I married an idiot. For three years, I personally fed him, bathed him, and gave him the whole world. Then one day he woke up, became the CEO of a listed company, and spent millions proposing to me across the city. After marriage, I became the envy of everyone. He expressed his love for me on various occasions. But when his true love appeared, he immediately kicked me out, just to make room for her. With nowhere to go, I swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills. When I crossed over to this world, I spent 25 years pursuing the four main love interests, only to lose everything in the end. The system said that as long as this body dies, I can go home. But just as my consciousness was fading, I heard someone desperately begging me to live. 0 “Aria, I know you’re awake. Why did you choose to attempt suicide on the day Sam returns? What, are you trying to frame Sam by pretending to be dead?” Accompanied by a cold voice, I opened my eyes to see William’s icy gaze full of hatred. William, one of my love interests, was once a husband who loved me to the bone. When we first met, he was tricked while fighting for his family’s inheritance and became an idiot, insisting on marrying me. For three years, I bathed him, washed his clothes, took care of his daily life, and gave him the whole world. However, when the family heirs killed each other off, he suddenly woke up and became the sole heir. It turned out that he had been pretending to be stupid to avoid disaster, and I was the real fool who had been deceived. When I turned to leave, he knelt down and begged, spending millions to propose to me across the city. “Aria, please don’t go. I can’t live without you. I may have been pretending to be stupid, but I really do like you.” Amidst flying flower petals, looking at the face I had lived with day and night, I agreed. Until Olivia appeared, and he changed his heart. He used work as an excuse to stay away from home for long periods. “Why can’t you understand me?” “If I don’t work hard, where will your food and clothes come from?” I believed him. But not long after, I found him intimate with Olivia in the office, with used condoms on the floor. When I asked him why, he told me to leave with nothing. I refused, so Olivia faked her death by jumping into the sea and posted a 10,000-word accusation on social media, framing me for bullying and abusing her, forcing her to die. I was subjected to overwhelming cyberbullying. He seized the opportunity to kick me out of the house. My own brother also wanted to sever ties with me, this vicious person. No matter how I explained, no one believed I was innocent. Although I don’t know why William would save me, looking at the surging hatred in his eyes, I forced out the last breath from my lungs and said with difficulty: “Kill… me.” The next moment, William released his hand and slapped me angrily: “If you want to die, go somewhere else to die. Don’t dirty my hands!” I was stunned by his slap. When I came to my senses, I had already been thrown onto the road outside the villa gate by him and his bodyguards. William folded his arms across his chest, his expression cold and indifferent, as if looking at garbage: “If it weren’t for you bullying and harassing Olivia, how could she have been forced to jump into the sea? If you want to commit suicide, remember to stay away from me. Seeing you makes me physically sick.” I laughed self-mockingly. It was clearly them slandering me behind my back, but it became my fault! Can those with power and influence really turn black into white? But he probably forgot that without me, he wouldn’t have today! Since that’s the case, I won’t dirty his eyes! I staggered away, coming to a bustling street. Looking at the flowing traffic, I jumped. As long as this body dies, I can go home. The next instant, the sharp sound of tires screeching accompanied by honking horns rang out. Someone grabbed my hair tightly and dragged me to the roadside. “Aria, what are you doing?!” I looked at the angry William and quietly asked: “Why? I’ve already stayed away from you.” Although his words were so fierce, I saw his body trembling. When he was still pretending to be an idiot, whenever he was afraid, he would unconsciously tremble and hide behind me. What was he afraid of? Afraid of me dying? But isn’t this fulfilling his and Olivia’s wishes? William slapped me hard: “What are you pretending for? This is the road Olivia has to take to get home! If you die here, how will it dirty her eyes?” I lowered my eyes and laughed self-mockingly. So it was because of this. I obediently went to the riverside. Here, it shouldn’t dirty his beloved’s eyes, right? 0

I walked step by step into the river. The next moment, another hand grabbed me. I turned back in confusion, only to find it was my brother Finn. He was holding a cake with a big name written on it: “Olivia”. It should be a cake prepared to celebrate Olivia’s fake death return… Anger and hatred surged in Finn’s eyes. “What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you knew I was going to bring a cake for Olivia and came to stop me?!” “Aria, have you forgotten that I’ve already severed ties with you!” In this world, if there’s someone who hates me more than William, it would be my own brother. But he wasn’t like this before. We lost both parents when we were young. I raised my brother alone, naming him “Finn”, hoping he would be as free as the wind chimes dancing in the air. He dreamed of studying music, so I dropped out of school early and worked three jobs to send him to the best training classes. Once, during a house fire, he ran barefoot into the flames, crying that if I died, he wouldn’t live alone either. We were each other’s support in this world, the closest blood relatives. But all this changed after he met Olivia. Olivia said she wanted to eat something good, so he forced me to cook a table full of dishes despite my serious illness. She didn’t eat, and when I couldn’t help but ask, he turned on me: “Your cooking is too bad, why are you yelling at her!” Saying that, he threw the dishes I had worked hard to make into the garbage. Later, Olivia and William framed me and faked her death by jumping into the sea. Because of this, Finn hated me to the bone, severed ties with me, coldly watched me suffer all kinds of torment, and even personally pushed me into the abyss. Thinking of this, I didn’t answer his words, slowly pulling my wrist out of his hand inch by inch. Seeing this, William immediately sneered: “Olivia is back. She was kicked out by me with nothing, so she probably can’t accept it and wants to commit suicide.” Finn frowned and laughed coldly: “Someone as afraid of death as her, how could she really commit suicide? She’s probably just putting on an act.” “Great minds think alike,” William also laughed. “She just performed twice in front of me.” After mocking me, Finn looked at me with hatred again: “Aria, even if a vicious person like you really dies, no one would care!” “Get out of my way, don’t block me from finding Olivia.” I slowly lowered my eyes: “Alright, I’ll leave.” As soon as the words fell, I plunged towards the rushing river. Finn’s face turned pale. The river was so rapid that in the blink of an eye, I had been washed ten meters away. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. This time, I should really be able to die, right? But the next moment, with a “splash” sound, I was rescued by Finn and thrown onto the grass, covered in mud, looking miserable. He was soaking wet and kicked me like a madman. “Aria, are you trying to make everyone think I drove you to death and then ruin me?!” “You really disgust me!” “You, when did you learn to swim?” I coughed violently, bitter water spilling from the corners of my mouth. Finn kicked me hard and sneered: “After Olivia jumped into the sea, I learned to swim.” “What? Unhappy that your scheme didn’t work?” I couldn’t help but sneer. Love is really great. In the past, I wanted to teach him how to swim countless times. But every time I was stopped by Olivia, “With me around, Finn doesn’t need to learn to swim at all. I will always be with him and save him when he’s in danger.” Finn also coldly belittled me: “Aria, this is the difference between you and Olivia. You only force me to do things I don’t want to do. You’re not fit to be my sister at all!” Later, Finn accidentally drowned, and Olivia watched coldly. It was me who went into the water and saved him. But he thought it was Olivia who saved him, attributing all the credit to Olivia, and even scolded me for being ungrateful, watching my own brother drown without doing anything. But I never thought that Finn, who had been afraid of water since childhood, would actually learn to swim for Olivia. “What does my suicide have to do with you? You’re nothing but a stranger to me.” Hearing this, Finn’s face turned red with anger, and he slapped me. “If it weren’t for the fact that I vowed to pray and accumulate virtue for Olivia after her death, do you think I would save you, a biological sister I’ve severed ties with?” “Even if it were a dog that fell into the water today, I would save it!” I laughed self-mockingly, “What a fresh term, biological sister. Then what about Olivia? Your emotional sister? But she’s going to marry William.” Hearing this, Finn suddenly dropped the cake in his hand and looked at William. “Marriage?! With William?” I was about to speak when another love interest, Ryan, rushed over and blurted out: “Olivia is missing!” “Aria, did you hide Olivia?! Quickly call her out!” 0

William, who had been calm all along, panicked for the first time. “Olivia is missing?” “Aria! No wonder you’ve been acting so strange today. It seems you’ve done something bad and want to use fake suicide to clear your suspicions! Quick, tell me where you’ve taken Olivia!” Finn immediately reddened his eyes and slapped me hard: “Olivia went through so much to come back, and you dare to harm her! I should have let you drown in the river earlier!” “Quickly give her back to me! If she dies, I won’t live either!” There was an iron rust taste in my mouth. I opened my lips, and a few drops of blood fell. Olivia disappeared again. She really can’t stand to see me have any good. Since that’s the case, I might as well fulfill her wishes. I was about to speak when I saw Ryan, who once said I was his only salvation, holding a knife to my throat. “Speak! Where did you hide my Olivia!” Ryan, the fourth of my love interests, was also a well-known medical genius. Back then, because someone wanted to steal his family’s secret medical book, his entire family was killed. It was I who risked my life to save him. Perhaps because he witnessed his entire family being killed, Ryan became extremely resistant to others approaching him. There’s still a scar on my left hand where he bit me when he was in shock. But I never left him, accompanying him through that difficult time. Finally, Ryan regained his senses and decided to practice his family’s medical skills to find evidence and avenge his family. In the silent struggle, I went through countless life and death moments, personally helping him reach a high position and slaughter all his enemies. That day, he cried and said that from then on, I would be his sister, a relative without blood ties. That day, I cried too, because he really looked like my brother from another world. I… missed my brother. But later, after Olivia appeared, he gradually distanced himself from me. Just because Olivia said she didn’t like me calling him brother. He then declared that if I came within three meters of him, he would seal my throat with silver needles. On the day he learned that Olivia had faked her death by jumping into the sea, Ryan went crazy. He stuck tens of thousands of needles into my body, torturing me endlessly, just to avenge Olivia. “Who knows how much Olivia suffered at your hands before she jumped into the sea to commit suicide.” “Since that’s the case, then for each of your following days, you will suffer a hundred times more cruel torture than her!” Seeing my silence, Ryan’s eyes were filled with bloodshot, and the sharp blade pressed against my throat, drawing a line of blood. “Not talking? It seems a few days without torture have made you forget our methods!” Ryan coldly stepped forward, knocked me unconscious, and took me to the dark room in William’s villa. He stuck dense silver needles into my acupoints, amplifying my pain and torturing me with various instruments. William and Finn didn’t stop him, but instead gritted their teeth and glared at me with raging anger. I struggled, and dense, stabbing pain came from all over my body. The pain penetrated to the bone, making me cry out involuntarily. But Ryan slapped me hard and shouted: “What are you yelling for? Can’t you even bear this little pain? Don’t forget how you tortured Olivia back then!” “If you don’t tell us her whereabouts, everything you did to her, I will return to you one by one!” Hearing this, I opened my eyes wide, as if seeing dawn. I don’t want to be abused by them anymore. I just want to die quickly and cleanly. I just want to go home and have a good sleep! I cried, sobbed, and shouted: “Your Olivia is already dead! I chopped her up piece by piece with a knife!” “Come on! Kill me!! Let me accompany her!” “Come on!!!” I shouted crazily at them. Ryan was probably too angry, even at this point I still dared to be so arrogant. “You really think I don’t dare to kill you? Olivia is dead, trash like you should accompany her!” He suddenly took out a knife and rushed out, raising his hand to stab me. He used full force, probably thinking I would resist, but I just stood there, watching the knife tip enter my heart. Ryan was stunned, looking at the blood gushing from my chest, as if he couldn’t believe it. But I pulled the corners of my mouth, finally going to die! As my consciousness dispersed, Olivia’s voice suddenly came from the door: “Oh, why is everyone here? I’ve been looking for you for a long time…”

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Everyone knew Lily only married me to spite Jack, her idealized ex-lover. For five years of marriage, she played the role of a caring wife and renowned cardiologist in public. But behind closed doors, she was cold as ice towards me and brought up divorce countless times. Later, when Jack returned to the country due to illness, Lily tirelessly cared for him. She even warned me repeatedly: “Jack’s heart is weak. If you dare show your face around him, you’ll regret it!” Finally, on the hundredth time she mentioned divorce, I agreed. What Lily didn’t know was that I had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and didn’t have long to live. On the way to finalize our divorce, I got into a car accident and died instantly. Lily never made it to meet me. Instead, she received news that a matching heart donor had been found for Jack. She rushed back to the hospital excitedly and personally performed the surgery to remove the heart and transplant it into Jack’s body. It was only afterwards that she remembered about finalizing our divorce. But by then, she could no longer reach my phone… 0

The moment my soul left my body, the unbearable pain finally subsided. I floated above, watching the smoking wreckage of my car in the pouring rain. The driver’s side was severely crushed from the impact. The person in the seat was unrecognizable, their bones completely shattered. Today was supposed to be Lily and my fifth wedding anniversary. It was also the hundredth time she had brought up divorce. In the past, I always avoided the topic to maintain our fragile relationship. But this time, I agreed to the divorce. Our relationship hadn’t been good these five years, but we still spent day and night together for so long. Until a month ago, when Jack, the man Lily loved but couldn’t be with, returned to the country due to illness. After that, Lily never came home. She stayed at the hospital caring for him tirelessly. Everyone knew she had only married me back then to spite Jack. But I had loved her secretly for years. So even knowing this cruel truth, I still cherished Lily. My thoughts returned to the present. I watched as the ambulance took away my mangled body. For some reason, I felt compelled to follow. Lily worked at this hospital. For years, she had been a renowned cardiologist. But as the spouse of a top doctor, I couldn’t even go to her for minor ailments. On our wedding day, Lily had coldly told me: “I don’t want to see you at my workplace. And don’t bother me over small things.” So even when I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I never got the chance to tell her. Tears streamed down my face as a dull ache filled my chest. My bloodied corpse wasn’t taken to the morgue. Instead, it was brought to the operating room on the fifth floor. Just then, the OR doors opened. Two people walked in one after another. “Jack, it’s illegal to take the heart without the family’s consent…” I recognized the person speaking – it was Tom, Lily’s intern. I had often brought Lily meals at work, and this guy had eaten plenty of them. Jack scoffed and walked over to my cold body with his arms crossed. He looked down at me with disdain, unable to hide his disgust as he quickly turned away. “I’ve waited so long to finally match with a donor. How could I let this chance slip away?” He turned to Tom coldly: “Call Lily back.” “I want her to personally remove the heart and perform my surgery.” Tom hesitated, looking at Jack with uncertainty. He started to speak several times but stopped himself. Jack wasn’t in a hurry. He took out a card from his bag and handed it to Tom. “There’s $50,000 on this card. This stays between us.” “Even if the family comes looking later, I have ways to deal with it.” Tempted by the money and Jack’s assurances, Tom finally took the card and called Lily. After some mechanical ringing, Lily’s voice filled the operating room. “What is it?” Tom paused, glancing at Jack before slowly replying: “Dr. Lu, we found a matching heart donor for Mr. Song.” “The body is in the OR. Please come back quickly.” Hearing this, Lily’s usually indifferent tone became ecstatic, as if she had won the lottery. “Really?! I’ll be right there!” “Jack won’t have to worry about this anymore…” Her excited voice felt like daggers stabbing into my heart. I looked at my corpse on the operating table through tear-filled eyes. If Lily knew it was me who died, would she still be so happy? 0

Less than 30 minutes later, Lily returned. She was out of breath as she hugged Jack in the hallway, saying happily: “Jack, you’re finally going to be okay.” Jack’s eyes reddened at her words as he said softly: “Lily, without you I’d rather give up this heart…” Hearing this, Lily hugged Jack tighter and stood on her toes to gently kiss him. She vowed, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely divorce Adam.” “I… only married him to spite you in the first place.” Even though this was common knowledge, hearing it from Lily’s own lips still made my heart ache uncontrollably. So this was how much she loved Jack. So even after five years, I still hadn’t managed to melt her icy heart. While I was lost in thought, Lily had finished comforting Jack and told him to prepare for surgery. She went with Tom to change into scrubs and entered the operating room. For Lily, a heart transplant was a simple procedure. But when she saw the blood-covered body on the operating table, she still frowned: “Tom, why wasn’t the body cleaned up before being brought here?” Tom froze, too nervous to look at Lily. In the end, he stammered: “Dr. Lu, Mr. Song’s donor was so hard to find.” “And, well, we wanted to ensure the heart stayed fresh…” Hearing this, Lily said no more. She held out her hand to take the scalpel Tom passed her. Just as she was about to make the first incision, she paused again. I followed her gaze and realized Lily was looking at my hand. On the ring finger of my left hand was a diamond ring, stained red with blood. I had designed this ring myself. I even made a matching women’s wedding band for Lily when we got married. But she had scornfully locked it away in a drawer and never worn it again. “Dr. Lu, is something wrong?” Tom asked in confusion. Lily shook her head. When she spoke again, her voice held a hint of pity. “What a shame. His wife must be devastated,” she said as she cut open my chest cavity. Tom stood beside her, handing her instruments as he replied: “And after examination, this man had a terminal illness. He didn’t have long to live.” “It really is pitiful.” This time Lily didn’t respond, but the atmosphere in the OR became even heavier. I watched her from afar, suddenly remembering last winter when I had fallen terribly ill. I was so weak I couldn’t even get out of bed. Lily was home at the time, but she only focused on her own work. I suffered through a high fever all night. By the time I was rushed to the hospital, the doctors said I had nearly died. But when I woke up, the first thing Lily did was berate me. “You’re a grown man, don’t you know to speak up when you’re not feeling well?!” She glared at me angrily. “Or were you just trying to get my attention?” At the time, I was too weak to argue. She was the one who said not to bother her even if I was unwell. I had listened to her, so why was she still angry? Lily could show compassion for a complete stranger, so why was she so cold towards her husband of five years? 0

The heart was successfully removed. Six hours later, it was beating again. But this time, it was inside Jack’s body. As soon as Lily left the OR, she went straight to Jack’s room. Seeing him lying unconscious in bed, she finally let out a long sigh of relief. After checking on Jack, Lily returned to her office. She sat down and took out her phone, but there were no messages. In the past, I would send her hundreds of messages every day, sharing every little detail about what I ate, what I did, how work was going. But Lily never replied. She stared at her phone for a long time before finally opening her contacts and scrolling to my name. She hesitated before dialing. But the phone just kept ringing mechanically before going to voicemail. No one answered on the other end. Eventually Lily lost patience. She opened SnapChat and sent two voice messages to my chat. “Adam, you already agreed to the divorce, so it doesn’t matter if you answer the phone or not. I won’t change my mind.” “Don’t think playing hard to get will make me reconsider divorcing you!” I watched her irritated expression and smiled bitterly, murmuring, “Lily, if you hated me so much, why did you marry me in the first place?” But it didn’t matter anymore. The husband she despised had died in today’s downpour. Lily would never have to be bothered by me again. For the first time, Lily’s messages went unanswered. I had vanished without a trace. But she didn’t try to find me. She was convinced I was just sulking, hiding away because I didn’t want to divorce her. My body lay unclaimed in the hospital morgue. The reason was simple – I was an orphan. After leaving the orphanage, I was admitted to a top design school in the country. That was probably one of the most praiseworthy things in my life. The other was marrying Lily. In college, she wasn’t just the beauty queen of the medical school, but also the top student. She was the unattainable dream girl for many guys. But back then, Lily only had eyes for Jack. Even I, from a neighboring school, knew about their romantic love story. The first time I saw her was at a joint school mixer. Amidst the crowds, Lily stood out in an expensive designer dress, confidently holding court. She was surrounded by people, but no one could outshine her brilliance. Later, I was standing by the river lost in thought when Lily approached me. She thought I was going to jump and tried to comfort me. For the first time, my dull heart fluttered. But I knew the vast difference in our status. Plus she had a boyfriend, so I kept my feelings hidden away. It’s laughable really. Those who crawl out of the mud always foolishly yearn for things far beyond their reach. I thought that would be my only interaction with Lily. Until she broke up with Jack. By chance, I was delivering custom buttons to her friend that day. The sun was shining brightly when she looked up at me casually and asked, “Do you want to marry me?” 0

“Adam still hasn’t answered the phone?” In the hospital room, Jack looked at Lily with a pale face and asked sadly, “Lily, after five years of marriage, do you really feel nothing for him?” “Are you lying to me about his disappearance? You actually… don’t want to marry me.” “You never forgave me for leaving you back then!” By the end, Jack was crying heartbrokenly. After these days, my emotions had strangely stabilized. I was leaning against the window, quietly watching them. I guessed Lily would hug Jack tenderly to comfort him. Sure enough, the next second, she frowned and stood up to embrace the agitated Jack. See, I guessed right. “Adam agreed to divorce me. I don’t know why he suddenly went off the grid.” She said as she gently patted Jack’s back to comfort him. Then she said softly, “But don’t worry, I will divorce him.” Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. Two uniformed police officers burst into the room. Lily looked at them in confusion, “Officers, is something wrong?” Before the police could answer, the door was flung open again. Tom stood there panting heavily. He looked up at Lily with trembling eyes: “Dr. Lu… Mr. Chen is dead…”

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My fiancé Lucas, the CEO, told me the company wasn’t doing well and cut my salary in half. But then I saw his secretary Amber bragging on social media: “The boss not only gave me a raise, but also bought me a luxury car because he was worried I’d get tired from commuting. He’s so thoughtful!” In the photo, she was standing with Lucas in front of a brand new $100,000 car, looking blissfully happy. I pondered for a moment, then hit the like button. That evening, Lucas called an emergency meeting. Using the excuse that I was “disrupting company morale”, he docked my entire month’s salary and gave it to Amber as “emotional distress compensation”. Everyone looked at me with pity, probably expecting me to freak out. But I calmly packed up my desk and handed him my resignation letter. “Docking someone’s pay isn’t enough punishment for bullying a coworker. I’ll save you the trouble and quit.” 0 As soon as I finished speaking, Lucas’s secretary Amber chimed in. “Rachel, how can you quit over such a small thing?” she said. “You’ve been with the company for so long, and Lucas has always treated you so well. If you resign now, what will people think of him?” “Lucas, please talk some sense into Rachel!” she pleaded. Lucas may have been planning to convince me to stay. But after hearing Amber’s words, his anger flared up. He snorted coldly: “What’s there to talk about? If she wants to leave, let her leave. I have nothing to hide, I’m not afraid of what anyone might say.” Without hesitation, he signed my resignation letter and tossed it in my face. The other employees looked on in shock. A coworker I was close with quietly urged me to apologize, telling me not to act rashly. Almost everyone knew that I had helped Lucas build this company from the ground up. When the company was short on cash and couldn’t complete projects, I led the team in working overtime for three days straight. I had poured my heart and soul into every aspect of the business. Now the company had just secured funding and was about to go public. Anyone else would stay for that. But I remained calm as I picked up the resignation letter from the floor. “I’ll finish handing over my work before I go.” “No need for that. Get out right now,” Lucas said coldly, pointing at the door. Seeing this, I said nothing more. I said goodbye to a few people and left with my things. As I was leaving, I glanced back at Lucas one last time. I clearly saw a flash of complicated emotion in his cold eyes. I knew why, of course. He didn’t think I would actually leave. We had fought before, but after I left, I would always regret it soon after. I’d come back as if nothing had happened, apologize to him, and go back to work as usual. But he probably didn’t realize this time was different. My patience with him had finally run out. I walked to the parking garage and found my old beater car that I’d been driving for 10 years. The paint was chipped in several places. Next to it was parked a brand new top-of-the-line Porsche – the one Lucas had just given to Amber today. There were plenty of empty spots in the garage, but she had deliberately parked right next to me. I understood it was a provocation aimed at me. These weren’t just two cars – they represented the two of us. I had been with Lucas for 10 years, but I meant less to him than Amber who had only joined 10 months ago. I gave a bitter laugh and got into my car. Just then, a text message came through. I opened it to see a transfer from my friend Sophia. This morning when Lucas said the company wasn’t doing well and was cutting my pay, I had been worried he was under too much stress. I immediately contacted Sophia to borrow $50,000. I had planned to give it to Lucas, but then I inadvertently saw Amber’s social media post about Lucas buying her a new car. At the time, I was surprisingly calm. I didn’t feel sad or jealous enough to go crazy. Perhaps because it had happened too many times before. Amber had been hired by Lucas as a special exception. Her work abilities were terrible, but Lucas, who was usually so strict and serious about work, kept tolerating her mistakes time after time. From small things like serving the clients plain water while getting herself a latte during meetings, to big blunders like accidentally sending out our internal pricing sheet to a client, causing the company to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. When I tried to hold Amber accountable, Lucas would unhesitatingly stand in front of her to shield her. He’d look at me with obvious impatience. “Amber just graduated, isn’t it normal for her to make some mistakes? Why are you being so harsh on a new employee?” Over time, Amber became more and more brazen, to the point where she didn’t take me seriously at all anymore. Soon after, I left the parking garage. As I was waiting for the gate to lift, my car suddenly jolted as if rear-ended. Realizing I had been hit, I got out of the car, only to see Lucas and Amber getting out of the car behind me, hand in hand. “Oh no, I’m so sorry Rachel! I didn’t expect it to be you,” Amber immediately walked up, looking concerned at the dent in her own car’s front bumper. “But why did you brake so suddenly? I didn’t have time to react.” “What a shame, Lucas just bought me this new car,” she added with a pout. Lucas also glared at me coldly. “Did you do this on purpose? You knew Amber was behind you, so you deliberately slammed on the brakes to get back at her?” I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. There he went again, pushing all the blame onto me without even hearing my side. Before I could say anything, Amber’s eyes started to well up with tears. “Lucas, don’t blame Rachel,” she said. “It’s normal for her to be upset with me after quitting because of me.” “If anything, it’s my fault for causing all this trouble.” As she spoke, she made a show of clenching her fist and moving to hit herself on the forehead in frustration. But just before making contact, she deliberately loosened her hand. Lucas couldn’t see through her act. His eyes filled with tenderness as he gently rubbed her forehead. “It’s not your fault at all. Don’t take everything on yourself.” Then he turned to glare at me furiously. He seemed to get angrier the more he thought about it, and jabbed his finger at my forehead. “Rachel, can’t you learn from Amber and take some responsibility?” he scolded. “She knows how to be humble, while you’re still so childish and arrogant after all these years of working!” I stumbled back a couple steps from his push. When I recovered, I found the situation darkly amusing. For the past year, it had been Amber constantly stealing my achievements and using tricks to pin blame on me. Now suddenly she was the humble one with integrity, while I was childish and arrogant. Knowing it was pointless to argue further, I couldn’t be bothered to say anything more. I turned to leave. “Wait.” Lucas suddenly stopped me. I thought he was going to berate me again and defend Amber, but to my surprise, he pulled me aside. He spoke to me in a serious tone. “Rachel, I admit I was too harsh on you today.” “But it’s only because I have such high expectations for you, that’s why I’m so strict.” Hearing his gentle words, I was confused at first. But soon, I understood his intentions. Lucas gave me a slight smile and patted my shoulder. “I’ll withdraw your resignation. Just come back to work as usual. But find some time to publicly apologize to Amber, okay?” “Also, you’re fully at fault for this rear-ending. I’ll deduct the repair costs from your salary.” I realized what was happening and couldn’t help but laugh derisively. I glanced over at Amber. She had likely already known what Lucas was going to say. Her face was full of smugness as she winked at me provocatively. I scoffed. “No need,” I said firmly. “We can check the security cameras to see who was at fault for the accident. If you really want to pursue it, call the police.” “I have to go now. Goodbye.” With that, I walked away. Lucas shouted angrily behind me: “I already gave you a chance! Don’t come crying back later!” Regret? I wouldn’t regret this. I got back in my car and sent a message to Sophia. “I quit. I can start at your company tomorrow.” Sophia called back within seconds, her voice excited: “Are you serious?” She sounded a bit unsure: “Do you want to think it over with Lucas first?” Back when Sophia and Lucas were both starting their companies, Sophia had tried to recruit me. Compared to Lucas who was truly starting from scratch, Sophia had more resources and connections, and could offer me a much better compensation package. Sophia was in desperate need of top technical talent. She had promised me higher equity and profit sharing to entice me to help them out. Even after learning about my relationship with Lucas, she had made an exception and offered to let me work part-time. But for Lucas’s sake, I had rejected her without hesitation. Back when I was at my lowest point, lying in the snow nearly freezing to death, it was Lucas who had dragged me into a police station and saved my life. I was incredibly grateful to him, so I gave up everything else to pour my heart and soul into the business, doing whatever I could to help Lucas’s company grow step by step. But now it seemed he didn’t care about any of that. Besides, after all these years, I had more than repaid my debt of gratitude to him. There was no need for me to keep sacrificing myself anymore. “No need to discuss with him. I can make my own decisions,” I told Sophia firmly. We chatted a bit more and confirmed the time to sign the contract. Then I drove home first to get the documents I needed for the signing. I had thought Lucas wouldn’t be back until late at night as usual. But to my surprise, he came home soon after, talking happily on the phone with Amber as he walked into the living room. When he saw me, his expression immediately darkened. He rolled his eyes at me deliberately before going into the bedroom. I knew he was waiting for me to go comfort him. Every time we had a fight at work, I would always find ways to apologize and beg for his forgiveness. Even when he was the one in the wrong, I would swallow my pride and admit fault. In the past, I felt it was the right thing to do, whether to repay his kindness or to maintain our relationship. I thought I should be the one to comfort him. But now I just found it tiresome. I focused on searching through the drawers for the documents I needed. After a while, Lucas came out of the bedroom with a sullen face. “Did Amber get her car fixed? What about yours?” he asked. I knew this was his way of extending an olive branch. In the past, I would have taken this as a sign he had forgiven me, and eagerly tried to get back in his good graces. But now, I didn’t even look up as I replied flatly, “It’s just an old beater. Not worth fixing.” Lucas frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I looked up at him in confusion, not understanding what he was upset about now. This car had been scratched and dented many times before. Whenever I said I wanted to get it fixed, he would dismiss it with the same words I just used. I thought he was going to get angry again, but to my surprise, he let out a sigh. “Amber has been doing great work lately. I gave her the car as a way to retain this talent,” he explained. “You’re my girlfriend. We’re going to get married eventually – won’t the company be yours too? Why do you have to be so petty about salary and compete with her?” “Rachel, everything I do is for the company. I don’t want the other employees to think I’m showing favoritism towards you.” I was taken aback that he was actually trying to explain himself to me. He had never bothered to justify his actions to me before. But I knew these were just excuses. Everyone at the company knew how Lucas treated me versus Amber. Projects I had slaved over for days, he would suddenly hand over to Amber on a whim. She would just slap together a quick PowerPoint, and it would become her achievement. Clients I had spent days negotiating with, about to sign a contract – he would take Amber out for one dinner under my name, and suddenly the deal would be credited as Amber’s success. There were countless incidents like this. Over time, the other employees all came to believe Lucas favored Amber more. They even thought Lucas disliked me. Because of this, I endured a lot of cold shoulders and mistreatment at work. Lucas saw it happening but pretended not to notice. I didn’t want to explain. It wouldn’t matter anyway – even if I did, he would just accuse me of making excuses. “Oh,” I responded flatly. “You don’t need to tell me all this. I’m no longer involved with the company. Do whatever you think is best.” Lucas fell silent. Finally, he let out a sigh. He walked up to me and put his hands on my shoulders. “To be honest, I have selfish reasons too. I wanted you to take some time off to think about our wedding,” he said with a smile. “Have you thought about when we should get married?” But I had already picked out wedding dates many times before. Each time, he had refused. Every time we had a fight, he would use the prospect of marriage to appease me. Sometimes, I felt less like his girlfriend and more like a dog he was toying with. I said nothing. Lucas scratched under my chin playfully, as if petting a dog. “Don’t be mad anymore. Can you smile for me?” he coaxed. He planted a kiss on the back of my hand, as if deliberately trying to please me. He rarely showed me affection like this. In the past, I probably would have been overjoyed. After his display of affection, I would have taken the initiative to get closer, only to be pushed away as he laughed and called me a pervert. Looking back now, I found it all so tiresome. I yanked my arm away and wiped the spot he had kissed with a tissue. Lucas froze, as if struck by lightning. “You’re disgusted by me?” he asked in disbelief. “I have to go out later to take care of something. I’m going to change clothes now,” I said flatly. I turned to go back to the bedroom. Lucas tried to follow me, but I closed and locked the door without hesitation. “Fine! Rachel, don’t come crying back to me later!” Lucas seemed truly angry now. After yelling those words, he kicked the door hard before storming off. When I came out of the bedroom, the living room was empty. Lucas had sent a message in the company group chat saying he was treating everyone to dinner and asking who wanted to join. Everyone remained silent. Only Amber enthusiastically sent three “excited” emojis in a row. I knew Lucas was deliberately trying to provoke me. This had happened many times before. It always went the same way – the other employees were reluctant to attend, with only Amber showing enthusiasm. In the past, I would have gotten jealous and insisted on going too, only to be mocked by them. Now, I couldn’t be bothered to care. I went straight to meet Sophia and sign the contract. Sophia was thrilled and specially arranged a celebratory dinner for me. After a few drinks, I went to the restroom. As I was walking back, I heard familiar voices from a nearby private room. I instinctively paused. Through the partially open door, I saw Amber nestled in Lucas’s arms. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Lucas was laughing happily. Taking advantage of the moment, Amber quickly leaned up and kissed him on the lips. Lucas froze for a second, but didn’t push her away. “Lucas, when are you going to break up with Rachel?” Amber asked coyly. “I can’t wait to be with you officially. Do you know how much it hurts me to see you with her every day?” Lucas opened his mouth as if to say something. In the end, he just hugged Amber tightly, patting her back gently like comforting a child. “Just wait a little longer,” he said softly. “It won’t be much longer now.” The two clung to each other intimately, looking every bit like a couple. I scoffed and walked away without watching any further. Back at the dinner, I had a few more drinks before we called it a night. As we were heading to the parking garage together, Sophia suddenly pulled me in front of a top-of-the-line Porsche and asked if I liked it. I nodded, confused. Thinking it was her new car, I was about to compliment it when Sophia unexpectedly pressed a key fob into my hand. “It’s for you,” she said with a wink. “Your old car is falling apart. I’ve been wanting to get you a new one for ages,” she explained. “Now that you’re officially on the team, it’s the perfect time for an upgrade.” I started to refuse, but she cut me off as if already knowing what I was going to say. “I heard Lucas bought a luxury car for that new hire at your old company,” she said bluntly. “If someone with her lousy skills can drive a fancy car, you definitely deserve something even better.” “You know, I’ve seen the work that new girl produces. The style is totally inconsistent every time – it’s obvious she’s just copying other people’s work. I have no idea how she’s managed to keep her job there…” Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Sophia held nothing back as she ranted about Amber. I remained silent. She was right. All those projects had actually been done by me and the other team members. Almost every time we were about to finish something, Lucas would suddenly demand we hand it over to Amber. That’s why Amber’s “style” was so inconsistent. Sophia could see through the situation without even being at the company. Yet somehow Lucas remained oblivious. I thanked Sophia and chatted with her a bit more before heading home. As I opened the front door, I found Lucas already sitting on the couch in the living room. “Where did you go?” he asked, his tone noticeably cheerful. The scene of him and Amber embracing at the restaurant flashed through my mind again. I felt a wave of nausea. “Had dinner with a friend,” I replied flatly, walking straight towards the bedroom. I had only taken a few steps when Lucas suddenly blocked my path, frowning. “You’ve been drinking?” “Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t drink when I’m not around?” he said accusingly. I couldn’t help but laugh derisively. What he really meant was that I was only allowed to drink when helping him entertain clients. I said nothing. Lucas seemed to realize something and suddenly smiled, looking rather pleased with himself. “You’re still upset about me going out with Amber earlier, aren’t you?” he said smugly. “You didn’t want me having dinner alone with her, but you were too proud to say it directly. Was it really worth drinking this much over?” “You’re overthinking things. My drinking had nothing to do with you,” I said wearily. I sat down in a chair, feeling tired. “But there is something I want to tell you.” “What is it?” Lucas asked. Probably thinking I was going to apologize, his tone became smug. “Let me tell you in advance – it’s too late to apologize now. I’m still very angry about what happened this afternoon,” he said haughtily. “Don’t think a simple ‘sorry’ will be enough for me to forgive you.” He rolled his eyes at me as he spoke. I pretended not to notice and started to say, “I…” Before I could finish, his phone suddenly rang. Lucas glanced down at it. I noticed the caller ID showed Amber’s name. “Hold on, I need to take this call,” he said dismissively. With that, Lucas completely ignored me and moved to answer the phone. I watched his cold, resolute back as he walked away, and calmly spoke up. “Let’s break up, Lucas.” As soon as the words left my mouth, Lucas’s body seemed to freeze for a moment.

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I forgave Julian Davies twice. The first time, he cheated, and I caught them red-handed. The girl herself pleaded on her knees, claiming Julian was drunk and unaware. I believed her. The second time, he told me, “Willow is pregnant. Once she has the baby, things will go back to how they were.” I believed him again. It wasn’t until later, all because of a single word from Willow, that he tore down my dance studio—my only solace—and stomped on our cherished love token. When I cried, he lashed out, calling me cruel. “Can’t you just give her a break? Once the baby is born, we can go back to how things were.” That time, I picked up my phone and called my lawyer. “Please draft a divorce agreement for me, as soon as possible.” No one knew that Julian Davies, the “model husband” everyone praised, had betrayed me three times. The first time, he had a one-night stand with Willow, whom I considered my own sister. Afterward, they both knelt before me. Willow’s eyes were red. “Miss Aria, Mr. Davies was drugged! He just thought I was you. Please, don’t be mad at him!” Julian’s face was etched with pain. He hadn’t even had time to shave before rushing to confess his wrongs. “Aria, you’re the only one in my heart. Please, don’t leave me.” He wouldn’t get up until I spoke. So, my heart softened. The second time, he was absent from our wedding anniversary celebration. He told me, “Aria, Willow is pregnant.” “She had a terrible stomach ache and was crying from fear. I couldn’t leave her alone.” I accidentally put him on speakerphone, and the entire room of guests fell silent. My mother-in-law, hearing this, immediately grabbed me anxiously and dragged me towards the hospital. “Quick, quick, save our baby!” In the hospital room, Julian held Willow’s hand, comforting her softly, “Don’t be afraid. The doctor said the baby is fine.” He only let go frantically when he saw me. Willow struggled to sit up, her eyes red, her voice trembling but incredibly firm. “Miss Aria, you and Mr. Davies have always been so kind to me since I was little.” “Since you can’t have children, I don’t want money or status. I’m willing to bear this child for you.” Julian’s mother even threatened to die. “The baby is six months along! I’ve heard its heartbeat. If you can’t accept this child, then I’ll just die with it!” Julian also repeatedly held my hand and promised, “I’ll send her away after she gives birth. Nothing will change.” His hand felt as warm as it always had. I couldn’t bring myself to pull mine away. The third time, Julian tore down my dance studio because Willow said, “A spiritual guide told me the baby needs to live in the southeast room to be healthy.” He didn’t even ask me. I watched blankly as workers moved in and out. Willow intimately held Julian’s hand, dreaming aloud, “We can play games with the baby here later!” Julian fondly ruffled her hair. “You’re still such a kid yourself.” But as he turned and saw me, his smile vanished. “Aria, just give her a break. Once the baby is born, we can go back to how things were.” How things were? Before we married, I was almost a principal dancer in a top troupe. But my mother-in-law said, “A Davies family wife doesn’t perform publicly.” For love, I gave up my dream. As compensation, Julian specifically set up this dance studio for me. He even bought the potted plants and figurines himself. Later, it became the only place in this house that truly belonged to me. Willow stroked her visibly swollen belly and looked up at me. “Sister, this is all for the baby’s good.” She was the daughter of our housekeeper. She used to call me “Miss Aria” no matter how many times I told her not to. It was only today that I finally saw her true colors. I couldn’t help but scoff, “It’s your baby, so of course, you call the shots in this house.” Willow’s face instantly turned pale. She awkwardly stood up, her eyes red, and said, “Miss Aria, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I didn’t mean to stay.” The next second, she suddenly clutched her belly and screamed in pain. Julian panicked. He scooped her up and rushed out. He only threw over his shoulder, “She’s pregnant. Do you really have to be so cruel?” He knocked my bracelet off my wrist, and stomped on the bell charm attached to it. It was a gift he clumsily made for three days and three nights for my sixteenth birthday. When I looked up again, I couldn’t even see his retreating back. My tears fell uncontrollably. That was the first time he had ever spoken to me so harshly. This liar. How could anything ever go back to how it was before? I pulled out my phone. “Ms. Hayes, please draft a divorce agreement for me.” I had told Julian before that the way Willow looked at him seemed off. But he didn’t believe me. He said she was just starved for affection and saw him as a brother. He continued, without restraint, to buy her a high-end laptop worth thousands just because she mentioned envying a classmate.

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My wife’s older cousin, Isabelle, had married a Middle Eastern tycoon. She was almost forty, and they still hadn’t had children. One day, Isabelle came to our door, explaining she was infertile and hoped my wife could help her have a baby. I rejected the idea instantly, without a second thought. I told my wife, straight up, that if she dared to agree, I’d divorce her. A year later, Isabelle suddenly invited me to her baby’s first-month celebration. But Isabelle couldn’t have children, could she? Had my wife actually agreed to that Middle Eastern tycoon’s request behind my back? … This past New Year, my wife’s older cousin, Isabelle, came back from overseas with her husband for the first time in over ten years. My wife’s parents had passed away early, and her aunt (Isabelle’s mother) had taken great care of her. So, Chloe and Isabelle had practically grown up together, and they were very close. When Chloe heard Isabelle was back, she dragged me along, eager to visit them the very next day. Isabelle said their house hadn’t been lived in for a while and wasn’t ready, so she arranged to meet us at a fancy restaurant instead. The moment we stepped into the private room, a man over six feet tall, with a long beard, extended his hand. He greeted us in fluent English. “Hello, I’m Isabelle’s husband. Just call me Omar. I’m from Saudi Arabia!” I only knew my cousin-in-law had married a rich and powerful foreigner. I just hadn’t expected him to be a Middle Eastern tycoon, wearing a traditional head covering. “Hello, Omar. I hope you’ll stay for a few days this time.” “Absolutely, absolutely.” Omar was speaking to me, but his gaze kept drifting to my wife. His eyes held an unmistakable, raw possessiveness. It was no surprise. My wife, Chloe, was incredibly beautiful, with a stunning figure. Her generous E-cup bust always turned heads wherever she went. I frowned, a flicker of annoyance passing through me. Even if we were family, that was incredibly rude. My name is Alex. I worked a demanding corporate job, and overtime was the norm. I was living paycheck to paycheck, barely making ends meet. No silver spoon, no lucky breaks. All I could do was work harder. It took years of savings, but I finally managed to buy our small house with a mortgage. I met Chloe through a mutual friend. Our daily lives weren’t luxurious, but they were calm, peaceful, and truly happy. This year, I’d finally managed to save up a bit, and we were planning to start a family. We were currently trying to conceive. … “Come, sit, sit! Waiter, bring the food!” Omar ushered us to our seats, pulling out gifts he’d brought from overseas. “Wow, is this for me?” Chloe’s eyes lit up with delight as she excitedly hugged a white, deep-V, ultra-low-cut evening gown. Isabelle smiled. “Of course! Omar specifically commissioned a renowned designer for royalty. It took two months to design, and every stitch was hand-sewn. It’s pure couture!” Chloe excitedly hugged Omar’s arm. “Thank you so much, cousin-in-law! You’re the best!” Seeing that, I felt a pang of jealousy. What man could stand seeing his wife so intimate with another man? But then I remembered how, when we got married, we were so broke we had to rent her wedding dress. So, seeing Chloe so genuinely happy, I swallowed my resentment. At the dinner table, Chloe and Isabelle were whispering, gossiping about something. I tried to listen in, but Omar kept pulling me into conversation, urging me to drink. A few shots of hard liquor later, I, who wasn’t much of a drinker, started to feel lightheaded. I excused myself to the restroom. After splashing cold water on my face, I was about to step out when I heard Chloe and Isabelle’s voices. “Chloe, please, think about this carefully. I’m begging you. In my husband’s country, not having children is a huge dishonor. Besides, Omar is so wealthy, he needs an heir! If I can’t give him a child, he’ll divorce me sooner or later. Please, think about my future.” “Isabelle, I’ll… I’ll think about it.” I chose that exact moment to walk out, smiling. “What are you two talking about?” A blush immediately spread across Chloe’s face, and her eyes darted away from mine. She playfully shoved me. “Go on, shoo! It’s girl talk, none of your business!” I knew my wife too well. She was clearly feeling guilty. Instinctively, I felt something was definitely off! Isabelle hadn’t been back in so many years, and her sudden return definitely had some hidden agenda! “Honey, honey, do I look pretty?” The moment we got home, Chloe changed into the white evening gown and twirled around, showing it off. The dress was cut perfectly. It beautifully showcased Chloe’s full curves and generous bust, making my eyes light up. No wonder Chloe was so excited; the dress truly looked high-end. But my wife’s cousin hadn’t been back in years, and the moment she returned, she gave such an expensive gift. Who would believe there wasn’t a motive behind it? 2 Remember, before this, Chloe had often mentioned wanting to visit Isabelle, but Isabelle kept making excuses. Her words were laced with impatience, hinting at disdain for her less fortunate relatives, as if she wanted to cut ties. Now, she had suddenly changed her tune, showering us with attention. What was it all for? But then, what could we, an ordinary family, possibly have that they would want? After much thought, I decided I should warn Chloe, give her a heads-up. “Honey, your cousin is back, inviting us to dinner, giving us gifts… is she looking for a favor?” Chloe was happily admiring herself in the mirror. She instinctively denied it. “You’re overthinking it. Isabelle and her husband are so rich; what could we possibly do for them?” Was I really overthinking it? Then, Chloe hesitantly walked over and hugged me, burying her head in my neck. She spoke softly. “Honey, Isabelle does have something she wants to discuss with us.” I chuckled lightly. *That* made more sense! I made myself comfortable, indicating I was all ears, and Chloe began to explain. “Middle Eastern tycoons are everywhere. Your cousin-in-law, Omar, is rich, but sometimes money can’t solve everything – like having children! He and Isabelle have been so worried about not having a baby.” Hearing that, I sighed. That was indeed a painful problem. Chloe continued, “Isabelle is almost forty. They’ve been married for over ten years, and she hasn’t had a single child. She went to the doctor, who said a past abortion when she was young damaged her uterus, and with her age, it’s basically impossible for her to have children now. So, Isabelle wants me to help her with a small favor!” At this, I was confused. “If doctors can’t solve it, what can *we* do? No one in our family, direct or distant, has been a doctor for three generations!” “Oh, just let me finish!” Chloe pouted, her face flushed. She gave me a captivating glance before hesitantly continuing. “Isabelle wants me to help her have a baby. You know my parents passed away early, and Auntie (Isabelle’s mom) took such good care of me when I was little. I don’t want Isabelle to be alone and miserable in her later years.” I suddenly understood. After thinking for a moment, I reluctantly put my arm around Chloe’s shoulders and sighed. “So that’s what it is. It’s not impossible. If push comes to shove, we can have an extra child and they can adopt them. Their family is well-off, so it wouldn’t be a disservice to the child! But they absolutely must treat my child well, no bullying.” Chloe looked troubled, biting her lip, silent for a long time. Seeing her reaction, I asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong? You don’t agree? Well, it’s your own flesh and blood, after all! If you don’t want to, we can just refuse… Honestly, I’d be sad to give up a child too!” “No.” Chloe cut me off. “Isabelle’s idea is that the child *must* be Omar’s. That way, it’s a true heir for them. So, she’s asking me to stay with Omar for a few days!” My mind reeled, trying to process what she meant. Then it hit me. *Bang!* I slammed my hand on the table. “No way!” “What kind of insane idea is that?” No wonder Omar had been looking at Chloe strangely, and Isabelle had been avoiding me. They were planning something sick, setting their sights on my wife. “I absolutely forbid this!” Chloe hugged me from behind, her voice trembling with tears. “Honey, if Omar doesn’t have a child, he could always find another young, beautiful woman and kick Isabelle out! What would Isabelle do then?” Seeing that she seemed genuinely considering helping, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I stood up abruptly, my face grim, and told her sternly: “This ends here. If you even *think* about agreeing to this, we’re getting a divorce.” Chloe’s expression froze, then she rolled her eyes at me. “I was just discussing it with you! If you don’t agree, I’ll just tell Isabelle no tomorrow. Why bring up divorce so easily?” With that, Chloe even leaned in and kissed me. Seeing Chloe’s clear attitude, I breathed a sigh of relief and softly apologized to her. I thought that was the end of it, but what happened next made me realize how naive I was. I spent days working myself silly, finally making it to the weekend. I’d planned a romantic getaway with Chloe. But she refused, claiming she wanted to spend more time with Isabelle. “Honey, Isabelle wants me to go shopping. I won’t be back for dinner tonight, so you’ll have to find something to eat yourself.” “Honey, Isabelle wants me to go out for a nice meal. Eat without me, okay?” “Honey, Isabelle’s only back for a short time. I’ll be spending more time with her lately!” Recently, Isabelle and Omar were staying in their villa in the country, and Chloe went there almost every day, not coming back until eight or nine at night. I ended up meeting a few friends to play some hoops. That afternoon, after a few drinks, one of my friends joked: “Your wife isn’t messing around with that Middle Eastern foreigner, is she?” “I heard those Middle Eastern guys are quite impressive!” “Rich and powerful… what woman could resist that?” Their words made my stomach churn with unease. The gathering broke up, and I headed straight home. 3 I called Chloe repeatedly on the way home. But no one picked up. I was about to call Isabelle to ask about her when Chloe finally called back. “Hello, honey… huff, huff… mmph…” “Where are you? What’s that sound?” “Oh… honey, I just got home. I’m jogging. When are you coming back?” Hearing that Chloe was home, my heart finally settled. “I’ll be there soon.” “Oh? Then can you pick up some ice cream for me? I’m so hot.” I didn’t think much of it and turned into the supermarket next to our complex, buying two popsicles. As I walked up to our building, I saw a luxury car driving out of the complex. Our neighborhood was for ordinary people. Most cars were pretty standard, maybe twenty or thirty grand. There were absolutely no cars worth millions like that one. I took a few extra glances. Back home, Chloe was getting off the treadmill, her face flushed. Sweating profusely, she snatched the ice cream from my hand and started slurping it. “Can you give me a foot massage? I’ve been walking all day; I’m exhausted.” To please Chloe in the past, I’d even taken a few days of foot reflexology classes. I never thought it would come in handy now. But when I came back with a basin of water, Chloe was already asleep on the couch. I shook my head, chuckling softly. She must have been truly tired today. I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, changing her into her pajamas. Suddenly, I noticed a faint scent of smoke on her clothes. I’d quit smoking right after we got married. And smoking was forbidden in the mall. Could it have been in the car? I went into the bathroom, and a gleaming cigarette butt in the trash can startled me. A man had been in our house! I immediately yanked Chloe from the bed, holding up the cigarette butt. “Who was here?” Chloe looked annoyed. She slapped my hand away. “Are you insane? Isabelle and I went shopping, and her husband dropped us off. Is there a problem with them coming up for a minute?” “Alex, can you put something useful in your head? Why don’t you think about how to make more money instead of always being so suspicious!” Oh, so that was it. I immediately relaxed. … The next day, I received a notice from my boss. The company was expanding its overseas business and needed capable people to open a new market in Saudi Arabia. I was appointed as the head, leading a team to be stationed abroad for a year. Though I was reluctant to leave Chloe, when my boss clapped me on the shoulder and promised me the Vice President position if I completed the mission, I agreed without hesitation. I told Chloe about it, filled with apprehension. I imagined she’d be upset about us being apart for a year and our plans to have a baby being postponed. But to my surprise, Chloe was incredibly understanding. She leaned against my chest, comforting me. “It’s okay, honey. What’s one year? When you come back, you’ll be Vice President, and our child will have a better quality of life. Go for it. A man should prioritize his career. I’d never be your stumbling block!” I was deeply moved by Chloe’s thoughtfulness. That night, I held her and made love to her with all my passion until her voice was hoarse. A few days later, I landed safely in Saudi Arabia. I sent Chloe a SnapChat message from the airport to let her know I was safe. I didn’t get a reply. I checked the time; it was late night back home. She must have been asleep. From that day on, Chloe and I could only communicate by leaving messages for each other. But Chloe was just as before, often sending me photos of herself and sharing funny stories. Seeing that my absence hadn’t affected her life, I gradually put my mind at ease. I couldn’t help but admire Chloe for being such a supportive wife. Midway through, I heard Chloe was hospitalized with a bad cold, and I desperately wanted to fly back home immediately. Chloe quickly FaceTimed me. Isabelle was there, taking care of her. “Honey, are you adapting to life abroad?” “Isabelle’s husband is coming back tomorrow to handle some business. Is there anything you want? I can ask him to bring it for you.” I shook my head, refusing. Deep down, I didn’t want any more contact with that Middle Eastern man. And so, I slowly adapted to living alone. In my free time, I’d sometimes go out for drinks with colleagues or play basketball. A year flew by in a flash. My overseas assignment was successfully completed. Finally, I could return home to see my beloved wife. Coming out of the city airport, I saw Chloe waving at me by the roadside. To my surprise, she looked a lot rounder than before. Even with makeup, she couldn’t hide the exhaustion on her face. Chloe said it was because she’d been too busy to work out lately, and she hadn’t been sleeping well while I was away. I felt both heartache and helplessness, so I just hugged her tightly. Not long after I returned home, Isabelle sent us an invitation. She was inviting us to her son’s first-month celebration. “Isabelle had a baby? When did this happen? How did I not know?” A surge of questions filled my mind. She was infertile, wasn’t she? 4 Chloe linked her arm through mine. “Isabelle never gave up. She finally found a renowned traditional healer back home, drank a lot of medicine, and spent six months adjusting her body before she finally got pregnant.”

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For four years, my wife Victoria, who rarely posted on SnapChat, suddenly updated her feed: [Whose clumsy little puppy is this who loves to play?] The picture showed a guy in a white shirt and jeans, pouting and hugging a puppy plushie while sitting in a gaming chair. It was Finn, a new idol from her company. I was staring, lost in thought, when a mutual friend commented below: “Girl, you forgot to switch accounts!” A few seconds later, Victoria’s post vanished completely. But not long after, it reappeared on Finn’s Ins profile. Victoria called me immediately. In the past, I’d have already screenshotted it, been absolutely livid, and rushed to confront Victoria, raising hell until the whole house shook. But this time, I just quietly watched the screen, waiting for the call to disconnect itself. When Victoria got home, I was sitting on the couch watching a movie. She tossed her car keys onto the entryway table, then bent down to kick off her shoes. “Nothing to do, yet you didn’t answer your phone?” Victoria never probed unless she had a guilty conscience. I didn’t even take my eyes off the TV screen. I casually replied, “The movie was too good. Didn’t notice my phone.” “The work dinner dragged on forever, that’s why I’m late. You don’t need to sit here waiting for me every day. Nobody wants to see you making yourself so pathetic.” Back then, I would’ve painstakingly explained that this was all a display of my love for her. But today, I suddenly couldn’t be bothered to say anything more. Victoria sauntered over to me and casually handed me a luxury brand paper bag. Today was the big premiere of Victoria’s company’s new show. To celebrate and wish for great ratings, I had, as usual, left work early, cooked a nice meal with good wine, and invited a few mutual friends. We were all waiting for her to come home to watch the premiere together. But after four episodes of the series aired, my friends ate dinner in an awkward silence and left one by one. Victoria, who had promised to be home early, was nowhere to be seen. I pretended not to notice Victoria’s continuous ten hours of gaming history, took the shopping bag, and placed it on the carpet. I had seen this bag once before, not long ago, when Victoria missed our wedding anniversary. Even the shape and size were identical. Victoria looked down at me for a moment, her brow furrowing, her voice turning cold: “Liam, can you stop throwing a fit?” Buying me gifts was Victoria’s most common way of apologizing. If I accepted the gift, she’d assume whatever unpleasantness had passed. If I brought it up again, I’d be accused of “dragging things on endlessly.” Now that I wasn’t making it easy for her, she was clearly annoyed. “I’ll open it for you.” Before I could even speak, she ripped open the packaging herself, pulled out a new watch, and handed it to me: “The sales associate said this watch was really hard to get. You’ll definitely love it.” I lifted my gaze. Victoria followed my eyes to the watch I had casually taken off and placed on the coffee table while rushing to prepare the big meal – it was identical to the one in her hand. The atmosphere instantly froze. “It’s late. Let’s clean up and get to bed. We have work tomorrow.” I said, neither warm nor cold, and stood up to go to the bedroom. “Tomorrow, I’ll have my assistant pick you up. You can go pick out a new one.” Victoria’s tone had a rare hint of caution. “No need.” I refused her without even turning my head. The next morning, perhaps sensing she had indeed gone too far, Victoria uncharacteristically offered to go to the office together. Still feeling exhausted, I nodded and agreed. She stood by her car, her face a mix of stifled anger and impatience. I don’t know when it started, but Victoria had begun constantly finding excuses not to let me ride in her car. She guarded her passenger seat like a treasure, absolutely forbidding me from laying a hand on it, forcing me to buy my own car. Whenever I asked about it, she’d raise her voice and scold me, saying I was losing my mind from too much internet, constantly causing a fuss over “passenger seat ownership,” and she didn’t have time for my inexplicable possessiveness. But now, her passenger seat had practically become Finn’s personal throne. Decorated with all sorts of puppy plush toys, plastered with cute puppy stickers. The passenger seat itself was custom-made, just to ensure Finn, with his height and long legs, could sit comfortably. Even the sun visor’s vanity mirror had been modified, just so Finn could check his flawless face anytime. Victoria glanced at me, then sighed audibly and opened the car door, moving all the various puppy plushies to the back seat. I watched her back and frowned slightly, saying, “Don’t bother. I’ll just drive myself to work.” Victoria buried her head, tidying the endless stream of puppy plushies: “I promised to go together. Finn’s young, he just likes cute things like these. Don’t take it to heart.” Even without the plushie decorations, the custom seat still looked garishly bright and clashed completely with the car’s overall style. Ultimately, I still didn’t get into Victoria’s car. No other reason, it just made my stomach churn.

I unlocked my car, but Victoria quickly strode over, pulled open the driver’s door first, and sat down: “I’ll drive. That way, we’re still going to work together.” I stood by the car window, speechless, and didn’t miss the flicker of awkwardness in her eyes. So, she *did* know how excessive it was to have the passenger seat look like that. Victoria was silent for a few seconds, seemingly trying to figure out how to smooth things over. Not wanting to hear any more nonsense, I quickly cut in: “We’re going to be late. Just drive.” She then closed her mouth and started the car. Barely ten minutes into the drive, her phone rang – “That Feeling, That Look I Can’t Escape,” Finn’s signature cheesy pop tune. A weak, pathetic voice came from the phone, making it hard not to feel protective: “Sister, my heart’s beating so fast. I think it’s because I stayed up too late playing games last night. Am I going to die, Sister? Boo-hoo, Sister, come save me! I need Sister to take me to the hospital.” After hanging up, Victoria didn’t say a single word, didn’t even glance my way. She just immediately pulled over and reached over to unbuckle my seatbelt. Her tone was strictly business: “My artist isn’t feeling well, I need to get there immediately. The office isn’t far from here, you can walk the rest of the way.” I got out of the car and had barely closed the door when Victoria eagerly started the car, leaving me with a pungent cloud of exhaust fumes. This was a prime location, a district where every inch of land was worth a fortune. No one here walked to work. A small scooter, probably not expecting anyone to be walking across the crosswalk, rounded the corner and collided head-on with me without slowing down. My forehead, palms, and knees all suffered varying degrees of soft tissue bruising. The nurse treated my wounds, taped sterile gauze pads with medical tape to prevent infection, and carefully instructed me: “Take off the gauze when you get home tonight to apply medicine. Make sure it doesn’t get wet before it scabs.” On the way to the office in a ride-share, the young female driver was juggling two phones—one for navigation, and the other streaming Finn’s live broadcast. Rows of comments scrolled by, all expressing concern for Finn’s health. “Thank you for your concern, everyone~ Don’t worry, little puppy Finn isn’t feeling so bad now, because Sister arrived like a superhero, and my heart feels stable again.” “No~ I didn’t confess to Sister. We’re not that kind of relationship, everyone, don’t spread rumors~ Sister is just so kind and so good to little puppy Finn~” Amidst the boy’s soft, whiny voice, two messages popped up on my screen. “Liam, my assistant said you missed the morning project planning meeting? Where did you go? Everything takes precedence over work, do I have to teach you that?!” “I told you to walk a bit, and you throw a tantrum and quit on me?! What are you trying to prove?!” The anger and impatience in her words practically leaped off the screen and slapped me in the face. I sometimes wondered if Victoria had a split personality; otherwise, she wouldn’t show such blatant favoritism. That evening, I changed my dressing in front of the mirror, then dragged my injured leg to the sofa to binge-watch a show. The sound of the fingerprint lock chimed at the door, followed by Victoria’s sarcastic voice: “I thought you’d finally gotten rid of that awful temper of yours. You’ve been so docile these past few days, turns out you were just saving up to drop a bombshell on me, huh?” Perhaps my motionless back enraged her, because Victoria stomped over to the TV and forcefully yanked out the power cord: “Liam, did your brain get eaten by a dog?! This is a film project aiming for awards! Do you have any idea how much money it costs to delay it by just one day?!” I still didn’t move or speak, just quietly watched as she suddenly froze. She suspiciously eyed the nasty wound on my forehead, and then my exposed elbow and knee, her brow furrowing: “What happened?” I met her gaze and replied blandly, “Minor issue. Just got hit by a car on the way to work.” Victoria blinked, suddenly reining in her aggression, and walked over to examine my injuries: “You had a car accident and didn’t even call me?” I pulled my hand away from hers and said lightly, “It’s just a minor injury. I’m not going to die. Besides, you were busy taking care of your artist’s health.” Typical empty words, as always. She could say all the sweet-sounding things she wanted, but how many times had I called her only to be met with a stream of scolding without any explanation? Victoria had long stopped caring if I ran into any danger. After being hurt so many times, if I still didn’t realize she wouldn’t come, I’d truly be beyond redemption. Victoria was particularly sensitive to that comment. She suddenly stood up, looked down at me, and sneered: “Do you have to use so many subtle digs, Liam? Was leaving you by the road some kind of heinous crime? You’re twenty-eight, not two point eight! You got hit by a car while walking, and you think you’re in the right? I think you deliberately got hurt to get back at me!” I watched her sudden outburst, speechless. What else was there to say? I’d only spoken one sentence, and she’d slapped a ridiculous stack of accusations on me. Too tired to argue, I stood up to go back to the bedroom. Seeing how difficult it was for me to move, Victoria put away her temper, sighed, and came over to support me: “I’ll sleep with you tonight. Just call me if you need anything.” Victoria hadn’t been back in our bedroom before 2 AM in a long time. That was because Finn needed to live stream every day to build his popularity, and he said that many female accounts would harass him during evening streams. He’d be scared without protection. So, Victoria always, without fail, locked herself in her study every night, dedicated to guarding Finn. She’d occasionally drop Super Chat donations to cheer him up, or engage in sweet interactions on stream, making sure everyone knew Finn was under her wing. I’d argued with her countless times, tried everything from soft persuasion to hard threats, but nothing changed her mind. She said it was just work. Eventually, she even threatened me with divorce. Although it left me speechless with a bitter taste in my mouth, I could only compromise. I looked into Victoria’s eyes. I didn’t refuse her offer, but when she reached out to embrace me, I said coldly: “Victoria, I agree to the divorce.” That sentence had a much greater impact than I’d expected. Victoria angrily snatched up her car keys and left the house on the spot, not showing her face for an entire week.

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The princess of the city’s elite circle, disfigured from a car accident, was looking to marry. The old patriarch invited all the unmarried men in the city to a banquet to choose a husband. I, married for five years, received an invitation. When I went to the civil affairs bureau, I was told: the marriage certificate was fake. And my wife’s legal husband was her distant cousin. I thought it was a prank, but when I hurried home, I overheard my mother-in-law sighing. “Olivia, Mom knows you married your cousin to make up for taking his virginity when he came of age.” “But now the situation is special. If you don’t give Adam legal status, aren’t you afraid he’ll be chosen to marry that princess?” She looked worried, but my wife of five years said calmly: “Everyone knows Adam is my husband. He won’t be chosen.” “Besides, Jack’s business in the city isn’t easy. If he loses the title of being married to me, it would certainly make things difficult for him.” “We have a son together after all. I can’t cruelly cut off his lifeline.” “As for Adam, I love him very much. Even without a marriage certificate, he’s my only husband.” “So Mom, don’t worry. I know what to do.” The woman spoke, her eyes full of determination. Her mother, who had wanted to say more, was stunned into silence. After a while, she couldn’t help but say: “Olivia, find a way to bring that child back.” “Mom knows Adam is a good kid, and only wants to recognize the child you have with him as a grandchild.” “But Mom has waited five years. My bones are getting old. I really can’t wait any longer.” The mother-in-law spoke, her whole body hunched over. At this moment, there was guilt towards me in her eyes, but even more, a longing for a grandchild. Hearing this, Olivia understood. “I’ve already considered it and told Jack to bring the child back to the city.” “I’ll talk to Adam today about accepting the child.” “After all, that child is still my flesh and blood. As a mother, I have to pave the way for his future.” She spoke, smiling when she thought of her cousin and that child. Inside the house, the mother and daughter were happily chatting, but I felt like I had fallen into an ice cellar. The conversation just now echoed in my ears, accompanied by a buzzing sound. I dazedly clenched my sleeves, instinctively fleeing in panic. I didn’t want to look pathetic, but tears still blurred my eyes. Because I had never imagined that the happy marriage I had for five years was fake, and Olivia’s real husband was someone else. Their marriage certificate was even issued several months earlier than my fake one. But I was like a bird trapped in a cage, unable to see anything clearly. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but cry, not understanding why things had turned out this way. After all, Olivia and I had been childhood sweethearts, and we got married right after becoming adults. We were each other’s first love, and we promised to only have each other for life. Everyone said I was lucky to have such an excellent woman love me for life. Even my mother-in-law was fond of me. And in these five years, there had only been me by Olivia’s side. No pretty boys ever appeared to make me unhappy. In fact, she was known in the city for doting on her husband excessively. No matter what good things she came across, she always thought of me, even indulging my every request. But it turns out that in the fifth year of marriage, I finally learned that my happiness was fake, and the marriage certificate was fake too. I thought I was her husband, but the husband stamped on her household registration was someone else. They even had a child together. And now, she still refused to give me legal status, and wanted to bring back their child… Thinking of this, the tears in my eyes suddenly fell. Olivia confidently thought that everyone knew I was her husband, so I wouldn’t be chosen by the city princess. But she didn’t know that the princess had lost her legs and was disfigured in a car accident. Not a single man in the city was willing to marry her. The matchmaking banquet had already been cancelled due to the manipulation of various wealthy families. Now the only suitable unmarried man left was me. Sorrow rose from my heart as I bitterly wiped away my tears, wanting to leave and not feel sad anymore. But after just a moment, Olivia opened the door: “I knew you’d come back at this time. Come in quickly.” Just like before, she was holding my favorite dessert, waiting for me at the door. After pulling me inside, she wanted to feed me, but saw my tear-stained face. She didn’t know I had heard everything, and concern immediately filled her eyes. After hugging me, she couldn’t help but worry: “Adam, why are you crying?” Thinking I had gone to watch the commotion of the princess choosing a husband, she helplessly tapped the tip of my nose. “I know you feel bad for those men who were chosen, but everyone has their own fate that we can’t change.” “So Adam, don’t be sad. I don’t want to see you sad and crying.” She spoke, her eyes full of tenderness. Involuntarily, I wanted to know: [If the person chosen was me, would she also be so indifferent?] I opened my mouth but couldn’t make a sound. As my heart tightened slightly, I remembered that I had lost my voice last year after taking a drugged drink meant for Olivia. Now, I couldn’t say anything. Only tears fell one after another, wetting the woman’s clothes. Seeing this, she helplessly kissed away my tears, wanting to comfort me. But when she spoke, it pierced my heart even more. Because she took out a stack of documents and said: “Adam, let’s adopt a child.” Hearing this, I gave a slight smile, but it looked worse than crying. Seeing this, she raised her hand to rub my hair and promised: “You’ll like this child. He’s really well-behaved, and even looks a bit like me.” “My health isn’t good, and I’ve miscarried several times. You’ve also been taking medicine for so many years. I don’t want you to suffer anymore.” “From now on, let’s not have children of our own. We’ll just raise this child as our own, okay?” She asked, but bitterness filled my mouth. She knew how much pain I had gone through because she couldn’t keep our children. But now she wanted me to raise her child with someone else, stabbing a knife into my heart. At this moment, she put on an act of doing this for my own good, but I shook my head frantically, tears pouring down. In fact, I felt somewhat relieved that our children hadn’t survived. Because a woman with an impure heart doesn’t deserve to have children. She also doesn’t deserve to be the mother of my children. In response to her words, I said: [I don’t want to adopt.] But when I opened my mouth, there was still only silence. Olivia didn’t understand my meaning. When my fingertips touched her belly, her eyes darkened with sadness, thinking I was still upset. So she hugged me tightly and comforted: “If you really want a child of our own, then let’s focus on getting healthy first.” “We’ll bring this child back for now, and then we can try for our own later. The children can be companions, okay?” Her hot breath fell on my ear, like a lover’s most tender whisper. But I only felt cold all over. Sarcastically, I silently said where the woman couldn’t see: [Olivia, I don’t want to have children with you anymore.] With those words, I also suppressed the bitterness in my heart. But Olivia seemed unable to see my resistance, still holding me tightly in her arms.

Having no choice, I pretended to fall asleep, waiting for her to have someone send me back to the bedroom before leaving. But when I became aware again, I realized I had actually fallen asleep. Aunt Susan, the housekeeper, saw I was awake and quickly came over to pour me a glass of water, asking: “Young master, how did you sleep this time?” “Look at what’s covering you – it’s a silk summer blanket that the young mistress just bought at an auction.” “You get hot easily, so this is perfect. It’s nice and cool but won’t make you too cold.” “The young mistress is so thoughtful and gentle. It’s a shame my old man is never so considerate…” Her eyes were full of admiration and envy, and the day seemed no different than before. But I clearly understood that everything had changed. And I no longer wanted to pretend nothing had happened and continue treating her as the wife who loved me most. So I raised my hand to call Aunt Susan, and wrote on her palm. “What does the young master need 100 million for?” she asked. After pondering for a moment, I changed my request to wanting a watch. Seeing this, Aunt Susan wasn’t surprised. Good things in the city weren’t cheap, and some precious watches could sell for that price. Besides, Olivia had previously spent 200 million to set off fireworks across the city just to make me happy. Now just 100 million was no problem. Although she didn’t understand why I wanted to withdraw from my own savings, Aunt Susan still did as I asked. Seeing her leave, I breathed a sigh of relief. Before coming back yesterday, I had inquired and learned that those CEOs didn’t want their sons to jump into the fire pit, nor did they want to offend the most powerful Ning family. They had privately arranged with relevant personnel, giving 100 million each to change their sons’ unmarried status. I wanted to escape this fate for myself. But just as it was about to be resolved, Olivia cut it off at the waist. Because it off at the wa Aunt Susan said: “The young mistress brought back a seriously ill child.” “The famous doctor she invited said it would cost 70 million. The young mistress gave out all the liquid assets including the young master’s savings.” Hearing this, my face instantly turned deathly pale, and all the hope in my eyes was extinguished in an instant. Seeing me looking dazed, Aunt Susan quickly came over to support me, not forgetting to comfort me: “Young master, don’t panic.” “The young mistress is so capable, it won’t take long for her to earn back this money.” “It’s just a watch. You can buy it after a while and it’ll be the same.” She spoke, but I couldn’t listen anymore. I just staggered towards her study. I wanted to question her about why she did this, but when I was just a few steps away, I saw through the crack in the door Olivia holding a 4-year-old boy with eyes full of heartache. One hand was still holding the hand of a man whose eyes were red from crying. “Jack, don’t worry. I won’t stand by and watch our son get into trouble.” “I’ve already gone to prepare the money the famous doctor wants. Even if it means losing everything, I won’t give up.” The woman spoke, and Jack seemed to find support, choking back sobs as he tightly hugged Olivia. When his gaze met mine, his eyes were full of provocation. I frowned slightly, but saw him seem to be startled, quickly backing away and looking at me helplessly. “Mr. Adam, please don’t misunderstand. I’m the director of the orphanage who raised this child.” “I lost control just now only because I feel so bad for the child. I really have no other thoughts, and this child will be your child from now on anyway.” He spoke, looking pitiful and cautious. It was clearly his own child, yet he was handing him over and acting as if nothing had happened. Olivia couldn’t help but frown, and even her eyes held a trace of dissatisfaction when she looked at me. In an instant, my heart couldn’t help but ache, but soon, I composed myself and handed over the note I had written.

I wanted my money back, but the woman instantly turned cold, even looking at me with frost in her eyes. “Adam, when did you become so unreasonable?” “The child is sick! Is a living person’s life worth less than a watch in your eyes?” The accusations fell, and I couldn’t help but be stunned, barely able to hold back the sourness in my nose. My chest was wracked with pain, making me clench my fist hanging in my sleeve. Seeing this, Jack quickly pulled the woman away: “Mrs. Olivia and Mr. Adam, please talk it over.” He spoke, stepping forward to grab me, seemingly trying to mediate. But the words that reached my ears were: “How does “How does it feel to know your wife made you a fake marriage certificate?” “Oh right, you don’t know yet, but the reason you couldn’t keep your children was because I had Olivia give you ‘protective charms’ that actually contained drugs I specially prepared…” “No matter what, you would never be able to keep a child.” He laughed, his words stabbing into my heart like a steel knife, almost making me lose my reason. Thinking of the few children we had lost over the years, anger and grief surged in my heart. Seeing me angry, Jack raised my hand and hit himself in the face, whispering: “Guess who she’ll side with?” Before I could react, the woman protected Jack, and a sharp gust of wind came at my face. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but laugh coldly. The woman instantly came to her senses, her hand frozen in mid-air. [Not going to hit me?] I silently asked, and in response to her complex gaze, I raised my hand and slapped Jack hard across the face. Then, without hesitation, I turned and left with Aunt Susan, returning to the old Fu family home where I was the only descendant left. Seeing me leave, Jack touched his face pitifully: “Brother-in-law, how can you be so unreasonable…” He cried, and Olivia’s expression also turned cold, even abandoning the idea of chasing after me. She wanted to give me the cold shoulder for a couple days, not knowing that that very night I sent a text message to the staff in charge of the husband selection banquet, smiling bitterly. [I don’t have 100 million, so I’m willing to marry the city princess.] Hearing this, the staff members breathed sighs of relief one after another. They had taken too many bribes and were worried about having only me left as an unmarried man. Now that I was willing to become the city princess’s husband, they were happy. So they enthusiastically notified me to wait to be picked up by car in three days. After they left, Aunt Susan also understood everything. Looking at the forged marriage certificate, she angrily cursed: “How could Olivia do this to our young master!” “I’m going to give her a piece of my mind!” “I can’t just stand by and watch our young master marry a Ning family princess with no future!” She was furious, her eyes red. But I stopped Aunt Susan, smiling and shaking my head. [I don’t want to have anything to do with Olivia anymore.] [It doesn’t matter who I marry now.] … The next day, the wedding clothes were delivered. And when I went to pick up the wedding clothes, I saw Olivia sending the child to school together with Jack. With her back to the sun, I heard Olivia tell the kindergarten principal: they were a family of three. I couldn’t help but touch my chest, but thankfully, it didn’t hurt anymore. So I turned to leave, but an hour later I saw her. “Why was someone delivering wedding clothes here? Is it the rich old man who’s been pursuing Aunt Susan coming to propose?” She asked, clearly misunderstanding. But I didn’t explain, just coldly shut her out. Seeing this, she left with a dark expression. Three days later, she came to make up with me. But when she saw Aunt Susan standing next to the wedding car, she couldn’t help but frown, her heart involuntarily panicking. “Aunt Susan, what are you doing here? Who’s inside the wedding car?”

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The day before final exams, Olivia agreed to go out with Kyle, a bad boy she had recently met at a bar, to celebrate her 18th birthday. I was surprised Olivia would agree, given how seriously she usually took exams. Earlier that day, I had accidentally overheard Kyle talking to his friend in the bathroom: “Tonight I’m going to make sure that girl has a real good time with me! She won’t be in any shape to take exams tomorrow!” In my previous life, when Olivia told me about her plans, I had desperately tried to stop her. But all I got in return was her mockery: “Adam, this is Kyle’s special birthday celebration for me turning 18. You coward, if you’re not going to celebrate with me, can you at least not get in the way of my happiness?” For the sake of Olivia’s future, I ignored her insults. I secretly told her parents about Kyle’s plans. That night, Olivia’s parents kept her locked up at home. The next day they personally escorted her to the exam. Olivia ended up getting into her dream college as planned. But Kyle, furious that his scheme had failed, got drunk and got into a fight. He ended up killing someone and was sentenced to death. When Olivia heard the news, she completely broke down. She invited me over to her house, acting friendly to set me up. After I left, she called the police claiming I had assaulted her. My bright future was ruined. My parents, devastated by the online harassment, committed suicide by gas poisoning at home. Olivia stood outside my family’s door, coldly filming my parents’ final moments of struggle. She brought the video when she visited me in prison. “Adam, I’m going to make your whole family pay for what happened to Kyle!” The shock was too much – I died of a heart attack in prison… When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day before finals. I looked at Olivia, who was excitedly telling me about her plans with Kyle that night, and smiled. This time, I would let her do as she pleased…

“Adam, what’s your problem?! Can you stop being so sensitive every time a guy shows up around me?!” The familiar voice snapped me back to reality. I looked down at my hands, free of handcuffs, And at Olivia in front of me, angrily gesturing… I really had been reborn! In my previous life, I had tried to stop Olivia from going out with Kyle to celebrate her birthday on this day. Olivia had gotten into her dream school as planned, But Kyle had ended up in prison for killing someone while drunk. After hearing the news, Olivia had invited me over to her house and set me up, Taking off her clothes and filming a video before calling the police. I was sent to prison. My parents, devastated by the online attacks, committed suicide by gas. When my parents were dying, Olivia was right outside the door, Coldly filming their final moments before leaving with a smile. The next day she visited me in prison, And showed me that video in its entirety, Screaming at me hysterically: “Adam, if you hadn’t stopped me, how could Kyle have ended up in prison?! I’ve always had top grades, even if I had gone out with Kyle the night before exams I still would have gotten into my dream school! You’re just selfish! Kyle died for nothing, so I’m going to make your whole family pay!” I had a congenital heart condition, which Olivia knew about. So when I had a heart attack after seeing the video, I saw the smile lingering on Olivia’s lips… This chilling memory made my expression darken further. “Oh come on, Liv, you have to understand our star student Adam here. He’s too scared to take you out partying, so of course he’s a bit jealous that Kyle gets to hang out with you…” Olivia’s friend’s words pulled me back to the present. Olivia looked at me with disdain and laughed. Then she linked arms with her friend and said coyly: “Kyle said he has a big surprise planned for my birthday celebration tonight. I’m so excited! Getting to celebrate turning 18 with such a hot guy, I’m sure I’ll do even better on the exams tomorrow…” I laughed coldly to myself. Earlier that morning, I had overheard Kyle talking to his friend in the bathroom: “Tonight I’m going to show that little girl a real good time, don’t any of you dare interrupt us!” “But she has exams tomorrow, don’t go too crazy!” “Exams? My girl doesn’t need to worry about exams. Once she’s in college, she won’t have anything to do with me anymore…” It was because I had overheard this conversation that I had desperately tried to stop Olivia in my previous life. This wasn’t a birthday celebration at all, It was a plot to ruin Olivia’s entire future… But Olivia was too naive to see it. Thinking of this, I looked up at Olivia’s flushed face and smiled. “Go ahead, Olivia. I’m sure with that hot Kyle by your side tonight, you’ll do great on the exams tomorrow.” Chapter

Olivia was stunned for a moment by my response, But quickly smiled again at the thought of her upcoming date. Realizing I needed to get home to prepare for tomorrow’s exam, I picked up my bag to leave. But as soon as I stood up, Olivia’s friend pushed me back into my chair. Olivia glared at me coldly and quickly snatched my phone and exam admission ticket. “Trying to leave? I bet you just want to go home and tattle to my parents! I’ll keep these safe for you and give them back at the exam site tomorrow. If you dare tell my parents, you can forget about taking the exam!” I looked at Olivia helplessly. “Olivia, you know how important this exam is to me. I promise I won’t tell your parents, but please don’t mess with my future, okay?” Whether Olivia would even make it to the exam site tomorrow was questionable. There was no way I could leave my admission ticket with her. Seeing that Olivia had no intention of returning it, I quickly stood up and rushed over to her, Grabbing the ticket that was still in her hand. My tone was icier than ever before: “Olivia, give it back.” “Oh ho, looks like our star student is angry! See Liv, you guessed right, judging by his reaction he was definitely planning to go tattle to your parents! We can’t give this back to him!” Olivia’s hand, which had started to loosen slightly, Tightened its grip on the ticket again after her friend’s goading. Olivia was a girl after all, so her strength couldn’t compare to mine. I squeezed her wrist hard, and her grip started to weaken from the pain. “Liv! Think about your date with Kyle, we can’t let it get ruined!” Olivia’s expression suddenly changed. She quickly used all her strength and yanked backwards! “Riiiiip…” My admission ticket tore in half… The friends who had been egging Olivia on suddenly went pale. Tears that had been welling up in my eyes for a long time finally fell. An overwhelming sense of despair and helplessness washed over me. Even in this new life, I had lost my future… Olivia’s face cycled through various shades of green and white. After a long moment, She threw the torn ticket at me. “Adam, this is your own fault for trying to stop me from going out with Kyle! You brought this on yourself!” With that, she grabbed her friend and ran out like mad. As soon as the classroom door closed, I heard laughter from outside. “Liv, that Adam really is your lapdog, huh? You ripped up his exam ticket and he didn’t even dare say anything!” “Ugh, he’s always been that weak. How could he compare to Kyle’s confidence and charm…” Olivia’s words pierced my heart like a needle. My tolerance for her had been mistaken for weakness… Olivia and I had studied together every day since middle school, Getting into our dream college together was the future we had promised each other. But ever since Olivia met Kyle outside of school, everything had changed. Today’s Olivia clearly no longer wanted a shared future with me. Thinking of this, I threw the torn ticket in the trash. I knocked on the door of our homeroom teacher’s office. “Mrs. Davis, I’ve made up my mind about that scholarship to State University. I think it’s a better fit for me than Ivy College…” Mrs. Davis looked at me with delight. “Good, you shouldn’t have given it up in the first place. State U’s physics lab will be perfect for you to shine.” When I got home and told my parents I wouldn’t be taking the exam, they breathed a sigh of relief. They had been worried when I gave up the sure thing at State U for Olivia’s sake. Now things had worked out the way they wanted after all… Chapter

We had just finished dinner when there was urgent knocking at the door. I opened it to find Olivia’s parents, looking extremely anxious. “Adam, do you know where Olivia went? She just sent us a message and now won’t answer her phone. The exam is tomorrow, where could that child have run off to?” My mom chimed in, looking at me expectantly. “Adam, you’re always with Olivia…” “I don’t know,” I cut my mom off and looked up at Mrs. Quinn to answer her. “Adam, do you at least know where she usually likes to go?” I gave an awkward smile. “I really don’t know, Mrs. Quinn…” Mrs. Quinn shook her head helplessly and left, having gotten no leads. As soon as the door closed, my dad poked his head out from inside. “Did you and Olivia have a fight? How could you not know where she went?” I just smiled at my dad and went back to my room. Of course I wasn’t going to say anything. Let her enjoy her wonderful night with her dear Kyle! My mom was on the PTA, So early the next morning she dragged me and my dad to volunteer at the exam site. As soon as we got to the entrance, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Quinn looking frantic. When they spotted me, they rushed over. Mrs. Davis hurried over as well. “Adam, Olivia didn’t come home all night. Weren’t you two together at school yesterday? Did she tell you where she was going?!” Mrs. Davis asked me too: “Adam, you know how important this exam is for Olivia. It’s about to start and there’s still no sign of her. Please think hard, where could she have gone?” I looked at Mr. and Mrs. Quinn’s panicked faces and felt a pang in my heart. But the image of my parents’ tragic deaths in my previous life flashed through my mind. I gritted my teeth and looked up at them. “I really don’t know…” Seeing my expression, Mrs. Davis sighed and patted Mrs. Quinn’s shoulder. “Adam’s an honest kid. Maybe he really doesn’t know. Let’s think of other ways to find her…” But I knew they wouldn’t find her… Kyle never intended to let Olivia take the exam. She was probably passed out in some hotel bed right now… Sure enough, the exam started and Olivia still hadn’t shown up… Mr. and Mrs. Quinn were ordinary working class people. To let Olivia focus on her studies, Mrs. Quinn had quit her job to take care of Olivia full-time. Mr. Quinn worked three jobs, sleeping only 3 hours a day. They had worked so hard for over a decade to give Olivia this opportunity, But their usually obedient and sensible daughter had disappeared before the most important exam… The moment they closed the exam site gates, Mrs. Quinn completely broke down. She collapsed to the ground, wailing hysterically… “Mom…” Finally, just as the first exam was about to end, Olivia appeared at the entrance, disheveled and stumbling. Mrs. Quinn sprang up from the ground and rushed over to Olivia. She slapped Olivia hard across the face. “You ungrateful child! Where on earth did you run off to…?!” I was sitting with my parents in the shade nearby, about to stand up, when Olivia spoke: “Mom, it was Adam! Yesterday at school he confessed his feelings for me but I rejected him. He was angry and drugged me, taking me to a hotel. I only just woke up. Adam has ruined my life…”

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It was a torrential downpour. My billionaire husband, Alex, was supposed to be dropping our son off for his crucial college entrance exam. But he suddenly ditched Leo on the side of the road, abandoning him to rush to the hospital instead. Why? His secretary was pregnant. Leo, unable to hail a cab in the storm, ran for his life, desperate to make it on time. He was hit by a truck. By the time I got the call and raced to the hospital, Leo was already gone. As I collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably, Alex Thorne called. “Honey, apologize to Leo for me. Britt’s pregnant, and I had to rush over.” “I was drunk that night, but the baby’s mine, so I have to take responsibility.” “Didn’t you always want a daughter? Once the baby’s born, you can raise her.” When I didn’t speak, he added, “The girl is still young, doesn’t know how to be a mom. I need to be with her for a few days.” I wiped my tears, calmly replying, “Okay.” After Leo’s funeral, I drafted a divorce agreement. Then I dialed a certain number. “You’ve always wanted to take down the Thorne family, haven’t you? I won’t stop you anymore.”

The person on the other end was in disbelief. “Ms. Selene, I’m Julian Sterling, the untouchable kingpin of this city’s elite. Don’t mess with me. You’ve secretly protected the Thornes for twenty years. How could you suddenly give up?” My voice was calm. “I’m divorcing him soon.” There was a clear pause on the other end, then an excited voice. “You’re not kidding, are you?” “Back then, how many influential families in the city’s elite were desperate to marry you? But you turned them all down, choosing to marry down from your prestigious background into the Thorne family, which was practically a nobody. You even helped that good-for-nothing Alex become the region’s wealthiest magnate. So why are you suddenly willing to divorce him now?” I didn’t explain. I just stated seriously, “Don’t ask why. From now on, I won’t interfere with the Thorne family’s affairs.” The other end chuckled with satisfaction. “That’s what I’ve been waiting for. All these years, Alex has been strutting around like he’s actually capable. If you hadn’t been secretly protecting him, I would’ve dealt with him ages ago.” “Since you’re getting a divorce, I’ll make sure to send him a grand gift at the Thorne Group’s celebration tomorrow.” Just as I hung up, Alex, who hadn’t shown his face in three days, returned. He walked straight to Leo’s room. Seeing it empty, he looked at me on the sofa. “Why isn’t Leo home?” “It’s fine to relax after finals, but no need to stay out this late. My son, a Thorne, can’t be too wild.” I glanced at the red marks on Alex’s neck and said coldly, “You still remember he’s your son?” Alex frowned, about to scold me. The next second, as if realizing something, his tone softened. “Is Leo still mad about me leaving him halfway that day?” “When he comes back, I’ll coax him properly. He always listens to me; he won’t blame me.” Yes, Leo always listened to him. Knowing Alex cared about grades, Leo studied late into the night every day, always ranking first in his grade. The day before his big college finals, he was still full of confidence, saying he’d definitely get into a top-tier university and make his dad proud. But it was the dad he cherished most who, on the most important day of his life, caused his death. I couldn’t even imagine how heartbroken Leo must have been when Alex kicked him out of the car. I choked back my tears, my voice trembling. “You won’t be waiting for him anymore.” Alex’s face darkened slightly. “You’re a mother now, don’t act like a child.” With that, he carelessly tossed a delicate gift box my way, dropping it on the table beside me like a handout. “My little pregnant lady is clingy; she can’t be without me.” “From now on, I’ll only be home one day a week. Can you try to be understanding?” He killed our son, showed no remorse, stayed out to care for his pregnant mistress, and expected *me* to be understanding? Looking at his arrogant, condescending eyes, I couldn’t fathom how I had loved a man like this for twenty years. I pushed the pre-prepared divorce agreement onto the table. “Sign it. Then you can focus on caring for your little pregnant lady.” Seeing me suddenly initiate the divorce, a sneer flashed across Alex’s face. “Looks like I’ve spoiled you with a good life all these years. You’ve forgotten your place. Without me, your whole family would starve.” Watching Alex’s smug, self-important expression, I just found it laughable. He actually thought the Thorne family’s rise was thanks to him. He thought I was dependent on him. I couldn’t be bothered to explain. I just stated soberly, “I am divorcing you.” Seeing my resolute attitude, Alex erupted. “What are you doing? You know Leo would never agree to us divorcing!” “You want a divorce? Fine. Unless Leo comes and tells me himself.” With that, Alex stormed off, slamming the bedroom door. Before, when Alex threw a tantrum, I would always comfort him and give in. But not this time. I quickly signed the divorce agreement and left decisively. The next day, I retrieved Leo’s ashes from the funeral home, preparing to take them to the Sterling family estate in the city for burial. Then, Alex’s call came. “You can throw a tantrum yourself, but don’t take my son and disappear overnight. Today is the Thorne Group’s 30th anniversary celebration. I’m announcing him as my heir. Bring him here, now.” I looked at Leo’s urn and said, my voice heavy, “Okay, I’ll bring him right over.”

I met Alex in college. He was being beaten bloody on the rooftop by a group of arrogant rich kids from the city’s elite circles. Even covered in blood, he gritted his teeth, refusing to utter a single plea for mercy. I thought he had backbone. So I walked over and glared at them. Meeting my gaze, those fearless, untouchable spoilt brats scattered like they’d seen a ghost, running away in a terrified frenzy. Seeing them rush off, Alex unconsciously turned his gaze to me. He struggled to his feet, enduring the pain to warn me, “Those guys aren’t to be trifled with. You’re a girl; you should stay away from the rooftop in the future. Don’t let them target you.” Seeing him, beaten like that, still have the presence of mind to care about others, I couldn’t help but smile. “They wouldn’t dare mess with me.” Alex looked at my plain clothes and scoffed. “Don’t kid yourself. They’re the city’s elite, with powerful connections. Why would they be afraid of a little girl like you?” “I don’t look down on ordinary people, so you don’t need to puff yourself up in front of me.” Watching him, I found it amusing, so I didn’t explain further. Later, I learned he came from a once-prominent but now struggling family, on the brink of bankruptcy. His father had been driven to suicide by debt. He had gotten into a top-tier university in the city on his own merit, determined to revive his family. Perhaps it was seeing too many idle, spendthrift second-generation heirs. I was moved by his persistent and self-reliant spirit. We started chatting frequently. After getting to know him better, I discovered he was a very thoughtful and caring person. He would patiently hand me a warm cup of ginger tea when I was writhing in pain from period cramps, drenched in cold sweat. He would anxiously rack his brain to cheer me up when I was upset. He would cover me with his jacket and carry me through flooded streets during sudden downpours. Slowly, I fell in love with his sincere and pure heart. He would always blush and say he just wanted to be good to me. And so, we dated, married, and had a child. Knowing he was proud and sensitive. I always secretly supported him. With my help, he revitalized the struggling Thorne Group, building him into the region’s most powerful magnate. But after his success, he rarely came home. I asked him to spend more time with Leo, but the man who once said he wouldn’t look down on ordinary people sneered at me, “What do you know, being just a housewife? A man’s priority is making money, not wasting time with you two! Do you really think you and Leo would have this luxurious life if I wasn’t out there making it happen?” His transformation gradually disillusioned me. But I still felt grateful to him. He had given me good genes, allowing me to give birth to a smart and excellent son. I just wanted to stay by Leo’s side and raise him to be a successful man. So I compromised and tolerated everything. I never imagined that my patience would lead to him getting his secretary pregnant behind my back. And that it would ultimately cost our son his life. Leo’s death left me with nothing to hold onto in this family. And my love for Alex. It completely vanished.

Lost in thought, I arrived at the Thorne Corporate Tower with Leo’s urn. Inside the tower, the city’s commercial elite, powerful families, and prominent figures were all gathered. All to celebrate the Thorne Group’s 30th anniversary. Alex, impeccably dressed in a suit, stood among the crowd, dazzling and arrogant. Brittany, in a delicate gown, clung possessively to his arm. I walked in expressionlessly, and as I got closer, I heard Brittany pouting, her voice full of feigned victimhood. “Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I caused your wife to want a divorce.” Alex dotingly flicked her nose, his voice so soft it was as if he feared she might break. “Silly girl, I’m so rich, and Selene loves me so much. How could she possibly divorce me? She’s just making a scene; ignore it.” As he spoke, Alex’s gaze landed on me. His tender eyes instantly turned cold. “Selene, didn’t I tell you that today is the Thorne Group’s 30th anniversary celebration and you had to bring Leo?” “You came alone!” Seeing me, the gathered elite and prominent figures sneered, their lips curling. “Is that Mrs. Thorne? She looks like a country bumpkin, completely out of place.” “Just a housewife who stays home with the kids. Naturally, she can’t compare to us business elites.” “No wonder Mr. Thorne prefers his secretary, Britt. With her shabby, unsophisticated appearance, she really doesn’t suit Mr. Thorne.” The crowd’s mockery made a triumphant smile bloom on Brittany’s lips. The next second, her eyes welled up slightly as she looked at me. “Selene, I shouldn’t have gotten pregnant and caused you and Alex to fight.” “If you really hate me, just scold me. Don’t deliberately not bring young Mr. Thorne and wear something that looks like mourning clothes for this.” “You know today is the Thorne Group’s celebration, and all the commercial elite are here. Doing this is just intentionally humiliating the Thorne family and embarrassing Alex, isn’t it…?” Brittany’s feigned generosity and consideration made a flash of approval appear in Alex’s eyes. It also earned her admiring glances from the prominent figures present. But I looked at her indifferently, stating coldly, “I don’t care if you want to be a mistress to a pathetic excuse for a man.” “But don’t mention my son. You’re not worthy.” The banquet hall fell silent instantly. The next second, Alex’s face turned ashen. “Selene, watch your tone!” “My tone?” I scoffed. “The tone of Mrs. Thorne?” “I don’t care for it.” Alex glared at me, his face as dark as ink. “You don’t care?” “You don’t care, but you still secretly use my money to support your father, making him, a mere commoner, drive a Rolls-Royce?” “If you really had any self-respect, you wouldn’t do such underhanded things to benefit your family!” Because I was afraid my identity would put pressure on Alex and hurt his ego, I had once told my father to be discreet. I never expected Alex to think my family was living a good life by stealing his money, all because of my father’s slight oversight with money! I smiled, looking at Alex, and said quietly, “Alex, you really underestimate me.” Eleanor Thorne, Alex’s mother, eyed me disdainfully. “I think *you’re* overestimating yourself!” “If you hadn’t been lucky enough to marry into the Thorne family, do you think you’d have been a wealthy wife for so many years?” “Since you’ve enjoyed the Thorne family’s good fortune, you should just quietly be a good housewife. Don’t be so ungrateful and make a fool of yourself!” Hearing this, others present couldn’t help but chime in.

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My husband had a low sperm count, and after 33 grueling rounds of IVF, I finally managed to conceive. On the day of delivery, I was hemorrhaging badly and needed an emergency C-section. My husband had barely signed the consent form when he rushed off to his childhood friend’s birthday party. But the surgeon just stood there. “Lily, the online system shows you’re single. This consent form isn’t valid…” I froze. It hit me then: my supposedly perfect marriage had been a lie all along. Later, my parents rushed to the hospital to sign for me. But the baby didn’t make it, too long without oxygen. After the surgery, my hand trembled as I signed the cremation consent form for my child. Then, without a second thought, I dialed a number. “Owen, are you free now? Meet me at the courthouse.” *** Owen still looked a little dazed after we’d gotten our marriage certificate. “Lily… did you really marry me?” Seeing his goofy expression, I couldn’t help but crack a smile. But it pulled at my incision, and I winced, my brows furrowing in pain. Owen frantically rushed me back to the hospital, pressing a careful kiss to my forehead. “I have to go out of town for some business. You focus on recovering. I’ll be back to pick you up.” Dragging my weak post-op body to marry Owen had exhausted me, and I drifted off to sleep. But in my hazy state, I overheard Caleb and his friend talking. “Your wife almost died! Why aren’t you changing the marriage info back in the system?” “Just wait. Seraphina is seriously ill, and her only wish is to marry me.” “But if your wife finds out, she could leave you anytime!” “No way? She’s suffered so much for me. How could she possibly leave?” When I opened my eyes again, Caleb’s face was filled with worry. “Lily, you’re finally awake! My mom made some chicken soup, drink it while it’s hot.” His cautious demeanor made me wonder if the earlier conversation had been a hallucination. I cut straight to the chase. “Caleb, why does the system say I’m single?” Caleb’s movements stiffened. “Maybe the hospital’s online system hasn’t updated the info yet. Don’t worry about it, I’ll handle it.” He added, “I’m so sorry, I should have been there with you…” Catching the fleeting flicker of panic in his eyes, my heart plummeted. But I pretended it was nothing. “Yeah, their system definitely needs an update.” Caleb visibly relaxed and patiently ladled out chicken soup for me. “Don’t overthink things. Oh, by the way, where’s the baby?” The baby? I froze. Had no one told Caleb the baby was gone? Of course not. Caleb wasn’t my legal spouse, so no one would inform him. My chest tightened, and my voice wavered slightly. “The baby was too weak. Still in the incubator.” Caleb didn’t suspect a thing. He was about to say something when he suddenly shot to his feet. “Seraphina! What are you doing here?!” He was so agitated that the scalding chicken soup spilled all over my hand, instantly turning it red. But Caleb didn’t even notice, his eyes fixed on the small, delicate figure. He clenched his fists, his voice trembling with anxiety. “What happened? Are you feeling sick again? Why didn’t you tell me?” Seraphina’s small face was pale. “It’s nothing major, just my period seems delayed, and you had something more important…” She glanced meaningfully at me. Caleb lightly tapped her head. “Nothing is more important than you!” I couldn’t help but speak up. “Caleb…” Only then did he pull his attention away, looking at my hand. Before I could even speak, he frowned, tugged off my jacket without hesitation, and possessively wrapped it around Seraphina’s waist. “Exposing your legs in this cold weather? How old are you! Come on, I’ll take you to see a doctor!” From start to finish, he didn’t spare me another glance. In that moment, I realized just how foolish I’d been. 33 rounds of IVF, and Caleb had never once accompanied me. Always “working late” or “too busy.” I, someone so afraid of pain, had bitten down hard, like an idiot, learning to inject myself with ovulation shots, leaving my stomach a canvas of needle marks. It wasn’t that he was busy. His time, all of it, was for Seraphina. The signs of love and indifference were so painfully obvious. Caleb, I really don’t have the energy to keep playing this game with you. 2 I didn’t see Caleb for the next few days. Through her Ins posts, I knew he was constantly by Seraphina’s side. Expensive luxury goods flowed like water to her bedside. The giant screen facing the hospital was rented out, playing his blessings for Seraphina 24/7. Seraphina even posted an update with a picture of their tightly clasped hands. “I’m the happiest woman in the world.” I said nothing. Under the sympathetic gazes of the doctors, I handled my discharge papers alone. Only that day did Caleb finally call. He demanded, displeased, “Where’s the baby? Why won’t they let me see them?” “I haven’t recovered, and you must be incredibly busy. I left the baby with my parents.” He caught the sarcasm in my tone. For once, he sounded a little guilty. “Lily, you’ve been through so much. Wait until I—” I hung up without mercy. Caleb, I hope you’re still as calm when you find out the truth. Back home, I instructed the maid to pack up all my belongings. The scattered items were all memories of Caleb and me. There was the limited edition collectible figure he’d waited 12 hours in line to get me, and the good luck charm he’d prayed for at a temple when I first got pregnant. But how could these tiny acts of affection compare to even a thousandth of what he gave Seraphina? With a single fire, I burned them all to ashes. I was planning to move abroad with Owen; the visa application takes five days. I just wanted to spend these last few days in peace. But Caleb wouldn’t let me. He suddenly burst in and grabbed my collar, choking me. “Lily! Where have you hidden Seraphina?!” I managed to gasp out, “I don’t know.” Caleb’s gaze darkened. “You better actually not know! Otherwise, I won’t let you off the hook!” He threw me aside. I gasped for air, still unwilling to give up. “Caleb, do you even remember I’m your wife?” Caleb’s steps faltered. He hurriedly threw out an explanation, “Don’t overthink things. Seraphina’s mother asked me to take care of her before she died. She’s my sister.” Then he left without looking back. I laughed at myself, bitterly. In the past, even if I disappeared for half a month on a business trip, Caleb never bothered to ask. He really *was* worried about this “sister” of his. I went to the embassy to submit my paperwork. When I returned, I found Caleb had already found Seraphina. “Silly girl, why run off? If you’re pregnant, just have the baby. I’ll take good care of you and our child!” But Seraphina stubbornly shook her head. “No! How could I bear to have a baby born without a dad?” Caleb panicked, blurting out, “You’re my legal wife! How could he be without a dad!” A pang of sorrow hit me. I wasn’t paying attention and stepped on a fallen leaf, making a loud crunch. Both of them noticed me then. Caleb instantly flustered. “Did you hear something?” I shook my head. “I just got back.” He let out a sigh of relief, then hesitated. “Lily, Seraphina might need to stay here for a while. Is that okay?” I smiled, walking straight to my room. “Would it matter if I said no?” “Lily!” Caleb couldn’t help but raise his voice. But Seraphina suddenly said, “Caleb, I’m a little hungry. I heard Lily is a great cook, could she make me something?” Caleb looked hesitant. “Wouldn’t that be a little awkward?” Seraphina’s mouth immediately drooped, and tears welled up. “I knew it, I shouldn’t have come here to impose. It’s okay, I’ll just leave—” Caleb immediately interjected, “Lily, you’re the lady of the house, hurry and play hostess!” Not wanting to cause further trouble, I went to the kitchen and made a dish for Seraphina. When Caleb saw the dish, he paused. Pork Rib and Pear Soup. A dish I’d once joked I’d make if we ever broke up. The word ‘pear’ sounds like ‘leave’ in Chinese, a subtle, bitter joke now. Before he could ponder its meaning, Seraphina had already taken the bowl of soup. But after just one sip, she suddenly shivered and threw the bowl onto my chest! I was drenched from head to toe, standing there, humiliated, while Seraphina innocently covered her mouth. “Oops, I’m so sorry, it was too hot… I just dropped it…” 3 Seeing her reddened eyes, Caleb’s face immediately darkened. “We’ve been married for five years, and you can’t even do this right? Or are you upset with Seraphina and deliberately targeting her?” I tried to explain, but he was already anxiously cupping Seraphina’s hand. “Does it hurt? Wait here, I’ll bandage it right away.” I suddenly felt utterly disheartened. Out of sight, out of mind. I left the villa and checked into a hotel. But the day before my departure, I realized I’d forgotten my documents at home and had no choice but to go back. The villa was hosting a party. Caleb stood beside Seraphina, a perfect couple, surrounded by guests. Some guests whispered. “Mr. Turner is so good to his wife! Look at Seraphina’s designer clothes, that must be hundreds of thousands!” Someone in the know corrected him. “Are you blind? The woman who just walked in is Mrs. Turner!” The first person looked embarrassed. “Oh, really? Her clothes look like they cost barely anything, doesn’t really look like it—”

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