Before I married Vanessa, Olivia sought me out, crying as she asked why I hadn’t waited for her, why I hadn’t called when I left the countryside.
Back then, I didn’t know her true identity, so I had played with her freely, without hesitation.
But as we grew older and I learned who she really was, I realized the vast gulf between us.
She was the heiress of the Carter Family, and I was nothing but a poor boy from the countryside. We weren’t from the same world.
But Olivia didn’t see it that way.
She told me seriously, “Grandpa admires you and hopes I’ll marry you.”
“You’re the only heir to the Miller Family’s Secret Acupuncture Method. Just for that alone, you have the right to marry into any wealthy family.”
“We’ve been childhood sweethearts. Your presence has been imprinted on my heart. No other man will ever take your place.”
“I’ll always wait for you.”
And she meant it. Even after I married Vanessa, Olivia kept waiting.
When she heard how badly Vanessa treated me, Olivia more than once wanted to teach her a harsh lesson, though I always stopped her.
So when I finally decided to divorce Vanessa, the first person I called was Olivia.
It wasn’t because I wanted to slip seamlessly into a relationship with her—I wasn’t that shameless.
It was because I knew Vanessa’s nature: she would never willingly sign divorce papers. I needed Olivia’s help.
At that time, Chikungunya fever was spreading everywhere. Along the coastal cities, countless people were bitten by infected mosquitoes, and most needed weeks to recover. For some with weaker constitutions, the joint pain could last months.
After a bit of treatment, I regained some strength. I immediately took out my family’s silver needles and applied the Miller Family’s Secret Acupuncture Method to myself.
By the next morning, I was almost fully recovered.
At dawn, Vanessa called.
Her tone was icy: “Ethan, I told you to come to the office today and apologize to Jason in front of everyone. Why aren’t you here yet?”
“Don’t make excuses. You only got bitten by mosquitoes yesterday. A little fever is nothing. Even if you have to crawl, you’d better show up at the office today.”
Before I could respond, Olivia snatched the phone from my hand and said coldly into the receiver:
“You left your gravely ill husband at home and ran off to greet that freeloading assistant at the airport. And now you expect Ethan to apologize to him in public? Vanessa, has a horse kicked you in the head?”
Vanessa was stunned for a moment, then erupted in rage: “Who are you? How dare you speak to me like that? Who gave you the—”
Before she could finish, Olivia cut her off sharply:
“If you don’t cherish Ethan, plenty of others will.”
“Vanessa, you’re going to regret this.”
Without waiting for a reply, Olivia hung up.
I looked at her helplessly and said, “You’ve provoked her—now she’s definitely going to lose her mind.”
Olivia scoffed, “A woman that ungrateful deserves to be provoked. It’s about time someone forced her to see reality. She isn’t the center of the universe, and not everyone has to revolve around her.”
