Chapter 1
“I know my boss ran over your mom and daughter, but they were just two worthless lives. How much could they possibly be worth? A million is more than enough for a couple of cheap lives.”
“My boss will meet you in person the day after tomorrow, at 2 PM.”
Listening to the disdainful male voice on the other end of the line, I felt all the blood rush to my head.
The lock clicked.
Seraphina walked in, wearing a dress I’d bought her years ago, her eyes curved into a smile as she waved a steaming-hot insulated container at me.
Every cell in my body trembled at that moment. Finally, I spoke into the phone, “Alright.”
Seraphina didn’t notice anything off about me. Seeing me hang up, a gentle smile played on her lips as she walked toward me.
“Julian! I got you your favorite gourmet burger and fries! Come on, try it!”
She wrapped her arms around my stiff body and guided me to sit on our thrifted couch. She carefully broke open the forks and handed them to me.
A pained look about the price crossed her face. “The boss hiked the price up another two bucks. That could have bought Chloe a new drawing book!”
Seraphina glanced around. “Why aren’t Mom and Chloe here? Where did they go? I bought Chloe some sweets with today’s wages. Doesn’t Chloe love sweets the most? But you need to keep an eye on Mom, she can’t have anything sweet with her condition!”
Where did Mom and Chloe go?
In that instant, as Seraphina’s words landed.
My mind was flooded with the image of my mom and Chloe being thrown into the air by that Maybach that plowed into them on the street.
“Mom—Chloe—”
Watching them tossed in an arc like rag dolls, hitting the ground with sickening thuds.
Their warm blood splattered on my face, my screams and the chilling crunch of bones swallowed by the screech of tires.
“What… what’s going on? Where did that… pauper come from?”
The blinding high beams slowly dimmed, and a drunken voice drifted over. I stared blankly at the driver’s seat.
The next second, I saw Seraphina behind the wheel, her brow furrowed as she glared through the window at me, sprawled in the pool of blood.
All the blood in my veins froze.
How could it be Seraphina? Wasn’t she in the hospital? How could she be here?
The next moment, she rolled down the window and vomited, a thick stench of alcohol mixed with blood invading my nostrils.
Her eyes blurry, she looked at me. “Who the hell is in my way? Get lost!”
I struggled to my feet. “Seraphina!”
But Seraphina didn’t recognize me. Instead, she turned the car around and sped out of my sight.
Devastated, I was taken away by the Officer who arrived shortly after.
He didn’t show me the accident footage. Instead, he sighed and advised me,
“The person who ran over your mother and daughter was Miss Seraphina Sterling, the heiress. Our recommendation is to settle this privately.”
Seraphina Sterling! The Sterling heiress?
A choked sob caught in my throat. I pressed on, “Officer, can you… tell me about this Miss Sterling?”
“Mr. Julian, I know what you’re thinking, but I still advise you against suing. The Sterling family could make this city crumble with a snap of their fingers, and this Miss Sterling is the most notorious for her wild antics in the last twenty years.”
The next second, I saw pity and helplessness in the Officer’s eyes, then heard him sigh heavily.
“Instead of dreaming big, you should try to get more money when Miss Sterling arrives.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice came from outside.
“Miss Sterling, this way, please.”
As the words fell, two figures emerged from the automatic sliding doors.
I had never seen Seraphina like this.
She was dressed in an expensive haute couture dress from a luxury boutique’s display window, every inch of her radiating nobility. She held the leash of a pampered poodle, and Dominic stood beside her, strikingly conspicuous.
“…Seraphina!” I instinctively moved forward, desperate to demand what was going on.
“Dominic! My ‘poor girl’ bet expires next month. If you keep clinging to me then, I won’t be so nice!”
What ‘poor girl’ bet?
Seraphina’s words froze me in my tracks.
Dominic shrugged nonchalantly. “Why are you mad at me? Isn’t this your family’s bet?”
“I don’t necessarily think you’ll win. Who knows, maybe once you’re tired of playing with Julian, you’ll come home and fulfill your engagement to marry me?”
Seraphina scoffed. “Delusional! Julian will always be my only husband!”
I stared at Seraphina in shock, but her gaze didn’t shift an inch.
Even if someone stood directly in front of me, she’d only need to turn her head slightly to see me, the “only husband” she spoke of.
But she didn’t spare me even a glance.
Instead, she walked past me, chin held high, with an arrogant demeanor I’d never seen from her before.
Soon, Seraphina and Dominic entered the glass-walled office just a few feet from me.
Their conversation inside was clearly audible.
“Miss Sterling, the victim’s family is here. Would you like to meet them?”
I couldn’t help but look at Seraphina. Her legs were crossed, propped on the coffee table, her eyes closed as she massaged her temples.
“No need! These poor people, once they get involved, they stick to you like superglue! Can’t you even handle this small matter?”
Seraphina’s dismissive attitude instantly ignited my fury. Just as I was about to burst in and confront her directly.
Dominic’s voice drifted into my ears.
A slight smirk on his lips, he said, “Sera, I have a great idea. Let Julian pay the money back. If he doesn’t help you, you lose the bet.”
Seraphina opened her eyes and glanced at Dominic, scoffing.
“Don’t dream about it. Julian has stayed by my side all these years, even when I was faking poverty and illness. I don’t want to bother him with something like this!”
Dominic didn’t get angry, just clicked his tongue. “I wonder if you’re just scared. Is Julian really incapable of coming up with a million dollars for you?”
I couldn’t listen anymore.
But as soon as I took a step, a sweet, metallic taste filled my throat, and after spitting out a mouthful of blood, I passed out cold.
Seraphina’s voice pulled me back to reality. She held me in her arms, speaking softly.
“Julian, I accidentally ran over someone last night while making a delivery. They’re demanding an exorbitant sum, saying if I don’t pay, they’ll make me go to jail.”
I stared at her, my eyes bloodshot. “But you can’t drive, can you? How could you hit someone?”
Seraphina’s eyes darted away, her voice tinged with guilt.
“I didn’t want to stay in bed, being a burden to you. I wanted to earn some money to send Chloe to enrichment classes.”
Tears instantly welled up in my eyes, but I swallowed them back.
I abruptly pulled Seraphina closer, pressing her.
“Seraphina! Then I ask you, do you know who you hit?”
Hearing this, Seraphina frowned, displeased.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you so emotional?”
Looking at the indifferent expression on Seraphina’s face, a raging fire burned in my chest.
At this moment, I began to doubt myself, wondering if I had ever truly known the woman I married!
“Seraphina!! I ask you! Do you know who you hit?!”
My emotions were completely out of control now, unstoppable tears bursting forth with my trembling voice.
“I think it was an old woman and a little girl. I figured they just wanted to extort money from me.”
I didn’t miss the fleeting look of disdain that flashed in her eyes.
All my strength drained away in an instant. I said weakly,
“Seraphina, I don’t have the money for you.”
This was the first time I had ever refused Seraphina’s request.
Her face instantly soured, visibly hardening. She stood up abruptly.
“Are you really that unwilling to part with a million dollars? Are you just going to stand there and watch me go to jail?! I’m your wife!”
In that moment, I suddenly wanted to rip off her disguise.
The Sterling family was one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the city. A mere million dollars, what did that amount to in her eyes?
“Seraphina, my mom…”
Before I could finish, Seraphina impatiently cut me off.
“It’s always your mom! How tired could your mom be?! She sits and does intricate needlework all day! She sells it to rich people, adds her pension, and a million should be easy, right?”
Watching Seraphina storm out, slamming the door, all the strength drained from my body. I collapsed onto the floor, biting my teeth, silently sobbing.
Tears mingled with the blood at the corner of my lips.
Before my eyes, I saw my mother and daughter’s tragic deaths, lying in pools of blood, intermingling with seven years of my life with Seraphina, making me question what was real and what was false.
Not long after, the doorbell rang.