Three years ago, the one I loved most cast me out of the country. Three years later, I could finally return home. But I no longer loved Harrison Thorne. Yet, everyone still regarded me with warning glances. "Alice Greene, still trying to cling to Harrison? Still trying to ruin Lydia's relationship with him?" "Three years overseas and you still haven't learned your lesson. Harrison was too soft; he shouldn't have let her come back." "Exactly, a rotten seed like her should be in jail, should have just died abroad." I just watched them in silence. But later. I heard a piece of news that shattered me. I mumbled, bewildered. "John Reed." "Have any of you seen my John?" "Please, don't be dead." "You promised you'd come back for me." I descended into a madness that lasted for days. Finally, no one thought I was putting on an act anymore. Harrison pushed through the crowd and held me tight. His hands, though, were trembling. "Alice, what's wrong?" "Who is John Reed?" "Don't scare me like this, please." 1 I had been back in the country for less than an hour. Already, I’d received over a dozen warning texts. "How dare you show your face?" "Didn't the thugs overseas give you a good beating? You're so asking for it." "Why didn't your plane explode and take you with it?" … I ignored the messages. Instead, I pulled out my laptop, opened my email, and quickly sent a message. It was a simple one. "I'm safely back home." The email sent, the recipient's profile picture remained black. And it would never reply. I stared blankly at the screen. Hearing footsteps, I closed my laptop. A woman with her hair intricately pinned up entered. It was my mother, Eleanor. "Alice, why are you looking at your mother like a stranger?" I remained lost in thought for a moment. My mother dabbed her eyes and left. That evening, I heard things crashing in the study. "Is she blaming us?" "She pushed that poor Lydia off the stairs. Lydia was in a coma for three months!" "Enough, let it go." "It's all in the past. Harrison and Lydia are getting engaged soon. We can't afford any missteps now." My hand, clutching a glass of water, trembled imperceptibly. I turned and quietly slipped away. 2 The next morning, I sat hunched over my laptop. Midway through, I headed downstairs to grab something to eat. My mother was in the living room, watching TV. Suddenly, the news anchor announced: #BREAKING NEWS: THORNE INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES THE ENGAGEMENT OF MR. HARRISON THORNE AND MS. LYDIA VANCE, SET FOR MID-NEXT MONTH.# I froze, stunned. An engagement on an island resort? I remembered a time, so long ago, when I had clung to Harrison, pleaded with him. "Island resorts are so romantic. Can we have our engagement there, please?" He had merely looked at me, cold and annoyed. "Alice, can you stop making a fuss?" "I'm working." Seeing his displeasure, I immediately became docile, sitting quietly beside him. "Okay, okay, I won't say another word. You focus on your work." The memory flickered, then faded. I snapped back to the present. My mother saw me and jumped. "Alice, why are you downstairs?" "Are you going out? Where are you going, darling? Mom will come with you." She was already telling someone to grab her purse. Then she fumbled for the remote, wanting to turn off the television. Watching her anxious, flustered movements, I understood. She was simply terrified that I would, like in the past, cling to Harrison like a stubborn burr. But, Mom, I won't. Never again. "No, I'm not going out. Just came down for a snack." "What?" I had already grabbed a bottle of milk and turned to go back upstairs. On the stairs, my mother still looked surprised. "Alice, you…" I sniffed. "Mom, you can watch TV. I'm going back upstairs to work." 3 After Thorne Industries announced the engagement, old scandals resurfaced. Including the widely circulated rumor that I, in a fit of madness, had pushed Lydia Vance down the stairs that year. Half the online comments offered congratulations; the other half condemned me. "OMG, finally announced! Congrats, forever happiness!" "Hehehe, happily ever after, babies soon!" "Must be happy!" … "Where's Alice Greene now? Too ashamed to show her face? Probably dying of jealousy." "Heard she was forcibly sent abroad." "She's truly evil. Did she really think Harrison would like her if she ruined someone else's life?" "All her schemes and calculations, haha, in the end, they failed. Bad people never get good karma." I stared numbly, then closed the webpage. But at dinner that evening, I never expected my father, Patrick, to bring Harrison Thorne home. I was just coming downstairs for dinner when I saw them. I froze at the top of the stairs, my body rigid. How could he be here, at the Greene estate? As the esteemed CEO of Thorne Industries, he would have known about my return the moment I stepped foot on American soil. No. I could only return because he had given his consent. My father wouldn't have dared bring me back otherwise. My father gestured for Harrison to go to the study. Then he subtly signaled my mother to quickly take me away, lest I cause trouble. I lowered my head and followed my mother to the living room. The study door wasn't fully closed. With just a glance, I could see his tall frame. His perfectly tailored black suit, his sharp, neatly styled hair. He was always a king among men, no one more handsome, more commanding. I turned my head for another look. It seemed my father was looking for some documents. Harrison hadn't even sat down. The tea on the table remained untouched. He took the item and prepared to leave. "Alice, darling, help Mom look at this bag. What do you think?" My mother tried to distract me. I turned back, helping her inspect the bag. "It's beautiful, Mom." 4 Five minutes later, a pair of long legs emerged from the study. My mother rose, politely trying to detain him. "Harrison, won't you stay for dinner?" Of course, we both knew he wouldn't linger at the Greene estate. But no one dared offend the Thorne family. Harrison finally turned, his gaze sweeping over me—the only time he'd looked at me since entering the house. What kind of look was it? Detached. Indifferent, as if looking at a complete stranger? I sat stiffly on the sofa, unmoving. In the past, I would have rushed over, excitedly linked my arm through his, calling him "Harrison, darling." But now, I remained quiet, as if the man before me no longer held any significance. He gave a slight nod. "No, Eleanor. I have other commitments." He lifted his foot, pulling his gaze from me, and moved to stride away. He took two steps. Suddenly, I clenched my fists and spoke. "Wait." The man who had walked two steps stopped. He stiffened for a moment, then turned sideways. My mother had already clutched my arm, a look of dread on her face. "Alice, what are you… Harrison said he's busy." I felt the sharp pinch of my mother's fingers on my arm. His eyes, too, darkened a few shades. "Yes? What is it, Ms. Greene?" Good. I no longer called him "Harrison, darling." And he, too, addressed me coldly as "Ms. Greene," not "Alice," not even my given name. I took a deep breath. "There's something I need to give you. Please wait a moment." I pulled my hand free and dashed upstairs. I punched in the code, opened the innermost drawer, and retrieved a square box. Then I ran back downstairs. Below, everyone looked at me with cold disapproval, as if I were about to cause another scene. But when I presented the deep blue, square box, their coldness instantly melted. My parents seemed to understand. "This is something I got from your grandmother a while ago, but it doesn't suit me. I'm returning it to you. It belongs to its rightful owner." It seemed my intentions were not what he had expected. When I handed it to him, he looked surprised, the dark cloud on his face dissipating. The box contained an antique bracelet, passed down through generations of the Thorne family. No one had ever believed in our relationship, but Grandma Thorne had been particularly fond of me. On my twentieth birthday, she had given me this bracelet, a symbol of a future granddaughter-in-law. I, too, had once believed I would surely become the Thorne family's daughter-in-law. It was much later that I realized those were merely unrealistic, fragile dreams. He stood silent for a long moment. Then, he finally reached out and took it. Harrison Thorne left with the bracelet. My mother came over, gently patting my head in a comforting gesture. 5 A week later, I started my new job at City General Hospital. My undergraduate degree was in medicine, and I had spent over two years at a medical research institute overseas. My parents were still a little uneasy, though. I knew they had hired someone to follow me. I wasn't angry. After all, Harrison Thorne and Lydia Vance's engagement couldn't afford any disruptions from me. It would bring ruin to the Greene family. I desperately wanted to tell them it wouldn't happen. The old Alice had died long ago. And the current Alice no longer loved Harrison Thorne. I never imagined that just a few days into my new job, Lydia Vance would book an appointment with me. We sat facing each other, the air thick with awkwardness. She claimed to have a slight cough, but seeing her extremely mild symptoms, I knew she wasn't there for medical reasons. She was there to confront me. I prescribed her a mild medication. She clutched the prescription, not moving to leave. Then, she slowly removed her sunglasses. "Alice, you've lost some weight." The old social circle, those people—I wanted nothing to do with them anymore. Especially Lydia Vance. We had once loved the same man. And I had lost utterly. I sidestepped her comment, my tone flat. "The pharmacy is on the ground floor. I need to see my next patient." She still didn't leave. She just stared at me. "You've changed, completely. You used to be the liveliest among us. You were never this quiet." I offered a faint smile. "Ms. Vance, are you here for medical treatment, or do you have another agenda?" She fell silent. She put her sunglasses back on and left. But as she pulled the door open and stepped out, my gaze fell upon her feet. Three years ago, she had tumbled down the stairs, her leg severely injured. She underwent several surgeries and lost a lot of blood. That incident was why I carried the blame. At the time, only the two of us were upstairs. I vehemently insisted she had fallen herself. No one believed me. Harrison lifted her, his face etched with agonizing concern. "Harrison, I didn't push her." I tried to explain, but before I could finish, he kicked me hard in the stomach. "Get out." That was the first time I had ever been hit. And probably the first time he had ever struck a woman. Within two days, I received a lawsuit from Thorne Industries. Lydia Vance wasn't a Thorne, but Harrison Thorne was determined to get justice for her. I almost went to jail. It was rumored that old Mr. Thorne had intervened, changing my sentence to forced exile from the country. I instinctively touched my abdomen. His kick had been powerful. Now, every rainy day, that part of my belly aches.
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