After five years of long-distance dating, my boyfriend and I called each other every day to satisfy our physical needs. When reaching the climax, Liam would always say to me, still wanting more, "Chloe, I miss you so much I'm going crazy..." So, I booked a red-eye flight back home, secretly hiding in his closet to give him a surprise. But when the bedroom door opened, Liam carried my best friend onto our marital bed. Mia rolled over and straddled him, unbuttoning his shirt one by one while saying coquettishly, "Liam, that idiot Chloe hasn't figured out we're together for five years. It's so boring." "She's proposed to you ninety-nine times. How about we give her a surprise at our wedding next week?" I gripped the engagement ring in my palm tightly. My mind went completely blank. I saw Liam's hand slip under her skirt, his voice lazy. "What's the rush? I've already exiled her to Northern Europe, are you still worried?" Through the wood, the obscene sounds were magnified infinitely in my ears. And I, huddled in the closet covering my mouth, felt my heart completely die. ... The two on the bed were stark naked, kissing passionately. Tears smashed hard onto my phone, the screen suddenly lighting up with a text from Liam. [Chloe, let's not just do a voice call today, how about a video call?] Mia looked at the chat box and scoffed disdainfully. "Liam, it's one thing to let her listen when we're doing it, but today you actually dare to do a live broadcast?" Liam, biting her bra, smiled roguishly. "Guess if she dares to answer?" Before I could react, Liam's video call was already ringing. With trembling hands, I tapped the screen several times before finally hitting decline. One was the man who had formed a human bridge in the rubble of an earthquake, protecting me underneath him, risking his life to save me. The other was the woman who single-handedly rescued me when the school bullies wanted to slash my face. And now, they were rolling in the sheets on the bed I bought for my wedding. The visual impact was too much for me. So much so that even after they used an entire box of condoms, I still couldn't snap out of it. Liam lit a post-coital cigarette and slowly looked towards the closet. Our eyes met. My heart felt like it was viciously squeezed by someone. The next second. Liam blew a smoke ring, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "Chloe, do you have some kind of voyeuristic fetish? How long are you going to hide in the closet?" Mia, on the bed, turned pale and scared, diving straight under the covers. Three seconds later. I stumbled out of the closet, my voice shaking uncontrollably. "I, I originally wanted to give you a surprise..." Liam slowly sat up and deliberately blew smoke in my face. "A surprise? The text confirmation for your flight was forwarded to my phone ages ago. What surprise could there be?" He reached under Mia's skirt and threw a wet bunny tail plug at me. "Learn a thing or two. This is what you call a surprise." I had proposed to him ninety-nine times, trying different methods every time. Just to repay him for saving my life. But now, all my efforts had become a joke. "Why? Why are you guys doing this to me..." Seeing my confused look, Liam said indifferently, "Why? Chloe, you didn't think you could monopolize me, did you? Don't be so selfish." "Besides, every time I called you, Mia would moan. Could you really not hear it?" It turned out that every moment he said he missed me, his body was in negative-distance contact with Mia. I was trembling all over, my stomach churning. Mia pulled my nightgown over herself and put it on slowly, saying with a half-smile, "Chloe, didn't you used to say you were willing to share everything with me?" "You're so busy with work, I kindly helped Liam solve his physical problems. Shouldn't you thank me?" I pushed her away hard, grabbed a picture frame, and smashed it at her. "Get out! Get the hell out!" Ironically. The photo of me and Liam in the frame had actually been replaced with one of Mia in a bikini. And Liam told me every day, that when he missed me, he could only look at my photo. Turns out it was this photo he was looking at. After a gasp. Liam blocked Mia without hesitation. The picture frame hit his forehead, and blood immediately flowed down. "Chloe, stop acting crazy, okay? It's not like I don't want you anymore." "It's not my fault I'm not marrying you. Don't you ever look in the mirror to see where you stand?" "Mia and I are just having a wedding. As long as you don't make a fuss, our relationship will never change." I crazily grabbed everything I could reach and threw it at them. "Relationship? What relationship? The relationship where I'm the other woman?" "Get out! You pair of cheating scumbags, get the hell out of here!" The door slammed with a deafening noise. Looking at the messy bedroom, I violently threw the engagement ring clutched in my hand out the window. Then, as if possessed, I picked up a small piece of broken glass. Just like when I was a kid, I numbly pressed it against my wrist and slashed down. Chapter 2 All the love and hate spilled out along with the blood. In my haze, I thought of that earth-shattering afternoon seven years ago. The school building collapsed, and I was trapped under concrete slabs, waiting to die in despair. But Liam frantically dug through the rubble, using his bleeding hands to pull me out bit by bit. But the aftershocks continued. When a huge boulder came crashing toward us, he threw himself on top of me without hesitation, using his back to form a human bridge for me. Debris smashed onto his head, back, and face, yet he gritted his teeth and smiled at me. "Chloe, don't be afraid. With me here, you won't die." After that, he was left with a hideous scar on his back. I touched that scar with trembling fingertips, weeping uncontrollably. But he smiled like a fool. "Why are you crying? This scar is the proof of my love for you." And in high school, when I was cornered in an alley by a few bullies. They called me a fatherless bastard and threatened to slash my foxy face with a box cutter. It was Mia who charged in single-handedly, shielded me behind her, and pointed at them fiercely. "Just try and touch her!" From that day on, Mia accompanied me to and from school. She told me with absolute seriousness, "Chloe, we're going to be best friends for life." Waking up in the hospital. Liam's gaze fell on the crisscrossing scars on my wrist, and he sighed softly. "Chloe, I always thought you were a smart person." His voice was very low, like stating a long-understood fact. "What's wrong with staying by my side?" "You know your background; I could never accept your proposal." "All that talk about marrying you on the ninety-ninth time... was just to humor you." Ever since my father eloped with his mistress, my mother's mental state has been unstable. But Liam and Mia are both from wealthy New York families. Whenever someone pointed fingers behind my back, Liam and Mia would viciously slap their faces for me. I often asked myself, what did I do to deserve such a prince and princess taking such good care of me. Liam paused for a moment, his eyes unreadable. "Chloe, what do you really want? Money? Love? Or medical resources for your mother? Or..." He leaned in close, his words as light as a blade. "Do you want me to give you a child?" Motherhood as a ticket to status is a proven method. Using all my remaining strength, I slapped him hard across the face. "I want you to get lost! Don't ever let me see you again in this lifetime!" Liam froze for a second. He slowly touched his cheek with his long fingers, then smiled, grinding his back teeth. The hospital room door was pushed open again. Mia walked in carrying a basket of mangoes, her laughter light and deliberate. "Oh my, my good best friend, playing hard to get again?" She walked over to Liam, her eyes sliding sideways over me. "Liam got tired of that seven years ago. It's really inappropriate to play it now." Saying that, she started peeling a mango for me. But I'm allergic to mangoes. Mia knew this from the very first day we met. She deliberately showed off the dazzling diamond ring on her ring finger. Liam once said, he would buy his future wife the biggest, brightest diamond ring. Thinking of when I accidentally gouged a piece of flesh from my palm while personally crafting a wedding ring for Liam, a dense, fine pain flared up in my heart again. Mia handed the peeled mango to me, and I just swatted it onto the floor. The juice stained her dress. Liam's eyes darkened instantly. "Chloe, if you have any grievances, take them out on me!" "Mia has been good enough to you! She doesn't even mind me keeping you after we're married! What more do you want?!" Mia looked at me aggrievedly. "Chloe, do you really need to target me like this?" I was just about to kick them out, when two trending topics popped up on my phone. The first was the joyous news of the marriage alliance between the two powerful families of Liam and Mia. But the second was the record of my relationship with Liam over the past seven years. The comment section was full of people scolding Mia for throwing her weight around and knowingly being the other woman. Liam's usually unruly face suddenly turned dark. He squeezed a few words out through gritted teeth. "Chloe, you're such a bitch..." Chapter 3 But I haven't logged into any social media accounts since I woke up. Mia grabbed my wrist and roared. "Chloe! People need dignity to live, are you trying to force me to death?!" "Your life was saved by Liam, and your face was saved by me! Even your job in Northern Europe was introduced by us! Liam and I don't ask you for anything in return, but how can you bite the hand that feeds you?!" During the struggle, the wound on my wrist split open. Drops of blood smashed onto the bedsheets. But Liam just looked at me with a disappointed gaze. I took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "It wasn't me." But Liam directly grabbed my phone, skillfully entering his birthday to unlock it. Then he pointed to a transfer record of ten thousand dollars and questioned me coldly. "If it's not you, then what is this?" He didn't know this was the medical fee I advanced for my mother's surgery. He threw the phone at me, shielded Mia, turned around, and left. Half an hour later. Liam used his family company's official Twitter to post his and Mia's marriage certificate. The date was seven years ago. Which was the very day Liam and I made our relationship official. They had gone and gotten their marriage certificate. My heart ached to the point of numbness, yet I couldn't shed a single tear. Public opinion reversed. Countless netizens cursed me for knowingly being the other woman, and even trying to sow discord between a married couple. My personal information was quickly doxxed. My work email was stuffed with abusive letters, and my social media DMs turned into a swamp of filthy insults. Even more fatally, my boss all the way in Northern Europe called to fire me directly. Liam easily crushed everything I had spent years struggling to build. And my father abandoning his wife and child back then was magnified infinitely. "Chloe's dad didn't want her mom, and Liam doesn't want her either. This mother and daughter are destined to be mistresses for life!" "And she's so smug posting chat logs, thinking that will hurt the great Miss Mia? What a clown!" "So disgusting, how do people like this still have the face to live in this world? Chloe and her mother should just go die!" My college group chat also exploded. "Wasn't Liam's girlfriend always Chloe? Why is the person on the marriage certificate Mia?" "You guys don't know this, right? Actually, the person Liam has always liked is Mia. During the earthquake back then, Liam thought the person buried was Mia, that's why he went to save her!" "So Chloe, that simp, harassed Liam for all those years? Wow, she's been a mistress since her student days?" Seeing this message, I almost couldn't stand up. Just as I was about to fall, Mia suddenly caught me. She looked at my deathly pale face and said with a giggling smile. "Chloe, do you know why Liam pursued you?" She lowered her voice and enunciated every word. "Because, I have a certain kink." "Liam loves me too much, so he lowered himself to seduce you. And now, I'm bored with playing, so it's time for you to get lost!" "Oh right, the day after tomorrow is my wedding with Liam. As my best friend, you absolutely must come." As Mia turned to leave, she deliberately shoved a prenatal checkup report into my hand. "The crystallization of Liam and my love, four months along now." The world crashed down around me. Liam's past devotion, those vows that sounded better than sweet nothings. It turned out to be just a game. Liam's call suddenly rang. But I didn't answer. Soon he sent a text message. [Chloe, don't believe the nonsense people in the group chat are saying. After Mia and I are married, I will give you an explanation.] I pinched my palm tightly and typed. [Every time you called me Chloe, you were actually calling out to Mia, weren't you?] The person on the other end of the phone fell silent. The tears I had held back for so long finally fell. I don't know how long I stood in the cold wind. I wiped my tears and dialed a long-forgotten number. "Mr. Quinn, I agree to join your Arctic project. For the three years I'm gone, please make sure to take good care of my mother." The other party nodded crisply and responded. "No problem, I'll send a private jet to pick up your mother right now." As soon as the call disconnected, my mother's caregiver called immediately. "Ms. Davis, it's terrible, something happened to your mother!" Chapter 4 When I found my mother, she was pinned to the ground by several maids, barely clinging to life. Her back was already lacerated and bloody, yet she continued to glare fiercely at Mia. "I'm going to kill you! Kill you!" Mia had three bloody scratches on her face, clearly from my mother. She gripped the whip in her hand and said through gritted teeth, "Tomorrow is the wedding! How am I supposed to see anyone with this face?" "You old hag! There are still 99 lashes left! I'm going to beat you to death today!" Realizing what was happening, I immediately rushed forward to protect my mother. But the doctors clearly said my mother's condition had been improving over the years. Why did she suddenly go crazy? Crack! The whip lashed fiercely across my body. I cried out in pain. Mia, however, looked down at me from above with a triumphant sneer. "Hahaha, Chloe, your mother couldn't compete with my mother, and look now, you can't compete with me either." My body stiffened. "What did you say?" My gaze followed to the family portrait in her hand. My father, who had abandoned his wife and child, was lovingly holding another woman's waist. It turned out Mia's mother was the mistress from back then! Mia's laughter echoed in my ears. "Serves you right. Who told your mother to call my mother a mistress back then! Now that you've become a real mistress, I've finally vented my mother's anger!" "Let me tell you the truth, I approved the day you and Liam made your relationship official. You were willing to be a simp just because Liam treated you slightly well. Have you never been loved by anyone? Pathetic worm." "Now, either you take these 99 lashes for this old hag, or I start a livestream right now and tell the whole world that both you and your mother are mistresses hahaha..." Every word was like a poisoned needle, piercing into my deepest wounds. Anger rushed to my head, and I charged at Mia like a madwoman. But just as my fingertips touched her sleeve, Liam's furious voice suddenly erupted from behind. "Chloe! Don't you dare!" He kicked me viciously aside, his eyes fixed on the sharp scissors on the ground. "Crazy! If you want to die, go die yourself! Don't touch Mia!" Holding my bloodied mother, I wept silently. Liam paused slightly. Instinctively, he moved to help me. But Mia stumbled and threw herself into his arms, crying a river of tears. "Liam, Chloe said her mother is crazy and won't have to pay with her life for murder!" "It doesn't matter if something happens to me, but the baby in my belly..." The sliver of pity on Liam's face towards me abruptly vanished. The bodyguards immediately understood, grabbed the whip from the floor, and lashed me fiercely. Agonizing pain instantly swept over my entire body. I screamed in agony. But Liam refused to spare me another glance. At that moment, my mother, who had been on her last breath, suddenly shielded me tightly in her arms. Her cloudy eyes were full of tears as she whispered in my ear, "My sweet girl, it's Mom's fault for being useless and letting you suffer so much. This time, let Mom protect you..." Listening to her increasingly faint breathing, I cried and begged Liam for help. "I admit my mistake, I apologize, please, I beg you, save my mom!" But no matter how much I pleaded, there was no response.
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