Chapter 1 On the day of my divorce, my ex-husband wired five million dollars into my bank account. When I got home, my mother immediately asked me how much I got in the settlement. I lowered my head and said, “I walked away with nothing. I just wanted to prove a point.” She slapped me hard across the face. “You worthless brat! I raised you for nothing!” My dad pointed at the front door. “Get out. There’s no place for you in this house.” My younger brother “kindly” offered to let me stay in their storage closet—for five hundred dollars a month in rent. My sister-in-law laid down the ground rules: “Sam, we don’t raise freeloaders here. You have to pay for your own groceries, too.” I smiled and agreed. I lay on the broken folding bed and looked at the text message from my bank. Balance: $5,000,327. When I walked out of the courthouse, the sky was heavily overcast. My ex-husband, David Miller, stood on the steps, lighting a cigarette without looking at me. “The money was wired to your account. Five million, not a penny less.” “Mhm,” I murmured, nodding. He exhaled a plume of smoke. “Samantha, we got to this point, and there’s no one to blame. We just aren’t right for each other anymore.” “I know.” “Live a good life.” “You too.” He stubbed out his cigarette, turned, and walked away. I stood there, watching his car pull away. A black Mercedes. I picked it out for him three years ago. He said if I liked it, we’d buy it and slowly pay off the loan. Now, the loan is paid off. The car is his, the house is his, the company is his. Aside from the five million dollars, I had nothing left. Just then, my phone chimed with a text message. [A wire transfer of $5,000,000.00 has been deposited into your account ending in 8848. Available balance: $5,000,327.18.] I turned around and texted my family group chat. [Mom, I’m divorced.] Three seconds later, my phone blew up with a call. “Divorced? How much did you get? Who gets the house? What about the car?” I paused for a second, then regained my composure. “I walked away with nothing. I just wanted to prove a point.” Silence on the other end. A long, heavy silence. I didn’t dare make a sound, waiting for her to speak. Suddenly, my mom started screaming into the receiver. “Samantha Davis, are you out of your damn mind?! Walked away with nothing? Do you have brain damage? You’re 32 years old! You’re divorced, with no money and no house! How are you supposed to survive?!” “I’m moving back home.” “There’s no room for you here! Your brother is about to have a baby, we don’t even have enough rooms as it is.” “I can just sleep in the storage closet.” Chapter 2 She let out a long, ragged breath. “Fine, come back. But let me tell you, this isn’t over! Wait until I see you, I’m going to curse you out until you wish you were deaf!” She hung up. I stood on the courthouse steps. The wind blew past, carrying a biting chill. I ordered a ride home. No, back to my mother’s house. It was an old apartment building, sixth floor, no elevator. I dragged my heavy suitcase all the way up. When I reached the door, I could hear the TV blaring loudly inside. I knocked. My dad opened the door. When he saw me, he just shook his head and sighed. “Dad.” “Mhm.” In the living room. My mom, my brother Tyler, and my sister-in-law Chloe were all there. The TV was playing a reality show, but no one was watching it. Three pairs of eyes were locked onto me. Tyler was the first to speak, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone. “Sam, you really got divorced?” “Yeah.” Chloe leaned in. “Why? Was David seeing someone else?” I kept the truth from her and said, “No. We just didn’t get along anymore.” My mom sat on the sofa, legs crossed, arms folded, looking like a detective ready for an interrogation. “Samantha, explain this to me right now. Why did you walk away with nothing? David has a massive business, and you didn’t ask for a single penny?” “If I asked for money, I wouldn’t have been the one initiating the divorce.” My mom sat up rigidly, her voice shrill: “Initiating it my ass! Did you ever bother asking for our opinion? Even if your brain was flooded with water, you couldn’t possibly be this stupid!” Tyler pressed a hand to her shoulder to calm her down. “Mom, don’t get worked up. Sam must have had her reasons, right, Sis?” I lowered my head and stayed silent. My mom pointed a finger at me, scolding: “What kind of twisted reason could she have?! She’s 32, no job, no money, no house! Samantha, what are you going to do now? Huh? Are you expecting us to feed you?” “I’ll find a job.” Chapter 3 “What kind of damn job can you find?! You got married right out of college and have been a stay-at-home wife for seven years. What company is going to hire you?” My dad finally chimed in: “Just drop it. The divorce is already done, what’s the point of yelling about it now.” My mom turned her fury on him: “What do you mean, what’s the point?! This is all because of how you spoiled her! You spoiled her from the day she was born, and now she thinks she can do whatever the hell she wants! A divorce is a huge deal, and she just does it on a whim! She walks away with nothing on a whim! How is she supposed to survive?!” “I’ll survive on my own.” My mom sneered. “Survive on your own? With what? Where are you going to live? What are you going to eat? What are you going to wear? Let me make this clear, Samantha: in this house, there is no free ride for you!” Tyler interjected: “Mom, let her stay. The storage closet is empty, isn’t it? We can clear it out and it’ll be livable.” “The storage closet is full of junk, how is she supposed to sleep there?” Tyler looked at me, a meaningful smile on his face. “We can make room. Sis, you can stay, but we need to set some ground rules. You’re in a tough spot right now, and the family is taking you in, but you can’t just live here for free. How about this: $500 a month for rent, and we split the utilities and HOA fees. Fair?” The storage closet? Charging me $500? I was so speechless I almost laughed. My 28-year-old brother, spoiled rotten since childhood. He had changed jobs seven or eight times. Never lasted more than six months at any of them. The $40,000 down payment for his wedding house? I paid for it. The $20,000 for his wedding reception? I covered it. And now. I have to sleep in the family storage closet. And he’s charging me rent. “Fine.” Chloe chimed in: “And there’s the grocery money, Sam. I usually handle buying the food and cooking for the house. Since you’re moving in, we have to keep the math straight. We’ll count your share of the groceries as $250 a month. That’s not too much, right?” Chapter 4 “Not too much.” My mom added her own terms: “You have to do chores, too. Chloe is pregnant, she can’t be exhausted. From now on, you’re in charge of all the cooking, dishwashing, and mopping.” “Okay.” Chloe added another rule: “Don’t use the washing machine, it wastes water and electricity. You wash your clothes by hand.” “Fine.” “And don’t take a shower after 10 PM. It wakes us up.” “Mhm.” Rule after rule was laid down. And I agreed to every single one. Their eyes were filled with disdain, completely devoid of any sympathy. Seeing that I accepted everything, Tyler gave the final word: “Then it’s settled. Sis, go unpack. The storage closet is a bit messy, you’ll have to clean it yourself.” I grabbed my suitcase and walked toward the storage closet at the end of the hallway. When I opened the door, a musty smell wafted out. It was crammed with old furniture, torn cardboard boxes, and broken appliances. Near the window was a rusted folding bed, covered in a thick layer of dust. I set my suitcase down and started cleaning. From outside, I could hear their poorly muffled voices. Chloe asked, “Did she really not take a single penny?” “That’s what she said. Walked away with nothing.” Tyler scoffed. “What a total idiot. David’s company is worth tens of millions, easily. She was with him for seven years and didn’t take a cut? Her brain must have been crushed by a door.” My mom sighed. “What do we do now? Do we really let her live here long-term? Five hundred bucks in rent, what’s that going to do for us?” Tyler said, “Let her stay for now. We’ll make her do the chores to earn her keep. In a little while, we’ll find some divorced guy and marry her off as fast as possible.” “Who would want her? Thirty-two, second marriage, and broke.” “Some desperate old bachelor will take her.” I crouched on the floor, wiping the dust off the folding bed. Tears unconsciously fell from my eyes. Chapter 5 The storage closet was tiny, less than a hundred square feet. Once I unfolded the bed and put down my suitcase, there was no floor space left. The window was broken and let in a draft. I taped some plastic bags over it, but it was still freezing. It was March, and the temperature at night dipped into the forties. My mom had given me an old, thin, drafty blanket. I huddled under it, listening to the sounds outside. The master bedroom was my parents’. The guest room belonged to Tyler and Chloe. They went to sleep by 11 PM. The sound of snoring drifted through the thin walls. I couldn’t sleep. I opened my phone. My banking app. Balance: $5,000,327.18. I took a screenshot and emailed it to a secure secondary account. Then I deleted the text messages and deleted the banking app entirely. I couldn’t risk them seeing it. The next morning, 6 AM. I got up to make breakfast. The fridge had eggs, milk, and bread. I fried some eggs, heated the milk, and toasted the bread. Just as I set the table, they started waking up one by one. Tyler sat down, yawning. “Sis, you don’t need to make breakfast for us from now on. We can’t wake up this early.” “Then what are you going to eat?” Chloe sat down, resting her chin in her hand as she glared at the fried eggs. “We’ll grab something outside. There’s way too much oil here. I can’t eat greasy food while I’m pregnant.” “I’ll be careful next time.” “The milk is overheated. All the nutrients are gone.” “Mhm.” My mom sat down, glancing critically at the table. “Is this it? No oatmeal? No hash browns?” “I can make some right now.” My mom waved her hand in dismissal. “Forget it, there’s no time.” “Mom, I want barbecue ribs for dinner tonight,” Tyler said. My mom turned to look at me. Chapter 6 “Samantha, go buy groceries this afternoon. Ribs, a whole fish, and some greens. Cover the cost yourself for now, we’ll settle it at the end of the month.” “Okay.” Chloe added: “Oh, right, Sam. Give the bathroom a deep clean today. The back of the toilet is turning yellow, it makes me sick to look at it.” “Fine.” They finished eating and left. Tyler went to “work.” Who knows what new temp job he had found this time. Chloe went back to her parents’ house, claiming she had a prenatal appointment. My dad went to the park to play chess. My mom went to play bingo with her friends. I was the only one left in the apartment. I cleaned the bathroom first. The back of the toilet was indeed stained yellow. I had to scrub for half an hour to get it clean. Then I mopped the floors, wiped the windows, and washed the curtains. I was busy until noon. I made myself a simple bowl of noodles. In the afternoon, I went grocery shopping. The supermarket wasn’t far. I bought ribs, fish, spinach, and a little fruit. When I checked out, the total was $42.50. Carrying the groceries home, I bumped into our neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins. “Oh, Samantha, you’re back? I heard you got a divorce?” “Yeah.” “Oh my, why would you do something so foolish? David was such a good man. Rich, and he treated you well.” “Mrs. Jenkins, I’ve got things to do. I have to go.” I sped up my pace, practically fleeing back to the apartment. I cooked dinner that evening. Braised ribs, steamed fish, sautéed greens. Just as I set everything on the table, they walked in. Tyler tasted a piece of the ribs: “Sis, are you rationing the salt or something?” “Pregnant women shouldn’t have too much sodium.” Tyler grabbed another piece, complaining: “Well, I’m not pregnant. Make bigger portions next time. Who is this supposed to feed?” “Understood.” Chapter 7 Chloe took a small bite of the fish and suddenly frowned. “Is this fish undercooked? It tastes too fishy.” “I steamed it for fifteen minutes.” “Then it must not be fresh. Sam, you need to be more careful when you buy groceries. Don’t just buy stale food because it’s on sale.” “Okay.” My dad ate in silence, not saying a word. My mom took two bites and put down her chopsticks. “Samantha, how is the job hunt going?” “I sent out a few resumes, but I haven’t heard back yet.” “Hurry up and find something. We don’t raise freeloaders here.” “Mhm.” After dinner, I washed the dishes. They were in the living room watching TV, laughing loudly. I washed the dishes while looking out the window. It was dark, and the lights in the apartment building across the street were turning on one by one. Behind each of those lights was a family. I used to have a family, too. David used to help me wash the dishes. I used to massage his shoulders. On weekends, we would watch movies and cook together. But later, he got busier and busier, coming home later and later. Eventually, he stopped coming home at all. He said, “Samantha, we just don’t have anything to talk about anymore.” I said, “Then let’s get a divorce.” He offered me money, a house, and a car. I told him I only wanted what I deserved. He asked how much that was. I told him, “We were married for seven years. I stayed with you when the company was in debt, and I stayed until it was worth fifty million. I want five million dollars. That’s more than fair.” He gave it to me. Five million dollars. I had run the numbers; I knew he could afford it. I had hired a private investigator long ago to audit his company’s books and track the assets he was trying to hide. I took the money with a completely clear conscience. He signed the papers so quickly because he thought I was stupid, because he thought I was sentimental, because he thought I still loved him. Chapter 8 He was wrong. I was just tired. I finished washing the dishes. I went back to the storage closet. I closed the door, and the world went quiet. I opened my phone to check the stock market. Before the divorce, I had used my personal savings to buy some stocks, making a decent profit. I checked my other investments; the returns were good. I hadn’t touched the five million dollars. It was sitting safely in the bank. Generating over ten thousand dollars a month in interest alone. It was enough for me to survive. But it wasn’t enough for me to live well. And I fully intended to live well. But before that. I needed to see certain people for who they truly were. Like my own family. During my second week there. Tyler came looking for me. “Sis, I need to talk to you about something.” “Speak.” “I want to upgrade my car. That beat-up Hyundai is five years old, it’s time for a change.” “What are you looking at?” “An Audi A4. It’s about forty grand. I need a ten-thousand-dollar down payment, and I’ll cover the monthly loan myself. Sis, do you have any cash? Let me borrow some.” “I don’t have any money.” “Just ten grand. You got divorced from David, he must have given you something, right? You don’t even have ten grand?” “I walked away with nothing. You already knew that.” “You really didn’t ask for a single penny? Sis, don’t lie to me. David is loaded. Just what slips through his fingers is enough to live on. Are you hiding a secret stash?” “No.” His expression turned cold, tearing off his friendly mask: “Fine. If you won’t lend it, you won’t. I don’t know why I even bothered asking. And to think I was so good to you when we were kids. Whenever I had anything good to eat, I always gave you half.” He stormed out. I kept wiping the desk. When we were kids, whatever “good food” there was… He always ate first, and I only got what he couldn’t finish. Chapter 9 What he meant by “giving me half”… Was giving me the parts he hated, the parts he was sick of. That night, Chloe came looking for me. “Sam, I need to talk to you.” “Go ahead.” “My parents are coming to visit next month, and they need to stay for a few days. We only have three bedrooms, so there’s not enough space. Do you think you could stay somewhere else for a few days? We’ll pay for the hotel.” “Stay where?” “Just that budget motel across from our complex. It’s $50 a night. For a week, that’s $350. Is that okay?” “I’ll think about it.” “Sam, it’s not that I want to kick you out. It’s just that my parents are older, it’s not appropriate to make them sleep in the storage closet. You’re young, you can rough it for a few days.” “Mhm.” She suddenly lowered her voice: “Also, Tyler wants to get a new car, and he’s short ten grand. Sam, if you have the money, you should help him out. He’s your only brother. If you don’t help him, who will?” “I really don’t have any money.” She frowned and sneered: “Then what was the point of your divorce? You walked away without a single penny, just to prove a point? Sam, can pride put food on the table? You’re living in a storage closet, eating our food, using our electricity. Are you satisfied with your ‘pride’ now?” “I am.” She looked at me like I was a complete idiot, shook her head, and left. The next day, my mom cornered me. “Samantha, your brother is buying a car and needs ten grand. Do you have it or not?” “I don’t.” “You really don’t?” “I really don’t.” “Then what about the jewelry and designer bags from your marriage? If you sell those, they’re worth something.” “I gave them all back to him.”

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My husband’s female “bro” came over to hang out at our house. She said she really missed the feeling of sleeping bare-bottomed with my husband when they were kids, and asked me to give up the master bedroom so they could relive their “brotherly bond.” I refused with a dark expression and warned them that they were adults now and needed to know their boundaries. His “bro” immediately hooked her arm around my husband’s neck and complained. “Danny, daddy’s gotta say, you can’t even keep a woman in line. All this nagging is a real embarrassment to men everywhere!” Feeling like he had lost face, my husband forcibly sent me to a “Good Wife Academy,” saying he was going to teach me how to be obedient. But what he didn’t know was that this “Good Wife Academy” was actually an illegal, underground human experimentation facility. My body was surgically altered, and a command chip was implanted in my brain. I was turned into an emotionless puppet that only knew how to obey orders. While he and his “bro” were fooling around in the house, I obediently kept watch outside the door all night. When his “bro” told me to do a striptease, I stripped myself completely naked without hesitation. When he angrily told me to go die, I immediately jumped out of our eighth-floor window. Later, he knelt crying by my hospital bed, begging me to turn back into the person I used to be. Daniel carried me out of the Good Wife Academy. Mia took one look at me and reached straight for Daniel’s crotch. “Danny, it’s only been a month and you already brought her back. Couldn’t hold in that little bit of meat down there, huh?” Looking like he was completely used to this, Daniel caught her hand. “The headmaster said Chloe is ready to graduate. He guaranteed she’ll be completely obedient to me from now on.” Mia’s eyes roamed over my body, a playful smirk on her lips. “Oh really? I’m gonna have to test that.” She stuck a foot out toward me. “Sister-in-law, my shoe is dirty. Clean it for me.” Receiving the command, I immediately responded: “Yes, Miss Mia. I will clean your shoe.” I crouched down and used the clean sleeve of my own shirt to wipe her shoe, stroke by stroke. Surprise flashed in Mia’s eyes, and then she ordered: “Do it on your knees. It gets cleaner that way.” Without hesitation, I dropped to both knees in front of her. Daniel frowned involuntarily. “Alright, that’s enough. Chloe is still my wife, is it really appropriate to have her kneel to you?” Mia giggled. “Don’t I always tell you to get on your knees and lick my feet when we’re joking around? Who knew your wife was so literal that she’d actually do it!” With just a few words, Mia shifted the blame onto me. Daniel’s face darkened as he spoke to me: “Mia is just joking with you, can’t you tell? Get up right now!” I immediately stood up from the floor, staring straight at him, waiting for his next command. Daniel looked at my dust-covered sleeves and pants, saying in displeasure: “I just washed the car today, and you make yourself look like a beggar. Are you purposely trying to piss me off?” I shook my head. “No, Husband. Miss Mia told me to kneel and clean her shoe.” Daniel looked at me impatiently. “I think you’re doing this on purpose. Fine, then don’t ride in my car. Walk back yourself!” I immediately replied: “Yes, Husband.” I turned around and started walking along the sidewalk. A 30-mile journey. I walked for 16 straight hours. By the time I got home, my feet were blistered and bleeding. At that moment, Daniel was pinning Mia down on the living room sofa, messing around. Seeing me, a flicker of guilt crossed his face, but he quickly went on the offensive and interrogated me: “Chloe, where the hell have you been fooling around? Why are you only getting back now?” I was just about to open my mouth to say I wasn’t fooling around, that I had just finished walking back. But he waved his hand impatiently. “Forget it, I don’t want to hear your excuses. Hurry up and cook, Mia and I are starving.” Mia, acting like the lady of the house, started ordering dishes. “Sister-in-law, I want sweet and sour ribs, shrimp with corn, and steamed bass.” I walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner for the two of them. The dried blood on my feet stuck to my shoes, sending waves of stinging pain, but I didn’t even have a moment to tend to them. At the dinner table, Mia held up a glass of vodka and offered it to me. “Sister-in-law worked hard cooking. I toast this glass to you.” She said she was toasting me; she didn’t issue a command. So I just stared blankly at the glass of liquor in front of me and didn’t move. Mia immediately started speaking sarcastically: “Looks like Sister-in-law is still holding a grudge against me! Danny, your woman isn’t giving daddy any face!” Daniel yelled at me: “Don’t you know basic table manners? When someone offers a toast, how can you not drink? Hurry up and drink it.” I picked up the glass and downed it in one gulp without hesitation. I hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice all day. Drinking such strong liquor so suddenly made my stomach immediately spasm in pain, and a groan of agony unconsciously escaped my lips. Daniel kicked me. “Chloe, you’re purposely trying to ruin my mood today, aren’t you! If you don’t want to eat, get the hell out!” My body moved before my brain could process. Clutching my spasming stomach, I crawled out of the house step by step. Mia, holding her glass, joked from the side: “Danny, you’re being a little unchivalrous here! Even though women are like clothes, she’s still your wife!” Daniel glared at me. “Ever since she got out of that Good Wife Academy, she’s been throwing tantrums at me. Who spoiled her to be like this? Ignore her!” Beads of cold sweat rolled down my forehead. I trembled, curled up in a ball at the front door. From inside, I could intermittently hear Daniel and Mia laughing, messing around, and letting out ambiguous moans and squeals. Exhausted and starving all day, I couldn’t hold on any longer. My vision went black, and I passed out. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed. Daniel was looking at me with a mix of worry and anger. “Chloe, are you really that stubborn? You’d rather starve and pass out at the door than come inside and give in to me?” I looked at him and said calmly: “You told me to get out. You didn’t tell me to come back in.” Daniel was stumped for a moment, his attitude softening slightly. “Chloe, stop throwing a fit. Mia and I grew up running around bare-bottomed together, we’re bros. If there was ever going to be anything between us, do you think there’d be any room for you?” “Between bros, face is everything. Why are you so petty, insisting on disrespecting me in front of her? Sending you to that academy was just to teach you a lesson, to let you know you were wrong.” He said so much, but all I understood was that he said I was wrong. So I immediately responded: “I was wrong.” Hearing my apology, Daniel finally nodded in satisfaction. “Fine. Since you know you were wrong, we’ll let this go. Let’s just live a good life from now on.” I nodded mechanically. “Live a good life.” The next day, Daniel and Mia came together to pick me up from the hospital. While Daniel went to handle the discharge billing, Mia looked at me with disdain. “I really hate you pick-me girls. All you know how to do is act weak and pitiful in front of men, like you can’t survive without one.” “I’ll make Danny understand that only our brotherly bond is the most reliable thing. A clinging vine like you is just a dispensable decoration.” She threw harsh words at me for a long time, but seeing me stand there without a single extra expression, she got even more furious. When Daniel walked over, she grabbed him in a headlock, pressed his head against her chest, and started making dirty jokes like nobody else was around. “Are daddy’s boobs soft? When we played house as kids, you even said you wanted to suck daddy’s milk! How about a taste now?” Daniel unceremoniously grabbed her chest twice. “What are you talking about! My wife is watching!” Mia deliberately looked at me and said provocatively: “Sister-in-law is much more generous now. This is just us bros messing around, I don’t think she’ll mind.” Daniel looked at me, carrying a faint expectation in his eyes. I said with a blank expression: “I don’t mind.” Daniel’s face instantly darkened. He glared at me, turned around, and walked out. That night, Mia said she wanted to celebrate my discharge and specifically organized a party for everyone to go out and have some fun. Inside the dim VIP room, men and women gathered together, drinking and telling dirty jokes. Only I sat in the corner, my back ramrod straight, not saying a word. Mia forcefully pulled me over. “Sister-in-law, sitting there alone is so boring! Come play Truth or Dare with us.” I nodded and responded: “Yes, Miss Mia.” The Truth or Dare spinner pointed to Mia, instructing her to choose someone in the room to french kiss for one minute. Mia reached out and yanked Daniel over. Daniel instinctively looked at me. Mia looked at me and said: “It’s just a game. Sister-in-law definitely won’t mind. She might even lead the applause for us!” Receiving the command, my hands immediately started clapping unconsciously. The room erupted in cheers. “Sister-in-law, so generous!” “Sister-in-law, you rock!” A look of anger flashed across Daniel’s face, but he wrapped his arms around Mia and started kissing her. I stared blankly at the scene of the two of them kissing, but dull waves of pain radiated from my chest. The next round began, and this time the spinner pointed to me, instructing me to perform a striptease in front of everyone. Mia looked at me with a mocking smile. “Danny always said Sister-in-law has a great body. Now I finally have the chance to feast my eyes.” I stood up and reached out to unbutton my shirt. The jacket fell. Just as I was about to continue taking off my inner shirt… Daniel grabbed my hand. “Enough. This is just a joke. Are you really going to strip completely naked in front of all these people?” I looked at Daniel somewhat dazedly. Because there was no clear command, I didn’t know if I should continue stripping right now. Just then, Mia drawled: “Danny, we’re all bros here. Since Sister-in-law is willing to strip, what’s the harm in letting us look!” Everyone present loved a good show, and they immediately started chanting at me: “Strip! Strip! Strip!” I shook off Daniel’s hand and, without hesitation, took off my inner shirt. A wave of whistles echoed through the room instantly. I lowered my head, about to continue taking off my pants. Daniel rushed up and slapped me hard across the face. “Chloe, you’re such a slut! Just to spite me, you’d rather strip naked in front of all these people?” I was knocked to the ground. Sharp pain flared in my cheek, and blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. Furious, Daniel threw his own jacket over me and kicked me twice. “Aren’t you just blaming me for sending you to that Good Wife Academy?! Ever since you came back, you’ve been passive-aggressive and fighting me at every turn!” “Today I’m going to teach you a good lesson. I’ll make you realize who exactly wears the pants in this house!” I curled up on the floor, feeling the pain radiating from all over my body, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do right now. Finally, someone couldn’t watch anymore and stepped forward to pull Daniel back. “Alright, Danny. We took the joke too far just now. We were the ones who told her to strip, she was just trying not to ruin the vibe.” Daniel looked at me, highly emotional, and roared: “At the end of the day, she’s just a loose, cheap slut! People tell her to strip, and she strips! Then why doesn’t she go die when I tell her to!” Receiving the new command, I immediately crawled up from the floor. “Yes, Husband.” I quickly walked over to the balcony, pushed open the window, and climbed onto the ledge. Everyone was stunned. The emotion in Daniel’s eyes shifted from anger to terror. “Chloe, what are you doing!” I stood on the eighth-floor ledge, looking down, without a trace of fear in my eyes, and answered flatly. “I am going to die.” After saying that, I jumped without a moment’s hesitation. The wind roared in my ears, and behind me, Daniel screamed heart-wrenchingly. With a loud bang, I crashed onto the roof of a car parked below. Thanks to the car breaking my fall, I wasn’t smashed to a pulp. But I suffered multiple bone fractures all over my body and passed out from a severe concussion. When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages. Daniel was sitting beside me, his hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. His clothes were speckled with blood. Seeing me open my eyes, he leaned in anxiously, wanting to touch me, but then tremblingly pulled his hand back. “Chloe, you scared me to death. Even if you’re mad at me, you can’t joke around with your own life…” I propped myself up against the mattress with my hands, trying to sit up. Noticing my movement, Daniel immediately asked: “What’s wrong? Do you need to use the bathroom? I’ll call the nurse right away.” I said calmly: “You told me to go die. I haven’t died yet. I need to go die.” Daniel froze completely, his voice laced with terror. “Chloe, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare me.” Enduring the excruciating pain, I tried to climb out of bed. “I’m not scaring you. I just need to go die!” Hearing this, Daniel panicked even more and hurriedly hugged me. “Chloe, stop it. I only said that in anger. I don’t want you to die, I want you to live a good life.” The new command contradicted the previous one, so the new command became the protocol. I relaxed my body and lay calmly on the bed. “Yes, Husband. I will live a good life.” Daniel told me to lie in bed and rest properly, so I immediately closed my eyes. He quickly ran out in a panic to find a doctor, his voice trembling as he explained my situation. “Doctor, my wife has become so strange. She listens to whatever I say. I told her to go die, and she jumped off the building.” “She wasn’t like this before. Is she sick? Please, I beg you, you have to cure her…” The doctor pressed down on Daniel’s shoulder, motioning for him to calm down. Then he pulled out an examination report, looked at him, and asked: “Has Mrs. Davis undergone any cranial surgery recently? We found a surgical incision on the back of her head.” “And from this CT scan, we can confirm there is indeed a 2mm metallic foreign object in Mrs. Davis’s brain.” “The abnormal behavior you mentioned might be related to this object.” Daniel immediately shook his head. “No, my wife has always been healthy. She’s never had any…” Suddenly, his voice cut off. He remembered sending me to the Good Wife Academy recently, and how I had become abnormal right after coming out of there. Plus, when he went to pick me up, the headmaster had confidently assured him that I would be completely obedient to him from then on. Daniel suspected that I had been subjected to something in there that turned me into this, and immediately chose to call the police. Under the police investigation, the truth quickly came to light. The headmaster of the Good Wife Academy, Richard Zhang, was a medical research fanatic obsessed with human brain modification experiments. He had even tried to use his position as a researcher to secretly experiment on severely ill patients. After the research institute found out, they kicked him out. After being expelled, Richard used his entire life savings to create this Good Wife Academy. The students he recruited were his test subjects. And I was his very first test subject. After succeeding with me, Richard quickly wanted to target others, but before he could, he was arrested by the police. Daniel rushed forward and punched Richard hard. “You animal! How dare you experiment on my wife! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” The police quickly pulled the two apart. Richard wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, not believing for a second that he had done anything wrong. “You sent your wife to me to make her obedient, didn’t you? Isn’t she obedient now? She listens to your every word and will never disobey you again. Isn’t that a good thing?” Daniel cursed wildly: “Good my ass! I want a living, breathing human being, not an obedient puppet!” “If my wife can’t return to normal, I swear you’ll pay with your life!” Richard tilted his head back and laughed maniacally. “You were the one who handed your wife over to me. You were the one who wanted her to be obedient.” “If I’m a murderer, then you’re my biggest accomplice!” Those words struck Daniel like a precision bullet. His entire body’s strength seemed to drain away instantly, and he almost collapsed to the floor. He realized Richard was right. He himself was the main culprit who caused me to turn into this. Watching Richard be handcuffed and taken away in a police car. Daniel looked like he had lost his soul as he slowly returned to the hospital and walked over to my bed. He looked at my battered and bruised body, raising his hand to gently hold mine. “Chloe, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have forced you into that Good Wife Academy just to save face for a moment.” I kept my eyes open, looking at him coldly, just like looking at a stranger. Daniel was stung by my gaze and dropped straight to his knees beside my bed. “Chloe, this is all my fault. You can curse me, hit me, whatever. Just please don’t look at me with such cold eyes.” I raised my hand, slapped him hard across the face, and then said flatly: “Bitch!” A glimmer of joy surfaced in Daniel’s eyes, thinking I had returned to normal. But seeing my eyes still completely devoid of emotion, the joy vanished in a flash. I was simply following his command. That afternoon, Mia brought a cheap fruit basket to the hospital to see me. Seeing Daniel sitting dejectedly by my bed, she playfully punched his arm. “It’s just a woman, do you really need to be this depressed? You acting like this really makes daddy look down on you!” Daniel was no longer in the mood to treat her jokes as flirting. He just glanced up at her and didn’t respond. Mia walked over, looked at me on the bed, and suddenly said: “Chloe, bark like a dog for me a couple of times.” I immediately opened my mouth and barked, “Woof, woof.” Mia burst out laughing. “Wow, that’s a really good impression! Bark a few more times for me to hear.” Daniel quickly spoke up to stop it. “Chloe, don’t bark. You rest properly.” Hearing that the newest command was for me to rest, I closed my eyes directly. Daniel yanked Mia out of the room with an angry expression. “What are you doing? Chloe is already miserable enough turning into this. How can you take advantage of the situation to bully her?” The smile on Mia’s face didn’t fade. “How is this bullying?! I was just joking with her! Plus, I don’t think she’s miserable at all right now!” “It’s great that she’s like this. You tell her to go East, she won’t go West. Even if we bros sleep in the same bed, she won’t get jealous. In my opinion, this is definitely a good thing!” Those words thoroughly enraged Daniel. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face. “Are those even human words?! Chloe is a living, breathing person with thoughts and feelings, not just a robot puppet that only knows how to obey!” “Chloe turning into this has everything to do with you! Not only do you feel zero guilt, but you’re actually here mocking her. You have absolutely no humanity!” Mia never expected Daniel to actually hit her. “You hit me over a woman? From now on, we’re not bros.” She lunged forward and started tearing into Daniel, both of them looking like they wanted to kill each other. In the end, medical staff had to call the police, and the police came to take them both away, finally ending the farce. Richard’s arrest and the Good Wife Academy scandal made the news. My parents saw the report about me on the news and immediately flew to New York overnight. Seeing me lying in the hospital bed, my mom immediately leaned over and hugged me. “My poor Chloe has suffered so much. Don’t be afraid, Mom is here.” Being held tightly in her arms, I didn’t know how to react, but I felt a warmth in my chest, and my eyes unconsciously grew moist. My dad rushed up and punched Daniel, whose face was already bruised and swollen. “When you begged me to let you marry my daughter, what did you say?” “You said you would treat her well, love her for a lifetime. Is this how you love her?” Daniel dropped straight to his knees in front of my parents. “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry. I was foolish. It’s all my fault. You can hit me, curse me, I absolutely won’t fight back…” My dad kicked him heavily a few more times, finally venting some of the anger pent up inside him.

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The name on the wedding invitation read “Maya.” It wasn’t forwarded to me by someone else. I saw it in our college alumni Facebook group—someone posted a picture saying they had just received Maya’s wedding invitation. The photo was taken casually, the invitation resting at an angle on a table. Crimson red with gold foil lettering. I saw the groom’s name. David. I stared at those two names for a very long time. David. My ex-husband. Maya. My best friend of twenty years. I scrolled up through the chat history. Several people in the group were offering their congratulations. Someone asked, “Is Chloe going?” Nobody answered. I checked my own message history again. No invitation. No messages. Maya’s profile picture sat quietly on the third page of my recents; her last message was from a month ago, asking to borrow a portable charger. My best friend of twenty years, marrying my ex-husband, didn’t invite me. I placed my phone face down on the table. And then, I remembered something. 1. The divorce happened a year and a half ago. Back then, Maya stayed by my side for an entire month. She took time off work, bought groceries, moved into my apartment. When I cried at night, she cried with me. “David is a piece of trash,” she would say, sounding even more hateful toward him than I was. “You deserve so much better.” She would put her arm around my shoulders. “Don’t look back.” I didn’t look back. I signed the divorce papers and walked away with virtually nothing—well, not nothing, but I gave up a lot. He got the house, he got the car, and I didn’t fight for my shares in his company. Maya told me to just let it go. “It’s not worth turning it into an ugly fight,” she had said. “Just start fresh.” I listened to her. Now, I was sitting in my rented apartment, looking at the photo of that invitation on my phone screen. Crimson red with gold foil. David and Maya. Wedding date: The 12th of next month. I put my phone down. Then picked it up again. It wasn’t because of the invitation. It was because of a specific detail. Someone in the group chat had asked: “How long have they been together? That was fast.” Someone else replied: “I heard it hasn’t been long. They only got together after the divorce.” After the divorce. I got divorced in March of last year. It’s been a year and a half. From getting together to getting married—a year and a half. Dating, meeting the parents, getting the license, planning the wedding—is a year and a half enough time? It’s enough. But it’s tight. Unless… it wasn’t just a year and a half. I started going through my phone. Not Maya’s messages—I went through my own. I was looking for a specific chat log. From January of last year. Two months before the divorce. That night, Maya had called me out of the blue, saying she just got off a late shift, asking if I had eaten and if I wanted to grab a drink. I told her no, I was waiting for David. He said he had a business dinner with clients that night. Maya had said, “Another business dinner? He’s been having a lot of those lately.” At the time, I thought she was just feeling bad for me. Now, thinking back on it, her tone wasn’t sympathetic. It was confirmation. I put my phone down and walked out onto the balcony. It was raining outside. I remembered another incident—New Year’s Day last year. My birthday. Maya said she couldn’t make it. “Stuck at work, can’t get away.” She posted on Instagram that night, tagging a high-end sushi restaurant, with the caption: “Treating myself after a long day of grinding.” I even ‘liked’ the post back then. Now, I really wanted to know what street that sushi restaurant was on. 2. I started digging through my old phone. It wasn’t a planned investigation. I just couldn’t sleep. At 3 AM, I was sitting on my bed, hugging my knees, thinking. And as I thought, I picked up that outdated phone, plugged it in, and turned it on. The text messages were still there. I didn’t go looking through Maya’s messages. I went through mine and David’s. January of last year. I got into a huge fight with David. It started because he threw out the braised short ribs I made, saying they tasted terrible. I had spent two hours cooking them, and he hadn’t even taken a single bite. I threw a fit, and he slammed the door and left. Maya came over the next day. She told me, “Don’t butt heads with him. All men are like that.” I said, “What gave him the right to throw it away? I cooked for two hours.” Maya replied, “Think about it, maybe you’re being too sensitive? It’s just a plate of food.” It’s just a plate of food. I actually thought she made sense back then. I kept scrolling. February of last year. The day before Valentine’s Day. I asked David what his plans were for Valentine’s Day. He said work was too busy. I vented to Maya about it. She texted back: “Don’t push him too hard, men are under a lot of pressure. If you don’t celebrate a holiday, you don’t celebrate it. It’s not a big deal.” Not a big deal. On Valentine’s Day, I stayed home alone, watched a movie, and ate instant ramen. Maya posted a picture of a bouquet of flowers on Instagram with the caption: “Who sent these? So mysterious.” I even commented on it: “Who is it?! Spill!” She replied with a smiley face emoji. Didn’t say who. I sat on my bed, turning the screen brightness all the way down. That bouquet. I had seen it before. I had seen it in David’s Amazon order history. Right before Valentine’s Day last year, he bought a bouquet of Ecuadorian red roses. $399. I asked him who they were for, and he said a client. I believed him. Now, I took a screenshot of Maya’s Instagram post and put it side-by-side with a screenshot of David’s Amazon order. The exact same day. The exact same flowers. I didn’t cry. I put the phone next to my pillow and turned off the lamp. I lay there with my eyes open in the dark. There was a water stain on the ceiling shaped like a hand. Around this time last year, Maya told me she didn’t think David and I were a good match. “You guys just have different values,” she had said. “You’re too exhausted,” she had said. “If I were you, I would have left him a long time ago,” she had said. Back then, I thought she was hurting for me. She was actually trying to push me out the door. I rolled over, facing the wall. There was a strand of Maya’s hair on my pillowcase. She had stayed over for a night last month, claiming she was fighting with her landlord. I had made her fish soup and put clean sheets on the bed. I didn’t brush the hair away. But I committed it to memory. 3. On the third day, I did something I never would have done before. I went and checked the credit card statements. Not mine, David’s. When we divorced, we were still using the same joint credit card account. He later switched his primary card, but he never canceled my authorized user access. I tried logging into the bank app—the password was still his mother’s birthday. He hadn’t changed it. I wasn’t explicitly trying to find something. Or rather, I just had to check. The statements were organized by month. I started looking from October of the year before last. October: One charge. The Ritz-Carlton. $568. David and I hadn’t stayed at a hotel in October of that year. November: The same hotel. Two charges. December: A different hotel, slightly more expensive, $688. Plus a charge at Saks Fifth Avenue for $2,380, categorized as “Jewelry.” I had not received any jewelry. I kept scrolling. January of this year—two months before the divorce: Hotels three times. Department stores twice. And one charge that read “Nobu.” Sushi. I clicked on the date of that transaction—January 1st. My birthday. The day Maya said she was stuck working late and couldn’t make it. The day David said he had a business dinner. A $568 sushi bill. Dinner for two. They were eating high-end sushi on my birthday. I put the phone down. Stood up. Walked to the kitchen. Opened the fridge. Grabbed a bottle of water. Unscrewed the cap. Took a sip. Then put it back. The water was freezing. My hands were freezing, too. I went back to my desk and kept scrolling. It wasn’t a year and a half. It was at least two years. The statements started showing these charges in October of the year before last. Back then, David and I hadn’t even started having major issues. Back then, I was making him dinner every night, doing his laundry, keeping his mother company. Back then, Maya came over for dinner once a week, always telling me, “Your cooking is amazing.” She wasn’t coming over every week to see me. She was coming to see him. I created a spreadsheet organizing his credit card charges by month. I opened the Notes app on my phone and logged them one by one. I wasn’t investigating. I was counting. Counting how many times they had seen each other over these two years, how much money they had spent, how many nights I had sat at home waiting for him to “get back from his business dinner.” Forty-seven times. Two years. Forty-seven transaction records. Hotels, restaurants, department stores, florists. An average of twice a month. Every single time, either he told me he was “working late,” or Maya told me she was “slammed at work.” When he was working late, Maya was slammed. When Maya was slammed, he was working late. Not a single conflict. Forty-seven times— That’s not a coincidence. That’s a schedule. 4. I started reverse-engineering every single thing Maya had ever said to me. It wasn’t hard. The chat logs were all still there. January 15th, last year. Maya: “Chloe, have you ever thought about whether you and David are actually incompatible?” January 15th. On the credit card statement, there was a hotel charge on January 14th. She had just seen him. The very next day, she came to convince me we were “incompatible.” January 20th. I told Maya that David had been coming home late a lot, and I wanted to check his phone. Maya said: “Don’t do it. Checking his phone will just damage the relationship. You have to trust him.” January 20th credit card statement: January 19th, Saks Fifth Avenue, $3,600, categorized as “Handbags & Accessories.” Trust him? Don’t check? Because if I checked, I would have found you. February 3rd. Maya: “Have you considered that maybe you’re being too controlling? Men need their space.” February 2nd: Hotel. Every single time. Every time Maya came to advise me to be “magnanimous,” to “let go,” to “stop sweating the small stuff,” there was a charge for her and David the day before or the day after. She wasn’t coming to comfort me. She was acting as a messenger. David was too much of a coward to ask for a divorce himself. He had Maya test the waters, soften me up, and convince me bit by bit to “let go.” Maya did it. And she did it perfectly. She would hold me every time, using the most sympathetic tone to deliver the most ruthless advice. “You deserve better.” — Translation: You leave first, so I can take your place. “Don’t fight for the company shares; it’s not worth turning it into an ugly fight.” — Translation: All of this will be mine later. “Just start fresh.” — Translation: I’m taking over your old life. I cross-referenced the chat logs with the credit card statements line by line. I took a screenshot of every matching pair. Arranged them chronologically. Highlighted the dates. Twenty-three pairs in total. From November of the year before last to March of last year, in those four months, Maya sent me twenty-three “caring” messages. Within forty-eight hours before or after every single one of those messages, there was a corresponding charge on the credit card. Twenty-three displays of concern. Twenty-three dates. Every time she checked in on me, she was sleeping with my husband. I saved all the screenshots into a new folder. I named the folder “2024”. I was calm. I realized I was incredibly calm. Not because it didn’t hurt. But because the initial shock of the pain had passed. Now, it wasn’t pain. It was clarity.

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To stand up for the fake heiress, my brother intentionally called out the wrong groom’s name at my engagement banquet. In front of all the elite families in New York, he announced that I was to marry a waiter working the event. The city’s high society pointed and laughed at me: “The great Miss Sterling is actually marrying a waiter!” I stood there, paralyzed by grief and indignation. But my brother showed no remorse. “That’s what you get for stealing Chloe’s thunder at the piano competition. She’s been upset for so long. Humiliating you today is just to teach you a lesson.” “She’s spoiled, stubborn, and doesn’t know any better. Don’t take it to heart.” “Anyway, it’s just a joke. Dad and I would never actually let you marry a waiter!” …… Everyone at the banquet was pointing and whispering about me. My brother cleared his throat, his expression unchanged: “That was just a little joke with everyone. Maya is still young. We’ll formally announce the engagement another time.” After he finished, he glanced at Ethan Hayes standing nearby. Originally, today was supposed to be the announcement of my engagement to Ethan. Everyone in our circle knew our families had arranged this marriage since we were kids. We grew up together as childhood sweethearts. My heart clenched instantly, quietly waiting for him to speak up. But Ethan’s eyes were filled with a casual, distant coldness, like an outsider. “Since the engagement has been announced, how can it be a joke? The Sterling family is highly respected; you can’t treat this kind of thing like a game.” “That poor waiter is probably overwhelmed and waiting. Surely the Sterling family isn’t going to make a fool of him in public?” I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. My brother’s face grew even uglier. He looked at Ethan in disbelief: “What are you saying? I thought you loved Maya the most. Why would you say that?” Someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back a laugh: “Who in New York doesn’t know that Mr. Hayes prefers the Sterling family’s second daughter, Chloe! I heard he just bought her a limited-edition sports car yesterday to make her happy.” Every word was like a sharp icicle piercing my heart. My eyes suddenly welled up. I stepped forward and snatched the microphone from my brother’s hand. “Since this engagement has been announced, it’s certainly no joke.” “I will marry this waiter!” My brother’s eyes widened instantly, looking at me with absolute shock. “Maya Sterling, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?!” “You are the eldest daughter of the Sterling family! How can you marry a waiter?!” I looked at him apathetically. I let out a miserable laugh: “Arthur Sterling, isn’t this exactly the result you wanted? Are you happy now?” Arthur froze for a moment. His pitch suddenly rose a few octaves: “Maya, even at a time like this, you’re still competing with Chloe. Do you have any idea how much she’s already suffered…” I didn’t want to hear his defense of Chloe anymore. I dropped the microphone and walked off the stage. The crowd’s gaze followed me. As I passed Ethan, he grabbed my hand. His cold tone carried a hint of reprimand: “Maya, at a time like this, why do you still refuse to back down?” After he spoke, he pulled me a little closer, his voice softening considerably: “Stop being so stubborn. Why don’t you just give Chloe a proper apology? I’ll smooth things over today for the sake of our years together. There’s no need to gamble with your own happiness just because you’re throwing a tantrum.” I looked up and scoffed. “Our years together?” “Admitting you’ve changed your mind is better than this fake affection you’re putting on now. At least it wouldn’t make me sick!” His face went pale for a second. I shook off his hand and walked straight toward the waiter in the corner. My brother was completely dumbfounded, yelling from the stage: “Maya, don’t do anything stupid! Come back!” Ethan also looked at me, his hands clenched into fists. I acted as if I didn’t notice and asked softly: “Are you willing to marry me?” The waiter opened his mouth, a flicker of an emotion I couldn’t understand crossing his eyes. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice warm and clear: “Miss Sterling, I’m just a waiter. Are you sure you won’t regret marrying me?” “I never regret anything.” “Alright, I will marry you!” Arthur rushed over like a madman but was stopped by Ethan with a cold smile. “Can’t you see she’s doing this on purpose? If you go over there now, she’ll just bully Chloe even more recklessly in the future.” Ethan’s smile was freezing. “She’s convinced you won’t actually let her marry this waiter. She’s just forcing you to compromise!” “If you compromise, you won’t be able to do a thing when she bullies Chloe again!” Arthur’s movements stopped. I turned around and looked at Ethan apathetically. He and I were childhood sweethearts with an arranged marriage. When I was twelve, I was kidnapped, and they lost all contact with me. My parents were so heartbroken they couldn’t sleep at night, consumed by pain and guilt, until they adopted Chloe from an orphanage. She had a sweet mouth and gradually took my place in my family’s hearts. They treated her like the apple of their eye, pouring all the love that should have been mine onto her. A year ago, covered in injuries, I escaped from the compound and was finally brought home by the police. What I received wasn’t the joy of a lost child returning, but the guarded, distant looks from every one of them. They even comforted Chloe right in front of me: “Chloe, our whole family will love you forever. She could never shake your position.” I felt like I had been stripped naked in the freezing cold; my whole body went stiff. …… The news that the Sterling family heiress was marrying a waiter spread like wildfire. It quickly trended all over New York, with millions of people discussing it online. When I got home, I pushed open the door to see my dad pointing at my brother, yelling furiously: “This is absolute nonsense! Where am I supposed to put my face?!” My mom sighed. “What’s done is done. The best thing is to find a way to convince Maya to tell the public she was just being rebellious, throwing a tantrum against the family, and created this whole farce. That way, we can save the Sterling family’s reputation.” “I bet she only said she’d marry that waiter out of spite, and she’s probably already regretting it.” Chloe was crying tears that looked like rain on pear blossoms. “I’m sorry, Mom and Dad, it’s all my fault. Arthur was just sticking up for me because his heart ached for me. I never thought Maya would be so stubborn, disregarding the Sterling family’s face entirely.” My mom immediately softened, comforting her: “Don’t say that, sweetheart. Mom and Dad know you’re a good girl. You’ve suffered a lot since she came back. She only did this because she was furious. It has nothing to do with you.” My dad nodded too. “Exactly, this has nothing to do with you. It’s all Maya being immature.” “Don’t worry, your sister is just used to running wild out there. That’s why she’s fighting us like this. She couldn’t possibly marry a waiter for real.” As he finished speaking, my mom looked up and met my gaze. A deathly silence fell over the living room. If this were in the past, I definitely would have caused a huge scene, hysterically demanding to know why they treated me this way. But now, I was just too tired. I didn’t have the energy to fight anymore. Or perhaps, I had completely given up on any hope for familial love. I no longer wished for even the slightest bit of affection from them. So, amidst everyone’s defensive glares, I went upstairs without a single expression on my face. A few days later, I met that waiter at a coffee shop. He had pre-ordered my favorite coffee and pastries, and even bought a bouquet of flowers, placing it next to my hand. I stared blankly at the roses, still holding drops of water, my heart inexplicably warming for a second. He looked at me with a gentle smile. Only then did I realize he was a young man with sharp, handsome features. He wore a well-tailored casual outfit; although I couldn’t recognize the brand, it was clearly very expensive. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Alexander Vance.” “I’m Maya Sterling.” Alexander’s movements paused slightly. “Of course I know. The Sterling heiress who should have been showered with love, but had her life stolen by a fake.” I abruptly looked up. For so long, everyone had told me to give way to Chloe, saying she had suffered a lot of “grievances.” But no one ever saw that I was the most innocent one of all. A moment later, I forced down the emotions in my heart and pulled out a check. “It’s not convenient for me to show my face. A wedding, a house, a car—whatever other people have when they get married, we need to have too. Use this to buy them. You can put them in your name. If it’s not enough, just tell me.” “We’ll get married in half a month, is that okay?” Alexander didn’t take the check. His gaze fixed on me, unreadable, his tone soft: “Miss Sterling, are you really not going to regret marrying a waiter with no future like me?” My heart sank. I shot back: “Are you scared?” Alexander froze. Then he let out a low chuckle: “Alright, I understand. I will definitely come marry you in half a month. Just like you said, whatever others have when they get married, we won’t lack a single thing.” He didn’t take the check. Instead, he pressed a velvet box into my hand, turned, and left. I opened the box. I stared blankly at the diamond ring inside. My heart felt as if it had been tightly wrapped by something warm and soft. When I returned home, the smiles vanished from everyone’s faces, and they all glared at me with dissatisfaction. My brother scratched his head awkwardly, stepped forward, and grabbed my arm: “Maya’s back, come sit down and try today’s cupcakes.” I gently pushed his hand away. “No thanks, I’m tired. I want to rest early.” Just then, my mom suddenly spoke up: “Wait, we have something to discuss.” I let out a self-deprecating, bitter laugh in my heart. It was as if I were just an outsider, forever standing in opposition to their family. Seeing no reaction from me, my mom continued: “Your stubborn tantrum at the banquet, insisting on marrying a waiter, didn’t just embarrass the Sterling family; it put the Hayes family in a very difficult position too.” “So we’ve discussed it and decided it’s better for your sister to get engaged to Ethan.” I slowly looked at Ethan. But he averted his eyes. I scoffed aloud. The last string in my heart finally snapped. My mom thought I had a problem with it and her face darkened: “Don’t be so unreasonable, child. If you hadn’t made such an ugly scene at the banquet, we wouldn’t have…” Before she could finish, I calmly interrupted her. “Sure, whatever you decide is fine. You don’t need to ask me.” “Congratulations in advance to my sister and future brother-in-law.” With that, I turned to leave without hesitation, never sparing Ethan another glance. I didn’t expect him to chase after me, his face stern. “Maya Sterling, how long are you going to keep this up? I had no other choice.” I lowered my eyes, staring at his hand gripping my arm. “Brother-in-law, is it appropriate for you to be grabbing me like this?” Ethan sighed: “Don’t be like this, okay? I know you’re angry, but can’t you just be good?” “I know everything you said earlier was just out of spite. You’re upset inside, aren’t you?” I looked up at him. Maybe I truly was devastated once. After all, I had always believed Ethan would never betray me. I believed in him as firmly as I believed the sun would rise every day. A year ago, when I first came home, my family rejected me. They indulged Chloe without any boundaries. Only Ethan. He would always be by my side when I was at my lowest. I thought he would never change towards me. I never expected that, in the end, he would still take Chloe’s side. His cold, harsh voice from back then still echoed constantly in my ears: “Look at yourself, acting so hysterical. No wonder your biological parents and brother love Chloe more.” “I’m really tired, Maya. Why do you always demand that I go against Chloe for you? The one time I didn’t say anything, you start suspecting if I’ve fallen for her. When is this going to end?!” “Fine, then I’ll give you what you want! I have fallen for her! Hopelessly in love!!” I felt like I had been slapped hard across the face several times, finally waking up in that moment. It turns out, from beginning to end, I was just an abandoned, despised obstacle. Ethan reached out and stroked the top of my head. His tone helpless, he said: “Stop making a scene, okay? We grew up together; I don’t want to see you in so much pain either.” “How about this? I’ll marry Chloe first to quiet the gossip. Later, I’ll buy you a house outside, and you can still be with me forever.” My eyes widened in shock, looking at him in disbelief. My heart felt like it was being violently torn apart by invisible hands, aching intensely. “Ethan Hayes, do you know what you’re saying?! You want me to be your mistress?!” He frowned. As if he didn’t understand why I was reacting this way. “Maya, being with me, even without the title, is better than following that waiter, isn’t it?!” “You’ve already sunk this low. What are you still being so stubborn about?!” I was finally, utterly devoid of any hope for him. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. “Get lost!” Half a month later, my wedding day arrived. Chloe also received news that she won an award in a piano competition. These past few days, my dad had deliberately suppressed the trending news about me. After all, no one would believe I was actually going to marry a waiter. But they didn’t know I was completely disillusioned with them and had no desire to stay in the Sterling family any longer. When I woke up, I heard Arthur downstairs saying: “Today we absolutely must celebrate Chloe properly. Keep it down, so Maya doesn’t start throwing another endless tantrum when she wakes up.” My mom hesitated: “Should we really not invite Maya? Will that look bad?” “What if she gets upset again and does something impulsive?” My dad was dismissive. “What could she possibly do? Let’s go, or we’ll miss the flight.” Chloe put on a show of being understanding and tried to persuade them: “If Mom is worried, why don’t we just bring Maya along?” Arthur clicked his tongue impatiently: “If we bring her, forget about celebrating, we won’t even be able to walk out the door!” My mom finally gave in. “Alright, then we’ll coax Maya when we get back.” I stood on the second-floor balcony, watching them all walk away. I turned and called for the nanny. “Martha, bring out my dress.” I never expected the wedding cars Alexander arranged to be a fleet of over a dozen Rolls-Royces. Not only that, but he had hired the most renowned wedding planning team in New York, perfecting every single detail. Candies were handed out to every car and pedestrian we passed. Various media outlets had received envelopes of cash from him and came specifically to congratulate me. Sitting in the car, I couldn’t help but wonder. He was just an ordinary waiter. How could he possibly have this much money? But thinking back to his noble aura when we met at the coffee shop… I belatedly realized that Alexander’s true identity was definitely not simple! After the Sterling family arrived at the airport, their flight was canceled due to extreme weather. Frustrated, the group had no choice but to head back home, fuming. As soon as they walked in the door, they noticed something was off. The yard was littered with the remnants of fireworks and firecrackers, and the servants all looked like they had something to say but didn’t dare. My mom frowned at Martha: “Where’s Maya?” Martha immediately broke out in a cold sweat and stammered: “Miss Maya… Miss Maya got married today… None of us dared to stop her…” My parents and brother stared with wide, shocked eyes. They yelled in unison. “Married? Who did she marry?!”

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I was born because my older sister had congenital heart disease. To save up for her surgery, my mom worked three part-time jobs a day, and my dad worked overtime until dawn every single night. My job was to stay home and take care of my sister. I fed her, rubbed her back when she was out of breath, and gave her sponge baths. If she even coughed, I had to jump up immediately to give her oxygen and her medication. Day and night, without a moment’s rest. But I never complained. I knew that if I were the sick one, they would take care of me just the same. Until I fainted right before Christmas. I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a primary brainstem tumor. Looking at the diagnosis report—”The tumor is already compressing the medulla oblongata; it is extremely advanced. Inoperable”—my first thought was: If I’m gone, who will take care of my sister? How heartbroken will Mom and Dad be? It was only after I figured out a way to take care of them that I finally felt at peace and decided to go home and tell them. But standing at the front door, I heard my parents talking inside: “Sigh, today Chloe cried and told me she didn’t want to die. My heart just broke.” “She’s such a good girl, why did she have to get this disease?” “Why couldn’t it have been Mia who got sick? My poor Chloe hasn’t experienced a single day of health in her life.” My hand froze on the doorknob. I looked down at the signed Organ Donation Consent Form in my hand and let out a bitter smile. Mom, Dad, after New Year’s Eve, your wish will come true. 1 I tucked the consent form away, waited at the door for a few minutes, and then pushed it open. I acted as if nothing had happened, greeting them with a smile: “I’m home.” My mom’s mouth immediately turned down at the sight of me: “Running wild until now? The whole family is waiting on you.” “Hurry up and call your sister; she can’t go hungry.” I answered obediently, my steps into the house as light as ever. As if I hadn’t heard a single word just now. My sister lay in her darkened room, her breathing barely audible. I bent down and called her softly: “Chloe, it’s time to eat.” “Let me help you up, okay?” For a long moment, there was no movement. Worried, I reached out to feel her forehead: “Are you feeling sick?” Smack. Chloe slapped my hand away. Her hand fell weakly onto the blanket. She kept her eyes closed, refusing to look at me: “Get away from me. Don’t touch me.” I paused for a second, pretended I hadn’t heard, and continued trying to help her up. “Just eat a little bit, okay? Your body won’t be able to take it if you don’t.” “If you don’t want to move, I can bring it in and feed you, alright?” As soon as I offered to feed her, she slowly sat up, ready to go out and eat. I followed closely behind her, carefully hovering, finding a bitter sort of amusement in the situation. Just as I thought. She still hated me touching her so much that I could easily manipulate her with it. The moment we stepped out of her room, I blinked away the moisture in my eyes and put a smile back on my face: “Mom, Chloe’s up. We can eat now.” Our apartment was tiny. It was less than thirty feet from the bedroom to the dining table, yet Chloe was panting heavily by the time she made it. I followed behind her, watching her with concern, but didn’t dare reach out to support her. As we reached the table, Mom just happened to walk out of the kitchen. She rushed over, casually shoving me aside, and carefully helped Chloe sit down. I rubbed my hip, which had banged hard against the corner of the table, and let out a quiet hiss of pain. Chloe looked up, glaring at me, her breathing turning rapid: “Are you doing that on purpose? Mocking how pathetic I look when I have an episode?” Before I could open my mouth to explain, a slap from my dad landed squarely on my face: “You’re old enough to know better! Apologize right now, don’t make your sister angry!” He turned to Chloe, his voice instantly softening: “Chloe, ignore her. Your health is the most important thing. Try to stay calm.” I covered my face, my eyes stinging. I mumbled an apology, lowered my head, and tried to comfort myself. She doesn’t hate me. She’s just in a lot of pain from being sick. Chloe’s breathing quickly steadied, and my parents finally sat down with peace of mind. I pulled myself together and hurriedly served them rice. My mom was ladling soup for Chloe and motioned for me to put the rice bowl on the table: “Never home during the day, and now you want to play the good daughter.” “What exactly have you been so busy with these past few days?” My hand froze mid-air with the serving spoon. After being diagnosed with no hope of a cure, I had spent the last few days at the hospital, consulting about a heart transplant. Fortunately, my disease didn’t affect my other organs; my heart was perfectly viable for transplantation. I also found out that donating organs could yield some compensation. If I sold off my usable corneas, kidneys, and liver, it could bring in forty or fifty thousand dollars. That way, I could rest a little easier after I passed. Before I could answer, my mom continued, laying down the law: “From now on, you stay home and take care of your sister. Do you know how much pay I’ve been docked for missing work these past few days?” “Alright, that’s enough,” my dad interrupted her nagging, turning to me. “Didn’t you say you were going to the hospital to get those headaches checked out?” “How were the results? Everything okay?” “If you get sick too, this family won’t be able to afford it.” I lifted my bowl to hide my expression, trying my best to sound casual: “It’s nothing. The doctor said it’s just from staying up too late. It’ll go away on its own in a couple of days.” My mom’s brow furrowed tightly, casting a dissatisfied look my way: “I told you it was nothing. Running to the hospital over every little ache and pain, do you think tests are free?” “You’ve always loved wasting money since you were a kid.” I knew she just liked to complain. But hearing her scold me now still made my heart ache. I kept my head down, poking at the rice in my bowl with my chopsticks: “I’ve always been responsible. When have I ever wasted money?” My mom snorted disdainfully: “Plenty of times.” “When you were in elementary school, you insisted on taking oil painting classes. Wasn’t that a waste of money?” I had no rebuttal. Even now, I regret making a fuss about wanting to learn to paint. 2 In elementary school, I didn’t fully understand what Chloe’s illness meant. I didn’t know why my parents were always frowning. Seeing my desk mate taking oil painting classes, I went home and made a fuss about wanting to learn too. My mom flat-out refused with a dark expression, and even rolling on the floor throwing a tantrum didn’t work. A week later, Chloe secretly bought me brushes and paints. I excitedly hugged her, jumping and screaming with joy. But staying up late writing to earn that money took a toll on her fragile body; she had a severe episode and was hospitalized. In the hospital, thinking she was going to die, Chloe secretly told me: “I have a little bit of money left from writing, along with my allowance savings. It’s under my pillow.” “Mia, go home and get the money. Buy your own paints from now on.” Thankfully, she pulled through in the end. And I suddenly grew up. Later, when the paints Chloe bought ran out, I quietly packed away the supplies and stopped asking for more. When my mom casually asked about it one day, I sheepishly scratched my head: “Painting is too hard. I don’t want to learn anymore.” Lost in my memories, my mom assumed my silence meant I was feeling guilty, and she pressed her advantage: “It’s time you grew up. Stop running around all day not coming home.” Hearing her words, I felt a sense of helplessness: “Mom, I really wasn’t just out playing. I had things to do.” “Getting checked for that minor issue wouldn’t take all day. What could you possibly be doing, going out every single day this week?” “I…” I wanted to tell the truth, but seeing Chloe’s pale face next to me and remembering she couldn’t handle emotional stress, I swallowed the words back down. My mom seemed to think I had been caught in a lie and grew even angrier: “I just asked you to stay home and take care of your sister, and you dare make up excuses to slack off and run out.” “Raised you all these years for nothing.” “If it weren’t for needing someone to take care of Chloe later on, I never should have had you.” My dad also looked at me with disappointment: “Mia, when you were little, you used to say you’d grow up and protect your sister. Why are you being so disobedient now?” “Have you forgotten how good your sister was to you when you were kids?” Chloe kept her head down; I couldn’t see her expression. I only saw the hand holding her chopsticks clenched tight, the veins on the back of her hand starkly visible. I opened my mouth to explain, but a knock at the door interrupted me. My mom got up to answer it. It was our neighbor, Mrs. Gable. She held up a bag of oranges and gestured: “Your Mia was standing at the door for a long time just now, and she left something outside when she went in.” “Hurry and grab it, or someone might walk off with it.” My mom’s back went rigid. She forced out a few polite pleasantries and sent the neighbor away. She walked slowly back to the table and sat down, breaking the silence in the room: “Did you hear what your dad and I were saying? Is that why you were standing at the door?” I nodded gloomily, not saying a word. A flash of panic crossed my mom’s eyes, quickly replaced by forced composure: “I just remembered how you insisted on changing jobs last month, got mad, and said some things I didn’t mean in the heat of the moment.” I stayed silent, staring at my rice bowl, my mind completely blank. Seeing my silence, my mom’s tone took on an edge of irritation: “What I said wasn’t wrong at all.” “Why couldn’t it have been an ungrateful wretch like you who got sick?” “You want to change jobs because you think we’re dragging you down, just to shake us off.” Her words were like a sharp knife plunging into my heart. I looked at her in disbelief, my lips trembling, unable to make a sound. After graduating, I listened to my parents and found a job close to home. The pay was low, but it made it easy to help take care of Chloe. But this year, her health had been deteriorating rapidly, and the medical bills were piling up. Seeing my parents so anxious, I wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do. Until last month, when I received a great job offer. The salary was triple, the prospects were good—the only downside was that it was in another state. I was ecstatic. With this job, I could make more money, buy better medication for my sister, and lighten my parents’ load. I never expected my mom to disagree. I was utterly confused and was still trying to explain it to her. So that’s what they were thinking. 3 Tears slipped down unnoticed, landing on my hand and jolting me back to reality. My mom was still rattling off a list of my supposed crimes. I wanted to speak, to tell her I wasn’t going to change jobs anymore. After all, I only had a few days left to live; there was no point now. But a sudden onset of my symptoms cut off my explanation. A throbbing pain erupted in the back of my head, and my chest grew tight, like a heavy stone was pressing down on it. I gripped the table leg tightly to keep my balance. It wasn’t until the wave of pain passed that I noticed the anger on my mom’s face had intensified. She seemed to mistake my pain for defiance, her tone growing even harsher: “You think you’re all grown up now, so you dare give me an attitude?” “You tell me clearly right now: are you going to take care of your sister or not?!” “Enough!” Chloe braced herself against the table and stood up, looking embarrassed: “Stop it. I won’t need her help anymore.” “If she wants to work, let her go. I…” Before she could finish, she collapsed back into her chair, clutching her chest and gasping for air. My mom shoved me aside and rushed to Chloe, rubbing her back to soothe her, while barking orders at my dad: “Hurry! Go get Chloe’s medicine!” I crumpled to the floor, my vision going black in waves. I wanted to get up and help, but I couldn’t move. My dad was in such a rush to find the medicine he didn’t even see me on the floor. He didn’t even notice when he stepped hard on my hand as he passed by. At that moment, the agonizing headache consumed me; I couldn’t even focus on my crushed hand. Waves of sharp pain hit me, and I curled up on the floor, gritting my teeth. My parents’ gentle, concerned voices directed at my sister seemed to drift in from far away, blurry and indistinct. After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided. I held onto the table and shakily got to my feet. Looking around the living room, I realized I was the only one left. A warm, yellow light spilled from my sister’s room, and through the crack in the door, I could vaguely see my mom tucking her in. I lowered my head and stood there. Even though I was in my own home, I felt like I had nowhere to go. It wasn’t until Chloe fell asleep that my mom tiptoed out of the room. Seeing me standing in the living room, her brow immediately furrowed. She walked over quickly and pinched the flesh on my arm hard: “Your sister is sick, and you’re just standing here like a log. Are your legs broken? Can you not move?” “Keep it quiet tonight, and make sure you’re taking good care of her!” Ignoring the pain in my arm, I looked at her with a sliver of desperate hope: “Mom, my head hurts so much…” But before I could finish, she cut me off: “Why don’t you just die of the pain then?!” “Faking sick every time I ask you to do something. Can you just act your age for once?!” My world plunged into a sudden silence; an empty, desolate void filled my heart. I could only see her mouth moving, but I couldn’t hear her voice. I nodded numbly until she stopped, looking satisfied. After she walked away, I instinctively went to my sister’s room. I don’t know how long I stood by her bed. By the time Chloe’s sarcastic voice broke the silence, my legs had gone completely numb. “Mia, stop pretending. You wish I were dead so you’d never have to take care of me again, don’t you?” Her dark, brooding gaze pinned me to the spot. When I was little, I thought my sister was the gentlest person in the world. She would knit me stuffed bunnies, read me stories, and softly comfort me when I cried. But I don’t know when it started—that gentle sister disappeared. Lost in thought, I didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need me to reply anyway: “So what if you’re healthy? I’m the daughter Mom and Dad love the most.” “In this house, you are the extra one!” “Get out now. Just looking at you makes me sick.” My heart ached, but I didn’t dare say anything, terrified of triggering another episode. I went back to the tiny storage closet that served as my room, lay down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling with wide, tear-filled eyes. It’s okay, I told myself. She’s sick. She needs their love more. That’s why Mom and Dad ignore me sometimes. Once she has the surgery, everything will be fine. 4 The hospital moved quickly. A couple of days later, my parents got the call. Someone had donated a heart. After the holidays, Chloe could prep for surgery. Seeing a glimmer of hope, smiles finally returned to my parents’ faces. Light returned to my sister’s eyes too; she no longer seemed to have given up completely. Seeing my family so hopeful, I swallowed the fear and reluctance in my heart. And waited with them for Christmas to arrive. On Christmas Eve morning, taking advantage of my mom’s good mood, I whined and asked her to make sweet and sour ribs for dinner. Unable to resist my clinging, she laughed, scolded me playfully, and agreed. Because of Chloe’s illness, there were many things she couldn’t eat. Money was always tight, so our meals usually consisted of the same few bland, healthy dishes. I loved sweet and sour ribs, but I hardly ever got to eat them. Thinking about having them tonight, I even forgot my fear of checking into the hospital soon. All I felt was anticipation. But when it was time for dinner, there were no sweet and sour ribs on the table. I looked at my mom, confused: “Are there still dishes in the kitchen? I’ll go get them.” My mom answered casually while ladling soup for Chloe: “Your sister said she wanted shrimp, so I didn’t buy ribs.” “Shrimp is just as good, it’s still a treat.” I told myself I needed to be understanding. The family was under a lot of financial pressure, and my parents didn’t have a choice. But I still heard my own voice trembling: “Mom, do you remember I’m allergic to shrimp?” She glanced back at me, her tone impatient: “Can’t you just eat the vegetables? Do you absolutely have to have meat? Are you as fragile as Chloe now?” “She hasn’t had much of an appetite lately, and today she finally craved something.” “You can have your sweet and sour ribs some other time.” I stood frozen, my throat feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. I couldn’t speak. But Mom… I don’t have a “some other time.” A sour ache filled my chest, and I couldn’t stop the large tears from crashing onto the floor. My dad looked at me with disgust and grumbled: “Throwing a tantrum over something so trivial. Let’s eat and ignore her.” “She’ll come eat when she’s tired of crying.” Soon, the sounds of their cheerful laughter filled the living room. Standing right next to them, I felt like a ghost, entirely unnoticed. “In this house, you are the extra one!” Chloe’s words echoed in my ears. This time, I couldn’t find a single reason to argue with her. Early the next morning, I packed my things and checked myself into the hospital. My condition had been worsening, and the doctors had been urging me to admit myself for days. I just didn’t want my family to worry about me missing the holidays, and I wanted to spend one last Christmas at home. That’s why I dragged it out until now. While I was in the hospital, my mom kept texting me, scolding me: “You ungrateful brat, running away from home just because you missed out on one dish? If you’ve got the guts, don’t ever come back.” I brushed her off with the excuse that I was busy job hunting. A couple of days later, she texted again: “Your sister is in the hospital prepping for surgery, and you can’t even be bothered to come see her?” I lay in my hospital bed and smiled bitterly. Mom, I’m actually staying right on the floor above you. I see everything. After I was admitted, my symptoms worsened daily. I kept slipping into semi-comatose states. The entire right side of my body was paralyzed; I couldn’t even turn my head properly. Until one time, I woke up from a sleep and realized I was a spirit. I floated downstairs to find my family. My parents were waiting outside the operating room. My mom’s face was pale and tense, her hands gripping my dad’s shirt tight. They were both muttering under their breath, praying non-stop. Three hours later, the doctor walked out. He pulled down his mask, a tired smile on his face: “Congratulations, the surgery was very successful.” My mom stumbled, as if all the strength had been drained from her body, and collapsed to her knees. My dad’s eyes instantly went red, and he let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. Soon, Chloe was wheeled out and taken to the ICU. Seeing her resting peacefully in the bed, my parents finally calmed down. And they finally remembered me. My mom couldn’t help but complain to my dad: “I don’t know what Mia is so busy with.” “She barely replies to my texts lately, takes half a day to send one back.” “I told her her sister was having surgery today. Even if she couldn’t be here, she could have at least called to check in.” My dad frowned slightly, then quickly smoothed his expression: “She’s drifted apart from us.” “Once Chloe recovers from the surgery, we won’t need her anyway.” “We’ll just focus on taking care of Chloe from now on, and let her be.” I floated beside them, listening to everything. So souls can feel pain, too. My mom looked like she wanted to argue, but her phone rang, interrupting her. She glanced at it casually, answered it, and put it to her ear. “Hello, is this the family of Mia Hayes?” “The donor’s organ recovery surgery has been successfully completed. Please bring your identification to the morgue at Central Hospital to claim the remains.”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “394949”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Just hours after I officially registered my marriage with my commander boyfriend, a highly private video of my first time was leaked across the entire military base. I stared at the screen, my entire body trembling uncontrollably as I watched myself, completely naked, positioned in humiliating ways. Echoing in my ears were the unrestrained, mocking laughs of the people surrounding him. “Arthur Sterling, to make Chloe smile, you actually leaked the video of your own wife’s first time?” “Hahaha, look at the princess, her face is completely pale! She looks like she’s about to cry!” Arthur, however, affectionately tapped his adopted sister Chloe’s nose, saying with a smile: “See? Now the entire base knows Maya has a scar on her waist. Will you finally smile for me now?” Chloe covered her mouth, her eyes curving into crescents as she laughed. I wanted to rush forward and demand an explanation, but my biological brother grabbed me tightly. Liam Sterling, the usually stoic base commander, darkened his face and warned me: “Behave yourself. Don’t think just because you’re the Sterling family heiress you can bully Chloe whenever you want.” “Arthur and Chloe were meant to be together in the first place. You forced your way in, so you deserve to have that video leaked.” He forcefully shoved me into his SUV, forbidding me from ruining the happiness of the precious girl in his heart. The System, which had been silent for ages, suddenly chimed in my mind: [Host, detected that the conquest mission has been completed! Do you wish to return to the real world immediately?] I covered my face, my shoulders shaking violently, desperately trying to suppress the laughter threatening to spill out. After struggling in this melodramatic world for over a decade, I could finally go home. From now on, their tangled web of love and hate would have absolutely nothing to do with me. … [Detected Male Lead’s conquest meter has reached 95%! Mission to marry Male Lead Arthur Sterling is complete! Congratulations to the Host for completing all missions!] [Upon the physical death of the Host, you will immediately return to the real world, receive a 100 million dollar cash prize, and your congenital heart defect will be completely cured!] I desperately swallowed the laughter that was about to burst from my throat. Finally… I’m free. Since Arthur wanted to stay at the hospital to accompany Chloe, Liam personally escorted me home. I turned my head and looked at my biological brother in the driver’s seat. From the moment he got in the car, he had a long face, radiating impatience from head to toe. It wasn’t until a notification sound from Chloe chimed that the corners of his mouth lifted slightly into a smile. Noticing me watching him, he immediately locked his phone screen, his brow furrowing deeply: “Haven’t you looked enough? Don’t want to leave? Still thinking about going back to ruin things between Arthur and Chloe?” “Chloe is young and has suffered so much. Can’t you just be more accommodating to her?” I dug my nails into my palms, trying hard not to laugh. Young? If we’re being technical, I’m half a year younger than Chloe. Perhaps my expression was truly awful, because Liam’s tone suddenly softened a bit: “When we get back, apologize properly to Chloe. Don’t be so stubborn.” He reached out, wanting to ruffle my hair, but I tilted my head to avoid it. “What exactly did I do wrong?” Liam’s hand froze in mid-air, his tone instantly darkening: “Maya, enough is enough!” I closed my eyes. Over the years, even if it was just to complete the mission, I had invested a bit of real emotion. I had also felt genuine heartache because of their attitudes. But now, it was all over. “After Chloe’s competition is over, come with me to apologize to her.” I didn’t answer him. Instead, I asked the System in my mind: [As long as this body dies, I can go back, right?] [Correct.] I slowly inhaled, observing the road conditions through the car window. After confirming that no innocent bystanders would be involved, I pressed the door unlock button and forcefully pulled the car door open. Liam, who was mid-lecture, stopped abruptly: “Maya! What are you doing?!” I didn’t look back as I threw myself out of the moving car. The freezing wind sliced across my cheeks like a knife, and an intense feeling of weightlessness gripped my heart. I squeezed my eyes shut, not feeling an ounce of fear. But the next second, a strong arm clamped tightly around my waist. I was completely enveloped in an embrace and thrown toward the bushes on the side of the road. Amidst the spinning and tumbling, I heard a muffled grunt of pain. We rolled several times before finally coming to a stop. The back of the person shielding me was torn up and bleeding profusely from the branches, but I didn’t have a single scratch. I looked up, meeting Liam’s terrified face, my voice exceptionally calm: “Let go.” Staring into my completely apathetic eyes, Liam suddenly exploded: “I say two words to you and you jump out of a moving car?! Have we spoiled you so much that you have no limits anymore?!” “Trying to get attention this way again, right? Save it!” I acted like I didn’t hear him and forcefully pried his fingers open. Standing up and looking around, I immediately spotted an SUV speeding toward us not far away. “I haven’t gotten my allowance for this month yet. Just consider it compensation for their car repairs.” Leaving those words behind, I ran straight toward the front of the approaching car. “Maya—!” Liam’s roar was heart-wrenching. He stumbled, trying to get up and chase me, but it was far too late. I almost laughed out loud. I was going home. Whether my congenital heart defect in reality could be cured or not was secondary; I didn’t want to stay in this world for another second. The piercing screech of brakes assaulted my eardrums. The SUV managed to come to a dead stop less than half a meter away from me. I stumbled backward, falling into Liam’s arms as he tackled me from behind. “Are you crazy?! Maya, do you really want to die?!” Liam’s eyes were bloodshot. With trembling fingers, he checked my arms and shoulders: “Did it hit you? Where does it hurt? Say something!” Didn’t die again. I lowered my eyes in disappointment. My gaze fell on his leg. His camouflage pant leg was already soaked in blood, and it was still dripping down. If it were the old me, I would have cried until I couldn’t breathe, wishing I could take the pain for him. But now, I just indifferently looked away. “What, now I even need your permission to die?” Liam froze in place, his entire body shaking uncontrollably. I tugged the corners of my mouth into a smirk, turned around, and walked toward the swearing SUV driver: “I’ll transfer the money for the repairs to you later.” Liam’s clenched fists trembled slightly, his eyes terrifyingly red. I paused for a moment, then immediately realized what he was thinking: “Don’t worry, I won’t use your money. I’ll use the money I saved myself…” “Maya!” he practically roared, cutting me off. Yet, I saw a trace of an expression on his face that bordered on feeling wronged. “You’re the sister I’ve protected since we were kids! Even if I had to give my life for you, I wouldn’t blink an eye!” I found it incredibly absurd and looked straight into his eyes: “Is that right?” His body jolted violently, as if he had just snapped back to reality. The one they cherished and held in the palm of their hands now was Chloe. And me, the so-called biological sister, had long since become an unreasonable joke in their eyes. My shoulders shook as I laughed, but tears fell uncontrollably. I used to always follow behind him. When he returned from a mission, I was always the first person he wanted to see. And now? He only told me with a cold face to “be sensible” and “stop bullying Chloe.” Liam violently yanked me back into the car, his voice low and raspy: “Once Chloe wins first place in this military competition, we’ll tell everyone that you are the real…” “Enough.” I couldn’t be bothered to listen to the rest and turned to look out the window. The passing scenery blurred backward rapidly, like fragments of time that could never be grasped. Before I crossed over to this world, I was an orphan. The day I was diagnosed with end-stage heart failure, I clutched the diagnosis report and sat in the hospital corridor all night. Finally, I passed out from the pain in my hospital bed, and when I opened my eyes again, I was a six-year-old girl. A voice echoed in my head: [When the conquest meter reaches its target and you marry Arthur Sterling, you can get the money to go back and cure your illness.] After that, there was only static. I thought I was having auditory hallucinations. But getting a second chance at life with a healthy body wasn’t too bad. The car drove smoothly. Liam gripped my wrist tightly, his thumb unconsciously caressing the back of my hand. It was a habit he had to comfort me whenever I had nightmares in the past. As an orphan, I used to be incredibly greedy for that tiny bit of warmth. I even thought about abandoning the mission and just staying in this world forever. Until Chloe appeared. She was an orphan girl I picked up from a war zone. But later, all the favoritism and love fell onto her. I went from acting spoiled and feeling wronged, to breaking down and becoming hysterical, only to finally earn one sentence from them: “Maya, you act like a lunatic.” The car stopped at the entrance of the military family compound. I shook off his hand, pushed open the door, and got out. Liam called out to me from behind, his voice trembling: “Maya… my leg is hurt… I hurt it trying to protect you…” I didn’t even turn my head: “If you’re hurt, go find a medic. What’s the point of telling me?” Pushing open the front door of our house, I saw Arthur feeding Chloe medicine. Seeing me return, Arthur’s face turned as cold as ice. He rushed forward and slapped me across the face. “Chloe stayed awake for three days and three nights because of you.” Chloe hurriedly reached out to stop him: “Arthur, it’s really not Maya’s fault, it’s just me worrying over nothing…” I watched this heartwarming melodrama with complete apathy. [Host, detected that your emotional fluctuation value has dropped to a critical point…] The system’s mechanical voice carried a rare hint of hesitation: [Are you… very sad?] [Chapter 2] That single sentence from the System almost made the tears I had forced back break through the dam. I roughly wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. Liam hobbled over to my side, but before he could speak, Chloe screamed and threw herself at him: “Liam! Your leg—!” Before she could finish her sentence, I stepped forward and slapped her, cutting her off. The crisp sound of the slap instantly silenced the entire living room. Chloe covered her face, her eyes wide as saucers. The next second, a massive force violently slammed me to the floor. Liam pointed at me, his eyes frozen over: “Maya, you’ve completely lost your mind! Apologize to Chloe!” I propped myself up from the floor and spat out the taste of blood in my mouth: “Me apologize? What’s wrong with me hitting a homewrecker? Arthur Sterling is my legally wedded husband!” Liam’s face grew even darker, his voice abruptly rising: “Nonsense! Arthur and Chloe were in love to begin with! You’re the one who kept pestering him!” “How did I end up with a sister as unreasonable as you!” I laughed out loud, but the tears wouldn’t stop falling: “I’m unreasonable? Right now, my name is on the marriage certificate, isn’t it?” Arthur spoke coldly: “It isn’t anymore. This morning, I already submitted the divorce papers. Our Sterling family will not accept a woman who goes crazy at the drop of a hat.” Liam yanked me up from the floor, his voice suppressing his rage: “Maya. Apologize.” I didn’t make a sound, my gaze sweeping over the people in front of me. Liam’s eyes were icy; Arthur’s eyes were filled with disgust. It was just like a year ago, when Chloe, who was always running around the military compound, was mistakenly identified as a spy. Liam couldn’t bear it. In front of the entire base, he announced that she was the true Sterling family heiress, the sister he had protected since childhood. And I, the actual Sterling family heiress, had to bear all the suspicion to protect her safety. “You have guards following you every time you leave the house. Chloe only has herself!” I was shocked, I resisted, I cried and screamed, but it was all useless. The way they looked at me then was exactly the same as they were looking at me now. My heart felt an indescribable exhaustion; even arguing felt superfluous. I shook off the guard’s hand, rushed into the living room, and grabbed a military combat knife from the table. Liam tried to rush over to stop me, but Chloe hugged his arm tightly: “Maya! Don’t do anything stupid!” I looked at Chloe and grinned: “Here’s my apology!” Ignoring Liam’s drastically changing expression and Arthur’s outstretched hand, I raised my arm and plunged the combat knife directly into my own chest. Screams erupted instantly. I laughed through my tears: “Is this life enough compensation for her?” “Are you satisfied now?” Warm blood poured out, and a wave of intense dizziness violently seized me. Amidst the chaotic roaring, my vision slowly faded to black. I saw the faces of those two men finally reveal expressions of absolute terror. Liam lunged forward to catch my sliding body, his voice shaking uncontrollably: “Medic! Call the medic right now!!” … The pungent smell of disinfectant pierced my nose. I opened my eyes, and the blinding white instantly made my heart race. Did I succeed? Turning my head, I met Liam’s bloodshot eyes. I closed my eyes in annoyance. His hoarse voice, for the first time ever, felt incredibly loud and irritating: “Maya! Who taught you to use self-mutilation to threaten people?!” I grew even more annoyed, feeling something uncomfortable digging into my neck. Reaching my hand up, I pulled out a custom-made medallion, engraved with the crooked word “Peace.” When I was thirteen, I fell into a coma for three days with a high fever at the border. Liam, risking disciplinary action, took his highest military honor medallion, had it modified into this, and then knelt up a thousand steps to beg a high monk to consecrate it. Later, when Chloe went on her first mission, he turned around and gave this very medallion to her. Now, it was back around my neck. But I only found it to be an eyesore. I yanked it off and casually threw it away. The hospital room door happened to be pushed open. Liam stood at the door, watching helplessly as the medallion landed at his feet. He looked up, staring dead at me: “Maya, you just threw it away?”

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Married for eight years, everyone praised me as the luckiest woman in New York high society. My husband was notoriously devoted, showering me with jewelry, buying yachts, and renting out entire private islands just to celebrate my birthday. I, too, tirelessly played the role of the gentle, compliant, and frugal Mrs. Sterling. Even the media dubbed us a rare example of true love emerging from a business marriage. That is, until the day our daughter was born. His little kept woman intentionally had a C-section early to deliver his son, publicly provoking me, the legitimate wife. Naive as I was, I thought he would consider the Sterling family’s reputation and send the mother and son abroad. I never expected that he would swap my daughter for that illegitimate son. He even handed me a custody agreement, righteously forcing me to sign it. “I owe her. I have to repay her.” “Our daughter will recognize you as her godmother. When she’s older, I’ll send her to Switzerland for school. Don’t worry, she will be a little princess that everyone envies.” “And you will always be my wife.” I nodded and smiled as I took the pen to sign. He let out a long sigh of relief, thinking I had finally accepted my fate. Little did he know, today was the exact day I had been waiting for. Chapter 1 I handed the signed custody agreement back to Arthur Sterling. He glanced over it and nodded in satisfaction. “Get some good rest.” As he reached the door, he looked back once more. “By the way, the boy’s name is Leo. The girl… is Chloe.” The door clicked shut. The hospital room fell quiet again. I stared at the baby boy in the bassinet, studying him. He was awake, looking right back at me with his big eyes. That little face definitely resembled Arthur, especially the eyes and the bridge of the nose. A wave of nausea surged up my throat, and I covered my mouth, dry heaving. My nanny, Maria, pushed the door open and walked in. When she saw the baby boy in the bassinet, she jumped in shock. “Mrs. Sterling! Didn’t you have a baby girl? Why…” I offered a self-deprecating smile. “This is Maya Harper’s child.” Hearing this, Maria was furious. “Mrs. Sterling! How… how can this be allowed?! Who does that woman think she is? An illegitimate child is now the heir to the Sterling family?” “You went through ten months of pregnancy and a grueling labor to deliver your daughter, and she’s just going to be given to some D-list Instagram model to raise?” “This… this is just too much bullying! How could you… how could you agree to this?” Her hands were shaking with anger, her words filled with indignation on my behalf. I looked out the window at the dreary, gray sky, smiling bitterly and shaking my head. “Does it really matter… whether I agree or not?” Maria sighed. “But you are Mrs. Sterling! Is there no law and order anymore?” Law and order? In Arthur Sterling’s world, he is the law and order. I closed my eyes, that familiar feeling of powerlessness creeping back up. It didn’t matter. My wishes had never mattered. After all, from the very beginning, the person Arthur loved wasn’t me. During his years abroad, he had a constant string of women, but Maya Harper was the one who stuck around the longest. She was beautiful, had a killer body, and knew exactly how to play coy, completely bewitching Arthur. But for a top-tier old-money family like the Sterlings, there was no way they’d let a model who made a living flashing skin marry into the family. Old Mr. Sterling, without a second word, ordered him back to the States to meet me. As soon as the news of our arranged marriage leaked, Maya started throwing massive tantrums. To appease her, Arthur funneled all the best entertainment resources from the Sterling Group directly to her. He single-handedly elevated a kept woman who couldn’t see the light of day into a massively popular, A-list star. He gave her whatever she wanted, acting as if he’d rip his own heart out to compensate her. And now, he was even giving my child to her. Thinking of this, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to an old friend: [The fish took the bait.] Chapter 2 In the blink of an eye, little Leo turned one month old. The one-month celebration was held at the Sterling family estate. Inside and out, the five-story mansion was adorned with peonies flown in directly from Holland. The champagne tower was stacked even higher than the one at our wedding. Wearing an elegant evening gown, I greeted guests in the ballroom. Arthur held his son, a triumphant, beaming smile on his face. The wife of the Vanguard Group’s chairman approached me, raising her glass with a smile. “Mrs. Sterling, you look radiant. You’ve recovered so quickly.” I smiled and thanked her, catching a commotion at the entrance out of the corner of my eye. Maya Harper had arrived. She was wearing a custom Valentino gown with a plunging neckline that went almost down to her navel, looking incredibly sexy. The entire room fell silent for a second, all eyes zeroing in on her chest. A massive pink diamond necklace sparkled brilliantly under the crystal chandeliers. That necklace was the grand finale piece at Sotheby’s auction last month, selling for twenty million dollars. The media had reported that Arthur bought it as a “push present” for his wife. Yet now, it was glaringly hanging around Maya Harper’s neck. When Arthur saw her, his eyes lit up. He handed the baby to a nanny and walked toward Maya. Maya habitually looped her arm through his, pressing herself tightly against him. Camera flashes erupted like fireworks. The reporters, like sharks smelling blood in the water, swarmed them. “Ms. Harper, what is your relationship with Mr. Sterling?” “Did Mr. Sterling gift you this necklace?” Maya smiled for the cameras. As she raised her hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, a hickey on the back of her neck was exposed, glaringly obvious against her pale skin. She tilted her head to look at Arthur, saying shyly, “Mr. Sterling, why don’t you answer?” Arthur wrapped an arm around her shoulder and spoke to the cameras. “Maya is the star artist of the Sterling Group’s entertainment division. Please don’t write any baseless rumors! The company’s legal department will pursue any false reporting to the fullest extent.” The reporters exchanged skeptical glances, their faces screaming disbelief. But intimidated by the power of the Sterling family, they didn’t dare press further and resentfully dispersed. Several society wives gathered around to comfort me. “Stella, don’t take it to heart. You know how men are…” “Exactly. Let him play around; at the end of the day, he still has to come home to you.” I smiled and nodded. It wasn’t until I raised my champagne glass to my lips that I realized my hand was shaking violently. A little champagne spilled onto my hand. It was freezing cold. Maya walked over, her arm still linked with Arthur’s. She stood in front of me, looking me up and down. “Stella, you look absolutely beautiful today.” I offered a faint smile. “Thank you. You look quite stunning yourself, Ms. Harper.” She stepped closer and whispered, “Don’t worry, Arthur told me. You will always be his wife. No one can replace you.” As she spoke, she purposefully touched the necklace around her neck. I pointed to the necklace. “Worthy of an eight-figure pink diamond. Very flashy.” “Right?” she let out a light laugh. “Arthur said it suits me perfectly. Unlike you—it would just look old and dated on you.” Arthur frowned slightly. “Maya.” “Just joking,” Maya tugged at his arm playfully. “Stella won’t mind, right?” I nodded. “I don’t mind.” That night, Twitter blew up. #MayaHarperHickey# #NewYorkSocietyPrincessOvershadowed# #ArthurSterlingMayaHarperIntimate# My name was sandwiched in between, utterly ridiculous. Chapter 3 Arthur didn’t come home until late into the night. He paused when he saw me. “You’re still awake?” I smiled. “Waiting for you.” He walked over to the bed and said softly, “Next month, I want to take Maya and Leo to Switzerland for a vacation.” I put my phone down and replied nonchalantly, “Sure, have a great time. Take lots of pictures.” “You… you’ve changed,” he said, looking at me, hesitating. I looked up at him. “Have I?” He stared into my eyes, speaking earnestly. “You didn’t use to be like this. Back then, there was light in your eyes. Now… it’s like you don’t care about anything anymore.” I scoffed inwardly. Of course I changed. From the day Arthur swapped my daughter at the hospital, that Stella Hayes died. The person living now is nothing but a walking corpse wearing a mask of docile obedience. But I just smiled. “People change. You’ve changed too, haven’t you?” Arthur let out a heavy sigh. He stood up, walked to the door, then turned back. “If you want to go, you can come with us.” I shook my head. “No thanks. I have things to handle at the company.” After Arthur left, I immediately shed that mask of docility. While he was off having a blast in Switzerland, I turned around and enrolled in the top Executive MBA program in the city. The coursework was brutal, but I relished every second of it. Maya, however, hadn’t forgotten about me. Every few days, she’d send me photos of them looking intimate, occasionally accompanied by a few boastful remarks. I patiently replied to every single one, even complimenting her photography skills. My calmness seemed to confuse her. She probably found it boring, so she eventually stopped sending them. When Arthur returned to the States, he clearly noticed the change in me. He likely assumed my “understanding” behavior was a compromise born of total despair, and miraculously, he actually tried to make amends. A Birkin bag one day, a Michelin-starred dinner reservation the next. Even his tone became ingratiating. One time, he got drunk and held my hand, saying, “Stella, can we go back to how things used to be?” I pulled my hand away and smiled. “How did things use to be? I’ve forgotten.” The light in his eyes instantly died. No matter what he said or did now, it couldn’t stir even a ripple in my heart. I was just waiting for the right moment to take back everything that belonged to me. Chapter 4 For Chloe’s fourth birthday, Arthur made an exception and allowed her to celebrate at our house. I got up early to bake a cake for her. I had just finished whipping the frosting when Maria frantically knocked on the kitchen door. “Mrs. Sterling, Chloe is here!” I didn’t even bother wiping my hands as I hurried out. As soon as I reached the living room, I heard the disjointed notes of a piano. In the distance, I saw my daughter, wearing a beautiful princess dress, sitting on the piano bench playing. Maya leaned over and asked her, “Does Chloe like playing the piano?” Chloe nodded enthusiastically, answering in her sweet, toddler voice, “I love it!” “Then we’ll play it all the time from now on, okay?” Maya smiled and stroked her hair. Chloe was even more thrilled, shouting, “Okay!” She was so excited that she accidentally knocked over the amethyst vase sitting next to the piano. The vase crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces. Everyone froze. Maya’s face changed instantly. She grabbed Chloe’s arm, yanked her off the bench, and raised her hand, delivering a hard slap. SMACK! A crisp, loud sound. Chloe’s head snapped to the side from the force, a red handprint rapidly blooming on her cheek. She stood stunned for two seconds before bursting into loud wails. That crying sounded like a sharp blade, stabbing into my heart over and over again. I charged forward. Maya was still yelling, “You little brat! Do you know how much that vase costs?! Mr. Sterling had that custom-made just for me!” She raised her hand to strike again. I grabbed the cake knife from the dining table. Before her hand could fall, I seized her wrist and twisted it viciously. Maya screamed and stumbled backward, and I pinned her against the piano. The piano let out a chaotic jumble of discordant notes. I pressed the knife against her throat and demanded fiercely, “Do you want to die?” The living room erupted into chaos. Little Leo started crying in terror, and the nanny rushed to pick him up. Maya struggled frantically trying to escape. I grabbed a handful of her hair, yanked her back, and delivered several vicious slaps across her face! SMACK! SMACK! The sharp sounds were piercingly loud in the chaotic living room. She screamed and tried to protect her face. I backhanded her hard across the mouth, and blood immediately seeped from her lip. “You dare hit me! Arthur! Arthur, save me!” she screamed hysterically. I raised my hand, fully intending to keep teaching this reckless idiot a lesson. “Stella Hayes, stop!” Arthur stood in the doorway, glaring at me coldly. Maya screamed for help. “Arthur, save me! She’s trying to kill me!” I pressed down hard on Maya, looking at Arthur, and roared, “If Maya Harper ever shows her face in our house again, I will kill her!” “What did you say?” Arthur frowned. I scoffed coldly. “I don’t repeat myself!” Arthur was stunned. He had probably never seen me like this—eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on my hands, acting like a mother wolf protecting her cub. Chloe ran over and hugged my leg. “Godmother…” Maya used the distraction to struggle. I applied pressure with my hand, and she instantly stopped moving. “Arthur!” she cried out. “Are you just going to watch her bully me?” Arthur remained silent for a long time. So long that Maya’s crying began to trail off. Finally, he spoke. “Take her back.” The bodyguards standing nearby were also stunned. “Are you deaf?!” Arthur’s voice rose. Two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, and only then did I release my grip. They hauled Maya up. She glared at Arthur in disbelief. “Arthur? You’re treating me like this?” Arthur looked away. “Just go home for now.” “Arthur Sterling! You—” She was dragged out, her curses fading into the distance. That night, for the first time ever, Arthur didn’t go to comfort Maya. He leaned against the headboard, scrolling through his phone. I lay on the other side of the bed, my back turned to him. In the darkness, he suddenly spoke up. “You were too impulsive today.” I didn’t say anything. “However…” he paused. “Maya was definitely out of line, but I believe she didn’t mean to do it.” I sneered. “She hit my daughter, so of course it doesn’t hurt you.” He sighed. “Don’t say that. Chloe is my daughter too, how could I not feel bad for her?” I let out a cold laugh, choosing not to expose his lie, and just said, “Go to sleep.” He shifted closer, wrapping his arms tightly around me from behind. It was an intimate posture, just like a real married couple. But all I felt was disgust. Chapter 5 On the first day of spring, Arthur surprisingly had some free time and suggested taking the kids to the country club. The men headed out to the golf course, while the wives sat in the lounge area, sipping tea and chatting. Chloe sat next to me, drinking orange juice. “Chloe, is your godfather good at golf?” Mrs. Bennett asked curiously. Chloe set her cup down and said earnestly, “My godfather doesn’t know how to play golf, but my daddy does.” “Really?” “Really.” Chloe nodded. “My daddy said he hit a hole-in-one when he was 18, and he gave that little white golf ball to my mommy.” The room fell completely silent. The wives exchanged knowing glances. Arthur never played golf. He considered the sport a waste of time. His expertise lay in the stock market; he knew absolutely nothing about what happened on a golf course. But his biggest rival, Julian… excuse me, Harrison Thorne, was an expert. Harrison had grown up in Hong Kong, where golf was practically mandatory. Fifteen years ago, at a charity golf tournament. Arthur, trying to save face, forced himself onto the course and ended up making a complete fool of himself. But Harrison, with a casual swing, sent the little white ball flying in a perfect arc, landing squarely in the hole. The crowd erupted in cheers. Harrison took off his white glove and, in front of everyone, handed the golf ball, signed with his name, to me, sitting right next to Arthur. Arthur’s face was so dark he looked ready to commit murder. Later, I hid that little white golf ball in the jewelry cabinet in my walk-in closet. My thoughts snapped back to the present. As I turned to pour Chloe some more juice, I caught a glimpse of Arthur standing in the doorway out of the corner of my eye. He had heard every single word. Chapter 6 That night, Arthur went straight to his study as soon as we got home. By 10 PM, he still hadn’t come back to the bedroom. I went downstairs to get some water and saw the light in the study was still on. I pushed the door open. Arthur was sitting at his computer, the country club’s membership list displayed on the screen. “Still awake?” I asked. He looked up at me, his voice low. “What did Chloe mean by what she said today?” I held my water glass, feigning confusion. “What did she say?” Arthur stood up and walked over to me. “She said her daddy hit a hole-in-one and gave the golf ball to her mommy.” “When have I ever hit a hole-in-one? When have I ever given you a golf ball?” I pretended to think for a moment. “She probably saw it in some cartoon. Kids can’t tell the difference between reality and TV.” “Is that so?” Arthur sneered. “Stella, are you sure?” “What else could it be?” I shot back. “Do you really think I have a lover who plays golf and hits holes-in-one?” Even I was surprised by how sharp my words sounded. It was very unlike my usual self. Arthur was taken aback too. He stared at me, stared for a long time, and finally waved his hand. “Forget it. Go to sleep.” Although I obediently went to bed, he didn’t sleep. Over the next few days, he launched a frantic investigation. He questioned the club manager, checked my credit card statements, and interrogated anyone who interacted with me regularly. Just as Arthur was about to dig deeper, Maya threw a massive fit. She marched right into the Sterling Group headquarters, dragging Leo behind her, and caused a huge scene at the front desk. I happened to be waiting for the elevator and heard the chaos outside. “I want to see Arthur Sterling! Now! Immediately!” “Ms. Harper, Mr. Sterling is in a meeting…” “I don’t care about his meeting! Tell him to come out here!” I walked over and saw Maya, her hair a mess, her eyes swollen like walnuts. Little Leo was hiding behind a chair, crying in fear. Employees formed a circle around them, no one daring to step forward. When Maya saw me, she got even more riled up. “Stella Hayes! Arthur doesn’t love you at all! He should have divorced you and married me ages ago!” Before I could even respond, Arthur yelled sternly, “Maya, what the hell are you doing?!” “I’m making a scene?!” Maya shrieked. “Arthur Sterling, you said you’d marry me as soon as I gave you a son! Look how big Leo is now! How much longer do I have to wait?!” Dead silence. Utter, dead silence. The employees lowered their heads, pretending they hadn’t heard a thing. Arthur grabbed Maya’s arm and dragged her toward the elevator. “We’ll talk upstairs!” “No! We are settling this right here, right now!” Maya struggled. “If you don’t get a divorce, I’m going to leak everything—” “Shut up!” Arthur cut her off fiercely, shoving her into the elevator. The spectacle was over, but the news spread like wildfire. Arthur was completely overwhelmed. Maya was throwing tantrums every day, and the media, catching wind of the drama, started digging up the luxury mansions and sports cars she had received over the years. Arthur was busy trying to pacify her and suppress the news, temporarily putting his investigation into Harrison Thorne on hold. I took advantage of this window to set my next steps in motion. When we got married, Arthur gave me 5% of the Sterling Group’s shares, and transferred a bit more to me over the years. Combined with the shares my family originally held, I now controlled 20%. I had already prepared the transfer agreements for these shares. That night, Arthur came home later than usual. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he threw a stack of photos onto the floor in front of me. I stepped closer to look, my breath catching in my throat. The photos were all of me and Harrison Thorne. I offered a faint smile. “Just catching up over dinner with an old friend. Was it really worth hiring someone to stalk me?” Arthur picked up a photo of Harrison and me hugging and sneered. “Is this how ‘old friends’ act? Stella, do you take me for an idiot?” I ignored him and turned to go take a shower. He grabbed my arm and roared, “Answer my question!” “What exactly is your relationship with Harrison Thorne?”

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On the day of my wedding, I knew perfectly well that the cup of chamomile tea my half-sister handed me was laced with sedatives. Still, I smiled and drank every last drop. I watched her eagerly slip into my custom bridal gown and climb into the wedding limousine belonging to Tristan Vance, the golden boy of Manhattan’s elite. In my previous life, I woke up hysterical. I tore apart her innocent facade, ruined her reputation, and had her banished from New York. Meanwhile, I married Tristan. Using my father’s authority as a Four-Star General at the Pentagon, I helped Tristan wash his family’s dirty money clean and pushed him to the absolute pinnacle of power. It wasn’t until I was lying on my deathbed after a critical surgery that the truth came out. Tristan dismissed my doctors, wrapped his arm around my sister, and held their one-month-old son. He looked down at me with cold, calculating eyes. “Chloe, if it weren’t for the Sterling family’s military connections, I would have sent you to your grave years ago for the way you treated Harper. Now that your father is under federal investigation and can’t even save himself, it’s time you give up your seat.” My sister ground the heel of her stiletto into my fingers, her smile twisted and cruel. “Sister, the empire you built? My baby and I will enjoy it to the fullest. From now on, the title and glory of Mrs. Vance are finally returning to their rightful owner.” Amidst the agonizing pain and soul-crushing betrayal, I took my last breath. Then, I opened my eyes. I was reborn, right back on the morning of my wedding. …… Outside the window, the faint, melodic notes of the wedding march drifted into the room. I sat up, waited in the silence for about fifteen minutes, and then massaged my temples before pushing the door open. My mother was just turning to walk down the hall, the unshed tears still glistening in the corners of her eyes. She looked up, freezing when she saw me leaning against the doorframe. A loud gasp escaped her lips. Hearing the noise, my father turned around and froze. “Chloe? Didn’t you just get in the car?” He pointed a shaking finger toward the front gates in absolute shock. “Then who the hell was wearing the wedding dress and just got driven away?” I placed a hand over my chest, feigning panic and confusion. “No way… Last night, Harper told me how much she was going to miss me. She brought me a cup of warm chamomile tea. After I drank it, my head felt so heavy, and I slept right through until just now…” The joyous, celebratory atmosphere of the estate instantly plummeted to freezing. The gathered high-society guests exchanged subtle, knowing glances. My mother’s chest heaved violently. She nearly collapsed before her voice rang out like a whip, “Bring Ruby to me right now!” Ruby, the mistress, was dragged out of the crowd by my father’s military aides. She was clutching a designer suitcase, clearly having tried to slip away in the chaos. “No wonder you were crying harder than me earlier,” my mother sneered. “I thought you were actually heartbroken to see my daughter leave. Turns out, you were crying tears of joy because you personally sent your own daughter into the Vance family’s limousine!” Ruby’s eyes darted around nervously, but she forced a brazen look onto her face. “What do you mean, Madam? The eldest Miss overslept and missed her own wedding. How can you pin this on my poor Harper?” Before she could finish her sentence, the estate butler hurried over, his voice hushed but urgent. “General, Madam, the motorcade from the Hayes family has arrived at the gates for the Second Miss.” My mother’s face was covered in frost. “Which car did Harper get into? Chase her down and bring her back!” A cold smirk ghosted across my lips. It had been almost half an hour. By now, she was definitely already inside Tristan Vance’s Upper East Side penthouse. And knowing Tristan, he had probably been unable to keep his hands off her the second the doors closed. My eyes swept over the poorly concealed triumph at the corners of Ruby’s mouth. Everything clicked into place. This mother and daughter had played a brilliant hand. Years ago, Ruby was planted by my father’s political rivals. She drugged him, got pregnant with Harper, and my father—to protect his military reputation—had no choice but to let them into the estate. Now, Harper was using the exact same playbook. She drugged me, swapped our places, and stole my groom. Even if I realized it now, the damage was done. The rice was already cooked. There were only two choices laid out before me: swallow this ultimate humiliation, or take her place and marry into the Hayes family. The Hayes family wasn’t old money or a massive political dynasty, but Carter Hayes was young, fiercely capable, and already my father’s most trusted Colonel. His military record was decorated with honors, and his future in Washington was limitless. My father had personally arranged Harper’s marriage to him because he admired Carter’s steadfast and resilient character. But Harper had stolen the sky and swapped the sun. She took the billionaire heir she coveted and tossed the military arrangement she despised right into my lap. If I accepted this, within half a day, the news would spread across all of New York: the eldest Sterling daughter was tossed aside like garbage by the Vance family, forcing her to marry the Hayes boy instead. I would become the laughingstock of the entire elite social circle. 【Chapter 2】 In my past life, Harper had relied on Tristan’s backing to brazenly steal my marriage. At the time, with my parents’ furious support, I led our security detail to crash the lavish Hamptons wedding venue. Tristan, terrified of my father’s authority in the Armed Forces, flat-out denied knowing about the bride swap. He stood by and watched as my father’s men dragged Harper away in tears. Naturally, I proceeded with the ceremony. After the wedding, Tristan treated me like a queen. I had been naive enough to believe he was genuinely kept in the dark that day. Little did I know, he and Harper had been sleeping together for months. He was simply waiting for the perfect moment, using my family’s military influence to expand his illicit empire, before mercilessly throwing us into an abyss of despair. “The Second Miss isn’t in her room!” the butler reported urgently. “The wedding dress sent by the Hayes family was left on her bed, but all of her personal belongings and passports are gone!” He handed over a sealed manila envelope. “We found this hidden in a false bottom of the Second Miss’s drawer.” My father’s face was stormy as he tore it open. Inside were several passionate, sickeningly sweet love letters written in Tristan’s own handwriting, along with pieces of breathtakingly expensive jewelry. The veins on my father’s forehead throbbed. He violently slammed the envelope right into Ruby’s face. “This is your precious daughter! Seducing her own brother-in-law! You and your spawn have dragged the Sterling family name through the mud!” Harper had obviously treasured those tokens of affection. But the moment I woke up, I knew exactly where to find them and expose them to the light of day. I wanted everyone to see clearly that they had been carrying on an illicit affair long before today. Just as expected, whispers instantly erupted among the high-society guests, their voices dripping with disdain. “The daughter of a homewrecker. The General showing them mercy and letting them stay was already a massive favor, and she repays it by drugging the rightful heiress? Stealing a marriage to climb the Vance social ladder? She’s begging for death!” “That Vance boy is a piece of trash, too. He was engaged to the eldest Miss Sterling, yet he still messed around with that unpresentable side-piece. Shows exactly what kind of character he has!” Ruby calculated the time in her head. Assuming the deed was already done and the wedding finalized, she actually straightened her spine and looked my father in the eye. “General, Harper is still the Second Miss of the Sterling family! Why not just give them your blessing? It would make things much easier to explain to the Vance family…” My mother trembled with rage. She raised her hand and delivered a sharp, echoing slap across Ruby’s face. “Give them my blessing?! You and your bastard daughter use vile, disgusting tricks to steal my daughter’s marriage, and you have the audacity to ask for my blessing?!” “Guards! Lock this woman up. We are handing her over to the NYPD later today!” Ruby collapsed onto the floor, screeching at the top of her lungs, “You wouldn’t dare touch me! I am Tristan Vance’s mother-in-law now! When my son-in-law finds out, he won’t let any of you get away with this!” “I only have one daughter, and her name is Chloe,” my father said, his voice dropping to a glacial chill. “Taking you in all these years was the absolute limit of my mercy. Since you dared to plot against my real daughter, don’t blame me for what happens next.” He waved his hand. Two military aides immediately dragged Ruby away without an ounce of hesitation. 【Chapter 3】 The butler looked conflicted. “General, the Hayes motorcade is still waiting at the gates. They are asking what time they can come in to receive the bride.” My father’s face was dark as iron. He spoke with absolute finality. “Gather the men. We are heading to the Vance estate! We will tie that wretched girl up, drag her back here, and force her to marry into the Hayes family immediately!” “Dad, don’t.” I took a step forward, calmly placing a hand on his arm. “If Tristan Vance’s heart belongs to Harper, then I, Chloe Sterling, have zero interest in fighting over a two-timing, unfaithful piece of trash.” My eyes were steady and resolute. “Carter Hayes is a man you mentored yourself. He is brilliant, capable, and fiercely loyal. If we reject his motorcade today because of this mess, how will he and the Hayes family ever show their faces in society again? I am willing to marry him.” My mother grabbed my hand in shock. “Chloe, don’t speak out of anger. How could you possibly…” “Mom, I’m not acting out of spite.” I squeezed her hand back. “Carter is young and promising. He’s climbed the ranks through his own military merit, and his future is bright. I trust my father’s judgment, and I trust Carter’s future.” Hearing this, the surrounding guests looked at me with deep admiration and respect. “The eldest Miss Sterling truly has an incredible grace and vision. So rare to see!” “Compared to her, that illegitimate daughter who uses dirty tricks is like mud next to a diamond.” My mother pulled me into a heartbroken embrace, her voice choking with sobs. “I just don’t want you to be wronged…” My father took a deep, shuddering breath. “That Vance boy dared to humiliate my daughter like this. From this day forward, he can forget about getting even a shred of protection from me! Those gray-area businesses he runs on the coasts? Let’s see how well they do without my cover!” His tone was ruthless. “But right now, I must go to the Vance family and demand an explanation. Otherwise, that arrogant punk will really think the Sterling family is weak and easy to manipulate!” By the time our convoy arrived at the Vance family’s breathtaking Upper East Side penthouse, the wedding reception was in full swing. The elite guests paused, turning their heads and whispering furiously as our imposing group stormed into the ballroom. “Isn’t that the eldest Miss Sterling? Wasn’t she supposed to be today’s bride? Why is she just walking in now?” “Wait, then who was the woman who exchanged rings with Mr. Vance and was just taken upstairs?” An uncle who had accompanied us let out a cold scoff. “Just a bastard daughter born from a mistress. She used underhanded drugs to steal her older sister’s wedding!” The ballroom erupted into a tidal wave of shocked gasps and gossip. As the commotion grew louder, Tristan finally descended the grand staircase. Seeing me, he immediately took the offensive, scolding me before I could speak: “Chloe, haven’t you made enough of a scene? You can’t blame Harper for all of this!” “If you want to blame someone, blame the fact that your family scheduled your weddings on the exact same day. She simply got confused and got into the wrong limousine. And I,” he paused, his eyes completely devoid of guilt, “had a few too many drinks earlier. I was caught up in the moment and mistook her for you. What’s done is done. I have to take responsibility for her now.” He looked down at me from the stairs. “But don’t worry. With my status in New York, I won’t just toss you aside. I’ll make sure there’s always a place for you by my side.” 【Chapter 4】 I almost wanted to clap and cheer for his shameless, breathtaking audacity. Leave a place for me by his side? What century did he think we were living in? Did he really think he was some king who could have a wife and a harem? If it weren’t for the massive shadow of the Sterling family protecting him, his shady, borderline-illegal empire would have been eradicated by the feds ages ago. He wouldn’t even have the platform to stand here and spew this garbage. Did he seriously believe the daughter of a high-ranking General would settle for being his side-piece? My father was so furious he actually laughed. “Tristan Vance, say that one more time? You want my daughter to be your mistress? Who the hell gave you the nerve?! Have you forgotten who keeps you out of federal prison?!” Just then, Mr. Vance—Tristan’s father—hurried out of the VIP lounge. “General, what’s all this…” He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. “Chloe? What are you doing down here?” My mother violently threw the stack of love letters directly at his chest. “Read them yourself, Richard Vance! Your precious son has been sleeping with that illegitimate wretch behind our backs. They conspired to drug my daughter and steal her wedding! Today, your family owes the Sterlings an explanation!” Mr. Vance’s face turned a sickening shade of purple. He raised his heavy walking cane and cracked it viciously across Tristan’s back. “You ungrateful bastard! Explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?!” Before Tristan could defend himself, Harper stumbled out of the elevator. She was clutching a silk bathrobe that wasn’t even fully buttoned, tears streaming down her face as she threw herself in front of Tristan to shield him. “Mr. Vance, it’s not Tristan’s fault! It’s all my fault. I just couldn’t control my feelings for him. If you have to hit someone, hit me!” She then turned her tear-streaked face to my father. Her voice was trembling, but every word was a calculated trap. “Dad, it’s already done. If you make a massive scene, the Sterling family’s military reputation will be ruined. Think of the press. You’ll lose face…” My mother’s fingertips shook with rage. “You didn’t care about the Sterling family’s face when you drugged my daughter and stole her groom! And now that we are demanding justice, we are the ones ruining the reputation?! You shameless little bitch!” I stepped forward, my voice eerily calm. “Harper, if you had just been honest with me from the beginning, I might have simply let you have him. Why did you have to use such dirty, underhanded tactics on the morning of my wedding? Did you want to humiliate me, or did you want to turn the entire Sterling family into a joke across New York?” Her face went stark white as I hit the nail on the head. “Tristan and I are truly in love…” she whimpered, looking up at Tristan like a helpless doe. The elite crowd wasn’t stupid. They saw right through the theatrics and began whispering loudly: “Like mother, like daughter! Her mother climbed into the General’s bed using dirty tricks, and the daughter is even better at it!” “If she were my daughter, I’d break her legs!” Someone even called out sarcastically to Mr. Vance: “Richard, if your son pulls a stunt like this and your family doesn’t make it right today, you’re going to have a very hard time doing business in this city.” 【Chapter 5】 Mr. Vance looked ready to die of humiliation. He threw his cane to the marble floor with a loud clatter and delivered two stinging, back-to-back slaps right across Tristan’s face. “You piece of trash! Get on your knees and apologize to your father-in-law, your mother-in-law, and to Chloe! Then we are re-doing this ceremony, and you are marrying Chloe today!” Tristan took the blows without flinching. When he looked at me, his eyes were dripping with raw, undisguised malice—the exact same look he gave me right before I died in my past life. In his twisted mind, I was the villain of this story, not the victim. He let out a dark sneer. “Dad, the only woman in my heart is Harper. Chloe is a stuck-up, arrogant princess. I’m sick of just looking at her, and I will never marry her!” “If she’s willing to lower her head and be obedient, maybe I’ll take her out to social events once in a while. Otherwise, let me make this clear right now: I will never give her the title of my wife! I’d love to see who in New York would dare take a woman that I, Tristan Vance, have publicly discarded!” The sheer audacity of his words left even the hardened socialites in the room gasping in horror. No one could comprehend where this man—who relied entirely on the Sterling family’s military umbrella to survive the criminal underworld—was getting the courage to act so arrogant. Ever since Mr. Vance retired, Tristan had become increasingly reckless. He stole territory from rival syndicates and offended countless dangerous men. It was me who begged my father to deploy resources to save his life when the cartels came for him. Tristan had literally dropped to his knees in front of my father, swearing on his life that he would never betray me. But now, with his wings slightly hardened and a little bit of street cred to his name, he dared to trample on the very people who built him! Seeing my silence, Tristan thought I was intimidated. He pushed his luck even further: “Since you clearly can’t let me go, I’ll give you one last chance. We can do it the old-fashioned way. You can move in as my mistress.” “Pour a drink for Harper, apologize properly to the true Mrs. Vance, and if you behave yourself, I might consider letting you bear one of my children.” The ballroom erupted into sheer pandemonium. Even the elders of the Vance family looked away in absolute disgust at his shamelessness. My father’s rage had reached its absolute peak, and it suddenly settled into a terrifying, dead calm. He spoke slowly, his voice echoing in the massive room: “Mr. Vance, you certainly think highly of yourself. The Sterling family cannot reach your lofty heights. And my daughter will certainly not accept your generous offer of being a mistress.” He turned his piercing gaze onto Harper. “As for this wretch, as of today, I, Arthur Sterling, have no second daughter! From this second onward, Harper is completely severed from the Sterling family! Whatever she does, whether it brings glory or ruin, it is solely the Vance family’s burden to bear!” 【Chapter 6】 Harper forced a few fake tears to fall. “Dad, you always favored my sister anyway. Now you finally get what you want.” “But Tristan and I are truly in love. Sister is the real third party here.” She turned her chin up to look at me. “I’m going to post on Instagram and let all of New York know that Tristan dumped you! Don’t come crawling back begging for him later.” I raised a hand to stop my father, who looked ready to explode. “Don’t worry,” I said smoothly. “Only you would treat a piece of garbage like a prized treasure. Oh, and by the way, the three trucks of dowry sitting in the motorcade outside? I’m taking every single box back.” Harper instantly lost her mind, shrieking, “That’s my dowry! You have no right to take it!” I let out a cold laugh. “Your pitiful share is still sitting at the estate. I can be generous and have a servant drop it off for you later. But my belongings? Don’t even think about touching a single thread.” She lunged at me, screaming and trying to tear at my clothes. “You bitch, those are mine!” My mother moved lightning fast, shoving her hard in the chest. My father immediately signaled his military aides to go start the trucks. Tristan snapped his fingers. Instantly, dozens of burly, suited bodyguards swarmed forward, forming a massive wall around my family. “Nobody moves,” Tristan sneered. “I gave you an out, and you threw it in my face. Since that dowry followed Harper’s car here, it belongs to her. If you try to take it today, you’re declaring war on me!” Faced with this mafia-style intimidation, my father didn’t even blink. “Tristan Vance, touch me and see what happens.” Tristan laughed like a maniac. “Old man, don’t think those stars on your shoulder mean everything! If I didn’t keep the underground in check, those cartel psychos would have bombed your Pentagon office by now! If you know what’s good for you, leave your oldest daughter here for my bed. Otherwise, none of you are walking out of those doors!” My father’s chest heaved violently at the disrespect, his face draining of color. My mother quickly held onto him, rubbing his back to calm his breathing. Harper leaned into Tristan’s chest, giggling mockingly. “See? Your family is so stubborn and blind to reality!” “Leave the dowry here for me. Who knows, maybe when you inevitably get in trouble later, I’ll put in a good word for you with Tristan.” My mother was so furious she tried to lunge forward to slap her, but Harper actually raised her foot and kicked my mother in the shin. “Back off, you old hag! I’m sick of looking at your miserable face!” I immediately stepped in front, shielding my parents with my body. But Tristan shot his hand out, gripping my jaw painfully and forcing my face up to look at him. “Chloe, it’s not too late to regret it. For the sake of our past, I can let you stay here tonight.” “As for these two old fossils, since they disrespected me, they can drop to their knees, kowtow to apologize, and I’ll let them leave.” He gestured. Two of his thugs grabbed my parents by the arms, twisting them painfully, while two massive bodyguards stepped toward me, preparing to drag me upstairs by force. My father’s military aides were hopelessly outnumbered and blocked by Tristan’s mob of men. They couldn’t break through. Just as the situation was about to turn violently ugly, a booming, authoritative voice echoed from the grand entrance: “NYPD! Nobody move!”

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On my wedding day, my rival kidnapped my fiancé and my first love. She poured a bottle of poison down each of their throats and even live-streamed the whole thing to millions. “I hear Dr. Hayes is the best toxicologist in the world, with medical skills that can bring the dead back to life!” “But there’s only one dose of the antidote! Faced with her old flame and her new love, will the great Dr. Hayes save her ex, or her husband-to-be?” Everyone held their breath, waiting for this cruel choice. No matter who I saved, I would lose someone I loved. Under the watchful eyes of millions, I maintained a blank expression and poured the single bottle of antidote straight down the drain. “Adults don’t make choices. I don’t want either of them!” …… Chapter 1 The two men tied to the chairs were staring at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. On the left was my fiancé, Arthur Sterling, the heir to the Sterling Group. His custom-tailored suit was now covered in dust. On the right was my first love, Leo Vance, a currently trending pop idol. His face—the one that made thousands of teenage girls scream—was twisted in agony. Chloe, holding the empty poison vials, was trembling all over. “Stella! You cold-blooded monster! Arthur is your fiancé, and Leo is the man you loved for seven years!” She lunged forward, trying to grab me by the collar. I took a step to the side, avoiding her with obvious disgust. “Correction.” I slowly peeled off my white latex gloves and tossed them into the nearby trash can. “Former fiancé, and ex-boyfriend.” “Also, whether it’s recyclable trash or hazardous waste, I’m only responsible for throwing it out. Not fixing it.” Arthur struggled violently, muffled grunts escaping his gagged mouth. His eyes were filled with shock and rage. As if to say: How dare you? How could you? Leo, on the other hand, had tears pooling in his eyes, trying to use those signature puppy-dog eyes to awaken my old feelings for him. If it were the old Stella Hayes, I probably would have dropped to my knees, crying and begging Chloe for the antidote. I might have even handed the antidote to Arthur without hesitation, then chosen to die alongside Leo. Or, I might have given the antidote to Leo, only to be blacklisted and destroyed by the powerful Sterling family. What a moving, tragic, and profound love story that would have been. What a pity. Today’s Stella Hayes had finally drained the water from her brain. I glanced at the Patek Philippe on my wrist. “Ms. Chloe, three minutes until the poison takes effect.” I leisurely pulled out a chair and sat down, even feeling tempted to cross my legs. “As a doctor, I’ll offer a friendly warning.” “When this type of neurotoxin sets in, the paralysis starts at the fingertips, moves to the limbs, and finally hits the respiratory muscles.” “The process is excruciating. There will be incontinence, convulsions, and foaming at the mouth.” I pointed at Arthur, who was writhing frantically. “If a dignified man like Mr. Sterling here soils his pants in front of tens of millions of viewers…” Arthur’s face instantly went from red to white, then from white to a sickly green. He clamped his legs tightly together. The comments in the live stream immediately shifted tone. [Holy shit, is Dr. Hayes pulling a reverse Uno card?] [That’s ruthless, but why do I find it kind of satisfying?] [Where are your morals?! Those are two human lives!] Chloe was completely panicked. This wasn’t how her script was supposed to play out. She was supposed to be the queen holding the power of life and death, watching me agonize between two men, knowing that no matter who I chose, my reputation would be ruined. But right now, I looked like an outside spectator watching a show. “Stella! Aren’t you afraid of going to jail?! This is murder!” Chloe pointed at me, her finger trembling. I let out a soft laugh, my eyes as cold as a scalpel. “You’re the one who kidnapped them. You’re the one who fed them poison. You’re the one live-streaming this.” “I’m just a passing victim who accidentally slipped and dropped a bottle.” “What is a judge going to charge me with? Destruction of property?” “How much did that vial cost? I’ll compensate you ten times over.” Just then, Arthur suddenly convulsed violently. Leo also started rolling his eyes back into his head. Time was up. Chapter 2 It wasn’t a real toxic reaction. I’m a doctor. I could tell at a glance that they were acting. The frequency of the convulsions and the degree of muscle rigidity were absurdly fake. But I didn’t expose them. I just watched quietly. I watched Arthur writhe on the floor like a maggot. Sure enough, a large wet patch appeared on his expensive suit pants. I couldn’t tell if he actually wet himself out of fear or if it was just for realistic effect. Leo was even better, directly starting to foam at the mouth. I saw it clearly; it was an effervescent tablet hidden under his tongue. Good acting. Truly worthy of his “Razzie Award-winning” actor status. Chloe threw herself onto Arthur, crying beautifully. “Arthur! Arthur, don’t scare me! Stella, you murderer!” “Someone call an ambulance! Call 911!” I calmly pulled out my phone. “No need to call.” “The police arrived downstairs three minutes ago.” “As for an ambulance…” I pointed to the ID badge on my chest. “The best surgeon in the city is right here. Who else do you need to call?” The moment the words left my mouth, the warehouse doors were violently busted open. Fully armed SWAT officers stormed in. “Freeze! Police!” As Chloe was pinned to the floor, she was still screaming hoarsely: “It’s her! Stella killed them! She poured out the antidote!” The police quickly secured the scene and checked on the two “victims.” The lead detective glanced at me, his expression complicated. “Dr. Hayes, we meet again.” I hadn’t expected the team leader to be an old acquaintance, Detective Lee from the Major Crimes Division. “Detective Lee, sorry for the trouble.” My tone was calm, completely lacking the panic of a “murder suspect.” “Are they poisoned?” Detective Lee frowned, looking at the two men still twitching on the floor. “Maybe.” I shrugged. “I recommend getting their stomachs pumped. Thoroughly.” Arthur and Leo were loaded onto stretchers. As he passed by me, Arthur suddenly stopped twitching. He stared at me intently. There was no fear of impending death in his eyes, only the furious rage of being humiliated. He gritted his teeth and whispered in a voice only I could hear: “Stella, you’re dead.” “When I get out, I’m going to make you wish you were dead.” I leaned down and whispered softly in his ear: “Mr. Sterling, if you’ve peed your pants, maybe hold off on the tough guy act.” “The smell is quite strong.” Arthur almost passed away from sheer anger right then and there. Leo, meanwhile, weakly opened his eyes and looked at me with those affectionate, soulful eyes: “Stella, I don’t blame you…” “I know you were forced…” I laughed. I laughed so hard I doubled over. “Leo, save it.” “Your effervescent tablet foam got on my shoes.” Leo’s expression froze instantly. The ambulances sped away with sirens wailing. As a “person of interest,” I was politely escorted into a police cruiser. Although the live stream had been cut, public opinion online had completely exploded. #StellaHayesToxicWoman# #ArthurSterlingLeoVanceCriticalCondition# #StellaHayesThrowsAwayAntidote# The top three trending topics were all my name. Everyone was calling me cold-blooded, calling me a psychopath. Inside the police car, Detective Lee handed me a bottle of water. “Stella, what exactly is going on here?” “Were those two really poisoned?” I unscrewed the cap and took a sip. “Detective Lee, if I told you this whole thing was a play directed and acted out by them, would you believe me?” Detective Lee paused. I looked out the window at the passing city streets, my eyes growing colder by the second. “It wasn’t just a play.” “It was a carefully designed ‘compliance test’ meant to force my submission.” Chapter 3 The lights in the interrogation room were blinding. But I was used to it. The surgical lights in the OR were ten times brighter than this. “Ms. Hayes, according to the scene investigation and Chloe’s statement, she did provide you with a vial of antidote.” “And you did, in fact, pour it down the drain.” The young rookie taking my statement looked incredibly serious, even carrying a hint of disdain. In his eyes, I was probably just a crazy woman driven mad by love and jealousy. “That was glucose.” I stated plainly. The rookie paused. “What?” “The ‘poison’ Chloe forced down their throats was blueberry-flavored sports drink.” “The so-called ‘antidote’ was a 5% glucose solution.” “As for the white foam in Leo’s mouth, that was from a vitamin C effervescent tablet.” I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. “Officer, if you don’t believe me, you can check their stomach contents at the hospital.” “Or just ask Chloe directly. She probably still has the unused props in her bag.” The rookie was clearly thrown off by my composure and turned to look at Detective Lee through the two-way mirror. Half an hour later, Detective Lee pushed the door open. His expression was a bit strange. “Stella, you guessed right.” “The hospital just sent word. The stomach pumping results show absolutely no toxins, only sports drink and effervescent tablet residue.” “Chloe confessed too. She said this was a ‘prank live stream’ orchestrated by Arthur and Leo.” Detective Lee sighed and slammed the statement file onto the table. “Are these rich people out of their damn minds?” “Filing a false police report, wasting police resources, disturbing the peace!” “What were they trying to accomplish?” I lowered my eyes, hiding the coldness within. “They wanted to domesticate me.” Detective Lee frowned. “What do you mean?” I didn’t explain. Because it was too sickening. Arthur Sterling: CEO of the Sterling Group, a control freak psychopath. Leo Vance: A washed-up idol desperate for attention, a classic moocher. Chloe: Arthur’s “adopted” younger sister, Leo’s rumored girlfriend, and my sworn enemy. These three got together and staged this entire “kidnapping” farce. With only one goal in mind: To force me to choose between my “new love” and my “old flame” in front of the entire internet. No matter who I chose, I would carry a moral burden for the rest of my life. If I chose Arthur, Leo would “die,” and I would feel guilty forever, submitting entirely to Arthur as a form of atonement. If I chose Leo, Arthur would “die,” and I would be branded a traitor to my fiancé. The Sterling family would hold that over me, and I would be entirely at their mercy just to keep Leo safe. It was a meticulously designed scam. They were betting on my so-called “healer’s compassion” and my reputation for being blindly devoted to love. What a pity. They didn’t know that the Stella Hayes who was blinded by love had died last night. “Am I free to go?” I stood up and smoothed out my skirt. Detective Lee nodded, his expression complex. “Although no actual harm was done, your action of pouring out the ‘antidote’ is morally…” “Detective Lee.” I cut him off. “Morals are meant to constrain human beings.” “When dealing with animals, there’s no need for morals.” Stepping out of the precinct’s front doors. Countless camera flashes instantly engulfed me. The reporters were like sharks smelling blood. “Ms. Hayes! We heard Mr. Sterling and Mr. Vance are out of danger. Do you have anything to say?” “Ms. Hayes, what were you thinking when you poured out the antidote?” “Ms. Hayes, did you know all along that it was a prank?” I stopped in my tracks. I took off my sunglasses and stared directly into the lens of the camera right in front of me. It belonged to a media outlet owned by the Sterling Group. I knew that Arthur was definitely lying in a VIP hospital bed right now, watching this live broadcast. I looked at the camera and flashed the brightest, most radiant smile. “Want to know why I poured out the antidote?” The entire crowd instantly fell silent. I parted my red lips: “Because I found them disgusting.” Chapter 4 Returning to the hospital, I didn’t go to the patient ward; I went straight back to my office. On my desk lay a report printed just yesterday. Six Weeks Pregnant. I had found this in Arthur’s suit pocket yesterday. The name on it was Chloe. And underneath that report was a Share Transfer Agreement. The beneficiary was Leo Vance. So that was it. It turned out Arthur had knocked Chloe up a long time ago, and the upcoming wedding was just a smokescreen. He needed the Hayes family’s medical resources and connections to solidify his position within his company. And Leo, the first love who kept saying he still loved me and regretted the past, had actually been bought off by Arthur long ago. They partnered up to stage this play, not just to psychologically break me. But to completely destroy my reputation on the eve of the wedding. What right would a “cold-blooded,” “heartless” female doctor who “refused to save a dying man” have to run the Hayes family’s private hospital? When that time came, Arthur could legitimately take over everything I owned, claiming I was “mentally unstable.” He might even lock me up in a psychiatric ward. What a brilliant calculation. If it weren’t for an accidental “eavesdropping” session yesterday, I might have actually fallen for it. Yesterday afternoon, I was taking a nap in the lounge outside Arthur’s office. The soundproofing wasn’t great. I overheard his conversation with Leo. “Tomorrow’s live stream has to look real. Make sure Chloe goes hard.” “As long as Stella makes a choice—it doesn’t matter who she chooses—she’ll never be able to bounce back for the rest of her life.” “Once it’s done, I’ll give you five percent of the shares in the Hayes family hospital.” In that moment. My world collapsed. The fiancé I had loved for three years, and the first love I had pined for for seven years. Were discussing how to eat my flesh and drink my blood. I lay in the lounge, my body freezing cold, my fingernails digging into my palms until they bled. But I didn’t storm out to confront them. I simply got up quietly, wiped my tears, and left the Sterling Group building. I knew that crying and screaming were useless. In the adult world, it’s only about winning and losing. Since you want to put on a play, I’ll act right along with you. Since you want to see me make a choice, I’ll just flip the whole table. The office door was shoved violently open. Arthur stood in the doorway in a hospital gown, his face dark as a thundercloud. Behind him trailed a very guilty-looking Leo. “Stella! What kind of nonsense were you spouting to the media just now?!” Arthur strode over, raising his hand to strike me. I didn’t flinch. But a scalpel suddenly appeared in my hand. A flash of cold steel. Arthur’s hand froze in mid-air, the tip of the blade a mere centimeter away. “Mr. Sterling, if you don’t want that hand anymore, you can donate it to someone in need.” I twirled the scalpel, my eyes cold and indifferent. Arthur’s chest heaved with rage. “You knew all along, didn’t you? You knew it was fake!” “If you knew it was fake, why did you pour out the antidote?! You wanted to make us look like fools in front of the entire internet!” Leo chimed in too, looking utterly heartbroken. “Stella, even if it was a joke, you were too ruthless. Arthur and I were genuinely terrified at the time. What if Chloe had grabbed the wrong bottles?” Listen to this. This is men for you. They clearly set a trap to destroy me, but now they’re blaming me for being too ruthless. “A joke?” I let out a soft laugh, stood up, and advanced on them step by step. “Arthur, Chloe being six weeks pregnant… is that a joke?” Arthur’s pupils contracted sharply. “Leo, that fifty-million-dollar share transfer agreement… is that a joke?” Leo’s face instantly went ashen. The room fell into dead silence. I looked at their terrified expressions, feeling an unspeakable sense of vindication. “Did you think I poured out the antidote just to make you look bad?” I shook my head, pulling a cold smirk. “No.” “I poured out the antidote because…” “I added a little something extra to that glucose solution.” Arthur and Leo’s eyes widened simultaneously. “What did you say?” I pointed to the trash can. “The real antidote—I really did pour it out.” “But the stuff Chloe forced down your throats wasn’t just a sports drink.” “It was a slow-acting neurotoxin that I specially prepared for you.” “This time, it’s real.” Chapter 5 “You’re lying!” Arthur stumbled backward, slamming into the doorframe. “The police said it was just a sports drink! The stomach pumping report came back totally normal!” Despite his tough talk, fine beads of cold sweat were already forming on his forehead. As a doctor, I knew exactly how to shatter someone’s psychological defenses. “Mr. Sterling, did you forget who runs the pathology lab at the Hayes family hospital?” I casually sat back down in my chair, twirling a pen in my fingers. “Besides, standard toxicology screens can’t detect this specific toxin.” “It stays dormant in your nervous system and only begins to take effect after twenty-four hours.” “The initial symptoms are… auditory hallucinations, paranoia, and irritability.” I looked at Arthur with a half-smile. “Right now, do you feel a faint buzzing sound in your ears?” Arthur instinctively clapped his hands over his ears, his face deathly pale. There was no buzzing. It was just the physiological response of a person under extreme stress. Also known as paranoia creating its own demons. Leo, meanwhile, was so terrified his legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees with a thud. “Stella! Stella, I was wrong! Arthur forced me to do it!” “I love you! I really just did it for the money… no, I did it for our future!” “Please, give me the antidote! I don’t want to die!” Watching the man I once loved begging like a dog. I felt absolutely nothing. Only disgust. “Leo, your acting skills have really gone downhill.” I looked at him coldly. “Back when you played the devoted lover, at least you managed to fool me. Now, playing the terrified coward? Too over the top.” Arthur kicked Leo aside and pointed at me, roaring: “Stella! This is a crime! I’m calling the police! I’m going to have you thrown in jail!” “Go ahead.” I spread my hands. “The police just left. Do you want me to call Detective Lee back for you?” “When he gets here, I’ll just say I’m suffering from delusions and was talking nonsense.” “After all, the lab reports are clean, and you have no proof I poisoned you.” “However…” I shifted my tone, my eyes turning dark. “When the toxin takes effect, I’m the only one with the antidote.” “Arthur, are you willing to bet your life on that?” Arthur froze. He wasn’t. The richer people are, the more terrified they are of dying. Especially a crown prince like him, about to inherit a massive empire, with an illegitimate child on the way. He stared at me, the fury in his eyes slowly morphing into raw fear. “What exactly do you want?” He asked through gritted teeth. I pulled a document from my drawer and tossed it onto the desk. “It’s simple.” “Sign it.” Arthur picked up the document, took one look, and his eyes widened. “A share transfer agreement? You want ten percent of the Sterling Group?!” “You’re insane! That’s impossible!” “Then wait to die.” I lowered my head and started reviewing patient charts, ignoring him. “Show them out.” Arthur’s hand shook as he held the document. Ten percent of the shares—that was half his life. But if he didn’t sign, it would be his whole life. “Stella, you’ll regret this.” Arthur spat the threat viciously, turned on his heel, and stormed out. Leo scrambled to his feet and stumbled after him. “Arthur! Arthur, wait for me! What about me?” Watching their pathetic retreat. I picked up my phone and made a call. “Hello, Dr. Wang in Pathology?” “The stomach fluid samples from Arthur Sterling and Leo Vance… have they been destroyed?” “Excellent. Make sure there’s no trace left.” I hung up the phone. I looked out the window at the setting sun, the sky a bloody crimson. Actually, I hadn’t poisoned them at all. The liquid in Chloe’s bottles really was just a sports drink. And what I poured down the drain really was just glucose. The so-called “slow-acting neurotoxin” was just a story I made up to scare them. But for these two men, who already had guilty consciences. Fear was the most lethal poison of all. For the next twenty-four hours. I was going to let them experience what “a fate worse than death” truly meant.

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【Chapter 1】 In the fifth year of my secret relationship with Hollywood A-lister Caleb Thorne, he still refused to acknowledge my existence. Even when my wealthy family pressured me to settle down and marry, he didn’t care in the slightest. Even when I nearly died in a horrific car crash trying to dodge the paparazzi for him, all I got was a flippant text. “Be careful, babe. We were almost caught.” Until the day we were secretly photographed, and the pictures rocketed to the top of TMZ and Twitter. I thought he was finally going to explain something. Instead, I got a public declaration of his relationship with someone else. “My girl is crying her eyes out, so I have to clear the air. I don’t really know the woman in those photos. Please leave us alone.” His tweet caused a massive earthquake online. Instantly, I was shoved into the eye of a brutal storm. “Forcing the actual girlfriend to come out and defend her territory? Have some shame!” “Where did this desperate groupie come from trying to steal our man’s spotlight? Go rot!” On that day, I was firmly nailed to the pillar of public humiliation. And I finally understood. Going public was never the hard part. I just wasn’t worthy of it. …… It was a brilliant, sunny day outside, but my body shivered with cold. The vicious comments kept refreshing on my screen in an endless stream. “You can tell she just threw herself at him for money. Looks like a cheap escort straight out of a VIP club.” “Exactly. It’s not like Caleb is blind. Why would he ever like trash like her?” “Caleb is vacationing in Europe with Valerie right now. This woman must be dying of jealousy!” Looking at the paparazzi photos of the two of them strolling hand-in-hand down a street in Milan, a sarcastic laugh escaped my lips. Just one minute ago, Caleb was still lying to me. “I’m on set shooting right now. Wait until I get back, and we’ll talk.” For a fleeting second, a spark of foolish hope had flared in my chest. I thought maybe he really had his reasons. But now, this photo felt like a physical slap across the face. It woke me up completely. I was the one degrading myself. By the time Caleb finally returned, it was the evening of the third day. Without a single word of explanation, he tossed his luggage aside and leaned down, trying to kiss me. My lungs instantly caught fire. He was always like this. Coming and going exactly as he pleased. I was just a convenient rest stop for when he was tired or bored. And who knew how many rest stops he had scattered around? Smack. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. The sharp sound echoed through the quiet apartment. Caleb froze. A flicker of deep impatience finally surfaced on his devastatingly handsome face. He couldn’t help but scoff. “I always thought you understood.” His tone was so nonchalant it made my chest physically ache. My mind buzzed. “Understood what?” I asked, my voice trembling. Caleb looked up at me, a trace of pity in his eyes. “I can’t be with just one person, Madeline. And I can never openly claim you. You’re so smart… how do you not get that?” Seeing my deathly pale face, he paused for a second, but kept going anyway. “Besides, isn’t this fine? We’re still young. Why do we have to be tied down? I really haven’t played enough yet.” In an instant, a deafening ringing filled my ears. Tears blurred my vision. Even though I had already decided to end things, hearing his shameless, unapologetic confession still made me feel like I was losing my mind. Caleb watched me quietly for two seconds, growing visibly annoyed. Just as he reached out to touch me, I suddenly calmed down. My voice was dead and completely detached. “You’re young. I’m not young anymore.” Caleb’s hand froze in mid-air. A fracture appeared on his flawless face. “What… what do you mean?” I nudged his luggage back toward him with my foot. “I think you understand,” I said with absolute clarity. Staring into Caleb’s violently trembling pupils, I enunciated every word. “I am ending this relationship.” This sickening, desperate, ugly relationship. Caleb stormed out in a furious rage, but he still didn’t take his luggage. 【Chapter 2】 I didn’t know what kind of power play he thought that was, but my stance was clear. No one could change my mind. Just like all those years ago, when I brought him home without a moment’s hesitation. I was three years older than Caleb. When I was twelve, I followed my grandfather to a poverty-stricken town in rural Appalachia for a charity outreach program. Caleb crashed right in front of our SUV. He had been beaten by his foster father until he was rolling in the dirt. His back was covered in bloody welts, his skin torn. But he didn’t shed a single tear. He just looked up at me, his eyes momentarily dazed. Then, finding strength from somewhere deep inside, he broke free from the man, scrambled into our car, and clung to me like a wounded, terrified animal. “Sister, please take me away. I’ll do anything. Please save me.” Maybe it was the desperate, stubborn fire in the boy’s eyes. Or maybe it was the way his hands shook violently as he held onto me. But I, the notoriously obedient daughter, fought off the pressure from every adult in the room and brought him back to Los Angeles. From that day on, he became a drowning vine, tightly and desperately wrapped around me. Just as I was sinking into the past, my phone rang, pulling me back to reality. I knew it was my family, calling to pressure me about marriage again. Only this time, I didn’t hang up. I answered and said directly: “Mom, I agree to the family merger. You can start the arrangements.” The world finally fell quiet. Early the next morning, I drove to Caleb’s entertainment agency to hand in my resignation. But when I pushed open his office door, a woman was sitting on his lap. It was his public girlfriend, Valerie Sinclair. The room went dead silent. Everyone inside turned to look at me simultaneously. Every member of Caleb’s inner circle knew exactly what our relationship was. I felt a flash of humiliation—not out of jealousy, but because I had been reduced to the role of “the other woman.” I took a deep breath, dropped my resignation letter onto his desk, and turned to leave. Behind me, I heard the sharp crack of shattering porcelain, as if someone had crushed a coffee mug with their bare hands. I didn’t stop walking. But just as I reached the door, a figure darted out and grabbed my arm. Valerie crossed her arms and looked me up and down for a few seconds. Suddenly, she smiled. “Why do you insist on making him unhappy? What good does it do you?” When I didn’t answer, she leaned in close, giggling maliciously. “Honestly, I’m totally fine with a threesome… It’s not like he hasn’t done it before…” Ignoring my rapidly paling face, she pulled out her phone and hit play on a video. Instantly, a tangle of naked limbs pierced my eyes like a cluster of needles. They were rolling around in my bed. The graphic, uninhibited moans pierced through the silence of the room. Bang! Caleb kicked his office door open and charged out. His usually composed face was twisted in absolute fury. He snatched the phone from Valerie’s hand and smashed it violently into the floorboards. “Why the fuck would you show her that?!” Valerie froze, and when she finally snapped out of it, her eyes turned red. “I was doing this for you! Besides, she needs a reality check! Look at her! Who does she think she is trying to monopolize you? She doesn’t even deserve you!” “Shut up!” Caleb shoved her roughly aside, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me into his private office. He stared down at me, a flicker of panic hiding in his dark eyes. “It was just that one time. I was drunk.” “What does that have to do with me?” Caleb’s head snapped up. A hint of hateful resentment bled into his voice. “Do you really have to treat me like this? I just explained it to you! What more do you want?!” What more did I want? My eyes instantly went bloodshot. The images from that video were still flashing in my brain, twisting like a serrated knife. This wasn’t the first time. The very first time a woman had sent me photos of them in bed together, Caleb had been terrified. “Sister, I was asleep! She crawled under the covers herself, and I thought it was you! I swear!” Terrified that I would abandon him, he followed me around with red eyes for days. I was so deeply nauseated I couldn’t eat for three days. To prove his absolute loyalty, he went out and tattooed my name right on his V-line. “Sister, I will always be your loyal dog.” Looking at his devoted, desperate eyes back then, I eventually chose to forgive him. His suppressed emotions had broken like a dam. He hugged me, kissing me frantically, making endless promises. I was so naive back then. I actually believed he would change. But reality slapped me in the face, over and over again. Tolerate it once, and there will be a next time. The bottom line gets pushed lower and lower, until you look in the mirror and feel nothing but disgust for yourself. Maybe my undisguised revulsion stung him. Panic, helplessness, and finally, rage flashed through Caleb’s eyes. He stalked toward me, moving fast. “Madeline, you are really starting to piss me off.” He tried to force a kiss on me—his go-to rogue tactic after countless fights in the past. Only this time, I didn’t let him have his way. Crash. Caleb slumped to the floor, clutching his forehead as dark red blood seeped through his fingers. He looked at me in absolute disbelief. “You actually hit me!” My hand, still gripping the heavy glass paperweight, was trembling slightly. I ignored his words, turned around, and walked out the door. Behind me, I heard a low, wounded whimper. Half-rage, half-sob. 【Chapter 3】 I thought it was finally over. But that same paparazzo released even more photos of us. Holding hands, hugging, kissing—close-ups from every possible angle. Instantly, #CalebThorneLiar rocketed to the top of the trending charts. His haters and casual onlookers swarmed his social media accounts, raining down an avalanche of insults and vitriol. I only found out about the fallout while I was being driven home by my arranged match, Nathaniel Reed. My apartment was pitch black. The exact second I flipped the light switch, a hand clamped around my throat and slammed me against the wall. The glaring lights and the blunt force trauma left me dazed for a few seconds. When I finally opened my eyes, Caleb was staring at me, his eyes bloodshot and unhinged. “Madeline. You paid the paparazzi to release those photos just to force me to claim you?” My brain stalled. When I finally processed his words, a cold laugh escaped my throat. “What kind of garbage are you spewing? I would never do something like that.” “Drop the act! Valerie saw you meeting with the paparazzi!” Caleb’s face was a mask of iron, the grip around my throat tightening. He watched me wince in pain, yet didn’t show a single ounce of remorse. “What do you get out of destroying me?! Valerie was right. You are incredibly selfish and heartless! You don’t care about me at all. Everything you do is just to satisfy your own twisted—” Mid-sentence, Caleb’s face froze. His eyes locked onto the oversized men’s jacket draped over my shoulders. Pure, unadulterated hatred flared in his eyes. “Whose jacket is this?! Who were you out with?! You found a new sugar daddy that fast?! Madeline, you’re a fucking whore!” His voice shook violently. He ripped the jacket off my shoulders, threw it onto the floor, and started violently stomping on it. Like the jacket had murdered his family. I watched him with ice-cold eyes, utterly disgusted by his pathetic display. “Caleb, who I spend my time with has nothing to do with you. And whoever you date has nothing to do with me. Now get the hell out of my house!” Caleb’s pupils shook, his cheek twitching as if he was vibrating with sheer rage. “Madeline, you’re doing this to punish me, aren’t you?! Just because I wouldn’t take you public?!” I was sick to my stomach. I didn’t want to hear another word of his delusional ranting, and I wanted zero ties to him. I bypassed him and immediately called the building’s security. Caleb smiled, but his eyes were filled with venom. “You’re really something.” That very night, Caleb logged onto X and posted an official response. “That woman is an older sister who sponsored me when I was young. I apologize for lying to everyone. We did have a brief history, but it’s entirely in the past. Certain things happened, and I really don’t want to dig up old wounds. I apologize again and have no intention of taking up public resources.” His wording was masterful, leaving just enough to the imagination while directing all the crosshairs directly at me. His fans instantly flooded the comments with pity. “What does he mean? Did this psycho bitch use her money to blackmail him into dating her? That is disgusting!” “Omg, I have a wild theory. Is this woman some rich sugar mommy who preys on young actors to satisfy her sick fantasies?” “Ahhhh, poor Caleb! My god, that woman deserves to rot. Has anyone doxxed her yet?” In the blink of an eye, I was thrown right back into the center of a raging inferno. A few hours later, my personal information, address, and phone number were plastered all over the internet. My mother almost had a heart attack from the stress. My father was frantically calling in favors to scrub the internet while ordering me to come back to the family estate immediately. My head was spinning. I couldn’t believe Caleb was capable of something this ruthless. I was so dizzy and overwhelmed that when I stepped out of my apartment building, I completely failed to notice the metal bat swinging toward my head. Crack! An explosion of white-hot pain erupted in the back of my skull. I hit the pavement hard. A young woman stood over me, her eyes burning with manic hatred. “You bitch! You ruined my idol’s life! Go to hell!” She raised the baseball bat high above her head, aiming straight for my skull again. My heart hammered against my ribs. I couldn’t move a muscle. Just as a wave of absolute despair washed over me… Thud. Nathaniel Reed materialized out of nowhere, grabbing the bat mid-swing and violently tackling the crazed fan to the concrete. The girl let out a shrill scream. She scrambled to her feet, shot me one last murderous glare, and sprinted off into the night. Nathaniel’s face was terrifyingly grim. He quickly assessed my bleeding head wound and immediately dialed 911.

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