“You can go home tomorrow,” Sean handed me an exquisite box. “This is a recovery gift for you.”
Inside the box was a fountain pen, with a tiny jasmine pattern symbolizing strength engraved on the cap.
I looked up at him, and he smiled slightly, “It’s perfect for writing
a
diary to channel your emotions.
On the way home, my brother saw the pen Sean had given me and suddenly said, “Sean will come for a follow–up
“Mm.”
w–up visit next month.”
“His father was my economics professor at Harvard. He comes from an
excellent family
with impeccable character.”
“Mm.” My fingertip lingered on the jasmine pattern of the pen.
My brother was silent for a moment, but still spoke up, “He likes you.”
A brief silence fell in the car.
A few minutes later, I answered, “I know, but…”
“I’m not in the mood to start a new relationship right now.”
He patted my hand and said nothing more.
As the car drove into the estate, a sudden commotion erupted in the distance.
The bodyguards quickly surrounded us, their expressions tense: “Mr. Adrian, Zack brought people to force his way in. We’ve stopped them.”
My brother frowned, about to order them driven away, but I looked up and walked towards the second–floor balcony: “I’ll take a look.”
I wanted to see for myself how far he could take this act of deep love.
Zack was pinned to the ground by four or five bodyguards, his suit disheveled, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
He looked up and saw me, his pupils suddenly constricting. He began struggling violently: “Aria!”
The bodyguards immediately pressed down harder, but he pushed them away like a madman, staggering forward, looking up at me with tears and blood streaming down his face.
“Aria… I’ve found out the truth! It was Vanessa who broke the bracelet, she set you up! I’ve locked her in the old house, she’ll never get out again!
He shouted incoherently, as if grasping at the last straw,
Believe me… I really know I was wrong.
4:05 PM
<
“Believe me… I really know I was wrong…”
I looked at him calmly, without anger, without sadness, without even a
As if watching an absurd farce.
“Zack.” I spoke, my voice soft, but it made him instantly quiet,
“You think by pushing the blame onto Vanessa, I’ll forgive you?”
I pointed to the ribbon on my chest,
ripple of emotion.
“That day in the hypnosis room, when you used a scalpel to cut open my ribbon and let Leo touch me as he pleased, we were already over.”
He froze, the color draining from his face, “Weren’t you hypnotized?”
I laughed coldly: “Yes, I was hypnotized, but I hadn’t completely lost consciousness.”
Zack trembled all over, his lips quivering but unable to speak.
“You let me be molested, hypnotized, confined, and even beat me
with your
own hands.” I slowly caressed my abdomen,
The
b
“You made me lose our child.”
“Now, what makes you think I would come back to you?”
Zack stumbled back two steps as if struck by lightning, his face as white as paper: “Ch–child?”
His lips trembled, as if finally realizing the magnitude of his crime.
“No… it can’t be…” He shook his head, suddenly raising his hand to slap himself hard. The crisp sound was jarring,
“Aria… I…”
Another slap.
And another.
He had split his own lip, blood dripping down his chin, but he seemed not to feel the pain. He just stared at me intently, as if his harsh self–punishment would soften my heart.
But I was long past that point.
I turned to go back to my room without another glance.
Behind me, Zack’s howl tore through the air: “Aria! Please… give me one more chance.”
“Chance?” I looked at him one last time before turning away, “Did you ever give that unborn child a chance?”
As the glass door closed, Zack’s cries were suddenly cut off.
I picked up the pen Sean had given me and wrote the first word on paper: Calm.
The ink flowed smoothly, like the beginning of a new life.
The day my brother’s investigation team delivered their report, he sent an invitation to Zack with a cold smile on his lips.
Zack mistakenly thought my brother was willing to give him a chance, to reconcile us.
He specially chose the deep blue suit I liked best, even changing his cufflinks to the pair I had given him.
Vanessa grabbed his sleeve as he was leaving, “Don’t go! This must be a trap set by Aria!“
4:05 PM
<
Vanessa grabbed his sleeve as he was leaving, “Don’t go! This must be a trap set by Aria!”
“Get lost!” He shook her off with such force it was as if he was shaking off something filthy,
“If you hadn’t deliberately broken the bracelet to frame her, we wouldn’t be in this situation!”
Vanessa stumbled and fell to the ground, her carefully styled hair coming undone, looking every bit like a madwoman.
She watched Zack leave without looking back, and suddenly burst into maniacal laughter,
Then she got up and, taking advantage of the bodyguards‘ inattention, rushed to the parking lot and drove off, following Zack to the Jiang family home.
When Zack entered the Jiang house, his suit was impeccable, a smile on his lips, as if certain that after today, I would return to his side.
“Adrian.” He nodded to my brother, his voice smooth as jade, just as gentlemanly as when we first met,
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
My brother didn’t speak, just glanced at him lightly and gestured for him to sit.
But Zack’s gaze passed over him, landing on me as I leaned against the second–floor railing. The heat in his eyes almost burned through me,
and he moved to come upstairs.
“Not so fast.” Adrian threw him a file, “Take a look at this first.”
At th
Zack froze as soon as he opened the first page.
E
It was his father’s medical report, clearly documenting traces of neurotoxins.
And the purchase records showed that Vanessa had bought this type of toxin three months before his father became paralyzed and comatose.
Zack’s eyes were bloodshot, his gaze behind the gold–rimmed glasses filled with anger and fear. At that moment, the door was suddenly flung open. Vanessa stumbled in, her silk cheongsam wrinkled against her body, her makeup a complete mess.
“Zack!” She lunged forward and grabbed his arm,
“I won’t let you be with Arja, you love me!”
Zack slapped her, “First explain why you poisoned my father.”
Vanessa’s face drained of color at his words. She grabbed Zack’s arm again,
“I absolutely did not poison your father!”
“No?” My brother laughed coldly and pressed a remote control.
Clear surveillance footage immediately appeared on the projection screen:
Vanessa was pouring white powder into a teapot, the timestamp showing one hour before Zack’s father fell ill.
“This… this is fabricated!” Vanessa shrieked, her carefully manicured nails pointing at me on the second floor,
“Aria and her brother are framing me!”
My brother pressed the remote again.
The scene switched to a conversation between Vanessa and her best friend at a nursing home: “Once the old man dies, all the property will be Zack’s. That boy is besotted with me, won’t the entire Yan family fortune be mine to use as I please?”
“No! It’s not like that!” Vanessa fell to her knees, “It’s because I love you, Zack! I love you too much…”
“Love me?” Zack grabbed her chin, “What you love is the Yan family fortune!”
The scene switched to a conversation between Vanessa and her best friend at a nursing nome. Zack’s. That boy is besotted with me, won’t the entire Yan family fortune be mine to use as I please?”
“No! It’s not like that!” Vanessa fell to her knees, “It’s because I love you, Zack! I love you too much…”
“Love me?” Zack grabbed her chin, “What you love is the Yan family fortune!”
Vanessa was beaten by Zack on the spot, her bloodied lips twisting:
“What about you? Don’t you love being ambiguous with me?”
“The study, the dressing room, the room next to your father’s… We were just using each other…”
Zack’s face instantly turned pale. He looked sharply at me on the second floor:
“Aria, don’t listen to her nonsense!” Then he punched Vanessa in the face, “Bitch! You’re slandering me!”
