I had just finished my medicine and was about to rest when Beau's phone call interrupted me.

"Get to Nightmare Bar within half an hour," he asked.

I said, "I have a cold and I'm feeling a little unwell."

But he cut me off with a mocking laugh. "Don't pretend, Leila. You are disobedient, but I have many obedient people around me."

I knew he was trying to punish me.

Yesterday, I had used concealer to hide the tear mole at the corner of my eye, and he had been furious.

He threw me into the freezer and locked me up all night.

He said I needed to learn my place and not covet things I didn't deserve.

He hated me for desecrating his sweetheart.

When I arrived at the bar, Beau held a girl in his arms, his hand resting on her waist.

She didn't glance at me, too busy feeding Beau fruit and leaning into his arms.

Someone joked, "Hey. Here she comes, Beau. How did you train her? She's more obedient than my dog."

Beau was satisfied after hearing this and waved to me, "Come here, pour me a drink."

I tried to stay awake and looked up at him.

He leaned on the sofa with his hands spread out, looking like he was in control of everything, with a playful smile.

He wanted me to submit, to bow down to him.

I didn't move, finding a seat that wasn't too close or too far from him.

Beau's face darkened, his icy gaze piercing me.

It was not until Arya poured the wine and brought it to his lips that he sneered, "A woman should be like Arya. You must be obedient and flattering."

The friend beside him chimed in,

"Beau is right. Women need to be obedient and tactful to win the love of men. Some women don't know how to please men but still want to be respected."

"Yeah. Leila looks a bit like Arya, but she's still not as good at dealing with things as Arya."

Hearing this, Arya turned to look at me.

I finally saw her appearance clearly and caught a flash of jealousy and surprise in her eyes.

We looked similar, even sharing the same tear mole at the corner of our eyes. But Arya was bright and conspicuous, like a blooming flower, bringing her beauty to the extreme.

Arya said, "You look quite like me, but you're so cold and icy that men won't like you."

Someone sneered, "Women from poor backgrounds can't change their dull look, no matter how hard they try."

"That's right. If Leila hadn't been clinging to Beau, how could Beau be with her? Now that he has Arya, Leila has to pack up and leave."

Arya stood up, examined my outfit, and laughed lightly before handing me a glass of wine. "Thank you for taking care of Beau for so many years, Ms. Hicks. This glass of wine is a reward for you. Drink it."

Beau lounged on the sofa, gazing at me like a dog.

His friend urged, "Leila, drink it. You won't be able to afford such expensive wine after you leave Beau. You can still savor it when you return to your poor home."

"I just took medicine. I shouldn't drink." I clenched my fists, trying to stay sober.

Beau friend continued, "How can it be such a coincidence? If you don't drink, you are not giving face to Beau."

Beau humiliated me, and the people around him didn't take me seriously.

They scoffed at women who clung to their dignity despite their desperation.

I stood up to leave, but Beau grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

With a sulky glint in his eye, he grasped my chin, forcing me to down a glass of wine.

I already had a high fever, and the cold wine flowed down my mouth into my chest, stimulating me and making me shiver.

The burning sensation of the alcohol spread from my throat to my stomach, making it hard for me to breathe.

It took me a long time to break free from his shackles. I grabbed an empty wine glass and hurled it at him.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the strength and the glass only grazed his calf.

Beau's stunned expression transformed into rage.

I ignored him and turned away.

I didn't go to the hospital and went straight home.

The story had reached its end.

"Host's will to live has been lost. Plot collapsed. The fifth attempt was declared a failure. Soul stripping program initiated..."

I pursued Beau five times, each more arduous than the last.

The first time, I was his childhood sweetheart, but he finally fell in love with someone else.

The second time, I became his first love, but he fell in love with my substitute.

The third time, I turned into his naive secretary, and he didn't like women.

The fourth time, I gave up the task, but the system punished me, cutting my life short.

This time, Beau's temperament changed drastically, and his dead sweetheart added an extra layer of obstacles.

I could endure his bad temper and no sympathy for the poor and weak.

But I couldn't bear he had another woman.

I felt disgusting.

I was brought back by Beau from his trip to the mountains. He was stunned when he saw me. He then asked me to be with him.

When did I discover that he had a first love?

Every time we made love, he would use his fingers to cover the teardrop mole at the end of my right eye, the mole that I had longed to remove since I was a child.

"It stung," he said.

Sensitively catching the dissimilarity, I asked tentatively, "Then should I remove it?"

Beau suddenly became violent, pinched my chin hard, and said fiercely, "No, you are not allowed to remove it. Do you hear me? You can never be her."

Her?

Through Haley, I learned that during Beau's college days, a girl had sacrificed herself to save him, and he would visit her grave every year to mourn her.

Haley said, "To value love is a virtue. But for Mr. Lewis to treat others as stand-ins is a disgrace to the gentleman's demeanor."

I realized that I might have resembled her if not for the mole.

But the living couldn't compete with the dead.

However, at that time, I was stubborn and believed in the power of habit.

I thought Beau would grow accustomed to me and never let me go.

I realized when a man despised you and looked down on you from the bottom of his heart, he treated you as a rag that could be discarded at any time.

All Beau valued was a face, an obedient and well-behaved substitute.

I was not.

After leaving my host's body, I did not leave this world.

I returned to Beau in the form of a soul to collect data.

He sat at the bar, expressionless, his thoughts drifting. His fingers tapped lightly on his knee.

I knew he was angry.

I never backed down, even when I was at my lowest and faced oppression.

He tried to mold me into his first love and asked me to learn piano.

But I refused.

Without showing his anger on the face, he punished me by putting me in the cold storage room.

He was unaware that I was actually skilled at playing the piano.

"Are you going to let her get away with hitting you?" Someone said indignantly.

Beau sneered, "Why would I stoop to her level?"

He then grabbed Arya standing beside him, slapped her on the face, and poured her wine, saying, "She is disobedient, but there are many obedient women."

To Beau, I was just a plaything, and to his friends, I was a doll to be manipulated.

One night, Beau got drunk with his friends and asked me to pick him up.

His friend teased me, "Beau says you're a country girl. Can you imitate a rooster for us?"

"Bruce, please don't insult the roosters."

I looked at them coldly, "No."

Bruce continued, "Beau, your woman is disobedient. Amber is also from a poor village. She did whatever I told her to do just for a bag. She's so obedient."

Beau leaned on the sofa, flicked the ashes from his fingertips, and looked sober, saying, "If you imitate a rooster, I can send you to a prestigious acting academy and help you enter the acting world."

I wanted to study acting, enter the acting world, and make money on my own.

Beau said in a contemptuous tone, "You still want to be a star? Are you worthy?"

The room erupted in laughter and lewd comments, and someone even tried to touch me.

"Aren't you making enough money around Beau? Do you want to be slept by more people?"

"Let me see if you are qualified..."

Unable to bear it, I picked up the bottle and decisively smashed it at the most outrageous person.

Soon, a dull pain began to pierce my chest.

Beau kicked me to the ground and grabbed my neck, "You think you're so noble? I'll crush your pride. Don't forget, I'm the one who brought you out of that mountain. If it weren't for me, your parents would have sold you to some stinky man."

His first love was a talented young pianist, as bright as a star, but unfortunately, she died in her best years.

I was just a speck of dust, unworthy of dignity.

That night, they continued to party and went to the hot springs.

Beau leaned on the car seat, tapping his fingers on the window frame, and a hint of boredom flashed in his eyes.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang.

He looked slightly relaxed and gestured for Arya to answer it.

Arya said, "It must be a prank. Someone named Haley said Leila passed away. She was drinking with us just now. How could she suddenly die?"

I thought he would believe Haley's words.

He should have buried me for the sake of my face.

However, he squeezed Arya's hand and snorted coldly, "Don't worry about her. How could she die so easily?"

That's right. Beau never believed me.

That time, when Haley rescued me from the cold storage room, I was already stiff and my family doctor declared that I had no vital signs.