"You damn jinx. My son’s dead because of you. What now, planning to send me down there with him too?"
The ashtray smashed straight into Serena Allen’s forehead. Glass shards scraped across her cheek, leaving thin, stinging cuts. Blood slipped down along her pale face, making her look like she’d just crawled out of some nightmare.
"Mom… I really don’t have money anymore," Serena whispered. Her head hung low, her thin, bony frame trembling like she could barely stand.
"No money? Then go sell your blood! Or a kidney! If my son hadn’t married you back then, how would he have died? You’re the curse of the Garrison family!"
"If I don’t see the money tomorrow, you can go down and keep my son company!"
Before the words even settled in the air, Melanie Garrison grabbed Serena’s arm and pinched down hard, then shoved her straight out the door.
The door slammed shut with a heavy bang.
Winter hit Banyan City way too early.
The icy wind slapped across Serena’s already pale face. She looked up at the sky, biting hard on her lip, forcing herself not to cry. She couldn’t afford tears—not anymore.
She’d met Leonard Garrison in college. They fell in love, got married, and everyone around them envied how perfect they seemed.
But fate apparently had a twisted sense of humor. On the second day after the wedding, Leonard got into a car accident on his way to bring her food. The news said he died on the spot.
Her mother‑in‑law screamed at her, called her a jinx who killed her own husband, and dumped Leonard’s one‑million debt on her shoulders.
For five years, Serena worked herself to exhaustion to pay off that debt while still taking the daily beatings and curses from Melanie.
When she finally finished paying everything back, Melanie suddenly demanded another two hundred thousand as dowry money for Leonard’s sister.
Serena frowned, her whole face collapsing into exhaustion. Where on earth was she supposed to find two hundred thousand?
To save money, she pulled her old down jacket tight and decided to walk home. Just as she reached the mouth of an alley, a luxury car sped past, splashing filthy water all over her.
Right then, a voice she could never mistake drifted out.
"Baby, I’ll take you to that Michelin restaurant later. My mom said she’s transferring me two hundred grand tomorrow. I’ll buy you that designer bag you wanted."
"Leonard, you’re the best," another familiar voice chimed in—one that made Serena’s mind buzz like it got hit by a truck.
She jerked her head up.
In the backseat of that sleek luxury car… sat Leonard Garrison. The same Leonard who’d supposedly been dead for five years. Laughing. Flirting. Completely alive.
Serena froze on the spot, her whole body stiffening like someone poured ice water down her spine.
He… he was alive?!
The couple in the luxury car was still wrapped up in each other, all sweet talk and soft voices.
“Five years ago, you faked your death and vanished just for me. You quit your job, cut off your family, and now you spoil me like this every day… You’re so good to me I don’t even know how to pay you back.”
“Silly girl, loving you is enough. What kind of payback could I possibly want?”
Faked his death.
Those four words slammed into Serena Allen like a hammer, knocking all the air out of her.
For five long years, she’d been drowning in guilt, convinced that Leonard Garrison died because she’d insisted he bring her lunch that day. She worked herself to exhaustion to pay off his debts, endured Melanie Garrison’s beatings and insults without saying a word.
And all this time… she’d just been the punchline in the Garrisons’ little joke.
Tears spilled down her face in heavy drops. Serena’s chest tightened so hard she couldn’t breathe anymore. She couldn’t hold it in—not for another second. She charged forward and threw herself right in front of the luxury car as it was about to pull away.
Leonard spotted a dusty, worn‑down woman standing in his way, and his expression instantly soured.
He swung the door open, irritation dripping from every word. “Hey, beggar, move it. This is a brand‑new car. If you scratch it, you won’t be able to pay for the paint, let alone the repairs.”
Looking at his crisp clothes, his polished shoes, his spotless life, Serena felt her tears run even harder, soaking her whole face.
Five years of paying off his debts meant no new clothes, cutting back on every tiny expense. She was only twenty‑five, yet she already looked worn down like someone in her mid‑thirties.
All of this—every bit of it—was thanks to him.