My boyfriend was paralyzed for three years, and I served him with all my heart. Until I found a lipstick print on the collar of his white shirt. He coldly proposed to break up: “Looking at the same face for twenty years, any man would get tired.” Next to him, a female classmate blushed, tidying her clothes, her eyes full of provocation. I clutched the prenatal check-up report and turned to leave, but suddenly, a furious voice came from my belly: “Mom, don’t go! That lipstick mark was drawn by that woman with a pen while Dad was napping! He’s just acting because he thinks he’s useless and doesn’t deserve you!” Summer Linwood’s POV My boyfriend had been paralyzed for three years, and I had painstakingly cared for him for three years. Until I saw a bright red lipstick print on the collar of his white shirt. Before I could even question him, Ethan Stone looked at me with a cold face, his gaze not even lingering on me for a second. “Summer Linwood, let’s break up.” Standing next to him, his classmate, Vanessa Hayes, was blushing and tidying her slightly messy shirt collar, her eyes fixed on me with blatant provocation. I clutched the scan results in my hand, my heart sinking. “Twenty years of feelings, can’t compare to her accompanying you for a few months?” Ethan scoffed, his voice laced with disgust. “Looking at the same face for twenty years, any man would get tired. I’m sick of seeing you now. Grab your things and leave.” “If you want to end this with dignity, fine.” I wasn’t the type to cling on. Even though my heart ached as if it were torn, I gritted my teeth and turned to leave. But just as my hand touched the doorknob, A furious voice suddenly came from my belly. “Mom! Don’t go! Are you stupid? This old man is acting to deceive you!” “That lipstick mark was drawn by that woman with a pen while my actual dad was napping!” “Last night he was still calling your name in his dream. He woke up to find he was incontinent, felt like a useless person unworthy of you, so he wanted to act to drive you away!” My footsteps stopped abruptly. Who was talking? There was no one around. Was it… a hallucination? The voice grew more urgent, spewing information like a machine gun: “Mom, you’re the future billionaire’s wife, and you’re carrying me, the genius heir, in your belly!” “This woman is a transmigrator! She knows Dad’s legs will be cured and he’ll become a billionaire, that’s why she’s here to cause trouble!” “Mom, look back! Dad’s hands are almost crushing the wheelchair armrests, he’s crying!” Transmigrator? Billionaire? Legs cured? And… he’s crying? The flood of information instantly overwhelmed my sadness. I stood frozen at the door, not pushing it open. Behind me, Ethan’s voice, strained to the breaking point, came through: “Why aren’t you leaving yet? Waiting for me to call security?” Normally, I would have left long ago. But now, the “bullet comments” in my head were still appearing wildly. “He doesn’t mean what he says!” “Mom, don’t back down! Turn around and tell him off! That woman wants you to make room for her, in her dreams!” I took a deep breath, released the doorknob, and spun around abruptly. Sure enough. Ethan’s eyes, which had just been ice-cold, were now red at the corners. The veins on his hands, resting on the wheelchair, bulged, his knuckles pale from overexertion. Seeing me turn back, a flicker of obvious panic flashed in his eyes, but he quickly forced himself to look away, feigning composure. I stared at the incriminating mark on his collar, sneered, and walked back to him in my heels. “A breakup is fine.” I tossed my bag onto the sofa and sat directly opposite him. “But this lipstick mark is too fake, Ethan. Your acting is really bad.”

Summer Linwood’s POV Ethan’s body visibly stiffened. Vanessa Hayes, next to him, grew anxious and coyly leaned closer to Ethan’s wheelchair. “Summer, don’t talk nonsense. This… this was clearly him being overcome with passion just now…” As she spoke, she reached out to link her arm with Ethan’s. “This woman’s acting isn’t even as good as Dad’s! Was that passion? She just practically threw herself on him!” “Mom! Don’t believe her! She’s hiding a fake prenatal check-up report in her bag, planning to take it out later to deceive Dad!” “Dad’s totally freaking out right now. He’s thinking: Oh no, how did Summer figure it out? Has my acting gotten worse?” I almost couldn’t hold back my laughter. Looking at Ethan’s tense, handsome face, I completely ignored Vanessa, leaned forward, and stared directly into his eyes. “Ethan, since you said you’re tired of me, then tell me, what shade is this lipstick? What brand? What does it smell like?” Ethan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze darting away: “…Red.” “Red! This is pink, okay?!!” “Look, look! He’s pinching his thigh! He’s using pain to force himself to stay cold! Idiot Dad!” The last bit of anger in my heart completely vanished, replaced by a wave of heartache and helplessness. He’d rather pinch himself black and blue than let me stay. I didn’t acknowledge Ethan’s silence and turned to look at the embarrassed Vanessa. “Since you said you kissed him just now, what about that prenatal check-up report in your bag? Could Ethan make you pregnant instantly?” Vanessa’s face instantly turned ashen, and she subconsciously clutched her handbag: “You… what are you talking about…” Ethan also looked up sharply, staring at Vanessa in shock: “What prenatal check-up report?” I sneered: “Take it out. Let me see this medical miracle.” “Wow! Mom is amazing! Mom got smart!” “This woman got wasted at the bar last night, and that report is a fake certificate she bought online for a few bucks!” Under Ethan’s sharp gaze, cold sweat broke out on Vanessa’s brow. She gritted her teeth and glared at me, then suddenly clutched her stomach, pretending to faint: “My stomach hurts so much… Maybe my baby is in distress…” “Enough!” Before I could speak, Ethan suddenly roared. “Vanessa, get out.” Ethan’s voice was icy. Vanessa was incredulous: “You’re yelling at me? But we just…” “I said get out!” Ethan angrily slammed the water glass on the ground, glass shards flying everywhere. Vanessa shrieked in fright, grabbed her bag, and fled clumsily. The living room instantly fell silent. Only Ethan and I remained, surrounded by the mess on the floor. Ethan was gasping for breath, his chest heaving violently. After a few seconds, he looked at me again, the panic in his eyes undeniable, but he was still trying to keep up appearances. “You leave too. Don’t think that chasing her away will make me change my mind.” He looked away, not daring to meet my gaze: “I told you, I don’t need you anymore.” I looked at his bright red ears and sighed inwardly. It seemed he wouldn’t listen unless I got serious. I pulled the scan results, which I had been clutching, from my bag and gently placed it on the coffee table in front of him. “Ethan, look carefully.” “You want to break up? Ask your son if he agrees.” Ethan instinctively looked down. On the ultrasound report, that tiny gestational sac was clearly visible.

Summer Linwood’s POV Ethan stared at the ultrasound report, and time seemed to stand still. His slender fingers hovered in mid-air, wanting to touch the paper, but then he pulled them back abruptly as if burned. “See! I told you the old man was acting! His heart is pounding like crazy!” “Right now, his brain is going wild: I have a child? My child with Summer? I’m going to be a dad?” “Those uncooperative tears are about to fall! Hold them back! Men don’t cry!” Sure enough, Ethan bit his lower lip hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing with difficulty. After a full minute, he squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: “…When did this happen?” I crossed my arms and looked at him: “Two months ago, on your birthday.” He had had a few drinks that day, holding me tightly and calling me ‘wife’ over and over again. Now he’s pretending to have amnesia. Ethan’s face instantly paled a few shades. He closed his eyes abruptly, his hands clutching the wheelchair armrests tightly. “Abort this child.” The words were cold, cutting through the air. I froze for a moment. Even though I knew he was acting, those words were too hurtful. Before I could even get angry, the “bullet comments” in my belly exploded: “What the hell! Old man, are you crazy?!” “Mom! Don’t believe him! His legs are shaking under the table! He’s thinking he’s useless, and the child would suffer if born, would be ridiculed for having a disabled dad…” “Idiot Dad! Who dares to mock a billionaire? Who dares to mock a genius baby? He’s truly insecure to the core!” Hearing my son’s thoughts, the anger that had just flared up instantly turned into a bitter ache. He felt utterly rotten and didn’t want to dump his mess on the next generation. I took a deep breath. Instead of getting angry, I stood up and sat directly on his lap. Ethan flinched, instinctively reaching out to push me, but fearing he might hurt my belly, his hands froze in mid-air, nowhere to rest. “Summer Linwood! What are you doing! Get off!” He bluffed a roar. “I’m not getting off.” I put my arms around his neck, feeling his stiff, tense body, and whispered in his ear: “Ethan, do you think you’re useless, so you want to drive me and the baby away?” Ethan’s pupils constricted, his body instantly stiff as stone. His raw nerve was hit, and he turned his head away in shame, his eyes terrifyingly red: “So what if I do? I can’t even take care of myself, how can I support you? Do you want the child to push a wheelchair to parent-teacher conferences in the future?!” He finally spoke the truth. I looked at his reddened eyes, my heart completely melted. “Then let him push it.” I said, “Anyway, you’ll be very rich someday. You can have ten bodyguards carry you if you want.” Ethan was stunned, looking at me as if I were an idiot: “What nonsense are you talking about?” “Mom, you spoiled it! But Dad’s expression right now is so adorable in its silliness!” “Quick! Now’s the time! Declare your claim! Kick that woman out for good!” I cleared my throat and pulled a card from my bag, placing it on his chest. “If we can’t agree on a breakup fee, I won’t abort this child, and I’m not leaving you, even though we’re not married yet.” “From today on, I’m staying here. If you dare to kick me out, I’ll go to your company and tell everyone Mr. Stone abandoned his family and disowned his own child.” Ethan’s chest heaved with anger, and he stared at me for a long time, unable to speak. Finally, he looked like a deflated balloon, burying his head in the crook of my neck, his voice muffled, with an almost imperceptible sob: “Summer Linwood… why are you so foolish?” “Yay! Mission accomplished! The old man surrendered!” “But Mom, you need to be careful. That Vanessa Hayes hasn’t given up yet, she was eavesdropping outside just now! She’s definitely going to cause more trouble!” My gaze turned cold. Eavesdropping? It seemed this woman would be hard to deal with.

Summer Linwood’s POV Even though Ethan hadn’t explicitly agreed to get back together, his body was very honest. That evening, he had the guest room prepared and covered all sharp corners in the house with protective strips. Watching him, clumsy in his wheelchair, instructing the housekeeper to change to a non-slip rug, any anger I had quickly faded. “Just now he told Mom to get out, and now he’s even changing the rug to wool.” “Mom, you need to be careful about that housekeeper! She’s Vanessa Hayes’s spy! Just now, while you were showering, she was SnapChatting Vanessa to report the situation!” My gaze hardened. That housekeeper, who usually seemed honest and simple-minded, turned out to be a spy. Just then, the doorbell rang. The housekeeper eagerly went to open the door: “I’ll get it, I’ll get it! It must be the milk delivery!” But when she opened the door, it wasn’t the milk delivery. It was a woman carrying a suitcase, wearing sunglasses, and fiery red lipstick. It was my cousin, Chloe Taylor. “So this is the mansion that made Summer cry her eyes out?” Chloe took off her sunglasses, her eyes scanning the room, finally resting on Ethan. “Well, well, if it isn’t you. I heard you were about to kick your own wife out.” Ethan’s face darkened, but he didn’t refute. He knew Chloe had a silver tongue. The housekeeper, seeing this display, immediately tried to intimidate her: “This is Mr. Stone’s house, you didn’t even say hello when you…” “Who are you?” Chloe cut her off directly, her eyes dismissive, “Since when does the housekeeper get to speak in this house? I’m here to take care of my cousin, got a problem with that? If you do, keep it to yourself.” The housekeeper’s face turned green with anger, choked into silence, and she could only look awkwardly at Ethan. Ethan said calmly: “Let her stay.” The housekeeper bit her lip, then sheepishly went to pour water. “Alarm! Alarm! The housekeeper put something in the water! This old woman wants to harm me!” “Mom! Don’t drink it! This is highly poisonous!” My heart pounded, and my palms instantly broke into a sweat. Vanessa Hayes couldn’t sit still this quickly? She actually dared to poison me? The housekeeper walked over with two cups of tea, smiling, her face full of wrinkles: “Miss Linwood, have a drink to soothe your throat.” She deliberately handed me the cup in her left hand. I stared at the water but didn’t take it. “What’s wrong, Miss Linwood?” The housekeeper’s eyes darted. I smiled and took the cup. Then, under the housekeeper’s expectant gaze, my wrist trembled! The scalding water splashed directly onto the housekeeper’s instep. “Ouch! You scalded me!” The housekeeper shrieked and jumped up, the cup shattering into pieces. Ethan frowned and looked over: “What happened?” I shook my hand: “Oops, sorry, clumsy due to pregnancy. Why are you so nervous? Is there… something illicit in this water?” The housekeeper’s face instantly turned ashen white. Forgetting her foot pain, she stammered in defense: “N-no! Miss Linwood, how can you say that!” Chloe, though unaware of the details, reacted quickly. She immediately squatted down, dipped her finger in a bit of the spilled water, sniffed it, then sneered: “Why does this smell like a pharmacy? Where did you buy this water? Does it come with an abortion package?” Ethan’s face completely changed. Even though he was paralyzed, his mind wasn’t broken. He slid over in his wheelchair, his eyes terrifyingly sinister: “Send the remaining water for lab tests. If I find anything…” The housekeeper’s legs went weak, and she knelt directly on the ground: “Mr. Stone! I was wrong! I… I was led astray…” “Get out.” Ethan roared. The housekeeper ran, not even daring to ask for her wages. “Well done!” “Vanessa Hayes must be furious! She must have smashed her phone outside, hahahaha!” I looked at Ethan’s gloomy profile, but I didn’t feel much relief. This was just the beginning. Since Vanessa Hayes dared to poison me, it meant she was desperate. And a desperate transmigrator would definitely have other tricks up her sleeve.

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I scrolled through a parenting blogger’s video: “Usually, when I want to check her diary or look through her chat history, she acts like I’m asking for her life!” “But ever since I became her online boyfriend, she’s been telling me all her little secrets!” The comments section was full of people pitying the daughter and criticizing the blogger for being too controlling. I was still feeling fortunate that while my mom was controlling, she hadn’t become this twisted. Suddenly, the special effects mask on the blogger’s face fell off. That blogger was my mom! She was proudly sharing: “When my daughter goes to college, I’ll become her dorm supervisor. When she gets married, I’ll buy a house right across from hers…” My world came crashing down. Since I couldn’t escape my mom’s control while alive, I might as well not live at all. After sending her one final message: “Today, I’m going to give you my most important thing.” I slowly walked into the bathtub and slit my wrists with a knife.

Warm, sticky blood dripped down my arm into the bathtub. A heavy metallic smell filled the air. After the burning, sharp pain came coldness and numbness spreading through my entire body. My vision began to blur. I used my last bit of strength to turn on the faucet, hoping to leave with some dignity. In the last moment before I closed my eyes completely, I heard angry shouting from outside the door. “A woman’s most important thing is her virginity, isn’t it?” “She even messaged me saying Mom isn’t home, then gave me the door code.” “Friends, how else am I supposed to interpret that?” My soul floated up into the air, and I saw the phone on the bathroom counter, still livestreaming. The netizens in the livestream were frantically trying to stop my mother: [If you want her dead, just kick open that door right now, point the camera at your daughter’s face, tell her the whole world knows she’s dating someone and about to give her first time to an online boyfriend. When she sees your face, let’s hope she doesn’t jump from the 34th floor.] Others chimed in agreement. [Your daughter only agreed to date you after she turned 18 on the SAT, and only because you deliberately manipulated her to find out her secrets. Is it possible that what she meant by “most important thing” isn’t what you think it is?] [Have you considered that you control her too much, which is why she doesn’t dare tell you her secrets and has to trust strangers online instead?] When I was in elementary school, my mom secretly installed cameras in my room. If I so much as stretched, she’d immediately rush in with a feather duster. “Your dad and I live apart so he can make money. I gave up my career for you. How can you treat us like this?” By middle school, my mom didn’t just control my words and actions—she wanted to control my thoughts, preferences, even my taste buds. She forced me to eat durian, which I found disgusting. “This smells so good! Where’s the stink?” But when I said a grape tasted sweet, she flew into a rage. “Do you have no taste buds? This thing is so sour—where did you taste any sweetness?” In recent years, my mom became obsessed with preventing me from dating. She’d often sneak looks at my phone while I slept, checking my photos and Twitter. I’d frequently thought about ending it all. Until I connected with that boy online whose username was “Light.” I could share all my frustrations with him without burden. He became my reason to keep living. Only now did I understand. Why every little secret I told “Light”… My mom would somehow “accidentally” discover shortly after. I should have guessed! Faced with the netizens’ accusations, my mom broke down in tears on camera. “Why is everyone blaming me! What did I do wrong? If I really did something wrong, could I have raised a daughter who got into Harvard?” “You should be grateful it was me! If it had really been some gang member, he would have scammed her immediately!” My mom forcefully opened the door and pointed her phone at the living room. Empty. After a moment of confusion, she heard water running in the bathroom and roared furiously. “So you really are fooling around with a man! You even know to shower before sex?!”

Deadly silence. Even as a spirit, my face burned with shame. My mom laughed coldly. “What? Disappointed to hear my voice? Too scared to make a sound now?” “Are you hiding in there texting your boyfriend to tell him not to come?” “No need to text—because I AM your boyfriend!” “I’m giving you ten minutes to get dressed and come out here and explain to me what you meant by ‘most important thing.’” “Otherwise don’t blame me for opening this door and letting all the netizens see what kind of person you really are!” “Once everyone sees you naked, you’ll never find a man for the rest of your life.” I felt as if someone had slapped me hard across the face, filled with shame and frustration. My mom seemed even angrier than me, breathing heavily as she paced back and forth. The clock ticked on, second by second. The netizens, who’d been too shocked to comment, became active again. [If my mom talked to me like that, I’d tear the house down. This girl has way too much patience.] [Something’s not right! After hearing such shocking news, there’s no way the girl would be completely silent, right?] [Yeah, did something happen?] My mom snapped irritably. “Happen? What could happen to her!” “If anyone’s going to have a problem, it’ll be me—I’m the one being driven to death here!” As soon as she said this, my mom suddenly seemed to think of something and strode into my bedroom. She violently tore off my blanket and pulled out a sundress, shouting loudly. “If you don’t come out, I’ll tear up this dress you’ve been hiding!” I cried out “No!” but of course my mom couldn’t hear me. I could only watch helplessly as she smiled viciously and cut my dress to pieces. Looking at the scraps on the floor, I couldn’t describe what I felt. My mom didn’t allow me to wear dresses. She told me that school was for studying, not for attracting attention. So for eighteen years, even on the hottest summer days, I could only wear long sleeves and pants. Every summer, I could only watch enviously as other girls dressed up beautifully. So I secretly saved up a year’s worth of allowance to buy myself a dress as a coming-of-age gift. I didn’t dare tell my mom. I only shared my joy with “Light.” But now it was all gone. After destroying my dress, my mom still wasn’t satisfied. She threatened me again. “If you don’t come out, I’ll tell the netizens all the secrets you told ‘Light’!” I couldn’t stop her, and there was nothing I could do. Whatever, it didn’t matter anymore. And so my bedroom was turned upside down. My mom continued mocking me to the livestream. “She’s really gotten bold today, daring not to come out even after all this.” “Do you know what lie she told me so I wouldn’t burst in to check her body while she was showering?” “She told me her uncle once rushed into the bathroom while she was showering and touched her inappropriately, so now she gets triggered when someone comes in while she’s bathing!” The livestream viewers were once again shocked. [I don’t believe such an excellent girl would joke about something like that.] [My God, it took so much courage for her to tell you that, and you mock her and broadcast it so casually. Are you even her mother?] [Shut up already! If her classmates or teachers hear about this, how can she face anyone?] [Whether this is true or not, you burst in to check her body while she’s showering? Is that even human?] My mom scoffed at these comments. Her patience completely exhausted, she strode to the bathroom door. She put her hand on the doorknob and twisted hard.

I’d habitually locked the door, so my mom couldn’t open it. Unable to find the key, she angrily turned to get a hammer. Suddenly, someone came home. It was my dad! He rushed in excitedly, both hands full of gifts. “To celebrate my daughter getting into Harvard, I specially took time off to come home!” “Are you happy?” I circled around my dad, clapping excitedly. “Happy! So happy! I’m always happiest when Dad comes home!” Dad’s work kept him very busy—he could only spend a few days at home each year. Sometimes he wouldn’t come home even once a year. But every time Dad came home, he’d bring me wonderful things. And Mom would restrain herself, giving me a few rare days of peace. When Dad showed no reaction, I instantly deflated. I’d almost forgotten he couldn’t see me. After the initial excitement, I remembered my situation and suddenly panicked. I didn’t want Dad to see my gruesome death. Not seeing me, Dad asked Mom in confusion. “Where’s Alice? And why are you holding a hammer?” Mom rolled her eyes irritably. “We had a few words, and she locked herself in the bathroom.” “I can’t even use the toilet. I must have owed you two in my past life.” Dad immediately became serious. “You didn’t force Alice to do something she didn’t want to do again, did you?” Mom looked slightly guilty. I’d told on her once before, and after Dad left that year, Mom punished me severely. So I never dared complain again, and Dad assumed Mom had changed. Mom blustered. “That was so long ago, and you keep bringing it up. What’s the point?” “She threw a tantrum for no reason, and somehow that’s my fault!” Dad couldn’t say much more. He walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Alice, I’m home. I brought you chocolate and a pretty dress.” “Come out, okay?” After speaking, Dad sat on the sofa with his gifts. He sat up straight with a smile on his face, occasionally glancing back toward the bathroom. Ready to give me my presents at the first opportunity. I knelt helplessly before Dad, bowing repeatedly. “Dad, I was wrong. I was really wrong.” “Please, just leave, okay?” “I really don’t want you to see me at my ugliest.” “I don’t want to scare you!” But Dad couldn’t see me. His attention shifted to the phone on the coffee table. A message popped up in the building’s group chat. [Who in Building 4, Unit 3 is murdering someone in their bathroom? There’s such a strong smell of blood leaking through my floor!]

We lived in Building 4, Unit 3. So Dad picked up his phone and cheerfully shared the gossip with Mom. “Someone in the group says there’s been a murder in our building.” “Before I came home, were the neighbors on the seventh floor beating their kid? Everyone’s saying there was noise but then it went silent, and they suspect the kid was killed.” “These people really have wild imaginations.” Mom casually set down the phone that was still livestreaming in a corner. Then she picked up Dad’s phone and started sending voice messages. “Kids have self-respect when they grow up. You can’t just hit them all the time. Educating children requires proper methods. We should become friends with our children, connect with them emotionally, and guide them in positive directions.” People who didn’t really know my mom only vaguely knew she used to be a teacher, so they eagerly agreed. [Teachers really are more educated. That’s very well said.] [Auntie is so reasonable. I wish you were my mom.] My mom glanced toward the bathroom and sighed meaningfully. “See, you saw the messages in the group.” “Everyone envies you for having a mom like me—only you don’t appreciate it!” Watching my mom’s performance made me sick. The neighbors continued their heated discussion. The woman from the seventh floor suddenly spoke up. [Nonsense! My kid just spilled the soup I made. If you don’t believe me, I’ll beat him again so you can hear.] [That’s strange then.] [I’m on the second floor and there’s backflow—it’s red, RED!] [I’m calling the police!] Everyone was suddenly alarmed. After waiting a few more minutes, Dad began to worry. “What if something happened to Alice?” “It’s not appropriate for me to go in. Why don’t you check on her?” My mom crossed her arms. “I’m not going!” Watching the joy on Dad’s face turn to worry, my heart ached. Dad walked anxiously to the bathroom door. “Alice, even if you don’t want to talk to Mom and Dad, can you at least tap on the bathtub?” Suddenly, the constantly vibrating phone fell from the counter with a loud crash. Mom roared furiously. “See! This is what you’ve spoiled her into! Not coming out is one thing, but now she’s throwing tantrums at us!” Dad sighed, turned back to calm Mom down, and occasionally rubbed his chest. “But my heart… I just can’t shake this bad feeling!” As they argued, the doorbell rang. Two police officers stood outside. They routinely checked every household’s bathroom. After getting no response from me, the police forcibly broke down the door. When they saw what was inside, everyone present was shocked. Mom sat down hard on the floor, her face full of panic and disbelief. Dad’s legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees in front of the bathroom, letting out a piercing scream.

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I had just given birth when my husband Matthias tossed me a bundle of cash. I stared at him in confusion: “Why are you giving me money? Where’s the baby?” He avoided my gaze, but his stepmother Rachel smiled: “Matthias already gave the baby to me. I really like him. Thank you for bearing a child for me.” I threw the money in his face. For the next four years, we fought over the child constantly. The day the baby ran a fever, I rushed him to the hospital and set fire to the mansion. But when the child woke up, he pushed me away and cried: “Why did you take me! I want Rachel to be my mom! Get out! Get out!” I froze. After a long silence, I said to him: “Call me ‘Mom’ one last time, and I’ll never come back.” My son Steve blinked his little eyes: “If I call you ‘Mom’ just once, you won’t fight with Rachel over me anymore?” I nodded. “Mom.” My hands, burned from carrying him to the hospital, still hadn’t been treated. The blisters were badly swollen. I raised my hand to cover them: “Yes.” “I called you that. So you really won’t… fight over me anymore?” I looked at his innocent little face and smiled, shaking my head: “No. I won’t.” Never again. Steve was desperate to leave the hospital. I quickly bandaged my hand. I carried him back to the place Matthias and I shared. By the time we arrived, Matthias had already sent people searching everywhere. When he saw me return carrying the child, he paused. Steve struggled violently in my arms. I quickly set him down. He ran toward Rachel, who stood beside Matthias. His clear voice reached everyone’s ears: “Mommy!” Matthias frowned and scolded me: “Christiana! Why did you take the child again!” Rachel held Steve in her arms, checking him over with no gentleness in her movements. Her manicured nails could scratch the child’s skin at any moment. I instinctively reached out, then remembered my promise and pulled back. After confirming nothing was wrong, Rachel glared at me: “This is my and Matthias’s child. What right do you have to take him!” The other friends and family who had been helping search all frowned: “Rachel is your elder! And she treats your child like her own! “You’ve never fed him or taught him anything. How dare you call yourself his mother!” “What right do you have to take the child!” Someone grabbed my collar in their agitation. Matthias called out coldly: “She’s mine. I’ll discipline her myself.” Everyone fell silent. Rachel’s face darkened. Matthias escorted me back to my room. He spoke coldly: “Why would you do something so extreme? Do you realize you almost hurt Rachel?” I sat on the sofa, staring blankly ahead: “Steve had a fever.” “Fever or not, that’s his mother’s concern. What are you trying to prove by interfering?” I looked at him. He seemed to realize what he’d said and corrected himself: “I mean, everyone knows that Rachel is Steve’s mother in name. You shouldn’t have disrespected her like that.” I stared at the man before me for a long time. The longer I looked, the more he felt like a stranger. “Matthias, let’s get divorced.” His hand holding the cigarette paused. We sat facing each other, locked in silent eye contact. The cigarette ash burned down to his fingers, but he didn’t notice. I thought he wouldn’t agree. He laughed—a single mocking laugh. He stood up, stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray on my side, and leaned down to look at me: “They were right. You really did use this trick to manipulate me.” I froze. He pulled out his phone and transferred five million to someone. He sent a voice message: “I lost the bet. Transferred you the five million.” “Matthias…” I looked at him in disbelief: “What are you talking about?” “Rachel said you’d definitely threaten me with divorce. She was right. Women understand women best.” He tapped my nose: “You just cost me five million.” I slapped his hand away: “I’m not joking!” He looked at his slightly reddened hand. He pulled it back indifferently, sighing with a hint of impatience in his expression: “Stop making a scene, will you? After all this drama, you still can’t come up with anything substantial? “Christiana, if you actually went out and slept with another man, that would be more threatening than your tantrums.” Slap! A hard blow landed on his face. His head tilted slightly to one side. I used all my strength: “Where did the Matthias who killed his own mother for me go!”

The shout echoed in the bedroom. Matthias froze for a few seconds, then sneered and turned his head away. I knew he was remembering the time he went to prison for me. That year, he was fourteen. His mother had taken me in after my parents died. But the condition was that every evening after school, I had to wear revealing clothes and stand at the door. That day, my school uniform was torn, my face covered in handprints, as his mother dragged me out by my hair. Matthias knelt at his mother’s feet, his forehead bleeding from hitting the ground. But his mother just laughed: “Do you know why your father abandoned us? “That woman looked exactly like her!” She cut toward my underwear: “If you like seducing men so much, there are plenty of them outside!” “Mom!!” A desperate roar. A baseball bat left a dent in her skull. When the surgery room lights went out, the doctor said they’d done all they could. Matthias collapsed to his knees. As they took him away, he looked back at me. No blame, no resentment. He went to juvenile detention. I, previously ranked second in my grade, became first. When he got out, he’d already missed his best years. He was taller, thinner. He smiled at me and said: “Seeing you succeed academically puts my mind at ease.” Back then, I swore I’d love only him for the rest of my life. Ten years later, I hate that he’s still the only one in my heart. Matthias exhaled: “What’s the point of bringing up the past over and over?” My fists trembled as I looked at him. “Christiana, do you know why I was willing to go so far back then?” My voice shook: “Why…” “Because I was young and naive.” “What are you saying…” He leaned closer: “At fourteen, how many people had we even met? “We’d meet someone who made our hearts race and couldn’t help but imagine an entire lifetime together. But how many fourteen-year-olds fit into one lifetime?” I couldn’t speak. He smiled: “Are you still living at fourteen? After all these years, Christiana, can’t you grow up?” My eyes stung despite myself. He laughed, picked up his jacket, and turned: “The past is past. Let it go.” “Let it go?” My voice was hoarse: “What about you fighting for me, leaving the gang for me? “How am I supposed to forget that?” His footsteps stopped.

I took a deep breath: “After you got out of prison, you found me being forced by gang members to be their girlfriend. “You worked your way up to become their boss and warned them not to disturb my studies. “Back then you waited for me at the school gate every day. Have you forgotten?” Matthias looked down. “Later, the teacher told you to stop bothering me. You were upset and almost took it to the administration. “But he said… “Don’t you know how much you’d ruin my future—an ex-con gang member marrying me?” I smiled bitterly: “You didn’t sleep that night. The next day you became an apprentice at a hardware store near the school. “You built it up bit by bit into what it is today. “You were eighteen that year. You said you’d make your love a force that lifts me up. How am I supposed to forget that?” The room held only my questions and his silence. After a long while, he turned back: “That’s your problem.” The door closed. Those memories—I was the only one still treasuring them. Beautiful memories can kill too, apparently. I don’t know how long I stood there. When I came to, I had already drafted a divorce agreement. Unsurprisingly, Matthias was at Rachel’s place. I came to the door. Rachel’s laughter drifted out: “What did you mean by publicly announcing you’re giving me the seal that was meant for Christiana? Don’t forget, I’m your father’s woman now.” Through the crack in the door, I saw Matthias pull Rachel onto his lap. He looked at her with the same tenderness he once showed me: “I want everyone to know that my love for you, Matthias’s love, is a force that lifts you up.” The divorce papers fell to the floor. At eighteen, starting as an apprentice, he said he’d make his love lift me up. At twenty-eight, holding the woman his mother said looked so much like me, his words were identical. Christiana, you really haven’t grown up. The man who once stained his hands with blood to keep you from being defiled. Now he can mock you for not going out and sleeping with someone. Only you still cling to his former purity, unable to accept his change. “What are you doing here?” Steve’s childish voice came from behind me. I snapped back to reality and quickly left.

I had planned to wait for Matthias to come home before giving him the divorce papers. But the next day, before I even woke up, a slap landed hard on me. Rachel’s eyes were red from crying: “Where’s my necklace! The keepsake from my mother—where did you steal it!” That’s when I learned Rachel’s necklace was missing. Hearing I’d been there yesterday, she immediately came with Matthias. I grabbed her wrist as she tried to hit me again and pushed her back hard: “I did go yesterday, but it was to deliver the divorce papers.” Matthias’s brow furrowed. I lifted my chin: “If you don’t believe me, check the security footage.” Rachel’s face went pale. She was used to framing me. It’s just that before, my mind was always on Steve, so I never bothered arguing with her. But if I actually investigated, she wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. I didn’t need to think—I knew the necklace was still in her room. I stared at her: “Should we check the footage now? If it shows I really did steal it, I’ll turn myself in immediately. “But… if Rachel hid it herself…” I narrowed my eyes: “I’ll press charges for defamation. You can go to prison.” Rachel’s breath caught. She nearly lost her footing. “Mom stole the necklace!” A childish voice froze my body. Steve stood in the doorway, pointing at me: “I saw her take Mommy’s necklace last night!” I looked at him in disbelief. Even though we’d already severed our mother-son relationship, hearing those words still made my heart ache. “I told you, I only went to deliver… Ah!” I was shoved hard onto the bed. Matthias looked down at me: “He’s just a child, and he’s your child. Why would he frame you?” “Matth—” “Baby!” Rachel held Steve in her arms, checking him over. Her grip showed no restraint. Her manicured nails could break the child’s skin at any moment. I instinctively reached out, then remembered what I’d promised and pulled back. After confirming nothing was wrong, Rachel glared at me viciously: “This is my and Matthias’s child. What right do you have to take him!” In that instant, Steve’s little face turned bright red. “Christiana, even your own child doesn’t side with you. I think it’s clear whether you did it or not. “Of course, you can refuse to admit it.” Matthias smiled gently: “My legal team hasn’t had a case in a while. They’re worried they can’t find anyone stubborn enough to take to court.” My heart felt like someone was squeezing it: “What do you want?” Rachel held Steve in her arms, her red lips curling: “Don’t be so tense. As your elder, how could I really send you to prison? “Here’s what we’ll do. Since the necklace was my mother’s keepsake, just compensate me for its value.” “How much?” “Ten million.” I froze. Rachel’s necklace was plastic and had never been appraised. But ten million—that was exactly the total amount of “compensation money” Matthias had given me during our marriage. Matthias frowned. I swallowed: “I burned it all.” “Christiana,” Rachel held Steve: “If you don’t want to pay, just say so. Why use such a pathetic excuse?” Her eyes reddened: “Forget it. It was just something worthless my mother left behind. Only I treasure it as a keepsake. “Matthias, I’ll head back now.” She turned to leave, but Matthias pulled her back. “Debts must be repaid. That’s only natural.” Matthias smiled casually: “If you can’t pay, you can always go to prison, right?” “Matthias!” I looked at him in shock: “I really don’t have the money! I’m not joking!” “I know.” He leaned down: “But you still have me—your husband, don’t you?” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me off the bed, forcing me to kneel at the door. Matthias had his people take Steve away and pulled Rachel close: “In a moment, do whatever I tell you to do.” The door closed in front of me. Soon after, a startled cry came from inside. I clenched my fists. Ten whole hours. I delivered water six times, protection twice, clean sheets twice. Servants passed by, laughing quietly: “Getting called in once is worth a million. The money comes fast, but I’d rather die than earn it that way.” “A woman reduced to this might as well be dead. What dignity is there left in living?” “That’s just Christiana being shameless.” “This is called enduring humiliation!” “Right, right, exactly!” Only the butler who personally attended to me came over and tugged at me: “Christiana…” “I’m fine.” The wounds in my palms where my nails had broken the skin had long since scabbed over. Years ago, when Matthias begged his mother not to make me service men, he knelt just like this. Fourteen-year-old Christiana never imagined that one day, Matthias would make her kneel outside the door while he was with another woman. But Christiana, fourteen was fourteen years ago. I closed my eyes: “It’s time to grow up.” After delivering supplies the fifteenth time, I stood up. After the ten million, I still had five million left over. Amid the intimate sounds echoing from the room. I arranged the divorce papers, page by page, neatly on the table. I picked up my bank card and turned to leave. Steve’s little head poked out. He looked nervous: “Mom… I…” I said nothing, walked past him, and never looked back.

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“Can I borrow two million dollars to buy a dress?” On the other end of the line: “…How about I just skin myself and let you wear me?” A second later, a notification popped up on my screen. [Your account ending in 8975 received a wire transfer on Sept 11 at 08:13 for the amount of $10,000,000.00…] 01 We were filming a reality show. The game was simple: call a celebrity friend and, without letting them know we were being recorded, trick them into saying a specific sentence. The sentences were drawn from a hat. I opened my slip of paper and felt my soul leave my body. [Prompt: Do you have a death wish?] What kind of niche insult was this? It sounded like a line from a bad action movie. “Oh my god, that’s so hard! Director, can we please give Riley a new prompt?” Brianna Cross leaned in out of nowhere, grabbing my arm and shaking it like we were childhood best friends. Nice act, girl. We’ve known each other for less than thirty minutes, and you’re already gunning for an Oscar in “Best Supportive Friend.” I declined with a fake, tight-lipped smile. “It’s fine. No need to swap.” The live chat stream on the screen started flying: [What is Riley Moore’s problem? Brianna is being so sweet, why the attitude?] [Poor Brianna, getting bullied on national TV.] [Riley is such a ‘pick-me.’ She ignores girls but won’t stop talking to the male guests.] [She’s totally thirsty. Did you see her flirting with Leo earlier?] I ignored the comments and stared at my phone. Most decent people wouldn’t just scream that at me, unless… But if I failed this task, I’d be forced to partner with Brianna for the rest of the season. I sighed, glancing at her as she blew kisses to the camera. “You guys, it’s fine! Riley and I are super close. I love her, and she’s always so good to me!” Brianna chirped. Whatever. I’d rather be nauseous for a minute than miserable for a day. I scrolled to the one person who would definitely say it. The ringtone echoed through the studio. The high-definition cameras zoomed in on my screen, capturing the contact name I had for the A-list actor, Hudson Vance. [Hot Guy with an Ego & a Great Ass] … Crap. I forgot I hadn’t changed his nickname. The entire studio went silent. I let out a nervous laugh. “Cough… it was a dare from a party. I forgot to change it back.” The ringtone kept playing. Usually, after ten more seconds, it would go to voicemail. The tension in the room was thick. Brianna patted my shoulder, sounding smug. “Don’t worry about it. Hudson was filming night scenes yesterday. He’s probably still asleep.” Oh? And how would you know that? 02 The chat went wild: [Riley’s contact name for him is killing me! A ‘Great Ass’? She’s real for that.] [Wait, Brianna knows his schedule? She knows he’s sleeping?] [Are Brianna and Hudson dating? I’ve heard rumors they spent New Year’s together.] [Riley is so thirsty, calling a guy with a name like that on live TV.] Finally, the call connected. “Hello?” A raspy, tired male voice filled the studio. It was deep, accompanied by the sound of heavy breathing. He was clearly in bed. I looked at Brianna, who was blushing. Wait… are they actually a thing? If so, Hudson, I mourn for your taste. She’s as shallow as a sidewalk puddle. Hudson sounded annoyed. “Riley? It’s eight in the morning. I’ve been asleep for two hours. This better be a life-or-death emergency.” I snapped back to reality and delivered my line. “Can I borrow two million dollars to buy a dress?” Insult me! Come on, say it! There was a pause on the other end. Then, he spoke. “How about I just skin myself and let you wear me?” … The host and guests were stifling laughs. The chat was calling me a gold-digger. I didn’t give up. I decided to go full chaotic. “Even if you stood naked in front of me, I’d still ignore you, dig through your pockets, and Venmo myself from your phone.” “Sorry, I don’t do ‘hurting men’s feelings,’ but I definitely do ‘taking your money.’” 03 Hudson went silent. I could hear the rustle of sheets. Finally! He was going to snap. Instead, a low, husky chuckle vibrated through the phone, and then he hung up. Just like that. The host tried to save the moment. “Well, it seems Mr. Vance is indeed very tired from his shoot.” The comments flooded in: [LMAO, he’s so done with her.] [Riley, have some self-respect.] [I bet Hudson and Brianna were in the same bed two hours ago. My heart!] [Riley Moore is such a snake, trying to call someone’s boyfriend like that.] I wanted to cry. Hudson is usually a total jerk with a silver tongue. Why was he being so unhelpful today? The camera was still focused on my phone. Just as I was about to exit out of my messages, a text banner popped up. [Your account ending in 8975 received a wire transfer on Sept 11 at 08:13 for the amount of $10,000,000.00…] Wait. One, ten, hundred, thousand… ten million?! Did he sleep-walk into his banking app? That’s enough money to buy me a funeral at the Taj Mahal. The studio erupted. Everyone gasped at the string of zeros. The host screamed, “Did Hudson Vance just send that?!” Before I could process it, Hudson’s messages started rolling in. [The money is yours.] [And for the record, I’m not wearing any clothes right now.] [FaceTime me if you have the guts.] A second later, the FaceTime ringtone blared through the speakers. 04 My blood was boiling. My heart was racing. That idiot Hudson! Did he leave his brain in his trailer? He was making us look like we were having a scandalous affair! [What is happening?! Is Hudson dating Riley?!] [Look at Brianna, she’s literally pale. I feel so bad for her…] [Trashy Riley and her games.] [Wait, Hudson doesn’t have time for drama. A paparazzi once followed him for 3 months and all he did was film and play ‘Plants vs. Zombies’ in his trailer at 2 AM.] [Hudson is a loner. Brianna’s fans need to chill.] I was trapped. I had to FaceTime him back. I forced a pathetic smile and looked at the other guests. “Hudson definitely knows we’re filming. He’s just trolling. Let’s all say hi together!” I raised my phone, making sure every guest and the camera was in the frame. I wasn’t going down alone. Brianna’s miserable face instantly transformed into a sweet pout. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and squeezed to the front. Great. My PR plan was ready. Step one: I answer the call. It shows I have nothing to hide. Step two: If they are dating, I’ll just post a headline about being their “number one shipper.” Step three: If they aren’t, all the hate will go to Brianna for faking it and Hudson for being a weirdo. Perfect. I’m a genius. 05 The morning light on the screen was soft. The first thing I saw was the muscular line of a man’s forearm. Hudson was lying face-down on a bed, half his face buried in a plush white pillow. His dark hair was messy, his eyes were heavy with sleep, and his back muscles rippled slightly as he breathed. I let out a breath of relief. Thank god, he was wearing a black tank top. It wasn’t X-rated. Then, Hudson froze. He saw the ten people staring back at him through the screen. “Morning, Hudson,” someone chirped. “You look exhausted! Have you been getting enough sleep?” Brianna said, her eyes shining with fake concern. I tried to hide my face in the corner of the frame. The last time I saw him look this “done,” I had accidentally swapped his shaving cream for hair removal cream… Brianna didn’t notice his darkening expression. She just smiled wider. Girl, read the room, I thought. The audio through the studio speakers made his voice sound ten times more intimidating. I could practically hear him grinding his teeth. “Riley Moore. Do you think I’m blind? I can see you hiding.” “What’s the matter? Did you quit acting to become a pimp? Is this a catalog of your new talent?” “Do you want me to take the shirt off and dance for the crowd too?” The silence that followed was deafening. Even the host was speechless. Suddenly, Hudson flipped over and sat up. He squinted his “puppy-dog” eyes and let out a bright, mischievous laugh. He looked like he had just won a prank war. “It was a joke, guys. Did I scare you?” “Hudson, you’re so mean! I was actually terrified!” Brianna giggled, pouting. Hudson’s lip twitched. He flashed a charming smile, showing off his dimples. With his messy hair, he looked completely harmless. “Oh, hey Brianna. I didn’t see you there.” … What an Oscar-worthy performance. The crowd laughed. I looked at him with newfound respect. I don’t even care about the money. I’m just impressed. He was furious five seconds ago, and now he’s the “Internet’s Boyfriend” again. No wonder he has millions of fans. He’s a professional liar. 06 The internet was confused: [Who is he actually into? I’m lost.] [He didn’t even notice Brianna at first!] [I think he knew she was on the show and was just being a jerk through Riley.] [Brianna and Hudson are SO over. Riley and Hudson have way more chemistry.] [chemistry? He literally sent her ten million dollars! TEN MILLION!] [I just want to see him without the shirt.] The media shifted focus. They started wondering why Riley was so calm about a ten-million-dollar wire from a shirtless Hudson. Then, someone leaked a video from a private club. In the grainy footage, I was sitting in a booth, looking at a stack of model headshots and complaining loudly. “This guy is a male model? He looks like a thumb!” “If he sits next to me, people will think I’m the one paying for his dinner.” “This one looks like a plastic mannequin from a mall window.” The internet loved it. The tabloids ran the headline: [The Ice Queen’s Night Out: Riley Moore Prefers Cash over Comely Men.] My manager called and screamed at me for an hour. But then, the smells of money arrived. A dating show called “The Heiress and the Heartbreakers” reached out. Controversial fame is still fame. I’ll take it. However, after 56 hours of enjoying the spike in my follower count, I was summoned home by my family. Their excuse: “It’s time for your arranged marriage.” 07 My parents claimed the entertainment industry was a “sewer” and that their “innocent little girl” was being corrupted. They wanted me to settle down. Honestly, I didn’t fight it. The tropes about rich kids running away from arranged marriages are for people who don’t like money. Why would I give up my inheritance, my future husband’s inheritance, and the combined power of two empires for “love”? I told my family to schedule all four potential suitors at the same cafe on the same afternoon. One after another. Efficiency is key. … Candidate 1: Leo Sterling. A pale, shy “golden retriever” type who blushed when I looked at him. Not bad. Keep him on the list. Candidate 2: Elias Thorne. Sophisticated, high IQ, and had very nice hands. Also a keeper. Candidate 3: Miles Jaxon. A funny, arrogant guy with dimples. I’ll take him too. Can I just have all of them? I could have a husband, a boyfriend, and a side piece. The sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the cafe. My coffee was cold. Candidate 4 was late. If he didn’t show up in five minutes, he was getting cut from the roster. I opened my phone to harass Hudson. Since my single life was ending, it was only fair he suffered with me. [A donkey must have kicked you in the head.] [Why did you have to mention being naked on live TV?] [Now I’m being forced into an arranged marriage!] [I haven’t even had time to throw a ‘Single and Ready to Mingle’ party yet!] [My life is ending at 26. This is a tragedy.] [Candidate #4 is late. He’s probably a bald guy with bad breath.] [I’m keeping your ten million. Consider it a down payment on my misery.] [Tonight, I’m going to a club and ordering the hottest guys with the best abs. I’m going to be reckless!] [Wait, someone’s here. I can hear his footsteps. He sounds like he wears too much cologne.] The door to the private room opened. A scent of sandalwood and cold air rushed in. I looked up. A pair of long legs in perfectly fitted trousers. A black leather jacket. He held up his phone and waved it at me. On his wrist was a million-dollar watch that reflected the light. He looked down at me, his eyes full of amusement. “You want to use my money to go find ‘reckless excitement’?” “Why don’t you just take your fiancé? I’m much better at being reckless.” …HUDSON?! 08 The sunset turned the sky into a hazy pink. Outside the window, the city lights were starting to twinkle. It would have been romantic if I wasn’t staring at Hudson as he shoveled a croissant into his mouth. “Are you serious? Did you just come here for the free food?” Hudson swallowed a bite of cream-filled pastry. “Who says I’m just here for the food?” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re actually into me.” Hudson leaned back, his eyes roaming over me with a lazy smile. “Look, we have to get married eventually. We’ve known each other since we were kids. It’s better to marry a ‘frenemy’ than a total stranger, right?” Screw you! In kindergarten, he wiped his nose on my backpack. In middle school, he “played barber” and gave me a bald spot. In high school, he hit me in the face with a basketball and sent me to the hospital. In college, he intercepted and burned every love letter sent to me. His crimes were endless. He tossed a folder onto the table, cutting off my internal rant. “Read it.” I opened it. A health report, studio financial statements, personal asset list, and a pre-nuptial agreement. “I’m clean. No diseases,” Hudson said, tapping his fingers on his knee. “And I know you only care about the money. The last page of the pre-nup is for you.” I flipped to the back. [On the basis of equality and mutual consent, Party A (Hudson Vance) agrees to gift the following to Party B (Riley Moore):] 1. Multiple luxury properties. 2. A fleet of vehicles. … [In the event of a divorce, 70% of Party A’s total assets will go to Party B.] Holy… I actually felt my heart skip a beat. Usually, I have dignity, but for this much money? Dignity is for poor people. “What’s the catch?” I asked, trying to stay composed. “There are plenty of girls who would kill to marry you. Like Brianna. She’d probably do it for free. Why me?” Hudson looked out the window. “I want peace. We get married, and we do our own thing. You can take my money and spend it at whatever club you want.” He looked back at me, a genuine smile tugging at his lips. “As for Brianna… I’m looking for a wife, not a charity project. Our ‘visual gap’ alone would make me feel like she’s robbing me.” …His ego was truly legendary. “So? Do we have a deal?” Hudson slid a fountain pen across the table. “Sign now, and the first payment hits your account tonight.” “You talk too much,” I said. I signed it. 09 The autumn rain was light, making the streetlights look like glowing amber globes. Hudson was holding my hand tight as we walked to my parents’ car to say goodbye. He had his coat draped over my shoulders. “You’re overacting,” I hissed. Hudson beamed, nodding to my parents. “If I don’t sell it, how are we going to pull this off?” It had been three days since our deal. Hudson had already charmed both sets of parents into believing he was a man possessed by love. The moment my parents’ Bentley disappeared around the corner, I yanked my hand back. My palm was sweaty. I wasn’t sure if it was mine or his. “This is a business transaction. Let’s keep it professional.” Hudson’s smile faded. “You pay male models to touch their abs. I’m literally giving you millions. Let me hold your hand.” “That’s different!” Suddenly, I felt a sharp cramp in my stomach. I winced. “What’s wrong?” “Your attitude gave me an ulcer,” I snapped. Hudson’s dark eyes scanned me. “It’s your stomach. I told you, skipping meals to fit into those dresses will kill you.” “Are there cameras in my house?!” Hudson sighed. “You’re lazy and you hate exercise, so you just starve yourself. A cat eats more than you did at dinner. Of course your stomach hurts.” I glared at him. “It’s hard being a female lead, okay?!” Hudson sighed and reached into his coat pocket. “Check the pocket.” I reached into the deep pocket of his coat and found a small glass bottle of stomach medicine. I looked at him, surprised. He smirked. “Magic.” 10 Hudson had to go abroad for a month for a project, and I went straight into a new film set. Freedom! This marriage was the best investment I ever made. While the makeup artist was touching up my powder, my assistant, Chloe, ran over and whispered in my ear. “Riley! Someone is here to see you. It’s Noah Sterling. He brought a ton of desserts and Starbucks for the whole crew.” “The director wants you to come say hi.” Noah Sterling? The “golden retriever” suitor from the cafe? I had added him on social media but hadn’t talked to him since the deep-mountain shoot began. But hey, a friend with food is a friend for life. I was starving! Chloe had been forcing me to eat “nutritional meals” (which were just grass and boiled chicken) under the excuse of my “weak stomach.” Box after box of high-end desserts were being handed out to the crew. Noah was wearing a grey cardigan and jeans, looking like a total sweetheart. He saw me and his eyes lit up. “Riley!” He ran over with a small box. “This one is for you. Low sugar.” “Your parents told me you were shooting out here. I had some business nearby, so I thought I’d drop by.” His voice was clear and soothing, like a summer spring. We went into the trailer. “I heard you and Hudson Vance got engaged?” Noah asked, tilting his head. The circle knew, even if the public didn’t yet. I nodded, focused on the mango mousse cake he gave me. Noah’s ears turned red. “I know it’s not official yet… but would you consider me instead?” I choked on my cake. “If a full marriage is too much… I’m willing to be your ‘side-piece’…” WHAT?! Cough, cough! … “Riley, that Noah guy…” “Don’t mention his name to me!” I groaned. I had finally sent the “side-piece” boy away two days ago. I was too exhausted from filming to think about a harem. “But Hudson Vance…” Chloe started. “I don’t want to hear his name either.” Chloe shut up and handed me her iPad. It was the entertainment news. My name was climbing the trends. #RileyMooreCheating# #RileyMooreGoldDigger# #RileyMooreTheSnake#

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My mother is a delicate, high-maintenance socialite. Since I was little, I was always the one taking care of her. Yet, when my father’s mistress came at me with a knife, she didn’t hesitate to throw herself in front of me. When I woke up again, I had returned to being eight years old. She stroked her perfectly manicured nails, ordering me to cook her dinner. I silently prepared a feast of eight dishes and two soups. She was shocked: “Did you poison this?” I placed some food in her bowl and said earnestly, “I approve of you dating Uncle Julian.” 1 Evelyn exploded. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed as she slammed her chopsticks down. “What Julian? What on earth is going on in that head of yours?” Me: “…” I silently handed her a clean pair of chopsticks. She eyed me suspiciously. “You little brat, what kind of trouble did you get into?” I hesitated for a few seconds, then pulled the chopsticks back out of her hand. She nodded, as if her suspicions were confirmed. “I knew it, you’re trying to mess with me.” I opened my arms to her. “Mommy, hug.” Evelyn was clearly startled. She looked at me in bewilderment, her beautiful face full of doubt. After a long moment, she poked my cheek with her long nail. “What are you mumbling about? Go make me another bowl of bird’s nest soup.” My lip trembled. I wanted to cry. She froze, frantically pulling out a few tissues and tossing them at my face. “W-what are you doing? Are you trying to guilt-trip me?” Just then, the heavy front door of the mansion opened. A tall, slender man stood in the doorway, backlit by the evening sun. The sounds in the room instantly ceased. I looked at him quietly for a good while before opening my mouth: “Dad.” Evelyn glanced at the man, snatched the chopsticks back from my hand, and casually began to eat. The man walked in coldly, heading toward the study on the second floor. As he passed the dining table, his steps faltered slightly. “You don’t need to go to the banquet tonight.” Smack. The chopsticks were slammed onto the table. Evelyn let out a cold laugh. “Then who are you planning to take?” My mother is breathtakingly beautiful. Before she married, she was a famous, dazzling beauty in our elite social circle. After marriage, her beauty didn’t diminish by a single fraction. Her natural looks, combined with meticulous maintenance, made her even more captivating. Even when she was angry, she oozed charm. But even so, my father’s gaze hadn’t lingered on her for a long time. The man frowned slightly. Without answering her question, he continued his steady pace up to the second floor. As the study door clicked shut, Evelyn threw her chopsticks away too. The next second, she stood up, ready to flip the table. I watched her in silence, and at the very last second, she stopped. Evelyn pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and smiled with an ambiguous expression. “You’re about to get a new mom soon. Are you happy?” I stared at her for two seconds, then stepped forward and pinched her cigarette out. She was completely stunned. Then she let out a shriek. “Are you crazy? Why did you pinch my cigarette?!” She grabbed my hand; my fingertips were blistered and red. Her fingers trembled as she pulled out her phone to call the family doctor. After hanging up, she gritted her teeth. “I swear to God, have you been watching too many cartoons? Do you think you’re made of iron?” I whispered, “You shouldn’t smoke. It’s bad for your health. And if you smoke too much, you won’t be pretty anymore.” Evelyn’s eyes filled with a complex emotion as she went to find an ice pack. She scoffed, “Even if your mother were ten times uglier, there still wouldn’t be a woman better-looking than her. Got it?” Enduring the pain, I looked at her quietly. I thought so too. Everyone in our circle thought so too. But my father just had to fall in love with a girl by his side who was merely plain-looking. Those “uncles” would gossip behind his back: “The Sterling family married such a beautiful wife, yet Arthur doesn’t cherish her. That’s the great Evelyn Hayes! How many men wanted to marry her back then but couldn’t?” But after saying that, they would always add, “I guess the flowers at home just don’t smell as sweet as the wild ones. Plus, Evelyn has had a kid and isn’t as young anymore. It’s understandable, I suppose.” When their kids secretly told me this at first, I couldn’t understand what it meant. I only heard my father’s and mother’s names, so I repeated it word for word to my mother. Evelyn’s expression remained unchanged. She just rolled her eyes. “You’re so young and you already know how to listen to gossip. You really have a limitless future. If you have this much free time, go learn some more vocabulary words.” But whenever I walked away, she would lock herself in her room, secretly smoking and drinking. The next day, she would act as if nothing happened, book a beauty appointment, and ask the kitchen to make health tonics. After that, I never repeated those words to her again. 2 “What are you arguing about?” Arthur stood on the second floor, looking down imperiously. Evelyn shot him a glance and applied the ice pack to my hand. It hurt so much I inhaled sharply. Arthur’s gaze moved from my hand to the cigarette butt on the floor. His expression was cold. “You can’t even take care of a child?” Evelyn looked annoyed. “You put yourself on such a high pedestal. Just get lost.” Suddenly, she paused. “That finale necklace at the auction a couple of days ago… was that you bidding against me?” Arthur met her eyes. She smiled sarcastically. “You didn’t know? Your little mistress is already parading around wearing it.” “She’s not my mistress,” Arthur said, his lips pressing into a thin line, looking displeased. “Uh-huh, she’s your true love.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Wishing you both a long and happy life together.” Arthur let out a breath and slowly descended the stairs. “You’re still coming with me tonight.” As if expecting this, Evelyn chuckled softly. She slowly draped an arm over his shoulder and exhaled a breath near his ear. “Beg me, Mr. Sterling.” Arthur took a step back, his body tensing slightly. He warned, “The child is right here. Don’t mess around.” She let out a bored “oh” and turned to me. “Go upstairs. The doctor will be in your room in a minute.” Just as I closed my bedroom door, I heard the sound of a vase shattering outside. I sat at my desk and opened my diary from memory. The eight-year-old me had a very poor relationship with Ms. Evelyn Hayes. I grew up lacking fatherly love and hardly felt any motherly love either. While other kids were being held and coaxed, I was already fetching tea and water for my mother. She never managed my daily life; she elegantly dressed herself every day, doing her hair, getting her nails done, and going to beauty treatments. Occasionally, her maternal instincts would kick in, and she’d read me skincare tips. Whenever a parent was required to attend an event, it was always Grandpa Alfred, the butler, who went. Later, I often thought that my existence was unwelcome. I wasn’t the child of the woman my father loved. Perhaps my mother also frequently regretted having me, as my birth had taken a toll on her body. … I flipped to the last page of the diary. [Leo asked me to hang out the day after tomorrow. I want to go, but Uncle Julian will be there too. I hate Uncle Julian. He always looks at Mom with a weird expression.] As a sixteen-year-old reading what my eight-year-old self wrote, my feelings were quite complicated. Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I cleared my throat. “Come in.” Evelyn walked in, followed by the family doctor, who opened his medical kit to bandage me up. Evelyn comfortably sat on my bed. She paused. “Do you want to go to the banquet tonight? Your grandparents said they want to see you. It’s fine if you don’t go; it’s a mixed crowd there.” I pondered. Uncle Julian would be there too. I had to go and scout the situation. I nodded. “I’ll go.” Evelyn shrugged. “Up to you.” After the doctor finished, Evelyn was about to leave to prepare her gown. Watching her slender back, I couldn’t help but say, “Mom.” She stopped in her tracks, uncomfortably rubbing the goosebumps that had popped up on her arms. “…What is it?” I said pitifully, “I don’t have a suitable dress.” Evelyn loved luxurious, exquisite dresses, but I only cared about comfort, wearing T-shirts and shorts to every occasion. Moreover, I never let her pick my clothes; I only liked wearing bright, clashing colors—reds and greens. Evelyn turned around in shock, looking as if she had seen a ghost. “Really? You really want to wear a dress?” She came over, felt my forehead, and muttered, “You don’t have a fever either.” My lip trembled, ready to cry again. “All the other kids have pretty dresses, but I don’t!” She looked at me in bewilderment. “Y-you can’t blame me for that. Every time I tried to dress you, you’d get mad.” So eventually, she gave up and let me wear whatever I wanted. “I don’t care, I want a dress!” I wiped away a tear. She had never seen me like this before. She was stunned for a moment. “Fine, I’ll have someone prepare one. But I’m telling you right now, you have to wear little leather shoes with it, no sneakers allowed. Tsk, stop crying…” 3 I sat next to my grandmother, watching Evelyn holding Arthur’s arm. The surroundings were noisy and bustling. Her long, wavy hair cascaded down her back. Wearing a red mermaid gown, she was dazzlingly radiant. In stark contrast to her brilliant smile, Arthur looked much colder. My grandmother cast a calm glance over there before retracting her gaze. Turning to me, she pinched my cheek. “Our little Riley is finally willing to wear a dress. She’s growing up.” My grandfather looked over with a stern expression. He shook his head. “This is how a young lady should be. Evelyn loves dressing herself up but doesn’t put any effort into her daughter.” My grandmother agreed. “Exactly. I’ve told her so many times to get Riley a proper outfit, but she just won’t listen.” I piped up weakly, “Grandpa, Grandma, I was the one who didn’t like wearing dresses.” My grandfather scoffed coldly. “That’s still because she didn’t raise you right.” I was taken aback and wanted to argue back. Just then, someone poked my arm. I turned my head and was surprised. “Leo…” Leo smiled brightly and greeted them. “Hello, Grandpa, Grandma. Hi, Riley.” My grandmother smiled. “What a good boy.” I followed Leo to a corner to eat desserts. He stuffed a small cupcake into my mouth and then accused me: “Why didn’t you come to the amusement park yesterday?” Me: “…” I scratched my head. “I got into a fight with my mom.” He paused, then said slowly, “Oh, I guess that’s understandable.” Leo had a head of obedient brown hair, red lips, and white teeth. Wearing a small suit, he looked quite cute in his seriousness. I stared at him. In my previous life, during the eight years that followed, Leo and I became absolute enemies. I thought his dad coveted my mom, so I never gave him a good look. He always mocked me for dressing ugly and said I was missing a few brain cells. But looking back now, those days of constant bickering were some of the few colorful moments in my life. I grabbed his hand and asked deeply, “Do you think I dress ugly?” Leo took a step back, stammering, “Huh? Today… today you look pretty good.” I shook my head. “What about before?” He fell silent. The quiet corner formed a stark contrast to the noise elsewhere. I sniffled, my eyes turning red. “They all say I’m an ugly duckling, that they don’t like me, that I’m not as pretty as my mom…” He hurriedly pulled me close. “Who said that? You look great! You’re the prettiest!” “Really? I look great every day?” I asked. He nodded, then after a moment, he awkwardly scratched his cheek. “Yeah, they’re just talking nonsense. Tell me who said that, and I’ll go settle the score with them.” I paused. Way too many people had said that. From my childhood to adolescence, countless people had compared me to Evelyn, saying I wasn’t as pretty as she was when she was little, that I hadn’t inherited her beauty, that I wasn’t cut out to be a stunner. But… why did they have to compare me to other people? Why did they have to compare me to my mother? I sighed. I stuffed a small cupcake into Leo’s mouth too. Suddenly. A commotion broke out nearby. I saw that gentle girl in a white dress accidentally spill a glass of red wine onto Evelyn’s midsection. Both dresses were ruined. Everyone knew this was the girl’s petty trick, but Arthur didn’t stand by his wife’s side. My grandparents only blamed their daughter-in-law, who had no blood ties to them. I gritted my teeth in anger. Just as I was about to step forward, Leo grabbed my hand. I saw a man unhurriedly step into the center of the vortex. Wearing a low-key but luxurious silver-grey suit, he lazily raised an eyebrow. “Miss Hayes’s dress has been completely ruined by you.” The girl’s face paled slightly as she hid behind Arthur. She said softly, “Mr. Julian, her dress is red, mine is white…” The implication was that the stain on her dress should be more obvious. “Who spilled the wine? Do we need to check the security cameras?” Julian chuckled. Arthur’s eyes were icy. “This is my family’s business. It has nothing to do with you.” Julian’s expression froze slightly. I gritted my teeth and pulled Leo forward. The crowd parted to make way for us. I articulated clearly and crisply: “Leo and I have sworn an oath of brotherhood; he’s my brother now. That makes Uncle Julian my godfather!” I nudged Leo, who immediately nodded. “That’s right!” A dead silence fell over the room. Only Julian’s lips curled up slightly. With one hand in his suit pocket, he said, “Did you hear that? Now Miss Hayes’s business is my family’s business too.” The onlookers all gasped. Arthur’s face instantly darkened a few shades. “Godfather?” Leo and I nodded solemnly in unison. “Pfft.” Evelyn, who hadn’t spoken until now, let out a laugh. Her red lips curved; she seemed genuinely amused by us. But she didn’t refute it. Arthur reached out and grabbed Evelyn’s wrist, pulling her to his side. His joy or anger was indiscernible, but the hostility radiating from him was barely suppressed. “Miss Hayes? Mr. Julian, you should be addressing her as Mrs. Sterling.” “You sure like to manage things,” Julian said with a laid-back tone. He then turned and instructed a waiter, “Take Miss Hayes to change her dress.” Arthur didn’t let go. Evelyn looked at him with a half-smile. “Husband, aren’t you going to let go?” The girl hiding behind Arthur whispered, “Mr. Sterling, my dress is stained too.” A shadow fell over Arthur’s brow. After a long moment, he finally released his grip. Then he turned and personally escorted the girl to the lounge. The farce ended, and the subtle crowd of onlookers dispersed. Only Leo, Uncle Julian, and I remained standing there. I looked up. Julian happened to look down, his peach-blossom eyes gazing at me with unreadable emotion. Right at that moment, a waiter bowed slightly beside me. “The old madam requests your presence.” I froze for a moment, then turned my head to meet my grandmother’s stern gaze. Leo pulled me back. “Don’t go.” I shook my head. 4 “You’re deliberately trying to embarrass your father!” My grandmother was so angry she slapped me hard on the back. “Where are your manners as a young lady?” He wasn’t embarrassed; the one who was embarrassed was my mother. I said quietly, “Grandma, who is that woman? Why didn’t dad blame her when she spilled red wine on mom’s dress?” My grandmother frowned. “Your father is the head of the corporation; naturally, he has the capacity to be tolerant of others.” I didn’t say anything more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julian holding a wine glass, downing one drink after another. I had heard that back then, everyone thought my mom and Julian would end up together, but they ultimately fell one step short. Julian remained unmarried to this day, and Leo, who was under his name, was adopted from a relative. I stroked my chin thoughtfully. Just then, I saw Leo sneaking off toward a certain area. I immediately wanted to follow him. But my grandmother grabbed me firmly, displeased. “Don’t run around. Sit here and be good.” “I need to go to the bathroom!” I bolted out of there like lightning. I followed Leo all the way to the lounge. He didn’t notice me as he hid quietly by the crack of the door. Voices drifted from inside the lounge. Evelyn said lazily, “Back then, you said your family was struggling, so I recommended you to the company. I was a benefactor to you. Was there really a need to make such a scene at this kind of occasion?” There was a moment of silence inside, then that soft voice replied, “It’s Mr. Sterling who is my benefactor. He promoted me to secretary, and my salary is several times higher than my previous position.” Evelyn smiled. “Fine. You have love and money. What are you missing? The position of Mrs. Sterling?” There was no answer from inside. After a long while. “I’m pregnant,” the girl said softly. “Evelyn, you don’t lack anything. Just let me have him. I don’t want my child to be born without a father.” There was the sound of a coat rack crashing down; my mom probably kicked it over. Seeing that Evelyn had finally lost control, the girl’s smile carried a hint of genuine satisfaction as she continued: “I’ve had it checked; it’s a boy. Mr. Sterling and I are both very much looking forward to his birth. He’s even bought a lot of baby things in advance.” A crisp, sharp slap rang out, and the girl sighed. “Go ahead and hit me. In the end, Mr. Sterling is the one who will feel sorry for me.” Her gentle voice could no longer hide her smugness: “Miss Hayes, when you looked down on me with your charity back then, did you ever imagine that one day you’d be dragging your daughter out of the Sterling family in disgrace?” I clutched the hem of my dress tightly. Suddenly, a flash of white light went off in my brain. Wait a minute. She was never pregnant! If she were truly pregnant, and with a boy, let alone her getting a title, my grandmother would absolutely never let her grandson be an illegitimate child. My expression hardened. Then I locked eyes with Leo. He stumbled back two steps, not realizing I was right next to him. Leo was silent for a few seconds, then whispered awkwardly in my ear to comfort me: “It’s okay. If your mom really doesn’t want you, I’ll have my dad adopt you too. I won’t let you be homeless.” I froze, then grabbed his hand, deeply moved. “Thank you.” His fingers curled slightly. Suddenly, a tall, slender shadow fell over us. “What are you two doing?” Arthur looked down coldly. I jumped in fright and managed an awkward smile. “Dad, we were worried about Mom, so we came to check.” “We?” Arthur let out a cold laugh. He grabbed me by the back of my collar and lifted me up. “Stay away from this kid.” Leo gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran off. The door opened. The girl, with a red handprint on her cheek, threw herself into Arthur’s arms. She didn’t speak; she just sobbed. Evelyn stood inside, wearing a half-smile. As soon as she saw me, she immediately put out her cigarette. Me: “…” Arthur frowned and asked Evelyn, “Did you hit her?” Evelyn threw him a lazy glance. “I’d worry about hurting my hand if I hit her.” For some reason, the previously calm look on Arthur’s brow darkened a few shades. The girl looked incredulous. “What did you say? You were the one who hit me…” “Enough,” Arthur cut her off coldly. “Since you don’t want to stay here, I’ll have someone take you back.” With that, he signaled the bodyguards to take the girl away. The sound of sobbing continued, growing fainter and fainter. Arthur took a few steps closer to Evelyn, his voice devoid of emotion. “Satisfied?” Evelyn stared at him for two seconds, the fake smile completely vanishing from her face. After a long moment, she scoffed at herself. “You make me sick.” With that, she pushed past Arthur, her high heels clicking as she walked out. She was still wearing the mermaid gown stained with wine. Arthur’s back was to the door, so I couldn’t see his expression.

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They always say the childhood best friend can never beat the new girl. Not long after she transferred to our school, I saw it happen in the empty stairwell of the science building. My arrogant, untamable childhood friend, Caleb Vance, was standing there with his head bowed like a scolded puppy, apologizing to her for his mistakes. Later, I had a minor disagreement with her. He just casually tossed out a single sentence: “I don’t want to see Lily at school anymore.” Terrified of offending the wealthy Vance family, my parents immediately transferred me to another district. From that day on, it was as if I had completely vanished from his world. I didn’t dare show my face around him. But later, on his birthday, he knocked on my apartment door, completely soaked from the rain. He looked pathetic, his face full of grievance as he asked: “Did you forget it’s my birthday today?” 01 They say the girl next door can’t beat the new girl. I used to scoff at that idea. But when I sat in the school auditorium, watching Caleb look up at Chloe Adams dancing gracefully on stage, I saw the undeniable, unfiltered adoration in his eyes. At that exact moment, I believed it. I also finally believed the rumors going around—that Caleb, the bad boy who didn’t respect anyone or anything, had softened his edges for Chloe in an empty stairwell. The feelings I had buried in my heart, the confession I never got to make, would just have to stay buried forever. When the song ended, I joined the crowd in applauding the shining girl on stage. Caleb got up from his seat, probably to go find Chloe. I stood up and left the auditorium, too. Walking outside, I raised my hand. A small, woven friendship bracelet dangled from my fingers, swaying in the wind. “Lily… here… for you.” I had looked at him, confused. “What is this?” Seven-year-old Caleb had been watching soap operas with his aunt and learned about something called a “promise token.” “It’s for Lily. From now on, Lily can only like me.” “I’ll protect Lily forever.” My eyes stung a little. I took the bracelet off and gripped it in my palm. You shouldn’t take the words of a child seriously. But I did. The fearless little tyrant, Caleb Vance, was the biggest joy and the deepest secret of my entire youth. … Chloe transferred here this semester. She was gorgeous and a competitive dancer. Her arrival caused an instant stir. The girls in my class whispered that Chloe was like the female lead in a young adult novel—the sweet, perfect girl who catches the eye of the untouchable bad boy. And then the bad boy bends all his rules just for her. A lot of guys chased after Chloe back then. Someone even joked that the only one missing was Caleb himself. Caleb had lazily stretched his arms, glancing at the guy who said it. “Does she even deserve my time?” See? He talked so big back then. Before, I refused to believe Caleb and Chloe were a thing because I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, nor had he told me himself that he was with someone else. But now, I knew. It was time to reel in my feelings and keep my distance. I used to walk home with Caleb every day. I couldn’t even remember when it started, but eventually, he began making up excuses to make me walk home alone. Honestly, he could have just told me. I wouldn’t have clung to him. After all, we were never actually together. 02 When we got back to school on Monday, it was time to collect the weekend homework before study hall. Caleb was the ultimate rebel. He just stared at the class rep and said, “Didn’t do it.” He used to listen to me. The whole class knew it, too. So whenever this happened, they’d come running to me to complain. It was the same this time, except they couldn’t even find him. Because the second the bell rang, he was out the door looking for Chloe. “Lily, Caleb didn’t do his homework again, and we have no idea where he went. Could you…” “Just turn the stack in to the teacher,” I said, shaking my head with a smile. “If he doesn’t do his homework from now on, you don’t need to tell me.” Hearing me say that, they just nodded. It seemed the rumors about Caleb’s new girlfriend were entirely true. My attitude only confirmed it for them. When study hall started, I kept my head down, working on my AP Calculus practice tests. Before Chloe showed up, I wanted Caleb to get into Columbia University with me. Now, I only wanted to work hard enough to get into Columbia on my own and chase my own dreams. Caleb didn’t come back for the entire period. The teacher frowned from the podium, asking where he was. The whole class looked at me, but I never once lifted my head. During the second period, Caleb finally strolled in from outside. He sat at his desk without a word, staring into space until a classmate told him the principal wanted to see him. He snapped out of it. As he walked past my desk, he paused for a second. I didn’t look up. I was calculating the final problem on my test. Every time I hit the last question, I could only solve the first part before my brain froze. By the time I finally solved it, my desk-mate leaned over cautiously. “What’s going on with you and Caleb?” “Nothing.” “Seriously? But you used to get more anxious than anyone else when he skipped study hall or didn’t do his work.” She looked entirely unconvinced. I spaced out for a second, then told her, “That was in the past. I’m not going to manage him anymore.” “Oh.” She covered her mouth in shock. “So… Caleb really is dating Chloe?” I lowered my eyes and stayed silent. It wasn’t until after the bell rang for the second study hall that Caleb slowly wandered back into the room. A moment later, a folded piece of paper landed on my desk. Leave first after school. I read the note, my expression flat, put it away, and went back to my test. The classroom was always loud and chaotic right after the final bell. I sat at my desk, packing my bag. Suddenly, the room went dead silent. My desk-mate gasped, and I followed her gaze. Chloe was standing in the doorway. She tilted her head slightly, curled her finger at Caleb, and turned to walk away. I couldn’t control my eyes as they darted to Caleb. He gave a helpless, fond little smile, grabbed his bag, and followed her out. The classroom instantly erupted into whispers. “Holy crap, it’s actually true.” “I used to think Caleb and Lily were end-game. The bad boy and the straight-A good girl. But a bad boy and a dancer? Kind of a better aesthetic.” “Don’t be a sheep. Am I the only one who feels bad for Lily?” “They practically grew up together.” “Like I said, the girl next door never beats the new girl.” … My desk-mate pressed her lips together, trying to figure out how to comfort me. I threw my backpack over my shoulder. My heart felt like it was dying, aching so badly I could hardly breathe. But I forced a smile. I couldn’t cry. If I let anyone see how broken I was, I’d become the school’s running joke by tomorrow. “I’m fine. Caleb and I have only ever been friends. I’m heading out. See you tomorrow.” She still looked worried but waved back. “See you. Be safe on the way home.” Stepping out of the noisy school building, I gripped my backpack straps so hard my knuckles turned white, clenching my jaw. But the tears fell anyway. My chest felt impossibly tight. How did he just suddenly fall for someone else? My vision blurred, but the arrogant, bright voice of the boy from my memories kept echoing in my ears. “I can do anything. And Lily Evans is the girl I’m going to protect for the rest of my life.” 03 “Lily, why didn’t you wait for me this morning?” Caleb had shown up late again. After class, he walked over, sounding aggrieved, and slammed a carton of milk on my desk. My hand, which had been writing down vocabulary words, paused. I glanced at the milk from the corner of my eye. “I already ate breakfast. And from now on, I won’t be walking with you in the mornings. I need to get to school early.” Caleb sat in the empty chair next to mine, looking completely lost. He propped his chin on his hand. “I haven’t messed with you recently, have I? Didn’t we always walk together?” “Things are different now.” I put my pen down, took a deep breath, and gave him a polite smile. “You have a girlfriend. We should keep our distance.” His expression froze for a second before he processed it. “She won’t mind. She knows…” “I mind.” I looked him dead in the eye. “I don’t want to become the target if the two of you ever have relationship problems.” “Lily…” Caleb had a terrible temper and zero patience. After saying that much, his patience was officially gone. His face went ice-cold. He stood up abruptly. The chair scraped harshly against the floor, making a horrible screech. He dropped one last sentence: “Suit yourself.” I lowered my head and silently closed my eyes. I had sat on my balcony all night yesterday, letting the cold wind hit me, wondering if I should just keep playing the fool, hiding my feelings, and staying by his side. But the bond we grew up with had to end here. They say you can’t hide the look in your eyes when you love someone. If I kept following him around, it wouldn’t be fair to me, or to Chloe. No girlfriend wants an overly intimate female best friend hovering around her boyfriend. After that day, Caleb never initiated a conversation with me again. Even when we passed each other in the hallways, he looked right through me. The girl standing next to him went from being me to being Chloe. He introduced her to everyone in his inner circle. Chloe was his first love, the girl he was completely infatuated with. I studied quietly, listening to their epic romance through the grapevine, just like everyone else. Because Chloe practiced dance so hard, she would get stomach cramps late at night. The next day, Caleb would bring her special, low-fat dinners prepared by his family’s personal chef. A varsity athlete from a rival high school had a crush on Chloe. A few days ago, he cornered her in an alley after school. Rumor has it Caleb beat him half to death. In this month’s mock exams, I took back the number one spot in the grade. My teacher had once warned me not to manage Caleb anymore, saying it would only drag my grades down. Caleb’s family was filthy rich. Whether he got good grades or not meant absolutely nothing to his future. After school, I rested my chin on my hand, looking out the window at the brilliant sunset. “Lily, where do you want to go for college?” One hot summer evening, Caleb had sat next to me, casually twirling a strand of my hair around his long fingers, asking me out of the blue. I answered without hesitation: “Columbia.” “That’s so far away.” Truthfully, I never told him why. I wanted to go to Columbia not just because it was an Ivy League school, but because I wanted to escape this city. I wanted to escape my family. My dad was like a lot of men. Once he got rich, his heart wandered. My mom refused to get a divorce. She believed it was her fault for not giving him a son, which was why he messed around with other women. In the dead of night, she would point a shaking finger at me and scream, crying over why I wasn’t a boy. If I were a boy, Dad wouldn’t have cheated. Later on, she finally did give birth to a son. My dad briefly returned to the family, but my mom poured every ounce of her soul into my little brother. To her, she finally had someone to rely on—a son to take care of her when she grew old. “Hmm… then I guess I’ll just have to get into Columbia too. You’re so clueless. Without me there to protect you, you’d get eaten alive.” The boy bragging in front of me had been the only light in my shattered life. I wanted to hold onto that light with everything I had. So I was willing to waste all my time on him, even if I couldn’t make it to Columbia, as long as we ended up at the same school. 04 A rumor that Chloe was the “other woman” started spreading like wildfire across the school. When my desk-mate and I came back from the bathroom, Chloe ran past me, covering her mouth and sobbing. Caleb came charging down the hall in the opposite direction. He grabbed me by the throat, looking like he wanted to kill me. “Lily, didn’t you say you were going to stay the hell away from me?! What kind of stunt are you pulling now?!” I couldn’t breathe. My desk-mate panicked and tried to shove him off me. “Are you crazy?! Lily and I just got back from the bathroom! Let her go, she can’t breathe!” Caleb yanked his hand back like he’d been burned. I gasped for air, collapsing against the lockers. “You make me sick, Lily.” “Lily, are you okay?” I crouched on the floor, coughing violently, tears spilling out of my eyes. Mia Brooks hugged me, gently patting my back. “It’s okay, Lily. Caleb and that girlfriend of his have lost their damn minds.” I wiped my eyes, biting my lip so hard to keep from crying out loud. The sheer hatred in Caleb’s eyes just now… I didn’t even recognize him. It felt like he really wanted to choke the life out of me. The boy from my memories was gone. Completely gone. Later, a classmate carefully slid her phone under the desk to show me. Someone had posted an anonymous confession on the school’s gossip app, accusing Chloe of being a homewrecker who ruined my relationship with Caleb. A lot of people believed it. The comments underneath were tearing Chloe apart, using the ugliest words imaginable. The bruises on my neck had turned red. I thought to myself, When I get home tonight, I’ll post a clarification to clear her name. But before I could even write the post, I walked through my front door to find my parents sitting on the couch, their faces dark with fury. They had clearly been waiting for me. A terrible feeling settled in my gut. A glass suddenly shattered against the floor right next to my feet. “What the hell did you do at school to piss off Caleb Vance?!” My dad slammed his hand on the coffee table, his eyes practically bulging out. “Do you have any idea that our company only survives because of the Vance family?! Are you trying to ruin your own father?!” I stood there, listening to my mom call me a worthless waste of money, while my dad demanded I go apologize to Caleb. The cold, massive house felt freezing. I was shivering, cold down to my bones. I don’t know—and I can’t remember—how that interrogation ended, or how I was physically dragged over to apologize to him. I actually wanted to tell him that I didn’t write that post, but that I would clear things up for him. But when the door opened, he looked down at me from above, his eyes as cold as ice. The words died in my throat. I lowered my head. I bowed. I apologized. He just looked at me blankly, leaning against the doorframe. “I never want to see you at school again, Lily.” My parents bowed and scraped, promising over and over that they would never let me appear in front of him again. I looked up at him mechanically. Under the harsh white porch light, I couldn’t seem to read his expression anymore. I couldn’t even clearly see his face. In that moment, my pride was utterly trampled into the dirt. It was then I realized that he and I were never from the same world. We were never on equal footing. The moon never lowers itself just because people wish for it. The moon you see at the bottom of a well is just a reflection, a total illusion. And all the kindness that rich boy had shown me in the past was just a fleeting whim of youth. I shouldn’t have fantasized about anything. From the very beginning, I was wrong. That night, I packed my bags. My parents made some calls and transferred me. 05 It had been almost two weeks since I transferred to Westside High. I rented a small apartment near the school. My parents were so terrified of Caleb seeing me and getting angry that they just told me not to come home anymore. East side, West side. Even though we were in the same city, unless we went out of our way, we would never run into each other. “Hey, Lily. Come watch me play basketball today.” The guy talking to me was wearing a black-and-white jersey, his sharp, slightly upturned eyes full of amusement. When I first transferred, the girls in my class warned me: “That’s Asher Reed. Famous for being ridiculously handsome and a massive player.” The other students around us pretended to do their own thing, but kept throwing side-glances our way. They said this was the first time Asher had actually chased a girl for this long. At seventeen, people always romanticized the idea of a high school love story happening right in front of them. They said the player was turning over a new leaf. But a reformed player is still dirty. I gently shook my head. “I’m not going. I have AP Calculus to finish.” He glanced at the textbook on my desk and raised an eyebrow. “Lily, do you realize I’ve been chasing you for two weeks?” “And?” He chuckled. “And so, why do you keep rejecting me?” By then, the classroom had mostly emptied out. The sun was setting outside, painting half the sky in brilliant shades of orange. I suddenly remembered a quote I’d read once: The evening breeze is free, the sunset is free, and I am entirely unique. “Lily, do you know you give off this really contradictory vibe?” The sound of a referee’s whistle blew from the basketball courts, slicing through the quiet afternoon. I looked at him. He smirked. “It’s like this vibe of being completely dead inside, mixed with a weird, ruthless determination.” “Which just makes me more interested.” I gave him a cold look and kindly reminded him, “Your game started.” “We’re playing Eastside High today.” His voice was raspy, dropping a hint that he knew exactly where I came from. No one else was around. I looked back down at my test. Finding my reaction boring, he clicked his tongue and walked away. Once he was gone, I looked up at the silent clock on the wall. I had a pretty good idea who wrote that anonymous post about Chloe. But what good did it do me to expose it now? Westside High wasn’t like Eastside. Every day at 6:30 PM, the classrooms automatically shut off the power to save electricity. When the lights went out, only the fading sunset illuminated the room. I packed up my books and walked downstairs. A gentle evening breeze blew cherry blossom petals off the trees, scattering them across the ground before carrying them away. I stood there, blinking quietly at the sight. Looking back at my short seventeen years of life, it felt exactly like those cherry blossoms—helpless, blown away by forces completely out of my control. “Wait, is that Lily?” The voice snapped me out of my thoughts just as I was about to walk away. Two familiar faces blocked my path, looking shocked to see me here. When I used to hang around Caleb, I got to know his friends. We used to get along fine. Both of them were holding sports drinks; they must have just come from the vending machines. “Lily, you really transferred here?” I looked at him, not entirely sure what he meant by “really,” but I nodded anyway. The guy with the slicked-back hair nudged his friend and said, “Lily, you and Caleb grew up together. He happens to be here today. Why don’t you take this chance to clear up the misunderstanding?” Everyone else knew I wasn’t the kind of person to do something like that. Yet Caleb, the boy who grew up with me, was the only one entirely convinced I did. “I didn’t…” Before I could finish, a cold voice cut in from a distance: “Does it take this long to buy a Gatorade? Or are you just standing around talking to irrelevant people?” He stood a few yards away, his eyes dark and hostile as they swept over me, looking at me like I was a total stranger. Hearing that, the two guys looked at me awkwardly. I just smiled. “I’m heading out. See you.” “Yeah, see you.” 06 Life at Westside was quiet. Time moved slowly. Sometimes I’d get stuck in my own head, wondering why nobody loved me. I was brilliant. My name was permanently glued to the top of the honor roll. When I was little, my mom told me everyone loves the smart kid. But when I grew up, I realized only teachers love the smart kid. My parents didn’t. I studied in total silence, waiting for the next exam, waiting for the SATs, waiting for nobody. My grades were an unstoppable force. I took first place in the state-wide mock exams. Standing on the high podium, the warm summer breeze blew through my hair and ruffled my uniform jacket. I looked down at the sea of students in their identical blue and white uniforms. Their eyes held envy and admiration. The principal stood at the microphone, using every impressive adjective in the dictionary to describe me. The ivy vines outside the window kept climbing. The cicadas grew louder. The sunsets grew redder. The sound of students reciting flashcards in the senior hallways grew deafening. Everyone wished they could hit pause on time, slow it down just a little bit more. I never saw Caleb again. It was like my ties to all my old friends were completely severed. I suppose they were always Caleb’s friends, not mine. When summer break started, I didn’t go back to that house. My family lived too close to the Vance estate. The day I transferred to Westside, the only thing my parents told me was: Don’t let Caleb see you. If you see him, walk the other way. I was seventeen this year. Next semester, I’d be a senior. My parents never once wondered if I was anxious about senior year. They never asked. Under the dim yellow streetlights, I sat on a bench, reciting English essays from memory. It didn’t matter. Every formula I memorized, every vocab word I learned, every practice test I took—they were all going to carry me out of this place. They were going to carry me toward a better, brighter future. People walked past me in the street. Nobody stopped for anyone. … When I walked out of the public library that afternoon, my phone rang. I answered it, but there was only silence on the other end. I frowned at the screen. Unknown number. I hesitantly asked, “Hello?” Still nothing. I hung up without a second thought. “Lily!” Asher ran out of the sports complex across the street, waving at me. He jogged over. “Wanna grab food?” I hugged my books to my chest, glancing at his friends in the background who were clearly shoving each other and laughing. “I’m just going to grab takeout and head home. You should eat with your friends.” “Come on, eating takeout every day is terrible for you. I’m taking you to a real dinner.” Before I could protest, Asher was dragging me down the street. He took me to a high-end French restaurant. Everyone inside was wearing tailored suits or elegant dresses. Even the waiters were in formal wear. Then there was me and Asher. I was wearing an oversized white T-shirt and denim shorts; he was wearing his red-and-white basketball jersey. We looked completely out of place. I quickly tried to stop him. “Are you sure about this? We can’t go in looking like this.” He blinked at me, genuinely confused. “Isn’t it just a place to eat?” Hearing his totally unapologetic logic, I realized he was kind of right. Before I could make up my mind, a waiter walked over. He looked at our outfits, smiled professionally, and asked, “Table for two?” “Yep,” Asher nodded. “Right this way, please.” The waiter smiled and led us inside. He walked us straight to a booth by the window. He asked, “Would you like to enjoy the view?” Asher nudged his chin at me. I checked the time; it was past six. The sunset should be out. I gave a small nod. The waiter smiled. “Certainly.” He pressed a button somewhere, and the tinted glass instantly cleared, letting a flood of warm, golden hour light spill over the table. My jaw dropped a little. It was incredible. When I snapped out of it, the waiter was gone. Asher handed me a menu. “What do you want to eat?” The prices were insane. I hesitated. Asher laughed. “Scared of bankrupting me?” Half of his face was bathed in the sunlight, the golden rays making his eyes sparkle. I told the truth: “Everything is really expensive.” “Relax. I can afford it. Order whatever you want.” I pushed the menu back to him. “You order. I’m not picky.” He took it back, teasing, “Not bad. Easy to keep fed.” “How do you like your steak cooked?” “I don’t like it raw.” He thought about it. “If it’s too well-done, it’ll be tough. Medium-well?” “Sure.” After ordering, I pointed at myself. “Guess what I feel like right now?” He took a sip of water, the corner of his mouth curving up. “What?” “Like a peasant who wandered into a royal palace.” He burst out laughing. When Asher laughed, he had two shallow dimples. It was bright and warm. Looking at him, I suddenly thought of Caleb again. I actually hadn’t thought about him in a long time. Caleb had a dimple when he smiled, too. He just didn’t smile much. Most of the time, he only gave a faint smirk. I used to poke the spot where his dimple was and say, “You should smile more. You look good when you smile.” When Chloe transferred, he started smiling a lot more. Sometimes it was a sweet smile, sometimes a fond one. Looking back, that was the universal truth of it all: He just didn’t like smiling at me. The dinner started when the sunset was at its peak and ended when the sky outside had gone completely dark. By the time we walked out, the plaza was packed with people. “Lily, I had a really good time today.” I looked up at him. He was looking down at me, smiling. “Today’s my birthday.” “What?!” I stared at him in shock. “If it’s your birthday, I should have been the one buying! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” He sighed, faking a tragic look. “I was afraid if I told you, you wouldn’t come eat with me.” “I wouldn’t have done that,” I said. After a minute, I started thinking about what I could buy him as a gift. Suddenly, I felt warm breath brush against my cheek. He had leaned in close, his voice raspy as he asked: “Thinking about what to get me?” He had dyed his hair bleach blonde two days ago, which earned him a public reprimand on the school bulletin board. The wind blew through his hair, making him look like a golden retriever. “I want that scent pouch. The little sachet.” A while back, he’d come looking for me. As I was packing up, a small, hand-embroidered sachet fell out of my bag. He had picked it up, swung it around by its string, and asked, “Can I have this? Please, Lily?” I turned him down back then. Because I originally made that sachet for Caleb’s birthday. I had stitched the patterns onto it by hand, needle by needle. Even though I was never going to give it to Caleb now, it didn’t feel right to give it to Asher. It felt like I was giving him someone else’s trash. I nodded seriously. “Okay. But you have to wait a few days. I’ll make a brand new one just for you.” On the walk back to my apartment, Asher asked me for the first time: “Lily, where do you want to go for college?” I looked up at the sparse stars in the sky. “Columbia.” “Why?” “Because…” “Because I hate it here. It never snows in this city. I want to see the snow.” Asher kept his head down, deep in thought, and just nodded. We slowly walked up to the front of my apartment building. He said, “Go on up. Bye.” I took a few steps, then turned back to look at him. The boy in the basketball jersey was standing in the shadows, a faint smile on his lips, his eyes slightly dim. My heart fluttered for a second. I waved at him. “Happy birthday, Asher.” Hearing that, he raised his hand and waved back, laughing. “You’re definitely going to Columbia, Lily.”

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I stalked my husband’s mistress. Her life was glamorous. She lived in a mansion in a wealthy neighborhood, drove a million-dollar car, and acted like a rich heiress. Even when she was out on a date with my husband, she always had a strict curfew. “I’m sorry, my dad is very strict.” To defend my marriage, I secretly took photos and sent a message to her “strict dad.” “Did you know your daughter is acting as someone’s mistress?” It took a long time for the other side to reply. “I know.” “I’m the one being cheated on.” 1 I stared at my phone screen, unable to process it for a good while. Why did he say he was the one being cheated on? I’m clearly the one being cheated on. Maybe the old man made a typo. After all, anyone finding out their daughter is a mistress would probably have trembling hands. I patiently corrected him: “Sir, I’m the one being cheated on. Your daughter is secretly dating my husband.” Thinking about it, I added, “If typing is inconvenient, we can talk on the phone.” The other party only replied with four words. “Let’s meet and talk.” 2 Before this, I had assumed Mia’s dad had to be at least fifty. I didn’t expect him to look so young. Even if a rich man took excellent care of himself, he shouldn’t look like the man sitting across from me. Dressed in a sharp suit, with deep-set eyes and thick hair. But this was also my first time doing something like this. How should I start the conversation? “I didn’t expect you to look so young. You don’t even look forty.” He raised his eyes slightly, staring at me. “Thirty-three.” I froze. “Huh?” “I’m thirty-three years old,” he said, pursing his lips. “…Oh.” I quickly took a sip of coffee. Feeling indescribably awkward, I blurted out, “Then you must have had kids really early.” He was silent for a long moment, his fingertip tracing the rim of his cup. “Actually, I’m not her… biological father.” I finally caught on. “You’re her stepfather?” “Something like that,” he said, looking down to take a sip of water. I nodded. “No wonder you’re so young.” He took a deep breath, gave me a look, pulled a business card from his inner pocket, and placed it between us. “My name is Alexander Vance. Let’s get straight to the point.” He withdrew his hand. “Regarding Mia and your husband, I want to hear all the details.” I gripped my coffee cup tightly. “Okay.” 3 My husband, Julian, runs a fairly well-known piano training center. Mia is his student. She’s been taking lessons for over a year. I don’t know exactly when they got together, but three months ago, I went to find him and walked in on them kissing on the piano bench. My heart stopped at that moment. I wanted so badly to push that door open, but my pride and rationality crushed me until I could barely breathe or move. Even though my vision was blurred, my mind was ice cold. I memorized the girl’s face, went to the office, checked the student files, and found her name: Mia. She was young and pretty, tall, and enrolled in the advanced class at $5,000 a lesson. She had paid for thirty-two lessons. A total of $160,000. “For a female student her age, that’s not a small sum.” Alexander Vance listened to me with a blank expression. “Yes, I remember she asked me for $200,000.” Tsk, looks like she pocketed $40,000. I couldn’t help but grumble internally. It must be nice to have a dad willing to throw money around. Because I had only caught them once, I wasn’t sure if it was a one-time fling or a long-term relationship, so I started stalking her. I didn’t expect Mia’s life to be so glamorous. She didn’t work, slept until the afternoon, drove a million-dollar luxury car, and lived in a mansion in a wealthy neighborhood. Besides meeting friends for afternoon tea, she played golf and tennis. I followed her for half a month and was starting to feel depressed. “To be honest, I’m very surprised. Her lifestyle is so high-end, I don’t understand how she could settle for my husband.” Alexander’s face darkened, his lips pressed tightly together. “Would it be convenient to know about your husband’s financial situation?” I spoke openly. “He has a Ph.D. in music. He quit his university job a few years ago to start his own business. His annual income just reached seven figures.” “A million?” Alexander seemed to find this answer unbelievable. He twitched his lips, looked me up and down, and asked with a tone seeking confirmation, “So, is he exceptionally good-looking?” I reached out my phone to show him a picture of Julian. “Actually, he’s just okay… He’s not as good-looking as you.” He instinctively looked up at me, narrowed his eyes, and his tone shifted subtly. “You think I’m better-looking than your husband?” I froze for a moment. Is that what I meant? “No, I mean… we’re just ordinary people. We don’t have the superior looks that you two… father and daughter have.” He stared at me for a while, then suddenly grabbed my phone, tapped the screen with his finger, and knocked on it lightly. “He looks very ordinary. You do not.” My heart skipped a beat. I gripped my phone and pulled my hand back. “Mr. Vance, I came to you because I want you to discipline your daughter.” “Of course I will discipline her.” He nodded, raised his eyes to meet mine, his tone lukewarm. “But I don’t understand. Do you think that by doing this, you can win back your partner?” His words felt like a heavy hammer smashing into the most painful part of my heart. “Of course not.” I pocketed Alexander’s business card, stood up, took a deep breath, and looked down at him. “I just don’t want my ex-husband to have the chance to leech off a rich woman after I divorce him.” Alexander remained seated, tilting his head up, looking at me with interest. “What’s your name?” I slowly held out my hand to him. “Chloe.” 4 When I got home, Julian was moving things into the study. I stood in the doorway and looked at him. “Are you sleeping in the study?” He smiled at me and responded naturally, “My work is going to keep me up late recently, and I don’t want to disturb your sleep.” “Oh.” I ignored him. He probably wanted to keep himself pure for his mistress. I went into the master bedroom, took out the business card, and searched for him online. I had gotten Alexander’s phone number from the property management at Mia’s neighborhood. Thanks to the fact that the house wasn’t under Mia’s name. I wanted to know exactly what he did. To my surprise, typing in Alexander Vance’s name brought up countless affiliated enterprises, some of which even I had heard of. He was that rich… No wonder he gave that helpless smile when he heard about a seven-figure annual income. “Honey, do you want a cup of hand-brewed coffee?” Julian suddenly appeared. I immediately closed my laptop, terrified he would see. A cup of hot coffee was placed in front of me. “I have a female student whose family is quite wealthy,” Julian said, taking my hand. “You know I’ve been busy looking for investments lately. I invited her over for dinner tonight to chat about it.” I knew exactly what was going on. I looked up at him. “Which one?” “Mia.” Julian mentioned the name with a perfectly casual expression, as if she had absolutely nothing to do with him. “Sure,” I smiled. “Should I cook?” “No need, I’ll do it.” Julian suddenly reached out and touched my face, his eyes full of smiles. “You don’t need to do anything.” I met his eyes, feeling a moment of confusion. Maybe my taste was different from Alexander’s. In my eyes, Julian didn’t look ordinary. He had a very striking, clean-cut face, a good education, and a gentle demeanor. He was the kind of man who was easy to marry. If he had already had a change of heart, why pretend so well? At six o’clock in the evening, Mia arrived at our house. Julian went to the kitchen to cook and asked me to keep Mia company. “I didn’t expect Chloe to be so pretty.” She took the coffee, tilting her head and smiling at me. I maintained my smile. “Hmm… is it that surprising?” Mia was speechless for a moment. “But isn’t it tiring for you to be like this?” She looked away, gazing in Julian’s direction. “Do you know why I came to your house for dinner?” She turned her head and met my eyes. “Because the property management told me that a woman has been asking about me recently.” My heart pounded. Did she already know? Mia leaned in close to me, lowering her voice. “I came to warn you.” I froze in place, my heart racing, my palms sweating. 5 “Let’s eat.” Julian’s voice cut in, breaking the eerie atmosphere between Mia and me. At the dinner table, Julian chatted with her while putting food on my plate. I didn’t take a single bite. Who wants to act in a play with no audience? Mia seemed unable to stand it either. She pointed her chopsticks toward the study. “Mr. Julian, are you sleeping in the study?” Julian responded to her gently, “My work schedule is too busy, so we’re sleeping in separate rooms to get better rest.” He spoke ambiguously, probably trying to make people think we had been separated for a long time. I couldn’t be bothered to expose his lie. Sure enough, Mia believed it and flashed me a provocative smile. My expression was blank. I put down my chopsticks and stood up. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” Then I turned and walked away. Julian instinctively glanced at me, and it wasn’t until Mia called his name that he snapped back to reality and continued discussing business with her. He needed a multi-million dollar investment to expand the scale of his piano training center. “Sure, it just so happens that… my family also wants me to try finding some projects to invest in.” Julian actually acted quite reserved: “Mia, don’t rush into agreeing. I’ll send you the project proposal; take a good look at it first.” “Okay, I’ll listen to you.” She nodded. I stopped at the corner, took out my phone, and sent a text to that man. “Mr. Vance, Mia is at my house. As a well-known entrepreneur, if you don’t know how to discipline your daughter, I’m going to have to do it for you.” I waited a minute before the reply came. “Go ahead and hit her, my hands are tied.” My eyes widened. This man was baffling. A moment later, I sat back down. Mia seemed to be in a fantastic mood. She glanced at me: “Mr. Julian, if you and I become partners, wouldn’t that make me half a boss lady? Would Chloe mind?” Julian paused, then said seriously, “You would be half the boss.” I had endured enough provocation during this meal, and I had completely lost my appetite. I scrutinized Mia and spoke coldly: “But such a large sum of money, can Miss Mia really come up with it all by herself?” She met my gaze fearlessly: “This is nothing to me. As long as I want to, my family will support me.” Julian tugged at my arm: “Chloe?” He gave me a look. “I’m just worried she’s pushing herself too hard.” I smiled apologetically, then turned to look at Julian. “I know you’ve been looking for investments lately. Why don’t you send me a copy of the project proposal too? I happen to know a big boss who is very interested in this.” I stuffed my hand into my pocket, felt the thin card, pulled it out without hesitation, and placed it on the table. Julian was stunned. He read the name on it: “Alexander Vance?” The Mia across from us instantly changed her expression, looking at me in disbelief. The aggressive aura she had before vanished completely. I quietly enjoyed the change in her expression. She was indeed very afraid. The next second, Mia’s phone rang. It was a special ringtone, sudden and shrill, startling us all. Mia clutched her phone, stood up abruptly, her expression extremely tense. “That… that’s my dad calling… I, I’m going to take this.” She rushed into the guest bathroom and locked the door tight. I couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed Alexander finally had his hands free and knew to make a phone call. Julian asked me what I was laughing at. “She’s in her twenties and still so afraid of her parents, don’t you think it’s funny?” “I don’t think so.” Julian didn’t smile. He picked up the business card and stared at me. “How do you know Alexander Vance?” “How would I know him? I have a friend who knows his assistant.” I was about to take the business card back, but Julian dodged my hand and tucked it into his pocket. “Then let me have it.” Less than a minute later, Mia came out. Her face was pale. She hastily said her goodbyes, saying she needed to go home. She even refused Julian’s offer to drive her. Julian closed the door, muttering in confusion, “What… happened to her?” “Good girl, probably. Strict upbringing.” I had lost interest too. I turned to go back to my room. I had only taken a few steps when someone suddenly hugged me from behind. Julian rested his chin on my shoulder, his voice incredibly soft. “Wife.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, pushed his arm away, and turned around. “Didn’t you say you were sleeping in the study earlier?” Julian’s face stiffened slightly. “I…” He moved his lips but said nothing. “Then goodnight.” I walked into the bedroom alone. 6 Mia didn’t come to class for the next few days. I heard this from Julian. “Do you think something might have happened to her?” He frequently checked his phone, but there were no messages. “Maybe it’s about the investment. She couldn’t come up with that much money, so she cut contact.” I brushed past him and walked to the door. “Are you really pinning your hopes on her?” Julian frowned. He turned around and stared at me: “Where are you going?” “To meet a friend.” I grabbed my car keys. “You seem to be going out alone a lot lately.” He seemed to be complaining about me. “Can you accompany me?” I met his eyes. He nodded and was about to come over when his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it, then looked at me apologetically, “I have something to take care of here, so…” “Okay.” I cut him off and walked right out the door. The friend I was meeting was a divorce lawyer. “The divorce agreement has been drafted.” I handed over the photos I took while stalking him and Mia on their date. Most of them were intimate interactions like holding hands and hugging. “As evidence of his infidelity, this is not sufficient.” I put the photos back in the file folder. “Then what level of evidence do I need to collect for you to be confident in helping me get all the assets?” “All the assets?” I looked up and repeated to confirm with her: “Yes, I want everything, including everything under his name.” Before leaving, the lawyer told me I needed more direct evidence. More direct… I opened my phone, tracked the location of Julian’s car, and drove to the place. It was a winding mountain road. Julian and Mia were standing by the side of the road. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Mia reached out to hold his hand, and Julian coldly pulled away. I sat in the car and took the opportunity to take some photos. But while reviewing the photos, I realized Julian was looking in my direction. Oh no, he recognizes my car. My heart raced. When I looked up again, Julian was already walking over. I can’t let him catch me! I immediately turned around and sped off. In the rearview mirror, Julian’s car was in hot pursuit. My heart was pounding. I stepped on the gas, continuously accelerating. I finally managed to put some distance between us, but unexpectedly, a car slowly pulled out from a bend. I slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel, but a severe scrape still occurred. Damn it, and it was a Bentley. I pounded the steering wheel, forced to get out of the car. Just as I was about to apologize, I realized the person stepping out of the car was Alexander. “It’s you?” Thank goodness he still remembered me. Alexander glanced at my aggressive-looking car: “Practicing drifting?” I had no way out and could only ask him for help. “I was spotted. My husband’s car is right behind me…” Alexander: “…” He had his driver take my car away. I got into Alexander’s car. He drove, and I sat in the passenger seat. Julian’s name popped up on my phone screen. I hung up, and it rang again. It wasn’t until Alexander told me to answer that I dared to pick up. “Wife, are you nearby? I think I saw your car on the road.” Julian’s voice carried unconcealable tension. “My car got into a minor accident. It should have been towed away for repairs.” “Oh, is that so.” Julian breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine.” “Then where are you now? Should I come pick you up?” I instinctively glanced at Alexander, paused for a second, “No need, I took a taxi.” The call ended. Alexander, holding the steering wheel, chuckled lightly, “Both husband and wife are very good liars.” I was speechless. The car drove along the winding mountain road, the scenery outside the window like a lush green painting. “Mr. Vance, this doesn’t seem to be the way back to the city.” “Yeah.” He answered casually, “I have plans today. I’m meeting someone for dinner.” I was very confused: “Ah, then what about me…?” “You’re hitching a ride. You go wherever the ride goes, right?” Alexander turned to look at me, his tone matter-of-fact. I frowned and opened my mouth: “You’re having dinner with someone, what am I going to do there?” He tapped his fingertips on the steering wheel, articulating every word: “If you leave, it’s a hit-and-run.” “I…” I was forced to go have a meal with Alexander. The place was hidden deep in a dense forest, an exclusive private restaurant that was hard to book. Alexander’s friends were all waiting for him. “You’re always the most punctual. Why are you late today?” “Got into a car accident. Barely survived.” Everyone fell silent. I sat next to him, feeling like I was sitting on pins and needles. Especially during the meal, my phone kept ringing constantly. It was Julian looking for me. I stood up, and people looked over. Alexander explained for me, “Her husband is very strict.” “…Ah?” At that, everyone looked over in unison. I stood frozen, opened my mouth, but decided to keep it shut. I turned and went to answer the phone. On the line, Julian’s voice was strained: “Why aren’t you answering my calls?” I glanced at the screen. Over ten missed calls. “I’m having dinner with a friend.” “What friend? Male or female? Do I know them…” My head throbbed just listening to him: “You don’t know them.” Julian fell silent on the other end. I hung up the phone and was about to go back when I suddenly heard someone say: “Your taste is getting more and more obscure.” “Just an ordinary friend.” Alexander focused on his food. Everyone exchanged glances. I waited a moment before sitting back down, pretending I hadn’t heard anything. But his friends suddenly became interested in me. “Alexander, Miss Chloe looks very young. How long have you been married?” He looked directly at me: “How many years?” I was very embarrassed: “Three years.” His friend pressed on: “Then what does Miss Chloe do for a living?” Alexander turned his head: “Right, you are…” “A music teacher at a university,” I quickly chimed in. “Very nice,” he nodded approvingly. His friend crossed his arms and cast a helpless glance at him, “How come you don’t know anything?” Alexander put down his knife and fork. “I know her husband is cheating on her, their marriage is broken, and they’re about to get a divorce. That’s all. Isn’t that enough?” 7 The whole room went dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. “I… I’m full. I’ll head back first.” I absolutely couldn’t sit there any longer and hastily fled the scene. I didn’t expect to see Mia approaching from a distance just as I stepped out the door. —She was definitely here looking for Alexander. I turned to avoid her, but bumped right into someone’s chest. “Hm?” Alexander took a half-step back, looking down at me. “Didn’t eat enough?” I shot him a look. “Mia is here…” Only then did Alexander notice the figure in the distance. He grabbed my wrist, shoved me alone into the car, and swiftly closed the door. Before he could get in himself, Mia ran over and started talking to him. I couldn’t hear their conversation. But Mia was crying non-stop and seemed very emotional. Meanwhile, Alexander stepped back, speaking with a blank expression. I secretly cracked the car window open a sliver. The man’s cold voice drifted in: “You said you wanted to learn the piano so you could play for me.” Mia’s voice choked with sobs, speaking in fits and starts: “I didn’t… those things you said… I don’t know who told you what…” Alexander showed no emotion. “It doesn’t matter who said it. Let’s just end it here.” Just as he opened the car door and was about to get in, Mia rushed forward, gripping the car door tightly, and actually knelt down in front of Alexander right then and there. “Mr. Vance, I know, I was wrong…” I never expected a girl as proud as Mia to bow her head to this extent. Alexander looked down at her calmly. “Don’t make this so ugly.” At that moment, my phone pinged, scaring me into instantly putting it on silent. Mia froze and tried to look into the car, but Alexander used his body to block her view. She understood, her face turning ashen. He got into the car, cast a glance at me, and quietly rolled up the window. “Did you eavesdrop?” I avoided his gaze, my heart pounding wildly. “You’re not her dad.” “I never said I was, just that it was something similar.” I was silent for a long moment: “How is it similar?” Alexander pressed the start button. “Sugar daddy. Financial sponsor.” Me: “…” The car started down the mountain. He swiped his fingertip across the main screen, playing an English song. I really felt like he was going to drive me crazy. I didn’t expect my complaint to land right with the mistress’s sugar daddy. My first reaction was to apologize: “Sorry, my husband cuckolded you.” “Ah, the perfect wife,” he suddenly sighed. I was half-dead with anger, speaking with a fake smile: “Mr. Vance, you seem to have a problem with me.” “No, I got cuckolded. This is just how I talk.” He kept his eyes on the road. “I hope you can forgive me.” He said everything there was to say… I whispered back: “I was cuckolded too. Why should I tolerate you?” He turned the steering wheel with one hand, showing no sign of feeling offended. “Oh, so you only tolerate your husband.” “You—” The car took a turn. Inertia caused me to sway slightly backward, and my angry words came to a screeching halt. A mountain full of lush greenery rushed into my view. The English song hit its chorus right at that moment. “I like driving this stretch of road the most,” Alexander said suddenly. I quietly appreciated the mountain view. But my phone vibrated, stopped, and vibrated again. Julian was calling incessantly. Alexander noticed too. “He seems to be calling every ten minutes.” I turned off the screen. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately.” Alexander glanced at me. “A cheating person is more insecure than a person who isn’t cheating. Because he knows exactly what he’s doing when he’s not answering the phone.” I laughed out of sheer anger: “Does he suspect me?” “Looks like you haven’t planned on cheating on him for revenge.” He quietly withdrew his gaze. I fell silent. After a while, the music was suddenly interrupted. Alexander’s phone rang too. He looked at the string of numbers, frowned, and pressed the answer button. “Hello?” “Excuse me, is this Mr. Vance’s assistant?” His Bluetooth was connected to the car, so the voice was on speaker. Almost instantly, I recognized whose voice it was, my body stiffening abruptly. Why would he call this number? Alexander was completely clueless: “I am Alexander Vance. How did you get my personal number?” The person on the other end was silent for three seconds, their voice inexplicably cold and deep. “I am Chloe’s husband.” 8 Alexander paused, not speaking. I dared not make a sound either. Julian’s voice came through the speaker, mixed with a bit of static. “Mr. Vance, sorry to bother you. I can’t reach Chloe, and she said she’s having dinner with you. Are you two still together?” “Ah?” Alexander looked toward me in disbelief. I sat up straight in a panic, waving my hands frantically. I hadn’t said that. Julian was trying to trick him into giving information. Alexander understood my gesture: “I’m not having dinner with her. You must be mistaken.” “Then perhaps I am mistaken… sorry to bother you.” “It’s nothing.” Alexander’s lips twitched. “But Mr. Julian, if you can’t reach your wife, you should call the police, not randomly call a stranger. Don’t you think that’s very intrusive?” This time, Julian’s voice paused for a good while. “Mr. Vance, you aren’t married yet, so you don’t understand my situation. Waiting at home alone, making call after call to ask around, is indeed very embarrassing. But compared to those minor things, I care more about where she is.” He slowed his voice, articulating every word: “I care more about who is destroying my family.” Alexander furrowed his brow, no longer smiling. “So, is a person like me offending you?” Julian, on the other hand, sounded like he was smiling. I gave Alexander a look, telling him to hang up quickly. Alexander found an excuse: “I have to go. I have a meeting coming up.” Julian’s voice was eerily calm: “I didn’t say my surname was Julian.” Alexander hung up as if he had seen a ghost. He stepped on the brake, pulled over, and opened the car window to get some air. “He thinks I’m the other man. Terrifying.” He started talking nonsense, “Working in this line of work must be really stressful.” I was also very helpless: “You let it slip.” “Did you marry Sherlock Holmes? You play stalker, he plays interrogator?” I laughed self-deprecatingly: “An unhappy marriage breeds excellent detectives.” “Whatever.” Alexander pursed his lips, his voice displeased. “How did he get my number?” “The business card you gave me was confiscated by him.” “Then I have to block him.” Alexander looked down to swipe on his phone. A moment later, he looked up at me. “I added you on WhatsApp. Remember to accept.” I stood there, a bit lost. He had already broken up with Mia, why did he still want to add me on WhatsApp? Was there still any need for us to keep in touch? Thinking back on all the events of today, especially the scene where Mia knelt before him, it lingered in my mind. Alexander was not a simple man. I really didn’t want to have any more involvement with him. “Mr. Vance, I’m not divorced yet. I don’t think we should keep in touch.” He paused, raised his eyes, and looked at me thoughtfully: “Hmm? What do you mean?” I carefully chose my words, “I’m a decent person.” “…Oh, so I’m not decent.” He let out a sigh, leaned back in the seat, tilted his neck back, and squinted slightly. “Your husband slept with my girlfriend, and I didn’t settle the score with him. Instead, he turns around and calls to interrogate me. You and I are completely innocent, yet I get inexplicably cursed at as the ‘other man’… and now you’re telling me I’m not a decent person?” “I didn’t—” He didn’t give me a chance to speak at all. “My days are like this: I have to work, get scammed out of my money, get cuckolded… I’ve really had it…” He suddenly unbuckled his seatbelt, strode out of the car, walked around the front, yanked open the door on my side, unbuckled my seatbelt, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me out of the car. “What are you trying to do?” I screamed in terror. “Alexander Vance, we live in a society governed by law now, there are cameras everywhere.” Only then did I regret it. How could I dare get in his car? I didn’t know this man at all. I was just blinded by his appearance, thinking he was a good person. “You know it’s a society governed by law?” He forcefully pulled me to the front of the car and pinned me against the hood. “I finally managed to take a day off to have a meal, and halfway there I run into you drag racing in the mountains. Do you know the speed limit here is forty? How fast were you going?” I froze, struggling to recall: “Eighty, eighty-five?” “Eighty-five? If I hadn’t been following traffic laws, I would’ve been killed by you!” His palm landed on the back of my neck, pressing me down to look at the dented area. “Look at what you did to my car. And you won’t even add me on WhatsApp. Are you trying to pull a hit-and-run?” I felt both ashamed and nervous. “Mr. Vance, it’s my fault. I take full responsibility.” Only then did he lean down, threatening me sternly by my ear: “Are you going to add me on WhatsApp or not?” “I’ll add you! I’ll add you right now!” “Pin me to the top.” “…Okay.” “Set as a favorite.” “…Why do I need to set you as a favorite?” Alexander paused. “My car is very expensive. I’m going to claim damages from you. Don’t pretend you didn’t see my messages.” “Fine.” I chose to submit. This black-hearted, evil capitalist. He makes so much money, yet he still wants to claim damages from me. I accompanied him to that meal for nothing. And here I was, naively thinking I wouldn’t have to pay. Alexander and I squatted by the mountain road. I took out my phone and operated it right under his nose. “You can’t block me from your ‘Moments’.” “…Okay.” “I want to be pinned above your husband.” I looked at him, having reached the end of my patience. Alexander clapped his hands and stood up. “Never mind then. The husband comes first.” We finally reached a settlement.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “404119”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Because I got together with my stepbrother, I lost my right to inherit our family’s billionaire estate. He was beaten until he went completely deaf in one ear. We were both cast out, abandoned by everyone we knew. We swore to each other that we would at least love each other forever, just to make that tragic price worth it. But by the seventh year, we had morphed into a resentful couple with zero communication outside of angry sex. Every day, I would hysterically ask him for reassurance: “Do you still love me?” “Do you still love me?” “Do you still love me?” And he always chose to answer my questions with silence, turning his deaf ear toward me. On a beautifully sunny afternoon, I tracked him to a corner café. I watched him flash a soft, shallow smile at a pretty boy, his brow completely relaxed. Suddenly, I felt at peace. Aside from my memories, I took nothing with me when I left. No matter how many times that question is asked, my answer will always be the same: I still love you. So, I am letting you go. 01 From the moment I received the location pin from the private investigator to the moment I arrived. It only took me twelve minutes. I ran a red light. I didn’t need to be this anxious. I had looked up the café on Yelp on the way over, and the top review caught my eye—Great spot for a romantic date. This was not a place to discuss business. I slammed my foot on the gas. I parked right outside the café. The very next second, my eyes locked onto the two of them. One was dressed in a tailored suit, the other in a cream-colored hoodie. My boyfriend, Tristan, and the shameless home-wrecker trying to seduce him. The two of them weren’t even trying to hide it. They were sitting openly at a table on the sidewalk patio. They had ordered two slices of some ridiculously unhealthy cake, both placed right in front of hoodie-boy. The anger burned so hot it made my optic nerves ache. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the door handle with one hand and snatched my iced Americano from the cup holder with the other. It was full. Lots of ice. If I threw it, that manipulative, innocent-looking hoodie would be instantly ruined. But I didn’t pull the door handle. Because I saw Tristan smile. My movements froze in place. Like a machine suffering from years of neglect, I could practically hear the rusty grinding of my own joints. Through the tinted car window, the sunlight was blinding. Tristan wore a faint, shallow smile. He looked completely relaxed, the tension gone from his forehead. He was so beautiful, like an oil painting in warm tones. Quiet, peaceful, bathed in soft sunlight. I don’t know what the boy said to him, but Tristan’s smile deepened. He even leaned forward, as if trying to hear him more clearly. I slowly opened my eyes. I was a voyeur hiding in the dark, peeking at Tristan’s joy from the shadows of my car. My boyfriend was being thoroughly entertained by someone else. How long had it been since I saw him like this? Looking so happy and at ease. In a daze, I felt like I was seven years old again. My father was holding a strange woman’s hand, and that woman was holding Tristan’s hand. He was wearing a black-and-white striped sweater. You could tell at a glance he was a gentle, polite kid. My father said to me, “Call him your brother.” At the time, I had a huge piece of candy in my mouth, so I mumbled, “Bubba.” He smiled at me, just like he was smiling today. Soft and shallow. He corrected me with a grin: “It’s brother.” A freezing drop of condensation slid down the plastic cup and dripped onto my thigh, soaking a dark patch into my jeans. The hand holding the coffee had gone completely numb. I stared down at it blankly. Strange. It was just a few drops of water. So why did it feel like I was drowning? 02 It was midnight by the time Tristan came home. When he turned on the lights, he saw me sitting on the couch, hugging my knees. He paused for a fraction of a second, then ignored me. He took off his shoes and casually dropped his watch into the valet tray. He was too lazy to even ask why I was sitting in the dark. He walked over to the dining table, poured a glass of water, and drank it slowly. The bobbing of his Adam’s apple was incredibly sexy. “Tristan.” I took the initiative to break the silence. He didn’t reply. He just gave me a side-eye. “How long has it been since we slept together?” His Adam’s apple stopped moving. He set the glass down, hooked a long index finger into his collar, and loosened his tie impatiently. “I’m tired.” An unsurprising answer. Lately, this was exactly how he rejected me every single time. I nodded. “Okay, new question.” “I’m seriously exhausted. What is it…” “How long has it been since you smiled at me?” Tristan’s voice cut off abruptly. He turned his head to look at me. I smiled. “What, are you too tired to even lift the corners of your mouth? Do I need to turn into a college kid in a hoodie for you to smile?” He stared blankly for a second. Then, very quickly, his face darkened. “How many times do I have to tell you? Stop stalking me!” “Yeah. I won’t do it anymore.” “Heh,” Tristan sneered. “I won’t believe a single word you promise.” Saying that, he picked up the coat he had just taken off and turned toward the door. “I’m staying at the Chelsea penthouse tonight.” Over the past two years, Tristan’s company had exploded in value. We had long since escaped our initial poverty and desperation. We bought condos and villas, one after another. The days of getting kicked out and sleeping under bridges were never coming back. At first, I complained. It’s just the two of us, how could we possibly live in all these places? He said every property had a different vibe, and we could rotate them. But from beginning to end, I only ever stayed in this first apartment. It was a bit small, but it was crammed full of our shared belongings. It was cozy. All those other properties just became convenient places for him to escape me. Watching him unhesitatingly put his clothes back on, I knew he was dead set on leaving tonight. But just as his hand gripped the doorknob, I opened my mouth. “Tristan.” He would stop. I knew it. This was my ultimate weapon. Sure enough, Tristan stopped. He didn’t turn around, waiting in absolute silence for what I had to say. “Let’s do it.” I heard him scoff softly. He twisted the doorknob to open it. “Please, Tristan.” I added that, swallowing the second half of my sentence—After all, this is the last time. This time, he responded. He turned around, taking long strides toward me. He pressed a heavy hand against the back of my neck, forcing me face-down into the couch cushions. The crisp sound of a belt buckle unfastening echoed behind me, but in that exact moment, my mind started to wander. Would he be this rough with that boy? No, he would probably be incredibly gentle, carefully listening to his needs. My brain masochistically replayed the scene from this afternoon. Every frame was filled with Tristan’s tenderness and care. I was violently yanked back to reality by a tearing pain. No foreplay. No affection. I kicked my legs in pain, but he just let out a cold laugh. “Isn’t this what you wanted, Rowan? Are you satisfied now?” A strange thrill of pleasure bloomed within the pain. I buried my face in the sofa cushion, gasping for air as I stammered, “Tristan… do you still love me?” My answer was only a continuation of his rough movements. I gritted my teeth, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the fabric of the couch. “Do you remember… we promised to love each other into the next life.” Tristan remained completely silent. “Tristan…” My voice trembled uncontrollably. “Being with me… do you regret it?” Tristan finished his task in silence, pulling away without a single ounce of lingering affection. “I know you heard me. Answer me.” He straightened his clothes and coldly spat out a single word. “Boring.” Hearing the front door slam shut, the tears I had suppressed the entire time finally fell. If Tristan had just glanced into the bedroom, he would have seen the large suitcase I had already packed. But now, I didn’t want to take any luggage with me at all. I was taking the eighteen years of love, resentment, and history that I shared with Tristan. People say that if you just throw away all your yesterdays, your footsteps will become lighter. Tristan will definitely feel lighter now. I wish him well. 03 I wandered around aimlessly by myself. During this time, my text thread with Tristan was dead silent. Not a single message. On a whim, I booked a group tour to Iceland. This was supposed to be my 18th birthday trip. I had originally planned to elope and get a marriage license with Tristan on the way. But our family found out about our relationship, so we never went. Later, we were too broke to go. And after that, we had money but no time. Everyone says traveling clears the mind, but I just ended up thinking about Tristan the entire trip. Thinking about exactly how we ended up where we are today. Maybe when you fall into the mud, your most precious dignity becomes the cheapest thing you own. We went from never looking at price tags to bitterly calculating every single penny. Or maybe it was the holidays. Everyone else had big, loud, happy family reunions, while we only had each other in a cold, quiet room. These tiny, insignificant details slowly eroded the love I thought would never shake. I started getting paranoid, anxious, terrified that Tristan would regret it. I was the one who seduced him. I was the one who turned him gay. I was the one who dragged him down into this mess. I was the one who hysterically demanded he prove his love every day. I was the one who bomb-dialed him if he didn’t text back within seconds. At first, Tristan would patiently coax me. I will always love you. Slowly, he started giving me silence. Tristan was deaf in his right ear. My enraged father had punched him so hard he destroyed it. Whenever Tristan didn’t want to respond to me, he would turn his right side to me and pretend he couldn’t hear. I could read his brush-offs perfectly. The more panicked I got, the harder I pushed him. And so, the tension between us grew. It got so tense that he needed to go to someone else just to relax, just to catch a breath of air. “So, you’re going through a breakup, huh?” The recent college grad on my tour group suddenly asked me this one day. He claimed his roommates bailed on him, so he was on his graduation trip alone. Seeing that I was also alone, he unilaterally declared us travel buddies. He stuck to my side, buzzing in my ear non-stop. I really wanted to find his battery compartment and rip the batteries out. That’s what I was thinking, completely annoyed, when he asked the question. We were nearing the end of the trip, and he had pretty much worn down whatever temper I had left. “Yeah.” “Why did you guys break up?” I thought about it and gave my conclusion: “I pushed him too hard. I suffocated him.” “Why’d you push him?” “Because… I loved him too much.” The college grad thought for a second. “Sounds like unrequited love to me. That doesn’t count as a breakup.” I stopped walking. For the first time in days, a massive wave of emotion hit me. Standing in the freezing, sleet-filled air, my chest heaved violently, my face flushing red. I scared him. He frantically tried to backtrack: “Whoa, okay, I mean you loved each other! You loved each other, but feelings change as people grow. There’s nothing you can do about it. Just gotta look forward, right?” Tristan must have loved me. If he didn’t, then everything we went through over the years was nothing but a massive joke. When I got back to the hotel and plugged my phone in, there were still no new messages from Tristan. I swiped the screen with a blank expression and saw a text from an unknown number. [Your father is on his deathbed. If you have a shred of conscience left, come back and see him one last time.] 04 I hadn’t seen my dad in seven years. He looked so terrible I almost didn’t recognize him. His face was ashen, the color of wet cement. When he saw me, his dry, cracked lips trembled slightly, and his pupils shook. “Dad.” I walked over and held his hand. My cousin was right behind me, not giving me an inch of space. Letting me see him one last time was definitely not my cousin’s idea. He wasn’t that kind. I rubbed my thumb over my dad’s broad, calloused hand. This was the same hand that dragged me out of Tristan’s bed. The same hand that beat Tristan deaf. Back then, Tristan’s mother had already passed away. My dad was raising his stepson purely out of the goodness of his heart. He never expected that the reward for his kindness would be catching his two sons tangled in the same bed. He wanted to throw Tristan out. I refused to let him. So, I was thrown out right alongside him. Goaded on by my uncle’s manipulations, my father drafted a new will in a fit of absolute rage, leaving the entire family estate to my cousin. He used to be so imposing, so powerful. How did he end up looking like this after just a few years? I wanted to ask him if he regretted it. “Dad…” The moment I opened my mouth, my throat seized up. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The past seven years felt like a dream. The stark white fluorescent lights above poured down on me, chilling me to the bone. I heard my own voice say, “…I regret it.” Before I could even see my dad’s reaction, my cousin hurriedly grabbed my shoulder. “Alright, that’s enough. Don’t disturb his rest.” I was dragged out of the hospital room. The moment the door clicked shut, my cousin’s expression turned ice-cold. He sneered at me. “The dust is already settled. Regretting it now won’t do you any good.” I hadn’t even tried to contest the will, but he was already on the defensive. “It’s hilarious, really. Weren’t you acting all tough back then? It’s barely been a few years and you guys broke up? I heard you even brought your new toy. Everyone knows how you people are—a month together is considered a golden anniversary…” I followed his gaze to the “new toy” he was talking about. The college grad was standing by the stairs, guarding my two large suitcases. Even though he had told me his name several times, I still couldn’t remember it. He was supposed to have a layover in my city, but when he heard I had a family emergency, he insisted on tagging along. I walked up to him. He was intensely focused on scrolling through hotel apps. “Let’s go to my house.” I pulled out my phone to hail a ride. “If you don’t stay there now, you’ll completely lose the chance in a few days.” 05 The old family estate was piled high with moving boxes. Clearly, someone was very impatient to move in. The college grad gasped, “Wow, you’re a rich kid?” He paused, then delivered a brutal blow with a totally innocent face: “Then why couldn’t you even bear to order the lobster soup in Iceland? You only ate noodles.” I was too lazy to explain. He didn’t understand. People who have actually starved develop a sick, obsessive attachment to cheap, high-calorie carbs. Was my attachment to Tristan a sickness like that too? My chest felt hollow. The boy’s attention was quickly drawn to something else. He stood by the window, pointing down at the backyard gardens. “This is beautiful! Why is no one maintaining it?” I looked down. The Endless Summer hydrangeas were overgrown and drooping. The climbing trellises for the roses had collapsed, and the layered anemones were all dead. The first time I met Tristan, he was standing in front of a massive patch of anemones. I stumbled after him as we grew up, developing feelings I shouldn’t have. I took this untouchable flower on a pedestal and dragged him, inch by inch, into a web woven of agony and ecstasy. What I called him changed over time. From “brother” to “husband,” to “Tristan,” and finally, back to “brother.” After a fiercely passionate, burning love, we ended up just like this garden. A ruined mess. “Do you mind if I prune them tomorrow? Honestly, my childhood dream was to be a gardener.” “I don’t mind, but you’d be wasting your time.” I let out a yawn and pulled back the bedcovers. “This place is changing hands immediately. The new owner hates this flashy Victorian style. He’ll probably bulldoze it and rebuild.” The college grad didn’t care at all. He looked totally pumped. “That’s fine, I just want to do it for fun.” Unfortunately, he never got to have his fun. My father died that very night. He left in an incredible hurry. Maybe if I hadn’t said that sentence, he could have lived a few days longer. I really am a jinx. 06 The college grad attended the funeral with me. He nudged me and whispered, “Why does it feel like everyone is staring at us?” I looked down and straightened the flower pinned to my chest. “Because I’m the unfilial son who didn’t get a single penny. They’re terrified I’m going to snap and make a scene.” “Why didn’t you get a penny?” I seriously tried to remember his name. But my brain was just screaming Why? Why? Why? over and over again. He was way too curious. I decided to just shut him up. “Because I’m gay. I fucked my stepbrother. When we got caught, we were literally inside each other in the exact room you slept in last night.” It was wonderful. The world instantly went quiet. I looked over at my cousin’s family. They wore expressions of deep sorrow, but their eyes were dancing with joy. My chaotic heart slowly settled, turning into a completely still, dead lake. But the college grad wouldn’t stop throwing rocks into it. He leaned in close. “Is that him?” I shook my head. “I could never stoop that low.” “No, man, I don’t mean the cousin.” My heart skipped a beat. Slowly, stiffly, I raised my head inch by inch until I met a gaze from across the lawn. I should have known. He would come. Tristan was holding a black umbrella, standing beneath a pine tree. He stood tall and straight, exuding a cold, distant aura that screamed stay away from me. Some of the nosier guests were already staring openly and whispering to each other. Tristan completely ignored them, staring directly at me. Even after half a month apart, I still couldn’t control myself. My hands started shaking involuntarily, and soon my whole body was trembling. “Hey, are you okay?” I couldn’t give an answer. Watching Tristan take a step toward us, I panicked and asked the boy like I was pleading for help: “Can I hold your hand?” “Hold hands?” He tilted his head. A second later, realization dawned on him. “Ohhh. You want to make him jealous.” My freezing fingers were enveloped by a large, warm palm. A second later, Tristan stopped right in front of me. His eyes were dark and heavy. He stared straight ahead, completely ignoring the boy next to me as if he didn’t even exist. The buzzing whispers around us swarmed in like flies. The boy must have felt awkward. He gave a gentle tug to pull his hand away. I gripped it tighter and looked Tristan right in the eye. “Tristan. I saw Dad one last time.” Tristan gave a slight nod. “Did you speak to him?” “Two sentences.” “That’s good.” His face remained entirely devoid of emotion, like we were discussing something completely trivial. I wanted to remind him that he had called my dad ‘Father’ for ten years too. The words reached my lips, but I swallowed them down. Tristan probably hated our family. Hated us, one by one, for making his life so difficult. But I still couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t you curious about what I said?” He replied, “As long as you said what you needed to say. No regrets.” How could there be no regrets? My entire life was tightly bound by regrets I couldn’t escape. The biggest regret of all was that right now, at this exact moment, there was no one left to stop us from loving each other. Our relationship was no longer at the mercy of anyone else’s control. But one person had stopped loving. And the other had no choice but to let go. Tristan looked away, staring off into the distance, before bringing his eyes back to me. “When you’re done playing around, come home.” I froze. His tone made me feel like I was dreaming of our childhood. When I secretly followed my classmates to the arcade after school and played until the sun went down, Tristan would find me. He never scolded me, never rushed me. He just sat next to me and quietly did his homework. The second I showed the slightest hint of boredom, he would pack his bag, hold out his hand, and say calmly, “When you’re done playing, let’s go home.” Then we would hold hands and walk home, stepping on our shadows under the streetlights, while our driver slowly trailed behind us in the car. When we got home, the housekeeper would have hot soup waiting, and Dad would have brought back snacks from his business trips. The road ahead was long, but we could see where we were going. But now. I lowered my head and smiled bitterly. “I don’t have a home anymore.” 07 After the college grad finished blow-drying his hair, he asked if I wanted to visit his city for a while. “Grad school doesn’t start for a bit anyway. I’m just sitting around doing nothing, I can be your tour guide.” “You’re a really nice guy.” I stared at the smoke detector on the hotel ceiling, trying to sound casual. “I don’t get why your roommates bailed on you.” He instantly looked aggrieved. “I didn’t find out until after graduation that all three of them were gay! They didn’t want to bring me along. And then I come out here and meet you, and you are too. Seriously… what is my luck?” “I don’t get you guys. Are guys’ lips softer or something? Why does every guy…” Muttering under his breath, he slid under the covers. The nightstand between our beds was narrow. The draft from him pulling up his blanket brushed across my cheek, rustling my hair. When the lights went out, my vision plunged into absolute darkness. During the day, the guy distracted me enough that the agonizing pain wasn’t as overwhelming. But once it was quiet, my nerves were stretched and sliced open again. The noise in my chest was deafening. Too many mouths. Too many voices. That drowning sensation slowly crept up from my chest to my throat, suffocating my mouth and nose… I shot up in bed. “What’s wrong?” The bedside lamp clicked on. I looked at his sleep-tousled face, and my heart slowly dropped back into my chest. “Nightmare?” I shook my head. “Then… should I leave the light on? Can you sleep?” I shook my head again. “Ah… do you want to talk? I can order some coffee and hang out with you…” “Do you want to try it?” Cut off completely out of nowhere, the boy blinked in confusion. “Try what?” “Guys’ lips.”

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In my fourth life imprisoned by Arthur Vance, I gave up. I stopped running away and docilely played the role of his pet canary. I even frequently mumbled to the System: Arthur loves me so much, I should try to love him back. Besides him, no one else can give me such a good life. As time passed, his grip on me loosened, and his gaze lingered on me less and less. Finally, a timid girl who feared him appeared by his side. I wept tears of joy and said to the System: “This method works! In my fourth life, I’m finally going to complete the mission!” 1 After saying that, I fell silent again. Because in my previous three lives, Arthur Vance had tested me countless times. An unguarded mansion, an unlocked door, a car parked on the side of the road… Without exception, I was caught and brought back every single time. His smile would be dark, his grip on my waist so tight it felt like he wanted to crush me in his fury: “Iris, you never learn to be good.” And then I would be severely punished. This time couldn’t be a test too, could it?! The System comforted me: [Although he has tested you many times, when has he ever used another woman? It’s clear that your obedience has made him feel there’s no challenge left, so he’s bored!] I had a sudden realization. That’s right! Thinking this, I felt a bit relieved. Then I hid behind a pillar on the second floor of the mansion, peeking down at the first floor. The girl in the white dress trembled slightly. Her voice shook too: “Everyone knows you locked up the eldest daughter of the Hayes family, tormenting her night after night! Mr. Vance, isn’t having her enough for you?!” “Locked up?” Arthur’s thin lips parted slightly. He leaned back on the sofa, his demeanor lazy. “Why don’t you go ask her—if I were to let her go, would she be willing?” The girl froze in place, a mix of fear and contempt flashing across her face. After a long while, she exhaled and met Arthur’s gaze firmly. “Even if she was tamed by you, I won’t be!” Arthur let out a cold laugh, the pressure he exuded immense. The girl’s face paled. She gripped the hem of her skirt, terrified yet stubbornly refusing to yield. Just like I had been in the beginning. Arthur raised his eyes slightly, scanning her carelessly. Then he gave an unreadable smirk. “You’re very much like Iris, but she’s learned to be much more obedient now.” Arthur’s voice was flat, as if he were just coldly stating a fact: “You have backbone, but what about your family’s debts and your brother in prison?” The girl’s frail body swayed, the light fading from her eyes. Arthur lifted his eyelids, the smile on his lips cold and thin. He instructed the housekeeper, “Prepare a room for her.” 2 Seeing that Arthur was indeed interested in that girl, both the System and I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed completing the mission was just around the corner. No one knows how I survived my first three lives. To complete this mission, I had painstakingly racked my brains! In the plot, Arthur was a dark, cold, psychopathic obsessive, and I was the pitiful canary forced into his twisted love. My only main quest could be perfectly summarized in three words: Canary’s Great Escape. I had to escape from Arthur. In the first three lives, the more he forced me, the more fiercely I resisted. In the first life, I was constantly imprisoned by his side. When I finally found an opportunity to jump into the ocean, he grabbed onto me tightly. In the struggle, we were both swept away by the waves, ultimately dying together. The ocean was turbulent. He whispered gently in my ear: “Dying with you is a kind of happiness.” In the second life, I struck first, seizing an opportunity to poison him. Before he died, he stared at me obsessively and smiled: “I had it notarized. After I die, all my property goes to you. But if you dare use my money to keep other men, I won’t let you go, even as a ghost.” Arthur died. But the System judged the mission a failure. Because I had to escape him while he was alive for the mission to be considered complete. In the third life, I exhausted myself designing countless escape plans. Every single time, Arthur caught me. He would pinch my jaw, his expression ruthless, full of hostility. In his fury, my face crumpled in pain. He would eventually let go, stroking my cheek, his voice carrying a chill: “Iris, stay by my side like a good girl, and I can give you anything. Why not try… loving me?” Later, my wrists and ankles were entirely bound by chains. Like a ragdoll, I was confined to his side. With no freedom, I could only endure his moods. I hated him so much my teeth ached. In the end, unable to control myself, I found another chance to poison him, killing him again. And so, the fourth life began. Fine. Since the hard way didn’t work, I’d try the soft way! In this life, as he wished, I obediently stayed by his side. I stopped thinking about running away and instead tried to ‘love’ him. And sure enough, Arthur got bored. He liked the bird that was caged but yearned for freedom, the bird that would stubbornly resist even if it meant smashing its head against the bars until it bled. Not a tamed, obedient pet. I sighed inwardly. If I had known it was this simple, I would have compromised in the first life! 3 I was in the kitchen making dessert with the chef. He smiled, “Mr. Vance will be very happy to know you put so much thought into this.” I casually glanced at the camera in the corner from the corner of my eye and gave a docile smile. “I hope he likes it.” Just then, the girl from yesterday came downstairs. She marched straight up to me and glared. “Iris Hayes, I look down on you.” I paused, my hands still covered in flour. “Excuse me?” She gritted her teeth and glared at me: “Arthur forces you so much, and you actually fell in love with him? What’s the difference between you and a dog that’s been domesticated by its master?!” Seeing the situation turn hostile, the chef quickly slipped out of the kitchen. The girl looked down at the freshly made cupcakes resting on the counter. Furious, she swept them onto the floor. “You’re actually trying to make food for him. You’re a disgrace to women! Weak and utterly disgusting!” I lowered my eyes, suppressing the impatience bubbling up inside. Leaving aside the fact that I was putting on a show for Arthur. Even if I truly had fallen in love with him, the only person who had the right to despise me was the past version of myself. Arthur held immense power and his methods were ruthless and cruel. If I didn’t have the System by my side, an unwavering belief in completing my mission, and an incredibly thick skin, I couldn’t possibly have survived until now. I probably would have become a dazed, mentally broken mess long ago. Regardless, no outsider had the right to point fingers at me. I explained gently, “You misunderstand. Mr. Vance is very good to me.” Enraged, she tried to push me, but I stepped aside to dodge. Unexpectedly, she twisted her ankle and fell to the floor. The next second, the sound of heavy footsteps rang out, getting closer and closer. I put on a helpless expression: “Mr. Vance…” Arthur stopped, and the assistant behind him quickly stepped forward to help her up. The girl bit her lower lip. “You and the women you keep are disgusting!” Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly, his dark gaze landing on me. “What’s wrong?” The girl turned her head away, unwilling to speak further. Arthur’s meaningful gaze remained fixed solely on me. I instinctively walked over and actively nestled into his embrace. Arthur lowered his eyes, his eyelashes hiding a moment of stagnation in his emotions. Then he wrapped his arm around my waist, the corners of his lips curling up slightly, though his eyes remained unreadable. “Iris, you’re getting more and more obedient.” I said in a muffled voice, “The cupcakes I made for you were knocked over by her.” Arthur took out a tissue and carelessly wiped my fingers. “What a pity.” He didn’t blame the girl. “There’s a banquet tonight. You’re coming with me.” Arthur looked at her. I froze in his arms. The girl forced a smile, her tone mocking: “Didn’t Iris always accompany you before? Aren’t you afraid she’ll be angry?” Arthur stroked my cheek, saying casually, “She’s very good now, she won’t be angry.” Yes, exactly. I’m very good now. You don’t need me anymore. Just go on your date, okay? The disdain and disgust in the girl’s eyes became even more apparent, as if living under the same roof as me was something very hard for her to accept. She said to me softly, “Watch closely. No matter how good Arthur is to me, I will never sink and degrade myself like you.” Me: “…” I put on a humiliated expression, but internally, I was jumping for joy. That is truly wonderful! Arthur likes the stubborn ones. The more stubborn you are, the more interested he gets. Hopefully, when I run away later, Arthur won’t bother catching me. … Finally, I waited until they left. The mansion was completely silent, and I felt a wave of relief. I sat in the bedroom, opened my laptop, and seriously searched for routes out of the area, as well as international flights. Just then. Click. The door was pushed open. My fingertips, tapping on the keyboard, froze. I slowly turned my head. A tall figure leaned against the doorway, the shadows of the hallway obscuring his face. His deep voice echoed calmly in the hallway: “What are you looking up, Iris?” I snapped the laptop shut. “Just browsing.” Arthur walked over. His cold fingertips traced my neck, and then, like petting an animal, he stroked the back of my neck. I shrank back instinctively. Surprisingly, he didn’t ask anything else. He just said, “Let’s go. I’m taking you to the banquet.” A beautiful evening gown was brought to the room by a servant right on time. I replied, “Okay.” I didn’t ask him why he turned back, nor did I ask what happened to the other girl. I just quietly took off my nightgown in front of him and changed into the exquisite evening dress. Arthur didn’t look away, and even tied the bow at my waist for me at the end. In this life, you could say my interactions with Arthur were very peaceful. Unlike the first three lives, where the moment he touched me, I would slap him. When he tied my hands, I kicked him. When he tied my feet too, I bit him. Until the very end, I could only be tightly bound in his arms, glaring at him fiercely. Under no circumstances would I have allowed Arthur to pick me up like I did now. I docilely wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into his chest. I didn’t ask for a reason. 4 At the banquet, Arthur kept his arm around my waist the entire time. Although other guests frequently looked our way, they were already used to it. In public, he never let me leave his side for a single step. Until he saw the girl being cornered by a few men not far away. His steps paused, and he looked sideways at me. “Be a good girl and wait for me here, Iris.” Then, he walked toward that girl. This was the first time he had voluntarily left my side. I stood there, covering my mouth. I was so afraid the smile breaking out on my face would be seen. I heard a few young heirs and heiresses from prominent families whispering nearby: “Why did Arthur Vance ditch Iris Hayes today? What’s going on?” “Oh, that girl is Chloe Bennett. Her family went bankrupt. Have to say, she’s walking the same path Iris did back then.” “And she’s just as stubborn as Iris was. I heard she threw a fit the whole way here today, which is why Arthur brought Iris instead—maybe to set an example for her?” I listened quietly, putting on a heartbroken expression. Otherwise, with Arthur’s suspicious nature, he would definitely suspect something. “Sigh, Iris is in love with Arthur now, but he has a new favorite.” “Exactly. I bet she’ll be kicked to the curb soon.” “Look at her, eyes downcast. She must be feeling terrible right now.” The chatter next to me suddenly stopped. Then someone patted my shoulder. A young heir handed me a business card and said with pity, “If Arthur dumps you, you can contact me.” He carried the casual air of someone offering condescending charity while enjoying a good show. But I still took his business card, gave him a bright smile, and said gratefully: “Thank you! If that day really comes, will you help me leave?” He was taken aback, gave an awkward hum of agreement, and turned back around. Just then. A loud noise came from not far away. Chloe pushed Arthur away, her voice frantic: “Get away from me! Why are you trying to help me? Isn’t Iris your woman?!” The entire banquet hall fell silent. Arthur looked down at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. In this life, because I didn’t run away, Arthur’s emotions were much more stable. He no longer acted like a lunatic. But I knew that deep down, he was still dark, obsessive, and violent. After a long while, Arthur pinched her chin, a half-smile on his face: “That’s right. Iris is much more obedient than you.” With that, he raised his chin in my direction. I submissively walked over to his side. Chloe’s eyes reddened, and she turned to walk out. Arthur grabbed her wrist, his voice growing even colder: “Why can’t you be a little more obedient, like her?” Chloe sneered: “I would rather die than become a woman like that!” Those young heirs and heiresses had just been discussing how Chloe was stubborn and hated people who yielded like I did. The end of her sentence trembled, her voice a little hoarse. Arthur picked up a glass of wine and held it to her lips. She turned her head away and suddenly said, “If you make Iris beg me, I’ll drink it.” An uproar went through the crowd. Me: “…?” Chloe flashed a provocative smile. Arthur’s brows drew together tightly, a dark cloud settling over him. I felt a bit wistful. Since I wasn’t fighting against him in this life, someone else had stepped up to cause trouble with him. But I didn’t think Arthur would agree. No matter how interested he was in Chloe, he wouldn’t put me in a position where I couldn’t back down. Until, after a moment of silence, I heard him call my name: “Iris.” His calm, dark eyes landed on me, carrying an undeniable command. The meaning was self-evident. I froze in place. Along with the shock, an unspeakable joy wrapped around my heart. I didn’t expect Arthur had reached this level of interest in her! My escape plan could finally be put on the agenda! Looking humiliated, I said in a low voice, “…Miss Bennett, please drink a little.” My voice was a bit shaky. To suppress my laughter. A look of disgust appeared between Chloe’s brows again. “You’ve actually degraded yourself to this level.” With that, she slapped the wine glass out of Arthur’s hand. The wine splashed onto my crescent-white evening gown. She turned on her heels and left. I discreetly observed Arthur’s expression. His eyelids lifted, his eyes as deep as a dark pool. I was very familiar with this; it was the state he was in when he was suppressing his violent urges. I helpfully suggested: “Miss Bennett seems very angry. Do you want to go after her and check? I can go back by myself later.” I don’t know if it was my illusion. But as those words left my mouth, Arthur’s face darkened even further. Arthur stroked my cheek, his smile dark. “Iris, you’re being so good, I’m almost not used to it.” I covered his hand and gave a dry laugh. “What are you talking about…” Arthur didn’t go after her. He casually kept his arm around me. He even had the leisure to take me to a lounge and keep me company while I changed my dress. I was a bit anxious and called out to the System in my mind: [Why didn’t Arthur go after her? Is Chloe too out of line and he doesn’t want to coax her? Please don’t let anything go wrong.] The System comforted me: [He probably won’t. This is exactly when the novelty is at its peak.] I thought so too, and breathed a slight sigh of relief. 5 Inside the massive, luxurious lounge. A new evening gown and matching jewelry were neatly laid out on one side. Arthur leaned back on the sofa, his arm resting on my waist. I sat in his lap, kissing him. He half-closed his eyes, looking lazy and satisfied. But my heart was pounding wildly. I was terrified he was getting interested in me again. It wasn’t until his phone rang. As he was about to casually hang up, I, already out of breath from kissing, quickly pressed the answer button for him. “…What if it’s an emergency?” The next second, a frantic voice came through the receiver: “Mr. Vance, Miss Bennett… she’s been cornered by debt collectors!” Arthur paused and lifted his eyes. “Address.” My heartbeat gradually calmed down. I was relieved. But as I watched Arthur stand up, I suddenly said, “My stomach hurts.” His voice was low: “Stay here and be a good girl. I’ll call a doctor.” With that, he strode toward the door. I added another sentence: “I want you here. Stay with me.” Arthur turned back, his pitch-black eyes landing on me. “Be good.” He said. “Wait for me to come back, and I’ll take you to pick out some jewelry.” I watched his back quietly until the lounge door was completely shut. Then I pulled out my phone and took out the business card I had received at the banquet earlier. The call connected. I said with a bright smile: “You said earlier that when Arthur dumped me, I could contact you. Did you mean it?” The other end was silent for a long time. “I meant it.” “Good,” I said. “I want to leave tonight.” After a moment of hesitation, the person on the other end didn’t ask any more questions. “Fine. Where are you?” “The lounge furthest in.” … When that young heir came to find me, he brought lightweight clothes. “You got dumped this early?” he asked curiously. I nodded, not explaining further. “Then where do you want to go?” he asked. I was silent for a moment. “Are there any really remote little villages? The kind where you have to take dozens of turns to get in.” My ID and passport weren’t in my possession, so I couldn’t leave the country at all. Although I didn’t think Arthur would bother catching me now that he had Chloe. But the trauma from the past few lives was too deep. I still wanted to escape to the most hidden place possible. The young heir nodded, then curled his lip. “If I knew it was this much trouble, I wouldn’t have slipped you my card.” I said, “But you already did.” A free helper delivered right to my door, it would be a waste not to use him. Saved me from having to plan the escape route myself. I don’t know if Arthur saw what I was looking up on my laptop today. But even if he did, he wouldn’t care. Maybe it was because he had a new pet he wanted to tame, or maybe in his eyes, I was already a bird content with its cage, occasionally fluttering about, but doing no real harm. 6 The vehicle sped through the dark night. I had swapped to a new phone and SIM card. The old phone was 100% being tracked by Arthur. The young heir beside me said his name was Oliver Reed. I offered a polite compliment: “Nice name.” He suddenly became flustered and angry: “Do you really not remember me?! And you still asked me to help you?” Under my confused gaze, he ground his teeth: “You used to bully me all the time when we were little, and you even braided my hair.” I was silent for a long time, then gave a soft laugh: “So it’s you.” I had almost forgotten. That was a matter from the first life. In the first life, I actually lived to be twenty-five, and then died together with Arthur in the ocean waves. The second life started straight from the point where my family went bankrupt and I was taken back by Arthur. So, after all these lives, I had almost forgotten the events of the first life. The only word left in my mind was “escape.” The car was quiet for a long while. Oliver spoke again: “The drive will take close to ten hours. You can sleep first if you’re tired. I’ll give you some cash when we get there.” I listened quietly. Indeed, I didn’t dare swipe the card Arthur gave me; I would be tracked immediately. I didn’t have to worry about material things; the System would pull strings for me. But since he offered me money, I gladly accepted. “Thank you, Oliver.” If Oliver hadn’t appeared, I would have had to plan this escape long-term, which would have taken another few months. But he was willing to help. And it was another dark, windy night. It would be a crime not to run! My heart was racing with excitement. In all these lives, this was the first time I felt so close to freedom. Oliver was scrolling on his phone, then suddenly handed it to me. It was a group chat. I glanced at the group name: Royal Relatives Chat Group. Me: “…” It was probably a chat group for the heirs and heiresses of prominent families. Until I noticed the content. [Hero saves the beauty! Arthur Vance took Chloe Bennett back, and then cleared all her family’s debts.] [Oh my god, why does this sound so familiar?] [If I remember correctly, wasn’t that exactly what he did with Iris Hayes back then?] [Looks like there’s going to be drama later.] [What drama? Iris’s temper has been ground down so much now. She’ll only be bullied by Chloe, just like at the banquet today.] I read the chat log, sneering silently. Bet you didn’t expect this, I’ve already escaped! What drama? Let’s all wish Arthur and Chloe a long and happy life together. There was a photo attached below. Chloe stood beside Arthur, wearing a men’s jacket over her shoulders, her face pale. Arthur looked down, gripping his phone. He did not look happy. The next second, the group chat exploded. [Arthur Vance is pulling the security footage from tonight’s banquet!] [What does that mean? What happened?] [Seems like Iris is missing?] [Is she heartbroken and planning to jump into the ocean?] Can we not curse me, please? Besides, I tried jumping into the ocean in my first life, and it really wasn’t a great experience. [Hmm… I think she’s playing hard to get.] [I think so too.] I breathed a sigh of relief, glad I had told Oliver to handle the security footage before we left. Oliver glanced at the screen. “You know him pretty well.” I gave a helpless smile. How could I not? Entangled for four lives, it was time for it to end! 7 The ten-hour drive ended with me half-asleep and half-awake. The final stretch of the road was so bumpy it jolted me completely awake. By the time we reached our destination, it was already early morning, the mist yet to clear. Stepping out of the car, I could feel the stone path beneath my feet was still damp. Oliver looked around the place with disgust. “I tried my best to find a place. You can stay here for now. If you need to buy anything, just go to the county town.” I nodded. “Okay.” It was only temporary anyway. I couldn’t possibly stay here forever. I just needed to lay low for a while. Once things stabilized between Arthur and Chloe and they completely forgot about me, I could return to a normal life. Oliver let out a yawn and pushed open the door of the small, flat-roofed house. “I’ll rest for a bit, and then I’ll head back.” The interior wasn’t exactly well-decorated, but it was acceptable. There was also a simple bed. Oliver and I had a tacit understanding to place a pillow in the middle, and we each took half the bed. After all, sleeping in the car was really uncomfortable. 8 When I woke up again. I was still groggy. “Oliver, what time is it?” I nudged the person next to me, only to realize the pillow that had been between us was on the floor at some point. I didn’t think much of it and called his name again: “…Oliver?” He rubbed his eyes, his voice raspy. “Let me check.” Just then. The wooden door was kicked open with tremendous force. I instantly became wide awake. Oliver hadn’t reacted yet: “…What the hell, scared me to death.” My eyelashes fluttered as I suppressed an inexplicable panic, then slowly turned my head. The light from outside poured in. A man in a black trench coat walked in slowly, and our eyes locked. The air and time seemed to freeze. I only had one despairing thought. Looks like we’re starting the fifth life. Oliver was fully awake now too, his face grim. “How did you find this place?” Arthur didn’t speak. His long legs stepped forward, step by step, getting closer, and then he reached out his hand toward me. I let out a deep breath. “Go to hell,” I said. In my first three lives, I had said those three words to him countless times. And he had died every time. Looks like they were still somewhat useful. The corner of Arthur’s mouth twitched, revealing a cold, faint smile. “Finally couldn’t keep up the act anymore?” My eyes snapped up. The words from the banquet! —Iris, you’re being so good, I’m almost not used to it. In this life, I had clearly been docile and compliant the entire time. But he felt he wasn’t used to it. … Arthur had also been reborn! Before I could think deeper into it, Oliver clicked his tongue. “I say, she wanted to leave you herself, why did you chase her all the way here?” Arthur’s gaze never once landed on him. Arthur only smiled as he looked at me. Then bodyguards appeared and directly dragged Oliver out. Oliver cursed loudly. My expression changed. “What are you doing?” Arthur tilted my chin up, studying me carefully. “Are you worried about him?” His voice was gentle to an almost eerie degree. I shivered inexplicably. The next moment. “Iris Hayes, how dare you worry about another man,” an icy voice squeezed out of his throat. I stared at him: “How did you find this place so fast?” This time, he answered, his tone calm: “Someone at the banquet saw him approach you. I just had to track his vehicle.” I felt a deep sense of powerlessness. It had been like this since the first life. I simply could not escape him. I couldn’t do it alone, and relying on others made it even harder. “Iris.” Arthur let out a soft sigh, stroking the back of my neck. “He slept in the same bed as you. I’m so jealous. Let’s have him killed, okay?” A person who didn’t value his own life wouldn’t value the lives of others either. And this was an extremely remote place. Oliver had helped me, after all. I gritted my teeth and forced out: “I didn’t… do anything with him.” “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” Arthur smiled insincerely. “You know I hate it when other people get too close to you.” As he finished speaking, I shoved him hard, unable to control my temper anymore: “Are you sick? Aren’t you happy with Chloe? Why are you bothering me? “Even if I did have an affair with him, so what? Can’t we just pursue our own true loves? “I finally waited until you were bored, why did you come looking for me again?” Arthur looked down at me condescendingly. “I wasn’t bored.” He smiled darkly again. “Such a familiar feeling, Iris.” I was deeply exhausted: “We’ve tormented each other for so many lives, can’t we just let each other go?” “Torment?” Arthur softly repeated the word, the corners of his lips curving up. “Aren’t we in love? How can you call it torment?” I stood up and slapped him across the face. Arthur turned his face away. The next second, using the momentum, he pulled me into his embrace. The cold scent of cedarwood on him surrounded me, just like how he tightly wrapped up my life. He rubbed his cheek against mine. “It must have been hard running all the way here. I’m taking you home.” With that, he leaned down and picked me up. I pressed close to his ear and said softly: “In these past few lives, I’ve regretted it every single night. If I could, I would never have appeared in front of you that day.” Arthur’s body stiffened.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “404117”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

My long-distance boyfriend bought a new apartment. I only found out about it from someone else. My best friend posted a photo online. That was how he realized I had chopped off my hair. Our mutual friends congratulated him on becoming a homeowner. That was how he found out I had paid the down payment on my own condo entirely by myself. Even when I flew to his city for a business trip, he only found out because we accidentally bumped into each other at a shopping mall. Ethan Wright frowned in confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in town? Didn’t you always say you looked forward to our dates more than anything?” I brushed him off without a second thought. “Work is busy. I don’t have time.” He froze. Just half a month ago, I was the girl who would take a three-hour red-eye flight just to see him for an afternoon. I was the girl who never once complained about being tired. 1 When I bumped into Ethan at the mall, I was on the phone with my best friend, Sarah, making plans to meet up for drinks later that night. “Hell must have frozen over,” Sarah joked over the phone. “Didn’t you say you only ever go to Miami to spend every waking second with your boyfriend?” I laughed at her tone. “I promise, I’m here for a week on business, and I absolutely will not see him.” Sarah let out an exaggerated gasp, clearly not believing me. After all, I once almost quit my six-figure job in tech sales just to move down there and be with him. But right after I swore to Sarah I wouldn’t see him, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist as I turned the corner. “Why are you here again? Didn’t we just see each other half a month ago?” I looked at the person blankly. It took me two full seconds to recognize the man standing in front of me. I used to pick out all of Ethan’s clothes. He always wore crisp, ironed button-downs and slacks. He looked professional, reliable, put-together. But right now, he was wearing a cream-colored hoodie. The slightly immature, college-kid outfit completely stripped away the usual composed distance he carried. Ethan checked his watch. When he looked back at me, his eyes didn’t hold the warmth of a lover reuniting after a long time. Instead, he looked at me like I was just another patient in his waiting room. “I have a shift at the hospital this afternoon. I don’t have time to hang out with you.” “Next time you fly down, remember to tell me in advance…” I cut him off. “Who said I’m here for you? You’re overthinking it. I don’t have time either.” Ethan was stunned. “Didn’t you always say you looked forward to our dates the most?” That was the old me. Even if I only had a four-hour layover in his city, I would rush out of the airport just to see him for a single meal. I used to work overtime for five days straight, finishing projects ahead of schedule, just so I could sync my days off with his hospital schedule. But now? If we hadn’t accidentally crossed paths today, he wouldn’t have even known I was in the state. “There’s no need to throw a tantrum. Dr. Wright is very busy. He’s exhausted every single day.” Hailey Brooks, who was standing right next to Ethan, suddenly spoke up. “It’s bad enough that you’re not considerate of his schedule, but you flew down here without saying a word. Now Dr. Wright has to spend his precious time off entertaining you.” I stared at Hailey, who was looking at me with total self-righteousness. She was also wearing a hoodie. Standing next to Ethan… they looked like they were wearing matching couple’s outfits. Not far away, a clothing store had a massive red banner hanging in the window: Couples 50% Off. I gave a half-smile. “You don’t have time for me, but you have time to go shopping with her?” Hailey lifted her chin, her expression indignant. “Ms. Davis, there’s no need to misunderstand! Dr. Wright usually dresses too seriously, and it makes the patients nervous. I suggested he wear something softer, so I came out with him to help him pick some clothes.” “I happened to like this hoodie too, and the store is doing a couple’s discount. I was just trying to save a few bucks.” “I’m not like you. You come from a wealthy family, and you buy things without ever looking at the price tag. I don’t have a family to support me. I have to stretch every dollar. There’s no need for you to be so paranoid and sensitive.” I actually laughed out loud. “What does his wardrobe have to do with you? Are you his girlfriend or his mother?” “Trying to save money by using someone else’s boyfriend for a couple’s discount? You sure know how to hustle.” Hailey’s face turned beet red. “You…” Ethan squeezed my hand, his tone softening as he tried to coax me. “I don’t have time to be with you right now, so it makes sense that you’re angry. But it’s not right to take it out on someone else. She was just trying to save some money.” “How about this? I’ll call out of work right now and spend the afternoon with you. Sound good?” Suddenly, I felt entirely exhausted by the whole charade. I yanked my hand out of his grip. “I don’t have time! I already told you I didn’t come here to see you. Do you not understand English?” This time, Ethan looked completely shell-shocked. 2 This was the fourth year of our long-distance relationship. It was incredibly hard. Every single month, I would fly down to Miami to see him. That was only twelve visits a year. We promised to alternate initiating video calls every single day. Even if we were swamped with work, we had to at least say “goodnight” before hanging up. I couldn’t remember exactly when it started. But when Ethan called me, the name “Hailey” started popping up constantly. “The nurse assigned to me is so clumsy. She missed the vein three times while drawing blood today.” “She’s actually really sweet, though. I caught her sneaking leftover meatloaf from the cafeteria to feed the stray cats out back.” “I accidentally heard the department head mention that she comes from a really tough background. She’s drowning in student loans, just like I was. But she’s not as lucky as me. The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was meeting you in college.” I didn’t think much of it at the time. I just thought she was a normal coworker. Until a month ago. Ethan had to travel for a medical conference and told me in advance that he wouldn’t be able to do our nightly calls. It wasn’t until his colleague called me to say Ethan had been hospitalized that I found out the truth. His conference was in New York. My city. He hadn’t been planning a surprise. He genuinely never intended to tell me he was here. “I was too busy, I just didn’t get around to telling you. Besides, I’m not here for long anyway. There was no point in making a fuss over it.” To him, seeing me had somehow become a burden. A chore. While I was lost in thought by his hospital bed, the bowl of soup I was holding was violently shoved aside. A woman in scrubs opened her own thermos and glared at me. “Dr. Wright is hospitalized with a severe stomach ulcer! He can’t eat greasy food like that!” She bustled around his hospital bed. Acting entirely like she was the woman of the house. She threw away the apple I had peeled for Ethan, claiming I didn’t use the proper sterile scrubbing technique to wash my hands, so it was dirty. I checked his IV drip rate, and she told me I wasn’t a medical professional, so I shouldn’t get in the way. I stepped out to go to the restroom. When I came back, I saw the two of them laughing endlessly together. Knowing I wasn’t interested in the medical field, Ethan quickly explained: “It’s an inside joke from work.” But she just had to add: “You wouldn’t get it even if we explained it to you.” I swallowed a stomach full of rage. “Is this how you act as a caregiver? You’re fired.” She froze, then puffed out her chest proudly. “I am a Registered Nurse with a degree, not some cheap caregiver!” That was when I realized she was Hailey. It was obvious. She had crossed the line. And Ethan was enabling it. The slow drift of a long-distance relationship is a tale as old as time. I used to think we were the exception. I thought we would never have a tragic ending. If I had still clung to a shred of hope back then, telling myself I was just being overly sensitive and paranoid… Seeing them pretend to be a couple at the mall completely shattered my delusions. 3 I had been at the mall shopping for a gift for Sarah and picking up a custom-tailored suit I had ordered. After grabbing lunch with Sarah, I threw myself right back into work. Working late nights and getting caught in a massive downpour resulted in a severe fever. I ended up at the local urgent care clinic. It’s a small world. The nurse assigned to draw my blood was Hailey. She pulled the tourniquet aggressively tight. She jabbed the needle into my arm several times but couldn’t find the vein. A horrifying, dark purple bruise bloomed across my pale skin. I lost my patience. “I want a different nurse!” Hailey didn’t show an ounce of guilt. She sounded completely righteous: “You don’t own this clinic. Medical resources are limited, and there are other patients waiting. Please don’t waste my time.” I laughed out of pure anger. “Your technique is garbage. I have every right to request a different nurse.” Hailey lifted her chin, her face full of stubborn defiance. “Please don’t insult my professional skills. You kept flinching, so of course I couldn’t get the needle in.” I was too exhausted to argue. I just hit the call button. The person who rushed into the room was Ethan. “You’re sick? Why didn’t you tell me?” The moment Ethan saw me, the color drained from his face. He rushed to my side. His fingers gently supported my arm, his voice thick with undeniable heartache: “How did it get bruised this badly? Why didn’t you call me sooner?” I sneered. “Your nurse has terrible technique and then blames the patient for it. Is this the standard of care at your clinic? Tell her to expect a formal complaint.” Hailey’s eyes instantly welled with tears. She bit her lip. “Ms. Davis, I know you hate me. A rich girl like you could never understand my struggles.” “I’m up for the Nurse of the Year award right now. It’s incredibly important to me. I’m in this city all by myself, with no one to rely on. I have to earn every single penny myself. I have to pave my own way…” I cut her off impatiently. “What does that have to do with me?” Ethan asked another nurse for an ice pack and a towel, gently wrapping my arm. But the words that came out of his mouth made my blood run cold. “The bruise will fade in a week at most. It won’t scar.” “Her technique is actually fine. She was probably just too nervous today. If you file a formal complaint, all her hard work this year will go down the drain.” “It really isn’t easy for a young girl to make it in this city on her own. Don’t make things harder for her. Be a good girl.” Hailey reached up and wiped away her tears. She tilted her chin up slightly, looking like she had finally received a fair and just verdict. When the old Ethan saw me get a tiny paper cut, his heart would ache for hours. He would put a Band-Aid on my finger while cursing the paper for being too sharp. But now? His heart was bleeding for the person who had hurt me. I curled my fingers into a tight fist. My chest felt like a boulder was sitting on it, but my voice was ice-cold. “Call your clinical director. I’m filing a complaint against both of you.” Hailey’s face turned fierce with righteousness. “I take responsibility for my own actions! Don’t drag Dr. Wright into this! Even if you’re his girlfriend, you can’t bully people like this!” She threw her arm out dramatically. A bottle of Betadine tipped over, spilling a dark brown stain all over the custom $8,000 blazer resting on the edge of the bed. Amidst the mess, I slowly spoke. “That was the suit I was going to wear to meet a major client. You just ruined it.” Hailey froze for a second, then stiffened her neck defensively. “If you hadn’t been deliberately making things difficult for me and Dr. Wright, I wouldn’t have accidentally knocked it over! At the end of the day, it’s your own fault.” I picked up my phone. “You can explain that to the police.” “Wait!” Hailey turned her head away, taking on a tone of moral superiority. “We both know you’re the one in the wrong here. But you’re using your career to threaten me. I’m not rich and powerful like you, so I’ll just swallow the injustice.” “It’s just a jacket. I’ll pay for it. How much?” I looked at her calmly, enunciating every word. “Eight thousand dollars.” The righteous defiance froze on Hailey’s face. She instantly panicked, her voice pitching up. “Impossible!” “How could a jacket be that expensive?! Who are you trying to scam?!” “You rich people are all the same, always trying to crush normal people with money…” I cut her off. “Are you paying, or am I calling the cops?” 4 Hailey ran out of the room crying. Ethan didn’t chase after her. He looked at me, hesitating, like he had something to say. I ignored him entirely. I turned right around, went straight to the administration desk, and filed a formal complaint against Hailey. That night, Ethan took me out to dinner. He asked about my life with his usual gentle tone. “How have things been lately?” “Fine.” “What have you been busy with?” “Just the usual stuff.” Ethan paused for a moment, forcing a smile. “Why didn’t you tell me you cut your hair? If I hadn’t seen the photo on Instagram, I wouldn’t have even known.” “And you haven’t been initiating conversations lately either. We haven’t done our goodnight video calls in weeks.” “Work is busy. I don’t have time.” Three short sentences, and the conversation was dead in the water. Whenever we met up in the past, I had endless things to say to him. From how annoying the new VP at my company was, to how cute a stray dog on my commute looked. I would talk his ear off about trivial, everyday things. I always wanted to pour a whole month’s worth of saved-up thoughts out to him in a single breath. Now, I just kept my head down and ate my food. Four years of long distance. From texting him the exact second I opened my eyes in the morning, to barely exchanging ten sentences a month. From wanting him to be the first person to know absolutely everything, to making him the last person to find out. From having endless things to talk about, to having nothing left to say. It only took half a month. Ethan remained silent for a long time before reaching across the table to hold my hand. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so focused on my career, trying to end this long-distance situation as quickly as possible, that I neglected your feelings.” My parents hadn’t agreed to me marrying someone living so far away. So Ethan had planned to buy an apartment in New York. When his parents found out, they were furious and completely cut off all financial support. Ethan said: “I’ve been looking at private hospitals in New York recently. I already have a few interview invites. Once my job is secured, I can start looking at real estate. Which means…” He tried to keep his tone casual, but the end of his sentence hitched up with excitement. “We won’t have to be long-distance anymore!” I froze. This was the future I had anticipated more than anything else in the world. But now that it was finally within reach… It felt like we had already lost each other along the way. “Didn’t you want to adopt a cat? When the time comes, we can install a cat tree on the balcony wall, and put a hammock by the window so they can sunbathe.” “Speaking of cats…” He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and pivoted the conversation. “Hailey likes cats too. She’s always sneaking food to the strays behind the clinic. She’s actually a really good person, she just lacks a filter sometimes.” “Eight thousand dollars might just be a jacket to you, but to her, it’s a whole year of living expenses. She’s not like you. Her family is struggling, she’s drowning in student loans, and after she pays rent, she barely has a dime left.” “I know you hate her, but she really has it rough. I had to claw my way up on my own too, so I can understand where she’s coming from.” Every single word out of his mouth was about Hailey. I never would have imagined it. That Ethan would be entirely incapable of holding a conversation without bringing up another woman. I put down my fork. “You know I hate her, yet you keep bringing her up. What’s your point?” Ethan pressed his lips together, looking helpless. “You throw little tantrums at me, and I’m used to it. I take it because I love you, and that’s fine. But you can’t direct that at outsiders, right?” “Drop the complaint. She’ll have the suit dry-cleaned and return it to you, and then you can apologize to her.” Every time he took her side, he chipped away at the love I had for him. So hearing him say that didn’t make me sad. It just fueled the lingering anger. I spoke calmly: “She made a professional mistake. I have no obligation to be understanding.” “I only asked her to pay for the suit. I didn’t sue her for lost wages or emotional distress. That’s already incredibly generous of me.” “Besides, what does her ‘rough life’ have to do with me? Does saying ‘she has it rough’ magically erase her mistakes? If a doctor kills a patient, can they just say ‘I had a hard life’ and get away with it?” Ethan stared at me, stunned. It was like I had suddenly morphed into a stranger he didn’t recognize. Uncompromising. Aggressive. The old me might have given him an out, not wanting an outsider to affect our relationship. But the Ethan sitting in front of me now? To me, he was also an outsider. I stared right back at him, enunciating every word. “The complaint and the demand for compensation are not being dropped.” “Also. We’re breaking up.” 5 A sudden, blaring ringtone cut over my words. Hailey’s tear-choked voice poured out of the speaker: “Dr. Wright, my Nurse of the Year nomination is gone. I worked so hard for so long, and with one casual sentence from someone else, it was taken away. I don’t understand. Why is destiny always so cruel to poor people?” “To Chloe Davis, eight thousand dollars is just a jacket. But to me, it’s a crushing weight that’s destroying someone with no family support.” “I fought for everything I have with my own two hands. I don’t steal, I don’t rob, I walk an honest path. Why do I deserve to be treated worse than someone who just relies on her mommy and daddy? I might be poor, but I have my pride. I would rather die than be humiliated like this…” “It’s really cold standing on the bridge over the bay. But… but compared to the cold stares and contempt I’ve endured all these years, this cold is nothing.” The sound of howling wind rushed through the phone’s speaker. Ethan’s face turned white. He immediately stood up and rushed toward the door. “Don’t do anything stupid! It’s just a jacket! Don’t throw your life away!” I called out to him. “Wait.” Ethan stopped in his tracks. He looked back at me. For the first time, his eyes were filled with irritation and profound disappointment. “This isn’t the time for you to throw a tantrum. She’s standing on the edge of a bridge! Can you stop targeting her for just one second?!” “Chloe, the next time I see you, I hope the kind, considerate girl I knew is back. Not this version of you that uses her wealth to bully someone who has absolutely nothing!” Ethan had clearly misunderstood. I only stopped him because I wanted him to pay the dinner bill. As for ‘the next time he saw me’? There wasn’t going to be a next time. But he didn’t wait for me to speak. He rushed out of the restaurant without looking back. 6 Three days later. I received an $8,000 Venmo transfer from Hailey. I don’t owe you anything! I’m not like you. I make my money honestly with my own two hands! She sent me three full screens of text. The gist of it was that I was just lucky. I won the genetic lottery, so what was I so arrogant about? She clawed her way up step by step. We were fundamentally different. I could try to crush her with money, but in her eyes, I was nothing. I had no idea what she was rambling about. I get headaches reading walls of text, so I just collected the money and blocked her. Before flying back to New York. Sarah went with me to the clinic for a follow-up appointment to get my prescriptions. She sighed. “I literally had my bridesmaid dress picked out for your wedding. How did you guys end up breaking up? Is long-distance just doomed to fail?” I didn’t answer. I walked up to the administration desk to check on the status of my complaint. The clinical director blinked, looking at me like I had amnesia. “Didn’t you cancel it?” “Dr. Wright told us you misunderstood Nurse Brooks, and that the two of you settled the matter privately. He also said you felt Nurse Brooks was incredibly dedicated to her work, and you heavily recommended we keep her in the running for Nurse of the Year.” Sarah furiously grabbed my arm and dragged me straight toward Ethan’s office. The door was slightly ajar. Hailey was biting her lip, looking somewhat embarrassed. “Dr. Wright, I’ll pay you back the eight thousand dollars as soon as possible.” “I requested night shifts for the extra differential pay, and I picked up a second job during the day. Even if I have to wait tables, I’ll pay you back. I’m not like Chloe who just relies on her family. I can slowly save up the money myself…” I hadn’t realized Ethan was the one who put up the money. He normally lived a very frugal life, avoiding expensive hobbies, walking instead of taking Ubers whenever he could. All so he could save up enough for a down payment to end our long-distance relationship faster. But now, he was paying Hailey’s debts for her. Which meant Hailey was already more important to him than ending the distance between us. He took the future he promised me, and gave it to someone else first. Sarah was so furious she was ready to kick the door down. I grabbed her arm and waved my phone screen at her. I was already recording. Ethan sighed. “Next time you see Chloe, apologize to her. She isn’t an unreasonable person. Just have a good attitude.” “Don’t worry about the money right now. Focus on your health, don’t overwork yourself. Go back to your shift.” But Hailey didn’t leave. She stiffened her neck and suddenly said: “Chloe Davis doesn’t love you at all.” Ethan froze. “What?” “You work so hard to save money, but every time she visits, she drags you to restaurants that cost two hundred dollars a person. You sacrifice everything, and she just sits back and enjoys it. Do you think that’s fair?” Ethan frowned, his tone darkening. “She works hard too. Every month she flies over a thousand miles to see me. She gave up her passion for animation to take a stressful job in corporate sales.” We originally agreed to take turns flying to each other’s cities. But I hated seeing Ethan exhausted from traveling, so I took it upon myself to always be the one visiting him. Ethan would buy a platform ticket just to walk me all the way to the airport security gate, his eyes red as he promised he would never let me suffer again. When my flight took off, he would stand at the terminal window until the plane disappeared into the clouds. Hailey scoffed. “She sits comfortably in a first-class seat to get here. How is that suffering? When you’re pulling all-nighters and desperately saving money, has she ever thought about you? She hasn’t sacrificed anything.” Ethan lowered his voice. “She comes from a wealthy family. Why should she spend twenty years living comfortably, only to marry me and suffer? Her parents didn’t approve of us, but she convinced them. The condition was that I have to buy a home in New York to prove I have the ability to take care of her. This was a joint decision we made. You don’t understand, so you shouldn’t judge.” Hailey’s eyes welled with tears of self-pity. She wrung her hands, lifting her chin high. “If she truly loved you, she would marry you regardless of the circumstances, instead of using her parents’ demands as a shield. If she truly loved you, she would move to your city, instead of forcing you to follow her. If she truly loved you, she wouldn’t be coasting by in a sales job just waiting for you to pave the way. Let’s be honest, you’re the only one fighting on the front lines, and she’s just sitting in the back waiting to reap the rewards.” She paused, her voice ringing with a righteous, defiant pride. “If it were me, as long as I loved him, I would marry him even if he didn’t have a house or a car. We would grind together, build a life in this city together from the ground up. I wouldn’t wait until he had everything perfectly prepared just so I could marry into comfort.” I don’t know which sentence struck a chord in Ethan. But this time, he didn’t argue back. He lowered his eyes, lost in thought. My heart slowly turned to ice. 7 Ethan’s grand plan was to build his resume at a massive public teaching hospital in Miami, and then jump to a high-end private clinic in New York. My plan was to save up enough cash to buy an apartment outright, pretend Ethan had earned the money, and use it to get my parents to accept him. To do that, I gave up the animation industry I loved and switched to B2B tech sales. In four years, I climbed to Sales Director. You can only imagine the sheer amount of suffering it took to get there. I only ever shared the good news with him, hiding the struggles so he wouldn’t feel pressured. If it weren’t for Hailey… I probably would have excitedly called him today to tell him the news. I had saved up enough. Hailey was still talking. “Dr. Wright, I know I’m blunt. I know this might offend Chloe. But for your sake, I have to say it…” I kicked the door open. Both of them turned to look at the noise. Ethan’s face changed. “Chloe? Why are you here?” Hailey instinctively straightened her 5’2″ frame, lifting her chin even higher, like a peacock refusing to admit defeat. Which made things very convenient for my 5’7″ height. I raised my hand halfway but stopped myself. What if she tried to sue me or extort me for assault? But my arm was already raised. I couldn’t just pull it back. So I pivoted, and slapped Ethan hard across the face. 8 Hailey violently shoved me back, rushing over to examine Ethan’s face in a total panic. Tears of heartbreak spilled down her cheeks. “You’re a lunatic!” “Dr. Wright treats you so well, how could you do this to him?!” Sarah caught me as I stumbled back. The fury she had been suppressing completely exploded. “Who gave you the right to speak?!” “You claim it’s ‘for Dr. Wright’s sake’—do you think everyone else is an idiot?! We can all see your pathetic, calculating little games! You want to take a shortcut in life, but you dress it up as ‘true love.’ You step on other women just to elevate yourself. You are utterly sickening.” Ethan frowned deeply. “Enough!” Sarah immediately redirected her artillery at him. “Are you blind, or are you just stupid?! Do you actually think Chloe marrying you is ‘marrying into comfort’?” “I told her years ago not to marry a charity case! Do you have any idea how much she’s suffered for you these past few years?! She got into a car crash and crawled out to go meet a client! She drank with executives until she literally threw up blood, but she kept drinking to close the deal! She works 365 days a year, and on her rare days off, she tortures herself flying down here to see you! And the worst part is, she gets horrific motion sickness! She throws up her guts every single time she gets on a plane! And she does it every single month!” “Do you know how many screaming matches she’s had with her parents over you? Her mom and dad were so furious they told her they didn’t have a daughter anymore and kicked her out of the house! You never mentioned a single word of that, did you?! When you suffer, it’s called ‘hard work.’ But when she suffers, it’s called ‘enjoying the ride’?” Ethan stood frozen in place, looking like he had been struck by lightning. He opened his mouth, but not a single word came out. He just stared at me, the guilt in his eyes practically spilling over. Right at that moment. Hailey suddenly grabbed a medical scalpel from a tray and held it to her own neck. “I would rather die than be insulted by you like this! Dr. Wright and I are completely innocent. I was just speaking the truth. You can curse at me all you want, but I will not accept you throwing dirty water on my reputation!” Sarah sneered. “People like you are the most calculating. You constantly scream about dying, but in reality, you value your own life more than anyone else. If you actually cut yourself, I’ll admit you have guts. If you’re going to act, at least commit to the bit.” Hailey violently slashed a shallow cut across her forearm. Her voice trembled: “Are you satisfied now?!” Ethan’s face turned deathly pale. He whipped his head back to look at me, speaking rapidly: “Chloe, tell your friend to apologize to her right now. Let’s just end this here, okay?” I looked at him with absolute apathy. “In your dreams.” Ethan’s voice softened to a pleading tone: “Chloe, I know you want to get married more than anything. I already got a job offer from a clinic in New York. If I accept it, we can get married this year. If you just apologize today, I’ll sign the offer letter right now. We’ll never have to do long-distance again!” Hailey’s eyes were bloodshot, but her words were resonant and forceful: “Dr. Wright, you do not have to accept a job you hate for me! I am not the kind of woman who just hides behind a man and expects him to fix everything for her!” I didn’t say a word. An image suddenly flashed through my mind. It was the day Ethan came with me to meet my parents. He was twenty-six, freshly graduated from med school. He sat on the couch in my living room, looking my parents straight in the eye as he made a solemn vow: “I’ll start as an attending at a major public hospital, and then transition to private practice. Within five years, I will be making a quarter-million a year.” “I want to marry Chloe using my own hard work. I will prove to you that I’m not just all talk. I truly want to spend the rest of my life with her.” Things change. People change. I spoke softly. “I was wrong.” Ethan visibly let out a massive sigh of relief. “Okay. Then let’s drop this right here.” But Hailey wasn’t letting it go. She anxiously tugged on his sleeve. “Dr. Wright, she slapped you! How can you just let her off the hook so easily? You can’t let yourself suffer just for my sake…” Ethan pulled his arm away. “This is between me and Chloe. It has nothing to do with you.” I smiled and finished my sentence. “I was wrong for not breaking up with you sooner.” Ethan froze. I spoke slowly, emphasizing every single word. With every syllable, the color drained further from his face: “The very first time you mentioned Hailey’s name to me, I should have dumped you on the spot.”

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