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It was the seventh year of my marriage to Ethan when his first love, Celeste Dubois, returned to the country. My mother was left in a vegetative state after Celeste’s botched surgery, and my brother, Dylan, was thrown into prison by Ethan himself for trying to seek justice for Mom. When I called the police, Ethan locked me up at home. He forced me to kneel and apologize to Celeste. After stripping me of all my dignity and destroying my family, Ethan said coldly, “Celeste is the woman I vowed to protect for life. The Miller family owes her, and you’ll never be able to repay that debt.” Heartbroken, I jumped into the sea. Three years later, I returned to the top as Shirley. When he knelt in a pool of blood, begging me to come back, I stepped coldly over his hand. “Ethan, your affection and your life are both too dirty for me to stomach. Get lost. Don’t ever show your face to me again.” Avery’s POV A cold, late-autumn rain, mixed with hail, lashed against the gray steps of the New York Police Department. I was drenched, clutching a detention notice tightly in my hand. The edges of the paper were soft and pulpy from the rain, but the bold sentences on it were still glaring: “Suspected of forging evidence, commercial extortion.” The person detained was my brother, Dylan Miller, a renowned lawyer in New York. And the one who had personally handed over the damning evidence to the police was my husband of seven years, Ethan Thorne, CEO of Thorne Group. I don’t know how I drove to Thorne Group headquarters. As I pushed open the heavy door to the CEO’s office on the top floor, even my breath was trembling. The sprawling office was warm. Ethan sat on a wide leather sofa, head bowed, carefully wiping a faint red mark on Celeste’s wrist with a cotton swab. His movements were so gentle, his gaze so soft. A tenderness I had only dared to dream of in these past seven years. Hearing the sound, Ethan looked up. Seeing me, soaked and disheveled, his brow furrowed, and he immediately shielded Celeste behind him. “What are you doing here?” His voice was as cold as ice. I slammed the detention notice onto the coffee table, my voice hoarse. “Ethan, why was Dylan arrested? What exactly have you done?!” Ethan’s face remained calm. He pulled out a wet wipe and slowly cleaned his hands. “Dylan fabricated evidence of Celeste’s medical malpractice for extortion, involving a huge sum. I’m simply a law-abiding citizen cooperating with the police investigation.” “Medical malpractice?” I was so furious I laughed. “My mom is still lying unconscious in the ICU! Celeste, trying to prove her skill, performed bypass surgery with one hand, leading to massive hemorrhage. That’s a fact witnessed by everyone in the operating room! My brother was just following legal procedures to sue her. How dare you say he’s extorting her?!” Celeste, hiding behind Ethan, trembled, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes. “Ethan, I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault… If I hadn’t returned, Avery wouldn’t hate me so much, and Dylan wouldn’t have turned to crime…” “Shut up!” I cut her off. “Avery!” Ethan abruptly stood up, his imposing height casting me into shadow. “How long are you going to keep this up? Celeste is a genius with a scalpel; her hands are meant to save lives, they must never be stained. Dylan was intent on ruining her career, so I merely made him see reason.” He said it as if ruining a top lawyer’s entire future was a trivial matter, all to protect the woman he loved. I felt a chill spread through me. Seven years. I had stood by him as he rose from an overlooked heir of the Thorne family to his current position. I thought I was an indispensable wife in his life, but the moment Celeste returned, I became a joke, something to be sacrificed at any moment. Ethan picked up a document from his desk and handed it to me. “Sign this.” I looked down. It was a public statement. The statement required me, as a family member, to admit that my mother’s vegetative state was a normal surgical risk, and to accuse Dylan of maliciously slandering Celeste for money. “I won’t sign.” I glared at him. “Ethan, you can forget about me trading Dylan’s life for her career!” Ethan wasn’t surprised by my refusal. He glanced at his wrist, his tone flat. “Ten minutes ago, I already notified the hospital to stop all your mother’s specialized medication and life support.” My heart felt as if it had been brutally crushed by an invisible hand. “Are you insane?! That’s a human life!” “Sign the papers, record an apology video, and your mom will live, and Dylan can get out of prison sooner.” Ethan looked at me coldly, without a trace of warmth in his eyes. “A vegetable, or dead. You choose.” I trembled all over, clear tears finally streaming from my eyes. I looked at this man I had loved for seven years and found him terrifyingly unfamiliar. “Ethan, did you ever love me?” Ethan’s expression was cold. “Avery, stop being dramatic. Celeste is the woman I swore to protect for life. Just behave, and once this is over, we can go back to how things were.” Back to how things were? I closed my eyes in despair. I picked up the pen, and with a trembling hand, I signed my name on the statement that betrayed my soul and my family.

Avery’s POV After signing, I rushed like a madwoman to Thorne’s private hospital. Pushing open the familiar VIP ward door, I found it empty. My mind went blank. I grabbed a passing nurse and demanded sharply, “Where’s my mom?!” The nurse dared not look me in the eye. “Your mother… was transferred to a general ward.” I stumbled toward the general ward section. In the most crowded, noisiest eight-person ward at the end of the corridor, I saw my mother. Gone were the premium private nursing and expensive life support system, replaced by only the faint beeping of a basic ventilator. My mother’s already pale face now looked even more gaunt, as if she could stop breathing at any moment. “Who allowed you to transfer her?!” I burst into the doctor’s office, my eyes red, and confronted the doctor. The doctor said, “Mrs. Thorne, this was Mr. Thorne’s personal order. He said… the Miller family’s current financial situation isn’t suitable for occupying VIP medical resources.” I was stunned. Just then, a pair of high heels clicked down the hallway. Ethan, with his arm around Celeste’s shoulders, approached, surrounded by a group of bodyguards. Celeste wore a pristine white designer trench coat, her face looking even more delicate than a patient in a hospital bed. She walked up to me and said, “Avery, don’t blame Ethan. It’s my fault. I’ve been suffering from insomnia recently because of online rumors, and my mental state is very poor. Ethan just wanted me to rest quietly, so he cleared out the best VIP ward for me.” To allow Celeste to rest, he kicked my mother, who was in a vegetative state, into a noisy general ward? I was so angry I laughed, and violently raised my hand, but Ethan caught my wrist in mid-air, holding it tightly. “Avery, just try to lay a hand on her!” Ethan’s voice was as sharp as a knife, the force in his grip almost crushing my bones. Despite the intense pain, I stubbornly didn’t make a sound. I stared fixedly at Ethan. “Ethan, I’ve signed the papers as you demanded, why are you still doing this to my mom?!” Ethan forcefully flung my hand away, pulling Celeste into his arms, and looked at me coldly. “Signing was what you should have done to save your brother. But you yelled at Celeste in the office just now, and you scared her. Avery, that arrogant temper of yours really needs to be reined in.” “I’m arrogant?” I found it utterly absurd. “She put my mom in this state, and I can’t even raise my voice?” “No one wants a surgical accident to happen!” Ethan impatiently cut me off. “Celeste is already very remorseful, what more do you want?” He pointed to the ward door, his tone brooking no argument. “Now, apologize to Celeste. If she forgives you, I’ll immediately have your mom transferred back to the VIP ward and restore all her specialized medication.” I froze. Patients and doctors came and went in the hallway, all looking at us. I, once the proudest heir of the Miller family, Ethan’s wife, was now being asked to publicly apologize to the culprit who had ruined my family. Celeste, hiding behind Ethan, showed a barely perceptible smirk. “If you don’t apologize, your mom will be discharged from the hospital today,” Ethan said coldly. I turned my head and, through the glass window, looked at my mother in the hospital bed. I closed my eyes, swallowing all my tears and dignity. With a soft thud, I knelt straight down before Celeste. A murmur of discussion rose around us. I looked up, my eyes, once full of starlight, now held only despair. “I’m sorry, Celeste,” my voice was flat, like a body drained of its soul. “Please, forgive me. Please save my mom.”

Avery’s POV I don’t know how I left the hospital. When I dragged my utterly exhausted body back to the villa, the sight before me made my steps falter. The patch of lilies I had personally planted in the yard was gone, replaced by large beds of vibrant red roses. Celeste’s favorite flowers. Pushing open the door, the living room’s layout had been completely changed. The antique vase I’d bought at auction was carelessly tossed in a corner, and the sofa was covered with Celeste’s favorite plush toys. The master bedroom door on the second floor was open, and Celeste was standing in front of my vanity, wearing my custom-made silk robe and trying on my jewelry. Hearing footsteps, Celeste turned around and smiled faintly. “Avery, you’re back. Ethan said it wasn’t safe for me to live alone outside, so he asked me to move in for a while. You don’t mind, do you?” I looked at her blankly. “Take it off. Get out.” “Avery!” Ethan’s deep, angry voice came from the staircase. He strode over, pulling Celeste behind him, and looked at me furiously. “What’s that supposed to mean? Celeste’s address was leaked by one of your brother’s old clients, and people are harassing her daily. She can’t handle any stress right now, so living here is the safest option.” “This is my home,” my voice was calm. “This is my home too,” Ethan said coldly, looking at me. “If you’re uncomfortable, you can move to the guest room.” Making his wife move to the guest room to give the master bedroom to his mistress. I didn’t argue, didn’t make a scene. I turned and walked into the study, took a pre-drafted document from a drawer, walked up to Ethan, and handed it to him. “Since you’re so worried about her, then let’s get a divorce. You can marry her and turn this into her home.” Ethan looked down at the document, which read “Divorce Agreement,” and his face instantly darkened. He snatched the agreement, tore it to shreds in front of me, the pieces scattering like snowflakes on the floor. “Divorce? You wish!” Ethan grabbed my chin, his eyes sinister. “You think signing it will make everything disappear? Your brother ruined Celeste’s reputation, and your mom left Celeste with psychological trauma. Your family owes her, and you’ll never be able to repay that debt!” “Ethan, don’t you realize how absurd you sound?!” I was forced to look up, my eyes full of despair. “Who truly owes whom?!” “In New York, my word is law,” Ethan flung me away, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped his hands as if he had touched something filthy. “From today on, you are not allowed to go anywhere without my permission. Stay home and take good care of Celeste. Any problem she has will be your responsibility.” In the days that followed, I became a prisoner in that villa. Ethan confiscated my phone and ID, cutting off all my contact with the outside world. I was forced to watch Ethan try to make Celeste happy every day. Celeste said she wanted dessert from a Michelin-starred restaurant, and Ethan would postpone a multi-million-dollar meeting to personally drive and buy it. Celeste said she was afraid of the dark, so Ethan would stay in the master bedroom with her, while I, in the cold guest room, listened to the laughter from next door. I tried to use the landline to contact my former best friend, a New York Times reporter, hoping to expose everything. However, less than half an hour after the call connected, Ethan returned home in a rage. He threw a dismissal notice in my face. “That reporter friend of yours has been blacklisted from the entire industry for fabricating false news,” Ethan said, looking down at me, his eyes cruel. “Avery, I warned you not to resist me. The more you resist, the worse the fate of those around you will be.” I collapsed to the floor, staring at the dismissal notice, finally understanding that, in front of this man, even the right to breathe had been taken from me.

Avery’s POV A month later, New York’s annual Medical Charity Gala was held at the Intercontinental Hotel. This was the highest-profile event in the medical community. To completely clear Celeste’s name, Ethan not only heavily sponsored the entire gala but also specifically established an “Annual Medical Miracle Award” to present to Celeste. And the order he gave me was: as the representative of the “patient’s family,” I had to personally go on stage to present the award to Celeste. In the dressing room, I looked at myself in the mirror, weighing only seventy pounds, and coldly refused. “I won’t go. Just kill me.” Ethan stood behind me, dressed in a perfectly tailored black designer suit. He didn’t get angry; he simply pulled out a tablet and opened a live surveillance feed. On the screen, my mother lay in her hospital bed, a stranger in a white coat standing by her ventilator, holding a power plug. “Avery, I don’t want to force you.” Ethan’s long fingers gently caressed my cheek, his voice as soft as if he were whispering sweet nothings. “But Celeste needs this award to rebuild her confidence. Just go on stage, hand her the trophy, and smile. If you do that, your mother’s ventilator won’t be unplugged.” I stiffened all over, my stomach churning with nausea. I looked at the devilish man in the mirror, bit through my lip, tasting the strong metallic tang of blood. “Fine, I’ll present her the award.” The gala venue was opulently decorated. When the host announced me as the award presenter, the hall instantly fell silent. Everyone’s gaze, filled with curiosity, mockery, and pity, pierced through me. Who didn’t know that Ethan’s wife was now just a decoration, a wife in name only? Mr. Thorne had nearly driven his own wife’s mother to her death for his mistress, and now he was making his wife present an award to that mistress. This was truly trampling her dignity underfoot. I wore an extremely simple black gown, as if in mourning for someone. I walked onto the stage step by step, each one feeling like I was walking on knife blades. Celeste, wearing the starry-night gown Ethan had paid a high price for, stood confidently in the center of the stage. I took the trophy from the usher and walked up to Celeste. “Congratulations, Dr. Dubois,” my voice, amplified by the microphone, filled the room, utterly devoid of emotion. Celeste took the trophy, and as she embraced me, she whispered with a light laugh, in a voice only we two could hear, “Avery, look, if I want something, Ethan will crush your dignity and offer it to me. What do you have to fight me with?” I didn’t push her away; I just looked into the void ahead with my dead eyes and replied softly, “Yes, you won. This trophy is stained with my mom’s blood. Hold it tight, don’t have nightmares.” Celeste’s face subtly changed, but she quickly recovered her delicate, pitiful smile and delivered her acceptance speech to the audience, especially thanking Ethan for his companionship during her “lowest point.” Applause erupted from the crowd. After the award ceremony, I rushed backstage to the restroom and vomited furiously into the sink until only bitter bile came up. It was Ethan who handed me a tissue. He frowned, looking at my pathetic state. “Is it necessary to look so utterly devastated just for presenting an award? Celeste has been very generous about forgiving Dylan’s actions, what more do you want?” I didn’t take the tissue. I straightened up, turned on the faucet, and splashed water on my face, droplets running down my cheeks. I turned to look at Ethan. “Ethan, I truly regret not dying in that car accident seven years ago, instead of being saved by you.” Ethan reached for my hand, but I had already turned and walked out of the restroom without looking back.

Avery’s POV New York’s first heavy snow fell in the deep winter. In my third month of confinement in the villa, I received a call from the prison. “Miller family? Inmate Dylan had a serious conflict with another inmate and suffered a comminuted fracture in his right leg, compounded by a severe infection. The prison’s medical conditions are limited. He must be granted medical parole immediately, or he faces the risk of amputation. Please have a guarantor sign as soon as possible.” Ethan had grudgingly given me back my phone so I could receive hospital calls. Hearing this news, my mind went blank. I rushed out of the guest room without even putting on shoes. I sprinted to the study on the second floor and violently pushed open the door. Ethan was sitting in front of his computer, on a video conference with several doctors. “Ethan, please, save my brother!” I rushed to the desk, my voice piercing. “He needs medical parole, only you can sign for it, please let him out to get treatment for his leg!” Ethan unhappily covered his microphone and looked at me coldly. “Get out. Can’t you see I’m in an important meeting?” “My brother is going to be amputated!” I was so anxious I reached out to grab his sleeve. “If you just sign, I’ll do anything you ask, I’ll give you all the remaining shares of the Miller family, please…” “Avery!” Ethan violently flung my hand away, his eyes cold. “Your brother deserves what he gets! He caused trouble in there, why should I pull strings to get him out? Besides, Celeste burned her hand with a cookie the other day, causing a small blister, and I’m having Swiss specialists consult on it. I don’t have time for your brother.” I froze. I looked at the world-renowned dermatologists on the screen, then at Ethan’s cold, heartless face. My brother facing amputation was less important than a small blister on Celeste’s wrist? “Ethan, are you even human?!” I trembled, screaming in despair. “That’s a leg! He’s a lawyer, how will he live without a leg?!” “That’s his problem,” Ethan put his headphones back on, his tone indifferent. “Someone, take her back to her room. Don’t let her step out without my permission.” Two bodyguards walked in and forcibly dragged me out. I was locked in the guest room, frantically banging on the door and windows until my hands were bloody, until my throat was hoarse and I couldn’t make a sound. No one outside responded to my despair. Twenty-four hours later, the door finally opened. Ethan stood at the doorway, looking at me, curled up in a corner and covered in blood. His brow furrowed even deeper. “Stop making a scene,” he threw a phone in front of me. “The prison called.” I lunged like a madwoman, trembling as I pressed the answer button. On the other end of the line, the lawyer’s voice was heavy. “Ms. Miller, I’m sorry… because the optimal treatment window was missed, Mr. Miller’s right leg… has undergone amputation.” The phone clattered to the floor. I didn’t cry, didn’t make a scene. I just sat on the floor, staring blankly at the falling snow outside the window. Ethan suddenly walked over to me, trying to pick me up. “Avery, it’s just one leg, the Thorne family can support him. As long as you behave from now on…” “Don’t touch me.” My voice was soft, but it carried a chilling calmness. I slowly turned my head to look at Ethan. In those eyes, all the love, hope, and even hatred I had once felt for him, vanished completely at that moment. “Ethan, my brother’s leg, my mother’s life. I’ll remember it all.”

Avery’s POV The news of Dylan’s amputation utterly crushed me. I stopped resisting, stopped crying, and simply drifted through the villa like a ghost every day. Ethan thought I had finally become obedient, and his surveillance of me relaxed slightly. That afternoon, Ethan went to the company. Celeste, carrying a cup of black tea, leisurely walked into my guest room. Looking at me, staring blankly out the window, Celeste chuckled, her voice filled with triumph. “Avery, your brother is actually quite pathetic. The people who beat him up in prison? I arranged for them.” My eyes moved slightly, and I turned to look at her. Celeste approached, lowering her voice, her eyes malicious. “And your mom’s surgery. That bypass surgery was actually very simple, I could do it with my eyes closed. I just deliberately made my hand tremble. Who told your mom to always belittle me before, thinking I wasn’t good enough for Ethan? I just wanted to show her how her proud daughter would be trampled underfoot by me.” “Aren’t you afraid Ethan will find out?” My voice was low. “What if he knows?” Celeste laughed triumphantly. “He’ll just think I was wronged. Avery, don’t you understand? In Ethan’s heart, even if I committed murder, he’d hand me the knife. And you, even your breathing was a mistake.” Celeste finished speaking and left happily. What she didn’t know was that a miniature recording pen had been hidden in my wide sleeve all along. I had forced a maid, through a hunger strike, to secretly buy it for me. That evening, I seized the opportunity during the maids’ shift change and climbed down from the second-floor balcony using a drainpipe. My palms were scraped and bleeding, but I felt no pain. I ran wildly until I reached the nearest police station to the villa. “I want to report a crime! I want to accuse Celeste of attempted murder and hiring thugs to injure someone! This is the evidence!” I slammed the recording pen onto the reception desk, as if grasping at my last shred of hope. The police officer had just taken the recording pen when the police station door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Ethan walked in, his face dark. The atmosphere in the entire station instantly froze. “Mr. Thorne,” the receiving officer immediately stood up and greeted him respectfully, handing him the recording pen. “Ms. Miller says this is evidence for a report.” I lunged to snatch it. “Give it back! That’s my evidence!” Ethan pinned me tightly in one arm, while his other hand toyed with the recording pen. He didn’t even press play; he simply threw the recording pen on the ground and crushed it with his polished leather shoe. With a crunch, my heart shattered into a million pieces along with it. “Ethan! Why didn’t you even listen! She admitted it herself!” I screamed in collapse. “Listen to what? Your AI-generated fake recording?” Ethan’s eyes were cold, full of disappointment. “Avery, I thought your brother’s amputation might make you behave, but I didn’t expect you to be so unrepentant, using such disgusting methods to frame Celeste!” He forcibly dragged me out of the police station and pushed me into his car. Inside the car, Ethan grabbed my chin. His voice was incredibly cruel. “Since you love running off so much, I’ll completely cut off your hope. I’ve arranged for a medical charter plane to send your mom to a private sanatorium overseas tonight. You’ll never see her again without my permission.” I was shocked, looking at him in disbelief. Sending my mom overseas was equivalent to holding her hostage forever. Looking at Ethan’s cold face, I suddenly laughed, tears streaming down my face, my body shaking. I finally understood that in the game rules set by this man, I would never win. Since there was no way out, I could only choose death.

Avery’s POV The day my mother was forcibly sent overseas, I didn’t go to the airport. I was locked in the villa, quietly watching the sky outside the window. It was also that day, during a maid’s trash disposal break, that I managed to get an old phone and contacted Julian Knight. Julian was the CEO of a mysterious organization in New York, and a client Dylan had once fiercely defended in court. He owed my brother a favor. “Julian, please, do me a favor.” My voice was calm. “Intercept my mother’s medical transport overseas. Then, help me orchestrate a foolproof death.” Julian was silent for a moment, then replied with a single word: “Okay.” The plan was set for two weeks later, on Celeste’s birthday. To celebrate Celeste’s birthday, Ethan chartered a luxury cruise ship named “Star of the Ocean,” sailing it into international waters. He not only invited all the prominent figures in New York but also forced me to act as the event coordinator, serving Celeste throughout the evening. He wanted to use this method to announce Celeste’s status to everyone, to completely shatter my last shred of pride. On the cruise ship, the lights were dazzling. I wore an inconspicuous uniform, moving through the banquet hall, checking beverages and arranging the schedule. I did everything flawlessly, even wearing an impeccable smile. I knew Ethan was standing on the second-floor railing, glass in hand, watching me. At ten o’clock in the evening, the banquet reached its climax. Celeste, having had some drinks, walked onto the deck for fresh air. I happened to be passing by with a tray. Celeste looked at me and suddenly spoke. “Avery, what are you playing at?” Celeste stepped closer, lowering her voice in provocation. “Your mom is in my hands now, your brother is crippled, you’ll never beat me…” Before she finished speaking, Celeste suddenly stumbled backward, let out a scream, and fell into the shallow decorative pool next to the deck. “Celeste!” Ethan, who had rushed over at the sound of the scream, witnessed the scene. He didn’t hesitate, rushing over to pull a drenched Celeste out of the pool. Celeste, clinging to him, pointed at me and wailed, “Ethan, I just wanted to share a drink with Avery, and she suddenly pushed me…” Ethan’s head snapped towards me, his gaze like a knife. I stood my ground, still holding the tray, without offering a single explanation. Because I knew, explanations were useless. “Avery, you’re truly unrepentant!” Ethan was seething with rage. He ordered the bodyguards behind him, “Lock her in the cold storage in the ship’s hold! No one is to let her out without my command! If Celeste catches a cold, I’ll have your life!” The bodyguards stepped forward, roughly restraining my hands. I didn’t struggle. I gave Ethan a deep look, one devoid of resentment, anger, or anything but indifference. “Ethan, I wish you two a lifetime together.” I left him with that cryptic remark and turned to follow the bodyguards towards the dark hold. The cold storage in the hold was freezing. I was pushed inside, and the heavy iron door slammed shut behind me with a bang, locking me in. In the darkness, I didn’t shiver. I calmly walked to a ventilation shaft in the deepest part of the cold room. Soon after, the grate of the ventilation shaft was removed from the outside. Julian Knight’s men silently crept in, handing me a waterproof wetsuit and a waterproof bag. “Ms. Miller, the team to rescue your mother has succeeded; she is now safe. A speedboat is waiting for you in the blind spot on the starboard side of the cruise ship. There’s a storm tonight, it’s the perfect cover.” I nodded and quickly changed into the wetsuit. Before leaving, I took out the wedding ring I had worn for seven years from my pocket. Ethan had personally designed it and had Italian artisans customize it; our initials were engraved on the inner band. I handed the ring and my phone to Julian Knight’s men. “Place these on the edge of the deck.” Having done all this, I crawled out of the cruise ship through the ventilation duct and plunged into the dark, churning sea.

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The first time was my arranged marriage to billionaire Julian Maxwell. On the day of my prenatal appointment, I walked in on him having sex with a college student by the 23rd-floor window. He didn’t apologize. Instead, he threw me, sobbing, out the door. The second time, I married my childhood friend, Caleb Johnson, who’d pursued me for ten years. He didn’t mind that my ex-husband, Julian, harassed me every year. He didn’t mind that even after three years of marriage, I still couldn’t get pregnant. During sex, he’d bite my ear and whisper, “If you don’t want to have kids, then don’t. I have enough with just you.” But on our wedding anniversary, he suddenly brought home a strange woman and ordered the butler to throw my luggage out of the master bedroom. My voice trembled as I asked, “What do you mean?” He held a cigarette between his fingers, as if I’d said something hilarious. “Audrey, you’re just a toy Julian threw away. Now, I don’t want you either.” I quietly hid the pregnancy test stick in my hand.

The pregnancy test stick in my palm felt like it was on fire, repeatedly scorching me. I looked at him, not stubbornly demanding an answer like last time. Because the woman’s triumphant smirk and bulging belly explained everything. I picked up my bag, ready to leave. Caleb snuffed out his cigarette and blocked my path, a vengeful pleasure flickering in his eyes. “You still had lingering ties with Julian, and I never said a harsh word. You didn’t want to have kids with me because of him, and I didn’t blame you excessively.” “Now I have a child with someone else, and I’m not even asking you to raise it. Why are you acting like I’ve wronged you?” The smile on his lips widened, his tone growing more self-righteous. “We’re childhood sweethearts, Audrey. I’m just having an affair; it won’t threaten your position.” That familiar dull ache spread through my heart. He wasn’t wrong. I’d been through this; I had experience. So this time, I didn’t say much, just slapped him. “Caleb Johnson, you disgust me.” A collective gasp rippled through the room. The smile on Caleb’s face faded. He grabbed my hand, his eyes turning cold. “You have the nerve to call me disgusting? You’ve been married twice! Why should I be loyal to you?” The pregnancy test stick finally gave way under the pressure. Crack. It snapped in half, piercing my flesh. I didn’t feel the pain, but tears fell. Caleb’s eyes narrowed, a hint of panic flashing through them. He instinctively softened. “Alright, I promise you, once the baby is born, I’ll send her away.” Looking at that face I’d known for over a decade. I only felt a profound sense of unfamiliarity. He touched what was in my palm, freezing slightly. “What are you holding?” I shook him off and tossed the broken stick into the trash. My eyelids drooped, my voice barely a whisper. “It’s not important. Unwanted trash.” I was talking about the baby. I was also talking about myself, abandoned for the second time. Caleb furrowed his brow, about to ask again. But a cry of pain from behind him drew his attention. The woman, stroking her belly, slowly took off her mask. One look, and I was frozen stiff. She was the same college student Julian had pinned against the window, having sex with, three years ago. And she was also the underprivileged student I’d sponsored for years.

Three years. Chloe Miller was still so fresh, her skin like a peeled egg. Julian used to describe her that way. He said he couldn’t get enough of her. He said that even while sleeping in my bed, his heart and dreams were filled with her. My previous departure and acceptance. What I got in return was her getting involved with my second man again. And she’d gotten pregnant before me. By the look of her pregnancy, they’d been entangled for a long time. I bit my lip, my nails digging into my palm, and slowly walked over. “Audrey!” Chloe seemed to recognize me only then, grabbing my hand with feigned surprise and delight. “After we parted ways in New York, I never expected you’d return to San Francisco. We truly are fated, with such similar taste in men…” I didn’t speak, just raised my hand and swung. Slap! But it wasn’t Chloe who was hit. It was Caleb. He blocked her, clutching his face, his expression completely darkening. “Audrey, there’s a limit to how much you can act out! Two slaps are enough!” “She’s delicate, and she’s pregnant. Don’t take your anger out on her! You don’t want to relive that pathetic state from three years ago, do you?” My body trembled violently. It was like returning to that snowy night years ago. After I’d walked in on Julian’s affair. He dropped the pretense entirely, self-righteously questioning me. “Women have a three-month shelf life with me. You lasted a year—I already made an exception for you. What more do you want?” “Even if I loved you, I wouldn’t give up an entire forest for you.” To force me into submission, he used all his business tactics against me: freezing my bank accounts, seizing my cash, and then kicking me out like a stray dog. It was deep winter, snowing heavily. I was covered in bruises, pinned down in the snow by a group of homeless men. Blood stained the ground beneath me, my face was ashen. Caleb appeared out of nowhere, chasing them away. His eyes were bloodshot as he held me tightly in his arms. “Audrey, don’t be scared… I’ll protect you with my life.” It was truly laughable. Years ago, Chloe knelt at my feet, vowing to repay me with her life. Instead, she repaid me in bed. And Caleb promised to protect me with his life, only to fall for the same ungrateful wretch three years later. The snow wasn’t heavy. But it felt colder than that year. I wiped away the dampness from my eyes, picked up my phone, and didn’t spare a glance for the people behind me. I planned to make do in the guest room for the night. “Wait,” Chloe suddenly spoke up, then, in front of me, she wrapped her arms around Caleb’s neck. “Didn’t you say I could have the south-facing bedroom… and that it’s more exciting by the window?” Chloe looked at me, slowly completing the second half of her sentence. Caleb chuckled softly, met my gaze, picked her up, and carried her inside. That room was originally our honeymoon suite, with an open-lattice roof because Caleb said he wanted to watch the stars with me as we slept. Later, it was converted into a nursery. He said he hoped our future baby would wake up to the sun every day. But now. Before the baby was even born, this place, once filled with our love, was about to become their sordid love nest. The carpet, the sofa, the balcony outside. Caleb would be on top of this woman, just like Julian was. They would pant, they would scream… I closed my eyes. The thud of the door closing was like a knife, piercing my heart. I leaned against the wall, barely able to stand. But the tears could no longer be held back. In the dead silence, my phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number: “Audrey, don’t you want to know why Caleb cheated on you with Chloe?” “Tomorrow at nine AM, The Grand Conservatory. I’ll be waiting.” No need to guess. The person meeting me was my ex-husband, Julian Maxwell. The Grand Conservatory was where we first met. My mother’s last memento failed to sell at auction, leaving my eyes red with sadness. The next day, he knocked on my door with that very memento. For the next six months, a constant stream of gifts piled up like mountains in the Spencer’s living room. My father wanted to marry me off for a good price. Seeing he was New York’s wealthiest man, my father rejected the Johnson family’s offer and accepted Julian’s. As a Spencer heiress, I was accustomed to fame and pretense. I didn’t have many expectations for an arranged marriage. He was the one who shattered the ice with his clumsy love letters. At a yacht party, I accidentally fell overboard. He jumped in without hesitation to save me. I was unharmed afterward, but his legs were gnawed to the bone by fish. I’d be writhing in pain in bed during my period. He’d ignore billion-dollar deals, rush into the kitchen, scald his fingers till they looked like red radishes, all just to make me a soothing ginger tea. I was overjoyed, thinking I had found a good man. So I invited Chloe Miller, the underprivileged student I sponsored, to New York. Instead, they turned me into an abandoned wife, kicking me out. Thinking of these things. It no longer hurt. Just like seeing Julian again no longer made me sad. He was still the same, deep-eyed and handsome, just a little thinner. “There’s something I should tell you.”

Seeing me sit down, he pushed his phone across the table. “What?” Julian paused, as if hesitant, but finally, he unlocked the phone screen. I glanced at it, and my body began to tremble uncontrollably. In the video, Caleb was holding a cigarette, distributing money to a group of homeless men. Seeing my stunned expression, Julian adjusted his glasses. “When it comes to ruthlessness, I can’t compare to Caleb. I was the one who threw you out, but it was him who deliberately… arranged for those homeless men to assault you.” Boom! “To get you, he’d stop at nothing, willing to destroy you…” As he spoke. Distorted faces flooded my vision. Curses, sneers, the agonizing tearing pain, the embryo crushed into fragments. “Enough!” I screamed, rising to my feet, gasping for air. My face felt cold and numb. I didn’t know if it was for the pain of that night. Or for him, who, with one word — “deliberately” — destroyed three years of supposed love. I stared at him, grinding my teeth as I asked, “How much better are you than him?” “You’re telling me the truth just to prove that the man I desperately ran back to San Francisco for, isn’t as good as you…” My voice was hoarse. Letting the tears fall, one by one. “You want to prove that even if I left you, I wouldn’t find happiness, that you’ll always be my best option. But what’s the difference between you and him?” Julian was silent for a moment, then slowly began to speak. “I’m a bastard, I wronged you, but I never intended to replace you. But I heard, Mrs. Johnson is about to be replaced.” “He’s been hiding it from you, taking Chloe everywhere to socialize, even to the Johnson family estate. He even,” He paused, his sharp gaze fixed on me, “—even went to City Hall and got a marriage certificate. I only threw you out of the house. But he’s completely thrown you out of this marriage, Audrey. Come with me.” My nerves suddenly went numb. I felt nothing. Like the blankness that comes with extreme pain. I opened my mouth, about to refuse. My neck was suddenly grabbed with force, and an angry roar exploded in my ear. “Julian Maxwell! Dream on!” Caleb used deadly force. He nearly snapped my neck. “Aren’t you pathetic? You suffer some injustice with me, and you run to your old lover for comfort?” I didn’t speak, nor did I struggle. I just stared at him. Julian, however, stood up. “Let her go!” The next second, he was surrounded by a circle of bodyguards. Caleb sneered, a sinister look flashing across his face. “You have no say here! Don’t forget, she’s my wife now!” “You send her gifts every year and stay entangled with her. If you loved her so much, what were you doing back then?” Julian’s face went pale, his fists clenched tight. “Caleb Johnson, don’t get too smug. You’ll end up following in my footsteps!” With that, he turned to me. “Audrey, when you’ve thought it through, come find me.” Before Caleb could react, Julian pushed past him and stormed out. The air felt sticky. Silent and oppressive. I walked past Caleb and got into the car first. He followed behind me, urgently shouting, “You’re not allowed to go with him, not allowed to see him, and not allowed to contact him!” Seeing I didn’t respond, he suddenly went wild, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me forcefully. “I’m talking to you, do you hear me?!” “You’ve been divorced once, you don’t want a second divorce, do you? Back then, he abandoned you, and the Spencer family didn’t care either.” “Only I was good to you. Audrey, don’t be swayed by him. Just be a good Mrs. Johnson…” Good to me? Lying to me, trampling me, the kind of “good” that nearly killed me? I laughed softly. Caleb twisted my head towards him, his eyes filled with urgency. “What are you laughing at?” I refused to look at him, simply asking. “Besides Chloe, is there anything else you’ve been hiding from me?” Caleb’s body stiffened, and he unnaturally turned his head to look out the window. He didn’t admit it. But he admitted everything. I laughed louder and louder. And my heart ached more and more. My hoarse voice, in the confined space, was like a sharp blade. “Enough! Stop laughing!” Caleb raised his voice, reaching out to cover my mouth. Rage surged in my chest, almost tearing me apart. I grabbed his hand and bit him hard. I didn’t let go until I tasted blood in my throat. “Caleb Johnson! You’re an animal!” “You’ve always wanted to know who I love most, haven’t you? I’ll be honest, I love Julian Maxwell. I regret divorcing him.” “After all, no matter how much of a jerk he was, he didn’t cause me to lose a baby!” Caleb’s breathing grew heavy, his eyes glinting with violence. He grabbed my neck, his eyes bloodshot. “Do you think I don’t regret it?” “I, Caleb Johnson, could have any woman I wanted, but I ended up with a worn-out tramp whose baby died in her womb!” “Julian Maxwell’s taste is good. Chloe is not only more fun than you, but better in bed too!”

Thunder exploded overhead. The pain was so intense I could barely breathe. When I tried to speak again, he clamped my jaw shut. “What, you like biting now?” “Chloe was right, you and Julian really were having an affair!” Caleb’s furious face swam before my eyes, completely devoid of his former tenderness. Blood dripped from the corner of my mouth. I felt my vision blacken. Then I passed out. When I opened my eyes again. I was chained to the bed. Chloe sat by the bedside, smiling as she held a steaming bowl of medicine. “Caleb said you were too agitated, so he told you to drink this.” No one else was around, so she didn’t bother to pretend. She grabbed my hair, forcing my head back. I suppressed the pain, trembling as I demanded, “I treated you well, why would you…” Chloe pinched my chin, then suddenly burst into laughter. “Why? Because you’re stupid! You’re pathetic! You practically threw yourself at me!” “I hate rich people like you, with your high-and-mighty attitudes. And I especially hate hypocritical idiots like you! You like to give charity, don’t you? Well, I’m going to make sure you’re trampled into the dirt!” At that moment. The medicine was forced down my throat. The bitterness, mixed with a cramping pain in my lower abdomen, made me curl up and shiver. My nails dug into the wall, and I spoke with difficulty. “What… did you give me?” She maintained her sweet smile, slowly saying, “Medicine.” “An abortifacient. In just ten minutes, your second child will also turn into a bloody mess, flowing out of you.” Her loud laughter pierced my eardrums. I leaned back against the headboard, trembling. My eyes, however, found the dagger on the fruit plate. Chloe continued to gloat triumphantly. “In five more months, my baby will be born. And your baby will be a rotting piece of flesh, a failure. You couldn’t even protect your own child…” Chloe didn’t finish her last sentence. Because I had the dagger at her throat. My hand instinctively tightened, and blood seeped from her neck. She shrieked in pain. “Stop!” Caleb, who had rushed in, his face completely grim. It wasn’t concern, but rather the anger of someone certain of a certain outcome. “For Julian, you’d actually kill someone? Do you love him that much?” “Caleb, she’s gone mad for Julian! Save me, save the baby…” Chloe cried and pleaded, stroking her belly. “Don’t be scared, baby. Nothing will happen to you!” Listening to Caleb’s tender, reassuring tone. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Their baby would be fine… What about my baby? I instinctively looked down. The white bedding was stained crimson. My eyes burned with a searing ache, and the hand holding the knife began to waver. The next second, the knife was snatched away and thrown aside. Caleb instinctively frowned. “Audrey, where are you hurt?” Chloe quickly answered, “It’s… her period.” Caleb paused, a flicker of disappointment crossing his brows. I just watched him, carrying the murderer of our second child onto the soft couch, pouring her water, serving her tea, tucking her in. And beneath me, it grew colder and redder. I stumbled to the couch, slowly reaching out my hand. “Ah!” Chloe shrieked! Caleb instinctively turned with the knife. Pain truly makes one weak. When I was thirteen, I fell off a swing. He ended up being my human cushion. I was fine, but he broke three ribs. I cried and scolded him for not dodging. He smiled, looking both sheepish and wronged. “Silly, if I had dodged, what would have happened to you? I wouldn’t want you to feel even a tiny bit of pain…” Fifteen-year-old Caleb didn’t want me to feel any pain. Thirty-year-old Caleb, however, was cruel enough to stab me in the heart. Puff! The knife tip pierced through flesh. Blood splattered before my eyes. I watched Caleb’s pupils slowly widen. His eyes were bloodshot. His face ashen. My fingers trembled as I touched his utterly despairing face. “Why did you… have those homeless men harm me?” “Why did you kill my child… again and again?”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “384606”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

I loved Eric for ten years. But at his twenty-eighth birthday party, I watched him propose to his first love, Serena Miller. He mocked my foolish devotion, me, his foster sister. When Serena faked a fall down the stairs, Ethan slapped me, whipped me, and even locked me in the basement. He looked at me with disgust. “You’re too malicious. Who could ever love someone like you?” In the end, I died tragically in that cold, dark basement. Reborn, I knelt before my adoptive mother, declaring with absolute resolve, “I’m willing to marry Damian Vance.” Aurora POV At the twenty-eighth birthday party of billionaire heir, Eric Owens, he gave me the biggest “surprise” of my life. In front of all the powerful elites and media, he walked onto the stage, holding hands with his freshly returned first love, Serena Miller, and took the microphone. “I’d like to use today’s occasion to announce something. Starting tomorrow, the core ‘Stardust’ project of Owens Corp. will be fully managed by Serena as its chief director.” For a moment, the entire banquet hall fell into a deathly silence. Everyone’s eyes, sharp like needles, were directed straight at me. I, Aurora Hayes, was the orphan adopted by the Owens family, Eric’s adopted sister. The entire city knew that I loved Eric like a lunatic. And the ‘Stardust’ project? I’d spent three grueling years, countless sleepless nights, pushing myself to the point of collapse and even landing in the ER with severe stomach issues, just to secure that project for Owens Corp. It was my life’s blood. Now, with a single, dismissive sentence, he took what I’d literally fought for with my life and handed it to his beloved. Everyone held their breath, waiting for me to snap, waiting for me to charge the stage like a madwoman and claw at Serena’s hair, waiting to see the Owens family become a laughingstock. After all, I had once, to drive away women around Ethan, slit my wrists, jumped from a building, and even intentionally crashed my car into Serena’s. But I didn’t. I calmly placed my red wine glass down, took a pre-prepared document and a velvet box from my bag, and walked onto the stage step by step in my high heels. I pushed the documents and the box towards them. “Congratulations, and happy birthday. Here are all the core data and official seals for the ‘Stardust’ project. Serena, welcome back.” The velvet box opened, revealing a priceless Patek Philippe antique watch. I’d saved five years’ worth of earnings to bid on it. At the sound of “Serena,” Ethan’s hand, reaching for the documents, suddenly froze. He lifted his eyelids, his deep, sharp eyes staring intently at me, as if trying to drill a hole through my face. After scrutinizing me for a full thirty seconds, his brow furrowed, and he let out a cold laugh. “Aurora, what game are you playing now?” His tone was full of mockery and suspicion. I looked at the face I had been obsessed with for ten years. He had sword-like brows and star-like eyes, with a cold, rugged facial contour. I once loved this face so much that I would have given my life for it. But now, my heart felt like stagnant water. “No games.” I lowered my eyes. “I genuinely wish you both well. Since Serena is back, I’ll apply tomorrow to transfer to the struggling branch office out in the Pacific Northwest region, to make room.” The Pacific Northwest branch office was the most peripheral, most unprofitable part of the Owens empire, constantly losing money. Going there was like being exiled. Ethan’s brows furrowed deeply. He stared at me, seemingly searching for a trace of pretense on my face, but found nothing. A strange irritation inexplicably rose in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, Serena gently tugged his sleeve. “Ethan, is Aurora angry with me? If she doesn’t want to, I’d rather not take this project…” Her voice was weak and pitiful. Ethan immediately clasped her hand, giving me a cold glance. “If she wants to leave, no one can stop her. Aurora, remember your words. Tomorrow, you’ll go to the Pacific Northwest, and don’t you dare come back without my permission!” “Okay.” I turned and walked off the stage without hesitation, leaving the banquet hall. No one knew I had died once before. In my previous life, at this very birthday party, I had thrown a terrible fit, publicly slapping Serena. To avenge her, Ethan locked me in the basement for an entire month. Later, relying on my adoptive mother’s affection, I pestered him relentlessly, even resorted to drugging Ethan and forcing myself into his bed, practically blackmailing him into marrying me. But a forced marriage was hell. After we married, he treated me like an enemy, constantly suppressing me. He even leaked Owens family secrets to rivals to spite me for Serena, leading to Owens Corp.’s bankruptcy, my adoptive father jumping from a building, and my adoptive mother dying of depression. And I? I was kidnapped by Serena’s rabid fans and tortured to death. Before I died, I called Ethan a hundred times for help. When he finally answered, he only said one thing. “Aurora, what pity are you trying to evoke now? Just die.” Then he hung up. Living this life again, I finally understood: if he doesn’t love you, he just doesn’t love you. My unrequited love ruined the Owens family, and it ruined me. Back at the Owens family mansion, I walked straight to my adoptive mother’s room. I knelt straight down before her. My adoptive mother gasped in surprise, rushing to help me up. “Aurora, what are you doing? Did Ethan bully you again? I heard about him giving the project to Serena. Your mom will go scold him tomorrow!” I shook my head, looking deeply into her eyes. “The Owens family has raised me for ten years. It’s time I repaid their kindness. I hear the company’s cash flow has been cut off, and it desperately needs funding from the Vance family.” I looked up, my eyes filled with resolve. “I am willing to marry Damian of the Vance family.”

Aurora POV “You want to marry Damian?!” My adoptive mother cried out in shock, grabbing my shoulders, her voice trembling. “Aurora, have you lost your mind? Do you know what kind of person Damian is? He’s a cripple! Paralyzed from the waist down, notoriously violent, and rumored to have severe psychological issues! The Vance family found him three fiancées before, one went crazy, and two ended up in the hospital! If you marry him, will you even survive?” I didn’t struggle. I just clasped my mother’s hand back, my voice soft yet firm. “Rumors aren’t always true. Besides, in outsiders’ eyes, aren’t I also a crazy woman who would do anything to snatch my foster brother? Crazy matched with crazy? A perfect fit.” “But…” My mother’s tears fell. “I’ve always treated you like my own daughter. How can I bear to push you into a pit of fire?” “You know the Owens family’s situation better than I do. Ethan emptied the company’s liquid funds to invest in Serena’s movie. If the Vance family doesn’t step in, Owens Corp. won’t last another month.” I calmly analyzed the pros and cons. Seeing my mother’s face gradually turn pale, I added more weight to my argument. “Moreover, as long as I get married, Ethan can be at ease with Serena, no longer needing to guard against me. Owens Corp. is saved, and Ethan is free. It’s a win-win-win situation.” My mother looked at me for a long, long time, finally covering her face and sobbing. “My child… it’s Owens Corp. that has wronged you…” I gently patted her back, my heart filled with a sense of relief. “Please keep this from Ethan for now. I don’t want him to think I’m forcing him into this marriage. In half a month, the Vance family will send someone to pick me up, and we’ll go straight to register the marriage.” Half a month later. Coincidentally, that day was exactly when Eric planned to officially propose to Serena Miller. In my previous life, I ruined his proposal; in this life, I would use my marriage to give him the future he wanted. After comforting my mother, I returned to my room. Pushing open the door, the room was filled with traces of Eric. The walls were covered with photos I’d secretly taken of him; The closet was full of clothes he’d casually bought for me; on the desk was a lighter he’d carelessly tossed aside, which I’d cherished like a treasure. I looked at these things I once held so dear and felt a wave of nausea. I found several large black garbage bags and began to clean. Photos, ripped to shreds. Clothes, cut to pieces. Gifts, smashed. Piece by piece, I swept away ten years of infatuation and delusion into the trash. For three whole hours, I worked up a sweat, my fingers cut by the fragments, but looking at the empty room, I felt a lightness I had never known before. I took a shower and had just lain down to sleep. The door to my room was kicked open with a loud bang. I jolted awake and sat up. Eric stood in the doorway, radiating fury, clutching a tablet in his hand, his eyes as dark as if he intended murder. He strode to the bed and savagely threw the tablet at me. “Aurora, you’ve gotten quite bold, haven’t you? Acting all sweet and sensible on the surface, voluntarily handing over the project, but behind my back, you pull disgusting stunts like this!” I grunted from the impact, frowned, and picked up the tablet. On the screen was a breaking story, trending number one on Ins. #PureSerenaMiller_ExposedAsBullyAndDelinquent# #SerenaMiller_Plagiarism# #SerenaMiller_IntentionalHomewrecker# The exposé included detailed text and images: photos of Serena smoking and fighting in high school, color palettes proving her plagiarism of a new designer’s work, and even suspicious chat logs with several wealthy socialites. The comment section had exploded, full of people cursing Serena. I only glanced at it, then calmly tossed the tablet back onto the bed. “It wasn’t me.” “If not you, then who?!” Ethan grabbed my neck, pressing me against the headboard, the veins on his hand bulging. “In this city, besides you, that crazy woman, who else would relentlessly target Serena? Do you think if you ruin her reputation, I’ll give the project back to you? Dream on!” My breath was stolen, but I didn’t struggle. I just looked at him coldly. “Eric, I told you, it wasn’t me.” “Still trying to argue!” He gnashed his teeth. “In the past, you hired people to slander her, to spread fake news about her. When was it ever not you? Aurora, you’re truly sickeningly malicious!” Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door. Serena, her face streaked with tears, rushed in and threw her arms around Ethan’s arm. “Ethan, stop hitting her! Aurora couldn’t have meant it. She just cares too much about that project. It doesn’t matter if my reputation is ruined, as long as you two siblings don’t turn against each other because of me…” She sobbed, breathless and trembling. Ethan immediately released me, tenderly pulling her into his embrace. When he looked at me again, his eyes were as cold as ice. “Aurora, post on Ins immediately to clarify, publicly admit these were all fabricated by you, and publicly apologize to Serena!”

Aurora POV “Why should I?” I clutched my neck, where red marks had appeared, and coughed violently several times, looking up to meet Eric’s gaze directly. “I will never admit to something I didn’t do.” Ethan’s face instantly darkened to an extreme. He released Serena, stepping towards me, his voice squeezed out through clenched teeth. “Aurora, do you think I’ve indulged you too much? Serena just took over the project, and now with this scandal, partners are threatening to cancel contracts. If you don’t clarify, she’ll be utterly ruined!” “What does her ruin have to do with me?” I sneered. “She knows full well what kind of rotten things she’s done. Eric, protecting her so fiercely, aren’t you afraid you’re protecting trash?” A loud, resounding slap landed squarely on my face. My head snapped to the side, my ears rang, and I tasted blood at the corner of my mouth. The room fell into a deathly silence. Serena covered her mouth, feigning a look of terror. “Ethan, why did you hit her…?” Ethan’s hand hung in mid-air, trembling slightly. He seemed to not have expected to hit me so hard; a fleeting look of regret flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by coldness. “That’s the price for your sharp tongue.” He said coldly. “Aurora, I’m giving you one last chance. Are you going to post that clarification or not?” I slowly turned my head, wiped the blood from my lips with my thumb, and suddenly laughed. I laughed until tears almost streamed down my face. This was the man I had loved for ten years. For a woman full of lies, he condemned me without seeking the truth, even raising his hand to hit me. “Eric, didn’t you say I was targeting her because I loved you and wanted to snatch the project?” Barefoot, I got out of bed, walked to the corner, and tore open the large black garbage bags. Cut-up clothes, torn photos, smashed gifts, all spilled out onto the floor. Ethan’s pupils suddenly constricted. He stared intently at the framed photo, torn in half, on the ground. It was a picture of him at eighteen, which I had pestered him relentlessly to take. He used to hate it, but I had treasured it and displayed it by my bedside. Now, his face in the photo was shredded beyond recognition. “Did you see clearly?” I pointed to the mess on the floor. “I don’t love you anymore. Your things, I find them disgusting. So, I don’t have the time to target your precious darling.” Ethan’s face instantly turned ashen. “You…” He opened his mouth, but found his throat tight, unable to speak. Serena, seeing this, a flicker of jealousy in her eyes. She quickly pulled Ethan’s sleeve, saying softly and weakly. “Ethan, since Aurora says it wasn’t her, then let’s just drop it. We’ll think of another solution, don’t force her…” Ethan took a deep breath, giving me a cold glance. “It better not be you. Otherwise, I will never let you off the hook.” With that, he pulled Serena and turned to leave. I watched their retreating backs and said coldly. “Get out.” Ethan’s footsteps paused, his back stiffened, but he didn’t look back, striding out. I collapsed onto the floor, looking at the scattered fragments, and closed my eyes. It was over. It was truly over. The next morning, I carried my suitcase downstairs, ready to head to the Pacific Northwest branch office. This was my promise to him, and also a way to find a quiet place to avoid them before the Vance family came to pick me up. As I reached the living room, I saw Ethan and Serena preparing to leave for the company to handle the public relations crisis. Seeing me with my luggage, Ethan frowned. “Where are you going?” “To the company in the Pacific Northwest.” I said blandly. “Didn’t you tell me to get out yesterday?” Ethan choked, his face looking rather unpleasant. Just as he was about to say something, the main door was suddenly burst open from outside. A disheveled woman with bloodshot eyes rushed in, brandishing a gleaming fruit knife, like a madwoman, lunging at Serena. “Serena Miller! You bitch! You plagiarized my work, got me blacklisted from the industry, and my mom jumped from a building to help me with the penalty fees! Today, I’m going to make you pay with your life!” The sudden turn of events happened too fast; everyone was caught off guard. The knife sliced through the air in a cold arc, aiming straight for Serena’s chest.

Aurora POV “Serena!” Ethan’s eyes widened in fury, his body reacting faster than his brain. He instinctively wrapped an arm around Serena’s waist, pulling her fiercely into his embrace, while rapidly spinning his body to avoid the fatal stab. But he forgot I was standing right behind him. His forceful turn, combined with the sheer inertia, directly flung me into the path of the madwoman’s knife. The sound of a blade piercing flesh was eerily clear in the empty living room. A searing pain erupted beneath my left shoulder blade. The cold blade plunged deep into my body, and warm blood immediately gushed out, staining my white shirt crimson. I let out a muffled groan, my legs gave way, and I collapsed heavily onto the floor. “Aurora!” My adoptive mother shrieked, rushing down from upstairs. I clutched my wound, blood continuously oozing from between my fingers. My vision began to blur, but before darkness completely enveloped me, I clearly saw Eric’s face. He was holding a shaken Serena, turning his head to look at me, lying in a pool of blood. His pupils trembled violently, his face a mask of disbelief and a flicker of fleeting panic. He opened his mouth, seeming to call my name. But I could no longer hear. I woke up again in a hospital VIP room. The pungent smell of disinfectant made me frown. The moment I opened my eyes, I saw my adoptive mother sitting by the bed, her eyes swollen like walnuts. “Aurora, you’re finally awake! You scared me to death…” My mother held my hand, tears falling again. I weakly forced a smile. “Mom, I’m fine.” “What do you mean, you’re fine! The wound was barely an inch from your heart!” My mother suddenly turned her head and roared at Eric, who was standing by the window. “Eric, are you blind?! You can protect that bitch all you want, but why did you push Aurora out to take the knife?! She’s your sister!” Ethan stood in the shadows, his face terribly grim. He looked at me, his jawline tight, his voice a little hoarse. “I didn’t mean to. It was an emergency; I didn’t see her behind me.” “Didn’t see?! Who else do you see besides that Serena Miller!” My mother was trembling with rage. “Let me tell you, Aurora is about to…” “Mom!” I used all my strength to cut off my mother’s words. My mother froze for a moment, seeing the pleading in my eyes, and finally swallowed the rest of her sentence. Ethan subtly sensed something was wrong, his brow tightly furrowed. “She’s about to what?” “Nothing.” I looked at him coldly. “Mom means I’m about to go to the Pacific Northwest. I won’t die, so Mr. Owens doesn’t need to worry.” Ethan’s face immediately turned cold. He walked to the bedside, looking down at me, his voice carrying its usual mockery. “Aurora, you don’t need to play the pity card with me. Don’t think that just because you took a knife, I’ll soften up and give you the project back. Your trick is too cheap.” I looked at him, my heart devoid of even a ripple. “Eric, do you have a persecution complex?” I said calmly. “I’ll consider this knife wound repayment for ten years of the Owens family’s hospitality. From now on, I owe you nothing. The door is over there. Get out. I need to rest.” He stared intensely at me, as if trying to see through my pretense, but in the end, he only scoffed coldly. “It better be that way.” With that, he turned and strode out of the room. After a week in the hospital, as soon as my stitches were removed, I insisted on being discharged. The day the Vance family was to pick me up was approaching, and I didn’t want any trouble. On the day of my discharge, it wasn’t my mother who came for me, but Eric’s assistant. The car didn’t return to the Owens mansion but stopped at the entrance of a high-end private club. “Miss Hayes, Mr. Owens is waiting for you inside.” The assistant said respectfully. I frowned and pushed the door open to get out. The private room door opened. Inside, the lights were dim, and the air was thick with the smell of smoke and alcohol. Eric sat at the head of the table, Serena Miller leaning weakly against him. Opposite them sat a man with a fleshy face and vulgar eyes. That was Victor Reed, a notorious scoundrel in the city. Seeing me enter, Victor’s eyes immediately lit up, his gaze brazenly sweeping over me. “Well, well, is this Aurora? She really is a stunner.” My stomach churned, and I looked coldly at Eric. “What do you mean by this?” Ethan flicked the ash from his cigarette, his tone nonchalant. “Serena lost a few major collaborations due to the online scandal. Mr. Reed has a new project that can make up for the losses. Didn’t you say you don’t owe me anything anymore? Spend some time drinking with Mr. Reed tonight, get the contract signed, and then what you owe the Owens family will be completely paid off.” I looked at him in disbelief. To pave the way for Serena, to squeeze out my last bit of value, he was actually pushing me towards a notorious degenerate in their circle? “Eric, you truly sicken me.” I turned to leave. “Stop!” Eric’s voice was as cold as ice. “Aurora, if you dare to step out that door today, I’ll cancel all your cards and kick you out of the Owens family! You’re an orphan; without the Owens family, you’re not even worth a stray dog!”

Aurora POV My footsteps froze in place. Not because I was afraid of being kicked out of the Owens family, but because I was still a member of the Owens family. If I completely broke ties with Eric now, the marriage alliance with the Vance family might run into complications. I had to endure it for another half month. I took a deep breath, turned around, and sat on the far edge of the sofa. Eric looked at my compromise, a flicker of cold satisfaction in his eyes. “Mr. Reed, Aurora is all yours. You two chat nicely.” Eric stood up, wrapping an arm around Serena Miller’s waist as he walked out. As they reached the door, Serena glanced back at me, a malicious smirk playing on her lips. The private room door closed, shutting out the outside world. Victor Reed eagerly moved closer. The pungent smell of cheap cologne mixed with alcohol, making me nauseous. “Aurora, don’t be so cold. Mr. Owens has given you to me. Follow me, and I’ll guarantee you a good life.” He said, picking up a glass of wine and handing it to me. “Come, have a drink, let’s be friends.” I coldly pushed his hand away. “I don’t drink. Mr. Reed, Eric is being crazy; you don’t have to follow suit.” Victor Reed’s face darkened, then he smirked again. “I like feisty women like you. Today, you’ll drink this wine whether you want to or not!” He lunged forward, grabbing my chin and forcing the glass of wine towards my mouth. I struggled desperately; wine spilled all over me, but a small gulp still went down my throat. Victor Reed released me, looking at me triumphantly. “That’s right. This wine has some ‘good stuff’ in it. You’ll soon see how amazing I am.” My heart sank. The drug acted fast. Within minutes, I felt my body burning, my limbs weak and powerless, and my vision began to blur. Victor Reed grinned, unbuckling his belt, and lunged at me. “Get off me!” I bit my tongue, using the sharp pain to regain a sliver of consciousness. The moment Victor Reed lunged, I grabbed the heavy crystal ashtray from the coffee table and, with all my might, smashed it hard onto his head. “Ah!” Victor Reed screamed, clutching his bleeding head, and collapsed onto the sofa. I seized the opportunity, stumbled out of the private room, and ran out desperately. The drug’s effects intensified. My steps were unsteady, and I nearly fell several times. The wound on my left shoulder reopened from the violent movements; blood stained the bandages, but I couldn’t care less about the pain. I don’t know how I escaped the club, how I hailed a cab, or how I got back to the Owens mansion. When I pushed open the Owens family’s front door, I was met not with my mother’s concern, but with an interrogation. The living room was brightly lit. Eric sat in the center of the sofa, his face iron-grey. Serena Miller stood beside him, a smug look of schadenfreude on her face. And opposite them, Victor Reed’s parents were pointing their fingers at me, cursing me. “Mr. Owens, our Reed family came to discuss this partnership *solely* out of respect for you! But this little slut actually caused my son a concussion! Today, your Owens family must give us an explanation, or we’ll call the police and have her thrown in jail!” I lay on the floor, gasping for breath, my whole body burning with discomfort. “He… he drugged me…” I weakly argued. “Drugged you?” Victor Reed’s mother shrieked. “What kind of women does my son not have that he’d need to drug you? Clearly, you, this little slut, seduced him and then attacked him viciously!” Serena Miller also spoke up opportunely. “Yes, Aurora, Mr. Reed is so wealthy, why would he do such a thing? You must have just been too hot-headed. Why don’t you apologize to them?” I looked up, staring intently at Eric. “Eric, do you believe me?” A complex emotion flickered in Eric’s eyes. But in the end, he spoke coldly. “Aurora, you’ve disappointed me greatly. I gave you a chance to do something for the Owens family, but you repaid my kindness with malice, almost causing a death.” He stood up, looking down at me, like he was looking at an incorrigible piece of trash. “Since you’re so disobedient, don’t blame me for not cherishing old ties. I can only punish you according to family rules!” Family rules. Owens family rules for punishment involved a whip with barbed tips. I looked at him in disbelief, my heart completely dead in an instant. “Eric, I still have a knife wound…” My voice was hoarse. “That’s what you get for bringing it on yourself!” Eric coldly interrupted me. “Kneel!” Two bodyguards walked over, forcibly pressing me to the ground. Eric took the whip and, without hesitation, savagely struck my back. Skin ripped open, flesh exposed. I bit my lip hard, not uttering a single scream. Each lash drew beads of blood. After ten lashes, my back was a bloody mess, compounded by the reopened knife wound on my left shoulder, staining a large patch of the carpet. I lay on the floor like a dead dog, even breathing felt painful. “Lock her in the basement.” Eric threw down the blood-stained whip, his voice devoid of any warmth. “No one is to give her water or food without my permission. Let her reflect properly!” The basement door was heavily slammed shut. Darkness completely swallowed me. I curled up in the cold, damp corner, feeling my life draining away, yet my heart was filled with relief. Eric, in this life, I have finally repaid what I owed you, principal and interest. Only three more days until the Vance family comes for me.

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“Your mom was a mistress, so what does that make you?” Liam Vance asked, as he slid a custom-made wedding ring onto my finger. I stared at him, bewildered. “Liam, what are you talking about?” “It makes you a mistress too, baby.” I was speechless, but he looked completely serious. “Be my secret lover.” “There’s a new secretary at the company. She’s very capable and beautiful. She’s more suited to be my wife.” “Then what am I?” I asked, my eyes wide. He put on a fake apologetic face. “If your mom could be someone’s mistress, why can’t you?” It took a moment before I finally said, “My mom is my mom, I am me. I’m not going to be a mistress.” “Oh really?” He sneered. “Then we break up.” “Fine, we break up.” I’d sworn to myself that I would never be a mistress in this life. But Liam didn’t know that. He gently stroked my head. “Don’t be childish, you fool. How would you survive without me?” “Your mom was cyberbullied until she took her own life, and your dad disowned you. Only with me will no one dare to mock you.” I let out a bitter laugh. Who said only with him would no one dare to mock me? I had an Aunt Vivienne. Her business was huge now, and she was incredibly powerful overseas. Last week, she found me and asked if I’d be willing to go abroad with her. I hadn’t gone because I couldn’t bear to leave Liam. Now… I sent Vivienne a message. [Vivienne, I’ve thought it through. I’m coming with you.] Vivienne replied instantly: [Fantastic! I’ll send a private jet to pick you up in three days.] It should have been happy news, but tears streamed down my face without my control. My chest ached, like I’d been bitten by a poisonous insect. I had originally planned to tell Liam about Vivienne as a surprise. Now, it seemed unnecessary. Liam saw me crying and thought I couldn’t bear to break up with him. He reached out to wipe away my tears. “See? You cry at the mere mention of breaking up. If I ever truly left you, wouldn’t you just fall apart?” “Don’t play games with me; it won’t end well. Just continue to be good and listen to me, and you won’t be alone and helpless again.” I sniffled but didn’t speak. Liam thought he’d convinced me. He started the engine, but halfway through, he suddenly stopped. “Oh, right. From today on, you’ll sit in the back seat when you ride with me. Scarlett said that only she can sit in the passenger seat from now on, and I promised her. I can’t go back on my word.” He turned to look at me. “You know, I’ve always been a man of my word. I promised to take care of you for life, and even if I marry someone else, I’ll still look after you.” He smiled. “You don’t know yet, do you? In three days, I’m getting married to her. I had to practically beg and plead for ages before she finally gave in. I can’t risk making her angry again. She’s not as easy to appease as you are. She says she’s a red rose; if you love the flower, you have to accept its thorns.” Liam was lost in his sweet thoughts of her, but I felt truly pricked by a rose’s thorn. A sharp pain shot through my palm. I looked down. Turns out I’d hit an earring when unbuckling my seatbelt, and its sharp point had cut me. I opened my palm, and blood immediately welled up. Liam saw it too, and exclaimed, “How could you be so careless?” I thought he was worried about me. I was about to say it was nothing, that this pain was less than a thousandth of the pain in my heart. But Liam’s next words plunged me back into despair. “That’s her earring. She’s a germaphobe. If she knew her precious earring got dirtied by your blood, she’d be furious.” So, my blood was dirty in his eyes. My head spun with pain. I stared at him blankly for a long time before he finally seemed to register a flicker of apology. He lowered his gaze. “I’ll cover for you this time. Just don’t touch her things in the future.” Then, I watched him pull out a disinfectant wipe and carefully clean the earring. My palm was still bleeding. I could faintly feel it dripping onto my leg, but I was numb, like an idiot. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move to tend to it. I just sat there, motionless. After he finished wiping it and carefully wrapped it in a clean tissue, placing it in the car’s front drawer, he finally turned to me. “What are you still doing sitting there? Didn’t you hear me tell you to move to the back seat?” My mind finally cleared a little. “No need. I’ll just take a taxi!” “Alright,” Liam said. “There’s a company banquet tonight, and I need to go help her pick out a dress. You can just head home.” With that, he let me out of the car, slammed on the gas, and sped past me. He didn’t care that it was pouring rain outside. He didn’t even throw me an umbrella.

I walked to the bus stop, completely soaked. Everyone looked at me like I was an idiot. And I was. Even at this moment, my mind was replaying all the good things Liam used to do for me. The news about my mom being a mistress broke when I was eighteen. She drove his wife, and the baby in her womb, to their deaths, thinking she could take her place. But after his wife and child died, that man had a complete change of heart and cut off all ties with my mom. Even when my mom tried to use me to threaten him, he remained unmoved. In the end, my mom was forced to give birth to me. The reason the story resurfaced eighteen years later was because the man posted a letter of repentance online. While condemning him, netizens also dug up my mom’s past. After my mom was exposed, I was dragged into it too. Even after my mom was cyberbullied to the point of jumping to her death, those women who had suffered because of mistresses didn’t let me off the hook. It happened both inside and outside school. The classmates in school were milder; they’d just point at me and say “mistresses deserve to die” to my face. But some of the middle-aged women outside school were much more violent. Every day, a group of them would wait by the school gate to throw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at me. They’d say, “A mistress’s daughter will definitely turn out to be a mistress too!” “Look at her, with that seductive air, even more brazen than her mother!” I knew my mother was guilty, and I wasn’t innocent, so I never resisted. I let them vent their anger on me. This went on for half a year, until Liam stepped in and saved me. “Who says a mistress’s daughter has to become a mistress?” He grabbed one of the middle-aged women and asked, “What does your daughter do?” The woman proudly replied, “My daughter is an accountant at a big company.” Liam then asked, “And what about you?” The woman stammered, unable to answer, so another woman answered for her. “Oh, she sells burgers at a construction site.” Liam said, “See? Your daughter is different from you.” After that, fewer and fewer people came to harass me. My life gradually returned to normal, and then Liam began his intense pursuit of me. He held an umbrella for me when it rained and shaded me when it was sunny. Every evening after study hall, he would quietly walk me to my dorm building. When we ate in the cafeteria, sometimes I’d see a few classmates indignantly splash leftover food and drinks onto my seat. He would also step up and lecture them, “Which of you chose your parents before you were born?” The students were silenced. Liam continued, “And let me ask again, can you guarantee that all your parents and ancestors were upstanding individuals?” The students bowed their heads in shame, and I, too, was captivated by his twisted, yet incredibly persuasive, way of looking at things and his eloquent speech. I agreed to start dating him. To be honest, before meeting him, I hadn’t even thought about dating. My mother’s situation had left me with severe psychological trauma. He was like a light, gradually shining on that shadow, making it completely disappear. And now, standing in the pouring rain, I was utterly confused. How could someone who used to be so, so good, turn into this? Suddenly, my vision went black, and I collapsed.

When I woke up, it was already night. I was lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my hand. The doctor said, “You were too emotional. You need to calm down and get some good rest.” I said, “Okay.” Just then, my phone rang. It was Liam. After much hesitation, I answered. “Scarlett’s dress got dirty. Go get that ‘Starry Night’ dress I ordered for you and bring it over. I need it for Scarlett.” So, her name was Scarlett. I silently repeated it to myself. The ‘Starry Night’ dress was custom-made for me by a designer, commissioned by Liam. He intended for me to wear it at our wedding reception. Before, he wouldn’t even let anyone touch it, saying it would defile our love. Now, he casually told me to give it to someone else. Actually, it didn’t matter anymore. It was just that… “Liam, I’m on an IV drip right now.” “You’re perfectly fine, why are you on an IV? Don’t you dare throw a tantrum now, or you’ll regret it.” Fine, I’ll do one last thing for you, consider it repaying the kindness you showed me back then, when you saved me. Without waiting for the IV to finish, I asked the nurse to remove the needle. Once again, I braved the downpour, got into a taxi, went home to get the dress, and rushed to deliver it to him without delay. Liam said, “Scarlett’s waiting for you by the entrance. She wants to thank you. Be respectful.” I mumbled “Mmm” and hung up. But the woman named Scarlett didn’t give me thanks; she gave me a slap. Caught off guard, I was stunned. I spun half a circle, and the dress fell to the ground. Scarlett immediately started to cry, feigning distress. “Scarlett, if you didn’t want to, you could have just said so. Why ruin the dress?” I’m a straightforward person, so I didn’t understand her game at all. But Liam seemed to understand perfectly and immediately walked out of the hotel. Scarlett immediately confronted him, “Liam, is this what you meant by her being obedient and understanding, that she wouldn’t make things difficult for me?” Liam glanced at the dress on the floor, thinking he understood everything. Another slap landed on my face. “It seems I’ve really spoiled you. Apologize to Scarlett immediately.” I was so angry I laughed. “Liam, you’re being so judgmental! Do you know how I got the slap mark on my left cheek?” Scarlett didn’t hide it either. She tugged at Liam’s sleeve. “I hit her, Liam. You’re not mad at me, are you? I was so angry that she threw the dress on the ground, I couldn’t help but hit her.” “You know how bad my temper can be.” Liam instinctively put his arm around her waist. “No, I’m not mad. Good for you.” Scarlett shot me a triumphant smile. Tears welled in my eyes as I smiled back bitterly. I was so stupid. But no matter how stupid I am, you two only have three days left to humiliate me. Once those three days are up, I’ll be gone from your world forever. Liam, I hope you don’t end up like that man my mother had an affair with. Repenting online eighteen years later.

“I’m sorry, Miss Hayes, I shouldn’t have thrown your dress on the ground.” But Scarlett wasn’t about to let me off the hook. “An apology needs to look like an apology, otherwise I’ll think you’re insincere.” “Then how should I show my sincerity?” “Say, in front of everyone, that you want to be Liam Vance’s mistress, that you’re as brazen as your mother… Oh, no, that you’re even more brazen than your mother.” “I don’t want to be a mistress. I’ve already broken up with Liam.” I even took off the ring, the one meant for our wedding, right in front of her. “Here, take it back. We’re completely done.” Liam froze, not reaching for it, and the ring fell to the floor. “I said you want to, so you want to!” Scarlett grabbed my hair and dragged me into the hotel. “Everyone, come look! Here’s a woman practically begging to be someone’s mistress!” Someone asked, “Isn’t that Mr. Vance’s girlfriend?” “Not anymore,” Liam said. “My girlfriend now is Scarlett Hayes, the new secretary at the company.” “I see.” Everyone exchanged knowing smiles. A woman stepped forward and said, “I told you a mistress’s daughter would inherit the same tendency. And here I thought Mr. Vance used to defend her.” Scarlett chimed in, “Exactly! She even slapped herself twice to gain sympathy.” “But our Liam is an upright gentleman; he’s not fooled by her seductive tricks.” As Scarlett said this, she leaned closer into Liam’s arms. I saw Liam’s expression falter, but he still echoed Scarlett, “Baby’s right.” I felt another pang. Just as I was about to explain, someone splashed a drink on me. “You’re an embarrassment to women. Are there no other men left, that you have to chase after someone else’s?” The drink was aimed almost directly at my open mouth. I choked, unable to utter a single word, and started coughing violently. Then others followed suit, splashing another drink directly on my face. “Die, mistress!” Then countless more drinks came, some hitting my chest, some my head. Someone even grabbed my jaw, forcing my mouth open, and continuously poured alcohol down my throat. I was being openly tormented as a ‘mistress,’ while Scarlett Hayes, the real mistress, laughed gleefully in Liam’s arms. I couldn’t even cry out that it was a setup before I was pushed to the ground. After the drinks, they started kicking and punching me. It was happening. The thing I feared most was happening. My mom went through something similar before she died. In the end, unable to bear the humiliation, she climbed to the hotel rooftop and jumped. The reason I broke up with Liam so decisively was because I was afraid of this day. But it still came, framed as my fault. The shadows that Liam had once dispelled gathered again, engulfing me in darkness. My world had no more sunlight. The light that once shone on me was now shining on someone else. I saw Liam smiling at Scarlett, tears in his eyes. How happy must he be? Liam, why were you the one who saved me from the depths, and also the one who threw me back into them? Suddenly, like a madwoman, I broke free from the crowd, got into the elevator, just like my mom, and went straight to the hotel rooftop. Perhaps also reminded of my mom, Liam, who had followed me, suddenly looked panicked and shouted, “Rose, no…” But I didn’t imitate my mom and jump. Instead, I went up, climbing step by step onto the rope ladder lowered by a helicopter.

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My dad had been single since my mom passed away. But recently, I heard he was seeing a young woman. I rushed home to check. The moment I pushed open the master bedroom door, I saw Jennifer, my gold-digging friend, lying on my dad’s bed in a camisole, taking selfies with her phone. She saw me, casually ran a hand through her hair, and smirked. “Truth is, your dad has already agreed to marry me.” I couldn’t help but let out a scoff. “Oh really?” She seemed surprised by my calmness, freezing for a moment before looking even more smug. “From now on, I’m your stepmom! As long as you don’t cause trouble, we can still be besties. And I won’t shortchange you on your allowance.” Watching her smug face, I laughed even harder. Had my dad not told her that my mom left all of our family’s assets for me to inherit? My dad was just a broke parasite living in my house! I watched Jennifer’s self-satisfied expression, swallowing the sarcastic retort that was on the tip of my tongue. Spoiling the fun now would be pointless. Since she wanted to play the clown, I’d give her a stage. “So, you and my dad already signed the marriage certificate?” I raised an eyebrow. Jennifer immediately pulled a marriage certificate from the drawer and slapped it onto the nightstand. “See?” She lifted her chin, her eyes full of provocation. “Musa went to Dubai to finalize that multi-billion dollar oil field project. He made sure to marry me before he left.” “He said he didn’t want me to feel slighted, so he didn’t even make me sign a prenup.” I almost lost my composure. Musa went to Dubai? He was clearly hiding from creditors in another city. His marketing company had imploded last week, leaving him with an eighty-million-dollar debt. The creditors were practically at our doorstep. That old scammer actually managed to con an ignorant young woman into marriage before skipping town. He probably just wanted to use Jennifer as a shield. I nodded, pretending to be convinced. “So, what’s the proper way to address you now?” Jennifer giggled, covering her mouth. “Don’t blame me. It’s not my fault your dad is loaded, is it? You used to treat me like a sidekick, throwing a few designer bags my way and thinking you were superior. Well, now I’m your stepmom.” The words had barely left her mouth when a thunderous banging erupted downstairs. Followed by the shouts of several rough voices. “Careful with those! If you scratch this imported flooring, you won’t be able to afford the repairs!” I frowned, got up, and walked to the corridor to look down. A dozen burly men in moving company uniforms were streaming into the living room, carrying large bags and boxes. Leading them, barking orders, were a flamboyant middle-aged couple. They were Jennifer’s parents, Laura and Kevin. Kevin strolled around with his hands behind his back, like a petty king surveying his domain, touching everything. “This couch leather is no good. The color’s too dark. Have someone replace it with real leather tomorrow, and change the color too!” Laura nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly. Jennifer’s a wealthy socialite now. This house needs to be redecorated to our taste.” I turned to look at Jennifer, who had followed me out. She met my gaze defiantly. “My parents worked hard to raise me. Now that I’ve married into money, of course, I’m bringing them here to enjoy it.” “This villa has five floors, it’s practically empty anyway.” I watched the farce downstairs with a cold gaze, saying nothing. Jennifer mistook my silence for submission, and her arrogance grew. She walked to the guest bedroom door, pushing it wide open. That was my art studio, filled with many antique pieces my mom had left behind. “This room gets great light, perfect for my parents.” She pointed to the portrait of my mom on the wall. “Get rid of all this junk. It’s bad luck to look at.” My hands, hanging at my sides, instantly clenched. “Those are my things,” I said softly. Jennifer sneered, taking two steps closer. “Victoria, do you even understand what’s happening? “Your dad personally said I’m in charge of this house from now on.” “Don’t think just because you’re Musa’s ex-wife’s daughter that you don’t have to listen to me. I’m the lady of the house now!” She turned and yelled downstairs, “Dad! Mom! Come up and pick your rooms!” Her parents heard the commotion and clomped upstairs. Laura’s eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the bed in my art studio. “Oh, this bed looks so grand!” She plopped down on it, bouncing twice with exaggerated force. “This room is ours now,” Laura declared, pointing at me. “You, hurry up and clear your stuff out.” Kevin chimed in. “Victoria, I’m not trying to be mean. But you’re old enough. Why don’t you hurry up and find someone to marry and move out?” “What kind of sense does it make to just cling to your father’s house all day?” I looked at this family of brazen intruders. These idiots were truly audacious. I pulled out my phone and started recording. “Fine, move whatever you want.” “But I’ll warn you, if you damage even one item in this room, you won’t be able to afford to replace it.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Who are you trying to scare? This is Musa’s house! If I break something, I’m only breaking my own stuff!” With that, she picked up an expensive vase from the table, let go, and with a crisp “CRASH!” sound, porcelain fragments scattered across the floor. Jennifer looked at me defiantly. “I broke it. What are you going to do about it?”

The sound of the shattering vase echoed in the hallway. I looked at the pink porcelain fragments on the floor, my heart giving a sudden wrench. That was my mom’s favorite piece. I suppressed the urge to slap her, aiming my phone’s camera at the mess and Jennifer’s triumphant face. Video saved, cloud synced. It was all done in one smooth motion. Jennifer didn’t take my actions seriously at all. She thought I was just having a fit of impotent rage. “What? Heartbroken?” She kicked a piece of the broken vase. “From now on, I don’t want to see any of these old-fashioned things around here.” Laura clapped her hands in approval. “Exactly! Jennifer’s the lady of the house now, what’s wrong with smashing a stupid vase?” Kevin was even more outrageous, walking directly to my jewelry cabinet and violently yanking at the drawers. “What’s the password? Let’s see if there’s anything valuable.” I watched them coldly. “The drawers have fingerprint locks. Forcibly prying them open will trigger the alarm automatically.” Kevin jumped in surprise, quickly pulling his hand back. Jennifer glared at me, then turned to soothe her dad. “Dad, what’s the rush? When Musa gets back, I’ll have him give you the whole cabinet.” I was tired of watching these clowns, so I turned and went back to my bedroom, planning to settle accounts with them when my dad returned. That afternoon, the villa completely became Jennifer’s family playground. Laura invited all her friends over, playing music loudly and without restraint in the living room. Kevin gathered his usual crew of shady friends, having a barbecue and drinking competition by the heated pool. The place reeked of smoke and alcohol, a chaotic circus. I put on my noise-canceling headphones and sat in my study, going through company documents. I had always been the actual controlling shareholder of Victoria Group. Musa was nothing more than a figurehead CEO, drawing a fixed salary every month. Now that he’d stirred up trouble and run off, there was a pile of messes at the company waiting for me to clean up. As I was reviewing documents, my door was suddenly pounded on with earth-shattering force. I took off my headphones and walked over to open the door. Jennifer, wearing a high-end designer nightgown and holding a stack of blueprints, stood aggressively outside. Behind her was a man in a suit, wearing a badge identifying him as the director of a well-known renovation company. “Victoria, you need to clear out those guest rooms on the first floor, immediately.” She slapped the blueprints against my chest. “I hired a top designer. We’re knocking out the walls on the first floor to build a private cinema and a wine cellar.” I didn’t take the blueprints, letting them fall to the floor. “You’re renovating?” “Duh! This old house has such a bad layout, it doesn’t match my status.” The designer stepped forward at the opportune moment, a professional smile on his face. “Ms. Victoria, I presume? Mrs. Musa has chosen our most premium full-home custom design package.” “The initial budget is around eight million dollars.” I almost burst out laughing. Eight million dollars? Musa couldn’t even scrape together eighty thousand right now. I looked at Jennifer with amusement. “Eight million is no small sum. Do you have enough money?” Jennifer looked as if she’d heard the funniest joke. She pulled a black card from her bag, held it between two fingers, and waved it in front of my face. “Open your eyes and look closely. This is a supplementary card Musa gave me before he left.” “Forget eight million, I can swipe eighty million with this!” I was all too familiar with that card. Musa had specifically gotten it from the bank to curry favor with me when I graduated college. The main card was with me; he had always kept the supplementary card to maintain appearances. Last month, after his investment failed, I directly set the supplementary card’s limit to zero. I took a step back and gestured. “Since Mrs. Musa is so well-off, then go ahead and swipe it.” The designer immediately pulled out a portable POS machine and presented it to Jennifer with both hands. “Mrs. Musa, please pay the thirty percent deposit first, which is two point four million dollars.” Jennifer confidently tapped the card against the machine. “Beep—Transaction failed.”

Jennifer’s smile froze. She snatched the POS machine. “How is that possible! Is the machine broken?” The designer’s expression shifted slightly, but he maintained his politeness. “Mrs. Musa, our equipment is checked daily. Perhaps you’d like to try a different card?” Jennifer grew frantic, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. “Why would I try another card! This is an unlimited black card!” She tapped the card again. “Beep—Transaction failed. Insufficient funds.” This time, the machine’s voice was exceptionally loud and clear. I watched her performance. “It seems Mr. Musa’s assets aren’t as substantial as you imagined.” Jennifer spun around abruptly, glaring at me fiercely. “Shut up! This must be your doing!” “Musa is in Dubai negotiating a multi-billion dollar project, how could he be out of money!” She fumbled for her phone and called Musa. “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is currently switched off.” The mechanical female voice became the final straw that broke her. The designer’s gaze had already shifted from respectful to suspicious. “Mrs. Musa, if there are financial difficulties, our cooperation can be put on hold for now…” “Who says I don’t have money!” Jennifer shrieked. She would never allow herself to be humiliated in front of her rival. She yelled downstairs, “Mom! Come up here!” Laura, who had been swaying to the music, rushed upstairs. “What’s wrong?” Jennifer pulled her into a corner and whispered a few words. Laura’s face changed drastically, and she waved her hands repeatedly. “No, no, absolutely not! That’s the money for your brother Gerald’s house!” Jennifer stomped her foot in exasperation. “Mom! Think long-term! When Musa comes back, this whole villa will be mine!” “I’ll pay you back tenfold, a hundredfold!” Under her relentless badgering, Laura gritted her teeth and pulled out a passbook. A full two point four million dollars was transferred directly into the renovation company’s account. Watching the designer leave, satisfied with the receipt, Jennifer finally regained her composure. She walked up to me, chin held high. “See? That’s what you call leverage.” “Tomorrow night, I’m hosting a housewarming party here, and celebrating my marriage, of course.” “I’ve invited all the socialites and our university classmates.” She reached out and poked my shoulder. “You’d better behave yourself. If you dare to ruin my party, I’ll cut off your allowance immediately!” I patted the spot where she’d poked me. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to prepare a grand gift for you.” The next evening, the villa was brightly lit. Jennifer, wearing a rented designer gown bought with the few thousand dollars Musa had left her, mingled through the crowd. Most of the guests were our university classmates. These people, who used to flock around me, were now all gathered around Jennifer, fawning over her. “Jennifer, you’re so low-key! I can’t believe you became Mrs. Musa without a word.” “This villa must be worth hundreds of millions! I’m so jealous.” Norris, our class monitor, raised his glass, his face dripping with sycophancy. Jennifer covered her mouth, giggling, shaking all over. “Musa just spoils me too much. He insisted on transferring this house to my name.” As she spoke, her gaze dismissively swept towards me, sitting in the corner. “Victoria, you don’t need to be too sad.” “Even though your dad remarried, as your stepmother, I definitely won’t treat you badly.” All eyes in the room instantly focused on me. There was pity, schadenfreude, and most of all, the greedy anticipation of a good show. Norris immediately jumped out to side with Jennifer. “Victoria, what are you waiting for? Why aren’t you coming over to toast Jennifer?” “Exactly, it’s a happy occasion, who are you sulking for?” A few other girls chimed in. Jennifer walked up to me, holding out a glass of red wine. “Victoria, call me ‘Mom,’ and this drink can be our truce.” She lowered her voice, speaking only loud enough for the two of us to hear. “If you don’t, tomorrow I’ll dig up your mom’s urn and throw it into the artificial lake for the fish.” My eyes instantly turned cold. “Jennifer, do you really think that just because Musa married you, this house is your kingdom?” Jennifer was unnerved by my glare but forced herself to maintain her aggressive demeanor. “Isn’t it? Musa is the CEO of Victoria Group!” She pulled a document from her bag and held it high. “Open your eyes and look! This is the prenuptial agreement Musa gave me!” “Half of the shares under his name have all been transferred to me!” A gasp erupted from the crowd. I looked at the flawed agreement and finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Jennifer was infuriated by my laughter. “What are you laughing at! You’re at your wit’s end and still playing dumb!” She violently threw the agreement at my face. I tilted my head slightly, the paper grazing my ear as it flew past and scattered on the floor. “I’m laughing at how pathetically foolish you are.” I took a step closer to her. “Didn’t Musa tell you?” “I am the legal representative of Victoria Group, and I am also the 100% controlling shareholder.” “He doesn’t own a single cent of shares. What could he possibly transfer to you?” At these words, the entire room erupted in an uproar. Jennifer froze, then reacted as if she’d heard the most ridiculous joke. “Impossible! You’re lying!” Laura became frantic, rushing over and pointing a finger at me, screaming obscenities: “Bitch, you think you can swallow our family’s wealth? Over my dead body! Get her out of here!” Kevin immediately rallied a few relatives, who aggressively surrounded me. They pushed and shoved, and I, outnumbered, was directly dragged downstairs and unceremoniously thrown into the front yard. I stood in the yard, looking at these brazen squatters, took a deep breath, and pulled out my phone to call the property manager. “Bring your people over. Someone is attacking the owner at the Victoria residence.” In less than three minutes, several patrol cars pulled up to the villa. A dozen security personnel quickly got out, encircling the entire yard. I looked coldly at Jennifer on the steps. “Get out now, while you still can.” When the property manager walked forward, I froze — it was a completely unfamiliar face. He glanced at us, frowning. “I’m the new property manager, Johnson. Who called the police just now?” Jennifer, initially startled, then became ecstatic. She scurried over on her high heels, shoving the two documents in Johnson’s face. “Mr. Johnson, is it? Open your eyes and see, I am Musa’s legal wife, the owner of this villa! Here’s our marriage certificate!” She pointed at me, her face contorted with rage: “This crazy woman is not only refusing to leave my house but is also trying to seize Musa’s assets! Hurry up and have your security guards throw her out!” Johnson carefully examined the names on the marriage certificate, immediately adopting a fawning smile. “Ah, Mrs. Musa, my apologies. Don’t worry, we will absolutely not let any unauthorized persons disturb your life.” He turned and commanded the security guards behind him: “What are you waiting for? Grab this troublemaking woman and get her out of here!” I laughed in exasperation, pulling out my phone to call Musa, wanting him to get back here immediately and clear things up. However, only the cold, mechanical voice came through the receiver: “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is currently switched off.” “Still trying to call Musa to complain?” Jennifer walked over, looking smug. “Victoria, you’re a pathetic stray now!” She gave a signal, and Jennifer’s aggressive relatives and the security guards immediately stepped forward, pinning my shoulders down. Norris and his opportunistic classmates also joined in the jeering, surrounding me. During my struggle, my arm was roughly twisted behind my back, and my knee was brutally kicked. A wave of humiliation instantly washed over me. “Let go of me!” I gritted my teeth, glaring at her. “Still daring to glare at me?” Jennifer sneered, turning and running into the house. When she came back out, she was holding the portrait of my mom. “Jennifer, I dare you to touch her!” My eyes blazed with fury, desperately trying to break free, but I was pinned down by several burly men, unable to move. “What do I have to be afraid of?” Jennifer held the portrait high above her head. “Victoria, aren’t you so tough?” “Now, kneel down and call me ‘Mom’! Otherwise, I’ll smash your mother’s portrait to pieces right now and throw it into the grimy ditch outside!” “Kneel! Hurry up and kneel!” The relatives and classmates around us burst into loud laughter. Humiliation and rage surged wildly in my chest, my eyes stung with unshed tears, but I bit my lip hard, refusing to shed a single tear. “Kneel! Not going to kneel, huh?” Jennifer exerted force with both hands, about to violently smash the portrait to the ground— Just at my most desperate, most humiliated moment. “Screech—BANG!” Brake sounds ripped through the air, and a black sedan skidded, slamming into the ornate iron gate outside the yard. The car door opened, and a disheveled man was kicked out from inside. He looked like a pathetic stray. Jennifer recognized the person, excitedly putting the portrait aside, stumbling and rushing towards him. “Musa, you’re finally back!”

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “384603”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster

My husband, Elias, was the Alpha of the Dubois pack and the CEO of a major company. Two months into my pregnancy, I saw his Beta, Vivian, post an update on Ins. The photo showed Elias with his arms around her, holding up a red lace bra. “My boyfriend is too passionate, he ripped my bra! Good thing he bought me a new lace one!” I quietly liked the post, then destroyed all the baby items I’d bought. Elias called just as I finished burning the last one. He hurriedly explained: “The company designed new lingerie that needs promotion. Vivian and I were just acting… if you like it…” “No need,” I said, touching my still-flat belly. “Advertising and marketing, I get it.” After hanging up, I called my father, Arthur, the Alpha of the Ashclaw pack. “Dad, I agree to come back as the Ashclaw pack’s Alpha heir and take over your company.” Elias, this time, I’m truly done with you. Outside, the snow fell thick and fast. By the time Elias came home, I had already decided to divorce him. Seeing that I didn’t greet him as usual, he immediately looked annoyed. “Why didn’t you come to meet me?” “It’s snowing so heavily, weren’t you worried I wouldn’t make it back?!” He complained as he kicked off his shoes. Snowmelt mixed with mud stained the carpet. In the past, I would have carefully wiped his shoes with a towel, then handed him a cup of coffee I’d brewed myself. But now, “I don’t feel like moving!” Elias’s expression froze instantly. His Adam’s apple bobbed twice. “Then where’s my coffee?” “Forgot.” “Forgot?!” After a deathly silence, “Clara, what’s gotten into you now?” “Is it just because of those pictures?…” He excitedly reached for my hand, but I deliberately avoided him, still holding my coffee cup. “New products need promotion, I told you about it.” “Don’t always use your pregnant-woman tantrums to pressure me. I can’t handle it…” “You’re overthinking it,” I calmly interrupted, my legs tucked under the blanket, shrinking back involuntarily. Pea-sized snow pellets rattled against the window, reminding me of the blizzard night half a month ago, when he’d frowned just like this. “The company’s new products are launching. You don’t have to drag me along for a prenatal check-up.” Then, he’d spoken softly to Vivian on the other end of the phone, “I remember every one of your efforts. Don’t worry, no matter what the future holds, I’ll do my best to be with you.” But that day, I walked home alone through the blizzard. Elias’s fingertips pressed a red mark between his brows. Finally, he pulled out a cheaply packaged item from his briefcase. “La Perla!” “Same color, same style!” He tossed the lingerie in front of me with a “don’t be ungrateful” look. “Satisfied now?” I stared at the lingerie lying in the most ordinary plastic bag from a convenience store. The gold-embossed logo was crooked and half-missing. It was completely different from the one he’d given Vivian. But I still calmly said “thank you,” then continued scrolling on my phone without looking up. Elias’s brows suddenly furrowed. He grabbed my arm. “I satisfied your vanity, so why are you still giving me attitude?” “Vivian wore this exact collection. Everyone online is talking about it. So many people are fighting to get their hands on it! And this is your attitude?” What else did he expect? “What else should I do?” “Kneel for you? Or transfer money to you?” The flowing air instantly fell into a deadly silence. I didn’t want to argue anymore. I threw off the blanket and walked straight to the bedroom. Behind me, I heard the crash of Elias kicking over the coffee table. But I truly couldn’t think of a way to express gratitude to him—for using a fake to excuse his betrayal under the guise of “promotional needs.” And then, under the name of “vanity,” reducing all my grievances and disappointment to irrational pregnancy hormones. It was utterly pointless. I changed into clean clothes and walked to the front door. Elias’s furious roar followed me to the entryway, “Where are you going in this blizzard? You’re pregnant, what if something happens?!” I fastened the last button on my coat, unable to help but curl my lips into a smile. “So you do remember I’m pregnant, Elias…” I put on my shoes. “Do you remember the last time you left me at the hospital?” “I was thinking the same thing!” “In a blizzard, while pregnant, what if something happens?!” “And what happened?” I spread my hands, then walked out the door without looking back. Just before the security door closed, I heard the sound of a cup shattering on the floor. But I didn’t panic and rush back like before, to clean up the mess and appease him with a forced smile. Instead, I straightened my back and stepped into the waiting cab outside. The swirling snow hit the car windows, and a long-forgotten lightness washed over my heart. My father, Arthur, is the Alpha of the Ashclaw pack. He always hoped I would inherit his company. Before I met Elias, I worked at my father’s company. Everyone there recognized my abilities, and my father wanted me to be the Ashclaw pack’s Alpha heir. Then, I met Elias, my fated mate. We fell in love quickly, married quickly. Because he said “I need you,” I gave up my chance to become the Ashclaw pack’s Alpha heir and became a homemaker instead. I put away company documents, and my ink-stained fountain pen was tucked into a drawer. And now, I could finally pursue my career without any reservations.

The scent of coffee and paper filled the office. The employees buzzed around me, and first among them was my father’s Beta, Joe. He handed me a thick stack of documents. “I knew you wouldn’t be trapped in a gilded cage forever.” I took the documents and said a sincere “thank you!” In the three years I’d been married to Elias, I truly made him my entire world. From taking care of every household chore to being his unwavering support, and finally giving up the most brilliant career of my life. Thankfully, I finally realized that love couldn’t be everything in life. I finished processing the last email, and it was late when I got home. The dim yellow light stretched Elias’s desolate figure. I didn’t pay attention to his expression, only seeing the mess in the living room. He was drinking. This was the first time in three years, outside of company dinners, that he was drinking alone at home. I suppressed my shock and placed my briefcase in the entryway. He rushed over and grabbed me. “Where were you?” I didn’t speak, taking off my shoes. “I asked where you were!” His voice unconsciously rose. He saw the company documents still in my hand and suddenly looked enlightened. “Clara, are you serious? So upset with me that you run away from home? You know how much I hate you meddling in company affairs, but you deliberately went to your Dad’s just to spite me. When are you going to grow up?” I stared at his pale face, speechless for a moment, finally dismissing all his questions with a cold scoff. “What do you mean…” He grabbed me from behind. “It’s not still about that lingerie, is it?” “I already explained, it was for new product promotion, and besides, I bought you the same one. What more do you want?” Dried coffee stains pricked under my fingernails. I coolly pulled my hand away. “Yes, what more do I want?” “Are you done talking? If so, I’m going to sleep.” He suddenly kicked over the shoe rack. Shoes clattered against the wall, dislodging plaster dust that mingled with the smell of paper and ink. “Every time, you put on that deadpan face!” “You’re throwing away a perfectly good life, just to get involved with those disreputable people. Clara, what do you even consider our marriage to be?!” His hysterical accusations were as grating as the howling winter wind outside. But I still said nothing. Before any black-and-white argument, I always believed silence could pierce through all stubborn rationalizations. That night, the sharp pop of an aluminum can being opened sliced through the entire night sky. I sat on the edge of the bed, studying my phone, and heard Elias’s deliberately lowered voice from the living room. “When will she ever be like you?” The next day, I opened my bedroom door. I saw Elias slumped in front of the empty cans, a pile of cigarette butts still askew in last night’s spilled drink. In the past, I would have silently cleaned up the mess and carefully found a way for us to reconcile. Even if my heart ached with injustice, I would have used the gentlest smile and actions to gloss over the argument as a minor bump in life. But now, I walked straight past the cans and out the door. Before closing it, I heard Elias growl, “If you’re so capable, then never come back!” That was exactly what I was planning. Since resigning from the company three years ago, I hadn’t touched those business documents again. Now that I had the chance, I wouldn’t squander this freedom. Following Joe’s arrangements, I signed up for the Alpha heir assessment at my father’s company, three days from now. “It’s a long journey, and you might be gone for a year or more. Are you really not going to discuss it with him?” Joe’s voice crackled with static. I traced the unfinished “Company’s Three-Year Plan” on my phone’s screen. It was a draft I’d worked on three years ago, when I was the executive director at my father’s company, a path I’d stopped for Elias. But now, “No need to discuss it. We’re getting divorced soon.”

Back home, Elias stood in front of the mirror, dressed in a custom-tailored suit. His fingertips combed through his sideburns with an Italian handmade comb. His slicked-back hair highlighted his increasingly handsome and sharp features. “I have a client dinner tonight,” he said without looking up. Then he pulled out his phone, a smile playing on his lips, and walked out the door. That smile was identical to the one Vivian posted on her social media. A laugh so free, so gentle, with an indulgent warmth that lingered in the corners of his eyes and brows. I remembered three years ago, he used to smile at me like that. On a snowy street, he’d wrapped my shivering shoulders in a thick coat, then wound a scarf around my neck layer by layer, saying with a smile, “See, this way my little heir won’t turn into a snowman.” But now, he warmed someone else’s winter with that same smile. The starlight in his eyes no longer belonged to me. I knew he was with Vivian again. Since I got pregnant, he often came home late. Every time I tried to FaceTime him, I could always see Vivian nearby. I became anxious, trying every way to hold onto him. But in the end, all I got was his, “Can you just stop being so annoying?” That evening, I clicked on Instagram on a whim. I saw Vivian’s new photos. Elias stood beside her. Both held the same bottle of champagne, smiling brightly in front of a giant champagne tower. The caption read: “Wherever you are, it’s always radiant.” Below it was a heart emoji from Elias. “Wherever you are, I’m never alone.” In the past, I would have cried hysterically, then screamed and questioned him like a madwoman, “Who exactly is your wife? Did you ever consider my feelings?” But at that moment, I quietly closed my phone and slept through the night. In the early morning, I was startled awake by a violent banging on the door. Elias, reeking of alcohol, threw back my blanket. “I said I had a client dinner, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t eat, did I?” “Clara, are you too lazy to even prepare a late-night snack for me now? How can you be so cold and heartless!” His chest heaved violently, leaving me momentarily stunned. In the past, whenever he had client dinners, no matter how late, I would meticulously prepare a table of late-night snacks. But each time, he would push them away with a frown, then turn around and post exquisite late-night meals shared with others on social media. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and said in as calm a tone as possible, “You didn’t say you were coming back to eat. You always eat out for client dinners. I can’t exactly chase after you asking if you’ve eaten, can I? Wouldn’t that make you look like you’re henpecked? Besides, Vivian was still there.” Before, every time I questioned him, it would provoke his impatience. He hated every text and question from me, especially when he was with Vivian. So, hearing what I said, his tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed. “That’s not what I meant. Isn’t preparing late-night snacks part of your duty? The only reason I’m with Vivian is for new product launches. Don’t make a big deal out of nothing, or stir up trouble.” I nodded, looking like I understood. “I’m not making a big deal, and I’m not stirring up trouble. I just want to sleep now.” With that, I pulled the blanket over my head, no longer paying attention to his expression as I used to. But that burning gaze didn’t leave me for a long time. That night, the living room light stayed on. The next day, I woke up early, washed up, and walked straight to the entryway to change my shoes. Elias sat at the dining table with his arms crossed. I knew he was waiting for breakfast, but I didn’t give him a chance to speak. I closed the door without looking back. The cold wind bit, and I pulled my coat tighter. In that moment, I felt no sadness, no grief. Only a kind of numb calm. As they say, a heart doesn’t die in a sudden storm, but slowly with countless small disappointments, eroding what was once burning passion. On my way back, Elias sent a text message. He said the new product had successfully launched, and he was planning a celebration party at home. He asked me, for the sake of our marriage, not to make things awkward. It was the first time he’d spoken to me in such a pleading tone, and the first time his voice had an almost imperceptible tremor at the end. The ridiculous thing was, it wasn’t because of me. But I still agreed. Not for Elias, or for anyone else, but to use this opportunity to bring a conclusion to this broken relationship. Just my luck, as I opened the door, I saw Vivian sitting in my spot, holding my wine glass, laughing and drinking with Elias.

The room full of laughter stopped abruptly the moment I pushed open the door. Elias, even more flustered, quickly pulled his hand away from Vivian’s. “The new product sales hit ten thousand, so I invited everyone to celebrate.” His pale explanation couldn’t hide the panic in his eyes. He feigned composure and stepped back, gesturing for me to sit in the empty seat next to him. But I didn’t even glance at it, walking straight to the sofa. Vivian’s gaze swept over me, a triumphant smile on her lips. As she raised her glass and approached, her expression shifted to one of reluctant apology. “Oh, Luna Clara, we got a bit carried away and rudely showed up without your permission. This is the wine I brought, please have a taste.” At that moment, all eyes were on me. Curiosity, scrutiny, speculation – I saw it all. Only Elias stood frozen in place. In the past, he was the most opposed to me drinking. At every gathering, he would rush to snatch my glass, saying in an almost scolding tone, “She can’t handle alcohol, she shouldn’t drink.” Then he would tip his head back and down it himself. But now, the white glare of the chandelier fell on his bewildered face. His Adam’s apple bobbed, yet he said nothing. I took the glass and, under everyone’s gaze, drank the wine. The hot, fiery liquid burned down my throat, much like the burning warmth in his palm three years ago at our wedding, when he lovingly held my hand and swore to give me a home. I thought I had held eternity. I set the glass down. Elias’s phone on the table flashed glaringly. It was him. “How could you just drink wine?” “You’re still pregnant…” “Even if you didn’t drink, no one was forcing you. Can you stop being so angry with me and tormenting yourself like this?” “Please, think about our child, okay?” I stared at the messages scrolling like a barrage of texts, every word packed with “sincere emotion.” Yet not a single one came from the bottom of his heart. I put my phone face down on the table and quietly ate the food in my bowl. Someone at the table looked enviously at Elias. “Alpha Elias’s company is growing stronger, he has a beautiful wife, and soon a new baby – truly a winner in life!” A chorus of agreement followed. Elias couldn’t hide the smile on his face. He uncharacteristically cut a steak and pushed it towards me, but I refused and pushed it back. In that moment, I ignored all his subtle expressions, ignored the constantly vibrating phone, and focused on eating my own meal. Someone suddenly said, “I’ve heard Luna Clara is especially beautiful and virtuous. She and Alpha Elias are truly a perfect match!” Everyone echoed the sentiment. Only I, with a darkened expression, pulled out the medical report for my unexpected miscarriage. “Elias, let’s get a divorce.” “I want to break our mate bond.”

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