Just a Nobody

Ill never forget that afternoon.

When the campuss brightest guy asked my best friend out for the tenth time, she pointed at me and said, Shes struggling just like you. You two are perfect for each other.

A light sparked in his eyes when he looked at me.

Ten years later, he was on the Forbes billionaire list. At a grand celebration, he thanked me for my decade of support, and everyone envied my title as Mrs. Muniz.

Then, at a star-studded gala, I saw my friendher wealthy husband had just died by suicide.

That night, he threw a divorce agreement at me.

If you hadnt hogged the title of Mrs. Muniz, she couldve come to me for help.

We argued fiercelyour first fight in ten years. He froze all my accounts, but I wouldnt sign.

Then came the news: my mother was critically ill. I begged him to help, but he wouldnt spend a penny. I watched her take her last breath.

My father shoved me, shouting, Why cling to him? You couldve saved your mother!

My brother looked at me with hate.

My five-year-old son sobbed, Mommy, why didnt you save Grandma?

That night, he smirked. How much longer will you cling to this position?

I silently gave him the signed papers.

I wont cling anymore.

Now, Im going to find my mother.

When the signed agreement was pushed towards him, his cigar-holding hand froze. He didn't even notice the burning tobacco singeing his fingers.

"So compliant this time?"

"Yeah."

He leaned closer. "What's your game? Just say it."

"I'm going to find my mom."

Adam chuckled. "What, transferring your aunt to another hospital?"

I froze. I looked at him, surprised.

"Your aunt's illness, only the hospital I recommended can treat it. If you go to her, where would you transfer her?"

He didn't know Mom was dead. A bitter smile flashed across my face.

"That, you don't need to worry about."

With that, I stood up and dragged my already packed suitcase. I had so few belongings that one suitcase wasn't even full. After arguing with him for so long, I had sold almost all my valuables. But it still wasn't enough for Mom's surgery. Perhaps Dad was right. I was the one who killed Mom. I deserved to atone.

Opening the door, my neck was suddenly grabbed. I was pressed against the wall.

"Playing hard to get?"

Adam looked down at me.

"You never agreed to sign before, now you're so submissive."

"What, after you leave this door, what are you planning to do to Sarah?"

It was always like this. He always judged me with the most malicious intentions. In the past, I would have smashed things in the house, reminding him that I was his wife of nearly ten years. But now, I simply smiled.

"Choke me to death. Perfect, widowhood will automatically dissolve our marriage."

His hand recoiled as if burned. He stared at me in disbelief for a moment. Seeing that I didn't try to evade him, he muttered "crazy" and turned to leave.

I found a rented room. I had accumulated a lot of sleeping pills. If I took them all, I could quietly slip away. I looked at the gray, bare branches outside the window. I smiled. I opened the pill bottle.

A loud crash. My hand trembled. The pill bottle fell to the floor, pills scattering everywhere. Adam clutched my arm, a cold sneer on his lips.

"I knew you were too compliant signing that agreement. You were planning to kill Sarah!"

Before I could explain, I was forcibly dragged away. The car stopped in an open field on the outskirts, and I was pulled out. I was roughly shoved in front of Sarah Evans. She wore a sequined performance outfit, her arms and legs covered in bruises. Her eyes red, she looked at me.

"Chloe, even if I'm down and out, I still have morals! I never wanted to break up your family. Why would you tie me up and have me assaulted? If Mr. Muniz hadn't arrived in time, those animals you hired would have killed me by now!"

Looking at those people I didn't recognize at all, I said coldly, "I didn't."

"Still denying it?" Adam gripped my chin. "These people confessed you instigated it. What, could Sarah have orchestrated this herself?"

Sarah quickly exchanged a glance with the thugs. They suddenly burst into tears.

"Madam! Are you going back on your word?"

"Yeah, Madam! You said you'd take care of anything that happened!"

"You said Ms. Evans was a prostitute and there was nothing to worry about! If we had known she was Mr. Muniz's favorite, we wouldn't have dared even with a hundred guts!"

Sarah began to sob softly. Adam's hand on my chin almost crushed my bones. "If you keep playing tough, forget about your mother's medical expenses entirely!"

I looked at him, my eyes red. Then I suddenly smiled. "Mother? She's gone! What medical expenses?"

Adam's pupils constricted. The next second, a harsh slap landed on my face. "Now, just to be spiteful, you'll say anything!"

Sarah suddenly spoke up. "Chloe, even though Mr. Muniz and you have some disagreements, he never took it out on your aunt. Even I, an outsider, know that Mr. Muniz has a dedicated medical account for your aunt, depositing hundreds of thousands every month."

I froze. I looked up at Adam. His expression was cold, just as it had always been. How could such a man give Mom hundreds of thousands a month for medical expenses? If that were true, how could Mom have died! They were all lying to me. Using a phantom account to threaten me into divorce. They were all lying to me

Adam said coldly, "Even now, are you still refusing to admit it?"

I took a deep breath. "What do you want from me?"

"Kneel and apologize to her."

"Oh, no need, we're after all best fr"

Sarah was about to object, but I had already knelt down and respectfully bowed my head. "I'm sorry."

Adam looked at me in disbelief. I stood up, brushing the dirt from my knees. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going." The pills scattered on the floor of my rented room, I hadn't taken them yet.

"Stop." A knife was placed on the table. Adam said coldly, "Sarah suffered so much because of you. Do you think a mere apology will suffice?"

I turned back. He sneered, "However many cuts she endured, you will too."

Sarah clutched the scrapes on her arm, her eyes instantly red.

"Fine," I said. It seemed there was no other way to die. I picked up the knife and savagely plunged it towards my heart.

"Chloe!" A hand gripped mine, holding the knife. Adam struggled against my strength. I stared at him. The tip of the knife moved another two inches closer to my heart.

"Chloe!!" I clutched the knife handle. He clutched my hand.

"If you want your child thrown into an orphanage, then stab that knife in now!" I froze.

"Chloe, I won't raise that bastard."

I opened my mouth. Blood trickled from my lips. "You"

He cut me off. "If you really want to die, take that bastard with you. That face, so much like yours, disgusts me!"

That's right Adam hated me. So, Leo he would hate him too If I died, no one would truly care for Leo. Maybe Adam would even find people to bully him

The knife was violently pulled out. I coughed up a mouthful of blood, stumbled, and he caught me in his arms. Before losing consciousness, I heard his sharp cry.

"Ambulance! Call an ambulance!"

When I woke again, I was lying in a VIP hospital room. Adam looked at me with a cold sneer.

"Your methods are getting more sophisticated. Even faking a suicide attempt looks so real."

I looked at him. He curled his lips into a sarcastic smile. "Sarah was right, you really are suited to be an actress." He left. I lay alone on the bed, staring at the white ceiling, clutching my chest.

That same afternoon, I knocked on my brother Robs door. On the table, Moms memorial photo still sat. On the sofa, was the scarf Mom hadnt finished knitting for him. It was getting cold, and she had meant for him to wear it. Seeing it was me, he immediately moved to close the door. I stuck a hand in the gap.

"Rob, I'm here to ask you for a favor."

Rob turned his head away, refusing to look at me. I entered the house. He sat on the sofa, lighting a cigarette. He didnt smoke or drink. After Mom died, he took up both.

"I'm sorry, Rob. I should have listened to you from the start." He blew out a smoke ring, saying nothing.

"I shouldn't have been so unwilling to give up these ten years, I shouldn't have argued with you and Dad over Adam. I should have listened to you from the beginning and given Mrs. Muniz's position to Sarah Evans."

"I'm sorry"

Rob sneered. "What good is 'I'm sorry'? Can 'I'm sorry' bring Mom back?"

I choked. He looked at me. "It's because you were always so focused on jealousy that Mom died!" The last few words were gritted through his teeth. "How could I have a sister like you!"

I lowered my head, my voice trembling. "But Rob I beg you, please take care of Leo."

He froze.

"Adam won't take care of him."

"I don't ask you to treat him as your own child."

"At least, don't let him be bullied."

Rob stared at me, then suddenly let out a cold laugh. "What, playing the victim?"

I remained silent.

"Leo has a mother like you. He's naturally unlucky."

"Rob, I beg you."

"Get out."

"Rob"

"Get out!" An ashtray smashed near my foot. "Get out! Don't dirty Mom's eyes here!"

I turned back. Moms memorial photo was on the table, smiling kindly at me. I knelt down and bowed deeply. Then, I turned and knelt before Rob, bowing my head. "Rob, I'm counting on you." Without waiting for his astonished gaze, I turned and strode out.

I walked out the door and got into my car. Robs voice came from the doorway. "Don't ever come back! Go die wherever you want! Don't say you're my sister! The Reid family has no sister like you!" I gripped the steering wheel, tears streaming down my face. It was okay if I was cursed. I knew. Rob wouldnt abandon Leo in the end. I started the car and drove away.

The sleeping pills sat quietly on the table. I lay on the bed in my rented room. I set a timed message for my landlord, to be sent in twenty-four hours, asking her to contact a funeral home for me. My last bit of jewelry, once sold, would fetch over twenty thousand dollars. Not enough for Mom's surgery. But enough to compensate the landlord for any losses.

After doing all this, I reached for the pills. The door suddenly burst open. My throat clenched. I uncontrollably threw up. Adam grabbed my chin. His eyes red.

"What have you done?! What have you and your mother done to Sarah!!"

Adam had never been so distraught. Even in the past, when we fought fiercely over a divorce agreement, he would only give me a cold glance and toss out a line like: "Fine, we'll take our time. Let's see who outlasts whom." I had never seen him so enraged.

Just as I was wondering what was going on, Sarah Evans appeared at the doorway. Her performance outfit had long been replaced by a custom-made silk dress, but it was now tattered. There was a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth. She rushed forward like a madwoman, slapping me fiercely across the face.

"How can you be so vicious! You and your mother won't be satisfied until you destroy me!"

I stared at her blankly. Her chest heaved. "I told you, I have morals, I would never break up your family with Mr. Muniz! We were best friends, for heaven's sake. How could you be so utterly insane, having your mother send me messages, tricking me into visiting her at the hospital?"

"And then having a bunch of animals take intimate photos of me!"

I chuckled. Sure enough. Another setup. But I was so tired. Too tired to explain anymore.

Sarah began to sob. "If Mr. Muniz hadn't found me, my intimate photos would be all over the internet by now!"

"How convenient," I said, not even lifting an eyelid. "Every time I 'frame' you, Adam shows up just in time."

She froze. I smiled, looking up. "It's as if you arranged it in advance."

Bang! I was shoved violently. The back of my head hit the wall. Adam, furious, threw a stack of photos in my face.

"Are you saying Sarah used such methods to disgrace herself, just to compete with you?!"

In the photos, Sarah's clothes were tattered, her eyes filled with terror. She was forced to look at the camera by countless hands. Her eyes were full of humiliation and tears. At first glance, it was indeed heart-wrenching. But on closer inspection, the angles and compositions of these photos were too polished. As if someone had written a script in advance. My hand under the covers clutched the unfinished sleeping pills. I sneered.

"Nicely shot. Could pass for art."

"You!" Sarah covered her mouth. I looked at Adam. "What do you want, Mr. Muniz? Beat me up or throw me in jail? Whatever it is, hurry up, I have things to do."

Adam's fist trembled slightly. "That would be too easy for you."

A dozen burly men entered from the doorway. "Naturally, to treat someone as they've treated you, is the most effective!"

I froze. Cameras were set up in no time. Adam coldly instructed from the doorway. "Shoot her exactly as you shot Sarah." With that, the door closed. Before I could even make a sound, my mouth was covered. Sarah's photos were carefully staged. My photos, however, were genuine humiliation. In no time, a hundred photos were taken. My shirt buttons had already popped onto the floor. I lay on the bed, my eyes vacant.

Adam inspected the photos, took the negatives, and sneered. He came to my bedside, leaning over. "You know, if your mother saw these photos of you, would she just drop dead?" I stared at the ceiling, saying nothing. He sneered. He got up and called his subordinate.

"Get the car ready. To the hospital. To see the old lady."

"Yes!" He walked away. My hand from under the covers came out. The sleeping pills. Finally, I could take them. Mom, I'm coming to apologize to you. I'm sorry. Don't hate me.

At this moment, Adam was walking downstairs. His subordinate called again.