It was my tenth year as the "Headline Queen" of GNN. On New Year's Eve, my paparazzi snapped a bombshell about my husband. Harrison Sterling told me he was working late at the office. In reality, he was ringing in the New Year with another woman. In the photo, there was a red mark on the woman's neck. It was clear how wild they played. Seeing my dark expression, the paparazzo whispered, "Nicole, do we still publish these?" I smiled indifferently. "The first scandal of the year. Why would I say no to money?" Besides, old trash doesn't belong in the new year. Chapter 1 Just then, I received a text from Harrison. "Honey, Happy New Year. Tired from overtime. Going to sleep now." I smirked. Physical labor all night is indeed tiring. I didn't reply. I opened my laptop and started typing. The next morning, the headlines in Manhattan exploded. [The Crown Prince's New Year Bang!] [Exclusive! Harrison Sterling Tames a Wild Mare on NYE!] Within thirty minutes, Harrison stormed into my office, ignoring security. "Nicole! Issue a clarification immediately!" I calmly handed him a document from my desk. "Sure. Sign this, and I'll pull all the reports." Harrison stared at me for two seconds. "Nicole, I'm not leaving you." But the next moment, he sighed, feigning helplessness. "But she's pregnant." "I'm thirty this year. I want a child of my own." He dropped his arrogance and softened his voice. "Honey, when the baby is born, we can raise it together, okay?" My eyes stung. I asked him: "Who is she?" He promised me that no matter how much he played around, he would never bring a child into this. My hand trembled as I touched my lower abdomen. There was a scar there, ugly as a centipede. Harrison knew that my inability to conceive was the greatest pain of my life. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the door. "Ma'am, you cannot enter the Director's office without permission!" "I'm pregnant! Who dares to touch me?" She screamed, squeezing through the door and rushing in front of me. "Sister Nicole, my child is innocent! Please let us be!" It was Sienna. The nurse responsible for my care. So, the woman under my husband last night was her. I sneered at Harrison. "All these years, you flew around the world finding hundreds of doctors for me. You spent a billion dollars just to get me pregnant." "In the end, you knocked up a little nurse!" I raised my hand and slapped him hard. "Harrison Sterling, you disgust me." He opened his mouth to speak, but Sienna dropped to her knees with a thud. "Sister Nicole, I know you two have a deep bond." "Please keep me! I'm willing to be the second wife. I'll serve you and Harrison for the rest of my life!" What a move. Retreating to advance. I almost wanted to applaud her. Harrison rushed to help her up, kissing and comforting her, checking her knees. By now, the doorway was crowded with people watching the drama. Their looks of pity or schadenfreude burned me like fire. I smashed my mug on the floor. Shards flew everywhere. "Harrison, if you're not signing, get out." "Look at whose territory this is. Don't make me call security!" Harrison recognized the mug. We bought it ten years ago when we got married. It symbolized a lifetime of happiness. His pupils shrank. He silently took Sienna's hand and left. After everyone was gone. I held back the tears in my eyes. I picked up the internal line. "Send a banner to the hospital for me." The photos the paparazzi took were blurry. But it didn't matter. I would let all of New York know who the loose woman from last night was. My assistant sent me the live feed. Sienna opened the banner with a smile in front of everyone. Until she saw the words: [Thank you, Miss Sienna, for providing sexual services to my husband.] She screamed, frantically trying to roll the banner back up. But the patients and colleagues around her had already seen it. Sienna covered her face and cried amidst the pointing fingers. Harrison called me quickly. This was the first time he shouted at me for another woman. "You painted Sienna as an escort! She's crying and wants to abort my child!" "Nicole, get over here and apologize to her!" I sneered and hung up. I went back to work. When I checked my phone again, 99+ notifications filled the screen. Chapter 2 An uncensored video was trending. In it, a greasy middle-aged man groped me, and I fawned over him. My worst nightmare was exposed to the world. Suffocation wrapped around me. It felt like being stripped naked and paraded on Fifth Avenue. Only he knew where my weak spot was. And how to hurt me the most. This was my first big undercover assignment. I infiltrated a VIP club to get intel. Harrison was the only one who encouraged me back then. Later, he bought back all the footage at a high price. Over the years, Harrison used his resources to lift me up. He told me firmly, "Nicole, I'm willing to let you stand on my shoulders to see the view you want." But after we married, we could never go back. I was the "Headline Queen" for ten years. I reported thousands of scandals. Hundreds of them were about my husband. The Harrison who encouraged my career now only said, "I play around, but I love you the most." "No matter how many women I have, they have to call you Sister." I thought a child would make him settle down. But the woman outside was faster. Just then, Sienna posted a photo of her interlocking fingers with Harrison on Instagram. An official announcement. The ruthless "Crown Prince" of Manhattan looked at the camera with tender eyes. I followed the location tag to his private booth at the club. A drunk man suddenly spoke up. "Harrison, your plan was brilliant!" "Setting up Nicole ten years ago so she couldn't have kids... now you can play around guilt-free!" Harrison swirled his wine, looking bored. "I was too young back then. Didn't want to be tied down by a kid." I froze. The last bit of warmth in my heart vanished. The gold heist that shocked the city ten years ago. I rushed to the scene but was stabbed in the uterus by a robber. That knife cut through my unborn child and churned my insides. So, it was Harrison's setup... No wonder the robber got out on medical parole after a few months. The man sleeping next to me for ten years was the one who stabbed me the deepest. His friend looked at Sienna and asked: "Why do you want a kid now? Turning over a new leaf?" Harrison didn't deny it. He smiled faintly. "Sienna is clean. Unlike all of them." He kissed her hand like a rose. "I promise to be a good father and protect our baby." Sienna blushed and buried her face in his chest. "Harrison... Hubby, people are watching!" But she couldn't hide her smugness. His friend said enviously: "Young women are the best. Makes me want to date again." I dug my nails into my palm. I suppressed the urge to rush in and smash everything. I recorded his friend's words and sent them to his wife—the fiercest tiger in our circle. Then, I called a strange number. "I accept your offer." Ten years later, I learned to hide my blade. I was no longer the reckless rookie reporter Nicole. Chapter 3 That night, I didn't rush to leave. I didn't play the obedient wife waiting for a man who wouldn't come home. I found a booth in the lobby and sat down. I threw Harrison's supplementary credit card on the table. I waved my hand. "Whoever makes me happy can swipe this card!" Several young men stood respectfully in front of me, calling me "Sister" sweetly. Just as one of them was about to touch my hand... Smack! His hand was slapped away violently. Harrison stood before me, face cold, radiating danger. He grabbed my arm, veins popping. "Nicole, what are you doing!" This time, I was the calm one. I said lightly, "I just wanted to know if cheating feels that good." "Worth doing over and over again." Harrison's eyes turned red. "Tell me, where did he touch you?" I didn't answer. I shook off his hand. "Harrison, you cheated last night. All of New York is my witness." "I will hire the best lawyer and leave you with nothing." Suddenly, he scoffed. He looked down at me like an ant. "Nicole, you can't do it. And I won't give you the chance." That night, Harrison sent female bodyguards to escort me home. They forced me into the bathtub. Ignoring my screams, they scrubbed me with brushes over ten times before leaving. Harrison knew. Since that incident ten years ago, I revolted against anyone's touch but his. Yet he humiliated me by any means necessary. Ten years of deep love turned out to be a massive joke. I hugged the toilet and vomited all night, sitting there until dawn. The second day of the New Year. I hosted the annual meeting at the TV station. A man suddenly burst in with documents. "Nicole threatened me to make fake AI photos of her husband! Or she'd fire me!" "I have a family to feed! I had to listen to her!" My brain exploded. More subordinates squeezed in. They shouted out evidence of my "crimes." I couldn't understand. How much money did it take to make loyal subordinates fabricate lies and betray me? My heart felt squeezed. I couldn't breathe. The board decided to fire me and fine me millions. But the day wasn't over. As soon as I stepped out of the station. Police officers rushed over, pinning me to the ground and handcuffing me. "Nicole, you are under arrest for defamation. Come with us." Ridicule erupted behind me. "Some Headline Queen. Look at her now, like a chained dog!" "Faking news for money? Scum of the industry!" Chapter 4 Half an hour later, Sienna stood outside the bars. Holding Harrison's hand, she smiled victoriously. Harrison said deeply, "Sienna is carrying my heir. You are sisters now. Take care of each other." "If you kneel and apologize to her, I'll clear your name. You can be the Headline Queen again." Even after countless disappointments, I couldn't believe my ears. To vent anger for Sienna, he destroyed my bright future. I really wanted to ask him. Where did the Harrison who praised my ambition as brighter than the Hudson River skyline go? I gritted my teeth and swallowed my emotions. "No need. I don't want it." Harrison's face darkened instantly. The last trace of pity in his eyes vanished. Sienna grabbed my hand and yanked off my wedding ring. "No jewelry in detention. Sister Nicole, I'll take this ring!" She scratched my skin, drawing blood. But it didn't hurt as much as my heart. She whispered in my ear. "Nicole, I bribed some killers inside." "Tell me... if your beautiful hands are ruined, will Harrison still want you?" I was thunderstruck. I tried to scratch her face. Harrison blocked my hand effortlessly. "Nicole, cool off in there for a few days. When you figure it out, I'll let you out!" Not long after Harrison left, he was engulfed in a scandal. News about Sterling Motors' cars spontaneously combusting, previously suppressed, resurfaced. Stocks plummeted. Trading was halted. Even the retired Old Man Sterling had to step in. Finally, the old man gave Harrison a path: "Go say hello to the newly appointed City Director of Communications." Harrison went straight to City Hall. Staff in black uniforms led him to the office and closed the door respectfully. The leather chair slowly turned around. The person spoke. "Do you like my gift on my first day?"
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