1 Rovan’s overseas business trip ended in disaster. The only one who returned was his twin brother, Adrian. The grief was a physical blow. I collapsed, spitting blood. Clutching my wedding photo with Rovan, I threw myself into the sea seven times, and seven times I was pulled back from the brink. The eighth time I was rescued, I overheard Adrian arguing with my mother-in-law. “Rovan, how long are you going to keep this up? Beth has tried to kill herself eight times because she thinks you’re dead. You have to tell her the truth!” Adrian’s brow furrowed in refusal. “No. My brother gave his life for me. I have to take care of his fiancée for him.” “My sister-in-law is even more fragile than Beth. Once she’s pregnant and has something to live for, then I can safely admit that I’m Rovan.” I froze, the biting cold of the seawater nothing compared to the ice flooding my veins. I had nearly destroyed myself for him, yet in his heart, my life was worth less than a flicker of pity for his brother's fiancée. If that was the case, I wanted no part of such a love. … My mother-in-law pleaded, her voice laced with desperation. “But Beth is your wife! How can you stand to see her suffer like this? If this ever gets out, there will be no going back for either of you.” “I can see that your heart truly belongs to Beth. I can’t let you throw away your future in a moment of misguided guilt.” Her words were sincere, but he just shook his head. “Don’t worry, Mom. I have a plan for Beth. I’ve already had the highest-grade amnesia drug sent from a top lab in Switzerland. Once she takes it, she won’t remember anything. She won’t try to kill herself anymore.” “After I get my sister-in-law pregnant, I’ll give Beth the antidote and beg for her forgiveness.” “She loves me so much. I know she’ll understand.” My body went weak. I couldn’t listen anymore. I stumbled back to my room, collapsing onto the bed. The wedding photo of Rovan and me crashed to the floor. The glass frame shattered, just like my heart. A few moments later, he walked in. “Sister-in-law, I heard you tried to jump into the sea again. You look so pale. Are you feeling unwell?” “My brother may be gone, but we are still family. I made you some herbal tea. Drink it, it will warm you up.” I stared at the bowl in his hands, my eyes burning. “No, thank you. I just want to be alone.” But he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Don’t be difficult. My brother wouldn’t want to see you like this. You have to drink this.” With that, he forced my jaw open and poured the liquid down my throat. I choked, tears streaming down my face as I shoved him away. He looked at the empty bowl, a sigh of relief escaping him. He then scanned the room, his eyes landing on my diary. He expertly snatched it and tossed it into the lit fireplace. One by one, he gathered everything that held a shared memory between us and threw it into the flames. I screamed, lunging to stop him, but he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me back. He looked at me, a flicker of pity in his eyes. “Don’t blame me, sister-in-law. This is the only way you can truly forget my brother and start a new life.” “I’m doing this for your own good. I want you to live.” He then pulled the wedding ring from my finger and tossed it into the fire. I had worn that ring for seven years. He had it custom-made for me. It was my most treasured possession, the one thing I had left to remember him by. Tears finally streamed down my face. I thrashed wildly, trying to kick over the fireplace screen. The commotion woke my sister-in-law, Maya. She hurried over to see what was wrong. Her face fell when she saw me locked in Adrian’s embrace. “Honey, what are you two doing? The smoke… it’s choking me.” He immediately let me go. “Take the fire outside,” he ordered. Then, without another glance, he led Maya away. Three minutes later, I heard the sounds from their bedroom. Her moans, sweet and cloying. “Oh, Adrian, you’re so rough…” “Your sister-in-law is right outside. Aren’t you afraid she’ll hear?” 2 My fists clenched, my heart twisting in agony. As I watched our memories turn to ash, a piece of my soul burned with them. The next second, the drug took effect, and I blacked out. In my dream, I saw Rovan again, the way he was when he was twenty. He told me he was sorry, that he hadn’t taken care of me. I watched as his body slowly faded, morphing into Adrian’s. “No, Rovan, don’t leave me…” I cried out, lunging for him, but I fell through empty air. When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed. Adrian was sitting beside me. He let out a breath of relief when he saw I was awake. “Sister-in-law,” he began, his voice hesitant. “Do you remember who you are?” I looked at him, my expression blank. If he was so determined to abandon our past and play the savior for Maya, then fine. I would give him exactly what he wanted. I would forget everything. “No.” Hearing my answer, he didn’t look as pleased as I had expected. He cleared his throat, gave me a brief explanation of what had happened, and then added, “Maya fainted from the shock of seeing you collapse. She needs a blood transfusion. Are you willing to donate?” My eyes dropped. He knew I had a clotting disorder. In the past, he would have never allowed me to even get a paper cut. Maya must have truly captured his pity. I nodded. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw a flash of guilt on his face. He reached out, his hand instinctively touching my forehead. “You’ve really forgotten everything?” And, of course, Maya chose that exact moment to walk in. She shot me a venomous glare and left without a word. Only after my blood had been drawn did she saunter back in. “Sister-in-law, have you no shame? Adrian might look like his brother, but they are not the same person.” “I get that you’re grieving, but that doesn’t give you the right to steal my husband.” “And just so you know, I was perfectly fine. I just wanted you to lose a little blood to teach you a lesson. If I see you getting close to my Adrian again, I won’t be so nice.” A wave of humiliation washed over me. I wanted to scream that she was the one who had stolen my husband. But I said nothing. Maya took my silence as defiance. “And another thing,” she continued, “I’m pregnant. Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. I’m going to tell him the good news then.” My gaze fell to her slightly rounded belly. A bitter smile touched my lips. “Is that so? Congratulations.” I turned my head away, unwilling to look at her any longer. Frustrated at my lack of reaction, Maya huffed and left. Alone in the room, I called my parents. “I don’t want to stay with the Valerius family anymore. I want to come home.” They already knew about Rovan’s “death” and had been worried sick. “Of course, sweetheart,” my dad said immediately. “Your brother Liam just got back from overseas tonight. He’ll come and get you tomorrow.” Liam was adopted by my parents when we were children. He had always been brilliant. He’d worked his way through college and earned a scholarship to study abroad. I hadn’t expected him to be back. We arranged a time, and I hung up. Then, I messaged a lawyer friend, asking her to draft a severance agreement. When a spouse dies, the marriage is legally dissolved. But I was worried that “Adrian” would eventually admit he was Rovan and try to entangle me in his life again. It was better to make a clean break now. I traced the faint indentation where my ring used to be. Rovan, I thought, I did love you. But I will not take back a man who’s been sullied. 3 A short while later, Adrian returned to my room. “Sister-in-law, tomorrow is my anniversary with Maya. I was hoping you could plan something for us. You know what women like better than I do.” I paused. “I’m not feeling well. You should do it yourself.” He raised an eyebrow, a flicker of concern on his face as he reached out to feel my forehead. “Really? What’s wrong?” At that moment, an angry shout came from the doorway. “Sister-in-law, I can’t believe you’re so vicious! You’re using a voodoo doll to curse me!” Maya stormed in, holding a doll riddled with pins, tears streaming down her face as she accused me. Her eyes, however, held a clear warning. I realized instantly what she was doing. This was her revenge. Without a second thought, Adrian believed her. He snatched the doll and threw it at me. “How could you do this to Maya? What did she ever do to you?” The pins pricked my skin, drawing blood. He just said I deserved it. Seeing Maya still crying, he declared he was locking me in the hospital morgue for the night. “Maybe then you’ll reflect on what you’ve done. I’ll let you out in the morning.” I shook my head frantically, trying to defend myself. “I didn’t do it! She’s framing me, I swear…” He slapped me across the face. “Enough! I believe Maya. She’s too kind to frame anyone!” They locked me in the morgue without a shred of mercy. Faced with a room full of corpses, I almost fainted from terror. I pounded on the door, begging him to let me out, but he never relented. Maya even had the power cut, plunging the room into absolute darkness. I huddled in a corner, my head in my hands, consumed by fear and helplessness. The slightest sound made my hair stand on end. In that moment, I began to seriously question my judgment in men. By the time he finally let me out the next morning, I was burning with a high fever. Adrian frowned. “I only left you in there for one night. Did you have to make yourself sick on purpose?” His expression was complicated. “Let’s get to the party. I’ve sent someone to get you medicine. We can’t be late.” I was weak, my voice hoarse. “I’m not going. I want to go home…” He hesitated for a second, then forcibly pulled me into the car. “No. Maya is already upset about the doll. Even if you’re sick, you need to go and apologize to her.” “Don’t worry. She’ll forgive you.” My eyes were swollen and red. “I told you, I didn’t do it. Why should I apologize?” His jaw tightened. He shot me a cold look in the rearview mirror. “Who else would want to hurt Maya?” I sighed, a sense of resignation washing over me. I felt nothing but a bone-deep weariness. When we arrived at the hotel, we walked into chaos. Maya’s boss was there with a group of thugs, smashing furniture. “You messed up the accounts! The company lost two hundred thousand dollars because of you!” he roared. “Either you pay up, or you go to jail!” Maya was terrified. When she saw Adrian, she ran to him as if he were her savior. “What do I do, honey? I really just made a mistake, I didn’t know it would cost so much.” She pressed an ultrasound report into his hand. “Honey, I’m carrying our child. I can’t go to jail. You have to do something…” Adrian looked at the report, and the deep frown on his face softened. He thought to himself, Finally, my duty is fulfilled. I can tell Beth the truth. But two hundred thousand was no small sum. The Valerius family couldn’t produce that kind of cash on short notice. The boss tried to force Maya to sign a work contract to pay off the debt. “No, she’s just found out she’s pregnant. She can’t do strenuous work.” Then, Adrian turned and pushed me forward. He looked at me pleadingly. “Sister-in-law, Maya is pregnant and unwell. Please, just sign this contract for now. We’ll figure something out later.” I refused, turning to leave. “I don’t owe him any money. Why should I sign?” Adrian cut me off, his voice sharp and urgent. “Why are you being so difficult? This is a crisis! We’re family! How can you just stand by and do nothing?” He grabbed my hand and forced my signature onto the contract. Then he stood by as the boss’s bodyguards gagged me and dragged me away. In the struggle, my shirt was torn open, exposing my waist. The boss’s eyes darkened with lust. “I hear your husband just died. Seems like this family doesn’t care much about you anyway. Why don’t you pay the debt with your body?” “Two hundred thousand. Twenty times with me. Seems fair, right?” He ordered his men to hold me down. I was already weak with fever, and my struggles were useless against their strength. Helpless tears streamed down my face. Seeing this, Adrian started to move towards me, but Maya grabbed his arm. “Those guys with him are dangerous thugs. Don’t go.” “Besides, if she can really get us two hundred thousand, what’s the harm in being touched a little?” Adrian’s first instinct was to snap at her, but then he saw her belly and forced himself to stay calm. “No, she’s still our sister-in-law. I have to help her.” But Maya ran to a table, threatening to hurt herself. “Adrian! If you go and something happens to you, I’ll kill this baby, and then I’ll kill myself!” He rushed to her side. “Don’t be rash, Maya! You and the baby have to be safe!” I watched them, my heart turning to ash. The boss’s hand cupped my cheek. “See? They don’t care about you.” “Why don’t you just come with me? Be my little mistress. I’ll take care of you.” Just as I thought all hope was lost, the bodyguards’ grip on me suddenly loosened. The police burst through the door and pulled me to my feet. Adrian sighed in relief, then looked surprised. “Who called the police? How did they get here so fast?” He raised his hand, intending to wipe away my tears. But at that moment, Maya clutched her stomach and cried out in pain. “Adrian, it hurts…” He rushed back to her side, his face etched with worry. “Did the stress affect the baby? I’ll take you to the hospital right now!” My heart was a dead, cold thing in my chest. I pulled out the severance agreement. “This is a list of offerings for my husband’s memorial. A family member needs to sign it.” Without even looking at it, he scribbled his name, then scooped Maya into his arms and ran to the hospital. I watched them go, my eyes like chips of ice. Clutching the agreement, I turned and walked away without looking back. From that day forward, I had nothing to do with the Valerius family.
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