I picked up a handsome amnesiac, and he was intense and strong, going seven times a night. The day I found out I was pregnant, the man suddenly dropped his usual clinginess, becoming abstinent and composed, and even said— “My memory has returned. I am the CEO of the Vance Corporation. Although you are just a lowly small-business owner, you have won my heart. Come back to the city with me, and I can make an exception and make you one of my top mistresses.” I didn’t want to be trapped in a gilded cage, so I faked my death and ran away with his baby. … Five years later, the Sterling family found me. I was the long-lost only daughter of General Sterling. On my first day back in Washington D.C., my dad told me that my ex-husband, the current President of the Vance Corporation, Arthur Vance, had arranged for me to marry his adopted son, the heir apparent. This heir was tall and handsome, just reaching his early twenties. But whether he was good or bad, I didn’t want to marry him. If I had been willing to enter their elite circle, I wouldn’t have faked my death five years ago. Holding the formal engagement document, I was hesitating whether to fake my death again, when I heard my nanny report— “Oh no, Miss, the little miss is missing!” “The rash on your face has just healed, you shouldn’t be exposed to the wind. Put on a veil before you come out with me to look for the child.” I hurriedly put on a veil and followed the nanny out of the Sterling estate to look for my daughter, Chloe. Not long after leaving the estate, I saw my daughter sitting on the ground on the street. She was surrounded by two squads of menacing security guards, and standing right in front of her was a familiar figure in a bespoke suit. It was my ex-husband, Arthur Vance. I stopped in my tracks, thankful as I touched the veil on my face. Good, it covered me completely. Faking my death five years ago was essentially fraud. Unless absolutely necessary, I couldn’t expose my past identity. It seemed I would have to wear this veil all the time. Arthur exuded a terrifyingly noble aura. He leaned forward slightly, staring at Chloe, and asked: “Whose child are you, daring to block my path?” Five years had passed, and he had completely transformed into a stranger to me. Chloe was trembling, frightened by his imposing manner. I quickly stepped forward, picked up Chloe, and greeted Arthur. I deliberately lowered my head and bowed to plead for mercy: “Mia Sterling of the Sterling family greets you, Mr. Vance.” “My daughter didn’t mean to cross your path, please forgive her.” I intentionally lowered my voice. Arthur stood up straight, his hands behind his back, staring at me. “So you are General Sterling’s only daughter? Since you’ve entered D.C., you should get rid of your vulgar and reckless country habits.” “I won’t hold this against you this time, but don’t let it happen again.” He really didn’t recognize me, and his words were very callous. I felt a bit unaccustomed to it. I tightened my grip slightly, telling myself that he was no longer the husband who clung to me and spoiled me. After lecturing me, Arthur moved his fingertips and gave a cold order. “Let’s go back.” The two squads of security guards followed closely behind him. Arthur was the top boss in the business world. Unless there was an accident, it would be very difficult for a regular person like me to meet him. Thinking of that engagement document binding me to his heir, I absolutely could not marry into that family… I gathered my courage, stepped forward, blocked Arthur’s path, and knelt before him. Arthur frowned, looking down at me. As our eyes met, I quickly lowered mine, took the engagement document from my sleeve, and handed it to him. “I implore you, Mr. Vance, to revoke the engagement between me and your son!” “As you can see, I am unrefined, a widow with a child. I am not worthy of the noble heir. If he marries me, he will inevitably be mocked…” Before I could finish, Arthur cut me off. “I arranged this marriage. Who dares to mock my son?” He glared down at me coldly. I could hear his impatience, and my palms began to sweat. “Mr. Vance…” “Enough.” Arthur waved his hand dismissively and had a guard pull me up. “My word is final. No matter what your reasons are, the engagement is set and absolutely cannot be changed. From now on, what you should be thinking about is how to be a good wife and assist my son.” After Arthur finished speaking, he turned and strode away, not even sparing me a second glance. I stared at his tall, imposing back, rubbing my temples, feeling a headache coming on. The engagement is set and cannot be changed? But I’ve never heard of anything as absurd as a father giving his own wife to his son. Not only did Arthur arrange the marriage between me and his heir, but he also ordered a welcome banquet to be held for me. For a time, my name was on everyone’s lips. On the day of the banquet, an assistant from his mansion brought me a gold phoenix hairpin, saying it was a welcome gift from the heir. Having been in business for years, what kind of precious items hadn’t I seen? I could tell at a glance that this hairpin was just wood painted yellow. The heir clearly didn’t want to marry me either. He deliberately tricked me into wearing it to make a fool of myself, hoping to use the opportunity to break off our engagement. Since I didn’t want to marry him either, I reluctantly played along. I put on my veil, deliberately wore the fake gold hairpin, and walked around the banquet. Sure enough, people started making snide remarks. “This is hilarious. Mia Sterling is actually walking around wearing a fake gold hairpin painted yellow. She really is a country bumpkin who hasn’t seen the world!” “And wearing a veil, she must be hiding an ugly face!” “The heir didn’t even show up to her welcome banquet. He clearly doesn’t want to marry this widow. Besides, everyone knows the heir and his cousin, Olivia Chen, are deeply in love.” “Olivia is the daughter of the Mayor and a prominent Senator. She is the role model for young ladies in D.C., and she is the only one worthy of being the heir’s wife!” I listened to the chatter, the face under my veil perfectly calm. But the young maid beside me was indignant on my behalf: “Miss, you are the only daughter of the Sterling family, the officially appointed future wife. How dare they discuss you like this! Should I go reprimand them?” I shook my head and raised a hand to stop her: “No need. I’ve been running a business alone with a child all these years; what kind of nasty things haven’t I heard?” “Besides, I also want to ruin this marriage.” However, just as I finished speaking, Arthur’s cold reprimand sounded from behind me. “Mia Sterling, you have quite some nerve.” I turned my head in shock and saw Arthur walking slowly towards me. The coldness in his eyes made me quickly lower my head and pretend to step back in fear. Even with the veil on, I was still worried he would recognize me. I needed to stay as far away from him as possible. Arthur gave me a warning look but didn’t notice anything unusual about me. I watched him bypass me, walk into the courtyard, and reprimand them in a deep voice. “The gold hairpin on Mia Sterling’s head was given by my son, and it came from my private vault. Who dares to say this gold hairpin is fake?” When the big boss was angry, everyone panicked and backed down. “Good evening, Mr. Vance! Please forgive us!” I was about to follow suit, but Arthur raised his hand, gently supported me, and signaled me to stand. His icy gaze swept over the young ladies, his voice cold as iron. “Those who recklessly gossip about my son’s marriage are showing contempt for our family’s dignity. Go back and copy the code of conduct a hundred times to reflect on your actions!” After giving the warning, Arthur signaled me to follow him. We walked out of the banquet hall one after the other and got into a limousine. Only after sitting down did Arthur look at me squarely. “Giving a fake gold hairpin was my son’s fault. I’m taking you to see him so he can apologize to you personally.” “But I’ve said it before, this marriage has been officially set and cannot be changed. Even if you don’t want to, you have to hold it in. You must understand that whether it’s thunder or rain, it’s all a blessing from me.” “Pour me some tea.” After saying that, Arthur closed his eyes, completely disregarding my wishes. Five years ago, the reason I refused to go back to the city with him was that his attitude after regaining his memory was too arrogant. I am a human being, but in his eyes, I was no different from a cat or a dog. I poured tea for him in silence, lowering my eyes to secretly observe the limousine interior. The teapot was a simple clay pot, the coaster was an old piece of silk from five years ago, and a plate of peach blossom pastries was placed on the small table. These things looked very familiar. I love eating peach blossom pastries, and during the year I lived with the amnesiac Arthur, he often used a clay pot to brew tea for me. I didn’t expect Arthur to still be using these items of ordinary people; it was surprisingly rustic. A sense of unease inexplicably rose in my heart. I put down the teapot just as Arthur opened his eyes. He raised his hand, picked up the teacup, and spoke slowly. “When you see my son later, don’t be nervous.” “He values relationships and has been spoiled by me into being a bit impulsive. I heard from your father that you are five years older than him; it’s perfect for you to help me manage him.” I clenched my palms and smiled slightly. “I will obey your orders.” Seeing his son was fine too. If he was smart, maybe I could cooperate with him to find a way to break the engagement. But I didn’t expect that as soon as Arthur and I walked into the heir’s private suite, we would bump into the heir holding a woman on his lap, feeding her pastries. “Insolent!” Arthur shouted angrily, scaring the embracing couple so much they jumped up. Arthur strode forward and kicked the heir. “Liam, I ordered you to host a welcome banquet for your future wife, but not only did you not go, you’re here in your suite acting all lovey-dovey with your cousin.” “Do you still respect me at all?” The cousin, Olivia Chen, rushed to help Liam, her eyes shimmering with tears as she pleaded: “Uncle Arthur, it’s all my fault!” “I saw Liam was in a bad mood, so I personally made osmanthus pastries to comfort him…” “You have no right to speak here.” Arthur didn’t even spare Olivia a glance, warningly staring at Liam, who was kicked half to the ground. “Liam, listen to me—” “You can choose not to be the heir, but Mia Sterling will definitely be your wife!” Liam’s face turned deathly pale. His lips moved, but he couldn’t say a word. Olivia’s face was even paler, not daring to interrupt again. Under my veil, my expression wasn’t good either. After this incident, it would be even harder for me to reject the marriage. Arthur had people take Olivia away, then looked down at Liam from a superior position. “I’ll give you one more chance. Apologize properly to your future wife, and don’t make me angry again.” After saying that, Arthur flicked his sleeves and left. As soon as Arthur left, Liam endured the pain to stand up and walked towards me, pointing his finger. “Mia Sterling, did you deliberately call my father here!” “You country bumpkin, is tattling all you know how to do?” As he spoke, his finger accidentally snagged my veil. Seeing my face clearly, Liam suddenly froze, a look of amazement appearing in his eyes. He muttered in surprise: “No wonder my father insists on giving you to me as my wife, you look so much like his late wife…” I frowned, bent down, picked up the veil, and put it back on. Only then did Liam regain his previous resentment. He clutched his stomach and glared at me. “Mia Sterling, don’t think that just because you’re pretty and look like his late wife, I’ll fall for you. I only have my cousin Olivia in my heart!” I took a step back and said coldly: “I don’t know the late wife you’re talking about, and I’m not interested in her.” “If you don’t want to marry me, then figure out a way to make your father revoke the engagement.” “I sincerely wish you and your cousin a happy life together.” After saying that, I walked out of his suite. Unexpectedly, I ran into Arthur again at the estate gates. I frowned and clenched my hands. Was he taking this marriage between me and his son a bit too seriously? He carelessly rubbed a jade ring on his thumb, looking at me sideways, and asked: “How did the chat with Liam go?” I bowed to him and shook my head. “I am just a country businesswoman who has been making a living with my daughter these past few years. My temper is fiery. I don’t have the gentle and virtuous nature of high-society ladies, nor have I learned how to please men. I can’t control Liam.” “Since Liam has someone he loves, why don’t you let them be together?” Arthur’s hand, which was rubbing the jade ring, suddenly stopped. His cold, sharp eyes swept over me, clearly dissatisfied with my answer. “Mommy!” A childish voice suddenly broke the tense atmosphere. My daughter, Chloe, jumped off the carriage and ran towards me. I quickly caught her. Just as I steadied myself, Arthur suddenly strode over and snatched the scented sachet from Chloe’s waist. “Where did you get this sachet?” His slender hands gripped the sachet tightly. His majestic and cold face was rarely agitated; he had lost his usual composure. But this sachet wasn’t very precious. I embroidered it myself, and the stitching was even crooked and ugly. I didn’t know what Arthur was doing. I hugged the frightened Chloe tightly and lied casually. “My daughter picked this up in the woods outside the city when we returned to D.C. I saw she liked it, so I let her play with it.” “If you want it, Mr. Vance, I can just give it to you.” Who knew that after hearing this, Arthur immediately ordered the guards behind him. “Send people to the woods outside the city immediately. Dig three feet into the ground if you have to. Search for traces of my late wife, Mia!” Mia was the name I used when Arthur and I got married. I was his late wife? I froze completely, pinching my palms. Feigning calmness, I hugged my daughter and got into the carriage heading back to the estate. When Arthur regained his memory back then, didn’t he act all high and mighty and say I was just a lowly small-business owner? Could it be that now that I’m “dead,” I’m no longer lowly, and I can be honored as his wife? Pressing the veil against my face, I felt that things were getting increasingly complicated. After taking my daughter back to the General’s estate, I told my dad about Arthur looking for me. My dad patted my head comfortingly: “Don’t worry, before you returned to D.C., I already erased the traces of your business activities over these past few years in advance. He won’t be able to find you for now.” “Take this time to think carefully about your future. If you insist on not entering that family, I will risk the 300,000 troops in my hands to protect you.” “I lost you for so many years, I’ve let down your deceased mother. I can’t let you down again…” I gripped the handkerchief in my hand tightly, my eyes uncontrollably moistening. “Thank you, Dad, but you don’t need to worry about me.” “A cat has a cat’s way, a rat has a rat’s way. I’ve made some capable friends in the business world over these years. If the big boss insists on forcing me into his family in the end, I’ll just fake my death again.” I took out a bone whistle, blew it to summon a carrier pigeon, and issued a million-dollar bounty for a faked death operation. In the afternoon, someone accepted the request. We agreed to use a bone flute as a signal; whenever I needed it, I could call them directly to my door to help me fake my death. My tense heart finally settled down a bit today. But I hadn’t been happy for long before an etiquette instructor from Arthur’s mansion suddenly arrived at the General’s estate in the evening. She kept a straight face, standing straighter than a ruler. “Mr. Vance specifically sent me here to teach the future daughter-in-law the etiquette of noble ladies and the arts of the boudoir, to learn how to please a man.” “He said he wants to see results within three days and hopes you will cooperate.” Using the excuse that my rash hadn’t healed, I kept my veil on. The instructor was very strict. If I deviated even slightly, the ruler came down. Three days later, I felt like my legs and waist no longer belonged to me. But Arthur came to the General’s estate in person. He stood by the moon gate where I was practicing, his hands behind his back, looking indifferently at me wearing the veil. “How is your learning going? Have you changed your fiery temper?” “Let me see the results today.” I secretly moved my aching thighs and touched the veil on my face. I always felt a bit uneasy; Arthur paid too much attention to me, this ‘future daughter-in-law’. I had shared a bed with him for a year. Given his sharpness, the longer we interacted, the more likely he was to recognize me. I had to find a way to send him away and minimize contact with him. So, I looked at Arthur, deliberately put on a frivolous posture, and said bluntly— “As for the arts of the boudoir, how do you want to see the results? Shall we take off our clothes and go to bed?” “Insolent!” Arthur was so angry his face turned pale. He ordered the instructor to drag me out of the General’s estate. “Mia Sterling, talking back to me won’t do you any good.” “I’m taking you to my son’s place. If you don’t want to be punished, use what you’ve learned these past few days on Liam to change his opinion of you.” Saying that, Arthur got into the limousine. After lifting the curtain, he turned around, frowned, and said with disgust: “You ride in the car behind.” After saying that, he sat inside and closed the curtain. I was actually relieved. If he was disgusted by me, he wouldn’t pay too much attention to me. That was for the best. I obediently went to the car behind. When we arrived, his son’s attendants frantically tried to stop us, saying Liam was taking a nap. But Arthur coldly pushed open Liam’s bedroom door, went in, and bumped into another colorful scene— Liam was holding Olivia in his arms, the two of them disheveled and kissing intimately. I immediately looked away and lowered my head. Arthur instantly called for people in a dark voice. “Somebody! Take Olivia away and give her poisoned wine!” Olivia was so scared her face turned deadly pale. Liam panicked too. He knelt down, shielding Olivia behind him, and spoke incoherently in his anxiety— “Dad, Olivia and I truly love each other! You loved your late wife deeply, which is why your position beside you is still vacant, but now you’re forcing me to marry someone I don’t love.” “Even if I’m not your biological flesh and blood, you shouldn’t play favorites. Since you value the General’s estate so much, why don’t you marry her yourself?” “Shut up!” Arthur kicked Liam hard. “You two are having an illicit affair, without shame, and you think you’re in the right?” Liam was kicked so hard his mouth bled. But maybe he truly loved Olivia; he actually got up and kowtowed repeatedly. “If you refuse to bless Olivia and me, and insist on putting her to death, why not kill me along with her!” Olivia collapsed beside Liam, also kowtowing. “Uncle Arthur, Liam and I are deeply in love. I beg you to bless us.” “I swear, I will never covet the position of his official wife. As long as I can stay by Liam’s side, I’m willing to be a servant…” The two of them kowtowed over and over again, their foreheads bleeding. Arthur neither agreed nor refused. Instead, he turned around and asked me word by word. “Mia Sterling, you are the future daughter-in-law. What do you think?” If Arthur was determined to kill these two, he wouldn’t have asked me. I pretended to sigh: “Since Liam and Miss Chen are so deeply in love, why not help them achieve their wish?” Liam seemed useless, but Olivia was the daughter of the Mayor and the Senator; they would definitely want their biological daughter to be the official wife. If they made a move against me, I could take the opportunity to leave D.C. After I spoke, Arthur ordered someone to take Liam down and lock him up, and sent someone to escort me back to the estate. After returning to the estate, I discussed the fake death plan with my dad. My dad agreed and even assigned a squad of personal guards to cooperate with me. And as I expected, the next day I received a formal invitation from the Senator, specifically asking me to bring my daughter to her garden party.

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Twenty-eight-year-old Liam held me tight in his arms, his voice a low, coaxing whisper. “Hazel, let’s have a baby. Please?” Thirty-five-year-old Liam, while I was fighting for my life in the hospital, was caught by paparazzi hooking up with his young secretary in the hospital’s underground parking garage. Afterward, Liam sat in silence for a long time. He lit a cigarette, and through the swirling smoke, his voice was chillingly calm. “Hazel, don’t go making trouble for her. She’s young. She doesn’t know any better.” “I’ll compensate you.” I looked at the miscarriage report on my phone, a numb, broken smile forming on my lips. “That won’t be necessary, Liam.” “We’re getting a divorce.” The hand holding his cigarette paused. “Hazel, you’re not a child anymore.” “You need to think very clearly about the consequences of everything you do.” Consequences? I had already thought about them. Very, very clearly. Chapter 1 1. I slapped the divorce papers down on the coffee table. I didn’t want to waste another breath on Liam. I turned to leave. Liam crushed his cigarette out in the ashtray and grabbed my wrist. “Hazel, it was just a baby.” “If you want one, we can just have another one later.” “Don’t throw the word ‘divorce’ around over every little thing.” My nose stung. I blinked hard, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. “Liam, he was eight months old! He was fully formed!” Liam let out an exasperated sigh. “If it hasn’t been born yet, it’s just an embryo. Can you please stop being so emotional?” I swallowed the bile rising in my throat, forcing down the tidal wave of grief. “So, is that what you thought when you cheated on me with Chloe? Liam?” His grip on my wrist tightened like a vice. His brow darkened. “What man doesn’t slip up?” “It was one time. It means absolutely nothing. I promise you, Chloe will never appear in front of you again.” “Hazel, there is absolutely no reason for us to take this to a divorce.” Staring at Liam’s self-righteous, entitled face, I closed my eyes. A bitter, suffocating pain twisted in my chest. One time? Liam thought he had hidden it so well. The truth is, I had known for a long time. When Liam told me he was going on a “business trip,” he was actually taking Chloe to see the sunset in Hawaii—a trip she had always dreamed of. The girl was young, bold, and reckless. She sent me a photo directly to taunt me. She wrote: “Mrs. Vance, the sunset is gorgeous. But Mr. Vance is a little too fierce.” In that photo, under a blazing, passionate sunset, Liam was kissing her deeply, the golden hour light spilling over them like a blessing. The pain was so intense I couldn’t breathe. I called Liam. He answered almost immediately. His voice was husky, thick with lust. “What’s wrong, Hazel?” I fought to keep my voice steady. “What are you doing?” Liam let out a muffled, suppressed groan, followed immediately by the faint, unmistakable, wet sound of flesh slapping together. My hand gripping the phone shook violently. I was silently begging Liam to tell me Chloe was lying. “I’m working out.” “Be a good girl. I’m busy. I’ll call you back when I’m done.” The call ended abruptly. My heart turned to absolute ice. Liam’s actions proved it. He really was cheating on me with Chloe. I started hyperventilating. My hands cramped together, my entire body going numb. I was rushed to the ER. At the hospital, the doctor told me I was pregnant. I clutched the ultrasound printout and cried for hours. When Liam finally came home, I didn’t even have the courage to confront him. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye. Liam used his thumb to wipe it away. “Hazel, just turn a blind eye to this. Can you do that for me?” I was trembling with rage. “Besides divorce, there is zero other possibility for us!” Liam’s chest heaved. He took a few deep breaths, visibly suppressing his own temper. “I am not divorcing you, Hazel.” “You better drop that idea right now.” “Take some time and calm down.” Liam threw the divorce papers into the trash can and slammed the study door so hard the walls shook. 2. It was snowing heavily on my drive. Liam’s words kept echoing in my head, impossible to shake. He said, “It was just an embryo.” He said, “Hazel, are you saying you’re completely without fault here?” Waves of dull pain radiated from my lower abdomen. Tears blurred my vision and dripped onto the steering wheel. I couldn’t tell if I was more heartbroken, or more consumed by pure hatred. Once upon a time, I was the most precious thing in the world to Liam. Back then, if I just texted him that I missed him. He would drop whatever million-dollar deal he was working on, fly halfway across the country, and knock on my door at 2 AM holding my favorite flowers. During our second year together, I fell severely ill. Liam, the arrogant, untouchable heir who never believed in God, climbed the 999 steps of a famous cathedral on his knees, tearing his skin to bloody shreds, just to pray for my recovery. From extravagant diamonds to the quietest moments of companionship, Liam gave me everything. He truly spoiled me to the bone. During our first year of marriage, the high-society wives in our circle looked down on me because I was young and came from a normal, middle-class family. They gossiped behind my back, calling me a cheap gold-digger who didn’t belong in their world. I refused to attend any more galas or charity balls with him. When Liam found out why. He ruthlessly retaliated against every single family whose wife had gossiped about me. Liam, a man who never showed emotion publicly, called a massive press conference solely to defend me and put the entire city on notice. After that, no one ever dared to show me an ounce of disrespect. Everyone in our circle envied me for marrying a man who loved me that fiercely. I felt incredibly lucky, too. Until Chloe appeared. She was an intern from his alma mater. Just a sophomore in college. At first, Liam just started mentioning her name more often. I got jealous and asked him. Do you like Chloe? Liam would kiss me, laughing softly. “Baby, why are you so jealous?” “She’s just a kid, and she has a terrible temper. Why would I ever like her?” Perhaps, even then, Liam’s heart had already begun tilting toward Chloe. He just hadn’t realized it yet. Our arguments over Chloe became more and more frequent. Our love was slowly eroded, argument by argument. Liam stopped holding me tenderly. Instead, he looked at me with exasperation. “Hazel, she’s practically a child. Why are you picking fights with her?” “I’m exhausted. Can you please act like an adult?” And then came Chloe’s increasingly blatant, audacious provocations. The man who once loved me so deeply was now allowing another woman he loved to hurt me however she pleased. 3. I returned to our empty mansion. In the nursery I had set up months ago, the little crib swayed gently with a slight push. I stared at it for a long time before my emotions finally broke. An eight-month-old baby… what’s the difference between that and a born child? The doctor said my due date was next month. I had planned everything perfectly. I had read every parenting book in the house cover to cover. I bought him a silver rattle, I hand-sewed a baby blanket, and I even spent weeks working with a custom designer to build that crib perfectly… I was so full of joy, waiting for this baby. I wanted to give him all the love I had. I wanted him to be happy for his entire life. We were so close. Just a little bit more… 4. Chloe came to find me because Liam tried to cut her off. He told her. “Chloe, I’ll give you a lump sum. After that, leave New York and don’t ever come back.” Chloe refused. She cried and asked him if he had ever actually loved her. Liam kissed away her tears. “Chloe, if I had met you first, I would have loved you. But I already have Hazel.” “Chloe, please don’t cry. It breaks my heart.” After that, Liam refused to see her again. Pushed to the brink, Chloe somehow found out where I lived. The moment she barged in, she pointed straight at my swollen stomach. “Do you think having a baby means you can trap Liam?!” “Let me tell you something! You’re dreaming!” “The person Liam loves is ME! ME!” I backed away, shielding my stomach, trying to get her to calm down. But Chloe, blinded by rage, was incapable of calming down. I called for the housekeeper, asking her to escort Chloe out. Chloe violently shoved the older woman to the floor and lunged at me. “Hazel Evans! Why don’t you just die?!” “If you’re dead, Liam will be all mine!” I couldn’t dodge in time. Chloe tackled me to the hardwood floor, and my stomach slammed brutally against the sharp corner of the marble coffee table. A cold sweat broke out over my entire body from the agonizing pain. Like a woman possessed, Chloe used her stiletto heels to kick my stomach, over and over again. She screamed at me to die. I felt warm blood pooling down my thighs. Absolute, primal terror consumed me. The housekeeper scrambled up, shoved Chloe away, called 911, and then the police. As my consciousness faded, I dreamt of a little boy waving at me. No matter how hard I reached, I couldn’t catch his hand. When I woke up, the doctor looked at me, hesitating to speak. I opened my mouth, clinging to a final, desperate thread of hope. “Doctor, my baby…” The doctor sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Vance. We couldn’t save the baby.” I knew it was coming. But hearing the words out loud still shattered me completely. My tears soaked the hospital pillow. The doctor told me to stay strong. The very next day, paparazzi released the video of Liam and Chloe hooking up in the hospital’s underground parking garage. 5. Like a masochist, I played their video on loop. I watched Liam, his eyes full of adoration, smile and pull her into his lap. I watched Chloe, wearing nothing but a silk slip dress, straddle him. A few seconds of teasing, and Liam’s breathing grew ragged. The desperate, frantic kissing was like a tidal wave. The Liam I knew was always restrained and gentle. Even when I had deliberately tried to spice things up by wearing lingerie in the past, he would just look at me clinically and tell me it didn’t suit me. My heart felt like it had been hollowed out. I tasted copper in the back of my throat. Even breathing was agony. I remembered our first time. I was terrified, my movements clumsy and awkward. Liam wasn’t impatient. He coaxed me softly, his voice as steady as if he were comforting a child. No burning lust, no loss of control. I thought it was because he cherished me. But looking at this now… it was because he didn’t want to invest any passion. It was because, to him, I lacked any fundamental, raw attraction. Scene after scene of our past tore at my mind. I realized with crystal clarity: Liam Vance had never actually loved me. The doorbell rang incessantly. The moment I opened the door. A sharp slap landed squarely on my face. “Where is Liam?!” Chloe demanded furiously. If you didn’t know the context, you’d think she was the wife catching a cheater. I laughed coldly. “How the hell should I know?” Chloe was furious. She shoved past me and marched into the house. “Liam!” She yelled as she searched. I told her to get out. Chloe ignored me completely, until she pushed open the door to the nursery. She froze for a second, then doubled over, laughing hysterically. “Hazel, do you know how much of a clown you look like?” “A pathetic, dancing clown!” “Hahahahaha.” Chloe laughed until she was out of breath. When she finished, she crossed her arms, leaned against the wall, and stared at me. “Hazel, let me tell you something. Even though I killed your baby, Liam doesn’t blame me at all.” “Do you want to know how we ended up hooking up while you were bleeding out on an operating table?” Chloe took a step toward me. “I called him. At first, he actually blamed me.” “He said if anything happened to your baby, he’d kill me.” “I was so heartbroken. How could he treat me like that?” “So I cried. I cried and crawled onto his lap, and I said, ‘Then kill me!’” “I cried and teased him at the same time. Tell me, doesn’t he just love me too much? You were hovering between life and death, and he still kissed me.” “He said, ‘Chloe, you are a literal demon!’” “I pulled him down with me. He didn’t even go up to sign your surgical consent forms, did he?” Chloe’s eyes burned with triumph. My blood ran completely cold. “Get out, Chloe.” “And if I don’t, what are you gonna do about it? Hazel.” Chloe swayed her hips and sat down on my sofa. “Oh, right. Forgot to tell you. I’m pregnant.” “Liam found out that day too. He asked if he had hurt me, and told me not to tell anyone, just in case you couldn’t handle the shock and tried to hurt me.” A loud ringing filled my ears. “What did you say?” “I’m pregnant. Hazel, don’t you see? This is destiny. You lost your child, and mine arrived.” Chloe poured herself a cup of tea. “I used to think God was unfair. I fell for Liam the second I saw him. I’m obviously so much prettier than you, and you’re just an orphan nobody wanted. But somehow, you got to have a perfect husband like him.” “Hazel, I admit it. I was jealous of you.” “But it’s all good now. Your baby is dead, I’m pregnant, and everything is exactly how it should be.” The hatred almost buried me alive. My baby was dead. Chloe was pregnant. No wonder… No wonder Liam protected her from start to finish. No wonder he did absolutely nothing when she murdered our child. It turned out, from beginning to end, I was the only one mourning that baby. They should die! They both deserved to die! Go to hell! I grabbed a paring knife from the kitchen counter and lunged at Chloe. Just as the blade was about to strike her, a hand grabbed it bare-handed. It was Liam, who had just rushed in. Blood dripped from the edge of the blade, drop by drop. I tried to yank it back. Liam gripped it fiercely, refusing to let go. “Hazel, have you lost your mind?!” Chloe was terrifyingly pale. She violently shoved me to the floor. “Liam…” Liam let go, and the knife clattered to the floor. Chloe stared at Liam’s bleeding hand, crying tears of heartache. She viciously stomped on my hand with her heel. I couldn’t speak through the blinding pain. “Hazel, why don’t you just die!” Liam pulled her back. “Enough, Chloe.” “After what she tried to do to you…” Liam frowned, looking slightly impatient. “Stop it. Let’s go to the hospital first.” Liam shot me a look of pity and profound disappointment. “Hazel, right now, you’re acting like an absolute lunatic.” “You’ve disappointed me.” Throwing down those words, Liam turned and walked out with Chloe. I watched their retreating backs, then looked at the knife on the floor. “Liam.” I called out to him softly. Liam and Chloe turned around at the same time. The next second, the knife plunged into Chloe’s stomach. Chloe crumpled to the floor. Liam reacted instantly, instinctively kicking me away. My lower back slammed into the edge of a cabinet. My vision went black from the agony. Ignoring his own bleeding hand, Liam frantically gathered Chloe into his arms, his hands shaking as he dialed 911. I smiled silently. Seeing me smile, Liam’s eyes turned red with fury. “Hazel Evans! If anything happens to Chloe or the baby, you will spend the rest of your miserable life in a federal prison!” I found the threat hilarious. When my eight-month-old baby was murdered by Chloe, and I wanted to press charges. Liam preemptively wiped the security footage from the penthouse and told me. “Hazel, destroying a young girl’s entire future over an embryo… it’s too cruel.” “Besides, you don’t even have proof. How are you going to sue her?” He held me gently, sighing. “Hazel, there’s no need. We can always have another baby.” “I’ll make it up to you, okay?” And now, for another woman, he was panicked enough to threaten me. Saying he wanted me locked away forever. Tears slid down my cheeks. Liam, I hate you.

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My twin sister was born autistic and seemingly simple-minded. By the time she was seven, she still hadn’t spoken a single word. My father planned to marry her off as soon as she turned sixteen. I, on the other hand, carried the weight of high expectations and was meticulously groomed for success. Pitying my sister’s situation, I would sneak around to play with her, enduring my father’s scoldings and beatings, secretly vowing to save her. But when I turned eight, my sister suddenly got better. Not only could she speak fluently, but she also casually solved a math problem I had been agonizing over for a long time. My father, astounded, declared her a prodigy and decided to devote all his resources to her. And I fell into a state even more miserable than my sister’s had been. “The family’s resources must go entirely to the most gifted child. Chloe is just too average; marrying early and having kids is her true calling.” “After the holidays, we’ll send her off as a child bride.” My father and mother had decided my fate. I was consumed with anxiety. The night before, my sister came to say goodbye. “Sister, I’m leaving. Please try to be happy.” She said she was running away from home. In that instant, memories of a past life flooded my mind. After my sister left home alone, she met a tragic end. My parents treated me as a sinner, and my life became a living hell. “They all abandoned me. Are you going to throw me away too?” This time, I decided to make my sister stay, and I would be the one to leave. 1 “Mia, how did you solve this math problem?” I stared in shock at my expressionless sister, Mia. A minute ago, I had been holding my scratch paper, calculating the problem my father had assigned for the umpteenth time. I had agonized over it from early afternoon until dusk, but that crucial step always eluded me. Just as I was about to set it aside, Mia sneaked in to find me. “Sister, I want to play catch. Play with me.” My naturally slow sister had recently started speaking. As her older sister, I was relieved and happy. Even at the risk of being scolded by my father, I promised to make time to play with her every day. I glanced outside; it was well past our usual agreed time. “But Mia, the most important thing right now is, how on earth did you solve this math problem?” My father favored smart children. Since I could remember, he made me memorize math formulas daily, saying only straight A’s made me worthy of being his child and earning the right to inherit the family business. To avoid being discarded and to protect my sister, I studied like my life depended on it. While other kids goofed off and climbed trees, I recited textbooks. While Mia cuddled and acted spoiled in Mom’s arms, I solved equations. Maybe I was just too stupid. I often couldn’t get perfect scores on the assignments my father gave, and the extra-credit problems took me ages to solve. My father was never fully satisfied. Yet my sister, who had always been considered simple-minded, easily achieved what I found so difficult. “I looked at your textbook. I knew how to do these the second I saw them. Are they supposed to be hard?” Mia looked up, confused. I wanted to press her further, but she said, bored, “Sister, I’d rather play games with you than do math problems. Can we go outside now?” I was speechless. With complex feelings, I put down the paper and fulfilled my promise to play with Mia. As it got dark, we headed home. My father was waiting under the porch light, waving us over. “I made some custard. Come eat it before it gets cold.” I was just about to thank him and ask if I could share half with Mia, but my father acted as if he didn’t see me. He turned to Mia and said warmly: “Mia, I heard you solved the math problem I assigned in under a minute. You’re so smart. You’ll definitely bring honor to the family in the future.” “I made this custard for you. Eat it while it’s hot.” Mia hesitated for a moment, then slowly stepped forward. Everything shifted into slow motion. My eyes widened as I watched my father shower my sister with boundless praise, and then look at me with… disgust. “Why are you still standing there? Do you want to eat your sister’s food?” “You greedy, useless thing, get out!” My father’s tone was impatient, as if my very presence was polluting his sight. Terrified of his anger, I quickly retreated and closed the door. Just before it shut completely, the sight of my father preparing to spoon-feed my sister made my limbs go stiff. Before, he only knew how to discipline me with a belt and rarely gave me a pleasant look, let alone such an intimate gesture. It seemed I had been discarded. 2 In the days that followed, my father grew visibly colder towards me. He no longer demanded I complete daily tasks, nor did he take time to test my knowledge. I had an abundance of time to just stare into space. At first, escaping the heavy burden of studying felt somewhat relaxing. But as time went on, the feeling of being completely ignored gnawed at my bones, making me restless. What truly drove me to despair was a conversation I overheard. “Chloe has such a strong personality. What will happen to her in the future?” My mother’s timid voice was laced with worry. “The family’s resources are limited. Funneling everything into the most gifted child is the optimal solution. Mia is exceptional and deserves our undivided attention. As for Chloe…” My father’s tone was dismissive. “Does a normal kid like her really think she can compete with a genius? Marrying her off early so she can start a family is her true calling. If she can’t measure up, she needs to accept her fate.” “The mayor of the neighboring town quite likes her. Next year, we’ll send her over as a child bride. We can use the dowry to hire another tutor for Mia.” My father constantly spouted rhetoric about how the useless should make way. In the past, because of her condition, my sister was almost drowned at birth. After my mother barely saved her, it was decided she had to be married off as quickly as possible. Now that it was my turn, it seemed natural that I should accept the same fate. But. Why did it hurt so much? I had exhausted myself trying to gain his approval, sacrificing all my dignity, yet I was broken so easily. After reading all those books, my only destiny was to be cast out. “Mom, I don’t want to leave you.” The night I heard that conversation, I knocked on my mother’s door. It took a long time before she let me in. Looking at my frail mother, who was forcing herself to maintain composure in front of me, I spoke dryly. She was silent for a good while. She seemed to be looking at me, but at the same time, looking right through me. “Your sister’s talent is incredible. You must have seen it.” I pursed my lips, a wave of panic washing over me. “Mom, I know I can’t compare to Mia. Not in academics, and definitely not in being lovable.” My father believed a doting mother raised a spoiled child, so he rarely let me near my sickly mother. Mia was the only one allowed by her side. I hadn’t fulfilled my duty as a daughter. And now, I couldn’t even beat Mia in solving equations. In every comparison with my sister, I felt like a defective product. “But Mom, even if I can’t compete with Mia, I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to be someone’s child bride.” I wanted to keep studying. The air in the room seemed to freeze. My mother’s rigid posture slumped. She awkwardly wrapped an arm around me. “Chloe, I have no choice. Please don’t make this harder for me. You’ve always been such an understanding child. I can’t change your father’s mind, and I can’t alter his decisions. Don’t make this difficult for me, please.” My mother cried. Tears streamed down her pale chin, making my heart tremble. “Okay, I understand.” I nodded, defeated. My mother’s wrists were so thin. The doctor said she was very weak. I needed to be a good, trouble-free child. “Then Mom, could you give me a pendant just like the one Mia wears? The one you prayed for and got for her?” I thought, at the very least, I should take something meaningful with me. “I’m sorry.” My mother cried again, apologizing through her tears. “It’s all my fault for being useless. My health is too poor to go pray for another pendant for you. The one your sister wears, I got it a few years ago when I was feeling better, by kneeling on every single step up the mountain. I can’t do that now…” I fell silent. In the end, I had lost both my mother’s love and my father’s expectations. My sister. The sister I had sworn to save, had acquired these things so effortlessly. It made me look ridiculous. “Okay, I understand.” Complex emotions took root in my heart, and I started dreading seeing my sister. I was afraid she would be frightened by my ugly jealousy. 3 “Sister, I’m leaving.” The next evening, my sister had a small knapsack on her back, looking like she was ready to say goodbye. “You’re leaving? Why?” I repeated, confused. Suddenly, a splitting headache hit me, and images flashed before my eyes. My sister’s battered, scarred body covered with a white sheet. My father’s cold, dead eyes and my mother’s face, pale without a drop of blood. And then, curses sharp enough to pierce the heart. “If only it were Mia who stayed, why did it have to be you? Why wasn’t it you who died!” “I should have known you were rotten inside. Mia is so sweet; you must have instigated her to run away. Such a vicious heart at such a young age! Go die and give me my Mia back!” Those were my mother’s screams, filled with extreme hatred. “It’s a pity. A smart kid like Mia could have led this family back to its former glory. Why are we left with an average nobody like Chloe?” Those were my father’s sighs of infinite regret. The woman propped up her sick body and slapped me hard across the face. Pain exploded on my cheek, but I stayed silent, letting myself be beaten to the ground in an act of atonement. Finally, the chaos ended the moment my mother suddenly collapsed. “Mia, you don’t have to leave.” “I’m the one who should go.” I looked at my trembling hands. In my previous life, it was these hands that had cowardly clenched into fists, failing to stop my sister from running away. If I made her stay this time, would my father and mother not be disappointed? “No, I have to go.” Mia, who usually had a blank expression, now showed a rare look of determination. She glanced at me. “Sister, you’ve been unhappy these past few days. Is it because of me?” “Dad has been acting so strange lately, talking about grooming me. His face looks scary. I don’t like being controlled by him. Anyway, one of us has to leave. Let me go instead of you.” I stared at Mia, my feelings complicated. With things developing as they had, it wasn’t that I didn’t have dark thoughts. In the agonizing pain of the night, vicious ideas would sometimes take over my mind, making me wonder—if I had been the only child born, without my sister, would I have been happier? Since I exist in this world, why does Mia have to exist too? Those unspeakable resentments suddenly vanished into thin air in the face of Mia’s smiling farewell. I lowered my eyes, a wave of self-loathing washing over me. Actually, the one who truly shouldn’t have been born was me. “They all don’t want me, they all despise me, and now even you are going to abandon me and leave?” I stepped forward, grabbed her sleeve, and shook it. “Stay with me, okay? If you leave, I don’t know how I’ll survive in this house. Please.” Mia looked up in surprise. Her usually empty eyes reflected my image as she whispered, “Sister, do you really not want to be apart from me?” “I thought you’d be happy if I left.” I nodded firmly. In this life, Mia absolutely could not leave. Ultimately, the total failure who had no right to stay here was me. “Mia, have you thought about this? What will you encounter if you run away alone? There are a lot of bad people out there, and they don’t have a conscience. You’re only eight; your thigh isn’t even as thick as an adult’s arm. What will you do if you run into them?” “If something happened to you, how could I ever be happy!” I initially meant to just act a little to make her stay, but I didn’t expect that when I actually spoke the words, they were mixed with genuine feeling. I really, really didn’t want to see Mia get hurt again. “Don’t cry, Sister. I won’t go. I promise I won’t go. I’ll stay with you!” Mia frantically tried to wipe away my tears. I… was crying? Could someone like me, who was willing to watch her own twin sister walk away for her own selfish gain, actually cry? 4 Regardless, Mia stayed home this time. Having a genius child, my father walked with a newfound spring in his step every day. Even my mother, freed from the fate of being a discarded piece because of her favored child, seemed to have gained some vitality. My father assigned Mia study tasks, and my mother, afraid she would get tired, forced herself to cut fruit and bring it to her. Worried she would overwork herself, she uncharacteristically argued with my father, fighting fiercely for Mia to have break times. These were things she had never done for me. I hid in the corner, like a cockroach in the shadows, peeking at a happiness that didn’t belong to me. “Don’t worry, Sister. I won’t let Father send you away. We sisters have to stick together.” During her lunch break, Mia sneaked over to see me and made a solemn promise. I looked at her. Her slightly frail body had filled out quite a bit after a period of careful feeding. Her cheeks were plump and glowing, and her exposed skin had no bruises or redness. That’s wonderful. …In the past, whenever my father was displeased with me, he would punish me. But as expected, with Mia being such a genius, even a strict man like my father became much more lenient. “Okay, I’ll wait for you to protect me.” The roles of protector and protected had been completely reversed. I suppressed my sorrow and agreed, though I didn’t think she could persuade our father. My father was my father. Having been the head of the household for years, male chauvinism was carved into his very breathing. Even if Mia was incredibly smart and capable, how could she possibly resist his deep-seated stubbornness? Just as I expected. The day Mia brought it up with my father, I was hiding behind the door, nervously realizing his voice had darkened. “I allowed you to study as a woman, take the college entrance exams, and find a live-in son-in-law—isn’t that enough? What other family’s daughter isn’t married off for money after a few years? Mia! I have been merciful enough to you!” “The law of the jungle! Survival of the fittest! Since that useless Chloe couldn’t beat you, she should obediently accept her fate! It’s not like I told her to go die!” Mia’s pure voice interrupted him. “Sister wants to keep studying. She’s going to be the world’s best scientist.” “You dare talk back!” My father grew even more enraged. “What dreams! Bullshit! Oh, I get it now. She put you up to this, didn’t she? I knew she wouldn’t behave. A piece of trash who doesn’t want to fulfill her last bit of value and actually dares to instigate you to make trouble.” “Where is she? I’ll personally convince her to accept her fate.” The chilling malice in my father’s words made my scalp tingle. Terrified, I nearly dropped to my knees and immediately turned to run. Unfortunately, before I could run more than a few steps, my father kicked the door open and quickly grabbed me. Like an experienced hunter pinning down a weak lamb. The only fate left for it was to be cooked and eaten. One slap after another fell. Looking at Mia, who watched me getting beaten in a daze, and my mother not far away, covering her mouth and sobbing bitterly but not daring to take a step forward, My heart was filled with numbness. I touched my face, and my hand came away wet with tears. 5 Because I “wouldn’t behave,” my father decided to send me away early. “I’m sorry, Sister. I’m too weak right now. I can’t fight Father.” “Will you wait for me? When I get into college and have some say, I’ll come get you immediately. You know I’m very smart. It won’t take long for me to finish the high school curriculum. I can skip grades!” For some reason, listening to Mia’s earnest words made me feel a bit nauseous. Frowning through her vows and promises, I gave a faint smile. “Okay, I’ll wait for you.” I was lying. Every second I was tied to this family disgusted me. I never wanted to see any of them again. The day my future mother-in-law came to settle things, Mia hugged me and refused to let go. “Sister, I don’t want to be apart from you.” “Sister, I will protect you.” “Sister, wait for me.” “Sister…” Even as I was taken away by the strange woman, my sister’s longing calls kept echoing behind me. Ah. I really wanted to tear off my mask and tell Mia that I hated her, that every word and expression of hers made me sick. I wanted her to realize how despicable her sister really was, and warn her to stop foolishly offering up her sincere heart! I didn’t care for it! But I was so useless. I couldn’t even manage to show her a mean face. From the time I could remember, my mother begged me to protect my sister. She said my sister was slow and easily bullied, so she needed me to take care of her. She said my sister couldn’t speak and was pitiful and helpless, so as her older sister, I had to cherish her. I suppressed the nausea and waved at Mia, who was looking back at me from a distance. “Goodbye!” Goodbye forever! An hour later. On the way to my mother-in-law’s house. I created a distraction and, while she wasn’t looking, ran away with the small amount of money I had secretly saved up and hidden in my shoe. 6 The years after leaving home were gray and bleak. The money I brought wasn’t enough, and because I was too young, there weren’t many legitimate jobs available. I couldn’t save anything, and whatever baby fat I had was worn away, leaving my bones protruding. On top of that, in those days, human traffickers were everywhere. If I wasn’t careful, I’d be targeted. If I hadn’t read a lot of books and had a bit of street smarts, I would have been done for long ago. By the time I finally settled down in a city hundreds of miles away from Mia, eight years had passed. “Hey Chloe, want to catch a movie tonight?” The factory manager’s son, young Mr. Davis, invited me with a smile. I pulled my thoughts away from the math problems running through my head and expertly declined. “Sorry, Mr. Davis, I have plans tonight. I can’t go with you.” Ignoring his attempts to persuade me, I packed my things and went home when my shift ended. On the way, I remembered I had left something at the factory and decided to turn back to get it. “What’s her deal? I’ve been pursuing her for months, the gifts I give aren’t cheap, and my old man is the factory manager. Yet she rejects my gifts and gives me attitude. Who does she think she is?” Young Mr. Davis complained. Auntie Wang, a coworker I got along with, eagerly agreed. “What kind of lady is she? Just a poor girl. The other day she was fighting with me over discarded vegetable scraps at the market. Don’t be discouraged, Mr. Davis. She’s just read too many books and gotten stupid, thinking she’s so great. She dreams every day of getting into Crestwood University like that talented Lin girl.” “It cracks me up. I sneaked a peek, and she still keeps newspaper clippings about that talented Lin girl in her drawer. She’s just a country bumpkin. Does she really think a big-shot genius would even know she exists?” Young Mr. Davis looked mocking. “Are you serious? How does she have the nerve to compare herself to Mia Lin? My cousin, who goes to Crestwood, says Mia Lin is amazing. So many men can’t even compete with her. That Chloe girl thinks way too highly of herself.” I hadn’t offended them, and I had even helped Auntie Wang before, yet the malice they harbored towards me was intense. While I felt uncomfortable, I had to admit one thing. They were right about one thing. For someone like me to vainly hope to be compared to a genius like Mia, it was truly overestimating my own abilities. I should have realized years ago that Mia was favored by the heavens, while I was an inconspicuous, ordinary person. No matter where I ran, I couldn’t escape the blinding glare of her brilliance. “So this is how you see me.” Releasing my tight grip on the doorframe, I interrupted them coldly. “Gossiping behind backs—are you two that exceptional yourselves? What right do you have to comment on my business?” Young Mr. Davis shot me a guilty look, and my expression turned to disgust. “Gossiping about a female colleague behind her back—how do you expect to ever get a girlfriend? Just wait. The next time you try to hook up with someone, I’ll tell her exactly how low your character is. You can look forward to being single for the rest of your life!” Young Mr. Davis flared up. “Who do you think you are to threaten me? This factory belongs to my dad! I can have you thrown out with one word! Stop acting so high and mighty!” After cursing, he swaggeringly eyed my face and body, then said with mock kindness, “I know it’s not easy for you, being an orphan working in the big city. You don’t want to lose your job, do you? Behave, apologize, or agree to be my girlfriend, and I’ll reluctantly forgive you.” I clenched my fists and considered it. If I hit him, would I lose my job? Manager Davis was fairly upright. He originally invited me to join the factory because he appreciated my skills. He probably wouldn’t fire a key technical worker just for his son. Of course, even if I was fired, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. At my lowest, I had eaten weeds by the side of the road and filled my stomach with snow to stave off hunger. No matter how hard it got, it wouldn’t be that bad. Since that was the case, I threw a punch right into young Mr. Davis’s eye socket. Phew, that felt much better.

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I was in active labor, dilated to six centimeters, when my husband burst into the delivery room. “Hand over your credit card right now,” he demanded. “The hospital admission deposit is eight thousand dollars.” I forced my eyes open with great difficulty. “Where’s your card?” He took a sharp step backward. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to use having a baby as an excuse to touch my pre-marital assets!” Chapter 1 1 The delivery room went dead silent. Even the woman in the bed next to me seemed to forget her own contractions. I stared at Mark, utterly incredulous. “What did you just say?” “Cut the crap!” The man squatted down and aggressively started tearing through my pre-packed hospital bag. “My money is money I earned by busting my ass out there! Competing with colleagues, battling subordinates, outsmarting bosses, and enduring impossible clients!” “Aside from my parents, I have no obligation to share my money with anyone irrelevant!” “I told you when we were dating: a marriage has to be an equal partnership. If one person is just a charity case, it won’t last. Nobody gets to take what doesn’t belong to them just because of a marriage certificate!” Listening to his speech, my heart turned to ice, inch by inch. Just how blind did I have to be to choose a piece of trash like this? Right now, I was absolutely certain that if something went wrong during this delivery, he would not hesitate to pull the plug to save a dollar. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was New Year’s Day. My parents had just boarded their flight; they were still two hours away from landing. Mrs. Gable, the nanny my parents hired for me, was still on holiday leave. My due date had jumped forward by a whole week. I had to stall until my parents arrived. Another wave of contractions hit me. I gripped the wall, barely holding myself up. Every nerve ending was strung to its absolute limit. Cold sweat soaked through my hospital gown. I hadn’t even had a chance to eat breakfast. The nurses had urged him several times to go buy some food for me to keep my energy up. So Mark brought back two packs of instant ramen. Setting aside whether it had any nutritional value, just figuring out how to eat it in this state was a problem. The expectant mother in the next bed breathed through her contraction, rummaged in her bag, and handed me a few Snickers bars. The young woman let out a soft sigh: “Whatever the outcome with him, you have to get through the hurdle right in front of you first. Hang in there!” Trembling, I took the hand extended to me by a fellow woman. My nose stung with overwhelming gratitude. After forcing down the first Snickers bar, I gained an unprecedented surge of strength. I looked at Mark, my tone resolute: “Stop looking.” “Go… go call Dave. Tell him to come pay the deposit.” “Dave?” Mark stopped what he was doing and slowly turned around: “Why the hell would he pay your deposit?” Dave was one of his buddies from his rec basketball league. A total, unadulterated scumbag. He’d gotten countless girls pregnant and vanished every time. Still single in his mid-thirties. Dragging him into this muddy water gave me no sense of guilt whatsoever. Since this marriage was definitely heading for divorce. I might as well give Mark a reason to file. The contraction eased slightly, and I met his furious glare: “Nobody gets to take what doesn’t belong to them just because of a marriage certificate! And nobody gets to claim a child that doesn’t belong to them just because of a marriage certificate either.” “Holy shit!” Someone gasped so loud their jaw nearly hit the floor. I looked over; it was the girl who had just given me the Snickers. “Honey, did you hear that?” she whispered to her husband. “I swear to God, the baby in my belly is absolutely yours, and your money is all mine.” Mark stood up abruptly, the veins on his hands bulging: “You have the balls to say that to me again! This child… is a bastard you made from screwing around with Dave?” A stroke of inspiration flashed in my mind. Wait. I missed one. “You might want to call Mike down here too.” The room took a collective, sharp intake of breath. Mike. Mark’s other best friend. A walking textbook of vices—drinking, gambling, whoring, you name it. He’d even given his own wife an STD, and they were currently in the middle of a nasty divorce. Since the pot was already boiling into chaos. What did one more or one less matter? Tom, Dick, or Harry, cheating is cheating. A woman, as long as she is willing to risk it all, cannot be bound by any chains in this world. Mark was completely petrified: “You were sleeping with Mike too? He’s diseased! Just how trashy are you to be that desperate?!” “And your dad,” Fighting through the intense pain, I unleashed the ultimate killing blow: “Call him here, too.” 2 Clatter. The sound of a metal medical tray hitting the floor rang out. Mark staggered back a step: “You’re joking, right? Just because I won’t pay your hospital deposit, you’re dumping a bucket of shit on your own head? It’s just eight thousand dollars, is it worth it? My dad is over sixty! You’re going to ruin him like this?” “Ruin him?” I looked at Mark, deadpan: “You’ve got it twisted. What’s wrong with a grandfather coming to pay a deposit for his grandson?” “Is it a son or a grandson?!” Mark’s eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. “Either works. Up to you.” Turns out what people say is true. When a person is in a state of extreme excitement, they really can’t feel pain. Every cell in my body was screaming right now. Destroy him! Destroy him! It was a feeling I had never experienced before. The onlookers awkwardly pulled their privacy curtains shut. Everyone was getting full on the drama today. It successfully diverted the attention of the mothers-to-be, making them temporarily forget their contractions. Even the nurses stayed in this room for an absurdly long time. Who says you shouldn’t air your dirty laundry in public? It wasn’t me who looked ugly anyway. The next second, I held my phone out to him: “Should I call them, or are you going to?” “Call your fucking mother!” Mark snatched the phone and smashed it violently onto the floor, then grabbed me forcefully by the collar: “What the hell were you doing behind my back with Dave and Mike? Whose bastard is this exactly?!” “Take a guess.” I tilted my face up, looking at him mockingly: “Aren’t we just ‘irrelevant people’ to you? What does it matter whose it is?” Mark’s lower lip began to tremble uncontrollably. His calculations were just too perfect. He expected me to be financially independent while bearing his children, and also demanded that I be a submissive, traditional, perfectly faithful wife. There is no logic in this world that allows for such a cheap deal. “Fine! Good! Very good! This is how you want to play it?” Mark poked my forehead repeatedly with his index finger: “This is marital infidelity. No matter whose bastard this is, you deserve to leave this marriage with absolutely nothing! You brought this upon yourself, you can’t blame me.” I slowly curled the corners of my lips: “Don’t worry. Whoever the father is, I’m sure he’ll be happy to pay you compensation for the adultery. We won’t default on our debts.” Pfft… A snort of laughter leaked through the gap in the curtain next door. The girl silently gave me a thumbs up. The next second, the door was pushed open violently, and a figure flashed in. I looked over in pleasant surprise, only to see— Mark’s mother? 3 “What is going on here?” The old woman frowned as she looked over: “I could hear you two squawking from a mile away. It’s been hours, why hasn’t she given birth yet? My bridge group is missing a fourth player.” Mark abruptly let go of my collar. Driven by inertia, I fell heavily back onto the bed. “There’s a bastard in her belly! Whoever wants to stay can stay, but I’m not staying!” Mark grabbed his jacket, ready to leave. Mrs. Vance looked at him in confusion: “What do you mean, bastard? Where are you going?” “She admitted it herself. She slept with Dave and Mike, and she doesn’t even know whose kid is in her belly.” “What?” The old woman grabbed Mark’s arm: “A bastard? Then you absolutely cannot leave. Wait until the child is born, quickly draw blood for a DNA test, and then make this bitch pay! The wedding costs, emotional distress compensation—if we don’t bleed her dry, I’ll change my last name!” Mark stopped in his tracks. He narrowed his eyes and turned his head: “You’re right. We definitely need to settle this score properly.” The contractions hit again, and suddenly a warm stream ran down my leg onto the floor. My water broke. The previous hostility vanished into thin air. I tightly grabbed the nurse’s hand: “What do I do?” The nurse instantly supported me: “Lie down quickly, you can’t stand up!” She slapped the payment slip onto Mark’s chest again: “Go pay the deposit right now! This is a matter of life and death! Whatever conflicts you have, deal with them after the baby is born!” The next second, I was wheeled into the delivery room. Tears slid down from the corners of my eyes. Until the crucial moment, you never know if you married a human or a ghost. Mark and I knew each other back in college. We were both poor then, so there was no opportunity to spend his money. After graduation, I found a good job, and still didn’t have the opportunity to spend his money. After getting married, the nanny my parents hired for my dowry stayed by my side, giving me even less reason to spend his money. Gradually, I got used to being self-sufficient. The education I received since childhood was to be reasonable, know right from wrong, and have correct moral values. After marriage, one should be empathetic and treat every family member with sincerity. But no one ever told me that not everyone deserves to be called family. I walked through the gates of hell, and eventually, my long labor resulted in an emergency C-section. The moment I was asked to sign the consent form, my parents finally arrived. Lying quietly at the door of the delivery room was that deposit slip. Eight thousand dollars had allowed me to see through the coldness of human nature. My mom held me and cried for a long time. My dad glanced back and forth between me and the baby: “Not bad, she looks like you. Let’s call her Rain.” I finally broke down in tears. Everyone in this world might betray me, but my parents never would. My mom placed the baby into my arms. I looked down and kissed the top of her head. In that very second, a massive shift occurred in my mindset— I was a mother now. Therefore, I had to protect everything my daughter deserved. Soon, Mrs. Gable, the nanny, arrived looking travel-worn. “Why did she come a week early? I was so scared I didn’t sleep a wink last night.” Looking at my neat and complete family, I finally understood what security felt like. Mrs. Gable was the last bit of dignity my parents had given me. I didn’t have any traditional dowry; accurately speaking, I only came with a dowry nanny. At the time, I didn’t understand my parents’ actions at all. Logically, I am an only child. My parents had worked their whole lives, and their financial foundation wasn’t weak. But my parents completely deviated from the norm. And it was in that moment that Mark’s usually gentle and refined expression cracked for the first time: “Chloe, your parents aren’t confused, are they? Other people’s dowries are either houses or cars, and your family is just giving a nanny?” 4 My mom quickly opened the nanny employment contract: “Mark, don’t worry, this dowry definitely won’t leave you at a disadvantage. Nowadays houses shrink in value, and cars depreciate, but Mrs. Gable is different. She has lived with us for years, knows Chloe’s dietary habits perfectly, and can take good care of her for us. You don’t need to worry about the contract; treat it as Chloe’s dowry. You two living a good life together is better than anything.” Now, my mom took out the contract again and softly comforted me: “Don’t worry, no one can use a piece of paper like a marriage certificate to take what doesn’t belong to them!” Following that, Mrs. Gable handed me a card. I looked closely. It was my credit card. The one my parents strongly insisted I apply for before I got married. “These past two years, Mrs. Gable’s salary and most of your daily expenses have come from this card. After you maxed it out, your dad and I have been paying the minimum balance for you every month. We originally thought that if your marriage was happy, we would just cover this money. But looking at it now, this Mark is absolutely not worth trusting.” I suddenly understood everything. It turned out my parents had seen through the truth of this marriage two years ago, but at the time, I firmly believed that dedication always brings returns. As long as I worked hard to be myself after marriage and didn’t rely on anyone, I would never be looked down upon. And precisely because of this, in Mark’s eyes, it confirmed that I was just a fool who only knew how to talk about love. He took all the benefits I brought for granted. But when it came to an eight-thousand-dollar hospital deposit, it was like cutting his flesh, directly negating all my contributions over the past two years. As we were talking, the girl from the next bed was wheeled back in. She had given birth to a son. Her recovery was going relatively smoothly; she would be able to walk soon. The girl handed me her phone: “Hey girl, I recorded the part where you guys were arguing earlier. Could you use it later?” My family and I exchanged a glance: “Absolutely! Thank you so much!” It turns out there are still more good people in this world. After a night of rest, Mark and his mother came storming back in. As soon as he entered, he threw a divorce agreement at me: “I have nothing left to say. I don’t want to see a shameless woman like you for another day! Sign it.” My dad picked up the agreement and skimmed it: “Mark, after two years of marriage, our Chloe just went through the hardship of giving birth, and you’re forcing a divorce and demanding a massive compensation? What kind of logic is this?” Mark shot a cold glance at the baby: “Let her tell you herself, whose bastard is this exactly?” “Yours,” I raised my eyes and looked at him: “I was just saying that to piss you off before, so I spoke without thinking.” “Bullshit!” The old hag lunged forward: “If you say it is, it is? Now we are taking the baby for a DNA test, and the results will be final. Otherwise, you are definitely paying back the $20,000 wedding costs and $60,000 in emotional damages!” I pulled the baby closer into my arms: “I’m sorry, but absolutely no one is randomly testing my child’s DNA. I say the child belongs to whoever I say it belongs to. I accept no rebuttals.” After speaking, I curled the corners of my lips and pushed the credit card toward him: “From now on, all of the baby’s expenses will come out of this card, including Mrs. Gable’s salary, the baby’s formula, early education, insurance, and all living expenses. Since I won’t be able to work for the next two years because I have to take care of the child, I’ll trouble you to transfer $30,000 first. That should be about enough.” Mark looked like his eyes were about to tear open: “Chloe, you’ve gone fucking crazy from being poor! $30,000? Why don’t you just go rob someone?” I looked up at him, the smile reaching my eyes: “Robbing people is illegal. Robbing the child’s father is perfectly justified.” Chapter 2 5 Mark froze for two seconds: “Showing your true colors now, are we? Is this your real face?” I brushed my bangs aside: “That’s right, I’m done pretending. Oh right, for the past two years of marriage, Mrs. Gable’s nanny fees and our joint living expenses total $25,000. You might as well pay that off, too.” “In your fucking dreams!” Mark dropped a harsh threat: “That money was all a voluntary gift from your parents. I will absolutely not pay for your family’s extravagant behavior!” With that, he grabbed his mother’s arm and stormed out the door. The loud slam of the door made my daughter flinch, and I quickly patted her gently. Since I could see the end of this road, there was no need to leave any room for negotiation. “How about you come home with us after you’re discharged? I won’t feel at ease leaving you here,” my mom tentatively suggested while coaxing the baby. I shook my head: “Although I’ve been away from home for two years, with Mrs. Gable taking care of me, I haven’t suffered the slightest grievance. That’s the confidence you and Dad gave me. Furthermore, I haven’t collected the debts owed to me yet. I absolutely cannot just let this go.” A week later, I was finally discharged. During this time, Mark and his mother never visited. And Mark used these few days to scour through dashcams and home security footage, hoping to find evidence of my infidelity. He even stormed over to his two buddies’ houses and caused a huge scene. The two men were completely bewildered. In the end, he found absolutely nothing. Meaning, he had no grounds to file a lawsuit. Meanwhile, using the excuse of my husband abandoning me, verbally abusing me, and refusing to pay the hospital deposit during childbirth, I simply rented a three-bedroom apartment in another neighborhood. I also arranged a room for my parents. Then, I sent a screenshot of the $6,000 rent payment to Mark: “This is the rent for me and the baby for the next year. Remember to transfer the money. After all, it’s joint marital debt, you can’t dodge it.” At this point, he finally went crazy. Looking at the hundreds of missed calls on my phone, I let out a long, stale breath. “What exactly are you trying to do?” Good question. “I want you to be left with absolutely nothing!” 6 Many people know that only daughters like us are reasonable, know right from wrong, and hold proper moral values. But what they don’t know is that we also fiercely despise evil and tolerate no injustice. I am not lacking in love, so when I pull away, I never drag my feet. Eight thousand dollars might seem like a lot to him, but in my eyes, it’s just the price of a dog’s life. So, in the following days, I didn’t reply to a single one of the reconciliation messages Mark sent. I knew he was waiting for an opportunity. An opportunity to successfully get my daughter’s DNA. How could I let him get what he wanted so easily? After all, it would be much more fun to let the judge personally reveal this opportunity. Three days later, my phone rang. It was Mike’s wife, Nora. I thought she was calling to interrogate me, but her first sentence caught me completely off guard. “I know you and Mike are clean. Who would want that scumbag anyway? But I have something to tell you: Mark has someone else on the side.” I sharply inhaled— “Someone on the side?” “Yes, he would hide this from you, but not from his drinking buddies. I accidentally heard them talking about it when they were drunk. She’s a VIP bottle girl at a club. She’s been with him for almost a year. They hooked up right around the time you got pregnant.” “What?” A buzzing sound filled my ears. My memory flashed through all the signs he’d shown over the past year. Excuses to sleep in separate rooms, suddenly changing his phone password, working overtime more and more frequently, coming home later and later. It turns out this scumbag was only stingy with his own wife. Yet incredibly generous to outsiders. “So what are you planning to do next?” The voice on the phone pulled me back to reality. I rubbed my temples hard: “I don’t know, I need to sort this out properly. If the mistress charge sticks, it’ll count as evidence of major fault during the marriage. What about you? How far along is your situation?” The other party sighed deeply: “I lost. Even though he gave me an STD, it can’t be used as evidence of his infidelity. The first instance dismissed the divorce petition. I have to wait six months to file again. Why are women’s lives so bitter?” “So you have no leads on a mistress?” “I do, but I have no evidence to prove they are having an affair. The mistress works at a massage parlor, and Mike likes to get massages. On the surface, all the transactions look normal; it can’t count as evidence of maliciously transferring marital assets.” My mind raced: “Then how about this: you scrape together some money and buy that massage parlor, or buy shares in it. Once you’re the boss, won’t you be able to check the store’s books? When he comes for a massage, arrange a few extra girls for him. It’s just moving money from the left hand to the right.” The woman fell silent for a long time… “Buy the shop? I’ve never run a business before. What if… what if I lose money?” I scoffed: “If you lose money, you lose money! You aren’t divorced yet, are you? You were forced to invest and run a business in order to maintain family stability. Men have their schemes, and we women have our strategies.” “If you make money, you control the cash flow. If you lose money, naturally someone has to cover the losses for you. This is the greatest protection the law gives us primary wives! Doesn’t he want to avoid divorce? Doesn’t he want to drag this out and stall? Let him.” The woman took a sharp breath: “Holy shit, I never even considered this angle! I’ve been playing defense the whole time and couldn’t defend against anything. I didn’t realize I could go on the offensive! Okay, I’m going to figure out a way to get the money tomorrow!” Hanging up the phone, I began to formulate my own counter-kill strategy. A club girl? Alright, you’ve upped the difficulty for me.

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On the third day after Nate Sterling was convicted and placed on federal death row, his mother offered me a fortune to be his surrogate. She wanted me to leave the Sterling family an heir before his execution. I visited him in that maximum-security holding cell, caring for him with everything I had for three months, until I finally got pregnant. He promised me that if he ever got out of there, he would give me a grand, high-society wedding and make me his legal wife. On the eve of his execution, a miracle happened. His legal team won an appeal, and his name was completely cleared. Mrs. Sterling wept tears of joy and immediately began planning our wedding. But no one expected that his childhood sweetheart—the woman who had ruthlessly abandoned him the moment he was arrested—would suddenly burst through the doors. Clutching a faded promise ring, her eyes red with tears, she cried, “The woman he is supposed to marry is me!” I gripped my handkerchief tight, watching as Nate Sterling dropped to his knees before his mother. “Victoria and I grew up together. We made a pact when we were young. The Sterlings honor their promises. I must marry her as my lawful wife.” “Clara Hayes comes from a lowly background, but considering she is carrying the Sterling bloodline, I will keep her as my mistress. We can set her up in the guest house. The wedding date remains the same, but Victoria will be the lady of the estate.” Mrs. Sterling looked at me in absolute shock. I, however, let out a quiet sigh of relief. Back then, Mrs. Sterling had promised me: if Nate’s name was cleared but he refused to marry me, I was free to decide my own fate. I had wanted to move to Charleston for a long time. The person who loved me most in this world, my adoptive brother, was recovering from an illness down there. I wanted to go be with him. Chapter 1 The moment Nate Sterling’s words hung in the air, the eyes of everyone in the grand foyer locked onto me. Faint whispers from the household staff drifted into my ears. “Poor Clara. Abandoned by her parents as a kid, and the adoptive brother who raised her got terribly sick at such a young age.” “I heard she only agreed to be the surrogate for the Sterling family to pay for her brother’s medical bills. She finally gets pregnant, Mr. Sterling gets exonerated, and we all thought she’d be set for life. Who would have thought…” Mrs. Sterling glared at Victoria, then turned a livid face toward her son. “The Sterling-Kensington alliance was voided the very day you were thrown in a federal cell! The Kensingtons backed out!” Back then, she had begged the Kensington family to use their political influence to help find the truth. Terrified of being implicated, they had literally slammed the door in her face. Thinking of this made Mrs. Sterling shake with rage. “You want to talk about promises?! You should honor the promise you made to Clara! You personally swore you would walk her down the aisle in a white gown!” “If it weren’t for her visiting you in that damp, freezing cell every single day, bringing you food and medicine, you would have died in there!” Hearing this, Nate looked up at me. His eyes flickered with a trace of guilt, but he still insisted, “The promise ring is still here, which means our vow isn’t void. I must marry Victoria!” “Even as my mistress, I will ensure Clara lives a life of luxury. Victoria is kind-hearted; she will definitely treat Clara’s child as her own.” Hearing his condescending, charitable tone, I furrowed my brow. I suddenly remembered the scenes of visiting him in prison. The air had reeked of mildew. His designer clothes were torn, his face haggard and hopeless. When he first learned of my purpose there, he gave a bitter laugh. “Even my fiancée canceled the wedding, yet you’re willing to have a baby for a dead man walking?” I had nodded firmly. He pushed me away at first. But I insisted on visiting him every day during visiting hours. He rarely spoke, so I would just ramble on, telling him the latest news and funny stories from New York City. Half a month later, he finally spoke, asking if the media frenzy outside had died down. I pursed my lips and stayed silent. He asked again, “Is my mother’s health getting better?” My eyes widened slightly. His voice was hoarse. “I’m not stupid. She hasn’t come to see me once in weeks. You’re always in a rush when you leave, and you’ve visibly lost weight.” I didn’t say anything. He added, “Taking care of my mother, managing the Sterling family’s chaotic affairs, and coming here to sit with me every day… it must be exhausting, right?” He looked into my eyes, and for the first time, there was a different kind of emotion in them. After our relationship thawed, Mrs. Sterling’s health slowly improved. What happened next between Nate and me—facilitated by the private family visitation rooms—felt natural. He was gentle and affectionate. Stripping away the smell of the prison, everything actually felt somewhat beautiful. His muffled groans carried an undeniable, genuine passion. After that first time, everything fell into place. Two months later, a blood test confirmed I was pregnant. “Mr. Sterling, I will still come to see you every day before your execution date, but we can’t… do those things anymore.” He stared at my flat stomach for a long time before letting out a soft chuckle. “Clara Hayes, if I ever get out of here alive, I promise to give you the grandest wedding this city has ever seen. I will make you my wife.” Hearing those words, my heart fluttered. In that moment, I truly, foolishly hoped for a beautiful future with him. Back then, when he went silent for a few moments, I thought he was mourning the fact that he wouldn’t be able to watch our child grow up. But today, I suddenly realized the truth. He was probably thinking about Victoria. Thinking about how it would feel if he could marry her, if they could have children together… He had never forgotten his first love. I looked at Nate, who was kneeling stubbornly on the marble floor. I bowed slightly to Mrs. Sterling. “Ma’am, I refuse to be a mistress…” Before I could finish, Nate frowned and cut me off. “Clara, don’t push your luck. You aren’t the only woman in the world capable of having a child.” My heart physically ached at his words. After he was released, he had been so good to me. He would always look gently at my growing belly, whispering about the future of our family of three. But it turned out, my child and I combined couldn’t even compare to a single hair on Victoria’s head. I took a deep breath, steadying my emotions. “You misunderstand, Mr. Sterling. I am just a hired surrogate. Towards the Sterling family, I only have one task: safely deliver this baby.” “Therefore, I beg Mrs. Sterling to honor our original contract. After I give birth, let me leave.” 2 Hearing my words, a flash of shock crossed Nate’s face. He was about to say something, but Mrs. Sterling furiously ordered him out of the room. Only the two of us were left. She looked at me, tears welling in her eyes. “Clara, do you truly want to leave? Nate is just confused right now.” “Besides, I will never let Victoria step foot in this house as his wife. Could you please…” I shook my head, maintaining my stance. I gave her a polite bow, turned, and walked out. I was three months away from my due date. I wanted to write a letter to my adoptive brother in advance. Thinking of him, I quickened my pace back to my room. Just as I entered my private courtyard, I heard a woman’s whining voice coming from inside my bedroom. “Nate, you’re going to marry me, why do you still have to keep Clara as a mistress?” Nate coaxed her gently. “She is pregnant with my child, after all. It would look bad if I threw her out. But I promise, she will never outrank you…” He stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of me in his peripheral vision. Victoria frowned, glaring at me. “Didn’t Ms. Hayes say she refused to be a mistress? What, did you realize your little playing-hard-to-get trick didn’t work, so you came crawling back to beg Nate?” I shook my head. “No…” “Are you trying to use the baby in your belly to demand the title of legal wife?” Hearing this, Nate’s brow furrowed sharply. “Clara, learn to be content. Even as a mistress, the Sterling family will never let you want for anything. Stop playing these manipulative games. As long as you quietly give birth to the child, I will give you whatever you want.” Victoria’s eyes flashed with dissatisfaction at his generous promise. She quickly put on a pitiful tone. “Nate, isn’t it inappropriate for Ms. Hayes to live in the same courtyard as you, considering she’s just a mistress?” Nate paused. I was living here because Mrs. Sterling arranged it. While he was in prison, this was the master suite—the best, sunniest part of the estate, perfect for a pregnancy. Mrs. Sterling had said the family had suffered too much bad luck; she wanted to give the absolute best to the only continuation of the Sterling bloodline. Nate had nodded in agreement to this arrangement back then. I looked at the two of them acting like tragic, star-crossed lovers. I lost any desire to speak. Nate’s gaze dropped to my swollen stomach. He hesitated before saying, “Clara, historically, only a husband and wife share the master suite. Why don’t you move to the adjacent guest rooms? That courtyard is also…” Before he could finish, Victoria interrupted him. “Let her live in the old pool house at the north edge of the estate. It’s quiet and secluded. Perfect for resting during a pregnancy.” Nate frowned slightly. The old pool house was at the absolute farthest edge of the sprawling estate, damp and freezing cold. I watched his silence and found it hilarious. Was this his version of ensuring I lived a life of luxury and suffered no grievances? Probably annoyed that I wasn’t throwing a jealous fit, Victoria complained, “What’s with that look? Are you relying on that baby to show disrespect to the future lady of the house?” “Nate, if she’s this disrespectful to me now, how am I supposed to manage the household later? If that’s how it is, let’s just cancel the engagement. I’m leaving right now!” She turned to storm out. Nate hastily grabbed her arm, immediately barking an order to the staff: “Move all of Clara’s belongings to the old pool house. Right now.” With that, he didn’t even spare me another glance, focusing entirely on coaxing Victoria in a soft voice. “Princess, whatever you say goes, okay?” Victoria finally smiled. “Should I help Ms. Hayes pack?” Nate pulled her helplessly into his arms. “That’s heavy lifting. I can’t let you do that.” I supported my aching lower back, clumsily stuffing my clothes into a duffel bag. When I turned to walk out the door, my eyes met Nate’s. He paused, looking as if he wanted to step forward to help me. I immediately averted my eyes and left without looking back. Behind me, I heard Victoria’s sweet, whiny voice demanding his attention. Nate didn’t follow me. The old pool house was freezing. I had to put on an extra heavy sweater just to feel marginally okay. I slowly unpacked my things in the dusty room. When I emptied the bag, I realized the silver locket my adoptive brother had given me was missing. Holding my stomach, I walked all the way back to the master suite, only to be blocked at the door by Victoria’s maid. “Mr. Sterling and Miss Kensington are spending quality time together. Outsiders are not to disturb them!” 3 “Mr. Sterling,” I called out toward the closed door. “I have no intention of disturbing you. I just need to find something I left behind. Please let me in for a moment.” The door swung open. Nate adjusted his rumpled shirt collar. There was a bright red lipstick mark on his neck. “What are you making a scene for?” His eyes were filled with blatant annoyance. “Clara, you’ve gotten more than enough because of this child. Stop causing trouble.” Hearing this, I asked instinctively, “What exactly have I gotten?” Nate’s face turned icy. “Do you really think I don’t know that when my mother first hired you, she gave you a massive amount of gold and cash?” I froze. Yes, that had happened. But I hadn’t accepted any of it. I instinctively tried to explain. “I didn’t…” But the moment I opened my mouth, he cut me off harshly. “Enough!” His gaze was freezing. “If you still aren’t satisfied, then you can just stay here without any title at all. When the baby is born, it will be legally adopted under Victoria’s name!” “What did you say?” I knew he didn’t love me, but we had spent months together day and night. The intimacy we shared back then wasn’t fake. I stared at him in utter disbelief. Victoria strolled leisurely out of the bedroom, twirling my silver locket in her fingers. A wave of anxiety washed over me. “That’s mine.” Victoria smiled cryptically. “It has the name ‘Arthur’ engraved on the back. That’s a man’s name, isn’t it?” Nate’s already cold face turned even darker. I frowned deeply. “It’s a gift from my adoptive brother.” The moment the words left my mouth, Nate snatched the locket from Victoria’s hand and violently smashed it onto the marble floor. With a sharp crack, the silver casing dented and the glass face shattered into pieces. My pupils dilated in shock. That was a gift my adoptive brother gave me when I was eight years old, the day he brought me home from the orphanage. I had carried it with me for ten years. Nate knew exactly what it meant to me! Shaking with fury, I bent down to pick up the broken pieces, but Nate shoved my shoulder hard. “You are about to become a member of the Sterling household. Whether it’s an ‘adoptive brother’ or any other man, you need to erase them from your memory immediately!” Caught off guard, I fell hard backward, landing heavily on the marble floor. A sharp, piercing pain ripped through my abdomen. I curled into a ball in agony, but Nate just scoffed coldly. “Stop using the baby as a shield.” I looked up at him, my eyes filled with absolute disappointment. I never imagined that the bright, kind, and gentle young man of the Sterling family could turn into something so monstrous. Meeting my gaze, Nate faltered for a second, but quickly hardened his face again. “Today is a punishment you deserved. Go back to the pool house immediately and reflect on your behavior!” With that, he took Victoria’s hand and walked back into the bedroom without a backward glance. Soon, the sound of their playful laughter drifted out, followed by increasingly heavy, ragged breathing. The fall had severely impacted my pregnancy. It took me a long time to even manage to stand up. I stayed holed up in the freezing pool house for half a month before my body finally started to recover. During this time, I heard plenty of gossip from the maids about everything Nate was doing for Victoria. Dropping millions on diamond necklaces, renting out helicopters to write her name in the sky… But none of that had anything to do with me anymore. On a sunny afternoon, I went to a boutique stationery shop downtown to buy some high-quality ink and paper. My brother always loved the supplies from that specific store. When I returned, I entered through the side gate. As I walked past the decorative hedges, I heard Victoria’s scornful voice coming from a hidden corner. “Nate’s father is a powerful Senator, and he’s just a junior partner at a law firm. Sure, he has a bright future, and he’s obsessed with me, but why on earth would I marry you?” She didn’t see me. The man standing opposite her sounded aggressive. “Your engagement to him was voided months ago! When you were trying to prove your loyalty to me, you literally shredded the marriage contract with the Sterling family. Do you really think the Sterlings will ever let you marry him now?” I froze. The contract was shredded? Then the marriage contract Victoria had shown Nate on the day he was released… was fake? 4 But what did any of this have to do with me? I had no intention of getting involved. I turned to walk back to my quarters, but my dress caught on a jagged branch, making a loud, unmistakable riiiip. “Who’s there?!” Victoria shrieked in panic. I grabbed my dress and power-walked forward, but I was intercepted by Victoria near the estate’s large decorative koi pond. She narrowed her eyes at me, her gaze toxic. “You heard everything, didn’t you?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Seeing my face remain impassive, the malice in her eyes amplified. “People who know too much don’t live very long!” She lunged forward and grabbed my wrist. Before I could even react, she shoved me backward into the freezing, deep water of the pond. I was heavily pregnant and clumsy. I thrashed wildly as Victoria held me under the freezing water. In my desperate struggle, I saw Nate walking hurriedly toward us from a distance. When we were both pulled onto the bank, I weakly grabbed Nate’s soaked sleeve, gasping for air. “Get… a doctor… my stomach… the baby…” Victoria was coughing and sobbing pitifully next to him. “Clara pushed me into the water… she tried to drown me…” The veins on Nate’s forehead bulged with rage. “Clara Hayes, seeing you spew lies with every breath is genuinely sickening!” My stomach was cramping with blinding, excruciating pain. I lay on the grass, convulsing like a dying fish. “Nate… believe me just this once. Hurry… get a doctor… me and the baby… we’re going to die…” But he just scooped Victoria into his arms, not even sparing me a glance. The piercing pain in my abdomen was overwhelming. I passed out from the agony, only to be shocked awake by another wave of pain. The estate doctor thoroughly examined Victoria first before finally coming over to check on me. Watching him and the midwife exchange panicked, evasive looks, I smiled silently. This was fine. I had finally repaid the debt I owed him from all those years ago. It was time for me to go to Charleston and be with my brother.

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A gorgeous transfer student just arrived at our school. She’s boasting that she’ll have my childhood best friend in her bed within three months. Liam ice-coldly told her she was delusional, then immediately tightened his grip on my hand, practically melting against me: “Since we were kids, everyone’s known I’m yours.” “You said I’d get my official title after graduation. Are you really sure we can’t move that timeline up?” The transfer student’s aggressive pursuit lasted until the start of winter break. In all that time, Liam never once gave her a pleasant look. Then came the pre-semester party. Liam was drunk. I was the one taking him home. He mumbled my name the whole way. Something in me shifted. I leaned in, ready to steal a quiet kiss from him. It was going to be my first kiss. The second my lips brushed his, his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. His voice was hoarse as he asked, “Baby, why are you so reserved this time?” “What happened to the french kissing?” I froze in place. Free Chapters: 1 ######################### Data Divider # Chapter 1 A gorgeous transfer student just arrived at our school. She’s boasting that she’ll have my childhood best friend in her bed within three months. Liam ice-coldly told her she was delusional, then immediately tightened his grip on my hand, practically melting against me: “Since we were kids, everyone’s known I’m yours.” “You said I’d get my official title after graduation. Are you really sure we can’t move that timeline up?” The transfer student’s aggressive pursuit lasted until the start of winter break. In all that time, Liam never once gave her a pleasant look. Then came the pre-semester party. Liam was drunk. I was the one taking him home. He mumbled my name the whole way. Something in me shifted. I leaned in, ready to steal a quiet kiss from him. It was going to be my first kiss. The second my lips brushed his, his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. His voice was hoarse as he asked, “Baby, why are you so reserved this time?” “What happened to the french kissing?” I froze in place. 1 Liam’s kiss was deep. It didn’t feel like his first time. It felt like he was a pro. He said “this time.” So, who was the “last time”? Before I could even think of the words to ask him, he let me go. Liam was too wasted. His eyes were barely open, heavy with sleep. He grunted a muffled protest, his eyebrows twitching in slight irritation. “You little idiot. Did you still not learn how to breathe?” “Did I teach you for nothing?” I took a deep breath myself, my hand planted firmly on his face, pushing him back. My fingertips were trembling. It took everything I had to keep my voice steady. “Liam. Look closely at who I am.” Liam went quiet. He squinted at me through his drunken haze. I really hadn’t expected those few seconds to be so unbearable. I knew what the answer was going to be. The truth was practically screaming itself in my head. But I still wanted to hear Liam say it. Liam slapped his own cheek, then pinched mine, sounding utterly out of it. “Baby… why are you still in my dream?” “Maya. I like you better in the dream. You just let me kiss you.” My eyelashes fluttered. The instant I heard my name, that gnawing dread was crushed. He thought this was a dream. Liam cupped my face, his damp lips pressing against mine again. “Breathe, baby. Don’t hold your breath until your face turns red like last time.” Liam’s voice was full of cooing endearments, using all the same pet names he always had for me. After he finished kissing me, he just collapsed onto the bed, burying his face in the comforter like he was embarrassed. “Ugh. This dream feels way too real.” I sat by his side, my lips pressed thin. After a few seconds, I stood up. Whatever. Liam is an idiot. He’s been chasing me his entire life. If there was something going on, he couldn’t keep it from me if he tried. Nobody was home today. I opened my phone to order some hangover soup, but it pushed its limit and shut down. I didn’t feel like waiting for it to charge, so I just grabbed Liam’s phone. The lock screen was still the latest photo of me. Liam always said he was “fond of the new and weary of the old.” So, he insisted on getting at least three new, different photos of me every week. If he didn’t, he’d get all grumpy and ignore everyone. He was a nightmare to placate. I would always tease him about it. He claimed to get bored easily, but he’d still liked the same person for so many years. He’d just shrug and smile: “Meh. I just like liking you.” The next second, the fingerprint unlock failed. Out of the five fingerprints allowed to unlock Liam’s phone, only one was his. The other four were mine. I tried them one by one. All of them failed. Did I accidentally delete them? But Liam was not that idle. I tried the passcode. My birthday. Liam had used this passcode for years. He wouldn’t have changed it. It still failed. Just then, the phone screen lit up with a notification. It was an image. From Chloe. The transfer student who had been chasing Liam for months. 2 My grip on the phone involuntarily tightened. I was thinking, when did they even become friends? Doesn’t Liam hate her more than anything? Honestly, Liam has had a lot of pursuers growing up. But he’s incredibly aloof, with a sharp tongue, and on top of that, he makes his blinding preference for me absolutely clear. Most people give up after a while. Chloe was the only one who had persisted this long. And the only one who managed to get Liam absolutely furious. One night after evening study hall, she stopped me in the hallway and said, in a cold, arrogant voice: “Maya. You and Liam aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend yet, are you?” “Then we will just have to see who is more capable.” Her voice was thick with hostility. Before I could even open my mouth, Liam grabbed my backpack, slinging it over his shoulder with practiced ease. He handed me a cup of warm milk and fixed my scarf and beanie. Liam was usually quite docile, but that night, I could practically feel the low-pressure system radiating off him. He took my hand, his tall frame blocking her entirely, and said in a glacial tone: “She doesn’t need to compete with you. Because I have always been the one chasing her.” “We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend. I’m just her future husband.” Liam didn’t say a word the whole way home. I couldn’t resist poking his side: “Hey… what’s wrong?” Liam’s eyes were rimmed with red, and he pinched my cheek with genuine frustration: “Are you really not jealous?” “Someone just treated you like that and you didn’t have a reaction? Do you not like me at all?” Ah. So that was why. I shook my head: “No. Because I know that your heart only has me in it.” Liam’s lips thinned, as if he had been placated. He took my hand again. “Let’s just graduate already, Maya. I really want to be your boyfriend.” I looked down, remembering his mother’s instructions. “Maya, darling, little Liam has loved you since he was a baby. I don’t oppose the two of you, but could you please promise me… just promise me that you will only agree to be with him after graduation, okay?” I squeezed Liam’s hand and thought to myself. Liam, you just have to wait for me a little longer. We only have one semester left. 3 I set Liam’s phone down and went downstairs to my room. The room I’d lived in for over ten years. When I was three, my mom and dad got a divorce. My mom raised me alone, bringing me into Liam’s house. She worked and took care of me at the same time. Liam and I are the same age. We grew up together. Liam always had a “keep everyone away” vibe about him. I was really scared of him at first, but I’d still politely call him “Older Brother Liam.” He’d never answer, but he’d take me along with his friends when they went out to play. I guess I was pretty popular as a kid. One time, a kid told Liam that he should just “give” me to him. Liam, usually so indifferent, exploded, pinning the other kid to the ground and telling him to get lost. It was the first time I had ever seen him angry. The first time I heard him use a bad word. I followed him home later, terrified, timidly calling him “Older Brother.” He was still furious. He yelled at me for the first time in his life: “Stop calling me older brother!” He scared me so much that I avoided him for days, until he finally caught me. His tone softened a bit, and for the first time, he used my name: “Maya. Are you an idiot or something?” “Brothers and sisters can’t get married.” I froze in my tracks, my heart hammering like crazy. I had thought he disliked me, even loathed me. I had never once considered that he actually liked me. After that confession, Liam became even more shameless about treating me well. His love was a bit different from who he was as a person; it was flamboyant and passionate. To the point that everyone knew: Liam Parker will only ever marry one person in his life. And that is Maya. But tonight, I couldn’t help but let my thoughts wander. The natural way he kissed me. His “baby.” And that image I couldn’t see. 4 The next day was the start of the new semester. My mom had taken a month off work, and Liam’s parents were away on a business trip. The only people left at home were Liam and me. I hadn’t slept all night and then overslept. The second I opened my door, I ran right into Liam’s arms. The faint scent of citrus drifted towards me. I sniffed the air and subconsciously asked: “Did you change your body wash? It smells so unfamiliar.” He’d insisted on using the same body wash as me for as long as I could remember. He’d never changed it, not even yesterday when we went out. He still smelled like my body wash then. Liam’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He just hummed a non-committal response. He looked like he didn’t want to explain. “Breakfast is ready. Let’s get to school first.” I took the breakfast he handed me, pressing my lips together: “My mom said I should take care of you…” Liam took my hand and smiled faintly: “You? You think you know how to take care of someone? You just threw me onto the bed and left last night.” I seized the opportunity: “I was going to get you hangover soup. My phone ran out of battery. And you changed your passcode.” Liam paused, then explained: “Last time, one of them guessed my passcode was your birthday. It wasn’t safe.” “You know my phone is full of your photos. I’d go mental if a single one got out.” I made a sound of understanding. He continued: “It’s the day I confessed to you now.” I nodded in understanding, but I still couldn’t help but think. There was no reason to delete my fingerprint. Just as I was about to ask him, Liam placed his phone in my hand, then leaned against the car window and closed his eyes. “Look for yourself. It’s not often I let you give me an inspection.” “You’re finally showing a little bit of interest in me.” I had never done anything like this before, but today, it was all I could think about. So I opened his chat logs. Chloe was no longer in his contacts. I dropped the phone back onto his lap: “I saw Chloe send you a message yesterday. It was an image. It’s gone now.” Liam said, totally unbothered, “Yeah. She sent me an nsfw picture. I blocked and deleted her.” 5 …An nsfw picture? My breath caught in my throat. I really wanted to ask him why he’d even added her. Didn’t he hate her more than anything? But I felt weirdly out of place. What right did I have to ask him? This thing between me and Liam. Everyone else thought I was being difficult. Liam had pursued me to this extent, and I still wouldn’t agree to be with him. But Liam’s mother had taken my mom and me in all those years ago. We were always full of gratitude. The promise I made to her was one I had to keep. And besides, it was just a little later, that’s all. Being with Liam was already enough. “Maya. I didn’t know it was her when I accepted the request.” He showed me his lock screen, his expression gentle, his voice sincere: “I just thought it would make my eyes dirty. She’s nothing compared to my Maya.” Once we got to the classroom, Liam took his usual seat next to me. He expertly pulled all sorts of snacks from his backpack, along with newly bought school supplies and a few small items I’d occasionally need. He was always taking care of me with this level of meticulous detail. Chloe was the last person to walk into the classroom. In the dead of winter. She was wearing a tight, waist-revealing shirt with a thin jacket thrown over it, and a mini-skirt that didn’t even cover her knees. She was chewing gum, and she threw her bag into the seat right across the aisle from Liam. Liam’s pen paused, and he glanced at me. “Maya. Swap seats with me.” Chloe tilted her chin up and huffed, taking her seat with casual arrogance. I had just moved into Liam’s seat. As soon as I sat down, my nose was hit with that same citrus scent. The exact same one as Liam. And the smell was even stronger here. 6 The first period was a self-study session. I told myself to focus and started doing practice problems. Chloe handed me a note. I paused, but I opened the note anyway. He smells like me, you know. I crumpled it into a ball and irritably tossed it at Liam. Liam was still carefully organizing my corrections from my math homework. He raised an eyebrow at me and opened the note slowly. The second he saw the contents, his fingertips tightened around the paper. Liam spat out a quiet curse and pulled me out of the classroom. The disciplinary monitor tried to stop us, but he just ignored them. Our names got written on the board. At the end of the hallway, I yanked my hand out of his. “What are you doing?” “What kind of nonsense did she say to you?” I pressed my lips together: “She wasn’t lying. We really do smell the same.” Liam let out a soft sigh. He told me: “Don’t believe her nonsense. I bumped into her two days ago when I was getting you snacks.” “I guess she saw me when I was buying body wash. She did it on purpose.” I couldn’t shake the feeling that there were too many coincidences, but I chose to believe that Liam wouldn’t lie to me. “I understand. I didn’t say anything. Let’s go back.” Liam tried to take my hand, but I subconsciously dodged him. I was distracted all day. Even the simplest questions were wrong over and over again. When we went home together that evening, for the first time, Liam didn’t take my hand or talk to me. In the past, that walk from the classroom to the school gate… That was Liam’s personal time to be affectionate. I actually liked hearing his mindless chatter. It was so different from his cold, silent persona in front of others. The contrast was really quite cute. But today, he was just staring at his phone. He had long legs and took big strides. He had already forgotten me, leaving me behind. I grabbed my backpack and broke into a small run to keep up.

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I’m a girl, but I was raised as a boy my entire life. After turning eighteen, I worked construction to support myself, carrying bricks and pouring concrete. Until one day, a fleet of Rolls-Royces pulled up right in front of me at the job site. The people who stepped out told me I was the long-lost “Crown Prince” of the ultra-wealthy Sterling family in New York. Meanwhile, the fake heir, Julian Sterling—who had been living a life of unimaginable luxury for eighteen years—discovered the truth. Not only had he been switched at birth, but his biological parents were actually a poverty-stricken family that the Sterlings had been anonymously sponsoring for years. He completely broke down. He looked at his own tanned skin and muscular physique, and then looked at the soft, delicate “fake prince” standing before him. I fell into deep thought. They mistook me, a biological female, for their “Crown Prince”? Exactly how blind is the Sterling family? Chapter 1 “Young Master, please get in the car. The Patriarch, the Master, and the Madam are all waiting for you.” The elderly butler who had arrived with the motorcade bowed respectfully to me. Holding the two hundred dollars in cash I had just received for my day’s labor, I looked back at the dusty, chaotic construction site and remained silent. A few hours ago, I was screaming at my foreman until my face was red. Now, I was about to step into a luxury car and return to a place called “high society.” It felt like a fever dream. For as long as I can remember, I lived in an orphanage. The director gave me his last name, naming me Taylor Vance. Terrified that I would get bullied, he always kept my hair cut short and dressed me exclusively in boys’ clothes. Over time, everyone just assumed I was a boy. When I turned eighteen and aged out of the orphanage, I needed to survive, so I went to work in construction. On a job site, no one cares if you’re a man or a woman; they only care if you can lift the weight. I didn’t say a word. I pulled open the car door and got in. The butler led me into a mansion that looked more like a palace. Three people were sitting in the massive living room. In the center sat an elderly man with gray hair but a fiercely sharp presence. He radiated an imposing authority without even trying. Next to him sat a middle-aged couple. They had to be my parents. The man, dressed in a sharp suit, had his brows furrowed tightly. The woman, wearing elegant designer clothes, had red, teary eyes. And there I stood in the middle of the room, wearing a work uniform covered in cement dust, with a hole in my canvas sneakers. “Child, your… your name is Taylor, is it?” The elderly man, Arthur Sterling, the patriarch of the family, spoke first. I nodded. “You’ve suffered so much all these years.” He let out a heavy sigh. “It’s good that you’re home. From this day forward, you are the grandson of the Sterling family, Taylor Sterling.” “Dad, look at the state of him. He doesn’t have a single ounce of the Sterling family’s refinement…” my father, Richard Sterling, muttered with a frown. Before he could finish, Arthur slammed his cane hard against the floor. “Shut your mouth! The boy was lost out there for eighteen years because of our family’s mistake! What right do you have to look down on him?” Arthur snapped fiercely. Richard didn’t dare say another word. My mother, Eleanor, was sobbing quietly. “My son… how did he end up like this…” Right at that moment, Julian burst into the room. He threw himself to the floor, dropping to his knees right in front of Arthur. “Grandpa! I’ve called you Grandpa for eighteen years!” he cried, his voice tearing with grief. “I don’t want to leave the Sterling family! I don’t want to go live in poverty!” Arthur looked down at him, a flicker of pity crossing his eyes. “The Sterling family raised you for eighteen years. From now on, whether you choose to stay or leave, the decision is yours.” The crying stopped instantly. Julian turned his head and glared at me. His eyes held a bizarre mix of malice and smugness. At dinnertime, the long dining table was covered in a feast. In front of every seat lay an array of silverware I had never seen before in my life. My mother, Eleanor, spoke to me in a lecturing tone: “Taylor, when eating Western cuisine, you hold the fork in your left hand and the knife in your right…” I furrowed my brow. When we ate at the construction site, we grabbed a massive bowl, piled it high with whatever food was there, and shoveled it down in five minutes flat. Who had time for all these stupid, overly complicated rules?! I reached out with my bare hand, grabbed the thick cut of steak in front of me, and shoved it into my mouth. My action brought a sudden, dead silence to the entire dining room. Everyone stared at me, absolutely dumbfounded. Eleanor’s face flushed red, then went pale. She looked mortified. Richard’s face was as dark as a thundercloud. Julian immediately let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “So vulgar and unrefined! You actually grab your food with your bare hands? What’s the difference between you and a monkey?” “You’re going to completely destroy the Sterling family’s reputation!” Richard pointed a trembling finger at me, his lips shaking with rage. I looked at Julian, completely unbothered. “As long as it fills the stomach, who cares?” “Eating is just eating. Why make up so many exhausting rules? Doesn’t it tire you out?” Julian’s laughter caught in his throat, his face turning beet red. I was someone who traded my sweat and blood for a meal on a construction site. I was never going to belong to the same world as these rich people and their obsessive “rituals.” I stood up and shot a look of pure disgust at the fake, pretentious rich boy. “Also, don’t call me your brother.” “I’m not used to playing ‘brother’ with a useless piece of trash who probably can’t even lift a five-gallon bucket of water.” “You!” Julian’s face turned a violent shade of crimson. Just as Richard was about to explode in anger, the patriarch, who had been sitting silently at the head of the table, suddenly let out a booming, hearty laugh. “Hahaha! Good! Well said!” Arthur looked at me, his eyes shining with approval. “Doesn’t care about trivial details, speaks his mind directly! That personality… it reminds me a bit of myself back in the day!” The old man reached out his own hand, grabbed a lamb chop, and took a massive bite. “Refreshing!” This scene left everyone in the room completely stupefied. Julian stared at his usually strict and traditional grandfather in absolute disbelief. I allowed the corner of my mouth to curve up slightly. This Sterling family patriarch… he was an interesting guy. It seemed this life in high society was going to be a bit more entertaining than I had anticipated. 2 That dinner ended on a sour note. My father, Richard, kept a dark scowl on his face the entire time. After I had eaten my fill, the butler led me to a massive bedroom. The en-suite bathroom was larger than the entire apartment I used to rent. Early the next morning, I was woken up by a sharp knocking on my door. “Young Master Taylor, the etiquette instructor Master Julian hired for you has arrived. Please come downstairs,” the butler’s voice echoed from the hallway. Julian? What was he plotting now? I went downstairs and saw Julian standing in the living room. Next to him stood a middle-aged woman. The woman had her chin tilted aggressively high. she scanned me from head to toe, her eyes dripping with judgment. “Taylor, is it? From today onward, I am your etiquette instructor. You slouch when you stand, you slouch when you sit. All of that needs to be corrected,” she said, her voice gratingly shrill. A cold smirk played on Julian’s lips. “Brother, you just got back from the outside world, you don’t know our rules. So, I specifically hired Mrs. Davis, the best instructor in the city, just for you,” he said, dripping with fake sincerity. “You need to study hard so you don’t embarrass the Sterling family again.” Watching them put on this little two-person play, I just found it hilarious. “The first thing we will learn is posture,” Mrs. Davis said, tapping my back sharply. “Straighten up! Core tight! Chin up!” “Next is walking.” She placed a thick hardcover book on top of my head. “Balance this. Walk perfectly along this line. The book cannot fall.” “I’m not doing it,” I said calmly. “What did you say?” Julian couldn’t believe his ears. “I said, I’m not doing it!” I looked right at him and repeated myself. “I just want to ask you one thing: when Grandpa was fighting his way up in the business world, crushing his rivals, did he do it by practicing how to walk in a perfectly straight line?” The moment the words left my mouth, the entire living room fell dead silent. Julian’s smirk froze on his face. Even Richard and Eleanor, who had just walked down the stairs, stopped dead in their tracks. I didn’t spare them another glance. I turned around and walked right out the front door. The etiquette lessons were ultimately canceled because the patriarch simply said, “Let the boy be.” When his first plan failed, Julian immediately hatched another. A few days later. He organized a small, private wine-tasting gathering at the house and invited a few friends from his elite social circle. His excuse was that it was to help me integrate into high society as quickly as possible. An oil painting hung in the living room. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Julian, swirling a glass of red wine, walked over to me. He pointed at the painting and asked loudly, intentionally drawing everyone’s attention: “Brother, what do you think of this masterpiece? Dad won it at an auction for eight million dollars.” The painting was a chaotic mess of bright, clashing colors. It just made my eyes hurt. I stayed silent for a moment before speaking. “This painting… the layout isn’t bad.” Julian looked surprised. He clearly hadn’t expected me to say that. I continued: “Especially this section here, and over here. There’s a lot of blank, white space. It would be perfect for keeping a ledger.” “Back on the construction site, I always looked for blank walls like this. I’d write down exactly which foreman owed me how much money, and what day payday was. Nice and clear.” “Pfft—” I don’t know who broke first, but someone couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Immediately, a chorus of mocking laughter and snide whispers erupted around the room. “He actually wants to use an eight-million-dollar painting as a ledger? Is he insane?” “A hillbilly is a hillbilly. Showing him fine art is an insult to the artist!” Julian looked incredibly smug. He squeezed the words out through gritted teeth: “You… you are a total joke!” I ignored him entirely and grabbed a glass of red wine from a nearby tray. Seeing this, Julian immediately launched another attack: “That is a 1982 Lafite. You have to sip it slowly…” Before he could finish his pretentious warning, I tipped my head back and downed the entire glass of Lafite in one gulp. Exactly like I was drinking a cheap beer at a greasy spoon near the job site. I even smacked my lips to give my review. “Sour as hell. Tastes worse than a ten-dollar bottle of cheap vodka from the corner store.” The living room was plunged into silence once again. Everyone stared at me like I was an alien that had just crash-landed. Julian pointed a shaking finger at me, stuttering “You, you, you” for several seconds without managing to form a coherent sentence. Right at that moment, the butler walked over. “Young Master Taylor, the Patriarch requests your presence in his study.” Seeing me enter, Grandpa Arthur pointed to a large, detailed diorama on a table. “Come here. Look at this.” It was an architectural model for a massive new development project. It was incredibly intricate. “This is the Southside Resort project the corporation is currently developing.” My grandfather’s sharp eyes locked onto me. “What are your thoughts?” I froze. I was a bricklayer. What did I know about multi-million-dollar commercial developments? I knew absolutely nothing about business strategy, urban planning, or architectural design. I forced myself to examine the model, my eyes eventually settling on the tallest, primary structure. After spending years grinding it out on construction sites, I had developed a natural, almost instinctual understanding of structural integrity. I reached out and pointed directly at the base of that main building. “Right here. There’s a fatal flaw in the load-bearing structure.” Arthur’s eyes narrowed sharply. “The placement of these primary support beams is wrong. The weight distribution is off-center. Plus, it’s situated right next to a lake. The foundation won’t be stable,” I said, frowning as I laid out my analysis. “It looks fine right now on paper, but once that building goes up, people move in, and you get hit with a few heavy rainstorms…” I paused, looking my grandfather dead in the eye, and delivered my conclusion. “If this building is actually constructed according to these blueprints, it will collapse within three years. Guaranteed.” Arthur’s pupils contracted again. He stared at me. He didn’t say he believed me, and he didn’t say he didn’t. He just looked at me in silence for a very long time. “You may leave,” he said, waving his hand. As soon as I was gone, Arthur picked up the phone. “Bring all the structural blueprints for the Southside project to my study immediately! Yes, every single one!” Outside the study door, a shadow slipped away quickly. It was Julian, hiding in the dark. He had clearly heard what my grandfather muttered to the butler right after I left the room: “This boy Taylor… he’s a diamond in the rough!” 3 Ever since he eavesdropped outside the study, the way Julian looked at me changed. It wasn’t just toxic resentment anymore; it had morphed into a deranged, desperate obsession to destroy me. Julian’s hatred had reached its absolute peak. One evening, the atmosphere at the family dinner was thick with tension. Julian sat in silence, his head down, lost in some dark thought. I just focused on inhaling my food. Suddenly, Arthur put down his fork at the head of the table. “I took a tour of the Southside project site today,” the old man said, his voice heavy and serious. “Due to a critical technical error, the entire project has been halted. We are bleeding money.” His gaze slowly swept over me and Julian. “I’ve decided to give you two an opportunity.” “Starting tomorrow, you will both join the project task force. Whoever can solve this crisis…” The old man paused, then dropped a bombshell: “Whoever solves it… will have the opportunity to secure the inheritance rights to the Sterling empire!” “Dad! The Southside project is massive! Taylor just got back; he knows absolutely nothing. Letting him get involved is completely reckless!” Richard, my father, was the first to object. “He’s right, Grandpa! That’s a multi-billion-dollar investment. We can’t treat it like a game!” Julian eagerly chimed in. My aunt, Victoria, sat there with a faint smirk playing on her lips, not saying a word. I stood up and bowed deeply to Arthur. “Grandpa, I accept the challenge!” Julian let out a slow, loaded smile. In his eyes, I was just an arrogant, ignorant fool actively digging my own grave. Early the next morning, two cars pulled out of the Sterling estate. Julian rode in a Bentley, surrounded by several assistants, all wearing sharp suits and holding open laptops. I rode in a rugged SUV. The driver was a man my grandfather had assigned to me—a retired military veteran. The Southside construction site was completely shut down. As soon as he stepped out of the car, Julian’s team marched straight to the project management office. The project director, a heavy-set man named Mr. Peterson, immediately plastered on a sycophantic smile when he saw Julian. But when his eyes landed on me, that smile vanished instantly. Mr. Peterson looked me up and down. “And this is?” “My brother, Taylor. He’s here to learn the ropes with me,” Julian introduced me dismissively. I ignored all the flashy data charts and complex blueprints they had laid out. I grabbed a hard hat and walked out into the construction site alone. An hour later, I returned to the project office. In the conference room, Julian was standing in front of a projection screen, pointing at a 3D model, talking with total confidence. “…Based on my precise calculations, the micro-fractures appearing in the load-bearing walls are caused by a deviation in the concrete mix ratio. We simply need to implement a new ‘High-Fiber Polymer’ secondary reinforcement protocol, and the problem will be solved!” As he finished, the room erupted into applause. Mr. Peterson and his team of engineers looked at Julian with absolute adoration. “Young Master Julian truly is a top-tier scholar! This solution is flawless!” “Incredibly scientific! The project is saved!” Seeing me standing in the doorway, Julian intentionally raised his voice. “Brother, you’ve been wandering around outside. Do you have any brilliant insights?” I walked straight over to the window and pointed at the massive expanse of dirt outside. “The problem isn’t the walls. It’s underground,” I said, my voice heavy. Julian let out a cold scoff. “Underground? Our geological survey reports are crystal clear. The geological structure is completely stable.” “Reports have an expiration date, but foundations are dynamic,” I said, pointing toward the large artificial lake nearby. “They excavated too deep over there, and they’ve hit an underground river. The earth beneath this site isn’t solid rock anymore. It’s the dry season right now, so it looks fine. But the second we get a heavy rainstorm, the groundwater pressure will spike, and the foundation will start to sink.” I paused, looking at the main structure that had already been topped off. “When that happens, forget about ‘reinforcing’ the walls. The entire building is going to tilt. The cracks you’re seeing now are just the beginning!” The conference room fell into a stunned silence for a few seconds, followed immediately by hushed, mocking whispers. “An underground river? Does this guy think he’s in an Indiana Jones movie?” “Basing engineering on ‘gut feelings’? This is an absolute joke!” “A bricklayer daring to lecture professional engineers? Ignorance truly is bliss!” Mr. Peterson chuckled and turned to Julian. “Young Master Julian, your brother is quite the comedian.” “Brother, science isn’t based on imagination.” Julian shook his head condescendingly. “You really should just stay out of this.” “Mr. Peterson!” Julian turned, waving his hand authoritatively. “Notify the construction crews immediately! Implement my protocol and resume work at once!” “Yes, sir, right away, Young Master!” Mr. Peterson bowed and scraped eagerly. Everyone in that room was looking at me like I was a clown. Staring at their faces, filled with contempt and disdain, I didn’t say another word. I quietly walked out of the conference room. I looked up at the sky. The sky had suddenly turned a violent, bruised purple. A jagged bolt of lightning ripped across the horizon! Followed immediately by a deafening crack of thunder! Massive drops of rain began slamming into the dirt without warning. A torrential downpour had arrived, just like that! My heart sank. It was happening! Right at that moment, a terrified scream tore through the air! “Look! The main tower!” The next second, the color drained from everyone’s faces. Through the sheets of driving rain, the massive main structure was slowly, visibly… tilting! The ground beneath our feet was vibrating slightly! “The building’s coming down! Run!” Someone screamed, and the entire construction site instantly devolved into absolute, chaotic panic! Workers scattered like frightened mice. The engineers looked like death. Mr. Peterson’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the muddy ground. Hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, a skyscraper dozens of stories high, was about to become a mountain of rubble! Julian stood frozen in place, staring at the apocalyptic scene unfolding before him, his face as white as a sheet of paper. In the midst of this utter chaos, I snatched a hard hat off the head of a worker running past me and slammed it onto my own head: “Don’t panic! Everyone, follow me!” 4 Everyone stared at me in shock. The building was about to collapse. Charging toward it now was a suicide mission, wasn’t it? I didn’t have time to argue with them. I grabbed the nearest engineer by the collar. “Where are the industrial water pumps and the backup generators?!” I roared at him. “In… in the east warehouse…” he stammered, his entire body shaking. “Take a crew, haul every single working pump down to the edge of the artificial lake! Pump the water out of the lake basin as fast as humanly possible!” I then pointed at the construction foreman. “You! Get cement and quick-setting accelerator! As much as you have! Grab your most experienced veterans and follow me to the foundation!” My orders were simple, blunt, and aggressive. “You’re insane, Taylor!” Julian finally snapped out of his shock. He ran over and grabbed my arm. “The building is going down! What the hell are you doing?” “Shut up!” I ripped my arm out of his grasp and glared at him coldly. “Your textbook theories can’t save this building. But my method just might!” I led a group of veteran construction workers charging into the wall of rain, heading straight for the dangerously tilting structure. We rushed to the leeward side of the building. The foundation there had visibly sunk, and muddy water was bubbling up from the earth. “Right here! And over there!” I pointed to the critical load-bearing points. “Mix the cement and the accelerator right now! Move!” At the same time, the roar of the industrial water pumps echoed from the other side of the site. All the pile drivers were hauled over. Following my directions, they began furiously driving supports into the ground. Grouting, pressure relief, drainage… The rain slowly began to ease up. I don’t know how much time passed, but the tilting of the massive structure finally stopped! Even though it was still leaning slightly, it hadn’t collapsed. The workers and veterans surrounding me looked at the miraculously stabilized building, and then looked at me, completely covered in mud. Their eyes shifted from shock to deep, profound respect. Just then, a sleek black sedan sped up and slammed on its brakes at the entrance of the site. The door opened, and Grandpa Arthur, supported by Aunt Victoria, stepped out. He saw the slightly tilted structure. He saw me, looking like a mud monster. And he saw Julian standing a short distance away, looking as pale as a ghost. Arthur walked straight through the crowd, stopping right in front of me. He looked at me, then looked up at the building. His expression was a complex storm of emotions. “How did you do that?” he asked. I wiped a mixture of rainwater and mud off my face. “The building is safe, for now,” I said, looking at my grandfather, my voice perfectly calm. “But it’s only temporary. If the foundation issue isn’t permanently resolved, it will eventually collapse. The repair costs alone will be at least a hundred million dollars.” The crowd around us inhaled sharply. Julian swayed on his feet, barely able to stay standing. Arthur slammed his cane hard into the mud. He demanded furiously, “And who is going to bear the responsibility for this hundred-million-dollar loss?” Julian immediately lowered his head, not daring to make a sound. Meeting my grandfather’s sharp gaze, I straightened my back. “I will!” Arthur looked at me. For the first time, his eyes held genuine, unadulterated admiration. He turned around and pointed his cane directly at Julian, who looked like a walking corpse. “Julian!” “Grandpa…” Julian’s voice was shaking uncontrollably. “Effective immediately, you are stripped of all duties and positions within the Sterling Corporation! You are grounded until further notice!” My grandfather’s command was absolute; no one dared to argue. Then, in front of everyone, he pointed at me and announced to the entire project team: “From this day forward, Taylor is in absolute, total command of the Southside project!”

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After spending five years of sleepless nights working overtime in an overseas research lab, I had finally saved enough to pay off the massive research debt Arthur Sterling had accumulated. I was so excited to give him the ultimate surprise. I brought our daughter, Lily, back to the States, my heart brimming with anticipation of our family finally reuniting. But when we arrived at the luxury high-rise apartment Arthur usually stayed in, the concierge at the front desk gave me a strange look. “Mr. Sterling moved out ages ago. That penthouse has been empty for six months. Are you sure you have the right address?” I froze. Confused and unsettled, I took Lily’s hand and headed straight to the luxury hotel where Sterling Corp was hosting its highly anticipated product launch. I tried to slip into the backstage area but was immediately stopped by security. “Ma’am, you can’t go back there without a VIP pass. Mr. Sterling is hosting the charity gala in the main ballroom tonight. He isn’t taking personal visitors.” Just as I was trying to figure out what to do, the massive digital billboard in the lobby flashed a breaking news alert: “Sterling Corp CEO Arthur Sterling hosts million-dollar tech launch and charity gala, walking the red carpet hand-in-hand with business partner Chloe Sinclair. The two shared a picture-perfect, heartwarming moment.” A second later, my phone buzzed. It was a voice text from Arthur, his tone flat and distant: “Evelyn, the new lab equipment I ordered just got delivered to the lobby. Go to the front desk and sign for it.” In the background of the audio, a woman’s voice chimed in, dripping with amusement: “The bet is over. How much longer are you going to keep stringing Evelyn along with that fake marriage certificate? Playing the weak, struggling entrepreneur for all these years… aren’t you bored of it?” It turned out, I was the only one who had been taking this life seriously. It turned out that after all this time, I was the one who had been entirely written out of the script. Just then, one of Arthur’s groomsmen and oldest friends hurried over. He grabbed my arm with a look of pure disdain and dragged me to the side, hissing, “How dare someone like you show your face here? Aren’t you afraid Arthur will cut off the living expenses for you and your kid?” I gripped my phone in silence. Suddenly, the color drained from his face. He covered his mouth, looking at me with sudden realization. “Wait… do you actually not know?” He immediately backpedaled, his voice panicked. “I was just talking nonsense. I have somewhere to be.” Watching him practically run away, little Lily tugged at my sleeve. She looked up at me with big, innocent eyes and asked, “Mommy, what does it mean to be written out of the script?” I forced a bitter smile, my voice breaking as I whispered, “I guess it looks a lot like Mommy right now.” Chapter 1 1 It was probably the very first time I hadn’t replied to Arthur’s message immediately. My phone vibrated on the table. He was calling me. The background noise on his end was loud—clinking glasses, applause, and men laughing. It sounded exactly like a high-end gala. “What’s going on? Didn’t you see my text?” I ignored the accusatory edge in his voice and simply asked quietly: “Arthur, where are you right now?” “Where else would I be? I’m at the convention center for a partnership signing ceremony. Look, I don’t have time for this. Just remember to download the new project files from my email.” Before I could even get another word out, he hung up. Staring at the cold “Call Ended” screen, I tried to pull the corners of my mouth into a smile, but my face felt frozen. I realized I had never truly known Arthur Sterling. I never expected him to lie with such effortless ease, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Memories from a few years ago surfaced—the day we parted at the airport. He had solemnly shared his email passwords and calendar with me, promising that this way, we would always be synchronized. No distance, no misunderstandings. “Complete honesty is the only way we survive the distance,” he had said, his eyes full of tenderness. But for the past few years, I had been so drowning in lab work and paying off his debts that I never had the time or energy to actually check those shared calendars or emails. Now, acting on instinct, I unlocked my phone and opened his pinned inbox. The most recent automated forward hit me like a physical blow. The subject line read: “VIP Reservation: The Apex Room – Partnership Gala.” I stared blankly at the address. It was the most exclusive, astronomically expensive restaurant in the city. Arthur was there right now, spending a beautiful evening with the people he actually valued. Meanwhile, I was left staring at a screen, realizing every ounce of his affection had been a fabricated lie. 2 Holding five-year-old Lily’s hand, I walked into the grand lobby of the Sterling Corp headquarters. From a distance, I spotted Arthur standing in the VIP reception area. He was crouched down, gently and patiently tying the shoelaces of a little boy in a sharp miniature suit, looking up occasionally to make the boy giggle. The sight hit me so hard I stopped dead in my tracks. Lily was five years old now. A memory pierced through me—shortly after Lily was born, she had a terrible fever that lasted for three days. She cried non-stop. The doctor told us that a father’s soothing presence could help calm her down. But back then, Arthur had just stood by the hospital window, his back to us, and coldly tossed over his shoulder: “I’m not used to being around kids.” Even so, Lily had always tried so desperately to get close to him, yet she never received even a shred of warmth in return. Now, watching this man smile with such tender patience at a child from his new family, the truth finally slammed into me. He never lacked the ability to care for a child. He just never had any intention of loving mine. A harsh reprimand snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked down and realized my daughter was no longer holding my hand. I frantically looked around. Lily was standing right in front of Arthur, her little head tilted up, calling out “Daddy” with eyes full of desperate hope. “Daddy, look! I made this for you out of construction paper. It’s a special present just for you!” And then, the unthinkable happened. Arthur stared at the little girl with a look of utter bewilderment. He casually batted away the colorful paper Lily was offering him. “What kind of scam is this? Are kids doing shakedowns now?” “I only have one son. I don’t know you.” The moment the words left his mouth, Arthur impatiently brushed away Lily’s tiny hand as she reached for him again. He scooped up the little boy next to him and turned to leave. I sprinted forward, wrapping my arms around a sobbing Lily, and stepped directly into Arthur’s path, blocking his exit. “Arthur, what is the meaning of this?” Perhaps he hadn’t expected to see me here, or maybe he never imagined I would return to the States without telling him. For a split second, the man froze, his face a canvas of pure, unadulterated shock. A moment later, Arthur tightened his grip on the boy in his arms. When he spoke, his voice was low, carrying a rare tremor of panic and guilt: “How… how are you back?” As he said it, realization seemed to dawn on him. He snapped his head to look at Lily, who was wiping her tears. “Is she… Lily?” My lips twitched into a bitter, hollow smile. She was five years old. And her own father couldn’t even recognize her. “Arthur, aren’t you going to explain this?” “You…” Before he could answer, a fleet of luxury black SUVs pulled up outside the glass doors of the lobby. A crowd of people stepped out. When I saw the woman leading the group, an involuntary shudder ran through me, and a dull ache settled in my chest. “Sister. It’s been a long time.” It was Chloe Sinclair. My half-sister. Years ago, she and her father had systematically destroyed my family, driven my mother to an early grave, and pushed me into absolute despair. Meeting Chloe’s provocative, triumphant gaze, countless agonizing memories flooded my mind. I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. “Why are we standing out here? It’s freezing.” Chloe expertly linked her arm through Arthur’s. Her tone was intimate, laced with the casual arrogance of a victor. Before I could even speak, she announced loudly, making sure everyone in the lobby could hear: “Sister, Arthur has already told me everything.” “You insisted on clinging to him, willing to be the other woman just to stay relevant. But Arthur and I have our own child now. It’s time for you to let go.” “We’ve been married for years. Are you really trying to follow in your mother’s footsteps and become a homewrecker in someone else’s marriage?” The lobby went dead silent. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me, whispering. Some looked at me with blatant disgust and mockery. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. I looked at the man standing beside her and asked, my voice barely a whisper: “Arthur… is this true?” Before he could answer, Lily pulled out of my grasp. She reached into my purse and pulled out our marriage certificate. She threw herself at Arthur’s legs, her tiny voice choked with sobs: “Daddy, didn’t you marry Mommy? Why do you have a baby with someone else? Did Lily do something bad to make you mad?” “Look, this is your and Mommy’s marriage certificate. Mommy carries it with her everywhere.” Chloe stepped forward, ignoring the little girl’s cries, and snatched the document from Lily’s hands. She flipped it open and examined it in front of the crowd. The next second, she held it up and waved it at me, her voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt: “Sister, you really are living in a fantasy world.” “This marriage certificate is completely fake. It doesn’t even have an official county seal. How much longer were you planning on playing make-believe?” Then, she pulled a genuine, official marriage license from her designer bag and held it up to my face. “Here. Let me show you what a real one looks like.” “Oh, by the way, Arthur and I took a video the day we went to City Hall. Want to watch?” She shoved her phone in my face. The video showed the two of them smiling brightly, signing the official registry. On the screen, Arthur’s smile was radiant. The sheer joy radiating from him pierced my eyes, forcing hot tears to well up. “Ignore her. Let’s go inside.” Arthur finally spoke. But when he said it, he didn’t even spare me a single glance. Seeing him turn to leave, Lily lunged forward and wrapped her little arms around his leg. “Daddy, please don’t leave Lily…” He frowned coldly. He forcefully pried her tiny fingers off his leg, his voice like freezing iron: “I am not your dad.” With that, Arthur walked deeper into the grand lobby, not looking back once. 3 I can’t remember how I walked out of that suffocating exhibit hall. I only remember pulling Lily into a desperate embrace when Chloe Sinclair appeared in front of me again. She stood on the marble steps, looking down at me from above the crowd, her eyes filled with absolute disdain. “Evelyn Hayes, you were destined to be crushed under my heel for the rest of your life.” She waved a VIP auction paddle in her hand. The charity painting that had originally been named after my family—my child and me—had just been bought by her for an astronomical sum. The applause and murmurs from the crowd surrounded us, as if the entire world had gathered just to witness my humiliation. Chloe smiled, taking her time as she handed over a signed receipt, her voice sounding like a judge delivering a sentence: “Did you really think anyone here would validate your little delusion of a family? Your pathetic memories and fake photos mean absolutely nothing in the real world.” I held my daughter tight, a freezing chill spreading through my chest. Still crying, Lily pulled a crumpled photograph from her backpack—our only family photo—and held it up to the crowd, her voice trembling but defiant: “This is Mommy and me’s home! We really were here, and we really loved Daddy…” Chloe let out a sharp, cruel laugh. She snatched the photo, threw it onto the pavement, and ground her stiletto heel into it. “Art is a mirror of reality. You two were erased from the picture a long time ago, and you certainly don’t exist in this family.” Her words sliced through my dignity like a scalpel. And Arthur, from beginning to end, never looked back. He just led his new family into the glittering, wealthy crowd. I stood outside the massive glass doors of the exhibit hall, holding my weeping daughter. In that moment, I realized that every single shred of warmth we had ever clung to had been ruthlessly, permanently stripped away. That night, after finally coaxing Lily to sleep, I collapsed onto the sofa in my study. My phone lit up. It was a text from Arthur: “Things got out of hand today. Don’t overthink it.” Reading those words, a wave of unspeakable bitterness surged up my throat, choking me. Arthur was always like this. He would shove you off a cliff, then toss down a crumb of comfort once you hit the bottom. The phone buzzed again. This time, it was Chloe: “Since you’re back, come to the corporate office tomorrow. It’s time we finally settled the inheritance issue once and for all.” Looking at my sleeping daughter, I took a deep, silent breath, picked up my phone, and called my best friend. “Hey, it’s late. What’s up?” “Are you free tomorrow? Can you watch Lily for the day?” “Lily? Since when do you have a daughter? With who?” I paused for a second. “Arthur.” The line went dead quiet before my friend’s shocked voice exploded: “Arthur Sterling?! Didn’t you guys break up seven years ago? How do you have a kid with him?” “And if I remember correctly, Arthur has been married to someone else for years!” She paused, as if suddenly connecting the dots. “Girl… please tell me you didn’t love him so much you agreed to be his mistress…” The corner of my mouth twitched, but I couldn’t form a smile. My eyes felt like they were made of ice. “It turns out… from the very beginning, I was the only one living in a lie.” 4 After ending the video conference with Arthur, I sat frozen, staring at my laptop screen. A string of messages from him popped up, leaving my mind entirely blank. The first was an address to a new corporate housing unit. “I’m swamped with work right now. You and Lily should move back into the apartment you were renting.” “Starting tomorrow, organize the physical archives in the office. Bring me lunch in the conference room at noon. I still prefer your cooking.” “Also, the day after tomorrow is Chloe’s birthday. As her older sister, don’t forget to prepare a nice gift.” As the messages rolled in, a blind, suffocating rage rushed straight to my head. Even now, Arthur offered absolutely zero explanation. Instead, he seamlessly slipped back into ordering me around like an unpaid servant, acting as if nothing had happened. He had even forgotten that today was Lily’s birthday. My fingers trembling slightly, I slowly typed out my response: “Arthur, do you even remember what day today is?” The chat went silent. He didn’t reply. Exhausted to my bones, I rested my head against the sofa and somehow drifted off to sleep. The next morning, while I was still half-asleep, I heard Lily’s cheerful voice right next to my ear: “Mommy, look! Daddy sent you a reward voucher!” I took the phone on instinct. Arthur had finally replied sometime in the early hours of the morning: “What day? Are you short on money again? You don’t need to make up excuses if you want an allowance. Don’t forget to use the digital voucher the company gave you.” Lily had already excitedly clicked the link to redeem the “reward.” It was a $2.50 digital gift card for the company cafeteria. It wasn’t even enough to buy the cheapest coffee on the menu. 5 Carrying a massive stack of project reports, I pushed open the doors to the press conference. Everyone was already seated. Chloe sat dead center on the main stage, looking every bit the confident, decisive executive. Seeing me walk in, the corner of her lips quirked up. “Since everyone is here, let’s officially begin.” She scanned the room, her tone authoritative. “As you all remember, ten years ago, my father’s dying wish stated clearly: Whoever launches an autonomous AI medical system first will be the true leader of this corporation’s future.” “Today, I am proud to announce that under my leadership, our team has successfully completed the development of this system.” “This breakthrough would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of a very important person.” Chloe’s eyes locked onto me as she continued, “Now, please welcome my brother-in-law, Arthur Sterling, to present the development history and technical highlights of our AI medical system.” The moment she finished speaking. Arthur, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit, confidently strode up to the podium in the multimedia hall. He opened the PowerPoint and flawlessly presented the data to the gathered media and investors. Every single slide, every data point projected on that screen, was the blood, sweat, and tears I had poured into my non-profit educational tech initiatives over the last five years. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I rushed to the front, grabbed Arthur’s arm, my eyes red and my voice a suppressed, furious hiss: “Arthur, what the hell are you doing?” But the next second, he forcefully shook off my grip. He turned to face the audience and the cameras, his voice cool and unwavering: “Ladies and gentlemen, there is a matter I must clarify publicly today.” “A year ago, Chloe and I co-founded the smart remote learning initiative. While Evelyn Hayes was involved in the preliminary research, the core breakthroughs that made this system possible were achieved by our joint team.” “However, I am fully aware that this system was originally built upon the foundation of Evelyn’s years of non-profit work and trial-and-error. I believe her contributions are valid and deserve recognition.” Low murmurs rippled through the hall. Some questioned my actual involvement, while others showered Arthur and Chloe with praise for their “generosity.” I looked up at Arthur from the crowd. Our eyes met, but he quickly looked away, refusing to engage. For years, I had poured every ounce of my energy into advancing educational equality through tech. I had been entirely transparent with Arthur about every single step. He knew better than anyone how important this project was to me, and he knew exactly how much suffering it had cost me. I never imagined he would trample on my trust and publicly team up with someone else to discredit my life’s work. I was about to speak up and defend myself when my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket. It was my best friend. She was panicked. Lily was missing. I forgot about the conference, the project, everything. I scrambled toward the exit in a blind panic, but Arthur grabbed my arm, stopping me: “Evelyn, you owe Chloe an apology!” “Arthur, your daughter is missing!” I screamed at him, my eyes blazing red. The color instantly drained from Arthur’s face. Panic finally broke through his calm facade: “Lily? What happened to Lily?” Chloe quickly rushed over, grabbing his hand and whispering soothingly: “It’s fine, it’s fine. The nanny just texted me. She said Lily is just fast asleep at home.” Hearing this, Arthur let out a massive sigh of relief, his posture relaxing completely. Looking at the man who could switch his concern off so effortlessly, I gritted my teeth, ripped my arm away, and bolted out of the hall. I left him with one final sentence: “Arthur, you don’t even deserve to be called a father!”

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Carter Sterling noticed I hadn’t submitted an “expense request” to the family group chat in a week. He thought I’d finally dropped my petty, penny-pinching habits. Tossing a black Amex onto the dining table like a handout, he sneered: “I paid off your dad’s dialysis bills. Don’t bother me with this poor-people nonsense anymore.” “I know your family is a bottomless pit, but you’re Mrs. Sterling now. Try not to look so desperate.” But he didn’t know that when I took the black card, I had already signed my body donation form and our divorce papers. As I walked out the door, I was still wearing the same pill-covered hoodie he had casually tossed me five years ago. No one would believe that the wife of Carter Sterling, a man who controlled half the media resources in the country, had to take a photo of a $5 receipt for tampons and upload it to his assistant’s phone for approval. All because he thought a “gold digger” like me would go bad the second I had real money in my hands. But a week ago, my dad’s kidneys failed and he needed an emergency blood transfusion. I begged Carter on my knees for a $4,000 advance. His darling secretary, however, intentionally rejected my transfer request, smiling as she said she wanted to help me cure my “insatiable greed.” Carter didn’t know that I endured this humiliation just so my dad could stay alive in his private hospital. Now, my dad’s life support had been pulled due to unpaid bills, and his ashes had already been scattered. I didn’t need to be his obedient dog anymore. Free Chapters 1 ######################### Data Divider ######################### Chapter 1 My phone buzzed. A message from Carter Sterling popped up on the screen, dripping with his usual condescending charity. “I’ve reinstated your dad’s treatment. Be a good girl from now on and stop lying to extort money from me.” “I know it’s not easy for people from your background, but my money isn’t that easy to scam.” I stared at those two lines of text. My heart was unusually calm. I replied with a single word: “Okay.” Setting my phone down, I signed my name on the divorce agreement sitting in front of me. Carter probably thought my three-day hiatus from asking for reimbursements was just me throwing a tantrum. A so-called “cold war.” After all, for the past three years, I had lived like a dog just to keep my dad’s medical bills paid. I had no source of income. Carter forbade me from working, claiming it was humiliating for a Sterling wife to show her face in the corporate world. But he didn’t give me an allowance, either. Every single cent I spent had to go through his company’s expense portal for approval. Buying groceries required an expense report. Buying tampons required an expense report. Even the few bucks I spent riding the subway required a scanned receipt. And the person approving all of this was his executive secretary, Evelyn Reed. The woman who had been by his side since college, the one who proudly styled herself as his “office wife” and “soulmate.” Three days ago. The hospital issued a critical condition notice. My dad had suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage and needed immediate surgery. Thirty thousand dollars. To Carter Sterling, that was the price of a single bottle of vintage wine. I called him like a madwoman. After a dozen tries, someone finally picked up. But the voice on the other end belonged to Evelyn Reed. “Harper, Carter is in a meeting right now. Is it an emergency?” I didn’t care about anything else. I begged her through my tears, “Evelyn, let me talk to Carter! My dad is dying, I need thirty thousand dollars for his surgery!” Evelyn let out a soft, amused chuckle. “Harper, you know the company rules.” “Thirty thousand isn’t a small amount. You have to submit it through the corporate portal.” “Carter hates people who break the rules. If you just demand money like this, he’ll be angry.” “Hurry up and submit a ticket in the system. I’ll approve it as soon as I see it.” The call disconnected. My hands were shaking so violently I could barely hold my phone as I filled out the form in that damn expense portal. Reason: Father’s emergency surgery. Amount: $30,000. Attachment: Critical Condition Notice. Submit. I stared at the screen. One second. Two seconds. Ten minutes later. My phone chimed. It wasn’t a bank transfer notification. It was a rejection notice from the portal. Rejected by: Evelyn Reed. Reason for rejection: Attachment format is blurry. Please rescan and upload. The blood in my veins ran ice cold. I took another photo. My hands were trembling, making the picture slightly blurry, so I took another one. Every second was a matter of life and death. I hit submit again. Five minutes later. Rejected. Reason for rejection: Requested amount is too high. Please provide a detailed itemized bill, precise to the unit price of each medication. I lost my mind. The surgery hadn’t even happened yet. The doctors were still in the ER trying to resuscitate him. Where the hell was I supposed to get a perfectly itemized bill? I texted Evelyn. “Please, I’m begging you, just approve the funds! It’s life-saving money!” “I’ll give you the itemized bill later! Evelyn, this is a human life!” Evelyn replied with a cute, smiling emoji. “Harper, it’s not that I don’t want to help.” “But financial protocols are protocols. You’re putting me in a tough spot.” “You’ve always been too undisciplined. You can’t bring the bad habits of poor people into a wealthy family.” “Carter specifically told me to help set some rules for you.” Clutching my phone, I dropped to my knees outside the operating room doors. Like a pathetic, spineless stray dog. I texted Carter. I sent voice memos. “Carter, I’m begging you.” “As long as you give me the money, I’ll do whatever you want from now on.” “I won’t cause trouble anymore. I won’t be jealous of Evelyn anymore. Please, just save my dad.” Half an hour later. Carter finally replied with an audio message. The background was loud, and his voice carried the impatient slur of someone who had been drinking. “Do what Evelyn says.” “Stop annoying me.” At that exact moment. The light above the operating room went out. The doctor walked out, pulled off his surgical mask, and shook his head with profound regret. “I’m so sorry. If only we had the funds to administer the coagulants ten minutes earlier…” I didn’t hear the rest of his sentence. I just felt the whole world suddenly go dead silent. The old man who had endured every hardship to raise me, who had collected scrap metal just to put me through college… Because of an “incorrectly formatted” expense report… Died in this glittering, prosperous city. As his body slowly grew cold, my love for Carter Sterling went completely, irrevocably cold right along with it. Over the past three days. I handled the funeral arrangements. The cremation. The burial plot. I didn’t tell Carter. Because there was no need. Wasn’t he afraid I was scamming him for money? From now on, I would never ask him for another dime. I looked at the “charity text” Carter had just sent me. The corners of my mouth curled up. He thought I was playing games to get his attention again. Little did he know. This was the last shred of dignity I was ever going to give him. A red notification dot popped up on Instagram. It was a post from Evelyn. The photo showed a high-end omakase sushi spread, along with a man’s hand. On his wrist was the Patek Philippe watch I had once dreamed of buying for Carter. The caption read: “Thanks to the boss for treating me to an amazing dinner. Some people only know how to hold their hands out for money. Such a buzzkill.” I clicked the heart button. Truly. It was the first time I had ever “liked” one of Evelyn’s posts. The next second, Carter called me. He probably saw the notification and thought I was being passive-aggressive. I didn’t answer. He texted me instead. “Harper, who are you trying to provoke with that attitude?” “Don’t let people misunderstand Evelyn. She was just doing her job.” “Unlike that post immediately. Don’t force me to freeze your card.” Doing her job? Doing her job by murdering someone? I laughed out loud. I opened her Instagram post and left a comment underneath: “The secretary climbs the corporate ladder by withholding the boss’s wife’s life-saving medical funds. What a brilliant way to get rich off a dead man. I wish you two the best. A btch and a dog, together forever.”* Send. Block. Power off. The world was finally peaceful. I started packing my bags. Honestly, there wasn’t much to pack. I had lived in this so-called home for three years. The things that actually belonged to me were pitifully few. The walk-in closet was massive. The left side was entirely filled with Carter’s bespoke Tom Ford suits. The right side consisted of several locked glass display cabinets. That was where the jewelry and designer bags were kept. The keys and fingerprint access were entirely in Evelyn’s possession. Every time I had to attend a gala, I had to submit a “prop request” to Evelyn to check out an item. When I was done, I had to return it. Once, I accidentally got a smudge of dirt on the hem of a gown. Evelyn made me write a three-page apology letter in front of the maids. She also docked my “living expenses” for the following month. Carter stood right there watching, saying casually, “Evelyn is just trying to teach you a lesson. These things are very expensive, Harper. You can’t afford to replace them.” He was right. I couldn’t afford it. I was an orphan. In their eyes, I was “bottom-tier” trash. I opened my little designated corner of the closet. Inside hung a few pilled sweaters and some faded jeans. The only decent thing there… Was the white T-shirt I had worn when I married him three years ago. Back then, I wasn’t Mrs. Sterling. I was the youngest physics graduate student at MIT, a genius girl with a limitless future. Carter said he loved my aloof, academic vibe. He said, Harper, marry me. I’ll give you a real home. I believed him. I gave up the opportunity to study abroad, ignoring the desperate pleas of my mentor. I washed my hands of science to make soup, locking myself in this gilded cage until I became nothing more than a joke. I stripped off the “cheap flea-market clothes” Carter despised so much. I put on that slightly yellowed white T-shirt. The jeans were a little loose now. Over the past three years, I had lost twenty pounds. I dragged out a battered old suitcase. I packed a few books, a few photos, and my dad’s urn. Aside from that. Nothing else in this mansion had anything to do with me. I walked down the stairs. Martha, the housekeeper, was dusting a vase. Seeing me dragging a suitcase, she rolled her eyes. “Running away from home again, Mrs. Sterling?” “Mr. Sterling said that if you walk out those doors this time, don’t even think about coming back.” “Also, Mr. Sterling wants his bone broth for dinner. Don’t forget to make it.” In this house. Even the maids looked down on me. Because they knew that I, the supposed lady of the house, didn’t even have the authority to sign their paychecks. Hell, my “allowance” was less than their monthly salary. I stopped walking and looked at Martha. “Make the soup yourself.” “Or better yet, have Evelyn make it.” Martha froze. She had clearly never seen me act with a spine before. “Excuse me? What kind of attitude is that? See if I don’t tell Mr. Sterling—” “Go ahead.” I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and walked out the front doors of the mansion without looking back. The sunlight was a little blinding. I raised a hand to block the glare. Three years. I had finally walked out of this tomb. Carter returned much faster than I expected. He had probably seen my comment and blown a gasket. Not to coax me back. But to seek justice for his precious darling. I couldn’t get an Uber near the gated community. A black Maybach screeched to a halt, cutting me off with a deafening squeal of tires. The door flew open. Carter stepped out, his face like a sheet of frost. Evelyn followed close behind him, her eyes red, looking like she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world. “Harper, what the hell is wrong with you?” Carter grabbed my wrist in a vice grip. “Apologize to Evelyn right now!” “What kind of garbage are you spewing on Instagram? What do you get out of ruining someone’s reputation?” I looked at the face that had once made my heart race. Now, all it made me feel was nausea. “Garbage?” I violently yanked my hand out of his grip and stared coldly at Evelyn. “Is it garbage, Evelyn? Don’t you know the truth?” “Three days ago, my dad was lying on an operating table waiting for money to save his life.” “Secretary Reed rejected my request, claiming the ‘format was wrong’ and the ‘amount was too high’.” “Did the CEO know about that?” Carter froze. He obviously didn’t know the details. He only knew I was asking for money, and Evelyn had told him it was against protocol. He instinctively looked back at Evelyn. Evelyn shuddered, and the tears instantly began to fall. “Carter… I didn’t…” “I was just following the company’s financial protocols.” “And… and Harper was so aggressive on the phone, I didn’t realize it was life-saving money…” “Besides, I told accounting to prep the funds right after! It was Harper who never resubmitted the ticket!” What a sharp tongue. What a brilliant excuse—”never resubmitted.” The man was dead. Was I supposed to submit an expense report to the Grim Reaper? Hearing her explanation, Carter’s frown deepened. He turned back to me, his eyes full of disappointment. “Harper, you are such a letdown.” “Evelyn was just doing things by the book. Do you really have to be this vicious?” “Isn’t your dad’s condition just a chronic issue? It couldn’t have been that serious.” “Just over a little bit of money, you go online and spread vicious rumors about Evelyn. Where are your manners?” Manners? He wanted me to show manners to a murderer? I laughed out of pure fury. “Carter Sterling, you are so blind it’s incurable.” “Since you believe her so much, we have nothing left to say.” “The divorce papers are on the desk in the study. Sign them.” I grabbed my suitcase and turned to leave. My attitude infuriated Carter. He snatched my suitcase from my hand and slammed it violently against the pavement. The suitcase was old. The zipper burst open. Its contents spilled out all over the ground. A few worn-out clothes. A few physics textbooks. And a black wooden box. The urn rolled a few times before coming to a stop right at Carter’s feet. Carter froze. He stared at the box, his pupils contracting sharply. “What is this?” I bent down, carefully picked up the urn, and dusted it off. “This is my dad.” “Are you happy now, Carter?”

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My roommate wanted to transfer her “spare tire” to me. Her reason? The guy was too clingy, too jealous, and just plain annoying. I took a look at her contact note for him: [Dumb & Loaded—Drain Immediately]. My eyes lit up. “Give him to me! Hand him over! I love clingy!” Just as I said that, a line of glowing text floated across my vision. It looked like live stream chat comments—bullet screen reactions. [LMAO, the villainess is officially online.] [She’s just a plot device. This male lead is destined to go absolutely psycho for our goddess, Chloe, later on!] [Hurry up and take the hand-me-down. Once the male lead realizes it’s a different girl on the other end, he’s gonna storm back to the country to find Chloe. The romantic tension is going to be insane!] Wait. I was just a tool to advance the plot? Does that mean I’m about to get rich? “This guy is loaded. He sends money at the drop of a hat. He’s just too possessive, and I’m over it. He’s yours,” my roommate said. My roommate, Chloe, was our college’s undisputed “It Girl.” The number of guys in her rotation of casual flings was countless. To manage them, she had multiple burner Instagram accounts. She’d post whatever she wanted on her Close Friends stories, never worrying about getting caught. I took the phone and checked the profile. The note was simple and crude: [6’2, Abs, Lives in NY]. Scrolling through the chat history, the guy was definitely a jealous type. If Chloe replied too slowly, or if he found out she was playing online games with other guys, he’d go ballistic. Every time, Chloe would just send a few high-pitched, cutesy voice notes, and he’d instantly calm down. I tried to mimic that high, sugary pitch in my throat. I almost gagged myself. The floating text started up again. [This side character is literally pathetic. Does she really think she can copy Chloe’s voice?] [Just waiting for Ethan Thorne to send cash. This gold digger probably hasn’t seen this much money in her life.] Seeing this, my heart did a little flip. Actual money transfer? Perfect timing. My bank account was bone dry, and I was looking at a diet of instant ramen for the rest of the month. [Venmo: You received $5,200 from Ethan Thorne.] [Caption: Babe, things are crazy at the company right now. No time to play games with you. Don’t be mad.] My fingers flew. Accept. Instant deposit. Five thousand two hundred! That was enough to cover my textbooks and rent for the next few months! Amazing! Absolutely amazing! I hit him back with a “shoulder rub” emoji. [Hubby, you’re working so hard! Remember to DM me when you’re done, I miss you! ❤️] The message had barely sent when the phone vibrated again. [Venmo: You received $13,140 from Ethan Thorne.] [Caption: First time you’ve called me hubby. Sounds amazing. Miss you too.] Looking at those numbers, my eyes almost popped out of my head. Calling him “hubby” was worth thirteen grand? Fine. As long as the money keeps coming, he is my one and only cyber-husband from this day forward. The chat comments exploded. [This girl is shameless! Zero dignity!] [Ethan definitely thinks it’s Chloe calling him hubby right now. I’m so mad!] [Disgusting. She’ll say anything for money.] I didn’t care what the comments said. I turned around and ordered the most expensive Starbucks drink on the menu—triple whip, extra drizzle—and a luxury sushi platter I’d been dreaming about for six months. Being rich felt incredible! I’d never have to listen to my dad complain on the phone over five hundred bucks in spending money ever again. These idiots in the comments didn’t know anything. When you’re too poor to eat, dignity doesn’t fill your stomach. Chapter 2 Three days later, I hauled a mountain of shopping bags back to the dorm. “Whoa, Hannah, did you win the lottery?” my roommate, Lisa, asked. “Why’d you buy so much stuff?” I couldn’t stop grinning. “End-of-season sales. Everything was practically free.” Chloe, who was busy filling in her eyebrows at the vanity, glanced at me through the mirror. Her tone was a bit salty. “Didn’t Ethan Thorne prove to be generous? He didn’t send you any cash? He used to buy me designer bags all the time.” I dropped my bags, walked over, and started massaging her shoulders, putting on my best groveling face. “I only dared to buy these clothes because he sent some money. It’s all thanks to you!” “If you hadn’t passed this big fish over to me, I don’t know how I would have made rent this month.” Chloe’s expression darkened slightly. She tried to sound casual. “How much did you make?” “Oh, like a $131 and a $52 transfer. Enough to keep me going for a bit!” I lied through my teeth. Hearing this, the annoyance on Chloe’s face vanished, replaced by a look of slight disdain. “Only that much? He used to give me bags worth thousands.” “You don’t think he figured out we swapped, do you?” I pressed my lips together, pretending to be worried. “I don’t think so? But he did mention his company is going through some stuff. He doesn’t have time to play games. You don’t think he’s going bankrupt, do you?” A scornful smile played on Chloe’s lips. She patted my shoulder, acting magnanimous. “If he’s broke, move on. Don’t worry, there are plenty of other fish in my pond. I’ll share a few more with you later.” She turned to the other two roommates. “You guys want in? I can divide up a few for you to play with.” The other two roommates came from rich, local families. They had no interest in her game. They shook their heads and declined. Only I gushed with gratitude toward Chloe. “Chloe, you are literally an angel! If I ever marry rich, I’m sending you expensive skincare every single day!” Chloe crinkled her nose in disgust, turned back, and continued with her makeup. I turned around to unbox my items and try on my new clothes. The floating comments were scrolling frantically. [Holy s*, this side character is conniving!]** [It was fifty-two hundred and thirteen thousand, and she lied to Chloe saying it was a few hundred bucks!] [It’s over. Chloe thinks Ethan is broke, she definitely won’t want him back now.] [Chloe, wake up! All the ugly losers in your rotation combined don’t equal one of Ethan’s fingers! He’s the heir to the biggest tech conglomerate in the country!] The sole heir to a tech conglomerate? That made me feel even better. After unboxing everything, I lay on my bed and messaged Ethan. [Hubby, are you done with work? I took a little nap just now and dreamt you had another girl. I woke up crying, lol. waaah] Then, I found the perfect angle and took a selfie. My eyes were slightly red, looking pitiful, but the focus was on the beauty mark right at the corner of my eye. I had scrolled back through the chat history. Chloe had never sent a photo showing her face. Her Instagram was all shots of her from behind. She was tall and had a great body, but I wasn’t bad either, and my skin was incredibly pale. When Ethan had liked that old picture on Chloe’s Close Friends story, he hadn’t even asked which one was her. To maintain her “mysterious goddess” vibe, Chloe hadn’t even told him her real name. Ethan had always called her by her gamer tag: “RolyPoly.” [Wife!!] [The location of that beauty mark by your eye… it’s in the exact same spot as mine!] Immediately, Ethan sent a close-up selfie. The man in the photo had a high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, and a rogue-ish smirk. He was devastatingly handsome. [I guess that means we have a ‘destined marriage face,’ hubby. You are so hot, I want to kiss you! 😘] [As soon as I finish this project, I’m flying out to see you! Wife, I love you!] [Venmo: You received $52,000 from Ethan Thorne.] Fifty-two thousand! Ethan Thorne… this guy was the real deal. I sent a barrage of kissing emojis, and then started pouring on the shameless flirtation. [Hubby, I’m going to kiss the skin right off your face when we meet.] [And your abs… I’m going to feel every single one of them, hehe. 😏] [Hubby, take care of your precious body. The day we meet is the day you lose your innocence, teehee!] Chapter 3 A few flirty messages later, the comments went wild again. [Help! This side character is literally a predator!] [Chloe was a cold, distant goddess in Ethan’s mind. This trashy girl ruined everything!] [Wait, why does Ethan seem to be enjoying this? Why is the vibe getting weirder and weirder?] [It’s over. Ethan is one of those repressed types; in his bones, he loves this chaotic energy…] [It’s fine. No matter how happy they are texting, she’s just a stand-in. When Ethan comes back and sees Chloe, that’ll be ‘love at first sight’ all over again! This kind of online relationship only survives in the phone; it dies the second it hits the light!] [Right, right. This girl is okay-looking, but she can’t compare to Chloe’s supermodel vibes. Ethan is going to be so disgusted by her when they meet.] Disgusted? I was counting on it. Be as disgusted as you want. Ideally, write me a check on the spot and tell me to get lost. It had only been a few days, and I’d already saved up nearly seventy grand. My tuition and living expenses for four years of college were totally covered. If we kept talking for a few more months, I might actually save up a down payment for a house. Then I could buy a small condo and completely cut ties with my toxic, leech-like biological family. Thinking about this, I decided to turn up the heat, flatter Ethan frantically, and continue pretending to be dirt poor in front of Chloe. That way, when the “true lovers” inevitably met, they’d feel guilty and maybe even give me a severance payment. It was perfect. Chapter 4 To maintain my “poverty-stricken” persona in front of Chloe, my life was, frankly, completely schizophrenic. During the day, I ate dry crackers and water in the dorm. At night, I ordered lobster tails and expensive takeout and ate it huddled inside a bathroom stall. Chloe’s look toward me became increasingly superior. She even started talking to her new rotation guy right in front of my face. “Aww, but I really want that new designer tote. It’s only three thousand. You won’t even buy that for me?” She hung up, glanced at the plain tap water I was drinking, and let out a fake, sympathetic sigh. “Hannah, I’m not judging, but if that guy from New York is really that broke, you should just block him. Stop wasting your time.” I shook my head vigorously, looking sincere. “I can’t, Chloe. He might be poor, but he’s really good to me. He texts me every morning and night to check on me. I grew up unloved, you know? I’m soft for that stuff.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Pathetic.” The comments flooded the screen again. [This girl’s acting is incredible. Oscar-worthy.] [Chloe, run! This girl is playing the long game!] [Relax above, Ethan is about to fly in. Let’s see how this trashy girl manages the IRL meet-and-greet!] Flying in? My heart skipped a beat. I pulled out my phone and checked. Sure enough, Ethan had sent a message.

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