While I was recovering from a car accident in the hospital, my boyfriend accidentally sent me a message meant for someone else. 【Little Miss, are you satisfied with your uncle's photography skills?】 Attached was a photo of a young girl in a princess dress, holding a dazzling bouquet of 999 red roses. Before I could look closely, the message was unsent. 【Sorry Chloe, sent that to the wrong person.】 Looking at the messages I had sent two hours ago, crying about my car accident, still hanging there unanswered... I suddenly felt incredibly exhausted. 【It's fine.】 There wouldn't be another chance for him to text the wrong person. ... Arthur's call came in the very next second. His voice was as gentle as always. "Chloe, you're almost off work, right? I'll be at your office soon." "I brought that dessert you've been wanting to try. I lined up for forty minutes! And I got your favorite flowers." "What do you want for dinner tonight? Hubby will cook for you. I've practiced that sweet and sour squirrel fish you mentioned several times." I listened to him rambling on, his tone as tender as usual, but every word felt like a needle piercing my ear. Arthur noticed my silence, paused, and his tone took on a coaxing edge. "Chloe, are you mad?" He let out a helpless chuckle. "Don't overthink it. Luna's cat has been with her for a month now, and she insisted I come over to celebrate. Said it wouldn't be complete without me." "You're always so busy with work, so I didn't tell you. I'll bring her over to apologize to you later." "You know how little girls are, always obsessed with weird little ceremonies, not like us..." I finally couldn't listen anymore and interrupted his self-absorbed monologue. "Arthur, I was in a car accident. I'm in the hospital." The voice on the other end stopped. Then, it instantly became frantic, his breathing growing erratic. "Which hospital? How bad is it? Are your bones hurt? I'm coming right now. Why didn't you tell me?" My voice was flat and emotionless, as if I were talking about someone else's life. "Two hours ago, I sent you seven messages and called you twice. You didn't answer." Arthur froze, disbelief filling his voice. "How is that possible? I always reply to your messages instantly. There's no way..." He stopped mid-sentence. We both realized what had happened at the same time. Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Arthur's apologetic voice came through. "I'm sorry, Chloe. When you messaged, I was picking up the cat's commemorative cake. My phone wasn't on me." "Luna... she deleted the notifications. I didn't know you were in an accident." "Chloe, don't blame her. I asked Luna, she didn't mean any harm. Don't hold it against a kid." It was the same tired excuse I had heard a million times. From the initial heartbreak I felt hearing it, my heart had now grown almost numb. "What if I had died?" My voice was very soft. "What if I died in that car accident today? Would you still use 'she's just a kid with no bad intentions' to excuse her?" Dead silence filled the phone. My heart plummeted to the bottom of an abyss, heavy as lead. I hung up the phone. The tears that hadn't fallen when I was hit by the car finally spilled over. My office wasn't far from the hospital. Arthur probably ran red lights to get there, appearing in my room in just over ten minutes. He was holding a bouquet of white lisianthus, but they were even more glaring than the red roses in that photo. "Chloe, how are you? Let me see where you're hurt." "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm late." The guilt and heartache on Arthur's face didn't seem fake. He sat by the bed and tried to hold my hand. The moment his hand touched my fingertips, I coldly pulled away. Arthur's hand hovered awkwardly in mid-air. He smoothly tried to smooth things over. "Chloe, I'm sorry. Luna was in the wrong this time." "I apologize on her behalf. She just has a childish temper." "When you're discharged, how about I take you to Iceland to see the Northern Lights?" Going to Iceland to see the Northern Lights was the New Year's resolution Arthur shared with me four years ago. Amidst brilliant fireworks, he told me that Aurora means dawn in Latin. And that he fell for me at the break of dawn. But the very next day, Luna broke her leg and threw a fit, demanding Arthur stay with her for physical therapy. The Iceland plan was just quietly dropped. Seeing I wasn't speaking, Arthur leaned in closer, promising repeatedly. "Luna definitely won't throw a tantrum this time. I promise I'll convince her." If it were the old me, I probably would have taken the out he offered. But I had compromised too many times. I almost forgot that I used to be someone who kept her word and refused to tolerate a single speck of dirt in her eye. "Then it's settled. Don't hold this against her..." "No." "I don't want to." I looked up, staring intently into Arthur's eyes, and rejected his proposal word by word. Arthur didn't expect me to refuse. When he processed it, he became a bit annoyed. "Chloe, you're not even seriously injured. Why are you being so petty?" "Luna didn't mean any harm. Why can't you just take the olive branch and let us all be happy?" My sharp gaze pierced straight through Arthur. "What her intentions are... do you really not know?" 2 Arthur's expression didn't change, but his eyes instinctively avoided my gaze. "We are just uncle and niece." I don't know if he was saying that to me, or reminding himself. I laughed out loud, looking mockingly at this man trying to sugarcoat reality. "Arthur, I'm not stupid." Even an idiot would have seen it after six years. Arthur and I got together when we were 22. We were the "golden couple" of University A, admired by countless people. For the first two years, Arthur treated me incredibly well—too well to count. He remembered every single one of my preferences and never let me feel down. He specifically learned to cook to satisfy my picky palate. Gifts and flowers were never in short supply. When I had problems, he was always the first to step up. "Chloe, it's okay. Just leave it to me." Word by word, drop by drop, he built my trust and love for him. When I was 26, Arthur proposed and took me to meet his family. His parents passed away when he was young, and he grew up depending entirely on his older brother. On the day of our formal meeting, I saw Luna for the first time. I handed her the gift I had prepared, but she threw it on the ground without even looking and stomped on it. In front of everyone, she turned and threw herself into Arthur's arms. "Uncle, I'm going to marry you when I grow up! Make this bad woman get out of our house!" For a moment, everyone laughed at her words. I was the only one standing there, feeling awkward and uneasy. But I couldn't say anything, because it was just his little niece speaking "childish nonsense." When I was 28, Arthur and I finally prepared to walk down the aisle. But I never expected that day to become my lifelong nightmare. Sixteen-year-old Luna brought a gang of people, crashed the wedding, and held a fruit knife to her own wrist. "Uncle, you tell me. Is my life more important, or marrying this woman?" The answer was self-evident. Arthur stayed with Luna in the hospital for half a month. And my meticulously planned wedding was destroyed. Later, Arthur spent two whole months comforting me. "Chloe, we're just relatives. She's just young and can't tell the difference between familial love and romantic love. She'll grow out of it." And so, I kept using Luna and Arthur's relationship to comfort myself. Until a week ago, when photos of 20-year-old Luna passionately kissing someone else were sent to Arthur's phone. We were in the middle of enjoying some long-overdue intimacy. Right before the climax, Arthur saw the message. That was the first time I saw him so angry. His face turned ashen as he abandoned me and rushed out of the house without a second thought. No matter how much I cried and begged him to stay, it was useless. It was also that night that I finally learned Arthur and Luna had no blood relation. Luna was the adopted daughter of the Sterling family. And Arthur had known all along. Yet he never rejected Luna's feelings. He even used that excuse to fob me off for six years. My eyes grew slightly red. The excuses I used to comfort myself for all those years turned into slaps hitting me hard in the face. But Arthur's tone remained calm. "Even if she's adopted, we can only ever be uncle and niece." "The person I love is you." "It's Chloe." I looked at him for a long time. It was hard to connect this person with the 22-year-old Arthur who had such a sincere heart. Finally, I turned my head away. "Arthur, we're done." 3 Arthur looked surprised, not taking my words seriously. I had brought up breaking up the year the wedding was crashed, but he eventually coaxed me back. He probably thought I was just acting out in anger and spoke half-jokingly, "Chloe, do you think you can just leave me that easily now? We've been married for six years." "I won't agree to a divorce." Just as he finished speaking, a cheerful ringtone sounded. It was Luna's custom ringtone. Arthur answered the phone, said a few words, and hurriedly stood up. He only offered an explanation when he reached the door. "Chloe, Luna's cat doesn't look like it's going to make it. I'm going to go check." "I'll call Martha over to take care of you later. Rest well, don't overthink things." I heard the door close and shrank under the covers. But Arthur, we were never married. Back then, Arthur and I agreed to hold the wedding first and get the marriage certificate the next day. But because of Luna's stunt, my wedding became a laughingstock. Everyone was focused on Luna cutting her wrists. No one brought up the marriage certificate again. Later, when Luna was finally discharged, every time I tried to bring it up with Arthur, he would be called away by Luna for various reasons. Although we didn't have the certificate, because of the wedding, everyone around us called me Mrs. Sterling. Over time, even Arthur forgot that we never actually got the certificate. I called my best friend, Mia. In less than fifteen minutes, she appeared at the door, panting. "Chloe, how are you? Does it hurt? Where are you injured?" "Where's Arthur? You're in a car accident and he's not even here to see you?" "Did he go accompany that niece of his again?!" Seeing her, the emotions I had been suppressing for days finally broke the dam. I buried my face in her chest and cried until I couldn't breathe. Mia cursed a few times and was about to go find Arthur to settle the score. I shook my head and pulled her back. "I broke up with him." Mia froze for a moment, then hugged me tightly. "Good riddance! We don't need a deadbeat man with no boundaries!" For the next few days, Mia took time off work to personally take care of me. Arthur never showed up again. Although he didn't come, I still saw his itinerary through Luna's social media. Luna's cat died. To cheer her up, Arthur went drag racing with her, protected her while she partied at a club, and carried her all the way home when she got drunk. I clicked on the photo, blinded by the flashy club lights. I suddenly remembered a heart-to-heart with Arthur many years ago. He had said he absolutely hated messy, chaotic places like clubs. But no matter how much he hated a place, he was willing to go with Luna. Luna's messages popped up at the same time. 【So pathetic. The bad woman gets in a car accident and doesn't even have anyone to keep her company.】 【I really don't know what an old hag like you has to compete with me. If you know what's good for you, get out early.】 I ignored her messages and cleanly blocked and deleted both her and Arthur. When Luna realized she was blocked, she came to the hospital to visit me the very next day. 4 She wore a flashy red outfit, looking down at me condescendingly, making no effort to hide the provocation in her eyes. "Chloe, how have you been these past few days?" "I've been having a great time." She sat down by my bed. "Arthur hasn't come to see you once these past few days, has he?" I stared at her coldly. "What exactly are you trying to say?" "Nothing. I just thought you looked a bit pathetic, so I brought Arthur to see you today." Luna's tone was dripping with the superiority of the favored one. She sighed softly. "Look at you. Why didn't you just die early like your mother? What's the point of living if you can't even keep your man..." My pupils shrank. I was instantly enraged and raised my hand to slap her. Just as I was about to speak, the hospital room door was pushed open. "Chloe, don't push it!" Arthur, carrying takeout containers, stepped forward and shielded Luna. "Luna came here specifically to apologize to you today. No matter what, you can't just hit someone for no reason!" I laughed out of anger. "For no reason?" "Do you have any idea what she just..." "Uncle, I'm fine. It was my fault anyway." Luna quickly interrupted me. Disappointment flickered in Arthur's eyes. I tried to explain, "She started it..." But Arthur didn't want to hear it. "Chloe, I thought you were magnanimous and knew your limits. Now it seems you can't even tolerate a kid." "Think about what you've done." With that, he took Luna and walked out of the room without looking back. Leaving me standing there stunned, feeling like my chest was stuffed with cotton, making it hard to breathe. For the next week, unknown numbers constantly sent me photos of Arthur and Luna. There was even a selfie of Luna with a sleeping Arthur in the background. Every photo felt like a piece of flesh being carved from my heart. So much so that my first priority upon being discharged was packing my bags. If you can't solve the source of the pain, just uproot it completely. While I was packing, Arthur called me after a long silence. "Chloe, why did you block me on WeChat?" "Are you still mad? Don't be so petty." "I'll come back and stay with you tonight. I'll make sweet and sour squirrel fish for you, okay?" My tone was indifferent. "No need. We've already broken up." "Who took care of you these past few days? Why didn't you tell me Martha didn't go?" "Is it necessary? We both know exactly who stopped Martha." Arthur went silent for a few seconds, his tone still exasperated. "Don't throw a tantrum and casually mention breaking up. Chloe, be a good girl." "Wait for me to come back and coax you." I didn't respond. I hung up and blocked his number in one smooth motion. Then I grabbed my suitcase and left the house I had lived in for six years without looking back. 5 Arthur arrived home at exactly 8 PM, but Luna was trailing behind him. Luna had insisted on eating Martha's cooking, and he couldn't say no. "Chloe?" "Chloe? I'm home." The house was dead silent. There was no cheerful female voice responding to him as he expected. Arthur smiled helplessly. Still acting like when she was young—giving the silent treatment when she's mad. "Chloe, come out." He searched every room, even the storage closet, but still didn't see Chloe. A sudden, inexplicable panic gripped Arthur's heart. He hurriedly grabbed Martha, who was preparing to cook. "Where is my wife?" "The Madam left with her suitcase early this morning." Martha sighed. "Sir, did you make the Madam angry again?" Arthur froze. He quickly pulled out his phone to call her, but was met with nothing but a busy signal. His heart pounded wildly, his tone taking on a blaming edge. "Martha, why didn't you stop her? She's been in a bad mood lately, throwing a little tantrum and threatening to break up with me." "Now that she's gone, I don't even know where to go to coax her." Before Martha could speak, Luna suddenly laughed, her voice full of excitement. "What? That woman finally broke up with you?!" She rushed forward in two steps and grabbed Arthur's arm, her face unable to hide her joy. "Arthur, you can finally be with me!" Arthur wasn't in the mood for her nonsense right now. He pulled his arm away. "Stop messing around. Chloe and I are husband and wife. I am not going to divorce her." Luna smiled sweetly. "What divorce? Arthur, you and Chloe never even got married." Arthur froze in place, instinctively retorting. "What nonsense are you talking about? Chloe and I had a wedding..." Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly remembered something. His face turned deathly pale. His and Chloe's wedding had been ruined by Luna. The planned trip to get the marriage certificate was delayed again and again because of Luna, until eventually, even he forgot about it. Luna looked thrilled. "This is great! I've finally waited for this day!" "Arthur, I'm twenty now. Let's go get our marriage certificate tomorrow, how about it?" Arthur's face was ashen. He stumbled back a few steps, grabbing the sofa to steady himself. "Luna, I am your uncle!" "So what? We're not blood-related." "And I love you! I'm younger than Chloe, I'm prettier than Chloe. Being with me is a guaranteed win." Saying this, Luna stood on her tiptoes, trying to kiss Arthur's lips. For the first time, he pushed her away as if avoiding a poisonous snake. "Luna, it is impossible for me to be with you." "My lover can only be Chloe." "Give up on this idea." He tried every single way to contact me, but found he was blocked everywhere. Arthur finally realized I was serious this time. With red eyes, he bolted out the door. 6 After moving out, I temporarily stayed at Mia's place. Having her there made the withdrawal symptoms manageable. But I underestimated Arthur's capability. When I saw him standing under a streetlight, looking haggard and holding a bouquet of flowers, I immediately turned to leave. But Arthur didn't give me the chance. "Chloe!" He rushed over in two or three strides, only to be stopped by a furious Mia. "What do you want?" I looked at the person in front of me coldly. "Why are you here? We've already broken up." Arthur shook his head repeatedly. "I don't agree to the breakup. We didn't break up. Chloe, you're just angry." "No." I smiled ironically. "Mr. Sterling seems to have forgotten. We never got our marriage certificate. This is me unilaterally informing you of our breakup. I don't need your agreement." That sentence was like a heavy hammer slamming into Arthur's chest. "Chloe, I didn't physically cheat. I didn't betray you." "Luna and I are impossible. I rejected her. We will only ever be uncle and niece for the rest of our lives." Arthur hadn't physically cheated, but every single moment he chose her over me felt like a slap in the face. "We clearly already had the wedding... I thought..." I sneered and cut him off. "You thought what? You thought my compromises meant I didn't care? Or were you so certain I could never leave you in this lifetime?" Arthur's lips trembled, his eyes filled with pain and panic. Seeing I was about to leave, he dropped to one knee with a thud. The gazes of everyone around us instantly locked onto us, but he acted as if he didn't see them. "Chloe, I'm sorry." "I was out of line before. I broke your heart. You married me, but we never even got the certificate." "I will propose to you again. I will give you a grander wedding." "I swear I will love you forever, cherish you, and never let you suffer any grievances again." "I am willing to use the rest of my life to make up for my mistakes." His voice was choked with emotion, every word sounding as if it were squeezed out of his throat. My mind went blank for a second. Not because I was moved, but because of the sheer absurdity of it. So he knew he lacked boundaries. He understood my grievances. He knew exactly how to make up for them. He knew everything, but he just wasn't willing to do anything. My heart, which had been soaking in warm water, finally belatedly felt the agony of being boiled alive. Two lines of tears unknowingly fell to the ground. I touched my cheek blankly, only realizing then that I was crying. Meeting Arthur's stubborn gaze, I shook my head. My voice was very light, but exceptionally firm. "Arthur, it's too late. Hurting once is enough." I pulled Mia along, walking around Arthur kneeling on the ground, and headed straight for the house. Arthur abruptly stood up at the very last second before we entered the building. His voice carried absolute resolve. "Chloe, I'm going to pursue you again!" "I won't give up! I will make you see my sincerity!" I didn't respond. From the moment he abandoned me, this relationship was destined to have no point of return.
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