When my parents divorced, they both fought tooth and nail for my younger sister, treating me like a plague they couldn’t wait to escape. Ultimately, I was awarded to my father. My mother held my sister’s hand, watching gleefully from the sidelines as my father slapped me across the face. “Hit her harder! Beat her to death so you don’t have to raise her! It’ll save you so much trouble!” The stepmother who had just walked through the door picked me up. “From now on, I am your mother. Do you understand?” Years later, I bought my stepmother a mansion and a luxury car. Meanwhile, my biological mother, who hadn’t shown her face in years, lay in a hospital bed, crying and begging me to save her life. I smiled as I peeled her fingers off my arm. “You can go ahead and die now. Rest assured, I won’t save you.” 1 Less than six months after the divorce, my father remarried. The woman was a divorcee, three years younger than my father. On the day of their wedding, I was locked in a storage closet. My father warned me, “If you dare cause any trouble today, I’ll beat you to death!” That evening, as the guests departed and the house gradually fell silent, I sneaked into the kitchen. While trying to cook some instant noodles, I accidentally knocked over a thermos. Boiling water splashed all over me, and I couldn’t stop a scream of agony from escaping my lips. The door across the hall creaked open, and a woman rushed in after hearing the noise. “What happened? Where did you get burned?” The woman picked me up. She had a faint, very pleasant fragrance. “You must be Mia, right?” I nodded, staring hungrily at the dried fruits on her bed and swallowing hard. She brought me a bunch of snacks, but I hesitated for a few seconds, afraid to take them. “Please don’t tell my dad, okay?” “Why not?” “I broke the thermos. He’ll beat me.” The woman let out a soft “Oh” and said, “I won’t tell him.” I was still anxious. “Pinky promise?” “Okay, pinky promise.” I ate like a starved bandit king. The woman watched me and started to laugh. “Do you know who I am?” I didn’t say a word. “From today on, I am your mother.” I froze mid-chew, my brain rapidly scrolling through all the fairy tales I knew: Snow White and the Evil Queen, Cinderella and the Wicked Stepmother… I was doomed. I was absolutely doomed! I stared blankly at my new stepmother. She frowned and asked, “How did your pants get dirty?” My heart seized. I quickly scrambled off the bed, only to see that a large stain had already soiled the clean bedsheets. Head down, I scrambled frantically toward the bathroom, but my stepmother grabbed my arm. “You’re on your period. Why aren’t you using a pad?” My entire face flushed crimson, as if I had been slapped. “Don’t say that word!” My stepmother looked confused. “Which word?” “That… that word.” “What ‘that’ word? You mean period? Has no one ever taught you about this?” I remained silent. The look in my stepmother’s eyes grew increasingly complex. The day I got my first period, I soiled my pants at school. A classmate’s mother comforted me, saying it was a good thing, proof that I was growing up, and told me I should ask my parents to make me a nice meal to celebrate. I ran home excitedly, but before I could even open my mouth, a vicious slap landed on my face. My mother stood with her hands on her hips, kicking me until I fell to the floor. Her booming voice assaulted my eardrums: “Have you no shame?! Swaying your ass around outside all day, afraid people won’t know you’re prime whore material?!” “If you’re so desperate, why even go to school?! I’ll tell your homeroom teacher tomorrow, and you can just go stand outside a nightclub! Let’s see which blind idiot picks you up!” I covered my pants, slowly getting up, stuttering as I tried to explain to my mother, but she immediately cut me off. “Your pants are dirty, so who’s going to wash them for you?! Who?! Do you think I’m a maid, that this whole family exists just to serve you?! You literally can’t go a single day without acting like a slut!” I was ten years old. Because I got my period, I was forced to kneel on the bathroom floor for an entire day. “Mom, my pants are dirty, and I’m still bleeding…” “Let it bleed! What’s the point of telling me?! Get back to your room, you disgraceful little bitch!” I had never used a sanitary pad. Every month, getting my period felt like a massive, humiliating test. If I bled, I had to use toilet paper to pad my underwear. If I used too much, I was scolded for being selfish. When my pants inevitably got dirty, the boys in class would whistle and jeer at me. My mother would just mock me: “Stop pretending! You want to be a whore but still want a monument to your chastity? I think you’re just a slut!” Later, I found out that my sister had a cold sore on her face that day, which might have affected her video shoot the next morning. My mother was angry and anxious, so she used me as a punching bag. My stepmother was the first person to teach me how to use a sanitary pad. She told me there was absolutely nothing shameful about it. She picked me up and looked me in the eyes. “From now on, I am your mother. Do you understand?” 2 My sister was beautiful, with big eyes and pale skin. Even though we were biological sisters, we looked absolutely nothing alike. She started working as a child model when she was very young and made a lot of money. She was the apple of everyone’s eye. My parents often sighed, “If only our precious baby had been born first, then we wouldn’t have needed the older one.” Even our names were worlds apart. When my sister was born, my parents practically wore out the dictionary and even hired a fortune teller to name her Lily, symbolizing happiness, perfection, and a smooth life. My name was Mia. It didn’t have any special meaning; it just meant I was the extra, unnecessary one in the family. So when they divorced, my parents each grabbed one of my sister’s arms, physically fighting over her custody. “Be a good girl, Lily. Stay with Mommy. Mom will buy you the most beautiful princess dresses and take you to France!” “Don’t listen to your mother’s nonsense! Daddy loves you the most. I’ve already bought a house just for you!” They argued endlessly. The judge, holding my hand, asked somewhat awkwardly, “Which of you is willing to take the older daughter?” In an instant, both my parents took a half-step back. One wailed that they were too poor to afford raising me, while the other claimed they were too careless and unsuited to raise a child. Ultimately, custody of my sister was awarded to my mother. She smiled so wide her mouth almost ripped. My father, furious at losing, slapped me across the face. “You jinx! I should have strangled you or drowned you when you were born!” My mother gloated from the sidelines. “Hit her harder! Beat her to death so you don’t have to raise her! It’ll save you so much trouble!” All I could do was curl myself tightly into a ball and keep my mouth shut. As long as I didn’t argue or open my mouth, I’d suffer a little less physical pain. After my stepmother arrived, my life actually improved. She combed my hair, made me breakfast, took me to school, and bought me several new sets of clothes—enough so that my hands wouldn’t be covered in frostbite during the dead of winter. My mother’s side of the family scoffed at this. My grandmother said stepmothers were all evil, calculating bitches who were just putting on an act to get their hands on my father’s meager assets. I defended my stepmother a little, and my grandmother was so furious she hit me with her cane. “You dead girl, you ungrateful little wretch! That woman has only been here a few days, and you’ve already forgotten your own mother?! You deserve to be unwanted!” Once, my stepmother took me shopping. I ran off on my own and ended up getting hit by a car, needing five stitches on my head. When I opened my eyes in the hospital, my biological mother—who hadn’t sent me a single message in a year—was hugging me, wailing loudly. “My poor daughter! It’s all Mommy’s fault, it’s Mommy’s mistake…” I pushed her away. A flash of embarrassment crossed her face before she pointed at my stepmother and began hurling abuse. “You bitch! How dare you abuse my daughter?! Do you think our family is dead?! You’re not leaving here today without giving us an explanation!” The relatives who had come with her were all filled with righteous indignation, spitting as they shouted, demanding my stepmother explain herself. I stood in front of her to shield her. “I tripped on my own. It wasn’t Auntie’s fault.” My mother grabbed me, desperately trying to twist me around to face the crowd. The cheap perfume she wore was so overpowering it made me want to throw up. “Look at this, everyone! Look how terrified this woman has made my poor Mia! She even taught her to lie!” I forcefully broke free from her grasp. “Are you done acting?! How long are you going to keep filming this?!” My mother’s face froze, and she cast a panicked glance at the crowd. The photographer had already slipped away. She was only doing this because my sister had recently been scouted by a talent agent. My mother was clearing away any potential obstacles to her career, which naturally meant she didn’t want the reputation of having abandoned her older daughter. Instead, she wanted to use my stepmother to craft an image of herself as a loving, victimized mother. She just hadn’t expected me to refuse to play along. “You child, I’ve just been so busy lately, but of course, you’re always in my heart…” “Is that so? Then pay my medical bill. It’s six hundred dollars.” My mother wrung her hands and started crying about how incredibly hard it was to raise my sister alone, and how ungrateful I was as an older daughter. In the sunlight, the jade bracelet on her wrist sparkled brightly. My stepmother, who had been silent until now, stood up, slapped the receipt onto my mother’s face, and glared at her sharply: “I already paid the bill. Get the hell out!” My mother immediately shut her mouth. 3 In truth, my stepmother wasn’t wealthy. If she were, she never would have married a useless loser like my father. My father held tight control over the family finances. Whenever I needed money for school supplies, he would glare at me darkly, pull a few crumpled bills from a stack, and throw them at my head: “Study, study, study! You study so much you’re practically dead, and all you know is how to ask for money! I’d be better off raising a pig!” “Why should I spend my money on you?! Figure it out yourself next time! If you can’t afford it, get out and go work in a factory!” I spent my days stressing over living expenses. That was when Julian approached me, waving hundred-dollar bills. “Hey, wanna make a deal?” Julian was a year below me, a notorious delinquent. At first, teachers tried to call his parents in, but Julian just started hitting people in the office, even causing a pregnant teacher to miscarry. His parents didn’t care either; they just paid a settlement of seventy or eighty thousand dollars, and the matter was swept under the rug. Julian became infamous—his family owned a company; they had money, so they could do whatever they wanted! Julian liked my sister, but they had recently fought and hadn’t spoken for days. Julian wanted me to pretend to be his girlfriend to make her jealous. I glanced at the money in his hand and estimated it to be over a thousand dollars. To me, that was a massive sum. Julian watched me crouch down to pick up the money, looking at me like I was a dog being thrown scraps. “Well? It’s easy money.” “What do you want me to do?” Julian thought for a moment. “Write a few apology letters for me—they need to be poetic. Then write ‘I love you, Lily’ ten thousand times and fold them into paper cranes. And have lunch with me sometimes…” “That costs extra.” “Huh?” I shoved the thousand dollars into my pocket and negotiated terms with him. “Apology letters, paper cranes, having meals—those are all separate items and need to be billed accordingly.” Julian was hesitant at first, but after I mocked him with a few choice words, he grew furious. “Who says I don’t love Lily enough?! Here!” He angrily threw another three thousand dollars at me. Within a few days, my sister predictably lost her cool, especially when she saw Julian chatting with me. She looked like she wanted to lunge at me and claw my face off; she bit her lip until it bled. One afternoon, my father called me incessantly, ordering me to deliver something to Lily. Her classroom was empty, so I shoved the item into her desk and left. The next day, Lily ran to the teachers’ office, sobbing hysterically and demanding to know: “Sister, I don’t care if you hate me, but how could you steal money?!” 4 Lily was the class treasurer. Three thousand dollars she had kept in her desk—money for the entire class’s textbooks—was missing. I demanded they check the security cameras, but the teacher told me the school’s electronics were undergoing maintenance and couldn’t be viewed. Lily’s eyes were red. “It’s okay, sister. As long as you have the courage to admit your mistake, I’ll pay the money back for you. But you really need to stop hanging around Julian so much. What if you do something truly shameful…” The office fell silent. My biological mother was the first to arrive. Upon hearing this, she charged forward and kicked me squarely in the chest. “You dead girl! If you want to go around seducing men, fine, but don’t drag your sister down with you! I’ll beat you to death!” Lily retreated to the side in a panic, looking utterly innocent. “Ah? Did… did I say something wrong? But I clearly saw my sister and Julian in the woods yesterday…” “Don’t be afraid, my precious! Your sister is a born slut, and her father refuses to discipline her, so today I’m going to teach this little bastard a lesson!” I struggled to my feet, laughing wildly. “Yes, I’m a slut! I’m a bastard! I have a mother who gave birth to me but never raised me—my mother died a long time ago!” “What did you say?! You little bitch, how dare you curse me!” My mother shrieked in fury. Just as the office descended into absolute chaos, the door banged open. My stepmother pulled me behind her, shouting fiercely: “I am Mia’s guardian! If you have a problem, take it up with me! An adult who only bullies a child—have you no shame?! Aren’t you afraid of karma?!” “Fine! Let’s settle this! How are we handling this accusation that Mia stole money?!” My stepmother touched my face, looked down, and asked gently, “Is what they’re saying true?” I shook my head. My biological mother flew into a rage. “Still pretending?! It was clearly you! Birds of a feather flock together—you two are both bitches!” “Where is the evidence?” Lily immediately interjected. “Auntie, I saw it with my own eyes…” My stepmother stared at her meaningfully for a few seconds. “So whatever you say is the truth? Well, I say you stole the money! Little girl, being too scheming isn’t a good thing. Don’t treat everyone else like an idiot.” “Also, laying a hand on my daughter without a shred of evidence—I can sue you for that! Are the teachers here dead?! You just stand there watching them cause a scene and don’t even try to stop it?!” The homeroom teacher smiled tightly, attempting to smooth things over. “You said yourself there’s no evidence. Maybe we should just let this go…” “I have evidence.” 5 I played the video, watching as my biological mother’s face cycled from green to red, inflating like a balloon before finally exploding with a pop. The person in the video was my sister. Although the lighting was dim, it was easy to see that she was acting intimately with a boy. Ten minutes later, Julian was standing in the doorway, looking casual and indifferent. My mother was furious; she marched up, grabbed him by the collar, and slapped him. “You little animal! Is your entire family dead?! How dare you target my daughter!” Julian retaliated by punching my mother in the face. The artificial implant in my mother’s nose flew out and hit the homeroom teacher in the face. The situation became incredibly awkward. Lily threw herself onto Julian. “Mom, if you dare touch him, you might as well beat me to death! I don’t want to live anyway!” My mother almost choked on her own breath. I couldn’t help but laugh. My mother finally noticed me, her tone instantly softening. “Mia, can we just pretend this didn’t happen today? Your sister can’t have any negative press right now.” I drawled slowly, “But what about her framing me for stealing the money…” Before I could finish, Lily very conscientiously began slapping her own face. The force was weak; it hurt less than when my mother pinched me. I didn’t say a word. My mother gritted her teeth and slapped Lily on both sides of her face, her curses growing louder and louder. After the beating, Lily’s fake crying turned real. She was practically wailing, her face swollen like a puffy steamed bun. My stepmother grabbed my hand, turned around, and walked away. That night, my stepmother applied ointment to my bruises under the light of a desk lamp. She glanced at me. “If you want to cry, just cry. There’s no one else here. What if you hold it all in and make yourself sick?” My biological mother was incredibly heavy-handed. That kick to my chest still ached. I blinked. “I actually feel pretty badass. Lily got beaten way worse than I did, and she won’t be able to shoot any commercials for days. I’m too busy laughing to cry!” As I was getting ready for bed, my stepmother came to tuck me in. Two shallow dimples appeared on her face. “You’re right, you really are badass. Goodnight!” But my smile didn’t last long. My father suddenly cut off my tuition and ordered me to go work in a factory. I had been accepted into a prestigious high school, but my father absolutely refused to pay the tuition. He contacted a recruiter, packed my bags, and told me I could leave at any time. I remember kneeling for a very long time that day. I said everything I could think of. I kowtowed until my forehead bled. I promised that I would be a hundred times more filial, that I would repay him in full, if only he would let me go to school. I wanted to study. It was my only way out. My tears didn’t move my father. He threw an ashtray at me, cursing my delusional dreams and insisting I wasn’t cut out for studying. I realized later that this was Lily’s revenge. She was our parents’ cash cow. The moment she complained, my father inevitably sacrificed me to appease her. I was fifteen that year. I dragged an empty suitcase and followed a stranger to the factory. I worked day and night, losing track of time. The calluses on my hands tore open, but I couldn’t feel the pain. All I could see were the numb, exhausted eyes behind the surgical masks around me. Barring a miracle, I was going to be buried there, becoming just another walking corpse. My stepmother was that miracle. She appeared at the door of my dorm and slapped me hard across the face. It was the first time she had ever hit me. She looked thinner and darker. Her hands were shaking. She yelled at me: “Mia, what do you think you’re doing?! If you don’t go to school now, what are you going to do with your future?! If I hadn’t come, were you planning to live like this for the rest of your life?! You told me you wanted to go to the elite high school!” I was momentarily dazed. The elite high school… that felt like a lifetime ago. I hugged her and sobbed hysterically. I wanted to go to school, but fate loved to play jokes on me. This path was destined to be treacherous. My stepmother wiped away my tears. Her eyes were resolute. “Be good. Stop crying. I have money. I’ll pay for your schooling!” She took me home. My father was unhappy about it, but when he heard my stepmother was willing to pay, he shut his mouth. Entering the honors class, I clearly struggled to keep up, constantly hovering around twentieth place. That rank was enough for a good university, but far from my goal of an elite Ivy League-tier school. So, my stepmother hired a private tutor for me. I had no idea this would be the beginning of my nightmare.

🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MotoNovel” app 🔍 search for “391819”, and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel

After traveling through time and space. Following the system’s instructions, I reclaimed my identity as the true heiress of a wealthy family, serving as the foil to the fake heiress. In this lonely world, I constantly tried to integrate into this family, but every step was a struggle, and I hit a wall at every turn. She was smothered in love and affection by our parents, while I suffered endless cold stares and grievances, even enduring her bullying and humiliation. Until I received the diagnosis of terminal leukemia, and the system still hadn’t given me any further instructions. Completely disillusioned and heartbroken, I decided to use my own death to buy a glimmer of hope to return to my original world. Dragging my failing body, I personally found a mortician for myself and pre-booked a luxurious burial at sea. But when they realized I was truly determined to die. The family members who had once bullied and neglected me turned back, kneeling at my feet, weeping and repenting bitterly. But what they didn’t know was… I had given up on them a long time ago. 1. Standing on the roof of the City Zenith building. I adjusted my breathing, making my final preparations to jump. Having gathered enough courage, I took a step toward the railing. I had barely taken two steps when my phone rang. It was the funeral home. “Ms. Vance, I am so incredibly sorry, but all our transport vehicles have flat tires. Could we… possibly reschedule the pickup time?” No! I’m about to jump off a building, and you’re telling me to reschedule now?! Anger shot straight to my head, but having grown accustomed to acting like a startled bird, I had become timid and cautious. My anger was instinctively suppressed. “I paid the money, and the agreement clearly stated the time.” “Yes, yes… but… how about this? You could switch to a different funeral home? I can recommend one. I have a friend who works there, and I guarantee their service will satisfy you!” “I want your place.” Having traveled to this alternate world years ago, I had endured endless cold stares and grievances. I’m in the terminal stages of leukemia and about to die, and the system still hasn’t given me any new instructions. I want to go back to my original world. I’ve tried every possible method; death is the only option left. To increase my chances of going home. The exact time to die, the best funeral home, the exact time for the funeral, the best burial method… I took my birth chart to a master fortune-teller to calculate all of this. It cannot be changed! “Then there’s really nothing we can do. If you’re really in a hurry, you’ll just have to bring it over yourself.” I forced a wry smile. “I’m sorry, I really can’t deliver it myself.” I couldn’t win my parents’ and brothers’ love from the fake heiress, but I was determined to get the auspicious time I picked for jumping off this building. “I am currently jumping off a building. The body you need to pick up is mine.” Silence fell on the other end of the line. “Um, look, how about you borrow a car from a friend and drive over here first?” 2. After a long pause without him saying anything else, I took it as him agreeing to my proposal. “Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.” I hung up, but the more I thought about it, the more uncertain I felt. There were too many unpredictable variables. I had calculated an auspicious time; I absolutely could not afford any mistakes. It would be much safer to find someone to supervise them while they worked. After giving myself three pep talks, I braced myself and sent a message to the pinned family group chat. [Sorry to bother everyone, but I’m jumping off a building tonight. Could someone please find the time to collect my body?] [It won’t be too much trouble. I’ve already arranged all the afterlife affairs. I just need someone to go and supervise them while they work.] [@everyone] Just as I sent the summarized schedule of my afterlife affairs to the group, I was kicked out of the chat by my second brother, Ethan Vance. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been kicked out. Every time, I was the one begging Ethan to pull me back in. Bitterness spread infinitely within me. Swallowing my pride, I created a new group chat. To increase credibility. I quickly snapped a picture of the rooftop and sent it to the group along with the afterlife schedule. [I promise, this is the last time.] [Time waits for no one. Please, I just need a little help.] After three minutes of dead silence, there was finally a reply. Eldest Brother: [Fine.] 3. A simple Fine. [Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.] With that weight off my mind, I prepared to focus on jumping. But my phone started buzzing incessantly. Mia Vance: [Sister, I’m sorry… Eldest Brother has a surgery tonight. Let’s not bother him.] Mia Vance: [I’m sorry, it’s all my fault… Please don’t do anything impulsive. Mom, Dad, the brothers, and I are rushing home right now.] Reading Mia’s two messages, every sentence dripping with apologies. I knew I had become the target of public criticism once again. Ethan was the first to explode. Ethan: [Mia, why are you apologizing? What did you do wrong to her?] Ethan: [She’s just throwing a tantrum because the whole family went camping with you instead of staying to celebrate her 18th birthday!] Ethan: [Chloe Vance, didn’t you say yourself that you didn’t want to celebrate your birthday? Now you’re threatening suicide? Do you think this is funny?] Tears fell uncontrollably. [It’s not funny. I’m going to die soon.] Mia Vance was a stray child my parents adopted after accidentally losing me. To make up for their guilt toward me, the Vance family poured everything they had into treating Mia well. Including the love that should have been mine—they gave it all to Mia. Even after I found my way back to the Vance family and tried desperately to please them, nothing changed. Instead, because of my efforts to please them, the Vance family worried Mia would misunderstand, overthink things, or feel hurt. They spoiled her even more and even started complaining about why I ever came back. Mia was no saint either. Afraid I would steal the Vance family’s affection, she never stopped framing me and would always play the victim first. Whenever that happened, the Vance family would pull her into their arms with pity and point their fingers at me from the moral high ground. “Can’t you just be a little more generous? Do you really have to pick fights with Mia?” I was heartbroken and couldn’t defend myself. I used to be the precious treasure my parents held in the palms of their hands in my original world, too. Having traveled through time and space, the system forcefully bound me to the memories and emotional system of this alternate world. While missing my parents in my original world, I was also uncontrollably tormented by the various injustices of this one. These two extreme emotions intertwined, leaving me living in absolute agony every single day. But it’s fine now. I have terminal leukemia. I’m going to die soon. 4. I suddenly remembered that the master fortune-teller only calculated an auspicious time; he didn’t specify a location for jumping. The Vance family was unreliable, so I might as well take a taxi to the funeral home and just jump off the building there. On the way, my phone kept buzzing non-stop. Dad: [Chloe, my daughter, how did things get to this point…] Dad: [Don’t blame Mia. It was Dad who insisted on bringing Mia camping.] Dad: [Dad is coming back right now to celebrate your birthday, okay? Chloe… stop messing around.] Ethan: [Let her throw her tantrum! I want to see what other tricks she can pull!] Ethan: [Jumping off a building, huh?! Why not just go jump in the ocean?! Saves money and effort!] Ethan: [Sometimes I really hate it. I hate that the Vance family produced such an ungrateful thing like you! Why didn’t you just die out there all those years ago?!] Looking at those words, my nose stung, and tears slipped down my face uncontrollably. Misfortunes never come singly. Just as I arrived at the funeral home, the sea burial agent called me. He told me the sea burial had to be postponed. The boat I had booked was mistaken for firewood by a family camping on a nearby island and chopped up for a barbecue. The whole “jumping off a building” plan, having progressed to this point, was forced to a halt. Standing on the roof of the funeral home, my body swaying unsteadily, I held onto the wall and sat down. My illness was flaring up more and more frequently. I was exhausted, and could only curl up into a ball and fall into a hazy sleep. And just like that, on the roof of a funeral home, I spent my lonely 18th birthday in this alternate world. The next morning, bathed in the morning light, I dragged my exhausted body toward the beach. This time, I decided to fulfill Ethan’s wish and jump into the ocean. 5. The sea breeze blew gently, and the waves crashed. The endless ocean sparkled with light. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. “This really is a good place to end a life.” Bathed in the warm sun, I walked resolutely into the sea. It was early autumn; the seawater was freezing, chilling me to the bone. With my parents from my original world in my heart, I firmly walked toward the deep ocean. “Mom, Dad, Chloe misses you so much. She wants to go home so badly.” “Chloe is coming to find you.” 6. I still didn’t manage to die. I was rescued by a fisherman and taken to the nearest hospital. The exact hospital where my eldest brother, Liam Vance, worked. “Miss, you’re awake! Doctor, come quick!” The fisherman guarding my bed yelled excitedly for the doctor. “Chloe Vance, that’s enough acting.” As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Liam standing in front of me, his voice carrying a distant reprimand. “Did you know I was on shift today and purposely came here for attention?” I smirked, nodding. “Whatever you say is right.” Seeing my dismissive attitude, he grew even colder. “There needs to be a limit to your tantrums. Going too far just makes people disgusted!” There are two sons in the Vance family. My eldest brother is always busy with work and used to ignoring me. His sudden cold words stung me deeply. The fisherman who saved me couldn’t stand listening to it anymore. He pulled the attending doctor right up to my bed. “Are all doctors this unprofessional nowadays?! A patient wakes up, and instead of examining her, you just stand there running your mouth?! Your actions are slow, but your tongue sure is sharp! “Believe me, I will report this hospital!” Liam was speechless, his eyes wide as he glared viciously at me. After a moment of silence, he suddenly smirked and scoffed, “You’re always crying wolf. Only someone as kind as Mia would still believe you. “She took Mom and Dad home last night, while you disappeared for the entire night. “You really don’t deserve Mia’s kindness towards you, and you certainly don’t deserve the effort she put into cooking for you!” After saying that, he pointedly addressed the doctor examining me: “There are plenty of critically ill patients. Yet someone who’s just here causing trouble is taking up a bed, and as the attending doctor, you don’t know how to advise her to leave?” The doctor looked incredibly awkward. I propped myself up and got off the bed. “Thank you, Doctor. I’m fine. No need to examine me.” As I was about to leave, the fisherman quickly grabbed my arm. “Miss, don’t get angry at a doctor with no morals. “Your face is terrifyingly pale. It’s better to let the doctor check you out to be safe. Don’t fight against your own body.” I really was too sensitive; a few kind words from a stranger actually brought tears to my eyes. Not wanting to cry in front of Liam, I turned back toward the consultation desk. “Sigh, you’re right, sir. I’ll get examined.” 7. Having been repeatedly rebuffed, Liam’s face was dark as he turned to leave. After the doctor inputted my information, he suddenly raised his voice: “Terminal leukemia? “You were diagnosed three weeks ago. Why aren’t you on the waiting list for a match?” The clinic fell into absolute silence. The fisherman looked at me in shock. I calmly shook my head, breaking the silence. “No need. I don’t want treatment anymore.” Liam stopped in his tracks. Unlike the fisherman, his face clearly showed disdain. “Chloe Vance, you really are an expert at getting attention. “First jumping off a building, then jumping into the ocean, and now you’ve concocted ‘terminal leukemia’. “You definitely picked the perfect time to jump into the ocean, going right to where people were. “Everyone knows you learned to swim with Mia, taught by the exact same instructor. Mia won a gold medal in the campus tournament; how bad could your technique possibly be?” He glanced at the fisherman as he spoke. “Without some serious skills, how could you hold out until someone came to save you, and still be completely uninjured?” It’s true that I learned to swim with Mia, but I am a genuine, 100% landlubber. Back then, Mia played plenty of dirty tricks. Once, when the instructor wasn’t looking, she actually stepped on me at the bottom of the pool, trying to drown me. If the instructor hadn’t noticed in time, I would have drowned. When I went home and complained, what did the Vance family say? “You’re just being paranoid. Mia wouldn’t bother trying to kill you.” Right. In the eyes of the Vance family, Mia was doted on by everyone. Why would she want a worthless life like mine? From that day on, I never went to another swimming lesson, and I developed a bone-deep fear of water. Seeing my silence, Liam thought he had figured out my little scheme. “Stop trying to jump into the ocean. Let me give you an idea. Go find an old-growth forest and lie down inside. I guarantee nothing will go wrong.” I lowered my head and smiled bitterly, nodding in self-mockery. “Okay.” My attitude completely enraged Liam. He pinched the bridge of his nose, radiating coldness. “I’ve been working non-stop all day, I’m exhausted. I don’t have the patience to stand here and watch you act.” “If you’re tired, go home and rest early.” Catching a glimpse of my eyes, which were as calm as a pool of dead water, a trace of confusion flashed in Liam’s eyes. I knew why he was looking at me like that. In the past, whenever he said he was tired, I would eagerly rush over, carefully trying to please him, offering warm comfort. But this time, I sat completely still. “Stop using death as an excuse. If you have the guts, don’t ever come home again!” Having grown accustomed to his vicious words, my heart was surprisingly calm right now. “Okay. I won’t go back.” “Bullshit! Chloe’s last name is Vance, why shouldn’t she go back?!” My best friend, Sarah, burst through the door, standing protectively in front of me, blocking Liam’s view. “The Vance family truly lives up to its reputation as a prestigious household. Your family’s upbringing is truly un-complimentary!” “…You.” Liam dared to arrogantly scold me, but facing the Tang family—whose social standing was far above the Vance family’s—he didn’t dare say a word to Sarah. Sarah’s attitude was hostile. “You what? Get lost!”

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My former best friend Chloe’s birthday is also the anniversary of my mother’s death. The moment I saw Chloe and Arthur Sterling picking out a birthday cake together, I knew. This former best friend, who had already stolen my father, was now going to steal my husband. But I wasn’t going to let her win. Determined not to repeat the tragedy of my mother—who was driven to suicide—I ruined Chloe’s birthday party. Then, I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago and moved out of our home that very night. It had been less than seven hours since it happened. In those seven hours: I spent one hour packing, and one hour getting to the high-speed rail station. It took me three hours to reach my grandmother’s house. For the final two hours, I successfully convinced my grandmother to let me stay with her. Arthur Sterling? I was done with him. When Arthur realized Mia had blocked him, he was genuinely stunned. In their three years of marriage, Mia, as Mrs. Sterling, had always been the epitome of grace, dignity, and generosity. No matter the occasion, her behavior had always been completely irreproachable. It wasn’t until he returned home and saw the divorce papers sitting on the table that he belatedly realized he had made a catastrophic mistake. “It’s been years. Chloe has been trying to make peace with you. There’s no need to keep things this hostile. Today is her birthday. She offered a toast to you as your elder; you should have accepted it.” “When you were younger, you could blame your trauma on your family background. But if you still can’t regulate your emotions now, it just shows you haven’t matured. With you in this state, how can I possibly have children with you?” Arthur picked up the divorce papers, read through the terms, and set them back down on the table. He didn’t think he had done anything wrong. Whether Mia accepted it or not, Chloe had long since transitioned from her best friend to her stepmother. Mia’s constant, rigid hostility toward Chloe created intense family friction, making it incredibly difficult for him to navigate social events that required his wife’s attendance. Besides, from what he had seen, Chloe wasn’t nearly as terrible as Mia claimed. He genuinely believed that instead of desperately clinging to the past, Mia should change her mindset and embrace the future with a smile. But realizing this was the first time Mia had ever been this angry, a flicker of panic took root in his chest. His grip on his phone tightened, and Arthur tried calling Mia again. He was still blocked. From the exact moment I saw Arthur and Chloe standing together in that bakery, carefully selecting a birthday cake, I knew my marriage to Arthur had reached its bitter end. Determined not to suffer my mother’s fate, I shattered Chloe’s birthday celebration, packed my bags, and walked out of the home Arthur and I shared. It had been less than seven hours since it all went down. In those seven hours: I spent one hour packing, and one hour rushing to the high-speed rail station. Three hours traveling to my grandmother’s house. And the final two hours successfully convincing her to let me stay. “Grandma, I told you a long time ago, you have terrible taste in men.” “First, you picked a scumbag for my mom, and now you introduced me to a piece of trash. You ruined both of our lives. You have to take responsibility.” I smiled as I fed my grandmother a slice of sweet melon. I gently rested my head against her back, just like I did when I was a little girl. Truthfully, before I brought Chloe home with me, my parents had a pretty good relationship. Back then, forget my mother—even I never would have guessed that eighteen-year-old Chloe had her sights set on my forty-five-year-old father. Despite a massive twenty-seven-year age gap, they pursued their twisted romance with reckless abandon. My mother, a fiercely proud and independent woman her entire life, simply could not accept that her husband was divorcing her for her own daughter’s classmate. In a moment of absolute, suffocating despair, she jumped from the 18th floor. Terrified that staying with my father would destroy me, my grandmother took me in to live with her. Seeing me remain single for years after entering the workforce, she realized I had developed a profound phobia of men and marriage. Terrified I would end up completely alone after she passed away, she introduced me to Arthur Sterling. She originally thought that since she was close friends with Arthur’s grandmother, the connection provided a solid foundation of trust. But even she couldn’t have predicted that Arthur—flawless on paper—was fundamentally, pathologically rational. In every relationship, he only weighed the pros and cons, never considering genuine human emotion. So, when he tricked me into attending Chloe’s birthday dinner, constantly claiming it was “for my own good,” and eventually grabbed my wrist, trying to physically force me to drink the toast Chloe offered… I flipped the table. I completely destroyed Chloe’s birthday dinner. And I pointed directly at my father’s face, demanding to know if he remembered what day it was. 2 Yes. It’s a hilariously cruel joke. Chloe’s birthday is also the exact anniversary of my mother’s death. But besides me, no one remembered. Not even Arthur. He used to hold me close, whispering sweet promises: “From now on, I’ll go with you to pay our respects on your mother’s anniversary. I won’t ever make you face the past alone.” Yet, on the actual day of her anniversary, stopped at a literal intersection between the bustling downtown district and the quiet, desolate cemetery, he chose to turn toward the city center. He physically dragged me into the opulent, blindingly bright hotel lobby. Everywhere I looked, I saw massive, glamorous promotional cutouts of Chloe. There were solo shots of her, and photos of her passionately kissing my father. When we entered the private dining room, Chloe was wearing a pale purple strapless gown, her long, heavily styled hair cascading down her back. She sat at the head of the table, radiating the absolute authority of a matriarch. A massive, multi-carat diamond ring sparkled on her pale, bony finger, the glare almost physically hurting my eyes. When my mother was alive, she once told my father that for her fortieth birthday, she wanted a diamond ring. Nothing extravagant. Just something for a few thousand dollars. But on the day of my mother’s fortieth birthday, my father didn’t even come home. In the end, I used all my saved-up allowance money to buy my mother a diamond ring myself. The ring Chloe was wearing? I actually owned the exact same one. Arthur had given it to me for our wedding anniversary last year. It cost over three million dollars. I desperately didn’t want to look, but my eyes were drawn to it anyway. I noticed my father gazing at Chloe with absolute, unfiltered adoration. Seeing a stray hair on her shoulder, he gently picked it off and threw it away. My mother had never, ever experienced that level of meticulous, tender care. I bit down hard on my tongue. My entire body was shaking. “Mia, you’re here? I’m so incredibly happy to see you today.” Chloe’s gaze slowly traveled over Arthur’s face before finally landing on me, her expression entirely dismissive. She stood up gracefully, her diamond-encrusted nails glittering under the chandelier, perfectly matching the crystal wine glass in her hand. She swirled the deep red wine in her glass, over and over. Seeing that I was refusing to acknowledge Chloe’s gesture, Arthur picked up the wine glass sitting in front of me and drank it for me. But before he could even finish the glass, I beat him to the punch and violently flipped the entire table. Even now, I can still perfectly recall the look Arthur gave me as a table full of exquisite, outrageously expensive food crashed onto the floor in a catastrophic mess. Disappointment, intense displeasure, and pure disgust. 3 The usually dignified and composed Mrs. Sterling had lost her composure. I had humiliated him. Thinking back carefully, since the day I met Arthur, that was the very first time he had ever looked at me like that. When we first started dating, we were just like any normal couple. We climbed mountains together. We watched the sunset. We went camping and stargazing. On our wedding night, he promised me that he would never, ever let me suffer a single grievance in this life. He swore he would never force me to do anything I didn’t want to do. He vowed he would absolutely never repeat the horrific mistakes my father made. At that time, Chloe hadn’t yet set her sights on him. It wasn’t until I started noticing inconsistencies in his behavior and hired an investigator that I learned the truth. It turned out that, starting over a year ago, Chloe had been secretly contacting Arthur under the guise of wanting to “repair her relationship” with me. For an entire year. Arthur hadn’t breathed a single syllable of this to me. It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered making Arthur my safe harbor, of trying to genuinely trust him. But I am profoundly grateful that I always kept a piece of myself guarded. It allowed me to instantly, cleanly sever ties the absolute second a problem arose. Chloe’s betrayal and my mother’s suicide had permanently burned a complete inability to trust others into my core. Because of this deeply ingrained habit, I spent the last three years constantly preparing for the worst. I never actually expected that my three years of preparation would inevitably be put to use. “Are you absolutely sure about this?” My grandmother sighed softly. She knew I was joking earlier; she knew I had never blamed her. She truly, deeply didn’t want to see my marriage to Arthur end like this. “Yes. Better to do it now, before we have kids.” After Arthur and I got married, we had genuinely discussed having children. 4 But Arthur always felt I wasn’t “positive” or “sunny” enough. He was worried my psychological state wouldn’t provide a healthy environment for raising a child. To “fix” me, he signed me up for expensive psychology courses. He even hired a private therapist for me. I told him that, to me, he was infinitely more important than any therapist. He clearly didn’t take that seriously. The moment he started secretly contacting Chloe—having dinner with her, grabbing coffee, even going shopping and exchanging gifts—my psychological state was doomed to crash. While packing my bags, I only intended to take my personal belongings. I never expected to find a thick stack of shopping receipts hidden at the very bottom of his closet. From small items like luxury car keychains to massive purchases like high-end watches and jewelry. Under the guise of an ‘elder’ and a ‘younger generation,’ a ‘stepmother’ and a ‘son-in-law,’ they had been showering each other with attention. Honestly, if Arthur had chosen literally anyone else, I might have considered my grandmother’s feelings and maintained a facade of a happy marriage. But he absolutely, categorically should never have chosen Chloe! No one understands exactly what kind of person Chloe is better than I do. Before our friendship imploded, she used to jokingly complain to me: Why is your family so rich? Why do I have to live like a poor person? If I ever get the chance, I’m going to steal everything you have. I’m going to make what’s yours, mine. So, she stole my father from my mother. And now, realizing my father is getting old and his earning potential is declining, she wants to steal Arthur from me. “Since you’ve made up your mind, Grandma supports you. Just… please don’t be foolish like your mother was.” When my mother died, she acted too impulsively. She left me with virtually no assets. The moment Chloe married my father, she seized absolute control of my family’s finances. My living expenses plummeted the instant she became my father’s wife. “She just can’t stand seeing you live a better life than her! Women like her always get what’s coming to them!” My grandmother was fiercely furious on my behalf when it came to Chloe. Remembering my mother’s horrific tragedy, she wiped away tears of heartbreak. “I am going to live a better life than her. Better than both of them.” 5 Thinking about the preparations I had made over the past three years, I felt a deep sense of confidence. “Mia, I heard you and Arthur had a fight. If it’s because I asked Arthur to bring you to my birthday dinner, I apologize. This has absolutely nothing to do with him. I was the one who begged him to help us repair our relationship.” “You’ve ignored me for so many years, and it genuinely breaks my heart.” “Legally speaking, you are my daughter now. I truly, deeply want us to go back to how we used to be.” Chloe knows exactly how to nauseate me. So, she intentionally chose the most offensive, triggering words possible. I didn’t even need to see her face. I knew exactly what kind of smug, triumphant expression Chloe was wearing on the other end of the line. “Are you done? If you’re done, I’m hanging up.” I had blocked Chloe’s number years ago. I only answered this time because she must have used someone else’s phone, and I didn’t recognize the number. I felt violently physically ill. It seemed that from now on, I couldn’t answer unknown numbers either. “Mia, what’s done is done. Do you think hiding is going to make it disappear? Whether you accept it or not, you cannot change my current status!” Terrified I would hang up, Chloe instantly dropped the sweet act and hardened her tone. As expected. Now that her status had changed, she no longer spoke to me with that pathetic, subservient tone she used to use—constantly following me around, clinging to me, calling me ‘Mia’ affectionately. Now, she was addressing me by my full name like an equal! “I have zero desire to change it. If you want to dig through my garbage and take the trash I threw away, I couldn’t care less. Go right ahead!” I had cut ties with that scumbag father of mine a long time ago. As for Arthur, she wanted to steal him so badly, right? I’ll gift-wrap him for her! “You know?” Chloe didn’t realize I already knew about her secret meetings with Arthur over the past year. Her voice instantly turned cold. “Whether I know or not is entirely irrelevant. What matters is whether my father knows!” I let out a cold laugh and ended the call. I remembered that the very first thing I did after walking out of Chloe’s birthday dinner was forward that massive compilation of evidence straight to my father’s email. I was fully prepared to sit back and watch those two rabid dogs tear each other to pieces. As for Arthur, if he agreed to a clean divorce, we could handle it smoothly. If he refused, I would simply file a lawsuit. And a lawsuit meant I would walk away with significantly more. “Mr. Sterling, why didn’t you bring Mrs. Sterling today? It’s highly unusual for you to attend an event like this solo.” Arthur had barely taken his seat. The people around him, confirming Mia’s absence, immediately started teasing him. 6 Everyone in their social circle knew that Arthur and Mia were the ultimate model couple. If an event allowed plus-ones, Mia was absolutely guaranteed to be standing right by Arthur’s side. “Next time.” Arthur’s expression was noticeably dark. He couldn’t stop thinking about how Mia had been gone for over a week. And during that entire week, no matter how he tried to contact her, her only response was always the exact same sentence: “Have you signed the divorce papers yet?” It was infuriating. Normally, with Mia by his side, he could gather crucial business intel through her casual conversations with the other executives’ wives. Now, without Mia’s strategic assists, something felt fundamentally wrong. It felt like… his information wasn’t complete. He felt unanchored. Even though, before they got married, he used to secure massive contracts entirely on his own. Had Mia really changed his workflow this drastically in just three short years? “Arthur, I am so incredibly sorry. I know I shouldn’t be bothering you at this hour. But I genuinely have nowhere else to go.” When Arthur returned home from the networking event, Chloe was crouched outside his door, wearing a flowing white fringed dress. Hearing the elevator ping, she looked up, her expression a masterclass in pathetic vulnerability. Her eyes were a complex mix of shame, embarrassment, and profound victimization. “What happened?” Arthur glanced at Chloe briefly before unlocking the door with his fingerprint and stepping inside. “Mia took some videos of us meeting over the past year, edited them completely out of context, and sent them to her dad. He misunderstood the situation between us and threw me out of the house.” Chloe’s eyes darted around, taking in Arthur and Mia’s marital home. Even though she had seen her fair share of opulence living with Arthur’s father, all of that suddenly felt cheap and insignificant compared to the breathtaking, floor-to-ceiling display of rare collectibles lining Arthur’s walls. She expertly masked the flash of raw greed in her eyes, letting her long hair fall forward to hide her expression. She played the role of the helpless, fragile victim to absolute perfection. “She’s throwing a tantrum because she’s angry at me. Please don’t blame her. I’ll explain everything to her clearly, and then I’ll have her come here and apologize to you and her father.” Even now, Arthur genuinely refused to believe that Mia’s demand for a divorce was real. He was absolutely certain she was just throwing a fit. She was waiting for him to go and coax her. “I think she’s much angrier at me. You just got dragged into the crossfire. From the day I met Mia, I’ve always known that once she sets her mind to something, she never changes it.” 7 “I was too greedy. I never should have asked you to help me.” After saying that, Chloe raised a hand to her forehead, swaying dramatically as if she were about to faint. “What’s wrong? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?” Arthur frowned. Looking at Chloe’s pale lips and obvious distress, he hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out to support her. “I haven’t eaten anything all day. It’s probably low blood sugar. Can I please just crash here for one night? I’ll go back tomorrow after I figure out exactly how to explain everything.” This “crashing for the night” tactic was the exact same move Chloe had used years ago to sleep with my father in the middle of the night, right under my and my mother’s noses. She was planning to run the exact same play. My father had indeed gotten into a massive fight with her. But after she vehemently, desperately denied everything, he had actually apologized to her. She was the one who insisted on leaving; my father couldn’t stop her. “Do whatever you want.” Seeing that Chloe genuinely looked unwell, her lips entirely devoid of color… And remembering that she was technically Mia’s family… he let go of her, turned around, and went to his own room. Having achieved half her objective, Chloe listened to the sound of Arthur’s door closing. She pulled out her phone and snapped a selfie. Then, she sent it to me. I had blocked her number. But today, specifically to contact me, she had bought a brand new SIM card. That night, she left her bedroom door unlocked, waiting for Arthur to walk in for the entire night. But she was deeply disappointed. Arthur didn’t barge into her room like my father had. Chloe realized that even though she had spent a year laying the groundwork, and had confirmed that Arthur wasn’t repulsed by her… if she wanted to escalate their relationship, she needed to manufacture a different kind of opportunity. I was at the supermarket with my grandmother when I received Chloe’s photo. “Just a solo shot? You don’t have any photos of the two of you? Nothing a little more explicit?” I typed out a completely emotionless reply and hit send. “Your heart must be bleeding right now, isn’t it? Still pretending you don’t care? Mia, the look of absolute agony in your eyes when you flipped that table at my party was much more convincing!” Terrified that a text message would leave a digital trail I could use against her, Chloe immediately called me. “Done acting? This is your true face. You’ve been putting on that fake act for so many years, if you didn’t finally show your true, disgusting colors, I almost would have forgotten what you really looked like!” I listened to Chloe’s cold sneer through the speaker. Ever since she married my father, she had constantly put on the airs of a devoted stepmother. Every word out of her mouth was dripping with hypocritical concern and fake affection. I was sick to death of it. “Haven’t you always desperately wanted me to divorce your father? Congratulations, your wish is about to come true. I demanded a divorce from him last night. Barring any surprises, in a month, your father will be all yours! I will never fight you for him again!” Chloe’s obsession with marrying my father, despite the intense public scrutiny, wasn’t just for the luxurious lifestyle the Harrison family provided. It was also because she was intensely jealous of the paternal love my father used to show me. Her own father had abused and beaten her since childhood. She had never experienced a father’s love in her entire life. So, she sacrificed her youth and beauty to buy the years of devotion my father offered her. 8 What others saw as a pathetic, degrading trade, she saw as the ultimate victory. “Are you sure he’s actually willing to divorce you? What if he refuses?” I knew exactly what this was. Chloe wanted to kick my father to the curb and hook up with Arthur. After all, Arthur was young, handsome, insanely wealthy, and powerful. Unlike my father, who was aging, gaining weight, and had seen his assets shrink significantly in recent years due to the economic downturn. Comparing the two, Arthur won flawlessly. But just because Chloe wanted a divorce didn’t mean my father wanted one. My father had already divorced his wife of many years for Chloe, entirely alienating his only daughter in the process. If he divorced Chloe now, he would become the ultimate, pathetic laughingstock! “You don’t need to worry about that. I have my ways. Besides, your father acts like a trained dog around me. If I tell him to go left, he wouldn’t dare go right!” Chloe possessed an incredible sense of superiority when it came to my father. This superiority gave her the delusion that her charm was absolutely limitless. Just like years ago. No matter how incredibly kind I was to her, in her eyes, I only valued her for her beauty. She believed I only wanted to be friends with her to draw more attention to myself, to make myself look more noble and arrogant. People project their own toxic nature onto others; they assume everyone thinks exactly the way they do. “Unlike your mother, who was with him for over a decade and couldn’t control him in the slightest!” “Honestly, it’s a good thing your mother died. Otherwise, seeing how obedient your father is to me, she probably would have died of a rage-induced stroke anyway!” “Chloe, karma is real! You murdered my mother, and now you have the absolute audacity to insult her memory?! Aren’t you terrified of divine retribution?!” Hearing her shamelessly drag my mother’s name through the mud, my grip on my phone tightened until my knuckles turned white. I told myself: Wait just a little longer! Karma is coming, and it’s coming fast! Terrified that I was recording the call, and realizing she had said things that completely destroyed her carefully crafted persona, Chloe abruptly hung up. She was incredibly arrogant when she called me, but she hung up looking like a panicked rat. After that. Certain that Arthur was never going to sign the divorce papers voluntarily, I didn’t even bother informing him. I went straight to the courthouse and filed a formal lawsuit for divorce. The first attempt at a lawsuit usually doesn’t end in a granted divorce. Knowing full well I wouldn’t get the immediate result I wanted, I filed anyway to intentionally manufacture a massive media scandal. Arthur’s tech company was scheduled to go public next year. The longer this dragged out, and the closer we got to his IPO, the less he could afford a messy divorce. And exactly as I predicted. When his lawyers received the official notice from the court, Arthur couldn’t handle the pressure. He showed up at my grandmother’s house in the middle of the night. “It seems you weren’t avoiding me because you didn’t know where I was. You just didn’t want to come see me face-to-face.” It was the dead of night when Arthur finally tracked me down. I was wearing the same pink pajamas I used to wear before I got married. My long, dark hair cascaded loosely down my back. I yawned, stepping aside to let him in. “Mia, you have taken this entirely too far!” Arthur was still wearing his tailored work suit. He stared directly at me, instantly grabbing my wrist, his brow furrowed in absolute, exhausted irritation. “I gave you plenty of time. You were the one who refused to cooperate. Since you refuse to agree to an amicable divorce, my only option is to sue.” I knew exactly how physically strong Arthur was, so I didn’t bother struggling against his grip. I didn’t struggle at all.

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To get back at the fake heiress who stole my life, I became the sugar mommy to her ultimate crush. I tormented him in every way possible, watching him seethe with anger: “Chloe, this kind of cheap trick is all you’re good for.” That only turned me on more. I wrung him dry, time and time again. Until a line of text suddenly floated in the air right before my eyes: [This female supporting character is literally begging for death.] [Liam is the sole heir to the wealthiest family in the country. The day he returns to the Sterling family is the day she dies.] I was so terrified I fell right back onto Liam’s lap. “Hiss.” Hearing his muffled groan of pain, I dumped him without a backward glance. It wasn’t until the day I returned from abroad for my arranged marriage that Liam, his face cold as ice, sneered: “I thought you were so tough?” 1 I tilted my head, looking at the man whose hands I had bound with silk ribbons. I offered a sweet smile, leaning close to his ear: “Tell me, do you think Mia knows that in private, you’re so…” I whispered the very last word incredibly softly. Liam closed his eyes, clearly disdaining to even acknowledge me. My fingertips traced a path from his cheek down to his collarbone, and finally rested on his abs. “It’d be great if she got the chance to see this someday.” Liam’s eyes snapped open: “Do you think everyone is as shameless as you? “Chloe, this kind of cheap trick is all you’re good for.” I let out a soft laugh and bit his collarbone. “Naughty. That’s a punishment.” Liam pressed his lips tightly together, lost in his own thoughts. Having just finished our “workout,” I was feeling a bit tired, but his reaction instantly reignited my interest. Just as I was about to make a move, the space in front of me suddenly distorted. Immediately following, a line of text floated in the air: [I have to admit, they look incredibly good together.] [This female supporting character is literally begging for death.] [Liam is the sole heir to the wealthiest family in the country. The day he returns to the Sterling family is the day she dies.] [If the female supporting character doesn’t act like an idiot begging for death, how else are we supposed to highlight the female lead’s pure and kind nature?] I was terrified by the words floating in front of me, and my butt dropped heavily right onto Liam. “Hiss.” Liam couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan. I clamped my hand over his mouth: “Don’t make a sound.” Liam glared at me with annoyance, his eyes demanding to know what crazy phase I was going through now. [Why did they stop moving? Even though it’s censored with a mosaic blur, just seeing their silhouettes is pretty hot.] [What kind of nasty trick is the female supporting character plotting now?] That confirmed it. Those comments were definitely talking about me and Liam. I scrutinized the man in front of me. Broad shoulders, long legs, exquisite facial features, and skin like jade. I had to admit, even though I only approached him to get back at Mia, Liam was absolutely, 100% my type. But remembering what those floating comments said, I was genuinely scared. My life was definitely more important. Liam was almost suffocating under my hand, so I quickly let go. “Cough, cough! What kind of crazy episode are you having now?!” Watching the man’s naturally pale skin flush with a layer of red, I quickly recited my mantra: Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Before Liam could fully react, I quickly grabbed a silk ribbon and blindfolded him. He was used to my antics and just let me do as I pleased. Once he couldn’t see a thing, I grabbed my clothes and snuck out as fast as I could. 2 The next time I saw Liam was at school the following day. In the hallway, the look he gave me was ice-cold. I didn’t care. Mia was walking right beside him, looking delighted, chatting about something. When she saw me, her smile vanished instantly: “Chloe, Mom and Dad said don’t forget to go try on your dress tonight.” I forced a fake smile: “Always trying to show off, aren’t you?” Mia’s face darkened significantly. Seeing me looking at Liam, she immediately stepped in front of him to block my view. I let out a scoff and brazenly looked Liam up and down. My eyes accidentally caught sight of the bruises on the boy’s wrists. I froze. Crap. I forgot to untie him last night. I shrank my neck back, feeling incredibly guilty. [Liam was tied up by the female supporting character for half the night yesterday. He must hate her guts right now.] [Hahaha, why is the female supporting character’s expression actually kind of cute right now?] [Sis, wake up! She’s a dark, manipulative villainess!] I quickly scurried away, terrified that if I stayed even one second longer, their glares would literally kill me. Back in my seat in the classroom, I mindlessly spun my pen, lost in thought. Thinking about Liam’s identity as mentioned in those comments, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Liam clearly looked and acted like he was struggling financially. Otherwise, he never would have sold himself to me just to pay for his mother’s medical bills. It seems his background is incredibly complicated. Then I remembered all the things I had done to him. Tsk. This is going to be tricky. After thinking it over from every angle, I realized the result was: unresolvable. The way Liam and I met was straight out of a melodramatic soap opera. I am the true heiress of the Vance family, accidentally switched at birth. When I was finally brought back home, I found that Mia had already been keeping my parents company for over a decade. Reality isn’t a novel. Even though Mia wasn’t exactly top-tier in every aspect, after years of having massive resources poured into her, she was at least somewhat proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. And me? I grew up in an obscure, middle-of-nowhere town. I was the textbook definition of a kid who only knew how to take tests. I was someone who, aside from the middle school and high school entrance exams, knew absolutely nothing else. Naturally, I couldn’t compare to her. After I returned to the Vance family, even though my parents wanted to compensate me, their efforts were strictly limited to material compensation. They treated me with an excess of politeness, but a severe lack of familial warmth. Fortunately, I am a selfish person. I threw tantrums when I wanted to, spent their money freely, and felt absolutely zero guilt about it. Although the thrill of having money made my life much smoother, Mia’s existence was a constant reminder of the fact that I wasn’t truly loved. Just to spite Mia, I specifically enrolled in the exact same university as her. And it was here that I met Liam. Liam was Mia’s ultimate, unattainable crush. More than once, I had caught Mia looking at Liam with the unmistakable, joyful longing of a girl in love. So, to get revenge on her, I approached Liam. At the time, Liam’s mother happened to be gravely ill and needed surgery. The financial compensation I offered was simply too tempting to refuse. Left with no other choice, Liam agreed. Looking back on it now, it would be a miracle if this guy didn’t seek revenge against me later. Thinking of Liam, I curled my lip. What a shame. I wasn’t even done sleeping with him yet. 3 When I got home that night, I received a text from Liam: [Where are you?] I had been so engrossed in reading salacious stories online that I completely forgot today was our usual scheduled day. I checked the time. He had already been waiting there for two hours. For a moment, I felt genuinely guilty. Originally, I was just going to tell him to leave. But then I realized that if we were going to break things off, it would be better to do it face-to-face and make things clear. Before heading out, I swapped the sexy slip dress I had originally planned to wear. I changed into a conservative, Chanel-style tweed vest and skirt set. I checked myself in the mirror. Mm, very fully clothed. When I arrived, Liam was looking down, messing with his phone, clearly looking at something. Seeing me, he wore his usual ice-cold expression and frowned slightly: “Ms. Vance, you’re arriving later and later these days. “Make it quick today. I still need to go to the hospital tonight.” Liam was wearing a slightly sheer white dress shirt today. The muscles barely concealed beneath the fabric were faintly visible, exuding an incredible sexual tension. I looked him up and down thoroughly and broke into a smile: “Being so proactive today, are we?” Liam froze for a second, his tone turning sour: “Wasn’t it you who demanded this last time?” Then I remembered. Last time, while touching his abs, I had casually mentioned that he would look amazing in a white dress shirt. I didn’t expect him to actually wear one. At that moment, the floating text appeared in the air again. [Ahhhh! Liam, my husband, is so handsome!] [A lean, muscular physique is a man’s best dowry!] [That awful girl is eating so well! I wish I could body-swap with Chloe for just one day!] Reading the comments, I couldn’t help but recall how incredible Liam’s body felt under his clothes. It truly was spectacular. I shook my head, trying to clear the inappropriate thoughts. I flashed my usual, superficial smile: “Liam, I’m bored of you. “You’re free now.” I pulled a card from my small crossbody bag and handed it to him: “The money on this card is your compensation. It’s more than enough for your mother’s treatment and her subsequent rehabilitation.” Liam stood frozen in place, then spoke, his voice filled with burning anger: “Chloe, do you really have to humiliate me like this?” I didn’t move, genuinely confused: “How am I humiliating you?” This time, I really didn’t understand. I was giving him money and restoring his freedom. Shouldn’t he be happy? Liam’s face was flushed red with anger. He sneered and shoved me away: “Take your damn money.” With that, he grabbed his jacket and left. I was completely bewildered. When I saw that the strawberry cake on the table had already partially melted, I froze entirely. Mia liked chocolate cake. Just to irritate her, I used to always have someone buy the exact same chocolate cake whenever she got one. But the truth was, I didn’t even like chocolate. Very few people knew that my actual favorite was strawberry cake. [Why would Liam buy Chloe a strawberry cake?!] [And he bought it using the money he earned from his part-time jobs!] [He was afraid the rich girl would hate it, so he specifically chose a place that looked expensive. But of course, Chloe still looked down on it, hahaha.] I turned my head to look at the spot where Liam had been standing, but he was long gone. Heh. How surprisingly thoughtful. 4 I carried the partially melted strawberry cake back home. My mom was chatting with Mia about something, and the two of them were laughing together. Seeing me walk in, my mom’s smile faded slightly, and she asked in a gentle tone: “Chloe, where were you so late?” I swung the cake box in my hand: “I went to buy this.” My mom glanced at the cake box and frowned: “Stop eating those cheap desserts. Auntie Zhang just made fresh snowflake crisps and chocolate cake. Have some of that.” They were all things Mia liked. I twitched my lips into a smirk: “No thanks. “Cheap things suit me perfectly, don’t they?” Mia spoke up: “Chloe, how can you speak to Mom like that?” I smiled sweetly: “She’s my biological mother. I can speak to her however I want. It’s none of your business. “It’s only because of a mistake that you even have the opportunity to stand in front of me and act all high and mighty. “As the sole beneficiary of that mistake, what right do you have to bark at me?” Mia was stunned. Although I used to subtly clash with her in the past, I had never brought it out into the open so aggressively. For the first time, my mom looked at me with clear disapproval: “Chloe, how can you speak to Mia like that? Where are your manners?” I sneered: “I didn’t have a home, so how could I have manners? “Naturally, I can’t compare to the daughter you raised and educated with your own two hands.” Before I left the room, I walked up to Mia and leaned close to her ear: “You like Liam, don’t you?” Mia’s face instantly turned bright red: “You…” I cut her off, speaking with pure malice: “He was actually pretty fun to play with. But I’m bored of him now, so you can have him back.” I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mia’s face go from red to stark white. I whistled a happy tune as I walked upstairs. 5 This time, Mia truly, deeply hated me. And her revenge came swiftly. That weekend, our family attended a formal banquet. I wore a pearl-white embroidered dress, looking ethereal and elegant, while Mia dressed incredibly low-key. During the banquet, a man around twenty-five or twenty-six kept staring at me continuously. My dad pulled me over and introduced us: “Chloe, this is the second son of the Zhou family, Jason Zhou.” Jason stared at me with naked, undisguised lust, making my skin crawl. Seeing Mia standing nearby with a look that clearly said she was enjoying the show, I was even more certain that something bad was happening. I gave a polite, reserved nod, made up an excuse, and left the hall. Just as I was heading out the door, I coincidentally saw Liam, dressed in a server’s uniform. His looks were simply too striking. As he moved through the crowd, many eyes lingered on him, sizing him up. When he saw me, he kept his face cold and pretended not to know me. When he wasn’t looking, I reached out and pinched his butt. His face instantly flushed completely red, and he hissed angrily: “Chloe! What are you doing?!” I pulled my hand back sheepishly, scanning the area to make sure no one had noticed before finally relaxing. “Sorry. Force of habit.” Liam shot me a freezing glare and walked away. [Hahaha, Chloe did that way too naturally!] [Why is Liam so incredibly seductive when he blushes?!] [I can’t handle this, hahahaha! I ship them so hard!] [Honestly, Liam probably enjoyed that.] I waited for my parents, bored out of my mind. An unfamiliar server approached me: “Hello, are you Ms. Chloe Vance?” I nodded. “A gentleman named Liam asked me to invite you upstairs for a moment.” I was a bit confused. Hadn’t Liam just looked at me like I was a walking plague a few minutes ago? Why was he calling me upstairs now? I didn’t suspect anything and followed the server. It wasn’t until I reached the door of the suite upstairs that I felt something was wrong. Could it be that Liam wants to have an official break-up ceremony with me? I mean, I wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. I pushed the door open. A pungent, cloying smell filled the room. Through the frosted glass of the shower, I could vaguely see the silhouette of someone washing up. “Liam? Liam.” I was intimately familiar with Liam’s physique. That blurry silhouette clearly wasn’t him. I knew instantly I had been set up. I couldn’t believe such a cliché, melodramatic plot twist was actually happening to me. When Jason Zhou stepped out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel, I was completely done with this bullshit. I turned and bolted for the door, running straight into someone’s chest. Liam frowned and pulled me out of his arms: “Chloe.” Seeing Liam, I finally let out a sigh of relief. But almost immediately, a wave of scorching heat washed over my body. “What’s wrong with you? Why is your face so red?” Liam noticed something was wrong. Throwing caution to the wind, I grabbed Liam and dragged him into the nearest empty suite. By the time I regained clear consciousness, three hours had already passed. Liam was covered in hickeys and bite marks. Some were so deep they almost looked like they were bleeding. I lay sprawled across Liam, staring blankly at the ceiling, feeling like my life was over. [Wow, I have to say, Mia was actually pretty ruthless here. Chloe had it rough.] [Mia is the main character! She’s not some helpless little bunny!] [It’s her own fault for sleeping with Mia’s ultimate crush. Serves her right.] Reading the contents of those comments, I felt a surge of pure anger for the very first time. Just because she’s the “Main Character,” she can just toy with other people’s lives however she wants?! I really overestimated Mia in the past. I looked down at Liam. He was still asleep. I sighed helplessly and started putting my clothes on. I tried to run, I tried to hide, but in the end, I still ended up tangled with him again. Whatever. Debt upon debt, it doesn’t matter anymore. I took advantage of the fact that Liam was still asleep and quietly slipped away. 6 I had over twenty missed calls on my phone. I checked them; they were all from my parents. I sneered and turned off my phone. When I got home, the house was completely dark. I let out a self-deprecating laugh. Just as I was about to head upstairs, my mom heard the noise and came out: “Chloe, where did you go? “We called you so many times, and you didn’t answer.” Soon after, my dad and Mia also came downstairs. Mia crossed her arms and spoke with a sickeningly fake tone: “Chloe, where were you? Mom, Dad, and I were so worried about you. “No matter how much you hate these kinds of events, you can’t just leave by yourself.” My dad’s face was dark: “Staying out all night! Chloe, you have completely disgraced our family!” I laughed out of pure anger, looking at the three of them one by one. What a perfectly harmonious family of three. It’s just that I didn’t like it. I set my bag down and methodically took off my jacket. I walked toward Mia, step by step. Mia looked confused. I suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Mia by the hair with one hand, and started slapping her face repeatedly with the other. Mia’s screams filled the room. My mom rushed over to pull me off, yelling loudly: “Chloe! Have you lost your mind?! Let go!” I ignored her. I viciously attacked Mia’s most vulnerable spots. Still not satisfied, I used my long, sharp nails to claw directly at her face. My sharp nails quickly drew blood, leaving deep scratches across her cheeks. “Rebellion! This is utter rebellion!” My dad clutched his chest in fury. Ignoring everything, I grabbed the pruning shears from the flower arrangement on the table and started frantically hacking off Mia’s long hair. “AHHHH! Let go of me! Chloe, are you crazy?! “Mom, Dad, help me!” I don’t know how much time passed, but I finally felt like I had beaten her enough. I stopped, panting heavily. “Chloe! You’re a maniac! “I’m going to kill you!” Mia shrieked, her eyes bloodshot, staring at her mangled, chopped-up hair. My mom held her back, looking at me with fearful wariness. I elegantly smoothed out my dress and offered my usual, faint smile. “Weren’t you asking where I went? “Your precious, perfect daughter drugged me and tried to have me delivered to Jason Zhou’s bed. “Don’t tell me you two actually tacitly approved of this?” I looked at my parents. My mom’s eyes went wide: “What nonsense are you talking about?! “How could we ever do something like that?!” I continued: “Don’t think I couldn’t tell. Dad, you were intentionally trying to set me up with Jason Zhou tonight. “Do you despise me that much? Packing me up and delivering me straight to some guy’s bed?” Hearing my words, my dad’s frown deepened: “We did have the intention of arranging a marriage with the Zhou family, but we wouldn’t stoop so low as to do something like that.” Mia tried desperately to act calm: “You’re saying I did it. Do you have any proof?” “Of course I do. Money makes the world go round, don’t you know? “That server told me absolutely everything.” Mia immediately denied it: “Impossible! I wasn’t the one who hired him!”

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To afford the expensive rut-suppressant injections for him, I worked multiple part-time jobs day and night, never daring to take a day off even when I was sick. Until one day, I overheard the truth. “Elias ordered a $230,000 bottle of wine, and she’s literally killing herself working for a $2,300 injection.” “Haha, poor people are so cheap. You just feed them a few lies and they hand over their entire heart.” “Just don’t take the joke too far. If your Master finds out, it won’t end well for you.” That was when I finally understood. To him, I was nothing more than an entertaining game to kill time. It wouldn’t be long before he kicked me to the curb. But what he didn’t know was that my billionaire father had just found me. In three days. I was going to leave this place and step into my life as a wealthy heiress. 1. Elias was an Incubus I found abandoned in the pouring rain. At the time, he could barely maintain his human form. He was covered in mud, his golden curly hair plastered to his back by the rain, and his eyes were clouded with a hazy, mesmerized red. He was breathtakingly beautiful. I was completely captivated. By the time I snapped back to reality, I had already carried him back to my tiny, unfurnished apartment. I agonized over the decision. I could barely afford to feed myself, let alone an Incubus. But looking at Elias’s pitiful face, I hardened my heart and decided to keep him. I kept him for five years. However, he continually delayed signing a formal Master-Servant contract with me. I always thought it was because Elias wasn’t ready. I never expected that I wasn’t his only Master. Walking past a private VIP room at the club where I worked, I saw a familiar silhouette. My footsteps faltered as someone inside spoke. “Haven’t you had enough fun yet? The Master is coming back soon. Make sure you get rid of her before then.” Elias pulled a cigarette from a pack and replied lazily. “She treats me pretty well, she’s just too poor.” “The apartment she rents is tiny, like a birdcage, and the soundproofing is garbage. I can never get a good night’s sleep; it’s so annoying.” “Sometimes in the middle of the night, you can literally hear the neighbors going at it.” Hearing that incredibly familiar voice, I froze in place. I stared at him in absolute disbelief. Shouldn’t he be at home? Why was he here…? I couldn’t help but stop, desperate to see clearly if the man inside was actually Elias. After some teasing laughter, someone mocked. “What kind of romance can poor people possibly offer?” “Does she know that the single bottle of wine you just ordered costs $230,000?” “If you really can’t bear to let her go, just keep her as a secret pet on the side.” “These poor girls are easy to break.” A quick rebuttal followed. “How is that possible? Are you saying Elias actually caught feelings?” “Man, you don’t even know. That woman works herself to death day and night just to buy him a $2,300 injection, and Elias doesn’t feel a shred of pity for her.” “Besides, it was always just a game anyway. Hahahaha, poor people are so incredibly cheap. Just feed them a few lies and they hand over their entire heart.” “Right, Elias?” My grip on the serving tray tightened violently. My entire body went rigid. It was him. “Yeah.” Elias gave a muffled, indifferent agreement. “The Master is flying back in half a month. Give it another seven days. Seven days is plenty of time to get rid of her.” “What if she clings to you? I mean, you spent so much of her money. Poor people will literally fight to the death over money.” “Does she have the ability to cling?” Elias’s voice suddenly turned freezing cold. “I’ll just throw some cash at her to make her go away.” “Don’t worry, Mia is very obedient to me. She won’t make a scene; she’ll just cry.” “If she really refuses to listen, I’ll just pull a disappearing act.” The laughter inside morphed into flying daggers, stabbing directly into my heart. The pain was so intense that tears streamed down my face. So, Elias was never a stray Incubus. He had a Master, and his Master was incredibly wealthy. These past five years with me were nothing more than a game to cure his boredom. It wouldn’t be long before he abandoned me. That night of “salvation” in the pouring rain had ultimately just been my own delusional fantasy. I desperately wanted to storm in and confront Elias. To demand why he lied to me. But the moment he turned his head toward the door, I turned and fled. 2. It was midnight by the time I got home. The second I opened the door, Elias’s clear, bright voice called out. “You’re home?” He was wearing a strawberry-print apron, walking out of the kitchen, his hands still wet from washing. “Late-night snack will be ready in a minute! I made your favorite spicy noodle soup, with extra lettuce.” I forced a stiff smile and gave a soft “Mm.” After changing into my pajamas, I sat at the dining table, my mind a chaotic mess. In this world, an Incubus holds a very low status, equivalent to a human’s pet. They can be kept in captivity, beaten or killed on a whim, or even served as food on a dining table. When I first took Elias in, I was still a student. My roommates couldn’t understand why I would want to keep an Incubus. “Incubi are dark, degraded creatures. Their brains are only wired for lust and manipulation; they don’t understand actual love.” “Mia, haven’t you watched the news? So many pet Incubi secretly run away, and the brutal ones even eat their Masters alive. You’re inviting a wolf into your home.” “You should just sell him quickly. An Incubus in rut tastes better and sells for a much higher price.” I didn’t listen to a single word they said. Instead, I used my meager allowance to rent a basement apartment for him to live in. They didn’t understand. I was an orphan. I desperately craved a family. I craved companionship. Thinking of Elias’s gentle, obedient smile, I felt that keeping him for the rest of my life would be a wonderful thing. At the very least, he belonged to me. I didn’t care about his low status; in fact, it made me feel safer. He was an Incubus. We could form a contract. Once I became his Master, he would stay by my side forever. That dark, damp basement became the only thing I looked forward to during that time in my life. Later, when I secured a stable job, Elias and I moved out of the basement. We currently rented a standard one-bedroom apartment. On the 18th floor. It was small, but it was incredibly cozy. We lived a very ordinary, but very happy life. Except… the place I considered our home was nothing but a “birdcage” to Elias. And all the tenderness and love he showed me was completely fake. “Here it is! Here it is!” Elias was beaming as he brought over the spicy noodle soup. He plopped down in the chair across from me, resting his chin on his hands, blinking his large, beautiful eyes at me. Every night when I got off work, he would cook me a late-night snack and keep me company while I ate. This was usually the most relaxing and joyful part of my day. But today, every second felt like agonizing torture. The table fell silent. Elias spoke softly. “Mia, I feel like… we might not be a good match…” I knew exactly what Elias was going to say next. Perhaps clinging to the very last shred of my dignity, I cut him off. “You want to break up, right?” “Okay.” He looked slightly stunned and asked, “How did you know?” I looked at his face, bitter tears involuntarily slipping from the corners of my eyes. “Stop pretending, Elias. Is lying to me really that fun?” I opened my bag, pulled out a thick stack of printed documents, and slammed them onto the table. After discovering he was lying to me, I spent every last cent of my savings to hire an investigator to dig into Elias’s background. When the file was sent to me, I finally learned that the gentle, considerate man who had been by my side for five years was actually the contracted Incubus of Chloe, a prodigious teenage pianist. They had attended a high-society gala together. Amidst the clinking glasses and flashing lights, Elias’s eyes were entirely focused on the radiant young girl, his expression filled with absolute tenderness and adoration. “Elias, you lied to me for five whole years.” “You played the pathetic victim in front of me, telling me you were persecuted, abandoned, and chased away. But in reality, you already had a Master. You lived a life of absolute luxury. You never actually suffered at all, did you? Everything you told me was a complete fabrication!” “What an incredible performance… For five years, I didn’t notice a single flaw!” Elias’s expression shattered into pure panic. Under the massive emotional surge, he lost control of his human form; his pointed ears, wings, and tail suddenly materialized. My eyes were bloodshot as I stared at him with pure hatred. “The rut-suppressant injections cost $2,300 each. Every single month, I worked myself half to death just to earn enough money to buy them for you. And you? How did that $230,000 bottle of wine taste?!” “Elias! You played me for an absolute fool! Was it fun?!” I violently stood up and flipped the dining table. The spicy noodle soup crashed to the floor, the pungent smell instantly filling the room. Elias fell silent. His face was unreadable, but his thick, fleshy tail twitched anxiously behind him. “You know everything?” “…I’ll pay you back double for all the money you spent over the years, I…” “No need.” I raised my hand and violently swatted his tail away, my voice dripping with absolute disgust. “Taking money from a degraded creature like you makes me physically sick.” “Elias, my roommates were absolutely right. All Incubi are nothing but calculating, degraded creatures. You don’t have hearts! And you will never understand love.” “If I had known, I should have sold you the very first time I laid eyes on you.” Elias’s face instantly drained of all color. He swayed on his feet, looking like he was about to collapse. I grabbed my bag from the chair, opened the front door, and walked out. After leaving, I had no idea where to go. I wandered aimlessly along the side of the road. The winter night was freezing. Eventually, I just found a random 24-hour karaoke place. I sang, I cried, and I drank, aggressively purging all my emotions. When I was too exhausted to cry anymore, I just lay down on the sofa and slept. 3. At 5 AM the next day, the karaoke place closed. I wrapped my heavy coat tightly around myself and left. After thinking it over, I decided to go back to the apartment. Aside from that rental, I truly had nowhere else to go. Besides, I was the one who signed the lease and paid the rent. Why should I be the one to leave? If anyone was leaving, it should be Elias. On the walk back, I noticed someone had sent me over twenty consecutive text messages. I opened the chat. It was a DNA paternity test report. A while ago, a group of very intense people had tracked me down, claiming I might be the long-lost daughter of the billionaire Arthur Sterling, and demanding I go to the hospital with them for a DNA test. Terrified it was some elaborate new human trafficking scheme, I firmly refused. But Arthur’s head butler, Mr. Thorne, was incredibly persistent. He had medical staff stake out my apartment building for a very long time. Eventually, just to get them to leave me alone, I gave them a saliva swab, a nail clipping, and a few hair follicles. And now… it was actually true. Mr. Thorne immediately offered to come pick me up and take me home. I paused for a moment. “Give me three days. I have some things I need to take care of first.” The situation with Elias wasn’t fully resolved yet. I am someone who draws very clear lines between love and hate. If it started clearly, it needs to end decisively. I still owed Elias one final, definitive goodbye. After today. He will go back to being a rich girl’s pet. And I will go live my life as a billionaire heiress. After this parting, our paths will never cross again in this lifetime. 4. I didn’t even make it back up to the apartment. In the courtyard of the complex, I ran straight into Elias. He was following closely behind a woman, desperately whining and apologizing. “Master… I was wrong, Master. You were abroad for so long, and I was so bored, I just wanted to find a cheap distraction to play with for a bit…” “Please don’t ignore me. I know I made a mistake. But don’t worry, she didn’t taint me. You are the only Master in my heart…” My heart felt like it was pierced by needles. Taint? Elias actually used that word to describe me. I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms, and forced myself to keep walking forward as if nothing was wrong. As we brushed past each other, the woman with the red lips and voluminous, wavy hair tilted her head and glanced at me. “Stop.” She called out to me. “Are you the woman who took care of Elias’s rut cycles?” “Rolling around with an Incubus… doesn’t that make you feel degraded? You have terrible taste.” Elias’s face went completely pale. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around to face her. But before I could speak, she slapped me hard across the face. “Ah—” A short, sharp cry escaped my lips before my right cheek started burning and throbbing. I looked up in absolute disbelief. “Why did you hit me?!” Chloe glared at me, her eyes vicious and ruthless. “I hit you because you deserve it. Did you not know he is MY Incubus?” “You dare touch my property? Do you have a death wish?” I couldn’t hold back my retort. “How was I supposed to know he had a Master?!” “That’s a lie!” Elias suddenly shouted loudly. “Master, it was all her fault! She seduced me! You know how it is… my status is so low, no one ever looks twice at me.” “I never intended to betray you, Master! I told her from the very beginning, but she was easy and only cared about pleasure, and I was temporarily blinded by her…” “That was a great slap, Master. Does your hand hurt? Let me blow on it for you.” My mind went completely blank. I stared fixedly at Elias. That face, which had been so incredibly familiar to me, suddenly looked like a complete stranger’s. He seemed terrified of Chloe. His entire body was trembling. Suddenly, Elias looked at me with pleading eyes and gave a microscopic shake of his head. I understood exactly what he meant. I lowered my eyes and stood up straight. I said coldly, “Elias, we are completely done.” With that, I turned and walked away, my steps growing faster and faster as the tears finally began to fall. The sorrow hit me like a massive tidal wave, dragging me down into an endless, suffocating darkness. If I hadn’t experienced these events firsthand, I never would have believed that the boyfriend I had shared a bed with for five years possessed an entirely different, horrific persona. All the sweetness and happiness of the past had mutated into sharp blades, violently slicing into my heart. It turns out that love can be entirely fabricated. And acted out with terrifying realism. I was such an idiot. I believed Elias’s lies so easily. When I finally got back to the apartment, I sat numbly on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out the window. Allowing myself to be completely consumed by the grief. 5. Mr. Thorne arrived exactly on schedule. Outside the gates of the apartment complex, a massive, understated but incredibly luxurious black Rolls-Royce was parked by the curb. Standing next to the car was a middle-aged man wearing a traditional, pale blue tunic, his face radiating an elegant, scholarly aura. The moment he saw me, his eyes turned completely red, and his hands trembled as he reached out to me. A strong scent of sandalwood washed over me, and then I was pulled into his arms, my cheek pressed tightly against his chest. A bizarre, unfamiliar feeling bloomed inside me. Is this… what having a father feels like? For the entire drive, I kept sneaking glances at him, unable to believe that the father figure I had been missing for over twenty years had suddenly, miraculously materialized. The wealth of the Sterling family was far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. The opulently decorated, gilded mansion felt like stepping into an actual royal palace. Sunlight streamed through the intricate carved-wood window frames, illuminating the priceless rugs. Every step felt like walking on clouds. For the next few hours, my father personally gave me a grand tour to help me get acquainted with the estate. After two whole hours, we had only managed to cover a small fraction of the Sterling manor. Mr. Thorne escorted me back to my new bedroom. “Miss, please make yourself completely at home. This will be your home from now on.” I nodded absently, feeling incredibly light and completely detached from reality. Shortly after, he had a massive pile of brand new electronic devices delivered to my room. I picked out a phone that felt comfortable in my hand and inserted my old SIM card. The moment the phone booted up, a call came through. “Hello?” “Mia, I accidentally took your ID card when I left.” Hearing Elias’s voice, my expression instantly darkened. After a two-second pause, he continued. “It must be really inconvenient not having your ID, right? When do you want to come get it?” Incubi in this world aren’t issued government ID cards, so Elias was always fascinated by mine. He liked to keep it in his wallet, carrying it with him everywhere, and would often pull it out just to play with it when he was bored. I thought it was just a cute, weird way of showing he loved me, so I let him. But now that we were broken up, him keeping it was entirely inappropriate. “Keep it. You can just throw it in the trash. I’ll go get a replacement.” “I can bring it to you.” Elias said softly. “Mia… the other day, I really didn’t have a choice. You know my life and death are entirely in her hands.” “When we got back, she whipped me thirty times. It hurts so much. My back is completely shredded and covered in blood. Mia~ please, have a little pity on me.” I closed my eyes tightly. What exactly did Elias mean by ‘have a little pity’ on him? It meant exploiting my endless capacity for forgiveness. It meant exploiting the grueling, backbreaking labor I endured to buy him those injections every single month. It meant exploiting the fact that for all those years, I lived as frugally as possible just to give him the absolute best of everything. And what did I get in return? I was stripped of my money, my heart, and my dignity. I must look like an absolute clown. My emotions boiled over. Suppressing the raging storm in my chest, I delivered my most venomous response. “Then why didn’t she just beat you to death?” “What right does a disloyal, lying, manipulative Incubus like you have to even exist in this world? You deserve every single lash.” “Elias, you make me physically sick.” I cursed him with the most vicious, hateful words I could find. The other end of the line went dead silent. After a very long pause, he finally asked, his voice raw and hoarse: “Do you really hate me that much?” “Hate you? Of course I hate you. I wish you were dead.” “Do not ever show your face in front of me again. If you do, I won’t be able to stop myself from slapping you.” With that, I hung up the phone and blocked his number entirely.

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1 At eight months pregnant, I was pushed from the second floor. The bleeding wouldn’t stop. Liam acted like a madman, rushing me to the hospital and calling in top specialists for the surgery. Thankfully, the baby was saved. When I woke up, neither my baby nor Liam was anywhere to be seen. I struggled to get out of bed, limping out of the room to find them. But outside the morgue, I overheard a conversation between Liam and the doctor. “Mr. Sterling, the baby was clearly still breathing! Why did you suffocate him? That’s your own flesh and blood!” “Better to die early and be reincarnated. He never should have been born in the first place.” “Chloe just gave birth to my son yesterday. I promised her that our child will be the sole heir to the Sterling family. I absolutely will not allow anyone else to compete with him for the inheritance.” It turned out that my happy family was nothing but a delusion I maintained all by myself. The marriage I was so proud of was nothing more than a freezing hell. Since that was the case, all I had to do was leave. … The doctor looked hesitant: “But you plan to use Chloe’s child to deceive your wife. What if she finds out?” “Newborns all look the same. She won’t notice. I’ll bring him over in a minute.” “Clean up the body. And give me that new drug your hospital has—the one that causes permanent sterilization in women. I’m going to feed it to Nora.” The doctor was horrified, speaking urgently: “Mr. Sterling, to bring Chloe’s child into your home, you’ve already killed your wife’s baby. Why do you also have to sterilize her? Isn’t that too cruel?” The chill from the morgue seeped into the hallway, but Liam’s words were even more chilling: “I promised Chloe that our child would never suffer the slightest grievance in his life. He will never have any siblings competing for his father’s favor. Even though she’s married to someone else now, I have to give her peace of mind.” The doctor looked sympathetic: “Mr. Sterling, I must remind you, that drug was only recently developed. It hasn’t even entered clinical trials, and the side effects are severe. Do you really have the heart to do this?” Liam paused for a moment, then sighed: “I have no choice. Nora will be waking up soon. If we perform a hysterectomy now, she’ll definitely get suspicious.” “She’ll just have to endure the side effects. I’ll compensate her well in the future, but I absolutely cannot allow Nora to ever have the possibility of getting pregnant again.” As soon as he finished speaking, Liam’s phone rang. He put it on speaker, and a man’s excited voice echoed through the morgue: “Mr. Sterling, I received the five million. Don’t worry, I’m leaving the city right now. The Mrs. will never find out that you ordered me to push her down the stairs, hehe.” Footsteps approached from inside the room. Ignoring the pain in my leg, I stumbled and scrambled back to my hospital room. Thinking of my baby’s tiny body lying in the morgue, I clutched my chest tightly. Tears fell onto my bandaged leg. So, being pushed down the stairs at the mall wasn’t an accident. It was my loving husband, clearing obstacles for the woman he loved and their child. My baby hadn’t been saved. He had been suffocated to death by his own father. In Liam’s eyes, my son and I were nothing but stumbling blocks. “Nora, you’re awake?” Liam walked in holding a baby, sitting down by the bed with a bright smile. “Look at our baby. Doesn’t he look exactly like us?” “Wife, thank you for giving me such an adorable son. I promise I’ll be a good father.” I looked at the baby sleeping peacefully in his arms, a sharp pain piercing my heart. Liam was wrong. No mother could ever misidentify her own child. The baby’s brow and eyes resembled Liam’s, but the nose and chin were practically copied and pasted from Chloe’s face. This was their child. And my baby was nothing but a cold corpse right now. “Nora, does your leg still hurt? Here, take some painkillers.” The concern and gentleness in his eyes were the same as always, but it was all just a facade to paralyze me. I looked at the pills in his hand, remembering the conversation I had just overheard. “Liam, the pills are too bitter. Can I take them later?” You’ve already killed one of my children. Can’t you at least leave me the right to be a mother? Liam hesitated for only a second before smiling and stroking my hair: “You’re a mother now, why are you acting like a child? You’ve suffered so much giving birth, and your leg is hurting. My heart aches so much I won’t be able to sleep all night. Nora, just take pity on your husband, okay? I still have to be a good dad to our baby.” “I added honey to the water, it’s very sweet. Come on, let me feed you.” No, that’s not my baby. That’s yours and Chloe’s! Liam held the pills to my lips, leaving me no room to refuse again. My blood ran cold. I closed my eyes and swallowed the pills dry, refusing the honey water. I didn’t want his hypocritical sweetness! The drug took effect quickly. My lower abdomen felt like it was burning with hellfire, as if someone were carving me open with a knife. Blood began to seep from between my legs. “Nora, what’s wrong?!” Liam called for the doctor. I passed out from the excruciating pain. In my hazy consciousness, I heard the doctor say: “Mr. Sterling, your wife’s entire uterus has been corroded away. She will never be able to have children again.” Liam let out a long sigh of relief. When I opened my eyes again, his eyes were red, and he looked at me with profound heartbreak: “Nora, the doctor said you suffered a sudden, massive postpartum hemorrhage. You’ll never be able to have children again.” “Don’t be sad. Thank God we already have Andy. When he grows up, he’ll definitely be a dutiful son to you.” Andy? He had already picked a name for Chloe’s child this fast? Liam refused to let the nurses wipe me down. Ignoring his usual germaphobia, he personally fetched warm water and cleaned the blood off my body. He told me his mother wanted to see her eldest grandson, so she had already taken the baby home. By the time he finished, it was late at night. I looked at his slightly exhausted face and forced a weak smile: “I’m fine. You’ve had a long day, get some rest.” Liam kissed my forehead: “Okay. Wake me if you need anything. Tomorrow I’ll take you to pick up Andy, and our family of three will live happily ever after.” After he fell asleep, I quietly picked up his phone. To show his “loyalty” to me, Liam never kept a passcode on his phone. But I had never known that he had set up a dual operating system. And the password to switch systems… was Chloe’s birthday. 2 As the system switched, the wallpaper changed to a college photo of him and Chloe. There was only one person in his WeChat contacts: Chloe. When I opened the chat, a photo of Chloe holding the baby pierced my eyes. “Liam, look how handsome our baby is. He’s going to grow up to be just as handsome as you.” That baby was identical to the one Liam had brought to me earlier tonight. The further I scrolled up, the colder my heart became. During the eight months of my pregnancy, Liam was constantly “away on business trips.” The days he actually spent with me could be counted on two hands. I didn’t want to interfere with his work, so I silently endured the miseries of morning sickness and traveled back and forth to the hospital for checkups alone. Only now did I realize that his so-called “business trips” were nothing more than excuses to accompany Chloe through her pregnancy. Tens of thousands of photos documented everything from Chloe’s pregnancy to her delivery. Liam personally cooked nutritious meals for her every day, walked with her, shopped with her, and even cupped his hands to catch her vomit when she had morning sickness. He never left her side during any of her prenatal checkups. His deep, affectionate gaze looked at her as if she were a priceless treasure. I had begged Liam many times to help me pick a name for our baby. He would always take a long time to reply: “Nora, a name is just a label. Pick whatever you want. I’m busy. We’ll talk about it after he’s born.” Yet, the moment Chloe got pregnant, Liam had already brainstormed hundreds of names for her baby. “Chloe, how about we name our baby Felix? It means a bright future.” “Or maybe Arthur? Intelligent and destined for greatness.” “Never mind. Let’s just call him Andy. I don’t need him to be extraordinary. I just want him to be safe, healthy, and live a long life.” After every checkup, he would buy Chloe a gift—either extravagant jewelry or a limited-edition sports car. “Our Chloe safely passed another checkup. We have to celebrate.” He even bought her a European castle to celebrate a smooth delivery. And all I ever got was a single sentence: “Nora, you’ve worked hard. I have a meeting.” It turns out the difference between being loved and unloved is that glaringly obvious. Heartbroken, I put his phone down and bought a plane ticket out of the country for three days later. I got back into bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. Filled with absolute desolation, I didn’t sleep a wink all night. The next day, Liam, just like always, had his assistant buy a nutritious meal specifically for me. In the past, I was always touched by his thoughtfulness, believing he cared about my diet even when he wasn’t around. But remembering the photos of him wearing an apron, bustling around the kitchen for Chloe, I finally understood that this was just a perfunctory gesture. Money is worthless when there’s no genuine heart behind it. Seeing that I hadn’t taken a single bite, Liam looked a bit pained: “Nora, why aren’t you eating? Does it taste bad?” “It’s nothing. I just miss the baby.” Liam smiled: “Oh, so you miss Andy. I miss him too. I didn’t understand it before, but now that I’m a dad, I realize I don’t want to be apart from him for even a second. Our Andy really is the cutest baby in the world.” “Mom is absolutely thrilled to have her eldest grandson. She’s celebrating at the main estate right now. We’ll go pick Andy up in a bit.” I didn’t say anything. I had already decided to leave anyway; he could do whatever he wanted. When we arrived at the main estate, the first thing I saw was my mother-in-law and Chloe holding Andy, playing with him. Chloe was dressed head-to-toe in limited-edition haute couture, glowing with vitality, showing absolutely no signs of postpartum fatigue. My mother-in-law was doting on the baby while simultaneously feeding Chloe bird’s nest soup. Truly top-tier treatment. Seeing me, Chloe spoke to my mother-in-law with feigned innocence: “Auntie, please don’t be so good to me. People will think I’m your daughter-in-law. Nora might get jealous. She’s weak right now, you should give this bird’s nest to her.” My mother-in-law followed her gaze and looked at me. Seeing that I was still wearing the blood-stained clothes from the day of my accident, she looked disgusted: “Is my son starving you or something? Wearing such unlucky clothes… are you intentionally trying to embarrass our family? Look at Chloe! She also just had a baby, and she’s doing so much better than you. You’re just overly dramatic.” “You couldn’t just sit still. Running around while heavily pregnant—it’s a wonder you didn’t fall to your death. And you have the nerve to play the victim here? Thank goodness my precious grandson is fine, otherwise I’d make Liam divorce you immediately.” “You knew you were breastfeeding, yet you carelessly took medication! If Chloe hadn’t been here to help nurse him, my grandson would have starved to death because of you, you bad omen! I’m announcing right now that I’m taking Chloe as my goddaughter. From now on, just like Liam, she will call me Mom.” I knew my mother-in-law never liked me. She thought I wasn’t good enough for Liam, that I was far inferior to Chloe—his beautiful, sweet-talking childhood sweetheart who always knew how to make her happy. It wasn’t until Chloe married someone abroad and I got pregnant that she finally, reluctantly, accepted me as her daughter-in-law for the sake of the child. But whenever we met, her sarcastic remarks and mocking tone were never far behind. In the past, Liam would always defend me. Not to mention, the day we went to the mall, he was the one who insisted I go, saying he wanted to buy gifts for our unborn baby. But now, his eyes were glued to Chloe, filled with unconcealed tenderness. Holding Andy, Chloe walked over to him, playfully hooking her arm through his: “Liam, did you hear that? Auntie just took me in as her goddaughter. My dear big brother, did you prepare a welcome gift for your little sister?” Liam pinched her cheek with a mix of indulgence and helpless affection: “You little troublemaker. You’re not allowed to call me brother.” He said that, but immediately ordered his staff to bring in 92 limited-edition, luxury mink coats, fully accessorized with matching jewelry. “I know you love fashion, but you’re still recovering from childbirth. You can’t catch a chill. Winter lasts for three months, exactly 92 days. A different coat for every day.” 3 Chloe happily kissed Liam on the cheek, acting like a coquettish young girl. “Wow! Some of these are unreleased designs for the next three years, and they’re all limited editions! You actually managed to get them in advance! Liam, you really do spoil me.” “But you’re giving me all these gifts… won’t Nora be angry?” Compared to these glamorous, incredibly expensive mink coats, my blood-stained clothes made me look even more like a pathetic clown. Liam froze, seemingly just remembering that I was still standing there. He said awkwardly: “Nora, it’s not what you think. Chloe is used to living abroad. You know, their etiquette is a bit more open there.” “And about these clothes… I heard she also just had a baby, and her husband isn’t around. We did grow up together, after all. I just wanted to…” Before he could finish, Andy suddenly started crying. Chloe gasped in surprise: “Oh no, is Andy hungry again? Mommy will take you upstairs right now to feed you.” She then turned to me, offering a falsely apologetic look: “Nora, please don’t misunderstand! I’m just so used to soothing my own baby. Plus, every time I say it like this, Andy gets so happy.” She turned to walk upstairs with the baby, but suddenly swayed, falling into Liam’s arms, her voice weak: “Liam, I feel a little dizzy…” Liam immediately pushed me aside, anxiously catching Chloe, his face full of panic: “What’s wrong? It must be postpartum weakness. I told you to stay and rest at the recovery center! Come on, I’ll carry you upstairs.” My right leg was still heavily bandaged. Shoved by him, I collapsed onto the floor, a sharp, piercing pain shooting up my leg. But Liam didn’t even glance at me. In front of everyone, he scooped Chloe up in a princess carry and rushed upstairs, taking Andy with them. Everyone looked at me with mockery, their voices dripping with disdain and disgust: “No wonder Liam spoils Chloe so much. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s so kindhearted. Willing to nurse someone else’s baby. Not like this useless piece of trash. Not only is she shabby and unpresentable, but she can’t even handle a little leg pain! She actually took medication while breastfeeding. Selfish bitch.” “Does someone like this even deserve to be a mother? I think Chloe acts more like Andy’s mom, and she loves him more, too. Andy even looks a bit like Chloe. The baby probably finds Nora embarrassing too and doesn’t want to look like her. Chloe and Liam are such a perfect match. It’s a real shame they didn’t get married.” Instead of defending me, my mother-in-law looked at me with even more disgust and scolded: “Why are you still crawling on the floor like a dog?! If you want to beg for food, get out and beg on the streets! Our family doesn’t feed pathetic, useless women like you.” “You don’t care about your own son, and you can’t keep your husband’s heart. I heard you can never have children again? My son marrying a wife like you is the biggest misfortune of eight lifetimes! Get out of my sight! Every time I look at you, it takes ten years off my life.” Humiliation flooded my heart. Thinking of the divorce agreement already saved on my phone, I said nothing. I struggled to my feet and limped upstairs toward the study. I put the printed divorce agreement into my bag and went to the guest room to find Liam. But they weren’t in the guest room. There was only the maternity nurse, holding a well-fed Andy, resting. I was confused, until I heard ambiguous, unmistakable sounds coming from what used to be Liam’s and my master bedroom. The door wasn’t fully closed. Chloe was straddling Liam, her blouse completely open, her voice seductive: “Liam, I have too much milk. Andy eats so little, I’m so engorged.” “I feel so uncomfortable… help me suck it out, please~” Liam hesitated: “Chloe, don’t do this. You just gave birth two days ago; your body can’t handle it. You already took such a huge risk hiding this from your husband to have my baby, I can’t hurt you anymore…” Chloe pressed his head down: “Silly Liam, I’m not afraid, what are you afraid of? Having your child was my own choice. He’s always away on business; he has no idea. Come on… don’t you want to taste what it’s like to fight a bloody battle?” Unable to hold back any longer, Liam opened his mouth and latched on. The sounds coming from inside grew increasingly obscene. My stomach churned with nausea. Unable to watch another second, I fled the estate like I was escaping a nightmare. It wasn’t until I breathed the fresh air outside that the suffocating feeling slightly lifted, but the tears wouldn’t stop falling. Liam, you knew I was right downstairs! How could you do something like that?! In OUR bedroom?! I sat despondently by the front door. I don’t know how much time passed when suddenly, a foul-smelling liquid was dumped over my head. Chloe suddenly appeared, smiling provocatively: “Nora, how does my son’s urine taste? Did Liam look good totally captivated by my body?” She had done it on purpose. She wanted me to see. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at you now. Your son is dead, you’re crippled in one leg… If I were you, I would have killed myself a long time ago. What’s the point of living?” “So what if you married Liam and got pregnant? In the end, didn’t he still suffocate your son to death to clear the path for me and my baby? And he even made sure you could never have another one.” “I even have a video of the exact moment your son died. Want to see how his little face turned from red to purple? It’s spectacular.” I stared dead at her phone screen, watching my baby slowly suffocate to death. My entire body trembled uncontrollably. How could she talk about murdering a child so callously?! I raised my hand high, ready to strike her, but Chloe suddenly pulled out a dagger and slashed her own chest hard. Blood soaked through her shirt. The dagger clattered to the floor, and she let out a piercing scream. The next second, someone shoved me violently to the ground. Liam gathered Chloe into his arms, turning to roar at me: “Nora, have you lost your fucking mind?!” 4 Before I could even speak, Chloe started sobbing pitifully: “Liam, I was worried Nora would be upset that I was nursing Andy. I came out to explain things to her, but she accused me of trying to steal her baby! She said she was going to cut my breasts off so I could never nurse a baby again!” “Waaah, I just felt so bad seeing Andy go hungry! I just love the baby! How could she do this to me?!” Liam looked at me, his face dark as a thundercloud: “It was your own clumsy fault you fell down the stairs and broke your leg! That’s why everything is a mess! Why are you taking it out on Chloe?!” “You’re an unfit mother! You took medication, so you can’t breastfeed! Chloe is trying to help you out of the goodness of her heart, what gives you the right to attack her?! If you don’t love your child, does that mean no one else is allowed to love him either?! Apologize to Chloe immediately!” I’m an unfit mother? I don’t love my child? Tears streamed down my face. I roared at him furiously: “I’m a bad mother?! What about you?! Do you have the guts to tell me exactly why I fell down those stairs?! Where is my real child?! And what exactly were those pills I took?!” Liam frowned: “Andy is sleeping perfectly fine in the nursery! And those pills were for your leg pain! You know all this!” “As for falling down the stairs, obviously you were careless! With so many people around, why would someone specifically push you? You’re useless, and you have the nerve to hurt Chloe?! You’re a mother yourself, how could you have the heart to hurt another mother?! Apologize to Chloe right now!” Right. With so many people around, why was I the only one who got pushed? Looking at his self-righteous, arrogant face, I suddenly burst out laughing. This was my husband. A complete, unredeemable liar. A murderer! I picked up the dagger from the floor and, using every ounce of strength I had, slashed my own chest over a dozen times, until blood soaked through my entire shirt. Liam was absolutely shocked: “Nora, what are you doing?! Stop it right now!” I dropped the dagger and looked at him calmly: “Liam, you’re right. I shouldn’t hurt another mother. So I am atoning to your true love. Is this sincere enough for you?” With that, I turned and walked away. Watching the trail of blood beneath my feet and my stumbling figure, Liam tried to come help me, but Chloe threw her arms around his neck. “Liam, it hurts so much. Can you take me to the hospital? We can’t let our Andy go hungry.” After a moment of internal struggle, Liam finally picked Chloe up and walked in the opposite direction. A few hours later, Liam called: “Nora, did you treat your wounds? Don’t worry, I had them use an ointment on Chloe that won’t affect her nursing. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that today.” “But the doctor said the medication you took makes it unsafe for you to breastfeed. Chloe has plenty of milk, and formula isn’t nutritious enough. Andy still needs her help. I’m taking care of her as a way of showing gratitude. Don’t overthink it.” I replied flatly: “I’m fine. Take good care of her. Don’t let the baby go hungry.” “I knew my wife was the most understanding. I’ve already spoken to my mom; she won’t bully you anymore.” “You gave the Sterling family a son; you are our greatest hero. The day after tomorrow, I’m throwing a celebration party for you to make up for today. Wait for me.” The local news broadcasted all night about how the CEO of the Sterling Group, enraged on behalf of his beloved, chartered helicopters overnight to fly in dozens of top national specialists just to treat a minor scratch. I pulled out some iodine and blood-clotting powder and simply bandaged my own wounds. The next day, Liam still hadn’t returned. I packed all my belongings and donated them to charity. The marriage certificate I had once cherished so deeply was torn into tiny pieces and thrown into the trash. At noon on the third day, Liam sent me a WeChat message: “Nora, I’m done with work. I’m heading to the hotel to check on the venue setup. I’ll have my assistant pick you up this afternoon.” In reality, he was holding Chloe’s hand, carrying Andy, and sweeping through all the major luxury jewelry boutiques in the mall. Basking in the envious gazes and blessings of all the sales associates. “Mr. Sterling is so devoted to his wife and child! My sales targets for the next twenty years have just been met! This family of three is absolutely gorgeous.” “But I heard Mr. Sterling booked the cheapest banquet package at the hotel today. Apparently, it’s a celebration for his wife having a baby.” “You must be mistaken! With how much Mr. Sterling spoils his wife, would he book something that cheap? Did you see the necklace Mrs. Sterling is wearing? Mr. Sterling bought it for her this morning. It costs enough to buy ten of those hotels.” And I watched all of this from the floor above, having just finished buying a suitcase. I didn’t reply to his message. I hired a local courier to deliver the divorce agreement and a few documents to the banquet venue later. After doing that, I put on my sunglasses and headed straight to the airport. A few hours later, Liam finally finished his shopping spree with Chloe and Andy and arrived at the hotel. But he was informed that I hadn’t shown up yet. Liam checked the time. It had been an hour since we were supposed to meet. He found it strange; I was never late for dates with him. Just as he was about to call me, his assistant ran over in a panic, holding a stack of documents: “Mr. Sterling, bad news! The Madam is gone! Someone just dropped these off!”

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My diary detailing my romance with my childhood sweetheart was found by the most popular girl in school. In a packed classroom, she read its contents aloud. [Mr. X looks so good in a white button-down. Not wearing one… looks even better.] The room erupted in roars of laughter. Everyone called me a delusional fangirl obsessed with Liam. But the truth was, Liam and I had been secretly dating for a year. Standing nearby, Liam looked at me with utter disgust. He told me to stop writing that garbage and disgusting his girlfriend. I was just about to step forward and confront him. When the next second. Someone pulled me into a tight embrace. The school’s most notoriously reckless bad boy suddenly appeared behind me. He glared fiercely at the popular girl. “Is Liam the only guy in this whole school whose name starts with an L?” “You stupid bitch, who gave you the right to read my girlfriend’s diary?” 1. Before I even walked into the classroom. I could hear the constant roars of laughter coming from inside. The school’s most popular girl, Chloe, was standing at the podium, holding a pink diary. She was reading its contents with exaggerated flair. [Today, Mr. L confessed his feelings to me. When he blushed and told me he liked me, it felt like a dream.] [Mr. L looks so good in a white button-down. Of course… not wearing one looks even better.] The class erupted in laughter. “Wearing a white button-down? This ‘Mr. L’ has to be Liam, right? Haha, Liam loves wearing white button-downs.” “So gross, I’m gonna throw up. Everyone knows Liam is Chloe’s boyfriend.” “Where did this delusional fangirl come from? A toad dreaming of swan meat.” Chloe ignored them and continued reading the next entry. [While Mr. L was sleeping, I secretly kissed him. Hehe, he won’t know, right?] The class laughed even louder. “Holy shit, that’s so creepy. Dreaming about kissing Liam? I’m literally gagging.” “I already threw up.” “Who exactly is having wet dreams about someone else’s boyfriend?” After the laughter died down, someone asked. “Chloe, whose diary is it?” 2. Chloe’s gaze cut through the crowd and landed right on me as I walked into the classroom. It was filled with mockery and provocation. But she quickly looked away. “Oh, stop asking. I just accidentally found someone’s diary. If I hadn’t seen ‘Mr. L’ written in it, I would never have been so rude as to read the contents.” “Reading other people’s private things is so wrong.” Someone chimed in to comfort her. “Chloe, you’re too nice. Someone is literally fantasizing about your boyfriend, and you’re still defending her.” “Why shouldn’t she read it? If you write something that disgusting, you obviously want people to see it.” “Just tell us who it is! I’m dying of curiosity. I want to make a PowerPoint out of her.” Just then. Liam, who had been silent the whole time, took the diary. He didn’t even glance at it. He threw it straight into the trash can. “If it’s disgusting, don’t read it. Reading garbage like this will only dirty your eyes.” He definitely recognized that notebook. It was the diary I bought with him at the bookstore right after we started dating. But even knowing it was mine. He still chose to stand behind Chloe. From beginning to end, he didn’t spare me a single glance. As if I, standing at the classroom door, was nothing but a stranger. Even though just a few days ago, he was holding me, whispering things that made me blush and my heart race. Now, it seemed. He was desperately trying to sever all ties with me. Suddenly, everything made sense. 3. I realized that Liam had started dating Chloe while still secretly dating me. When Chloe first transferred to our class. She was glamorous, outgoing, like a stunning rose. The boys swarmed around her, desperately trying to win her favor. Towards all of this. Liam always scoffed. “Trophy wife,” were the two words he initially used to describe Chloe. Later. I asked him privately why he didn’t like girls like Chloe. And instead liked a plain, boring girl like me. He affectionately tapped my nose. “Girls like that look like they play around a lot.” “Who knows how many guys she’s secretly dated. It’s disgusting. I would never like someone like her.” 4. Indeed, no one knew Liam and I were dating. A year ago. Liam said he wanted to keep things low-key. So we started a secret, underground relationship. And I had only just found out. The very first day he started dating Chloe, he made a highly public post on Instagram announcing their relationship. Of course, he blocked me from seeing that post. Up until this moment, I finally understood. A real relationship isn’t hidden away. If it’s hidden, it’s called an affair. 5. Chloe’s gaze swept the room again before landing on me. Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears, looking as if she were about to cry. Across the crowded classroom, she shouted at me. “I’m so sorry, Sarah. I accidentally found your diary. I had no idea you wrote… those kinds of things…” “I only opened it because I saw Liam’s initial. I’m so sorry.” An uproar swept through the classroom. Every single eye turned to me. “Holy crap, it’s Sarah? I never would have guessed.” “Yeah, she always looks so innocent. Who knew she was so dirty.” “Now that you mention it, I think she really does secretly buy a lot of the same stuff Liam wears.” “I heard she and Liam are neighbors, they’ve known each other since they were kids. Doesn’t that mean… she’s been creeping on him for a long time?” “Last time, someone saw Sarah and Liam walk into the alley north of the school, one after the other. Holy shit, Sarah was stalking him! So gross.” Mockery and accusations flew at me from all sides. I looked at Liam, who was standing to the side, watching with cold indifference. “Don’t you have anything you want to say?” 6. Liam frowned, shielding Chloe behind him, increasing the distance between us. “Sarah, if I’ve ever done anything to give you the wrong idea, I apologize.” “Even though we’ve known each other since childhood, I’ve always just seen you as a little sister.” “Please, stop writing that garbage. It upsets my girlfriend.” He paused to think for a moment, then continued. “I’ll say this one last time: I will never like you. The person I like has always been Chloe.” With that, he put his arm around Chloe. The two of them looked like the picture-perfect, devoted couple. As if I truly were the monster trying to destroy their beautiful romance. I was utterly, completely disappointed. My stomach churned with nausea. Just as I was about to take a step forward and confront him. Someone suddenly lunged from behind me. That person pulled me into a tight embrace. My back hit a solid, muscular chest. The person was tall, and smelled of a wonderful, woody pine scent. The crowd around us gasped in surprise. I turned my head. The person standing behind me was actually the notoriously unpredictable bad boy of our school, Lucas. 7. Standing behind me, Lucas smirked. His eyes were full of pure defiance. “Are you insane? Is Liam the only guy in this entire school whose name starts with an L?” Someone in the crowd gasped. “Oh my god, yeah… Lucas’s name starts with an L too.” Lucas finished speaking and glared at Chloe. “You stupid bitch, who gave you the right to read my girlfriend’s diary?” “Seems like you’re all very interested in my daily life with my girlfriend? What? Do you want to hide under our bed tonight and listen?” He shot a glance at Liam. Continuing his sarcastic tirade. “I didn’t see any delusional fangirls, but I definitely see a delusional fanboy right here. Sees the initial ‘L’ and instantly starts fantasizing that my girlfriend has a crush on him. I think you’re the one daydreaming, buddy. Take a piss and look at your own reflection, you pretentious prick.” Liam was rendered completely speechless. His eyes fell on Lucas’s hand resting on my waist. He bit his lip hard. It took a long time before he squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth. “When did you start dating him?” That question. I wasn’t sure if he was asking Lucas or me. But I answered first. “Whenever the first page of that diary was written, that’s when.” “So… the guy you wrote about secretly kissing… was him?” I nodded. “Yep. And now I don’t have to kiss him in secret anymore.” After I said that. Liam’s face grew even darker. A few minutes passed before he muttered. “Impossible. There’s no way you two are together.” 8. Lucas looked completely exasperated. “What? Do I need to prove it to you?” I secretly tugged at Lucas’s shirt. Signaling him to stop talking. Because I knew there was no way to prove it. If he kept talking, our cover would be blown. But he just rubbed my back comfortingly. Looking perfectly calm and collected. “Remember the first page you guys read earlier? Where Mr. L confessed his feelings?” With one arm around me, he reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a love letter. The letter was folded neatly. The handwriting was bold and messy. It was definitely Lucas’s handwriting. “See this? This is the exact letter I used to confess my feelings. Sarah said she wanted to keep it as a memento, so I never threw it away.” His tone suddenly shifted, his gaze turning sharp. “Or does Liam want to hear the contents of our love letter?” Liam’s fingernails dug into his palms until they turned red. “Impossible. Back then, she clearly…” Beside him, Chloe was completely confused. She whined, “Liam, clearly what? Did you really date Sarah?” Liam looked like a deflated balloon. “How is that possible? How could I ever have dated her?” “It was a misunderstanding on my part.” After saying that, he grabbed Chloe’s hand, ready to leave. “Stop right there.” Lucas raised a finger, pointing right at him. “Did I fucking say you could leave?” 9. Liam asked irritably, “What else do you want?” Lucas’s face was stone cold. “Apologize to my girlfriend.” Chloe let out an incredulous laugh. “Apologize? Yeah right. She wrote a vague diary entry about some ‘Mr. L,’ who the hell knows who that is.” “I found it by accident, a misunderstanding happened. What does that have to do with me?” Lucas shot back, “Did you ‘find’ it or did you steal it? Don’t you know the answer to that yourself?” Lucas pointed to the security camera on the ceiling. “If you don’t want this to blow up, apologize right now.” Lucas had a terrible reputation at our school. Rebellious, domineering, and his word was law. His family also had ties to the school board. If he said he could check the cameras, he wasn’t joking. Liam thought about it for a moment. He picked my diary out of the trash can. “Chloe didn’t mean it. Is this really necessary?” I looked at him coldly. “It’s absolutely necessary.” “Sarah, don’t push it.” Lucas stood protectively in front of me. “Say one more word about my girlfriend, I dare you.” Liam finally gritted his teeth. He bowed a full ninety degrees and apologized to me. “I’ve apologized. Now leave Chloe alone.” 10. In the deserted equipment room. I gently pushed Lucas away. “I’m sorry… I caused so much trouble for you. Thank you for getting me out of that.” Just now… to help me, he even lied along with me, taking some random love letter and claiming he wrote it for me. He really… was too kind. Not at all like the terrifying rumors made him out to be. Lucas was much taller than me. I didn’t dare look up at his face. Right in front of my eyes was his long neck and bobbing Adam’s apple. And that woody pine scent wrapped around me. Time seemed to freeze in that moment. I didn’t know why, but my heart suddenly started racing like a panicked rabbit. I just wanted to run away. “I… I’ll post on Instagram in a few days saying you dumped me, so people won’t keep misunderstanding our relationship.” “Anyway, thank you so much for today, and I’m so sorry I made you lie for me. I really caused a lot of trouble for you.” “Lie?” Lucas took a step forward. Pinning me into the corner. “I never lie.”

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1 Chloe and I sat side-by-side on the plush sofa, scrolling through our phones. Her finger suddenly froze on the screen. I leaned in to look. Oh boy. A well-known paparazzo had snapped a photo of her husband, Arthur Sterling, eating with the newly returned “white lotus,” Lily White. They were arm-in-arm, looking incredibly intimate. Lily White was the childhood crush of both Sterling brothers, and their families were close friends. Since we married into the family, she had only existed in the mouth of our sweet, naive mother-in-law. “Lily hasn’t called me, I miss her so much. “Which one of you will ask Lily when she’s coming back?” Lily this, Lily that, all day long. It gave both of us a complex. Chloe’s expression was dazed for a moment. But she quickly calmed down and asked me with a pained look: “I’m preparing to divorce. “Are you divorcing?” My interest level was at 10%. After all, I had been Chloe’s loyal follower since we were kids. She studied science, so I studied science. She went to Z University, so I tagged along to Z University. She married into the Sterling family, and I happily followed suit and married in too. But my husband hadn’t eaten with his childhood crush, so wouldn’t divorce be a bit excessive? Seeing my hesitation, she upped the ante. “Arthur’s salary card is with me; I can support you. “After we divorce, we’ll each get two male models and travel the world.” My interest level rose to 40%. Male models sounded pretty good, but just two… They might not even be as good as my husband, William Sterling. “Ten! Ten male models!” My interest level hit 80%. My eyes widened, and the word “Okay” was on the tip of my tongue, ready to blurt out at any moment. But the last shred of reason was still pulling me back. The phone’s notification chime dinged, and a conspicuous headline caught me off guard. 『New “White Lotus” Lily White Successfully Becomes the Annual Spokesperson for the Sterling Group! Signing Fee Could Reach Fifty Million!』 The accompanying picture was a photo of her cutting the ribbon with William Sterling. She was smiling beautifully, looking triumphant. And behind her, my dead husband was looking at her with deep, intense eyes. He had never looked at me with those eyes. Every time I joked with him or did something silly, he would look at me like I was an idiot and say: “Are you sick?” Thinking of this, I steeled my heart and said: “Divorce!” Chloe was overjoyed and immediately called a lawyer. She was very articulate when discussing property division matters. Hearing her say she wanted to split half of the Sterling family’s assets, my eyes went wide. How much money would that be… She was even bargaining with the lawyer on the other end of the phone, saying that handling two people’s lawsuits should get a 20% discount. That’s why Chloe is the big sister and I’m the little follower. Her brain just works better. I stared at my phone wallpaper, which was a wedding photo of me and William. I was still a bit reluctant. After all, besides giving me money, William also gave me a lot of happiness on a physical level… I spoke up weakly from the side: “Um… make sure to find male models who are good in bed.” Chloe turned to look at me, her expression instantly becoming stiff. I was still immersed in my beautiful fantasy and continued: “They must be better than William Sterling!” Chloe covered her mouth, looking like she wanted to scream, and pointed tremblingly behind me. Before I could turn my head, a familiar hand reached over. It grabbed the back of my neck and lifted me to his side like a little chicken. His voice was icy cold: “If I’m good in bed, why are you divorcing me?” 2 I turned my head mechanically and met William’s frosty face. He narrowed his eyes at Chloe, as if she had instigated me to divorce. “Sister-in-law,” he emphasized the two words heavily, “Arthur is on his way. You should think about how to explain this to him first.” Chloe was stunned and sat back down on the sofa to brainstorm. She had no time to attend to me, and she completely missed all the distress signals I was throwing at her. Where was our tacit understanding at the critical moment? Huh? I could only stare sheepishly at William’s well-defined side profile. Until he turned his head to look at me, his expression changing. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, but his voice was still cold: “It’s enough for one couple in our family to divorce. They can divorce, but we won’t.” I always felt that William’s voice was like a magic potion, bewitching me to nod. I nodded obediently, and all thoughts about divorce and male models flew out the window. The roar of a sports car came from outside. As soon as I heard it, I knew that Arthur, the show-off who loved playing with cars, was home. With a sharp screech of brakes, he pushed the door open in less than a minute. He must have just rushed back from the movie set, still wearing his period costume, looking exhausted. He glanced at us and called out, “Brother, sister-in-law.” William put his arm around me, gave a faint “hmm,” and said, “Your wife is instigating my wife to divorce. You figure it out yourself.” Arthur rushed straight over to Chloe. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his tone impatient: “Chloe, what are you making a fuss about again? “Last time you threatened divorce because I filmed a kissing scene, and I haven’t taken any kissing scenes since then. “The time before last was because my assistant gave me a handmade cake, and I fired her immediately. “What are you dissatisfied with this time?” Chloe sneered and threw her phone at him. “Look for yourself.” I was enjoying the gossip when William grabbed me and dragged me away. “Let’s not get involved in other people’s family matters.” So we’re not part of the Sterling family? I muttered in my heart, but physically, I obediently followed him. Sitting in the passenger seat, I asked him softly: “Why is Lily White the spokesperson?” She had just returned to the country, hadn’t debuted for long, and had very few notable works. Even if there was a movie star in the family, it would be better to avoid suspicion and not use her. But considering the countless popular female stars in the entertainment industry, it logically shouldn’t be her turn in eight lifetimes. “Mia, don’t mess around with Chloe. “Lily is just a younger sister I grew up with. I don’t have any other intentions.” No other intentions? What about the group photo of the two of you I found in the drawer when we first got married? At that time, I trembled and showed the photo to Chloe. She didn’t speak, returned to her room, and took out another photo. It turned out that this photo was originally taken by three people together. Lily White stood in the middle, smiling purely and sweetly. William cropped out the part with his brother on the right. Arthur cropped out the part with his brother on the left. This level of shared wavelength proved they were definitely biological brothers. I stopped talking, turned up the car music, and stared out the window in a daze. 3 William seemed terrified that I would contact Chloe. He took me to the company and watched me every step of the way. He even shoved paper and a pen at me during meetings, making me sit behind him and doodle. I had to admit, he was incredibly handsome when he worked. His eyes, framed by gold-rimmed glasses, stared intently at the screen. When he heard key points, he would speak up at the exact right moment, hitting the nail on the head. He didn’t have much of an expression, but occasionally he’d look back at me, as if saying: Is it boring? It’s almost over. But this meeting really dragged on forever, so long that I almost fell asleep. I was used to it. After all, he was the kind of guy who would rush back to the office on our wedding anniversary because of a subordinate’s mistake. Leaving me dazed on the top floor of the hotel with fresh flowers and cake. I had to call Chloe over, otherwise, that massive bed would have gone to waste. It wasn’t until the secretary knocked on the door and announced that Ms. White was here. “We’ll stop here for today. We’ll continue with the details tomorrow.” Only Lily White could snap him out of his workaholic state. I followed behind him and saw Lily White for the first time. I had looked her up online before. She was 25, her resume was spotless, and she had zero negative press. Even the fact that she was the heiress to the White family was kept secret from the media. She was clearly well-protected by her family. She was dressed in a white dress, looking exactly the same as in that 18-year-old photo. I suddenly understood why these two brothers couldn’t let her go. That clean, pure aura of hers was something no man could resist. She called out sweetly: “William, I didn’t disturb you, did I?” She completely ignored me, probably assuming I was just a secretary who didn’t matter. William said: “No, you came just in time.” He turned and instructed the secretary to take me back to the lounge. He also made sure to tell her to order some of my favorite desserts and fruit teas. He looked like the picture of a caring husband. But this caring husband never actually looked me in the eye from beginning to end. The AC in the lounge was turned up a bit too high, and the chill seeped straight into my heart. I looked at the dozen missed calls from Chloe on my phone and dialed her back. This time, I was the one who asked first: “Chloe, are you still divorcing?” The phone was silent for a few seconds before a firm voice replied: “Divorce.” 4 Chloe and I met at a bar and drank until we were dizzy. “Mia, do you know what that dog Arthur said? “He said Lily just returned to the country and asked him to introduce some resources, so he went to meet her. “What about me? I was making a name for myself in the entertainment industry too, and my talent was no worse than Lily’s. “But what did I get by marrying him? Constraints on showing my face in public, and a man whose heart isn’t even with me.” I whispered: “But you got money…” Chloe was an extravagant spender. Thankfully, the Sterling family’s wealth could withstand her shopping sprees. Hearing this, her hazy eyes lit up. She grabbed my hand, her tone as firm as if taking an oath: “Yes! I have money! There are only two sons in the Sterling family. The two of us will split half of their family fortune. What kind of men won’t we be able to find then?” Speaking of this, she suddenly remembered something and asked: “You and William didn’t sign a prenuptial agreement, did you?” We actually did. Before the wedding, in front of a lawyer, William pulled out an agreement for me to sign. At the time, I was so mesmerized by his face and body that I signed it without even reading it. Chloe gasped in horror when she heard this: “Then we can only split a quarter of the fortune!” I asked her: “How much is a quarter?” She counted on her fingers: “We can hire ten top-tier male models a day, different ones every day, until the day we die.” Me: “Hell yes!” We happily decided that once the lawyers drafted the divorce agreements, we would officially file. While waiting for the paperwork, it happened to be our mothers-in-law’s birthday. We still had to keep up appearances, so we dressed up and attended the banquet arm-in-arm, leaving the two brothers staring at each other. In previous years, we would always link arms with our respective husbands, accompanying them as they networked and socialized. Tonight, they were left flying solo. At first, Chloe and I both thought the mother-in-law was trying to put us two unsatisfactory daughters-in-law in our place. As it turned out, she genuinely just loved Lily White. Word was she had always wanted a daughter, but ended up with two boys. The neighbors were always busy, so she practically raised Lily, treating her like a princess. Chloe couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to pull me away. But Lily intentionally glanced over and asked: “I haven’t properly met my two sisters-in-law yet. Won’t Auntie introduce us?” Great. Now we couldn’t leave. She greeted us sweetly and complimented Chloe on her beauty. Duh, Chloe is drop-dead gorgeous. If she were still acting, Lily wouldn’t even have a career. When it was my turn, Lily looked me up and down and praised me for looking like I had a healthy appetite. …Wasn’t it just because I gained a few pounds recently and looked a bit rounder standing next to Chloe? Did she really need to be so passive-aggressive? I endured it, but Chloe wasn’t about to coddle her. “It’s my first time meeting you, too. Your aura is so pure and refined, like a lotus flower growing out of the mud untouched. “Paired with this white dress, it really makes you look like the ultimate white lotus, doesn’t it?” Our mother-in-law didn’t catch the sarcasm and nodded approvingly. Lily’s face turned red, then green, like a color palette. She didn’t talk back; instead, she swiftly walked over and inserted herself between the two brothers to chat. What a picture of harmony. Chloe and I exchanged a look, our resolve to divorce solidifying even further. There were many of Arthur’s investors at the banquet. Lily wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip by, shyly following behind him to network. Chloe scanned the room and whispered to me: “That Director Wu over there? He wanted me for his movie, but I was so blindly in love that I turned it down. “And President Wang? He offered to start a talent agency for me. Even after I quit acting, he still emails me asking me to come back. “Damn it, she’s snatching up all the opportunities I left behind. If I knew today was going to happen, I would’ve stayed in the entertainment industry.” She was so angry she looked like she might explode. The final straw was when Lily, completely disregarding the public setting, brushed a fallen eyelash off Arthur’s face. Unable to hold back a night’s worth of anger, Chloe found her moment and stomped her stiletto heel hard onto the train of Lily’s gown. Lily let out a cry of alarm, and as she looked down, a large chunk of her dress tore right off. Although nothing inappropriate was exposed, ruining a gown at an event like this was deeply humiliating. Arthur rushed over and grabbed Chloe, raising his voice: “Chloe! What are you doing? Why are you trying to embarrass her?” William also walked over and said to me: “Can you lend her a dress?” This was the very first thing either of them had said to us all night. I smiled and said: “Sure, you bought them all anyway. You decide.” He looked at me with an unreadable expression, finally waving a hand to have a maid take Lily upstairs to change. Chloe grabbed me, and we fled the Sterling estate. We got into the red sports car Arthur had bought her and floored it to 120 mph. When we finally stopped, she said: “Forget waiting for the agreement. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

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On Valentine’s Day, right in front of all his colleagues, my husband generously shared the story of our first time together. “Don’t let my wife’s quiet, demure look fool you. Back when she was chasing me, she went totally commando! “She was the one who got me drunk and dragged me into a hotel room with a king-size bed. Bet you guys didn’t expect that, huh? “A lot of my business deals are thanks to her bottomless tolerance for alcohol. You guys don’t believe me? Then try to outdrink her!” Arthur chuckled, pushing me forward to toast the clients, constantly praising how “supportive” and “virtuous” I was. After seeing the guests off, I accidentally overheard him bragging to his friend: “While we were dating, I trained my wife to be exactly what I wanted. This way, I don’t have to lift a finger in the future; she’ll just habitually serve me. “In psychology, they call this the ‘Dog Whistle’ effect.” It was only then that I realized: My love for Arthur Vance was nothing more than the dog whistle in his hand. 1 By the time Arthur returned from entertaining clients at a karaoke bar, it was already 2:00 AM. The living room lights were off. The dining table hadn’t been cleared, and a thick layer of grease had congealed over the pork rib soup. Arthur frowned: “How can you be so lazy that you didn’t even clear the table? What if someone comes over tomorrow morning? Aren’t you embarrassed?” He kicked off his leather shoes and instinctively held out his jacket. But no one rushed forward to take his jacket, which reeked of alcohol and cheap perfume. He looked toward the kitchen. On the kitchen counter, there wasn’t the usual bowl of perfectly warmed, stomach-soothing porridge waiting for him. Arthur froze for only a second before quickly walking toward the bedroom. Seeing the bedside lamp on and me sitting up in bed looking at my phone, Arthur frowned for the second time. He strode over to me and plopped down heavily. He spread his arms, waiting for me to untie his tie: “Wife, what is wrong with you today? You had a sour look on your face the whole time at the dinner table, and now you didn’t even make me a late-night snack. You scared the clients away. “But thankfully, your husband is capable. After hustling all day, I finally closed the deal. I’m exhausted. “Go make me a bowl of noodles, add an egg. I’ll eat it after I shower.” I continued scrolling on my phone, motionless. It seemed that ever since we got married, Arthur had grown accustomed to me taking care of his every need. From helping him dress and putting on his slippers, to grocery shopping and cooking. To situations like today, where I played the role of the smiling, accommodating wife at his business dinners. I was his nanny, his maid, and his scene partner in the corporate theater. I was the wife he could push forward to take the literal and metaphorical bullets for him. But what Arthur said today made me freeze. Seeing me ignoring him and staring at my phone, Arthur’s face darkened: “Chloe, what is the meaning of this? “If you’re angry because I didn’t get you a Valentine’s Day gift, then you’re just being completely unreasonable. The money from this deal I just closed will ultimately be used for our family, won’t it? Isn’t that the best gift? “Forget it, there’s no talking to someone as selfish as you. I’m going to shower. Harmony is the most important thing in a marriage. Why do you always have to ruin the mood? “You’re always the one starting arguments. If I ever cheat on you in the future, it’ll probably be because you drove me to it!” Arthur sighed heavily, acting as if I had committed some unforgivable sin. He walked away angrily, yet closed the door gently behind him. As if he were afraid of waking me. And as if to prove that he was enduring my bad temper, that he was always the accommodating, forgiving one. With just a few sentences from him. I had suddenly become the sinner, the one who ruined the atmosphere. My eyes fell on the wrinkled tie he had thrown on the floor. My thoughts raced wildly. 2 Yesterday, I got up at 5:00 AM to iron his clothes, then went to the farmer’s market to buy the freshest fish. I worked all day just to prepare the exact kind of dinner he wanted—one that felt warm and homey, yet sophisticated enough to impress. But he brought his guests home early. I rushed to open the door, still wearing my apron, only to be met with a barrage of his disgust: “Why don’t you have any makeup on? I can tolerate you being a slob normally, but you look like this when guests are here? “It’s so embarrassing! Go change your clothes right now!” I was just about to explain. I hadn’t put on makeup because I had been cooking all day. I hadn’t changed because the kitchen was full of smoke and grease, and I hadn’t had time to clean up yet. But Arthur pulled the door wide open, letting a whole group of people see my bare-faced, flustered state. My face was sallow from the cooking fumes, and my red plaid apron looked completely out of place next to the glamorous, jewel-draped wives of his clients. The piercing, judging stares made me instantly lower my head in deep shame. I bolted upstairs to change. And heard Arthur downstairs, delivering his familiar opening monologue: “My wife is just a bit unkempt normally, but I love her simple, rustic nature. She’s from the country and doesn’t know how to dress up, so please don’t mind her, haha. “Sigh, I’m used to looking at her by now. I married her, what else can I do? “Usually, I’m the one doing all the laundry and cooking around here. Being married is no different from being single. Ugh, don’t get me started, it’s a tragic tale. “But a man has to be accommodating. No matter how successful I become, I could never do something like abandoning the wife who stuck with me through the hard times. Otherwise, what’s the difference between me and some ungrateful scumbag? “Alright, alright, just keep this between us. Don’t mention it when my wife comes down later. I don’t want her feeling bad, because then I’ll just have to coax her later. “Let’s eat, let’s eat! Come taste my plain wife’s cooking. “Hahaha.” Downstairs erupted into a chorus of laughter. Arthur always used putting me down as a quick icebreaker. When I came down in my nice clothes and took my seat, I could always feel the evaluating stares coming from all directions. Those stares were like nails, making me incredibly uncomfortable. I didn’t even have to guess; Arthur had definitely shared our romantic history again. “Don’t let my wife’s quiet, demure look fool you. Back when she was chasing me, she went totally commando!” Arthur held up his wine glass, nudging me with his elbow: “Wife, tell them, isn’t it true? “Back then, her skirt was so short it barely covered her butt. When we got to the hotel, she whipped out her ID and booked a king-size room—with a waterbed, no less! “When my wife threw me down on the bed, I realized she was actually commando! “It scared me half to death. I ran out of there in the middle of the night, hahaha…” This wasn’t the first time Arthur had said these things in public. It was always with different clients, and always featuring different embarrassing stories from various periods of my life. Arthur always consoled me by saying it was just a business tactic, telling me to prioritize his career. The goal was to quickly close the distance with his clients by sharing intimate details. At first, I strongly resisted. 3 Back then, we had just gotten married, and I didn’t know I was already pregnant. One night, I accidentally wet the bed. I was mortified and tried to hide it, but Arthur found out. He laughed as he got up to wash the sheets, comforting me the whole time: “Wife, it’s no big deal. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. Why are you being so formal with me? “Washing your sheets now is nothing. When you’re old, I wouldn’t even mind cleaning up your shit and piss. We’re married, we’re family.” I was so incredibly moved at the time. But the very next day, at his company’s celebration banquet. I heard him enthusiastically sharing the story with all his bosses and colleagues: “Who would have thought that Chloe, pushing thirty, would still wet the bed at night? You guys have no idea, when I was washing those sheets, the smell was so bad it burned my eyes. I was dying trying to hold in my laughter. “Sigh, but she’s my woman. What else can I do but spoil her?” In that moment, the blood rushed to my head, and I suffered a complete emotional breakdown right there on the spot. I was so angry I couldn’t even form coherent sentences, crying as I asked him how he could humiliate me like that. But Arthur just blinked, looking completely innocent: “Wife, stop being angry. It’s not like I said I was disgusted by you. You’re just being too sensitive.” His colleagues and bosses also chimed in: “Yeah, Manager Vance is such a good man. What man nowadays is willing to wash sheets for a woman, especially… those kinds of sheets. “Director Vance, you can’t take your blessings for granted. This is a celebration banquet. It’s not right for you to make a scene over nothing. “Yeah, Chloe, don’t be ungrateful.” Those light, careless words instantly made my stomach churn, and my head started spinning. I was so furious I flipped the table over, then my vision went black and I passed out. When I woke up, I found out I was pregnant. The urinary incontinence was also due to the pregnancy. But because of my extreme emotional agitation, I had suffered a miscarriage. The crushing grief of losing my child, combined with the terrible impression my outburst at the banquet left on management, and the mocking looks from my colleagues… Led me to voluntarily resign at the age of twenty-six, right at the peak of my career. Arthur was also very regretful. He knelt and apologized to me, then took time off work to care for me. “Wife, this isn’t your fault. I should blame myself for not noticing you were pregnant. I wasn’t attentive enough. “Sigh. If only you could have restrained yourself a bit and not been so emotional, things would be fine. “Once the baby was born, you would have become the regional manager. Now, your job is gone, and the baby is…” Arthur sighed deeply. I don’t know why, but starting from that moment. Whenever he sighed, I would think of the child I miscarried. My heart would clench painfully, and I would become inexplicably irritable and angry. And whenever that happened, Arthur would hold me and comfort me. Aside from constantly belittling me, Arthur was impeccable in every other aspect. Everyone said he was the model of a perfect husband. Just then, the sound of the shower running in the bathroom started, and I could hear Arthur humming a light tune. Three years of marriage had left my heart riddled with holes and utterly exhausted. I was afraid to go outside, and I dreaded returning to work. I slowly became numb. The only person I interacted with every day was Arthur. It felt like my vitality and spirit had been completely drained. But Arthur was doing better and better. His career was booming, and his reputation as a devoted husband was widely known. But was that really the truth? If he loved me, why was I so exhausted? I stared blankly at the search results for “Dog Whistle” on my phone: [The Dog Whistle effect refers to using subtle language, actions, or signals to trigger a victim, causing them to lose emotional control in a public setting. [The abuser masquerades as an innocent victim, leveraging the public’s misunderstanding of the victim to seize the moral high ground. [The victim often loses their sense of judgment through repeated cycles of self-doubt. [In a marriage, any manipulation disguised as ‘love’ should be approached with extreme caution.] I read it all night, and my heart turned from hot to freezing cold. Had my unreserved, unconditional love become the dog whistle in his mouth? Thinking about how all my sacrifices over the years had been calculated by him, how my youth had become a massive joke, a deep, seething hatred began to spread in my heart. Suddenly, a bold plan formed in my mind. Looking at Arthur’s silhouette in the bathroom, a bizarre, chilling smile spread across my face. 4 The next morning, I woke up at my usual time. But I found that the leftover mess on the dining table had been cleaned up, a fresh bouquet of lilies had been set out, and the floor was spotless. And Arthur was in the kitchen, wearing an apron, bustling around. He expertly blended a fruit and vegetable smoothie and put it in the fridge, then turned around to fry some eggs. Seeing me come out, he looked a bit surprised. He wiped his hands and walked out. “Wife, why are you up so early? Did I wake you? “You drank quite a bit yesterday. Go back to sleep for a while. You don’t need to cook today; I’ll go buy groceries later. “What do you want hubby to make? Sweet and sour ribs? Or your favorite little yellow croaker?” Seeing Arthur’s genuine expression, I felt a momentary lapse in reality. His tone was intimate, as if absolutely nothing had happened yesterday. “Wife? Happy Valentine’s Day!” A diamond necklace was draped around my neck. The cold touch snapped me back to reality. I looked down at the expensive necklace, while Arthur’s sigh echoed in my ear: “Sigh, yesterday was my fault, okay? “But I didn’t forget your gift. Stop throwing little tantrums, alright?” Hearing his nonchalant tone and that deep, deliberate sigh, I was no longer angry. Instead, I analyzed it rationally. He knew perfectly well that I hated when he sighed, that it triggered me. Yet he intentionally used this subtle signal to stimulate me. I could already picture exactly what Arthur would say if I exploded on the spot. “I already apologized, what more do you want? “Chloe, go out and ask around. How many men do a better job than I do? I think you should learn to be content.” Then he would storm out of the house in anger, leaving me to feel guilty for a long time, only to end up serving him even more attentively to make up for it. This wasn’t a diamond necklace. This was the dog leash Arthur used to tie me down. I masked the absolute disgust in my eyes, turning my head to give Arthur a bright smile. “Hubby, thank you for the gift. I was just being unreasonable yesterday. “You go focus on your work. I’ll clean up around the house.” Arthur, instead, looked stunned, but quickly recovered: “Chloe, I’m so glad you can see it that way. “Remember, everything I do is for the good of this family. It’s all for you.”

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I dated my older stepbrother in secret for six years. The day before Valentine’s Day, I snuck over to his company to surprise him. But standing outside his office door, I accidentally overheard a conversation between him and a friend. “Haven’t you had enough fun playing with your little stepsister yet? When are you going to break up with her? Don’t tell me you actually fell in love with her.” Arthur Sterling’s lips curled into a mocking, cynical smirk. His voice was completely dismissive: “Fall in love with her? She’s just a free toy that delivered herself to my door. Why wouldn’t I use her? But the only woman I will ever marry is Chloe.” “Her mother ruined my parents’ marriage. These past six years are simply my revenge against her. This is the punishment she deserves.” It turned out that what I thought was love was nothing but a calculated act of revenge. His deep affection was entirely built on meticulously woven lies. Since that was the case, I would simply leave. 1 “Don’t worry about me. Just focus on preparing for my wedding with Chloe. As for Mia… I have plenty of ways to destroy her.” “Think about it. Falling in love with her own stepbrother, crawling into his bed every night to seduce him… when that shameless, disgusting scandal is exposed right in the middle of her mother’s wedding, do you think she’ll ever have the face to show herself in the Sterling household again? I honestly can’t wait.” The friend sitting across from him looked incredibly uncomfortable and offered a sincere warning: “Your parents had been divorced for three years before Mia’s mom even entered the picture. You can’t honestly blame Mia for that, can you? She was just starting college; she had no idea what the situation was with your family. Isn’t doing this to her a little too cruel?” “A girl’s reputation is everything. You’re basically trying to kill her! She loves you so much; if she finds out you only got with her for revenge, I’m afraid she might…” Arthur pursed his lips impatiently, pulled out his phone, and casually sent me a reaction sticker. “Her life is exactly what I want!” “Don’t talk to me about her being innocent. Was my mother innocent when she was abandoned?” “Coming from that woman’s womb is her own bad luck. She chose to degrade herself!” “If she was really so pure and innocent, she wouldn’t have agreed to sleep with me six years ago. Ending up like this is her own choice. She deserves it.” His friend let out a long sigh, asking one final question: “You can say that, but after six years together, I refuse to believe you haven’t felt anything for her.” “Arthur, I’m warning you as a friend. Once you do this, there is absolutely no turning back.” Arthur’s face instantly turned freezing cold, and he shot his friend a vicious glare. “Fall in love with the daughter of my enemy? What kind of person do you take me for?” “Looking at that face of hers, which looks exactly like her mother’s, makes me physically sick every time I kiss her!” “She was raised by a homewrecker; of course she’s a shameless little slut! Ruining her reputation is already showing her mercy!” Seeing that Arthur refused to listen, his friend sighed helplessly and left the office. Footsteps approached the door. I scrambled frantically to hide, but the bouquet of blue roses in my hands slipped and scattered all over the floor. His friend walked out and ran straight into me. His eyes filled with profound pity. Hearing the noise, Arthur walked out of the office. He saw me scrambling pathetically on the floor, trying to gather the scattered flowers. A flash of raw panic crossed his face, and he immediately rushed over to help me up. “Mia? Why are you here? When did you arrive?” I smiled, but tears fell from my eyes entirely against my will. “I just got here. I wanted to surprise you, but I’m so clumsy I couldn’t even hold the flowers.” He smiled indulgently, tossing the flowers aside carelessly. He pulled me into his office. The moment the door closed. He pinned me against the door. His burning body heat radiated through his clothes, pressing into me. But my entire body felt completely frozen. “I told you, you don’t need to get me gifts. Just having Mia here is the best gift I could ever ask for.” “You must be tired from the trip, right? Rest here for a bit. Once I’m done working, I’ll take you home.” After saying that, he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. His actions were as tender and affectionate as always. But I could no longer feel his warmth. I never knew a person could commit so completely to an act just for revenge. When my mother first married into the Sterling family… At the wedding, I was crushed by the horrific insults of being a “homewrecker’s daughter,” unable to even lift my head. I hid in a dark corner and cried hysterically. It was Arthur’s appearance that offered me my only salvation. He silenced the vicious rumors for me. He promised he would protect me for the rest of my life and be my safe harbor. I believed every word he said. I drowned in the gentle warmth he offered, completely unable to pull myself out. I had no idea that everything was a meticulously calculated act of revenge. The so-called “love” was nothing but an illusion. He was the one actively pushing me into the abyss. While Arthur was busy working, I sent a text to my mother. “Mom, I want to study abroad.” “Please don’t tell anyone in the family yet.” On the drive back, he casually brought it up, acting like it was no big deal: “My dad is pressuring me to get married, so I found a friend to act as my fiancé.” “Don’t worry, you are the only person I will ever love. She agreed to help me keep up the facade, so I’ll still be living at home with you.” I stared at the scenery passing by outside the window and nodded silently. Tears fell soundlessly down my cheeks. The moment we got home, while he was in the shower, I unlocked his phone. 2 The pinned contact at the very top was named “Chloe.” I opened the chat. Below the cute, flirty reaction stickers… Were dozens of dense video files. Security camera footage from inside my own bedroom. The messages underneath them were even more devastating. “I told you, I only want revenge against her. I’m going to play these videos at the wedding. After that day, Mia will be permanently erased from the Sterling family. The only person standing by my side will be you.” “Before you officially marry into the family, I’m going to clear every single obstacle out of your way. From now on, you will only know happiness.” “Chloe, I love you.” I looked up at the stuffed animal he gave me six years ago. In the dim light of the room… A tiny, eerie red light blinked inside the toy’s eye. It turned out he had been planning how to eradicate me from the very beginning. It’s hilarious that I was so thoroughly immersed in his fabricated lies. Believing I was actually happy. I opened Arthur’s hidden photo album. It was completely filled with photos of him and Chloe. Dating all the way back to their college years. The photos meticulously documented their entire love story. Every major holiday, when he claimed he was swamped with work… He was actually with Chloe. Every single gift he ever bought me… He bought an identical one for Chloe. The only difference was, Chloe got things that I never did. The second chat thread I opened was with a wedding planning company. Arthur had been meticulously preparing for this wedding for six months. From selecting the venue to choosing the exact style of silverware for the reception. He handled every single detail personally. Even the security camera footage… he edited it himself. All for the sole purpose of utterly destroying our forbidden relationship in front of everyone at the wedding. A second before Arthur walked out of the bathroom… I locked his phone. And I bought myself a plane ticket to leave the country in three days. At the dinner table, Arthur’s father constantly brought up his upcoming wedding. Arthur pretended to be incredibly annoyed by it. But casually agreed to everything. Setting the wedding date for three days from now. The chopsticks in my hand clattered to the floor. The entire meal tasted like ash in my mouth. After dinner, my mother pulled me into my room, looking deeply concerned. “Why the sudden decision to go abroad? Didn’t you insist on joining the company to work with your brother? Did you tell him about this yet?” Looking at the gray streaks in my mother’s hair, my nose stung painfully. “No. I need you to keep this a secret from him.” “Mom, after I leave, just focus on living a good life with Uncle Sterling. Ignore what anyone else says.” I know how incredibly difficult it was for my mother to finally decide to remarry. Regardless of what Arthur believed, my mother had never, ever been the other woman in anyone’s relationship. Having her reputation completely destroyed shouldn’t be how her story ends. When I returned to my bedroom, Arthur was already waiting in my bed. Seeing me walk in, he immediately pulled me into his arms. His lips brushed affectionately against my ear. “Are you mad? You know we can’t go public with our relationship. I’m handling the wedding arrangements; it’s just a cover, an act. Don’t overthink it.” “Mia, I promise, you are the only one in my heart. Stop throwing a tantrum, okay? I bought you a present; it’ll be delivered tomorrow. You’re going to love it.” I swallowed my suffocating grief and smiled, nodding. He didn’t suspect a thing. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled me tighter against his chest. After a long pause, he said hesitantly: “It’s just that… this is a Sterling family wedding, so it has to be a major event. Since you’re my sister, you probably…” “Okay. I’ll be there.” I knew exactly what he was trying to say. Rather than waiting for him to force the issue, I might as well offer it myself. At least I could maintain some shred of dignity. He was shocked by my sudden change in attitude. But since he got what he wanted, he didn’t bother analyzing it. That night, he slept in my bed as usual. The next morning, before anyone else in the house was awake, I slipped out of my room. The second Arthur left the house, I walked out right behind him. I went to process my visa and finalize my university applications. I never expected to run into Chloe there. 3 Arthur was standing right behind her, his eyes overflowing with absolute adoration. The employees nearby were constantly whispering about them: “Is that CEO Sterling’s fiancée? Her aura is incredible! If I’m not mistaken, that bag she’s holding is a limited edition Hermes. You can’t even buy that just with money!” “It has to be her. I heard they started dating in college and have been together ever since. He even bought a private island abroad for their honeymoon! They’re probably here getting visas for a trip around the world, right?” “This is literally a romance novel come to life. I’m so jealous. If my boyfriend was even half as amazing as CEO Sterling, my life would be complete…” In my daze, the clerk processing my paperwork called out: “Ms. Sterling? Ms. Sterling? Your paperwork is finished.” His voice instantly drew Arthur’s attention. As I was shoving the documents into my bag, Arthur appeared right in front of me. His expression carried a microscopic, almost imperceptible trace of panic. “Mia? What are you doing here?” Chloe walked up from behind him, affectionately wrapping her arm around his. “You must be Arthur’s sister! Hi there.” “Since we’re going to be family soon, we should get to know each other.” My eyes swept over where their arms were linked. I smiled and nodded. “Sister-in-law.” “It’s nothing. I just came to help Mom sort out her visa. She’s been wanting to travel abroad for a while.” “I’ll leave you two to it. Have a good day.” I turned to walk away. But Arthur chased after me, grabbing my arm tightly. He frantically tried to explain: “Don’t overthink this. We’re only here today because my dad insisted. You know how seriously he takes this wedding; he practically forced me to take her traveling.” “He also wants Chloe to come over for dinner tonight. I’m just giving you a heads-up so you don’t misunderstand.” Watching him act so desperately anxious about my feelings… I suddenly found the entire situation hilarious. Chloe was his actual girlfriend of several years. The wedding was three days away, and his grand revenge plot was about to reach its climax. Who exactly was he putting this act on for? “Don’t worry, I know my place. Since it’s Uncle Sterling’s arrangement, just do as he asks. I wouldn’t cause a scene over something like that.” “You two go ahead. I’ll wait for you at home.” He let out a massive sigh of relief and personally hailed a cab to send me home. Then he turned around and took Chloe straight to a bridal boutique. 4 My mother and Uncle Sterling knew Chloe was coming over for dinner. They started preparing the meal right around noon. The moment Arthur and Chloe walked through the door… They handed her a red envelope containing ten thousand dollars. I used feeling unwell as an excuse to hide in my room. But Arthur walked in carrying a gift box. As he slipped the bracelet onto my wrist, he pulled a warm blue rose from his jacket pocket. He dropped to one knee on the floor. His eyes were filled with absolute devotion. “I know that being with me in secret, without a real title, is incredibly unfair to you. But after the wedding, I’ll still be your brother. I’ll still live here and spend time with you, exactly like I always have.” “Mia, please don’t be mad at me, okay?” I looked down at the Hermes logo on the bracelet. It was the complimentary gift that came with the bag Chloe was carrying. “Okay. I won’t be mad at you.” “Go eat dinner. They’ve been preparing it all day.” The sounds of joyous congratulations drifted up from downstairs. My mother stood awkwardly by the dining table, looking exactly like a hired maid. Arthur naturally and casually ordered her around, demanding she serve the food and dish out the soup. The suffocating weight of my grievances finally exploded. I gathered every single gift he had given me over the past six years and threw them all into the trash can. As the trash can tipped over, Chloe suddenly appeared in my doorway. Looking at the mess on the floor, a triumphant, arrogant smirk spread across her face. “What, you can’t handle it anymore?” “Mia, you are even more pathetic than I thought.” “Makes sense. What kind of decent person could a homewrecker possibly raise? Watching your own mother scurry around like a maid, not even allowed to sit at the table… that must hurt, right?” I stared at her with freezing apathy. “What exactly are you trying to say?” Chloe smirked, her face dripping with vicious mockery. She pulled out her phone, opened her chat log with Arthur, and waved it directly in my face. “Oh, right, you don’t know, do you? Every single night when you’re being intimate with Arthur, he sends the videos straight to me so I can watch.” “If I sent these videos to your mother’s phone, do you think she’d lose her mind entirely?” “Her own biological daughter and her second husband’s son, secretly screwing each other every single night right under their noses…” “Don’t you dare!” Unable to suppress the explosive rage in my chest a second longer… I raised my hand and delivered a brutal slap across her face. The sharp crack echoed loudly. Chloe fell hard onto the floor, shattering a glass picture frame. Blood instantly began pooling from her palm. Arthur charged into the room and immediately pulled her into his arms. He glared at me with pure, unadulterated fury. “Mia! What the hell are you doing?! Are you insane?!” “Chloe came up here to nicely ask you to come down for dinner, and you attack her?!” Uncle Sterling stood in the doorway, his face instantly turning dark. My mother panicked, desperately trying to explain: “Mia definitely didn’t mean to! There must be some misunderstanding!” “Mia, apologize to Chloe right now!” Chloe’s eyes were red as she buried her face in Arthur’s chest. “I’m so sorry. I just came up to invite Mia to our wedding. I have no idea why she suddenly attacked me…” “Arthur, please don’t blame Mia. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” A cold sneer curled my lips as I stared directly at the embracing couple. Arthur ignored my expression, his eyes radiating a freezing, venomous hatred. “Mia. Apologize!” My nails dug so deeply into my palms that droplets of blood fell to the floor. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?!” “You two are the ones who owe me an apology!” A look of profound disappointment flashed across Arthur’s eyes. “Mia, when did you become like this? You are being completely unreasonable!” Before I could respond, Uncle Sterling stepped forward and pulled Arthur up. “Take Chloe to the hospital first. I will handle things here.” Arthur carried Chloe out of the house. My mother followed behind Uncle Sterling, apologizing profusely and pathetically. Six years of deep, profound love evaporated into nothingness in that exact moment. I grabbed my suitcase and went to a hotel. Before leaving, I ripped the hidden camera out of the stuffed animal. And mailed it to Arthur. Doing the math, it would arrive on the exact day of his wedding. I thought my departure would officially end this twisted play. But that night, Arthur sent me a text explaining everything: “Chloe agreed to act as my bride for the wedding. I already owe her a massive favor, and you physically hurt her. It looked terrible in front of everyone. I only made you apologize so my dad wouldn’t get suspicious. Please don’t overthink it.” “Get some rest. I had a custom dress made for you to wear to the wedding. Be a good girl. I am your brother, and that will never, ever change.” But I knew perfectly well that this performance wasn’t for Uncle Sterling. It was entirely for me. My departure was the only thing that could finally end it. For the next two days, I didn’t go home. He didn’t go home either. He was busy organizing the wedding venue. He was busy picking out expensive jewelry for Chloe. I never received the gift he promised me. The only news I received was that he had casually dropped millions on a luxury yacht for Chloe. All so he could take her to the private island named after them. On the morning of the wedding, I called him. He was busy giving instructions to his friends and didn’t really have time for me. “Are the videos ready? Remember, start playing them the exact second she walks into the venue. I want absolutely everyone to see them.” “Are you sure about this? Once that video plays, there is absolutely no turning back.” “Just do exactly what I said. I have been waiting for this day for six years.” “Keep an eye on her mother. Make sure she doesn’t try to cause a scene.” His friend walked away, and Arthur finally remembered he was on the phone. “Mia? The wedding is about to start. I’ll come pick you up myself in a little bit. Wait for me at home.” “I’ll let you in on a secret: usually, the groom only picks up the bride. It’s almost like I’m marrying you, isn’t it?” “Stop being unhappy.” I stared at the boarding pass in my hand and let out a cynical laugh. “Brother. Happy Wedding Day.” He froze for a second, then chuckled softly. “Why are you calling me ‘brother’ today? I prefer it when you call me by my name.” “Be a good girl and wait for me. I’ll be right there.” I hung up the phone, turned around, and boarded my flight. And permanently deleted every single piece of his contact information. The wedding began. Arthur’s mind kept replaying that phone call, a profound sense of unease settling in his chest. Right as he was preparing to leave to pick me up… His friend rushed in from outside, carrying the shattered camera lens. “We have a massive problem. Mia found out about the hidden cameras!” “She took a flight out of the country early this morning. But that specific flight… the news just broke that it crashed into the ocean!”

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