After I broke up with Jason Lolther, he went through countless substitutes who resembled me.

The one who stayed by his side in the end looked about 80% like me.

When I returned, he spent a whole year trying to win me over again, being super attentive.

He even sent the stand-in away, showing not the slightest sign of regret.

But after I got pregnant, my family business was hit by one crisis after another, resulting in massive debts.

My father couldn't handle the pressure and jumped off a building. Devastated, my mother set fire to our home and died. Only my little sister, not even ten years old, was left behind.

A week later, she went missing. By the time we found her, she'd been tortured into madness.

Outside the psychiatric hospital, as I was grieving quietly, I heard Jason's voice.

"Have the loose ends been tied up?"

"Yes, Mr. Lolther," his assistant replied. "The kidnappers have taken the money and left for Mozambique. No one will ever know you were behind it. And Ms. Scott has settled into the suburban villa. She's waiting for you there now."

There was a pause, and then the assistant added, his voice tinged with pity, "But what if Ms. Ashton finds out—"

Jason cut him off with a wave. His voice was cold, emotionless as he said, "She won't. And even if she does, this is what she deserves."

I stood paralyzed with shock and heartbreak, my eyes dry and stinging from crying.

He had hired people to hurt my sister, all for the sake of a stand-in.

I took out my phone and opened a long-abandoned contact on my phone.

After hesitating for a while, I sent him a text, "Help me."

***

Standing outside the hospital room, I stared at my sister's disheveled hair and terrified eyes, my heart twisting painfully.

Since the day we brought her back, she hadn't recognized anyone.

She lived on sedatives now, but even so, she screamed for help in her sleep.

I couldn't bear to look any longer and walked away.

In a daze, I wandered to the back garden of the hospital. In the corner, I heard an incredibly familiar voice.

"Has Esther's family been taken care of?" Jason asked.

His assistant nodded and replied respectfully, "Yes, Mr. Lolther. Ms. Scott said she's scared being alone at the villa. She asked to see you."

Jason nodded. "Tell her I'll be there tonight."

Then he added, "Make sure the precautions are ready. Esther's in poor health—she can't get pregnant."

"Understood. But didn't you promise her a baby?"

Jason's voice turned cold. "Isn't Kayla Ashton already pregnant?"

My breath caught. My heart clenched in pain.

The assistant paused before cautiously asking, "But... will she give up the child willingly?"

Jason sneered, his tone dripping with indifference and contempt.

"If she won't, I'll take it from her. She dared to send Essie away behind my back. She must pay the price."

My hands clenched by my side, nails digging deep into my palms—but I felt nothing.

"But Mr. Lolther, if Ms. Ashton finds out her father didn't jump on his own but was pushed by your men, if she learns her mother didn't kill herself out of grief, and her sister was tortured on your orders, won't she—"

"She won't," Jason interrupted confidently. "She can't live without me."

I stood behind the wall, face pale.

So, Jason orchestrated my parents' deaths and my sister's mental collapse, all to avenge Esther Scott.

But I remembered it clearly—after I came back, Esther tearfully confessed she was in love with someone else and begged me to let her go.

I couldn't bear to see two people who truly loved each other be torn apart, so while Jason was away on a business trip, I helped her leave.

The irony was unbearable. The childhood sweetheart who once chased me with everything he had and the father of my unborn child destroyed my family for a substitute.

Overwhelmed by sorrow and despair, I collapsed to the ground, my tears falling in silence.

"Oh, and one more thing," Jason added with a vicious gaze. "Kayla's due date is in two weeks. Arrange an accident—make sure the baby doesn't survive. And break her left hand.

"I can't let Essie down. I won't let Kayla steal her spot as first chair violinist."

My body went rigid. I began shaking uncontrollably.

When I first told him I was pregnant, he swore he'd make me the happiest mother in the world.

Every time I felt nauseous, he'd look at me with such profound concern and tenderness—it truly touched my heart.

Now, as those footsteps faded into the distance, I braced against the wall and stepped out, gripping the bricks until my fingers bled.

When I returned to the room, he rushed over and hugged me. "Kay, where have you been?"

That once-familiar embrace made my skin crawl.

He looked at me with concern, just like always. "Why do you look so pale? Is the baby acting up again?"

I shook my head. My throat burned—I couldn't speak.

Back at home, Jason washed my face and feet and then rubbed lotion on my belly, just like he always did.

But that night, his touch made me shiver with fear, every hair on my body standing on end.

In the middle of the night, I opened my eyes in the dark. After a quick look at Jason, sleeping soundly, I quietly gathered all my documents.

The moment I stepped out the door, a white cloth was pressed tightly over my mouth.

My eyes widened in terror. I struggled desperately. And then, everything went black.

I didn't know how long I was out, but when I woke up, the smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

I felt nothing in my body.

By my side, Jason was gazing at me sorrowfully, looking deeply stricken with teary eyes.

"Kay, you were kidnapped by our enemies. The baby... didn't breathe when it was born."

Only then did I start trembling, reaching out to touch my now-flat belly.

Remembering his words that day, my heart was filled with hatred and pain.

Jason's eyes flickered for a moment, then he made an excuse to find the doctor and hurried out of the ward.

I placed my hand on my numb belly, tears streaming down my cheeks and soaking into the pillow, as stifled sobs continued to escape.

Unable to move, I stared numbly at the sunset by the window.

It looked exactly like the day Jason confessed his love to me all those years ago.

We grew up together since we were kids. In our second year of high school, Jason stood in the school broadcasting room, holding a mic to publicly confess his love to me.

Even though he got punished, we finally admitted our feelings for each other.

But this innocent first love only lasted a year.

Right before the SAT, the Lolther family's assets were suddenly sealed and taken over. Jason's parents, Hugo Lolther and Mabel Lolther, were hit by a truck on their way home, going off a cliff with no remains found.

My dad then made me go study abroad.

Five years later, when I came back, he had surrounded himself with countless substitutes for me.

I still loved him, though—forgave him, married him, and had a kid.

Now, it's all turned into a joke.

"How is she doing?" Jason's voice rang in my ears, but I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare, unable to open my eyes.

The concern and urgency in his words made it seem like everything I'd heard was just a bad dream.

My disabled left hand was being held tightly by a pair of dry, warm hands.

"Mr. Lolther, since you clearly still love Ms. Ashton, why go this far?"

Jason instantly let go of my hand, his tone going cold. "Love? I just want her to know what it feels like to be abandoned.

"When I was at my lowest, she left me. The Ashton family are a bunch of heartless jerks. They wouldn't even see me after I knelt outside their door for a whole day and night. It wasn't until I overheard that the hit-and-run driver was hired by them!"

"But..." the assistant sighed, "Ms. Ashton has lost her child and broken her hand. Aren't you afraid she might do something desperate?"

The man's eyes flickered for a moment before he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"This is her fate, and the karma for the Ashton family's indifference."

My tightly shut eyes trembled, my chest feeling like it had been hit by a heavy fist, making it hard to breathe.

After a moment, I moved my left hand and slowly broke free from the nightmare.

Jason's breath caught, and he hurried forward to support me. "Kay, do you feel unwell?"

He gave his assistant a look, signaling him to leave.

Then he gently moistened my lips with a damp cotton swab, his voice filled with sorrow.

"We'll have another child in the future. I've sent all those who kidnapped you to prison."

I stayed silent, quietly enduring the man's concern—sweet as honey, poisonous as arsenic—as my heart throbbed in pain.

During this month of postpartum recovery, Jason went from visiting every day to coming only once every three days.

By the day I was discharged from the hospital, he hadn't appeared for a week.

When I got into the car and returned to the villa, I found that the daisies I loved at the gate had been replaced with roses—and I'm allergic to roses.

Pushing open the door, the sound of laughter and play inside stopped abruptly.

The two people in front of me both stiffened and looked at me.

The room got super quiet, like time had stopped right there.

Jason's arm was still around the woman's waist, and her face was noticeably red.

They quickly separated, the man's face all tense as he avoided my gaze.

"Kay, don't get the wrong idea," he paused for a moment and then added, "I was drugged a couple of weeks ago. Since you weren't feeling better yet, I had to ask Esther for help."

I looked down and nodded calmly. "Yeah, you should make it up to her."

He sighed in relief and stepped forward to hug me, his eyes filled with tenderness. "Thanks for understanding, Kay."

Over the next month, whenever Jason was out, I would sneak into the study to look for clues about my parents' murder.

That night, I got caught in the act by Esther, who came back early.

"Kayla, what are you doing here?"

I gave her a cold look. "What's it to you? This is my house."

Esther blocked my way, leaning in to get a reaction out of me.

"Looking for something about those two old geezers, huh?"

I stared at her, shocked, and my heart was racing. "You!"

"Let me tell you something," she said, looking at my pale face with a smug smile. "I was there when your mom's place burned down. Too bad you missed her screams. They were like music to my ears."

I was shaking all over, looking into Esther's deliberately provocative eyes and losing it.

"Why? You monster!" I lunged at her.

But she stepped back to the staircase, wearing a sinister smile. Her lips formed the words. "You lost again."

Then she tumbled down the stairs, curling up on the floor and clutching her arm, moaning in pain.

"Essie!" Jason walked in and immediately saw the horrible scene.

He rushed over, picking the woman up in his arms. The look he gave me was so cold that it sent shivers down my spine.

"Bring Kayla along!" He told the bodyguards, then hurried off with the unconscious Esther in his arms.

Outside the operating room, Jason paced back and forth, looking more worried than I'd ever seen him.

"Kayla! You couldn't stand her being around, could you? You had to hurt her, didn't you?"

My breath got slower, and a sharp pain hit my heart.

Aren't people who betray true love supposed to feel like they're swallowing needles? Why does it feel like my heart is being stabbed instead?

The operating room door opened, and the doctor wheeled out Esther, still out cold.

"How is she?" Jason rushed forward to ask.

The doctor sighed. "She's stable, but her hand is badly fractured. It won't fully heal—she'll have limited use of it."

Esther, who had just woken up, happened to hear the doctor's words.

The frail woman, her face covered in tears, turned to me in pain. "Kayla, you blamed me for your disabled left hand, and now I can never play the violin again. Are you satisfied?"

Jason held the crying woman in his arms, glaring at me with disgust. "Kneel and apologize!"

I rolled my eyes inwardly, thinking the whole thing was both pitiful and ridiculous.

"I didn't push her! She lost her balance on her own. What does that have to do with..."

Before I could finish, a burning pain hit my cheek.

I turned my head, slowly touching my face with my right hand, staring at Jason in shock and heartbreak as he kept his hand raised.

Jason froze for a second, but quickly hid the emotion in his eyes.

"Make her kneel!"

The bodyguards behind him stepped forward and kicked my knee.

That same knee had been permanently damaged when I was young—I had knelt on it to pray for Jason's safety.

A sharp pain shot through me as I was forced to kneel before Esther.

"Since you won't admit you were wrong, I'll make you bow."

Then she gestured to the bodyguard.

I felt my forehead slam into the floor. The thud made me dizzy and my vision blurry.

"Will you apologize?" Jason demanded harshly.

I stared at him, completely silent.

"You did this to yourself, Kayla."

The bodyguards held my head down—one bow, two—until the 20th, my forehead a bloody mess.

The dizziness overwhelmed me, and I blacked out.

When I woke up again, the ceiling was super white, my forehead all bandaged up and hurting everywhere.

Jason pushed open the door, stopping when he saw I was awake.

He hesitated, then walked over with a sigh. "Kayla, Esther is permanently disabled because of you. How can you still not admit your mistake?"

Like he remembered something, his voice got really angry and sarcastic.

"The Ashton family really are all the same—cruel through and through."

Before I could say anything back, the door opened again.

Esther, with her arm in a cast, sat in a wheelchair, looking pale and weak, like she needed pity.

"Jason, I'm fine. Please don't argue because of me."

She lowered her head, her eyes turning red and tears filling those innocent eyes that seemed to beg for understanding.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

It was a special ringtone I'd set for my sister's doctor and caretaker.

Without thinking twice, I fumbled to answer, and my ear was met with the caretaker's choked voice.

"Ms. Ashton, your sister..." She hesitated, like she couldn't bring herself to say it. "Just now, she got away from all of us and... jumped to her death."

My ears started ringing, blocking out all sound. The world seemed to turn gray. "W... what did you say?"

The caretaker's voice was hoarse. "By the time I realized she was gone, it was too late..."

As the call ended, Esther beside me wore a mocking smile. In an instant, I lost it.

I lunged at her, slapping her across the face again and again.

Eyes bloodshot, I shook with a hoarse scream. "Esther! It was you!"

The woman shrieked, clutching her face. Only then did Jason react, shoving me away. "You maniac!"

I fell to the floor, my freshly bandaged forehead hitting the bedframe. Blood seeped through the gauze, staining it red.

And my vision turned red, too.

In the psychiatric hospital's morgue, my sister's small body was covered with a white sheet, her face hard to see.

A staff member tried to stop me, hesitating. "Maybe it's better if you don't look..."

I ignored them and lifted the cloth. My sister's damaged face came into view.

"Sophie, what happened to you..." I felt no fear as I touched her small body. "Tell me, what... exactly happened?"

Holding her broken form, I started sobbing.

In the cold morgue, the grief sounded both sad and scary.

"You're all I have left! Please, don't leave me..."

Jason, who had shown up with a bunch of others outside the door, frowned when he heard what was said. He moved forward to help hold up my collapsing body.

"My condolences, you still have me," he said.

I turned to look at him, feeling numb and cold to the bone.

"Jason, let's get a divorce," I said.

"What did you just say?" He grabbed my arm hard, his eyes wide with shock. "Say that again!"

I spoke in despair, "I've lost everything. My parents, my family, and the company. Let me go."

"In your dreams!" He looked at me, fear plain in his eyes. "Don't even think about leaving me!"

I tried to break free, shouting at the top of my lungs, "Aren't you satisfied yet?"

"No, I'm not!" He yelled back, glaring at me. "You're the one who caused all of this! What right do you have to just walk away?

"Esther was ruined because of you. How dare you feel wronged!"

I was watching him mess with me, thinking he was using me as a stand-in.

Then it hit me. Was Esther my substitute, or was I just a backup for her all this time?

How pathetic. How ridiculous.

I was so overwhelmed that I passed out again.

When I woke up, everything was white.

On the TV, there was a news story about Jason, the CEO of the Lolther Group, spending a ton of money to make a pretty girl happy.

Her name was Esther, plastered across every billboard in town.

I laughed, but it was a cold laugh.

The irony really hurt. I grabbed my phone and looked at a number I knew well. I felt a new determination.

"Get me out of here," I said.

Thirty minutes later, a helicopter landed on the roof.

Soon, it rose into the sky and vanished from the neon-lit buildings where Esther's name glowed from every billboard.

Jason, we'll never cross paths again in this life.