When my parents died unexpectedly my junior year of high school, my relatives circled like vultures, eyeing the estate and the insurance payout. They harassed me constantly at my front door. Finally, unable to take it anymore, I knocked on the door of my heavily tattooed neighbor. “Hey man, are you in a gang?” 1 The car crash happened fast. My dad died on the way to the hospital. My mom didn’t make it out of the ER, but she hung on long enough to say her last few words to me. She gave me the PINs to her and my dad’s accounts, told me where the deed to the house and other valuables were kept, and her final sentence was: “Don’t trust anyone.” She didn’t even have the breath left to say anything sentimental. She was in so much pain. She just looked at me with tear-filled eyes, and then she was gone. I was still in my school uniform. I had run so fast to get to the hospital that my shoelaces were untied, and I hadn’t bothered to retie them. I knelt numbly beside my mom’s bed, listening to the doctor pronounce her dead. Faced with such overwhelming grief, the tears just wouldn’t fall. I felt disconnected, like I was moving through a dream. Eventually, I took their shattered cell phones. Feeling completely numb, I followed my mom’s final instructions, transferring all the money from their accounts into my own. The funeral was organized with the help of my parents’ friends. They put me in touch with a lawyer, and the drunk driver’s insurance company paid out a substantial settlement. And then, the relatives descended. My uncle and aunt showed up wearing brand new clothes, their eyes gleaming as they stared at my family’s modest three-bedroom, 900-square-foot house. “Noah, now that your parents are gone, your aunt and I will move in to take care of you,” my uncle announced, taking charge after barely two sentences. “But your cousins will have to come too. Your room is the biggest, so the boys can share that. How about you sleep in that little room next to the balcony?” Our house had three bedrooms. The master was my parents’, my room was a decent size, and the smallest room—which could barely fit a twin bed and didn’t even have a window—was basically a closet. The settlement details were being handled by the lawyer and my parents’ mutual friends. My relatives didn’t know the exact figures or the timeline. My uncle continued, “You’re not eighteen yet. I’ll hold onto your parents’ settlement money for you. I’ll give you a monthly allowance, and when you graduate college and get married, I’ll give the rest back.” My older cousin was already in his twenties, and my uncle was desperate to buy him a house so he could get married. Last year, he had come to my dad asking for a loan. My dad lent him a few thousand dollars, but they complained it wasn’t enough. And they had never paid back any of the money they’d borrowed in the past. “No thank you, Uncle. I can take care of myself,” I said. Their expressions instantly changed. They launched into a long, dramatic speech, even squeezing out a few crocodile tears. They said I was my parents’ only son, they were worried I wouldn’t be okay, and that my parents’ spirits wouldn’t rest in peace if I was left alone. I still refused. I was 17. I wasn’t stupid. The two people who loved me most in the world were gone. This old house, located right next to some of the best public schools in the district, was a safety net my parents had built for me since they got married. I was going to protect it no matter what. My uncle and aunt spoke sweetly, but their eyes were calculating. When I didn’t cave, my mom’s younger brother and sister showed up next, also fighting for custody. Or, more accurately, fighting for the right to live in my house and control my parents’ settlement money. 2 No matter how good the soundproofing is, it can’t withstand that kind of screaming match. They were all trying to out-shout each other. They weren’t arguing logic; they were just competing to see who could be the loudest and say the nastiest things. At first, they tried to keep up appearances, but by the end, the masks completely slipped. My mom’s brother: “He’s my sister’s son, of course he’s coming with me! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. You’re not getting a single dime of my sister’s settlement money!” My dad’s brother naturally shot back: “My sister-in-law married into our family, which makes her a Miller! Noah is a Miller! What’s wrong with me taking care of him? Sounds to me like you’re the one after the settlement money!” “…” I knew exactly what kind of people these relatives were. While my parents were alive, they constantly leached off them. Unless I had money lining my pockets, I would be nothing but a burden in their eyes. Suddenly, someone started pounding violently on the front door. Bang, bang, bang! The force was so heavy it sounded like they were going to punch a hole straight through the wood. The arguing abruptly stopped. My uncle cursed as he went to open the door: “Which blind idiot…” As the door swung open, his voice died in his throat. I looked past the other relatives in the room and saw a young man standing in the doorway. He was dressed entirely in black. He was very tall, and his tight black t-shirt showed off a massive, muscular build with sharply defined lines. More importantly, his entire right arm was covered in a sprawling tattoo sleeve. Right now, he was standing at my front door, looking incredibly annoyed, his eyes dark and menacing. My uncle, who had been so arrogant just a second ago, stuttered under the man’s intense glare: “Wh-who are you looking for?” The man spoke, his voice deep but laced with obvious anger: “Are you done screaming yet?” After delivering his warning and getting a terrified guarantee from my uncle, the heavily tattooed guy opened the door to the adjacent apartment and walked in, still looking furious. I was stunned. The apartment next door had been empty for a long time. The previous neighbors moved out after their kid went to college, and the place had been sitting on the market. It looked like it had finally sold. And that heavily tattooed guy was my new neighbor. After the door slammed shut, my aunt and uncle seemed to finally snap out of their daze, turning their heads back. “Noah, how do you have such a terrifying neighbor?” my aunt complained. I glanced at my other aunt, who was holding my hand and wiping fake tears, then looked at the rest of the people in the room—my mom’s brother, his wife, my aunt’s husband, my dad’s brother, his wife, and my older cousin. My parents had financially supported their siblings for over twenty years, yet they had never managed to get their lives together. Now, seeing me sitting on a pile of cash, I was nothing but a juicy steak to them. “Uncle David, Uncle Mark, Aunt Sarah,” I addressed them one by one, keeping my voice as calm as possible. “I’m 17 years old. I can take care of myself. You should all go home.” “What does that mean, Noah? Are you kicking your own uncle out?!” “Your parents are gone! We are your closest family now!” “…” A bunch of people who were so afraid of chipping in for funeral costs that they only showed up at the very end… what kind of “family” was that? “My house can’t fit this many people.” I crossed my arms and looked at my uncle. “Uncle David, didn’t you say I should transfer all the money to you, and you’d give it back when I get married and have kids? I’m almost a legal adult. I could find a girlfriend very soon. If you all move in now, I’ll just have to kick you out when I get married. It’s too much of a hassle…” Before I even finished my sentence, my mom’s brother howled: “What?! David Miller, you told Noah to transfer the money to you?! Have you no shame?! You’re just trying to use that money to buy a house for your son, aren’t you?!” They started fighting again, though their volume was noticeably lower this time. 3 They all wanted to stay, and none of them could stand the idea of anyone else staying. Because my apartment simply couldn’t hold all of them, they eventually dragged each other out the door. Of course, even if they wanted to stay, I wouldn’t have let them. These people didn’t seem to care what I thought, even though I was the legal owner of this house now. After locking the front door, I walked back into my parents’ bedroom. It was still filled with their things, looking no different than before. It just looked like they had gone on a business trip. But I knew they were never coming back. The emotions, acting like they were on a delay, finally surged up and hit me head-on. I sat on the floor, pulling my knees to my chest. The tears finally burst forth, and a profound, overwhelming grief swallowed me whole. For the first 17 years of my life, I had never felt this kind of loneliness. The stable, relatively happy life I had known turned out to be as fragile as a bubble, shattering completely. I hated the drunk driver. I hated him for driving under the influence, and I hated that it wasn’t him who died. He was going to prison and paying a settlement, but he couldn’t give me back my living, breathing parents. The tears fell freely, refusing to stop. Even though I was the only person left in this house, I still didn’t dare wail out loud. I just curled up in the corner and sobbed quietly. After that day, I started going back to school. But those relatives hadn’t given up on the fat piece of meat they saw me as. For the sake of the money, they didn’t even go back to their own towns. They rented cheap apartments nearby and harassed me at my front door constantly. At first, they played nice, saying they wanted to take care of me. But then my uncle brought up his son needing a house to get married and asked for a “loan.” My other uncle said he needed a new car. My aunt said her kid wanted to transfer to a better school in the city. It was like they had coordinated it. They were all trying to dig into my pockets, completely ignoring the fact that that money was the price of their siblings’ lives. They could play the victim, and of course, I could too. So, they finally dropped the act and started emotionally blackmailing me, calling me an ungrateful brat. At times like this, I was actually glad my grandparents on both sides had already passed away. I couldn’t leave my house without running into them. It felt like I was the one who owed them a massive debt, and they were the debt collectors. This couldn’t go on. I was incredibly annoyed. So, on a Sunday afternoon, I knocked on my neighbor’s door. When he opened the door, he was shirtless. He had short, messy hair and looked like he had just woken up. The tattoo on his right arm snaked all the way up his shoulder and onto his chest. It looked like a dragon. He looked incredibly intimidating. “Hey, man,” I suppressed the anxiety in my chest. “Are you… in a gang?” 4 After hearing my question, my heavily tattooed neighbor’s face froze for a second. Finally, he just looked at me blankly and asked, “What do you want?” His chiseled face had strong, sharp features. He was genuinely handsome. But the aura he gave off made it very easy to ignore his looks. I had been observing this neighbor. Most days, he left the apartment around 8 or 9 PM and didn’t come back until early the next morning. Occasionally, if he came back a little later, it coincided with me waking up early to study, and I’d hear his door open. The doors in this old apartment complex used heavy, outdated locks, so they were loud when they opened. I guessed this neighbor worked some kind of physical labor job because he was tall, incredibly muscular, and had an intense, aggressive vibe about him. Facing someone like him, I was internally terrified, but I kept my voice as steady as possible. “Hey man, I… I’m your neighbor. I live right next door. I was hoping I could ask you for a favor.” “Not interested.” He started to close the door. I quickly reached out to stop him. “Wait, wait! I’m not asking for a freebie. I’ll pay you! You don’t even really have to do anything. Just help me scare off a few people.” The tattooed guy stopped closing the door. He seemed to study me for a second. “You want to hire me as a bodyguard?” “…” That was basically the gist of it. Before I could answer, he said coldly, “If you’re getting bullied, call your parents. What kind of logic is asking a stranger for help?” “I don’t have parents anymore.” “What?” The tattooed guy’s tone seemed to falter, and his gaze landed on my face. “My parents died in an accident. Those relatives of mine are eyeing the stuff they left me, and they keep harassing me.” I looked up, trying to gauge his reaction. “Man, it’s the same people who disrupted your sleep the other day. You definitely don’t want to see them again either, right?” “Those people were here trying to shake you down?” The tattooed guy frowned slightly. “Yeah. One by one, they all owe my parents money and have never paid it back. Now they want to steal the settlement money my parents left me.” I nodded. “Hey man, what’s your daily rate usually? I’ll hire you for your daily rate to help me out, okay?” I just needed him to show his face when those relatives showed up and scare them off. The tattooed guy finally let out a scoff. “Do you even know what my daily rate is before you ask that?” I honestly didn’t, but I couldn’t think of a better plan right now. “Man, just give me a number?” I asked tentatively. Instead of answering, he asked, “When do those relatives of yours usually show up?” “I don’t know, but probably around evening.” It was the weekend; they knew I’d be home. My uncle and the others had been sending me long, rambling messages on WhatsApp, trying to guilt-trip me. Some of the messages were just nasty insults. Most of them were voice memos, and I was too lazy to even listen to them. “Alright. Go back inside.” I heard this incredibly intimidating neighbor reply. I walked back to my apartment feeling thoroughly confused, still unsure if he had actually agreed to take the job or not. Around 5 PM, there was a knock at my door. I was instantly on high alert. But aside from the knocking, there weren’t any obnoxious voices outside, and the rhythm of the knocking was different from theirs. I stood behind the door and heard unfamiliar voices talking. So I asked, “Who is it?” “Me.” It was my neighbor’s voice. I opened the door, and when I saw the scene outside, I froze. 5 There were several guys standing outside. Aside from my tattooed neighbor, there were three others. They were all very tall and heavily built. The biggest one had a buzz cut and muscles that looked like they belonged on a heavyweight boxer. He had a very aggressive face. Another one had dyed blond hair, was covered in accessories, and had tattoo sleeves on both arms. There was also a guy with curly hair wearing a tank top. He was thinner than the rest but looked equally intimidating. Most importantly, they were all carrying grocery bags. “Man?” I looked confused at the leader, my neighbor. He led the guys inside, and as he walked past me, he said, “I don’t have any cookware over there yet. We’re borrowing your place for hot pot.” With that, he navigated his way to my kitchen and led the group over. “Oh, right,” he looked back at me. “Leave the front door open.” The guys didn’t pay any attention to me. They just went straight into the kitchen and started prepping. They had brought a ton of meat and vegetables. Because it was too cramped, the biggest guy got kicked out of the kitchen. “Kid, why are you staring at me?” He caught me peeking and asked in a booming voice. I instinctively replied, “Man, your muscles look really impressive. I was just admiring them.” That comment seemed to please him. He let out a booming laugh. “You’ve got a good eye.” “Man, what’s your name?” I asked. Through a brief conversation, I learned that the big guy currently making himself entirely at home on my sofa was named Marcus. The blond guy in the kitchen was Jayden, and the curly-haired guy was Eli. As for my neighbor, his name was Jax. The smell of hot pot drifted out of the kitchen. I watched them carry out the pot, plates of meat and vegetables, and two large bowls of dipping sauce. In the short time they had been here, they looked more like the homeowners than I did. “Kid, why are you just standing there? Come eat! Don’t be shy in your own house,” Marcus called out. “…” The broth was incredibly spicy. I was inhaling sharply as I ate. It was hot, but it smelled amazing. The tattooed guy sitting next to me cracked open a can of Coke with one hand, popped a straw in it, and handed it to me. “Can’t handle spice?” “Jax, I’m fine.” I had heard the others calling him that. “I love it, I’m just not very good at handling heat.” Jax didn’t care how I knew his name. He got up, poured me a glass of ice water, and set it in front of me. “If you can’t handle the spice, just rinse the food off before you eat it.” His action, however, stunned the other three guys. The blond guy complained, “Jax, last time I had a breakout and didn’t want to eat spicy food, you told me to go eat at a separate table…” The curly-haired guy chimed in with the same tone: “Jax, remember when you said picky eaters can get out…” Marcus just laughed loudly. Jax scoffed. “What, you want to kick the homeowner out while you’re eating at his house? Are you guys trying to stage a mutiny?” The others teased him a bit more. When they opened their mouths, they were actually pretty easy to get along with. It was just their physical appearance that was easily misunderstood. Halfway through the hot pot, sure enough, there was noise coming from outside. 6 I heard several voices. “Noah Miller, you actually have the mood to sit at home and eat hot pot?!” My uncle’s voice came from outside. He had clearly smelled the food and saw that my front door was wide open. Then came my aunt: “The elders are suffering so much because of him! He has no conscience!” “…” The group walked in, looking unified, like they had coordinated their approach beforehand. They all wanted to extract money from me. However, when they gathered at the doorway and looked inside, the four adult men sitting next to me all looked up and stood up simultaneously. They were all very tall, and unlike my uncle’s flabby weight, this was pure, gym-built muscle. The intimidating aura of these guys standing together was off the charts. “Noah Miller, who are these people you’re hanging out with?!” “If your parents knew you were acting like this, they’d be rolling in their graves!” “You’re young and naive. You won’t be able to hold onto the money your parents left you for long. You’ll probably blow it all on these shady friends of yours!” “…” They felt they held the moral high ground as they walked in. Jax and his friends took two steps forward. Just those two steps made my relatives retreat a few paces in fear. “Noah Miller, what is the meaning of this? Did you hire these thugs to intimidate your elders?” my aunt spoke up first. She had a sharp tongue, but even she was intimidated by these tall, intimidating strangers. Jax looked at them and spoke first: “Since you people are the ‘elders,’ the kid’s parents recently passed away, and he’s all alone. We’re not even asking you to provide any help, but shouldn’t you at least pay back the money his parents lent you?” My relatives had never, ever considered the concept of “paying back” the money. Hearing this, their expressions varied wildly. “What money? When did they ever lend me money?” My mom’s brother was the first to deny it, swearing up and down that it never happened. Then came my dad’s brother’s wife: “Noah’s dad transferred money to us a few years ago, but wasn’t that the allowance money for his grandparents before they passed away? We never borrowed money!” My other aunt had a similar excuse ready. I felt numb. Even though I already knew exactly what kind of people they were, I still felt that my parents’ sacrifices were completely unworthy of them. “I still have my parents’ phones. The text message logs say otherwise,” I spoke up suddenly. “And Uncle David, did you forget? You borrowed five thousand dollars from my parents the year before last, and you even signed an IOU. Do you want me to bring out the chat logs and the IOU to confront you?” Their eyes widened. They had been showing up constantly lately just to extract money. How could they possibly agree to lose money now? Actually, no matter how sweet they sounded when they borrowed the money, they never had any intention of paying it back. The front door suddenly slammed shut. They looked back and realized that the curly-haired guy had circled behind them and locked the door without them noticing. Jax: “If the debts aren’t settled today, no one is leaving.” My relatives instantly panicked and turned to try and open the door to leave. Naturally, that wasn’t happening. “What do you think you’re doing?! Believe it or not, I’ll call the police!” Marcus laughed. “Call ’em. Let the cops come and see who’s really being shameless. Paying back debts is a basic rule of society. He has proof you owe him money. Suing you in small claims court wouldn’t be hard at all.” Seeing that they couldn’t reason their way out of this, my uncle turned his gaze back to me. “Noah Miller, is this how you treat your own flesh and blood? Letting them bully us?” He tried to sound self-righteous. “Are you even a Miller anymore?!” 7 “Not anymore, Uncle. You never treated me like a human being anyway,” I said flatly. Marcus burst out laughing at that. “You’re a pretty funny kid.” These guys blocking the door was still very intimidating. My relatives, who usually relied on their status as “elders” to be arrogant, were terrified. They eventually coughed up a few hundred dollars each. They muttered about paying the rest in installments. As Jax watched them transfer the money to me, he added one sentence: “Put ‘Debt Repayment’ in the memo line.” Only then did he open the door and let them go. I looked at the extra couple of thousand dollars in my phone, feeling relieved. I knew full well that “paying in installments” was just a lie to get out the door. But they had come here not only failing to extort me, but actually losing money themselves. It felt incredible. “Guys, you were amazing!” Marcus waved his hand. “Ah, people like them just bully you because you’re young and have a thin skin. The second they run into real trouble, they panic. You and Jax are neighbors; I doubt they’ll dare show their faces around here again.” Eli clicked his tongue. “A bunch of fully grown adults with working arms and legs, targeting a kid’s house and wallet. Shameless!” “We see this kind of thing all the time,” Jayden said, sitting down and continuing to eat. “Scumbags who only pick on the weak.” They went back to happily eating. After they finished, they wiped their mouths, said goodbye to Jax, and left, saying they had to get to work. I looked at my tattooed neighbor and asked, “Jax, how much do I owe you guys for the day rate?” He hadn’t told me their daily rate yet. Jax glanced at me, then glanced at the table. “You clean up. Keep your money. Don’t go around telling people how much cash you have.” He didn’t want my money, and his friends seemed to have just come over for hot pot before strolling away. They left a huge bag of unfinished drinks and snacks at my place. It wasn’t until Jax was about to leave that I finally snapped out of it and stopped him to exchange contact info. I originally didn’t know what he did for a living. Seeing him leave late and come back early, it wasn’t until I saw a post online one day that I realized he was a bartender at a nearby club. So he wasn’t in a gang after all. I thought back to my initial impression of him and felt a little guilty. Jax had truly done me a massive favor. After that day, terrified of being hounded for the debt, my uncle and the others made a silent pact to stop harassing me. Another weekend rolled around. I texted him in advance, wanting to treat him and the other three guys to dinner. I checked his club’s operating hours; there was plenty of time for dinner beforehand. At first, Jax just replied with one word: [Unnecessary]. I insisted, and he finally compromised, telling me to send him the restaurant address and time, and he would notify the other three. Around the agreed-upon time, I knocked on the door next door. A man wearing a burgundy dress shirt stepped out. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the top buttons were undone, leaving his collar open. The tattoos on his right arm and chest were faintly visible. He was also wearing a silver cross necklace. Jax smelled like expensive cologne. “Let’s go,” he said to me. 8 I picked a place not too far from the club where he worked. I chose it intentionally. I booked early, so we even got a private room. The other three guys arrived early. “Noah’s here? Come sit. We’re riding your coattails today.” I walked over and smiled at them. “No way, Marcus. I’m the one who owes you guys. Things have been so much quieter lately. Please, don’t be polite.” As their eyes landed on Jax, Eli suddenly let out a low whistle. “Jax, dressing up this flashy just to grab dinner with our boy?” Jax lightly kicked his shin, not using much force. “Shut up. This is my work uniform.” The other three instantly burst into laughter. Work uniform? Seeing my confusion, Eli threw his arm around my shoulder and explained: “Noah, Jax opened a club with some partners. Jayden and I are in the house band, Marcus handles security. Right now, they’re short-staffed, and good, high-quality bartenders are hard to find. So he stepped in himself. Now, men and women alike just stare at his face and come in to spend money on eye candy.” Jayden smirked. “Jax is basically the face of the club now. Anyone else can call out sick, but he can’t. Every night, rich guys and girls come in asking if he needs money or a sugar daddy/mommy.” Jax shoved a piece of watermelon into his mouth. “Stop corrupting the kid!” “17 isn’t a kid! I’d had two serious relationships by the time I was 17!” Jax: “That’s why you didn’t get into college.” “…Bro, really? Hitting me with the academic insult?” Jayden protested. “You went to college, and now you’re working the same job as me?” “Food isn’t enough to shut your mouth!” “…” I had ordered the food in advance, and it didn’t take long for the waiter to start bringing out the dishes. Halfway through the meal, Jax stepped out to use the restroom. When he didn’t come back right away, I stepped out too. I passed by the front desk and saw him trying to pay the bill, only to be told it had already been settled. He turned around, and our eyes met. I grinned widely at him. “Jax, I said I was treating. I paid ages ago.” Jax: “…” “Who lets a minor pay the bill when a bunch of adults go out?” he muttered. A moment later, he couldn’t help but add, “You’re so young, where did you learn to play the networking game like this?” “My mom taught me. If you’re going to treat someone to a meal, you have to show genuine sincerity.” Jax reached out and patted my head. “What does a high school kid need with all this social maneuvering? Focus on studying, that’s the right path.” After we finished eating, the other three guys asked if I wanted to come hang out at their club. Jayden said, “Noah, our club is actually really fun. There are lots of hot guys and girls. You’re so good-looking, you’d definitely be popular…” Before he could finish, Jax cut him off: “Noah, I’ll walk you home.” He also shot Jayden a glare. “Jayden, stop being a bad influence.” “Jax, why are you so tense? If people didn’t know better, they’d think we run a sketchy underground club!” Jax: “…” After this dinner, I definitely felt closer to my new neighbor, but we still didn’t have much overlap in our daily lives. I was a student; he was a club owner and bartender. We were fundamentally on two different paths. I finally gradually got used to living alone—going to school every day and coming home to an empty house. Until summer break arrived. 9 I spent more time at home, mostly just grinding through practice tests. The neighbor’s club was doing great business. He usually didn’t get home until nearly 6 AM. One night, I had insomnia and couldn’t sleep until 4 AM. While getting up to use the bathroom, I suddenly heard a loud THUD outside my front door. Usually, at this hour, any noise out there would only be made by Jax. I hesitated for a few seconds before carefully opening the door and peeking out. The motion-sensor lights in the hallway hadn’t turned off yet. Jax was collapsed entirely on the floor. I froze, then quickly stepped out and crouched down beside him. “Jax?” I called out softly, shaking him gently. Jax reeked of alcohol. He was clearly incredibly drunk. “Jax, wake up.” I patted his pockets but couldn’t find his keys. He didn’t react at all. He didn’t even open his eyes. The only thing I could confirm was that he wasn’t dead. I glanced down the hallway. I couldn’t just leave him passed out in the corridor. I gritted my teeth, used all my strength to pull him up, and half-carried, half-dragged him into my apartment. He was tall and solidly built. He was heavy. It took an insane amount of effort to maneuver him into my room. After taking off his shoes, I turned around, locked the door, turned off the lights, and went into the master bedroom to sleep. The consequence of insomnia was waking up late the next day. The sun was already high in the sky when I finally became lucid. The first thing I did was get out of bed and walk out to the living room. Jax was sitting on my sofa. I had no idea how long he had been sitting there. “Jax, you’re up early?” Jax turned to look at me. He was still wearing last night’s clothes. He rubbed his temples. “How did I get in here last night?” He had completely blacked out. Makes sense, considering how drunk he was. I gave him a brief rundown, including the fact that I couldn’t find his keys in his pockets. Jax patted his pockets again and finally concluded: “I probably left them at the club.” I found some spare, unused toiletries in my house for him. “Jax, I’m going to order some food on DoorDash. What do you want?” The sound of the running faucet in the bathroom stopped, and a voice called out: “Whatever you’re having, I’ll have.” When Jax came out and saw the takeout containers on the dining table, and then glanced at the stash of instant ramen in the corner, he asked, “Do you just survive on DoorDash and ramen when you’re on break?” “Is there a problem?” I looked at him, confused. During the school year, I could eat at the cafeteria. At home, takeout was just more convenient. I could cook a little, but my culinary skills weren’t exactly stellar. Jax didn’t say anything else. After eating, he grabbed his phone, sent a message to someone, and then left, taking the trash with him. I thought it was just a perfectly ordinary day until the next evening when Jax sent me a text: [Come over for dinner]. ? It was my first time inside Jax’s apartment. There were several dishes set out on the dining table. The aroma was incredible. Jax, wearing a black tank top, carried a bowl of soup out of the kitchen. “Sit down.” “Jax, you know how to cook?” I was still a little shocked. Jax gave a non-committal “Mhm,” and placed a ladle of soup in front of me. “Eat up. I can’t finish all this by myself.” None of the dishes on the table were bad. I ate while giving Jax a thumbs-up. “Jax, you’re amazing!” Jax didn’t even try to be modest. He pulled a corner of his mouth into a smirk. “Obviously.” I hadn’t experienced the feeling of eating a home-cooked meal like this in a very long time. Even though it was at a neighbor’s house, it still made me feel incredibly moved. I buried my head and ate voraciously. Jax didn’t seem to notice the emotional shift in my mood. From that day on, my heavily tattooed neighbor would occasionally show off his culinary skills and invite me over to eat.

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We were poor. Dirt poor. To buy him that birthday gift, I saved every cent I had for a whole year. The day my mom’s tragedy struck, I left school early. That was when I heard him laughing with his friends. “This piece of junk? A third-place prize at a local diner looks better than this,” he said, shaking his head. His friend laughed loudly. “Since you hate it, Ty, give it to me. I’ll sell it and buy some decent gear.” “Go ahead. Take it.” Tyler Cole threw it to him like it was garbage. And that’s when his eyes met mine. Years later, at a high school reunion, I heard Tyler had been looking for me for eight years. 01 When my eyes met Tyler’s, his expression froze. The guy holding the watch scratched his head, looking pure agony. “Do… do you want this back?” I stared at the watch in his hand. It was already scuffed up, clearly not taken care of, even in the short time he’d had it. It wasn’t a luxury watch—it cost a little under a thousand bucks—but for me, that was a year’s worth of cutting back on lunch, saving dollar by dollar. I looked at Tyler’s wrist. He was wearing a watch today. I didn’t recognize the brand, but I knew one thing for sure: the one he was wearing cost a hell of a lot more than the one I had given him. I silently took the watch back from Tyler’s friend. Then, I looked at Tyler and spoke slowly. “I’m sorry. I’ll take care of it.” Tyler kept his eyes low, pressing his lips together in silence. He didn’t say a word. Humiliated, I rubbed the watch in my hand, turned on my heel, and walked away. As I passed the first trash can outside the school gates, I didn’t hesitate. I threw the watch right in. I looked back at him one last time. He had lazily opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips, his gaze filled with pure mockery. I froze, lowering my head. It was so humiliating, this crush of mine. Back then, I didn’t know that single look from Tyler Cole would become my nightmare for years to come. 02 When I got home, my dad was sitting on the porch, a cheap cigarette hanging from his mouth, his face a mask of despair. Mom wasn’t there. He handed me a report. It was the diagnosis. Breast cancer. Dad took a long drag of his cigarette. “The treatment is going to cost hundreds of thousands. I talked it over with your mom… we aren’t going to do it.” “Your mom said she wanted that pulled pork I make. Go buy the meat. I’m going to the hospital to bring her home in a bit.” I didn’t believe it. I flipped through that report over and over, my voice shaking. “Is it a confirmed diagnosis? These things are misdiagnosed all the time. Tomorrow, I’m taking Mom to another hospital. This has to be a mistake…” I looked at my dad stubbornly. Dad’s eyes were bloodshot. He just looked at me, saying nothing. In that second, the tears fell. I couldn’t stop them. Finally, I choked out, “I’m quitting school. Let’s use the money for Mom’s treatment.” Dad just kept his head down. I knew my dad’s heartbreak wasn’t less than mine. Dad had a prosthetic leg. Back in the day, my mom was the only one willing to be with him, never judging him, always encouraging him. Even though we were poor, my parents loved each other fiercely. In middle school, when everyone was starting to talk about their faith and beliefs, I asked him, “Dad, what’s your faith?” Dad didn’t really get what “faith” meant, so I gave him a rough explanation. He scratched his head, embarrassed. “I guess your mom is my faith.” And later… I had a faith of my own, too. I wanted to grow up, make money, and take my parents to see the world. Now, my dad’s faith was collapsing. And mine was, too. I grabbed my dad’s hand, speaking to myself as much as him. “I’m not going back to school. I’ll get a job. We’ll go to New York City. We’ll get Mom the best doctors.” Dad smoked, saying nothing. But my mind was made up. I told Dad to go get Mom, and I started packing things up for New York. Then, I went back to school. 03 It started raining halfway there. People on the street were hurrying, trying to get indoors before it poured. Only then did I dare to cry, my rain and tears blending together. The school was almost empty by the time I got there. I reached my hand into that filthy trash can. The stench was overwhelming, but I dug through it over and over. But the watch I had thrown away wasn’t there. I bit my lip, wanting to slap the self that had thrown it away. Even selling it for parts would have given us a few hundred bucks! I searched for hours. I went through every piece of trash in that can. No watch. Devastated, I started walking home. The streets were deserted now. The rain was coming down so hard it actually hurt. When I got home, Dad wasn’t back yet. The house that usually felt warm now felt freezing cold. I waited, and waited… Finally, just one person came running to tell me the news. “Your dad and mom… they jumped into the river together.” That was the year I was a senior. I lost both my parents and became an orphan. 04 Eight years have passed, and I still can’t forget that day. I sat up in bed, checked my phone. It was only 4 AM. Staring at the empty room, I whispered, “Dad, Mom…” Just like always, there was no response. 八年… They haven’t come to visit me in my dreams even once. My dreams are only filled with Tyler Cole, that smirk on his lips, that mocking look in his eyes, laughing as he asks me: “Have you no shame, Maya?” Every time I scream back that I do, I wake up. I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up and started packing. After numbing myself through their funerals back then, I left that town. I went to a new city, working and studying at the same time. Working to pay for tuition and life was brutal. But I didn’t dare let myself stop. If I stopped, I’d cry. I went to a hospital, and the doctor said I had severe depression. He said I needed someone to help me pull myself out of that day. But there was no one like that… After being gone for eight years, the urge to go back has grown stronger lately. I want to see that river where they jumped. I want to jump in and ask them why they were so heartless. I’m just so tired… Since I was going back anyway, I decided I wasn’t against seeing my old classmates. So when the class president asked if I was coming to the reunion, I was the first to say yes. I haven’t spoken in that group chat in eight years. I’d deleted all their contacts, too. Including Tyler’s. 05 I bought a ticket for the earliest high-speed train. I felt lighter than I had in years. In eight years, not a single day had felt this peaceful. I looked at the scenery outside the window, smiling as I chatted with the young couple in the seats next to me. The girl said, “You have no idea how hard I had to chase him. So many girls wanted him, but I stuck it out for two years. Now, I’m taking him home to meet my parents!” “Are you so happy because you’re going home to see your parents, too, sweetie? I feel like the air itself gets sweeter on the way to see them.” I was silent for a moment, then forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m going home, too.” “Home… to see my parents.” I whispered the last part so softly only I could hear. But those words made me happy. I was going to… see my parents soon. I hummed a song the whole way there. After getting off the train, I went straight to the place the class president had booked. 06 Most people were already there by the time I arrived. As soon as I walked in, the room went dead silent. I casually took a seat in the chair closest to the door. I let the smile slide off my face. The class president adjusted his glasses to break the silence. “Maya, you made it?” I nodded. Brittany, a girl who always hated me in school, let out a sarcastic snort. “Wow, if it isn’t the valedictorian herself, Maya Evans. Hardest person to get a hold of. Seeing your face makes me lose my appetite. Someone should give Tyler a heads-up so he doesn’t show up today…” No one knew the real reason I dropped out back then. But they all knew I liked Tyler, and that I’d given him a gift. The girl sitting next to Brittany nudged her to stop. The class president frowned. “Brittany, shut up. Tyler’s been looking for Maya for eight years. He’ll just be happy she’s here.” Brittany laughed out loud. “Tyler’s a nice guy, okay? Everyone knows you have to apologize even if you just reject someone… “He’s been looking for her for eight years just so he can apologize. “Is it a crime not to like someone? Everyone knows Maya transferred school because Tyler humiliated her. You make it sound like Tyler actually liked her. “Doesn’t Tyler have a girl he likes now? I heard she’s rich and beautiful. What’s Maya got going for her, besides being pretty? A crippled dad? A house that’s literally falling apart? “Give me a break…” Brittany was getting cruel, and the others were starting to look uncomfortable. I stood up, my expression completely calm. Not angry. “I’m not staying to eat, so you don’t have to worry about your appetite, Brittany. I just came to see everyone. Now that I have, I’m going.” With that, I pulled open the door and walked out. The class president ran out after me. He grabbed my hand, looking intense. “Tyler really has been looking for you for eight years. You aren’t going to wait for him?” Tyler’s face flashed in my mind. So handsome. Such beautiful eyes. But when he looked at me, there was never any emotion in them. Just that smirk on his lips. I shook my head, smiling. “I’m on a tight schedule. When you see him, tell him I’m sorry. Truly… I am so sorry.” The class president froze where he stood. 07 After I left, I bought a lot of ritual spirit money. I burned so much of it at my parents’ graves. Enough to last them a hundred lifetimes. After burning the money, I went back to look at our old house. Everything inside was covered in dust. I didn’t clean it. I didn’t touch anything. I stood by the door for a long time until it was pitch black outside. There are no streetlights in the countryside. I checked my phone; it was almost 11 PM. I called a cab to take me to the锦江 bridge. The river was very peaceful at night. Occasionally, a motorcycle would pass by—delivery guys. I held onto my suitcase and stopped at the edge of the bridge. No one paid me any attention because I had a suitcase. They probably just thought I was tired of walking and was resting. I waited until midnight, until there was not a single person left around. I taped a note to my suitcase, climbed over the railing, and without a second thought, I jumped. In the second I fell, I might have hallucinated, because I thought I heard Tyler’s voice. “Fuck, don’t you dare jump, Maya!” 08 As I lost consciousness, I seemed to see Tyler again, wearing our high school uniform, leaning against the hallway railing under the dim lights. His jacket was loose around his frame, a lollipop hanging from his mouth. He raised an eyebrow, eyes filled with laughter. “Well, if it isn’t the class valedictorian?” I’d heard about Tyler Cole since my freshman year. The girls in class talked about him every single day. He was just that good-looking. His skin was fair, his features sharp and defined. There was something magnetic about him when he smiled—dangerous and alluring. When the classes were reshuffled sophomore year, I ended up in the same class as Tyler. He sat right behind me. After class, a crowd always gathered around him, chattering. I’d never had so many people around me before. I wasn’t used to it, so I’d always grab my water bottle and pretend to go refill it. Truth was, I was just hiding by the back door. And that’s how I heard them talking about me. “What was the advisor thinking? He knows Ty likes hot girls, but the only girl near him is the nerd valedictorian.” “The advisor is brutal. Everyone knows Ty dated a ton of cute girls freshman year. Now, he’s cutting him off. Maya doesn’t even count as a girl.” “Honestly, Ty, I have never seen anyone as plain as Maya. Who still wears those tiny, thin-rimmed glasses? Her bangs are so long they cover her face, and her uniform is always done up perfectly. She looks like a total grandma.” “Ty, you wouldn’t actually be interested in her, would you?” That question was followed by a burst of laughter. “Fuck off.” That was Tyler’s voice. It had that roughness of puberty, but it was nice. Then, he let out a short laugh. “Me? Tyler Cole? Do you really think my standards are that low?” I froze. I looked down at my scuffed sneakers and uniform pants, and suddenly felt a profound sense of humiliation. I kept my head down until they finished talking before silently going back to my seat. 09 My seat never felt like mine after class. There was always a constant stream of girls coming to see Tyler. And Tyler never turned anyone away. Later, the school added a mandatory swimming class. We had to order swimsuits—they were $180 a set. Before class ended, the teacher told me: “The valedictorian will handle collecting the money.” Brittany let out a quiet laugh and raised her hand. “Teacher, everyone knows Maya’s family is poor. Is it really a good idea to trust her with all that money?” My hands clenched under my desk. Brittany had hated me since freshman year. I didn’t expect to be in the same class with her again sophomore year. I usually lived by the rule of not making trouble, so I was about to tell the teacher to have someone else do it. Just then, a hand with long, elegant fingers appeared in front of my face. “Here, valedictorian.” I looked up. Tyler was looking down at me. His eyes were stunning. I was dazed for a moment. Maybe I stared too long, because the guy next to Tyler nudged him, smirking. “Well, looks like another one’s hooked.” That snapped me out of it. Tyler suddenly leaned in close. My pupils dilated. He smiled, a charming, dangerous look. He whispered right in my ear: “I know I’m hot, but valedictorian… “You are not my type.” I lowered my eyes, took the money from his hand, turned back to my desk, and nodded. “I know.” Tyler seemed stunned for a second. He raised an eyebrow. “Good. Stick to your books, nerd.” With that, Tyler stood up, grabbed his basketball, and walked out of the classroom. 10 The others didn’t hear what Tyler said to me. They just knew Tyler had stepped in for me. So they all handed me their money. Brittany gave me hers reluctantly, giving me a warning look. “Stay away from Tyler. Take a look at your own family before you go dreaming. You’re completely out of your league.” I ignored her, quietly collected all the money, and then used my own lunch money to pay for my swimsuit set. After counting the money and making sure it was all there, I immediately handed it in to the teacher. By the time I was done, it was lunchtime, and most people were already eating. I took a bun out of my bag and started eating it in the empty classroom. My head was spinning, trying to figure out where to find a part-time job to make up for my lunch money. If I asked my parents, they would give it to me, but I didn’t want to. While I was halfway through eating, Tyler walked in. He looked surprised to see me. I just glanced at him once before lowering my eyes and continuing to eat my bun. Tyler walked straight to his seat. Suddenly, he poked me. His voice was rough. “Done eating, nerd?” I shoved the last two bites of the bun into my mouth, turned around, and nodded silently. He leaned sideways, lifting his uniform shirt. His waist had a massive scrape that was still seeping blood. He tilted his head, smiling at me. “Help me put some medicine on this, will you?” I chewed the bun quickly and nodded. “Okay.” I walked over to his side and crouched down. I looked at the medicine bottle he took out of his pocket and frowned. “Why didn’t you buy iodine? Alcohol is going to hurt like hell.” Tyler let out a soft laugh. “Real men aren’t afraid of pain.” As soon as he said that, I soaked a cotton ball in alcohol and dabbed it onto his wound. “Hiss—” I looked up at Tyler. “Real man?” Tyler looked down at me, stunned for a second. Then he laughed. “Valedictorian, your eyelashes are really long.” It was an absolutely careless, casual comment. I knew that. I lowered my eyes, but my hand got a little heavier with the cotton ball. Tyler didn’t make a sound, but his abs were rock hard, showing just how much pain he was in. He finally couldn’t take it anymore. He said through gritted teeth: “Fuck, that hurts… be gentle.” I paused, and without thinking, I gently blew air onto the wound. After I did it, I froze. Tyler froze, too. Then, neither of us said another word. 11 After I put the medicine on Tyler, we went back to being like strangers. After class, I’d even see him walking different girls back to their dorms. There was a massive tree right in front of our dorm building. Tyler and one girl were standing under that tree. The girl was gorgeous—a senior. She stood on her tiptoes, pouting at Tyler. Just as Tyler leaned down, he suddenly glanced over in my direction. I immediately turned my head away. Tyler shifted his gaze. He just leaned down, pinched the girl’s cheek, smiled, and walked away. For some reason, I always found myself paying a little more attention to Tyler. Lying on my dorm bed, I thought about it and finally came to a conclusion. I just liked his face. It was nice just looking at him. Later, whenever I ran into Tyler with other girls, I’d immediately walk somewhere I couldn’t see him. Or I’d walk far behind them, keeping my head down. I figured that way I wouldn’t offend him. The next time Tyler got hurt, he came to find me holding the medicine bottle. It was his arm this time. He leaned one arm on my desk, raised his injured arm, blinked at me, and said, “Valedictorian…” I’d just picked up the medicine when I saw that senior girl walking toward us. I shot up from my seat so fast my head slammed into Tyler’s chin. “Hiss—Nerd, you don’t have to headbutt me just because you’re happy to see me. What if I get a concussion…” He reached out his hand toward my head. I backed up, dodging his hand. Seeing the senior girl getting closer, I hurriedly bowed to Tyler and ran off. Tyler was left standing there, his expression hard to read.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “402453”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Cole Sterling was known throughout the city as a notorious playboy. He treated every single one of his girlfriends exceptionally well. Whatever they wanted, he gave them. Except marriage. Everyone knew that he had never gotten over his first love. That was why he could never take that final step with any other girl. By the fifth month of our relationship, my parents were pressuring me heavily to settle down. I had no choice but to say goodbye. “I heard your first love is moving back. Congratulations.” He just smiled. “Yeah.” That very night, his friends threw him a “Welcome Back to the Bachelor Life” party. It was a massive, loud affair. Someone inevitably brought me up: “Hey Cole, I think I just saw Maya. She was with some guy, pretty good-looking too.” As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire room started gossiping, the noise level rising. But Cole suddenly snapped. He crushed his cigarette into the ashtray and sneered: “She was the one who said she wanted to be together, and she’s the one who asked for the breakup. “Does she really think she gets to have it both ways?” 01 When Cole and I first got together, his friends actually placed bets on us. The stakes were high. They were betting on whether our relationship would last longer than a month. His family was incredibly wealthy and his reputation preceded him. When I first met him, my roommate warned me: “The Sterlings aren’t just rich, they’re old money. They aren’t people you want to mess with.” “But Cole is a bit different. I hear he’s actually really easy to date. He never loses his temper with girls, and he always ends things amicably with every ex.” She wasn’t exaggerating. But between us, it wasn’t really a matter of who chased who. I was in my second year of grad school, working on a research project for my advisor. I desperately needed a specific, out-of-print English textbook, and it was impossible to find. I posted on countless academic forums, but it was like shouting into the void. Just as I was about to give up, someone finally replied. The tone was a mix of playful arrogance and genuine helpfulness— [My grandfather actually has a copy of that in his library. Contact me if you still need it. Consider it my good deed for the day.] I messaged him immediately. Afterward, to thank him, we hung out a couple of times. We got along surprisingly well. The last time we saw each other, he stood under a streetlamp, looking impossibly handsome. He raised an eyebrow, as if a thought had just occurred to him, and asked: “Are we going to see each other again?” Again. Would there be an again? Seasons change, years pass, would we actually cross paths again? The moonlight was cold, the evening was perfect. Saying “no” felt like it would ruin the moment. Guided by some inexplicable impulse, I smiled, refusing to be outdone, and asked: “I heard you’re really easy to date. Is that true?” He looked at me, a smile breaking across his face: “Why don’t you try and find out?” When you’re young and haven’t experienced much of the world, meeting someone like him—confident, effortless, and undeniably powerful—makes you instinctively want to get closer. Besides, I had actually seen him long before that. It was right after I first moved to this city. I got my purse snatched at the bus station. I had absolutely nothing on me. After filing the police report, I walked out into a pouring rainstorm. I was miserable, broke, and crying hysterically. He drove past in his car, slowed down, and casually called out: “Where are you headed? I can give you a ride.” Naturally, I was too scared to get into a stranger’s car. He was patient, though. He didn’t push, just gently tried to reassure me: “I’m not a bad guy. Trust me this once. Stop crying, okay?” I had always wanted to thank him for that day, but I never saw him again. In a city with millions of people, crossing paths even once, let alone actually speaking, is incredibly rare. Not long after that night under the streetlamp, we started dating. When my roommate found out, she was shocked for a few days before finally saying: “Dating a guy like him… it must feel pretty amazing, right? But I heard none of his relationships last longer than two weeks. “Just enjoy it while it lasts. Live in the moment.” I said, Yeah, live in the moment. People are always naive at some point. Back then, I thought dating was simple: you just followed your heart. When I loved him, I didn’t care about his past; I only wanted a future with him. But later, I realized that wasn’t how it worked. Take that bet, for example. Everyone knew Cole’s girlfriends never lasted more than two weeks. Why did those rich trust-fund kids bet on one month for me? It was a long time before I found out. I learned that the extra two weeks were because my face… slightly resembled his first love. 02 Most of the people who bet against us lost a lot of money. Because, to everyone’s absolute shock, Cole and my relationship was fantastic. It was very different from his past flings. He was surprisingly proactive. He sought me out every single day, whether for lunch or dinner. There was a period where I was swamped with midterms, and he would just wait for me at the campus gates. Sometimes he’d wait for over an hour. I felt terrible and told him I’d take him out for a nice dinner to make up for it. He just tugged on my sleeve, suppressing a smile: “Your boyfriend wants to eat at the dining hall.” He paused, then asked for my permission: “Is that okay?” Honestly, I knew what he was doing. He didn’t want me to have to commute back and forth just to eat. I had heard rumors about him from his college days—he was incredibly snobby and absolutely refused to eat dining hall food. The young master of the Sterling family had the capital to look down on everything. We never broke up, and our relationship was so good it genuinely shocked people. By our third month together, he rented an apartment right near my campus. We spent more and more time together. He even set up a home theater in the apartment. Whenever we had free time, we’d curl up on the couch and watch movies. He didn’t actually care for the movies I picked, but I loved them. He would patiently watch them with me from beginning to end. If we watched one I particularly loved, he would even take notes and write serious reviews for me to read. His grandfather was a renowned artist, and Cole had studied under him for a few years, so he was quite talented. During those days, he would occasionally sketch me. There was one sketch, in particular, that left a deep impression on me—a girl standing under an oak tree, clutching a stack of books to her chest, her features delicate, her smile bright and pure. But I always wanted to ask him: when we first met, I was so introverted and shy. When had I ever smiled that brightly? Then came a late night. It was our first time. I was struggling with my thesis research, and when he found out, he patiently guided me through the confusing parts. He tapped my waist lightly, his posture relaxed: “Make sense now?” I had a sudden “aha” moment and excitedly threw my arms around him in a tight hug. He looked at me, his eyes slowly darkening. Finally, he leaned forward, pressing me down. His lips moved slightly, feeling cold against mine. He was a little nervous, but maintaining his usual casual facade, gripping my hand tightly: “Maya.” “Mhm.” Halfway through, his voice low and raspy, he brought up that sketch. He said: “The first time we met, you were standing right there. I wanted to take a picture of you so badly.” I laughed, kissing his neck, implying: “Did you say this to all your other girlfriends, too?” Whispering sweet nothings in the middle of passion, reminiscing about the moment we met. He clicked his tongue, pressing against me with a rogueish grin: “Go out and ask around. Which one of them ever made it to this step with me?” The ambiguity flowed silently between us. By the end, I couldn’t laugh anymore. I was held tightly in his arms, crying softly. September in the city was beautiful, the autumn colors crisp and clear. Videos of tourists going to the mountains to pray for good fortune were all over social media. I begged him to go with me. He stayed up for several nights straight to finish his work projects, just to clear his schedule for a day to go with me. On the winding mountain paths, he held my hand tightly, walking up hundreds of stone steps, watching my every move, terrified I’d trip and fall. But later, after I left him, I realized… in a lifetime, who doesn’t stumble and fall eventually? Back then, I really, truly loved him. 03 When did things start to change? I think it was when I saw that photo. It was our fifth month together. Cole had a massive social circle, and for his birthday, everyone was going all out to celebrate. They started planning it weeks in advance. I was on break at the time, so I helped out with the preparations. Because we spent so much time together, his friends never filtered their conversations around me. Slowly, I learned that Cole had actually put his heart on the line for a girl once. He had seriously proposed, carefully picked out a ring, and booked a venue for an engagement party. But in the end, because of a minor misunderstanding, the girl felt he didn’t love her enough. They had a massive fight, both were exhausted, and she angrily left the country. He didn’t try to stop her, and they broke up just like that. They had almost gotten married. After hearing the whole story, someone showed me a photo, totally unapologetic: “Honestly, you do look a bit like Chloe. If you didn’t, we wouldn’t have bet on you in the first place.” In the photo, Chloe was smiling brightly. She looked exactly like the girl in the sketch, standing under the oak tree. When I first learned about the bet, I just thought they were bored rich kids. But looking at it now, I realized the only truly stupid person in this situation was me. Everyone knew that he had never gotten over his breakup with his first love. He still tracked her every move. Every year on her birthday, he would send someone across the world to deliver the most expensive, exquisite jewelry. If she ran into any trouble over there, someone would quickly relay the message to him. And no matter what, he would fly out there and quietly solve everything for her. He wouldn’t let her know, he wouldn’t contact her, but he also hadn’t let her go. Only I was naive enough to believe that to him, I was actually someone special. Finally, someone joked: “Ever since Chloe left, Cole’s been cycling through girlfriends constantly. We all guess he’s just doing it to force her to come back.” Everyone in the room laughed. Cole finished his phone call and walked back in. He sat next to me, gently squeezing my hand, and let out a low chuckle: “What are you guys talking about? You look so happy.” I looked at him, an icy chill spreading through my heart, and said numbly: “They’re talking about your first love.” He froze, a rare moment of distraction crossing his face. In the end, he never even said her name. He just said dismissively: “What’s there to talk about?” That was the first time I seriously considered breaking up with him. Honestly, I should have thanked his friends for not keeping me in the dark. It was precisely because they didn’t care about my feelings that they told me all this, waking me up so I could see the reality of the situation. It made me realize that I was just a passing tourist in Cole’s life. I was just a tool he was using to love someone else. 04 After that day, I faintly felt that something had shifted between me and Cole. But neither of us brought up Chloe. He showed absolutely no intention of explaining anything to me. He became even more generous with me. He took me to exclusive charity auctions, and if I so much as glanced at an item for more than a second, it would be delivered to me shortly after. I forget who told me. They said Cole treated every single ex-girlfriend exceptionally well. When they broke up, he was never stingy. Whatever they wanted, he gave them—whether it was cash or career connections. It almost felt like a transaction: money for services rendered. The night before his birthday, he had someone deliver two transfer deeds to me. A luxury condo, and a high-end sports car. When I received them, my fingertips went ice cold. My hands were shaking as I called him. He answered almost immediately. I pretended everything was normal and asked: “Giving me such a huge gift right before your birthday… don’t you feel like you’re losing out?” “Losing out on what? I like you. I want to treat you well,” he replied, his tone slightly elevated, laced with a smile. It sounded like the sweet teasing of a couple deeply in love. I dug my nails into my palms, forcing myself to stay calm. “These things are too expensive. This is practically a dowry.” He was silent for a long time. I pressed my lips together, tears falling silently. Finally, his voice paused slightly, before he said casually: “Maya. “Stop overthinking things. Go to sleep early. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night.” Was I supposed to believe him? That he was doing all this because he liked me, and not because he was preparing to break up with me? 05 The next day, Cole picked me up as promised. As soon as we arrived at the venue, his phone rang. He stared at the string of numbers on the screen for a long time before letting go of my hand: “Go on inside first. I need to take this call.” For a man like him to actually hesitate like that… I said okay. After walking inside, I found a random spot to sit down. Not long after, some guys came in from outside. “It’s freezing out there. Who is Cole on the phone with?” “Who else? Chloe. I caught the end of it—sounds like she’s moving back in a few days.” “Seriously? Cole must be absolutely thrilled.” When a story of people waiting years for each other finally gets a happy ending, everyone is happy for them, regardless of who it is. Someone finally sighed: “After all this time, the person by Cole’s side is still Chloe.” It’s just that in moments like this, when everyone is reminiscing about the past and getting emotional about their deep connection, it made me—the current, official girlfriend—feel incredibly superfluous. Like an outsider. When Cole came inside, they had stopped talking about it. He kept his lips pressed in a tight line, his expression dark, hiding a subtle trace of irritation. But when he saw me, he masked those emotions. He walked over, squeezed my hand, and smiled: “Having fun? You’re going to help me cut the cake later.” I said okay. After cutting the cake, I would initiate the breakup. Keep it dignified and complete. After this, we truly wouldn’t see each other again. 06 In the end, I didn’t get to cut the cake with him. Because not long after he said that, someone from outside brought in a gift. It was sent by Chloe. It was an extremely expensive luxury watch. The exact brand Cole always wore. Ironically, my gift was also a watch. But I couldn’t afford that brand; I had bought the best one I could within my budget. Cole had only glanced at the one I gave him before having someone put it away. But the one from Chloe, he stared at it for a long time. So long that the knuckles of his hand gripping the watch strap turned white. His gaze was deep and complex. Finally, he lifted his hand and put the watch on. Someone took a picture and sent it to their group chat, saying that “Little Chloe” had great taste, and it was no wonder Cole hadn’t been able to forget her after all these years. I wasn’t originally supposed to see this, but a girl sitting next to me—Cole’s cousin—was probably too excited and didn’t check who was sitting next to her. She grabbed my arm, squealed, and shoved her phone in my face. “Look, they’re so perfect together.” On the screen, Chloe had replied: [As long as he likes it. You guys keep an eye on him for me, don’t let him drink too much.] And then people started cheering and clapping. I was pushed to the very back of the crowd. I clapped along with them. At the very bottom of the gift box, there was a card. The handwriting was elegant: [Though we are far apart, our hearts know each other. The distance between us means nothing.] Cole froze slightly, his hand gripping the card going stiff. Then, for some reason, as if he remembered something, his expression suddenly turned frantic. He looked up, scanning the room, until his gaze finally locked onto me through the crowd. I gave him a calm smile and mouthed: “Happy Birthday.” Only then did he seem to let out a sigh of relief, but he didn’t ask me to cut the cake with him anymore. He had a lot of friends, and they partied hard. It didn’t take long for him to get completely wasted. No one was paying attention to me, so I just watched from the sidelines. When it was over, his friends helped him upstairs. I didn’t follow them. I decided to just leave. A breakup didn’t necessarily have to be done face-to-face. As I was heading for the door, one of his close friends chased after me. He looked around until he found me, then shoved a hotel key card into my hand. He spoke hurriedly: “Cole is waiting for you in the penthouse suite. Go up and keep him company.” I knew this guy. His name was Julian. He was Cole’s best friend, and out of all the guys in his circle, he was the one I was most familiar with. But honestly, he looked down on me too. He had always firmly believed that I was no different from Cole’s past girlfriends—just a fling that wouldn’t last, someone he’d never truly care about. The real love of his life was coming back. What good was a cheap knockoff? 07 I didn’t take the key card. Over the loud music, I spoke: “Tell him, whatever was between us… it ends right here.” Julian looked shocked, like he hadn’t heard me clearly. The hand holding the key card twitched: “What did you say?” I patiently repeated it, word for word. Julian frowned, staring at me for a moment: “Are you serious? You know how he operates. Once it’s over, there’s no taking it back.” He never got back together with an ex. Except for Chloe. Because he was always waiting for her. I nodded, my voice firm: “I know.” He pressed his lips together, looking at me: “No, but… you guys were doing so well, why suddenly…” He stopped halfway through his sentence, as if he suddenly realized something. He didn’t ask any further questions. He just nodded: “Alright, fine. You can go. But don’t forget to get all your stuff out of his apartment. “It wouldn’t be good if Chlo… if someone saw it.” I laughed softly: “Okay.” I moved quickly. That very night, I packed up everything I had left at his place and took it with me. He had given me a lot of things. I didn’t take any of it. I also left the two transfer deeds right where I found them, untouched. Since I had decided to break up, taking that stuff would only be emotional baggage, a constant reminder of what I had lost. After I got back to campus, I didn’t think about anything. I just went to sleep. I slept for a long time. When I woke up, I checked my phone. I saw a message from Cole. Just one. It was sent at 10 PM last night. I was probably talking to Julian right around that time, and then rushing to pack my things, so I hadn’t checked my phone. He said: [Come upstairs.] 08 I checked the time. It was already 2 PM. I hadn’t replied for that long, and I hadn’t gone to see him. If this had happened before last night, knowing Cole’s temper, he definitely would have called me or come looking for me himself. But right now, absolutely nothing had happened. It seemed Julian had already delivered my message. A man like him, who seemed so warm and affectionate on the surface, was actually completely emotionally detached at his core. Since I had initiated the breakup, and it was exactly what he wanted anyway, he naturally had no objections. He wouldn’t say anything more, let alone try to convince me to stay. My life returned to exactly how it was before I met Cole. I received a call from my mom. I was living alone in the city, and she worried about me constantly. Every few days, she’d try to set me up on a blind date. She just wanted me to find someone good to settle down with. After hanging up, she sent me a few phone numbers. [Make sure you add them. If you find someone you click with, give it a try.] I said I would, but I still didn’t add them. My roommate sighed and tried to advise me: “Why do this to yourself? A guy like Cole is probably going to have a new girlfriend by next week. You need to move on with your own life, don’t you?” I said it wasn’t because of him. I just felt that rebounding immediately into a new relationship because the last one didn’t work out was irresponsible to myself. I wouldn’t always meet the wrong people. I would get married eventually. I would find someone I truly loved, who loved me back. But I thought… just not right now. When I was eighteen and just starting grad school, the thought of meeting someone new felt impossible. But now, it seemed so easy. After the breakup, I thought Cole and I would never see each other again. But coincidence is a funny thing. I was out shopping with a friend, and as we walked out of the mall, I ran into Cole and another guy. He was dressed very formally, like he had just come from a corporate event—sharp suit, radiating that faint cedarwood cologne scent. It was a different brand than the one he used to wear. The moment our eyes met, he smiled calmly at me, gave a slight nod, and then looked away, continuing his conversation with the guy next to him. I suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over me. So this is what an amicable breakup looks like. He treats me the exact same way he treats everyone else. No fighting, no accusations, no lingering resentment. When we meet, we’re still polite acquaintances. We just walked past each other. But as I reached the crosswalk on the other side of the street, I suddenly got a phone call. It was from Cole. I was wearing a heavy trench coat. I adjusted the scarf around my neck against the biting wind, and declined the call. But less than two minutes later, he called again. I didn’t answer, and he just kept calling. Finally, I answered and said: “Mr. Sterling.” There was silence on the other end for a long time. Just as I was about to hang up, I heard him say: “Look up.” 09 Across the street, I looked at the man standing there. I couldn’t see his face clearly, nor could I tell what expression he was wearing at that exact moment. He had his hands in his pockets, looking back at me. I asked: “What do you want to say?” His voice was a little raspy. After a long pause, he spoke: “Why?” I thought for a second, then replied: “Why did I break up with you?” He gave a soft “mhm.” I felt a little baffled. A man as smart as him, who saw things so clearly… his friends all understood it perfectly. How could he possibly be asking ‘why’? I didn’t really want to get into it with him, so I gave a generic excuse: “My family wants me to get married, and they’re pressuring me a lot.” His voice faltered slightly. A few seconds later, he asked: “Just because of that?” I sighed: “Yeah.” He seemed to be contemplating something. After a moment, he spoke again: “I could marry you…” I cut him off, too exhausted to keep doing this: “I already have someone I’m planning to marry. “I heard your first love is moving back. Congratulations.” He went silent. I heard the click of a lighter on his end. After a moment, he let out a short laugh: “Yeah.” Then, he asked another question, as if just trying to fill the silence: “All the things I gave you… you didn’t take any of them. Did you not like them? Tell me what you like, and I’ll have someone send you something else.” I sighed: “There’s no need. “We shouldn’t contact each other anymore. Let’s just leave things on a good note. “Goodbye.” With that, I hung up the phone. I didn’t look at him again; I just turned and walked away. On the way home, I blocked his number and all his social media accounts. 10 That afternoon, a group of us from my program went out to dinner with our advisor. Halfway through the meal, he suddenly took a phone call: “I need to step out and grab someone. He’s technically your senior. He just got back from overseas, and he happened to be having dinner nearby.” A few minutes later, the door to the private dining room was pushed open. I looked up and saw the man standing in the doorway. He stood tall, exuding an air of effortless elegance. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up halfway as he greeted us. The people next to me started whispering immediately: “Oh my god, it’s Ethan. I can’t believe he’s back in the states.” “I heard he’s incredibly brilliant. He’s made a huge name for himself internationally at such a young age, won a ton of awards. He’s the professor’s star pupil.” “Never mind all that, he is so handsome.” The atmosphere in the room was great. I smiled along with everyone else. For some reason, he looked a little familiar. Not long after he left, my phone vibrated on the table. The screen lit up with a WhatsApp message. Ethan: [Don’t remember me?] It was weird, I hadn’t even saved his contact info, but I remembered instantly. Back then, right after I started grad school, I went to a concert with a friend. When it ended, we were walking out together but got separated by the massive crowd. I was rushing to find her, turned around too fast, crashed into someone, and sprained my ankle. The guy helped me up, told me in a deep voice not to move, and immediately took me to the emergency room, even covering my medical bills. I felt terrible. It was entirely my fault, yet I had made a stranger spend hours dealing with my mess. So, when we left the hospital, I asked for his contact information. After Venmoing him the money, I blurted out: “There sure are a lot of good Samaritans in this city. And they’re all really good-looking.” He asked: “Oh? Have you met other good Samaritans?” I said: “Yeah, but I never saw him again after that.” The man thought for a moment: “I know a lot of people. Maybe I can help you find him.” But I thought about it for a long time and didn’t even know how to describe Cole. In the end, I decided against it. He smiled, his demeanor calm, intellectual, and reserved: “Alright then. I hope the next time we meet, you’ll have found what you’re looking for.” I chatted with Ethan on WhatsApp for a bit. As we were wrapping up the conversation, I thought for a moment and asked him: [Are you free tonight? I’d love to buy you dinner, to say thank you.] He said he was. We quickly settled on a time and a restaurant.

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After the college entrance exams, my niece’s diary went viral. It was titled: The Pain of Living Under Another’s Roof. Right at the start of senior year, my niece moved into our house. To make her feel less awkward about being a guest, I occasionally let her help out with some light, manageable chores. When graduation rolled around, she and my daughter both got accepted into Harvard. The local news stations were practically fighting each other to interview me, asking for my secret to raising two brilliant scholars. Just as I was happily sharing my parenting tips on camera… My niece pulled out a diary. The contents? The Pain of Living Under Another’s Roof. My niece became an overnight internet sensation, a symbol of resilience. Meanwhile, I was doxxed, dragged through the mud, and relentlessly cyberbullied by a furious mob of netizens. “Auntie, my parents sent you money for my living expenses every single month. Why did I have to live like a terrified mouse in your house? You deserve everything that’s happening to you.” In the end, because of a “slip of the tongue” where she revealed my location, a group of “righteous” vigilantes cornered me by the river. I was pushed in and drowned. When I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn. I was right back to the moment my husband’s brother dropped my niece off at our house. Heh. The pain of living under another’s roof, huh? In this life, you’re going to experience exactly what it means to actually live under someone else’s roof. 1 “Sis, we’re counting on you. I mean, since Chloe is going to the same high school as Mia for senior year, taking care of one kid is the same as taking care of two, right? I’ll wire her living expenses to your card every month. Thanks for stepping up.” I stared at the familiar text message from my brother-in-law on my phone, and then at the bank notification that had just popped up: $100.00 deposit received. I had finally confirmed it. I was reborn. Looking at that $100, I couldn’t help but laugh. They really had it all figured out. Because my daughter, Mia, was entering her crucial senior year, and I had a flexible freelance job, I had rented an apartment right next to the high school so she wouldn’t have a long commute. When my husband’s brother and his wife found out, they used the excuse of “having to go out of state for work” to dump their daughter, Chloe, at my place. Then, they claimed they would send me $100 a month for her “living expenses.” I knew damn well that $100 wouldn’t even cover a teenager’s groceries for the month. Let alone all the extra expenses a high school girl has. But I had watched this kid grow up since she was a baby. How could I possibly say no? And just like that, my niece, Chloe, moved into my house. I was so worried she would feel like a burden. I told her that her parents were sending me money for her expenses every month, but I intentionally never told her exactly how much they were sending. I just wanted her to treat this place like her own home. Whatever I bought for my daughter, I bought the exact same thing for her. From small things like stationery and pens, To big things like pocket money and expensive SAT prep courses. I never once made her feel like she was getting less than my biological daughter. In the beginning, she proactively offered to do chores, but I always refused. Later, I worried that rejecting her help would make her feel useless and hurt her pride, so I agreed to let her do some light chores that didn’t take up too much of her study time. When both girls eventually got into Harvard, I was beyond thrilled. I thought all my exhausting effort and care had finally paid off. I never imagined it was all just my own wishful thinking. I had raised an absolute snake in the grass. Thinking about how I was cyberbullied by the entire internet and ultimately murdered in my past life… This time, I absolutely would not let my bleeding heart get the better of me. 2 “Auntie, what did my dad say to you?” Chloe craned her neck, leaning right into my personal space. She was trying so hard to see my text history with her dad. In my past life, I was terrified that knowing her deadbeat parents only sent $100 would crush her, so I immediately locked my phone screen to hide the messages. But because of that, she assumed I was trying to hide how much money her parents were sending. She convinced herself I was embezzling thousands of dollars from her parents to spend on myself and my daughter. After the massive fallout following graduation… I only found out the truth from my daughter. Chloe used to call her parents constantly, crying about how terribly she was being treated at my house. Her parents, in turn, would furiously curse me out behind my back. They told Chloe that they were sending me “so much money for living expenses,” yet I was still treating their precious daughter horribly. Of course, they conveniently never mentioned that their so-called “living expenses” amounted to a pathetic $100. After cursing me out, they would tell Chloe that living in someone else’s house was just like that, and tell her to just endure it until graduation. Remembering all this, I didn’t lock my screen this time. I shoved the phone right in her face so she could see exactly what kind of people her parents were. “Look. Your parents dumped you at my house, but they only sent $100. That doesn’t even cover a fraction of the rent for one person.” It was true. $100 wouldn’t even cover the utility bill. Because this was a premium apartment in a top-tier school district, the rent was almost $4,000 a month. If we split it per person, her share of the rent alone should have been over $1,300. But she had lived here for free for a whole year, completely oblivious, and in the end, she had zero gratitude. Next, I started laying it on thick. “The rent in this school district is insane, you know? It’s almost $4,000 a month. I don’t know what your parents are thinking, sending $100. That won’t even cover your groceries for two weeks.” She was just a teenager, after all. Hearing this, her face instantly turned beet red. “Auntie, I don’t eat that much.” My daughter, Mia, stood behind me and subtly tugged on my sleeve, signaling that maybe I was being a bit too harsh. I patted Mia’s hand, turned back to Chloe, and continued: “Regardless, I’m your aunt. I won’t ask you for the rent money. Every month, you just eat what we eat. But as for anything else, you shouldn’t expect it.” “I understand, Auntie.” Watching my niece lower her head looking so pitiful, honestly, my heart softened for a second. But wasn’t it exactly this pathetic, innocent act that completely fooled me in my past life? It’s true what they say: experience is a better teacher than character. Even if she ended up getting into the best college in the country, it couldn’t change the rotten, entitled nature deep in her bones. 3 School started. And very quickly, the first major event that turned me into a massive sucker in my past life occurred. Whether it was my past life or this one, I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. As parents, how could you not even pay your own child’s tuition? Were they seriously expecting someone else to just cover it? In my past life, I had paid my daughter’s tuition online via the school portal. I had absolutely no idea that my niece’s tuition hadn’t been paid. It wasn’t until Chloe’s homeroom teacher called me into the school that I found out. That’s right—my brother-in-law and his wife had simply listed my contact information as the primary guardian on her school forms. When I rushed to the school that day, I saw my niece standing in the faculty office with her head bowed. Even though it was entirely her parents’ fault, she looked like she had committed some massive crime. My heart broke for her. I immediately pulled out my card and paid her tuition on the spot. Then, I told her to go back to class and focus on her studies. “Auntie, why didn’t Mia’s homeroom teacher call you in?” Seeing my niece looking so pitiful… How could I possibly tell her, “I already paid Mia’s tuition ages ago. Who would have guessed your deadbeat parents just completely abandoned you?” Terrified that she would grow to hate her parents, I suppressed my fury toward my brother-in-law and patiently explained: “It’s my fault, sweetheart. I paid Mia’s tuition a while ago. Your parents just sent me the money for yours yesterday, and with all the chaos of the first week of school, it completely slipped my mind!” And how did she repay me? In her viral, public diary, she wrote this exact entry: My parents clearly transferred my tuition and living expenses to my aunt ages ago, but she refused to pay the school. It wasn’t until I was publicly humiliated in front of the entire class and the teacher called her in that she reluctantly paid the tuition she should have paid before the semester even started. This tiny incident became a scar I could never forget during my entire senior year. When the second phone call from my niece’s homeroom teacher ended. My phone screen flashed with another missed call notification. I finally, with feigned exasperation, picked it up. “Hello, is this Chloe’s guardian?” “Is something wrong?” “Yes, there’s a situation. I need you to come down to the school immediately.” “I understand.” Even though I still inevitably had to make a trip to the school. This time, I wasn’t in a panic. I took my time getting ready, making sure I looked put-together. Then, I stopped by a nice bakery and bought my daughter’s favorite strawberry shortcake, and ordered a premium boba tea. Senior year is stressful. Having her favorite dessert would definitely help her relax. In my past life, because I was financially supporting two teenagers… And because I had a strict rule that whatever I bought, I had to buy two of… Combined with rent, utilities, and expensive tutoring, my husband and I were under immense financial pressure. So, I rarely bought them unnecessary treats or luxury items. But this time, I absolutely would not treat my niece as an equal. Which meant I no longer had to skimp on treating my own daughter. 4 Taking my sweet time, by the time I strolled into my niece’s homeroom teacher’s office, it had been an hour and a half. As soon as I stepped through the door, my niece and her teacher both stared at me. I casually set the cake and boba on a nearby shelf before walking over. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Davis. I’m running a bit late. Is there a problem?” Perhaps because I took so long to arrive, the teacher was clearly losing patience. Even though he tried to remain professional, his tone was noticeably sharp. “Yes, there’s a problem. Classes have officially started, but the school hasn’t received Chloe’s tuition payment. I assume you were just busy with work and forgot?” “What?!” I covered my mouth with both hands, looking absolutely shocked. My dramatic gasp caused the other teachers in the office to turn their heads and look at us. “Chloe hasn’t paid her tuition?” “Yes, it’s really not good for the student when the guardians are this negligent.” “Mr. Davis, I honestly had no idea! Before she moved here, her parents told her to just show up at my door, and then the two of them skipped town for work. Then they sent me a $100 Venmo and said it was for her ‘living expenses.’ They didn’t send a single cent for anything else! I had absolutely no idea about the tuition.” “Oh, and by the way, Mr. Davis, I am not Chloe’s legal guardian. I’m just her aunt. My daughter is in your AP class.” This high school sorted students into classes based on their standardized test scores. My daughter, whom I had raised and nurtured since birth, scored in the top ten in the entire city on her entrance exams. Naturally, she was placed in the top-tier AP class. Her grades had consistently remained at the top, never dropping once all the way into senior year. Chloe, on the other hand, wasn’t terrible, but she was in the standard-level Class 5. Her grades were mediocre at best. In my past life, to help her improve, I spent countless hours helping her climb from Class 5 all the way into the AP class. I even frequently made my own daughter sacrifice her study time to tutor Chloe and explain difficult concepts to her. When the teacher heard that I was just a relative, and not the guardian… And that my own child was one of the top students in his AP class, his tone instantly softened considerably. “Is that so? I saw your contact information listed as the primary guardian on her student profile, so I naturally called you.” “I understand, Mr. Davis. I’ll call her parents right now.” I had just pulled out my phone. Chloe suddenly tugged hard on my sleeve. “Auntie, didn’t my mom and dad transfer my tuition to you?” “What kind of nonsense are you talking about, child? You saw the chat history with your dad yesterday. He sent exactly $100. That’s not even enough for groceries. Where would I get the money to pay your tuition?” The burning stares from the other teachers in the office were too intense. My niece’s face turned completely crimson. “Could… could you please just pay it for me first? When I go home, I’ll have my parents pay you back.” “Chloe, what are you saying? Tuition for senior year is $12,000. I just paid Mia’s tuition, and I paid the rent and utilities. The rent alone is $36,000 for the year. I honestly don’t have a single extra cent on me right now. All I have is the $100 your parents sent yesterday. Do you want me to give the teacher that $100?” The teacher watched this unfold and clearly understood what was happening. He adjusted his glasses and said to me: “Why don’t you give her parents a call.” “Of course, Mr. Davis. I’m dialing right now.” I swatted away Chloe’s hand, which was desperately clutching my sleeve, and called my brother-in-law on speakerphone. “Hello, Sis.” “Hey, did you guys get so busy you forgot to pay Chloe’s tuition?” “Huh? Sis, isn’t Chloe living at your house right now?” Hearing that, I truly wanted to peel his face off to see how thick his skin was. “Yeah, she is. But look at you two—you dropped her off at my house without even a heads-up. And the rent and utilities? Since I’m her aunt, I didn’t even ask you for a dime. But $100 a month for living expenses? What is she supposed to eat on that? I won’t even get into that right now. But how could you forget something as crucial as her tuition? I’m sitting in the teacher’s office right now. You can explain it to him yourself.” The other side clearly didn’t expect me to be so blunt and publicly call out the $100 living expenses. It took the teacher saying “Hello, Mr. Evans” three times before he finally reacted. “Oh, hi, Mr. Davis. Um, my wife and I are working out of state right now. We left everything regarding Chloe in her aunt’s hands. Could she maybe…” Hearing this, I couldn’t help but interject. “Look, even though she’s not my biological child, I’ve watched her grow up. I want to pay her tuition, too. But I just paid Mia’s tuition, plus rent and utilities. That’s fifty grand gone in a flash. I literally have no money left.” “If you guys can’t afford it either, maybe you should reach out to some other relatives and see if you can borrow it?” The teacher was also very strict. “Mr. Evans, according to school policy, if the tuition is not paid, the student will have to return home and self-study until the balance is cleared before they can return to classes.” “Understood, understood. I’ll wire the tuition to her aunt right now. Mr. Davis, could you put Chloe on the phone?” Chloe trembling took the phone from the teacher’s hand and cautiously whispered, “Dad.” “You worthless brat! All you know how to do is spend my money! I don’t even know how much you’ve cost me since you were born. I’m telling you right now, you better get into a top-tier college, or you’ll be a complete disgrace to me and your mother!” After screaming at her, he immediately hung up the phone. And after I received the transferred tuition from my brother-in-law, I didn’t waste a single second and immediately transferred it to the teacher. 5 As soon as we walked out of the office doors, Chloe finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into tears. “Auntie, I know my parents caused you a lot of trouble by making me stay at your house. I can go live in the dorms, but could you please not treat me like this? Could you please go back to being the nice auntie you used to be?” Looking at her like this, I let out a heavy sigh. “Chloe, it’s not that Auntie wants to be this way. You saw it yourself. Your parents didn’t give me any money, and our family isn’t wealthy either. When you used to come over when you were little, didn’t I always buy two of everything, one for you and one for your cousin? And that gold locket you wear around your neck? I bought that for you when you were born. If I had the money, why wouldn’t I spend it on you? Am I right? The only people you can blame are your parents, not yourself. Sigh… never mind, just go to class.” After a solid dose of guilt-tripping, I sent her off to class. This time, I absolutely wouldn’t give her unconditional, unrewarded devotion like I did in my past life. I had to make sure she knew exactly how good I was to her in the past, and that her parents’ negligence was the reason she was facing humiliation now. Feeling in a great mood after saving twelve thousand dollars, I headed to the AP class to find my daughter. “Mia, I bought you some treats, and here’s a hundred bucks for pocket money. Buy whatever you want on your way home after school.” “What about… my cousin?” “Don’t worry about your cousin.” I thought my daughter would argue with me. But instead, she said, “Mom, actually, I don’t really like my cousin.” “Hmm?” “Before, she always used to ask me to cover for her and lie for her. Plus, she always takes my stuff without asking. And she even steals money from her parents.” I patted my daughter’s head, signaling her not to worry about it. I had always thought my niece was just acting like an ungrateful brat because she was a teenager living in someone else’s house during a stressful senior year. I didn’t realize she was actually rotten to the core. That evening, after we ate dinner at home. My niece proactively offered to wash the dishes. I gave her a lazy, side-long glance, then looked up at the security camera I had installed to prevent any future nonsense. “No need, no need. Auntie will wash them.” “Auntie, I really want to help out with some chores. Please let me wash them, otherwise, I won’t feel right living here.” I nodded, acting hesitant. “Alright. You’ve always been independent. Go ahead, but make sure you study hard after you’re done. Don’t fall behind on your coursework.” After giving her instructions, I took my daughter out to meet with a private tutor. When I let my daughter commute from home for her senior year, it was partly so she could have a better quality of life. But it was also because commuting meant she didn’t have to attend mandatory evening study hall at school, which freed up time for private, one-on-one tutoring. In my past life, considering the immense pressure both girls were under, I enrolled them both in a small group tutoring class. This time, there was no way I was spending my own money to send my niece to tutoring. By saving the money on that second tuition fee, I could afford to hire a high-end, private tutor for my daughter. Targeted, one-on-one tutoring would be much more effective and less stressful for her. When we got back home, my niece hurried out of her room when she heard us. “Auntie, where did you and Mia go?” “Oh, I took Mia to her tutoring session.” Chloe lowered her head, looking noticeably disappointed. “Tutoring? I thought Auntie’s family was completely broke.” I frowned. I had never realized how manipulative she could be before. I knew she was implying: If you have money, why did you refuse to pay my tuition this morning, and why are you only paying for Mia’s tutoring and ignoring me? “Chloe, this tutoring was booked during the summer break before you even moved here. The money was paid a long time ago. Do you want to go too?” “Can I, Auntie?” Seeing her eyes shining brightly at me, I knew exactly what she was scheming, but I pretended not to understand. “Me? What does it matter if I agree? The important thing is whether your parents agree! Hand me my phone, I’ll call them and ask. If they say yes, I’ll send them the tutor’s Venmo info. Once they pay, you can start going tomorrow.” “Ah, no need, Auntie. Actually, the daily homework takes up a lot of time anyway. I don’t need tutoring. I’ll just ask Mia to explain whatever she learns to me.” “Haha, you’re both seniors. Mia is exhausted from school and tutoring. You don’t need to bother her. You can just ask your teachers or classmates the next day.” “Right, right. I’ll go back to studying then.” If I hadn’t seen the resentment in her eyes and her clenched fists, I really would have thought she was as harmless and innocent as she acted. Sigh. She’s just a kid, after all. As long as you stay out of trouble for the rest of your senior year, I won’t nickel and dime you over food and basic necessities. But don’t expect me to spend another extra dime on you. 6 The next few weeks passed relatively peacefully. Until the weekend, when my husband came home from his work trip and quietly pulled me into our bedroom. “Have you been abusing Chloe?” “What?” “Look at these texts my brother and his wife sent me.” I frowned and took his phone. The gist of it was: We only sent her to your house because you’re her flesh-and-blood uncle and aunt. If you didn’t like her, you shouldn’t have agreed to let her stay. You agreed, and now you’re treating the two girls differently. I laughed out loud. “What do they mean, ‘If I didn’t like her, I shouldn’t have agreed’? Did I ever agree? The first morning of the semester, I hear a knock on the door, and boom, your precious niece is standing there with a suitcase! They dumped her on us without asking, and now they’re playing the victims?” “And let’s talk about your wonderful brother. He sent me exactly $100 and expected me to pay her $12,000 tuition! What, does he think I’m a complete idiot?” “Come on, honey, don’t be so harsh. You watched Chloe grow up, didn’t you?” “Don’t give me that bullshit. If you feel so sorry for her, and she wants to go to tutoring, YOU pay for it.” “Where would I get that kind of money? You’re the one handling the finances.” “Exactly! Do you honestly think you make a fortune? Rent, utilities, Mia’s tuition, and tutoring—I paid for all of it. That’s eighty-seven grand right there! Her own parents are too cheap to spend money on her, and I definitely don’t have any extra to throw away.” My husband clearly hadn’t realized that having a senior commuting from home cost that much. And thankfully, I had never told him how much I actually made from my freelance writing. Otherwise, he’d expect to fund two kids in the best school district in the city on his dead-end salary. In his dreams. “Alright, alright. Providing her with food and a roof over her head is more than generous. The rest is her parents’ problem. We shouldn’t worry about it.” With that, I turned to go wash up. Just in time to see my niece’s bedroom door abruptly click shut. She must have heard everything. But I hadn’t said anything wrong. If she heard it, she heard it. 7 The midterm exam results came out. My daughter actually jumped from 23rd in her grade to 9th. Looking at her report card, I was thrilled. This was the first time she had ever broken into the top ten! Everyone knows that the higher your rank, the harder it is to move up. Hiring that top-tier private tutor was definitely worth it. Meanwhile, my niece, without the extra tutoring or my daughter’s help, saw her grades slip. Combined with the fallout from the tuition incident at the start of the year, rumor had it she had become withdrawn and stopped talking to her teachers and classmates. Her rank dropped from the 200s down to the 400s. Right on cue, my husband’s brother called. “Hello.” “Tsk.” With that attitude? I hung up immediately. He called back a moment later, and I casually answered. “Sis, why did you hang up on me?” “I didn’t hear a polite greeting, so I assumed it was a scammer. What do you want?” “Why did my daughter’s grades drop so drastically?” “Bro, I think that’s a question for your daughter. At the end of the day, she’s not focusing on her studies. How is it that halfway through the semester, everyone else is improving, and she’s the only one tanking?” “Sis, I’m only speaking to you politely because you’re my brother’s wife.” Hearing that, I hung up on him again. I watched him call three more times before I finally answered. “If you can’t speak to me with respect, I won’t answer again.” “I just want to know how a kid who was consistently ranking in the 200s during her freshman and sophomore years suddenly drops so low after living at your house for half a semester. You need to take responsibility for this.” “First of all, the academic difficulty spikes dramatically in senior year. A drop in grades is completely normal. Second, if you really think living at my house is the problem, then let her move back into the school dorms.” Honestly, I really hoped she would move back into the dorms. It would make my life so much easier. But I knew for a fact my brother-in-law would never agree. Not only would he have to pay boarding fees, but he’d also have to give her at least $300 a month for food. He was way too cheap for that. “Sis, what are you talking about? I just… I heard Mia’s grades have been great. They’re cousins, right? You should have Mia help her out more. Also, I heard Mia has a private tutor. Why don’t you have the tutor teach both of them? Teaching one is the same as teaching two. You shouldn’t play favorites with the girls.” “Bro, it’s not that I won’t allow it. But the hourly rate for private tutoring is completely different for one student versus two. Do you think a top-tier tutor works for free? If you want Chloe to take the classes, I’ll send you the tutor’s Venmo. You can talk to her yourself. It’s about $1,500. Since you and your wife are both working, I’m sure you wouldn’t cheap out on your daughter’s education.” “Sis, I think you’re just obsessed with money.” This time, before I could hang up, he hung up on me. Heh. I have no idea who he was “hearing” all these rumors from. It’s so hard to guess. Clearly, that little brat Chloe had been running her mouth and “complaining” to her parents. 8 The next day. After breakfast, Chloe stood up and bowed deeply. “Auntie, I’ve been doing the dishes for the past half-semester. But you saw my grades drop. I’m not like Mia; I don’t have a private tutor. So I want to dedicate more time to studying. From now on, I won’t be doing any more chores.” I narrowed my eyes. “That’s fantastic, Chloe. I told you before not to do them, but you insisted. Now that you’re voluntarily stepping back from chores to focus on your studies, that’s absolutely perfect.” After both girls left for school, I pulled out my phone and checked her TikTok account, which I had accidentally discovered a few days ago. In my memory of my past life, my niece did eventually become an influencer riding on her viral fame. But it was after graduation, fueled by that diary. In this life, however, my local feed pushed a video from a creator documenting The Pain of Living Under Another’s Roof. At first, I wasn’t sure it was her. But after scrolling through a few posts, I confirmed it. For example, her entry on the first day of school: Mia and I started school on the same day. My aunt only remembered to pay Mia’s tuition, but she didn’t pay mine. It wasn’t until the teacher called her into the office that she reluctantly paid it. The comments under that post were full of people tearing me to shreds. But there were a couple of logical people asking: Did she not pay because your parents didn’t give her the money, or did they give it to her and she just refused to pay? And her response was incredibly vague: I saw my dad transfer money to her the day before. I just wanted to laugh. Day 7 of school: My aunt buys Mia cakes and boba every single day. If only I wasn’t just staying at her house, I could eat the cakes my mom buys me too. Actually, my aunt doesn’t need to sneak them into Mia’s room. She could just eat them openly. I wouldn’t be upset. Still a sea of hate comments. “How can an aunt not even give a child a piece of cake?” “Is this really necessary? So much for treating them equally. Didn’t you say your parents sent her living expenses? I’m begging you to ask for the money back and live on your own.” “Screw her. With a petty attitude like that, I hope her own kid gets treated the same way someday.” But there were a couple of dissenting voices: “Hold on, it’s her own money. She can buy whatever she wants for her own kid. You make it sound so tragic, but why don’t you just go back to your own house then? Why are you staying there making yourself miserable? And saying you ‘wouldn’t be upset’—then why post about it? Aren’t you just trying to get people to cyberbully your aunt?” “I agree with the comment above. Being a relative is hard these days. I’m sure if your parents gave her enough money, she wouldn’t treat you like this. If they didn’t give her enough, do you expect her to subsidize you out of pocket? Besides, apart from living expenses, did you pay rent? Don’t be a freeloader playing the victim.” I silently liked those two comments and kept scrolling. Day 30 of school: I’m so jealous that Mia doesn’t have to do chores, and she gets private tutoring. I didn’t even bother opening the comment section, but the top comment caught my eye. “Girl, I’ve been following your posts for a while. Your aunt is straight-up abusing you. You need to fight back. Start by refusing to do chores. Tell your parents you refuse to live there anymore. You’d be much better off taking your living expenses and staying in the school dorms.” “Exactly! Fight back! If your aunt tries to force you, just dox her! Post her info and address, and we’ll get justice for you!” My brow furrowed. In my past life, these “righteous” netizens, blind to the truth, were the ones who killed me. Looks like I needed to keep a close eye on this. If she actually dared to dox my real information, she couldn’t blame me for what came next.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “402451”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

During a game of Truth or Dare, I asked Caleb, “If you could do it all over again, would you choose me or Chloe?” Caleb downed a shot of whiskey, his eyes clouding with a strange sense of loss. “I was too broke back then. Chloe would have only suffered if she stayed with me.” So, he chose me. But things were different now. He had money. He had power. He had status. He had built a perfect, gilded cage to protect Chloe. He was even willing to drop to one knee and let her rest her foot on his leg. As for me, he simply didn’t understand. “I already gave you the title of Mrs. Vance. What more do you want?” One Today was my birthday. Caleb asked me what my birthday wish was. I took off my earrings, tossed them aside, and blew out the candles with zero enthusiasm. But then, I clasped my hands together reverently and said with absolute sincerity: “I wish we could get this divorce finalized quickly.” That single sentence stopped Caleb dead in his tracks. The smile on his face, which hadn’t been very bright to begin with, slowly vanished. After a long moment, he sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration. “Are you still mad?” “I rushed all the way back here for you.” “Stop throwing the word ‘divorce’ around so casually. I might actually take you seriously one of these days.” I just looked at him. The exhaustion on his face was obvious. He had just spent a week playing tourist in Scandinavia with Chloe. He must be exhausted. Then, a nine-hour flight. Followed by a non-stop drive straight to the estate, just to see me. He had the staff prepare a cake in advance and ordered the housekeeper to buy fresh groceries. The minute he walked through the door, he personally cooked an entire table of my favorite food. He was so busy rushing to get this done that he hadn’t even changed out of his travel clothes. All just to celebrate my birthday. If he had done this any of the previous years, I would have been crying tears of joy, convinced I was the luckiest woman in the world. But this year was destined to be different. I felt absolutely nothing. In fact, I was a little annoyed. I looked him dead in the eyes, my expression blank: “Divorce. Divorce. Divorce. Did you hear me clearly enough? If not, I can keep saying it. Please, I am begging you to take me seriously.” Caleb’s face turned to stone. He clenched his jaw so tightly I could see the muscles pulsing in his cheek. He violently kicked a chair, the wood scraping harshly against the floor. “Audrey, that’s enough.” “How long are you going to keep throwing this tantrum? Is this fun for you?” He took several deep breaths, trying to force his temper down. “I didn’t miss your birthday. I rushed back to celebrate with you. You’ve made your point. Drop it.” “I’m going upstairs to take a shower. You need to calm down.” With that, he turned and marched upstairs without looking back. I looked at the sickeningly sweet buttercream cake and the still-steaming food on the table, feeling genuinely baffled. Why did he think that rushing back to celebrate my birthday meant a damn thing to me now? My friends had prepared fireworks, top-shelf liquor, and hot guys for me. I could have had a perfect, wild birthday with them. But it was completely ruined by Caleb showing up uninvited. He had played the gentle, devoted gentleman, grabbing my hand firmly in front of everyone. He had smiled politely at my friends and said, “Do you mind if I borrow Audrey for the night?” And then he had aggressively dragged me away. I didn’t struggle. I didn’t fight back. I even kept a smile on my face. Not because I was happy. But because I was so used to maintaining my dignity in public that I instinctively avoided making a scene. Two Caleb was taking a shower upstairs. I leaned back on the sofa and lit a cigarette. My phone rang just as I was lighting my second one. It was a call from Chloe. It rang for a solid thirty seconds. I just sat there watching the screen, ignoring it. I crushed the cigarette butt into the ashtray and poured myself a glass of wine. The phone rang again. Still Chloe. I hit accept and put it on speaker. Chloe’s spoiled, arrogant voice blasted through the speaker. “Where is Caleb? Put him on.” I didn’t answer, taking a slow sip of my red wine instead. “Audrey, say something. I know you’re listening.” “Put Caleb on the phone. I need to talk to him.” “Tsk. If his phone wasn’t off, do you really think I’d be calling you? You’re so annoying!” I could hear the barely suppressed rage in her voice. I offered a cold, detached smirk. “He’s in the shower.” “What do you want?” Chloe went dead silent. A few seconds later, she finally spoke again, her voice dripping with venom. “You two really don’t waste a single second, do you?” “Is screwing the only thing you two ever do?” “Disgusting!” Her outburst actually made me laugh out loud. “I’m sleeping with my legal husband. The cops couldn’t arrest me if they tried. Why are you so pressed?” “Or what, did you expect him to save himself for you?” “What the hell are you talking about?!” Chloe snapped defensively. “I wouldn’t stoop so low as to sleep with him. Caleb might be a prize to you, but to me, he’s nothing.” She sounded pretty confident saying that. But I was too lazy to argue with her. “Tell me what you want, or I’m hanging up.” “The passcode!” Chloe demanded urgently. “What’s the passcode to the house? It’s a long string of numbers, and it’s so annoying to remember.” Three The passcode. The passcode to every single property he owned, and the lock screen code to Caleb’s phone. It hadn’t changed in all these years. I had asked Caleb once what those six numbers meant. Caleb had answered casually, “Nothing. Just random numbers.” For a while, I actually believed him. Later, I was holding his phone and casually punched those numbers into the T9 keypad. The predictive text spelled out a word: Chloe. (Translator’s note: T9 keyboards map letters to numbers. e.g., 2=ABC, 3=DEF. The numerical mapping in English wouldn’t perfectly match the Chinese Pinyin, but the concept of a numeric code translating to a name via T9 remains the same). I didn’t say another word, hung up the phone, and tossed it onto the sofa. Just as I was pouring myself another glass of wine, Caleb walked out in a bathrobe. He was towel-drying his hair as I handed him a document. “What’s this?” “Divorce papers. Sign them.” Caleb glared at me coldly and tried to walk right past me toward the liquor cabinet. I swung my arm out and swept the entire table of food onto the floor. The loud, chaotic crash of shattering plates was deafening in the quiet, early-morning house. Caleb lost his temper and stepped aggressively toward me. “What the hell do you want? Is this really just because I didn’t get back in time for your birthday party?” I let out a harsh, mocking laugh. “Who the hell do you think you are? Get over yourself.” “These divorce papers… you can either sit down and sign them peacefully, or we can wage a scorched-earth war and you can sign them then. Your choice.” Caleb’s jaw was clenched tight. He angrily threw the towel onto the floor. “You’re being completely unreasonable.” He turned and started walking toward the stairs again. I spoke up. “Chloe just called.” “She said she couldn’t reach you and didn’t know the passcode to get into her house.” Caleb stopped dead in his tracks. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” “Did you give her the passcode?” “Why would I give it to her?” I said coldly. Caleb’s frown deepened into a scowl. He started rushing up the stairs to change his clothes. But I moved faster. With lightning speed, I charged up the stairs and kicked him square in the back. As he fell forward, I drove my knee into his spine and wrenched his arm behind him. Caleb let out a muffled groan and yelled in pain and anger. “Audrey, what the hell are you doing?!” I leaned down close to his ear and slapped the contract against the side of his face. “Sign the divorce papers.” “Otherwise, you’re not leaving this house.” “And your precious little princess can freeze outside all night.” This time, Caleb was silent for a very long time. “Do you know what I hate most about you? It’s that you always resort to violence.” Four My relationship with Caleb was complicated. During our poorest years, we lived in the same crappy apartment building—him upstairs, me downstairs—but we never spoke a single word to each other. My mom was beautiful. She had me when she was nineteen, and after that, there was a revolving door of men in her life. My grandmother, deeply regretting how my mom turned out, raised me like a tomboy. She even sent me to learn self-defense from the guy who lived downstairs. That guy was a boxing coach, built like a brick house, but he had a sickly, fragile son who he treated like a delicate porcelain doll. That was Caleb and his dad. When we were kids, I would drag Caleb around to play. I protected him, told him he was my sidekick, and said I’d always have his back. I had his back for ten years. Until my grandmother passed away, and his father died. We became two kids with absolutely no one to rely on. We should have clung to each other to survive the cold. But weirdly, without any specific reason, he started distancing himself from me. I wasn’t an idiot. I felt the rejection. So I stopped trying to force my way into his life. He had good grades and he was good-looking, but his personality was cold and his body was weak. He didn’t fit in with anyone. In high school, teenage boys are full of aggressive energy. Some guys started bullying him. I overheard a few guys from the basketball team talking: “That pretty boy is so annoying. We should just break one of his fingers.” Caleb’s fingers. Those were the fingers he used to read, to write, to claw his way to a better life. I followed them after school and used the techniques Caleb’s dad had taught me to beat the living hell out of them. I got banged up too, but it didn’t matter. I had thick skin. I could take it. As I was walking up the stairs to my apartment with my backpack, I saw Caleb waiting in the shadows with a dark expression. He pulled me into his apartment, brought out a first-aid kit, and expertly cleaned and bandaged my wounds. That was the first time I had been inside his apartment since his dad died. Caleb’s dad had been stabbed to death while trying to stop a mugging. With his skills, he could have easily handled those guys, but one of them pulled a knife. The knife went into Caleb’s dad’s stomach, was pulled out, and plunged in again. He didn’t even survive long enough to see Caleb one last time. The person he saved moved away overnight, disappearing completely. The guy who stabbed him went to prison, but didn’t pay a single cent in restitution. Caleb knelt in front of his grave, expressionless, saying his dad had it coming for playing the hero when he couldn’t handle it. He said the thing he hated most in the world were people who only knew how to solve problems with their fists. And it was from that moment on that he refused to speak to me anymore. That day, he kept his head down, tending to the cuts on my hands. His voice was very soft and slow. He said: “Audrey, don’t ever fight anyone again. Especially not for me.” Five It had been a long time since Caleb looked this pathetic. He forcefully scrawled his signature on the last page of the document. He threw the divorce papers onto the floor. He threw his clothes on and stormed out of the house. I slept like a baby. I woke up naturally, then called a moving company to start packing my things. When Caleb got back, the movers were carrying a massive oil painting out the front door. “What are you doing? Who told you to move that?” Caleb jumped out of his car and jogged over, looking furious. The movers exchanged confused glances. I slowly walked out of the house. “I told them to. What’s the problem?” Caleb took a deep breath. “What are you pulling now?” “Isn’t that my painting? Audrey, I bought that. Why didn’t you tell me? You are so annoying.” Chloe stepped out of the passenger side of the car. Even though she was saying ‘annoying,’ her eyes were sparkling as she looked at the painting. Caleb froze, instinctively looking at me. I offered a faint smile. “Actually, I bought it.” “I was blind back then. I spent almost twenty grand on this massive thing, and now, the more I look at it, the more it disgusts me.” That was during the hardest period of Caleb’s startup phase. He was working himself to the bone, but he still made time to take me out. He took me to an art exhibition. I didn’t know how to appreciate art. I couldn’t tell what was good or bad. But I noticed he stopped in front of one specific oil painting for a very long time, looking reluctant to leave it when we walked away. So, I lived on a shoestring budget and used all the money I had saved over those years to buy that oil painting as a birthday gift for Caleb. Over the years, we moved many times. The houses got bigger and bigger. And we always took that oil painting with us. I always thought he cherished it because it was a birthday gift from me. Until he rushed to Europe to bring Chloe back. Chloe posted a picture of a painting from a courtyard. The signature on the painting was exactly the same as the one on the oil painting. What does it feel like to have your entire world shattered by a single, heavy blow? It’s hard to describe. I just know I crouched on the floor for a long time, my face deathly pale, biting my teeth together so hard I tasted blood. Six My words clearly triggered Chloe. She angrily stepped forward, ready to confront me. “What is that supposed to mean?” Caleb grabbed her arm, stopping her from reaching me. Chloe stared at him in disbelief. “You’re protecting her?” She shook off Caleb’s hand, her eyes red with anger, and turned to run back to the car. Caleb didn’t grab her again, but his voice softened. “Alright, go wait in the car. I’ll take you to meet Director Ford in a minute.” Chloe puffed out her cheeks, looking furious. She glared at me. But ultimately, she obediently got into the car. Caleb looked like he wanted to say something. I looked at him with a mocking smile. “Chloe doesn’t get it, but I do. You look like you’re stopping her, but you’re actually protecting her.” “But you don’t need to worry. I wouldn’t touch her. Risking myself to hurt her isn’t worth it.” Caleb’s expression stiffened for a fraction of a second. But he was a master manipulator, and he quickly recovered his composure. “You need to stop imagining things.” “Chloe… I’m just helping her out because of our past.” “You don’t need to project those filthy, malicious thoughts onto her and me.” Hypocrite! That was the only word I could think of. I let out a cold laugh. “Is it that you don’t want to?” “No, it’s that you don’t deserve her!” Chloe was a rich, spoiled heiress. When Caleb and I were surviving on five dollars a day, she was wearing a twelve-thousand-dollar hairpin. A little princess like her… we shouldn’t have ever even crossed paths. But that year, she transferred to our school and spent a year in our class. The arrogant, privileged little princess took one look at Caleb and decided she wanted him. “Hey, can I sit next to you?” “No.” “Can you tutor me in math?” “I don’t have time.” “Caleb, I like you.” “I don’t like you.” After being rejected over and over again, the little princess turned her embarrassment into anger. She started targeting Caleb. Like pouring milk all over his homework. Like dumping a whole bowl of soup on his clothes. Like mocking him for not even being able to afford a new pair of shoes. Like framing him for stealing her fountain pen. Caleb told me to stay out of it, saying he could handle it. But the reality was his grades kept dropping. I took it upon myself to find Chloe. I warned her that if she touched Caleb again, I wouldn’t go easy on her. Caleb was furious with me that time. He forced me to apologize to Chloe, then carried me home on his back. He said to me: “We can’t afford to mess with people like Chloe. We just have to endure it. We endure it until we don’t have to look at their faces anymore.” I always thought Caleb hated Chloe. But people are complicated. There is no pure love, and there is no pure hate. It’s always a tangled mess of both. Seven Caleb ignored the busy movers in the mansion, grabbed the documents he needed, and turned to leave. He left me with one sentence: “Do whatever you want.” Well, if he said I could do whatever I wanted, then I would. I threw away the oil painting, threw away our wedding photos, threw away the bed from the master bedroom, and even threw away Caleb’s entire closet full of clothes. Finally, a moving truck hauled away all my belongings, driving off in a grand procession. That night, I slept on a floor mat in my still-unpacking new apartment, staring at the ceiling until the sun came up before finally falling asleep. When I woke up, I was already lying in a properly made bed. I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t think I was sleepwalking, or that a burglar had broken in. The only person who could find me here was Caleb. Sure enough, when I walked out of the bedroom, he was in the kitchen boiling pasta. Caleb was quick at everything. Back in the day, when we were too poor to afford any pre-made food. Caleb did everything himself. Cooking rice, stir-frying, making soup—he could always whip up something decent on the first try. I was the exact opposite. He never understood it. “Can’t you just follow the recipe? Why do you have to get creative?” I didn’t understand him either. “We’re just missing green onions. Does it really matter? Why do you have to run all the way downstairs to buy them?” Those chaotic, messy days were full of the warmth of real life. But thinking about it now, it feels like it happened in another lifetime. “You’re up? Brush your teeth, wash your face, and eat breakfast.” I didn’t move. “My name is on the lease for this place. Don’t come here anymore.” Caleb’s hand, stirring the pasta, stopped. He turned off the stove, shut off the range hood, and turned around. He asked me: “I can promise you right now that Chloe’s presence will never threaten our marriage. You will always be Mrs. Vance. What exactly are you dissatisfied with?” Eight This was exactly what I was dissatisfied with. He thought I should just swallow my pride and accept it. “Do you realize how brief my ‘good life’ has been?” The day before yesterday was my thirtieth birthday. Ten months ago, I was pregnant. Six months before that, Caleb’s company went public. At eighteen, we got into a good university. Caleb started dabbling in finance by trading stocks, while simultaneously studying software development. I didn’t have his brains, so I bought and sold cheap goods for a small profit, and later worked as a sparring partner at a boxing gym. By his sophomore year, he had some savings, and he got bolder. I rented a small storefront near campus and became a small business owner. In the second semester of his sophomore year, he lost everything. I sold off everything in my shop, took all my savings, and helped him cover his debts. At twenty, you never lack the courage to start over. He promised me he’d give me a good life someday. I said we’d work hard together. He wrote code and developed software. I worked as a private personal trainer, one-on-one. Later, he wanted to start his own tech company and needed seed money. Once again, I gave him everything I had and took out several massive loans. Caleb even sold his old family home. It was an all-or-nothing gamble, and he succeeded. From a small startup to a major corporation, and finally an IPO, it took him seven years. Those seven years. The first three, I worked for him for free. The last two, he supported me. There was a high school reunion, and we played Truth or Dare. Caleb chose Truth. The question was: “If you could do it all over again, would you choose Audrey or Chloe?” It was a question that made me feel a little dizzy, a little tense. But Caleb made his choice almost instantly. He pulled me close and said without hesitation: “Our Audrey, of course. A hundred times over, it would always be Audrey.” A friend asked him: “Really?” Later, they were hiding out on the balcony smoking. Caleb had left his phone inside, and I went to bring it to him. I happened to hear him say: “I was too broke back then. Chloe would have only suffered if she stayed with me.” “A rich, spoiled princess like her, how could she ever handle that kind of hardship?” “And… what about Audrey?” “Audrey is different. She… she’s never been afraid of hard work.” It was a very strange feeling. Even looking back on it now, I still can’t believe it was me standing there listening to those words. It felt like I was an audience member watching a scene play out on stage. I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t humiliated. I was completely numb. I felt absolutely nothing. I didn’t confront Caleb, and I didn’t cause a scene. Three normal months passed. So normal that when I try to look back on it now, I can’t even remember what I was doing or thinking during those three months. I didn’t understand why. At first, I really didn’t understand. It wasn’t until much later that I learned a term for it: Dissociation. Under extreme, unbearable trauma, the body initiates a self-defense mechanism. It acts like a circuit breaker, temporarily severing the connection between the physical body and the source of the trauma to prevent a total psychological collapse. That’s probably what happened to me. My grandmother always told me to live like a weed, not a delicate flower. Even if you’re crushed to the ground, as long as there’s a breath left in you, you can grow back. I began to rebuild myself. First physically, then professionally, and finally mentally. I worked out, burned fat, and sculpted my body. I reached out to wealthy housewives, training them, planning their diets, and helping them get in shape. They became the first VIP members of my very first fitness club. Once you have money, you can skip a lot of the hard parts and make even more money. In the beginning, Caleb just thought I was killing time, his words and demeanor full of condescension. But when I opened my first franchise location, he showed up to help me cut the ribbon. He held my waist and looked at me, his eyes filled with a new seriousness, respect, and attention. I got busier and busier. Hosting training seminars, doing live streams, recording fitness courses, giving motivational speeches. When a person starts making massive strides forward, their mindset grows like a wild vine, quickly building its own complex network. And it was from that moment on that I began, thread by thread, severing the ties that bound Caleb to me.

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I died at forty-five, my body a hollowed-out shell of used-up parts. But when I opened my eyes, I was back in the mountain air of Montana, the sun biting at my skin. I was standing right outside the staff dorms. David was there, leaning against his truck, checking his watch. We were supposed to drive down to the county clerk’s office to sign our marriage license. In my past life, this was the day I chained myself to a ghost. Back then, David found out I was pregnant, and then he vanished. He stayed gone for twenty years, chasing a woman named Rose. He only came back when I was on my deathbed. He didn’t come for me, though. He sat by my side, staring at a faded photograph of Rose—who had died shortly before—and whispered, “If I’d just waited a little longer to sign those papers with you, would things have ended differently?” 1 The realization that I had traveled back hit me like a physical blow. David looked younger, his face unlined by the decades of guilt he’d eventually carry. “Ready, Nora?” he asked, flashing that easy, clean-cut smile that used to make my heart skip. “I forgot I have to drop off some blueprints at the site office,” I lied, my voice steadier than I felt. “Why don’t you head to the clerk’s office first? I’ll meet you there in an hour.” He hesitated, then shrugged. “Sure. Don’t be late. They close at four.” The moment his truck kicked up dust down the trail, I turned and headed the opposite way. I climbed the ridge toward Mrs. Adler’s place. She was an old local who lived in a cabin overlooking the valley. I spent the morning in her weathered rocking chair, watching the mist roll over the pines. The sun felt different today—heavy, like it was trying to anchor me to this new reality. Mrs. Adler handed me a mug of hot cider. “Thought you were supposed to be eloping with that engineer today, Nora. What are you doing up here chasing clouds?” I took a slow sip, the warmth spreading through my chest. “I had a nightmare, Mrs. Adler. I woke up and realized I couldn’t breathe.” She patted my hand, her skin like parchment. “Dreams are just shadows, honey. Life is what’s in front of you. Once you’re Mrs. David Miller, you’ll have a house and a life. No use being scared of shadows.” I looked at her and forced a smile. “You’re right. I just needed a moment to think.” Marry David? Not in this lifetime. Not in any lifetime. 2 In the life I left behind, we signed the papers and walked out of that office as husband and wife. We hadn’t gone ten feet before he collided with a girl. Her name was Rose. She was a local girl, the kind with wild hair and eyes that looked like they held secrets the mountains hadn’t told anyone else. On the drive back to the site, David was silent. I thought he was just being respectful, settling into his new role as a married man. I thought he was being “proper.” I didn’t find out until the very end that he wasn’t being proper. He was mourning. That one collision had been lightning. He’d fallen in love with Rose at first sight, right there on the courthouse steps with our marriage license still damp in his pocket. He wasn’t avoiding other women for my sake; he was regretting me. He was cursing the fact that he hadn’t waited just one more day to be free. After that, the light in him went out whenever he looked at me. He spent hours staring toward the valley where Rose lived. When I asked him what was wrong, he’d snap at me or shut down. Eventually, I stopped asking. I threw myself into my work, thinking he just needed time to adjust to domestic life. When the Montana project ended, we were assigned to different states. Long distance. I thought it was a temporary sacrifice for our careers. But every time a new contract came up, he was in Maine while I was in Texas. He was in Oregon while I was in Florida. “It’s just how the firm assigned it, Nora,” he’d say over the phone, his voice flat. Years later, during a trip to the main office in Chicago, I overheard his colleagues talking. Every single “separation” had been requested by David. He was actively fleeing me. We had a screaming match that night. He held me, sobbing, apologizing for things he wouldn’t name. And then, the next morning, he was gone again. I thought our marriage was over then. But life is cruel—I found out I was pregnant. When I told him, he changed. He became the perfect husband. He moved back. He cooked for me, he pressed his ear to my stomach to listen to the baby, he walked me through the park every evening. I thought I’d finally won. Then, one Tuesday, he went out for milk and never came back. I spent twenty years looking for him. I raised our son alone. I worked two jobs. I buried my parents and his parents. I assumed he was dead. But when my heart started failing at forty-five, he appeared at my bedside. He’d been with Rose the whole time. They’d moved to a small town in Vermont and adopted a son. They gave that boy everything—all the love and presence he’d denied our biological son. The only reason he came back was that Rose had died of a broken heart, her only regret being that she was never legally his wife. David told me he was sorry, but he also said he resented me. He blamed me for being the “legal” obstacle that kept Rose from her dying wish. I wanted to scream. If you didn’t love me, why didn’t you just leave? Why didn’t you ask for a divorce? Why leave me to rot in the uncertainty of a “missing” husband while you played house with her? And the final twist of the knife? My own son, the one I’d sacrificed my health to raise, told me he envied the boy David had adopted. He told me he’d been in contact with his father for years. He’d kept David’s secret while I spent my nights weeping over old photos. 3 I stayed at Mrs. Adler’s for another hour. I didn’t rush. When I finally arrived at the county office, I saw it happening in real-time. Rose was on the ground. David was helping her up. He was staring at her with an expression I can only describe as “struck.” The irritation he’d felt waiting for me had vanished, replaced by a raw, hungry kind of awe. In my first life, I’d rushed over to help her. I’d been the one to strike up a conversation, being the “friendly wife.” I’d been so blind. Standing back now, as a spectator, it was so obvious it was sickening. “David,” I called out, my voice cool. “I’m here. Sorry I kept you waiting.” David stiffened. He looked at me, then back at Rose, his face a mask of panic and confusion. “Oh… Nora. You’re… you’re here. I was just… she fell.” I noticed Rose looking at me. In my last life, she’d been shy. This time? Her gaze was complicated. There was a flash of something sharp—was it jealousy? Or something else? I wondered: If they don’t have the marriage license to blame this time, what will they do? “Well, the clock is ticking,” I said, pointing at the office door. “Let’s go get this over with.” David’s face went pale. “Ow… my ankle,” Rose suddenly whimpered. In the first life, she hadn’t been hurt. This time, her timing was impeccable. A cold shiver went down my spine. Did she know? Was she “back,” too? I watched her closely, but her face was a mask of girlish pain. David didn’t even hesitate. He took her to the local clinic. The doctor told him there was nothing wrong—just a slight scrape that would have healed by the time they walked out the door. Rose looked embarrassed. David, however, looked relieved. As we walked back past the county office, David looked at his shoes. “Nora, they’re closed now. Maybe… maybe we should come back tomorrow?” I looked at the locked door. “We’ll see. You have to pick the right day for these things, don’t you?” There would never be a “right day” for us again. David sighed, his shoulders dropping. “Okay. I’ll tell Mrs. Adler we’re pushing it back.” 4 We had two bikes. On the ride back to the site, Rose didn’t even ask—she just hopped onto the back of David’s bike, her arms wrapping firmly around his waist. David looked at me, sheepish, but he didn’t pull away. I didn’t say a word. I pedaled ahead, the mountain wind whistling past my ears. I could hear them laughing behind me—low, intimate sounds. How long had it been since I’d heard David laugh like that? In my previous life, that sound died the moment he met her. Now, I realized it hadn’t died; it just wasn’t for me. When we reached the site dorms, the other engineers and locals watched them. They saw Rose clinging to him. They looked at me with pity or confusion, coughing and shaking their heads. I just smiled and went to my room. 5 David had already rented a small cottage near the site for our “honeymoon” phase. Most of my things were already there. I walked past the cottage on my way to the mess hall. It was a simple place—two bedrooms, a small porch. In my last life, I’d come back here and seen the red ribbons I’d hung up, feeling like the luckiest woman in the world. Nobody knew that on our wedding night, the “groom” had gone cold. We’d lain in that bed, side by side, two strangers in a room full of unspoken regrets. He hadn’t touched me. He’d just stared at the ceiling until dawn. 6 I didn’t wait for David to come back. I went to my old dorm room and pulled a manila envelope from the back of my desk. It was my transfer request back to the Chicago headquarters. It wasn’t just a transfer; it was a massive promotion. In my first life, I’d torn this paper up because I didn’t want to be away from my new husband. That choice cost me everything. My career stalled. I ended up in a dead-end administrative role because I was too busy being a single mother and a caretaker for his ungrateful parents. My son used to look at me with such disdain. “Why can’t you look like Rose?” he’d say. “Her clothes are always so nice. You’re just… tired.” Rose. He’d almost said her name back then, hadn’t he? The memory made my blood run cold. My son had been in on the betrayal for years. He’d hidden his father’s life from me while I worked myself into an early grave to buy him sneakers and pay for his college. 7 At dinner, David didn’t come by my room like he usually did. I went to the mess hall alone. I saw them immediately, tucked into a corner booth. They were sharing a plate, David leaning in close, murmuring something that made Rose giggle into her hand. When David saw me, he froze. He stood up so fast he nearly knocked over his water. “Nora! Hey. Uh, Rose just got back to town and she didn’t have any groceries. I figured I’d grab her a bite. I was going to bring you something later, I didn’t think you’d be here so early.” Early? The dinner service was almost over. The trays were nearly empty. I remembered the first life. The night we were supposed to celebrate our marriage. David said he’d go get food. He came back hours later, empty-handed, and said, “The kitchen ran out. Just go to sleep.” I’d gone to bed hungry on my wedding night while he was out feeding her. I didn’t say anything. I just grabbed a tray, took the leftovers, and went back to my room. Halfway through my meal, there was a knock. It was both of them. David looked awkward, clearing his throat. “Nora, I wanted to ask you a favor.” I looked at him, chewing slowly. He looked at Rose, who was standing there like a kicked puppy. His eyes softened—a look he never gave me. “See, Rose is back in her family’s old house, but it’s a mess. No heat, no water. And since we haven’t… you know, officially moved into the cottage yet… I thought maybe she could stay there for a few days?” I looked at Rose. She shivered, tucking herself behind David’s arm. The Rose I knew in my first life was a shadow. This Rose was a performer. I was almost certain now—she’d come back, too. She was playing the “damsel” role perfectly. “Sure,” I said. “It’s your lease, David. Do what you want.” David blinked. He’d expected a fight. He had a whole speech prepared about “Christian charity” and “neighborly duty.” “But,” I added, “I don’t like people touching my things. I’m going over there tonight to pack up my stuff.” “No need for that!” David said quickly. “I’ll just move your boxes into the spare room. She can have the main bedroom—it’s already made up.” The main bedroom. Our marriage bed. He wanted her to sleep in the bed I’d picked out for us. I saw the corner of Rose’s mouth twitch into a tiny, victorious smile. 8 After dinner, I took a flashlight and walked over to the cottage. When I arrived, David was already there, tucking Rose into bed. He was using the silk sheets I’d bought specially for our first night. “Nora,” he said, startled. “I put your boxes in the small room.” “Fine.” I went into the spare room and started dragging my boxes out. David followed me, his expression unreadable. “Nora… are you okay?” Rose drifted into the hallway. “David? Are those the sheets for your wedding? Oh, I feel terrible. Maybe I should just sleep on the floor on top of my old coat…” David’s heart clearly broke for her. He looked at me. “Nora, look, the sheets are already on the bed. It’s just for a few nights.” I saw the triumph in her eyes. She thought she was winning a prize. She didn’t realize I was handing her a ticking landmine. “The sheets were bought with your money, David,” I said flatly. “Use them however you like.” “Thank you, Nora! You’re so sweet,” Rose chirped. “I can’t believe I’m sleeping in David’s house. In his bed!” The implication hung heavy in the air. David looked at me, waiting for a reaction. A test of my boundaries. Rose realized she’d overplayed it and quickly covered her mouth. “Oh! I didn’t mean it like that! Nora, don’t be mad! I’m just a mess, I didn’t mean anything by it.” She made a move to grab her bags, pretending to leave. David stopped her, of course. I just smiled at her. “It’s fine, Rose. Really. Sleep tight. If you like the bed so much, maybe you should just keep it. I’m sure David wouldn’t mind if you stayed permanently.” Rose’s face fell. She couldn’t understand why the “dumb, jealous Nora” from her memories wasn’t showing up. I leaned in, whispering just loud enough for her to hear. “You want him so bad? He’s all yours. I just wonder if he’ll be as charming when you’re the one cleaning his parents’ toilets.” Rose’s eyes widened. She knew then. She definitely knew. 9 I hauled my boxes out to the porch. David ran after me, trying to take the heavy crate from my arms. I pulled away. “Nora, talk to me. Are you mad? I can explain.” Explain what? That he was already cheating emotionally? That he’d already moved his mistress into our home? “Help!” Rose screamed from inside. David didn’t even look back at me. He spun around and ran to her. I hitched the box higher on my shoulder and walked into the night. 10 In my last life, I died at forty-five. The doctor told me my heart gave out because of years of chronic stress and untreated complications from the birth of my son. I’d hemorrhaged during labor—David’s parents refused to pay for a private room or extra care, saying it was a “waste of money” for a woman’s problem. I’d spent my recovery cooking for them while they complained about the salt. I hadn’t slept a full night in twenty years. But tonight, in this new life, I was healthy. My heart was strong. And for the first time in two lifetimes, I slept like the dead.

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To pull the campus golden boy off his pedestal, I created three separate burner accounts to date him online. My plan was simple: make him fall head over heels, then shatter his heart into a million pieces. Account No. 1 was the “Sweetheart” — high-pitched, needy, and constantly whining about her “tummy rumbling” until he’d Venmo me for UberEats. Account No. 2 was the “Pro-Gamer” — a cold-blooded assassin in League of Legends who carried his sorry ass through matches while teasing him for being a “cute little noob.” Account No. 3 was the “Sugar Mommy” — an older, wealthy woman who threw money at him just to coax out spicy voice notes and shirtless gym selfies. And then, one night, the floor fell out from under me. To prove to a room full of people that he actually had a girlfriend, the “golden boy” put his phone on speaker and dialed. A second later, my pocket erupted. “Honey-bunny is calling! Honey-bunny is calling!” The ringtone blared, relentless and shrill. The entire room went deathly silent. I stood there, frozen: Well, shit. I played myself. 1 The referee’s whistle cut through the air, signaling the end of the game. Our varsity team had sunk a buzzer-beater three-pointer in the final second. As the crowd erupted in a deafening roar, I was still sitting in the bleachers, staring into space. “Wren, aren’t you going to go give Bradley his water? Move it!” My best friend, Piper, nudged me with a wicked grin. “That last shot was Nate Miller’s. God, he’s hot, right? I saw you staring. Admit it—is he hotter than your ‘God of Basketball’ Bradley or what?” “Not even close,” I shot back instinctively, grabbing the chilled bottle of Fiji water and heading down the stairs. Today was a scrimmage against a rival college. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, and I’d only shown up to support Bradley. But for some reason, Nate Miller—the department’s resident heartthrob—had signed up for this game too. The second the girls in our year heard Nate was playing, they organized a cheering squad like it was the NBA Finals. From the moment he stepped onto the court, the screaming hadn’t stopped. It was terrifying, honestly. I sighed, feeling a pang of pity for my “God.” In every academic competition in our department, Bradley always seemed to fall just a hair behind Nate, forever relegated to second place. Now, Nate wouldn’t even let him have the spotlight in a measly scrimmage. Does the guy have a Main Character syndrome or something? Down on the court, Nate was already swamped by a mob of girls begging for selfies. Bradley stood in the corner, laughing and chatting with his teammates, looking heartbreakingly sidelined. Piper was still buzzing in my ear. “I seriously don’t get why you have such a massive chip on your shoulder when it comes to Nate. And this ‘Evil Catfishing Scheme’ of yours? It’s unhinged, Wren.” I clamped my hand over her mouth. If Nate Miller ever found out I was running three different personas just to mess with him, I’d be the lead story on the campus news by morning. Bradley spotted me and looked surprised. “Wren! You actually came to watch?” I gave him my best shy smile. “I came specifically to see you play, Bradley.” He chuckled, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice. “I didn’t think anyone was watching me today.” Poor guy. Nate had sucked the confidence right out of him. I looked at Bradley with soft eyes, completely oblivious to the world, and held out the water. “Bradley, I got this for—” Before I could finish, a pale, long-fingered hand reached out and snatched the bottle right out of my grasp. Me: “?” 2 The crisp, sharp scent of peppermint swirled around me. Nate Miller stepped directly between Bradley and me. He had one hand buried in his gym shorts pocket while he tossed the water bottle up and down with the other. He leaned in, his eyes curving into a brilliant, predatory smile. “Wow, Wren. How’d you know I was dying for a drink? You’re a lifesaver.” I stared at him, flat-eyed. If you’re thirsty, go to a vending machine, you prick. The damp strands of hair on Nate’s forehead were soaked with sweat. Almost as if he knew exactly what he was doing, he brushed them back, revealing the sharp, perfect lines of his brow and eyes. The fangirls nearby let out a collective, strangled gasp. Even I had to admit, the man was offensively attractive. But where the hell did he even come from? I was fuming. That water was for my guy. Nate turned to Bradley, his tone light but edged. “You don’t mind if I take this, do you, Brad? You’re not that stingy, right?” Bradley blinked, then shook his head. “No, it’s fine.” Nate grinned, looking like he hadn’t tasted water in a century. He twisted the cap and chugged half the bottle in one go, his Adam’s apple bobbing rhythmically. I heard the girls whispering behind us. “Who is she? She’s so lucky Nate’s drinking her water! I’m literally dying.” “I think she’s a junior in his department. They say he’s got a soft spot for her.” I watched Nate finish the water with a completely blank expression. When he looked down at me with those “soulful” eyes, I simply held out my phone, screen glowing with my Venmo QR code. “Nate, I’m sorry, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m actually selling these. That’ll be four dollars.” Nate: “?” The Crowd: “…” The air went dead. I watched as the color rushed to Nate’s face, turning him a magnificent shade of crimson. He stared at me like I’d just grown a second head. What? You’ve never seen a girl run a business? Pay up. 3 To celebrate the win, the student union threw a small victory dinner at a local bistro. I was invited along with the rest of the support staff. When it was time to sit, I saw Bradley take a seat by the window. The chair across from him was empty. Jackpot. I kept my face neutral, moving with practiced ease to pull out the chair. “Bradley, what a coincidence! Looks like we’re table buddies.” Bradley smiled back, looking genuinely pleased. Suddenly, Nate, who was standing a few feet away, stopped mid-motion. He looked troubled, his brow furrowing as he scanned the room. The student union president asked, “Nate? Something wrong? Take a seat, man.” Nate bit his lip, looking embarrassed. “I… I have this weird thing. I can only eat if I’m sitting by a window. It’s a claustrophobia thing. If I’m not by the glass, I lose my appetite.” I stopped unwrapping my silverware. You lying sack of garbage. I’d seen him eat in the middle of a crowded, windowless cafeteria back in high school a thousand times. The president immediately turned to Bradley. “Brad, would you mind swapping with Nate? Just for the night?” No! Bradley, stay strong! I sat there, looking at Bradley with pleading eyes. But of course, being the “nice guy” he was, Bradley stood up and swapped places without a second thought. Nate slid into the chair directly across from me. He met my gaze and smiled like a harmless, fluffy golden retriever. “Wren, what a coincidence,” he purred, echoing my exact words back to me. “Looks like we’re table buddies.” The smirk he gave me made the hair on my arms stand up. 4 I was now eighty percent certain he was doing this on purpose. But I had no proof. I stabbed a piece of steak and chewed it with unnecessary violence. Just you wait, Nate. You have no idea what’s coming for you. Around us, the conversation was loud and cheerful. Nate, however, ignored the crowd, resting his chin on his hand as he watched me eat. His gaze was so intense it made my skin prickle. It was the kind of look that made you want to scream at someone to stop. But in real life, I was a chronic introvert with a touch of social anxiety. All I could do was bury my face deeper into my plate. Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me. Suddenly, Nate leaned in. “You know, Wren, you’re actually really cute when you eat.” “Pffft—” I choked, spraying a bit of rice across the table. My face felt like it was on fire. I glared at him, mortified. Nate didn’t even flinch. He just kept smiling that innocent, devastating smile. Ugh, such a player! I had three different personas currently blowing up his phone with “I miss you” texts, and here he was, flirting with the real me in broad daylight. Scum. Absolute scum. I pretended the steak was Nate’s heart and sliced into it again. 5 I had known Nate Miller was a two-faced playboy long before college. We went to the same high school. Back then, I was obsessed with this one specific Otome game. I was head over heels for a 2D character, calling him “husband” every five minutes. Piper used to say that if anyone ever talked trash about my 2D man, I’d haunt them like a Victorian ghost for the rest of their lives. Then, one day, I saw a video Nate posted on Instagram. He was already the school’s resident heartthrob. In the video, under moody purple lighting, he showed off his sharp profile, radiating a sort of “brooding loner” energy. But then he turned his screen to reveal… a photo of my 2D husband. The caption read: “On a snowy winter night, I wish I could be the one standing by your side, just like him.” The comment section was a disaster zone of thirsty girls. “OMG! My two favorite husbands in one frame!” “Nate, I’ll be your winter girl!” I felt my blood pressure skyrocket. I scrolled through Nate’s other posts. Nearly every single one featured a tag or a reference to my game. He even posted clips of himself playing it. To me, no matter how attractive a 3D guy is, “cosplaying” or trying to skin-walk a 2D character is a capital offense. That night, Piper witnessed the true terrifying power of a woman scorned. She watched me scroll through Nate’s feed, cursing him with every insult I could conjure. From that day on, Nate Miller was on my permanent blacklist. Then we got to college, and I met Bradley. I quickly realized that Nate was still overshadowing everyone—including Bradley. Even the girl Bradley had a crush on had once confessed to Nate, only to be rejected. That was the breaking point. To expose Nate’s true, manipulative nature, I launched the “Evil Catfishing Plan.” I would make him fall in love, drain his bank account (ironically, of course), and then dump him so hard he’d never look at a 2D character again. 6 Piper was scrolling through her phone next to me when she let out a quiet “Oh, wow.” She turned her screen to show me a post on the campus forum. Someone had snapped a photo of Nate taking the water bottle from me today. In the shot, my back was a blurry mess of pixels, but Nate looked like he’d been professionally airbrushed, drinking the water with cinematic grace. Me: “…” The injustice was staggering. I looked at Nate, who was currently charming the table, and a wicked idea took root. I ducked my head and switched my phone to the “Sweetheart” account. My thumbs flew across the keyboard. Bunny: [Sent a photo of the forum post] Bunny: Nate! Bunny is going to cry! Who is this girl at the game? People are saying you drank her water! Hmph!! Nate’s phone buzzed on the table. He glanced down, and I watched his expression from across the table. He froze for a second, but then a slow, genuine smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He typed back immediately. Nate: Bunny, baby, it was just water. She’s just a girl in my department. Nothing more. Bunny: Liar! Bunny doesn’t believe you. You’re surrounded by pretty girls every day. You’ve probably already replaced me, you big meanie! Typing that out took every ounce of my self-control not to burst out laughing. Nate looked genuinely distressed. Nate: How can I prove my heart only belongs to you? Just then, the student union president noticed Nate’s distraction. He stood up with a glass. “Nate! You were the MVP today. We couldn’t have won without you. Let’s have a toast!” Nate set his phone down and stood up with a glass of orange juice. “It was a team effort,” he said, sounding modest and perfectly composed. “I just helped get us over the finish line.” Piper sighed beside me. “God, he’s so well-spoken. It’s hard not to like him…” “Wait, are you even listening?” I was staring at my phone, imagining the look on Nate’s face when he read my next demand. Piper nudged my shoulder. “Wren, do you realize how creepy you look right now?” “What?” “You look like a thirsty fanfic writer who just saw their ‘ship’ go canon. It’s a bit much.” “…” Hehe. I can’t help it. Nate sat back down and checked his phone. His face went pale. Bunny: If you mean it, send me a voice note right now. Tell me you love your wittle Bunny-wunny the most in the whole wide world. Nate: Baby, I’m out at dinner with a bunch of people. Bunny: I don’t care! I want it now! Or we’re through! I was shaking with suppressed laughter. Nate suddenly bolted upright, nearly knocking his chair over. The whole table went quiet, staring at him. “Something wrong?” someone asked. Nate’s face was as red as a lobster. He stammered, “I… I have to go to the bathroom. Keep eating.” He practically fled the room. I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned away, burying my face in my hands as my entire body shook with silent, hysterical laughter. 7 Nate was gone for a long time. The table continued to chatter, while I sat in the corner, refreshing my screen. Given Nate’s flair for the dramatic, he was probably in a stall right now trying to find the perfect “seductive” tone of voice. Bunny: Nate? Why aren’t you responding? Bunny is getting really mad now! You want to break up, don’t you? A second later, a 23-second voice note appeared. My heart actually skipped a beat. Twenty-three seconds? What did he say? I moved away from the group, pressed the phone to my ear, and turned the volume down to the lowest setting. His voice was low, melodic, and held a trace of genuine embarrassment: “I love Bunny the most… Bunny is my sweetest little baby girl. I’m sorry for making you wait, princess. Don’t be mad, okay? Daddy’s coming home soon…” He had lowered his register until it was a husky, intimate murmur. It sounded like a lover whispering in the dark. My brain actually short-circuited for a moment. Even though I hated him, I had to admit—the man was a professional. When he “dated” my alt accounts, he was never stingy with his affection. Being pampered by him—even if it was all a lie—made me feel a strange, momentary dizziness. I slammed the “stop” button on the audio. Nate returned to his seat at the same time. My phone buzzed again. Nate: Did you hear it? Do you believe me now? Bunny: Teehee. You’re the best. I typed it out with cold, clinical precision. Hahaha. You don’t have a sincere bone in your body, Nate Miller. 8 Back at the dorm, I applied a face mask and pulled out my other two phones. Nate had been busy. Nate: Rogue, baby. I missed you tonight. Nate: Madeline, I’m thinking about you. What a dog. If there were an Olympic event for time management, this guy would take the gold every year. I decided to reply as Account No. 2, “Rogue,” the gamer girl. Rogue: Get online, kid. There’s a guild war. I’m carrying you. Nate replied instantly. Nate: Rogue! Where have you been? I checked the server, you weren’t even logged in. Are you ignoring me? Ah, the classic “guilt trip” play. Too bad “Rogue” was a stone-cold ice queen. Rogue: Don’t get clingy, little man. We’re here to play. If you’re going to whine, I’ll find another support to carry. Nate sent back a crying cat emoji. Nate: T^T No, don’t leave. I’ll play. But I’m still trash, so don’t let them bully me. Protect me, okay? It was honestly fascinating. He was a total chameleon. With “Bunny,” he was the doting older boyfriend. With “Rogue,” he was the submissive, clingy “soft boy.” And when I switched to “Madeline,” the rich older woman… he became the charming, flirtatious young puppy. He really put in the work. I logged into the game. My character was a fierce warrior in green robes, wielding a massive broadsword. Standing next to me was Nate’s character… a walking disco ball. He had spent a fortune on the gaudiest, most expensive gear. He wore a glowing crown, a shimmering cape, and rings that pulsed with golden light. He was a mobile loot drop. Nate was famous on the server for being the “No. 1 Pay-to-Win Noob.” A rival guild member typed in the world chat: “Is that the server’s richest loser again? Bringing out the shiny toys for us to break?” Nate’s character leaned against mine. Nate: Baby, they’re being mean to me! Honestly, the rival guy has a point, I thought, laughing as I swung my massive sword. The guild war erupted into a chaos of light and steel. 9 Nate’s voice kept crackling through my headset. “Rogue! My health bar is halfway gone! It hurts!” “God, you look so hot when you swing that sword. My heart is actually pounding.” I glanced at the screen where I had just used Nate’s character as a human shield to block a fireball. I smirked. Your heart is pounding? Let’s turn up the heat. I kept playing with one hand and used the other to switch to Account No. 3. Madeline: Sorry, sweetie. I had a long day at the office. What are you up to? The voice chat went dead for a second. Then, a message popped up. Nate: Just got out of the shower, Madeline. Liar. Madeline: Oh? Show me those abs. I’m exhausted and could use a little eye candy to wake me up. At the same time, I spoke into the headset as “Rogue.” “What’s wrong? Why are you quiet all of a sudden?” Nate didn’t answer in the game. Instead, my “Madeline” phone buzzed with a photo. It was Nate, leaning against a bathroom mirror, a towel slung low on his hips. His hair was damp, water droplets still clinging to his chest and tracing the lines of his V-cut. Jesus, have some decency. I cursed under my breath, feeling a flush creep up my neck. I typed back: Madeline: You really are my favorite little man. I think I need to hear your voice. I’m calling you now. Madeline: [Sent a screenshot of a “busy” signal] Madeline: Wait, why is your line busy, Nate? Who are you talking to? Nate: I’m… uh, I’m on a work call, Madeline! Meanwhile, in the headset, Nate’s voice finally returned. “Sorry, Rogue! I’m back.” I looked at the “Death” screen for Nate’s character. “You weren’t paying attention,” I said coldly. “You died so fast it was pathetic. I’m done for the night.” Nate panicked. “I didn’t mean it! I’m just… a little slow sometimes. Don’t be mad!” I ignored him on the headset and kept blowing up his “Madeline” phone. Madeline: I want to hear your voice right now, or I’m going to be very upset. Are you going to be a good boy for me? Nate: Okay… anything for you. Then, over the headset, I heard Nate say in a fake-sweet voice: “Rogue, honey, I have to take this. I’ll be back in a bit to make it up to you.” Rogue: “Who is it?” Nate: “It’s… my aunt. Family emergency.” “…” Unbelievable. I didn’t realize I’d been added to the family tree. I gritted my teeth. Just wait, Nate Miller. There’s going to be a day when you’re on your knees begging for my mercy.

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For as long as I could remember, the four heirs of New York’s most prominent dynasties had treated me as their most fiercely guarded possession. But the night a fresh-faced, lively girl stepped into the ballroom, the air in my world fractured. Suddenly, glowing lines of text began scrolling across my field of vision like a neon ticker tape: [The darling female lead and the male leads have finally met! Throwing confetti!] [They can’t help but be drawn to her. They’re finally learning what true love is. Watch them distance themselves from the side-character!] [The jealous best friend is going to hurt our precious girl, and the boys are going to destroy her family for it!] At first, I scoffed at the bizarre, floating hallucinations. That was until they all skipped my birthday gala, abandoning me just to take that girl to see the fireworks. Only then did it hit me: the boys who had clung to my side since childhood were truly gone. Fine. It was about time I found a real boyfriend anyway. 1 The ballroom was suffocatingly opulent, the air thick with the scent of expensive orchids and old money. Tristan Vanderbilt pressed his hand over my eyes, his chest warm against my back, deliberately blocking my view of the older, sophisticated Harrington heir across the room. I sighed, prying his heavy fingers away, only to have a small mother-of-pearl spoon pressed to my lips. Beluga caviar. Kieran Astor held the spoon, his dark eyes shimmering with pure, puppy-dog expectation. “Good?” It was rich, melting instantly on my tongue. I nodded. “Have another bite, Caro.” He tipped another spoonful toward me. Before I could swallow, Nathaniel Montgomery had already produced a pristine, monogrammed linen handkerchief, leaning in to dab at the corner of my mouth. I took the handkerchief from his elegant fingers, offering a faint, tolerant smile as I wiped my own mouth. “Dance with me next, Caro,” Kieran whined, tugging at the silk of my gown like a neglected child. “For God’s sake, Kieran, crying gets you nowhere. You’re suffocating her.” Tristan slapped Kieran’s hand away with a scowl, pulling me closer by the waist, staring down at me with those intense, hungry eyes. “Enough, both of you. You’re wrinkling her dress.” Harrison Dupont—the steady, authoritative anchor of our chaotic quintet—stepped in. He crouched smoothly, his broad shoulders shifting under his tailored tuxedo as he adjusted the hem of my gown. Beside him, Nathaniel gently tucked a stray wisp of hair behind my ear, restoring my composure to picture-perfect elegance. The rest of the elite guests in the room barely batted an eye. The sight of these four untouchable scions revolving around me like planets around a sun was an old, tired Manhattan legend. Then, she walked in. There were dozens of stunning women at this gala, draped in couture and diamonds. She was in a simple evening gown, looking around with wide, curious eyes. She shouldn’t have commanded the room. But as her gaze swept toward our corner, the atmosphere shifted. The air grew heavy. Slowly, as if pulled by an invisible, gravitational force, the four men beside me turned their heads. They froze. It was as if time had stopped, their eyes locked onto her, entirely unblinking. That was when the glowing text began scrolling frantically before my eyes: [Ahhhh! The female lead and the male leads have met! Love! Heart emojis!] [The boys are totally captivated! Is this the magic of love at first sight?] [The childhood friend must be so dumbfounded! From now on, they belong to the female lead. No one’s going to revolve around her anymore!] [When the wicked friend gets jealous and tries to hurt our baby, she’s finished! The boys will make her die a miserable death, haha!] I didn’t need a dictionary to know the “wicked friend” was me. I didn’t care about the psychotic floating words, but the physical reaction of the men beside me made my stomach drop. A cold, sharp hollow opened in my chest. The girl stared right back at them. She didn’t look intimidated. She didn’t look at me and shrink back in self-doubt or envy, the way other girls usually did when they saw the fortress these men built around me. Instead, she offered them a bright, unabashed smile. A silent, magnetic greeting. Beside me, the men shifted their weight. One by one, they stepped away from me, moving toward her. They didn’t even glance back. This had never happened. Never. They were ignoring me. They were walking toward someone else. Was this the “magic of love at first sight” the text had screamed about? I was witnessing it firsthand. 2 The heirs of New York’s four ruling families possessed notoriously short tempers with everyone—except me, Caroline Sinclair. A single furrow of their brows was usually enough to send people scrambling away in terror. Now, they stood in a semi-circle around this strange girl, laughing. Conversing. She smiled like a blooming flower; their eyes burned with an intense, heated focus. Murmurs rippled through the ballroom. People were staring, their eyes darting between the picturesque group and where I stood, suddenly, glaringly alone. The girl began walking toward me. The four men flanked her like devoted bodyguards. She extended a hand, her posture dripping with a casual, terrifying confidence. “Hi. I’m Maddie. Maddie Foster.” I met her grip. “Caroline Sinclair.” “I saw them standing with you earlier,” she said, her smile utterly flawless. “I didn’t want you to feel left out because of me, so I thought I’d come say hi.” I gave a polite, measured smile. “I’m perfectly fine.” “Maddie, you still haven’t picked which one of us gets to drive you home tonight,” Tristan murmured, the corner of his mouth curving in a way that used to be reserved only for me. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat while you decide. You can’t starve.” Kieran gently guided her by the elbow toward the sprawling buffet. Harrison and Nathaniel followed without a moment’s hesitation. A tidal wave of unfamiliar sensations washed over me—humiliation, confusion, and a bizarre, quiet grief. Whispers drifted from the champagne tables: “My God, did the Sinclair girl just get benched?” “The tectonic plates are shifting. Who is that girl?” The neon text danced in my vision: [Ugh, our girl’s charm is unmatched! She just stood there and completely defeated the side-character!] [This is the kind of pampered, center-of-attention trope I love! No angst for the female lead! The boys just spoil her!] [Exactly! Spoil the lead, torture the side-chick! Sweet and satisfying!] Meeting the barrage of sympathetic and calculating stares from the crowd, I calmly took a sip of my champagne. [Look at her acting so calm, she must be dying of rage inside! Haha!] [Oh, don’t worry, there’s plenty of days like this ahead. Once she overestimates herself and tries to fight for the men, they’ll ruin her family and she’ll finally learn her place!] …Did I really look like the kind of person who would resort to something so pathetic? Across the room, they seemed to have reached a verdict. Under the collective, breathless gaze of Manhattan’s elite, the four of them escorted Maddie Foster out of the ballroom. I went home alone. Late that night, the buzzer to my penthouse rang. I checked the monitor and unlocked the elevator. Tristan, who owned the penthouse across the street, stepped in. He held out a bundle of silk. “You left your wrap in my car. Brought it over.” “Thank you.” I took it from his hands. It was a wrap he had playfully hidden from me days ago, demanding I stay longer if I wanted it back. Now, he was voluntarily returning it. “What happened to your arm?” he asked suddenly. I glanced down at the small bandage near my elbow. “I must have scraped it on something.” He gave a curt nod. “Be careful then. I’m taking off.” He turned and walked back to the elevator. Just like that. In the past, a paper cut would have drained the color from his face. He would have dragged me to the sink, sterilized it himself, and fretted over it for an hour. Now, he couldn’t care less. A bitter, dry laugh escaped my lips as the doors slid shut. I suppose I really needed to get used to this new reality. [Haha, the boys are drawing boundaries!] [The side-chick doesn’t even know how panicked they were earlier when our girl almost tripped!] 3 Half a month bled by. I didn’t see a single one of them. The socialites in my circle were all too eager to feed me the gossip, and the floating ticker tape filled in the agonizing details. Where they took Maddie. How fiercely they competed for her attention. Exactly how they used to be with me. Maddie stubbed her toe, and they practically called in a medevac. They guarded her like she was the rarest diamond on earth. The rumor mill was brutal: The four princes of New York have discarded the Sinclair heiress for a middle-class Cinderella. Treasured. Worshipped. Caroline Sinclair was officially yesterday’s news. Amidst the noise, I buried myself in my work at my father’s firm. Before, they were a constant, disruptive presence. If I worked an hour of overtime, one of them would march into the boardroom and drag me out. If I had a dinner with a male client, they would lurk at the bar, claiming they were “making sure no one took advantage.” Now, the silence in my office was profound. I could finally just work. We eventually crossed paths at a high-profile charity auction at Sotheby’s. They sat in the front row, Maddie nestled like a queen among them. I sat several rows back with my friend, Harper. Lot after lot went to the front row. They bought Maddie millions in vintage jewels, drawing breathless sighs of envy from the women in the room. When a stunning pair of antique emerald drop earrings appeared on the screen, I raised my paddle. “Oh, those are beautiful. I love them,” Maddie said, her voice carrying just enough to be heard. Instantly, four paddles shot up from her row. I raised my paddle three more times. Finally, Harrison Dupont threw out a number so astronomically high it effectively silenced the room. A blank check. Auction over. Harper shot me a look of deep, painful pity. The text hovered, glowing mockingly: [Hahaha, who can compete with the male leads’ bank accounts? They’re going to give our girl the moon and the stars!] [Think about how good they used to treat the side-character. Now she’s nothing. Once you meet the one, your past means nothing!] [This is the pure, romantic satisfaction I crave!] During the intermission, the champagne flowed. Harper clicked her tongue. “I still can’t believe the four of them are doing this to you. How did it happen so fast?” I just shook my head, offering a small smile, and took a sip of my drink. “Miss Sinclair.” Maddie’s voice was sickeningly sweet. She approached our table, beaming. “I saw you bidding on those earrings. Since the boys have already bought me so much tonight, why don’t I just gift them to you? I’d hate for you to feel sad because of how well they treat me.” She held out the velvet box, her smile masking a sharp, arrogant provocation. [Our girl is so kind. Truly a pure, angelic soul!] Harper bristled. “If they bought them for you, keep them. It’s not like Caroline can’t afford her own jewelry.” I placed a restraining hand on Harper’s arm, turning back to Maddie. “No thank you. Keep them, Miss Foster.” “Oh my, your friend is so angry. Is she upset because Harrison and the others are treating me so well? Is she fighting your battles?” Maddie pouted, ignoring the dark look on Harper’s face. “Well, now I feel terrible. You must take these as an apology.” She thrust the box closer, practically shoving it into my chest. Frowning, I raised my hand to gently push the box away. “Ah!” Without my applying any pressure at all, Maddie threw her body backward, stumbling as if violently shoved. Tristan and the others, who had been watching like hawks, surged forward in a panic. Tristan caught her before she hit the carpet. “Are you okay?” Nathaniel, usually so composed, asked, his voice threaded with raw anxiety. All four of them hovered over her, their faces etched with absolute devotion and fear. Harper let out a breath of disbelief. She couldn’t fathom that these men—our men—were obsessing over someone else to this degree. Maddie leaned into Tristan’s chest, looking frail and flushed. “I’m okay. Thank God you caught me, Tris.” Then, she looked up at me, her eyes brimming with calculated tears. “Miss Sinclair, I know you’re upset that they favor me now, but you didn’t have to push me in front of everyone just to embarrass me!” The surrounding crowd turned toward us, eyes hungry for drama. The Sinclair-Vanderbilt-Astor-Montgomery-Dupont fallout was the only thing anyone cared about. “What the hell are you talking about?” Harper snapped. [Wait? Did the side-character actually push her? I didn’t see her move!] [You just weren’t paying attention! If our girl says she pushed her, she pushed her!] [This girl is so vicious! But whatever, with the boys here, she can’t hurt our baby. She’s just going to embarrass herself!] [Keep acting up, you wicked witch. They’re going to exile you to the middle of nowhere!] 4 I glanced at the floating text, took a slow, grounding breath, and let my voice drop to a freezing calm. “Aren’t you being a little ridiculous, Miss Foster? I barely moved my arm. Did I push you over with my mind?” Maddie stiffened, then her eyes narrowed in a fleeting, contemptuous sneer, confident she held all the cards. Kieran stepped up, his face flushed with anger. “Caro, Maddie was standing right in front of you and suddenly fell backward. If you didn’t push her, who did?” “We know this transition is hard for you, Caro,” he continued, his tone patronizing. “But we just find Maddie incredibly charming. She hasn’t done anything wrong. You can’t just attack her because you’re jealous.” Harper looked at Kieran like he had grown a second head. Maddie hid a triumphant smirk behind her hand. “He’s right, Caroline. That was uncalled for,” Tristan added, his voice low and cold. My expression turned to stone. I looked at the four of them, letting my gaze linger before settling on Kieran. “So you’re deciding, without question, that I pushed her?” Kieran scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious? Look, just apologize to Maddie, Caro. I’m sure she won’t hold it against you.” Maddie gave a theatrical sigh. “I suppose since Miss Sinclair is feeling so insecure lately, if she apologizes, I’ll be the bigger person and forgive her.” [Jealousy is so ugly. Look at the male leads defending their wife! So satisfying!] [Our girl is so generous!] “You people are out of your goddamn minds—” Harper started, but a single, glacial look from Harrison Dupont silenced her. No one crossed these men. And right now, all that immense, terrifying power was positioned behind Maddie Foster. Harper looked at me, her eyes wide with real fear. The whispers grew louder. Everyone was watching the mighty Caroline Sinclair be reduced to dirt beneath their shoes. “Just apologize, Caroline,” Harrison said softly, the disappointment in his voice heavy. Kieran smiled, a cruel, boyish twist of his lips. “You used to teach us to take responsibility for our actions, Caro. We get it. We’re great catches. You can’t bear to let us go, so you take it out on Maddie. But she belongs to us now, and we’re not going to let you bully her—” Smack. The sound of my hand striking Kieran’s cheek echoed like a gunshot through the silent room.

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Twenty years after my husband, Chris, supposedly had a vasectomy to support our child-free lifestyle, I found myself staring at a positive pregnancy test. I thought it was a miracle—a late-blooming gift from the universe. But then I found the truth. Chris didn’t just have a secret; he had an entire second life. He had a family on the other side of town, and a son with leukemia who desperately needed a bone marrow match. My “miracle” pregnancy wasn’t a gift to me; it was a biological harvest Chris had planned to save his other woman’s child. The shock sent me into a physical collapse. When I woke up in the hospital, my world felt like it had been razed to the ground. “I’m terminating it,” I whispered, the words tasting like ash. “I want this out of me. Now.” Chris didn’t yell. He didn’t even look me in the eye. He simply had the nurses restrain me to the bed “for my own safety.” Then came the vultures. My mother-in-law and the doctor stood over me, their voices a synchronized drone of manipulation. “It’s a life, Evelyn! Think of the karma,” his mother pleaded, her eyes cold despite the tears she forced. “Chris’s son is your son, too! This baby is already here; how can you be so heartless? If you hadn’t been so stubborn about your ‘career’ and your ‘independence’ all these years, none of this would have happened. Chris was backed into a corner…” I stopped fighting the restraints. I looked at Chris, whose eyes were red-rimmed. I thought it was guilt. I was wrong. “Go have another child with her then,” I said, my voice dead. “I’ll pay for it. Whatever the treatment costs, I’ll sign the check. Just let me go.” A flicker of disappointment, then something sharper—pity—crossed his face. “I tried,” he admitted, his voice cracking. “Jade… she’s had several miscarriages trying to give me a son. She can’t carry anymore. Her body is spent.” He leaned in closer, his shadow swallowing me. “The doctors say a half-sibling has a twenty-five percent chance of a perfect match. Evelyn, please. If you save my son, I’ll give you anything. Anything you want.” I turned my face toward the sterile white wall. The chill in my bones felt permanent. “I want a divorce. I’m leaving this hospital in a week, and I expect you to meet me at the lawyer’s office.” … My mother-in-law’s blood pressure must have hit the ceiling. she lunged forward as if to strike me, but Chris caught her arm. His brow furrowed, his jaw setting into that stubborn line I used to mistake for strength. “No,” he said firmly. “I won’t divorce you. Don’t even dream of it.” I let out a jagged laugh. We had been married for two decades; he knew that look on my face. He knew I was done. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, his tone softening into that patronizing “reasonable man” voice he used in boardrooms. “Evie, we’ve spent half our lives together. Imagine the scandal. Do you really want to be the woman who blows up her life at forty-five?” “I know you feel slighted,” he continued. “But Jade… she’s not like you. She didn’t grow up with a silver spoon. She didn’t have your education or your family’s connections. She’s just a girl who gave me a son. It wasn’t easy for her. If you need someone to blame, blame me. But the boy is innocent. Don’t you see how cruel you’re being by holding this over me?” Cruel. The word felt like a slap. I touched my stomach, my mind drifting back twenty years. Back then, Chris was the one talking about the unfairness of fate. He was the brilliant, broke scholarship student my father had sponsored. I remember the day he lost a major contract—he had been standing in the pouring rain, begging for a chance to pitch. I was the one who held the umbrella over him and brought him home. A fallen genius. A man of integrity. Unyielding will. To the heiress of the Montgomery estate, he was a romantic tragedy I was desperate to rewrite. Naturally, he became the Montgomery son-in-law. His life became a series of wins. Back then, I never wanted to be child-free. I was obsessed with him; I wanted a little piece of us to carry on. When I first got pregnant, Chris cried with joy. “But Chris,” I had told him, “my parents want the first child to carry the Montgomery name. After that, we can have as many as you want. What do you think?” A shadow had passed over his face, so brief I thought I imagined it. “Evie, are you sure you’re ready to be a mother?” he had asked, his voice dripping with faux-concern. “I just… I don’t want to see you suffer. It would break my heart.” I was so moved. I told him I wasn’t afraid. But the pregnancy was a nightmare. I couldn’t keep anything down. Two weeks later, I was doubled over in pain. Chris went frantic, rushing me to the ER, but we lost the baby anyway. He stayed by my side all night. The next morning, he was sobbing, hitting his own forehead. “It’s my fault. I put you through this. No more, Evie. Let’s just be us. We’ll be ‘DINKs.’ I can’t lose you.” I insisted I was willing to try again, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said I had already given him enough, that I was his whole world. To prove his devotion, he told me he went to the clinic for a vasectomy that same week. For twenty years, he was the model husband, always “careful,” always protecting my health. Even his parents seemed to accept it, never pressuring me for an heir. They even bought us a Border Collie, Lucky, telling us to treat him like our son. I was so naive. I thought he had fought his traditional parents for me. Hearing his mother’s vitriol now, I finally understood. He didn’t want no children; he just didn’t want my children. Being the “sponsored” son-in-law was the thorn in his side. Letting a child carry my family name was the ultimate emasculation to him. He had orchestrated everything. I was the engine that drove his career, the bank that funded his lifestyle. And Jade? She was the quiet harbor where he could be the “provider,” the man whose name would be passed down. Now that my parents were dead and I had no family left to protect me, he was ready to use me one last time. He wanted me to endure a high-risk pregnancy just to provide spare parts for his “real” legacy. The humilation burned like acid. “The boy is innocent?” I spat. “To save your secret son, you’re willing to risk my life and the life of this baby. Tell me, Chris—who’s the cruel one here?” Chris flinched. “It’s not like that. I’ll hire the best doctors in the country. You always wanted a child, didn’t you? Why can’t you look at the bright side? You’ll both be fine, and then we can all be a family.” I looked at him, truly seeing the stranger he had become. “A family? You mean a harem? You expect me to live in some twisted sister-wife arrangement?” Chris walked toward the door, his voice heavy with a self-righteous burden. “Jade has never wanted to take anything from you. I still love you, Evelyn. You will always be my wife. But you need to be the bigger person here. This baby stays.” He left the room, posting two private security guards at my door. They weren’t there to protect me; they were there to ensure I didn’t find a way to a clinic. I didn’t waste another second. I picked up the phone and dialed my lawyer. “Lee, if he refuses to sign, what are my options?” He gave me a direct answer. There was a way out, but I had to wait a week for the paperwork to be ironed out. The next day, Chris didn’t show up. Lee, who has a reach as long as his career, sent me photos. Chris was with Jade. He must have told her the news. In the video clip, Jade was weeping with joy, throwing her arms around Chris in a crowded cafe. I shut the screen, unable to watch. I tried to distract myself with social media, but then I saw my mother-in-law’s profile. The “sweet, traditional” woman had undergone a personality transplant. She had posted a flood of videos featuring a young boy—her “beloved grandson.” I realized then that every holiday Chris was “working late,” he was actually with them. Her latest post was a video of her crying to the camera, calling me the “most wicked daughter-in-law in history.” She had even photoshopped my face onto a funeral portrait. She told her followers that I was an ungrateful woman who was refusing to save her dying grandson out of spite. The comments were a bloodbath. Strangers were calling for my head, calling me a monster, a “barren ice queen.” Thinking of my late parents—who had loved Chris like a son—my rage boiled over. I commented directly: “He isn’t my son. Why is his life my responsibility?” She replied instantly: “How heartless! Is this what a mother says?” My DMs exploded. I threw the phone across the room, shaking. But she wasn’t done. She sent me a voice note, her voice a shrill hiss: “You’re evil! I said nothing but the truth! A husband is your king, and his child is yours! It’s your duty to save him! If you hadn’t nagged Chris into that surgery, he wouldn’t have had to go elsewhere for a family! This is your fault! My poor grandson is suffering because of your ego!” I couldn’t listen anymore. The pregnancy hormones made it impossible to stop the tears. The whole world was telling me I was a criminal for not wanting to be a human incubator for a mistress’s child. A bowl of chicken soup appeared in my field of vision. Chris was back, looking disheveled. He reached out to wipe a tear from my cheek. “You’re still the same,” he murmured. “Always crying when you’re pregnant.” The memory hit me like a physical blow. Twenty years ago, when I was throwing up everything, he had learned to make this exact soup. I had forced myself to eat it, touched by his devotion. I remembered the night before my miscarriage. He had looked at me with such hesitation. I had asked him what was wrong, and he had just pulled me into his arms and sobbed, “I’m so sorry I’m making you suffer. We don’t need a baby. Just you and me.” I thought he was a fool who loved me too much. But I was the fool. His “devotion” was guilt. He hadn’t been worried about my health; he had been struggling with the fact that he was actively sabotaging our child because of a bruised ego over a surname. I looked at the man I had loved for two decades and realized I had never known him at all. “Chris,” I whispered, “why didn’t you just talk to me? My parents just wanted the first one to have our name. We could have had three more. I gave you everything—my life, my money, my family’s legacy. And you couldn’t even give me the truth?” I slapped the bowl of soup out of his hand. It shattered against the floor. “I’m going to make you lose everything, Chris. Just wait a week.” His face darkened. “What the hell is wrong with you?” A slender woman rushed into the room, frantically trying to clean up the mess. “Chris, don’t be angry. It’s my fault. The soup probably didn’t smell right to Evelyn.” I froze. It wasn’t Chris coming to see me. It was the two of them, putting on a show of “kindness.” Jade was beautiful in a fragile, wilted sort of way. Looking at her, I felt ancient. My youth had been spent building an empire Chris now sat upon. I didn’t have that “damsel in distress” look. Chris didn’t even look at me. He was too busy checking Jade’s hands for burns. When she winced, he looked like someone had stabbed him. “I’m fine, Chris,” she whispered, her eyes darting toward me. “Evelyn’s health is what matters.” She gestured toward the door. A small, pale boy with a shaved head walked in. “Noah, come here. Say hello to Mrs. Bennett.” The boy looked sullen. Jade led him to my bedside and, before I could react, she took his small, cold hand and pressed it against my stomach. “Noah, feel that? There’s a little brother in there. He’s going to save you. Just a few more months, and the pain will go away.” Her words were like poisoned needles. Even if I kept this baby, you can’t take bone marrow from a newborn. She was talking about an experimental cord blood procedure—or worse. She was looking at my child as a medical resource. I looked at Chris. He was smiling at them, a look of pure paternal pride on his face. He didn’t see anything wrong with what she said. “Chris… are you planning an eye for an eye?” I asked. “What if the match fails? What if I refuse to go through with it?” Chris’s expression turned to stone. “There is no ‘if.’ This is happening.” “I have a heart condition, Chris! A high-risk pregnancy at my age could kill me! And I will never let my child be a sacrifice for anyone!” “This child,” I pointed at the boy, “is not my problem. His illness is the result of your lies!” “Shut up!” Chris roared, slamming a glass against the nightstand. His eyes were wild. He immediately turned back to Jade, pulling her and the boy into a protective embrace. Jade sobbed into his shoulder, covering the boy’s ears. “Chris, it’s my fault,” she wailed. “I’m useless. I couldn’t give you a healthy son. Evelyn has every right to hate me, but Noah is just a child! If I could take his place, I would… I just wanted her to have some nutrients. I see now… you were just trying to spare my feelings because she said no. It’s okay, Chris. This is just our fate…” The “soft” attack worked instantly. Chris looked more panicked than I’d ever seen him. “Jade, listen to me. I won’t let anything happen to Noah. I promise. I love you both. We’re going to Europe after this, remember? I have the money, I have the power. Not even God is taking my son from me!” He had forgotten one thing. The money and the power? They were mine. “Let’s stop the theater, Chris,” I said, my voice cold as a grave. “Sign the papers and let’s end this.” Chris ignored me. He moved Jade and Noah into a VIP suite down the hall and came back to my room. “Don’t ever speak like that in front of Jade again,” he warned. “She blames herself enough. And for the last time, I am not divorcing you. Everyone knows I am where I am because of your father. I’m grateful for that. But look at any man in my position—we all have someone on the side. I’m telling you, you will always be my wife. Isn’t that enough?” “A seat at the table you stole from me?” I mocked. The boy I loved was gone. In his place was a narcissist who thought he was doing me a favor by letting me keep my title. From the moment my parents died, he had dropped the mask. He had cried louder than me at the funeral, posing for the cameras. A month later, he had maneuvered through my father’s old connections and diluted my shares in the company before I could even process my grief. He told me it was to “protect me from the stress.” The next day, I stood by the window, clutching the divorce papers Lee had smuggled in. I was rehearsing my final words. A tug on my sleeve broke my concentration. It was Noah. “Ma’am? Dad took Mom out for a walk. He said you were supposed to stay with me while I did my treatment.” I looked out the window. Chris was leading Jade toward the garden. The boy looked so small, so fragile. I felt a flicker of pity. Back in the ward, Noah whimpered in pain, begging for some candy from the gift shop downstairs. My heart softened. I told him I’d be right back. But when I returned five minutes later, the bathroom door was open. Noah was standing under a freezing cold shower, fully clothed, sobbing into a video call with Jade. “Mom, I’m so cold! Mrs. Bennett told me the cold water would make me stronger, but it hurts!” I dropped the candy. I rushed in to wrap him in a towel, but it was too late. Within minutes, Chris and Jade burst in. Noah threw himself into Jade’s arms, shivering. “Mom, I was brave! Mrs. Bennett gave me candy for doing it!” He looked at me with those wide, innocent-looking eyes. “Dad, don’t be mad at her. I’m a big boy.” Jade dropped to her knees, sobbing and banging her head on the floor. “Evelyn, I’m sorry! Hit me instead! The boy is innocent! If you don’t want to save him, fine, but please don’t hurt him! He has no immune system; the cold will kill him!” I reached out to pull her up, but Chris lunged forward. He shoved me back so hard I hit the wall, and then he backhanded me across the face. The world went silent. My ears rang. “I told you it was my fault!” Chris screamed. “Why would you take it out on a child? You want to end my bloodline that badly?” I held my burning cheek, my stomach tightening in a cramp. “He did it himself. I didn’t touch him!” “I don’t want to hear your lies! Apologize to Jade and Noah. Now!” He gathered his “real” family. There was no room for me in that circle. I started to laugh. It was a jagged, hysterical sound. I pulled out a document—the one Chris had left for me to sign regarding the bone marrow compatibility tests. I flipped to the last page. “Fine. You want the tests done the second this baby is viable? I agree. Sign it.” Chris, blinded by rage and disgust, didn’t even look at the header. He scribbled his name and threw the pen at me. “You should have done this from the start! If anything happens to Noah, I’m done with you!” I walked out of the room, clutching the paper. It wasn’t a medical consent form. Lee had swapped it. It was a binding, no-contest divorce settlement and a full transfer of the remaining Montgomery assets Chris had tried to hide. “Chris,” I said, stopping at the door. “Do you remember how I haven’t touched cold water since the miscarriage?” He didn’t look up. He didn’t follow me. I left a copy of the actual divorce papers on my hospital bed and went straight to the airport. As the plane took off, my phone lit up with dozens of missed calls. A flight attendant kindly helped me answer one. Chris’s voice came through, sounding like a terrified child. “Evie? Evie, I’m sorry. Where are you…”

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The first time Gwen Sinclair cheated, she dragged her lover into the foyer of our penthouse, her eyes rimmed with a manic sort of red. “Do what you want with him,” she’d challenged, her voice trembling not with guilt, but with a terrifying kind of adrenaline. Because I loved her with a desperation that bordered on the pathetic, I chose to believe it was a momentary lapse in judgment. I forgave the unforgivable. The second time, I took matters into my own hands. I bought the man off, sent him to a different continent, and made it clear that if he ever touched American soil again, he’d find out exactly how much power the Wilder name carried. Then came the night of our engagement gala. Gwen didn’t come to me with an apology this time. She came with a blade. She pinned me against the mahogany desk in my study, her hand tightening around my throat, the cold tip of a stiletto knife pressing into the soft skin of my lower abdomen. “Where is Samuel?” she hissed, her breath smelling of expensive scotch and ruin. “He’s the father of my child, Bennett. Didn’t you know?” The room felt like it was tilting on its axis. “It was my fault,” she continued, her voice breaking. “I couldn’t control my feelings. If you want to be a monster, be one to me. Samuel is innocent. He doesn’t deserve your vendettas. Please… I’m begging you. Just let the baby be born safely, and I promise, I’ll never see him again.” She leaned in closer, her eyes searching mine for a mercy I no longer possessed. “You lost the ability to have children after the accident, didn’t you? Let’s just keep this one. We can raise him together. He’ll only ever know you as his father. That’s my vow to you.” The knife punctured my skin. A sharp, stinging heat blossomed across my stomach, followed by the wet warmth of blood soaking into my silk shirt. I looked at her—really looked at her—and smiled. Then, I told her exactly where Samuel Moore was hiding. … The heavy thud of the front door echoing through the house signaled her departure. I fumbled for my phone with shaking fingers, dialing a number I’d kept in my contacts like a glass-break emergency kit. “You were right,” I whispered into the receiver, my voice thin. “Can you still get me out?” On the other end, a woman cursed under her breath. Her tone was a mix of exasperation and pity. “You’re telling me this now? Bennett, I’m already at the gate for my flight to London. How am I supposed to help you from across the Atlantic?” “Harper, please.” “Bennett Wilder,” she sighed, her voice softening. “You’re the smartest man I know in a boardroom, but you’re a goddamn idiot when it comes to that woman. Did you trade all your common sense for a pretty face?” I pressed a hand against the wound on my belly, the pain a dull, rhythmic throb. “I’m sorry. I owe you. A thirty percent stake in the next development project—is that enough to make it worth your while?” There was a sharp intake of breath. Harper Ross was a shark, and I’d just dropped blood in the water. “Send me the time and the location,” she said, her professional veneer snapping back into place. “I’ll be there. And next time you want to screw over your life, make sure I’m the one you call first. I’m expensive, but I’m loyal.” I forwarded the entire wedding plan to Harper. She replied with a simple OK emoji. The house we’d built together, the one intended to be our marital home, was a wreck. Gwen had torn it apart in her rage, a perfect mirror of the state of my soul. I cleaned the wound as best I could, bandaged it with trembling hands, and stumbled out into the night. I had just checked into a discreet boutique hotel when Gwen’s name flashed on my screen. The roar of jet engines in the background was unmistakable, but it couldn’t drown out the sharp, defensive edge in her voice. “Ben? I’m on a private flight out of the country. I can’t be there tonight. Just… get some rest. I’m sorry about earlier. I was emotional. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She paused, perhaps waiting for me to comfort her. “Is it bad? Should I send a doctor over to the villa?” “Don’t bother,” I said, my voice cold and flat. Gwen’s tone instantly hardened. “Bennett, don’t do this. What happened with Samuel was an accident. I was—someone drugged my drink, and I thought he was you. It’s done now. I have to find him. You expect me to let the father of my child rot in some foreign gutter?” She scoffed. “You forgave me once before. Why are you making a scene now? Our wedding is in a week. Just take tonight to calm down.” I stared at my chat history with Harper, a grim sense of finality settling over me. “Don’t worry about the week,” I said. “There isn’t going to be a wedding.” “Gwen,” I added, “I told you once. I don’t do compromises on loyalty. Not anymore.” I was about to hang up when she exploded. “Not getting married? Are you joking? The gala is over, the papers are signed, the entire East Coast knows the Sinclair and Wilder families are merging! You’re going to threaten the merger over this?” “Bennett, we grew up together. You know who I am. I wouldn’t have betrayed you if I hadn’t been set up!” “They say three’s a crowd, but I’ve only made two mistakes. Once the baby is born, I swear Samuel will never cross your path again. Isn’t that enough?” A single tear escaped, hot and bitter, tracking down my cheek. I let out a jagged laugh. “So that’s the plan? I spend every day looking at a child that isn’t mine, a living, breathing reminder of every time you chose him over me? I can’t do it, Gwen. I’m sorry.” “Fine!” she screamed. “Remember you said that! Don’t you dare regret it when I’m gone! Look at any woman in my position—every CEO has a side piece. I gave you Samuel to deal with as you saw fit. I’ve been more than fair. If you can handle it, show up at the altar. If not, then get out. Do whatever the hell you want.” The line went dead. I looked at my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window. I looked broken, pale, and entirely too young for the weight I was carrying. She had forgotten. She’d forgotten the car crash three years ago. She’d forgotten that the only reason I had a permanent scar on my abdomen—and the reason I could never give her a child—was because I had thrown my body over hers when the truck hit us. Suite 1214. This room used to be our sanctuary. She said it was where our best memories lived. Valentine’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries—we’d claimed this space as our own. But now, I was the only one left who remembered the ghosts. When my parents called, I knew she had already leaked the news of the “breakup” to them. “Bennett, honey, what is happening? Gwen says you’re calling off the wedding?” my mother asked, her voice hovering between panic and confusion. “This isn’t a game, son,” my father added. “You can’t just walk away from a merger of this scale.” I buried myself under the heavy duvet, my voice thick with unshed tears. “She’s pregnant. It’s not mine.” There was a heavy silence. Then, my father’s voice came back, lower this time. “Every woman makes mistakes, Ben. Just have her take care of it and—” “I’m not calling off the wedding,” I interrupted. “I’m just changing the bride. You remember Harper Ross.” My father’s advice died in his throat. My mother gasped so loud it echoed through the line. “Harper? Bennett, you two are rivals! She’s been trying to sink your firm since prep school. Have you forgotten the time she nearly got you expelled?” I smiled, though it felt more like a baring of teeth. “Exactly. That’s why I’m marrying her. I want to spend the rest of my life making her miserable. Or maybe she’ll do the same to me. Either way, it’ll be honest.” I didn’t sleep. The wound in my gut throbbed in time with my heartbeat, a constant, nagging reminder of Gwen’s “love.” At dawn, I called a broker to list the villa. I didn’t want the equity. I just wanted it gone. When I went back to pack my things, I saw Gwen’s private jet idling on the lawn. Inside the house, the walls told a story I hadn’t been invited to read. The photos I had carefully framed of us were gone. In their place were snapshots of her and Samuel. The glaciers in Iceland. The Eiffel Tower. The ruins of Notre Dame. Every place we had ever visited, she had taken him there to rewrite our history. She used to tell me she hated photos. She’d say that as a woman in power, she couldn’t afford to have her image used against her by competitors or the press. No matter how much I begged for a single portrait of us together, she refused. But for Samuel, she was an open book. I found them standing by the photo wall. Gwen was glowing, her hand resting on her barely-there bump. She looked younger, softer. “Samuel, when the baby is born, we’ll take him to all these places, okay?” she whispered. “He’s going to love it. Look, he just kicked! Can you feel it?” The sound of the door closing drew their attention. Samuel didn’t act like a tough guy. He immediately dropped to his knees, crawling toward me and grabbing the hem of my coat. “Bennett, please. It’s my fault. I broke my promise. I shouldn’t have come back, but I love her so much… I swear, once the baby is here, I’ll disappear. I won’t get in your way…” Before I could speak, Gwen let out a cold, sharp laugh. “Don’t apologize to him, Samuel. You were drugged, too. If anyone owes an apology, it’s me for putting you in this position.” She turned her gaze on me, her eyes like chips of flint. “Bennett, I found out who was behind the drugging. That company will be bankrupt within the month. Samuel is a victim here. You can’t blame him for a mistake he was forced into. I’m willing to overlook your behavior last night. Just apologize to him, and we can put this behind us.” I looked at her, and for the first time in twenty years, I felt absolutely nothing. No anger. No longing. Just a profound sense of absurdity. “I should apologize? Gwen, have you finally lost your mind?” Suddenly, Samuel’s grip on my waist tightened, his fingers digging directly into my bandaged wound. I let out a sharp, choked gasp, cold sweat breaking out across my forehead. The pain was blinding. I shoved him away instinctively. I didn’t use much force, but he tumbled backward, hitting the glass cabinet with a theatrical crash. “What are you doing?!” Gwen lunged at me, shoving me with all her strength. My head slammed into the sharp edge of the doorframe. The world went white. I felt the warm trickle of blood running down my temple. “I think you’re the one who’s lost it!” Gwen screamed, her voice distorted by rage. “He was humbling himself before you, I gave you an explanation, and you still act like a savage?” “Apologize. Now. Or you’ll see exactly what I’m capable of.” I gritted my teeth, swallowing the iron taste of blood and the crushing weight of betrayal. “Never.” “You want me to apologize to your plaything? In your dreams, Gwen.” “You ungrateful bastard!” Gwen’s face was contorted. she helped Samuel into the master bedroom, her touch infinitely tender. When she came back out, she didn’t come alone. She summoned the household staff. “Where are the security ties?” she demanded. “Mr. Wilder is having a breakdown. Let him sit out in the garden and clear his head.” “No one lets him up until I say so.” My eyes went wide. “Gwen, you’re insane! He’s a nobody, and you’re doing this to me? In the house I bought?” “The house you bought,” she whispered, leaning into my space, “but I’m the one who owns the air inside it.” She didn’t look back as the guards dragged me toward the terrace. My boots dragged on the hardwood, leaving a smear of blood from my head wound. As the heavy glass doors locked behind me, a crack of thunder split the sky. Within seconds, the clouds opened up, a torrential New England downpour drenching me to the bone. I slumped against the stone balustrade. The wounds on my head and stomach began to burn, then throb, then go numb. My consciousness began to fray at the edges. I looked at the guard standing under the eaves, his expression one of bored amusement. “Please…” I rasped, my voice barely audible over the rain. “Tell Gwen… I need a doctor. Please.” The guard gave me a mocking smirk. “Save it, kid. I’ve seen enough of your type’s drama. Ms. Sinclair just called her private physician for Mr. Moore. She’s a little busy right now.” I looked up at the second-floor balcony. Two silhouettes moved behind the sheer curtains. Then, the world went dark. Through the haze of my fever, I heard shouting. “Shit, he’s out! There’s blood everywhere!” Footsteps approached. An umbrella was held over me, blocking the relentless needles of rain. Gwen’s voice was like ice water. “Are you done playing the martyr?” “Anyone would think you were the one being mistreated here, Bennett. You need to learn some humility. This is for your own good.” The footsteps retreated. I heard her and Samuel talking near the door. “Gwen,” Samuel’s voice was a soft, manipulative purr. “He doesn’t look like he’s faking. Is this too much? He’s your fiancé. If his family finds out…” Gwen’s voice was firm. “I’ve spent years building this empire. I don’t answer to the Wilders anymore. He started this. You’re going to be here for the next eight months; I won’t have him bullying you. His ego needs to be broken.” I could almost see the smirk on Samuel’s face. “I heard these high-society marriages are just business. Is that how it is with you and Bennett?” The rain continued to lash against my face, cold and unforgiving. For a moment, I thought my heart had simply stopped. “To wear the crown, one must bear the weight,” Gwen said, her voice devoid of emotion. “Being a Sinclair means marriage is a strategic alliance I can’t escape. Since I have no choice, I accepted it. Bennett is handsome, he’s predictable, and compared to the other arrogant heirs out there, he was the best option.” Tears mingled with the rainwater, sliding into the dirt. Gwen’s voice changed then—it became warm, filled with a genuine affection I hadn’t heard in years.

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