Claudia was dead. She left a suicide note saying I drove her to it. At the funeral hall entrance, Emmett shoved me down, demanding I kneel before her. The Simpson family wept and cursed me as a murderer. Claudia’s fans blocked the doorway, screaming for me to pay with my life. I stared at the casket that no one had opened from start to finish and asked only one question: “Where’s the death certificate?” Emmett’s eyes were bloodshot as he roared at me. “She’s dead and you still want to cause trouble?” I dialed the police. “Someone’s accusing me of driving a person to death. I’m requesting an autopsy.” The moment the call went through, the funeral hall fell silent. Emmett grabbed my wrist. “Iris, hang up.” I looked up at him. “Why?” His eyes were completely bloodshot, his voice hoarse. “Claudia’s already dead.” I lowered my gaze to his hand. “All the more reason to call the police.” I pressed the speaker button. The dispatcher’s voice came through the phone. “Hello, what’s your emergency?” Emmett’s expression changed. I looked into his eyes. “Someone used a suicide note to accuse me of murder. Now they’re demanding I confess at the funeral hall. I’m requesting the police verify the death procedures. If necessary, confirm the identity of the body in the casket.” Those words fell, and the funeral hall became completely silent. Emmett’s mother, Lydia, was the first to react. She clutched the casket, crying so hard she could barely stand. “Iris, how can you be so cruel?” “Claudia died so horribly, and you still won’t let her rest in peace?” Claudia’s agent, Mira, also looked at me with red eyes. “Miss Iris, Claudia tried to preserve your dignity even in death.” “She did so much charity work, saved so many people.” “She didn’t call the police, didn’t press charges. She only asked you in her suicide note to let her go.” “Why won’t you even give her this last bit of peace?” I looked at her. “Did you personally witness Claudia jump?” Mira froze. “Everyone saw it on the livestream!” “I asked if you personally witnessed it.” Her lips moved, but no words came out. I turned to look at Emmett. “Where’s the ambulance dispatch record?” Emmett didn’t answer. The tears on Mira’s face paused for a moment. I continued. “That casket—who verified it? The person inside—who confirmed it?” The funeral hall was so quiet, only the shouts of fans outside the door remained. I looked at them. “You have nothing.” “Just a suicide note full of my name.” “And a casket that no one has opened from beginning to end.” Mira’s face went pale for a moment. Emmett’s fingers clenched tight. I glanced down at my wrist, red from his grip. “What? The police aren’t even here yet and you’re already leaving evidence of injury on me?” He froze, then released his hand the next second. Lydia trembled with rage. “Iris! Are you threatening the Simpson family?” “Not threatening.” I said. “Reminding you to follow the law.” The fans’ shouts outside hadn’t stopped, crashing against the venue doors wave after wave. Emmett looked at me, his voice cold and heavy. “Iris, must you make a scene in front of the police?” “Claudia’s already dead. You want her examined all over again?” I smiled slightly. “Emmett, you’re the one who dragged me here.” “You threw the suicide note in my face. You were the ones who started calling me a murderer.” “Now I’m just asking the police to investigate. Why are you so anxious?” At this point, the Simpson Group’s legal counsel finally stepped forward. He pushed up his glasses, his tone still composed. “Miss Iris, of course the police can come.” “It’s just that Miss Claudia’s family has already entrusted the Simpson family to handle the funeral arrangements.” “Tonight she’ll be transferred to the funeral home according to procedure.” I looked at him. “Who are the family members? Where are Miss Claudia’s parents?” “Overseas.” I nodded. “Three hours after death, parents haven’t arrived, body hasn’t been confirmed.” “And the Simpson family can already transfer her to the funeral home?” The lawyer’s expression stiffened. “The family provided remote authorization.” “Where’s the authorization letter?” He didn’t answer immediately. I stepped forward. “Also, you said she’ll be transferred to the funeral home tonight according to procedure. What procedure? Where’s the body transfer form? Which facility is receiving her? Who signed?” The lawyer’s lips pressed tight. Mira immediately interrupted with tears. “Iris, enough! Claudia was most afraid of looking ugly. She fell from the twenty-seventh floor. She’s unrecognizable.” “Mr. Emmett wouldn’t let you see because he doesn’t want her talked about even in death.” I looked at her. “Did I say I wanted to see?” Mira froze. “I asked about the death certificate, body transfer documents, and family authorization.” “You keep bringing up dignity.” “Is it because you can’t produce these documents, or because there isn’t the person you claim inside that casket at all?” When those words fell, the funeral hall became deathly silent. Emmett’s head snapped up. “Iris.” His voice was frighteningly low. “Do you know what you’re saying?” “I do.” I looked at him. “Since you all claim Claudia is dead, then from now on, every single step needs to be backed by evidence.” I paused, my gaze returning to the casket. “Let’s prove one thing first.” “Whether the person in the casket is Claudia.”

The police arrived faster than the Simpson family expected. Twenty minutes later, the shouts outside the venue were contained behind police tape. When two officers entered, Lydia’s crying clearly paused. The Simpson Group’s legal counsel was first to greet them. “Officers, thank you for coming. This is really a family matter.” “Miss Claudia has already passed away. Miss Iris and Miss Claudia had some misunderstandings before her death. Miss Iris is quite emotional, which is why…” I cut him off. “This isn’t a family matter.” The lawyer’s expression stiffened. I looked at the officers. “Someone used a suicide note to accuse me of driving a person to death.” “Now they’re demanding I confess at this funeral hall.” “And they’re preparing to transfer the so-called body to a funeral home without a death certificate, emergency records, body transfer documents, or verified family authorization.” The officers’ expressions immediately turned serious. “Who called the police?” “I did.” I raised my phone. “Iris.” The officer glanced at me, then looked toward the casket in the center of the funeral hall. “Where’s the deceased?” The funeral hall fell silent for a moment. Mira instinctively looked at Emmett. Emmett said nothing. The lawyer answered quickly. “Miss Claudia’s body is in the casket.” The officer asked, “Where’s the death certificate?” The moment those four words came out, the Simpson family’s expressions all changed. The lawyer pulled out a folder. “Here’s the medical report regarding Miss Claudia’s condition after her fall.” The officer took it and flipped through two pages. “I need a medical death certificate, not a condition report.” The lawyer paused. “The circumstances were special. The procedures are still being completed.” I looked up. “Three hours since death.” “The funeral hall is set up, the suicide note made public, even the funeral home transfer arranged.” “But the death certificate is still being completed?” The lawyer’s lips pressed tight. Lydia finally couldn’t hold back. “Iris, must you be so aggressive in front of the police?” “I’m not being aggressive.” I looked at her. “Lydia, the Lewis Group owns three hospitals. I’ve seen death procedures. They’re not ‘completed’ this way.” Lydia’s face went pale with anger. Emmett said coldly, “Claudia jumped from the twenty-seventh floor of the Simpson Group hotel.” “Everyone saw it on the livestream.” I looked at him. “Saw her standing on the rooftop, or saw her hit the ground?” Emmett’s gaze darkened. Mira immediately cried out, “Miss Iris, why must you split hairs like this?” “Wasn’t Claudia’s final livestream clear enough?” “She cried saying you pressured her, cried saying she couldn’t take it anymore, then the camera went black.” “If it wasn’t suicide, what else could it be?” I looked at her. “After the camera went black, did you see what happened?” Mira’s lips trembled. “I…” “You didn’t see.” I finished for her. “The Simpson family didn’t see, the fans didn’t see, no one saw.” I looked at the officer. “That’s why I’m requesting verification.” The officer nodded and looked at the lawyer. “Where are the emergency records?” The lawyer glanced at Emmett. Emmett’s voice was low. “The situation was urgent. I had my private medical transport take her to a hospital partnered with the Simpson Group.” The officer frowned. “You didn’t dial 911?” Emmett paused. “The private medical transport was faster.” I laughed. “Fast indeed. So fast there’s no 911 record, no police at the scene, no scene secured.” “But the Simpson family’s obituary—that went out fastest of all.” Those words fell, and Emmett’s face completely darkened. The officer looked at him. “Mr. Emmett, a fall is classified as unnatural death.” “According to procedure, you need to report to police, preserve the scene, and verify emergency response and death circumstances.” “Why did you take the body away first?” Before Emmett could answer, Mira cried out, “Because Claudia was in such terrible condition!” “She was covered in blood, her face was…” She seemed unable to continue, covering her mouth as she cried. “Mr. Emmett just felt sorry for her.” “He didn’t want her to be gawked at.” I looked at Mira. “You saw her covered in blood?” Mira’s crying stopped. “After the livestream went black, you said no one saw.” “Now you’re saying she was covered in blood.” “Mira, did you see, or didn’t you?” The tears on her face froze. Emmett’s gaze finally landed on Mira. Mira reacted quickly, immediately choking out, “I heard it from staff.” “Which staff member?” I asked. “Name.” She opened her mouth but couldn’t answer. The officer also looked at Mira. “Please cooperate with a statement later.” Mira’s face went pale. Another officer contacted the emergency center. The call came back quickly. No 911 dispatch record for a fall from the twenty-seventh floor of the Simpson Group hotel. The air in the funeral hall seemed frozen. I looked at Emmett. “Why do you keep circumventing normal procedures?” Emmett’s jaw tightened. “Iris, are you suspecting me?” “I’m suspecting the evidence.” I said. “If you have it, produce it. If not, don’t stop me from investigating.” The lawyer’s forehead was already beaded with sweat. He tried to redirect the conversation. “Officers, Miss Claudia’s family truly has authorized the Simpson family to handle funeral arrangements.” “We have no intention of avoiding investigation.” “It’s just that the deceased had significant public influence during her life. The Simpson family made some preliminary arrangements out of concern for protecting the deceased’s privacy.” I looked toward the entrance. “Protecting privacy—by having fans and media arrive in advance?” The lawyer’s expression grew worse. The officer asked, “Where’s the authorization letter?” The lawyer was silent for a moment, then pulled out a sheet from the bottom of the folder. “Here.” The officer took it. It did have Claudia’s parents’ electronic signatures, and the authorization content was complete. Agreed to have the Simpson family handle Claudia’s funeral arrangements. Agreed to transfer to funeral home. Agreed not to publicly disclose the body’s condition. Even agreed to cremation as soon as possible. Every clause was complete. Also suspiciously urgent. The officer looked at the signing time. “11:47 PM.” I looked at the electronic clock on the wall. 12:26 AM. Claudia’s supposed time of death was 9:58 PM. I looked at the lawyer. “Less than two hours.” “Medical transport, death confirmation, notifying parents overseas, obtaining authorization, setting up the funeral hall, issuing an obituary.” “And bringing me here to confess.” “The Simpson family’s funeral efficiency is faster than emergency response.” The lawyer’s expression froze. The officer asked, “Can the authorizing parties be reached now?” The lawyer was silent for a moment. “Miss Claudia’s parents are overseas, overwhelmed with grief. It may not be convenient.” The officer’s voice remained steady. “Contact the authorizing parties for verification immediately.” The lawyer’s composure finally cracked. “Right now?” “Right now.” I looked at the phone in the lawyer’s hand. “On speaker.” Emmett finally spoke. “Iris, stop this.” I looked at him. “When the police verify the authorization, you say I should stop.” “Emmett, can your authorization letter not withstand questioning?” There was deeply suppressed fury in his eyes, but this time, he couldn’t answer. The lawyer made the call. First attempt—no answer. Second attempt—still no answer. Third attempt—the call finally connected. But what came through was a cold, automated English message. The officer frowned. “This number needs verification.” The lawyer’s hand holding the phone trembled. “It might… might be an international line issue.” The officer placed the authorization letter in an evidence bag. “This authorization requires further verification.” “Until verification is complete, the body must not be transferred or cremated without authorization.” “Additionally, we need to legally verify the identity of the body in the casket and seal all subsequent transfer procedures.” When those words came out, everyone in the funeral hall fell silent. I saw Emmett’s fingers curl slightly. Mira’s face instantly drained of all color. I turned my head and looked at the casket in the center of the funeral hall. “Did you hear?” “The police are inspecting the casket.” “Right now.” Emmett finally stared at me, his eyes cold as ice. “Iris, must you go this far?” I looked at him and calmly asked back, “Isn’t she dead?” “It’s just opening a casket.” “What are you afraid of?”

Emmett fell silent. He didn’t answer. The officer looked at him. “Mr. Emmett, please cooperate with inspecting the body in the casket.” Emmett’s throat bobbed. After a long moment, he finally spoke. “Fine.” Just those two words, spoken with weight. Lydia broke first. She threw herself at the casket, pressing down hard on the lid. “No! Claudia’s already suffered so much. You’re going to open her casket too?” Mira also knelt beside the casket, her shoulders shaking with sobs. “Officers, Claudia loved being beautiful more than anything.” “She fell from such a height. She’s unrecognizable.” “Please, don’t make her be stared at in the end.” The officer’s tone remained steady. “We’re not doing this publicly. We’re just verifying the condition of the body in the casket. Please step aside.” Lydia still tried to block them. Emmett said quietly, “Mom.” Lydia whipped her head toward him. “Emmett!” Emmett closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked at me. That gaze held hatred, and a trace of panic he couldn’t suppress. “Open it.” That one word fell, and Lydia’s crying stopped. Mira’s face went deathly pale. Venue staff stepped forward. The casket lid was slowly pushed open. Everyone in the funeral hall held their breath. I didn’t crowd forward. My gaze fell on the outer side of the body bag inside the casket. What hit first was a pungent smell of disinfectant. Inside the casket lay a black body bag. A white label was stuck to the outside of the bag. It read: Claudia. Gender: Female. Age: 26. Transfer Unit: Simpson Group Partner Medical Center. No hospital wristband, no police seal, no funeral home identification number. Only the Simpson family’s own label. The officer frowned. “Who put this on?” The lawyer responded immediately. “The medical center.” The officer asked, “Where’s the transfer document?” The lawyer paused. I looked at that label and smiled slightly. Mira’s head snapped up. “What are you smiling at?” “Nothing.” I said. “First time learning that identity confirmation after death relies on stickers.” Mira’s expression stiffened. The officer put on gloves and lifted the outer layer of the body bag to inspect it. Venue staff tried to step forward to block him but were stopped by another officer. Lydia turned her head away, unable to watch. Mira lowered her head, but her fingers clutched her clothes desperately. Only Emmett was still watching the casket. His face showed no grief, only tension. A few seconds later, the officer looked up. “The body is severely damaged.” “Visual identification at the scene is not possible.” “Subsequent sampling and verification will need to follow procedure.” Lydia seemed to finally grab an opportunity, crying out, “It’s already like this. What more verification do you need?” The officer looked at her. “Identity verification.” Lydia’s crying caught. Mira’s face also went pale for a moment. I looked at their reactions and said softly, “What’s wrong?” “It’s just identity confirmation. Are you afraid of that too?” Emmett finally spoke. “Iris, that’s enough.” I looked at him. “Emmett, when proving I drove Claudia to death, one suicide note was enough.” “Now asking you to prove the person in the casket is Claudia—why is it so difficult?” He stared at me hard. “I just want to let her leave quietly.” I looked up. “Leave? A dead person—what does she need to leave?” Emmett’s eyes darkened. “Leave behind these humiliating questions.” The officer continued inspecting the outside of the body bag. Soon, he pulled out a folded piece of paper from the side. The lawyer visibly relaxed when he saw it. “That’s the transfer document. It should explain the procedure.” The officer unfolded it. The paper was very new, so new the creases were still stiff. It read: Simpson Group Partner Medical Center Temporary Body Transfer Statement. Receiving party: blank. Transfer person signature: blank. Time: blank. Only a red stamp. The officer looked up at the lawyer. “This is a blank form.” The lawyer’s shoulders, which had just relaxed, immediately stiffened again. “Perhaps the staff were too rushed and forgot to complete it.” I looked at that blank form. “Every step is missing. Every step is waiting to be completed after the fact.” I looked up at Emmett. “Seems like you’re not handling a funeral. You’re racing through procedures.” Emmett said nothing. Lydia said tremulously, “Officers, can’t you just let Claudia go to the funeral home first?” “She’s already so pitiful…” The officer interrupted her. “The body can be transferred.” “But it must be supervised by police, and transfer procedures must be completed.” “At the same time, records from the venue, hotel, and medical transport will be sealed.” “The Simpson family may not handle this privately.” Lydia’s face went completely pale. Emmett looked at the officer. “The hotel records need to be sealed too?” The officer said, “The incident location was at the Simpson Group hotel. Of course it needs to be sealed.” Emmett asked too quickly. I looked at him. “Why are you so afraid of procedures?” Emmett looked at me coldly. “Stop trying to smear me.” I didn’t respond to him, because the lawyer’s phone rang again. Since the casket opened, it had rung three times. He glanced down and immediately declined the call. The officer looked at him. “Answer it.” The lawyer froze. “It’s just a work call.” The officer looked at him. “Answer it. On speaker.” Sweat appeared on the lawyer’s forehead again. He had no choice but to answer. The moment speaker turned on, a man’s lowered voice came through. “Mr. Howard, we’ve been waiting at the back entrance for twenty minutes.” “You said earlier it had to leave tonight. Now there’s police tape. Are we still going with the original plan?” The funeral hall went deathly silent. The lawyer’s face went sheet white. The officer’s voice deepened. “What original plan?” The person on the phone was clearly stunned. “Didn’t you say the paperwork would be completed later?” The lawyer abruptly hung up, but it was too late. The officer looked at him. “Who told you to arrange vehicles at the back entrance?” The lawyer’s lips moved, but no words came out. I looked at Emmett. “Paperwork completed later—seems like it’s not just the transfer form, is it?” His expression was frighteningly dark. He didn’t answer me. Mira instinctively glanced at the casket, then quickly looked away. I noticed, and said slowly, “Don’t worry. Once police seal it, no one can touch that casket.” Her face went even paler. “Iris, don’t make baseless accusations.” “Then don’t be afraid.” I looked at her. “As long as the person in the casket really is Claudia, no one can wrong her, and no one can wrong you.” Mira’s shoulders visibly trembled. The officer had already called for backup to seal the venue’s back entrance and related vehicles. The Simpson Group lawyer still wanted to explain. But as soon as he opened his mouth, a staff member rushed in—someone from the venue’s concierge. When he saw the police, his expression immediately changed. “Mr. Emmett.” Emmett shot him a cold glance. “Get out.” The concierge stood frozen, unable to advance or retreat. The officer looked at him. “What is it?” The man swallowed. “It’s… it’s Miss Claudia’s luggage that was stored at the venue last night.” Mira’s head snapped up. Emmett’s expression also changed in that moment. I looked at the concierge. “What about the luggage?” His voice grew quieter and quieter. “It was originally arranged to be sent to the airport tonight.” “But the driver’s been stopped in the underground parking by the police tape. He’s asking if he should still deliver it.” The funeral hall fell so quiet it was as if the air had been sucked out. I slowly turned my head and looked at Emmett. “The airport?” “Didn’t you say Claudia was dead?” “Why is her luggage being sent to the airport?”

After the concierge spoke, his legs nearly gave out. No one spoke. Everyone in the funeral hall looked at Emmett. Emmett’s expression had gone ice cold. “Who told you to come in?” The concierge trembled. “I… I couldn’t reach Enrique.” “It’s sealed outside. The driver’s stuck in the underground garage.” “He said according to regulations, the organizer must confirm, so I came.” The officer immediately asked, “What driver?” The concierge swallowed. “Airport shuttle driver. He was originally supposed to deliver Miss Claudia’s luggage to the airport.” “Who arranged it?” The concierge instinctively looked at Emmett. “Enrique.” Enrique, Emmett’s most trusted assistant. I looked at Emmett. “Three hours after Claudia’s death.” “Her casket is here.” “But her luggage is going to the airport.” I paused. “Emmett, how did Claudia’s funeral arrangements also include airport drop-off?” Emmett stared at me, his eyes frighteningly cold. “Iris, stop with the sarcasm.” “Then you explain.” He didn’t answer immediately. Lydia said urgently, “Maybe it was arranged by Claudia before her death. The staff didn’t have time to cancel it.” “Fine.” I nodded. “Then let’s check the records.” The officer had the concierge pull up the storage records. A tablet was handed to the officer. I also saw the information on it. Storage Name: Claudia. Storage Time: Last night, 8:37 PM. Items: Two suitcases, one handbag. Notes: Tonight at 11:50 PM, deliver to Chicago International Airport VIP access. Contact: Enrique. The funeral hall fell silent. Last night at 8:37 PM. Claudia’s supposed time of death was tonight at 9:58 PM. In other words, the day before she “jumped,” she had already stored her luggage at the venue and arranged in advance for it to be delivered to the airport. I smiled slowly. “Stored a day in advance, delivered to the airport the night of her death.” “Emmett, did Claudia have a premonition she would die, or did she book herself to leave?” Emmett said nothing. His silence made the funeral hall colder. The officer asked the concierge, “Where is Enrique now?” The concierge shook his head. “I don’t know.” “I’ve always followed his phone instructions.” “Just now after the driver was stopped, I called again and couldn’t get through.” I said calmly, “Looks like your assistant has gone missing.” Emmett stared at me, his voice very low. “I’ll have someone find him.” “Don’t trouble yourself.” The officer said. “We’ll find him.” Emmett’s expression completely darkened. Just then, the Simpson Group lawyer seemed to finally find an explanation. “Officers, this might just be Miss Claudia’s travel arrangements from before her death.” “After the sudden incident, the staff didn’t have time to cancel, which caused this misunderstanding.” I looked at him. “Misunderstanding? Then let Enrique come explain.” The lawyer’s lips pressed tight. Mira spoke quietly, “Claudia was planning to leave anyway.” Everyone looked at her. Mira clutched her skirt, her eyes red-rimmed. “She’d been in bad shape lately.” “She said she wanted to leave Chicago and recuperate in Miami for a while.” “The luggage and car—I asked Enrique to arrange them.” “Mr. Emmett doesn’t know the details.” Emmett’s head whipped toward her. Mira’s words immediately stopped. I laughed softly. “Mira, just now you said you didn’t know where she was going.” “Now you even know about Miami recuperation?” Mira’s breathing faltered. She quickly bit her lip. “I’m her agent. Of course I know some arrangements.” “Really?” I looked at her. “Then when did she give you the suicide note?” Mira froze. “Yesterday.” “What time yesterday?” She couldn’t answer. I looked at her, enunciating each word. “She was going to Miami tonight—you knew that.” “But when asked about the suicide note’s origin, you can’t remember.” Mira’s face went paler and paler. The officer also looked at her. “Miss Mira, you’ll need to cooperate with explaining the suicide note’s origin.” Mira’s lips moved, but she didn’t dare speak further. Emmett said coldly, “Iris, don’t interrogate her here.” I turned to look at him. “Then I’ll interrogate you.” The air in the funeral hall instantly tensed. The officer looked at Emmett. “Enrique is your assistant?” Emmett was silent for a second. “Yes.” “Were you aware of these arrangements?” Emmett’s gaze landed on my face. His voice was very low.”Claudia already had plans for overseas treatment.” “I just had Enrique preserve her original itinerary.” “Preserve?” I asked. “Preserve it until three hours after her death, and still have the driver continue delivery?” “Emmett, are you preserving an itinerary, or an escape route?” Emmett’s jawline tightened. The officer spoke quietly to his colleague. Soon, they contacted the airport. A few minutes later, the feedback came back. The lead officer looked at Emmett. “The airport confirmed there is indeed a VIP access reservation for 11:50 PM tonight.” “The reservation notes also include one accompanying female.” “The registered luggage information matches Miss Claudia’s stored luggage exactly.” Emmett’s expression darkened. Lydia’s head snapped up. Mira swayed on her feet. I wasn’t surprised at all. I only asked, “What’s the destination?” The officer glanced at me. “Miami.” My chest tightened slightly. The Simpson Group’s charity fund had a treatment project there, one of the accounts Emmett had always refused to let me touch. I looked up at Emmett. “Claudia was going to Miami tonight.” “Enrique made the reservation.” “The destination is Miami.” “Emmett, you still claim this is just preserving an itinerary?” Emmett’s gaze bore down. “There’s a treatment center in Miami. She just wanted to go for treatment.” “Treatment?” “The person is already dead, but the treatment itinerary is still active.” “The body is supposed to go to the funeral home, but the VIP access wasn’t canceled.” “Emmett, where exactly did you want her to go?” Lydia couldn’t sit still anymore. She lowered her voice to Emmett. “Emmett, don’t let them drag this to Miami.” “If things blow up there, where will the Simpson family’s reputation go?” I looked at her. “Lydia, Claudia is dead, and you’re not worried about finding the killer. You’re worried about protecting Miami first?” Lydia turned her face away. Mira also lowered her head at that moment. Just then, the officer’s phone rang again. He answered, and a few seconds later, he looked at Emmett. “Airport feedback again. Enrique has already used the VIP access reservation.” “There’s a woman with him wearing a hat and mask. Her build resembles Claudia’s.” “Airport police have temporarily detained them and are verifying identification.” The funeral hall went deathly silent. I looked at the casket, then at Emmett. “Emmett. There’s one Claudia lying in that casket. The airport detained someone who looks like Claudia. Who exactly died tonight?”

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Halfway through sex, my wife Cindy suddenly pulled away and grabbed a condom, telling me to put it on. I was stunned. In our three years of marriage, we’d never used protection—we were trying for a baby. She kissed my forehead, her voice gentle. “You’ve been working overtime every day lately. You’re exhausted. If I got pregnant now, you wouldn’t have time to take care of me. Let’s wait a bit longer.” I was so moved my eyes turned red. After I finished showering and came out, I heard her on the balcony talking to her assistant on the phone. “Schedule the baby’s One-Month Celebration at the SKY Hotel. Security must be tight.” The assistant sounded worried. “What if your husband finds out…” “He won’t find out.” Cindy’s voice was cold. “Now that I have a son with Antoine, I don’t need him anymore. Pick out a few top-spec Richard Milles to give him. Consider it compensation.” Cold wind poured in from the balcony, freezing me to the bone. Actually, not having kids isn’t so bad after all.

Cindy hung up the phone and slid open the glass balcony door. Seeing me standing in the bedroom, panic flashed in her eyes. But quickly, she collected herself and leaned into my arms, resting her chin on my shoulder. “Why aren’t you waiting for me in bed? Was the water cold?” I lowered my eyes and calmly withdrew from her embrace. “I was just thirsty, came out for some water.” Cindy’s hand hung in the air, her fingers curling slightly. She poured me a glass of warm water and casually placed a gift box on the nightstand. Her fingertips brushed aside my damp bangs, tucking them to the side. “Terry, I’m sorry for what you’ve been going through lately.” “Price just got back from Europe, and I had her bring you a Richard Mille. You’ve been wanting one for ages, haven’t you?” I glanced down at the exquisite ribbon on the box but didn’t reach for it. “Thanks, but I don’t feel like looking at watches right now.” I rolled over into bed, turning my back to her. Cindy’s hand hung suspended in mid-air, her brow furrowing. But she didn’t press further, assuming I was just upset about her sudden insistence on using a condom. “I have an important business dinner tomorrow night, so I won’t be having dinner with you.” She tucked the covers around me and walked into the bathroom. The sound of running water filled the room. A month ago, she came home late from a business function. Her trench coat had a faint milky scent on it. I’d casually asked about it. She’d said matter-of-factly that a business partner had brought family, and she’d picked up the smell from their child. Now, looking back, it wasn’t a business partner’s child at all. It was clearly her own newborn son she’d been holding. At one in the morning, Cindy was sleeping soundly beside me. Listening to her even breathing, I opened my eyes in the darkness. In three years of marriage, I’d suffered so much to accommodate her and try for a baby. I drank so many body-conditioning medicines I threw up. Blood draws for tests left my arms covered in bruises and hard lumps. Every time she used work as an excuse to postpone our plans, it felt like she was slowly destroying my dignity. Her phone, charging on the nightstand, lit up. I turned my head. It was a WhatsApp message from an unsaved number. [Cindy, the baby was fussy tonight, crying for mommy. After you try the dishes for the One-Month Celebration tomorrow, can you come see us early?] I quietly watched the screen go dark. I opened my laptop and logged into my personal email account, which I hadn’t checked in ages. An email from Bulgari headquarters in Italy sat quietly in my inbox. Three months ago, they’d sent me an offer for the position of Global Chief Creative Director. I’d declined it then, wanting to focus on trying for a baby and taking care of the family. Now I opened the reply window, my fingers moving across the keyboard. [I accept the offer.]

The next morning, I drove to Cindy Group. The receptionist saw me and looked flustered, quickly bowing respectfully. “Good morning, Mr. Terry.” I nodded slightly and took the private elevator straight to the executive floor. As soon as I stepped out, I saw a man in a tailored designer suit exiting Cindy’s office. He was tall and slender, radiating smug satisfaction. Antoine was the personal assistant Cindy had hired six months ago. On his wrist was an extremely rare Patek Philippe full-diamond celestial watch. That was the unique piece Cindy had bought for twelve million at Christie’s spring auction last month. The media had widely reported it as a third anniversary gift from Ms. Cindy to her husband. I’d thought she would personally put it on my wrist at next week’s anniversary. I never expected it to already be on someone else’s arm. Antoine saw me and instinctively touched his watch, a challenge flashing in his eyes. “Mr. Terry, Ms. Cindy was just taking care of the child…” “I mean, she was just reviewing documents and got tired, so she took a nap. Should I announce you?” The smugness in his tone was practically overflowing. I ignored him and pushed open the office door directly. Cindy was sitting in her executive chair. Seeing me enter, she quickly shoved a jewelry box on her desk into a drawer. “Terry? Why aren’t you resting at home? What brings you to the office?” I sat on the sofa across from her, my tone calm. “I came to get my old design drafts.” Cindy paused, then looked relieved. “Why do you suddenly want to look at those?” “I want to find something to do, pass the time.” She didn’t suspect anything and walked to the safe to enter the password. “Next week is our anniversary. I’ve reserved a yacht and invited all your friends. Let’s celebrate properly.” I took the portfolio of drafts she handed me, watching her fake affection. “Sounds good.” I opened the door and walked out, but instead of leaving immediately, I deliberately softened my footsteps and stood outside the door. A few seconds later, Antoine pushed the door open and went in. His voice carried through. “Cindy, Mr. Terry was staring at my wrist just now. Did he recognize the watch?” Cindy’s cold voice came through the door crack. “So what if he recognized it?” “He has health issues and can’t have children. The Cindy family business needs an heir.” “You gave me a son. This ring is what you deserve.” “In a couple of years, I’ll find an excuse to divorce him and give you and the child proper status.” I closed my eyes, gripping the edge of the portfolio until it warped, took a deep breath, and walked toward the elevator without looking back. Back home, I started packing my clothes. Opening the study drawer to find my passport, I accidentally came across a birth certificate. The mother’s name was printed in black and white: Cindy. And the newborn’s date of birth was exactly one month ago. A bitter ache rose in my chest. I instinctively wanted to tear up the certificate. Just as I was about to apply force, I lost the will. I put everything back exactly where it was and packed my passport in my bag. That evening, Cindy came home and, for once, personally made soup. “Drink more. You haven’t been looking well lately. You need to build yourself up.” If it were before, I would have been moved enough to drink two large bowls. But today, I just stared coldly at the soup. Just as I was about to speak, her phone vibrated. Glancing at the screen, her expression changed, and she grabbed her phone and quickly walked to the balcony. “The baby has a fever? Don’t cry, I’ll contact a pediatric specialist right away.” The sliding door wasn’t completely closed, and her anxious voice came through clearly. I stood up and took the soup she’d personally made, pouring it all down the drain.

That night, Cindy came home very late, carrying the smell of hospital disinfectant. She lay down beside me and habitually reached to put her arm around my waist. When she touched me, nausea rose in my stomach. I jerked away toward the edge of the bed, avoiding her touch. Her hand froze, confusion all over her face. “Terry, what’s wrong?” I turned my back to her, my voice cold. “My stomach’s not feeling well. I want to sleep alone.” She was silent for a moment and didn’t push it. The next day, Cindy Group held a planning meeting for the annual jewelry show. As Chief Designer of Cindy Group and nominal Art Consultant for this show, I attended the meeting. Cindy sat at the head of the table, Antoine at her side behind her. The discussion turned to selecting the lead for the second half of the year’s main “Rebirth” collection. This was my passion project—two years of conceptual work. I’d drawn every sketch by hand. Cindy suddenly cleared her throat. “Regarding the Rebirth collection, I’ve decided to put Antoine in full charge.” “The final lead designer credit will also go to Antoine.” The conference room went silent enough to hear a pin drop. Everyone’s eyes turned to me in unison. I looked straight into Cindy’s eyes. “Why should my design go to an assistant who knows nothing?” Cindy’s expression darkened, tinged with displeasure. “Terry, your health isn’t good, and the show workload is too intense. I don’t want you overworking yourself.” “Antoine may be young, but he’s very talented. This project is perfect for him to gain experience.” Antoine stood up, his eyes reddening, looking pitiful. “Sir, if you mind, I can decline.” “I just want to help Ms. Cindy. I never meant to steal your work.” Several executives exchanged glances, their looks at me now tinged with reproach. I laughed bitterly. “Fine. If Ms. Cindy thinks he can do it, give it to him. I have no objections.” I stood up and walked out, pushing the door open. While washing my hands in the break room, Antoine followed me in. He leaned against the doorframe, watching me mockingly. “Terry, so what if you’re occupying Cindy’s husband position?” “A man who can’t even give her a child of your own is useless.” “With one word from me, everything you worked so hard on has to be handed over to me.” I pulled out a paper towel and methodically dried my hands. “Is that so?” “But even wearing a twelve-million-dollar watch can’t cover up the cheap smell of a homewrecker on you.” Antoine’s face twisted with rage. “Who are you calling a homewrecker?!” I raised an eyebrow, my tone disdainful. “What? Hit a nerve?” “Terry, have you made enough of a scene?” Cindy’s angry voice came from the doorway. She pulled Antoine behind her, looking at me with disappointment. “Antoine just took on the project and is under a lot of pressure. As his senior, instead of helping him, why are you insulting him here?” “Where did your manners go?” I watched her protect another man behind her back. The last trace of reluctance in my heart evaporated. “Think whatever you want.” I pushed past her and walked out. Cindy instinctively reached out, trying to hold me back. “Terry…” Before she could touch me. Antoine grabbed her sleeve, calling out weakly: “Cindy, I’m feeling dizzy.” Cindy’s movement stopped, leaving her in place. I scoffed and strode out of Cindy Group’s building without looking back.

That evening, Cindy came home. She pushed open the bedroom door to see me packing clothes into my suitcase. Her hand paused on her collar. “Where are you going?” “Abroad. To clear my head.” I didn’t stop what I was doing, stuffing my toiletry bag into the suitcase. She walked to the bed and pulled out a black card, her tone softening. “Milan or Paris? Buy whatever you like.” “Once the show details are finalized in a few days, I’ll come get you for our anniversary.” I zipped up the suitcase, stood up, and looked at her coldly. “Cindy, what if I leave this time and don’t come back?” Her brow furrowed, irritation flashing in her eyes. “Terry, are you really going to fight with me this long over design credits?” “I manage such a huge company every day and still have to deal with your moods. Can’t you be a little understanding?” I stared at her for several seconds, then suddenly smiled. “Fine. I’ll be understanding.” The day I left for the airport, South City was hit by a torrential rainstorm. Cindy offered to take me to the airport. I didn’t refuse. On the way, her phone vibrated. She answered, and Antoine’s anxious crying came through the receiver. “Cindy, the baby suddenly has a high fever. I’m so scared…” Cindy slammed on the brakes, jerked the steering wheel, and pulled directly into the emergency lane. She turned to me, her eyes urgent. “Terry, there’s an urgent matter at the company I need to handle immediately.” “There’s a subway station just ahead. Can you take a taxi to the airport yourself?” I looked at the pouring rain outside. I didn’t get angry or question her. I just calmly nodded. “Okay.” Cindy nodded lightly. “Let me know when you arrive.” I didn’t respond. I opened the door, grabbed my umbrella, and pulled my suitcase from the trunk. Cindy didn’t even wait for me to get my footing before hitting the gas. The car shot into the rain like an arrow. Muddy water splashed onto the hem of my coat. I pulled my suitcase and turned toward the subway station. More than ten hours later, the plane landed smoothly at Milan Airport. As I walked out of the VIP passage, several Bulgari executives were already waiting. The lead Executive President stepped forward and shook my hand warmly. “Mr. Terry, welcome to Milan. Your office and team are fully ready.”

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The night before my wedding, someone sent me a VIP resort hotel room key card. The room number was the same one where Xavier had proposed to me. I thought it was a romantic surprise he’d prepared for me before the wedding. But when I pushed open the door, I saw him naked, tangled with a woman on the bed. After Xavier finished, he casually pushed the woman out of his arms. He lit a cigarette and smiled carelessly through the smoke: “I didn’t want to keep hiding it from you anyway. I wanted you to find out early so I wouldn’t have to explain after the wedding.” He flicked the ash and added: “Don’t worry, you’re still my only wife. You’ve been with me for ten years—you won’t find anyone else to take you now!” “Tomorrow everything goes as planned. The wedding ceremony is yours, but the marriage certificate goes to her.” He thought I’d at least ask why, but I just quietly removed the engagement ring from my finger, set it down, and left. The next day, Xavier waited for me at the church in his groom’s suit. I didn’t run. I walked right up to him on the arm of his sworn enemy, waving the marriage certificate in my hand: “The wedding ceremony is yours, but the marriage certificate—I gave it to him.”

“She’s here, she’s here, the bride is finally coming out.” Quite a few reporters had already gathered outside the church. “Miss Olivia, how do you feel on your wedding day?” “Miss Olivia, what do you think about the wedding of the century that Mr. Xavier prepared for you?” I didn’t say anything and got into the car under the bodyguards’ escort. Xavier stood on the steps in his white groom’s suit, wearing a smile that said everything was under his control. This morning he called to say he’d had sex seven times last night, his body couldn’t take it, he needed to catch up on sleep, and couldn’t come pick up his bride. He was certain I would come. Xavier’s friend Matthew was the first to whistle: “She still came!” He nudged Xavier with his elbow, his face full of suggestive amusement: “Xavier’s got the magic touch—partying the night before the wedding, and the bride still shows up in her wedding dress. What do you call that? That’s what I call proper training!” Another friend chimed in: “No kidding, the way he went at it in bed yesterday, anyone else would’ve been wrecked, but Xavier can still stand here as the groom. Gotta respect that.” Several of them laughed, and Xavier’s lips curved slightly. His tone was casual: “Olivia’s been with me for ten years. Besides marrying me, who else would want her?” He glanced down at the engagement ring I’d taken off yesterday: “Throwing a little tantrum is normal. But in the end—” He paused, his voice confident: “She’ll still walk up to me and put her hand in mine.” Matthew gave him a thumbs up. The car door opened, and I stepped out in my white dress. Sunlight fell on the wedding gown, refracting into scattered sparkles. A flash of amazement crossed Xavier’s eyes, and he sincerely commented: “Olivia looks so beautiful in a wedding dress!” But before he could touch my hand, his vibrating phone pulled his attention away. He looked at the name on the screen. His lips unconsciously curved upward, and he stepped aside to answer it. “What’s wrong? Didn’t I tell you to call later?” A lazy, coquettish voice came from the other end: “Xavier, I’m flying abroad this afternoon. So I made an appointment to register our marriage in ten minutes. Can you come to City Hall? I want to get the marriage certificate before I leave.” “Ten minutes?” Xavier chuckled softly, “That urgent?” After hanging up, Matthew came over: “Who was that?” “Windsor.” Xavier put his phone in his pocket, his eyes brightening, “She’s flying abroad this afternoon and insists on getting the certificate before she leaves. She’s being so sweet I can’t say no.” Matthew raised an eyebrow: “What about the wedding here—” “What’s the rush?” Xavier didn’t seem concerned, “The wedding ceremony takes an hour or two. I’ll just go to City Hall first, it’s a ten-minute thing. You know Windsor’s personality—if I don’t humor her, she’ll actually cry at the airport.” Matthew wisely didn’t say more. Xavier walked toward me, put his arm around my shoulder, and had the nearby photographer raise his camera: “Come on, take a picture of me, for the memories.” Click. Done. He glanced at his watch, “Alright, that’s it for now. I have to go or I’ll miss the appointment.” He turned and strode toward another car. “Xavier!” I stood where I was and called out to him. He paused and looked back at me. His expression still carried that careless confidence of someone who had everything under control. “If you leave today,” I said word by word, “I’ll replace the groom at this wedding.”

He froze for a moment, then laughed with contempt and certainty: “Replace the groom? Where would you find one? You think life’s a TV drama?” “Everyone in Seattle knows you’re mine.” “Of course, if you really have the ability to find someone who dares marry you, I wouldn’t mind letting you—” He opened the car door and tossed back a casual quip: “Stop making a scene. Be good and wait for me to come back. Those other women, I know my limits, okay?” The groomsmen behind me exchanged glances. Matthew chased after him: “Xavier, you’re really leaving—” “You guys hold down the fort. It’s not like I’m not coming back.” Xavier closed the car door, his voice carrying a hint of impatience, “Windsor’s too hard to deal with. I don’t want to make trouble for myself.” The car started and drove off. I stood where I was, the hem of my wedding dress lifting in the wind. The photographer beside me held his camera, standing awkwardly. No one spoke. I looked down at my empty ring finger on my left hand and slowly curved my lips into a smile. Xavier, go ahead, go get your certificate. This multi-million dollar wedding of the century—I’ll gladly accept it. I lifted my dress and walked into the church. Guests were seated, the officiant was in position, and the wedding march was playing. Everything was perfect, except the groom wasn’t there. Matthew caught up to me with a forced smile: “Olivia, Xavier has an urgent matter. He’ll be back soon. Just sit for a bit.” Another groomsman, Edward, also came over: “Right, right, Xavier always knows what he’s doing. It’s your big day today, he’ll definitely be here soon.” “Exactly, Xavier never drops the ball on important things.” Several of them chimed in, making “the groom ran off” sound like he’d just gone to pick up a package. I glanced at the clock at the front of the church. 10:40 AM. “Okay, I’ll wait for him.” I calmly sent them away. Matthew visibly relaxed and quickly had people bring me tea and water. I’d wait. But who I was waiting for was none of their business. This wedding had been hyped for three months. Most of the groom’s important relatives were present. I looked around, my gaze falling on every detail. The white rose waterfall by the floor-to-ceiling windows, the crystal bead curtains hanging from the dome. Even the font on the guest place cards was specially designed by a designer he’d hired. Xavier was the type who, when he did something, did it to perfection. He was like that when he pursued me, and the same when planning the wedding. He’d made this wedding the talk of the town, the stuff of every woman’s dreams. Yet even his infidelity was equally extreme. No room for negotiation, no explanations. In his logic, treating someone well and hurting that same person never conflicted. And I only had one option: “accept it.” In the dressing room, my best friend Barbara, who’d flown from Australia to be my bridesmaid, held my dress train with an indignant expression. “Is Xavier sick in the head? Running off to get a marriage certificate with another woman on his wedding day? Did his brain get caught in a door?” She huffed and sat down beside me, tugging at her bridesmaid dress: “I thought he was just talking. But even if it’s true, did it have to be today?” Her voice carried a fire of indignation on my behalf: “When you two were planning this wedding together, he searched every flower shop in the city just to pick the perfect bouquet for you. When you tried on wedding dresses, his eyes got red faster than yours.” “I was so jealous of you I got sour and beat up my clueless boyfriend!” She paused, her voice dropping: “Who could’ve imagined he’d turn around and do something like this?”

I didn’t respond, just looked down at my phone. On Instagram, Windsor had just posted a new update. The photo showed men’s shirts and women’s lingerie scattered on the floor. [Someone said he’d only come for ten minutes, but ended up not wanting to leave~] She’d deliberately tagged the location—and it wasn’t City Hall. Mutual friends were already commenting: [Windsor, are you trying to piss someone off?] Windsor replied: [Whoever’s standing around in a wedding dress with no groom to wait for can get mad!] I expressionlessly took a screenshot. “Olivia, stop waiting!” Barbara snatched my phone away. “Look at this! What kind of person is this?” “You came back from graduating in England for him. Do you know how angry your parents were?” “Xavier was nothing back then, and you still dared to make a ten-year bet with your parents! Now you’ve lost everything.” “If it weren’t for you working day and night all these years helping him with proposals, bringing in investments, secretly using your identity as the shipping magnate’s daughter to get his projects off the ground, could he have achieved what he has today?” “And he turns around and gets cozy with the investor’s daughter!” “I really never saw it—he can fake it so well, faking it until the night before the wedding to let you discover he was sleeping with someone else!” “I can’t believe he came to an open room with someone else!” Barbara got more upset as she spoke, her eyes reddening: “Olivia, stop waiting. You should live for yourself for once!” “Barbara, thank you for coming today. As for Mom and Dad, after the wedding, I’ll go back and admit defeat.” Willing to bet means willing to lose. Today was the day I’d accept the price of losing that bet. After comforting my best friend and myself, I walked toward the balcony at the end of the hallway for some air. Just as I was about to push the door open, I heard several men’s voices inside. The groomsmen were hiding there smoking. “Wait, Xavier’s really not coming back?” “He said Windsor’s clinging to him, he can’t get away. He told us to stall.” Matthew exhaled smoke, “How long do you think Olivia’s temper can hold out?” “Look at her today—wedding dress on, red carpet walked, groom ran off, and she didn’t even furrow her brow.” “A wife like that, what more could a man want?” Edward sighed, “Xavier really doesn’t know how good he has it.” “Xavier’s got other things on his mind right now. That vixen Windsor has him wrapped around her finger.” Several of them laughed. Then someone made a video call: “Xavier, you finally picked up. Olivia’s still waiting. It’s not right for you not to come back, is it?” Ambiguous sounds came from the other end of the phone. “Can’t you see I’m busy?” Xavier’s voice carried impatience and the hoarseness of desire, “I can’t come back. Just take care of the relatives and friends.” “Okay, okay, Xavier, you do your thing.” Matthew said with a sleazy grin, “Olivia’s way easier to deal with anyway.” Before he finished speaking, I pushed open the balcony door. The smiles froze on their faces. Matthew hid the phone behind him, “Olivia.” I looked at them, “The wedding starts in three minutes.” “What are you doing hiding here?” “There are over three hundred guests sitting out there. Are you going to make them wait? Or let them watch this farce?” As soon as I finished speaking, several of them burst out laughing. “Olivia, stop making a scene.” Edward laughed while waving his hand, “Three minutes is enough? Xavier’s not that fast. He can’t make it…” “It’s enough.” I calmly interrupted, then turned and left. Only then did Matthew remember the video was still on. He glanced at the screen: “Xavier, Olivia says the wedding starts in three minutes. You better hurry.” Xavier’s low laugh came through the phone, carrying the laziness of unfinished pleasure: “Three minutes?” “Does this woman have some kind of misunderstanding about me?” A woman’s giggle came through the receiver, softly saying something. “Xavier.” Matthew asked quietly, “So…” The other end was silent for two seconds, then Xavier’s impatient voice came through: “Go ahead and help me hold down the scene. I’ll come over when I’m done here.” As he spoke, a woman’s coquettish sound came through in the background.

Matthew quickly hung up the video call. Several of them hastily stubbed out their cigarettes, straightened their suits, and walked out of the balcony. When they caught up to me, Edward said quietly: “Olivia, after all these years, we all know about you and Xavier. He does care about you in his heart. Men, you know…” I didn’t look at him or respond. Actually, until yesterday, I still didn’t want to believe he’d fall into the same trap of loving the new and abandoning the old. Windsor was an investor’s only daughter, fresh out of college. Ever since they met once at a celebration banquet, his eyes hadn’t been right. At the time I thought I was being paranoid. After ten years together, if I didn’t understand him, I wouldn’t have persisted this long. So I chose to believe through many ambiguous moments, many late nights with no WhatsApp replies. I didn’t believe that we, who’d finally made it through the hard times and were about to start a family, would lose to a girl fresh out of school. But he gradually grew eager to tear off his mask, becoming more and more outrageous. No longer hiding it, even deliberately letting me find out. Then packaging his betrayal as a favor: “Someone as outstanding as me, how could I have only one woman? But my heart is yours. No one but you can be Mrs. Xavier.” He expected me to be grateful. Barbara was right—he could fake it so well. Faking it until the day before the wedding to finally tear off that last layer of disguise. Using that cruelest method to make me see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears, what exactly he thought of me. Faking it until I had no way out. “Olivia, walk slowly down the aisle later, okay? We’ll be behind you to hold down the scene.” “Right, right, Xavier said once he’s done he’ll come over. You just go through the motions first.” They thought I was just going through the motions at the wedding. Thought I’d walk down the red carpet alone in my wedding dress, stand before the priest, waiting for a groom who might never show up. Then smile and say “I do” to an empty groom’s position. This was the script Xavier left for me. The groomsmen stood on either side of me, faces still wearing that “everything’s under control” smile. The church doors slowly opened, and someone stood in the backlight. Then everyone’s smiles froze. Xavier had a cigarette and buckled his belt. “You’re really leaving?” Windsor sat on the bed wrapped in sheets, her face full of displeasure, “You promised to stay with me all day. I only agreed to postpone getting the certificate because of that, and now you’re leaving?” “I have to go.” Xavier picked up his jacket, “She only gave me three minutes. If I don’t go now, with her temper—you know—” “What temper?” Windsor pouted, “Isn’t she the most understanding?” “Understanding is one thing, but today’s different.” Xavier checked himself in the mirror, straightening his shirt collar, “The wedding of the century—I promised her that.” “Then why did you come here?” “Didn’t you insist?” Xavier smiled, walked over and pinched her face, “Be good, wait for me to come back tonight.” Windsor swatted his hand away and turned around: “When will the certificate thing be postponed to?” “We’ll see.” Xavier answered perfunctorily, picking up his phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up. WhatsApp messages were exploding. All from the friend group, voice messages one after another. The last one was a video from Matthew. He frowned and randomly clicked it open, his eyes widening sharply.

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When my adoptive father first saw me, I was eating a bowl of sour, spoiled rice. Starving flies fought me for the food, and I didn’t even have a free hand to swat them away. Later, he took me home. He threw me a seventh birthday party. He said, “Maya, today is your new birthday. From now on, this day every year will be your birthday.” Everyone smiled at me. Only my adoptive mother, after the guests had left, screamed at him: “She’s your illegitimate child, isn’t she?!” 1 I was the second child of my biological parents. I had an older sister. My parents, desperate for a son, hid my mother’s pregnancy to avoid the authorities. My ten-year-old sister was begrudgingly taken in by our aunt because she was old enough to help with chores. I, at seven years old, was left at home. It was summer. My mother’s pregnant belly could no longer be hidden. She and my father had to hide in the mountains during the day, sneaking down at night to make me a little food. They would leave it covered under a bamboo basket on the table. That time, they hadn’t been home for two days. I was starving. I drank a belly full of cold water. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I scraped the spoiled, leftover rice from the big pot on the stove. I didn’t even bother with a spoon. I just shoved it into my mouth by the handful. Flies swarmed my bowl, fighting me for the food. I couldn’t even swat them away. Do you know what spoiled rice tastes like? It’s sour, a little bitter. When you scoop it up, it stretches out in long, sticky strands. It looks like… vomit. My adoptive father saw me like that through the iron-barred window. He yelled at me to stop and handed me a piece of chocolate. It was a little bitter, and it melted slowly in my mouth. It didn’t taste much better than the spoiled rice. Later, I found out it was imported chocolate. Very expensive. One piece could buy two pounds of peppermint candies. He taught me how to draw on the dirt with a twig. He waited with me for two days until my parents finally came back. They were holding my newborn baby brother. He was chubby and pale. Unlike me, who was dirty and skeletal. I heard my adoptive father wanted to take me away. My parents hesitated for a night. The next day, my mother had someone kill a chicken. In an unprecedented move, she put both drumsticks in my bowl. “Eat up!” The chicken wasn’t cooked long enough. It was tough, and chewing it made my gums bleed. But I didn’t care. I cracked the bones and sucked out every last drop of the marrow and broth. My mother stroked my gaunt face, tears streaming down hers. “Don’t blame Mommy. Every family needs a son to carry on the name. “That man looks like he comes from a wealthy family. You’ll have a much better life there than here. “When you get to his house, be a good girl. Be obedient.” 2 I hugged my mother’s leg tightly, crying and begging her: I’ll be even better from now on, please don’t send me away. But my father forcefully pried my hands off. He was impatient. “If you stay, we’ll have to pay a massive fine for your brother.” “Where are we going to get that kind of money?” The sun was brutal that day. It stretched his shadow long, covering me completely. In that massive shadow, I sobbed uncontrollably, trembling. My adoptive father stepped forward, covering my ears tightly, and frowned. “Don’t say these things to the child.” “She didn’t do anything wrong!” He lifted me onto his tall motorcycle and placed his only helmet on my head. The helmet was too big. It wobbled like a mountain. It also felt like… a massive embrace. The motorcycle roared to life, spewing a cloud of black exhaust. My mother chased after us, shoving half a bag of peppermint candies into my hands. “You can have them all, eat them all!” Usually, she locked these candies away. Only when I was exceptionally good would she reward me with one. “Don’t blame Mommy, Mommy had no choice.” … My adoptive father revved the engine. The oncoming wind scattered my mother’s instructions and her remorse. I grabbed a handful of peppermint candies and stuffed them into my mouth. So cold. So bitter! My young mind couldn’t understand. Why was one candy so sweet, but a whole handful so bitter? My adoptive father took me home and threw me a birthday party. He held my hand and said, “Today is the day of your new life. From now on, this day every year will be your birthday.” All his relatives came. Aside from my adoptive mother, who looked indifferent, everyone spoke to me gently. I wore a princess dress and held a plastic knife. In front of me sat a two-tiered birthday cake. I was stiff as a board, forcing a rigid smile for the dark camera lens. I was terrified. I felt like a thief. Like I had stolen a princess’s spotlight. And when the magic faded, I would revert to my true, miserable form. Sure enough. I couldn’t sleep that night. I heard my adoptive mother furiously interrogating him. “It was bad enough when you were flirting with those women, but now you’re bringing a child home? “Where does that leave me? “What ‘adopted daughter’ bullshit! She’s your illegitimate child, isn’t she?! “And you expect me to be her mother? You’re pushing me too far!” … The moonlight was dim. I gripped the doorframe tightly. Looking up, the door across the hall cracked open. My new brother, Leo’s, eyes pierced through the gap, glaring at me with pure hatred. 3 I carefully closed my door, too terrified to go to the bathroom. As a result, I wet the bed. God knows how despairing I felt when I woke up. My adoptive mother already hated me. On my very first day, I had ruined the soft, sweet-smelling sheets. I was sure she was going to throw me out immediately. At 5:00 AM, I sneaked out of bed, hugging the sheets, and headed to the bathroom. I dumped the sheets into a large bucket of water and stepped in barefoot to wash them. After stomping on them for half an hour, a cold voice came from behind me. “What are you doing?” I jumped in terror, stumbling backward, and fell hard on my butt. The bucket tipped over, soaking me. My adoptive mother reached a hand out toward me. I instinctively covered my head, trembling. “Dad, please don’t hit me, don’t hit me! I promise I’ll never wet the bed again.” After a long pause, a cold hand grabbed me and pulled me up from the floor. “That bucket is for the mop.” Huh? But it was cleaner than the buckets I used to carry water from the river back in the village. “Clothes and sheets can be washed in the washing machine.” I had no idea how to use the twin-tub washing machine. My adoptive mother taught me step-by-step. “From now on, you’re in charge of washing all the clothes in the house.” This was much easier than washing clothes in the freezing river. But I still messed up. I mixed the dark clothes with the lights, and my adoptive mother’s white dress was dyed a muddy, murky color. She was furious. “Do you know how much this dress cost?! I saved up for two months to buy it, and I’ve only worn it once! “You can’t even do something this simple right.” My adoptive father came out to smooth things over. “Maya didn’t do it on purpose. Just buy a new one.” My adoptive mother grew even angrier. “You make it sound so easy. That dress was expensive.” My adoptive father wasn’t just talking. He bought the exact same dress that very night. He also secretly called me outside and handed me a lollipop the size of my fist, hidden in the stairwell. “This is the biggest lollipop in the supermarket. Eat it quickly. “Your aunt complains a lot, but she has a good heart. She’s a paper tiger. Don’t be afraid of her.” My adoptive mother wasn’t acting like a paper tiger, though. She was roaring like a lioness. 4 “This lollipop cost eight dollars! Eight dollars could buy two pounds of meat! David, what is in your brain?! “And that dress! A little bleach would have fixed it! Is money burning a hole in your pocket?!” … My adoptive parents fought constantly over things like this. I didn’t understand it then, but I did when I grew up. My adoptive father was an artist. He was naturally kind-hearted, a romantic to the bone. If he only had twenty dollars in his pocket, he would spend it all on a beautiful, useless bouquet of roses for my adoptive mother. Whenever inspiration struck, he’d hop on his motorcycle and go searching for landscapes to paint. He was a handsome, wandering artist with many friends in the bohemian scene. The mundane reality of making ends meet fell entirely on my adoptive mother’s shoulders. The collision of realism and romanticism. It’s hard to say who was right or wrong. My adoptive father wasn’t exactly a great husband, but he definitely wasn’t a bad person! This made my adoptive mother both hate him and love him, leaving her constantly stressed and irritable. Which meant she never smiled at me, either. I later tried to give that giant lollipop to Leo. He snatched it, threw it on the floor, and glared at me. “I don’t want your stupid candy!” My adoptive father was not a man who could stay in one place. This time, because of me, he stayed home for over a month. Once my school enrollment was finalized, on a gloomy evening, he left a letter, hopped on his motorcycle, and set off on his wandering journey again. My adoptive mother was furious. She tore the letter to shreds, grabbed my arm, dragged me to the front door, and shoved me out. “Get out, get out! He’s gone, so you leave too! “Telling me to take good care of you? In his dreams!” … The late September night was chilly. The hallway light was broken. I hugged my knees and crouched under the window, looking at the fuzzy moon obscured by dark clouds. I guess this was my world. Even with the moon, it was just a faint, blurry glimmer. I don’t know how long I sat there. I almost fell asleep. The door creaked open. My adoptive mother looked down at me, her voice cold and annoyed: “Come inside.” On the dining table was a steaming bowl of noodles with eggs, and next to it were the chopsticks I normally used. My adoptive mother had already slammed the door to the master bedroom shut. My stomach grumbled loudly. I carefully ate the bowl of noodles. My adoptive father called home twice a week, asking how I was doing, if everything was okay. He would tell me about what he’d seen on his travels. A strangely colored flower, an exceptionally smart stray dog, the most brilliant sunrise he’d ever seen. He would also patiently listen to me share my mundane daily life. When we finished talking, right before he handed the phone to my adoptive mother, he would always say: “Maya, when Dad comes back, I’ll bring you a huge mystery gift!” Every time she got the phone, my adoptive mother’s tone was sour: “Before she got here, you didn’t even call once every two weeks.” “What, are me and your son together not as important as her?” … My adoptive mother remained icy towards me. My brother was also very hostile. We went to the same school. We went to school together every day, but I only dared to follow him from a distance. Whenever his classmates teased him: “Leo, is this your new sister?” 5 He would pull a long face: “She’s not my sister. She’s a stray my dad picked up.” Kids are very good at reading the room. My brother didn’t like me, and I was the new kid from the countryside, so everyone isolated me. During P.E., when the teacher organized partner games, I was always the one left out. It was a little sad. But it was bearable. Months passed like this. Winter arrived. When I woke up, I noticed my adoptive mother looked pale. I asked her quietly if she was okay, and she glared at me. “Are you hoping something happens to me?” I didn’t dare ask again. After leaving the house, I realized I’d forgotten my homework from the day before. So I ran back home to get it. I found my adoptive mother passed out on the living room floor. No matter how much I shook her, she wouldn’t wake up. My mind went blank. The cold air felt like it was pouring straight into my chest from all directions. I stumbled out the door and banged on the neighbor’s door. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins hurriedly drove my adoptive mother to the hospital in their truck. I insisted on going with them. Fear gripped me like countless tentacles. I whimpered softly, tears streaming down my face. They fell one by one onto my adoptive mother’s face. I don’t know how long I cried until I heard a familiar, icy voice: “Are you mourning me? I’m not dead yet!” My adoptive mother was awake. My lips trembled uncontrollably. After a long moment, I burst into loud, heaving sobs. My adoptive mother frowned. “You’re too loud.” Mrs. Higgins whispered beside her, “She was terrified. Don’t scare the child anymore.” Leo rushed to the hospital after school. His eyes were red as he pointed at my nose and yelled, “This is all your fault! Mom was fine before you came here!” Fortunately, my adoptive mother only had iron-deficiency anemia. After some IV fluids and a prescribed diet, the doctor discharged her. She needed bed rest, so my aunt came by every afternoon with enough food for the day. Three days later, my adoptive mother still looked pale. I panicked. In the kitchen, I used a paring knife to secretly cut my finger. Bright red blood dripped steadily into the soup my aunt had brought. I don’t know how much I bled, but I started to feel dizzy. Just then, Leo roared from behind me, “Why are you dripping blood into the soup?!” “Your blood is toxic! Are you trying to poison my mom?!” He ran over and shoved me hard. The back of my head hit the doorknob. The pain made my vision white out. My adoptive mother heard the commotion. She wrapped my finger in a paper towel, her voice cold: “What are you doing?” 6 I gathered my courage, looked up at her, and said shakily, “Auntie said you got sick because you didn’t have enough blood.” “I have lots of blood, I can share some with you!” Tears streamed down my face. “If you drink my blood, will you get better faster?” My adoptive mother’s lips trembled, but she didn’t speak for a long time. I looked at Leo through my tears. “Brother, please don’t hate me. “I promise I’ll only take a tiny bit of love from you.” I held up my thumb and index finger, showing a tiny gap. Then I squeezed them closer, and closer, until there was just a sliver of light between them. I offered Leo a pleading smile: “I just want this much, is that okay?” If you’ve never been loved, you can stumble through life just fine. But once you’ve tasted what it’s like to be loved… It’s like an addiction you can’t break. Leo clenched his fists, his face bright red, and yelled at me, “You idiot, drinking blood doesn’t give you more blood!” After yelling at me, he ran out of the kitchen, ran upstairs, and slammed his bedroom door with a loud bang. My adoptive mother helped me up and gave an order: “Go sit on the sofa. I’ll get the first aid kit.” She went upstairs to the master bedroom. Then, the front door knocked. I went to open it. The two people standing in the doorway hit me like a bucket of ice water, freezing the tears in my eyes. It was my biological parents! Unlike my shock, they were incredibly excited. They pushed their way inside and grabbed my hand tightly. “Maya! We finally found you!” My mother’s eyes were red, and she excitedly patted my clothes and my face. “Look at you, why do you look so pale? Were you just crying? Are they not treating you well here?” “Mommy thought I’d never find you again.” My eyes darted between them. It was strange. My heart was pounding wildly. Not with the joy of a reunion, but with the terror of an encounter that shouldn’t be happening. My dad took a drag of his cigarette, tossed the burning butt onto the hallway floor, and yanked my arm, pulling me outside. “Stop talking. Let’s go, you’re coming with us!” My mom wiped her tears, her face glowing with happiness. “They’re building a new highway near our house back home. The government is paying twenty thousand dollars for every person registered to our address.” “If you come back with us, our family gets an extra twenty thousand. With that money, our family will never have to be apart again.” 7 They pulled and dragged me toward the door. I dug my fingers tightly into the doorframe. The paper towel covering my cut fell off, and fresh blood bubbled out. It slid down the doorframe like a snake. I was fighting a losing battle, my heart turning to ice. Maybe now… Maybe this was the moment the magic vanished. The pumpkin carriage, the glass slippers, the beautiful dress, the warm home… it had all just been a dream I eventually had to wake up from. As I was about to be dragged away, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. My adoptive mother, holding the first aid kit, stood under the warm yellow light of the hallway, looking at us with cold eyes. All my terror suddenly turned into bottomless grievance. Countless emotions surged in my throat, and almost instinctively, I called out, “Mom…” My adoptive mother’s eyes narrowed. She walked briskly toward us and snapped, “Are you blind? Can’t you see her hand is bleeding?” My dad didn’t care. “It’s just a scratch, what’s the big deal.” My mom picked up the dirty paper towel from the floor and pressed it against my finger. “Let’s go. We’re going home.” They continued to drag me outside. My adoptive mother’s thin but surprisingly strong hand clamped firmly onto my wrist. She said coldly: “You think you can just come and go as you please? Take her whenever you want? “She is a human being, not some stray cat or dog on the street. “And besides, you accepted money for her.” I froze, staring blankly at my biological mother. She guiltily avoided my gaze. My dad’s face darkened. “It was only two thousand dollars! Once we get the twenty thousand from the government, we’ll give your two thousand back!” Leo also came rushing down. He grabbed me from behind, hugging me tightly. “Maya is my sister now! None of you are taking her away.” I looked back at him, my tears falling uncontrollably. He yelled at me, “Why are you crying? You idiot, pull!” The argument and the struggle grew loud. During the scuffle, my adoptive mother’s hair came undone, and a button was ripped off her coat. The neighbors heard the commotion and came out, stepping in to help protect me. Once free, my adoptive mother smoothed her messy hair and looked at me with complex eyes. “Do you want to go with them?” My mom panted and smiled. “I worked hard to give birth to her, of course she’s going with me.” My dad also looked incredibly confident. I carefully held my adoptive mother’s hand. “I want to stay here. With you and brother.” Leo jumped excitedly and shouted, “Did you hear that? She wants to stay with us! Get the hell out of our house!” My dad was furious. He raised his hand to slap me. “I raised you for seven years, and you forget me after a few months!” “I’ll kill you, you ungrateful wretch!” He had always been like this since I was little. The slightest annoyance, and he would beat and kick me. Fear was carved into my bones. I froze in place, instinctively raising my arms to protect my head. At the critical moment, my adoptive mother pulled me behind her. That slap landed squarely on her face. Her cheek swelled up instantly, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Leo shot forward like a cannonball, slamming hard into my dad’s stomach. “You dare hit my mom?! I’ll kill you!” A fiery rage burned inside me. I bit down hard on my dad’s arm. Since he had hit a woman, the neighbors couldn’t stand by anymore. They rushed forward and restrained him. My dad roared, “She’s my blood! I can hit her and curse her if I want to!” “It’s my right to take her away! What right do you have to stop me?!” … My adoptive mother held her cheek, sneering fearlessly: “You took two thousand dollars and sold your own daughter! “Child trafficking is a crime. “You’ll be arrested and sent to prison, for at least three to five years!” Mrs. Higgins’s eyes darted around, and she quickly chimed in: “Exactly! Leo, don’t just stand there, call 911!” 8 My dad looked shocked and uncertain. “I sent my own kid away, and that’s a crime?” My adoptive mother said loudly, “Taking money makes it a sale! It’s definitely a crime!” Country folks like them had a deep, primal fear of the police and jail. Neither of them wanted to end up behind bars. Leo had already picked up the living room phone. My adoptive mother demanded word by word, “I’ll ask you one last time. Look closely. Is Maya your child?” My mom was already intimidated. She pulled on my dad’s arm, smiling awkwardly. “We made a mistake! We made a mistake! We got the wrong person!” My dad was resentful, but terrified of the police, so he let my mom drag him away. Just as they reached the stairs, my mom ran back. She pulled a small handful of peppermint candies wrapped in newspaper from her pocket. Her eyes were red. “For you.” I shook my head and didn’t take them. “These candies are too bitter. I don’t like them.” I only understood when I grew up. The young me thought those peppermint candies tasted good because my life was so bitter that even the tiniest hint of sweetness felt overwhelming. But the truth was. I didn’t have to eat that bitterness in the first place. After the onlookers dispersed, my adoptive mother stood in front of the bathroom mirror. She changed out of her torn coat and slowly, meticulously combed her messy hair back into place. She took some ointment to reduce the swelling and gently applied it to her face. She had always been a meticulous, elegant woman. Even just going grocery shopping, her hair was perfectly styled. But for me, she had ended up with disheveled hair and a swollen face. Guilt swelled in my chest. I apologized softly, “I’m sorry, Auntie…” Her face darkened, and she mocked me: “When you need something, you call me Mom. When you don’t, you call me Auntie. Are you playing games with me?” I frantically tried to explain, “No, it’s just, I was afraid… afraid you wouldn’t…” She threw the ointment down, walked straight up to me, and said fiercely, “Say it…” “Huh?” She raised her voice. “Call me Mom!” I looked up at her. She looked fierce and cold. She almost never smiled at me. But in the months I’d been here, she had never hit me or starved me. The door to her bedroom was never locked; I could open it whenever I wanted. She never left me alone in the house. When we went out, if she brought Leo, she made sure to bring me too. On the crowded streets. No matter if I walked fast or slow, whenever I looked back. She was always right behind me. She was so good. I was just afraid. I didn’t feel worthy… Memories flooded my mind. My throat tightened, and I whispered shakily, “Mom…” Her eyes were bloodshot. She smacked the back of my head lightly. “How many times have I told you not to open the door for strangers! Will you remember that from now on?!” The tears were knocked loose, falling one by one onto the floor. I nodded emphatically. “I’ll remember!” “I’ll call the school and excuse you for the morning. Pack some clothes!”

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A video of me and media mogul Richard Sterling walking out of the same Hamptons mansion early Monday morning hit the internet, and Twitter practically crashed. Netizens were tearing me apart: “If she can’t hook the A-list actor, she hooks his dad. She really will do anything to marry into a billionaire family.” The A-list actor’s girlfriend even threw shade at me in an interview: “Don’t worry, the Sterling family has high standards. They would never let trash like her step foot in their house.” But she didn’t know. I am that actor’s biological older sister. And his dad is my dad. She was right about one thing, though. I absolutely would not let a piece of trash like her step foot in my house. 1 First thing Monday morning, a video of me and the legendary media tycoon, Richard Sterling, walking out of a mansion went viral. In the sixteen-second clip, I was holding Mr. Sterling’s arm, acting very intimately, with what looked like a fawning smile on my face, occasionally reaching out to touch his arm. The comment section was flooded with hate. “Jade Carter realized she couldn’t get Leo Sterling to look her way, so she went after his dad?” “To marry into the Sterling family, she really has zero bottom line.” “Maybe her true love is still Leo, and marrying the dad is just a way to get closer to him… gross.” “Please stop talking upstairs, I’m already feeling sick. Leo Sterling has a girlfriend, and it’s our sweet Brianna.” As expected, the paparazzi—never ones to miss a chance for drama—interviewed Leo Sterling’s girlfriend, Brianna Harper, asking for her thoughts. Brianna looked into the camera, her voice soft and sweet: “About Jade and Mr. Sterling? Ah, I can’t really say much, though I have heard a little bit about it. “It was Jade who was chasing him. Mr. Sterling wasn’t really paying her much attention, so Jade has been getting very desperate lately… I also don’t understand why a perfectly fine girl would do such shameless things. As her colleague, I feel very ashamed and sorry for her. “But don’t worry, the Sterling family wouldn’t let trash like that into their home.” Before I could even react, my manager, Sarah, was furious. “Brianna is such an ungrateful little bitch! Does she not remember who helped her hook up with Leo in the first place?” Oh, yes. Brianna only met Leo Sterling because of me. Back then, Brianna had just joined the agency. She played the part of the pure, innocent girl perfectly, sweetly calling me “sister,” saying she didn’t have any friends and felt lonely, and begging me to invite her to any events I went to. So, she met Leo at my birthday party. Three months later, Brianna and Leo were officially together. She came to me, looking pitiful, and apologized: “I’m sorry, Jade. You actually like Leo too, right? “But I can’t help it. Sometimes a sudden spark is stronger than years of friendship. We fell in love at first sight. I hope you won’t hold it against me.” Brianna didn’t know that Leo Sterling wasn’t just my “friend.” He is my biological younger brother. 2 My parents divorced when Leo and I were very young. He went with our dad, and I went with our mom. The public had no idea we were siblings. Later, we both entered the entertainment industry. He became the youngest, most critically acclaimed A-list actor, while I became the “evil supporting actress” specialist with a legion of haters. To avoid being gossiped about, we never publicly disclosed our relationship. But that didn’t mean we didn’t care about each other. Take, for example, that infamous video of “Jade Carter being a pathetic simp for Leo Sterling for 120 seconds.” The truth was, Leo and I were filming a travel reality show. He had been suffering from bad stomach aches, and our mom told me to make sure he drank his herbal medicine on time. There weren’t many supplies on the trip, so I found a coffee cup, poured the medicine in, and brought it to him. Leo violently refused at first, but was eventually forced to drink it, making a face like his life was over because it was so bitter. However, after the show’s editing, the version the audience saw was: Jade Carter brings Leo coffee. Leo doesn’t want to talk to her. Jade forces him to drink it. Leo, out of politeness, reluctantly takes a sip. After drinking it, he rolls his eyes at Jade. … As for the video of me and my dad, if that paparazzo had just been a little closer, he would have heard me say: “Dad, Mom actually still cares about you. You know how she is, just stubborn. Look at this suit she custom-ordered for you, it fits perfectly…” But the resulting video looked like this: Jade Carter smiles fawningly, sycophantically stroking Mr. Sterling’s arm. Mr. Sterling looks aloof and ignores her. … I really don’t understand. Everything I do is for our broken little family. Is it easy being me? Why am I always the one getting hurt?? 3 Speaking of which, my brother is great in every way. Except he’s completely brainwashed by love. He genuinely thinks Brianna is the pure, innocent flower she pretends to be, that she doesn’t want anything from him and just purely loves him. So he threw resources and endorsements at her, managing to elevate Brianna—who had terrible acting skills and couldn’t handle hard work—into a rising star. An older sister shouldn’t control her younger brother, so I usually didn’t interfere much with his dating life. But this time, Brianna directly threw dirty water on me in front of the media, and I couldn’t tolerate it anymore. I called Leo: “Did you see how your girlfriend accused me of seducing our dad in her interview?” Leo had a great attitude and apologized to me, but immediately defended Brianna: “Brianna is just a simple person. She speaks without thinking. The things she says often aren’t what she really means…” As soon as I heard that, I knew it was a lost cause. My brother’s “love-brain” disease was terminal and very hard to cure. “Let me go explain it to Brianna and tell her the truth.” “Don’t!” I cut him off immediately. That wouldn’t be any fun. “Okay, okay. If you tell her now, she’ll definitely feel guilty, but she might also blame you for not telling her sooner. I don’t want to affect your relationship with your girlfriend because of me.” If she’s going to play the manipulative victim, I can play it even better. Sure enough, Leo was very moved: “You’re the best, sis.” I immediately took advantage of the situation: “But my reputation is taking a hit right now, and it’s hard to get jobs. Do you have any projects you can bring me in on?” Leo asked his agent a couple of questions, then told me: “There’s a new live-streamed reality show. I originally took it just to bring Brianna along. Do you want to come too…” “You got it!” That was exactly what I was waiting for. Hanging up the phone, I smiled. 4 In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the reality show recording. When I arrived at the dressing room, Brianna was already getting her makeup done. She was wearing a starry-night gown. The deep purple skirt was dotted with diamond after diamond, breathtakingly beautiful. I was stunned: “Isn’t that my dress?” My assistant had sent the dress to the dressing room a day early, planning for me to change into it as soon as I arrived. I didn’t expect Brianna to be wearing it. Brianna looked in the mirror and gave a faint smile: “Jade, you’re currently hated by the whole internet. You should be satisfied just being able to get on a show. It’s useless for you to wear this dress. If the audience’s attention is all on you, won’t you just get cursed at even more? I’m doing this for your own good.” I frowned: “But this dress is haute couture sponsored by the brand specifically for me. They specified I was the only one who could wear it.” Brianna raised an eyebrow: “What brand? Do they think they can boss people around just because they sponsored the show with a little money? However much they paid, my boyfriend can pay double!” As soon as she got angry, the people in the dressing room naturally started kissing up to her. “This dress suits Brianna perfectly. Brianna wearing it makes her look like a runaway princess.” “We’ll just get someone to give the brand a heads-up later. Don’t worry about it.” Even my manager, Sarah, quietly pulled me aside: “It’s already great that we could get on this show. Why are you arguing with Brianna over this? She’s the future daughter-in-law of the Sterling family. Who would dare not give her face?” I wasn’t angry, I was just curious: “But didn’t my video with the elder Mr. Sterling also trend? Why didn’t anyone think I was going to be the Sterling family’s daughter-in-law and give me some face?” Sarah was very puzzled. “What kind of Sterling daughter-in-law are you? Brianna was personally brought on the show by her boyfriend, it’s official. What about you? “In the video, the elder Mr. Sterling didn’t even look at you. It looks like you haven’t even touched the threshold of the Sterling family…” So it was my own dad who set me up. I swallowed a mouthful of blood and decided that the next time I played chess with the old man, I would never let him win again. While we were getting our makeup done, other celebrities arrived in the dressing room. They completely ignored me and all crowded around Brianna. “Brianna, the movie industry isn’t doing great right now. If you get any new roles, please think of us.” Brianna generously declared: “No problem. Once I marry into the Sterling family, whatever scripts you want to act in, I’ll just tell Leo to invest in them. I guarantee you’ll all be the male and female leads, and you’ll all become huge stars.” The guests gasped in pleasant surprise, all surrounding Brianna and praising her to the skies. I sat on the side, silently rubbing my temples. With my old man’s stubborn-as-a-rock temper, even when his own biological daughter wanted to break into the entertainment industry, I had to start from the bottom, working my way up step-by-step from playing extra roles. Since getting my makeup done was boring anyway, I simply started chatting with them: “Aren’t you guys having too many fantasies about billionaire families? Becoming a little famous depends on backing, but becoming a superstar depends on fate. Capital isn’t omnipotent.” As soon as I spoke, the dressing room went quiet for a moment, then immediately exploded. Brianna was the first to attack: “Jade Carter, what do you mean by that? If capital isn’t omnipotent, then why did you try so hard to marry into a billionaire family?” Next to her, one of Brianna’s lapdogs immediately chimed in: “Jade Carter is just experiencing sour grapes. She can’t marry into a rich family, so she’s saying it’s not good.” Lapdog number two took the opportunity to praise Brianna: “Jade is just jealous of our Brianna. Don’t be mad, Brianna. Jade couldn’t afford the diamond ring you’re going to get when you get engaged to Leo even if she worked for fifty years. She’s going to be so jealous in the future.” I remained calm amidst the chorus of mockery. I even smiled at Brianna. You can look forward to getting engaged to Leo Sterling. But you can only look forward to it. If you can actually make this happen. I’ll write my last name, Carter, backward! … Soon, the livestream officially began. The production team naturally wanted to promote Brianna and Leo’s couple dynamic, so the sofa arrangement was very deliberate. In the middle, two single sofas were pushed together, and the backrests formed a heart shape. It was clearly a couple’s seat. Brianna was the first to enter, naturally sitting on the left half of the heart-shaped sofa. The next person to enter was me. I took a look. There was a chair next to the sofa, probably left for me by the crew. I ignored that chair and sat down on the right half of the heart-shaped sofa. Live Chat: “???” Quickly, the viewers flooded the screen, cursing me like crazy. “Is Jade Carter sick in the head? That seat is obviously meant for Leo Sterling.” “What does she mean by sitting there? Can you not ruin the vibe for us shippers?” “We want to see our Brianna and Leo. Who wants to see her huge face in the center?” Brianna’s face turned red with anger, but this was in front of the cameras. She always maintained her gentle, innocent persona, so naturally she couldn’t curse at me. So she said in a whiny voice: “Jade, this seat is for Leo.” “Ah?” I feigned confusion. “This seat doesn’t have a name tag on it.” Just then, Leo walked in. I immediately looked up and asked him: “Leo, can I sit here?” Leo glanced at the aggrieved-looking Brianna and hesitated a bit. “Okay, then I’ll move over.” I stood up and started walking toward the chair next to it. The back of that chair was hard and didn’t fit the curve of the human body. The show was going to be recorded for seven or eight hours; it would be very tiring. Not to mention my lower back was injured when I was a kid. At the time, I went ice skating with Leo, and to protect him, I fell and hurt myself. Sure enough, the moment Leo saw the chair, he stopped me. “You just sit on the sofa, I’ll sit on the chair.” As soon as he said that, the live chat was stunned. “What’s going on? Why did Leo suddenly stop protecting his girlfriend?” “Why is he being so nice to a manipulative simp?” “I get it. Leo must be considering his dad’s feelings.” “Jade Carter is truly evil. She couldn’t get Leo’s love, so she went and became his stepmom!” The production team didn’t dare let Leo sit on a folding chair, so they quickly brought over another single sofa. Now, I had Leo on my right and Brianna on my left. I was separating the young couple. I felt great. Leo didn’t think there was a problem. Only Brianna was furious. I knew long ago that Brianna had spent money to bribe the prop master of this show. That chair was placed there specifically by her to disgust me. And with her personality, she had probably already planned out how to interact with Leo and how to create viral topics. But now, with me sitting in the middle, all her ideas were ruined. As expected, an unbalanced Brianna started causing trouble. She pretended to casually nudge me: “Jade, with you showing your face on a TV show like this, won’t ‘Dad’ be unhappy? After all, their generation is very traditional and prefers women who stay home and take care of the family.” I sneered: “Mr. Sterling is just old, not brain-dead.” I was so blunt that Brianna’s fans in the chat immediately started attacking me. “Our Brianna gave her a suggestion out of the goodness of her heart, why is she acting like she swallowed gunpowder?” “That bitch Jade is just jealous of Brianna. Whatever Brianna says, she has to contradict.” “Our Brianna is just too innocent, willing to be friends with a bitch who wants to steal her man.” I wasn’t finished. I said coolly to Brianna: “Also, girls should have some manners. Don’t rush to call someone ‘Dad’. You’ve only been dating Leo for a month. You haven’t reached the level where his dad is your dad.” The hatred in Brianna’s eyes flashed for a second, but she immediately lowered her head and said softly: “You are my senior. It’s right for you to lecture me. I’ll listen to you.” When she said this, the chat cursed me even harder. “My poor daughter is so pitiful and sensible. She’s being bullied like this, and she still treats that bitch as a senior.” “What kind of senior is Jade Carter? Mr. Sterling is at best just playing with her because she’s young and pretty. Does she really think she can marry into that billionaire family?” “The Sterling family would only marry a gentle, cultured girl like our Brianna. Jade shouldn’t even dream of entering the Sterling family in her next life.” There were also passersby speaking up for me. “To be fair, what Brianna said was pretty harsh too. What’s this about Mr. Sterling not letting women show their faces… Even my 80-year-old grandmother’s views are more progressive than hers.” “And Jade and Leo have known each other since they were kids. They’re practically childhood sweethearts. It’s hard to say who’s stealing whose man, right?” But their voices were very weak, completely drowned out by the army cursing me. Just as the show was halfway through recording, something major happened. Mr. Sterling was photographed on a date with his ex-wife, Ms. Carter. 5 When the news broke, Leo and I exchanged a glance, our hearts bursting with joy. However, unexpectedly, there was someone even happier than us. Brianna’s lips were curling up so high they almost touched the sky. During a break in the show, she sneaked up next to me and smiled arrogantly: “How about that, Jade? Mr. Sterling is getting back together with his ex-wife now. Your dream of marrying into a billionaire family is completely shattered.” I couldn’t be bothered with her, but she relentlessly sighed: “When we joined the agency together, you were much more popular than me. I had to swallow my pride and beg you to bring me resources… At that time, you probably never thought I would have today, did you?” I couldn’t blame Brianna for being so smug. The Sterling family was a massive empire with deep roots. No matter who married into it, it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. Now, everyone around her assumed Brianna would be the future young mistress of the Sterling family, so they were extremely respectful to her, afraid of offending her. But I didn’t care. With a cold laugh, I looked at Brianna: “I never thought you’d have today? Why, is there something special about you today? Especially stupid?” Brianna went crazy with anger. She gritted her teeth: “Jade Carter, you just wait. Once I marry into the Sterling family, banning you will just be a matter of one sentence.” I mimicked the whiny voice Brianna usually used in front of the cameras, putting on a pitiful expression: “For real? I’m so scared, boo hoo hoo.” Seeing that I had no fear whatsoever and dared to mock her, Brianna almost fainted from anger and stormed off to find Leo. But she looked everywhere and couldn’t find him. It was very simple, because the moment Brianna left, Leo came to find me. He looked at me with tears in his eyes. I also looked at him with tears in my eyes. Then, we excitedly hugged each other. “They finally got back together!” Leo shed tears: “From now on, we finally have a mom and a dad again!” I also shed tears: “If they didn’t get back together soon, I was going to die of exhaustion being this messenger.” Leo and I were so immersed in the joy of our parents finally getting back together that we didn’t notice Brianna had returned. And she happened to see this scene from afar. Seeing me and Leo hugging tightly, Brianna was blinded by rage. But she didn’t dare accuse Leo. She could only wait until Leo left, then aggressively came looking for me. I was touching up my makeup in the dressing room when she fiercely grabbed me and dragged me to a place with no people. “Jade Carter, are you fucking done? Mr. Sterling doesn’t want you anymore, so you shamelessly come back to seduce Leo?” I looked at Brianna and didn’t speak. Brianna’s voice was shrill: “Not talking? You fucking know you’re a bitch, so you’re keeping quiet, right?” No. I wasn’t talking just because… Just now in the dressing room, I had already put my microphone on. At this moment, Brianna’s words were being flawlessly broadcast into the livestream through my mic. In places we couldn’t see, the live chat had exploded. “Did I hear that right, is this Brianna?” “Isn’t Brianna a gentle, well-behaved innocent flower? Is this something an innocent flower would say?” “Oh no, I feel very much in danger right now, it seems like my house is about to collapse…” Brianna was completely unaware of the massive exodus of her fans. In her rage, she lit a cigarette. Taking a drag, she impolitely poked her finger at me: “Don’t let me see you seducing Leo again, or I’ll buy a thousand gossip accounts to destroy you.” After saying that, Brianna turned and left. Returning to the broadcast room, she flashed a gentle, beautiful smile at Leo, trotted over to hug him: “Leo, even though we haven’t seen each other for just a little while, I’ve already started missing you.” After delivering this carefully crafted line, Brianna immediately looked toward the large screen. She wanted to find the comments of fans going crazy over their sweetness. But she found that the large screen was turned off. They could no longer see the real-time comments from netizens. “What’s going on here?” Brianna was a little confused. “Nothing, just the show’s flow. The following segments won’t show netizens’ comments,” the director explained to her. It wasn’t actually true. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision the director made in the last few minutes. Because of Brianna’s dirty words just now, the show’s view count and discussion rate skyrocketed. Based on his intuition, he didn’t want Brianna to find out about all this right now. Instead, he wanted her to… reveal more of her true self in a state of complete ignorance. Brianna was a bit angry: “Ah, why didn’t you inform us in advance? Right, Leo?” Then she realized that Leo’s expression was also a bit strange. “Leo… Leo?” Leo looked at Brianna. That glance was very unfamiliar, as if he were getting to know her all over again. A moment later, he slightly pulled his arm away from Brianna’s grasp and gave a very low “Mm.” 6 During the break, Leo came to find me, looking very pained. Clearly, he had heard Brianna’s dirty words and had struggled with it for a long time. “Sis, I’m definitely a little disappointed… but I still feel like Brianna shouldn’t be that kind of girl.” I laughed as soon as I heard that. Okay, this “love-brain” disease still wasn’t completely cured. Let’s continue the treatment. “Oh, then what do you want to do?” I asked him. “I hope to bring her to see you, reintroduce you to her as my sister, and clear up the misunderstanding.” I thought about it: “Okay, then you arrange it.” From afar, I saw Brianna looking this way again. She didn’t know Leo’s sudden change in attitude was because he heard those dirty words. She still thought I was seducing Leo, which was why Leo was cold to her. Brianna’s sense of crisis grew heavier. So, when Leo told her he wanted to take her to meet his family. Brianna was simply overjoyed. She eagerly agreed. Later, she provoked me in person: “Jade, do you think you can steal him away? Let me tell you, Leo is already taking me to meet his parents.” “I meant what I said. When I marry into the Sterling family, the first thing I’ll do is ban you.” 7 Before officially meeting me, Leo and Brianna had one more date to film. During this date, Leo and Brianna sat together in a Ferris wheel. Amidst the city lights, Leo began to reveal his inner thoughts. “Brianna, I’ve rarely talked about my family before, but now, I think it’s time to tell you about my family situation. My parents divorced…” Before Leo could finish, Brianna immediately put on an understanding expression. She held Leo’s hand and comforted him softly: “Leo, don’t be sad. You still have me.” Leo: “…They divorced when I was seven. I’m not sad anymore.” The atmosphere was a bit awkward. But Leo quickly adjusted and continued. “The public always thought I was my dad’s only child, but actually I have an older sister who went with my mom back then. “Even though we don’t live together usually, my sister has always been very good to me. My parents are both very busy people, so she always came running over to take care of me. Even during my hardest times, she was the one who accompanied me through it. “She is the family member I value most. Regarding me dating, it doesn’t matter if my parents support it or not, but I very much hope my sister can give us her blessing.” Brianna nodded obediently: “Don’t worry, Leo. Your sister is my sister. I will definitely work hard to leave a good impression on her!” Leo paused for a moment. He probably remembered the grudge Brianna had formed when she insulted me for seeking a sugar daddy in the interview. But Brianna’s attitude was good. Making up for her mistakes later should be fine. On the other side, in a place we couldn’t see, the live chat was also discussing Leo’s sister. “So Leo has an older sister. That would be a female version of Leo, she must be very beautiful.” “How come we’ve never heard of this billionaire heiress before? She’s too low-key.” “So the content of the next episode is Leo taking Brianna to meet his sister?” “It should be! Ah, I really hope Leo’s sister is good at spotting fake bitches…” “Agreed, agreed. I feel like Brianna is definitely not a good person right now. I don’t want her with Leo.” “What’s wrong with our Brianna? She only cursed because that bitch Jade made her angry, okay? Do you never swear in your life? Leo likes Brianna so much, Leo’s sister will definitely like our Brianna too!” “…” Just like that, time flew by. Soon it was the episode the vast audience was looking forward to the most—Leo taking Brianna to meet his family. The meeting place was a private room in a high-end, exclusive restaurant. Brianna arrived at the private room an hour early. She seemed very nervous, repeatedly confirming the menu with the manager, and constantly adjusting her appearance in the mirror. It was no wonder she was so nervous. Whether she could win over Leo’s sister could be said to be a crucial step in marrying into the Sterling family. She couldn’t afford not to take it seriously. In the corner of the private room, the show’s hidden cameras silently started recording, broadcasting Brianna’s current performance live to the vast audience. In the chat, Brianna’s fans were very happy. “Our Brianna reached a new height of beauty today. Who doesn’t love a sweet, obedient girl?” “Brianna’s nervous look is so cute too.” “Waiting for the sister to arrive with Brianna!” And right at this moment, wearing a rose-red, one-shoulder silk dress, I arrived at the door of the private room. I knocked on the door. Brianna was very nervous: “Coming, coming.” She obediently trotted to the door with small steps and personally opened it: “Sister… Jade? Why is it you?” I lowered my eyelids, calmly meeting Brianna’s gaze. At this moment, there was no one else in the private room. Brianna looked me up and down: “Today is when Leo and I are meeting his sister. Why are you here to steal camera time?” It was no wonder Brianna’s thought process was so bizarre. After all, when she first debuted, she used this exact method to steal my camera time. So I deliberately teased her, pushing my way into the private room: “So what? Back at my movie premiere, didn’t you also dress up elaborately and come over to steal my camera time?” Brianna’s voice immediately became shrill: “Get the hell out of here!” She grabbed me and pushed me straight out the door. What she didn’t know was that the live chat had exploded. “Whoa, I remember this. That was Jade’s first time playing a lead role. Everyone else dressed very simply at the premiere, but Brianna wore a super grand dress. The press releases that day were all about how beautiful Brianna was, and no one remembered the movie itself.” “Lmao, does Jade hold a grudge? So she specifically came today to mess with Brianna.” Obviously, although Brianna couldn’t see the chat, she also thought of this point. “Jade Carter, I’m warning you. If you dare ruin this meeting between me and Leo’s sister, I really won’t let you get away with it.” To prevent me from going in again, she even called the restaurant’s security personnel, pointed at me, and said: “This person is deliberately trying to cause trouble. Don’t let her into our private room, understood!” So, the security personnel asked me to leave the restaurant. I wasn’t angry either. There happened to be a hot pot restaurant across the street, so I went straight to eat skewers. Ten minutes later, Leo arrived. He walked into the private room and asked Brianna: “Has my sister arrived yet?” Brianna shook her head: “Not yet.” Leo took out his phone: “I’ll text her and ask.” I was just dropping tripe into the spicy broth when my phone rang. Brother: “Sis, where are you?” Me: “I’ve already arrived.” Brother: “I don’t see you. When you come in, just tell the waiter the room number.” I happened to finish eating my skewers. I got up, leisurely reapplied my lipstick, and walked across the street. Those two restaurant security guards had probably taken a tip from Brianna. Seeing me wandering at the restaurant entrance again, they immediately stopped me. I smilingly took out my phone and typed to Leo: “I can’t get in.” Then I sent another message right after: “Actually, I was here earlier.” Leo was stunned. He turned to ask Brianna: “Did someone come to the private room just now?” Brianna completely didn’t want Leo to think of me, so she immediately shook her head: “No one came.” Leo was suspicious: “No one at all?” Brianna was very certain: “No, absolutely no one came.” Leo went outside to call me: “Sis, are you at the restaurant entrance? I’m coming to get you…” However, when he walked to the restaurant entrance, there was no one there. There was only a text message from me on his phone: “Let’s eat at Mom and Dad’s house tonight. I’m full from lunch.” This was the truth. My stomach was already full of tripe, chicken feet, fatty beef, and frozen tofu. I didn’t want to go in and eat this meal anymore. Leo rubbed his head, clearly finding the situation a bit strange. Brianna had already chased after him: “What’s wrong, Leo?” Leo said in a low voice: “My sister left. She said she’s not eating this meal.” Brianna had painstakingly prepared for a long time. Her dress and shoes were newly bought, and her makeup alone took five hours. Hearing this, she almost cried: “Does your sister not want to see me?” “No, no.” Leo quickly comforted Brianna. “My family has a dinner gathering tonight. My sister said we can eat together tonight.” Not only would she get to meet Leo’s sister, but she would also meet Leo’s parents. Brianna, who was on the verge of tears, immediately broke into a smile. But she didn’t know that her fans could no longer laugh. She couldn’t see it from her perspective, but the fans in front of the screen had clearly seen everything at the restaurant entrance. Even the most foolish person should have realized something was wrong by now. But Brianna was completely unaware. She happily touched up her makeup, got in the car with Leo, and arrived at the Sterling family’s mansion— Yes, the one where my dad and I were photographed.

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My younger sister always claimed I stole her glamorous life. “If I had been the one to drop out of school and enter Hollywood back then, your Oscar would be mine right now.” I always just laughed it off, until we were both reborn and sent back to the exact day we had to make that fateful choice. This time, my sister chose to drop out, leaving me to stay in school. I lowered my head and sneered. Did she really think making it in Hollywood was that easy? 1 As an internationally acclaimed, Oscar-winning actress, I was surrounded by a small army of bodyguards and assistants. Every single item I wore cost six figures. The men chasing me ranged from Silicon Valley billionaires to the hottest pop stars. They swarmed around me, eager to please, just hoping I’d cast a glance their way. All of this made my younger sister, Chloe, seethe with jealousy. Every time I went home for the holidays, Chloe would stare at me with eyes full of grievance and resentment: “Maya, tell me the truth. If I had been the one to drop out and brave Hollywood back then, and you had stayed in school, would I be the Oscar-winner today?” When I didn’t answer, she continued, lost in her own delusion: “I definitely would have climbed higher than you. I was always much prettier than you back then.” Chloe was bitter. She had chosen to stay in school, but her grades were mediocre, and she only managed to get into a low-tier state college. Now, at twenty-nine, she was working as a mid-level admin at some corporate firm, not even clearing six thousand a month. And I? I had been worse than her at everything back then, but because I made the “right” choice and entered the entertainment industry, every movie I starred in became a massive hit. Resources poured in, and the industry practically forced the Oscar into my hands. Now, at thirty, thanks to top-tier dermatologists and trainers, I looked like I was in my early twenties. Meanwhile, at twenty-nine, Chloe’s face was already showing deep signs of exhaustion. The more Chloe spoke, the more agitated she became, completely unable to pull herself out of her fantasy. I, on the other hand, was genuinely exhausted, dozing off on the sofa. Suddenly, a deafening explosion shattered the peace. The gas line in the house ruptured. A piece of shrapnel slammed into my head, and in an instant of blinding agony, I lost consciousness… 2 “Maya, Chloe, things are really bad. We just can’t afford to keep both of you in school anymore.” My mother wiped her tears, clutching the urn holding my father’s ashes. “Your dad is gone, and he left us with a mountain of debt. My salary barely covers rent. You two… you two need to figure out which one of you is going to drop out and get a job to help the family. I’m so sorry…” Before my mother could even finish, Chloe rushed forward: “Mom, I’ll drop out!” “Yesterday, a talent scout approached me and Maya on the street. He said he wanted to sign both of us! With how bad things are at home, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Let Maya stay in school. I’ll go try my luck in Hollywood!” My mother let out a long, heavy sigh and didn’t say anything else. But my mind was racing. I suddenly realized what was happening. Chloe and I had been reborn! We had been thrown back to the exact day we had to make the choice that would define our lives! I was seventeen, a junior in high school. Chloe was sixteen, a sophomore. Our family had just declared bankruptcy, my father had taken his own life, and he had left us with an unmanageable mess. My mother couldn’t shoulder the burden alone. She needed one of us to drop out and work to support the family. In my past life, I was the one who volunteered. I gave up my spot as the valedictorian of my high school, signed with that talent agency, and worked myself to the bone to pay for Chloe’s education, eventually clawing my way up to become an Oscar-winning actress. But now, Chloe, having seen the glamorous future I built for myself, was desperate to hijack my life. I… happily agreed! In fact, I couldn’t wait. Did she really think Hollywood was an easy place to survive? She had no idea how much blood, sweat, and literal tears I shed on my way to the top. One wrong step, and you fall into an abyss you can never climb out of! She didn’t even realize how much I envied her pure, simple, normal high school life! 3 The next day, I went back to school, while Chloe was supposed to report to Apex Media. I opened my textbooks. All the knowledge I had accumulated by seventeen was still perfectly intact in my brain. I knew how to solve every problem; every concept was deeply ingrained in my memory. It was amazing. This feeling was incredible. I sat in a clean, bright classroom, laughing and chatting with my classmates, using my pen to finally fill the regrets I had carried in my past life. I didn’t have to wear heavy makeup at the crack of dawn. I didn’t have to waste my youth at seedy industry parties, enduring the leering, handsy behavior of producers old enough to be my father, just forcing a smile for a single chance to be on camera. After school, I hummed a tune as I walked home. The first thing I saw was Chloe sitting on the sofa, her makeup perfectly done, her luggage packed beside her. Just like in my past life, my mother signed the contract as her legal guardian. The agent collected the contract, transferred the signing bonus to my mother, and then shot a sidelong glance at Chloe. His eyes were full of calculation. My mother, remembering that I had an academic scholarship, gave the entire signing bonus to Chloe, telling her to take good care of herself out there. Seeing me walk in, Chloe looked incredibly smug: “Sister, this massive wave of wealth is finally coming my way. Even if you try to steal it from me now, it’s too late.” “I’ve officially signed with Apex. I’m moving into the apartment they provide. I’ll be going to auditions and casting calls. You’ll see me on TV soon.” I replied flatly, “Congratulations on getting exactly what you wanted.” Unsatisfied with my mild reaction, Chloe stood up, leaned close to my ear, and threw out a provocative whisper: “This time, the wealth, the Oscar, the fans, the billionaires chasing me… everything will be mine.” “Maya, we finally get to swap lives.” With that, Chloe held her head high and walked out the door without looking back, not a single trace of nostalgia in her eyes. My eyes were completely cold. Chloe still had no idea that the contract she just signed was a predatory trap designed to destroy her. 4 Apex Media’s signing bonus wasn’t easy money. If you didn’t generate a specific, massive amount of revenue within the first year, you were required to pay the company back tenfold as a penalty. In my past life, after I signed with Apex, they shelved me for six months, refusing to give me any auditions. Then, just as I was panicking and desperate, they suddenly threw me into a massive reality TV survival show. A hundred beautiful girls competing for five spots in a new pop group. My agent told me that I had to make the final group no matter what it took. I had to prove my value to the company, or I could pay the penalty and get out. You have to understand, the girls who made it past the initial cuts either had massive financial backers or were wealthy socialites themselves. Competing against a group like that, I was so stressed I developed a severe ring of cold sores around my mouth. I had to cake on foundation just to cover it up. That was when my agent “kindly” pointed out an alternative route. He brought me to a private dinner with Mr. Vance, the biggest sponsor of the reality show. My agent leaned in close, his voice sleazy and suggestive: “Maya, Mr. Vance loves pure, innocent girls like you. As long as you make him happy tonight, making the final group is nothing. He could even make you an A-list star…” That night, I endured the sickening dinner. When the moment was right, I secretly recorded a video of Mr. Vance sexually harassing another young actress. Then, I smashed a wine bottle on the table. I held the jagged glass to my own jugular, my other hand hovering over the “Send” button on my phone, glaring at them like a cornered, feral panther. I gambled my life, and I won. Mr. Vance didn’t get angry; instead, he laughed. He laughed at my naive audacity, laughed at how out of my depth I was. With a wave of his hand, he gave me the opportunity I wanted, acting like he was placing a bet on a wild animal, eager to see how hard I would crash and burn later. I didn’t expect to actually seize that opportunity. I fought my way into the final group and had my first viral, nationwide performance. Now, all of that was falling squarely onto Chloe’s shoulders. I was very much looking forward to seeing how she handled it. 5 Six months passed, and I didn’t hear a single word from Chloe. It seemed that, just like me in my past life, she had been temporarily shelved. Meanwhile, I took first place in the midterms and qualified for the state academic decathlon. It wasn’t until the internet was suddenly flooded with aggressive marketing for the new reality show, Apex Girls, that I unexpectedly saw Chloe in the contestant lineup. The light in her eyes flickered wildly. She wore a pure, sweet smile, but her eyes were burning with raw, unbridled ambition. During the first round of solo evaluations, Chloe’s score was dead last. I calculated that this was right around the time her agent would step in and arrange the dinner with Mr. Vance. I called Chloe. The first time, she didn’t answer. The second time, the third time… It wasn’t until the eighth ring that Chloe finally picked up. “Chloe, listen to me. Do not go to that dinner…” Before I could finish, Chloe interrupted me, her voice dripping with irritation. “Maya, are you ever going to leave me alone?” “It’s just a dinner. You went to it in your past life, why can’t I go? Are you just jealous? Are you trying to make me miss my shot?” “You are so disgusting. You got to enjoy all the wealth and fame in your past life, and now that it’s my turn, you’re trying to sabotage me?!” “Mind your own business from now on. Stay out of my career!” Click. The line went dead. Chloe hung up on me. I sighed. Fine. I’ll respect her choices. I need to let go of my savior complex. 6 I threw myself entirely into preparing for the state finals, leaving no extra energy to keep up with Apex Girls. My mom even arranged for me to board at the school to save time. Occasionally, overhearing my classmates gossip, I learned that after Chloe’s disastrous solo performance, she seemingly experienced a miracle, skyrocketing from the bottom to the top three in the second episode. She eventually secured her debut, taking the highly coveted center position. She looked much more glamorous and successful than I had in my past life. After finishing the state finals, I walked out of the exam hall and immediately checked my phone for news about Chloe. The media’s intense focus gave her a massive surge in exposure, but soon after, paparazzi caught Chloe and Mr. Vance entering the same luxury hotel, one after the other. The show’s producers immediately issued a statement claiming the entire group had a scheduled appearance and were all staying at that hotel rehearsing that night. The other members of Apex Girls quickly came forward to publicly support Chloe. The scandal was temporarily suppressed. Watching all this unfold, I secretly lamented. I knew my worst fear had come true. By attaching herself to Mr. Vance, Chloe gained a fleeting moment of spectacular fame through a shortcut. But she was entirely unequipped to handle the second major hurdle that was fast approaching. After the Apex Girls national tour, they would have the opportunity to audition for the second female lead in Director Nolan’s highly anticipated historical drama. Director Nolan famously despised actors who relied on connections, and it was an open secret in the industry that he and Mr. Vance hated each other. When I debuted with the group back then, Mr. Vance publicly stated to the press that he didn’t see any potential in me. Following his lead, the reality show’s producers subtly shaded me, and the other group members made passive-aggressive comments about me in interviews. The goodwill I had just built up from my performances plummeted. At that time, the opportunity to audition for Director Nolan’s new project felt like my only lifeline. I stayed up for nights analyzing the script, visited film sets to observe seasoned actors, and completely immersed myself in the character. That was the only way I managed to impress Director Nolan during the audition and secure the role. But Chloe… could she seize this opportunity? 7 After the Apex Girls tour concluded, it was publicly announced that they would be auditioning for Director Nolan’s new drama, Spring’s Return. In front of the cameras, Chloe looked completely self-assured and radiant. She flipped her hair, looking like victory was already hers: “The second female lead? No, I’m auditioning for the lead role, Elara!” “I’ve read the script. Elara’s resilient, unyielding character, blooming even in adversity… it resonates with me so perfectly. It’s like the role was tailor-made for me. Director Nolan has great taste; he’ll definitely pick me!” The reporter had probably never encountered an actress this “authentically unpretentious.” His mouth visibly twitched. “So, you believe you have a natural talent for acting?” Chloe’s eyes narrowed playfully, and she gave a coy smile: “Well… why wouldn’t I?” Watching that interview, I genuinely couldn’t handle the secondhand embarrassment. I had to respect the reporter’s professional composure. A few days later, a hashtag exploded to the top of the trending page— #DirectorNolanCallsChloe’sActingDisgusting# My eye twitched. I clicked the hashtag, and a video clip of Chloe’s audition popped up. The scene involved the protagonist, Elara, intentionally leaping out of a hidden cellar to draw the assassins’ attention, sacrificing herself so her younger sister, hiding inside, could survive. When Chloe’s version of Elara jumped out, there wasn’t a trace of heroic sacrifice. Instead, she looked incredibly eager and impatient, as if she already knew about the miraculous plot armor waiting for her after being captured. Even the crucial line, “You monsters will burn in hell,” was delivered softly and weakly, sounding more like a coquettish pout. Director Nolan was furious. He threw a script at her, yelled “Disgusting!”, and told her to get out. After the hashtag blew up, Chloe posted a defensive, aggrieved statement: “If Elara hadn’t jumped out, the assassins would have taken the sister. Then the sister would have gotten all the future opportunities and plot armor, and the sister would have ended up on the throne. What would Elara have gotten?” “So the way I see it, Elara was just stealing her sister’s future. What’s there to be sad about? She was just making a calculated choice that benefited her.” “The real Elara is selfish. My interpretation was the accurate one! I have no idea why Director Nolan reacted that way…” Director Nolan, probably on the verge of a heart attack from her sheer audacity, posted a public response: [Chloe might be able to sing and dance, but she is absolutely unfit to be an actor. A good actor requires empathy and a strong moral core. She has neither. I don’t understand why just anyone thinks they can act these days.] Director Nolan carried immense weight in the film industry. That single statement effectively blacklisted Chloe from acting. Perhaps triggered by Chloe’s atrocious performance, after the first round of auditions, Director Nolan shook his head and sighed: “Actors today are too superficial. We need fresh blood.” He then announced a “Nationwide Search for the Female Lead” open casting call. On the day I saw the casting notice, I happened to be heading to the state academic finals. Coincidentally, the exam venue was less than five blocks from the audition location. After thinking about it, I decided to sign up. In my past life, the second female lead I played was gentle on the surface but ruthless and selfish underneath. The role sparked massive internet outrage, which ironically made me incredibly famous. Everyone said my performance was flawless, but no one knew that I was actually desperately in love with the protagonist, Elara. I saw myself in Elara. Playing the villain required me to dissect the script and meticulously craft my performance. But Elara? I wouldn’t even need to act. Because she was me. I didn’t need to perform her sacrifice. Because I understood exactly what Elara felt when she jumped out to protect her family. Every internal conflict, every hesitation—I had lived it. That kind of sacrifice, that kind of surrender… I had already experienced it once. In the script, when Elara reunites with her sister later, the sister’s first reaction isn’t relief that Elara is okay. Instead, she marvels at the luxury of the palace and says, her voice laced with jealousy, “Sister, if it were possible, I wish I had been the one who jumped out that day.” The chilling heartbreak of that moment, the eventual death of hope, the complete disillusionment with her sister… I resonated with it deeply. So this time, not driven by desperation or poverty, but purely to fulfill a regret from my past life, I submitted my name for the role of Elara. 8 Coming out of the state finals, most of the students around me were sighing and looking defeated. A few kids who wanted to compare answers were immediately shut down: “To compare answers, you have to actually have an answer first! We couldn’t even understand the questions! Where are we supposed to get answers from?!” “Exactly! Are these questions even designed for humans? I want to see how many brains the kids who win medals actually have!” “Whatever, forget it. The test is over, what’s the point of checking answers now? Let the teachers grade it. Let’s just go have some fun. I heard there’s an open casting call for a movie nearby, and a lot of celebrities are showing up. Let’s go check it out!” I nodded. “I’m actually heading there to audition. It’s on my way, let’s go together.” “You? You’re going to audition for the lead role?” My classmates’ jaws practically hit the floor. Someone immediately made a snide, jealous comment: “I don’t want to burst your bubble, Maya, but even though you’re pretty, you’re at best ‘high school pretty.’ You think you can be the lead in a movie? Keep dreaming.” I shrugged. “I’m just going to try. I have nothing to lose. I’m just doing it for fun.” Seeing the mocking looks on their faces, I figured they probably didn’t want to walk with me anyway, so I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked off alone. By the time I arrived, there was still half an hour before the auditions began. A casting assistant looked me up and down, then said dismissively: “Tsk, why aren’t you wearing any makeup? Are you just a high schooler?” As soon as he spoke, everyone in the waiting room turned to look at me. Most of their gazes were disdainful or contemptuous. Only one girl offered me her small makeup bag. I gave her a grateful look. Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone in the room, I transformed my face in under a minute. In my past life, constantly rushing between sets, speed-makeup was a basic survival skill. After logging my name, the assistant handed me a piece of paper. It was the scene I was supposed to perform. Unlike celebrity auditions, unknowns like me don’t get to see the full script outline; we only get a short excerpt. The scene I drew happened to be the exact same one Chloe had auditioned with. “Number 168, Maya Sterling!” I immediately stood up, smoothed out my clothes, and pushed open the door to the audition room. This was my first time seeing Director Nolan in this life. He looked exactly the same. He looked like an unkempt, grumpy old man, but his eyes were startlingly clear. Because they were so clear, they looked exceptionally bright. He was my mentor in my past life. He brought me into the industry, cast me in hit after hit, pushed me to the pinnacle of television awards, and then introduced me to the heavyweights of the film industry, helping me push for the Oscar. Back then, rumors about us flew everywhere. Some said he was my sugar daddy; others said I was his illegitimate daughter. The concept of “soulmates” was something they didn’t understand, and they didn’t believe in. That was until Director Nolan smashed a whiskey bottle in front of a camera, pointed at the broken glass on the floor, and smiled at the gossip reporters: “Eat it.” All the so-called “scandals” about me vanished overnight. The brightest jewel on that Oscar crown… I won it to give to him. But when I won the award, he was in the ICU. The day I won Best Actress happened to be the day he passed away. I could only place the jewel among his personal effects, letting it be buried with him. The day he took his last breath, his phone screen was playing my acceptance speech. They said that when Director Nolan left, he was smiling.

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In our past life, my sister forced me to marry a poor, ugly street thug. Ten years later, that thug became a billionaire stock market god, and I lived a life of unimaginable luxury by his side. Reborn, my sister raced to grab the thug’s hand, determined to marry him at any cost. But what she didn’t know: The true “Stock God” was me. Her man knew absolutely nothing; he was just a puppet I placed in the spotlight. 1 When I was reborn, I was in a dimly lit high school equipment room. In front of me was a heavy-breathing figure. It was my husband from my past life, Vince. He had ripped open the buttons of my shirt, pressing his face into my neck like a wild animal. My entire body was weak, my limbs twitching uncontrollably. Amidst the chaos, I forced myself to realize: time had rewound. I was seventeen again. I had returned to the day my sister, Chloe, drugged me. Just as my clothes were about to be completely torn off by Vince, the equipment room door burst open from the outside. Someone rushed in. It was Chloe. She looked like she had sprinted all the way here, her hair plastered to her sweaty face. Ignoring the mess, she rushed forward and hugged Vince tightly. “Vince! Don’t be with her! You belong to me!” It suddenly dawned on me. Chloe had been reborn along with me. 2 In our past life, Chloe liked the star quarterback of the school, but he ended up writing a love letter to me. Consumed by jealous rage, Chloe drugged me and forced me to marry the most pathetic, lowlife thug in school, Vince. Who would have expected that over a decade later, Vince would become a billionaire investing legend known as “V-God.” Because of him, I became a wealthy socialite living in absolute luxury, switching out rare Hermès Birkins daily and being chauffeured in a half-million-dollar Rolls-Royce. Everyone envied me. They said: “Audrey is so lucky she married a great husband.” “When Vince was a nobody, Audrey had the foresight to see his potential. Now she gets to enjoy the fruits of her labor!” Meanwhile, Chloe’s rich-kid husband had long since gone bankrupt, becoming a deadbeat chased by debt collectors. He even tried to kiss up to Vince: “Brother-in-law, you’re V-God, right? I idolize you! Can you take me under your wing on your next investment?” Every time Chloe looked at me, her eyes were filled with uncontrollable jealousy and deep, bitter regret. Sure enough, during a family gathering, when Vince excused himself to use the restroom, I saw Chloe secretly follow him. In the hallway, hiding in the shadows, I listened through the thin door to my sister’s drunken, tearful voice. “Vince, the one you liked back then was clearly me!” My sister hugged Vince, trying to kiss him. Vince inhaled sharply and violently pushed her away. He said stiffly: “That was over a decade ago.” My sister fell to the floor, continuing to cry relentlessly: “Have you forgotten? You brought me breakfast every day, rode me around on your bike, told me I was your goddess forever, and said you’d do anything I asked… Vince, it should have been me!” Vince ignored her. He straightened his clothes, which my sister had rumpled, and hurriedly fled out the door. He looked like he was running from a plague. Having lost all hope, my sister sat slumped on the cold tile floor of the restroom. I pushed the door open, looked down at her, and said coolly: “Stop sitting there. People who know the truth know you failed to seduce your brother-in-law. People who don’t might think you’re starring in a tragic teen romance movie.” Chloe’s head snapped up. She glared at me, her eyes full of hatred. “Why you, Audrey? “How are you better than me? Why are you the one who married into wealth?” I coldly brushed her hand away. “Chloe, get your facts straight. Me being with Vince is entirely thanks to you. “Now that you see Vince is successful, you regret it? Too bad. It’s too late.” My sister glared at me fiercely. After a moment, she shook her head and smiled a venomous smile. “Audrey, you’re wrong. It’s not too late at all.” … Back then, I didn’t understand what that meant. But right now, looking at my seventeen-year-old body, I understood. Chloe must have bound herself to some sort of system that brought her back to when we were seventeen. Given a second chance at life, she wanted to win back the man who rightfully “belonged” to her. Right now, in the equipment room, Vince was breathing heavily, his face written with lust. He looked at me: “I feel so hot…” Chloe forcefully grabbed Vince’s face, forcing him to look at her instead of me: “Vince, I love you.” She initiated a kiss, and the two were quickly tangled together. I watched the two of them passionately making out nearby, struggled to my feet, buttoned my shirt, and stumbled out the door. Thank God. Thank you, Chloe. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would get to do this over again and escape this nightmare. In my past life, Chloe spiked both mine and Vince’s drinks and locked us in the equipment room. Then she brought our parents and neighbors to “catch us in the act.” The neighbors witnessed my disheveled state with Vince. My parents felt deeply humiliated, decided no other man would ever want me, and forced me to marry him. When I refused, they locked me in the house, denying me food and water, beating me viciously every day. Chloe even cried next to me, urging: “Audrey, just marry Vince. Otherwise, to protect the family’s reputation, they’ll just beat you to death.” In the end, clinging to life by a thread, I was forced into marrying Vince. Later, even though we had immense wealth, that trauma haunted me for life. Now, I had finally escaped that shadow! 3 Chloe came home during dinner. Her face was flushed with excitement. As soon as she walked in, she couldn’t wait to announce that she was going to marry Vince. Upon hearing this, our parents almost dropped their forks. “Chloe, why on earth? “Vince has been held back for years; he’s in his twenties and still repeating his senior year. How is he good enough for you?” Chloe shook her head, stating firmly: “Dad, Mom, I promise you, Vince is only down on his luck right now. He will definitely be incredibly successful in the future!” How could our parents believe that? They tried even harder to talk her out of it, and Mom even started sobbing. Finally, fed up, Chloe yelled: “It’s useless to try and stop me! I’ve already given myself to Vince.” She touched her flat stomach: “For all I know, I’m already pregnant with his child!” Our parents were stunned. Seeing their shocked and despairing faces, Chloe smiled calmly. She sat next to them, affectionately putting her arms around their shoulders, and comforted them: “Dad, Mom, you have to believe your daughter. “Before, I told Dad not to go into business with Uncle Dave, and I told Mom to stop going to that shady clinic on the east side. What happened? It came out that Uncle Dave embezzled money and ran off, and that clinic got shut down for medical malpractice. “You see, everything I say comes true—ever since I was little, the fortune teller said I was a lucky star. Did you forget?” After Chloe said this, our parents’ expressions softened significantly. She pressed on: “So, you have to trust my taste in men too. Vince carries immense wealth in his destiny. We’ll be living in luxury because of him in the future.” Mom was the first to be swayed: “Really?” Chloe smiled: “Of course.” Dad also gradually started to believe Chloe’s certainty. He even began worrying in advance: “If Vince becomes successful, will he treat you badly?” Chloe smiled nonchalantly: “No, he won’t. You can tell just by looking at him that Vince is the kind of guy who spoils his wife.” She must have been thinking about our past life. After Vince’s identity as “V-God” was revealed, young, beautiful women wanting to throw themselves at him were a dime a dozen. But he never even glanced at them. Instead, he treated me, his original wife, better and better. He would always open the car door for me, serve me food at dinner, and if I said go east, he wouldn’t dare go west. Meanwhile, Chloe’s rich-kid husband, despite being buried in debt, still shamelessly stared at every young girl on the street with a good figure. Comparing the two, it was no wonder Chloe’s eyes bled with jealousy. Right now, listening to Chloe praise Vince to our parents, I kept my head down and ate my rice, pretending I didn’t hear a thing. I didn’t want to engage with Chloe, but she insisted on rubbing her presence in my face. That night, Chloe pushed open my bedroom door. She stared at me, who was focused on doing homework, and let out a cold laugh. “Audrey, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking—acting all quiet on the surface, but secretly plotting how to snatch Vince back. Am I right?” How should I put this… with my sister’s level of thinking, I was embarrassed to admit we had the same mother. But I was very happy she misunderstood me like this. Let Vince attract all her attention. Only then would she not compete with me for the things that truly mattered. Chloe walked over as she spoke. She grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at the mirror nearby. “I advise you to save your energy. Look at yourself. If I make a move, how could you possibly compete with me?” The mirror reflected a dark, skinny girl wearing thick, heavy glasses and a worn-out, baggy school uniform that looked like a potato sack. Next to her stood Chloe, with a face as fair as jade, smooth dark hair, wearing the season’s newest dress—a beautiful girl with a 100% head-turning rate on the street. I was indeed not as refined as Chloe. Combined with my parents’ favoritism—giving Chloe the best food and clothes, leaving me malnourished and sallow—the gap was even more obvious. “Look at yourself. Do you really think any man would like you?” Beside my ear, Chloe relentlessly mocked me, as if trying to vent all the grievances she suffered in her past life. “Vince was my simp to begin with. In the last life, he only married you because he couldn’t get me. “This time, I won’t give you another chance. “As soon as I’m of age, I’ll marry him immediately. When he becomes V-God, half of his wealth will be mine!” Chloe’s eyes were practically glowing as she said this. Right. At his peak, V-God had billions in assets. Getting half in a divorce would be enough to live in luxury and date young models for the rest of her life. I spun my pen and kept my head bowed deeply. Chloe thought I was crushed by her words. But actually, I was lowering my head to hide the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. My dear sister, I really love how much you underestimate me. Because of this deep-rooted underestimation, I’m afraid even if you were reborn ten thousand times, you would never guess— The true V-God is me. Yes. I was the legendary mastermind who built an empire from scratch using intelligence, courage, and luck. First, I won massive capital in the stock market, then capitalized on the perfect timing to load up on Bitcoin, achieving absolute financial freedom. Because my burner ID on an investing forum was “qwertyu,” randomly mashed on a keyboard, people called me V-God (using the ‘V’ from ‘Value’ or ‘Vision’ in the English adaptation). Too many people were curious about V-God’s true identity, and I knew I couldn’t hide behind the scenes forever. So I pushed Vince to the front, making him my puppet. Or rather, my scapegoat. After all, our circle is full of drastic ups and downs. Sudden immense wealth makes you the target of everyone’s jealousy, while sudden ruin breeds desperate, dangerous people. Over those years, Vince was kidnapped three times and brutally beaten by enemies four times. Once, when we went back to visit family, he had just been beaten up, and one of his ribs was still broken. That was why when Chloe hugged him, he not only inhaled sharply in pain but immediately pushed her away. But even while taking all the heat on the front lines, Vince would absolutely never dare tell the truth. He didn’t dare cross me. By being a puppet, he at least got to enjoy wealth and luxury. Without me, he truly was nothing. Right now, looking at the completely clueless Chloe, I offered a sincere smile. “Sister,” I said softly, “I wish you and Vince a lifetime of happiness.” You go ahead and bind yourself to him. While I focus on my SATs, save up money, go to college in New York, and leave this family forever. 4 I genuinely hoped Vince and Chloe would stay together forever. However, after school, Vince blocked my path. He parked his bike horizontally in front of me and blew a sleazy whistle: “Audrey, you look pretty good today. Where are you going dressed up so nice?” I took a step back, feeling a wave of disgust. I knew exactly what kind of person Vince was. He was a complete scumbag. In a scumbag’s world, the one they haven’t slept with yet is always the best. In our past life, that person was my sister. Now, it was me. Clenching my jaw, I tried to dodge around him: “I’m going to work. Move.” I was recently helping out as a cashier at a local supermarket, trying to save up some starting capital for myself. The boss was a good guy. Seeing me in an ill-fitting, too-short school uniform, he brought his daughter’s clothes for me to wear. A light blue cardigan and a snow-white midi skirt made me look much prettier than usual. And as a result, I caught Vince’s eye. At this moment, he leaned in with a sleazy grin. “Work? What kind of work? Your big bro here has some ‘work’ for you, you want it?” As he spoke, he tried to press his body against mine. Suppressing my nausea, my hand had already quietly reached into my backpack, gripping a pair of scissors for self-defense. But before I could pull them out, a figure suddenly charged out from the side. She shoved me hard aside and stood protectively in front of Vince: “Audrey, why are you rubbing yourself against Vince?!” Her voice was loud, pointing her finger right at my nose: “Seducing your own sister’s fiancé, do you have any shame?” Vince stood a bit further away, rubbed his nose, and played along: “I just ran into Audrey while riding my bike, and she wouldn’t let me leave.” Hearing this, Chloe’s anger flared even higher. “Audrey, are you still not giving up? Take a look in the mirror, how are you good enough for Vince? “I am definitely marrying Vince in this life. If you dare seduce him again, believe me, I’ll have Mom and Dad sell you off to some backwoods town.” With that, Chloe grabbed Vince and turned to leave. But clearly, she wasn’t reassured. That night when I got home, I found my room completely ransacked. The metal tin box I used to save money had been found and lay open in the middle of the room. It contained all the wages I had saved from working at the supermarket, but now it was empty. The cash was clenched in Chloe’s hand. Chloe looked at me triumphantly. She waved the bills in one hand and pointed at my nose with the other, her long nails almost poking my face. “This is Audrey’s secret stash. “She’s been hanging out outside lately, but she’s actually sleeping with the supermarket owner. “I saw with my own eyes the supermarket owner giving her money and taking her to buy new clothes.” Chloe pointed at the cardigan and skirt I was wearing and scoffed. “Tsk tsk, I bet everyone over there knows our family produced a mistress.” Before I could say anything, my dad, with a dark expression, rushed forward and slapped me hard across the face. My mom cried and complained from the side: “That fortune teller back then said this girl was bad luck. I took several doses of abortion medicine, but she just wouldn’t come out. Now look, she’s completely disgraced our family…” My parents were always like this. They favored my sister unconditionally. Whatever she did could be forgiven. But because a psychic called me a jinx when I was still a fetus, and my dad’s business went bankrupt shortly after I was born… Everything I did was wrong. Right now, my dad confiscated all the money I had saved and started whipping me with his belt. A smug smile played on Chloe’s lips, but her voice carried a fake tone of distress as she stood by adding fuel to the fire. “Audrey, don’t blame Dad for hitting you hard. “If he doesn’t hit you hard, you won’t learn your lesson. “Girls need to respect themselves. Make sure you never earn that kind of dirty money again.” Finally, I passed out from the excruciating pain. When I woke up, I was lying in the yard. My parents had taken Chloe shopping. Chloe was getting engaged recently, and they were buying her a nice dress. And I had lost all my savings, without even basic first aid supplies around me. Struggling to my feet, I stumbled out of the yard. The yard next door belonged to my cousin. At this moment, only my cousin-in-law, Brenda, was outside washing clothes. Seeing me so weak I couldn’t even speak, she was startled. “Audrey? Oh my god, what happened?” Brenda dropped the clothes and came to support me, her hands getting covered in my blood. “Sit down, I’ll get you some medicine.” I lay on the empty patch of dirt in the yard, looking up at the sky. The moon was very bright, but there are always dark corners in the world its light can’t reach. Brenda applied the medicine for me. “Your parents, why did they hit you so hard… you’re still their biological daughter…” Brenda wiped her tears. She was a soft-hearted, good person. But her life was very bitter. She wasn’t very literate, forced to drop out of school in the third grade to help at home and take care of her younger brother. Later, her dad basically sold her to my cousin to raise the bride price for her brother’s wedding. Right now, she was tenderly applying medicine to my wounds, and I gently touched her arm, which was equally covered in scars. My cousin beat her frequently. In our past life, before I even turned twenty, Brenda passed away. After a long silence, I suddenly spoke: “Brenda, do you have any secret savings?” Brenda froze for a moment. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t tell him.” She breathed a sigh of relief: “I have two thousand. Why? “Are you going to college and your family won’t give you money? “If that’s it, take it. Education is important, girls should go to school.” My nose stung. I bit the inside of my cheek hard to stop myself from crying. At the most bitter points of destiny, pitiful people try hard to offer each other a little bit of sweetness. I said softly: “No, Brenda. I don’t want you to sponsor me. I want to take you to make money. “I can turn your two thousand into twenty thousand, maybe even two hundred thousand…” Brenda burst out laughing. She clearly didn’t believe me, coaxing me like a child: “Alright, alright, just use this two thousand for school. When you graduate college, you can pay me back. We’re family, it’s not like I’m going to charge you interest.” I didn’t say anything, just looked at the boundless night sky. In my past life, I became successful too late. By the time I returned to my hometown, Brenda had already died of depression. In this life, I definitely had to help her. And help myself too. Chloe, you are too stupid. Given the chance to rewind time, all you have in your head is stealing a man. While my head is full of stock ticker symbols. Do you even know what kind of cheat code you gave me? 5 Early Monday morning, I took the money Brenda gave me and went to school. I planned to sneak out during the long recess when no one was paying attention and open a brokerage account. I didn’t expect that just as I rode my bike out of the school gates, a figure would suddenly dart out from an alley ahead. The person swung a spiked wooden bat at me. I dodged in a panic, tumbling straight off my bike and crashing hard onto the pavement. I ignored the pain, first clutching my backpack tightly to my chest. Inside was all of Brenda’s secret savings. In front of me was a pair of brand-new, expensive sneakers. Looking up, a round, chubby face looked down at me, sporting a malicious smile. I recognized him. It was Chloe’s husband from my past life, Kevin. Since middle school, Kevin had been a loyal simp trailing behind Chloe. He was a rich kid whose dad did business down south. Back when we were all wearing drab school uniforms and knockoff sneakers, Kevin could already rattle off the names of various foreign luxury brands. Kevin had pursued Chloe for years. Chloe disdained his looks but couldn’t bear to let go of his wealth, so she strung him along throughout her entire teenage years, treating him as her ultimate backup plan. Later, when Chloe got older and hadn’t met a better man, she married Kevin. Who knew that shortly after they got married, Kevin’s family went bankrupt? Chloe, who had invested with them, was implicated, and their whole family became deadbeats, not even allowed to buy plane tickets. But no matter how miserable the future Kevin would be, the Kevin right now was still that arrogant, wealthy young master from a prominent family, someone nobody dared to offend. So I clutched my backpack, cautiously scooting backward, not wanting a direct confrontation with him. But Kevin wouldn’t let me go. He nudged my face with the tip of his shoe and sneered: “Chloe always tells me her sister is a sneaky little rat, and I actually caught you—sneaking out of school, what are you trying to do?” I whispered: “Buy some things.” “Buy things?” Kevin chuckled. He suddenly stopped smiling, violently yanking my backpack strap and dumping everything out. Pencil case and textbooks scattered across the ground, and an envelope slipped out. I tried to grab it, but Kevin was faster, snatching the envelope immediately. “Wow, so much money?” Kevin waved the cash. “What are you buying? Wedding candy for you and your sister?” He pocketed the envelope and said coldly, “Don’t think I don’t know. Chloe told me everything. You’re vain and jealous of her, so you wouldn’t hesitate to be someone’s mistress just to earn money for pretty dresses. I bet you stole or scammed this money. I’m going to tell Chloe right now.” I was kicked into the corner by Kevin. Dust flew up, making me cough violently, but my mind suddenly cleared. Kevin following me was indeed under Chloe’s orders. Having been reborn alongside me, even though she had already stolen Vince, she still wasn’t at ease about me. So she sent her simp, Kevin, to keep an eye on me. But that wasn’t the main point. The main point was the phrase Kevin had inadvertently blurted out just now. “Wedding candy for you and your sister.” I suddenly burst out laughing. Perfect. Kevin really didn’t know about Chloe and Vince being together. It made sense. Kevin was only useful to Chloe if he was kept in the dark. If Chloe told him she was getting engaged to someone else, how could he possibly still do her bidding? Kevin originally planned to turn and leave, but suddenly saw the smile on my face. He couldn’t help but frown: “What are you laughing at?” My smile grew even brighter: “I’m just happy for my sister.” “You love her so much and protect her. I’ll definitely have a great brother-in-law in the future.” I said softly, “I can’t wait for you two to get married.” This was exactly what Kevin wanted to hear. His expression softened, but he still eyed me suspiciously: “Saying nice things now, hoping I’ll let you off the hook?” “You don’t need to let me off the hook. I haven’t done anything wrong.” I stood up, dusting off my clothes. “This money is from my cousin-in-law. She heard about my sister’s good news and asked me to buy some gifts for her.” Kevin’s gaze instantly changed. He frowned: “What good news?” I feigned confusion: “I don’t know either, but I heard my parents say they plan to hold an engagement party for my sister before she goes to college in the city. After all, you guys are childhood friends from the same town, and everyone knows each other. It’s better than going to the big city and getting scammed by bad men.” I observed Kevin’s expression, then smiled: “Silly, you still haven’t figured it out?” Kevin looked a bit dazed: “Figured what out?” “My sister’s fiancé is definitely you.” I said with a beaming smile. “Think about it. Everyone knows you like my sister. My parents mentioned ‘childhood friends.’ Among all the boys around here, who is a better match for my sister than you?” Kevin’s face lit up with joy, though he hesitated: “Why hasn’t Chloe ever told me?” I chided playfully: “My sister is shy, she’s definitely just embarrassed. But she’ll probably tell you in the next few days—oh, I’ve seen her running to the small woods behind the school a lot lately. She must be preparing some surprise for you.” Kevin, completely blinded by love, exclaimed: “Really?!” “You can go check it out yourself right now.” I held out my hand to Kevin: “Give me the money. I still have to pick out a dress for my sister—brother-in-law, do you like pink or blue? I’ll pick according to your preference.” Being called ‘brother-in-law’ made Kevin euphoric. Without overthinking, he slapped the envelope into my hand: “Pink!” After saying that, he sprinted off toward the school. He was probably anxious to see what kind of surprise Chloe had prepared for him. I smiled, got on my bike, and was in such a good mood I even started whistling. This surprise… is definitely going to make Kevin remember it for the rest of his life. 6 When I hurried to the brokerage firm, Brenda was already waiting anxiously at the door. It was her first time in a trading hall. Looking at the screens filled with fluctuating colors and numbers, she felt completely lost: “Audrey, you understand this stuff?” I didn’t even need to look. From the moment I bought my first stock, the market trends for the past and future ten years were etched into my brain like a photograph, unforgettable. I didn’t explain this to Brenda; I just smiled: “I understand it. Just trust me.” At the brokerage firm, I also saw a familiar figure. Kevin’s father, Mr. Hayes. He was originally handling business accompanied by his secretary, but after receiving a phone call, his face drastically changed. He hurriedly got into a black sedan parked at the entrance and sped off toward our school. I stood at the door, silently watching the sedan disappear. After finishing the paperwork, Brenda came to my side: “What are you looking at?” I glanced at the sky: “Nothing, just that the weather is about to change.” … And the weather did change. Under my “encouragement,” Kevin excitedly rushed to the small woods, waiting to see the surprise Chloe had for him. But as soon as he entered the woods, he heard indescribable noises. Taking a closer look, he discovered the main characters were his goddess Chloe and the street thug Vince, whom he had never even given the time of day. This could be considered the biggest shock Kevin had received in his nearly twenty years of life. By the time he reacted, the sound of ambulance sirens was already echoing all around. Vince was beaten so badly by him that he was sent straight to the ER. When I arrived at the hospital, Vince was already awake, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, lying immobilized in bed. This scene was quite familiar to me. After all, in my past life, when I pushed him to the front as my shield, he often got beaten up like this. But Chloe had never seen a scene like this before. She sat by the hospital bed, crying so hard she could barely breathe. Kevin was marched into the hospital room by his father, Mr. Hayes. Mr. Hayes, fearing his son would go to jail, had come to negotiate a cash settlement. But Kevin was like a charging bull. The moment he entered the room, his eyes went red, and he charged straight at Vince. If Mr. Hayes’ two secretaries hadn’t been quick enough to restrain him, Vince probably would have been thrown straight out the window. “Kevin! Apologize right now!” Mr. Hayes was frantic. “Apologize for what?! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Kevin panted, pointing at Vince on the bed. “He was raping Chloe, that’s why I beat him up!” Poor Kevin. As an ordinary person without the perspective of being reborn, seeing Vince and Chloe together, his first reaction was naturally that. At this moment, Kevin looked eagerly at Chloe: “Chloe, please say something for me. I was trying to save you.” Mr. Hayes also saw a glimmer of hope and looked at Chloe: “Young lady, you are an eyewitness. Please tell everyone the truth.” Suddenly, the eyes of everyone in the hospital room landed on Chloe. She gritted her teeth, plunging into a long internal struggle. Finally, blushing, she whispered: “It was consensual.” Kevin’s face instantly went deathly pale. “What? Chloe, you couldn’t possibly…” On the hospital bed, although Vince was covered in casts, he still managed to squeeze out a smug smile. A gutter rat like him had never been able to make a wealthy young master like Kevin eat dirt in his entire life. Chloe actually giving him this opportunity made him feel like he was flying high. “That’s right, Chloe and I are truly in love.” Vince, ignoring the pain from his wounds, said loudly. “Kevin intentionally assaulted me! He belongs in jail!” Mr. Hayes’ face darkened. He took a step forward, not looking at Vince on the bed, but attempting to pressure Chloe: “Young lady, I advise you to think carefully before you speak…” The Hayes family had immense power and influence locally. Even my parents began to feel scared, hinting to Chloe: “Chloe, maybe you should think it over again…” But you could tell Chloe was genuinely conflicted. But she couldn’t afford to offend Vince. Not only could she not offend him, but she also had to firmly grasp his heart. That was the future V-God! Compared to the billions in wealth of the future, the Hayes family right now seemed insignificant. So she tightly gripped Vince’s hand: “Think about what! Vince and I are truly in love. Anyone who hurts Vince must pay the price!” Kevin couldn’t hold back anymore. He shook off the secretary’s hand, rushed forward, and slapped Chloe across the face: “Chloe, are you blind?!” In our past life, Kevin went bankrupt shortly after getting married, and he acted incredibly pathetic in front of Chloe. Chloe had always looked down on him. This was her first time being slapped by this utterly despised man. She went completely crazy. “Kevin, who do you think you are?!” She shoved Kevin hard. “A useless rich kid, do you think having money makes you special? Let me tell you, in a few years your family is going to be bankrupt!” As soon as these words left her mouth, even Mr. Hayes, standing a bit further away, turned ash-grey. Finally, Mr. Hayes stormed out, slamming the door. Kevin chased after him, leaving only our family in the hospital room. My dad rubbed his hands together anxiously: “This… this, Chloe, why on earth did you offend the Hayes family?!” In recent years, my dad had relied on the Hayes family’s resources to run a small business. With Chloe offending them like this, my dad could forget about doing business with them anymore. Chloe frowned impatiently: “Dad, don’t be so short-sighted. If the business is gone, it’s gone.” She looked at Vince tenderly, with the gaze of someone looking at a rare treasure: “With Vince, we’ll have everything.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “437452”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

After awakening to the fact that I was the cannon fodder true heiress in a novel, my entire family suddenly started hearing my inner voice. I complained internally about my dad’s right-hand man, and he immediately fired him. I complained about my mom’s best friend, and she cut ties with her instantly. I roasted my brother, and he rushed to the hospital for a full-body scan. My family, who originally only doted on the fake heiress, were now fighting tooth and nail to treat me well. The fake heiress was clueless until the very end. She hadn’t changed, so why was everyone growing to despise her? 1 “Sister, do you like it? Here, you can have it.” “Everything in this house belongs to you anyway. I’m just grateful Mom and Dad let me stay.” “As long as you like it, Sister, I’ll give you anything.” Serena’s delicate face wore a faint smile, her eyes slightly red, as she offered me a diamond watch. Watching her theatrical performance, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. If I hadn’t awakened to the truth, I would have fallen for her trap again. It was only after my awakening that I realized I was a cannon fodder supporting character in a “True and Fake Heiress” novel. Serena, the fake heiress, was the female lead. I was her foil. We were switched at birth. She grew up surrounded by luxury and wealth in the Sterling family. I was thrown into a remote countryside, surviving like a stray dog. Not long ago, the Sterlings found me and brought me back. I was dark and scrawny, my hair was dry and yellow, and my face and hands were rough like an old woman’s. My biological father, Arthur Sterling, said I had “no table manners and no proper posture,” and my academic grades were even more unwatchable. Meanwhile, their adopted daughter, Serena, was beautiful, elegant, played the piano, spoke foreign languages, and excelled academically. Comparing the two of us, my biological parents really couldn’t bring themselves to love me. Even the name they gave me was lazy: Maya Sterling. 2 Right now, the diamond watch Serena wanted to give me was the limited-edition reward her mother, Eleanor, had given her for placing third in her class on the practice exams. I, on the other hand, got no reward because I bombed the test. I had just glanced at the watch twice, and Serena asked if it was pretty. I casually said yes, and the very next day she was trying to give it to me. But this was actually a trap she set. According to the plot, I was supposed to happily accept the watch. Then, the watch would suddenly snap into several pieces in my hands. She would cry and say that if I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to accept it, but why did I have to destroy it? This was a custom piece her mother had ordered way in advance, a treasure she protected with her life, and I had ruined it. This manipulative speech would successfully make Eleanor despise me even more. Fearing I would harm Serena again, she would banish me to the servants’ quarters in the back. “Serena, if it was given to you, keep it. It’s your reward! Maya, if you like it, I’ll naturally buy you one when you get good grades. In this house, no matter who it is, rewards and punishments are clearly separated.” Hearing Serena’s “magnanimous” words, Eleanor felt a pang of sympathy and spoke up, frowning. Serena acted even more considerate and humble: “As long as Sister is happy, I don’t need a reward. Sister, take this watch.” Saying that, she forcefully tried to shove the watch into my hands. I stepped back several paces: “I don’t want it, use it yourself.” I sneered inwardly: [Give it to me? You’ve already smashed the watch band and barely pieced it back together just to force it on me. The moment I touch it, the watch will shatter into pieces, and then you’ll frame me for being malicious.] [If I touch it, even if I had a hundred mouths, I wouldn’t be able to explain myself.] Ever since I returned, Serena had been especially keen on setting traps for me, desperate for the family to despise me and kick me out as soon as possible. At first, I tried hard to explain. But as soon as she cried, the family took her side. No one listened to a word I said. So now, I couldn’t even be bothered to explain. I knew Eleanor wouldn’t believe me anyway. I no longer cared about parental love or family affection. I planned to avoid the female lead as much as possible, save up some money, and leave the Sterling family the moment I turned eighteen. It wasn’t that far away anyway. 3 Seeing that I didn’t fall for it, Serena froze. After all, I had been naive and easy to trap since I came back. She tried to insist, but Eleanor suddenly reached out and grabbed the watch. “Mom—” Serena didn’t even have time to snatch it back. Eleanor took the watch in her hand and gave it a slight twist. Snap. The watch broke into several pieces, two of them falling to the floor. One look and it was obvious someone had intentionally broken it. Eleanor froze. I was also taken aback: [What’s going on? This isn’t following the plot.] [Could it be that Eleanor has awakened too? Does she know Serena intentionally broke the watch to frame me, so she could drive me out to the servants’ quarters, making it easier for her to torment me?] Serena’s face went completely pale. Because the watch band was extremely sturdy; it couldn’t have shattered into pieces with just a gentle twist. But she reacted quickly, putting on a face of complete ignorance: “How did this happen? This watch was perfectly fine when Mom gave it to me yesterday, right—” She turned to look at me, her face turning terrified: “Maya, what did you do in my room early this morning? It was you, wasn’t it—” “Enough!” Eleanor sternly cut her off. Serena, who had never been scolded by Eleanor before, was stunned. But what followed shocked her even more. Eleanor called the butler over and ordered him to pack Serena’s luggage and move her to an empty room in the servants’ quarters in the back. The butler and Serena were both dumbfounded. Then, Eleanor looked at me, her expression somewhat unnatural: “Maya, you move into Serena’s old room. I’ll have someone replace everything in there with things you like.” Serena’s room was right next to the master bedroom, decorated lavishly and dreamily. Even the bed alone was worth the price of a normal person’s house. I was also a bit stunned, couldn’t help but think: [Could it be that Eleanor really has awakened? Then she should know who her precious adopted daughter’s biological mother is—] At that moment, Serena’s agitated questioning interrupted my thoughts. Hearing that she was being sent to the servants’ quarters, Serena panicked, asking pitifully: “Mom, did I do something wrong?” Eleanor sneered: “The custom gift I got you, if you didn’t like it, you didn’t have to accept it. Why did you have to destroy it?” “I really didn’t expect that while I treated you as my biological daughter, your heart was so dark.” “Since you despise me as a mother, go live in the servants’ quarters and stay far away from me, so you don’t offend my eyes!” “Butler, hurry up and move her!” “Yes, ma’am!” The butler was startled, not daring to hesitate any longer, and led the staff to start moving her things. I felt a rush of secret satisfaction; thankfully I hadn’t taken that watch. Serena: “…” Serena burst into panicked tears, trying hard to make excuses: “It’s not like that, I really didn’t break it. I treasured it so much, how could I bear to ruin it…” Just then, the eldest son of the Sterling family, Lucas, arrived. Serena immediately ran to him, throwing herself into his arms: “Lucas, help me, help me explain to Mom. Mom told me to give my room to Maya and wants me to live in the servants’ quarters. I’m willing to give it to her, but I don’t want to live in the servants’ quarters, I’m scared, boohoo~” Lucas doted on this sister the most. Seeing her crying her eyes out, he immediately hugged her. He turned to look at me, scolding me without a second thought: “Maya, if you’re not satisfied with your room, just say so. We’ll change it for you. Whatever you need, we’ll buy it. Why did you have to steal Serena’s room?” I hadn’t even spoken yet. Eleanor anxiously shouted at him: “Get out of here, stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, and get back to work!” Serena hugged Lucas’s neck, pressing her whole chest tightly against him, crying even more pitifully: “Lucas, boohoo~” Lucas naturally hugged her back: “Mom, are you confused? Serena grew up in our family. She’s pure and kind-hearted by nature, and doesn’t like to fight with others. How can you bear to let her be wronged? Butler, stop moving!” I scoffed inwardly: [Tsk tsk, what a fiercely protective brother. I hope in a few days, on the night of her eighteenth birthday, after she drugs you and climbs into your bed, you’ll still think she’s pure and kind-hearted by nature?] [But he probably won’t even live to see that day, because his health is already terrible right now. He suffers from insomnia every night, and has heart palpitations and headaches during the day, but never takes the time to go to the hospital.] [By that day, when he’s drugged with those powerful aphrodisiacs and tormented by Serena all night, a perfectly capable young man will be turned into a drooling idiot at the sight of a woman.] Smack. The other half of the watch slipped from Eleanor’s hand and fell to the floor. And Lucas, who was always stubbornly protective of Serena, actually had a stiff expression as he reached out and pushed away his precious sister. [Looking at the timeline, the tumor in Lucas’s brain is probably about to turn malignant, right? I should tell him to get a checkup at the hospital.] [Forget it, last time I just handed him a bowl of soup, and he told me to mind my own business, not to be overly affectionate, and not to fight over everything. If I try to advise him now, he’ll probably think I’m just jealous of his dear sister again.] Serena never expected to be pushed away by the brother who loved her the most. Caught off guard, she almost face-planted onto the floor. After steadying herself, she moved towards Lucas again. But Lucas took two sudden steps back. He suddenly looked at me, his expression complex. After a long while, his voice sounded uncertain as he said: “Sorry, I have something to do. I need to go out for a bit.” He left in a hurry. “Lucas!” Serena cried out tragically. But Lucas didn’t even look back. Serena’s expression shattered. 4 Serena didn’t go live in the servants’ quarters. She packed a simple, small bag. She only packed a few changes of clothes. She intended to move out of this house. She bowed deeply to Eleanor, tears falling like pearls, her voice hoarse: “Thank you for taking care of me all these years. I’m leaving. When I graduate, I’ll work hard to earn money and repay your kindness in raising me.” Eleanor frowned: “You made a mistake, I scolded you, and you’re feeling wronged? Is this you threatening to run away from home?” Serena cried and shook her head: “I’m not throwing a tantrum, I genuinely want to leave. Maya has suffered a lot outside these past few years, so please dote on her. You don’t need me anymore.” “Eleanor, there was a shipment of fresh fruit at Whole Foods today. I picked out a few for you, come have a taste.” Bursting in like a whirlwind was Eleanor’s best friend, Brenda. Eleanor was always overbearing, so she had very few friends. Brenda was the only one who accommodated her in everything. Because of this, the two were very close. Seeing Brenda, the cold Eleanor’s expression softened a bit: “Thank you.” I laughed inwardly: [What’s there to thank her for? She’s buying you fruit with your own money.] [You loaded her membership card with ten thousand, and eight thousand of it was spent by Brenda.] Eleanor’s face, which had just relaxed, froze again. Brenda, oblivious to this, ran over to comfort Serena: “Oh my, what’s going on? Who upset our Princess Serena? Your pretty little face is all smeared with tears like a messy kitten.” Serena held her bag, crying even harder: “Aunt Brenda, boohoo, I’m moving out. I’ll come visit you when I have time.” Brenda looked surprised: “What happened?” Serena: “The watch Mom gave me broke. I don’t know how it broke, but it made Mom mad, and Maya felt wronged, so it’s best if I move out.” Brenda laughed it off: “Is that all? Serena, just apologize and it’ll be fine. You’re so pretty, if you go out there alone you’ll be kidnapped by traffickers. Your parents and brother would be heartbroken. Right, Eleanor? You wouldn’t bear to let this beautiful girl wander the streets alone, would you?” [Hmph, with her biological mother right here, how could Serena ever wander the streets? The luxury condo you borrowed from Eleanor, the princess room you meticulously decorated, wasn’t that all prepared for Serena?] As soon as I finished my internal rant, Eleanor suddenly asked: “What did you say?” Her eyes were wide open, her voice trembling slightly. Seeing her staring at me, I was taken aback and shook my head: “Nothing, I didn’t say anything.” I continued complaining in my head: [It’s a pity we can’t choose our origins. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen to be born into the Sterling family.] [Eleanor is blind, completely oblivious to the fact that Brenda swapped their two daughters.] [While I was in the countryside fighting dogs for food, my own biological mother was raising someone else’s daughter like a princess, and even letting her leech off the Sterling family, paying for all her food, clothes, housing, and expenses.] [Later, when Serena turned the Sterling family upside down and seized all their assets, she moved Brenda into the Sterling family’s mansion. Do you remember what Brenda did to Eleanor?] [She called Eleanor a moron and an idiot, saying Eleanor must be blind to fall so low. She even said she never treated Eleanor as a best friend, but rather as a servant, and that now she was the master.] [When Arthur fell ill, Eleanor went to Brenda to borrow money. As a result, Brenda forced Eleanor to kneel and lick her shoes clean.] [Even though Brenda and her daughter are barely human, specializing in inhumane acts, and Serena never said a word even when she knew about her true parentage early on. Even if I told Eleanor these things, she probably wouldn’t believe me. Better not be overly affectionate again. I’ll just watch how things unfold for them. Anyway, I must get out of this house as soon as possible.] [Speaking of which, this isn’t my home at all. I’m just a pitiful ghost temporarily lodging here. No one considers me family anyway.] At this time, Brenda pushed Serena in front of Eleanor: “Eleanor, it’s not a big deal. Why kick the child out? Everyone envies you for having such a daughter—beautiful, smart, and elegant. You couldn’t find another like her in all of New York. If she runs out and something happens, wouldn’t you cry yourself to death?” Brenda urged Serena: “Go on, apologize to your mom.” Serena looked softly at Eleanor: “Mom—” Before she could say another word, Eleanor abruptly interrupted her: “Serena, since you want to leave, then move out.” Both Serena and Brenda were dumbfounded. Eleanor stepped aside to make a phone call, then took my hand: “Come with Mom to the hospital to see your brother.” I was confused and bewildered. This was the first time she had held my hand, and the first time she used the words “Mom” and “Brother” in front of me. I was led away by her in a daze. Eleanor drove, and I sat in the passenger seat. She fastened my seatbelt for me with unprecedented gentleness. As we drove out of the garage, Brenda pulled a sobbing, stumbling Serena to block the car: “Eleanor, is Lucas at the hospital? What’s wrong with him? Serena is very worried about her brother too. Let us ride with you—” Eleanor locked the car doors immediately and said coldly: “No need. Lucas isn’t her biological brother, so there’s no need for her concern.” With that, she maneuvered the car around the stunned Brenda and Serena, hit the gas, and sped away. In the rearview mirror, Serena’s cries grew even louder. 5 Lucas said he wasn’t feeling well and went to the hospital for a checkup, where they found a tumor. Thankfully, it was caught early and wasn’t a major issue. After surgery, he would be fine. We had just arrived when Serena and Brenda followed right behind us. “Lucas, are you okay?” Serena’s eyes were red and swollen again, her face full of concern. She handed an exquisitely packaged bag to Lucas and said considerately: “This is chicken soup from your favorite deli, Lucas. It’s still hot. Drink some, and you’ll get better faster.” Hearing “chicken soup,” I instinctively glanced at the packaging box a few more times: [The drug Serena slipped to Lucas on his birthday was mixed into this chicken soup. Turns out it’s his favorite. No wonder he was completely oblivious to being drugged.] [With a fake sister this attentive, it’s no surprise Lucas likes her.] [Too bad this affection won’t last. Later, when Lucas turns into a fool, his dear fake sister will immediately send him to a mental asylum with the worst conditions.] [He tried everything to make a phone call to her, but this fake sister found it annoying and had the asylum orderlies electrocute him to death with stun batons.] Crash. The soup fell to the floor, splashing everywhere. It turned out that when Serena handed it to Lucas, he outright refused it. Because he pushed it away too fast, it fell to the ground. Not only did he refuse it, but he also looked terrified, backing up continuously on his hospital bed. If there wasn’t a wall behind him, he would have retreated even further. Serena froze, tears “whooshing” out again, looking on the verge of a breakdown: “Lucas, am I a ghost? Why are you hiding so far away from me?” Lucas had a “you’re scarier than a ghost” expression and said coldly: “Leave. I’m fine. I don’t need your concern.” Serena looked pitifully at Eleanor again. Eleanor looked away and also said coldly: “Hurry up and leave.” Serena was even more heartbroken. “Then get some rest, Lucas.” Brenda gave Eleanor and Lucas a deep look and pulled Serena away. As she passed by me, Serena glared coldly and drove me away: “My brother needs to rest, and he doesn’t want to be disturbed. Stop being so full of yourself and lingering around here. Get out.” Just as she finished trying to kick me out. Lucas called out: “Maya, you don’t need to go.” I originally didn’t want to stay, but with Serena right there, I intentionally stayed and smiled slightly at her: “He insists on me disturbing him.” Serena: “…” Serena’s face turned green with anger. 6 After Brenda pulled Serena away. Lucas grabbed a carton of milk from the bedside table—delivered by his assistant—opened it, and handed it to me, saying somewhat unnaturally: “Maya, want to drink this?” I refused without a second thought: “No thanks.” [What are you pretending for? Eleanor already knows you find me annoying and hate me, so what’s the point of playing the loving sibling act in front of her? Besides, she hates me to death herself; why would she care how you look at me?] Lucas froze, his face inexplicably turning red, looking guilty. And Eleanor’s eyes inexplicably turned red too. She took my hand and choked back a sob: “I’m sorry, Maya. Since you came back, Mom hasn’t properly cared for you…” Lucas suddenly apologized to me as well: “Maya, it’s my fault too. I don’t even know what you like to eat. Tell me, and I’ll buy it all for you from now on.” His eyes were also red: “Maya, I don’t hate you. We’re biological siblings. You’re my biological sister.” He deliberately emphasized the words “biological sister,” as if afraid I wouldn’t believe him. Me: “?” This drastically different attitude before and after made me suspect they had both been possessed. I gave an awkward smile and played along: “Haha, right, we’re siblings.” [Whatever, I’m only staying for a few days anyway. Once I turn eighteen, I’ll have saved up some money. Then I’ll move out and stop hoping for some supposed blood relation.] I didn’t say anything overly harsh. For some reason, Eleanor and Lucas looked even sadder and more guilty. 7 Serena actually started trying hard. She didn’t return to the Sterling family for several days in a row. Without her causing trouble at home. My treatment in this house instantly skyrocketed. The biggest room was now mine. Every day, the chefs prepared food tailored to my preferences. A Rolls-Royce was assigned to pick me up and drop me off. Seniors barely had any days off, let alone time to go shopping, yet Eleanor bought me heaps of clothes, shoes, and bags. Eleanor gave me a card, and Lucas gave me a card too. They both said it was my allowance. I checked; both cards had over a million dollars each. And they both said they would transfer money to the cards every month, telling me to spend it freely. Actually, when they brought me back, they didn’t give me any pocket money. Like Serena, they probably felt that since we were kids, giving us large sums without restriction wasn’t a good idea, so they never gave me such huge amounts before. Earlier, when I first returned, seeing my poor grades, my parents originally planned to hire private tutors for me. But Serena volunteered to tutor me. Mom and Dad were very pleased and agreed. But when she tutored me, she intentionally threw in foreign languages that I couldn’t understand at all. Naturally, I didn’t improve one bit. Serena would then show my tests, covered in red ‘X’s, to our parents, smiling helplessly and saying I gave her headaches. Her expression practically etched the words “naturally stupid” on my forehead. My parents probably assumed my academics were beyond saving. After that, they never mentioned hiring tutors for me again, only asking Serena to continue paying closer attention to my studies. But these past few days, Eleanor hired several private tutors for me in a row, all of them top-tier professors. Before, problems that sounded like gibberish to me became understandable once these professors broke them down into simple terms. Although the Sterling family was treating me very well right now, I still didn’t dare let my guard down. I studied desperately with the professors while continuing my master plan to save money. Except for essential expenses, I didn’t dare spend a single extra penny of the money the Sterling family gave me, carefully saving it all. 8 Serena returned a week later. Brought back by Mr. Sterling, Arthur. He had returned from a business trip and, because he hadn’t eaten for a day and a night, he went to a restaurant near the airport with his trusted assistant to eat. There, he ran into Serena and brought her back. Serena was still wearing the same outfit she had worn when she left. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her complexion was sallow. Her hands were covered in band-aids. Arthur held Serena’s hand tightly, his heart clearly aching for her. As soon as he got back, he confronted Eleanor, demanding to know why she let a high school senior move out alone over such a trivial matter. He angrily accused Eleanor: “Do you have any idea what she was doing out there? She was washing dishes in a restaurant! Going to school during the day, washing dishes at night, and washing dishes on holidays too! If I hadn’t run into her, her whole life would have been ruined by your hands!” Surprisingly, Eleanor didn’t feel sorry for the miserable-looking Serena. Instead, she asked skeptically: “What a coincidence? Out of all the restaurants, she happened to be washing dishes at the exact one you went to eat at after your business trip?” [Is it really a coincidence? They planned it all out beforehand.] [Brenda and her husband, Kevin, are relying on this daughter to leach off the Sterling family. How could they let her suffer?] Kevin was Arthur’s trusted assistant, and also Brenda’s husband—Serena’s biological father. [Looking at Serena’s dark circles, she probably went through several palettes of eyeshadow.] [Tsk, and her hands. To play the victim, how many band-aids did she waste?] I was just complaining internally when Eleanor suddenly picked up a pot of tea and splashed it right at Serena’s face and hands. Splash. The makeup on Serena’s face was ruined. Serena screamed, raising her hands to cover her face. Because she had applied it so thickly, the eyeshadow started running down. And the band-aids on her hands, soaked through, fell off. Revealing smooth, completely unblemished fingers underneath. The air instantly went dead silent. Eleanor sneered: “Act! Keep acting! I’m the one who failed as a mother. I meticulously raised you for eighteen years, only to raise a deceitful liar!” Arthur was stunned. Serena, completely caught off guard, was also dumbfounded. I was in awe of Eleanor. She actually recognized that Serena’s “pitiful look” was just makeup. 9 Arthur stared at Serena in disbelief, speaking with disappointment: “So, you even lied to me? The dark circles, the band-aids on your hands—it was all an act?” Seeing she had been exposed, Serena dropped to her knees with a thud: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean it. Mom was very angry with me, and I was afraid… I was afraid you guys really didn’t want me anymore. Dad, you love me the most, you definitely won’t stay mad at me, right?” [What Dad? She already reunited with her biological parents five years ago. She intentionally kept it from you because you’re rich and she wanted to use you as an ATM.] [I also don’t know why Arthur chose Kevin as his confidant. Kevin is even more disgusting than his wife, Brenda. He secretly runs a small company, embezzles company funds to gamble, and loses millions in a single game. And that’s not even the worst of it.] [He also uses his position as the CEO’s confidant to hook up with countless mistresses at the company. The employees below hate him to the core. With him causing so much trouble, Arthur is completely clueless. Truly impressive.] [No wonder the company was later seized by Serena and her biological father, Kevin. At his age, Arthur is too easy to fool.] “What?” Just as I was ranting, Arthur suddenly seemed unwell. His face and lips turned pale, and he collapsed onto the sofa. Eleanor quickly had someone call the family doctor. When the doctor arrived, the examination revealed a blood pressure issue. They gave Arthur some blood pressure medication. Once he stabilized, Arthur stared at me for a long time, his eyes full of complex emotions. [Why is he staring at me like that? Does he still think I’m bullying his precious adopted daughter?] Arthur’s expression froze. Serena tried to move closer to Arthur again. But he pushed her away. He slowly stood up, looked at me, and spoke with unprecedented gentleness: “Maya, there’s no school today. Do you want to come play at Dad’s company?” Before I could answer, Serena eagerly interrupted: “Dad, I want to go! I’ll go with you right now.” There was an unspoken rule in the Sterling family: if the children were chosen by the head of the family to be taken to the company, it meant they were intentionally being groomed to pave the way for their future entry into the business. And Serena had been waiting for this day. She thought she would only have a chance after she officially turned eighteen. She didn’t expect the opportunity to present itself now, and she was eager to seize it. However, Arthur ruthlessly rejected her: “You don’t need to.” He turned back to me, his expression softening: “Maya, can you accompany Dad to the company? Think of it as an internship. Dad will pay you an hourly wage, is that okay?” I couldn’t figure out what he was up to, but hearing I could earn money, I agreed. “Dad!” Serena’s face contorted with anger, her voice trembling. “How could you treat me like this too? Are you trying to force me to die? Boohoo~” [You won’t die. Your biological parents are waiting right outside the mansion.] As soon as I finished my internal commentary, Eleanor, who had regained her composure, picked up her phone, dialed a number, and said coldly: “Brenda, come pick up your goddaughter.” Brenda had become Eleanor’s best friend in order to stay close to Serena, and had even acknowledged Serena as her goddaughter. Brenda quickly ran in, out of breath. Seeing Serena’s ruined makeup and the removed band-aids, she tried to smooth things over: “Eleanor, is Arthur home too? You all know? Well, I couldn’t bear to let the child wander outside, so I let her stay at my place for a few days. She cried every day because she missed you all.” “I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I came up with this bad idea. Don’t blame her. If you want to blame someone, blame me, okay?” “You see, you guys were such a happy, perfect family before. You were the envy of everyone. Now you’re arguing like this. Aren’t you just letting people laugh at you for no reason?” After Brenda finished, she glared at me, her eyes filled with such resentment that they almost shot daggers: “Maya, you caused all this, didn’t you? You intentionally drove a wedge between Serena and her parents, trying to drive Serena out?” I scoffed in anger: “Are you crazy? What does this have to do with me?” Brenda’s voice grew louder: “Heh, look at your manners. Is that how you talk to your elders? Country bumpkins truly can’t present themselves in public! Do you think you can win just by being loud and throwing tantrums?” “Let me tell you, Serena is the meticulously groomed heiress of this family. You have no grades, no grace, you can’t compare to her in any way. Just because you’re lazy, you stir up trouble in the Sterling family, driving a wedge between Serena and the family. You’ve completely disgraced the Sterling family—” Before she could finish her sentence. Smack! Eleanor slapped her hard across the face. Eleanor trembled with anger: “Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to dictate matters in my family? Get the hell out!” “Eleanor, you hit me?” Brenda stared at Eleanor in disbelief, clutching her cheek as tears welled up. “I hit you! If you say one more word about my daughter, I’ll hit you again!” Eleanor roared even louder, “Get out!”

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This was the tenth time I had faked my death to scare my husband. But this time, it was his secretary who I ended up terrifying as she walked him home. For the first time, Caleb exploded at me. “Are you ever going to stop this pathetic acting? If you really want to die so badly, then just go do it!” He didn’t know that I actually was dying. Every “prank” was just a desperate attempt to desensitize him, so he wouldn’t be so devastated when the real day came. But as I watched him tenderly comfort his secretary, a cold curiosity gripped me. When the truth finally comes out… will he actually feel a single shred of regret? 1 When I heard the electronic lock click, I put down my makeup sponge and glanced in the mirror. Even the palest foundation could barely hide the gray, sallow tint of my skin. The blood on my T-shirt was real—I’d coughed it up earlier—and it looked more convincing than anything in a slasher movie. I slumped onto the floor. A second later, the door swung open. The sound that followed wasn’t Caleb’s voice, but a woman’s sharp, terrified scream. It took a moment for me to “recover” and open my eyes. I saw a woman huddled in Caleb Sterling’s arms. She was sobbing pitifully. “Mr. Sterling, I’m so scared.” It was his secretary, Heather Miller. Caleb stiffened, but he didn’t push her away. When he turned to look at me, his eyes were overflowing with nothing but irritation. “How much ketchup did you use this time? Jade, are you actually addicted to this drama?” Heather clutched his arm, letting go only when she saw me sit up. “Mrs. Sterling, that was horrifying. I’m okay, but Mr. Sterling is exhausted and had a few drinks. What if something had actually happened to him because of the shock?” I stared at their proximity. Caleb didn’t look even slightly guilty. “Aren’t you getting up?” he snapped. I whispered, “I don’t have the strength.” He didn’t believe me. He reached down and roughly hauled me to my feet. It was the first time I’d ever seen him this angry with me, and it was for the sake of another woman. “Jade, aren’t you tired of this?” “I spend all day at the office grinding for this family. I don’t expect you to be grateful, but stop making my life a living hell with these stunts!” Heather poured a glass of water and handed it to him. “Mr. Sterling, I’m sure she didn’t mean it. She didn’t know you were stressed today.” Caleb’s knuckles turned white. He grabbed the glass and hurled it at the floor. Smash. The shards flew everywhere. A jagged piece sliced across my wrist. Bright red blood began to bead and drip. “There’s a lot she doesn’t know,” Caleb said, his gaze cold and disgusted. “Since you love playing dead so much, why don’t you just go ahead and do it for real?” 2 Caleb was wrong. I knew a lot of things. I knew he was “busy” at the office, so I spent my days brewing nutritious soups to keep him healthy. I knew he worked late, so I stayed up every single night waiting for him to come home. I also knew his alcohol tolerance was high. So why did he need Heather to “walk him home” because he was supposedly drunk? To foster a more “intimate” connection between a boss and his subordinate? I sat in the hallway outside our apartment all night thinking about it, until I eventually started laughing at myself. A neighbor passed by, startled by the sight of me, and muttered, “Freak,” under their breath. I hugged my knees. The hallway was freezing. Caleb really must have been “out of it.” After Heather left, he’d shoved me out the door to “sober up” and told me to stop looking for trouble. I was locked out. I knocked, but there was no sound from inside. Caleb had fallen asleep. I checked my wrist. The bleeding had stopped. It stung, but compared to the gnawing agony of stage four stomach cancer, it was a paper cut. I didn’t have my phone. I had nowhere to go. I suddenly remembered the first time I faked my death. Caleb had turned ghost-white. His hands shook as he held me. As if the world were ending, he whispered my name over and over. “Jade? Jade, please!” Then I’d popped my eyes open and grinned. “Gotcha!” Caleb had stared at me for a long time before frantically wiping away his tears. He couldn’t even find the words; he just held me so tight I could barely breathe. His eyes told me everything: He was terrified of losing me. That was the method I’d chosen. I wanted to make him so used to the idea of me dying that when it finally happened, it would just feel like another one of my jokes. I thought I was being kind. 3 The next morning, Caleb opened the door and pulled me back inside. He had those beautiful, drooping eyes that made him look innocent when he was apologetic. “I’m sorry, Jade. I can’t believe I left you out there all night.” He patted my stomach and coaxed me, “You must be starving. It’s all my fault.” You see, even when he was “apologizing,” he hadn’t called me by my nickname in months. I acted angry, blaming him for letting me freeze. It was a Saturday. I told him he had to give me the whole day. First, I made him watch a movie with me. In the film, a husband comes home every day to find his wife “dead” in various creative ways. Caleb’s brow furrowed. “Is this where you got it from?” He paused the TV. “Are you really that bored? You’re basing your life on a movie to torture me?” I didn’t look at him. I just stared at the frozen screen. “But her husband thought it was cute…” Caleb let out a cold laugh. “Movies are movies. In real life, it’s exhausting. It’s annoying as hell.” “I admit I was a jerk yesterday because of the drinks, but you need to hear this.” “Real life isn’t cute. It’s irritating. Do you understand that?” His voice wasn’t loud. His tone was calm. But it felt like a tiny, poisoned needle stabbing directly into my heart. I was glad the room was dark, lit only by the faint glow of the television. He couldn’t see my smile cracking. I understood. Maybe the wife in the movie understood, too. “The movie is halfway done. Just finish it with me.” Suddenly, his phone shrieked. The name Heather Miller flashed on the screen. Heather’s panicked voice came through clearly: “Mr. Sterling, I think I ruined the Harrison account.” “The CEO tried to… touch me. I said no, and then he…” Caleb bolted upright, grabbing his coat. I reached for his hand, but I hit the wall of his heavy, darkened eyes. “Stop making a scene,” he said. He brushed my hand away. The front door slammed shut. The movie kept playing: The truth is revealed. The wife had a terminal illness. She faked her death over and over so her husband wouldn’t be so sad when she truly left. The husband in the movie thought his wife was cute. But when the credits rolled, my phone buzzed. It was a call from Heather. I heard Caleb’s voice in the background, soft and comforting. “Don’t cry. If we lose the account, we lose it. It doesn’t matter.” “You must be hungry. Let’s go get dinner. There’s a new place near the office.” Heather chirped happily, “Okay, I’m going to make you pay for the most expensive thing on the menu—” I suddenly spoke into the phone: “Which restaurant? Maybe I should join you?” 4 The silence lasted for a second before the line went dead. Heather clearly didn’t expect me to be listening. But it didn’t matter. I knew where they were going. Because I was the one who had suggested that restaurant to Caleb months ago. It was a famous romantic spot—The Glass House. I’d begged him to take me. What had he said? He’d said he was too busy. Busy making money. Busy building our future. On our last anniversary, he’d pushed me away and said, “Jade, can you just give me some space?” That night, he’d stayed at the office. Later, I saw Heather’s Instagram post. They were the only two left in the building. Caleb looked relaxed without his glasses, a cup of tea by his side. He looked nothing like the irritable man he was at home. Heather had captioned it: Late nights at the office. Boss is working so hard! That was when I first started noticing her. And now, he was taking her to the restaurant he refused to take me to. When I arrived, Caleb was alone by the car. He was leaning against the door, smoking. He didn’t look surprised to see me. He just took a long drag and exhaled. “Finished already?” I asked. “I’m not eating,” Caleb said, blowing a cloud of smoke toward me. “Jade, you’re becoming really pathetic.” Through the haze, his eyes held nothing but weary exhaustion. My heart twisted. I looked away, my voice trembling. “Where’s your jacket?” The car window slid down, revealing Heather’s flushed face. She was in the passenger seat, draped in Caleb’s blazer. She smiled at me. “Mrs. Sterling, I’m so sorry. I accidentally hit the call button on my phone earlier.” Caleb crushed his cigarette. “Get in. She’s shaken up. I need to drop her home.” Seeing me stare at Heather, he offered a brief explanation. “She gets car sick. The front seat is better for her.” “So, I’m supposed to just move to the back for her?” It was absurd. She was just a secretary. Why was she so precious? She “accidentally” calls the wife after a crisis, and then “rightfully” takes the wife’s seat. Seeing my displeasure, Heather bit her lip. “Is Mrs. Sterling upset? Maybe I should just take an Uber.” “Mr. Sterling, don’t worry about tonight. It was my own fault for not being careful. I shouldn’t have bothered you.” She made a move to get out, but Caleb stopped her. He turned to me, scowling. “Jade, do you have any humanity left?” “She went through that because of me. You’re both women—can’t you show some empathy?!” I looked at his self-righteous anger. “She says she was harassed, and you just believe her?” “No woman would lie about her dignity like that.” “She says she called me by accident, and you believe that too?” Caleb paused. “She’s not that kind of person.” I wanted to laugh. What was I even doing here? He had unconditional trust in his secretary, but none for his wife. A searing, suffocating feeling rose in my throat. I doubled over. “I’m not getting in the car.” Caleb’s voice dropped an octave. “What are you doing now?” He grabbed my arm, opened the back door, and tried to shove me inside. The pain was explosive. It felt like my entire body was breaking. “I’m not getting in!” I screamed. I used every ounce of my remaining strength to tear my arm away from him. Caleb froze. He had always had things his way. Even when we started dating, I was the one who pursued him. I was always the one who lowered my posture in this relationship. This was the first time I’d ever defied him. When he recovered, he let out a cold sneer. “Fine, Jade. You’re really something today.” “You don’t want to get in? Fine.” He climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. “Then stay here!” The car sped away. Through the rear window, I saw Heather tilt her head toward me, adjusting Caleb’s jacket on her shoulders. I stood there for a long time, completely lost. I tried calling him, but he didn’t pick up. I opened my messages and typed, deleted, and retyped. Finally, I sent one sentence: “Caleb, I want a divorce.” 5 I ended up eating at that restaurant alone. A romantic spot where even the dish names were themed around love. The waiter looked at me, confused. “Table for one?” He muttered under his breath, “Who eats alone at a place like this?” I just smiled. The food didn’t taste as good as I’d imagined. I couldn’t even remember why I’d been so obsessed with coming here with him. It started raining outside. When Caleb said he was leaving me there, he meant it. The waiter suddenly ran over and handed me an umbrella. “You look really pale. You should get home.” “Whatever is bothering you, don’t neglect your health.” My nose stung. It was strange. No matter how much it hurt before, I didn’t want to cry. But this small act of kindness from a stranger almost broke me. When I got home, Caleb was waiting with a face like stone. He looked me up and down. “Do you regret it now?” Regret not getting in the car? Regret talking back? A stranger could see how sick I looked, but my own husband was only concerned with whether I had “yielded.” I looked at the man who was my husband and slowly shook my head. Caleb’s face darkened. Before he could speak, I asked, “Did you see my text?” “What text?” He glanced at his phone, and as he realized what I meant, his voice turned sharp. “What are you trying to pull now?” “Jade, you’re crossing a line. I let your little games slide before, but now you’re bringing up divorce?” “You think you can threaten me with a divorce?” In his eyes, everything I did was just a performance. I wiped my eyes. I wasn’t crying, but they were burning. I looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. “I don’t want anything. I just want a divorce.” Seeing that I wasn’t joking, Caleb calmed down. “I know we’ve been fighting lately, but that doesn’t give you the right to be impulsive.” He rubbed his temples. “Jade, you can’t live without me.” “Don’t call me Jade.” I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. I didn’t want to look like a hysterical woman. Now he was using my name softly. He always did that—he’d use a gentle tone only when he thought I was being difficult. What did he take me for? Even a child wouldn’t fall for such cheap tactics. “The divorce papers are being drafted. Please sleep in the guest room tonight.” Caleb was shaking with rage at my defiance. “I’m moving out. I’m giving you time to clear your head.” He sneered. “Jade, I’ll be waiting for the moment you come crawling back, begging for me to come home.” 6 But why would I beg him? I was practically dead already. With Caleb gone, I had the deepest sleep of my life. I slept so hard I thought I might never wake up. But I was jolted awake by someone pounding on the door. I opened it to find my mother. She grabbed my hands, her face etched with anxiety. “What happened? Why are you fighting with Caleb?” When I didn’t answer, she grew frantic. “Caleb is a catch! Where are you going to find another man like him?!” I wanted to tell her I didn’t have a “future” to worry about. But her next words turned my blood to ice. “Your brother is about to graduate from his Ivy League school. We were counting on Caleb to pull some strings for his career. You stupid girl, why are you causing trouble now?!” She looked at me with pure resentment. “Listen to me. Go to Caleb and apologize. Now.” Then she grabbed my wrist and tried to drag me toward the door. My wrist was skeletal from my illness. She didn’t notice. Her nails dug into my skin, all for the sake of her son’s “future.” I thought she might at least ask why I wanted a divorce. She didn’t. I was her child, too. Or so I thought. “I’m not going,” I said. She glared at me. “You heartless brat. I raised you, and now you won’t even help your own brother!” A violent surge of nausea hit me. I wrenched my hand away and used the last of my strength to push her out of the apartment. I collapsed onto the floor, the world spinning around me. Sometime later, my phone rang. It was Caleb. His voice was cold and detached. “Jade, your mother came to my office.” “She’s begging me not to divorce you.” 7 By the time I reached his office, a crowd had gathered outside the door. Caleb was standing there, while my mother was on her knees, sobbing hysterically. Heather handed me a glass of water. “Mrs. Sterling, you should really talk some sense into her.” She glanced inside and smirked. “This isn’t exactly a good look, is it?” I met Caleb’s eyes. They were filled with cold mockery. They said: See? I told you you’d be the one begging. Now your mother is doing it for you. The sight made my heart lurch. It felt like a physical blow to the face. I couldn’t find a single second of peace. I walked slowly into the room and tried to pull my mother up. She refused to move, her nails digging into my arm. “You ungrateful bitch! I’m not leaving!” It hurt. It hurt so much. Was there anyone who would save me? I looked at the faces around me. They were all enjoying the show. No one was coming. The last thing I saw was Caleb’s expression suddenly shifting. I couldn’t hold on anymore. I coughed, and a spray of blood hit the floor. 8 I woke up in a familiar hospital room. Caleb was sitting by my bed, his expression unreadable. I thought he finally knew. Seeing me awake, he tucked the blanket around me. “The doctor said it was an emotional collapse.” Oh. He still didn’t know. I had told the doctors here to hide my condition from him. Originally, it was so he wouldn’t be sad. But now, I’d changed my mind. “Let’s stop fighting, okay?” he said. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you.” “We won’t get a divorce.” He kept rambling. It was strange; I hadn’t seen him this concerned about me in a long time. I stared at him for a while, then said: “Okay.” Caleb choked on his next words. He looked up, a flash of genuine surprise and joy on his face. “You promised. No taking it back.” I nodded. “I won’t.” He seemed truly happy. He personally handled my hospital paperwork. He stopped going to the office, moving a small desk into my room so he could work by my side. Heather came by occasionally to drop off files. Each time, she would stand there biting her lip, but Caleb wouldn’t even look at her. “Just leave the files and go. There are too many people in here; the air is getting stale.” Heather’s eyes turned red instantly. She turned on her heels and left. Once I was “asleep,” Caleb whispered my name. “Jade?” When I didn’t respond, he stepped out of the room. I stood by the door, watching through the crack as Heather threw herself into his arms. “Mr. Sterling, I love you.” Caleb’s back was to me. I couldn’t see his face. Was he happy? Was he hesitating? The sunlight through the window hit them both, making them look like a perfect couple. If only I wasn’t his legal wife. I let out a soft cough. I don’t know if it was my imagination, but Caleb’s entire body went rigid. He turned around and looked directly at me. “Jade—” He pushed Heather away and strode toward me. “It’s not what it looks like.” He looked genuinely distressed. His perfectly styled hair was a mess. “She confessed to me. I was just about to turn her down.” I watched his feigned regret for a moment, then reached out and slowly smoothed his hair. “I know. She’s the one who initiated it. I don’t blame you.” Caleb’s expression finally relaxed. I looked into his eyes. “But I don’t like her. Can you find a new secretary?” Our gazes met. Caleb lowered his eyes. “Okay,” he promised.

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Liam Miller died in a high-speed crash while vacationing on a private island with his assistant. By the time the police notified me and I arrived at the scene, his assistant was still kneeling by his body, screaming his name and sobbing hysterically. But I saw him. I saw Liam’s soul, floating right there in the air. I guess the devil doesn’t have a vacancy for traitors yet. 01 The detective standing next to me cleared his throat awkwardly when I didn’t say a word. “Mrs. Sterling?” That one sentence cut right through Elena Vance’s wailing. She was Liam’s “assistant,” currently draped over his body. It seemed Liam really did love her. In that violent wreck, he had taken the brunt of the impact. He was dead, while Elena walked away with nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises. But Liam’s love… I glanced at the translucent shimmering figure of the man hovering above us and scoffed internally. Liam’s heart changed colors faster than a chameleon in a neon light district. When Elena looked up and saw me, her expression shifted from grief to pure shock. Then, she lunged at me, her face flushed with a manic energy. Liam’s spirit reacted instantly, just like he would have when he was alive. He tried to step between us, desperate to shield Elena from any imaginary harm I might inflict. But he had no physical form. He had to watch, helpless, as Elena passed right through his chest and grabbed my shoulders. “Elena, be careful!” he barked, his brow furrowing. Then he turned his venomous gaze toward me, trying to intimidate me with a look. “Vanessa, I’m warning you. Don’t you dare touch her.” It was a scene we had played out a thousand times before. Except now, I was the only one who could hear his hollow threats. Elena’s grip tightened on my jacket, her face contorted with malice. She wasn’t here for a sisterly chat. I stepped back, pulling away from her. The detective stepped in, steadying her before she could fall. “Ms. Vance, you need to compose yourself,” the officer said firmly. “The arrangements for Mr. Miller are the responsibility of his legal wife, Mrs. Sterling.” The detective wasn’t an idiot. He had clearly clocked the dynamic between the CEO and his “assistant.” He put a heavy emphasis on the word wife. Elena froze. Her face twisted into something grotesque—like a demon out of a horror movie. “Officer, I want to report a crime!” Elena shrieked. “This wasn’t an accident! She did this! She killed him!” The detective sighed heavily. I looked at her, watching her lose all control, and tucked myself behind the officer. I didn’t want this lunatic scratching my face. Liam was standing right beside her now, his eyes cold as he stared at me. I couldn’t read his ghostly expression perfectly, but I knew him. He was probably suspecting me, too. 02 The detective looked exhausted. As he opened his mouth to speak, I cut him off, looking directly at Elena. “If you don’t have proof, that’s defamation,” I said calmly. “And I will sue you for every cent you don’t have.” Elena gnashed her teeth, her rage bubbling just under the surface. I found the whole thing tedious. I decided to offer her some “friendly” advice. “I suggest you go home and start cataloging everything Liam ever bought you.” I paused, letting the silence hang. “Since we were legally married, everything he spent on you is technically marital property. My son, Leo, and I are the sole heirs to Liam’s estate. I wonder how fast I can get a court order to claw back every dollar he wasted on you.” Elena, who had been sobbing just seconds ago, went deathly silent. Seeing her finally quiet down, the detective signaled a female officer to escort her out. As Elena left the room, Liam tried to follow her. To his horror, the moment he reached the doorway, an invisible force yanked him back. I smirked. Serves you right. “Mrs. Sterling, we’ll handle the paperwork from here,” the detective said. They had already investigated. The crash was a textbook accident—blown tire at high speed. They had only asked me some routine questions on the way over. I had no interest in looking at Liam’s face, especially not the post-crash version. I didn’t want nightmares. I called my assistant and my lawyer to handle the logistics, then turned to leave. Everything had been so rushed. I had sent the nanny to pick up Leo from preschool, but I was still anxious. Leo had grown up without his father’s presence. He was clingy, and I was worried he wouldn’t go to sleep if I wasn’t there. I finished the formalities, confirmed my assistant was on the way, and headed straight to the airport for the first flight home. 03 It was confirmed. Liam couldn’t leave my side. I looked up at the ceiling of the plane, knowing he was tethered to the roof or the seat next to me. I squinted into the air. This was going to be fun. The moment I landed, the nanny sent me a video. There was Leo, in his cute pajamas, his big dark eyes blinking at the camera. He refused to go to sleep, constantly calling for “Mommy.” It wasn’t until the nanny told him I was watching that he sat up and gave the lens a weak, tired smile. “Mommy, I want to cuddle. Please come home soon.” Leo was five. He was starting kindergarten next year, but he still had that sweet, high-pitched toddler voice that could melt stone. I hurried home. My driver was waiting, and I was through my front door in less than an hour. The nanny was showing Leo a picture book. When he heard me, Leo sprinted to the door and dove into my arms. I held him tight, carried him to his room, and tucked him in. I read him three stories before he finally drifted off. While I was occupied with Leo, I caught Liam out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting on the padded window seat in Leo’s room. When he was alive, he never bothered with the boy. He claimed he didn’t like “kids,” but the truth was he just didn’t like me. He almost never spent time with his son. That was why, during the whole bedtime routine, Leo never once mentioned his father. I heard Liam’s ghostly murmur. He was asking himself why Leo wasn’t asking for “Daddy.” I almost laughed. I kissed Leo’s forehead and went to the master bedroom. 04 I wasn’t in the mood for games. I sat at the edge of the bed and spoke into the empty air. “Leo is five years old. In those five years, how many times did you actually play with him?” “Did you ever take him to the park? Did you ever tuck him in? What reason does he have to miss you?” “Leo is closer to our driver than he is to you.” I looked at the spot where I felt his presence. We had been married for ten years. He had been cheating with his assistant for three. The semi-transparent soul suddenly met my eyes. The room went cold. His face was a mask of pure shock. He didn’t look like the powerful “Mr. Miller” anymore. “You can see me.” I didn’t answer. I just looked at him like he was an idiot. Liam sighed and sat at my vanity. When he realized he didn’t have a reflection in the mirror, he sat there dazed for a few seconds. I let out a short, dry laugh and crossed my arms. “So, Mr. Miller, even in death, you can’t seem to quit me?” The moment I discovered his affair with Elena, I had asked for a divorce. He refused. He claimed he couldn’t live without me, that Leo needed a father—every excuse in the book to block the filing. I even tried to take it to court. But I lacked the “smoking gun” evidence. Elena was his assistant; they were expected to be together around the clock. After enough fighting, I gave up. I looked at it from a different perspective. A billionaire husband who is never home but provides a limitless credit card? That’s just a high-end ATM. So I started buying real estate in Leo’s name. I focused on my own career. I was always prepared for him to eventually force a divorce on his terms. I never expected he’d drop dead first. Liam had no siblings. His parents passed away years ago. That meant Leo and I were the sole beneficiaries of his entire empire. The legal wife and the biological son. What a generous man. 05 We didn’t talk much that night. I went to sleep quickly. Early the next morning, my assistant emailed me the cremation certificate and a video of the coffin entering the furnace. Liam drifted over to see what I was looking at. He watched his own body turn to ash. “You aren’t even a little sad?” His voice was muffled, hollow. I took a sip of my coffee, feeling quite refreshed. I didn’t bother answering. I went to Leo’s room to wake him up. He had preschool. Furious at my silence, Liam started pacing around me, his voice rising in a ghostly roar. “Vanessa!” Leo couldn’t hear him. He just woke up, rubbed his eyes, and giggled as he crawled into my lap. “Mommy, can I take extra snacks to share with my friends today?” While he brushed his teeth, Leo was dancing with excitement. I smiled, helped him pack his favorite treats into his backpack, and sent him off. 06 After dropping Leo off and confirming a few things with my lawyer, I went to Miller Group HQ. Liam was still in a foul mood, so he didn’t say anything. He just sat in the passenger seat, arms crossed. I knew he was probably hoping to see Elena. He was going to be disappointed. Men are notoriously slow at figuring certain things out. Like the true nature of the women they keep. When we reached the office, Elena was nowhere to be found. Liam’s other assistant, Ms. Gable, already knew the news. My lawyer had called her. She knew exactly why I was there. She had already scheduled a board meeting for 2:00 PM. Ms. Gable led me into Liam’s private office. “Mrs. Sterling, please make yourself comfortable. I’ll bring the files over.” She hesitated for a second, then opened a concealed door in the wood-paneled wall, revealing a hidden suite. “If you’re tired, you can rest in here.” The room had a king-sized bed, a walk-in closet, and a designer tub. I frowned. Thinking about what Liam and Elena might have done in there made my skin crawl. Actually, the whole office felt tainted. “It’s filthy in here,” I said, avoiding Liam’s gaze and stepping back. I wiped the tip of my nose. “I’ll wait in your office, Ms. Gable.” Liam, who had been silent, was now glaring at me with pure rage. I ignored his fury and followed Ms. Gable out. 07 I spent the morning reviewing files and consulting with a specialist my assistant had hired. By noon, Liam realized what my plan was. As I followed Ms. Gable to the executive cafeteria, Liam was screaming in my ear the whole way. I had known him since we were seventeen. We started dating at eighteen and married at twenty-three. This was the first time I’d seen the “Great Liam Miller” lose his mind. “Vanessa, how dare you sell my shares!” “You bitch!” “That’s mine! You have no right!” Liam came from a comfortable middle-class background. Everything he had, he built himself. He was the golden boy of his generation. He had proposed at twenty and waited until twenty-three to marry me, promising he’d give me the world. But seven years into the marriage, he cheated. I waited until Ms. Gable went to grab our trays before I finally looked at his ghost. “It’s mine now.” I didn’t offer any further explanation. Liam froze, his ghostly eyes turning a deep, angry red. “Vanessa! I hope you rot in hell!” After lunch and a quick nap, the board meeting started. Before I even reached the conference room, I heard a familiar voice. It was Elena. I leaned against the doorframe and looked back at Liam. The look of desperate expectation in his eyes was pathetic. Men are so predictable. “Members of the board…” Elena’s voice wavered through the door. Liam tried to rush inside, his gaze darting to me repeatedly. But he was tethered. He couldn’t go in unless I did. He had to stand there and listen with me. “Mr. Miller has passed away…” Elena’s voice was shaky, acting the part of the grieving, loyal employee. I didn’t want her ruining my play, so I pushed the door open. “Ms. Vance. What a surprise.” 08 At the sound of my voice, Elena, dressed in a modest white chiffon dress, visibly flinched. “Good afternoon, everyone,” I said, ignoring her as I addressed the board members. Elena was still standing in front of my designated seat. I casually tossed my designer bag onto the table and raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you have a reason for being here, Ms. Vance?” Elena wasn’t smart. She couldn’t hide her tells. I saw the calculation in her eyes. It was the same look she gave me three years ago when she first slept with Liam and came to flaunt it to my face. She was trying to align herself with the board, hoping to leverage Liam’s “bequest” for her own gain. But Liam was a fool. He missed the greed in her eyes entirely. Instead, he only saw the “timid” look she gave Mr. Davenport, the senior board member sitting next to her. Seeing that look, Liam’s ghostly heart broke for her. He hovered next to me, trying to look through me with his murderous glare. “Vanessa, you treat her well, or I swear I’ll drag you to the grave with me!” Tch. The grave? I ignored him and glanced at Mr. Davenport’s balding head. Elena’s taste in men was really going downhill. I knew exactly what Elena was up to. Every person in this room knew about the affair. Elena was a toxic asset now; anyone with a brain would stay far away from her. But Mr. Davenport was famously horny and incredibly rich. I nudged Elena aside and pulled out my chair. “I’m here to discuss the future of the company.” I signaled Ms. Gable to give the board a summary of the transition. As she spoke about the “accident,” the board members began looking at Elena with varying degrees of suspicion. In the early days, Liam didn’t have a driver. If there was a crash with Elena in the car, nobody believed she was entirely innocent of distraction. But since she was the only witness and she claimed it was an accident, the police couldn’t do much. Even Mr. Davenport’s gaze toward her lost its warmth. Elena bit her lip, her eyes red, her eyelashes fluttering. She looked like a wounded bird. I tapped the table. “I’m not familiar with the inner workings of Miller Group. After consulting with my team, I’ve decided to liquidate Liam’s majority stake.” “I value the contributions you’ve all made, so I’m giving the board right of first refusal.” I pulled a stack of my assistant’s business cards from my bag, handed them to Elena, and smirked. “Ms. Vance, would you be so kind as to hand these out to the board members?” When she first started with Liam, she was careful. But after two months of realizing Liam and I were strangers, she stopped hiding. She used to walk past me wearing the jewelry Liam bought her just to see my reaction. Now, suddenly being treated like a low-level clerk, Elena’s eyes welled with tears. The perfect damsel in distress. Liam was fuming, but he couldn’t touch me. Mr. Davenport, however, stepped up. He waved a hand, a greasy smile on his face. “Mrs. Sterling, let’s not be hard on Ms. Vance.” He reached out and took the cards from her hand himself. I shrugged. “You have three days to consider the offer. After that, I’m opening the floor to outside buyers. All fifty-five percent.” I stood up to leave, then paused at the door, looking back at Elena. “Ms. Vance, remember what I said at the station? I’m coming for my money. You might want to start packing.” Then I walked out on my four-inch heels. 09 The tether snapped tight, forcing Liam to follow me out of the building. In the car, Liam sat next to me. Seeing that I was dead serious about selling his life’s work and ruining Elena, he finally stopped fighting. His voice softened. “Vanessa, I know I messed up. But I was good to you in my own way. I’m begging you… sell the shares to Graham. And please, stop targeting Elena.” Graham was Liam’s co-founder. He had been the best man at our wedding. I hadn’t seen him in the meeting. He’d sent a proxy. I kept my head down, watching a video the nanny had sent from the preschool. In the video, Leo was handing out snacks to his classmates. The kids were cheering, surrounding him in a circle. Leo was in the middle, his eyes crinkled into little crescents, laughing with pure joy. Liam hadn’t gotten a response, so he leaned over to look at the screen. When he saw Leo’s happy face, his voice caught. He stopped talking. He just stared at the image of his son’s smile, over and over. The car pulled up to the estate. My assistant was waiting for me. Ever since the island, he had been working around the clock. He looked exhausted. Thinking about the cards I’d just handed out, I felt a slight pang of guilt. “Your year-end bonus is doubled,” I told him as I walked inside. His face instantly lit up with energy. He followed me in, handing me the formal death and cremation certificates. “I’ve already forwarded these to the legal team. They’re finalizing the asset transfer to you and Leo.” I took the papers and tossed them casually onto the armchair where Liam was sitting. “Good work.” Just as I said that, the assistant’s phone rang. He looked at me, I nodded, and he put it on speaker. A man’s voice, slightly breathless, came through. “Tell Mrs. Sterling I’ll take the shares. All of them.” The voice sounded a bit old. It was Mr. Davenport. I took a sip of water. The timing. The tone. Tch. Elena sure moves fast.

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