My brother accidentally sent a text meant for his mistress to my phone. "Babe, Night Carp Hotel, midnight. Have the red lingerie ready." A cold sneer crept onto my lips. I immediately replied to his message. "Five million. Hush money." My brother called me right away. The moment I answered, he started screaming at me. Calling me shameless, accusing me of extorting money from my own flesh and blood. I just smiled and didn't argue back. I simply hung up the phone. Five minutes later, a transfer of five million dollars hit my account. Along with another text message. "I'm begging you, don't tell your sister-in-law. She's pregnant right now, and it hasn't been easy for her." 1 I didn't reply to his text. I just calmly transferred three million dollars to my sister-in-law, Clara. Once she confirmed she received the money, I asked her, "The baby is five months along now, right? Being pregnant, you probably can't get a divorce right away?" Her reply was not what I expected. "That's why I've decided to get an abortion. Your brother doesn't even want this baby anyway. What about you? What's your plan?" Me? My gaze fell on the framed photo of me and Ethan on the coffee table. It was taken during our college years by a passing stranger. But in that single captured moment, as we looked into each other's eyes, our gazes were overflowing with deep affection. But now... A bitter smile touched my lips. "I'm planning to get an abortion, too." She didn't reply immediately. Half an hour passed before she finally texted back. "Your brother just got home." "Okay, if you're also planning to abort, I'll go arrange a private clinic right now. What time works for you?" "Seven days from now. Seven days from now is my seventh wedding anniversary with your brother, and your third anniversary with Ethan. We both started on that day, so let's both end it on that day." She sent a "thumbs up" emoji. And just as I cleared our chat history... My brother texted me again. "Glad to see you know what's good for you. Thanks for keeping your mouth shut." Know what's good for me? Of course I do. After all, this is the same brother who, when I was eighteen, tore up my Harvard acceptance letter and destroyed my academic records, forcing me to study abroad. All because Mia, the girl who had taken my place in this family for ten years, didn't score as high as I did. She cried. And fueled by his misguided sense of justice, he destroyed the future I had fought so hard to secure for myself. And now, in the third year of my marriage to his best friend Ethan, while I'm three months pregnant... That woman, whom I had managed to chase away with sheer stubbornness, was back. Simply because she claimed she "still couldn't forget Ethan." My wonderful brother played matchmaker, constantly creating opportunities for her to seduce Ethan. Honestly, I've never understood why my brother is so ruthless toward me. Is it just because when I was lost as a child and finally found, I pointed him out as the one who intentionally lost me? When my dad was whipping him with a belt until his skin bled... Mia cried and threw herself in front of him to protect him. So I, his actual sister, became his enemy. And Mia became the apple of his eye. To the point where he'd viciously destroy my life and my marriage, all just to help Mia. 2 As I sank deep into these painful memories, the sound of the door opening jolted me back. It was Ethan. Seeing me curled up on the sofa, he froze for a second before instinctively asking: "Why aren't you asleep yet?" He quickly took off his shoes, walked over, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Is the baby keeping you up again?" He reached out to gently stroke my still-flat stomach and began softly singing a lullaby. Listening to his gentle voice, my grip on the blanket tightened. Sometimes, I really couldn't help but want to interrogate Ethan. How exactly did he manage it? He came home smelling like the shower he took after sleeping with that girl, yet he still managed to make it back right on time for the 10 PM curfew I set for him. Then he'd kiss my cheek. Then he'd sit with me, doing prenatal bonding exercises for our baby. I suppose it makes sense. After all, when I was first brought back to the family, he managed to cautiously approach me and listen to me recount the trauma of those five years I was lost. Yet, he was also capable of taking Mia out for midnight motorcycle rides just because she called him. He was always so compartmentalized, unable to let go of me, and unable to let go of Mia. Even back when my brother ruined my life, forcing me to go to college abroad alone and helpless... When I called my parents asking for living expenses, they were too busy vacationing with Mia and my brother to answer or pay attention to me. I cried and called Ethan. He only heard two sobs from me. That very night, he unhesitatingly flew overseas, giving me money and the emotional support I needed. But when he returned to the States, he showed up at my family's New Year's party, holding Mia, looking like a golden couple in my family's portrait. I always thought I had won. After I returned from abroad, I threw tantrums and forced my parents to send Mia away. I forced Ethan to ultimately choose me. But only now do I realize that I lost. I lost completely. The pain was so overwhelming that tears involuntarily streamed down the corners of my eyes. Seeing me cry, Ethan immediately panicked. "What's wrong, Chloe? Don't cry. Tell me what's wrong." I looked at the man before me through a blur of tears, his eyes filled with concern. For a split second, I really believed I was his everything. But as he turned his head to grab a tissue to wipe my tears, I saw the dense cluster of hickeys exposed on his neck. My heart violently seized. No wonder Ethan had been sleeping in turtlenecks lately. When I was asleep, he was still "working" in the study. When I woke up, he was already dressed in a suit. I had always thought Ethan was feeling guilty about betraying me, but only at this moment did it suddenly click. All his elaborate cover-ups were just hiding the evidence of his affair. But what was there to hide? On the day Mia returned, she made a vow to me. This time, she was going to take back everything that belonged to her. So all these days, the photos of Ethan and Mia in bed were already stuffed into the drawer where I kept my wedding ring. The moment Ethan noticed I wasn't wearing my ring and impulsively decided to put it on for me, he would open that drawer and see them. Before, if I didn't wear my ring for even a single day, he'd act all hurt and complain that I didn't value our marriage. Since Mia came back, not only did he fail to notice that I had long since taken off my ring... I also noticed that the wedding ring Ethan was wearing had changed. It was a ring that looked almost identical to mine overall, but the details were completely different. I even slipped it off his finger while he was sleeping to check. The engraving inside the band had changed from "ZX" to "ZQ." My heart ached suffocatingly. As Ethan reached out with a tissue to wipe the tears from my face... A sudden wave of nausea rose in my chest. I instinctively slapped his hand away. Ethan, holding the tissue, froze slightly. I quickly scrambled for an excuse: "Sorry, my morning sickness must be acting up. I'm going to go lie down." After that, I didn't care what Ethan's expression was like. I fled back to my room in a panic. The moment the door closed, I slumped over the toilet and threw up violently. For the past three months of my pregnancy, this baby had been incredibly considerate; I hadn't experienced any morning sickness at all. But now, it hit me. So it wasn't just me who was disgusted by Ethan's two-faced, clingy affection. The baby inside me was disgusted, too. 3 I didn't sleep a wink all night. After the violent vomiting, my stomach even started to ache with a dull pain. If it were in the past, I would have frantically rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night. After all, having been unloved by my father, unloved by my mother, and unloved by my brother... I desperately wanted a child whose eyes would only ever hold me. But this time, like a masochist, I didn't move an inch. Just as Clara said, if his father doesn't love him anyway, him choosing to leave might be the best option. That night, Ethan never returned to the bedroom. I heard the front door close at midnight, and I heard it close again at six in the morning. Where did Ethan go? It goes without saying. Because at 2 AM, I received a photo from Mia. She and Ethan were cuddling on the bed in my childhood bedroom. On the nightstand sat the stuffed bear I used to sleep with every night as a kid. But in front of the bear was a photo of Mia in a princess dress. After all, from the moment I returned to this family after being lost for five agonizing years... My room became Mia's. My brother became Mia's. My parents became Mia's. The most painful memory was when I woke up crying from a nightmare about my abusive, incarcerated foster father. I got out of bed, crying, looking for my parents... Only to find my parents and brother gathered around a complaining Mia, who had a stomachache in the middle of the night, their faces full of heartache. "The guest room is drafty. Mia must have caught a chill; that's why her stomach hurts." As soon as my mom finished speaking, my brother immediately chimed in: "It would be better if Chloe hadn't come back. Then Mia wouldn't have been kicked out of her room. You guys clearly didn't want Chloe back either. Look how hard she is to get along with now. But you're all too proud to admit it." "And you gave the room that belonged to Mia to Chloe. Do you really think she deserves it?" The moment my brother finished, my dad slapped him on the back of the head. "Shut up! Be careful Chloe doesn't hear you, or she'll throw another tantrum." After that, the living room was filled with soft voices coaxing Mia to stop crying. That night, after I returned to my room, I developed a high fever. But the three people outside knew nothing about it. It wasn't until I had been lying there for four days that my cold naturally broke. I took the initiative to suggest moving out of that room that once belonged to me, and suggested moving to my grandmother's house. Only then did they seemingly realize that they hadn't seen me leave my room for four days. Thinking of that painful past, a suffocating ache washed over me again. I struggled out of bed. I had just brushed my teeth and walked out the door when I saw Ethan wearing an apron, preparing a prenatal breakfast for me. The scene stung my eyes, making them red. Seeing me appear, Ethan took off his apron and walked toward me. "I saw you throwing up last night. I didn't want to disturb your rest, so I slept in the study." As he spoke, Ethan guided me to sit down at the dining table. "I read online that pregnant women need to eat well to avoid morning sickness." Saying that, he turned and went to the kitchen to pour me a glass of milk. But looking at the breakfast laid out on the table—all dishes made with eggs—my heart seized again. I'm allergic to eggs. My eyes started to sting again. The next second, my phone chimed with a message notification. It was a text from Mia. "Do you like the egg feast I had Ethan prepare for you?" "Consider this meal a reward for sleeping alone last night." "I hope after you eat it, you and the little bastard in your stomach end up in the hospital, dead and buried." "Oh, right. Ethan should be telling you about a business trip soon. But actually, he promised to accompany me to visit my parents' graves." "You know, I just got back from abroad. I have to go visit my biological parents." "By the way, your parents and brother are going too." My fingers gripped the phone tightly. After pouring the milk, Ethan walked back toward me. He placed the milk on the table, kissed my cheek, and said: "Baby, I have to go on a business trip today. There's an emergency with a project in Seattle." Saying that, he reached back and untied his apron. "You and this little troublemaker stay home and be good. I'll be back in a couple of days." With that, regardless of how pale my face was. Regardless of whether I had taken a single bite of his meticulously prepared egg dishes. He hurried back to the bedroom, grabbed his pre-packed suitcase, and walked out the door. Throughout the entire process, he didn't even say goodbye to me. He didn't even ask why my eyes were so red before he slammed the door shut. Listening to the sound of the door slamming echoing in the apartment, tears fell drop by drop. And the knife and fork Ethan had handed me had, unknowingly, pierced into the flesh of my palm. Bright red blood dripped down the blade, drop by drop, into the milky white glass, swirling into a pinkish cloud. 4 I sat at the dining table for two whole hours that day before I regained my senses. That very day, I made an appointment with Clara to go to the clinic early for the abortions. I didn't expect her to be like me; as soon as I suggested it, she agreed. When we met at the private clinic, her face was as ghastly pale as mine. Before I even had a chance to ask her how she was doing. She walked over and hugged me tightly, her scalding tears threatening to burn my neck. "Don't ask. I don't want to talk about it." Chapter 2 Stroking the trembling back of the woman in my arms, I felt a deep ache in my chest. She and my brother were college sweethearts. She had put so much effort into pursuing him. I will never forget the happiness and joy on her face when my brother first brought her home to meet our parents. But it had only been a short seven years. That once innocent, sweet girl had been ground down like a withered rose, devoid of any brightness. After holding me tightly for several minutes, she finally let go. "I'm so glad that in my most painful moment, I still have someone with me." With that, she resolutely walked into the doctor's office. Looking at her retreating back, I wiped away the tears that had involuntarily fallen from my eyes. Yes, I'm glad that in my most painful moment, at least there is someone by my side. After that, I followed her example. Resolutely, without a hint of hesitation, I walked into another doctor's office. Three hours later, Clara and I were lying in the same recovery room. I didn't speak. Neither did she. The only sound was the hollow beeping of the heart monitor in the room. I don't know how much time passed before muffled sobs came from behind the white privacy curtain. "Chloe, you know what? I always thought that once I aborted the baby, I'd be fine." "I wouldn't love your brother anymore, and I wouldn't be in pain anymore. But why... why does it hurt so much now that this baby, who was in my stomach for five months, is gone?" As soon as the woman finished speaking, the sound of her loud, agonizing wails filled the room. Listening to her tragic and desperate crying, I cried silently too. Yes, why does it hurt so much? Clearly, this was the best choice. Clearly, his father didn't love him anyway. Clearly, as long as I severed this final tie with that family, I would be completely free from Mia's vortex. But why does it hurt so much? It felt like my skin was being peeled off, my flesh scraped away. My heart felt like it was suffering a death by a thousand cuts. Clara and I spent our 7-day post-abortion recovery in the clinic. During those seven days, the man who constantly claimed he loved me to the marrow of his bones didn't send me a single text. He didn't make a single phone call. But Clara's phone notifications pinged constantly. Afraid she would be in pain, I took her phone from her. Looking at the endless stream of messages from my brother. Telling her to help pick up Mia's packages. Telling her to go to the jewelry store to pick up a limited-edition bag he had pre-ordered for Mia. More tears fell from my eyes. Just as my trembling fingers were about to type back a string of curses, Clara opened her lifeless eyes. "It's pathetic, isn't it?" "Sometimes I think I'm so pathetic." "Actually, back when I was dating your brother in college, I knew he had a sister he doted on deeply." "He would transfer money to her every month, buy her pads regularly, and every holiday, he would just disappear without a word." "At the time, I thought that girl was you. I was even jealous of you for a very long time." "But it wasn't until I married your brother that I realized the girl wasn't you. He doted on a sister who shared absolutely no blood with him." "But me, I was just so stupid. So stupidly thinking that if I just tried hard enough, if I gave my all, your brother would love me." "But if he doesn't love me, he just doesn't. Even if I throw away all my pride to please him, to love him... he still won't love me. He'd rather go out and find a hundred look-alikes of Mia than love me." Listening to Clara's tearful voice, my heart ached suffocatingly. I quickly tried to comfort her: "It's all in the past. Once we get our divorces, we'll leave this place." "If you don't know where to go, you can come with me." "Those people who only have Mia in their hearts—we don't need them anymore, okay?" Clara agreed with a trembling voice, then pulled the covers over her head. After that, Clara and I spent another half-month recovering in the clinic before we were discharged. As soon as I was discharged, I received a call from Ethan. He told me my parents wanted to host a family dinner to celebrate Mia's birthday. What a hilariously absurd phone call. My parents planning a family dinner didn't inform me; they informed my husband. And perhaps not only my parents forgot, but even my husband forgot that today was my birthday, too. My sister-in-law received a similar call. Her situation was even worse than mine. Aside from telling her to attend the dinner... My brother also gave her a whole list of errands. Go to the bakery to order a cake. Get his suit and dress shoes ready. He even demanded she go to the airport to pick them up. They were going back to my mom's villa, so he wanted my sister-in-law to take their luggage home first. Seeing my brother's text. My sister-in-law and I exchanged a glance. "Are you ready?" My sister-in-law nodded. "I'm ready." So she immediately replied to my brother on her phone: "I'm busy today. I don't have time to be your maid."
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