In the sixth year of my secret crush on my childhood best friend, he fell for my roommate. I played his wingman, listening to him pour his heart out about his lovesickness. In return, he told me, “Chloe, whatever you do, please never fall in love with me.” At a party, he publicly confessed his feelings to her. My roommate’s eyes, holding a mockingly ambiguous smile, swept over me. “I don’t date guys who are entangled with other girls.” The gazes of everyone around pierced me like needles. Ethan anxiously tried to explain, “Chloe and I are just…” I raised my hand, smiling as I showed off the couple’s ring on my finger. “I’ve actually had a boyfriend for a while now.” 1 Mia went clubbing with some other people tonight. I was scrolling through my phone, looking at her freshly posted Instagram story from three minutes ago. Under the hazy, ambiguous club lights, she was sandwiched between a group of young, attractive guys and girls. And she still managed to look stunningly out of place. Ethan sat on the bench by the campus lake. Looking as depressed as a dog with drooping ears. “…I asked her to hang out, and she said no…” “And then I turn around and see she posted this story tonight…” The air by the artificial lake at night was a bit chilly. Couples strolled by in twos and threes. I shot Ethan an annoyed look. “And so, this is your excuse for dragging me out of the library?” Ethan looked up. The young man was blessed with good looks—charming, slightly tilted eyes, thin lips. He had a face that naturally looked like a playboy’s, yet he was surprisingly devoted. In twenty years, the only person he ever fell hard for was Mia. The corners of his eyes were slightly red as he pitifully threw himself at me, hugging me: “Chloe, Chloe…” “I know you’re the best to me… With our dozen years of friendship… you’ll definitely help me, right?” My entire body went rigid. Ethan remained completely oblivious, rubbing against me like a giant golden retriever: “Please… Chloe.” “…” I pushed him away with one hand. “Stop getting so handsy.” “Hey…” Ethan blinked, his charming eyes looking somewhat innocent: “We’re friends, right?” “Friends forever.” 2 Friends my ass. I had ulterior motives. They say a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its burrow. But I just had to go and fall in love with my childhood best friend. Ethan and I had known each other since we were kids. Childhood sweethearts, inseparable. He stuck to me, and I stuck to him. As we grew older, the boy gradually shot up and filled out. His features became increasingly handsome, his height and long legs more pronounced. A lot of girls at school chased after him. Ethan had that playboy look, the kind of guy who seemed like he could have a whole platoon of girlfriends. But in reality, other than me, he hadn’t even held another girl’s hand. Every time someone confessed to him, he would just smile, his eyes curving, and reject them. Said he was innocent. But occasionally, this guy would drop some incredibly romantic lines. For example, when I asked him why he never accepted any girls’ confessions. Ethan took a sip of milk, casually threw his arm around my shoulder. The fresh scent of his body wash, mixed with the sweetness of strawberry milk, lingered near my nose. He grinned and said: “None of them are as good as you, Chloe.” “If I absolutely have to like someone, I’ll just like you.” I only remember my ears turning bright red. I feigned composure and told him to stop talking nonsense. But inside, my heart felt like carbonated bubbles rising in a soda. In that instant, I felt so happy I thought I might burst. —I thought we had plenty of time. Time enough to stay by his side and wait for him to finally realize his feelings. I never anticipated… That he would fall in love at first sight with my roommate, Mia. 3 “I got it.” I said, “I’ll help you.” Ethan immediately smiled, his eyes curving into crescents: “You’re the best, Chloe!” I pushed him away. “It’s getting late. I need to head back to the dorm.” “Okay.” Ethan obediently let go. “Be careful on the way.” He didn’t walk me back. The campus at night was much quieter than during the day. I was walking slowly down the path when someone unexpectedly pulled me into a dark corner. The crisp, woody scent of the person’s cologne enveloped me as I was wrapped inside their leather jacket. A slightly higher body temperature transferred to me in an instant. “Seeing my girlfriend hugging and cuddling with her roommate by the lake late at night.” “Little Bird, don’t you think I should submit this to the campus confession page?” Liam’s voice was lazy, his warm breath brushing against the top of my head. “Go ahead, then.” I buried my face in his chest. Liam chuckled lightly and dropped a kiss on my forehead: “I can’t bear to.” “So even if you cheat on me, I guess I’ll just have to accept it.” “You’re crazy.” I pinched his waist. 4 Dating Liam was purely an accident. He was always the “big man on campus,” and I only knew him in passing. Liam’s looks were absolutely on par with Ethan’s. But this guy gave off a vibe that was far too flirtatious. Like a fox. His eyes looked full of affection, yet somehow devoid of it at the same time. But even so, his heartlessness was captivating. Acting as Ethan’s wingman, I set up a hangout and brought Mia along. Young men and women, drinking and playing games—the atmosphere quickly heated up. I had a few drinks and went to the restroom to sober up. When I came back, the private room was empty. My stomach felt awful. I crouched by the entrance of the bar, calling Ethan’s number. I called seven or eight times, but he didn’t answer. I sent a message to Mia. She replied quickly with a voice note: “I drank too much and wanted some BBQ from Southside. Ethan took me.” “Sorry, forgot to tell you.” The female voice sounded completely nonchalant. In the background, I could hear Ethan’s joyful voice: “Mia, I waited in line and got…” I was so angry I almost threw my phone. When I looked up, I saw Liam leaning against the doorframe, watching me. The young man was tall with long legs. Looking down at me, his fox-like eyes curved into a smile. “I…” “You look really pretty.” Liam smiled, his eyes crinkling. “Want to date?” “…” I think I was drunk, otherwise, I definitely would have stood up and punched him. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the heartbreak, or maybe it was just that Liam was really good-looking. “I have someone I like.” “That’s fine.” The young man’s tone was amused, his eyes alluring. “I don’t mind.” “…Alright then.” I thought at the time. I’d just treat it as a fling. 5 And so, we “played” for three months. Existing in a bizarre yet stable state. We kissed and hugged like a real couple, but it felt like neither of us was truly invested. Liam liked my face. And my heart belonged to someone else. The kind of situation where, if posted anonymously online, would get us cursed out for two hundred comments as a trashy couple. I admit, I was pathetic. The only thing in this world that can turn a person pathetic, requiring immense effort with zero reward, is love. But if it were that easy to let go… It wouldn’t be called love. Liam walked me to my dorm building. I was wearing his jacket and wanted to take it off to return it. He gripped my shoulder and smiled. “Give it back to me later. It’s cold in the stairwell.” I didn’t refuse. Liam kissed my cheek. “Are you free tomorrow?” I shook my head. “Tomorrow I’m being Ethan’s wingman again.” The curve of Liam’s lips deepened, his fingertips pinching my cheek: “…You really aren’t afraid of me getting jealous.” The young man leaned in, using his height to create a slight sense of pressure. But then, like a puppy, he gave my cheek a light bite. “The day after tomorrow, you’re mine.” “…Okay.” Sometimes I felt like Liam and I were truly weirdos. Clearly not in love. Yet acting exactly like any other couple deeply in love. Because we didn’t love each other. We never fought. It made things even more stable. 6 Mia finally rushed back just before lights-out. Catching a glimpse of the jacket hanging by my bed, she gave a half-smile: “Out on a date?” “Yeah.” I put my phone face down. On the screen, Ethan had just sent a pitiful-looking sticker. “With Ethan?” “No, with my boyfriend.” Mia let out a soft scoff, clearly not believing me. “Are you free tomorrow?” I spoke up. “Ethan said he found a nice lounge. It’s really pretty, and it would go perfectly with that dress you bought recently.” Mia put her bag on her desk and looked at me, her eyes carrying a hint of mockery and condescending pity: “You’re really pathetic, Chloe.” I suppressed the irritation flaring in my chest. “…Playing wingman for the guy you like, enduring my sarcasm.” “You even invented a fake boyfriend… Tell me, does Ethan know?” Mia’s eyes curved into crescents. Carrying a natural malice. But even so, she was still damn gorgeous. “Or maybe…” “Is this your new tactic to get his attention?” “…Mia.” My tone turned a bit cold. Mia smiled: “Just a joke, what’s the rush?” “I’ll go.” 7 My hands clenched and unclenched. Finally, I yanked the bed curtain shut, blocking out her face. My WeChat was pinging non-stop. I picked it up and saw several messages. Ethan: — How did it go? How did it go? — She’s back, right? Was she tired from hanging out today? — If she’s tired, it’s totally fine if she doesn’t want to come tomorrow… — Did she… I replied with one line: — She said yes. A flood of messages instantly poured in: — Really?! — I knew you were the best, Chloe! — [Flower_giving_cat.jpg] I stared at the cute sticker of the cat offering a flower. That was the sticker pack Mia always used. I typed and deleted, typed and deleted for a long time, but ultimately didn’t reply. Outside my curtain, I could hear Mia’s soft giggles. Who knows which new guy she was on the phone with now. I took a deep breath, tossed my phone aside, and buried myself under the covers. It wasn’t the first time. Anyone with eyes could see Mia was stringing Ethan along. Especially me. The one secretly harboring a crush. In the very beginning, I had tried to warn him. Even though I knew the truth, saying it out loud always made it sound like I was just jealous and bitter. So I chose my words carefully, stammering for ages, before finally only managing to say: “Maybe… you’re just not her type.” That was the first time I saw Ethan look so serious. The sun was setting. Casting a golden halo on the side of his face. Warm. Yet exceptionally lonely. “…I know,” he said. “I know Mia doesn’t like me… and I know… she might just be stringing me along…” “But I just like her.” “And I hope that she’ll like me back.” “So, I want to try a little harder. Hard enough that she either likes me… or gives me a clear rejection.” A clean, pure, burning love. I knew I was supposed to say something right then. But those words felt like knives, slicing my heart into pieces. My throat seemed to lose its voice at the exact same moment. So, in the end. All I could offer was a dry: “Good luck.” Perhaps from that moment on. I should have known that there was no possibility left between Ethan and me. For a split second, I felt hatred. I hated him for being so open, hated him for loving so passionately, hated him for not giving me a single chance. I hated my own cowardice, hated that I loved him but couldn’t say it, hated that I was too good at pretending— At least, he had the courage to say it out loud. While I only ever dared to test the waters right at the boundary of our friendship. Never daring to take a single step forward.

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1 The father of my son’s classmate kidnapped me. He forced me to livestream myself carving off my own flesh, all to force my husband to show his face. Instantly, the entire internet was begging my husband to step forward and save me. But what they didn’t know was that the top donor in my dark-web livestream was none other than my legal husband. Right at that moment, he was on one knee at a high-end waterfront restaurant, proposing to his young mistress. The teenager cheering them on in the background was my son. And the TV in the restaurant was broadcasting the live feed of my torture. Later, I was rescued and survived. Clutching my stomach, tears streaming down my face, I looked at my husband and son. They looked back at me with pure disgust, annoyed that I had ruined the mistress’s special day. But what they didn’t know was that I wasn’t clutching a wound. I was clutching the evidence that would send them both straight to hell. 2 I was illegally detained in a dilapidated, abandoned house by the father of my son’s classmate. He forced me to start a livestream and slice my own flesh off with a knife. In just twenty minutes, a massive, gaping gash had been carved into my thigh, exposing the stark white bone underneath. The comment section exploded: “What is she doing? Is she being forced? Blink twice if you’re being threatened!” “Didn’t the title say she won’t stop until her husband shows up? Where is he?!” “Wait, is the husband trying to kill her for the insurance money?” The kidnapper, annoyed that I was moving too slowly, snatched the knife from my hand. With a swift motion, he sliced a thick chunk of flesh from my leg and held it up to the camera. It was as if he was showing off his knife skills. Fighting through the blinding agony, I gasped out an explanation to the viewers: my husband was out of the country, accompanying our son to a competition. He wasn’t in the States. Before I could finish, my phone buzzed. It was a video message from my husband’s young mistress. “Wow, this waterfront restaurant is so romantic…” “Hubby said he loves me the most. He said I’m young and know how to please him, while you’re just a washed-up, ugly housewife.” “Oh, and Leo even agreed to call me Mom! Right, Leo?” The video showed my husband, Arthur, and my son, Leo, looking at Evelyn with absolute adoration. Leo even happily chimed in, calling her “Mom.” In the background, I could see Arthur’s colleagues, friends, relatives, as well as Leo’s friends and their parents. They were all gathered for a massive celebration. Not a single one of them realized that the woman being tortured in the viral livestream was me. The kidnapper frowned in confusion. He took my phone and initiated a video call with them. When Leo saw my name on the screen, he glanced at it and immediately started mocking me: “Oh, is the ugly housewife throwing a tantrum now?” “Auntie Evelyn said you used to bully her when you were kids. You called her the maid’s daughter and stole Grandpa’s love.” “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get on your knees and apologize to Auntie Evelyn right now. Maybe then Dad and I will actually be nice to you.” My face was deathly pale. The pain in my heart eclipsed the pain in my body. Through gritted teeth, I managed to croak out: “Leo… save me. Call the police…” “Oh, enough already,” my son rolled his eyes. “Stop playing games.” “Even if the cops come, we aren’t leaving Auntie Evelyn’s party.” Instead of hanging up, my son flipped the camera to show me the scene. Evelyn flashed a peace sign at the camera, clearly trying to provoke me: “Hey, sis. Arthur is going to propose to me in a few minutes. Do you think I should say yes? Oh my god, I’m so nervous…” It felt like an invisible hand was crushing my windpipe. I couldn’t breathe. The blood continued to pour from my leg. My body temperature was dropping rapidly. I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness. Smack! The kidnapper delivered a brutal backhand across my face. “Faking passing out? It won’t work! If your husband doesn’t show up, I’ll make you beg for death.” “If cutting your flesh doesn’t work, I’ll dig out your kidneys. If that doesn’t work, I’ll chop off your hands. And if your hands are gone, I’ll cut out your tongue.” The chat went completely insane. People were cursing the kidnapper’s lack of humanity, begging him to reconsider. But mostly, they were mobilizing, urging everyone to spread the stream to find my husband. Someone angrily commented: “Call the cops! Can anyone tracking his IP please call 911?” “To the guy above: calling the cops won’t help as much as finding the husband. This guy clearly has a massive grudge against the husband.” “If you’re a real man, go after the husband! Torturing a woman makes you a coward.” But no matter what the chat said, the kidnapper kept his focus entirely on the knife. The agony shot from my leg straight into my brain. 3 My head felt like it was going to split open. My involuntary, agonizing screams made it unbearable for the viewers to watch. The livestream donations started pouring in. Everyone in the chat begged the kidnapper to spare me in exchange for the massive tips. Just then, a live-call request popped up on the screen. “I am Arthur. Connect the call.” I let out a massive sigh of relief. Thank God. My husband finally saw it! But when the split-screen connected, the man on the other end was a stranger. The kidnapper obviously knew what Arthur looked like. Assuming he was being mocked, he gripped the knife tightly, preparing to slice into me again. Seeing this, the man on the screen quickly yelled: “Wait! I’m Mr. Vance’s paralegal. Arthur is currently busy with an event.” “Also, you’ve kidnapped the wrong woman. Mr. Vance doesn’t have a wife, he only has a girlfriend. And he’s actually proposing to her right now.” “If you have demands, state them. There’s no need to hurt an innocent person.” The kidnapper exploded in rage. He grabbed me by the hair and slammed my face toward the camera. My body was covered in deep gashes. The slightest movement tore the muscles, making me sweat profusely from the pain. But even with my body ripped to shreds, it was nothing compared to the agony in my heart. If I’m not Arthur’s wife, then who is? The kidnapper sneered. “Do you think I’m a fucking idiot? This is the biological mother of Arthur Vance’s son!” He glared at me. “Call Arthur on this stream right now. If you don’t…” He raised the knife. Hearing my terrified screams, the paralegal had no choice but to patch the call through to Arthur’s personal phone. But the person who answered was Evelyn. “Oh hubby, the diamond is so big! I’m so happy to have you and Leo… Oh wait, your phone is ringing…” Finally, my husband’s voice came through the speaker: “Hello, who is this?” The paralegal—who was actually a police negotiator in disguise—didn’t dare reveal his identity. He asked subtly: “Is your wife with you?” My husband answered without hesitation: “Yes, my wife and son are right here. Why?” The negotiator cautiously hinted that someone was claiming to have kidnapped his wife on a livestream. My husband actually laughed out loud. “Scammers are getting ridiculous these days. Grabbing some random woman and trying to extort me.” “Listen, stop wasting your time. It’s probably just two actors running a scam for stream donations. My family of three is currently at a waterfront restaurant, and I’m not leaving.” “If you’re really that worried, just ask the ‘kidnapper’ how much he wants, and pass a hat around your office to pay him off.” The negotiator pressed on. “The woman in the video is screaming in genuine agony. It doesn’t look fake. Could you please just log into the stream and verify if it’s her?” My husband paused, seemingly considering it. Just then, Evelyn let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh hubby, my stomach hurts so much! Do you think the baby is scared because we’re talking about something so bloody? It’s okay, hubby, saving someone is more important. You should go look. The baby and I will be fine.” “How could I do that? Nothing is more important than you and the baby.” My husband pulled Evelyn into a tight hug, his voice dripping with concern, and decisively rejected the negotiator: “I’m incredibly sorry, but my wife isn’t feeling well. I can’t help you…” His wife? 4 I was his legally wedded wife. But because Evelyn was younger, more shameless, and willing to spoil Leo rotten… My husband didn’t even care that Evelyn was the illegitimate daughter my father had with our former maid. He openly flaunted his affair. And now he was throwing her a massive, romantic proposal. My chest tightened painfully, like a massive boulder was crushing my lungs. On the call, the undercover cop was still desperately trying to reason with the kidnapper. It was useless. The kidnapper pinned me to the floor, his voice venomous: “If you want to blame someone, blame your sociopath son and your scumbag lawyer husband!” The knife came down again. “AHHH!” I couldn’t hold it back. My scream felt like it pierced the heavens. The blinding pain nearly sent me into shock. At that exact moment, a highly-upvoted comment pinned itself to the top of the chat. “I work with Arthur. The victim is 100% Arthur’s wife. I just texted him the stream link.” Arthur had received the link a long time ago. Then what about my son? What about our relatives and friends? Why didn’t anyone who saw the stream tell Arthur to come save me? Ignoring the blood pouring down my body, I grabbed my phone and opened the video clip Evelyn had sent me earlier. I scrutinized every single detail. And finally, I saw it. On a large TV screen mounted on the wall of that romantic restaurant… The livestream of my torture was playing for the entire party to see. The kidnapper yanked my head back, taking a sharp breath. “They’re watching this live, right there in the restaurant. And they didn’t come to save you.” “Tell me… did they not notice? Or do they just want you to die faster?” “Hahahaha…” It felt like a bolt of lightning struck me. I froze, completely forgetting the physical pain, forgetting the grief. A moment later, I lunged for my phone like a madwoman, pointing the camera directly at my face, and screamed hysterically: “Arthur! Leo! I am Leo’s mother! Look at me! Look at me!” “I am being tortured! Even if you want to cheat, even if you want a new mom, you can’t just let someone die!” “Leo, I’m your mother! I brought you into this world!” The chat went into absolute overdrive: “As a mother, I am completely breaking down watching this.” “Please, I’m begging you, let her go! She obviously has zero leverage over her husband and son!” “Are you people deaf? She isn’t his wife! The guy on the phone said his wife is the chick he’s with right now!” All over the internet, thousands of strangers were advocating for me, desperately trying to find a way to save me. But my own husband and son never showed up. It didn’t used to be like this. Before Leo turned five, we were a perfectly happy, harmonious family. But everything changed the day Evelyn appeared. 5 Evelyn used the excuse that I had monopolized our father’s love for years, demanding compensation at every turn. Sometimes it was a piece of jewelry. Sometimes a designer bag. Slowly, it evolved into private dates with Arthur, and eventually into taking Leo out on extravagant trips. Just like that, my husband and my son were stolen from me, piece by piece. I used to think that, no matter what, we were legally a family. I thought they would always have some baseline level of care for me. The kidnapper slapped me hard across the face twice, rubbing salt into my emotional wounds. “Your husband and your son threw you away.” Two of my teeth had been knocked out. My mouth was filled with blood, but I still stubbornly argued: “No… they just didn’t see the screen…” The kidnapper threw his head back and laughed. He pointed to a specific username in the chat. “Is this your husband?” The username, featuring a profile picture of Leo and Evelyn happily posing together, had just donated five massive “Rocket” tips to the stream, making him the top donor. At that exact moment, my phone buzzed with several new photos. Under a gorgeous, colorful sunset, Arthur was on one knee, holding a massive diamond ring. You could read his lips: “I love you.” Everyone around them had joyous, congratulatory smiles. Leo was wiping tears of happiness from his eyes. And in the corner of the photo, resting on a table, Arthur’s phone screen was actively playing the livestream of my torture. The exact moment of my brutalization was the exact moment of their peak happiness. Evelyn sent a barrage of texts, gloating: “Hubby said it’s best if you die out there. It saves him the hassle of dividing assets in a divorce.” “Oh, and your son said that if you don’t die, he’s going to drop out of school and work minimum wage just to support the baby in my belly.” “So do us all a favor and just die. It’d be great if you could leave a will leaving everything to Leo, so he doesn’t have to work so many shifts.” The metallic taste of blood coated my tongue. I lay sprawled on the dirty floor, letting the physical pain wash over me. “Are you furious? Does it hurt worse than death?” “I thought I was the only victim here. I didn’t realize we were in the same boat. Why don’t we team up? We can give them a massive present.” The kidnapper leaned close, whispering in my ear, while discreetly shoving a small USB drive into my hands. “The footage of your sociopath son brutally bullying my boy… and the proof of Arthur forging evidence to cover it up… it’s all on this drive. The moment this goes public, the Vance family will be destroyed.” The kidnapper’s voice grew increasingly frantic and excited, his teeth gritted as he hissed into my ear: “You brought Leo into this world. How about you be the one to destroy him? Deal?” The kidnapper forcefully shoved the USB drive directly into the open, bleeding gash on my stomach. The hard plastic dug into my flesh, sending sharp spikes of agony through my body. I processed his words in silence. The police negotiator had finally triangulated my location. Dozens of SWAT officers breached the abandoned house, with Arthur and Leo trailing far behind them. The police tackled the kidnapper and hauled him away. I lay on the floor like a puddle of mud. I let the police and paramedics step around me, their boots occasionally brushing against the pools of my blood. At one point, Arthur accidentally stepped squarely on one of my fingers—the one where the fingernail had been ripped off. I screamed in agony, but the father and son completely ignored my pain. Arthur and Leo were frantically searching the abandoned house. “The kidnapper didn’t have anything on him. The evidence has to be hidden in this room.” “Should we just burn the whole place down? That would solve everything.” “No. If investigators sift through the ashes and find…”

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The sister who had been missing for years was finally found, only to be living as the “fake heiress” in a wealthy family. On the day I went to pick her up, I witnessed her being kicked out onto the streets. “Our Sterling family has no room for a daughter as hypocritical and vicious as you. As expected, blood tells—you can never truly raise someone else’s child!” “Raising you this far is already the utmost we could do. You’ve occupied Mia’s place for so many years; it’s time to give it back.” “Stop playing the victim. What right does the cuckoo who stole the nest have to feel wronged?” “…” My biological sister was shoved to the ground. The true heiress stood off to the side, looking glamorous, a flash of jealousy and hatred in her eyes. They were waiting to see this “fake heiress” lose everything and beg for their mercy. However, her biological sister was also a genuine, bona fide billionaire. When the police called, I was in a rural village doing agricultural charity work. Hearing that my sister, who had been missing for 18 years, had been found, I stood up abruptly. Even after the call ended, I stood frozen in place, tears welling in my eyes. My assistant instinctively asked, “Ms. Hastings, what happened?” I quickly composed myself, trying my best to sound calm. “Arrange for someone else to handle the wrap-up here. I have an emergency and need to go to Capital City immediately.” After a long journey, I finally arrived at where my sister was currently living. The police had told me she was adopted by a wealthy family and had lived a good life all these years. The massive mansion before me certainly proved the family’s financial status, and the excitement of finding her cooled slightly. I had imagined many scenarios. For instance, what if my sister was very happy in this family and didn’t want to come back with me? That would be fine. As long as I could see with my own eyes that she was safe and happy, that would be enough. Despite rushing all this way, standing right on the threshold of seeing her, I actually found myself hesitating. It was the police officer beside me who nudged me forward. Before I could even approach the grand double doors, they were thrown open from the inside. The next second, a figure in a plain white dress was shoved out. She stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground. Following closely behind were several other figures. “After raising you for so many years, you actually dared to push your sister down the stairs?!” “Our Sterling family has no room for someone as hypocritical and vicious as you. Blood really does tell—you can never truly raise someone else’s child!” “Raising you this far is already the utmost we could do. You’ve occupied Mia’s place for so many years; it’s time to give it back.” “Stop playing the victim. What right does the cuckoo who stole the nest have to feel wronged?” “…” The harsh, cutting words rang clearly through the air. I stopped in my tracks, my gaze instantly locking onto the young woman who had fallen to the ground. The resemblance was striking. She looked so much like the old photos of my mother when she was young. Almost at first glance, I knew for certain she was my biological sister. The young woman on the ground was surrounded by four people. That scene didn’t show me the slightest hint that she had “lived a good life.” Among the four people surrounding her were a middle-aged couple, a young man, and a girl about my sister’s age. At that moment, the girl on the ground fought back tears and tried to defend herself: “Dad, Mom, I really didn’t push her. It was her…” Before she could finish, the young man cut in: “If you didn’t push her, are you saying Mia threw herself down the stairs just to frame you?” The disgust in his tone was palpable. “Brother, I… I really didn’t. Don’t you believe me either?” “Don’t call me brother. I only have one biological sister.” Those words hit hard. I saw the color drain from the girl on the ground after he said that. I also saw the glamorous girl, who had been silent the whole time, flash a look of triumphant satisfaction. I frowned. Didn’t they say my sister was adopted by this family? Why did it sound like she had maliciously usurped their daughter’s identity? On the way here, the police told me this family’s surname was Sterling, and they had recently found their biological daughter who went missing 18 years ago. My biological sister and their missing daughter were the exact same age. Both went missing when they were two years old. Seeing that they were entirely absorbed in their crusade against the “fake heiress” and completely ignoring our group, I finally spoke up: “Excuse me, are you throwing her out?” The group finally looked over, including my sister. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” the middle-aged man demanded, frowning. My tone was flat. “I heard you recently found your biological daughter. Congratulations.” Before they could react, I continued, “Since that’s the case, can you give my sister back to me now?” My words were like a stone dropped into a lake, instantly sending ripples across the surface. The group was completely stunned. Only the young woman on the ground looked at me in disbelief. I stepped forward and helped her up. The last time I touched my sister was 18 years ago. I had loved her so much back then. While she was still in our mother’s belly, I wished for a sister so I could share my pretty dolls with her and braid her hair the way I learned. The tear tracks on the young woman’s face were still wet as she stared intently at me. I introduced myself: “My name is Chloe Hastings. I am your biological older sister.” The police officer next to me explained the situation: “Ms. Sterling, shortly after you came to the station last time, your DNA matched with a relative in the database. This is your biological older sister. Ms. Hastings rushed here immediately upon hearing the news. We tried contacting you earlier, but you didn’t answer.” The young girl hesitated for a moment and said, “My… my phone broke two days ago, and I haven’t had a chance to buy a new one.” “What does this mean?” The man who had just declared he only had one sister became even more aggressive. “Maya Sterling, you went to the police station to look for your birth family?” Following his lead, the girl next to him chimed in: “Sister, the bond of raising a child is greater than the bond of giving birth to one. How could you just go looking for your birth family without saying a word? Mom and Dad have provided you with a life of luxury all these years. Are you being fair to them by doing this?” Then, the woman who I assumed was my sister’s adoptive mother looked me up and down. I had rushed here directly, having just finished agricultural charity work in the countryside. My clothes were ordinary, I wore no makeup, my hair was messy, and there was even some rural mud stuck to the soles of my shoes. A sharp contrast to this glamorous family. The wealthy socialite sneered, her gaze sweeping over her adopted daughter: “Maya Sterling, these are the relatives you wanted to find? Giving up the life of the Sterling family’s eldest daughter to go acknowledge these poor relatives?” Poor relatives? Me? I hadn’t even had time to learn more about my sister’s life over the past 18 years, but from this single encounter, it was glaringly obvious that this family did not treat her well. Maya, my sister, pale-faced, looked at the wealthy woman: “Mom…” Before she could even finish the word, she was cut off. “Don’t call me Mom. Since you’ve found your relatives, go with her. Our Sterling temple is too small to house an ungrateful wretch like you.” Her voice was sharp and piercing, making the girl beside me flinch. My eyes hardened, but I kept a smile on my face. “Mrs. Sterling, I’m relieved to hear you say that. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to bear parting with my sister. It seems I was overthinking.” Then, I turned to Maya and said gently, “Maya, Mom, Dad, and I have been looking for you for years. Do you want to come home with me?” Before the young girl, who had just been thrown out, could respond, the man who had acted as her brother for years scoffed coldly. “Maya Sterling, don’t blame me for not warning you. If you walk out of this house today, don’t even think about ever coming back!” And the “bullied” true heiress chimed in, sounding incredibly understanding: “Sister, you should apologize to Mom and Dad quickly. Otherwise, if the Sterling family disowns you, what kind of life will you have?” But that statement was like pouring oil on a fire. The middle-aged man, the head of the household, finally spoke up: “If she wants to leave, let her leave! After all, she doesn’t have Sterling blood. You can never truly raise someone else’s child!” Their barrage of comments helped the wavering young girl make up her mind. Her voice was very soft: “Mom, Dad… I’m leaving. Take care of yourselves from now on.” With that, she looked at me, opening her mouth, but for a moment, couldn’t quite bring herself to call me “Sister.” I patted her shoulder and asked softly, “Do you need to pack any luggage? It’s fine if you don’t. Just bring your ID. We have everything you need at home.” Maya paused for a moment, then looked down. “Okay.” She had her ID on her. Aside from the clothes on her back, she didn’t take a single thing from the Sterling family. I led her to the car, glancing back at the gloating Sterling family, and pressed my lips together. No matter what, my sister was coming back. I owned several properties in Capital City. Soon, the driver dropped Maya and me off at a high-end residential complex. As we got out of the car, I clearly felt Maya freeze for a second. She looked at me, hesitating. It wasn’t until we went upstairs and entered the luxurious penthouse apartment that she finally spoke. “Sis…ter,” she called out awkwardly. “Where is this?” I spaced out for a fraction of a second hearing that “Sister,” then smiled at her. “This is one of my apartments. Do you like it? There should still be some unsold units here. How about I buy one for you in a few days?” Maya’s mouth dropped open slightly, seemingly shocked by my words. Her worldview was clearly undergoing a rapid refresh as she looked me up and down again. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and suddenly understood what she meant. My outfit, along with the incredibly low-key car I used to pick her up, didn’t exactly scream “wealth.” I took her by the hand to give her a tour, smiling as I asked, “What, does your sister not look rich?” “N-no,” she quickly explained. “I just… didn’t expect it.” Seeing her anxious explanation tugged at my heart. What exactly had she been through in the Sterling family all these years? How does a wealthy family raise such a sensitive, self-doubting child? But now wasn’t the time to ask about her life. I could only smile and tell her, “Your name used to be Aria. Mom and Dad thought ‘Aria’ was a good name, hoping you would be outstanding and have a bright future. Do you want to change it back?” The young girl froze again. After a moment, instead of answering, she asked, “I want to know how I got lost.” The smile froze on my lips. Even now, some memories remain grey and painful. I was 10 that year. We still lived in our hometown, and our family business hadn’t grown to its current scale. But our parents were still very busy, constantly meeting with clients. My sister and I were left with a nanny. That day, we went out to watch a street parade. It was barely a hundred yards from our house. The crowd was dense and separated my sister and me. When the crowd cleared, her tiny figure was gone. I could still hear her calling me “Sister” through the crowd just moments before. My sister’s disappearance traumatized our entire family. We searched for so long. Our parents cried constantly, and our mother developed severe depression. “Mom and Dad are already on their way. You’ll see them tomorrow.” Maya stumbled back two steps, tears shimmering in her eyes. She told me she thought she had been abandoned. After the Sterling family found their kidnapped biological daughter, she went to the police station for a blood test solely driven by a desperate need to know why she was thrown away. “How could you have been abandoned?” I reached out and stroked her head. “You are the treasure of our family.” A treasure lost and found. I have a branch office and a factory in Capital City. That evening, I took Maya to see the factory. Inside were massive stacks of brand-new packaging boxes. While she was still shocked that this brand was a family business, I pointed to the missing person notice printed on the inside of the boxes. “This is a photo of you when you were 2 years old.” Maya stared blankly at the photo and information, then looked at the towering stacks of boxes. She had probably seen this missing person notice before, but never realized it was her. The path to finding missing family is daunting. The probability of ever finding a child missing for so many years is incredibly low. In my teens, I realized that I needed sufficient power to expand our reach. So, during college, I started learning the business from my father. As his energy waned, I took over the company and steadily grew it. Perhaps the heavens were looking out for us, because I was always lucky in business. As our products sold across the country, my sister’s missing person notice spread with them. The notice was also pinned to the top of all our official corporate social media accounts. Over the years, an endless stream of people had come forward claiming to be her. I was terrified she had been trafficked into the deep mountains. Even to places where our products couldn’t reach, I would personally go there under the guise of charity work. There were some horrific possibilities we didn’t even dare to imagine. Thankfully, she was back. “We won’t need these boxes anymore. They’ll all be recycled to make new packaging, and we’ll use the opportunity to share the good news with the customers who have supported us all these years.” As I spoke, I noticed Maya staring blankly at the missing person notice on the box. Then, her tears fell, and she threw herself into my arms. She cried pitifully, as if releasing all the grievances of the past years. “They… they always told me I was thrown away…” Holding my sister, I suddenly realized she was carrying severe psychological trauma. Our parents arrived the next afternoon. When they saw my sister, their faces went blank for a few seconds, followed by a tearful, emotional reunion. Our parents weren’t even 60 yet, but their hair was entirely gray. The worry and regret of all those years had wrapped around them like sharp thorns, suffocating them. After meeting our parents, my sister told me she wanted to change her name. I paused for a moment, then smiled. “Okay. I’ll go negotiate with the Sterlings in the next few days to get your residency registration transferred…” “No need,” she said. “I was adopted by the Sterlings, but my residency was always registered under some relatives of theirs. Those relatives passed away a few years ago, so I’m currently the head of my own household registration.” I hadn’t anticipated that. It wasn’t until the private investigator reported back that I finally understood. The name “Maya” was actually the original name of their biological daughter. After their daughter went missing, they adopted a girl of the same age. Calling her by the same name—how is that any different from finding a substitute? The private investigator uncovered much more. Less than five months after their biological daughter went missing, they adopted my sister. But at that time, it hadn’t even been 30 days since my sister went missing. According to regulations, a missing child must go through a public search period of no less than 30 days before they can be adopted. Moreover, how could a child missing in Huai City be adopted by the Sterling family through a Capital City orphanage in less than a month? It reeked of corruption everywhere. Most importantly, they used my sister as a substitute for their lost daughter, but they didn’t treat her well. Even though she had the exact same name, they knew perfectly well she didn’t share their blood. Whenever they saw their adopted daughter doing well, they would think about how their biological daughter might be suffering. So, they would harshly criticize their adopted daughter, belittling her personality and abilities. After her daughter was kidnapped, Mrs. Sterling’s mental state was often unstable. During her episodes, she would even hit my sister. The two men never laid a hand on her, but they watched with cold indifference and contributed plenty of verbal abuse. I didn’t know how to describe the anger burning inside me. How innocent was my sister? My mother’s mental state had been poor ever since my sister went missing. Now, looking at her youngest daughter who had grown into an adult, she poured out everything she had saved for her over the years. Bank cards, properties in her name, and beautiful, expensive jewelry. My sister, now back to the name Aria, held the items awkwardly. She wasn’t entirely ready to accept all of this yet. I walked over, patted her shoulder, and handed her a card. “This is an unrestricted secondary card linked to my account. You can use it for your daily expenses.”

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The day after I aborted our child, Liam returned home from the military base. He brought me the newest brand of face cream, along with the official divorce papers approved by the military district. The red “APPROVED” stamp on the thin paper was as bright as blood, piercing my eyes. His face showed no guilt. His voice was freezing cold. “I wanted to wait until you had recovered to file this, but Vivian came back from abroad early, so…” The divorce was happening so fast, I almost couldn’t hide the smile threatening to break across my face. I furrowed my brows slightly to mask my amusement. “I understand. It was an arranged marriage. Forcing two people together never works out anyway.” Looking guilty, he handed me a property transfer agreement. “I know I wronged you. I’m willing to leave with nothing. You can have the house, and the thirty thousand dollars my grandfather left behind is yours too.” I took the papers casually and let out a dramatic sigh. “Since this is it, there’s no reason for us to ever see each other again. You know how deeply I loved you. If we meet again…” Liam quickly promised, “We won’t! I won’t ever bother you again.” Looking at the man who would practically kneel and swear an oath just to be with his precious first love, I smiled at him. “In that case, I wish you and Vivian a long and happy life together.” Seeing that I wasn’t going to cling to him and cause a scene, Liam let out a massive breath of relief. A smile I hadn’t seen in a very long time broke across his face. He quickly stood up and started packing his bags. This little western-style house was bought for us by his grandfather on our wedding day. It was incredibly expensive, the kind of property you couldn’t buy even if you had the cash. With him leaving it to me, plus the thirty thousand dollars, I had the perfect seed money to start my own business. Growing up, my aunt always told me, “Marriage isn’t a woman’s only way out. As long as you have the courage to hustle and push forward, your life will never be dark.” With the recent economic reforms encouraging private entrepreneurship, this was my golden opportunity to make real money. Finished packing, Liam looked at my slightly smiling face and seemed surprised. “I’m leaving. Aren’t you sad?” I dropped the smile, stood up, and handed him his last bag. “What’s there to be sad about? You’re going off to pursue your happiness, not to the executioner’s block.” Liam frowned and sighed deeply. “Chloe, you don’t have to pretend you don’t care. I understand.” “…” I forced a tight, perfunctory smile and physically pushed him toward the door. “Hurry up. Didn’t you say you have to go pick Vivian up from the train station?” Seeing me act so accommodating, a thick layer of guilt and pity clouded his eyes. “Chloe, I sincerely hope you find your own happiness.” I nodded and walked him out to the front gate. Liam’s retreating back looked lighter and more carefree than I had ever seen it. I shook off the goosebumps rising on my arms. Looking at the wild roses blooming all over the yard, and the keys in my hand, I happily slammed the iron gate shut. Finally. I’m free. After divorcing Liam, I immediately threw out everything that belonged to him. I cut off contact with all his relatives and sold my miserable job at the propaganda department to a neighbor. With all that done, I started plotting my business. Three months later, my clothing boutique opened for business. On opening day, I received a phone call that was both familiar and strange. It was familiar because, during my five years of marriage to Liam, I would occasionally get calls from this exact woman, her voice dripping with sweetness as she specifically asked for him. It was strange because I had never actually met her. She was Liam’s deeply buried, unattainable first love. Her voice was the same as always, soft and delicate. “Is this Chloe? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to call you.” “Liam told me never to disturb your life, but I’m completely out of options…” I had heard that the very day after we divorced, Liam had already submitted a new marriage application to his superiors. I had never seen him that eager or impatient in the five years we were married. I calmly kept clicking the beads on my abacus. “If you’re out of options, what do you expect your powerless, divorced ex-wife to do about it?” Didn’t Liam know that a good ex should act like they were dead? Vivian’s voice choked with tears. “It’s… Liam got arrested by the police. The higher-ups can’t find out about this, or he’ll get a massive disciplinary mark on his record… I’m begging you to help us.” My hand paused on the abacus. How the hell was I supposed to help with that? I had no power and no connections. I was just about to snap back at her when I suddenly remembered. Oh, right. I have money. I was a 1980s millionaire. Filthy rich. I could literally bury the problem in cash! But why should I? “Sorry, Vivian. You just said yourself that Liam told you not to bother me. If I swoop in to save the day, I’m afraid it might negatively impact your newlywed bliss.” “Besides, I’m just a weak woman. I really can’t help you with something this big. You should ask someone else.” With that, I slammed the phone back onto the receiver. Liam and I were an arranged marriage, set up by our grandparents. Growing up, I was wild. I hated studying and only wanted to follow my aunt—a fashion designer—around, sketching and drawing. My parents could never control me. But Liam was different. He was the famous “golden boy” of the military compound. He was handsome, athletic, incredibly fast on the track, and had top-tier grades. I had a crush on him since we were kids. Whenever he spoke, I listened. When my parents couldn’t control me, they would send Liam to discipline me. Later, he went to a prestigious university out of state, and my aunt, defying our entire family’s wishes, took me to the coast to study design. We lost contact. I thought our paths would never cross again. But our families decided the old-generation marriage pact couldn’t be broken, and they pushed us together anyway. I still remember the day we reunited. The river water flowing under the stone bridge in Suzhou was as smooth as silk. The boy from my memory, who used to tuck his white shirt into his pants, had grown into a refined, elegant young man. My heart felt like it had been hit by a jolt of electricity, tingling and numb. That day, I asked him very seriously, “Do you really want to marry me?” He patted my head just like he did when we were kids, smiling indulgently. “What? You don’t want to marry your big brother Liam?” Of course I did. Both our families were thrilled. We got married shortly after. After the wedding, we got along perfectly. And in the bedroom, our chemistry was terrifyingly good. Except, he only ever asked if I wanted to marry him. He never told me that he actually didn’t want to marry me. In our fourth year of marriage, I found a locked storage box in our room. Inside were four exquisitely wrapped gift boxes. At first, I thought they were surprises Liam had prepared for me. But when I happily opened them, I found small note cards with someone else’s name. [I will secretly save up all my love, to give to the most beautiful white rose in my heart—Vivian.] My heart dropped. My blood instantly turned to ice. Vivian? Who was Vivian? And for whom had he been saving up four entire years of gifts? Liam was out on an overnight mission that evening. I sat on the edge of the bed and thought about it all night. Early the next morning, Liam returned, covered in dust from the road. I held the gift boxes up to his face, demanding an explanation. He looked at me, completely silent. After downing half a bottle of cheap liquor, Liam finally spoke. “She’s the girl I loved. A junior from my university.” “But it’s impossible between us. She went abroad.” Time seemed to freeze. In that moment, I felt a level of betrayal I had never experienced before. “So… that’s why you married me?” He looked down, silently confirming it. After a long time, Liam slowly raised his head and looked at me. “Aren’t things good between us right now? Why obsess over this?” A profound sense of disappointment permeated every cell in my body. I looked at the neatly organized stack of canceled stamps on the desk and let out a self-deprecating laugh. “So every time you made me rush to the post office to buy stamps… those careful, urgent letters were all for her.” Liam didn’t deny it. That day, I smashed all four of those gift boxes to pieces and threw a massive fit. From that day on, Liam and I started having frequent, prolonged cold wars. But fate has a twisted sense of humor. Three months later, I was eating sour hawthorn berries when my stomach suddenly cramped violently. After going to the hospital, I found out I was pregnant. I thought about it calmly for a long time. I didn’t want to bring a child into a miserable, loveless home. I left the ultrasound results on the table, wanting to give us one last chance to fix things. When Liam came home and saw the results, he was ecstatic. He held me tight and refused to let go. “I’m going to be a dad! I have a child! We finally have a baby!” The golden glow of the setting sun spilled through the window, illuminating his genuinely joyful face. I thought that, from that day forward, he would cut off those inappropriate feelings for the sake of our child. But Liam let me down. When I was five months pregnant, I found a fifth gift box hidden in a cabinet, along with a handwritten letter. The letter said Vivian was coming back, and Liam replied that he would always be standing in the exact same spot, waiting for her. That day, I lost completely control of my emotions. I had a hysterical, screaming match with him. Liam looked annoyed and defensive, his hand gripping the letter meant for his precious first love. I broke down crying, collapsing as a sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen. On the way to the hospital, Liam apologized profusely, the regret in his eyes growing thicker by the second. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have made you angry. Chloe, hold on…” He said all the right things. But on the way to the emergency room, he still managed to sprint into the post office to mail that letter to the woman he was obsessed with. The baby was saved, but the doctor said we arrived a little too late. Because of the prolonged lack of oxygen, the child would likely suffer from severe developmental issues. Looking at Liam, who was standing there playing the innocent victim, a deep, poisonous hatred bloomed in my heart. All my suppressed emotions finally exploded. I ruthlessly grabbed anything I could reach and hurled it at him. My tears wouldn’t stop falling. “Did you hear the doctor?! Because you just had to mail a letter to your little white rose, this healthy baby… is going to be born brain-damaged.” “This is all your fault…” Liam took the physical abuse without flinching, trying to comfort me through his guilt. “It’s my fault. I was wrong. I’m so sorry, Chloe.” “You can hit me or curse me. I promise I won’t fight back.” Looking at his face, I only felt that he was incredibly fake. Absolutely disgusting. I stopped acting hysterical. When I came home from the hospital, I became incredibly submissive. I bent over backward to be good to him. I cooked for him, meticulously organized his clothes, and doted on him constantly. I lowered my pride and begged him tearfully, “Liam, I know you have someone else in your heart. I’m not forcing you to forget her. But please, don’t forget you have a wife. Don’t forget I’m waiting for you at home…” Every day, I looked at him with eager, expectant eyes, forcing him to read fairy tales to the baby in my belly. The moment he showed even a fraction of annoyance… I would force my eyes to go red and look at him like I was about to cry. “The baby and I just love you too much.” Saying those words made me physically nauseous, but they were the perfect weapon to disgust Liam. I wanted him to know that he had ruined my life, yet he couldn’t reject me. I would repeat this cycle until, eventually, he would be so repulsed by me that he would finally give me my absolute freedom. Finally, after twenty agonizing days of my relentless clinging, Liam snapped. He begged me, “Chloe, please, just let me go. I really can’t take this anymore. This isn’t the life I want.” I sneered coldly, tears brimming in my eyes. “Oh? Then what kind of life do you want?” A flash of longing crossed Liam’s eyes. His gaze landed on the envelope sitting on the table. It was a letter from his first love that had arrived that morning. I had obediently fetched it from the post office for him, and even obediently bought new stamps for his reply. He had no idea that I already knew his first love was returning soon. All my chaotic, annoying behavior over the past few weeks was just a calculated strategy to push him away faster and more securely. I viciously snatched the envelope off the table, ripped it to shreds, and threw it on the floor, breaking down into loud sobs. “Have I not been good enough to you these past five years?! Why is she the only one you ever think about?! Why can’t you just love me?!” I cried with every ounce of strength I had. Even I couldn’t tell how much of it was genuine heartbreak and how much was an act. Liam looked at me, his expression incredibly complicated. “Chloe, you’ve been very good to me. But feelings… they can’t be forced.” “Go get an abortion. Let’s… let’s get a divorce. I don’t want to string you along anymore.” I cried even harder, the tears flowing like a broken faucet. Liam’s annoyance grew visible. His voice dropped, and he finally said the words I had been waiting for. “Enough!” “I’ll leave with nothing. I’ll leave everything to you.” Unable to stand the sound of my crying for another second, he slammed the door and left. I decisively wiped away my tears and booked an appointment for the abortion. Liam had no idea I had been waiting for this exact day for a very long time. He thought that by giving up the house and his savings, he and his precious white rose could live happily ever after on his military salary and stipends. Little did he know, his “happy ever after” was about to crash and burn. … I sat in the bathtub, carefully replaying everything in my head. I thought about why Vivian would call me. She could have easily asked the other military wives for help. Why come to me? My clothing store had been wildly successful lately. I had some free time, and after Vivian called me three times in a row… I decided I wanted a front-row seat to the drama. When I arrived at the police station, the officers quickly brought Liam out to the visitation room. He looked much rougher than he did six months ago. He was unshaven, and heavy, dark bags hung under his eyes. When he saw that it was me, his eyes widened in surprise, followed by a flash of undeniable awe. I rarely dressed up when I was with him. But after the divorce, I felt liberated, and I looked infinitely more radiant and alive than I ever had during our marriage. “Chloe? Why are you…” He was genuinely shocked. I gave him a polite, distant smile. “Your new wife called me. She said I could definitely help you out. I had no idea I possessed such incredible power, so I came to see what all the fuss was about.” The light in his eyes instantly died. He let out a bitter laugh. “You’re right. How could you possibly help? Vivian shouldn’t have bothered you. I’m sorry.” I smoothed out the skirt of my dress and sighed. “It’s fine. Seeing as you aren’t dead yet, I’ll be going now.” Liam jumped up anxiously. “Wait!” He looked at me, lowering his head. “These past few months… I’ve always felt like I owed you an apology.” If apologies actually fixed things, we wouldn’t need the police, would we? And you wouldn’t be locked in a holding cell right now. I waved my hand dismissively, flashing a carefree smile. “Don’t worry about it. Thanks to you, I’m actually living my best life right now.” Walking out of the police station, I bumped right into Vivian. I recognized her immediately. She had a delicate, pure face and a gentle, fragile aura. She looked like a fragile flower made of glass. The exact polar opposite of me. No wonder that after living with me for five years, Liam still only had eyes for her. I had zero interest in exchanging pleasantries with my ex-husband’s new flame. I turned to walk away. But she ran up to me, looking overjoyed, tears brimming in her eyes. She looked at me like I was her savior. “Chloe! Is it really you?” “I didn’t think you’d actually come! I’m so happy. You have no idea, Liam is only in jail because of me. It’s all my fault…” I had pretty much guessed that. Even though Liam was a cheating scumbag, he usually had a strong moral compass when it came to following the law. I replied dismissively, “Oh, is that so…” Seeing that I was engaging, Vivian’s eyes lit up, and she started begging: “So, Chloe… could you please help Liam?” I actually wanted to know what her game plan was, so I smiled and asked: “How exactly am I supposed to help?” Vivian furrowed her brows, looking incredibly distressed and guilty. “Well, I heard from Liam that when you divorced, he left all his assets to you. You know I just got back from abroad, and it was hard for my family to support me. Right now, I have to send half of Liam’s monthly salary back to my parents. The rest just isn’t enough for us to live on. So, I tried to do some black-market trading to make extra cash, and I ended up getting Liam arrested.” “I heard you opened a store and are making really good money. Giving some of that money back to Liam would be really easy for you, right?” I laughed. No wonder she called me. This was her angle all along. It made sense. A penniless Liam, relying solely on a Captain’s salary, was definitely struggling to make ends meet. Of course Vivian was miserable. I looked down at the woman groveling in front of me and fired back without hesitation: “Wow, Vivian. What do you mean ‘give it back’?” “The divorce decree clearly states that money was my compensation. Think about it: if I hadn’t aborted my baby and stepped aside, would you two be living this blissful, romantic life together right now?” Vivian’s face stiffened. A very ugly, forced smile crept onto her lips. “Yes, of course. Liam and I are only together thanks to your sacrifice. But Chloe, we are in serious trouble right now. You loved Liam so much; you can’t just stand by and watch him suffer in a jail cell, can you?” “He’s been charged with illegal profiteering. He’s going to be locked up for a full two weeks.” I widened my eyes and gasped dramatically. “Two weeks?! Won’t that interfere with his military duties?!” Vivian waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, no. I already requested a leave of absence for him beforehand.” I stared at her, slowly exhaled, and offered a soft smile. “Well, that’s wonderful! Honestly, I was worried about Liam suffering in there. But seeing how thoroughly and thoughtfully you’ve handled everything, I feel so much better. I’m sure going through this ordeal together will only make your love for each other stronger.” Vivian realized I wasn’t going to hand over any cash and that her guilt trip wasn’t working. I don’t know what possessed her, but she suddenly threw her pride away and dropped to her knees right in front of me in the middle of the street. “Chloe, please help us! I’m begging you…” The street was crowded. Dozens of eyes instantly locked onto us. I almost burst out laughing. I leaned down and helped her up, putting on an exaggerated look of distress. “Oh my goodness! Vivian, what are you doing?! Where in the world does the homewrecker kneel to the ex-wife?!” “I’ll help! I’ll help, okay?!” With that, I decisively pulled a small notebook out of my purse… I scribbled down a phone number and handed it to Vivian. “This is the direct line to the manager of the garment factory I work with. I heard from Liam that you studied fashion design abroad. Here’s the deal: you draw up some designs, take them to the factory for sampling, and I’ll stock them in my store. I won’t charge you a stocking fee. I’ll help you sell them. Sound good?” Vivian clearly didn’t expect my “help” to require her to actually do any work. Her face turned green, and she glared at me with blatant dissatisfaction. “Chloe, Liam gave you so much money! Even if you don’t care about me, you should care about him! How could you just take all of it?! Don’t you know that was his entire life’s savings?!” Before I could speak, she kept going. “I don’t care. You have to give me twenty thousand dollars right now. And I want half the profits from your new store.” Vivian’s greed was absolutely staggering. She just wanted to sit back and collect a paycheck without lifting a finger. I wasn’t Liam. I wasn’t going to coddle her delusions. I slapped her hand away. My voice turned to ice. “This number is all you’re getting. Take it, or get the hell out of my face.”

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“Chloe, your position is being optimized.” Mr. Vance pushed a termination agreement across the desk toward me. Severance plus one month’s pay: $21,500. I had bled for this department for six years. Two thousand, one hundred and ninety days. Averaging twelve hours a day. I had personally negotiated supplier contracts totaling over a hundred million dollars. And right now, sitting next to Mr. Vance with her legs crossed, was Mia. She had only joined last month. She was the Vice President’s niece. Mr. Vance said she had “a lot of potential.” I glanced at the agreement and smiled. “Alright. I’ll sign.” Mr. Vance clearly froze for a second. He probably hadn’t expected me to be so agreeable. After all, shouldn’t the loyal workhorse he had personally trained be crying and begging for one more chance? I signed my name on the dotted line and pushed the agreement back. Then, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Mr. Sterling: “Mr. Sterling, do you have a moment? I have some good news.” 01 When I first joined the company six years ago, Mr. Vance told me something. “Work hard, Chloe, and I won’t treat you unfairly.” I was fresh out of college back then and didn’t know anything. Mr. Vance started me on the most basic supplier liaison work. If others found a task too troublesome, I took it. If others didn’t want to travel, I went. In my first year, I went on forty-seven business trips. The furthest was a raw materials factory in the middle of nowhere. The factory owner’s name was Mr. Sterling, a man in his fifties. At first, he absolutely refused to work with us. “Your company’s payment terms are too long.” “I run a small factory; I can’t afford to front that kind of cash.” I didn’t leave. I waited outside his factory gates for three days. On the third day, there was a torrential downpour. I was soaked to the bone and running a fever. When Mr. Sterling came out for a smoke and saw me, he stood there stunned for a long time. “You stubborn girl, what are you trying to prove?” I said, “Mr. Sterling, the quality of your products is genuinely excellent.” “I don’t want our company to miss out on a supplier like you.” “I’ll find a way to fix the payment terms.” That night, Mr. Sterling bought me dinner. The next day, we signed the contract. As for the payment terms, I practically camped out in the finance department for two months, wearing them down until it was resolved. When Mr. Vance found out, he praised me during a department meeting. “Chloe works hard and has potential.” I thought that meant recognition. Only later did I realize it was just the beginning of endless unpaid overtime. 02 Mr. Sterling’s factory became one of our most stable suppliers. A year later, he introduced me to three other factories in the same industry. “Manager Hastings is a good person. You can’t go wrong working with her.” I wasn’t a manager, but Mr. Sterling always called me that. He said, “It’s only a matter of time.” I thought so too. At the end of my second year, the company held its Outstanding Employee awards. My performance ranked first in the department. But my name wasn’t on the list. Mr. Vance said, “Chloe, you’re still young. You’ll have plenty of opportunities.” “Let’s give it to old man Jenkins this year. He’s retiring soon.” I didn’t say anything. At the end of my third year, they held the awards again. My performance was still first in the department. My name still wasn’t on the list. Mr. Vance said, “Chloe, aren’t you being a bit too impatient?” “A person needs to know how to bide their time.” I still didn’t say anything. In my fourth year, I negotiated the largest supplier contract in the company’s history. A fifteen-million-dollar contract, and I haggled the payment terms down from ninety days to forty-five. Mr. Vance presented this case study at the executive meeting. His PowerPoint was fifty-eight slides long. He didn’t mention my name once from start to finish. After the meeting, the Vice President specifically asked, “Who followed up on this project?” Mr. Vance said, “It was a team effort by our department.” That night, I worked overtime alone in the office until 2:00 AM. I organized and filed all the project documents. Then I texted Mr. Sterling: “Mr. Sterling, thank you for always trusting me.” He replied, “Kid, if you need anything, just say the word.” I said, “Nothing’s wrong, just wanted to say thank you.” Actually, I should have understood then. But I didn’t. I was still waiting for that “matter of time.” 03 In my fifth year, the company started pushing a hardcore hustle culture. During a department meeting, Mr. Vance announced, “We are a core department; we need to lead by example.” “Starting this month, no one leaves before 9:00 PM.” “Saturdays are mandatory.” “Any objections?” No one spoke. Neither did I. That year, my stomach ulcer flared up three times. The worst time, I threw up blood in the middle of the night and took an Uber to the ER by myself. I lay in the ER all night and was at my desk promptly at 8:00 AM the next morning. When Mr. Vance saw me, he frowned. “Chloe, you don’t look too good.” I said, “It’s fine, I just didn’t sleep well.” He nodded. “Alright, you’re hosting today’s supplier meeting.” “Mr. Davis has some complaints. Go smooth things over.” Mr. Davis was the owner of another core supplier. What was his complaint? A rebate Mr. Vance had personally promised him last month hadn’t been paid out yet. Mr. Vance made that promise right to his face. But he never actually got it approved by finance. Now that Mr. Davis was knocking on our door, Mr. Vance sent me to “smooth things over.” I chased down finance, then legal, coordinating back and forth for two weeks. Finally, I fronted three thousand dollars of my own money to keep Mr. Davis appeased. When Mr. Vance found out, he patted me on the shoulder. “Chloe, you did the right thing.” “Don’t worry, the company will reimburse you for this.” That three thousand dollars was never reimbursed, right up until the day I left. 04 At the beginning of my sixth year, Mia arrived. Mr. Vance personally brought her to the department. “This is Mia. She’ll be working with us from now on.” “Chloe, show her the ropes.” Mia wore head-to-toe Chanel and teetered on four-inch heels. Her nails were impeccably manicured. She looked like she had never done a day of hard work in her life. She called me “Chloe.” On her first day, I asked her to organize the supplier files. She organized them for an hour, then asked, “Chloe, did you negotiate all these suppliers yourself?” I said, “Most of them, yes.” She went “Wow,” and added, “That’s impressive.” Then she stepped out to take a phone call. She was gone for two hours. When she came back, she said, “Chloe, I have some things to take care of this afternoon. I’m taking off.” It was Wednesday. 3:00 PM. Mr. Vance didn’t say a word. The second week, Mia started sitting in on supplier meetings with me. She played on her phone the entire time. Occasionally, she’d look up and ask, “What does that mean?” Mr. Sterling looked at her, then looked at me. After the meeting, he pulled me aside and asked, “Manager Hastings, who is this girl?” I said, “A new colleague.” Mr. Sterling scoffed. “I only deal with you.” I said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Sterling.” Little did I know, a month later, Mr. Vance would have Mia take over all my supplier accounts. 05 It was a Monday in early March. As soon as I got to the office, Mr. Vance called me into the conference room. “Chloe, you know the company has been restructuring lately.” “Corporate wants to optimize costs.” “You’ve worked hard for the company all these years.” He pushed the termination agreement toward me. Severance plus one month’s pay: $21,500. I stared at the number, suddenly remembering six years ago. Mr. Vance telling me, “Work hard, Chloe, and I won’t treat you unfairly.” Six years. Two thousand, one hundred and ninety days. Averaging twelve hours a day. Over two hundred business trips. Negotiated contracts totaling over a hundred million dollars. Now, converted into a payout of $21,500. I asked, “Mr. Vance, is this your decision, or corporate’s?” His face faltered for a second, then quickly recovered. “Corporate’s, of course.” “It’s a restructuring, my hands are tied.” “Chloe, don’t overthink it.” I nodded. “Okay.” Then I signed the agreement. Mr. Vance visibly sighed in relief. He probably thought I would cry, cause a scene, beg him. After all, he had manipulated me for six years; he should know exactly what kind of person I am. But what he didn’t know was… Three days ago, Mr. Sterling had called me. “Kid, I heard your company is trying to push you out?” “If they dare, I’m pulling my contract.” I said, “Mr. Sterling, don’t act impulsively.” He replied, “I’m not being impulsive; I’m dead serious.” “How much have you helped me over these six years?” “The payment terms, the quality issues, that logistics disaster last time…” “Did you ever not step up and take the heat for me?” “I, Sterling, cannot be a man without a conscience.” I said, “Mr. Sterling, wait for my word.” That night, I lay in bed thinking for a long time. Then, I texted the owners of four other core suppliers: “Gentlemen, if it’s convenient, would you like to get together next week?” 06 Mia came to see me once. It was the day after I signed the termination agreement. She was wearing a new Dior trench coat and holding a Starbucks cup. “Chloe, I heard you’re leaving?” I said, “Yeah.” She let out an exaggerated sigh. “What a shame.” “But don’t worry, Chloe, I’ll take good care of your suppliers.” She winked at me. “Mr. Vance said I’m in charge of everything on the supplier side from now on.” I looked at her face—that young, meticulously maintained face. She couldn’t be older than twenty-five. She didn’t know what it meant to work until dawn. She didn’t know what it meant to front your own money to clean up the company’s mess. She didn’t know what it meant to wait outside a supplier’s gate for three days. All she knew was that she had an uncle who was a Vice President. I smiled. “Mia, I have a piece of advice.” She raised an eyebrow. “What is it?” I said, “Suppliers aren’t just resources; they are relationships.” “Relationships aren’t something you can just transfer during a handover.” “You have to manage them yourself.” She froze for a second, then smiled. “Chloe, are you upset?” “I mean, I get it. Anyone would be upset in your shoes.” “But, what can you do, right?” “We all have to obey company decisions.” She finished her sentence, took a sip of her Starbucks, and walked away. I watched her back and said nothing. In three days, she would find out exactly what “relationships can’t just be transferred” meant. 07 On my last day, I treated my department colleagues to lunch. Mr. Vance didn’t show up. He said he was busy. During the meal, someone asked, “Chloe, what are your plans now?” I said, “I’m going to rest for a while.” “I’ve been too tired these past few years.” Everyone sighed. “Chloe, you were the backbone of our department.” “They went too far treating you like this.” “Sigh, what can you do? She has connections.” I raised my glass with a smile. “Thank you all for looking out for me these past few years.” “I hope our paths cross again.” As we were leaving, someone whispered to me, “Chloe, I heard Mia already started contacting suppliers.” “She called Mr. Sterling today to set up a meeting for next week.” I nodded. “Got it. Thanks.” That night, when I got home. I opened my phone, and Mr. Sterling’s message was already there: “Kid, that young girl named Mia called me.” “I hung up on her.” “When is that get-together you mentioned?” I replied, “Mr. Sterling, this Friday night. My treat.” Mr. Sterling sent an “OK” emoji. Immediately after, Mr. Davis, Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Carter… Four messages arrived almost simultaneously. “Manager Hastings, see you Friday.” 08 Friday night. I booked a private dining room at a high-end restaurant. There were five people sitting inside. Mr. Sterling, Mr. Davis, Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Carter, and Mr. Miller, who had just flown in from Seattle. They were the core suppliers I had maintained for six years. Together, they accounted for 80% of my former company’s procurement volume. Mr. Sterling spoke first: “Kid, before I came here today, that Mr. Vance from your company called me.” “Told me to come in for a meeting next week.” “I told him I didn’t have the time.” Mr. Davis chimed in, “He called me too. Said something about ‘handover procedures.’” “Handover what? Does he even know where my goods come from?” Mr. Jenkins scoffed. “In six years, how many times has he actually met me?” “Every time, it was Manager Hastings who liaised with us. When there were problems, Manager Hastings solved them.” “Now that she’s gone, he thinks he can just swoop in and pick the fruit?” “Not a chance.” I listened to them without interrupting. Only when they were all finished did I speak: “Gentlemen, thank you for all your support over the years.” “I invited you here today to let you know—” “I’ve resigned.” Mr. Sterling nodded. “We know. So?” I said, “So I wanted to ask… if I were to go to a different company…” “Would you still be willing to work with me?” The five of them exchanged a look. Then Mr. Sterling raised his glass. “Kid, why would you even ask that?” “Let me tell you the truth.” “For the past six years, my doing business with your company had nothing to do with their reputation.” “It was entirely out of respect for you, Chloe.” “Wherever you go, I go.” Mr. Davis raised his glass too. “Same here.” “Manager Hastings is reliable.” “Doing business with you gives me peace of mind.” We drank a lot that night. As we were leaving, all five bosses told me the exact same thing: “Once you’ve decided which company you’re joining, let us know.” I stood outside the restaurant, watching them leave. The wind was a bit chilly, but my heart was warm. Six years. I finally knew that my six years hadn’t been a waste. 09 The second week, Mia’s nightmare began. On Monday, she tried to schedule a meeting with Mr. Sterling. Mr. Sterling said, “Sorry, I don’t have time this week.” On Tuesday, she tried to set up a video call with Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis said, “Too busy right now. Maybe next time.” On Wednesday, she flew all the way to Seattle to meet Mr. Miller in person. Mr. Miller had his secretary entertain her for two hours; he never showed his face. On Thursday, a supply issue arose with Mr. Jenkins. A batch of raw materials didn’t meet quality standards and needed urgent coordination. Mia called Mr. Jenkins, and he said, “I only discuss this with Manager Hastings.” “Have her call me.” Mia was stunned. “Mr. Jenkins, Chloe has already resigned.” “I am now responsible for supplier relations.” Mr. Jenkins was silent for three seconds before saying: “Then figure it out yourselves.” “If the issue with this batch isn’t resolved, I can’t guarantee supply for next month either.” He hung up. Mia panicked. She went to Mr. Vance. Mr. Vance panicked even more. That batch from Mr. Jenkins was the core material for next month’s production schedule. If the supply stopped, the entire production line would have to shut down. Mr. Vance called Mr. Jenkins, but he didn’t answer. He had Mia try again, but still no answer. Mr. Vance started cursing. “Do these suppliers have any respect for us?” “We signed a contract, and they dare threaten us?” Mia said timidly, “Mr. Vance, should we… maybe ask Chloe?” Mr. Vance glared at her and said nothing.

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Chapter 1 On our eighteenth birthday, my sister received company shares, a luxury car, and a mansion. I received a DNA test confirming we weren’t biologically related. My mother smiled coldly. “Chloe, since you aren’t our biological daughter, you’ll need to repay the cost of raising you for the last seventeen years.” My father scoffed. “Starting today, you’re the family maid. We’ll credit you five hundred dollars a month toward your debt. Room and board are not included.” I didn’t ask how it was possible that my twin sister and I, who looked like carbon copies of each other, weren’t both their daughters. I just calmly nodded. Because the night before, standing outside their door, I had heard everything: My sister, Mia, had whined while holding our parents’ hands. “Mom, Dad, my only birthday wish is to be the sole heiress of the Vance family and get all your love to myself. Can we just make Chloe be a maid for a year? Please?” My father looked at her with pure indulgence. “Of course. Anything you want.” My mother laughed and agreed, “For this entire year, Mom and Dad belong only to our precious Mia.” After everyone had gone to bed, I stared at the leftover birthday cake, stuck a candle in it, and made a wish: I want to leave the Vance family. Not for a year, but for the rest of my life. … My sister, Mia, covered her mouth in an exaggerated gasp. “Oh my gosh, Chloe! No wonder you’re so ugly and don’t look like Mom or Dad. You really are a fake!” She shrieked loudly and dramatically. It was as if she had completely forgotten that we were twins and looked at least 80% alike. “Oh wait, you aren’t my sister at all. You’re just some stray mutt who crawled in from nowhere.” My mother’s face was distant and cold. “Chloe, now that the truth is out and you aren’t a Vance, this birthday party is exclusively for our precious daughter, Mia. You have no right to be here.” I looked up at Mia, who was gloating. She was wearing a custom-made princess gown and a tiara that cost as much as a house. Then I looked at myself, wearing a faded, washed-out button-down and jeans with frayed cuffs. I smiled bitterly. Right. I never had any “rights” in this house to begin with. So how could I lose them? My father raised his voice. “Starting today, move into the servant’s quarters. For the sake of the years we spent together, you can work here as a maid until you find your real parents. I’ll credit you five hundred dollars a month to pay off the seventeen years of expenses we wasted on you. Room and board are not included.” The guests whispered among themselves. Like a pathetic clown performing under a spotlight of mockery and disdain, I bent down and picked up my backpack. Mia suddenly rushed forward and violently yanked my bag. The broken zipper, held together only by a safety pin, burst open, spilling my belongings all over the floor. Mia shrieked, “Aha! I knew it! You’ve been stealing from us!” Laying among my scattered textbooks was a single, pink sanitary pad. My mother looked slightly embarrassed. “Mia, let it go. It’s just a sanitary pad.” Mia immediately threw a tantrum. “Mom! I’m the only daughter of the Vance family now! Who does she think she is?! She’s leeched off us for years, and now she’s stealing our stuff! If I say she doesn’t deserve it, she doesn’t deserve it!” Seeing her get angry, my mother quickly softened her tone to coax her. “Okay, okay, baby, don’t be mad. You’re right. You are Mommy’s only precious girl now. You can do whatever you want.” Satisfied, Mia stomped directly onto the sanitary pad, grinding her heel into it. “There. I don’t want it anymore. You can have it.” I stared at the sanitary pad covered in dirty footprints. My throat felt like it was stuffed with wet, heavy cotton. I couldn’t breathe. Chapter 2 In the end, I bent down and only picked up my books. After the party ended, our housekeeper, Mrs. Miller, led me to a storage closet. It was barely fifty square feet. The only things inside were a wooden board bed piled with junk and a rusted iron window. Mrs. Miller stood in the doorway, hesitating. “Miss… Chloe, Mr. and Mrs. Vance remember the good things about you. Once they cool down, you’ll be the Vance family’s eldest daughter again…” Before she could finish, two cockroaches scurried out from a dark corner and disappeared. I pretended not to see the awkward pity on her face. “Thank you. I understand.” Mrs. Miller shook her head and walked away, muttering softly to herself, “They look exactly alike, how could they not be related? Sigh…” I sat on the hard wooden board, staring blankly out the rusted window into the pitch-black night. It’s fine. Just one more year, and I can leave forever. That night, my cramps were agonizing. Having no sanitary pads, I had to fold up layers of toilet paper. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard my parents whispering in the hallway. “Honey, do you think Chloe will hate us for treating her like this? She is our biological daughter, after all.” My father scoffed. “It’s her fault for always bullying Mia. She’s the older sister; she should know how to yield to her younger sister. Letting her taste some hardship is for her own good.” “After Mia has her fun for a year, we’ll just make an excuse and say the DNA test was a mix-up. Once we restore her status as the eldest daughter, she’ll be too thrilled to hold a grudge.” My fingertips went ice cold. It was absurd. It was hilarious. Why on earth did they think they could trample me into the dirt, and I would just stand there waiting for them like an obedient dog? The next day, I went out to buy sanitary pads. But when I tried to pay, my card was declined for insufficient funds. I knew for a fact I had exactly two hundred dollars saved up. When I walked back into the mansion, the three of them were laughing around the dining table. There was a gift bag sitting on the table. My mother was lovingly caressing a silk scarf. “Our Mia is such a sweet, thoughtful girl. Knowing how to buy gifts for her mommy now! I’m so happy.” My father twirled a cheap plastic water bottle in his hands, grinning from ear to ear. “Dad loves his too! That’s my precious daughter.” Mia pouted, leaning her head on our mother’s shoulder. “But both of those only cost two hundred dollars combined. You guys aren’t mad I bought something so cheap, are you?” My mother immediately shook her head. “Of course not! As long as my baby bought it, even a two-dollar gift is a treasure to me.” My father didn’t miss the chance to put me down to lift her up. “Exactly. Unlike your sister, who only knows how to spend our money and has never bought us a single gift. She’s a heartless parasite. She could never compare to my Mia…” Noticing me standing in the doorway, they abruptly stopped talking. Mia tilted her head, looking at me with a sickeningly sweet, malicious smile. That two hundred dollars. That was two months’ worth of my living expenses. It was every single penny I had to my name. My whole body went cold. Something in my brain violently snapped. By the time I realized what I was doing, I had already grabbed Mia and raised my hand to slap her. But before my hand could fall, my father delivered a brutal kick to my stomach. I flew backward, my spine slamming agonizingly against the sharp corner of the glass coffee table. My vision went completely black from the pain. Mia held up her arm, showing off a tiny, faint red mark, and started wailing like the sky was falling. “Mom! Dad! It hurts so much! Is my arm broken?!” My mother panicked, screaming, “Call an ambulance!” My father quickly interrupted, “Don’t bother with an ambulance, it’ll take too long! I’ll drive Mia to the hospital myself.” Mia pointed a shaking finger at me as I lay gasping on the floor. “I don’t want to ride in the car! That stray mutt hurt me! I want her to carry me to the hospital on her back!” Chapter 3 The mansion was over twelve miles away from the nearest hospital in the city. My mother glared at me with eyes like ice. “You are a parentless stray. We fed and housed you for over a decade, and you dare lay a hand on my biological daughter? You will do exactly as Mia says.” Seeing me struggling to get up, my father grabbed me by the collar and hauled me to my feet. “Stop faking it. It was just a light tap. Hurry up and get Mia on your back. If you delay my daughter’s treatment, I swear I’ll throw you out on the street.” I believed him. But I couldn’t leave yet. I was broke. I had no choice but to let Mia climb onto my back and begin the agonizing trek toward the hospital. My father drove his luxury car slowly, trailing right behind me. He continuously yelled out the window, “Chloe, you better hold her steady! If you drop my precious daughter, I’ll skin you alive!” My mother complained from the passenger seat, “Walk faster! Did you not eat?! Don’t you dare delay my baby’s treatment!” Mia clung to my back, giggling viciously in my ear. “See? Nobody in this house loves you! You’re just an unwanted stray dog.” In the past, words like that would have easily pierced my heart. But now, perhaps due to an overdose of pain, I was completely numb. Seeing that I wasn’t reacting, Mia stopped talking. But just as we were finally approaching the hospital… She pulled a safety pin out of her pocket and jabbed it violently into my back. I stumbled in blinding pain, collapsing face-first onto the pavement. My parents immediately slammed on the brakes, bolted out of the car, scooped up Mia—who had fallen on top of me—and sprinted toward the emergency room. My mother glanced back at me, my face chalk-white on the concrete, and tossed a careless comment over her shoulder: “We’re at the hospital anyway. Go find a doctor yourself. We don’t have time to deal with you.” I never made it inside the hospital. Because I had no money. With zero energy left to walk back, I sat on the hospital steps until the sun went down, finally making my way back to the mansion long after dark. They were already home. Standing in the opulent living room were a filthy, cowering, middle-aged man and woman. “You’re back.” My father pointed at the couple. “These are your biological parents. Pack your things and leave with them right now.” The silence in the room was deafening. My mother walked over and grabbed my hand, though she couldn’t meet my eyes. “Chloe, we were mother and daughter for a long time, and this breaks my heart. But since your real parents have been found, there’s no reason for you to linger in the Vance household.” I thought I had run out of tears. But they spilled over my eyelashes and streamed down my face anyway. These were the parents I had cherished and loved more than anything for seventeen years. And they were entirely unwilling to let me stay, even in the darkest, smallest corner of their home. Seeing my tears, my mother looked guilty. She reached out to wipe them away, but Mia quickly latched onto her arm. “Chloe! Congratulations! You’re finally not a parentless stray anymore!” The middle-aged woman immediately grabbed my other arm. Her filthy, blackened fingernails dug painfully into my skin as she began a ridiculously exaggerated wail. “Oh, my sweet daughter! Mommy finally found you! Come home with Mommy!” The man claiming to be my biological father started dragging me toward the door. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go! You’ve bothered Mr. and Mrs. Vance long enough. Don’t be a shameless parasite!” “Wait,” Mia said, her eyes gleaming as she smiled wickedly. “Chloe, finding your real parents is a massive deal. It wouldn’t be right to leave without kneeling and kowtowing to them in gratitude. Or… are you disgusted because they’re poor? Do you look down on your own parents?” I froze, turning to look at my mother and father. “Do you also think I should kneel and kowtow to them?” Chapter 4 They instinctively avoided my gaze. Mia kept pushing. “Hurry up and kneel! We’re all waiting!” I smiled. Something inside my chest completely, irrevocably shattered. I dropped to my knees, but I didn’t face the strangers. I faced my mother and father, and bowed deeply, my forehead touching the floor. “Thank you for raising me. This ends my obligations to you as a daughter. From this moment on, I have absolutely no connection to the Vance family.” My parents exchanged a panicked look, a flicker of unease crossing both their faces. But I had already stood up and turned to leave with my “biological parents.” My mother chased after me, her voice shrill with fake bravado, “We aren’t even! Not until… not until you pay back every single penny we spent on you over the last seventeen years!” I stopped walking, but I didn’t turn around. I simply replied, “Okay.” They genuinely believed they had spent a fortune on me over the years. But they conveniently forgot that the daughter they extravagantly spoiled and threw money at was Mia. Meanwhile, I got an allowance of three hundred dollars a month. And even that was constantly extorted by Mia, whose allowance was thirty thousand. If I refused to give it to her, she would go home crying. She would claim I was turning our classmates against her and bullying her at school. As punishment, I would be locked in my room without food. There was even a night during a torrential downpour where Mia claimed I was bullying her so much she wanted to die. For that, I was locked outside in the freezing rain all night. I caught a fever of 104 degrees, and no one cared. From childhood until now, it had always been exactly like this. One word from Mia dictated whether I was right or wrong, happy or miserable, and even if I was allowed basic human dignity. My explanations, my tears, my grievances… in this house, they were utterly worthless. Just like me. Incredibly cheap. That night, I arrived at my “biological parents’” dingy, run-down apartment in the slums. Because there were no extra rooms or blankets, I spent the night curled up in a ball on the floor of the tiny, grimy bathroom. The freezing wind howled through the broken, newspaper-patched windows. By the next morning, I was delirious with a dangerously high fever. Fading in and out of consciousness, I heard the woman frantically speaking on the phone. “Mr. Vance, Mrs. Vance! The… the girl has a massive fever! She’s burning up, it’s 104 degrees!” “Well, what are you waiting for?! Take her to the hospital!” The phone was on speaker. Mia’s voice rang out, crystal clear. “Mom, Dad! She just left last night and she magically has a high fever today? That’s too much of a coincidence. It’s obviously a trick to see if you still care. If you fall for it, she wins!” After a long silence, my father’s icy voice replied, “Leave her be. She said it herself: she has no connection to us anymore. Let the ungrateful brat learn a hard lesson.” My mother sounded incredibly annoyed. “She’s your daughter now. Stop calling us over every little thing. We’re busy packing for our daughter’s round-the-world graduation trip. I’m hanging up.” No one cared if I lived or died. I was abandoned in that miserable slum apartment. Using the very last shred of my willpower, I clawed the front door open and dragged myself out into the hallway before passing out completely. When I opened my eyes again, a nurse was standing by my bed. “Sweetheart, you’re finally awake! 107 degrees! If a kind stranger hadn’t found you and brought you here… ten minutes later, and you wouldn’t have made it.” “Alright, hurry up and call your family to come. And you need to pay your admission fees.” I was silent for a long time. My voice was paper-thin. “I don’t have any money. And I don’t have a family.” The nurse was stunned. I stared blankly at the IV tube taped to the back of my hand and licked my cracked lips. “But… I have blood.” When school started again, I was officially a high school senior. I began running errands for my classmates—buying their lunches, delivering packages. One dollar per trip. I could save about twenty dollars a day. Chapter 5 One day, I had just finished buying someone’s lunch and was walking out of the cafeteria when I ran straight into Mia. She simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Her lackeys immediately lunged forward, snatching the lunchbox from my hands and smashing it onto the ground. The food mixed with the mud and dirty puddles on the pavement. “Aww, sister. You look so hungry. Let me treat you to lunch,” Mia sneered. Her friends grabbed the back of my head and forcefully shoved my face toward the muddy, trampled food. Ms. Harris, my homeroom teacher, happened to be walking by and furiously reprimanded them. She pulled me up and helped me wipe the mud off my face. She had heard rumors about what happened at the birthday party and knew I was desperately poor. Without asking too many invasive questions, she helped me secure a weekend tutoring job for a middle schooler. The only condition was that I could only work half-days on weekends, ensuring it wouldn’t affect my grades. I thanked her profusely. But I never could have imagined that Ms. Harris’s singular act of kindness would result in her being anonymously reported for “accepting bribes from parents” and subsequently fired. And me? My face was plastered all over the school’s public bulletin board. Someone had taken a photo of the middle schooler’s father driving me home from a tutoring session. The caption labeled me a high school escort being funded by a sugar daddy. My “biological mother,” Brenda, rushed to the school. Without asking a single question, she slapped me across the face twice. She viciously grabbed my hair, yanking and pinching me. “You little slut! Barely a teenager and you’re already spreading your legs for men! You might not have any shame, but I do!” My head snapped to the side from the impact. Through my messy, disheveled hair, my eyes locked onto my real parents, standing with the school administrators, looking at me like I was radioactive trash. And standing right behind them was Mia, a massive, triumphant grin splitting her face. My hair fell forward, hiding my line of sight, and hiding the tears I couldn’t hold back. I lowered my head and said quietly, “I’m sorry. I know I was wrong.” That night, right after I stepped out of the shower in the slum apartment, a pair of massive hands violently dragged me into a bedroom. My “biological father,” Bob, was shirtless, his eyes bloodshot with pure lust as he lunged at me. “If you’re giving it away to men outside, you might as well give it to me!” I pulled a hidden box cutter from my sleeve and slashed wildly at his face. He stumbled back, panting heavily, looking like a starved animal. “I’m a minor! Unless you want to spend the rest of your life in prison, get the hell away from me!” Living in the slums, there was no way I wouldn’t be prepared for the worst. Bob spat on the floor, wiped the blood from his cheek, and flashed a sickening, yellow-toothed grin. “You just wait, you little bitch. Your real parents sold you to me. I’ll get what I want eventually.” The door slammed shut. I collapsed against it, sliding down to the floor, my entire body shaking violently. The tears flooded out. I bit down on the back of my hand so hard I drew blood, just to stop my sobbing from making a sound. My phone buzzed. A notification from the Vance Family group chat. My mother: “Chloe, you are a pathetic, depraved child. Thinking about the fact that I called a filthy, shameless girl like you my daughter for seventeen years makes me physically sick.” The next second, my father removed me from the group chat. Staring at the chat group that now only had three members, my mother felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of unease. “Honey, did we go too far? Didn’t the investigator say she was just tutoring that man’s kid?” My father huffed angrily. “If she hadn’t forced Mia to eat food off the dirty floor, Mia wouldn’t have cried until her eyes were swollen! All Mia asked for was to kick her out of the group chat. She got off easy.” He thought for a second, then softened his tone. “It’s only for a year anyway. I already transferred enough money to Bob so she won’t starve. When the year is up, we’ll go pick her up immediately.” One year later. The day of Mia’s and my nineteenth birthday. My parents left the house early in the morning. My father drove fast. “Did you bring the real DNA test results?” My mother nodded repeatedly. “I have them. We haven’t seen Chloe in a whole year. When we bring her home, we have to properly make it up to her.” Chapter 6 My father smiled. “Of course. I’ve already reorganized the company shares. Mia is too playful; she can’t handle the responsibility. After this year of hardship, Chloe has definitely matured and won’t bully her sister anymore. At the birthday banquet tonight, I’ll officially announce Chloe as the primary heir.” The two of them hurried out of the car, navigated the filthy, trash-filled stairwell of the slum apartment, and went straight to Bob’s door. But they knocked for ten minutes, and no one answered. Finally, an older woman poked her head out of the neighboring apartment. “Stop knocking. Bob got arrested and sent to prison a long time ago for raping that girl he brought home last year.” The hallway went dead silent. My parents’ faces froze, as if they had been struck by a sledgehammer. After a long time, my father, his face deathly pale, finally managed to find his trembling voice. “Did… did Bob bring several girls home last year?” The neighbor smacked her lips, completely shattering his delusion. “Several? No, just the one. He told everyone she was his long-lost daughter that he finally tracked down.” “Yes! She’s his daughter!” my mother interrupted, her voice shrill and panicked. “She’s his daughter! A father wouldn’t touch his own daughter! There must be a mistake!” My mother seemed to believe that if she yelled loud enough, she could bury the horrific truth staring her in the face. But the neighbor wasn’t buying it. She let out a harsh, mocking laugh. “What daughter? Everyone in this building knows Bob is shooting blanks. He’s got a medical condition; he can’t even have kids.” “He kept bragging that the girl was his long-lost kid. But look at Bob and Brenda—they’re both ugly as sin! There’s no way they could produce a girl that pretty. He obviously kidnapped or tricked her into coming here.” Seeing that my parents were well-dressed, the neighbor leaned in, her eyes shining with morbid, gossipy excitement, hoping to impress them. “Let me tell you, the walls in this building are paper-thin. The night Bob got arrested… that poor girl’s screaming and crying echoed through the entire building. It was horrific.” My mother stumbled backward, the world spinning around her, and grabbed the rusty staircase railing for support. Usually a severe germaphobe, she didn’t even notice the thick, black grime coating her hands. Her face was completely blank as she muttered lifelessly, “Impossible… It’s a lie. It has to be a lie.” The neighbor waved her hand defensively. “I’m not lying! Ask anyone in this building! He brought that poor girl here, and within a few days, he forced himself on her. The man is an absolute animal.” The neighbor described the events with vivid, terrifying detail, completely oblivious to my parents’ rapidly deteriorating complexions. My father, usually a ruthless, commanding presence in the corporate world, was trembling like a leaf in the wind. It took every ounce of his willpower just to keep his buckling legs from collapsing. “Where… where is the girl now…?” “Oh, don’t even ask.” The neighbor sighed heavily. “The second the cops hauled Bob away, the girl jumped off the roof. She looked like she was just a student. Such a sweet, pretty face, completely ruined by that monster. I don’t know who her real parents are, but if they ever found out, their hearts would shatter into a million pieces.” Having finished her story, the neighbor finally noticed my parents looked like they had just seen a ghost. A dawning realization hit her. “Wait a minute… you don’t think that girl was your daughter, do you?” “No! No, she wasn’t.” My father denied it frantically. “We were just passing through…” Looking like a man fleeing from hell itself, he grabbed my mother’s arm and practically dragged her out of the building. Running out of the stairwell, he nearly tripped over a pile of rotting garbage. They didn’t speak a single word until they were safely inside the luxury car. I don’t know how much time passed, but a suppressed, agonizing sob finally broke the silence. My mother covered her face, completely breaking down into hysterical wails. “My Chloe… my baby girl…”

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On the day of my difficult delivery, my husband abandoned me in the operating room, disgusted by the sight of childbirth. With no one to sign the consent forms, I nearly died on the operating table. After I finally escaped the jaws of death, he vanished entirely for a month. It wasn’t until I brought our newborn son home from the hospital that I found my husband waiting with a table full of my favorite dishes. I comforted myself, thinking that perhaps, as a first-time father, his fear of childbirth was normal. But the very next day, a photo of me, bare-chested and nursing my baby, appeared in a private chat group of the elite. The caption read: [Freshly sourced. House calls available for direct mouth-to-mouth inspection.] … 1 The chat group instantly exploded over that single sentence. And the person who posted the picture was the same husband who had tenderly washed my hair and bathed me just yesterday. “Gentlemen, my wife is a fresh, new mother. Only six slots available. Bidding starts at $70,000.” A payment QR code was immediately dropped into the chat. More and more people joined this online auction. “Is this a scam? Who sells their own wife these days? Playing pretty hard, huh? But I like it.” “This guy is legit. Just bid!” “I bid $70,000. I’ve tasted spicy girls and mature women, but never a new mom. It must be a unique experience.” Listening to these men’s degrading fantasies about me, a fleeting, almost imperceptible flash of guilt crossed my husband’s face. “For those who are skeptical, you can inspect the goods before paying. If it’s fake, I’ll compensate you triple!” Before he even finished speaking, the wealthy men were eagerly throwing money around, fighting to sign up. “$70,000? Get out of here. I bid $170,000. I want to suck ten pounds.” “$400,000. I want all of your wife’s breast milk. Even your kid can’t touch it!” As soon as those words were spoken, a gasp echoed through the speaker. My husband deliberately lowered his voice, but a hint of excitement still bled through. “Rest assured, Mr. Wang. The day after tomorrow, 3 PM, Room 888 at the Starlight Hotel… I guarantee she’ll be drugged beforehand. She’ll be responsive but quiet…” Amidst the collective gasps, I stood outside the study, my face already covered in tears. Liam Sterling’s words, and the filthy remarks of those rich men, were like sharp blades carving my heart to bloody ribbons. Liam and I had an arranged marriage, one that I had eagerly hoped for. He, however, had no feelings for me. Before my pregnancy, he was always merely polite. But after I got pregnant, he suddenly started doting on me, staying home and never leaving my side to take care of me. Under his meticulous care and sweet words, I thought he had finally seen my worth, and I was overjoyed for a long time. Even while heavily pregnant, I personally cooked and did his laundry every day, refusing to let the nanny help. Now it seemed it was all just a grand performance, an act of deep affection just to sell me for a good price. But a question still lingered in my mind. The Sterling family was part of the elite circle. If he just needed a few million, he could have simply asked his family. Why hide his identity and use me to make money? Why grovel so pathetically to these people for an auction? Inside the study, immediately after Liam hung up the call, another one came in. “Liam, did you get the money for my medical bills? I feel so awful, my heart hurts so much.” “Be a good girl, Mia. I’ve raised the money. Once the final payment clears, you can have your surgery.” The girl on the other end let out an infatuated laugh. “I knew you wouldn’t abandon me, Liam. But using Chloe’s… thing to pay for my medical bills… is that really okay? A woman’s purity is her most important asset.” Liam sneered coldly. “Her purity being traded for your medical treatment is her blessing. In a way, she’s accumulating good karma for herself!” “If Chloe finds out, won’t she go to Grandpa and divorce you?” “Impossible. She loves me too much. Once your medical bills are covered, I’ll just buy her a strawberry lollipop, and everything will be fine!” Listening to their flirtatious banter, the last shred of love I had for him vanished completely. I knew who the woman on the phone was. She was Liam’s college junior, Mia. They had been in love for five years. In their sixth year, the Sterling family suddenly declared bankruptcy, and she vanished the very next day. Liam was devastated. It was then that I took the opportunity to bring up the childhood marriage arrangement between our families, successfully marrying Liam. After the wedding, I injected my entire inheritance from my father into the Sterling Group, bringing it back from the brink of death. I originally thought that if I gave enough, he would eventually let me into his heart. But in the end, I still couldn’t compete with a single “It hurts” from his first love. Three years of wholehearted devotion, repaid with both emotional and physical betrayal… I silently retreated to my room, looked at my sleeping son, and dialed Liam’s grandfather’s number: “The day after tomorrow, 3 PM, Room 888 at the Starlight Hotel. That will be proof enough that he never had me in his heart. Grandpa, I have done everything I can for the Sterling family. Please allow me to leave!” I was woken up by my son’s crying. Looking at him, I knew he was hungry. I immediately prepared to lift my shirt to nurse him, but right at that moment, Liam burst in and snatched my son from my arms. The baby hung upside down over Liam’s shoulder. “What are you lifting your shirt for?! Nursing at the drop of a hat—what, are you trying to get off on the kid?” “You really disgust me, Chloe!” Remembering his conversation with those rich men last night, I instantly understood his intention. As expected, for his first love, he didn’t even care whether his own son lived or died. Ignoring Liam’s deliberate insults, I panicked seeing the baby’s face turn purple and hearing his cries grow weaker. I immediately pulled my shirt down and begged Liam to put the baby down. But he completely ignored me. He reached out, stripped off my shirt and pants, and shoved me into the storage room. “You filthy bitch. Since your mind is so dirty, let’s keep your body clean. Think about what you’ve done in here!” Hearing the baby’s cries drift further away and grow fainter, I frantically pounded on the door, begging Liam to let me out. “Even if you don’t want me to breastfeed him, please, Liam, at least give him some formula!” The only response was endless silence and darkness. I slid to the floor in despair, but then flashing lights from the window pierced my eyes. There were people in the building opposite… Only then did I realize that this storage room was completely empty, and it had a floor-to-ceiling window directly facing the balcony next door. Five men on the opposite balcony were snapping photos of me with their cameras. “So this is the nursing mom up for auction, Chloe? Looks like the kid wasn’t lying. You can tell she’s engorged just by looking at her. The taste must be fantastic.” “Hahaha, so what if she’s top-tier? The money we five pooled together only bought us viewing rights. The only one who gets to touch her is the guy who bid $400,000…” Hearing this, everyone looked at the man sitting to the side, but he merely put away his phone, turned, and left the balcony. I stared in disbelief as the camera flashes raked over my body. Every flash felt like a slap, numbing me to the pain, leaving me powerless to fight back. Listening to their filthy remarks, I could only hug myself tightly, curling into a corner, burying my head, and turning my back to the window. When the flashing finally stopped, I heard the front door open. Mia, wearing a sexy, tight corset dress, perfectly “tripped” into Liam’s arms the moment he opened the door. “Liam, this dress is squeezing my chest so tight it hurts! Help me, please!” Looking at the curvaceous Mia, Liam casually tossed our still-crying son onto the dining table. Right in front of the baby, he threw Mia onto the table and started taking her. Listening to the baby’s weak cries and the filthy sounds of those two dogs enjoying themselves… I pounded the door frantically, trying to awaken whatever conscience Liam had left. But the only response I got was Mia’s louder moans and the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. It wasn’t until my hands were bloody and mangled from pounding the door, and my body covered in bruises from throwing myself against it, That Liam finally let me out of the storage room. One look at his eyes, and I instantly understood what that heavy thud had been… I used every ounce of my strength to shove Liam aside and run to the living room. Mia leisurely pulled up her panties, flaunting herself at me. And my child was lying under the dining table in an unnatural position. “I’m so sorry, Chloe. It’s all my fault for making Liam lose control. We forgot the baby was still on the table…” Seeing Mia’s fake, sorrowful expression, I didn’t care that I was still naked. I lunged at her with all my might. Before I even touched a hair on her head, Liam kicked me to the ground. I landed right next to my baby. Looking at his already purple face and stiff body, all my grievances erupted in that moment. “Liam, he is your own biological son! Aren’t you afraid of karma?!” Liam held Mia in his arms with a look of utter indifference and sneered: “Chloe, if Mia hadn’t been misdiagnosed with a heart condition, I never would have let you get pregnant.” “Just now, the doctor told me Mia’s heart condition was a misdiagnosis. If the kid is dead, he’s dead. It’ll be the same when you raise Mia’s child later.” Mia touched her stomach, a smile hidden on her lips, and feigned distress: “Liam, since I’m fine now, can we cancel the auction for Chloe’s breast milk? Even if Mr. Wang has powerful backing, Chloe’s reputation is still very important…” Anyone with a brain could tell she was passively-aggressively urging Liam to hand me over to Mr. Wang as soon as possible. Only that bastard Liam interpreted it as her being gentle, considerate, and kind. Liam’s phone rang, and he answered it like a lapdog. An old, weak voice came through the speaker: “The naked video of your wife is good. I’ve transferred the final payment to your card. Make sure she’s completely bare when you bring her to the room tomorrow.” Because I was quite far away, I didn’t catch the exact details, but from his expression, I knew it had to be about the auction. I picked up my baby, who had long stopped breathing, and stumbled toward the bedroom. “Tomorrow, come with me to the Starlight Hotel. There’s a banquet, and the organizers require a female plus-one for entry!” Hearing this, I refused without thinking, “Mia is a woman. You can take her.” Before I finished, Liam rushed over, snatched the baby from me, and dangled him by his tiny fingers like a plastic bag. “Who the hell do you think you are to refuse me? Mia even put in a good word for you! Don’t push your luck!” Watching my baby’s body sway, my heart felt like it was being sliced open. “Give me back my baby.” A cold sneer curved Liam’s lips. “You want the kid? Then accompany me to the auction tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll throw him to the wolves in Siberia so there won’t even be bones left, and he won’t be able to reincarnate even if he reaches the underworld!” Looking at his emotionless eyes, I felt desperate and helpless. “Liam, he is your child, and I am your legally wedded wife! Are you truly not afraid of retribution?!” Liam held the baby high in the air. “Chloe, cut the crap. If you don’t agree right now, I’ll tear your child apart piece by piece!” Although Liam appeared to outsiders as a gentle and refined gentleman, only I knew he was a terrifying demon who always kept his word. To ensure my baby remained intact and received a proper burial, I agreed to his terms. The child was already gone, my heart was already dead; there was nothing left for me to fear. Once he confirmed I wouldn’t change my mind, Liam tossed the baby at my feet and left with Mia in his arms. After he left, I quickly cleaned myself up and arranged my baby’s funeral. To preserve the last shred of dignity for the Sterling family, I didn’t publicize his death. I simply hired a monk to perform a small ceremony, hoping that in his next life, he would be born into a normal family and no longer suffer with me. By the time everything was done, it was the next day. When I returned home, a row of colorful, sexy, and revealing evening gowns was lined up in the living room. Liam was sitting on the sofa in an odd position. Mia, with a look of pure enjoyment on her face, was sitting on his lap, subtly grinding against him. I wanted to ignore them and go straight upstairs. But Liam called out, pointing at the rack of dresses and telling me to pick one. Looking at the clothes—all plunging necklines, deep V’s, or slits cut up to the waist—I flatly refused. Liam looked at me with disgust. “You have to wear one. Look at your fat, bloated body. Mia specifically found a designer who specializes in plus-size women’s clothing to custom-make these for you. Don’t be ungrateful!” I looked down at my bloated, protruding stomach and found it incredibly ironic. During my pregnancy, Liam treated me like a treasure. I once thought my love would finally bear fruit. But on the day I gave birth, when he saw my lower body, the disgust and revulsion in his eyes were unmistakable. He sneaked away, leading to me hemorrhaging with no one to sign the surgical consent form. I nearly died on the operating table. Since that day, I suffered from postpartum depression, trapped in constant self-doubt, which led to a hormonal imbalance that caused my body to swell. He was the cause of all this, yet he dared to blame me! I picked a dress that provided slightly more coverage and changed into it, just as they finished their filthy act. When we arrived at the auction, the five men who had been standing on the balcony that day were all present. Liam shot Mia a look. Mia pretended to be very affectionate, hooking her arm through mine and dragging me over to socialize with those scumbags. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. She’s a mother now, and still looks like this. Definitely worth the price.” “Mr. Wang is in for a treat tonight. $400,000 is a steal.” “Hey gorgeous, if you can’t take it, you can always run. Us five brothers will take good care of you.” Listening to their filthy words, Mia offered a few haphazard excuses and dragged me away, terrified I would catch their underlying meaning and discover her and Liam’s insidious plot. But as I turned around, I caught sight of Liam pouring a packet of powder into a glass of red wine, whispering something to a waiter. The waiter looked over with a guilty expression. I quickly turned my back, terrified Liam would realize I saw something. I always thought that even if Liam didn’t love me, he would spare my life out of consideration for my three years of unwavering dedication to the Sterling family. At the very least, he wouldn’t degrade me like this. Mia took the wine glass from Liam and handed it to me. “Don’t be mad, Chloe. Those bosses were just complimenting you. Try this, it’s very expensive!” I instinctively looked at Liam, but he guiltily turned his head away. Looking at the powder settled at the bottom of the glass, I sneered and pushed Mia’s hand away. “I’m afraid of karma if I drink wine offered by a mistress!” Before the words had fully landed, Liam ground his teeth, suppressed his anger, and growled at me. “Chloe, I don’t have time for your tantrums. Drink the wine right now. Isn’t Mia tired holding it?” I feigned nervousness, inching toward the exit, and asked with a naive expression: “Honey, you know I’m allergic to alcohol. Why are you…” Before I could finish, my head started spinning and my vision blurred. But I clearly hadn’t drunk or touched anything! “Looks like the drug in the earrings is working. Liam, hurry up and send her to Mr. Wang. The East City project will definitely be yours.” “You really are a clever little thing, thinking of everything. I don’t know why she suddenly became so cautious, wasting so much time.” Mia leaned weakly against Liam, her venomous, snake-like eyes roaming over me. “Liam, are you sure you want to give Chloe to that seventy-something Mr. Wang? Doesn’t your heart ache?” Liam lifted Mia’s chin and kissed her deeply. “Why would my heart ache for her? She’s just a lapdog. What trouble could she possibly cause?” I collapsed weakly to the floor, trying to grab Liam’s pant leg. “I am your legally wedded wife… you can’t do this to me…” Listening to my feeble pleas, Liam didn’t even look at me: “Tonight is a charity auction. By making a contribution, you’re accumulating good karma for your child. Isn’t this what they call a win-win?” Thinking of my dead son, despair consumed me entirely. Seeing I was no longer struggling, Liam publicly stripped off my gown and underwear. He ordered a waiter to bring a transparent gift box, tied my hands and feet, and put me inside. “Send it to Room 888 on the top floor.” Looking at their numb, indifferent eyes, I knew pleading was useless. Through the transparent packaging, I thought I saw a flash of heartache and guilt in Liam’s eyes. As the scene before me grew increasingly blurry, I viciously bit my own tongue to stay awake. Until Grandpa Sterling sent someone to rescue me. “In the end, it is our Sterling family that has wronged you.” He returned my mother’s keepsake, had me sign the divorce papers, And sent me abroad. Watching the plane take off and Capital City shrink to a tiny dot, I finally dared to let my guard down and fall asleep. Meanwhile, Room 888 was in shambles: “Liam Sterling, where is the item I bought? All I got was a broken box?!” Mr. Wang, half-naked, was smashing things in a furious, red-faced rage. Liam yelled at his bodyguards, “Go find her right now! I want her alive, or I want to see her corpse!” Hearing this, the bodyguards rushed out of the room, but quickly backed in again. Liam looked at the person walking in behind the bodyguards, his jaw dropping in shock. Before he could speak, his grandfather slapped the divorce agreement onto his face: “From now on, Chloe has nothing to do with the Sterling family! You can use Mia to compensate Mr. Wang!” Hearing this, Mia instinctively hid behind Liam, looking at him with utter grievance. She signaled for Liam to speak up and protect her. But to her surprise, Liam ignored her pleading gaze, And instead asked why Chloe would have nothing to do with the Sterling family anymore. Furious, his grandfather raised his cane and struck Liam’s leg. “You have the audacity to ask?! If I hadn’t arrived in time, you would have given your own wife to someone else as a plaything, all for this insidious, gold-digging woman!” Seeing his grandfather’s rage, Liam stubbornly replied: “It’s just nursing! It’s not like Chloe was going to lose a piece of flesh. She wouldn’t have cared.” “Besides, as long as she satisfies Mr. Wang, he’ll give me the East City land outright! She’d normally jump at the chance to do something that helps me so much!” Seeing his grandson spout such shameless words with such self-righteousness, Grandpa Sterling trembled with anger. It was only then that Liam clearly saw what his grandfather had just slapped onto his face. “A divorce agreement?” “How do you have this?!” Liam dropped his cynical attitude, his expression turning serious. Grandpa Sterling sighed deeply and recounted the events following the Sterling family’s bankruptcy. Three years ago, when the Sterling family went bankrupt, I found out and brought my father’s inheritance and the notarized documents to Grandpa Sterling. I told him I could save the Sterling family from ruin, but I had two conditions. The first condition was that I had to become Liam’s wife. Grandpa Sterling, a seasoned businessman, naturally wouldn’t believe in the “love” of a girl in her early twenties. So he confiscated my mother’s keepsake to keep me in check. Later, as the Sterling family returned to its peak, he witnessed everything I did for his grandson. Ultimately, feeling a pang of conscience, he prepared a divorce agreement, pre-signed by Liam, as my ultimate escape route. As for the second condition… I asked Grandpa to hide the real reason Mia left Liam. I was truly afraid that a proud man like him would suffer a complete breakdown if he knew the truth. But I never expected that my well-intentioned concealment would become the sharpest knife to stab me today. Liam had actually offered me to a seventy-year-old man with a nursing fetish, just to amuse Mia. After the story was told, some were shocked, some felt guilty. Looking at my signature on the divorce agreement, Liam collapsed onto the floor. “She couldn’t have signed it. She loves me so much; how could she bear to divorce me?!” “It must be fake. Grandpa, you’re joking with me, right?!” Seeing the man so completely lost, Mia couldn’t suppress her jealousy and pretended to defuse the situation: “Grandpa, don’t blame Liam. Actually, Chloe also wanted to experience nursing again because the baby died. As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango, right?” Smack~ Grandpa stood right up and slapped Mia hard across the face, saying ruthlessly: “It seems to me, this slap sounded pretty loud!” “I’m not my idiot grandson, whose brain has been replaced by hot air. Your little tricks don’t work on me. You know exactly how many schemes you used to auction off Chloe and kill the baby!” Knowing she was in the wrong, Mia ducked back behind Liam and said nothing more. Liam finally realized his grandfather wasn’t joking. He plastered on a fake smile and crawled to his grandfather’s feet. “Grandpa, I won’t sell her. I’ll return the four hundred thousand, and then I’ll go home and find Chloe. I’ll apologize to her. We’ll just tear up this divorce agreement, it doesn’t count…” The man’s nonchalant attitude only made Grandpa angrier. “Liam Sterling, you truly are a piece of work! Let me tell you, I’ve already sent Chloe to her childhood friend. Their families originally had an arranged marriage.” “I hope that boy can bring Chloe true happiness!” Hearing this, Liam stood up agitatedly, his eyes turning red. “Impossible! Chloe is mine, alive or dead. Marrying someone else? In her dreams!” Grandpa sneered coldly. “If she really becomes a ghost, she’d better be a vengeful spirit coming for your life, dragging you and this woman to hell to be deep-fried!” Finally, Grandpa looked at Mia and sighed deeply. “Since you were willing to go this far for this woman, then just marry this disaster. Consider it accumulating good karma!” With that, Grandpa left the room with his bodyguards. Hearing those words, Mia was thrilled. She happily wrapped her arm around Liam’s. “Grandpa finally let us be together! I told you good deeds are rewarded. From now on, my son will officially be a member of the Sterling family!” The man radiated a chilling aura, completely contrasting with Mia’s joy. Looking at Mia’s raised lips, Liam asked coldly: “When my family went bankrupt back then… what is the real reason you left me?” Mia’s smile froze. She hadn’t expected Liam to ask this question now. Her eyes darted around, trying to find a suitable answer. But Liam’s gaze was too sharp, as if it could see right through her soul. “Liam, don’t listen to Grandpa’s nonsense. I had my reasons for leaving you back then.” Mia’s voice carried a slight tremor. Liam sneered coldly. “Reasons? What reason could make you leave me when I needed help the most?” Mia’s face turned pale as she hurriedly tried to cover up her panic. “When your family suddenly faced that crisis, I knew your burden had gotten much heavier. But I also knew you loved me deeply. I couldn’t bear to be a stumbling block for you, so I forced myself to leave, allowing you to focus entirely on your career.” “I was in agony too, but for your sake, I chose to bear it silently. Yet here you are, questioning me.”

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I am the real daughter. On the very first day we were reunited, my biological mother pushed a bank card across the table toward me. “One million dollars a month. You don’t have to genuinely treat me like your mother, but you will act the part in front of outsiders. Do not embarrass me.” I froze for half a second. The next second, I dropped to my knees and hugged her leg tightly, refusing to let go. “Mom! Why are you setting conditions with me?! We are a match made in heaven! Anyone who tries to tear us apart will face divine retribution!” She frowned in distaste. “…Stop talking nonsense.” I immediately changed my tune. “Understood, understood. Keep a low profile. We’ll just call this a family bonding subsidy. I accept.” Twelve million dollars a year. Forget acting like a loving daughter—for that kind of money, if she told me to call the fake daughter “Big Sis,” I’d say it sweeter than anyone else on earth. 1 My knees hurt a little. The marble floor was incredibly hard. But the smile on my face didn’t falter for a second. Eleanor Vance, the biological mother I had just been reunited with, had clearly never seen a display like this before. “Get up,” she said, her tone clipped. “What do you think you look like right now?” I scrambled up from the floor with practiced efficiency. “Yes, Mom. Whatever you say, Mom.” “Let’s get the ugly truth out of the way first.” She sat back into the plush sofa and crossed her legs. “Mia has lived in this house for twenty-two years. Her health is fragile; she has a heart condition and cannot handle stress. To the outside world, you two are twins. She is the older sister, and you are the younger sister. I do not want to see any petty jealousy or dramatic fighting over favoritism.” I took the bank card with both hands and shoved it deep into my pocket. “Rest assured, Mom.” I stood at attention, practically saluting. “As long as the funds clear, Mia is my biological sister. If she wants water, I absolutely will not hand her a Coke. If she wants to walk, I will absolutely not let her use a wheelchair. Oh, wait, no, I mean I will personally carry her on my back.” Just then, a girl appeared at the top of the grand staircase, gripping the railing and looking down at us. This was the fake daughter who had occupied my place for twenty-two years: Mia Vance. Her eyes were red. She looked at me, tears falling before she even spoke a word. “Mom… is this… is this Ms. Miller?” If this were a typical soap opera, this would be the moment I pointed at her nose and called her a thief. But I was built different. This wasn’t my enemy. This was my walking, talking cash cow from another mother. If Eleanor wasn’t trying to protect Mia’s fragile feelings, would she have ever offered me a million-dollar monthly salary? Mia bit her lip, looking utterly pathetic. “Ms. Miller, I am so sorry. I stole your life… If my presence bothers you, I can move out…” Eleanor’s face darkened, and she opened her mouth to intervene. “Sis! What are you talking about?!” I widened my eyes, putting on a look of profound, agonizing heartache. I channeled the exact same level of sincerity I used when hustling portable chargers to old ladies at the train station. “What do you mean ‘stole’?! That’s a terrible word! For twenty-two years, you have suffered immensely in this wealthy household!” Mia looked completely lost. A tear hung precariously on her eyelashes, unsure if it should fall. “…Huh?” I grabbed Mia’s hands tightly, pouring every ounce of fake emotion I possessed into my voice. “Sis, just look at you! You’re so thin! The food in this mansion must be terrible, right? And the rules! The pressure must be suffocating! I heard rich people have to learn piano, painting, equestrianism, and socialize every single day. That sounds exhausting! “I was completely different. I fed pigs and chopped wood in the village. Look at me—I’m strong as an ox and eat like a horse! That kind of grueling, bitter life is only fit for a rough girl like me. Knowing you took my place and endured all this suffering for so many years… as your younger sister, my heart simply bleeds for you!” Mia’s mouth hung open. She stared at me for a long time, completely unable to formulate a response. I struck while the iron was hot, turning back to Eleanor. “Mom, look at this! Sis is treating me like a stranger! From now on, with me here, nobody is going to bully my sister. Sis, you just live your life exactly as you always have. I promise I will keep my mouth shut, I will never cause trouble, and I will absolutely not give you or Dad any reason to worry.” “Alright, that’s enough. Since we’ve cleared the air, let’s eat.” 2 I had barely picked up my chopsticks when a middle-aged man walked into the dining room. This was my biological father, Richard Vance. Well, technically, he married into the family. The Vance family had the money, and he had the looks. Back in the day, it was the classic trope of a poor boy marrying a rich heiress. “So this is the one… who came from the village?” He handed his suit jacket to the maid, unbuttoning his cuffs as he walked toward the table. “Why is she dressed like that? And she has terrible posture.” I looked down at myself. I bought this outfit off a cheap discount app. Sure, it wasn’t high fashion, but it wasn’t like I was exposing anything inappropriate. Richard sat down, completely ignoring me. Instead, he picked up a choice piece of fish and placed it directly into Mia’s bowl. “Mia, eat more. You’ve looked so exhausted these past few days. It breaks my heart.” Mia glanced at me quickly, then said softly, “Thank you, Dad. Dad… my sister just got back. You should give her some too.” What a perfect, pristine white lotus. Even now, she was making sure to draw aggro toward me. Right on cue, Richard slammed his chopsticks onto the table. “Her? She grew up in the country; what hasn’t she eaten? Why would she need me to serve her?” “Since you’re back, you will follow the Vance family rules. Wash off that repulsive, rural stench. Do not embarrass your mother in public. Also, what was your name again? Chloe Miller? How incredibly vulgar.” He waved his hand in disgust. “We’re changing it tomorrow. I’ve already decided. Your new name is Chloe Vance.” The million-dollar monthly salary covered enduring my biological mother’s bad temper. The contract did not say anything about tolerating her husband’s pretentious bullshit. I calmly took a bite of a spare rib, chewing silently, and glanced up at Eleanor. Eleanor acted like she hadn’t heard a thing. Got it. If the boss didn’t intervene, it meant this was considered an extra, out-of-scope service. I put down my chopsticks and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Dad, I can’t change my name.” Richard’s eyes bulged. “What did you just say? You just walked through the door and you’re already talking back?!” “I’m not talking back.” I put on my most earnest, sincere expression. “The name Chloe Miller might sound a bit common, but it’s the name my adoptive parents gave me. Yes, they treated me terribly. They beat me, yelled at me, and made me feed pigs and farm the land. But they still raised me for twenty-two years. “If I change my name the second I return to my wealthy biological family, what will the public think? They’ll say the Vance family uses their wealth to bully the poor. They’ll say I’m a vain, greedy opportunist who completely abandoned her roots.” I let out a heavy, theatrical sigh. “I mean, I don’t care. If people want to curse my name, let them. But Mom is different! Mom is a prominent entrepreneur! The Vance Corporation relies on its public image. What if the media spins this as ‘Wealthy Family Forces True Daughter to Erase 20 Years of Adoptive Ties’? The stock price would plummet!” I turned to Eleanor, looking exactly like a deeply concerned, devoted daughter. “Mom, am I right? Losing hundreds of millions in market value just for a name… it’s just not worth it.” Richard pointed a shaking finger at me. “You… you’re twisting the facts! What does this have to do with the stock price?!” “How is it not related?” I asked, feigning shock. “The internet loves to hate the rich these days. Dad, do you not go online? Oh, right, you just drink tea and play golf all day. You don’t handle the company’s affairs, so it makes sense you wouldn’t know.” “Enough.” Eleanor finally spoke. “Chloe makes a valid point. A name is just a label; changing it involves too much paperwork anyway. Chloe Miller it is. I think it’s fine. It keeps her grounded.” Mia looked at me with a completely different expression now. I flashed her a massive, toothy grin and popped a piece of cheesy lobster into my mouth. Wow, rich people food was delicious. Some people choked on the bread of charity. But me? I prefer to earn my keep standing tall. After dinner, Eleanor called me into her study. “You are very smart,” she said. “Thank you for the compliment, Mom.” I stood respectfully in front of her desk, my hands clasped together. “Do you know why I brought you back?” “Because blood is thicker than water?” I ventured cautiously. Eleanor scoffed. “Because Mia’s fiancé only recognizes the true Vance bloodline. We need an alliance with the Sterling family. Mia isn’t a biological Vance, so the marriage won’t hold. But Mia’s health is too fragile. She could never survive being married to the Sterling family’s notorious playboy heir. So…” “You will marry him in her place.” Oh ho. I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. This was the real reason I was here. A high-society alliance. A wealthy heir. A substitute bride. Wasn’t this just another massive business contract? “That’s going to cost extra.” The words slipped out of my mouth instinctively. Eleanor paused for a second, then laughed. “Deal.” She pulled open a drawer and tossed another bank card onto the desk. “This is the advance on your dowry. I’ll add an extra five hundred thousand a month for emotional damages. As long as you lock down the Sterling family, half of the Vance family’s assets will eventually be yours.” “Mom, just sit back and watch. I don’t care if he’s a rich heir or the King of Hell himself, I’ll have him trained and eating out of my hand.” 3 The next day at noon, to celebrate my return, the family hosted a luncheon with several extended relatives from the Vance side. I didn’t hold back. I sat down and prepared to feast. But before my chopsticks could even reach the center of the table, Richard spun the lazy Susan, stopping a plate of premium, double-head abalone directly in front of Mia. “Mia, your health is delicate. You need the nutrients.” The lazy Susan spun again, and what stopped in front of me was a plate of stir-fried bitter greens. Richard cast a sideways glance at me. “Chloe, your stomach is used to cheap, coarse food. Eating rich food too suddenly will give you indigestion. Dad is doing this for your own good. Eat more vegetables. It cleanses the grease.” Mia looked deeply conflicted and said softly, “Dad, is this really appropriate? My sister just got back…” “What’s inappropriate about it?” Richard raised his voice. “A wild boar can’t digest fine grain. Giving it to her is just a waste.” Seeing that I stayed silent, Richard assumed I was intimidated. His ego inflated, and he kept going. He poured himself a glass of red wine and swirled it. “Speaking of which, our Mia really is incredibly lucky. That Sterling marriage arrangement was originally meant for you. Thank goodness your health is fragile. That Julian Sterling… tsk tsk. Everyone in our circle knows what he is. He drinks, he gambles, he sleeps around, and his temper is explosive. I heard he broke a model’s leg just last month.” He took a sip of wine and patted Mia’s hand, looking utterly relieved. “A fiery pit like that is only suitable for a thick-skinned, feral girl to jump into. It’s the perfect match: a trash can for a trash lid. Absolute garbage paired with absolute garbage. A match made in heaven.” Mia’s tears were threatening to spill again. “Dad, please don’t talk about my sister like that…” “Dad is just telling the truth!” Richard was getting more and more animated. “Those rich playboys are nothing but scumbags. If the Vance family didn’t need their business, who would even bother acknowledging him? Only an ignorant country bumpkin like Chloe would treat him like a prize.” I glanced at Eleanor, who was sitting at the head of the table. Understood. When the boss couldn’t conveniently tear someone a new one, the biological daughter had to step up and do the dirty work. I stood up. Richard was mid-rant, spit flying from his mouth. He was startled by my sudden movement. “What are you doing? Are you going to get more rice? You have absolutely no manners…” I flashed him a brilliant, radiant smile. The next second, I gripped the edge of the heavy marble table, anchored my stance, and flipped it with explosive force. The table full of abalone, bird’s nest soup, red wine, and hot broth flew through the air in a very ungraceful parabolic arc before crashing violently onto the floor. The greasy, thick abalone sauce splashed directly onto Richard, instantly ruining his custom-tailored suit. “Ahhhh…!” Mia shrieked and hid in Richard’s arms. Richard was utterly stunned. His finger trembled as he pointed at me. “You… you… you absolute savage! Are you out of your mind?!” I dusted off my hands, my face a mask of righteous indignation. “Dad! You have crossed the line!” I pointed at the mess on the floor, my voice booming even louder than his. “Who is Julian Sterling?! He is my future husband! He is the Vance family’s future, most vital business partner! And here you are, in front of all these people, publicly slandering the heir to the Sterling Group as garbage and a scumbag! What if word gets out?! What if the Sterlings pull their investment?! What if the Vance stock crashes?! What if you destroy all of Mom’s hard work?!” I clutched my chest, looking agonizingly heartbroken. “It doesn’t matter if I, Chloe Miller, suffer a little. Even if you forced me to eat scraps, I would accept it. But you cannot use the future of the Vance family as a joke just to elevate your favorite daughter! You are undermining Mom’s empire! You are cutting off our family’s primary source of wealth!” Richard was suffocating under the weight of the massive accusations I had just hurled at him. “You… you’re talking out of your ass! I’m your father! I can say whatever I want!” “You are my father, but you are also a man who married into the Vance family wealth!” I took a step forward, my aura completely dominating the room. “You eat the food the Vance family provides, yet you smash the bowl we eat from! You are biting the hand that feeds you! As a member of this family, I, Chloe Miller, will absolutely not tolerate such ungrateful, treacherous behavior!” Richard was trembling with sheer rage. He tried to lunge forward to hit me, but slipped on the greasy soup covering the floor and fell hard, landing face-first in the mess like a dog. “Enough.” Eleanor’s voice chimed in right on cue. She placed her napkin on the table, not even glancing at Richard groveling on the floor. She simply looked at me with a cool expression. “Since the mood is ruined, dinner is over. Chloe, Julian Sterling has requested a meeting this afternoon. Go get ready.” I nodded obediently. “Yes, Mom. I’ll go get ready right now. I promise I will dress beautifully, I won’t embarrass our family, and I absolutely will not let that fifty-million-dollar dowry go to waste.” With that, I stepped directly over my groaning biological father and headed upstairs without looking back. Faintly, I heard Eleanor’s icy voice behind me: “Mop the floor. And from now on, anyone who speaks out of turn at the dinner table won’t be eating at all.” 4 My meeting with Julian Sterling took place at an exclusive, dimly lit private club. The legendary, notorious rich heir was sprawled on a leather sofa. He had a cigarette in his left hand, a glass of liquor in his right, and the top three buttons of his shirt undone. He looked incredibly impatient. “Oh, so this is the… village girl the Vance family dug up to replace Mia?” “I heard you used to feed pigs in the country? What, did the Vance family think I’m a pig, so they hired a professional breeder to take care of me?” His posse of wealthy frat boys erupted into obnoxious laughter. I didn’t get mad. I picked up an empty glass from the table and poured myself a drink. “Mr. Sterling, you’re hilarious. Raising pigs is incredibly hard work. You have to wake up before dawn, mix heavy feed, and shovel manure. It requires serious technical skill.” “Taking care of you is infinitely easier. As long as the money clears, if you tell me to go east, I’ll never go west. If you tell me to beat a dog, I’ll never chase a chicken.” Julian froze. He clearly hadn’t expected me to be so brutally straightforward. He sat up straighter. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door to the VIP room was shoved open. A woman in a flowing white dress burst into the room. “Julian…” Her voice trembled, her eyes locked entirely on him. “Are you really going to marry this… this country bumpkin?” Julian’s face instantly turned black. I raised an eyebrow. I knew exactly what this was. According to the dossier Eleanor had provided, this was Julian’s legendary “first love,” Lily. Back in the day, she dumped Julian because he was a “useless slacker” and ran off with a college athlete. Now that she heard Julian was entering a massive corporate marriage, she suddenly rushed back to play the role of the devoted, heartbroken lover. Before Julian could say a word, Lily charged right up to me. “Ms. Miller, right? I know you’re only marrying Julian for his money. How much will it take for you to leave him? One million? Two million?” Two million? Who the hell did she think she was talking to? My current net worth was evaluated in the hundreds of millions. “Ms. Lily.” I looked her dead in the eye. “Please mind your phrasing. I am currently Julian Sterling’s fiancée. I am the future Mrs. Sterling, officially recognized by both our families. You storming in here and throwing pennies at my face… don’t you think that’s incredibly disrespectful to my professional integrity?” Lily was stunned. “What professional integrity?!” I took a step forward, physically blocking her line of sight to Julian. “Taking care of Mr. Sterling is my job. My client… excuse me, my fiancé, is currently drinking and in a bad mood. You barge in here crying, screaming, and trying to use pocket change to insult his taste in women. Are you trying to create a hostile work environment, or are you openly questioning Mr. Sterling’s judgment?” Lily’s face went completely pale with rage. “You… how could someone like you possibly be worthy of Julian?! Julian and I have a deep, emotional foundation!” “An emotional foundation?” I scoffed, glancing back at Julian. The idiot was watching me with intense amusement, showing absolutely zero intention of intervening. I turned back, directing my full firepower at Lily. “Ms. Lily, ’emotions’ are too abstract. They don’t retain value. You claim you had such deep emotions, so why did you run away? And now that you’re back, what happened? Did the athlete get bored of you? Do you want to come back and graze on your old pasture? I’m sorry, but this pasture has already been fenced off by me. Whether it’s fresh grass or dead grass, it’s mine, and no one else is touching it!” 5 After my relentless verbal barrage, Lily’s tears finally spilled over. She ignored me, looking past my shoulder directly at Julian, and pulled an old, worn-out watch from her purse. “Julian, this was the very first gift you ever gave me. I’ve kept it all these years… Are you really going to be this heartless? Are you really going to let this feral, country shrew humiliate me?!” In that moment, I saw a flicker of emotion in Julian’s eyes. That was the spark of an old flame trying to reignite! Absolutely unacceptable. If that flame caught fire, my fifty-million-dollar dowry would be burned to ashes. Moving with lightning speed, I snatched the watch right out of her hand. “Oh my! The leather strap is completely worn out and peeling, and Ms. Lily still kept it? You are so incredibly frugal!” I held the watch up to the dim club lighting, clicking my tongue twice. “But with Mr. Sterling’s current net worth, this cheap flea market garbage stopped being worthy of him a long time ago. Since Ms. Lily doesn’t want it anymore, did you bring it here so we could help you throw it away? No problem. I’m used to doing the dirty work; we don’t need to bother Mr. Sterling with this.” With that, I simply opened my fingers. Plop. The watch dropped directly into the ice bucket on the table. “Chloe Miller!” Lily shrieked, lunging forward to claw at my face. I smoothly dodged to the side and allowed gravity to carry me directly into Julian’s lap. “Hubby! Help! The crazy lady is attacking me!” The way I screamed “Hubby” was a masterclass in dramatic, heart-wrenching vulnerability. Julian’s entire body went rigid for a full second. But he didn’t push me away. He raised one hand, easily blocking the hysterical Lily. “Enough.” “Are you done throwing a tantrum? If you’re done, get out.” Lily stared at him in utter disbelief. “You’re protecting her?! You’re actually protecting this shameless, gold-digging whore?!” Julian laughed. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me tighter against his chest. “She’s here for the money. What’s wrong with that?” Julian looked at Lily, his eyes filled with pure mockery. “People who only want money are the cleanest. It’s infinitely better than someone who constantly preaches about ‘true love’ while their heart is full of nothing but selfish, manipulative calculations.” With that, he looked down at me. “Come on, wifey. Let’s go buy you some things.” My eyes practically sparkled with dollar signs. “Yes, Hubby! I want the most expensive things they have!” Lily was still sobbing hysterically behind us, but I didn’t have time to deal with her anymore. Julian and I walked out of the VIP room and got into his limited-edition sports car. I thought he was going to take me to a jewelry store to buy some shiny trinkets. Instead, he drove us straight to the most exclusive luxury mall in the city. “You called me ‘Hubby’ pretty smoothly back there,” he said, steering with one hand, looking at me with a half-smile. “What kind of reward do you want?” I immediately sat up straight and pulled out my phone’s notepad app. “Mr. Sterling, let’s speak frankly. That ‘White Lotus Defense’ operation I just executed was highly hazardous work. It requires hazard pay. But since you’re offering gifts, I won’t hold back.” I pointed at the Hermes boutique ahead. “I want that bag, and that diamond necklace, and…” Julian raised an eyebrow. “Your taste is that tacky?” “Tacky?” I shook my head. “Mr. Sterling, you don’t understand. These items retain their value! They are hard assets! If one day you decide to kick me to the curb, I can liquidate these and live comfortably for the rest of my life. This is what we call risk hedging.” Julian stared at me for a long moment, then suddenly slumped over the steering wheel, laughing so hard he couldn’t stop. “Chloe Miller, you are an absolute piece of work.” He tossed a sleek, black American Express Centurion card into my lap. “Go swipe it. As long as you manage to piss Lily off to the point of a stroke, I’ll buy this entire mall for you.”

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When my brother started dating a wealthy heiress, her older sister ruthlessly tore them apart. The eldest sister, with her nose in the air, called my brother a scheming gold digger. Furious, I created a fake account, determined to give her a taste of what it’s like to want someone you can’t have. We dated online for six months. This supposed “iron lady” was calling me “baby” left and right and begging to meet. With a cold smirk, I blocked her and vanished. I thought our paths would never cross again. But after a series of twists and turns, my brother actually ended up marrying the heiress. At the wedding banquet, hearing that familiar, commanding voice, I didn’t even dare lift my head. Then, I watched my brother and sister-in-law walk over and call that woman… “Auntie.” Auntie?! I was so shocked I dropped my chopsticks. 1 While I bent down to pick up my chopsticks, the tablecloth hid my panicked expression. How could it be the aunt? That voice clearly belonged to the woman I had been online dating for six months—Maya’s older sister, Sarah! Six months ago, my brother and Maya were dating and met the family, but Sarah ruthlessly broke them up. That crazy sister-complex insisted my brother wasn’t good enough for Maya, calling him a scheming gold digger who was only after the family’s money. My brother came home devastated and broke up with Maya. When I found out, I was furious. I couldn’t just let this go. Sarah, you crazy sister-complex. How dare you insult my brother and make him so miserable! Just wait and see how I deal with you. I created a fake account posing as a seller of handcrafted goods, added Sarah’s contact info, and showered her with daily attention and care until she was completely hooked. Sarah seemed like an arrogant, strong-willed businesswoman. At first, she was incredibly hard to approach, but eventually, she fell right into the web I wove, calling me “baby” constantly. Until recently, when she suggested we meet in person. I played the insecurity card, saying I wasn’t good enough for her and didn’t deserve her. Sarah replied that she didn’t care about any of that; she just liked me. What a hypocrite, Sarah! When it comes to yourself, “just liking” someone is enough, but when it’s Maya, you demand a perfect match in social status! If that isn’t a double standard, what is? She was specifically targeting my brother. Infuriated, I mocked her relentlessly, then blocked her and ran. I thought after messing with Sarah and making her suffer, the whole thing would be over. Who knew that after all the drama, Maya and my brother would still end up getting married. I was here at the wedding banquet, sitting at the head table for the groom’s family. Right next to the table for the bride’s family. From the moment I sat down, I didn’t dare lift my head, let alone sneak a glance. I even faked a sore throat from a cold and played mute the whole time. I had sent “Sarah” photos, but they were heavily edited—my face was slimmer, my eyes deeper, my nose bridge higher. As long as I didn’t speak, comparing me to that photoshopped picture my own brother wouldn’t recognize, she definitely wouldn’t figure it out. Trembling with anxiety, I made it to the second half of the reception when the bride and groom came around to toast each table. “Wishing you a hundred years of happiness.” Hearing that familiar, commanding voice, I practically buried my head in my bowl. But my brother and Maya both called her “Auntie”! No, no, no, something must have gone wrong. Maybe I heard it wrong? After she sat down, I sneaked a glance over and only saw her back. She was wearing a custom sapphire-blue tailored suit skirt. Her attire was incredibly luxurious, her posture straight, but a thick aura of low pressure surrounded her. After the newlyweds toasted and left, an older relative at the table teased her. “Your little niece is already married. When do you, as her aunt, plan to tie the knot?” “Don’t bring it up, Second Sister.” A young woman beside her, seemingly a friend, said sympathetically, “Elena had finally opened her heart, but the guy turned out to be a scammer selling crafts. He blocked her and ran. She’s still furious about it…” “Third Lin.” The owner of that voice sounded displeased, seemingly warning her friend to stop. What Elena?! I whipped my head around, cold sweat pouring down my back. This person really wasn’t Sarah. That night was the family dinner with the bride’s family. My brother prepped me by showing me photos of everyone. My internal despair finally reached its peak. I’m screwed. I seduced the wrong person! 2 During our six months of online dating, “Sarah” had sent me countless sexy photos and left countless voice memos. Towards the end, she became incredibly clingy, even wanting to stay on voice calls while we slept. I would recognize that voice even if I turned into a ghost. Seeing the time was right, I had told her I fell for someone else, someone much better than her. I said she was old and probably didn’t understand young people. I said she was fierce, which is why she always had a resting bitch face. I even said her figure obviously looked like it was rigidly built in a gym. And! I even said she had a terrible temper… After feeling thoroughly refreshed from insulting her, I blocked her and ran. The more I thought about it, the paler my face became. I was completely screwed now. Not only did I fail to get revenge, but I also brought massive trouble upon myself and my brother. My brother had told me that the bride’s family, the Sterling family, was a massive, wealthy clan. The patriarch had three children, and his absolute favorite was his youngest daughter, Elena Sterling. She was the current CEO of the Sterling family’s enterprise, “Apex Group,” and held immense power within the entire family. If she found out I was the one who played her, my brother’s life in the Sterling family would definitely become difficult! I paced around anxiously, but I couldn’t tell my brother. I had done this whole thing behind his back. Plus, telling him wouldn’t help anyway; it might even expose the secret. After our parents passed away, my brother and I depended on each other in the orphanage. It wasn’t that there weren’t families who wanted to adopt us separately, but we refused to be parted, so we both stayed. My brother had always been so good to me. Now that he was an engineer and had such a wonderful family, I absolutely couldn’t ruin it for him. I absolutely could not let Elena find out that I was that guy. At the family dinner, I finally saw Elena’s full face. One word: Beautiful. Two words: Stunningly beautiful. I actually played such a beautiful woman, and now I’ve made an enemy out of her. I just hoped she wouldn’t recognize me. I played the role of the quiet, obedient, mute little brother perfectly. Elena’s cold gaze swept over me briefly, then retracted. She didn’t recognize me. I breathed a sigh of relief, sat safely in my seat, and didn’t dare look up again. Since I was the only relative on the groom’s side, Maya’s family was quite attentive to me. Learning that I was still a senior in college, Maya’s mother asked: “Have you found a company for your internship? “How about coming to our Apex Group?” Apex Group? Isn’t that the company where Elena is CEO?! No, no, no! But Maya’s mother was looking at me so brightly, I couldn’t exactly give my brother a warning look. I opened my mouth, almost forgetting my “mute” persona. “That sounds great.” My brother immediately agreed, smiling brightly: “Thank you, Mom.” NO! How is this any different from delivering myself straight to the slaughterhouse?! At the table, Elena, the CEO of Apex, just watched and tacitly agreed. When the dinner ended, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, deciding to avoid the Sterling family as much as possible from now on. Before leaving, my brother pulled me aside, looking serious. “You were acting weird today. What’s going on?” I continued playing mute, waving my hands and typing on my phone that I was just sick and didn’t feel well. My brother looked relieved and told me to go back and rest. I finally managed to bluff my way through and got back to the dorm. The problem was, my brother had secured an internship spot for me at Apex. Apex is an industry leader. Having an internship there would undoubtedly be a massive boost to my resume. If it weren’t for the whole Elena situation, I would have gone without hesitation. But what if Elena recognized me… After agonizing over it for days, I finally made up my mind. It was just a three-month internship. Apex is so huge. How could a lowly intern possibly run into the CEO? I just needed to lay low for three months, then vanish without a trace. 3 Having connections made things easy, and I quickly integrated into the company. At first, I was on edge for a few days. But later, exactly as I expected, as a lowly intern, I only had to complete tasks assigned by my mentor. The highest-ranking boss I usually saw was the department manager. Forget the CEO, I didn’t even see the General Manager. I relaxed. However, surviving in an industry leader company was no walk in the park. In just a few days, the workload was staggering. Proposals were constantly rejected, the department head was reprimanded, and the work atmosphere was incredibly tense. While eating in the cafeteria, my lunch buddy gossiped with me in a low voice. “Do you know why things have been so rough lately?” He was an intern who joined in the same batch as me. “Why?” I was genuinely curious. “Because…” My lunch buddy looked around and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The CEO went through a breakup.” My spoon clattered onto my plate. I offered a dry chuckle: “Really?” “I heard it was an online relationship too, and she got scammed.” I looked down and drank my soup, hiding my expression. “Where did you hear that?” “The CEO had her special assistant investigate an account. Word travels fast; everyone knows.” My lunch buddy looked incredibly puzzled: “With her wealth, she could have any man she wants. I can’t believe she’d actually online date. “And getting scammed on top of that? If the guy knew who she was, he’d probably regret it so much his intestines would turn green.” My intestines are already turning green! I blamed my own carelessness when looking for contact info. I didn’t find Sarah, but ended up bothering this absolute titan instead. I asked cautiously: “Did the special assistant mention what the CEO plans to do if she finds the guy?” “Call the police, obviously. That craft-selling guy must have milked a lot of money out of the CEO. With the cumulative amount, he’s probably looking at serious jail time.” Absolute nonsense! When I first approached Elena, my motives were indeed impure. I put on the persona of someone selling crafts and harassed her every day asking if she wanted to buy some. It just so happened a friend’s family made handcrafted items. Who knew she would actually buy them, and insist on paying ten times the price? Aside from that, I returned all the other money she gave me when we broke up. I told her I had found a new girlfriend who was very possessive and wouldn’t let me spend other women’s money. Even though the Sterling family is rich, I was genuinely terrified that Sarah’s cheapskate tendencies would flare up and she’d sue me to get the money back, causing unnecessary trouble. Anyway, as long as my goal of breaking Sarah’s heart was achieved, that was enough. Good thing I had already deleted that account. Elena shouldn’t be able to trace it. As long as I can just survive these three months… “Leo, go deliver this file to the CEO’s office.” I took the file from the senior colleague in my department, wanting to cry without tears. Why is there another hurdle?! Taking the elevator to the top floor, I secretly hyped myself up. It’s just delivering a file, what’s the big deal? Just keep playing mute. Trembling with fear, I reached the top floor, only to find the main office empty. Elena wasn’t there. A secretary in the CEO’s office asked which department I was from. Since she wasn’t there, I didn’t need to play mute. I answered obediently, the secretary made a note, and that was it. After a few times, I felt completely at ease. Once again, I took a file to the top floor. I had just greeted the staff in the secretary’s office when a familiar voice came from the inner office. “Let him in.” Me: “…” My heart leaped into my throat again. Looking like a man marching to his execution, I walked into the office and handed the file across the desk. Elena reached out a slender hand to take it, then lowered her eyes and began flipping through it, staying silent for a long time. As the minutes ticked by, I calmed down slightly. I emboldened myself to look up, only to lock eyes perfectly with Elena’s raised phoenix eyes. I quickly looked back down. After a suffocating silence, Elena finally spoke: “How are things at the company lately?” I had just spoken to the people in the secretary’s office outside; I couldn’t play mute now! I squeezed my vocal cords and replied in a small voice: “Pretty good.” I glanced up at her and added the proper title: “Ms. Sterling.” “Good?” Elena didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, letting out a cold laugh: “Having you deliver files shows they clearly know the relationship between you and me. You call that good?” What relationship? Don’t talk nonsense! I was so panicked I forgot to squeeze my voice. “What relationship do we have…” Before I could finish, seeing her inexplicable expression, I realized she was talking about her connection to my brother. “Hehe.” I caught on. “I didn’t tell them anything…” I finally managed to be a nepotism hire, yet I felt so guilty about it. I wished no one knew. But it turned out they had me deliver the files because they knew I was a connection hire, using me as a meat shield against her anger. Elena frowned slightly, studied me for a long moment, and said: “Call your manager up here.” I felt like I’d been granted amnesty and fled at top speed. I don’t know what Elena said to the manager, but no one ever asked me to deliver files to the top floor again. Another hurdle passed! 4 On the last shift before the holidays, I was mentally planning where to eat that night while waiting for the elevator. With a ding, the elevator arrived. I looked up and ran straight into Elena, wearing a tailored suit skirt. What the…?? Why isn’t she taking the executive elevator? Why is she taking the employee elevator? Elena, inside the elevator, stared at me intently and asked, “Are you not coming in?” I braced myself and stepped inside. The elevator doors slowly closed and continued downward. The person beside me was tall, making the already cramped space feel even smaller. A pleasant, cool fragrance wafted into my nose. It seemed to be her scent. The risqué photos she had sent me in the past were dragged up from the depths of my memory. At first, it was just hands, arms. Later, it was sexy collarbones and waistlines. And even later… Recalling the scenery I saw then, and her question: “Do you like it?” The more I thought about it, the redder my face got. I felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen in this narrow space. Why is this elevator so slow? I looked up at the flashing red numbers. “Leo.” “Huh?” I answered instinctively, turning my head to meet Elena’s probing gaze. She half-narrowed her eyes. “You seem… very afraid of me?” “I…” I tried my best to sound calm: “You are the boss, and my elder… I respect you.” Beside me, Elena said flatly: “Then don’t act like you have a guilty conscience.” “Have we met before?” Hearing this, my back broke out in a sweat, and all my hair practically stood on end. “N-no.” “Oh.” Elena replied faintly, her expression normal, as if it was just a casual question. With a ding, the elevator stopped on a floor, and a crowd of people poured in. Good news: I finally didn’t have to face Elena alone. Bad news: I was pushed into the furthest corner, forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Elena. Heavens above, why must you torture me like this? I once again mentally cursed the person who gave me the wrong contact info a million times. After a grueling, agonizing wait, the elevator finally reached the first floor. “Goodbye, Ms. Sterling.” Once the people in front cleared out, I prepared to slip away. But the moment I took a step, my waist jerked tight—the metal buckle of my belt had somehow hooked onto the decorative chain on the side of her skirt! I was yanked off balance, almost performing a spin move on the spot. “Don’t move.” Elena’s voice rang out. She frowned and bent down to untangle the mess. The distance was so close it made my scalp tingle. The buckle was quickly freed, but because of the sudden jerk earlier, the collar of my shirt was pulled askew, and the top button popped completely off. Right below my collarbone, that red mole was exposed for all the world to see. 5 When I was online dating “Sarah,” aside from using heavily photoshopped pictures, I didn’t try too hard to hide my physical features. First, we often had voice-only or faceless video calls. Second, I figured that since my brother and Maya had broken up, we probably wouldn’t have any interaction in the future, so I was completely reckless. Besides, even if I got caught, I had nothing to fear. The thought of Sarah knowing it was me playing her would be even more satisfying, better revenge for my brother! But I never expected that I played the wrong person, and my brother still married Maya. Heaven really wants me dead! I don’t remember how I walked out of the elevator, nor did I notice what expression Elena had on her face. I only remember that when I snapped back to reality, I had already stumbled my way home in a daze. Elena knew about the red mole near my collarbone. Back then, she even said that when we met, she would kiss that mole until it was even redder. Did she see it? Probably not. If she had seen it, she would have asked right then and there. But what if she really did see it? I lived in fear for several days, only to discover… Absolutely nothing happened! I let out a massive sigh of relief and went back to slacking off at Apex. In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and the weather started getting chilly. After finishing a busy day of work, I received a message from my brother. “Leo, Maya has a hot spring villa and is planning to invite a few friends over for a party. Do you want to come?” A hot spring villa? I eagerly said yes. I thought I was going to have a beautiful weekend, but when I arrived, I saw a figure I never expected. Elena! Like a rabbit seeing a tiger, my hair stood on end. “Um, bro, I actually have something to do, I’m going to head out.” Maya noticed my apprehension towards Elena and comforted me: “Leo, this isn’t the company. My aunt doesn’t eat people. Why are you so scared?” Her voice was quite loud, and I could feel several people looking our way. Maya and my brother had an older woman/younger man relationship. She was an upperclassman at my university. She was always very outgoing, and we were in the same club, so we got along decently. Later, she happened to see my brother coming to campus to drop something off for me, fell in love instantly, and launched a fierce pursuit. As soon as she graduated, she pestered my brother to meet the parents, all the way until they got married. In all the time I’d known her, this was the first time I found Maya so annoying. “Haha.” I let out two awkward laughs and had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit down. My brother whispered an explanation, saying Elena decided to come at the last minute, and he had just found out too. I looked at the person in the corner. She was wearing casual clothes, unlike her usual formal attire, but her posture was still perfectly straight. Every movement exuded a mature, calm aura. Staring at her, I couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful. My happy weekend was going to be spent in constant fear and anxiety because of her presence. And also. Did she even know how to play young people’s party games?! 6 The facts proved that Elena knew exactly how to play. Over several rounds of games, she completely dominated, forcing many people to drink penalty shots. The party lasted late into the night until everyone, arms draped over each other, stumbled back to their rooms to sleep. Maya was just about to help her brother-in-law upstairs when her aunt spoke up. “Go get some rest. I’ll take him to his room.” “Okay.” Maya replied with a slurred voice, swaying as she went back to her room. In the spacious living room, only Elena and the boy curled up asleep on the sofa remained. Leo… She rolled the name over on her tongue a few times. She put aside her work and came here to hang out with a bunch of kids, all for him. To verify if she had seen clearly that day, to see if he was really that guy. The guy who had whispered sweet nothings to her when they were deeply in love, only to later claim he loved someone else, curse her out, and block her. Elena stood up and stood silently beside him for a moment. She closed her eyes, feeling contempt for her own actions. After hesitating for a long time, she reached out and gently pulled aside the fabric at Leo’s collarbone. The moment her gaze locked on, she frowned slightly. There was… Absolutely nothing. It wasn’t him. She must have seen wrong that day. It was hard to say if it was disappointment or something else, but Elena stared at his fluffy head in a daze for a while. In the end, she still leaned down, helped him up, and took him to the guest room. … When I woke up the next day, Elena was nowhere to be seen. Maya said her aunt had official business to handle and had left. Everyone present breathed a huge sigh of relief. Yesterday, Elena had practically crushed everyone at the games. If we had to do it all over again today, there wouldn’t be any fun left. I touched my collarbone, my heart finally settling back into my chest. Thank goodness. When I found out Elena was here yesterday, I took emergency evasive action and borrowed my sister-in-law’s concealer to cover up the mole. Even though I was drunk last night, I wasn’t completely out of it. I was just resting with my eyes closed. Who knew Elena actually intended to test me, and I ended up blind-guessing her move correctly. Now I was completely cleared of suspicion. Even if she later realized our voices were similar, if the mole didn’t match, she still couldn’t be sure, right? I was finally completely relaxed.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “391952”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

On my twenty-third birthday, I was preparing to confess my feelings to Julian. But he beat me to it, falling in love at first sight with my roommate. I watched them break up and get back together, endlessly entangled. Finally, I gave up completely and started dating someone else. The day I announced my new relationship on Facebook, everyone offered genuine congratulations. Julian never showed up. It wasn’t until the next day that someone brought it up in front of him. “Did you see that post? What do you think of Summer’s new boyfriend?” The man leaned back diagonally on the sofa, glancing at me upon hearing the question. After a long time, he finally spoke slowly, “Oh, he’s average.” 1 As soon as Julian finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment. Everyone’s eyes turned to me. Some watched from the sidelines, while others looked worried and anxious. In this day and age, everyone loves posting short videos and status updates. Two people standing shoulder to shoulder, smiling and clearly in love—who wouldn’t want to hear others call them a perfect match? But Julian had to be the one to bluntly evaluate him as, “Oh, average.” He was a guy who, despite having a bit of a temper, was usually very polite in his dealings with others. Acting like this now… it was as if he was deliberately trying to embarrass me. Suppressing the anger in my heart, I asked him. “What’s wrong with my boyfriend?” In fact, Evan is very handsome. Even my picky mother couldn’t help but compliment him after meeting him. “Compared to your friend named Julian, he doesn’t fall short at all.” I stared at Julian, my expression showing my displeasure. But he suddenly let out a tired smile. Then he glanced at me, “Just a casual remark, don’t take it to heart.” “Bring him around sometime when you’re free.” With that, he stood up without hesitation and left. He didn’t spare me another half a glance. So, someone tried to comfort me, saying, “Tsk, almost forgot. He just went through a breakup with his girlfriend, so he’s probably feeling really frustrated right now.” “It’s fine. Aren’t they always like this? They’ll be back together in a few days.” Saying this, the person glanced at me. “Don’t you think so, Summer?” I spaced out for a moment. “Yeah, that’s right.” They had been entangled for so long; how could they separate so easily? Over the past few years, I had hoped time and time again, only to be disappointed time and time again. I should have understood this long ago, shouldn’t I? 2 Coming out of the private room, I saw Julian smoking not far away. He rarely did that. Because Mia didn’t like it. He was acting really out of character tonight. I was still angry about what happened earlier, so I didn’t speak to him and walked straight outside. But I hadn’t even taken two steps before someone grabbed my wrist. I turned around and met a pair of cold, indifferent eyes. Even when I first met him, I heard people say that Julian, the famous young master of the Vance family, had been raised as the heir since childhood. He was precious and privileged. The people who wanted to date him could form a line around the block, but he never gave anyone a second look. Later, when Julian and I became close, everyone praised my good luck. For all these years, I was the only female friend by his side. Inevitably, some people made snide remarks: “Who knows if one day she’ll go from friend to girlfriend, flying up to a higher branch and becoming Mrs. Vance?” It wasn’t that I hadn’t dreamed that beautiful dream. But later, when Mia appeared, I realized she was his true destiny. He had remained single for over twenty years, all to wait for her. As for me, I was just lucky enough to be acquainted with him. Under the dim light, he stared at me, his expression somewhat careless. He said. “How did you meet?” I didn’t react immediately, freezing for a moment. He patiently repeated himself. “I mean, how did you meet that guy?” 3 It was a cold, snowy day. Julian instinctively turned his body to block the cold wind blowing from afar for me. I looked at his features and remained silent for a moment. “We met while traveling. I thought he was pretty nice, so we got together.” There is a phrase called “perfect timing.” That probably describes Evan and me. Hearing this, Julian lifted his eyelids. “Traveling? When did you go out to play? How come I didn’t know?” I smiled, “Just last month.” He probably no longer remembered that one night last month, he called me late, saying he and Mia had a fight and she had angrily gone abroad. He said: “You two are the closest, go over and talk to her. In a foreign country, if she insists on staying there, she’ll suffer grievances.” I packed my bags overnight and traveled thousands of miles with him, but shortly after landing, he received news that Mia had already gone somewhere else. Round trip, it was over a dozen hours of travel. I happened to get a high fever and couldn’t accompany him on his frantic journey anymore. He had no choice but to leave me behind and go look for Mia. After he left, I stood by the riverbank, looking at the bright moon on the other side, and suddenly felt exhausted. To stay by his side, I had given up a stable job in my hometown. Even when my father was hospitalized last year, I couldn’t be by his side. Time is ruthless. What had I gained, and what had I lost? No one knew. My thoughts returning, I looked at Julian in front of me and spoke very calmly. “Are you done asking? I have to go.” He froze. After a long time, he finally spoke again. “Lend me your phone for a second. Mia blocked me.” Actually, I really wanted to ask—with so many people in the private room, did you have to ask to borrow mine? But I didn’t say it in the end. After all, all those feelings of joy, sadness, and despair, from beginning to end, were known only to me. In his eyes, I was a perfect friend, completely unrelated to romance. I took out my phone and handed it to him. He took it and walked to the side to make a call. They talked for quite a while. When Julian came back, his expression was no longer as tense as before. His eyes held a smile as he handed the phone back to me. Just then, a message suddenly popped up on the screen. Evan: [I’m returning to Seattle at the end of the month.] In an instant, the smile on Julian’s face vanished. He frowned, his voice flat: “Your relationship seems pretty good.” 4 Since I had decided to let go, I began intentionally distancing myself from Julian’s circle. I muted these people’s posts on social media. And I stopped going to the places they frequented. One day, Julian messaged me. [Your birthday is in a couple of days. Want to come check out the venue?] He was very generous. Every time a friend had a birthday, he would put his all into helping organize it. I wasn’t the first, nor was I the only one. But to this day, I still remember that on my twenty-third birthday, Julian pointed to Mia not far away and asked me, “Is that your friend? Give me her WeChat.” A talented man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match. I guess they should thank me, the matchmaker. Later, I heard someone ask Julian, why did it have to be Mia? At the time, he was texting Mia. Hearing the question, he smiled, raised his eyebrows, and said, “She was wearing a red dress that day. I’ve rarely seen anyone wear that color so well.” But who would remember that I also wore a red dress that day? For many years after that, I never touched clothes in that color again. Thinking of this, I typed. [I’ve been busy lately. No need.] He took a long time to reply. [Busy dating?] I replied, [Yeah.] After sending that message, he didn’t reply again. However, his best friend, Liam, sent me a voice message, saying playfully, “Wow, you’re amazing, Summer. Julian put a lot of effort into planning your birthday party this time. We all stayed up late for several nights helping out, and you just decide not to come. He’s furious, hahaha.” I gave a brief, casual reply. Just then, a red notification popped up on my email. I clicked it. It was an employment offer. I thought about it, feeling a bit happy, and messaged Evan. [Once I finish handing over my current work, I can process my resignation. We can go back to Portland together then.] He replied, [Okay.] This guy looked serious and spoke meticulously. But looking at this one word. I inexplicably smiled. 5 Neither Evan nor I were very talkative people; we only chatted when there was something to say. But I didn’t expect him to return early. He came back specifically to celebrate my birthday with me. In an elegantly decorated western restaurant, he handed me a gift bag. “Sorry, I only found out it was your birthday today after seeing your mom’s post.” After we decided to be together, we quickly met each other’s parents, planning to get engaged once we returned to Portland. Lately, my mom kept telling me: “Evan is a good guy. He often sends me things. You should treat him well.” Halfway through the meal, Evan went out to take a call. After he left, I looked down at my phone. I happened to see a post from Liam. [Someone save me!? Julian is acting crazy today, insisting on a drinking contest with me. I’m about to drink myself to death here, and his face isn’t even red. I can’t survive this.] Liam had a lively personality and often posted things like this, so I wasn’t too surprised when I read those words. I was just a little surprised. That day outside the private room, Julian borrowed my phone to call Mia, and they had clearly reconciled. Acting like this now, did they fall out again? You couldn’t blame me for thinking this way. Julian’s life had been smooth sailing; aside from love, he would absolutely never suffer any hardship elsewhere. Just as I thought this, a phone call came in. It was Liam. We had a pretty good relationship, and I was afraid something had really happened to him, so I answered it immediately. His voice was drunk. “Hey, I’m telling you, Julian is simply not human…” Halfway through, his voice got quieter and quieter until it disappeared. I called his name twice. There was no response. Just as I was about to hang up, someone finally spoke. It was Julian. His voice was cold, a little hoarse. “This guy couldn’t hold his liquor and passed out on the table. It’s nothing serious.” I said: “Oh, as long as everything’s fine.” He was silent for a moment, then asked, “What about you? How was your day? Are you happy?” I was just about to answer when Evan returned from outside and asked who I was talking to. I said. “A friend.” When I looked down again, the call had already been hung up. 6 After hanging up, I felt a little unsettled. Evan pushed the cut steak in front of me, his movements natural and elegant. “What’s wrong? Is there an emergency at work?” He was always like this, emotionally stable and very measured. He would never be like Julian, moody over trivial things, needing to be coaxed and pampered. Looking at Evan’s calm eyes, the annoyance in my heart suddenly dissipated for the most part. “It’s nothing. Just an ordinary friend who drank too much and is acting crazy.” Evan smiled and didn’t ask any more questions, just poured me a glass of warm water. “Drink some water, soothe your throat.” The meal was very pleasant. As we were finishing, Evan pulled a velvet box from his pocket. The pendant was a very translucent jade stone in the shape of a peace buckle. Just looking at it made you feel at ease. He put it on me, his warm fingertips brushing against my neck. “Summer, happy birthday. I wish you peace and safety year after year.” No grand vows, no earth-shattering fanfare. Just this simple, unadorned “peace and safety year after year.” I touched the peace buckle, my eyes feeling a little hot. These past few years by Julian’s side, I had seen too much extravagance and received too many expensive but cold luxury items. But I had never experienced this kind of grounded warmth. It was 10 PM by the time I got home. Evan walked me to the lobby of my apartment building, politely kissed my forehead, and left. I had just turned around to go upstairs when a harsh screeching of brakes came from behind. Followed by rapid footsteps. My wrist was grabbed tightly, with a force that felt like it would crush my bones. I turned my head in pain and met Julian’s bloodshot eyes. He smelled of alcohol and looked a bit disheveled, completely devoid of his usual aloof, aristocratic demeanor. “That guy… is your boyfriend?” His voice was terribly hoarse, as if filled with gravel. I frowned and tried to pull my hand away. “Julian, you’re hurting me. Let go.” Not only did he not let go, but his grip tightened, his eyes locked dead on the necklace around my neck. The peace buckle shone with a gentle glow under the streetlight, but it seemed to sting his eyes. “What’s so great about this broken rock? How much is it worth?” He sneered, his tone full of disdain. “If you like jewelry, I have a bunch. Cartier, Bvlgari, pick whatever you want. How can you wear this cheap junk out in public?” Listening to his cruel words, the anger in my heart “whooshed” right up. How come I never realized he had such a mean mouth before? “Julian, this is a token of my boyfriend’s affection. In my eyes, it’s priceless.” I looked at him coldly. “Also, it’s late. If you’ve had too much to drink, go home and sleep. Don’t come here acting crazy.” Julian froze for a moment, as if he didn’t expect me to speak to him like that. The old Summer was always soft-spoken and completely obedient to him. If he even frowned, I’d be anxious for a long time. But now, the way I looked at him was like looking at an unreasonable stranger. This realization made him even more frustrated. He leaned in abruptly, pinning me against the wall of the lobby. The strong smell of alcohol mixed with tobacco rushed over me, making me instinctively hold my breath. “Summer, are you getting back at me?” He stared into my eyes, asking through gritted teeth. “Because I said he was ‘average’ before? So you deliberately brought him to make me mad? That guy looks like a bookworm. Aside from being decent-looking, how does he compare to me?” I laughed out of extreme anger. “Julian, do you think the whole world revolves around you?” “I’m dating for my own happiness, not to make you mad, and certainly not to get back at you. You aren’t that important to me.” As soon as this sentence came out, the air seemed to solidify. Julian’s pupils contracted sharply, a flash of astonishment on his face, followed by a deeper gloom. “Not that important?” He repeated those words as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. “Summer, you ran after me for seven years. And now you’re telling me I’m not important?” He let go of my wrist, but suddenly reached out to yank the necklace from my neck. “Since it’s not important, take off this piece of junk! It’s an eyesore!” “Are you crazy?!” I panicked and desperately tried to protect the necklace. During the struggle, the red string snapped. The peace buckle fell to the ground with a “smack,” rolled twice, and split in half. The world instantly went quiet. I looked at the shattered jade on the ground, my heart feeling like it had been viciously stabbed by something. That was the first birthday gift Evan gave me. It represented his blessing of “peace and safety year after year.” And just like that, Julian destroyed it. I slowly crouched down and picked up the two pieces of broken jade, the sharp edges biting into my palm. When I looked up again, I stared at Julian, the last bit of warmth vanishing from my eyes. “Julian, you are truly disgusting.” After saying that, I didn’t spare him another glance, turned around, and went upstairs. Behind me, I heard Julian’s somewhat panicked shout: “Summer…” I slammed the lobby door shut heavily, isolating his voice in the night. 7 The next day, I took time off work to go get the peace buckle fixed. The master craftsman said it could be repaired using the gold-inlaid jade technique, but there would always be a crack. Just like my relationship with Julian—it was completely shattered, and no matter how it was repaired, it could never go back to the way it was. When I returned to the office, I happened to run into Liam joking around with the receptionist. Seeing me, his eyes lit up, and he came over. “Hey, Summer, you’re looking good today. Did Julian go see you last night?” I subtly avoided his touch and said lightly, “Yeah, came and threw a drunken fit.” The smile on Liam’s face froze for a second, then he laughed awkwardly. “Hey, you know how Julian is, right? Tough talker, soft heart. He drank too much last night and kept muttering your name. He actually still cares about you…” “Liam.” I cut him off, my tone calm. “I’ve already submitted my resignation. I’m leaving next month.” Liam’s eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. “Holy shit? Resigning? Where are you going? Does Julian know?” “Going back to my hometown, or to another city. Haven’t decided yet. As for whether Julian knows, it has nothing to do with me.” I didn’t want to waste any more breath on him, turned around, and went into the office. Not long after, Julian called. I immediately hung up and blocked the number. I also deleted his WeChat. These actions flowed smoothly. After doing them, I felt completely refreshed. Since I had decided to cut ties, I would cut them cleanly. In the afternoon, while I was handing over my work, the receptionist said someone was looking for me. I thought it was Evan and ran out smiling, but it turned out to be Mia. She wore a high-end designer suit, carrying a limited-edition bag, still exuding her usual aloof goddess vibe. Seeing me, she took off her sunglasses, looked me up and down, and a mocking smile touched her lips. “I heard you’re resigning? What, did Julian break your heart so much you’re planning to run away?” I looked at her, my heart completely undisturbed. I used to think she was my romantic rival, an insurmountable mountain between Julian and me. Now it seemed she was just a pitiful person spoiled rotten by Julian. “Ms. Mia, if you don’t have any actual business, I’m going to get back to work.” I didn’t want to engage with her and turned to leave. “Stop right there!” Mia stomped her high heels and blocked my path, her face looking a bit ugly. “Summer, stop pretending. Do you think playing hard to get works on Julian? He did go to see you last night, but when he came back, he told me you were just a plaything he could summon and dismiss at will.” She raised her chin, as if asserting dominance. “He and I are destined to get married. With your status, you’re not even worthy to carry his shoes.” Watching her try to act tough while feeling insecure, I suddenly found it a bit funny. “Mia, are you in such a rush to assert dominance because Julian called my name last night?” Mia’s face turned pale; I had clearly hit the nail on the head. I smiled and continued, “Don’t worry, I have no interest in your Julian. I’ve already thrown that man away. If you like picking up trash, hold on tight, and don’t let him out to disgust people anymore.” “Who are you calling trash?!” Mia raised her hand in a flustered rage, trying to slap me. But her wrist was intercepted mid-air. By a slender, powerful hand. Evan had arrived at some point. He was wearing simple casual clothes, but his presence was overwhelming. He threw Mia’s hand aside, protected me behind him, and his eyes were icy. “Miss, please show some self-respect.” Mia rubbed her wrist and glared at Evan. “And who are you? This is between her and me. It’s none of your business to interfere!” “I am Summer’s fiancé.” Evan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm and resounding. “Her business is my business. If you dare touch her again, I wouldn’t mind having security escort you out.” Mia probably hadn’t seen such a tough man before, and she was stunned for a moment. At this moment, there was a commotion at the lobby entrance. Julian strode in, followed by a breathless Liam. Seeing this scene, Julian’s face instantly darkened. He quickly walked over to Mia’s side but locked his gaze dead on me. “Summer, what is the meaning of this? Blocking my calls, deleting my WeChat, and now ganging up with an outsider to bully Mia?” I peeked out from behind Evan, looking at this man who couldn’t tell right from wrong, feeling only ridiculous. “Julian, which eye did you use to see me bully her? She was the one who came to my company to cause a scene and even tried to hit me. What, are only the privileged allowed to act out, while the rest of us just have to take it?” Julian frowned and looked at Mia. Mia immediately put on a wronged expression and clung to Julian’s arm. “Julian, I just heard Summer was leaving and wanted to come say goodbye. Who knew she would say such awful things and even call you… call you trash.” Julian’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He stared at me, gritting his teeth: “You called me trash?” I fearlessly met his gaze. “Is it not true? Eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot, clearly having a girlfriend but still coming to harass your ‘ex-friend’. Julian, if you aren’t trash, what are you?” “Good, very good.” Julian laughed out of extreme anger, saying the word “good” twice. He pointed at Evan, his eyes sinister. “You’re falling out with me over a man like this? Summer, don’t you regret this!” I clung tightly to Evan’s arm, smiling openly. “The biggest regret of my life was meeting you. As for Evan, he is a thousand, ten thousand times better than you.” It was as if Julian had been viciously slapped across the face; his complexion turned a mix of pale and green. He stared fixedly at my hand holding Evan’s arm, emotions I couldn’t understand churning in his eyes. Like anger, but also like… panic.

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