My dad is the most feared mafia boss in New York. My mom is an elite heiress from one of the city’s oldest billionaire families. And then there’s Julian—my genius older brother who used to spoil me to death. When I was five, my dad’s enemies kidnapped me. They wanted to trade my life for his. To save him, I found a chance to escape. But I ended up falling off a cliff, losing all my memories, and growing up as an unadoptable orphan in a foster home. The kidnapper, wanting to torture my dad, lied and told him he’d thrown me to the sharks. From that day on, my name—Seraphina King—became a forbidden word in New York. Twenty years later. My boyfriend’s side chick ran me over with her car, sending me straight to the ER. Standing by my hospital bed, she threw a black credit card at my face. “My adoptive dad is a mafia legend. My adoptive mom is a New York socialite. My adoptive brother is a world-class scientist.” “Who do you think you are to compete with me?” And my boyfriend, the guy who swore he’d love me forever, stood there with cold, indifferent eyes. “Mia, you can’t give me anything. Just let me go, okay?” I clutched the card and whispered, “Okay.” Every cloud has a silver lining. That car crash actually brought my memories back.

“Glad you know your place. Otherwise, if my family stepped in, you wouldn’t just be dealing with three broken ribs.” Chloe stood there in a custom Chanel tweed suit, a matching handbag dangling from her arm, and diamond-encrusted heels. She looked every bit the spoiled, pampered princess she was. She tilted her chin up, her voice dripping with arrogance. “Leave New York within three days. I don’t want to live in the same city as my boyfriend’s pathetic ex. It ruins my mood.” I kept my eyes down. She was just as ruthless and unreasonable as the rumors said. I had three broken ribs. I couldn’t even leave the hospital in three days, and she wanted me out of the city? I looked at Ethan, who was standing nearby, hoping he would tell this brainless brat to give me some time. But when Chloe saw me looking at him, she flew into a jealous rage. She swung her expensive Chanel bag and slammed it right into my face. “You bitch! You took my money and you’re still drooling over my man!” Blood started seeping through my head bandages. I clutched my forehead, my face turning pale from the agonizing pain. Chloe wasn’t done. A cruel smirk played on her lips as she walked toward me on her stilettos. Ethan instinctively reached out to stop her, but after a moment of hesitation, his hand dropped back to his side. “Chloe, don’t take it too far. The hospital has too many eyes. It’s bad for your reputation.” “Reputation? Who cares?” Chloe grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling so hard I felt like my scalp was ripping off. “I am Chloe King! No one in New York dares to cross me!” “Even if my reputation is trash, people will still beg to be my dogs.” With that, she slapped me hard across the face. Just when I thought I was going to die right there in that bed… A tall, incredibly handsome man appeared at the door. “Chloe!” Chloe froze. She immediately let go of my hair, her vicious snarl instantly turning into a sweet, innocent smile. She ran over and wrapped her arms around his. “Julian! What are you doing here?”

Julian affectionately ruffled Chloe’s hair. “Are you bullying people again?” He sighed, looking helpless. “When are you going to grow up?” The arrogant brat was gone, replaced by a sweet, pouty little girl. “I don’t want to grow up. With you, Mom, and Dad protecting me, I want to be your little princess forever.” The moment I heard Chloe call him “Julian,” my heart stopped. I struggled to turn my head to look at him. But Chloe’s rough handling had aggravated my broken ribs. The pain was so intense I started blacking out, cold sweat dripping down my back. I couldn’t even make a sound. If it weren’t for the burning desire to reunite with my brother, I would have passed out right then. But… my brother, whom I hadn’t seen in twenty years, was standing just feet away. Yet, I couldn’t reach him. I had to watch him shower Chloe with all the warmth, gentleness, and protection in the world. He wasn’t Chloe’s brother. He was mine. He was five years older than me. He used to spoil me rotten, giving me all the best food and toys. When we were kids, he loved to ruffle my hair too. He would smile gently and say, “You will always be happy, Seraphina. I’ll be your knight forever.” But now, all that tenderness belonged to someone else. A wave of bitter resentment washed over me. Why did they adopt Chloe? Why did they give all the love that belonged to me to another girl? Was that fair to me? I struggled on the bed, letting out muffled whimpers, desperately trying to get his attention. And I did. Through my blurry vision, I saw him slowly walk over to my bed. He stopped right beside me. “Miss, I apologize on Chloe’s behalf.” “She’s young and spoiled by our family, so she can be reckless. But she doesn’t mean any real harm.” He pulled a black card from his pocket and placed it on my pillow. “There’s two million dollars in here. I hope this covers your trouble.” Looking at Julian—his face expressionless, his voice cold and detached—my heart shattered alongside my body. “Julian, I already gave her two hundred thousand! Why give her more? A charity case like her isn’t worth that much if she sold her soul!” “Chloe.” Julian scolded her, but his voice was filled with indulgence, completely different from the icy tone he used with me. Chloe stuck her tongue out playfully and sneered at me. “Stop playing dead. I barely touched you. At most, you have a couple of scratches.” Julian looked at my pale face and the cold sweat on my forehead. He seemed to realize something was off. Maybe… I wasn’t faking it. But so what? To him, I was just a stranger. And Julian King never cared about the lives of strangers. He turned and took Chloe’s hand. “Let’s go. Today is Seraphina’s memorial day. We need to visit the cemetery.” Chloe gasped, hitting her forehead. “Oh my god, I almost forgot! Seraphina won’t be mad at me in heaven, right?” “I’m sure she won’t. You’re sweet and kind. Besides, she was the one who sent you to us. Why would she be mad?” Julian smiled warmly, pinching her cheek. “Exactly. You’re the little princess Seraphina sent us.” “Eighteen years ago today, we went to her grave and found you, a three-year-old, sleeping right by her tombstone.” “The moment we saw you, we thought Seraphina had come back to us.” “Especially your eyes. They look just like hers.” Julian’s eyes went distant, as if he were looking through Chloe at the little sister he missed so desperately. After a long moment, he pulled himself back and sighed. “Let’s go.”

Just a second before Julian turned to leave, I forced myself through the agonizing pain and grabbed his sleeve. “Julian…” “What did you call me?” Julian froze. His eyes locked onto my face. Then, his pupils shrunk. “Your eyes…” Suddenly, his gaze turned ice-cold, and he violently shook my hand off. “Your eyes do look like Chloe’s, and they look like my late sister Seraphina’s. But not everyone with those eyes is allowed to call me Julian.” He pushed my hand away so hard that my wounds ripped. I shook violently from the pain, helplessly watching him lead Chloe out of the room without looking back. The massive room fell dead silent, leaving only me and Ethan. Ethan looked down at me as I writhed in pain, condescendingly reaching out to press the call button. “People move up, Mia. Don’t blame me for being heartless.” “But that baby in your womb… you really can’t keep it.” My heart stopped. I looked at Ethan in absolute disbelief. I thought he didn’t know I was pregnant. I thought that was why he let Chloe run me over. Ethan looked down, slowly adjusting his cuffs, avoiding my eyes. “I found the ultrasound report in your drawer weeks ago. You wanted to surprise me, didn’t you?” “If it weren’t for Chloe, maybe I would have been happy.” “But a man has to prioritize his career. Chloe can give me everything I’ve ever dreamed of.” “You and that unborn kid can’t give me anything!” It felt like my chest was being ripped open. A suffocating pain engulfed me. The sweet, loving boy from college—when did he become this monster? Or maybe he was always this selfish and cold. I was just too blind to see it. Vaguely, I heard a nurse’s furious voice. “The patient has broken ribs and is going through a miscarriage! Any movement causes agonizing pain! Are you her family? Do you even know how to look after her?” “I have nothing to do with her. I just saw the accident and brought her in out of pity. I’m leaving now.” My heart was sliced open again. Seven years of love, and to him, I was just a stranger he helped out of pity. Tears fell silently. He abandoned me and our child for Chloe to climb the social ladder, right? Fine. I’d wait for him to reach the top. And when he’s at his proudest, I will stand before him. I’ll show him that the one standing at the very top—the one who can crush him and Chloe like bugs—is the “orphan” they threw away and humiliated.

To avoid any more trouble from Chloe, I used the money she and Julian gave me to hire two private nurses. On the third night, I booked a private medical transport and had myself transferred to a top private hospital in Boston. It took six months for my body to fully recover. A week ago, I finally contacted my dad. Even though he was a feared mafia boss, reaching him wasn’t hard. He had a private number known only to the four of us in our family. When I was a kid, he made me memorize it. He knew he had too many enemies and feared we might get separated. He told me that as long as we were alive, we could always reach him through this number. Stepping out of the JFK airport back in New York, the warm sunlight hit my face. I finally felt alive again. My dad’s men were on their way to pick me up. I was no longer a helpless orphan. I was going to take back everything Chloe took from me, piece by piece, and become the one person in New York no one dared to touch. “Mia? Why are you back in New York?” A familiar, annoying voice broke my thoughts. It was Ethan. His face twisted with annoyance. “We are over. Can you stop stalking me?” Without warning, Ethan shoved me. “Get out of here before Chloe sees you. She’ll get jealous and start a fight.” “What is going on here?” A sharp female voice shrieked. It was Chloe. She marched over and shoved me hard, sending me sprawling to the ground. “You cheap whore, trying to steal my man again…” Chloe stopped mid-insult, squinting at my face. Then, she let out a loud sneer. “Oh, it’s you. You took my money and you dare to come back to New York to harass my boyfriend? Do you think I’m soft?” She raised her hand to slap me, but paused, looking at the crowd gathering around us. She immediately put on her elegant heiress mask. A wicked grin spread across her face. “Throw her into my van. I want to catch up with my old friend!” Her two burly bodyguards immediately stepped forward, grabbing my arms to drag me toward her black Mercedes van. But right before they could force me inside… A fleet of dozens of luxury black SUVs pulled up in a perfect, intimidating line right at the airport curb. Dozens of men in sharp black suits stepped out, marching straight toward us.

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On the day of our college graduation, my parents held up their cameras, taking photo after photo of my boyfriend and my best friend. Through the lens, Ethan smiled and kissed Chloe on the cheek. He even dropped to one knee, pulling out a ring to fake a proposal. My parents stood by, watching with warm, indulgent smiles. Yet, I was their actual daughter. And Ethan was the guy I had been dating for four years. Dressed in my graduation gown, I stood alone in the corner. I waited for a long time, but my mom never once called my name. Once Chloe finished her photoshoot, she sighed and complained about not finding a good job yet. Naturally, Ethan forgot all about me, immediately leaning down to comfort her. “Come work at my company. Be my personal assistant. What do you say?” My brother, Marcus, walked over with a cold bottle of water. He only handed it to Chloe, then wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders, giving Ethan a sharp glare. “Chloe, come to my company instead. Be my personal assistant!” Two men, fighting over my best friend. My parents laughed, saying we were all just one big family anyway. I stood to the side, my fingers tightening into fists. It felt as though Chloe was their real daughter, and Ethan was her boyfriend. Since that was the case, I would sign the job contract for the place furthest away from home, and never come back.

An email notification popped up on my phone. It was from the company Chloe had interviewed with. They rejected her. Chloe’s eyes welled with tears instantly. “Am I really that useless? I can’t even get a basic job.” My mom immediately pulled her into a comforting hug. “What nonsense are you talking about? Maybe Natalie is useless enough to not find a job, but not you.” “You’ve been perfect in everything since you were a kid, Chloe. How could you not find a job?” After saying that, she glanced back at me. “That company just lacks vision. Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll take our time finding a better one.” I stood there, having done absolutely nothing, yet once again being used as the foil to prove Chloe’s superiority. Growing up, I had doubted countless times whether I was the one who was adopted, and if Chloe was their biological child. But unfortunately, the DNA test I secretly took showed no issues. Later, I thought it was because of my personality. Maybe I wasn’t smart or charming enough. So, I worked myself to the bone to prove my worth. Yet, by the time I finally achieved things that should have made them proud, I realized their favoritism toward Chloe had already become a deep-rooted habit. Just like now, they were used to ignoring me. They knew I’d always find my own way home anyway. I stood there, watching Ethan whisper sweet nothings to comfort Chloe. Meanwhile, my dad was on the phone, calling the HR manager of Aegis Group on the spot. After hanging up, he made a confident promise. “I’ve sorted it out for you. Your first job is crucial. You can’t just settle. A major corporation like Aegis is the bare minimum.” There was always a safety net beneath Chloe’s feet. The moment she slipped, everyone rushed to catch her. During our freshman year, she failed a core course. My mom pulled strings to find a senior tutor, paying three hundred dollars per session and booking twenty sessions in advance. That same semester, I scored a ninety-five on my final exam. Full of anticipation, I showed my grade to my mom, hoping for a single word of praise. But all I got was criticism. “I thought you said you worked hard? Why did you lose five points?” After that, I stopped sending my grades home. During our junior year, I had a sudden bout of acute gastritis. The pain was so intense I collapsed at the entrance of the lab building, unable to stand. I called Ethan, begging him for the first time to take me to the hospital. But the other end of the line was quiet for a moment. “Chloe has a big presentation tomorrow. She’s really nervous right now and needs me to help her practice.” “Natalie, you’ve always been independent. You can call an Uber yourself, right?” That day, the Uber driver saw how pale I was and personally helped me walk into the ER. A complete stranger knew I needed a hand. Yet Ethan thought I was perfectly fine on my own. Maybe it was because I had been too sensible for too long. When you never complain, people assume you don’t feel pain. It was only much later that my mom casually asked about my job hunt. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could answer, my dad waved his hand dismissively. “With her major, what kind of good job can she get? Just find some random desk job and call it a day.” Marcus glanced at me, frowning. “Yeah, just get a job. Don’t think you’re going to live rent-free at home after graduation.” Ethan even chime in, “If you really can’t find anything, I can ask if our company’s front desk is hiring.” He said it so naturally, as if he was genuinely doing me a favor. I looked down and unlocked my phone, opening the acceptance email. The Cairo Institute of Deep Space Materials. Excellent benefits, highly prestigious, but located over five thousand miles away. For the past seven days, I hadn’t confirmed the offer. I was waiting. Waiting for my mom to ask me where I wanted to stay. Waiting for my dad to make a call for me too. Or waiting for Ethan to remember our promise to stay in the same city after graduation. But with only six hours left on the confirmation countdown, not a single person asked. I tapped “Confirm.” A message popped up on the screen. Welcome to the Cairo Institute of Deep Space Materials, Natalie Sinclair! At that moment, the first sincere welcome I received came from five thousand miles away.

The next morning, my mom dragged us all to the mall. She said since Chloe was joining a big company, she needed a brand-new wardrobe. A six-thousand-dollar designer suit, a fifteen-thousand-dollar work bag, and five-thousand-dollar high heels. Every time Chloe looked at a price tag in hesitation, my mom would smile and tell her not to worry about the cost. “You’re going to be working at a top firm. You need to look the part.” My dad happily handed over his credit card at the register. Marcus, his hands full of shopping bags, asked Chloe if she wanted some designer perfume too. Ethan knelt down, gently feeling the back of Chloe’s new heels. “The leather here is a bit stiff. Let’s try another pair. I don’t want you getting blisters on your first day.” I stood a few paces away, watching his gentle profile. During our four years of college, I had walked miles in ill-fitting shoes just to keep him company. When my heels bled, he only laughed and said I was being dramatic. It turned out he knew shoes could hurt. It was just that when those shoes were on my feet, it wasn’t worth his concern. Passing by a luggage store, I stopped. My suitcase was ten years old, and the corners were cracked. I had wrapped layers of duct tape around it, and the wheels were completely uneven. I picked the cheapest one in the store. One hundred and twenty-nine dollars. Instead of taking it straight to the counter, I walked over to my dad. “Can I get this?” Perhaps, even now, I still held onto a stupid shred of hope. They had just spent over thirty thousand dollars buying luxury clothes, shoes, and bags for Chloe. A hundred-dollar suitcase shouldn’t be too much to ask for, right? Maybe I just wanted to prove that I still held some tiny fraction of a place in their hearts. But my dad only frowned. “Don’t we have suitcases at home?” “That one is ten years old, Dad. It’s broken.” “Just because it’s broken doesn’t mean it’s unusable. Do you think your parents’ hard-earned money is for you to throw away like this?” My mom walked over, scoffing. “Chloe got a prestigious job, so of course she needs nice things.” She glanced at the suitcase in my hand, her tone filled with annoyance. “What kind of job are you going to get that warrants a fancy suitcase like this?” “You’ll probably end up as a receptionist somewhere. Nobody cares what bag you bring. Just make do with the old one.” Marcus chuckled from the side. “She’s just jealous. She saw Chloe buying things, so now she wants to compete.” My hand froze on the handle. Slowly, I put the suitcase back. Chloe stood outside the store, her fifteen-thousand-dollar bag on her shoulder, surrounded by shopping bags. “Natalie, aren’t you buying anything?” “No.” I looked down at my worn-out canvas tote bag. It wasn’t that the family was broke. And it wasn’t that appearance didn’t matter. It was just that whenever it came to me, everything became “unnecessary” and “wasteful.” That evening, my mom booked a private room at a nice restaurant to celebrate our graduation. A massive cake sat in the center of the table. The moment I walked in, the icing caught my eye. Congratulations on Graduation, Chloe! Wishing you a brilliant future! Chloe looked slightly embarrassed. “Helen, did you forget to write Natalie’s name?” My mom didn’t even look up. “She doesn’t like cake anyway. It doesn’t matter.” Actually, I loved cake. She had just never bought one for me. During dinner, my dad handed a recommendation letter to Chloe. “I’ve already spoken to my contact. You can report to Aegis Group next week. The office is close to home, and the pay is great.” Chloe’s eyes turned red. “You guys are too good to me. I don’t know how to repay you.” My mom squeezed her hand. “Oh, sweetie, don’t talk about repaying us. We already think of you as our own daughter.” Watching them hold hands, I suddenly felt like an intruder sitting at the wrong table. The warm, family scene was so blindingly bright that my presence felt like a stain on their perfect picture. When the bill came, my mom paid for Chloe’s share. But a second later, a Snapchat split-bill request of $136.50 popped up on my phone. Sent by my mom. Only I was asked to pay. “Natalie, you’ve graduated now. You can’t keep relying on your parents’ money.” “From now on, you’ll need to pay your share for dinners, rent for your room, and utilities.” I stared at the split-bill request down to the cents. I didn’t say a word. I just quietly clicked pay.

When we got home, my mom stopped me just as I was about to go to my room. “Pack up your things. Chloe is moving in tomorrow.” “She starts at Aegis next week. Her family’s place is too far from the office, so she’ll be living with us.” I followed her gaze. In the hallway sat brand-new bedding and a vanity table that had just been delivered. All in Chloe’s favorite baby pink. “Where is she staying?” “Your room, of course. We don’t have any other spare rooms.” I froze. “Then where do I sleep?” My mom paused, pointing toward the storage closet near the entrance. “Clean out the storage room. A folding bed can fit in there. Chloe is our guest, so you’ll just have to deal with it.” The storage room was piled high with old furniture. The window was half-blocked by a cabinet, and there was mold on the walls. When we were kids and Chloe stayed over, I used to give up my bed and sleep there too. Back then, my mom would stroke my hair and say, “Our Natalie is the most sensible girl.” I had always thought being sensible would earn me a little bit of her love. Only later did I realize that the reward for being sensible was being expected to give up everything forever. “No, I won’t do it.” It was the first time I had ever said no. My mom’s face darkened instantly. “Chloe is going to be busy with her new job. She needs proper rest!” “You don’t even have a job lined up. What difference does it make where you sleep?” I whispered, “It’s my room.” My mom laughed as if she’d heard a joke. “Your room? Everything in this house was given to you by us. What’s wrong with you giving up a room for a bit?” I stared at her and suddenly asked, “What if the job I got is better than Chloe’s?” My mom frowned. “Natalie, it’s one thing to have no talent, but don’t lie just because you’re jealous.” I had wanted to tell her that I was accepted by the Cairo Institute. But the words died in my throat. My dad finally snapped in irritation, “If you don’t want to sleep in the storage room, then pack your bags and get out. Nobody is stopping you.” I looked at them and nodded. “Okay.” They thought I was just throwing a tantrum. My mom didn’t even try to stop me. She only warned me to clear my things out completely so I wouldn’t delay Chloe’s move-in tomorrow. I found a cheap hostel nearby. A six-bed dorm, top bunk, thirty dollars a night. Every time the person next to me tossed and turned, the entire metal frame shook. But the moment I lay down, I felt more at peace than I ever had at home. At least this bed was truly mine, paid for with my own money. The next day, I went back to pack the rest of my things. When I opened my jewelry box, I realized the sapphire cross necklace left by my grandma was gone. Grandma Eleanor was the only person in that family who had ever truly loved me. When I had a high fever as a kid, my mom was away at Chloe’s dance recital. It was Grandma who carried me to the hospital on her back. She told me, “Our Natalie isn’t fearless. She’s just too scared to cry because there’s no one to comfort her.” After Grandma passed away, that cross necklace became my only comfort. I marched into the living room, clutching the empty box. “Mom, where is my necklace?” My mom paused her hands while stripping the bedsheets. “It’s just an old cross. How should I know where you put it?” The moment she finished speaking, a photo popped up in the family Snapchat group. My dad had set up a dinner with his friends to introduce Chloe to the executives of Aegis Group. In the photo, Chloe was wearing the new designer dress we bought yesterday. And around her neck was my sapphire cross necklace. I shoved the photo in front of my mom’s face. Seeing she couldn’t lie her way out, she doubled down, completely shameless. “Chloe was meeting executives today. Her neck looked too bare, so I gave it to her.” “You never wear it anyway. Why let it gather dust?” “That was Grandma’s!” My mom’s expression went cold. “I’m your mother. Do I need your permission to take something from this house?” “Besides, your grandma adored Chloe too when she was alive. If she knew you were throwing a fit over a piece of jewelry, she’d think you were incredibly petty.” “Grandma wouldn’t.” Tears fell without warning, and my voice began to tremble. “Grandma was the only person in this family who never forced me to give up my things to Chloe.” I turned to head to the restaurant, but my mom blocked the door immediately. “The executives are still there! If you go now, are you trying to ruin Chloe’s career?!” While we were arguing, the front door swung open. Chloe was back. She touched the sapphire cross on her chest. “Natalie, are you looking for this?” She unclasped the chain and held it out in her palm. “I didn’t know this was from your grandma. Helen told me it was a graduation gift.” I walked over and reached out my hand. “Give it back.” I was still two paces away from her when she suddenly let go. The necklace crashed heavily onto the tiled floor. The blue sapphire in the center of the cross shattered into pieces. Chloe took a step back, tears streaming down her face first. “I’m so sorry… you rushed at me so fast, I got scared…”

I knelt down, gathering the shattered pieces into my palm. The sharp edges of the broken metal cut into my finger, blood seeping into the cracks. On my eighteenth birthday, Grandma Eleanor had placed this necklace around my neck. Her hands had been weak, taking several attempts to secure the clasp. “Our Natalie always gives in to everyone else.” “When Grandma is gone, make sure you keep the things you love. Don’t let yourself suffer anymore.” I had hugged her back then, giggling and saying that as long as I had her, I’d never suffer. But then Grandma passed away. And in this house, there was no longer anyone who saw me as a girl who felt pain, got sad, or deserved to be loved. I couldn’t even protect the last thing she left me. The only love I had left was taken by them to please Chloe, only to be smashed to pieces right in front of my eyes. “Natalie, I really didn’t mean to.” Chloe covered her face and sobbed. My mom immediately shielded her in her arms. “Don’t cry, sweetie. It’s not your fault.” She glared at me. “If she hadn’t rushed at you like a maniac, why would your hands shake?” But I hadn’t even touched Chloe. Marcus sighed in annoyance. “Just take it to a jeweler and get it fixed. It’s not like it’s worth that much anyway.” Ethan pulled out a tissue, gently wiping the tears from Chloe’s face. Nobody noticed my hand was bleeding. Or maybe they did. It was just that compared to Chloe’s tears, it didn’t matter. I tightly clenched my fist around the broken cross. In the past, whenever I was wronged, I would scream and explain myself. I used to believe that if I just explained clearly, they would understand. But at this moment, I didn’t even have the energy to speak. I slipped the broken necklace into my pocket and walked out. My mom screamed after me, “If you walk out that door, don’t you dare come back! You’re an adult and you still have such an attitude! Who would ever put up with you?!” I didn’t look back. She didn’t know that I had no intention of ever returning. I went back to the hostel. My flight to the Cairo Institute was the day after tomorrow. I packed my remaining clothes. At one in the morning, a message from Ethan came through. Chloe cried the entire night. Are you happy now? I stared at the screen for a long time. I wanted to explain, but halfway through typing, I deleted everything. He didn’t care. Just like he never cared why I left. Chloe’s tears required everyone to comfort her all night. My pain only earned me a complaint about my “bad attitude.” I blocked every single one of them. Then, I dragged my broken suitcase to the train station to head to the airport. At the security check, the wheel of my suitcase got stuck. A kind older woman helped me lift it. “Traveling alone, dear? No family to send you off?” I smiled, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. “They have someone more important to take care of.” As the train pulled away from the platform, I looked at the broken necklace in my hand and finally let my tears fall in the silence of the cabin. I wasn’t crying because I missed them. I was crying for my younger self—the girl who had stupidly believed that if she was just a little more sensible, someone would finally love her back. Before turning off my phone, I saw a few incoming texts. They were still demanding that I “be sensible” and come back to apologize to Chloe. But they didn’t know. The Natalie Sinclair who was always sensible, who always waited for their approval, was gone. And she was never coming back.

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My husband, Cole, and I had been together for seven years. He was a penniless orphan, and I was the sole heiress to the Franklin empire. I fought my entire family to marry him, and today, I finally did. The wedding was grand and perfect. He looked at me with the same deep, adoring eyes he always had. But late that night, in our brand-new bridal suite, I found a leather-bound journal he had accidentally left behind. Inside, he had documented everything. From our very first day in college, he had meticulously planned every single encounter, every conversation, and every milestone of our relationship. It was a perfectly calculated trap. The very last entry was dated yesterday. “Antoinette finally took the bait. Once the wedding is over tomorrow, everything the Franklins own will be mine.” Our wedding was incredibly lavish. My father spared no expense. Cole, the man I had loved for seven years, was now my husband. He grew up as an orphan, so my family covered every single wedding expense. My father didn’t mind at all. He just wanted me to be happy. Throughout the ceremony, Cole was incredibly attentive. The way he looked at me was filled with pure adoration. I believed his love was real. Seven years of history couldn’t possibly be a lie. All the guests were whispering about how lucky we were, calling us a match made in heaven. And I believed them. Until late that night, after the last guest had left. I sat on our bed, which was covered in red rose petals, anxiously waiting for Cole to return. He had gone to see off our last few friends and told me to head up and rest first. Our master bedroom was huge, decorated in warm, romantic lights. That was when I noticed a black, hardbound journal lying on the carpet near the nightstand. I recognized it instantly. It was Cole’s diary. He had always mentioned his habit of journaling, but I had never read it. He told me it was just boring, day-to-day stuff. I wanted to respect his privacy, so I never pried. But tonight, for some inexplicable reason, I picked it up. It wasn’t locked. I opened it easily. The first page was dated seven years ago—September 1st, our very first day of college. The handwriting was definitely Cole’s. But the words felt like they belonged to a total stranger. “Antoinette Franklin. The sole heiress to the Franklin Group.” “My target starts today. I will make her fall in love with me.” My heart instantly dropped. Refusing to believe it, I kept flipping the pages. September 15: “Bumped into her at the library today. A perfect accident. She is exactly like the files said—sweet, innocent, and a little naive.” “Step one: success.” October 3: “She agreed to be my girlfriend. Everything is going exactly according to plan.” “She has these pure, doe-like eyes. Sometimes when she looks at me, I almost fool myself into thinking this is real love.” December 24: “Christmas Eve. She told me she loves me.” “Phase two: complete. Up next: long-term companionship and deep integration into her life.” I flipped through page after page. It felt like I was reading a horror story about my own life. Cole and I were the main characters, but the tone was as cold and calculated as a corporate takeover. Every date, every fight, every makeup session was listed as a milestone, followed by a post-event analysis and the next step of his strategy. My hands began to shake violently. Our seven-year romance was nothing but a highly engineered scam. I was the idiot playing her part in his script. I reached the very last page. The entry was from yesterday. “Seven years. This show is finally coming to an end.” “Antoinette finally took the bait. Once the wedding is over tomorrow, everything the Franklins own will be mine.” “Father, your vengeance is at hand. I am about to reclaim what is ours.” My brain went entirely numb. Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t feel sad. I just felt cold—an icy, bone-chilling numbness that spread from my chest to my fingertips. Right then, the bedroom door clicked open. Cole walked in with his signature warm, gentle smile. When he saw me sitting on the floor with his journal in my hands, his smile froze for a fraction of a second. But he recovered almost instantly. He walked over, kneeling beside me, and reached out to pull me up. “Why are you sitting on the floor, sweetheart? It’s cold.” His voice was still so soft, so familiar. I looked up at him. This face, which I had loved for seven years, now looked completely foreign and terrifying. I held up the journal right in front of his face. “What is this?” My voice was so raspy I barely recognized it. Cole’s eyes changed. The warmth and tenderness vanished. In their place was a cold, calculating gaze, mixed with a hint of annoyance at being caught. He stood up, looking down at me coldly. “Well, since you’ve read it, I guess there’s no point in playing pretend anymore.” He admitted it. Just like that, without a single shred of hesitation. My entire world shattered into pieces. “Why?” I squeezed out the question with every ounce of strength I had left. “Why?” He let out a harsh, mocking laugh. “You should ask your dear father. Ask him what he did to the Miller family twenty years ago.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Through the rising smoke, his face looked incredibly cruel. “Toni, I wanted to give you some dignity.” “If you had just played the part of a happy housewife and handed the company over to me, I would have made sure you were taken care of for the rest of your life.” “But you had to be stupid and dig this up.” He pointed his cigarette at the journal in my hands. “Now, the game is over.”

I don’t even know how I survived that night. Cole didn’t touch me. He slept in the guest room. I lay alone on the cold bridal bed, staring at the ceiling until dawn. Every single word from that journal was burned into my brain. My youth, my love, my entire life—all of it was a massive joke. But I couldn’t just give up. Not for myself, and definitely not for my family. The next morning, Cole sat at the dining table, eating breakfast as if nothing had happened. When he saw me walk downstairs, he even offered a small smile. “You’re awake. Come have some breakfast.” I forced down the wave of nausea hitting my throat and sat opposite him. I told myself: Toni, you cannot panic. Do not let him see you break. From this moment on, you are the one who has to act. “Cole, are we still going on our honeymoon?” I did my best to make my voice sound normal. He looked at me, slightly surprised. “Of course. The tickets are already booked, aren’t they?” “Great.” I forced a smile. “I really want to go to Paris. You promised you’d take me there.” He nodded, a hint of suspicion lingering in his eyes. “Sure. Whatever you want.” After breakfast, I made an excuse to pack my bags and locked myself in the bedroom. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. Julian Vance. He was our family’s legal counsel, and the man my father trusted most. The phone rang for a long time before someone picked up. “Hello?” Julian’s voice was professional but carried a hint of morning tiredness. “Julian, it’s me. Toni.” There was a brief silence on the other end. “Toni? Happy wedding day. Is everything okay? It’s pretty early.” I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. “Julian, I need some legal advice.” “If… hypothetically, a friend of mine found out that her new husband only married her to steal her family’s wealth… what should she do?” Julian let out a soft chuckle. “Toni, you should really stop watching those lifetime dramas.” “Without concrete evidence, accusations don’t mean anything in court.” His tone was detached, purely professional. I knew he wouldn’t believe something so wild without proof. “Evidence… I’ll find it.” After hanging up, my heart sank. If even Julian thought I was being paranoid, how was I going to find proof? Then, I remembered the last line of Cole’s diary. “Father, your vengeance is at hand.” Cole’s father? I thought Cole was an orphan? Also, the diary mentioned a few other details—meetings with friends, and some unusual bank transfers. I opened my phone and started checking our joint bank accounts. Most transactions were normal living expenses. But one stood out. Three months ago, there was a fifty-thousand-dollar wire transfer to a completely unfamiliar name. The memo read: “Personal loan.” Cole never lacked money. My father had given him a black card with a massive limit. Why would he need to borrow fifty thousand dollars from a stranger? I quickly took a screenshot of the transfer and sent it to Julian. Then, I texted him: “Julian, please run a background check on this account owner. I will cover the fees.” As soon as the message sent, I deleted all call logs and texts. I walked out of the room. Cole was leaning against the living room couch, scrolling through his phone. Seeing me, he looked up. “All packed?” “Yeah.” “Great. Let’s head to the airport.” He stood up and naturally reached for my hand. I flinched, pulling away instinctively. The air in the room instantly froze. Cole’s eyes darkened. “Toni, don’t play games with me.” I forced myself to meet his cold gaze and smiled. “I’m just… still adjusting. We’re actually married now.” He stared at me for a few agonizing seconds before letting it go. But I knew. He was starting to doubt me. This game was getting incredibly dangerous.

On the flight to Paris, Cole and I barely spoke. I kept my eye mask on, pretending to sleep, while my mind raced to find a way out of this. I had to get enough evidence to ruin him before he realized I was on to him. Once we landed, Cole checked us into a luxury hotel. He played the role of the doting husband perfectly, arranging everything. But it only made my skin crawl. That night, he claimed he had to meet a “French business partner.” I knew it was a lie. He was meeting his accomplice. Right after he left, my phone buzzed. It was an encrypted text from Julian. It was an image of the bank account holder’s details. The account belonged to a man named Douglas, registered in a remote town. But it was Julian’s note below that made my heart race: “This man owns a shell company. It was registered six months ago. No actual business operations.” My heart hammered against my ribs. Douglas… shell company… I immediately connected it to a name in Cole’s journal. He had mentioned needing “Douglas” to move some funds. It was him! Julian sent another message right after. “Toni, this is much bigger than you think. Where are you? We need to meet.” His tone had completely changed. He was no longer the detached lawyer. He believed me. I sent him my hotel address in Paris. He said he would get there as fast as he could. Waiting for Julian was agonizing. I was terrified Cole would walk in at any moment. I wiped my chat history with Julian, muted my phone, and hid it under my pillow. About two hours later, there was a knock at the door. I peered through the peephole. It was Julian. He was wearing a sharp, tailored suit, looking slightly exhausted from the travel, but his eyes were incredibly sharp. I opened the door and let him in. “Toni,” he greeted, nodding. “Julian, thank you for coming.” “Don’t worry about it. It’s my job.” He sat down on the sofa, getting straight to business. “Now, tell me everything. No more ‘hypothetical friend’ stories.” I didn’t hold back. I told him about finding the journal, the revenge entries, and everything Cole had admitted. I tried to stay strong, but my voice cracked when I spoke about our seven years being a lie. Julian listened quietly, never interrupting. When I finished, he remained silent for a long moment. “Toni, I am so sorry you have to go through this,” he said, his tone softening. “But from this moment on, you cannot let your emotions guide you. You need to stay calm, and you need to trust me completely.” I nodded. “Cole’s target is the Franklin Group,” Julian explained, his expression grave. “Based on what you’ve shown me, he’s likely planning a hostile takeover or trying to siphon the company’s core assets.” “We have to stop him before he makes his move.” “How?” I asked. “Step one: keep him calm. He can’t know that you’re onto him. You have to keep acting like the happy bride for the rest of this honeymoon.” “Step two: we need more concrete evidence. A journal entry and one wire transfer aren’t enough to hold up in court. We need proof of corporate embezzlement or insider trading.” “Step three: I will dig into Cole’s real family background. We need to find out what this ‘vengeance’ is actually about.” Julian’s logic was flawless. It brought a sense of calm to my chaotic mind. “I understand.” “And one more thing,” Julian said, looking into my eyes. “From now on, only contact me through this secure, encrypted app. I’ll show you how to use it.” We talked late into the night. Shortly after Julian left, Cole came back. He smelled of alcohol, but his eyes were completely sober. “How was your meeting?” I asked casually, pretending to read. “Good. Just talked some business.” He shrugged out of his coat, his eyes scanning the room as if checking for anything out of place. Finally, his gaze landed on my face. “You seem… different tonight.” My heart leaped into my throat.

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My mom had been blind for three years. My father, who supposedly loved our family more than life itself, brought his abused ex-lover, Scarlett, and her daughter, Violet, into our home. The moment they walked through the door, Scarlett’s toy poodle went wild and lunged at my mom. Scout, my mom’s guide dog, let out a fierce bark and scared the poodle back. Scarlett clutched her trembling poodle, her eyes welling up with tears. And my dad, pointing at the very guide dog he had personally trained, roared: “You filthy beast! Bark again and I’ll pull every single one of your teeth out!” I rushed home the moment I saw the security feed on my phone. By the time I arrived, Scout was lying on the floor, his mouth drenched in blood. His shattered teeth were scattered all over the ground. My dad looked at my mom and said: “Scarlett has suffered so much over the years. Now that I’m successful, I won’t let her and Violet suffer another second of misery!” When he spoke of Scarlett, his eyes were filled with an unshakeable tenderness. But he didn’t know that the “success” he was so proud of was entirely built on my back.

I pushed open the front door and saw Scout tied up on the scorching, sun-drenched balcony. A few bloody teeth lay on the concrete. Blood was gushing from the empty sockets in Scout’s mouth. My mom was holding Scout helplessly, her palms covered in raw scrapes. My heart instantly tightened into a knot. “Mom, what happened?” “Georgina, please help Scout. He got into a fight with Scarlett’s dog, and your dad…” I looked at the bloody pliers lying on the floor, and everything clicked. I stared dead at my dad. A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes. A guide dog is incredibly hard to train. My dad had spent over two years personally training Scout just to protect my mom. Scarlett noticed his momentary guilt. She set down her coffee cup, slowly stood up from the lounger, and carried herself with the smug air of the new lady of the house. “Back where I come from, a dog this poorly behaved would have been put down. Pulling a few teeth is getting off easy.” Violet stroked her poodle’s head, chiming in: “Exactly. My mom cherishes this poodle your dad gave her. She can’t bear to see it get hurt at all.” I glared at them. “No one asked for your opinion.” Scarlett bit her lower lip, grabbed her suitcase, and made a show of leaving. “Christian, I told you your family wouldn’t welcome me. Why did I even bother coming here!” “Violet, pack your things. We’re leaving.” The guilt in my dad’s eyes vanished instantly. He rushed forward, snatched her suitcase, and pointed at the bruises on her arm, his voice thick with heartache: “Wyatt treated you like garbage, and you want to go back there to suffer?” “As long as I am breathing, I will never let you or Violet suffer again!” I let out a cold laugh, looking at this “saint” of a father. “Dad, Scout is Mom’s eyes. He is family.” “Did you forget? You were the one who said that.” He looked at me with a stern, cold face. “From now on, Scarlett and Violet are also our family!” “And as the man of this house, let me tell you this: I don’t care how spoiled you and your mother were before. From now on, you will respect them.” The midday sun was brutal. Scout’s mouth was still bleeding, and my mom’s clothes were soaked in sweat from the heat. I quickly untied Scout, preparing to rush him to the veterinary hospital. “Uncle Christian, what are these clothes?” Violet walked out of my room, holding a few of my lace designer dresses. Those were custom pieces gifted to me by a student I sponsored, who had won a prestigious fashion competition in Paris. Scarlett tutted, turning to my mom. “Betty, I don’t mean to criticize, but even if you’re blind, you can feel how expensive this fabric is.” “Georgina is a young girl. Wearing clothes like this…” “If word gets out, it just shows how much you’ve failed as a mother.” “Christian is a respected CEO now. She’s completely ruining his reputation.” With that, she handed a pair of scissors to my dad. He hesitated for a second, but took them anyway. He threw both the scissors and the dresses right in front of my mom. “Cut them up. Otherwise, neither of you is leaving this house today.” My mom’s hands trembled as she clutched her shirt, trying to explain for me: “Christian, it’s not what you think. These were a gift from a student Georgina helped…” “I don’t care what they are! You live under my roof and eat my food. Do I not even have a say in this house anymore?” My mom looked lost and helpless. Scout lay on the ground, whimpering in pain. Without another word, I picked up the scissors.

With a heavy heart, I shredded my student’s hard work into pieces and threw them at my dad’s feet. “Are you satisfied now?” My mom and I rushed Scout to the vet. After some treatment, the bleeding finally stopped. Though his life wasn’t in danger, Scout lay at our feet, his ears drooping sadly. Guide dogs are highly intelligent. They have dignity, and they feel emotional trauma too. My mom sighed softly. “Your dad is a good man. But whenever Scarlett is involved, he completely loses his mind.” From what I knew, Scarlett and my dad were childhood sweethearts. But Scarlett’s father, greedy for money, forced her to marry a wealthy man’s son. Back then, my dad was dirt poor. Heartbroken, he left his hometown to build a life from scratch. Now that he was a successful businessman and Scarlett was being abused by her alcoholic husband, Wyatt, my dad saw this as his golden opportunity to play the savior. When we got back home, I found Violet sitting at my laptop. She was downloading games while deleting my raw thesis files. That was three months of hard work and experimental data. I hadn’t even backed it up yet. I snatched the laptop away, my voice rising in anger. “That’s my thesis data! Don’t touch it!” Violet whimpered like a victim. “I’m sorry… I’ve never had a computer at home. I was just curious. I didn’t mean to…” Hearing the noise, my dad walked into the study and saw Violet tearing up. “Georgina, I was the one who let Violet use the computer.” “Violet’s father treated her terribly growing up. Who do you think you are, flexing your attitude on her?” Violet started crying even harder. My dad’s anger flared. He snatched my laptop and threw it straight into the fish tank. The screen went black instantly as water flooded the keyboard. One hundred days of grueling, sleepless work—gone in a flash. Even the three goldfish in the tank were struck by the heavy laptop and sank lifelessly to the bottom. Those goldfish were my mom’s prized possessions before she lost her sight. For three years, my dad had meticulously cared for them, feeding them and changing their water right on schedule. Now, he stared coldly at the dead fish, his tone filled with utter impatience. “Your mother is blind, but are you blind too? Didn’t you see how happy Violet was?” I helped my mom back to her room, feeling strangely grateful she couldn’t see the ugly, venomous sneer on my dad’s face. After pulling the ruined laptop out of the fish tank, I looked at him and asked, “Do you even remember why Mom went blind in the first place?” Three years ago was the most critical year of Christian’s career. On a night with torrential rain, my mom went out to deliver a crucial folder he had forgotten. A truck carrying steel rebar skidded on the wet road and plowed into her while she was waiting at a red light. The rebar pierced directly through her eyes. When the doctor declared her permanently blind, my dad knelt by her hospital bed and wept all night. He kept sobbing, “God, why couldn’t it have been me? Betty, I’m so sorry…” He promised her: “Betty, from now on, Georgina and I will be your eyes.” “As long as I have you and Georgina, I have everything I need.” Christian’s face went pale. His eyes drifted to the dead goldfish. He frowned and muttered, “I’ll just buy some new ones.” “Ah!” Suddenly, a sharp scream came from the guest room, followed by the rich aroma of chicken soup. We ran in to find Scarlett sprawled on the floor by my mom’s bed, hot soup spilled everywhere. She clutched her leg, her voice dripping with artificial sincerity. “Betty, if you didn’t want the soup, I could have made you something else. But how could you push me like that…” My dad rushed over, grabbing the medical kit to bandage Scarlett. Her leg was slightly pink, but upon closer inspection, there wasn’t a single blister. Scout barked twice, trying to draw my dad’s attention to my mom’s foot. He was pacing around anxiously, and his tail accidentally brushed against Scarlett. She immediately shrank into my dad’s arms, shrieking, “Christian, it’s going to bite me!” “Wyatt used to set his dogs on me like this… I’m terrified!” My dad kicked Scout hard in the ribs. The poor dog collapsed, struggling several times before he could stand back up. I couldn’t take it anymore. I violently yanked up my mom’s pant leg. “Scarlett, look at my mom’s foot! It’s covered in severe burns! Stop putting on a goddamn show!” Scarlett froze, then began to sob dramatically in my dad’s arms. “Christian, I didn’t mean to… I swear…” My dad flew into a rage and slapped me hard across the face. “Is this how I raised you? How dare you speak to Scarlett with such disrespect!” My mom started crying in panic. Being blind, she was completely helpless. She frantically reached out, grabbing my dad’s hand, taking all the blame: “Christian, it was my fault! I accidentally spilled the soup! It’s all on me!” “Don’t blame Georgina! Please don’t hit her…” When I was a kid, my mom fell off her bicycle while carrying me. We both scraped our limbs—I hurt my knee, and she hurt her elbow. Back then, my dad tenderly disinfected our wounds, looking a hundred times more pained than we were. Now, feeling the burning sting on my cheek and the ringing in my ears, I finally saw reality for what it was. I calmly looked at my mom and said: “Mom, don’t apologize.” “We don’t need him. We can live perfectly fine on our own.” Suddenly, a strong burning smell filled the air, and the deafening screech of the building’s fire alarm began to wail. Someone screamed in the hallway: “Fire! Run!”

Amidst the frantic wailing of the fire alarm, Scarlett clung to my dad, whimpering: “Christian, I’m so scared. We just found each other again… I don’t want to die…” My dad was deeply moved. “Scarlett, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He hoisted Scarlett onto his back and started rushing out, not forgetting to grab Violet and her toy poodle. We lived on the tenth floor. My mom was blind, and her foot was covered in agonizing blisters from the boiling soup. There was no way I could get her down ten flights of stairs by myself. “Dad!” In that moment of sheer terror, a tiny sliver of hope still lingered in my heart. Christian glanced back at me, his guilty eyes saying everything. Desperate, I yelled again, “Dad! What about us?” “Georgina, the fire is spreading fast. I have to get Scarlett and Violet down first!” With that, he turned around and fled without looking back. My mom stared blankly in the direction he had gone, her tears flowing endlessly. I had no time to cry. I grabbed Scout’s leash and put my mom’s arm over my shoulder. The stairwell was thick with choking smoke. People were pushing past us in a panic. From the tenth floor down to the eighth, my mom tripped and fell three times. By the fourth time she fell, I decided to carry her on my back. She refused vehemently. “Georgina, listen to me. You are young. You have so much ahead of you.” “You can’t escape if you’re carrying me. You surviving is my only wish…” My voice was steel. “Mom, we leave together. If you won’t go, Scout and I will die right here with you.” Scout seemed to understand. He let out two sharp, encouraging barks and nudged my mom with his snout. After a moment of hesitation, she finally relented. I hoisted her onto my back, realizing she was far lighter than I had ever imagined. Thick smoke swirled around us. Everyone else had already sprinted past. By the time we stumbled down to the second floor, our path was blocked. The ceiling had collapsed, sealing the exit door with heavy debris. I leaned out of a small hallway window and screamed, “Help! Somebody help us!” Through the window, I could see Christian sitting safely on the lawn below, gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind Scarlett’s ear. The temperature in the stairwell skyrocketed. The black smoke grew suffocating. My mom coughed violently, and my eyes burned so badly I could barely keep them open. She slipped off my back again. Suddenly, Scout ripped his leash out of my hand. He threw his body repeatedly against the blocked exit door. Once, twice, three times… Just before my mom and I lost consciousness, the door gave way under Scout’s relentless weight. We stumbled out into the fresh, cool air. On the grass, Christian was busy feeding Scarlett water while carefully applying ointment to a tiny blister on Violet’s finger. He was so absorbed in his touching reunion with his first love that he had completely forgotten his wife and daughter were trapped in a burning building. I stared at the “happy little family.” Then, I pulled out my phone and sent a text. [Spread the word. Cancel all of Christian’s business privileges and patents.] In the midst of surviving the ordeal, my phone rang. It was the hospital. “Is this Betty’s family? A matching cornea donor has just passed away.” “Time is of the essence. Please bring Betty to the hospital immediately for surgery.”

I had never believed in miracles, but in that moment, I wept with gratitude. I grabbed my mom’s hand. “Mom, we got a cornea! You’re going to see again!” Scout wagged his tail furiously, as if he understood every word. But I had underestimated the chaos of the fire. Half the city’s traffic was paralyzed. No cars could get in or out of our block. After begging a firefighter, I finally secured two seats in an emergency vehicle. Before we could get in, Christian blocked us. “Georgina, let Violet and Scarlett take those seats. They’re hurt.” I looked at the mother-daughter duo. Their cheeks were flushed and healthy. The only “injury” they had was a tiny blister on Violet’s pinky. I refused flatly. “Absolutely not. My mom needs to get to the hospital right now for a cornea transplant!” He threw a dismissive, cynical glance at my mom. “Are you still this naive? Last time you rushed to the hospital, the donor’s family backed out at the last second.” “People aren’t that selfless. Stop dreaming.” I stood firmly in front of my mom. “This time is different.” “It’s no different! The smoke is bad here. Let Scarlett and Violet go first!” The paramedic intervened. “There are only two seats left. Whoever needs emergency surgery goes first.” “Wait!” Christian pulled out his phone and showed the paramedic a digital copy of my therapy records. A while ago, I had struggled with insomnia because I was so stressed about my mom’s blindness. Christian had set up an appointment with a therapist, telling me I just needed to vent to a professional. “This is my daughter. She’s a pathological liar. There is no surgery. Her therapist says she has severe delusion issues!” The paramedic looked at the psychiatric record, frowned, and ushered Scarlett and Violet into the vehicle. My phone rang again. It was the hospital. “You must arrive within the hour.” “Otherwise, the cornea will go to the next patient on the waiting list.” “We’ll make it! We will be there!” I cried. Hanging up, I fell to my knees in front of Christian. “Dad, I beg you. Just let us go first. I’ll do anything.” “I’ll sign over the patent rights your company has been begging for.” Violet scoffed. “Aren’t you just a broke lab assistant? Since when do you own patents?” “Uncle Christian hates liars, you know.” Scarlett clutched her forehead, whimpering, “Christian, my head hurts so bad… Am I going to die…” Scout seemed to realize what was happening. He dragged his battered body forward and used his remaining teeth to gently tug on Christian’s trousers, pleading. “Get lost!” Christian kicked Scout away with brutal force. The dog’s head slammed directly into a wooden plank with a rusty, exposed nail. With a soft, pained whimper, Scout took his last breath. Christian guided Scarlett and Violet into the emergency vehicle and drove off. My mom cradled Scout’s lifeless body, weeping uncontrollably. She grabbed my hand, her voice filled with absolute despair. “Georgina, don’t beg him… I don’t want the surgery anymore.” “Mom, don’t say that!” A cornea donor is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The emergency vehicle drove right past us. No matter how much I screamed, it didn’t stop. The crowd around us stared at me as if I were a lunatic. Just as I was about to spiral into total despair, the deafening roar of a helicopter filled the air. A private chopper landed right in the middle of the grass. An elegant, middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to my mom stepped out. He rushed over and grabbed our hands. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry I’m late…” Behind him, several police officers jumped out, immediately intercepting the ambulance and handcuffing Scarlett. “Scarlett Vance, you are under arrest for the murder of your husband, Wyatt Vance. Please come with us.”

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The Covenant of the Scarlet Fang is absolute. At the Lunar Rite,the future Alpha must be chosen by the oracle to claim his Luna—bound by an eternal covenant. I loved Damien.We grew up together. For him,I poured every drop of my soul into my Moon-Bound Shard,praying for the bond to ignite. Seven years.Seven full moons. Every time,the Shard remained a cold,mocking void. Tonight was the eighth year. I stood in the shadows of the temple. A voice cut through the dark—low,urgent,unmistakably his mother’s. “Damien,you swore you’d marry Elara!” “Why did you use forbidden magic to mask her scent for seven years? You turned her Moon-Bound Shard into a lifeless stone! And you silently watched her weep—didn’t it break your heart?” The disappointment in her voice was impossible to miss. Damien let out a short,cold laugh. “Of course it hurts.But Lila is back from the Outlands.Her wolf-spirit is unstable. I promised to use my Alpha power to stabilize her for seven years. Besides,that fool won’t marry anyone else anyway. Next year,I’ll give her the grandest ceremony the pack has ever seen.” He tossed the stone into the cold brazier.It shattered. In the shadows,something in me quietly let go.Alaric,my grandfather,the High Elder,once told me:The Covenant only gives us eight chances. If the eighth oracle is destined to be blank…fine. I’ll just find another Alpha to marry. His voice floated back through the dark. “The sound of stone cracking is much more pleasant than your sobbing,don’t you think?” Damien was busy adjusting his silver-threaded cuffs,his eyes fixed on the temple doors. Outside,the moonlight was like liquid silver. The elite of the Scarlet Fang had gathered—a tide of low growls and proud silhouettes. The eighth Rite.My last chance. He brushed past me,heading straight for Lila. She stood in the middle of a cluster of high-ranking she-wolves. The moment she spotted Damien,she broke free and threw herself into his arms like a frightened fawn. “Damien!”Lila’s eyes were red.Her voice came out in a whimper. “They said I’m just a lowly Omega…they said I’m a sinner for standing between you and Lady Elara…” Damien furrowed his brow,his fierce Alpha presence sweeping the room before locking onto the whispering she-wolves.“Who dares question her?My will is the law of the Scarlet Fang—Lila is my honored guest.Anyone who causes her trouble will pay the price…with me.”He didn’t even spare me a glance.I waited for the familiar sting of tears.They never came. But I just watched him,my eyes as cold as the moon

A heavy silence swallowed the hall.The she-wolves’fur bristled with fear;their eyes pleaded as I emerged from the shadows. For seven years,I had been Damien’s rightful fiancée. I was the only noble-born she-wolf he ever tolerated by his side. Aside from the cursed Lunar Rite,he denied me nothing. They expected me to lash out at Lila,to leave marks of fury.At the very least,to shed tears.They thought I would cry and demand to know why he was protecting her—just like the last seven years. But this time,I simply brushed a speck of moon-dust from my gown. Taking a goblet of blood-red wine from a passing servant’s silver tray,I took a slow,deliberate sip. The icy liquid slid down my throat,extinguishing the last flicker of warmth I once held for him. “Lady Elara…are you just going to let this happen?” A wolf whispered tentatively. A smile touched my lips—cold as frost. “Let the future Alpha play the hero.Why would I get in the way?Besides,I’m far more curious whether the Moon Goddess has anything to say to me this year.” Damien went rigid. He snapped his head around to look at me,clearly blindsided. In the past,I would have already bared my fangs,sobbing and demanding Lila be banished from our lands. But tonight,I was as tranquil as a stranger passing through. A flash of irritation crossed his eyes. Releasing Lila,he closed the distance between us with long,aggressive strides. “Elara,what tantrum is this now?Lila’s got a fragile wolf spirit—she can’t handle any shock. You’re the heir to an ancient bloodline. So why not show some grace?”

I looked at the man I had loved for over a decade,and suddenly,he was nothing but a stranger. Seven years.Over two thousand five hundred days and nights. I hid my claws. I choked on ancient rules. All to be his perfect Luna. To ensure my Moon-Bound Shard would be chosen by the oracle,I had bribed the High Priest.I had groveled to his mother,the reigning Luna.I had bled myself dry. And for what? For him to tell me to show some grace. For my heart to lie shattered,nothing but ashes at the bottom of a cold brazier. “Damien.” I set my goblet down. The crystal clinked sharply against the stone table,the sound cutting through the heavy tension.”I’m not throwing a tantrum.I actually think you’re right.Miss Lila’s spirit is terribly delicate. She absolutely needs a powerful Alpha to stay by her side and heal her.” Damien froze. He stared intently into my eyes,searching desperately for a flicker of jealousy, a trace of wounded pride. But there was nothing.Only an endless frozen tundra. The realization that he was losing his grip on me sent a flicker of panic through his chest. He reached out to grab my wrist. “Fine.I’m glad you understand.Once tonight is over,next year—” “There is no next year.” I stepped back,easily dodging his grasp. My tone was as casual as if I were commenting on the moonlight. “The High Elder says the Covenant grants but eight chances. Tonight marks the eighth. If the oracle remains blank, our betrothal shall be void. Then,we are free to find our own paths.”

Damien scoffed as if he’d just heard a hilarious joke. “How many times are you going to play this same game,Elara?” “Three years ago,you said you’d go visit human cities—but you just stood at the border,howling and crying out for me.Two years ago,you demanded to break off our engagement. Then you stood outside all night in a blizzard,nearly freezing your wolf spirit. You really think you can leave me?” He was so sure of himself.So arrogant.He even looked at me with pity. To him,I was nothing more than a shadow.How could a shadow ever break away from the light? Beside him,Lila covered her mouth to hide a smirk.Her eyes mocked me. “Elara,I know you’re hurting.But Damien was only trying to help me—don’t say things like that just to get back at him.What if people take you seriously?What Alpha would ever come near you after that? Everyone in the North already knows you’d never settle for anyone but Damien.You’re already a laughingstock.” A laughingstock? She was right.For Damien,I had made myself a complete joke. I stared at Lila’s fake,innocent face. The words I had overheard at the temple door came back to me: “That fool won’t marry anyone else anyway.” To them,my devotion was sheer foolishness.My loyalty,nothing but weakness and worthlessness. “You worry too much,Miss Lila.” I tucked a strand of silver hair behind my ear.I smiled at her,gracious and unhurried. “My bloodline comes straight from the Moon Goddess. My family’s lands are vast and rich. Alphas who wanted to bond with me?They’d stretch from the Northern Peaks all the way to the Southern Coast.” “But you,Miss Lila…” My gaze dropped to her hands,still clinging weakly to Damien’s arm. “I heard you suffered in the Outlands for seven years. Is that why you’re still so frail?You can’t even stand without help? Should I call a Druid for you? Maybe we should drag you straight to the Cliff of Rest,just to check if your wolf spirit is dying?”

“You!”Lila’s face paled.Tears welled up in her eyes on cue,spilling down her cheeks. “Damien,look how she treats me…” Damien’s expression darkened. “Elara!You’ve crossed the line!Apologize to Lila!” “Apologize?” I raised an eyebrow. “For what?Because she’s the one you treasure above all else? Or because she’s a fragile Omega who needs everyone’s pity? Damien,did you forget?Tonight is my stage. Until the Moon Goddess’s blessing begins,I am still your official fiancée. What’s wrong with putting an outsider in her place?” Whispers broke out among the pack. The current Luna hurried over. Seeing the scene,she frowned deeply. “Stop this!Haven’t you embarrassed yourselves enough?” She shot Damien a sharp look,then turned to me with an unreadable look. “Elara,it’s almost time.Don’t let someone irrelevant cost you everything.” The Luna truly cared for me. She genuinely wanted me as her daughter-in-law to unite our powerful bloodlines. Too bad her precious son had destroyed it all with his own hands. Damien took a deep breath,suppressing his anger. He wrapped an arm around Lila’s shoulders and patted her comfortingly. Then he glared at me,his voice ice-cold. “Fine.If you want to play games,let’s begin. I can’t wait to see if you’re still this sharp-tongued when the oracle gives you nothing!” He turned and strode toward the high altar in the center of the temple. There sat the giant Moon Basin,filled with sacred spring water.My judgment stand. I watched him walk away.My gaze went cold. Damien,you think you control everything. You have no idea how swiftly the hunter becomes the hunted.

In the center of the temple,moonlight poured through the crystal dome. It cast a holy glow.Every wolf’s eyes locked onto the ancient Moon Basin. By tradition,the basin held hundreds of”Moon-Bound Shards”from eligible noble she-wolves.When the ritual began,the Alpha would reach into the basin,guided by the Moon Goddess to his destined mate’s shard. If chosen,they were fated mates,engaged on the spot. If not,their fate was delayed to the next year. For the past seven years,I had watched my shard drop into the basin with so much hope. And every time,Damien pulled out a dead stone. I had thought it was bad luck. I thought the Goddess was testing our love. Until today.Today I learned the truth. My shard was never in that basin. He had used forbidden magic to replace my shard with a dead stone— with his own hands. “Go on,Elara,”the Luna encouraged from below. “I had the High Priest read the stars.He said your destined mate will appear tonight. You will succeed.” Maybe.But those stars weren’t shining for Damien. I lifted my gown and walked up the steps. Damien stood by the basin.One hand in his pocket.Utterly arrogant. He looked at me like I was a pup throwing a tantrum. He leaned in,lowering his voice so only I could hear. “Elara,apologize to Lila now.If you do,I promise the Goddess will’choose’you next year. Actually,you won’t even have to wait that long.Be a good girl.Stop bullying Lila,and I might consider ending this boring game early.”

To him,my seven years of suffering meant nothing. My youth.My dignity.It was all just a game to him. A game he could pause whenever he felt like it. I stopped.I stood right in front of him. We were only inches apart,but a bottomless abyss lay between us. “Damien,”I said softly.”Do you really think you’re my only choice?” Damien froze for a second.Then,he laughed out loud. “Who else?” “What other Alpha could handle the terrible temper of your ancient bloodline? Besides the Crimson Fangs,what other pack is good enough to ally with your family? Accept your fate,Elara.You are destined to be my Luna.And mine alone.” He was so confident. He thought he held my weakness. He thought he could trample my boundaries forever. I dropped my gaze to hide my smirk. “Is that so?Then let’s see who really needs to accept their fate.” I took a deep breath.Slowly,I raised my right hand and plunged it into the freezing Moon Spring. My fingertips brushed against the icy Moon-Bound Shards.One.Two.Dozens. The temple was dead silent. Lila stood at the front of the pack.A winner’s smirk played on her lips. She knew my shard wasn’t in the basin. She was waiting for me to make a fool of myself. She wanted to watch me break down and cry in front of the entire pack. Damien casually looked away. He already knew the outcome.Or so he thought. I closed my eyes. Finally,my fingertips brushed against a stone. Its texture was unmistakably different. Before the ritual,during the crowd’s chaos,I had my loyal guard slip it in. It was my ultimate backup plan.My final way out. My eyes snapped open. With a flick of my wrist,I pulled the shard out of the water. “Alpha Heir,”I called out. I held the shard high.My voice rang clear and loud across the entire temple. “It seems your little guarantee has just expired.”

The smug indifference vanished from Damien’s face. His eyes darted to the shard in my hand. A flicker of confusion broke through his arrogant facade. Impossible.He had crushed my original Moon-Bound Shard with his own hands. He’d even used dark magic to mask my scent. To be absolutely sure,he had double-checked the sacred basin right before the ceremony began.There was no chance any stone in there would react to me. “What kind of stunt are you pulling with that fake rock,Elara?” He scoffed,reaching out to snatch the shard from my grip. “Stop making a scene.You’re embarrassing us in front of all the Northern packs.” “Whether it’s a fake or not,why don’t we let the Elder read the decree?” I stepped aside,dodging his hand. A fierce,untamed smile broke across my face—a smile he had never once seen in all seven years I had spent shrinking myself for him. “Since the Alpha Heir doesn’t believe me, I’ll ask a respected Elder to read the Goddess’s will.Alaric,would you do me the honor?Tell us which Alpha this rune points to.” Leaning on his bone staff,Alaric walked steadily onto the dais and took the shard. Under the moonlight,a complex crest began to glow on the stone’s surface. Alaric’s aged eyes widened. Suddenly,a booming,joyous laugh erupted from his chest. “Yes!Yes!The Moon Goddess has spoken!This is her true will!” Unease clawed at Damien’s chest. Forgetting all protocol,he lunged forward. “Elder,let me see that!” But Alaric snapped his hand shut over the stone. He turned to face the hundreds of elite wolves below. His ancient voice thundered across the sanctuary, “By the ancient pact and the guidance of the Moon Goddess, Elara has received her decree on her eighth blessing! She has found her fated mate!A destined match!”

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Six months after we broke up,my ex,Damian Blackwood,DM’d me a screenshot. It’s a photo I posted three minutes ago. A silhouette of me at a gallery opening,with the caption:[I miss you]. Before I could reply,my phone rang. It was him. I heard the muffled bass of a party in the background. Then came his voice—that damn lazy drawl,as controlling as ever. “So,you finally came to your senses? I hooked up with a model,so what? It’s not like I stopped loving you. This little tantrum of yours needs to end. Besides,compared to the girls around me,your quiet socialite type is honestly a little boring.” A text notification popped up—an address for a rooftop bar in Manhattan. His voice,slurring slightly,dropped to a command. “Thirty minutes.Get here,and we’ll pretend nothing ever happened.” I let out a soft,”Okay.” Then I hung up and blocked his number for good. Damian always forgot one thing. When a girl like me decided to move on… We actually moved on. We chose someone we could build a real life with. I honestly thought the call was another one of Damian’s late-night whims. But my best friend’s frantic call woke me up the next morning. She was hysterical about a limited-edition Aston Martin parked outside my building. I looked out my window. And there he was,leaning against the driver’s side door. That was when I fully woke up. He was serious. Six months apart,and he was standing there like nothing ever happened. A bag of croissants from the French patisserie I used to love was in his hand. He saw me,but didn’t ask why I’d ghosted him the night before. With a casual gesture,he opened the passenger door. It was a move straight out of our past. He motioned for me to get in,holding out the bag. “They’re still warm.” I did not take them. I just looked him straight in the eye. “Are you enjoying this,Damian?”

He paused,pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. Smoke drifted from his lips as he exhaled. “Aurora,this little act of yours is getting boring.A little jealousy is one thing.This is pathetic.” He’d said those exact words the day I broke up with him. We were at his estate in the Hamptons. A model sauntered past me,wearing nothing but his dress shirt. Her skin was covered in fresh love bites. Damian stood by the pool,casually fixing his collar. Then I saw it. A bright red scratch snaking up his neck. I felt my blood turn to ice. “Why?”My voice was a trembling whisper. He barely glanced up,his tone infuriatingly light. “Oh,her?A friend brought her over.She was fun,so I kept her around.” His casual dismissal… It was as if they’d spent the night discussing philosophy. He frowned when he saw my eyes glistening with tears. “In our circle,this is just how things are.Life’s too long to be tied to one woman,Aurora.It’s boring.Besides,you’re my girlfriend,you don’t own me.A little attitude is one thing.This is embarrassing.” I opened my mouth,ready to scream. But the accusations got stuck in my throat. All that came out was a shaky,”We’re over.”

He leaned against the bar,silent for a long moment. Then his voice dropped to a low warning. “What set you apart was that you were smart and classy.Don’t lose that now.” It hit me. In Damian Blackwood’s world,I was no different. I was just a diversion,a toy to pass the time. He’d shower me with affection when he was interested,and discard me the second he found someone new. After we broke up,he dived right back into the party scene. A new girl on his arm every other week. My leaving meant nothing to him. I was a wreck for months,lost in a spiral of self-doubt. It took everything I had to claw my way out of that darkness. I didn’t care what Damian wanted from me now. I just knew I wasn’t getting roped into his comeback tour. “Step aside,Damian.Or I’m calling the cops for harassment.” He crushed his cigarette and closed the distance between us. The faint scent of another woman’s perfume clung to him. I tried to step back,but his hand shot out and clamped around my wrist. “Harassment?That post yesterday was obviously bait for me.Now you’re playing the saint?Is this some new trick?” He always did this—ignoring my anger. He was convinced I was playing hard to get. “Look,I know you don’t have a new boyfriend,and I happen to be single.So why not get back together?” Oh. So he was bored again and decided to dig up his old favorite toy. His dark eyes locked onto mine. “This time,I’ll let you be my girlfriend again.And I promise,for the next three months,I won’t see anyone else.” The offer was delivered like some grand act of charity. In his mind,I was supposed to fall at his feet,grateful for the crumbs. His long fingers stroked my wrist. I ripped my hand away. My eyes met his. “Damian.I’m getting married.”

“Married?” Damian acted like I’d just told the funniest joke in the world. He bent down,his fingertips tracing a teasing line along my jaw. “It’s been a while.I thought you’d finally come around.Why kill the mood with all this boring marriage talk?Who are you marrying?Because I have no plans to propose.” Of course I knew that. He’d made that clear when he staged the scene to humiliate me. After five solid years,I thought we were finally ready. I was going to introduce him to my parents,to start planning our future. Instead,at our own anniversary party,I walked in on him with another woman. I ran from the Hamptons villa,stumbling onto the dark coastal road. My ankle twisted,a sharp pain shooting up my leg. As I waited for my friend to pick me up,I heard Damian talking to his business partners. “Damian,wasn’t that too cruel?”his partner asked. Damian just sounded casual,unbothered. “I overheard her on the phone with her sister.Said the‘time was right’to meet her parents.I’m not getting tied down.This was a way to get her to back off.I’m too young to be chained to one woman.” His friend snickered. “What if she’s for real this time?What if she actually leaves you?”

A confident smirk played on Damian’s lips. “She was with me for five years.She can’t leave me.Give her a month,tops.She’ll come crawling back,begging.Just watch.” That’s when it all clicked. He had heard my call. Instead of talking to me,he chose the cruelest way to cheat. All to avoid a conversation about our future.Or,god forbid,marriage. His phone rang,snapping me back to the present. Damian answered,and a sugary-sweet voice cooed from the other end. “Damian,you promised you’d make it up to me for our breakup.I’ve decided what I want.Can you come now?” Her voice caught in a fake,pathetic sob as she spoke. “We’re done.Don’t contact me again.” He probably didn’t even realize it,but his voice softened. I knew that tone. It was the same one he always used to calm me down. After hanging up,he deliberately flashed the phone in my direction. “See?I cut everyone off for you.” He shoved a cold croissant into my hands. “From now on,my world is just you.I’m giving up a lot to be here with you.” I dropped the pastry bag into the nearest trash can. I took out a wipe and scrubbed the spot on my wrist he had touched. “Who cares?Listen,we are not getting back together.” His face darkened.”Fine.You want to be ungrateful?” He immediately dialed the model back. “Address.I’m on my way.” His eyes stayed locked on my face,seeking a reaction. When he got nothing,he hung up and slid into his car. “Have it your way.You’re going to regret this.” Regret it? Never.

After he left,I took a cab to the office. I had to request my a from my boss. The wedding leave alone wasn’t enough for the honeymoon. He approved it right away. The next morning,the bridal boutique called about my final makeup trial. The moment I walked in,I ran straight into Damian. He froze for a second when he saw me. Then that lazy,arrogant smirk spread across his face. “Still chasing me,even after you said no?” I didn’t say a word. The bridal consultant beside me spoke up. “Mr.Blackwood,this client is here for her wedding day makeup trial.” The smirk on Damian’s face vanished. His hand almost twitched,as if to reach out. Then a sharp voice cut through the air from behind him. “Wow,interesting,Aurora.Heard Damian and I were here taking wedding photos,so you rushed over?And with such a pathetic excuse.” A model named Tiffany latched onto Damian’s arm,rolling her eyes at me. “I’ve never seen someone so desperate to marry rich.There isn’t even a ring on your finger,and you’re already here marking your territory?” A few of Damian’s rich friends snickered. “Oh,this is nothing.You have no idea what she’s capable of.” “She’s a total stage-five clinger.Impossible to shake off.Poor Damian was terrified.It took him forever to finally get away from her.” Another one chimed in,laughing. “Seriously.It’s been six months since the breakup.All Damian has to do is look at her,and she comes running back like a lapdog.” A sharp slap cracked through the hall.

I shook the sting from my hand,glaring at him. “Watch your mouth.Or I’ll do it for you.” He stared,stunned,before his face twisted in fury. “You bitch!How dare you?!” “You’re just Damian’s used-up toy!I could ruin you in this city with a single call!” “You pathetic piece of…” “Enough!” Damian’s voice sliced through the air. He grabbed his friend’s arm before he could swing at me. The guy tried to argue,”Damian,I…” But Damian ignored him,his eyes locked on me,his brow furrowed. “Did you really have to make a scene?” I had no time for his drama. I turned to the staff.”Can you show me to the dressing room,please?” My fiancéwas still in Europe finishing up business. I had a million wedding details to handle and couldn’t waste time on this circus. The consultant quickly led me away. My custom gown,flown in from Paris,was waiting. After the makeup trial,I slipped into the dress to see the final look. But when the curtain was pulled back,Damian was there. Sitting alone on the sofa. The moment he saw me,his dark eyes lit up. “You look…incredible in that dress.” I turned my back on him,focusing on my reflection in the mirror. A second later,I was pulled into a familiar embrace. Damian’s arms locked around my waist. “You know,I’m suddenly thinking…Marrying you might not be a bad idea.”

His touch was revolting. I felt physically sick. But Damian was oblivious. He kept talking. “I just looked it up.We can get it done in two days.A big wedding is too much to plan,but we can go straight to City Hall.” Everything I had ever wanted from him… He was now tossing it at me like it was nothing. The thought made my stomach turn. Tiffany walked in,her eyes flashing with jealousy. “Aww.Looks like your little puppy-dog routine actually worked.” The man I’d slapped chimed in,his voice dripping with venom. “See?No shame gets you everywhere.Damian really has her well-trained.” Damian raised an eyebrow. He laced his fingers through mine,forcing my hand into his. “For the next three months,she’s the only woman you’ll see on my arm.So show some respect.” He acted like he was defending me. In reality,he was just making me look pathetic. I cut him off,my voice ice. “I have a fiancé.I am not marrying you.Have some self-respect.” The air in the room froze. Damian let out a sharp,bitter laugh. “A fiancé?Aurora,are you kidding?Enough with the tantrum.Who else but me would ever marry you?” His friend snickered. “This is priceless.She’s sloppy seconds,playing hard to get because Damian looked her way.” Tiffany looked down her nose at me,like she was offering charity. “Aurora,a word of advice,woman to woman?Quit while you’re ahead.”

She mocked me with her eyes. As if I should be grateful for Damian’s pathetic”generosity.” But I didn’t want his scraps. “If you like picking up trash,be my guest.Just leave me out of it.” Tiffany’s face flushed a deep crimson. Ignoring the fury on Damian’s face,I tore myself from his grip. There was no reasoning with them. My makeup trial was over,so I headed to the fitting room to change. When I came out,the gorgeous gown was a pile of shredded fabric on the floor. Tiffany stood there,holding a pair of scissors with a taunting smile. “Oops.Guess this cheap thing just falls apart if you breathe on it.” I was shaking with pure rage,staring at the ruin she’d made. My fiancéhad a top designer work on that dress for three months. A custom gown for me. She had destroyed it. Damian met my furious glare,then stepped in front of Tiffany to shield her. “It’s just a dress.I’ll pay you back for it,alright?” He grabbed a cheap,off-the-rack dress from a nearby rack. Then he shoved it into my arms. “Two days.Wear this to City Hall.” I stood frozen,clutching the cheap fabric,as they all walked away. A staff member approached me cautiously. “Miss Hayes,are you OK…?” I took a deep breath and turned to her. “Can you please get me a copy of the security footage from here?” They thought they could get away with this? Not a chance. Later,after they left,one of Damian’s friends asked him. “Damian,after all that,you really think she’ll show up and marry you?” Damian laughed,full of confidence. “I know Aurora.She acts tough,but she’s all talk.She could never stay mad at me.” “I’ll go pick her up myself in two days.She’ll come quietly.” All Damian could picture was how stunning I looked in that wedding dress. He suddenly decided that spending his life with me wasn’t a bad idea.

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“I’m sorry,Ava,”Coach Grayson said.”The roster is final.The Silver Ridge Pack Athletic Council has stamped it.” I stood in front of the bulletin board and stared at that list for five minutes. My name was gone. Under the youth figure-skating scholarship,the place where Ava Stone should have been was now Nora Vale. At first,I thought it was a mistake.Later,I understood.Kaiden had done it. My fated mate had given my place to his new girl. I went to the parking lot to find him. He was leaning against his car,scrolling through his phone.When he saw me,he only lifted his eyes. “Nora’s Pack is barely holding on,”he said before I could speak.”If she doesn’t get this scholarship,she’s finished.” “You’re strong.Even without a wolf,you can still make it into the Regional Qualifier.” “That is a full spot at the North Ridge Olympic Training Center,”I said.”You know what that means.” “You’ll figure it out.” I looked at him.He looked away. He sighed,pulled out a black card,and held it out as if he were offering a tip. “I’ll pay.Coaches,ice time,equipment,Pack medical coverage,all of it.I bought the spot.” Rain began to fall,and the cold seeped into my clothes. I looked at the card,then at him. He once told me training would get me out of that rotten home,tear off the label of”wolfless trash,”and let me make my skating dream real. So I trained like my life depended on it,and worked at Silver Ridge Ice Center whenever I had time. But now,the person putting a price on my dream was him. I turned and walked away. His voice came through the rain,colder than the rain itself. “You grind your hands raw in that dump of a shop,spend your whole life chasing money,and now you’re pretending you’re above it?” “There’s more money on this card than you’ve ever seen in your life.” I stopped and looked back at him through the rain. I had thought promises did not rot,that a mate bond did not break.In that moment,it all rotted from the inside out. I smiled at him. “Of course,Kaiden.Think whatever you want.” When I got back to Silver Ridge Ice Center,my phone buzzed. It was Rina. “Ava.Tell me I saw it wrong.I saw Nora take your place.” “You didn’t see it wrong.” “It was Kaiden.It had to be Kaiden.Did you talk to him?” “I just came back from him.” I leaned against the back counter and looked at the row of skates waiting to be sharpened. “He said he’d pay for all my training.Said he bought my spot.” The other end of the call went silent for a long time. “That bastard,”Rina said.”Tell me you threw the card in his face.” “I left.” “Ava,that was your scholarship.Do you know how many nights you stayed up for it?And your dad-” “It won’t help.” “What?” “Kaiden and the Hawthorne Pack funded the scholarship and built the rink.If they can take me off once,they can do it again.” She went quiet. “I saw Nora’s Instagram.Kaiden booked a restaurant to celebrate for her.” “Good for her.” “Good for her?That’s it?” “I have to go.A customer just came in.” I hung up before she could say anything else.

The next day,I went to North Ridge Training Center to register.The air smelled of cedar and ice wax. I saw Kaiden with his arm around Nora. Nora saw me first.She shrank back at once and hid behind Kaiden. “Kaiden,I’m scared.” He stood in front of her like a wall. “Ava,don’t make a scene.” I tried to walk around him.He grabbed my wrist. “What is wrong with you?Nora didn’t do anything.Do you have to make it this ugly?” I yanked my hand free. “Let go of me.” People in the hallway turned to look. Nora’s tears came right on cue.She stepped out from behind Kaiden. “Ava,I’m sorry.If you want to blame someone,blame me.I never meant to hurt you…This is all my fault.” She took another step forward.Kaiden pulled her back into his arms. “Look at her.”Kaiden’s Alpha tone pressed down on me.”Look what you’ve done to her.Ava,I never thought you could be this cruel.” Whispers rose around us. “That’s her,right?The girl who works at Silver Ridge Ice Center.” “Wait,isn’t she the one who lost the scholarship?” “Yeah,she lost to Nora.Honestly,look at her.No wonder the Alpha heir got tired of her.” “Nora looks like an angel.I’d choose her as future Luna too.” I stared at Kaiden. “I said,let go of me.” He did not let go.Instead,he shoved me. I slammed into the lockers,my shoulder blade hitting metal with a dull thud. I looked up at him. He looked back.There was not a trace of hesitation on his face. We grew up together.When he was ten,he was sent here to learn the Hawthorne Pack’s ice business in the north. During his first week,before he knew how life on the icefields worked,a few young wolves cornered him behind the rink.I raised a sharpened skate blade and scared them off. From then on,he followed me everywhere. When someone bullied me,he would pin them to the ground,his eyes so black it looked as if he might tear out their throat. “Ava,I will always be here.” “We’ll leave this place together.North Ridge Training Center,the International Pack Ice League,the world beyond the Pack.I’ll be with you the whole way.” Now he was protecting another girl and shoving me against a wall with his own hands. Nora cried harder. “Kaiden,don’t…let’s go.This is all my fault.” Kaiden lowered his head and kissed her hair. “It’s not your fault.Not one bit.” He gave me a warning look,then left with his arm around her. I leaned against the lockers,struggling to breathe. The office was at the end of the hall.I passed the wall of outstanding athletes. Nora’s picture hung in the center,larger than everyone else’s. A rising star who overcame hardship.The brave story of a future Luna. I looked at it for one second and laughed. I remembered a late night after training,when I came back to the skate shop. My father was waiting in the parking lot.I could smell the sour rot on him from ten feet away. “Where’s the money?” I did not answer.I tried to get past him and unlock the door. He grabbed my hair and slammed my face into the outside wall. “I’m talking to you.Are both your ears deaf?” “I don’t have any money.” “The Hawthorne Pack’s Alpha heir is that rich,and you follow him around every day.You can’t get a few hundred dollars out of him?” He slapped me across the face. “You hiding it from me?Where is it?Huh?” He searched my pockets roughly.I pushed him away. That was a mistake. The next second,he kicked me in the stomach.I hit the asphalt and curled up in pain. “You ungrateful bitch.You’re just like your mother.Trash,both of you.” He turned to look for something heavier.A tire iron,maybe a metal pipe.I could not see clearly. That was when Kaiden’s car pulled into the parking lot. He was out before the engine shut off.With an Alpha’s strength,he had my father pinned down in two moves,then pulled me up from the asphalt. He checked my face,my arms,and my ribs again and again. “Where did he hit you,Ava?Tell me where you’re hurt.” I could not answer.He took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. “It’s all right.I’m here.” That night,he did not go home.He stayed with me on the broken couch behind the shop until dawn. The next day,he went with me to the police station and watched my father get locked in a holding cell. He held me tight and said, “I’ll take care of you from now on.When I become Alpha of the Hawthorne Pack,you’ll be my Luna.” Back then,I actually believed him.

One week before the Regional Qualifier,the club held its final mock competition.Judges,scores,procedure,everything followed official competition rules. I came in first,nearly twelve points ahead of second place. Nora came in last. She tore down the score sheet,crumpled it up,and threw it into the trash. “Whatever.I already got the training scholarship.” Kaiden was waiting for her with two coffees. When she saw him,her eyes lit up at once,as if she were not the girl who had just fallen apart on the ice. “You were beautiful.” She rose onto her toe picks and kissed his cheek. I passed them on my way to the locker room. “Ava.” I did not stop. “Ava.Hey.” He moved in front of me and blocked my path. “Are you still angry about the training scholarship?” I did not answer. “Is that really necessary?I told you,she needed it more.You could go to the Regional Qualifier and win with your eyes closed.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “The black card is still yours.Coaches,training camp,Pack doctor.If you want it,I’ll cover all of it.” He thought money could glue broken things back together. “I don’t need it.” “There you go again.How much can you make in a month?What I’m offering you is more than you’ll earn in a lifetime.” Nora skated over from behind him and put her gloved hand on his arm. “Kaiden,don’t.She’s just not used to it yet.” She gave me a careful,sad,practiced smile. “Ava,I had nowhere else to go.My dad lost everything,my stepmother keeps tormenting me,and the Pack doesn’t want me anymore.”Tears welled in her eyes again. I had watched this performance for a year. In every conversation,she was the victim.In every look,I was the one who made her cry. “Kaiden and I will take care of you,”she said.”Whatever you need,just tell us.” I tugged at the corner of my mouth. Kaiden frowned.”What’s so funny?” “You two are perfect for each other.I hope she becomes your Luna soon.” His face changed. “Ava-” I walked past him and went into the locker room. “Ava,come back here.” I ignored him. That night,Rina sent me a screenshot from Nora’s Instagram. Nora was leaning against Kaiden’s leg.He was holding a bottle of wolfsbane beer. In the background,a group of friends lifted their glasses and shouted,”Congratulations,Nora!” Rina:Don’t let it hurt you.She doesn’t deserve to affect your mood. I tossed my phone aside. I picked up my training notes and started writing my program plan for the Regional Qualifier. As long as I kept training,I did not have to think about anything else.

The week before the Regional Qualifier,the club shortened training hours so everyone could adjust. Most of my teammates used the time to rest.I picked up extra shifts at the Silver Ridge Ice Center shop. On Wednesday afternoon,Kaiden’s car stopped outside. Kaiden got out and leaned against the door,his sunglasses pushed into his hair. “Ava,come here.” I kept working and pretended I had not heard him. “I’m talking to you.”He frowned and walked over. He reached as if to grab me,then saw the grime on my hands and pulled back. “Go wash up.You’re coming with us.” “Where?” “The mountain cabin.Nora needs to rest.You’re coming too.” “I’m not going.” He sighed.”Don’t start this again.Nora wants to make peace.Stop being difficult.” “There is nothing between her and me that needs making peace.” “Ava.” “I have to train.” He let out a short,ugly laugh. “You don’t even need to.Come on.Leave this dump for the weekend.Nora really wants to fix things.” “I’m not going.” His patience ran out.He laughed again,and this time there was no warmth in it. “Suit yourself.” He pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills and threw it at my feet. “Your wages for the month.I paid your boss for you.Take the money,keep your dignity,and stop showing up in front of me and Nora.” I did not move. “Not enough?”He threw down another stack.”How about now?” Coach Grayson came out of the back office.When he saw the cash on the floor,he hurried over. “Mr.Hawthorne.What is this?We don’t need this.” Kaiden did not even look at him.His eyes were fixed on me. “Pick it up.” I still did not move. Nora got out of the car and ran over with wide,innocent eyes. “Kaiden,please,don’t do this.You’re scaring her.”Nora crouched to pick up the money.”Ava,don’t be angry with him.He’s only doing this for me.He didn’t mean it that way.” She held the stack of cash out to me with both hands,her eyes wet. “Come with us.I don’t want to be the reason you two fight.” I looked at her,then at Kaiden. He felt no regret at all.He thought I should kneel and thank him. I walked past both of them,went into the back room of the shop,and shut the door. Through the wall,I heard him say, “See?You try to help her,and this is how she repays you.” The car started.Music faded down the street. A minute later,Coach Grayson put the money in front of me. “Take it,kid.” “No.” “Ava.”He pushed the money toward me.”Your father,your situation…you need this.” The bills smelled like Kaiden’s cedar,a scent that used to make me feel safe. I walked to the sink in the corner and turned the hot water all the way up. Soap,scrub,rinse.Again and again,until my skin turned red and hurt. That night,my father came again. He was drunker than before,and he saw the cash. He took the money and smashed up the shop. When the police arrived,he was swinging a hockey stick at the lights,with display cases knocked across the floor. It took two officers to cuff him.He spat bloody foam at me. “You called the cops on your own father.People like you should rot in hell.” I watched the police car drive out of the parking lot. So this was what it felt like to have no one at your back.

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1 In the seventh year of our relationship, I was ready to bring Lucas Whitman home to meet my mother. Before we left, my blood sugar dropped. I grabbed a clear candy at random and put it in my mouth. His childhood friend, Lila Grant, suddenly clapped and burst out laughing. “I told you she was greedy. Lucas, you lost.” “Transfer me the hundred grand.” My heart jolted. Then my breathing grew harder and harder. It was peanut candy. Over the years, Lucas had indulged Lila countless times as she used my peanut allergy as a bet. He transferred the money neatly before looking coldly at my face, already swollen beyond recognition. “I called the ambulance. We can meet your mom another time.” “Honestly, this is on you too. You should learn to control that greedy mouth.” When I woke up in the hospital, my phone was full of missed calls from my mother. I was about to call her back when a photo popped up. It was Lila. She was putting a candy into my mother’s mouth. The exact same kind I had eaten that morning. I ripped out the IV like I had gone mad and called Lucas again and again. He had always known my peanut allergy came from my mother. I didn’t even have time to put on shoes. I ran while calling nonstop. My mother’s phone would not connect. Lila kept hanging up. Then Lucas simply turned his phone off. Behind me, doctors and nurses shouted anxiously. “Stop her. Her allergic reaction is severe. She can’t go outside in this condition.” But I could not hear any of it. My mother’s allergy was far worse than mine. It could be fatal. When I was eight, she accidentally ate seasoning with a tiny trace of peanut in it and was sent straight into the ICU. The doctors issued three critical condition notices before pulling her back from death. Thinking of that, I was so terrified I could barely breathe. I kept trying to stop taxis, but no one pulled over. Finally, a kind female driver stopped in front of me. “Get in. Where are you going? I’ll take you.” Looking at the mirror inside the car, I finally understood why everyone had avoided me. My face was swollen so badly it no longer looked human. I couldn’t care about that. I gave the address in a rush. When I finally reached home and pushed open the door, I saw my mother sitting on the sofa. She was sitting upright, conscious, rosy-faced, and completely fine. The nerve stretched tight inside me suddenly snapped loose. My knees weakened, and I collapsed to the floor. When Mom saw me in such a miserable state, she immediately stood and rushed toward me. “Anna, weren’t you on a business trip? Why are you back so soon?” “What happened? Why is your face swollen like this? Why are your feet bleeding? What happened?” Her voice trembled. She touched my face carefully, afraid of hurting me. Then she seemed to think of something. “This is… peanut allergy?” I fell into her arms and nodded weakly. Mom looked at Lucas with resentment. “From the day I found out Anna was dating you, I reminded you again and again that she has a severe peanut allergy. You had to be careful.” Her voice choked. “You’ve been together so long. Don’t tell me you still haven’t remembered.” “How am I supposed to trust you with my daughter?” Guilt flashed through Lucas’s eyes. He was about to explain, but Lila spoke first. “Ma’am, your daughter was just greedy. She has no self-control.” “Lucas bought those candies for me, but she just had to snatch one and stuff it in her mouth.” “Now she’s allergic. That’s on her.” I looked at Lucas. Our eyes met. He said nothing. He silently allowed Lila to slander me. I had no time to defend myself. I grabbed my mother’s hand and checked her again and again. “Mom, the candy on the table. You really didn’t touch it, right?” “Did Lila feed you any just now?” My panic frightened my mother. “I ate one. It was strawberry flavor. What’s wrong, Anna?” Strawberry candy. I finally let out a breath. My back was already soaked with cold sweat. Thank God. Lucas still had some conscience. He knew peanuts were deadly for my mother and hadn’t let Lila do that. The stone in my heart had just landed when everything changed. My mother, who had been fine moments ago, suddenly stiffened. Without warning, she fell backward. The next second, her whole body began convulsing violently. Red rashes spread across her skin at a visible speed. Peanut allergy. “Mom!” 2 At that moment, I felt all the blood in my body rush backward. A massive terror swallowed me whole. “Lucas, hurry. Call an ambulance.” “What did you give my mom?” “There was clearly nothing with peanuts on the table. How could she be allergic?” Lucas finally realized the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly dialed emergency services. But Lila bent down beside my ear and spoke in a dark, smug whisper. “There really weren’t peanuts in her candy.” “But your mom was thirsty just now, so I poured her a cup of hot milk.” “A little peanut crumb accidentally fell into it.” With a boom, it was as if thunder had exploded above my head. I lost control completely. I lunged at Lila and clamped my hands around her throat. “You bitch. Do you know this could kill my mom?” Lila was nearly choked. When Lucas saw it, he immediately let go of my mother and slapped me hard across the face. Because my mother suddenly lost his support, her head hit the floor heavily. “Mom!” I had no time to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth. I threw myself over and held her tightly. Something sticky touched my hand. When I looked down, blood had already stained the carpet. My heart hurt like it had been carved open. “Mom, wake up. Don’t sleep. The ambulance is coming.” My voice was hoarse beyond recognition. But Lucas was carefully checking Lila’s neck. When he saw the red mark there, he looked at me with furious eyes. “Anna, you’re insane.” “If you dare hurt Lila again, get out of this house.” My voice trembled from fear. “Lucas, she admitted it. She gave my mom milk with peanuts in it.” Guilt flickered through his eyes. But it disappeared in an instant. “It was just a little peanut crumb. It’s not like it’ll kill her.” “You and your mother are both so dramatic.” “You’ve had allergic reactions more than thirty times, and you’re still alive.” Then he glanced at me coldly. “The ambulance is almost here.” “I’ll take Lila to the hospital for a checkup first.” Seeing that they were about to leave, I endured the pain and blocked the door. “Lucas, my mom is in worse condition. Can you stay here with me?” “I’m weak all over. I’m afraid I’ll delay her treatment.” Seeing how wretched I looked, something in Lucas’s heart seemed to ache faintly. “Fine, I’ll…” Before he could finish, Lila suddenly clutched her neck. “Lucas, I feel like I can’t breathe.” “Am I going to die?” Seeing her like that, Lucas frowned. “Lila, stop making trouble. We’ll put Aunt Margaret in the ambulance first, then I’ll take you to get checked.” His tone was stiff because he was anxious. Unexpectedly, Lila crouched down and burst into tears. “Lucas, you yelled at me.” “Two years ago, what did you promise my parents?” “You said you’d take good care of me.” “But just now, your fiancée almost strangled me, and you’re still speaking for her.” Lucas stiffened. He crouched and pulled Lila into his arms. “All right. I’ll take you first.” Then he looked at me apologetically. “Anna, the paramedics will help you.” “Lila only has me.” “After all, her parents died saving me.” I stared hard into his slightly reddened eyes. “Lucas Whitman, if you walk out that door today, we are over.” 3 Lucas hesitated. Lila cried louder. The next second, he picked her up and left without looking back. “Anna, I’ll explain when I get back.” The ambulance arrived ten minutes later. The paramedics lifted my mother onto a stretcher. I followed immediately. My body was swollen from the allergic reaction, my strength was drained, and I was consumed by extreme fear. The moment I stepped into the ambulance, my vision went black. I lost consciousness completely. When I opened my eyes again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose. I sat up abruptly, my heart pounding. “My mom. Where is my mom?” I staggered to my feet, ignoring the IV cannula still in my hand, and rushed out to find her. A passing nurse hurried forward to stop me. “Please calm down. You had a severe allergic reaction yourself. Your body hasn’t recovered. You can’t move around like this.” “Where is my mom? I need to find my mom.” I clutched the nurse’s sleeve, my eyes unfocused and full of panic. I could not even form a complete sentence. The nurse looked at me with a flash of pity. “Your mother had severe laryngeal edema and anaphylactic shock. Her condition is critical. She has already been sent into emergency resuscitation.” Emergency resuscitation. Those words smashed down on my heart like stones. Just then, a doctor from the emergency room hurried over. “You’re Margaret Moore’s family member, right?” “No one signed the surgery consent form. We called the emergency contact on your phone.” “A woman answered and said she didn’t know you.” “Fortunately, you woke up. Any later, and even God couldn’t save your mother.” “Sign it. Hurry.” My whole body trembled. I stared blankly at the thin sheet of paper. When I took the pen from the doctor, it felt impossibly heavy. The emergency room light turned on again. I collapsed onto the bench in the hallway. The doctor’s words kept echoing in my head. My emergency contact was Lucas. The woman who said she did not know me was undoubtedly Lila. My heart felt like it was being torn apart. With trembling hands, I dialed that number again. The call connected quickly. Lucas spoke first. “Anna, once you get your mother settled, come apologize to Lila.” “There’s such a deep red mark on her neck. She cares so much about her appearance. What if it scars? How can you be so vicious?” I thought I had misheard. “I apologize?” “Just now my mother was in critical condition and needed a signature. The hospital called you, and Lila actually said she didn’t know me.” My voice shook with tears. “If I had woken up a little later, my mom wouldn’t have been saved.” There was a long pause. Faintly, I heard Lila’s coquettish voice. “Lucas, Anna has always disliked me.” “But she can’t curse her own mother just because she’s jealous.” “I’ve never heard of someone dying from a tiny bit of peanut crumb.” Those few sentences seemed to wake Lucas up. He spoke impatiently. “Anna, stop it.” “In these years, you’ve had allergic reactions thirty-seven times. Which time was life-threatening?” “And my phone has been beside me the whole time. If you want to frame Lila, at least find a believable reason.” “Put away that jealous look. It only makes me more annoyed and more disgusted.” Before I could speak, he hung up. I turned off the phone and sat stiffly on the bench, staring at the emergency room doors. Finally, the red light went out. The doors slowly opened. The attending doctor removed his mask and gently shook his head at me. “I’m sorry. We did everything we could.” “The patient suffered anaphylactic shock combined with intracranial bleeding. The best rescue window was delayed, leading to organ failure. We were unable to save her. Please accept our condolences.” With a thud, I fell straight to my knees. My ears buzzed. I could no longer hear anything. My only remaining family in this world was gone. I wanted to scream. I wanted to beg them to save my mother again. But when I opened my mouth, no sound came out. The days that followed were like an endless nightmare. Dragging my broken body, I took my mother’s ashes back to our hometown and handled her funeral alone. During that time, Lucas never appeared once. I went to the funeral home alone. Handled the paperwork alone. Chose the cemetery alone. Set up the memorial hall alone. During the day, I forced myself to stay composed and deal with everything. At night, I curled up beside my mother’s grave and cried until I could barely breathe. Lila’s social media updated every day. Lucas took her to pay respects to her parents. Took her traveling abroad. Took her to meet business partners. Someone teased him and asked if he had a new sister-in-law. He only smiled faintly and did not deny it. Meanwhile, I slowly calmed down and began quietly collecting evidence. My mother’s death was not an accident. It was man-made. On the last day of sorting through her belongings, I found an old box under her bed. When I opened it, most of what lay inside were photos of my parents. Ever since Dad died unexpectedly five years ago, Mom had put away the photos because she was afraid they would make me sad. I crouched on the floor and looked through the old things one by one. My fingers brushed over the yellowed photographs, and my eyes reddened. At the very bottom was a handwritten letter and a USB drive. With trembling hands, I opened the letter. My mother’s familiar handwriting appeared before me. Only a few lines revealed a cruel truth. It turned out that two years ago, in that car accident, the person who saved Lucas was my father. Lucas and I had been dating in secret then. At the time, Dad did not know that the young man he saved was my boyfriend. Later, Mom saw the photos I posted of Lucas and felt it was fate. But she did not want to use a life-saving debt to pressure anyone, so she wrote this letter, planning to give it to me when we married, so Lucas would know the truth. Holding the letter, I was already sobbing so hard I could barely breathe. Lucas, you owed me far more than one life. Then my gaze landed on the few photos beside it. Through my tears, the face of the driver in the crash gradually became clear. When I recognized that person, dizziness hit me. My vision went dark, and I nearly fainted. How could it be him?

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1 I woke up as the fake heiress, the classic cuckoo in the nest. My mission? Bully the real daughter until she broke. The System issued its first directive: Grind her face into the mud. Make her taste absolute humiliation! I dragged her to a five-star wellness retreat for a premium botanical mud wrap. The next morning, she was glowing, outshining everyone. The System panicked: Force her into manual labor! Work her until she collapses! I bought her a VIP membership at an elite private gym. She squatted while shredded trainers fed her buttered lobster tails, sweating through designer gear. The System flashed red alerts: Wait, you call this bullying?! When I first arrived, Lily stood on the Kensington estate doorstep in pouring rain. Her faded denim jacket was soaked, cuffs dripping onto marble. Eleanor, the woman who raised me, sat on a velvet sofa with red eyes, frozen, terrified to scare her biological daughter away. Richard, the patriarch, looked her up and down with a dark expression. And me? Blair Kensington, the fake daughter pampered for eighteen years, draped in a cashmere throw, sipping Earl Grey in the dead center of the couch. The picture-perfect evil stepsister clocking in for duty. A mechanical voice echoed in my skull. [Villainess System binding complete.] [Host’s current identity: Blair Kensington, the fake heiress.] [Mission Objective: Follow the original plotline. Humiliate the true heiress, Lily, and accumulate Malice Points.] [Once Malice Points reach 100, Host will be rewarded with fifty million dollars and returned to the real world.] Fifty million. My fingers twitched against my teacup. In the real world, my mom was lying in a hospital bed waiting for her surgery fees. Before I transmigrated, I had just walked away from the billing department with a pit in my stomach. My bank account barely had enough for the next round of deposits, let alone the actual operation. To me, fifty million wasn’t just striking it rich. It was salvation. I hesitated for exactly three seconds. Then the System dropped my first assignment. [Novice Mission: Within ten minutes, shove the true heiress’s face roughly into the mud. Make her understand her lowly status.] I looked toward the grand entryway. Lily stood there with her head bowed. Rainwater dripped from the ends of her dark hair. According to the novel’s plot, she was switched at birth and sent to the Fletcher family. The Fletchers were deadbeats who favored boys and treated her like an unpaid maid. The System started its countdown. [Ten. Nine. Eight…] I set my tea down and stood up. Lily heard the movement and looked up at me. She looked exactly like a half-drowned stray cat. She was clearly terrified, yet she was trying so hard to hide her claws. I walked right up to her and let my voice drop into a cold drawl. “Come with me.” Eleanor jumped up. “Blair, where are you taking her?” The System buzzed with sick excitement. [Yes! Exactly like that! Drag her out! Show her who really owns this house!] I ignored my adoptive mother. I grabbed Lily by her wrist and pulled her back out the door. Her wrist was incredibly thin. I felt her flinch the second my fingers wrapped around her skin, but she didn’t fight back. She just asked in a breathless whisper, “What are you doing?” I shot her a nasty glare. “Putting you in your place.” Eleanor practically tripped over the rug. “Blair!” But Richard didn’t stop me. He just frowned and muttered, “Keep it out of the tabloids.” The System purred in my head. [Malice atmosphere aligns perfectly with the original plot. Please proceed, Host.] Lily lowered her eyes and followed me into the waiting Bentley. She sat rigidly beside me, her spine completely straight. I glanced at her soaking wet hair. I tried to ignore it, but I eventually snatched a pristine dry towel from the console and threw it at her. “Dry off. Don’t ruin my leather seats.” Lily blinked in surprise. “Thank you.” The System instantly went on high alert. [Host, you are exhibiting suspected care toward the target.] I kept my face perfectly blank. “She’s dripping everywhere. It’s bad for the luxury aesthetic.” The System paused. [Understood. Logic accepted.] Twenty minutes later, my driver pulled up to an exclusive, invite-only beauty sanctuary in the city center. Lily stared up at the gold-leaf lettering on the awning. Utter confusion washed over her face. I dragged her through the glass doors. The front desk manager recognized me instantly, slapping on a hundred-watt smile. “Miss Kensington! What treatment are we doing today?” I slammed my black Centurion card onto the marble counter. “Not for me. For her.” “Book her for the most expensive botanical mud wrap you have. Face, neck, shoulders, back. The whole nine yards. And make sure you slather that mud on thick.” The manager didn’t miss a beat. “Right away, Miss Kensington.” My host body had an unlimited credit limit, but the System strictly forbade converting this wealth into real-world cash. The only way to save my mom was to earn that fifty million dollar reward. Lily finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. She stared at me, totally bewildered. “Blair, what are you actually trying to do?” I crossed my arms and gave her my best mean-girl sneer. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m getting your face shoved in the mud.” She went completely pale. The System glitched in my brain. [Host. The mission requires humiliation, not a luxury spa purchase.] I replied mentally. Is there mud on her face? [Yes.] Did I force someone to push it onto her? [Yes.] Is her face physically in the mud? The System went dead silent. [Evaluating Novice Mission…] [Evaluation Successful.] [Malice Points +3.] Two hours later, Lily walked out of the treatment suite. Her previously dull, exhausted complexion now looked like polished porcelain. She was stunningly clean and radiant. The aesthetician couldn’t help but gush. “Your sister has an incredible base. With a little maintenance, she is going to be absolutely breathtaking.” Lily clearly wasn’t used to compliments. The tips of her ears flushed a deep, bright pink. She looked at her shoes. “Thank you.” The System pinged again. [New Mission: Tomorrow night is the Welcome Home Gala. Host must publicly humiliate the true heiress and turn her into the laughingstock of the entire party.] I looked at Lily’s gorgeous, glowing face. A slow smile spread across my lips. A laughingstock? Sure. Let’s give them a show they’ll never forget. The Kensington estate was decked out for the gala. The elite guests wore polite, plastic smiles, but the whispers traveling through the ballroom were sharp enough to draw blood. “I heard the real daughter grew up in some dead-end trailer park.” “The Kensingtons raised Blair for eighteen years, and now they just swap her out? God, how awkward.” “I’m just dying to see who Richard and Eleanor actually favor. Blood or bond?” The System was screaming in my head. [Please execute the mission immediately. Make the target suffer public humiliation.] I looked toward the grand staircase. Lily was walking down. She was wearing the mist-blue evening gown I had bullied the stylist into picking. The skirt wasn’t overly dramatic, but the cut cinched her waist perfectly, making her look elegant and ethereal. The entire ballroom went silent for a split second. Eleanor covered her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears. Even Richard’s stern face softened with complicated emotions. I picked up a flute of champagne and walked to the base of the stairs. When Lily saw me approaching, her shoulders visibly stiffened. Perfect. The villainess reputation was still doing the heavy lifting. This would make my performance so much easier. I stopped right in front of her. I kept my voice at the perfect volume, loud enough for the gossiping socialites nearby to hear. “Lily.” The music seemed to fade. Everyone was watching. The System was losing its digital mind. [Yes! Just like that! Tear her down!] I reached out, grabbed Lily’s wrist, and pulled her right into the center of the ballroom floor. Her fingers were freezing. She asked in a frantic whisper, “What are you doing?” I ignored her. I walked straight up to the live band and snatched the microphone from the emcee. Eleanor panicked. “Blair, knock it off right now.” The System was setting off virtual fireworks in my skull. [Emotional atmosphere matches the plot perfectly! Proceed, Host!] I held the mic up, swept my gaze over the glittering crowd, and smirked. “Ladies and gentlemen. I’m standing up here tonight because I want to treat you all to a massive joke.” The guests’ eyes lit up with predatory excitement. Lily’s face lost all its color. I turned to her and snapped. “Stand up straight.” She froze. I scowled. “I said, stand up straight. Did the Kensingtons bring you all the way back here just so you could cower like a kicked dog?” Lily’s eyelashes fluttered. Then, very slowly, she pulled her shoulders back and straightened her spine. I nodded in satisfaction. I turned back to the crowd of vultures. “The joke is on all of you. Because you wasted your time coming here tonight.” I paced a few steps. “You all showed up hoping for a catfight. You wanted to see the fake daughter tear apart the real one. You wanted to watch this family implode. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’re out of luck.” The System stalled. [?] I shoved the microphone directly into Lily’s hands. “Speak.” Lily looked at me in sheer panic. I leaned in and whispered viciously. “If you squeak like a mouse, I’ll sign you up for twenty hours of public speaking boot camp tomorrow.” Lily’s lips parted. She tightened her grip on the mic, took a breath, and looked out at the sea of wealthy strangers. “My name is Lily.” Her voice trembled at first, then steadied. “I am not here to steal anyone’s life. And I am certainly not a punchline for your entertainment. I am simply taking the place that was always meant to be mine.” Eleanor burst into tears right there in the crowd. When the applause erupted, the System nearly shattered my eardrums. [Host! The mission was to make her the laughingstock of the party!] She is, isn’t she? [How is this a laughingstock?!] Are people smiling in the crowd? [Those are smiles of relief and admiration!] And is she holding the stock of the microphone? […] Smiling. Stock. Both conditions met, right? The System went quiet for three very long seconds. [Malice Points +2.] I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing out loud. The next morning, the System was back to its unhinged demands. [Main Storyline Mission: Punish the true heiress by making her scrub the entire mansion. She is absolutely not allowed to stop until she is dripping with sweat.] I had barely opened my eyes. I seriously considered sitting up and cursing the AI out. [Please execute immediately, or face a deduction in your Return Home Points.] The words Return Home Points sobered me up instantly. I could play games with the rules, but I had to get back. My mom was waiting. The doctors had told me that if we delayed the surgery any longer, she might not make it. Right before I crossed over, I had drained my account just to pay her hospital bed deposit, and my phone was blowing up with eviction threats from my landlord. I could walk away from the luxury of this world. But I refused to be trapped here while my mother died. Half an hour later, I summoned Lily to the living room. She looked a tiny bit more relaxed than yesterday, but the moment she saw me, that instinctual tension came right back. “W… what’s wrong?” I slapped a plastic card onto the glass coffee table. “Your punishment.” She looked down at it. It was a VIP Annual Pass to the Equinox Elite Training Center. I delivered my sentence with stone-cold severity. “Starting today, you’re going to scrub every single day.” Lily looked completely lost. “Scrub what?” “Scrub the fat,” I said with a straight face. “Full body high-intensity interval training. We call it fat-scrubbing. Making you mop the floors is too basic. If a Kensington daughter is going to scrub something, she’s scrubbing her body fat percentage.” The System: [?] Lily: “…” The gym was even more ridiculous than I imagined. A lineup of elite personal trainers stood at the entrance. Broad shoulders, narrow waists, blindingly bright smiles. It looked like a casting call for a billionaire romance movie. Just as we walked in, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Eleanor. [Come home tonight. We need to discuss the living arrangements for you and Lily.] I stared at the screen. My stomach dropped. Here it comes. According to the original plot, the day after the welcome gala, the Kensingtons hold a family meeting. On the surface, it’s a discussion about how to accommodate both girls. But in reality, it’s the moment they decide what to do with the fake daughter. In the book, my character has a complete meltdown. She cries, screams, and accuses Lily of ruining her perfect life. She forces Richard and Eleanor to make a choice. Her or me. That brutal argument is the exact catalyst for Lily’s villain origin story. It’s the first time Lily realizes that her mere existence brings pain to others. She internalizes the guilt. She starts backing down. She swallows every ounce of abuse to keep the peace. Until years later, when she is sold off in a business marriage, used as a pawn, and emotionally blackmailed into oblivion. That’s when she fully snaps, turns completely ruthless, and drags the entire Kensington empire down into the dirt. The System’s voice turned chillingly robotic. [Critical Plot Node Triggered.] [Host must falsely accuse the true heiress of stealing your life. Host must force the Kensington family to choose between you and her.] [Mission Success: Malice Points +20.] [Mission Failure: Deduction of 50% Return Home Points.] [Warning: Passive sabotage detected. Connecting to Mainframe Protocol. High-tier surveillance activated. If any bugs or loopholes are detected, the System will initiate a forced override of Host’s motor functions.] At seven o’clock that evening, the Kensington living room was dead quiet. Richard sat in the armchair, his face darker than a storm cloud. Eleanor sat next to him, dabbing her bloodshot eyes with a tissue. Lily stood slightly behind me. Her face was blank, but her fingers were nervously twisting the hem of her sleeve. Richard cleared his throat. “Blair, now that Lily is home, there are some logistical realities we need to get straight.” I sank into the sofa and crossed my legs. “Like what? Like the fact that I’ve been a parasite in your house for eighteen years? Or how you’re planning to dispose of the knock-off daughter?” Eleanor gasped. “Blair, that is not what your father means!” “Then what does he mean?” Eleanor opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words. Richard took over. “No one is kicking you out. But Lily is a Kensington by blood. The two of you can’t keep circling each other like this.” “Like what?” I gave a dry laugh. “Me bullying her?” Beside me, Lily’s face began to drain of color. The System chimed. [Current plot node accuracy verified. Please continue to escalate the conflict, Host.] I glanced at Lily. She was already looking at me. There was no anger in her eyes. Just a quiet, heartbreaking mix of confusion and fear. It was like she had just crawled out of the dark to stand in the sun, only to realize the light could burn her too. I looked away. I was ready to exploit the loophole. I had the perfect plan. The System wanted me to force them to choose. Fine. I would make them choose. I would make them choose Lily. And then I would pack my bags and leave. I could play the dramatic villain, scream that I couldn’t bear breathing the same air as the “peasant” daughter, and storm out. On paper, I fulfilled the quota of being an evil bitch. In reality, I would be handing the narrative power back to Lily, clearing the space she rightfully deserved in her own family. But the exact second I opened my mouth to speak, a deafening siren ripped through my brain. [Warning! Host exhibits malicious intent to bypass plot constraints.] My blood ran completely cold. The next second, my vision blacked out. [Critical Mission Forced Override Initiated.] [Host’s dialogue fails to meet Villainess parameters. System assuming temporary control of motor functions for 3:00 minutes.]

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1 The day Mom was wheeled into the ICU, Joanna lent me nothing. “My capital is for venture investments, not bottomless pits,” she said coldly. “I sent you some low-interest loan links. Figure it out.” I crouched in the stairwell, medical bills in hand, listening as she talked by the window. “That five million in seed funding hit your account,” she told Noah, her firm’s new trainee. “Even if the startup fails, I’ll cover it. Consider it practice.” My fingers tightened around the crumpled bills until my nails drew blood. Joanna turned and saw me. No tears, no tantrums, no begging. She nodded, satisfied. “Good. Stop acting like a child. Being independent means taking responsibility.” I gave her a hollow nod. She walked away without another glance. In that moment, my heart truly died. No tears, no screams, not even the energy to ask why. I pulled out the divorce papers I’d drafted weeks ago and signed my name, stroke by stroke. From now on, her life was hers, and mine was mine. Joanna didn’t get home until almost one in the morning. I was sitting at the kitchen island. Spread out in front of me were the hospital bills, the critical condition notices, and those signed divorce papers. She walked in, saw me, and just frowned. “Why are you still awake?” I looked up at her. “My mom is in the ICU.” She hung her tailored coat on the rack and walked over to the minibar to pour a glass of water. “I’m aware.” Her tone was as casual as if she were commenting on the rain outside. I stared at the glass in her hand. My mind drifted back to the hospital corridor that afternoon. I remembered exactly how pathetic I looked when I begged her for the cash. I had said, Joanna, just three hundred thousand. Please. It’s to save her life. And she had said, Cole, you need to learn to accept reality. Then she turned around and dropped five million on Noah without blinking. I thought I was entirely numb by now. But seeing her stand in our kitchen, acting like absolutely nothing had happened, still felt like taking a sledgehammer to the chest. Joanna finished her water and let her gaze drop to the kitchen island. “What is all this?” “Divorce papers.” Her hand froze. A few seconds passed. She let out a scoff, like she had just heard the most ridiculous joke of the year. “Cole, what kind of tantrum are you throwing now?” I pushed the papers across the marble counter. “I’ve already signed.” She didn’t pick them up. She just stared at my signature, the temperature in her eyes dropping by the second. “Is this because I wouldn’t lend you the money?” “No.” My voice was terribly quiet. “It’s because I finally realized today that it’s not that you don’t have the money. It’s not that you don’t know how to help people.” “You just don’t want to help me.” Joanna’s expression darkened. “Noah’s project is a corporate investment. It has nothing to do with personal feelings.” “I read the contract,” I said, meeting her cold stare. “The funds came from your personal account. You acted as the sole guarantor. If he goes under, you eat the losses.” “You call that a corporate investment?” A flicker of irritation crossed her eyes. “You went through my things?” I let out a dry, broken laugh. Her first instinct wasn’t to explain herself. It was to blame me for finding out. Joanna slammed her glass onto the counter. “You are completely out of control right now, Cole. I am not having this conversation with you.” “I get that you’re stressed about your mother, but you don’t get to use me as your emotional punching bag.” I looked right at her. “She is the woman you’ve called ‘Mom’ for the last six years.” Joanna broke eye contact. “I never said I wouldn’t care.” “I just don’t think it’s wise to sink money into a black hole with no guaranteed return.” She stopped, perhaps realizing how incredibly cruel that sounded, and quickly tacked on an amendment. “I can help you contact some top-tier specialists. I can make some calls.” “But the money? You need to figure that out on your own.” My stomach churned with violent nausea. I stood up, gathered the divorce papers, and slid them back into the manila envelope. “Tomorrow morning. Ten o’clock at the courthouse.” Joanna stared at me for a long, heavy minute. “Cole, if you leave me, how exactly are you going to pay for your mother’s treatment?” The moment those words hung in the air, my fingers curled into tight fists. She knew exactly what terrified me the most. She knew exactly how desperate I was. And she was using my dying mother as leverage to force me to my knees. I raised my eyes. “I’ll figure it out on my own.” Joanna’s face hardened, clearly stung by my absolute dismissal. “Then you’d better not come crawling back to me.” I didn’t waste another breath on her. I turned and walked into the guest bedroom. Right before the door clicked shut, I heard her phone ring in the living room. She answered it, her voice softening instantly. “Noah? Yeah, I reviewed the pitch deck.” “Don’t be nervous. I’ll be right there in the front row tomorrow.” I pressed my back against the closed door and slowly slid down to the floor. A dull, pulling ache settled deep in my lower abdomen. With the chaos of my mother’s hospitalization, I had completely missed my last prenatal appointment. My phone screen lit up with an automated text from the clinic. Mr. Cole, please remember to schedule your ultrasound checkup. I stared at that glowing line of text for a long time. Then, I turned the screen off. 2 Joanna didn’t show up at the courthouse. I waited for two hours. I called her three times. She never picked up. It wasn’t until eleven-thirty that a text finally came through. Noah’s pitch is today. I’m tied up. A second message popped up immediately after. If you really want this divorce, get a lawyer and sue me. I stood on the courthouse steps, clutching my queue ticket. The cold wind whipped off the pavement, stinging my eyes until they watered. I didn’t reply. I just turned around and took a cab straight to the hospital. The doctor’s face was grim. My mom’s vitals were crashing. Because I hadn’t topped up the deposit yesterday, they had to drop her back to the basic medication protocol. “You need to settle the balance as soon as possible,” the doctor warned softly. “Every hour we delay the targeted treatment, the risks multiply.” I kept my head down and mumbled an agreement. I immediately listed the small bachelor pad I bought before I got married for emergency sale. Then, I maxed out every single credit card to my name. The real estate agent was dead silent for a few seconds when he heard my asking price. “Cole, this price is insanely low.” “Can we close today?” “I mean, yes, it’ll fly off the market. But are you absolutely sure?” “I’m sure.” After hanging up, I squatted in the hospital stairwell, my palms slick with cold sweat. A notification popped up. Noah had posted a new update on Instagram. The photo showed him standing on a brightly lit stage in a sharp white suit. Joanna was sitting in the front row, looking up at him with a gentle, patient gaze I hadn’t seen directed at me in years. The caption read: Having someone catch you when you fall on your first startup attempt. So this is what it feels like to be chosen. Someone commented: The CEO totally spoils you. Noah replied: She just said she didn’t want to see me lose too badly. I stared at those words until the blood in my fingertips went ice cold. Joanna showed up at the hospital that afternoon. She stood in the sterile hallway, looking pristine in her designer suit, holding a crisp manila folder. “I had my assistant compile a list of reputable lending platforms,” she said. “A few of them offer high approval limits. You can use them to tide you over.” I stared at the folder but didn’t reach for it. She shoved it directly into my hands. “It’s your decision. You figure out the money.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. I looked down at the carefully printed loan documents. I ripped them into tiny pieces and dumped them into the biohazard bin. A few minutes later, a nurse sprinted out of the double doors. “Cole! Her blood pressure is tanking! The doctor needs your signature for resuscitation right now!” My legs gave out. I had to brace myself against the wall just to stay upright. My stomach cramped again. This time, the pain was significantly sharper than the night before. 3 They spent four hours keeping my mother alive. When the doctor finally came out, he didn’t even pull his mask down. “She’s stabilized for now. But you absolutely cannot let the payments lapse again.” I nodded, my throat so dry I couldn’t form words. The condo contract was signed that very night. Because the price was a steal, the buyer wired the deposit without a second thought. The second the funds cleared, I ran to the billing window. The clerk looked up from the screen. “Just you here?” I gave a short nod. “Where’s your wife?” I didn’t answer. At that moment, an overwhelming wave of humiliation washed over me. I was legally married, yet I felt like an orphan standing there with absolutely no one to lean on. I went back to the house that night to grab my personal identification documents. The moment I pushed the front door open, I heard a man’s bright laughter echoing from the living room. Noah was sitting on our expensive sofa. A massive, custom celebration cake rested on the coffee table. Joanna was leaning over, carefully slicing the cake for him. Noah jumped up the second he saw me. “Oh, Cole. You’re home.” He sounded so perfectly innocent. But I couldn’t take my eyes off his wrist. He was wearing a brand-new, diamond-encrusted watch. I recognized that watch. Last month, on my birthday, I had lingered a bit too long looking at it in a luxury boutique. Joanna had pulled me away, saying, The markup on that is ridiculous. It really doesn’t suit your vibe anyway. Now, it was gleaming on Noah’s wrist. Joanna frowned at me. “Why are you back?” I met her eyes. “This is my house.” Noah’s expression stiffened. Joanna set the cake knife down. “Noah’s pitch was a massive success today. I brought him back to grab some reference files and we’re just celebrating.” Just celebrating. My mother was hooked up to breathing tubes in the ICU. I had just sold my last safety net to buy her another day of life. And my wife was in our living room, throwing a party for another man. Noah lowered his head, his voice dripping with faux timidity. “Please don’t misunderstand, Cole. Joanna was just worried about my nerves since it’s my first funding round. She was just encouraging me.” He casually brushed his fingers over the watch on his wrist. “This is just a team bonus. It’s really not what you think.” I walked closer and glanced at the customized chocolate plaque on the cake box. To Noah’s first victory. The future is yours. The handwriting belonged to Joanna. This was the same woman who told me buying a birthday cake was a waste of money and that pointless rituals were for children. I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. I just walked straight into the bedroom, pulled open my nightstand, and started shoving my passport and ID cards into my duffel bag. Joanna followed me in. “Who exactly are you throwing a fit for this time?” I zipped my marriage certificate into the side pocket. “Move.” She blocked the doorway. “You are becoming completely unreasonable, Cole. Noah is years younger than you, and he’s fighting tooth and nail to make it in this city all by himself.” “I’m his boss. What’s the crime in taking care of him?” I looked up from my bag. “My mother is fighting for her life alone in an ICU bed.” “Did you ever think to take care of her?” She choked on her words for a second before her face froze over. “Your mother’s situation is completely different.” “How is it different?” “Noah actually has a future.” The bedroom fell into a suffocating silence the moment those words left her mouth. Even Joanna seemed to realize she had crossed a line. But she didn’t apologize. She just looked away and muttered, “I just meant that investments require a return.” I stared at her. My chest felt like it had been carved open with a rusty blade. My mother had no future, so she wasn’t worth the money. I had no future, so I wasn’t worth her time. I grabbed my duffel bag and shoved past her. Out in the living room, Noah was happily eating his slice of cake. When he saw me marching toward the door, he put on a brave face and said softly, “You know, Cole, a man really needs to learn how to be independent. You can’t just expect other people to fix everything for you.” I stopped dead in my tracks. Joanna was standing right behind me. She didn’t say a single word to correct him. I looked at Noah and let out a dry, hollow laugh. “Did she teach you that line?” His face flushed bright red. I nodded slowly. “Commit it to memory. Because the day she decides you’re no longer yielding a return on her investment, you’ll be the one hearing it.” Noah’s smug little smile vanished. Joanna’s voice cracked like a whip. “That is enough, Cole.” I didn’t bother looking back. As I took the elevator down to the lobby, a severe, dragging pain ripped through my abdomen. I had to lean against the metal wall for several minutes just to remember how to breathe. My palms were drenched in cold sweat. My phone started ringing. It was the hospital. “Cole, your mother’s condition has severely deteriorated. You need to get here right now.” Black spots danced in my vision. I almost collapsed right there in the elevator car. 4 My mother crashed for the second time at exactly 9:17 PM. When the nurse ran out to find me, I was standing at the billing window, begging the clerk to give me just thirty more minutes. “Cole! Her pressure is bottoming out! The doctor needs your consent for the bypass right now!” The clerk slid my debit card back across the counter. Insufficient Funds. In that split second, all the strength drained from my legs. I clung to the counter ledge just to stay upright. I yanked out my phone and dialed Joanna’s number. First call. No answer. Second call. Still ringing. On the third try, she finally picked up. The background noise was incredibly loud. I was sobbing uncontrollably. “Joanna, my mom is back in the resuscitation room.” “The doctor said if I don’t clear the balance right now, they can’t administer the next round of meds. Please, just lend me thirty thousand. Just thirty thousand. I swear on my life I’ll pay you back.” The line went dead silent for two seconds. When she finally spoke, her voice was terrifyingly calm. “Cole, we have already had this conversation.” “You cannot blindly throw money at a problem without a solid plan.” I froze. “She is my mother.” “She is dying right now.” “I know that.” Her tone actually carried a trace of profound annoyance. “But you are an adult.” “Adults do not expect other people to act as their safety net every time something goes wrong. Your mother’s illness is a liability for your family, not an investment obligation for me.” I gripped the phone, my entire body shaking uncontrollably. “Joanna, you called her Mom for six years.” “That doesn’t mean I have to foot the bill for every uncontrollable variable.” She paused, her tone shifting into a condescending lecture. “Your biggest flaw, Cole, is your absolute refusal to grow up.” “The second a crisis hits, you cry, you beg, and you try to dump your stress onto someone else. I gave you the list of loan providers. I told you to sell your assets, get a line of credit, or apply for financial aid.” My throat felt like it was packed with wet cement. The red light above the emergency room door was still glaring. The doctors were in there fighting a losing battle for my mother’s life. And my wife was on the phone, giving me a lecture on independence. I squeezed my eyes shut. Tears splashed down onto the unpaid medical bills, blurring the ink. “And if it were Noah lying in that room today?” Silence stretched over the line. She didn’t answer. But I heard another man’s voice through the speaker. Soft, whining. “Joanna… my stomach still hurts a little…” Joanna immediately hushed him, her voice dropping into a tender murmur. “Don’t worry. I’m taking you to the hospital right now.” The blood in my veins turned entirely to ice. I gripped the phone, my voice so faint it was barely a whisper. “Joanna. You are taking him to the hospital?” She faltered for half a second before her voice went rigid again. “Noah felt sick after the pitch event. I’m just taking him in for a checkup.” “He’s a young kid with no family in this city. As his boss, it’s completely reasonable for me to look out for him.” I let out a broken laugh. “My mom doesn’t have anyone else either.” “I don’t have anyone else either.” She went quiet for several long seconds. “Cole, stop trying to emotionally blackmail me.” “It’s just a bout of acute gastroenteritis. Once he’s evaluated, I’ll head over to your side. Just handle things yourself for now.” Handle things yourself. When those four words dropped, the entire world went completely deaf. The nurse sprinted out of the double doors again. “Cole! Can you make the payment or not?! The doctor is waiting!” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Over the phone, Joanna was still talking. “Just calm down.” “Stop acting like the sky is falling every time something goes wrong. An adult needs problem-solving skills, not just the ability to beg.” I ended the call. I clutched the phone in my palm and slowly sank to the linoleum floor. Right then, an agonizing, violent tearing sensation ripped through my lower stomach. It felt like someone had plunged a jagged knife inside me and dragged it violently across my womb. I leaned heavily against the wall, trying to push myself up to call for a doctor. But the emergency room doors swung open first. The lead surgeon pulled his mask down. His face was heavy with exhaustion. “Cole.” “We did everything we could.” “The cardiac arrest lasted too long. Resuscitation was unsuccessful.” “I am so sorry for your loss.” Your loss. I stood frozen in place. The unpaid bills slowly slipped from my fingers and scattered across the floor. When they wheeled my mother out, a white sheet covered her face. I lunged forward. I tried to scream for her. But my throat felt like it was packed with shards of broken glass. Not a single syllable made it out. A nurse rushed forward to catch me. “Sir! Your color is terrible. Are you alright?” I tried to open my mouth to ask for help, but a blinding darkness swallowed my vision, and I collapsed hard onto the hospital tiles. When I was wheeled into the trauma bay, my phone started ringing again. Joanna’s name flashed across the cracked screen. I didn’t have the strength to answer it. A nurse held the phone up for me, looking deeply concerned. “Do you want us to notify your family?” I stared at the word ringing on the screen. Family. What an absolute joke. I weakly shook my head. “I don’t have any family.” “I’ll sign the consent forms myself.” The harsh surgical lights clicked on above me. Lying on the freezing operating table, I heard the obstetrician mutter under his breath. “Good thing we caught the hemorrhage in time. Another hour and he would have bled out completely…” I closed my eyes. That night, I lost my mother. And I lost the baby I never even got the chance to meet. Joanna didn’t arrive at the hospital until two hours later. Noah just had a mild stomach bug. After an IV drip, he was perfectly fine. She claimed she only remembered me after he fell asleep. So, she bought a cup of hot porridge and leisurely made her way to my ward. When she pushed open the doors to the emergency corridor, she happened to walk right past the nurses’ station during shift change. “The mother of that guy, Cole, didn’t make it. They transferred her to the morgue a couple of hours ago.” “God, that’s awful. And he just got out of emergency surgery for his miscarriage. He was completely alone the whole time. It breaks your heart.”

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