When I opened my eyes, I found myself back on the day my adopted sister bought her first Hermès bag. My sister Kiki had somehow bound herself to a parasitic wealth-transfer glitch—every penny she spent online was automatically taken from our mother’s retirement account. In my past life, she used this to build a lavish lifestyle and became a famous influencer, while I, left managing Mom’s finances, fell into crippling debt. When I showed my family the truth, they accused me of jealousy and theft, choosing to believe Kiki’s story that a secret billionaire was funding her luxury. In the end, she lived in fame and fortune, while I was doxxed, canceled, and finally pushed in front of a subway train by her enraged fans. Now, back at that moment in the boutique, I pushed past her and laid our mother’s debit card on the counter before she could speak. “I’ll take this bag,” I said calmly, a cold smile touching my lips. This time, I would rewrite everything. 1 It was that time of the month again to reconcile Mom’s retirement account. Staring at the $15,000 monthly expense on the screen, I fell completely silent. Even though I had been reborn, the automatic deduction glitch still existed. Six months. For six entire months, massive amounts of cash had been bleeding out of Mom’s savings. The safety net she had worked her entire life to build was evaporating into thin air. With trembling fingers, I tapped into the current month’s transaction history. Aside from a few minor pharmacy and grocery runs, there were three massive, unexplained charges. The recipient for all of them was just a string of scrambled alphanumeric code. I took screenshots and sent them to the bank’s online fraud department, stating clearly that these purchases were unauthorized. The automated response came back instantly. [These are pre-authorized automated deductions. No anomalies detected.] I immediately switched apps and opened Instagram. Kiki had just posted a new story. Her grid was an endless parade of diamonds, champagne, and high-end aesthetics. I scrolled meticulously through every single post, searching for the breadcrumbs. Finally, I found it. On July 15th, she posted a close-up of a sparkling sapphire necklace with the caption. [Thanks to my perfect guy for the birthday surprise! I deserve the absolute best!] I did not care about the clarity of the stones. I only cared that the retail price of that specific piece was exactly $5,800. And on that exact day, Mom’s account had a mysterious deduction of $5,800. It wasn’t a coincidence. On July 10th, she posted a mirror selfie showing off the newest custom smartphone, retailing at $2,500. That matched the exact missing amount on the 10th. I took screenshot after screenshot, building my arsenal of receipts. Almost every single massive deduction perfectly aligned with her latest luxury flex online. “Harper! Get out here and eat! Do we really have to beg you to join the family every single night?!” My dad’s booming voice snapped me out of my trance. I dragged my feet into the dining room. Mom was busy placing the best cut of roast beef directly onto Kiki’s plate, her face glowing with unapologetic favoritism. “Eat up, sweetie. You are looking so thin lately.” Kiki was practically radiating smugness today. She twirled her wrist, letting the dining room lights catch the heavy, solid gold Cartier bracelet she was wearing. “Look, Mom! Do you like my new bracelet? It is custom heavy gold!” “Did your… your special guy get that for you?” Mom took the bait instantly, putting down her fork to admire the jewelry. “Yeah! It was almost five grand!” Kiki nodded enthusiastically, a perfectly rehearsed blush creeping up her cheeks. “He told me that ever since he met me, his investments have skyrocketed. He says spoiling his princess is his good luck charm, so he is going to keep buying me nice things.” I let out a harsh, dry laugh. That wasn’t some billionaire spoiling his princess. That was a parasite sucking her mother dry. Mom’s eyes crinkled with pure joy. She reached out and pinched Kiki’s cheek affectionately. “Oh, my precious girl! You are so blessed! A man like that is one in a million. You hold onto him tight!” She spoke as if Kiki had just won the absolute lottery. Suddenly, as if remembering something, I pulled out my phone and checked the banking app. Sure enough, exactly one minute ago, Mom’s account had been drained of $4,800. I slammed my phone face-up on the dining table. “Kiki, did your imaginary billionaire buy that bracelet, or did you just swipe Mom’s card?” She froze for a split second, but her eyes immediately welled up with practiced tears. “Dad! Mom! Look at Harper! She is so jealous that I have a rich guy chasing me, she is trying to blame her own theft on me! She is the one stealing your retirement money!” “Harper!” My dad erupted. He grabbed my phone off the table and hurled it violently onto the hardwood floor. “You vicious little snake! You scheme to drain your own mother’s life savings, and now you want to drag your sister’s reputation through the mud?! What is wrong with you?!” After a relentless screaming match, my parents locked me inside my bedroom. This could not go on. Mom’s retirement fund was not a bottomless pit. Kiki was going to bleed us entirely dry. Before the sun even fully rose the next morning, I climbed out my ground-floor window and marched straight to the bank. “Hi, I need to report a debit card as lost and freeze the account.” After filling out the paperwork, I casually walked back home, even stopping to buy myself an iced coffee. The moment I stepped through the front door, I was met with the sound of Kiki bawling her eyes out in Mom’s arms. “Mom! It is ruined! The black card my guy gave me is suddenly declining! I know Harper did this!” “She accused me yesterday, and today my card is locked! Mom, you have to do something!” Mom’s face morphed into a scowl the second she saw me. She pulled Kiki tighter against her chest, rubbing her back soothingly. “Shh, sweetie, don’t cry.” She shot daggers at me. “Harper, is this your doing?! Can you really not stand seeing your sister happy?!” “She is just an adopted child who finally found a good man who can take care of her. Instead of being happy for her, you are actively trying to sabotage her relationship?!” Mom demanded I hand over her physical retirement card so she could give it to Kiki as a temporary fix. My dad sat in the armchair, his face dark as thunder, looking like he wanted to rip my head off. But Kiki… she lifted her face from Mom’s shoulder, and right where our parents could not see, she flashed me a sickening, victorious smirk. She knew exactly what she was doing. She definitely knew I had frozen the card, which stopped her glitch from pulling the funds! I muttered some excuse about calling the bank to sort it out and stepped outside to undo the freeze. Minutes later, Kiki gleefully announced her “guy’s card” was miraculously working again and she was going shopping. I set my jaw and followed her right out the door. The moment we walked into the Hermès boutique, she made a beeline for the display and pointed at a pristine Picotin bucket bag. “Could you bring this out for me to tr—” “I will take the bag!” I lunged in front of her, slapping my own debit card onto the polished glass counter. Kiki’s jaw dropped. She glared at me. “Harper! What is your problem? You are trying to outbid me? With what money, you broke loser?” “Whether I have the money or not is between me and the card reader, isn’t it?” I did not even look at her, keeping my eyes locked on the sales associate. “Ring it up. Run the card. Right now.” “Fine! You have some nerve, Harper. You are going to regret this!” Kiki stomped her designer heels and stormed out of the boutique. I aggressively signed the receipt, snapped a picture of the bag, and immediately posted it to my Instagram story. Then, I glued my eyes to the banking app on my phone. It wasn’t going to deduct from Mom’s account, right? I refreshed the screen over and over. Finally, the notification popped up. [Hermès Boutique Purchase: $9,500.] How could this be? I stood in the middle of the store, completely paralyzed. The wildly expensive leather bag in my hands suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. The system only worked one way! As long as Kiki made the purchase and posted a photo flexing it online, the glitch would drain the exact amount from Mom’s account to cover her tracks! 2 I stumbled home and collapsed onto my mattress. Opening TikTok, I saw Kiki had just launched a brand new public account. Her very first video was live. In the frame, she was wearing a cute tweed matching set, leaning against the hood of a brand new, gleaming white Porsche. She smiled coyly at the camera. “Ugh, taking the subway to work was getting so exhausting. Thank God my amazing guy surprised me with this little runaround car today.” “He told me his princess deserves nothing but the best!” The video had barely been up for ten minutes, but the comment section was already exploding. [A Porsche just for running errands?! What kind of fairy tale romance is this?!] [Is your man a walking ATM?! I am so jealous!] Kiki’s follower count was climbing like a rocket, smashing past fifty thousand in minutes. My hands shook uncontrollably as I opened the banking app. The newest transaction: $30,000. It had cleared exactly one minute after she posted the video. I kicked Kiki’s bedroom door open and tore through her desk drawers until I found a sleek leather folder. Inside was the vehicle purchase agreement. The down payment was exactly thirty thousand dollars. The signature on the dotted line belonged to Kiki, and it was dated today. I sprinted into the living room. “Dad, look at this!” I slammed the stack of contracts onto the coffee table right in front of him. “Kiki’s new car wasn’t a gift from some billionaire!” “That thirty grand down payment was siphoned directly out of Mom’s retirement fund! This is the hard proof!” My dad casually picked up the contract, his eyes scanning the ink. A second later, he ripped the papers straight down the middle. “Harper, are you mentally ill? You are even jealous of a car her boyfriend bought her?” “You are her older sister! How could you forge this kind of disgusting lie just to tear her down? I do not know how I raised such a toxic, bitter child!” That night, Kiki went live on TikTok. She looked absolutely heartbroken on camera. “Hey guys… I am just having a really rough night. My sister… sigh.” “I think she just resents that I am doing well. She is telling everyone my boyfriend doesn’t even exist.” Kiki paused, her timing absolutely impeccable. She reached off-camera and pulled a velvet box into the frame, popping it open. Inside sat a breathtaking Patek Philippe watch. “My guy gave this to me today. He said it holds its value perfectly, and I can keep it as part of my future dowry.” “He treats me so incredibly well… I just don’t understand why my sister refuses to believe me…” Under Kiki’s subtle manipulation, the internet quickly painted me as the ultimate evil, jealous older sibling. The next morning, the second I opened the front door to leave for work, a bucket of blood-red paint splashed across my chest. “Harper! You bloodsucking leech!” Before I could even process what happened, rotting vegetables and sharp pebbles rained down on me from the sidewalk. “Get out of our neighborhood! You are a stain on this community!” “You heartless psycho!” The furious screams of my neighbors drowned out my own heartbeat. Faces I had known for years—people who used to be kind and normal—were now twisted into masks of vicious, self-righteous rage. I threw my arms up, desperately dodging the garbage, running for my life down the street. What could I do? What options did I even have left? I blindly stumbled into a public park restroom, locking myself in a stall, too terrified to breathe. I didn’t dare step outside until the sun went down. I snuck back into the house like a criminal. But the living room was lit up like a Christmas tree. Aunt Susan, Uncle Robert, and a handful of other relatives were crammed onto the sofas. The coffee table was littered with sunflower seed shells and fruit peels. Mom was sitting right next to Kiki, lovingly peeling an orange and feeding her the slices. Kiki was dressed in a brand new Chanel skirt suit, dangling a pair of crystal-encrusted stilettos from her toes, soaking up the attention like royalty. “Oh, you are finally back?” Kiki dramatically pinched her nose, shrinking away and burying her face in Mom’s shoulder. “Ugh, Harper, what is that smell?! Go take a shower, you are stinking up the whole house.” The relatives, clearly fully briefed on the narrative, immediately started lecturing me. “Harper, I am just going to be honest with you. As the older sister, you need to be more open-minded.” “Your jealousy is completely out of control. Kiki is successful and found a wealthy man to take care of her. Shouldn’t we be celebrating that?” I had spent the entire day hiding in a filthy public bathroom, and now I had to sit through a family tribunal? Something inside me snapped. I walked into my room, grabbed the thick folder of financial evidence I had compiled, and slammed it down in the middle of the coffee table. “Every single luxury item Kiki has bought over the last few months matches an exact withdrawal from Mom’s retirement account! The proof is right here!” Dead silence. Aunt Susan and Uncle Robert darted their eyes nervously between me and Kiki. The smile froze on Mom’s face. Kiki shot up off the couch like a rocket, shoving her phone screen directly into my face. “How can you keep slandering me like this?! Look! All of these are wire transfers directly from my boyfriend!” On her screen were incredibly convincing, flawlessly forged bank transfer receipts. “Those are fake! You photoshopped them!” I lunged forward to grab the phone. “Enough!” My dad roared, standing up so fast his chair tipped over. He pointed a thick finger right between my eyes. “Harper, can you not stand to see this family have a single moment of peace?! Are you absolutely determined to destroy your sister’s reputation and tear this family apart?!” The relatives’ expressions instantly shifted. They looked at me like I was a piece of trash stuck to the bottom of their shoes. Mom gasped for air, clutching her chest before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed limply onto the sofa. Total chaos erupted. People were screaming, searching for her blood pressure pills, fanning her face. I stood frozen in the center of the room, painted as the ultimate villain. Kiki played the devoted daughter, staying by Mom’s bedside for days until she finally recovered. During that week, no new deductions hit the bank account. But I noticed Kiki kept hovering around my bedroom door, looking for excuses to peek inside. She suspected something. Did I have a blind spot? Was there a secret hiding in my own room? When the house was finally empty, I turned my room upside down. My bedroom used to be an old storage closet. It was still filled with boxes of my grandfather’s dusty antiques and obscure occult journals. I flipped through the rotting pages one by one, and incredibly, I struck gold. I finally understood exactly how to destroy Kiki’s parasitic wealth system!

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The moment the cameras started rolling for the live broadcast interview, I found myself sitting on stage next to the entertainment industry’s most notorious two-faced starlet. She did not waste a single second. The moment the host gave her the floor, she came at me with guns blazing, declaring to millions of viewers that she was going to expose my lies. She claimed, with absolute certainty, that she was the secret wife of the Oscar-winning A-lister, Cole. The studio audience gasped, and the live stream chat exploded into absolute chaos. A tidal wave of vicious comments flooded the screen behind us. “I knew Bianca was a fraud! She wears matching designer outfits with Cole just to leech off his fame!” “That is what D-list actresses do. If they do not cling to a real star, they fade into nowhere!” “Now the real wife is here to set the record straight. Rip her fake mask off, Kelly!” I sat quietly, watching the malicious comments scrolling across the massive LED screen. I mentally chewed over the situation. Cole? The name sounded incredibly familiar. Right. I remembered now. He was my legally adopted stepson. 1 “Kelly? We are on a live broadcast. You…” The host looked at Kelly with visible panic, entirely unprepared for this off-script ambush. Realizing the main camera was zooming in on her, Kelly’s expression instantly shifted into a picture of pure, heartbreaking victimhood. Her voice trembled perfectly as she cried out. “I know we are live! I just want Bianca to explain herself to the entire country. I want her to explain her disgusting relationship with my husband!” I had been dragged onto this talk show at the very last minute. Facing this sudden, unhinged accusation, my mind briefly went blank. I honestly thought Kelly had just misunderstood something. I figured a simple explanation would clear the air. Before I could even open my mouth, she lunged across the velvet sofa, raised her hand, and slapped me hard across the face. “Bianca! You have been in this industry for years! Have you no shame? How could you try to seduce someone else’s fiancé?!” The stinging impact left my ears ringing. Just as she raised her hand to strike me a second time, my reflexes kicked in. I shoved her back hard. “Are you out of your mind?!” The host scrambled forward, grabbing Kelly by the arm. “Please! We are live! This is a live feed!” Kelly did not care. She pointed a manicured finger at me, tears streaming down her flawless makeup. “I hired private investigators! I have photos of you sneaking out of my husband’s private estate!” “You need to explain yourself right now! What exactly is your relationship with him?!” Seeing her push so aggressively, a heavy knot of irritation formed in my chest. I decided to just tell the absolute truth. “Cole and I have lived together in the same house for years. That is our relationship!” The live studio audience erupted into deafening shrieks. The live chat scrolling on the screen went completely feral. [What the hell?! Didn’t Kelly just say she was the real wife?! How does Bianca have the audacity to claim she lives with a Hollywood A-lister?!] [For years?! Oh my god. Bianca has been playing the innocent girl next door this whole time, but she is actually a shameless homewrecker!] [This show is going down in history! Catching a mistress live on air. This is insane!] Kelly clearly did not expect me to be so brutally honest. Her curated tears fell even faster. “I have endured this in silence for so long. Time and time again, you post photos on your Instagram wearing his exact clothes. You even use his private bedroom as your background! Do you have no dignity?!” I glanced down at the printed screenshots she threw onto the coffee table. The so-called matching designer pieces were actually birthday gifts Cole had bought for me. Even though I was only five years older than him, he never once treated me like a gold digger trying to steal his father’s empire. Years ago, he was mobbed by aggressive paparazzi and nearly shoved into oncoming traffic. I threw myself in front of a speeding car to shield him. Because of that day, he had treated me with nothing but the utmost respect ever since. He was actually the one who begged me to come on this show today. He had told me his fiancée was going to announce their relationship on air. He was terrified his intense fanbase would tear her apart, so he asked me to be there to guide the conversation and protect her. I did not think much of it and agreed to help. I never expected Kelly’s grand plan was to publicly execute me. “I came here today to expose Bianca to the world! She is not the woman in Cole’s life! I am!” “You are just an aging actress trying to climb into a penthouse where you do not belong!” If she genuinely misunderstood my presence in Cole’s life, she could have simply asked him. She could have spoken to me in private. Instead, she chose to physically assault me on national television. A cold anger settled over me. I looked at her with dead, chilling eyes. “You are deeply mistaken. There is nothing inappropriate between Cole and me.” “Furthermore… does Cole even know you are pulling this stunt today?” The air in the studio went dead silent for a full minute. The host immediately muted his microphone and looked frantically at the executive producer standing behind the cameras. Everyone in Hollywood knew Cole was not just a massive box-office draw. The family behind him was the most powerful financial titan in the entertainment industry. Nobody dared to cross them. But seeing the live viewership numbers breaking network records, the director gritted his teeth and aggressively waved his hand, signaling the host to keep the cameras rolling. Kelly froze for a fraction of a second before launching herself at me like a rabid animal. She grabbed a fistful of my hair, screaming shrilly. “So what if he knows?! Do you really think my husband would turn his back on me for a cheap tramp like you?!” She pulled out her phone, aggressively pulling up a leaked video of Cole and me touring a massive luxury estate. She wept hysterically. “In this video, you literally admit that you are the lady of the house! Have you no shame?!” Buying a mansion? Right. That was the custom estate I was planning to give Kelly as a welcoming gift for joining our family. Before I could speak, she twisted her grip and violently threw me off the stage sofa. My body slammed hard onto the polished acrylic floor. The impact knocked the wind out of my lungs. My heart dropped into my stomach. I curled inward, my hands desperately clutching my lower abdomen where a sharp, terrifying pain began to bloom. I turned to the host, my voice tearing through the studio. “I need to stop the broadcast! I am pregnant!” 2 The word paralyzed the entire room. Kelly stared at me in absolute disbelief. “You actually got pregnant with his baby?!” “It was not enough to play the fake wife. Now you are trying to use a bastard child to force your way into his family?! You are utterly repulsive!” The moment the words left her mouth, a furious audience member hurled a heavy plastic water bottle straight at the stage. It smashed directly into my forehead. A wave of intense dizziness washed over me as the crowd began to roar. “Cancel her!” “Exactly! Why is a filthy homewrecker even allowed on television?! Get her out of here!” I curled into a tight ball on the floor, terrified to move a single muscle. This baby was a miracle. My husband, Victor, and I had gone through agonizing rounds of IVF to finally conceive. I could not let anything happen to this child. Cold sweat drenched my face. I gritted my teeth and tried to yell over the noise. “The baby is not Cole’s! Call an ambulance right now!” Kelly looked down at me with pure disgust. She let out a cruel laugh. “They say you are a veteran actress. I have to admit, this is quite a performance!” “Five minutes ago, you bragged about living with him. Now you claim the baby is not his? What, do you have a whole rotation of men you sleep with?!” The live viewership was skyrocketing. The show had just hit the number one trending spot worldwide. That was fine. Victor’s investment firm owned a massive stake in this production company. He would see this. He would be here to save me. I forced myself to look up, glaring at Kelly through the pain. “As far as I know, you and Cole do not even have a marriage license yet. What gives you the right to stand there and lecture me?” My question finally caused a ripple in the live chat. [Wait, she has a point. Even if it is a secret marriage, Kelly is causing a massive scene. Shouldn’t Cole’s PR team be issuing a statement by now?] [The show has been live for an hour. Total silence from Cole’s camp. This is getting weird.] Seeing the comments questioning her authority, Kelly’s face turned beet red. She lifted her chin defensively. “My husband hasn’t responded because he is busy on set!” Ignoring her frantic manager signaling her to stop, she shoved her phone right into the main camera lens, swiping through intimate, highly inappropriate photos of her and Cole. She screamed at the lens. “You want proof?! I have plenty! Open your blind eyes and look!” The photos were incredibly explicit. She was completely destroying Cole’s carefully crafted public image. She crouched down next to me, violently grabbing my jaw. She shoved her left hand in my face, flashing a massive diamond ring. “Do you see this? This is the custom engagement ring my husband gave me! It is one of a kind!” Seeing Kelly dominate the narrative, the host fully took her side. He looked at me like I was a piece of trash. He pretended to step in to mediate, but his words were pure poison. “Bianca, when you first debuted, there were rumors that you were funded by a married billionaire. Would you like to clear the air about that today?” The studio audience went absolutely feral. They started throwing whatever they could find onto the stage. “The host just called her out! It has to be true!” “Get Bianca out of Hollywood! She is disgusting! Blacklist her forever!” I lay helplessly on the cold floor, looking up at Kelly’s victorious, twisted smile. Suddenly, a terrifying warmth spread across my thighs. Total panic seized my chest. I screamed with everything I had left. “I am telling you for the last time! Call an ambulance!” The host ignored my plea. He offered a condescending smirk. “We are on a live broadcast. If you just run away, who is going to take responsibility for the dead air?” “Do you have any idea how much the breach of contract penalty is for this network?” With the host backing her up, Kelly’s arrogance reached its peak. “There are plenty of women in Hollywood trying to make a quick buck. But women like you, who specialize in destroying other women’s lives, are the lowest of the low.” “I have waited a long time for this day. I want the whole world to see exactly what kind of monster you are!” My chest felt incredibly tight. I could barely breathe. I glared past the lights, locking eyes with the director in the shadows. I forced the words through my teeth. “If I lose the baby in my stomach, I promise you, this entire network will burn to the ground.” The director’s face drained of color. He did not dare take that gamble. He hesitated, then spoke into his headset, his voice echoing through the studio monitors. “Let us do this. It takes time for paramedics to arrive. Why don’t we get Cole on a live phone call right now? Let the audience hear the truth from him directly.” Kelly’s eyes lit up with malicious glee. “Perfect! My husband hates seeing me upset!” “I want Bianca to hear exactly what it sounds like when a man throws her away!”

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1 Gideon and I were once the deadliest duo in our covert ops unit. We breathed and bled together. Then, fate played a cruel joke. During a high-stakes op, we were forced to pose as husband and wife, and the fake marriage eventually became a real chain. He resented me for stealing the title of “wife” from the woman he truly loved. I hated him for marrying me out of duty, with nothing left of his heart to give. For five bitter years, we weaponized our silence, each hoping the other would vanish. Until the past caught up with us. A cartel we had dismantled years ago came for revenge. They tied me to a C4-wired chair on a yacht and forced Gideon to choose: “You die, or she dies.” The moment the shot rang out, Gideon did the unthinkable. Without hesitation, he threw himself over me, tackled the cartel boss, and dragged them both into the icy ocean—opting for mutual destruction. Before the water swallowed him, he whispered up to me: “If there’s a next life, let’s just be partners. Never husband and wife.” Then, the timer on my chair reached zero, and everything erupted in pain. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the ocean. I was back in the sterile briefing room at headquarters—on the very day we were meant to draw lots for the undercover mission. This time, I didn’t hesitate. I stepped forward, snatched both wooden sticks from the table, and declared calmly, “Skip the draw. I’m taking the solo assignment.” In this life, I would set him free. I would not be the wall between him and the woman he truly loved. When my fingers closed around both long sticks, a flicker of surprise twisted my stomach. I looked up at the Director. Arthur shifted his weight, his eyes darting away from mine. A second later, his expression tightened into something complicated. “Raven, this syndicate is ruthless. Are you absolutely certain you want to go in completely alone?” In my previous life, Ruby had drawn the long stick first, marking her as the mole. Gideon and I had been paired as her backup, posing as a married couple. Back then, my heart had fluttered at the thought of playing his wife. I was so blinded by my own foolish crush that I never realized Arthur, who had always favored me, had rigged the draw to keep me out of the direct line of fire. But Arthur couldn’t have known his protective gesture would doom Gideon and me to five years of mutual torture. I gave Arthur a look of genuine gratitude. “Ruby is too impulsive. Her cover would blow in a week. I’ll take the inside job.” Seeing the finality in my eyes, Arthur gave a stiff nod. With me going in deep, the backup roles fell into place. Ruby would automatically pair with Gideon to play the married couple running surveillance. The moment we stepped into the hallway, Gideon came striding around the corner, his tactical boots heavy against the linoleum. Ruby’s face instantly lit up. “Gideon!” His expression was as icy as ever, but his eyes locked onto hers with a gravitational pull. They stared at each other for a beat too long, and Ruby finally looked down, the tips of her ears burning scarlet. The raw, unspoken tension between them felt like a knife twisting in my chest. A split second later, Gideon grabbed my elbow and dragged me down the corridor, out of earshot. Behind him, Ruby’s flushed face morphed into a mask of pure jealousy. “I am completely against this operational plan,” Gideon hissed, his grip bruising my arm. “Silas is a paranoid psychopath. He’ll smell a rat the second an undercover agent steps into his inner circle.” He leaned closer, his voice vibrating with barely contained panic. “Ruby doesn’t have the miles on her for this. I will not sign off on throwing her to the wolves.” I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth. In my last life, he had fought just as hard when he thought Ruby was the one going in. He had argued every angle, torn apart every strategy. And when he failed, I had calmly waited until deployment day, taken his arm, and dragged him to the courthouse to make our cover unbreakable. “You know the protocol,” I said, my voice deadpan. “Someone has to get close to Silas. It was always going to be me or Ruby.” His jaw clenched. His eyes, usually so cold and calculating, burned with arrogant certainty. “If Command gives me just a little more time, I can find another pressure point. Pushing a woman into Silas’s bed isn’t the only tactical entry we have.” I offered him a hollow, pitying smile. The only reason Command narrowed it down to me or Ruby was because we spent most of our careers sporting buzzcuts and tactical gear. Silas’s intel stated our strike team was entirely male. Sending a female operative in high heels and silk was our only blind spot advantage. “Captain,” I said, my tone stripping away years of our partnership. “We are out of time. The op is green-lit. Show up to the briefing or don’t. Your call.” I yanked my arm free and walked away, leaving him standing there in stunned silence. I had no intention of telling him that I was the one going into the snake pit. Let him hear the good news from his precious Ruby. He’d be thrilled to know she was safe. Gideon, I thought, the neon lights buzzing above me. In this life, I’ll trade the title of your wife for a glass of whiskey poured over your grave. 2 That night, alone in my quarters, the reality of my rebirth still felt like a fever dream. A soft knock pulled me from my thoughts. I cracked the door to find Arthur standing in the dim hallway, holding a greasy paper bag of street skewers and a six-pack of imported beer. “I don’t drink before a deployment,” I said, raising an eyebrow at him. He stepped past me, making himself at home on my worn sofa. “I know. That’s why I’m drinking the beer, and you’re eating the meat.” A genuine laugh punched its way out of my chest. He drank in silence. I ate in silence. It was a comfortable rhythm we had built over the years. Finally, the question burning in my throat had to come out. “Why did you do it?” He knew exactly what I was asking. He took a slow pull from his bottle and smirked. “I was shipping you two. Thought I’d give fate a nudge.” I rolled my eyes so hard they hurt, but the chaotic storm in my chest finally settled into a quiet calm. The next morning, the sun hadn’t even crested the horizon when a fist hammered against my door. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and undid the latch. Gideon shoved the door open, practically vibrating with rage. His eyes were bloodshot. The corners of his eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were tight with fury. Before a mission, he always drew a small scorpion motif near his temple—the mark that earned him his lethal reputation in the underworld. His skin was bare today, but his glare was venomous enough to kill. “Raven, you are absolute garbage.” He backed me against the wall. “Why the hell did you conspire with the Director to rig the draw?” His hands flew up, his fingers digging into my shoulders, shaking me. “I actually thought… I thought it was just the luck of the draw. Destiny.” His thumbs pressed dangerously close to my windpipe. I clawed at his wrists, my voice tight. “Gideon, back off! You’re hurting me!” “You feel pain?” he spat, his face inches from mine. “Do you think Ruby wouldn’t feel pain? Do you think getting tortured to death on an undercover op wouldn’t hurt?” He was panting, his chest heaving. “You have no idea what happened last time—” He abruptly cut himself off, his jaw snapping shut as if he had almost spilled a state secret. When he looked at me again, the fury had melted into absolute, crushing disappointment. “Why are you so hellbent on tearing us apart? Why do you insist on sending Ruby to her death?” His grip tightened, cutting off my air. Initially, I hadn’t braced for combat, but the lack of oxygen flipped my training switch. I twisted my hips, grabbed his elbow, and threw my weight forward. In the cramped space of my quarters, the fight was brutal and fast. “Are you out of your mind?!” I yelled, pinning his arm against the drywall. “The assignment comes from Command! We don’t write the script!” His eyes were feral. “You’re lying! Both sticks were long! Ruby told me she drew the long one to go deep cover. We all know you and Arthur played us!” I knew exactly where his old injuries were. I pressed my knee into the nerve cluster on his thigh, forcing him down. “I’ll say it one last time,” I hissed in his ear. “Command makes the calls. As for what you really want… I’m sure Command will accommodate your happily ever after.” He let out a broken, cynical laugh. “What I want… I can never have it again. Because of you.” I held him until the fight completely drained out of his muscles. When I finally stepped back, he dropped to his knees, his fists slamming into the floorboards. Seconds later, he stood up. The emotional wreckage was gone, replaced by the glacial, untouchable captain I knew so well. It was as if his total breakdown hadn’t just happened. He threw a muttered “My mistake” over his shoulder and walked out. I didn’t say a word. Only Ruby could make him lose his mind like that. In our previous life, while playing the perfect married couple, Gideon had been dosed with a highly potent neural-stimulant by an enemy target. To maintain our cover and save his life, I gave myself to him. Even in bed, he was a statue of military discipline, his face carved from stone. There was no passion. No heat. When the drug wore off, he buttoned his shirt without looking at me and said, “I’ll take responsibility for this.” After Ruby died and the mission imploded, we never bothered to file the divorce papers. We just existed in the same airspace. But from that day on, he treated me like a stranger carrying a disease. We went from being the team’s most lethal, synchronized weapon to a hollow couple who only communicated in nods. I thought taking the bullet for this undercover op would preserve our professional respect. Clearly, I was wrong. The cracks were already showing. But maybe this was for the best. If Silas put a bullet in my brain, Gideon wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. 3 The syndicate had been under Command’s microscope for three years. The intel was dense. Our squad sat around the conference table, methodically breaking down the entry strategy. Because she was now paired with Gideon to play his wealthy wife, Ruby couldn’t stop beaming. As the briefing wrapped, she pulled a small, tarnished silver pendant from her pocket and slid it across the table with a shy smile. “Gideon, I got this from St. Jude’s cathedral yesterday. For protection.” Gideon was a hardline atheist. He despised anything related to faith or prayer. After his father died when he was seven, his mother drained their bank accounts, gave the money to a cult, and abandoned him to live in an ashram. He grew up eating scraps and surviving on pure spite. Once, during a heavy firefight, I had muttered a quick prayer to survive. He had shoved his rifle barrel against my vest and snarled, “Say that again and I’ll kick you out of my unit myself.” So, when Ruby offered the saint’s medallion, the entire squad collectively held their breath, waiting for the explosion. Instead, Gideon’s lips curled into a gentle smile. He took the pendant, looped it around his neck, and reached into his tactical vest. He pulled out a heavy, vintage silver locket. I recognized it instantly. It was the only thing his mother had left behind. The man was a walking contradiction—he hated her guts, but carried her memory over his heart. In our past life, shortly after we married, I accidentally knocked that locket off a table. He didn’t say a word. He just grabbed my collar and flipped me over his shoulder onto the hardwood floor. Jax, our comms specialist, leaned back in his chair and whistled. “Damn, Cap. You finally thawing out?” I unscrewed the cap of my canteen and took a long drag of water. For some reason, it tasted like ash. Bitter. Worse than the black sludge from the breakroom coffee maker. Another teammate chuckled. “Our girl Ruby is unstoppable. She bagged the Captain, and now she’s gonna go deep cover and wrap Silas around her little finger. This op is in the bag!” My head snapped up. I stared at Ruby in total shock. She avoided my gaze, suddenly fascinated by the stitching on her holster. She hadn’t told them. She was letting the team believe she was the one going in. I couldn’t fathom why she was playing this game. Jax grinned. “Hey, you better watch your six in there, Ruby. Silas eats pretty girls for breakfast.” I watched Gideon’s knuckles turn white. He slammed his fist onto the metal table, the sound echoing like a gunshot. “Shut your mouth!” he barked. The room instantly flatlined. Nobody dared to breathe. After the meeting, Ruby cornered me in the shadowed stairwell. “Raven, I… I didn’t mean to take the credit for the undercover gig. It’s just that Gideon pulled me aside.” Her face flushed a deep crimson. “He was so worried about me. He spent the whole night going over deep-cover protocols and infiltration tactics with me.” She looked up through her lashes. “I just didn’t have the heart to tell him I wasn’t the one going in.” Looking at her playing the bashful maiden, everything clicked into place. I sighed and rubbed my temples. “It’s fine. He’s the team lead. He should be training you. Just soak up the intel.” After all, she was going to be his partner in the field from now on. I had to keep telling myself that. I honestly couldn’t remember how I walked back to my room that night. 4 The next morning, the air in the briefing room was thick enough to choke on. I was two minutes late. There were six people in the room, making me the seventh. No one was sitting. Gideon stood at the head of the table, radiating pure violence. When I walked in, his eyes locked onto mine. “The day you joined my squad, I gave you three ironclad rules. Jax. Recite them.” Jax swallowed hard, looking from me to Gideon. “Uh. Rule one: keep yourself breathing. Rule two: keep your squad breathing. Rule three: no internal sabotage or backstabbing.” Gideon’s gaze shifted to the sniper standing next to Jax. “Penalty for breaking rule three?” “Three thousand push-ups, ten-mile run with an eighty-pound ruck. And a public apology.” Gideon turned his dead eyes back to me. “Raven. Drop.” I planted my boots, totally confused. “What the hell are you talking about?” Jax took a step toward me, his face grim. “Look, Raven… I love you like a sister, but what you did crossed the line. You need to apologize to Ruby right now.” The rest of the squad nodded in agreement. I looked at Ruby. She was staring at the floor, hugging her arms around herself. “You want to play dumb?” Gideon growled. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded tissue, and threw it onto the table. It was the vintage silver locket. Smashed into pieces. “I gave this to Ruby to keep her safe,” Gideon’s voice was a lethal whisper. “You couldn’t handle that, so you ripped it off her neck and crushed it?” My eyes widened in absolute horror. “What? No! I didn’t touch it!” I spun toward the girl. “Ruby, tell them! Tell them what actually happened!” She bit her trembling lip and shook her head, tears spilling over her lashes. “Raven… I didn’t want to say anything, but Gideon saw it. If I lie, he’ll punish me instead.” “Raven,” Jax cut in softly. “We all know you’ve got feelings for the boss, but going scorched-earth out of jealousy? Over a piece of silver? He just wanted her safe. She’s going into the lion’s den, for god’s sake.” The rest of the team chimed in, their voices a chorus of disappointment and anger. I stared at Ruby, my mind short-circuiting. I couldn’t comprehend how someone could fabricate such a flawless, devastating lie out of thin air. “Ruby. Look me in the eye.” My voice shook with suppressed rage. “Did I do this?” She let out a choked sob and buried her face in her hands. “Gideon… she didn’t mean it, please don’t be mad at her.” “Enough!” Gideon roared. He marched up to me, his chest almost brushing mine. “You make me sick. You have become a liability. You don’t deserve the patch on your shoulder.” His eyes were merciless. “Take the punishment and confess, and maybe we let you stay in the unit. Refuse, and I am marching up to Command to have your badge stripped. You’re no operator. You’re a jealous child.” I shook my head, my eyes burning. We had bled together in war zones. He knew my character down to my bones. But all it took was a few fake tears from Ruby, and suddenly I was a traitor? “Are you going to apologize?!” he barked. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. I kept my eyes locked on Ruby. After a long, agonizing silence, my voice came out like cracked ice. “I’m sorry.” “Louder!” “I am sorry!” “Drop.” I hit the floor. I didn’t speak. Three thousand push-ups was torture. Around the two-thousand mark, my triceps started spasming. My pace ground down to a grueling, agonizing crawl. When the last rep was done, I stood up, strapped on the eighty-pound ruck, and walked out the door. Jax tried to step forward to plead for me, but Gideon shut him down with one terrifying glare. I hit the asphalt track. Lap after lap. My vision blurred. My muscles screamed. Right near the finish line, my legs gave out, and I slammed hard into the dirt, tasting blood and gravel. A shadow fell over me. A suffocating cloud of designer perfume filled my lungs. “Tsk, tsk. Sorry about that, Raven.” Ruby crouched down next to me, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. “I just wanted to test how much Gideon really cared about you.” She laughed, a sharp, ugly sound. “Turns out, not much.” I pushed myself up onto my elbows, glaring at her. “Why?” I rasped out. “Why do you all want me to take the deep-cover op? You know it’s a death sentence. Arthur wants it, Gideon wants it… he spent all week training you, just to make sure you wouldn’t have to go. So I’m just collateral damage?” I let out a bitter, exhausted laugh. “It’s not going to work out the way you think, Ruby.” “Oh, really? Don’t think I don’t know you stole those sticks. And so what if you’ve been his partner? Once I’m standing by his side in the field, I’ll erase every memory he has of you.” “I’m sure you will,” I whispered tiredly. He already loved her. That was a fixed point in the universe. But my quiet resignation sounded like a challenge to her ears. Her eyes flared with malice. “Don’t get cocky, bitch.” Before I could react, she lunged forward, pinning my exhausted arm down. She jammed a small white pill against my lips. “I just need you to do me one more favor!” But in a chaotic blur of motion, she suddenly shoved the pill into my palm, grabbed my hand, and forced it to push the pill into her own mouth. She collapsed backward, clutching her throat. “Raven! Why are you doing this to me?!” Her eyes were wide with perfectly feigned terror. Heavy boots pounded into the dirt behind me. Gideon flew past me, dropping to his knees and gathering Ruby into his arms. He whipped his head around, his face feral. “What the hell did you force her to swallow?!” “Gideon…” Ruby whimpered, her face flushing crimson as she curled into his chest. “I feel so hot. I… I just came down to help her back to the barracks. I brought her medical spray…” Tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked like a broken angel. My mind spun. How could someone with this level of psychotic acting ability possibly fail an undercover op in her past life? Before I could solve the puzzle, Gideon’s hand shot out and clamped around my throat, slamming my head back into the dirt. My airway collapsed. Black spots danced in my vision. “What. Did. You. Give. Her. Where is the antidote?!” I tried to peel his iron fingers off, a manic, hysterical laugh bubbling up in my chest. “Ask her! Ask her what she took!” His eyes were rimmed with red. The absolute disgust radiating from him felt like physical blows. “What the hell did you turn into? Or have you always been this twisted and I was just too blind to see it?” He kicked me in the ribs, sending me sprawling across the dirt. My body was completely broken from the punishment. I didn’t have the strength to lift my arms. I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth, forcing myself up on one trembling arm. I looked right at the trembling girl in his arms. “Bravo. I hope you can keep the mask on forever.” “You are beyond saving,” Gideon snarled. “I am submitting the paperwork to burn your operative number. I’m reporting every single thing you’ve done. You are unfit to wear the uniform.” Operative Number: 01467. It was my father’s old call sign. Gideon knew exactly why I fought so hard to inherit it. But right now, blinded by what he thought he saw, he was going to strip me of my legacy. Panic finally broke through my exhaustion. “I was wrong! Gideon, I admit it, I was wrong, please don’t—” He didn’t even look back. He scooped Ruby up and sprinted toward the medical wing. My vision narrowed to a pinprick, and the darkness finally pulled me under.

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The study was quiet except for the murmur of my video call. Mid-negotiation, the door creaked open. My seven-year-old niece Sophie stood there holding her stuffed bunny, her eyes hopeful as she asked if I’d attend her parent-teacher conference. Since losing her parents at five, she’d been my whole world. I muted the call and promised I’d be there. The next morning, driving Sophie to her private school, I parked in an open-air VIP spot. A woman in a red Porsche slammed her hands on my window, yelling that the spot was hers. I calmly explained it was first come, first served. Without another word, she grabbed a baseball bat from her trunk and smashed a deep dent into the hood of my Mercedes. “I make the rules here!” she screamed. “My husband is on the school board. I’ll have you and that brat expelled by lunch!” For a moment, I just sat there, stunned by the sheer audacity. Then I slowly took out my phone and dialed Tristan Klein. “I didn’t know you already had a wife,” I said as soon as he answered. “Consider our engagement over.” I hung up before he could reply.

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The office has been tense since I submitted my resignation—all because of my new Porsche. After parking it in the corporate garage, I found it the next morning destroyed: windows smashed, hood splashed with paint, and obscenities sprayed on the doors. Security footage showed the vandal was Brenda, my department manager. When I confronted her, she stood tall, claiming she was doing my parents a favor by teaching a “gold digger” a lesson. She even threatened to ruin my reputation if I went to the police. Our conflict started during a business trip, when the company booked me into a cheap motel. I chose to pay for a luxury hotel suite instead due to allergies and cleanliness concerns. I had also just closed a $70 million contract, so the cost was irrelevant to my work. Brenda didn’t agree. In the next meeting, she mocked me, called me disrespectful, and even accused me of sleeping around to afford the hotel. When I told her to stay out of my personal life, she nearly lunged at me. I never thought she’d escalate to destroying my car. Now, with my resignation in, whatever happens to this toxic company is no longer my concern. 1 Standing outside the grimy fifty dollar a night roadside motel in a neighboring state, I couldn’t help but frown. The company’s standard travel allowance had always been five hundred a night. Since when did they become so incredibly cheap? The room in front of me was stained, smelled like mildew, and was completely unlivable. Coincidentally, my parents had just wired me thirty thousand dollars as a birthday gift a few days prior. Without a second thought, I tapped my phone and booked the executive suite at the luxury hotel right down the street. The next morning, back at the office. The second Brenda walked into the morning briefing, her eyes locked onto me like a heat seeking missile. I gave her a look of mild confusion. A second later, Brenda’s face darkened into a scowl. “Avery, hand over the hotel receipt from your business trip.” Even though I had been working here for less than three months, I knew the reimbursement protocol inside and out. Expense reports went to finance, not directly to department managers. Besides, I hated dealing with red tape. I never bothered expensing my hotel stays anyway. Meeting her intense, interrogating glare, I simply shook my head. “Brenda, I paid for a different hotel out of my own pocket. I’m not filing it for reimbursement.” Brenda looked at me with a complicated, disappointed sigh, adopting a sickeningly patronizing tone. “Avery, sweetie. You are young, but you need to maintain some basic moral boundaries. A business trip is just one night. A bed is a bed.” “The company already arranged a hotel for you. Why are you burning money for no reason? You should be sending that cash back home to support your poor parents.” I swallowed my rising irritation and gave her my most polite, customer service smile. “Brenda, I appreciate your concern, but my parents actually worry I don’t spend enough. On top of that, I have extremely sensitive skin and severe germophobia. I physically cannot sleep in a rundown motel.” “Getting proper rest means I work more efficiently. Rest assured, I didn’t touch a single cent of company money. It was entirely self funded.” To my shock, Brenda completely lost her temper. “Self funded? Oh my god, you earn a tiny little paycheck and suddenly you think you are royalty! If I were your mother, I would die of a broken heart!” I actually let out a dry laugh. I had dealt with arrogant male bosses before, but this was my first time dealing with an overbearing, toxic work mom. “Five thousand dollars for a single night in an executive suite! I think you are getting way too big for your boots, acting like a spoiled princess just chasing cheap thrills!” Hearing her state the exact price and room type made my stomach drop. Every colleague in the conference room turned to stare at me. I was traveling completely alone. How exactly did she get that specific information? Pure anger began to bubble up in my chest. Unable to tolerate the disrespect any longer, I slammed my leather portfolio onto the table. The sound echoed like a gunshot. “Who exactly do you think you are? How I spend my personal money is absolutely none of your business! Keep your unsolicited opinions to yourself unless it is strictly about work!” Brenda clearly hadn’t expected me to push back so publicly. Her face flushed a violent shade of purple, then pale white. “I am only looking out for you! Don’t be so ungrateful.” Seeing that I wasn’t going to back down, she desperately tried to save face by waving me off. “Fine, fine. We will deal with your attitude later. Continue your presentation.” I took three deep breaths, forcing my emotions back into a locked box. The work had to come first. The rest of the presentation went flawlessly. Thanks to the seventy million dollar contract I had just secured, I was officially crowned the top performer of the month. But my peace didn’t last long. I was deep in a spreadsheet when Brenda suddenly marched over and violently slammed my laptop shut. “I have been thinking about this all morning, and things just aren’t adding up.” 2 Not this again. I crossed my arms and glared up at her, my eyes icy. “You claim you paid out of pocket, but let us look at the reality. Your salary, your bonuses, your stipends… they all come from this company. The massive commission you are getting from this new project? That is company money too.” “The sheep pays for its own wool. You are secretly bleeding the company dry to fund your little luxury lifestyle. You really think you are a genius, don’t you, Avery?” Brenda leaned heavily against my cubicle wall, a smug smirk twisting her lips. “Self funded? Please. You are just trying to build this fake, wealthy socialite persona for yourself.” “Is this what your parents sent you to college for? To learn how to be a professional gold digger?” I narrowed my eyes, giving her a sharp warning. “Brenda, watch your mouth. I brought in a massive account for this firm. The company compensating me for my labor is exactly how business works.” Brenda ground her teeth together, her eyes practically bulging. “I asked around. Your paycheck this month, including the commission, is nearly eighty thousand dollars!” “I am drowning in a mortgage and car loans! I can’t even justify paying ten dollars for a Netflix subscription! You are barely in your twenties, you have been here two months, and you are taking home that kind of cash? God only knows what dirty favors you pulled to get that contract!” The colleagues around us, who had previously kept their heads down, all looked up. Hearing the exact number of my commission sparked a wildfire of toxic whispers across the floor. I was absolutely livid. A blind, burning fury ignited in my chest. I kicked my office chair back and stood up, getting right in Brenda’s face. “Are you completely out of your mind? Payroll is highly confidential. Employees are strictly prohibited from discussing salaries! Yet here you are, broadcasting my personal finances to the entire floor!” “You guys dumped this client on me because they were notoriously difficult to please. I didn’t steal. I didn’t cheat. I earned every single penny of that commission!” “Are you just jealous? If you want that kind of money, go close a deal yourself! Stop using your age as an excuse to act like an unhinged lunatic!” I basically screamed the last sentence. I thought my absolute outrage would finally force her to back off. Instead, she took it a step further. “If you can casually drop five grand on a hotel room, you clearly don’t need the money. You need to split that seventy thousand dollar bonus with the rest of the department. Consider it a thank you for all the help we have given you these past two months.” Are you kidding me? Who hired this absolute idiot? How did someone with zero brain cells make it into management? I pulled out my phone, ready to dial Rowan immediately. Was my husband playing a sick joke on me? Didn’t he promise I would be placed in a quiet, drama free department? When I first graduated, I wanted to take two years off just to travel and enjoy life. But Rowan begged and pleaded, claiming he couldn’t stand being away from me all day. He practically bribed me to take a cushy, low stress job at his company just so I would be in the same building. I hated corporate gossip, so we agreed to keep our marriage completely secret. But right now, I was done playing the undercover wife. If I let this continue, Brenda was going to give me an aneurysm. The phone barely began to ring before a hand shot out and snatched the device right out of my grip. Brenda glanced at the caller ID, let out a loud, mocking scoff, and hit end call. “Calling Hubby? You play a very dirty game, Avery. I knew you were using your body to secure deals, but you really have no shame, do you?” She leaned in close. She pretended to lower her voice, but she made sure her words carried across the silent office. “You better be a smart girl and hand over that commission. Otherwise, I am reporting your little prostitution ring to upper management.” I stared at her with dead, emotionless eyes. I gave her a two word response. “You’re psychotic.” I grabbed my bag, turned on my heel, and walked straight out of the office. I left Brenda standing there, stomping her feet and screaming insults at my back. That night at home, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. If Rowan hadn’t flown out of the country for an executive summit, I would have dragged him by the collar and demanded to know if this was some twisted loyalty test. Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a notification. Before I could even unlock the screen, over a hundred friend requests and messages flooded my notifications. 3 When I finally opened the app, the sheer vulgarity of the messages left me stunned. [Hey gorgeous, how about I pick you up after work tomorrow at five?] [Hi beautiful, I have a great income. We can get our marriage license this week.] [Avery, I might not be a millionaire, but I can let you be a stay at home wife. Think about it.] Before I could even process what was happening, I realized I had been dragged into a massive, five hundred person matchmaking group chat. My personal information, my phone number, and my work details were plastered all over the group. The group admin was literally monetizing me, selling my photos like premium mystery boxes. A headshot was ten bucks. A full body photo was thirty. A makeup free natural photo was sixty… Reading the absolutely vile, predatory comments from the men in the chat, I felt like I had been struck by lightning. Taking a deep breath to steady my shaking hands, I tapped on a profile that looked somewhat normal and replied privately. “I am already married. How exactly did you get my contact information?” The guy immediately exploded. “Married?! Then why the hell did your mother list you in a sugar baby matchmaking group? Your whole family is sick in the head! Psycho!” Being cursed out by a complete stranger made my hands shake with pure rage. My mother? Absolutely impossible. Both my parents had attended my lavish wedding with Rowan. Looking at the admin’s specific typing style in the main chat, a dark suspicion began to take root in my mind. The next morning, I walked into the office to find Brenda sitting right at my desk, a smug smile plastered across her face. “So, Avery! Did any of your blind dates work out?” “Take it from someone with life experience. You are young and pretty, which means you are easily tempted by the wrong path. Once you find a nice, average man and settle down, you will finally behave.” I opened my mouth to completely destroy her, but the CEO’s executive assistant, Kyle, suddenly walked into the bullpen and called my name, asking me to step outside. The moment I left the room, Jessica, the office gossip, couldn’t hold back. “Why is the CEO’s assistant looking for her? She just landed a massive contract. Do you think she’s getting a promotion?” Brenda let out a loud, disdainful snort. “Over my dead body. The CEO definitely found out about her little prostitution scandal. He sent Kyle down here to fire her on the spot!” It wasn’t that I didn’t hear their toxic whispers; I just didn’t want to waste my breath arguing with trash. Kyle led me down to the executive VIP garage. He handed me a sleek, heavy set of car keys with an apologetic, incredibly polite smile. “Ma’am, Mr. Caldwell had back to back dinners last night and couldn’t answer your call. He bought this as an apology for missing you.” Looking at the stunning, pristine white Porsche parked in the VIP bay, a large chunk of my anger finally melted away. “Do me a favor, Kyle. Tell Rowan I am officially quitting.” Kyle nodded immediately, not daring to question me. I considered asking him to investigate the sudden drop in the travel budget, but decided against it. My sudden resignation was going to trigger Rowan’s protective instincts. He would tear the company upside down to find out why I left, and the truth would inevitably surface. I was completely done playing detective for a company that treated me like garbage. The gorgeous curves of the Porsche gleamed under the garage lights. My mood instantly skyrocketed. I took the elevator back up to pack my desk. I couldn’t bear to spend another second in this toxic wasteland. But the moment I stepped back into the bullpen, I froze. My usually pristine desk was buried under a massive mountain of disorganized paperwork and client files. Before I could even ask what was going on, Jessica smirked from her cubicle. “With great salary comes great responsibility, Avery. You can’t just take all that money and not do the grunt work.” Was she seriously trying to gaslight me? I wasn’t about to swallow this disrespect. I grabbed the stacks of heavy files and violently hurled them right back onto Jessica’s desk, scattering papers everywhere. Once my desk was finally cleared of their garbage, I noticed something horrifyingly wrong. My iPad, my custom laptop, my ergonomic mouse, and even my expensive desk humidifier were completely gone. I hastily pulled my chair out, only to find that my Birkin bag, which I always kept tucked away, had vanished as well. “Where is my bag? Where is my laptop? Who touched my stuff?!” The entire office went dead silent. Nobody dared to make eye contact. Suddenly, Brenda walked into my line of sight, aggressively waving a thick stack of cash in her hand. “I sold it all to a secondhand dealer. Just doing my part to recoup the company’s losses and send some charity back to your poor family.”

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I had booked our flight months ago, eager to return to our favorite place for our anniversary. Before boarding, I was stopped by my husband’s assistant—the woman everyone said he truly loved. She looked tearful and pleaded with me, asking for my ticket. “Please, I have a family emergency. I can’t afford the fare.” I refused, explaining I’d bought the ticket myself. Later, Declan questioned me. “Did you know she ended up walking home?” he asked, explaining she was trying to reach her dying mother. I was confused. “Why would she walk? There’s plenty of transport.” Declan nodded softly and handed me my nightly glass of milk, as he always did. I drank it and fell asleep. When I woke, I was alone in a blazing desert. A helicopter hovered nearby. Declan stood in the doorway, his arm around his assistant, staring down coldly. “You said transportation was convenient,” he said. “Let’s see you manage without a flight.” I was being broadcast live. The tag “Billionaire Wife Treks the Desert” was already trending. Looking into the camera, I stayed calm. “When you’re done with this childish game,” I said, “send a car to pick me up.” 1 The moment the words left my mouth, a massive digital screen hanging from the helicopter lit up. A flood of live comments rolled past rapidly. [Abigail still thinks she’s a spoiled heiress! Everyone knows the Hastings family went bankrupt and her parents fled the country. Who is she expecting to pick her up?] [Exactly! She lives off her husband’s money now, yet she still bullies average working class girls. Stealing discounted tickets from desperate employees? Has she no shame?] [I bet she won’t even make it a mile. Give it thirty minutes and she will be begging on her knees. Declan is the best boss ever for avenging his staff!] [Place your bets! I’m putting money on her crying and apologizing!] The desert heat was easily pushing past a hundred degrees. Baking under the merciless sun, I was already on the verge of severe dehydration. My miserable state was projected perfectly onto the live broadcast. Declan held Lily close to his chest, taking a slow sip from a crystal glass of iced wine. He looked down at me with absolute arrogance. “Stop acting so tough. If you want to leave this wasteland, you have two options. Walk out yourself, or drop to your knees and beg Lily for forgiveness. There is no third choice.” Hearing this, Lily immediately put on her best innocent act. “Declan, it’s okay. Abigail grew up in the lap of luxury. She’s never experienced real hardship. Please don’t punish her.” She lowered her head, her voice dripping with fake sorrow. “It’s my own fault for being poor. I couldn’t afford a first class seat and missed the cheap tickets. I had to walk through the mountains… I guess I deserve it.” My memory of the airport was crystal clear. When I bought my ticket, there were plenty of economy seats left. Lily deliberately waited until they were completely sold out before putting on her little show to guilt trip me. Declan’s voice cut through the dry air like a whip. “When she used her status as my wife to bully you, she should have known this day would come!” “Abigail, I warned you over and over again. Do not mess with Lily. She might not have your elite pedigree, but that does not mean she is completely unprotected.” Looking at the man I had loved for five years, a bitter taste flooded my mouth. After the Hastings family lost everything, Declan ignored all corporate protocol and brought his childhood sweetheart straight into the executive office. Lily was incredibly incompetent. She was constantly late and made endless mistakes. As her supervisor, I naturally assigned her overtime to fix her errors. When Declan found out, he punished me in our bed that night, keeping me awake until I was physically incapable of going to work the next morning. When I finally dragged my aching body into the office, he sneered at me in front of the entire staff. “I thought you hated tardiness? You can stay here until three in the morning tonight. Let that be a lesson.” From that day on, anytime I offered Lily even a shred of constructive criticism, Declan accused me of being an elitist snob. Once, Lily tripped and scraped her knee. Without asking a single question, Declan assumed I pushed her. He grabbed my shoulders and violently threw me down a flight of stairs. The memories snapped back to the present. My eyes burned, turning slightly red. Up in the helicopter, Declan saw my expression and froze for a fraction of a second. “Look, she’s already crying.” Lily capitalized on the moment, her voice trembling pitifully. “When I walked those miles through the mountains, I lost my shoes and bled everywhere, but I never shed a single tear.” Just as she intended, those words erased any fleeting sympathy Declan might have felt. His face hardened into pure stone. “Do you have any idea how much Lily suffered because of you? Guards, strip off her shoes!” 2 Before I could even brace myself, the bodyguards standing by lunged forward. They pinned me down and violently ripped the sneakers from my feet. My bare skin hit the scorching sand. A layer of skin instantly blistered and peeled from the agonizing heat. The live chat went completely feral. The total betting pool on when I would surrender skyrocketed into the millions. “Abigail, if it’s too much for you, just apologize. I promise I won’t hold a grudge,” Lily called out. She wore a mask of pure innocence, but a sickeningly triumphant gleam flashed in her eyes. “What exactly did I do wrong? You failed to buy a ticket, and you think you can manipulate the world into feeling sorry for you?” I gritted my teeth and forced myself to take a step forward, completely ignoring her fake pity. Lily’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. “I know I’m useless… If I were better, I wouldn’t have had to trek through the treacherous mountain trails. The ground was covered in thorns and jagged rocks. It was all my fault…” “Abigail, it seems I have spoiled you for far too long. Do you still think you are sitting on a throne?” Declan pulled Lily into a protective embrace, issuing another cold command. “I explicitly ordered this environment to replicate her mountain trek. Scatter the nails. Let’s see how long her stubborn pride lasts!” A torrential rain of metal thumbtacks cascaded onto the path ahead of me. They vanished into the loose sand, leaving only their razor sharp tips exposed. I couldn’t stop my momentum in time. My foot came down hard, and the metal spikes drove deep into my flesh. Fresh blood welled up, dripping down my ankles and staining the yellow sand a brilliant crimson. The color drained entirely from my face. The private physician standing by in the helicopter looked alarmed. “Sir, her health has always been incredibly fragile. Her body will go into shock.” “I am well aware of her condition. Why do you think I brought you along?” Declan scoffed softly. “I am just breaking her arrogant spirit. If she is truly on the verge of death, you have my permission to treat her. Besides, she isn’t blind. Can’t she just avoid the nails?” But the tacks were perfectly camouflaged in the shifting dunes. Walking barefoot, it was a literal minefield. Within minutes, the soles of my feet were a mangled, bleeding mess. The pain was so blinding I was on the verge of passing out. Declan’s jaw tightened as he watched me stumble. Before he could speak, Lily whispered softly into his chest. “Declan, all she has to do is say she’s sorry and this all ends. But with millions of people watching… even if I want to forgive her, she needs to give you some respect.” “But I suppose a spoiled princess like her would never lower herself to apologize to someone like me…” Those words perfectly triggered Declan’s deepest insecurity. He leaned out of the helicopter and shouted down at me. “Don’t think I don’t know the truth! You have always looked down on me because of your wealthy background! If you refuse to bow your head, then you can walk until you drop dead!” His cruel words echoed in my ears, carving a hollow cavern into my chest. We had been together for five years. I had severed ties with my family to stand by his side when he had absolutely nothing. Back then, he treated me like glass. If I got a papercut, he would hold my hand and cry out of pure guilt for hours. All of that vanished the day the Hastings empire collapsed. He grew entirely sick of my supposed entitlement. He labeled my basic standards as elitist tantrums and poured all his affection onto the submissive, easily controlled Lily. He was willing to torture me in a lethal desert just to avenge a minor inconvenience for his new favorite pet. Realizing this, whatever love I had left for him completely died. The live chat was moving at lightning speed. [Just give it up already. You are never making it out of there. This is getting boring.] [Seriously, I bet three months of rent on this. Apologize so I can cash out!] “It looks like the entire world knows you can’t make it, Abigail. Stop trying to act tough. Just get on your knees.” Lily mocked me with a sickeningly sweet tone. But the very next second, her smug expression completely vanished. An anonymous user had just placed a massive wager that I would successfully leave the desert. The bet was fifty million dollars. 3 That single notification sent a shockwave through the entire broadcast. Because the amount was so astronomical, the chat immediately erupted with suspicion. [Who casually drops fifty million?! Are they rigging this just to steal our money?] [Is this a massive scam?!] Lily panicked but tried to play it cool. She flashed her own betting slip to the camera. “Don’t worry, everyone! I also put my money on Abigail apologizing. I have no idea what idiot is trying to hand us free cash.” But the doubts kept rolling in. Lily was sweating. She had literally emptied her entire bank account to place her bet. Declan’s face turned a dangerous shade of purple. “Who placed that bet? Who else would possibly support you? Are you sleeping with another man behind my back?!” “That is none of your business. The second I get out of here, we are getting a divorce.” I fired back without missing a beat. Hearing the word ‘divorce’ only fueled his manic rage. He let out a dark, cruel laugh and signaled his guards. “If we are truly replicating the mountain path, we need to do it properly. I want her to feel exactly what Lily felt.” “Mountains are full of snakes. Release them!” My heart stopped. The blood froze in my veins. Declan knew perfectly well that I had a crippling, clinical phobia of snakes. At his command, the bodyguards hauled massive bamboo crates to the edge of the chopper. Hundreds of thick, slithering reptiles spilled out into the sand, writhing and hissing as they moved. I stumbled backward in pure terror. Declan simply sneered. “They are just harmless garden snakes. Kids in the country play with them every day. Only a fragile, pampered princess would be terrified of something so basic.” “Exactly! I used to get bitten all the time growing up. It’s totally harmless!” Lily chimed in, though a vicious, calculating shadow crossed her eyes. It didn’t take me long to realize the horrifying truth. The vibrant, triangular heads emerging from the sand were absolutely not harmless garden snakes. They were highly venomous vipers. I turned and tried to sprint away, but my mutilated, bleeding feet couldn’t find any traction. In my panicked rush, I lost my balance and collapsed hard into the dirt. The scorching sand seared my bare skin. Hidden tacks pierced my palms and knees, tearing fresh, agonizing wounds across my body. The vipers smelled the fresh blood. They began to swarm, closing the circle around me. I had nowhere to run. A thick, brightly colored snake lunged forward, sinking its fangs directly into my ankle. The venom burned like absolute fire. A cold sweat broke out across my forehead. Once the first snake struck, a second and a third slithered closer, ready to attack. The skin around the bite immediately swelled, turning a sickly, bruised purple. The color rapidly drained from my lips. The physician up in the helicopter instantly noticed my physical collapse. He stepped forward in a panic. “Sir! She has been bitten by a venomous species! She is going to die! We need to administer antivenom right now!” Declan didn’t even flinch. “I specifically ordered non venomous snakes. Stop overreacting over a tiny bite. We save the medical supplies for real emergencies.” But as he looked closer, the reality finally registered. My lips were turning blue. My breathing was shallow and ragged. He looked down at the sea of vipers swarming the dunes. Those were not the harmless garden snakes he had requested. A sudden, paralyzing panic gripped Declan. He screamed at the top of his lungs. “I said no venom! Who brought these things?!” “Get those monsters away from her! Bring the chopper down! Let me out!” The bodyguards immediately deployed chemical repellents and heavy nets to drive the swarm back. I lay in the burning sand, barely clinging to consciousness. Through blurred vision, I watched Declan shove past a protesting Lily and sprint toward me. The doctor grabbed a vial of antivenom from his emergency kit and rushed to the open door. “Sir, we have to inject her immediately! Let me call for a medical evac!” Before the doctor could step off the helicopter, Lily suddenly lunged forward. “Let me help!” She violently tripped over her own feet, slamming into the doctor. The glass vial of antivenom slipped from his hands, plummeting toward the ground and shattering into a hundred pieces against a jagged rock. Declan’s eyes widened in absolute horror. “What the hell did you just do?!”

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1 The first morning of my second chance, I woke in my old room. The calendar confirmed the fateful date. Then I saw Dylan, my best friend, rushing into the lottery shop. He shouted the exact string of numbers that once won me everything. A chill shot through me—he’d returned with his memories, too. In my past life, we both landed an interview with a dream Fortune 500 company. But on interview day, I detoured to buy a lottery ticket, arrived late, and lost the job. Dylan got hired. The ticket I’d bought, though, won the $50 million jackpot. I spent my life in lazy comfort, but Dylan’s career turned toxic. He grew bitter, resentful, and finally pushed me off a rooftop during an argument. What broke me wasn’t the fall, but what came after. My girlfriend Jessica helped Dylan cover it up, telling everyone I’d gone mad and jumped. They used my death for content, played grieving friends online, and built influencer careers off my tragedy. Now, back at that moment, my wallet clenched tight in my hand. This time, everything would be different. … “One lottery ticket, please!” Dylan bolted past me, dashing into the store. When he, panting for breath, recited the sequence of numbers I knew by heart, I was certain. He was back, too. Ticket in hand, Dylan turned to me, a smug, challenging look on his face. “Sorry, Alex. This one’s mine.” I shrugged, completely unfazed. “I wasn’t planning on buying one anyway.” He clearly didn’t believe me. He snorted, stuffing the ticket into his bag. “No way. You’re only here for this ticket because…” He stopped himself abruptly. I knew what he was going to say. In our last life, that ticket made me miss the bus and the interview. Dylan landed the corporate job. But I won fifty million bucks. He was grinding away while I was living off the interest. But his corporate life was a nightmare. The pay was low, he was bullied, and eventually, his resentment boiled over, and he pushed me off a roof. Dylan looked at me, his eyes gleaming with triumph. “I’m not even going to the interview. Since you love grinding away in the rat race so much, the spot’s all yours.” I just nodded. Fine by me, I thought. You can have the $50 million jackpot, too. Without a second of hesitation, I turned, boarded the bus, and headed for my interview. That evening, I walked back into our dorm room to find Dylan with his arm wrapped tight around my girlfriend Jessica’s waist. They looked like they’d just finished a heated make-out session. I was so blind in my last life. I never knew they’d been hooking up behind my back until the very end. Seeing me, they didn’t even flinch. Their faces were masks of pure provocation. Jessica stared at me with disgust. “Alex, the one I really love is Dylan. I was only with you for those two crappy old apartments your family owns.” “But things are different now,” she continued, her voice dripping with venom. “My Dylan won fifty million dollars. We’re going to be rich.” “I don’t have to compromise for money anymore, and I certainly don’t have to stay with a disgusting piece of trash like you.” My fists clenched so hard my knuckles turned white. So that’s how it was. Both Dylan and Jessica came from small, rural towns. One was my best friend, the other my girlfriend. I’d never been cheap with them, always picking up the tab. It finally clicked. They were just parasites, sucking me dry. If fate gave me a second chance, I was going to make them pay back every drop of blood they took from me in my last life, a thousand times over. Dylan let out a derisive laugh. “Alex, I used to let you have her because your family was a little better off than mine. But now? I’ve got fifty million. I’m financially free. How can you even compete?” He sneered. “You’re destined to be a miserable wage slave for the rest of your life. But Jessica and I, we’re different. We’re about to travel the world. A life you couldn’t even dream of.” They packed their bags and moved out of the dorm right then and there. As I watched them walk away, a cold smile spread across my face. So naive. Did you really think a windfall like that would ever fall into your lap? 2 My interview went perfectly. I landed the offer from the Fortune 500 company. For someone with my degree, this was the absolute peak. The office was far from my parents’ place, so after talking it over with them, I decided to buy a condo nearby. I was at the sales gallery for a new development, looking at a few units with an agent, when a familiar voice boomed from the entrance. “Someone get over here! Show us the best places you’ve got!” I turned to see a swaggering Dylan with his arm around Jessica. When they spotted me, they walked right over, their faces dripping with scorn. “Alex, what are you doing here, playing pretend? You can’t afford a place like this,” Dylan scoffed. “I already checked. Even if you sold both of your family’s rundown apartments, you wouldn’t have enough for a down payment in the city center.” Hearing this, the sales agent, who had been gushing with enthusiasm just moments before, turned noticeably colder. I shot back at him, “I can’t afford it? And you can?” He puffed out his chest. “Of course. I won fifty million. I could buy a few of these in cash.” The agent’s eyes lit up, and she immediately scurried over to their side. “Sir, how may I help you?” Dylan pointed with his chin. “That unit over there looks pretty good.” “Excellent choice, sir!” the agent beamed. “That’s our premier unit, best location and view in the entire building. For you, the price is nothing. Only twenty million.” “Twenty million?!” Jessica and Dylan froze, their jaws dropping. They never imagined a 1,000-square-foot apartment in the city center could be so absurdly expensive. “If that feels a bit steep,” the agent added, “you could always finance it.” Dylan, his pride wounded, straightened his neck. “Finance? I won fifty million. I’m paying in full.” His bravado worked. The agent’s enthusiasm returned in full force. “If you love the unit, you can put down a one-million-dollar deposit now. If the lottery money hasn’t cleared yet, we can help you arrange a bridge loan with the bank.” Jessica and Dylan exchanged a hesitant glance. That was my cue. I sighed, feigning impatience. “I’m starting to doubt you even won fifty million. Are you just here to waste our time?” I waved a dismissive hand. “If you can’t afford it, stop holding everyone up and get lost!” My words struck a nerve. Jessica’s eyes turned red with anger. “Don’t you dare say that! Dylan definitely won fifty million! He just hasn’t collected the money yet!” “Whatever,” I said, waving them off. “Just get out of the way. I’ll take this unit.” That sent them into a panic. Dylan, through gritted teeth, blurted out, “I’ll take it! I’m getting a loan for the deposit right now!” 3 Over the next few days, Dylan and Jessica’s social media feeds were a non-stop parade of their world travels. Photos dripping with luxury brands filled their stories. It was clear they’d taken out more than just a mortgage. Let them fly high before they fall, I thought. They sent me a barrage of photos directly, which I promptly ignored by blocking them both. I, on the other hand, was buried in work. A Fortune 500 company was no joke. I hadn’t even officially started, but my team lead had already sent me stacks of materials to get up to speed. On the day of our graduation party, Dylan, our class president, sent a message to the group chat. [Everyone be at the designated restaurant by 11:30 AM sharp for the graduation party.] After sending it, he specifically tagged me. [Alex, you have to be there.] I immediately replied, [Sure.] People in the chat started asking why he’d chosen that particular restaurant. It was pretty far from campus. Only I knew why. It was right next door to the lottery shop. At 11:30, all the students and professors had arrived. Only then did Dylan and Jessica make their grand entrance, hand in hand. They instantly became the center of attention. They looked completely transformed, radiating luxury from head to toe. Dylan handed out a limited-edition designer toy to every single student. “Everyone,” he announced, his voice booming, “order whatever you want tonight! It’s all on me!” Our classmates stared at them like they were crazy. Some were already whispering that the toys he handed out were fakes. Dylan pulled the lottery ticket from his bag and waved it triumphantly. “I won the fifty-million-dollar grand prize.” The room erupted. “Fifty million!” “Did I hear that right? Dylan is that lucky?” “Oh my god, I won’t make that much in my entire lifetime.” And if that wasn’t enough, he’d hung a massive banner across the restaurant wall: [CONGRATULATIONS TO DYLAN ON HIS $50 MILLION LOTTERY WIN!] A professor spoke up. “The ticket is in your hand, but the drawing hasn’t officially paid out yet. Where did you get all this money?” Dylan waved a dismissive hand. “The money’s on its way. I’m just enjoying it a little early.” Someone in the crowd suddenly asked, “Wait, wasn’t Jessica dating Alex? How did she end up with Dylan?” Faced with a room full of curious stares, Jessica didn’t even blush. She just held Dylan’s hand tighter. “People move up in the world. It’s natural, isn’t it?” Her voice was laced with condescension. “After graduation, Alex is just going to be another miserable corporate drone. But Dylan… Dylan is different. Besides, my true love was always Dylan.” Her speech left many of our classmates speechless. One student stood up for me. “But Alex got an offer from a Fortune 500 company. That’s the best offer in our entire class.” Dylan laughed so hard he nearly cried. “So what if he got the best offer? Is he ever going to make fifty million in his lifetime? In today’s world, a good job doesn’t mean anything! It just means you’re a beast of burden in a fancier cage, treated worse than a dog!” He turned his smug gaze on me. “Alex, you’re not even worthy of polishing my shoes. But hey, if you serve me well, maybe I’ll be merciful and toss you a few crumbs.” 4 The other students flushed with anger at his words, but they couldn’t argue back. The savvier ones had already started sucking up. “Dylan, I always knew you were destined for greatness! I just didn’t realize your luck was this incredible!” “Don’t forget about us old classmates when you’re on top!” “Yeah, man, hook us up!” They knew his words were harsh, but there was a grain of truth to them. No one in that room, even with a great job, would likely ever earn fifty million dollars in their lifetime. Some even started to pile on. “Dylan’s right. So what if Alex got into a top company? He’s still just a wage slave, grinding himself to death. How can he compare to Dylan?” A small smile played on my lips. The company’s benefits were actually fantastic. The only reason Dylan had crashed and burned in our last life was because he immediately tried to suck up to his female boss in a very inappropriate way. The whole office found out, and he was ostracized for it. Finally, the meal wound down, and it was time for the main event. Dylan touched up his makeup, straightened his designer suit, and stepped onto the small stage at the front of the room. At the same moment, a dozen influencers with cameras suddenly streamed in. Dylan gave them a nod. He’d planned this all along. He held up the lottery ticket for all the cameras to see. “To all my viewers out there,” he proclaimed, “I’ve just graduated from college, and I’ve already won fifty million dollars. From now on, I’m financially free. I can just chill and travel the world. But you poor slobs? You have to grind away at some dead-end job. Low pay, no respect, no dignity. Your entire life, mapped out and miserable.” As he said this, he shot a pointed look in my direction. The live stream chat exploded with angry comments, but Dylan didn’t care. He suddenly pointed a finger at me, his tone imperious. “Alex! The store where I bought this ticket is right next door. Go get the owner. Tell him to come here and verify my win. In person.” I said nothing. Jessica stepped forward, her voice sharp with annoyance. “Alex, are you fucking deaf? What are you waiting for? Dylan is doing you a favor by even asking. Someone like you isn’t fit to shine his shoes. If he asks you to do something, you should be grateful. You kiss his ass enough, maybe he’ll throw you a scrap or two.” A few classmates started muttering behind their hands, unable to stand it.

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When I opened my eyes, I was back on my way to donate blood. The wife of the city’s wealthiest man was in a difficult childbirth and desperately needed a transfusion—and my blood type matched her rare one. In my first life, I gave my blood without hesitation. As thanks, the billionaire gifted me a chic townhouse and three million dollars. My roommate Hannah, who always acted above material things, was furious. She accused me of selling my blood, said I was dirty, and spread rumors I was a homewrecker. Her words ate at me. I ended up refusing the gifts and cut off all contact with men, even skipping classes taught by male professors. By graduation, I’d failed so many courses I couldn’t graduate on time. Desperate, I begged Hannah for tutoring help. Instead, she filmed me pleading, called me an idiot, and posted it online. The video went viral—my tear-streaked face became a meme, and Hannah became an influencer overnight. That same night, overwhelmed, I ended my life with a bottle of pills. 1 Two men in casual clothes stopped me at the hospital entrance. “You must be Miss Cassie Miller?” When I nodded, the man I recognized as the city’s most prominent billionaire became so emotional his words stumbled over each other. “Miss Miller, my wife… she’s an older mother, and there were… complications during the surgery. She needs blood, urgently!” He swallowed hard. “You… you were informed of the situation, right?” When he spoke of his wife, this seasoned man who had weathered countless storms in the business world had tears welling in his eyes. His eldest son, Noah, who stood beside him, looked at me with immense gratitude. “Miss Miller, thank you so much for coming. My mother… we’re counting on you.” “Of course,” I said, extending my arm without a second thought. “Where do I go? Take me there now.” But just as we were about to head inside, a sharp voice cut through the air behind us. “Stop right there! None of you are going anywhere!” Hannah stormed over, planting herself directly in front of me. She stared at me, her eyes burning with a look of profound disappointment. “Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you’re doing? Donating blood for money? You’re basically selling your body! Have you no shame?” The familiar words sent a shiver down my spine. It was only then that the reality hit me with full force. I was back. I had been reborn. In my last life, she had stopped me just like this. But back then, all I could think about was that a life was on the line. Besides, I had come fully prepared to donate for free. I didn’t agree with her twisted logic, so I ignored her and followed the doctor to the donation room. I never expected that after the transfusion, the billionaire would offer me three million dollars and a house as a reward. Hannah found out and called me trash, a sellout who was a disgrace to modern women. Under her relentless psychological pressure, I ended up refusing the kind offer. That one simple act of refusal ultimately led to my death. Thinking of it now, a hot anger simmered in my chest. “Hannah, what are you talking about? I’m here to save someone’s life!” Hannah looked genuinely shocked, probably because the meek and quiet me had never dared to talk back to her. Seeing that all eyes were on her, she lifted her chin, her gaze drifting into the distance as if addressing a crowd. “Save a life? Don’t make it sound so noble. This is all just a trap set by these rich people!” She sighed dramatically and lowered her voice, leaning in as if sharing a secret. “Cassie, I’m only saying this for your own good. Don’t you know? Your blood type is rare. If you’re not careful, these wealthy vultures will turn you into their personal blood bag!” The billionaire panicked at her words, holding up four fingers in a solemn oath. “Never! Absolutely not! Miss Miller is saving my wife; she’s a benefactor to our entire family. How could we possibly do anything to harm her?” Noah chimed in, “If you don’t trust our word, we can sign a formal agreement. If this situation ever arises again, we will never force Miss Miller to donate if she is unwilling.” Hannah let out a derisive snort. “You think we’d believe that? Let me tell you something. We may be poor students, but we have principles! We would never sell our bodies for you! Impossible!” With that, she grabbed my arm and tried to drag me away. This time, I was ready. I yanked my arm free. “Mr. Davison, this is my body and my decision! Where is the donation room? Please, take me there now!” Noah understood immediately and motioned for a nearby doctor to lead me inside. Hannah, unwilling to give up, screamed after me, “Cassie, you’re a lost cause! If your parents knew you were selling your body, they would die of shame!” When I ignored her, she planted her hands on her hips and looked at Noah with utter contempt. “Let me make one thing clear to you people! Cassie might be spineless enough to sell herself to you, but I’m not! I, Hannah Davis, live my life with integrity. I would never stoop to something so vulgar!” But the Davisons couldn’t have cared less about her performance. Their attention was already back on the operating room doors. A few minutes later, I walked out, pressing a cotton ball to the small puncture wound on my arm. 2 Hannah’s sharp eyes immediately spotted my pale face. She covered her mouth, a flicker of malicious glee in her eyes. “See, Cassie? Didn’t I tell you? These rich people are already treating you like their personal blood bank! As long as you’re alive, they’ll just keep draining you!” Hearing this, Noah bowed his head in apology. “I’m so sorry, Miss Miller. It was an emergency, so they had to draw 150ml. How are you feeling right now?” Before he could finish, his father rushed over, shoving a bag full of expensive nutritional supplements into my hands. “Cassie, please, see if there’s anything you like in here. You need to eat something right away!” I waved my hand dismissively. “I’m fine. I just felt a little dizzy when I stood up too quickly. It’s passed now.” Hannah clicked her tongue. “Cassie, don’t try to be tough. This is serious.” She sneered. “They only took 150ml? Do you actually believe that? I certainly don’t. They’re definitely lying to you!” Her voice was grating. I subtly shifted away from her. “I know exactly how much they took. The scale on the bag was perfectly clear. Hannah, not everything is a conspiracy.” I wasn’t naive. I knew situations like that could exist, but I knew of the Davisons’ reputation. Mr. Davison was a self-made man who had built his empire from the ground up. He was wealthy but never wasteful. Noah was a rising star in his industry, known for his integrity. People were desperate to work for his company. Just as I finished speaking, an apologetic Mr. Davison approached with a bank card and a set of keys. “Cassie, I truly, truly cannot thank you enough for helping my wife. I know you came to donate altruistically. This isn’t payment; it’s just a small token of our family’s immense gratitude.” Noah nodded sincerely. “Miss Miller, please, you must accept it.” Watching this, Hannah’s eyes turned red with fury, just like they had in my past life. “Don’t you dare take it!” she shrieked. She slapped my outstretched hand away and threw the keys and card directly at Mr. Davison’s face. “Don’t you dare shame us with your dirty money! Do you think this will make us submit to you rich snobs? I’m telling you, never!” Panting, Hannah spun around to glare at me. “Cassie, have you no self-respect? Taking this money is the same as selling your body! Selling yourself to an old man like him… doesn’t it make you sick?” She took a few dramatic steps back. “I can’t even imagine how filthy you are right now. What you did is no different from being a homewrecker! And you know what happens to them, don’t you? They get beaten in the streets!” A cruel smile touched her lips. “The moment you take his money, you’ve sealed your fate as the other woman. You’ll be a rat that everyone wants to stomp on! Your parents will die of shame because of what you’ve done!” Her words just fueled my rage. In my last life, after I died, she made a fortune turning my tragic story into content and memes, launching her career as an influencer. She signed with an agency and did live streams every night, begging her followers for gifts so loudly the neighbors couldn’t sleep. If I didn’t know her true nature, I might still be fooled into thinking she genuinely despised money. I took a deep breath, bent down, and picked up the bank card and keys from the floor. “In that case, thank you for your generosity, sir.” Why would I be shy about accepting a gift like this? Seeing me take them, Mr. Davison smiled in relief. “Excellent, excellent! I’m so glad.” Noah also smiled. “Miss Miller, are you feeling unwell at all?” I shook my head, but in the next second, my vision went black, and I collapsed. 3 When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed. I looked up and met Noah’s worried gaze. His voice was soft. “Miss Miller, are you alright? The doctor said you’re suffering from malnutrition.” “I’m so sorry,” he continued, his face filled with guilt. “If I had known about your condition beforehand, I never would have let you donate blood.” I shook my head. “It’s my own fault, it has nothing to do with you. The malnutrition is because…” “Hahaha! I was right!” Before I could finish, Hannah’s triumphant voice cut me off. “Cassie, this is what you get for not listening to me! I warned you, these rich people see you as nothing more than a walking blood bag!” She laughed coldly. “It’s not too late to regret it!” As she spoke, she lunged toward me, reaching for the IV needle in my arm. Thankfully, Noah’s reflexes were quick. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. That small action was all it took for Hannah to completely lose it. “What do you think you’re doing? Why are you touching me? Did you really think I’m as pathetic as Cassie, fawning all over you rich people?” Watching her get lost in her own little drama, I couldn’t help but laugh. If I remembered correctly, this was her attempt at playing hard to get. It was a tactic she’d learned from some trashy romance novel, one where the heroine wins over a billionaire by acting like a cold, aloof flower. Hannah was trying to follow that script. Noah’s brow furrowed in annoyance. “Miss Davis, if I’m not mistaken, this is a private room. Cassie needs to rest. Please leave immediately.” Her ego bruised, Hannah crossed her arms. “Did you hear that, Cassie?”

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The day the store manager pointed her finger in my face and called me useless, I had just been hit with a customer complaint for refusing to heat up an ice cream cone. To make matters worse, she fired me on the spot and refused to pay me for the last month’s work. The next morning, I pushed open the store’s door and walked straight to the counter. When the manager looked up, I stared her dead in the eye and said, “I’d like one heated ice cream cone, please.” 1 “Ma’am, what did you say?” I held up the ice cream cone, certain I had misheard. The woman in front of me enunciated each word with chilling clarity. “I. Said. I. Want. It. Heated.” “Ice cream can’t be heated, ma’am.” “I’m on my period; I can’t have anything cold! Just heat it up! You’re just a damn server, stop being so difficult!” With a sigh, I found a cup, placed the ice cream inside, and confirmed with her one last time. “Heating the ice cream will turn it into soup. You’re okay with that?” “No!” she shrieked. “How am I supposed to eat soup? I want hot ice cream! The shape and texture have to stay the same!” I screamed internally. What kind of insane request is this? I’m just a summer temp! Please, universe, don’t mess with me like this! I shot a desperate look at my coworkers, but they were all in the weeds, gritting their teeth and shaking milk teas like their lives depended on it. A price war between the delivery apps had us spinning like tops. “Kate! What are you dawdling for? Can’t you even scoop an ice cream cone? Are you trying to slack off?” the manager’s impatient roar echoed from across the store. Sweat beaded on my forehead. “Ma’am, I really can’t fulfill your request. How about I refund your order and you can have the ice cream for free?” I held out the cone, just wanting to get this crazy woman out of the store. The words had barely left my mouth when I felt a sudden cold, sticky sensation on my face. She had thrown the ice cream at me. “For free? This piece of junk?” she sneered. “Am I a beggar to you? Who do you think you’re looking down on!” The entire store fell silent. The delivery drivers and customers crammed inside all turned to stare. My eyes burned. I had never been so humiliated in my entire life. I lowered my head, silently wiping the sticky mess from my face as I processed the refund. “Your request to heat the ice cream cannot be met. Your order has been refunded. Please come again.” The customer was practically hopping with rage. “Who told you to refund it? What gives you the right to cancel my order?” I ignored her and started working on the next ticket. That made her even angrier. “What’s with your attitude? Playing dead, are you? I’ll report you, you’ll see!” The other customers in line couldn’t stand it anymore. “Hey, what’s your problem? Can’t you see they’re swamped? Stop making trouble!” “Are you buying something or not? If not, get out! There’s a long line here, don’t waste our time!” “Is order 985 ready? It’s about to be late, hurry up!” Amidst the chorus of complaints, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I never imagined that later that day, I’d be the one facing a formal complaint. 2 The store manager, Bianca, stormed over, her phone in hand, her face darker than the bottom of a burnt pot. “Kate! Look what you’ve done! A customer complained about your terrible attitude and for refunding her order without permission!” “Manager, you were right there. She was being unreasonable, demanding I heat up an ice cream cone. I just followed procedure and issued a refund…” “Procedure?” Bianca slammed her hand on the counter, her finger practically touching my nose. “The customer is always right, you get it? If the customer wants a heated ice cream cone, you find a way to make it happen!” I was so speechless I almost laughed. “The customer still has to obey the laws of physics, right? Not even a god could heat ice cream without it melting!” “You’re lecturing me on physics?” Bianca sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, right, you’re the precious university student. So educated, you know all about physics! We’re just a bunch of illiterate grunts! We’re all idiots, and you’re the only smart one here!” It finally clicked. No wonder Bianca had been picking on me since my very first day, giving me the hardest, most grueling tasks and leading the others in ostracizing me. It was all because of something the regional supervisor had said. “Kate just got into a top-tier university! She’s different from us.” Bianca had been holding a grudge ever since. But she was still the manager, so I swallowed my pride and tried to explain. “Manager, I didn’t mean it like that. But the customer’s request was just impossible. I couldn’t do it.” “Couldn’t do it?” Bianca rolled her eyes and raised her voice. “So the so-called star student is just another useless waste of space! If you can’t do it, then get out! Stop being an eyesore!” My anger flared, and I stopped holding back. I pointed at the ice cream machine. “Since you’re so capable, why don’t you show me how to make a hot ice cream cone?” Bianca was momentarily stunned, her face flushing a deep red before twisting into a mask of fury. “You… Kate! What is this attitude? Are you trying to start a rebellion? You get a complaint, and you still have the nerve to talk back to your manager! That’s it, you’re fired! Pack your things and get out, now!” “Fine!” I ripped off my name tag and threw it on the floor. “Pay me my wages!” “Wages?” Bianca laughed as if it were the funniest joke she’d ever heard. “You got a customer complaint! You should be grateful I’m not making you pay for the damages! You want your wages? Dream on!” “You’re docking my pay?” “Docking? Don’t make it sound so ugly. The damage from one complaint costs the store more than your pathetic salary. Since you’re a student, I’ll be merciful and waive the rest of what you owe. Now, get out!” I was shaking with rage. I came in an hour early every day to prep ingredients and stayed an hour late to clean. I worked over ten hours a day, so exhausted I’d collapse into bed the moment I got home. For an entire month, I hadn’t taken a single day off, hadn’t slacked for a single minute. And this was my reward? My entire salary, gone? My fists clenched. “Withholding wages is illegal! Are you daring to break the law? Do you think I won’t report you to the labor board?” “Report me? Go ahead!” Bianca scoffed, her face a mask of contempt. “Let me tell you, I’m not someone to be messed with! What a joke. You read a few books and think you’re hot stuff.” She threw my bag out the door and then turned to the silent staff, roaring, “What are you all staring at? Get back to work! Anyone else who causes trouble will end up just like her!” I bent down, picked up my bag, and walked out without another glance at her twisted face. You want me to leave? Fine. Bianca, you just watch me. 3 In the labor arbitration mediation room, Bianca sat across from me, her chin held high, an arrogant smirk on her face. “Mediator, please take a look,” she said, calmly pushing two documents across the table. One was the Employee Rulebook, the other, a list of my violations. “During her employment, Kate committed multiple serious violations, causing significant losses to the store.” The mediator picked up the list, his brow furrowing deeper with each line he read. I couldn’t help but lean in. The moment I saw the contents, I felt the blood rush to my head. The list was a dense catalog of my supposed “crimes.” “July 1st, spilled pearl tapioca, $20 fine.” “July 5th, failed to promptly replace a torn glove while cleaning the ice machine, $50 fine.” “July 6th, added an extra swirl of whipped cream, $5 fine.” “One minute late, fine…” “Omitted one word from the standard greeting, fine…” “Cleaning rag not folded neatly, fine…” The list went on and on, each item more shocking than the last. Bianca’s voice was calm. “Mediator, every single one of these deductions was made in strict accordance with the employee rulebook. Kate’s monthly salary is $3,000. The total fines amount to $3,550. Not only does she not get a penny, but she also owes the store $550.” She paused, looking at me with a pained expression. “Kate, I didn’t even ask you for that $550, considering you’re a student. And yet… you turn around and bite the hand that feeds you? It’s truly heartbreaking.” I clenched my fists, trying to suppress the rage boiling inside me. I couldn’t believe it. Bianca had gone through hours of security footage to fabricate this long list of “crimes” and this unheard-of “rulebook.” “This rulebook is a fake!” I shot to my feet. “Mediator! I have never seen this document before! She made it up just to steal my wages! A $50 fine for a torn glove? A $5 fine for an extra swirl of whipped cream? Is that reasonable? Bianca did this on purpose! She forged this rulebook to find any excuse to take all my money!” “You’re lying!” Bianca slammed her hand on the table. “Mediator, don’t listen to her nonsense! Every employee signed and acknowledged this rulebook upon hiring! She was sloppy and didn’t follow the rules, and now she’s trying to frame me? The audacity!” She then produced a stack of signed rulebooks. “See? Every single one of our employees has signed it! She was a summer temp, so she didn’t sign, but this rulebook has been posted in the employee break room the entire time! I have photos as proof! And it was covered in her training. The other employees can all vouch for me!” Make the employees vouch for her? Under her tyrannical rule, who would dare to say no? 4 “Miss Miller,” the mediator began, his tone gentle and a little weary. “You claim this rulebook is a forgery. Do you have any evidence? Like a copy of your contract?” Contract? I was a summer temp. I never had a formal contract. “I worked there for over a month and never once saw that rulebook! It was never posted in the break room! Bianca fabricated it to steal my wages!” “Kate, you’re still trying to argue?” Bianca held her phone up for the mediator to see. “Mediator, look! Every single fine was confirmed by her. You can’t say I’m framing her now, can you?” I glanced at the screen, and my blood ran cold. My heart skipped a beat. There, on the store’s management system, was a detailed list of my fines. And next to every single one was my employee ID, confirming my acceptance. It all made sense now. No wonder Bianca always rushed me to tap a “Confirm” button on her phone when I was at my busiest. “Kate! HQ is doing a random check on employee status! Tap this ‘Confirm’ button! Quick! Don’t hold things up!” There was no explanation on the screen, just a single button. As a new hire, how could I dare to question it? I was terrified that a second’s hesitation would get me labeled as “uncooperative” or “insubordinate.” Every time, I did as she asked. Now I understood. That “confirmation” wasn’t for an attendance check. It was me acknowledging the penalties. Bianca had planned this from the very beginning. From the moment I first stepped into that store, she had set this trap. She had used the most despicable means to steal a month’s worth of my blood and sweat. I walked out of the mediation room, my head hung low in defeat. “Look at the pathetic loser!” Bianca followed me out, sneering. “Still trying to sue me? What an idiot!” Her long fingers poked at my chest. “A star student from a top university? I still had you running around like a dog! And in the end, you even have to ‘thank’ me for being merciful and not making you pay me back! It’s hilarious!” “Sue me? You should take a good look at yourself in the mirror! You’re not worthy! Kate, you should be thanking me for giving you an early taste of how cruel the real world is!” I leaned against the cold wall, my body trembling uncontrollably. Bianca laughed coldly. “Can’t take it already? And you wanted to go to labor arbitration? Useless.” Her footsteps faded away. I slowly straightened up, wiping away a tear. Bianca, you think you’ve won? You’re so naive. Even if you fired me, I still have ways to deal with you.

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A frantic shadow burst into the backstage area of the awards ceremony – it was Leo, Adrian’s assistant, his voice trembling as he pleaded with me to save his boss. A commotion erupted from the direction of the red carpet. From afar, I watched the man who was once my husband collapse to the ground, his body twitching unnaturally. They said it was a sudden heart attack. Reporters, like sharks scenting blood, immediately swarmed him. Someone shoved a microphone in my face, demanding to know why I stood still, refusing to help. I didn’t rush to answer. Instead, I slowly turned, letting them see the grotesque scar across my back. Then, I spoke, my voice cold, addressing the cameras: “Do you all think Adrian Blunt’s ‘sudden illness’ act is convincing enough?” After all, in my previous life, this very man had pushed me down the stairs while I was pregnant. And I, for his manic depression, had given up almost everything. … “Nia! Nia! Please, you have to go see Adrian! He—he’s not doing well!” The dressing room door was flung open. Leo’s face was chalk-white, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, his lips quivering uncontrollably. He scrambled to my vanity table, knocking over a chair. “Adrian… Adrian collapsed in the red carpet waiting area! He was clutching his chest, gasping for air… his face turned purple! Nia, only you can save him! Quick! Please, Nia!” Leo’s voice was choked with tears. In the makeup mirror, my face reflected not a ripple of emotion. Heart? In my previous life, that very heart became Adrian’s prop, used countless times to garner my sympathy after his outbursts. I am Nia Stone, a top-tier psychological consultant. I’d soothe his volatile moods, cover up his Jekyll-and-Hyde persona. I gave everything. In return, I was labeled a control freak, and then, I was murdered. “Nia!” Seeing no reaction from me, Leo was on the verge of collapsing to his knees. “Any later and it’ll really be too late! Adrian, he…” “Leo.” My voice was as calm as stagnant water. I didn’t even turn to look at him. “I’m not a doctor. Calling an ambulance is what you should do.” “But…” Leo was completely stunned, as if he couldn’t understand my words. In his mind, every time Adrian had an emergency, it was always I, Nia Stone, who pulled him back from the brink. I was Adrian’s only “special cure.” If he had an episode, I was supposed to help him. It was a conditioned reflex ingrained in his subconscious. “No ‘buts’.” I cut him off. I reached into my handbag and pulled out a voice recorder. I stood up, ignoring Leo’s expression of utter shock and devastation behind me, and walked straight towards the door. The corridor leading to the red carpet waiting area wasn’t long. From afar, I could hear the chaos erupting. “Mr. Blunt! Mr. Blunt, hang in there!” “Doctor! Is there a doctor in the house?!” “Move! Everyone move! Don’t crowd him! Let him breathe!” Flashbulbs flashed wildly, reporters desperately pushing forward, their cameras and microphones practically jammed into the front. The human wall of security guards swayed precariously. At the center of the huddle was Adrian. He was slumped in a chair, his tuxedo crumpled. His face was bluish-purple, his throat rattling like a broken bellows. His gaze, piercing through the chaotic bobbing heads, fixed directly on me. He saw me standing calmly at the edge of the crowd, like an indifferent observer. His lips moved, wanting me to save him from distress, just as I had countless times before. I met his gaze. Just then, a sharp-eyed entertainment reporter spotted me. Like a predator finding its prey, he practically lifted his microphone and camera, pushing aside anyone in his way, and rushed to my front in an instant. The microphone was almost poking my chin. “Ms. Stone!” “You are Mr. Blunt’s wife! And a top-tier psychological expert in the industry! Why are you standing here, just watching?” “Mr. Blunt’s situation is critical. Shouldn’t you be offering assistance immediately? Does your cold demeanor imply that your marriage has long been a mere formality?!” A barrage of sharp questions rained down on me. Everyone was waiting for me to defend myself. “Nia! How can you be so heartless?!” The crowd was forcefully split apart. Andy Peterson, Adrian’s official personal assistant, but in reality, his long-time secret lover, deliberately kept hidden from media scrutiny by Adrian and his team. She charged directly towards me. She positioned herself between me and the reporters, her body trembling slightly, blocking most of the cameras pointed at me, successfully shifting the focus onto herself. She spun around abruptly, her eyes red, glaring at me, her voice trembling. “Don’t you know how serious Adrian’s illness is?! You know better than anyone!” She shrieked at me, as if accusing a heinous criminal. “Every time, every single time he has an episode, he’s in so much pain! He curls up clutching his chest, gasping for air!” “Every time, you were there to take care of him, to calm him down. Only you could soothe him! Like a miracle cure! We all know you’re his only savior!” Large tears rolled down her cheeks, making her seem pitiable. She abruptly turned back to the reporters’ cameras, sobbing into the microphone. “Everyone, look! Adrian is right there, right there, dying in agony! Nia… she’s right here! Just a few steps away! She clearly has the ability! But look at her! Look at her now!” She pointed a finger at me. “She’s like a statue! Standing still! No reaction! Not an ounce of concern! Just watching him coldly! Watching him struggle there…” Her voice rose, incredulous. “She’s Adrian’s wife! The wife he married, had a wedding with, and swore vows to! At a time like this, even a stranger would step in to help, wouldn’t they?!” “How can she… how can she just watch him suffer? Watch him possibly… possibly… Is there no affection left between husband and wife? Spouses are supposed to be like birds in a forest, not abandoning each other in times of trouble, Nia!” At this, she suddenly turned back to me, her eyes fixed on mine. “I know! I know you might have misunderstandings about Adrian! You might be angry! But no matter how angry you are, you can’t gamble with someone’s life!” “Adrian shines on stage, winning awards left and right, he’s our pride and joy! But in private, he truly needs care! He can’t live without Nia!” Her words were full of accusations against me. “Nia, if you just stand by and watch… you’ll really face consequences! If something happens to Adrian today, will you be able to sleep tonight?! Will your conscience be clear?!” Her accusations were cutting, every word a curse. Her accusations, sharp and damning, successfully twisted the focus from “Adrian needs urgent help” to “Nia is heartless.” The live stream’s comments section scrolled wildly. #NiaStoneRefusesToHelp# #AndyPetersonSpeaksForAdrianBlunt# #HeartlessNia# “Even if a marriage is strained, you can’t watch your dying husband and do nothing!” “Nia Stone, the psychologist, is a fake, right? No empathy at all?” “Poor Adrian Blunt, married to a woman like that…” Andy held her head high, a flicker of triumph and calculation in her eyes. She had successfully pushed me into the eye of the storm. Facing the accusations, I simply watched her coldly, clutching the voice recorder in my handbag, offering no rebuttal. Leo and the security guards pushed through the crowd, escorting me to my car. Andy’s meticulously edited video went viral, portraying her as a loyal and devoted figure. And I, under the media’s narrative, became the “cold-hearted wife,” the “psychopath.” Adrian’s team remained silent, allowing Andy’s actions to play out. I returned home, my phone overwhelmed with calls, my social media filled with hateful comments. Even a few endorsement partners called to inquire about the situation. I took a deep breath, saving screenshots of all the insults as evidence. I knew, this was just the beginning. Three days later, just as the public outrage began to subside, Adrian Blunt’s studio released a “statement” that once again ignited the internet. The statement, carefully skirting the issue, thanked everyone for their concern, claiming Adrian was making a swift recovery. It cleverly steered public opinion back towards me, Nia, before I could say anything. Andy quickly retweeted it, adding a caption: “Some things are truly not as simple as they appear on the surface.” “What does that mean? Is Nia the problem, which is why she couldn’t help?” “It feels like the studio is implying Nia is the root cause of the problem!” “Andy seems to know what’s going on! Support her in protecting Adrian!” The public was guided to dig into the reasons “why Nia didn’t help,” and my name was plastered across trending topics with all sorts of conspiracy theories. Two days later, Andy, “in tears,” revealed more during a live interview. When the host “concerned” asked about Adrian’s condition, Andy hesitated, seemingly reluctant to speak. Finally, she “felt forced” to reveal: “I… I really didn’t want to say anything. But the misunderstandings about Nia online are too deep, and it’s also very bad for Adrian’s recovery. Actually… Nia… her condition hasn’t been very good.” Her voice choked. “A large part of Adrian’s stress comes from home. Nia… she has a very strong need to control; she interferes with everything Adrian does. His illness is largely related to this.” “Before, Adrian tried… he tried to resist, but the result… was worse. That day on the red carpet, Adrian’s condition… was after that intense argument… Nia even…” She pulled out a blurry photo that looked like a bottle. “…threw away Adrian’s medication! I can’t imagine if she had gotten closer then… I understand she might have been desperate… but… but… Adrian almost… almost…” She broke down crying, her words half-spoken, revealing much. #NiaStoneControlFreak# #NiaThrewAwayMedication# #AndyPetersonRevealsNiaHarmAdrian# “A control freak is terrifying! No wonder Adrian Blunt’s mental state is unstable!” “I knew she was a psychopath! A master of psychological manipulation!” “Andy is so brave! Speaking the truth under such pressure!” My building was besieged by fans and media. “Get out, you witch, Nia!” “Bow down and apologize to Adrian Blunt!” “Control freak, psychopath, go die!” Security guards struggled to hold them back downstairs. My assistant, Ashley, sent her last message yesterday, saying she was also harassed by reporters and dared not leave her home. Just then, glass shattered. “Smash this witch’s den!” Shards fell at my feet. The last straw, snapped. “Ahh—!!!” I violently smashed my water glass against the window. Enough is enough! They want to push me to my death? Dream on! I gasped for air. I’m going to tear Adrian’s facade wide open. I’m going to ensure Andy, his accomplice, never recovers! Medication bottle? Right, the medication! In my previous life, I had seen the lab report for that drug. It wasn’t life-saving medication at all! It was… an addictive, illegal substance! His so-called “can’t live without me” was because I could help him maintain his disguise! The account for the drug monitoring report, only I knew it! I no longer paid attention to anything outside the window. I found and saved that report. Then I switched the voice recorder to playback mode.

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