I was the laughingstock of Columbia's socialite circle, all because my childhood sweetheart Jeremy Hernandez had cheated on me a hundred times during our five-year marriage.

On the day his new lover deliberately pushed me down the escalator, I overheard his conversation with a friend.

"Jeremy sure knows how to handle things. He's completely tamed that ice princess from the Allen family over these five years."

Jeremy slowly blew out a smoke ring. "Hate lasts longer than love. Even if I've adored Samantha Allen to the bone without changing, I can never let her know."

"Damn, Jeremy. If Samantha knew how much you loved her, she'd stick with you even if you tortured her to death."

I listened in silence for a long while before turning away.

I'd known all along that Jeremy loved me desperately.

What he didn't know was that the hundred chances I'd given him to hurt me now had only three left.

————

I collapsed outside Hernandez Corporate Headquarters.

I woke up in a hospital bed.

The nurse finishing my IV shot me a pitying look.

"You just miscarried. Your body's weak. You should call family."

I numbly touched my flat stomach.

It felt hollow, stinging, cold as ice—as if a blizzard was raging inside for the child who'd left in such haste.

After staring blankly for ages, I dialed the police.

Within thirty minutes, Jeremy rushed in with his new flame Carol Clark.

Carol's face was swollen from crying.

She dropped to her knees the moment she saw me.

"Miss Samantha, today was an accident! I'd never push you on purpose! I fell down too!"

Jeremy's eyes brimmed with concern for me—until they met mine. Then it vanished.

"Samantha, she's fresh out of college. Innocent and obedient. Look, her arm's broken too. Be good and drop the charges."

I smiled bitterly.

"I won't."

"Whether she pushed me deliberately, the police will decide."

Carol kowtowed, sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm lowly! Miss Samantha is noble! I deserve to die!"

My defiance made Jeremy's face darken instantly.

"Samantha, don't test me. Carol's... special. I want to keep her around for development."

I stared at him mockingly.

Special how?

Just because she resembled me?

But she's my half-sister—of course she does.

"Jeremy, we grew up together. You know how much I hate my birth mother. Play with any woman, but never Carol."

A crack finally appeared in Jeremy's permafrost expression, though he quickly masked it.

"That's irrelevant. Carol's young. She can't have this stain on her record. Drop the case."

"And if I refuse?"

"Samantha, this is an order, not a negotiation. Remember? The signed divorce papers are still with the lawyer. Aren't you afraid I'll divorce you?"

I used to be terrified.

To win back my cold, unfaithful lover, I'd wept and begged.

Clueless about what I'd done wrong, I'd begged him pitifully for affection.

He said I was too prim, so I learned to smoke and drink. At my wildest, I even sought courtesans to learn bedroom tricks to please him.

On a winter night with goose-feather snow, I brought Jeremy homemade chicken soup, only to catch him flirting with his secretary in the office.

My heart shattered as I wept, yet he repaid me with nights away from home.

But now, I truly fear nothing.

After gazing at him silently for a long while, I nodded.

"Fine, I'll withdraw the lawsuit."

A smile spread across Jeremy's face, his eyes hiding subtle relief. He reached out to stroke my hair.

"That's my girl. Rest well now—I'll visit when I'm free."

After watching them leave, I took out my phone and opened the Countdown App.

When I discovered Jeremy's love for me remained unchanged, I'd hysterically demanded why he treated me this way.

Night after night, I'd sobbed until I despised myself.

Finally, I decided to give him one hundred chances.

Each red strike initially marked heart-wrenching pain and torrents of tears.

But now, staring at the screen filled with blood-red "X"s, I felt nothing.

The ninety-seventh "X" was for the child that never drew breath.

The ninety-eighth "X" was for his new lover—Carol, my half-sister.

Jeremy and I met at five years old.

He'd always despised his father—the man scattering illegitimate children worldwide.

Yet somewhere along the way, he became convinced only hatred endures.

He wanted to mold me into his mother—the woman who wept day and night, kneeling and begging his father to return until her death.

He never asked if I wanted that.

After these last two chances are spent, our story will come to an end.

I spent three days in the hospital while Jeremy dominated trending topics for three days straight.

The first day, he'd rented out an entire stadium to comfort Carol, inviting all her favorite celebrities to perform songs from her playlist nonstop for 24 hours.

The second day, he held Carol on a yacht along the waterfront, declaring his love with ten thousand drones lighting up the sky.

The third day, he abandoned a trillion-dollar international partnership signing, all because the girl sobbed over his phone, "Mr. Hernandez, I accidentally burst a pipe. My landlord won’t let me leave until I pay."

His grand gestures dragged me onto trending topics too.

Media crowned me: 【The Most Pathetic Discarded Heiress of the New Century】

Deep down, I knew this was Jeremy's retaliation for my defiance that day.

Did it hurt?

I pressed a hand to my chest, finding only desolate emptiness stretching endlessly inside.

After discharge, I returned to the Hernandez villa to find the living room overflowing with bright orange Hermès boxes.

I recognized Jeremy's peace offering.

A slap followed by a sweet date—his signature move.

But as I stepped over the scattered boxes toward the second-floor bedroom, Carol emerged wearing my white nightgown.

Her once straight black hair was now dyed burgundy and styled in soft waves.

With her head slightly bowed, she looked almost like my mirror image.

Spotting me, panic flooded her expression.

"Sister—I mean, Samantha, I'm sorry! My apartment's pipes burst. Mr. Hernandez kindly brought me here. I had nothing to wear, so—"

I walked past her without stopping, my gaze cool and detached.

Then I saw it—the emerald heirloom ring hanging around her neck. My eyes burned crimson.

I yanked the chain hard.

"Take it off. Now."

"Samantha, please! You're choking me!"

Jeremy stepped out at the commotion.

"What's going on here?"

Seeing him, a flicker of grievance stirred in my ash-cold heart.

"Jeremy, that heirloom ring was the last thing Grandma left me. One for you, one for me. You never took yours off!"

My raw anguish darkened his ink-black eyes.

"Samantha, Carol's been having nightmares. I gave it to her for comfort."

"She's your sister. Your grandmother was hers too. Sharing one ring isn't unreasonable."

Tears I'd fought to contain spilled over.

Pointing at Carol shielded in his arms, my voice shook. "Her parents made Grandma sick. She fed Grandma poisoned tonic when she was ten!"

"Grandma's ring can go to anyone—but never around Carol's neck."

"To anyone?"

Jeremy repeated the words slowly, his expression turning icy.

"It's just a trinket. I've already given it to Carol."

"I refuse. Return it immediately."

Carol wept softly beside him. "It's alright, Mr. Hernandez. If Samantha doesn't want me to have it, I'll give it back."

Her trembling hands fumbled with the clasp, voice tearful.

As she placed the family heirloom ring in my hand, she pulled me along with her, and we tumbled down the stairs from the second floor.

The moment I hit the ground, ignoring my forehead bleeding from the marble steps, I reached for the family heirloom ring only to see it shattered into pieces.

Carol sat weeping on the floor: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

Jeremy rushed down from the second floor, his face etched with concern as he reached for me, but I violently swatted his hand away.

I stormed forward and slapped Carol across the face.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?

Pulled me down deliberately, destroyed my things intentionally."

"No! Miss Samantha, how could you think that? I treasure Mrs. Allen's belongings too—"

I didn't let her finish. As I raised my hand for another strike, Jeremy shoved me hard onto the floor.

Caught off guard, I fell again, my palm landing on a jagged shard. Blood gushed out.

"Samantha, have you lost your mind? You're the one who pushed Carol downstairs."

Tears welled in my eyes as I saw the cruelty in his gaze—he despised my defiance.

"Jeremy, I'm bleeding. It hurts."

I gambled on his mercy, but he only laughed coldly. Scooping Carol into his arms, he walked away without a backward glance.

At the doorway, he threw over his shoulder:

"Samantha, Carol is an Allen. Your mother's dead, but she deserves to reclaim her roots. I'll help her."

I sat frozen, watching Jeremy's retreating figure.

My desert-dry chest convulsed with pain.

The blood seemed unstoppable.

Yet the Jeremy who'd once stayed awake all night over my slightest scratch would never return.

When I was fifteen, after my mother killed my Childhood Betrothal father and brought her drug-addled lover and Carol back to the Allen family,

Carol stole my room, snatched my toys.

She ate while I knelt in punishment.

Her mistakes earned me whippings.

She bathed in motherly love while I rotted in the damp basement.

Finally, they murdered my grandmother together.

Jeremy knew all this. To protect me, he'd taken salt-soaked lashes across his own back.

Now he did it deliberately.

He knew precisely how to gut me, so he showed no mercy.

Like taming a beast, he sought to break me by ripping out my claws.

Through pouring tears, I opened the Countdown App and marked the ninety-ninth "X".

Only one empty square remained of my hundred chances—

mocking years of humiliating endurance.

Two nights later, Jeremy stumbled into the villa reeking of alcohol.

He pulled me into a suffocating embrace, nuzzling my neck.

"My sweet Samantha, baby, I missed you so much."

Drunken reconciliation—another of Jeremy's sweet gestures.

But tonight, Carol's cloying perfume clung to him, making me retch.

I shoved him away violently.

The tenderness in Jeremy's eyes froze instantly.

"Samantha, what the hell?"

"I don't want this."

"Still jealous, baby? Everyone in our circle plays these games. Just social necessities. You'll always be Mrs. Hernandez—that won't change."

His cheerful smile shredded my shattered heart.

A profound sense of helplessness washed over me, and I sighed.

"Jeremy, I'm exhausted. I won't play these games with you anymore."

Those words suddenly ignited his fury.

"Samantha, don't think I don't know about that Childhood Betrothal your grandmother arranged—Jeffrey Smith, right?

Why did he suddenly return from abroad the year we married?

Was it for you?

Are you planning to run to him?"

"You're just like your mother—a whore who'll never learn loyalty. Did you think I couldn't survive without you?"

My trembling hand slapped him hard across the face.

"Jeremy, is that why you've tortured me all these years?"

He fell silent, then rose from the bed after a long pause.

Contempt and disdain flooded his expression as he glared at me.

"Samantha, if you won't share my bed, plenty of girls are lining up outside. Honestly,

after all these years with you, I'm sick of it."

After Jeremy left, I lay awake until dawn.

But the next day, I saw him hold a press conference with Carol, posing as the Allen family's son-in-law.

On TV, he looked composed while Carol beside him wore a shy smile.

"Carol is the second daughter of the Allen family. Reuniting her with her family was our elders' wish."

Camera flashes erupted nonstop.

"Mr. Hernandez, why isn't your wife Samantha here today?"

"Mr. Hernandez, since you publicly pursued Miss Carol, has Samantha approved of sharing a husband?"

"Mr. Hernandez, rumors link Carol to Mrs. Allen's death that sent her daughter and son-in-law to prison. Does Samantha consent to Carol rejoining the family?"

Jeremy glared coldly at the reporter.

"Which outlet do you represent? Spreading lies! Mrs. Allen died of natural causes. Carol is innocent."

By the time I arrived, the conference had ended.

Carol beamed at me.

"Sister! Perfect timing for photos with the press."

I shook off her hand, strode forward, and slapped Jeremy hard across the face.

Seeing my bloodshot eyes, Jeremy's gaze burned with fury.

Carol instantly shielded him, slapping me back viciously.

"Sister, you grew up in luxury while Mom and I wandered homeless. Jeremy pities me—how dare you hit him!"

"Mom was just pursuing true love! Why exile her? You fear I'll claim inheritance? I want nothing—just to honor grandmother as an Allen daughter!"

She shoved me violently toward the beverage table.

The collapsing structure crushed my leg.

As agony seared through me, Jeremy's voice cut through:

"Samantha, I used your power of attorney to transfer half the Allen shares to Carol. Your tantrums change nothing."

My pupils contracted. That document symbolized my trust—now his tool to gift my family's legacy to Carol.

"For our childhood bond, you'll remain Mrs. Hernandez. With me, you'll want for nothing."

Choked silent, I stared daggers at him, tears streaming uncontrollably to the floor.

"Was this always your plan?

Jeremy."

"To chain me to your side. To make me dependent."

Hesitation flickered in his eyes before hardening into resolve.

"Be good, Samantha. You don't need those things. Just stay quietly behind me."

Agony tore through my numb heart. I burst into hysterical laughter—

laughing until tears streamed down my face.

"What I truly don't need... is you, Jeremy!"

My words froze his movement to examine my injuries.

He loomed over me again. "Samantha, where else can you go?

You've lost the Allen family now. Is obedience so difficult?"

Seated on the floor, I began throwing things wildly at him.

Carol yelped. Jeremy instantly shielded her in his arms.

"Go ahead and throw your tantrum alone, Samantha. Call me when you've come to your senses."

He didn't spare me another glance, leading Carol away by the hand.

Only after they'd long disappeared did I wipe the tears from my face.

Dragging my bleeding leg, I marched into the law firm demanding immediate validation of the divorce papers.

I was the one who'd refused to sign for months.

The lawyer beamed at my sudden initiative, expediting the process through special channels. By day's end, I clenched that crimson divorce certificate in my palm.

Outside the firm, I opened the Countdown App, staring at the blank space beneath rows of red X's.

After a long silence, I drew a red line across it with expressionless precision.

Stroke by stroke, I severed the final threads of affection for Jeremy.

With this done, I turned resolutely and stepped into the stretch limousine idling nearby.

Jeffrey's voice softened in the backseat. "Anything left to collect?"

I shook my head lightly.

No.

Every remnant of that buried love would remain with Jeremy.