My girlfriend, Mia Thompson, passed away from cancer, leaving behind only her lonely, orphaned younger sister, Meryl Thompson, as her concern.

I promised to take good care of her.

For this, I quit my high-paying job and returned to my hometown.

But Meryl looked exactly like Mia, and disgustingly, I found myself developing feelings.

Things took a turn for the worse when Meryl was diagnosed with leukemia.

I sold my car and house, staked all my assets, and borrowed money everywhere just to raise enough for her treatment.

When I rushed home, eager to tell Meryl the excellent news, I discovered that not only did she not have leukemia, but even Meryl was a character Mia had made up.

It was all an elaborate lie!

Her friend scoffed, "This guy's an idiot, but imagine if he knew you were deceiving him, he'd go mad, right?"

She smirked dismissively. "So what? I don't love him. It wouldn't matter to me if he died!"

But she didn't know that in my desperation to raise money for her, my cancer had progressed to a terminal stage, and I had missed the best time for treatment...

1

"Ms. Thompson is quite the charmer, isn't she? She's got that poor boy Troy Hastings wrapped around her finger. I bet he still doesn't know that both sisters are actually Ms. Thompson playing a role."

Hearing a familiar voice from inside the room, I froze in mid-air as I was about to push the door open.

Poor boy?

Ms. Thompson?

What were they talking about?

Curious, I silently cracked open the door just enough to peer through and eavesdrop.

"Ms. Thompson is the heiress of the Thompson Group. It's Troy's good fortune that she even notices him! The line of suitors for Ms. Thompson could stretch aboard!"

Mia was being praised to the skies by her friends, and there was a smug sparkle in her eyes. "Troy is such a fool; he believes anything I say."

"But did that poor boy really give you two million? He must be pretty devoted, though it must have been hard for him," her friend said with a shake of her head in pity.

"Of course, he did! Every penny of the two million!" Mia boasted, pulling out a bank card from her pocket and waving it around before casually tossing it to her friend. "Here, consider it a gift from me, go buy yourself a bag."

Her friend joyfully picked up the bank card, squeezing out a sycophantic smile. "Ms. Thompson is so generous! If I were a man, I'd fall head over heels for you too!"

Mia, pleased by the compliment, reveled in her vanity.

Another voice chimed in with concern. "But what if Troy finds out? He'd go crazy, right?"

Mia scoffed dismissively, "He's currently in debt for tens of thousands, working three jobs a day just to pay it off. He's too busy to even think of coming home.

"And what does it matter if he finds out? It's just a game to me; I don't love him. Even if he died, it wouldn't matter to me!"

Mia's heartless words stabbed at my heart like icy daggers.

The vile nature of the woman before me was revolting.

Seeing her casually throw away the money I had scraped together for emergencies was the last straw.

I couldn't bear it any longer.

I sold my garage, borrowed money from everyone I knew, worked myself to the bone, and even gave up my best chance at treatment for a false promise!

It was all to save her!

But now, knowing the truth, I realize I was the only one kept in the dark, played for a fool by her all along.

It was all a cruel game she meticulously planned!

Holding back my rage, I kicked open the door, stepped into the house, and turned on the light.

The room fell silent as they saw my livid face, their smiles freezing instantly, expressions turning.

Mia stood up, her face flashing with panic. "Troy? What brought you back so sudden

I let out a cold laugh, my gaze sweeping across the crowd. "Thank goodness I came back," I said icily, "otherwise I wouldn't have known that the esteemed Ms. Thompson would stoop so low as to play me for three years!"

Mia's face turned an ugly shade of pale as her deception was exposed.

Before, I had been meek and submissive, filled with guilt for having fallen in love with both "sisters", and I had always obeyed her without a word of protest.

But now, in front of everyone, I put her in a spot she couldn't talk her way out of.

With the lie out in the open, I no longer cared about maintaining any pretense of civility. It was more satisfying to simply tear off the mask and let the truth be known.

Mia's pride took a hit from my rebuttal, and with a cold voice, she said, "Good that you know. After all, a loser like you wouldn't even get a glance from me normally. Dating me was probably the highlight of your life!"

Her disdainful arrogance made me lose my temper.

Before meeting Mia, I led a comfortable life, but for her, I had nearly given up everything, now struggling even to make ends meet.

And to think, she accused me of being out of her league?

Given that, I won't hold back!

I strode forward, grabbed Mia by the arm, and dragged her out the door.

"Get out of my house! I don't want to see you again!"

Mia, powerless to resist, was pushed to the doorway, clinging desperately to the door, threatening me.

"Troy, how dare you!"

Her friends couldn't sit idly by.

"What right do you have to touch Ms. Thompson?"

"Troy, have you lost your mind?"

A few people in the room came to Mia's defense, pinning me to the ground and punching me.

But Mia stopped them.

"Enough, everyone, stop!"

Seeing Mia's command, they hesitantly backed off.

Only the leader, eyes red with fury as if he hadn't heard her, grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the ground.

The impact brought tears to my eyes.

Seeing me cry, Mia loudly intervened.

The lackey wouldn't let it go.

"Ms. Thompson, I'm just standing up for you! This guy's a jerk; a few beatings will sort him out."

Mia stood up furiously and kicked him to the ground with a loud yell, "I told you to fucking stop. Are you deaf?!"

He clutched his stomach, silenced, and quietly let go of me, retreating to the side.

Of course, I wasn't grateful for Mia's restraint.

Watching her face feign compassion, I laughed.

I laughed until I cried.

I laughed at my stupidity, laughing at how easily I was played, yet I was still unable to let go of this evil woman.

Mia's face softened. "Why do you have to be like this?"

She crouched down, trying to help me up, but I suddenly shoved her hard to the ground, glaring at her fiercely.

"Mia, you truly disgust me!

"It's one thing to play me, but to be so greedy, trying to steal my money and leave me penniless? You enjoy messing with me, don't you?"

Her outstretched hand froze in place, her face turning ugly. She turned her head and snorted coldly, "Of course, I'm happy. You're just a rat in the gutter now. I could squash you with a stomp.

"You have two choices! Either apologize and beg for my forgiveness, or go back to your cheap rental and be a lowly worker forever.

"You have three days to decide, let me know what you choose."

After she finished speaking, she grabbed her bag and turned to leave.

The crowd dispersed, leaving a mess behind.

I dragged my injured body into the bathroom, the blood mixing with the cold water, instantly soaking me through.

But my heart was even colder.

Stepping out, I saw the cake by the door, smashed and broken from being kicked. I didn't care. I picked it up and started eating.

I ate and cried until I threw up, squatting on the ground, stomach acid flowing freely.

After this frenzy of self-abuse, I felt a little better.

Today was indeed an accident.

Usually, I was busy delivering food at night to make money, and I never came home.

The delivery fees were highest at night, and I owed a lot of money and was desperate to pay it off, so I often didn't come home.

If I get exhausted, I just find a place to rest for a bit, then get up and continue taking orders.

If it hadn't been for trying to make Meryl's birthday memorable, rushing to complete my deliveries, and spending a week's food budget on a cake to surprise her at home early,

I might never have discovered that Mia and Meryl were the same person.

I had suspected that Mia and Meryl looked too similar.

It wasn't until I accidentally saw a small mole on Meryl's neck that I dismissed my doubts, not realizing Mia had deliberately tattooed it.

It was all just a game for the wealthy young lady.

I went to the hospital with a swollen, bruised face for treatment.

When settling the bill, I ran into that doctor again.

The doctor sighed and kindly advised, "You still have a chance to get treated, but if you delay further, no one can say for sure."

I gave a bitter smile.

What chance did I have?

Those two million were my lifeline!

Yet Mia carelessly threw it away to someone else.

Now needy, I don't even know how I'll manage tomorrow's meal, let alone how to survive into the future.

"No more chances."

The doctor shook his head in sympathy, no longer trying to persuade me.

I bid farewell to the doctor and headed to the base of my company's building.

Looking up at the glittering skyscraper, the words "Thompson Group" emblazoned across it.

Back then, I was foolish not to question why a Fortune 500 company would extend an offer to a mere ordinary graduate like me.

It seems the moment I stepped into the group, I had fallen into Mia's trap.

I entered my supervisor, Nolan Dawson's office, with my resignation letter, slammed it on his desk, and said coldly, "I'm resigning!"

Nolan put on his glasses, not at all surprised, and smiled at me. "That's not up to me, you need to see Ms. Thompson."

His eyes held a mocking glint as he appraised me. "You've come a long way, huh? Found a rich patron and don't want to be a worker anymore?"

My face turned red with anger.

So, this old fox knew the whole story!

It turned out I was the only one in the dark.

"Where is Mia!" I demanded, face flushed with rage.

Sensing something amiss, Nolan hesitated and said, "Ms. Thompson is in a meeting right now. I suggest you wait..."

I grabbed the resignation letter, didn't even let him finish, and stormed to the conference room, kicked the door open, and yelled, "Mia, have you no shame!"