaming down her face, too. 1 I somehow held it together until the last guest left. Ethan was completely wasted. He’d lost his shoes somewhere and was stumbling barefoot on the gravel path outside the venue, his feet bleeding. He was leaning on Chloe like she was a lamppost, slurring, half-crying, half-laughing. “Heyyy, this lamppost is so… soft.” “You finally found your happiness, Chloe.” “I’m so happy today.” “I’m so, so, so happy for you!” For a split second, I almost believed him. I thought he was genuinely happy for me. But then the chat popped up again, shattering that last bit of hope. **【Ugh, my heart breaks for him. He’s dying inside but still has to pretend to be drunk to wish her well. 😭😭】** **【Here we go, here we go! The key plot point is coming! The FL is about to offer to take the ML home, and the loser husband will finally realize something’s off and throw a fit, which just makes the FL hate him more!】** **【Chloe, what are you doing just standing there?! Can’t you see his feet are bleeding? Go get his shoes!】** Chloe has a thing about germs. She won’t even touch my shoes after I’ve worn them. But right then, she walked back inside, found Ethan’s leather dress shoes, and knelt to put them on for him. I saw an emotion I’d never seen in her cool, distant eyes before: it looked like pain. Like she was hurting *for* him. She turned to me, her voice casual. “It’s late. He can’t get home like this. Is it okay if I give him a ride?” She was asking my opinion, just like she always did. Respecting me. My hands clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms. “Are you sure?” My voice was unnaturally calm. “Chloe, it’s our wedding night.” I added, “I can call an Uber or ask one of the other groomsmen to take him.” A small frown creased her forehead. The chat messages flew across my vision. **【LMAO does he really think that’s going to make her stay?】** **【His wedding night? Who cares? The ML is a wreck right now, how could she just leave him?】** **【Get ready for her to shut him down HARD. His little tantrum is just gonna make our ML look even more sympathetic and sweet!】** I could see the conflict in Chloe’s eyes. After a moment of silence, she made her choice. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She turned to leave, but I let out a short, sharp laugh. “Wait.” She spun back, her patience clearly wearing thin. “I *said* I’ll be back soon.” I swallowed the suffocating tightness in my chest and tossed her my car keys. “Take my car.” She frowned, about to refuse. “He doesn’t get carsick in mine,” I added flatly. Chloe paused, then snatched the keys from the air. Before she got in the car, she rolled down the window. “Wait for me.” I watched them drive off. Then I calmly called a moving company. I had them clear out all of my belongings, which I had just moved into our new home yesterday. Then I left the house Chloe and I had bought together, paid in full. 2 I didn’t meet Chloe through Ethan. So, this whole time, I never knew they even knew each other, let alone that they had this kind of history. When I was set up on a blind date with Chloe, I’d been single for the better part of a decade. I’d given up on finding a soulmate. I went to the date with zero expectations, only to meet a woman who was, in every conceivable way, my perfect type. She came from a good family, she was stunningly beautiful, and wickedly smart. Her only flaw was that she was so rational, she sometimes came across as cold. But she was like that with everyone. Including herself. A month after we met, I was dropping her off after a date when we got mugged. The guy held a knife to her throat, but she didn’t even flinch. She just calmly negotiated with him. “If you leave now, I won’t call the police,” she said, her voice steady. “But there’s only one of you. I can fight you long enough for him to call for help. There’s a police station less than a block from here.” The mugger, panicked and angry, didn’t listen. He lunged, aiming the knife at her. In that split second, I didn’t think. I just knew I couldn’t let her get hurt. I threw myself in front of her, tackling the guy. The blade sank deep into my back, the pain so intense it stole my breath. Chloe immediately dropped to my side. She calmly called 911, then pressed her jacket against the wound to stop the bleeding. She only asked me one thing. “Why didn’t you run?” “Because I want to be your boyfriend, Chloe,” I gasped. For the first time since I’d met her, she seemed speechless. Then her brow furrowed slightly. “But I don’t know how to love someone.” “That’s okay,” I said. “I know how to love you.” And just like that, I dove headfirst into her world. We started dating. And she was right; she didn’t know how to be affectionate. But she tried to learn. For me. She learned to buy me flowers on our anniversary. She learned to pick me up from work. She learned to cook my favorite meals. I thought that as long as she was willing to learn for me, it meant she loved me. I never imagined that she was just imitating what love was supposed to look like. That it didn’t mean she was actually in love with me. 3 From the live stream chat, I learned that Chloe and Ethan were high school sweethearts. They’d dated for three years. Right after graduation, Ethan’s mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and he had to drop out of college to go home. But when he got there, his abusive, alcoholic father, desperate to keep him from leaving again, found his official school records and destroyed them. His future was gone. With no prospects, he tearfully broke up with Chloe. He told her he didn’t want to hold her back. He said he’d met someone else, someone more suitable, and was going to marry her. From that day on, Chloe changed. The vibrant girl he knew disappeared, replaced by the quiet, cool, rational woman I met. She got into an Ivy League school, graduated, started a successful company with a partner, and never looked back. **【If it weren’t for this stupid side character, the ML and FL would’ve gotten back together when they ran into each other a year ago!】** **【Remember how the husband acted all generous, telling them to ‘catch up’? Little did he know they already knew every mole on each other’s bodies. 😂】** **【My heart aches for Ethan. He had such a tragic life, but he pulled himself up by his bootstraps. Cared for his mom until she passed, then made sure his dad ended up in prison. He started from nothing, got himself back into college, and became just as successful as Chloe. They’re a true power couple!】** **【NGL what does the husband even have? Some family money? A fancy degree? He’s nothing compared to our self-made king.】** **【Wait, this isn’t following the script. Isn’t he supposed to be fighting with Chloe right now? That fight is what’s supposed to make her realize how gentle and kind Ethan is!】** **【You don’t get it. This is his new tactic. The manipulative loser is running away from home! But it’s not gonna work. Ethan is super sick from the booze, so Chloe is gonna stay and take care of him all night. She won’t even know her husband is gone. What a waste of drama!】** Just as the chat predicted, Chloe wasn’t coming home. A text from her lit up my phone: **【Emergency meeting at the office. Let’s meet at the courthouse at 8 AM tomorrow to sign the papers.】** I just leaned back and closed my eyes. In that moment, I was profoundly grateful that we had the wedding first. Everything could still be undone. 4 I got to my parents’ house at 3 AM. They didn’t ask any questions. They just put fresh sheets on my bed, handed me a glass of warm milk, and my dad patted my shoulder. “Get some sleep, son.” I slept better than I had in months. When I woke up, it was already one in the afternoon. My phone showed two missed calls and two unread texts from Chloe. For her, that was the equivalent of a full-blown panic. And yet, for Ethan last night, she had promised three separate times, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I smirked and opened her messages. The first was from 8:15 AM: **【It’s 8:15. You’re late.】** The second, five minutes later: **【I only offered to take Ethan home because I was worried you’d be concerned about your best friend. If you’re angry about that, I fail to see the logic.】** I deleted our entire chat history without replying. Then I opened Instagram. Ethan had just posted a new story. A picture of a latte, with a caption: **【Woke up at 11 and there’s a perfect latte waiting for me. How did I get so lucky? 🙏】** My grip on my phone tightened, my knuckles turning white. It was just a picture of a coffee, but I knew, with absolute certainty, that Chloe had made it for him. Because I love lattes. One year, for my birthday, I’d wished that I could wake up every morning to a latte with foam art. So Chloe learned how to do it. But she could only ever make one design: a heart. And the tip of the heart always had a little tail, a long, thin line trailing off, exactly like the one in Ethan’s picture. Chloe had liked his post. The chat exploded. **【Poor baby. He’s lived alone for so long. Now he finally has her with him. ❤️】** **【LMAO the husband is probably still waiting for Chloe to come find him and apologize. Joke’s on him. He missed his chance this morning. If he played his cards right, he could’ve at least been the ‘ex-husband.’ Now he’s just an ex-boyfriend.】** I ignored the comments. I went to Ethan’s post and left a comment of my own. **【That’s the only design she knows how to make.】** 5 Because of that comment, my phone rang almost immediately. It was Chloe. Her voice, usually so detached, was sharp with accusation. “Liam, are you serious?” “You were the one who told me Ethan liked coffee. He was drunk and hadn’t eaten anything all night, so I made him one to settle his stomach.” “First you stand me up at the courthouse, and now you’re leaving comments like that on Ethan’s post? Why are you being so childish and irrational?” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to smother the rage flaring in my chest. But before I could speak, I heard a rustle on the other end. Ethan had taken the phone. His voice was laced with gentle reproach. “Chloe, don’t talk to Liam like that.” Then, he spoke directly to me, his tone full of concern. “Hey man, don’t be mad. And don’t… don’t blame Chloe.” He sighed. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have drunk so much last night. I’m sorry I ruined your wedding night.” He took a shaky breath, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. “Don’t get the wrong idea about us, okay? I swear to you, nothing happened between us. Chloe… she really loves you.” He said it with such familiarity, such confidence. “If she didn’t really love you, she never would have been with you this long. She never would have agreed to marry you…” Ethan’s voice cut off abruptly. There was a fumbling sound, and I knew Chloe had snatched the phone back. But in the split second before she hung up, I heard her ask him one thing, her voice choked with pain. “Ethan, is that what you really think?” The line went dead. A heavy, suffocating pressure built in my chest. I stared at the dark screen of my phone, feeling completely numb. **【I SHIP IT SO HARD. Who else felt that raw, hidden love in his voice? I’m dying.】** **【And Chloe! Can you imagine being misunderstood like that by the man you love? Chloe, stop holding back! Just tell him the truth already!】** **【The husband is gonna be so lost. He ran away from home and tried to cause drama on Insta to get her attention, but her mind is completely on the ML right now. She’s not gonna give him a second thought.】** **【LMAO he really thought he was so important to her. She hasn’t even realized he moved out yet!】** I put my phone down and let out a short, bitter laugh. So, *this* is what Chloe was like when she was truly in love. She didn’t not know how to love someone. She just didn’t know how to love *me*. I ignored the chat and called a real estate agent. I listed the house. Since it was newly renovated and I priced it to sell, I found a buyer almost immediately. They were a young couple, desperate to move in. So, even before the contracts were signed, I agreed to let them start moving their things into the house. At their request, I had the place completely cleared out. All the furniture we’d spent six months picking out together, gone. As I stood in the empty space that was once our “home,” I thought I would feel sad. Instead, I felt a profound sense of relief. As if a crushing weight had finally been lifted from my shoulders. The woman who was only *learning* to love me… I could finally let her go. 6 I didn’t contact Chloe for the next few days. But I saw traces of her all over Ethan’s Instagram. A picture of them at a trendy hot pot place famous for date nights. A selfie of them standing in front of their old high school. A series of stories from a road trip they had promised each other they’d take when they were kids. By the time they got back, my lawyer had the sales contract for the house drawn up. All it needed was Chloe’s signature to completely sever the last tie between us. So, for the first time in over a week, I called her. The chat went insane. **【Look look look! The side character finally caved! He’s calling her!】** **【LMAO what’s the point? She and Ethan are *this* close to getting back together. He’s been sitting around waiting for her to come home and apologize while his whole life got stolen from under him.】** **【For real. And this whole ‘selling the house’ stunt to make her jealous? Does he really think she’ll care?】** **【Got my popcorn ready. Can’t wait to watch him throw a massive tantrum about the house. The bigger the scene he makes, the more gentle and perfect our ML looks. This is the final push they need!】** **【Yessss, my OTP is finally getting their happy ending!】** Chloe picked up. Before I could say anything, she spoke. “Not mad anymore?” A sarcastic smile touched my lips. So, this whole time, she was just waiting for me to be the one to break the silence, to be the one to apologize. The truth was, I wasn’t mad anymore. Because I didn’t care anymore. “We need to meet, Chloe,” I said calmly. There was a pause on the other end, followed by a low, airy chuckle. “Fine. I’ll come home tonight.” “Don’t,” I said. “Let’s meet somewhere else.” “Why?” she asked. I hesitated. I decided it was better to tell her about the house in person. “It’s… not convenient,” I said vaguely. After all, the new owners had already moved in. It wouldn’t be right to barge in on them. 7 I never expected Chloe to go back to the “marital home” that evening. I booked a table at a Sichuan restaurant, texted her the address, and went back to focusing on my new startup. When I finished up and checked my phone, I saw a message from her, sent half an hour earlier. **【Ethan is going to join us for dinner.】** **【No matter what, you two are best friends. And you really did misunderstand him.】** **【I expect you to apologize to him, and then we can put this behind us. We can go back to our lives, and you two can go back to being friends.】** **【Oh, and Ethan can’t eat spicy food, so the Sichuan place is out. He offered to cook a few dishes at our place. Swing by the market on your way home and pick these up.】** She sent a long list of groceries. It was mostly seafood. I knew Ethan loved seafood. What I didn’t know was that Chloe had apparently forgotten that I’m deathly allergic to it. I ignored the list and was about to call and tell her not to go to the house when my phone rang. I answered, and Chloe’s voice, tight with fury, snarled in my ear. “Liam, why is there a couple living in our house, and why didn’t you think to ask for my opinion?!” “This is our HOME! How could you just let your friends move in without telling me?” “I’m on my way,” I said, and hung up. 8 When I got there, Chloe and Ethan were standing side-by-side on the porch, their faces grim. The couple who had bought the house were blocking the doorway, looking furious. The guy was only wearing a pair of boxers, half-unzipped, and the woman had thrown on a silk robe, her face flushed. The second they saw me, they rushed over. “Mr. Hayes, what the hell is going on? Did you sell this house without telling your wife?” “We already wired the money! If you back out now, you’ll be in breach of contract!” “That’s it, we already called the cops! This needs to be sorted out, right now!” I apologized profusely and managed to calm them down before I walked over to Chloe. Before I could speak, she hissed, her jaw tight. “Liam, if you wanted to let your friends stay here, I wouldn’t have cared. But you could have at least given me a heads-up! Do you have any idea what they were doing in our house? When I opened the door, they were on the couch—” She stopped herself, taking a deep breath. Ethan finished for her, his face pale with disgust. “Dude, seriously. This is yours and Chloe’s home. For your friends to be doing… *that*… in here, it’s just not right.” Looking at their horrified expressions, I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. No wonder the new owners were so pissed. These two had walked in on something they shouldn’t have seen. “You think this is funny?” Chloe stared at me in disbelief. “Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?” I sobered up and pulled the neatly folded sales agreement from my briefcase. “Sorry about that. I was going to tell you over dinner tonight. I really didn’t expect you to bring Ethan back here.” I handed her the document. “They aren’t my friends, Chloe.” “Technically, this is their property now.” “I sold them the house.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “385091”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My love, on her journey to resurrect me, fell in love with someone else. When I woke up, Seraphina asked me what I wanted. I was about to say I wanted to finally have the wedding we never got to finish. But in that instant, lines of text began to scroll through my vision. **”The FL is so devoted. She became the freaking Celestial Queen and still didn’t forget to resurrect her mortal sidekick.”** **”Seriously, this sidekick has no shame. He just got brought back and he’s already demanding things. Our ML is the one who fought and bled beside her for a million years!”** **”Whatever. He’ll just get taken back to the Celestial Realm, cause a bunch of drama, and get cast aside. That’s when the FL will realize our ML is her true love!”** I considered this. Then I looked at her and said, “I want a separation.” 1 Seraphina froze. She looked almost exactly as she had before I died. Even more beautiful, more radiant. “Rhys,” she said, her voice trembling with disbelief, “are you joking?” **”A toxic, competitive guy like him wants a separation? This makes no sense!”** **”This old man is obviously using a separation to manipulate her. What a tool! I can’t believe the author wrote such a trash character!”** **”Just wait, our ML is about to show up with the kid. Get ready for the sidekick to get put in his place!”** The words floating before my eyes were vile. According to them, I was seeing the live-chat comments for a fantasy romance epic titled *The Celestial Queen’s Rebellious Love*. Seraphina was the female lead, the “FL.” A prodigy of immense talent, aloof and proud. In order to save her “white moonlight” husband—the first love who died shielding her from a divine trial—she embarked on a long, arduous journey to attain godhood. That husband was me. On her journey, she met Kael, the “ML”—the male lead—a roguish half-demon, half-celestial. They were rivals at first, then friends, supporting each other and growing stronger together over the course of nearly a million years. Kael confessed his love for her many times, but Seraphina always refused, holding my memory in her heart. Until one day, facing a trial she couldn’t overcome, she joined with Kael. United their essence. And conceived a child. Twice. The first was a son. She was now pregnant with their daughter. And me? According to the “plot,” after my resurrection, my personality would warp. I would become consumed with jealousy, constantly fighting with Kael for Seraphina’s affection. I would even try to frame him for crimes, leading to a confrontation so stressful that Seraphina would miscarry. Filled with hatred for me, she would finally strike me down during one of my jealous fits. A single blast of crimson light. And I would be annihilated, body and soul. What a joke. 2 “Sera! Rhys must still be dazed from his long sleep. He’s only human, after all. His mortal flesh is weak. Why don’t we let him rest in the Celestial Realm for a while?” A man in flowing green robes descended from the clouds, a miniature version of himself standing beside him. “Mama Sera! Hug!” The little boy, a half-eaten candied fruit in his hand, launched himself at Seraphina. “Kael, you little troublemaker. I thought we agreed no more sweets for Leo while he’s teething.” The moment before, Seraphina had been clutching my hand. Now, she instinctively scooped the boy into her arms. **”There it is! The pet names! ‘Sera’ and ‘Trouble’! Even their son Leo calls her that! The FL is the Celestial Queen and she still lets her man and kid call her silly names. This family is so cute I could die!”** **”Is someone feeling a little… extra right now? I won’t name names.”** **”Our ML is too kind, offering to let the sidekick stay in the heavens! My poor baby doesn’t know what’s coming.”** I bit my lip and tried to get her attention. “Seraphina.” No response. She was too busy flirting with Kael. I said it louder. “Seraphina!” That finally broke the spell. She put the child down and knelt before me on one knee. She pulled a small, ornate box from her robes, a shy expression on her face that I hadn’t seen since we were teenagers. “Rhys, I’m sorry. It’s… it’s been a very long time since anyone has called me that. Let me introduce you. This is Kael, my companion on my journey. When he said your mortal flesh was weak, he wasn’t insulting you. He just meant that the human body is fragile.” She leaned closer, her voice a whisper. “So… tonight, I will personally transfer my essence to you. You’ll become an immortal, just like me. And we’ll never have to be apart again.” I pointed at the man and his son. “You have his child, you carry his baby, and you stand in front of him and tell me *we’ll* never be apart?” As expected, Kael’s eyes welled with tears. The little boy started punching my leg. “You mean man! You made my daddy cry! Say you’re sorry!” **”This sidekick pretending to be the innocent victim. Ugh. It’s okay, Kael baby, don’t cry.”** **”If he wants a separation so badly, he can just leave. Jump through the Sundering Gate and you’re back in the mortal world.”** **”He’s just bluffing. The loser would never give up the luxury of the Celestial Realm and the temptation of eternal life.”** I turned to leave, but Seraphina’s hand shot out, grabbing my arm. At the same time, she grabbed Kael’s, who had also made a move to leave. “Rhys, where are you going?” “To the Sundering Gate. I told you, my wish is to separate from you.” She frowned, completely bewildered. “Just because Kael and I have children? Are you really that petty?” Am I petty? My wife fell in love with another man while she was supposed to be saving me. Am I not allowed to be angry? “Let me go.” I didn’t want to become the monster described in those floating words. Leaving was my only option. And she did let go. She let go of Kael’s hand, stepped behind me, and wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. “My only goal on this entire journey was to bring you back,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “Without you, nothing I’ve done has any meaning.” My own eyes started to burn. We were childhood sweethearts. Maybe I should trust the Seraphina I knew. Not these strange, cruel words. 3 “Mama! Daddy doesn’t look so good!” Kael was clutching his stomach, his face pale and contorted in pain. Seraphina immediately let go of me and rushed to his side, channeling her power into him to calm the chaotic energy in his core. Kael sagged against her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She didn’t push him away, simply supporting his weight. “Kael gave me a third of his life force a few days ago to help me nurture the baby,” she explained, not looking at me. “I need to help him stabilize his power. Rhys, I’ll be right back.” He was injured for the sake of their child. She, as the child’s mother, was taking care of him. It made sense. It was logical. But a selfish part of me couldn’t help but think: *If I hadn’t died, we would have had children. We would have been a normal, happy couple.* “Rhys, it’s incredibly difficult for celestials to have children. Kael is just… my partner in this. We are not in love. Don’t overthink it.” My fingernails dug into my palms. I swallowed the resentment and forced myself to say, “Okay.” 4 Seraphina was still worried I’d jump from the Sundering Gate. She had me confined to a lavish palace, guarded by hundreds of celestial soldiers. The servants were forbidden to speak to me. I had no way of finding the Gate. I had no idea how much time was passing. **”Phew, that was close. Good thing the sidekick didn’t do anything stupid. Sera gave birth to a healthy baby girl! The FL says she looks just like she did as a baby!”** **”Has anyone noticed the sidekick looks… older since he’s been locked up?”** **”A day in the heavens is a year on earth. The FL has been with Kael for his ‘post-partum’ recovery for fifteen days. That means the sidekick is a 30-year-old man now.”** Thirty. An old man? Seraphina and Kael were a million years old, and they still looked like they were in their early twenties. I looked in the mirror. Fine lines were beginning to creep around my eyes. My skin was sallow. I was aging. One day, two days, ten days. I started to miss my parents. My family. I never got to see my father’s hair turn grey, or my mother’s face grow old. I never brought honor to our family name. Back then, my entire world revolved around Seraphina. When she needed a sacred vessel forged for her ascension, our family were the only artisans in the region who could do it. But no one believed that she, an orphan everyone considered bad luck, could ever become a god. So I knelt in our ancestral hall. I begged my parents, my elders. I kowtowed until my forehead was bleeding. The only condition they gave was that she marry into our family. On our wedding night, the heavens roared. A divine trial descended. I threw myself in front of her, taking the lightning strike that was meant for her. With my death, she broke through to the next stage of her power, becoming the strongest mortal alive. My parents, my family… how much pain must they have felt, seeing me die? To give up your life for a woman… was it worth it? Back then, I didn’t understand. I thought a young man’s love could conquer anything. I couldn’t just wither away and die here. I had to go home. I owed my family an explanation. 5 “Rhys, are you still angry?” Seraphina’s voice was right behind me. I turned, and there she was, bathed in a holy light, more radiant than ever. And I… I was shriveling up. She wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight. “Rhys, I had a daughter. She looks just like I did when I was born.” **”The Queen’s memory is insane. She remembers what she looked like as a newborn.”** She sighed. “Rhys, will you call me by my full name again? Like you used to?” I tried to pull away, but her grip was like iron. “Do you remember when we were kids?” she murmured. “You used to fight off all the other boys who bullied me. You’d get into wrestling matches with a whole group of them, and you’d come back covered in bruises and mud. But you always won. You’d win all their marbles, and we’d sell them at the market and buy honey cakes until our stomachs hurt, and we’d lie on the flat rocks by the river and watch the moon.” How could I forget? Under that moonlight, a tiny Seraphina had puffed out her chest and proposed to me. “I, Seraphina, will marry Rhys in ten years!” she had declared. “I’ll never change my mind! For my whole life, and all my other lives! I’ll only ever love Rhys! The stars are my witness! And if I break this promise…” She’d paused, scratching her head. I’d been laughing so hard I fell over. “…then I’ll never get to eat honey cakes again!” For a five-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy, there was no imaginable punishment more severe. “Rhys, I’ll give you half of my power. You won’t get old anymore. Please, don’t be angry anymore, okay?” The lights in the room suddenly went out. My robes were being untied. With her power, she had moved us to the bed. I closed my eyes. The chat reappeared. **”Oh no, oh no, the FL is about to get tainted!”** **”My poor ML, all alone with their two kids! Author, can you please stop torturing him!”** **”See? I knew it. The sidekick couldn’t stand getting old. All that talk about leaving and jumping from the Sundering Gate was just an act. So fake.”** A bitter anger welled up inside me. A normal mortal man, cast out of heaven with nothing… how was I supposed to survive in a world teeming with gods and monsters? How was I supposed to find my family, who had likely been reincarnated countless times? If Seraphina was willing to give me her power, why shouldn’t I use it? 6 The next morning, my youth was restored. A strange, powerful energy coiled in my core. Her power. Seraphina was still asleep, her body curled against mine, trapping me. I tried to shift. “Kael… stop it…” she mumbled in her sleep. In the heat of passion, she had told me a thousand times that she loved me, only me. But now, in her most unguarded moment, she was dreaming of him. **”The sidekick should open his eyes and see! Subconsciously, the FL loves our ML the most!”** **”The sidekick was with her for fifteen years. Our Kael was with her for a million. It’s obvious who she truly loves.”** **”The sidekick thought he could die and become her unforgettable first love, then come back and win her heart. Too bad. The one who isn’t loved is the third wheel. This forbidden love is so thrilling!”** **”When is this loser finally going to jump from the Sundering Gate? I can’t take it anymore.”** I shook my head, trying to clear the words, but they wouldn’t go away. So I stopped pretending. “Alright,” I said to the empty room. “If you’re so smart, tell me where the Sundering Gate is.” 7 The chat exploded. They didn’t seem to know I could see them. **”Is he talking to us?”** **”Is the sidekick crazy? Or am I crazy? How can he see the chat?”** **”Sidekick, if you can see this, make a heart shape with your hands.”** A heart shape? What did that mean? I didn’t understand, but I placed my hand over my heart. “Like this?” The chat went silent for a moment. Then the messages came in a flood. **”You guys, type slower! I can’t read anything!”** My head started to throb. **”Wait, so he saw all the mean things we said about him?”** **”So what? We weren’t wrong. He IS a tool.”** **”But he hasn’t actually done anything evil yet.”** **”I wish our ML could see this instead. Why did it have to be the character I hate the most?”** **”Guys, has anyone noticed the next chapter is gone?!”** **”WTF! It’s blank! Someone message the author and ask if it’s a bug!”** **”I thought this was a finished story. I’ve read it a dozen times.”** **”Does this mean… our comments can change the plot?”** **”Don’t get ahead of yourself. He’s just a worthless, villainous side character.”** Side character or not, I am the hero of my own story. And I would use any advantage I could get. “So,” I said again, “are you going to tell me where the Sundering Gate is, or not?” 8 Following the chat’s directions, I slipped out of the palace. Seraphina’s power allowed me to turn invisible, evading the guards. “So this is the Sundering Gate.” I stood before a well that swirled with iridescent, cosmic clouds. Peering through the mist, I thought I could see the faces of my family, long passed. “Mom, Dad, your son has failed you. I’m coming to find you.” Just as I was about to jump, a crimson cord of light wrapped around me, pulling me back. “And where do you think you’re going, Rhys?” Kael stood there, holding a newborn baby, looking weak and pale. “I’m going through the Gate. To leave you two in peace.” I tried to use my new power to break free, but the cord only tightened. “That’s a Celestial Tether,” he said calmly. “The more power you use, the stronger it gets. Are you angry with me, Rhys? If I’ve done something to offend you, I apologize.” And with that, he knelt, his body still weak from giving half of his lifeblood to his newborn child. The chat immediately started gushing with sympathy. **”My poor baby looks even worse than when the sidekick framed him and got him thrown into the Demon Abyss.”** **”I regret telling Rhys where the Gate was. He should have just stayed in his lane and been the evil sidekick.”** **”The ML is apologizing and he didn’t even do anything wrong!”** **”The sidekick is just using us to bully the ML!”** **”Next time he asks for anything, I’m giving him fake directions. Let him get into trouble himself!”** Wow. Their ability to twist reality was impressive. I ignored them and focused on my core, trying to suppress my power so the Tether would loosen. When Seraphina and I had first started our journey, I had been the faster learner. I was always more powerful than her, but I held back, letting her win, to protect her pride. If only I hadn’t died before my own ascension, my power might have rivaled hers by now. Kael must have felt the Tether slacken. His fingers twitched, and he whispered, so low only I could hear, “I won’t let you have her. We’re soulmates. You just need to play your part. Hate me. That’s all you need to do.” A small, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips. Something felt very wrong. In the next instant, the Celestial Tether vanished. Kael collapsed, and the baby, dropped to the stone floor, let out a piercing wail that echoed through the heavens. Seraphina appeared in a flash of light. She took in the scene—the unconscious Kael, the crying baby, me standing over them—and her eyes narrowed into a furious glare. “Kael told me you held a grudge against him, but I didn’t believe him. I told him you weren’t the type to be consumed by jealousy. I told him I have never loved Kael, that my heart has only ever been yours. Why can’t you leave him alone? He was worried you’d be in danger if you went back to the mortal world, so he tried to stop you. And you attacked him to break free!” Her voice shook with rage. “I never knew you could be so cruel. He just gave his essence to our child; he’s incredibly weak. Now he’s bleeding internally. Are you trying to kill him?” She looked at me, her face a mask of cold disappointment. “Resurrecting you was my million-year obsession. Now, my obsession is fulfilled. We are even.” She picked up Kael, her eyes red. “You wanted a separation? Fine. You can have it.” She drew a dagger of pure light and severed a lock of her silvery hair, throwing it at my feet. As she turned to leave, she scoffed. “You have no idea what the mortal world is like now. I bet you’ll be on your knees before one of my statues in three days, begging me to take you back.” I turned my back to her, swallowing the last of my tears. “You’re mistaken, Your Majesty. You and I… we will never meet again.” And I leaped into the swirling clouds below.

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On the third day of my business trip, I idly opened my boyfriend’s private Instagram account. He had posted something new just a few seconds earlier. **“Biggest regret in life might be meeting the girl you want to take care of forever, right before you’re supposed to get married.”** The caption was paired with a candid shot of a young woman in a floral sundress. Her name is Lily. She’s my boyfriend’s classmate from his undergrad days. Sweet, innocent, and ten years younger than me. 01 I stared at the screen, my mind going blank for a second. My boss, sitting next to me, nudged my elbow. “Daydreaming again? Pay attention, the clients are talking. Go over the proposal one more time; you’re presenting in five. You got this.” I quickly shoved my phone back in my purse and gave him a thumbs-up. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna nail this.” After the meeting, my boss told me to grab a quick lunch. We were heading to the manufacturing plant for a site inspection in half an hour. I pulled out my phone to order something on DoorDash and saw the Instagram icon. I couldn’t resist. I tapped it open again. The post was gone. Just then, my best friend Megan called. “Dude, finally,” she said, her voice a dramatic rush. “You are not going to believe what I just saw.” “Your PhD-candidate boyfriend was at the grocery store with some young girl. They bought two huge bags of groceries, laughing and joking the whole time.” “I followed them. Subtly, of course. They went into your apartment building.” “Oh my god, he’s taking another woman into the condo you guys just bought together!” “Chloe, this is huge. Why are you so quiet?” I rubbed my forehead, a bitter smile on my face. “Meg, I’d love to say something, but you haven’t exactly taken a breath.” “Hold on, I took pictures. Sending them now.” My phone buzzed. A series of photos popped up. The angles were terrible—clearly spy shots—but the faces were crystal clear. The man, with his rimless glasses and handsome, scholarly look, was my boyfriend of eight years, Leo. And the girl… she was petite, radiating a youthful sweetness. Her name is Lily. A fellow student from his alma mater, from the same small town he grew up in. A senior at the local university now. “Did you see them?” Megan demanded. “Yeah,” I said. “That’s it?! Just ‘yeah’?!” My laugh was hollow. “What do you want me to say?” I could practically hear her cracking her knuckles over the phone. “You should be flying back here right now to key her car and make that asshole walk home in his boxers!” I massaged my throbbing temples. “First, I’m in the middle of a business trip. If this deal closes, I get a promotion. I can’t just leave.” “Second, we don’t know for sure if anything is actually happening. I could fly back and find nothing.” “And finally, even if they are sleeping together, so what? I go back and we have a huge, messy fight. Megan, breaking off an engagement isn’t like a normal breakup. It’s exhausting. This whole mess with him might make me cry, but my job just got me a big enough bonus for a new designer bag. You tell me which one’s a better investment.” Megan sighed. “I get it. I do. I just hate this for you. You’ve been with him for so long, supported him through two grad school applications, through his entire PhD program. You were cooking him special ‘brain food’ meals every single day while he was studying for his comprehensive exams. If he dares to cheat on you, I will personally ruin him.” “I know you’ve always got my back,” I said, forcing a smile into my voice. “I’ll bring you back something nice.” After we hung up, I just stood there. My nose started to burn, and I felt tears welling up. I squeezed my phone, forcing them back down. After a few minutes of deep breathing, I put on a smile, pulled out my phone, and ordered a salad. I needed to eat. I had a long afternoon ahead of me. 02 The trip was a huge success. We landed a major contract, and just like my boss promised, I was promoted to Director of Sales for the West Coast. Three days later, we flew back to San Francisco. As a reward, my boss gave me two days off and offered to have his driver take me home. I smiled and told him not to worry about it; my boyfriend was coming to pick me up. I stood at the arrivals curb with my oversized suitcase and called Leo three times. I sent five texts. No answer. The early March rain was cold, like icy needles against my skin. Defeated, I hailed a cab. I punched in the code to our condo and was hit by the rich aroma of a home-cooked meal. There were already four dishes on the dining table. Leo, wearing an apron, was at the stove. And on our new white sofa, a stranger—a man in his fifties—was asleep. He looked tired, his hair graying. A lit cigarette was perched between his fingers. A long column of ash broke off and fell onto our brand-new white shag rug. I slammed the door shut, startling him awake. He sat up, stubbed out the cigarette in an ashtray, and rubbed his eyes. He glanced at the wedding portrait on the wall, then at me. “You must be…” The man stood up, smiling. “You’re Leo’s girlfriend, Chloe, right?” Leo heard the commotion and came out of the kitchen, spatula in hand. He looked surprised to see me. “You’re back already?” He walked over, completely naturally, and pulled my suitcase inside. “This is Lily’s dad,” he explained. He pulled a spare pair of men’s slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them at my feet. “Lily’s mom is in the hospital right now, just a couple of blocks from here. Lily and her dad are taking shifts staying with her, so I told them they could crash here for a few days.” “I see,” I said flatly. Leo had to get back to the stove, so he rushed back to the kitchen. I wheeled my suitcase into the master bedroom. The heat lamp in our en-suite bathroom was on, and I could hear the shower running. The sound was like a punch to the gut. The water shut off. A moment later, the door opened. A young woman in cotton pajamas walked out, toweling her wet hair. Her face was fair and dewy, like a jasmine flower after a winter rain. It was Lily. She saw me and froze. “Ch-Chloe? I thought you were on a business trip.” Just like Leo. The exact same words. My eyes fell to her feet. She was wearing my pink, bunny-ear slippers. Lily shifted uncomfortably, taking a step back. “I don’t know if Leo told you, but my mom’s in the hospital. I couldn’t really shower there, so… I just borrowed your bathroom.” Just then, Leo’s voice called from the other room. “Dinner’s ready!” 03 There were four dishes and a soup on the table, a full-on home-cooked meal. All made by Leo. In eight years, he had never cooked a proper meal. The best he could manage was instant noodles. I had no idea he had this in him. The atmosphere at the table was painfully awkward. Lily and her father exchanged nervous glances and ate in silence. Leo put a piece of braised short rib on my plate. “How was the trip?” “Good,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back today? I would have picked you up.” “I called,” I said, chewing slowly. “You didn’t answer.” He paused. “Oh, right. My phone was charging in the other room. I was in the kitchen, I must not have heard it.” Another suffocating silence. Lily’s dad finally broke it with a cheerful, forced laugh. “Chloe, you’re a lucky woman. A guy like Leo, smart, thoughtful, and he can cook? They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.” I pulled out my phone and opened the HotelTonight app. “Sir, I’ve booked you a hotel. It’s very convenient, just a few minutes from the hospital.” The man slowly put down his chopsticks and turned his head away. Leo nudged my arm. “Her mom is getting out in a few days. Her dad is going through a tough time. It’s just for a little while.” I held up my phone. “I solved his tough time. He can stay at the hotel.” Leo’s face flushed with anger. “Do you have to make such a big deal out of this?” I looked him straight in the eye. “Do I? This is our condo, Leo. The place we’re supposed to get married in. We spent a year renovating it, another six months letting it air out. I’ve lived here for less than two weeks. My slippers aren’t even broken in yet, and you’re moving strangers in without even asking me?” He clenched his fists. “They’re not strangers! They’re from my hometown. Lily is my friend.” At that, Lily, who had been silent this whole time, put down her chopsticks. “I’m so sorry, Chloe.” Her eyes were red. She stood up and pulled on her father’s arm. “We shouldn’t have stayed here without asking you first. We’re very sorry.” She gave me a deep, formal bow. Her father sighed and bowed as well. The slump of his shoulders screamed of shame and humiliation. “We’re sorry, Chloe.” For a moment, my resolve softened. Was I being too harsh? Lily wiped a tear from her eye, her voice choked. “We’re so sorry for the trouble. My mom is still at the hospital… We’ll leave now.” Leo jumped up to stop them. “Lily, don’t cry. Chloe doesn’t mean it. She’s not kicking you out.” The last of my sympathy vanished. “Yes, I am. I don’t like strangers staying in my home.” Lily looked at me, then pulled her father toward the door to get their things. A few minutes later, they were ready to leave, suitcases in hand. Leo was still hovering, trying to apologize. “It’s still raining. Wait, let me grab a jacket for you. I’ll drive you. Just wait for me in the garage.” 04 After seeing them into the elevator, Leo came back into the condo for his car keys. He stood in the entryway, staring at me. I sat at the table, looking at the four dishes and soup, my expression calm. But under the table, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “Chloe, when did you become so heartless?” he demanded. “If you’re mad, be mad at me. Why did you have to humiliate them like that? Her dad is a taxi driver, a good, honest man. He was trying to hide it, but I saw him crying. You were so arrogant.” I let out a cold laugh. “Don’t you dare try to guilt-trip me. If they had asked me beforehand, I might have said yes. But this is on you. You made a decision behind my back, and now you have to live with the consequences.” He was cornered, and it made him angrier. “Lily is so shy and sweet. She would never have the guts to ask you. Besides, it’s not a big deal.” Shy? Sweet? I remember about four months ago, it was around 11 PM, and Leo and I were about to get intimate. I had just gotten out of the shower. He looked at me with this awkward, apologetic expression and said he wasn’t in the mood, that he couldn’t… perform. He asked if we could just try another time. What was I going to do, force him? Half an hour later, I pretended to be asleep. He quietly slipped out of bed and went to his study. I heard him get on a video call. It was with Lily. “Which problem are you stuck on?” he asked her. “This one,” she said in this super sweet, girly voice. “I feel like I just can’t get my head around it. Oh no, I’m totally going to bomb the math section of the GRE.” “It’s okay,” he said, his voice incredibly gentle. “We’ll work through it step by step.” “Is Chloe asleep?” she asked. “I hope I’m not bothering you guys, asking for help so late.” “Not at all,” he said quickly. “She has a crazy work schedule. She was out like a light hours ago.” As he was explaining the problem, I saw him discreetly take a few screenshots of her on his screen. … I had tried to rationalize it back then. Eight years is a long time. People say there’s a seven-year itch. He’s only human. I could allow him a moment of weakness, a small crush. As long as he respected our relationship, as long as he stayed on the right side of the line, as long as he still loved me, I could let it go. But he kept pushing that line, further and further, until now, I couldn’t pretend anymore. Just look at the way he was looking at me now. Pure, cold indifference. 05 There was nothing left to say. Leo shot me one last glare, grabbed his keys, and stormed out. The apartment was finally quiet. I looked at the cold food on the table and let out a small, choked laugh. And then the laughter turned to sobs. I hadn’t had a single drink, but my head was spinning. I called Megan. “Hey—” I managed to get one word out before I broke down completely. “What’s wrong? Chloe, don’t cry,” she said, her voice instantly alert. “You’re home, aren’t you? Did you catch them? Did that bastard really cheat on you?” “Hold on,” she said. “I’m coming over right now.” “Don’t,” I managed to say. I told her everything that had happened. She listened patiently. “That son of a bitch!” she finally exploded. “He’s the one who screwed up, and he has the nerve to call *you* arrogant? What a scumbag.” “Do you think,” I said, my voice thick with tears, “that all men just want someone younger?” “No,” she said firmly. “It means he’s a shallow asshole who doesn’t deserve a smart, successful woman like you.” I curled up in the chair and was quiet for a long time. “You know, I always just thought he was the typical nerdy, logical type. Too rational to be romantic.” “Two years ago, when I had the miscarriage… he made me chicken soup. He burned his hand doing it.” “I knew he just bought it pre-made from the grocery store, but I was still so touched.” “Then he had to go to a conference out of state. He asked me if I’d be okay by myself.” “I told him I was feeling better, that I’d be fine.” “So he ordered me a pizza on his phone, and he left.” “And then tonight… seeing him cook that whole meal, watching him chase after that girl…” “I realized it then. It’s not that the nerdy, logical guy doesn’t know how to be romantic. It’s just that his romance isn’t for me.” … I heard Megan light a cigarette and exhale slowly. “From the way you describe it, I don’t think they’ve slept together yet. Chloe, what are you going to do?” What was I going to do? I used to think that we would get married, and that would be that. Every couple has problems. And eight years… you don’t just throw that away. But now… the difference between being loved and not being loved was so painfully obvious. I couldn’t bear the thought of him sleeping next to me, making love to me, while thinking of another woman. “Megan,” I said quietly. “I don’t think I want to marry him anymore.” “Are you sure?” she asked, her voice gentle. Just then, my phone vibrated. A new message. It was from Leo. 06 **“Chloe, I’ve been thinking a lot. I can’t accept your arrogance and the way you treat people. Lily and her dad were my guests. The way you treated them was really a reflection of how you see me. I think we need to seriously consider if our values are even compatible.”** I read the text and laughed. A moment later, my phone rang. It was him. I told Megan I’d call her back and answered. “Hello, Chloe. It’s me.” “Lily is sitting right here next to me. She’s been crying this whole time. The phone is on speaker. I need you to apologize to her. Right now.” “If you refuse to apologize, then I think we need to seriously reconsider whether we should be getting married.” I paused for a beat, a cold smile spreading across my face. “Fine,” I said. “Then let’s not get married.”

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The day our final high school grades were released, Reina threw a huge celebration party for Alex. But she didn’t invite me. Later, when her meticulously planned drone light show over the Hudson River made local headlines, I quietly changed my college application from Columbia to NYU. Eighteen years of being inseparable, and in the end, I lost out to the new guy. I never thought the person I would lose to would be the underprivileged student I had personally vouched for. And this time, I don’t think I can ever forgive Reina. 1 I only found out about the party because someone in our class group chat accidentally posted and then quickly deleted a video. The moment Alex saw his grades, he let out a whoop of joy and swept Reina into a massive hug. “Reina! I can go to Columbia with you!” Reina didn’t push him away. She just smiled and slipped a wristband with a small, silver “King” charm onto his wrist. “Congratulations,” she said. In the background of the noisy video, our classmates were all cheering for him. It felt less like a celebration of his grades and more like they were celebrating him and Reina finally getting together. And there I was, staring at my phone, the punchline to a joke I didn’t even know I was in. I hesitated for a second, then called her. After two rings, a voice I didn’t expect answered. It was Alex. “Hey, Liam. Reina’s in the bathroom. She’s been running around all night planning this party for me, this is the first break she’s had.” He paused, realizing his mistake. “Actually, I told her to invite you, but she said you might be bummed about your scores, so she didn’t want to bother you.” “I’ll have her call you back, okay?” “Whoa…” I heard him gasp, like he had just seen something incredible. I didn’t care what it was. “Don’t bother,” I said, my voice flat. “You guys have fun.” I hung up. A local news notification popped up on my phone. A drone show over the Hudson. When I saw the image of the drones spelling out “CONGRATULATIONS ALEX – COLUMBIA BOUND,” I understood his gasp. A gesture that grand, that public… what guy wouldn’t fall for that? I glanced at my computer screen. A perfect 1600. I had worked my ass off for the past six months. I could get into Columbia, no problem. I could get into any school I wanted. Once, going to Columbia together was our plan, our promise. After Reina got in through early decision, that promise became a heavy weight on my shoulders, making every practice test a source of anxiety. But now, it seemed like I was the only one who even remembered that promise. And there was no point in keeping it anymore. 2 The next day, I slept in until noon. I called my parents and told them my score. My dad wired me ten grand and told me to “go celebrate, buy yourself something nice.” My mom, after a brief silence when I told her I was choosing NYU, finally spoke. “I thought you were going to choose Columbia. With Reina there, I wouldn’t have to worry about you.” She sighed. “But, if you have your own reasons, I support you completely.” “Yeah, Mom. I can take care of myself,” I said, ending the call quickly. After my parents divorced and remarried, having new kids with their new spouses, I became the baggage neither of them wanted. I thought I was used to it after all these years. But hearing her say that… it still stung. Because now, even Reina wasn’t going to be by my side anymore. 3 That afternoon, I was in the backyard, watering the roses, when Reina called to me from over the fence. “You seem to be in a good mood. What did you get?” she asked, yawning. She was still in her pajamas, her voice casual. She probably didn’t actually care about my score. If she did, she wouldn’t have waited until the next afternoon to ask. “1600,” I said quietly. “That’s great!” she said, her voice suddenly bright, like she was genuinely happy for me. “So you can come to Columbia with us!” That one word—”us”—twisted something in my gut. It was like she had only ever wanted Alex to go with her, and I was just an unexpected, and maybe unwanted, addition. I was about to tell her I wasn’t going to Columbia, but then Alex stumbled out of her back door, stretching. He was wearing one of her oversized t-shirts and a pair of pink pajama pants that were way too small for him, making him look like a kid in hand-me-downs. He saw me and ran over, his face beaming. “Liam, man, I’m so sorry. I was so excited yesterday, I completely forgot to ask you how you did.” Of course he was excited. Reina’s grand gesture had made him the talk of the town. Even if the drone show was old news by now, for them, it would be a memory that lasted forever. I looked at the pink pajamas again, and my good mood vanished. Their relationship was moving a lot faster than I had thought. Reina, sensing the awkwardness, tried to smooth things over. “Liam got a 1600. He can come to Columbia with us.” Alex’s smile faltered. “Wow, that’s amazing. You did even better than me.” He looked at me. “Do you know what you want to major in?” I was still stuck on “with us.” “I don’t know,” I said irritably. “With this score, I can probably pick whatever I want.” “Liam, don’t be rude,” Reina said, frowning at me like she was scolding a child. Alex quickly jumped in. “Liam comes from a wealthy family; he can just choose whatever he’s passionate about. For me, I have to think about my future career, job prospects… it’s so hard to choose.” “Don’t worry,” Reina said, reaching up to ruffle his hair, her voice soft. “I’ll help you figure it out.” The casual intimacy of the gesture was like a slap in the face. As they walked away, Reina turned back. “Liam, you shouldn’t talk to Alex like that. His family doesn’t have the advantages we do. He’s worked incredibly hard to get where he is.” “And about yesterday,” she continued, “the party ended really late, and he couldn’t get back to his place in the suburbs, so he just crashed in my guest room. Don’t read anything into it.” “Besides,” she added, “you’re the one who told me to help him out.” “Anyway, I’m really happy you got into Columbia.” I turned off the hose, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. A half-assed explanation and a pat on the head. Was that all I was worth to her? So, Alex’s struggle was a struggle, but mine wasn’t? It was true, when I first introduced them, I had asked her to help him, to tutor him. I never thought he would end up replacing me in her life. I never thought my best friend, the girl I had grown up with, would one day say my full name with such a cold, dismissive tone, all for some other guy. But it was done. Three was a crowd, and someone had to be the one to gracefully exit. So, I wasn’t going to Columbia. In a month, I would be gone, and Reina and I would be over. Forever. 4 I called a real estate agent and listed the house. I told him to price it slightly below market value, but that I would only accept a cash offer. He came over to take pictures and gently told me that finding a cash buyer for a house this size would be difficult in the current market. I just smiled. “That’s fine. Just list it. I’ll leave a key with you when I go to college.” As I was showing him out, I saw Reina and Alex leaving. Alex saw me and immediately came over, all smiles. “Reina’s taking me to get some stuff for my dorm room. Want to come?” He was wearing a brand-new, expensive-looking watch. A gift from Reina, no doubt. It was also obvious that he hadn’t left her house in days. “Crashing for one night” had turned into moving in. But then I remembered that her parents were out of town on business, and it all made a sick kind of sense. Reina didn’t second his invitation. She just pointed at the real estate agent’s car. “Who was that?” “Oh, just someone from the city to fix a leaky pipe,” I lied. Ever since I decided to leave, I had become a very good liar. I don’t know if it was my acting, or if Reina just didn’t care enough to question it. She just nodded and told me to take care of myself, then walked off with Alex, laughing and talking. The sight of their happiness was so sharp, so painful, that I had to turn away. And for the third time in my life, I felt a profound, aching loneliness in this big, empty house. The first time was when I was seven. My parents got divorced. My mom left with a single suitcase. Before she walked out the door, she knelt down and told me, “Your dad is busy. You need to learn to take care of yourself. If you need anything, go next door and ask Reina’s mom.” “And be polite,” she added. “They’ll like you more if you are.” Reina’s parents did treat me like their own son. And Reina… she always looked out for me. If there was a dish on the table that I liked, she would save it for me. I was a picky eater, and I hated carrots. She would sneak them out of my bowl when her mom wasn’t looking and eat them herself, even though she hated them too. The second time was when I was ten. My dad remarried. His secretary, pregnant with a boy, he had confirmed. He was overjoyed. He bought a house in her hometown and moved there. Out of guilt, I guess, he transferred the deed to this house to my name before he left. He said he would come back and visit, but he rarely did. Even though he was never really around much before, the thought of being completely alone in this house on holidays was a new kind of lonely. Back then, Reina, afraid I would be sad, would come over every day with some new way to cheer me up. She would dress up in a Pikachu costume in the middle of summer and bring me cupcakes. Her mom would cook my favorite meals. Their warmth filled the void left by my own family. And slowly, over the years, my feelings for Reina changed into something more. In our freshman year of high school, she made me promise we would go to Columbia together. The look in her eyes was so sincere, I thought she felt the same way. I had planned to confess my feelings to her the day we both got our acceptance letters. Looking back now, I think I was just fooling myself. Reina was nice to me, but she was nice to everyone. Except for Alex. With him, she was more than nice. She was… everything. 5 Reina’s parents came home early from their trip. Her mom immediately called and invited me over for dinner, saying her dad had a graduation gift for me. It was a new laptop, tablet, and phone, the exact same models as Reina’s. I was grateful. Her dad was a quiet man, but he had always been kind to me. The thought of leaving them was the hardest part of this whole decision. But I would find a way to make it up to them someday. We were halfway through dinner when Reina and Alex finally came home. Alex immediately tried to hide behind Reina. Her dad’s expression hardened. “How many times have I told you to be mindful of your boundaries with people? Bringing a boy home like this… what will people think?” Her mom, trying to keep the peace, gestured for them to sit down. “Let’s just eat. After dinner, I’ll have the driver take you home.” She looked at Alex. “Your parents must be worried about you, right?” Alex didn’t say anything. Under the table, he tugged on Reina’s sleeve. She moved my favorite dish, a spicy stir-fried pork, in front of him. “Mom, Dad, I don’t know why you’re so hostile toward Alex,” she said, her voice sharp. “Liam is over here all the time, and you’ve never said a word to him.” “That’s different, and you know it,” her mom snapped. “How is it different?” Reina retorted. She glanced at me, a flicker of something in her eyes, but no apology. She stood up, grabbed Alex’s hand, and pulled him toward the door. “I promised Alex I would show him every corner of this city this summer. If he’s not welcome in this house, then we’ll just stay somewhere else.” Even though I had tried to prepare myself for this, hearing her say that, seeing her defend him so fiercely… it was like a punch to the gut. The special treatment, the favoritism I thought I had… it had never been for me. Her mom tried to comfort me after they left, but I couldn’t hear her words. I just smiled and said, “It’s okay. People grow up.” And people grow apart. “Don’t be too hard on her,” I said. 6 I spent the next few days packing. After my parents left, there wasn’t much in the house that was mine. The only room that took any time was my bedroom. One entire wall was covered in shelves, filled with gifts from Reina. Crystal snow globes, music boxes, Marvel action figures, limited edition sneakers… for a while, they had made me believe I was special to her, that I was the only one. But now, I realized she had probably just felt sorry for me. A sad, lonely boy who needed cheering up. Throwing them all away felt too cruel. I decided to leave them for the next owner. I just packed a few suitcases of clothes. Reina’s parents eventually managed to get her to come home. As a compromise, they allowed her to take Alex out during the day, as long as she was home by six every night. We would sometimes run into each other, and she would always look at me with this hesitant, almost guilty expression. I think she blamed me. I think she thought that her parents’ disapproval of Alex was somehow my fault. But who was there to care about my pain? 6 The night my acceptance letter arrived, Reina threw a small pebble at my window. It was a secret signal we had when we were kids. We hadn’t used it since she and Alex had gotten close. I opened the window, a strange sense of nostalgia washing over me. Reina was standing in her yard, holding up her own acceptance letter, her face glowing. “Liam! It’s here! Columbia, aerospace engineering!” Becoming an aerospace engineer had always been her dream. For a while, I had even considered majoring in the same thing, just so we could spend more time together. Now, all I could do was smile from my window and say, “Congratulations.” “What about you?” she asked, tilting her head. “What did you end up choosing?” “Literature.” She nodded. “That sounds like you.” She pulled a handful of sparklers from her pocket and lit them. The sparks illuminated her beautiful face, making her look almost magical. “Congratulations on getting into Columbia, Liam,” she said, her voice soft and hypnotic. “Thanks,” I said, a dull ache in my chest. If I hadn’t seen the drone show, I might have been fooled by this cheap, imitation romance. Goodbye, Reina. I did get into the literature program. Just not at Columbia. 7 I wanted to live off-campus, so as soon as my student visa was approved, I booked a flight to New York. Reina was too busy showing Alex the world to notice I was gone. I only said goodbye to her parents. I told them I was just going on a trip, not that I was leaving for good. The pace of life in New York was frantic, and the busyness of it all helped to numb the pain of leaving. But sometimes, I would find myself scrolling through my phone, looking at Alex’s posts. While I was apartment hunting under the hot summer sun, he was posting pictures of him and Reina whitewater rafting. Caption: **”Cooling off this summer! First time rafting!”** Reina’s comment: **”There will be many more times to come.”** While I was eating a sad slice of pizza in a tiny diner, he was posting pictures of a fancy dinner at a restaurant at the top of the Empire State Building. Caption: **”It’s lonely at the top. And a little hard to breathe. First time having dinner with a view like this.”** Reina’s comment: **”I’ll help you check off every item on your wish list.”** I turned off my phone, a cold sneer on my face. It wasn’t the altitude that was making him dizzy. It was the intoxicating fantasy of marrying into money. The night I moved into my new apartment, on a strange impulse, I went through and liked every single one of his posts. Less than a minute later, I got messages from both of them. Reina: **”You little jerk. You went to New York without me?”** Alex: **”Reina told me you’re in New York! Is it fun? I wish I could go. I’m so jealous you can just pick up and leave whenever you want.”** Alex: **”By the way, Liam, school is starting soon. You’re still going to sponsor me, right?”** I was defeated by his sheer audacity. He had already stolen the love of my life, and he still had the nerve to ask me for money for college. I was also angry at myself, for wasting even a second of my time on them. I left their messages on “read” and blocked them both. Finally, the world was quiet again.

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While helping my son with his homework, I mispronounced a line from a famous poem. My husband, Leo, corrected me. “It’s ‘The charge of the Light Brigade,’ not ‘The change of the Light Brigade,’” he said. And for that, I asked for a divorce. Leo stared at me, bewildered. “Over a single word?” I was about to nod when words began to scroll across my vision, like a live-stream chat. **【Here we go! This is the part where the shrewish side character makes a huge deal over nothing and tries to divorce the ML!】** **【I feel so bad for the ML. The pronunciation was officially changed like a hundred years ago. What’s wrong with him correcting her?】** **【Tbh, we should thank her. If she wasn’t so crazy, the ML would never realize how cool and understanding the FL is and they wouldn’t get their happy ending.】** **【LMAO, she has no idea. She thinks she’s just throwing a little tantrum, but she’s actually handing her husband over to someone else. Later, she’ll be on her knees, begging him to come back, but it’ll be too late. Even her own son won’t want her anymore!】** I froze, and my eyes instinctively darted to my son, Noah. His brow was furrowed in a look of pure disdain. “Auntie Evelyn said that anyone who doesn’t know how to say that is basically illiterate,” he said, his little voice full of scorn. “Mom, you can’t get mad at Dad just because you’re an idiot.” So, the chat was right. The “female lead” had already infiltrated our lives, and I hadn’t even noticed. I turned and started packing a bag. “Yes,” I said, my voice cold. “Over a single word.” 1 The love letters Leo wrote to me in college? I left them. The anniversary gifts he’d given me over the years? I left them. The matching couple’s sweatshirts we bought when we were just kids? I left them, too. I packed only what was absolutely necessary, all of it fitting into a single carry-on suitcase. When I wheeled my bag out of the bedroom, the warm, yellow light of the living room was still on. Leo was half-turned toward me, the other half of his body cloaked in shadow. He was slouched on the couch, his laptop open in front of him. He was in a meeting. But there were only two people in the video call. Him, and the “Auntie Evelyn” my son had just mentioned. Her real name was Evelyn Shaw. She was wearing a silk robe, a thin cigarette perched between her elegant fingers. Her voice was cool and detached. “Let’s just stick to the plan for the project. Now that we’re done with business, shall we talk about something personal?” she said, taking a drag. “Noah just called me. He said he wanted me to help him with his homework. What’s going on? Where’s your wife?” As Leo was answering her, I was rolling my suitcase toward the front door. He suddenly laughed, a short, sharp sound. He caught my eye, a flicker of defiance in his gaze. “She says she’s divorcing me,” he said, a smirk playing on his lips. “Because I corrected her pronunciation of a word.” I opened the door, my voice calm. “I’m leaving, Leo.” “Fine,” he said. “When do you want to go to the courthouse?” “Tomorrow. 2:30 PM. I’ll meet you there.” I gently closed the door, shutting out the look of sudden shock on his face. The chat in my head immediately exploded. **【??? What’s happening? Why isn’t she following the script? Shouldn’t she be throwing a massive fit right now?】** **【Come on, do your job! We need you to be a crazy, irrational shrew to make our FL look good! Go back in there and start a fight!】** **【You guys are so naive. Don’t you see what she’s doing? She only packed a tiny suitcase. She left all the important stuff behind. She thinks she’s coming back. It’s just a little manipulation tactic.】** **【I’ll bet you ten bucks she’s back in three days, tail between her legs.】** **【I’ll bet you she doesn’t even last the night!】** I closed my eyes, my hand gripping the handle of my suitcase so tightly my knuckles turned white. They didn’t know. I didn’t take those “important” things with me, not because I thought I would be back. But because they weren’t important to me anymore. 2 To win me over in college, Leo wrote me 99 love letters. I hadn’t been interested in dating. I wanted to go to grad school, to work in my professor’s lab, to dedicate my life to research. But he was persistent. He showered me with all the romantic gestures a girl could dream of. For a small-town girl who had spent her whole life with her nose in a book, it was a whole new world. Fireworks over the Disney castle. Stargazing from a boat in the middle of the ocean. A private serenade in the desert at sunset. I turned him down, again and again, but he just smiled. “I can wait, Amelia. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.” In the end, I gave in. Those were the three happiest years of my life. I, who had never cared for such things, even bought us matching outfits. He would pretend to complain about my taste, but he would wear them with a proud grin. “This way,” he’d say, “the whole world knows you’re mine.” Everyone thought we were the perfect couple. The “nerdy but beautiful” valedictorian and the “rich, handsome” campus heartthrob. “If you two don’t make it,” they’d say, “I’ll never believe in love again.” So, when he proposed after graduation, I said yes. Saying yes meant giving up my dream of a PhD, moving to a new city with him, and starting over. I did it without hesitation. I found a job, and my work ethic quickly got me promoted to department manager. For the first few years of our marriage, he would always surprise me with a thoughtful anniversary gift. I thought I had it all. Love, a successful career… I thought I had found a new kind of fulfillment. Until I found out I was pregnant. Leo was ecstatic. He picked me up and spun me around, but when he saw the look on my face, his smile faded. “I know this is a bad time for your career,” he said, his voice quiet. “If you don’t want to… it’s okay.” He tried to smile, but as he turned away, I heard a small, choked sigh. I lay awake all night. The next morning, I packed away all the anniversary gifts, the love letters, the matching sweatshirts. Along with them, I packed away my youthful ambitions. A year later, after a long and difficult labor, our son, Noah, was born. And my life became completely tied to my family. I traded my power suits and high heels for sweatpants and sneakers. I gave up my monthly manicures and my biannual hair appointments. I became a full-time housewife. I didn’t realize how much I had changed until one night, Leo came home drunk. He wrapped his arms around me in bed, his hands slipping under my pajama shirt. As I leaned in to kiss him, he suddenly pulled back, sobered by the contact. In the darkness, he blurted out, “Amelia… have you gained weight?” He was right. I didn’t have time for the gym anymore. I was always rushing to take care of Noah, grabbing whatever food was quickest and easiest. My metabolism had slowed down. The pounds had crept on. When I sat down, I had three rolls of fat on my stomach. I wasn’t the dazzling Amelia he had fallen in love with anymore. I didn’t say anything. Leo got out of bed and went to the balcony. In the moonlight, I saw him light a cigarette. He was thinking of someone else. “I’ll transfer you some money,” he said, his back to me. “Go buy yourself some nice clothes tomorrow. Evelyn was telling me about the new Chanel collection. You should get out of the house more. You can’t just wear pajamas all the time.” That was the first time I had ever heard him mention her name. But I didn’t think anything of it. Until tonight. 3 Taking care of Noah took up all of my time. I trusted Leo completely, so I never asked him about his work. So, it was from the live-stream chat that I learned about Evelyn Shaw. She had been brought in as a new executive at his company three months ago. At first, no one liked her, including Leo. But in ten days, she had won everyone over. They all called her “Evelyn,” and said she was not only beautiful, but brilliant. A true “boss lady.” I looked at my reflection in the mirror. 150 pounds, wearing an old t-shirt and shorts, my skin dull, my hair dry. It was no surprise that Leo would end up with Evelyn. He was always drawn to bright, shining people. And me? I had been worn down by life, until all that was left was a dull numbness. I had almost forgotten… I used to be a bright, shining person, too. I called my old professor. We hadn’t parted on the best of terms when I left. I had a backup plan, just in case. But to my surprise, he was thrilled to hear from me. “Amelia, it’s not too late. It’s never too late.” I took a deep breath. “Okay, professor. I’ll book a flight and come see you as soon as I can.” After I hung up, the chat went wild. **【Is she kidding? She’s a stay-at-home mom who’s been out of the loop for years. She thinks she can just waltz back into academia? Is she crazy, or am I?】** **【You guys don’t get it. She’s just jealous of our Evelyn. She sees a powerful, beautiful woman who’s a threat, and now she’s trying to ‘improve’ herself.】** **【LMAO, I can’t. Does she really think she can compete with our FL? She’s just a pathetic, washed-up side character.】** **【She should just go beg the ML for forgiveness now. Maybe she still has a chance.】** **【Too late! Don’t you remember? Evelyn was comforting him all last night. He’s already falling for her! He even brought her a homemade sandwich this morning!】** My hand tightened on the doorknob. I remembered, a long time ago, Leo, who couldn’t cook to save his life, had learned to make sandwiches for me. “If you like them,” he had said, “I’ll make them for you forever. Only for you.” But then, at some point, he stopped. He said he was too busy in the mornings. But one time, when I pressed him, the truth slipped out. “Amelia, can’t you just eat less? Sandwiches are full of carbs, you know.” His disgust… it had been there all along, and I had been too blind to see it. I had let him treat me like that for so long. Was this really the Amelia I wanted to be? 4 Before I went to the courthouse, I got my hair done. The chat was merciless. **【LMAO, what did I tell you? She’s getting all dolled up to go beg the ML for forgiveness.】** **【Ugh, so pathetic. Couldn’t even last 24 hours.】** **【No wonder the ML fell out of love with her. Who could love such a desperate, clingy woman?】** … I ignored them and arrived at the courthouse at 2:30 PM, right on time. Leo was ten minutes late. A sleek, black Lincoln pulled up to the curb, and the window rolled down. Evelyn was at the wheel. She looked me up and down, a smirk on her lips. “Hello, Ms. Davis.” Leo got out of the passenger seat. “Sorry, the meeting ran long,” he said. “Another private meeting for two?” I asked with a smile. He frowned. “Amelia, you don’t have to be so aggressive. Evelyn is a dual major, with a law degree. Since we’re getting a divorce, it’s important to discuss the division of assets, and…” He glanced at the back seat. “Noah’s custody.” The chat saw my hesitation. **【Here we go. The son is her whole life. She’ll never give him up.】** **【Too bad the son already loves our Evelyn more. Who would want a poor, ugly, washed-up mom when you could have a beautiful, cool stepmom?】** Even with my “god’s-eye view,” I wasn’t completely immune to their words. Noah was seven years old. I had poured my entire life into him for seven years. He was the precious treasure I had almost died to bring into this world. I couldn’t just give him up. But just as I was about to speak, Noah, who had been hiding behind Leo, peeked out at me. “Dad, Mom can’t even say ‘Light Brigade’ right. How is she supposed to teach me anything?” My heart clenched. All my hesitation vanished. I let out a short, sharp laugh and walked into the courthouse. “You can have him. I don’t want him.” 5 As we were signing the papers, the clerk gave us the standard speech. “Are you two sure about this? Divorce is a major life decision. You shouldn’t do it just because you’re angry.” Leo leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face. “Did you hear that, Amelia? It’s just one word. Don’t be so petty. You’ve spent the last seven years revolving your life around Noah. Are you sure you can live without him?” His tone was so condescending. Even here, in this drab government office, with the divorce papers right in front of him, he still thought this was just a game, just a tantrum I was throwing. It was then that I realized how long we had been together. So long that not only had I lost myself, but he had forgotten who I used to be. Without a moment’s hesitation, I signed my name.

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I asked a DoorDash driver to help me deliver a baby. “Deliver to who?” he asked. “The CEO of Sterling Corporation,” I said. “Alexander Sterling. He’s sterile.” Alexander was about to be forced out of his own company because he couldn’t produce an heir. Today was the press conference where they were going to announce that his illegitimate half-brother would be taking over. The Dasher arrived at the press conference, held the baby up high, and shouted, “Who’s Alexander Sterling? Your DoorDash delivery is here. It’s a baby boy.” “Can you sign for him, please? I’ve got another delivery to make.” 1 A hush fell over the room, followed by a wave of frantic whispers. “Is this for real? I thought he couldn’t have kids. Isn’t that why his father is kicking him out and giving the company to the other son?” “Yeah, that earthquake three years ago. He was saving a kid and a piece of rebar got him. No more kids. That’s when his father announced he had a ‘secret’ son in college, to ‘secure the family line.’” Now, three years later, that “secret” son, Ethan, was back, ready to push his older, legitimate brother out of the way and take over the company. Ethan had been gloating about it, his voice dripping with condescension. “Don’t blame me, big brother. Who told you to be a hero? An earthquake hits, and you run *towards* it to join a rescue team? Don’t you know that no good deed goes unpunished?” “You saved some random kid, and now you can never have one of your own. It’s almost… tragic. You had it all, and you just threw it away. I thought I’d be the bastard son forever, but look at me now. Winning without even trying.” I had been at the mall nearby, dressed in a furry bunny costume, trying to earn some money for baby formula. I’d gone to the restroom on my break and overheard Ethan mocking my baby’s father. I decided then and there that I had to do something. I found a Dasher outside. “I’ll Venmo you fifty bucks to make a delivery to the Sterling Corporation press conference. It’s an express order.” “What am I delivering?” he asked. I held up a sweet, pink, sleeping baby. “Deliver this to the sterile CEO, Alexander Sterling. Tell him it’s his son. And if he doesn’t believe you, tell him to get a paternity test.” The Dasher’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious? You’re not trying to pull a fast one on me, are you? This isn’t some kidnapped baby, right? Everyone knows that guy can’t have kids.” I didn’t know how to explain. But then his expression changed. “You know what? I’ll do it. I can’t stand seeing illegitimate kids steal what’s not theirs. Let’s do this.” Ten minutes later, just as Alexander’s father was about to announce that Ethan would be taking over as CEO, the Dasher burst in. “Who’s Alexander Sterling? Your DoorDash baby is here. Sign for it, I’m in a hurry.” The room exploded. Reporters swarmed the Dasher, microphones and cameras in his face. “What did you just say you were delivering?” “His son,” the Dasher said, his voice booming. “Now, where is he? Mr. Sterling, your kid is here. Can you come sign, please? I’ve got another delivery to make.” 2 I was watching the whole thing on a live stream from my phone, laughing so hard I could barely breathe. I could only imagine the looks on their faces, especially that arrogant little prick, Ethan. And my baby’s father, Alexander. It had all started a year ago. I’m a shifter, a bunny shifter. And once a month, my hormones go haywire. I was tossing and turning in my little bunny burrow, unable to sleep. So I shifted into my human form and hopped on my scooter to go to the pharmacy for some hormone suppressants. I was already feeling hot and bothered, and I got distracted. I’m colorblind, and I accidentally ran a red light. A Maybach swerved to avoid me, right into the path of an oncoming truck. The truck sent the Maybach flying, then sped off. I ran over to the wreckage and found Alexander slumped in the driver’s seat, barely breathing. “Hey, stay with me.” I managed to pull him out of the car. His breathing was so shallow, I knew he wouldn’t make it to the hospital. And it was my fault. In a panic, I did the only thing I could think of. I bit him. It’s a little-known fact about bunny shifters: when our hormones are raging, our saliva has healing properties. “What are you doing? Get off me!” he groaned, his body trembling in pain. “Shut up if you don’t want to die!” I snarled. After I bit him, the heat in my own body intensified. This man… he was a work of art. His face, his chest, his waist, his legs… every inch of him was perfect. It was a dark and stormy night, the perfect setting for a little… mischief. He was weak, helpless, completely at my mercy. And I remembered the comments I’d seen online: “Who cares how successful he is? He’s broken where it counts. No respectable woman would want him.” My lips were dry. The internet may not have wanted him, but my hormone-crazed self definitely did. And besides, if he was sterile, what was the harm? All he had to do was lie there. I could do all the work. 3 My hormones were in control. I couldn’t resist. I pushed him back into the wrecked Maybach. What happened next was a blur of passion and chaos. “What are you doing? Who do you think you are? Stop touching me!” He was being so loud. So I took off his tie and blindfolded him. I leaned in and bit his neck, my voice a low growl. “Shut up. I saved your life. Now you’re mine.” When it was all over, I heard the faint sound of sirens. I pulled up my pants and ran. Before I sped off on my scooter, I couldn’t resist leaving him with one last, dramatic declaration. “Remember this. You’ve been marked by me. Even if you are sterile, you will remain faithful to me. And in return, I will protect you for the rest of your life.” He probably thought I was crazy. I never thought I’d actually have to make good on that promise. And I definitely never thought… I thought he was sterile. I thought there would be no consequences. But then, a few weeks later, I was hit with a wave of morning sickness. You’ve got to be kidding me. “Sterile,” my ass. Well, if I was pregnant, I was having the baby. Single motherhood sounded kind of awesome, actually. So I gave birth to a whole litter of bunnies. Seven of them. Six of them were still in their bunny forms, adorable little fluffballs. Only the seventh, my little Lucky, was a human baby. He must have taken after his father. I had no intention of using my son to get anything from his father. But then that little bastard Ethan started bullying him. And Alexander Sterling had been marked by me. That made him mine. And my biggest flaw is that I’m fiercely protective of what’s mine. My second biggest flaw? I love chaos. 4 The press conference was in complete pandemonium. Only Alexander remained seated, calm and composed. He clearly didn’t believe the baby was his. But his mother, Eleanor, had already rushed over to the Dasher and taken the baby, tears of joy streaming down her face. “He… he looks just like Alexander did as a baby! This is my grandson! It has to be!” She turned to her husband, her voice triumphant. “Do you see this, Richard? I have a grandson! And you still want to say my son isn’t fit to be the heir?” After years of dealing with her son’s infertility, her husband’s betrayal, and the humiliation of his illegitimate son, Eleanor was done playing nice. She didn’t care if the baby was actually her grandson or not. She was going to use him to burn it all down. Richard Sterling rushed over. “What is the meaning of this, Alexander?” Alexander didn’t move. The reporters were shouting questions. “Mr. Sterling, is this really your son? Weren’t you sterile? Who is the mother? Are you just using this baby to disrupt the press conference?” Alexander didn’t answer. It was Ethan who was losing his mind. “Dad, this is ridiculous! This baby could be anyone’s! They’re just trying to cause a scene! It won’t work! A paternity test will prove he’s not Alexander’s! Just make the announcement! Let me take over the company!” Eleanor walked over to Ethan and slapped him across the face. “A paternity test? I don’t need a test to know my own grandson.” Ethan almost hit her back, but he restrained himself. “Dad, see? They’re scared! They know the baby isn’t his!” Suddenly, Alexander stood up. He walked out of the room without a word, like he wanted no part in the ridiculous drama. His back was straight, but there was a sadness in his posture that was heartbreaking. The cameras followed him until he disappeared through a side door, surrounded by his bodyguards. 5 The internet was buzzing. Someone tweeted at Alexander: “If you could go back in time, would you still save that kid in the earthquake? If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have to be pulling this fake baby stunt to save face.” His reply was short and to the point: “Yes.” That’s my baby daddy. But why wasn’t he getting a paternity test? Who said Lucky was a fake baby? If my other six little bunnies could shift into human form, I would have sent them all. I was at the mall, buying more formula, when two large men in suits blocked my path. “Ma’am, Mr. Sterling would like to see you.” “What? Why? I don’t even know him,” I said, my heart pounding. I didn’t mind sending him a son, but I hadn’t planned on revealing myself. How did they find me so fast? “We know you’re the one who hired the Dasher,” one of the men said. “Please, come with us.” I had no choice. They led me to a black Maybach. The same one from the accident, now fully repaired. Alexander was sitting inside. He looked at me, a flicker of recognition in his eyes. “You?” “Hi,” I said with a nervous smile. “Fancy seeing you here.” His calm, composed mask finally cracked. “Is the baby yours?” Before I could answer, he shook his head. “No, it’s impossible. I can’t have children.” The disappointment in his voice was palpable. I took a deep breath, and with a pop, my two long, fluffy bunny ears sprang from the top of my head. I wiggled them at him. “I’m not a normal woman. I’m a bunny shifter. See? You can touch them if you don’t believe me.” He did. His fingers were so soft against my fur. My cheeks flushed. “Damn it. I forgot you’re not supposed to touch a bunny’s ears. It… makes us… you know.” He quickly pulled his hand back, his own ears turning a bright red. “You’re incorrigible,” he muttered. “It’s a normal biological reaction,” I said defensively. “If I were to touch your… you know…” My eyes traveled down his long, muscular legs, and I had to stop myself from drooling. “You’re telling me you wouldn’t have a reaction?” He immediately shifted in his seat, trying to hide himself from my gaze. “Are you even a woman?” he said, his voice a mixture of outrage and embarrassment. What’s the big deal? I’ve touched it before. I’ve touched every inch of him. Why were men so proud of sleeping with women, but so embarrassed when a woman was proud of sleeping with them? His blush just made me want to tease him more. 6 Just then, his phone rang. It was his mother. “Alexander, where are you? You need to get out of town. Your father is sending people to find you. He’s insisting on a paternity test. He says he won’t let some random baby with ‘unclear bloodlines’ into the family. The nerve of that man, after he brought his own bastard son into our lives.” “This whole ‘delivery baby’ thing was brilliant, by the way. But you need to lay low for a while. Go on a vacation. You haven’t had one in years. As long as you’re gone, he can’t do anything. I’ll just keep insisting the baby is my grandson. He can’t prove otherwise. He wants to make my life a living hell? Well, two can play at that game. I’m going to use this baby to drive him insane!” His mother was a force of nature. But then, Alexander looked at me, a strange expression on his face, and said, “I’m on my way back to do the paternity test right now.”

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