My fiancé’s childhood sweetheart returned from abroad, and the first thing she did was make a bet with me, Samantha. The agreement stated that if my fiancé, Ethan, left me nine times for her,I would willingly give up my position as his wife. I agreed.On the ninth time, his childhood sweetheart, Willow, cried, “Ethan, if you don’t marry me, I’ll marry that spoiled rich kid from the Johnston family in the city!” He frantically hung up the phone, abandoned me yet again, stole his family’s household registration book, and got married to Willow. That day, they announced their relationship on social media, and everyone in our circle eagerly awaited to see me and the Johnstons make fools of ourselves. Then, Jaxon Johnston approached me, saying casually,”Your fiancé stole my wife, so it’s only fair that you become my wife, right?” I nodded. “Fair. When are you getting married?” His jaw dropped. He stared at me for a long time, his ears turning red. “Since you don’t have any objections, it’s settled then.” “We’re getting married in three days. If you dare to run away, you’re dead!” He said this as he ran off, bumping into people and knocking over ornaments, in a panic as if I were going to eat him alive. I let my fingers glide across the piano keys, a slight smile playing on my lips. As soon as Jaxon left, Ethan arrived. I glanced at him, then coldly looked away. His face turned pale, and he rushed towards me. “Samantha, are you angry?”

After escaping from the casino, Scarlett Richardson’s first stop was the police station. Captain David Morgan looked at her with confusion and said, “Ms. Richardson, you barely managed to escape from that casino. Why would you want to act as bait? Those criminals are extremely vicious and ruthless—one wrong move and you could lose your life.” Scarlett silently covered the scar on her wrist, then nodded firmly at David. Over the past three years, she had endured unbearable torture at the casino. Now, death would actually be her greatest relief. But she wouldn’t die easily until that criminal gang was caught. After leaving the police station, Scarlett relied on her memory to walk toward the address she had longed for during those three years. With no money on her, she walked for a full four hours on foot before reaching the front door of “home.” The villa’s main gate stood open, and a party was being held inside. Looking at the familiar surroundings, Scarlett froze. She walked in, but no one noticed her presence. As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw that familiar face. Anthony Morris held a wine glass, leaning lazily against the sofa. The dim lighting cast shadows on his stern face, and his entire being radiated an aura that warned people to keep their distance. A woman suddenly stood up from the corner and whispered something in Anthony’s ear. Anthony pulled the woman into his arms, then lifted her chin and kissed her. The moment their lips met, Scarlett finally saw clearly—the woman was her sister, Natalie Richardson. Cheers and whistles erupted around them, growing louder by the moment. A man called out, “Looks like Anthony’s got some good news coming. When are you planning the wedding? Don’t forget to invite us when the time comes.” Anthony didn’t release Natalie until her cheeks turned crimson. He said, “Will do.” Scarlett’s face went pale as memories flooded back like a tidal wave. Three years ago, she had been Anthony’s legal wife. She and Anthony had gone from campus sweethearts all the way to the altar—they were everyone’s idea of the perfect couple. But then Anthony was unfortunately kidnapped by a criminal gang. The kidnappers demanded one billion dollars for his release. The Morris family gave Scarlett the billion dollars and sent her to the designated location to ransom Anthony back. During the exchange, however, Scarlett suddenly had a change of heart. She kept the billion dollars for herself and refused to hand it over to the criminals. At that point, Anthony had been tortured nearly to death, but he still managed to force open his bloodied mouth to ask her why. Scarlett would never forget the look of devastation and despair in Anthony’s eyes as he stared at her. She nearly crushed her own bones with the force of her grip, but she still smiled mockingly and said, “I never loved you. I was only with you for the money. Now I have a way to both leave you and walk away with a fortune. Why wouldn’t I take it?” After Anthony was rescued, Scarlett’s name became taboo—no one dared mention it. Her name became synonymous with malice and heartlessness. But only Scarlett knew that her refusal to pay the ransom wasn’t because she wanted to run away with the money, nor had she approached Anthony for financial gain. That day, when she went to pay the ransom, the criminals had a last-minute change of plans. They knocked her unconscious and brought her to where Anthony was being held, forcing her to watch from a hidden spot as they humiliated and tortured him. In just half an hour, Scarlett had nearly cried herself dry. Such a proud man was being beaten and abused by a group of thugs, the blood from his mouth staining his shirt red. The criminals told her that even if she paid the billion-dollar ransom, they would still cut off Anthony’s legs before releasing him. Unless she was willing to trade herself for Anthony and put on an act in front of him, pretending she abandoned him for money. Anthony was born perfect, and losing his legs would destroy his entire life. Scarlett knew she wouldn’t fare well after being captured by those criminals, but for Anthony’s sake, she agreed. After being imprisoned, those people weren’t satisfied and directly beat her until she miscarried at three months pregnant. They then forced Scarlett to write a suicide note and had someone deliver it along with that pool of blood and flesh to the Morris Villa’s doorstep. After tormenting her enough, they took her to an underground gambling den, where she spent three full years before escaping. Originally, Scarlett wanted to take one last look at Anthony before ending her own life. But she saw news reports saying Anthony had received threatening letters from those criminals three years ago. She couldn’t let Anthony fall into danger again. As someone who had escaped from those criminals, Scarlett was the perfect bait to draw their attention. As long as she stayed by Anthony’s side at all times, Anthony would be safe. Being able to die protecting Anthony would give her life its final bit of value. Nanny Maya Cruz was the first to notice her figure, saying in surprise, “Mrs. Morris?” Instantly, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone’s gaze focused on Scarlett. She clearly heard the sound of a wine glass shattering. “Scarlett.” The hatred in Anthony’s voice almost became something tangible, piercing through her chest. Her heart trembled as she awkwardly avoided that sharp gaze. Someone said with a mocking tone, “Scarlett, you actually dare to come back? You’re truly shameless.” Scarlett’s nails had already dug deep into her palms, but she still had to smile and say, “Of course it’s because I’ve run out of money. Anthony is the richest among all the men I’ve dated, so naturally I had to come back to find him.” Her soul had already died three years ago. Now, only one thought remained in her mind: protecting Anthony. She would bear all the pain and truth herself. Others began cursing her one after another. A man roared angrily, “You vicious, evil woman actually dare to appear before Anthony. Damn it! You ran away for three years, and the moment you come back, you’re asking Anthony for money.” Others chimed in as well. The man who spoke first wanted to vent for Anthony and continued, “You want money, don’t you? As long as you kneel down and loudly say ‘I’m a cheap woman who only loves money,’ I’ll give you ten thousand dollars for each time you say it.” After speaking, he threw his wine glass at her feet, and it shattered into pieces. During those three years in the gambling den, Scarlett had endured far worse harm than this. As long as she could stay by Anthony’s side, this pain meant nothing to her. Under everyone’s gaze, Scarlett knelt down. The shattered glass dug deep into her knees, blood staining them red. She gritted her teeth and said with difficulty, “I’m a cheap woman who only loves money.” Contemptuous gazes fell upon her as everyone burst into laughter. The man said, “As expected, for money, you’re willing to do anything. Keep going.” A stack of hundred-dollar bills was harshly slapped across Scarlett’s face, the sharp edges of the bills cutting her cheeks painfully. Anthony hadn’t spoken since saying Scarlett’s name, but she could feel that hate-filled gaze constantly on her, stabbing her heart with pain. Scarlett didn’t know how many times she shouted it; by the end, she had gone numb. Hundred-dollar bills were scattered all over the floor. The man who first spoke still wasn’t satisfied. He said, “Now, crawl like a dog and pick up all the money, and I’ll give you another twenty thousand dollars.” Scarlett’s lips were nearly bleeding from biting them, but she had no choice. The prolonged kneeling combined with the wounds on her knees left her entire body swaying, barely able to stand. Her hands, pressed against the floor, trembled uncontrollably. Just as Scarlett was about to take her first step, a glass shattered precisely in front of her. A deep, icy voice rang out: “Get out!” Scarlett’s heart clenched violently. Flying glass shards cut her cheek, but she seemed oblivious to the pain. Only one thought consumed her mind—she couldn’t let Anthony throw her out. However, before she could speak, Anthony swept his icy gaze over those present who were waiting to watch the drama unfold. He said coldly, “All of you, get out!” Everyone was startled but didn’t dare object, immediately walking out of the Morris Villa’s front door. With the outsiders gone, Anthony grabbed Scarlett’s wrist with enough force to break her bones. The piercing hatred in his eyes felt like a massive stone pressing on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe. Anthony said coldly, “Scarlett, three years ago, you ran away with the ransom money and aborted my child. Now you actually dare to show up in front of me. How dare you?” Every word was filled with rage. Caught off guard, Scarlett stumbled as Anthony yanked her. The glass on her knees dug deep into her flesh, making her gasp in pain. After a long moment, she recovered and forced a pale smile. She said, “Because you have money. I can get money from you. Why wouldn’t I dare come back?” Anthony’s grip on her hand tightened continuously, his eyes bloodshot and filled with fury. He said, “You want money, do you? Fine. Starting today, you’re a servant at the Morris Villa. Whatever I say, you must do.” With that, Anthony pulled out a card and threw it at Scarlett’s face. Then he continued, “The first thing you’ll do is clean up this hall. I don’t want to see a speck of dust when I wake up tomorrow morning.” Anthony swept his cold gaze over the other servants present. He said coldly, “None of you are to help her. Give her all the work in the villa. Also, she’s not Mrs. Morris. I don’t want to hear anyone call her that again.” The servants all bowed their heads in agreement. Scarlett picked up the card with her bloodied hands and said hoarsely, “Alright.” She knew Anthony was keeping her as a servant to humiliate her, seeking revenge for when she had abandoned him and fled with the ransom money three years ago. But she didn’t care. As long as she could stay, she was willing to accept any role. Anthony carried Natalie upstairs in his arms. Scarlett struggled to her feet, enduring the pain as she picked out the glass shards embedded in her knees and palms piece by piece. That night, she wiped down the entire hall inside and out with a cloth. The unbearable panting and a woman’s pleasured moans from upstairs echoed in her ears all night long. At first, Scarlett felt like her heart was being carved out alive. Later, she became numb. She had been the one to abandon him. Now he had someone new by his side. It was only natural, wasn’t it? The sounds from upstairs didn’t stop until morning. Anthony commanded, “Come upstairs and help Natalie bathe.” He was wrapped in a towel, his chest covered with conspicuous red marks. The sight stung Scarlett’s eyes. Once, she had been the only one who could leave marks on his body. In the end, she said nothing and silently went upstairs. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, along with seven or eight opened condom packages, showing just how intense their night had been. Scarlett’s heart was already shattered. She helped Natalie wash her body bit by bit. After three years apart, they were no longer the intimate sisters who once shared a bed and whispered secrets. Natalie was the first to break the silence. She said, “Scarlett, actually, I fell for Anthony a long time ago. Back then, he was your husband. He only had eyes for you. I could only secretly bury this feeling in my heart and silently bless you both. But why did you abandon Anthony? Do you know how brutally the kidnappers tortured him? After he was rescued, he stayed in the hospital for a whole month. Even now, he still needs regular psychological therapy. These three years, I’ve been by his side, helping him get through that painful past.” Natalie paused, looking at Scarlett with deep-seated jealousy hidden in her eyes. Then she continued, “Actually, the first time he and I were together was because he was drunk and mistook me for you. He kept calling your name in my ear over and over again. I never thought that after you heartlessly abandoned him, he would still think of you. But I didn’t care. As long as I could be with him, that was enough. You know what, Scarlett? We’re planning to get married. You shouldn’t have come back. Please leave Anthony, okay?” Scarlett never knew that her only sister had feelings for Anthony. Thinking back carefully now, every time she brought Anthony home, there seemed to be a different light in Natalie’s eyes. But Scarlett hadn’t returned to the Morris Villa to steal Anthony back from Natalie. Her entire soul had been worn away during those three years at the casino, leaving only an empty shell. Now, Scarlett’s only reason for living was to prevent Anthony from suffering any more torture. Once she cooperated with David to catch that criminal gang, she would leave this place. Scarlett said, “Natalie, I will leave, but not now. I still have things to do.” Natalie’s expression gradually turned cold. She said coldly, “Scarlett, then don’t blame me. I won’t let you destroy my happiness.” Before Scarlett could react, Natalie grabbed the showerhead, turned the water temperature to its lowest setting, and poured it over her head. Then she screamed, “Ah! Anthony!”   The screaming left Anthony no time to think. He kicked down the door and carefully lifted Natalie into his arms. Anthony felt Natalie trembling all over, her face turning deathly pale. He roared, “Scarlett, you ruined me before, and now you want to hurt your own sister? Three years later, you haven’t changed at all. You’re still the same ruthless, heartless woman.” Scarlett’s body shook, but she didn’t speak up to defend herself. The deeper his hatred for her now, the less it would hurt him when she left. Seeing Scarlett’s silence, Anthony assumed she was admitting guilt. He gritted his teeth and told his bodyguards, “Throw her in the lake for three hours.” It was winter, and the lake’s surface was covered with thick ice. The bodyguards mercilessly threw Scarlett into the lake. The broken ice shards cut her thighs, and blood stained the surrounding water red. The bone-chilling cold seeped through her wounds into her body. Scarlett gritted her teeth and endured the pain. She had spent three years at the casino, and her body was already weak. After just five minutes in the water, she was swaying and could barely hold herself up. Anthony held Natalie in his arms, watching her coldly from the shore. He said, “This is your punishment. You have to bear it.” With that, Anthony turned and left, instructing the bodyguards to keep watch on the shore. As Scarlett soaked longer in the icy water, her body grew colder and colder. Only when the bodyguards said the three hours were up did she drag her pale body step by step onto the shore, shivering all over. Just as she reached the entrance of Morris Villa, Scarlett used up all her strength and collapsed. When she woke up again, there was a hot towel on her forehead. On the bedside table sat a fever reducer and a piece of candy. Scarlett had never liked taking medicine since childhood, usually relying on her immune system to fight off illness. After Anthony learned this habit of hers, every time he gave her medicine, he would magically produce a piece of candy and hold it to her lips. Over time, she developed the habit of eating candy after taking medicine. Maya carefully pushed the door open, and seeing that Scarlett was awake, she breathed a sigh of relief. She said, “Mrs… Ms. Richardson, I’m glad you’re awake. Please take your medicine quickly. Your fever reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit. I remember you used to have the habit of eating candy after taking medicine, so I specially prepared some for you.” Scarlett smiled stiffly. Anthony hated her so much now—how could he have prepared candy for her? She was overthinking it. Scarlett took the medicine, then unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth. But that little bit of sweetness still couldn’t mask the endless bitterness in her mouth. After the medicine took effect, Scarlett fell into a deep sleep and naturally didn’t hear the conversation outside after Maya closed the door. ***** Over the next few days, Scarlett’s temperature never came down. She had recurring fevers, and Anthony never came to see her. She lay in the servants’ quarters in a daze. In her confusion, Scarlett seemed to feel burning eyes watching her, but when she struggled to open her eyes, there was no one by the bed. Until one night, agonized roars from upstairs woke Scarlett up. She recognized that voice—it was Anthony’s. Scarlett forced herself out of bed. By the time she reached the second floor, the pain in those roars seemed even more intense. She couldn’t care about anything else and pushed open the door. Anthony was acting like a madman, frantically beating his own head. Natalie was crying anxiously beside him, wanting to approach Anthony but being pushed away by him. Scarlett had never seen Anthony like this. She quickly asked Natalie what was wrong. Natalie answered, “Ever since the kidnapping, Anthony has suffered from severe PTSD. He has episodes from time to time and hurts himself. But this year, his condition had been well controlled—he hadn’t had any relapses. I don’t know why this is happening today.” Her words hit Scarlett’s heart like a sledgehammer. Scarlett understood that it was likely because of her appearance that Anthony was reminded of those painful experiences during the kidnapping. Anthony’s eyes were red as he threw off the covers and banged his head against the wall. Seeing that his forehead was already bleeding, Scarlett bit her lip and hugged him tightly from behind. Anthony, in the midst of his episode, couldn’t tell who was holding him and kept struggling. But Scarlett held on, refusing to let go. Unable to break free, Anthony grabbed her right hand and bit down hard.

Scarlett could clearly feel Anthony’s teeth piercing through her skin, the pain nearly making her let go. But seeing the cold sweat constantly breaking out on Anthony’s forehead, she held on. After what felt like an eternity of biting, Anthony finally quieted down. Watching Anthony close his eyes again, Scarlett endured the pain and helped him onto the bed, then suddenly felt all her strength drain away. She looked at her trembling right hand, where a bleeding bite mark was clearly visible. Natalie looked at her with a complex expression and said softly, “Scarlett, tonight, I was the one who calmed Anthony down, right?” Scarlett remained silent for a moment. Then she said, “Yes.” After speaking, Scarlett covered her injured arm and left wearily. The next day, Anthony heard that he had hurt Natalie during his midnight episode, so he sent her many gifts that nearly filled the entire room. He and Natalie also became more intimate. Even when he had business dinners, he would bring Natalie along, unwilling to be separated from her for even a moment. People around them teased about how close they were, but Anthony accepted it all with a smile. However, no matter where they went, Scarlett would follow behind them. When Natalie wanted chocolate cake, Anthony would send Scarlett to buy it from 10 miles away. When Natalie wanted coffee, Anthony would have Scarlett brew it over and over until Natalie was satisfied with the temperature. When Natalie was eating, Anthony would have Scarlett stand nearby, serving Natalie like a servant. Many people in their circle knew that Scarlett had been Anthony’s wife three Christmases ago. Now, seeing her following behind them, some couldn’t help but ask curiously. To this, Anthony would smile coldly and say, “You’ve got the wrong person. How could she be worthy of being my wife? She’s just a servant in my house.” Scarlett’s heart, which had become like stagnant water, still couldn’t help but ripple upon hearing these words. Three Christmases ago, he had held her like a treasure, introducing her to everyone as his wife. Now, she was just a servant. As for the identity of Mrs. Morris, she wasn’t worthy of it. At that evening’s dinner party, Natalie left early. Just as Scarlett was about to follow, Anthony called out to her. He said, “Come here and drink for me.” The private room was full of Anthony’s business partners. Seeing this scene, they couldn’t help but cheer. One man said, “Mr. Morris, you really have quite the charm. Your fiancée left, but you still have a beauty to drink for you. It’s pretty boring for us men to drink alone. Let’s see how well Mr. Morris’s person can handle her liquor, shall we?” Another man chimed in, “I agree. It’s only interesting when you have both fine wine and beautiful women. Mr. Morris, don’t be stingy.” As they spoke, they had someone pour 99 full glasses of liquor. Anthony chuckled softly, his fingers tapping the table rhythmically. He said, “Why would I be? It’s her honor to entertain you all.” In the past, during business entertainment, Anthony never let Scarlett drink, always helping her finish the drinks himself. But now, she had no other choice. Scarlett smiled and picked up a glass, downing it in one gulp. She heard exclamations from everyone around, while Anthony’s gaze seemed to grow colder. Scarlett didn’t stop, drinking glass after glass. During her time at the casino, she often went hungry, and her stomach had long been damaged. The continuous intake of strong liquor made her stomach burn with each gulp. By the end, Scarlett’s hand holding the glass was visibly trembling. After setting down the last glass, Scarlett staggered a few steps, nearly unable to stand steady. Her stomach churned violently. Not caring that Anthony was still present, she quickly pushed open the door and stumbled toward the restroom. Before this drinking session, Scarlett hadn’t eaten anything. All she could vomit was acid and the liquor she had just consumed. When Scarlett returned to the private room, the dinner party had already ended. She shook her dizzy head, wanting to find Anthony. But just as she stepped out of the private room, a tall figure pressed toward her. The man said, “Beauty, Mr. Morris doesn’t know how to treasure you. How about being with me instead? I promise to treat you well.” His greasy hands wandered all over Scarlett’s body. His breath, reeking of alcohol, sprayed on Scarlett’s neck, instantly pulling her back into those painful memories from the casino. Scarlett desperately tried to break free from the man’s grasp. But having just consumed 99 glasses of liquor, her body had no strength left. She could only cry out helplessly to passersby, “Help! Save me!” But such incidents were common in the club, and no one wanted to cause trouble for themselves over a stranger. The man’s behavior became increasingly bold. The club’s heating was turned up high, so Scarlett was only wearing a thin camisole on her upper body. The man easily lifted her shirt up to her navel. He smiled wickedly and said, “Beauty, Mr. Morris has already left. No one can save you. You might as well behave and come with me.” Scarlett’s shirt had been lifted to just below her chest. The man’s breathing became heavy, and his movements grew urgent. Scarlett used all her strength to pound against him, but it was useless. Her heart was nearly filled with despair. She had thought that during these final moments, she could at least leave with her dignity intact. Couldn’t she even fulfill this one wish? Just as the man’s hand was about to touch Scarlett’s chest, he was suddenly kicked to the ground. A fist slammed hard into his body. Then, an angry roar rang out: “Who gave you permission to touch her?” Anthony grabbed the man by the collar and kept beating him. The man begged for mercy continuously, blood streaming from the corner of his mouth. Scarlett hastily straightened her disheveled clothes, worried that someone might die if the beating continued, and quickly stepped forward to grab Anthony’s hand. “Stop hitting him,” she said. Anthony’s fist, about to land another blow, froze mid-air. His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist, his gaze piercing Scarlett like a blade. Her wrist suddenly ached, and before she could react, Anthony had pulled her into the car. In the cramped vehicle, Anthony gripped her wrist tightly, pressing her against the seat, his face dark with rage. He roared, “Scarlett, how long have I been gone? Are you already this eager to seduce other men? If I hadn’t come back, would you have abandoned me again and left with him?” Scarlett knew Anthony had misunderstood, but she just turned her head away with reddened eyes, offering no explanation. She wanted him to hate her like this. That way, when she left, he wouldn’t feel heartbroken. Scarlett’s silence completely enraged Anthony. He grabbed her chin and kissed her forcefully. “Scarlett, you brought this on yourself,” he said. Anthony’s familiar, dominating presence invaded her mouth, making Scarlett’s nose sting as tears nearly fell. This kiss was passionate and lingering, making her want to lose herself in it. But she bit down hard on her tongue, forcing herself to stay alert. Anthony suddenly stopped, looking at her with a dark expression. “You can obediently let other men touch you, but you act pure and innocent with me?” he said. Scarlett smiled bitterly. “Too dirty,” she said. Scarlett felt she was too dirty. How could she face Anthony with such a filthy body? Anthony’s eyes reddened as he said harshly, “Scarlett, you’re calling me dirty? What right does a woman who abandoned her husband and caused her child’s death have to say that about me?” With that, he began tearing at her already thin clothing without restraint. “No!” Scarlett frantically tried to cover her body. Over the past three years, she had suffered harm every day. Her entire body was covered with permanent bruises and scars that could never be erased. She didn’t want Anthony to see any of this. Scarlett only hoped that in Anthony’s memory, she would always remain as she was three years ago. But the bruises covering her body were still seen by Anthony. He froze, his trembling hand wanting to touch those scars, his throat seeming blocked by something. “You… what happened to these injuries on your body? Where exactly have you been these past three years?” Anthony asked. After seeing the bite mark on her right arm, Anthony seemed to recall some scattered fragments, but couldn’t quite remember what they were. “Who bit this mark?” he asked. Anthony’s voice trembled slightly, with a barely perceptible hint of hope in his eyes. Seeing the expectation in his eyes, Scarlett forced herself not to look at him, then spoke with icy words. “Of course it was left by my new boyfriend from the past three years. Mr. Morris, you don’t actually think I still had you in my heart and stayed chaste for you, do you? With a billion dollars, naturally I can find as many men as I want. This is just bedroom fun. You don’t even understand that much, do you?” she said. The hint of hope in Anthony’s eyes instantly vanished, replaced by fury. He gripped her neck tightly, using considerable force. Then Anthony roared, “Scarlett, are you really this shameless? Wasn’t I good to you back then? Did you ever love me at all?” Scarlett was being choked and couldn’t breathe, but she stared at Anthony’s bloodshot eyes and said with difficulty, “No.” Anthony threw her to the ground, his eyes filled with nothing but ice-cold hatred. He said, “I’m such a fool for letting you deceive me for so long. Not only did you nearly get me killed by those kidnappers, but I also lost the child I’d been longing for.” Scarlett collapsed on the ground, clutching her throat and coughing desperately. Upon hearing his words, she actually laughed. She said, “Anthony, if you still have feelings for me, I’d be more than happy to stay with you. I don’t mind serving you alongside my sister. You’re the richest man I’ve ever dated, and we were even married. Getting back together would be nice, wouldn’t it? I want your money, and you want my body. I’ll spend a night with you for two hundred thousand dollars. How about it?” Anthony threw his suit jacket over her and never looked at her again. He said, “Scarlett, I truly regret ever loving you.” With that, Anthony slammed the car door shut and drove away quickly. The car soon disappeared, so Anthony didn’t see the tears streaming down Scarlett’s face. She silently put on the suit jacket and struggled to her feet. From now on, Anthony shouldn’t have any lingering feelings for her, right? Clutching her heart that ached to the point of suffocation, she staggered toward the Morris mansion. Perhaps because he was too furious, Anthony stopped bringing Scarlett along when he went out over the next few days. Left with no choice, Scarlett secretly messaged David, asking him to assign people to protect Anthony’s safety. But on this particular day, Scarlett went out alone. She had learned from Maya that the Morris family had bought a burial plot for her unborn child and even erected a headstone. Following the address Maya had given her, Scarlett arrived at the cemetery. Before coming, she had made a detour to buy many snacks that babies would like and fresh flowers. This was Scarlett’s first visit to see this child in three years. She didn’t know if the child still remembered her or harbored any resentment. She approached the headstone. Unlike other graves, this one had no photograph—only the words “Anthony’s Child” carved into the stone. With trembling hands, Scarlett gently caressed the headstone. Anthony hated her so much that he would even strip away her identity as the child’s mother? She whispered, “Baby, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. It’s not that I didn’t want to safely bring you into this world, but I couldn’t watch your father lose his legs. You understand me, don’t you? Wait for me—I’ll come to be with you soon.” Scarlett leaned against the headstone, tears streaming down her cheeks. She carried so many burdens in her heart, yet couldn’t confide in anyone around her. Only here, beside her child’s grave, did she finally have the chance to pour out everything. But before Scarlett could speak again, she was yanked up by a powerful force. Anthony roared, “How dare you come here?” Seeing Anthony’s dark expression, Scarlett felt bitter inside. She said, “I just wanted to visit the child. I am his mother, after all.” Anthony’s mother, Harper Morris, who had been walking behind him, became agitated upon seeing Scarlett and slapped her hard across the face. She screamed, “How dare you mention my grandson? You’re the one who killed him with your own hands. Back then, our family treated you so well, but not only did you run away with the ransom money, you nearly got my son killed. And while my son was hospitalized recovering from his injuries, you had an abortion and sent the news to break his heart. How can there be such a vicious woman like you in this world? You murderer! You heartless woman! Get out of here!” After Scarlett became part of the Morris family, Harper had loved her almost like her own daughter. So when she learned of Scarlett’s betrayal, she simply couldn’t accept it. Harper was so furious that she gave Scarlett a hard shove. The recent ordeals had left Scarlett’s body even weaker. She couldn’t steady herself and her forehead struck the headstone hard, blood trickling down her cheek. Anthony frowned and pulled her up. He said coldly, “You don’t deserve to appear before this child’s grave. How can someone as vicious as you be his mother? Leave now.” Scarlett left in despair, tears mixed with blood dripping from her face. The words “you don’t deserve” echoed repeatedly in her mind. In a daze, Scarlett remembered the joy she and Anthony had shared three years ago when they learned of her pregnancy. Anthony had said excitedly, “Scarlett, I’m going to be a father, and you’re going to be a mother. I hope our child is an adorable daughter just like you. I’ll spoil her into the most envied little princess in the world.” Scarlett had replied, “I won’t play favorites like you. I’ll love both sons and daughters equally. I want to be the best mother in the world.” Those words from the past still seemed to ring in Scarlett’s ears, but everything had changed. Everyone hated and resented her. But she had also lost her child. That child had stayed in Scarlett’s womb for three whole months, connected to her by blood. How could she not feel heartbroken? More than anyone, Scarlett had wanted to see the child born safely. But compared to an unborn child and herself, Anthony meant more to her than anything else. Even today, Scarlett didn’t regret the choice she had made back then.

Harper gasped for breath, her eyes red as she looked at Anthony, who remained silent beside her. She said, “In the past, I stopped you from being with Natalie because I didn’t want you to have any connection with the Richardson family. But I never expected Scarlett to come back, and you even kept her by your side? I’m telling you, I will never allow a woman who nearly killed my son and aborted my grandchild to marry you, not unless I’m dead. You either marry Natalie or arrange a marriage with someone else. Anyone can be your wife, as long as it’s not Scarlett.” Anthony stared at the words carved on the tombstone. After a long while, he finally heard his own voice: “Fine, I’ll marry Natalie.” ***** After returning to the Morris mansion, Anthony handed Scarlett a divorce agreement. Looking at the document in her hands, Scarlett momentarily forgot to maintain her facade, her eyes reddening slightly. She had thought her marriage to Anthony had already been dissolved. According to the law, if spouses are separated for two years, either party can file for a forced divorce. Scarlett had been gone for three years, long meeting the criteria for a forced divorce, yet Anthony had never filed. “Scarlett, are you reluctant to get divorced?” Anthony asked, noticing her reddened eyes while suppressing his rapidly beating heart. Scarlett bit her tongue to clear her head, then put on a greedy expression as she flipped through the property division section. She deliberately pointed to several properties and said, “I just think you’re giving me too little money. Give me a few more houses, will you? After all, these properties are worth quite a lot.” Anthony’s eyes filled with anger: “Scarlett, how can you be so greedy?” When the revised divorce agreement was delivered to Scarlett again, she signed her name without hesitation. Given their three-year separation, they received their divorce certificate the same day they signed the agreement. Scarlett and Anthony’s brief four-year marriage had come to an end. After leaving the courthouse, Scarlett received a text from David: [We’ve received word that the criminals might make their move in the next couple of days. Be careful.] Scarlett stared blankly at the message. She thought, “Is it finally going to end?” Coming back to her senses, Scarlett called out to Anthony, who was about to leave. She said, “I’m Natalie’s sister. I should at least see her get married before I go, right?” Anthony didn’t turn around, standing silently for a long time. Just when Scarlett thought he would refuse, she heard his voice: “Fine. Scarlett, you truly are heartless.” Scarlett’s heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly by a large hand, making it hard to breathe. Yet her face still maintained a smile. Anthony and Natalie’s marriage would surely be a happy one. During the wedding preparations, Scarlett stayed close to them both. She watched them select wedding dresses, finalize guest lists, and take wedding photos. Everything she and Anthony had experienced before, Anthony and Natalie were now experiencing again. Watching them embrace intimately in their wedding dress and suit, Scarlett’s ears were filled with praise for the couple. One woman said, “Mr. Morris and Miss Natalie Richardson are such a perfect match.” Another woman agreed, “Yes. They’re sure to be the happiest couple.” Natalie shyly buried her head in Anthony’s chest. She said, “Marrying Anthony is the happiest thing in my life.” In a daze, Scarlett felt as if she had returned to when she married Anthony years ago. Everyone had envied how their years-long romance had finally reached fruition. At their wedding, they had vowed to each other never to part, never to separate for life. But who would have thought that four years later, the bride by his side would be someone else, while she could only offer her blessings. On the way back after the photo shoot, Natalie excitedly clung to Anthony, discussing the day’s wedding photos. She said, “Anthony, let’s pick the best shot and put it right in the center of the villa’s first floor, okay? I’d like to hang the beach set in our bedroom.” No matter what Natalie said, Anthony always responded with an indulgent smile, gently ruffling her hair in agreement. Natalie glanced at Scarlett, who had remained silent, and said, “Scarlett, tell me—where do you think Anthony and I should go for our honeymoon after the wedding? And when should we start trying for a baby? Scarlett, you have experience with this. You could teach me.” Scarlett dug her nails into her palms, forcing a strained smile. Just as she was about to speak, a black car suddenly shot out from the side, slamming hard into their vehicle. Their car was thrown against a roadside utility pole, the body crumpling inward with a massive dent. Anthony, sitting in the driver’s seat, took the worst of the impact. Blood streamed down his forehead as he lost consciousness. Natalie screamed, frantically trying to call 911. But Scarlett felt ice-cold, as if all the blood in her body had frozen. With just one glance, she recognized the people in the black car—the same criminals from three years ago. They had tortured her for half a month straight, and she would never forget their faces for as long as she lived. With trembling hands, Scarlett quickly sent a message to David. When they’d gone for the wedding photos today, Natalie hadn’t wanted too many people following them, so Anthony had dismissed all the bodyguards. Now, only the three of them were in the car. God knew how long it would take for the police to receive word and arrive. Watching the black car slowly approach, Scarlett had only one thought—she absolutely could not let Anthony be captured by them again. Gritting her teeth, Scarlett struggled to pry open the mangled car door, then shouted at the panicked Natalie in the back seat, “We need to get him out of the car, now!” Thinking Scarlett was planning to abandon them and flee alone, Natalie’s eyes turned red as she screamed, “Three years ago, you left Anthony behind and ran away. Are you going to abandon him again today?” Scarlett didn’t have time to argue with her. She pulled Anthony directly from the driver’s seat. Seeing that Natalie was still frozen in the back seat, Scarlett grabbed her and dragged her out regardless of her struggles. Then Scarlett said, “Stay here and watch him. The police will be here soon.” Without waiting for Natalie’s reaction, she climbed into the driver’s seat. Since the police hadn’t arrived yet, Scarlett couldn’t just sit there waiting—otherwise, all three of them would be captured. Behind the black car stretched a bridge spanning the river. Scarlett’s eyes filled with grim determination. She restarted the engine and, before the black car could get any closer, floored the accelerator and drove straight toward them at full speed. With a thunderous crash, the massive impact sent Scarlett’s car careening into the black vehicle, both cars smashing through the guardrail and tumbling off the bridge. Scarlett’s consciousness began to fade as she watched the icy river water slowly rise over her head. Her brief life flashed before her eyes, finally settling on the last words Anthony had spoken to her: “Scarlett, you truly are heartless.” Using the last of her strength, Scarlett managed her first genuine smile in ages. She thought, “Keep hating me, Anthony. You and Natalie will live happily ever after. I’ll never appear in your lives again.” As the river water completely covered her head, Scarlett slowly closed her eyes. She thought, “Anthony, I still owe you an apology. And… congratulations on your wedding.” When David arrived at the scene, he only saw Anthony unconscious and Natalie holding him tightly. He looked around but didn’t see that familiar figure, and urgently asked, “Where’s Scarlett? What about those criminals?” Natalie was still terrified. Thinking of Scarlett’s resolute figure from moments ago, her heart felt like it was blocked by a huge stone, making it hard to breathe. She had originally thought Scarlett would abandon them and flee alone, just like three years ago. But she never expected that Scarlett would choose to use her own body to stop the criminals. For a moment, Natalie’s mind was in chaos, not knowing what to say. Under David’s pressing gaze, after a long while, she finally spoke with difficulty: “To stop the criminals, she drove her car into theirs. Both cars fell off the bridge up ahead.” David immediately became tense and quickly arranged for rescue through his radio. When he reached the top of the bridge and saw the horrific scene on the road, his heart had already sunk. There was an extremely deep scratch mark on the road, and the guardrail was broken in the middle. This indicated that both cars had collided at high speed before falling into the water. The river below this bridge was very turbulent, and after such a violent impact, the car doors would easily deform, making it very difficult for anyone inside to open the doors and escape. Moreover, under such severe impact, people would easily get injured and lose consciousness. In other words, the possibility of Scarlett surviving was extremely slim. But David still held onto a glimmer of hope and ordered the rescue team to begin salvage operations immediately. Before Scarlett came to the police station offering to be bait, David, like everyone else, had thought that three years ago Scarlett had taken the ransom money and left, abandoning Anthony. However, when he saw the deathly look in Scarlett’s eyes, he realized things weren’t as they had imagined. After hearing about her ordeal at the casino, even David, who had been a police officer for twelve years, couldn’t help but take a deep breath. He cursed those vicious criminals in his heart. They were the real culprits who had torn apart this once-happy family. Whether it was Anthony or Scarlett, they were both victims. Scarlett had endured pain she never should have experienced, all for Anthony’s sake. During these three years, the torment she suffered was no less than Anthony’s. David didn’t want to see Scarlett, who had finally escaped from the devil’s clutches, lose her life. Her life shouldn’t end so suddenly like this. Moreover, if the truth ever came to light one day, wouldn’t that be an indescribable agony for those still living? After a day and night of rescue efforts, the two cars were finally salvaged. When the almost completely deformed cars were lifted and placed on the ground, everyone fell into deep sorrow. The cars had been submerged underwater for a full 24 hours and were so badly damaged that their original appearance was unrecognizable. Every detail told everyone present that there was no possibility of survival for those inside. David remained silent for a long time before finally having someone contact the coroner. Even if it was just a body, he had to find Scarlett. The car was cut open, revealing the interior that had been compressed to almost no space. The corpse, already swollen and pale from being submerged, appeared before everyone. Endless guilt and regret filled David’s heart. If he had arrived with his team earlier, perhaps Scarlett wouldn’t have had to pay with her life. But now Scarlett was dead, and they couldn’t bring back this vibrant life. ***** In the hospital, Anthony’s forehead was wrapped in thick bandages, and his face was somewhat pale. When he regained consciousness again, he was already lying in a hospital bed, with only Natalie and the Morris family members by his side. Anthony only remembered getting into a car accident on the way back after taking wedding photos, then losing consciousness the next second. The police called to tell him that it was the same group of criminals from three years ago who had acted again, planning to kidnap him. However, they got their comeuppance and had already died after falling into the river. The moment he learned this news, the nightmare that had haunted Anthony’s mind for three years was finally dispelled. But… Anthony pressed his lips together and looked around, but still didn’t see that familiar figure. He asked, “Where’s Scarlett?”

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My husband’s mother, Eloise Fowler, and I, Hazel Wilson, became pregnant almost simultaneously and gave birth via C-section on the same day, each delivering a baby boy. However, Eloise’s son Henry Fowler died unexpectedly in infancy. Heartbroken, she poured all her love into my son Jasper Fowler. Shortly after Jasper officially took over the company, Stephen and I died in a rafting accident. After death, my soul remained by Jasper’s side. Yet I witnessed him kneeling before Eloise, calling her “Mom”! Only then did I realize that the son I had painstakingly raised for twenty years had been secretly switched by Eloise! When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day Eloise and I both had our C-sections. ***** My husband Stephen Fowler and I drowned in the rapids. After death, my soul didn’t dissipate but returned to Jasper’s side. I watched him solemnly hold our funeral. But as soon as the funeral ended, he said impatiently, “Those two are finally dead. This time it finally worked!” I was stunned. Was he talking about Stephen and me? Jasper stared at our portraits with pure hatred in his eyes, making my heart clench. I didn’t understand why he would hate us. We were his biological parents who had devoted over twenty years of our lives to raising him, even naming him as the beneficiary on all our insurance policies! Just then, Eloise cautiously approached and asked Jasper, “Will the police suspect this has anything to do with us?” Jasper gave her a reassuring look: “Don’t worry, I handled this cleanly. Besides, the accident report is already in—it’s ruled as accidental death. They just had bad luck.” I was shocked. So Stephen’s and my deaths weren’t accidents, but were orchestrated by our most beloved son! I couldn’t help but recall that ever since Jasper inherited the family business, Stephen and I had frequently encountered “accidents,” though we’d narrowly escaped each time. This time, he had also suggested the family rafting trip. The rope snapped, and Stephen and I were swept away by the rapids to our deaths. Why would he do this? Before I could think further, I saw Jasper kneel before Eloise, crying as he called out, “Mom! I can finally call you Mom openly! All these years you’ve suffered, having to watch me call other people Mom and Dad!” Eloise also had tears in her eyes as she held Jasper tightly: “The Fowler family fortune should stay with our own family. I couldn’t let it fall into outsiders’ hands.” Seeing this scene, I finally understood everything. Years ago, after Eloise’s husband John Fowler died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage, she discovered she was pregnant, ten days ahead of me. Stephen and I both advised her to terminate the pregnancy, but she knelt before us, crying that if we wanted her to abort the child, she’d rather die right then and there. Unable to persuade her otherwise, we let her have the baby. Since Eloise was an older mother and had always treated me well, during her pregnancy we provided the best nutrition and premium care, never missing a beat. We even arranged for her to stay with me at a high-end maternity center costing tens of thousands of dollars per day. From their conversation, I learned that Stephen wasn’t actually John and Eloise’s biological son. To control the family fortune, Eloise had risked the dangers of being an older mother to bear her biological son and switched him with our child. Fearing exposure and wanting her son to naturally inherit all the love and attention, she cruelly killed my biological son, then pretended to be devastated while coming to our home to care for that “replacement.” This meant that Henry, who died in infancy over twenty years ago, was actually my biological son! And the child I had raised with such dedication was someone else’s son, who had personally orchestrated Stephen’s and my deaths! I wanted nothing more than to rush forward and kill this mother-son pair! But the next second, everything went dark before my eyes.

When I woke up, Eloise was standing beside my bed, chattering away: “Hazel, thank goodness for you and Stephen. When I was carrying Stephen at Christmas, how could I have afforded a C-section at such a nice hospital like this! If John knew, he’d be so happy.” I realized I had been reborn, back to the day when Eloise and I were both scheduled for C-sections. Perhaps the hatred in my eyes was too obvious, because Eloise froze for a moment and asked cautiously, “Hazel, what’s wrong?” Stephen, who had been cheering me on from the side, also spoke up with concern: “Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?” Although hatred was surging in my heart at that moment, after all, nothing had happened yet. I thought for a moment, speculating that the baby swap must have taken place immediately after the C-section was completed. Because the hospital had arranged private rooms afterward, it would be difficult for her to find another opportunity. I suppressed my emotions, composed myself, and smiled at Eloise: “We’re family, after all. The baby in your belly is Stephen’s little brother. You’re taking such a big risk to bring him into this world – it’s only right that we take care of you!” Then I turned to Stephen and said softly, “Stephen, I need to use the restroom. Could you come with me? Let Eloise go to the delivery room first.” Stephen didn’t suspect anything and helped me up to walk to the bathroom. Along the way, Eloise kept staring at my belly, her eyes filled with determination. After hearing the nurse outside call for Eloise to enter the delivery room, I immediately grabbed Stephen’s hand and said, “Stephen, I think what they say online makes sense. I don’t want a C-section anymore. Let’s wait until full term and have a natural birth instead!” Stephen looked confused: “Didn’t you say before that you wanted to have the C-section with Mom? So you two could keep each other company?” I felt disgusted. If it weren’t for Eloise constantly whispering in my ear that natural birth was much more painful than C-sections and carried the risk of difficult labor, I never would have listened to her and agreed to have a C-section on the same day as her. I couldn’t directly tell Stephen that I had been reborn – that would be too absurd. I also didn’t dare try to switch the babies back after delivery, fearing that Eloise might harm the child again. The safest approach right now was to separate our deliveries, so she wouldn’t have the chance to swap the babies. Besides, my due date was still early – I had only moved it up to give birth on the same day as her. Although Stephen was puzzled, he still agreed to my request. After some complications, I finally left the hospital. On the way home, I ordered several cameras online, just in case. However, as soon as I reached the front door, I was stunned. “Eloise, here’s the nutritious meal I just prepared. Please try it.” Emma Hill, the nanny Stephen had hired to take care of me, was now enthusiastically serving Eloise dinner. And Eloise’s belly was still prominently rounded – she obviously hadn’t given birth yet.

Seeing Stephen and me return, Emma quickly turned and rushed into the kitchen, bringing out utensils to set the table for us. “Hazel, you’re back. Come try the nutritious meal I made.” I walked over and sat down at the table. Eloise pursed her lips with slight displeasure. “Hazel, you changed your mind about giving birth and didn’t even tell me. I was already on the operating table when I found out you weren’t going through with it. I said this won’t do, so I’m not having the surgery either.” “I’m not trying to criticize you, but you don’t trust the doctor you found yourself, yet you left me stranded at the hospital. What were you thinking?” Eloise continued to scold. Stephen quickly stepped in to explain for me: “How could Hazel possibly harm you?” Seeing Stephen take my side, Eloise’s mouth turned down in displeasure. “Stephen, I’m carrying your father’s child—your little brother!” I let out a cold laugh: “I was planning on a natural birth all along. You were the one who kept persuading me to have a C-section on the same day as you. Now that I don’t want to go through with it, what’s wrong with that?” Eloise’s face turned pale with anger, her finger pointing at me as her voice trembled: “What do you mean I pressured you? I was doing this for your own good! Natural birth is so troublesome—you changed your mind at the last minute and now you think you’re in the right!” Stephen quickly positioned himself between us, playing peacemaker while gently patting her back to calm her down: “You’ve misunderstood. The doctor actually recommends that Hazel wait until her due date for a natural birth, which is why we decided against the C-section and left the hospital.” Hearing that I wasn’t planning on a C-section anymore, Eloise’s eyes widened as she began trying to persuade me: “When I had Stephen at Christmas, it was also by C-section. Look how smart and tall he is now. You should listen to my experience!” Emma chimed in as well: “That’s right, Hazel. Natural birth isn’t as great as people think. Look how many women have massive hemorrhages during difficult deliveries—it’s so dangerous!” I interrupted them somewhat impatiently: “The doctor already said they recommend natural birth. Are you more professional than the doctors? Besides, how I give birth is my own business. If you prefer C-sections, go ahead and have one. I’m not doing it!” I set down my utensils with a heavy thud, staring coldly at Eloise: “If you think the doctor I chose isn’t professional enough, then go back to the countryside to give birth!” Eloise opened her mouth, momentarily speechless, finally managing only: “I’m just looking out for you.” If I hadn’t experienced my previous life, I might have believed her. There are always people in this world who do harmful things under the guise of “doing it for your own good.” What’s more, Eloise never had good intentions from the start. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and said coldly: “I want to rest now. If there’s nothing else, have Stephen take you home.” Eloise, apparently plotting something else, looked at Stephen with feigned difficulty: “Look, I’m about to give birth, and living in the countryside is too far from the hospital—it’s just not convenient. How about I stay here with you and Hazel for the next few days?” I immediately understood her plan. She wanted to freeload at my house so she could continue pressuring me into having a C-section, thereby carrying out her baby-switching scheme. I firmly refused: “No way. If you get hurt while staying here, I’ll be the one to blame…” Eloise looked aggrieved: “Hazel, what are you saying? Don’t you consider me family anymore?” Seeing my resolute attitude, she turned to Stephen and tried to persuade him: “Stephen, hiring two nannies is too expensive. Now that I’m staying with you, Emma can take care of both of us, and you’ll save money. Isn’t that better?” Before Stephen could respond, I spoke up again: “Money isn’t the issue. If necessary, you should stay at the hospital. It’s safer and more convenient. I’m thinking about the baby in your belly!” Stephen also agreed with my suggestion: “Yeah, Mom, you’re due soon. It’s better to stay at the hospital.” But the next second, Eloise, with her big belly, sat down directly on the floor. Stephen and I were both startled. She was completely disregarding the baby in her belly! Stephen rushed forward to help her up, but she grabbed his hand and cried while shouting: “John, look at your son! He wants me to sleep outside with this big belly! I’m at such an advanced age and worked so hard to carry your youngest son, but Stephen is treating us like this. I don’t want to live anymore!” I finally witnessed what those unreasonable, troublesome relatives on TV were like. Stephen couldn’t bear it after all, and his tone softened: “Alright, Mom, Hazel is pregnant and in a bad mood. Don’t hold it against her. Just stay here!” Upon hearing this, Eloise immediately changed her expression, smiling as she took Stephen’s hand and stood up, her face full of smiles, as if the unreasonable tantrum from moments before had never happened. She said: “How could I hold anything against you? We’re family!” Over the next few days, Eloise did exactly as I expected, nagging in my ear every day, trying to convince me to have a C-section. I completely ignored her words. After all, her due date was earlier than mine. If we kept this standoff going, she would definitely give birth before me. While she and Emma were taking their afternoon nap, I secretly installed hidden surveillance cameras throughout the house. Now that Stephen had let them move in, I had to be on guard. Days passed, and I finally waited for the day Eloise went into labor. Emma helped the pale-faced Eloise into the living room, shouting anxiously: “Hazel, Eloise seems to be going into labor. Quick, call an ambulance.” I got up to dial, when a terrible thought suddenly occurred to me. At this moment, Eloise’s face was deathly pale, clutching her belly in pain, with amniotic fluid flowing down her legs onto the floor. If I found an excuse to delay getting her medical help at this moment, would she and the baby in her belly be in danger? But then I thought, Emma was still there, so she wouldn’t just ignore Eloise. Before I could think further, Emma saw that I wasn’t moving and suddenly let go of Eloise’s hand, rushing to make the phone call for an ambulance. As she passed by me, she slipped and fell straight toward me. I couldn’t dodge in time and was knocked heavily to the ground. The severe abdominal pain made me lose consciousness instantly. Before my consciousness faded, I saw Eloise in the distance with a triumphant smile at the corner of her mouth. When I woke up, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. I instinctively reached for my belly—it was empty! Stephen was keeping watch by the bedside. Seeing me wake up, he breathed a sigh of relief: “Emma said you accidentally fell at home, and then you and Mom both had C-sections. The baby has been born and is very healthy.” I frowned, thinking: Did I fall by myself, or was I pushed? I was so shocked at the time that I couldn’t remember clearly. The most urgent thing now was to confirm whether the baby had been switched. I asked Stephen: “Where’s the baby?” Stephen walked over to my bedside carrying the baby. I took just one look and nearly fainted again. This familiar little face was Eloise’s child Jasper, not my son Henry! In the end, the baby had still been switched!

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My mother, Maeve Nelson, made significant contributions to the Academy of Sciences and was awarded a special national medal of honor. After her death, I, Anna Nelson, also a researcher at the Academy, concealed the news of her passing and personally escorted her belongings to Chicago, planning to discuss engagement matters with Ivan Lewis, my childhood friend. However, the moment I stepped out of the train station, I was knocked down by Ivan’s assistant, Lucy Watkins. Watching the velvet box containing the medal fall open and seeing the medal’s edge crack from the impact, my heart sank. Yet Lucy had the audacity to blame me: “Don’t you watch where you’re going? You broke my bracelet!” I was stunned and tried to reason with her: “Miss, please get your facts straight. You’re the one who crashed into me first and damaged my mother’s belongings. How can you turn this around on me?” She acted as if she’d heard the most ridiculous joke: “Some dead person’s junk—who cares if it’s broken? This bracelet is a custom designer piece worth ten million dollars! Do you think you can afford to offend the wife of the Lewis family heir?” I was taken aback and immediately pulled out my phone to call Ivan’s mother, Camila Lewis: “Mrs. Lewis, since when does Ivan have two potential wives?” ***** When we were children, Ivan’s parents and mine arranged our engagement. I never really took it seriously, but Maeve kept bringing it up on her deathbed. She said Ivan was handsome, tall, successful, and that the Lewis family had helped us before, urging me to settle the marriage soon. But since he moved away as a child, we hadn’t seen each other since. So my return this time was less about getting engaged and more about clearing things up and giving each other our freedom. What I didn’t expect was for Camila, who I remembered as gentle, to get angry over one simple question. She said: “What business is it of yours? Who do you think you are to meddle in our family affairs?” Before I could respond, she hung up. I was stunned, then realized that in my rush to leave, I hadn’t switched back to my original phone number. Camila’s voice had been loud enough for Lucy to hear everything clearly. Now Lucy stood with her arms crossed, looking at me with complete disdain: “And here I thought you were actually somebody important. Turns out you were just bluffing.” Lucy let out a cold laugh, her voice dripping with mockery: “This bracelet is the latest limited edition—only five exist worldwide, priced at ten million dollars. But…” She smirked coldly, looking me up and down: “How about this—get on your knees and lick my shoes clean with your tongue, and I’ll give you a discount on what you owe me.” She raised an eyebrow, looking smug, as if certain I’d do it to save some money. More and more people gathered around, and hearing Lucy’s arrogant words, murmurs began to spread. “Ten million dollars! I could never earn that much in my lifetime!” “Who is this person? She damages someone else’s property and then demands compensation?” “Keep your voice down! Didn’t you hear her say she’s the wife of the Lewis family heir? In Chicago, who else would dare be this arrogant besides the Lewis family?” The crowd’s chatter made Lucy puff out her chest even more proudly. She said: “You hear that, you broke loser? You’d better wise up before Mr. Lewis gets here.” “Why should I listen to you?” My words made Lucy’s face stiffen. She gritted her teeth and slapped me across the face. Her sharp nails scraped across my cheek, leaving a bloody scratch. She sneered: “You pathetic loser, those jeans of yours are practically falling apart from being washed so much, aren’t they? Even if we sold you, you couldn’t afford my bracelet. I’ve changed my mind—I don’t want you licking my shoes anymore. I want Mr. Lewis to sell you into slavery.” Her tone was incredibly arrogant, making my eyes well up with tears of rage. My gaze fell on the cracked medal on the ground, heartbroken that Maeve’s life’s work was being treated so callously, and furious at this person’s complete disregard for others. I took a deep breath, and as Lucy leaned in to continue her taunts, I suddenly raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face. Before she could react, I followed up with a second slap. I said: “This is a train station—there are cameras everywhere. The surveillance will prove that you hit me first, causing me to drop and break what I was holding. And you still want me to apologize first? I’m telling you—no way!” I put my hands on my hips, my anger nearly overwhelming my reason.

I don’t care how others bully me, but I absolutely won’t tolerate anyone insulting Maeve! “You bitch! How dare you hit me!” She lunged at me, raising her hand to slap me again. I dodged to the side and kicked her in one swift motion. Lucy fell to the ground, her palm pressing against the medal fragments. She screamed, “You bitch! I’m telling you, Mr. Lewis bought me this bracelet specially yesterday, and you’re not getting away with this! When Mr. Lewis gets here, you’ll be sorry!” Despite her disheveled state, she remained arrogant and domineering. I frowned. These past few years, I’d been staying at the country’s secret base for research, rarely interacting with the outside world. Because of this isolation, I was almost completely cut off from society and knew little about current affairs. But due to the marriage arrangement made in childhood, even though I hadn’t deliberately followed news about the Lewis family, I could still learn bits and pieces from Maeve. According to Maeve, Ivan was no longer the chubby little boy who used to cry and follow me around years ago. He had not only become successful in his career and strikingly handsome, but was also the dream man of countless women. However, coming back this time, I didn’t want to get too involved with him. I only wanted to fulfill Maeve’s wish and personally deliver her belongings back home. I never expected that right after getting off the train, I’d witness such shamelessness. I’d never heard of any family daring to be so brazenly arrogant. It seemed some people really needed to be put in their place. I was about to take out my phone to make a call when Lucy suddenly knocked it out of my hand. “Even if you call for help, you’ll only get a bunch of poor country folks, right? Mr. Lewis will be here soon, so I suggest you don’t waste your energy.” Lucy looked down at the blood on her palm, glaring at me viciously. I had just bent down to pick up my phone when someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed, “Mr. Lewis is here!” I looked up. Surrounded by the crowd, a tall, well-proportioned man in a tailored suit stood at the center. His gaze was cold and distant, and when he looked at me, I could hardly believe this was the Ivan from my memory. It wasn’t that he bore no resemblance to his childhood self—he was completely transformed. “What happened?” His tone was calm, but as soon as he saw the injury on Lucy’s hand, he immediately became concerned. Ivan quickly stepped forward, pulling her into his arms. “What’s going on?” He frowned, scanning the crowd of onlookers before his gaze finally settled on me. The warmth in his eyes instantly turned cold, even showing a hint of anger. He asked, “Did you do this?” I had opened my mouth to explain, but forced myself to swallow the words. My initial thought of greeting him was completely extinguished by that cold question. Seeing Ivan’s arrival, Lucy’s arrogant demeanor instantly softened, replaced by a pitiful expression as she nestled into his arms. “Mr. Lewis, you’re finally here! Right after I got off the train, she knocked me down. Not only did she verbally abuse me, but she also broke the bracelet you gave me. You know how much this bracelet means to me—if I weren’t meeting you today, I wouldn’t even have worn it out. And now, just a few hours later, look what happened.” Her eyes reddened as she put on a pitiful act. Lucy’s distressed appearance made Ivan look at me again. “You’re Anna Nelson?” “So what if I am?” I replied. His tone, flat yet contemptuous, instantly ignited my anger. From birth until now, regardless of my character or status, no one had ever dared speak to me this way. “How do you plan to compensate?” He merely glanced at the medal fragments on the ground, his voice low. “This bracelet is worth ten million dollars. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the receipt.” His condescending attitude made my blood boil. Maeve’s life’s work lay shattered on the ground, yet he wouldn’t even spare it a glance, only caring about some broken bracelet. I took a deep breath, trying to maintain my last shred of rationality as I attempted to reason with Ivan. “Ivan, your assistant knocked over my suitcase, and the medal fell out and broke. That was my mother’s—” “Enough.” He raised his hand to cut me off, his tone clearly impatient. “Here’s what we’ll do—the bracelet cost ten million dollars. You can pay half. I can see this bracelet is beyond repair.” The last thread of rationality in my mind snapped. I had originally thought about leaving some dignity for both of us, but since Ivan didn’t want it, there was no need for me to show him any courtesy either.

From a personal standpoint, I’ve known him longer. Regardless, even if he didn’t want to honor our past, he should at least investigate the truth before passing judgment. From a professional standpoint, this medal is a specially crafted national honor, created solely to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the country. Yet he jumped to conclusions without getting the facts straight, instinctively assuming I was in the wrong. Was it simply because of these cheap clothes I’m wearing? Or perhaps Lucy’s alluring figure? I gritted my teeth, about to explain, when he cut me off again: “It’s just a medal. If you like it so much, I can have someone make you a hundred of them.” “Of course,” he paused, his gaze falling on me as if Christian were looking at a complete stranger, “you must first apologize, pay compensation, and earn Lucy’s forgiveness.” Seeing my slightly stunned expression, a flash of impatience crossed Ivan’s eyes: “Don’t think you can keep pestering me just because of your relationship with my parents. And that childhood engagement between us was just our parents joking around—you don’t need to take it seriously.” As soon as he finished speaking, the murmur of the crowd grew louder. “No way? Those two don’t look like they belong together at all.” “Looking at it now, that assistant beside Mr. Lewis seems like a much better match for him.” “Exactly. Look at her, making such a big fuss over a broken medal. Meanwhile, the rich guy doesn’t even bat an eye at millions in losses.” The crowd’s chatter seemed to fuel Ivan’s arrogance. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: “Since we’ve come this far, let me make things crystal clear today.” Ivan stepped closer, looking down at me with a cold tone: “From today forward, our engagement is officially null and void. As for my parents, I hope you’ll come with me to explain things to them. After all, you’ve been living in the countryside and don’t understand the rules of my social circle—marriage requires matching family backgrounds.” He casually slipped one hand into his pocket, his tone mockingly gentle: “Of course, I’m not looking down on you. I just think I deserve better.” “Mr. Lewis, I don’t necessarily need her to pay me back. I just feel we can’t let your gift to me go to waste,” Lucy chimed in, adding fuel to the fire. Seeing my cold expression, the last trace of patience vanished from Ivan’s eyes: “You don’t seriously think that with your current shabby appearance, you’re worthy of me, do you?” The surrounding chatter erupted again. “Come on, no matter how successful Mr. Lewis is, he shouldn’t treat a girl like this, right?” “You don’t get it. Mr. Lewis is doing this to cut ties with her and prevent her from clinging to him later.” “But I still think he’s being a bit too condescending toward poor people.” The crowd split into two camps. One side thought Ivan was going too far—not only bullying a girl but also discriminating against the poor. The other side believed he was doing the right thing, that people like me who try to climb the social ladder should be cut off completely. I looked up at Ivan’s impatient expression, my fists gradually clenching. Truth be told, the Nelson family and the Lewis family—one in business, one in politics—had grown distant by our generation. Moreover, Ivan and I had never had any real feelings for each other. I came back this time specifically to break off the engagement. But not only was he arrogant and domineering, allowing Lucy to destroy that medal representing my mother’s lifelong honor—a specially crafted national award—he also humiliated me repeatedly, even worrying that I might cling to him. I took a deep breath, my gaze falling on Lucy, who was hiding behind Ivan: “I believe that regardless of anything else, this lady should compensate me for the damaged medal.” “That piece of junk?” Before Lucy could respond, Ivan scoffed, “Fine, no problem. A hundred bucks each—I can make you a hundred of them.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over me with contempt: “For old times’ sake, since we were once engaged, I’ll throw in an extra hundred dollars. Pay for Lucy’s bracelet, and we’ll call it even.” “Even?” I couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “I’m afraid even if you sold the entire Lewis family, you couldn’t afford to compensate for this medal!” Ivan froze, then burst into laughter as if he’d heard the joke of the century. The people around us also showed sympathetic, even pitying expressions, as if Christian believed I’d suffered a mental breakdown under enormous pressure. Lucy crossed her arms, her face full of disdain and disgust. Ignoring the stares and whispers around me, I pulled out my phone, switched to another system, and dialed Kane Schmidt’s number. The call connected quickly. Before he could speak, I said first: “Mr. Schmidt, the Skyward Medal has been damaged.” There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by an elderly, shocked voice. Then came a series of clattering sounds, as if something had been knocked over. He asked: “Where are you right now? I’m coming over immediately!”

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I watched as my childhood friend, drugged and burning with desire, lured the principal’s son into the bathroom. Then I turned and walked away. In my past life, I had rushed in to stop her. That decision put me in danger. By the time the police arrived, photos of me in disheveled clothes in the bathroom were spreading like wildfire online. “So much for being the cold, top student. Just a sex-crazed pervert.” My reputation was ruined and I was expelled from school. To save her own reputation, Olivia married me. But our marriage was my true hell. I fell into severe depression and mental illness. My parents, trying to make amends to Olivia, gave her everything. But the first thing she did after gaining control of our family company was to frame my father for financial crimes. My father died of a heart attack in prison. My mother, unable to bear the shock, died in a car accident. When I heard the news, I was devastated. But Olivia, my wife of 10 years, appeared before me arm-in-arm with a transfer student: “You bitch, if you hadn’t interfered back then, Ethan and I would have been together long ago. I wouldn’t have had to abort our child.” I coughed up blood and died with my eyes open. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day Olivia was drugged. 0

After school, the campus was nearly empty. I took deep breaths of fresh air, trying to calm myself. Being suddenly pulled back from the hatred and fear of my death was jarring. Ethan was handing Olivia a bottle of water. It contained an aphrodisiac that would inflame her desires. In my past life, I had accidentally discovered Ethan pouring some unknown white powder into the water. I exposed him on the spot. But Olivia didn’t believe me. She insisted on drinking the water anyway. She even asked if I was just jealous that Ethan was better looking than me, and that’s why I kept targeting him. This time, I wouldn’t stop her. After taking the water, Olivia instinctively looked at me. “You’re not going to try to control even my drinking water, are you?” “Do whatever you want,” I said with a wave of my hand. Ethan couldn’t miss a chance to antagonize me. He immediately chimed in: “Alex, your possessiveness of Olivia is too much. Doesn’t she even have the freedom to make friends?” At his words, the few classmates still in the room gave me strange looks. Olivia’s face darkened even more. “Who does he think he is? Just a bookworm.” I gripped my pen tightly, hatred surging in my eyes. “Are you two done? I haven’t said anything from start to finish.” Olivia was taken aback, and fell silent with a scowl. Ethan continued stirring up trouble. “You didn’t say anything, but your face says it all. Olivia and I just talk for a bit and you glare at us.” Hearing this, Olivia shot me an angry glare. As if to spite me, she drank the entire bottle of water. In my past life, I had knocked the bottle away, so she only took one sip. But even that one sip was enough to make her lose control. I couldn’t imagine what drinking the whole bottle would do to her. I found myself looking forward to it. Seeing her finish the water, Ethan could barely hide his excitement. He took Olivia’s hand. “Olivia, let’s walk home together.” Of course Olivia wouldn’t refuse. The two left the classroom hand in hand. Ten minutes later, Emma, our class president, burst into the classroom red-faced. By then, I was the only one left in the room. Emma stammered, clearly struggling to speak. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Olivia?” I asked proactively. Emma grabbed my hand: “Yes, yes, it’s them… they…” “What happened?” I looked Emma in the eye, pretending I knew nothing. I used to trust Emma completely. She wasn’t just our class president, but my deskmate for all three years of high school. I thought we were close friends who could tell each other anything. But I never imagined she would stomp on me so viciously after the incident. She told everyone that I had a crush on Olivia and drugged her. She even started a livestream to denounce my actions. “I was his deskmate for three years. I always knew he liked Olivia, but I never thought he would do something like this.” “Alex is a sex addict. He… he once called ten prostitutes in one night.” “I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.” That livestream pushed the whole incident to its peak. I was completely ruined. The school pressured me to drop out. Later, I ran into her by chance. By then she had risen to a high position. “Thank you. If you hadn’t gotten into trouble, I wouldn’t have been able to take your spot for early admission to a top university.” The memory flooded back, and I stared hard at Emma. In my past life, she and I had discovered Ethan dragging Olivia into the bathroom together. I rushed in to stop them, while Emma said she would call for help. But she just hid and watched, recording a video… Seeing I wasn’t in a rush, Emma became frantic and incoherent. “Olivia and Ethan went into the men’s bathroom. Olivia keeps crying. Ethan… Ethan is trying to assault Olivia.” “But don’t they like each other? How do you know Olivia isn’t willing?” I asked. Emma was stunned by my response. Everyone in class knew Olivia and Ethan were flirting, just short of making it official. Emma anxiously grabbed my wrist. “But they’re still students. They can’t do this!” “Come on, let’s go check. We can’t just ignore this.” 0

The calculation in Emma’s eyes was about to overflow. She just wanted to ruin me to get that early admission spot to a top university. I didn’t say anything more and followed her downstairs. On the way, I secretly sent pre-written help messages to the principal and other school leaders, and contacted some nearby livestreamers. Ethan was the principal’s son after all. When pressuring me to drop out in my past life, the principal had utterly humiliated me. This time, I wanted the principal to get a good look at the show her son was putting on. As we approached the bathroom, we could hear ambiguous sounds from inside. “Oh Olivia, more, I want more.” “Olivia, you’re amazing.” The woman’s moans and man’s grunts were nonstop. Emma’s eyes darted around: “Alex, you go in first to stop them. I’ll go find someone to help.” “No, I can’t go in. Let’s just wait here for a teacher,” I said, shrinking my neck in an act of fear. Emma glared at me in annoyance. She held back her temper and whispered: “If you don’t go in now, it’ll be too late. Do you really want to let Ethan have Olivia?” The bathroom door wasn’t fully closed. Through the gap, I could see Ethan pressing Olivia against the wall. Olivia’s clothes were half off, exposing her. Ethan was frantically tearing at Olivia’s uniform, biting her all over. Olivia pretended to struggle, but wasn’t using any real strength. Her coy resistance only made Ethan more uncontrollable. I pressed my lips together tightly, pretending to be conflicted: “Alright, you’re right. I’ll go in now.” Just as I was about to push the door open, I turned back to Emma and said, “Hurry and find a teacher. I can’t hold out for long.” Emma nodded eagerly. She turned and ran. But after turning a corner, she came right back. She gleefully took out her phone, started recording, and wedged it in the door crack. Inside was chaotic, with unrestrained lewd sounds coming through. After doing this, Emma left satisfied to find a teacher and security guards. When a group rushed to the teaching building, the people inside were still going at it vigorously. Emma covered her face and cried, blocking the principal. “Teacher, I… I don’t know why they’re doing this!” The principal’s face was dark with anger. She didn’t know her son Ethan was inside. Emma hadn’t clarified who was in there. Emma didn’t just want to ruin me – she wanted to ruin Ethan too. After all, in her view, we were both her competitors. And it just so happened that education officials were here for an inspection today. Now, a group of education officials were following the principal to “catch adulterers in the act”. The scene couldn’t be more dramatic. The principal was shaking with rage. With education officials watching, her chances for promotion were likely ruined. The principal probably wanted to kill the fornicating couple inside. The principal tried to keep walking forward. Emma blocked her again, wailing: “Principal, it’s… it’s…” She pretended to be reluctant. The principal grabbed her shoulders. “Who is it?” Emma acted like she was scared to tears, and said haltingly, “It’s Alex.” Of course the principal knew me. My grades were always top of the year. I was the most promising candidate for early admission to a top university. The principal’s eyes bulged with rage. “That little—” She cut off the insult she was about to say. The education officials were still watching. The principal couldn’t say anything too harsh at this moment. The people inside were still lost in their passion, completely unaware of the commotion outside. The lewd sounds coming through became even more unrestrained. Emma clutched her chest and cried: “Alex, how could you! Why can’t you control yourself? Are you really that desperate for women?” At these words, the education officials’ faces turned extremely ugly. They considered themselves respectable people, and couldn’t barge in at a time like this. The group waited awkwardly downstairs, exchanging looks. “Me? What did I do?” I finally emerged from my hiding spot. 0

“Why are you here?” Emma cried out in shock. The principal eyed me suspiciously. “It’s not you? Then who’s inside?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t see clearly who it was.” Since Emma deliberately concealed it, I naturally had no reason to expose it. At this moment, some livestreamers who got the news rushed in, ignoring the school security guards trying to stop them. “Wow, the students at your school are so open, having sex in broad daylight.” “Yeah Principal, aren’t you going to take us for a look?” “Principal, what are your thoughts on this? Chat with the viewers a bit.” The principal’s face was ashen. She kept her expression tight and said nothing. Emma stared at me hard, finally losing it. She grabbed my hand: “Didn’t you go in? Then who went in just now?” “I was scared. I didn’t dare go in,” I said, forcing out tears and acting cowardly. Emma was so angry she raised her hand to slap me. Just as her palm was about to hit my face, she stopped herself, glaring at me fiercely. The livestreamers’ equipment was pointed at us. Comments were scrolling by rapidly in the livestream. [666, this is too exciting.] [You can tell how intense it is just from the sounds.] [Streamer hurry up and go in to record! Let us feast our eyes!] The streamer chuckled, “I don’t dare. My stream would get banned as soon as I went in.” I turned away from the camera and smirked at Emma. She was dumbfounded, her eyes wide. “You…” “What’s wrong, class president?” I asked innocently. The education officials’ faces were flushed red. One pointed at the bathroom: “Johnson, go talk some sense into your students!” This couldn’t be covered up anymore. Principal Johnson was so angry her face was twitching. “Good, good, these students are really something.” As the principal charged towards the bathroom, I ran over crying and grabbed her. “Teacher, you shouldn’t go in.” The principal shoved me away forcefully. “Get lost! Why are you all trying to stop me? What are you up to!” Everyone frowned at me. Emma had reacted by now. She hid in the crowd, staring at me unblinkingly. She must have thought of something, because she suddenly ran over. “Alex, stop interfering with them. I know you like Olivia, but she deserves this.” She acted like she was looking out for me as she pulled me away, looking pained: “We’re just students. We shouldn’t get involved in the teachers’ business.” Seeing I still wanted to stop her, the principal shoved me away forcefully. I cried heart-rendingly, wailing to the livestream cameras: “But there are so many people here. If this gets out, what will happen to the people inside?” I pretended to be very concerned about the people inside. On camera, of course I had to act like I cared about my classmates. At my words, the principal paused. The education officials also looked troubled. They couldn’t just barge in to “catch adulterers” on camera. If it caused the students involved to have issues, they couldn’t bear that responsibility. The group hesitated about 30 meters from the bathroom. We weren’t very close, but we could still clearly hear the sounds from inside. The livestreamers tried to get closer to film, but were blocked by security guards. And so, the group waited outside to see what would happen. After a full two hours, the sounds inside finally started to die down. The bathroom door opened. But to everyone’s surprise, the satisfied-looking man who walked out wasn’t a student from our school. The man was tall and muscular, with a scar on his face. Seeing so many eyes staring at him, he spat in disgust. “What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll gouge your eyeballs out.” Seeing it was some thug, the principal visibly relaxed. As long as it wasn’t students involved, it would be easier to handle. But then someone cried out in shock, “Holy shit, inside…” 0

A livestreamer seized the chance to rush over. The bathroom door was wide open, revealing the chaotic scene inside. It made everyone gasp. Ethan and a disheveled Olivia were lying naked on the floor. Both their mouths were covered in some unknown liquid. Several men were standing around them. “This boy was even better than a woman. Felt so good.” “Such a slut. Even the bunch of us couldn’t satisfy him.” “This girl’s useless, passed out after a bit. The boy had way more stamina.” The men leisurely put their pants back on. Seeing the door open, they reluctantly came out. I recognized a few of them as construction workers building the new school building. Meanwhile, Ethan seemed to have lost his mind, still mumbling: “More, I want more…” The livestreamer shouted, “Holy fuck, he swings both ways!” I was shocked too. I never knew Ethan was into both men and women. Olivia looked like she had been roughly used, her body covered in bruises. Her hair was matted to her face, making it hard to recognize her. The principal was dumbstruck at this scene. She was shaking with rage. “You two, have you gone insane?!” Ethan was jolted awake from his half-conscious state by the principal’s shriek. He propped himself up and saw the crowd in front of him. He shuddered violently. He hurriedly picked up his tattered clothes from the ground and haphazardly put them on. He tried to stand up. But he slipped and fell heavily to the ground with a thud. The education officials quickly exchanged glances. The principal’s face was extremely ugly. How dare someone make such a scandal at this critical moment for her promotion! And in front of so many officials too. Her career was ruined. The principal seemed ready to just break everything. She rushed over and grabbed Ethan’s hair: “You worthless piece of trash! How did your parents raise you, huh?” Ethan’s scalp hurt from being grabbed, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell his mom to stop. Meanwhile, Olivia was still crawling over to Ethan, groping him all over in her unsatisfied state. Ethan kicked her away in disgust. In the past two hours, he had grown to thoroughly despise Olivia. I hid in the crowd, crying inconsolably. I looked every bit the good student who cared deeply about his classmates. The principal and our newly arrived homeroom teacher cursed and insulted Olivia nonstop. Olivia huddled in her clothes, shivering. At one point, someone tried to brush her hair aside, but she slapped their hand away like a madwoman. I watched the show from the back. Emma looked on worriedly, glancing back at me from time to time. The principal’s chest heaved violently with anger. The education officials sighed and shook their heads. They said something to the principal before leaving. After they left, the principal’s face looked even worse. She finally lost control and rushed over to kick Olivia and Ethan several times. Ethan dodged, naked. The drug’s effects hadn’t worn off for Olivia. Her whole body was weak and she couldn’t dodge. She cried out in pain. Ethan wailed heart-rendingly, “Stop hitting, stop hitting.” After beating Olivia, the principal went to hit and scratch Ethan. She cornered him against the wall. The principal gnashed her teeth: “You slut, why are you hiding? Weren’t you having fun? Come on, let everyone see how thick your skin is.” The principal deliberately moved aside so the livestream cameras could get a clearer shot. Then the principal grabbed Ethan’s hair and yanked his head back. That pale face under the messy hair was fully exposed.

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Everyone knew Lily only married me to spite her first love. For five years of marriage, she played the role of a caring wife to a renowned cardiologist in public. But behind closed doors, she was cold as ice towards me and brought up divorce countless times. Later, when her first love returned to the country due to illness, Lily took meticulous care of him. She even warned me repeatedly: “Ethan’s heart condition is fragile. If you dare show your face around him, you’ll have hell to pay!” Finally, when she brought up divorce for the hundredth time, I agreed. What Lily didn’t know was that I had cancer and was dying. On the way to file for divorce, I got into a car accident. Lily never saw me arrive, but she did receive news that a matching heart donor had been found for Ethan. She rushed back to the hospital in excitement, personally performed the autopsy, and transplanted the heart into Ethan’s body. It was only afterwards that she remembered about our divorce plans, but by then my phone would never ring again…

The moment my soul left my body, the unbearable pain finally subsided. I floated above, watching the smoking wreckage of my car in the pouring rain. The driver’s side was severely deformed from the impact, and the person in the seat was unrecognizable, their bones completely dislocated. Today was my fifth wedding anniversary with Lily. It was also the hundredth time she had brought up divorce. In the past, I always avoided the topic to maintain our fragile relationship. But this time, I agreed to the divorce. Our relationship hadn’t been great these five years, but we had still spent day and night together for so long. Until a month ago, when Ethan, the man she loved but couldn’t have, returned to the country due to illness. Not only did Lily stop coming home altogether, but she also took meticulous care of him at the hospital. Everyone knew she had married me just to spite Ethan back then. But I had loved her secretly for years, so even knowing this cruel truth, I remained devoted to Lily. I watched as the ambulance from First People’s Hospital took away my mangled body, and for some reason, I followed. Lily worked at this hospital. For years, she had been a renowned cardiology expert. But as the spouse of a top doctor, I couldn’t even get treatment from her for minor ailments. Because on our wedding day, Lily had coldly told me: “I don’t want to see you at my workplace.” “And I especially don’t want you bothering me over trivial matters.” So even when I was diagnosed with cancer, I still hadn’t found the chance to tell her. Thinking of this, a dense, gnawing pain spread through my heart. My bloodied corpse wasn’t taken to the morgue, but instead to the operating room on the fifth floor. Just then, the door to the operating room opened. Two people walked in, one after the other. “Ethan, it’s illegal to harvest a heart without the family’s consent…” I recognized the person speaking – it was Andy, Lily’s apprentice. I had often brought Lily meals over the years, and this guy had eaten plenty of them. Then I heard Ethan snort coldly, crossing his arms as he walked up to my cold corpse. He looked down at me briefly before quickly turning away, unable to hide the disgust in his eyes. “I’ve waited so long to finally match with a donor. How could I possibly let this chance slip away?” He turned to Andy indifferently: “Call Lily back.” “I want her to personally remove the heart and perform my surgery.” Andy looked at him hesitantly, starting to speak several times before stopping himself. Ethan wasn’t in a hurry. He took out a card from his bag and handed it to Andy. “There’s $50,000 on this card. This stays between us.” “Even if the family comes looking later, I have ways to deal with it.” Tempted by the money and Ethan’s assurances, Andy finally took the card and dialed Lily’s number. After a series of mechanical rings, Lily’s voice filled the operating room. “What is it?” Andy paused, looking up at Ethan before slowly replying: “Dr. Lu, we’ve found a matching heart donor for Mr. Song.” “The body is in the operating room. Please come back quickly.” Hearing this, Lily’s previously indifferent tone became excited, as if she had won the lottery. “Really?! I’ll be right there!” “Ethan won’t have to worry about this anymore…” Her incredibly excited voice felt like daggers stabbing into my heart. I looked at my corpse on the operating table through tear-filled eyes. If Lily knew it was me who had died, would she still be so happy?

In less than half an hour, Lily was back. She hugged Ethan, who was waiting for her in the hallway, breathlessly saying: “Ethan, you’re finally going to be okay.” Hearing this, Ethan’s eyes also reddened as he said: “Lily, if it weren’t for you, I’d rather give up this heart…” Hearing this, Lily hugged Ethan tighter and couldn’t help kissing him lightly before solemnly saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely divorce Adam.” “I… I only married him because I was angry at you in the first place.” When this widely known fact came from Lily’s own lips, my heart still couldn’t help but ache. So this was how much she loved Ethan. So after five years, I still hadn’t been able to melt this iceberg. While I was lost in thought, Lily had already comforted Ethan and told him to prepare for surgery. She then went into the operating room with Andy. For Lily, harvesting a heart was a simple procedure she could do with her eyes closed. But when she saw the blood-covered body on the operating table, she still couldn’t help but frown: “Andy, why didn’t you clean him up before bringing him here?” Andy froze, too nervous to look at Lily. In the end, he could only stammer, “Dr. Lu, Mr. Song’s donor was so hard to find.” “And isn’t this to ensure the heart stays fresh?” Hearing this, Lily said no more. She reached out to take the scalpel Andy handed her. Just as she was about to make the incision, she paused again. I followed her gaze and realized Lily was looking at my hand. On the ring finger of my left hand, a diamond ring was stained with dark red blood. I had designed this ring myself and had made a matching women’s wedding band for Lily when we got married. But she had disdainfully locked it away in a drawer and never taken it out again. “Dr. Lu, what’s wrong?” Andy looked at her in confusion. Lily shook her head, but when she spoke again, her voice carried a hint of pity. “What a pity. His husband must be devastated,” she said as she cut open my chest cavity. Andy stood beside her, handing her tools while replying: “And after examination, this gentleman also had cancer.” “It really is quite sad.” This time Lily didn’t respond, but the atmosphere in the operating room became even heavier than before. I watched her from afar, suddenly remembering how last winter I had come down with a terrible fever. I was so weak I couldn’t even get out of bed. Lily was home at the time, but she was only focused on her own work. I burned with fever all night until I was finally rushed to the hospital. The doctors said I had nearly died. But when I woke up, the first thing Lily did was berate me. “You’re a grown man! Couldn’t you have said something if you weren’t feeling well?!” She glared at me, her eyes full of anger. “Or were you just trying to use this to get my attention?” At the time, I was too weak to argue with her. She had clearly told me not to bother her even if I wasn’t feeling well. I had listened to her so obediently, so why was she still angry? And now Lily could feel sympathy for a complete stranger, so why had she been so cold to me, her husband of five years?

The heart was successfully removed. Six hours later, it began beating again. Except this time, it was inside Ethan’s body. As soon as Lily left the operating room, she went straight to Ethan’s room. Seeing him lying there sleeping peacefully, she finally let out a long sigh of relief. After checking on Ethan, Lily returned to her office. She sat down and took out her phone, but there were no messages. In the past, I would have sent her hundreds of messages every day, sharing every little detail about what I ate, what I did, how work was going. But Lily never replied to me. She stared at her phone for a long time before finally opening her contacts and scrolling to my name. She hesitated before dialing. But the mechanical ringtone just kept ringing and automatically hanging up. No one ever answered on the other end. Finally, Lily lost patience. She opened WeChat and tapped on our conversation, irritably sending two voice messages. “Adam, you already agreed to the divorce, so whether you answer the phone or not won’t change my mind.” “Don’t think playing hard to get will make me change my mind about divorcing you!” I watched her angry expression and smiled bitterly, murmuring, “Lily, if you hated me so much, why did you marry me in the first place?” But it didn’t matter anymore. The husband she despised had died in today’s downpour. Lily would never have to be bothered by me again. For the first time, Lily’s messages went unanswered. I had vanished without a trace. But she didn’t look for me, because she was convinced I was just sulking, that I was hiding because I didn’t want to divorce her. My body lay unclaimed in the hospital morgue. The reason was simple – I was an orphan. After leaving the orphanage, getting into a top design school was probably one of the most praiseworthy things in my life. The other was marrying Lily. In college, she wasn’t just the medical school beauty queen but also the top student. She was the unattainable dream girl for many guys. But back then, Lily only had eyes for Ethan. Even I, from a neighboring school, knew about their romantic love story. The first time I saw her was at an inter-school mixer. In the sea of people, Lily stood out in an expensive designer dress, confidently holding court. She was surrounded by admirers, but no one could outshine her brilliance. Later, when I got drunk, it was Lily who came over with hangover medicine. For the first time, my dull heart experienced the flutter of butterflies. But I knew the vast difference in our backgrounds. Plus, she had a boyfriend, so I kept that fondness locked away in my heart. It’s laughable, really. Those who crawl out of the mud always foolishly yearn for things far beyond their reach. I thought that would be my only interaction with Lily. Until she broke up with Ethan. By chance, I was delivering some custom buttons to her friend. On that sunny day, she looked up at me carelessly and asked, “Will you marry me?”

“Adam still hasn’t answered the phone?” In the hospital room, Ethan looked at Lily with a pale face. A moment later, he asked sadly, “Lily, after five years of marriage, did you really never have any feelings for him?” “Is his disappearance just you lying to me? You actually… don’t want to marry me at all.” “You never forgave me for leaving you back then!” By the end, Ethan was crying heartbrokenly. After these days, my emotions had strangely stabilized. I was now leaning against the window, quietly watching them. I guessed Lily would embrace him tenderly and comfort him. Sure enough, a moment later, she frowned and stood up, pulling the agitated Ethan into her arms. See? I guessed right. “Adam already agreed to divorce me. I don’t know why he suddenly lost contact.” She said, gently patting Ethan’s back to comfort him, then softly continued, “But don’t worry, I will divorce him.” “And I will marry you.” Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Two uniformed police officers burst into the room. Lily looked at them in confusion. “Officers, is something wrong?” Before the police could answer, the door was flung open again. Andy stood there, panting heavily. He looked up at Lily with trembling eyes: “Dr. Lu… Mr. Chen is dead…” [CUT-OFF POINT] Hearing this, Lily froze, looking at Andy in confusion. “Who did you say is dead?” “Mrs. Chen, we came today to inform you of this matter.” The police officer naturally took over, sighing as he pulled up a video on his phone and handed it to Lily: “A week ago in the morning, your husband Adam Chen was driving when he collided with a large bus.” “The scene was horrific. Your husband died instantly.” “To better determine responsibility, we sent the body to your hospital, but no one ever claimed it…” The video was playing on the phone, and I clearly saw Lily’s face turning deathly pale. This was the first time I had ever seen such an expression on her face. The room suddenly became deathly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Until Andy slowly walked up to the stunned Lily and gripped her shoulders: “Dr. Lu, the body you personally cut open that day was Mr. Chen.” “He was found to have cancer after death… his body is still in the morgue…” With a thud, the phone fell to the floor. Lily’s pupils constricted as she stared at Andy in disbelief. “You’re saying… that person was Adam?” This time it was Andy who fell silent, his eyes red and expression complex. I imagine his feelings must be very complicated, after all, he and Ethan had taken my heart without anyone’s consent. I used to treat Andy quite well too. Without waiting for anyone’s response, Lily suddenly bolted out of the room like a madwoman. Andy snapped out of it and quickly followed. Only a bewildered Ethan was left behind. The elevator was stuck on the top floor and wouldn’t come down, so Lily chose to run down the stairs from the 16th floor. She ran so fast she even missed a step and tumbled down the stairs. “Dr. Lu!!!” Andy hurried forward to help Lily up, but she shoved him away. Lily’s forehead was bleeding from the fall, but she quickly got up and sprinted towards the morgue on the second basement level.

I followed behind them, watching all this impassively. I didn’t understand why Lily was reacting so strongly after hearing the news of my death. Could it be that she was so happy this annoying pest was finally dead that she was overjoyed? Soon Lily reached the entrance of the morgue. She suddenly became extremely calm, slowly walking up to the row of freezers and stopping. Andy caught up, looking at her hesitantly several times before finally raising his hand to point at one of the freezers in the middle row. “Dr. Lu… Mr. Chen’s… body is here.” I floated over to stand beside Lily. She lowered her eyes to look at that spot, raising a trembling hand to grasp the handle. But she didn’t pull it open right away, just staring at it silently. I looked at her bloodless face and couldn’t help but quip: “Don’t tell me you’re so happy to hear I’m dead that you don’t know how to react?” After all, now that I was dead, there would be no one to bother her anymore. She could marry Ethan without any obstacles. The star-crossed lovers could finally be together. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but curse. “Lily! I’ve been with you for five years, you weren’t even with Ethan for that long!” “If you don’t shed a single crocodile tear when you see me, I’ll become a vengeful ghost and haunt you forever!” I shouted loudly by her ear, but of course Lily couldn’t hear me. With a click, the freezer was pulled open. Accompanied by a gust of cold air, my battered body finally appeared before Lily’s eyes. The sight was so gruesome it made even Andy suck in a sharp breath. Lily suddenly collapsed to her knees, staring fixedly at my corpse. She began to tremble uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face like a broken dam. I was stunned. I never expected her to be this kind of person, still putting on an act of deep love in front of others even after I was dead. Before I could puzzle it out, I saw Lily’s shaking hand slowly reach towards my head. But she stopped a few centimeters away. Seeing her like this, I sighed helplessly. It made sense – my skull was completely shattered. Even though it had been pieced back together, my head still looked dented and horrifying. It was natural she couldn’t bring herself to touch it. But the next second, a heart-wrenching wail suddenly rang out in the silent morgue. “Adam!!!” Lily cried out, throwing herself onto me, repeating over and over, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” My heart seized, my eyes stinging inexplicably. “Your acting is pretty good. I never realized you were such a good actress before.” Andy hurriedly crouched down and pulled the distraught Lily away from me with all his strength. “Dr. Lu! We barely managed to reconstruct Mr. Chen’s body to look like this. You can’t touch him!” Sure enough, when I looked over again, the corpse that had somewhat held its shape before had now fallen apart. Lily’s eyes were brimming with tears as she stared at the body in the freezer, murmuring, “This isn’t real… you must be tricking me, right?” “I know you always liked to use little tricks to get my attention, but Adam, can you not joke like this?” “Wake up… please wake up…” Lily was crying inconsolably, curled up in Andy’s arms and clutching his collar so tightly it seemed she might faint at any moment. Seeing this, Andy’s eyes reddened too, but he still calmly told Lily: “Mr. Chen is really dead!” “Dr. Lu… my condolences…” “It’s impossible!” Lily shouted, violently pushing Andy away. “He loved me so much, how could he bear to leave me?” “He can’t be dead… this must be a dream…” She said this as she sank to her knees in front of me, carefully raising her hand to grasp my left hand. “Adam, wake up.” “I’ll never bring up divorce again. We’ll live well together from now on.” “Please…”

In the end, Lily fainted from the emotional turmoil. I floated into her hospital room, sitting quietly on the far couch and watching her. Strangely, I felt a kind of inexplicable satisfaction. When I first had the accident, I had hoped she would quickly find me and bring me home. But then I watched with my own eyes as she cut out my heart and put it in Ethan’s body, and later showed such indifference to my disappearance. For the first time, I truly understood what it meant for one’s heart to turn to ashes. People often say that even raising a dog for a long time will create emotional attachment. But Lily was truly heartless towards me. Then again, she didn’t love me, so of course she could be so cold. Lost in thought, Ethan entered the room. Still in his hospital gown, he sat by the bed looking haggard and nervous. Soon after, Lily woke up. “Lily! You’re finally awake.” Ethan said excitedly, throwing himself onto Lily and choking up, “I know his sudden death is hard for you to accept right now.” “But if you think about it, this is actually a good thing! There won’t be any more obstacles between us.” “My illness was cured because of Adam’s death. You should be happy for me!” Lily didn’t answer Ethan. She suddenly shoved him away, throwing off her blanket and stumbling towards the door. Seeing this, Ethan quickly got up and grabbed Lily, anxiously asking: “Where are you going?!” “I’m going home…” she mumbled, walking out on her own, still muttering, “Adam is waiting for me at home.” “If I don’t go back soon he’ll definitely get angry and ignore me.” Hearing her words, Ethan’s face went white. He let go of Lily’s hand in shock.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297326”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance

Julian’s eighteenth birthday party. Amidst the cheers and egging of everyone, he pulled me into the penthouse suite on the top floor of the hotel. A night of pure recklessness. I clutched the exquisite Cartier necklace from the bedside table, a hollow, bitter laugh escaping me until dawn. I honestly thought I was the leading lady in his story. Then came the cold light of morning. I heard him on the phone just outside the door, his voice laced with a tenderness I’d never heard before, a sickening sweetness. “Don’t be mad, babe. I was just getting your gift ready last night, remember? Learning how to give a girl a necklace the most romantic way.” The person on the other end seemed to be laughing at him. Julian chuckled, a lazy, mocking edge to his tone. “I just practiced on Avery. Didn’t expect her to take it so seriously.” “You were worried I’d mess up in front of you, right? Don’t worry. My technique’s perfected now.” I pushed the door open, placed the necklace on the bedside table, and walked out without a single glance back. After blocking and deleting him from every contact, I logged into my university application system. My first choice, once an Ivy League dream, was now Westwood University. ……………………………………………. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, then plunged into icy water. The blood in my veins instantly congealed, my hands and feet turning frigid, alien to my own body. I leaned against the cold wall, taking deep, shaky breaths. Once. Twice. When I pushed the door open again, my face was devoid of all emotion. Inside the room, Julian had just hung up. He saw me, and a flicker of panic crossed his eyes—the panic of being caught. It lasted only a second, quickly replaced by a wave of irritation. “You’re awake?” He pointed at the opened velvet box on the nightstand, his tone arrogant. “Like it? Latest Cartier.” I didn’t even glance at the necklace. My gaze was fixed solely on his face as I asked calmly, “The ‘practice session’ for Seraphina… is it over?” Julian’s face instantly froze. All color drained from his handsome features, then he flushed with furious indignation. “You were listening to my call?” I let out a self-deprecating laugh. It was a shallow sound, but it sliced through the pretense of that false morning like a knife. I didn’t bother answering his pointless question. I walked straight to my bag and pulled open the zipper. My hand was steady. From inside, I took out a black bank card. I walked back to the bed and placed the card beside the velvet box. Then I looked at him, speaking each word slowly and clearly, my voice utterly devoid of tremor. “The practice fee for last night.” “Password: six eights.” Julian was stunned. He’d lived for eighteen years, always the center of the universe, elevated above all. He probably never imagined a woman would one day “pay” him with money. His expression shifted from shock to humiliation, and then to outright fury. I didn’t give him a chance to explode. I picked up the Cartier necklace, idly weighing it in my hand. The chain was cold, the diamonds rough against my fingers. “Add the cost of this necklace,” I added, “that should be enough.” Last night’s images surged uncontrollably into my mind. Julian, clumsy and unsure, putting the necklace on me, his warm breath ghosting against my earlobe. He’d whispered, “Avery, you look so beautiful in this. From now on, I’ll only ever buy these for you.” That lie, at this very moment, triggered a wave of pure nausea, my stomach churning. “Avery!” Julian’s face had turned completely dark, like the sky before a violent storm. He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with a force that felt like he intended to crush my bones. “What the hell do you mean?!” he roared, veins pulsing visibly at his temples. I was forced to look up, meeting his blazing eyes. “It means,” I looked at him, enunciating each word, pouring every ounce of strength into my voice, “Julian, your cheap affection and clumsy technique are only worth this much.” That sentence completely ignited him. “You’re asking for it!” He raised his hand, a slap hurtling through the air, almost connecting. I didn’t flinch. I even met his gaze, my eyes filled with utter scorn and a profound brokenness. Go ahead and hit me. That one slap would be enough to repay six years of my foolish delusion. His hand, however, stopped mid-air. Just inches from my face. He was momentarily stunned by the dead calm in my eyes. It was a void so absolute, it couldn’t even spare him hatred. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse, I wrenched my hand free. I picked up my bag and, like throwing out trash, tossed the necklace back into its box. Then I turned and walked out, resolute. Behind me, I heard Julian’s staggered, furious breathing. I never looked back. 02: The apartment door clicked shut behind me. All my strength seemed to drain away in an instant. I slumped against the door, slowly sliding to the floor. The tears I’d held back all morning finally broke free. I wasn’t crying for Julian. I was crying for my own sincerity, wasted and fed to a dog for years. I was crying for my dignity, trampled and crushed beneath his heel. My phone vibrated wildly inside my bag. I pulled it out, Julian’s name flashing on the screen, blinding and repulsive. He’d probably snapped back to reality and was calling to confront me. I swiped to answer. Before he could even speak, I said in a glacial voice, “Call me again, and I’m reporting you for harassment.” Then I hung up. And powered down my phone. The world went silent. I rushed into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and cranked the water temperature to its highest. Scalding water rained down on me, turning my skin fiery red. It felt like the only way to wash away every trace and memory of last night. Only when my skin began to sting did I calm down. Wrapped in a towel, I opened my laptop and logged into the university application system. On the screen, my first choice still silently read, “Ivy League.” Back in freshman year of high school, Julian had pulled me under the old oak tree by the campus lake to make a wish. He’d said, “Avery, let’s get into an Ivy League together, okay?” I’d nodded, smiling like an idiot. To keep up with his genius on the STEM path, I’d given up my passion for the arts. All those nights I spent furiously studying now felt like sharp blades, shredding my heart to pieces. Every sacrifice, every effort, seemed like a colossal joke in the face of his casual word: “practice.” My hands trembled. The cursor moved, deleting “Ivy League.” Letter by letter, I typed again. “Westwood University.” The moment I clicked confirm, I felt a kind of lock shattering. Six years. I had finally severed this toxic connection with my own hands. My phone powered on, and dozens of unread messages flooded in. They were all from my best friend, Riley. She sent a screenshot from a SnapChat group called “The City’s Elite Circle.” It was full of the city’s most privileged heirs, just like Julian. Julian had sent an $8888 digital envelope in the group. The caption read: “Mission accomplished. Rest easy.” Immediately, people started egging him on. “Julian’s the man! Practice run smooth?” “Is Seraphina’s gift ready?” Julian replied with a smug sunglasses emoji. “Of course. The practice subject was very cooperative.” “The practice subject.” He didn’t even bother to use my name. Riley’s voice message came through right after, her voice shaking with rage. “Avery, did you see this?! That bastard! He doesn’t even see you as a person!” “Who cares about an Ivy League! Let’s go, to Westwood. I’ll go with you!” I stared at those disgusting chat logs, and the last shred of resentment in my heart was finally extinguished. I remembered last night, when I was almost asleep from exhaustion, Julian held me close. He’d whispered tenderly, “My Avery is so wonderful. Whoever marries her will be so lucky.” Turns out, the luck was Seraphina’s. I was just a prop. I took a deep breath, my fingertips cold as I typed on the screen. My reply to Riley: “Okay. We’ll go together. Somewhere without him.” 03: The next day, Julian realized I was gone. My phone was off, SnapChat blocked. It was as if I’d vanished into thin air. For the first time, he felt that I, his satellite who’d always revolved around him, had gone off orbit. This loss of control made him furious. He roared down the road in his Lamborghini, heading straight for my house. But my housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, stopped him. “Mr. Julian, Miss Avery and her friend went on a graduation trip.” “Trip?” Julian scoffed. “Where to?” “Maui, I think. Miss Avery didn’t say much,” Mrs. Gable said with a smile. Julian went directly to my parents. My parents, completely unaware, greeted him warmly. “Julian, dear, come in, have a seat,” my mom said. “Avery, that girl, just ups and leaves without discussing it with you,” my mom scolded playfully. “It’s fine, Mrs. Wallace. As long as she’s happy,” Julian said, suppressing his anger. My mom FaceTimed me right in front of him. The call connected, and on the screen was my bright smile, with a backdrop of blue skies, clear ocean, and a sandy beach. “Mom, what’s up?” “Nothing, dear. Julian’s here, he wants to say hello.” My mom turned the camera to Julian. My smile remained fixed, my tone light. “Hi! I’m having a blast in Maui. The weather here is amazing.” I skillfully avoided all topics related to him, only chatting about travel anecdotes. Julian watched me, beaming in the video, utterly speechless. An inexplicable irritation simmered inside him, a hollow feeling, as if he’d lost something important. After hanging up, I immediately handed my phone to Riley beside me. “Thanks, Riley. Your virtual background app is a lifesaver.” Riley gave me an “OK” sign. I wasn’t in Maui. I was on a flight to Switzerland, headed for a quiet little town where my aunt lived. I knew Julian had immense power. In the country, finding me would be child’s play for him. I needed to disappear completely for a while. Before the plane took off, I connected to the airport Wi-Fi and did one last thing. I logged into my mobile banking and donated every single cent from the card I’d given Julian to a girls’ education fund in a rural region. After the donation was successful, I screenshotted the e-receipt. Then, using a newly registered email, I anonymously sent it to Julian. The email subject was: “Thank you for the practice fee, Mr. Julian. I’ve made a donation on your behalf.” After doing all that, I turned off my phone, and the plane began to taxi. On the other side, Julian’s phone buzzed with an email notification. He clicked it open, seeing the glaring donation receipt and the scathing subject line. *Bang!* He was so enraged he smashed his phone against the wall. He felt like Avery had played him for a fool! “Avery!” he gritted through clenched teeth. He immediately pulled strings to check my exit records. But he was looking for “Avery Wallace.” And the ticket I bought was under my long-unused maiden name on my passport. For a while, he couldn’t find anything. Julian had never gone to such lengths for a woman, only to be met with dead ends at every turn. He was infuriated. He called Seraphina, hoping for some comfort. Seraphina’s voice was as sweet and delicate as ever: “Julian, darling, how are you doing with my gift?” For the first time, Julian found Seraphina’s voice annoying. Ten thousand feet up in the air. I gazed out at the swirling clouds, deleting all of Julian’s contacts and photos from my phone. I pulled out the diary I’d carried for years. Turning to the last page. There, in my prettiest handwriting, was a single line: “Eighteen, marry Julian.” It had been my only dream for the past six years. Calmly, I tore the page out. Then tore it into tiny pieces. The fragments fluttered from my fingertips like a silent snowfall. I leaned back in my seat, more exhausted than ever before, yet also freer than I’d ever been. And fell into a deep sleep. 04: A month later. Julian’s family held a grand celebration for his university acceptance at the city’s most exclusive hotel, inviting all of high society. And I, completely oblivious, was brought directly from the airport to the banquet hall by my parents, as if I were already a prospective daughter-in-law. I’d just gotten off the plane, dressed in a simple white T-shirt and jeans. Stepping into the glittering banquet hall, I felt completely out of place among the elegantly dressed guests. Like an intruder who’d stumbled into a world of glitz and glamour. My gaze immediately found him. Julian. He was in a perfectly tailored custom suit, surrounded by a throng of people, looking incredibly dashing and full of youthful vigor. Beside him stood Seraphina. She wore a silver, starlit gown that perfectly complemented his suit. They looked like a golden couple, made for each other. Seraphina was laughing, tiptoeing to adjust Julian’s tie, her movements intimate and natural. And Julian, he was looking down at her, his eyes dripping with tenderness. Then he saw me. His expression instantly darkened, and then a playful, taunting smile curved his lips. He pushed past the people around him and walked straight towards me. “Had enough fun?” His voice was low but filled with a controller’s mockery. “Decided to come back?” I ignored him. Didn’t even spare him a glance. I walked straight to the food station nearby, picked up a slice of tiramisu, and slowly ate it with a small fork. Ignorance was the best form of retaliation. Julian’s fist clenched at his side. He’d never been ignored so thoroughly before. Just as he was about to erupt, his mother, Mrs. Harrington, walked over. “Oh, Avery’s back!” Mrs. Harrington warmly took my hand, announcing loudly to the surrounding guests: “Everyone, let me introduce you to our Avery. She grew up with our Julian, and she also got into a fantastic university this year!” Those words instantly thrust me into the spotlight. Seraphina also elegantly walked over, linking arms with Mrs. Harrington, her smile flawless. “Mrs. Harrington, Avery must have gotten into an Ivy League, just like Julian, right? I truly envy your childhood sweethearts’ bond.” With that one sentence, she threw me straight into the fire. All eyes were on me, waiting to hear a charming story of a golden couple. Julian, too, stood with his arms crossed, watching me with an amused expression. He was waiting. Waiting for me to lower my head, waiting for me to admit I still couldn’t leave him, couldn’t leave the world he represented. I put down my dessert fork and dabbed my mouth with a napkin. Then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, I calmly took out my phone from my bag. I didn’t show it to anyone. I just lit up the screen and walked to the emcee’s microphone. *Beep—* A soft sound as I turned on the microphone. Everyone’s attention was drawn to me. I looked at the text on my screen, reading it out clearly and calmly. “Avery Wallace, congratulations on your admission to Westwood University.” The entire hall fell silent. Even the background music seemed to pause. Julian’s smile instantly froze. He lunged forward, snatching my phone from my hand. When he saw the bright red university seal on the screen, all the blood in his body seemed to rush to his head. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at me, his voice hoarse with rage. “Are you insane?! To spite me, you’re throwing away an Ivy League spot?!” I met his crumbling gaze, my eyes as calm as a deep pool. I took back my phone and raised the microphone again. Facing everyone, and facing him, I softly said one sentence. “Julian, I think you’ve got it wrong.” I paused, looking at his distorted face, and smiled faintly. “It’s not that I’m throwing away my future to spite you…” “It’s that you were never my future.”

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My It-Girl roommate activated some kind of health system. She was the one sleeping around, but *I* was the one getting sick. One night, she went wild with a guy, and the next morning, I ended up in the emergency room. After I was discharged, I was branded as the campus slut. My Ins feed was flooded with hateful comments, and the campus SnapChat group was full of vile accusations. Even the elderly security guard came to my dorm building, asking how much I charged for a night. My boyfriend broke up with me, then immediately turned around and confessed to my roommate: “Look how pure and innocent Chloe is, she blushes just when I hold her hand! You’re a used-up slut, worn out by too many men, you’ll die of some nasty disease!” I tried to tell the doctor my suspicions, but I was labeled a crazy person and referred to psychiatric evaluation. In the end, Chloe slept with three exchange students from overseas, and I died from AIDS. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Chloe started her whole ‘innocent darling’ act, tying her hair in cute pigtails and charming everyone.

Chloe stared at herself in the mirror, asking us if she should get plastic surgery. She mumbled about wanting to get eye surgery and a nose job. My other roommates gushed, “Babe, you’re already perfect!” She basked in the compliments, feigning distress. “Really? But I just feel like my eyes aren’t big enough.” “Then again, eyes that are too big aren’t pretty either, like Riley’s—too big, like some startled cow’s eyes.” A chill ran down my spine. According to my last life, she’d get plastic surgery soon and then go to a hot spring during her recovery, with her face still bandaged. I’d start getting skin ulcers that wouldn’t heal for three whole months. Then, she’d pull an all-nighter at a bar before exams, posing as a genius student, while I’d suffer from a splitting headache and intense vomiting, missing my core course exam and having to retake the whole thing. In my previous life, I could never figure it out. Why would Chloe cause trouble, but I’d be the one paying the price? I gathered my courage and told my boyfriend my suspicions. But he impatiently shook me off. “Are you crazy? Are you just jealous that Chloe has so much energy, gets good grades, and is gorgeous?” “Chloe is such a pure person, how could she possibly go out drinking in the middle of the night? I think you’re just spiteful.” I had thought it impossible too. But the more she messed around, the weaker my body became, until I was eventually bedridden. Until one day, I collapsed in the dorm and was rushed to the emergency room. After a blood test, I was diagnosed with AIDS. I was completely stunned. And at that very moment, Chloe was having the time of her life with three exchange students from overseas in the dorm. After I died, the whole internet exploded. They called me a slut, said I had a different man every night, that I sold my body for designer bags and shoes, that I was a ridiculously cheap whore who’d sleep with anyone. My Ins feed, the forums, online groups, and my SnapChat feed were plastered with my Photoshopped nude photos and explicit videos. Online trolls started attacking my parents: “How could you raise such a shameless daughter?” “A low-class tramp from the sticks, she’s clearly dirty! Even if you’re loaded now, you’re no better than her for raising such a disgrace!” Chloe looked at me, covered in cold sweat, and smiled. “Riley, what’s wrong? I just said your eyes were ugly, you don’t have to stare at me like that, do you?” I knew what would happen next. She’d get plastic surgery, go to bars, livestream, and hook up with three international students in the dorm until morning. Then I’d die from illness, and my parents would commit suicide. But since fate had given me another chance, I had to find out why she was promiscuous, and *I* was the one who got sick. I absolutely would not repeat the past. I managed a faint smile. “No, I was just thinking about getting a tattoo later.”

I’m terrified of pain. As a kid, I’d cry for ages just getting a vaccine, so I never imagined I’d get a tattoo. But I went anyway. The moment I sat in the shop, my palms were sweating. When the tattoo artist came over with her tools, I wanted to run, but I gritted my teeth and stayed put. Seeing me like that, the tattoo artist couldn’t help but ask, “Girl, are you sure you want this?” I gritted my teeth and nodded, “Yes.” The design was small, a tiny rose. After it was done, my arm burned and throbbed, feeling like it was on fire. The tattoo artist warned me not to let it get wet. I agreed, and when I got back to the dorm, I casually “accidentally” spilled water on Chloe’s right arm. She complained, “Riley, what are you doing? My shirt’s all wet!” I apologized profusely, secretly observing her. She was perfectly fine, but my tattoo area was already red and blistering. Not giving up, I deliberately went out and drank. I pulled an all-nighter, and came back feeling absolutely sick. But then I saw Chloe, still getting up at six in the morning to study, looking like the picture of a healthy college student, not a hint of fatigue on her face. I vaguely realized that this transfer was one-way. She did bad things, and I suffered, but when I did bad things, it had no effect on her. What if I started taking care of myself? Could I counteract her negative influence on me? To test this, I started diligently practicing self-care every day, focusing on skincare. I used the most expensive serums and took oral collagen supplements. But the result was the same. Chloe’s skin got better day by day, while everything I did seemed pointless on me. During class, two guys in our class saw us come in and started whispering. “Chloe’s gotten so hot lately, and her skin is amazing. Why didn’t I notice before?” “Ugh, look at Riley, though. It’s hilarious. She looks like death warmed over.” Chloe heard their comments and modestly covered her face. “Oh, stop it, you guys! I’m so low-maintenance, I just use bar soap to wash my face. Not like Riley, with all her expensive creams and serums, spending a fortune for nothing, right?” “But then again, Riley’s parents are major donors to the university, so she’s got all the money in the world. She can buy whatever beauty treatments she wants later, so don’t be too hard on her.” My hand, tucked into my pocket, clenched into a tight fist. I finally understood. This system only transferred my good things to her and dumped her unwanted things on me. Chloe must have figured this out too, because over the next few days, she completely let loose. She started experimenting with her style, and every night, she was on FaceTime with different men. “Babe, I’ll be over tonight, okay?” “Ugh, you’re annoying, you kept me busy for so long last time, I really don’t want to tonight…” I listened, breaking out in a cold sweat. One day, she came back from outside, humming a song and drinking bubble tea. My body, however, was wracked with sharp pains, like tiny, prickly brushes were stirring inside me. I went to the hospital, and the doctor told me it was a gynecological infection. I nearly collapsed. She went out hooking up with men, and *I* got an STD. To this day, I still haven’t fully recovered, but she seemed to be heading out again. I watched her sitting next to me, cheerfully texting some guy on SnapChat. Finally, the fear of death and my hatred for her became too much. I roared out loud. “Chloe, can you have some self-respect? Don’t you think it’s disgusting, sleeping around like this every day?” The entire classroom instantly fell silent. Chloe froze, then her eyes immediately welled up. “I… I was just ordering food delivery… why are you yelling at me?” My boyfriend, Leo, lunged from the back of the room, shoving me. “What did Chloe ever do to you? Why are you suddenly barking like a maniac?” I tried to defend myself. “She, she…” “She what?” He slapped me. “Look at you now! You’re disheveled, you smell awful, did you catch some nasty disease?” I shook my head frantically. “I told you, because she’s been sleeping around, I…” “Shut up!” he roared. “How can you be so malicious? You’re so crazy with jealousy over her that you’re spreading rumors about her in class?” The classroom had already erupted. “I thought Riley was one of those really well-behaved girls, but she’s actually…” “Her face really does look terrible lately, like she’s on drugs or something.” “She used to have such good grades, but now she’s failed several classes, and she keeps staring at people. It’s creepy.” Chloe was crying, looking like she’d just stepped out of a sad movie, but I clearly saw a faint smile on her lips. I knew. She was doing this on purpose. She knew about this system all along.

I had no choice. I took a leave of absence, took the first train home that night, sobbing as I begged my parents to get the university to transfer those three international students to a different campus. My parents were terrified. At first, they thought I was being bullied, but after I stammered out the whole story, they just thought I was losing my mind. But seeing how scared I was, my dad eventually went to talk to the principal. The principal acted quickly; those three international students were moved to another campus that very day. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I’d at least get a moment to catch my breath. But I was too naive. Chloe suddenly announced she was going to be an influencer, livestreaming makeup sales from our dorm every day. “Babes, look at my skin, isn’t it like a peeled egg?” “This is my new favorite product! The results are insane!” As she spoke, she smeared some shady, unregulated face mask all over her face. My scalp crawled. Sure enough, the next day, my face started peeling in patches. She, meanwhile, was bouncing around, livestreaming, and endorsing a bunch of questionable products. Not long after, she said an investor had noticed her and wanted to help her debut. “He said I have a ‘first love face’ and wants to sign me. Ugh, I’m so conflicted, should I do it?” The moment I heard that agent’s name, a chill went through me. That guy was notorious, a total sleazeball known for exploiting young, struggling influencers. He’d get them into escorting – drinking with clients, sleeping with powerful directors. Many would get dropped halfway through, and I remember one poor girl who jumped from a building. Her family never got justice. At first, I thought I’d only get sick if she got involved with those few international students. But now I understood, it wasn’t about the people, it was the system. As long as this system was active, she’d be reckless, because the one suffering the consequences would always be me. I started having insomnia, staring blankly at the ceiling all night. This couldn’t go on. Sometimes, I even thought about slipping her some poison. Or just stabbing her in the neck, and we could go down together. But I didn’t dare. This system was too twisted. What if I tried to kill her, and only *I* ended up dead? I got out of bed in the middle of the night to get water, holding the cup and contemplating for a few seconds. Suddenly, I froze. I think I knew how to fix this. The next day, I approached her, supporting her decision to pursue a career. “I really think you should go for it. Your skin is so good, and you have such presence. You’re definitely going to be famous.” She eyed me suspiciously but said nothing. A few days later, that shady investor showed up at our dorm. He leered at Chloe with an oily smile, patting his chest. “Our Chloe is a true gem. Come with me, I guarantee you’ll hit it big.” That evening, the investor took her to meet three men. They were three bloated, leering men, their mouths full of crude jokes. One of them grinned, handing her a large glass of red wine. “Chloe, I hear you can really hold your liquor? Come on, chug this first!” Another chimed in. “We brothers are here just for you today. Heard you can drink anything, huh?” Chloe smiled flirtatiously and confidently raised her glass. “I can drink anyone under the table.” “That’s the spirit!” The men clapped and ordered another round from the waiter. “Now this is someone who really wants to make it big.” At that moment, I was in the dorm, overcome by a wave of nausea. I bent over, dry-heaving, my stomach churning violently. Then came the second round, and the third. They were pouring it into her, but I was the one throwing up. My face was pale, my vision blurry, and my knees began to buckle. Chloe, on the other hand, was still smiling radiantly. The three fat men exchanged sinister glances. One of them picked up a yellowish, foul-smelling liquid and brought it to her lips. “Chloe, this drink, I prepared it just for you. Drink this, and your debut is a done deal.” Chloe nonchalantly took the glass. “Well, you big shot, you can’t lie to me, okay?” She smiled and drank it down, but the next second, she clamped her hand over her mouth, her face instantly turning green. She staggered, gripped the table, and bent over, dry-heaving again and again. The investor roared with laughter. “Whoa, Chloe, your drinking skills aren’t so great after all!” One of the fat men laughed so hard he nearly fell over, and another started egging her on. “Another glass! This is nothing, you have to be fearless to get famous!” Chloe’s red-rimmed eyes were wide with disbelief. Meanwhile, I sat in the dorm, expressionless. That gut-wrenching nausea was gone. Now it was my turn to fight back.

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As the only daughter of a global conglomerate, I defied my family’s arranged marriage to five powerful heirs. I insisted on marrying Julian Thorne, a man whose beauty captivated me. After our wedding, he revealed an insatiable appetite for intimacy, leaving me practically bedridden every single day. But on Valentine’s Day, Julian dragged me, eight months pregnant, to go skydiving with his female secretary. I have severe acrophobia, so I flat-out refused. His secretary, Cassidy Lane, clung to Julian, whimpering, “My dearest Julian, I only want to help Elara overcome her fear! Besides, I saw on TikTok that skydiving can make babies braver!” Julian, after consoling her, turned to me, his face contorted in anger. “Cassidy is only trying to help you, Elara! Why are you so ungrateful?” I slapped him. A cold smile spread across my face. “Didn’t you know pregnant women shouldn’t do extreme sports?” “And you’re infertile, remember? If anything happens to this baby, your family line would be utterly cut off!” He moved to comfort me, but the next second, I was pushed out of the helicopter, dangling in mid-air. Looking up, I saw Julian and Cassidy passionately kissing. I pulled out my encrypted phone and called my father. “Dad, I messed up. Get Declan, my arranged fiancé, to bring my private jet and a legal team. We’re about to file for the most exorbitant divorce case in history!” *** The helicopter roared tens of thousands of feet above, my body suspended, held only by a single rope. The searing pain in my belly combined with my acrophobia was suffocating me. My vision blurred, but Julian and Cassidy’s sickeningly clear faces burned into my vision. Julian looked down at me, a sneer twisting his lips. “I think I just heard you say you want a divorce?” “And what exactly do you have to divorce me with?” “You unsophisticated little thing. I only tolerated your desperate efforts to win me over because you had a bit of charm. Now you’re scared senseless and babbling nonsense?” Cassidy covered her mouth, giggling, her eyes full of disdain. “Elara, you’re already so lucky to be married to someone as rich as Julian. Not like me, I have to work hard.” “But you’re never satisfied. You’re putting on quite a show to provoke Julian.” She tilted her head, feigning innocence. “If you truly had the power, I’d be willing to kneel and be your dog!” With that, she and Julian burst into laughter, as if my agony was nothing more than an entertaining spectacle for them. I desperately clutched the rope, my fingertips white from the strain. The pain in my abdomen intensified, but I bit my lip, refusing to let out a sound. I wouldn’t show weakness in front of them. Cassidy suddenly put on a pitiful expression. “Elara, I’m starting to feel a little bad for you. After all, the baby is innocent.” She turned to Julian, pouting. “Julian, darling, why don’t we pull Elara back up?” “But I’m just a secretary, my words don’t carry much weight.” Julian gently patted her head, then glared at me. “Why can’t you be more like Cassidy? She’s only looking out for you and the baby, wanting you to be healthier!” “Do you really want me to force your hand? I’m the father of this child, do you really think I’d harm either of you?” My vision blurred from lack of oxygen, but their cold indifference pierced me like knives. The excruciating pain in my abdomen told me the baby might be coming early. Fear and altitude sickness made me dizzy. I screamed with all my might. “Julian Thorne! If Cassidy wants to play, I’ll play along!” “But I really have acrophobia! I’m going to die if this keeps up! Did you forget?” Julian froze for a second, as if remembering something, but Cassidy immediately tugged at his sleeve, whining, “Julian, darling, I just wanted Elara to be happy.” “If you have a phobia, you should train yourself. What if the baby turns out to be a coward too?” Julian’s eyes turned cold again. “Cassidy’s right. The baby can’t be a coward like you!” My memory flashed back six months. Once, at an amusement park, Julian dragged me onto a drop tower. He knew I was terrified, but he still forced me to go with him. Afterwards, I vomited violently and was on an IV drip for three days. Yet, he gently held me, promising, “I’ll never take you on dangerous rides again. I’ll protect you.” But now, his promises had vanished like smoke. Cassidy’s arrival changed everything. Julian hesitated for a moment, reaching out to pull me up, but Cassidy pouted plaintively. “Julian, darling, I just want Elara and the baby to be braver!” Julian’s hand froze. Then, he ordered the pilot, “Fly higher! Let the baby get some exercise!” He looked at me with cold indifference. “Elara, just bear with it. The baby needs to be brave like me. You understand, right?” The rope was loosened again, and my body plummeted. The fierce wind ripped at my clothes, and the pain in my abdomen nearly made me faint. In the last moment of fading consciousness, I looked up and saw Julian and Cassidy passionately kissing, as if my life or death meant nothing to them. I looked down at the tiny clouds beneath my feet and suddenly realized, what kind of monster had I married? “Julian Thorne! I’m having contractions! The baby’s coming!” I screamed, my voice raw. “Don’t you want this baby?!” But the only answer was the sound of intimate moans from inside the cabin. Julian and Cassidy’s teasing laughter grew louder, and my pain had reached its limit. “Julian Thorne! Get out here! Save the baby! I’ll do anything you ask!” I shrieked in desperation, but only Cassidy’s seductive gasps and Julian’s low chuckles echoed from the cabin. Finally, Cassidy’s lazy voice drifted down from above. “What’s all the fuss about? I’ll pull you up when I’m done playing.” She chuckled mockingly. “But if you keep screaming like that, I can’t guarantee anything!” I gritted my teeth, enduring the agonizing pain. “Cassidy Lane! What do you want? Money? The company? I can give you anything! Just pull me up!” She cackled as if she’d heard the funniest joke. “Oh, still pretending? If you were really that powerful, why would we be bullying you like this?” The next second, a bucket of icy liquid splashed down, the biting cold making me shiver. But even worse, the liquid was mixed with sharp pebbles! “Ah!” The pebbles pelted me, leaving small bleeding scratches. Ten thousand feet up, even a tiny pebble could be deadly! “Julian Thorne! Get out here! Save the baby!” I kept struggling, but all I got was Cassidy’s cold laughter. Julian finally came out, looking impatient, but his expression instantly softened when he saw Cassidy. “Cassidy, what’s wrong?” Cassidy immediately pouted pitifully. “Julian, darling, Elara keeps cursing me, calling me a vixen who seduced you…” Julian’s face darkened instantly. He grabbed a megaphone and roared at me, “Elara Vance! You have acrophobia, and you’re blaming Cassidy? What do you think you are, daring to insult the person I love most?” Cassidy’s eyes darted around, and she suddenly suggested, “Julian, darling, I’m so bored. Why don’t we play a game?” “What game?” Julian asked, dotingly. “A golf game!” She smiled sweetly. “Let’s see who hits her more times. The winner gets a prize!” Julian nodded without hesitation. “Sounds good.” The next second, a golf ball whistled through the air and slammed into me! Julian’s shots only caused pain, but when it was Cassidy’s turn, her golf balls had razor blades embedded in them! The sharp blades sliced open my back, and blood instantly soaked my clothes. “Julian, darling, I hit her!” Cassidy clapped excitedly. Julian couldn’t see the details, just smiled and praised her. “Cassidy’s so amazing.” But just then, Cassidy suddenly threw down several knives, savagely stabbing them into my back! Excruciating pain made my vision go black, and blood gushed out. “Julian, darling, I won!” She laughed with innocent delight. Julian dotingly stroked her head. “Cassidy, you’re the best.” Warm liquid continuously gushed from between my legs, and the agonizing pain in my abdomen almost made me lose consciousness. But Julian and Cassidy watched my suffering as if they were enjoying a show, their eyes cold and unfeeling. Cassidy’s sweet voice purred to Julian, “Julian, darling, why don’t we pull Elara back up? She is pregnant, after all, it’s not good to play for too long…” Julian frowned, finally gesturing for the bodyguards to pull me up. When my body crashed heavily onto the cabin floor, he glanced at my blood-soaked clothes and the multitude of injuries, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. “How did you get so hurt?” Cassidy immediately pouted plaintively. “Elara, you’re using ketchup to fake your wounds, this act is so phony!” Julian’s eyes instantly turned cold. He roughly threw my hand away. “Elara Vance, what are you trying to pull? If Cassidy hadn’t been soft-hearted, you’d still be hanging down there!” I trembled, clutching my belly, blood seeping from between my fingers, but Julian ignored it. Cassidy smiled sweetly and suggested, “Julian, darling, it’s not fun down there, why don’t we play a different game?” Cassidy pulled a long, slender metal rod from her backpack and slowly knelt down, my eyes wide with terror. “You…what are you doing?” I desperately shielded my belly, but the next second, she violently shoved the rod into my lower body! “Ah!” My heart-wrenching scream echoed through the cabin. Cassidy stirred the rod, feigning concern. “Elara, I’m just helping you shift the baby’s position, to make the birth smoother!” “Psycho! You absolute lunatic!” I was in such agony I almost fainted, struggling to push her away, but Julian pinned me down. “Cassidy means well, don’t be ungrateful!” He said coldly, “If the baby can’t come out easily, it just means he’s not fit to be my heir.” I laughed in despair, tears mixing with blood as they streamed down my face. Suddenly, I grabbed a nearby dagger and viciously slashed Cassidy’s arm! “Ah!” She cried out in pain, blood instantly gushing from her arm. Julian exploded in rage, kicking me in the stomach! My body slammed against the cabin wall, and blood instantly soaked my dress. “The baby…save the baby…” I curled up on the floor, weakly pleading. But Cassidy, clutching her arm, cried pitifully, tears glistening on her cheeks, “Julian, darling, I just wanted to help Elara, and she did this to me! I’ll leave then, so I won’t be in her way!” Julian tenderly embraced her, gently bandaging her wound, never once looking at me. After bandaging Cassidy’s wound, Julian finally turned, sneering at me. “You used ketchup and still acted pretty well, huh? Is that why so much blood is flowing?” He finished speaking, picked up the dagger from the floor, and slowly walked towards me. “You cut Cassidy once, so I’ll cut you a hundred times.” His voice was eerily gentle. “Fair, right?” I trembled all over, but the bodyguards had already pinned my limbs down tightly. Julian crouched, and the first cut sliced open my arm, blood gushing out. “This is for Cassidy.” One cut after another, my skin was brutally sliced open, and excruciating pain made my vision black. Cassidy stood by, a triumphant smirk on her face, hypocritically advising, “Julian, darling, Elara knows she was wrong, don’t do this to her…” But Julian ignored her, continuing his punishment. Blood pooled on the floor, and my consciousness gradually faded. When I woke again, the pungent smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils. The searing pain in my abdomen was still clear, as if thousands of needles were pricking me. I instinctively reached for my belly, but found the wound bandaged, though the baby was still inside me. A nurse pushed the door open, her voice flat. “Mrs. Thorne, you’re awake?” “Please don’t move. Your water has already broken.” She paused, a flicker of pity in her eyes, quickly replaced by cold indifference. “The baby is gone.” I fiercely clutched the bedsheet, my nails almost digging into my palms. “What do you mean?” The nurse pursed her lips. “Mr. Thorne ordered that the baby must remain inside you until his secretary needs it.” “He said the placenta provides nutrients and keeping it inside you would keep it fresh for when his secretary needed it.” I scoffed, rage boiling in my chest. “So, for his absurd request, you’re willing to disregard my life too?” I struggled to sit up, staring coldly at her. “Now, call a doctor immediately to perform the surgery. Otherwise, neither this hospital nor he will be able to handle the fallout!” The nurse was startled, then scoffed. “Mrs. Thorne, save your breath. This hospital is invested by Mr. Thorne. We only listen to him.” She scrutinized me, her voice contemptuous. “If you were really powerful, you wouldn’t be in this mess!” “Besides, the longer the baby stays inside you, the more dangerous it is for your uterus. You might not even be able to have children in the future!” I took a deep breath, suppressing my fury. I picked up the checkbook, quickly wrote a string of numbers, and handed it to her. “A million dollars. Contact an outside doctor for me, now!” The nurse stared at the check, a flicker of greed in her eyes, but she quickly shook her head. “No, Mr. Thorne will find out…” Before she could finish, the ward door was violently pushed open. Julian walked in with a group of people, his face terrifyingly grim. He strode to the bed, snatched the check, and tore it to shreds. “Elara Vance, you dare pull stunts behind my back?” I stared at him coldly. “Julian Thorne, you won’t even spare your own child. Are you even human?” He sneered, reaching out to pinch my chin. “Your child will be a living incubator for mine and Cassidy’s. It’s his damn privilege! Don’t be ungrateful!” With that, he turned to the doctors behind him and commanded, “Go, take the baby out. Remember, the placenta must be intact. Cassidy is waiting!”

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I’m the top salesperson who brings in millions in revenue for the company. Just because I didn’t compliment her looks in the company SnapChat group, she fired me without hesitation. She replaced me with her cousin. Until later, when the company’s sales plummeted to zero. She came to apologize to me in person. “Please come back. My boyfriend said he’d break up with me if you don’t return.” **** The boss went on a business trip for a month and left his girlfriend in charge of the company. Who knew that her first act as the new boss would be to target me? At 10 AM, I arrived at the office on time. I saw my colleague looking nervous, pointing at the boss’s office and whispering, “Tiffany’s here. She wants to see you!” Tiffany Fox was the boss’s new girlfriend, known for her arrogance and bullying. She would curse at anyone she didn’t like. Once, when a female colleague stayed a bit longer in the boss’s office to report work, Tiffany spread rumors that she was a prostitute. She bullied that girl so much that she was forced to resign. But because Tiffany was sweet-talking and good at flattery, the boss usually let her do whatever she wanted. I didn’t expect her to target me now. I put down my coffee and pushed open the door to enter the office. As soon as I entered, a file flew towards my face. “Do you know what time it is? Company policy states work starts at 8 AM. Why are you coming in at 10?” The sharp edge of the file folder left a bloody cut on my forehead. I held my head, looking at Tiffany who was throwing her weight around behind the desk. My 10 AM start time was a perk for being the top salesperson. Everyone in the company knew about this unwritten rule. Years ago, when the boss’s company was about to go bankrupt, they accidentally hired me. In my first month, I generated $5 million in sales, bringing the company back from the brink of death. Since then, the boss had treated me like a precious asset, usually listening to my opinions on major decisions. She slammed the table, her face contorted with rage: “Look at your punch card. You’ve been coming in at 10 for a whole month. Do you think you’re above company rules?” “According to company policy, three consecutive days of tardiness can result in termination!” “You can get out now!” I looked at Tiffany in disbelief: “You’re firing me? Did you ask the boss?” I created 80% of the company’s profits, and she dared to fire me? Tiffany snorted coldly, looking at me with disdain: “You’re just a salesperson. A lousy peddler. What’s wrong with me firing you?” “This is my boyfriend’s company. I’m the boss’s girlfriend, I can fire whoever I want!” The boss had treated me well, so I couldn’t just leave like this. I sat down on the sofa: “You should ask for the boss’s opinion first.” Tiffany rolled her eyes: “Who do you think you are?” Saying this, she directly called the boss. The boss’s voice on the other end sounded tired: “What’s the matter?” Tiffany, who had just been yelling at me in a shrill voice, immediately softened her tone, cooing, “Honey, I miss you.” The boss sighed: “Just tell me what you want.” Tiffany glanced at me triumphantly: “There’s a salesperson who doesn’t follow the rules, always coming in late. I want to fire him.” “Whatever, I need to rest now.” The boss casually agreed and hung up. Tiffany looked at me arrogantly: “Did you hear that? I can fire whoever I want. Now get out!”

I laughed coldly, looking at Tiffany: “Are you sure?” “If the boss comes back and finds out you fired me, he might get angry.” I kindly reminded her. After all, headhunters had been trying to poach me with high offers for years, but out of loyalty to the boss, I had always stayed. My leaving wouldn’t affect me at all, but Tiffany might not be so lucky. Tiffany glared at me, her face twisted with arrogance and tyranny. “Who do you think you are? You’re just a salesperson. I’m my boyfriend’s future wife, the mistress of this company. Do you think he’d choose you over me?” Hearing her say this, I shook my head. If that’s how it is, so be it. I turned and left the office. Outside, my colleagues had heard our argument but didn’t know what happened. They kept looking at me. “Boss, what’s going on?” I started packing my things efficiently, smiling: “What’s going on? I got fired, that’s what.” My colleague’s eyes widened, looking at me in disbelief: “Fire you? Has Tiffany gone crazy? Everyone knows you’re the boss’s golden goose. Isn’t she afraid the boss will break up with her?” I shook my head and chuckled: “Well, that’s not my problem anymore. After all, it’s her decision, she’ll have to bear the consequences.” “Besides, I’ve been working for so many years, it might be nice to take a good rest.” I had long ago saved enough money to be financially independent, but I had never taken a break and felt too embarrassed to ask. This was a perfect opportunity. My colleague was furious: “But why did she fire you? Did you offend her somehow, boss?” I frowned, thinking carefully: “I guess it’s because last time when she spread rumors about Zoe, I stood up for Zoe, remember?” “Since then, she’s been picking on me, always finding fault one way or another.” Yesterday, Tiffany uploaded a photo of herself to the company WhatsApp group, and everyone was flooding the comments with compliments. I was the only one who read it without replying. I guess that was the final straw. “Should I call the boss now? You’re the backbone of the company, you can’t just leave like this.” I shook my head, smiling lightly: “Forget it. If I ever come back, it’ll be after Tiffany and the boss break up. I really can’t stand her behavior anymore. We’ll see in the future.” I finished packing my things and headed to the finance department to collect my salary for the month. I had only worked for ten days this month, but my salary and commission amounted to $100,000. I informed the finance staff about my termination and asked her to transfer the salary to my account later. Unexpectedly, Tiffany suddenly appeared at the company entrance, glaring at me: “Jack Wilson, didn’t I tell you to get lost? What are you doing here?” I looked at her calmly. She was gloating, thinking she had found a good boyfriend, looking particularly disgusting. Seeing that I didn’t respond to her, Tiffany became agitated. She came forward and grabbed my clothes: “Are you deaf? What are you doing in the finance department? These are all important company documents. Get out now, or I’ll call the police!” I frowned and forcefully shook off Tiffany’s hand. “Let go!” “Now that I’ve been fired, is there a problem with me collecting my salary for this month? I’m already being nice by not asking for severance pay.” Tiffany glared at the young girl in front of me: “How much is his salary?” The finance girl answered honestly: “One hundred thousand and five hundred dollars.” Tiffany’s face immediately changed: “How much?” After the finance girl repeated it, she pointed at me and said: “You violated company rules by being late, so your salary for this month is forfeited.” I laughed coldly: “A $200 deduction for each tardiness, is that how you calculate? Did you even graduate elementary school?” To my surprise, Tiffany looked at me righteously: “It’s a new rule I made. Three tardies and your whole month’s salary is gone. Now get out!”

“What right do you have to make rules?” Tiffany crossed her arms, her mouth gaping like a shark, shamelessly saying: “I’ll have a share in this company in the future. What’s wrong with me making rules?” I couldn’t be bothered to argue with her: “Then you can expect a lawsuit from me.” With that, I strode out. I drove home and had just put my things away when I saw a group message from Tiffany in the company SnapChat group that I hadn’t left yet. “From now on, everyone must reply to any messages I post on SnapChat or WhatsApp. Those who don’t reply will be fired like that person today.” It seems she really fired me because I didn’t join in praising her. The boss really hit the jackpot with this girlfriend of his. Everyone started replying to the group message. I found it annoying and simply left all the groups. My phone suddenly became much quieter. However, since Tiffany wouldn’t let me take my last month’s salary, I decided to teach her a lesson. All the important clients were saved in my contacts, so I sent out a mass message to these clients, basically saying that I had resigned and would no longer be handling business for the company. Most of these people were clients I had brought in, and they were mainly working with the company because of me. If I left, they would likely follow me. Sure enough, within two minutes, former clients started messaging me, asking which company I had gone to and expressing their willingness to transfer their contracts. I explained the situation to each of them, saying that I hadn’t found a new job yet, but I would contact them as soon as I did. There were so many clients on my contact list that I kept replying until it got dark, and finally fell asleep from exhaustion. When I woke up the next day, a colleague had sent me a message: “Boss, many of our business partners are saying they want to terminate their cooperation and won’t renew their contracts. Was this your doing?” It seems the plan had worked. I chuckled: “I didn’t do anything. I just told them the fact that I’m no longer working there.” “You’re still the best, boss. When Tiffany came in this morning and heard about this, she blew up at several salespeople, demanding to know why they couldn’t retain the clients. Now several salespeople are planning to quit, saying they won’t put up with this crap.” It seems quite a few people in the company were unhappy with Tiffany. I wondered how she would handle the fallout. On my end, I was preparing to contact a lawyer to file a major lawsuit to get my salary back. After all, I didn’t really need the money, but I couldn’t let her off easy. Unexpectedly, after just a few days, Tiffany called me. I was surprised and answered uncertainly: “What is it?” As soon as I picked up, I was met with a barrage of abuse from the other end. “Jack Wilson, are you even human? I’m asking you, where did all the company’s client contacts go? They said you have them all. Give me those phone numbers right now. That’s company property. Don’t think I won’t sue you!” I was stunned for a moment, then realized that Tiffany must be getting desperate. “How can you be so disgusting? Give me the client contacts right now! Or I swear I’ll destroy you, you believe me?”

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