At my absolute lowest point, Liam Vance married me. Everyone said he only married me to spite my younger sister. But when he died in a car accident, he left his entire estate to me. And a voice recorder. Pressing play, his low, raspy voice filled the room— He said: "Chloe, could you... maybe like me back just a little bit?" After all those years, I finally saw the massive, overwhelming love he had hidden beneath the ice. When I opened my eyes again, I was reborn. My adoptive mother was gripping my hand, saying: "Chloe, will you go to prison in your sister's place?" 01 Before I turned sixteen, I was the pampered, carefree eldest daughter of the Sterling family. Doted on by my parents and favored by my older brother, my life was perfect. Until Mia showed up with a DNA test, revealing that a nurse had swapped us at birth. She was the real heiress; I was just the imposter who stole her life. I wanted to leave. But my biological parents had passed away long ago, and Mrs. Sterling couldn't bear to see me become an orphan. So, they officially adopted me. My adoptive parents treated me well, my brother didn't give me the cold shoulder, and Mia never made things difficult for me. I was grateful. But later, Mia got into an argument backstage with an actress on a movie set. During the scuffle, the actress fell down the stairs and ended up in a vegetative state. There were no security cameras. But someone had to take the fall. And I happened to be there, witnessing the whole thing. My adoptive mother came to me in tears, begging me to take the blame for Mia. Mia knelt in front of me, sobbing, slapping her own face, and begging for my forgiveness. The whole family cried as if their hearts were breaking. So, I nodded. I took the blame, went to prison, and suffered through absolute hell. At first, the Sterling family still came to visit me, crying out of guilt or apology. But slowly, the visits stopped completely. Once, during a prison activity, the warden asked about our plans after release. I thought about it for a long time before carefully writing down: [After I get out, I want to see my mom and dad.] A fellow inmate saw it and laughed at how simple my wish was. "Of course your mom and dad will come pick you up. Why wouldn't you see them?" I smiled and didn't argue. But when I was finally released, no one came. Only Mr. Sterling's assistant showed up. He drove me to the airport and handed me a large sum of money. He didn't say a single word. But I understood everything. Mom and Dad didn't want me anymore. The Sterling family had abandoned me. 02 I didn't take the money. Not out of pride. I just didn't want to owe the Sterling family anything anymore. They raised me for twenty years; I went to prison for their daughter for five. We were even. I rented a small apartment and ran myself ragged until I finally found a job that didn't care about my criminal record. But just half a month later, I was fired. After I persistently questioned him, the manager finally stammered out: "You offended someone you shouldn't have." I froze, unable to say another word. Someone I shouldn't have offended. Aside from the Sterling family. Who else could it be? That day, clutching my bag, I walked out onto the street. A fine, misty rain was falling, the cool droplets blowing onto my face and body. As I passed the central plaza, the giant screen was broadcasting a live event featuring Mia. I stopped and looked up. Standing on the award stage, she was breathtakingly beautiful, radiating confidence. The camera panned, and I saw Mr. and Mrs. Sterling looking at her with tears of joy. Looking at her like she was an invaluable treasure, their eyes full of nothing but love. For some reason, I suddenly remembered my adoptive mother visiting me in prison for the first time. Seeing how dangerously thin I had gotten, she cried and promised: "Chloe, after you get out, Mom will take care of you for the rest of your life. Mom loves you." But the last time I saw her, two years ago, the only emotion left on her face was a faint trace of guilt. She said: "Chloe, Mia is getting engaged to Liam Vance. She really loves him. After you get out, could you leave the city? So the Vance family doesn't find out about the past." Liam Vance. The crown prince of the Vance family. We had TVs in prison, so I would occasionally hear about the epic, deep romance between Mia and Liam. Everyone said Liam Vance was a notorious playboy, but he gave it all up for Mia. He even stepped into the entertainment industry he so deeply despised, just to pave the way for her, funneling resources to her, and even personally presenting her awards. Sometimes, I envied Mia. I envied that she had parents who loved her, a boyfriend who adored her, and in her short twenty-something years, she had already achieved both career success and true love. Unlike me. No parents, no career, no lover. And... no one who loved me. 03 As for marrying Liam, that was a complete accident. After getting fired, I moved back to my hometown and worked as a waitress in a restaurant. It was pretty busy. I have no idea how he found out where I was. When he tracked me down, I was serving beers to a customer. The man had too much to drink and started getting handsy. I frowned and slapped him. Enraged, he kicked me hard, knocking me to the ground. Beer and food spilled all over me. It burned. Still not satisfied, the man cursed and raised his hand to hit me again, but the next second, he went dead silent. I opened my eyes and looked straight into a pair of eyes as bright as stars. Liam Vance smirked, though it looked lazy and lacking any real warmth: "Chloe Sterling, you really are here." I got up, brushed the food scraps off myself, nodded, and tried to walk past him. But I hadn't taken two steps. When I heard his voice from behind me: "Seeing as you're in such a pathetic state, want to marry me?" I whipped my head around in shock: "Have you finally lost your mind?" "I'm serious." Liam looked me over, his eyes dark and unreadable. He sounded completely serious. "To be honest, your sister dumped me, and I'm pissed. And the Sterling family pushed you to this point. I guess we can consider ourselves an alliance of victims." The yellow streetlight flickered twice before finally burning out. I couldn't see his face clearly. I could only hear him let out a scoff, the tip of his cigarette glowing a faint red in the dark: "You have absolutely nothing left anyway. Marrying me, you don't lose anything. What are you afraid of?" I thought about it. I didn't say anything. He just waited for me quietly. It wasn't until a cold wind blew past, making me shiver instinctively, that Liam took off his custom-tailored trench coat and draped it over my shoulders. Instantly, my nose was filled with the faint scent of his tobacco. I said: "Okay." 04 When the news of our marriage broke, everyone was shocked. They all said Liam only married me to spite Mia. At our wedding, when Liam said "I do," I noticed Mia in the audience, her eyes red from crying, before she lost her composure and fled the venue. I glanced at the man beside me, but he just smiled and didn't even look her way. As if he had never loved her, as if he truly didn't care. After we got married, Liam treated me very well. He arranged for me to be his secretary, keeping us tied together every single minute of the day. When I asked him why, he just gave a flirtatious smile: "I can't feel at ease leaving a beautiful woman alone at home. What if a thief steals you away? I'd be losing out on my own purity." I laughed at his nonsense. And didn't bother arguing with him. All those years in prison, I suffered too much. My body couldn't handle any strain. A normal person's cold or cough would turn into a major illness for me. Liam hired top specialists from everywhere to treat me, and I finally got a little better. By my hospital bed, he held my hand, looking incredibly serious and devout: "Chloe Sterling, I bought you. Your life belongs to me. You are not allowed to die before I do!" Such childish words. But seeing the faint bitterness in his eyes, I finally nodded. I didn't understand why he was sad. But I had long since learned not to ask, not to pry. "Okay." "Till death do us part." But, in the end, the one who broke the promise. Wasn't me. It was Liam Vance. 05 "Mrs. Vance, Mr. Vance passed away at 3:00 AM yesterday due to a severe car accident, despite our best efforts to save him. "My deepest condolences." Pushing open the door to the morgue, Liam's parents were already weeping uncontrollably. Looking at Liam's deathly pale face, I could only think to myself: God favored him, giving him a family background, looks, and abilities that others could only dream of, but why was God so stingy to only give him thirty-four years? What a shame. What a shame. I handled Liam's funeral entirely on my own. Even after five years of marriage, many people still didn't believe in our relationship. Mia, whose love had turned to hate, was constantly waiting for me to become a joke. But no one expected that Liam would leave all his property and shares entirely to me. His parents had no objections. They just left, their backs hunched, their former vitality completely gone. A week later, Liam's lawyer, Mr. Chen, brought me the asset transfer documents. Before leaving, he handed me a voice recorder: "This was recovered from Mr. Vance's belongings. I believe you should have it, Madam." 06 "Chloe Sterling." From the voice recorder, the man's voice was cool and clear, laced with a bit of static, making it sound even huskier: "I never married you to spite Mia. I married you because I liked you." I froze, but my heart remained strangely calm. As if I had expected it. Liam let out a soft laugh: "Maybe you've forgotten, but we met a long time ago. "Back then, you were the untouchable 'ice queen' of the school. You were incredibly smart, the teachers' favorite. My mentor was always talking about you. Every time he finished chatting with your teacher, he would angrily tell me—" "Liam Vance, I hate you right now. Stay away from me." He imitated his mentor's tone, sounding unexpectedly cute. I instinctively let out a laugh. But the next second, I slowly pulled it back. Liam continued: "I hated you so much back then, but I couldn't stop looking at you. I guess I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment, hehe. "But later, you went to prison. For so-called intentional assault. "I didn't believe it. I had to find out the truth, but unfortunately, the Sterling family cleaned up all the evidence perfectly. So, I set my sights on Mia." So that was it. The legendary, deeply moving romance between Liam and Mia was just an excuse for him to uncover the truth behind my imprisonment. But Liam never expected Mia's lips to be sealed so tight. But eventually, he still found clues. I suddenly remembered that before we got married, Liam had excitedly asked me one day: "Chloe, do you want revenge?" "No." I shook my head: "We're even." After all these years. I finally understood that on that day, he had probably uncovered the truth. He investigated the truth for me. And for me, he buried it again. It turned out, it was all because of me. The emotions in my eyes trembled violently. My entire body couldn't stop shaking, and tears fell drop by drop.
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