After being trafficked to a private island, I escaped twice to avoid becoming a toy for the elite. The night I was caught the first time, they sent me a video of my fiancé being torn apart by piranhas. When my second escape failed, my brother—the only family I had left—was tied to a boat and torn limb from limb. In utter despair, I accepted the System's offer. "Earn enough points, and you can resurrect your loved ones." From that day on, I abandoned all dignity. I let the electric collar dig into my flesh, enduring torture until I blacked out, again and again. Finally, after another forced embryo extraction, I saw I had enough points. Joy surged in my heart. Just as my trembling hand hovered over the "Confirm" button, laughter erupted from around the corner. "That idiot actually believes she's in a system, saving points to revive her brother and fiancé. She has no idea the island is fake, the deaths are fake, and the system is fake." "I know, right? The rich really know how to train their dogs. Caleb and Asher staged this whole 'death game' just because she slapped Bella years ago and refused to apologize. This is all just to teach her to submit." "Shh, keep it down. Caleb and Asher are coming to check on their 'experiment'..." I froze, ice spreading through my veins. My ears rang. The pesticide I drank earlier kicked in. Before I could react, blood gushed from my mouth. As darkness claimed me, the door was kicked open. "Ava!" I struggled to lift my head and met a pair of familiar, panicked eyes. It was my brother, who was supposed to be dead. The person I had mourned for three years, whom I dreamed of seeing just one more time, appeared before me without warning. His eyes were red with urgency, his voice laced with panicked anger: "I told you guys to just scare her! How did it get this bad?!" He leaned down, gently lifting me, softening his voice: "Ava, don't be scared. It's okay. Big brother is here." I stared blankly at his face, the conversation I overheard echoing in my mind. So it was all true. To vent Bella's anger, my brother and my fiancé went to such lengths. Exhaustion and despair swallowed me whole. I gave a tragic smile, and more blood poured from my mouth in thick streams. The room erupted in chaos. Caleb was frantic, slamming his fist on the table: "Call the doctor! What are you standing there for?!" The men looked at each other nervously. Finally, someone stammered: "Mr. Vance, you forgot." "Last time Miss Bella had a cold, you transferred your entire medical team to her side." "You specifically ordered... since Miss Ava likes to feign illness for sympathy, no one is allowed to divert medical resources without your direct order, lest it disturb Miss Bella's recovery." Caleb froze, guilt flashing across his face as he looked away from me. After a long silence, he squeezed out two words: "...Useless trash!" While Caleb turned to dial, rough hands pinned me to the bed. "Quick! Keep her awake until the doctor gets here! If she dies, Mr. Vance will kill us all!" Needles stabbed into my flesh, forcing consciousness upon me. Pain exploded. My freshly stitched wounds ripped open, and my body spasmed. Caleb's hushed, coaxing voice drifted into my ears: "Bella, don't be mad. Just lend your doctor to your sister Ava for a bit. When she wakes up, I'll bring her to thank you personally." "Yes, yes, I'll make her kneel and thank you. Whatever our Bella wants." I dug my nails into my palm and laughed bitterly. So now, even my life and death require Bella's permission. Another needle plunged in. Amidst the torture, I turned my head with difficulty, grabbed the fruit knife on the nightstand, and slashed my wrist without hesitation. When Caleb turned around, blood sprayed. His phone clattered to the floor. His pupils constricted. "Ava!!!" My last memory was Caleb screaming and lunging toward me. In the haze of unconsciousness, I dreamed. In the dream, I was destiny's darling. My brother cherished me, and my childhood sweetheart, Asher, never left my side. Until the day Bella, my father's illegitimate daughter, stepped into our home. The war began. For three years, she staged suicide attempts over a dozen times. Wrist cutting, pills, gas... every time, she was "coincidentally" discovered by Caleb or Asher. But Caleb would just sneer at the spilled pills: "Is seeking attention the only thing you know how to do?" Asher would walk right past the sobbing Bella, take my hand, and leave: "Ignore her. I'll take you to school." Their disgust was so real I never doubted their love for me. So on the day Asher and I got our marriage license, when Bella climbed onto the roof threatening to jump again... Caleb watched coldly. Asher frowned and moved to hang up. No one took her seriously. Unexpectedly, Bella smiled tragically and jumped. On the video call, Caleb's face went pale. He ran toward her like a madman. Asher froze, phone in hand. His indifference shattered, replaced by a face white as a sheet. That day, clutching our marriage certificates, I walked out of the courthouse in a daze. Asher's friends were laughing nearby: "Ash, divorced in three minutes? Bringing the princess here for the experience?" "Didn't you say you hated Bella? Why did you look like you saw a ghost when she jumped?" "You guys don't get it. Ash talks tough but is soft inside. He probably hurts for her." Asher didn't retort. He frowned: "Shut up." Then he walked past me, dialing the number he had pinned to the top of his contacts: "I got the divorce. Can you be a good girl and let the doctor treat you now?" The other end said something. He sighed, voice full of helpless indulgence: "Okay, whatever you say... my little princess. I'm coming home to you." Only when his car sped past me did I realize what had happened. When I rushed back to the Vance estate, Asher was gently draping a coat over Bella. The room was a mess. My gaze landed on our wedding photo, clawed and scratched. I could imagine what they had just done. Nausea rolled in my stomach. Bella peeked out from Asher's arms, timidly: "Sister Ava, Asher and I aren't what you think..." Before she finished, a slap echoed through the room. Bella clutched her cheek, staring at me in disbelief. Almost instantly, a massive force struck my face. I was knocked to the floor, ears ringing. "Ava Vance! Apologize to Bella!" My cheek burned. I looked up. Caleb stood over me, voice icy: "Bella's depression only gets better when she sees Asher. Can't you be sensible and let her have him?!" "Go! Apologize to Bella now!" Asher looked at me with equal anger: "Ava, no matter what happens between Bella and me, I'll only marry you in the end. Why do you have to push her to death?" "She did nothing wrong. You've gone too far this time. Apologize!" Asher's face blurred before my eyes. The boy who grew up with me, who fought kidnappers for me, who risked his hands for me... he was gone. I looked around the room. And met Bella's smirking, triumphant gaze. I jolted awake from the nightmare. Before I was fully conscious, I cried out the name I had relied on for twenty years: "Brother..." No one answered. I woke up in a dark, empty bedroom. Next door, lights blazed. Everyone was surrounding Bella, who was crying and threatening to leave. "Brother, look at Ava. Drinking poison, cutting her wrists... she's just trying to intimidate me! I don't understand why she still can't accept me after all these years!" "Asher, I should stay away from you. You go be with her. I'll just leave this home!" Caleb stopped her, voice tight with anger: "Bella, you've suffered enough. Don't worry, I'll teach her a lesson for this!" "I didn't expect this either. We spent three years trying to teach her to submit, but instead of changing, she's gotten worse. Now she's using death to threaten us for attention!" "Seeing her like that today, I almost... I almost fell for it!" I slowly raised my hand to my wrist. The burning in my stomach had faded, and my wrist was bandaged. But the sting under the skin was real. So my desperate struggle for death was, in my brother's eyes, just a "bitter meat trick" for attention. Asher pulled Bella into his arms, coaxing her: "Bella, Ava is spoiled. Don't lower yourself to her level." "Our wedding is tomorrow. Don't let her ruin your mood." Caleb chimed in: "Right, focus on the wedding. I'll handle her! Whether she wants to or not, she will be a bridesmaid! I won't let people gossip about you!" Wedding? Bridesmaid? Three years ago, I was supposed to be the bride. Now, without my knowledge, I had been demoted to bridesmaid. My heart froze with every word they spoke. I tried to smile, but failed. Before I knew it, my legs had moved off the bed. I tried to stand, but the moment my feet touched the floor, the stitched wound on my abdomen tore open. Agony hit. My legs gave out, and I crashed to the floor. Moonlight illuminated the gruesome scars covering my body. Memories of the past three years flooded back. To earn points, I knelt under strangers, was stripped naked, forced into humiliating poses. To earn points, I was strapped to lab tables, my embryos surgically removed as soon as I conceived, tortured for endless days and nights. The pain of electric shocks, the numbness of shattered dignity... In my darkest moments, I wanted to end it all. But thinking of Caleb and Asher waiting for me in the "other world," I survived. Turns out, the "points" I risked my life for were just a scam designed for me. I felt pathetic and laughable. I wiped the wetness from my face, grabbed the edge of the table, and tried to pull myself up inch by inch. Crash. I fell again. I pulled the tablecloth down with me. Glass shattered, shards piercing my skin. I didn't feel it. I just stared at the open window ahead. The noise alerted next door. Caleb's footsteps approached. He knocked, sounding annoyed: "Ava!" "I haven't settled the score with you for scaring Bella today." "Everyone is busy. Can you grow up?" I gasped for air, sliding down the wall. Pain tortured me every second. Three years of grievances erupted. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I screamed at the door: "Busy with what?! Busy preparing for Bella and Asher's wedding?!" "Or busy forcing me to be a bridesmaid for the mistress who stole my life?!" Silence outside. Then Caleb's voice rose: "What nonsense are you spouting?! Everyone knows Bella and Asher are a couple. You're the one trying to interfere..." He stopped, as if remembering something, then changed his tone: "Ava, love isn't first come, first served." "Asher loves Bella now. Plus, you know Bella has depression. She only got better because Asher stayed by her side. This marriage is expedient, good for everyone." "Are you really going to fight Bella over this?" I didn't answer. I finally dragged myself to the window. Wind hit my face. My heart was dead. "Bang!" The door was kicked open. I heard it, but didn't look back. The next second, I jumped. As I fell, a strong hand grabbed me. Asher. Sweat dripped down his forehead. Veins popped on his neck, face pale: "Grab my hand, Ava!" His hand, injured for me years ago, shouldn't have been able to hold weight. It was shaking violently. He pulled me back inside with all his might. As soon as I hit the floor, a slap landed on my face. "Ava Vance! Even if you don't want to go to the wedding, do you have to do this?!" Asher rarely showed such emotion: "Do you know how high this is?! If I hadn't been fast, you'd be dead!" Caleb's legs were weak too. Supported by a maid, he barely stood. He took deep breaths, voice trembling: "Ava... how did you become like this?!" "Anyone would think you suffered terribly these three years! We lied to you, yes, but we fed you and housed you! We even visited you secretly! You never suffered!" "You know Bella is soft-hearted. You insist on suicide on her wedding day just to make her feel guilty, don't you?" "Can't I even scold you now? How did I raise such an ungrateful wolf?!" "Let me tell you, you are being a bridesmaid today whether you like it or not!" He yanked me up, pinned me to the bed, and signaled the maids: "Change her!" The bridesmaid dress was brought over. I stared blankly. As the maids' hands reached for me, memories of countless hands touching me overlapped. "No!!!" I struggled with everything I had, but it was useless. "Rip!" The dark clothes covering me were torn away. My scar-covered body was exposed to everyone. Bruises, burns old and new, the two-inch incision on my abdomen oozing blood... The air froze. Everyone stared. A timid maid screamed. Looking at my scars, Asher's face went deathly white. Caleb stumbled back two steps, eyes wide with disbelief, and collapsed onto the floor. "W-what is this?!" Caleb's voice shook so hard it was almost a roar. Supported by others, he couldn't stand. His gaze swept over the torn clothes, then landed on my mutilated body. His usually composed face was now paper-white. I stood there numbly, watching their shocked, twisted faces. My ears rang, vision blurring. Asher reacted faster than Caleb. Instinctively, he stepped forward, reaching out to touch me. But just before his fingers made contact, Caleb shoved him away. "Get away!" Caleb's eyes were bloodshot. "Don't touch her! Asher, you're marrying Bella. Don't dirty my sister with your hands!" Asher froze, pinned by those words. He opened his mouth but made no sound, staring blankly at my scars, his face turning gray. In the standoff, the tearing pain in my head surged again. I broke free from the maids, crawled to the wall, and slammed my head against it. Caleb jumped, rushing to hug me from behind. His grip was tight, hurting my ribs. "What are you doing?! Doctor... call the doctor! Hurry!" He picked me up frantically, voice trembling: "Don't do this Ava, don't do this, brother is here, don't be scared..." I shook violently, pushing him with all my might, but he wouldn't budge. Caleb repeated over and over, comforting me or maybe himself: "Don't be scared, Ava, brother is here, brother is here." I was dizzy, vision darkening.
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