- 20 hours ago
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00:00To cover the sky-high cost of my father's emergency surgery and ICU bills,
00:04I swallowed every last shred of my pride and played the model husband inside the Mercer family.
00:09Never complaining once, when my foster brother Tristan got low and needed Evelyn's company,
00:14I moved out on my own and checked into a hotel.
00:16Later, when a perforated stomach put me on the operating table,
00:20Evelyn was busy hovering over Tristan.
00:22She never even called me once, and I just took it calmly.
00:26My daughter was impossible.
00:28She smashed her rice bowl right in front of me,
00:30screaming that she only wanted food that Uncle Tristan cooked.
00:33I didn't get angry.
00:35Instead, I drove to Tristan's place and brought him home to live with us.
00:39Even on my birthday, Tristan stared at the cake on the table and suddenly started crying, eyes red.
00:45Julian, I really envy you.
00:47You have such a wonderful wife and child.
00:50Me, I've never once got a proper birthday gift.
00:53A flawless smile on my face, I slid the agate bead bracelet off my wrist
00:57and pressed it into his hand without a second's hesitation.
01:00The black beads gave off a cold, dull shine against his pale skin.
01:03But Evelyn's eyes went red.
01:05She grabbed my wrist and clamped down hard.
01:07Julian!
01:07Her voice sharp as a blade.
01:08That's the token I prayed for on my knees in the Mojave Desert,
01:12bowing every single step for you!
01:14The air froze in an instant.
01:16Tristan quickly slipped the bracelet off his wrist and put on a helpless act.
01:19I'm sorry, Evelyn.
01:20I really didn't know it was your love token.
01:22I'll give it back to Julian right now.
01:24Beside them, little Chloe's face went tight.
01:26She jabbed a finger straight at me.
01:27Daddy knew exactly how precious it was.
01:29He shoved it at Uncle Tristan on purpose just to embarrass him.
01:33Daddy, you're a total villain!
01:35Evelyn stared me down, her eyes heavy and worn out.
01:39Julian, how long are you going to keep this up?
01:42I brought you back because I wanted us to work.
01:44All I felt inside was endless, absurd irony.
01:47Back then, if Tristan wanted something and I hesitated even a second before handing it over,
01:52disaster followed.
01:53Now I'd given in, I'd backed down, and she still wasn't satisfied.
01:56I turned, picked up the limited edition watch Evelyn had just given me,
02:00and held it out to Tristan.
02:01The bracelet's not enough?
02:03Here.
02:04Take this too.
02:05Evelyn went white in an instant.
02:10She shot to her feet and swept her arm across the table,
02:13knocking the birthday cake straight to the floor.
02:15Cream splattered my shirt.
02:16Julian, do you have to be this snive, this calculating, just to hurt me?
02:20The fine porcelain plate shattered at my feet.
02:22I'm not.
02:23Evelyn shut her eyes and forced herself to breathe deep.
02:29I know you're still hung up on how I put Tristan in the ambulance first that day,
02:32but he was bleeding out.
02:34He almost didn't make it.
02:38All these years, I've been searching everywhere for a heart sender who matches you,
02:41just so that nightmare never happens again.
02:43Julian, I'm begging you, stop with the temper.
02:46Just live with me properly.
02:48Can you do that?
02:49I gave a numb nod.
02:50Mommy already apologized to you.
02:52What gives you the right to stay so cold?
02:54No wonder nobody in this house likes you except Grandpa.
02:57Chloe jumped off her chair, furious.
02:58I let out a cold laugh.
03:00Perfect.
03:00The words hit my chest like a hammer.
03:02Because except for your Grandpa, every single person here disgusts me too.
03:05Evelyn's whole body shook.
03:06Her eyes went cold to the bone.
03:07Fine, since you don't care about anything and don't like anyone,
03:10then from today we do this differently.
03:13Tristan and I take the master bedroom.
03:15You move to the servant's room in the basement.
03:19I didn't argue.
03:20I just turned and walked calmly to the stairs.
03:23Yay!
03:24Now every night I get to sleep with Mommy and Uncle Tristan!
03:28Behind me, Chloe clapped her little hands and cheered.
03:30Back in the room, I quietly started packing.
03:33I opened the closet.
03:34Cashmere coats, keys to luxury cars, tailored suits.
03:37All the things I couldn't afford back when we were struggling.
03:40Evelyn had filled in for me one by one.
03:42The scent on the knitstand was one she'd mixed herself.
03:44She'd even changed the curtains back to the dark green I used to love.
03:48In these two years back at the Mercer Mansion,
03:50she seemed to have turned into that girl again.
03:53The one whose eyes lit up just from looking at me.
03:55But the man I am now would never be swayed.
03:57By sweet words and a gentle act.
03:59I only packed a few old clothes.
04:02The ones I'd been wearing when they dragged me back here.
04:05Just as I placed them in the suitcase,
04:07Evelyn pushed the door open and walked in.
04:14She grabbed my wrist, slid the string of obsidian beads back on.
04:18Wear it.
04:19And gave a cold order.
04:20Try giving it away again and see what happens.
04:22I looked up a little stunned.
04:24She'd actually gone and gotten it back from Tristan.
04:26Her eyes swept over my suitcase and her brows snapped into a frown.
04:31That's all you're taking?
04:32None of it is mine.
04:34There's no point taking it.
04:35Something vicious flickered deep in her eyes.
04:37Clearly I'd angered her again.
04:40Fine.
04:41If none of it's good enough for you,
04:42then it's all garbage.
04:44She raised her voice toward the door.
04:46Someone!
04:47Take everything I bought for Julian and burn it!
04:50From now on, without Tristan's permission,
04:52he doesn't get to use a single thing in this house.
04:55I picked up my suitcase face blank and walked straight out.
04:58Before I even reached the turn in the stairs,
05:00a hardship hit me from behind and sent me crashing down the steps.
05:03My knee slammed into the edge of a stair and scraped raw, burning with pain.
05:07Chloe stood at the top, glaring down at me.
05:09You never changed at all.
05:11It was all an act before.
05:13You just want to drive a wedge between Mommy and Uncle Tristan.
05:16I'm warning you,
05:17if you bully him again,
05:19I won't want you as my daddy anymore.
05:21Her eyes caught the corner of a small leather pouch sticking out of my pocket.
05:24It was the protective charm I'd prayed for, for my father.
05:27Before I could react, she snatched it away.
05:30I forced myself up through the pain and reached for it.
05:32Give it back!
05:34I'd prayed three days and three nights in the cathedral for that charm.
05:37Chloe held it high smug.
05:39Every time you give Uncle Tristan trouble,
05:43I'll destroy one of your things.
05:46Let's see if you dare.
05:47She tore the pouch open and ripped the blessed prayer card inside to shreds.
05:52The tattered scraps drifted down onto my head like ash.
05:55The last thread of restraint I had left snapped clean through.
05:58I slapped her heart across the face.
06:00My voice was cold as iron.
06:02The thing I regret most in this life is giving you my heart!
06:05Since you love Tristan so much,
06:07go call him your father.
06:09I'll grant you that.
06:11Chloe clutched her reddened cheek,
06:13too stunned to speak.
06:17I didn't look back.
06:19Teeth clenched, I limped toward that cramped,
06:21shabby servant's room.
06:22I was cleaning my wounds when the door slammed open.
06:25Evelyn stormed in, furious.
06:28Julian, you actually took your temper out on a child.
06:30Then she saw the bruises and cuts covering my body,
06:33and her voice cut off.
06:34How did you end up like this?
06:36She helped me back onto the bed,
06:38oddly gentle and carefully cleaned my wounds.
06:40For a moment I saw the old Evelyn again.
06:42My eyes stung despite myself.
06:45Julian.
06:46Her gaze softened.
06:47She leaned in to kiss me.
06:48On instinct, I turned my head away.
06:50She froze then seized my jaw,
06:51so I couldn't move and kissed me
06:53with an almost violent, venting force.
06:55The taste of blood spread between our mouths.
06:58I let her do as she pleased,
07:00stiff as wood while old memories flashed through my mind,
07:02cutting like broken glass.
07:04When her hand slipped inside my collar,
07:06a wave of nausea surged up my throat.
07:08I shoved her off, leaned over the edge of the bed,
07:10and threw up violently.
07:12Julian!
07:13Her face twisted in an instant.
07:16You think I'm disgusting?
07:18I wiped the corner of my mouth,
07:19looked away, my voice flat.
07:21I'm sorry, I don't feel well.
07:23If you have needs, go to Tristan.
07:25Evelyn's eyes filled with despair and pain,
07:27her voice trembling.
07:28You're pushing me away again?
07:30I've explained a hundred times.
07:32After you left, I never let another man touch me.
07:35I only took care of Tristan because your mother asked me to
07:38with her dying breath.
07:39I looked her level in the eyes and said it calmly.
07:42I believe you.
07:43I know nothing happened between you two.
07:46The veins at her temple bulged.
07:47She kicked over the trash can beside her
07:49and stormed out, slamming the door.
07:51Not long after, my phone lit up.
07:53A video call from Evelyn.
07:54I hesitated a moment, then answered.
07:57Tristan's heavy breathing came through the speaker.
07:59On screen, Evelyn was straddling him, moving wildly.
08:02Our wedding photos set on the nightstand.
08:03A wet handprint smeared across my face in the picture.
08:08Tristan stared straight at me through the screen,
08:11a smug sneer curling his lips.
08:13Evelyn, slow down.
08:15Julian's watching.
08:20Evelyn turned the camera toward the bed,
08:22her voice cold with something like revenge.
08:25Since you don't trust me, I'll let you watch your fill.
08:28Look closely.
08:29See just how perfect Tristan and I are together?
08:32And you don't get to hang up before we're done, not for one breath.
08:36That night she tormented him in every corner of the master bedroom,
08:40leaving the marks of their indulgence all over the room.
08:43Every frame on that screen, every sound,
08:45churned my stomach and left nothing but a nausea carved into my bones.
08:49Only when the first faint light of dawn touched the sky did Evelyn finally hang up,
08:53still not satisfied.
08:54My already fragile heart couldn't take any more of it.
08:57A dull, suffocating pain spread through my chest.
08:59I dragged my weak body to the table to find the emergency medicine I always kept.
09:03But before I could tip the pills into my palm,
09:06a small figure rushed over,
09:07snatched the bottle,
09:08and hurled it hard to the floor.
09:10Who said you could take medicine on your own?
09:12Without Uncle Tristan's permission,
09:14you don't get to touch anything.
09:16Chloe glared at me vicious.
09:18The pain in my chest left me without even the strength to argue.
09:21I could only bend down to pick up the scattered pills.
09:23But before my hand reached them,
09:25Chloe stomped down hard,
09:27grinding the pills into the floor until they were powder mixed with dust.
09:31Useless little thief!
09:32Get out of my house!
09:35Her scream tore through the air sharp as glass.
09:38A roar filled my ears.
09:39Under the crushing pressure, my pacemaker hit its limit.
09:42I couldn't hold on any longer.
09:44I collapsed hard to the floor and the past came flooding back.
09:48Chloe was frail and sickly from birth.
09:50By the time they found the heart disease,
09:52there was no matching donor heart left in time.
09:54So I quietly went and got tested.
09:56Without hesitation, I gave her my healthy heart
09:59and took an artificial one for myself.
10:04I hovered at death's door for weeks.
10:07But the day Chloe was finally able to get out of bed,
10:09she didn't come see me even once.
10:11She ran straight to Tristan's ward instead.
10:17Uncle Tristan, when will you actually be my daddy?
10:20My daddy's so annoying.
10:21Mommy takes one extra puff of a cigarette and he nags forever.
10:24I watch TV for a bit and he scolds me.
10:26You're so much better.
10:28You buy me burgers and take me to the amusement park.
10:30Mommy and I like you best.
10:32I was standing right outside the door and I heard every word.
10:34The scar from my chest surgery felt like it was being torn open all over again,
10:38agonizing.
10:39I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked slowly in.
10:43Chloe, I went under the knife for you.
10:45I nearly gave up half my life.
10:47Is this how you talk about me?
10:49Tristan instantly pulled her behind him, playing gentle and kind.
10:53Come on, Julian.
10:54She's just a kid.
10:56Kids say silly things without meaning them.
10:58Why stoop to her level and blow up like this?
11:00With Tristan backing her, she stuck out her neck and screamed at me.
11:03I just hate you!
11:04You're cold all day, no fun at all!
11:10Why didn't you just die on the operating table?
11:13Mommy's already pregnant with Uncle Tristan's baby.
11:16I'm going to have a little brother soon.
11:18We don't need you at all!
11:19The words hit me like a bolt from a clear sky.
11:21Exploding in my mind, my whole body went rigid.
11:23My blood froze and boiled in the same instant.
11:25Everything went black and I collapsed.
11:26When I opened my eyes again, Evelyn was keeping watch at my bedside.
11:29Seeing me wake, she stayed silent a long time, then spoke calmly.
11:32Since you already know, there's no point lying.
11:35Tristan and I slept together.
11:37It was the day of your mother's funeral.
11:39I told you I'd had too much to drink and missed the calls.
11:41The truth is, Tristan wouldn't let go of me, and I couldn't break away to answer.
11:44My mind went blank.
11:45I remembered that day.
11:47Tristan cried his heart out at the funeral, worried about his health.
11:50I had Evelyn drive him home first.
11:51My family was small.
11:52The funeral wasn't even over when my uncles and cousins started tearing each other apart
11:56over the inheritance.
11:57To save the ancestral home, my father and I were beaten bloody by them.
12:00I called Evelyn dozens of times.
12:02She never picked up once.
12:03At my most desperate, my most broken moment, she was tangled up in bed and Tristan, my heart
12:08shattered completely.
12:09Humiliation and rage washed my reason away in an instant.
12:15I slapped her again and again, wild with it.
12:18She just sat there, head bowed, taking it without moving.
12:21But when I got up to go settle things with Tristan, she clamped down on my wrist and screamed hysterical.
12:27Julian!
12:29You've had parents who loved you your whole life, and me by your side.
12:33You've never lacked anything!
12:36But Tristan has nothing.
12:37No family, no home.
12:39Can't you be a little bigger about this and just let him have this one thing?
12:42Watching her take his side with such total shamelessness, the last spark of warmth in
12:47me went out for good.
12:48My voice came out hoarse.
12:51Evelyn, let's get a divorce.
12:53No!
12:54She threw her arms around me, her voice going soft in an instant pleading.
12:59I'm sorry, I lost my head just now.
13:02I didn't mean it.
13:05Julian, I only see Tristan as a brother.
13:08He's just too sensitive.
13:11He was scared that after mom passed, we'd throw him out.
13:15That's why he drugged the drink.
13:19I swear it was only that once.
13:22Never again.
13:23Think about Chloe.
13:25She just got a healthy heart.
13:27Do you really want to break up this family and leave her without a father?
13:30In that moment, I wavered, however much I hated it.
13:33Chloe was still the child I'd raised with my own hands.
13:36Fine.
13:38I'll give you one last chance.
13:41Get rid of that baby.
13:43Send Trista away.
13:44And cut off all contact with him.
13:46Evelyn hesitated a moment, then gritted her teeth and nodded.
13:49Okay.
13:50I promise.
13:51She deleted every one of Tristan's contacts right in front of me.
13:54For a while, she came home on time every day, gentle and attentive.
13:57Even Chloe turned sweet, showing me a rare kind of attachment.
14:02I thought we really could start over.
14:05Until Chloe's birthday, when I left work early to surprise her and take her to the amusement park.
14:10But when I reached the front door, I heard the conversation inside.
14:14Mommy, when can we go see Uncle Tristy and the baby?
14:18I miss them so much.
14:23Shh, keep it down.
14:24When your daddy gets home tonight, we'll put a little sedative in his milk.
14:28Once he's out cold, we'll sneak off to see them.
14:32I stood frozen outside the door like I'd fallen into ice.
14:39That night, just like always, I calmly drank the milk Evelyn handed me.
14:43After the two of them tiptoed out, I got up and followed.
14:46They drove all the way to a mansion downtown.
14:49Through the gap in the door, I saw Tristan lounging comfortably on the sofa.
14:53Evelyn feeding him peeled fruit by hand and gently massaging his legs.
14:57I'm sorry I couldn't be with you these past few days.
15:02I made you suffer.
15:03Chloe nestled against him, pouting.
15:05It's all daddy's fault.
15:06He's too stingy.
15:08He wouldn't let mommy bring you home.
15:10I shoved the door open, my voice shaking.
15:13Didn't you say you'd sent him away?
15:15Evelyn, is there a single true word in your mouth?
15:18Evelyn instantly stepped in front of Tristan and squared off against me, self-righteous.
15:23Julian, haven't you made enough of a scene?
15:26Tristan never once tried to take anything from you.
15:29He doesn't want a title, doesn't want status.
15:31He just quietly stayed by my side.
15:33Hasn't he suffered enough?
15:35Can you please not be this selfish?
15:38Tristan straightened his back too, full of nerve.
15:40That's right, Julian.
15:41You're older than me, and you don't know how to please a woman.
15:45Evelyn stopped loving you a long time ago.
15:47If it wasn't me, it'd be someone else.
15:50So why not me?
15:51I couldn't hold the rage back anymore.
15:52I grabbed the vase off the table and smashed it straight into his head.
15:57Chaos broke out in an instant.
16:00In the struggle, Tristan and I went over the second floor balcony together.
16:04An ambulance came screaming.
16:06The medics checked us both fast.
16:08Penn looked at Evelyn Grimm.
16:10Both patients are critical, but our equipment and staff can only save one first.
16:14Ms. Mercer, who do you choose to save?
16:17Evelyn didn't even glance at me.
16:19Save Tristan.
16:20A tearing pain in my chest yanked me out of the memory.
16:23With a trembling hand, I dialed a number I hadn't called in years.
16:26If I survive this time, help me fake a death.
16:29I hung up, closed my eyes, and lay still on the cold floor, waiting for the final release.
16:34Evelyn suddenly pushed the door open.
16:36She saw Julian on the floor.
16:37Her face panicked.
16:38Julian!
16:42Eveline's frantic voice pulled me back from the edge of blacking out.
16:45She held me in her arms, hands shaking uncontrollably, and pushed the emergency pill into my mouth.
16:51As the medicine took hold, the suffocating pain in my chest eased a little.
16:55I turned my head and saw Chloe standing to the side, chin high, her eyes full of scorn and hostility.
17:01Evelyn slapped her across the face.
17:03You little beast!
17:05Who told you to throw away your father's medicine?
17:07Chloe burst into loud sobs.
17:09Tristan swept her into his arms.
17:12Evelyn, don't be so harsh with her.
17:15She's little.
17:15She doesn't understand these complicated things.
17:19Then he pulled out a forged surgical record.
17:22There are things I didn't want to say, but Julian's putting on far too much of an act.
17:27He had a heart transplant long ago.
17:30His body isn't nearly as fragile as he pretends.
17:32Evelyn scanned the document fast, and her eyes went cold in an instant.
17:38So you recovered a long time ago?
17:40This whole time you've been faking illness?
17:43Faking cold?
17:44Just to punish me?
17:46I didn't defend myself.
17:47I just looked at her with hollow eyes.
17:49Evelyn threw the document hard in my face.
17:51I was actually going to make up a birthday for you today.
17:53Since you're this ungrateful, this full of lies, forget it.
17:56She swept out with Tristan and Chloe, and even locked the door from the outside.
18:00I didn't care in the slightest.
18:02I had no intention of going anywhere with them anyway.
18:05Soon Chloe posted a photo on social media.
18:08In it, Evelyn held Tristan close.
18:10Chloe stood in the middle beaming.
18:11The caption read,
18:12A happy family of three.
18:14Without a flicker of feeling, I tapped a like.
18:16Just then, my phone rang urgent.
18:18It was the hospital.
18:19Sir, your father is critical.
18:20Please come at once.
18:25My heart shot straight into my throat.
18:27I ran at the door like a madman, but it was locked tight.
18:29I called Evelyn.
18:30Once, twice, three times.
18:32No one ever answered.
18:35In desperation, I rushed to the window and threw myself out.
18:38The brutal impact sent a splitting pain through my right leg.
18:41Teeth clenched, I struggled up and limped to the roadside to flag down a taxi.
18:44But by the time I finally reached the hospital,
18:47it was all too late.
18:49The ward was dead silent.
18:51The doctor looked at me helpless.
18:53I'm sorry.
18:54The patient suffered a severe emotional shock.
18:57We did everything we could.
18:58I crumpled to the floor like my soul had been drained out of me.
19:01While gathering my father's belongings,
19:03I found a voice recorder under his pillow.
19:06I pressed play.
19:07Tristan's sinister, venomous voice came out of it.
19:09Thomas, I really pity you.
19:11So let me tell you the truth.
19:12I was never adopted.
19:13I'm my mother's own son.
19:15You fought my father your whole life.
19:17And you ended up raising his son for decades.
19:21Doesn't that feel especially ironic?
19:22Oh, and that ancestral home you and Julian nearly died to protect.
19:26My mother transferred it into my name on my 18th birthday.
19:29Thanks for keeping it safe for me all these years.
19:32You could never beat my father in your life.
19:34And your useless son will never beat me.
19:35His wife, his daughter, his fortune, all of it will be mine soon.
19:39You too, father and son, were only ever my stepping stones.
19:43My father was in a vegetative state, but he was actually conscious.
19:47Tristan used the cruelest words to enrage him to death.
19:50Alive and aware.
19:55The fury of revenge ate through my reason like acid.
19:58I tore out of the hospital like a madman and drove straight for the amusement park.
20:02From a distance, I saw the three of them laughing together on the grass.
20:09Gripping a fruit knife, I charged at them.
20:11Out of my mind, I didn't care about anything anymore.
20:14I only wanted to drag Tristan down to hell with me.
20:16Evelyn clamped down on my wrist.
20:18Julian, how long are you going to keep making scenes?
20:24Crowd swarmed around us in an instant, pointing and whispering.
20:28Chloe spread her arms in front of Tristan and shouted to the crowd.
20:31My daddy's mentally ill.
20:32He's always bullying Uncle Tristan.
20:35Uncle Tristan finally got Mommy pregnant again and now Diddy wants to earn him.
20:40He's a lunaturk, a villain.
20:43Everyone hit him.
20:44She picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at me.
20:47And the whipped up crowd followed her lead.
20:49I'm mentally unstable and coming at people with a knife.
20:52I bet he's just faking the pity act.
20:54So vicious.
20:55Beat the lunaturk to death.
20:56A storm of curses and flying rocks surged at me like a tide.
21:00I pushed through the noisy crowd and looked at Evelyn still shielding Tristan with her body.
21:04A bleak, hopeless, mocking smile pulled at the corner of my mouth.
21:09Evelyn, if there's a next life, pray we never meet again.
21:13With that, the artificial heart in my chest, under all that grief and overload, gave off a piercing flatline beep
21:20and stopped beating for good.
21:21I closed my eyes and, amid the crowd's cries of alarm, crashed down like a kite with its string cut.
21:30My body turned weightless, drifting up like a wisp of ghost.
21:33Through my blurring vision, I saw Evelyn's face break in an instant into pure terror.
21:38Julian!
21:39She let out a scream that tore from her chest.
21:42Evelyn went completely to pieces, trembling.
21:44She reached for my breath, then pressed hard against my carotid artery.
21:47No breathing.
21:48No pulse.
21:49Julian!
21:50Julian, wake up!
21:51Julian!
21:52Julian!
21:52Look at me!
21:54Don't sleep!
21:55I won't let you close your eyes!
21:57She screamed, raw and broken, laid me flat on the grass, stacked her hands, and pressed down on my chest
22:01again and again, doing CPR like a woman possessed.
22:05Chloe stood there frozen, mouth wide open, unable to make a sound.
22:09Julian!
22:10Julian!
22:10Her voice went completely harny, calling my name in cry after desperate cry.
22:15Eyes red, Evelyn whipped her head toward the crowd and roared.
22:18Call an ambulance!
22:19Hurry!
22:20Save him!
22:21Someone save him!
22:22The crowd scattered in fear.
22:24Before long, the medics arrived with a stretcher.
22:26A nurse felt my neck, checked my pupils, and her face fell at once.
22:30Ma'am, my condolences.
22:32He's gone.
22:34Evelyn seemed not to understand the words at all.
22:36She grabbed the nurse by the collar, her eyes wild.
22:38You didn't even try!
22:39How do you know he's dead?
22:40Save him!
22:41Save him now!
22:41Ma'am, his heart has stopped.
22:43There's really nothing.
22:44That's a lie!
22:45The nurse could barely breathe in her grip.
22:46Evelyn shoved her away, scooped up my body, and ran for the ambulance.
22:50Get him to the hospital now!
22:51Whatever it costs you, bring him back!
22:54No one could talk her down.
22:55All they could do was lift me onto the stretcher and into the ambulance.
23:00Inside the ambulance, Evelyn wrapped my cold fingers in both hands,
23:04held them to her lips, and kept breathing warmth onto them.
23:07Julian, wake up.
23:08I'm sorry, I know I was wrong.
23:10Please don't leave me.
23:11Don't abandon me and Chloe.
23:12She pressed closer, forcing her forehead hard against my head.
23:15Your father's still waiting for you at the hospital.
23:18If you die, who's gonna take care of him?
23:20Her voice was a jumbled, incoherent mix of toothless threats and lowly pleading.
23:24But this time, no one would frown and call her crazy anymore.
23:28No one would answer her a single word.
23:30The ambulance siren faded into the distance.
23:33The crowd scattered in no time.
23:35For some reason, my soul didn't leave right away.
23:38As if held by some invisible obsession, it drifted in midair.
23:42Watching the wrecked grass below in silence, Tristan brushed the dust off his shirt and walked
23:47toward the parking lot without a backward glance.
23:49Chloe stood there dazed, staring at the wet patch of ground where the water had washed over it.
23:54Uncle Tristan?
23:55Aren't we going to the hospital to see Daddy?
23:58Tristan didn't even turn his head.
24:00Hospitals are full of germs.
24:01I have a weak body.
24:02What if I get infected?
24:04Right.
24:04Uncle Tristan's not well.
24:06He can't go to hospitals.
24:07Mommy always said he's very fragile.
24:10Then, let's go home and wait for Mommy and then go see Daddy together, okay?
24:15Chloe looked in the direction Evelyn had gone, then nodded as if she understood.
24:19Tristan didn't answer.
24:20He'd already opened the car door and dropped straight into the passenger seat.
24:28Chloe pulled open the back door, looked at the empty back seat,
24:31and a chill crept up from the solace of her feet.
24:33Uncle Tristan?
24:35Can you sit in the back with me?
24:37I-
24:38I'm a little scared by myself.
24:40Tristan turned, brow furrowed.
24:41How old are you?
24:43You need someone to sit with you just to ride in a car?
24:46Useless.
24:47His face full of impatience.
24:49Chloe was frozen, her eyes going red in an instant.
24:52Are you getting in or not?
24:54If not, you can stay here alone.
24:56Chloe hurried to wipe her tears and scrambled clumsily into the back seat.
24:59The door slammed shut.
25:02Over the next few days, Tristan tore off his mask completely.
25:06The old gentleness and care were gone without a trace,
25:09replaced by pure arrogance and vicious cruelty.
25:12Chloe huddled in the corner of the living room, stomach growling with hunger,
25:16not daring to ask Tristan for anything to eat.
25:18She snuck into the kitchen, hoping to grab a piece of cold bread from the fridge to fill her stomach.
25:24Tristan came down from upstairs and kicked the plate out of her hands.
25:29Who said you could touch anything here?
25:31That's for my son.
25:32You think you deserve to eat it?
25:34Chloe shook violently, tears dropping one after another.
25:37Tristan used to save the best snacks for her, hold her to sleep, call her the cutest little princess in
25:42the world.
25:42But this man now, with his icy eyes and knife-like words, was a stranger, frighteningly so.
25:51Uncle Tristan.
25:52Uncle Tristan.
25:52Tristan let out a mocking sneer and seized her by the jaw.
25:55Don't call me that.
25:57It's revolting.
25:58I was only good to you before to please Evelyn.
26:02Now that Julian's dead, you're just a useless piece of baggage to me.
26:06If you know what's good for you, get lost.
26:09Or I'll throw you out along with the rest.
26:11Tristan sneered and slammed the door on his way out.
26:14I watched Chloe slump to the cold floor, her small body shaking wildly with sobs.
26:19She hugged her knees, curled up, and wept.
26:22Liar.
26:22You liar.
26:26Daddy, I'm sorry.
26:27Daddy, I'm sorry.
26:29I crushed your medicine.
26:31I threw the rocks at you.
26:32How could I be so awful?
26:35Daddy, will you come back?
26:37Chloe knows she was wrong.
26:39Chloe will never ask you for presents again.
26:41Chloe just wants you.
26:43Daddy, come back!
26:45She cried her heart out, little hands beating desperately at the floor.
26:49But in that pitch dark room, there was nothing except her own cries and their echo.
26:53The man who would gently scoop her up no matter how upset she got was gone.
26:56From up in the air, I watched her collapse in tears, and nothing stirred in me anymore.
27:00Evelyn still refused to accept that I was dead,
27:02even after multiple leading experts confirmed it again and again.
27:05Even as my body had long gone cold and stiff, she kept vigil beside me, eyes red.
27:11Overnight, she had a crystal ice coffin custom-made and laid me carefully inside.
27:14She threw herself into investigating every detail.
27:17The home security footage, the hospital records, everything from the past.
27:25She was convinced I was still deceiving her.
27:27He faked his death once three years ago and pulled it off.
27:30This time he must be putting on an act too.
27:33On the third day, she drove to the hospital herself to bring my father back to the mansion.
27:37But when she pushed open the ward door, the bed was already empty.
27:42Evelyn panicked.
27:45Where is he?
27:46The head nurse lowered her head, her voice soft.
27:49Mr. Thomas Vance passed away three days ago.
27:53Impossible! I gave him the best medicine, hired the best doctors.
27:56How could he suddenly die?
27:58This is. We found it under his pillow.
28:02Listen for yourself.
28:03The head nurse handed over a voice recorder.
28:05Evelyn pressed play with a trembling hand.
28:07Tristan's sinister, venomous voice, every word like a blade,
28:10filled the whole room in an instant.
28:11The recorder slipped from Evelyn's limp fingers and clattered to the floor.
28:14She finally understood.
28:16She finally understood why I had given up every chance to survive in despair.
28:20Investigate Tristan.
28:22Everything.
28:22From childhood to now.
28:24Don't miss a single thing.
28:25She called her assistant.
28:27Her voice worn to a rasp.
28:28The assistant didn't dare delay.
28:30By early the next morning, a thick file sat in front of Evelyn.
28:33Tristan was never any pitiful foster son.
28:35He was the illegitimate child Eleanor bore from an affair during her marriage.
28:39After bringing him home, Eleanor gave him all her love,
28:42while she abused and beat me and my father for decades.
28:46Tristan squandered every resource the family had,
28:48growing up on our blood and tears.
28:50And the day we fell from that building,
28:52he was never bleeding out at all.
28:57The ambulance had actually been about to turn back from me.
29:00It was Tristan throwing a hysterical, life-or-death tantrum in the vehicle,
29:03who dragged out the crucial rescue window and left me alone on a cold road to die.
29:09And my heart.
29:10There was never any recovery.
29:12From start to finish, there was only a fragile artificial heart in my chest,
29:15one that could stop for good at any moment.
29:17It was Tristan who, step by step,
29:19egged Chloe on to throw away my emergency medicine,
29:22just so he could watch me die in front of his eyes.
29:24One cruel truth after another drove into Evelyn's heart like poison blades.
29:28She kicked the table over in a frenzy.
29:30The WT set smashed to the floor with an ear-splitting crash.
29:33She charged downstairs murder in her eyes.
29:35Tristan was lounging on the living room sofa just then,
29:37legs crossed, eating fruit.
29:38The moment he saw Evelyn,
29:40he slid seamlessly back into that weak, innocent face.
29:42Evelyn, you look terrible.
29:44Didn't you rest well?
29:45Do you want me to-
29:46He didn't get to finish.
29:47Evelyn's hand was already clamped around his throat like an iron vice.
29:50The fruit tray crashed to the floor and shattered.
29:52Evelyn, you-
29:54What are you doing?
29:55She pinned him hard against the sofa,
29:57her fingers tightening and tightening.
29:58Tristan, you've made a fool of me for all these years.
30:02You killed Julian.
30:04You killed his father.
30:05You turned him against his own daughter.
30:07You deserve to die.
30:09Tristan's face went red under her grip,
30:11his eyes full of terror.
30:15But Evelyn gave him no chance to beg.
30:17She had him hauled straight to a hospital
30:19and forced him through castration and sterilization surgery.
30:23On the operating table,
30:24Tristan struggled and cursed hysterical.
30:26Evelyn, you hypocrite.
30:29You fell for me a long time ago.
30:31You were sick of Julian long ago.
30:34Don't play the devoted lover now.
30:38You're just as disgusting as me.
30:40The only one you've ever loved is yourself.
30:48You're the one who drove him to his death.
30:50You think destroying me will bring him back?
30:54Keep dreaming!
30:59Keep dreaming!
31:24You're the one who was in chaos below.
31:26Severe emotional shock.
31:27Heavy bleeding.
31:29We've lost the fetus.
31:30Prep for a DC.
31:31The doctor's shouts echoed through the empty operating room.
31:34I watched her lips tremble violently,
31:36tears striking the pillow one line after another,
31:38as she silently mouthed a few words.
31:40I'm sorry.
31:41You should never have come into this world.
31:44She seemed to want to reach for her belly,
31:46but her strengthless hands could only drop heavily onto the table.
31:49I watched it all with cold eyes,
31:51and not even a ripple stirred in me.
31:56Evelyn still wouldn't let go of her delusion.
31:58She threw herself into hunting for the person who'd helped me fake my death back then,
32:02as if finding him could turn back time and bring me back.
32:05After months of digging and searching,
32:06she finally traced the faint clues to the southwestern border.
32:09She flew there overnight.
32:11But the person she found was no back-alley con artist from some underground black market.
32:15It was a spirited old man in an old-style military uniform, Arthur Sterling.
32:20Evelyn dropped to her knees before him.
32:23Please, tell me where he is.
32:25Old General Arthur gave a slight shake of his head,
32:28his tone calm but utterly firm.
32:30I helped him back then only because I owed his father my life.
32:34So when you left him in that place to die,
32:37I'm the one who forged his death certificate and got him out.
32:40What I never expected was that you could use his father's surgery fees as leverage.
32:45And force him right back into this hell of yours.
32:48Hope flared in Evelyn's eyes.
32:50Then this time...
32:51Not this time.
32:52Arthur cut her off, his voice flat.
32:55Last time he wasn't dead yet.
32:57I could hide him.
32:58But this time, he's really...
33:00dead.
33:01I can't bring a dead man back to life.
33:03Arthur tossed a sealed envelope onto her knees.
33:06Take it.
33:06This is what he never got the chance to tell you himself.
33:08Evelyn tore the envelope open with violently shaking hands.
33:12Inside was a single thin sheet of paper.
33:13A critical condition notice.
33:16The date was the very day I fell from that building, five years ago.
33:19Only then did she fully understand.
33:21Back then I really had walked through death's door once.
33:24I had been that close to dying.
33:26Tears soaked the paper, spreading into dark blotches.
33:29The despair and grief she'd held down for so long finally broke loose.
33:32She crouched on the floor and let out cry after cry of anguish, like a wounded beast.
33:40That day she sent my body into the cremation furnace.
33:45There was no grand funeral, only a quiet shared tomb.
33:48My name was carved on the headstone with a blank space left beside it, saved for her.
33:54On the day of the burial, a fine drizzle fell from the sky.
33:58Chloe ran a fever that lasted days.
34:00And when she opened her eyes again, she had developed severe autism.
34:04She no longer reacted to any sound.
34:06Wouldn't eat or drink, didn't fuss or cry, like a puppet with no soul.
34:10Only on the rare occasion she heard the word daddy with the faintest, almost imperceptible ripple stir in her hollow
34:16eyes.
34:17And Evelyn turned herself completely into a tireless machine.
34:21She worked day and night, burning through her own life.
34:23She didn't dare let herself stop for a single second, because the moment she stopped, the cruel memories and guilt
34:29would tear her to pieces.
34:32Ten years later, Evelyn came to my grave once more.
34:35She had grown old, hair gray at the temples, her face gaunt, the pride and edge of her youth long
34:41gone.
34:41She lit a candle for me.
34:43As the thin smoke curled up, her voice came out badly hoarse.
34:48Ten years.
34:49Are you doing alright over there?
34:51In the next life, I'll find you sooner, take good care of you, and never let go of your hand
34:56again.
35:00Wait for me, will you?
35:01The candle flamed before the grave suddenly went out with no wind at all.
35:04Evelyn went rigid where she stood.
35:06She stared blankly at the snuffed-out candle, her eyes reddening bit by bit.
35:10Then she slowly covered her face, her shoulders shaking hard.
35:14I stood quietly behind her.
35:16My soul was growing lighter and fainter, dissolving slowly like morning mist.
35:20All the deaths and love and hatred of this life were settled clean now.
35:23I turned and walked calmly toward the wheel of reincarnation.
35:26A clear breeze swept past the headstone, carrying away the last trace I'd left in this world.
35:32Evelyn, this life is over.
35:34We will never meet again.
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