Chapter 3

Oliver looked at the lit phone screen, his spine stiffening.

He gestured for Lily to turn off the sound before answering.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

His mother's anxious voice came through the speaker.

"Oliver, where did you and Eve go?"

"Her father just called me. He said her monitoring watch sent out a distress alert."

I moved close to the speaker, screaming with all my strength.

"Mrs. Bennett, Oliver locked me in the haunted house."

"Please come save me. I'm so scared..."

Oliver seemed to sense something and looked in my direction, frowning deeply.

His fingers were white from gripping so hard. He tried to keep his voice calm.

"Mom, Eve is with me on a date."

"Tell Mr. Harper not to worry. I'll definitely take good care of her."

My heart felt like it had been torn open, leaving a bloody wound.

I grabbed Oliver's collar, crying as I demanded through blurred tears.

"Why are you lying? Tell them the truth!"

"My dad will worry. He only has me..."

Mrs. Bennett was about to say something more when Lily coquettishly hooked her arm around Oliver's neck, breathing suggestively.

"You're my boyfriend today. If you mention another woman again, I might get jealous."

Oliver hung up without hesitation.

I saw the livestream flood with viewers.

They all commented, "So thrilling!"

"Lily is like a celebrity, so seductive."

"Lily, please teach a class. I want to change boyfriends every day too!"

Even though Oliver hung up, his heart felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

He gently patted Lily's bottom and tried to call me.

"Be good. Let me call Eve first to make sure she's okay."

"Her health really isn't good. I'm worried..."

The phone only rang once before Lily pouted and snatched it, turning it off.

"No calling. You're mine today."

"Besides, doesn't she have hands? If she's not feeling well, can't she call an ambulance herself? Why does she have to bother someone else's boyfriend?"

Lily spoke self-righteously while sharing relationship advice with her livestream audience.

"Ladies, getting sick and bothering someone else's boyfriend instead of finding a doctor—that's textbook manipulation! If you encounter this situation, just have your boyfriend turn off his phone and ignore her."

I floated in mid-air, sneering contemptuously.

Last week, I had a sudden bout of gastroenteritis. Oliver panicked and rushed me to the hospital.

Halfway there, Lily suddenly sent him a message.

"Oliver, I accidentally cut my finger. It hurts so much..."

A photo followed immediately.

Lily's fingers were slender and fair, but without a trace of any wound.

Oliver slammed on the brakes and dumped me on the roadside.

He frowned anxiously and turned the car around.

"Lily cut her hand. I need to go buy her bandages first."

"Go to the hospital yourself. You're used to it after all these years anyway. But Lily is different. She's struggling here alone. She needs me right now."

At 3 a.m., I couldn't get a cab at all.

I eventually passed out on the roadside. I don't know how long it was before a stranger sent me to the hospital.

My mild gastroenteritis turned into severe gastric perforation.

When I woke up, I cried and asked Oliver if he didn't love me anymore.

But he knelt before me, swearing he would never abandon me again.

In his heart, I was always in last place.

But now, I truly didn't care anymore.

I only worried about Dad—how sad and guilty he would be when he learned of my death.