My boyfriend lost his memory. And he fell for the one person he’d always despised. He announced it on social media: “Even if I forget the whole world, my heart will remember you.” My friends tried to push me. “Aren’t you going to fight for him? He got that head injury saving your life, after all.” “And before his surgery, he begged you. He said if he came out of it ‘scrambled,’ you had to find a way to make him love you again.” I just shook my head, refusing to speak. In my last life, I endured a year of humiliation to finally make him remember me. In the end, all I got was a cold, dismissive question: “Why not just let this mistake be?” This time, I was determined to walk away. But when I stood with my arm linked through my new boyfriend’s, Evan’s eyes went red, his composure shattering. 1 The moment Evan opened his eyes after the surgery, I knew the script of my past life was replaying. His gaze swept over me, distant and empty, without a flicker of recognition. Evan’s father, overjoyed, seized the opportunity to sever all contact between us. The next time I heard anything about Evan was a month later. He posted a photo on his social media account, an embrace with a woman named Faye. The caption read: “Even if I forget the whole world, my heart will remember you.” Their love story spread like wildfire. They said the heir to the Thorne family was terrifyingly lucid after his amnesia, wary even of his own parents. But the moment he saw Faye, that cold mask cracked. They stared at each other for a long moment before Evan’s hand trembled and pressed against his heart. “Who are you?” Faye leaned against the doorframe, a sweet smile playing on her lips. “We grew up together. I’m your fiancée, silly.” Evan pulled her into his arms. The confusion and terror of his memory loss finally found an anchor. “What took you so long?” he asked, his voice thick with a child-like grievance. 2 Evan’s father had spent three years trying to pry him away from me with threats and bribes, all to no avail. One bout of amnesia, and Evan fell right into the arms of the woman his father had chosen for him. Everything was back on its predetermined track. My friends were furious on my behalf. “Evan cut ties with his family just to be with you and to get out of that arranged marriage with Faye. How could he possibly like her?” “Exactly! Every time Faye tried to get near him before, he looked at her with pure disgust. He must think she’s you!” They urged me to go “save” him, insisting that when his memory returned, he’d be mortified, sickened by what he’d done. I just shook my head at their pleas. Because I knew the truth. Evan wouldn’t be mortified. He would drown himself in Faye’s feigned tenderness and never want to wake up. In my last life, I spent a year enduring his insults and humiliation, all to make him remember me. And when he finally did, he got drunk, scrolling through photos of his sweet moments with Faye over and over. Then he looked up at me, his eyes like chips of ice. “Why not just let this mistake be?” I froze, completely lost. “…But you begged me before the surgery. You lost your memory saving my life.” Evan cut me off. “And for that, I haven’t treated you poorly.” His voice was laced with impatience. “Can’t you just… let me go?” I will never forget the searing pain and humiliation of that moment. Now, facing it all again, I would not walk that same path to ruin. I refused my friends’ advice, packed my things, and left the home I had shared with Evan that very night. 3 But fate had other plans. I was with my best friend, running errands. I fell asleep in the car, and when I woke up, she had parked in front of a bar. The moment we walked in, I realized it was the grand opening of a bar owned by Evan’s friend, Samuel. A jolt of clarity shot through me. The script was still playing out. Inside, Evan was the center of attention, Faye nestled in his arm. He didn’t seem surprised to see me at all. A mocking smile touched his lips, just as I knew it would. “Miss Rhea, is it? They tell me you’re the one I saved.” “That’s right,” I nodded. His brow furrowed. “They also said you intended to repay my kindness with… yourself. I didn’t quite believe it at first.” He sneered. “But seeing as you’ve gone to such lengths to track me down here, you can’t blame me for being blunt.” He shot to his feet, looking down at me, the disdain in his eyes undisguised. “Listen closely, Miss Rhea. You don’t have to repay me for saving your life, but you can’t repay my kindness with this kind of twisted obsession!” He bit off each word, his face a mask of frost. “Do I make myself clear?” It was identical to my last life. Even the wounding words were the same, word for word. That day, in my last life, the bar was filled with Evan and Samuel’s friends. Most of them knew about our history. I naively thought they would stand up for me, confirm our relationship. So when Evan ordered his men to throw me out, I fought back, desperately trying to tell the truth. I know I must have looked pathetic and crazed, but I couldn’t bear to see him deceived, couldn’t accept our love ending like this. I held up my phone, begging him to just look at our photos together. He ordered his men to destroy the “fake pictures” with a look of disgust. In the struggle, my collar was torn, exposing my shoulder. Faye let out a tinkling laugh. She turned to Evan, her voice a playful purr. “Evan, darling, what do you mean a ‘twisted obsession’? I think she has a rather nice figure, don’t you?” Evan ignored my cries, pinching Faye’s cheek with faux affection. “You’re asking for it.” The crowd chuckled knowingly at their exchange. Not a single person spoke up for me. Even Samuel, who had secretly given me the invitation, looked away uncomfortably. As I was dragged out the door, Evan was cradling the back of Faye’s neck, lowering his lips for a deep, passionate kiss… I snapped back to the present. Evan was waiting for my response, his patience wearing thin. “Since you don’t seem to understand, let me be perfectly clear. Your offer to ‘repay me with yourself’ is the last thing I want.” His voice was frigid. “You’re not my type. Even before I lost my memory, I wouldn’t have given you a second glance. So stop fantasizing about me.” The bar fell silent. All eyes were on me. Even those who knew our past were eagerly waiting to see the abandoned woman make a fool of herself. But Evan’s condescending, holier-than-thou act no longer hurt me. Instead, it ignited a deep, simmering hatred. I laughed, my tone exaggerated. “So, Mr. Thorne, you’ve spent all this time dramatically warning me off because you thought I was interested in you?” The crowd stilled, ears perked. Evan scoffed. “Don’t play dumb. I know you’ve been contacting my lawyer, trying to dig up information on me.” Faye burst out laughing again, bending over with the force of it. “Oh, Miss Rhea, just how badly do you want my fiancé? You’re certainly persistent.” The people around them joined in with low, mocking chuckles. I shook my head, my own smile laced with weary amusement. “Of course, I have to be persistent.” I slowly reached into my bag and pulled out a single sheet of paper. As I unfolded it, two large words were visible to everyone: I.O.U. “Because if I’m not, your fiancé might just decide to default on the money he owes me!” 4 The IOU in my hand was from three years ago. Back then, Evan had cut ties with his family for me, and they had frozen all his assets. I gave him my entire life savings to start his own company. His eyes had been red as he wrote it out, stroke by stroke. He’d said, “Rhea, I’ll spend my entire life paying back what I owe you.” I no longer wanted his lifetime. But getting my money back was my right. My declaration sent a shockwave through the bar. First, the idea of Evan Thorne, the sole heir to the Thorne fortune, borrowing money from a humble acupuncturist like me was absurd. But then they remembered he’d been cast out by his family, and looks of dawning comprehension spread across their faces. Second, Evan had just finished publicly berating me for harassing him, loudly warning me to love him less, only for it to turn out he was the one in debt. It was all a self-important fantasy. The crowd’s whispers grew louder. “She’s here to collect a debt? Pfft…” “Not a debt of love, a real, monetary debt!” The grins on their faces were becoming impossible to contain. The mob is always like that; they side with whoever has the upper hand. Evan’s face was a thundercloud. He didn’t even look at the paper in my hand. “Hah. Clever little trick. But it won’t work on me. Get out now, before I really lose my temper.” My own face hardened. I held the IOU up high, making sure everyone could see Evan’s distinctive, sharp handwriting. My voice turned sharp, too. “Take a good look at the signature. It even has your thumbprint on it. If your eyes are failing you, I’d be happy to have a professional verify its authenticity.” “And besides this note, I have the bank transfer records from three years ago.” Evan’s eyes flickered as he stared at the familiar script. For a moment, his rigid composure wavered. He pressed his hand to his temple, his brow furrowed in pain. I let out a cold laugh. “See it clearly now? If you do, then you should understand why I was talking to your lawyer. The legal process is complicated. Perhaps your lawyer understands the basic principle of paying one’s debts better than you do.” The other patrons in the bar were now fully invested. “Is he faking a headache to get out of paying?” “Wow, I actually thought she was harassing him. Turns out he’s a deadbeat who’s trying to flip the script.” “Looks like a gentleman, acts like a scumbag!” Evan’s head seemed to hurt even more. His face darkened, his brow knitting tighter. Faye started to panic. She pulled his hand away from his head. “Evan, darling, if you can’t remember, don’t try! Stop torturing yourself.” Then she whirled around, snatched the IOU from my hand, and ripped it to shreds. “If you spout any more nonsense, I’ll make sure you’re sued for slander. The Thorne family has the resources to make it stick!” I raised an eyebrow, unfazed. “Why the rush, Miss Faye? Weren’t you cackling like a hen just a minute ago when you heard I was talking to a lawyer? Is a mere eight hundred thousand really enough to give you a headache and make you fly off the handle?” As I spoke, I pulled a second IOU from my bag. “Look closely. I have plenty more, all identical.” I tucked the paper into the breast pocket of Evan’s suit. “Mr. Big Shot, if you want to skip out on your debt, just say so. I’d at least respect you for being a man about it. Slandering your creditor and accusing her of being blindly in love with you is just pathetic.” “You have three days. If I don’t see the money, don’t blame me for what happens next. A person with nothing to lose has no fear of a man in expensive shoes.” 5 The scene that day was ugly. The host, Samuel, finally rushed out, pretending he’d just finished with some urgent business, and tried to smooth things over. I didn’t wait for him to speak. I snatched the invitation from my friend’s hand and threw it in his face. “Samuel, if you’re man enough to covet another man’s fiancée, you should be man enough to fight for her yourself instead of starting wars for others and hiding in the shadows like a coward, waiting to pick up the scraps.” Samuel’s face turned a sickly shade of green. “Ooh, spicy! Does the owner have a thing for the deadbeat’s fiancée?” “That deadbeat’s a pretty good actor, though. Look at the sweat on his forehead.” Humiliated, Samuel started trying to clear the bar, ushering guests out. The room was in chaos. I turned and walked out of the bar without a backward glance. Behind me, Evan’s gaze was fixed on my back, as if held there by some powerful, unseen force. His eyes burned not just with anger, but with a deep, churning confusion and unease. 6 I heard Evan got sick. He collapsed right after leaving Samuel’s bar. He was plagued by headaches for days. As soon as he felt slightly better, he ordered his people to verify the eight-hundred-thousand-dollar debt. In a panic, Faye brought him to a traditional medicine clinic for acupuncture. Her request was simple: relax Evan’s mind, stop him from thinking about the past. In other words, don’t let him regain his memory. As luck would have it, the renowned specialist was my mentor, Dr. Adler. The day they came, I was at her clinic for physical therapy. We were separated by a thin curtain. They waited outside while I received treatment. Dr. Adler stimulated my fingers with the needles, her voice full of concern. “How could you try to bend a sharp steel plate with your bare hands? The tendons in these fingers were nearly severed. Even after therapy, you may never be able to hold a needle properly again.” I managed a bitter smile but said nothing. In this life, when the accident happened, I didn’t have my memories from the last one. When I saw Evan, pinned by a steel plate and barely breathing after saving me, how could I have done nothing? I had gone mad, clawing at that plate, my hands a bloody mess, feeling no pain at all. Evan had cried, weakly trying to pry my fingers away. “Rhea, let go! Your hands… how will you ever hold a needle again if you ruin them?” His blood dripped down, blurring his face. “Please, Rhea, let go. I only ask one thing of you. If… if my brain gets scrambled, promise me you’ll find a way to make me remember… that I love you!” The fine silver needles pricked my fingers, one by one. I remained silent as my eyes began to burn. Dr. Adler administered the last needle with a heavy heart. “What a tragedy. If these hands can’t hold a needle, your career is over.” She shook her head and walked out. Evan was settled onto the treatment bed next to mine. Faye chattered away. “Doctor, was the patient next door also in a car accident?” “She was rescuing her boyfriend from a car crash,” my mentor replied. “Truck drivers these days are the worst,” Faye complained. “If that driver hadn’t been driving fatigued, my fiancé wouldn’t have been in this mess.” She sighed dramatically. “Well, I guess you can’t blame him entirely. There was that other driver, the woman. So stupid, such a terrible driver. If he hadn’t shielded her, this never would have happened.” Her voice took on a tinge of grievance. “Evan, darling, if you could do it all over again, would you still forget me just to save that idiot?” Evan was silent for a long time. Then his voice came, low and firm. “No.” Faye was delighted, planting a loud kiss on his cheek. “Of course not! It was all trouble and no reward. Now we can’t even get rid of her.” Evan said nothing more. Dr. Adler came over to begin his treatment. “Just the head needs acupuncture, correct?” “That’s right. Only his head was seriously injured. We were lucky. He was pinned across the chest, but my fiancé is blessed. That sharp steel plate only broke a few bones.” “The doctors said several ribs were fractured. It barely missed his organs.” … Dr. Adler was quiet for a long moment. She seemed to be looking at their registration form. A moment later, Faye’s voice turned shrill. “Doctor, why are your hands shaking? How can you perform acupuncture like that?” My mentor’s tone was sharp. “If you don’t trust me, you can request a refund. I’m not the right person to treat your fiancé’s condition.” “How dare you! Why you…” Faye was about to argue further, but it seemed Evan stopped her. The voices outside fell silent. After a moment of quiet, there was a sharp swish. The curtain by my bed was ripped open. 7 Evan stood beside my bed, his eyes blazing with fury. “You really are relentless, aren’t you?” “Going to all the trouble of bribing a doctor to stage this little drama for me. Tell me, what will it take to finally get rid of you?” He finished, his gaze falling on my hands, which were bristling with silver needles. He let out a choked laugh. “You really commit to the part, don’t you? You’re certainly not afraid to hurt yourself.” Without warning, he lunged forward and grabbed my wrist. “Today, I’m going to see for myself which of your tendons are ‘severed’!” “Don’t!” Faye shrieked. Too late. The grotesque scars on the inside of my fingers were laid bare for Evan to see. Four fingers, marked with deep scars of varying sizes—all from keeping that steel plate from piercing his chest. Evan froze. Panic flared in his eyes before he snatched my other hand. The same. Four fingers, each one scarred. He looked dazed, a wave of uncontrollable terror washing over him. “This is impossible! Impossible!” He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Seeing him press his temples again, Faye had a flash of inspiration. “Evan, darling, he saved you! Isn’t it only right that she helped hold the plate for a second?” “Calm down. Her old tactics of clinging to you didn’t work, so now she’s trying to play the victim. You can’t feel sorry for her.” Just like last time, Faye’s words were the lifeline Evan desperately needed. In my last life, I had humbly used the scars on my hands to prove our love. Evan had been moved at first. I thought that small flicker of emotion would be enough to make him investigate the truth. I was wrong. Perhaps he was too cowardly to seek the truth, or too arrogant to bother. In any case, Faye’s explanation gave him the perfect excuse to run. He deliberately chose to hurt me. “So what if it’s true? I trust my own feelings. Even without my memory, my heart tells me who I love.” He had touched his chest, his smile cruel. “And right here,” he’d said, “I feel nothing for you.” I had cried with such despair that day. I tried to tell myself to give up, but the memory of Evan, his face covered in blood, wouldn’t let me go. The good Evan and the bad Evan tore me apart until I was on the verge of a breakdown. But this time, facing his attitude, my heart was a placid lake. After hearing Faye’s words, the confusion in Evan’s eyes dissipated. He was saved, free to take the easy way out. His brow relaxed; the headache seemed to vanish. But his attitude toward me had shifted slightly. His tone softened, and he avoided looking at my hands. “If you were trying to guilt-trip me, you’ve succeeded.” “Name your price. Anything but my affection, I can give you.” I burst out laughing. I leaned back against the headboard, looking him up and down with open contempt. “Guilt-trip you? Let me tell you something, I wouldn’t stand by and watch a stray dog suffer, let alone a human life, no matter how worthless. And ‘anything I can give’? That’s a big promise. How about you pay back the eight hundred thousand before you start making grand declarations?” Evan’s face flushed a deep red. He opened his mouth to argue but was speechless. Just then, Dr. Adler came to remove my needles. She did one hand, and I did the other myself. As my fingertips closed around a silver needle, Evan flinched back, a conditioned reflex making him hide his hands behind his back. When he realized what he’d done, he froze, his breathing growing ragged. I watched him, a wicked smile playing on my lips as I slowly, deliberately, pulled the needles from my hand, one by one. With each needle, the color drained further from his face. The body’s instincts don’t lie. Three years ago, when I used to practice on him, he developed a fear of my needles. Whenever I held one, he’d hide his hands. Now, he stared at my movements, his expression shifting from shock to pure panic. He grabbed Faye’s hand, his voice fragmented and broken. “We need to… go home. Now.”

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9:00 PM. My husband, his hands slick with oil, was carefully shredding the chicken he’d slow-cooked for me for four hours. His phone rang. I picked it up and put it on speaker for him. “…Professor?” A timid female voice came through the receiver. My heart seized. 1 I held the phone for my husband, Lucas, in silence. “What is it?” he answered coolly, not forgetting to tear off a few of the tenderest strips of chicken and offer them to my lips. “Is our meeting still at the same time tomorrow, in your office?” “…Yes.” Perhaps finding her too long-winded, Lucas impatiently took off his gloves, grabbed the phone, and switched off the speaker. His brow furrowed. “Don’t contact me after work hours again. My personal time is for my family.” After hanging up, he put his arm around me and led me back to the dining room. I watched him arrange the food on the plates, unable to stop myself from asking, “Who was that?” He seemed thoroughly annoyed by the call. “A new assistant at the office. Fresh graduate, still learning the ropes.” I nodded and said no more. … There were two unwritten rules at his company. One: No one was to disturb Lucas after work. Two: No one was to call Lucas “Professor.” These unspoken rules had been passed down for so long that no one dared to break them. Until today. Both were broken by the same person. I lowered my gaze, staring blankly at the thin film of oil on the surface of my chicken soup. 2 In our four years of marriage, Lucas had never been anything but attentive to me. Even if I just needed a tissue, he was there in a second, always putting me first. The rule about not contacting him after hours was because he wanted to be with me. For the past two years, his company had been focused on a major urban renewal project. I was worried about distracting him, so I often insisted we work in separate rooms. He’d be in his study, and I’d be in the bedroom with a book. Usually, it wouldn’t be more than twenty minutes before he’d gently push the door open and lean against the frame, looking at me with a pitiful expression. “Kayla, I haven’t seen you all day. Are you really going to make me stay in there all by myself?” Last year, on his birthday, I went to his office to surprise him. On the way, I swerved to avoid a drunk driver and ended up in a frozen river. Lucas went mad, pushing through the crowd and jumping into the water to find me. His hands were torn to shreds by the ice as he searched for over two hours in the sub-zero water. I had already been rescued and taken to the hospital, but he ended up in the ICU for three days with hypothermia and developed chronic joint pain from it. There were countless stories like this, too many to tell. Because of all this, I had never once doubted Lucas’s love for Kayla. For thousands of days and nights, he had been true to his wedding vows: to love me as he did at the beginning, to love me to the bone. Which is why even the smallest deviation now set off alarm bells. What was strange about that phone call wasn’t her gender or her tone. It was the word “Professor.” That was the one title Lucas despised. He never allowed anyone to call him that. Not even me. 3 When we were in graduate school, despite Lucas having the top academic record in our department, he was passed over for national awards. His spot for the doctoral program was given to someone else. Even his mentor, who had promised him a teaching position, went back on his word. He had spent all his free time running data for his department, only to end up with nothing. Lucas said none of that mattered. The hardest part, he said, was graduating after more than a decade of study and not even having enough money to bury his parents together. Back then, I gave him my spot for a university teaching position. Later, when his research paper was stolen by a senior colleague, when he was denied a promotion, when he was drinking himself sick day and night trying to land a project, I stepped in and got him a job at my uncle’s company. He fought his way to the top, to the position he holds today. I will always remember the look on his face when he talked about how much he hated the word “Professor.” It was a symbol of all his humiliation, his failures, his exploitation. So, no matter how close we were, I never called him that. But the woman on the phone just now had said it so naturally. And Lucas’s response had been so casual. It was as if he didn’t care anymore… or maybe, he only made an exception for certain people. It made my fierce protectiveness of him seem like a fool’s errand, a one-sided joke. 4 Doubt began to fester, and I decided to go to his office. The most corrosive thing in a marriage is baseless suspicion, and I didn’t want to plant a seed of doubt in our happy life. I had only been there a few times, so the receptionist didn’t recognize me. I called Lucas’s secretary, Mark. Mark rushed down with two other employees to greet me. “Mrs. Thorne, why didn’t you let me know you were coming? I would have come down to get you.” He took the dessert box from my hands and held the elevator door for me. I laughed. “Do I need to file a report with you just to pop by the office?” “Of course not, Mrs. Thorne! You’re joking.” The three of them, laden with my things, escorted me past the general administrative office. The door was ajar. It was afternoon tea time, and the sound of cheerful chatter drifted out. I slowed my steps, feigning a casual interest in Lucas’s new assistant. “Has the training for the new hires started yet?” “It began last month.” “How many assistants did you hire?” Mark thought for a moment. “Just one, a woman. Graduated from H University, very capable. Mr. Thorne’s plan is to train her and eventually move her into the secretarial pool.” I lowered my eyes, my mind racing. This matched what Lucas had told me perfectly. Was she really the one? 5 The door behind me suddenly opened, and a group of bright, young women came out, surrounding one in the middle. “Chloe, you’re so lucky! I can’t believe Mr. Thorne didn’t dock your pay.” “I know, right? You have no idea how scared we were that day.” “I was so freaked out I skipped lunch. Now I’m suddenly craving hot pot.” “Hehe… me too!” The slightly younger face in the center blushed, speaking in a coy tone. “Oh, you guys, please, spare me…” Her voice died when she saw me. The women who knew me immediately flocked to my side. “Kayla! What are you doing here?” I smiled and had Mark distribute the desserts to the surrounding colleagues, then led the chattering flock to the break room. The one unfamiliar face stood by the door, hesitant to approach. I beckoned to her. “I’m Kayla Thorne. You must be the new assistant, right?” I handed her a matcha pandan roll. “How are you settling in?” She pursed her lips and took a few quiet steps closer. I kept my smile warm and inviting. Perhaps it was the relaxed atmosphere, or perhaps the dessert was to her liking, but the young woman soon opened up. “Everything’s been great…” she said, her head slightly bowed. “It’s just… I’m still in that student mindset, calling everyone ‘Professor.’ Last month… I slipped up and called Mr. Thorne that. He was furious.” Her eyes welled up, her voice choked. “I really thought I was going to be fired… I’ve been so scared of running into him in the elevator that I’ve been taking the stairs to the 32nd floor every day…” 6 The atmosphere froze. The women exchanged glances, stealing peeks at my expression. I was silent for a few seconds, then stood up and bent down to meet the new assistant’s eyes. “Let me apologize on Lucas’s behalf, okay?” Her eyes widened, and a tear rolled down her cheek. I could imagine Lucas’s anger. He had a reputation for being cold and distant at the office, and she had crossed a major line. How could a fresh graduate handle that? “It’s not your fault if you didn’t know. Lucas won’t hold it against you,” I said, gently stroking her hair with a smile. “I used to take the stairs all the time when I worked here. It was great for losing weight.” The others chimed in. “No wonder you’ve gotten so thin, Chloe!” “I’m starting tomorrow!” The HR manager, whom I knew best, put an arm around her shoulder and winked. “You don’t know, do you? Mr. Thorne is famous for how much he adores Kayla. With her in your corner, you have nothing to worry about.” … I knew in my heart: Chloe wasn’t the one who had called. If she had made that mistake, she would have been gone long ago. Besides, Lucas’s calm demeanor on the phone was nothing like the rage Chloe described. Lucas was a surprisingly good liar. A sense of foreboding washed over me. My intuition told me his relationship with the caller was not so simple… My eyes scanned the room. Several of his most trusted female executives were here. Could it be one of them? 7 “Oh!” A woman near the coffee machine accidentally knocked over a cup. Dark brown liquid streamed down the white cabinet door. “I’ll go get the cleaner.” Soon, a woman in a uniform entered. Her head was bowed low. She didn’t look at anyone as she came in, silently mopped the floor, and then crouched down to meticulously wipe away the remaining stains. After she left, the chatter started up again. “Hey, how did you get her to come?” “I just happened to see her by the elevator and brought her over.” “That’s weird. Last time I asked her to wipe down a cabinet, she didn’t even look up and just said it wasn’t her job.” “But I see her on this floor all the time. If it’s not her job, what is she doing here?” I swirled the cup in my hand, my face impassive, but my heart was sinking. This woman… I knew her. I just never expected to see her here again. 8 Her name was Ivy. Lucas had hired her to clean our home. He said she was a neighbor who had helped him when he was a child. Her family was poor, and she had developed a chronic illness after giving birth that prevented her from doing heavy labor. He thought giving her some light work at our house would help her make ends meet. I readily agreed. Someone had to do the work; why not do a favor for a friend? There was nothing special about Ivy. She was plain, small, and dressed simply, her hair always pulled back in a low ponytail. She was like a blank wall, unremarkable, easy to overlook. She didn’t call me “Mrs. Thorne” like everyone else. Instead, she uniquely called me “Miss Kayla.” What was strange was Lucas’s attitude toward her. He was usually home after she had already left. On the rare occasions they crossed paths, Lucas would act as if he didn’t see her, his expression cold. Ivy would keep her head down, silent, exposing a smooth, white, and fragile-looking nape. Once, as she was crouching to wipe the floor, I caught a glimpse of several faint, brownish scars beneath the half-open collar of her shirt. 9 That night, lying in Lucas’s arms, I broached the subject carefully. “Are you and Ivy not on good terms?” He was silent for a moment, then answered with a question. “Why do you ask? Was she rude to you?” I laughed at his overreaction. “Why so defensive? Isn’t she your neighbor? Why does she look like she’s afraid to even look up at you?” His expression was flat, his fingers toying with a strand of my hair. “We haven’t been in touch for a long time. Besides, seeing her just reminds me of the past. It’s… unpleasant.” I tilted my head to look at him. “But you said she helped you when you were a kid.” “Back then,” he said with a hint of a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “she was only a few years older than me. How much could she really help? It was all just trivial, depressing stuff.” I knew he had suffered a lot as a child, often going days without a proper meal. He had been so small in junior high that he was shorter than a fifth-grader. My heart ached for him. “If it makes you uncomfortable, we can find her another job.” “Hah,” he scoffed. “What else can she do besides sweep floors?” He snuggled closer, his voice muffled against my neck. “Kayla, why do you keep bringing her up? I missed you so much…” I smiled and soothed him. Later, I noticed that Ivy would often clean the master bedroom without permission. Lucas was very territorial, and he always took care of the master bedroom himself. I mentioned it to her twice, and she quietly agreed to stop. But every time I returned from a business trip, I would find subtle changes—the creases in the sheets, the angle of the rug, even the arrangement of things in the walk-in closet. At the same time, the housekeeper privately told me she thought Ivy was pregnant. I was planning to arrange for her to take maternity leave. Before I could bring it up, Lucas fired her. When I asked why, his face was a cold, emotionless mask. “Why keep someone who doesn’t know her place?” “I sent her somewhere else.” So, he had sent her to work at his company. 10 Because of my surprise visit, Lucas left work an hour early, saying he wanted to take me to a new fusion restaurant in the suburbs. I leaned against the car window, watching the shadowy trees recede in a blur. I could feel his intense gaze on my back. I changed my expression and turned to look at him. He took my hand and kissed it gently. “How was your visit to the office today?” “It was nice. The people in the admin office are as friendly as ever.” He grinned. “That depends on who they’re talking to. Who would dare to neglect the boss’s wife?” “The new assistant is still young. Don’t be so hard on her all the time.” He sighed in mock exasperation. “Alright, alright. I’m just paying a bunch of divas. You’re so gentle. If you come by more often, you’ll just make me look like an even bigger tyrant.” I lowered my head and smiled, then paused before speaking again. “I… saw Ivy today.” Lucas glanced in the rearview mirror, his expression unchanged as he grunted in acknowledgment. “Did she contact you?” I turned to look at him. “A while ago,” he said, his tone flat as he steered with one hand. “Said she got scammed out of her money and couldn’t make ends meet.” The car turned a corner. He added, “I remembered you telling me to be more lenient with her, so I had Mark find her an easy job.” I felt a twinge of concern. “Does she still… affect your mood?” He didn’t answer. He stopped at a red light and turned to look at me quietly. The soft glow of dusk streamed through the windshield, bathing his handsome face in a mixture of light and shadow. He lowered his head and gently stroked the simple band on my ring finger. Then he looked up, his gaze full of a profound devotion, as if in all of time and space, he could only see me. Then he said, “As long as you’re here, it doesn’t hurt.”

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When I found out the villain was a merman who cried pearls, I fished the pregnancy test I’d thrown out of the trash. Then I went to the roof. “So, uh, how many do you mermen have at once? And do they eat fish food or formula?” Justin, who had been in the middle of a dramatic suicide attempt, slipped and nearly plummeted from the eighteenth floor. I shook my head and sighed. “You know what? Never mind. I’ll just throw it in the ocean after it’s born.” Later, after the baby was born, Justin didn’t even dare to sleep, terrified I’d take our child and release it into the wild. When the heroine, fighting with the hero, showed up at our door, he was in the middle of roaring at our eldest son over his swim meet results. “You’re a merman! How can you be afraid of water?!” 1 I knew Justin was the main villain of this world, and I was the wife his grandfather had found for him before he died. My mission was supposed to be to save him. But I was slacking off. Not only did I not save him, but I also doubled down on spending his money and taking over his bed. The System, watching his “darkness value” remain stubbornly unchanged, had given up. The last time it appeared, it had left me with a cold parting shot: “When the villain dies, I’ll come get you.” I’d been waiting for over half a year. Today was an auspicious day. The old almanac clearly stated: Favorable for Burials. When Justin, his heart shattered by the heroine, Emily, dragged himself to the rooftop, I was already decked out in all the jewels from his safe, eagerly awaiting the System’s arrival. But when the System finally materialized, its first words were, “Host, why are you wearing the villain’s tears?” “What?” I looked down in shock at the priceless pearl necklace around my neck. “Justin is a merman. Those pearls are his tears,” the System intoned mournfully. A merman? A merman who cries pearls? My entire worldview crumbled. This wasn’t a villain; this was a walking, talking gold mine! This necklace had been hidden in a secret compartment in his study. I’d assumed it was a birthday gift for Emily. But her birthday party had come and gone, and the gift remained undelivered. So, one dark and stormy night, I’d helped myself… I remembered when Justin saw me wearing it, he’d looked at me with a complicated expression and asked, “You like this?” I had rolled my eyes. “Duh. Who’s going to argue with money?” I’d had it appraised. It was worth one hundred and twenty million. Now that I thought about it, his expression had clearly been saying: So, you like my tears? “System! I think he can still be saved!” I ripped off the necklace, dug the pregnancy test out of the trash, and sprinted for the roof. At that moment, Justin had already climbed over the railing, half his body dangling eighteen stories up. “Wait!” I held up the pregnancy test, panting. “So, uh, how many do you mermen have at once? And do they eat fish food or formula?” His foot slipped, and he nearly fell. He clung to the railing, his body hanging in the open air. “What… what did you say?” “Don’t want to take responsibility?” I was a little disappointed. How had telling him made him want to die faster? “Fine then. I’ll just throw it back in the ocean when it’s born…” It was just a one-time accident when he’d been drugged, anyway. He probably didn’t even remember. Before I could finish, a dark figure vaulted back over the railing and pinned me against the wall. “You dare!” A tidal wave of fury churned in his eyes. I secretly smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. Excellent. The gold mine was secure. After Justin came back from the roof, he wasn’t himself. He settled me in the bedroom, then immediately locked himself in the study. I pressed my ear to the door and heard a frantic conversation. “…Calcium supplements during pregnancy… seaweed… wait, doctor, are you saying a human carrying a merman baby needs to soak in seawater every day?” His voice suddenly rose. “But she’s pregnant!” I was trying so hard not to laugh my stomach hurt. Who would have thought that the dark, ruthless villain would be on the phone, frantically consulting an obstetrician, his voice trembling? When the study door suddenly opened, I nearly fell into his arms. Justin quickly caught me by the waist, the heat of his palm searing through my clothes. He looked down at me, his gaze falling to my flat stomach, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You…” “I’m hungry,” I interrupted him, my tone righteous. “I want your homemade seafood congee.” Soon, the clattering of pots and pans came from the kitchen. The butler stood at the doorway, hesitating. 2 “Sir nearly burned down the kitchen the last time he cooked,” he said. “Oh,” I replied. “It’s fine. He’s rich.” If he burns it down, we’ll just move. The butler was speechless. An hour later, Justin emerged with a soot-streaked face, carrying the finished product. It looked… okay. Probably not poisonous. Just as I was about to take a spoonful, he pressed a hand on mine. “Wait.” He carefully picked out all the tiny shell fragments, tested the temperature, and then handed the spoon back. I deliberately frowned. “It’s too bland.” He reached for the salt, but his hand froze mid-air. He turned, opened his tablet, and began earnestly searching for the recommended daily sodium intake for pregnant women. I was… speechless. And so began my life of being pampered like an empress. In the morning, there was fresh-squeezed orange juice made by the villain himself. When I bathed, he treated me like a fragile piece of porcelain. Even when I kicked him awake in the middle of the night with a leg cramp, he would gently massage it for me. One morning, I woke up groggily to find him measuring my waist with a soft tape measure, his expression as serious as if he were disarming a bomb. “It’s only been a month. What can you even tell?” I teased him. The tips of his ears turned red, but he insisted on recording the data in his phone’s memo app, under the title: Merman Cub Observation Diary. The best part was last week, when a business partner came to the office to see him. When security called for permission, Justin was on one knee, tying my shoelaces. “Don’t bother me with things like this in the future,” he said coldly into the phone. “My wife is napping.” After hanging up, he even tucked the blanket around me. Right now, I was lounging on a rocking chair on the terrace, watching Justin build a swing set in the garden. The sunlight tinged the ends of his hair an amber gold. The scene was almost… sweet. Suddenly, a notification from the System popped up:【Warning! Villain’s darkness value has dropped to 90%.】 【Host…】 its voice was laced with confusion.【Are you sure this is the way to save him?】 I smiled, my hand stroking the pearl necklace at my throat. “At least he doesn’t want to die anymore, right?” Justin finished the swing set. I wiggled my toes. “Honey, my leg is cramping.” He wiped his hands clean, knelt on one knee, and began to massage my leg. System:【Nice!】 “Honey, I want a pink pearl.” A while ago, I had seen a pink pearl at an auction. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, the hero, Leo, had bought it to appease Emily. “Cry for me,” I said, casually picking up a bowl of grapes and holding it under his chin. Justin froze. He looked up, his deep-set, ocean-like eyes filled with disbelief. “…The color of the pearl depends on the merman’s emotions.” “I don’t care,” I said, stroking my stomach. “If you don’t cry, I’m releasing all your cubs into the wild.” His expression changed instantly. Three minutes later, I was staring, dumbfounded, as the formidable villain, feared by all, sat there with red-rimmed eyes, dropping pearls one by one. The pale pink pearls clattered into the bowl with a delightful sound. The System chimed:【Villain’s darkness value has dropped to 85%.】 I gleefully collected the pearls. This mission was too easy. At this rate, I was going to turn Justin into a simple-minded, pearl-crying merman. But just as I thought victory was in my grasp, Emily arrived. She was wearing a simple white dress, her eyes red, standing at the gate of our villa like a rain-beaten white rose. “Justin, please, you have to save my father…” her voice was choked with sobs. “He’s been taken. You’re the only one who can find him…” I stood in the doorway, a cold smile on my face. “Go find Leo.” Emily bit her lip, the tears falling faster. “He doesn’t have those kinds of connections…” 3 I paused, then it hit me. Right. The hero was always the sunny, righteous CEO, while the villain was… dark, shadowy, and ruthless. So, when the world needed dirty work done, the first person the heroine thought of was always the one with blood on his hands—Justin. I glanced back at him, standing on the landing of the stairs. He was just standing there, his expression unreadable, still holding the slipper I had just kicked off. A sudden wave of anger washed over me. “You’re not going!” Emily bit her lip, her tears threatening to fall. “If Sophia says no, then… I guess that’s it.” She turned, the hem of her dress creating a pitiful arc. Just as she was about to leave, Justin spoke. “Wait.” I watched as he knelt down, gently put the slipper back on my foot, and even adjusted its position. And then! That bastard actually stood up and followed Emily out the door! “Justin!” I threw my other slipper at the back of his head. “If you go, don’t come back!” The slipper hit its mark with a satisfying thwack. He paused for a second, didn’t turn around, just rubbed the spot where he’d been hit, and kept walking. I was so mad I almost threw the other one. … At three in the morning, I checked my phone for the 28th time. The screen was still black. Suddenly, the System beeped:【Warning! Villain’s darkness value has increased by 12%. Current value: 97%.】 “What?!” I shot up, nearly throwing out my back. “I’ve been sitting on his eggs like a mother hen, working my ass off to get rid of 15% of his darkness, and he goes out with the heroine for one night and gains 12 points back?” The System added quietly, “To be precise, it was 4 hours and 38 minutes.” “What? Did Emily use him as ransom for the kidnappers?” I stroked my stomach, a cold smile on my face. A car engine rumbled outside. I rushed to the window and saw Justin’s Maybach pulling into the courtyard, its headlights cutting two hazy beams through the rain. What made me even angrier was that when he got out, he was carrying something. The box clearly had the logo of The Sea’s Pearl on it—that ridiculously expensive seafood restaurant that Emily loved. “Very good,” I gritted out to the System. “Get me the ‘false miscarriage’ prop. Now!” The System’s code nearly scrambled in panic:【Ho-ho-host, calm down! Merman cubs are very resilient. That prop costs 5,000 points…】 “Do I look like I care about points?” The reason I was slacking off in this world was because the points I’d earned from previous missions were more than enough for me to retire. … When Justin gently pushed open the bedroom door, he found me curled up on the bed, my face pale, clutching my stomach. “Sophia?” The food container in his hand clattered to the floor, salmon sashimi scattering everywhere. I weakly looked up and saw a clear handprint on his left cheek. Justin’s hands trembled as he scooped me up. The car sped through the streets, straight to the hospital. I lay on the hospital bed, deliberately turning my back to him, listening to his ragged breathing as he spoke with the doctor. “Signs of a threatened miscarriage. She needs absolute bed rest,” the doctor said sternly. “And most importantly, she needs to remain calm.” Justin’s voice was hoarse. “She… and the baby…” “They’re stable for now, but any more stress, and it’s hard to say.” “Young Master… a human body is not ideal for carrying merman offspring. The first three months are especially dangerous. If this continues, I’m afraid the child…” The sound of the hospital room door closing. Then a dull thud, like knees hitting the floor hard. 4 “I’m sorry…” His trembling voice was close to my ear. “I shouldn’t have…” I secretly perked up my ears, waiting for the rest. “I shouldn’t have left you at home alone…” His fingers gently touched my shoulder. I whipped around, nearly bumping his nose. “I’m very angry right now! Get out!” The System had just informed me that Emily’s father had a two-million-dollar gambling debt. She didn’t want to borrow money from the hero to bail him out, so she thought she’d get Justin to do it for free. When she got there, she found out the kidnappers were Justin’s old underlings, who had been kicked out of his organization for misconduct. But Emily didn’t believe it. She thought Justin had set the whole thing up. That’s why she slapped him. Justin looked like he’d been hit by a truck. He opened his mouth, speechless, then suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, so tight I could barely breathe. “Let go! You’re squishing the baby!” I pounded his back. He sprang back as if he’d been electrocuted, his hands hovering over my stomach, his eyes full of fear. “Sophia… don’t be angry… I bought you salmon.” I was confused. “…?” Wasn’t that for Emily? “You said you wanted salmon sashimi the other night,” he explained quietly. “I wrote it in my memo.” I was speechless. “…” “So…” Justin suddenly knelt by the bed, gently taking my hand. “Can you forgive me?” I looked at his red-rimmed eyes and had a sudden idea. “Cry me a purple pearl, and I’ll forgive you.” Justin was speechless. “…” Three minutes later, I was sitting up in bed, happily counting the purple pearls in my hand, listening to the System’s notification:【Villain’s darkness value has dropped to 70%.】 I stayed in the hospital for three days and discovered a shocking secret. The doctor who did my ultrasound was a clownfish merman from the sea! I secretly observed him for a long time. When he bent down to record some data, I whispered, “Can you cry pearls?” The doctor’s hand jerked, nearly dropping his pen. He awkwardly pushed up his glasses. “Young Madam, not all mermen can produce pearls…” I sighed in disappointment and turned to look at Justin, who was peeling an apple beside me. “So, you’re a rare breed?” I asked mournfully. The fruit knife in Justin’s hand paused. He wordlessly handed me a slice of apple. “Just eat.” I pouted. So, mermen who could cry pearls really were treasures. During this time, Emily called no less than ten times. The first time the phone rang, Justin was peeling grapes for me. The screen lit up, and he glanced at it, his fingers stiffening slightly. I narrowed my eyes. “Answer it.” Justin silently rejected the call. I said, “Cry.” Justin was speechless. “…” Five minutes later, I happily accepted a pale purple pearl. The second time the phone rang, Justin was massaging my calves. The vibration of the phone made him pause. I lazily lifted an eyelid. “Answer it.” Justin emotionlessly hung up. I said, “Cry.” Justin took a deep breath, his eyes turning red. Plink! Another pearl. 5 By the third and fourth time… Justin had developed a conditioned reflex. The moment his phone rang, his eyes would start to redden. Before I could even speak, tears would be welling up. I laughed so hard I slapped the bed. “Justin, are you a crybaby?” Justin’s face was dark. He switched his phone to silent and gritted out, “Sophia, don’t push it.” I blinked innocently. “What did I do? I didn’t say anything.” He was so angry he went to the balcony for some air. But not two minutes later, he came back, placed a pearl in my palm, and whispered, “…Don’t be angry.” I was confused. “…?” The System was wheezing with laughter in my head:【Host, you’ve domesticated the villain into an automatic pearl-producing machine!】 The day I was discharged, I left with a sack full of pearls, happily planning to make a pearl curtain for my home. Justin carried my luggage with one hand and supported me with the other, terrified I would trip. Just as we reached the hospital entrance, Emily rushed out from the side, her eyes red, and blocked our path. “Justin! I need to talk to you!” Almost reflexively, Justin’s eyes reddened, instantly filling with tears. Emily was speechless. “…???” I was trying so hard not to laugh my stomach hurt. I quickly took Justin’s arm and said sweetly, “Miss Emily, is something wrong?” Emily opened her mouth, seemingly at a loss for words at Justin’s reaction. It took her a long moment to finally stammer out, “I’m sorry… I misunderstood you. About my father…” “No need,” Justin cut her off coldly. He pulled me quickly toward the car, as if afraid he’d start crying again if he stayed any longer. I turned back and waved to Emily, a cheerful smile on my face. “Miss Emily, if you need anything in the future, just go to Leo. My Justin is very busy.” Busy crying pearls, I added silently. In the car, Justin fastened my seatbelt with a dark expression. I poked his cheek. “What’s wrong? Unhappy?” He was silent for a moment, then whispered, “Sophia, do you only like my pearls?” I paused, then burst out laughing. “Of course. What else?” The light in Justin’s eyes instantly dimmed. I leaned in close, whispering in his ear, “But… more than the pearls, I like the way you look when you cry.” Justin was speechless. “…” The next second, he grabbed the back of my head and kissed me fiercely. System:【Ding—Villain’s darkness value has dropped to 55%! Host, victory is in sight!】 I was dizzy from his kiss. I suddenly remembered something and pushed against his chest, creating a small space between us. “What about you? Do you only like the baby in my belly?” The tips of Justin’s ears instantly turned red. He couldn’t meet my gaze. “…Mermen are absolutely loyal to their mates.” “Oh?” I narrowed my eyes. “Then on the roof that day…” “I was clearing my head,” he cut in quickly, his long lashes lowered, casting a shadow on his cheeks. “…And wondering if you only agreed to marry me for my money.” … I had never seen Justin’s tail. Ever since I found out he was a merman, I’d been dying to see his legendary, priceless blue tail. But every time I brought it up, his ears would turn red, and he would quickly change the subject. “Justin~” I draped myself over his back, my fingers twirling the ends of his hair. “Let me see your tail.” His body stiffened. He tried to act calm as he turned a page of a document. “…There’s nothing to see.” “How can there be nothing to see?” I whispered in his ear. “I heard a merman’s tail is smooth and shiny, like a jewel…” Snap! The pen in his hand broke in two. I was speechless. “…” The System was rolling with laughter in my head:【Host, you’ve aroused him into a stress response!】 I pouted. If being nice didn’t work, it was time to be firm! So that night, while Justin was in the shower, I snuck into the bathroom. The room was filled with steam, and the surface of the water in the bathtub rippled. I tiptoed closer and then ripped open the shower curtain. A magnificent, iridescent blue tail was gently swishing in the water. I held my breath.

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At the gala, I mistakenly drank a glass of wine that had been… enhanced. My body burned with an agonizing heat, and my first instinct was to find Lord Kaelen, my childhood friend. But then, strange, glowing text flickered into my vision. 【Oh, sweetie, you’re making a huge mistake! You might get your relief tonight, but tomorrow you’ll face the toxic hero’s wrath. He’ll be forced to marry you, then blame you for driving away the female lead. On your wedding night, he’ll have a beggar take his place…】 【Don’t be an idiot! Go to your cousin next door, the ice prince! He has a secret room with a thousand portraits of you, in every conceivable pose!】 【Some people deserve to lose her. Acts all high and mighty around her during the day, then when his ‘fever’ hits at night, he’s crying her name. Pathetic!】 My hand trembling, I knocked on the door of my cousin—the man known for his untouchable grace and cold self-control. 1 Thirsty. My throat was a desert, my eyes stinging with tears I couldn’t shed. It wasn’t water I craved. It was the cool touch of someone’s skin to quench the fire raging beneath my own. The wine was spiked. My vision swam, faces blurring together across the grand ballroom. Who did this? Who wanted to see me humiliated, my reputation shattered in a single night? I bit my lip, hard, the sharp sting of pain a fragile anchor to my fading sanity. I stumbled out of the hall, desperate to find Kaelen, the young lord who had escorted me to the gala. There, in the moonlight, behind a trellis of climbing roses, he stood with another woman. Before I could call out his name, my voice a desperate, trembling plea, the strange text flashed before my eyes again. A chill, colder than any winter night, washed over me, momentarily eclipsing the feverish heat. I recognized the woman with Kaelen. It was Seraphina, the Duke’s daughter, a celebrated scholar famed throughout the kingdom for her beauty and wit. The “female lead” the comments mentioned. Kaelen’s untouchable goddess. “My lord,” she said, her voice a soft melody on the cool night air, which had cleared my head just enough to hear his reply. “Shouldn’t you be with Lady Elara?” His voice was a careless drawl, laced with an irritation that cut me to the bone. “Elara?” he scoffed. “She’s nothing but a pretty face, an empty-headed doll who’s been clinging to me for years, chasing away any other woman who dares to come near. I’m sick of it.” “She still hopes that the alliance between our families means you’ll marry her. How could I possibly marry someone like that?” Seraphina offered a small, elegant smile. “Then what kind of woman would you wish to marry, my lord?” Kaelen’s usual swagger softened, his tone turning earnest. “Someone like you, of course. Graceful, poised, elegant… a woman who would bring honor to my house.” 2 A moment ago, I’d dismissed the glowing text as a fever-induced hallucination. Now, hearing Kaelen’s cruel words with my own ears, a different kind of heat burned behind my eyes. My heart clenched, a painful, sour knot in my chest. The drug surged through me, a relentless tide that gave me no time to breathe. If I couldn’t go to Kaelen… could I really go to him? He was my cousin, yes, but a distant one. As the King’s Chancellor, he was a man carved from ice and ambition, a figure of daunting perfection. I’d never seen him bow his head to anyone. Whenever I saw him, his formidable, chilling presence was so intense I could barely lift my gaze from the floor, my voice a whisper. “Cousin Julian…” He never responded. Could this man, Julian, as remote as a snow-capped peak, really be the one the text described—the one who cried my name into his pillow at night? A blush, hotter than the drug itself, scorched my ears. The blood in my veins felt like oil meeting a spark, an unbearable itch deep in my bones. I steeled myself, ready to turn and flee, but my foot snapped a dry twig. The sharp crack shattered the quiet conversation in the rose garden. “Who’s there?” Kaelen’s voice was sharp, his gaze piercing the shadows. My eyes were red-rimmed as I twisted the fabric of my gown, the effort to stand still excruciating. When he saw it was me, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl, his lips twisting with scorn. “Elara. Must you be so pathetically clingy? Can’t I have a moment’s peace without you chasing after me?” His face darkened. “Am I not even allowed to speak with Lady Seraphina?” “You’re so possessive and jealous, it’s no wonder no man would ever want you!” My voice, when I finally found it, was thick and watery. “No, it’s not that… I… I don’t feel well. I wasn’t trying to follow you.” Seraphina, ever the picture of grace, interjected smoothly, “Please, my lord. Lady Elara is unwell. You should see to her.” Kaelen just snorted, his disbelief a slap in the face. “Don’t play sick, Elara. Can’t you come up with a new excuse? Every time another woman is near me, you pull one of these stunts. Last time it was a lost bracelet, now you’re ‘unwell’?” He strode forward and seized my wrist. The moment his skin touched mine, his arrogance vanished, replaced by a flicker of panic. His brow creased. “Gods, you’re burning up. Did you catch a chill? Is this a fever?” The scent of his cologne, once a comfort, now made my stomach churn. I felt my legs buckle, my control slipping. I was about to collapse into his arms, the drug too strong, the gnawing ache in my bones unbearable. But then, the text appeared again, a desperate, flashing warning. 【NO! Don’t let him touch you! If you fall for this psycho, your life is over!】 【That bastard! He’ll enjoy it just as much as you, but he’ll claim you seduced and forced him! Years from now, when he and his precious Seraphina have their dramatic reunion, you’ll be thrown out of his house to make room for her, left to die sick in the streets.】 【And after you die, your tight-lipped cousin won’t say a word. He’ll just silently follow you into death. Can’t you two just get together and spare us the drama from these two clowns?! It’s not even a good tragedy, it’s just manufactured angst!】 I stared at the glowing words, my mind reeling. In the end, Julian—the cold, proud Chancellor who held the kingdom in his hand—would follow me to the grave? 3 As Kaelen moved to sweep me into his arms, I shrieked, a raw, ragged sound. “Don’t touch me!” Then, forcing strength into my voice, I added, “I’m fine now!” Kaelen’s brow tightened with impatience. “Elara, what game are you playing now? Is it fun, toying with me? You were just faking it to get my attention, weren’t you?” He sneered. “Honestly, Elara, when will you grow up and be more like Lady Seraphina? Composed, dignified.” I dug my nails into my palms, drawing blood. My lips were a mess of bite marks from holding back the moans that threatened to escape. I couldn’t risk speaking again. Leaving Kaelen standing there, I fled. I found myself outside the guest suite of the Chancellor, Julian. My fingers trembled as I raised my hand to knock. An eternity seemed to pass. I was about to give in to the desperate urge to throw the door open and rush inside when it was pulled open by a hand with long, elegant, powerful fingers. “Lady Elara? Are you lost?” His voice was cool, like water flowing over ice, like the chime of jade. “This is not Lord Kaelen’s suite. The man you’re looking for isn’t here.” The fire inside me, briefly quenched by his cool presence, roared back to life, fiercer than before. The pop-up comments were practically screaming. 【He’s SO bothered! He’s probably been crying into his pillow every night you didn’t come looking for him, writing Kaelen’s name on the soles of his shoes just to stomp on it.】 【Don’t be fooled by the ice prince act, Elara. He’s a total softie for you…】 【Every time you call him ‘Cousin’, his fingers start trembling with excitement. Later, when you’re whispering it in his ear, he’s going to absolutely lose his mind!】 The flashing text was becoming a blur. My vision, red-rimmed and hazy, could only focus on the saint-like figure before me. Julian. He wore a simple white linen shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the sharp, clean lines of his collarbones. His dark hair fell, soft and immaculate, around his shoulders, and he was surrounded by the cool, clean scent of sandalwood. He was a man who made you want to drag him down from the heavens, pull him into the messy, mortal world, and ruin him completely. To see his eyes, red and wild, as tears of pleasure streamed down his face. My gaze slid from his collarbones to the lean line of his waist, and then, shamelessly, lower… 4 Julian’s sharp eyes missed nothing. He saw the state I was in. His cool palm came to rest on my forehead. “What’s wrong? You’re burning up. Are you ill?” His voice, usually so cold, had softened, laced with a concern he couldn’t quite hide. Being this close, the crisp scent of sandalwood and winter air filled my senses, an intoxicating drug all its own. My heart hammered against my ribs. The world tilted, my legs no longer able to support me. As I swayed, I instinctively grabbed his hand, my fingers wrapping around his cool, long ones. The sound that escaped my lips was a broken, desperate whimper. “Ju… Julian…” I stammered, my voice cracking into a sob. “Cousin…” The man I clung to went rigid for a moment, but he didn’t pull away. He let me hold on, my fingers tangled with his. “I feel so sick,” I whispered. “Help me.” “I… want…” I wanted him to pull me into his arms, to silence the fever with his cool lips. The comments flashed again: 【She listened! See? This is why she gets the goods!】 【Look at the ice prince’s ears, people! They’re so red I think I’m going blind. You’re holding her with one hand, what about the other one? Don’t you have plans for it?】 Prompted by the text, I glanced at Julian’s ears. The soft lobes were flushed a deep, translucent crimson, like polished agate. He wasn’t as calm as his expression suggested. Julian leaned in, his pale lips so close I felt I could just tilt my head up and capture them. His other hand moved, strong and sure, to my waist, locking me in place, pulling me flush against him. His thumb brushed against my swollen lips. “My sweet Elara…” he murmured, the words a delicious, whispered secret. “Tell me clearly. How do you want your cousin to help you?” 5 His question left me dumbfounded. How? How could he help? The comments were in a frenzy: 【This is killing me! Hurry up! I paid for the premium subscription, just kiss her already, then do that thing (redacted), and then the other thing (redacted)…】 【If Elara doesn’t know what to do, don’t you, Ice Prince? Stop playing innocent, I’m begging you! I’ve seen the way you draw her. You’re a pro! Didn’t you practice on her stolen dress every night? You practically wore it out!】 【It’s her first time coming to him, he’s probably so happy he’s in shock. Afraid his dark, secret self will scare her away. Where’s my ‘get-them-together’ squad?! Somebody superglue their mouths together, now!】 “Elara, look at me,” he said, his voice low. “Do you know who I am?” I knew. He was Julian. I had come for him from the very beginning. “Elara,” he warned, his voice a low thrum against my skin. “If you start this, there’s no turning back. No regrets.” I couldn’t stop myself. I bit my lip again, tasting blood. “Cousin, please… can you just help me? Now?” “I won’t regret it…” A tear finally escaped, tracing a hot path down my cheek. Julian’s cool eyes darkened, a predatory beast stirring in their depths. The rough pad of his thumb brushed my cheek, catching the tear. He then smeared the dampness across my lips, mixing it with the blood. He lowered his head. His lips met mine. The cool scent of sandalwood exploded in my senses, overwhelming everything. A cascade of fireworks erupted behind my eyes. 【The Ice Prince knows what he’s doing! A kiss of blood and tears! So dramatic!】 【What did he do wrong? He just loves her too much! Better he claims her himself than letting that toxic Kaelen hurt her. Make her his wife!】 【Kiss her until she faints! Kiss her until she can’t even think about another man!】 My legs gave out completely. I clung to the front of his shirt, my fingers leaving a trail of wrinkles in the fine fabric. “Cousin,” I gasped. “Can we… can we go to the bed?” Standing like this was torture. 6 My lips were numb and tingling, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my eardrums. After I managed to pant out my request, Julian suddenly released me, his pupils contracting in a sharp, sudden motion. 【Damn, he almost lost it! That flash of possession and pure, unrestrained desire in his eyes was everything!】 【Elara, you can’t be that direct! You’re going to give him a heart attack!】 【Okay, everyone, let’s all put our pants back on. Bye now.】 【Hey! This isn’t a private server!】 “Cou… Cousin?” I mumbled, leaning against his chest as I looked up at him through a haze of desire. A sliver of his icy composure had returned. He leaned close to my ear, his voice raspy. “Elara, do you love me?” “I love you…” I was so, so thirsty. “That doesn’t count right now,” he murmured, his voice dropping lower. “You’re a little liar. You just want me to be your antidote.” I looked up and saw his lips, glistening from our kiss, and I wanted to taste them again. But he turned his head, and my lips landed on the sharp line of his throat instead. His Adam’s apple bobbed violently against my mouth. “I do love you, Julian!” I insisted, my voice trembling. “I know exactly what I’m doing…” My heated cheek pressed against his cool palm, rubbing against it like a desperate cat. But it wasn’t enough to extinguish the fire that felt like it was melting my bones. The comments were going wild again: 【I’ve thrown my pants so far they’re in another dimension, and this is all I get to see?】 【Elara’s suffering, and I bet your ‘fever’ is about to act up too. You’re each other’s cure, it’s perfect!】 【Sisters, calm down. We can’t push him too hard. Someone drugged Elara to frame her. If they sleep together now, they’ll be playing right into the culprit’s hands. The moment Elara is in his bed, someone will burst in to ‘catch them in the act.’ We’ll never get our ship to sail.】 【Our girl Elara is just a poor little thing caught between a psycho and a schemer. She’s just a side character, after all.】 【In this society, a tryst without a marriage contract would ruin her reputation. The fact that he can stop himself at a moment like this… I have to respect the Ice Prince. Either he has insane self-control, or he’s… not very capable.】 I took a deep breath, focusing on the comments, and slowly, a sliver of my own sanity returned. I closed my eyes, trying to fight the drug’s pull without looking at Julian’s face. “Elara, open your mouth. Be good.” I had clenched my jaw tight against the overwhelming sensations. The man before me showed no impatience. As he gently nipped my earlobe, his cool fingers found the seam of my lips, prying them open just enough to slip a bitter pill inside. 7 The bitterness dissolved on my tongue. I wanted to spit it out. Julian leaned over me, his fingertips sealing my lips. “Don’t spit it out, Elara. It’s the antidote.” “Once you take it, you won’t be so desperate for my help.” His eyes still held the dark embers of desire, but his tone had turned cool again. The comments wouldn’t stop. 【Elara, you’ve ignored him for so long. Now that you’ve finally thrown yourself at him, the Ice Prince thinks it’s just the drugs talking. He’s secretly sulking and jealous.】 【If you hadn’t been so foolishly chasing that psycho Kaelen, if you’d given this man even a single glance, he would have fallen from his pedestal for you long ago…】 【On the night you were supposed to marry Kaelen, he stayed up all night, sharpening a dagger with red-rimmed eyes. But seeing how much you ‘loved’ the psycho, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.】 As the medicine took effect, the burning heat and dizziness began to recede. But my heart was still racing. I reached out and hooked a finger around the sleeve of his immaculate shirt. “Cousin,” I whispered. “Kiss me again.” He looked down, his long lashes trembling uncontrollably. His gaze fixed on my lips, and the corners of his eyes began to bloom with a faint, lovely crimson. “What are you saying, Elara?” I wrapped my arms around his long, graceful neck, pulling him down to me, forcing him to bend. And just as I’d wanted, I launched my assault, a conquering army laying siege to a willing city, leaving no corner unexplored, mingling my breath with his… We kissed for a long, long time. The corners of his eyes were as red as crushed poppies. His cool gaze was shimmering with unshed tears. 【Tsk, tsk. So weak! Elara hasn’t even brought out the big guns yet and he’s already about to cry?】 【What can I say? Tears are a man’s best dowry~】 8 At that exact moment, the door was slammed open. 【Here we go! The schemer makes her grand entrance, ready to stir up trouble!】 【Phew, that was close. Good thing our Chancellor hit the brakes. I can’t imagine the horror if a crowd had burst in on… that.】 From the doorway, Seraphina’s elegant, soft voice rang out. “We just discovered a villain was at the gala, drugging the wine! It seems Lady Elara was the one who drank it.” Her voice trembled, as if she were overcome with concern for me. “I believe Lady Elara came this way to rest. Everyone, please, help me look! We must see if she’s been harmed…” She trailed off, leaving the implication hanging in the air. Everyone understood. They exchanged glances and then surged forward, ready to burst into the room. They expected to find me disheveled, a public spectacle, the centerpiece of a grand scandal. This was probably the scene they’d planned for after I’d sought out Kaelen. He would have been standing over me, loudly proclaiming how I’d shamelessly tried to seduce him, causing the heartbroken Seraphina to flee in tears. But as the door was thrown open, Julian stepped in front of me, shielding me from every gaze. “It is late,” he said, his voice dangerously quiet. “Why are you all looking for my cousin?” Seeing him, the smile on Seraphina’s face froze, then bleached to a ghastly white. “Elara? Why is she with you, Chancellor? I thought she went to find Lord Kaelen.” Julian’s voice was flat. “She is my cousin. Is it not perfectly normal for her to seek me out?” His eyes narrowed. “Were she and Lord Kaelen so close? Without a betrothal, Lady Seraphina, you should be careful with your words. Do not tarnish my cousin’s reputation.” His voice turned as sharp as a shard of ice. Behind his back, the hand holding my wrist tightened its grip. 【He’s still holding her hand, hasn’t even let go, and he’s already this jealous.】 【Elara, that poison is nasty. One little pill won’t fix it. You better be good and appease your jealous man, or you’ll be the one crying and begging for his kisses later.】 【Field report! The schemer is in position, and the psycho is on his way. Level one alert!】 Chancellor Julian was a legend. So young, yet so powerful, a man many viewed as a god, utterly unattainable. To hear him personally reprimand Seraphina for insulting my honor was a shock. Seraphina, the “female lead,” had likely never been spoken to so harshly. Her eyes instantly filled with tears, which began to fall one by one as if she had suffered the greatest injustice imaginable. “Chancellor, you misunderstand. I was only worried for Lady Elara, I meant no harm…” “But… Lady Elara is only your distant cousin. For the two of you to be alone in a room at this hour… it is improper. You must consider her reputation, Chancellor…” The comments were livid. 【I’m so mad! This girl is so two-faced! It gives me this helpless feeling, like trying to slap smoke. I bet she was the one who drugged Elara’s wine!】 【Just stick with your psycho, nobody’s trying to steal him from you! If you ruin our secret ship and I can’t get my fix, I’ll destroy you all.】 I wanted to leap out and tear at her perfectly styled hair. But Julian’s hand held me fast. His long, beautiful fingers began to gently trace circles in my palm. It tickled. In front of all these people, he was calmly, deliberately, teasing my palm. It was… thrilling. The heat I had just managed to suppress began to stir again. Julian fixed his gaze on her. “What does it matter? I can take responsibility for Elara. I will marry her.” The comments exploded. 【HE HAS A MOUTH AND HE KNOWS HOW TO USE IT! ICE PRINCE SUPREMACY!】 【My forbidden, secret ship can finally come out of the shadows and feast!】

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “392938”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

Cade Archer, the crown prince of Atherton University’s elite, confessed his feelings to my roommate. Helicopters rained down a shower of flower petals, stunning the entire campus. But my roommate, Tessa, was conflicted. She asked me, “The thing is, I just see him as a friend… What do you think? Should I say yes?” I said, “Go for it. He’s rich and handsome.” She narrowed her eyes, and in the next second, she shoved me toward Cade. “Cade! I think my roommate has a huge crush on you!” I stumbled, collapsing at Cade’s feet, a sharp pain shooting through my knee. Cade ignored me, his gaze fixed on Tessa. His dark eyes were heavy, a flicker of pain in their depths. “Are you made of stone? How could I possibly be interested in… this? Don’t you know who I like?” Tessa tilted her head, feigning ignorance. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescents of pure innocence. “Wow, you two look so good together! Cade, I’m totally shipping you guys now. Mom, Dad, I’m born!” Cade gritted his teeth. For a moment, no one dared to breathe. The scene was dead silent. But I have a severe case of people-pleasing personality disorder. I never ruin the mood. So I said, “Yeah, yeah, we look great together! Hubby, hubby, gogogo, our baby is born! Haha.” 1 The color drained from Tessa’s face, her smile freezing on her lips. Cade was stunned. He lowered his head to look at me. I couldn’t help it. My people-pleasing is extreme. How extreme? I even try to please cats. When I was little, my cat brought me a dead mouse as a gift. To avoid hurting its feelings, I forced myself to take a bite of the mouse. I only spit it out after the cat had left. Now, in college, my roommate Tessa asks me to fetch her meals, write her essays, run her errands, and clean her shoes. I never refuse. I complete every task perfectly. Cade’s shock lasted only a moment before he cracked a smile. He bent down and offered me the bouquet he was holding. He deliberately avoided looking at Tessa, the girl he’d intended to confess to, and focused his gaze intently on me. Amidst the swirling storm of cherry blossom petals, his long, beautiful eyes reflected my own plain, unremarkable face. He said, “Alright. I think we look good together, too. So, will you be my girlfriend?” I said, “Haha, sure, sure! I’d love to!” Suddenly, there was a loud thud. Tessa’s phone had slipped from her hand and hit the ground, the screen spiderwebbing with white cracks. 2 Back in the dorm, I was packing my bag to go to the library when, a second later, my neck was yanked tight. Tessa had grabbed my collar. She glared at me, her delicate features twisted into a snarl. “Chloe, who do you think you are, stealing my boyfriend? God, you must be desperate for a man. Can’t live without one, can you?” I never argue with anyone. So, I immediately agreed. “Haha. You’re right, totally desperate. You’re so perceptive! The brain on you! Your humble servant bows before your genius!” I even threw in some internet slang. It was a little dated, but I hoped it was still funny enough to make her laugh. For some reason, it only made her angrier. Her lips were trembling. “You! How dare you…! Say one more word, I dare you!” Just then, our other roommates returned. Tessa instantly let go of my collar and lowered her voice, making sure only I could hear. “You, be Cade Archer’s girlfriend? You’re not worthy. Someone as poor and ugly as you? He’d probably puke just looking at your face. Besides, he’s just doing this to spite me. The second I beckon, he’ll dump you in a heartbeat.” I gave her a goofy smile. “Haha. Wow, that’s a good point! You’re right, you’re right. Do you need me to break up with him? I can text him right now.” Tessa choked on her words. She ground her teeth. “What kind of question is that! Of course I don’t! I told you, I only see Cade as a friend! Do you think I’m like you, throwing myself at any man I see? But… if… if you insisted on breaking up with him yourself, I suppose I could reluctantly accept it.” I nodded vigorously. “Haha. Okay, okay. As long as you don’t need me to. Your decision-making skills are fire! So awesome, I’m so impressed I could just sprout a beard! Haha.” Strangely, that didn’t make her laugh either. She looked even angrier, the red flush creeping up her neck. “You!” Sigh. Why was she so mad? Was the joke that outdated? I suppose I’ve been so busy studying I forgot to memorize new memes. One of our roommates looked over, her voice laced with concern. “Chloe, what’s wrong? Is she bullying you?” Tessa exploded. “You think I’m bullying her? Are you kidding me? It’s more like she’s bullying me! I don’t know what kind of act she’s putting on!” Another roommate rolled her eyes at her. “Everyone knows Chloe is the nicest person alive. How could she possibly bully anyone? Tessa, cut the high school drama. If you mess with Chloe again, I’ll make a goddamn PowerPoint of every shitty thing you’ve done and post it on the student forum. You’re the campus belle, after all. I’m sure it would get a lot of attention.” Tessa seethed, slammed a cup down, and climbed into her bed, yanking the curtain shut. She told us all to shut up because she was going to sleep. I immediately grabbed my phone and switched it to silent. That’s when I saw the message from Cade, sent a minute ago: 【Cade: Downstairs. Now.】 3 I was sitting with Cade in his stretched limousine. The chauffeur was driving; he and I were in the back. He was leaning back lazily against the seat. The city’s vibrant nightlife streamed past the window, a blur of neon ribbons. The chaotic light flickered across Cade’s face, highlighting his sharp, sculpted features and the strong bridge of his nose. Haha. He really was one of God’s favorites. Cade suddenly spoke, his voice cool and weary. “You’re a quick one. I actually confessed and you actually accepted.” I said, “Haha. Yep, yep, that I did.” He shot me a surprised look before continuing. “You’re roommates with Tessa, right? Don’t move out. Stay in that dorm until you graduate. Stay by her side. If she runs into any trouble, you tell me immediately, understand? I tried to buy her an apartment off-campus, but she told me not to insult her with my dirty money.” I nodded. “Okay, okay, no problem. Haha.” But that seemed to displease him. “Hey! Why are you staring at your phone while I’m talking to you? Can’t you tell I’m in a bad mood? What’s so damn important?” A true prince, complete with a terrible temper. I immediately put my phone down. “Sorry, sorry, I was just checking on my Travel Frog. Haha. My bad, really. How can I compensate you for my transgression?” That only made him angrier. “What the hell are you talking about? What’s so great about Travel Frog? Do you have any idea that with a snap of my fingers, I could have you expelled?” The air in the car was cool, but I could see the chauffeur’s back was slick with sweat. The young master’s anger was truly terrifying. He seemed like a man who meant what he said. I explained, “Well, my phone is out of storage, so I have to uninstall the game. But I have to wait until the frog leaves to do it. So I have to keep watch to see when it goes.” He got even angrier. “Who are you trying to fool? You can uninstall it whether the frog is there or not! Why do you have to wait until it’s gone?” I said, “Because I can’t bring myself to uninstall it right in front of the frog… It would feel like I’m betraying it. So I wanted to wait until it went on a trip before deleting the game. Haha. I’m sorry, sir.” That’s how we people-pleasers are. We even try to please a virtual frog. He just stared at me for a moment, a look of profound shock on his face. I felt a pang of anxiety. If I got expelled, my parents would probably marry me off to some rich old guy for a payout (not that there’s anything wrong with old men, necessarily, or with my parents). I said, “Sir, I’m sorry, please don’t be angry—” Before I could finish, he snapped out of his shock and leaned forward, bursting into laughter. “Hey, how can someone as dumb and clueless as you exist in this world? You even care about a frog’s feelings?” I was a bit stunned. The young master was truly moody. So this is what they mean by ‘serving a king is like serving a tiger.’ The next second, he pulled out a hard, rectangular box and tossed it to me. “Don’t uninstall it. Keep your frog.” I looked down. It was a brand-new iPhone box. An iPhone 16 Pro Max, the latest model, with 1TB of storage. He was right, I wouldn’t have to uninstall it now. But I hesitated. I’d only ever used hundred-dollar phones from secondhand shops. This iPhone probably cost over a thousand dollars. It was too much. I said, “I—” The chauffeur interrupted me, a warm smile in his voice. “Miss Chloe, when the young master gets angry, he tends to smash his phone. So we keep a lot of new ones in the car as backups. There are plenty more. Please, accept it.” I said, “Haha. Okay, okay, thank you so much. I’m so moved, my inner dude just did a backflip and turned back into a dudette.” The chauffeur stared, dumbfounded. Cade froze. Oh, right. The upper class probably doesn’t spend their time scrolling through trashy memes on the internet. Cade covered his ears and ordered, “Are you insane? Don’t pollute my ears with that stupid crap! Got it? It’s not even funny!” I looked at him. He was scowling at me, his face a mask of annoyance, but I could see the ghost of a smile in his beautiful eyes. He couldn’t hide it. I smiled too. “Okay, okay, sir.” The chauffeur chuckled. “The young master wasn’t in a good mood today, but he seems much better now.” Cade snorted, leaning back lazily again. He unclasped the watch from his wrist and tossed it to me, his chin lifted in a gesture of pure arrogance. “It’s yours. Tomorrow, you’re having lunch with me. And you’re going to keep me happy. Understand?” I caught it. “Okay, okay, no problem, no problem. Thank you, sir.” The chauffeur took us to dinner, then drove me back to my dorm. Once I was back in my room, I looked up the price. The watch was a Patek Philippe, and it sold for over a hundred thousand dollars. Because it was a limited edition, the resale value was even higher. Mine, in its like-new condition, could probably sell for over one hundred and fifty thousand. The shock was a bullet through my brain. I stood there, stunned. I gripped the small watch, my mind a complete blank. Then I immediately loosened my grip, afraid I’d break it by holding it too tight. But a second later, for some reason, my hand started to tremble… I quickly and gently placed the watch in my innermost pocket. The average starting salary for a graduate in my major is about sixty thousand a year. This tiny watch would take me six years of work, without eating or drinking, to afford. Who says you can’t put a price on youth? This watch could buy six years of mine. When I thought about it like that, the world seemed so cruel. Oh my god, I’m finally ready to be the bad guy, because I just can’t take it anymore. Haha. 4 The next day at noon, Cade took me to lunch. We were in the car, and I started giving him my report on Tessa. Cade and I are both twenty and sophomores at Atherton, but he doesn’t live on campus and rarely attends class, so he doesn’t know much about Tessa’s life at school. I reported meticulously, “Sir, Tessa hasn’t encountered any other difficulties recently, but she often skips breakfast and gets stomachaches. She was having some stomach pain in class today.” As I spoke, I rubbed my eyes. The onions had gotten to me. Now my eyes really were stinging. Because just before this, back in the dorm, Tessa had asked me to make her a low-calorie meal. She said she was trying to lose weight, and once she got down to 110 pounds, she’d be even more beautiful. Then, she would ask Cade out to dinner. She said that on that day, when Cade saw how gorgeous she was, he would definitely dump an ugly creature like me and confess his love to her all over again. I had nodded along, saying, “Oh yeah, he’ll definitely dump me,” while I prepared her diet food. When I was chopping the onions, my eyes started tearing up, and they were still a little red. Cade had one arm resting on the open car window, listening absently as I detailed Tessa’s stomach problems. The wind tousled his black hair, messing it up and letting it fall over his strong brow. When he glanced at me, he froze. 5 Cade never expected this. He had only asked her to report on Tessa’s recent situation, but she was so heartbroken about it that she had cried her eyes red. He was stunned for a moment, then a huge possibility struck him like lightning— Could it be that Chloe liked him? Of course! No wonder she had agreed without hesitation yesterday when he’d confessed out of spite. She had even called him husband! And she had said “gogogo!” She used three “go”s. She must have been waiting for this for a long time. Cade pondered this, and soon, he found more clues— For example, she was always trailing after Tessa, carrying her bags, fetching her food, picking up her packages, all without a single complaint. He hadn’t understood it at the time, but now he did. She was only following Tessa around to get a few more glimpses of him! It made sense. Since he was a child, a three-digit number of girls had confessed their feelings to him. It wasn’t strange that Chloe would be smitten too. Thinking of this, Cade felt a pang of guilt. Chloe liked him so much, and yet, he had made her report on Tessa’s every move. No wonder she cried. Who the hell wouldn’t be upset by that? Sigh. He was such a bastard. Sigh. Chloe was so dumb, so clueless, so pitiful. 6 I continued my detailed report on Tessa’s life. But for some reason, Cade didn’t seem to be listening. He seemed lost in thought, his expression constantly shifting. First, confusion, then dawning realization, then guilt. Finally, when he looked at me, his gaze was filled with pity. He said, “Chloe.” I looked at him. He sighed, his expression complicated. “You don’t have to report to me about Tessa anymore.” I was completely baffled, but I nodded and agreed anyway. 7 For the next few days, Cade didn’t contact me. No texts, no calls. One day, I was in the library, studying from morning till night. When I was done, I planned to grab a late dinner at the cafeteria. But just as I left the building, someone blocked my path. I looked up and saw my brother, Mark. He had his hands in his pockets, a smirk on his face. “Sis, I hear you’ve landed a sugar daddy.” He took a step closer, cornering me. “Give me eighty grand. I’m buying a car. A girl like you doesn’t need to save money. I’m the one who has to get married someday.” I said, “Haha. I don’t have eighty grand. Would you like the national scholarship I just won? It’s eight hundred dollars. With my savings, I have one thousand one hundred and thirty. Is that okay?” He shoved me, hard. “That’s it? The Archer family didn’t give you any money? Figures. An ugly thing like you, Cade probably pukes just looking at you. He probably has to turn off the lights to even sleep with you. Fine, transfer me the thousand one hundred and thirty now! And hey, if you can’t make real money, why don’t you go sell yourself on a street corner?” He still wasn’t satisfied. He raised his hand to slap me. But in the next second, his neck was caught from behind in a textbook submission hold. The person holding him was Cade. Mark made a choked, gasping sound, his face turning red. Cade looked utterly annoyed. He raised his leg, driving his knee into the small of Mark’s back, and applied pressure with his hands. I heard a sharp crack. Mark’s back bent backward at an unnatural angle. It must have fractured. “AHHH—!!!” Mark let out a piercing scream of agony that made my eardrums ring. The world dissolved into a roar. I suddenly remembered Tessa boasting about Cade in the dorm— “My Cade has been learning martial arts since he was a kid. His teacher was a former mercenary from overseas, super tough. Do you even know what that means? Chloe, you’ve probably never even seen anything like it in your entire life, have you?” The world was roaring, and I was looking at Cade. His features were cold and sharp, a handsome, chiseled face. But his eyes, he must have gotten from his mother—they were exceptionally elegant and beautiful. Right now, they were glittering with cold stars and a chilling smile. In the next second, he released his grip, and Mark slid to the ground, a boneless heap at his feet. Mark twitched on the ground, screaming, unable to even crawl. Cade didn’t even glance at him. He kicked him aside and held out his hand to his side. Someone immediately handed him a bottle of golden-orange liquor. He tilted his hand, pouring the entire bottle over Mark’s head. The gesture was pure arrogance. Mark was instantly soaked and pathetic, all the swagger from when he was insulting me gone. Cade crossed his arms, looking down at him coldly. “From now on, every time you come near her, I’ll beat you. I’ll beat you until you’re dead.” Mark’s face was twisted in pain. He was desperately begging for mercy, babbling things like, “I won’t do it again,” “My back is broken, it’s really broken,” “Please let me go,” “You’re my grandpa, you’re my ancestor,” and “She’s my grandpa, she’s my ancestor.” Wow, what a promotion. Cade seemed tired of listening. He just grabbed my arm and pulled me into the car. 8 In the car, for the first time ever, Cade didn’t speak to me. He seemed to be in a foul mood. I suddenly remembered hearing Tessa mention to someone the date of Cade’s mother’s death anniversary. It was today. No wonder he was in a bad mood. No wonder he had come to find me. I felt like he saw me as his new toy. The last few times, I’d managed to make him happy. He probably hoped I could make him happy today, too. But I really didn’t know what to say. I’d been so busy studying, I hadn’t memorized any new jokes. At the restaurant, I could only watch him drink in silence. He downed glass after glass, bottle after bottle, drinking until he was sick of it. Then I helped him to a hotel room. The presidential suite on the top floor had been reserved for him in advance. The moment I pushed the door open, I was shocked. I had always thought a hotel room was just a bedroom and a bathroom. But this presidential suite had a living room, a bedroom, a terrace, a dining room, a bar, a walk-in closet, and even… a private cinema? My eyes widened. So this is capitalism! I didn’t understand how Cade could live a life like this and still be in so much pain. If I could live his life, I’d be cheerful even if my entire family dropped dead. (This is just an exaggeration, not that I don’t like my family, or that I wish they were dead. Even though my parents are alcoholic gamblers who favor my brother, want to sell me off for a bride price, and have been abusive my whole life, and my brother insults and beats me and constantly demands money, I still wish them a long and healthy life, so we can all be one big happy family.)

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My father ordered me into a political marriage. Mother gestured to my handmaidens, Lyra and Elara. “Pick one to go in your stead.” As I raised my hand, shimmering text appeared: [“What a snake—sacrificing her maids!”] [“Relax, the Crown Prince will save Lyra.”] I hesitated, then pointed at Elara. More text: [“Worse choice. The General will storm your palace.”] [“Your fiancé hates you—he’d rather elope with the heroine.”] My face paled. The words kept coming: [“Valerak’s King secretly loves you.”] [“But sending a substitute will enrage him. War is coming.”] I lowered my hand. “Fine,” I sighed. “I’ll go myself.” 1 The moment the words left my lips, a profound silence fell over the Queen’s Rosewood Wing. The expressions on everyone’s faces were a complex tapestry of shock and relief. From my seat of honor, I saw it all clearly. A flicker of undisguised joy crossed the faces of both Lyra and Elara. They were just as unwilling to go as I was. Only my mother, seated beside me, looked both furious and panicked by my declaration. “Aurelia, do you have any idea what kind of place Valerak is? It’s a bitter, barren wasteland where nothing grows! Have you considered the suffering you will endure there?!” Having been a diligent student of history and an avid reader of regional chronicles since childhood, I knew all too well the harsh reality of the northern kingdom. When I first learned of my father’s command, my heart had felt as heavy as lead. My mother had schemed tirelessly, offering me a sliver of hope, a chance to escape my fate. But now, seeing those strange, prophetic words floating in the air, I understood. If I sent a substitute, I would bring ruin upon our kingdom. It was a gamble I dared not take. As I searched for the right words to persuade my mother, she spoke again, her voice hardening with resolve. “You are my only daughter. I will not send you into the lion’s den! Since you cannot bear to part with them, then I shall choose for you!” Her finger stabbed through the air, pointing directly at Lyra. Lyra’s body went limp, and she collapsed to the floor, sobbing. “Your Majesty, I beg you, have mercy!” [The Queen is so cruel. She can’t bear to send her own daughter, so she forces someone else’s to go!] [Just like mother, like daughter. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and the female lead’s mother is truly rotten.] [Don’t you worry, baby girl. Our Crown Prince will be here in T-minus three seconds!] [Is anyone else noticing that the princess actually changed her mind and said she’d go herself?] [Upstairs, she was obviously just saying that. That woman is the very definition of a hypocrite!] I finished reading the last of the floating text with a deep frown. Just as the final word faded, the grand doors to the Rosewood Wing were thrown open with a violent shove. A man in the formal robes of the Crown Prince stood silhouetted against the harsh light. My eyes darted from him back to the spectral words. My brother, the Crown Prince… he had actually come. 2 The moment my brother, Prince Caelan, appeared, I noticed Lyra’s kneeling form straighten. It was as if her champion had arrived, and the tears in her eyes vanished as if by magic. I watched, silent and observant. The Queen raised an eyebrow and beckoned to him. “Caelan, you’ve come at the perfect time. Help me talk some sense into your sister. I don’t know what’s gotten into her about this marriage pact, she’s actually threatening to—” Before she could finish, Caelan cut her off, his voice sharp and unyielding. “Mother, I knew Aurelia wouldn’t agree to this marriage so easily. To think she’d stoop to sending a substitute!” His gaze, hot with disappointment, bore into me. “I always knew you were timid and fearful, but this is a matter of state! How could you dare to pull such a deceptive trick?! Lyra and Elara have been with you since childhood. How could you be so cruel as to send them away? You have disappointed me more than I can say!” His accusations came one after another, each more cutting than the last. He spoke as if I were some unforgivable monster, his eyes holding a coldness I had never seen before. In my memory, he had always been the gentlest of brothers. This was the first time he had ever truly been angry with me. My nose began to tingle. Was this really the person he thought I was? The text in the air scrolled once more. [Ooh, talk about a man losing his cool for his woman!] [Look at the princess’s wounded expression, as if she’s been wronged! She didn’t want to go in the first place, or she would have refused the Queen’s plan from the start.] [The Prince has been putting up with the princess for ages. A stupid, useless woman. If she weren’t the Queen’s biological daughter, he wouldn’t even bother with her.] My hand tightened on the silk handkerchief in my lap. My vision blurred with unshed tears. My memory, however, drifted back with sudden clarity to the year I turned six. Back then, my brother wasn’t like this at all. 3 When I was six, I contracted smallpox. The entire Princess’s Estate was quarantined. No one was allowed in, not even my mother, save for the royal physicians. She could only weep as she went to the Grand Sept to pray for my recovery. Lying in bed, feverish and delirious, I was alone. The maids who had once served me had all been sent away for fear of contagion. I called out with a raw, hoarse voice, but no one came. In a haze, I felt a warm hand touch mine. A cup was pressed to my lips, and I drank greedily, the cool water a balm to my parched throat before I fell back into a deep sleep. Those days were the hardest of my life. Not a single ray of sunlight penetrated the heavy curtains of my bedchamber. I could only lie there, my pillow soaked with tears, crying out for my father and mother. At night, when I was exhausted from weeping, I would drift in and out of sleep. In those moments, I thought I could hear someone humming a soft lullaby by my ear, the same one my mother used to sing to lull me to sleep. Eventually, my fever broke, and my mind cleared. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was my third brother, Caelan, slumped over the side of my bed. Back then, he wasn’t the Crown Prince. He was just an un-favored son, born of the King’s drunken encounter with a palace maid. He was bone-thin, with sallow skin, but his eyes were startlingly bright. The servants in the Forgotten Wing, where he lived, all bullied him. When I awoke, he was holding a teacup, and our eyes met. I could see the panic in his. He stammered, “I… I was just…” I smiled at him. “Brother,” I rasped, “I’m thirsty.” I knew who he was. Once, while playing, I had crawled through a small opening in the wall of the Forgotten Wing. I saw an old governess beating a young boy. I was about to cry out, but Lyra grabbed my arm and whispered, “Princess, we shouldn’t get involved with the third prince. If we do, the Queen will find out we came to this part of the palace.” I hesitated. Lyra bit her lip. “You are a princess, you can be willful. But if the Queen finds out I brought you here, I will be the one who is punished.” I didn’t want Lyra to be punished. But I couldn’t bear to see my brother go hungry. So, I took the last pouch of saffron cakes I had with me and secretly left it in a corner for him. Shortly after, I fell ill. This was our first real meeting. “You’re… the fourth sister, aren’t you?” he asked. So, he recognized me too. Caelan approached slowly, holding the cup, and offered the water to me. His hands were dark and rough, the nails rimmed with dirt. “You’re sick,” he said. “You need to drink a lot of water.” But his voice was like a clear mountain spring, gentle and pure. Just like… the voice that had sung lullabies by my bedside that night. That June, my smallpox was finally cured, and my strength returned. The Queen, having no son of her own, and moved by Caelan’s devotion to me during my illness, begged the King to let her formally adopt him. From that day on, he was transformed from a bastard into a legitimate heir. No one in the palace dared to bully him again. Caelan and I grew up together. He gave in to my every whim, bringing me trinkets and toys from outside the palace walls. This was the first time he had ever spoken to me with such severity. The floating text said he only got close to me because of my status. Should I believe it? 4 Seeing me lost in thought, Caelan grew even more agitated. “What is this attitude? I’m speaking to you about a serious matter, and you’re just daydreaming! Honestly, even your handmaiden Lyra is a hundred times more clever than you!” My thoughts snapped back from the past. The text was scrolling again. [The Prince has a thing for clever women. Only our girl Lyra can keep up with him.] [If Lyra had the princess’s background, she’d be a world-renowned scholar by now. Unlike the princess, who’s the kingdom’s number one fool.] [Hey now, I don’t like the princess either, but she could recite poetry at three and compose odes at five. That’s not exactly a fool.] [Not a fool? She can’t even recognize the person who sat by her bed, fed her water, and sang her to sleep! If that’s not stupid, I don’t know what is!] My gaze froze. I shot up from my chair, startling my mother. She thought Caelan’s words had finally gotten to me. “Caelan, this was my idea! You will not take your anger out on Aurelia!” she declared, defending me. Caelan’s expression grew even darker, his disbelief plain. “Mother, you’ve been covering for Aurelia’s mistakes her entire life. But this is a political marriage, a matter of state! If you keep indulging her like this, you will be the one to ruin her!” Hearing that, even my gentle nature could not abide it. “Brother,” I said, my voice sharp, “you may be the Crown Prince, but Mother is still the Queen of this kingdom. How dare you speak to her with such disrespect!” My words caught him off guard. He retorted angrily, “Aurelia, look at yourself! Acting like such a savage! Even if you did go to Valerak, who’s to say they’d even want you?” The words had barely left his mouth when a splash of hot tea hit him square in the face. My mother slammed her cup down on the table, her heart clearly breaking. “Caelan! Do not forget how you got that crown on your head!” 5 The color drained from Caelan’s face, shifting from a furious red to a chalky white. He looked as if someone had struck him right where it hurt the most. His gaze towards me was now a storm of dark, complex emotions. I knew he remembered. Years ago, after my eldest brother died in a tragic accident, the Queen was lost in a fog of grief. My birth brought laughter back into the Rosewood Wing. And then, when I fell ill, it was because Caelan had cared for me that my mother pleaded with the King to adopt him. It was an honor none of the other princes had received. Three years ago, the King decided to test the knowledge of his children and summoned us all for a royal examination. We were given the same policy questions as the candidates for the year’s Scholars’ Trial. After the papers were collected, my father kept me behind. He first pulled out my paper. After reading it, he sighed with a mixture of pride and regret. “My Aurelia, if you were a man, I would name you my heir without a second thought.” At that moment, I found myself wishing I had been born a boy. Then, my father asked me to choose the best essay from among those written by my brothers. That day, I let my personal feelings guide me. After I made my choice, the King looked at me, his gaze deepening. I grew nervous, but in the end, he said nothing, only stroking my head with a soft sigh. Two days later, Caelan returned from the royal court, his face alight with triumph, and came straight to my estate. It was only then that I learned the King had praised his essay before the entire court and announced his intention to name him Crown Prince. In that moment, I was happy for him. Relieved, even. And also, deeply guilty. Because I had read all the essays. And the best one had not been his. Caelan seemed to remember this too. The arrogance drained from him, leaving him looking deflated. He swept his robes aside and knelt on one knee. “Mother, I was wrong,” he said, his voice filled with remorse. “I was simply too anxious.” He glanced at me, then at Lyra, who was still kneeling beside him. As if making a momentous decision, he reached out and took Lyra’s hand. “Mother, Lyra and I have pledged ourselves to one another. I beg you to grant us your blessing for our marriage!” 6 The Queen was both stunned and furious. I paid no attention to what was said after that. Caelan’s words had already confirmed the truth of the floating text. He and Lyra were indeed in love. All these years, he had traveled back and forth between his residence and mine almost daily. Was it truly out of affection for his little sister? Or was it simply because the woman he loved resided within my estate? I looked at Lyra. Her eyes were fixed on Caelan, her adoration for him spilling out, impossible to conceal. All this time, they had been exchanging glances right under my nose, and I had been completely oblivious. Then… was Caelan truly the one who had cared for me during my illness? I sank back into my chair, feeling utterly defeated. They were right. I really was a fool. The Queen did not immediately agree to the marriage, but seeing Caelan’s fierce determination to protect Lyra, she eventually relented on the original plan. “Fine,” she said, her tone firm. “If not Lyra, then Elara will go in Aurelia’s place!” Elara didn’t dare to object, but her eyes turned red with unshed tears. I frowned. “Mother, this marriage is my own affair…” But the Queen just pressed a hand to her temple. “Oh, the two of you, stop tormenting me!” 7 A lady-in-waiting escorted both Caelan and me from the Queen’s chambers. The Prince was in a surprisingly good mood and offered to see me back to my estate. I shook my head, refusing. Seeing my coldness, he tried to take my hand, but I pulled away. His face fell. “Are you truly this angry with me over a mere servant?” I looked my brother straight in the eye. “That is a question I should be asking you, Your Highness. Today, for a mere servant, you showed no respect for me, your sister, or for our mother, the Queen. One day, when you sit on the throne, will you have any place for us in your heart at all?” I said it partly to vent the bitterness coiling in my stomach, and partly to test him. His expression changed instantly. After a long moment, he smoothed his features back into their usual mask of gentle humility. He coaxed me in a low voice, “Little sister, don’t be angry. I’ve already finished the kite for you. When I have time tomorrow, I’ll take you flying, how about that?” He held out his hand, showing me the small, scattered cuts on his palm from shaping the bamboo frame. I suddenly remembered that just a few days ago, we had made plans to go kite-flying in the spring. He had actually made one for me. Before I could feel a stir of emotion, the text began to scroll again. [Kite-flying? That’s a trick for a child. And of course, the princess will fall for it.] [Those cuts are from making a kite for Lyra. The princess’s kite was just an afterthought, made by a servant from the leftover scraps.] [I’ll bet you a silver coin the princess goes soft on him again!] The words left me stunned. For a fleeting moment, my resolve had indeed wavered. But now, the anger I had just suppressed flared back to life, hotter than before. I took a step back, putting distance between us. “Your Highness,” I said, my voice cold as ice. “It was I who was foolish before. You should save that kite for someone else.” I turned and walked away, my steps quick. I couldn’t wait another moment. I had to find out the truth of what happened all those years ago. But as I stepped out of the palace gates, I realized my predicament. I had come in my mother’s carriage today. My own people hadn’t arranged for transport. It looked like I would be waiting for some time under the blazing sun. I looked up, feeling a wave of dizziness. I hadn’t slept well these past two days, tormented by the marriage pact. Just as frustration began to set in, a deep voice sounded beside me. “Aurelia, what are you doing just standing here?” I turned. My eyes widened, and I instinctively stood a little straighter. “S-Second Brother!” 8 Inside the carriage, my second brother, Prince Lysander, and I sat facing each other. I felt even more tense than I had in the Queen’s chambers. Lysander sighed. “Little sister, you don’t have to be so nervous every time you see me. I’m not going to eat you.” I lowered my gaze, hiding the guilt and shame in my eyes. The essay that had been the true masterpiece all those years ago… it had been his. For years, though Lysander had the King’s ear, he was never truly favored. I always felt I had wronged him, and over time, that guilt had become a heavy weight on my conscience. That, combined with his naturally aloof demeanor, had made me a little afraid of him since we were children. The carriage was quiet. I chanced a peek at him from under my lashes. Suddenly, the text in the air flickered to life again. [She refused the Crown Prince’s carriage but got into the second prince’s. The princess is such a hypocrite.] [What’s up with the princess today? She’s usually terrified of Lysander. The kind of terrified where she’d run and hide.] [Could it be? Has she finally figured out that the one who secretly nursed her back to health wasn’t the Crown Prince, but Prince Lysander?] My breath caught in my throat. My face went pale, and a cold sweat beaded on my forehead. A large, steady hand reached across and gently wiped the moisture from my brow. “Are you feeling warm?” His voice was cool and deep, and it overlapped in my memory with the voice from my dreams, the one that had sung lullabies. I remembered now. For years after I recovered, I had begged Caelan to sing for me again. He always stammered and made excuses, saying it was childish and that singing such things now would damage his image as a prince. I grabbed Lysander’s hand, desperate for confirmation. “Second Brother, could you… could you sing a lullaby for me?” Lysander looked startled. But without much hesitation, he cleared his throat. “Don’t blame me if it’s not very good.” Inside the carriage, a gentle melody began to fill the space, clear and soothing. “A little boat on a silver stream, to steal a lotus for a dream. Not knowing how to hide its wake…” I whispered the words along with him. It was him. All those years ago, in my quarantined estate, the one who risked his own safety to bring me medicine and sing me to sleep… it was Lysander. All these years. How could I have been so wrong? How? My grip on his sleeve tightened. “When I had the smallpox… you came to my estate, didn’t you?” 9 I was desperate for him to confirm it. But the truth came to me first, scrolling through the air in silent, shimmering words. [Whoa, the princess actually guessed it was Lysander who nursed her. Looks like she has a brain after all.] [Back then, Lysander was so worried about her that he snuck into her estate. He caught the fever himself and was sick for days. That’s how the third prince got to take all the credit.] [After that, every time Lysander tried to talk to the princess, she would either avoid him or get pulled away by the Crown Prince. After a while, he just gave up.] Reading this, I was overwhelmed with a profound sense of shame. But Lysander just gently stroked my hair. His face, usually so stern and serious, softened. “Little sister,” he said, his voice gentle. “You finally remember.” The carriage continued its journey to my estate, my emotions shifting with every turn of the wheels. Lysander brought up the political marriage and asked what I planned to do. “If you don’t want to go, then don’t,” he said, his voice firm. “The stability of our borders should not be bought with the sacrifice of a princess. Tomorrow, I will speak to Father. I will volunteer to lead the army myself and meet this Valerian King on the battlefield!” I was stunned. My own father, who had always doted on me, was now sending me away for the good of the kingdom. My mother was insistent on her substitution scheme. Even Caelan, my supposed protector, had sided with an outsider. As for my fiancé, I hadn’t heard a single word from him. None of them had asked me what I wanted. It was just like when I was six years old, sick and alone in that vast estate. I could only wait for my fate to be decided by others. This time, I would not let that happen. I lifted my head, my gaze resolute. “Brother, whether I go or not, this time, I want to decide for myself.”

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My brother, Liam, was my target. All I needed was for him to spend one birthday with me before I turned eighteen. Just one, and the mission would be complete. But Liam hated me. He hated me for being born, for supposedly killing our parents. More than once, his words had cut me to the bone: “Olivia, why wasn’t it you who died that day?” I never dared to hope he’d celebrate with me. Until today, my eighteenth birthday. My last chance. Gathering every shred of courage, I dialed his number, my heart a trembling bird. “Liam,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, “please, could you spend just one birthday with me? Just one? Otherwise… I’ll die.” His voice, when it came, was laced with venom, utterly devoid of care: “Then die. And be quick about it.” The line went dead. A desolate, bitter laugh escaped my lips. Alright, Liam. As you wish. … That night. Liam, who had been celebrating his adopted sister’s birthday, was called back. It was he who performed the autopsy on my body. 1 “Host, this is your last chance.” “If your brother, he still won’t…” The System’s voice trailed off. I knew it couldn’t bring itself to finish the sentence. It had been with me since birth, a constant companion for eighteen years. Even a cold machine could develop feelings. Yet my own brother, my only blood relative, hated me with such intensity. I pressed my lips together, gathering my courage, and dialed Liam’s number. But it was Chloe’s cheerful voice that answered. “Olivia? Is everything alright?” My heart clenched. Chloe. Liam’s… adopted sister from the orphanage. But in his eyes, she was the true sister, wasn’t she? Swallowing the bitter tang of jealousy, I asked, my voice hoarse, “Is Liam there?” Chloe’s voice vibrated with excitement. “He’s about to set off fireworks for me! It’s my birthday today!” I froze. Even though this wasn’t the first time Liam had celebrated Chloe’s birthday, my heart still gave an inevitable, painful twist. 2 Liam had adopted Chloe on my seventh birthday. From that day on, my birthday became hers. Every year since, he’d take her out to celebrate, leaving me behind. I never dared to ask him to stay, let alone to celebrate with me. I slowly raised my head, watching the clock hand sweep across the wall. My time was running out. “Put Liam on the phone.” Chloe’s innocent tone barely concealed her smug pride. “What do you want Liam for? He pulled half a month of all-nighters just to get three days off to celebrate my birthday!” I bowed my head, the bitterness in my heart deepening. Liam was willing to spend three days celebrating with Chloe. Would he agree to spare three minutes? Three minutes to share a slice of cake with me? “Chloe, who is it?” Liam’s voice cut through my thoughts. “It’s… it’s Olivia.” A rustle, then the phone was in Liam’s hand. “Hello?” Fear and tension choked me. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Until Liam’s impatient voice cut in, “If you’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up.” “No—” I blurted out, my voice raw. Swallowing hard, I pleaded, my words barely a whisper, “Liam, could you… could you spend one birthday with me? Just this once?” My heart hammered in my chest, a frantic drum of hope and dread. After a long moment, Liam spoke. His tone was like ice, freshly forged and sharp. “How dare you even think of celebrating your birthday?” My heart instantly froze. All these years, I’d grown accustomed to his coldness. But now, facing imminent death, my eyes welled up, blurring my vision. I choked back a sob, begging, “Just this once, Liam, please, I’m begging you, just this one time, will you celebrate with me?” In my panic, to add weight to my plea, I blurted out the System’s existence. “Otherwise… the System, the System will erase me. I’ll really die, Liam.” 3 The sound of my own ragged breathing and pounding heart filled the silent room, shockingly loud. I clutched my phone, waiting for Liam’s verdict. It might have been only a second, but it stretched into an eternity. Finally. His voice, cold, hateful, and utterly indifferent, came through. “Then die. And be quick about it. You killed Mom and Dad. Your death would be a fair repayment.” I froze. Every single one of Liam’s words was a gleaming, sharp blade, stabbing my heart, again and again. Tears streamed down my face, uncontrollable. I’d known it, deep down. I should have known I didn’t deserve a birthday. But still, a sliver of hope had clung to me. After all, we were the only two people in the world bound by blood. We were supposed to be siblings, relying on each other. But my brother… he still wished for nothing more than for me to die. Fine. Truth be told, I didn’t really want to live either. 4 A barely audible sigh echoed in my mind. “Host, do you… want to try one last time? Go find Liam, even if he just stays with you for a minute. I’ll petition headquarters; it’ll count as him spending your birthday with you.” I forced a bitter smile, thanking the System for its kindness. “No need.” What would be the point? To be so utterly despised by my closest, my only relative? What was the meaning of living on? I’d known since childhood that Liam hated me. The System had told me everything: how Mom had suffered complications during my birth; I was supposed to die. But she hadn’t wanted me to, she’d fought with all her might to bring me into the world, trading her life for mine. That very night, Dad, distraught over Mom’s death, had been in a car accident. And so, from the moment I was born, I carried the guilt of having killed both our parents. Liam’s hatred for me was boundless. But Liam. I lost Mom and Dad too. Just like you. 5 The clock struck eleven. I snapped back to reality, wiping away my tears. Gently, I untied the pretty ribbon on the cake box and lifted the transparent lid. The sweet scent of cream filled my nostrils. Before I died, I wanted to taste a birthday cake. After all, I’d never had one before. And I wouldn’t get another chance. I took out the ‘18’ birthday candles and carefully placed them on the cake. Then, I pulled a lighter from the drawer. The wind outside blew in through the open window; I tried a few times, but the candles wouldn’t light. I stood up, walked to the balcony, and prepared to close the window. Just then, a spectacular firework burst forth in the inky night sky. A cascade of light rained down. So beautiful. I stood by the window, letting the night wind whip through my oversized, thin dress, and seep into my hollow, desolate heart. One firework after another soared, trailing silver tails, erupting into a million glittering stars in the sky. Sixteen in total. Chloe was sixteen this year. As the last embers faded, a drone formation slowly ascended, spelling out eight words: “Happy Birthday, My Sister.” The wind was so strong, it stung my eyes. How wonderful. Chloe, cherished by her brother. How truly fortunate. 6 The wind howled in my ears. I took a step forward. This lifetime, I had never known love. Next lifetime— Never mind. Let there be no next lifetime. 7 I took another step. My body leaned out over the railing. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, I plunged forward, falling straight down. Liam. Goodbye. 8 The height of the fall meant my death was gruesomely stark. My soul floated in mid-air. Even I, seeing myself, found the sight unbearable. My face was a mangled ruin, joints dislocated, skin and bone separated. I was like a dirty, broken, unwanted rag doll. Thankfully, it was late, and few pedestrians were out. Someone must have called the police. The wail of sirens grew louder, approaching rapidly. I looked up. Lights flickered on in surrounding apartments, and curious faces peered from windows. “Host, it wasn’t time yet,” the System whispered, its tone tinged with regret. I knew what it meant; it wasn’t yet midnight. “It doesn’t matter,” I murmured. “Half an hour wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.” “But I detect your brother’s car heading this way,” the System continued. “Perhaps he’s coming back to celebrate your birthday.” Really? I looked at my pathetic, lifeless body, cordoned off by yellow tape. All I could think was: Liam will be happy I’m dead, won’t he? Investigators were still documenting the scene. Sure enough, Liam’s car drove through the complex gates. “Host, your brother really did come back,” the System said, sounding genuinely mournful. “If you hadn’t jumped early, you could have completed your mission.” My heart, however, felt little stirred. Perhaps after death, emotions simply faded away. My soul drifted uncontrollably towards Liam. He stepped out of his car, Chloe close behind him. She was on tiptoes, craning her neck, eager to see the scene. Liam gently pressed her head into his chest, his voice filled with a tenderness I had never once heard directed at me: “Don’t look, Chloe. It’ll scare you.” 9 Chloe nodded obediently, then nestled closer in Liam’s arms, whining playfully, “But Liam—you promised to stay with me past midnight!” Liam’s expression softened into one of pure indulgence. He stroked Chloe’s hair, comforting her. “Be a good girl, Chloe. Liam will be back to celebrate with you as soon as he’s done.” Chloe pouted, grumbling unhappily, “It’s all because of that person who jumped! Why couldn’t they jump earlier or later? Why now?” Hearing her, Liam lightly tapped Chloe’s head. “Chloe, show respect for the deceased. As a medical examiner, it’s my duty to perform autopsies and assist with investigations.” So that was it. Liam had only been called back to dissect my body. Not to celebrate my birthday. It was fine. Truly. I hadn’t held out any hope. Chloe shook Liam’s arm, muttering, her head still buried against him, “I know, I know. I just want you to spend more time with me, Liam!” Liam’s expression was one of helpless affection as he gently squeezed her cheek. Floating there, watching the scene of deep sibling affection unfold before me, I felt a pang of envy. I had never once acted childish or affectionate with Liam. And he had never once been so gentle with me. Between us, there had only ever been his raging hatred and my careful, timid existence.

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I transmigrated into a Naga Sorceress. The System told me to go after the male lead, but by the time I arrived at his estate, his entire family had been slaughtered, and he himself was cleaved in two. From beneath a weeping willow nearby, the villain, Lord Kaelen, fixed his hawk-like gaze on me. His voice, a deep, resonant timbre like an ancient melody, was laced with chilling command: “There’s another one. Erase her.” A warrior, sword drawn, strode towards me. Without a second thought, I dropped to my knees and bellowed, “Father!” 1 I was just a corporate drone from the 21st century, forcibly bound to a System. It had given me two lives, and I’d already squandered one. This was my second attempt at a “capture target.” After my first failure, my memories of that attempt were wiped, and I was granted a new identity. This was my last chance. By the time I arrived, the male lead, Julian, was already sprawled in a pool of his own blood, a blade piercing his left chest. He struggled, inching closer to the dark-robed figure, his eyes burning with fury. “This humiliation, I swear, I will repay it tenfold in time!” “Host, don’t panic. The male lead’s heart is on his right side.” I sighed in relief at the System’s words. I’d wait for Kaelen to leave, then I’d save him. The dark-robed figure, Lord Kaelen, didn’t even bother to lift an eyelid, utterly ignoring Julian’s threat. With a flick of his finger, a wave of immense arcane pressure erupted, tearing Julian’s body cleanly in two. Blood gushed forth in a sickening spray. Me: ? System: ? “Host, fret not. We merely need to reconstruct him with enchanted lotus roots…” The System’s words died in its throat as Kaelen conjured a pack of spectral hounds with his dark magic. The hounds descended upon Julian’s mangled form, devouring him until only bones remained in moments. “Re… recon…” The System’s half-formed instruction devolved into a furious curse. “Reconstruct what?! He’s beyond saving!” “What do I do then?” I stood there, stunned. Before the System could answer, a violent gust of wind seemed to sweep around me. The next second, a powerful hand clamped around my throat. The man before me had stark white hair and eyes like chips of obsidian, his handsome face frozen under a layer of ice. His captivating, almond-shaped eyes held an expression of utter disdain, his high-bridged nose and sharp jawline accentuated by the fresh blood smears on his cheek, giving him a dangerously alluring aura. He had to be the legendary antagonist, Lord Kaelen. Thump! He flung me, and I slammed directly into a tree, tears springing to my eyes from the pain. Oh, by the Elder Gods, he’s going to kill me! I tried to flee, but he casually split the ground before me with a single strike of his blade, leaving a sheer cliff face. “W-what… what are you doing?” I stammered, collapsing onto the ground, desperately scrambling backward, my hands scraping against the rough tree bark. Kaelen reached out, and I was lifted into the air, my legs dangling helplessly. “I don’t know him! I was just passing by! Please, spare my life!” I frantically hammered at his arm, trying to appeal to any shred of humanity he might possess. He looked at me, his eyes resolute, his voice like frost-laden iron. “I leave no loose ends.” Then, the hand around my throat tightened, unmistakably intending to kill. This Wyrm, he was rumored to have existed since the primordial chaos, rarely seen, cold-blooded by nature, bound by no Celestial Sovereign. Meaning, even if the High King of the Heavens descended, Kaelen would fight him if he pleased. A thought flashed through my mind. My very being was a treasure trove! As soon as the idea formed, I clutched his hand tightly and blurted out, “I am Yuan, the Abyssal Serpent, a spirit serpent thought extinct! My Heartstone is a supreme alchemical ingredient. If you nurture me well, once my Serpent’s Heart fully forms, you may extract it to bolster your arcane power!” “Ah!” The words barely left my lips before an invisible force seemed to clench, constricting me, making it impossible to breathe. CRACK! His sharp claws plunged directly through my chest without a word, tearing out my Serpent’s Gallbladder. Gasp! He dropped me. I retched a mouthful of fresh blood, writhing on the ground in agony, every bone in my body feeling shattered. He gazed at the blood-soaked gall in his hands, his expression frigid and merciless, his voice as cold as steel. “Indeed, it is Yuan!” “It is…” I clutched my abdomen. The Serpent’s Gallbladder was the clearest mark of a Naga’s true identity. He had simply torn it out just to confirm who I was. “You’ve taken my gall, so I am now yours, Father!” Ignoring my searing pain, I heavily kowtowed to him. At my words, his hand, wiping blood with a silk handkerchief, paused. He turned, his eyes glinting with icy light like twin blades piercing me. “What did you call this Lord?” “Father,” I repeated, looking up, my voice firm yet utterly cowed. “If you’re not satisfied, I can find another address…” He didn’t even wait for me to finish before striking me again. This time, I truly felt as though my internal organs had been pulverized. Blood endlessly spewed from my mouth, the pain spreading to every limb. That single strike had completely crippled my magical reserves. “Within three days, I expect you to grow a Serpent’s Heart,” Kaelen said, his eyes chillingly narrowed, words like whips gracefully falling from his beautiful lips. I froze. Spirit Serpents, like Yuan, were born without hearts. A true Serpent’s Heart only formed from immense love, and its power could save all of existence. According to the System’s plan, I was supposed to fall in love with the male lead, use my heart to save him, and then ensure his happy ending with the heroine. But even setting aside the fact that the male lead was now gone, a heart wasn’t something you just grew on demand! “I need to fall in love first before a heart can form,” I managed to sit up with difficulty, assuming he didn’t know, and tried to explain. He looked down at me, his eyes cold, answering my explanation with a question: “Three days. Not enough time for you to love someone?” “…” I fell silent, then simply threw my hands up in defeat, offering my neck. “Alright, here. Cut here.” I was going to die in three days anyway. What use was living these extra three days? Might as well die sooner. Love someone in three days? Was he even listening to himself? A flicker of killing intent crossed Kaelen’s narrow, phoenix-like eyes, but it was quickly hidden. He curled his lips, his expression unreadable. “You remind me so much of her, in this state.” “Who?” I asked, full of confusion. He ignored me, turning and walking towards the forest behind him. Ignoring my pain, I quickly followed. Before us, he had conjured a graceful bamboo hut, surrounded by an ethereal, serene landscape. He reclined on a low divan, leisurely sipping from a goblet. “You’re waiting for someone,” I observed. Kaelen looked at me, his obsidian eyes like chips of ice. He finally spoke, a rare utterance, but it was only a single word: “Hm.” I was a little curious. Who was he waiting for? A friend? Someone like him… he had friends? He said nothing further. I sat on the ground, waiting, growing drowsy. I don’t know how much time passed, but then I heard footsteps, followed by sobs. I blearily opened my eyes. Not far away, a slender woman was clutching a pile of bones on the ground, weeping. “Julian, I’m too late. I’m so sorry… so sorry…” “No!” A long sword whistled past me, then directly pierced her heart. Before the woman could even react, Kaelen flashed before her, deftly pulling the sword from her chest. I watched, dumbfounded. So all this time, he wasn’t leaving, he was waiting for the heroine? Well, there went that. Now both the male and female leads were dead. Utterly, completely gone. The System’s stunned roar echoed in my mind. “My gods, my dearest System, by all that’s holy! He really did a thorough job of wiping them out!” The heroine turned, clutching her chest, her crimson eyes wide with disbelief. “It was you. You killed my Julian!” “You’re next.” Kaelen wasted no words, plunging the sword into her left chest again. Gag! The heroine choked out a mouthful of blood, then burst into maniacal laughter. “If I die, then no one will ever know… do you not wish to know…?” “No,” he interrupted, then, with a practiced swing of his blade, he simply severed her head. Clinging to her last breath, the heroine seemed intent on a mutual destruction. A blinding light suddenly flared around her, imbued with a consuming, lethal intent. “Look out!” Seeing this, I instinctively lunged at Kaelen, shielding him from the fatal blow. A searing, bone-deep pain ripped through my entire being. My consciousness began to fray, my body growing numb from the agony. “Foolish.” His low, cold voice suddenly echoed in my ears. Just before I collapsed, a warm, powerful hand encircled my waist. I struggled to turn my head. The heroine had already been pulverized into dust under his immense power. “Are… are you alright?!” I asked, my voice trembling with feigned concern. The heroine was utterly decimated; she wasn’t going to pose a threat. Might as well butter Kaelen up. He looked at me, his handsome face veiled in a thin sheet of ice. At my question, he simply lifted his eyes coldly. “Even without you, ten of her wouldn’t harm this Lord.” I lowered my gaze. Of course I knew that. Was I not just trying to show my loyalty? He suddenly crouched down, his long, elegant fingers lifting my chin. “Your face, so unlike hers, yet so similar in so many ways.” “Who is she?” I looked up, my eyes probing. He didn’t answer. The next second, he simply released my hand. I swayed backward, desperately trying to grab onto something, but I only caught him. Attempting to steady myself, I lost my balance and tumbled forward, straight into him. Our eyes met, startled, and then my lips pressed against his. The next moment, a sharp pang shot through my chest. I saw a fleeting flicker of pain in his eyes too. Cough! He abruptly pushed me away, turning his head to vomit a mouthful of fresh blood, his body almost imperceptibly trembling. I quickly retreated, feigning innocence. “I didn’t do it!” His eyes, filled with murderous intent, swept coldly over me. Then he turned, a shimmering arcane barrier rising around him as he began to recuperate. Just now, when his heart had glowed, I noticed it seemed to be only half complete. Could he have given half of his heart to someone else? Who could possibly make such a cold, ruthless Dark Lord sacrifice half of his very essence? “Now! Kill him!” The System’s ancient voice suddenly boomed in my ear. I wondered if my ears were malfunctioning. Wait, it didn’t tell me I was in a grand heroine’s script when I arrived! The System urged again: “The male lead is dead. Why keep the villain alive? Now’s your chance! Kill him!” “Huh? Who? Me? Kill whom? You want me to build an airplane with a screwdriver’s wages?” I grumbled inwardly. After following me for so many years, didn’t the System know my capabilities? Who could I possibly kill? Even a common priest could fight me for three hundred rounds! Besides, the secondary mission was simply to survive for a thousand years. If I succeeded, I wouldn’t need to capture anyone else to stay in this world. Why would I risk so much? I pulled my thoughts back, my gaze falling on Kaelen. His figure, stretched long by the light, his profile hidden in shadow, I couldn’t quite make out. Only his slightly trembling eyelashes and sharp contours were clear. “Are you… in a lot of pain?” I cautiously approached, and since I couldn’t touch him, I poked the arcane barrier. “…” A profound silence. He ignored me. I didn’t take offense, obediently sitting down beside his barrier. “How about I tell you a story to distract you?” I pulled out a pulp fiction novel I’d bought earlier. “I heard there’s a Widow Elara on the western mountains, and she and Old Man Finn have nightly shenanigans… Oh, this is a bit explicit, it’s what I like to read. You probably won’t. Let me find another one!” Just as I was trying to decide which story to pick, I suddenly felt a pang of hunger. I was about to go forage when the air around me abruptly turned wild with strange energy. “Serpentine demon, today is your day of reckoning!” As the words fell, countless thorny vines lashed towards me. But before they could reach me, a surge of power erupted, shattering the vines into dust. Kaelen slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes falling on the Archons who had appeared, their presence radiating silent, inherent authority. The Archons, sensing this invisible pressure, summoned their courage to explain. “This Naga has committed numerous atrocities. We are here to act on behalf of the Celestial Order.” “Nonsense! You just want my Demonic Core!” I clutched my chest, shivering. I might have committed a few minor, impious misdeeds, and yes, enjoyed some risqué literature, but “numerous atrocities” was a stretch! The Archons finished speaking, seeing Kaelen remain silent, they assumed he acquiesced. Just as they were about to attack me, the arm of their leader was suddenly severed, blood spraying. The Archon collapsed, screaming, his face contorted in agony. “This serpent is a demon. Slaying demons and defending the righteous is the duty of the Divines! Even if you intend to protect her, you must offer some reason!” an elder Archon demanded, his eyes blazing with anger as he looked at Kaelen. Kaelen calmly swept his hand, slowly rising to his feet. Though his expression was languid, his eyes held a fierce glint that brooked no argument. Abyssal energy began to emanate from him. “He’s of the Abyssal Host!” one figure cried out in fear. “Such potent abyssal energy! He’s no ordinary being!” another, a lower-ranking Celestial, swallowed nervously at the dense aura. Kaelen’s eyes held a faint, chilling resolve. “No one dares obstruct what this Lord intends. Why should reason be required?” The Archon with the severed arm, seeing such potent abyssal energy, recoiled two steps, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. “Just moments ago, he exuded pure Celestial energy! Now, how can he radiate abyssal power? Could it be…?” A single thought flashed through the minds of everyone present. Legend spoke of the ancient Dark Lord, the Abyssal Wyrm, who walked both the Celestial and Shadow Paths. Those who had not yet achieved true divinity were considered mere cultivators. The Celestial and Abyssal factions had long ceased open hostilities. If they were to attack Kaelen now, it would be a deliberate provocation, reigniting the war between the two realms. “Retreat, all of you!” The Celestials glared at me resentfully, their eyes filled with unyielding frustration. But ultimately, compelled by Kaelen’s immense aura, they bowed and departed. Silence returned to the area. I clutched my stomach, looking pitifully at Kaelen. “I’m hungry. I need to find something to eat.” He turned, glancing at me with a sidelong look. In an instant, a rabbit appeared in his hand. He disdainfully tossed it at my feet, his thin lips parting to issue a single word. “Eat.” I stared at the hopping rabbit on the ground, pausing before I spoke. “Is this… raw?” “Do serpents not eat raw?” he retorted, his gaze neither warm nor cold. Me: … I hadn’t eaten raw food in years; it upset my constitution. Resigned, I decided to go look for some fruit. But suddenly, the air stirred with chaotic energy again, and several more Celestials appeared before me. I immediately sensed trouble and quickly hid behind Kaelen. He turned and gave me a dismissive look, as if mocking my cowardice. “You wicked serpent! Today I will make a stew out of you!” one Celestial declared, rushing forward. Kaelen irritably raised his Blade of Reckoning to block him. The elder Archon frowned, looking at Kaelen, his tone authoritative. “Who are you, that you would protect her without regard for right or wrong?” “What has she done wrong?” Kaelen’s tone was unhurried, every word and gesture imbued with an inherent nobility that deterred casual offense. The elder Archon grew even more enraged. The next second, he revealed his true form – a mighty Gryphon, the bald spot on his head particularly noticeable. “She plucked my feathers! Plucked me bald! She’s not even a bird! Why did she pluck me?!” Kaelen listened to his outburst, then looked at me, a helpless expression in his eyes. “You have nothing better to do?” I rubbed my hands together, feeling a little guilty. “Making a nest! I need to hibernate, so it’s warmer.” “…” Kaelen took a deep breath. I could feel him forcibly suppressing his anger. Then, he simply tossed a high-grade Mystic Orb to the Gryphon. “We’re even.” It seemed he did have some sense of reason after all. But things were far from simple. Other elders who had accompanied the Gryphon, seeing the situation, also began to speak up. “She used my alchemical crucible for a barbecue, and it exploded!” “She made me a feather duster… using my own feathers! I am Lord Gryphon, the Sun-Strider!” “She played with my Sky-Soarer! Sent him all the way up to the heavens!” Kaelen frowned. “Is that also a crime?” “My name is Sky-Soarer!” “…” Kaelen tossed them a dozen more Mystic Orbs, and they left in high spirits. He turned back, his gaze like a knife, threatening to tear me to shreds. But in the end, he simply couldn’t be bothered, and turned to walk away. I scurried after him. “Listen to me, I can explain!” “No,” he refused curtly, without a hint of hesitation. “If you don’t listen, I’ll pluck your scales!” I tried to threaten. He stopped, glancing back at me, his gaze authoritative, like a warning. “Try it.” I instantly cowered, dropping my head. I grumbled reluctantly behind him, “You really are a wicked person.” “A good person would have joined them and executed you on the spot when the first one came for you,” he said, looking at me, his voice chillingly flat. I thought about it and realized he was right. Good thing he was a villain. If he were too righteous, he would have punished me long ago.

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At a wedding, I accidentally caught the bride’s bouquet. Right there, in front of everyone, Fred, my fiancé, publicly lambasted me, accusing me of being manipulative and trying to force him into marriage. Then, he chased after his tearfully distraught assistant, Chloe, who had run off. I tried to follow, to explain, but he drove off, dragging me for over ten yards before I managed to break free. It was a stranger who rushed me to the hospital for emergency treatment. After a near-death experience, I finally called my mother. “Mom, that arranged marriage you mentioned? I agree to it.” 1 After a week in the hospital, I took a taxi home alone. Standing before the familiar front door, I fumbled with my keys, but they wouldn’t turn the lock. There was no choice but to call Fred. The moment the call connected, Chloe’s sugary, high-pitched voice purred through the phone: “Fred’s in the shower. Olivia, is that you back?” Before I could reply, the door opened from the inside. The moment Chloe saw me, she bounced towards me like a startled fawn. “Olivia, I’m so clumsy! I lost the key, and Fred said he was worried a bad person might find it, so he changed the lock. You don’t have the new key yet, do you, Olivia? I’ll give you one later.” My eyes took in Chloe, wearing Fred’s oversized black shirt. And Fred, clad only in a bath towel. A misty haze clung to both of them, radiating an unsettling intimacy. I simply nodded, then dragged my luggage inside. Seeing my silence, my lack of protest, Fred dropped the towel he was using to dry his hair and explained, “Chloe’s pipes burst at her place, so she’s staying with us for a few days. Don’t misunderstand.” In the past, seeing a scene like this would have left me deeply unsettled. But now, I just felt bone-weary. The wound on my back hadn’t fully healed, a faint, taut ache reminding me of it. Looking at Fred’s face, all I could see was that day: his frantic search for Chloe, completely oblivious to me, trailing behind his car, bleeding onto the asphalt. In that moment, my love for him had completely dissipated, along with my fading consciousness. “I didn’t misunderstand.” I walked straight towards the bedroom, not looking back, dragging my suitcase behind me. “She’s just a young girl, with no family nearby. It’s not easy for her. I just wanted to lend a hand.” I met his gaze, silently. He had probably forgotten that I had been separated from my parents since childhood. That kind of hardship… no one understood it better than I did. “I said, I didn’t misunderstand.” Seeing him block my path, I had to stop and reiterate. “Olivia, you’ve been giving us dirty looks since you walked in. Can you just listen to me for a moment?” He tugged at my suitcase, chattering on. My patience snapped. I released the handle, frowning as I said coldly, “I told you, I really didn’t misunderstand!” The suitcase crashed to the floor with a dull thud. Ignoring Fred’s stunned expression, I walked around him and pushed open the bedroom door. Following the light filtering in from the living room, my eyes immediately landed on the black lace lingerie scattered across the bed. Only then did Chloe rush in from behind us, like a panicked deer. She scurried over, snatching the lingerie into her hands, her innocent wide eyes brimming with tears. “Olivia, this is my laundry, I put it here to dry. Please don’t overthink it.” I scanned the messy bedroom. “Hm,” I hummed, then turned and walked into the guest room without another glance. 2 By the time I finished showering, my mother happened to call. “Olivia, I’m glad you finally saw sense. Your father and I are getting old, and you’re our only daughter. All these years, you wouldn’t come and be with us because of that Fred boy, and you don’t know how much your father and I missed you. If he treated you well, it would be one thing, but it’s been ten years, and he’s still just dragging you along, clearly not truly sincere.” “Since you’ve finally decided to come back to us, how about we set the wedding date for ten days from now?” At my mother’s words, my hand, which had been drying my hair, paused. In the past, when my mother gave such advice, I would always firmly contradict her, telling her that Fred loved me. But this time, only silence remained. “Let’s push the wedding date to half a month from now. I want to celebrate Aunt Carol’s birthday before I leave. For everything else, you can decide.” I had just hung up the phone. The sound of the door closing echoed from the hallway. Fred strode over to me, carrying a takeout bag of “spicy seafood boil” he’d picked up on the way. He placed the bag on the table, then frowned, leaning in to try and see my phone. “What wedding date? I’ve told you many times, we’re still young. I don’t want to get married so early.” I pressed the phone screen dark, looking at his overly defensive posture. “It’s just a cousin on my father’s side. She’s inviting me to her wedding.” Hearing this, Fred dropped his guard. He opened the food containers on the table. When he mentioned Chloe, his eyes unconsciously softened into a smile. “I’ve settled Chloe in a hotel. The girl saw you weren’t happy, so she specifically bought this for me to bring back to apologize. She usually doesn’t even buy this for herself. Try some.” Looking at the shrimp and clams swimming in red oil, I didn’t pick up my chopsticks. Fred’s eyes flashed with displeasure. “Olivia Reed, that’s enough. Dragging this out won’t do anyone any good.” I smiled. “Ten years together, and you don’t even know I’m allergic to seafood?” With that, I turned and went back to my room. Fred followed me, his lips parted as if to speak, then closed again. The old Fred would remember my period dates, remember my headaches on rainy days, remember every significant anniversary for us. And he would remember, the first time he discovered my seafood allergy, how he’d held my hand, crying silently all night at my hospital bedside, consumed by guilt. Now, it wasn’t that he’d forgotten; it was just that Chloe liked seafood, and she happened to occupy his heart. He simply got confused. I didn’t look at him, raising my hand to arrange the ointment the doctor prescribed, one by one, on the nightstand. When he saw the scars on my back, his guilt intensified. He picked up the ointment from the table, about to apply it to my back. I was about to refuse when his phone rang at the perfect moment. It was so close, I clearly heard Chloe’s panicked sobs. “Fred, dearest, someone keeps knocking on the door! Is this hotel a shady place? I’m so scared! I heard some criminal gangs target girls living alone like me. Can you come and stay with me?” Hearing this, Fred clenched his phone tightly. “Don’t be afraid. Turn on all the lights in the room, and block the door with chairs or anything. Don’t open it, no matter what. I’m coming for you right now.” After hanging up, he explained to me, earnestly and seriously, “Olivia, Chloe might be in danger right now. I have to go out. I swear, I really just see Chloe as a sister. Don’t make a fuss about her anymore.” Without waiting for my answer, he hurried to the door. The ointment bottle was swept off the table by his coat, spilling most of its contents. I looked at the closed door and curved my lips. Every time he and Chloe crossed a line before, I couldn’t help but feel jealous and angry. And every time, he would call me petty and unreasonable. But Fred, rest assured, from now on, I will never argue with you again. 3 From that day on, Fred never came back. Chloe’s social media, however, updated frequently. Each post, subtly or overtly, boasted about how much Fred doted on her. I quietly added her to my blacklist. Then, on the wall calendar, I crossed off one date after another. Thirteen days left. I started busy preparing my resignation letter. My team leader, seeing the words “Getting Married” boldly written as my reason for leaving, chuckled and teased me about expecting an invitation to my wedding with Fred. She even suggested that marriage didn’t necessitate quitting my job. Not until I told her I wasn’t marrying Fred. She sighed regretfully, then stopped prying into my personal life. These days had been consumed by handing over my work. Once the handover was mostly complete, I suddenly found myself with free time, staring blankly at the calendar, which now showed “five days left.” I patted my cheeks, then began to pack my belongings. Fred and I had known each other for so long. This house was filled with our photos. I carefully tore out my half of all our joint pictures. Then, from the deepest corner of my closet, I pulled out a small wooden box. Inside was a camera, holding gigabytes of videos and photos we’d taken over the years. Besides the camera, there were also a thousand paper cranes he had folded for me in high school. The evening gown I wore for my college performance. Hundreds of love letters he had written… Looking at these things, my heart still felt heavy, a dull ache. After all, the Fred of old had truly cared for me. He hadn’t wanted to miss a single moment of my life. Sometimes, I would tease him, asking if he didn’t feel like he was wasting time remembering so much. He would just smile and playfully tap my nose, saying, “Of course not. I want to record it all, so when we’re old, we can sit in rocking chairs and look through them together.” After flipping through them for a while, I took all these items to the yard. Without hesitation, I set fire to the past, burning everything to ashes. 4 Time flew by. Fred never returned. These past few days, I had been constantly cleaning the house. I didn’t stop until I was sure not a single trace of my presence remained in the home. I looked at the calendar, a large “3” circled prominently. I began to select a birthday gift for Aunt Carol. Ultimately, I chose a jade peace buckle pendant. I hoped that in my absence, Aunt Carol would remain healthy and safe. Once all the arrangements were made, it was Aunt Carol’s birthday, the day before the wedding. In the interim, Fred had sent me a message explaining that he had an unexpected business trip, but I hadn’t replied. Later, he called again, questioning why I had sent insulting text messages to Chloe. He demanded I apologize to Chloe, saying that if I just admitted my mistake, Chloe, being pure and kind, wouldn’t hold a grudge. I found it ridiculous. After all these years, he actually believed I was capable of such a vulgar act. I simply hung up. His text messages bombarded me immediately: [Olivia Reed, you’re something else!] A few minutes later, another message arrived: [Olivia, I really don’t understand. Why have you become like this?!] … Aunt Carol was my mother’s best friend and Fred’s aunt. When my parents went to another city for business, they entrusted me to Aunt Carol. Later, Fred’s family moved in next door to Aunt Carol’s. Fred and I were in the same class, walked to and from school together every day, and slowly became close. After college, he confessed his feelings, and we naturally started dating. After we started working, he said he was worried it wouldn’t be safe for me to rent a place alone. He specially bought a house near my company and asked me to move in with him. Everything between us seemed to happen so naturally. The eighteen-year-old Olivia Reed probably never would have imagined this day with Fred, even if you killed her. Pushing down the chaotic thoughts that suddenly surfaced, I carried the cake and my carefully chosen gift, and knocked on Aunt Carol’s door. The moment she saw me, Aunt Carol warmly pulled me inside. After I confessed about the arranged marriage, she was utterly shocked. “But you and Fred, you two…” Yes, everyone who knew us thought we were a couple. This was why I wanted to leave quietly. I didn’t want to hear their constant sighs of regret. “We’re not right for each other,” I explained, offering no further details. But Aunt Carol took my hand, her eyes filled with pain. “Olivia, I know you have a good heart. There are things you can’t easily say, but I know in my heart. I heard about what happened at the wedding and with Chloe. You’re a good child, and Fred has wronged you. I had planned to make him apologize to you, right in front of you, and give him a good talking to, but since you’ve already made up your mind, then that scoundrel Fred is simply out of luck. You’re going to your parents to enjoy your life. It’s just… it breaks my heart to let you go.” “But you and Fred have been together for so many years. Does he know about this?” All these years, without my parents by my side, I had developed a tolerant and patient nature. Lying in the hospital bed, unable to find a single friend or relative to stay with me, I hadn’t cried. When Fred blamed me, when I saw him and Chloe together, I hadn’t cried. When I decided to give up on Fred, I hadn’t cried either. Yet now, tears uncontrollably welled up, as if all the grievances and sorrow of these past days had finally found an outlet. “I’ll tell him later,” I said, slowly lowering my head, letting the tears fall, one by one, onto the back of my hand. As for Fred… he never intended to marry me anyway. Telling him or not wouldn’t make much difference. Aunt Carol hugged me again and again, her eyes filled with sorrow. “How could this happen? Fred is so foolish, he used to love you so much.” I didn’t want to continue the conversation. After comforting Aunt Carol for a moment, I prepared to leave. But as I opened the door, I came face to face with Fred and Chloe. Chloe was clinging to his arm, her small face still flushed with excitement, and she planted a loud kiss on Fred’s cheek— “Fred, dearest, this trip made me so, so happy! You’re just too, too good to me!!!” Seeing me, Chloe awkwardly shrunk her neck, hiding behind Fred. “Olivia, you’re here too. Don’t misunderstand… I was just so happy.” Hearing Chloe’s words, Fred shielded her, his eyes wary as he looked at me. “She’s young and doesn’t know any better. Don’t hold it against her.” I curled my lips in a self-deprecating smile. The old Olivia Reed, seeing this, would surely have cried all night, wouldn’t she? Thank goodness, thank goodness, I truly didn’t love him anymore. “Hm, no offense taken.” Unwilling to get entangled with them, I mumbled a perfunctory reply, then turned sideways, trying to leave. But Fred deliberately blocked the exit. He frowned, scrutinizing me, as if searching for something on my face. But all he saw was my serene profile. There wasn’t a single hint of jealousy or sadness. This was simply too strange! His doubt intensified. He felt as if something was slipping from his control. The unease made him involuntarily clench my wrist. I couldn’t break free, and I didn’t want to cause a scene at Aunt Carol’s birthday, so I let him pull me inside. Aunt Carol’s eyes were still red. Seeing Fred and Chloe, she didn’t give them a kind look. “It’s a family birthday. What kind of behavior is this, bringing an outsider?” Chloe stiffened, her pitiful gaze falling on Fred. Fred finally released me, walking over to place their gifts together. “Aunt Carol, Chloe is my assistant. How can she be considered an outsider?” After saying that, he cast a cold glance at me. I knew he was angry about me blacklisting Chloe and about my supposed insulting messages to her. I pretended not to see, lowering my head and picking at my food. During the meal, he kept peeling shrimp for Chloe, his sharp gaze occasionally flicking my way. It was always like this… ever since Chloe appeared. Whenever I upset him, he would deliberately do things that made me sad and humiliated. And every time, I would become jealous, break down, apologize to him, begging him not to be angry. A wave of bitterness spread from my heart. My fingertips trembled, and my chopsticks accidentally fell to the floor. Aunt Carol glared fiercely at Fred, then handed me a new pair of chopsticks. Fred, across from me, had a glint of perverse satisfaction in his eyes. I ignored his gaze fixed on my face. Composing myself, I put a piece of plum-glazed ribs into my mouth. Two drama queens, let them act as much as they want. Aunt Carol’s cooking, though, would be hard to find once I left. Seeing this, Fred snorted, his actions growing even more outrageous. Not until Fred gently wiped Chloe’s mouth, their noses almost touching, did Aunt Carol finally lose her temper and slam her chopsticks down.

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In my past life, my girlfriend’s childhood friend had brazenly impersonated a rich scion, causing chaos wherever he went. When I exposed him, he flew into a rage and deliberately slammed his car into me. As I lay dying, my girlfriend Anastasia’s older sister, Charlotte, knelt and pleaded with her to save my life. But Anastasia remained utterly indifferent. “Impossible. Zachary is far too noble to dirty his hands for a little shrimp like him. Don’t get carried away just because you’re dating me; know your place!” Charlotte knelt for three days and three nights, only to be dragged away by Zachary, brutally assaulted, and left for dead. Until my heart finally gave out, Anastasia was still protecting Zachary, covering up his crimes, refusing to believe he had run me over, let alone brutalized her own sister. Reborn, I didn’t choose to humble myself and beg Anastasia to spare me a glance. Instead, I called my older brother, Liam. “Bro, there’s a guy impersonating me, causing trouble out there. Could you have someone deal with him?” “Also, the engagement with the Reed family we’ve been planning? I’m switching the bride. From Anastasia Reed to her older sister, Charlotte.” For years, I’d poured countless resources into the Reed family, only to raise an ungrateful viper. I wanted to see how arrogant Anastasia and her childhood friend would be without me backing them. “Alex Cole! You publicly humiliated me tonight; I’ll make you regret it! You were so arrogant when you exposed me, weren’t you? Did you ever imagine this day would come?” Zachary Thorne’s familiar voice rang in my ears before I could even process it. “You’re just a pathetic nobody, a penniless loser. Anastasia doesn’t even care about you. Even if I crush you into the dirt out here in the middle of nowhere, she’ll still protect me, believe it or not!” Dazzling headlights were rushing closer, the engine howling as if to run right over me. A searing jolt of pain ripped through my body. That’s when I truly realized I had been reborn. I was back in the exact moment Zachary had slammed his car into me. My shattered phone lay nearby, somehow having dialed Anastasia’s number. Her cold, disgusted voice was still echoing from the speaker. “Alex Cole, just stop calling me. I know you’re just jealous of Zachary and me, always looking for reasons to cause trouble. Zachary would never hit you with his car. That vehicle cost millions; it’s not worth totaling it just to run you over. No matter what you say this time, I won’t believe a word of it!” She fell silent after that, apparently waiting for my reaction. But unlike my previous life, I didn’t try to argue, to beg for help, or to convince her of Zachary’s true nature. Watching Zachary drive off, leaving me for dead, I painstakingly reached out, hung up the call, and used my phone’s last ounce of battery to dial another number. Once it connected, I gritted my teeth, suppressing the agony that wracked my body. “Bro, save me.” My ears buzzed, and I couldn’t quite make out his reply, but I knew, with absolute certainty, that my brother would come. I was Liam’s favorite, the future second-in-command of the powerful Cole family, and our family’s protection around me was absolute. These past years, living under a hidden identity and dating Anastasia, had already been the absolute limit of what they would tolerate. If they ever found out someone dared to harm me, they would unleash a thousandfold retribution, tormenting them until they begged for death. I was dragging my body, trying to crawl towards the edge of the road, when Zachary’s car suddenly reappeared, speeding back towards me. The window rolled down, and his eyes, dark and sinister, fixed on me. “Anastasia said you weren’t dead. She was right.” My heart plummeted. If he hit me again, I truly wouldn’t survive. I watched, helpless, as his foot stomped down on the accelerator. Just as despair threatened to consume me, a bright red sports car screamed into view from another direction, smashing head-on into Zachary’s Maybach. A woman sprang out of the car, rushing towards me, her voice laced with urgent concern. “Alex Cole, are you alright?!” It was Charlotte Reed, Anastasia’s older sister. Memories flooded back – her desperate pleas in my previous life, her agonizing fate, abused and left for dead by Zachary right by my hospital bed. A tide of complex emotions washed over me, but most profoundly, guilt and gratitude. I vowed to protect her this time, never letting her come to harm again. Without thinking, I pushed her away. “Don’t mind me, run!” But it was too late. Zachary materialized behind Charlotte, seizing her by the hair and yanking her back. Before she could even speak, he brutally kicked her. “You wretched bitch! Where did you crawl out from? Don’t you know who I am, Young Master Thorne? Daring to stop me from teaching this nobody a lesson? Do you have a death wish?!” Charlotte crumpled, clutching her stomach, cold sweat beading on her forehead. But she mustered all her strength and bit down hard on his hand. Zachary let out a howl of pain, then grabbed a heavy stone from the ground and savagely brought it down on her. Watching Charlotte’s head crack open and bleed, my heart ached with agonizing pain. “She’s Anastasia’s sister! You hurt her, aren’t you afraid Anastasia will come after you?!” Zachary paused, then a wicked smirk twisted his lips as he looked at her bruised face. He slapped her violently, sending her sprawling onto the ground, then reached for his belt. “So what if she’s Anastasia’s sister? It’s her honor that I even look at her. Besides, I’m the Cole family’s second young master. The Reeds owe everything they have to me. If I claim this woman was harmed by you, who do you think Anastasia will believe? Me or you? She’ll finish you off, and I’ll be completely off the hook!” I was frantic, but my legs were crushed, rendering me utterly immobile. All I could do was reveal my true identity. “Enough! I am the real Cole family scion! She is under my protection. If you dare lay another hand on her, I’ll leverage every connection the Cole family has to make your life a living hell!” Zachary burst into mocking laughter. “That’s a pretty convincing lie, but Young Master Liam has already personally acknowledged me as his brother! How dare you try to impersonate me here?!” My heart lurched. I had no idea about any of this. My parents had been deeply in love; there were no other illegitimate children. My brother Liam had personally promised me, time and again, that I was his only true brother. Where had this imposter come from? Before I could sort out my thoughts, Zachary’s face twisted into a sinister snarl, and he raised his foot, intending to kick me into the river that lay just beyond the road. Rolling down there would mean certain death. Just as I braced myself, trying desperately to find a way to save myself, Charlotte launched herself from behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around Zachary’s legs. “Alex, run! I’ll hold him here!” She bit him relentlessly, and Zachary was completely enraged, about to unleash his fury on both of us when the unmistakable thrum of a helicopter sliced through the night sky. The Cole family had arrived! Liam’s secretary, Mr. Chen, sprinted from the helicopter, immediately seeing to our rescue. Zachary was promptly knocked out and dragged away, but Charlotte, overwhelmed by the terror, had fainted. I urgently ordered them to rush her to the hospital for treatment, while my own broken bones were merely set and temporarily stabilized. I waited anxiously outside the emergency room for what felt like an eternity, until Charlotte was safely moved to a private room. Only then did the knot of dread in my chest finally loosen. I immediately called Liam to assure him of my safety. Hearing I was injured, Liam’s fury erupted. He slammed his fist on a table, his voice booming. “Who dared to harm you?! If I weren’t tied up with urgent matters, I would have flown there myself with Mr. Chen and broken every one of their limbs, making them beg for death!” I didn’t want him to escalate things too much just yet. “Bro, about the engagement with the Reed family, originally set for next month… I want to change the person.” Liam sounded surprised. “You’re not marrying Anastasia? You were so devoted to her for three years; I thought you’d never marry anyone else.” “No, I don’t want that woman anymore. I want Charlotte.” “And all the resources I poured into Anastasia over the years? I want every single one of them back!” I had treated Anastasia like the love of my life, but she’d treated me like a doormat, letting her friends insult me. In both lives, she had fiercely protected Zachary. I was utterly disgusted with her. Liam’s voice grew solemn. “Understood. Your word is law.” “I’ve recalled Mr. Chen, but I’ve left the Cole family’s personal security detail to protect you. Rest well and recover at the hospital. And don’t even think about trying to hide the extent of your injuries from me; I’ll have someone investigate thoroughly. If anyone laid a finger on you, I’ll make sure they lose ten!” This time, before I could reply, the call disconnected. I had wanted to ask about Zachary, but it seemed that would have to wait. I turned to walk towards Charlotte’s room, only to hear hurried footsteps echoing down the corridor. Looking up, I saw Anastasia’s furious face. She raised her hand and delivered a stinging slap across my face, her voice seething with uncontrollable rage. “Alex Cole, have you lost your mind?! You actually hired people to bully Zachary?! Haven’t you heard how fiercely protective his brother is of him?! You’re practically asking for a death sentence!” My face was still turned from the impact, but I managed a mocking laugh. “He’s a Cole? Then why is his name Thorne?” Anastasia scoffed. “What do you know? He’s a late-in-life child, the family’s most cherished and protected. It’s not strange for him to live under a different name for safety! He and I have been friends since childhood, and even I only just learned his true identity. What hope did a backwoods bumpkin like you have?” Just then, I saw Zachary, his face bruised and swollen, emerge from behind Captain Reynolds, one of our family’s security chiefs. Anastasia looked at me with smug satisfaction, clearly believing my downfall was imminent. I wondered why Zachary had been released, when Captain Reynolds walked directly towards me. I expected him to step in front of me, to protect me, but instead, he suddenly pulled a club from his belt and swung it violently at me. “What kind of trash are you, daring to bully our Young Master?! You’re looking for a fight! This is a lesson from the Young Master!” The blow connected, and blood streamed down my forehead, painting my vision crimson. My head buzzed, threatening to pass out. Yet, his eyes were bloodshot, truly looking like he was protecting his master. I was utterly bewildered. “You’re insane! Don’t you recognize me? I’m the Cole family’s second son!” But he spat, his expression feral. “You’re delusional! I’ve worked for the Cole family for nearly ten years, and I’ve only ever known Young Master Zachary! What are you, daring to impersonate him?!” Zachary finally stepped out from behind Captain Reynolds, his gaze cold and calculating, like a butcher eyeing meat on a chopping block. He turned to Anastasia. “Anastasia, what should we do about this? Tonight, I just wanted a quiet drink with friends, but your boyfriend here publicly accused me of impersonating the Cole family’s young master.” “Our family’s motto has always been discretion, so I tolerated it, even had him politely escorted to a car. But he then had the audacity to accuse me of hitting him with my car! Damaging the Cole family’s reputation, no less! How are we going to settle this score?” Every word he uttered was a blatant distortion of the truth, utterly absurd. But Anastasia’s face paled. She immediately grabbed my collar, yanking me out of my wheelchair. Then she kicked my knee, forcing me to my knees with a sickening thud. She ordered someone to hold my head, slamming it repeatedly against the floor. “Alex Cole, I never imagined you were this kind of person! Apologize to Zachary, now! Keep bowing your head until he’s willing to forgive you!” I trembled with rage, struggling to get back on my feet. My brother Liam had always taught me that a man’s knees are sacred, never to be bent except for those he loved most. Since birth, I had only ever knelt before my parents. What they were doing was a profound humiliation of my very being! Anastasia, seeing my struggle, merely sneered, her voice dripping with haughty arrogance. “Still refusing to accept reality? I’ll let you in on some insider information: the Cole family is finally formalizing an engagement with the Reed family, and I am the chosen bride.” “People of our standing don’t associate with penniless nobodies like you. Give up your pathetic ambitions of climbing the social ladder. Apologize to Zachary now, and perhaps, out of consideration for our past, I might even persuade him to spare your life!” Veins pulsed violently on my forehead, and I laughed, a bitter, mocking sound. “Anastasia, the Cole family will never formalize an engagement with you. You’d better start preparing to be disowned by the Reed family!” This seemed to ignite Anastasia’s fury. She snatched a nearby vase, smashing it against the ground, then picked up a sharp shard. Raising it, she aimed for my thigh. “You pathetic piece of trash! How dare you speak to me like that? If you insist on being stubborn, I have no problem turning you into a complete cripple. Let’s see how arrogant you can be then!” I was held down, unable to move, and could only close my eyes in despair. But the agonizing pain I expected never came. When I opened my eyes, I saw Charlotte, who had appeared out of nowhere, shielding me. Her hospital gown was soaked in blood, but she still stood defiantly in front of me, speaking in a weak voice. “Don’t believe anything Zachary says. He’s a despicable, immoral thug! He’s not a Cole family young master at all.” “And if you want to hurt Alex, you’ll have to kill me first!” Anastasia stared, aghast, at the crisscrossing fresh and old scars on her sister’s body, about to ask a question. But Zachary reacted faster, hiding the flicker of panic in his eyes. He roughly grabbed Charlotte and slapped her, bellowing.

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