Before summer break, I flew to Caleb’s university to surprise him. Instead, I found his sophomore lab mate clinging to him, asking who was prettier—her or me. Caleb gave a careless, distracted laugh: “Maya, of course. She’s way prettier than you.” The girl’s face immediately fell. I pushed the door open, just in time to see Caleb resting his hand affectionately on top of her head. “Are you going to cry over that? Maya isn’t just pretty, she’s fiercely independent,” he smiled. “Not like you. Without me, you’re just a helpless little mess.” 01 The girl’s whiny voice drifted from the lab: “You’re always bullying me! I’m not a helpless mess!” Caleb chuckled softly. But as he looked up, he froze, seeing me standing in the doorway. “Maya?” His hand was still resting on her hair as he called my name. He quickly walked over to me. “What are you doing here? Are your finals over?” “So I shouldn’t have come?” I asked. He laughed. “What are you talking about?” He waved toward the room. “I’m heading out, Harper. You finish the rest of the project yourself. My girl is here.” No sound came from inside. Caleb wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me out into the hall. “Who was that?” “Harper Hayes. Just a sophomore in my department.” I stopped in my tracks. I knew that name. For the past year, that name had been coming up a lot. Even though I had never met her. “Do you like her?” He looked completely baffled and laughed. “What? How is that possible? She’s just a kid.” He looked at me, amused. “You’re getting jealous over this? My Maya is such a jealousy jar.” “Caleb…” “The guys and I planned a get-together tonight. It’ll be a welcome party for you,” he interrupted, looking down to text his friends before looking back up. “Let me look at you. Did you lose weight? Are you secretly dieting again? I told you, one hundred and twenty pounds is perfect. Are you trying to turn into a walking stick so I can use you as a cane?” I took a deep breath. “Right now, I’d like to take a cane and beat you to death with it.” He laughed, pulling me in for a kiss. Just then, a delicate voice called out from behind us: “Caleb.” 02 Caleb and I turned our heads at the same time. Harper was holding a jacket in her hands. “You left your windbreaker at my place again,” she pouted. “You’re always so forgetful.” “Oh,” Caleb took it. “And who is this?” She turned to me, blinking innocently as she looked me up and down. “You see your senior’s girlfriend and you don’t even say hi?” Caleb chuckled, lightly tapping her head with a rolled-up notebook. “Ouch! Why do you keep hitting me?! You’re so violent! I thought she was one of the older girls from our campus. Isn’t this lab building restricted to authorized students only? Did you secretly copy a key for her, Caleb? I’m telling Professor Miller!” Caleb finally realized the situation and asked me, “Wait, how did you get into the building?” “I tailgated some guy,” I said flatly. I looked at him. “Half an hour ago, I texted asking where you were. You didn’t reply, and you didn’t answer my calls.” Caleb frowned. “Huh?” “I’m so sorry,” Harper smiled apologetically. “Caleb and I were right in the middle of a critical derivation for our project, so he probably didn’t see it. Please don’t be mad at him over this. The pressure Professor Miller has been putting on us lately is just too much…” “That’s weird,” Caleb pulled out his phone. “Hey? Why is it on Do Not Disturb?” He muttered while adjusting the settings: “Must have bumped it in my pocket.” “Whatever. Let’s go.” I turned around. But the moment I turned, I heard Harper’s tiny voice from behind. “She looks so plain… it’s obviously all makeup…” 03 I stopped walking and turned back. Caleb looked confused. “What’s wrong?” I looked directly at Harper. “I’m not deaf. First, whether I look plain or not, you have zero right to gossip about it behind my back. Second, any woman with a shred of self-respect wouldn’t try to compare her looks to another guy’s girlfriend when she knows he’s taken.” Harper froze. Her eyes instantly turned red, and she looked at Caleb with extreme grievance. Caleb sighed. “Maya, what are you doing? I didn’t see your message. If you want to fight, fight with me. Don’t bully the younger girl.” I turned to him. “Oh, you’re defending her pretty fast. It makes me look like an unreasonable villain. I’m no forgiving saint. I cannot tolerate my boyfriend ignoring his phone for thirty minutes to keep another woman company, leaving me standing in ninety-degree heat on campus. I don’t care about the precious doors of your lab, and I won’t ever step foot in here again. And ‘Do Not Disturb’ requires actual swiping to activate; you don’t just bump it.” Caleb’s face stiffened. “What do you mean by that? I seriously don’t know how it got turned on. Why would I intentionally silence your notifications?” “Are you misunderstanding something…” Harper looked pitiful. I said coldly, “Don’t put on that tragic act for me. Whether I misunderstood or not, you know exactly what you’re doing in your heart.” The air was quiet for a moment. “Come on, why are we getting so serious?” Caleb pulled me into his arms, laughing like a peacemaker. “Harper couldn’t solve a problem earlier and used my phone to listen to Spotify, but how could she possibly mute you? You can be paranoid, but you can’t blame her. I probably just shoved it in my pocket and the screen was unlocked…” “Caleb, let’s break up.” I heard my own voice. Caleb froze. “Wait, you flew all the way across the country, and just because I missed your text, you want to break up with me?” He sounded almost amused by his own anger. “You also touched her head.” “That’s it?” His eyes widened. “Yeah.” I said flatly, “I find it disgusting. Is that not enough?” 04 I didn’t go to the welcome dinner that night. After telling Caleb we were done, I turned and walked away. He didn’t chase after me. Because Harper started crying. She was sobbing, gasping for air, looking incredibly fragile. Caleb was actually very good at handling people. Very good at coaxing them. When he wanted to be. My best friend from high school, Riley, went to the same university as him. I dropped my luggage at her dorm first. Hearing I hadn’t eaten, she insisted on taking me to a newly opened, viral restaurant. When we got to the mall, Riley went to the restroom first. I sat by the restaurant entrance, looking at the menu while waiting for a table. As fate would have it, Caleb had booked the exact same place. A loud group of guys walked right past me. “Caleb, didn’t you say your girl was coming? Where is she?” “Throwing a tantrum. She’s not coming,” Caleb’s tone was helpless. “What happened?” “Mad that I didn’t text back fast enough.” “That’s it?” The guy laughed. “Women are such a hassle. Thank God you’re doing long-distance. If you had to deal with that every day, who could survive?” “Women are all like this. They just want to be coaxed,” another guy joked. “Just get on your knees and beg a little, you’ll be fine.” “Beg? Why don’t you go beg?” Caleb used his folded umbrella to swat the guy. “Giving her the cold shoulder is good for her. These past three years, her temper has only gotten worse.” I looked up. The umbrella was pink and compact. It was definitely not a style a guy would use. Trailing right behind him, empty-handed, was Harper: “Honestly, I don’t think you did anything wrong, Caleb. If you’re not wrong, why should you apologize first? It’s not about who gets mad, it’s about logic…” I stood up. Riley came back just in time: “Is it our turn?” I shook my head. “Almost. Caleb is inside.” “Huh?” Riley hesitated. “Should we go somewhere else?” “No need.” The restaurant is open to the public. There’s no rule saying I can’t eat here just because he is. Five minutes later, our table was ready. Riley and I walked in, but right by the self-serve beverage station, someone suddenly rushed at us, screaming. “Oh no, I can’t hold it, move, move…” Before I could react. I was splashed head to toe by Harper, who was carrying two massive glasses of craft beer. 05 The commotion alerted the people in the private booths. By the time Caleb came out, Harper’s tears were falling one by one. “I really didn’t mean to. The floor by the drinks station is slippery, I couldn’t stop myself. I already said I’m sorry…” “You didn’t mean it?” Riley was furious. “In a place this big, you carry two huge glasses of beer and walk straight into Maya? Maya couldn’t even dodge. Do you think we’re blind?” “What happened?” Caleb stepped out. He paused when he saw me. “Why are you here?” I was soaked, covered in sticky beer, and completely out of patience. “Why? Did Mr. Sterling buy this whole property? Am I banned from anywhere you go?” He frowned. “Why are you firing off like a machine gun? Who said you couldn’t be here?” He stepped closer. “Why are you all wet?” Riley sneered. “Why don’t you ask your precious junior?” “Caleb, I swear I didn’t do it on purpose! My foot slipped!” Harper cried. “I didn’t expect anyone to be standing there. Why did she suddenly pop out of nowhere…” Caleb sighed. “I told you that you couldn’t handle the heavy lifting, but you insisted. Why were you carrying two massive glasses anyway? You should’ve just let me do it.” “Have you no shame?!” Riley erupted. “What do you mean she popped out of nowhere? We were walking perfectly fine. She clearly rammed into her on purpose!” “Riley, watch your mouth,” Caleb said coldly. “What’s your problem?” My temper flared. “Riley is defending me. Whether she did it on purpose or not, she knows it in her heart. You didn’t even ask what happened and you’re immediately taking her side? Are we not using logic anymore?” “How am I taking her side? I’m trying to be reasonable here.” His tone was exasperated. “Maya, take your anger out on me all you want, but she didn’t do it on purpose. Can you stop nitpicking and making things difficult for her?” I quietly stared at the man in front of me. We met in high school, knew each other for six years, and survived three years of long distance. In just one more year, I was supposed to get early admission to his university’s grad program. We had dreamed about marriage, painted pictures of our future, even talked about what our kids would look like. Yet now, after I was splashed with beer, with my dress literally dripping onto the floor, he was telling me to stop making things difficult for another woman. “I’m not making things difficult,” I said flatly. “My dress is ruined. It wasn’t expensive, maybe two hundred bucks. If she pays me back, we can call it even.” Harper froze. “Two hundred dollars is half my monthly grocery budget…” She looked at Caleb with red eyes. “Caleb, my dad will kill me…” “Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine.” One of the guys backed her up. “Don’t be scared, we can all chip in to cover it. It’s just two hundred bucks!” “Yeah, if we all pitch in twenty bucks, we’ve got it. Don’t cry, okay?” Caleb frowned. “Maya, Harper doesn’t come from a wealthy family. Two hundred dollars is a big deal to her. It’s just a dress. Let it go, okay? I’ll buy you a new one.” I sneered. “If she knows it’s a big deal, she should have been more careful. It’s my dress, and I have the right to demand compensation.” “It’s not really your dress, though,” Caleb suddenly said. I froze. “Maya, if I remember correctly, I bought that dress for you.” His voice was light, but every single word felt like a knife plunging into my chest. “Gifts given during a relationship can be legally taken back. “So let’s drop this. If you insist on pursuing it…” He paused, seemingly giving me a final chance to repent. “Then give the dress back to me.” 06 I quietly met his gaze. A second later, I turned, grabbed Riley—who was about to start screaming at him—and walked out of the restaurant. “Maya, how could you just walk away?!” Riley was fuming the whole way. “Did Caleb get kicked in the head by a donkey? He doesn’t care about you at all! How could he say something so disgusting to you?!” My footsteps halted. “Maya?” Riley looked at me with concern. “If you want to cry, just cry…” I shook my head. “I’m fine.” Afterward, I went to Riley’s dorm, took a shower, changed my clothes, and dropped the dirty dress off at the front desk of Caleb’s dorm building. Then, I went straight to the bus station. It was too late to book a flight or an express train, so my only option was an overnight Greyhound bus to get home. The overnight bus was loud. Babies crying, people arguing, mixed with the smell of cheap fast food. Caleb’s messages came through right then. “What kind of temper tantrum is this? Did you really think I’d make you return the clothes?” “I just felt you shouldn’t have been so aggressive. There were so many people from my department there. I can’t just throw all logic out the window and blindly side with my girlfriend.” “I ordered the exact same dress online and had it delivered to Riley’s dorm. Go downstairs and get it.” He sent more messages, but the screen was covered in water. My eyes were covered in water. I couldn’t see clearly. And I didn’t want to. I tapped the screen and blocked his number. When I woke up, it was 2 AM. My eyes hurt. My head hurt. The lights outside flickered, and the bus had quieted down. I suddenly remembered another time I took an overnight trip like this. It was also with Caleb. It was our sophomore year of high school. We went out of state for an English debate tournament. Tickets back were hard to get. The chaperone talked to our parents and let Caleb and me take an earlier bus back together. That night, I dozed off. When I woke up, I realized I had somehow ended up resting my head on his shoulder. I was mortified and quickly apologized. He just looked at me, smiled, and asked, “Having a good dream?” I shook my head. “Well, I was,” he smiled. “It was a great dream. You should keep leaning on me, so I can go back to it.” After that, we slowly grew closer. He was handsome, outgoing, and every time he played basketball, a crowd of girls would bring him water and cheer for him. Sometimes I would go watch for a bit, always standing in the back. Until one day, as I was leaving, I heard someone calling me from the court. “Maya Vance!” I froze, turned around, and saw Caleb jumping over the crowded bleachers, smiling at me. “Watch me!” A clean dribble, a fake-out, a perfect three-pointer. The crowd went wild. After the game, he asked me why I never stayed until the end. “Too many people. I can’t squeeze to the front.” “That’s easy. Next time, I’ll have them save you a seat.” The next time I went, I was indeed escorted to a seat in the very front row. “Caleb specifically saved this for you,” the guy who brought me there winked. At halftime, a bunch of girls rushed the court to hand him water. He waved them off and walked straight to me. “Where’s my water?” Me: “Huh?” He rolled his eyes playfully, placing a hand on my head: “Ms. Vance, there is no free lunch in this world. You admired my heroic posture all game, and you don’t even have a bottle of water for me? I’m heartbroken.” Eventually, the water delivery evolved, and he requested to change seats so he could sit right in front of me in class. The day we submitted our college applications, he cornered me at the classroom door. “What are you thinking about?” “Thinking about what?” He looked like he was laughing out of frustration. “Do you think I just love twisting my neck to look backward, or that I’m just bored? Maya, even the ants on the ground know how I feel about you.” My face burned hot. “But we didn’t get into the same college…” “Wow, you can actually say something so irresponsible?” He pulled me into a hug, staring at me. “Distance isn’t the problem. I’m just asking you one thing: Do you like me?” The setting sun spilled into the classroom, illuminating our faces. I blushed and nodded. That day, when a very light, gentle kiss landed, I felt like I was the luckiest person in the world.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “405514”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

We got together when I was 18. At 22, I followed him all the way to New York City. But in the end, all I got for my devotion was a casual, “I never planned to marry her, don’t make a big deal out of it.” Eight years of love led to absolutely nothing, so I chose to walk away. I was gone for three years. The day I returned to the city, his friends asked me: “It’s been three years. You guys must have made up by now, right?” They all thought I came back to beg for a reconciliation. Little did they know, I came back to get married to someone else. 01 “You’re getting married?” I was organizing the guest list and replied, “Yeah. The wedding is next week.” My friend paused on the other end of the line before asking, “Then… what about Ethan?” Hearing Ethan’s name after three long years gave me a momentary sense of whiplash. But Ethan and I had ended three years ago. I was the one who initiated the breakup. It was his birthday. I had come back from a business trip a day early, planning to give him a surprise, but I accidentally overheard him talking to his friends. A friend asked him, “You’re 26, man. When are you planning to propose to Chloe?” Ethan’s posture was lazy, a half-smile playing on his lips. “I never planned to marry her. Don’t make a big deal out of nothing.” His friend was stunned. “You guys have been together for years. If you don’t marry her, who are you going to marry?” Ethan scoffed. “You said it yourself. We’ve been together for years. Do you really think there’s any spark left?” To be honest, in that split second, I couldn’t believe my own ears. We had just been on the phone half an hour prior. On that call, his voice had been incredibly soft, playfully begging me to hurry back so we could celebrate his birthday together. It had only been thirty minutes, yet I could no longer associate that man with the gentle, considerate boyfriend I thought I knew. The thought of breaking up materialized in that exact moment. That night, I didn’t push open the door to confront him. Instead, I calmly turned around, went back to our apartment, and packed my bags. Ethan came home at 2 AM. The moment he walked through the door, he bumped right into me holding my suitcase. He froze for barely a second before quickly stepping forward, pulling me into his arms, and affectionately nuzzling the crook of my neck. “Is this a surprise? I love it.” I pushed him away. “Ethan.” “Yeah?” “Let’s break up.” It wasn’t that we had never threatened to break up before, but every single time, I was the one who lowered my head and begged for peace. Our mutual friends always said, “Ethan is insecure. He needs someone who loves him enough to never leave. If you really want to be with him long-term, you need to be more accommodating.” Back then, I really, truly loved him. So I was willing to coax him, putting his emotions above everything else. From 18 to 26, I loved him fiercely and without reservation. But in the end, all it earned me was: “I’m never going to marry her.” 02 “What are you talking about? Are you breaking up with me just because I didn’t spend my birthday with you?” Ethan’s voice pulled me back to reality. He looped his arms around me again. “Alright, I’m not mad. We’re not breaking up.” Actually, his friends weren’t entirely right. Ethan wasn’t an awkward lover. On the contrary, when he wanted to be, he was incredibly good at coaxing people. On the surface, every time we “broke up,” he was the one who initiated it, and I was the one who patched things up. But no one knew that in the dead of night, behind closed doors, he was the one who would use every trick in the book—soft words and hard demands—to win me back. He knew exactly how to poke at the softest parts of my heart. He made me willingly forgive him. Just like now. He was playing his old tricks again. Just as he leaned in to kiss me, I shoved him away hard. Caught off guard, he stumbled back a few steps. Barely steadying himself, he heard me say, “I’m serious. I’m not joking with you.” In an instant, his tone turned icy, his eyes dark and terrifying. “Say that again?” It wasn’t surprising he was angry. After eight years together, this was the very first time I had initiated a breakup. Everyone thought it was impossible for me to leave him. Even Ethan believed that. But this time, I was truly exhausted. My gaze lingered on his handsome profile for a few seconds before I pulled away without hesitation, grabbing my suitcase and walking toward the door. I hadn’t taken more than a few steps when the suitcase suddenly wouldn’t budge. Ethan gripped the handle of my luggage, staring daggers at me. “Why?” He had beautiful eyes. When those deep, reserved eyes looked at you, it always gave you the illusion of being stared at with profound love. I avoided his gaze. “If we don’t break up, will you marry me?” Over these eight years, he was rational, ambitious, and had long since planned out his perfect future. He just never included me in it. The silence in the room was terrifying. I don’t know how long that dead silence lasted before he finally asked: “Do we have to get married? Can’t we just date forever?” I met his gaze head-on. The man’s dark eyes instantly grew even more unfathomable. It was the same look that had made me fall for him the very first time we met. But no matter how hard it was to let go of eight years of history, continuing a dead-end relationship was pointless. I looked into those bottomless eyes and let out a small, bitter laugh. “Dating for too long gets boring.” The veins on his hand gripping the suitcase handle popped. He practically ground the words out through his teeth: “You’re bored?” “Yes.” Ethan said “Okay” three times in a row. By the third time, his eyes were bloodshot. I didn’t dare look at him anymore, terrified I’d look even more pathetic than he did. I turned around, yanked my suitcase free, and kept walking. In the quiet night, the only sound was the heavy rolling of my suitcase wheels against the hardwood floor. As I reached the entryway, a freezing voice came from behind me: “If you walk out that door today, don’t you ever come back!” I paused, my throat suddenly dry. After a long moment, I left him with a single word—”Okay”—and walked out without looking back. 03 After that day, we saw each other one last time. It was the night before I left New York. I realized I had left a crucial document in his study. I texted him to let him know before I went over. The living room was empty, so I headed straight for the study. Passing by the master bedroom, I heard voices. I instinctively looked inside and saw Ethan lying on the bed, while a woman carefully wiped his face with a warm cloth. I recognized her. Olivia Bennett. The daughter of his father’s close friend. She was also the fiancée his family had arranged for him. Noticing me, Olivia blushed and quickly explained: “Chloe, please don’t misunderstand. Ethan had too much to drink. We… nothing happened between us.” I nodded, having no desire to chat, and went to the study. When I came back out, the bedroom door had been shut. Even so, I could clearly hear Ethan call out, “Wifey~” His voice was affectionate, gentle, and intimate. Even though we had already broken up, in that moment, an uncontrollable sourness still spread through my chest. I didn’t dare listen anymore and quickened my pace to leave. As I reached the entryway, Ethan called out to me. “Don’t come over anymore after this. Olivia will mind.” He leaned against the bedroom doorframe, looking lethargic. His shirt was unbuttoned down to the third button, revealing a lipstick mark right on his collarbone. My eyes lingered on his collar for a few seconds before I nodded. “Okay.” The moment I stepped out the door, the sound of a shattering vase echoed from behind me. Followed by Olivia’s gasp: “You’re bleeding!” I didn’t turn back. I walked away as fast as I could. That was the last time we saw each other. Over the next three years, we never contacted each other once. So, to this day, he still didn’t know I was getting married. 04 When the news of my wedding got out, the first person to call me was Mason Cole. He was a mutual friend of mine and Ethan’s. “Chloe, I heard you’re getting married?” I didn’t hide it. “The wedding is next week. I won’t be sending you guys invitations.” My fiancé had already sent out invitations to his own circle; it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to send separate ones to my old crowd. As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard the mocking laughter of other people in the background. “See, I told you! If she was really getting married, why wouldn’t she invite you? It’s obviously just an excuse to come back to the city.” “She’s out of options, right? Ethan is getting officially engaged at the end of the month. She has to make one last desperate play.” “Exactly! After eight years together, how could she just stand by and watch Ethan marry someone else?” I froze, quickly realizing that all of Ethan’s friends were gathered together. They were waiting to see how I would beg Ethan to take me back. This was their usual MO. In the past, whenever Ethan and I fought, they would place bets on how many days it would take me to cave and beg for forgiveness. They were absolutely certain I couldn’t bear to let Ethan go. Setting aside how wealthy his family was, just based on those eight years of emotional investment, no one believed I could just drop it all and walk away. They clearly thought this time was no different. Just as the thought crossed my mind, someone yelled into the phone: “E! If she begs to get back together, are you gonna take your ex back?” After a long pause, Ethan’s voice finally drifted over the line, cool and slow: “I’m getting engaged. Why are you even bringing this up?” Someone laughed and joked: “You think Ethan is an idiot? Giving up the Bennett family heiress to marry a girl with zero background… If it were you, would you?” Amidst their roaring laughter, an old memory surfaced in my mind. When I first moved to the city, Ethan’s friends treated me with respect. I thought they had accepted me. That was until Mason’s birthday party, when Olivia lost a priceless diamond necklace. Her friends surrounded me, demanding I hand it over. By the time Ethan arrived, I had been shoved around and looked like a total mess. Olivia looked at Ethan and said: “Ethan, please don’t be mad. They just really wanted to help me find it, so they resorted to extreme measures…” “Once we find it, I’ll apologize to Chloe, okay?” Ethan smiled, walked up to me, and affectionately patted the top of my head. “Alright. It’s not a big deal.” I gripped the hem of his shirt. In the moment he appeared, all my grievances and feelings of being wronged rushed up at once. Just as I was about to defend myself, I heard him say: “If you wanted it, you should have just told me. Why do something like this?” In that split second, my brain completely short-circuited. I looked at the man in front of me in utter disbelief. “You don’t believe me?” Ethan looked at me and didn’t say a single word, but his mocking gaze said it all. I couldn’t stop shaking. My hands and feet went ice cold. After being together for so long, I thought he knew exactly what kind of person I was. I never expected that, in a situation like that, without even asking me a single question, he would immediately stand on the opposing side. In that moment, everyone was looking at me. With contempt. With mockery. With indifference. Not a single person trusted me. For some reason, it made me think of what my grandfather had told me before I moved: “Kid, I won’t stop you from doing what you want to do. But you have to remember, social classes aren’t that easy to cross.” “Even if he holds you in his heart, will his family and his friends ever truly accept you?” I had patted my chest and promised my grandpa, “Don’t worry, Grandpa! Ethan won’t let us down.” I was young and arrogant. I didn’t understand what ‘unsurpassable social classes’ meant. It was only when I was pushed into the storm, isolated and helpless, that I profoundly realized there was an invisible, insurmountable chasm between Ethan and me. 05 The laughter on the other end of the phone continued for a long time. I don’t know who shouted: “Mason, ask her where she’s holding the wedding. We used to be friends, the least we can do is drop by and give her a wedding gift.” After a moment, Mason’s voice came through: “Chloe, which church are you having the wedding at?” “The Grand Cathedral in Manhattan.” As soon as the words left my mouth, someone immediately chimed in: “Listen to her! I told you she’s delusional. The Vance family heir’s wedding is next week, and it’s also at the Grand Cathedral. Let me guess, her husband is Liam Vance?” The crowd laughed even harder. Even Mason couldn’t help but gently warn me: “You remember Liam Vance, right? He’s getting married next week too…” “Mason,” I cut him off. “That day is my wedding with Liam.” The other end of the line went dead silent. I don’t know how much time passed before an explosive roar of laughter erupted. “She must have lost her damn mind! Now she’s dragging Liam Vance into her delusions.” “She really will say anything to make Ethan jealous.” “Ethan, just take pity on her and go see her. After all, she went crazy because you broke up with her…” I didn’t listen to the rest. I hung up. A text message from an unknown number immediately popped up: [Add me back.] The familiar tone, the familiar phrasing—I instantly knew it was Ethan. Expressionless, I deleted the text, turned off my phone, and went to sleep. When I woke up and turned my phone back on the next morning, I received a video from Mason. It was a recording of what happened after I hung up last night. Ethan was sitting on a single sofa, lighting a cigarette, the glowing red ash illuminating his callous features. He let out a low, raspy laugh. “Plenty of people have broken up with me. Do I have to go see every single one of them?” “Hell yeah, E! But if you don’t go see Chloe, are we just gonna let her walk away empty-handed?” Someone else retorted: “It’s her own fault for wanting a breakup! Now she regrets it and wants to get back together—three years later! She’s too spoiled!” “Exactly. Look at her making up ridiculous lies about marrying Liam Vance. Ethan was way too good to her.” Ethan didn’t speak. He just looked down, playing with his phone, lost in thought. Then, Mason spoke up: “Chloe isn’t a liar. Maybe she’s telling the truth.” “Come on, Mason. Are you defending her because she gave you something on the side? Or do you have a thing for her?” Mason glared deeply at the guy. “Have you all forgotten about the time she was framed for stealing that necklace? It was because of your prejudice that she had to suffer all those dirty looks for nothing.” There was a brief silence in the private room. Suddenly, someone said: “It’s easy to prove if Chloe is lying. You guys all got the Vance family invitation, right?” “I’ll call home and have someone take a picture of the invite and send it to me.” About a minute later, the guy laughed. “I knew it. Why would Liam Vance marry Chloe Miller? The bride’s last name is Miller, but her first name is Harper.” “Ethan, you can relax. She definitely came back to beg for a reconciliation.” … The video ended there. They were right. Liam’s bride was named Harper. But what they didn’t know was that Harper was me. Three years ago, my grandfather consulted an astrologer who said I had been carrying a lot of bad energy in recent years, and legally changing my first name would ward off the bad luck. So, my grandfather gave me a new name. Harper. 06 I knew that coming back to the city meant I would inevitably run into Ethan. But I never expected to run into him this fast. On the day of my wedding dress fitting, Liam had a last-minute emergency at work and said he’d be late. When I arrived at the bridal boutique, Ethan was sitting in the VIP area. Our eyes met. I gave a polite nod of acknowledgment and followed the attendant into the dressing room. While I was waiting for the makeup artist, Ethan walked in and locked the door behind him. By the time I registered what was happening, he was already standing right behind me. The vanity mirror reflected his handsome face. “Why did you block me?” His tone was casual, as if we had never been apart. Actually, he was the one who deleted and blocked me first. Three years ago, on the day I left the city, he removed me from his contacts and blocked my number. How did I know? I didn’t, initially. Mason accidentally let it slip. Three years ago, Mason passed a message for Ethan, asking me for a specific photo of him. I told Mason I’d just send it directly to Ethan. But Mason said, “You won’t be able to. Just send it to me.” I was stunned. No one knew this, but Ethan and I had an unspoken rule— Even if we fought and broke up, we were never allowed to delete or block each other. That was the first time. And Ethan was the one who broke the rule. That day, after sending the photo to Mason, I opened my camera roll and deleted every single photo and file related to Ethan. At the same time, I deleted and blocked him on every single platform. And now, the instigator was here questioning me. I cautiously backed away, putting distance between us. “Ethan, we’re broken up. Besides, we’re both getting married soon. There’s no reason for us to contact each other anymore.” He slowly curved his lips into a meaningful smirk. “There’s no one else here. You don’t have to pretend.” I frowned. “Pretend what?” “Saying you’re getting married—isn’t it just to provoke me? To make me come back to you?” To be honest, I never expected that even after three years, Ethan would still be so absolutely certain I would go back to him. And I finally understood. During those eight years, I had tolerated his toxic behavior time and time again, which gave him this unshakable, arrogant confidence. “Ethan,” I said. “Whatever you want to think, I came back this time to hold my wedding. Once the wedding is over, I’m leaving.” “If I did anything that gave you the illusion I want to get back together, I apologize.” Ethan didn’t say a word. He silently scrutinized me. After a long time, he suddenly spoke: “Is it because I’m in an arranged marriage?” “It has nothing to do with that, Ethan. I’m marrying someone else—” He cut me off. “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re still mad.” He completely ignored the second half of my sentence and softened his tone. “It’s been three years. You’re really still holding a grudge?” Saying that, he raised his hand, wanting to pat my head like he used to. I dodged his hand, my brow furrowing deeply. “Do you not understand English? I said I came back this time to marry Liam Vance. It has nothing to do with you.” His hand just froze in mid-air. His eyes went cold, inch by inch, and his voice turned incredibly dark: “Chloe, if you wanted to find someone to piss me off, why did you have to pick Liam? You can’t even touch the threshold of the Vance family.” Just like before, Ethan still didn’t believe me. Those prejudices were etched into his very bones. He was convinced I couldn’t even get close to Liam, let alone marry into his family. For some reason, I suddenly laughed. “In your heart, am I really that pathetic?” His brow knitted tightly. “What are you talking about?” He paused, then let out a sigh. “Alright. If you want to come back to me, then come back.” “Come back where? To your marital home? What identity do you expect me to have when I go back?” His face darkened slightly. “Chloe, I’m already making concessions. What more do you want?” “I don’t need them.” Not wanting to waste any more time in this pointless argument, I tried to step around him and leave. As soon as I turned, he grabbed my wrist. Ethan’s voice was low: “If you really want to get married that badly, I can marry you.” I looked back at him, a mocking smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Marry me? Didn’t you say you never planned to marry me from the very start?” His face went stark white. “You… who told you that?” “You said it yourself.” I looked at him deeply. “That day, I was standing right outside the door.” Ethan’s eyes went from confused, to shocked, to a sudden, crushing realization. “So the reason you broke up with me… was because you heard that?” “Yes!” If I hadn’t acted on a whim to go back and celebrate his birthday that day, I might still be completely in the dark. I might still be desperately holding onto a relationship that was never going to lead anywhere. The atmosphere in the cramped dressing room instantly shifted. The man’s thin lips pressed into a cold, hard line. “Why didn’t you come in and ask me?” his voice was hoarse. “If I asked, wouldn’t the answer have been the same?” He wanted to say something else, but a knock on the door interrupted him. It was the boutique attendant. “Ms. Miller, do you need any help?” “No, I’m coming out.” Catching Ethan off guard, I ripped my hand away and walked out briskly. But when I saw who was outside the door, my footsteps faltered.

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Even after marrying my childhood friend, we remained strangers. Except for our routine nightly obligations, we rarely saw each other. He had an incredibly cold personality. Even when I asked for a divorce, he only spaced out for a second before pushing himself up from my body. “Alright. Got it.” I said, “I don’t want custody of the kid either. He’s going to be your problem from now on.” “It’s fine.” I insisted, “You’ve worked hard these past few years. Thank you.” I had very little luggage. A single suitcase held everything I owned. Before leaving, I turned back to close the door. Carter, shirtless and covered in the scratch marks I’d just left on his back, stood silently on the balcony smoking a cigarette. 01 My sister Chloe Miller’s return to the States was trending everywhere on Twitter. After all, she was a dance prodigy who found fame young. In the interview video, she wore a red dress, looking as vibrant and fiercely dazzling as ever. But my attention was drawn to the final photo attached to the article. Through a half-lowered car window, Chloe’s head perfectly blocked the side profile of the man waiting inside. Though you couldn’t see his full face, the superior curve of the man’s brow, nose, and jawline was unmistakable. Not to mention, the angle of their bodies made it look exactly like they were kissing. Chloe’s fans were going crazy, digging everywhere to find out who owned the car. I recognized the owner at first glance. It was my husband, Carter Hayes. After all, a globally limited-edition Rolls-Royce Phantom was hard to mistake. It looked like Carter wouldn’t be coming home tonight. So, I comfortably took over our massive king-sized bed. Late in the night, a pair of ice-cold arms woke me up. “Are you awake?” The newcomer was very polite. “Sorry to bother you.” My mind was still a bit foggy. It took me a moment to gather the strength to sit up. He had already wrapped his arms around my body, making room for himself on his half of the bed. “Sorry,” I said. “I thought you weren’t coming home tonight.” The lamp clicked on. Carter turned his back to me and took off his bathrobe. The warm light painted his broad back and neck with a pale golden hue, like an oil painting, full of raw power and aesthetics. A minute later, that neck leaned in close to me. “Can we kiss?” He asked politely enough. But in reality, he didn’t wait for my consent at all. As our lips and teeth tangled, I could clearly feel the sweat slowly seeping through his skin beneath my palms. Carter propped himself up, extended his long arm, and opened the nightstand drawer on his side. Then, he frowned. “Why are we out?” “Sorry… I forgot to buy more,” I said slowly. Carter looked down at me for a moment, then lay back down beside me. He spoke in what sounded like a very considerate tone: “It’s fine. I’ll pick up a box on my way home from work tomorrow.” A box… If I had known, I would have hidden them. I braced myself and replied, “Thanks for the trouble.” “Don’t mention it.” 02 When I woke up the next day, the other half of the bed was already empty. I casually scrolled through my phone, and before I knew it, it was noon. The man I shared a bed with last night was in the news again. Carter Hayes, CEO of Hayes Corporation, was invited to watch Chloe Miller’s first stage performance since her return to the country. This time, the internet sleuths not only figured out that Carter was the owner of the car from last night, but they also used magnifying glasses to analyze the photos and concluded that the two definitely spent the night together. Because even though Carter was wearing a high-necked black shirt, it didn’t hide the hickey on his neck. And Chloe’s lip, coincidentally, was slightly bruised. You didn’t need much imagination to guess how intense they were last night. The hype was so massive that an insider soon leaked the backstory: Years ago, to ask for Chloe’s hand in marriage, Carter had threatened to voluntarily give up his inheritance rights to the Hayes empire. But at the critical moment, Chloe turned him down. She didn’t want to become a wealthy socialite wife and end her dancing career. Reuniting years later, the teenage lovers who missed their chance had both reached the absolute pinnacle of their respective fields. Every look, every gesture between them seemed to steep in their lingering past love. … The comments section was flooded, basically all praising how perfect they were for each other. Only one anonymous burner account posted a few consecutive comments: [Fake news. He has a wife.] Very quickly, that account was chased down and flamed by a mob: [So what if he has a wife? No one can replace the first love of his youth!] [Then he’ll just get a divorce and pursue Chloe again. Duh.] I was just about to hit ‘like’ on their comments when the trending page was flooded with a new picture. It was backstage after the dance performance. Carter was handing Chloe a bouquet. Chloe held the flowers, smiling like a little girl. And Carter, who never showed emotion to anyone, was looking at her, seemingly infected by her joy, with a smile on his own face. Though faint, it held a very rare kind of tenderness. My heart suddenly skipped a beat. A complex knot of emotions surged in my chest. We had known each other for decades. We had been married for five years. I had never seen Carter smile at me like that. And he had never, ever given me flowers. 03 If Chloe was Carter’s lingering regret from his youth, then I was the obligation forced upon him by the Hayes family. Chloe, Carter, and I all grew up in the same wealthy neighborhood and attended the same prep school. But they took calligraphy classes together under the same tutor since childhood; their bond was much closer. I only got Carter’s personal cell phone number half a month after our wedding. Right after we got married, Carter worked overtime and didn’t come back to the bridal estate for half a month. When my mother-in-law found out, she visited specifically to lecture me about not taking the initiative to care for my husband’s health. I sent him my first text message: [Sorry to bother you. Are you coming home for dinner tonight?] Half an hour later, he replied: [Who is this?] [Maya.] [Thank you. No need to wait for me.] It wasn’t until three months later that Carter sent me his first initiated text. [Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow.] Me: [Is there an occasion?] [We need to go back to the main estate.] [Okay. Do I need to bring anything?] A moment later, my phone chimed with the pleasant sound of a deposit: [Chase Bank: Your account ending in 730 has received a wire transfer of $100,000.00. Available balance: $100,123.00.] Carter replied: [You decide. Just buy whatever.] From that moment on, I knew Carter would never love me. He treated me like an employee of his company. He dismissed me with money. But I was very open-minded about it. An arranged marriage was exactly like this. It didn’t matter if he came home or not. I could just spend his money like crazy by myself. Our relationship only improved slightly after we spent a night at the Hayes estate. To fool the elders, he was forced to sleep in the same bed with me. I thought he wouldn’t touch me. But my mother-in-law had spiked the soup she served that night with a lot of “herbal supplements.” Carter spoke first: “I’m sorry.” Then he asked: “Can we?” And finally: “If you’re uncomfortable, tell me to stop.” I endured it for a long time before I finally let out a sound. “…I’m sorry, I think this is a bit too much for me.” “I’m sorry.” He apologized quickly. “It’s okay,” was all I could say. … A long time later, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why haven’t you stopped yet?” Carter finally lifted his head and looked at me. Under the dim yellow light, he seemed hesitant, but he still leaned down and kissed me. It was much later when I found out why he lost control that night. Chloe had started dating a guy abroad. That night was the day she went public with the relationship. 04 After finding out I was pregnant, I sent Carter a message. It was a photo of the obstetric ultrasound report. He was busy for a long time before replying: [Congratulations.] Five hours later, he finally realized something else was required. [Chase Bank: Your account ending in 730 has received a wire transfer of $5,000,000.00. Available balance: $6,000,123.00.] [Thanks for your hard work.] Six months later, our child, Leo Hayes, was born. Carter was very good to Leo. He set up a massive trust fund that covered his education, medical, and living expenses for a lifetime. The days passed slowly. Many people knew Carter Hayes was married, but they had no idea what his wife looked like. Except for our routine nightly obligations, we rarely saw each other. Except for discussing Leo, we never made small talk. In these five years, we never had a single fight over anything. You could even say we respected each other like polite guests. We were simply still strangers. At 3 PM, I picked up Leo from his private kindergarten. Pushing open the door, Chloe was lounging on our living room sofa, holding my little dog and waving at me. “You’re back?” Leo, who always kept a straight, serious face, let out a scream of joy: “Auntie Chloe!” He was Chloe’s biggest fan. Ever since he saw a video of her dancing, he had been obsessed. Chloe ruffled his hair and looked up at me with a beaming smile. “Maya, your son seems to like me more.” Leo, usually an old soul in a kid’s body, looked at her with sparkling eyes. “Auntie Chloe, you should live at our house from now on. Don’t leave, okay?” I carried the groceries I bought on the way home into the kitchen. From far away, I could hear Chloe’s giggles. “If I live at your house, where is your mommy going to live?” “She can leave,” Leo said. “She’s useless around here anyway.” … The water from the faucet rushed down into the sink. The kitchen door was suddenly pushed open. Carter stood in the doorway, looking a bit tired. “Can I come in?” “You can. What is it?” He pointed at the pot on the stove. “The soup smells really good. Can I have some?” “Sure.” I nodded. I had originally simmered it for him anyway. I ladled a bowl and handed it to him. Carter took it. “Thanks for your hard work. Thank you.” Walking out of the kitchen, I saw Chloe suddenly flash a smile at me. She said, “Maya, your soup is as delicious as always.” I froze, realizing the bowl I had just handed him was now in Chloe’s hands. She sighed comfortably as she sipped it. “I’m so jealous you know how to cook. Unlike me, I’ve never even stepped foot in a kitchen.” Leo chimed in, “Auntie Chloe, you’re so amazing at dancing. It doesn’t matter if you can’t cook. My mommy can just cook for you.” Since birth, Leo had been spoiled rotten by the Hayes family. I was the only person who was strict with him, refusing to let him act entitled or use his family’s wealth to bully other kids. As a result, Leo had always disliked me. He was like his father; he only valued the things, or people, he actually liked. Chloe wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t just my husband. My son, and even my dog, liked her better. The thought of divorce was finalized in that exact moment. 05 I asked Carter for a divorce on a night one week later. We had just finished. He suddenly said he had a work emergency and needed to leave. I interrupted him and said I had something to say too. As expected, he had no reaction after I said it. He just spaced out for a second, pushed himself off me, his face devoid of emotion. “Alright. Got it.” Like he was receiving a memo from his secretary. I said, “I don’t want custody of the kid either. He’s going to be your problem from now on.” “It’s fine.” I insisted, “You’ve worked hard these past few years. Thank you.” Even though there were no feelings, he did sleep with me for all these years. It was hard work for him, too. I had very little luggage. A single suitcase held everything I owned. The divorce papers were left on the living room coffee table. I had already signed them. Before leaving, I turned back to close the door. Carter, shirtless and covered in scratch marks, stood silently on the balcony smoking a cigarette. I didn’t tell anyone about the divorce. Leo was asleep in his room. Further away at the Miller estate, my parents were celebrating Chloe’s birthday. When Carter finished his cigarette, he would probably go find Chloe, too. Bringing along the gift he had prepared in his study— A custom-made red dance dress. The first time I saw it, I loved it too. But just like this marriage, it wasn’t something that belonged to me. No one remembered that when I was young, I had also won the National Youth Dance Championship trophy. My instructors used to say my physical gifts were one in a thousand. But after accidentally falling from a high stage, I could never dance again. After that, I locked myself in my room and cried every day. It was the most agonizing memory of my life. My parents grieved for a brief period, then turned around and sent Chloe to the exact same instructor. “If the older sister had talent, the younger sister’s might be even higher.” From that moment on, I couldn’t bear to look at anything related to dance. Tonight, like countless nights before it, was a very ordinary night. The wind was light. The moon was bright. From the moment I decided to leave, right up until I boarded the plane, I never looked back. Once I was on the flight, a beautiful flight attendant brought over a small slice of cake. “Dear Miss, thank you for choosing our airline. Our entire flight crew wishes you a very happy birthday.” I paused for a second. Then I smiled at her. “Thank you so much.” 06 The destination I chose was my grandmother’s house in the countryside. After getting off the plane, I had to catch a regional train, and then a dedicated tourist bus. In recent years, the mountain town where my grandmother lived had been developed into a tourist heritage site by the state. After enduring five or six hours of travel, the bus wound its way up the mountain roads of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Looking out the old glass windows, the white clouds seemed to grow right out of the earth. The wind rushed in, carrying a wave of summer heat. I took a few pictures and happily posted them on Instagram. A sudden phone ring broke my relaxed mood. It was Carter. “What is it?” “Leo has a fever. Do you know where the medical kit is?” “Second-floor storage room.” “Okay.” After a moment of silence, Carter added, “Found it. Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” I was just about to hang up when Carter continued, “Say hello to Grandma for me. Come back when you’ve had enough fun. Leo keeps asking for you.” I gripped the phone. “Then you need to tell him we’re already divorced.” Click. It sounded like Carter had lit a lighter. His tone was unnervingly calm. “Is this because of Noah Brooks?” “Noah Brooks?” It took me a long time to pull that name from the depths of my memory. I was baffled. “What does he have to do with this?” “He returned to the States,” Carter said. “Your IPs are currently in the exact same location.” “Carter,” I rubbed my temples. “You don’t seem very clear-headed right now. I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t want to know.” “From now on, if you can’t find something, ask the housekeeper. If the kid is sick, take him to a doctor.” “I want our relationship from here on out to be completely undisturbed by one another.” Carter was silent for a moment. “Fine. As you wish.” 07 When I reached Grandma’s doorstep, I was thrilled. The once-rustic mountain town had become modernized, but it still retained its indigenous folk charm. The familiar front yard, the grape trellis, the creek… But— There was an unfamiliar person standing at the door. He was very young, wearing a black T-shirt and a silver bone chain. He seemed to have just washed his hair, carrying a cool, damp aura. I wheeled my suitcase up, looking at him hesitantly. He stared back at me. As we got closer, we both exclaimed in sudden realization: “Noah Brooks?” “Maya?” I couldn’t believe the coincidence. Returning to my hometown, I actually bumped into a former teammate from my competition days. During the years I gave up dancing due to my injury, Noah had kept going. After graduating from an arts conservatory, he, like Chloe, went abroad for further training. I had seen his promotional posters many times. The fact that Carter knew his itinerary so well was also because of Chloe. They were in the same dance company. Noah explained that since returning to the US, he had wanted to choreograph a unique piece inspired by Appalachian folk mythology. Since my grandmother’s village was famous for its heritage culture, he had come specifically to sketch out ideas and find inspiration. After a brief catch-up, Noah suddenly asked me tentatively, “Maya, after… back then, did you ever try to dance again?” I fell silent. Noah pressed on, “When I was in Europe, I met a doctor involved in sports medicine. His clinic specializes in this exact kind of rehabilitation. Maya… if you still want to dance, do you want to give it a try?” “The success rate might not be 100%,” he continued. “And the treatment costs can be quite high. But if you need it, I can… lend you the money.” Looking nervous, as if afraid he had said the wrong thing, he watched me carefully. “Of course, if you don’t want to, just pretend I never brought it up.” In the first few years after the accident, I never gave up on rehab. But those treatments ultimately yielded no results. Facing exorbitant rehab fees, I was filled with hope time and time again, only to face despair. Combined with my family’s subsequent business failures, we couldn’t afford the extra money, and I slowly gave up. Marrying Carter, hiding in a loveless marriage to drift through the years, I had long lost my former spirit. I wanted to reject Noah, but when the words reached my lips, they changed into: “I want to.” “Even if it’s only a 10% chance, I want to try.” After I said it, I stood frozen in place. My arms hung by my sides, trembling uncontrollably. My body… was still unwilling to give up. Plans changed immediately. After staying in the village to have dinner with Grandma, I contacted the professor Noah mentioned. Professor Ross asked me a lot of questions, mentioned he had successfully treated similar cases before, told me not to worry, and had his assistant book an appointment for next month. Hanging up the phone, I felt like I was dreaming. Noah seemed even more excited than I was. “This is amazing, Maya!” “Thank you.” My heart started racing, my entire body engulfed in a surreal feeling. He just shook his head. “Honestly, I’m doing this for myself too. Maya, if the treatment goes well, I want to ask you for a favor.” “Okay.” I didn’t even ask what the favor was. I just agreed instantly.

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She stole my identity to become a wealthy heiress. As I lay bleeding out and dying, she took my family heirloom, looking down at me with a solemn promise: “I will live a good life for you.” But just as she reached the absolute peak of her glamorous new life, I came back from the dead. 1. The Sterling family was gathered in the living room, their expressions a mix of shock and complex emotions. A manila folder of DNA results sat on the coffee table. I sat casually on the sofa, my expression calm, waiting for the final verdict to drop. No one could have ever imagined that the current darling of high society, the beloved Sterling heiress, was nothing but a fraud. A cheap knockoff. Right as the atmosphere peaked in its awkwardness, the door was pushed open. The other main character of this little drama had arrived. The bright smile on her face hadn’t yet faded; she was clearly in a fantastic mood. Turning her head and seeing the entire family gathered together, she froze for a second before cheerfully greeting everyone one by one. That is, until her gaze landed on my back. Sensing her stare, the corners of my lips curled up. “Who is this?” she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice. Her question snapped everyone out of their daze. But no one answered her. Or rather, they didn’t know how to answer her. They looked at her with complicated expressions, a flash of deep disgust hidden in their eyes. Even her “parents,” who had doted on her unconditionally, no longer had any warmth in their gaze. Their expressions were freezing cold as they stared straight at her face. Just as she started to shift uncomfortably, I stood up from the sofa, turned around, and smiled. “Long time no see, Ms. Davis.” Before she could even process it, I met her terrified, shrinking gaze and let my smile widen. Chloe Davis instinctively tightened her grip on her designer handbag. She probably never thought she would see me alive again. 2. Five years ago, on my way to reunite with my biological family, I was caught in a horrific car crash and left on the brink of death. She ignored my pleas for help. Instead, she pried the heirloom necklace from my hand and whispered that she would “live a good life for me.” But the sickest part? That car crash only happened because I got dragged into her mess. I refused to die like that. My overwhelming will to live caught the attention of a system, which bound itself to me. As long as I completed world-hopping missions, I could earn my resurrection. It was then I learned the truth. Chloe Davis was the female lead of a dark, twisted romance novel. That day, I had accidentally saved her as she was running away from the obsessive, psychotic male lead. But because of her “protagonist halo,” she survived the resulting car crash without a scratch, while I—a mere cannon fodder—was left to bleed out. When I reached out for help, she just took my necklace and promised to live my life. She never even thought about calling an ambulance… Later, she altered her appearance just enough, took my heirloom, and claimed my identity, returning to the Sterling family to become the apple of their eye. Yet, she still couldn’t escape the psychotic male lead, Damon Vance. She kept telling herself she was “avenging me,” but in reality, she was constantly entangled with Damon, deliberately using her doting adoptive youngest uncle to make Damon jealous. Damon was a lunatic. Once the youngest uncle became his target, he was subjected to endless sabotage, eventually having both his legs broken. A proud, brilliant man was dragged straight into the mud. And because the Sterling family refused to let Chloe be with Damon, he destroyed their entire empire, leaving the family ruined and dead. But what happened to Chloe and Damon? Absolutely nothing. Instead, after going through a series of “hardships” and realizing their toxic love for each other, they got their happily ever after. The Sterling family and my life were just stepping stones for their epic romance. 3. But now, right at the beginning of it all, I was back. Without the Sterling family’s backing, she was nothing more than a caged bird meant for Damon’s twisted games. Staring at my face, Chloe couldn’t make a sound for a long time. She had zero defense, because she never factored in the possibility that I could still be breathing. “It’s been a few years. I never expected Ms. Davis to actually take my name. You even made your face look a bit like mine…” I took a slow step toward her, feigning surprise. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Smack! A sharp, ringing slap cut off Chloe’s pathetic defense, sending her face jerking to the side. “For saving your life, one slap is a bargain, Ms. Davis,” I said, rubbing my wrist with a scoff. I saved her out of the goodness of my heart, only to save an ungrateful snake. Chloe closed her eyes in humiliation, her voice turning hoarse. “This slap… I’ll count it as what I owe you. Luna Sterling, from now on, we are even.” “Mom, Dad, Grandpa… I’m sorry.” Chloe bowed deeply to the elders of the family, but they physically stepped back to avoid her. She stiffened. “We only have one child, Luna. We can’t accept such a grand gesture from you, Ms. Davis,” Mrs. Sterling said, her eyes burning with hatred now that the truth had fully sunk in. The precious daughter she had painstakingly searched for was a fake—and the indirect murderer of her real flesh and blood. “I know whatever I say, you won’t forgive me. But these past few years, I truly saw you as my real parents…” Chloe looked at Mrs. Sterling with a wounded expression, desperately trying to find a shred of pity or reluctance. She was disappointed. Aside from disgust and hatred, there was nothing. Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the front door. Someone barged in. “You actually dared to lay a hand on her?!” The furious male voice belonged to Damon Vance. He hadn’t left the perimeter. His dark, venomous eyes swept over everyone in the room. 4. “Damon, I’m fine,” Chloe said. The second Damon stepped in to shield her, tears welled up in her eyes, as if she finally had someone to pour all her grievances out to. “Did you do this?” Damon immediately locked his suspicious, murderous glare on me, the stranger in the room. I gave him a fearless, easy smile. “So what if I did? Ms. Davis accepted it willingly.” My words made Chloe’s face go rigid. “You have a death wish!” Damon was enraged. He reached out to choke me. But before anyone in the room could even react, a blur flashed before their eyes. I kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying backward onto the marble floor. You think I did all those system missions for nothing? I had faced psychos way crazier and stronger than Damon. I had learned martial arts, cultivated magic, and killed monsters. Thinking he could bully me just by being a little unhinged? He was dreaming. Damon curled up on the floor, groaning in pain. Chloe rushed to help him, her face full of concern. “Damon, are you okay? Don’t scare me!” she cried. Then she pointed her venom at me: “Luna! Don’t go too far! I already gave everything in the Sterling family back to you. Why did you have to hurt Damon?!” The resentment in her eyes was practically spilling over. She conveniently ignored the fact that Damon tried to attack me first. “Don’t make me laugh, Ms. Davis. The clothes on your back, the jewelry you’re wearing, even the ground you’re standing on—which of it doesn’t belong to the Sterling family?” I sneered, looking down at her. Chloe’s face drained of color. She bit her lip, looking down at her designer dress. All her dark, pathetic little thoughts were completely exposed in front of me. “Don’t act all high and mighty after leeching off us for years,” I said, ignoring her mental gymnastics, and took a step closer. “What are you doing?!” Chloe was on high alert, her shoulders shrinking back involuntarily. By this time, Damon had recovered slightly. He glared at me with pure hatred and cursed, “You bitch!” I laughed coldly and slammed my heel down directly onto his wrist. He broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. 5. “If you can’t speak properly, then keep your mouth shut,” I said, grinding the toe of my shoe into his wrist. “Ah! Luna Sterling, you bitch! I’ll kill you! I’m going to kill you!” Damon’s eyes were bloodshot, his expression utterly deranged. Without changing my expression, I applied more pressure. “Stop! Luna, stop! You’re going to break his wrist!” Chloe panicked. She could only scream at me to stop, not daring to physically pull me away. She was terrified I would kick her across the room just like I did him. “Mom, please! Please make her stop. I promise Damon and I will never appear in front of you again. Please, Mom…” Unable to stop me, Chloe turned to beg my mother. But Mrs. Sterling simply gave her a cold, flat look before turning away. Chloe’s heart went cold. She then threw pleading looks at my father, my older brother, my grandfather, and everyone else in the room. Not a single person stepped up to help her. Just as Chloe fell into total despair, the main doors opened again. A clear, youthful voice, tinged with confusion, rang out. “Do we have guests? Why is it so loud?” Everyone turned to look at the entryway. A teenager walked in, freezing when he saw the chaotic scene. He looked completely lost. To Chloe, he was her saving grace. “Liam! Save me!” she cried beautifully, treating Liam Sterling as her last lifeline. Liam quickly sensed the tension in the room. But this was the “sister” he had lived with for years, so his expression softened. 6. “Sister, what’s wrong?” “Liam, she is not your sister.” Mrs. Sterling stepped forward and pulled him aside. Liam was stunned. “Your only sister is Luna. This fraud, this ungrateful snake, doesn’t deserve to be called your sister.” The more Mrs. Sterling thought about it, the more she hated Chloe. Her biological daughter had done a good deed, only to have her identity stolen and be left for dead. If I hadn’t come back today, who knows how long they would have been kept in the dark? The faint smile on Liam’s face vanished completely. “No, it’s not like that… Liam, I just… I just thought…” Chloe’s defense was incredibly weak. She didn’t know what excuse would sound best. She took my identity because she “feared my family would be sad over my death”? Or because she wanted to “fulfill my dying wish of reuniting with them”? No matter how she spun it, it wasn’t exactly a noble act. “Chloe, you don’t need to explain anything to him. I’ll remember this humiliation. The Sterling family… I won’t let a single one of you off!” Damon couldn’t stand seeing Chloe beg. He arrogantly threatened everyone in the room. “Are you still tangling with this mad dog?” Liam frowned deeply. He knew Damon. Because Chloe had, on countless occasions, tearfully begged their youngest uncle to protect her so she could escape Damon. Yet, after other people went through hell to help her, she would turn right around and get back together with him. Faced with Liam’s questioning, Chloe guiltily looked away. She didn’t want to, but in her eyes, Damon was the only person in the world who truly loved her. It was just that his methods were a bit extreme… Looking at her face, I could guess exactly what kind of delusional garbage she was thinking. “You don’t even find him repulsive,” Liam clicked his tongue in disgust, having zero intention of getting involved. “Liam…” Chloe couldn’t believe the younger brother who used to be so close to her could turn on her so quickly. 7. Crack. Everyone’s attention was drawn back to the sharp sound. I touched my nose awkwardly. “Sorry, misjudged my strength.” Damon’s wrist was bent at a horrifying angle. Chloe was paralyzed with fear. I kindly offered some advice: “If you go to the ER now, they can still save it. But if you insist on staying here to throw around threats, I can’t guarantee his other hand will be okay.” Trespassing in a private residence? I call this justifiable self-defense. Damon and Chloe fled the house looking incredibly pathetic. After they left, the Sterling family held a massive internal meeting. Aside from my youngest uncle who was still overseas on a business trip, everyone attended. My identity was officially confirmed. What surprised me the most was that they didn’t act like a stereotypical soap-opera rich family, treating the “wrong daughter” scandal as a humiliation to be swept under the rug. Instead, they threw a massive, glamorous banquet to introduce me to everyone. They proudly announced that I was the real Luna, the sole heiress of the Sterling family. The elite circles accepted it far easier than I imagined. Then again, the guests were all families closely allied with the Sterlings. They wouldn’t dare cause drama. At the banquet, I finally met the man I had heard so much about—my youngest uncle, Arthur Sterling. Dressed in a sharp black tuxedo, an elegant smile playing on his lips, he stood out effortlessly in the crowd. Suddenly, someone whispered something in his ear. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, then his gaze shot straight across the room, locking onto me. 8. The moment our eyes met, an unspoken, dark energy passed between us. Intrigued, I smirked and downed the rest of my red wine. I have no idea how Chloe snuck into the banquet. Was it her protagonist halo at work? The moment Grandpa took the stage to officially announce my identity, she was hiding in a corner, her eyes red with tears. I noticed a lingering gaze and casually scanned the room, spotting her instantly. In the original plot, when she returned to the Sterling family as me, there was never a grand, public introduction like this. Maybe it was blood intuition, but Grandpa always had doubts about her identity. But a secret paternity test proved she was a Sterling. Of course, that was all secretly manipulated by Damon. Because of that, when the Sterling family eventually fell, Grandpa was the first loose end Damon eliminated. “Is Ms. Davis here to spectate today?” Since she was here, there was no need to let her hide in the shadows. My voice drew everyone’s attention. The crowd instinctively parted, exposing Chloe. “How does she have the nerve to show up?” “Is the Sterling family just letting her off the hook?” “I heard she’s still hooking up with that psycho, Damon Vance.” “Did she come to crash the party?” The younger guests whispered loudly. Chloe was fully exposed to the public eye. She lacked the radiant, confident aura she had when she was the “Sterling heiress.” Dressed in a flimsy white gown, she looked frail and delicate. Standing there quietly, she looked like a wilting white lily. Hearing my words, she bit her lip in humiliation, her eyes red, looking incredibly pitiful. But no one in this room was crazy enough to be Damon Vance. No one was going to step up and play white knight just because she squeezed out a few tears.

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On the day I was packing to leave the Sterling house, Julian leaned against the doorframe. He watched me gather my things, a half-smile playing on his lips: “What?” “Realized that having a kid didn’t force me to marry you?” “So now you think he’s useless, and you’re not even planning on taking him with you?” Before I could even open my mouth to respond. Oliver, who had been eavesdropping outside the door for a while, walked in. He carefully tipped his piggy bank, pouring all his saved coins into my hands. “Mommy, you have to take good care of yourself, okay?” “Also, can you promise me one thing? Promise me you’ll absolutely never come back.” “Aunt Chloe said that only if you leave completely, will she be willing to be my new mommy.” 1 After Oliver finished those few sentences. He blinked his big, dark eyes at me, his anticipation practically overflowing. Julian lowered his voice, carrying a hidden warning. “Oliver Sterling.” “Is this how school taught you to speak to your mother?” Oliver lowered his head, pouting. “But last time Aunt Chloe asked if Daddy liked Mommy, you said you didn’t.” “And I don’t really like her that much either…” “So if she wants to leave, just let her leave…” I had long since stopped feeling sad over these kinds of words from him. A week ago, for his sixth birthday. He threw a tantrum, insisting on celebrating it with Julian and Chloe. I suddenly felt like I wasn’t so afraid of losing them anymore. I didn’t have the slightest desire to stop him. Even when I walked past that restaurant that evening. I heard him introducing Chloe to the violinist as his mother, and my heart didn’t even skip a beat. 2 Because I was packing my suitcase, I was squatting down. My line of sight was perfectly level with little Oliver. I accepted his money and gave a slight nod. “Okay, I promise you.” I didn’t refer to myself as ‘Mommy’ anymore. I just said quietly: “I won’t come back to this house.” “And I won’t be your mother anymore. Oliver, you’re free.” He seemed surprised that I agreed so easily. He stared at me for two seconds. Then he started laughing, “Yay!” “Aunt Chloe is going to be my mommy from now on!!” He ran out the door, yelling that he was going to call Chloe with the good news. I packed my last piece of clothing. Zipped up the suitcase and stood up. Julian had been silent this whole time. But as I passed by him, he grabbed my arm. His eyes were half-closed, his expression unreadable. “Maya, not liking doesn’t mean hating.” “These past few years, I’ve gotten used to having you around.” “What exactly are you trying to prove by insisting on leaving?” By the end, his voice carried a faint trace of irritation. I wanted to say something, but felt it would be redundant and overly dramatic. So I just pulled my arm free and simply advised: “Take good care of Oliver.” I dragged my suitcase out of the Sterling house. Leaving the gated community required a long walk. The weather wasn’t great either. The cold wind whipped up fallen leaves from the roadside and threw them against me. It seemed very easy to end up looking pathetic. But still, I didn’t look back. Not even once. 3 I had rented an apartment in advance and also found a job. Based on my previous major, I applied for a position as an art teacher at a children’s art academy. My first day of work. Walking into the office, I saw several female teachers squatting in front of a little girl. “Zoey, does your uncle like desserts?” “Also, also, what type of girls does he like?” “Zoey, sweetie, is he coming to pick you up tonight?” The girl was expressionless. “Teachers, you called me over, didn’t you say you had issues with my drawing style that you wanted to discuss?” The teachers looked at each other awkwardly. “Since there’s no issue, I’m going back to class.” The girl turned around and saw me. She gave a faint greeting, “Hello, teacher.” Then she walked away without looking back. 4 The teachers were very friendly to me, the newcomer. After introducing the work process, they started chatting about the girl again. “You don’t know, right? That kid’s uncle is Carter Hayes.” “Along with Julian Sterling, they are known as the most eligible bachelors in Seattle.” “Oh wait, that’s not right. I heard Julian is already back together with his first love, Chloe, who just returned from abroad.” “Now there’s only Carter left.” Hearing Julian’s name again, I was so calm it was as if I didn’t know him. But Carter Hayes… I sighed silently. He was Julian’s mortal enemy. He had always hated me. Every time we crossed paths, without exception, he would mock me. “You’re pathetic. Photos of Julian and Chloe kissing are trending online, and you don’t even dare to breathe a word.” “What do you actually get by staying with Julian? A title or status?” “Maya, do you not know how to look at other men for once?” It was better to stay far away from the girl named Zoey. If Carter found out I was here, he might use his connections to get the academy to fire me. 5 Julian called me while I was squeezing onto the subway after work. “Hello?” The noisy background on my end made him pause. A few seconds later, he asked: “Where are you?” “On the subway.” He let out a barely audible scoff. “Taking the subway?” “Maya, you brought this on yourself.” I held onto the handrail and just asked: “Do you need something?” The sound of the man’s footsteps, even distorted by the connection, remained measured and unhurried. Just like him. I could even picture him walking from his desk to the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Oliver has a fever.” He said: “Give me your address, I’ll go pick you up.” “No need.” I lowered my eyes: “The Sterlings will take good care of him.” “He doesn’t need me.” Julian’s voice deepened slightly. “Are you really planning on abandoning him?” “Maya.” He sounded as if he found it absurd: “Just because he said he liked Chloe more?” Julian seemed to have never understood my feelings for Oliver. Even though I had explained it countless times. After the accident that night, I took emergency contraceptives, but he still didn’t believe me. Because I had liked him for years. So he was convinced I got pregnant with Oliver on purpose to force him into marriage. In his eyes, my feelings for Oliver weren’t deep. He thought I just saw him as a tool, or a bargaining chip. Which meant he didn’t know that because I was terrified Oliver would grow to like Chloe more and more… I had endured countless nights of breakdowns, agonizing over every little gain and loss. The subway arrived at the transfer station. The train car instantly emptied out significantly. “It’s not that, Julian.” I found a seat and sat down, my aching legs finally getting some relief. I said softly: “It’s because he does genuinely like Chloe more.” “And I don’t want to force myself anymore, racking my brain trying to please him.” Julian wanted to say something else. But the next second, Oliver’s voice came through the receiver, proving my point. “Daddy! My fever is gone!” “Can I go play with Aunt Chloe tomorrow?!” Julian’s Adam’s apple bobbed: “Maya, listen to me…” I hung up the phone. Got off at the next stop. And pushed that phone call out of my mind. 6 When Oliver heard his mother’s name, he paused. He didn’t keep insisting on Chloe. Instead, he tugged at Julian’s pant leg and asked: “Daddy, was it Mommy calling?” Julian gave a slight nod. “Oh, did you tell Mommy I’m sick? Is she coming back to see me?” Julian met those adorable, round eyes. Eventually, he hummed an agreement. Oliver had long expected Maya would be worried about him and wouldn’t be able to resist coming home. “Then I’ll go put on a mask so I don’t get Mommy sick.” “I’ll go play with Aunt Chloe later.” They hadn’t seen each other in a week. He didn’t seem as averse to seeing his mother anymore. Julian pressed his lips tightly together, “Mommy is working overtime.” “I didn’t ask her to come back.” Oliver still had a cooling patch on his forehead. Hearing this, he blinked. “Then, then I guess it’s fine to go find Aunt Chloe first…” He didn’t feel much disappointment. Anyway, Mommy would definitely come back to see him. Since he was little, whenever he was sick, Mommy was always the most anxious. He was just a little surprised. After all, in the past, even if Mommy was abroad, if she heard he was sick, she would fly back overnight. 7 I had been working for a week and basically adapted to the routine. Although Carter Hayes hadn’t shown up once. Just in case, every time parents came to the academy entrance to pick up their kids, I preferred to hide in the office and grade drawings. Only once, Zoey took a day off and didn’t come. I followed a colleague out to dismiss the students. Usually, I tried to treat all the students equally. But she still noticed a difference. 8 That day, Zoey was visibly feeling down. During the break, she rested her chin on her hands, staring out the window in the hallway. A few boys were chasing each other and accidentally knocked her over. They ran away without even apologizing. I immediately went over and squatted in front of her, “Are you okay, Zoey?” “Are you hurt? Let teacher take a look.” The girl covered her knee, refusing to let me see, and turned her head away. “I won’t trouble you.” “I’ll ask another teacher for a band-aid.” I was stunned for a moment, then said gently: “Ms. Vance has some too.” “I don’t want yours.” The back of her head was round, exuding a stubborn vibe. “I know you don’t like me. You don’t have to pretend to be nice to me.” I was surprised: “Teacher doesn’t dislike you at all.” “You’re well-behaved, polite, and very talented at drawing.” “Why wouldn’t teacher like you?” Zoey shot a quick glance at me. Then turned her head away again, humming softly. “That day when Ms. Lee asked you to walk me out, you heard it was me and you didn’t want to.” “And a few days ago, at noon, I didn’t want to eat with those other teachers, so I held my bowl and sat next to you. But you finished your food in one bite and ran away.” Having said that, she seemed to recall the scenes again. Her cheeks puffed out in anger as she turned back to accuse me: “No one has ever hated me this much!” “If you don’t like me, I won’t like you either.” I felt a bit awkward… That day at noon in the cafeteria, I thought I was being very subtle. Zoey had brought her bowl and sat across from me. Without looking at me, she just muttered: “They’re too loud. All they do is ask about my uncle.” I had shifted my tray to give her space. But not even half a minute later, Zoey’s smartwatch rang. It was Carter Hayes calling. I instinctively panicked, shoveled the rest of the food into my mouth, and practically ran. I couldn’t explain this, so I just looked at her earnestly. And said, word by word: “Then teacher was wrong. From now on, I will definitely wait to eat with you, and, and I’ll walk you out after class…” “But I really don’t dislike Zoey.” The girl turned half her face back. Her chubby profile looked a bit like a cartoon character. “Really?” Princess Zoey asked haughtily. “Really,” I promised. She held out both her arms to me, keeping a straight face, and said: “Then I need a hug…” “Zoey’s leg hurts.” The scrape on her knee was exposed. I picked her up and went to the office first to disinfect and apply medicine. Then back to the classroom, to make the boy who knocked her down apologize. Zoey blinked at me and offered a tiny smile. It was a signal that she was willing to reconcile. 9 During the lunch break, I reviewed Zoey’s file again. My eyes suddenly fixed on her birthdate. Today… was her birthday. Her unhappiness today was most likely related to this. I remembered the little bunny pattern on her pencil case, and the bunny plushie on her backpack. Rushing before school ended, I speed-crocheted a miniature lop-eared bunny doll. The dress it wore was similar to the one Zoey was wearing today. She finished the in-class assignment ten minutes earlier than the other students. I called her out and gave her the doll. “Happy birthday, Zoey.” She stared blankly for two seconds. “Is this bunny for me?” I smiled, my eyes curving, and nodded. “As cute as you.” “Thank you, Ms. Vance. I love it.” The little girl accepted it reservedly, her expression not showing much fluctuation. “You’re welcome. Go back to class.” She took two steps, then turned back. “Squat down.” She waved me over. I crouched down as instructed. “What’s wrong? Did you have something else to tell teacher?” The next second, the girl’s soft lips pressed against my cheek. “This is the first gift Zoey received today.” “And my favorite.” She clung to my side, her eyes shining with unconcealable delight. “Ms. Vance, do you think my uncle is handsome?” “I can give you his phone number, as a thank you for the bunny!” The warmth that had just risen in my heart instantly froze. “…No, no need.” 10 After finding out Carter Hayes wasn’t picking her up tonight. I promised Zoey I would walk her out. But when we reached the academy entrance and I saw the man leaning against the Maybach, I felt like I had been struck by lightning. “Uncle Carter, why did you come pick me up today?” The man’s gaze slowly shifted from my face. He glanced at Zoey, “Taking you out for your birthday, you little brat.” “Yay!” The girl hopped up and down. I braced myself and spoke: “Hello, Zoey’s guardian, I…” “What a surprise.” He interrupted me, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Julian Sterling actually let his woman come out and work.” To prevent him from mentioning me if he ran into Julian next time and causing a misunderstanding. I volunteered an explanation: “I’ve already left the Sterling house.” “My working here has nothing to do with Mr. Sterling.” Carter’s gaze sharpened slightly. “Because of Chloe?” “Did they bully you?” I didn’t want to discuss this with Carter, so I pretended not to hear. “Mr. Hayes, if you don’t have any questions regarding Zoey, I’ll be heading back to the office.” Zoey innocently waved her little hand. “Bye, teacher.” I waved back, “Bye-bye.” I turned and walked away, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of an intense gaze burning into my back. 11 I got off work 20 minutes later. When I stepped out of the academy, that Maybach was still parked by the entrance. The car window rolled down. Carter had his arm resting on the steering wheel. He turned his head and said lightly: “The little girl threw a fit and insisted you celebrate her birthday with us.” I looked at Zoey in the back seat. She let out a confused “Huh?” and tilted her head, asking: “Uncle Carter, didn’t you say…” Carter clicked his tongue, cutting her off. “No parking allowed here.” “Get in first, we’ll talk later.” Afraid that my hesitation would get him a parking ticket, I hurriedly got in. But it wasn’t until I saw Carter’s lips curving up through the rearview mirror that I realized. The car had been parked here for a long time. If he was going to get a ticket, he would have gotten one already…

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My cousin Chloe wanted to go to Paris for an advanced ballet intensive. My mother asked me for $15,000 to pay for it. I took a screenshot of my bank account balance and sent it to her—exactly fifteen thousand dollars and twenty cents. Not a penny more. Five seconds later, her message popped up: [Keep a hundred bucks for groceries, transfer the rest to me right now.] 1 Before my finger could even touch the screen, another message from my mom popped up. “By the way, when are you coming home? Mom is making that chicken stew you love.” “Next month, my CD at the bank matures. I won’t be short a single penny, and I’ll pay you back immediately.” Home? I had actually gone home just yesterday. A former classmate was having her wedding in our hometown. Last week, I specifically mentioned this to my mom, telling her I would stay the night after the reception and head back to the city early the next morning. She agreed enthusiastically on the phone, saying she would leave the door unlocked for me. But when I arrived at the door, I found the deadbolt locked from the inside. I was just about to knock when my mother’s voice drifted out from inside. “As soon as your sister gets off work tonight, I’ll ask her for the money. Don’t worry, you are going to that ballet program.” “Aunt Sarah, will Maya agree to this? It’s $15,000, after all. And you still haven’t paid her back for what you borrowed before.” “Why wouldn’t she be willing? She has the softest heart.” My mom chuckled, a hint of disdain in her tone. “Let’s be honest, she’s plain-looking and has a terrible personality. If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s making a six-figure salary now, do you think I’d be willing to cater to her?” Chloe asked in a sweet, coaxing voice, “Then why did you buy her an iPhone right after high school graduation, and give her all that cash?” My mom’s voice pitched up sharply. “You silly girl! If I hadn’t waited on her hand and foot after high school and buttered her up, do you think she would have majored in Computer Science? Remember my coworker, Mrs. Smith’s son? He graduated from a no-name state college and barely makes fifty grand a year. You’ve been graduated for a while now; have you ever calculated how much we’ve spent on all your networking and connections?” My mom’s tone dripped with absolute indulgence. “Oh, you! You’ve almost drained my entire retirement fund. If I hadn’t been far-sighted enough to make sure Maya could subsidize us, how would you be living such a good life right now!” Chloe cheered happily. “Aunt Sarah, I knew you loved me even more than my own mom does! Next time I’m back in New York, you have to come with me, and I’ll take you out to have some fun!” “You got it! My Chloe is the sweetest!” I had drank at the wedding banquet, and my stomach was churning. I wanted to throw up but couldn’t. My first reaction in that moment was actually to thank myself for not replacing that cheap, non-soundproof front door. I drove through the night, straight back to Chicago. 2 My mom’s messages kept coming in nonstop. I just turned off my phone and went to sleep. Early the next morning, I went straight to the office to work. In this world, the only person who will never betray you is yourself. But when it rains, it pours. At half past ten, my stomach suddenly started cramping in agony again. At that moment, my phone vibrated. My mom’s texts were like a death warrant. “Why aren’t you replying? What are you doing?” “When can you wire that $15,000 I told you about yesterday?” … I replied to her: “My stomach hurts. We’ll talk later.” “Why does your stomach hurt again? I tell you to cook for yourself every day, but you insist on eating takeout. If your stomach doesn’t hurt, whose will?” I couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. I work overtime every single day; where would I find the time to cook for myself??? It was actually laughable. People like her, who talk a big game but never actually sacrifice anything, still manage to earn the reputation of being caring and maternal. I can only blame myself for being too stupid in the past to see through these cheap tricks. “Why is your face so pale?” My coworker, Harper, walked over holding a coffee and handed me a cup of hot water. “Did you eat something bad?” I opened my mouth, but it hurt so much I couldn’t make a sound. I could only wave my hand. She grabbed me and pulled me up. “Don’t try to tough it out. I’m taking you to the hospital.” The lights in the ER were blindingly bright. When the nurse handed me the test results, her eyes carried a trace of pity. “We are considering the possibility of a malignant tumor. We recommend further pathology tests.” I stared at that line on the medical report, suddenly feeling like life was a sick joke. Just last night, I was running the numbers. I figured if I ground it out at the company for a few more years, I’d save enough for a down payment and finally move out of my cramped apartment. After that, I would never give my mom another dime. I wanted to travel abroad, eat my favorite foods, buy clothes I actually liked. For the rest of my life, I was only going to love myself. But now, fate had blindsided me with a sledgehammer. 3 It was already late into the night when I got home. Harper had been comforting me the whole time. She even helped me request a day off work tomorrow so I could rest properly before discussing next steps. My mind was a chaotic mess. To make matters worse, my mom’s voice calls started flooding in. I declined them and texted: “I’m busy.” “Busy doing what? Did you take what I said seriously? Your sister has to pay the tuition the day after tomorrow. If you wait any longer, it’ll be too late.” “Don’t worry, I will definitely pay this money back to you.” Heh. Believing she would pay me back was like believing the sun would rise in the west. The empty promises she had painted for me over the years could fill my entire living room. “When your dad gets his bonus, I’ll buy you a new backpack.” “After we pay for Chloe’s recital, I’ll use the leftover money to buy you that dress.” “Mom will hold onto your Christmas money for you. I’ll add a little extra to it and give it back to you later.” … In the end, they were all just bubbles that popped into nothing. 4 I took a deep breath and called her. “Mom, I really want to ask you something. Have you ever truly seen me as your daughter? I’ve always been curious—why have you disliked me since I was little?” My mom sounded confused. “Why are you asking this all of a sudden? You’re letting your imagination run wild again. Stop talking nonsense. When is the money—” Tears streamed down my face. I took a picture of the medical report and sent it to her. “I’m sick. I need to keep this money for my medical treatments. You guys will have to figure something else out. And if you have any money left, please lend me some.” My mom immediately sent back a voice memo: “Stop joking around, Maya. Don’t copy those trashy internet pranks and joke about getting cancer. It’s bad luck! Your sister is just one step away from the finish line. When she gets back from this intensive, she’s guaranteed to become a principal dancer! When she makes it big, she’ll make sure you’re taken care of…” Suddenly, I didn’t want to hold it in anymore. I gripped the phone and said weakly, “Do I owe you guys? If she wants money, she can go sell her blood or a kidney!! Do not come looking for me!” After sending that, I shut my phone off completely. I pulled the covers over my head and cried until I was exhausted. Then, I secretly promised myself: it’s fine. This is the very last time I will ever shed tears for people who aren’t worth it. 5 Chloe is the daughter of my aunt. My aunt and my mom were both excellent test-takers from a small town. They both got into a great university in New York. But their destinies could not have been more different. After graduating, my mom moved back to our hometown and married my dad. The two of them lived a quiet life in our small suburban county. My aunt, however, stayed in New York and married a wealthy construction magnate. Back in the early 2000s, my uncle’s monthly income was more than my parents could save in several years. Every time my mom saw my aunt’s glamorous life, an unmistakable resentment would flash in her eyes. My aunt was well-off and very generous when it came to spending money on Chloe. From a young age, Chloe excelled in piano, dance, and art. Wherever she went, she was treated like a princess. During the holidays, my mom would only buy me new clothes if I scored straight A’s. Meanwhile, Chloe was already wearing Burberry. If Chloe’s family hadn’t met with disaster later on, I probably would have just remained a distant relative to her, rarely crossing paths. 6 I lay in my apartment for a full day and night. My phone was piled high with dozens of missed calls, a dense, overwhelming list. After clearing my work messages, I saw the family group chat was marked with “99+”. Scrolling up, it was entirely a one-sided tirade from my mom. She claimed I cursed at her and screamed at her. Some relatives in the chat were trying to play peacemaker, while others were cursing me for being an ungrateful wretch. Some even told me to be the bigger person and help pay for Chloe’s tuition. If this were the past, my eyes would be red and I’d be crying by now. But today, my heart felt like it was encased in a thick layer of ice. Not a single ripple of emotion. I directly tagged Chloe: “@Chloe, your aunt is going crazy in here on your behalf, and you’re just playing dead?” Chloe replied instantly: “Maya, why did you suddenly turn into this? I promise I will pay you back the money. I can write you a promissory note!” “What good is a promissory note? Go to a bank and get a loan! Or do you know perfectly well that you have to pay the bank back, but you think my money is just free?” I tagged Chloe again: “You are truly shameless. Playing the cuckoo bird and taking over my nest is one thing—I couldn’t do anything about my mom preferring you. But the way you salivate over my money just shows how incredibly greedy you are. It completely shatters your whole ‘innocent, artistic fairy’ persona.” My uncle chimed in: “Maya, there’s no overnight grudge between a mother and daughter. Besides, helping Chloe is helping yourself. When she’s rich and famous, won’t you get to bask in her glory?” “Oh? Then how about you pay that fifteen grand for her? You can have all the glory.” The group chat instantly went dead silent. Sure enough, the needle only hurts when it pricks your own skin. I typed out one last line: “My mom seems to love raising other people’s children. If any of you have kids you can’t afford, feel free to give them to her. As for my money, don’t any of you dare scheme for it.” I left the group chat, and the world was finally quiet. 7 That night, Chloe sent me a voice message: “Can we just treat this money as a loan from you? I’ll sign a legal loan agreement with you. And also, can you please stop joking about being sick to scare Aunt Sarah?” I let out a cold laugh. “Doesn’t it exhaust you to put on this act every single day?” “What?” she asked, sounding utterly incredulous. “Actually, you really enjoy this feeling, don’t you? One of your parents is dead, and the other abandoned you, but you managed to find the ultimate suckers to treat you like royalty, even willing to sacrifice their own biological daughter. Every time my mom showed you favoritism, you must have felt an incredible high, right? Look at you, Chloe, born to live a life of luxury. Everyone has to be crushed under your halo. Don’t contact me again. You are genuinely disgusting.” 8 The turning point in Chloe’s life happened when she was eleven. A government construction project my uncle was managing collapsed, crushing several people to death. I don’t know how many corrupt money trails were behind it, but in the end, he jumped off a building. My aunt fled to Miami, claiming she was going into business with a friend. Before she left, she dumped Chloe onto my mom. When she first arrived, Chloe was timid, like a startled kitten. But once she figured out the dynamics of my household, her true colors gradually started to show. First, she said she wanted to keep taking piano lessons, and then it was continuing her ballet training. Even at that young age, she knew exactly how to sweet-talk my mom. She told her to keep a ledger of all the expenses. She promised that when her mom came back to get her, they would pay my mom back in full. Our house only had two bedrooms and a living room. My mom said Chloe had never endured hardship, so my bedroom became her piano room and bedroom. My dad had no choice but to enclose the back porch and set up a small cot for me. In the winter, freezing winds howled through the cracks. Even buried under two heavy quilts, I would curl into a shivering ball. In the summer, there was no air conditioning. It was like a sauna. I could only curl up in a sleeping bag on the floor of my parents’ room to survive the night. I brought it up to my mom, pointing out that my old room was big enough to fit two twin beds. She just glared at me. “Chloe grew up sleeping in a big bed. How could she possibly squeeze in with you?” My dad, frustrated, told me to sleep in the bed with my mom, and he moved to the porch. During their argument, Chloe walked out. “Uncle John, let Maya have her room back. I can go sleep on the porch.” My mom’s heart immediately ached for her. She quickly pulled Chloe into a hug to comfort her. I was so miserable back then that I even absurdly prayed to God every night, begging for my aunt to strike it rich quickly. Or, if that failed, for her to marry another rich man and hurry up and take Chloe away. I waited and waited. I waited and waited. I waited until I was almost done with middle school, and she still hadn’t come to get Chloe. My dad couldn’t take it anymore. He argued with my mom, his eyes red with anger. “Her own mother doesn’t even care about her! Why should we?” My mom put her hands on her hips and screamed back: “Because I want to! I’m not using your money to raise her!” “Not using my money? Then who gets my paycheck? Her extracurriculars, her tutoring, all those clothes and shoes you buy her—which of those didn’t cost money?” My dad suddenly found his spine. “I can’t live like this anymore. If you don’t send that kid back to your sister, we’re getting a divorce!” After the screaming stopped, I peeked out from the porch door and asked, “If you get a divorce, who do I go with?” My mom shot me a vicious glare, then glared back at my dad. “John Miller, Maya stays with me! You can die without an heir for all I care!” My dad seemed to let out a sigh of relief. “Fine. Maya goes with you. I don’t want the house; leave it to her.” They went to file for divorce the very next day. My mom thought that by using me as a hostage to threaten my dad, he would definitely come crawling back, begging to remarry her. But by the time she realized my dad was serious, he had already found a new girlfriend at lightning speed. On the day my dad remarried, she grabbed my clothes and dragged me right into his wedding reception. She looked like she wanted to stab my dad to death. “Since you wanted to remarry so badly, you can take your daughter with you!” My dad and his new wife were left with nothing but embarrassment and anger. I was so humiliated I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. I ran away amidst the chaos. But when I got home, I found the front door locked tight. My mom had taken Chloe and disappeared to who-knows-where. I went back to the wedding reception and waited until all the guests had left. The ending to that farce was that I stayed at my dad’s new house for one night, and the next day, he dumped me back at the old house. He spoke with difficulty at the time: “Maya, you have to be tough. That house has my name on it, which means it’s your house. No one can kick you out.” I watched his back disappear at the end of the alley, my chest feeling suffocatingly tight. I had been abandoned by the whole world. No one wanted me. 9 My mom didn’t come to bother me again. But my cousin told me that Chloe went abroad anyway. I said, “I know.” Chloe had sent me a message saying, “No matter what you think, I will always get what I want. Actually, you’re quite pathetic. In the end, you’ll be left with absolutely nothing.” I asked my cousin, where did they get the money? She said my mom had mortgaged the house I grew up in and took out a $30,000 loan. I suddenly had a very bad feeling. My year-end bonus last year was $25,000. My mom said she would keep it safe for me, and she had the bank card. I had been so blinded by anger earlier that I forgot all about it. Knowing my mom’s character, she was absolutely capable of spending that money. But the fact that she was willing to take out a loan now meant that the money was already gone. I logged onto my online banking app to check. Just as I suspected, the balance was zero. I called my cousin back. “Wasn’t Chloe’s tuition only $15,000?” My cousin scoffed disdainfully. “That was before. Ever since you blocked Aunt Sarah, Chloe has been sweet-talking her every single day. She told her that from now on, she’s her real daughter. At our family dinner last time, Aunt Sarah even announced it. She said she’s acting like she never gave birth to you, and Chloe is her only daughter.” “Oh, right. Chloe paints such beautiful, perfect illusions. She promised she’ll take her on a European vacation in the future.” My cousin gritted her teeth in anger just mentioning Chloe. Finally, she added, “Maya, since you’ve had a falling out, don’t ever make up with her. It’s not worth it.” After I hung up the phone, three thousand dollars appeared in my bank account. “Maya, focus on getting your treatments first. Aside from life and death, everything else is trivial.” When we were little, my cousin was just as unloved as I was. My uncle favored sons, and my aunt was obsessed with providing for her own younger brother. Their hearts were entirely devoted to their son and my aunt’s brother. According to my uncle, she should have gone to work in a factory right after middle school. But she refused. She held onto a fierce determination, studying while working grueling hours, slowly upgrading her degree, and finally managed to pass the exams to get a secure government job in a rural township. Three thousand dollars was nearly half a year’s salary for her. The only help I had ever given my cousin was getting on video calls to tutor her for her college entrance exams. It was such a trivial kindness, but she remembered it to this day. Thinking about this, my heart felt a complex swirl of emotions. 10 That night, another unknown number sent me a message: “From your freshman year of high school, I was a divorced single mother raising you and Chloe all by myself. I worked like a mule! Maya Miller, does your heart not ache at all? Even if Mom made mistakes, it shouldn’t be enough for you to ignore me completely!” I blocked it immediately. A mule? That was Chloe’s mule, not mine. As far as I was concerned, my mom had run out of tricks. Since she was out of tricks, it was time for me to use mine. 11 I had a nightmare that night, taking me right back to high school. My mom was incredibly busy back then. She seemed absolutely determined to prove that she was right, and that Chloe was getting better and better. She went to work on weekdays, and during winter and summer breaks, she accompanied Chloe to competitions all over the country. As for me, outside of studying, I had to do all the chores. The only lucky thing was that I didn’t have to sleep on the porch anymore. After my dad remarried, my mom’s emotional state grew increasingly anxious and volatile. This anxiety manifested in very specific ways: Chloe only had to take the kitchen trash out to the curb to earn a tidal wave of praise from my mom. But if I made a stir-fry slightly too salty, I would be screamed at for half the day. The more indifferent my expression was, the harder she screamed. During my senior year, I felt like I was suffocating at home, so I moved into the school dorms. That same year, my mom started hiring expensive private tutors for Chloe. She was banking on her getting into a top-tier dance conservatory. But the price for that was my monthly living allowance being slashed from $100 down to $30. Sometimes, it was zero. This constant robbing of Peter to pay Paul drove me to the brink of insanity, but I had no effective way to fix it. At the time, I had a childhood best friend named Leo. I eventually swallowed my pride and borrowed money from him. When it happened too many times, he started secretly stuffing a $20 bill into my desk every week. Leo’s family lived just one street over from us. My mom eventually found out about it. One weekend when I came home, she was waiting for me in the living room, her face livid. She immediately started screaming: “Do you have any sense of shame?! You actually dare to take money from a male classmate! Are you sleeping with him?! Are you?!” She screamed at me for a full thirty minutes. I finally broke down. “You don’t give me any money! Am I supposed to go steal or rob?! I only borrowed Leo’s money, and it’s not like I won’t pay him back! If you care so much, then you give me the money! Why won’t you give it to me?!” I pointed right at Chloe’s nose and screamed, “You would rather spend all your money on an outsider than give your own biological daughter a dime! What kind of mother are you?!” After that fight, my mom slapped me across the face. I went back to the dorms that very night. On my way out, I took $300 from her drawer and left a note: “Raising me is your legal responsibility. If you push me any further, I’ll drag us all down together.” That was the moment I suddenly realized I had a truly stubborn temper. I was exactly like my grandmother. But I don’t know if she suddenly grew a conscience or if she was genuinely terrified by my extreme reaction. My mom actually didn’t scream at me, nor did she try to pick a fight. I took out $200 of that money and paid Leo back. I sat down and carefully ran the numbers. I could borrow Leo’s study materials. As long as I ate as little as possible, I could successfully survive the last few months of senior year. But Leo refused to take the money. “There’s no rush. You can pay me back after graduation. If it’s not enough, just tell me! Aren’t we best friends!” I studied like my life depended on it, channeling all my hatred and anger into the drive to move forward. When I stood in front of my mom holding an acceptance letter from an Ivy League university, she cried. It wasn’t because she was happy for me. It was because Chloe had bombed her auditions. During that final month, Chloe had started dating someone. Her final scores were only high enough to get into a mediocre community college arts program. For a rare two months, my mom gave Chloe the cold shoulder. She threw me a graduation party, bought me a new laptop and phone, and gave me a lump sum of $3,000 for college. Looking at the gray hair at her temples, that tiny seedling of desire for maternal love inside me, like a seed soaked in rainwater, quietly poked its head out. Later on, she was generally fine with me. During my master’s degree, to lessen her financial burden, I supported myself completely by tutoring. Chloe was also very friendly, and we managed to coexist peacefully. If I hadn’t overheard their conversation that day, I never would have imagined my mom was capable of orchestrating such a massive, deceitful scheme.

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For ten whole years, my husband insisted on giving me a shoulder massage before bed. He gave me a terrible habit: without a shoulder rub, I couldn’t fall asleep. Recently, however, he stopped. When I asked him for a quick massage, he brushed me off. “Your shoulders are too thick and tense. I can’t even press down. Stop making things difficult for me.” Our nine-year-old son laughed from the side. “Daddy’s subtext is that you’re too ugly now, Mom. He doesn’t want to touch you.” My husband didn’t correct him. Instead, he let out a stifled chuckle. I stayed awake all night. When morning came, I asked him for a divorce. 1 At 5:30 AM, I woke up out of sheer habit. Ethan had his back to me, sleeping soundly. In the opposite room, our son’s bedroom was completely silent. At 5:40 AM, I finished washing up and put on casual clothes. At 5:50 AM, I applied some light makeup. Because it had been so long since I last used it, a thin layer of dust had settled over my makeup palette. I’ll never let it gather dust again, I promised myself. At 5:55 AM, I stood by the entryway, trying to choose a bag to take out. I didn’t know when it happened, but my small Louis Vuitton purse had somehow been replaced by a cheap canvas tote. I searched for a while but couldn’t find my old designer bags. Instead, tucked away in the deepest corner of the shoe cabinet, I found a brand-new LV Nano Speedy bag. The receipt inside was dated yesterday. The price was $2,500. I silently put the bag back, pretending I hadn’t seen it. At that moment, a memory hit me. A long time ago, when Ethan’s paycheck was delayed and we needed to pay for our son’s tutoring, I had sold all the designer bags in my closet for cash. At 6:00 AM, I grabbed nothing but my phone and an umbrella, and walked out the door. Normally at this hour, I would be in the kitchen flipping pancakes and frying bacon, while rushing to wake up my lazy son. Looking back now, I couldn’t believe I had repeated that mindless, exhausting routine for over five years. At 6:15 AM, I found a local, greasy-spoon diner and ordered a massive lumberjack skillet. It smelled incredible. For the first time in years, I could quietly finish a meal. I didn’t have to bite off half a sausage and rush to find my son’s school uniform, nor did I have to worry about my husband walking out, pinching his nose, and complaining about the smell of my food. I even ordered extra bacon and a side of loaded hash browns, indulging in a rare, unapologetic luxury. At 6:37 AM, Ethan called me. I put him on speaker, set the phone down, and continued eating. A voice thick with anger barked through the speaker: “Maya, where did you go?! Breakfast isn’t made, the clothes aren’t washed, you didn’t bring the milk in, and where the hell did you put the tie I asked for yesterday? I’m rushing to work here!” In the background, I could hear our son’s loud, whiny complaints: “There’s nothing on the table! I specifically said I wanted blueberry waffles last night! Mommy failed her job, Daddy, you need to punish her!” Ethan’s tone grew even more impatient. “Hurry up and get back here to cook! The school bus is coming soon. If he’s late, it’s entirely your fault!” I chewed my bacon, my expression unchanged. “I don’t have time. Figure it out yourselves.” He froze for a second, then asked in disbelief, “What did you say? You don’t have time?” “Ha! Maya, do you have a fever? You’re a stay-at-home mom, and you’re telling me you don’t have time to cook? Does that make any sense to you?” I lifted my mug, finished my coffee, and wiped my mouth in total satisfaction. I picked up the phone. “Let’s end this here, Ethan. I’m done living this life. Let’s get a divorce.” 2 He paused, his tone shifting from angry to utterly annoyed. “Have you lost your mind? Is it early menopause or something? Asking for a divorce out of nowhere?” I slowly walked down the street. “You want a reason? Fine. The reason is that you won’t rub my shoulders anymore. I want to find someone who is willing to rub my shoulders.” He laughed in disbelief. “Just because of that?” “Yeah. Also, yesterday when I told you my sneakers were falling apart and I wanted a $40 pair of flats, you said no.” He took a deep breath, suppressing his voice to issue a command: “Those shoes were almost fifty bucks. We aren’t exactly rich. Our son is only nine, and we have a lot of expenses coming up. It’s not like you don’t have other shoes to wear. Why waste the money? Besides, it’s the end of the month, I don’t have that much cash on me.” “Right. So I don’t want to waste your money anymore. Let’s divorce.” I hung up the phone. A moment later, he sent me a text. [Leo is very unhappy with your performance today. He gave you a zero! Reflect on your actions! Also, I have a company dinner tonight, so I won’t be home to eat.] I didn’t reply. I just strolled around aimlessly, eventually finding myself inside a high-end luxury mall. A pair of shoes in a display window stopped me in my tracks. Three-inch, bright red stiletto heels. Stunning and elegant. The price tag read $1,200. Ten years ago, I would have bought them without blinking. But the Maya standing here today only had eighty dollars to her name. It was the weekly grocery allowance Ethan gave me. I still had ten days left in the month, and I had to ensure every meal had meat, vegetables, soup, and fruit. I didn’t dare spend a single penny out of line. I saw a “Hiring” sign next to the window and walked in. The store manager looked me up and down for a few seconds and shook her head. “Miss, you’re in the wrong place. The discount shoe mart across the street is probably a better fit for you.” I looked at the “distressed” designer sneakers in her hands. They looked more ragged than the canvas shoes I had worn for ten years, yet the price tag was a staggering $3,500. She was packing them back into the box. Clearly, that specific style was a hard sell here. I kept my eyes on the hallway outside, spotting two familiar figures approaching. I turned back to the manager. “If I can sell those sneakers, will you give me those red heels in the window?” The manager raised an eyebrow. “A lot of people follow trends and look at these, but no one who sees the actual physical shoe can accept the design. We only have this one pair in stock, and no one has bought them. If you can actually sell them, I’ll pay for the red heels out of my own pocket.” Her eyes gleamed with haughty arrogance. I held out my hands and smiled. “Let me try.” She hesitated, then sighed. “Whatever, it’s a slow day. Give it a shot. If you can’t sell them in two hours, please leave. And I’m not paying you an hourly wage for this.” I nodded. Just as I put on a store blazer, customers walked in. A handsome, dashing man and a young, charming woman. Between them was a little boy. The man and woman were each holding one of his hands. The woman was carrying a beautiful bag—the exact Nano Speedy bag I had seen in the shoe cabinet this morning. The little boy looked up at the man. “Daddy Ethan, today is Mommy’s birthday. You’re not just going to give her a little purse, are you?” Ethan ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled. “Do I look like a cheapskate?” He then gently massaged the woman’s shoulders and said softly, “Chloe, pick whatever you want. It’s on me.” Chloe smiled and used her eyes to point at the red heels in the display. “I think those look nice, but they’re a bit expensive.” Ethan walked over, took one look, and waved it off. “It’s just twelve hundred bucks. Sales associate, wrap these up.” I stepped out from the back. “I’m sorry, but those shoes have already been reserved. A woman with such outstanding elegance like yourself… why not try this pair instead?” The moment I appeared, all three of them froze, their eyes widening in shock. Ethan’s face drained of color, his lips trembling slightly. 3 He stood in front of me, completely at a loss for words. Beside him, Chloe instinctively hid the LV bag behind her back. In that suffocating silence, the little boy fearlessly pointed at me and announced, “It’s the nanny! Daddy Ethan’s nanny!” Chloe hurriedly covered his mouth and offered me an awkward smile. “Toby is still little, he doesn’t remember things well. I’ve told him so many times that you are his senior’s wife, but he always gets it wrong.” The boy stuck his tongue out at me. “Who told her to be so chubby? She looks just like a maid.” Ethan frowned and spoke up. “Our two companies are having a joint dinner tonight. Chloe and I are old college friends, so we decided to stroll around beforehand and buy Toby some things.” “Since it happens to be Chloe’s birthday, I’m just accompanying her to buy what she needs first.” As he spoke, he seemed to gain confidence, as if he truly believed he had found a flawless excuse. He continued, “Since you’re working part-time here, just wrap up those red shoes. Tell the other customer you’re refunding them.” “I can’t refund them.” “It’s just a pair of shoes. Why can’t you refund them?” “Because the person who reserved them is me. And I don’t feel like refunding myself.” We stared at each other. He was speechless. I smiled and turned to Chloe. “Ms. Chloe has such gorgeous legs, honestly, flats would look even better on you, and they won’t hurt your feet. This pair, however, is our store’s flagship piece. It demands a very high level of aura and elegance from the wearer.” Chloe pursed her lips and looked at Ethan. Then, she walked over to the sofa, sat down, and extended her foot. “Then let me try them on.” I ignored the provocation in her eyes, knelt down, and helped her slip on the $3,500 “distressed” sneakers. “The size is perfect. It looks amazing. Everyone in the high-fashion world loves this aesthetic, and the price is quite reasonable.” Ethan lowered his voice to scold me. “What kind of taste do you have? Those look like they were dragged through dog crap! If Chloe wears those outside, people will think she’s a beggar!” I gasped in mock surprise. “Sir, if you aren’t in the fashion industry, you wouldn’t understand. This is the hottest shoe among major influencers right now. Ms. Chloe is so trendy, I’m sure she knows a masterpiece when she sees one.” I pointed to my phone propped up behind me. “Even my TikTok livestream viewers are saying it looks great.” Her brow twitched as she forced a stiff smile. “It… it does look quite nice. Wrap them up. How much are they?” I smiled. “Three thousand five hundred. Very affordable. For a wealthy woman like you, that’s probably just the cost of a casual dinner.” Her smile was practically sliding off her face. But I had already swiftly boxed up the shoes and handed them to her. “Will that be card or Apple Pay?” Chloe looked at Ethan. Ethan’s expression was incredibly unnatural. “I already told you I’m buying you the red ones. Put those ugly things away, don’t make things difficult for Chloe.” I laughed. “You want the red ones, sir? I’ll wrap them up for you right now.” With that, I turned to the livestream and said, “This gentleman wants to buy these red heels for his wife at home!” The chat went wild. [Wait, so that woman next to him isn’t his wife?] [Is he cheating?!] [Watch, if he pays for the other woman, he’s definitely a cheater!] Quickly, the red heels were boxed up as well. With a rigid face, Chloe tapped her card and paid the $3,500. She didn’t say another word. She grabbed the shopping bag, took her son’s hand, and stormed out. Ethan swiped his card for the $1,200 red heels. His face was thunderous, but he remained utterly silent. In less than ten minutes, the store had made nearly five thousand dollars in sales. The ecstatic store manager immediately transferred the equivalent value of the red heels to my account. She even tried to convince me to stay and work full-time. Ethan grabbed my arm and dragged me out. “She’s a housewife! She doesn’t need to work!” I shook off his hand and politely declined the manager’s offer. Because I didn’t know what kind of career I wanted yet. The rest of my life was long. I refused to waste my limited time on something I wasn’t passionate about ever again. 4 After sending a few rapid-fire texts on his phone, Ethan caught up to me. “Great. You refuse to cook just so you can come here and hustle for shoes? Is that all you have in your brain? Shoes?” I didn’t answer. I walked into a clothing boutique, intending to buy myself a couple of new outfits. He pinched the bridge of his nose, speaking with exasperated resignation. “I know you’re misunderstanding my relationship with Chloe again.” “How many times do I have to tell you? She was an underclassman in my college program. We were good friends back then. We coincidentally ran into each other during a recent project, so we’ve been interacting more.” “She was just abandoned by her ex-husband. She was forced to find a job and was being bullied by twenty-something interns. I felt bad for her, so I helped her out a bit.” I gave a half-smile. “So, you drop two and a half grand on a designer bag without a second thought? You massage her shoulders in public?” He opened his mouth but hesitated. After a long pause, he squeezed out a sentence: “Fine, I’ll buy you the exact same bag. Will that make you happy?” I had seen this attitude from him entirely too many times. Six months ago, Chloe visited our house for the first time. From that day on, the lingering scent of her rose perfume never left my home. It was also around that time that the quality of Ethan’s shoulder rubs began to decline. First, the speed slowed down. Then, the pressure became lighter. Finally, the duration shortened… I slowly started losing sleep. During the day, I felt lethargic and powerless. When I brought it up, he accused me of picking fights over nothing. Whenever he threw a temper tantrum, I became unhappy. And whenever that happened, he would buy some cheap trinket to appease me. Now, I was utterly exhausted by this dynamic. I sent him a screenshot. “There were people who recognized you in the livestream just now. You’re currently up for a promotion. If rumors of an illicit affair spread, you’ll probably get pushed out.” “Right now, everyone is guessing you’re having an affair. Unless we’re divorced, there is no legitimate reason for the two of you to be together in a shoe store like that.” He rubbed his temples. “Can you stop making a scene? We have a son. Do you think I don’t know what you’re plotting? You’re just paranoid and trying to use this trick to sever all my social connections!” “Let me make this perfectly clear: Chloe and I have a completely innocent relationship. And stop using divorce to threaten me, because I don’t believe for a second that you’d abandon our son.” “If you insist on a divorce, fine. I get custody of Leo, and you’ll never see him again for the rest of your life.” I nodded. “Deal. Let’s do it.” He froze. “You’re completely unreasonable!” He stormed off in a rage. He didn’t buy a single thing for our son, despite his earlier excuses. I shopped until eight o’clock that night before heading home. As soon as I opened the door, I heard Leo grunting and making aggressive slicing noises. I thought he was playing a video game. I turned my head and saw him using a pair of scissors to frantically slash at a Louis Vuitton bag. When he saw me, he scoffed coldly and threw the shredded, ruined bag at my feet. “Daddy bought this for you! It was super expensive, over two thousand dollars! But you didn’t cook for me today, and you didn’t help me with my homework, and you made me eat instant ramen for dinner! I have to punish you!” With that, he picked up a slipper and hurled it directly at the mangled bag. “I’m punishing you by making sure you don’t get the bag! Hmph!” I looked at him calmly. “Do you think using that tone with your mother is appropriate?” The corner of his mouth curled up as he clicked his tongue. “What kind of mother are you? Someone like Aunt Chloe is a real mother. She’s pretty, she smells nice… Having a mom like that go to my parent-teacher conferences would actually give me some dignity.” The very last, tiny spark of hope in my heart was permanently extinguished. I asked him, “Where’s your dad? Why didn’t he come home to cook for you?” He threw his hands up. “He didn’t come home! A delivery guy brought this bag. Daddy is busy with work, of course he doesn’t have time to come home. He’s not like you, lounging around all day doing absolutely nothing!” I asked again, “Did he tell you to eat instant ramen?” He put his hands on his hips. “Daddy is working overtime! He doesn’t have time to cook for me! Besides, that’s your job, you can’t just push everything onto him!” I let out a soft laugh. “Do you really believe he’s working overtime?” He shrugged. “What else would he be doing?” I waved him over. “Come on. I’ll take you out to eat.” He lifted his chin high, like a victorious general. “I want fried chicken!” “No fried chicken. I’m taking you to a steakhouse.” He got excited. “The really expensive one downtown?” “Yes.” Half an hour later, we arrived at the entrance of the restaurant. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Ethan and Chloe were sitting across from each other. He was attentively wiping her mouth with a napkin. At the same time, his other arm was wrapped around a little boy who was playfully climbing on his back. It was Chloe’s son, Toby. Ethan generously handed his own phone over to let the boy play games. The little boy kissed Ethan on the cheek and laughed, “Daddy Ethan, you’re the best.” In that exact split second, Leo bolted from my side and charged through the doors. 5 The moment I turned my head, I heard the sound of chairs crashing to the floor inside. Children were wailing, and people were screaming. “He’s not your dad! He’s my new dad!” Then came Leo’s ear-piercing shrieks. I had no desire to watch the fallout. I turned around, walked straight into the elevator, and left. After returning home, I packed my luggage and headed to the train station that very night. My train wasn’t until the next morning, so I booked a cheap motel room nearby for the night. Ten years of exhausting domestic labor had left my neck and shoulders stiff and knotted. Sleeping on the uncomfortable motel pillows was akin to torture. I tried to massage my own shoulders to release the tension, but I couldn’t get the angle right. Unable to sleep, I simply sat up, leaned against the headboard, and closed my eyes. The moment I shut my eyes, Ethan’s words from the past echoed hauntingly in my ears. “I’m so lucky! I can’t believe you actually married me!”* “Work is too tiring, just quit. From now on, you stay home with the kid, and I’ll go out and make the money.”* “You worked so hard today. From now on, I’ll rub your shoulders for thirty minutes every single night so you won’t be too tired.”* “I’m sorry. It’s because my salary is too low that you have to work so hard.”* “Once we’re financially stable, I’ll hire a nanny for you. By then, your shoulders won’t hurt anymore.”* I had completely lost my mind to those sweet nothings. Every night, I subconsciously waited for him to come home and rub my shoulders; only then could I fall asleep. Later, as he climbed higher and higher up the corporate ladder, he came home later and later. The thirty-minute shoulder rubs dwindled to ten minutes. I didn’t dare complain. I endured it, year after year, until he finally got his massive promotion. His salary was six times what it used to be. That day, he said he was bringing someone home for me to meet. I thought he was finally fulfilling his promise to hire a nanny. I couldn’t help but share the joyous news with all our neighbors. But that evening, he walked in with Chloe and her son. At the time, Chloe’s face was bruised, and she was holding her crying child. Ethan didn’t consult me at all. He immediately set them up in the guest bedroom. “Chloe has had a hard life. Her ex beat her up like this. Since I ran into her, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Let her stay here for a while.” And just like that, the promise of a nanny was indefinitely shelved. Chloe lived in our house for forty days. She loved roses, so every corner of the house was stuffed with rose bouquets. Pollen made me sneeze uncontrollably, so she would “thoughtfully” hand me a medical mask. I cooked a four-course dinner with soup; she said she only ate plain white rice. Afterward, Ethan inexplicably complained that my cooking was too greasy and unhealthy. I was used to cleaning the house right after dropping Leo off at school. More often than not, I’d find her just waking up, laying a yoga mat in the living room to stretch. When she saw me grab the vacuum, she would smile and put a finger to her lips, gesturing for me to be quiet. I had to switch to a broom. Naturally, the chores took much longer. When Ethan came home for lunch, he’d find me still cooking in the kitchen. He would scold me for being inefficient and delaying his meal. Whenever that happened, Chloe would put down her book and walk over to defend me. “Ethan, stop scolding Maya. I’ve heard that people with a heavier body weight expend more energy doing things than slimmer people.” Ethan would look me up and down, then sigh heavily. It was from that night onward that his shoulder rubs became filled with resentment. “Why is your back so thick? Do you do anything all day besides eat?” “You’re as stiff as a rock. It annoys me just looking at you!” “Can’t you learn some yoga from Chloe? You’re only one year apart, but she looks like she could be your daughter!” So, the next day, I actually tried doing yoga with Chloe. Because I hadn’t worked out in so long, my limbs were incredibly stiff. But I still followed the video instructions and finished the routine. When I was done, I suddenly noticed Chloe sitting on the side, laughing. She had recorded my entire clumsy workout and posted it online, where netizens mercilessly mocked me, comparing me to a struggling pig. In reality, I wasn’t even that overweight. But the angles she used perfectly magnified all my flaws. That day, I exploded. I kicked her and her son out of the house. Ethan got into a massive screaming match with me, calling me petty and cruel. That was the very first time I seriously brought up divorce. In the end, he coaxed me back with our son and a cheap necklace. Thinking back on it now, I was so pathetic. This time, I would not compromise. When I opened my eyes to daylight, I caught the 8:00 AM train to the suburb where Ethan’s parents lived. 6 Out of everyone I had met in Ethan’s life, his parents were the most reasonable and principled. It was precisely because I had met them that I finally agreed to marry Ethan. Over our ten-year marriage, they had never once intruded on our lives, but whenever we needed help, they were there in a heartbeat. This time, I didn’t waste words. The moment I saw my mother-in-law, I stated my purpose. I didn’t come empty-handed. I showed them all the video clips I had silently recorded over the past few weeks. After watching everything, the two elders sat in front of me in complete silence for a long time. Tears welled up in my mother-in-law’s eyes. She looked at me and said, “Maya, our family has failed you. If you are determined to get a divorce, I support you. But are you truly willing to leave your child?” I placed the jade bracelet she had given me on my wedding day on the table in front of her. “The child looks down on me. And… I’m exhausted.” My mother-in-law picked up the bracelet and dialed Ethan’s number right in front of me. The moment it connected, Ethan’s frantic voice blasted through the speaker. “Mom! I was just about to call you! Is Maya with you?! I’ve been looking for her all night and I can’t find her anywhere!” My mother-in-law’s face was ice cold. “You know exactly what you did to drive such a wonderful wife away!” Ethan paused, then let out a long sigh of relief. “She must have contacted you, which means she’s there. Put her on the phone.” “In your dreams! You ungrateful bastard! Have you forgotten every piece of decency and morality I taught you? A married man tangling with another woman—you’re not just slapping your own face, you’re slapping mine and your father’s!” Ethan sounded exasperated. “Mom, I’m begging you, don’t just listen to her one-sided story, okay? I’m just taking care of Chloe like a brother would, there is absolutely nothing else going on. It’s Maya’s paranoid delusions.” My mother-in-law pointed a furious finger at him on the screen. “If you hadn’t left a trail of filth, what would she have to be paranoid about?! You are the root of the problem! Your father and I have been married for fifty years, why don’t I ever have paranoid delusions?!” A heavy sigh echoed from the other end. “Mom, I can’t explain everything to you right now. Just tell Maya that what she did last night—instructing Leo to beat up another kid—was incredibly serious! Chloe’s son was beaten terribly, he’s currently in the hospital! “But, Chloe said she won’t hold it against Leo. She said he’s just a child and doesn’t know better. As long as he apologizes properly, she’ll let it go. “And guess what? Not only did Leo refuse to apologize, but he also cursed at me. Now he’s locked himself in his room, refusing to eat or go to school! “Compare the two of them! They’re both mothers! Chloe raised her son to be so well-behaved and polite. But Maya? She actually let her son beat someone up in public, completely humiliating his own father! “I’ve made up my mind. For this to be resolved, Maya must come back and personally take our son to apologize. Tell her to get her ass back here immediately!” My mother-in-law abruptly ended the FaceTime call. She blocked and deleted his number with a single tap. Moments later, Ethan’s call came through to my father-in-law’s phone. My father-in-law answered with a stony expression. His first words were: “Congratulations, you ungrateful wretch. Not only have you lost your wife, but you’ve also lost your mother. Neither of them recognizes you anymore.” “Dad, even you don’t believe me?” My father-in-law scoffed. “Regardless, I would never bring a single woman into my home to live. You are an absolute embarrassment to me.” “You can’t force a twisted melon to be sweet. If you’re still a man, respect the woman’s wishes and go finalize the divorce papers.” Ethan immediately retorted, “Divorce?! We have a child together, why would we divorce?!” My father-in-law frowned. “What, you want to keep eating from the bowl while staring at the pot? Have you no shame?!” With that, he also hung up the video call. Even though they both acted incredibly decisive, they were ultimately his biological parents. After a long pause, my mother-in-law asked me, “Child, if Ethan and that woman truly are innocent, would you be willing to give him one more chance?” I stared at the desperate hope in her eyes and remained silent for a long, long time. 7 Having barely slept for two days, I fell asleep sitting in a chair for two hours. I was jolted awake by an excruciating pain in my stiff neck—it hurt so much I could hear my own heartbeat. Just as I thought I was going to pass out from the pain, a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped over my head, snapping me wide awake. Clutching my neck, I sat up and saw my son’s mischievous, victorious face. “Sleeping in the middle of the day! Mommy is a huge, lazy pig!” Some people’s cruelty is innate. I suspected my son was exactly that kind of person. No matter how many times I taught him manners and politeness, he would pretend to listen and then do whatever he wanted behind my back. After Chloe appeared, he became even more brazen. At this moment, he jumped in front of me, hands on his hips. “Prisoner Maya, I’m warning you! If you don’t start doing your chores properly, I’m voting for Aunt Chloe! I won’t let you be my mommy anymore!” “Hehe, scared now, aren’t you? Let me tell you, you have a rival! Your rival is much prettier than you! You need to reflect on yourself, dress prettier, so Daddy won’t like Toby instead!” He seemed to blame Ethan’s fondness for Toby entirely on my inability to keep a man’s attention. I had never taught him these things. His cruelty truly was a natural talent. I turned my head to look outside the door. Ethan stood there coldly, watching me get drenched, looking at me as if I were a criminal. My mother-in-law happened to come downstairs, saw the scene, and rushed over with a towel to dry my face. She then ushered Leo away, telling Ethan and me to have a proper talk. I had no desire to talk to Ethan, so I walked straight outside. He followed silently behind me. After walking for a while, we reached a small, quiet riverbank. Once there was no one around, he finally spoke. “I have never met anyone as malicious as you.” I stopped in my tracks. His tone was like a judge delivering a harsh verdict: “Yesterday was Chloe’s birthday. She felt a party would be too loud, so she invited me to a nice steakhouse. Without asking a single question, you acted on your own paranoid delusions and let Leo publicly scream at her, calling her a homewrecker.” “Now she’s lost her job, her son is injured, and she hasn’t slept all night. Are you happy now?” I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. “So what? You feel guilty?” Meeting my intense gaze, his eyes darted away. “I feel guilty for you!” “I’ve thought it over. We are the ones who wronged her. So, until she finds a new job, her living expenses will be covered by you as an apology.” “I know you don’t have any money, so I will pay for it!” I was sick of listening to him. I waved my hand dismissively. “We split our marital assets fifty-fifty, and we get a divorce. As for how you spend your money after that, do whatever you want. Right now, don’t even think about it.” His eyes widened in shock. Then, he shook his head and took a step back. “Even now, you still want a divorce? Maya, you are being completely unreasonable. I know I’m innocent! I won’t entertain this nonsense with you!” I don’t know why, but his voice suddenly sounded further and further away. I could only see his lips moving incessantly. Then, my body uncontrollably tilted to the side. In that instant, the furious tension in his face vanished, replaced by sheer panic, as he desperately lunged toward me.

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Since I was a child, I was groomed to be the perfect daughter-in-law for the Vance family. At twenty, I married Carter Vance. At twenty-four, I gave birth to our son, Liam. Liam was exactly like Carter: always quiet, a man of few words, and never very affectionate with me. Every night, before they went to bed, I would bring both father and son a cup of hot milk. But one day, Carter accidentally knocked his cup over, and Liam secretly poured his down the drain. A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me. When I handed the divorce papers to Carter. He furrowed his brow, looking annoyed, and asked, “Just because of that?” “Yes. Just because of that.” 01 “What about our son? “What are you going to do about Liam?” Carter quickly regained his usual emotionless demeanor, asking me as if this were just another business transaction. I sat across from him, feeling more like a client at his negotiating table, and said calmly, “I’ll give up custody of him. “I’ll also transfer the deed to the estate in the Hamptons into his name. Consider it child support and compensation.” After all, the child’s last name was Vance. He and Carter looked much more like a real family than he and I ever did. Carter looked down at me, his eyes betraying very little emotion, as if he couldn’t understand what I was making a fuss about. “Maya,” he softened his tone. “If you’re still upset about the milk last night, I apologize. You know I was drunk. I didn’t mean to do that to you.” He explained it away with practiced patience, still completely convinced that this was all about a cup of milk. Last night, Carter came home very late from a business dinner. I had waited up for him half the night, and only woke up when the blast of cold air from him opening the front door hit me. I got up from the sofa. Seeing him grimacing and rubbing his temples while taking off his coat, I immediately went to the kitchen and brought him the milk I had been keeping warm. Normally, even if our marriage wasn’t exactly passionate, we at least kept up appearances. But last night, I asked one question too many: “Did you meet someone? That perfume smells familiar.” Carter suddenly let go of the glass I was handing him. Before I could react, the glass slipped from our touching fingers and shattered loudly against the floor, shattering the quiet warmth of the room. Carter’s face went ice-cold, an aura of pure irritation radiating from him. He glared at me and warned, “Maya, you’re crossing a line. “From now on, don’t wait up for me, and don’t bother making me milk anymore.” And my son, Liam, after seeing his father’s reaction, secretly poured his own milk down the drain. When I caught him, he stood in the doorway and apologized to me with the exact same emotionless expression: “I’m sorry, Mom. If Dad isn’t drinking it, I don’t want it either.” To the two of them, it was probably just a trivial, insignificant incident. I was overreacting. I shouldn’t have made such a big deal out of it. 02 I didn’t bother offering any further explanations. I signed the papers and retained a lawyer. I chose to end my marriage with Carter Vance. Carter flatly listed off numerous details regarding the division of assets. I didn’t really listen, and I didn’t care. I went back to our bedroom to pack my things. He looked down at me, studying me. “Maya, the paperwork will take time to process. You don’t have to rush to move out. You can keep this penthouse.” I looked at the man who was still as steady and cold as ever. I calmly replied using words he had once said to me: “It’s better to make a clean break, so there are no lingering attachments or unresolved issues.” Carter didn’t say anything else. I never thought packing my bags would be such an overwhelming task. The house was filled with trivial little things, every single one of them painstakingly arranged by my own hands. I took one last look around, finally deciding to just keep it simple, and dragged my suitcase toward the door. Carter stopped me. “Where are you going? “To your parents’ house? “I’ll have the driver take you.” “No need,” I declined, telling him, “Just remember to have the housekeeper clear out the rest of my things tomorrow. I won’t be dealing with them.” It’s not like their family was short on people to do the manual labor anyway. As I stepped out the front door, I paused and thought for a moment. I turned back and looked at Liam, who had been standing behind Carter this whole time, expressionless. I told him, “I won’t be picking you up from prep school anymore, but remember not to go with strangers.” I considered it providing closure for myself. After saying that, I turned and left. I didn’t take another look at the child I had held in my arms and patiently rocked through countless sleepless nights when he was crying during his weaning phase. 03 I bought a plane ticket out of New York. I randomly picked a city down South. Savannah, Georgia. From the moment I was told at fourteen that I would be marrying into the Vance family, my freedom and choices had been restricted. After I married Carter, apart from attending mandatory social galas, he never once suggested taking me out anywhere. My most common routine was waiting for my husband and son to come home every night and bringing them a cup of warm milk before bed. Everyone in our social circle said that Mrs. Vance Sr. had raised me perfectly. I was practically tailor-made to be Carter’s wife. I matched his social status, and I took immaculate care of his daily life. My only flaw was: I was too perfect. So perfect that I was boring. I seemed rigid and lifeless. I once overheard Carter’s friends teasing him. “Carter, man, what’s it like living like an old married couple when you’re still so young? “Your wife is way too boring. Even her smile looks fake. “Do you want the guys to introduce you to someone a bit more fun? “Just a few days ago, Dave met this hilarious girl. Super funny. Exactly like Chloe back in the day. What do you say, interested?” Chloe. Carter’s first love. Back then, when Mrs. Vance Sr. disapproved of their relationship, Carter fought her tooth and nail. I don’t know what happened later. They broke up, and Chloe moved all the way to London. Shortly after that, when he was twenty, Carter suddenly accepted the Vance family’s arrangement and took the initiative to propose to me. Four years later, I gave birth to Liam. Oh, right. I remember now. That familiar perfume I smelled last night was the one Chloe always used to wear. A custom blend of gardenia. 04 After finding a place to stay in Savannah. I wandered around to many different places. The Southern drizzle, the hazy, historic cobblestone streets—I delighted in every bit of it. I never expected that early on my third morning, I would suddenly receive a call from Carter. He sounded like he had just woken up, asking me in a raspy voice, “Maya, where did you put those ruby cufflinks I bought at the charity auction last year?” I paused for a second. “In the second drawer of the walk-in closet.” I asked him, “What’s the occasion?” Carter: “A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new commercial center.” Me: “The matching suit is the fourth one in the second row.” Carter still didn’t seem fully awake. I could hear the rustling of him searching on the other end of the line, along with a few muttered complaints. I listened for a moment before asking him, “Did you find them?” The voice on the other end stopped, as if he had finally realized what was happening. “I found them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.” I said “Mm” and told him, “I know.” I advised him, “Have the housekeeper reorganize your closet for you. If you can’t find something again, you can ask them. “From now on, don’t call and bother me anymore.” Carter was silent for a moment before saying, “Okay.” After hanging up, I blocked his number and went back to sleep. But this time, I couldn’t sleep peacefully no matter what. I had a series of bizarre, disjointed dreams. I dreamed of laughing and playing with my classmates on the middle school campus when I was fourteen. I dreamed of the sunny day I first met Carter when I was fifteen. I dreamed of sneaking out to a drag race when I was sixteen, only to be dragged back by my dad and beaten until my legs ached. And… Another piercing ringtone. I jolted awake from the dream, irritated as I blindly reached for my phone on the nightstand. It was an unknown number. I answered it, and a polite voice inquired, “Hello, is this Liam’s mother? “I’m Liam’s teacher from his prep school. It’s like this: today the school is hosting a robotics exhibition, and Liam is participating. But he didn’t bring his project. He said his mother was preparing it for him. Would it be possible for you to bring it over for him?” The teacher was very enthusiastic. My fingers tightened around my phone. I closed my eyes, feeling an indescribable wave of exhaustion. Not long ago, I was sitting in the living room, meticulously following video tutorials frame by frame to build that robotics project for Liam. But because I left so abruptly that day, the robot was still half-finished. I looked out the window at the blazing sun and softly replied to the teacher, “I’m sorry, but I no longer have custody of Liam, and I won’t be managing his affairs anymore. “Also… is he right next to you right now?” “Ah.” The teacher sounded quite embarrassed. “Yes, yes, Liam is right here beside me.” I sighed. “Then could you please put me on speakerphone?” “O-okay.” “Thank you.” There was a rustling sound as the phone was shifted, followed by silence. I figured Liam could hear me. I spoke softly, “Liam, the robot is in the toy bin in your room. “You can call your dad to bring it to you, or you can have anyone else bring it. But from now on, I hope you won’t call me anymore. I won’t be picking you up, and I won’t be helping you with your projects. You know I’m not your mother anymore.” After finishing, I apologized to the teacher one more time and hung up the phone. 05 Saying those words to the child I almost died giving birth to still broke my heart. I couldn’t even remember when Liam started becoming more and more like Carter. My marriage to Carter was an arranged union established very early on. When I was fourteen, my grandfather and father walked out of the study with the elders of the Vance family, all beaming with smiles. From then on, I was groomed by the Vance family to be their daughter-in-law. In high school, many of my classmates envied my wealthy background. I never argued, I could only smile bitterly. I had a privileged life, but I had absolutely no freedom. When I didn’t do well on an important exam. In the middle of the night, my mom got so angry, feeling that I had humiliated her, that she burst into my room, yanked me up, and slapped me across the face. In high school, when I had a rebellious phase and started dating a boy, my dad delivered the second slap. He warned me that if I didn’t want to marry into the Vance family, I could only marry those businessmen who were nearly twenty years older than me. The first time I met Carter, I was fifteen. It was an arrangement made by our two families. Carter back then was different from how he is now. He was a boy who loved to laugh and wore his emotions on his sleeve. My impression of him wasn’t deep. I only remember a white button-down shirt under a blue sky, and a pair of incredibly expressive eyes. Later, I heard he was in a cold war with his family over his first love. I admired and envied him. At least he dared to rebel. He had the right to resist. But not long after, Mrs. Vance Sr. came to visit our house. With an elegant yet apologetic smile on her face, she held my mother’s hand and told her, “Don’t worry, the situation with Carter has already been resolved.” I hid by the door, listening, my heart sinking. I thought to myself, I knew it. After that, our families constantly arranged for Carter and me to meet. At first, he was quite resistant and never gave me the time of day. Later, he slowly accepted it, and occasionally he would say a few words to me. I watched as that prickly, rebellious boy gradually became silent and withdrawn, suppressing all his emotions. And the custom gardenia perfume he used to wear also vanished into the air as time passed. 06 It wasn’t until I was twenty and Carter was twenty-four. While we were on our way to a gala in another city, we were caught in a sudden mudslide and trapped in our car. Carter and I were buried together for a full day and night. When rescue finally arrived, my last memory was of his arm—which had been shielding my body—pierced and mangled by the crushed frame of the car. After he woke up, he proposed to me. In front of both my family and the Vance family, he asked me, “Maya, will you be my wife?” At that time, I looked at his arm, heavily wrapped in white bandages. I remembered when we were trapped in the car, how he anxiously called my name and told me, “Maya, don’t fall asleep. “If you fall asleep now, you’ll really lose your freedom forever!” Like I was possessed, I placed my hand over his. And in doing so, I ignored his lowered eyes—calm and lifeless, like he was merely completing a mandatory ritual. And so, we got married. Four years later, just as everyone wanted, we had a child. From the moment Liam was born, he was showered with love and adoration from both families. Mrs. Vance Sr. believed he needed the same elite upbringing as Carter. So, when he poured out that cup of milk, he did exactly what his father did. He used the most innocent face to say sorry to me, while doing what he believed was his absolute right. 07 I don’t know what that father and son were actually thinking. Less than a week later. I received another call from Carter. He used a different number. Because I had blocked him. Dragging things out like this didn’t seem like something Carter would do. After I answered the call, the line went dead silent for a few seconds. Just as I was feeling baffled and about to hang up. Carter’s voice came through. “Maya.” He called my name. “Your parents said you didn’t go home. Where did you go? Are you in Savannah?” He was investigating me. I knew he had the resources to do that. But I felt an unspeakable anger boiling inside me. During our long, nine-year marriage, he was cold, he was distant. He acted like a transient guest living under the same roof as me. Now, in just half a month, he had called me more times than he had in the entire past year combined. Before, when I would text him: [Are you coming home for dinner tonight?] [Are you in a meeting?] [Does your stomach hurt? Should I bring you some porridge?] He would reply with, at most: [Yeah.] The rest was just a wall of my own green text bubbles. Now, he was acting like nothing had ever happened. He asked me over the phone, his voice hoarse, “Maya, I had a business dinner today and drank too much. My stomach is killing me. Where did you put my medication in the house? “Also, Liam caught a cold from a classmate at prep school. He’s running a fever of 100 degrees and keeps crying that he feels awful. What did you usually do to make him feel better?” I was beyond angry. I suppressed my fury, trying not to sound like a hysterical lunatic, and told him word by word, “Carter, we are divorced. “I am no longer your wife, and I am not your maid. “Whether your stomach hurts or not, whether you can find your medication or not, none of that is my business. And with one phone call, you have plenty of people who would gladly buy you medicine. “If the child is sick, talking to me is useless. I’m not a doctor, and I’ve never seen a father who, at a time like this, still has to ask the mother what to do. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do. Maybe it’s bruised ego, maybe you’re just used to me taking care of you. “But Carter, I don’t want to make this ugly. We are over. Don’t ever disrupt my life again, do you understand?” After saying all that, I hung up the phone completely. I popped open the back of my phone, took out the SIM card, and threw it in the trash. 08 In today’s society, everything is tied to your phone number. I didn’t expect Carter and Liam to call me every few days. Naturally, I didn’t flatter myself into thinking Carter still had feelings for me. It was just that I had taken care of them for so long; it’s hard to break a habit instantly. I got a new SIM card and withdrew some cash. I signed up for a scientific expedition tour group and followed them on a trip through the rugged outback of the Pacific Northwest. It was a project I had seen online a long time ago. When I brought it up back then, Carter said he didn’t have time. His “friends” in our social circle had laughed and said, “That’s way too shabby. “Maya, with Carter’s status, going on such a cheap tour group would be incredibly embarrassing.” I just smiled and didn’t say anything else. At the time, I thought it was just a passing whim. The Vance family would never allow me to be so reckless and wild. I never thought that now, it would be so incredibly easy. When a shackle is broken, a bound person will start struggling from the very depths of their soul. 09 The day I headed out with the expedition team. The sky was crystal clear. We traveled by train. The train rocked back and forth for the entire journey. Every time I sank deep into that exhausting, suffocating dream, I would be slowly rocked awake. The dawn broke, piercing through the chaotic haze. The expedition took us through the Cascade Loop and down to the high deserts of Oregon. From Seattle, we went to the Olympic Peninsula, passed through the Columbia River Gorge, and stopped at the Painted Hills and Smith Rock. Mount Hood rose sharply from the forested horizon, and Crater Lake was serene under the night sky. Traveling through the high desert, crossing the passes, we saw endless miles of colorful, rugged terrain. The expedition team was primarily made up of geologists. They looked like people who weren’t good with words, yet they could talk endlessly about a pile of dirt, a blade of grass, an unknown wildflower. Sometimes humorous, sometimes witty. They filled the vast, sparsely populated Northwest with a profound, vibrant life force. Undeniably, my privileged background and those years of being groomed by the Vance family had allowed me to see many things other people never got to experience. Before, in my understanding, traveling was something that could only be enjoyable if done with family. But now, hiking through badlands and camping in the desert. Eating burnt barbecue, covered in dust and sand, I saw stars brighter than I had ever seen in my life. I knew Carter was probably still trying to track my itinerary, but that didn’t matter anymore. Later, after the Northwest loop ended, I exchanged contact info with these new friends. After resting in the city for a few days. We set out again to hike the Rockies. The moment we reached the summit of a challenging peak. I suffered severe altitude sickness. My breathing was rapid, and my head felt like it was splitting open. I almost thought I was going to die on that towering mountain range. But in the distance, the sun bathed the snow-capped peaks in gold, and everyone at the summit was cheering. In that passionate, chaotic atmosphere, I burst into loud, unrestrained sobs. The team scrambled frantically to give me oxygen and feed me high-sugar drinks. Thinking I was crying because I was in so much pain, they rushed to comfort me. “Oh man, don’t cry girl. You’re okay, you’re okay. Your blood oxygen is coming back up. Don’t be scared, we’ve got you. You’re not gonna die!” “Yeah, kiddo, you’re so young, you’re definitely fine. You’ve got a long road ahead of you. This is nothing!” I sobbed uncontrollably, but eventually, their thick Midwest accents and clumsy comforting made me break into a smile through my tears. With their help, I stood up from the snow, facing the golden sunlit peaks in the distance, facing my new life. No matter how many shackles there were, no matter how hard the journey. I could still reach the summit on my own, couldn’t I? 10 After returning, I picked up some of my old hobbies. Like extreme sports. Like auto racing. Like getting a dog I actually liked. Before I was engaged to Carter, I actually had a very carefree and lively personality. I loved everything that was full of life. But later, I didn’t even have my own freedom. How could I talk about loving anything? I got a mixed-breed Maltipoo. I named her Bella. She had a coat of soft, caramel-colored fur and innocent, big eyes. Every time she ran, her ears flopped up and down like a little propane tank. Puppies are easier to get along with than people. Puppies also understand your needs better than people do. A puppy will never give you the cold shoulder. A puppy knows you love her, and she loves you back. And the next time I saw Carter. It was at the door of my new house. I was just about to take Bella out for a walk. When I pushed open the door, I saw Carter standing by the elevator. And by his side, he was holding the hand of Liam, who was nervously staring at Bella in my arms.

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When passion took over, I took the initiative to get on top. My husband, thoroughly enjoying it, suddenly licked his lips: “How much weight have you gained recently? Why are you so heavy?” “You need to lose some weight. It felt the absolute best when you were 105 pounds.” My heart skipped a beat. Not long ago, I saw a 105-pound woman sitting in this exact same spot with him. 1 The warm water from the showerhead cascaded over my body. Yet, I felt freezing cold, my head throbbing with a dull ache. 105 pounds. For a woman who is 5’9″, that is an impossibly low, astronomical number. Not to mention that as I’ve gotten older in recent years, my metabolism has slowed down. Keeping my weight at 125 pounds had already taken an immense amount of blood, sweat, and tears. So, that number could only belong to another woman. My fifteen-year marriage with Arthur Caldwell had ultimately gained a third person. It had become too crowded. Click. The bathroom door opened. Arthur, his eyes soft and humming a light tune, wrapped his arms around my waist. “What’s wrong, Vivian? You’ve been showering for so long. Are you upset just because I said you gained a little weight?” He rested his chin in the crook of my neck, letting his stubble gently rub against my skin. Instantly, goosebumps erupted all over my arms. I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath, and peeled his fingers off my waist one by one until I was completely out of his embrace. “Arthur, I am upset, but not because you called me fat. We’ve been together for so many years. Give it to me straight: who is 105 pounds?” My tone was dead serious. I wasn’t letting him joke his way out of this. Arthur gave a helpless smile, cupping my face with both hands and rubbing my cheeks affectionately. “Look at this angry little face. No one is 105 pounds. I was just caught up in the moment and blurted it out. Don’t overthink a mindless comment. Vivian, we are both thirty-five now. We don’t need to care about superficial appearances anymore. When we’re old, grey, and wrinkly, I will still be the person closest to you. We are husband and wife; we don’t need to use our bodies to please each other for the rest of our lives.” I looked at the man standing in front of me and couldn’t help but scoff. Superficial appearances? Thirty-five-year-old Arthur was handsome, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a perfect V-taper. He had an incredible presence. Compared to younger guys, he possessed the distinct, refined charm of a mature man. Even after our intense workout just now, his hair was still perfectly styled. No matter how busy work got, he rigidly stuck to his schedule of hitting the gym three times a week and going for a morning run five days a week. He cared about “superficial appearances” more than anyone. “That’s not what I meant…” I was just about to interrogate him further when he cut me off. “Oh, by the way, I got a bracelet from Dr. Evans. He said it’s the custom-cut emerald bangle you’ve been eyeing. I was going to hide it and surprise you, but I guess I’ll use it as an apology for my stupid comment today. Please, my beautiful wife, let me off the hook. Let’s not fight, okay?” He bowed sincerely, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of my hand. Here we go again. For the past two years, whenever the slightest hint of conflict arose between us, Arthur would instantly interrupt my train of thought. I wasn’t the most articulate person, and I processed things slowly. Once interrupted, I would momentarily forget what I was going to say. In the end, the issue would be swept under the rug with one lavish gift after another. Sometimes, I would think about it and just let it go. In a marriage, someone always has to compromise. But this time was different. My sixth sense was screaming at me. I absolutely could not just let this go. 2 To uncover the truth behind the “105 pounds” comment, I decided to start with the sales associates at the luxury boutiques downtown. Arthur was incredibly generous. He never cared about the price tag when buying gifts. If he really had a mistress, he would definitely be sending her luxury goods. But when I went down to the garage, I noticed the Rolls-Royce Phantom—which had been parked and untouched for a long time—was missing. It was a limited-edition Phantom. Arthur hated driving it. It was too flashy, too ostentatious. Every time he took it out on the streets of Chicago, people would ask to take pictures with it. It was a hassle. I went back inside, casually picked up a pair of earrings, and dialed his number. “Arthur, did you drive the Phantom to work today?” The person on the other end seemed to short-circuit for a second. When he recovered, his tone was as gentle as ever: “Oh, yeah. It hasn’t been driven in a while, and cars need to be run every now and then to keep the engine healthy. Do you need something, Vivian? If it’s not urgent, let’s chat tonight.” I understood the hidden subtext in his voice. I replied smoothly: “Remember when Harper borrowed the Phantom to shoot that tech video? She’s always so clumsy. She lost the diamond earrings her late mother left her. We’ve thought about it, and she probably dropped them in the car. I want to help her look. Is the car parked at the office? I’ll come find you…” “Wait!” From the other end of the line, I didn’t just hear Arthur’s panicked refusal; I also heard the screech of tires braking hard and the faint honking of cars outside. “You’re on the road? Perfect, just swing by the house first. You know how Harper gets. Tomorrow is the anniversary of her mom’s passing, she can’t wait.” I didn’t give Arthur a chance to decline. I hung up immediately. It felt incredibly satisfying. Arthur knew that the influence of my best friend Harper’s family in Chicago was nothing like it used to be. In the AI sector alone, they controlled market shares that Arthur desperately wanted but couldn’t touch. Now that I brought up her family, he had to come back—no matter which road in Chicago he was currently driving on. 3 The familiar car didn’t return to our garage; it parked near the entrance of our gated community. I didn’t care. Because from a distance, I could clearly see someone sitting in the passenger seat. Walking closer, I saw it was a young girl. Silky black hair, amber eyes reflecting the blazing summer sun. Her cheeks were flushed pink, radiating an overwhelming aura of youth. She rolled down the window first, enthusiastically waving her arm at me. “Hi, Mrs. Caldwell! I’m Mia Jenkins.” Her bright, radiant smile revealed deep dimples. Her cheerful tone was like a pool of clear water rippled by a spring breeze. It made my heart twitch. Facing her beaming smile, I merely nodded in acknowledgment. She seemed friendly, but she made absolutely no move to get out of the car. I could read between the lines. So, I walked straight to the back door, opened it, bent down, and pretended to search the floorboards for a moment before gasping: “Harper’s earrings really are here! Honey, why don’t you just drop me off at Harper’s place on the way? She’s been super stressed these past two days.” I casually sat in the back seat, adjusting my clothes, leaving no room for refusal. Arthur’s body stiffened. He turned around, giving me an apologetic look, and answered a question I hadn’t asked: “Vivian, this is the new intern at our company. She had to deliver a document today. She’s young and new to Chicago, so I was just giving her a ride since it was on the way.” I smiled, my eyes curving into crescents. Looking at Arthur in the rearview mirror, I let out a soft “Mhm.” What kind of intern requires the CEO to personally give her a ride? Hilarious. The car slowly began to move. This time, Arthur was the chauffeur, and I was the boss in the back. … I don’t know if it was because of my sudden appearance, but the car was dead silent. Mia flipped down the sun visor, checked her makeup in the mirror, then grabbed the headrest, exposing a pale, delicate wrist as she turned to look at me. “Mrs. Caldwell, what do you usually do at home to manage your figure? Your body is amazing. I feel like sitting at a desk all day is giving me love handles. I just can’t seem to manage my weight anymore.” I listened to her words, smiling but staying silent. Spoken like a fresh-out-of-college intern. It sounded like a compliment about my figure, but it was a thinly veiled jab—implying that at my age, I contributed nothing to society, just sitting at home leeching off my husband, while she was young and actively climbing the corporate ladder. A freshly minted little fox daring to tug at the tail of an old fox. I blinked, covering my mouth in a dramatic gasp: “Oh my goodness! You’re so young, and you already can’t control your weight? Mia, you have to realize that the older you get, the worse your metabolism becomes. I’m honestly worried about what you’ll do when you reach my age. Take a piece of advice from an older woman: start dieting as soon as possible.” I rarely clashed with people upon our first meeting. Handling situations with a polite smile had practically been ingrained into my bones. Mia froze, seemingly not expecting me to differ so wildly from the docile rumors she’d heard around the office. She bit her lower lip, replying indignantly: “I see… Then I guess I’ll start my diet tomorrow…” As she turned back around and retracted her hand, a translucent jade bangle flashed before my eyes. Although it was just a quick glance, my years of experience told me it was an incredibly rare, top-tier emerald bangle. The kind that easily costs eight figures. I grabbed her soft, delicate hand, inspecting it closely: “This bracelet is very clear.” Mia’s gloom vanished instantly, her face lighting up with joy. “Hehe, right? A friend of mine gave it to me.” Her eyes darted to my wrist. “Oh, Mrs. Caldwell, why are you still wearing a solid gold bracelet? The style is so old and tacky. None of us wear gold anymore; it’s so outdated.” I tilted my head to look at Arthur’s expression in the driver’s seat. Mia’s comment was incredibly rude. Normally, he would have jumped to my defense immediately. But today, it was as if he had lost his hearing, focusing intently on driving the car. “Because this is the gift your CEO bought for me with his very first pot of gold. No passing trend could ever compare to the sincerity he showed me back then.” In the rearview mirror, the corners of Arthur’s mouth curled up. He was enjoying this. So, he was listening to our conversation. “Oh, the meaning behind the first pot of gold is definitely different. My bracelet is just expensive, it doesn’t have any deep meaning. But still, I love it very, very much.” The girl pouted, gently stroking the bangle on her wrist. Her fleeting disappointment vanished in an instant; she knew exactly how to comfort herself. Before today, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed the micro-expressions on Arthur’s face. But today, I was here specifically to watch him. I suppressed the displeasure in my heart, my tone remaining friendly: “However, I noticed the inner diameter of this bracelet is quite small. A size 5? 5.5?” “It’s a size 5.5. It’s actually a bit big on me, but luckily I’m careful so it doesn’t fall off. It’s my fault for being too skinny.” A young girl’s secret desires can never be hidden for long. As she spoke, she couldn’t help but lean closer toward the driver’s seat. A size 5.5 is extremely petite. I let go of Mia’s wrist, sat up straight, crossed my arms, and asked with a cold smile: “You are indeed skinny. Do you weigh 105 pounds?” 4 “Wow, Mrs. Caldwell, you’re so smart! How did you kno—” “Enough. Stop chatting. I can’t focus on driving with you two talking so much.” Arthur frowned, cutting Mia off. While waiting at a red light, he reached back, grabbed Mia’s shoulder, and scolded her: “Also, Mia Jenkins, you are just an intern. I’m only giving you a ride today because it was on the way. Please remember your place and watch your tone. Vivian is my wife, and the boss’s wife at the company you work for. I expect you to know basic courtesy and respect.” The previously smug girl instantly got tears in her eyes. Blinking back her tears, she bit her lower lip hard, struggling to control her expression. Her voice trembled slightly: “I’m sorry. I was out of line today. Please pull over at the curb, Mr. Caldwell. I can call an Uber myself.” With a dark expression, Arthur roughly pulled the car to the side of the road. Mia opened the door and bolted. She didn’t wait for an Uber; she just kept her head down, violently wiping her cheeks as she marched down the sidewalk. For the rest of the drive, I could distinctly feel Arthur’s agitation and impatience. If the car in front of him didn’t accelerate the second the light turned green, he laid on the horn relentlessly. He even couldn’t help but curse a few times: “If you’re going to drive like a grandma, get off the damn road, you absolute moron.” I had never seen this side of Arthur before. After dropping me off at Harper’s estate, he didn’t say a word. He just slammed the gas pedal and sped off. Watching the car disappear into the distance, the last shred of my persistence and trust crumbled into dust. Is there anyone who never changes? Is there anyone who will treat you well for an entire lifetime? After weathering all the storms together, is this what it comes down to? Is it really just like the internet says: “In the end, they all turn out the same”? 5 The custom emerald bracelet Arthur promised to give me never materialized. I didn’t rush him or bring it up. By unspoken agreement, neither of us mentioned the unpleasantness of that day. But the incident felt like thousands of ants constantly gnawing at every corner of my brain and body. Forgive me. I didn’t have the courage to lay everything out in the open. When I first discovered Arthur was acting suspicious, I was full of fighting spirit, determined to make him regret it. But when I actually found the girl, I felt afraid. I felt cowardly. I couldn’t seem to imagine a life without Arthur in it. For over a decade, Arthur had been the guiding light in my life. When I was eighteen, coming from an ordinary working-class family, I miraculously got accepted into a prestigious university. But then, my mother—my only family—suddenly collapsed. She was gravely ill. I worked multiple jobs and sold everything of value. Yet, my mother still ended up in the ICU. The ICU is like a massive money-shredder. When I was desperate and on the verge of making terrible, irreversible choices, Arthur saved me. To solve my financial crisis, he swallowed his pride and sought out his estranged biological father. He traded his own future to secure the funds for my mother’s endless medical bills. He used his father’s connections to fly in world-renowned neurosurgeons to operate on her. Because of him, my mother lived for another two years. When she passed, Arthur personally handled all the funeral arrangements. He encouraged me to stand back up, face life, and not fear the future. Because he promised he would always hold my hand and guide me forward. I believed him. So, when his adoptive “mother” threw a bank card with ten million dollars in my face and told me to leave Arthur, I rejected it without a moment’s hesitation. We fought through the Caldwell family’s relentless opposition. We finally made it to the eve of our wedding. At that time, Arthur’s “mother” issued an ultimatum: I was never allowed to bear Caldwell children. I knew she had always looked down on a girl from the slums like me. But it still stung. Arthur held me, telling me over and over again: “Kids or no kids, I never wanted you to go through the physical toll of pregnancy anyway. She’s just terrified that the empire her husband spent decades building will be inherited by the sudden appearance of his illegitimate son’s child.” “If it weren’t for you, I would never have returned to this toxic family. Everything I do is just to give you the absolute best this world has to offer.” Arthur’s kindness toward me back then was real. I saw it with my own eyes; I felt it in my heart. For over a decade, Arthur told me every single day that I was the one he loved, the one he cared about. I had never doubted him. I was grateful for everything he did for my mother, and thankful that he loved me for over ten years. But in the end, we turned out just like any other ordinary, broken couple. 6 Days flew by. Just as I was beginning to numb myself to reality, Arthur showed up at our front door at 10 PM. With Mia Jenkins. Next to Mia was a massive 28-inch suitcase. She looked completely different from the first time we met. That radiant, natural confidence and youthful energy were gone. Her head was bowed, her hair a messy tangle, her lips pale and chapped. She looked incredibly familiar to me. I felt like I had seen her somewhere before. “Ahem, Vivian, I ran into her sitting in the company lobby after work today. She got kicked out of her apartment by her landlord over some dispute.” Arthur spoke unnaturally, avoiding eye contact with me. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Caldwell, for bothering you again. I really had no other choice.” “My dad… he’s sick. All my money is tied up in the hospital’s account. I can be homeless, but he can’t leave the hospital. I apologize again for making you uncomfortable last time. If you still don’t want to see me today, I’ll leave right now.” As Mia spoke, her head drooped lower and lower, her back bending further and further. She looked so pathetic. So subservient. Suddenly, it hit me. I finally realized where I had seen this version of Mia Jenkins before. It was me, at eighteen years old, backed into a corner by life. Back then, I was just as desperate, with nowhere to turn. And Arthur was just as “kind-hearted” as he was over a decade ago. He extended his hand to play the savior. “Mia, you don’t need to act so humble. Vivian isn’t a petty person.” “Right, Vivian?” This time, Arthur looked at me with a firm, resolute gaze. His hand had already dragged Mia’s suitcase into the entryway. Both his tone and his actions left absolutely no room for me to object. Agreeing was my only option. “Alright. Come in. I’ll have Martha clean up the guest room.” 7 And just like that, Mia Jenkins moved into Arthur and I’s home under a veneer of grand nobility. Even Martha, the housekeeper, could see the shady undertones. “Mrs. Caldwell, it’s not my place to say this, but… having a young, tearful girl living in the house is just not right. If worse comes to worst, let’s go ask the old madam for help.” The “old madam” Martha referred to was Arthur’s adoptive mother, Eleanor Caldwell. “Mrs. Caldwell, you haven’t had a child of your own in over a decade. If this girl suddenly…” Martha trailed off, but I understood perfectly what she meant. But when a man’s heart is no longer with you, bringing in the old madam or the young madam makes no difference. Even if the President of the United States showed up, it would be useless. At 2 AM, the sound of sobbing and a weak knock echoed from outside the door. The man next to me bolted upright in bed. “Mia, is that you?” Arthur asked. “Mr. Caldwell… I didn’t want to bother you, but… my dad just got a critical condition notice. I don’t know who else to call. I really have no one else…” Mia’s voice broke at the very end. Her quiet sobbing turned into a devastated wail. Arthur instantly got out of bed and started throwing on his clothes. I instinctively grabbed his arm: “I’ll go with you.” He shook his head: “Vivian, don’t come. I’m afraid it’ll make you think of the past… I don’t want to trigger your trauma. I’ll go with her. You go back to sleep.” After dressing, Arthur placed his hand on the doorknob and looked back at me lying on my side: “Vivian, you went through all of this once too. I know you can empathize with her. Please.” I looked out at the silent night and let out a helpless sigh. Was he trying to make me remember the past, or hoping I couldn’t? For a moment, I honestly couldn’t tell what Arthur’s true objective was. “I understand. I know.” Click. The door was gently shut, and soon, there was no sound from the hallway. Which car would Arthur drive to take Mia out? Were they really going to the hospital, or somewhere else? What were they going to do? Did the sick father even exist? My brain was tangled in a chaotic knot of questions. Sleep was entirely out of the question. And so, I sat there, eyes wide open, watching the sky turn bright, then slowly turn dark again. Why weren’t they back yet? It wasn’t until Martha knocked on my door: “Mrs. Caldwell, whatever is happening, put it aside and eat something first. Don’t torture yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong…” I froze slightly. Right. What exactly did I, Vivian, do wrong in this situation? The two people who actually did something wrong were out there having the time of their lives, without a single shred of guilt in their hearts. Yet I, the victim, was sitting here letting internal turmoil slowly kill me? Why should I? I got up, washed my face, and ate a full meal. Then, I began to consolidate all my savings from the past decade. I was thirty-five. I had hands, feet, and a vast network of connections. It seemed I really had nothing to be afraid of. That very day, with a full stomach, I decided to let myself off the hook. All the problems tormenting me were instantly sliced open by a sharp blade. My swollen, dizzy brain was suddenly possessed by a cold, clear-headed ruthlessness. After organizing everything, I looked at the gold bracelet sitting in the drawer—the one I hadn’t worn in ages. It was time to return it.

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When we were intimate, my boyfriend loved to take off my glasses. He said he adored the way my eyes half-closed, heavy with passion. Until the day I overheard him bragging to his friends. “She can’t see a damn thing without them. By the time she realizes what’s happening, it’s too late to stop me. She just takes it. “Trust me, it’s non-stop action, start to finish.” One of them asked, laughing, how he’d finally managed to lock her down. Caleb just gave a mysterious smirk. “Conservative girls are all the same. They only give themselves to a guy they think is serious about marrying them. “I bought a huge, beat-up fixer-upper entirely in cash. I put only Maya’s name on the deed. “She was so incredibly moved. She thinks I bet my entire net worth on her. How could she possibly say no to me after that?” 01 I was working a side gig as a wedding planner at my best friend’s agency, trying to save up money for my own wedding. Today, I was at a hotel downtown to meet a VIP client. While waiting in the lobby bar, I heard a man ask in a flippant tone: “Hey Caleb, aren’t you done with your ‘Cinderella charity project’ yet? “Your merger with the Sterling family is set. The wedding date is practically here.” Instinctively, I turned my head slightly. Caleb. That was my boyfriend’s name. But my Caleb was just a sales rep for a medical device company, not some rich heir talking about corporate mergers. But the next moment, a terrifyingly familiar voice came drifting over. “What’s the rush? I still have a month. “Besides, I’m having a hard time letting Maya go.” In an instant, it felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. I went entirely numb. Maya. That was me. The other man snorted. “Don’t tell me you actually fell for her?” Caleb took a slow, indifferent sip of his drink. “Let’s not get crazy. It’s just a strictly physical arrangement. A contract. “And besides…” Caleb lowered his voice, thick with locker-room bravado. “She’s blind as a bat. Can’t see a thing without her glasses… I can pull moves on her she can’t stop in time. She just takes it. “Trust me, it’s non-stop action, start to finish.” His friend burst out laughing. “That girl was hunted hard by Liam Miller back in the day. He sent her a Maserati, a couple of Birkins, and he still couldn’t get her to lay a glove on her. “I heard she was pure as snow. How the hell did you pull off a grand slam right out of the gate?” Caleb smirked, looking insufferably proud. “Conservative girls only give themselves to a guy they think is serious about marrying them. “I bought a huge, beat-up fixer-upper entirely in cash. I put only Maya’s name on the deed. “She was so incredibly moved. She thinks I bet my entire net worth on her. How could she possibly say no to me after that? “It’s like leadin’ a donkey… you just need a really big, shiny carrot dangling right in front of its nose. “Giving her a car or a bag doesn’t prove you want to marry her. But paying cash for a house? That’s the carrot.” Saying this, Caleb checked his watch, looking annoyed. He turned to a man who looked like his assistant. “Where is Ms. Sterling? Didn’t we say we were meeting the wedding planner together?” I froze. The VIP client I was supposed to meet today… her last name was Sterling. Within seconds, Caleb was grabbing his jacket, swinging it over his shoulder. “I’m busy. I have to run. Tell Chloe Sterling to do whatever she wants, it’s all on her.” As he walked away, he barked an order to his driver. “Go to that bakery on the South side. The one trending on TikTok.” One of the friends with him teased: “Don’t have time to plan your wedding with your fiancée, but you have time to go out of your way to buy Cinderella a cheap little gourmet cupcake.” Caleb shoved him playfully. “Shut up.” Then he sighed, a note of genuine regret in his voice. “Honestly, if she didn’t have that bad eyesight… I don’t want a son inheriting those nearsighted genes. “Otherwise, even if my parents hated it, I might have fought for her. “What a waste…” 02 I sat there, stunned, rooted to the spot. My mind raced back to this morning when we woke up. The kiss Caleb had pressed to my forehead before he got out of bed. At the time, I had blushed and pushed him away. “I didn’t like what you did last night… Don’t do it again.” Caleb had stroked my hair, smiling. “Okay. Never again.” “You said that last time!” Caleb wasn’t angry. He just chuckled. “Well, what can I do? Maybe I should just redo it the way my Maya likes it, one more time?” My face was so hot I felt like my neck was turning red. “Shut up! Don’t you have to go into work early? Go!” Caleb dramatically checked his watch. “Yeah, I really gotta go, or I’ll lose my attendance bonus this month. “I have to keep saving up to get my Maya a real house. One with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows.” For the hundredth time, I had told him that I loved our current house. Even though it was old and a total fixer-upper, it felt like home. “Honestly, you didn’t have to put only my name on the deed. It was your money. “If your parents ever find out, they’re going to be so upset with you.” Caleb, fully dressed now, gave me a perfect “goodbye kiss.” “Why shouldn’t I? “If, God forbid, I’m ever not around, at least I know you’ll always have a sanctuary.” I chided him for talking about such bad luck. But I never imagined he was telling the truth. The prince was eventually going back to his castle to marry the princess. And Cinderella was still here, working a stupid side gig, trying to save enough money to buy furniture for a home that was nothing but a lie. 03 A cold, composed female voice snapped me out of my memories. “My apologies. I’m late. “I’m Chloe Sterling.” The woman in front of me wore a crisp white pantsuit. Her hair was perfectly styled, cascading over her shoulder. Her features were elegant and gentle, and her face held a sincere expression of regret. Chloe took a beautifully packaged bottle of perfume out of her bag and handed it to me. “A small token of appreciation for being willing to wait for me.” I looked down at the perfume. It was a luxury designer brand. This tiny 30ml bottle cost over three hundred dollars. I was about to refuse when Chloe’s friend arrived, fuming. “That damn Caleb just left. Left a message saying the wedding budget is three million, but you can go over if you need to. “Said you should do whatever you like. “He can’t even find the time to meet with his own wedding planner. How much could he possibly love you?” Chloe forced the perfume into my hand, her tone casual, almost bored. “What does love have to do with anything? This is a merger. “I don’t care about his pre-wedding life. As long as he behaves after the vows. “Worst case scenario, even if he cheats after we’re married, I’ll be popping champagne to celebrate. “I lose one useless husband, and the Sterling family gains at least a thirty percent share in the Sterling-Vance partnership. It’s a hell of a deal.” Initially, I was hesitating, wondering if I should tell her the truth. But after hearing that, I silently swallowed it down. So, this was the world of the ultra-rich? Love didn’t matter at all. Only profit was eternal. Chloe called over a waiter and ordered some light lunch and desserts. Then she finally turned her focus back to me. “Maya Price, correct? I’ve seen your portfolio. It has a lot of soul. “It’s exactly the style I’m looking for. “This file lists my basic requirements for the wedding. Please take a look.” Her demands were explicit. Venue: The Bulgari Hotel. Full buyout of the premises on the wedding day. Dinner service at $2,000 per person, with an expected guest count of 500. The wedding theme was “Calla Lilies.” I studied the details closely, offering a professional suggestion: “Moving in a full week early for setup will incur a massive fee from the hotel. Honestly, it’s not strictly necessary. “Three days should be enough. My team can work in shifts to get the setup finished on time. “From a cost-effective perspective…” When I looked up, Chloe was smiling at me. Suddenly, I realized what I was doing. “Cost-effective” was a phrase that simply didn’t exist in her vocabulary. I said in a small voice: “My apologies. A week early it is.” At that moment, the waiter brought our lunch. Instinctively, I moved my files from the table to my chair so I wouldn’t interfere with her eating. But Chloe pushed a plate towards me. “Eat.” I looked up, surprised. Chloe tilted her chin, gesturing for me to accept it without ceremony. “You look terribly pale. Is it low blood sugar? Eat something first.” 04 After finishing our meeting, I walked alone down a sun-dappled, tree-lined avenue, clutching my phone. I dialed my best friend, Mia. The emotions I’d been suppressing finally broke through. My voice was thick with tears. “Caleb is marrying someone else.” Mia seemed to be busy with something and said casually, “Then dump him. Onto the next.” “But Caleb and I… we’ve already been… intimate.” By the end, my voice was barely a whisper. I could practically feel Mia rolling her eyes on the other end. “And? So! What! “You are so archaic sometimes, Maya. “Okay, look.” After I finished telling her the whole story, Mia was silent for a long time. Finally, she said tentatively, “Maya… how about… we finish this contract first? “I’m not just trying to make a buck, okay? I’m thinking about you. “Why should you let him make a fool out of you and get nothing? “Ms. Sterling explicitly said that if she’s happy with the final result, she’s willing to pay an additional $30,000 bonus on top of the standard agency fee. “This deal… after subtracting the agency’s operating costs, I’m giving you the rest of the profit. “Don’t be stupid, Maya. Besides love, you still need to pay your bills.” Ultimately, I agreed. Caleb, I will plan an absolute masterpiece of a wedding for you. 05 When I got home that night, Caleb was in the kitchen making soup. When he saw me come in, he was all smiles. “Hey babe! The pork ribs were thirty percent off at the store today, so I bought some to make that soup you like. “Just relax for a second, it’s almost ready.” I couldn’t help but let a mocking curl twist the corner of my mouth. How can a person be so mentally fractured? A man spending three million on a wedding, getting excited over discounted pork ribs? Caleb carefully brought the soup out. “Drink it while it’s hot.” I wasn’t in the mood and just took one listless spoonful. “Too salty. And it tastes gamey.” Caleb froze for a second. Usually when he cooked, I’d be full of guilty love, chiding him for working all day and then coming home to cook, and I’d devour every last drop. I had never, not once, said it wasn’t good. This was the first time. Caleb, good-tempered as always, took the bowl away. “Then don’t drink it. What do you want? I’ll order Uber Eats.” “Not hungry. Eat it yourself.” He tentatively asked me, “Bad day at work?” I lowered my eyes. “I’m just… tired.” Caleb immediately started massaging my shoulders. “Why does your company make you work on weekends? Quit. Don’t go back.” He had no idea I was moonlighting as a wedding planner. As he massaged, his hands began to wander. I firmly grabbed his hand and shoved a doctor’s note into it. “I have a ovarian cyst that ruptured. The doctor said no physical intimacy for at least a month.” The note was a fake, of course. I just didn’t want to give him a “breakup lay.” Part of me was even hoping this would force his hand, make him come clean and end this charade. But Caleb just frowned, looking genuinely concerned. “I really hurt you? “I’m so sorry… “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” Me: “???” This was not going the way I had planned. 06 Caleb really did start taking care of me. He researched instructions online, reminding me every day to take my meds and rest, and he took over all the household chores. He even wanted to go with me to the hospital for my follow-up appointment. I refused, using embarrassment as an excuse. Are you kidding?! He’d find out the truth in five minutes. At the same time, Chloe Sterling’s wedding planning was moving along perfectly. She was thrilled with my concept. “Maya, your concept is even more stunning than I anticipated.” I just smiled and didn’t say a word. I had used a few of my favorite, personal design ideas for this. I had originally wanted to use them for my wedding with Caleb. They were useless to me now, so I might as well throw them into this “wedding of the century” without a shred of sentiment. While Chloe’s friend was marveling at the designs, she was also getting increasingly furious. “Caleb is out of control. Is he really just a ghost groom? “He hasn’t shown his face once.” Chloe didn’t seem to care. “He’s a man. He doesn’t want to waste time on trivialities. Let him be.” I suddenly, for no reason at all, thought back to when we had just bought our fixer-upper house. Caleb had been so excited. We used to spend every weekend wandering through Ikea and antique shops. Everything from the wallpaper and tiles down to a single lamp or tissue box was something we had personally chosen together. At the time, I really thought I had dug up a treasure of a man. Now that I thought about it, it was just a rich boy playing “house” for a few months. 07 Seven days until the wedding. The setup crew arrived at the Bulgari. Six days until the wedding. The officiant arrived. It was a celebrity host from a major network. I heard he was an old family friend of the Sterlings and was officiating as a personal favor. I listened to his walkthrough. He was excellent. Not overly sappy, yet intimate and heartwarming. Five days until the wedding. I personally “built” a rainbow in the center of the hall. It was made from over sixty miles of custom-ordered colored silk threads from Belgium. In the twenty-five-foot-high hall space, I was putting them up one by one, right there on site. From the color matching to the gradient fading, I didn’t let anyone else touch it. It took me two full days and nights to finish. A “shimmer” of light that wasn’t a rainbow, but something better, cascaded down from the skylight into the hall, creating a dazzling array of colors. Chloe stood there staring at it for a long, long time. There seemed to be tears shimmering in her eyes. “What do you call this design?” I stared blankly for a long moment before answering in a low voice, ” The Rainbow Connection. ” Chloe forced a smile and looked at me. “On the wedding day, I’m going to throw the bouquet to you.” I was about to gracefully refuse when I heard Caleb’s voice from across the hall: “That rainbow is incredible. Who did that?” Chloe went to meet him. “What are you doing here today?” Caleb pulled out his phone to take a picture of the rainbow, muttered a couple of dismissive pleasantries to his fiancée, and then immediately started typing on his phone. A second later, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Caleb, with a picture attached: [Babe, check out the venue setup for my company’s anniversary event. Isn’t it gorgeous?] At almost the exact same moment, Caleb heard the notification sound from behind the screen and frowned, walking towards me. “Is someone behind there?” 08 Chloe smiled and answered: “That’s our wedding planner. That rainbow is actually her masterpiece. “Want me to introduce you?” Caleb stared intently at the screen, walking closer, step by step. Chloe was looking at him with confusion. The next moment, Caleb yanked the screen away, but there was no one behind it. Mia poked her head around the other side. “If you have any requests, you can talk to me, Mr. Vance. I’m the agency owner. “The planner had an emergency and had to leave.” Caleb snapped back to reality. “Nothing. I just remembered I have a meeting. I gotta go.” With that, he turned and ran out of there, practically sprinting. Once we knew he was gone, Mia looked at her phone. “He’s gone.” I said gratefully, “Thanks.” That night, Caleb came home. As soon as he closed the door, he cuddled up to me. “I got you a present.” He tied a rainbow-colored bracelet around my wrist. As Caleb tied it, he carefully studied my expression. My face was a mask of polite gratitude. “It’s pretty.” Caleb stared at my face. “Babe, is there anything you want to say to me?” I lowered my eyes for a long moment, then smiled and raised an eyebrow. “What? I have to say thank you twice for one bracelet?” Caleb, seeing my reaction was normal, let out a massive sigh of relief. “This isn’t just any bracelet. “It’s for The Rainbow Connection. ” I shoved him away. “Could you be any cheesier?” Caleb laughed and grabbed my hand. “Maya, I swear I’m going to marry you. “Just wait for me for three years, okay? I’m already working on it.” I didn’t answer. For some strange reason, I thought back to a past life regression session I’d done years ago. At the end of the session, the hypnotist had softly said in my ear, “I am going to count backwards from 5 to 0. With every number, you will feel more and more awake. “When I reach 1, you will open your eyes. “When I reach 0, you will be completely awake, feeling refreshed and better than before… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… “0.” This wedding countdown, for me, was the countdown to finally waking up. 09 The day before the wedding, Caleb told me, with complete composure, that he had to go out of town on business for a few days. His eyes looked at me with tender affection. “When I get back, I have something I want to talk to you about.” I hid the mocking sarcasm in my eyes. “Okay. Can’t wait.” On the morning of the wedding, Mia came to pick me up. “Are you sure you want to go to the wedding venue? “You’re not planning on objectin’ or somethin’ crazy, are you?” I was busy double-checking the wedding timeline, coordinating with the stylists, lighting crew, and sound team, multi-tasking like a pro. I said casually, “What are you thinking? This is my job. “I’m the planner. I’m the only one who knows the whole flow. “If I don’t go, who’s going to manage the chaos?” Mia grabbed my hand. “Are you okay?” I thought about it seriously. “I was hurting.” But the intense 30-day preparation period had buried the worst of that pain. When I was in the thick of it, I realized I was never just an outsider watching. Caleb, I have to accept that I loved the wrong man. But I will never accept you making a fool out of me. So, it’s over. 10 The wedding was more perfect than anyone could have anticipated. Calla lilies filled the entire Bulgari hall. Crystal elements were placed just right, creating a look that was elegant without being sparse, and rich without being chaotic. The guests were full of nothing but praise. “This is the most stunning wedding I’ve ever been to.” “I have to find out which agency did this. When I get married, I want exactly this.” “That rainbow is unbelievable. For a second, it looked real.” Mia was handing out business cards until her hand was sore, adding dozens of potential clients on LinkedIn, smiling so hard her face probably hurt. As the groom, Caleb maintained a perfectly composed smile throughout the entire event. Standing next to Chloe Sterling, they truly looked like a picture-perfect power couple. During the appreciation speech, Chloe stood on stage and waved at me. “For this wedding, I want to offer a special thank you to my amazing wedding planner—Maya Price.” “They say every girl dreams of her perfect wedding, and Maya… she was the one who made my dream a reality.” I froze. This was definitely not on the timeline. Before I could react, the spotlight found me. In an instant, Caleb’s face went entirely pale. He tried to stop Chloe from handing me the microphone, lowering his voice so only I could hear. “Maya, don’t you dare ruin this. “You have no idea who is in this room! “I promised you I would marry you! Couldn’t you have just waited for three years?!” I studied Caleb closely. His face was entirely pale, and his forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat. His makeup was starting to streak. I smiled. Even now, Caleb still thought I was there to ruin his wedding. It was as if fighting over this incredible catch was the only logical choice I could possibly make. I ignored him and gracefully accepted the microphone from Chloe. “I would also like to thank Ms. Sterling for trusting me and entrusting me with such a significant event. “On that note, I want to offer my sincerest congratulations to the newlyweds. “To the both of you: may your love be a deep ocean, may your journey together be as vast as the sky, may your thoughts always be with one another, and may you grow old together in perfect harmony.” The second I handed the microphone back to Chloe, I felt Caleb’s entire body relax. He looked like he had just been pulled out of a river. A lot of guests in the audience had noticed his strange behavior and were whispering. “What’s wrong with the groom? He’s acting bizarre.” “Is he sick or something?”

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