To make Caleb Vance happy, I, a pampered heiress, learned how to race cars. To catch his eye, I drifted through traffic, drew a heart on the pavement with gasoline, and set my $3 million hypercar on fire—just to see him smile. My father, furious, sent me away on a "humble pie" reality show, banishing me to the mountains to dig potatoes for six months. When I crawled back home, dusty and humbled, I heard Caleb had fallen in love with the scholarship student I swapped lives with. At my welcome-back party, Caleb publicly shielded the girl, frowning coldly: "Ava, enough is enough. I love her." Nosy reporters shoved microphones in my face. "Miss Ava Locke, everyone knows you love Mr. Vance more than life itself. Now that he's moved on, are you as devastated as rumors say?" The internet waited for my breakdown. Instead, I couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Love him more than life? Since when?" 1 After I spoke, the room went dead silent. A reporter shoved a microphone in my face: "Miss Locke, were you speaking out of anger just now?" I smiled. "It's the truth." "Then what do you think about Mr. Vance and Miss Bella's relationship..." "I wish them the best," I raised my champagne glass towards them. "A perfect match." Caleb's face darkened. He probably didn't expect this reaction. In the past, I would have smashed glasses, screamed, and publicly demanded to know why he changed his heart. Bella spoke up in a soft, timid voice: "Sister, please don't be angry, it's my fault..." "It's not your fault," I interrupted her, turning directly to the buffet table to grab a slice of cake. My phone buzzed. Unknown number, one text: Enjoying the show? I deleted it. No need to guess who it was. Jax. My real lover, kept secret from everyone for three years. He knew about tonight. He knew how I should be feeling. Over by my parents, they saw Bella's eyes turn red and immediately hugged her in distress: "Child, you've suffered..." My father patted Caleb on the shoulder: "Your parents talked to me. Treat Bella well." Only then did they look at me. "Ava," my mother's tone was complicated, "Go easy on Bella. She hasn't had it easy. You know her family situation..." Father sighed: "Let's go home. Stop making a scene." Bella timidly came over to tug my sleeve: "Sister, let's go home together..." I pulled my hand back. "You go ahead. I have something to do." Caleb immediately blocked my path: "Where are you going now? Racing? Drinking? Ava, stop messing around." "Work," I showed him my schedule on my phone screen. "Meeting someone about an investment." He looked like he heard a joke: "What investment? Weren't you digging potatoes in the suburbs for six months..." "Digging potatoes?" I finished his sentence, looking at him. "I wasn't just digging potatoes these past six months." In the underground garage, Caleb cornered me. "Ava, what exactly do you want?" I unlocked my car door. "Nothing." "Why are you pretending?" He grabbed the door, stopping me from closing it. "Don't come crying to me tomorrow, chasing me asking why..." "Cry?" I laughed. "Caleb, people grow up." He froze, as if really looking at my face for the first time. But he had looked at this face for ten years. Ten years. I grew my hair long for him because he said "girls look better with long hair." I changed my temper for him because he thought it was "embarrassing." Even when he held his new love and told me "Ava, stop it," I only asked "why" with red eyes. What did he say then? Oh, right. He said: "You're always so childish." "Bella is nice," I sat in the driver's seat and buckled up. "Obedient, listens well, treats you like her whole world. You two are a good match." His face turned ashen: "What do you mean?" "I mean," I started the engine, "I'm tired." "Chasing you for ten years was pretty boring." As I drove away, his figure grew smaller in the rearview mirror. I dialed the number I knew by heart. "Seen enough?" I asked. A low chuckle came from the other end: "This is just the beginning, my Ava." "Sticking to the plan?" he asked. "Yeah." "Let them be happy for a few more days." I hung up. That night, I returned to the Locke mansion to find my room had been turned into Bella's piano room. Mother held my hand, explaining: "Ava, you're rarely home anyway. Bella likes to play piano, and this room has the best light..." I said nothing, dragging out the prepared cardboard boxes from under the bed and packing my things. When I took the photos off the wall, the backs were already yellowed. Bella stood at the door wiping tears: "Sister, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." "It's fine," I stuffed a frame into the bottom of the box. "As long as you like it." Father couldn't watch anymore: "Ava, there's an empty room on the third floor..." "No need," I smiled. "My apartment is more convenient." Caleb was there too. He frowned at me: "Ava, don't act like a victim." I picked up the box, frowning slightly: "I'm not acting." He choked. Bella immediately whispered: "Caleb, don't yell at Sister..." Caleb's tone instantly softened: "Don't be scared, Bella. I'm here." I watched them being affectionate and silently carried my box downstairs. Mother chased after me, stopping me at the stair landing: "Ava, Mom doesn't love you less, it's just that Bella..." "I know," I turned to look at her. "Mom, as long as you're happy." I had said this many times. When she praised the neighbor's daughter for being well-behaved, I said: "Mom, as long as you're happy." When she praised my cousin's grades, I said: "Mom, as long as you're happy." It seemed as long as I was sensible enough, I could exchange it for a little love. But now it was different. Looking at the panic and guilt in her eyes, I suddenly found it laughable. So she always knew she was biased, yet expected me to swallow all the grievances myself. "Mom," I smiled, "actually you don't need to explain to me, because I'm not sad at all." She froze. "Because now I know," I pulled my hand back, "it's not that I'm not good enough." "It's that your love is too cheap." When I turned and walked downstairs, my steps were lighter than ever before. 2 The next morning, when I went to the old house to pick up things, Bella "accidentally" broke the jade bracelet my grandmother left me. That was my grandmother's legacy. The bracelet broke into three pieces, hitting the marble floor with a sharp, crisp sound. Bella immediately cried like a pear blossom bathed in rain: "Sister, I'm sorry... my hand slipped, I didn't mean to..." Caleb immediately shielded her: "It's just a bracelet, Ava, don't make a scene." Mother rushed over too, glanced at the pieces, and sighed: "Ava, Mom will buy you a new one. Bella didn't mean to." Father frowned: "Alright, everyone say less." I didn't speak, squatting down to pick up the pieces one by one. The jade edges were sharp, and blood soon beaded on my fingertips. "It's fine," I said calmly, then stood up. "Out with the old, in with the new. Just like people." Before Bella could react, I walked to the antique piano she cherished most. It was a gift Mother just gave her last month. As soon as the words fell, I grabbed the piano stool and smashed it onto the keys. CRASH! As she screamed and rushed over, I grabbed the photo frame she had just placed on the piano cover. Inside was a picture of her and Caleb. "This," I let go right in front of her face, "also slipped." The shattering sound was crisp and piercing. Caleb wanted to step forward but I stopped him with a raised hand: "What's the rush? I'm not done." I turned to my pale-faced parents: "Dad, Mom, all these years I've been wondering if I wasn't good enough, which is why you always looked at other people's children." "Now I understand, it's you who don't deserve a good child." I picked up my bag from the floor, walked past Bella, and whispered: "A counterfeit will never be the real thing." "Just like you. Even if you live in the Locke house, deep down you're still that pathetic creature who has to lie to be loved." As I left, behind me was Bella's breakdown of screams and sobs. I texted Jax: "Ready for the next step." He replied instantly: "Been ready." I looked up at the sky. The sky in the city was gray, much like my ten years in the Locke family. But soon, I would see the real light. On my birthday, the Locke family threw a grand banquet. The gold lettering on the invitation read: "Inviting you to the Homecoming Dinner of the Locke Family's Second Daughter, Bella." Not my birthday party, but Bella's recognition party. I was coerced into attending. At the banquet, she played the piano in a million-dollar haute couture gown, winning a house full of applause. Guests whispered: "This is what a Locke daughter should look like." Someone whispered: "Isn't today Ava's birthday?" Mother heard it and smiled awkwardly: "Ah yes... Ava, come, cut the cake." The cake was a three-tier pink fondant cake, the style Bella chose. Pink, the color I had hated since childhood. Caleb fed Bella a small piece: "Sweet?" Bella nodded, eyes curving into crescents: "Sweet. Caleb, you eat too." I put down the knife and told my parents: "I'm full." As I turned to leave, I heard someone behind me say: "Ava has such a weird temper, no wonder Caleb chose Bella." I scoffed. Who cares? Walking to the parking lot, I remembered my eighteenth birthday. Caleb promised to be with me but flew to the beach to watch the sunrise with an escort instead. I waited in the karaoke room until dawn. He sent a photo of the sunrise with the caption: "So beautiful." I replied: "Didn't you promise to spend my birthday with me?" He replied a long time later: "?" That day, my parents were on a business trip. I lit a candle alone at home and cried while making a wish. No one remembered me. The parking lot lights were dim. Jax straddled a black motorcycle, long legs touching the ground. Seeing me, he tossed over a helmet: "Let's go. Taking you to eat a real birthday cake." I caught the helmet, wrapped my arms around his waist, and pressed my face against his back. This was the first time someone remembered I was the main character on my birthday. Three days later, Caleb came to my apartment. "Ava, let's talk." I let him in. He looked around my small apartment, frowning slightly. "Bella wants to work at Locke Corp," he said directly. "Arrange it." "What position?" "Yours," he paused, "or at least equal to yours." I laughed: "Why?" "Because she's the second Miss Locke now," he frowned. "Because she needs a sense of security." "What about me?" "You're capable," he said as if it were obvious. "Make your own way again." I looked at him like he was a stranger: "Caleb, what do you take me for?" "For..." he stalled, "Ava." "An Ava you can summon and dismiss at will?" He got annoyed: "Stop being unreasonable! Bella..." "She's pitiful, she's had it hard, she needs care," I finished for him. "I know, I've heard it eight hundred times." "So?" I asked calmly. "So I deserve to give up everything? My room, my bracelet, and now even my position?" He was silent for a long time. Then he said: "Ava, I'm begging you." Ten years. The first time he used the word "beg" with me. It was for another woman. When Mother came to find me, her eyes were swollen like peaches. "Ava, Mom has a favor to ask." "Say it." "We plan to transfer the villa in the south to Bella," tears fell from her eyes. "She says she feels insecure and wants a home of her own..." My heart constricted. That villa was my eighteenth birthday present from my grandfather. He said: "Ava, this will be your safety net." "Mom, Grandpa left that to me." "Mom knows," she held my hand, her palm cold. "But Bella... she suffered too much before, we have to compensate her..." "So I should yield?" I pulled my hand back. "Compensate her with my things?" Mother froze: "Ava, when did you become so cold-blooded?" I looked into her eyes and asked word by word: "Mom, where were you during the six months I was digging potatoes in the mountains?" "I..." "You were with Bella," I laughed, my eyes burning. "Every day without fail. She called you Mom, and you answered so happily." Mother's face turned pale. "I can give the villa," I stood up and walked to the window. "But this is the last time." "From now on, don't ask me for anything else." She left crying. The moment the door closed, I texted Jax: "My patience is running out." He replied instantly: "I'm here." 3 On the day I went back to the Locke house to sign the papers, I stood at the corner of the second-floor stairs, looking down at my phone. "Sister." I looked up. It was Bella. She stood next to me, grinning: "Sister, look at me." I frowned in confusion. Suddenly, she leaned back. Thump! She tumbled down the stairs. Caleb rushed over at the sound and saw the scene. Bella lay sprawled on the floor, gasping weakly: "Sister... why did you push me... I just wanted to talk to you..." Caleb turned and slapped me across the face. I fell to the floor, ears ringing, the taste of blood in my mouth. "Ava," his voice shook violently, unsure if from anger or fear, "I never thought you could be so vicious!" When my parents rushed in, Bella was crying, Caleb was yelling, and I was sitting on the floor wiping blood from my mouth. Mother pointed at me, fingers trembling: "Get out! I don't have a daughter like you!" I propped myself up against the wall, my left cheek burning with pain. I turned to my mother: "Mom, when I was ten and had a fever of 104, you went with my brother to his piano lesson. The nanny took me to the hospital." "You never came to a single parent-teacher conference." "Now," I wiped the blood from my lip, "for a liar you've known for six months, you tell me to get out?" Mother's face went white. Caleb wanted to speak, but I cut him off: "Caleb, I'll remember this slap." "From now on," I scanned each of them, "none of you will ever take anything from me again." As I turned, fake sobs came from Bella behind me. I didn't look back. The last bit of warmth in my heart went completely cold. The entrance to the Locke house was crowded with reporters. Cameras shoved in my face: "Miss Locke, did you push Miss Bella down the stairs?" "Was it out of jealousy?" "Is it true the Locke family is disowning you?" Flashbulbs went off like crazy. No need to guess, she arranged it. Then, a black sports car burst through the crowd, screeching to a halt in front of me. The door opened, and Jax stepped out, black shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He walked straight over, put his arm around my shoulder, and spoke coldly to the cameras: "My girlfriend is tired. Move." The reporters were stunned. Someone reacted: "Mr. Vance? You and Miss Locke..." Jax held my shoulder and smiled at the camera: "Let me introduce you properly. My fiancée, Ava Locke." He waved his hand, and the trunks of nine sports cars parked by the road opened simultaneously, revealing a sea of red roses. The hood of the middle car had "Ava" spelled out in giant roses. "We've been together for three years," Jax looked down at me, eyes tender. "We planned to go public later, but someone seems to misunderstand that my girlfriend is unwanted?" Just then, the door to the Locke villa opened. Caleb walked out supporting the red-eyed Bella, running straight into this sea of roses. He clenched his fists, staring at Jax's hand on my shoulder. Everyone in the city knew Jax was Caleb's hated rival, beating him in business and crushing him on the racetrack. "Ava!" Caleb looked panicked, voice trembling. "You and him... since when?" The man who was always composed in front of me now had red-rimmed eyes. He took a step forward but was blocked by Jax's bodyguards. I didn't answer, just fiddled with the ring Jax had just put on my hand. A three-carat pink diamond, dazzling with fire. Caleb's adam's apple bobbed, voice hoarse: "You did this on purpose, didn't you? Anyone else, why him..." "Why not?" I finally looked up. "Find someone worse than you so you can keep thinking I should be humble without you?" He stumbled back. Bella tried to support him, but he flung her off. I'd seen that look before. Three years ago, when he misunderstood that I was eating with someone else, it was this same anger of betrayal. I took the rose Jax handed me, smelled it, then turned and threw it at Bella's feet in front of everyone. "Sister," I smiled brightly, "you want the man I used, so I'll give you the flower I don't want too." Bella's face was ugly. Reporters snapped photos frantically. Jax chuckled in my ear: "Happy?" I stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek, whispering: "Not bad. Let's go, fiancé." The crowd instinctively parted. 4 In the hilltop villa, Jax tended to my wound. His hand shook as the swab with medicine brushed the corner of my mouth. "I should have come sooner," his voice was raspy. "Just right," I pulled at the corners of my swollen mouth. "Any earlier and they wouldn't have finished their performance." He put down the swab and cupped my face: "How do you want to play it next?" I opened my phone and pulled up three files. Jax read them and laughed. "I want them," I said softly, "to kneel and beg for my forgiveness." The press conference was set for three days later. Jax sent the invitations himself. The title was explosive enough. Grand Vance Group Cooperation & Personal Announcement The venue was packed. As Jax led me onto the stage hand in hand, he announced into the mic: "First, Vance Group will enter a deep strategic partnership with Miss Ava Locke personally." "Second," he paused, looking at me sideways, eyes shining, "we are engaged." Dead silence for a second, then the room exploded. "Mr. Vance! When did you and Miss Locke get together?!" Jax held my waist, smiling arrogantly: "Three years." "Then Mr. Caleb and Miss Bella..." "Him?" Jax sneered. "Just a blind man who can't tell a pearl from a fish eye." Just then, the venue doors were slammed open. Caleb rushed in, suit messy, eyes bloodshot. As Jax led me off stage, passing Caleb, I stopped. "By the way," I whispered, for his ears only, "the financial hole in your company can never be filled." His pupils contracted sharply. The day after the evidence was mailed, the city nearly flipped upside down. Headline: "Humble Pie" Reality Show Participant Revealed as Real Illegitimate Child!? The diary stated in black and white: "Bella is Locke's daughter. I didn't want her to go back, but the Lockes are rich. Bella needs to acknowledge this father to have a good life..." Mother fainted on the spot seeing the newspaper. Father locked himself in the study for three days. Bella called Caleb like crazy: "Caleb, it's fake! Someone is trying to harm me!" For the first time, Caleb didn't believe her. Silence on the phone, then he asked: "Bella, tell me the truth. Are you really Uncle Locke's illegitimate daughter?" "I..." she broke down crying, "I... I didn't know about their affairs, but that's not important, right? I love you, Caleb, isn't that enough?!" Caleb hung up. The Locke family's capital chain completely broke. Banks called eight times a day, three key projects halted simultaneously, suppliers blocked the company doors demanding money. Father Locke swallowed his pride to beg my father. My father smiled bitterly: "Old Locke, it's not that I won't help, but the one who can save the Locke family now... might be Ava." "Ava?" "The cooperation with Vance Group is personal to her," Father sighed. "The resources she holds now are more than the entire Locke Group." When they found me, I was practicing driving at Jax's private track. Caleb stood by the car, suit wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes. He lowered his voice: "Ava, help the Locke family." I took the water Jax handed me, took a sip: "Why should I?" "For the sake of our ten years..." "Ten years you treated me as a backup," I interrupted, screwing the cap tight. "Now you want me to be a savior?" Father Locke stepped forward, tearful: "Ava, Uncle knows he was wrong. We wronged you before..." "The wrong one is your son," I looked at Caleb. "Caleb, what do you offer in exchange?" His throat moved: "What do you want? Money? Shares?" "I want you," I smiled, "to kneel and beg me." The air solidified. Caleb stared at me, eyes red as blood. His lips moved, but no sound came out. Then, he turned and walked away. But his mother came. At the hospital entrance, Mother Locke knelt down with a thud in front of everyone. "Ava, Auntie begs you... the Locke family can't fall, it's generations of blood and sweat..." Onlookers raised their phones to snap photos. I bent down to help her up: "Auntie, whether the Locke family falls depends on your son." "When he learns how to be a human, I'll consider helping."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "390928", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel